Week InReview
Starting today, the  Chinese New Year  holiday shuts down the world's second-largest economy for a week, with markets closed from Jan. 27-Feb. 2. 
[PHOTO: Inflatable chickens, made for Lunar New Year of the Rooster]
Fri Jan 27, 2017
Let's recap
In case you missed it . . .
Lacking leadership, U.S. financial regulators could be in slo-mo for a while
Wall Street firms waiting for a new era of deregulation may have to wait a significant while longer; the agencies expected to unwind financial rules are so strapped for leadership they may not be able to get much done until they staff up (Jan 25)
 
Bank of England governor Mark Carney warns fintech's democratic revolution poses risk to financial stability
"The opening up of the customer interface and payment services business, could, in time, signal the end of universal banking as we know it." (Jan 25)

ETFs are eating the US stock market
Although stock pickers are cutting fees, the trend towards ETFs and passive investing quickened in 2016 (Jan 24)

Remember ABX? Wall Street said to test new mortgage index
Unlike subprime era, underlying mortgages are high-quality; an index could help GSE reform by enlarging market for bonds (Jan 24)

UK Supreme Court rules MPs must vote on triggering Brexit
Judges say parliament must be consulted before Article 50 can be activated to leave EU (Jan 24)
Regulatory freeze
How far will it go... and for how long?
(Jan 25) A Jan. 20 White House memo that imposed a "regulations freeze" on all government departments left some practitioners, like the IRS, unsure on whether the moratorium extends to notices and revenue procedures. But it is fairly clear that the freeze will probably last until the new administration can fill top roles at the Treasury.
Report repo trades in 'timely' manner
NY Fed's TMPG
(Jan 24) In order to promote "integrity and efficiency," market participants should employ "timely trade confirmation" in the tri-party repo market, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Treasury Market Practices Group said in an updated consultative paper. The TMPG a lso recommended that participants submit details of their tri-party repo trades "accurately, completely, and consistently" to the tri-party clearing banks. The group's goal is  to improve quality of transaction data to facilitate a more comprehensive view of the market and help develop "more robust benchmark rates," including overnight Treasury GC repo rates.
Trade execution, data reporting
CFTC's Giancarlo outlines his priorites
(Jan 18) In a speech at the SEFCON VII conference in New York, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's acting director Christopher Giancarlo said key elements during his tenure will include encouraging innovation in financial technology and cultivating a regulatory culture of "forward thinking." He also wants to 
  • Reform derivatives trade execution rules
  • Fix swap data reporting and 
  • Further cross-border rules harmonization
Binge reading disorder
Hand-curated, chosen with love
26 Goldman Sachs alumni who run the world 
"The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs," Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi wrote in July 2009, "is that it's everywhere." Whether that makes the bank a "vampire squid," in Taibbi's now-famous phrasing, is debatable, but Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s ( GS ) ubiquity is hard to deny.

Former White House chief information officer is using her cyber skills on a new CBS reality show
The show's premise is that a bunch of everyday folk play fugitive and try to evade a team of investigators and "hunters" whose résumés include an alphabet soup of acronyms like CIA, FBI and NSA

Struggling hedge funds still expense bonuses, bar tabs
Investors are starting to sour on the idea of reimbursing hedge funds for multi-million dollar trader bonuses, lavish marketing dinners and trophy office space

Market liquidity is great, until it isn't
Being able to readily buy or sell assets is crucial. But trouble lurks when it becomes too easy.

20 technology predictions to keep your eye on in 2017
Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital twins, cyberattacks... 80 leading experts, academics, and business influencers look into their crystal balls & warn that one blurry-eyed morning, your coffee maker might even turn on you
- Forbes