Top Headlines
Pound at Weakest Level in History Against Currency Basket – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The British pound touched a historic low against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, according to Bank of England data released Wednesday morning.
CFTC Commissioner Calls for Regulatory Re-Think After Sterling Flash Crash – Profit & Loss
A senior member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has called for a “thorough and unbiased analysis” by global financial regulators of the systemic risk of “unprecedented capital constraining regulations on global financial and risk-transfer markets”.
BoE Will Look Through Currency Fall – Financial Times (subscription)
The Bank of England will look past an overshoot in its inflation target if a weaker currency pushes up domestic prices, its newest policymaker has said, adding the recent sharp drop in the pound was not an immediate cause for concern.
Pound Rallies as May Agrees to Let Lawmakers Debate Brexit Plan – Bloomberg
The pound surged against the dollar, heading for the biggest gain in almost two months, after UK Prime Minister Theresa May accepted that Parliament should be allowed to vote on her plan for taking Britain out of the European Union.
Sterling Flash Crash Leads to Market Price Confusion – Risk (subscription)
Following the dramatic flash crash in the sterling/US dollar rate in the early hours of October 7, disagreements about the rate’s official low point led foreign exchange dealers to agree their own level, which was more than 4% higher than some trades seen on the day.
US-Run Firm Targets FX Takeovers as It Floats on London Stock Exchange – City AM
A US-run company targeting takeovers in the foreign exchange sector is to float on the London Stock Exchange today.
PBOC Fuels Depreciation Talk as It Weakens Fixing for Sixth Day – Bloomberg
China’s central bank weakened the yuan’s reference rate for a sixth day, the longest run of cuts in nine months, amid speculation policy makers will allow further declines as the dollar rises.
The Pound’s Longer, Sharper Brexit Shock – Financial Times (subscription)
Sterling’s sharp sell-off represents a challenge by forex markets to the UK government.
Pound Sterling Now Seen as an Emerging Market Currency by Traders – Independent
Volatility of the currency now resembles that of the Mexican peso – though the peso has performed better.
Chinese Demand Drives Bitcoin to Ten-Week High as Yuan Hits Six-Year Low – Reuters
The price of web-based digital currency bitcoin jumped to a ten-week high as worries about a further weakening of the yuan drove increased demand from China.
Regulatory News
Flash Boys Might Keep Trade Code Secret as CFTC Mulls Tweaks – Bloomberg
The top US derivatives regulator is considering modifying its push for access to computer code after high-speed traders said the effort would be unprecedented and could put the industry’s secret trading formulas at risk.
Esma Kicks Off Final MiFID II Guidance – Financial News (subscription)
Europe’s top markets regulator has begun to provide its “Q&A” guidance for MiFID II, marking the last – but potentially most critical – phase of the regulatory process for the new trading rulebook.
Schaeuble Seeks Decision on EU Financial Transaction Tax in 2016 – Bloomberg
Progress on a planned European financial transaction tax at talks in Luxembourg could lead to a deal getting done by the end of the year, according to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
Company News
Blockchain Startup Aims to Replace Clearing Houses – The Trade
Founded by two former traders at Societe Generale, SynSwap is a post-trade start-up based on hyperledger technology designed to disintermediate central counterparties from the clearing process, effectively removing their role in key areas.
ABN Amro Clearing Bank Joins DGCX as Clearing Member – Profit & Loss
ABN Amro Clearing Bank has joined the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, as a special clearing member.
ThinkMarkets Teams Up with Cloud Platform Provider – Profit & Loss
ThinkMarkets has launched a collaboration with VertexFX Cloud to offer wider access to ThinkMarkets’ liquidity platform.
Market Savvy
The Chinese yuan, along with other major currencies, appeared to find some breathing space against an ever-strengthening US dollar, as investors waited to see the minutes from September’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which should reveal the Fed’s overall stance on US interest rates.
US Rate View Hurts Asia FX; Won Feels Heat of Samsung Note 7 Debacle – Reuters
Most emerging Asian currencies fell as expectations grow of a US interest rate hike in December, but they later pared losses as the British pound’s rebound hurt the dollar.
Brazil’s Real Strengthens as Fed Outlook Offsets Fiscal Optimism – Bloomberg
Brazil’s real advanced, dodging a global slump in emerging-market currencies, after lawmakers approved a proposal to limit growth in public spending, a key measure to trim the near-record budget deficit.
Thailand Stocks, Currency Slump Amid Concern Over King’s Health – Bloomberg
Thai stocks and the baht dropped, leading declines in Asia, amid concern over the health of the king and on the prospect of a US rate increase this year.