| December 19, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The Financial Times has a front page video titled, "Fractured markets: the big threats to the financial system" that looks at the impact of easy money and interest rates that were too low. The description of the video says, "FT experts and financial industry insiders examine where the next big threats to the global financial system lie and explain why when the tide goes out, we can see who is swimming naked."
The U.S. government is about $4 billion ahead on its sales of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the height of Ukraine wartime oil prices, according to The Wall Street Journal. Of course, they have not replaced those barrels of oil yet, or, in futures terms, covered their shorts.
Speaking of shorts, The Journal also reports that one in four companies that went public by initial public offering in 2020 and 2021 currently trades below $2 and is at risk of being delisted.
Sam Bankman-Fried has waffled on whether to fight his extradition from the Bahamas, but the latest word is he is going to consent to it, according to The Wall Street Journal. SBF would have another shot at asking for bail once in the U.S., which he might be more likely to receive. So far, he is facing charges that could send him to jail for 115 years.
Twitter has restricted the free promotion of other social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon, The Wall Street Journal Reported. This is the latest of the new rules under owner Elon Musk. Mr. Musk has run a poll on Twitter as to whether he should step down from his role as Twitter's CEO, and it currently shows 57.5 percent wanting him to step down.
Exchange Analytics has expanded its AML course to address global standards and to allow optional content covering expectations for key jurisdictions.
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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MWE SHORT: David Krein - Career Planning in Today's Financial Industry
JohnLothianNews.com
In this MarketsWiki Education talk, David Krein dispenses wisdom both timeless and timely. Through tales and anecdotes, Krein reminds us all that the only constant is change, and today's job market requires consistent matching of one's skill set to the needs of the market. One must also remain introspective and be honest about what one really wants out of life.
Watch the video »
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Maxwell Alum Bill Brodsky and Wife Turn Orange Power and Purpose Into a Lifetime of Civic Leadership
Eileen Korey - Syracuse University
For more than 50 years, Syracuse University has been "the one constant" in the personal and professional lives of William "Bill" Brodsky '65, L'68 and Joan Breier Brodsky '67, G'68. They were together on campus as students; they forged careers grounded in their academic interests; and their commitment to public service, civic leadership and philanthropy dates back decades too.
/jlne.ws/3FZD7Ij
***** We missed this story from December 16 about a couple of my favorite people and the incredible lifetime of civic leadership they have led.~JJL
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Problem Gambling Is on the Rise Among Young Men
Clare Ansberry - The Wall Street Journal
Jonathan Jones traces his gambling struggles back to a videogame he played in the fifth grade. Using lunch money or stealing small amounts from his parents, he would buy gaming gift cards and redeem them to spin a virtual wheel of fortune to collect prizes, such as weapons or armor, that could help him win the game, Zu Online, which is now discontinued. He would keep paying to spin again and again, a behavior that he says became compulsive and continued into other games.
/jlne.ws/3WpvxvS
****** I took my video game playing enthusiasm (never an addiction) and used it to improve my electronic trading skills. I used to play Duke Nukem in the afternoons, after the markets closed, in order to practice my finger and typing dexterity to improve my order entry skills on the TOPS order routing system.~JJL
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A 35,000% Stock Market Return in Europe? Here's How; Orks, animal semen and stock market voodoo lead to the holy grail of investing.
Chris Bryant - Bloomberg
Henrik Larsson Lyon told me he doesn't "pay a lot of attention" to Hexatronic Group AB's share price. If I was chief executive officer of the Swedish fiber-optic cabling group I'd think of little else. Acquisitions and booming sales in the US, UK and Germany have boosted its value more than tenfold (900%) in the past two years and generated a 35,000% return since 2012 in US dollar terms (an astonishing 55,000% in local currency).
/jlne.ws/3WpYLL8
****** This is the holy grail!~JJL
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The World Is Addicted to Chicken. So Is the Bird Flu Virus; A rapidly spreading epidemic is endangering much more than festive turkeys.
Megan Durisin and Elizabeth Elkin - Bloomberg
The bird flu outbreak ravaging global poultry flocks is now the worst since records began, driving a spike in the price of eggs, threatening free-range chicken and risking long-term impacts to animal health.
/jlne.ws/3VcXhmm
***** The hardest part of this is getting the free-range chickens to wear the masks. They are just too independent to give a cluck.~JJL
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The great crypto crisis is upon us; Any regulation needs to look at what tangible economic benefits the industry actually offers
Hyun Song Shin - Financial Times
There is a bitter irony in the turmoil currently gripping the crypto universe. Crypto was born in the depths of the great financial crisis of 2008 as a backlash against the failings of the conventional financial system, with its overleveraged shadow banks and daisy chain of leverage and maturity mismatch. The original Bitcoin white paper published that same year sold a vision in which money was refashioned as a self-sustaining system of peer-to-peer transfer without the need for intermediaries. However, today's upheaval bears all the hallmarks of precisely the failings that the industry's early proponents railed against. As firms collapse and coin prices crash, the unravelling of this new daisy chain of over-leveraged shadow crypto banks is now in full flow.
/jlne.ws/3G1ewTw
****** In an ironic twist of fate, central bank digital currencies are the future of crypto.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Friday was a trifecta for the Financial Times. Our top story on Friday was Binance outflows hit $6bn as Mazars halts 'proof of reserves' work, from the Financial Times, about Binance's accounting firm. Second was FTX charges leave industry's image in tatters, also from the Financial Times. And third was the Financial Times' SEC doubles down on decision to reject Grayscale spot ETF.
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MarketsWiki Stats
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | 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. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
Publisher | | | Sarah Rudolph
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| Lead Stories | China Allows Investors to Trade Foreign Firms Via Hong Kong Stock Links
Filipe Pacheco and Foster Wong - Bloomberg
Chinese investors will soon be able to buy and sell shares of international companies with a primary listing on Hong Kong's stock exchange in a move that may encourage more firms to sell new shares in the city. Securities regulators in both mainland China and Hong Kong agreed to expand the scope of stocks eligible for inclusion in the city's trading links with Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to statements including by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. on Monday. Preparation for the new proposals will take approximately three months, and the official launch date will be announced in due course, according to the HKEx statement.
/jlne.ws/3G3XKTN
EU strikes deal to boost carbon market, Europe's biggest climate policy
Sabine Siebold and Kate Abnett - Reuters
European Union negotiators reached a political deal on Sunday to overhaul the bloc's carbon market, cutting planet-heating emissions faster and imposing new CO2 costs on fuels used in road transport and buildings from 2027. The EU carbon market requires around 10,000 power plants and factories to buy CO2 permits when they pollute - a system central to meeting the EU's target to cut its net emissions 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
/jlne.ws/3Wbn5AF
Hedge Funds Say They Lost $95 Million in LME Nickel Crisis; AQR, DRW and others want answers on decision-making in March; LME said the request is a misconceived fishing exercise
Katharine Gemmell and Mark Burton - Bloomberg
A group of hedge funds led by AQR Capital Management LLC said that they lost a combined $95 million during a turbulent few days when the London Metal Exchange controversially canceled billions of dollars in nickel trades and suspended the market. The group of funds on Friday applied to force LME to hand over information relating to two key phone calls on March 8, the day that the trades were canceled. AQR Chief Investment Officer Clifford Asness has been among the most vocal critics of the LME's actions during the crisis, describing the events as "one of the worst things I've ever seen."
/jlne.ws/3PDOYiz
The Year London Lost Its Markets Crown to Europe; Bond indexes fall most ever as midcaps plunge most since 2008; Large caps are bright spot as pound goes on bumpy ride
Joe Easton, James Hirai, and Ellie Harmsworth - Bloomberg
It's been a dramatic year for UK markets. The onset of a recession, inflation at a 41-year high, two prime ministers resigning and the highest number of strikes since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s have helped trigger selloffs in domestic stocks and both government and corporate debt. The rout in many assets has come as Britain faces a potentially harsher cost-of-living crisis than other developed economies. That's partly due to increases in a household-energy price cap as well as shorter-term mortgage payments being more sensitive to rising central bank rates. Brexit, meanwhile, continues to cause supply chain snags for companies.
/jlne.ws/3YAALGS
City of London executives back Hunt's 'Edinburgh reforms'; Chancellor's reforms are needed to protect competitiveness but do not herald a second 'big bang', says FT's City Network
Daniel Thomas - Financial Times
City of London heads have backed the government's financial services reforms as necessary to keep London competitive outside of the EU, even if the unwinding of safeguards from the last financial crisis increases risk. However, many of the FT's City Network - a 50-strong group of senior executives - did not believe that chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt's "Edinburgh reforms" were significant enough to yield a second "big bang" for the City of London.
/jlne.ws/3V7xLz6
The Conservatives re-embrace the City of London; Some rules are redundant but care is needed in easing crisis-era regulation
The editorial board - Financial Times
The City of London has been handed an early Christmas gift by the Treasury. With a promise of "turbocharging" growth and competitiveness, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, unveiled a 30-point package of reform, reviews and outright slashing of regulations, many of which were forged in the wake of the financial crisis. His proposals are, by their sheer number and range, wide-ranging. But the package's symbolism is far greater than the sum of its parts - which is probably the point. Conservative politicians are finally showing some love to the City after a decade when bankers were deemed toxic by successive Tory governments.
