Top Headlines
US regulators said Congress should consider expanding federal oversight of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading, as market cops amplify alarms about an asset class that is largely exempt from investor-protection laws.
Dollar Slips Against Yen as Investors Remain Cautious – Reuters
The dollar lost half a percent against the yen, handing back earlier gains, as investors remained cautious after a heavy selloff in stock markets, and with many viewing the Japanese currency as undervalued.
Sterling Rises from Two-and-a-Half Week Lows – Reuters
Sterling consolidated gains, bouncing from a 2½-week low in the previous session, as investors held off before a Bank of England meeting on Thursday from which some expect signals of another rate hike in the next three months.
Wall Street FX Strategists Hit Reset After Euro Calls Fall Short – Bloomberg
Foreign-exchange forecasters are headed back to the drawing board less than six weeks into the new year after the euro blew straight past most of their predictions for 2018.
As US Rattles Saber on Trade, Asia Bites Its Tongue on Soft Dollar – Reuters
A year after US President Donald Trump took office, heightened rhetoric out of Washington about unfair trade has kept Asian policymakers reluctant to openly talk down their currencies despite the dollar’s slump to multi-year lows.
Johnson’s Sentencing Delayed Until March 8 – FX Week (subscription)
The sentencing of Mark Johnson, the former global head of foreign exchange cash trading at HSBC who was convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud by a US jury, has been postponed until March 8, as a result of a delay in the pre-sentencing process.
FX Volatility Jumped Before Stock Rout in Sign of Things to Come – Bloomberg
Days before a surge in volatility riled equities around the world, signs of tumult were emerging in the $5.1 trillion foreign-exchange market.
Market Volatility Spurs Some Funds to Look Again at Currency Hedging – Reuters
A pick up in currency market volatility over the last few days after years of suppression by central banks’ easy-money policies has prompted some investors to look again at protecting against, or profiting from, sharp moves.
- Business Interest in Blockchain Picks Up While Cryptocurrency Causes Conniptions – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
- Cryptocurrencies Come of Age, But Is Crypto Data Ready? – Waters Technology (subscription)
Compliance Officers Sweat as Cryptocurrency Trades Go Mainstream – Reuters
As major financial institutions weave themselves deeper into the patchwork of cryptocurrency trading, they are trying to figure out how to handle conflicts that could arise when employees trade digital coins in their personal accounts.
Regulatory News
New Fed Chair Unlikely to Alter Course After Rough Start – Financial Times (subscription)
Jay Powell received a brutish welcome from the stock market on his first day as Federal Reserve chairman, but the equity sell-off that spread across the world is unlikely on its own to force him to chart a new course on monetary policy.
Latest Wells Fargo Penalties Add Fuel to Dodd-Frank Debate – Roll Call
Democrats fret that banks will get off easy under new Federal Reserve leadership.
Client Reporting Remains Top Mifid II Implementation Challenge – Waters Technology (subscription)
A November 2017 survey of fund managers found client reporting was their biggest concern in the lead-up to Mifid II, and it remains so in the weeks following the regulation’s entry into force.
Seven States Team Up on Fintech Licenses – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Banking regulators from seven states are streamlining the way they license some financial-technology companies, responding to the companies’ complaints over having to obtain authorizations from each state in which they operate.
Company News
State Street Goes Live on FXSpotStream – Profit & Loss
The news that State Street has gone live as the 13th liquidity provider (LP) on FXSpotStream comes as the service has reported its highest ever month of average daily volumes (ADV).
Euro-Clearing Battle Heats Up as Eurex Gains Ground with Profit Sharing Scheme – The Trade
Eurex Clearing’s profit sharing scheme has continued to win clearing business from London since its launch, as the battle for euro-clearing continues.
Redline and Metamako Team Up – Profit & Loss
Network device provider Metamako, has teamed up with connectivity provider Redline Trading Solutions to offer an ultra-low latency end-to-end solution for automated traders.
Derivatives Challenger Raises £20m to Take on ICE and Deutsche Börse – Financial News (subscription)
CurveGlobal plans to launch new products, including futures based on a replacement for the scandal-hit Libor benchmark.
Asian Crypto Exchanges Vow to Fix Hacking Problem – Financial Times (subscription)
Decentralised systems seek to pick up digital trading market share.
Market Savvy
Renminbi Strengthens to Rmb6.25 per Dollar – Financial Times (subscription)
The onshore renminbi, which is permitted to trade two per cent either side of a trading band set by the People’s Bank of China, strengthened 0.5 per cent against the dollar to Rmb 6.2541, its highest since the central bank triggered a sudden devaluation in August 2015.
Bitcoin Snaps Slide as Crypto Markets Dodge Push for Regulation – Bloomberg
Bitcoin rose for the first time in six days, snapping a losing streak that had helped push overall losses in digital currencies to about $500 billion, as the top US market cops said they possessed all the authority needed to regulate and risk appetite returned to financial markets.