| July 08, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
ForecastEx, LLC is getting some press today from the Financial Times in a Jennifer Hughes story titled "Prediction markets tipped for new growth as US trader interest mounts" with the subheadline "Involvement by Interactive Brokers and Susquehanna boosts finance-related event contracts."
This story follows my commentary, "David Downey's Important Call: ForecastEx to Revolutionize Event Contracts with CFTC Green Light" from last week. There was one important fact I left out of the story on purpose, as I did not want to upset your July 4th celebrations. That is that ForecastEx will run seven days a week, twenty four hours a day, except as necessary for system maintenance. This is a traditional DCM and DCO combination, registered with the CFTC. It would have the ability to list contracts over the weekends, but the CFTC is not available then.
This extension of trading hours into the weekend and at all hours is a direct challenge to the traditional batch processing and clearing the industry is used to. It is almost as if a binary exchange mated with a crypto exchange and begat the ForecastEx exchange.
Bygones will be bygones, I guess. Once upon a time, Exchange Invest's Patrick Young attacked former NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer in a vicious and unwarranted personal attack for his stewardship of the exchange group. On July 5, 2024, NYSE and NYSE President Lynn Martin hosted the author of the "Capital Market Revolution" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his book by ringing the closing bell of the exchange.
Here are some highlights gleaned from headlines in front of the FOW paywall:
BGC Group is poised to launch its new FMX US rates futures venue on September 3, marking a significant milestone in the US financial market landscape. This development follows the company's announcement of partners for the venture five months ago. Concurrently, the CME Group has reported a record high in its international average daily volume (ADV) for the second quarter of 2024, with notable growth in interest rate and equity products. Meanwhile, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is advocating for 11 sets of reporting regulations across nine major jurisdictions under its Digital Regulatory Reporting (DRR) initiative. In other market expansions, Eurex has introduced a new series of Scandinavian single stock options, including prominent Danish stocks, while the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is set to launch Singapore and Japanese short-term interest rate (STIR) contracts on July 29, further expanding its fixed income and currencies offerings.
Veteran Journalist Debbie Carlson has a story in The Wall Street Journal titled "Kindred Spirits: How to Get Into Booze Collecting" with the subheadline "Luxury bottles of Scotch and tequila are driving a boom in the spirits market, and you don't need to be rich to get involved." Owning ultrarare Scotch whisky, like the Macallan Fine & Rare 1961 sold for $32,500, is beyond most people's reach, but spirits collecting isn't only for the wealthy. Demand for luxury spirits, especially tequila and American whiskey/bourbon, has surged, with the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.'s Luxury Brand Index growing 14% annually over five years. Collecting spirits, which gained traction 20-25 years ago with single-malt Scotch, has now expanded to other spirits, increasing scarcity and prices. Novice collectors should understand that spirits collecting, like art, can be unpredictable. It's wise to invest in bottles they enjoy drinking, as secondary market values can fluctuate. "Buy what you enjoy," advises collector David Thomas Tao.
The Journal also has a story about picking the right retirement community and how to check out its financials, titled "How to Vet the Financials of a Continuing-Care Retirement Community" with the subheadline "Due diligence can be difficult thanks to the communities' complex business models, but prospective residents should review key metrics before buying in."
The New York Post reports Citi Bike users faced a 20% increase in price for members and non-members.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Do you want to better understand how much climate heating caused by fossil fuel pollution affected the early push of Hurricane Beryl? Or, perhaps you want to understand how human-driven climate change exacerbated extreme temperatures in the eastern heat wave. Check out ClimaMeter. ClimaMeter is an experimental rapid framework for understanding extreme weather events in a changing climate based on looking at similar past weather situations. The rapid experimental framework was developed by the ESTIMR team at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (Institut Pierre Simon Laplace) in Paris-Saclay. Learn more about its leadership and findings on the ClimaMeter website, which includes an event dashboard, a hazard database, and an explanation of methodology. Check out the events dashboard HERE. ~SAED
Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- David Downey's Important Call: ForecastEx to Revolutionize Event Contracts with CFTC Green Light from John Lothian News.
- Alan Knuckman Reflects on His Journey from Michigan to Chicago's Trading Floors from John Lothian News.
- Gen Z Is Taking Too Much Risk in the Markets from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Jamie Dimon kept his promise made 20 years ago to Chicago; Corporate headquarters losses in mergers typically sting. Bank One's sale is the exception to the rule.
The Editorial Board - Chicago Tribune
Two decades ago, Chicago's political and business leaders were dismayed to see Jamie Dimon, who'd taken this city's civic scene by storm in less than five years, selling Bank One to JPMorgan Chase. The fears at the time were pronounced. The headquarters of Chicago's biggest bank- itself the product of multiple large-scale mergers including First Chicago with Detroit's NBD in 1995 and later First Chicago with Columbus, Ohio's Banc One - was moving to New York, sadly reinforcing the narrative of Chicago as a financial services backwater and New York as the world capital of money. The most bitter observers noted then how Dimon, who negotiated the deal to ensure he would become CEO, was a native New Yorker. He'd engineered a triumphant return home, this narrative went, using shareholder money and selling out Chicago in the process.
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****** Chicago is better when it has a "Second-City" complex.~JJL
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Why Your Fund Manager Can't Beat Today's Stock Market; The time seems just right for active stock pickers to beat the market. Why, then, are they doing even worse than usual?
Jason Zweig - The Wall Street Journal
It's a stock picker's market. So why aren't more stock pickers doing better? In theory, active fund managers, who try to pick the best investments and avoid the worst, should excel when some stocks zig as others zag and when the gap between the winners and losers is wide. By some measures, that's the kind of market we're in right now. An index of implied correlation from Cboe, the Chicago-based exchange, suggests that the extent to which stocks move up and down in unison is near record lows.
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****** Today's market? What is your timeframe? There is always something hot. But what is your timeframe?~JJL
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'We're Not Dead Yet.' Baby Boomers' Good Times Drive the Economy. Sky-diving, concerts, classic cars. An influx of older Americans bolsters the nation's fastest-growing city. 'We have more fun than our daughter.'
Heather Gillers and Ben Eisen - The Wall Street Journal
Georgetown, Texas, is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. It's largely thanks to the baby boomers. Thousands of them have settled in an enormous planned community called Sun City Texas: 5,421 acres of single-family homes clustered around pools, fitness centers and pickleball courts, reserved mostly for buyers 55 and older. The hottest party is the yearly Mardi Gras parade and ball. The median age is 73. "We're not dead yet," said Suzanne Herndon, 70, who moved to Sun City in 2021.
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******* We are not dead. We are nearly dead. There is a difference. Just ask Miracle Max.~JJL
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Why America's Berries Have Never Tasted So Good; Driscoll's had to figure out how to breed, produce and sell its most flavorful strawberries and raspberries. Now the strategy is starting to bear fruit.
Ben Cohen - The Wall Street Journal
The strawberries of America's future are as rich and juicy as the story of how they came to be. They look resplendent. They taste like candy and fruit punch. They're just firm enough to hold their shape when you bite into one and soft enough that it will melt in your mouth. They're also related to a blueberry halfway across the world that was nearly lost to history.
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****** There is some berry good sex in this story.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was SNP loses 'damaging' 38 seats so far as final result delayed, from BBC News, about the election in Scotland. Second was JLN's David Downey's Important Call: ForecastEx to Revolutionize Event Contracts with CFTC Green Light, by John Lothian. Third was Sam Bankman-Fried's Campaign Spending Spree Was a Family Affair, from The Wall Street Journal.
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| Lead Stories | Cboe's Former CEO Ed Tilly Joins Fintech Clear Street; Tilly joins the executive team as president starting July 22
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Ed Tilly is joining upstart brokerage-services provider Clear Street, as the former head of Cboe Global Markets Inc. takes a new leadership role in the securities industry. Tilly starts at Clear Street as president on July 22 to help build the financial technology firm's brokerage business in the US and abroad, reporting to the board of directors. The move is the next step for Tilly's career after he resigned in September from running the derivatives and securities exchange following an investigation that determined he didn't disclose personal relationships with colleagues. He'll be based in the firm's New York headquarters.
/jlne.ws/3LcEmWi
Old School FX Traders Are Being Replaced By Algos With Names Like Viper; With machines now handling more than 75% of the trading in some FX markets, the giants of Wall Street are racing to make sure their systems are ready.
