Federal Reserve’s ‘Momentous’ U-Turn Prompts Puzzlement
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Federal Reserve’s ‘Momentous’ U-Turn Prompts Puzzlement – Financial Times
After putting traders on notice six weeks ago to expect further increases in US interest rates in 2019, the Federal Reserve has executed one of its sharpest U-turns in recent memory.
Read MoreFX Volumes Dip from April 2018 Highs
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FX Volumes Dip from April 2018 Highs – Profit & Loss
The latest round of FX turnover data from a group of the world’s FX Committees show that volumes dipped in October 2018 compared to April last year when they hit a new high mark.
Read MoreLiquidity Tops FX Market Concerns in 2019: Survey
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Liquidity Tops FX Market Concerns in 2019: Survey – Reuters
Liquidity, or the ability to buy and sell currencies whenever needed with minimal market impact, is seen by currency traders as the biggest challenge for 2019, according to an annual client survey by JP Morgan published on Tuesday. The views of the biggest 200 institutional trader clients point to a tricky year ahead.
Read MoreUS Swaps Cop Plans to Dial Back Global Reach of Its Rules
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US Swaps Cop Plans to Dial Back Global Reach of Its Rules – Bloomberg
The US’s top swaps regulator is planning sweeping changes to how it applies its rules abroad. Calling the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s international approach “flawed and over-expansive,” Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo said in a speech that his agency should give more deference to other countries’ regulations.
Read MoreCiti Concedes it Failed to Follow Firing Process with Cleared FX Trader
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Citi Concedes it Failed to Follow Firing Process with Cleared FX Trader – Financial Times
Citi conceded on Thursday that it had failed to follow correct procedure in its 2014 dismissal of currencies trader Rohan Ramchandani, who successfully fought a legal battle in New York last year to clear his name – but it stood by its decision to fire him.
Read MoreCitigroup’s Brexit Warning for London
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Citigroup’s Brexit Warning for London – Bloomberg
Behind the Davos platitudes, Michael Corbat makes a veiled threat about Brexit’s impact on London’s position as a financial center.
Read MoreJohnson Appeal Highlights “Ever-Shifting, Imprecise and Contradictory” Government Argument
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The defence team conducting former HSBC FX trading head Mark Johnson’s appeal against his conviction in late 2017 have filed their appeal brief to the US Court of Appeal, in which they argue that the US Government’s brief offers, “…the latest flavour of the prosecution’s many ever-shifting, imprecise, and contradictory attempts to explain just what, exactly, the crime here was, and it exposes why there was none.”
Read MoreLawyers for Ex-HSBC Trader Attack ‘Ever-Shifting’ Case
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Lawyers for Ex-HSBC Trader Attack ‘Ever-Shifting’ Case – Financial Times
The US Department of Justice failed to prove that Mark Johnson, HSBC’s former chief currencies trader, broke any laws in an “ever-shifting, contradictory” case against him, lawyers will argue in an appeal against a conviction for rate-rigging.
Brexit Forces Equity, Foreign Exchange Markets to Leave London – Bloomberg
CME Group will move its foreign exchange forwards and swaps venue from London to Amsterdam, while Cboe Global Markets will shift most European equities trading to its market in the Dutch capital after Brexit.
Case Alleging Libor-Rigging Launched against Raft of Major Banks – City A.M.
A string of major banks have been accused of rigging the Libor benchmark again, five years on from a major scandal. A class action has been filed in the US against banks such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, UBS, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank.
European ETF Trading Increasingly Automated as Mifid II Takes Hold – Financial Times
Europe’s Mifid II rules are inexorably reshaping its fragmented market for exchange-traded products — and humans are being phased out. The winners from the overhaul appear to be electronic venues that trade over-the-counter products, rather than stock exchanges.
Regulatory News
Wall Street Backlash Sinks Plan to Transform Swaps Market – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Faced with criticism from firms such as Citadel Securities and Goldman Sachs, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo plans to withdraw an existing proposal on swap trading and rewrite it after incorporating industry feedback, he said in an interview.
EU States Warned Not to Delay No-Deal Brexit Plans for Finance – Bloomberg
Faced with political chaos in London, the European Unionn is stepping up its efforts to avoid a rupture in financial markets if the UK leaves without an agreement in little more than two months.
