Top Headlines
China Foreign Exchange Reserves Rise for First Time in Five Months – Bloomberg
China’s foreign-exchange reserves unexpectedly increased in March after capital outflow pressure eased as the nation’s currency steadied.
- China’s FX Reserves Post Surprise Rise in March on More Stable Yuan – Reuters
- China’s Currency Victory Hides Scars of War – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
- China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Grow US$10 Billion in March After Falling for Months – South China Morning Post
Wall St is Pretty Certain Hillary Clinton Will be President – CNBC
In the polling places and on the airwaves, there remains a high level of uncertainty about who will be the next U.S. president. Not so on Wall Street and the markets.
Iceland $2.4 Billion FX Auction on Track, Central Bank Says – Bloomberg Iceland’s central bank said the plan for freeing the last hedge funds caught in the nation’s capital controls is still on track even as political turmoil grips the north Atlantic island.
ECB Underlines Readiness to Act amid Europe’s Manifest Fragility – Bloomberg
European Central Bank officials underlined their readiness to ease monetary policy even further as political, banking and sovereign fault lines showed the region remains vulnerable six years after the start of the debt crisis.
- How Much Euro Strength Will the ECB Tolerate? – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
- ECB’s Mersch Warns on Competitive Currency Devaluation – CNBC
EU Parliament Agrees to MiFID II Delay – Profit & Loss
The European Parliament today agreed to delay the implementation of MiFID II to January 3 2018. The decision follows a recommendation made by the European Commission on February 10 to give financial companies time to implement the somewhat complicated legislation.
‘Brexit’ Would Damage London’s Role as Currencies Hub, Poll Says – Bloomberg
London’s role as the world’s hub for foreign-exchange trading would be weakened if U.K. voters opt to leave the European Union in June, with Frankfurt benefiting the most, according to a poll of currency traders and market professionals.
Regulatory News
Former Central Bank (BCRA) governor Alejandro Vanoli presented a write before Judge Claudio Bonadio as part of the investigation into his alleged responsibility in a fraud operation to sale dollar futures.
Brazil’s Real Falls Most Among Peers as Central Bank Intervenes – Bloomberg
Brazil’s real led a drop in emerging markets as the central bank extended its efforts to weaken the currency after a first-quarter rally made it the world’s best performer.
Company News
R5 Gets MAS Nod – Profit & Loss
Emerging market FX trading platform R5 has received authorisation from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and has commenced live trading. R5 went live with its London clients during the last quarter of 2015, for e-NDF trading.
Bats Global Markets Said to Plan IPO for End of Next Week – Bloomberg
Bats Global Markets Inc. is planning to complete its initial public offering at the end of next week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Murray Named COO at BNY Mellon – Profit & Loss
Piers Murray is set to join BNY Mellon as COO of its Markets business, effective June 15. In his new role, Murray will be based in New York and report to Michelle Neal, president of BNY Mellon Markets. He will succeed Regina Meredith-Carpeni, who is retiring from the bank. Meredith-Carpeni spent nearly four decades at BNY Mellon in a variety of senior roles, culminating with the COO role.
Market Savvy
DoubleLine’s Gundlach Says Negative Interest Rates Backfiring – Reuters
Jeffrey Gundlach, the widely followed investor who runs DoubleLine Capital, said on Thursday that negative interest rates implemented by some major central banks, notably in Japan, are backfiring.
Long and Wrong in the Bill and Ben – Profit & Loss
Retail punters, especially Japanese, are frequently contrarian traders in USD/JPY (aka Bill & Ben). So it is perhaps not too surprising that clients of UK spread better and CFD provider IG appear to be taking positions against the prevailing market trend in USD/JPY.
Janet Yellen Hails Progress US Economy Has Made Post-Crisis – The Financial Times (subscription)
Janet Yellen has brushed aside suggestions that the Federal Reserve’s December interest-rate increase was a mistake, as she described “tremendous progress” in the US economy since the financial crisis and defended the central bank’s handling of it.
Press Releases
Order Management Systems (OMS) Move Far Beyond Just Managing Order
Order management systems that serve as the sell-side’s IT backbone can have a profound impact on the efficiency of broker-dealer sales desks and risk management practices.
Industry Events
FOW: Derivatives World, 12-13 April in Hong Kong
FX Week FX Invest North America, 12 April in Boston, MA
Profit & Loss Forex Network London, 14 April in London, UK
Profit & Loss Latin America, 20 April in Mexico City
ACI World Congress 2016 – Indonesia, 26-30 April, Jakarta
Eurofinance: Asia Treasury, 18-20 May in Singapore
Profit & Loss Forex Network New York, 26 May, New York City
FIA: IDX 2016, 7-8 June in London, England
Profit & Loss Forex Toronto, 9 June, Toronto
Profit & Loss Scandinavia, 13 September, Copenhagen
Profit & Loss Forex Network Chicago, 28-29 September, Chicago, IL
Sibos 2016, 26-29 September in Geneva, Switzerland
FIA: Expo, 18-20 October in Chicago, IL