Top Headlines
EgyptAir Jet Disappears Over Mediterranean Sea – Sky News
A search is under way for an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo which has disappeared with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board – including one British national.
- EgyptAir Flight from Paris to Cairo Missing with 66 on Board – Reuters
- EgyptAir Paris-to-Cairo Flight Vanishes With 66 on Board – Bloomberg
Fed’s Williams: Raising Rates 2 or 3 Times This Year ‘Makes Sense’ – WSJ (subscription)
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said it still “makes sense” for the central bank to raise short-term interest rates two or three times this year given continued moderate US economic growth and low unemployment.
- Fed Signals Interest Rate Hike Firmly on the Table for June – Reuters
- Offshore Yuan’s Worst Drop in Four Months Spurs Turmoil Concern – Bloomberg
Foreign Banks to Start China Yuan Trade Settlement on Friday – Reuters
The first batch of foreign commercial banks has registered to directly trade yuan used for overseas trade settlement and can begin doing so on Friday, the foreign exchange market operator said.
Canada’s Trudeau Apologizes After Physical Altercation in Parliament – Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized in Parliament on Wednesday after he rushed across the floor to hurry one legislator to his seat, was accused of elbowing another in the chest and got into a shouting match with an opposition leader.
JPMorgan, Citigroup Sued in London by Two Currency Traders – Bloomberg
Two more bankers joined a list of currency traders suing their employers in London following $10 billion in fines dished out by regulators in the wake of the foreign-exchange scandal.
Regulatory News
Will the Global Code of Conduct Benefit China’s FX Market? – Profit & Loss
Guy Debelle, assistant governor (financial markets) at the Reserve Bank of Australia, has expressed his hope that the forthcoming Global Code of Conduct will serve as a benchmark for FX industry standards in China.
Company News
Goldman Sachs May Sell Aust Equities, Fixed Income Businesses – The Australian
Goldman Sachs has confirmed the potential sale of its local $9 billion asset management arm, kicking off a process that could entice trade buyers or end in a management buyout.
Another Year of Anger for Deutsche Bank’s Investors – Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG investors expressed their frustration with management at the company’s annual meeting a year ago. Weeks later, co-Chief Executive Officer Anshu Jain was gone.
Bayer Eyes $42 Billion Monsanto in Quest for Seeds Dominance – Bloomberg
Bayer AG made an unsolicited takeover offer for Monsanto Co. in a bold attempt by the German company to snatch the last independent global seeds producer and become the world’s biggest supplier of farm chemicals.
Market Savvy
‘Real Support is Back for Dollar’: Thoughts on the Fed – fastFT (subscription)
Central bankers like being boring. But once again, those at the Fed have failed in that mission, catching markets off guard with minutes revealing that several policymakers are minded to raise rates again in June.
Oil Drops on Surging Dollar, Rising US Crude Stocks, Jump in Iran Exports – Reuters
Oil prices fell on Thursday, pulled down by rising U.S. crude inventories, a stronger dollar and surging output from Iran to Europe and Asia.
Yen Bulls Beware Says RBS Analyst Who Sees BOJ Surprise in June – Bloomberg
A Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc strategist who called the yen’s rally back in October is now telling Japan’s biggest investors not to underestimate the central bank’s ability to weaken the currency.
Goldman Sachs Downgrades Global Equities, Recommends Cash – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has become the latest bank to turn more bearish on stocks
UK Retail Sales Rise More Than Forecast, Aided by Discounts – Bloomberg
UK retail sales began the second quarter with more momentum the economists forecast.
China’s Communist Party Goes Way of Qing Dynasty as Debt Hits Limit – Daily Telegraph
Nobody rings a bell at the top of the credit supercycle, to misuse an old adage. Except that this time somebody very powerful in China has done exactly that.
China – The pendulum Swings Back Towards Reform – FT Confidential (subscription)
April’s official data disappointments confirmed the findings of FT Confidential Research’s proprietary indices that the recent economic stabilisation is imbalanced.
It’s Official. Bank of England Speeches Are Actually Impenetrable – Bloomberg
Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane just said something we’ve all thought for a very long time. The trouble is, people possibly weren’t listening.
An Independent Bank of England Governor Has the Right to Express his Personal View – The Times
Did Mark Carney act properly in commenting last week that Brexit would risk tipping the economy into recession? Of course he did.
SwapClear Compresses Over $1 Quadrillion of Cleared Notional
LCH, the global clearing house, today announced that its SwapClear service has compressed a total of over 8.4 million cleared trades, representing $1 quadrillion ($1,000,000,000,000,000) in notional since it started offering compression services in 2008.