/jlne.ws/3WbEM2Y
Special Report-Binance's books are a black box, filings show, as crypto giant tries to rally confidence
Tom Wilson, Angus Berwick and Elizabeth Howcroft - Reuters
The world's biggest crypto exchange, Binance, is battling to shore up confidence after a surge in customer withdrawals and a steep drop in the value of its digital token. The exchange said it dealt with net outflows of around $6 billion over 72 hours last week "without breaking stride" because its finances are solid and "we take our responsibility as a custodian seriously." After the collapse of rival exchange FTX last month, Binance's founder Changpeng Zhao promised his company would "lead by example" in embracing transparency.
/jlne.ws/3Ve3rCO
Banking Committee Chair: US Regulators Should 'Maybe' Ban Crypto
Will McCurdy - Decrypt
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has suggested that U.S. federal agencies, such as the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), should "maybe" consider a ban on cryptocurrencies. During an NBC "Meet the Press" session, he did also acknowledge, however, that this ban would be "very difficult" because the crypto industry could then go offshore.
/jlne.ws/3PzXK0V
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Outlines Problems With the SEC's Howey Test
Andre Beganski - Decrypt
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce says the so-called Howey test, used by the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether a digital asset should be classified as a security, has some limitations.
/jlne.ws/3G4BngS
How private markets became an escape from reality; There will be nowhere to hide in the tight money era
Ruchir Sharma - Financial Times
If a bubble is a good idea gone too far, the $10tn global market for private investing in everything from debt to companies to real estate may be one. The rage for private investing began in the early 2000s, after the success of the Yale University endowment fund led by David Swensen, who embraced private investments to diversify away from stock and bond markets and stabilise returns in the long run. Swensen's definition of "long" was decades - not a mere ten years, much less the next turn from bear to bull market.
/jlne.ws/3V8drgX
BlackRock plans no big changes to ESG stance despite backlash
Simon Jessop - Bloomberg
BlackRock plans no major changes to the way it engages with companies and votes on environmental and social issues in the year ahead, despite a backlash against its stance on climate change from some U.S. Republican politicians.
/jlne.ws/3hFfwmY
Crypto Options Market Has Become More 'Interdealer' Since FTX's Blowup: Paradigm
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
The collapse of Sam-Bankman Fried's digital assets exchange, FTX, has had industry-wide ramifications, one of them being market makers increasing their share of crypto options trading volumes. As of Friday, the notional value of the month-to-date interdealer flow on the institutional-grade, over-the-counter (OTC) communications platform Paradigm was $633 million, or 43.5% of the total crypto options trading volume of $1,455 million. That's the highest since at least January this year.
/jlne.ws/3je1pp3
Oatly, Other Deflated IPO Stocks Haunt New-Issue Market; One in four companies that went public in 2020 and 2021 currently trades below $2 a share, risking delisting
Corrie Driebusch - The Wall Street Journal
Hundreds of companies that went public when the market for initial public offerings was booming have suffered such sharp reversals that they now face a stark reality: Their shares may never recover. More than one in four of the nearly 600 companies that went public via a traditional IPO in 2020 or 2021-including oat-milk maker Oatly Group OTLY 2.26%increase; green up pointing triangle AB and online lender loanDepot Inc.-traded LDI -0.62%decrease; red down pointing triangle at less than $2 a share as of Friday's market close, according to Dealogic data. Many companies that went public in the surge of mergers involving SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies, also are faring poorly.
/jlne.ws/3BLjxx4
EU energy ministers near deal on gas price cap; Officials seek agreement on a limit to keep prices down for consumers over winter and prevent social unrest
Alice Hancock - Financial Times
EU energy ministers gathering in Brussels on Monday are likely to agree to a limit on gas prices below EUR200 a megawatt hour, according to the latest proposal for the bloc, in an effort to quell volatile energy prices that threaten to rise again as winter draws in. The draft document put before ministers, and seen by the Financial Times, sets out a mechanism that would halt gas prices at EUR188/MWh hour once they had reached that level for three days.
/jlne.ws/3Wdl9b4
The Global Appetite for U.S. Pork Shows No Signs of Retreat
Emily Balsamo and Anne Krema - CME Group
From carnitas to chashu to bacon-wrapped everything, pork products are enjoyed throughout the world. Pork has become the most consumed meat globally, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Although beef and poultry consumption have grown in recent years, with poultry exceeding pork consumption in one recent year (2020), there is no question of pork's importance in the global diet.
/jlne.ws/3G2XNz5
'Cryptoqueen' associate pleads guilty in U.S. over OneCoin fraud
Luc Cohen - Reuters
A dual citizen of Sweden and the United Kingdom pleaded guilty to U.S. fraud and money laundering charges on Friday for selling a fake cryptocurrency alongside one of the United States' most-wanted fugitives, a woman referred to as the 'Cryptoqueen.' Karl Greenwood, 45, was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the United States in 2018 for his role in selling the purported cryptocurrency OneCoin, which federal prosecutors in Manhattan call a pyramid scheme that defrauded investors out of $4 billion. He has been detained since his arrest.
/jlne.ws/3PEE8Zr
Jane Street Culture: A View Into SBF's Roots (Podcast); After the fall of FTX and its founder, here's a look back to where he started, and how a cautious beginning ended in such an unpredictably wild ride.
Philip Lagerkranser - Bloomberg
It's been just over a month since the digital-asset exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy. And it didn't take long for events to catch up with its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried - the onetime crypto billionaire known to most people as SBF.
/jlne.ws/3uZUgv1
Meet Mazars, the accounting firm that keeps finding itself at the center of controversy
Lukas I. Alpert - MarketWatch
The French accounting firm Mazars Group has turned up in the news quite a bit lately, but it hasn't been due to its accountants' reputation as venerable number crunchers. Instead, Mazars has increasingly been known for its controversial clients. The U.S. arm of the Paris-based Mazars made headlines earlier this year when it dropped Donald Trump, the former U.S. president, and his companies as clients after years of legal battles over his tax returns. Mazars said it could no longer vouch for the reliability of the numbers those tax returns and financial documents contained.
/jlne.ws/3jftvQL
Binance's U.S. unit submits bid to buy Voyager Digital out of bankruptcy
Steve Gelsi - MarketWatch
Voyager Digital Ltd. VYGVQ, -1.52% said Monday Binance.US offered about $1.022 billion to buy its business out of bankruptcy. The bid includes the fair market value of Voyager's cryptocurrency portfolio at a to-be-determined date in the future, plus additional consideration equal to $20 million of incremental value. The Binance.US bid "sets a clear path forward for Voyager customer funds to be unlocked as soon as possible," the company said. Voyager Digital LLC will seek bankruptcy court approval to enter into the asset purchase agreement between Voyager Digital LLC and Binance.US at a hearing on Jan. 5.
/jlne.ws/3W5rR2C
Binance, Alone at the Top After FTX, Stirs 'Too Big to Fail' Crypto Worry; The death spiral of Sam Bankman-Fried's empire bolsters the dominance of Changpeng Zhao's exchange and amps up potential dangers for the entire sector.
Michael P. Regan, Yueqi Yang, and Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Now that Sam Bankman-Fried's fall from grace is complete, uneasiness is growing around the dominance that his rival Changpeng Zhao's Binance holds in the cryptocurrency market. The worries surfaced again on Friday as the accounting firm Mazars Group halted work for Binance and other crypto firms on reports that are meant to demonstrate that the companies hold the necessary reserves needed to cover any potential surge of customer withdrawals.
/jlne.ws/3WxPnoV
Where Was Biden's SEC Sheriff on Sam Bankman-Fried?
Allysia Finley - The Wall Street Journal
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler is trying to spin the FTX blow-up as a cautionary tale about the crypto "wild West." But where was the SEC sheriff when Sam Bankman-Fried was funneling FTX customers' funds to his Alameda Research trading house to finance risky bets and a lavish lifestyle?
/jlne.ws/3YvMeHZ
Tech and the Wisdom of Crowds; A new app linked to Elizabeth Smart uses volunteers to help find missing children.
Andy Kessler - The Wall Street Journal
Are you ready for a good story about the internet, one that doesn't mention Twitter's reality-censoring cesspool of snark or twerking TikTokers? About the internet's power to connect all of us instantly? I sure am. I recently had a Zoom call with Elizabeth Smart-yes, that Elizabeth Smart, who in 2002 was abducted as a 14-year-old and held for nine months in Utah, a harrowing experience for her and her family. I once lost a son at Disneyland for three minutes and went out of my mind.
/jlne.ws/3V9c69H
COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature
Helen Briggs - BBC
Nations have agreed to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030 in a landmark deal aimed at safeguarding biodiversity. There will also be targets for protecting vital ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands and the rights of indigenous peoples. The agreement at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada, came early on Monday morning.
