EBS Restructuring?
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EBS Restructuring? – Profit & Loss
Less than a year after EBS BrokerTec announced a new management structure, it appears to be in the process of retooling.
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Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff to face impeachment trial
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Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff to face impeachment trial – BBC
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is to face trial after the Senate voted to impeach and suspend her.
Russian Gang Suspected of Scam in ICE market
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Russian Gang Suspected of Scam in ICE market – FT (subscription)
Intercontinental Exchange’s London futures market has been used as a front for Russian organised crime, according to police who have made two arrests for suspected money-laundering.
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Japan’s Aso Repeats Explicit Threat of Yen Selling
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Japan’s Aso Repeats Explicit Threat of Yen-Selling Intervention – Reuters
Japan will intervene in the currency market if “one-sided” yen rises last long enough to hurt its economy, Finance Minister Taro Aso said, issuing the strongest threat of action since the yen started its rapid ascent in the past few weeks.
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Oil Rises as Canadian Fires Eclipse Saudi Oil Minister Reshuffle
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Oil Rises as Canadian Fires Eclipse Saudi Oil Minister Reshuffle – Bloomberg
Crude rose as expanding Canadian wildfires knocked out about 1 million barrels a day of production, outweighing the new Saudi Arabian oil minister’s pledge to maintain the country’s policy of near-record output.
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RBA Lowers Inflation Forecasts, Ready to Cut Rates Again
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RBA Lowers Inflation Forecasts, Ready to Cut Rates Again – Sydney Morning Herald
The Reserve Bank has reiterated its commitment to its inflation target, suggesting it will not shy away from further rate cuts if price and wage growth remains sluggish.
GPIF to Hedge Yen Exposures
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GPIF to Hedge Yen Exposures – Profit & Loss
The president of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has said that the fund will use currency hedges to “smooth out” the fund’s exposure to a rising yen.
Pound Shows How Brexit Concerns Are Starting to Look Overdone – Bloomberg
Implied pound volatility falls most since 2015 U.K. election; Speculators’ bets on sterling weakness are highest in 3 years
LCH Appoints FX Heads – Profit & Loss
Clearing house LCH.Clearnet has unveiled two senior executive appointments to its FX business.
On Election Eve for Five States, Trump Rips Cruz and Kasich – Reuters
Republican Donald Trump, on the eve of primary elections in five states that he is expected to sweep, launched blistering attacks on Monday on rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich for their 11th-hour joint effort aimed at denying him the party’s presidential nomination.
German Parliament to Invite Draghi to Testify on ECB Policy: Sources – Reuters
The German parliament wants to invite European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to explain the bank’s ultra-low interest rates and expansionary monetary policy, sources in the coalition government told Reuters on Tuesday.
El-Erian Says this Week’s Fed Meeting to Set Stage for June Hike – Reuters
Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, said on Monday he expects this week’s Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting to set the stage for a June interest rate hike.
Greece’s State Cash is Rapidly Drying Up Again – Kathimerini
The state’s cash reserves are running low once again. “The more the days go by, the more the pressure grows,” according to one Finance Ministry official, as the absence of funding from the bailout mechanism is starting to have an impact.
Regulatory News
CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee to Meet on April 26, 2016
The MRAC will describe and discuss how well the derivatives markets are currently functioning, including the impact and implications of the evolving structure of these markets on the movement of risk across market participants.
Company News
BP Reports Surprise Profit on Strength in Refining, Trading – Bloomberg
BP Plc reported a surprise first-quarter profit as a stronger-than-expected refining and trading performance helped mitigate the impact of sliding crude prices.
Leicester City: Dirty Dozen or Harvard Case Study? – Bloomberg
This column should begin with a financial disclosure — of the writer’s own ineptitude. For around 20 years, every August I have bet 20 pounds on Leicester City to win England’s Premier League.
StanChart Reports Steep Drop in Q1 Profits – fastFT (subscription)
Standard Chartered has reported a 58 per cent fall in first-quarter profits, leaving investors wondering how long it will take to turn round the emerging markets bank.
Goldman Sachs Drops the Velvet Rope for Savers – WSJ
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., adviser to billionaires and the world’s largest companies, will now accept your couch-cushion money.
Profits at China’s State Firms Fell 13.8% in Q1 – fastFT (subscription)
Investor sentiment toward China may have eased following recent releases of more positive economic data, but returns at state-owned firms aren’t among them.
UK banks’ Recovery From Crisis Lags behind European Peers – FT (subscription)
UK banks are lagging behind their European rivals in their recovery since the financial crisis, and are not expected to close the gap for years — if at all — despite their efforts to cut costs and restructure.
Mitsubishi Shares Slump on Chronic Shoddy Testing – fastFT (subscription)
Shares in Mitsubishi Motors tanked on Tuesday afternoon in Japan following reports the automaker may have used shoddy fuel economy tests since the 1990s.
Market Savvy
China Clamps Down on Commodities Frenzy – FT (subscription)
China moved to clamp down on excessive speculation in commodities on Monday after weeks of frenzied trading boosted prices and ignited fears of another bubble in its domestic markets.
Global Stocks Steady Ahead of Central Bank Meetings – WSJ (subscription)
Global stocks were little changed Tuesday as investors looked ahead to key company earnings reports and central bank meetings later in the week.
Draghi’s Growth Streak Seen Tarnished in Friday Data Splurge – Bloomberg
A suite of euro-area data on Friday will provide Mario Draghi with his first simultaneous dispatches from both fronts in his struggle to boost inflation — showing how he still has a fight on his hands.
Goldman Says China’s Iron Speculation ‘Concerns Us the Most’ – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has expressed its concern about the surge in speculative trading in iron ore futures in China, saying that daily volumes are now so large that they sometimes exceed annual imports.
Press Releases
Swissquote Releases Updated Version of Advanced Trader Mobile App
Risk Sharing and Macroprudential Policy in an Ambitious Capital Markets Union – ECB (speech)
Distributed ledger technology – panacea or flash in the pan? – ECB (speech)
Euro ‘in a Pressure Cooker’ with ECB Ahead
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Euro ‘in a Pressure Cooker’ with ECB Ahead – fastFT (subscription)
It’s rates day for the European Central Bank. ECB watchers don’t expect action, as such, (rates: 1245 London time) but they do expect president Mario Draghi to face a grilling on negative rates (from 1330).
BOJ Kuroda Signals Readiness to Top up ETF Purchases
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BOJ Kuroda Signals Readiness to Top up ETF Purchases – Reuters
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday the central bank’s presence in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market is “not too big,” signaling that topping up purchases of ETFs could be a real, near-term option.
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Aussie Dollar Hits 10-Month High on Hint of Rates Floor
Aussie Dollar Hits 10-Month High on Hint of Rates Floor – fastFT (subscription)
Fading expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates this year have pushed the Australian dollar above $0.78 for the first time in 10 months.
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