Top Headlines

Dollar Extends Last Year’s Slide Into 2018 – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

The US currency posted its fifth straight quarterly loss in the first three months of the year, puzzling investors who bet it would benefit from corporations repatriating cash in the wake of tax cuts signed into law late last year.

Pound Begins April on the Front Foot, Helped by Manufacturing Data – Reuters

Sterling gained as the dollar fell and data showed British manufacturing gaining a little bit of momentum ahead of an expected interest rate rise in May.

The Euro Surged Last Year but Central Banks Didn’t Bite – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

The euro’s big rally over the past year hasn’t convinced central banks to park their cash in the currency.

Trading Activity Dips, but Volumes Remain Strong – Profit & Loss

The first FX venues to report their trading volumes for last month struggled to match the highs of February, despite posting strong volumes.

Swaps Data: A Mifid-Shaped Hole – Risk (subscription)

Data shows strong growth in US dollar rate swaps, but global picture is incomplete, says Amir Khwaja of Clarus FT.

SEC Charges Founders of $32m Celebrity-Backed Crypto Offering with Fraud – Financial Times (subscription)

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the two co-founders of a celebrity-endorsed initial coin offering which raised more than $32m with “orchestrating a fraudulent initial coin offering”.

Deutsche Bank’s Troubles are More Than Personal – Financial Times (subscription)

The bank is not providing leadership for Europe’s capital markets.

The Battle for the Back Office – Risk (subscription)

Post-trade incumbents at risk as Isda and others search for standards.

OTC Crypto Market Flourishes, Powered by Skype – Reuters

Trading firms are negotiating buying, selling and lending digital currencies like bitcoin and ether over Skype, catering to big investors looking to avoid rocking already volatile online exchanges.

Regulatory News 

Treasury Meets with Banks, Trading Firms as It Weighs Releasing More Market Data – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

US policy makers are meeting with banks and trading firms about whether to release to the public data on the $14 trillion US Treasury market that the government has been collecting since last summer. 

Fed’s Risk Proposal Puts Banks on the Defensive – Risk (subscription)

Banks are resisting an effort by the US Federal Reserve to hold individual business units accountable for risk management.

New York Fed to Launch US Libor Contender, Slow Takeup Seen – Reuters

The New York Federal Reserve will launch a benchmark US rate to potentially replace Libor and market participants hope it will prove more reliable after a long and complex switchover.

European Central Bank’s Marathon Man Moves to Front of the Pack – Financial Times (subscription)

Finland’s Erkki Liikanen is deemed a fit successor to Mario Draghi.

Japan’s Central Bank Wants You to Be Wary of Cryptocurrencies – Bloomberg

Bitcoin investing is popular in Japan, but the nation has also had several high-profile cryptocurrency heists. Now, the central bank has come up with a rather negative Q&A for those seeking answers on cryptos.

Company News

The Crypto Hedge-Fund Bubble Is Starting to Deflate – Bloomberg

Demand and profits are drying up at many of the more than 150 funds that popped during last year’s spectacular surge in Bitcoin – which brought cryptocurrencies to the attention of scores of institutional and individual investors.

Japanese Online Broker Pops on Report It Plans to Buy Coincheck – Financial Times (subscription)

Shares in Monex Group popped in Japan following media that reports the online broker was eyeing troubled local cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck.

Kotecha Joins TD Securities – Profit & Loss

TD Securities has hired Mitul Kotecha as a senior emerging markets strategist in Singapore.

Market Savvy

Most Asian Currencies Ease on Rising Trade Tensions – Reuters

Most emerging Asian currencies slipped as the dollar steadied against the yen after three straight sessions of declines on rising trade tensions between the United States and China.

Bitcoin’s Market Value Should Fall by More Than a Third Before Year-End, Swiss Researchers Say – CNBC

The growth of new active bitcoin users is slowing, which by “Metcalfe’s law” indicates that the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization will not grow as quickly as it has, some Swiss researchers said.