Top Headlines
Global Trade Suffers Biggest Collapse Since Great Recession – Daily Telegraph (subscription)
A recent collapse in global trade is the worst since the financial crisis and as steep as during the recession of the early 2000s, according to new figures from the Dutch government.
EU Ready to Launch US Trade Talks, But Without Agriculture – Reuters
Fed Should ‘Communicate Comfort’ With Slightly Higher Inflation: Evans – Reuters
The US Federal Reserve should embrace inflation above its target half the time and consider cutting rates if prices do not rise as fast as expected, a top policymaker at the central bank said.
Fed’s Rosengren Says Central Bank Should Target an Inflation Range – Reuters
Germany Warns Britain Cannot Have Further Brexit Extension – Financial Times (subscription)
Germany’s foreign minister has warned London that there will be no Brexit extension beyond October, sending out the strongest signal yet that Berlin’s patience with the UK’s deadlocked political system is starting to wear out.
Sorry, Britain, the EU Has Bigger Problems than Brexit – Financial News (subscription)
May Tells Civil Service to Continue No-Deal Brexit Planning – Daily Telegraph
Calm Currencies Pose Problem for FX Investors – Financial Times (subscription)
Leading currencies have been so steady for the past six months that traders have begun to wonder whether their pricing screens are broken.
Italy’s Deputy Leader Says He Won’t Change the Country’s Economic Path – CNBC
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, Luigi Di Maio, has told CNBC that his country will not change course despite fears of ballooning debt and struggling growth.
Why China Should Make the Yuan a Safe Haven – South China Morning Post
While Beijing may breathe easier now than in 2018, global conditions remain uncertain, meaning China should hasten reforms to strengthen the yuan’s position as a reserve currency, to challenge the dominance of the US dollar
BoJ Vows to Patiently Continue Current Monetary Stimulus – Reuters
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday vowed to “patiently continue” the central bank’s “powerful” monetary easing as it was taking longer than previously thought to accelerate inflation to its 2 percent target.
Election Optimism Fuels Foreign Interest in Indonesia – Financial Times (subscription)
Foreign investors have surged into Indonesia’s stock market in the lead-up to elections on Wednesday in which incumbent president Joko Widodo will square off against former general Prabowo Subianto for the reins of south-east Asia’s largest economy.
Regulatory News
The New Imperative: Active Liquidity Management – Profit & Loss
Angus Scott, head of product at CLS, outlines the industry and regulatory drivers that mean banks have to be able to manage liquidity intraday; as well as the internal and external solutions that can help them to achieve this.
FX: Making the Best of a Bad Situation – Euromoney
Determining when a client is in distress is not always a straightforward process – banks and FX platforms need to have processes in place to ensure losses are not compounded.
Splintered Libor Transition Raises Risks for Banks – Financial Times (subscription)
Global regulators reminded the world last week that they would like to see the Libor lending benchmark all but gone by 2022, and they will be watching banks’ progress carefully. Figuring out how to replace the London interbank offered rate, however, is fast becoming one of the prickliest issues in global markets.
Currency Manipulation Rule to be Included in Any US-Japan Trade Talk Agreement – Japan Times
With US-Japan trade talks set to begin, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said any agreement will include a requirement to refrain from manipulating currencies to gain an advantage in international trade.
Crypto News
Binance Delists Craig Wright’s “Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision” – Financial Times (subscription)
In recent days, an online feud between those who support Craig Wright’s claims to be bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto and the other 99.9 per cent of cryptoland has intensified. A lot.
Did Binance Just Cause a $6 Billion Dump? – NewsBTC
BSV Boycott, Is It Good For The Crypto Industry? – Ethereum World News
Japan’s SBI Holdings Invests in Local Crypto Exchange Applicant FXCoin – Coin Telegraph
Japanese crypto startup FXCoin revealed it has completed a third-party allotment of shares with financial services giant SBI Holdings.
Blockchain is a French Government Priority – Coin Telegraph
France’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, has stated that blockchain technology is a priority for his country’s government.
Company News
Goldman Offers Fresh Details on Overhaul Progress as Revenue Slides – Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc offered new tidbits about its sweeping operational overhaul when reporting first-quarter results on Monday, but investors focused on revenue declines across nearly all its main businesses, sending shares lower.
Citigroup Bucks Bond-Trading Trend – Financial News (subscription)
Citigroup’s profits rose 2% in the first quarter as the bank defied its Wall Street rivals with increased revenues from bond trading and a 76% leap in advisory fees.
BlackRock Moves to Hire GF Securities Boss for China Operations – Financial Times (subscription)
BlackRock is moving to beef up its understrength Chinese operations by approaching Tang Xiaodong, a veteran investor with experience on both sides of the Pacific, to run its operations on the mainland.
Market Savvy
Three Reasons Why China Might Need a Stronger Yuan – South China Morning Post
All at once, the markets for pork, other agricultural products and iron ore face distortions, and China might be prepared to accept yuan appreciation to protect against the resulting commodity-related inflationary pressures
ECB to Keep Policy Accommodative Until Inflation Recovers: Villeroy – Reuters
The European Central Bank is committed to keeping monetary policy loose until inflation returns to its target.
A Tricky Read? NZ Central Bank Chief Wrong-foots Markets – Reuters
Just a year into the job and Adrian Orr has managed to ruffle financial markets and economists, not exactly what the New Zealand central bank chief had in mind when he set out to demystify monetary policy.