Trump Hits China with More Tariffs, Sharply Escalating Trade Dispute – Reuters
US President Donald Trump vowed to impose a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept. 1, sharply escalating a bruising trade war between the world’s largest economies and jolting financial markets.
- China Slams Trump’s Latest Tariffs – South China Morning Post
- Trump Tariffs Increase Pressure on Fed to Cut Rates – Financial Times
- Fresh Trump Tariff Threat Roils Investors Around World – Wall Street Journal
- What Analysts Are Saying About Fresh China Tariff Threat – Bloomberg
UK Government Majority Cut to One as it Loses By-Election – BBC
The Liberal Democrats have won the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, leaving new PM Boris Johnson with a Commons working majority of just one.
- Markets Confounded by BOE Brushing Aside Risk of No-Deal Brexit – Bloomberg
- Growth Forecast Cut as Bank Warns of No-Deal Brexit Risks – The Times
Fed Pick Shelton Says Other Countries Are ‘Cheating’ by Devaluing Currencies – Wall Street Journal
One of President Trump’s latest picks for the Federal Reserve Board, conservative economic commentator Judy Shelton, said foreign countries are devaluing their currencies to prop up their economies.
Test Awaits LSE When Euphoria Over $27bn Refinitiv Deal Passes – Financial Times
The UK stock exchange group’s purchase of data and trading group has been welcomed, but execution will be key.
Fed’s Conundrum: Can Lower Rates Combat Investment Chill? – Wall Street Journal
Economists and executives say trade uncertainty, not borrowing costs, is hurting growth.
South Korea Pledges Action Against Japan’s ‘Unfair’ Trade Step – Reuters
President Moon Jae-in vowed on Friday to take stern action against Japan’s decision to strip South Korea of its fast track export status, calling it a reckless and unfair retaliatory action by Tokyo.
Regulatory News
Banks Slam Investors’ ‘Vague’ UK Forex Rigging Suit – Law360
Barclays, HSBC and other banking giants have denied owing billions of dollars to hundreds of institutional investors over allegations they conspired to rig the foreign exchange market.
CFTC: LedgerX ‘Not Approved’ to Launch ‘Physical’ Bitcoin Futures – Coin Desk
In a statement, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission says LedgerX has “not yet been approved by the Commission” to offer physically settled bitcoin futures, contradicting the company’s claims.
CFTC Extends Time-Limited No-Action Relief from Certain Position Aggregation Requirements – CFTC
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight has announced it has issued a no-action letter extending, until August 12, 2022, the relief provided to market participants from certain position aggregation requirements in CFTC Regulation 150.4.
Singapore’s Benchmarks Get Seal of Approval from European Union – Bloomberg
The European Commission’s seal of approval for Singapore financial benchmarks will allow companies in the European Union to continue trading derivative products linked to the city state’s benchmark interest rates.
Crypto News
Could the New Financial Action Task Force Regulation Be the End of Bitcoin? – Forbes
When people talk about Bitcoin, you often hear it being described as a private, peer to peer, digital store of wealth. However, when it comes to regulators around the world, there is a certain fixation on the privacy aspect of cryptocurrency.
New Report Covers Key Trends that Should Propel the Bitcoin Price Higher – Forbes
A new report from digital asset research firm Delphi Digital describes current trends in the global economy that could lead to a “perfect storm” for the Bitcoin price.
Bitcoin Passes New Milestone as Network Mines 85% of its Total Supply – Coin Telegraph
Bitcoin now has 85% of its supply in circulation as of August 1, leaving just 3.15 million new coins for the next 120 years.
Facebook’s Digital Money Plan Raises Stakes for China’s Cryptocurrency Ambitions – NPR
When Facebook announced plans in June to launch a new digital currency called Libra, the news sent monetary officials scrambling in China.
Why Facebook’s Libra is Doomed to Fail – South China Morning Post
Today Facebook is racing as fast as it can to break the global financial architecture, before the world’s big governments can shatter its existing business model. It will lose the race.
To Succeed, Libra Must Prove Itself in the Indian Market – Financial Times
As global policymakers try to divine Facebook’s true ambitions for its new digital currency, Libra, one thing is clear: payments are the battleground.
Company News
FX Platform Volumes Drop in July – Profit & Loss
The first group of FX platforms to report average daily turnover for July indicate that volume in the market dropped sharply from June, however year-on-year data was slightly better.
LCH Plans October 2020 SOFR Discounting Switch – Risk
LCH SwapClear plans to shift $154 trillion of US interest rate derivatives to a new discount curve on October 17, 2020 – three months after rival CME Clearing intends to make its own switch.
SGX Seeks “Bolt-On” Acquisitions – FOW
The Singapore Exchange is looking to boost its fixed income, currencies and commodities, foreign exchange and indexing business growth through “bolt-on acquisitions,” CEO Loh Boon Chye says.
Euronext Eyes Acquisitions in Market Data or Post-Trade Services –Reuters
Euronext is looking for opportunities to buy market data or post-trade services providers, according to CEO Stephane Boujnah.
Market Savvy
In his first week as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has shocked those who had assumed that he is a joker incapable of making any more progress than his predecessor.
US Jobs Report to Offer Litmus Test for Fed After Rate Cut – Bloomberg
The next US jobs report is likely to embolden the Federal Reserve to keep this round of interest cuts short and sweet.
Renminbi Drops to 2019 Low on Trade War Escalation – Financial Times
The Chinese currency is within 1% of psychological 7 to the dollar mark.
Tariffs Raise Demand for Safe-Haven Yen; Pound Recovers – Reuters
A US threat to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports pushed the safe-haven Japanese yen to a five-week high against the dollar and a two-and-a-half-year high against the pound.