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John Lothian Newsletter
February 11, 2020 "Irreverent, but never irrelevant"
 
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Hits & Takes
By JLN Staff

Our friends to the great white north, TMX and MX in Canada, have soft launched a new futures contract, the S&P/MX International Cannabis Index futures. The symbol is SMJ, that is S for S&P, M for Montreal and I can't figure out what the J stands for.~JJL

The contract is off to a slow start, though it does have seven contracts of open interest. If you are looking for a place to short the over-hyped cannabis space, this could be your contract. Or, if you think cannabis has nothing but room to grow, pun intended, then buy baby buy.~JJL

The Barchart Commodity Exchange Grain Summit 2020 is scheduled for May 4 to 6 in Chicago. The keynote speaker will be former CBOT Chairman and current CME Group board member Charlie Carey, who is a partner in HC Technologies. Register HERE. Don't forget to take the Barchart futures trader survey below too.~JJL

Women in Listed Derivatives has announced its 2020 North American Board and Officers. The new board members are: Amy Norden - Account Manager (Financial Services) at TEKsystems; Jeanine Oliva - Tax Director at Citadel; Laura Taffet - Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner at Taffet Consulting; Penelope Copleston - Director at FIS. They will fill four open board seats. For WILD's officers in 2020, Cathey Curley will serve as president; Katie Cleland will serve as vice president; Jeanine Oliva will serve as treasurer; and Denise Knabjian will serve as secretary.~SR

MIAX has filed the proposed rules for trading of equities on MIAX Pearl LLC.~JJL

Former PIMCO CEO Doug Hodge has written a commentary for the Wall Street Journal titled "I Wish I'd Never Met Rick Singer," about the Varsity Blues college admission scandal.~JJL

Have you ever visited the virtual museum for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC Historical Society?~JJL

FIA's MarketVoice has an article "T4Youth unites fintech firms with Chicago's future leaders" about a table tennis tournament supported by the industry that has raised $500K in just six years.~JJL

On February 13 at noon, if you are in Washington, DC, the DC Bar has "A Fireside Chat with Dorothy DeWitt, Director, Division of Market Oversight, CFTC." The event is sponsored by Derivatives and Futures Law Committee of the D.C. Bar Corporation, Finance and Securities Law Community.~JJL

Tradeweb has published an article by Kurt Dew of Northeastern University titled "The Exchange of the Future: A One-Stop Shop" that was originally published on the TABB Forum.~JJL

Scammers have been posing as Coindesk employees, promising coverage for their digital token or blockchain projects in exchange for a fee. Coindesk posted this article warning their audience about it. Coindesk said their reporters don't accept payment for articles.~MR


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Statement of DSIO Director Joshua B. Sterling on Supporting Innovation in Digital Asset Products, including Pooled Investment Vehicles
CFTC
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (Division) recognizes that CFTC-registered firms are often at the forefront in product innovation. This has been the case throughout the CFTC's history, and it remains true today with the advent of myriad products in the digital asset space.
bit.ly/2SNK4T9

***** Remember, the pioneers are the people with the arrows in their backs. Regulators only use arrows on PowerPoints.~JJL

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High-Frequency Firm Allston Cuts Employees Amid Low Volatility
Alyce Andres, Matthew Leising, and Nick Baker - Bloomberg
Allston's reduction follows XR Trading's cut in staff by 10%; Chicago-based firm trades futures, currencies, fixed-income
High-frequency trading firm Allston Trading pared its workforce late last week as it struggles to make money in some parts of its business.
/bloom.bg/2UKuwBY

***** Good to see Matt Leising back and even better to see Alyce Andres with Bloomberg.~JJL

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Monday's Top Three
Our most read story on Monday was the scary story There's a 70% chance of recession in the next six months, new study from MIT and State Street finds, from CNBC. But who listens to MIT? Second was the Wall Street Journal's Cryptocurrency Scams Took in More Than $4 Billion in 2019. They are mostly Ponzi schemes in a new wrapper. Third was JLN's latest video, Tom Zagara - Open Outcry Traders History Project - Part 1.

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John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals.
 
