Top Headlines
South Korea’s Won Weakens as US Deploys Ships to Nearby Waters – Financial Times (subscription)
South Korea’s currency was softer following the Pentagon’s weekend decision to deploy an aircraft carrier group to waters near the Korean peninsula.
Why South Korea’s Markets Are Still Rattled By Syria – Bloomberg
As most of the trading world moves on from Donald Trump’s missile attack on Syria, there’s one pocket of the market where anxiety is lingering: South Korea.
Geopolitical Strain Eases; Dollar Steady After Jobs Data – Financial Times (subscription)
Worries about the potential for further agitation between Washington and Moscow over the Assad regime remain.
- Dollar at Three-Week Highs on Fed Official Comment; Syria, North Korea in Focus – Reuters
- Dollar Extends Gains on Dudley Comments After Mixed Jobs Report – Bloomberg
- Dollar Rises Despite Jobs Miss – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
US Dollar Net Longs Fall to Five-Week Low: CFTC, Reuters Data – Reuters
Speculators further reduced bullish bets on the US dollar, pushing net longs to their lowest level since late February, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday and calculations by Reuters.
Sterling Claws Off Three-Week Low, Data Deluge Looms – Reuters
Britain’s sterling climbed versus both the dollar and the euro, clawing up from a three-week low ahead of a packed week of data expected to show a tightening squeeze on the country’s consumers.
Euro Hovers Above One-Month Low as French Election Nerves Grow – Reuters
The euro edged lower against the dollar, pressured by nervousness over the upcoming French presidential elections as investors took stock of recent polls showing a tightening race.
France’s Sapin Warns of Post-Brexit Trading Loss for UK – Financial Times (subscription)
City of London risks losing euro-denominated operations, minister warns.
Rand Slump Continues After Latest Junking – Financial Times (subscription)
After a relatively muted reaction to the government’s latest junking from Fitch on Friday, the rand started tumbling again on Monday morning, as investors continue to worry about the country’s direction after its respected finance minister was ousted.
Czech Koruna Hits 26.50 as Strengthening Continues – Financial Times (subscription)
The Czech koruna’s steady ascent continued, after data showing inflation at its highest level in more than four years appeared to justify the central bank’s decision to lift its long-standing currency cap last week.
Thomson Reuters’ Volumes up in March – Profit & Loss
Thomson Reuters is the last platform to report average daily volume (ADV) data for March and like its peers it has produced good numbers.
Libor: Bank of England Implicated in Secret Recording – BBC
A secret recording that implicates the Bank of England in Libor rigging has been uncovered by BBC Panorama.
Unshackling the FX Market – Profit & Loss (subscription)
Darren Jer, CEO of MarketFactory, on flash crashes, the new latency arms race and how technology will enable the FX market to keep growing in size.
Does FX Need a Complete Technology Reboot? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
Perhaps… but the last thing the industry needs is for this to occur in a fragmented environment.
Voting for the 2017 FoXys is Now Open – Profit & Loss
Voting for the Profit & Loss readers choice awards – the FoXys – is now open.
Regulatory News
Powell Takes Wall Street Oversight Reins from Departing Tarullo – Bloomberg
The duties of aggressive Wall Street regulator Daniel Tarullo have been taken over for now by Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell, a former Republican-administration Treasury official who was once a partner at investment giant Carlyle Group.
New York Fed’s Dudley Supports Reconsidering Key Banking Rules – Bloomberg
It’s time to rethink major Wall Street regulations, including the Volcker Rule and the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests of banks, now that almost a decade has passed since the financial crisis, New York Fed President William Dudley said.
BOE’s Carney Urges Banks to Prepare for Any Brexit Outcome – Bloomberg
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney urged banks to get contingency plans in place for all potential Brexit outcomes, as the two-year countdown to the UK’s departure begins.
Reviving This Law Would Mean the End of Megabanks: QuickTake Q&A – Bloomberg
Would the world be a safer place if banks came in two flavors – dull but safe versus exciting but risky?
The Fiduciary Rule: New Uncertainty – Profit & Loss
A noteworthy aspect of the Rule is that sales pitches and other marketing materials can, under certain circumstances, inadvertently create investment advice fiduciary relationships under the US Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Company News
Citi, Deutsche, UBS Back Start-Up Cobalt – FOW (subscription)
Cobalt has said it is testing a new foreign exchange system with three of the largest currency dealers and is already thinking of extending the service to other asset classes.
Banks Hire Like They Believe in Trump – Bloomberg
In an otherwise mixed jobs report for March, finance was among the sectors that outperformed.
DTCC to Create ‘Golden Copy’ for CDS with Blockchain – Global Custodian
The DTCC is using blockchain technology to create a replica of its ‘golden copy of record’.
NSE Cuts Fee on Options, Currency Derivatives to Deepen Market – Business Standard
Looking to bring in more liquidity in derivatives, leading stock exchange NSE has significantly lowered transaction charges in equity options and currency derivatives.
Market Savvy
US Dollar’s Ascent Weighs on Asian Currencies – Financial Times (subscription)
Asian currencies are all lower as the US dollar continues to climb.
Global Politics Hit Emerging Stocks, Currencies – Reuters
Tensions around the Middle East and the Korean peninsula weighed on emerging markets, with stocks extending losses for a third day and currencies weakening against the dollar.
C$ Rallies on Jobs Strength Before Paring Gains – Reuters
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its US counterpart, boosted by stronger-than-expected domestic jobs data, but gains for the loonie were pared as the greenback climbed against a basket of major currencies.