Top Headlines
Britain’s Fraud Office Drops Forex Market Investigation – Reuters
Britain’s fraud watchdog has ended an investigation into possible foreign exchange market rigging, saying it did not have enough evidence to secure convictions, in a further setback to its efforts to prosecute wrongdoers in financial markets.
- K. SFO’s ‘Appetite’ Questioned After Decision to Drop FX Probe – Bloomberg
- UK Closes FX Rigging Investigation – Profit & Loss
Saudi Central Bank Governor Vows to Keep Currency Peg – Reuters
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Governor Fahad al-Mubarak said he was committed to maintaining monetary policy to keep the kingdom’s decades-long currency peg of 3.75 riyals per dollar in comments published on the central bank website.
Kuroda Says Minus 0.5% Rate Is Theoretically Possible for Japan – Bloomberg
The Bank of Japan has quite a lot of room to cut its key interest rate further and theoretically it could go to minus 0.5 percent, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in parliament Wednesday.
FX Clients Demand an Independent Stamp of Approval – eFinancialNews (subscription)
How can a bank assure its clients that a service it offers is smarter, faster and cheaper than that of its competitors?
Commodity and Currency Slump Expose Frailties of African Economies – Reuters
Slumping commodity prices have taken African currencies down with them, exposing the fundamental economic frailties of the world’s poorest continent by driving up inflation in countries that import most of their manufactured goods.
Regulatory News
Icap Expands Post Trade Tool Kit Ahead of EU Regulations – Profit & Loss
Icap has expanded its Post Trade Risk and Information division (PTRI) to include a set of products designed to help firms meet their European regulatory obligations.
FIA Elects New Board Members at Annual Meeting – Mondo Visione
FIA announced the election of directors to its board at its annual meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Seven directors were elected at this meeting for one and two-year terms.
Libor scandal: Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Tells Tom Hayes to Hand it All Over – City A.M.
Fraud squad prosecutors issued Tom Hayes with a stark ultimatum on Tuesday – that he must hand over nearly everything he owns or face more time in jail.
Company News
London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Boerse Agree on Merger – Bloomberg
Deutsche Boerse AG and London Stock Exchange Group Plc agreed to merge, a deal that would create a titan of European trading as long as rival suitors don’t upend the agreement and regulators give it their blessing.
Markit Launches FX Broker Affirmation Service – Profit & Loss
Markit has launched a new service that enables banks to affirm FX trades executed by interdealer brokers.
Trading at Banks Turns Grim – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The calendar may say Wall Street’s busy season is well under way, but for bank traders, it still feels like a chilly December.
State Street to Pull Out of Global Futures Business – FOW (subscription)
State Street is set to pull out of its global futures trading business following a strategic review by the bank that started in January.
New Cross-Asset Cloud Markets Surveillance Service Launches – Profit & Loss
Financial crime, risk and compliance software provider NICE Actimize (Nice) is launching a cross-asset cloud markets surveillance service that includes foreign exchange capabilities.
Market Savvy
Study: Policy Improvements Needed to Avoid Currency Crisis – Profit & Loss
Policy improvement and cooperation between monetary and fiscal policy is essential in order to avoid a major currency or debt crisis, according to a new academic paper.
Risk of Dollar Rally Seen on Fed Outcome as Rate Rise Odds Climb – Bloomberg
Risks are skewed toward a rally in the dollar, National Australia Bank Ltd. and Commonwealth Bank of Australia said, as the currency fails to keep up with increasing speculation the Federal Reserve can raise interest rates again by June.
Why the Euro is Stuck Between the ECB and the Fed – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Neither dollar parity nor a pronounced rise seem likely.
Wednesday preview: UK Budget 2016, FOMC rate decision – Digital Look
Wednesday is set to be busy with the release of the UK Budget 2016 and the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement.
Press Releases
ICAP plc, a leading markets operator and provider of post trade risk mitigation and information services, announces today that its Post Trade Risk and Information (“PTRI”) division has successfully completed a proof of technology test case for a distributed ledger using blockchain technology.
Recommended All-Share Merger Of Equals Of London Stock Exchange Group Plc And Deutsche Börse
The board of directors of London Stock Exchange Group plc (“LSEG”) (the “LSEG Board”) and the management board of Deutsche Börse AG (“DBAG”) (the “DBAG Board” and together with the LSEG Board the “Boards”) are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share merger of equals of LSEG and DBAG to form the “Combined Group” (the “Merger”).
Industry Events
FIA: Boca 2016, 15-18 March in Boca Raton, FL
FOW: Derivatives World, 12-13 April in Hong Kong
FX Week FX Invest North America, 12 April in Boston, MA
Profit & Loss Forex Network London, 14 April in London, UK
Profit & Loss Latin America, 20 April in Mexico City
ACI World Congress 2016 – Indonesia, 26-30 April, Jakarta
Eurofinance: Asia Treasury, 18-20 May in Singapore
Profit & Loss Forex Network New York, 26 May, New York City
FIA: IDX 2016, 7-8 June in London, England
Profit & Loss Scandinavia, TBD September, Copenhagen
Profit & Loss Forex Network Chicago, 28-29 September, Chicago, IL
Sibos 2016, 26-29 September in Geneva, Switzerland
FIA: Expo, 18-20 October in Chicago, IL