What Does the CHF Story Mean for the FX Industry? – Profit & Loss Webinar

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What Does the CHF Story Mean for the FX Industry? – Profit & Loss Webinar
Profit & Loss invites readers to join a special free webinar today, Tuesday, 20 January at 9.30am EST/2.30pm GMT, to discuss the implications of the Swiss franc fallout on the FX industry. Tune in to hear the views of Christopher Cruden, CEO, Insch Capital Management; Erik Lehtis, head of trading, VisionFX; Bob Savage, CEO, CCTrack Solutions; and moderator Colin Lambert, managing editor, Profit & Loss.

Swiss Turmoil Spreading in Europe as Saxo, Credit Suisse Hurt – Bloomberg
Credit Suisse Group and Saxo Bank joined the list of European financial companies warning that the abrupt end to the cap on the Swiss franc may hurt their earnings.

Alpari Japan Joins Alpari UK in Administration – LeapRate
Japan’s Financial Services Agency has confirmed that the Japanese division of Alpari has gone into administration, with a plan to return customer funds in full.

Alpari Administrators KPMG Say There are Potential Buyers – BBC News
The administrators called in to run Alpari UK said they have received several inquiries from potential buyers.

FXCM Rescue Package Includes Rising Interest Rate – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
FXCM has  provided further details on its $300 million rescue package from Leucadia National Corp., saying the initial interest rate of 10% increases by 1.5% per annum each quarter as long as the loan is outstanding, but won’t exceed 17%.

Denmark Tries to Silence Currency Speculators – Irish Times
Denmark is trying to silence currency speculators as the government and central bank insist the Nordic country won’t follow Switzerland in severing its euro ties.

Euro Pressured Ahead of This Week’s ECB Meeting – Reuters
The euro faced pressure on Tuesday as investors positioned for possible easing steps by the European Central Bank as early as this week, while the dollar edged up on the yen after a US holiday.

JP Morgan Suspends FX Trader, Banks Increase Monitoring Safeguards – Profit & Loss (subscription)
JP Morgan suspended currency dealer Gordon Andrew for alleged misconduct in his former role at RBS, a source has confirmed. The move coincides with additional measures being introduced by leading global banks in a bid to tighten up oversight of FX dealing floor activity, Profit & Loss understands.

Banks Q4 Revenues Hit by FX Fines and Drop in FICC Income – Profit & Loss (subscription)
The first of the major FX trading banks to report Q4 earnings have included the impact of additional legal costs, partly related to the FX manipulation probe, in addition to an overall decline in fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) revenues.

FXPA News: Join by Feb 1 to Qualify for Time-Limited Membership Category
The special founding member category of the Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA) will close on 1 February. Join today to be part of the first wave of founding members that enjoy the distinct benefits that this class offers. FXPA recently crossed the critical threshold of 15 members, triggering elections for the first permanent Board of Directors and Officers. FXPA’s Board will include 50% representation by Founding Members that join prior to the 1 February deadline.

 

 

Regulatory News

Derivatives Watchdogs Expected to Agree Swaps Rules Reprieve – Reuters
Derivatives watchdogs are expected to agree a new timeline for the introduction of margin requirements for swaps transactions after strong resistance from the international banking industry, Steven Maijoor, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, said.

Massad Looks to Streamline Cross-Border Rules – FOW magazine (subscription)
Timothy Massad, chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has said the US regulator is committed to continued cooperation with Asian regulators and the harmonisation of US rules with other nations.

Volcker Delay Still Faces Challenges in US Senate – Profit & Loss (subscription)
A potential delay to the introduction of the Volcker Rule made the headlines in the US last week, but the bill still faces significant challenges before it can become law.

The legislative Future of Virtual Currencies – The London School of Economics and Political Science
Niels Vandezande of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and ICT (ICRI) at the University of Leuven explores legislative developments targeting virtual currencies like bitcoin in the US and EU, and argues that 2015 may be an important year for virtual currencies due to increasing stability and upcoming court decisions.

 

 

Company News

Deutsche Börse Takes Step Nearer Singapore Clearing House – Financial Times
Efforts by Deutsche Börse to establish a physical beachhead in Asia took a step forward on Tuesday when Singapore approved the European exchange operator’s plans for a clearing house in the city-state to be launched in 2016. The “in principle” approval is another sign of moves by western exchanges to build market infrastructure in Singapore, which has become their focal point for expansion into Asia.

 

 

Market Savvy  

ECB (SNB) Survey – Expectations/Trading
Societe Generale
Our survey found that almost 70% of investors expect ECB Sovereign QE in January. A smaller group expects it later or additional waves of Sovereign QE. Only a small minority does not believe in Sovereign QE. The bulk of the market expects a program of 500bn but the distribution is quite right skewed with another peak at 1000bn. A significant minority expects the ECB to cut its main refinancing rate in January or in the following months.

 

 

Press Releases

Monex Group Announcement of the Financial Impact on Consolidated Performance from a Volatile Swiss Franc Market
Monex Group have recognized client negative balance on FX accounts of the customers due to a volatile Swiss Franc market caused by the Swiss National Bank’s decision to abolish its policy capping the Swiss franc against the euro. This client negative balance will have no material negative financial impact on the consolidated performance and the business operations of the Company

Currencies Lead December growth on DCGX
The currency segments led year-on-year growth trading 897,116 contracts, an increase of 25% from December 2013.

 

 

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