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It’s been interesting to watch recent gyrations in the market from the sidelines. First the dollar tentatively reversed its long-term downtrend, then resumed it again, before reversing yet again and heading off in the other direction.

While some of my colleagues swanned off on jollies to the Euro 2008 UEFA championships this week (see final story for a cautionary tale on that habit), I was gutted to have to turn down an invitation by Saxo Bank to go to Copenhagen because of my heavy workload. So I missed the announcement that brought together two of my passions, FX and cycling. Saxo disclosed that it was to take over in 2009 as the main sponsor of one of the world’s leading cycling teams, CSC, run by former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis. It has become co-sponsor with immediate effect. The move has puzzled my non-cycling muckers.

I wondered about the wisdom of covering the sorry tale of Simon Sywak last week.

You can read what you want into statistics, but the Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw its second highest ever volume in futures and options traded on Tuesday. A total of 1,264,086 changed hands; in notional terms this was new record too. The total value of the contacts traded was $168.4 billion, beating the previous record of $167.9 billion set on March 31. Apparently, the figures have not yet been overly distorted by the roll, which again suggests that despite reports of liquidity drying up, it is still deep on certain venues.

Joachim Maedler, a former spot FX dealer at BHF Frankfurt, was tragically killed this week. Maedler, 40, is said to have left BHF a couple of year ago and set up a natural food shop in Gettenbach, a village around 45 kilometres east of Frankfurt. On Tuesday he won a court case against his neighbour over a dispute concerning parking rights. After the case, German media reports his neighbour followed him back to Gettenbach. When they arrived in their street, the neighbour walked up to Maedler’s car and shot him several times before fleeing. The neighbour gave himself up to police several hours later.

As a rule, I don’t accept jollies. It’s not for any moral reason – just that it would be difficult to write the sort of copy I do if I had been lavishly wined and dined in some far-flung, exotic destination.

Anton Aucamp has followed Jack Jeffery to options specialist SuperDerivatives. Aucamp, who is regarded as a bit of a financial marketing guru, was previously at EBS and Icap, where he was head of marketing electronic broking.

HBOS, whose dealing rooms operate under the name of Bank of Scotland Treasury, has beefed up its Sydney office. Michael Peric joined as head of trading from NAB in early June, and he will soon be joined by Matt Brady, who is coming across from ABN Amro. Brady is due to start at the end of the month as head of FX trading.

Drew Gross has left Wachovia after a restructuring at the Charlotte-based bank. Gross, who was global head of FX sales and trading, had been at the bank for around three years.

Julian Gay has left FXCM to join Integral. He started at the vendor yesterday and is believed to have accepted a role for sales to Italian and Spanish clients.

NAB has apparently hired Nick McHale from SEB Stockholm after seven years as a director in FX. It is believed that he is taking up a prop-trading role.

Firms are launching commodities funds as the sector experiences its first boom period in decades.