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John Lothian Newsletter
May 01, 2018 "Irreverent, but never irrelevant"
 
John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

The Wall Street Journal's Did Chicago Exchanges Muscle a Rival Out of Town? A Jury May Soon Decide yesterday was the most read story of the year on JLN. Names to remember not included in the story are: Rudolf Ferscha, Michael McErlean, Andreas Preuss, Harris Brumfield and Satish Nandapurkar.~JK

NFA is seeking an Analyst of Financial Analysis and Surveillance for NFA's New York Compliance Department. The Analyst is responsible for supporting NFA's regulatory programs through financial surveillance of Members, with an emphasis on the managed funds sector, investigations and Member services.~JJL

Information on the FIA Operations Americas 2018-2019 Scholarship Program is now available. H/T to Jessica Darmoni.~JJL

JLN Contributing Editor Chuck Mackie is moderating the financial #innovation panel at Terrapinn's #TheTradingShow on May 10 with Rumi Morales, Kimberly Trautmann E., CFA, Peter Johnson, and Manoj Narang.~JJL

Macro Risk Advisors, a provider of global market risk analysis and execution services for institutional investors, raised $265,000 in Sixth Charitable Trading Day.~JJL

Great story in the Sunday Chicago Tribune about girls coming into Boy Scouts.~JJL

Econ Illinois' The American Dream Dinner will be held on May 17, 2018, at the Union League Club of Chicago. The featured speaker will be former 1871 CEO Howard Tullman. This event has broad support from across the industry.~JJL



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TT Appeals to the Crypto Masses with New Crypto Only Trading Platform
Jim Kharouf - JLN
In another sign Trading Technologies is going all in on the cryptocurrency space, it announced today a new trading platform just for digital currencies called TT Crypto. Mike Unetich, vice president of cryptocurrencies at TT, said the move could be a game changer for the company.
/jlne.ws/2rdnJ3p

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Back to the (Broker) Dealer's Table
JohnLothianNews.com

It was back at the turn of the century that Tony Saliba founded LiquidPoint, the broker-dealer known for its options execution management technology that at one point executed a fifth of daily options volumes. LiquidPoint would eventually be sold to ConvergEx Group in 2007, which in turn would spin off LiquidPoint to Dash in 2017, forming Dash Financial Technologies. Saliba remained with LiquidPoint through 2014.

Saliba said he swore he'd never get back into the broker dealer space, but in 2018 it was announced he was launching Matrix Executions, a multi-asset broker dealer serving both the buy and sell-side. It's a new endeavor, but Saliba is bringing back together veterans from his LiquidPoint days to help the firm through its nascent stages.

In this video, Saliba talks about why he got back into the execution and routing space, bringing the team together and the firm's approach.

Watch the video »


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Oscar Mayer launches cryptocurrency for bacon
Daniel Roberts - Yahoo Finance
Oscar Mayer, the hot dog maker, has launched a cryptocurrency called bacoin, the company announced on Monday. The coin is redeemable for packs of bacon—if you win coins in the first place. You cannot buy them.
/jlne.ws/2Fue1Pl

***** Memes collide.~JJL

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Monday's Top Three
Out top read story on Monday was a blast from the past. Does anyone remember Eurex US? Deutsche Boerse still does and its lawsuit against the CME and CBOT is coming to trial, 14 years later. The Wall Street Journal's Did Chicago Exchanges Muscle a Rival Out of Town? A Jury May Soon Decide was the top story by a long shot. Second was another Chicago story from Crain's Chicago Business, NYSE could be more competitive via Chicago Stock Exchange. And third was yet another Chicago story, Reuters' piece Citadel Securities names Nazarali global head of business development

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MarketsWiki Stats
124,774,984 pages viewed; 23,085 pages; 212,884 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

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John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals.
 
