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Oh, how recently it seems I was writing about the likelihood of coordinated FX intervention to prop up the dollar. It still seems that intervention is being considered, although the market has yet to consider it a real threat.

Word reaches me that work has started in earnest on the integration of Merrill Lynch’s trading operations into Bank of America. Sources suggest this will be completed by Christmas.

Part 1

The International Securities Exchange (ISE) has entered an agreement to list its FX options on the New York Stock Exchange’s Arca Options platform. “We are very excited that, in partnership with NYSE Arca, we are extending the reach of FX options to a wider range of market participants,” says Kris Monaco, director of new product development at ISE.

Among the 94 new partners announced by Goldman Sachs are Lora Price in New York and Kevin Connors in London, who both have something to do with FX. I got in touch with Goldman and asked: “Can you also let me know what they actually do for their money?” Turns out that Connors is co-head of FX sales, EMEA and Price is head of corporate sales, North America.

In the September issue of Euromoney, in an article about Turkey entitled It’s about the journey, not the destination, we wrongly attributed a quote to Ceren Akdag of Yapi Kredi. We would like to point out that these comments were not made by Ms Akdag nor anyone else at Yapi Kredi, and apologise for the error.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group closed its $9 billion investment in Morgan Stanley on October 13, ending speculation that the deal might not go ahead. The terms of the deal were more favourable to the Japanese institution than had originally been agreed, reflecting Morgan Stanley’s troubles. Rather than spending $3 billion of the total on ordinary shares at $25.25 each and the rest on convertible preferred shares with a conversion price of $31.25, MUFG will get a total of $7.8 billion-worth of the convertible preferred shares converting at $25.25 and the remaining $1.2 billion in preferred shares. The new deal offers substantially more protection for MUFG on its investment since preferred shares offer a fixed yield and their holders rank above common equity owners.

63,300,000,000 the amount in dollars of equity capital raised by financial institutions in the third quarter of 2008. The quarterly amount is the second highest on record after the second quarter of 2008, when financial institutions raised a record $109.1 billion. Finance sector ECM deals accounted for nearly half of the total volume of transactions in the third quarter.

Under pressure from investors to put money to work, private equity firms are reconsidering the structure of their investment strategies.

Seesawing markets set a number of records over the four weeks between mid-September and mid-October, including:

News that ICE is to relaunch its FX contracts gets a cool reception.

Russia, Iran and Qatar have signed a framework agreement with a view to establishing a gas cartel. Commenting on the deal, Alexei Miller, chief executive of Russian gas company Gazprom, says: "We have decided to have closer contacts, and it can be said that a large gas trio has been formed." It remains to be seen if the new agreement will extend beyond ensuring commonly agreed production targets into regulating gas prices on the world market as Opec does for the oil market.