Fed Announces New Effort to Soothe Money Markets – Financial TimesThe Federal Reserve stepped up its efforts to reduce volatility in short-term lending markets, announcing on Friday that it would inject up to $90bn in two-week loans into the financial system starting next week.

UK Brexit Plans Fail All Basic Backstop Tests, Warns EU – Financial Times

The EU has warned that the British government’s Brexit proposals fail to meet all of its basic tests for avoiding a hard border in Ireland and protecting the island’s economy, heightening the risk of the UK crashing out of the bloc without a deal on October 31.

Juncker to UK: Don’t Blame Brussels for Post-Brexit Border in Ireland – Politico

The European Union can’t be blamed for the construction of border posts between Northern Ireland and Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Sunday.

Germany Seeks to Limit EU Budget Contribution – Spiegel

Germany’s permanent representative to the EU made an unpopular announcement to his counterparts on Monday in the European Council building. His country, said top diplomate Michael Clauss, does not want the EU budget to grow beyond 1 percent of gross domestic product in the coming years.

A Long-Despised and Risky Economic Doctrine is Now a Hot Idea – Bloomberg

It’s like a design competition. Hardly anyone thinks central banks can fix a stalling world economy with their current tools. So some of the biggest names in finance are trying to invent new ones.

Regulatory News

The World Federation of Exchanges Proposes Improvements to CFTC’s Non-US CCP Supervision Proposals – MondoVisione

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global industry group for exchanges and CCPs, has published a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) concerning two proposals that stand to impact the supervision of non-US central counterparties (CCPs) – namely, its Proposal on the Registration with Alternative Compliance for Non-U.S. Derivatives Clearing Organizations and Proposal for the Exemption from Derivatives Clearing Registration.

Markets Swing on Trade and Monetary Policy: BIS Quarterly Review

Trade and monetary policy dominated market developments during the last quarter, with the prices of risky assets falling on escalating trade tensions and rebounding on monetary easing.

Crypto News

CME Group is Launching Bitcoin Options Early in 2020 – Coindesk

Derivatives marketplace CME Group has announced that it will offer options on its bitcoin futures contracts starting in the first quarter of next year.

Will the Bakkt Launch Help Bitcoin Go Mainstream? – Forbes

On September 22, a product designed to remake Bitcoin as a mainstream investment for the world’s investment managers will go live. When ICE Futures U.S., one of the world’s largest commodities markets, opens trading at 8 p.m. ET that day, it will offer Bakkt Daily and Monthly Bitcoin Futures, the first physically delivered crypto-currency contracts ever traded on a federally regulated exchange.

No Chinese yuan in basket underpinning Facebook’s Libra – Spiegel

Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency Libra will be backed by a basket of currencies including the U.S. dollar, euro, yen, sterling and Singapore dollar, but excluding China’s yuan, Der Spiegel reported, referring to a letter from Facebook.

The New Frontier of Cryptocurrency Collateral – Law360

As the number of corporate borrowers transacting in cryptocurrency is likely to increase, this additional pool of value may be of interest to lenders, who should consider some administrative and legal questions as they weigh crypto collateral’s costs and benefits, say Jerome McCluskey of Milbank, and Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, Sarah Olsen and Josh Rawlins of Gemini Trust.

Company News

SGX Welcomes INTL FCStone as Derivatives Trading and Clearing Member – MondoVisione

Singapore Exchange (SGX) today welcomed INTL FCStone Pte. Ltd. as a Trading and Clearing Member of its derivatives market.

Deutsche, Saxo, XTX Live on Cobalt – Profit & Loss

Cobalt, the foreign exchange infrastructure based on shared ledger technology, is now live with Deutsche Bank, XTX Markets and Saxo Bank.

Weisberg Joins oneZero – Profit & Loss

Phil Weisberg has joined oneZero Financial Systems as executive vice president of strategic planning and partnerships. 

Crane Joins Lucera – Profit & Loss

Industry sources tell Profit & Loss that Al Crane has left MarketFactory and is joining Lucera in London in a senior business analysis role.

Hong Kong Bourse Said to Tap UBS, HSBC to Court LSE Shareholders – Bloomberg

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. has started working with UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc as it begins its charm offensive to convince London Stock Exchange Group Plc investors on the merits of its takeover bid, people familiar with the matter said.

Exchange Operators Cut Dependence on Legacy Trading Business – Financial Times
Mergers and acquisitions among exchanges has sometimes been likened to a game of chess. In a world where prized assets are scarce, a move by a major player forces the hand of another. 

Market Savvy

Stage Set for Swiss Franc Rally as SNB Saves Policy Ammunition – Bloomberg

Currency traders may have a green light to push the franc higher after the Swiss National Bank refrained from joining global central banks in easing policy.

China’s Plan for the Yuan Could Backfire in Any Crisis, Strategist Says – Bloomberg

China’s currency-swap lines with nations spanning the globe, designed to bolster the international role of the yuan, could backfire badly in a world crisis. So argues Mansoor Mohi-uddin, a senior macro strategist at NatWest Markets in Singapore. 

Emerging Markets Defy Risks as Central-Bank Rate Cuts Beckon – Bloomberg

For all the obvious negatives – think surging oil prices, trade tensions and the U.S. Federal Reserve having possibly reached the limits of its dovishness – emerging markets are keeping their heads above water.

Trump’s Fed Tweets Shown to Have ‘Significant’ Effect on Trading – Bloomberg

President Donald Trump’s Twitter attacks on the Federal Reserve are prompting investors to bet the central bank will bow to political pressure and lower interest rates, according to a new study.