Greece Faces Euro Exit Unless Demands Accepted by Sunday

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Top Headlines

Greece Faces Euro Exit Unless Demands Accepted by Sunday – Bloomberg
European leaders talked openly about a Greek exit from the euro ahead of a weekend summit on the country’s economic future, breaking dramatically with years of denial about the possibility.

China Rout Panics Asia, Greek Worries Smoulder – Reuters
World markets were hit on Wednesday by a meltdown in Chinese markets, a slump in commodities and questions over whether Europe could save Greece.

BRICS Central Banks Sign Forex Reserves Pool Pact – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The five major emerging national economies, known by the acronym BRICS, were a step closer to setting up a $100 billion pool of mutual reserves by signing an “operational agreement” on a visit to Moscow, the Bank of Russia says.

Banks Team Up to Resolve OTC Swaps Margin Disputes – Financial Times (subscription)
The world’s largest swaps dealers and market infrastructure providers are working on a utility to cut down the number of disputes over the amount of margin used in swaps trading.

Libor Trial: Tom Hayes Claims he Made Confession to Avoid US Extradition – The Guardian
Tom Hayes, the former City trader fighting criminal charges for manipulating Libor, said he originally confessed to misconduct in 2013 after being “frozen with fear” that he would be extradited to America.

 

Regulatory News

ASIC Confirms Benchmark Conduct Investigation – Profit & Loss (free story)
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has released a report outlining the regulatory reforms being pursued in relation to financial benchmarks as well as recommending courses of action for market participants. The report confirms that the regulator is investigating financial institutions over possible breaches of conduct guidelines.

City Watchdog Wants New Regulations to Cover Algorithmic Trading – Financial Times (subscription)
Managers responsible for algorithmic trading should be covered by a new accountability regime as part of a push to include traders working in wholesale markets, the UK’s financial regulator has proposed.

Libor Reform Hasn’t Gone Far Enough: UK Regulator – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Nearly five years after the emergence of a rate-rigging scandal that cost banks more than $7 billion in fines, the financial benchmark at the heart of the affair remains broken. A top UK regulator says efforts to overhaul the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, haven’t gone nearly far enough.

A Regulatory Upgrade for Electronic Trading by Mark Wetjen – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, a quiet debate began among market participants and policy makers – has liquidity evaporated in fixed income markets, or has it simply changed? In either case, why has it and should we be concerned?

Global Asset Managers Fret Over Regulation: Survey – Reuters
Global asset managers see regulatory change as the biggest risk for their businesses over the next 12 months, according to a State Street survey of 400 managers in Asia, Europe and North America.

 

Company News

Barclays’s McFarlane Ousts CEO, Signals Deeper Cost Cuts – Bloomberg
Barclays chairman John McFarlane, barely two months into the job, ousted chief executive officer Antony Jenkins and pledged to tackle a “cumbersome and bureaucratic” bank through deeper cost cuts. The shares rose.

Corzine, Others Settle MF Global Lawsuit for $64.5 Million – Reuters
Jon Corzine and other former MF Global Holdings officials have reached a $64.5 million settlement of litigation brought by investors seeking to hold them liable for the now-defunct futures brokerage’s 2011 bankruptcy.

Futures and FX in Sight for Instinet – Financial News (subscription)
Nomura’s agency brokerage Instinet has identified futures and foreign exchange as the products likely to spearhead its expansion into new asset classes, a move which underlines the industry’s efforts to combine the trading of once-distinct products.

UBS to Provide FX Prime Brokerage Services to Advanced Markets – LeapRate
Advanced Markets, a prime of prime broker liquidity provider to retail FX brokers and institutions, announced today that it has added UBS as a prime broker. The new arrangement will expand the range of brokers and institutions that can use existing prime broker credit relationships to access Advanced Markets’ top-tier bank liquidity.

 

Market Savvy  

No, Argentina isn’t a Role Model for Greece
Market Watch
Members of the ever-growing chorus calling for Greece to just drop the euro and strike out with its own currency often look to Argentina to justify their claims that such a drastic move would at least see the country put the worst of its economic turmoil behind after years of crippling depression.

Australian Dollar Likely to Keep Falling
The Australian Financial Review
Investor flight to safety and sinking commodity prices have driven the Australian dollar to new six-year lows this week, as the Aussie slipped below US74¢ for the first time since May 2009 in overnight international trade on Tuesday.

 

Industry Events