EU Keeps Boris Johnson Waiting Over Length of Brexit Extension – Bloomberg
The European Union left Boris Johnson hanging on Wednesday night as officials in Brussels debated whether to grant him a third extension to the Brexit process.
ECB’s Draghi Denied Grand Finale as Economy Weakens and Dissent Grows – Reuters
Mario Draghi may be the man who saved the euro but his last press conference as President of the European Central Bank on Thursday is unlikely to be the grand finale he was hoping for.
Japan’s Manufacturing Activity Shrinks by Most in Over 3 Years – Financial Times
Japan’s manufacturing activity shrank at its fastest pace in more than three years in October as the world’s number three economy was buffeted by a global slowdown, a consumption tax rise and a deadly typhoon.
China Says No Plan to Replace Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam, Dismisses Report – Straits Times
Beijing refuted a media report that claims it is drawing up plans to replace Hong Kong’s beleaguered Chief Executive Carrie Lam with an “interim leader”, calling it “a political rumour with ulterior motives”.
Japan’s Abe, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Meet Amid Bitter Row Over History, Trade – Reuters
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon began talks on Thursday with a handshake but no smiles amid a bitter feud over history and trade that has dragged relations to their worst in decades.
German and French Economies Diverge at Start of Fourth Quarter – Financial Times
Germany’s slump in economic activity persisted at the start of the fourth quarter while France rebounded in the latest sign of the diverging fortunes of the eurozone’s two biggest economies.
US Currency Manipulation Threat Puts Asia Nations on Guard – Bloomberg
Asia is bracing for the latest US Treasury report on foreign currency manipulators, coming in the middle of a trade war that shows no sign of ending.
US Trade Envoy Meets Lawmakers on US-Mexico-Canada Deal as Time Runs Short – Reuters
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met this week with Democratic lawmakers to try to resolve their concerns about the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement as Republicans increased pressure to get the deal passed by the end of 2019.
Chile Central Bank Cuts Benchmark Rate to 1.75% Amid Protests – Reuters
Chile´s central bank on Wednesday slashed its benchmark interest rate to 1.75% from 2%, its third major rate cut since June, as protests over economic inequality rocked the South American nation.
A chastened Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose grip on power was weakened after an election this week, said he would reach out to his opponents but ruled out any kind of coalition government.
Can Central Bankers Talk Too Much? – The Economist
As the Fed and the ECB have learnt, transparency has its downsides.
IRS Never Proved Forex Trades Were Rigged, DC Circ. Hears – Law360
A U.S. Tax Court decision that a partnership should be denied $141 million in tax losses for engaging in sham foreign currency transactions should be reversed because the IRS never proved the trades were rigged, the D.C. Circuit heard Wednesday.
Regulatory News
Last Look – A Grenade with the Pin Pulled? – Profit & Loss
The defensiveness shown by some LPs over their use of last look is worrying and highlights just how tough a sell it could be to get the Global FX Committee to adjust Principle 17 of the FX Global Code.
Last of the Libor Riggers Face Judge in End to Uneven Crackdown – Bloomberg
The long, bumpy road to justice for the global banks and bankers in the Libor-rigging scandal may end in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday, when a pair of former Deutsche Bank AG traders convicted of manipulating the benchmark interest rate face a federal judge for sentencing.
UK’s Javid Sees BoE Governor Appointment This Autumn: ITV – Reuters
The appointment process for the next governor of the Bank of England is on track and an appointment will be made this autumn, finance minister Sajid Javid said.
CFTC Sanctions Unregistered Retail FX Dealer – Profit & Loss
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission says it has issued an order filing and settling an enforcement action against Utah-based Treasury Vault for acting as an unregistered retail foreign exchange dealer.
Mel Stride Elected Chair of Treasury Committee – Financial News
Conservative MP Mel Stride has been elected as chair of the UK’s Treasury Committee – a high-profile post that will allow him to interrogate City companies on everything from cryptocurrencies to diversity.
Crypto News
Bitcoin Nears Death Cross as US Lawmakers Target Libra: Chart – Bloomberg
Bitcoin’s slump to a five-month low is pushing the largest cryptocurrency close to a death cross for the first time since March 2018.
Facebook, Zuckerberg Dig In for Long Haul on Cryptocurrency – Wall Street Journal
Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg vowed to move ahead with plans to create a cryptocurrency-based payments network despite strong opposition from some lawmakers, sounding a note of defiance in a hearing where he and the social media giant were pressed over issues of trust and credibility.
- Waters Urges Facebook to Drop Libra Until It Fixes Other Issues – Bloomberg
- Five Things to Come Out of Zuckerberg’s Libra Testimony – Financial Times
- Is Libra doomed? – The Economist
The Average Lifespan of a Fiat Currency Isn’t 27 Years – Financial Times
A crypto news site ran an intriguing story last week, under the headline “Bitcoin Has Already Reached 40% of Average Fiat Currency Lifespan”. We could hear the tiny sound of your eyeballs rolling to the skies before you even got to the headline.
Coinbase Generated Nearly $2 Billion in Transaction Fees Since 2012 – Coin Telegraph
At Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that Coinbase has generated close to $2 billion in transaction fees since it launched in 2012.
Commerzbank, Deutsche Börse and MEAG Use Blockchain for Settlement Process – The Trade
Commerzbank, Deutsche Börse and asset manager MEAG have completed settlement of a secondary market transaction via tokens using blockchain technology.
Company News
LME in Talks Over Sale of Precious Metals Stake to XTX – Financial Times
Electronic trading house XTX Markets has held talks over buying a stake in the London Metal Exchange’s struggling precious metals exchange business, according to people familiar with the matter.
Vinik to Shut Down Hedge Fund – Wall Street Journal
Billionaire investor Jeffrey Vinik said he is closing his hedge fund less than eight months after he started it, the latest sign of challenges facing the hedge-fund industry.
Chinese Banks Look at Swaptions Pricing – Risk
China’s four large state-owned banks are looking at pricing renminbi interest rate swaptions – a move some see as an indication that the authorities are paving the way for cheaper and more flexible hedging for domestic firms.
Globally expanding businesses need to look beyond the replacement created by the Federal Reserve, advisers say.
FXall Adds Liquidity Provider for Frontier Currencies – Profit & Loss
FXall has added Crown Agents Bank as a liquidity provider, enabling its users to trade more frontier currencies.
Market Savvy
ECB Gets Chance for German Reset With Lagarde-Schnabel Dual Act – Bloomberg
The European Central Bank and Germany finally have a window of opportunity to start repairing their fractured relationship – for the first time in years.
US-China Trade Reprieve Makes No Dent on Recession Chances: Poll – Reuters
The recent truce in the US-China trade war is not an economic turning point and has done nothing to reduce a significant risk that the United States could slip into recession in the next two years, a Reuters poll of economists found.
Brexit May Be Delayed. But Markets Have a Bigger Problem – Bloomberg
If there one thing that’s relatively clear it is that the risk of a no-deal Brexit has dropped, but there might be a bigger problem for investors.
Pound Pauses for Breath Amid Brexit Limbo, Dollar Steadies – Reuters
The British pound stabilised on Thursday as the Brexit project entered a fresh holding pattern, while the dollar held firm as traders took a breather from Sino-US trade headlines.
With US Help, Global Growth in 2020 May Recover a Bit From a Dismal 2019 – Bloomberg Businessweek
Emerging market economies will contribute, but trade tensions remain the big negative.