US Launches Five WTO Challenges to Retaliatory Tariffs – Reuters
The United States launched five separate World Trade Organization dispute actions on Monday challenging retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Turkey following US duties on steel and aluminum.
IMF Warns Trump Tariffs Could Hit Global Growth by 0.5% – Financial Times (subscription)
Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on imports threatens to knock 0.5 percentage points off global growth by 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned on Monday, as the world’s biggest money manager added that tariff rises would also hit stock markets.
Trade Wars May Make the Fed Less Hawkish – Financial Times (subscription)
Rising inflation and lower growth pose new problems for monetary policy.
Fed’s Kashkari, Citing Yield Curve, Wants Rate Hike Pause – Reuters
The narrowing gap between yields on long-term and short-term Treasury bonds to little more than the equivalent of one rate hike from the Federal Reserve has helped sour at least one US central banker on any further interest rates increases.
Theresa May’s Brexit Plan in Turmoil Over Rebel Amendments – The Times (subscription)
Theresa May’s compromise deal on Brexit was on the brink of collapse last night after she capitulated to concession designed by Leave-voting Conservatives to kill off the plan.
Emerging Markets Sour on Dollar Debt Amid Currency Volatility – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Companies in the emerging world are on a dollar-debt diet.
Growth Still Trumps Politics for Markets – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Markets may ignore political dramas over trade, NATO and Brexit as long as the economic outlook is sound.
Regulatory News
House Lawmakers Agree on Bipartisan Package on Capital Markets Rule-Easing – Reuters
Top lawmakers in the US House of Representatives on Monday said they had agreed on a bipartisan legislative package to ease rules in a bid to help Main Street companies and boost jobs.
Indonesia’s Response to Market Volatility Attracts Praise – Financial Times (subscription)
A proactive central bank and strong fundamentals offer investors confidence.
Big Banks Reshape Lobbying Game – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Big banks are revamping their lobbying approach as Trump-appointed regulators set out to ease rules put in place after the financial crisis.
ECB Fires Starting Gun in Hunt for New Head of Eurozone Watchdog – Financial Times (subscription)
The European Central Bank has started the hunt to fill one of the most important jobs in eurozone finance — bank supervisor-in-chief.
Company News
NEX, JBond, Launch Repo Index – Profit & Loss
NEX Data and JBond have announced the launch of the JBond Nex Repo Index to measure the effective cost of funding for Japanese government bonds.
BlackRock’s Investor-Cash Inflows Slide – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
BlackRock pulled in $20 billion in new investor cash in the second quarter, its lowest haul in two years as a global trade rift made investors increasingly skittish.
Goldman’s Cool Crisis Commander Finally Bows Out – Financial Times (subscription)
Lloyd Blankfein steered bank through turmoil, but his legacy is not assured.
CTA Index Down for June; But Currency Managers Show Gains – Profit & Loss
The flash estimate for the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, indicates a 0.05% loss in June. Year to date, the index is down 2.00%.
Crypto News
BitPay Granted Virtual Currency License by NY Regulator – Reuters
The New York Department of Financial Services said on Monday it had granted a virtual currency license to bitcoin payments processor BitPay.
Banks Under Watch Over Exposure to Cryptocurrencies – Financial Times (subscription)
Global banking regulators are assessing the size of banks’ exposure to “crypto-assets” such as bitcoin and looking at introducing capital safeguards, in a move that could deter banks from embracing the nascent market.
CFTC Says Buyer Beware in New ICO Advisory – Coindesk
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued an advisory on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto-assets, warning would-be buyers to do their homework before investing.
China Sees Sixfold Surge in New Companies with ‘Blockchain’ in Name – South China Morning Post
China has seen an explosion of companies registered with “blockchain” in their names from January to July 16, almost sixfold the number for the whole of last year.
This Is Not a Passing Fad’: CFA Exam Adds Crypto, Blockchain Topics – Bloomberg
CFA Institute, whose grueling three-level program has helped train more than 150,000 financial professionals, is adding topics on cryptocurrencies and blockchain to its Level I and II curriculums for the first time next year.
Market Savvy
Oil Prices Rise as More Norwegian Oil Workers Strike – Reuters
Brent crude prices rose from a three-month low on Tuesday after more oil workers went on strike in Norway, supporting a market that has been dominated by oversupply issues in recent days.
Understanding the Limits of AI in Finance – Profit & Loss
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have become buzzwords in financial services, but while this technology can be applied in finance in numerous ways to improve returns, it also has some significant limitations that market participants should be aware of.
Reserve Bank of Australia Focuses on Household Debt Risks – ABC News
In the minutes from the RBA board meeting on July 3, members were told that the global growth in household debt levels had outweighed household income for the past three decades — a trend that was particularly notable in Australia.