Top Headlines

CME to Shake Up Bond and Forex Markets After Buying Nex Group – Financial Times (subscription)

CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, has agreed to buy Michael Spencer’s Nex Group for £3.9bn in a deal that heralds a shake-up in the world’s bond and foreign exchange markets.

CME Plans Hundreds of Job Cuts After £3.8bn NEX Takeover – Financial News (subscription)

City veteran Michael Spencer to join CME board but around 750 staff could be slashed from combined workforce.

Dollar Holds Its Gains as Trade War Fears Recede; Euro Edges Lower – Reuters

The dollar held on to its gains after a big rise in the previous session, but traders said the outlook for the greenback remained negative as it headed for its fourth consecutive quarter of losses. 

Sterling Falls as Dollar Rebounds, UK Retail Sales Show Weakness – Reuters

The pound fell after the dollar rebounded and a survey showed British retail sales falling for the first time in five months in March.

Yen Steadies After Sharp Retreat, Dollar Holds Gains – Financial Times (subscription)

The yen was steadying against the dollar in early Asia trading after a sharp retreat overnight.

Hedge Funds That Are Short Dollar-Yen Stare Down Fiscal Year Squeeze – Bloomberg

Failure to slide past 104.50 seen as key signal of support.

Brexit Transition Means Business as Usual for Banks, BOE Says – Bloomberg

UK financial regulators sought to reassure banks and insurers that they can rely on a transition period to ease their adjustment to Brexit, putting pressure on the European Union to do the same.

5,000 UK Finance Jobs May Be Moved by Brexit, Half Earlier Forecast – Reuters

The number of finance jobs to be shifted out of Britain or created overseas by March 2019 due to Brexit has dropped by half compared to six months ago to 5,000 roles, firms employing the bulk of UK-based workers in international finance told Reuters.

A Floored Plan: Europe’s CCP Recovery Rules Draw Fire – Risk (subscription)

CCPs and clearing members both unhappy with proposed allocation of non-default losses.

Deutsche Bank Is Considering More Cuts at Investment Bank – Bloomberg

As part of the investment bank review, cuts are being discussed at both big trading businesses – equities as well as fixed income, currencies and commodities – because they are expensive and haven’t performed well, said one person.

Japan Embracing Cryptocurrencies Despite Big Theft Cases – AP News

Four years after popular Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox was hacked and went bankrupt, the case still casts a shadow over the regulatory regime put in place to protect Japan’s thriving cryptocurrency market.

Prop Shops Lock On to Crypto Markets – Waters Technology (subscription)

As the sell side hesitates, advanced principal trading shops are getting in on the crypto craze in a big way.

Built to Become Big – Profit & Loss (subscription)

Galen Stops takes a look at how and why Aston Capital Management is planning to scale up following its recent $100m investment.

Regulatory News

CFTC Budget Increase Fumbled at Goal Line – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

CFTC’s budget cut will likely make it impossible for Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo to move ahead with several priorities.

MiFID II Tick Size Regime Sees Increase in Certain Transaction Costs – The Trade

The French financial regulator has found MiFID II’s tick size regime has widened the spread on certain transactions and impacted HFT market makers.

For Wall Street, New York Fed’s New Chief Could Be a Lot Like the Old Chief – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Top candidate John Williams has a similar outlook to current Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley.

DLT Offers New Possibilities for Securities Settlement, Say ECB and BoJ – Risk (subscription)

The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan published a joint report on how distributed ledger technology, or DLT, can be used in transactions such as securities settlements.

Company News

Sada-Paz Exits BAML? – Profit & Loss

Market sources tell Profit & Loss that Mauricio Sada-Paz, EMEA head of e-FICC and global head of e-FX sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has left the bank.

Singapore Says It’s Beating Hong Kong to Be Asian Business Hub – Bloomberg

Hong Kong has become more “China-centric,” enabling Singapore to take the lead when multinational companies look to set up their Asian headquarters in the region, according to the country’s Economic Development Board.

Major Banks and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Adopt MiFID II Compliance Engine – The Trade

GSAM, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and UBS among firms to adopt regulatory digitisation platform.

Market Savvy

Bitcoin Is Nearing a ‘Death Cross’ on the Charts. Here’s What It Means – CNBC

Bitcoin has gone bust, tumbling below $8,000 this week. There’s something in the charts that could have investors hitting the panic button.

Won Turns Quarterly Drop Into Gain as Kim Extends Olive Branch – Bloomberg

In the space of just one week, South Korea’s won has turned a quarterly loss into a gain. And it’s all thanks to Kim Jong Un’s latest overture.