William Shaw and Alice Atkins - Bloomberg
Inside BNP Paribas SA, a trader named Viper is now handling vast swaths of the French bank's currency trading business. Viper, along with Iguana and Chameleon, are code names for algorithms that the lender developed to make life easier for the hundreds of hedge fund managers and corporate treasurers that rely on its systems. The three live inside Rex - a reptile-themed trading tool that's cemented BNP's edge in the $7.5 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market. BNP isn't alone. Rivals like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are also muscling in on algorithmic technology. For the old guard of Wall Street, the work has become crucial for keeping clients happy after a bevy of upstart market makers like Citadel Securities and XTX Markets flooded into FX in recent years.
/jlne.ws/4bz0PYf
Prediction markets tipped for new growth as US trader interest mounts; Involvement by Interactive Brokers and Susquehanna boosts finance-related event contracts
Jennifer Hughes - Financial Times
Rising interest from US financial institutions in contracts that allow people to bet on future events is spurring new growth in a market best known for its regulatory battles over the legality of wagering on politics. Interactive Brokers, founded by electronic trading pioneer Thomas Peterffy, is launching its own platform, ForecastEx, on Monday offering contracts based on key economic data releases. In April, trading firm Susquehanna International Group, co-founded by billionaire Jeff Yass, set up a dedicated team to make markets on Kalshi, a platform that offers users the chance to speculate on events from whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year to reviewers' ratings of new films.
/jlne.ws/3VTPufG
The Next Big Power Play on Wall Street
Anna Hirtenstein and Caitlin McCabe - The Wall Street Journal
There is a new force on Wall Street: power traders. Hedge funds are piling into power, drawn by volatile electricity and natural-gas prices that could remain turbulent. They are offering incentives like big sign-on bonuses, large profit-share deals and company cars with drivers to lure traders from utilities, banks and rival investment shops. "There is a spotlight that is now shining on us today, more than any time before," said Juan Penelas, co-founder of e360 Power, a Texas-based hedge-fund firm with a focus on electricity trading. Assets under management have roughly doubled since the start of 2022, to about $470 million.
/jlne.ws/3WaVodE
How Stocks Became the Game That Record Numbers of Americans Are Playing; More market participation also means more risk.
Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg
Legions of retail investors flooded the stock market in 2021, eager to chase volatile "meme stocks" with strong social media followings and weak financials. This passion to own a piece of companies such as GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. seemed like a fever that was sure to break. Fueled by pandemic stimulus checks and pre-vaccine boredom, newbie traders had nothing better to do than funnel their cash into shares championed by internet investing gurus including Keith Gill and Ryan Cohen. Flash-forward three years, and it's abundantly clear: We're living in a new age of finance. It's never been easier to bet your money-anytime, anywhere-and meme-stock craziness is here to stay. A wave of technological advancements has coincided with new apps and platforms to create a thriving ecosystem where everyday people can trade stocks with the ease of swiping for dates on Tinder.
/jlne.ws/3zIDiXB
ANALYSIS: LME plans technical changes to boost options activity
Luke Jeffs - FOW
The London Metal Exchange plans changes to its options trading practices to boost the already growing demand for commodity options. Speaking after the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing-owned venue reported last week average daily options trading volume up 69% in the first half of 2024 to 38,000 lots, the LME's head of market development said the group is working on technical changes. Robin Martin told FOW: "Our options trade exclusively in the inter-office market which involves bilateral deals typically agreed on the phone. It doesn't trade on screen in a dollar-quoted format as you would find on many other exchanges.
/jlne.ws/4cNatYm
HSBC's Chairman Is on the Hunt for His Fourth CEO; Mark Tucker is the dominant figure at the Asia-focused bank.
Harry Wilson, Laura Noonan, Donal Griffin, and Ambereen Choudhury - Bloomberg
The clock strikes 5 a.m. in New York and the calls and emails start dribbling in to managers across HSBC Holdings Plc's sprawling businesses. A junior corporate finance employee receives a missive thanking him for his digest of the advisory mandates the bank was pitching on. A high level executive is asked to produce a detailed breakdown on staff attrition data within a division of the institution.
/jlne.ws/45XONqv
The Rich Investor Club Is Getting Crowded; More US households than ever qualify as accredited investors. Asset managers are thrilled, but democratization has downsides.
Charlie Wells - Bloomberg
Attention, individual investors: You may be eligible for a status upgrade. Thanks to recent rising markets-paired with elevated inflation and some very vintage rules-the number of Americans who qualify as "accredited investors" has skyrocketed to an all-time high. Accreditation gives individuals access to riskier, less regulated assets. This includes private markets that have long been the domain of endowments, pension funds and other "smart money" types. It opens doors to the historically exclusive echelons of private equity, credit and real estate placements. But this expansion of access, with its tantalizing promise of greater returns, comes with a key question: Is it worth joining a club that would have you as a member?
/jlne.ws/4cSg3c1
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and 7 Mega Banks Paying $46,000,000 Over Alleged Conspiracy To Rig Trillion-Dollar Derivatives Market
Alex Richardson - The Daily Hodl
Nine of the largest banks in the world are settling a long-running lawsuit that accuses them of conspiring to rig a $465.9 trillion market. Lawyers representing investors have filed for preliminary approval of a $46 million cash settlement against JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, NatWest and UBS to end an eight-year-old antitrust suit.
/jlne.ws/3XQOSdh
Hedge Funds Reshape Tokyo's Exclusive Club of Government Bond Traders
Lisa Du, Yasutaka Tamura, Takashi Nakamichi, Taiga Uranaka and Masaki Kondo - Bloomberg
When Hiroyuki Kubota's boat party for Japanese government bond traders and strategists restarted last autumn, after a pause of several years, there was reason to celebrate. The veteran group was suddenly back in vogue. The world's top hedge funds had begun to focus on the Bank of Japan's reversal of its ultra-loose monetary policy, shaking up the once sleepy backwater of global finance by hiring a steady flow of traders with knowledge of Japan's sovereign debt. Volatility in Japan's $7.1 trillion government bond market was surging to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
/jlne.ws/3WdDFCq
Security issues plague OpenAI as scrutiny increases
Chris Morris - Fortune
OpenAI is in an unwelcome spotlight this week after a significant security flaw in its ChatGPT was discovered, and a previously undisclosed attack has come to light.
/jlne.ws/3zw2X63
Property Fraud Allegations Snowball as Commercial Real-Estate Values Fall
Konrad Putzier - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. prosecutors are cracking down on commercial mortgage fraud, a growing push that is sending shudders through the $4.7 trillion industry by raising questions about the numbers underpinning major property loans. Regulators and federal prosecutors say that property loans based on doctored building financials and valuations have been rising. This type of fraud became more widespread between the mid-2010s and 2021, federal investigators and real-estate brokers say, when commercial property prices surged to new highs and landlords had much to gain from such maneuvers.
/jlne.ws/3zAOXba
Vanguard's Die-Hard Customers Have a Message for New CEO: 'The Service Is Abysmal'; Complaints of poor customer assistance plague the otherwise beloved asset manager
Jack Pitcher - The Wall Street Journal
Vanguard won an army of loyal customers by cutting fees to the bone and promoting simple index-tracking investing. Now many of those fans are fed up. New Chief Executive Salim Ramji will be the first outsider to take the helm of the beloved fund manager on Monday, and many clients are hoping he will finally fix a longstanding source of frustration: the customer service. Social media, review websites and online forum Reddit are frequently flooded with Vanguard brokerage customers complaining about issues spanning glitchy trades, incorrect balance information and hard-to-reach customer representatives.
/jlne.ws/4byONhJ
Google Is No Longer Claiming to Be Carbon Neutral; The tech giant, which has seen its planet-warming emissions rise because of artificial intelligence, has stopped buying cheap offsets behind the neutrality claim. The company now aims to reach net-zero carbon by 2030.
Akshat Rathi - Bloomberg
Google has ended its mass purchase of cheap carbon offsets and thus stopped claiming that its operations are carbon neutral, according to the tech giant's latest environmental report. The company now aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. The Alphabet Inc. unit has claimed that it's been carbon neutral in its operations since 2007. The status was based on purchasing carbon offsets to match the volume of emissions that were generated from its buildings, data centers and business travel. But in its latest report, the company states: "Starting in 2023, we're no longer maintaining operational carbon neutrality."
