| November 15, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Citadel's Ken Griffin was a bit chatty with Bloomberg News yesterday in an interview in which he opined on Miami replacing New York as a financial center, whether work from home would fuel corporate job cuts, the Fed's credibility if it cuts rates too soon and whether he will support Nikki Haley in her run for the Republican nomination for president.
Meanwhile, Miami is about to be awash in liquidity as up to 10 inches of rain are expected to fall in southeast Florida, leading to flash flooding. I am still on the road on my way back from Florida to Illinois and the weather forecast is the big news on the hotel TV this morning in the lobby where I am pounding out this newsletter.
Cboe Global Markets has proposed an amendment to the OPRA Plan to the SEC, aiming to enhance market data quality and availability for all OPRA Members. This amendment focuses on expanding the distribution of proprietary data and fostering innovation in market data competition. Specifically, Cboe wrote that it believes these changes will widen access to U.S. options market data, aligning with Regulation NMS principles. The changes also aim to increase transparency by broadening market data distribution channels, aiding investors in monitoring U.S. options exchange activity and making more informed trading decisions. Cboe also said it views these amendments as clarifications to the existing OPRA Plan, particularly addressing the "Equivalent Access Provision" in Section 5.2(c)(iii). This provision concerns the dissemination of proprietary information to members and others with equivalent access to consolidated options information, ensuring that the dissemination is not more timely than the information provided to the OPRA System.
CCP Global responded to the ESMA Consultation Paper on Draft Technical advice to the European Commission on fees charged to Tier 1 Third-Country CCPs under EMIR with this letter.
The Financial Times is out with its list of the "Best books of 2023 - Economics." The list was curated by the FT's Martin Wolf, who selected his best reads of the second half of 2023.
The latest episode of the LegalEagle video podcast on YouTube is titled "Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted." The LegalEagle is not to be missed.
The fundraising total for the LaSalle Street Trading Tech Reunion for the Pathway to Adventure Council of the Boy Scouts of America hit $105,000 yesterday as we prepare for the event tomorrow. I will have the complete list of contributors after the event. Thank you to all who have given and all who have yet to give. If you would like to give, you can use this link.
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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The FIA is holding its Asia Derivatives Conference this year at The St. Regis Singapore from November 28-30, and one of the highlights of the conference is "The Great Debate - Man vs Machine." Industry experts will tackle the question: Will technology redefine labor-intensive roles, or will machines replace mankind altogether? At the end of the debate, vote YES or NO on the motion: "This house believes that Machine will replace Man in the future." You can explore the program and register for the conference here. ~SR
Our most read stories yesterday on JLN Options were:
- Burry, famous for 'Big Short,' places bearish bet against semiconductor ETF from Reuters (via Yahoo Finance).
- 'Super' multi-manager hedge funds are losing some of their superness from the Financial Times.
- Oil traders turn bearish, daring OPEC+ to cut again from Reuters. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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| Sponsored Content |
To reinforce the function of margin, that is to "protect investors," Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), a group entity of Japan Exchange Group (JPX), that handles clearing of JPX's derivatives market, has changed its Margin calculation methodology from "SPAN method" to "VaR method" on November 6, 2023
Under the VaR Margin calculation method, there are 2 types of calculation methods, Historical Simulation Method (HS-VaR Method) and Alternative Simulation Method (AS-VaR Method).
HS-VaR method is used for Index Futures/Options (such as our flagship contract Nikkei 225 futures, excluding dividends index futures), Japanese Government Bond (JGB) Futures/Options, Interest Rate Futures (3-Month TONA Futures) listed on Osaka Exchange (OSE), and TOCOM's Electricity and LNG Futures contracts. On the other hand, AS-VaR method is used for OSE's Dividends index futures, Precious Metals Futures/Options, Rubber Futures, Agricultural Futures and TOCOM's Energy Futures (other than Electricity/LNG Futures).
* In JST: JST minus 15 hours = Chicago time.
** Instruments subject to AS-VaR Method are also recorded.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION
Note: Each Broker decides its handling of the amount of Margin to investors independently based on the Margin requirement JSCC notifies the Brokers. So, the Margin requirement JSCC calls for the Brokers and the amount of Margin Brokers require for investors to deposit may be different.
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Contact: Osaka Exchange / Tokyo Commodity Exchange Derivatives Business Development
E-mail: ose-dmg@jpx.co.jp
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Options Discovery Episode 24: Intro to Marker Makers in the Options Industry; Eric Cott, Former Advisor in Education at the OIC, Discusses Market Makers and More With JLN's Asma Awass.
JohnLothianNews.com
In this episode of Options Discovery, Asma Awass discusses market makers in the options industry. This episode includes a breakdown of bid-ask spread trading, as well as some of the benefits and risks for market makers. Asma then sits down with Eric Cott, developer of the options education advisor program at the OIC, to discuss market makers in the options industry in more depth. Eric Cott is also the founder of Cott Consulting LLC. You can visit his website here: https://cottconsulting.com/services.
Watch the video »
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Broadridge's Justin Llewellyn-Jones Highlights AI and Multi-asset Trading Evolution at FIA Expo
JohnLothianNews.com
At the FIA Expo 2023, Justin Llewellyn-Jones of Broadridge, in a video interview with John Lothian News, detailed the significant strides in trade processing technology, emphasizing the role of AI and the shift towards multi-asset trading platforms. He noted the dramatic increase in automation over the last two decades, from algorithmic trading to the integration of advanced analytics and now the burgeoning influence of generative AI and machine learning.
Watch the video »
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AI outperforms conventional weather forecasting methods for first time; Google DeepMind's model beat world's leading system in 90% of metrics used and took only a fraction of the time
Clive Cookson - Financial Times
Artificial intelligence has for the first time convincingly outperformed conventional forecasting methods at predicting weather around the world up to 10 days into the future. The GraphCast AI model "marks a turning point in weather forecasting", its developers at Google DeepMind said in a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Science on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3uc9Oid
***** Tom Skilling is retiring and he is going to be replaced by an AI model?~JJL
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Three Reasons to Take Social Security Early; The experts typically say that you're better off waiting. But that isn't always the case.
Debbie Carlson - The Wall Street Journal
Conventional wisdom holds that retirees are financially better off delaying their Social Security benefits to get a fatter payout. But for some people, not delaying-or even claiming before full retirement age-makes sense. You can receive your full benefit once you reach full retirement age-around 66 or 67, depending on what year you were born. People who wait until 70 get an additional 8% annually, says Tim Steffen, director of advanced planning at Baird, a private wealth manager based in Milwaukee. You can also start as early as 62, but that means a much smaller payout. The math is complex on how big the haircut is, but it can be roughly 30% annually for people who start at 62, versus waiting for full retirement age to receive full benefits.
