Top Headlines
Want to Catch Misbehaviour? Watch the Electronic Chat – Risk.net (subscription)
The monitoring of internal electronic messages has become among the most potent tools of first-line risk managers. “It is amazing how many people have arguments on chat – between sales and trading over who is responsible for a loss, for example, if they have to report it, say, within 24 hours,” said Andrew Brodie, global head of front office conduct surveillance at BNP Paribas.
Trade War May Spur China to Sell Treasuries as Yuan Tumbles – Bloomberg
The idea that China would dump its $1.1 trillion of Treasuries to retaliate against US tariffs is often dismissed as improbable. It’s seen as a nuclear option that would inflict more harm on China’s economy than America’s. Yet the tensions rippling through global financial markets could still lead Beijing to reduce its stockpile in the $15.9 trillion Treasuries market – not to retaliate, but to defend its currency if it goes into a free-fall.
Dark Pool Trading Volumes Surge to Pre-MiFID II Levels – The Trade
Volumes on European dark pools in April reached the largest share of on-exchange trading in the post-MiFID II era, according to an analysis by TABB Group.
Regulatory News
Initial Margin ‘Big Bang’ Could Be Deferred, Says EC’s Pearson – Risk.net (subscription)
A top European Commission official has hinted that the final phase of initial margin rules for non-cleared derivatives trades could be deferred, encouraging the industry to “keep on banging the drum” on the issue.
US SEC Proposes Rules Aimed at Supervision of Cross-Border Derivatives – Reuters
The top US markets regulator has proposed rules aimed at improving how the financial market accepts and supervises cross-border derivative applications.
‘Flash Boys’ Exchange IEX Backs Regulator in Data Fees Fight – Financial Times (subscription)
A fight over market data fees has intensified after IEX, the stock exchange made famous by Michael Lewis’s book Flash Boys, threw its support behind the US securities regulator. IEX derided the “excessive” fees charged by exchanges in a filing this week that backed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s October decision that the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq failed to justify the prices they charge for the data.
Crypto News
Rumors Fueling Crypto Rally Get Debunked, Leaving Enthusiasts Deflated – Bloomberg (subscription)
Crypto enthusiasts at this year’s Consensus conference might feel disappointed that some of the most optimistic speculation underpinning surging token prices isn’t panning out. Gossip about greater mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies, some of which emerged at the Consensus conference in New York, helped fuel the rally in crypto prices this week. But, so far, the expectations have proven to be unfounded.
Bitcoin Adds Market Share in Recovery in Crypto – Bloomberg (subscription)
As the value of the original crypto coin surged more than 30% to beyond $8,000 since Friday, Bitcoin’s market share as a percentage of the entire crypto universal increased to about 60% from 53% percent on Jan. 1, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.com.
Mario Draghi Dismisses Crypto Assets – FX Week (subscription)
The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, has emphasised the instability of crypto assets, saying they are not currencies.
Joe Lubin, Jimmy Song Strike $500K Crypto Bet on Ethereum’s Future – CoinDesk
The terms of a much-hyped bet have finally been settled, and, at current prices, more than $500,000 in crypto is on the line. If ethereum is doing great four years from now, Jimmy Song will pay Joe Lubin (or his beneficiary) 810.8 ETH. If the dapp economy is sputtering at that point, Lubin will send Song 69.74 BTC.
Company News
Cleary to Leave Cboe FX – Profit & Loss
Sean Cleary is set to leave Cboe FX, where he was global head of sales. It is understood that Cleary will be leaving his position at the end of May, and that Ben Leit, currently head of FX sales, Europe, will assume his role.
Not Random and Not a Forest: Black-Box ML Turns White – FX Week (subscription)
UBS tackles the problem of optimal order placement in its FX smart order router with machine learning.
Former Astrophysicist to Overhaul Macro Strategy Products at BNY Mellon – FX Week (subscription)
Bank of New York Mellon has brought in John Arabadjis, a former astrophysicist, to lead an overhaul of the bank’s macro strategy products and oversee its analytics team. The move comes as the bank continues to build out a full-service foreign exchange business.
Nasdaq Deploys Clearing Platform for Johannesburg Stock Exchange – The Trade
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has implemented Nasdaq’s clearing technology platform for its equity and currency derivatives market. The launch is part of a multi-year project focused on migrating all of its markets to Nasdaq’s clearing platform.
Fenergo and Refinitiv Join Forces to Accelerate Client Onboarding – Fenergo
Facilitating the flow of legal entity and counterparty information between banks and data providers to counteract financial crime, bribery and corruption is critical. Fenergo, a provider of digital client lifecycle management software, has partnered with Refinitiv to enable customers to more efficiently identify risk.
Market Savvy
Pound Drops Amid Fears PM May’s Brexit Deal Will Be Voted Down, Again – Reuters
The pound remained near a two-week low on Wednesday, and investors said more losses were likely if Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal gets voted down again next month.
German Data Fails to Lift Euro from One-Week Low – Reuters
The euro held at a one-week low on Wednesday, ignoring data from Germany that showed the economy returned to growth in the first quarter, as trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies cast a shadow over risk appetite.
Currency Crisis Redux? – Financial Times (subscription)
According to Evghenia Sleptsova and her team at Oxford Economics, Argentina’s peso and the Turkish lira are the two currencies most vulnerable to yet another sell-off.