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John Lothian News Editorial Staff:
 
John Lothian
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Sarah Rudolph
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Jeff Bergstrom
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Spencer Doar
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Lead Stories
A Goldman Trading Desk That Once Had 500 People Is Down to Three
Sonali Basak, Christopher Palmeri - Bloomberg
Many Wall Street traders are concerned about being replaced by machines in the future, but at one Goldman Sachs Group Inc. unit it's already happened.
/jlne.ws/2w7GBXs

The Real Risk Is Believing That Volatility Is Risk; Investors are much more concerned about a surge in the VIX than they are by the prospect of nuclear war—that's a mistake
James Mackintosh - WSJ
Which risk should you be more scared by: American cities being vaporized by North Korean nuclear missiles, or the VIX spiking above 20? Judging by recent market reactions, investors are much more worried about volatility than they are by the prospect of nuclear armageddon.
/jlne.ws/2w1BFTJ

World's Second Most Valuable Cryptocurrency Under Regulatory Scrutiny; Securities, commodities officials examine whether ether, other cryptocurrencies should be regulated
Dave Michaels and Paul Vigna - WSJ
Bitcoin has largely escaped government oversight, but regulators are examining whether other widely traded cryptocurrencies should be regulated as securities, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/2w0ivxs

Trading services CEO aims to lure clients from former firm
Lynne Marek - Crain's Chicago Business
Chicago-based trading firm Matrix Executions and its CEO, Anthony Saliba, are gunning to take business from New York-based rival Dash Financial Technologies—a firm he knows very well.
/jlne.ws/2vY1gNe

Peter Thiel-Backed Venture to Help Big Investors Bet on Bitcoin; Tagomi expects to be the equivalent of a broker-dealer, executing orders to buy or sell cryptocurrencies
Alexander Osipovich - WSJ
Billionaire Peter Thiel's venture-capital firm is backing a startup that aims to bring Wall Street electronic-trading expertise to the bitcoin market—a bet that cryptocurrencies will continue to gain mainstream popularity.
/jlne.ws/2w1gaT8

Probe exposes Australian banks' abuse of customers; Closed and cosseted industry has tended towards culture of rule-breaking
Jamie Smyth in Sydney - FT
AMP was founded 170 years ago on the principle of providing sound advice. But revelations at a royal commission that the Australian financial services firm ripped off customers and lied to regulators have savaged its reputation and shaken one of the world's most profitable banking sectors to its core.
/jlne.ws/2w19DI6

Banking Brilliance Has Suffered a Serious Setback in the Nordics
Frances Schwartzkopff, Hanna Hoikkala - Bloomberg
Nordic banks, once coveted as the best-run and best-capitalized in Europe, appear to be losing their luster.
/jlne.ws/2vZ1lk4

Why Traders Love Volatility Except When It Bites Back: QuickTake
Joanna Ossinger, Cecile Vannucci - Bloomberg
Mom and pop investors fear it. Traders by and large love it, and normally miss it when it's gone. Volatility was absent from the financial markets for an unusually long time before rushing back. It's now on everyone's radar screen, and likely to stay that way in the months ahead. Volatility not only affects investments; investing in volatility has become something of a cottage industry.
/jlne.ws/2w7Jfwm

Star trader Saitta alleged to have rigged Euribor
Laurence Fletcher - MarketWatch
A former JPMorgan & Co and Citigroup Inc. trader, who is currently a star manager at hedge fund giant Brevan Howard, has been named in a U.K. court as an alleged co-conspirator in what prosecutors call a scheme to manipulate interest rates.
/jlne.ws/2w42cQt

This Hedge Fund Trade Is Stirring Fresh Controversy in the CDS Market
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
McClatchy's loan deal with hedge fund roils CDS market; Publisher's deal comes as regulators step up scrutiny of CDS
It seemed like a sure-fire bet: short the debt of a highly leveraged newspaper company that's losing money. And for a while, it worked as investors piled up almost $500 million of wagers by buying credit-default swaps on the publisher, McClatchy Co.
/jlne.ws/2w2bYCD

Broker research model comes under fire as effects of new Mifid II regulations start to play out
Lucy White - City AM
The way in which brokers conduct and charge for company research given to investment houses is coming under scrutiny following sweeping new regulations introduced earlier this year.
/jlne.ws/2vXXV0E

T. Rowe Price's trading head dubious on MiFID II and the emergence of new venues; Global head of systematic trading and market structure at US firm throws doubt on systematic internalisers and periodic auctions.
John Brazier - The Trade
Mehmet Kinak, global head of systematic trading and market structure at US-based asset manager T. Rowe Price, has thrown significant doubt at the new European trading landscape under MiFID II.
/jlne.ws/2w377kE

