Top Headlines
CFTC Chairman Readies Swaps Rules Revamp – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
President Donald Trump’s recently confirmed head of the US derivatives regulator plans to remove restrictions on where swaps can be traded, revising a rule from the Dodd-Frank financial law critics say has diminished market liquidity.
Investors Boost Bearish Dollar Bets After Tepid Inflation Data – Financial Times (subscription)
Investors increased bets that the US dollar will decline further after its worst seven-month start to a year in three decades with disappointing inflation figures expected to keep a lid on the pace of Federal Reserve rate increases.
The slow-growing US economy could use a tailwind, and it’s getting one in the form of a weaker dollar.
Sterling Little Changed in Face of Brexit Noise – Reuters
Sterling inched down against a broadly stronger dollar, holding close to the $1.30 level that has proved an anchor for the past month despite a series of negative headlines from the first weeks of Brexit negotiations.
Euro’s Momentum Pushes Sterling to Within Sight of Parity – Financial Times (subscription)
Traders focus on currency cross as Brexit and interest rate policy weigh on pound.
Mario Draghi Faces Easing Dilemma as Strong Euro Sparks Concern – Financial Times (subscription)
ECB looks to scale back QE, one of the chief props of eurozone recovery.
US-North Korea Spat Remains in Focus – Financial Times (subscription)
Tip of the spear for bouts of market aversion is a liquidation of currency carry trades.
China’s Yuan Edges Up, Fixing at Strongest in Nearly 11 Months – Reuters
China’s yuan firmed against the US dollar after the central bank guided the currency higher for the fifth straight day, setting the midpoint at its strongest in nearly 11 months.
Taming of Asia’s Most Volatile Currencies Creates New Danger – Bloomberg
Policy makers in Indonesia and Malaysia have been so successful in quashing currency volatility that this is breeding a new danger: complacency.
Philippine Bank Chief Seeks Calm as Peso Weakens to 11-Year Low – Bloomberg
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla called for calm after the peso fell to an almost 11-year low against the dollar last week, saying the currency isn’t expected to free fall given the nation’s strong economic fundamentals.
Venezuelan Currency Madness Valued Local Bank More Than Apple – Bloomberg
Rally reflects massive currency drop in black market rate.
Should the FX Market Shut Down for a Daily Reset? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
This question first popped into my head when I heard about another strange trading episode around the New York close.
Bitcoin Soars Past $4,000 in Weekend Trading – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The price of the digital currency bitcoin crossed over the $4,000 mark for the first time in its nine-year history, despite a widespread selloff in other major digital currencies.
Is FX Liquidity Trapped in a Vicious Cycle? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
Although Greg Wood, SVP, global industry operations and technology at the Futures Industry Association (FIA), says that technology is increasingly causing FX to trade in smaller sizes, he says that experience in other asset classes shows that this doesn’t necessarily mean that liquidity is diminishing.
Regulatory News
Firms Call on Esma to Review Large-In-Scale Trading Obligation – The Trade
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been urged to review its approach to large-in-scale derivatives transactions after it U-turned on whether they should be subject to the trading obligation.
Trump Chips Away at Postcrisis Wall Street Rules – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Nearly seven months into the Trump administration, regulators are setting the stage for a wave of eased rules.
CFTC Extends Relief on Position Aggregation Requirements – FOW (subscription)
Industry warned that the rules “would impose significant operational challenges”.
Biggest Banks Prefer Full Volcker Rule Repeal, But a Rewrite Would Do – Market Watch
The biggest banks have already digested the myriad requirements of the complex 950-page Volcker Rule and have spun off prohibited proprietary trading units, but the industry is still pushing Congress to fully repeal the rule.
The Fed Wants to Make Life Easier for Big-Bank Directors – The New York Times
After a multiyear review, the regulator concluded that excessive regulatory duties are hobbling bank boards and distracting directors from the more important work of guiding bank strategy and adopting effective governance at their institutions.
Who Is Winning with the Fiduciary Rule? Wall Street – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The brokerage business fiercely fought the new retirement advice rule. But so far for Wall Street, it has been a gift.
Company News
Digital Currency Exchange Gets $100m Investment – Profit & Loss
Digital currency exchange, Coinbase, has raised $100 million in Series D funding.
Sarro Joins INTL FCStone – Profit & Loss
Michael Sarro has joined INTL FCStone as a product manager in its global payments business.
Tudor and Brevan Howard Abandon Mifid – Financial Times (subscription)
Two large hedge fund companies have dropped their licences for the EU regulation.
Want a client fund account with Barclays or HSBC? No problem!
Nasdaq Seeks to Patent Blockchain-Based Data Matching System – Coin Desk
The patent application details their process for using a blockchain to pair transaction requests, specifically, data of trades and clearing positions, according to a spokesperson from Nasdaq.
Market Savvy
Emerging Assets Rebound After Weekly Fall, Shrug Off China Data – Reuters
Emerging market stocks rebounded from one-month lows tracking gains in developed markets, with Asian markets shrugging off weaker-than-expected Chinese data and currencies assisted by the dollar staying just off one-week lows.
Sri Lankan Rupee Trades Steady; Stocks Up – Reuters
The Sri Lankan rupee traded steady as dollar selling by banks and exporters offset the importer demand for the US currency, dealers said.
Uzbekistan Sum Jumps on Black Market on FX Reform Expectations – Reuters
The Uzbek sum has gained about nine percent against the dollar on the Central Asian nation’s black market over the past seven days, as a full-scale exchange rate liberalisation appears imminent.