Top Headlines
Thomson Reuters Acquires WM/Reuters FX Benchmarks – Profit & Loss
Thomson Reuters (TR) has acquired the WM/Reuters FX benchmark rate calculation business from The World Markets Company, a State Street Corporation subsidiary.
Jobs Report Gives Yellen Only Half of What Fed Chair Wants – Bloomberg
A slowly improving economy is pulling discouraged Americans into the workforce, although some are having to settle for part-time jobs for now.
China’s Currency Reserves Could Break $3tn Floor – Nikkei
Chinese foreign-currency reserves threaten to dip below $3 trillion, keeping observers on edge for any hint of renewed yuan market turbulence.
New Fronts Open Up in Rekindled Currency Wars – Financial Times (subscription)
In 2010 Guido Mantega, then Brazil’s finance minister, accused the United States and fellow powerful economies of deliberately weakening their currencies in order to take a greater slice of global trade — what he called a “currency war”.
Brexit Risks Taking Multi-Trillion Euro Trading from London – Reuters
If Britons vote to leave the EU, London’s financial centre faces losing one of its top money spinners – the trade in trillions of euros in derivatives – and the European Central Bank will be pushing hard for the business to move onto its patch.
- Uncertain Economics Influence ‘Brexit’ Talk – The New York Times (subscription)
- Traders to Keep Kicking Pound as Pressure Builds Over ‘Brexit’ – Bloomberg
Blockchain: Weathering the “Hype Storm” – Profit & Loss
“It’s not just hype, we’re in a perfect hype storm,” said Lee Braine from the investment bank CTO office at Barclays at the 2016 Blockchain Symposium hosted by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in New York on Wednesday.
EM Currency Gains Await Vindication – Financial Times (subscription)
Emerging market currencies, fresh from enjoying one of their best ever months during March, are seen extending their gains, bolstered by a weaker dollar and firmer commodity prices.
Mester Cautions Against Delaying Fed Rate Increases for Too Long – Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she supported a decision to hold off from raising interest rates last month, while cautioning against waiting too long to resume tightening if the economic outlook stays on track.
Russia Learns to Live with the Fallen Rouble – Financial Times (subscription)
As Russia’s geopolitical stand-off with the West hardened in 2014, accountant Evgeny Sivkov published a children’s book titled “How The Brave Rouble Defeated The Cunning Dollar”.
Back in the late 1990s, former premier Zhu Rongji launched a tenacious three-year plan to turn around the fortunes of ailing state-owned enterprises which seriously threatened to wear down the mainland’s fragile banking system and derail the Chinese economy.
Regulatory News
Top JPMorgan Treasuries Trader’s Exit Said to Draw SEC Inquiry – Bloomberg
Wall Street regulators are examining alleged policy breaches that prompted JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s U.S. head of government-bond trading and another employee to leave the firm this year, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Fed’s New Bank Critic Keeps Heat On – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Neel Kashkari, the new president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, is positioning himself as an unlikely regulatory threat to the nation’s biggest banks.
The Serious Fraud Office is gearing up for a crunch trial today as it heads to court in the latest instalment of the Libor rigging saga.
Company News
HSBC in Major Hire? – Profit & Loss
Profit & Loss understands that HSBC has hired Richard Bibbey in London as global head of e-FX and FX trading.
Volumes Drop in March – Profit & Loss
The first batch of platform volumes reported by FastMatch, Gain GTX and Hotspot indicate a sharp drop in FX activity in March.
Energy and the Dollar Still Impacting S&P 500 Results – Forbes
The profit estimate for the S&P 500’s March quarter has dropped dramatically since the beginning of the year. On December 31, 2015, analysts expected these companies to earn $29.13 but as of April 1 the forecast had dropped to $26.32 or down 9.6%.
Deutsche Bank Loses Top 3 Slot in Investment Rankings – Financial Times (subscription)
Deutsche Bank has lost its position as a top three global investment bank — an accolade it has held since before the financial crisis — after the weak euro and the bank’s restructuring relegated Germany’s biggest bank into fifth place in a benchmark industry league table.
Market Savvy
The Swiss Franc May Face Another Jolt – Financial Times (subscription)
Little more than a year ago, while European Central Bank president Mario Draghi was busy fulfilling his promise to do “whatever it takes” to revitalise the eurozone economy, the Swiss National Bank was doing whatever it could to protect its own.
Why Investors are Scared to Bet on a Strengthening Dollar – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Analysts and investors say the U.S. dollar is due for some renewed strength, but they’re hesitant to place bets on when it will happen.
Mexico Plans Fresh Budget Cuts in 2017 as Oil Slump Bites – Reuters
Mexico’s finance ministry on Friday said it plans further spending cuts next year, as weak oil prices pile pressure on a budget that has had billions of dollars sucked from it since the start of 2015.
Global Markets’ First-Quarter Report Card: Limited Progress – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
If nothing else, the first quarter of 2016 has been a reminder of how market moves can be surprising. Unfortunately for many investors, the surprises probably weren’t pleasant.
Press Releases
“FinTech – Harnessing its Power, Managing its Risks”
Remarks by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at Singapore Forum on 2 April 2016.
Industry Events
FOW: Derivatives World, 12-13 April in Hong Kong
FX Week FX Invest North America, 12 April in Boston, MA
Profit & Loss Forex Network London, 14 April in London, UK
Profit & Loss Latin America, 20 April in Mexico City
ACI World Congress 2016 – Indonesia, 26-30 April, Jakarta
Eurofinance: Asia Treasury, 18-20 May in Singapore
Profit & Loss Forex Network New York, 26 May, New York City
FIA: IDX 2016, 7-8 June in London, England
Profit & Loss Forex Toronto, 9 June, Toronto
Profit & Loss Scandinavia, 13 September, Copenhagen
Profit & Loss Forex Network Chicago, 28-29 September, Chicago, IL
Sibos 2016, 26-29 September in Geneva, Switzerland
FIA: Expo, 18-20 October in Chicago, IL