Tepid demand at a French bond auction, combined with worries over contagion from a Hungarian default and speculation over the health of a German bank, sends the euro to a raft of fresh lows.

Do these reports mean that RBS’s global head of banking and markets, John Hourican has failed? Not necessarily

The London Borough of Harrow Pension Fund has dismissed both of its active currency managers after disappointing performances, according to sources who have spoken to EuromoneyFXNews.

Chinese New Year comes early this year, with festivities starting on January 23, instead of early February, as has been the case in the past couple of years.

Nick Crawford, the former global head of FX at Unicredit, has joined Commerzbank as global head of FX trading, a bank spokesperson has confirmed.

The euro gave back some of its new year gains as lingering concerns over eurozone debt and worries over the spill over effect of an escalating crisis in Hungary unsettled investors.

There has been nothing but bad news for the Hungarian forint in recent weeks, but for investors betting on further losses it might pay to consider the chances of a turnaround in the fortunes of the Turkish lira.

Emerging market currency index year-to-date returns were negative in 2011, with one exception, according to data provided by an independent index provider.

China faces a new currency challenge as the prospect of a slowdown in its economy heightens, which is likely to result in a renewed push towards the internationalization of the renminbi.

Total currency reserves increased to $10.2 trillion in the third quarter, the smallest quarter-over-quarter since the beginning of 2009, while the USD share of total reserves increased, indicating its continued predominance as a reserve currency, according to the latest data from the IMF.

The single currency pushed higher against the dollar as upbeat economic data encouraged a bout of short covering.

Speculators have pushed their bets against the euro to record levels as fears over the eurozone debt crisis continued to undermine the single currency.

The Swiss National Bank's president Philipp Hildebrand has been cleared of insider trading, after allegations that his wife sold Swiss francs just a few days before the currency's devaluation. However, now Christoph Blocher has been accused by Swiss media of tipping off authorities

Citi has announced a new global head of eTrading for FX products across the G10 and EM regions, according to an internal memo seen by EuromoneyFXNews.

The currency markets headed into the holiday season in a relatively upbeat mood, with encouraging US data weighing on haven demand for the dollar and lending support to riskier currencies.

The euro lurched lower on Thursday as rumours of a downgrade of French sovereign debt undermined the single currency, but warnings of further action from Switzerland capped strength in the franc.

EURUSD received a firm correction down to $1.3090 after news of strong demand for the ECB’s 3-year LTRO loans failed to convince euro bears as traders scrambled to take quick profit on tactical longs.

Christiane Mandell, the North American head of institutional cross-asset sales at Standard Chartered, has left the firm, a spokesperson for the bank has confirmed.

The Japanese government on Tuesday increased the amount it is allowed to borrow from the market to finance foreign exchange intervention, raising speculation that Tokyo could be planning to intervene to weaken the yen over the holiday period.

The euro pulled away from its lows as banks scrambled for Spanish government debt to pledge as collateral in exchange for long-term funding from the European Central Bank .

The Japanese government on Tuesday increased the amount it is allowed to borrow from the market to finance foreign exchange intervention, raising speculation that Tokyo could be planning to intervene to weaken the yen over the holiday period.

Perception is everything, so the saying goes. After the announcement on Monday by the UK Chancellor George Osborne that the Royal Bank of Scotland would be returning to its roots as a UK-focused lender, doubts have been raised as to whether RBS can challenge its rivals as a serious global FX player.

ING is closing its New York-based foreign exchange and credit trading desks, as part of the bank’s attempts to more effectively allocate resources ahead of impending Basel 2.5 regulation, an ING spokesperson tells EuromoneyFXnews.

News of the death of Kim Jong-Il triggered a wave of haven demand for the dollar, but EURUSD losses were limited as figures showed speculators had built up record short positions in the single currency.

Credit Suisse has hired Peter Antico, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s former global head of G10 FX, as head of North America interest rates, the bank said in a statement late last week.

EURUSD may still have further to fall despite net short EUR positioning on the International Money Market rising to record highs.

China’s reported intervention to sell the dollar and a tentative return of risk appetite helped rein in the US currency, but eurozone debt fears kept its losses in check.

In Europe, GDP numbers will take centre stage next week. France, Italy and the Netherlands are publishing their final Q3 numbers, and while consensus estimates are for unchanged levels here, any shock downward revisions could weigh on the euro in already thin trading conditions.

The Swiss franc put in its strongest performance since the Swiss National Bank imposed a floor of SFr1.20 in September, as traders cut short positions after the central bank held back from further action to weaken its currency.

The global head of foreign exchange sales at UniCredit, has left the firm, according to two sources familiar with the situation.