Top Headlines
Yen Weakens to Nearly ¥114 Per Dollar After Abe Election Victory – Financial Times (subscription)
The yen was visibly weaker in Asia, flirting with the ¥114 per dollar mark in the wake of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s resounding weekend victory at the polls.
Dollar Hits Three-Month High vs Yen on Abe Election Victory – Reuters
The dollar touched a three-month high against the yen, with investors betting that an emphatic election victory for Japan’s ruling party would see a continuation of the ultra-loose “Abenomics” policy that have kept downward pressure on the yen.
- Dollar Rises as Yields Near 2.4% Before Trump Picks Fed Chief – Bloomberg
- Dollar Gains as Senate Budget Vote Lifts Tax-Cut Hopes – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Sterling Slips on Uncertainty Over Politics, Rate Outlook – Reuters
Britain’s pound edged lower against the dollar as worries over divisions within the ruling Conservative Party as well as uncertainty over the Bank of England’s interest rate outlook left the currency on unsteady ground.
ECB’s Draghi Faces Challenge in Putting the Brakes on the Euro – Financial Times (subscription)
Even a modest narrowing of its bond-buying programme may do long-term euro damage.
ANZ Settles with Regulator Over Benchmark Case – Profit & Loss
In a brief statement today, ANZ has announced it has reached a confidential in-principle agreement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to settle court action relating to the Australian interbank BBSW market.
Platform Capacity Issues Raise Liquidity Concerns – FX Week (subscription)
Liquidity providers concerned that ECNs are struggling to cope with amount of data going through venues.
Lessons to Learn from the “Crash of ‘87” – Profit & Loss (subscription)
Why would you want equities market structure for FX?
Making the Case for the Prime-of-Prime Model – Profit & Loss (subscription)
The traditional assumption in the FX industry is that accessing a bank prime broker is always preferable to using a prime-of-prime.
OTC FX Options Clearing: Are Prime Services Ready? – Profit & Loss (subscription)
They may both have been a long time in the pipeline, but the wait for CME and LCH’s introduction of OTC FX options clearing services is nearly over.
Emerging Market Rally Leaves Currencies Behind – Financial Times (subscription)
In real, trade-weighted terms EM FX has fallen this year.
Czech’s New Billionaire Leader Could Slow the World’s Best Currency Rally – Bloomberg
He’s drawn comparisons to the US president, but don’t expect billionaire Andrej Babis to deliver a version of the “Trump bump” after his dominant showing in Czech elections.
Vietnam’s Central Bank Says It’s Able to Keep Currency Stable – Bloomberg
Vietnam’s central bank said record-high foreign reserves will enable it to keep the currency stable for the rest of the year as the government focuses on boosting growth in the Southeast Asian economy.
Regulatory News
FCA Reports Surge in Suspicious Transactions – Financial Times (subscription)
Data indicate possible market abuse after tighter EU rules introduced.
CCPs Say Central Bank Access Needed to Avoid Liquidity Crisis – Risk (subscription)
Uniform access to deposit accounts and overnight liquidity vital, say market participants.
Senate Will Probably Confirm Trump’s Fed Pick, But Not Without Some Drama – Bloomberg
All candidates likely to get 51 votes needed for confirmation.
Banks Plan to Shift Asian Trading from London to Hong Kong – Financial Times (subscription)
Regulator gears up to handle moves in a blow to UK capital on managing Asia risk.
Christmas Plans Face Ruin for Finance Industry as MiFID II Looms – Bloomberg
Buyside and sellside still awaiting details of some rules.
Company News
Four Exit Wells Fargo FX Business – Profit & Loss
Four senior foreign exchange employees have reportedly left Wells Fargo following an internal investigation into an unspecified matter, according to reports.
Cobalt Signs with Solace – Profit & Loss
Open data movement technology provider Solace has announced that Cobalt, which aims to reduce the cost, risk and complexity of FX post-trade processing, is using it to facilitate the event-driven flow of information.
DRW Leads High Frequency Trading Charge Into Cryptocurrencies – Financial Times (subscription)
Intense price swings in cryptocurrencies are luring the highest-volume traders on Wall Street as they search for relief from the low volatility blanketing financial markets.
Market Savvy
China Weakens Yuan Midpoint to Lowest in Nearly Two Weeks – Reuters
China’s central bank lowered its official yuan midpoint to the lowest level in nearly two weeks to 6.6205 per dollar, reflecting spot yuan performance last Friday and dollar movement in global markets.
New Zealand Dollar Takes a Breather – Financial Times (subscription)
The New Zealand dollar was up 0.2 per cent in afternoon Asia trading, steadying from a sharp decline seen since a surprise change in government was announced on October 19.
The South African rand took a particularly bad hit from the stronger dollar, as political worries following this week’s cabinet reshuffle exacerbated a broader decline in emerging market assets.