Free content

What’s happening in Washington DC right now seems bad and dangerous for a bunch of reasons, mostly reasons that GlobalCapital doesn’t claim any expertise in. We are but humble financial scribes, but now the ascendant Republicans are on our turf too.

The filing of form S-1, the draft registration statement for the proposed $3bn New York IPO of Snap, the $25bn parent company of messaging app Snapchat, was full of surprises — not all of them good for investors. If anything, it also showed that Hong Kong will, most likely, never be able to compete with the US exchanges when it comes to listing unicorns, writes our columnist Clawback.

Chinese markets are back, with previous interventions by the regulators still paying off in the offshore RMB spot markets, while Dubai's exchange saw growing interest in RMB futures contracts in January 2017.

In this round-up, CFETS sets its dollar fix nearly unchanged after a week-long break, several Japanese lenders get ready to gain access to the China interbank payment system, and RMB trade settlement in Hong Kong sees a sharp fall in 2016. Plus a recap of our coverage.

The Conservative UK government may be undermining London’s status as Europe’s pre-eminent financial hub with its seeming determination for a clean/hard/sharp/solid Brexit, but potentially more momentous events across the Channel could soon see financiers flocking in the other direction.

US Congressman Patrick McHenry's letter to Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is one of the most audacious attempts to question the Fed's independence for some time. What it asks must be resisted.

Many market commentators have commented that 2017 will be the year of political risk. Uncertainty around Brexit, Donald Trump’s inaugural year as US president and a series of elections in continental Europe make conditions ripe for bouts of volatility.

Welcome back to those of you outside of China and Taiwan. While we were on a break, Hong Kong revealed the largest single month drop in CNH deposits, China experienced $203bn of outflows in December 2016, and Mega Bank advises against clients holding long RMB positions.

Disclosing Pillar 2 ‘guidance’ is discretionary and perhaps even discouraged, but banks risk falling foul of speculation if they choose to keep their full supervisory capital demands a secret.

Of all the strange distortions and economic madnesses introduced by capital rules, operational risk capital tops the table. Rather than simplify it, the new Basel rules should scrap it.

HSBC, despite riding high in the bond league tables, has never had a reputation for being the fiercest global investment bank on the Street. Is that changing?

In this round-up, People’s Bank of China defends its use of foreign exchange (FX) reserves to preserve stability in the currency markets, two new entities are added to the RMB qualified institutional investors (RQFII) programme, and Hungary’s central bank signs an agreement to expand access to the Chinese capital markets. Plus, a recap of our coverage this week.