Top Headlines

Pound Traders Are Betting on May to Survive – Bloomberg

The pound rallied as the market judged UK Prime Minister Theresa May may survive a threat to her leadership launched Wednesday.

US Will Not Argue Fiduciary Duty in Bogucki Case – FX Week (subscription)

The US Department of Justice will not argue at Robert Bogucki’s upcoming trial that the former senior Barclays banker owed a fiduciary duty to Hewlett-Packard during the multibillion-dollar transaction in which he is accused of committing fraud.

The Challenges of Managing Risk in Machine Driven Markets – Profit & Loss

The increasing automation of the FX markets is changing how firms manage their risk, said speakers at the Profit & Loss Scandinavia conference in Stockholm.

Asset Managers See Technology as Key to Growth – Profit & Loss

A new study by State Street indicates that 68% of institutional investors are concerned about their ability to hit their growth objectives within the current market environment. 

Regulatory News

EU Steps Up No-Deal Brexit Plans for Derivatives Traders – Financial Times (subscription)

Brussels is planning to grant temporary market access to UK clearing houses in the event of a no-deal Brexit as it steps up preparations to prevent financial turmoil should Britain crash out of the EU.

Statement of Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo on the White House Intent to NominateHeath Tarbert as CFTC Chairman – CFTC

“The White House has made a superb choice in Heath Tarbert as the intended nominee to be the next Chairman for the Commission.”

MiFID II Liquidity: 4 Key Trends from Year 1 – Tabb Forum

As the first year of MiFID II draws to a close, liquidity in Europe’s equity market has begun to assume a bit of a holding pattern and we can start to make some observations about the regulation’s impact.

Brexit Tops Risk Concerns as Worries over Cyber Risk and Regulatory Impact Fall – The Trade

Survey from the DTCC finds that half of respondents believe Brexit will pose a threat to the broader economy, as concerns about cyber risk and regulation ease. 

Crypto News 

Crypto Trading Platform ErisX Hires Serial Exchange Founder Matt Trudeau – CoinDesk

ErisX, the digital asset trading platform has hired markets and exchanges veteran Matt Trudeau as chief strategy officer. The news comes a week after ErisX closed a Series B funding round that raised $27.5 million from firms such as Bitmain, ConsenSys, Fidelity Investments, Nasdaq Ventures and Monex Group.

Winklevoss Twins Ignore Crypto `Winter,’ Looking Toward 2019 – Bloomberg

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss aren’t deterred by the exodus of retail investors during this year’s cryptocurrency market collapse.

Ether Futures Likely Stalled as CFTC Launches Review of Token – Bloomberg

Crypto enthusiasts cheered in June when the US Securities and Exchange Commission removed what traders believed was a major hurdle to Ether joining Bitcoin in the futures markets. Another regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, dampened some of that optimism Tuesday by indicating that it still has some fundamental issues with the third most valuable digital currency.

Company News 

Thomson Reuters Veterans Depart Following Blackstone Acquisition – Profit & Loss

A number of long-serving staff members have left Refinitiv – previously branded as Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk unit – since it was acquired by a consortium led by Blackstone in October.

Calder Set to Leave Cboe FX – Profit & Loss

Barry Calder isset to leave his role at Cboe FX in New York at the end of the year. Calderco-founded the Hotspot FX platform in 2000 and worked in various roles as it was subsequently acquired by Knight Capital Group, BATS Global Markets and thenmost recently Cboe in 2017.

UBS Prepares Cloud Move to Secret Microsoft Data Centers – Bloomberg

Switzerland’s largest bank may begin to store data at Microsoft’s purpose-built facilities near Zurich and Geneva as soon as next year. It would be a big win for Microsoft over rivals Google and Amazon.com after the company gambled on building facilities in Switzerland.

Market Savvy 

After Dire 2018, Chastened Funds Tout Emerging FX Again – Reuters

Emerging market currencies have had one of their worst years in a decade, but bruised investors tempted by what they see as cheap valuations are hoping the US dollar’s eight-month resurgence will end and the world won’t tip into recession.

Dollar Up for a Third Day as Yields Rise – Reuters

The dollar rose for a third consecutive day on Wednesday as US Treasury yields rose before a Federal Reserve meeting where it is widely expected to raise interest rates for the fourth time this year.

Rand Ousts Lira as Wild Child of Emerging Market Currencies – Bloomberg

The South African rand is reasserting itself as the wildchild of emerging markets. The currency’s price swings have been the widest among 24 of its peers in the past week as risk assets have been rocked by everything from concern over the US-China trade dispute to Britain’s Brexit confusion.

Buyer Beware: A Guide to Emerging Asia in 2019 – Bloomberg

As emerging market bulls start to signal the worst may be over, domestic risks across Asia are worth keeping in mind for 2019: from central bank autonomy in India to the price of rice in the Philippines.