Banker's Alleged Use of F-Word Sparked Legal War With Jersey Guy
Anders Melin - Bloomberg
Activist investor has made a career as watchdog of small banks; Spencer Savings Bank said the gadfly made 'predatory attacks'
The F-word has helped trigger a 14-year legal tussle between a banker and a shareholder activist.
/jlne.ws/2w6xF4w

This Billionaire Has Put Half His Net Worth Into Gold
Tamim Elyan, Manus Cranny - Bloomberg
Egypt's Sawiris has put half his entire net worth into gold; He's been waiting 10 years for North Korea stakes to pay off
Some big investors see warning signs ahead for markets but are holding their positions. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is taking action: He's put half of his $5.7 billion net worth into gold.
/jlne.ws/2w0Cyff





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Exchanges, OTC & Clearing
Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities
Trading Overview in April 2018; Japan Exchange Group released Trading Overview in April 2018.
JPX
Cash Equity Market - In April 2018, the daily average trading value for the TSE 1st Section (domestic common stocks) was JPY 2.8437 trillion.
Derivatives Market - In April 2018, total derivatives trading volume was 26,061,234 contracts.
/jlne.ws/2vZSUF9

Change of communication related to Cross Currency and Minimum Collateral Security Haircuts
Eurex
Eurex Clearing will change the way of communication concerning regular adjustments of the Cross Currency Haircuts and Updates of minimum Haircuts for Eurex Clearing Admissible collateral securities.
/jlne.ws/2w1c4ue

FX Futures, FX Rolling Spot Futures and FX Options: Fee holiday for transaction fees from 1 May 2018 until 31 May 2018
Eurex
As of 1 May 2018, Eurex Clearing decided to introduce a fee waiver for transaction fees for FX Futures, FX Rolling Spot Futures and FX Options from 1 May 2018 until 31 May 2018.
/jlne.ws/2vYmj2k

Foreign Exchange (FX) derivatives: New Liquidity Provider scheme for FX Futures and FX Rolling Spot Futures and Fee Holiday for transaction fees
Eurex
Effective 1 June 2018, the following measures of Eurex Clearing will come into effect:
/jlne.ws/2w1UW7r

Foreign Exchange (FX) derivatives: New Liquidity Provider scheme for FX Futures and FX Rolling Spot Futures
Eurex
This circular announces a new Liquidity Provider (LP) scheme for FX Futures and FX Rolling Spot Futures. The new scheme will run from 1 June 2018 until 31 December 2027.
/jlne.ws/2vXbnSy

ASX Investor Presentation to Macquarie Conference
ASX
/jlne.ws/2w1V5I1




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Fintech
A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors
First Derivatives' Kx Technology Powers R5's Connection Between China and London
Victor Golovtchenko - Finance Magnates
It's been a couple of months since the announcement by UK Prime Minister Theresa May that London's and China's foreign
bit.ly/2HHplxC

Think like Wall Street: a different vantage point
Donald Broughton, chief market strategist, FreightWaves
We spent last week meeting with some of the largest investors in the transportation industry, and had a few key messages that we wanted to deliver. As is often the process, we ended up learning as much or more than we taught, and after listening to their educated dissections of outlook, we came away with a distilled version of our outlook and a clear understanding of investors current concerns. Since they are approaching the industry from a pure financial investment perspective and don't have a single 'ongoing operational challenge' thought in their heads, we thought Freightwaves readers might appreciate the chance to look at the industry from a different vantage point.
/jlne.ws/2w4jahq

Schroders taps Commcise for global research evaluation platform; UK-based asset manager implements platform for research and interaction evaluation, broker voting and allocations.
John Brazier - The Trade
Schroders has adopted a research and interaction evaluation platform to analyse the quality of research it receives.
/jlne.ws/2w0I9SN

A New Crop of Fintech IPOs Will Face Skeptical Investors
Julie Verhage - Bloomberg
While there's no shortage of financial technology startups, few have been brave enough to enter the public market here in the U.S. That's likely to change in the next 12 to 18 months.
/jlne.ws/2w1UBBF