/jlne.ws/3R0W82k
****** While I was in Florida, I came across my parents' tax returns from 2002 when my father turned 70 and started to take Social Security. He received it for one year before he died. My mother did not receive survivor benefits because she was a teacher receiving a pension from a government source and that income was enough that she did not qualify for any Social Security benefits. My parents did not know my father would die at the age of 72 and get little for Social Security, but then it was really not that much money back then either. HIs total Social Security in 2002 was just $12,000+. Knowing when to take Social Security is a guess at best, with multiple variables that can be unpredictable. ~JJL
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Wall Street Is Tapping Women- and Minority-Owned Banks for Billion-Dollar Bond Deals
Caleb Mutua - Bloomberg
Top billing on the $1 billion bond deal went to a big name in banking: Wells Fargo & Co. The other players were less familiar but chosen for a specific reason: they're led by executives from groups underrepresented on Wall Street. After being relegated to bit parts for decades, women- and minority-owned investment banks are slowly stepping into larger roles as corporations like Verizon Communications Inc., which issued the $1 billion of bonds this year, push their go-to banking partners to team up with diverse firms.
/jlne.ws/3R0YYo0
****** Time to get out those binders of women and minority-owned banks.~JJL
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How Index Options Offer Potential Tax Savings In The Options Trading World
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets' (BATS:CBOE) Index options have witnessed a remarkable transformation over the years, with them now being accessible to both institutional and retail traders. These derivative instruments allow you to speculate on the market's direction, hedge against downside risks and generate income. While they offer a plethora of benefits, there's one particular advantage that stands out - 60/40 tax treatment. In this article, we'll delve into the world of index options, shedding light on this unique tax benefit and exploring what you need to know before you embark on your index options trading journey.
/jlne.ws/47gmQtG
****** Cboe pouring gas on a hot options market with tax advice for options trading.~JJL
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RIP Goldman Sachs
Bethany McLean - Business Insider
My first job after college was as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. The three years I spent there were very long - time plays tricks on you when you're working 100 hours a week - and very unhappy. But they were also very formative. I learned how to think about how a business makes money. I learned how to work really hard. I learned how not to be intimidated. And I acquired a deep and lasting paranoia of being even a minute late, a mindset that is familiar to anyone who has been a junior analyst at Goldman, and one that my friends today find equal parts baffling and amusing.
/jlne.ws/3Qx9guQ
*****Can you kill a vampire squid?~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was The Wall Street Journal's ICBC Hackers Used Methods Previously Flagged by U.S. Authorities. Second was "Dear Marjorie," the song and video tribute to the late Marjorie Lothian (John Lothian's mother) by Andrew Lothian, aka Wallace Tallman. Today is the anniversary of Marjorie Lothian's passing. Third was the Financial Times' Best books of 2023 - Technology, a selection from John Thornhill.
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| Lead Stories | Cyber attack shines light on role of China's largest lender in US Treasury market; Disruption caused by hack of ICBC shows how bank has become an important link in $26tn market
Costas Mourselas, Kate Duguid and Cheng Leng - Financial Times
As they patch up their bond trading operations following the hack of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, brokers are also piecing together how China's largest lender became such a significant player in US Treasuries that the attack on its systems could disrupt the $26tn market.
/jlne.ws/49DJpdy
MFS, home of first-ever mutual fund, jumps into ETFs; Boston-based firm that created the mutual fund embraces fast-rising rival fund structure
Brian Ponte - Financial Times
MFS Investment Management plans to launch its first exchange traded funds as early as next year, the company has confirmed, bringing the largest holdout mutual fund manager in the US into the ETF market. The move is particularly notable, given that the Boston-based house created the world's first mutual fund, the Massachusetts Investors Trust, in 1924.
/jlne.ws/47Ba2h5
An almost convincing Delaware-crypto-filing scam; No, BlackRock is not creating a iShares XRP fund
Alexandra Scaggs - Financial Times
Ah, Delaware...along with decent beaches and the fading glamour of the DuPont dynasty, the state is known for being a cheap and cheerful venue for registering companies in relative privacy. It isn't so private that someone can register a company under false pretences without getting referred to federal prosecutors, however. A spokesperson for the Delaware Department of State said Tuesday that it has referred what appears to be a faked iShares filing to the state's Department of Justice.
/jlne.ws/3QFqUMZ
SEC Touts $5 Billion in Penalties After Year of Crypto Dragnet
Austin Weinstein - Bloomberg
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said that its enforcement actions during fiscal year 2023 led to almost $5 billion in fines and money ordered to be reimbursed to investors, as the agency sued Wall Street brokerages and many of the largest players in the crypto industry. The SEC said Tuesday that the total penalties it won between October 2022 and Sept. 30 was the second highest amount on record. In a statement, the regulator highlighted its actions involving digital assets, cybersecurity and Wall Street brokerage employees using unapproved communications platforms to conduct business.
/jlne.ws/3QB8ayd
JPMorgan Says JPM Coin Transactions May Hit $10 Billion Daily; Farooq says 'we really think it's going to start taking off'; He's the head of financial institution payments at the bank
Sunil Jagtiani - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s digital token JPM Coin could be handling as much as $10 billion in daily transactions in the next year or two, according to the bank's Global Head of Financial Institution Payments Umar Farooq. Farooq said he's hoping for at least five times to 10 times growth in transactions over the period. JPM Coin currently handles about $1 billion daily. "We really think it's going to start taking off," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's Haslinda Amin on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Singapore FinTech Festival.
/jlne.ws/40CR9YY
Archax, TomorrowNext and Ownera Demonstrate Tokenized Access to Money Market Funds; Executing a live production trade of a Money Market Fund
Archax
Archax, the first FCA regulated global digital asset exchange, custodian and broker, TomorrowNext, provider of a software platform for the discovery and management of tokenized real-world assets and Ownera, provider of a global interoperability network based on the open FinP2P protocol, today announced that they have been working together to distribute Money Market Funds over the Ownera network in token form. While the ecosystem and related interest in the tokenization of real-world assets continues to rapidly expand, until now it has lacked a common global interoperability network connecting issuers, investors, exchanges and other market participants.