/jlne.ws/3LhHKPC
Republican challenge to ESG investing rule could showcase risk to US agency powers
Daniel Wiessner - Reuters
Fifth Circuit to consider challenge to rule allowing socially conscious investing; Early test of how courts will scrutinize agency rules after fall of 'Chevron deference'; Conservatives have criticized rule's impact on $12 trillion in retirement savings. A challenge to a Biden administration rule allowing socially conscious investing by employee retirement plans will present an early test of how courts will scrutinize federal regulations after the U.S. Supreme Court said they no longer have to defer to the expertise of the agencies that issued them. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Tuesday in a lawsuit by 25 Republican-led states challenging the U.S. Department of Labor rule, which says 401(k) and other plans can consider environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors as a "tiebreaker" in making investment decisions.
/jlne.ws/3XSTa3S
LedgerEdge co-founder appointed head of commercial operations at GLMX; New appointment preciously held positions at LedgerEdge, R3 and IBM.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
GLMX has appointed David Nicol as head of commercial operations. Nicol has been promoted to the role after initially joining GLMX as a consultant in December last year. Previously, Nicol served as chief executive and co-founder of corporate bond trading ecosystem LedgerEdge.
/jlne.ws/3LfJgSr
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | China's Xi calls on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue
Simina Mistreanu - Associated Press
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue during a meeting Monday with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Orbán made a surprise visit to China after similar trips last week to Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement of more than the two-year war. Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union this month and Orbán has since embarked on a peace mission, which, however, lacks the endorsement of other European leaders.
/jlne.ws/3XPwyBt
A Ukrainian drone triggers warehouse explosions in Russia as a war of attrition grinds on
Samya Kullab - Associated Press
A village in a border region of western Russia was evacuated Sunday following a series of explosions after debris from a downed Ukrainian drone set fire to a nearby warehouse, local officials said. Social media footage appeared to show rising clouds of black smoke in the Voronezh region while loud explosions could be heard in succession. Gov. Aleksandr Gusev said that falling wreckage triggered the "detonation of explosive objects." No casualties were reported, but residents of a nearby village in the Podgorensky district were evacuated, he said. Roads were also closed with emergency services, military and government officials working at the scene.
/jlne.ws/3VSW7yN
Russia claims to have captured Storm Shadow missile - and it's now studying how it works
James Kilner - The Telegraph
Russia claims to have captured the warhead of one of Ukraine's most destructive weapons and is now studying how it works. A short video published by RIA-Novosti, a Russian state-linked news agency, shows a soldier inspecting what he says is a Storm Shadow, a missile built by Britain and France and also known as a Scalp. "We understand the penetration depth, the response range from the surface, what target sensors are used," said the uniformed Russian soldier, whose face is covered with a balaclava.
/jlne.ws/3WbiWiH
A major Russian missile attack on Ukraine kills at least 20 people and hits a children's hospital
Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov - Associated Press
A major Russian missile attack across Ukraine killed at least 20 people and injured more than 50 on Monday, officials said, with one missile striking a large children's hospital in the capital, Kyiv, where emergency crews searched rubble for casualties. The Russian barrage targeted five Ukrainian cities with more than 40 missiles of different types, hitting apartment buildings and public infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
/jlne.ws/3LAbibH
The age of drone warfare is disrupting the defence industry; Rapidly evolving technology designed by smaller players is challenging the dominance of sluggish industry giants
Sylvia Pfeifer and John Paul Rathbone and Christopher Miller - Financial Times
In a secret brick workshop on the outskirts of a frontline town in eastern Ukraine, soldiers Bohdan and Vlad are hard at work making killer drones. The small factory has a 3D printer to make the components needed to turn technology designed for fun or aerial photography into a deadly weapon. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Russia's war in Ukraine has escalated rapidly in the past two years. Bohdan, who asked to be identified by first name only, recalls demonstrating the inaugural FPV (first-person view) suicide drone attack to a foreign television crew in June 2022, four months after the Russian invasion. He strapped on goggles to view the video feed from the vehicle, then piloted it over the front line. In a sequence now familiar from hundreds of similar videos since posted online, the final frames are of the surprised faces of Russian troops as the drone closes in.
/jlne.ws/4eV55UR
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israeli Troops Return to Gaza City Months After Leaving; Military is returning to areas it previously withdrew from, causing fresh destruction and displacement for Palestinians
Stephen Kalin - The Wall Street Journal
Israel launched airstrikes and sent ground troops back into Gaza City, where it said militants continued to operate months after heavy fighting concluded there, underlining how the war in Gaza is dragging on nine months after it started. Israeli leaders say they are shifting toward lower-intensity operations and preparing for an extended counterinsurgency campaign in the strip. That could free up some troops to reinforce Israel's northern border, where tensions with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group are escalating, but the strategy looks likely to leave Gaza mired in violence and instability for the foreseeable future.
/jlne.ws/4bualMo
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Cboe Europe new VWAP crossing service to launch in Q4; The service is the first of its kind in Europe for equities and will be offered through block trading platform Cboe BIDS Europe.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Cboe Europe has confirmed plans for the launch of its new volume weighted average price (VWAP) crossing service for equities at the end of this year. Set to launch in the fourth quarter, the VWAP-X service will be made available through block trading platform Cboe BIDS Europe and will give users a greater chance of sourcing and matching liquidity at a forward benchmark price. Natan Tiefenbrun It will utilise BIDS' conditional trade negotiation and execution workflow to match orders based on a standard and exchange-regulated VWAP methodology. Participants will be able to submit conditional VWAP indications of interest (IOIs). Once a potential match is found, firms will be given the opportunity to firm-up their IOIs.
/jlne.ws/4cP6ZVk
SGX Orb Awards to spotlight what it takes to transform Asian financial marketplaces
SGX
Pillar of SGX Group's efforts to foster financial education and empower investors
Special category on what stakeholders across region's financial ecosystems are doing to build better marketplaces. Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) is spotlighting conversations around what it takes to transform a financial marketplace in Asia amid changing market dynamics, with the launch of the seventh edition of its annual SGX Orb Awards today.
/jlne.ws/3zsafHK
Boerse Stuttgart Group now offers ESG data for cryptocurrencies
Boerse Stuttgart Group
Distribution via network of data providers; Easy expansion of data feed for clients; Cooperation with Crypto Risk Metrics. The EU's MiCA regulation sets transparency requirements for crypto asset service providers. They will be obliged to publish sustainability figures for the cryptocurrencies they offer. In view of this, Boerse Stuttgart Group is now expanding its market data offering to include ESG data for cryptocurrencies. The data is calculated and provided by Crypto Risk Metrics as part of a cooperation. Boerse Stuttgart Group distributes the data through its existing network of data providers. Their clients can obtain the ESG data through a simple feed extension, which minimizes their internal effort.
/jlne.ws/3LfIEMD
Cboe Europe Announces Launch of Cboe BIDS VWAP-X, New Service Enabling Trading at VWAP Price
Cboe
First-of-its-kind, exchange-operated trajectory crossing service for European equities, enabling participants to source and match liquidity based on a standard VWAP methodology; Offered through Cboe BIDS Europe, the region's largest block trading platform, utilising its proven conditional trade negotiation and execution workflow. Cboe Europe, the largest pan-European stock exchange1 and a division of Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), today announced that it plans to launch Cboe BIDS VWAP-X, a new trading service allowing participants to source and match liquidity at a forward benchmark price. This service is scheduled to launch in early Q4 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.
/jlne.ws/4bI6FqE
CME Group International Average Daily Volume Reached Quarterly Record of 7.8 Million Contracts in Q2 2024
CME Group
Record Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) ADV of 5.8M, up 28% in Q2 2024; Asia Pacific (APAC) ADV of 1.7M, up 9%; Latin America (LatAm) ADV of 182K, up 8% in Q2 2024. CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its quarterly international average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 7.8 million contracts in Q2 2024, up 23% year on year. Reflecting all trading reported outside the United States, the record volume was driven by growth across all asset classes, with the highest trading volumes coming from interest rate and equity products. Commodities saw strong growth, with metals up 50%, energy up 40% and agricultural products up 25%.
/jlne.ws/4btY7mV
List Of Deliverable Canadian Government Bond Issues For The LGB, CGB, CGF And CGZ Futures Contracts
Bourse de Montreal
For your information, please find enclosed the list of deliverable Canadian Government Bond issues with respect to the LGB, CGB, CGF and CGZ futures contracts delivery months. This list is produced in accordance with the Rules of Bourse de Montreal Inc. and Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC) relating to delivery standards. This list replaces the one that was distributed on May 24, 2024 (circular no. 060-24).