These Fintech Firms Are Succeeding By Making Finance More Accessible To Everyone
Sara Hsu - Forbes
At the Lendit Fintech conference on April 10, I sat down with Anju Patwardhan, the Managing Director of Creditease's Fintech VC Fund. Creditease is a large China-based firm that participates in the P2P as well as wealth management industries. Anju Patwardhan manages the fintech VC fund, which was started in March of 2016 and is a billion-dollar fund that is invested so far in 25 companies, mostly in China and the U.S.
/jlne.ws/2w2cNeH

Marketo Acquires Bizible to Create Industry's Leading Analytics and Engagement Platform; Combined company will be first to enable marketers to plan, engage, and measure across entire customer journey
PRNewswire
In the largest acquisition in the company's history, Marketo, Inc., the leading provider of engagement marketing software and solutions, today announced that it has acquired Bizible, the top provider of marketing performance management software. The acquisition combines two best-in-class companies with complementary technologies and analytics, designed to supercharge marketing and allow organizations to seamlessly link revenue back to marketing investment.
/jlne.ws/2w0NYj7

Theorem Technologies Integrates PortfolioScience's RiskAPI
Theorem Technologies
The latest addition to Theorem's expanding platform provides interactive, on-demand risk analysis for asset managers and hedge funds.
/jlne.ws/2KqVMOl




Cryptocurrencies
Top stories for cryptocurrencies
The Lies Spread by Bankers About Cryptocurrencies
Chris Skinner, TheFinanser.com via TABB Forum
It is complete rubbish to suggest the main use of cryptocurrencies is criminal, says Chris Skinner. It is complete baloney and is a smokescreen being created by financial people to deflect the real purpose of cryptocurrencies, which is to use software and servers to manage value rather than buildings and humans - in other words, to reduce or even replace banks.
/goo.gl/RbLYzz

Hong Kong Report Suggests Cryptocurrency Is Largely Left Out Of City's Organized Crime
Leonhard Weese - Forbes
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) notes that they see "no apparent sign of organized crime or ML/TF concerning trading of cryptocurrencies," although they have been used as a pretext in Ponzi schemes.
Since 2013 when monitoring began, police have received 167 Bitcoin-related reports, most of which related to ransomware, including WannaCry. Drug or smuggling offences are not among those offences, and police consider this risk to be low.
/jlne.ws/2w1LT6z

Japanese Banking Giant SBI Plans Summer Launch for Crypto Exchange
Samburaj Das - CCN
Japanese financial services giant SBI Group is reportedly planning a summer launch of 'SBI Virtual Currencies', its cryptocurrency exchange, this year.
According to Business Insider Japan, SBI Holdings president Yoshitaka Kitao has confirmed the long-awaited full-scale launch of SBI Virtual Currencies in what will be the country's first wholly bank-owned cryptocurrency exchange. The executive made the revelation during a press briefing on April 26th, stressing plans toward a launch in the summer which runs between June and September in Japan.
/jlne.ws/2wbfJ91

The UK's cryptocurrency trade body is urging MPs to regulate the industry
Courtney Goldsmith - City AM
British cryptocurrency platforms are calling on a group of influential MPs today to support proposals to regulate the industry in the UK.
/jlne.ws/2w0l4j4

Investment Association targets cyber security action for asset managers; IA establishes cyber security committee to improve collaboration efforts with UK asset management industry.
John Brazier - The Trade
The UK's Investment Association (IA) has established a cyber security committee to enhance awareness and proactive approaches to the increasing threat of cyber-attacks.
/jlne.ws/2vX9Sno

Plus500's Sales More Than Triple on Crypto Demand
Will Hadfield - Bloomberg
Shares jump about 15% after first quarter trading statement; Says that it's unlikely to repeat the performance for year
Plus500 Ltd. more than tripled its revenue as customers flocked to cryptocurrency derivatives, pushing the broker's shares up as much as 15 percent.
/jlne.ws/2w0DDUl

Volatile cryptocurrencies helped boost a trading company's revenue by 284% — but the boom is fading
Oscar Williams-Grut - Business Insider
Revenue at trading platform Plus500 jumped 284% in the first quarter of the year, led by a surge in cryptocurrency trading, the company said on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/2w0ofau




CryptoMarketsWiwki



Politics
An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets
Investment Boom From Trump's Tax Cut Has Yet to Appear
Matt Phillips And Jim Tankersley - NY Times
After years of costly layoffs and plant closings, things are looking up for the heavy-machinery giant Caterpillar, which forecasts solid global sales growth and increased demand this year. Yet despite the corporate investment incentives at the center of President Trump's tax overhaul, the company's executives have no plans to supercharge investment or expansion.
/jlne.ws/2w4S4H4