/jlne.ws/3FFk3h3
Financial Stability Board warns against a 'pile up situation' if firms don't prioritise Libor transition; As of the end of 2020, it was estimated that over $70 trillion of USD Libor exposures would remain outstanding beyond the cessation of remaining tenors after June next year.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has reiterated the need for firms to prioritise their Libor transition to avoid a "pile up situation" at cessation date at the end of June 2023. According to a report published by the board, the USD Libor transition is a top priority. As of the end of 2020, it was estimated that over $70 trillion of USD Libor exposures would remain outstanding beyond the cessation of remaining tenors after June next year.
/jlne.ws/3FEY61N
The TRADE predictions series 2023: Market structure and regulation, part one; Regulatory reform, payment for order flow, market transparency, UK/EU divergence and of course consolidated tape are the hot topics of 2023, according to our market experts.
Editors - The Trade
Natan Tiefenbrun, president, Cboe Europe: EU capital markets face a reckoning of sorts in 2023, as policymakers crystallise their plans for reforming MiFIR. This review has become a key vehicle for reversing the fortunes of EU markets, which have become less competitive vis-Ã -vis other regions in recent years.
/jlne.ws/3BNV3D7
The TRADE predictions series 2023: Fixed income; Participants from Overbond, TransFICC, MarketAxess, FlexTrade Systems, JP Morgan and Tradeweb predict how fixed income will advance over the next year.
Editors - The Trade
Vuk Magdelinic, chief executive officer, Overbond: Conditions in global bond markets paint a bleak picture heading into 2023. If spreads continue to widen, financial conditions tighten and volatility remains high, central banks will need to consider whether the deterioration in corporate bond liquidity warrants measures to shore up markets to stave off financial distress. Therefore, corporate bond market participants must ensure they're getting the wide data coverage they need to create the full picture of market conditions that's necessary to achieve best executable pricing.
/jlne.ws/3PEGKq7
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine live briefing: Drones attack Kyiv, officials say; Zelensky pushes for 'modern air defense systems'
Rachel Pannett, Annabelle Timsit, David L. Stern, Ben Brasch and Kyle Rempfer - The Washington Post
Air defense remains a top concern for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a barrage of Russian missiles hit critical infrastructure across seven cities last week. The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, came under attack again in the early hours of Monday, with the city's military administration saying nine drones were shot down in the city's airspace.
/jlne.ws/3v1By6w
Battle for Bakhmut Is Critical Test of Russia's Prospects in Ukraine
Yaroslav Trofimov - The Wall Street Journal
Russian shells slammed closer and closer as Ludmyla Bondarenko and Zoya Shilkova, clad in fur coats atop layers of clothing, sat on a bench outside their apartment block, chatting and getting some fresh air on a frigid afternoon in what remains of this eastern Ukrainian city. At an intersection nearby, Ukrainian troops used a crane to emplace concrete slabs, fortifying the neighborhood. Three freshly arrived tanks roared by, blue-and-yellow flags fluttering from their turrets. A distant staccato of machine-gun fire could be heard amid the thumps of artillery.
/jlne.ws/3uX4zQJ
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Nasdaq Named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the Seventh Consecutive Year; Company received key recognitions by several third-party validators throughout 2022
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has been named for the seventh consecutive year to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the most prestigious environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ranking benchmarks. Nasdaq maintains its industry leadership as one of just eight diversified financial services companies selected for inclusion in the 2022 North America Index.
/jlne.ws/3v1L0GN
The proposed FSB framework for the international regulation of crypto-asset activities
CCP12
The Global Association of Central Counterparties (âEURœCCP12") is the international association for central counterparties (âEURœCCPs"), representing 40 members who operate over 60 CCPs across the Americas, EMEA, and the Asia-Pacific region. CCP12 appreciates the opportunity to comment on the FSB proposed framework for the international regulation of crypto-asset activities (âEURœthe Proposed Framework") comprising a consultative document on Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of Crypto-Asset Activities and Markets, a consultative document on the Review of the FSB High-level Recommendations of the Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of âEURœGlobal Stablecoin" Arrangements, and questions for consultation regarding International Regulation of Crypto-asset Activities.
/jlne.ws/3jbp6OV
Chief Compliance Officer Role Confirmed; Resignation Of Company Secretary
ASX
ASX Limited (ASX) advises that Daniel Moran has been confirmed in the role of Chief Compliance Officer of ASX Limited and consequently has resigned as a Company Secretary of ASX effective 1 January 2023. Mr Moran has been acting in the role of Chief Compliance Officer since October 2022 and has now been appointed to the role in a permanent capacity, effective 1 January 2023.
/jlne.ws/351gPmZ
The Spanish financial markets say goodbye to 2022 with 18 stock market debuts and more shareholder remuneration
BME-X
Spain consolidates as one of the markets with the highest dividend yield (4%) after raising shareholder remuneration by 29%; A total of 18 companies have entered the markets this year: 15 in BME Growth, two in the main market and one in Latibex. The BME Fixed Income markets have 85 outstanding sustainable issues, compared to 63 the previous year. The number of IBEX 35c Futures contracts traded increases by 5% in the year. BME has presented today the 2022 Market Report , in which it details the highlights of the last year in the financial markets. Jos Dijsselhof, Chairman of BME, and Javier Hernani, CEO, have explained the main milestones of a year marked by the war in Ukraine, the change of course in the monetary policy of the main central banks to combat inflation and the threat of the economic slowdown.
/jlne.ws/3uYlaUe
LSEG to acquire Acadia to enhance post trade offering
LSEG
London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSEG) today announces that it has agreed to acquire Acadia, a leading provider of automated uncleared margin processing and integrated risk and optimisation services for the global derivatives community. The acquisition furthers LSEG's strategy to enhance and grow its multi-asset Post Trade offering for the uncleared derivatives space.
/jlne.ws/3V8IXLG
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | LSEG expands multi-asset post-trade offering with Acadia acquisition; LSEG has held a minority stake in Acadia, which provides risk management, margining and collateral services for the uncleared derivatives markets, since 2018.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has moved to expand its capabilities in multi-asset post-trade services with the acquisition of Acadia. Financial terms around the transaction have not been disclosed and the deal remains subject to regulatory approval.
/jlne.ws/3hCBRBA
Humans Hold the Key to Collaboration No Matter How Good the Software Tools; What the management theory "forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning" can teach us
Julia Hobsbawm - Bloomberg
The universal working assumption is that productivity depends on collaboration, but there's no agreement on what's the best way to achieve it. While the market for digital tools, platforms, teleconferencing and software to facilitate collaboration is worth nearly $20 billion, technology alone isn't the answer. In the end, it's about the humans, not the machines.
/jlne.ws/3V9eQUg
DeFi Can Exacerbate Volatility Without Even Avoiding Middlemen, BIS Reports Say
Jack Schickler and Camomile Shumba - CoinDesk
Decentralized finance (DeFi) could lead to bumpier financial markets and may not even fix problems of large intermediaries dominating, two papers published Friday by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said. The papers put a damper on plans for trading to become fully automated - and for proposals to use new technology to cut out the middleman, including one proposed by FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried before his crypto exchange collapsed.
/jlne.ws/3Wsqyut
Twitter Will Remove Accounts That Link to Other Social Media
Susanne Barton - Bloomberg
Twitter said it will remove accounts "created solely" to promote other social media platforms. The company "will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames" for Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post, Twitter Support said in a series of tweets Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3FYnK1J
Musk says will restore recently suspended journalists' Twitter accounts
Eva Mathews and Rhea Binoy - Reuters
Elon Musk said on Saturday he will reinstate the Twitter accounts of several journalists that were suspended in a controversy over publishing public data about the billionaire' s plane. "The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now," he tweeted.
/jlne.ws/3Wx32fX
Elon Musk Polls Twitter Users, Asking Whether He Should Step Down; The social-media platform's owner pledges to abide by the results of the poll
Alexa Corse - The Wall Street Journal
Elon Musk asked Twitter users to vote Sunday on whether he should step down as head of the social-media platform and pledged to abide by the results, the latest twist in what has been a tumultuous period for the company since his takeover in October. "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll," Mr. Musk said in the tweet, posted to his own account. He gave users two options for a response: "Yes" or "No," according to the tweet. In another tweet shortly after, Mr. Musk added: "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it."
/jlne.ws/3YxjrCG
The evolution of crypto and Web3 in the Arab world
Aline Daoud - Fortune
The current FTX crisis notwithstanding, digital asset markets, crypto, Web3, DeFi, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and stablecoins are shaking up decades-old financial protocols. Unlike most of the other parts of the world, in the Middle East and Northern African (MENA) region central banks are driving the evolution of these technologies. Here they lead, regulate, and exert inordinate power in setting government policies. Central bankers typically have long terms in office, and nothing happens unless they approve it.
/jlne.ws/3HMxM8p
JPMorgan Said to Seal Deal to Buy 48.5% of Greece's Viva Wallet
Sotiris Nikas - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has signed the final terms to acquire a 48.5% stake of Greece's payment firm Viva Wallet, according to press reports in the country. The US bank will buy out all the minority holders for an amount that is expected to be above EUR820 million ($869 million), the news website kathimerini.gr reported, without saying how it got the information. JPMorgan announced the deal in January pending regulatory approvals, while the two sides were in still talks for the details of the agreement.
