Protester Shot in Chest with Live Police Round During Hong Kong National Day Protests – South China Morning Post

Warning shots fired according to police source as more than a quarter of MTR stations closed, along with thousands of shops and malls, as protests and disruption spread.

Block Brexit Delay, Boris Johnson Urges EU – The Times

Boris Johnson is asking the European Union to rule out a further extension to Article 50 as part of a new Brexit deal, The Times has learnt.

US Repo Market Pressure Eases After Fed Interventions – Financial Times

Concerns over pressures in the repo market have eased as borrowing rates remained subdued through a quarterly pinch point following a series of interventions by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

On US Delisting Threat, China says ‘Decoupling’ Would Harm Both Sides – Reuters

China warned of instability in international markets from any “decoupling” of China and the United States, after sources said the Trump administration was considering delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges.

Euro-Area Inflation Slows, Adding to Case for ECB Stimulus Move – Bloomberg

Euro-area inflation unexpectedly slowed last month, handing another argument to those in favour of the European Central Bank’s recent monetary stimulus package.

U.S. Dollar Share of Global Currency Reserves at Lowest Since 2013: IMF Data – Reuters

The U.S. dollar’s share of currency reserves reported to the International Monetary Fund fell in the second quarter to its lowest level since the end of 2013, while the yen’s share of reserves grew to the largest in nearly two decades, data released on Monday showed.

Dollar Powers to 29-Month High, Stocks Stay Standing Despite Weak Data – Reuters

The dollar bulldozed almost everything in its path on its way to a 29-month high on Tuesday, as a blizzard of soft global data left the US economy as the only one still looking in reasonable health.

RBA Cuts Interest Rates to Record 0.75pc – Australian Financial Review

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the official interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to a record low 0.75 per cent.

Who Succeeds Mark Carney? Brexit Brings Uncertainty to the Bank of England – The New York Times

The central bank is independent, but its future leadership rests on the most political of questions: Who is in government?

More Global Custodians Approved as FX Settlement Banks by China – FX Week

As of September, China has recognised a total of 30 foreign exchange settlement agent banks under the Bond Connect scheme, a boost for onshore Chinese bonds as it streamlines the trading process for foreign investors.

In the FICC of It – Profit & Loss

Is the FX industry reaching a tipping point when it comes to the implementation of new technology and infrastructure for prime brokerage? Will the implementation of central clearing lead to a bifurcation in pricing between products sent to different clearing houses? These questions and more are all on the agenda for this week’s podcast.

Inflation Surprises in Southeast Asia’s Two Biggest Economies – Bloomberg

Inflation in Indonesia and Thailand weakened in September, providing policy makers in Southeast Asia’s two biggest economies with ample room to keep lowering interest rates to spur growth.

Regulatory News

CFTC Charges PA Man in Multi-Million Bitcoin Fraud – Profit & Loss

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged a man in Pennsylvania accused of running a $7 million bitcoin fraud scheme.

US Repo Market Pressure Eases After Fed Interventions – Financial Times

Concerns over pressures in the repo market eased on Monday, as borrowing rates remained subdued through a quarterly pinch point following a series of interventions by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Wells Fargo Says Ex-Trader Can’t Claim Privacy On Phone Call – Law360

Wells Fargo urged a California state judge to end claims it illegally recorded a foreign exchange trader’s call concerning the $12.5 billion merger of Burger King and Tim Hortons.

FCA Eyes Liquidity Reforms to Avert Replay of Woodford Crisis – Financial Times 

The UK regulator has fired the starting gun on a shake-up of investment fund liquidity rules following a number of high-profile fund suspensions — a move that could have far-reaching consequences for the future of daily traded investment funds.

Crypto News

New Report: Blockchain Industry’s Revenue Will Exceed $16B by 2024 – The Tokenist

The blockchain industry will bring in tens of billions of dollars annually in revenue by 2024, predicts a new report by Global Market Insights. In 2017, this number stood at around $200M. This means that an impressive 75% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will be needed to reach $16B by 2024. This would effectively make the industry the fastest-growing in the entire tech world.

Cryptocurrency Startup to Pay $24 Million in SEC Settlement – Wall Street Journal

A startup behind one of the largest initial coin offerings of the past several years will pay $24 million to resolve a US regulator’s allegations that its deal violated federal investor-protection laws.

Tether, Not Bitcoin, Likely the World’s Most Used Cryptocurrency – Bloomberg

What’s the world’s most widely used cryptocurrency? If you think it’s Bitcoin, which accounts for about 70% of all the digital-asset world’s market value, you’re probably wrong.

Bitcoin Price Eyes Quarterly Loss After Hitting 3.5-Month Low – Coindesk

Bitcoin (BTC) is again flashing red, having hit a 3.5-month low earlier today and is on track to post the first quarterly loss of 2019.

Coinbase-Led Group Aims to Help Crypto Firms Avoid Securities Violations – Coindesk

Crypto industry leaders are taking the initiative to help firms in the space avoid running afoul of securities rules.

Ether Outshines Bitcoin in a Gloomy Month for Crypto Prices – Coindesk

September has been a rough month for bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market, but ether has weathered the storm better than most.

Company News

HSBC Restructures Markets Arm in Pivot Towards China – Financial News

HSBC has restructured its markets division in an effort to improve returns and reflect that it views China and emerging markets as the main engines of its future growth.

PayPal is First Foreign Company to Win Chinese Payments Licence – Financial Times

PayPal has become the first foreign company to acquire a payments licence in China, after buying a majority stake in a Chinese payments group.

SmartStream Launches A1 Tool – Profit & Loss

SmartStream Technologies has incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) technology into its existing managed service offering, which covers reconciliations, corporate actions, cash management and reference data. 

Atkinson Joins RBC – Profit & Loss

RBC Capital Markets has hired Charles Atkinson, who will be joining as head of its Institutional Client Management (ICM) group in EMEA.

Market Savvy

Most Latam Currencies Edge Lower Amid Trade Worries – Reuters

Most Latin American currencies edged lower as the dollar found favor amid uncertainty arising from the U.S.-China trade war and as the euro fell following weak growth data from Germany.

Negative Rates are Rewriting the Rules of Modern Finance – Bloomberg

Negative interest rates have quite literally broken one of the pillars of modern finance.

These are the Currencies to Watch if a Trade Deal is Made – Bloomberg Terms of Trade

The Brazilian real will be the strongest emerging-market currency performer in the event of a US-China trade deal, while the Thai baht and Israeli shekel are among those that will be the least responsive, a Bloomberg analysis shows.

Rugby World Cup and US Trade Deal Successes Can’t Hide Japan’s Economic Troubles – South China Morning Post

Japan has much to celebrate, in rugby and trade, but challenges remain: its cars are still exposed to US tariffs, exports are plummeting and interest rates are due to stay flat, driving banks to greater risks in search of profit

Fed Should Stand Pat on Rates, Let Inflation Rise: Evans – Reuters

After lowering US interest rates twice this year, the Federal Reserve has reset monetary policy to where it can deliver on its 2% inflation goal despite risks to the economic outlook, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on Tuesday.