Top Headlines

Primary Venues See FX Uptick in May – Profit & Loss

Data from three primary FX venues has confirmed earlier releases from platforms indicating that while spot FX activity rebounded in May from a poor April, it remains lower around 20-25% lower year-on-year.

Clearing to Become Cheaper Alternative to PB for Most Clients – FX Week (subscription)

Clearing will become a cheaper alternative to prime brokerage for the majority of clients as uncleared margin rules begin to bite.

Swiss Authority Fines Banks Over FX Manipulation – Profit & Loss

The Swiss competition authority, the Competition Commission, has become the latest jurisdiction to levy fines on six banks related to their dealers’ activity in several chat rooms.

Trump to Decide on $300 Billion China Tariffs after G20 Meeting – Reuters

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would decide whether to carry out his threat to hit Beijing with tariffs on at least $300 billion in Chinese goods after a meeting of leaders of the world’s largest economies late this month.

Regulatory News

Giancarlo Bows Out with Regulatory Deference – Risk.net (subscription)

The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has made a last-ditch effort to stamp his mark on cross-border clearing house supervision with new rules calling for greater regulatory deference for non-systemic third-country firms.

A Mystery: Why Did the NY Fed Use a Survey to Get SOFR? – Risk.net (subscription)

On Friday, May 31, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York set the secured overnight financing rate at 2.49% – 9 basis points above the previous day’s rate. But the real quirk was how they got it: a market survey of dealers, the very thing SOFR was created to avoid.

Fed Sanctions Ex-Goldman Quant for Use of Confidential Data – Financial Times (subscription)

The Federal Reserve has publicly sanctioned a former Goldman Sachs risk modeling specialist who brought home confidential documents, in a case with echoes of a similar infraction in 2016 that resulted in a $36.3m fine for Goldman. 

Esma Takes Flak Over Vague CCP Enhanced Supervision Plans – Risk.net (subscription)

Draft plans from the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) on designating non-European central counterparties as subject to enhanced supervision – so-called tier two CCPs – are too vague, an executive director at JP Morgan has complained.

Crypto News

A $100 Million Crypto Fund Opens With the Goal of Going Long – Bloomberg (subscription)

A new $100 million investment firm, Darma Capital, is opening to investors who want to bet that digital assets such as Ether are poised for a 10-year bull run.

Ballyhooed Bitcoin Futures Contract Bows Out With a Whimper – Bloomberg (subscription)

Just before 3 p.m. Chicago time on Wednesday June 19, a bit of Bitcoin fanfare will die. That’s the moment the last Bitcoin futures contract on Cboe Global Markets will settle, with no more to follow.

Edgewater Markets Launches Edgewater Digital Technologies – Finance Magnates

Edgewater Markets, the NFA-registered non-bank foreign exchange liquidity provider has launched a new company – Edgewater Digital Technologies. Edgewater Digital will be launching a digital asset trading platform for institutional investors, Crypto Prime Trader, in the future once it secures regulatory approval.

Company News

Nasdaq Pivots to the Buy Side – Markets Media

Despite the industry focus on market data fees and access fee pilots, global exchange operator and technology provider Nasdaq plans to take a three-prong approach to expand its relationship with the buy side, according to Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq.

Singapore Exchange to Boost Derivatives, Target Southeast Asia – The Star

Singapore Exchange aims to add products to its lucrative derivatives business and offer Southeast Asian unicorns a platform to list shares and bonds, in a multi-asset strategy aimed at sustaining growth, its chief executive said.


Spotex Hires Gillespie for Eurozone FX Sales – Profit & Loss

Spotex, a developer of FX technology systems and ECN, has hired Kevin Gillespie as director of institutional sales.

Mosaic Appoints Oxford Professor as Scientific Advisor – Profit & Loss

Mosaic Smart Data, a capital markets-focused data analytics company, has appointed Oxford University professor of mathematical finance, Rama Cont, as scientific advisor.

Market Savvy

Dollar Bound for Worst Week So Far This Year – Reuters

The dollar was headed on Friday for its worst week since December, before a US jobs report that investors expect to bolster the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

South Africa’s Rand Set for Worst Week Since October – Financial Times (subscription)

South Africa’s rand was on track for its worst week in eight months as a sharp slowdown in economic growth and concerns over the independence of its central bank weighed on the currency. 

Mario Draghi Keeps a Lid on the ECB’s Magic Fairy Dust – Financial Times (subscripton)

Has Mario Draghi lost his touch? Has he been replaced by a cunning body double? The European Central Bank president is the master of sprinkling dovish magic dust over otherwise broadly neutral policy decisions.