Top Headlines
Bitcoin Sinks After Hackers Steal $65 Million From Exchange – Bloomberg
Bitcoin plunged after one of the largest exchanges halted trading because hackers stole about $65 million of the digital currency.
Euro-Area Output Unexpectedly Picks Up as Brexit Qualms Fade – Bloomberg
Euro-area output unexpectedly accelerated to the highest in six months, signaling that manufacturers and services providers are shrugging off concerns that the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union will harm business.
Banks Facing Challenging Conditions, Rising Uncertainty in Q2 – Profit & Loss
The second quarter of 2016 saw mixed performances amongst some of the major banks, against a background of increasing uncertainty and challenging trading conditions in currency markets.
Regulatory News
Regulators Ask Big Banks to Give More Details About Trading Activity – WSJ (subscription)
Regulators are asking big banks to provide investors with more-detailed disclosures about their trading businesses, a push that could peel back the curtain on a huge and volatile source of Wall Street revenue, according to people familiar with the matter.
The ‘What If’ Spooking Markets: Policy Success – Reuters
Voter rebellions? A protectionist wave? Looming recession? Islamic militancy? Perhaps the biggest shock to world markets now would be if central banks met their inflation goals.
Company News
Digital Asset Continues Senior Hiring Spree – Profit & Loss
Digital Asset, a developer of distributed ledger technology, has hired Carol Mathis as its chief financial officer (CFO).
FlexTrade Promises Brexit Certainty with New Frankfurt Office – Profit & Loss
FlexTrade Systems opened an office in Frankfurt, Germany, in order to offer local sales and service to the company’s growing German-speaking client base.
Exchanges See FX Volume Decline – Profit & Loss
CME Group and Moscow Exchange (Moex) have both reported lower FX volumes in July – largely reflecting the first batch of data from the OTC platforms earlier this week.
Calypso Joins Wall Street Blockchain Alliance – Profit & Loss
Calypso Technology has joined the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance (WSBA) as a corporate member.
Thomson Reuters Joins R3 Consortium – Profit & Loss
Thomson Reuters has joined R3’s partnership to design and apply distributed and shared ledger-inspired technologies to global financial markets.
Market Savvy
Pound Falls as Services Data Reinforce BOE Rate-Cut Speculation – Bloomberg
The pound dropped as a report confirmed that U.K. services contracted last month, adding to speculation the Bank of England will ease policy to head off an economic slowdown.
Global Stocks Drop as Oil Stokes World Growth Angst; Yen Climbs – Bloomberg
Investors turned risk averse, sending U.S. stocks to their biggest drop in four weeks amid a selloff in equities from Japan to Europe as oil’s plunge into a bear market rekindled global growth concerns. Gold climbed with the yen amid demand for havens.
Growth in China’s services sector cooled in July, with weaker expansions in activity and new work prompting companies to shed staff for first time in four months as they looked to cut costs, a private survey showed on Wednesday.
Dollar Struggles Near Six-Week Lows, no Fed Hike Seen Soon – Reuters
The dollar inched up but stayed close to six-week lows against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, kept under pressure by the view that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later rather than sooner.
Japan Government Bond Yields Climb, Nearly Exiting Negative Territory – CNBC
Japan’s government spending plan has been panned as just not big enough, but it may have already had one big effect: Pushing deeply negative bond yields toward the zero line.