/jlne.ws/3jiqYW8
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Cybersecurity Innovations And Disruptions: What To Know Before Adopting New Technologies
Dr. Samuel Mbonu - Forbes
According to the Oxford Dictionary, innovation is the "introduction of new things, ideas or ways of doing something," and disruption is a "situation in which it is difficult for something to continue in the normal way." With the charade of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs on many fronts, technological advancement has become one of the most exciting things happening to businesses in today's world, as it has a transformative impact on society in various ways.
/jlne.ws/3hGHhLF
New Agenda Ransomware Variant, Written in Rust, Aiming at Critical Infrastructure
Ravie Lakshmanan - The Hacker News
A Rust variant of a ransomware strain known as Agenda has been observed in the wild, making it the latest malware to adopt the cross-platform programming language after BlackCat, Hive, Luna, and RansomExx. Agenda, attributed to an operator named Qilin, is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group that has been linked to a spate of attacks primarily targeting manufacturing and IT industries across different countries.
/jlne.ws/3FD9HhB
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Sam Bankman-Fried Needs New Defense Besides 'Sorry,' Lawyers Say; FTX founder has described exchange's collapse as unintentional; Legal experts say that won't cut it against criminal charges
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
For weeks, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been previewing a possible defense to criminal charges over the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse: I made mistakes but I didn't mean to do it. But that's probably not going to cut it now that he's been arrested in the Bahamas and charged by federal prosecutors in New York, several lawyers not involved in his defense said. According to the indictment unsealed Tuesday, Bankman-Fried, 30, defrauded FTX customers and investors by using at least $1.8 billion of their money for personal expenses and risky bets by its sister trading firm, Alameda Research.
/jlne.ws/3v3OVD7
Former BitMEX CEO Alexander Hoeptner Sues Exchange for Breach of Contract and Wrongful Termination
Helene Braun - CoinDesk
Former BitMEX CEO Alexander Hoeptner has sued the cryptocurrency derivatives platform for $3.4 million for breach of contract and wrongful termination, a court filing shows. Hoeptner joined the Seychelles-registered exchange in January 2021 at a time when top officers at HDR Global Trading Limited, the owner and operator of BitMEX, were embroiled in a lawsuit that accused the founders of facilitating unregistered trading.
/jlne.ws/3PEN94O
Binance Finalizes Acquisition of Indonesian Crypto Trading Firm Tokocrypto
Sam Reynolds - CoinDesk Indonesia
Binance has finalized its acquisition of Tokocrypto, according to a press release sent to CoinDesk Indonesia. "Tokocrypto came from our brainchild more than four years ago. I am very proud to see every growth, slogan, and contribution the company has made to advance Indonesia's digital economy," Pang Xue Kai, CEO & Co-founder of Tokocrypto, said in a release.
/jlne.ws/3hvQXJb
Crypto firm Voyager to sell assets to Binance.US in $1 billion deal
Reuters
Crypto firm Voyager Digital Ltd said on Monday it will sell its assets to Binance.US in a deal valued at about $1 billion following a review. Palo Alto, California-based Binance.US, which operates as an independent legal entity and has a licensing agreement with Binance.com, will make a $10 million deposit and reimburse Voyager for certain expenses up to $15 million.
/jlne.ws/3HL6yPy
Crypto Faithful Fight 'Bear Market Blues' in Puerto Rico; Entrepreneurs aren't giving up on San Juan's crypto scene; The crypto crash can't kill the buzz at Blockchain Week
Francesca Maglione - Bloomberg
Ignore the stripper poles. Don't be distracted by the light-up floor. Tune out the reggaeton. This is actually a story about crypto - crypto as dreamers imagined it could be, before so much went so wrong. "If you got bear-market blues, give me a round of applause." That's 43-year-old Pedro Rivera, in a striped ensemble and lavender-tinted sunglasses, shouting into a mic.
/jlne.ws/3huNTNq
FTX Talking to Bahamas Regulators to Try to End Bankruptcy Feud
Steven Church - Bloomberg
Bahamian regulators and court officials met this week with the US restructuring team in control of the failed crypto firm FTX in an attempt to resolve part of an unusual legal standoff that has embroiled the company's bankruptcy case. Liquidators appointed by a court in the Bahamas are willing to drop their demand for immediate, online access to FTX systems, as long as they can get certain data stored on the computers, said a US lawyer describing the meeting in court on Friday. American lawyers for FTX have rebuffed Bahamas officials, saying government regulators can't be trusted with "live" access to the company's computers.
/jlne.ws/3V3u4Kx
FTX's Bankman-Fried could face long road to fraud trial
Jack Queen - Reuters
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was swiftly indicted after the collapse of his crypto empire, but a trial in New York is likely more than a year away as prosecutors build out their case and both sides spar over evidence. The bare-bones indictment against Bankman-Fried - which could be amended with more details and co-defendants as the case progresses - suggests prosecutors have a long road ahead piecing together what they have described as one of the biggest financial frauds in American history. Pretrial litigation can also be a lengthy process as both sides argue over the admissibility of evidence, what can and cannot be argued at trial, and whether the case should be dismissed.
/jlne.ws/3hvXXFT
Fraud, cons and Ponzi schemes: did Sam Bankman-Fried use Madoff tactics?
Edward Helmore - The Guardian
At first glance, Sam Bankman-Fried bears little resemblance to Bernie Madoff. One is a smartly-suited, grey-haired financial titan with a 40-year career on Wall Street, and the other a 30-year-old millennial king of crypto in shorts and T-shirt. But almost 14 years to the day since Madoff was arrested and charged with fraud in New York for orchestrating a long-running pyramid scheme, the FTX crypto scandal is being compared to Madoff's criminal enterprise.
/jlne.ws/3HMFcsy
Crypto exchange Bitvavo says it aims to recoup 280 million euros from DCG
Reuters
Dutch cryptocurrency exchange Bitvavo said on Saturday it is trying to recover 280 million euros ($296.30 million) from U.S.-based Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiaries. Bitvavo said it had lent the money to DCG subsidiary Genesis Global Capital in order to offer Bitvavo's own customers a product where they received interest on their cryptocurrency tokens.
/jlne.ws/3HIl3DO
Why FTX's collapse is a 'crucible moment' for Solana
Davis Quinton and Frank Chaparro - The Block
Solana co-founder Raj Gokal has referred to the FTX crisis as a "crucible moment" for Solana's ecosystem. The amount of value moved on Solana has decreased dramatically since Alameda declared bankruptcy in November, data from The Block shows. In this episode of The Scoop, Solana co-founders Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko discuss how Solana initially became intertwined with FTX, and when they first started to notice that Sam Bankman-Fried's ambitions diverged from the crypto ethos.
/jlne.ws/3uY7RmC
Bahamas Says Extradition Fights Go Slow as Bankman-Fried Digs In; Bankman-Fried to resist being sent to face US criminal charges; Fred Mitchell says island nation cooperating with US on FTX
Jim Wyss - Bloomberg
As disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried prepares to fight being sent to the US to face criminal charges, the Bahamas' top diplomat is warning that extradition battles can be long and tedious. Fred Mitchell, the island nation's minister of foreign affairs, said an attempt to block removal from the Bahamas could drag on for months or even years. He declined to speak specifically about Bankman-Fried, who was arrested on Monday at the request of American authorities.
/jlne.ws/3PCiapW
Ohio Man Who Posed in Tub Full of Cash to Plead Guilty in Bitcoin Theft Case; Gary Harmon accused of stealing tokens taken from his brother; Seized Bitcoin stolen as US agents watched helplessly
David Voreacos - Bloomberg
An Ohio man who posed in a tub full of cash is scheduled to plead guilty after he was charged with remotely stealing Bitcoin stored on a computer device the government seized in a case against his older brother. Gary Harmon, 31, is to appear for a "plea agreement hearing" in federal court in Washington, DC, on Dec. 22, court records show. Harmon was charged after 713 digital tokens, then worth almost $5 million, disappeared from a hardware wallet in an Internal Revenue Service evidence locker as authorities watched helplessly.
/jlne.ws/3PEE7EI
Crypto.com's World Cup Win Is Overshadowed by FTX Industry Chaos; Former rival FTX signed some of crypto's bigger sports tie-ups; FTX's collapse threatens to depress sports dealmaking
Carly Wanna - Bloomberg
At Sunday's World Cup championship final between France and Argentina, Crypto.com will have a highly coveted seat right on the sideline, with the digital-asset exchange's name plastered on the wall just feet from both teams' star players. For viewers still smarting from rival FTX's implosion, the signage may put a damper on their revelry.
/jlne.ws/3V2YMnj
Sam Bankman-Fried Is Expected to Consent to Extradition From Bahamas; FTX co-founder has been in custody in Nassau since his arrest Monday
Alexander Saeedy, Justin Baer and James Fanelli - The Wall Street Journal
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is planning to consent to extradition to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Bankman-Fried has been in custody in the Bahamas since he was arrested last Monday in connection with several U.S. criminal charges, which were unsealed a day later. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged Mr. Bankman-Fried with fraud and money-laundering offenses, alleging he defrauded customers, lenders and investors. They also alleged he violated campaign-finance rules by making illegal political contributions.