/jlne.ws/3Le2Y0P
News and Events
TAIFEX
TAIFEX to Launch Micro TAIEX Futures and Mini ETF Futures on July 29. In response to the increased contract size of Mini-TAIEX Futures (MTX) due to rising index levels, Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) is set to launch Micro TAIEX Futures (TMF) on July 29, further diversifying its futures offerings. With a contract multiplier of TWD 10, the contract size of TMF is approximately TWD 200,000 (one fifth of MTX), significantly lowering the trading threshold, expanding market participation, and enhancing flexibility in capital management. Consistent with the existing TAIEX Futures (TX) and MTX, TMF seamlessly integrates into current portfolios, enabling traders to quickly respond to market changes, fine-tune positions, and implement diverse strategies with ease. The highly anticipated launch of TMF is expected to add growth momentum to the futures market. For more information, please visit here.
/jlne.ws/3RYwdJ4
Tehran Securities Exchange Holds General Assembly
Mondovisione
Tehran Securities Exchange (TSE)'s Annual General Assembly Meeting was held on Saturday 6 July 2024 with more than 74% of the shareholders attending the session. Dr. Mahmoud Goudarzi, the Exchange's CEO presented the board of directors' report to the assembly. The financial statements for the fiscal year ended 19 March 2024 was reviewed and approved in TSE's AGM and it was ratified to pay IRR 50 dividend per share to TSE's shareholders.
/jlne.ws/3zBtS0b
Moscow Exchange has implemented a service for managing identifiers in the personal account of a stock market participant
MOEX
Since July 8, 2024, users of the trading participant's personal account have had access to a new format of digital interaction with the Moscow Exchange - a service for managing technical access identifiers on the stock market, as well as the deposit and loan market. The identifier is required by a professional trading participant to gain access to the trading and clearing infrastructure when conducting their own operations and servicing clients on the Moscow Exchange markets.
/jlne.ws/3zzaXTF
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Trading Technologies' TT Platform Chosen as Best Listed Derivatives Execution/Order Management System in Markets Media's European Markets Choice Awards 2024
Trading Technologies
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform provider, has earned the recognition of Best Listed Execution/Order Management System (E/OMS) for its TT platform at Markets Media's European Markets Choice Awards 2024. Presented in London last week, the awards are designed to celebrate the "best of the best in capital markets trading and technology." TT EVP Managing Director, Futures & Options Alun Green said: "We have invested significantly in our EMS and OMS offerings to provide clients with feature-rich, powerful tools to meet their trade execution and order management needs, not only in listed derivatives but also in a growing array of asset classes. Clients throughout Europe and globally have embraced these systems, which are a vital part of the TT platform and unique in their flexibility, breadth and ability to bring flows together. Thanks to Markets Media for this wonderful recognition."
/jlne.ws/4cJp6MA
China's AI model glut is a 'significant waste of resources' due to scarce real-world applications for 100+ LLMs says Baidu CEO
Jowi Morales - Tom's Hardware
Robin Li Yanhong, the founder and CEO of Baidu, the biggest search engine in China, said that the country has too many large language models and too few practical applications. Yanhong made this announcement during a recent panel discussion at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) held in Shanghai, as covered by the South China Morning Post. "In 2023, intense competition among over 100 LLMs has emerged in China, resulting in a significant waste of resources, particularly computing power," said Li. "I've noticed that many people still primarily focus on foundational models. But I want to ask: How about real-world applications? Who has benefitted from them?"
/jlne.ws/45XNcAF
China's tech boom powering AI career coup, with finance muscled out at top of salary pyramid
South China Morning Post
China's rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) sector has nudged aside finance to top the country's salary rankings for the second quarter of 2024, as Beijing's push for self-sufficiency in tech and the rush to capitalise on the industry's global popularity are helping firms in the field outpace the banks, funds and brokerages that have tended to offer the highest-paying jobs. Propelled by an explosion of demand as businesses race to develop and trial AI applications, jobs in this sector saw an average monthly pay growth of 5.3 per cent to 13,594 yuan (US$1,868) during the quarter compared to the year prior, according to online recruitment platform Zhilian Zhaopin. Meanwhile, investment as a whole - which includes funds, securities and futures positions - slipped to second place after taking the top spot in the first quarter of the year and many previous periods.
/jlne.ws/3WdXoSw
Nvidia AI Chip Supply Is a 'Huge Bottleneck,' EU's Vestager Warns; Nvidia has significant market share in the supply of AI chips; European watchdogs currently examining potential market risks
Philip Heijmans and Samuel Stolton - Bloomberg
European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager warned of a "huge bottleneck" in Nvidia Corp. AI chips supply, but said watchdogs are still making up their minds about what, if anything, to do about it. "We've been asking them questions, but that is really preliminary," she told Bloomberg during a trip to Singapore. That "would not" so far "tick the box of being regulatory action."
/jlne.ws/4buyrGU
Elon Musk's liquid-cooled 'Gigafactory' AI data centers get a plug from Supermicro CEO - Tesla and xAI's new supercomputers will have 350,000 Nvidia GPUs, both will be online within months
Dallin Grimm - Tom's Hardware
Elon Musk's Texas Tesla Gigafactory is expanding to contain an AI supercomputer cluster, and Supermicro's CEO is a big fan of the cooling solution. Charles Liang, founder and CEO of Supermicro, took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate Musk's use of Supermicro's liquid cooling technology for both Tesla's new cluster and xAI's similar supercomputer, which is also on the way. Pictured together among server racks, Liang and Musk are looking to "lead the liquid cooling technology to large AI data centers." Liang estimates the impact of Musk leading the move to liquid cooling AI data centers "may lead to preserving 20 billion trees for our planet," obviously referring to the improvements that could be had if liquid cooling were adopted at all data centers worldwide.
/jlne.ws/3XVzLQ6
MegazoneCloud Picks JPMorgan, Banks for IPO as AI Interest Grows; The startup targets a valuation at several billion dollars; Investors are glomming onto AI infrastructure firms worldwide
Yoolim Lee and Julia Fioretti - Bloomberg
MegazoneCloud Corp. has selected firms including a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help it kickstart an initial public offering that could value one of Asia's biggest cloud and AI services companies at several billion dollars. The Korean cloud management company selected JPMorgan Securities, Samsung Securities Co. and Korea Investment & Securities Co. as lead underwriters for a public market float, according to people familiar with the matter. It gave secondary arranger roles to Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities Ltd. and KB Securities Co., the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private deal.
/jlne.ws/3XReI0L
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Scammers are swiping billions from Americans every year. Worse, most crooks are getting away with it
Michael Rubinkam - Associated Press
The scammers are winning. Sophisticated overseas criminals are stealing tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, a crime wave projected to get worse as the U.S. population ages and technology like AI makes it easier than ever to perpetrate fraud and get away with it. Internet and telephone scams have grown "exponentially," overwhelming police and prosecutors who catch and convict relatively few of the perpetrators, said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP's Fraud Watch Network.
/jlne.ws/4cMAiYs
The Credit-Card Feature That Saves Time, but Can Muck Up Your Bills; Customers run into problems when fraudulent charges keep popping up: 'The risk isn't worth the benefit'
Imani Moise - The Wall Street Journal
An under-the-radar feature that aims to save customers time when their credit card is lost or stolen is backfiring. When you request a new card, the issuer sends you a card with a new number. In the past, this meant that come payment time, you would have to add the new number to any utility or retailer website that kept your card information on file. But today, largely invisible to cardholders, credit-card companies often automatically update your card information-no need to enter in new information. It is a convenience that has become a headache for some customers when fraud occurs.
/jlne.ws/3VWTI69
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bitfarms names new CEO to guide it through strategic review
Reuters
Bitcoin miner Bitfarms has appointed insider Ben Gagnon as its new chief executive officer to oversee a strategic review and navigate a dispute with its biggest shareholder, Riot Platforms. Gagnon's promotion comes months after Bitfarms' plans for a smooth leadership transition ran into difficulties. Former CEO Geoff Morphy, whose departure was announced in March, was to remain in his role while a search for a replacement was conducted. But the company accelerated his termination in May, days after he filed a lawsuit claiming $27 million in damages for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal. Bitfarms said the claims were "without merit".
