London is already the leading centre for offshore RMB trading outside of Hong Kong and mainland China, according to figures from Swift, the financial messaging platform spanning 209 countries.

Bankers and corporate treasurers discuss what they are looking for from their relationships and the challenges of funding, the eurozone, Basle III and Sepa.

When, in December, Brazil withdrew its IOF tax on foreign investments in Brazilian equities many breathed a sigh of relief – not just for the marginal benefits that the removal will have on the poorly performing Bovespa, but because it could be seen as the end of the currency wars.

Solid bond auctions from France and Spain helped consolidate the rally in risky assets, sparked by IMF calls to expand its firepower, and pushed the euro to fresh highs – while talk circulated that the SNB had been active in the options market.

Hotspot FX, the multi-dealer platform owned by Knight Capital Group, reported a sharp drop in trading volumes last month.

How can the dollar rise in value? By sending it to the moon. Rich Jurek, a former PR executive at Northern Trust, has launched a virtual museum of $2 bills that have been flown into space – with some of those bills valued in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars at auction. Astronauts and cosmonauts often took the rare $2 bills on their space voyages for good luck. At Jurek’s Jefferson Space Museum, named after the president that appears on the notes, there are eight such bills. The most valuable is one once owned by Gene Cernan, who travelled with the bill on three space journeys, including a moon landing with Apollo 17 in 1972.

Citigroup, the fourth-ranked FX bank, has launched Velocity 2.0 – the latest version of its single-dealer FX trading platform – 18 months after introducing its predecessor, Velocity 1.9, as it seeks to grab a larger share of FX trading volumes by offering easier-to-use functions and faster trading speeds.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has relaxed positioning restrictions and and adjusted risk management limits in a move that looks set to increase liquidity in the offshore renminbi market.

The euro surged higher as the short squeeze in the currency continued on optimism that a deal could be thrashed out between Greece and its bondholders, and that the IMF could conjure up $1 trillion to combat the global financial crisis.

When, in December, Brazil withdrew its IOF tax on foreign investments in Brazilian equities many breathed a sigh of relief – not just for the marginal benefits that the removal will have on the poorly performing Bovespa, but because it could be seen as the end of the currency wars. The rapid appreciation of emerging market currencies had led Brazil to introduce a range of capital controls aimed at stemming the capital inflows that pushed the real to $1.50.

The euro and growth proxies rallied as markets shook off S&P’s credit downgrades for France and the EFSF choosing to take heart from better-than-expected Chinese growth figures. A good Spanish bill auction and surge in German ZEW investor confidence helped buoy overall risk sentiment.

The EU-wide financial transaction tax (FTT) could cause a huge rise in transaction costs on the most liquid FX products and negatively affect the real economy as end users bear the majority of the levy, research conducted by Oliver Wyman shows.

UK currency management company Record announced assets under management (AUM) dropped 12% in the fourth quarter.

Newedge, the multi-asset broker and clearer, has hired Andrew Roper as director on FX sales, the company said in a statement.

Nomura has unveiled new leadership in its fixed income unit according to an email obtained by Euromoney.

EURUSD held close to a 17-month low in the wake of Standard & Poor’s downgrade of nine eurozone countries. Speculators have built up record short positions in the single currency, but reserve managers have yet to fully adjust their currency portfolios.

Positioning data from the CFTC showed speculative investors on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have raised their bets against the euro to record levels.

At last a good news story. Monday’s headlines have been dominated by the historic agreement between the UK government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) aimed at fostering closer collaboration towards the internationalization of the Chinese renminbi (RMB).

Controls boosting black market and run on banks; Venezuela-style parallel currency feared

Depreciation eases concern over speculation; Internationalization might pressure euro

Merges EM fixed income with FX; Shooter in, Weidmann out.

Rabobank has hired Christian Lawrence as an emerging markets FX strategist in the bank’s GFM research team, a spokesperson said in a statement.

The short squeeze that has driven the euro higher on the back of better eurozone peripheral debt sales peter out after an Italian auction failed to get pulses racing.

Some observers have reinvigorated discussions of London becoming an offshore currency market for China, but analysts argue that London is nowhere near ready for this

Data from the Tokyo Financial Exchange has revealed an unusual divergence between the strength of the Japanese yen and the retail sector's appetite for buying foreign currency that, if sustained, could lead to higher volatility and greater downward pressure on the yen.

China’s massive foreign exchange stockpiles dropped for the first time in more than a decade in the final quarter of last year, as fears over global growth and a slowdown in Chinese growth prompted investors to pull money out of the country.

The Swiss National Bank announced on Friday it expects a preliminary profit of SFr13 billion for the 2011 financial year, a welcome parting gift from ex-chairman Philipp Hildebrand.

Recent data suggest the trend of dollar diversification is faltering, which should support a bullish stance on the currency in 2012.

Decent demand and lower borrowing costs at a Spanish bond auction and a successful sale of Italian bills lent the euro support, but sterling underperformed as worries over UK growth heightened

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