Brexit ‘Paralysis’ Leads Moody’s to Lower Outlook on U.K. Debt – Wall Street Journal

Moody’s Investors Service has cut its outlook for UK debt to negative, a potential step toward a credit rating downgrade. Moody’s cites “increasing inertia and, at times, paralysis that has characterised the Brexit-era policymaking process”.

Christine Lagarde Faces ECB Council Push to Overhaul Policymaking – Financial Times

Christine Lagarde is to face calls for an overhaul of how the European Central Bank decides monetary policy as senior colleagues use the start of her presidency to argue for changes including formal votes on setting interest rates.

BIS: OTC Derivatives Volumes at Five Year High – Profit & Loss

The latest Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) latest semi-annual release of OTC derivatives statistics shows that notional volumes rose to $640 trillion at the end of June 2019, the highest level since 2014 and up from $544 trillion at the end of 2018.

Tories Say ‘Reckless’ Labour Spending Plans Total $1.5 Trillion – Bloomberg

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party plans to spend 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.5 trillion) over five years, expenditure that would plunge the U.K. into an economic crisis, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said on Sunday.

Vanguard Braces for Test of Bond Market’s Budding Inflation Bet – Bloomberg

The bond market may be about to get confirmation of its rebounding inflation wagers, according to Vanguard Group Inc. strategist Anne Mathias.

Richest 1% of Americans Close to Surpassing Wealth of Middle Class – Bloomberg

The U.S.’s historic economic expansion has so enriched one-percenters they now hold almost as much wealth as the middle- and upper-middle classes combined.

Violence Spreads Across Hong Kong’s New Territories in 24th Weekend of Unrest – Reuters

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up rallies as activists blocked roads and trashed shopping malls across Hong Kong’s New Territories and Kowloon peninsula on Sunday during the 24th straight weekend of anti-government unrest.

Pressure Builds on Bolivia’s Morales as Supporters Resign After Election Irregularities – Reuters

Bolivian President Evo Morales agreed on Sunday to hold new presidential elections after an audit of the disputed October vote called for it to be annulled, while pressure mounted on the leftist leader to step down amid the resignations of some government officials.

Regulatory News

CFTC Orders Wells Fargo to Pay Over $14 Million for Violating Swap Dealer Business Conduct Standards

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and settling charges against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. for violating multiple swap dealer business conduct standards.

Trading Non-Cleared Derivatives Tougher in Q3 – ECB

Bank counterparties had a harder time trading non-centrally cleared derivatives in the third quarter, a European Central Bank survey shows.

Appointments Made to Lead BIS Central Bank Groups

Central bank Governors meeting at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a hub for central banks and other financial regulatory and supervisory authorities, made a number of appointments to lead key central bank groups.

Crypto News

Bakkt’s Monthly Bitcoin Futures Hit All-Time-High of $15M – The Block

Bitcoin derivatives provider Bakkt just logged the largest single-day trading volume of its physically-settled monthly bitcoin futures.

Chinese Tech Giant Tencent Granted Hong Kong License to Open ‘Virtual Bank’ – The Block

Chinese tech giant Tencent has received a license from the Hong Kong authority to open a “virtual bank,” according to the firm’s blockchain business manager Weige Cai.

How Bitcoin’s Lightning Can Be Used for Private Messaging – CoinDesk

Bitcoin’s lightning network might have a use case beyond faster and more scalable payments.

Last week Lightning Labs developer Joost Jager revealed an experimental, new proof of concept: Whatsat, a version of lightning that can be used to send private messages.

Millennium Exchange Used by First Digital Asset Venue – Markets Media

LSEG Technology, London Stock Exchange Group’s technology solutions provider, today announces that Millennium Exchange™ has successfully been deployed as part of the go-live of the AAX digital asset exchange. Millennium Exchange’s low latency, resilient, and scalable matching engine provides market-leading performance and reliability.

Company News

CME FX Link Hits New Peak – Profit & Loss

CME Group says that its FX Link service achieved a record average daily volume of 20K contracts for October, equivalent to $2 billion in notional value and says the growth reflects “the perspective of a growing number of participants that FX Link is a viable proxy for FX swaps and a proven vehicle for macro risk management”.

Deutsche Bank to Roll Out WeChat for FX Trades on Symphony Platform in Asia – The Trade

Deutsche Bank’s Chinese clients will soon be able to use WeChat on the Symphony platform to work foreign exchange trades.

Invesco Bleeds $1bn a Week as it Tops Worst-Selling League Table – Financial Times

Invesco’s core range of investment funds have bled more than $1bn a week over the past 12 months, placing the Atlanta-based group at the top of the 2019 rankings of the worst-selling global asset managers.

Hedge Fund Ardevora to Shut Trading Desk and Outsource Execution to Northern Trust – The Trade

Ardevora Asset Management has decided to outsource its trading and execution to Northern Trust in a bid to reduce costs, The TRADE understands.

DekaBank Moves Trades from LCH to Eurex Ahead of Brexit – Profit & Loss

With the UK still headed for a Brexit in 2020, subject to December’s General Election, German banking group DekaBank, the securities services provider of the German Savings Banks Finance Group, has successfully transferred a substantial portion of its swap book from UK-based LCH to Frankfurt-based Eurex Clearing in a single day.

Estrada Joins CCP Investment Board – Profit & Loss

Luis Estrada has left UBS to join CCP Investment Board as a portfolio manager.

Trading Faces Up to its Long-Hours Culture – Profit & Loss

The length of the trading day in London has forced many of the sector’s working parents to change track, and head down career paths that suit their families’ needs.

Market Savvy

Sterling Firms to $1.28 Ahead of GDP Data; Short Positions Extend Decline – Reuters

The pound rose 0.2% against a weakened dollar on Monday ahead of a flurry of UK data, including GDP figures which are expected to show economic activity rebounded in the third quarter of 2019.

China Scraps Profitability Rules for Listings on Shenzhen’s ChiNext – Profit & Loss

China has scrapped profitability requirements for companies seeking to list stocks on Shenzhen’s technology-focused ChiNext market, kicking off a battle for start-up listings following the high-profile launch of Shanghai’s Star Market earlier this year.

Pound Outlook Gets Brighter from Here in Most Election Scenarios – Bloomberg

The pound is unlikely to drop much further whatever the outcome of next month’s U.K. election. The currency could climb nearly 5% to $1.34 after the Dec. 12 vote if the ruling Conservatives win, according to a Bloomberg survey of 12 strategists and investors. 

Morgan Stanley Sounds Alarm on Mexico as AMLO Risk Looms Large – Bloomberg

Analysts from Morgan Stanley to UBS Group AG to Societe Generale SA are taking an increasingly cautious stance on Mexico, warning that measures needed to bolster growth may come at the expense of government finances.