Trump Postpones Steel Tariff Decision for EU, Other U.S. Allies; Decision postponed until June 1; countries were granted temporary exemptions
Michael C. Bender and William Mauldin - WSJ
President Donald Trump eased trade pressure on top U.S. allies Monday, giving the European Union and some nations outside the bloc more time to negotiate deals that would exempt them from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.
/jlne.ws/2w4l0is

Democrats Tell Judge 'Emoluments Clause' Applies to Trump
Patricia Hurtado - Bloomberg
A group of almost 200 Democrats who've sued President Donald Trump told a judge he must comply with a Constitutional provision that would bar his businesses from taking money from foreign governments.
/jlne.ws/2w7HiA2



Regulation & Enforcement
For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts.
ESMA closed for public holiday on Tuesday 1 May
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is closed for a public holiday on Tuesday 1 May and will reopen on Wednesday 2 May.
/jlne.ws/2vXZ9sM

Guidance on Implementing Effective Heightened Supervisory Procedures for Associated Persons With a History of Past Misconduct
FINRA
FINRA is publishing this Notice to reiterate the supervisory obligations of member firms regarding associated persons with a history of past misconduct that may pose a risk to investors. FINRA Rule 3110 (Supervision) requires member firms to establish and maintain a system to supervise the activities of each associated person that is reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable securities laws and FINRA rules.
/jlne.ws/2w4ncGI

FINRA Requests Comment on FINRA Rule Amendments Relating to High-Risk Brokers and the Firms That Employ Them; Comment Period Expires: June 29, 2018
FINRA
FINRA seeks comment on proposed rule amendments that would impose additional restrictions on member firms that employ brokers with a history of significant past misconduct. These brokers, while relatively small in number, may present heightened risk of harm to investors, and any misconduct by them also may undermine confidence in the securities markets as a whole. The rule proposals would strengthen the existing controls, some of which are highlighted below, FINRA has applied to such brokers to further promote investor protection and market integrity.
/jlne.ws/2w0moCy

Panasonic Charged With FCPA and Accounting Fraud Violations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Japan-based Panasonic Corp. will pay more than $143 million to resolve charges of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and accounting fraud violations involving its global avionics business.
/jlne.ws/2w0JYPD

Federal Court Enters $3.5 Million in Final Judgments against Ryan Madigan of Pittsford, New York, Randell A. Vest of Fort Myers, Florida, and Colorado; Company R2 Capital Group, LLC
CFTC
Judgment Follows Partial Summary Judgment in which Federal District Court Concluded that Ryan Madigan Engaged in Various Acts of Commodities Fraud
Washington, DC - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on April 11, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado entered Default Judgment against Defendants Randall A. Vest and his holding company, Bulletproof Vest, Inc. (Bulletproof Vest). The judgment resolves a CFTC enforcement action filed on August 6, 2014, charging Defendants Ryan Madigan of Pittsford, New York; Vest of Fort Meyers, Florida; and Ryan Tomazin of Stamford, Connecticut with commodity futures and off-exchange retail foreign currency(forex) fraud and misappropriation (see CFTC Complaint and Press Release 6981-14, August 21, 2014).
/jlne.ws/2w12CqF

CFTC Orders Glencore Agriculture B.V. and Glencore Ltd. to Pay a $2 Million Penalty for Exceeding Cotton Futures Position Limits, Transacting Illegal EFPs, and Submitting Inaccurate Form 304s; Cotton Trading by Glencore Agriculture B.V. and Glencore Ltd. Was under Common Control by Head of Glencore Cotton Trading
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an order filing and settling charges against Glencore Agriculture B.V., f/k/a Glencore Grain B.V. (Glencore B.V.), located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Glencore Ltd., located in Stamford, Connecticut, finding that on multiple trading days during May 2013, June 2013, May 2014, and June 2014, Glencore B.V. and Glencore Ltd. held net positions in the ICE Futures Cotton No. 2 contracts (cotton futures) that, on an aggregated basis, exceeded the speculative position limits established by the CFTC.
/jlne.ws/2w1XMcz

