Top Headlines
FX: Brokers Cannot Afford an Identity Crisis – Euromoney
The recent withdrawal of Stater Global Markets from the prime-of-prime broker market has underlined the need for providers to continue to prove their value to clients.
Dealers Issue Rallying Cry for Cross-Currency Benchmark Reform – Risk.net (subscription)
Senior derivatives executives have called on the banking industry to take the lead in shifting cross-currency derivatives to a new set of risk-free rates intended to replace Libor, warning that national regulators may not be best placed to tackle the dangers of fragmentation.
BIS Establishes Central Bank Innovation Hub – Profit & Loss
The Bank for International Settlements has announced plans to establish an innovation hub to foster international collaboration on innovative financial technology within the central banking community.
Currency Warrior: Why Trump is Weaponising the Dollar – Financial Times (subscription)
In an industry long dominated by the dollar, it was a move that carried obvious symbolic weight. Last summer Russian diamond miner Alrosa tested a new system for selling its rocks in roubles to clients in countries such as China and India, as an alternative to the US currency.
Regulatory News
UK Regulator Makes CFD Crackdown Permanent – Financial Times (subscription)
The UK financial watchdog has made a temporary crackdown on a risky type of derivatives trade permanent, heavily restricting the sale and marketing of contracts for difference to retail consumers who could rack up large losses.
Swiss Stock Trading Shifts from EU after Brussels-Bern Dispute – Financial Times (subscription)
Banks and fund managers in the EU have been forced to trade Swiss stocks on alternative systems as they cope with a ban brought in over the weekend that blocks trade inside the EU.
Brexit Batters Staff Turnover in the City – Financial News (subscription)
Staff turnover at some of the City’s biggest companies has almost ground to a halt, as uncertainty triggered by Brexit drastically reduces the number of new jobs being created in the Square Mile.
Boris Could Spring a Surprise with Choice for Bank Governor – Financial News (subscription)
If Boris Johnson becomes PM, his showmanship may work in favour of a ‘big splash’ candidate for Global Britain.
One Year On, GDPR Needs a Reality Check – Financial Times (subscription)
One year after EU’s ground-breaking General Data Protection Regulation took effect, evidence is mounting that the law has shortcomings and unintended consequences that are hurting businesses, consumers and innovation.
Crypto News
TD Ameritrade-Backed ErisX Gets Green Light to Settle Futures in Bitcoin – CoinDesk
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has cleared the way for crypto derivatives provider ErisX to offer futures contracts with a new license approval.
Crypto Asset Manager Granted FCA License – Profit & Loss
Prime Factor Capital, a London-based crypto-asset management firm, has been granted a license by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to operate as a full-scope Alternative Investment Fund Manager.
Central Banks Should Issue Digital Currencies of Their Own – Financial Times (subscription)
Digitalisation has reshaped how we communicate, organise, interact, move and trade. It is now changing money. Mobile-phone based electronic payments are becoming just like cash: contactless, cheap and easy to make on a peer to peer basis, including across borders.
Company News
Another Peak for FXSpotStream, Integral FX Volume Also Strong – Profit & Loss
FXSpotStream has reported average daily volume across FX products of $42.25 billion in June, a new peak for the service that beats the previous high, set in January of this year, by 10%. The increase represents a 21.2% increase from May and a 39.1% increase year-on-year. June was also a good month for Integral Development as it rebounded to $36.4 billion per day, a 19.3% increase from May.
Empty Desks and Early Beers: Life at Deutsche Bank in New York – Bloomberg (subscription)
Inside 60 Wall Street, the American headquarters of Deutsche Bank, the signs of trouble are everywhere. On the trading floor, seats sit empty at mid-morning. Computer screens are black. Some who remain are openly hunting for jobs at rival banks. Their bosses know, and don’t mind.
Can Goldman’s Trading ‘Rainmaker’ Bring Back the Glory Days? – Bloomberg (subscription)
He’s the last link to another era at Goldman Sachs, to the time when the traders ruled. Now Ashok Varadhan confronts one of his most daunting challenges: helping restore Goldman’s trading operation, the bank’s long-time profit engine, to something resembling its former glory.
Under a new program called Area X, the bank is putting together teams of half a dozen employees to take ideas from paper to prototype in roughly six weeks. Each group will have experts in strategy, product management, data science, engineering, and user experience.
LCH Appoints Head of SwapClear, Listed Rates – FOW (subscription)
The clearinghouse has promoted former Goldman Sachs executive Susi de Verdelon to a newly created role.
It’s not easy to get a quantitative research job at XTX Markets, the electronic trading firm that pays its staff an average of around £244k per head. Despite accounting for 7.4% of global foreign exchange trades, XTX only has around 100 employees. Plenty of people want to work there. For its next hiring round XTX is trying something different.
Market Savvy
Pound at Two-Week Low, Weighed Down by Brexit, Economic Doldrums – Reuters
Sterling slipped to a two-week low against the dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by uncertainty over Britain’s next prime minister’s priorities for running the country and poor economic data that is prompting bets on lower interest rates.
Hong Kong Dollar Jumps into Strong Half of Band, Hurting Shorts – Bloomberg (subscription)
Hong Kong’s dollar punched into the strong half of its trading band for the first time since September, riding on momentum provided by elevated borrowing costs in the city.