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Join FXPA at FIA Boca
Attending FIA Boca next week? Please join the membership of the Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA) for a Meet & Greet session at the FIA Boca conference. Representatives from the FXPA will be in the Lounge Area adjacent to Bar Luna from 5:30-6:30 on Tuesday, 10 March. Profit & Loss is sponsoring cocktails. Please rsvp to jros@profit-loss.com

NY Regulator Puts Three European Banks in FX Probe – Business Insider
The New York state financial regulator has subpoenaed three major European banks and a US peer in a probe of foreign exchange rigging, sources close to the situation told AFP Friday.

Buy Side Split on Internalisation and Last Look… – Profit & Loss (free story)
Buy-side participants have expressed differing opinions as to the risks associated with internalisation and “last look” practices in foreign exchange in their responses to the Fair and Effective Markets Review.

…While Banks Warn Against Over-Regulation While Defending Last Look –Profit & Loss (free story)
The sell-side appears to be united in general agreement that the industry would benefit more from standardised codes of conduct rather than increased regulatory intervention, according to the various responses submitted to the UK’s Fair and Effective Markets Review.

Draghi Outflanking Kuroda as Bearish Euro Bets Surge – Bloomberg
With Mario Draghi poised to start injecting unprecedented amounts of money into the euro-zone economy, he’s already beating his Japanese peer in the global currency wars.

Dollar Near 11-Year High After Chinese Rate Cut, Eyes on ECB – Reuters
The dollar hovered around an 11-year high against a basket of major currencies on Monday, helped by the fallout from a cut in Chinese interest rates which added to renewed pressure in the past week on the euro.

BGC and GFI: A Hostile Takeover Turned Friendly? – Profit & Loss(subscription)
The long-running saga of the bidding war for GFI Group came to an end earlier this month when the GFI board of directors unanimously agreed to support BGC Partners’ $6.10 per share in cash takeover offer.

RBS Internal FX Probe Claims Three Jobs, Deputy Head of Markets Suspended – Profit & Loss (free story)
Three RBS FX traders who were suspended as part of the bank’s internal investigations into alleged FX malpractice have since been dismissed, according to RBS CEO Ross McEwan.

Speculator Mania for Danish Krone Makes No Sense, OECD Says – Bloomberg
The obsession with holding kroner that has gripped speculators since mid-January is hard to explain given the state of Denmark’s economy.

The Absence of Grexit Strengthens, Not Weakens, the Euro Long Term –Forbes
There’s an interesting argument to be had about whether having Greece within the euro strengthens the currency or whether allowing it (or forcing it) to leave would do so.

Traders Say Lack of Bank of Canada Guidance Fuels Volatility – Reuters
When Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz abandoned a policy of offering forward guidance on interest rates last year, he said telling traders explicitly what’s going to happen can boost volatility as it spurs a rush for the exits when things change.

M&A Bankers Offer to Judge the FX Factor – Financial News (subscription)
For years, bankers have been trying to persuade clients to buy instruments that hedge foreign exchange exposure if a deal goes through. Now those clients are beginning to take them up on the offer.

Regulatory News

Bank of England Tightens Procedures After FX Investigation – Profit & Loss(free story)
The Bank of England has announced tougher rules for its employees after staff failed to spot market malpractice by currency traders at some of the major banks.

Warren Says Critics Wrong That She Sees Dodd-Frank as Grail – Bloomberg
US Senator Elizabeth Warren said she is open to easing financial regulations to help community banks and consumers, so long as the changes aren’t veiled efforts to help Wall Street unwind the Dodd-Frank Act.

ESMA’s MiFID II Consultation Period Closes Today
ESMA’s consultation period for the MiFID II Consultation Paper closes tonight at the following local times: Paris – Midnight; London – 11 pm.; and New York – 6 pm.

Company News

Saxo Clients Increase Calls for Refunds After EURCHF Losses – Profit & Loss(free story)
Law firm Andersen Partners, which represents a group of around 20 Saxo Bank customers, is preparing a letter to the bank calling for its clients to be reimbursed for losses made as a result of the bank’s re-pricing of EURCHF trades.

Goldman Said to Cut Singapore Investment Bank Jobs by 30% – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group is reducing the size of its investment-banking team in Singapore by about 30% compared with the start of the year, people with knowledge of the matter said.

KCG and BATS Obtain All Approvals for Hotspot Transaction – Forex Magnates
An announcement made by KCG Hotspot to clients, vendors and FX market participants reveals that all due diligence procedures have been passed and the takeover deal between BATS Global Markets and KCG Holdings is clear to move forward.

Hotspot FX Average Daily Volumes Down 23% in February to $26.4 Billion –LeapRate
To kick-start February volume metrics as a possible sign of things to come across segments of trading venues, Hotspot’s volumes have slumped by 23% compared with January this year.

Market Savvy  

FX Update: RBA Likely to Cut Rates Tonight
Saxo Bank
China’s central bank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points and it was interesting to note the lack of an enthusiastic reaction to this in the major currencies, particularly the Australian dollar.

Press Releases

LedgerX Selects Ancoa to Deliver Market Surveillance Capability for Bitcoin Options Trading
LedgerX has selected Ancoa to provide the first real-time market and trade surveillance platform for monitoring Bitcoin options trading on LedgerX.

Industry Events