Storm clouds roiled through the FX market this week as declining third quarter trading revenues at several of the leading banks in the Euromoney survey swept through several trading desks like a Frankenstorm of dismay.

Morgan Stanley believes the Swiss franc will appreciate sharply at the start of next year as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) withdraws from its campaign to weaken its currency.

Optimism among German corporates over the euro’s short-term prospects is crumbling, while medium-term positining hints at a sharp fall for the single currency.

Here we go again, lets jump on the beat up high frequency trading band wagon.

Credit Suisse has cut seven people from its FX and fixed-income teams in Asia, with most of the departures coming from the Swiss bank’s offices in Singapore.

Representatives from the Chinese and Russian central banks are among a group of leading emerging markets (EM) that are in advanced discussions with CLS about adding their currencies to the FX settlement facility.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) took advantage of better market conditions to rebalance the composition of its swelling currency reserves and cut its EUR holdings in the third quarter.

Revenues at leading FX banks have dropped in the third quarter compared with the same period last year.

With volatility in the FX market hitting its lowest level since before the start of the financial crisis, many are looking for the trigger that will push currencies out of the tight ranges that have held in recent months.

A “phoney war” is underway on both sides of the Atlantic. Like its predecessor in 39/40 all hell will break out quite soon. With the Fiscal Cliff?

HSBC has promoted a long-standing member of its FX institutional sales team to become the bank’s new head of EMEA FX institutional sales.

Reserve data from Australia has sparked speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is leaning against strength in the AUD, but the notion that it will follow Switzerland and adopt a more aggressive approach to its currency’s resilience is wide of the mark.

CME Group has hired a new head of global bank sales to manage the distribution of the exchange company’s full range of products, including FX contracts.

Saxo Bank, the Danish online FX broker, has launched its first piece of hardware in a bid to enhance the speed and usability of its dealing platform for more active FX traders.

Integral Development Corporation, the FX software and systems developer, has hired a Thomson Reuters veteran to oversee the acquisition of new clients, as it attempts to keep pace with accelerating growth within the company.

SE Banken, Standard Chartered and State Street Global Markets will become liquidity providers to TraFXpure, the FX trading platform launched by interdealer broker Tradition in May.

Change – that was the theme this week, as EuromoneyFXNews reflected on the departure of one of the giants of the FX industry this past decade.

Advanced Markets, a New York-based FX platform, is withdrawing its license as a retail FX broker in the US to focus on the institutional market.

The opening up of Russia’s bond markets is a game changer that will boost the rouble, according to Société Générale.

When the market suspects the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has been active in FX, it looks for one name on the other end of a deal: Rabobank.

RBS has hired a new head of FX and emerging market sales for the Americas region.

The RMB has become the dominant reference currency in east Asia, eclipsing the USD and the EUR, according to a Washington-based think tank. It is an event that some believe will herald one of the most important new developments in the world’s financial system.

Last week a mainland Chinese delegation held a presentation at the offices of Bloomberg here in London to promote the opportunities of investing directly into China’s onshore bond market.

In September 2011, CME Group – the world’s largest derivatives and futures exchange platform operator – moved into its plush new offices overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral in One New Change.

One swallow does not make a summer, but the price action in USDJPY would suggest that the Japanese currency might be shaking off its safe-haven credentials.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has intervened for the first time in three years to keep the HKD in its trading band against the dollar, a move that should lend further support to the euro but could be the start of the unravelling of the city’s currency regime.

Morgan Stanley has added a new fund by prominent FX macro-strategist Stephen Jen to its family of Ucits III funds, which provide investors with regulated exposure to the global market for transferable securities.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has intervened for the first time in three years to keep the HKD in its trading band against the dollar, a move that should lend further support to the euro but could be the start of the unravelling of the city’s currency regime.

London has overtaken Singapore to become the leading centre for RMB payments with Hong Kong and mainland China, according to Swift, the financial messaging service.

Ivan Ritossa, who recently announced he is leaving Barclays after 10 years, has been one of the most influential figures in foreign exchange during the past decade. Hamish Risk profiles the man and charts the extraordinary rise of Barclays as a leading FX player.