ASIC takes action on misleading or deceptive conduct in ICOs
ASIC
ASIC is focused on misleading or deceptive conduct in the marketing and selling of digital or virtual tokens via initial coin offerings (ICOs). These offers can involve significant risks for investors that are often not disclosed or well understood.
/jlne.ws/2w4eeJq

ASIC takes further action against Rio Tinto Limited and its former CEO and CFO
ASIC
ASIC has today expanded its legal proceedings recently filed in the Federal Court in Sydney against Rio Tinto Limited (RTL) and its former Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thomas Albanese, and its former Chief Financial Officer, Mr Guy Elliott. The new allegations relate to RTL's failure to recognise an impairment of a wholly owned subsidiary, Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique (RTCM) in its 2012 Interim Financial Statements in accordance with the relevant accounting standards, RTL's failure to disclose the substantial impairment and other related breaches of the Corporations Act.
/jlne.ws/2w40caV

SEC Wants Boards' Views on Contested Shareholder Proposals
Mara Lemos Stein - WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to hear from boards when determining if shareholders' proposals amount to meddling with a company's day-to-day business.
/jlne.ws/2w4ce3S








Investing & Trading
Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities)
JPMorgan Says Treasury Selling Pressure From Quants Likely Over
Dani Burger and Sid Verma - Bloomberg
Trend followers shift to short position in April amid selloff; U.S. active mutual funds still long duration, bank's data show
Fast-money investors have their fingerprints all over this month's Treasury selloff -- and that may be good news for bulls hoping for a reprieve.
/bloom.bg/2HFYyla

This Hedge Fund Trade Is Stirring Fresh Controversy in the CDS Market
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
McClatchy's loan deal with hedge fund roils CDS market; Publisher's deal comes as regulators step up scrutiny of CDS
It seemed like a sure-fire bet: short the debt of a highly leveraged newspaper company that's losing money. And for a while, it worked as investors piled up almost $500 million of wagers by buying credit-default swaps on the publisher, McClatchy Co.
/bloom.bg/2HAzTye

BP Profit Beats Estimates Even as Oil-Spill Fines Boost Debt
Kelly Gilblom - Bloomberg
Company paid $1.6 billion for Macondo disaster last quarter; Profit reached highest since 2014 as crude prices surged
BP CFO Brian Gilvary discusses the company's earnings and performance.
BP Plc capped a shaky Big Oil earnings season on a more upbeat note, as shareholders reacted positively to the highest profit in years even as the continuing burden of oil-spill payments pushed debt higher.
/jlne.ws/2w4aSpO

The U.S. Just Borrowed $488 Billion, a Record High for the First Quarter
Saleha Mohsin, Randy Woods - Bloomberg
Treasury sees stage set for growth pickup over near term; CBO sees U.S. budget deficit rising to $1 trillion by 2020
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he's unconcerned about the bond market's ability to absorb rising government debt after his department said it borrowed a record amount for the first quarter.
/jlne.ws/2w6vj5G

Morningstar Launches Portfolio Carbon Risk Score To Help Investors Evaluate Funds' Carbon-Risk Exposure - The Carbon Risk Score Moves Beyond Carbon Footprinting To Provide An Assessment Of The Carbon Risks And Opportunities Embedded In A Portfolio
MondoVisione
At its 12th annual UK investment conference in London, Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today introduced the Morningstar® Portfolio Carbon Risk Score, a measure that will help investors evaluate a portfolio's exposure to carbon risk. Portfolios that have low carbon-risk scores and low levels of fossil-fuel exposure will receive the Morningstar® Low Carbon Designation to help investors quickly identify low-carbon funds.
/jlne.ws/2w1GXyz

FIS Reports First Quarter 2018 Results
Business Wire
FIS (NYSE:FIS), a global leader in financial services technology, today reported first quarter 2018 results. All financial results, calculations and year over year comparisons reflect the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification 606 (ASC 606) on a full retrospective basis. The comparability of the Company's GAAP results is impacted by the divestitures of its public sector and education business and its consulting businesses in 2017.
/jlne.ws/2w7NCrg

Swiss trader Trafigura bulks up management committee
Julia Payne - Reuters
Trafigura has tripled the size of its management committee, bolstering the position of CEO Jeremy Weir while also giving more responsibility to the next generation of potential leaders, the Swiss commodities trader said on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/2w0Ltxf