/jlne.ws/3QZqJ0t
Millions of Old Bitcoin Wallets Have Critical Security Flaws, Experts Say
Thomas Germain - Gizmodo
Bitcoin wallets older than 2016 could have a vulnerability that puts over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency at risk, according to a report in the Washington Post. According to Unciphered, a cryptocurrency recovery company, an untold number of crypto wallets were designed with baked-in flaws that leave a backdoor in the code that hackers could easily break open. Encrypted software systems like crypto wallets often rely on random number generators, but the company found that a significant number of wallets were built on open-source software that used numbers that aren't nearly random enough. These vulnerable wallets use keys with numbers that are one in several thousand instead of one in a trillion, making them susceptible to brute-force attacks. Wallets created before March 2012 are particularly unsafe, according to Unciphered. Most wallets created between then and the tail end of 2015 are fine, but at least two percent could be vulnerable. The random number generators used in the crypto community have since improved, and any new wallets should be safe-at least from this particular issue. Unciphered hasn't found any wallets created after 2016 that contain the Randstorm flaw.
/jlne.ws/3MHE5fc
The $2 Trillion Interest Bill That's Hitting Governments; Debt-servicing costs complicate plans in many countries for more military, climate spending
Chelsey Dulaney, Andrew Duehren and Peter Santilli - The Wall Street Journal
The world spent the past decade-plus taking advantage of rock-bottom interest rates to binge on debt. An unprecedented bill is coming due. Governments are expected to spend a net $2 trillion paying interest on their debt this year as higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive, up more than 10% from 2022, according to an analysis of International Monetary Fund data by research consulting firm Teal Insights and a separate analysis by Fitch Ratings. By 2027, it could top $3 trillion, according to Teal Insights.
/jlne.ws/3FXQSGL
Ken Griffin Sees Miami Possibly Replacing NYC as Finance Capital
Michael Smith and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Citadel founder Ken Griffin says his new home of Miami could eventually unseat New York's as the world's financial center. "We'll see how big Wall Street South becomes," Griffin said in an interview Tuesday with Bloomberg News at the Citadel Securities Global Macro Conference in Miami. "We're on Brickell Bay, and maybe in 50 years it will be Brickell Bay North how we refer to New York in finance."
/jlne.ws/3SGCxpp
Citadel's Ken Griffin Says Work-From-Home May Fuel Corporate Job Cuts
Hema Parmar and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Citadel founder Ken Griffin sees one side effect of years of working from home: companies may find it easier to fire people. "What worries me in a hybrid work environment or work-from-home environment, the cultural or social contract that holds people together in a company is unquestionably weaker," Griffin said Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview at his firm's inaugural global macro conference in Miami. "That worries me in terms of willingness of corporate America to make cuts in the workforce."
/jlne.ws/3QWD71c
Ken Griffin Says Fed's Credibility At Risk If It Cuts Rates Too Soon
Katherine Burton and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Citadel founder Ken Griffin said the Federal Reserve risks a hit to its reputation if it cuts interest rates too quickly. "The Fed needs to have the message that they will put the inflation genie back in the bottle," Griffin said Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview at his firm's inaugural global macro conference in Miami. "If they cut too soon, I think they risk losing credibility around their commitment to a 2% inflation target."
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Ken Griffin Says He'll Decide Soon About Supporting Nikki Haley
Hadriana Lowenkron and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Citadel founder Ken Griffin says he is close to making a decision about financially backing Nikki Haley's presidential bid, a move that would give her campaign a boost two months out from the Iowa caucuses. "We're at the finish line on that choice," Griffin said in an interview Tuesday with Bloomberg News at the Citadel Securities Global Macro Conference in Miami. "That's a decision we're actively contemplating."
/jlne.ws/3MI0PvJ
Brokerage firm BTIG accuses rival StoneX of stealing technology
Reuters
U.S. brokerage firm BTIG on Monday sued rival StoneX Group Inc (SNEX.O) in San Francisco, accusing it of stealing trade secrets and seeking at least $200 million in damages. "Defendant StoneX recruited a team of BTIG traders and software engineers to exfiltrate BTIG software code and proprietary information and take it to StoneX," lawyers for BTIG wrote in the California Superior Court lawsuit.
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Asset managers seek alternative products to OTC exposures in face of investment trilemma
Acuiti
Asset managers are looking for alternative products to gain tailored exposures to equity derivatives as their strategies evolve in complexity, a new study from Acuiti has found. The rise of thematic, ESG and climate investing has created demand from asset managers to trade tailorable baskets of equities in order to gain specific exposures. However, to date, investors have faced a trilemma with no available products in the post-crisis world offering capital and margin efficiency, low trading costs and customisability.
/jlne.ws/46a8ycM
Hong Kong Ousts Dubai as Biggest Hub for Russian Gold Trading; Asian city has already imported quadruple last year's volume; US sanctions and stricter UAE regulations have curbed trade
Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper and Eddie Spence - Bloomberg
Shut out of London following the invasion of Ukraine, Russian gold trading switched to Dubai. Now it's shifting again, to the bullion hub of Hong Kong. The city has long been a key conduit for bullion entering the Chinese mainland - the world's biggest consumer market - but since April, Russian shipments surged. Hong Kong imported 68 tons of Russian gold this year, four times as much as the whole of 2022. The shift to Hong Kong was driven by US sanctions on Russia's top gold miners, as well as a crackdown by the United Arab Emirates on illicit activities in its bullion market, according to people familiar with the matter. The move east underlines the challenge faced by the West in curbing resource flows that fund the Kremlin's war machine.
/jlne.ws/46jbGmy
China Caps OTC Derivatives in Setback to Hedge Funds, Brokerages; Regulators limit swaps, options businesses at current levels; Move is said to curb quant hedge funds' popular DMA products
Bloomberg News
Chinese regulators have told securities firms to stop expanding their over-the-counter derivatives operations involving individual stocks, limiting a profitable business for the brokerage industry and dealing another setback to hedge funds that deploy long-short strategies. Regulators last week told multiple major brokerages to cap OTC businesses including total return swaps and options at the current levels, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Similar restrictions were imposed on lending of shares for short selling, as well as some proprietary trading activities, the people said, asking not to be identified as the so-called window guidance was private. Contracts only linked to stock indices or exchange-traded funds were exempted, they added.
/jlne.ws/3R094px
XRP Surges Temporarily After Fake BlackRock ETF Filing
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
XRP experienced a sudden 12.3% surge today following a fake filing in Delaware that claimed the existence of a "BlackRock iShares XRP Trust." Despite the submission of the corporate registration, BlackRock, the $9 trillion asset manager, clarified that it did not file the document, dispelling confusion among XRP holders.
