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Join FXPA Today at FIA Boca
Attending FIA Boca today? Please join the membership of the Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA) for a Meet & Greet session at the FIA Boca conference. Representatives from the FXPA will be in the Lounge Area adjacent to Bar Luna from 5:30pm-6:30pm today. Please rsvp to jros@profit-loss.com

Euro Falls Further Towards Dollar Parity – Financial Times
The euro is under $1.08 for the first time in almost 12 years and European stocks are slipping as momentum from a rebound in US indices continues to fade, while eurozone sovereign borrowing costs are also falling.

Move Over Greece! Kiwi Baby Formula Threat Spurs Euro, Yen Slump – Bloomberg
Threatening letters sent to New Zealand’s dairy producers set off a currency cascade on Tuesday, driving the euro and the yen to the weakest levels in at least seven years.

Dollar Hits Fresh Multi-Year Highs Against Euro, Yen – MarketWatch
The dollar hit fresh multi-year highs against both the euro and the yen during Asian trade Tuesday, in a sign of how monetary and economic conditions in the US, the eurozone and Japan are continuing to diverge.

Cost of Hedging Sterling Exposure Jumps as UK Election Nears – Reuters
The cost of hedging against sharp swings in the British pound rose sharply on Tuesday, as investors priced in greater uncertainty associated with the parliamentary election in May.

Brazil Real Leads Global Declines as Court Blocks Rousseff Probe – Bloomberg
Brazil’s real led global currency declines as a Supreme Court ruling threatened to heighten tension between President Dilma Rousseff and lawmakers over the administration’s plan to cut deficits.

Top Five US Swaps Clearers Have 73% of the Business – Risk Magazine (subscription)
Total domination by the top firms, diverging ambitions, shrinking excess collateral – a full year’s data is now available on US client clearing businesses, and it reveals some worrying trends. The over-the-counter derivatives clearing business is maturing – 2014 was the first full year in which the US mandate was in place – but the data suggests there is still some way to go.

FX Fee Hike After Swiss Move Sparks Execs’ Concern – Pensions & Investments
Consultants are advising asset owners to take a closer look at what they pay their global custodians for foreign exchange trading after some banks responded to the increase in the value of the Swiss franc by hiking FX costs.

Corporates Eye Cross-Currency Swaps as Euribor Sinks – Risk Magazine (subscription)
The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.05% in September 2014, tempting some corporates to swap their debt into euros and cut their debt service costs, but some see hidden dangers.  Since the current period of low interest rates began, much of the discussion has centred on the difficulties the buy side faces in generating yield for investors. For corporate borrowers, though, it creates the potential for windfall savings in their debt service costs.

Mexican Peso Tumbles to Weakest Level Since 1993 Redenomination – Bloomberg
Mexico’s peso fell to a record low on speculation interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve will diminish the appeal of higher-yielding emerging market assets.

Turkish PM, Ministers to Meet with Central Bank Chief Over Lira Plunge – Reuters
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will hold a meeting with nine cabinet ministers and Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci on Tuesday to discuss recent sharp falls in the lira currency, sources at his office say.

 

 

Regulatory News

Financial Conduct Authority: Bringing Additional Benchmarks into the Regulatory and Supervisory Regime
The UK FCA’s Policy Statement, published today, sets out the framework for regulating and supervising the seven additional benchmarks being brought into regulatory scope including the WM/Reuters (WMR) London 4pm Closing Spot Rate.

MAS Signs Agreement With ESMA on CCP Equivalence – Profit & Loss
The European Securities and Markets Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have signed a memorandum of understanding on central counterparty equivalence.

EU Court Upholds Blocking of Deutsche Boerse/NYSE Euronext Merger – Reuters
A European Union court upheld on Monday the European Commission’s decision in 2012 to block a planned merger of Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext. The Commission blocked the deal to create the world’s biggest stock exchange because it said it would have created a “near monopoly” in European financial derivatives.

CFTC Official Says Brazil, Singapore, Mexico Likely to Apply for US Derivatives Rules Recognition – FS Core (subscription)
Three jurisdictions — Brazil, Singapore and Mexico — are likely to apply for US deference to their derivatives rules on American banks’ international transactions, a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission official said.

 

 

Company News

CME Appoints AP Head – Profit & Loss
CME Group has named Christopher Fix as managing director and head of Asia-Pacific. He will be based in Singapore and will be responsible for leading CME’s efforts to develop benchmark products and services to meet the needs of its customer base in the region.

ParFX Eyes Further Growth as it Nears Third Year – Euromoney
Nearly two years on from its launch, spot foreign exchange trading platform ParFX remains focused on on-boarding new bank and non-bank clients as it continues to compete for market share with incumbent platforms.

SGX Opens Office in Hong Kong – Profit & Loss
The Singapore Exchange has opened a Hong Kong office, which is registered as Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading (SGX-DT), as part of its expansion plans in Greater China.

Startup Challenges Dominance of Big Banks in Derivatives Markets – Reuters
TrueEX offers trading features, such as anonymous trading, that regulators and traders at funds say will encourage smaller banks and other players, such as hedge funds, to enter the market as dealers. That will help increase competition, reduce prices for customers, and decrease risk in derivatives markets.

New BATS CEO Eyes Expansion with FX Forwards, Precious Metals – Pensions & Investments
Chris Concannon will be taking the reins at BATS Global Markets = with an eye toward expanding the firm’s trading in foreign exchange forward contracts and possibly in precious metals.

Barclays Expects ‘Significant’ IT Cost Savings from SunGard Deal – Financial Times (subscription)
Barclays is handing over some of its post-trade processing and regulatory reporting obligations to SunGard, in a first-of-its kind deal that the IT service provider said would typically cut costs in the area by 20%.

China Legal Threat Dents ICE’s Singapore Plans – Financial Times (subscription)
Intercontinental Exchange has pushed back the launch of its Singapore platform to the middle of the year from this month due to a Chinese bourse threatening legal action.
 

 

 

Market Savvy  

Likely to Move Sooner Rather Than Later
John Hardy, Saxo Bank on the Case For and Against the Fed Hiking Interest Rates
The US employment report for February, released Friday, was another solid one that added to a string of solid reports showing that the US jobs market continues to improve. Significantly, not only did payrolls register a solid advance again in February, the report also showed the US unemployment rate falling to the 5.5% level, the top end of the range that the Fed considers normal.

 

 

Press Releases

Fidessa Partners with RBS for Global Futures and Options Trading
Fidessa has today announced that RBS has selected Fidessa’s futures and options trading platform to enhance its execution capabilities within the global derivatives business.

 

 

Industry Events