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Lead Stories
CME takes more control over board; The futures exchange changed its bylaws to eliminate legacy traders' ability to nominate directors.
Lynne Marek - Crain's Chicago Business
Futures exchange giant CME Group, which failed in an attempt to buy out some trader board members a couple of years ago, may have found a new way to better control the influence of that Class B shareholder group.
bit.ly/39pBgJx

Robot Analysts Outwit Humans on Investment Picks, Study Shows
Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
Machine buy recommendations can generate 'substantial returns'; Study looks at 76,000 robot recommendations made over 15 years
They beat us at chess and trivia, supplant jobs by the thousands, and are about to be let loose on highways and roads as chauffeurs and couriers. Now, fresh signs of robot supremacy are emerging on Wall Street in the form of machine stock analysts that make more profitable investment choices than humans. At least, that's the upshot of one of the first studies of the subject, whose preliminary results were released in January.
/bloom.bg/2UEIEwF

Exclusive: JPMorgan in talks to merge blockchain unit Quorum with startup ConsenSys - sources
Anna Irrera - Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is in talks to merge its marquee blockchain unit Quorum with Brooklyn-based startup ConsenSys, according to people familiar with the plans. The deal is likely to be formally announced within the next six months, but financial terms are still unclear, the people said.
/reut.rs/2SkWKlr

As Asia Panics, One Country Wins Praise for Approach to Virus
Philip Heijmans and Jason Gale - Bloomberg
Singapore serves a model for other countries, say experts; PM Lee addressed the city in a video posted online Saturday
As governments in Asia struggle to reassure their populations over the coronavirus, public health experts say Singapore's approach in communicating to the public is providing a model for others to reduce panic, rumors and conspiracy theories.
/bloom.bg/31JrxLD

'Be under no illusion' on financial services, Barnier tells Britain
Reuters
British authorities should be "under no illusion" on financial services in future relations with the European Union after the Brexit transition period ends, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday.
/yhoo.it/2SECaes

Things Are Falling Apart for Europe's Single Currency; From political turmoil in Germany to slumping manufacturing, it's all going wrong.
John Authers - Bloomberg
Twilight of the Euro
2020 was supposed to be the year when Europe began to shine. After suffering the decision by the U.K. to leave, the European Union had the chance to move forward with greater certainty. The easing of the U.S.-China trade war would aid recovery after a slump in manufacturing that appeared to be ending. And the euro could start to strengthen against the dollar, in a consummation devoutly wished in the capitals of Europe and the U.S.
/bloom.bg/2uEL9Eq

Coronavirus Threatens Oil Producers With Double Whammy; A steep and prolonged decline in prices, combined with already-curtailed production, would pose a bigger economic threat than the last big downturn.
Ellen R. Wald - Bloomberg
The coronavirus outbreak is already threatening oil markets. The fear of lower demand — from a disease-stricken China and eventually globally as the economic impact widens — has destabilized prices, sending crude to its lowest levels in more than a year. For major oil-producing countries, the declines, coming at a time of curtailed output, threaten economic shocks that if long-lasting could lead to the kind of political and regional instability that was avoided during the last steep drop.
/bloom.bg/39wmhOh

$3 Trillion Can't Buy China Out of Virus Trouble; Asia's foreign-exchange reserves are more a symptom of economic problems than a sign of strength.
Satyajit Das - Bloomberg
Asia's emerging-market currencies are sliding as the coronavirus outbreak threatens to slow the region's economy and drives outflows into the dollar. Investors may consider the region's copious foreign-exchange reserves to be a buffer against severe economic dislocation, capital flight and currency fluctuations. That would be a mistake.
/bloom.bg/2SAuLgb

Airbus to Restart Production; Deaths Top 1,000: Virus Update
Bloomberg News
The death toll from the coronavirus exceeded 1,000. Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak, reported its highest number of fatalities yet and removed top officials.
/bloom.bg/2HfWeP0