Mifid II’s Transparency Rules Go Global – Financial Times
European financial regulation usually strikes fear into US asset managers. Twelve months after the implementation of Mifid II, however, some US managers are voluntarily signing up for transparency rules that do not apply to them.
Preparation Already Underway for Next Rounds of Initial Margin Rules – The Trade
The level and extent of the readiness at financial institutions ahead of the introduction of the final two waves of initial margining requirements for bilaterally traded, uncleared over-the-counter derivatives is a dramatic improvement over the previous compliance deadlines, according to BNY Mellon.
Crypto News
LSE Breaks into Cryptocurrency Industry By Selling Trading Tech – Financial Times
The London Stock Exchange is breaking into the cryptocurrency industry by agreeing to sell some of its trading technology to AAX, a Hong Kong-based digital asset exchange.
CME and Cboe See Sharp Fall in Bitcoin Futures Volumes – The Trade
Statistics from CryptoCompare show that Bitcoin futures volumes at CME and Cboe fell sharply in December compared to volumes the month prior.
Cryptocurrencies Fail Fundamental Tests, BOE’s van Steenis Says – Bloomberg
Cryptocurrencies fail fundamental tests of financial services, according to Huw van Steenis, senior adviser to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. Van Steenis, who previously worked at Schroders and Morgan Stanley, joined the BOE last year. He said that digital coins such as Bitcoin aren’t currently high on his list of concerns.
Ethereum Founder Joins ErisX Board of Directors – The Trade Crypto
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin has been appointed to the board at ErisX, alongside former SunGard CEO Cris Conde.
Company News
Banks Bet on Data to Rescue Research – Risk.net (subscription)
Barclays, Morgan Stanley and UBS are among those using data science to pep up their research offerings
Eurex’s New Swiss Rate Futures in Naming Pickle – Risk.net (subscription)
The German exchange used the ‘wrong month’ to name Saron futures.
LMAX Exchange Appoints Two in Asia-Pacific – Profit & Loss
LMAX Exchange has added two salespeople to its roster in Asia-Pacific with the hiring of Jason Huang and Shang Lin.
Saxo Taps Xu for New China Role – Profit & Loss
Fan Xu has been appointed head of Greater China Business for Saxo Bank, based in Shanghai and reporting to Saxo Bank founder and CEO, Kim Fournais.
PGGM Addresses Liquidity Concerns Through Eurex’s Repo Clearing Service – The Trade
Dutch pension fund PGGM has signed up to use Eurex’s centrally cleared repo markets using the central counterparty’s ISA Direct service as a way to address growing liquidity concerns caused by regulation.
Market Savvy
Sterling Reclaims $1.29 after Reassuring Jobs Data – Financial Times
Sterling reclaims $1.29 after reassuring jobs data provides some distraction from Brexit politics.
Dollar Near Three-Week High after IMF Cuts Growth Forecasts – Reuters
The dollar held at a near three-week high on Tuesday as investors sought the relative safety of the US currency after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for the world economy in 2019 and 2020.
An Economic Winter Grips the Euro – Bloomberg
Just three weeks into 2019, analysts’ conviction this will be the year of the euro – and higher bund yields – is being tested. The common currency has declined against each one of its Group-of-10 peers outside Europe as slowing euro-area growth, stalling inflation and lingering political risks hold investors back.
Will Currency Traders’ Brexit Bets Reflect Pessimistic Europe?
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Will Currency Traders’ Brexit Bets Reflect Pessimistic Europe? – Financial Times
Sterling markets and Europe’s policymakers clearly do not see eye to eye. Analysts say that the positive risks to the currency now outweigh the negatives, while continental European officials say preparations for the UK crashing out of the single market without a deal are under way.
Read MoreJP Morgan Shuffles Investment Bank Roles, Elevates Troy Rohrbaugh
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JP Morgan Shuffles Investment Bank Roles, Elevates Troy Rohrbaugh – Bloomberg
JP Morgan is shuffling roles within its corporate and investment bank in a shift that streamlines the company’s trading and treasury operations. In the biggest change, the bank elevated Troy Rohrbaugh to head of global markets, where he’ll oversee all of fixed income and equity trading.
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