Barclays Capital
Safe haven
Gold has been a favourite with investors looking for a safe haven since last year’s turbulence began. But will this persist in 2009, or will the precious metal start to lose its shine as a hedging option? Pauline McCallion finds out
European CDS dealers to follow US to fixed coupons
An agreement between the major dealers to move to standardised fixed coupons for trading European credit default swaps (CDSs), following a similar move in North America, could speed global moves towards central clearing, say market participants.
Banks agree to EU CCP for clearing CDS
Nine major dealers agreed to use an EU central counterparty (CCP) for clearing trades in credit default swaps (CDSs) today, paving the way for talks to resume with the European Commission.
Clearing CDS for lift-off
A new single-name North American credit default swap (CDS) contract, due to be launched next month, is expected to bring greater standardisation to the market and pave the way for central clearing.
Popular volatility indexes plunge
Record high levels of volatility in the equity market since September have caused huge losses on popular indexes that allowed investors to take short implied volatility positions.
Barclays Capital expected to take over Lehman indexes
Barclays Capital looks set to acquire Lehman Brothers’ suite of indexes, widely used as a benchmark in the fixed-income market.
CDS spreads continue to widen
Credit default swap (CDS) spreads on financial institutions have continued to widen, despite the bailout of US insurer American International Group (AIG) by the US Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday.
Barclays buys Lehman's capital markets business in the US
Barclays has acquired Lehman Brothers' US investment banking and capital markets businesses, including its derivatives operations, for $250 million.
BarCap names head of structuring, Asia-Pacific
Barclays Capital has appointed Chak Wong as head of structuring for the Asia-Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.
BarCap names New York forex structuring head
Tim Davenport has joined Barclays Capital as head of foreign exchange structuring for the Americas.
BarCap works to revive life insurance securitisation
For Barclays Capital, a recent £250 million ($495 million) securitisation of part of UK insurer Aegon Scottish Equitable’s life portfolio proves there’s life left in the life insurance securitisation market.
BarCap launches Sharia-compliant hedge fund platform
Barclays Capital has launched an investment platform, called Al Safi, which offers investors Sharia-compliant access to hedge funds.
Jon Gregory quits Barclays Capital
Jon Gregory, London-based global head of credit quantitative analytics at Barclays Capital, is leaving the firm today.
Joshi and de Vitry expand their roles at BarCap
Two of Barclays Capital’s most senior staff, Dixit Joshi and Benoit de Vitry, have been promoted to take on wider responsibilities at the bank.
Idzik exiting as BarCap COO
Paul Idzik, group chief operating officer at Barclays, is leaving the bank.