Hong Kong’s Next Crisis May Be Economic as Protest Fallout Grows

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Hong Kong’s Next Crisis May Be Economic as Protest Fallout Grows –Bloomberg

Hong Kong’s deepening political crisis now risks becoming an economic one.

China Pledges Not to Devalue Yuan After US Currency Manipulator Designation – South China Morning Post

China will neither devalue the yuan nor change the way it manages the Chinese currency exchange rate after the United States designated it as a currency manipulator last week, according to China’s foreign exchange administration chief.

Trump’s Threats to Devalue the Dollar Aren’t Credible – Wall Street Journal

US policy makers don’t currently have the tools necessary to weaken the greenback.

Argentine Assets Hit After Macri Stumbles in Primary Vote – Financial Times

Argentina’s currency tumbled and the cost to insure against a debt default leapt after opposition candidate Alberto Fernández’s win in primary elections stoked concerns of a populist comeback in presidential elections in two months’ time.

Full Italian Senate to Meet Tuesday to Slate No-Confidence Vote in Government – Reuters

The full Italian Senate will meet on Tuesday to set the date for a motion of no confidence in the government, party chiefs said, after a Senate panel failed to reach an agreement over a timetable for the debate.

Sub Zero: Grappling with the Topsy Turvy World of Negative Yields – Financial Times

Roughly one-quarter of the global debt market is trading at levels once thought improbable.

Interest Rate Cuts Working for Investor Confidence: RBA – Australian Financial Review

Official interest rate cuts are having the right effect on the economy by giving investors the confidence that monetary policy is working and will steer the economy through shocks, according to Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor Christopher Kent.

Parallel Currency is of Dubious Benefit to Italy – Financial Times

Izabella Kaminska is right to criticise European Central Bank president Mario Draghi’s assertion that the mooted Italian mini-BOT Treasury bill instruments would be illegal if they were to circulate as cash as intended.

Regulatory News

CFTC Charges International Enterprise with Operating Fraudulent Binary Options Scheme – CFTC

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a civil enforcement action charging five entities and four individuals with fraud relating to a global retail binary options enterprise that targeted and victimized US residents. 

NLP Sniffs Out Contracts Harbouring Eonia as Fallback – Risk

Test finds wide range of 4,000 Libor euro contracts examined could end up in the flagging Eonia rate.

Federal Court Orders Defendants to Pay More Than $2.7 Million in a Forex Fraud Scheme – CFTC

The US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has entered a default judgment against defendants Kevin Andre Perryand Lucrative Pips Corporationof Atlanta, in an enforcement action in which the CFTC alleged the defendants fraudulently solicited and misappropriated nearly $700,000 from more than 50 clients in a forex trading scheme.

Splits Emerge Over ‘Pre-Cessation’ Fallback Triggers – Risk

CCPs say cleared swaps will move to new rates if Libor is no longer representative of markets.

Crypto News

Trump’s Currency War with China Could Be Bitcoin’s Do-or-Die Moment – Yahoo Finance

The global economy faces its biggest crisis in 11 years. In theory, this should be bitcoin’s moment to shine, a chance to prove itself as an uncorrelated asset immune from political risks. 

New Zealand Legalises Salaries Paid in Cryptocurrencies – Financial Times

New Zealand has become the first country legally to back companies that are paying employees in cryptocurrencies, in a move that brings the oft-maligned asset class in line with mainstream forms of payment.

IRS Warnings to Bitcoin Traders Offer Clues to Coming Tax Guidance – Coin Desk

As US cryptocurrency users eagerly await tax guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they can find hints of what may come in the agency’s recent warning letters.

Cyber Criminals Netted $4.3B From Crypto-Related Crime in 2019 – Coin Telegraph

Cyber criminals have netted $4.3 billion from digital currency exchanges, investors and users in 2019, according to Blockchain security company CipherTrace.

Libra: This Time is Different – Research Gate

Facebook’s Libra can improve both financial inclusion and global financial stability as a viable alternative currency to the US dollar. 

Company News

TraditionDATA Partners with Numerix for FX Data – Profit & Loss

TraditionDATA, the market data and information services division of Tradition, has partnered with Numerix to expand its FX market data coverage.

Japanese Firms Fear Escalation in South Korean Trade Spat – South China Morning Post

Fearing further backlash from Korean consumers, Japanese companies are tiptoeing around the tit-for-tat dispute between their conservative government and South Korea over Japan’s wartime past as the US-China trade war hits global growth.

Klug Promoted to President at Capitolis – Profit & Loss

Justin Klug has been appointed president of Capitolis, having most recently served as chief operating officer of the company. 

Why the Good Times are Unlikely to Last for Exchange Groups – Financial Times

Shares of CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange are at record highs, underscoring investors’ enthusiasm for companies that run the infrastructure for global markets.

CEO Fleur Leaves Solid FX – FX Week

Patrick Fleur left his position as chief executive officer at Dutch ECN Solid FX last month.

Market Savvy

Currency War is Boon to Gold – Seeking Alpha

Central banks around the globe are participating in some kind of perverse race to outdo each other in cutting interest rates. 

Braced for the Global Downturn – Financial Times

Well-meaning central bankers cannot offset the impact of an erratic US president on the real economy.

Trump’s Currency War Smacks of the 1930s – Bloomberg

Too many have forgotten the searing pain of the last “uncoordinated break-up” of the world’s currency regime.

Short Bets Against Sterling Rise to Highest in More Than Two Years – Financial Times

Investors have increased short bets against the pound to their highest level in more than two years as the currency has tumbled under Boris Johnson’s premiership.