Eurex members divided over liquidity risk charges; Banks say proposed charge too conservative, debate whether add-on should be charged directly to clients
Costas Mourselas - Risk.net
Eurex has been quietly sounding out its clearing members on changes to the way it applies margin add-ons to account for concentration risk, a member survey seen by Risk.net shows. Conversations with the bourse's largest clearing members suggest the recalibration has attracted diverging views, leading to a delay in its implementation.
bit.ly/38kWpob



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Exchanges, OTC & Clearing
Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities
FTSE Russell introduces Target Exposure Indexes
FTSE Russell
New FTSE Russell Target Exposure Indexes are designed to meet investor demand for greater control and transparency of portfolio exposures over time; Indexes are available for FTSE All-World and Russell 1000, amongst others; LGIM among first to deploy a FTSE Target Exposure Index on behalf of a UK based pension fund; Investors are increasingly looking for enhanced alignment between exposures and investment objectives
FTSE Russell, the global index, data and analytics provider, has today introduced FTSE Target Exposure indexes. The new indexes allow users to achieve explicit exposure objectives from risk factors, industries and countries, to sustainable investment goals.
bit.ly/2SCMxPW

SGX reports market statistics for January 2020
SGX
Broad-based growth in trading activity across cash equities, equity derivatives and FX contracts; Record open interest across commodity derivatives
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today released its market statistics for January 2020. Both securities and derivatives markets posted broad-based growth in volumes despite a traditionally quiet period for Asia.
bit.ly/2OLcZFW

Nasdaq, Inc. Announces Proposed Senior Notes Offering
Nasdaq
Nasdaq, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced that it plans to offer, subject to market and other conditions, Euro-denominated senior notes (the "Offering"). The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the Offering to refinance indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes.
bit.ly/3brrE2U

TMX Group Limited Declares Dividend of $0.66 per Common Share and Announces Limited Share Repurchase Program
TMX
The Board of Directors of TMX Group Limited today declared a dividend of $0.66 on each common share outstanding, payable on March 13, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 28, 2020.
bit.ly/2SF8MES

TMX Group Limited Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019
TMX
TMX Group Limited [TSX:X] ("TMX Group") today announced results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019.
bit.ly/2uzQ75m

Equity Index Highlights - February 2020 edition
Eurex
January ended with market participants posing several critical questions: How long will the disruption to supply chains last? Will infection rates peak? What does this all mean for global growth? So far, the Chinese equity market and crude oil have been in the firing line. However, with interconnected global markets and, of course, global travel, the coronavirus is not purely a domestic issue. Volatility jumped in all major developed equity benchmarks. For Eurex, this translated into demand for liquid hedging instruments: VSTOXX® futures volume was up 33 percent and VSTOXX® options volume plus 47 percent compared to the same month last year. Our EURO STOXX 50®, DAX, mini-DAX, Banks sector and STOXX® 600 futures all saw higher turnover as well. These index futures volumes increases were largely mirrored in the respective index options, with additional interest in MSCI world index options.
bit.ly/2OLbOX2

ICE expands ETF hub with FIX connectivity and multi-order trading; ICE launched its ETF Hub last year in a bid to standardise the creation and redemption process for ETFs.
Hayley McDowell - The Trade
US exchange group ICE has bolstered its exchange traded funds (ETFs) hub with the launch of FIX connectivity and multi-order functionality.
bit.ly/39oltKZ

Euronext sales head departs for newly-created role at Euroclear; Chris French will oversee business development for Euroclear in the UK and Ireland.
Hayley McDowell - The Trade
The head of sales, managed services and technology solutions at pan-European exchange group Euronext has departed after several years to join Euroclear in a newly-created role.
bit.ly/2SAa8kl

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Upgrades Its Distance Training To Meet What The Market Needs
Mondovisione
To actively respond to the needs for market training during the anti-epidemic effort, SZSE launched the first session of upgraded open distance training to improve the mode of market services and strengthen business support and services. The distance training focuses on the implementation of the new Securities Law and sweeping reforms of the capital market, and provides safe, convenient and professional services to market players.
bit.ly/38tmZM9