John Lothian Productions



Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds
The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures
A Goldman Trading Desk That Once Had 500 People Is Down to Three
Sonali Basak and Christopher Palmeri - Bloomberg
Many Wall Street traders are concerned about being replaced by machines in the future, but at one Goldman Sachs Group Inc. unit it's already happened.
/bloom.bg/2HFEZte

HNA Set to Scuttle Deal for Scaramucci's SkyBridge
Julie Steinberg, Kate O'Keeffe and Rob Copeland - WSJ
Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. is set to drop its pursuit of SkyBridge Capital, the investment firm founded by onetime White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci, amid resistance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
/on.wsj.com/2HAIf94

Morgan Stanley Plans to Boost Junior Banker Pay as Much as 25%
Sonali Basak and Will Mathis - Bloomberg
Analysts to gain promotions more quickly, firm memo shows; Banks have been increasing perks to retain young employees
Morgan Stanley plans to raise some salaries and offer quicker promotions as part of its years-long push to improve conditions for junior bankers, according to people familiar with the matter.
/bloom.bg/2HBJhl7

Morgan Stanley boosting salaries for college recruits
Kevin Dugan - NY Post
Morgan Stanley is boosting salaries for its youngest bankers by as much as 25 percent — plunking down as much as $215,000 annually for college recruits, The Post has learned.
/jlne.ws/2w1C4pd

Barclays Looks Outside for New Chairman; Gerry Grimstone, a key ally of?CEO?Jes Staley, has decided not to apply
Max Colchester - WSJ
Barclays PLC's will look externally for a new chairman after front-runner Gerry Grimstone unexpectedly pulled out of the race to head the British bank.
/jlne.ws/2w21wLv

Climate protesters storm annual Barclays shareholder meeting
Nicholas Megaw - FT
Protesters crashed Barclays' annual general meeting on Tuesday morning, as the bank came under pressure from investors to cut its lending to fossil fuel projects.
/jlne.ws/2w0pu9E




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Regions
Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
Swiss 1MDB Case Widens With Criminal Probe Into Petrosaudi Pair
By Hugo Miller - Bloomberg
Complaint filed by former Petrosaudi executive being analyzed; Over $3 billion allegedly diverted from 1MDB with outside help
Swiss prosecutors widened their probe into allegations of corruption at Malaysian development fund 1MDB, opening criminal proceedings to look into two officials of Saudi Arabian oil producer PetroSaudi who were allegedly tied to the affair.
/jlne.ws/2vZ140w

Indonesia Officials Laud Country's Financial Stability; Bank Indonesia Governor says would be open to an interest-rate increase if the rupiah continues to weaken
By I Made Sentana - WSJ
Indonesia's financial system is well and under control despite the recently increased pressure on the financial markets, authorities said Monday.
/jlne.ws/2w2ff4W

Middle East Billionaire Gets Ready for Money Exchange IPO
Dinesh Nair, Matthew Martin, Ruth David - Bloomberg
Finablr weighing London share sale as early as next year; Company owns Travelex, UAE Exchange and Xpress Money brands
Middle East billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty hired Evercore Inc. to advise on a potential initial public offering for his financial-services company, according to people with knowledge the matter, as he seeks to expand a sprawling empire built on offering money transfers and currency exchange.
/jlne.ws/2w4hWTm








Brexit
Financials stories regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union
Amber Rudd's resignation throws Theresa May's government into crisis; The home secretary's departure could tilt the balance of power in both the cabinet and the party at large
The Economist
In this week's Bagehot column I ventured that Amber Rudd, Britain's home secretary, was probably not fatally wounded by recent events, "unless there is another scandal festering in the Home Office's basement". It turned out that there was a lot of festering going on. Just before 10pm on April 29th Ms Rudd tendered her resignation, pitching Theresa May's ill-starred government into yet another crisis.
/goo.gl/9tDqoa

May Suffers Huge Brexit Defeat As Lords Backs 'Meaningful Vote' On EU Deal
Paul Waugh - Huffington Post
Theresa May has suffered her most damaging Brexit defeat so far after the House of Lords voted to give Parliament a say over the terms of any future EU deal.
bit.ly/2HCdVuJ








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