CDS or credit default swaps, are used to protect, or hedge, the owners of bonds against the event of a default by the issuer! Credit default swaps or CDS have been used here in the past to look at how the global markets viewed the potential for an issuer of debt, such as Greece, to default on its obligation to pay. Like any insurance, the greater the perceived risk, the more expensive the CDS cont...

The European Parliament yesterday (15 November) cast an overwhelming vote against financial markets as it rubber-stamped a bill to curb short-selling and trading in credit default swaps (CDS),  blamed for fuelling speculation on sovereign debt and exacerbating Greece's debt woes.  More »

Sovereign debt issuers that is! And it is the marketplace that is usually the best arbiter of what is good and what is bad! In the instance of sovereign debt it's the major global players and institutions, in this case through the use of credit default swaps (CDS), that set the market odds a country is going to default on its obligations in some actual or technical way. CDS is a type of insur...

Simply stated a credit-default swap, or CDS, is a way for the owner of an asset like a bond to buy an insurance policy to protect themselves in the event the issuer of that bond defaults. But, because the CDS market is unregulated, there is $60 trillion of so in these instruments that are not only purchased by actual owners of the debt, but by speculators betting that the issuing entity will indee...

Are you up to date on the Greece debt crisis, the contaminated produce you should stay away from, the general lack of fear in the financial markets and why the housing market can't improve? At The Economic Spy these stories and more were examined during the past week. It is important to stay current on issues that have the potential to affect our lives. For instance, did you know that Apples ...

Sources close to the EU's policymaking process reveal that current thinking on regulating Credit Default Swap (CDS) trading is limited to sovereign not corporate debt. Regulation, the sources said, would be restricted to "insurable interest," essentially meaning that only those who own the underlying bond can take out insurance on it. The EU, "driven by France and to a lesser ex...

No, it’s not dastardly speculators, not the CDS market, hedge funds or anything of the sort. In total, BNP Paribas, which has been at the centre of market fears connected to its exposure to eurozone sovereign debt, said it had reduced its government debt exposure by 25pc in the third quarter from €106bn (£91bn) to

More bad news for the Irish Republic... "Ireland’s government debt has become the riskiest in the euro zone, surpassing Greece’s sovereign bonds, according to credit-default swap prices. Contracts on Ireland roseto 269, according to CMA Datavision prices, while credit-default swaps on Greece’s debt fell to 248.2 at 5pm. The cost to hedge against losses on Irish debt is now more t...

Brussels intends to bring forward measures to tackle speculative trading, notably in relation to credit default swaps on sovereign debt, the European Union top financial services regulator said

A transatlantic row that flared up in the wake of the Greek debt crisis over the lack of disclosure to regulators of credit market activity has pushed the new body in charge of collecting global trading data to provide more information to financial watchdogs