Jane Foley, Currency Strategist
7am: Arrive The hand-over from the Asian trading day coupled with the one or two-hour time lag relative to Europe means an early start for London trading desks. My role involves no actual trading. However, the research department exists to give support to traders and to clients. Thus, when the traders arrive at work, so too do we economists.
7.15am: The morning meeting In such a large trading room it is physically impossible to hold a formal meeting between the trading, sales and research staff to discuss the day ahead. Instead the internal intercom system is used. Economists take it in turns to brief the sales and trading staff in the FX, bond and derivatives businesses of key events in the day ahead and to provide analysis of overnight news.
7.30am: Publication of the daily FX note In addition to the morning meeting, my two colleagues and I aim to produce a one-page research document every morning. It covers the main news of the previous session and the key events of the day ahead. We aim to have this on the desks of traders, sales and clients by 7.30am so it can form part of their preparations for the day ahead.
7.30am: Global head of FX's morning meeting A discussion on the main events affecting foreign exchange is held every morning to brief senior members of the global FX team. It is imperative that either my two colleagues or I represent the views of the research team.
8am: Reuters update For many years Barclays has contributed FX research to two Reuters pages. It is presently down to me to ensure these are updated so that they can be of most use to our clients. I attempt to have these updated before our clients settle in for the day.
The rest of the day
Once the morning rush is over there will be time to fetch my breakfast. However, most mornings there are numerous e-mail requests from clients and colleagues for pieces of research, forecasts, charts and data. As some of these requests are quite urgent, I frequently do not have my breakfast until 10am.
Another source of delay for breakfast, and indeed lunch, is the telephone. Requests for information can come in this form from clients, colleagues, and the media too. On average, I will have four or five conversations a day with members of the media requesting information and our views on the outlook for the FX market. The growth of the financial TV industry in recent years has resulted in a lot of requests for appearances on TV. Barclays Capital has a fixed camera position that can be dialled into by any TV or radio station. On occasion I have made up to four or even five appearances on various TV stations in one day. More commonly, however, I will appear on TV three or four times a week.
Client meetings
The research department is well used by the sales-force. It is hoped that clients who appreciate our views will do business with the firm. Not only is research distributed to clients, but salespeople will also request that economists visit a client to explain in detail, and more personally, the firm's views.
Other research
In addition to the daily note, the weekly report must also be written. This takes up most of Friday. The eight-page document, which is commonly made from contributions from four or five members of the global FX research team, must be researched, written, complied and proof read before going to press. Commonly one page will be devoted to one or perhaps two currency pairs. Occasionally we feel it is necessary to write at more length about the outlook for a particular currency. In these circumstances we write "special" reports. Researching and writing contributions to these reports, in conjunction with monthly documents (in addition to a lengthy bi-annual report) commonly takes up the rest of my time.
