Top Headlines
Credit Suisse Charged With Rigging Foreign Exchange Rates – Reuters
Credit Suisse has been charged by European Union antitrust regulators with rigging foreign exchange rates, the Swiss bank said on Tuesday, a sign that the five-year-long EU investigation may reach a conclusion in the coming months.
- Credit Suisse Gets EU Antitrust Complaint in FX Probe – Bloomberg
- Credit Suisse Strikes Cautious Tone Despite Q2 Earnings Jump – Financial Times (subscription)
Scott Wins Extradition Appeal – Profit & Loss
HSBC’s former head of FX trading for Europe, Stuart Scott, has won his appeal against the decision to extradite him to the US to face trial over allegations that he took part in front-running trading relating to an order for Cairn Energy.
State Street Joins Morgan Stanley in Calling End of Dollar Rally – Bloomberg
The US dollar rally is just about finished, according to a growing chorus of Wall Street forecasters. Morgan Stanley, State Street and Wells Fargo are some of the prognosticators saying the greenback is near its peak after gaining around 5 percent since mid-April.
Regulatory News
Libor: Changing the Frame of Reference – Euromoney
There’s a rush to find an alternative to ‘ibors’, but with just three years to go before banks might stop submitting Libor altogether, regulators and market participants are still trying to figure out the right questions to ask.
UK firms that have chosen to novate legacy over-the-counter derivatives contracts to EU entities before Brexit are faced with several challenges as their preparations get underway, according to trade bodies.
What Next for Crypto Regulation? A Washington Insider’s View – Profit & Loss
Profit & Loss’s latest OnTheBlock series featured a one-one-one discussion with former CFTC staffer Justin Slaughter, now a partner at Mercury Strategies, in which he provided an insider’s perspective on how cryptoassets are being viewed by regulators in Washington, DC.
SFTR May Sharply Increase Transaction Reporting – Inside Reference Data (subscription)
SFTR is similar to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Emir), but Emir covers over-the-counter derivatives while SFTR governs securities financing trades. The regulations may be similar, but the trade processes for derivatives and securities differ wildly in how trades are carried out and recorded.
Crypto News
Krugman Gets It – FT Alphaville
Paul Krugman, the economics Nobel laureate turned newspaper columnist, has a take on crypto which elegantly says what we have for years.
The Bitcoin Price Is Tanking: Here’s Why – Forbes
The bitcoin price bull-run over the last month, which saw it climb from around $6,300 to highs of $8,400 in a matter of weeks, could be over. Bitcoin has slumped by 5% over the last 12 hours, falling well below the psychological $8,000 mark.
Crypto Start-Up Coinbase Hires Pershing’s Head of Compliance – CNBC
Leading cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase is beefing up its compliance team as part of an effort to legitimize the asset class in the eyes of cautious regulators and institutional investors.
Derivatives Platform to Hedge Cryptocurrency Risk Planned By SBI – Nikkei Asian Review
A unit of Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings has invested in a US developer of digital marketplaces in an effort to create a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform for institutional investors.
Company News
Cobalt Goes Live on BT Radianz Cloud – Profit & Loss
Cobalt, a London-based back and middle office infrastructure provider, announced that it will be hosting its systems in the BT Radianz Cloud.
BlueMountain Hunts for Mispricings in Rates Markets – Risk.net (subscription)
As QE rolls off, Colin Teichholtz sees ample opportunities for relative-value fixed-income strategies.
ICE Clear Singapore Readies for Remote Clearing –Global Investor (subscription)
MAS expects to introduce remote clearing licensing exemptions for futures and OTC contracts in H2 2018.
Market Savvy
Sterling Near One-Week Lows Before Bank of England Vote – Reuters
Sterling held near a one-week low on Wednesday before a Bank of England policy meeting that is widely expected to raise interest rates for the second time since the global financial crisis.
Light Touch: China Lets Yuan Slide Run Into Fifth Month, No Floor in Sight – Reuters
China’s uncharacteristically laissez-faire approach to its swiftly declining currency is spawning market speculation that the yuan is part of an economic stimulus toolkit and will be allowed to weaken more over the rest of the year.
There Are Limits to the Bank of Japan’s Defence of Low Rates – Financial Times (subscription)
The Bank of Japan has proved inscrutable. The financial world was braced for an announcement that would portend the final end to post-crisis quantitative easing asset purchases from the central bank that had bought up assets and forced down bond yields more enthusiastically than any other.
Dollar Sends Yuan, Aussie Lower on Fears of US Tariff Threats – Reuters
The dollar strengthened on Wednesday, sending the Chinese yuan towards recent lows and pressuring the Australian dollar on fears of an imminent escalation in the trade dispute between the US and China.
Gold Posts Longest Losing Streak Since 2013 as Bears Crush Bulls – Bloomberg
Gold posted a fourth straight monthly decline, the longest stretch of losses since 2013, as more signs of US economic strength bolster the case to raise interest rates and dollar gains make bullion pricier in other currencies.