Top Headlines
Dollar Bounces from Three-Year Lows as US Yields Rise – Reuters
The dollar rose from a three-year low hit earlier in the day as a rise in US Treasury yields prompted some investors to buy the greenback but the market remained cautious on the outlook for the currency amidst a lack of price pressures.
Dollar’s Weakness Unsettles Central Bankers – Financial Times (subscription)
The persistent weakness of the US dollar is forcing global central bankers to step up their efforts in warning about the cost of currency appreciation on their economies.
Sterling Steady After Recent Run-Up as Brexit Risks Take Backseat – Reuters
Sterling steadied against the dollar, consolidating some of the recent gains that have propelled the pound to its highest levels since Britain voted to exit the European Union.
First CBOE Bitcoin Futures Reaches Settlement – Profit & Loss
Cboe Global Markets (Cboe) announced the settlement of January expiry Cboe bitcoin (XBT) futures.
Cryptocurrencies Steady After Two-Day Retreat – Financial Times (subscription)
Cryptocurrencies regained their footing after the market sustained a powerful blow in the previous two sessions.
Bitcoin Watchers Are Blaming the Slump on the Moon – Bloomberg
If regulatory concerns aren’t enough to explain Bitcoin’s 50 percent slump from its record high reached last month, how about blaming it on the moon?
- Cryptocurrency Surge Sent Lawsuit Stake Soaring to $16 Billion – Bloomberg
- Bitcoin Buzz Inspires Joke Cryptocurrencies – and Investors Are Diving In – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
- What Could Kill the Bitcoin Boom – Bloomberg
Goldman Rebuilds After Trading Arm Suffers a Beating – Financial Times (subscription)
Goldman Sachs has known for a while that it has a problem in FICC.
Getting Rid of the Grey Areas – Profit & Loss (subscription)
The FX industry has, largely, dealt with the issue of collusion and improper communications, but one could argue it has not done a complete job on last look and pre-hedging.
Regulatory News
FCA System Failure Throws Mifid Data Into Doubt – Risk (subscription)
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has suspended the processing of market data due to a technical problem, less than two weeks after the submission of such data to national regulators became mandatory under the European Union’s new trading rules.
- Mifid Data Runs Aground with Issues at European Regulators – Waters Technology
- Call for FCA to Act Now on MiFID II ‘Peppercorn Pricing’ – Investment Week
US Treasury Sees Virtual Currencies as ‘Evolving Threat’ – Bloomberg
The US Treasury views virtual currencies such as Bitcoin as an “evolving threat” and is examining dealers to make sure they aren’t being used to finance illegal activities, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence said.
Trump’s Fed Pick Powell Says He’d Hold Deutsche Bank Accountable – Bloomberg
Donald Trump’s pick to run the Federal Reserve, responding to a key lawmaker’s concerns over the president’s ties to Deutsche Bank, said the agency will hold the German lender to the same standards as the rest of the industry.
In Replacing Dudley, New York Fed Aims to Avoid Political Pitfalls – Reuters
New York Fed directors leading the search for a successor to chief William Dudley, seen as the second most influential policymaker at the US central bank, invited the guests to last week’s meeting to seek their advice.
CFTC Chairman Giancarlo Names Maggie Sklar Senior Counsel – CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo announced today that Maggie Sklar will serve as his Senior Counsel.
China Commercial Banks’ Net Forex Sales Top $111bn in 2017 – Financial Times (subscription)
Last month’s purchases brought net forex sales in 2017 to Rmb 764.8bn, worth $111.6bn by the regulator’s reckoning.
Company News
BNY Mellon Launches FX Derivatives SI – Markets Media
BNY Mellon said the implementation of new European Union regulation has been relatively smooth for foreign exchange trading as the firm launched a systematic internaliser for FX derivatives.
Blockchain Companies Propose Merger – Profit & Loss
Long Blockchain, a firm that is focused on developing and investing in globally scalable blockchain technology solutions, has entered into a letter-of-intent contemplating an all-stock transaction for Stater Blockchain (Stater).
Shaffer Joins StanChart’s FX Options Team – FX Week (subscription)
Eric Shaffer has joined Standard Chartered as an executive director in foreign exchange options trading, focusing on G10 and Asian emerging markets currencies, after working at Citi for more than 13 years.
BME to Launch FX Futures at Year’s End – FOW (subscription)
The exchange will launch futures based on 17 currency pairs, including pairs based on the Mexican peso.
Market Savvy
Asia Currencies Weaker as Dollar Arrests Decline – Financial Times (subscription)
Currencies in Asia Pacific mostly weakened as the US dollar recovered some of its recent loses following concern from the European Central Bank about the recent strength of the euro.
Loonie Drops on Dovish BoC Comments – Financial Times (subscription)
The Canadian dollar gave up its gains to trade lower against its US counterpart following more dovish than expected comments from the Bank of Canada.
Mexican Peso Rallies to Six-Week High Amid Nafta Talk Hopes – Financial Times (subscription)
The Mexican peso strengthened against the greenback for a fifth straight day to hit a six-week high ahead of a new round of talks over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement.