Top Headlines
Not Backing Down: Euro Breaks New Highs Above $1.1650 – Financial Times (subscription)
This break higher euro may not be exactly what European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi had in mind. But it’s no blip.
Trump’s Troubles Send Dollar to Lowest Point in Over a Year – Financial Times (subscription)
The dollar index fell to its lowest level in over a year, in a sign that political tensions in Washington are spilling over into financial markets.
Sterling Steadies After Worst Week in Nine Months Versus Euro – Reuters
Sterling steadied but was on track to record its worst week against the euro in nine months, with the single currency rallying across the board on bets that the European Central Bank was on track to tighten monetary policy next year.
How a Brexit Truce Could Send the Pound to $1.40 – Financial Times (subscription)
MUFG is bullish on sterling and already had a target of $1.40 for the second half of 2018.
Mexican Peso’s Best Forecaster Predicts Pain Coming Before Gains – Bloomberg
PrivateBank sees peso falling more than 4% by end of September.
South Africa’s Surprise Rate Cut No Death Knell for Currency – Bloomberg
South Africa’s first interest rate cut in five years, and a surprise one at that, probably won’t be enough to break the rand’s resilience.
When Trading During a Political Shock, Only Foreign Exchange Will Do – Bloomberg
For speculators, hedgers and every other class of market participant, when they see turmoil, they immediately think foreign exchange.
FX Market Makers Seek New Profit Opportunities – Markets Media
Financial markets generally don’t do carefully crafted political soundbites, but if they did, then “we’ve never had it so good” best encapsulates foreign exchange over the past two decades.
Regulatory News
Assessing the Cost of Regulation – Profit & Loss
Although much is said about the rising cost of regulation in financial markets, there have been few attempts to empirically demonstrate the impact.
Banks Hope to Keep Staff in London If Soft Brexit Deal Struck – Reuters
Banks which are shifting operations to avoid disruption once Britain leaves the European Union hope only a handful of people will eventually have to leave London, industry sources say.
- Stephen Barclay Impresses with His Brexit Nous – Financial Times (subscription)
- Deutsche Bank Preparing for Hard Brexit, CEO Cryan Tells Employees – Bloomberg
- Frankfurt Is Already Running Out of Office Space for Banks – Bloomberg
Regulators Drop Pursuit of Banker, CEO Pay Restrictions – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Several regulators have dropped pursuit of a long-running plan to restrict bonuses on Wall Street, as part of a wider effort to stop working on unfinished rules put in place after the financial crisis.
Board advances proposals to amend membership applications to allow the regulator to scrutinize troubled brokers, pending monetary awards.
Company News
CLS Volumes Up in June – Profit & Loss
The average daily volume (ADV) of trades submitted to CLS was $1.64 trillion in June, up 6% from $1.55 trillion in May, and up 1.64% year-on-year.
CTAs Continue to Struggle in June – Profit & Loss
Managed futures traders lost -0.98% in June, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
O’Brien Leaves BNY Mellon – Profit & Loss
Patrick O’Brien has left his position as managing director, foreign exchange, at BNY Mellon.
KCG Electronic Trading Head Tusar Exits Firm as Virtu Closes Deal – Reuters
Greg Tusar, an electronic trading pioneer, confirmed that he left KCG Holdings upon the closing of the firm’s $1.4 billion takeover by rival Virtu Financial.
ParFX is Not for Sale – FX Week (subscription)
Four years after the launch of the randomised platform, it still has room to grow, says CEO.
Market Savvy
The Australian dollar fell from a two-year high after a top central banker said rate rises overseas did not automatically mean the policy rate in Australia needed to be increased.
Brazil Real Hits Two-Month High on Bets of Corporate Inflows – Reuters
The Brazilian real strengthened to a two-month high as traders bet on stronger capital inflows in coming weeks amid a batch of corporate listings.
Peru Sol Currency Closes Flat After Central Bank Intervention – Reuters
Peru’s sol currency closed flat at 3.241 per dollar after the central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market, buying $302 million after companies sold off dollars ahead of looming monthly payments.