Derivs - FX

Bank proprietary desks have been buying sterling puts against the euro this morning, following the results of the European elections and fears that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will resign from office within the next month.

Barclays Capital was reportedly buying volatility on the euro/dollar against the dollar/krona earlier today following announcements by Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s Central Bank, forecasting loan losses for the country’s banks of up to USD22.8 billion.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has hired Michael Rosborough in a new trading role covering macro trading across fixed income and foreign exchange capital markets.

Baring Asset Management is building a short position in the U.S. dollar against the Chinese renminbi in its USD25 million Baring Alpha Currency Fund.

Antonio Polverino, European head of fixed income, currency and commodities sales at Merrill Lynch in London, is set to join Royal Bank of Scotland in a similar role.

Standard Chartered is advising investors to sell USD/IDR 25-delta risk reversals and take advantage of the high premium for them since the wider market expects the rupiah to depreciate against the U.S. dollar

Bank Negara Malaysia will not prohibit close-out netting in the event a domestic financial institution collapses.

Newedge is expanding its fx derivatives client base in Asia and is close to announcing a new regional head to run the business.

Hedge funds and bank proprietary desks have been buying U.S. dollar calls against the euro this morning following reports that North Korea carried out missile tests a day after a nuclear test.

Twelve-month USD/CNY non-deliverable forwards traders are pricing depreciation of the yuan.

Juice concentrate manufacturer China Haisheng Juice Holdings Co. is disputing collateral payments is owes on fx hedges it entered into last year, claiming it was not advised the trades might sour and leave it facing a loss.

Mexican interdealer broker Enlace recently started an fx options desk in New York. Previously it had focused primarily on vanilla over-the-counter products such as non-deliverable forwards and interest rate derivatives.