On Thursday, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) prohibited a financial advisor from Wells Fargo Advisors from operating within the industry due to failure to comply with an investigation by FINRA. Previously, in the current year, Stephen Klinger, a broker at Wells Fargo, was terminated following his admission of engaging in options trading within his personal account on behalf of a client, which resulted in the loss of the client’s funds.
FINRA generally organizes brokers and financial advisors who do not cooperate with their investigations because they violate the rules of the industry.
According to Mr. Klinger’s BrokerCheck report, Wells Fargo Advisors sought the representative’s release in February after depositing client funds into his own account to lose trading options and lose all client funds.
Then, the client filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Mr. Klinger, but the Mr. Klinger was only notified of the lawsuit.
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Klinger fixed the problem without telling Wells Fargo. According to FINRA’s order, Wells Fargo eventually made the client whole, but does not mention the size.
Klinger, who was registered with Wells Fargo or the companies he received since 1994, accepted a FINRA agreement without acknowledging or denying its results. I couldn’t find him on Monday to comment.
Wells Wells spokeswoman Shea Leordeanu did not respond to a request for comment.
Turning to Markets –
Oil quotes had ambiguous dynamics today. The morning decline gave way to corrective growth, during which quotes restored their lost positions.
In the morning, the price was pressured by poor Chinese data and the uncertainty surrounding China-US trade negotiations. Yesterday’s Chinese trade data for September was weak. Investors were particularly disappointed with imports, which declined for the fifth month in a row, this time by another 8.5%, and reflected the weakness of the Chinese economy. Investors were also disappointed, because the signing of the first stage of the US-China trade deal was postponed due to the desire of China to conduct another round of negotiations. Currently, prices are rising, which is facilitated by the comments of OPEC head Mohammad Barkindo, who said that the cartel and its allies will do everything to maintain market stability after 2020.
Today, the US dollar is strengthening against the euro but is weakening against the yen and the pound.
Investors are again focused on US-Chinese trade relations. The positive market sentiment associated with the preparation of the first stage of the trade transaction gave way to disappointment after the Chinese delegation did not sign it and demanded another round of discussion. The disagreement may be caused by the increase in tariffs for Chinese exports planned for December. Beijing insists that it should be canceled before the agreement, while Washington sees them as a guarantee of the successful completion of the negotiation process. So, yesterday, the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he expected the introduction of new tariffs in December if no agreement with the PRC is signed. However, the official noted that he believes in signing the deal at the expected personal meeting of US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a few weeks. One should also note today’s comments by the head of the St. Louis FRB James Bullard, who said that the risks associated with world trade remain high for the US economy, and it may begin a more drastic slowdown than expected. Under these conditions, the regulator can further mitigate monetary policy.
Eurozone
The euro is weakening today against its main competitors – the yen, the pound, and the US dollar.
The weakening of the European currency is taking place amid negative October data on the ZEW economic sentiment index for Germany and the EU. Both indicators continued to decline, although not as significantly as the market expected. The index was −22.8 points for Germany, and –23.5 points for the Eurozone countries in general. According to the comments of ZEW representatives, the market is still waiting for the worsening of economic situation. Attempts to resolve a trade dispute between China and the USA have not yet reduced economic skepticism.
United Kingdom
The British currency is strengthening today against its main competitors – the euro, the yen, and the US dollar.
The pound is strengthening amid comments by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who allowed the possibility of conclusion of an agreement between the European Union and Great Britain. In particular, Barnier said that the negotiating teams are working hard and, even if the deal is difficult, the possibility of its conclusion this week still exists. He added that any agreement should be beneficial to both parties and said that it’s “high time to turn good intentions into a legal text”. On the other hand, the August data from the English construction market were not very positive for investors. The growth in the average wages, with and without premiums, slowed down from 3.9% to 3.8%. Employment fell by 56K, and the unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 3.9%.
Japan
The Japanese yen is weakening against the pound but is strengthening against the US dollar and the euro.
Investors are focused on the speech of Haruhiko Kuroda, the head of the Bank of Japan, and the publication of economic statistics. At a quarterly meeting of the heads of regional branches of BoJ, Kuroda said that the regulator would not hesitate to take additional mitigation steps if the risks to the economy increase and threaten a target inflation rate of 2%. In addition, the Bank of Japan assessed the economic condition of all regions of the country as growing or recovering. At the same time, demand in the regions continues to grow, although production and business sentiment are affected by the decline in foreign economies. The August data on industrial output in Japan published today turned out to be weak. The indicator fell by 1.2%, as the market expected.
Australia
AUD is weakening today against its main competitors – GBP, USD, JPY, and EUR.
Investors were focused on the publication of the minutes of the October meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Officials noted that reducing the rate to a record level of 0.75% was justified in the face of declining global growth and weakening of major currencies. It was also noted that rate cut combined with tax cuts may have less effect on supporting the economy than expected. However, a soft monetary policy can lead to a decrease in the debt burden on households and the release of funds for consumer spending.
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