Top Headlines
Would FXMarketSpace Have Worked in the Current Environment? – Profit & Loss
It was 10 years ago yesterday that one of the higher profile ventures of recent years in the FX space shut its doors. To me the problems with FXMarketSpace were simple: it attracted the wrong sort of trading firm at the time; it failed to get a netting solution off the ground; and it was too transparent – and by that I mean it was on a hiding to nothing by publishing volumes at such an early stage. But would the FXMS model work now?
Speed Restrictions Give FX Market Participants the Hump – Euromoney
Speed bumps appear to be gathering favour among stock exchanges, but their potential to level the playing field in the FX market is tempered by concerns around transparency and the impact on trading costs.
Cryptoasset vs FX Trading: What Can the Two Learn from Each Other? – Profit & Loss
From settlement speeds to custodianship concerns and trading costs, Alexis Atkinson of NEX Markets explains why crypto and currency market structures have much to glean from each other.
Word Up: Front Office Uses Language Analysis for Trade Signals – Risk.net (subscription)
Market-makers are harnessing instant chat, news articles and social media as alternative data for trade decisions.
Unpredictable Trend Changes Drive CTA Losses in September – Profit & Loss
The flash estimate for the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, indicates a 0.19% loss in September. However, currency trading remains the best performing sector this year.
Ex-Deutsche Bank Traders Guilty in Libor Rigging Scandal – Financial News (subscription)
Two former Deutsche Bank traders were found guilty of trying to rig a key lending benchmark that was considered one of the most important barometers of the world’s financial health.
President Trump reiterated his complaints that the Federal Reserve is raising short-term interest rates too fast, calling the US central bank “my biggest threat.”
Regulatory News
US Threatens to Bar EU Banks from Exchanges – Financial Times (subscription)
One of the US’s top regulators has threatened to stop European banks from using US futures markets if the EU refuses to water down post-Brexit plans to oversee clearing houses.
- Exchange Chiefs Back Giancarlo in Tussle Over CCP Oversight – net (subscription)
- US Regulator Threatens EU Over Post-Brexit Clearinghouse Plan – Bloomberg
- Futures Industry Seeks Cross-Border Equivalence – Markets Media
US Derivatives Regulator to Scrap Obama-Era Algo-Trading Rule – Reuters
The head of the US derivatives regulator said on Wednesday he was scrapping a controversial Obama-era proposal that would have required algorithmic trading firms to hand their proprietary source code to the authorities.
Why Mifid II is Missing the Mark, Nine Months In – Financial News (subscription)
A proliferation of new trading venues has left traders less clear on best execution and damaged regulators’ attempts to increase transparency.
SEC’s Stein Sounds Alarm on Portfolio Margining – Risk.net (subscription)
The comment period on single-name CDSs is a covert attempt at rulemaking, regulator says.
More than a quarter of UK fund managers are failing to prepare for new rules that will make their senior executives more accountable for wrongdoing — with little over a year to go until the regulations kick in.
FCA Wins Momentum for Machine-Filed Reports, Ponders DLT – Global Capital (subscription)
The UK Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday that its plans to automate regulatory reporting requirements were in the main positively received by the financial services industry.
Crypto News
Goldman Alumni Still Think They Can Fix Wall Street with Crypto – Bloomberg
Looking like a banker but sounding like a crypto radical, Arya Bolurfrushan said Accrete Capital Technologies could upend both Wall Street and virtual currencies by creating something with lower fees than asset managers and less volatility than Bitcoin.
Digital Currencies Are Entering A Third Phase: Masters (Radio) – Bloomberg
CoinShares Chairman Danny Masters discusses Fidelity’s new client offering, and the outlook for crypto currencies.
G4S Branches Out into Cryptocurrency Storage – Financial Times (subscription)
G4S, the UK security company, has launched its first foray into the nascent crypto sector with a new digital currency storage service.
Company News
Refinitiv Expands Data Service via Amazon Cloud – Profit & Loss
Refinitiv, formerly the Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters, has announced that its Elektron real-time data delivery using Amazon Web Services is being expanded.
Goldman Sachs, Two Sigma and Citi Invest Further $20 Million in Data Science Startup – The Trade
A data science and engineering startup has secured a further $20 million investment from Goldman Sachs, Two Sigma and Citi in a second funding round.
Barclays Hires Two for Asian NDF Trading Team – FX Week (subscription)
Arnold Bengco and Shyam Parameswaran have joined Barclays in Singapore as directors on the Asian non-deliverable forwards trading team.
Market Savvy
Pound Supported as Britain’s May Open to Longer Brexit Transition – Reuters
The British pound recovered to trade flat on Thursday after Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed she was open to discussing an extension of the transition period after Brexit.
Fund Managers Forecast Pound-Euro Parity in No-Deal Brexit – Financial News (subscription)
City investors predict the value of one pound will slump below one euro if the UK leaves the EU without an agreed withdrawal deal — as Theresa May heads to Brussels again today to try to secure one.
A Dollar Rally Few are Prepared to Call Time On – Financial Times (subscription)
Buoyed by the strong US economy, the Federal Reserve’s rate increases and lacklustre growth elsewhere, the dollar has rediscovered its momentum over the past six months. And analysts believe that the rally has further to run for now.
Short Positions on Most Asian Currencies Drop; Dollar Momentum Seen Waning: Reuters Poll – Reuters
Short positions on most Asian currencies were seen unwinding over the past two weeks, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, with traders turning sceptical of the dollar’s .DXY bull run after US retail sales data came in below expectations.
World Volatility Gauges Drop as Bulls Attempt Fight Back – Bloomberg
After the storm comes the calm: Volatility gauges across currencies, stocks and bonds around the world are signalling a return to tranquility as option traders seek to shrug off recent market turmoil.