Top Headlines
U.S. Judge Rejects 14 Banks’ Bid to Throw Out Rate-Rigging Lawsuit – Reuters
A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday rejected an effort by 14 of the world’s biggest banks to throw out a private lawsuit accusing them of rigging an interest rate benchmark used in the $553 trillion derivatives market.
BlackRock Joins Pimco Warning Investors to Seek Inflation Hedge – Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. joined Pacific Investment Management Co. in recommending inflation-linked bonds and warning costs are poised to pick up.
Dollar Rally Stutters as Traders Wary Yellen to Side With Doves – Bloomberg
Dollar bulls have turned cautious after last week pushing the currency to its longest run of daily gains in two months.
Ethereum, a Virtual Currency, Enables Transactions That Rival Bitcoin’s – New York Times
A new virtual gold rush is underway. Even as Bitcoin, riven by internal divisions, has struggled, a rival virtual currency — known as Ethereum — has soared in value, climbing 1,000 percent over the last three months.
China Bull Who Beat 99% of All Bond Funds Says Yuan Drop Is Over – Bloomberg
For an investor whose fortunes are tied to a currency that most forecasters warn is destined to decline, Andy Seaman is surprisingly upbeat.
Central Bank Interventions Are Fraught With Peril: Roach – Bloomberg
As more economies flirt with disinflation and economic stagnation, central bankers are pushing the limits of monetary policy. Bloomberg TV Canada’s Rudyard Griffiths speaks to Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, who says the unprecedented intervention by central banks he’s seeing is “dangerous.”
Regulatory News
Regulators Tar Asset Managers and Banks with the Same Brush – eFinancial News
Asset managers are nervous, and not just about the markets. As financial regulators complete the post-crisis reforms to banks, the authorities’ attention is increasingly turning towards the investment industry.
Experts Warn ESMA Budget “Insufficient” for Remit – FOW (subscription)
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) may not have enough capital or personnel to effectively support the complex technical requirements under sweeping regulatory directive MiFID II, market experts have warned.
Company News
Deutsche Bank Streamlines IT Systems in Effort to Cut Costs – Financial Times (subscription)
The executive charged with ripping out Deutsche Bank’s tangled IT systems and slashing costs will this week report the first signs of progress, having cut 450 jobs in the back office of its struggling global markets unit.
AllianceBernstein Becoming Energy Banker as Wall Street Retreats – Financial Times (subscription)
As the biggest banks pull back from lending to troubled energy companies, AllianceBernstein LP is stepping in.
Why Currency Headwinds Are Going To Define Earnings In 2016 – Seeking Alpha
Companies that do business outside of the USA have substantial forex exposure. This exposure can be an asset, if properly managed – but often it is a liability.
Chinese Property Developers Saw Revenue Hit By RMB Devaluation – China Money
Hong Kong-listed Chinese property developers including Shui On Land Ltd., Country Garden Holdings and R&F Properties have seen their financial results hit by the devaluation of the RMB.
Market Savvy
Templeton’s Hasenstab Shuns Argentina for Mexico, Brazil – Reuters
At least one large fund manager is not buying into Argentina’s turnaround story and believes the country’s first international bond in over 15 years may not offer as much value as local debt in Mexico and Brazil.
Barclays Warns Commodities May Slump on `Rush for the Exits’ – Bloomberg
Commodities including oil and copper are at risk of steep declines as recent advances aren’t fully grounded in improved fundamentals, according to Barclays Plc, which warned that prices may tumble as investors rush for the exits.
Dollar Rises, Fed’s Yellen Speech in Focus – Reuters
The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as European investors returned from an Easter break, with the focus on a speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen who could lay the ground for interest rates hikes later this year.
Why China’s Capital Outflows Are Easing for Now – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The amount of capital flowing out of China has been easing up lately, but don’t expect it to last.
Press Releases
IMF Publishes Work on the State of the Global Financial Safety Net
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today published the paper “The Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net,” which the IMF’s Executive Board discussed during an informal session as part of the Fund’s ongoing review of the international monetary system. The paper assesses the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) – comprised of international reserves, central bank swap arrangements, regional financing arrangements, Fund resources (complemented by other multilateral and bilateral development partners), and market-based instruments.
CFTC Approves a Final Rule Providing an Alternative to Fingerprinting for Foreign Natural Persons
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that it approved a final rule adding an alternative for foreign natural persons to the requirement to provide fingerprints when applying for CFTC registration.
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 Scandinavia, TBD 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