Top Headlines
EU Plans to Tighten Derivatives Rules Rankles in the US – Financial Times (subscription)
At a meeting held by the House agriculture committee on Wednesday US lawmakers lined up to tear into plans by the European Union to tighten supervision of its derivatives markets after Brexit. Brussels wants more direct oversight of clearing houses, which safeguard the financial system by acting as counterparties between sellers and buyers of shares or derivatives.
BoE Drops Libor for Hedging UK Forex Reserves – Risk.net (subscription)
The Bank of England is putting its words into action on benchmark reform. The central bank has stopped using Libor swaps with fixings beyond 2021 to hedge the UK government’s foreign exchange reserves, and may impose tighter restrictions for Libor-linked collateral lodged with the central bank’s liquidity facility.
G20: Japan and the World – Financial Times (subscription)
As the Osaka summit convenes, we analyse the key risks to global economic growth, US-China trade war and currency conflict, the Fukushima effect on Japan’s climate policy, Asia’s need to lead more on the world stage, how robots cannot alone solve the problems of ageing, and other themes
“The Optimal Age in Banking is 28” – eFinancialCareers
If you think experience doesn’t matter, then next time you have a heart attack or get wheeled into an emergency room, make sure you specifically request the newest resident doctor who’s working 20 hours a day, but who is young and just a couple years out of med school.
Regulatory News
CFTC Issues No Action Relief Regarding Swap Dealer Rules – Profit & Loss
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has granted no-action relief to registered floor traders from compliance with rules relating to the “swap dealer” definition.
FIA Advocates for Changes to Derivatives Reporting Rules – Profit & Loss
The Futures Industry Association (FIA) has published a new position paper that recommends a number of changes to how exchange traded derivatives are reported under European regulation.
FCA Seeks to ‘Give Teeth’ to Forex Trading Code with Endorsement – Financial Times (subscription)
The UK’s financial regulator has endorsed a voluntary code outlining good conduct in currency trading for the first time, in a move intended to boost compliance among senior bankers and investors.
Crypto News
Down $1.7K: Bitcoin’s Price Dives Amid Crypto Market Boost – CoinDesk
Bitcoin is down more than $1,700 since yesterday after a violent sell-off that rocked the markets and caught even seasoned traders off-guard.
- Bitcoin Almost Wipes Out Its Mega Gain Just as Swiftly as It Came – Bloomberg (subscription)
- Novogratz Sold Bitcoin on Wednesday and Wishes He Had Sold More – Bloomberg (subscription)
SEC-Registered Clearing House Brings Crypto Trading to 5 Million Clients – CoinTelegraph
American financial clearing and execution company Apex Clearing and its crypto investment subsidiary Apex Crypto have launched a new trading platform for broker-dealers and financial advisors to help their clients trade crypto more effectively.
Gemini Hires Five Former Coinbase Engineers for New Chicago Crypto Office – CoinDesk
Crypto exchange Gemini is opening a Chicago office as part of a fresh push into the nascent institutional market.
Binance Discussing Libra With Facebook, Exchange Exec Reveals – CoinTelegraph
Binance has engaged in official discussions with Facebook and is “very excited” about the Libra project, the exchange’s strategy officer Gin Chao told BlockTV in an interview on June 27.
Company News
Analysing oneZero’s New Investment – Profit & Loss
A decade after launching, oneZero secured new outside investment this week. Profit & Loss takes a look at the logic behind this deal for all the parties involved.
State Street Settles Claims it Overcharged Clients – Financial Times (subscription)
State Street on Thursday reached an almost $89m settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission stemming from charges that the bank systematically overbilled its investment fund clients for custodial services — primarily by adding a fee for use of the SWIFT financial messaging network.
SGX Launches Portfolio Compression Service for Listed Derivatives – The Business Times
The Singapore Exchange has launched a portfolio compression service for listed derivatives that is aimed at helping traders reduce the risks and capital costs of maintaining their portfolios.
Lumint Adds Six to Advisory Board – Profit & Loss
Lumint, which builds, implements and operates integrated currency overlay management systems, has added Martin Bednall, Mike Even, William Fideli, Robyn Grew, John Rohal and Damon Yuzon to its advisory board.
Cboe Global Markets will launch futures on the AMERIBOR (American Interbank Offered Rate) interest rate benchmark on Cboe Futures Exchange, subject to regulatory review. The new futures are expected to launch on trade date August 16. AMERIBOR futures will be cash-settled.
There’s a New Worst Job at Deutsche Bank – eFinancialCareers
Although DB has been cryptic in public about what the bad bank will be used for, it is clear, reading between the lines, that primarily it will hold the assets of great chunks of the investment bank that are now judged to be surplus to requirements. Clusters of entire books will be ring-fenced and ported over to the new unit where their P&L will sit while the deals within them are sold off or run down.
Market Savvy
Sterling Hits New Five-Month Low vs Euro on No-Deal Brexit Jitters – Reuters
Sterling fell to a new 5-month low on Friday as investors continued to fret about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit should Boris Johnson win the Conservative party leadership race and replace Prime Minister Theresa May as prime minister.
Euro Set for Biggest Monthly Gain in 17 Months Before Price Data – Reuters
The euro stabilised on Friday but was on track for its biggest monthly gain in 17 months as traders questioned how much firepower the European Central Bank could potentially roll out to support a struggling economy and boost inflation.
Why Dollar Bears are Struggling for Conviction – Financial Times (subscription)
US government bonds have screamed higher, stocks have hit record highs and derivatives have lurched in anticipation that the US Federal Reserve will soon embark on significant cuts to benchmark interest rates – a complete U-turn from expectations at the start of this year. But the US dollar has so far shown only a muted response.