Top Headlines
Pound Tumbles in Delayed Reaction as May Gets Brexit Go-Ahead – Bloomberg
The pound tumbled against all of its Group-of-10 peers as London traders sold the currency after UK Prime Minister Theresa May was given the go-ahead to trigger Brexit.
Dollar Rises Ahead of Fed, Political Risk Weighs in Europe – Reuters
The dollar climbed ahead of an expected interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve, as political risks from Dutch and French elections to Britain’s exit from the EU weighed on European currencies.
The dollar wavered Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of central bank meetings and political events this week.
UK government-bond futures often move sharply in the 24 hours before sensitive economic reports are released, an analysis of trading data shows, a phenomenon that suggests some investors may be trading with knowledge of official statistics before they are made public.
Iceland Exits Krona Controls Eight Years After Banking Crash – Bloomberg
The move ends an eight-year struggle to clean up after the 2008 banking collapse, which triggered the worst recession in more than six decades and enveloped the north Atlantic island of 340,000 people in political turmoil.
Emerging Market Investors Shrug Off Threat of US Rate Rises – Financial Times (subscription)
Over the past month, market expectations that Janet Yellen, the Fed chair, will on Wednesday announce a further rise in US interest rates have gone from a one in four chance to an outright certainty — yet emerging market currencies have barely budged.
UK Banks Said to Seek Closer US Financial Ties After Brexit – Bloomberg
TheCityUK, the industry lobby group, has created a steering committee led by managers at Barclays and JPMorgan to explore potential trade and investment deals after Brexit, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the efforts are at an early stage.
February 2017 SEF Tracker Data Shows Record Level of Trading Activity – Automated Trader
The increase in trading volume was driven mainly by a surge in on-SEF trading of interest rate swaps and other non-FRA products as well as near-record levels of trading in foreign exchange products.
Pressure Building on Bahrain and Oman Currency Pegs – Financial Times (subscription)
Pressure is building on the currency pegs of states Bahrain and Oman, the Gulf states with the weakest external balance of payments, ratings agency Moody’s said in new research.
Bank Bosses Must Ensure Honesty Is Best Policy – Financial Times (subscription)
If political lies threaten democracy, business lies undermine capitalism.
Regulatory News
Bank of England’s Hogg Steps Down After Lawmaker Criticism – Bloomberg
Charlotte Hogg, the Bank of England’s most senior female executive, resigned after criticism from lawmakers for failing to disclose that her brother works at Barclays, a bank which the BOE regulates.
Trump’s Trade Ethos to Be Challenged at G20 Talks – Financial Times (subscription)
Officials from Europe and other leading economies are mounting a campaign to draw Donald Trump and his administration towards the mainstream on trade and currency policy ahead of international economic talks in Germany this week.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will push the world’s top economies to abide by existing exchange-rate agreements and promote “open and fair” trade at a coming meeting of finance chiefs this week, a senior Trump administration official said.
Acting CFTC Chair Hoping Agency Budget Will Stay Flat – Reuters
As many US government agencies are girding for possible steep cuts in their annual budgets, the top US derivatives regulator signaled he was optimistic about the possibility of keeping his agency’s budget flat.
Trump administration likely to focus on revising rules rather than a complete overhaul, says H. Rodgin Cohen of Sullivan & Cromwell.
Company News
Goldman Unveils Largest Redesign of Its Trading Hub – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group is redesigning part of its trading hub in downtown Manhattan, tearing down walls between money managers to foster better investment performance.
CloudMargin, the creator of a web-based collateral and margin management solution, announced that Nasdaq Clearing has been included into the CloudMargin platform.
Bitcoin Needs to Think Outside ETF Box – Bloomberg
The hopes of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss to list an exchange-traded fund based on bitcoin were dashed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Derivatives Sales 2.0: Banks Explore Big Data – Risk (subscription)
Pressured banks hope new tools and technical nous will give their sales teams an edge.
Rival and Algo-Logic Systems Join Forces to Offer Integrated Trading Solution – Finance Magnates
The offering provides sub-microsecond latency, typically available only to large firms, to futures and options traders.
Market Savvy
C$ Strengthens as Yield Gap Narrows – Reuters
The Canadian dollar rose against its US counterpart as a narrower gap between Canadian and US yields offset lower prices for oil, one of Canada’s major exports.
CEE Currencies Ease Ahead of Fed, Dinar Firms as Serbian Central Bank Meets – Reuters
Central European currencies eased slightly ahead of an expected US Federal Reserve interest rate hike this week, which might make emerging Europe’s yields relatively unattractive.
Egyptian Pound at Weakest Rate in a Month on High Dollar Demand – Reuters
The Egyptian pound traded at its weakest rate in roughly one month as dollar demand for imports ahead of the Ramadan holy month continued to put pressure on bank liquidity.