/jlne.ws/3jgGX6L
Basel Oversight Body Backs Standards for Banks' Crypto Exposure; Endorsement billed as step toward mitigating bank-sector risks; Crypto volatility writ large in 2022 by bankruptcies like FTX
Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg
The body overseeing the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision endorsed global prudential standards for banks' exposure to crypto assets, seeking to counter threats from virtual coins. The backing from the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision is an important step toward "mitigating risks to banks" from digital tokens, Tiff Macklem, chair of the oversight body and governor of the Bank of Canada, said in a statement on Dec. 16.
/jlne.ws/3YCuElt
Insurers shun FTX-linked crypto firms as contagion risk mounts
Noor Zainab Hussain and Carolyn Cohn - Reuters
Insurers are denying or limiting coverage to clients with exposure to bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, leaving digital currency traders and exchanges uninsured for any losses from hacks, theft or lawsuits, several market participants said.
/jlne.ws/3jg0STk
Grayscale Will Explore Returning 20% of Investor Capital if SEC Refuses Spot Bitcoin ETF: Report
Oliver Knight - CoinDesk
Grayscale Investments is exploring options to return a portion of capital of its flagship Grayscale Bitcoin (GBTC) product if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refuses to approve its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an investor letter.
/jlne.ws/3Wadieg
After FTX, Are Binance's Days Numbered?; FTX rival Binance is at the center of wide bankruptcy speculation.
Luc Olinga - The Street
The poison of suspicion is terrible in the cryptocurrency industry. A month after the overnight implosion of the crypto empire of Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, it is another lord of the crypto sphere who is now the subject of the wildest rumors about the solvency of his crypto kingdom.
/jlne.ws/3BLPCVd
Coinbase loses bid to force Dogecoin sweepstakes case into arbitration
Nate Raymond - Reuters
Coinbase Global Inc cannot force former customers to use private arbitration rather than the courts to resolve claims over a Dogecoin sweepstakes the cryptocurrency exchange ran, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday. Four former Coinbase users had sued Coinbase, claiming the company duped them into paying $100 or more to enter a sweepstakes in June 2021 for a chance to win prizes of up to $1.2 million in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
/jlne.ws/3Va7Bf5
OneCoin Cofounder Pleads Guilty to Fraud for Hyping Fake Crypto; Karl Sebastian Greenwood admits cryptocurrency was phony; Greenwood faces as long as 20 years in prison for wire fraud
Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
A cofounder of the OneCoin pyramid scheme pleaded guilty to his role in the global, multibillion-dollar fraud. Karl Sebastian Greenwood admitted OneCoin, which he founded in 2014 with Ruja Ignatova, the so-called "Cryptoqueen," was based on a phony cryptocurrency. Greenwood, who was arrested in Thailand in 2018 and extradited to the US, pleaded guilty Friday to three criminal counts of conspiracy and wire fraud in a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
/jlne.ws/3j8BKhr
Donald Trump NFT Collection Sells Out, Price Surges
Cam Thompson - CoinDesk
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's non-fungible token (NFT) digital trading card collection sold out early Friday, the day after its initial release. According to data from OpenSea, at time of writing, the collection's trading volume is 900 ETH, or about $1.08 million. Its floor price is about 0.19 ETH, or about $230 - more than double the original price of $99.
/jlne.ws/3BGhaeP
South Korea's 'metaverse' province says will use virtual platform to expand ties with Vietnam
Danny Park - Forkast
South Korea's Gyeongbuk Province plans to use the metaverse to expand economic and other relations with Vietnam, the province's governor Lee Cheol-woo said on Friday during a visit to the Southeast Asian country.
/jlne.ws/3WuAiV6
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Unprecedented Price Caps Pit Australia's Leader Against Big Gas; Industry threatens investment freeze over domestic price cap; Minister attacks 'lippy' gas executives over Soviet rhetoric
James Fernyhough and Ben Westcott - Bloomberg
Hastily assembled legal teams. Accusations of Soviet-era policy. Counter jabs about "Putin profits." Warnings of a threat to future investment. Welcome to Australia, where a major row has erupted between political leaders and the resources industry over sweeping new government powers to set natural gas market prices.
/jlne.ws/3PGFmUe
House Financial Services panel grills new FTX CEO about firm's collapse, losses, (Dec 13, 2022)
Suzanne Cosgrove - Wolters Kluwer
The arrest of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas on criminal charges prevented him from testifying but he was a looming presence throughout the hearing. Members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Tuesday spent nearly four hours interviewing John Ray III, the current CEO of FTX Group, about how the premier cryptocurrency company abruptly failed last month.
/jlne.ws/3jdlvzL
Florida Home Insurance Bailout Comes Up Short; With their backs against the wall, the state's lawmakers have finally taken real steps to address the property crisis. It's still not enough.
Jonathan Levin - Bloomberg
Florida's Republican-controlled legislature has finally taken meaningful steps toward addressing the state's runaway property insurance crisis. Unfortunately, it waited until the market was on the brink of collapse when good options were impossible to come by. Going forward, the legislature must prioritize forward-looking solutions to forestall future crises before they begin.
/jlne.ws/3BHoBSU
Financial Stability Oversight Council Releases 2022 Annual Report
U.S. Department Of The Treasury
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) today unanimously approved its 2022 annual report. The report notes that, amid heightened geopolitical and economic shocks and inflation, risks to the U.S. economy and financial stability have increased even as the financial system has exhibited resilience. The annual report reviews financial market developments, describes potential emerging threats to U.S. financial stability, identifies vulnerabilities in the financial system, and makes recommendations to mitigate those threats and vulnerabilities. The report was developed collaboratively by Council members and their agencies and staffs.
/jlne.ws/3G43OeI
SBF gave a lot of money to politicians - one congressman explains why things won't change
Brian Sozzi - Yahoo!Finance
Millions of dollars in political contributions have come under scrutiny after disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was charged with eight counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy - including conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. And according to one congressman, there isn't much that can be been done to prevent a Sam Bankman-Fried-like character from lining the pockets of members of Congress and special interest groups.
/jlne.ws/3jdRHD8
Top U.S. Democratic campaign groups move to return Bankman-Fried donations
Gram Slattery - Reuters
The Democratic Party's three top campaign groups are preparing to return over $1.1 million they have received from imprisoned cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried, they said on Friday. In a statement, the Democratic National Committee said it was setting aside $815,000 in funds received from Bankman-Fried in light of "potential campaign finance violations" made by the billionaire.
/jlne.ws/3PRJEs1
White House Begins Plan to Refill US Emergency Oil Reserves
Ari Natter - Bloomberg
The Biden administration is making good on a plan to replenish the nation's emergency oil reserves, starting with a 3 million barrel purchase of crude. The purchase of barrels for February delivery follows a historic 180 million barrel release of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to tame high gasoline prices amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other supply issues.
/jlne.ws/3hCECCI
Big Oil Pours Billions In The Permian Basin
OilPrice.com
A couple of months ago, U.S. President Joe Biden urged energy companies to stop 'war profiteering' and even threatened to slap them with windfall tax if they failed to invest their profits in lowering costs for Americans and increasing production. The calls came at a time when Big Oil has been posting record profits amid high commodity and energy prices.
/jlne.ws/3v0mAxr
US Rings Crypto Warning Bell That Regulators Say Only Congress Can Silence
Jesse Hamilton - CoinDesk
There are hazardous gaps in how crypto is overseen, according to the latest annual report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) - restating a view that's long been adopted by U.S. lawmakers, regulators and the industry itself. The FSOC - a panel of U.S. financial agency chiefs that includes U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the heads of several other regulatory agencies - met Friday to discuss risks to the financial system and approve the council's annual report.
/jlne.ws/3WfHgh6
Manchin Says He Has 'No Intentions' of Ditching Democratic Party; Says let's see how infrastructure, Biden's IRA agenda play out; West Virginia senator in focus after Sinema leaves Democrats
Jarrell Dillard - Bloomberg
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said he has "no intentions" of switching political parties, but didn't rule out the possibility in the future. Manchin, who had significant leverage over President Joe Biden's economic agenda in the evenly divided US Senate over the past two years, suggested on CBS's "Face the Nation" that his decision could depend on how policies develop under a bipartisan infrastructure bill and the administration's tax, climate and health-care bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act.
/jlne.ws/3BHt7AQ
As He Preps for 2024, Biden Has Finally Found His Footing as President; President's allies say it's time for Democrats to rally for re-election
Justin Sink and Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
A week before the midterm election, President Joe Biden pitched senior advisers on his closing argument to American voters - a sweeping address in which he'd once again insist that democracy itself was on the ballot. It was a risky idea. A similar Biden speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia a month earlier bombed with critics, who panned it as partisan and dismissive of core voter concerns, including inflation. Some Democrats suggested afterward they might be better off without the president on the ticket in 2024, and his slumping approval rating and light campaign travel signaled that few congressional candidates wanted to be seen with him.
