North America

The increasing dominance of global investment banking by US firms is hard to ignore.

Volatile markets, political noise and a culture revamp will be the top themes in foreign exchange for 2017, predict currency experts. Disruptive fintech firms will continue to make headway in a market that is rapidly changing in light of rising pressure on traditional market makers such as banks and demands for greater transparency

The painstakingly gradual loosening of US monetary policy continued this week, with the second rate rise in the cycle coming one year after the first, but the Fed gave markets something to think about by indicating it expects to raise rates three times in 2017.

Gender lens investing is on the rise, and with good reason. Not only do companies perform better with greater female representation on their boards, but a multi trillion-dollar wealth transfer to women and millennials means greater investment focus on social issues like diversity.

ESG criteria increasingly used by investors; impact investing still has growth challenges.

Regulatory capital requirement cut to $50 million; not enough smaller firms to fill the void.

A last-minute proposal by the European Commission risks throwing global bank capitalization rules into further flux.

The Fed’s white paper on blockchain shows the extent of concerns about instability in the $12.6 trillion-a-day US payments system as it adapts to new technology. It also puts tech providers on warning of bank-like regulation.

Anyone hoping they fell through a wormhole on November 8 and are now living in an alternate reality will be encouraged by a new ad campaign in the US.

Japanese bank stocks have shot up in the wake of the US election result. The reasons have to do with shifting sands in bank regulation.

After failing to reach agreement at its last two meetings, Opec agreed this week to cut oil output for the first time in eight years. The oil price responded favourably, but lingering doubts about the finer details could mean the impact is short lived.

Floating NAVs, gates and fees come into force; rate rise may lure investors back.

Global Aggregate index yield jumps by 25bp in 11 days; $8.2 billion leaves US bond funds in one week.

Bank stocks rallied after Trump’s victory in the US election on hopes that higher trading revenue will outweigh potential disruption to global trade. A second act for traders now beckons.

Donald Trump vilified Wall Street during his presidential campaign in stump speeches and an advert that featured an image of Goldman Sachs CEO and chairman Lloyd Blankfein as a symbol of the “corrupt machine” that needed to be overthrown.

Investor Wilbur Ross has always had an eye for a deal, but is he the right choice for an economy that is embracing new technology faster than any other?

Mexico has climbed two positions in Euromoney’s latest quarter results, ranking 37th out of 186 monitored countries, but the new US presidency has analysts worried.

The US president-elect has talked tough on China, but he could be good news for China’s economy and its currency.

The application of fintech to wholesale banking is, to date, less clear than in retail financial services, where peer-to-peer lenders, start-up remittance companies, crowdfunders and robo-advisers are quickly picking up market share from the incumbents. It is more likely that fintech startups will collaborate with and sell to the incumbents in capital markets than disintermediate them. But they will still transform those markets and the business leaders.

Much of what counts as the modern study of economics consists merely of advanced mathematical modelling of financial markets, and the election of Donald Trump now renders it mostly worthless.

Investor risk has been rising this year with fears over Brexit, China, the oil price slump, eurozone debts and global conflict weighing heavily on portfolio decision-making. The shock impact of the Republican victory has made the picture even murkier and sent assets into a tailspin.

Better hedging seems to have enabled the FX market to shrug off concerns over Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections, with some strong moves in Asian trading giving way to more restraint when European markets opened.

Regional FX volatility and capital outflows likely to hit LatAm; biggest risk comes from protectionism policies in the medium term.

As the US enters the final week of a long and bitter election, and with the High Court throwing the UK’s Brexit plans into doubt, political uncertainty has been the chief driver of the currency markets.

Clinging on to modest IB ranking; municipalities show their clout over ethics scandals.

Exits structured products businesses; splits Mittelstandsbank between corporates and retail division.

S&P E-mini trader faces US regulatory charges; academics dispute ‘flash crash’ connection.

European activism reaches record levels; softer approach contrasts with US aggression.

Brexit threatens eurozone, but region still crucial to global banks.

Even amid stories of clients cutting exposure to Deutsche over concerns regarding the DoJ investigation, the bank still benefited from rising customer volumes in the third quarter, as did other European banks.