LetstalkFX, the business and networking platform for FX, has introduced the market’s first FX LinkedIn API.

Whatever happened at last weekend’s G20, this week was always going to be about Ireland. Despite the presence of ECB and IMF officials in Dublin, a bailout is still not a done deal.

Hotspot has posted average daily volumes (double counted) of $44.2 billion in October, 30% higher than September’s ADV of $33.8 billion.

Saxo Bank and Microsoft have launched a retail multi-asset platform, called MSN Trader, that will be available on the MSN Money site.

Chris Mandell has joined Standard Chartered in the newly created role of head of financial institution sales for the Americas.

theweeklyFiX hears that Andy Mayer has left Morgan Stanley. Mayer is something of a veteran at the less liquid end of the currency options spectrum, having occupied senior roles in both exotics and emerging markets. With an MSc from Edinburgh University, he started his career in EM at RBS, then traded exotics at Commerzbank, before moving to Morgan Stanley to trade EM under Senad Prusac.

Late Monday night the IMF announced the results of its five-yearly review of the composition and weightings of Special Drawing Rights. The surprise – or not – is that very little will change from January 1 2011: the IMF’s unit of account will be composed of 41.9% USD (down from the current 44%), 37.4% EUR (up from 34%), 11.3% GBP (much the same, currently 11%) and 9.4% JPY (currently 11%).

Digital Vega went live this week with its new trading platform Medusa. It is, the firm says, the first dedicated multi-bank FX options platform and is being rolled out across global asset managers, corporates, hedge funds and regional banks.

In an amendment of FXCM’s IPO application, published on Monday, the firm says it has 75,300,000 shares, each valued between $13 and $15, making FXCM’s current market value about a whopping $1 billion.

This week the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published the second part of its triennial survey and the regular semi-annual survey of positions in the OTC derivatives markets. They’re not wildly exciting, and can probably be summarised with the words: growth in forward FX volumes is healthy, if undramatic, and currency options volumes are holding up.

It sounds like quite a journey, but the global FX division of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) will soon start the process of selecting a provider of trade repository services for the foreign exchange market on behalf of its members.

Financial technology sight Finextra has published an article revealing that Citi “is looking to hire an attorney to provide legal oversight for its social media activities”.

Not a love story. With thanks to Andy Monk.

Lloyds TSB has appointed Belinda Merrick as director, major corporate FX solutions, reporting to Colin Devo, head of major corporate FX solutions.

CLS has appointed James Holdcroft, formerly of General Atlantic, Lehmans and First Boston, as chief legal officer, effective from Monday this week.

Lee Hardman at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ started the week well by repeating his call for the top of EUR/USD: “We remain convinced that EUR/USD is very close to peaking, currently providing an attractive opportunity to sell.” He doesn’t mince his words and, as the rate was above 1.3950 at the start of the week, can claim to have called it spot on.

We frequently get sent surveys focused on the working methods of retail traders and they are seldom illuminating. But it is worth paying some attention to the one published this week by CitiFX Pro

Credit Suisse has come up in conversation a couple of times this week.

Citi has simplified its CitiFX Beta Indices and expanded them to include more currencies. The indices are designed to capture the returns available from common currency trading styles and use a simple monthly ranking system to determine which currency pairs are traded for each investment style.

HSBC released its interim management statement last Friday but followed the Lloyds model of being light on real figures. The only numbers published were those the bank was obliged to publish: for its US operations. The management statement says that HSBC saw the market as being as subdued: “Global Banking and Markets’ performance in the quarter was robust, although trading activity was lower, reflecting seasonal factors and more subdued market sentiment and conditions.”

RBC Dexia Investor Services has launched a passive FX hedging service. Like other passive hedging programmes, it is designed to protect client investments against currency translation risk.

FXall has announced a tie-up with financial risk management solutions provider Reval. The companies have integrated their platforms “to provide corporate end-users of derivatives with a web-based solution for straight-through processing of real-time foreign exchange trading.”

Sal Rubino has left Commerzbank where he was global head of FX derivatives based in London. Rubino joined Commerz earlier this year when Peter Billington moved up to become global head of FX trading.

Currency pairs: Lloyds pleases Desperate Housewives viewers with CEO

Icap have added more CNY pairs to the EBS platform this week after they were the first broker to launch CNH/USD spot trading in September.

It has been a few months since US non-farm payrolls were dismissed as pretty much a non-event; the market remains utterly focussed on QE, its effects and repercussions.

David Mallinder has left Eurobase, where he was business development director. He is to join DealHub as head of eFX business development. The company is still a major STP and connectivity provider but has lately increased its focus on e-FX distribution and price streaming.

SuperDerivatives and Algorithmics have “entered into a memorandum of understanding” to provide risk management solutions for OTC derivatives. The agreement is subject to final contract but if it goes through SuperD will contribute its volatility surfaces and Algorithmics the risk analytics.

The trickle of Q3 results continues with interim numbers released by Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Lloyds and, late in the week, RBS.

We all missed a trick. Did you realise it was possible to patent volatility? Nor did I, but apparently it was done 10 years ago.