Top Headlines
Markets Fret Over Currencies Going Bump in the Night – Financial Times
Flash crashes are becoming a fact of life in late-night currency trading, and while regulators are poring over what lies beneath them, bankers say the changing structure of the industry means further slip-ups are inevitable.
Exchanges in FX: A Game of Musical Chairs – Profit & Loss
In recent years, large exchange groups have been lining up to buy OTC FX platforms. But in this game of musical chairs, what happens to the venues without a buyer when the music stops?
Wall Street Cuts a Deal to Clean Up $8.2tn CDS Trading – Financial Times
A group of Wall Street banks and fund managers are finalising fixes to mend the $8.2tn credit derivatives market, hoping to prevent controversial trading strategies that shook the integrity of the market last year.
US, China Trade Deal Leaves Currencies as Fighting Ground – Bloomberg
The US and China are edging closer to resolving differences on currencies that have bogged down economic talks for nearly two decades. The only question is how meaningful the deal will be.
Central Banks’ ‘Embrace’ of Markets May Be Complicating Policy – Bloomberg
The Bank for International Settlements cited recent volatility as another instance of the “extraordinarily tight” relationship between policy makers and financial markets that it has questioned in the past.
Regulatory News
BoE Sets Up Facility to Buffer Banks in Event of Chaotic Brexit – Financial Times
The UK should expect “significant market volatility” in the event of a no-deal Brexit, even though the financial system is equipped to survive a worst-case scenario, the Bank of England has warned, announcing the launch of weekly auctions of euros to ensure banks do not run out of cash.
Democrats Aim for Financial-Transactions Tax – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Progressive Democrats renewed their push to curb high-frequency trading, introducing a bill Tuesday that would impose a 0.1% tax on financial transactions such as stock purchases and derivatives trades.
Research Unbundling in the US Leaves Buy Side, SEC in a Quandary – Tabb Forum
While MiFID II is a European mandate, it has driven global buy-side firms to attempt to unbundle their research bills in the US and beyond.
Singapore Looks to Synthetic Libor for New Benchmark Calculation – Risk.net (subscription)
The way Singapore’s swap rate is calculated must change if Libor disappears after 2021.
Crypto News
The blockchain analysis space is heating up. The demand for blockchain analysis firms has been growing sharply as they are becoming absolutely necessary in order for businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies to remain compliant with strict AML and KYC obligations.
Meet Tagomi, the End-to-End Crypto Solution – Bloomberg TV
Jennifer Campbell and Greg Tusar, Tagomi Holdings co-chief executive officers, discuss the digital asset brokerage’s market infrastructure for crypto trading.
SIX Swiss Exchange Launches Ethereum-Backed Exchange-Traded Product – The Block
SIX Swiss Exchange, Switzerland’s largest stock exchange, just launched an Ethereum-backed exchange-traded product . This comes one week after SIX announced the launch of its Bitcoin-backed ETP.
Company News
Flow Traders: Standing Out from the Crowd – Profit & Loss
Robbert Sijbrandij, head of FX at Flow Traders, talks about why he thinks there’s still room for more non-bank liquidity providers in the FX market.
Reducing Latency in FX: Necessary but a Challenge – Profit & Loss
For platforms looking to differentiate on the speed of their technology the equation is measured in the scale of the challenge rather than the opportunity. As David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Exchange observes, “You can’t differentiate on speed, but you have to keep in line with the best in the market – and that means cost.”
Currenex and FX Connect: An Aggressive Roadmap – Profit & Loss
Last year “began with a bang” for Currenex and FX Connect due to the implementation of MiFID II, according to David Newns, global head of Global Link Execution Services at State Street, which owns both platforms.
Credit Suisse Picks European Electronic Trading Chief – Financial News (subscription)
Credit Suisse has picked an 18-year veteran of the Swiss bank to lead electronic trading in Europe, where new regulations have increased competition among brokers in the battle for fund managers’ business.
FIA Announces New Management Team – Profit & Loss
FIA’s president and CEO Walt Lukken announces the appointments of Jacqueline Mesa as chief operating officer and Emma Davey as chief commercial officer of the association.
Matt Zames made a name as a Wall Street fix-it man. He helped steer JP Morgan through the “London Whale” trading debacle and was considered a possible successor to its chief, James Dimon.
SocGen’s Fixed Income Traders Say Bonuses Far Worse than Anyone Expected – eFinancialCareers
French bank Société Générale has announced its bonuses, and people in its fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) business are in a state of shock.
Market Savvy
Aussie Tumbles on Slowdown Concerns; Canadian Dollar under Pressure – Reuters
Australia’s dollar fell to a two-month low on Wednesday as signs of an economic slowdown supported expectations for an interest rate cut later this year, while the Canadian dollar dropped again before the central bank’s policy decision.
Sterling stuck Near One-Week Low with no Brexit Breakthrough in Sight – Reuters
The pound remained stuck near a one-week low on Wednesday with a lack of progress in Brexit talks prompting concern that a vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal could be delayed.
Boom in London Rupee Trade Poses Challenge for India – Financial Times
Trading of the rupee is booming in London. And that is a challenge for the Reserve Bank of India.
Turkey Keeps Hawkish Rate Guidance as Pause Extended Before Vote – Bloomberg
Turkey’s central bank held interest rates for a fourth meeting and left its commitment to higher borrowing costs unchanged as it waits out the remaining weeks before local elections.