/jlne.ws/3WqCX26
CRA Move Seeks to Erase ESG Regulation
National Association of Plan Advisors
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) have introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) measure in the House and Senate, respectively, to nullify the Department of Labor's recently finalized rule to greenlight environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in federal pension plans. Congress, through the Congressional Review Act (CRA), may review and choose to reject new regulations issued by federal agencies.
/jlne.ws/3uZDqwe
Germany Pushes Back on Putin's 'Blackmail' With Gas Terminal; Scholz says Europe won't be blackmailed by Russia's Putin; Opening comes as European nations mull price cap for gas
Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
Germany opened its first state-chartered liquefied natural gas vessel as Europe's largest economy races to replace Russian gas amid an energy crunch and freezing temperatures. "As of today, Germany and the EU will become a great deal more secure and independent," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a short speech Saturday in Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea coast to mark the inauguration.
/jlne.ws/3C8LD5B
Russian oil cap: a boon for Asian refineries; Even assuming it costs $5/bbl to get oil from Russia to India, Urals is still a bargain
Financial Times
So far, the price cap on Russian oil seems to be delivering the desired effect. That is one way to read the news this morning that Urals crude continues to be shipped to India. The cap's objective was twofold: to ensure that supply from Russia - seaborne exports usually account for some 4 million barrels a day (Mb/d) out of a total global demand just shy of 100 - would not be overly disrupted by the EU embargo, in effect from December. At the same time it needed to strain Russia's coffers.
/jlne.ws/3V77yRg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | FTX Collapse: Bankman-Fried Flip-Flops On His Extradition; The fallen founder of the cryptocurrency exchange is in prison in the Bahamas, where he was arrested at the request of the U.S. authorities.
Luc Olinga - The Street
Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to answer in person soon to the criminal and civil charges leveled against him by U.S. regulators investigating the unexpected bankruptcy of his cryptocurrency empire.
/jlne.ws/3v4rcCN
Ripple CEO's attorney to resign as counsel on XRP lawsuit against SEC
Timmy Shen - Forkast
Nicole Tatz, an attorney for Ripple Labs Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bradley Garlinghouse, has applied to withdraw as the co-defendant's counsel in his ongoing lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
/jlne.ws/3uZwTSz
Former SEC chair Jay Clayton says he's optimistic about crypto in the wake of FTX's collapse - and breaks down 3 ways regulation can deter bad behavior
Morgan Chittum - Business Insider
Former US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton is optimistic about blockchain technology's potential to improve traditional financial systems, even as turmoil continues to weigh on cryptocurrency markets. Despite FTX's sudden downfall last month, Clayton says "the promise of distributed ledger technology is remarkable given how many transactions are already taking place around the globe 24/7 with very few frictions." (Clayton is referring to the blockchain's ability to conduct borderless transactions, along with faster trading settlements than traditional equities.)
/jlne.ws/3FG5f1A
Blackstone's Real Estate Fund for Wealthy Prompts SEC Queries, Investor Scrutiny; Investors and the SEC are taking a closer look at the private equity's flagship real estate trust and a rival's fund too.
Dawn Lim and John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
Steve Schwarzman's Blackstone Inc. paved the way for private equity firms to pitch the everyday millionaire. Now, a flight of money from some of the industry's retail funds is inviting scrutiny. The $68 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust has been grappling with an increase in investors pulling money, particularly from Asia. Rival Starwood Real Estate Income Trust has also seen an uptick in withdrawal requests. In recent weeks, both of the real estate trusts limited redemptions.
/jlne.ws/3WulyW2
SEC Small Business Advocacy Office Releases Annual Report on Capital Raising
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation issued its 2022 Annual Report to Congress and the Commission. The report details how entrepreneurs and investors are building companies together, from startups to small public companies. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the dynamics of capital raising in communities across the country.
/jlne.ws/3VefsYW
Prepared Remarks Before the Financial Stability Oversight Council: LIBOR
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Thank you, Secretary Yellen. Last year, when this Council previously discussed the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), I referenced an important figure in the annals of economic theory: the fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen.[1] The LIBOR-referencing market ended up like the emperor at the end of Andersen's story-revealed to have no clothes.
/jlne.ws/3YMdqT5
Prepared Remarks Before the Financial Stability Oversight Council: Annual Report
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Thank you, Secretary Yellen. I thank the staff across the agencies for their collaboration on this year's Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) annual report, which I am pleased to support. This year's report comes during uncertain times in the global economy and the financial markets: the ongoing war in Ukraine, continuing challenges related to the commodity markets, and central banks around the globe shifting from accommodating to tightening policy stances.
/jlne.ws/3v3baco
SEC Charges Houston Resident with Operating a $4 Million Forex Offering Fraud
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against John Fernandez and two companies he controls, Avail Progression, LLC and Elite Generators, Inc., for conducting a fraudulent scheme involving two unregistered forex investment offerings that collectively raised over $4.3 million from more than 100 investors.
/jlne.ws/3G0rq46
SEC Charges Four Individuals in Crypto Pyramid Scheme That Targeted Spanish-Speaking Communities
SEC
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Francisley Valdevino Da Silva, Juan Antonio Tacuri Fajardo, Ramon Antonio Perez Arias, and Jose Ramiro Coronado Reyes for their roles in creating and promoting Forcount Trader Systems, Inc., a fraudulent crypto asset pyramid scheme that raised more than $8.4 million from hundreds of retail investors primarily from Spanish-speaking communities throughout the United States and other countries.
/jlne.ws/3jfi4bR
West Australian man arrested, charged with insider trading offences
ASIC
Cameron Waugh, of Cottesloe, WA, has been arrested by the Australian Federal Police after ASIC charged him with offences relating to insider trading and subsequently sought a warrant for his arrest. ASIC alleges that Mr Waugh traded in shares of Genesis Minerals Limited on the ASX from 14 September 2021 to 20 September 2021, while in possession of inside information about Genesis.
/jlne.ws/3FHJO08
Court convicts Kenneth Goh Jia Poh for multiple offences under the Securities and Futures Act
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Mr Goh Jia Poh, Kenneth was today convicted and sentenced to 19 months' imprisonment and fined $355,604 for multiple offences relating to false trading, unauthorised use of trading accounts and fraudulently inducing others to deal in shares, under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA).
/jlne.ws/3PEEwr5
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Record $1.5 Trillion Rift Opens Between Mutual Fund, ETF Flows; Mutual funds saw largest outflow ever in 2022 bear market: BI; Fed purchases, inflation accelerated move to ETFs: Strategas
Isabelle Lee - Bloomberg
Investors are spurning mutual funds at a record clip, driving a $1.5 trillion gap in the flow of money from the old-school investment vehicles and into ever-popular ETFs. The divide this year between the two investment types widened to an all-time high, up from $950 billion in 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. The growing disparity is one measure of the speed with which ETFs are eating into the market dominance of mutual funds.
/jlne.ws/3VaChg9
BlackRock Plans More ETF Fee Cuts as War of Tiny Trims Rolls On; Largest ETF issuer is lowering expense ratios on eight funds; Schwab, Vanguard, State Street have all made similar moves
Katherine Greifeld - Bloomberg
Asset management giant BlackRock Inc. is cutting costs across eight of its exchange-traded funds as the industry's endless fee war continues. The world's largest ETF issuer is lowering the expense ratios of three corporate bond funds and four factor-following equity products, BlackRock said in an email Friday. The $23 billion iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (ticker IGSB), the largest ETF included in the list, will now carry a fee of 0.04% versus 0.06% previously.
/jlne.ws/3W9yD7C
Leuthold's Paulsen, a Stock Bull, Is Retiring After 40 Years; Market veteran sees S&P 500 reach 5,000 in next 12 months; His stint includes 20 years at Wells Capital Management
Lu Wang - Blomberg
Jim Paulsen of Leuthold Group, one of the stock market's biggest bulls, is retiring. "After 40 years, I am stepping away from the business," the chief investment strategist of the Minneapolis-based investment firm wrote in an email. "While I am a bit nervous about retirement, I can't wait to see what trouble I get into - and maybe do some good - in the coming years."
/jlne.ws/3ja4tT4
The undying options boom; Zero-day options FTW
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
If you assumed that the end of the "Everything Rally" and life-shredding losses for extremely online trading bros would end the massive options boom then think again. JPMorgan's Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and Peng Cheng have published a brace of reports this week that explore how the wild options phenomenon of 2020-21 has surprisingly held up in the 2022 bear market. Although retail activity seems to have calmed down, it is notable how elevated things remain almost across the board - and a recent boom in zero-day options trading is raising eyebrows.
/jlne.ws/3Ypes7j
Hedge Fund Traders Seek Shelter From Lula in Bearish Stock Bets
Vinicius Andrade and Felipe Saturnino - Bloomberg
After a bumpy few weeks that saw investors bracing for a sharp deterioration in Brazil's fiscal outlook under Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, some of the country's largest hedge fund managers have a clear message: stay away from stocks. A bearish wager against Brazil's equity market emerged as a key position at Legacy Capital, while XP Asset Management and Genoa Capital said they've also built short positions in local stocks using options. Verde Asset Management, whose flagship fund traditionally has about a quarter of its risk in equities, said that amount currently stands at 15%.
