Top Headlines
FXPA Meets with UK Regulators, Central Bank
The Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA) extended its round of introductory meetings with regulators, central banks and legislators around the world with a set of meetings earlier this month in the UK.
Australian Dollar Falls off Cliff as RBA Cuts Rates – fastFT (subscription)
The Australian dollar plunged and stocks surged after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to a record low.
- Australia’s Central Bank Cuts Rates to Record Low – Bloomberg
- Reserve Bank of Australia Cuts Cash Rate to Fight Deflation – Sydney Morning Herald
Leicester City Win Premier League Title After Tottenham Draw at Chelsea – BBC
Leicester City have won the Premier League title in one of the greatest sporting stories of all time.
ECB Paper Casts Doubt on Data Security Around Economic Releases – Profit & Loss
A working paper posted on the European Central Bank’s website casts doubt upon the level of data security around certain US economic releases, finding, multiple occasions when the data was apparently known to some market participants ahead of time.
Bank of Mum and Dad Props up UK Housing Market – The Daily Telegraph
British parents and grandparents are giving their offspring £5bn a year to help them get a foot on the property ladder, making them the equivalent of the 10th biggest mortgage lender in the country.
Slow Progress on Greek Reforms, May 9 Deal Unlikely – Kathimerini
Talks on concluding Greece’s bailout review to unlock new funds and debt relief are progressing only slowly and no deal is likely at a special meeting of eurozone finance ministers on May 9, two sources close to the talks said on Monday.
Regulatory News
The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced it has approved a joint agency notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the incentive compensation provisions of section 956 of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The vote was unanimous.
Company News
Commerzbank Helped Foreign Investors Bilk German Taxpayers – Handelsblatt
Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest bank, received an €18.2-billion bailout from the government. That hasn’t stopped it from taking a lead role in exploiting a tax loophole on behalf of foreign investors from around the world over the past few years, Handelsblatt has learned.
HSBC’s Profits Fall on ‘Market Uncertainty’ – The Daily Telegraph
HSBC’s net profit fell by a fifth in the first quarter as it was hit by “extreme levels” of volatility in world markets over January and February, with bad loan costs almost doubling.
UBS Profit Misses Estimates on Lower Wealth, Trading Income – Bloomberg
UBS Group AG said first-quarter profit plunged 64%, missing analyst estimates, as market turbulence eroded earnings at the wealth-management and securities units.
ANZ Bank Cuts Dividend as Profits Fall 24% – Sydney Morning Herald
ANZ Bank shareholders will receive lower dividends and a smaller cut of future profits, after mounting bad debts and tighter regulation sparked its first dividend cut since the global financial crisis.
Market Savvy
A Spoof Too Far? – Profit & Loss
Market sources tell Profit & Loss that an automated trading account may have had a gamble go wrong around the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy announcement today.
Asian Stocks Pare Earlier Gains, Yen Soars as Risk Aversion Grows – Reuters
Asian stocks erased earlier gains and the Japanese yen rallied to a fresh eighteen-month high on Tuesday as investors grew doubtful about global central banks’ ability to boost growth through aggressive policy easing.
ECB Will not Cut to ‘Absurd’ Levels – Cœuré – fastFT (subscription)
The European Central Bank will not cut interest rates to “absurdly” low levels, one of its most dovish senior officials has warned.
Are Digital Currencies Set to Become a $1 Trillion Industry? – Profit & Loss
The financial services industry will see $1 trillion move into digital currencies over the next 10 years, predicted Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, at the Consensus 2016 conference in New York today.
Draghi Says German Savers Can’t Expect Returns While Reforms Lag – Bloomberg
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said German savers can’t expect high returns for their savings until economic reforms rekindle demand for capital.
Pound Climbs Versus US Dollar, Erasing Year-To-Date Loss – Bloomberg
Sterling has erased its 2016 losses against the dollar, as the currency strengthens ahead of the Brexit vote in Britain.
Gold Crosses $1,300 Threshold as Rates Outlook Undermines Dollar – Bloomberg
After three years of being scorned, gold’s making a powerful comeback. Prices have pushed above $1,300 an ounce on speculation that the U.S. central bank will be slow to tighten policy further, bolstering the metal’s appeal as the dollar sagged.
ECB: The Slowdown in Emerging Market Economies and its Implications for the Global Economy