Top Headlines

Early Rally ‘as Good as It Gets’? Euro Keeps Sliding After Macron’s Win – Financial Times (subscription)

The euro continues to decline after the success of Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election.

Macron Victory Opens New Path for Euro – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

As political risks to the euro wane, analysts now expect the currency to follow eurozone economic growth higher, leaving a long period of weakness behind it.

Sterling Steadies Below $1.30 as Focus Turns to BoE – Reuters

Sterling steadied near recent seven-month highs close to $1.30, as traders looked to a Bank of England inflation report and policy meeting this week for fresh drivers for a currency that has climbed almost five percent in the past month.

Rising Yields Boost Dollar, Euro After French Vote – Reuters

Currency markets swung back to trading on the diverging outlooks for growth and tighter monetary policy, lifting the dollar and euro against the yen.

Yen Steadies After Weakening Past ¥113 Overnight – Financial Times (subscription)

Japan’s currency appeared to be finding its footing in early Asia trade after shedding half a per cent overnight.

Last Look Settlement Fund Could Hit $1 Billion in US – FX Week (subscription)

Class action filing service firm Battea says the fixing pot for claimants may reach $3bn and to expect more last look cases.

French Regulator Lays Out Plan to Capture London Euro Clearing – Risk (subscription)

AMF calls for equivalence to be scrapped for biggest CCPs and trade repositories.

China’s Foreign-Exchange Reserves Swell to $3.03 Trillion, Beating Forecasts – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

China’s foreign-exchange reserves rose for the third straight month in April, edging up on the back of a less bullish US dollar and Chinese government controls on money moving offshore, economists said.

G7 Finmins Won’t Discuss Trade at Italy Meeting: Italian officials – Reuters

Trade will not be on the agenda of a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven rich nations in Italy this week, officials from the Italian Treasury said.

The Myth of the EM FX Pass-Through – Financial Times (subscription)

Weak currencies can as easily cause deflation as inflation.

What’s It Like to Lose £350m? A Rogue Trader Confesses – The Guardian

In 2009, shortly after the global markets had suffered their worst crisis for 90 years, Alexis Stenfors was working as a currency trader for Merrill Lynch in London.

Regulatory News

Trump Review of Wall Street Rules to be Done in Stages: Sources – Reuters

The US government’s review of a landmark 2010 financial reform law will not be complete by early June as originally targeted, and officials will now report findings piece-by-piece, with priority given to banking regulations, sources familiar with the matter said.

US Regulators Look at Volcker Rule, A Sign They Hear Wall Street – Reuters

US financial regulators discussed the Volcker rule governing banks’ speculative trading, tackling one of Wall Street’s biggest concerns and a sign President Donald Trump’s administration is listening to banks’ wishes about reforms resulting from the financial crisis.

FCA Publishes Final Priips Rules – FX Week (subscription)

“In calculating costs associated with FX, the arrival price must reflect a reasonable estimate of the consolidated price” – FCA.

US Softens Basel Stance in Push for Deal on Capital Rules – Bloomberg

The US has softened its position in talks on global bank-capital rules, easing a months-long deadlock with the European Union and boosting the chances of a deal.

HK Regulator Publishes Cyber Security Draft Rules to Guard Against Broker Hacks – Reuters

Hong Kong’s securities regulator published a proposal to tighten information security rules after a series of embarrassing hacks at the city’s brokers.

Company News

Thomson Reuters FX Volumes Down in April – Profit & Loss

Thomson Reuters says that average daily volume (ADV) across its spot FX venues was $87 billion in April, this represents a 7.4% decline from March and 10.3% drop from April 2016.

Sucden Launches OTC FX Options Service – Profit & Loss

The new offering is designed to provide users with the ability to price their own option structures online and benchmark those prices against independent data for greater transparency.

Start-Up Trading Venue trueEX Sues Markit – Financial Times (subscription)

Start-up trading platform trueEX has filed a complaint against industry giant Markit, claiming the company, which provides post-trade services to derivatives users, engaged in anticompetitive conduct by terminating its relationship with the trading venue.

Brexit Process Will Expose Basic Weakness in European Banking – Financial Times (subscription)

The proof of the EU’s real value to global banks looks likely to come with Brexit.

ICE Turns to Atomic Clock for Time-Stamping Trades – Financial Times (subscription)

Intercontinental Exchange will start timestamping thousands of European futures trades using an atomic clock because current technology is not reliable enough to meet new European standards trying to keep up with high-frequency traders.

Market Savvy

Oil and Dollar Again Stall Emerging Market Gains – Reuters

Emerging markets retreated as oil prices stayed under $50 per barrel and the dollar firmed, with the Russian rouble trading near two-month lows and emerging stocks posting their fourth loss in five days.

LatAm Currencies Down on Profit-Taking After Macron Win – Reuters

Latin American currencies weakened, tracking a decline in the euro on profit-taking following Emmanuel Macron’s victory in France’s presidential elections.

CEE Stocks Rise on Earnings, FX Off Highs Despite Upbeat Data – Reuters

Central European stocks mostly rose as attention shifted to local factors after pro-European Union centrist Emmanuel Macron won Sunday’s French presidential election.