Can the FX Industry Still Innovate Like it Did 20 Years Ago? – Profit & Loss

“The banks were a hotbed of innovation and the biggest change I’ve seen in FX is how, over time, this has all been locked down.”

Brexit’s $74 Trillion Battle Over Derivatives is Heating Up – BNN Bloomberg

A battle that threatens London’s dominance in the derivatives market is rearing its head, with European firms at risk of being blocked from using clearinghouses in the British capital within six months.

UK Brexit Ideas Fall Short, Says European Parliament Chief – Deutsche Welle

The European Union says it is still waiting for useful proposals from London to unblock stalled talks on the terms of the UK’s departure from the bloc.   

Trade War Hasn’t Stopped Wall Street’s $9 Billion China Rush – BNN Bloomberg

Executives from the biggest U.S. financial firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., are meeting with top regulators in Beijing in a sign that the trade war with the U.S. has done little to derail China’s opening of its $43 trillion financial system.

USD/CNY Will Be the Next EUR/USD, Say Traders – FX Week

As the internationalisation of the renminbi progresses and Chinese capital markets open up, the direction of travel for the currency can only increase, according to market participants.

Hong Kong’s Not So Special Status as China’s Financial Centre – Financial Times

Does China need Hong Kong as a financial centre? The People’s Daily certainly thinks so. 

Regulatory News

CFTC’s DSIO Plans “Thematic Reviews” of Large Swap Dealers and Asset Managers – MarketVoice

After the swearing in of a new chairman in July, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staffed up and getting down to business. And based on recent remarks from Joshua Sterling, the agency’s new director of the CFTC’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, that business will include an increased focus on the oversight of swap dealers and asset managers.

A Promotion Highlights Commodity Regulator’s Ties to Wall Street – Bloomberg

The new head of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has promoted the daughter of a senior executive at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Wall Street’s main derivatives lobbying group, provoking concern among some agency employees that the regulator is too cozy with the financial industry.

FCA: UK Regtech Hype Has Cooled – Waters Technology

The UK financial regulator is seeing fewer entrants into the industry as start-ups struggle to break into the market.

The Day After Brexit: What a Crash Out of the EU Might Look Like – Bloomberg

A journey into the all-too-near future depicts the disruptions that could shake the UK.

Crypto News

Central Banks Urged to Adopt DLT-Based Digital Currency – Central Banking

The financial industry is pushing central banks to adopt a distributed ledger technology-based central bank digital currency to support tokenised securities settlement. However, some central bankers are sceptical of the plans and suggest an upgrade to current infrastructure may be sufficient.

Libra May First Find Success Outside EU, US – Law360

The Facebook-led digital currency Libra could be successful even if it first launches outside the United States and Europe, where its development has so far been stonewalled, according to a veteran blockchain attorney. 

Ex-Fed Official Takes Aim at Bank of England’s Crypto Proposal – Bloomberg

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s plan to end the dollar’s dominance in the global financial system ignores the benefits of having the greenback as a reserve currency, according to former senior Federal Reserve official Simon Potter.

Kik CEO Vows to Fight SEC Over Kin Crypto – The Block

Kik founder and CEO, Ted Livingston, has said that he is ready to keep fighting with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over Kin, the firm’s native cryptocurrency. he SEC believes that the company issued unregistered securities.

Banks on Sidelines May Limit Early Bakkt Bitcoin Futures Volume – Bloomberg

The number of banks willing to act as a gateway to allow customers to buy and sell Bitcoin futures on Intercontinental Exchange Inc. may be a key to the success or failure of the new contract.

Company News

Multi-Dealer RFQ Platform OTCX Integrates with IHS Markit thinkFolio – The Trade

Clients of thinkFolio will be able to source prices and negotiate interest rate swaps across G10 and emerging market currencies as part of the integration.

MUFG to Cut Around 60 Jobs in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney – Bloomberg

The move will affect businesses including credit trading, equities and structured products. The securities business will no longer provide clients outside Japan a service for G-3 rates, except for the yen.

Deutsche Bank Revives Credit Swaps Trading After Five Years – Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank is reviving a business it shut down in 2014, even as it pushes on with a company-wide strategic overhaul that’s seen it shed staff and sell off assets. The German lender has resumed trading credit-default swaps for investment-grade European companies.

Market Savvy

How Impeachment Could Matter for Markets – The Wall Street Journal

Investors would be wise to treat the impeachment process as political theater, but they should also focus on the possible policy impacts

Fed Studying a Possible Shift in Inflation Strategy, Clarida Says – Bloomberg

Federal Reserve vice chairman Richard Clarida suggested that the central bank is seriously considering the possibility of altering its strategy for achieving price stability.

Euro Pinned at More Than Two-Year Lows; Sterling Drops – Reuters

The euro held at its lowest level in more than two years on Friday as quarter-end rebalancing flows boosted demand for the dollar, with investors unfazed by the latest political news out of the United States.