Top Headlines
Dollar Heads for Strongest Week This Year on Fed Hike Bets – Reuters
The dollar traded near a three-week high, on track for its strongest week this year, as robust producer price and labor market data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates again in June.
Sterling Set for First Weekly Loss in Four – Reuters
Sterling was set for its first weekly loss in four against the dollar as investors looked ahead to Britain’s negotiations on leaving the European Union, after the Bank of England showed no sign of leaning more towards raising interest rates.
Citigroup Trader Fired Over Five-Word Message Uses Two-Second Defense – Bloomberg
A Citigroup currencies trader fired for sending a five-word message to a rival said his defense comes down to two seconds.
Dollar-Bloc Currencies Rebut the Foreign Exchange Script – Financial Times (subscription)
Commodity price weakness and domestic forces weigh on forex trio.
Mexico’s Finance Minister Says Still Room for Peso to Appreciate – Reuters
Mexico’s Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said that the peso still has room to appreciate given the fundamentals of Latin America’s second biggest economy.
Barclays CEO Says London Financial Firms Can Work Around Brexit – Bloomberg
Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said London’s financial sector is inventive enough to find a way around Brexit and remain integral to the European Union’s economy, provided politicians don’t erect walls to shut out the UK.
Malaysia’s Central Bank Keeps Rates on Hold – Financial Times (subscription)
The bank also said the ringgit has continued to stabilise.
Regulatory News
White House Weeks Away from Naming Anyone to Fed: Official – Reuters
US President Donald Trump is weeks away from naming anyone to the board of the Federal Reserve, a White House official said, meaning it could be the fall before three currently empty seats are filled.
An outsider was chosen to be acting comptroller of the currency to oversee the big banks.
Giancarlo: Save FCMs, Reform the SLR – Markets Media
Nearly half of all US futures commission merchants have left the business over the past 20 years, and if bank regulators do not change how they apply Basel III’s Supplemental Leverage Ratio to bank-owned FCMs the trend will only continue, according to Acting Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Christopher Giancarlo.
Instead of teaching Trump about the benefits of free-market capitalism, they are sitting by as sycophants, listening to their boss make misstep after misstep and cleaning up his messes behind the scenes when it’s almost too late. One day, it might be.
Company News
Jefferies Expands FX Capabilities with New Hires – Profit & Loss
Jefferies has hired Brandon Mulvihill and Anthony Mazzarese, both formerly at FXCM, as the firm looks to strengthen its FX business by expanding its prime brokerage capabilities.
Noble Launches Real-Time Post Trade FX Service – Profit & Loss
Noble Bank International (NBI) has launched its initial service, Noble FX, which is designed to allow its clients to create their pools of credit, enabling counterparties to clear, net and settle spot FX and precious metals in real-time.
Citi Joins Big-Bank Brethren in Backing Blockchain Firm Axoni – American Banker
Axoni, a distributed ledger tech firm, has scored another big-bank investor in Citigroup.
Cobalt Signs Up Non-Banks, Announces Expansion – Profit & Loss
Citadel Securities and XTX Markets have signed up as Cobalt launch participants.
Singapore Firm Launches Token Sale to Fund Platform for Start-Ups – Reuters
Singapore-based Cofound.it has launched the sale of its own digital currency to fund building of its blockchain-based platform to connect start-ups with investors and experts for funding and advice, the company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jan Isakovic said.
Market Savvy
New Zealand Dollar Sinks on Big Drop in House Sales – Financial Times (subscription)
The New Zealand dollar is copping it in the neck for a second day, this time as data showed house sales fell by the most in just over six-and-a-half-years.
C$ Weakens as Bank Ratings Downgrade Offsets Oil Rally – Reuters
The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart as a ratings downgrade for the country’s major banks weighed, offsetting higher oil prices.
LatAm Currencies Up for Second Day on Commodities, Dollar Weakness – Reuters
Latin American currencies strengthened for a second day, lifted by higher commodity prices and worldwide weakness in the US dollar.