Nasdaq Stockholm Orders Bayn Europe AB To Pay A Fine Corresponding To Four Annual Fees
Mondovisione
The Disciplinary Committee of Nasdaq Stockholm has found that Bayn Europe AB (the "Company") has breached the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Rulebook (the "Rulebook") and has therefore ordered the Company to pay a fine of four annual fees, corresponding to an amount of SEK 400,000.
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Fintech
A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors
Refinitiv adds extensive tick history data to Google Cloud; The historic tick data includes OTC and exchange-traded instruments from all asset classes dating back to 1996.
Hayley McDowell - The Trade
Refinitiv has expanded its use of cloud technology by placing its archive of pricing and trading data on the Google Cloud platform
bit.ly/2Sz6siR

ResearchPool targets buy-side with new interactions management tool; The tool aims to provide asset managers with more effective oversight of investment research processes.
Kiays Khalil - The Trade
Paris-based research management platform ResearchPool has launched an interactions management tool, allowing buy-side firms to streamline investment research processes under MiFID II.
bit.ly/3byUy1h

Varo Moves Closer to Becoming a Bank
Orla McCaffrey - WSJ
Financial-technology startup Varo Money Inc. said Monday it has received regulatory approval to use federal deposit insurance, a significant step in the fintech industry's quest to take on traditional banks. The approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. marks one of the few times the agency has given a fintech firm the ability to provide insured deposits. Banks have strongly opposed fintech companies' moves to take on more banklike characteristics, including their applications for regulatory charters, which allow banks to do business across state boundaries.
/on.wsj.com/39nHaeg

Big banks are set up to 'kill' change, says founder of $2.5 billion fintech firm Monzo
Ryan Browne - CNBC
Monzo CEO Tom Blomfield says big banks are saddled with outdated tech and a risk-averse culture. Blomfield says the banks are "set up to prevent change" and are "hunting out change and trying to kill it." His mobile bank's valuation rose to $2.5 billion on the back of a $146 million capital injection last year.
/cnb.cx/2SzvTAW

Quo, A Stanford Consumer Fintech Startup, Leverages AI To Provide Financial Security
Frederick Daso - Forbes
The car payment is due in seven days. The electric bill is past due. The cable service has been shut off. You need to go to the doctor, but you're uninsured. You also found out that your house needs significant repairs. You've hit your credit card limit, and your next paycheck doesn't come for another week and a half.
bit.ly/3bpDGtL

Is fintech in Kenya too successful?
Tom Collins - African Banker
Positioned as one of Africa's top performing economies, growing at a predicted 6% this year according to the latest African Development Bank (AfDB) figures, Kenya has led the continent in financial inclusion for well over a decade. According to the 2019 FinAccess Household Survey, put together in collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics and FSD Kenya, 82.9% of the adult population has access to at least one financial product.
bit.ly/3btHCtn




Cryptocurrencies
Top stories for cryptocurrencies
JPMorgan said to be in talks to merge its blockchain unit with ConsenSys
Yogita Khatri - The Block
Investment banking giant JPMorgan is reportedly in discussions to merge its blockchain unit Quorum with Ethereum development studio ConsenSys.
bit.ly/2SDIBhM

Coinbase Lists USDC, Zcash for New York Residents
Arnab Shome - Finance Magnates
Coinbase, a leading US-based crypto exchange, has launched trading services with USDC and Zcash for its New York-based clients. Announced on Twitter, the exchange opened trading with the two digital currencies across all its platforms - Coinbase.com and mobile apps for both iOS and Android.
bit.ly/2vkK5FU

US Treasury could have more oversight over crypto if Trump's budget proposal goes through
Yogita Khatri - The Block
The U.S. Department of the Treasury could have more supervision powers over the crypto space if President Donald Trump's budget proposal for the fiscal year 2021 goes through.
bit.ly/2HfSMnu

Checking 'Yes' For Schedule 1 Crypto Question May Not Be Enough
Shehan Chandrasekera - Forbes
If you are a cryptocurrency holder, you should probably be aware of the IRS question on Schedule 1 which asks "at any time during 2019, did you receive, sell, send, exchange or otherwise have any financial interest in any virtual currency?". In addition to answering this question accurately, this post discusses some additional steps you can take to avoid potential examination or audits by the IRS. Note that these are not required by the IRS currently, but best practices in my opinion.
bit.ly/3bqkwUl

