ECB Ready to Expand Stimulus Programs

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Top Headlines

ECB Ready to Expand Stimulus Programs – Wall Street Journal (subscription) Mario Draghi projects slower-than-expected growth for Eurozone.

Lloyds Trader Fired Over Libor Rigging Sues for Unfair Dismissal – Bloomberg A former Lloyds Banking Group trader sued the bank for unfair dismissal after he was fired in the wake of the company’s fines for Libor manipulation.

SEF Turnover Perks Up in June – Profit & Loss Trading activity on swap execution facilities (SEFs), measured by average daily notional volume, was $434.94 billion in June, up 9.1% from May, but down 2.4% from June 2014, according to the latest data from the Futures Industry Association (FIA).

Mind The Liquidity Gap – Forbes Liquidity gaps have been occurring with increasing frequency.

US Treasury Warns China over FX Policy Decisions – Profit & Loss US Secretary of the Treasury, Jake Lew, has warned China that the US plans to hold it accountable for the actions it takes in the financial markets and that it needs to continue moving towards a market driven economy.

Weidmann open to talks on including China in IMF currency basket – Reuters Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann said he is open to discussion on including the Chinese yuan in the International Monetary Fund’s benchmark currency basket, adding that recent financial turmoil in China should not pose a lasting danger to the global economy.

It’s Official: This Summer Was Busiest Ever for Treasury Trading – Bloomberg It’s been the busiest June, July and August ever for Treasury traders, judging by transactions on the $12.8 trillion market’s biggest electronic trading platform.

Meet Clack – Profit & Loss It was ahead of its time; cloaked in secrecy; innovative; and it can be argued to be the first agency model in FX markets.

US Federal Grand Jury Indicts ‘Flash Crash’ Trader – Reuters London day trader Navinder Sarao has been formally indicted by a US federal grand jury on charges of market manipulation that prosecutors say helped contribute to the 2010 “flash crash,” according to a September 2 court filing made public on Thursday.

 

 

Regulatory News

EU Regulators Consult on Compromise in Derivatives Spat with US – Reuters The European Union has signalled that one of its key rules for regulating financial derivatives could be aligned with US practise to help to end a lengthy dispute that risks fragmenting the $630 trillion market.

Regional Swaps Booking Replacing Global Hubs – Risk Magazine (subscription) Given a free choice, banks would probably book all of their trades in a global hub. But growing supervisory concerns, plus shifting rules around swaps clearing and execution, bank resolution, capital and liquidity are producing a more fragmented – and possibly less efficient – model. Two foreign banks with big London offices recently spoke to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) about their derivatives-booking practices and came away with very different messages.

Banks Bemoan Data Gap in Mifid II Systematic Internaliser Test – Risk Magazine (subscription) Dealers are complaining it is impossible to work out which products they trade bilaterally will be subject to controversial transparency requirements in 16 months’ time. A lack of data is leaving them unable to prepare for the rule and calculate corresponding cost increases for end-users, they say.

 

 

Company News

New Speed Limits on EBS BrokerTec Not There to Deter HFT – Profit & Loss As EBS BrokerTec prepares to implement further changes to its EBS Market platform that will limit the speed of trading on its infrastructure, this shouldn’t be viewed as a move to deter firms using HFT strategies from trading there.

Trading Volumes Rise in August – Profit & Loss EBS, CME Group and Moscow Exchange have ALL reported a month-on-month increase in foreign exchange trading activity, reinforcing data earlier this week from other platforms.

BitBeat: Barclays Puts Big Banks One Step Closer to Bitcoin – Wall Street Journal (subscription) Barclays is working with a start up to run a pilot program testing bitcoin as a payment system, the latest in a long string of forays by Wall Street firms looking at the digital currency and the technology behind it.

Miscommunication: Bloomberg, Symphony and the Messaging Fight – Waters Technology (subscription) While Bloomberg has dominated the messaging space to date, there hasn’t been a shortage of contenders trying to displace the terminal giant. The most recent challenger to the throne-Symphony Communication Services-is backed by a number of Wall Street heavyweights, but has recently garnered the attention of the regulators, as well.

 

 

Market Savvy  

Aussie Slides to Six-Year Low as Pre-Payrolls Nerves Boost Yen – Bloomberg Australia’s dollar slid to a six-year low while the yen headed for its biggest weekly advance this year as investors sought safety before a US jobs report that could encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.

Jobs Report Could Seal the Deal on Rates – Wall Street Journal (subscription) The August employment report could make or break the case for the Federal Reserve raising rates this month.

China Biggest Concern for Emerging FX; Real Most Prone to Sell-Off – Reuters Poll China’s struggle with an economic slowdown will haunt foreign exchange markets for months to come, a Reuters poll showed, even if many emerging currencies are considered somewhat cheap after months of a relentless sell-off.

 

 

Press Releases

Markit Completes Acquisition of DealHub Markit, a provider of financial information services, today announced the completion of its acquisition of DealHub, a leading provider of trade processing and trading services to the foreign exchange market.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Reports August Trading Volumes  Average daily volume for FX and credit in August rose by 133% year-on-year.

 

 

Industry Events