The US could unilaterally move to raise the value of the renminbi, according to a new paper from the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), the Washington-based think tank.

Hotspot FX, the multi-dealer platform owned by Knight Capital, recorded an average daily volume of $49.1 billion in January, a 28% increase over the previous month, though still nearly 12% lower than during the same period a year ago, according to its latest monthly report.

The increasing attractiveness of the currencies of smaller AAA-rated countries has raised the prospect of a backlash from policymakers and heightened the chances of a sudden reversal in their value.

Jefferies Bache has hired Mike Newton, a former trader from macro hedge fund, Caxton Associates, a spokesperson from the bank has confirmed.

Two former FX option traders were awarded damages for unfair dismissal by Société Générale in a French employment court on Monday.

UBS has made two redundancies in its FX strategy team, a source familiar with the situation tells EuromoneyFXNews.

The fall in the dollar since the start of the year has come amid low trading volumes and has taken many by surprise, but that does not mean it cannot continue, says JPMorgan.

Investors on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have reduced their long exposure to the dollar markedly, as expectations of US monetary policy staying looser for longer weighed on demand for the currency.

While many in the market are busy revising their forecast for the AUD higher, HSBC is warning that the currency is vulnerable to the rising importance of CNH, the offshore renminbi.

Shares in FXAlliance, the FX multi-dealer trading platform, surged on their first day of trading, rising as much as 19%, after the company cut the price on its initial public offering in the run up to going public.

UniCredit is a misunderstood European banking powerhouse, says Bernd Bröker, the recently instated global head of G10 FX. He puts that down to its complex merger history that is sometimes difficult for outsiders to understand and piece together.

The problem of international regulatory inconsistency for FX derivatives that are not centrally cleared is more serious than the debate about whether they should have an exemption from clearing, says the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial regulator.

Daily foreign exchange turnover averaged $1,972 billion in the UK during October 2011, 3% lower than in April 2011, though 17% higher than a year earlier, according to the Bank of England’s semi-annual turnover survey for the Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee.

The migration from voice trading to electronic execution in the foreign exchange markets continues to build momentum. And the results of EuromoneyFXNews e-trading survey show that buy-side clients expect to increase the level of electronic execution even more in the future.

The ongoing ebb and flow of the European sovereign debt crisis and its impact on the underlying stability of bank balance sheets has focussed the minds of buy-side clients when it comes to choosing their FX counterparties.

Steve Nager, the head of Credit Suisse’s New York STIRT desk, has left the firm, according to sources who have spoken to EuromoneyFXNews.

Daily foreign exchange turnover averaged $1,972 billion in the UK during October 2011, 3% lower than in April 2011, though 17% higher than a year earlier, according to the Bank of England’s semi-annual turnover survey for the Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee.

ECB injection lifts risk sentiment; Low-rate prospect boosts appeal

Figures from Japan’s Ministry of Finance have shown that Tokyo has changed its intervention strategy as it battles to stem demand for the yen.

Average daily FX spot volumes on Thomson Reuters’ main trading platforms rose 11% month-on-month in January, though trading volumes were well below the average for January in the past two years, data on its monthly trading volumes show.

Investors on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have finally cut their short positions in the EUR after pushing their bets against the single currency to record levels for five consecutive weeks.

"Bankers are not going to repeat the errors of the past or buy 10-year bonds with three-year funding. Such a duration mismatch would ultimately be suicide"

Leading exchanges and interdealer platforms continue to post weaker FX volumes than last January, despite a pick-up in investor sentiment and stock market rallies in 2012.

The optimism that has characterised the start of the year is likely to see the Australian dollar march higher in the coming months.

Pressure from Japan’s G20 partners will be no impediment to intervention, as the yen closes in on record levels against the dollar, says Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU).

Global dealers operating in Indonesia are expressing growing concern over an impending currency law that requires non-cash OTC financial obligations to be settled in Indonesian rupiah, threatening to undermine trading of non-rupiah-denominated contracts, according to Derivatives Intelligence, a sister publication to EuromoneyFXNews.

Emerging market currency index returns got off to a storming start in 2012, as investors entered the New Year in buoyant mood, according to data provided by an independent index provider.

The euro continues to defy gravity, enjoying a New Year rally as optimism over abundant ECB liquidity eases some debt concerns, but building pressure in Portugal is set to undermine the single currency.

USDJPY implied volatility rose sharply on Wednesday and risk reversals closed in on 10-year highs as this week’s rapid fall in spot prompted a surge in appetite for topside strikes in the options market, while speculation for further intervention from the Bank of Japan mounted.

Icap, the London-based interdealer broker, has seen quarterly group revenues drop by 7% year-on-year partly due to lower volumes on its EBS platform driven by central bank intervention in the Swiss franc and the yen.