Top Headlines

Carney Sounds the Brexit Alarm Again – Bloomberg

Mark Carney warned that time is running out to remove the threat that Brexit poses to trillions of pounds of derivative contracts, stepping up pressure on the European Union to act.

Sterling Skids to Fresh Seven-and-a-Half Month Low as Brexit Pressures Grow – Reuters

The pound fell to its lowest since mid-November as investors fretted that the message to come out of a European Union summit will be that there has been no meaningful progress for months in negotiations on a Brexit deal.

Dollar Near One-Year Highs on Trade Concerns, Half-Year Flows – Reuters

The dollar held near one-year highs as conflicting signals about developments in the trade row between Washington and its business partners prompted buying of the currency, with support also coming from half-year end rebalancing flows.

China’s Currency Extends Slide to Fresh 2018 Low – Financial Times (subscription)

China’s currency faced a fresh bout of weakness early in the London trading day, with investors concerned over worsening Sino-American relations and signs of slower economic growth.

Amnesia in the FX Industry – Profit & Loss (subscription)

The FX industry is a vibrant, innovative place, but sometimes it forgets why it exists.

Regulatory News

Banks Fear Loss of Emir Intragroup Exemptions – Risk (subscription)

European bankers are urging regulators to clarify whether they will maintain beyond 2018 the intragroup exemptions from clearing and margin requirements for operations based in third countries that are not deemed equivalent under European Union legislation.

Fed’s Quarles Defends Global Regulatory Bodies – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

The Federal Reserve’s point man on financial regulation defended US participation in global committees that agree to set minimum financial rules, pushing back against Republican criticism of the panels.

Crypto News

FBI Has 130 Cryptocurrency-Related Investigations, Agent Says – Bloomberg

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has 130 cases tied to cryptocurrencies, according to an agent speaking at a digital-asset industry conference in New York.

Binance Suspends Withdrawals and Trading for Second Time in Two Days – Financial Times (subscription)

One of the world’s biggest digital currencies exchanges suspended trading and withdrawals during North American and European trading hours due an abrupt “system upgrade”, a day after a lengthy outage.

OTCXN Completes Test Trade Between Fiat, Cryptocurrency – Profit & Loss

OTC Exchange Network (OTCXN), a blockchain-powered capital markets infrastructure company, announced that it completed its first live test trades for the exchange of tokenised fiat currency and bitcoin.

A New York Broker Dealer Is Getting Bought by a Crypto Exchange – Bloomberg

Uphold, an exchange for digital coins and currencies, agreed to acquire New York-based broker-dealer JNK Securities Corp., the latest push by a crypto platform to position itself in more regulated markets.

Crypto Industry Tries to Avoid ‘Life of Brian’ Scenario – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Ex-regulators and industry officials are working on a global set of standards for cryptocurrency firms.

Cryptocurrency Universe Expands Far Beyond Bitcoin – Bloomberg

The code base is increasing and improving every day as computer science graduates from top schools jump on board.

Company News

Brexit Polls Used by Hedge Funds Leave Lawmaker ‘Uncomfortable’ – Bloomberg

Hedge funds that used polling data to profit from the 2016 Brexit referendum leave an “uncomfortable feeling,” said Nicky Morgan, chairman of an influential committee of British lawmakers.

Market Savvy 

Global Trade Tensions Hit Asian Currencies as Bears Take Position – Reuters

Investors raised their short positions in Asian currencies over the past month, a Reuters poll showed, with bets on the Chinese yuan turning bearish for the first time in over a year as Sino-US trade tensions intensified.

Loonie Forecasters Still Buying Theory Trade Turmoil Will Pass – Bloomberg

Count foreign exchange analysts among those betting global trade ructions will blow over, at least for the loonie.

Indian Rupee Weakens to Record Low Against Dollar – Financial Times (subscription)

India’s rupee has touched its weakest point on record against the dollar following a high-profile visit to New Delhi by US negotiators and amid a streak of broader strengthening by the greenback.