No Suspicious Activity Ahead of RBA Decisions, Investigation Continues

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Top Headlines

ASIC: No Suspicious Activity Ahead of RBA Decisions, Investigation Continues – Profit & Loss (free story)

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) says it believes that fluctuations in the Australian dollar ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy announcements in February, March and April are the result of “normal market operations in an environment of lower liquidity”.



FX OTC Derivatives Increase in 2H14, While Total OTC Markets Decline – Profit & Loss (free story)

Foreign exchange OTC derivatives contracts have increased slightly in the second half of 2014, according to Bank for International Settlements (BIS) statistics, while the total OTC derivatives markets experienced a drop of almost 10%.

IMF to Brighten View of China’s Yuan – Wall St. Journal (tiered subscription)

The International Monetary Fund is close to declaring China’s yuan fairly valued for the first time in more than a decade, a milestone in the country’s efforts to open its economy that would blunt U.S. criticism of Beijing’s currency policy.

Parker FX Index Up 1.5% in March – Profit & Loss (free story)

The Parker FX Index, a performance-based benchmark that measures the returns of global currency managers, reported a gain of 1.5% for the month of March and 3.9% year-to-date.

Bank Competition Latest Symptom of Danish Currency War – Bloomberg

Denmark’s fourth-biggest listed bank says it’s being squeezed out of corporate lending as competitors offer rates that undermine profitability.

Report: Growing Buy Side Adoption of TCA in Fixed Income – Profit & Loss (free story)

Greenwich Associates has released a new report stating that a growing number of institutional investors are adopting transaction cost analysis to assess the effectiveness of their trades in the fixed income market.

Regulatory News

Costs and regulation Slow CNY Derivaitves Growth – CFFEX – FX Week (subscription)

China’s onshore FX derivatives market is a fraction of the size of its emerging markets peers A combination of high trading costs in Shanghai and a conservative regulatory climate fearful of the destabilising effects of a potential speculative bubble are slowing down the much-needed expansion of the onshore (CNY) currency derivatives market, according to a senior official at the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX).

Don Wilson on Post Dodd-Frank Financial Innovation – Open Markets 

Innovation in financial markets is being fueled by the need to be more capital efficient and to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act and other regulations, said Don Wilson, founder of DRW Trading Group. “I am a true believer that there will be a lot of opportunities for new futures products to take advantage of those drivers,” Wilson said.

European Banks Anxious About ECB’s Role as Financial Regulator – Risk.net (subscription)

Banks in Europe’s banks like the idea of uniform regulation across the eurozone, but they complain that their early dealings with the European Central Bank in its role as a banking supervisor have at times left them confused. The ECB, through its Single Supervisory Mechanism, is now the world’s largest banking supervisor.

Company News

GAIN Capital’s Glenn Stevens Talks City Index, Future Acquisition Ambitions – Finance Magnates

GAIN Capital’s Glenn Steven’s discusses the group’s impetus behind the acquisition of City Index as well as its UK and global ambitions.

New Zealand’s FMA says Forex Trend cannot meet obligations to clients – LeapRate

The FX broker, which has been blacklisted in Russia already, is unable to meet its obligations and will soon be in the hands of liquidators.

Market Savvy  

Hedging Changes the Game for Global Funds – Wall St Journal (tiered subscription)

The strong dollar and bond buying by central banks overseas are driving yields on non-U.S. developed-market debt to historic lows, making the case for a globally diversified fixed-income portfolio difficult.

Coutts Outlines Election Effects on the Market – Bloomberg

Alan Higgins, chief investment officer at Coutts, outlines possible effects Thursday’s general election may have on currencies.

Press Releases

Prestige Equity Launches PFX Network for Institutional Investors – Profit & Loss (free story)

Hong Kong-based global asset manager Prestige Equity has launched Prestige FX Network (PFX Network), an end-to-end trading solution for the buy-side community for netting, execution and allocation of foreign exchange transactions

Industry Events