newdigital
Administrator

Barclays appoints junior trader as head of forex desk



Barclays has appointed a junior trader as interim head of its London spot foreign exchange desk, illustrating a thinning out of the ranks after a torrent of traders has departed or been suspended amid a global probe into alleged market manipulation.


The UK bank has promoted Daniel Ryan on an interim basis to the position of global head of voice spot trading, a post left void after the suspension of Chris Ashton last November, two people close to the situation said.


“If they [the banks] pick less experienced people for these jobs they are in essence accepting the fact that they will be making less money and that they will take less risks,” a senior fund manager said.

Saving the cedi: BoG imposes new forex rules

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced additional measures to shore up the cedi against the major foreign currencies.

As part of the measures, it has banned commercial banks and other financial houses from issuing cheques and cheque books on Foreign Exchange Accounts (FEA) and foreign currency accounts (FCA).

It has also directed that no bank should grant a foreign currency-denominated loan or foreign currency-linked facility to a customer who is not a foreign exchange earner.

U.S. Stocks Drop After ISM Manufacturing Gauge Retreats

U.S. stocks fell, ending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s longest stretch without a 5 percent slide since 2006, as a gauge of manufacturing in the world’s largest economy declined more than estimated.

Parisian flat containing €2.1 million painting lay untouched for 70 years

For 70 years the Parisian apartment had been left uninhabited, under lock and key, the rent faithfully paid but no hint of what was inside.

Turkey Shocks Forex Market As Fed Decision Looms

This year was always going to be about the central banks and their interest rate decisions. So far, no asset class can be disappointed, because tagging along with central bank decisions is volatility, a word that could not be applied to the foreign exchange (forex market) over the past 18-months. With mirrored monetary policies, central banks had managed to handcuff the forex market, deadening volatility and opportunity. But in early 2014 that’s all changed; volatility is back with a vengeance, bringing trading opportunities with it. There never was going to be a “follow thy leader campaign” – that was yesteryear. Rate divergence is the name of the new game and the mighty dollar is expected to benefit greatly from it before this year ends.

Bitcoin Crime Risk Sparks Warning at Top Nordic Forex Bank

SEB AB (SEBA), the largest Nordic foreign currency trader, is rejecting requests from clients seeking to set up accounts to manage Bitcoin amid concern the software could be used to aid crime.

The Stockholm-based bank has for now decided not to touch Bitcoin because of the “large uncertainties” relating to its status, Johan Andersson, chief risk officer at SEB, said in an e-mailed response to questions.

Central Banks Try To Strong-Arm Forex Action Back In Line



Emerging markets may be sick, weak at the knees, and trembling badly, but it’s of little concern to the wider world as foreign exchange (forex) investors drive money into the so-called safe haven currencies. Only time will tell if any potential unhinging is limited to a few unbalanced economies like that of Turkey’s and Argentina’s. The developed world is supposedly immune now that growth is evident, backed by pliable domestic central bank policies. The investor should be deeply worried if slowdowns and sell-offs deepen in bigger economies – like in China – that manage to “infect the financial markets of industrial nations and deprive them of demand for exports and commodities.”

Turkish lira at new lows as emerging market rout deepens

The Turkish lira fell to new lows against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as a broad based exodus from emerging market currencies continued amid a combination of concerns over the impact of the Federal Reserve scaling back its stimulus program and a possible slowdown in China.

USD/TRY rose to highs of 2.3798 and was last up 1.60% to 2.3746.

India's forex reserves down $1.20 billion

India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves decreased by $1.20 billion to $292.08 billion for the week ended January 17, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.

The foreign exchange reserves had increased by $177.8 million to $293.28 billion for the week ended January 10.

According to the RBI's weekly statistical supplement, foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, fell by $1.20 billion to $265.93 billion.The foreign currency assets had risen by $190.3 million to $267.14 billion in the previous week.

Looking For Volatility? Watch $Cad After Canadian CPI

Two opposite themes stood out on the FX market yesterday during the NA session:


- A much lower U.S. dollar, helped by low U.S. yields and the original Euro$ rally from the strong Euro-zone PMI numbers. The massive drop in U.S. stocks also helped crush the U.S. dollar against the yen as the carry trade faded.

- Commodity currencies did NOT follow the U.S. Dollar drop and actually went the other way. It all started with China’s weak numbers in the overnight. Ironically, most commodities traded strongly, especially precious metals and oil.