Top Headlines
Analysts Confounded (Again) by Economic Data – Profit & Loss
Today’s Australian inflation data surprised to the downside, rousing a sleepy Asia FX market from its pre-FOMC slumber.
US Election 2016: Trump Sweeps all Five US States – BBC
Donald Trump has won presidential primaries in all five US states that voted on Tuesday, while Hillary Clinton triumphed in four out of five.
Malaysia Names Zeti’s Deputy as New Central Bank Governor – Bloomberg
Malaysia named central bank deputy governor Muhammad Ibrahim as successor to Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz when she steps down at the end of the month after 16 years at the helm. The ringgit gained and stocks pared losses.
Plans for Thursday Eurogroup Dropped, Tsipras Set to Ask for Special EU Summit – Kathimerini
Greece and its lenders were unable on Tuesday to reach an agreement on how to line up 3.6 billion euros in contingent austerity measures, leading to plans for an extra meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Thursday being dropped.
New Spain Elections Loom as Coalition Talks Fail – BBC
Spain is set for fresh elections after King Felipe VI announced the failure of the latest round of coalition talks.
Fed Set to Keep Rates Unchanged, May Nod to Ebbing Risks – Reuters
The US Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday as it continues to monitor the impact from weakening global growth but may seek to signal to markets it is determined to resume policy tightening this year.
Regulatory News
Buy Side Voices Concerns Over Impact of Regulation on FX – Profit & Loss
US regulations have failed to improve the FX market in the short-term, according to the buy side representative at a discussion hosted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today.
Japan’s FSA Establishes “Panel of Experts on FinTech Start-ups”
Company News
Barclays Misses Forecasts, Speeds up French Business Sales – fastFT (subscription)
Barclays is speeding up the sale of some of its French businesses after missing earnings forecasts for the first quarter of the year.
Apple Suffers First Quarterly Revenue Fall in 13 years – FT (subscription)
A growing preference among consumers for lower-priced iPhones contributed to a significant shortfall for Apple in its latest quarterly earnings compared with Wall Street expectations, according to figures released on Tuesday.
Warning Shot Fired at Citigroup – Bloomberg
Citigroup shareholders had their say on Tuesday, and not surprisingly the attempts by a few insurrectionists to shake things up failed.
Nomura Reports Surprise Quarterly Loss on Slump in Trading – Bloomberg
Nomura Holdings Inc. unexpectedly posted a loss for the first time in more than four years last quarter, as trading income and brokerage commissions dropped and it lost money abroad.
Santander Profit Hit by Slump at Home, Currency Weakness Abroad – Bloomberg
Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest bank, reported lower first-quarter profit as revenue slumped in its home market and operations aboard were hit by currency effects.
Market Savvy
Shocker as Pound Rallies – Profit & Loss
For much of this year, the market commentary about Sterling (GBP) has been a good reflection of the debate about whether or not the UK would vote to leave the European Union. In other words, it has been very ‘shouty’ and not particularly that well informed.
Oil prices jump on weak dollar, strong investor appetite – Reuters
Crude oil futures rose around half a dollar on Wednesday and remained near 2016 highs on the back of strong investor sentiment and a weak dollar, although analysts warned this month’s bull-run could soon run out of steam.
Alarm Over Corporate Debt and Stalled Earnings – FT (subscription)
Corporate America is swimming in cash. There is no great news about this, and no great mystery about where it came from. Seven years of historically low interest rates will prompt companies to borrow.
Yen Too Strong at 110 to Dollar, Former Economy Minister Says – Bloomberg
Japan’s former deputy economy minister said the yen was too strong at current levels of around 110 to the dollar, indicating dissatisfaction with the currency’s 8% rise this year amid global economic anxiety.