Top Headlines

What China’s Yuan Move Means for the Fed’s Liftoff – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
China’s tumult hasn’t dissuaded Wall Street of its view that liftoff could come this September…at least not yet.


Yuan Devaluation Boosts Investors Betting Against Asia – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
China’s currency devaluation is delivering a windfall to investors that anticipated a slowdown in the second-largest economy and then bet against the free-floating currencies of China’s regional trading partners.

Report: Buy Side Burden Following Sell-Side Retreat from PB and Clearing – Profit & Loss
Object Trading has released a new report highlighting the challenges facing buy side firms in accessing financial markets as changing cost pressures are forcing sell side firms to retreat from offering prime brokerage and clearing services.

SEF Trading in FX Products Declines Second Month in a Row: FIA SEF Tracker Report
Total SEF trading in foreign exchange products declined for the second month in a row but remained above the year-ago level.

 

Regulatory News

FCA Changes Monitoring of Overseas Banks with UK Branches – FT Adviser
The UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have today (13 August) published “near final rules” on bolstering accountability of top dogs at overseas banks with UK branches.

Leverage Rules Bolster Bank Accounting – Financial Times (subscription)
Removing derivatives from banking rules is contrary to basic accounting practice, says Thomas Hoenig.

Flash Crash Suit by Regulator on Hold as Extradition Sought – Reuters
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s lawsuit against the British trader accused of contributing to the 2010 flash crash was put on hold while US prosecutors seek his extradition to face related charges.

 

Company News

FIS to Buy SunGard from Private Equity Owners for $9.1 Billion – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Fidelity National Information Services agreed to buy SunGard for $5.1 billion in cash and stock, a decade after a group of private-equity firms acquired the financial software company in one of the signature deals of the buyout boom that preceded the financial crisis. The deal will end plans by SunGard’s owners to take it public.

BlueCrest Capital Management Named in Libor-Rigging Lawsuit – Profit & Loss
BlueCrest Capital Management is being sued by a group of investment firms over claims an employee at the firm conspired with banks to rig the Swiss franc Libor rate.

SGX Sets USD/CNH Futures Trading Record after Yuan Devaluation – LeapRate
The People’s Bank of China move to sharply cut the Chinese renminbi (RMB) daily reference rate has bolstered trading activity in SGX USD/CNH Futures, with a new record high of 6,177 contracts (US$618 million in notional value) traded on August 12 2015.

ITG Hid a Secret Trading Desk in Its Dark Pool – Bloomberg
The financial industry is built on top of many overlapping complex systems of regulation, so it is not always easy to know what’s legal and what isn’t. But the financial industry is also built on the dream of making money for nothing, of arbitrage, of perpetual motion machines, of converting intellect into cash without the annoying interventions of hard work and risk.

Nomura Said to Cut 60 Jobs in London Focused on Fixed Income – Bloomberg
Nomura Holdings is cutting about 60 fixed income and credit derivative positions at its global markets operation in London.

UBS Appoints New Roles in FX, Rates, Credit Group – Reuters
Swiss bank UBS said on Wednesday it appointed new roles in its foreign exchange, interest rates and credit (FRC) business with Dylan Roy to head of the group’s Americas division.

Portware Hires Matsko to Head FX Trading Services – Profit & Loss
Portware, has appointed FX industry veteran Christopher Matsko as its head of foreign exchange trading services. Matsko previously held senior sales roles at 360T, FXall, Associated Foreign Exchange and Capital Markets Services.

 

Market Savvy  

The Middle Kingdom Emanates Ominous Rumblings
Recovery Partners
In the past two months the Chinese Stock Market has been teetering on the precipice. The Leadership may even lose the “Mandate of Heaven”.

Yuan Devaluation Does Not Mean a Currency War
Forbes
Hyperbole from talking heads like “the Donald” (Trump) would have us believe that China’s prime focus is debasing the United States economy with unfair exchange rate manipulation.

The Future of the RMB: Special Focus
Euromoney
A guide to global currency wars; how Beijing is seeking to globalise the renminbi through currency swaps and trade-financing facilities; the rise of the offshore bond market; and how fee-hungry banks are salivating at the prospect of the RMB’s growth.

Singapore Dollar Remains within Policy Band in Face of Market Volatility
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The trade-weighted Singapore dollar remains within its policy band notwithstanding increased volatility in foreign exchange markets following the recent shift in China’s exchange rate policy.

 

Press Releases

PwC Report Reviews State of Global Financial Market Liquidity
Findings suggest early warning signals that regulation and other market factors are contributing to a reduction in certain aspects of secondary market liquidity that is likely to be exacerbated by the unwinding of quantitative easing or another stressed market situation.

 

Industry Events