Top Headlines
A Congress Divided: Analysts Explain What it Means for Wall Street – Financial Times (subscription)
Analysts are wrestling with the split result in US congressional elections, which hands control of the House of Representatives to Democrats but gives Republicans an increased majority in the Senate.
- Investor Reaction after Democrats Capture US House Majority – Reuters
- Congressional Gridlock? Financial Markets are Fine with It – Financial Times (subscription)
- Dollar’s Losses Gather Steam as US Stimulus Hopes Fade – Reuters
- Dollar Weakness Helps Emerging Market Currencies after Midterms – Financial Times (subscription)
- A Divided Congress Could Put the Dollar’s Bull Run at Risk – Bloomberg
Trade Associations Team Up to Promote FX Code in MEA Region – Profit & Loss
ACI – The Financial Markets Association has teamed up with the Interarab Cambist Association (ICA) to promote the FX Global Code amongst financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa.
Hard Brexit Relief Welcome, But Detail Needed – ISDA
There have been some recent positive signals from European Union authorities that action will be taken to mitigate disruption to EU 27 participants in the event of a hard Brexit. In particular, European officials have indicated that EU 27 firms will be temporarily able to continue accessing UK central counterparties following a no-deal scenario.
CME’s Nex to Apply for Dutch Exchange Licence as Brexit Hedge – Financial Times (subscription)
Nex, the UK trading and technology group, has applied for an exchange licence with Dutch regulators in a move that could see it shift more trading assets out of London as a hedge against a no-deal Brexit.
Regulatory News
Market Cops Step Up Their Fight Against Spoofing – Financial Times (subscription)
After a slow start, regulators and exchanges take more action against market abuse.
CFTC Finds Harmony Harder Than it Sounds – Risk.net (subscription)
After years of aggressively pushing the extraterritorial reach of its rules, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission – the primary US derivatives regulator – now appears ready to take a more pragmatic approach.
Emerging Challenges in IBOR Benchmark Reform – Tabb Forum
The transition plan for the possible dissolution of LIBOR, with its interdependencies and long time horizon, makes preparation a complex endeavor. And there appears to be process divergence between larger, developed markets and smaller, regional ones.
Crypto News
Eastern Promise: Asia as a Crypto Hub – Profit & Loss
How have crypto markets in Asia evolved in comparison tothose in the US and Europe? And will these markets look more or less differentin the future?
Are Stablecoins the Reinvention of Money? – Euromoney
Even as the most infamous cryptocurrencies crashed this year, new ones were already emerging, designed to peg their value to fiat currencies.
How the Crypto Crash Could Be Good for Crypto – Bloomberg
These days, cryptocurrencies are far from the rage. Many have lost 80 percent or more of their market value from their peak in January, and some have fallen off the map altogether. But perhaps that development is precisely what we need for crypto to take the next step forward.
Bitcoin’s Long-Term Technical Indicators Point to Possible Gains – Bloomberg
Bitcoin bulls are in for some long-awaited good news: technical indicators show the biggest cryptocurrency could be poised for gains.
Billionaire Novogratz Invests in Cryptocurrency Firm Bitfury – Bloomberg
Cryptocurrency venture Bitfury raised $80 million from investors including the merchant bank founded by billionaire ex-Goldman Sachs partner Mike Novogratz.
Company News
EBS Markets FX Volume Higher, Refinitiv Lower in October – Profit & Loss
EBS Markets has reported average daily turnover of $88.7 billion in spot FX products in October, a 3% increase on September and a 10% increase year-on-year. The newly-re-branded Refinitiv reports that spot FX ADV was $94 billion in October, down 4.1% month-on-month and up 3.3% year-on-year.
IHS Markit Transforms Derivatives Post Trade Processing with New Cloud-Based Platform – IHS Markit
IHS Markit has announced that MarkitSERV has introduced new, cloud-based technology for post trade processing of OTC derivatives trades. Called TradeServ, the new platform launched in September for matching, confirming and clearing trades of non-deliverable forwards.
oneZero Releases Market Data Tool for MT5 – Profit & Loss
oneZero Financial Systems has released a new tool, called Market Data Sentinel, which automates the reporting, monitoring, accounting and compliance of exchange market data used on the MetaTrader 5 platform.
Boehler, Francis, Exit BNP? – Profit & Loss
Market sources tell Profit & Loss that Sally Francis, head of institutional sales for FX and local markets at BNP Paribas, has left the bank.
DTCC Begins Testing DLT Platform for Credit Derivatives – Finextra
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is ploughing ahead with its project to re-platform its credit derivatives Trade Information Warehouse on distributed ledger technology and cloud, enlisting 15 of the world’s largest banks for a testing phase.
Market Savvy
Sterling Rallies on Report of Brexit November Timetable – Reuters
Sterling rose for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, buoyed by a BBC report that Britain is preparing for a Brexit agreement by the end of November.
China Spends $32bn to Protect Renminbi from Trade War – Financial Times (subscription)
China spent roughly $32bn in foreign exchange reserves to strengthen the renminbi in October, its heaviest monthly intervention in nearly two years in the latest sign of Beijing’s nervousness about the economy.
The Dollar Can Defend its Global Reserve Role Against EU and China – Financial Times (subscription)
There are many reasons why the US dollar may be poised to lose its status as the world’s reserve currency. Not the least of these are efforts by the EU and China to make it happen.
Rand Breaches Key Level with More Gains in Store as Assets Rally – Bloomberg
The rand gained to its strongest level against the dollar since August, benchmark bond yields fell to the lowest in more than a month, and bank shares rallied as South African assets rode the risk-on wave following the Democratic Party’s House win in US midterm elections.