All Eyes on Fed as Dollar Halt Reaches Seven Weeks

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Top Headlines

All Eyes on Fed as Dollar Halt Reaches Seven Weeks – Reuters
The US dollar steadied in the lower half of an increasingly intransigent range on Monday, after sliding late last week following another round of disappointing US economic data.

The FX Industry: Still in a State of Limbo? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
Apart from the obvious (and predictable) conclusion that I cannot socialise into the early hours, one of the top level “takeaways” I had from Forex Network London is how different approaches by the authorities can have different outcomes.

Pound Advances to Seven-Week High as Investors Look Beyond Election –Bloomberg
The pound climbed to its highest level in seven weeks against the dollar as investors speculated that whatever the outcome of the UK election, it won’t derail the Bank of England’s path toward raising interest rates.

How Should Investment Banks Capitalise on the New Apple Watch for Financial Trading? – Caplin Blog
With the launch of the Apple Watch Caplin wanted to board the wearable tech bandwagon. We wanted to ask the questions why and how should a sell-side investment bank want to use wearable tech?

New UK Consumer Bill Could Open ‘Super Highway’ to Class Actions – Profit & Loss (free story)
The UK Consumer Rights Bill 2015, which increases the remit of the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT), has the potential to radically change the legal landscape, effectively opening up a “super highway” to the type of civil litigations common in the US, according legal experts speaking at the Profit & Loss Forex Network London 2015 on Thursday.

China’s Currency Move is Sign of Larger Struggle in Yuan – Wall Street Journal(subscription)
Look no further than trading in the Chinese yuan if you want to see how challenging coming years are likely to be for China’s policy makers and the global economy.

Yen Shorts Vanishing in Record Stretch as BOJ Seen Standing Pat –Bloomberg
Speculators are losing interest in betting that the yen will fall further as the Bank of Japan shows no sign of adding stimulus when it meets this week.

EBS’ Jeff Ward, Discusses Central Liquidity Performance, CHF Fallout –Finance Magnates
Jeff Ward, EBS Direct’s Global Head, lends his perspective on a number of developments surrounding the group’s central liquidity system.

Regulatory News

EU and US Aim for May Deal on Derivatives Clearing – Financial Times(subscription)
The two main regions for derivatives trading aim to harmonise industry rules in the coming weeks, settling a long-running spat between US and European regulators.

Lawsky to Pursue FX Settlements Regardless of DoJ Deal – Profit & Loss (free story)
The superintendent of New York State’s Department of Financial Services (DFS), Benjamin Lawsky, plans to continue his probe into FX trading activity even if banks settle with the US Department of Justice (DoJ), according to news reports.

Libor Scandal Will Dog the Banking Sector for Years – Sydney Morning Herald
A global probe into the manipulation of London interbank borrowing rates by big northern hemisphere banks hit a new high, or low, on Friday with Deutsche Bank’s agreement to pay a record $2.5 billion to settle US and UK probes into its role in the scandal.

Company News

Deutsche Bank CFO Expects No Big Impact From Forex Probe – Reuters
Deutsche Bank expects no major hit from regulators’ probe into manipulation of foreign exchange trading, its finance chief said on Monday, just days after the lender agreed to pay a record $2.5 billion to settle accusations of interest-rate market rigging.

Thomson Reuters Sees Growth in March FX Volumes – Profit & Loss (free story)
Thomson Reuters has seen a month-on-month increase in foreign exchange average daily volume (ADV) across its currency platforms in March, following the trend set by other platforms such as EBS, Hotspot, CME Group, Intercontinental Exchange and the Singapore Exchange.

Ex-Goldman Guys Think Citi Was a Little Abrupt With FX Trades – Bloomberg
Last month, we talked about Citigroup’s lawsuit against Tormar Associates, “the joint family office of former Goldman Sachs partners Ron Marks and John Tormondsen”, which happened to be short a whole lot of Swiss francs the day that the Swiss franc went up a whole lot.

Market Savvy  

FOMC and Greece Decide EM Risk Appetite this Week
SEB
The FOMC will announce its rate decision on Wednesday, 29 April. We along with consensus believe that rates will remain on hold, with the key uncertainty revolving around guidance for future rate hikes. We believe that the Fed will start hiking in September, which should support EM assets over the coming months.

Russian Resistance to Ruble Surge Signals Rates Plunge to BNP
Bloomberg
Russia’s central bank is poised to cut interest rates by the most since January this week as policy makers insist the world’s biggest currency rally is over, according to economists at BNP Paribas and Renaissance Capital.

Press Releases

ESMA Publishes Updated EMIR Q&A – Focus On Reporting
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued the 13th update of its Q&A document on the implementation of the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). This update relates to the second level of the EMIR validation specifications to be commonly applied by the trade repositories (TRs) to ensure that reporting is performed according to the EMIR regime.

Omgeo: Industry Survey Reveals 80% of Market Participants Believe T+2 Will Become Global Settlement Cycle
A comprehensive study published by Omgeo, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and the global standard for institutional post-trade efficiency, reveals that 80% of respondents believe T+2 will become the global standard for settlement cycles within 10 years.

ASX Signs MOU With China Futures Association
ASX has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the China Futures Association (CFA) at a CFA conference in Hangzhou, China. The CFA is a China-wide industry self-regulatory organisation focused on the development of the futures industry through such mechanisms as training and the creation of industry standards.

Industry Events