Ex-Rabobankers Denied Acquittal, New Trial In Libor Scam – Law360

A New York federal judge denied acquittal or a new trial Wednesday for two former Rabobank traders convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to manipulate Libor, rejecting arguments their submissions to the global benchmark weren’t misstatements intended to cause harm.

China is Selling US Government Debt – Business Insider (Australia)

Chinese holdings of US government debt fell to a ten-month low in December. According to the US Treasury department, US government debt held by China – the largest offshore holder globally – fell by $18.4 billion to $1.25 trillion in December, leaving the holdings of bills, notes and bonds largely unchanged from the levels of a year earlier.

Currency Managers Throw Out the Playbook as Trusted Models Fail – Bloomberg

Currency managers battered by the failure of most major trading strategies this year are switching tactics.

A Hard Look at Last Look in Foreign Exchange – Markets Media

The debate over ‘last look’ in foreign exchange trading has resurfaced in 2016 as regulators continue to eye the practice and investors worry about slippage and potential market abuse.

ECB Open to Blockchain’s Settlement Potential – eFinancialNews

The ECB launched a consultation on the infrastructure underpinning Europe’s financial markets on February 15, in which it discussed how central banks in the Eurosystem could consolidate the technologies used to run payment and settlement systems, and ways in which collateral could be moved more easily across the region.

Commodity Foreign Exchange Limits Advance of Dollar – Financial Times (subscription)

The dollar faced two ways in currency trading, holding its own on its main peers thanks to a rebound in US economic data while falling against commodity foreign exchange following gains in oil.

Mexico’s Currency Swing Shows Why Forex Matters to ETF Investors – Barron’s

Emerging-market ETF investors are getting a lift from Mexico’s central bank, which surprised markets with efforts to buttress the country’s floundering currency.

China Breaks its Silence on Currency Risk – The Australian Business Review

China’s multi-trillion dollar foreign reserve and its stable exchange were once seen as the signs of the country’s economic strengths. Who would in his right mind dare to challenge Beijing’s formidable nuclear arsenal? That was the mainstream view during the first half of 2015.

SWIFT: Re-shaping the Regulatory Landscape Through Big Data Analytics – Automated Trader

A new paper from the SWIFT Institute highlights the many uses of big data analytics by financial organisations to meet evolving regulatory and compliance requirements.

Regulatory News

Mexico’s Central Bank Launches Direct FX Intervention Plan – Sources – Reuters

Mexico’s central bank intervened directly in the forex market to sell dollars as part of an aggressive new program, two central bank sources said on Wednesday, in a major policy shift to support the peso, which plunged to fresh lows in recent weeks.

Venezuela Devalues Currency and Raises Price of Gasoline – New York Times

Venezuala’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Wednesday devalued the currency by 37 percent and raised fuel prices for the first time in 17 years.

Company News

Digital Asset Establishes Strategic Business Relationships with Accenture, Broadridge and PwC

Digital Asset Holdings, LLC, a developer of Distributed Ledger Technology for the financial services industry, today announced that it has entered into non-exclusive strategic business relationships with Accenture, Broadridge and PwC designed to ensure the faster adoption and scalability of its innovative solutions, and create additional value for clients across the financial ecosystem.

JP Morgan Moves Global Clearing Role to London – The Trade

Dave Olsen, global head of futures, options and OTC clearing for the bank will also leave the team, according to an internal memo. JP Morgan’s Nick Rustad will lead its global clearing business in London, in anticipation of the European clearing mandate in June.

Currency Gusts “Brutal” For Zoetis: CFO – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Currency volatility is generating headwinds for Zoetis Inc. and the company expects the drag to continue for this year and next. The company’s fourth quarter revenue was reduced by nine percentage points compared to the year earlier period, according to finance chief Paul Herendeen.

Market Savvy

Asia FX Sentiment Mostly Better; Yuan Bearish Bets Near Three-Month Low: Reuters Poll – Reuters

Sentiment toward most emerging Asian currencies improved in the last two weeks helped by the prospect of more gradual U.S. rates rises and further European monetary policy easing, while a rebound in oil also boosted risk assets, a Reuters poll showed.

Commodity-Exporter Currencies Rally as Crude Oil Extends Rebound – Bloomberg

The currencies of commodity-exporting nations rallied, propelled by a surge in crude-oil prices.

Press Releases

High-Frequency Cross-Market Trading and Market Volatility – Liberty Street Economics

The close relationship between market volatility and trading activity is a long-established fact in financial markets. In recent years, much of the trading in U.S. Treasury and equity markets has been associated with nearly simultaneous trading between the leading cash and futures platforms. The striking cross-activity patterns that arise in both high-frequency cross-market trading and related cross-market order book changes in U.S. Treasury markets are also witnessed in other asset classes and naturally lead to the question that we investigate in this post of how the cross-market component of overall trading activity is related to volatility.