/jlne.ws/47f8xp8
Proprietary Trading Firms Plan FX Expansion
Editorial Staff - Traders Magazine
Proprietary trading firms are planning to expand FX trading and increase investment budgets in 2024, according to the latest Acuiti Proprietary Trading Management Insight Report.mThis quarter's report found that 45% of firms that trade FX were planning to significantly increase exposures in the asset class in 2024. Firms were also planning growth in equity options.
/jlne.ws/47xJY6z
'What the Hell Is Going On at the FDIC?' Lawmakers Grill Agency Chairman; Martin Gruenberg tells Senate panel he is 'deeply troubled' by accounts of alleged harassment, toxic culture within bank regulator raised by Wall Street Journal investigation
Rebecca Ballhaus - The Wall Street Journal
Senators on Tuesday questioned Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg over the agency's handling of allegations of harassment and discrimination revealed by a Wall Street Journal investigation. "What the hell is going on at the FDIC?" asked Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.).
/jlne.ws/3MIk6Nu
FDIC Chair 'Deeply Troubled' by Workplace Misconduct Claims
Katanga Johnson - Bloomberg
The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. told lawmakers on Tuesday that his agency had launched an investigation into reports of misogynistic culture among bank examiners that prompted women to quit the agency.
/jlne.ws/3SHwXDp
Who is watching the watchdog when it comes to FDIC behaviour? If the agency tolerated alleged sexual harassment and loutish boozing in house, no wonder it has struggled to control the bankers
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
Lewd comments, strip club visits, loutish behaviour on training trips and pressure to drink while on the job. It sounds like an all too familiar Wall Street scandal. But this time, the alleged bad boys aren't bankers, but the regulators charged with keeping them in line.
/jlne.ws/40KUvta
Bankers Brace for Bonus Cuts With No Relief Seen Next Year; Merger advisers could see their incentive pay drop 25%; Johnson Associates projects another 'disappointing year'
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Bonus season on Wall Street is looking grim for bankers in an industry hobbled by rising interest rates, bank failures and a dealmaking slump. Next year will probably be no better. Merger advisers could see their payouts for 2023 slide as much as 25%, according to a report Tuesday from compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc. At regional banks, year-end compensation for professionals in retail and commercial businesses could fall 10% to 20%, the company found.
/jlne.ws/3FYTEvb
Goldman Sachs discusses bigger bonuses for top traders, dealmakers
Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar - Reuters
Goldman Sachs bosses are considering fatter bonuses to retain star traders and dealmakers this year as the bank looks to win over some who were disappointed by smaller payments in 2022, according to five sources with knowledge of the situation. The bank has been through a dismal year with earnings down 34% in the first nine months of 2023, pressured by tepid dealmaking and writedowns for a consumer business that lost $3 billion in three years. Goldman's weaker year-to-date profit suggests payouts should be flat or lower, said Stephen Biggar, an analyst at Argus Research.
/jlne.ws/49Ea35K
Crypto Exchange Blockchain.com Raises $110 Million at a Fraction of Prior Valuation
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Blockchain.com, which operates a cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service, closed a $110 million round of funding led by UK-based Kingsway Capital, the latest sign that crypto-focused venture-capital investments are picking up amid this year's rebound in digital-asset prices.
/jlne.ws/3G1rUWI
TNS Acquires West Highland Support Services to Deliver Full-Stack Market Data Solutions Globally; Vendor-neutral, one-stop-shop strategy combines market data solutions and consulting support with comprehensive infrastructure and cloud services
Transaction Network Services
Transaction Network Services (TNS) today announced the acquisition of West Highland Support Services, a financial market data solutions provider based in Danbury, Connecticut. The acquisition will enable TNS to deliver market data services across the entire trading infrastructure stack, making TNS the only Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider to combine a vendor-neutral approach to market data application management. The combination of TNS and West Highland services into one stack will offer connectivity, monitoring and consulting to professional traders, institutions and financial services vendors worldwide. All West Highland employees, products and services will integrate into TNS.
/jlne.ws/40FWcYF
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine Starts Grain Insurance Program Days After Missile Attack
Aine Quinn and Volodymyr Verbianyi - Bloomberg
Ukraine is starting an insurance program with broker Marsh McLennan and Lloyd's of London to provide cover for grain vessels sailing from Ukraine's deep-sea ports, just days after a ship was hit by a Russian missile. The country is launching a $50 million program for insuring ships against military risks, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a Facebook post.
/jlne.ws/3SF4JsQ
Russia will pay heavy price for Avdiivka, says Ukraine
Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday the defence of the shattered eastern city of Avdiivka was key to Kyiv's war plans, with heavy Russian losses there likely to undermine Moscow's conduct of the broader conflict. Zelenskiy's chief of staff, meanwhile, acknowledged for the first time that Ukraine's forces in southern Kherson region had established a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, potentially opening a new line of attack towards Crimea.
/jlne.ws/47fLkmQ
Russia Cuts Oil-Export Duty for First Time Since July on Prices; Finance Ministry sets the levy at $24.7 a ton for December; Oil proceeds are key source of revenue for Russian budget
Bloomberg News
Russia will cut the export levy on crude its producers pay for the first time since July following a drop in global oil prices. The government will lower the duty to $24.7 a ton next month as the price of the country's key export blend Urals declined, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. That's down by 5.7% from November and equates to about $3.37 a barrel.
/jlne.ws/3QEPQnN
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| Israel/Palestine Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Palestine | US Is Quietly Sending Israel More Ammunition, Missiles; Supplying shells for Apache gunships, bunker-buster munitions; Arms arrive on a 'near-daily basis,' Defense Department says
Anthony Capaccio - Bloomberg
The Pentagon has quietly ramped up military aid to Israel, delivering on requests that include more laser-guided missiles for its Apache gunship fleet, as well as 155mm shells, night-vision devices, bunker-buster munitions and new army vehicles, according to an internal Defense Department list.
/jlne.ws/46ezLeb
US Frustration With Israel Grows as Gaza Civilian Deaths Mount; More difficult conversations with Israel cited by officials; Risks of US strategy embracing Prime Minister Netanyahu
Courtney McBride, Ben Bartenstein, and Peter Martin - Bloomberg
The White House is getting increasingly frustrated with Israel's conduct of the war against Hamas as the civilian death toll mounts and the administration's calls go unheeded, widening a rift between the close allies. Administration officials are having what they describe as more difficult conversations with their Israeli counterparts as the US tries to shape the conflict - only to have Israel ignore them, according to several people familiar with the conversations who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
/jlne.ws/49yIsmG
Hostages Must Be at the Center of Every Conversation About This War
Moshe Emilio Lavi - The New York Times
More than five weeks ago, on Oct. 7, my brother-in-law Omri Miran was yanked away from his wife, my sister Lishay, and their two beautiful daughters, Roni and Alma, and kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The four of them had been held captive together at gunpoint by Hamas terrorists and their accomplices for hours; the family witnessed their community burn and their neighbors executed. And then they were separated: Omri was taken captive to the Gaza Strip, and Lishay, Roni and Alma were left behind, waiting for a similar fate or worse before Israel Defense Forces soldiers eventually rescued them.