/jlne.ws/3S30OoD
Germany Sill Holds $2.2B Worth of Bitcoin, Blockchain Data Show
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
The Eurozone's biggest economy still holds 39,826 BTC worth $2.2 billion, according to data tracked by Arkham Intelligence. The pending coin stash, a potential selling pressure, represents nearly 9% of BTC's 24-hour trading volume of $25.3 billion, suggesting further price turbulence. Early this year, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) seized 49,857 BTC from the operators of Movie2k.to, a privacy website that was last active in 2013. Since mid-June, the government has liquidated over 10,000 BTC, putting downward pressure on the cryptocurrency's going market rate.
/jlne.ws/3zA71lJ
Bitcoin's Mt. Gox Swings Add to Signs of Rocky Crypto Rebound
Suvashree Ghosh and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Bitcoin skidded anew on concerns about possible sales of the token by creditors of the failed Mt. Gox exchange, fueling doubts about the remaining impetus in a crypto bull run that began last year. The largest digital asset slid as much as 5.2% on Monday before reversing the wobble to trade up 1% at $57,850 as of 10:04 a.m. in London, some $16,000 below March's record high. Smaller tokens such as Ether and XRP also erased losses and turned higher.
/jlne.ws/3WfTqYz
Mt. Gox customers benefit from 3500 percent increase in value, recoup losses despite only 15 percent of coins being returned
Jowi Morales - Tom's Hardware
Mt. Gox customers who lost all their crypto holdings with the popular crypto exchange platform are finally getting their money back, and then some. On July 5, 2024, a rehabilitation trustee announced in a letter that the first tranche of repayments to its creditors had begun and that funds were now flowing toward the designated exchanges and into customers' wallets. Crypto exchange Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014 when a flaw in its system allowed hackers to plunder almost all of its crypto holdings-worth around $400 million at that time and now valued at around $45 billion. Almost all victims were left with nothing in their Mt. Gox holdings, and they all had to go through a myriad of loopholes and red tape just to try to get their money back.
/jlne.ws/3xDZYb7
Amount of energy needed for Bitcoin mining has doubled in Canada this year, study finds; Canadian mining facilities are responsible for 6.48% of global production
Denise Paglinawan - Financial Post
Canadians have used an enormous amount of electricity for Bitcoin mining this year, placing additional strain on the country's power grid. A recent study on the cryptocurrency's global energy consumption found that the amount of power required to mine one Bitcoin has doubled since April's halving event, when the reward for one block went from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. Article content In Canada, about 4,048 gigawatt hours of electricity has been consumed by Bitcoin mining operations since the start of 2024, according to a report by MarketsChain using data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.
/jlne.ws/3LAeSTb
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Democratic lawmakers join calls for Joe Biden to step aside; President scales up campaigning to convince voters and his own party he can defeat Trump in November
Aime Williams, Demetri Sevastopulo and Alex Rogers - Financial Times
Prominent House Democrats joined calls for Joe Biden to drop out of the election race over the weekend, even as the president stepped up campaigning to convince voters and his own party that he was fit for office. Biden made two campaign stops on Sunday in Pennsylvania, a state he almost certainly needs to win to retain control of the White House in November.
/jlne.ws/3xOxnzI
This Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Is Trump's Secret Fundraising Weapon; 'Duke's magic is he coaxes out multiples of what you intended to contribute'
Gregory Zuckerman - The Wall Street Journal
Duke Buchan III is emerging as Donald Trump's secret weapon in the presidential-campaign fundraising competition. The former hedge-fund manager and major Republican donor who became National Finance Chair of the Republican National Committee in early 2022 is relying on his deep contacts in the financial world and a persistent, low-key approach. Buchan, who grew up on a tobacco-and-cattle farm near Middleburg, N.C., and now lives in Palm Beach, Fla., and New York, has raised tens of millions of dollars, becoming the person most responsible for surging megadonor money, according to people close to the campaign.
/jlne.ws/3VTA4rU
Hawaii governor says Biden could decide within days whether to remain in the presidential race
Mark Thiessen - Associated Press
President Joe Biden could make a decision within days whether to remain a candidate for reelection, said Hawaii's governor who participated in a recent meeting with Biden and other Democratic governors and whose family has known the president for years. And if Biden decides not to run, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told The Associated Press on Saturday that he believes the president will designate Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the ticket.
/jlne.ws/3xWwYez
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, a top GOP donor, gives $500,000 to Miami-Dade County's Democratic mayor
Anna J. Kaiser and Bloomberg - Fortune
Ken Griffin, who moved to Miami from Chicago two years ago, gave $500,000 to Daniella Levine Cava's campaign in June, according to a filing. Ken Griffin, a major donor to Republican politicians, is backing the reelection of Miami-Dade County's Democratic mayor, as the founder of Citadel expands his political clout in his new home base.
/jlne.ws/3VTB5Ae
Greens secure four seats in best-ever UK result; Party captures all its targets after luring leftwing voters from Labour, as investors note clear support for climate action
Anna Gross, Attracta Mooney, Rachel Millard and Jim Pickard - Financial Times
The Green party has achieved its best-ever election result in Britain, capturing all four of its target seats and bringing its total in line with Reform UK. Co-leaders of the party Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay won Bristol Central and Waveney Valley in Suffolk, while Ellie Chowns won North Herefordshire and Siân Berry secured Brighton Pavilion.
/jlne.ws/3RYmJgW
Deeply Divided France Risks Unprecedented Deadlock After Election Shock; Sunday's snap election produced a National Assembly that ranks among the most ideologically fractured parliaments in the country's modern history
Matthew Dalton - The Wall Street Journal
France's elections have produced a fractious parliament that threatens an unprecedented period of political paralysis, revealing a country that is deeply split along lines of class, geography and religion. No party came close to a majority, and the lawmakers elected Sunday are now grouped into blocs with profound differences. The New Popular Front, an alliance of leftist parties that won the most seats in parliament, is a diverse coalition whose most powerful faction is a polarizing, far-left party, France Unbowed.
/jlne.ws/4cSdZRj
Why France is on the brink of reinstating wealth taxes
Charlotte Gifford - The Telegraph
President Emmanuel Macron's snap election has triggered fears that France could reinstate a controversial wealth tax. According to the latest polls, Marine Le Pen's hard-Right National Rally party may not secure a majority in the second round of elections despite making gains in the first. This suggests efforts by President Emmanuel Macron's centrists and the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) to block a hard-Right government could be successful.
/jlne.ws/3zv7Zzz
France heads back to its postwar era of ungovernability; Far right's defeat in Sunday's parliamentary elections could prove a temporary setback
Ben Hall - Financial Times (opinion)
/jlne.ws/4cts4EY
In France, Investors Get the Centrist Limbo They Wanted; Polarization has for years left the country's politics stuck in an unpopular middle ground, and the latest elections won't change that
Jon Sindreu - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/3zz4jwH
New Plan to Target Russia's Oil Revenue Brings Debate in White House; Treasury officials want to impose penalties on tankers that help Russian oil evade sanctions. White House aides worry that risks making gasoline more expensive.
Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport - The New York Times
/jlne.ws/3SmEoz5
Russia is trying to put a price tag on Nato's involvement in Ukraine; Vladimir Putin is seeking reckless new ways to impose costs on the US and its allies
Alexander Gabuev - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3zuTFqW
The City's wish list for Labour government; Plus, Blackstone's 'circular' credit risk deals, active bond ETFs boom, and the Yoshida dynasty at Dulwich Picture Gallery
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3RZmAJZ
El Salvador's president threatens to use gang-crackdown style tactics against price gougers
Associated Press
/jlne.ws/3RXUyyw
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | ISDA backs global reporting regulations under DRR initiative
Gregory Rosenvinge - FOW
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is backing 11 sets of reporting regulations in nine major jurisdictions as part of its Digital Regulatory Reporting (DRR) initiative, according to the New York-based trade body's chief executive.
/jlne.ws/460goaj
IMF to Discuss Options for Lowering Penalties on Big Borrowers
Jorgelina do Rosario and Eric Martin - Bloomberg
The International Monetary Fund is set to discuss a review of the fees it charges its biggest borrowers after some nations raised concerns that costs are becoming unreasonable due to higher interest rates. The IMF board, made up of 24 members representing the Washington-based crisis lender's 190 countries and a management official, is set on Monday to weigh options to give nations a break on surcharges, according to people familiar with the plans, who asked not to be identified without permission to speak publicly. The fees apply to nations that borrow more than their allotted share or take longer to repay loans under IMF programs.
