Top Headlines
EU Hopes to Win London’s Euro Trading Sunk by Undersea Cables – Financial Times (subscription)
Fibre optic link critical to strength of forex centres, ECB study finds.
Dollar’s Bounce Stalls After Fed Minutes; Data Eyed – Reuters
The dollar’s bounce stalled after the US Federal Reserve’s policy minutes failed to provide a clear picture of future interest rate increases, although investors were reluctant to add bearish bets before some key US data.
Sterling Steadies as Investors Brush Off Weak Post-Election Data – Reuters
Sterling steadied in a quiet morning of trading, with a run of weaker British economic data failing to deter investors from bets that the Bank of England will hike interest rates in the coming months.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister in Stand-Off with Central Bank – Financial Times (subscription)
Unexpected drop in country’s currency triggers furious response from government
Pakistan’s finance minister is at loggerheads with the country’s central bank after an unexpected drop in its currency triggered a furious response from the government.
Currency Fears Are Delaying Kenya’s Plan to Introduce Derivatives – Bloomberg
Kenya’s central bank blocked plans to introduce foreign-exchange derivatives in the country as it determines how the instruments may affect the nation’s currency, according to the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Does the Crypto World Merely Reflect the Fiat World? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
It seems to be heading mainstream and into the arms of that part of the world its advocates most want to avoid – the establishment.
Mahathir Still Hates Currency Traders 20 Years After Asia Crisis – Bloomberg
As the Asian financial crisis raged on two decades ago, then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad committed economic heresy by rejecting an International Monetary Fund bailout and slapping capital controls on global investors.
Regulatory News
FSB Publishes Update on Misconduct Risk – Profit & Loss
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a progress report for G20 leaders on its work plan to reduce misconduct in the financial sector.
CCP Study Raises Concentration Concerns – Reuters
Revised guidelines for the resilience, recovery and resolution of central counterparty clearinghouses were issued today by a group of regulatory committees as part of an effort to plug gaps in rules aimed at avoiding taxpayer bailouts of the systemically important firms.
Markets Break Out in Mifid II Sweat as New Rules Loom – Financial Times (subscription)
Companies and investors are in a race to comply with a regulatory shake-up in Europe.
CFTC to Boost Resources to Study HFT Impact – FX Week (subscription)
Acting CFTC chief hopes to get better analytics to discover the effects of high-frequency trading on the market.
Company News
NEX SEF Goes Live – Profit & Loss
NEX Group’s Swap Execution Facility (SEF) went live at the start of this week, the firm announces – it received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in April.
CME and FXSpotStream Report ADV Growth – Profit & Loss
After mixed news earlier this week from four platforms, CME Group and FX SpotStream have both reported strong average daily volume data.
Britain’s Finance Industry Faces ‘Tipping Point’ Over Brexit – Reuters
Britain will lose its status as Europe’s top financial centre unless it keeps borders open to specialist staff, improves infrastructure and expands links with emerging economies, TheCityUK said in a report published.
Blockchain: Fintech’s Double-Edged Sword – Investment & Pensions Europe (subscription)
Blockchain may be useful but the transparency it provides may cause problems.
Market Savvy
Emerging Currencies Pressured by Fed, Rand Scare – Reuters
Emerging currencies stayed on the back foot after the previous day’s slides, with South Africa’s rand holding near seven-week lows due to a scare caused by proposals to nationalise the central bank and expropriate land.
Latam FX Weaker on Lower Crude, EM Selloff – Reuters
Most Latin American currencies weakened on a slump in crude prices, while worries about the independence of South Africa’s central bank took a broader toll on emerging market currencies.
Zloty Firms as Investors Mull Likelihood of Polish Rate Hike – Reuters
Central European currencies firmed but there was some reticence after the Polish central bank governor reiterated his view that rates would not start to rise from record low levels this year or next.