/jlne.ws/47vLLcq
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | DTCC'S ALERT SURPASSES 15 MILLION STANDING SETTLEMENT INSTRUCTIONS
DTCC
DTCC, the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that DTCC ALERT, the industry's largest online global database for the maintenance and communication of account and standing settlement instructions (SSIs), has reached a key milestone with over 15 million SSIs, including three million cash SSIs, now included in the service- a 50% increase since 2021. This growth comes at a critical time, as the U.S. moves to a T+1 settlement cycle in May 2024. Accurate, automated SSIs are key to the facilitation of accelerated settlement, as leveraging golden copy data limits discrepancies that could potentially cause failed or delayed trades.
/jlne.ws/47flZt6
CME Group and LPGA Announce Two-Year Extension of CME Group Tour Championship with Increased $11 Million Purse and Record $4 Million First-Place Prize
CME Group
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced an extension of the CME Group Tour Championship and the season-long Race to the CME Globe through 2025. This two-year title sponsorship agreement will bring exciting new opportunities for women's golf starting in 2024, with an enhanced total purse of $11 million, including a record $4 million first-place prize, and $1 million for the runner-up. Additionally, as part of an enhanced purse distribution formula, for the first time ever, every competitor who qualifies for the 60-golfer field will be awarded at least $55,000, increasing recognition for all players.
/jlne.ws/3R0k5ak
Sbe-Varvit lists on Euronext Growth Milan
Euronext
Borsa Italiana, part of the Euronext Group, today congratulates Sbe-Varvit on its listing on Euronext Growth Milan. The company, part of the Vescovini Group, operates in the production, distribution, and marketing of a wide range of fastening components including screws, bolts, nuts, cold and hot stamped products, fasteners, and highly engineered mechanical components. With headquarters in Reggio Emilia and several production facilities in Italy and one in Serbia, the Group operates as a full service provider serving more than 5,000 customers globally.
/jlne.ws/40FxJ5R
JSE Enables Secondary and Fast-Track Listings from Hong Kong
JSE
/jlne.ws/49B28Gm
First Cabo Verdean green bond listed on LuxSE
LuxSE
Less than two years after initiating their cooperation, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (BVC) can celebrate another milestone made possible by their joint efforts to advance sustainable finance developments within and beyond Cabo Verde. After organising educational programmes and technical assistance by LuxSE in Praia, which contributed to the establishment of the Blu-X platform by BVC, the two exchanges are now cooperating to bring sustainable bonds from Cabo Verde to international investors via LuxSE.
/jlne.ws/47dQZKc
SEBI inaugurates Common Investors Service Centre in Mumbai with NSE & BSE
NSE
SEBI, NSE, and BSE have been actively involved in various initiatives and measures to enhance investor services and protection in India's securities market. To provide a comprehensive suite of securities market services to investors in the western region of Maharashtra, SEBI along with Stock Exchanges - NSE and BSE have established a Common Investor Service Centre" (ISC) in Mumbai.
/jlne.ws/40H7DPG
NYSE American Equities - Regulatory Halt in CCF November 15th, 2023 7:58 AM MARKET
NYSE
NYSE AMERICAN SERVICE TRADING NYSE American Equities has halted the following symbol for merger effective: CCF - Chase Corporation - 08:50:11 ET
/jlne.ws/3ufM0GZ
NYSE Bonds - Addition to the List of Traded Bonds
NYSE
The following bonds will be added at the opening of trading on Thursday, November 16, 2023. These bonds have been added as "NYSE traded bonds" pursuant to an SEC exemption that allows the NYSE to trade certain non-convertible debt of NYSE listed companies and their wholly owned subsidiaries, without the issuer having listed those securities on the NYSE. Bond Symbol Description CUSIP Coupon Maturity HMC/28E American Honda Finance Corporation 5.65% SNR NTS 11/15/2028
/jlne.ws/3ufM0GZ
Barclays joins Vienna Stock Exchange as trading member; The bank joins a list of 66 members who are currently admitted to the exchange.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
The Vienna Stock Exchange has included Barclays Bank Ireland as a new trading member on its platform. The new international trading member will participate in trading as of today. These entities currently contribute to more than 85% of the equity turnover in Vienna.
/jlne.ws/40FCe0f
LSEG Singapore NDF matching platform goes live; The roll-out is the first phase of LSEG's plans to implement NDF, spot matching and streaming relationship venues in Asia.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) fully cleared non-deliverable forwards (NDF) matching platform has gone live. Based in Singapore and with the backing of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) the platform is the first phase of LSEG's plans to implement NDF, spot matching and streaming relationship venues in Asia.
/jlne.ws/3MFSUir
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Eventus wins Best Market & Trade Surveillance Solution for digital assets in Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2023; Third win of Regulation Asia award and ninth recognition in region over past three years
Eventus
Eventus, a leading global provider of state-of-the-art, at-scale trade surveillance software across all lines of defense, today announced that the firm has won the award for Best Market & Trade Surveillance Solution in the Digital Assets category in the Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2023. The awards were announced at a ceremony in Singapore last night.
/jlne.ws/3QGqYvN
China Claims World's Fastest Internet With 1.2 Terabit-Per-Second Network; Huawei, Tsinghua and China Mobile claim an industry first; The network spans 3,000 km from Beijing to Guangzhou
Bloomberg News
Huawei Technologies Co. and China Mobile Ltd. have built a 3,000 kilometer (1,860-mile) internet network linking Beijing to the south, which the country is touting as its latest technological breakthrough.
/jlne.ws/47zwyXI
Goldman leads new funding for Fnality blockchain payments firm
Huw Jones - Reuters
Fnality, a blockchain-based wholesale payments firm, said on Tuesday it has raised 77.7 million pounds ($95.09 million) in a second round of funding backed by Goldman Sachs and other blue chip financial firms as it awaits Bank of England approval to start operations. UK-based Fnality seeks to bridge the gap between mainstream and digital finance to cut the time and cost of settling, managing collateral and making payments for financial market transactions.