/jlne.ws/3zyZXFS
WA financial adviser Dash Vee permanently banned from financial services
ASIC
ASIC has permanently banned WA based former financial adviser Dashiel Benjo Vee (aka Dash Vee) from providing financial services, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business or performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business. ASIC found that Mr Vee engaged in conduct that was dishonest and demonstrated the opposite of integrity, sound judgment, trustworthiness, and professionalism.
/jlne.ws/3VWqnsF
ASIC proposes October expiry date for managed investment scheme legislative instrument
ASIC
ASIC is proposing that a legislative instrument, relating to managed investment schemes, be allowed to expire ('sunset') on 1 October 2024. This means the instrument will cease to operate and entities will no longer be able to rely on it. ASIC is seeking feedback regarding the sunsetting of ASIC Corporations (Land Holding for Primary Production Schemes) Instrument 2024/15 from Australian financial services (AFS) licensees, superannuation trustees, platform operators, responsible entities, consumer groups and other interested stakeholders.
/jlne.ws/4cJnbrm
ASIC releases estimated industry funding levies for 2023-24
ASIC
ASIC today issued its 2023-24 Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS). The CRIS outlines estimated regulatory costs and levies for each industry subsector to help entities plan and budget for levies and fees to be charged. ASIC publishes this statement each year to provide information on how it implements its industry funding model, introduced by the Australian Government in 2017.
/jlne.ws/3S0sI4N
SFC to launch new online application and submission system for investment products
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will launch a new online application and submission system named e-IP for investment products administered by the Investment Products Division on 29 July 2024 (Notes 1 and 2). e-IP is developed on the existing WINGS portal and will serve as a one-stop online platform specifically for e-IP users to submit new product applications and post-authorisation or registration submissions, track the progress of applications, maintain information profiles of investment products and settle fee payments.
/jlne.ws/3xZkcMp
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Nvidia will win the race to a $4 trillion market cap-but the long-term big tech battle might be different, experts say
Will Daniel - Fortune
A surprisingly resilient economy and profit-filled AI boom are driving the United States' big tech giants toward a milestone that would have seemed impossible just a few decades ago. Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple have all surpassed the $3 trillion market capitalization mark, and Google and Amazon are following close behind in the $2 trillion range. Combined, these five tech giants alone are now worth more than $14.5 trillion and make up roughly 32% of the S&P 500. For reference, in 2002, after the dot-com bubble burst, the total market capitalization of every U.S. stock was $11.1 trillion, according to Siblis Research data. Big tech's performance has been particularly impressive this year, with Nvidia, for example, surging from a $2 trillion market cap to a $3 trillion market cap in under 100 days.
/jlne.ws/45XYjcQ
How a New York short-seller took on one of the world's richest people, wiped out $150 billion in market value, and barely made any money
Jennifer Sor - Business Insider
Nate Anderson, the chief mind behind activist short-seller Hindenburg Research, has had an eventful past 18 months. In January 2023, he accused the Indian conglomerate owned by Gautam Adani - one of the world's richest people - of fraud, subsequently wiping out $153 billion in market value from its associated companies. This led Indian regulators to his doorstep and forced him into defensive mode. A war of words has persisted ever since. A year and a half later, the battle continues. And based on new information released by Hindenburg, one might wonder whether it was all worth it. The firm - which describes itself as specializing in "forensic financial research" - recently disclosed that it's made just $4 million from its considerable efforts. Compared to the nine figures of market value it helped erase, and the $80 billion wiped from Adani's personal fortune, that's a drop in the bucket.
/jlne.ws/4cuer8t
China's PBOC Keeps Gold Buying on Hold for Second Month
Sybilla Gross, Jessica Zhou and Jack Wittels - Bloomberg
Gold fell after its biggest weekly advance in three months, with central bank purchases in focus. Bullion traded near $2,370 an ounce after rallying by almost 3% last week. The People's Bank of China didn't add gold to its reserves for a second consecutive month in June, but data indicate that both the Reserve Bank of India and National Bank of Poland added to their holdings, according to posts on X from a senior analyst at the World Gold Council.
/jlne.ws/4cxA2wL
The Top Stock Mutual Funds Have a Familiar, Tech-Heavy Feel; After a small-cap fund took first last quarter, large-cap growth funds rode most of the 'Magnificent Seven' to dominate the latest survey. Only 15 of 1,218 funds lost money.
Lawrence Strauss - The Wall Street Journal
Large-cap growth funds-paced by most of the "Magnificent Seven" technology stocks-closed out the first half of 2024 on top of the mutual-fund universe. After ceding a bit of turf following the first quarter, U.S. large-cap growth funds came roaring back to dominate the latest edition of The Wall Street Journal Winners' Circle ranking. All of the top 25 mutual funds in the latest survey, which covers the 12-month period ended June 30, are in the large-cap growth category.
/jlne.ws/4buhWuo
Fortress Capital Partners is a Ponzi scheme, claim administrators; Begbies Traynor wants to pursue bankruptcy of the investment firm's directors to allow a full investigation of their personal affairs
Alex Ralph & James Hurley - The London Times
Administrators of a failed investment business backed by celebrities and members of a south London church have labelled it a "Ponzi" scheme and say they wish to pursue the bankruptcy of its directors. Insolvency practitioners from Begbies Traynor said that bankrupting Ashley Reading, 54, and his daughter Cameron, 24, who ran Fortress Capital Partners, would allow a full investigation of their personal affairs, including bank and credit card statements. Fortress was an unregulated investment scheme that promoted returns of up to 18 per cent a year. It collapsed into administration last September, with investors in many cases said to have lost the majority of their life savings or inheritances.
/jlne.ws/4bC8hlo
Where Have All the Good Stocks Gone? With prices at records, there are fewer to buy and the quality of remaining ones is surprisingly bad. Blame years of low interest rates.
Spencer Jakab - The Wall Street Journal
Low interest rates are good for stocks. Are they good for the stock market? That seems like an odd distinction, but it is one that could weigh on American investors' future returns. There aren't nearly as many companies to buy, and the ones that remain just aren't what they used to be. Most investors are pleased with their portfolios these days, whether they own some of the popular names like Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple that have been powering the market or mutual funds lifted heavenward by the same group of companies. It is at times of top-heaviness like these that contrarians who want to stay invested have pivoted to the market's forgotten corner: small stocks.
/jlne.ws/4eRKfG2
The Sins Of Ruth Madoff; In an exclusive excerpt from Madoff: The Final Word, the Ponzi king's wife is portrayed as a liar.
Richard Behar, Contributor - Forbes
Ruth "Ruthie Books" Madoff. That's the nickname FBI agents privately gave to Bernie Madoff's wife of more than 61 years, and it's a fitting one, given that she lied like a mobster on the witness stand when she appeared on 60 Minutes-one of the rare interviews she granted since her husband's arrest in 2008. On the show, which aired in 2011, she told Morley Safer that she had worked as a receptionist and bookkeeper at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) from 1961 to 1963, but then left to raise their sons. "And later on, when the boys started to work there," she added, "we lived within walking distance, and I had an office there where I took care of decorating things and house things and boat bills and managing those things. But I was never the bookkeeper after 1963."
/jlne.ws/4bCj7bl
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Fight Over Seabed Agency Leadership Turns Nasty; An election over the future of a United Nations-affiliated organization could determine whether the Pacific Ocean floor will soon be mined for metals used in electric vehicles.
Eric Lipton - The New York Times
Allegations of possible payments to help secure votes. Claims of abuse of agency funds by top diplomats. A possible job offer to entice a candidate to withdraw from a race. These are not the shenanigans of a corrupt election in an unstable country. Rather, they are efforts in the seemingly genteel parlors of a United Nations-affiliated agency, meant to sway decisions related to the start of seabed mining of the metals used in electric vehicles.
/jlne.ws/3XUiFlr
How Future Hurricanes Could Stress Power Grids of U.S. Cities; A new analysis shows increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes could cause more devastating interruptions to the power grid.
Austyn Gaffney - The New York Times
The risk of hurricane-induced power outages could become 50 percent higher in some areas of the United States, including Puerto Rico, because of climate change in the coming decades, according to a new analysis. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute mapped how future hurricanes could affect power supplies, allowing residents to see how vulnerable their electricity is.
