Greece’s Parliament Passes Austerity Measures Required for Bailout

globalFXsource0

Top Headlines

Greece’s Parliament Passes Austerity Measures Required for Bailout – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Greece’s Parliament passed austerity measures needed to secure a fresh bailout, but a rebellion within the ruling Syriza party is testing whether Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras can hold his government together as he seeks to complete the deal.

FX Forwards Still a Systemic Risk, Warns Academic – Profit & Loss (free story)
The gains to the stability of the financial markets by requiring FX NDFs to eventually clear and trade on swap execution facilities (SEFs) are far outweighed by the risks allowed to continue by exemption physically delivered products, one prominent academic has warned.

Brazil Currency Probe May Grow, Trading Ban Unlikely – Reuters
Brazil’s investigation of an alleged currency cartel formed by 15 of the world’s largest banks could expand to more financial institutions but it is unlikely to result in trading bans, the head of antitrust watchdog Cade told Reuters on Wednesday.

Bad News Comes in Threes for Commodity Currencies – Financial Times(subscription)
Just about everything that could have gone wrong for a commodity currency overnight went wrong for commodity currencies overnight.

Pragma: Trading Patterns Unusually Predictable at the WM/R Fix – Profit & Loss (free story)
Moves to eradicate manipulation in the popular WM/Reuters FX benchmark rates have created opportunities for market makers and proprietary traders to trade more profitably, according to new research from Pragma Securities.

Back to the Fix: One Observation and One Prediction – Profit & Loss(subscription)
I was reading a research note today and it confirmed everything I have thought about Fix execution – it’s like knowing a car crash is coming, and being able to do nothing about it.

Greenwich: Half of Investors’ FX Notional Volume Executed on MDPs – Profit & Loss (free story)
Institutional investors and large corporates trading electronically now execute 49% of their FX notional volume via multi-dealer platforms, up from 45% in 2013 and 38% in 2008, according to a report from Greenwich Associates.

Behind China’s Dwindling Forex Reserves, a Plan to Boost the Yuan – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
If changes in China’s foreign exchange reserves are any indication, the country’s central bank continued its intervention in the currency market last quarter. The goal: to bolster the yuan’s exchange rate.

Regulatory News

Mandated SEF Trading: A Race to the Bottom That Never Happened – Profit & Loss (free story)
Despite concerns that there would be a “race to the bottom” with swap execution facilities (SEFs) putting forward swap products to be Made Available to Trade (MAT), these venues have proved reluctant to do so.

McDermott: Fair and Effective Markets Review (press release)
Speech by Tracey McDermott, director of supervision, investment, wholesale and specialists, at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), delivered at the ICMA Public Sector Issuers Forum, London on 24 June 2015.

Company News

Bank of America Beats Wall Street Forecasts as Expenses Fall to 2008 Levels –Forbes
With no major new legal settlements or fines to report, Bank of America +3.21% CEO Brian Moynihan is beginning to show that he can guide the bank to a leaner and more profitable future.

Brace for More Days of Extreme Volatility, Icap’s Chief Says – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
As the US Federal Reserve moves toward its first rate increase in nine years, and banks bow to regulatory pressure, the world’s largest currencies broker is bracing for more days of market turbulence.

FXCM Reports 10% MoM Increase in Institutional Volume in June – LeapRate
FXCM reports institutional customer trading volume of $227 billion in June 2015, 10% higher than May 2015 and 0.4% higher than June 2014.

Clearstream Reports June 2015 Volumes and Settlement Figures – Finance Magnates
Clearstream reported its settlement figures across all of its business segments, generally yielding an overall strong y-o-y performance.

Market Savvy  

Euro Slips to Six-Week Low After Greece Approves Bailout Plan
Reuters
There was no silver lining for the euro on Thursday after Greece voted through austerity demanded in return for another bailout, as improved interest rate differentials drove the dollar higher across the board.

No End Seen to Franc Strength Six Months After Swiss Scrap Cap
Bloomberg
Thomas Jordan’s wait for a weaker franc looks to be a long one. Six months since the Swiss National Bank president gave up capping the currency at 1.20 per euro, it’s still stronger than that level. And even 4 1/2 years from now the franc won’t have fully recovered from the surge the SNB’s move allowed, analyst estimates show.

ECB to Remain Dovish, EUR to Remain Under Pressure
BNP Paribas
Today the focus shifts to the ECB meeting, where we expect an increase in the threshold for ELA to Greek banks from €89 billion. We expect the policy meeting to be a net-net EUR bearish event, with President Draghi likely to continue to signal the ECB intends to fully deliver on its QE programme and is open to do more to counter any risks to the economic recovery.

The Morning Track – Closer?
Track.com
The financial markets soap opera continues – with the question of the day resting on the US – is it any closer to the FOMC lift-off? BoE warnings that a rate cut was closer found few believers after unemployment rose for the first time since 2013. The GBP rally fizzles a bit and markets await the next “closer” call from FOMC Chair Yellen.

Press Releases

Barclays Launches Rise Global Community and its First US Accelerator
Barclays has opened the doors of Rise New York, a physical space and virtual global community designed to pioneer the future of financial technology. By the end of 2016, Barclays plans to have opened Rise hubs in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Industry Events