Derivs - FX

The Futures Industry Association began its annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida, on Tuesday, with delegates assembling to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing derivatives markets 10 years after the great financial crisis.

Interest rate swap trading venue TrueEx is planning a marketplace for digital assets by the end of the second quarter, subject to regulatory review, while also building reference rates for the two largest cryptocurrencies.

Regulators in the United States were afforded greater powers to scrutinise cryptocurrency spot markets this week, as supervisory bodies around the world come to grips with the nascent asset class.

Equity markets began the week facing what could well have proved major disruption in the form of Sunday's Italian election result and talk of tariffs in the US. But they have proven remarkably resilient to global shocks.

An awful lot of capital and financial market participants are relaxed about Sunday's Italian election, predicting that coalitions and deadlock will remain a staple of Italy's political system. But others urge caution — and hedging — while the going is good for fear that complacency is taking hold, writes Costas Mourselas.

TP ICAP, the inderdealer broker, on Monday revealed that it has promoted from within and made new hires for its institutional services division.

International law firm Mayer Brown has hired eight lawyers from the New York and San Francisco offices of Morrison & Foerster, including capital markets partners Anna Pinedo and James Tanenbaum .

The French financial markets regulator clamped down on cryptocurrency derivatives on Thursday, setting out tighter regulation and an advertising ban for the products.

Deutsche Boerse's new CEO, Theodor Weimer, said this week that, given the low market volatility of 2017, there were "headwinds" for the exchanges group, but that there was opportunity heading into 2018.

Deal-contingent hedging can be a great way to hedge risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, but a number of pitfalls can flummox first time users of these specialist derivatives.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions on Tuesday urged its members to “improve the practices” of firms offering complex derivatives to retail clients as it opened a consultation on the matter to the public.

European supervisory authorities jointly warned consumers this week about the potential risk of buying and holding virtual currencies like bitcoin.