Top Headlines

Big Investors Sue 16 Banks in US Over Currency Market Rigging – Reuters

 A group of large institutional investors including BlackRock and Allianz SE’s Pacific Investment Management Co. has sued 16 major banks, accusing them of rigging prices in the roughly $5.1 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market.

Virtu to Buy ITG for $1 Billion to Add Institutional Clients – Bloomberg

Virtu Financial agreed to buy Investment Technology Group for about $1 billion, giving the high-speed trading firm a brokerage that has relationships with big institutional investors.

What is Being Done About Preventing the Abuse of Last Look? (opinion) – Profit & Loss

Getting a platform to “dob in” one of its customers is going to be tough, but I continue to believe it is necessary, if only to prove over a reasonable period of time that last look is not being used as a form of spoofing. 

Paulson Warns of ‘Economic Iron Curtain’ Between US, China – Bloomberg

Former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson warned of an “Economic Iron Curtain” dividing the world if the US and China fail to resolve strategic differences. Paulson explained his reasons for the current conflict and shared a path forward to avoid a “long winter” between the world’s biggest economies.

Wall Street Chalks Up Best Midterms Rally Since 1982 – Financial Times (subscription)

Republican, Democrat, blue wave, red ripple, raspberry ripple, it doesn’t matter: Wall Street chalked up its best post performance around a midterm election since 1982.

Alt-Data Difficulties Challenge Largest Asset Managers – Buy-Side Technology (subscription)

A new study finds that while large asset managers are investing in big data analytics and alternative data, it’s a fraught process.

Wall Street Analysts Are Now Selling More Data, Less Analysis – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Wall Street analysts are doing data differently. Banks for years have crunched data on company earnings, price targets and other mundane metrics for clients who might use the information to make investing and trading decisions. Now they are pulling data from social media sentiment, geospatial mapping and other unorthodox sources.

Regulatory News

Brexit Equivalence Deal Is Not Good Enough for London’s LCH – Bloomberg

Even if Theresa May gets a Brexit deal on financial services, it won’t be enough for the London firm that sits at the center of the world’s biggest derivatives market.

France’s Top 3 Banks Prepare to Cut UK Staff Because of Brexit – Bloomberg

BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale are preparing to move about 500 positions from London, mostly to Paris.

Quantitative Regulation – Effective Market Regulation in a Digital Era: Keynote Address of Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo at Georgetown University Law School – CFTC

There is one area of the technology revolution that is central to all the others and where the CFTC must run harder to keep pace. That is in the area of big data and its uses, including automated data analysis and machine learning and intelligence.  

Industry Fears EU ‘Google Tax’ Will Hit Trading Venues, CCPs – Risk.net (subscription)

Industry sources fear the scope of a new digital services tax (DST) that the European Union intends to levy on internet titans – such as Amazon, Facebook and Google – will inadvertently capture electronic trading venues and other market infrastructure providers unless a broader exemption is inserted into the text.

Industry Slams Mifid II Data Quality – Buy-Side Technology (subscription)

Troubles still plague reported data and transparency objectives, say fixed-income execs.

Regulatory Incentives Needed to Boost Sonia Liquidity: Expert – Global Investor (subscription) 

New benchmark methodology has led to significant savings in the market.

Crypto News

Crypto Bulls Get a Green Light on Potential Year-End Rally – Bloomberg

A technical indicator for an index tracking some of the largest digital currencies suggests the crypto industry could be poised to break out of its recent malaise and rally at year end.

Japan Continues to Embrace Cryptocurrency with Launch of Self-Regulatory Organization. Will the US or Other Countries Follow Suit? – Tabb Forum

Through its delegation of regulatory authority to the nation’s cryptocurrency industry, Japan continues to build and promote a framework to lure crypto industry participants and investment. Now, the question is whether the US or other countries will follow suit.

Crypto Players Welcome Hong Kong Regulation – Regulation Asia

New regulation could lead to industry consolidation andgreater institutional money.

Standard Chartered Targets Crypto Custody Offering – The Trade Crypto

Standard Chartered is exploring a crypto custody offering after concluding there is need for ‘trusted’ providers to enter the digital asset space.

Tokenised Securities Exchange Launches in Mauritius – The Trade Crypto

GMEX and exchanges group together for new blockchain securities platform set to commence trading in 2019.

HYBSE IM Blockchain Crypto Exchange to Offer Free Feeds, Web Data – Inside Market Data (subscription)

The Mauritius-based digital asset exchange will make data available for a range of asset classes via various feeds and front-end interfaces.

Company News

Flow Traders Commits to FX Global Code – FX Week (subscription)

Amsterdam-based specialist liquidity provider Flow Traders has signed a statement of commitment to the FX Global Code of Conduct, promising to adhere to the set of voluntary principles.

INTL FCStone, Precious Metals Implements Integral BankFX to Access Better Liquidity and Manage High Volumes – Integral

INTL FCStone Ltd., Precious Metals announced today that its integration of Integral BankFX has enabled them to access new liquidity sources and double their trading volumes over the past year and a half.

JPMorgan Backs Fintech Seeking to Disrupt Trillion-Dollar Market – Bloomberg

One of the world’s biggest banks wants to boost profits by cutting out voice brokers acting as middlemen in the largest derivatives market. JP Morgan has signed startup Wematch Interest Rates to its in-house fintech program. JPMorgan and other dealers will eventually be able to use Wematch’s platform to negotiate trades in interest rate markets.

Market Savvy

Dollar Extends Recovery on Post-Election Relief – Reuters

The dollar rose on Thursday, pulling further away from 2-1/2 week lows hit on Wednesday, as the market breathed a sigh of relief after the US midterm elections and as investors turned their attention toward the Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Emerging Shares Hit 1-Mth High, Currencies Hit By Recovering Dollar – Reuters

Most emerging market currencies fell as the dollar pulled away from 2-1/2 week lows hit on Wednesday after the midterm elections and ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting. 

The Pound’s Pain May Finally Be Coming to an End – Bloomberg

What the Brexit referendum took away from the pound, a divorce deal may give back. Aberdeen Standard Investments is betting that sterling could climb to $1.50 – a level not seen since the 2016 vote – within three months of a divorce agreement.

Monetary Policy: Argentina Takes its Bitter Medicine – Euromoney

Another financial crisis has rocked the country. As it slips into what could be a deep recession, time is running out to achieve the recovery that could create the conditions for a pro-market candidate to win next year’s presidential elections.