Top Headlines
Greenwich Sees e-Trading Shift from FX – Profit & Loss
A new report from research group Greenwich Associates says that the focus of e-trading efforts in financial markets is switching away from mature markets like FX and into high yield bonds and cash equities.
The Challenges of Embedding a New Name in the Industry – Profit & Loss (subscription)
What’s in a name? It’s a question that is asked in all walks of life almost on a daily basis and the last week or so has seen it asked in financial markets as Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk Division prepares for life as Refinitiv.
Machine Earning: How Tech is Shaking Up Bank Market-Making – Risk.net (subscription)
As banks get serious about e-trading, humans are being asked to give up their secrets to the machines that could replace them.
In the FICC of It – Profit & Loss (podcast)
In this week’s In the FICC of It podcast, Colin Lambert and Galen Stops discuss the Mark Johnson trial, pointing out that if the current verdict is upheld despite the ongoing appeal against it and ACIFMA’s decision to file an amicus brief in support of the appeal, it could have a very significant impact on both the Global FX Code and how the FX industry operates more broadly.
Clearing Up Deutsche’s Swaps ‘Shift’ – Risk.net
The reported move of Deutsche Bank’s euro business is not as straightforward – or as dramatic – as it seemed.
Renminbi Payments Hold Steady in June: Swift – FX Week (subscription)
The renminbi maintained its position as the fifth most-used currency for domestic and international payments in June, despite its rapid depreciation, according to payments infrastructure company Swift.
Regulatory News
The Securities and Exchange Commission has become a magnet for tips – both good and bad – after publicizing its mega-bounties, including an $82 million award given in March to three tipsters who told regulators about a complex scheme at Bank of America involving misused customer cash and securities.
Banker Warns of Herculean Task to Escape Libor’s Tentacles – Financial Times (subscription)
Moving global finance away from its reliance on Libor is a Herculean task that could be “bigger than Brexit”, according to bankers and analysts.
Ten Years After the Crash, We Are Still Living in the World It Brutally Remade – New York Magazine
Sometimes you don’t know how deep the hole is until you try to fill it. In 2009, staring down what looked to anyone with a calculator like the biggest financial crisis since 1929, the federal government poured $830 billion into the economy – a spending stimulus bigger, by some measures, than the entire New Deal.
Crypto News
NYSE’s Owner to Launch Bitcoin Firm, Futures Contracts – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The owner of the New York Stock Exchange said it is launching a new bitcoin company and futures contracts based on the digital currency. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) plans to create a new company called Bakkt (pronounced “backed”), which will offer a platform that allows customers to buy, sell, store and spend digital currencies.
- Intercontinental Exchange Becomes Latest Exchange to Unveil Crypto Offering – The Trade Crypto
- NYSE Parent ICE’s New Futures Contract Will Deliver Real Bitcoin – CoinDesk
- NYSE Owner is Teaming Up with Microsoft and Starbucks to Build an ‘Ecosystem’ for Crypto – Business Insider
Dozens of trading groups are manipulating the price of cryptocurrencies on some of the largest online exchanges, generating at least $825 million in trading activity over the past six months – and hundreds of millions in losses for those caught on the wrong side.
Tricks Of A Crypto Trader: Meet Asia’s Hottest Crypto Hedge Fund – Forbes
FBG Capital’s fame stems from turning $20 million into $200 million in a year. Ten months before this soiree, the group of traders behind the firm didn’t yet have a name for their company. Today it counts Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital among its blue-chip investors and is one of the biggest crypto-asset managers in Asia.
Company News
NEX, CME FX Volumes Down in July – Profit & Loss
Average daily volumes for spot FX trading on NEX Markets was $81.9 billion in July, down 15% from the $95.8 billion reported the previous month. Meanwhile, CME Group says ADV in its FX products, which includes FX options, was 840,000 contracts, which Profit & Loss estimates to be in the region of $83.2 billion in notional value.
FX Hurts BNPP’s Q2 But 2020 Plan on Track – Euromoney (subscription)
BNP Paribas had its excuses ready to explain a second-quarter fall in CIB profits and FICC revenues, but strength in equities and continued progress on its strategic plan looked good.
Market Savvy
Sterling Sinks to 11-Month Low after Fox Says No-Deal Brexit Likely – Reuters
The pound sank to an 11-month low on Monday as comments by officials about Brexit stoked fears among currency investors that Britain could soon crash out of the European Union without securing a trade agreement.
Dollar Heads Toward One-Year Highs as Trade Concerns Dominate – Reuters
The dollar rose on Monday, edging toward a one-year high, as escalating trade war rhetoric between the US and its trading partners helped the US currency.
Lira Extends Longest Losing Streak Since May to Fresh Record Low – Bloomberg
The Turkish lira fell against the dollar for a sixth day and government bonds dropped as a showdown with the US over a detained American pastor continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
When Will the Renminbi Slide Deepen Trade Tensions? – Financial Times (subscription)
Escalating trade tension between China and the US has weighed on the Chinese currency. The renminbi has weakened by almost 10 per cent against the US dollar since the start of April, when the trade impasse between Washington and Beijing gathered pace.
Iran Announces Plan to Ease Exchange Rate Rules – Reuters
Iran announced on Sunday a plan to ease foreign exchange rules, state television reported, as Tehran tries to counter the effects of a plunging currency and prepares to face new US sanctions.
Here Are Three Reasons to Short Australia’s Dollar – Bloomberg
Optimism that Australia’s dollar has found a bottom may be premature. The currency looks set to take another leg down as the US-China trade war worsens and the outlook deteriorates for Australia’s major export earner iron ore.
Swedish Krona Finds a Friend as State Street Suggests Overweight – Bloomberg
An end to the troubles of this year’s worst Group-of-10 currency may now be near. That’s the view of Timothy Graf, head of Europe Middle East and Africa macro strategy at State Street Bank & Trust, who recommended last week an overweight position in the Swedish krona.