Top Headlines
Rage Within the Machine – Brexit Headline Blizzard Overloads FX Algos – Reuters
Machine-driven trading systems in the $5.1 trillion-a-day global currency market are struggling to cope with the blizzard of headlines about Britain’s efforts to extricate itself from the European Union, making it more expensive and risky to bet for or against sterling.
Read MoreTop Headlines
Not Just Brexit – EU Frets Next Crisis May Come from Money Managers, Clearing – Reuters
Changes in global financial rules and investment strategies have seen the emergence of new giants in global financial markets in recent years, among them clearing houses like London-based LCH and asset managers such as Blackrock. EU officials warn the swelling of their books has not coincided with a proportionate tightening of their oversight, however, meaning the potential risks they pose to financial stability are growing.
Read MoreTop Headlines
UK Lawmakers Again Fail to Plot Brexit Course – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The House of Commons failed for a second time to find a majority for any alternative to the deal British Prime Minister Theresa May negotiated with the European Union, deepening the uncertainty over Brexit less than two weeks before Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc.
Read MoreTop Headlines
US and UK Markets Regulators to Cooperate in a No-Deal Brexit – Financial Times
UK and US markets regulators have finalised two agreements to co-operate oversight of markets and the fund management industry if Britain leaves the EU without an agreement this month.
Brussels Sets £39bn Price on Emergency Talks after No-Deal Brexit – The Times(subscription)
The European Union will insist that Britain pays a £39 billion bill and implements the Irish backstop before beginning emergency talks to prevent an economic crash after a no-deal Brexit.
May to Put Divorce Deal Only to Vote on Friday: Brexit Update – Reuters
Theresa May will put her Brexit divorce deal to a vote in Parliament on Friday, but she’s holding back the part of the package that focuses on the future trade and security relationship.
Patchy Response to Isda’s Back Office of the Future – Risk.net (subscription)
In late 2017, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association produced a data standardisation model that could save dealers $3 billion a year on reconciling data on post-trade, back-office processes for swaps. But interest in the project – the common domain model (CDM) – has been underwhelming in some quarters.
Regulatory News
Brexit Date Change Kills Derivatives Safeguards, EU Warns – Law360(subscription)
Measures put in place by Europe’s top securities watchdog to safeguard over-the-counter derivatives transactions in a no-deal Brexit will no longer apply since Britain’s exit date has been extended.
ESMA Updates on its Preparations for a Possible No-Deal Brexit Scenario on 12 April – ESMA
Update on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union – preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit scenario on 12 April.
ESMA Updates its Q&AS on MiFID II and MiFIR Investor Protection and Intermediaries – ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has added new Questions and Answers and updates on the implementation of investor protection topics under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MiFIR).
Safe as Houses – WatersTechnology(subscription)
The crux of the matter is that the incident at Nasdaq Clearing proved that the system works, even if it raised a number of pertinent questions about how current rules need to be fine-tuned.
Quarles Turns FSB Focus to Fintech, Non-Bank Financing – Global Investor(subscription)
Randal Quarles took over as FSB chair from Mark Carney in November.
Crypto News
Ethereum is Losing Its Luster and its Market Share – Bloomberg
When Ethereum debuted in 2015, it was hailed as the more savvy successor to Bitcoin because it offered tools that allowed programmers to create apps that could perform transactions automatically rather than just serving as a means of exchange.
Crypto Fund Admin Technology Provider Rebrands and Expands Offering – The Trade Crypto
Libra rebrands to Lukka after the Renaissance-era mathematician widely known as the father of modern accounting.
More Than Half of Crypto Exchanges Still Do Not Have Sufficient KYS Procedures – The Block
Crypto exchanges may still be struggling with compliance, according to regtech startup Coinfirm.
Compliance Officers Wary of Switch to ‘Wild West’ Crypto Sector – Reuters
After almost three decades in senior compliance roles at large financial firms including Bank of New York Mellon’s Pershing and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Jeff Horowitz made an unconventional career move.
Company News
Nomura Plans Dozens of Job Cuts in Europe and the US – Bloomberg
Nomura Holdings Inc. is planning to cut dozens of jobs across its trading and investment-banking businesses in Europe and the U.S. as the brokerage struggles to make a profit overseas, people familiar with the matter said.
FastMatch to Launch Singapore Matching Engine– Profit & Loss
FastMatch is setting up a new matching engine in Singapore, which is expected to be fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition, FastMatch has opened a new commercial office in Singapore.
Second Ex-Barclays Trader Found Guilty of Rigging Euribor – Bloomberg
Ex-Barclays Plc trader Colin Bermingham was convicted of helping to manipulate a benchmark interest rate by a London jury, the ninth conviction secured by UK prosecutors in a seven-year probe of rate-rigging.
JPX, TOCOM Enter Basic Agreement to Merge by October – Regulation Asia
TOCOM will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of JPX, and together they will launch a consolidated exchange for stocks, financial and commodity derivatives by September 2020.
Market Savvy
Pound Edges Higher Ahead of Brexit Vote – Financial Times
The pound edged higher in Asia trading on Friday, nudging above the weekly lows it hit overnight, ahead of Theresa May’s third attempt to win MPs’ backing for her Brexit deal.
Lira Resumes Slide in Face of Turkey’s Bid to Prop Up Currency – Financial Times
Turkey’s currency resumed its slide in Asia trading on Friday despite apparent moves by the country to shore up the lira.
After Striking Out Twice, A Trader Makes Another Big Bet on Australia’s Rate Cut – Bloomberg
A jumbo wager on an Australian interest rate cut has emerged again, stoking speculation the same trader is hoping to strike gold at the third attempt. A splurge of buying has seen open interest in Australia’s April bank bill futures jump almost 30 percent so far this week to the highest since May 2016.
Top Headlines
UK ‘Like an Emerging Market’, Warns Veteran Fund Manager – Financial Times
The UK increasingly resembles an “emerging market” and risks a currency crash should it leave the EU without a deal next month, according to one of the pioneers of investing in developing economies.
Top Headlines
MPs Prepare to Vote on Brexit Options – Financial News (subscription)
MPs are preparing to vote for their preferred Brexit option on Wednesday evening, while Prime Minister Theresa May is due to meet anti-EU rebels in her own party to persuade them to back her deal, so she can schedule a third attempt to gain parliament’s approval.
Top Headlines
British MPs Vote to Seize Control of Brexit – Financial Times
Theresa May on Monday night risked losing control of Brexit after MPs voted by 329 to 302 to seize control of the House of Commons timetable and test support for alternatives to her withdrawal deal.
Read MoreTop Headlines
Erdogan Says Bankers Will Pay After Election for Currency Frenzy – Bloomberg
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that bankers deemed responsible for creating excessive demand for hard currency and making misleading predictions on foreign exchange rates will “pay a heavy price” after next week’s elections.
Top Headlines
EU Agrees to Short Brexit Delay – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
European leaders allowed Prime Minister Theresa May to postpone the Brexit deadline beyond next week, but warned the UK could still crash out of the trade bloc in mid-April unless the British political stalemate over the withdrawal agreement was broken.