/jlne.ws/3spPmdn
Google's DeepMind Builds AI for More Accurate Weather Forecasts; AI weather model can produce forecasts faster, more accurately; GraphCast performed well predicting extreme weather events
Seth Fiegerman - Bloomberg
Google's DeepMind has developed an artificial intelligence model that uses decades of historical weather conditions to produce accurate 10-day forecasts in less than a minute. GraphCast outperformed the gold-standard forecasting model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on roughly 90% of metrics tested, according to a study, which was published in the journal Science on Tuesday. The model also performed well when predicting the most severe weather, the study showed.
/jlne.ws/46n1Xfi
Singapore Wants to Play 'Long Game' in AI Space, MAS Official Says
Sunil Jagtiani - Bloomberg
Singapore aims to foster the responsible development of artificial intelligence technology after learning lessons from upheavals in the digital-asset sector, according to the chief fintech officer at the central bank.
/jlne.ws/3szOJOg
HSBC goes live on Broadridge's distributed ledger repo platform; The solution aims to empower clients through operational efficiency and a significant reduction in settlement costs.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
HSBC is the latest client to go live on Broadridge Financial Solutions' newly launched repo solution, built on its distributed ledger (DLT) enabled repo platform. It is the second entity to go live since the sponsored repo solution's launch in early October.
/jlne.ws/3MG9Chy
OpenAI Pauses New Signups to Manage Overwhelming Demand
Peter Elstrom - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3MFdZcP
WorldRemit taps into demand for easier international money transfers; The UK fintech has grown by enabling migrant workers to make low-cost remittances, but it faces stiff competition
Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/478JP9Y
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Cybersecurity Warning Puts Palo Alto's 87% Rally in Spotlight
Carmen Reinicke - Bloomberg
Signs of trouble in the cybersecurity sector are making some investors nervous ahead of Palo Alto Networks Inc.'s earnings report due after Wednesday's close.
This month's warning about a spending slowdown from peer Fortinet Inc. raised concerns that Palo Alto's quarter may have faced similar headwinds. That's put more scrutiny on the 87% rally in its shares this year, with the seller of firewall software and other security services having trounced peers to be the sixth-best performing stock in the S&P 500.
/jlne.ws/46eKEwK
Financial Institutions in New York Face Stricter Cybersecurity Rules
Katrina Thompson - Tripwire
Boards of directors need to maintain an appropriate level of cyber expertise, incidents must be reported within 72 hours after determination, and all ransom payments made must be reported within a day. Those are just some of the changes made by The New York State Department of Financial Services to its Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services (23 NYCRR 500), effective November 1, 2023. This tightening of the reigns will hold businesses to higher security scrutiny and make technical and non-technical stakeholders alike more accountable.
/jlne.ws/47fMyOS
Australia says hacks surging, state-sponsored groups targeting critical infrastructure
Renju Jose and Byron Kaye - Reuters
State-sponsored cyber groups and hackers have increased assaults on Australia's critical infrastructure, businesses and homes, a government report said, adding that its new defence agreement with Britain and the U.S. had likely made it more of a target. Reports of cybercrime surged 23% to more than 94,000 in the financial year to June, the Australian Cyber Security Centre said in its annual threat report on Wednesday. It estimated there was a hack on Australian assets every six minutes.
/jlne.ws/3ueDbR9
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Stablecoin USDC's Slide Makes Circle's Proposed IPO a Hard Sell; Circle has started talking to advisers to prepare for IPO; Several reasons behind USDC's market share loss to Tether
Olga Kharif, Sidhartha Shukla, and Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
Preparing a company for an initial public offering is never an easy feat. Circle Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire faces an especially daunting task. Circle's main product, the crypto stablecoin USDC, is losing ground to chief competitor Tether's namesake token, eroding its importance in digital-asset markets. Crypto executives and investors point to several reasons for the market-share loss, some of which could be hard for Allaire to quickly address. Circle has started talking to advisers as it considers an IPO that could take place early next year, Bloomberg News reported Nov. 7. The company said at the time it doesn't "comment on rumors."
/jlne.ws/3SDr5ef
BlackRock (BLK) Seeks Crypto Expansion, Files for Ethereum ETF
Zacks Equity Research
BlackRock, Inc. BLK expands cryptocurrency exposure as the firm files for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), named iShares Ethereum Trust, with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filing was submitted by Nasdaq exchange on behalf of the asset manager.
/jlne.ws/3svHneL
Hong Kong-Listed Crypto Exchange OSL's Owner Secures $90.1M Investment
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
Hong Kong-based BC Technology Group, the operator of the publicly listed cryptocurrency exchange OSL, has announced a significant investment of approximately 710 million Hong Kong dollars ($90.1 million) from industry firm BGX. The partnership involves BGX subscribing for shares in BC Technology under a specific mandate, pending approval by shareholders.
/jlne.ws/3MHOis5
Crypto exchange Bitget pulls out of Hong Kong, stops pursuing licence, months after launching new platform
South China Morning Post
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget said that it will no longer pursue a licence in Hong Kong and will permanently back out of the city, just months after launching a platform to comply with local virtual asset regulations. Bitget's decision to drop preparations for a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) licence is the result of "business and market-related considerations", the company said in a statement on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3QZl2yv
Commerzbank Wins Crypto Custody License in Digital Assets Push
Nicholas Comfort - Bloomberg
Commerzbank AG has received a crypto custody license, providing more evidence that European banks are growing warmer toward the asset class. The license will allow the bank to "build up a broad range of digital asset services, with particular emphasis on crypto assets," the Frankfurt-based bank said in a statement on Wednesday. It's the "first German full-service bank" to get the license, it said.
/jlne.ws/40Iab0i
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Uh-Oh: Giuliani's Top Ukraine Allies Charged With Being Putin Agents
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling - The New Republic
Ukraine's Security Service notified Rudy Giuliani's top Ukrainian allies on Monday that they are suspects of treason, citing evidence that the officials participated in activities aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Ukrainian member of parliament, Oleksandr Dubinsky, ex-Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, and ex-prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk are suspected of joining an organization founded by chief members of Russia's Military Intelligence while Giuliani worked to dig up dirt on President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in 2019, according to a statement.
/jlne.ws/3FYQc3H
Trump's money-losing Truth Social may not survive, accountants warn
Aimee Picchi - CBS News
When Truth Social launched in 2022, backers of the social network described it a conservative-friendly alternative to Big Tech platforms that would attract advertisers eager to court former President Donald's Trump's millions of followers. But a new regulatory filing reveals that Truth Social's owner, Trump Media & Technology Group, has booked only $2.3 million in sales through June this year, while losing 10 times that amount.