Trump's 2021 Budget Proposal Seeks to Optimize Crypto Policing
Danny Nelson - Coindesk
U.S. President Donald Trump's $4.8 trillion budget proposal for FY 2021, released Monday, seeks to expand the Treasury Department's cryptocurrency oversight by returning the United States Secret Service, now a division of the Department of Homeland Security, to its jurisdiction.
bit.ly/31LtSWr

Plasma Became Optimism and It Might Just Save Ethereum
Leigh Cuen - Coindesk
The ethereum network is still looking to boost transaction capacity and the startup Optimism wants to lead the charge. Since the network's throughput is limited to roughly 15 transactions per second, ethereum can't become a widespread platform for automating functions, like supply chain management and loans, unless it scales. So Optimism aims to use a layered approach, similar to bitcoin's Lightning Network, to increase the number of people who can use the network with smart contracts.
bit.ly/2UHtnLx

Binance Adds Russian Ruble to Its P2P Exchange
Arnab Shome - Finance Magnates
Binance, one of the leading crypto exchanges, announced on Tuesday the addition of Russian ruble on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. This the third fiat currency added on the platform as it already lists services with Chinese yuan and Vietnamese dong. City Banquet 2030 - The perfect vessel to grow your business this year The P2P platform will allow Binance users to purchase services of Tether, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin with the newly added fiat.
bit.ly/3bpymXj

SEC 'Safe Harbor' Proposal Lauded by Token Fans, DeFi Builders at 0x Conference
William Foxley - Coindesk
The token industry is applauding SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce's "Safe Harbor" proposal, calling it a mature response to the 2017 ICO bubble. Announced the day before decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol 0x's 0xpo conference last Friday in San Francisco, founders, lawyers and tokenization fanatics of all stripes said the proposal could be a boon for both entrepreneurs and investors in the nascent tokenization industry.
bit.ly/38gdqju

Crypto market maker Wintermute Trading raises 'seven-figure' seed funding to enhance its platform
Yogita Khatri - The Block
Wintermute Trading, a London-based crypto market maker and proprietary trading firm, has raised a "seven-figure" sum in its seed funding round. Blockchain.com Ventures led the round, with participation from FBG Capital and other angel investors, according to a statement shared with The Block on Monday. With the fresh capital in place, Wintermute looks to enhance its algorithmic platform and grow its team.
bit.ly/3bu1nRt

Chinese Insurers Tap Blockchain to Speed up Coronavirus Payouts
Sebastian Sinclair - Coindesk
Blockchain technology is reportedly helping to streamline medical paperwork processing for insurance service providers as global coronavirus containment efforts continue. Leveraging blockchain's ability to process information transparently and efficiently, insurance service providers are relying on the technology to speed up claims payouts in over 27 coronavirus affected Chinese cities, as well as Hong Kong, according to a report by South China Morning Post on Sunday.
bit.ly/2w0mz19

Blockstack to pause its App Mining program due to several 'structural' challenges
Yogita Khatri - The Block
Decentralized computing platform Blockstack is putting its App Mining pilot program on indefinite pause. The program incentivizes developers in bitcoin to build apps on Blockstack. Muneeb Ali, co-founder and CEO of Blockstack, announced the news in a blog post on Monday, saying that the decision has been taken due to several "structural" challenges. Firstly, finding the right metrics to distinguish which apps are deserving of payouts is "complicated," said Ali. Therefore, Blockstack is looking to design a system that can rank "thousands of apps in different categories algorithmically."
bit.ly/37dbGpD

Inside Chainalysis' Multimillion-Dollar Relationship With the US Government
Danny Nelson - Coindesk
It started with a $9,000 data software contract for the FBI in 2015. But just five years later, Chainalysis is now the cryptocurrency-tracing equivalent of Palantir, the data analytics company flush with lucrative government software contracts. Chainalysis is, right now, doing millions of dollars worth of business each year with the U.S. government, dwarfing its competitors in the young industry of blockchain surveillance. The company is by far Uncle Sam's leading crypto analysis contractor by spending and has become the go-to firm for 10 federal agencies, departments and bureaus.
bit.ly/39qSWEJ

