The beauty in simplicity

The rule of regulation is far too often applied at too detailed a level that encourages arbitrage, becomes expensive to comply with and very expensive to enforce. Guest blogger Kevin Neville asks whether regulation really needs to be so complicated...

FX-MM news, stories & comment...

		Lloyds strengthens Payments & Cash Management expertise Kevin Stockbridge and Katherine Moore have been appointed to work with clients in the financial institutions market...

		Global FX Division’s search for Trade Repository provider continues The move comes in response to Dodd Frank requirements in the US, which call for certain FX trades to be reported to a swap data repository...

		CFOs start to feel the pinch of fiscal tightening On average, CFOs expect the UK fiscal squeeze to reduce UK corporates’ potential profits by 7% this year...

		Accuity enhances global sanctions lists in light of Libya crisis As the unrest in Libya continues to develop, Accuity has continued to enrich the OFAC SDN list in order to ensure...

		Euroclear UK & Ireland slashes fund transaction reconciliation fees Fund promoters will be charged GBP 1.00 for the first 250 messages per month, and then GBP 0.10 per message thereafter...

		New version of MetaTrader 5 iPhone unveiled MetaTrader 5 iPhone now supports full-fledged charts for all financial instruments that are available for smartphones and tablet PCs...

		CLS expands its business development team with three new hires These appointments within the global team, underscore CLS' commitment to further expanding its market coverage...

Latest trading commentaries...

Finns join Greek plate-smashing fest
On any other day the euro might have surged following a duet of warnings from ECB officials that policy is too loose and the path ahead will live up to investors' expectations of further yield-pumping rate increases. But the customary din of the plate-smashing in troubled Greece got louder over the weekend with a super-lob coming from Northern Europe as the Finns joined the party.

Low profile for sterling, and it will get lower
The best-before date on Greek, Irish and Portuguese government bonds passed by years ago and the labels on Spanish products are worthy of careful examination. That situation - in particular the talk of restructuring of Greek debt - weighed on the euro again on Friday, holding it back at the tail of the field.

Finland election result raises questions for the EUR near-term
In early developments this morning, news that the anti-EUR (Portugal bailout) True Finns party had garnered 19% of a weekend vote (National coalition 20.4% and SDP 19.1%) injected some nerves into the EUR.

Bank risks higher inflation by raising rates too early
A report suggests the Bank of England risks pushing inflation higher if it looks towards a rate rise over coming months. The Ernst & Young Item Club suggest higher rates would push up mortgage costs and increase the RPI measure of inflation.

Euro-weakness the story of Friday’s session
Euro-weakness was the story of Friday’s session, as the market showed alarm over sovereign debt issues in the eurozone periphery. These issues must still be weighing on investors’ minds as the euro has started this week on the back foot.

Chinese GDP numbers higher than expected
The Chinese GDP numbers have come in higher than expected and almost on a par with what was a much better than expected release of GDP numbers for Q4 last year. The Q1 data goes some way to show how their interest rate hikes and other tightening measures are bringing growth down slowly but surely, which is the desired result, rather than a sudden shock to the system.