Top Headlines

Deutsche Bank Fails to Dismiss US Currency Rigging Lawsuit – Reuters

A US judge has rejected Deutsche Bank’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it delayed foreign exchange trades to get a “last look” at how prices were moving, enabling the German bank to extract more profit at customers’ expense.

Dollar Racks Up Eleventh Day of Gains Ahead of CPI Data – Reuters

The dollar ground out an 11th straight daily rise, as investors’ focus moved to inflation data in the United States for more support for the idea of a rise in Federal Reserve interest rates next month.

The Market May Be Guilty of Gambler’s Fallacy on Fed Hikes – Bloomberg

While traders have been lulled by a record of the Fed proving less hawkish than expected, things could change over the coming year.

Sterling Dips as Wage Growth Unexpectedly Slows – Financial Times (subscription)

The pound has fallen after figures showed an unexpected slowdown in UK wage growth at the end of last year.

Renminbi Firmer as Dollar Holds Tuesday Gains – Financial Times (subscription)

The renminbi has firmed up after China’s central bank fixed the currency’s dollar trading band stronger following a rally for the greenback spurred by the Federal Reserve chief’s hawkish comments.

Japan’s Abe: Trump Shares View That Monetary Policy Not Forex Manipulation – Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said US President Donald Trump shared his view at last week’s summit that Japan’s monetary policy was not currency manipulation but was intended to end deflation.

Politics Heightens FX Risk for Sterling and Yen Investors – FX Week (subscription)

Risk models show the yen to be the riskiest developed currency.

Riksbank Keeps Rates on Hold and Stresses Chance of Further Cuts – Financial Times (subscription)

Sweden’s central bank kept its rates on hold at record low levels after its February policy meeting and explicitly stressed its willingness to intervene to weaken the krona, as a strengthening currency threatens its long-sought uptick in inflation.

Euronext to Pursue Alternatives If LCH Deal Falls Through – Reuters
European exchange Euronext may still buy a clearing house for derivatives if its planned purchase of LCH SA, which it uses, from London Stock Exchange falls through.

Paris Officials Pitch for London Financial Business – Profit & Loss

Officials from Paris made a pitch for financial firms thinking of moving staff or operations to continental Europe post-Brexit to consider moving to the French capital at an event in London last week.

Regulatory News

Bowen Warns of “Reckless” Dodd-Frank Repeal – Profit & Loss

Sharon Bowen, commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), warned that it could prove “reckless” to repeal Dodd-Frank, despite calls from Donald Trump to do so while he was campaigning for the presidency.

Senate Panel Presses Yellen on Financial Regulation – The New York Times

Senate Democrats enlisted Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, as an expert witness against Republican plans to roll back post-crisis financial regulations.

Acting SEC Chief Explains Campaign to Jumpstart Trump Financial Deregulation – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Michael Piwowar says he is trying to ‘depoliticize’ the regulatory agency’s rule book.

Global Banks Weigh Adding the Trump Administration to Their Risk Disclosures – Bloomberg

The world’s biggest banks are poised to warn investors that President Donald Trump has the potential to roil global markets and impact their firms by redrawing regulations and limiting the free movement of employees, according to people familiar with the matter.

Esma Looks to Shut Down Systematic Internaliser Loophole – The Trade

The European Securities and Market Authority (Esma) has urged the European Commission to adopt delegated acts to close a loophole in the systematic internaliser regime under MiFID II.

FCA Chairman Says FinTech Has Exacerbated Challenges for Regulators – The Trade

The rise of technology in capital markets has exacerbated challenges for regulators, according to the chairman of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), John Griffith Jones.

Company News

Nex Announces Trump Effect on Revenues, Up 11% – Financial Times (subscription)

Electronic trading company Nex reported an 11 per cent jump in revenues in the last three months of the year as the election of Donald Trump as US president boosted market activity.

Credit Suisse Continues to Lose FX Market Share, Thousands of Jobs to Go – Finance Feeds

Will they sell FastMatch?

CLS Appoints Wood as General Counsel – Profit & Loss

CLS Group has appointed Gaynor Wood to the role of general counsel.

Haier’s Financial Subsidiary Commits to Bloomberg’s FXGO and MARS – Finance Magnates

Haier Finance ranks among the top ten finance companies in China and FX is part of its core business.

Market Savvy

Brazil Real Rises to Over 1½-Year High as Central Bank Acts – Reuters

The Brazilian real gained to its strongest level in more than a year and a half, following a rise in capital inflows and after the central bank resumed currency intervention following a two-week pause.

C$ Pulls Back from One-Week High as Yellen Boosts Greenback – Reuters

The Canadian dollar posted a fresh one-week high against its US counterpart as oil rose but gains were mostly reversed as testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen boosted the greenback.

Stocks Hit 19-Month High, Rand and Rouble Roar – Reuters

South Africa’s rand rose 0.7 percent to go under 13 per dollar for the first time since October 2015, while Russia’s rouble was up, just about, for a tenth day in the last 11 and at its highest since July 2015.