Top Headlines
Dollar Lifts Off Two-Month Low Ahead of Powell Confirmation – Reuters
The dollar was stuck near a two-month low, as traders waited for the confirmation hearing and first serious test for new Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
- US Dollar Ekes Out Gain as Investors Question Tax Plans – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
- US Dollar Falls Below 111 Yen for First Time Since Mid-September – Financial Times (subscription)
Pound Slips as Brexit Border Worries Weigh – Reuters
The pound slipped from a two-month high, having failed to push above $1.34 against the dollar as Brexit-related doubts began to re-exert their grip on the UK currency.
Yen Bulls Move Back Out in the Open – Financial Times (subscription)
The yen is catching the eye of currencies investors and not just because of dollar weakness.
BOE Says Stress Test Shows Banks Can Withstand Disorderly Brexit – Bloomberg
The Bank of England said the UK’s biggest lenders emerged from its latest stress test with the strength to keep lending even during a “disorderly” Brexit.
EU Clearing Plans for City Run Into Resistance Across Bloc – Financial Times (subscription)
European Commission plans to potentially force parts of the City of London’s prized clearing business to relocate after Brexit are getting bogged down because of governments’ reluctance to accept more centralised financial services supervision within the EU.
Global Crypto-Currency Crackdown Sparks Search for Safe Havens – Reuters
Confronted with national regulators’ intensifying scrutiny of digital currency fund-raising, known as initial coin offerings, many entrepreneurs are moving businesses to locations more welcoming to crypto-currencies and known for low taxes.
Convergence Could Ignite Volatility, Says TD Securities – FX Week (subscription)
As convergence of macroeconomic conditions gathers pace in 2018, rotation of capital will favour non-dollar assets.
Regulatory News
Trump’s pick to succeed Yellen has seen no formal opposition from GOP and won near-unanimous support from Democrats under Obama.
Casting Wall Street as Victim, Trump Leads Deregulatory Charge – The New York Times
A decade after the financial crisis, the federal government is easing up its policing of Wall Street and the banking industry, even without actually repealing broad swaths of regulation.
Barney Frank: I Have Two ‘Serious Objections’ to Senate’s Plan to Reform Dodd-Frank – CNBC
A bipartisan Senate proposal to amend the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, also known as Dodd Frank, is pending.
Bubble or Breakthrough? Bitcoin Keeps Central Bankers on Edge – Reuters
Central bankers say the success of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is just a bubble.
Company News
Barracuda FX Unveils OMS Cloud – Profit & Loss
Order management technology provider Barracuda FX has announced the launch of OMS Cloud, a development that makes Barracuda’s OMS technology available on the cloud, enabling all sizes of banks to use the service.
One of Chicago’s largest high-speed traders has taken a central role in the bitcoin market, stepping into the vacuum created by Wall Street’s hesitant response to the booming investor interest in digital currencies.
Ether Derivatives Are Coming – Markets Media
The second-biggest cryptocurrency, ethereum or “ether” is poised to get into the derivatives market, thanks in part to a pioneer of trading credit-default swaps, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Market Savvy
‘Only on Review for a Downgrade’: South African Rand Rebounds – Financial Times (subscription)
The South African rand reversed course and rallied against the US dollar amid relief that the sovereign dodged a cut to junk by Moody’s.
Most Asian Currencies Firm as Dollar Skittish Ahead of US Tax Vote – Reuters
Most Asian currencies were slightly firmer and the Philippine peso topped a three-month high, with the dollar largely flat ahead of a possible Senate vote later this week on US tax reform – a key legislative contest for the Trump administration.