/jlne.ws/3SOvkng
US Federal Pension Fund to Exclude Hong Kong Investments
Bei Hu - Bloomberg
The main US federal government pension will exclude investments in Hong Kong, in addition to mainland China, from its $68 billion international fund, amid rising tensions between the world's two largest economies. The $771 billion Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board said it will switch the benchmark index for its international fund, effectively ridding exposure to Hong Kong, according to a statement on Nov. 14. It already avoids investments on the mainland.
/jlne.ws/46gQOwq
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | ISDA-Clarus RFR Adoption Indicator: October 2023
ISDA
The ISDA-Clarus RFR Adoption Indicator fell to 59.9% in October 2023 compared to 60.3% in September 2023. The drop was driven by a decline in SOFR trading due to higher trading activity in the effective federal funds rate. The indicator tracks how much global trading activity (as measured by DV01) is conducted in cleared over-the-counter and exchange-traded interest rate derivatives (IRD) that reference risk-free rates (RFRs) in eight major currencies. On a traded notional basis, the percentage of RFR-linked IRD dropped to 55.0% of total IRD transacted in October 2023 compared to 58.3% the prior month.
/jlne.ws/3syawG2
Chairman Behnam to Participate in a Fireside Chat at the Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) Conference 2023
CFTC
Chairman Rostin Behnam to Participate in a Fireside Chat at the Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) Conference 2023.
/jlne.ws/40EGmxu
The SEC's Swiss Army Statute: Statement on Charter Communications, Inc.
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce and Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda - SEC
The classic Swiss Army Knife began its life as an ingenious multi-use tool designed by Karl Elsener, a Swiss cutler.[1] The early versions started with basic tools useful to soldiers-a blade, a can opener, a screwdriver, and a reamer-and soon expanded to include a second blade and a corkscrew. Over time, the knife has evolved to incorporate myriad attachments and has expanded beyond its martial beginnings to offer versions for different users.[2] The Commission in recent years has taken to using Securities Exchange Act Section 13(b)(2)(B) [3] as its own Swiss Army statute-a multi-use tool handy for compelling companies to adopt and adhere to policies and procedures that the Commission deems good corporate practice. We do not have the authority to tell companies how to run themselves, but we now routinely use Section 13(b)(2)(B) to do just that. The settlement with Charter Communications, Inc. is the latest example of the Commission's unmooring of Section 13(b)(2)(B) from its statutory text and context to extend the reach of its jurisdiction.
/jlne.ws/3SHhp2j
Charter Communications to Pay $25 Million Penalty for Stock Buyback Controls Violations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Charter Communications Inc. for violating internal accounting controls requirements relating to its stock buybacks.
/jlne.ws/49FlOsH
SEC Announces Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2023
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it filed 784 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, a 3 percent increase over fiscal year 2022, including 501 original, or "stand-alone," enforcement actions, an 8 percent increase over the prior fiscal year. The SEC also filed 162 "follow-on" administrative proceedings seeking to bar or suspend individuals from certain functions in the securities markets based on criminal convictions, civil injunctions, or other orders and 121 actions against issuers who were allegedly delinquent in making required filings with the SEC.
/jlne.ws/47calPD
ASIC targets misconduct in superannuation sector
ASIC
ASIC will look to take strong, targeted enforcement action in the coming months and into 2024, as part of its focus on member outcomes in the superannuation sector. The enforcement focus comes after ASIC's enforcement and regulatory update highlighted ASIC's work to protect consumers, including calling on banks to ensure better consumer outcomes and civil penalty action against Westpac Banking Corporation after alleged failures to address financial hardship notices.
/jlne.ws/46gT2vM
ASIC to crack down on superannuation misconduct
Andrew McKean - Financial Standard
ASIC has announced plans for strong, targeted enforcement action in the superannuation sector, focusing on member outcomes in 2024. Baring its teeth in an enforcement and regulatory update released today, the corporate regulator signalled that tackling misconduct is a "key priority" and requisite to maintaining trust and integrity in the financial system.
/jlne.ws/49zDENT
FMA opens consultation on fair outcomes for consumers and markets
FMA - New Zealand
The Financial Markets Authority - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko - has opened consultation on its approach to outcomes focused regulation, including the fair outcomes for consumers and markets it wants to see financial service providers focus on. The FMA welcomes feedback from all its stakeholders. A focus on outcomes means the FMA will be prioritising the end results we want to see for consumers and markets. Rules and "tick box" compliance are not an end in themselves.
/jlne.ws/46dDede
MAS Partners Financial Industry to Expand Asset Tokenisation Initiatives
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced that it is working with the financial industry to expand asset tokenisation initiatives and develop foundational capabilities to scale tokenised markets. These developments under Project Guardian will catalyse the institutional adoption of digital assets, with the aim of freeing up liquidity, unlocking investment opportunities, and increasing the efficiency of financial markets.
/jlne.ws/3SJFDcm
MAS Partners Industry to Develop Generative AI Risk Framework for the Financial Sector
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced the successful conclusion of phase one of Project MindForge [1] which seeks to develop a risk framework for the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) for the financial sector. A whitepaper detailing the risk framework will be published in January 2024. The executive summary of this whitepaper was released today.
/jlne.ws/46gTv10
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Why It's So Hard to Make Money in Space; In this episode of Elon, Inc., we take a look at an upcoming SpaceX test launch, what went wrong last time and the high price of running a rocket company.
Margaret Sutherlin - Bloomberg
SpaceX could see the next launch of its Starship rocket as soon as Nov. 17, an event that would be a huge step forward for a company that hasn't been back to the launch pad since an explosive April mishap. On this week's episode of Elon, Inc., we're taking a closer look at what went wrong last time and why it's so hard to make money on space.
/jlne.ws/47cN0O1
Hedge funds help fill bond-buying void left by central banks
Reuters
Hedge funds are helping to fill a bond-buying gap in European government bond markets left by central banks and playing an important role in boosting liquidity, debt agency chiefs from some of the region's biggest issuers said on Wednesday. The European Central Bank greatly reduced its bond-buying last year after a surge in inflation forced it to unwind a decade of stimulus policies. The Bank of England is also selling bonds.
/jlne.ws/3QZSztl
UK Bond Demand Smashes Record as Investors Clamor for Yield
Greg Ritchie and Paul Cohen - Bloomberg
The UK attracted its biggest-ever orderbook for a conventional bond sale on Wednesday as investors look to lock in high rates while they still can. A sale via banks for £7 billion ($8.7 billion) of a new gilt maturing in 2043 attracted over £93 billion in orders, according to people familiar with the matter, with investors citing a relatively cheap valuation. That's the highest demand for a UK bond, apart from a debut deal for green debt in 2021.