/jlne.ws/3hzv6QS
SPAC buying Trump's Truth Social sees stock fall amid CFO exit
Emily Bary - MarketWatch
Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special-purpose acquisition company looking to take public Donald Trump's Truth Social platform, disclosed in a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Chief Financial Officer Luiz Philippe Braganza resigned. The resignation was effective Dec. 9, and it "did not result from any disagreement with the company concerning any matter relating to the company's operations, policies or practices," per the filing.
/jlne.ws/3HNOapg
Stock Market Timers Pony Up $25 Billion and Get Another Thrashing
Lu Wang and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
For all its twists and turns, the 2022 market has also been a story of patterns repeating. Stocks fall, shorts cover, quants buy, then everyone jumps back in just in time to get torched. It's happening again. After a month of drawing down positions, investors poured $25 billion in stocks in the week through Wednesday only to see the S&P 500 plummet as the Federal Reserve and other central banks stuck with hawkish stances that threaten to spur a recession.
/jlne.ws/3PA8e0j
Mistry Predicts a Jump in Palm Oil on Indonesian Biofuel Mandate; Palm may hover between 3,500-5,000 ringgit a ton until end-May; Indonesia's new biofuel plan to keep palm stockpiles tight
Pratik Parija and Anuradha Raghu - Bloomberg
Indonesia's mandate to use more palm oil for producing biofuels and lower reserves in Malaysia will continue to support the tropical oil in the coming months, according to veteran trader Dorab Mistry. The most-consumed cooking oil may trade between 3,500 ringgit ($791) and 5,000 ringgit a ton between now and the end of May, unless the war in Ukraine ends, said Mistry, who has been trading palm for about four decades.
/jlne.ws/3FZcOlr
Individual Investors Hang On in Wild Year for Stocks While Pros Sell; Small investors dive into markets as institutional ones grow more bearish
Gunjan Banerji - The Wall Street Journal
During the wildest year for global markets since 2008, individual investors have been doubling down on stocks. Many professionals, on the other hand, appear to have bailed out. U.S. equity mutual and exchange-traded funds, which are popular among individual investors, have attracted more than $100 billion in net inflows this year, one of the highest amounts on record in EPFR data going back to 2000.
/jlne.ws/3Fw2CiY
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | New partnership aims to accelerate Global Biodiversity Framework implementation
UN Environment Programme
At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), 23 countries and organizations, led by Colombia and supported by Germany, launched a partnership to accelerate country-led implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at the meeting. The countries and organizations signed a declaration launching the Accelerator Partnership to help countries fast track and upscale the implementation of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
/jlne.ws/3V5A0CR
Governments secure historic new global agreement on nature; A new Global Biodiversity Framework has been agreed by 196 countries at COP15 in Montreal
Business for Nature
After years of wrangling and discussion, the gavel is finally down, securing a historic new global agreement on nature. For all large and transnational businesses and financial institutions, the message is clear: to get ready to assess and disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity as governments will require them to do so at the latest by 2030. Businesses have been calling for a 'Paris moment' for nature. Today, governments have agreed to require large companies to assess and disclose their impacts, and in doing so, are more explicit about what they expect from business on nature than the Paris Agreement did on climate. The mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and a robust target on environmentally harmful subsidies provide a clear direction for businesses and financial institutions to rally behind.
/jlne.ws/3YxLIsX
'Moving Together On Nature': Statement From The Private Financial Sector To The Conference Of The Parties To The Convention On Biological Diversity
UNPRI
This statement was drafted by the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation. It is endorsed by 150 financial institutions representing over c. (US) $24 trillion in assets under management.
/jlne.ws/3VhEzKE
Vanguard Exit Has Lawyers Mapping Out Wall Street's Top ESG Risk; Attorneys advising asset managers say Republican attacks are less likely to succeed than lawsuits targeting inadequate climate strategies.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
At a recent climate-finance meeting attended by Wall Street giants including BlackRock Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., no one spoke until a lawyer had finished reading out a disclaimer stating the group was not a cartel. The newly formed ritual is a direct reaction to the increasingly hostile position of the Republican Party toward firms trying to incorporate environmental, social or governance factors into their strategies.
/jlne.ws/3FFWIvz
ESG in the Boardroom and on the Balance Sheet
Modern Healthcare
ESG touches essentially every aspect of a health system, from ensuring patient safety and quality standards to hiring practices and building design. The all-encompassing nature of environmental, social and governance issues requires a commitment that starts at the very top of the organization.
/jlne.ws/3Wbc2Yd
As the Climate Changes, Climate Fiction Is Changing With It; In four new novels set in the present and future, writers confront the contradictions of our climate-addled age.
Kiley Bense - Inside Climate News
Finding the Antidote to Climate Anxiety in Stories About Taking Action
In his third autobiography, the famed abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass lingered on the impact of a novel that he deemed "a work of marvelous depth and power." When "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published in 1852, Douglass wrote, "nothing could have better suited the moral and humane requirements of the hour. Its effect was amazing, instantaneous and universal." "Uncle Tom's Cabin" sold 1 million copies, inspired stage adaptations, songs and merchandise, and became wildly popular across the U.S. and the United Kingdom, where it sparked anti-slavery petitions and rallies. Southern writers were so incensed by its contents that they hurried to publish "Anti-Tom" novels defending slavery in response.
/jlne.ws/3YwrAYa
PureWest's Digital Sustainability Report Raises The Bar On ESG Transparency
David Blackmon - Forbes
The question of ESG considerations and how to set and meet goals related to them has consumed a rising portion of planning and operating time and budgets within energy companies for at least 15 years now. No one expects the emphasis on these environmental, social and governance considerations to diminish as time goes on, especially as they relate to emissions of both methane and carbon dioxide.
/jlne.ws/3BHyPCD
COP15 Isn't Moving Fast Enough for Canada's Activist Minister; Minister Guilbeault says Trudeau hired him for activism; UN biodiversity summit aims to have a deal by end of Monday
Mathieu Dion - Bloomberg
On a day full of meetings and on-the-go interviews with journalists, there was one man who made Canadian environment minister Steven Guilbeault forget his packed schedule. At the UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Guilbeault stopped to bear hug 86-year-old environmental activist David Suzuki, host of popular Canadian TV program The Nature of Things. While Guilbeault might today represent a country with an enormous oil and gas sector and spotty climate record, he still embraces, literally and figuratively, environmental activists.
/jlne.ws/3v1ANu4
There's a Small But Growing Push to Make Video Gaming Greener; Resource-intensive hardware and the energy used by an increasingly popular pastime are starting to draw the attention of climate experts.
Coco Liu - Bloomberg
Few people think regularly about the carbon footprint of their smartphone. Understandably: One iPhone 14, for example, generates roughly 61 kg of carbon in its lifetime - the equivalent of a single drive from Washington DC to Philadelphia. But apply that to the 237 million iPhones Apple shipped in 2021, and those emissions climb to 15 million metric tons, five times more than Washington DC's annual emissions from fossil fuels. Like so many aspects of our daily lives, from cheeseburgers to cars to new clothes, scale is the difference between negligible climate cost and noticeable climate footprint.
/jlne.ws/3HLTbyx
Repsol Buys Renewables Developer Asterion for $597 Million; Deal gives firm 7.7-gigawatt portfolio in Spain, Italy, France; Assets comprise photovoltaic solar and wind-energy generation
Thomas Gualtieri - Bloomberg
Spanish oil producer Repsol SA furthered its clean energy expansion with the acquisition of local developer Asterion Energies for EUR560 million ($597 million). Like many of its European peers, Repsol is adding renewables output as the energy transition accelerates. The Madrid-based company was the first large oil producer to announce a significant push into the space in 2019, with rivals such as Shell Plc and BP Plc since piling into the sector aggressively.
/jlne.ws/3HMAs68
ISSB announces guidance and reliefs to support Scope 3 GHG emission disclosures
IFRS Org
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has set out a series of guidance and reliefs to support those applying the requirement within its Climate-related Disclosures Standard (S2) to disclose Scope 3 GHG emissions when material for a company. The guidance and reliefs are designed to help companies embed and improve their processes for measurement and disclosure of Scope 3 GHG emissions. At its October 2022 meeting the ISSB confirmed the inclusion of Scope 3 disclosure as set out in its draft Climate-related Disclosures Standard given feedback from investors that they cannot fully understand a company's transition risk without information about its absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
/jlne.ws/3WcspDW
Freedom of Association, Digital Rights, Climate Change & Tax Avoidance Among the Multiple Themes Raised in Fifteen Shareholder Proposals Filed at Amazon
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Today Amazon shareholders announced a slate of 15 proposals they are hoping to put before their fellow shareholders at the company's 2023 annual meeting in the spring. Investors say Amazon's size, global reach, and political influence give it unparalleled power to shape societal and global economic systems. Investors also expressed frustration that their attempts to engage the company on these concerns have been rebuffed. Most of these proposals were filed by ICCR members.
