Top Headlines
Sterling Climbs as UK Inflation Hits Six-Year High – Reuters
Sterling climbed and British bond futures dipped, after data showed UK inflation unexpectedly hit its highest level in nearly six years in November, putting pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates again next year.
Dollar Pauses After Recent Jump as Fed Outlook Eyed – Reuters
The dollar was flat after strong recent gains as the US Federal Reserve geared up for a two-day policy meeting at which it is widely expected to raise interest rates for the fifth time since late 2015.
CBOE Claims Successful Bitcoin Futures Launch – Profit & Loss
CBOE Global Markets (CBOE) has issued a release hailing the first day of trading on its new and highly anticipated bitcoin futures contract as a successful launch.
Bitcoin Futures Suggest Breakneck Rise in Price to Slow – Reuters
Newly launched bitcoin futures suggested that traders expect the cryptocurrency’s blistering price gains to slow in the coming months, even as it blasted above $17,000 to a fresh record high in the spot market.
- Who’s Afraid of Bitcoin? The Futures Traders Going Short – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
- Why Arbitrage Traders Are Salivating Over Bitcoin Futures – Bloomberg
- Exchange Chief Accuses Derivatives Lobby of ‘Cheap Shot’ Over Bitcoin Futures – Financial News
- Bitcoin Surge Prompts Legal Bid to Remove Mt Gox from Bankruptcy – Financial Times (subscription)
Shadow of MiFID II Is Falling on FX Trading Transparency – Pensions & Investments (subscription)
Regulations for other securities are spurring the spot FX market to accelerate trading transparency.
Swaps Data: Forex Options – Candidate for a Clearing Mandate? – Risk (subscription)
Volume stats reveal a large vanilla market and much smaller trade in barriers.
Making Internalisation Work – Profit & Loss (video)
Discussing the launch of NEX’s (Nex) new data analytics suite, Tim Cartledge, global head of FX and head of product at NEX Markets, says that it aims to make internalization more beneficial to both liquidity providers and consumers.
FX: Still a Relationship Business – Profit & Loss (video)
As FXSpotstream (FSS) approaches its sixth anniversary its CEO, Alan Schwarz, argues that a shift towards disclosed trading is one of the biggest industry trends that has emerged during this time.
UK Watchdog Says Financial Scandals Tied to Poor Diversity – Financial News
The scale of bad behaviour at City firms in recent years has been made worse by a shortfall in the number of women and ethnic minorities in financial services, according to the UK’s top financial watchdog.
Fintech Listed as Emerging Risk to Financial Stability in Report – Bloomberg
Some worry that advancements have outpaced regulation.
Regulatory News
US Financial Regulators Warn Investors on Bitcoin Risks – Financial Times (subscription)
Two top US financial regulators weighed into the frenzy surrounding trading in cryptocurrencies, warning investors about the risks connected with volatile digital assets on the day bitcoin made its whirlwind debut in the mainstream financial system.
China FX Regulator Says Will Push Forward Two-Way Opening of Financial Market – Reuters
China’s foreign exchange regulator will push forward two-way opening of the country’s financial market and fend off risks from cross-border capital flows, the head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.
Fed Finalises New Market Benchmarks – Risk (subscription)
The Federal Reserve has finalised its proposals for replacing US dollar Libor, confirming on December 8 that three new market benchmarks will launch in 2018.
Basel III: Final Op Risk Framework Leaves Banks Guessing – Risk (subscription)
Analysis suggests big capital savings on average, but uncertainty persists over uneven implementation.
Bitcoin Exchange Bithumb Says ‘Right’ Regulations in South Korea Would Boost Market – Reuters
The Seoul-based operator of the world’s busiest virtual currency exchange Bithumb said it will fully comply with potential regulations from the South Korean government and adequately capitalize itself to protect its clients.
Company News
Vogel Joins TD Securities as Global FX Head – Profit & Loss
Chris Vogel, who left BlackRock in August after six years with the firm, has joined TD Securities as an executive managing director and global head of FX. He is based in New York.
RBA, ANZ Commits to FX Global Code – Profit & Loss
The Reserve Bank of Australia and ANZ have announced that they have signed a statement of commitment to the FX Global Code of Conduct.
CTAs Continue Positive Monthly Performance – Profit & Loss
Following the improvement in performance in October, the Societe Generale Prime Services CTA Index continued its positive run as it was up +0.30% in November, increasing gains for the year to 1.77%.
Bose Joins Goldman Sachs – Profit & Loss
Suv Bose has joined Goldman Sachs in New York as part of its G10 FX trading team.
Two Banks Join Baton for High-Speed FX Settlement – Reuters
Baton Systems, a two-year old fintech firm, is working with two of the largest banks in foreign exchange trading for the Q1 launch of a new payment system.
Barclays, Credit Suisse, KBC, SIX, Thomson Reuters and UBS are looking at ways to automate MiFIDII regulatory requirements using a modified version of Ethereum smart contracts.
Singapore Exchange to Increase Members’ Derivatives Fees – Financial Times (subscription)
The Singapore Exchange is to increase fees as much as 10-fold for derivative trading members next year, following a recent large technology upgrade.
Market Savvy
Swedish Inflation Picks Up Again, But Few See a Shift from Riksbank – Financial Times (subscription)
The Swedish krona has rushed higher after the country’s latest inflation reading beat forecasts, yet again highlighting the Riksbank’s rates conundrum.
Lira’s Shrug Shows Turkey is Yet to Convince Investors – Financial Times (subscription)
The Turkish lira continued its rally against the US dollar after the country’s statistics office said the economy had grown by a corking 11.1 per cent in the third quarter, easily beating polls of analysts by Reuters (which predicted 10 per cent growth) and Bloomberg (8.5 per cent).
Egypt Fights Inflation After Its Currency Devaluation – Financial Times (subscription)
Companies that have foreign currency debt have been left exposed after the pound lost half its value following its flotation.