Top Headlines
CFTC Issues $11.6m Fine for FX Fraud Scheme – Profit & Loss
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an $11.6 million fine in response to a FX fraud scheme.
Political Animal: Pound Takes Fresh Lurch Lower – Financial Times (subscription)
New lows. Not even a dead cat bounce.
FTSE Winning Streak Continues; Hits Another Record as Pound Tumbles – Financial Times (subscription)
Sterling goes down and the FTSE goes up.
Dollar Dips as Investors Eye Trump, Sterling Slides Again – Reuters
The dollar edged down for a second day, as cautious investors booked profits ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s first news conference since winning office, to be held on Wednesday.
Asian Markets Mixed, Currencies Calm Down – Financial Times (subscription)
Stock and currency markets across Asia were mixed in the wake of Wall Street’s retreat from record highs and declines for a number of major currencies.
China’s Latest Moves to Manage the Yuan Add Fuel to Trump’s Threats – CNBC
With Donald Trump less than two weeks from taking office, China’s central bank continues to prop up the value of the yuan without success, adding fuel to the president-elect’s threat to punish China for manipulating its currency.
Positive December Can’t Save CTA 2016 Results – Profit & Loss
Data from Societe Generale Prime Services (SGPS) showed an uptick in CTA performance in December 2016, although its flagship index closed the year in negative territory for the first time since 2012.
Czexit Update: 2% Inflation Heaps Pressure on Currency Regime – Financial Times (subscription)
Czech inflation has hit the central bank’s target of two per cent for the first time since 2012, heaping additional pressure on the country’s soon to be expired currency regime with the euro.
Bond, FX Traders Back at Square One in Volatile Open to 2017 – Bloomberg
If bond and currency traders didn’t have a post-New Year’s Eve hangover, they might just have a splitting headache now.
Goldman Sachs Could Earn an Extra $3 Billion from a Major Trading Rebound – Business Insider
There’s a major rebound underway in the fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) trading business on Wall Street and one bank stands to win big from it.
Regulatory News
OTC Derivatives Identification Accelerates – Markets Media
The final stage of a demonstration platform for allocating product reference numbers to over-the-counter derivatives has been opened to the public this year to meet a new regulatory requirement in the European Union from 2018.
OCC Fintech Charter Sparks Opposition from Senate Dems – American Banker
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s plan to offer a federal charter for fintech companies is facing a challenge from two top Senate Democrats.
Central Bank to Ease Foreign-Exchange Rules to Lift Industry – Taipei Times
Taiwan’s central bank said that it will lift restrictions to allow securities brokerages to conduct more foreign-exchange transactions to help the industry as it continues to struggle with low turnover on the local bourse.
Company News
DTCC Announces Partners for New DLT Project – Profit & Loss
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has selected IBM, in partnership with Axoni and R3, to provide a distributed ledger technology (DLT) framework for derivatives post-trade lifecycle events.
Running Commentary on the Pound: Presenting the ‘Brexometer’ – Financial Times (subscription)
HSBC’s sterling watchers have a new widget: a Brexometer.
Big Banks Pick Tradeweb for MiFID II Reporting – Financial News
The update to Europe’s securities rulebook, coming into force next year, will extend the scope of real-time trade reports.
Modi to Open 16-Storey Exchange to Rival Singapore and Hong Kong – Bloomberg
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate an international exchange in Gujarat state’s new finance zone, seeking to grab some of India’s $48 billion in offshore banking activities from Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong.
SMEs Beware: Four Drivers of Further FX Volatility in 2017 – SME Web
While 2016 was defined by unpredictability and the resulting volatility in the FX markets, there is much more to come in 2017 – and inactivity is as risky as change for small businesses grappling with the fallout from economic and political change.
Market Savvy
C$ Ignores Crude Tumble to End Flat – Reuters
The Canadian dollar ended little changed against a weaker US counterpart, with a Bank of Canada business outlook survey helping it hold ground even as prices for crude oil, a major Canadian export, tumbled.
Low South African Foreign Exchange Reserves Fails to Stem GBP/ZAR Losses – Exchange Rates
Worst levels since November for the GBP/ZAR exchange rate due to worsening Brexit jitters.
Turkish Lira Plumbs New Low, Bucks Firmer Emerging Assets – Reuters
The Turkish lira plumbed new record lows, weighed down by a weakening economy and destabilising militant attacks, though other emerging markets were lifted by encouraging Chinese data and a pause in the rise of US bond yields.