/jlne.ws/3WcNIaJ
World in line for hottest year as 1.5C limit breached for 12 months in a row; 'We have never seen such an anomaly' warns climate expert even as La Niña phenomenon brings early signs of cooling
Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
Scientists said that this year was on track to become the warmest on record as the global surface air temperatures breached the threshold of 1.5C for each of the past 12 months and seas had reached their warmest for 15 months in a row. June was the 13th consecutive month to be the hottest on the books, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said. At a surface air temperature of 16.66C, this was 0.14C above the previous June high set last year.
/jlne.ws/4bC7ocy
*****Here is the story from Bloomberg.
UK's Election Is a Rare Win Against Anti-Climate Campaigns; Keir Starmer's Labour Party promoted a green agenda - but now faces an uphill struggle to implement it.
Olivia Rudgard - Bloomberg
As Britain's center-left Labour party sweeps into power this morning, winning 411 of the 650 seats at the last count, it's worth remembering what is happening among its allies. In neighboring France, the far-right National Rally, which has attacked climate policy as part of its pitch to voters, is hoping to build on early successes during the final election round for the country's parliament this Sunday. In the United States, Republican President Donald Trump, who has denied climate science, is ahead in the polls. Across Europe, an anti-green backlash has cowed climate ambition.
/jlne.ws/3VQu5E3
Wildlife Protections Take a Back Seat to SpaceX's Ambitions; A New York Times investigation found that Elon Musk exploited federal agencies' competing missions to achieve his goals for space travel.
Eric Lipton - Financial Times
As Elon Musk's Starship - the largest rocket ever manufactured - successfully blasted toward the sky last month, the launch was hailed as a giant leap for SpaceX and the United States' civilian space program. Two hours later, once conditions were deemed safe, a team from SpaceX, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a conservation group began canvassing the fragile migratory bird habitat surrounding the launch site. The impact was obvious.
/jlne.ws/4byJjDE
What Do Bagged Chickens Have to Do With Sliced Cheese? Both have gotten caught up in fights over plastic packaging. When Costco recently tried to trim its plastic use by selling rotisserie chickens in bags, some shoppers disapproved.
Hiroko Tabuchi - The New York Times
When Costco tried to cut down on its plastics use earlier this year, putting its popular rotisserie chicken in a thin bag instead of a bulkier clam shell, some chicken lovers were displeased. The bags were leaky, they said, and risked making a greasy mess. Their edges were prone to splitting open. "Chicken juice spilled all over the trunk of our car!" one person complained on Reddit. It was another chapter in the packaging wars.
/jlne.ws/4eTlJEm
Divisive definitions tarnish gold sustainability drive; Industry bodies are struggling to agree on the terms 'recycled' and 'reprocessed', creating confusion among consumers
Maria Doulton - Financial Times
This April, the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), which promotes standards and criteria for small-scale artisanal gold miners, published an open letter, signed by 10 other non-governmental organisations, headed "Old jewellery is not waste!". Their aim was to contest the term "recycled gold". The letter was addressed to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI).
/jlne.ws/3zJRnE8
Outrage after Biden administration reinstates 'barbaric' Trump-era hunting rules; Rules allow hunting practices that target bears and wolves, including pups or cubs, on federal land in Alaska
Tom Perkins - The Guardian
/jlne.ws/3RYegdj
Labour Claws Back Approval for Onshore Wind to Speed Up Building; Reeves says more priority to be given to projects in system; Government goal to double onshore wind to 35 gigawatts by 2030
Eamon Farhat - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3xQ4ZgQ
Too much solar? How California found itself with an unexpected energy challenge
Liz Kreutz and Steven Louie - NBC News
/jlne.ws/4eUNeNV
"the Code of Conduct for ESG Evaluation and Data Providers"：26 ESG Evaluation and Data Providers have endorsed the "Code of Conduct" as of June 30, 2024
Financial Services Agency Japan
/jlne.ws/4bExDPE
'Not Caused by an Act of God': In a Rare Court Action, an Oregon County Seeks to Hold Fossil Fuel Companies Accountable for Extreme Temperatures; Multnomah County recorded its highest-ever temperatures during heat dome conditions in 2021 that killed 69 people.
Victoria St. Martin - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/4eUTDIX
As Hurricane Beryl Surged Toward Texas, Scientists Found Human-Driven Warming Intensified Its Wind and Rain; All recent research on global warming and tropical storms show the growing threat for developing island states and other vulnerable coastal areas.
Bob Berwyn - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/4bx9f2p
Shell expects hit of up to $1bn on stalled biofuel plant; Oil major paused work on Rotterdam project this week amid difficult market
Malcolm Moore - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3Y9Z8xJ
'Rockefellers of Uganda' and General Electric to build mini-nukes in Britain
Matt Oliver - The Telegraph
/jlne.ws/3WbIE6K
Chinese Solar Sector's Recovery Unlikely as Glut Persists
Bloomberg News
/jlne.ws/4cTEkP8
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | China's Central Bank Takes More Control Over Rates by Adding Temporary Repos
Bloomberg News
The People's Bank of China tightened its grip on interest rates, introducing a new mechanism to influence short-term borrowing costs as policymakers expand their toolkit to guide markets. The central bank's move to conduct new bond repurchase or reverse repo operations effectively narrows the corridor within which short-term rates can fluctuate. That will strengthen market expectations for the seven-day repurchase rate to become the new benchmark.
/jlne.ws/3VSsQEx
Banks' Hedges Are Cheap Before the Start of the Earnings Season
Bre Bradham and Cecile Vannucci - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are kicking off the US banks' earnings season on Friday, and traders are feeling pretty relaxed about it. The trio of stocks has surged more than 22% this year, yet the options market is showing little concern the rally may stumble. A measure of hedging costs for JPMorgan and Wells Fargo shares is hovering near its lowest level since 2021, while protection for Citigroup is below its one-year average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/45YMnba
Big Banks Are Taking Hits From Commercial Real Estate; While smaller banks are doing the bulk of lending, bigger banks' loans are the ones showing signs of strain
Telis Demos - The Wall Street Journal
Commercial real estate is often talked about as a problem for smaller banks, but big banks are emerging with the most evident scars so far. That isn't how the stock market has behaved. Declining values for offices, apartment complexes or other commercial properties have been a factor weighing on the shares of all banks, but particularly smaller ones. The KBW Regional Banking Index is down around 12% this year, while the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index of larger lenders is up nearly 9%. Regional, community and smaller banks do represent more than a quarter of commercial real estate and multifamily property debt in the U.S., which is more than twice the share for the top 25 biggest banks, according to a recent Moody's analysis. Not all so-called CRE loans are created equal, though.
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Sex offender worked at Goldman Sachs months after conviction; Ronan O'Grady pleaded guilty to sexual assault in February and was sentenced in late June
Suzi Ring, Alistair Gray and Ortenca Aliaj - Financial Times
A banker at Goldman Sachs remained employed by its London office until last month, despite having been convicted for sexually assaulting a child. Ronan O'Grady pleaded guilty in February to eight counts of sexual assault, according to the Courts Service of Ireland. He was then sentenced to two years in prison at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin on June 28, according to court records. He was under 18 when the offences took place between 2004 and 2008.
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Hedge Funds That Piled Into Big Tesla Short Stung by Huge Rally
Sheryl Tian Tong Lee and Ishika Mookerjee - Bloomberg
Hedge funds piled into short bets against Tesla Inc. (TSLA) right before the electric vehicle maker unveiled a set of numbers that triggered a hefty share-price rally. About 18% of the 500-plus hedge funds tracked by data provider Hazeltree had an overall short position on Tesla at the end of June, the highest percentage in more than a year, according to figures shared with Bloomberg. That compares with just under 15% at the end of March.
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Tradeweb Reports June 2024 Total Trading Volume of $37.5 Trillion and Average Daily Volume of $1.94 Trillion
Tradeweb Markets
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today reported total trading volume for the month of June 2024 of $37.5 trillion (tn)[1]. Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was $1.94tn, an increase of 40.9 percent (%) year-over-year (YoY). For the second quarter of 2024, total trading volume was $121.0tn and ADV was $1.92tn, an increase of 48.3% YoY, with preliminary average variable fees per million dollars of volume traded of $2.43.[2]
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Is college worth it? Poll finds only 36% of Americans have confidence in higher education
Jocelyn Gecker - Associated Press
Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value and cost of college, with most saying they feel the U.S. higher education system is headed in the "wrong direction," according to a new poll. Overall, only 36% of adults say they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education, according to the report released Monday by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation. That confidence level has declined steadily from 57% in 2015.
