Foreign Exchange

Cross Rates: An unprecedented wave of cross-border mergers and acquisitions is driving demand—and rates—for foreign currencies.           

Global Finance’s annual list of Who’s who in Foreign Exchange.     

In the long run, a fully convertible renminbi will make things easier for global companies doing business in China. Shorter term, treasurers face hard choices.

Innovation is bringing transparency and diversity to the FX market.

Real-time payment remains the holy grail of global transaction processing. And like the grail, it remains elusive.

Capital Outflows | The meltdown in China’s stock market this summer and steep falls in many emerging markets currencies led some investors to wonder if another 1997 Asian crisis was brewing.

What’s irking central bankers is not that they have bought too many stocks or bonds. Rather, it’s that they haven’t bought enough.

FX Reserves | China’s foreign exchange reserves plunged by nearly $94 billion in August, the most ever in a single month, as the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) struggled to support the renminbi after devaluing the currency by 1.9%.

Against the backdrop of a lackluster economy, Canadian voters will head to the polls on October 19—and it’s no shoe-in for incumbent prime minister Stephen Harper.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund recently held an informal meeting to discuss a staff report that found some deficiencies in the renminbi as a potential reserve currency.

Introduction
The strong US greenback is making life difficult for corporate treasurers.

A wobbly administration and a plunge in commodities prices have triggered one of the nation’s toughest years in recent memory.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The surging dollar, falling euro and plunging emerging-markets currencies had a record $32 billion negative impact on the earnings of companies in North America and Europe in the first quarter, according to Scottsdale, Arizona‒based FiREapps, which helps corporations measure and manage foreign exchange exposure.

Milestones | Zimbabwe
The demonetization of the Zimbabwean dollar began in June and holders of the near worthless currency have until September 30 to exchange it for US dollars.

Trends | Economy & Disease
In May, South Korea reported its first case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The death toll had climbed to 24 as we went to press, making it the largest outbreak outside of Saudi Arabia, where the strain was first reported in 2012.

Milestones | Iceland
Nearly seven years after introducing controls on capital movements, Iceland is planning to ease restrictions it put in place when the collapse of its banking system brought the country to the brink of financial meltdown.

Trends | FX Commodities Q&A
Petr Grishin, head of macro research and chief economist for Eastern Europe at VTB Capital, discussed the ruble, oil prices and Russian trade with Global Finance.

Vietnam | In May, Vietnam’s central bank once again devalued the country’s currency, the dong—the second such adjustment since January.

The European Union is still debating the nature of its common currency, the position of non-eurozone EU members like the UK, and the future of stressed eurozone countries like Greece.  But the situation in other parts of the world is quite different.

Capital Markets | Q&A
Eduardo Suárez, co-head of Latin America strategy in the Global Banking and Markets division of Scotiabank.