Joint Venture Launches Canadian Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin for Financial Services
Daniel Palmer - Coindesk
A new stablecoin pegged to the Canadian dollar may help digitize the North American nation's financial markets. Canada Stablecorp announced Monday it was issuing the "QCAD" stablecoin for "mass market," including foreign exchange remittances and other financial products. Canada Stablecorp is a joint venture between cryptoasset manager 3iQ, which recently received approval to launch a bitcoin fund, and Mavennet Systems, a blockchain development firm launched last year.
bit.ly/39urh5F




CryptoMarketsWiwki



Politics
An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets
Trump Downplays Brain Injuries in Iran Attack With Toll at 109
Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump again downplayed the severity of head injuries suffered by U.S. troops during an Iranian missile attack, as the injury total rose to 109.
/bloom.bg/2w8lmFe

China denies engaging in cyber theft following U.S. indictments on Equifax case
Reuters
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday the Chinese government and the military do not engage or participate in the theft of trade secrets through the internet.
/reut.rs/39ov5FK



Regulation & Enforcement
For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts.
Educational resources, common deficiencies and other important regulatory information for FCM, FDM and IB Members
NFA
NFA is committed to providing its Members with the resources they need to meet their regulatory obligations as efficiently as possible. This Notice covers educational resources, common deficiencies and links to Notices to Members regarding recent amendments to NFA Rules and Interpretive Notices.
bit.ly/2OLpktJ

NTF Availability for CTCI-MQ Protocol Users
FINRA
On Tuesday February 11, 2020, and Wednesday, February 12, 2020, the FINRA Test Facility (NTF) will be unavailable for clients who test using the CTCI-MQ.protocol. This affects FINRA's Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) and the OTC Reporting Facility (ORF).
bit.ly/39tABai

Episode 62: Corporate governance enforcement outcomes
ASIC
In this episode, we discuss the work of ASIC's Corporations and Corporate Governance Enforcement team. We explore ASIC's cases against former Kleenmaid director Mr Andrew Eric Young, former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Healthzone Limited, Mr Peter David Roach and former liquidator David Leigh.
bit.ly/2SzIVyn

ASIC update on compensation for financial advice related misconduct
ASIC
Six of Australia's largest banking and financial services institutions paid or offered a total of $749.7 million in compensation, as at 31 December 2019, to customers who suffered loss or detriment because of non-compliant advice or fees for no service (FFNS) misconduct.
bit.ly/2uzQyg0

ASIC bans former director of Spectrum Wealth Advisers for six years
ASIC
ASIC has banned Mark Schroeder from providing financial services for six years for his role in numerous compliance failures by Spectrum Wealth Advisers Pty Ltd (Spectrum).
bit.ly/3bvkHxV

Paul A. Montoya Named Associate Regional Director in Chicago Office
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Paul A. Montoya has been named Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in the Chicago Regional Office. Mr. Montoya succeeds Robert J. Burson, who retired from the agency in October 2019.
bit.ly/2P0bjc3

Commissioner Quintenz to Participate on a Panel at the European Financial Forum 2020
CFTC
bit.ly/3bqJD9J

Carl Icahn Blasts SEC Proxy Overhaul as a 'Big Step Backward'
Benjamin Bain - Bloomberg
Agency's plans insulate under-performing companies, Icahn says; Billionaire investor lays out criticism in letter to regulator
Carl Icahn is escalating his attacks on a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plan that he warns will make it harder for shareholders to hold companies accountable for poor performance.
/bloom.bg/2Shn7Zh








Investing & Trading
Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities)
How America's 1% came to dominate equity ownership; Wealthiest households have bought $1.2tn of company stakes since 1990
Robin Wigglesworth - FT
The wealthiest US households are strengthening their grip over corporate America. The richest 1 per cent of Americans now account for more than half the value of equities owned by US households, according to Goldman Sachs. Since 1990, the wealthiest have bought a net $1.2tn in company stakes, while the rest of the population has sold more than $1tn.
/on.ft.com/2Sz0fTX





Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds
The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures
Woodford's Smaller Fund Gets Asset Makeover Before Reopening
Suzy Waite - Bloomberg
ASI Income Focus Fund reopens to investors on Feb. 13; Woodford resigned as manager and fund was locked in October
Standard Life Aberdeen Plc's investment arm has overhauled a fund once run by Neil Woodford, shifting most of its assets into easy-to-sell stocks to prepare for possible withdrawals when the fund reopens on Thursday.
/bloom.bg/2UK2rKX

Ray Dalio Says Market Impact of Coronavirus Is 'Exaggerated'
Nicolas Parasie - Bloomberg
Bridgewater founder expects there to be a rebound in assets; Investors should focus on wealth gap, China and environment
Ray Dalio says the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on markets has been exaggerated and is likely to be short lived.
/bloom.bg/2w0apFx




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Regions
Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
Have Australia's scandal-hit banks changed their culture? Progress is patchy a year on from sweeping review and as public anger fades
Jamie Smyth - FT
It has been a tough year for Australia's banks since publication of a Royal Commission report into misconduct sparked executive resignations, a regulatory shake-up and a big jump in compliance costs that have dented earnings.
/on.ft.com/2usgCdd

UK active fund sales plummet on coronavirus fears; Investor inflows drop 90 per cent in January as slower global growth is expected
Attracta Mooney and Chris Flood - FT
Sales of active equity funds sold in the UK dropped by more than 90 per cent last month after the coronavirus outbreak in China led to a sharp deterioration in investor confidence.
/on.ft.com/2OJWr1a

Bankers in Asia brace for a virus-related deal drought
Kane Wu, Anshuman Daga, Scott Murdoch - Reuters
Bankers in Asia are bracing for a deal drought as efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus epidemic have put key meetings and roadshows on hold.
/reut.rs/31LF9pS

India to Lift Foreign Investment Cap on Some Sovereign Bonds
Vrishti Beniwal and Kartik Goyal - Bloomberg
Government plans fresh debt with no cap on foreign investment; Step is part of measures to seek inclusion in global indexes
India will remove foreign investment limits on some sovereign notes as part of its attempts to get inclusion in global bond indexes, the country's chief economic adviser said.
/bloom.bg/31HhhUf








Brexit
Financials stories regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union
Sajid Javid to push for 'permanent equivalence' for City in Brexit talks; Pursuit of decades-long access for financial services to EU market after Brexit
David Crow and George Parker and Sam Fleming - FT
The British government is demanding the EU sign up to a "permanent equivalence" regime for financial services that will last for "decades to come" to ensure the City of London can maintain access to the European market after Brexit.
/on.ft.com/3bvTTNJ

Brexit: Barnier rebuffs UK pitch for 'permanent equivalence' in financial services; EU's chief Brexit negotiator says Brussels will not budge on question of City access
Mehreen Khan and Sam Fleming - FT
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator warned the UK it would not be granted a permanent deal allowing City of London access to European markets, in words that will intensify concerns among financial services companies about the settlement they will receive.
/on.ft.com/39txCi6

Germany Is One of the Biggest Brexit Losers; Without the U.K., Germany is pushed into an EU role it hates. It loses a liberal soulmate, a counterweight to France, above all a counterweight to itself.
Andreas Kluth - Bloomberg
A somber feeling is spreading among Germany's elites, as the long-term implications of Brexit sink in. Of the European Union's 27 member states, Ireland obviously has the most to fear from the U.K.'s departure. But Germany may be second. That's because Brexit changes not only the remaining EU but also Germany's role within it — and in ways the Germans have for half a century been trying to avoid.
/bloom.bg/2SfPtDa








Miscellaneous
Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections
Get Used to Record-Breaking Heat Because It's Here to Stay
Alexander Kwiatkowski - Bloomberg
Every year over next decade likely in top 10 hottest: study; Prediction based on fluctuations in temperature since 1975
Unprecedented warming will dominate the coming decade, according to a new study, which said every year is likely to rank among the planet's 10 hottest.
/bloom.bg/2SzfLzk







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