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The Noncompete Clause Moves Deeper Into Limbo; Two court rulings this summer could prolong uncertainty over noncompete agreements, which the FTC aims to ban starting in September
Lauren Weber - The Wall Street Journal
Employers face a summer of uncertainty about the legality of noncompete agreements. A federal judge last week backed a challenge to a nationwide ban on the pacts, which restrict workers' ability to join rival firms. The ruling came days after the Supreme Court gave judges more latitude to challenge federal agencies' rule-making authority. The Federal Trade Commission's ban was set to go into effect in September. The judge, Ada Brown, said the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the ban are likely to prevail in a final ruling based on their argument that the FTC lacks statutory authority to promulgate the ban, and that the rule is overly broad because it "imposes a one-size-fits-all approach with no end date."
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Artificial Intelligence Boom Lifts Paychecks for CIOs; Compensation gains reflect how chief information officers are increasingly taking on new AI-related responsibilities
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
The artificial intelligence boom is helping boost the salaries and pay packages of chief information officers to new heights. CIO compensation increased 7.48% on average among large enterprises and 9% among midsize enterprises over the past year-the biggest gains among information-technology job categories, according to salary data from consulting firm Janco Associates.
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Why playing down a privileged background might be a savvy career move; Some professionals think claiming success is due to their own skills makes them more agreeable
Emma Jacobs - Financial Times
Are you privileged? If so, how privileged? Maybe the issue makes you prickle with discomfort, as it did when two professors asked a former senior partner at a magic circle law firm. Acknowledging his "classic upper-middle class" background, he nonetheless played up his family's successes as down to their own merits; notably his great-grandfather, who rose from "humble beginnings in rural Scotland to eventually become the president of one of the Royal Colleges for medical professionals in the United Kingdom".
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | 'Playing COVID roulette': Some infected by FLiRT variants report their most unpleasant symptoms yet
Rong-Gong Lin II - LA Times
As the summer travel season picks up, COVID cases and hospitalizations are rising in Los Angeles County - and some of those recently reinfected are finding their latest bout to be the worst yet. There are no signs at this point that the latest coronavirus variants are producing more severe illness, either nationally or in California. While COVID hospitalizations are still rising in L.A. County, and are now higher than they were at this same point last year, they remain below the relatively mild peak seen in summer 2023.
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There's a Right Way-and a Wrong Way-to Snack; Science-backed strategies for taming the inner snack monster
Andrea Petersen - The Wall Street Journal
America is a nation of snackers. A lot of us are doing it wrong. Noshing outside of traditional mealtimes isn't inherently bad. A snack can stave off hunger, boost energy, provide important nutrients and keep us from overeating later. But snacking can also lead us to eat extra calories and overdo it on sodium, added sugars and saturated fats, which can raise our risk of heart disease and obesity. How to snack better? Reach for food combinations that keep you fuller longer: Pair carbs like apple slices with protein and fats, like peanut butter. Or try yogurt with berries. Then plan your snack times, and watch out for the minefield that is evening snacking.
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The cult of 5am: is rising at dawn the secret of health and happiness? It has been called the morning miracle - getting up before everyone else and winning the day. But does it actually make you more productive and focused?
Anita Chaudhuri - The Guardian
It is 5.15am and I am walking down my street, feeling smug. The buildings are bathed in peachy dawn light. "Win the morning and you win the day," suggests productivity guru Tim Ferriss. The prize is within my sights: an oat-milk latte, my reward for getting up ridiculously early. The trains have not started running yet and the silence seems to magnify hitherto inaudible sounds. There is a mysterious squawk of gulls. I live in Camden, north-west London, many miles from the seaside. I have certainly never heard them here before. I note that my neighbours' gas meter is emitting a weird hum; should I ring their doorbell to let them know? Probably not. On to the deserted six-lane high street where supermarket delivery vans and the occasional bus are the only signs of life.
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A New Political Question: What's Normal Aging, and Does It Mean Decline? Sometimes, aging is a steady deterioration; other times, the fall can be rapid
Alex Janin - The Wall Street Journal
What does normal aging look like? That question has been at the center of a fervid national conversation since last month's presidential debate, when 81-year-old Joe Biden's struggles against Donald Trump, 78, set off widespread speculation about the president's seeming decline-not to mention his political future. Both men, who if elected would each be the oldest person ever sworn-in as U.S. president, have slipped up facts or botched remarks in public, fueling attacks about their fitness from both sides. Watching an older adult display signs of aging is all too familiar within many families, as are questions about what a slowed gait or confused speech signals, and whether an aging person can still, say, drive a car or live independently. Sometimes, aging is a steady decline; other times, it can appear to happen more rapidly.
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A World-First Psychedelics Experiment Is Unfolding in Australia; An activist couple persuaded regulators to clear MDMA and psilocybin for medical use-and became magnets for controversy in the process.
Michelle Fay Cortez and Keira Wright - Bloomberg
The sun was setting at the Holy Cross retreat center in Melbourne, bathing dozens of students in orange light as they performed breathing exercises. Some lay on the ground, while others joined hands to create a circle around them. As they walked counterclockwise, humming in harmony, someone struck a singing bowl, which sent deep vibrations across the room. A student rang a bell over the heads of those on the floor, tiptoeing to avoid limbs and hair. Overcome with emotion, one young woman began to cry. She stood up and reached out for the leader of the group, Tania de Jong. "You are safe," De Jong said as they embraced.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Japan's $1.5 Trillion Pension Whale to Trigger Waves in Stocks, Currencies; Government Pension Investment Fund plans first portfolio overhaul in five years, and its dollar stash looks tempting with the yen weak
Peter Landers and Megumi Fujikawa - The Wall Street Journal
Japan would love to strengthen the yen, with the currency's value at a nearly 38-year low. And it owns one of the world's biggest dollar stashes. Many analysts say Tokyo is getting ready to redirect some of those government-controlled dollars back into yen assets, a decision that could ripple through global financial markets given the sums involved.
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Hong Kong Set for Busiest IPO Week of 2024 With Six Listings
Filipe Pacheco - Bloomberg
Six companies are set to start trading in Hong Kong this week after raising a combined HK$4.31 billion ($551 million) in the busiest week this year for IPO debuts. The pickup in listings indicates a recovery in activity in the third quarter after a slow first half. Chinese authorities said earlier this year that they'd support industry leaders going public in the city after offerings slumped to the lowest level in two decades in 2023.
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Japan Should Phase Out Coal Power by 2035, Climate Group says; Nation is only G7 member without deadline to end coal use; Countries to renew emission reduction targets ahead of COP
Sing Yee Ong - Bloomberg
Japan can triple its renewables capacity and aim to phase out coal power by 2035, a group of companies and NGOs said, as it urged the government to be more ambitious in accelerating its energy transition. The Asian nation should recalibrate its national targets and slash emissions by two-thirds by the middle of the next decade, according to the Japan Climate Initiative, a network of banks, universities and companies, including Rakuten Group Inc. and Panasonic Holdings Corp. Japan, the only G7 nation not to have a deadline to phase out use of the dirty fuel, currently uses coal to generate a third of its electricity. It has the potential to increase renewables in its power mix to 65%-80%, JCI said.
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Chinese Solar Sector's Recovery Unlikely as Glut Persists; Major firms reporting losses as production beats demand; Longi bets on new tech but it's not yet cost-competitive: note
Bloomberg News
China's floundering solar sector will continue to face tough times in the short-term, major manufacturer Longi Green Energy Technology Co. said, as an oversupplied market keeps profits suppressed. The nation's world-leading solar industry is grappling with a deepening glut after production outstripped demand in recent years. Major firms including Longi reported losses in the first quarter as they were forced to sell below costs.
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Boomers are leaving America to retire abroad in droves because the U.S. is just too expensive
Alicia Adamczyk - Fortune
When Allan Fawcett decided to retire from his career in computer science in 2011, he knew he wanted to spend at least a few years traveling, particularly around Europe. After decades working in tech, he was ready, as he says, to give his mind a rest. "Computer programming destroyed my brain," he tells Fortune. "I needed an escape."
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