/jlne.ws/3G5MCG1
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Credit Suisse Business Model Endorsed by Switzerland's Central Bank; Focus is good for financial stability, central bank chief says; SNB defends low inflation target, hints at further rate hike
Bastian Benrath - Bloomberg
Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan has voiced support for Credit Suisse Group AG doing less investment banking, as the lender struggles to recover from billions in losses over the past two years, recent client defections and asset outflows with a strategy revamp. "We appreciate that Credit Suisse is focusing on its strengths," Jordan told Swiss radio SRF on Saturday. "That means wealth and asset management and being a universal bank for Switzerland, while doing less investment banking than in the past. This should lead to risks in Credit Suisse's business diminishing, which is good from a financial stability point of view."
/jlne.ws/3V2qRLm
Hedge fund talent picks Middle East over London and New York, headhunters say; With a continued shift to remote working, the sector will see less top talent choosing the usual epicentres, market insiders say
Bilal Jafar - Financial News
Amid the rising cost of living and higher taxes, top hedge fund talent is moving away from financial centres like London and New York to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, according to headhunters. This year, global hedge funds such as All Blue Capital and ExodusPoint Capital Management opened offices in Dubai. All Blue Capital moved its corporate headquarters from London to Dubai in March and relocated most of its team from the UK's capital. The firm did not respond to Financial News' request for comment on the number of staff that moved.
/jlne.ws/3j3xL5G
Limina Financial Systems and Qontigo partner to deliver integrated portfolio and risk analytics within Limina IMS
Kristoffer Furst - Limina Blog
Limina Financial Systems and Qontigo today announced a strategic partnership to integrate Axioma Analytics solutions into Limina's Investment Management System, Limina IMS. Limina IMS provides institutional asset managers, asset owners and hedge funds with a cloud native, multi-asset front to middle office platform. The web-based solution delivers functionality including Portfolio & Order Management, Pre/Post Trade Compliance, and an Investment Book of Record (IBOR). Combined with industry-leading Axioma factor models and risk analysis, Limina IMS will offer a more comprehensive picture of risk exposure.
/jlne.ws/3jcXNnl
NinjaTrader Wins Two Benzinga Awards: "Best Brokerage for Trading Futures" for Third Year & Most Transformative M&A
NinjaTrader
We are proud to be recognized at the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards held on December 8, 2022. During the ceremony, NinjaTrader was awarded two 2022 Benzinga Global Fintech Awards: Best Brokerage for Trading Futures and Most Transformative M&A. Honored as a "Best Brokerage for Trading Futures" for a third consecutive year, NinjaTrader is proud to continue to uphold our mission to make futures more accessible and meet the growing demand for innovative solutions among the trading community.
/jlne.ws/3hBNNDy
Link Faces £100 Million Claim From Neil Woodford Fund Collapse; Claimants now number more than 20,000 following fund freeze; Link said Woodford fund withdrawals couldn't be foreseen
Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
One-time star manager Neil Woodford's fund administrator is facing a UK lawsuit of well in excess of £100 million ($122 million) after lawyers said the potential claimants now number more than 20,000.
/jlne.ws/3v23Y03
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Severe Covid Risk in Older Adults Cut Sharply With Updated Shots; People 65 and older saw 73% protection against hospitalization; Protection dropped to 38% when looking at all ages of adults
Madison Muller - Bloomberg
The updated Covid-19 booster shots give adults ages 65 and older the greatest level of protection against hospitalization, according to new US government data. Bivalent boosters were 73% effective at preventing hospitalizations due to Covid in this group of older adults compared with people of the same age who got two or more doses of the original formulation of the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The reduced risk of hospitalization was smaller in younger adults, the agency said.
/jlne.ws/3FYj8bV
Beijing funeral homes, crematoriums busy as COVID spreads
Alessandro Diviggiano, Ryan Woo and Winni Zhou - Reuters
Hearses bearing the dead lined the driveway to a designated COVID-19 crematorium in the Chinese capital on Saturday while workers at the city's dozen funeral homes were busier than normal, days after China reversed tight pandemic restrictions. In recent days in Beijing the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has hit services from catering to parcel deliveries. Funeral homes and crematoriums across the city of 22 million are also struggling to keep up with demand as more workers and drivers testing positive for coronavirus call in sick.
/jlne.ws/3hErL35
Chicago Mayor Tests Positive for Covid-19 as Infections Rise; It's the second time Lightfoot contracted the virus this year; CDC says 74 counties in Illinois have elevated Covid-19 levels
Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time this year as infections rise across the country. Lightfoot isn't experiencing symptoms, but she will work from home and follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a statement on Friday. The diagnosis comes as she's campaigning for mayoral elections in February.
/jlne.ws/3V9h7Pi
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Methane Cloud Over Australia Coincided With Pipeline Gas Release; Australia's Epic Energy initially said its pipeline didn't leak methane. Regulators said it did.
Aaron Clark - Bloomberg
Last month, a satellite flew over the dry, arid landscape of South Australia state's Cooper Basin and spotted a large cloud of the super potent greenhouse gas methane. The plume was observed Nov. 23 near a few petroleum-producing fields and a natural gas pipeline owned by Epic Energy South Australia Pty. The company initially told Bloomberg News there were no incidents or work on its Moomba-to-Adelaide conduit over that timeframe in the vicinity of the plume that could have caused it.
/jlne.ws/3HKV9z8
Japan Spot Power Jumps as Northeastern Region Hit by Snowstorm; Wholesale power price touches highest level in three months; Snowstorm in northeastern Japan boosts heating demand
Shoko Oda - Bloomberg
Japan's spot power price spiked on Sunday as heavy snow blankets the country's northeastern region, boosting heating demand. The average price for next-day delivery on Sunday surged 40% to 34.63 yen per kilowatt hour from a day earlier, according to data compiled by the Japan Electric Power Exchange. That's the highest level in three months. The price on Monday fell to 32.07 yen, but that's still a 34% increase from a week earlier.
/jlne.ws/3V6JAVZ
Covid outbreak throws Chinese factories and supply chains into chaos; 'Closed loop' system to protect employees and production likely to be overwhelmed
Eleanor Olcott in Tokyo, Qianer Liu, Gloria Li and Cheng Leng in Hong Kong and Joe Leahy in Beijing - Financial Times
The coronavirus sweeping across China is causing widespread business disruption as staffing shortages threaten to close down factory production lines and truck drivers fall ill, bringing chaos to supply chains. The Omicron variant of the virus has begun to run rampant through several big cities since the sudden U-turn on president Xi Jinping's former zero-Covid policy of containment earlier this month. The surge in infections is largest in the capital Beijing, where more than half the 22mn population is infected, according to some estimates.
/jlne.ws/3Fzgo4m
The Cost of Defending Hong Kong's Dollar Peg
Matthew Thomas - The Wall Street Journal
That is the stash of U.S. dollars that Hong Kong's Exchange Fund has sold this year to defend the peg between the Hong Kong dollar and its U.S. counterpart. Hedge fund managers Bill Ackman and Boaz Weinstein have become the latest high-profile investors to bet against the peg, buying put options that promise a big payout if it breaks.
/jlne.ws/3V2CTV6
Italy Found a Fix For Its Gas Crisis, but Locals Are Resisting; A town in Tuscany is fighting against an LNG terminal that Italy says is urgently needed as part of Europe's efforts to replace Russian energy
Margherita Stancati - The Wall Street Journal
Italy's ability to keep its homes warm and lights on beyond this winter hinges partly on a liquefied-natural-gas terminal off the coast of Tuscany. Roberta Degani is fighting it tooth and nail. "I don't want it here, not even for a day," says Ms. Degani, a 59-year-old from Piombino, the port town chosen to host the massive gas-filled vessel. "It puts the whole city in danger." Most of her fellow townspeople feel the same. The struggle in Tuscany illustrates the difficulties that Europe faces as it moves to cut its decadeslong dependence on Russian energy because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3YxLMcb
Arctic Air Will Blast Much of US Just Before Christmas
Jeff Martin and Julie Walker, The Associated Press - Bloomberg
Forecasters are warning of treacherous holiday travel and life-threatening cold for much of the nation as an arctic air mass blows into the already-frigid southern United States. "We're looking at much-below normal temperatures, potentially record-low temperatures leading up to the Christmas holiday," said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
/jlne.ws/3Ws0hfH
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Sam Bankman-Fried appeared 'a little arrogant' and 'awfully scared' when he arrived at Bahamas prison but is now in 'good spirits,' official says
Kelsey Vlamis - Business Insider
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is being held at a prison in the Bahamas known for having harsh conditions but is in "good spirits," an official at the facility told The Washington Post. The disgraced cryptocurrency exchange founder is being held at the Fox Hill correctional facility in Nassau, where he is expected to remain until February after a judge on Tuesday denied him bail and ordered he remains in custody while awaiting extradition to the US.
/jlne.ws/3hI4Svv
Former FTX exec Ryan Salame invested millions in one small Massachusetts town's restaurants
Eric Revell - Fox Business
A small town in western Massachusetts is bracing for the potential fallout from the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange after ex-FTX executive Ryan Salame invested $6 million into restaurants and small businesses in the town. The bankruptcy of FTX and its affiliates has likely wiped out the funds of countless investors, sparking concern about the financial distress spreading to other ventures linked directly or indirectly to FTX.
/jlne.ws/3jdmXSO
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