Top Headlines
Euro at Three-Day High, Eyeing Catalonia Stand-Off – Reuters
The euro climbed to a three-day high on hedging-related demand from bond investors before a European Central Bank policy meeting next week, though political uncertainty around Catalonia crimped gains.
US Dollar Gains on Tax Overhaul, Fed Outlook – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The US dollar strengthened as the outlook for tax-overhaul plans improved and investors focused on the potential for President Donald Trump to nominate a hawkish Federal Reserve leader.
Sterling Skids After Weak UK Retail Sales Data – Reuters
Sterling skidded half a cent against the dollar, after data showing British retail sales slowed unexpectedly sharply added to uncertainty over the Bank of England’s interest rate outlook.
Sterling’s Long-Term Decline – Financial Times (subscription)
Pound expected to fall further against the US dollar in the next year.
Nafta Nations Are Likely to Adopt Non-Binding Currency Pledge – Bloomberg
Nafta negotiators are working on a side deal for the US, Canada and Mexico to make a non-binding pledge to avoid devaluing their currencies for competitive purposes, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Deutsche Bank Expects Early 2018 Decision on LCH Exit – Risk (subscription)
The clearing industry needs to jointly agree on whether to relocate swaps clearing away from London-based LCH by early next year to ensure continuity of service for clients in the event of a hard Brexit, Deutsche Bank’s regulatory head has warned.
Ferber: Mifid Should be Reviewed with Brexit in Mind – Risk (subscription)
European Union legislator takes aim at CCP open-access provision in further threat to UK clearing.
Failure to Spell Out Transition Plan Could Put Global Financial Security at Risk – The Telegraph
The City is really three financial centres rolled into one: it is the UK’s financial centre, it is the EU’s financial centre and it is a global financial centre.
FX Swaps: Where’s the Progress? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
The fact that FX swaps are in scope of MiFID II suggests that the world is going to change.
No Answer to the Bitcoin KYC Problem in Sight Yet – Profit & Loss
Despite a growing desire from some mainstream regulated financial services firms to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that are based off a public blockchain, there doesn’t seem to be many solutions on the horizon for the Know Your Customer (KYC) challenges this presents.
Ice’s Sprecher Criticises Libor Replacement Push – Risk (subscription)
A global effort to replace term Libor benchmarks with overnight rates could face resistance from market participants, the head of the Intercontinental Exchange has warned.
Regulatory News
SEC Names JP Morgan Executive as Top Regulator of Exchanges – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Brett Redfearn will also oversee regulation of broker-dealers and high-frequency traders.
Industry Hails Potential US Relaxation of Margin Timing Rules – Risk (subscription)
A US Treasury proposal to relax collateral timing requirements under new margining rules for non-cleared derivatives would tackle a problem that has forced some entities to flout the rules and in some cases led them to avoid trading with US counterparties, say market participants.
German Banks Balk at ‘€1bn’ Mifid II Price Tag – Financial Times (subscription)
The German banking lobby criticised the new regulation as too complex and expensive.
Janet Yellen Deserves a Second Term as Fed Chair – The Washington Post
President Trump appears close to deciding who will be the world’s most powerful economic official, the leader of the Federal Reserve, for the next four years.
CFTC Commissioner Wants Say Over Bank Capital Rules – Risk (subscription)
Inability to influence SLR is “incredibly frustrating”, says Quintenz.
Exchange Leaders Wary Over Regulatory Scope – FOW (subscription)
Chief executives of some of the world’s top exchanges are not happy with the scope of the current rules.
Company News
Maguire Named CEO of LCH – Profit & Loss
Daniel Maguire has been appointed CEO of LCH Group, with immediate effect.
Goldman Sachs Moves Forward with MiFID II Plans – The Trade
Chief financial officer, Marty Chavez, says differentiated content, scale and global reach are now critically important ahead of MiFID II.
Lucera Partners with BSO – Profit & Loss
Lucera has selected network and data centre provider BSO’s Chicago-New York-London-Tokyo connectivity route to expand its global FX trading reach.
Banks Proving Slow to Offer Corporates Blockchain Solutions – Profit & Loss
Banks aren’t actively engaging corporates about blockchain solutions, even though these could be beneficial to their businesses, according to speakers at the Swell event hosted by Ripple in Toronto this week.
Market Savvy
Asian Currencies Softer as Dollar Firms; Yuan Dips on GDP – Reuters
Asian currencies softened against the dollar as the greenback firmed overnight, while the yuan retreated after data showed China’s economic growth eased in the third quarter.
NZ Dollar Sinks as Labour Forms Ruling Coalition – Reuters
The New Zealand dollar dropped more than one percent to a near 4½ month low after the left-leaning Labour Party won the support of a minor nationalist party to form a ruling coalition, following an inconclusive election last month.
Australia Unemployment Drops to Four-Year Low – Financial Times (subscription)
The Australian dollar lifted after data showed the country added more jobs than expected in September and unemployment had dropped to a four-year low.