/jlne.ws/47xHUeP
21Shares is a big name in European crypto. Now it wants to crash the U.S. ETF party
Jeff John Roberts - Fortune
Exchange-traded funds are the hottest topic in crypto right now. Wall Street firms like BlackRock are jockeying with blockchain natives like Grayscale to get a piece of a new crypto ETF market that analysts predict will soon become worth billions of dollars.
/jlne.ws/49zL6Zj
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Biden Ordered to Sell Gulf Of Mexico Oil Leases Next Month; Auction is set to be last of its kind until at least 2025; Environmentalists sought safeguards for imperiled Rice's whale
Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
A federal appeals court ordered the Biden administration to sell drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico within 37 days, a defeat for environmentalists who argued oil leasing and development in the region imperil a critically endangered whale. The ruling Tuesday by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals means the US Interior Department has until Dec. 20 to conduct the auction that was mandated by last year's climate law - and is set to be the last of its kind until at least 2025.
/jlne.ws/3sATDdP
A Global Hunt For Water Profit Risks Draining Cities Dry; While taps in coastal Dakar barely trickle, an investment company uses Senegal's only lake to irrigate crops it plans to send to Saudi Arabia.
Peter Waldman, Momar Niang and Katarina Hoije - Bloomberg
The Senegal River in West Africa musters its force from 200 centimeters (80 inches) of rain a year in the highlands of central Guinea. The river flows north through Mali, meanders west over a vast, dry savanna and finally empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Senegalese city of Saint-Louis, the old colonial capital of French West Africa. For centuries, European traders plied the river from there as they procured gold and ivory, animal hides and human bodies.
/jlne.ws/40BQIy0
Iceland's Grindavik, Threatened by Volcano, Starts Tallying the Damage; Eruption threat remains imminent amid series of earthquakes; Inhabitants returned home briefly after hasty evacuation
Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir - Bloomberg
Skuli Palmason had just booked his first customers after spending months turning his garage into a studio for his physical therapy practice. After fleeing his Icelandic village on Friday, he returned to find his house riven by giant cracks.
/jlne.ws/3unFfpJ
EU Strikes Landmark Deal to Curb Methane in Oil and Gas Supplies
John Ainger - Bloomberg
European Union negotiators struck a deal to curb methane emissions leaking from fossil-fuel infrastructure and plotted a course to reduce the gas's presence in imports. EU lawmakers and member states reached a provisional political agreement to require energy companies to regularly check infrastructure like wells and pipelines for leaks of methane, the Council of the EU and the European Council said in a statement. The potent greenhouse gas has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere and is responsible for approximately 30% of the Earth's warming.
/jlne.ws/47e9bDl
Germany's Top Court Strikes Down EUR60 Billion Climate Funding
Karin Matussek and Kamil Kowalcze - Bloomberg
Germany's top court struck down a key element of the government's plans to address climate change and transform the economy, dealing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition a major setback that throws its budget policy into disarray. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the shifting of EUR60 billion ($65.2 billion) earmarked to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic into an off-budget fund violated German constitutional law. The challenge was filed by lawmakers from the main opposition conservative alliance, who said they wanted to ensure the sustainability of the country's public finances.
/jlne.ws/3MKY8JP
CastleOak Securities L.P., Davy and Norges Bank Investment Management join Sustainable Trading
CastleOak Securities L.P.
/jlne.ws/49vVr8J
Glencore Thinks Everyone Will See the Green in Coal; The commodity company is making a big bet that investors will still go for a hugely polluting business in this day and age.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/49EakWi
Greta Thunberg Pleads Not Guilty to London Oil Protest Offense; Climate campaigner arrested during protest outside oil event; Protesters gathered outside Westminster Magistrates Court
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/46votmh
JPMorgan Has a New Way to Gauge Its Green Progress; The biggest US bank says it's including zero-carbon power generation in how it measures emissions tied to its lending to oil and gas companies.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/47feqTd
JPMorgan Touts Methane Curbs in Bid to Boost Climate Investment; Spending on methane reduction promises economic, climate yield; White paper may encourage lenders to boost methane cut efforts
Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/49FhdXM
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | NinjaTrader Named Best Brokerage For Trading Futures For Fourth Consecutive Year At Benzinga Global Fintech Awards; Company Also Recognized For Developing Best-In-Class Education To Make Futures Accessible To All Traders
NinjaTrader
For the fourth consecutive year, NinjaTrader Group, LLC, a global leader in futures brokerage and advanced technology for active traders, has won the award for Best Brokerage for Trading Futures(Opens in a new window) at the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards. The firm was also honored at the awards ceremony last night for its role in developing best-in-class education to make futures accessible to all traders.
/jlne.ws/3syFgGT
Hedge funds Millennium and Schonfeld call off partnership talks; Izzy Englander's $60bn firm had planned to put money to work with smaller multi-strategy rival
Ortenca Aliaj - Financial Times
Millennium Management, the $60bn hedge fund led by Izzy Englander, and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors have terminated talks to form a partnership, according to people familiar with the situation.
/jlne.ws/47aHcob
Barclays Starts Offering Dollar AT1 Bond After UBS Issuance; Initial price thoughts for the notes are in the 10.5% area; Deal comes after UBS got strong demand for AT1s last week
Harry Suhartono - Bloomberg
Barclays Plc began marketing an additional tier 1 bond, another sign of a revival in a market roiled earlier this year by a historic writedown at Credit Suisse. nThe London-based bank is proposing a benchmark-size dollar perpetual AT1 note in the 10.5% area, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The deal may price as early as later Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3sxV0dm
Hedge Funds Copy Citadel Fee Model in Fight for Top Asia Traders
Bei Hu and Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
Several hedge funds in Asia are starting to mimic global giants like Citadel and Millennium Management by charging clients additional fees to cover costs ranging from employee compensation to life insurance in a bid to lure top talent.
/jlne.ws/47zbikO
BNP Paribas Strengthens its Trans-Atlantic Corridor Business with Senior Investment Banking Appointments
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas announces the appointment of several senior executives within its Global Banking business, building out advisory and solutions capabilities in the Americas to support the growth ambitions of its global base particularly large Multi-National Corporates (MNC) and further aligning its global banking platform:
/jlne.ws/47vCaSW
Barclays Gets $5 Billion Demand for AT1 Bond After UBS Sale
Harry Suhartono - Bloomberg
Barclays Plc began marketing an additional tier 1 bond, attracting strong investor orders in another sign of a revival for the market rocked earlier this year by the historic writedown of Credit Suisse securities. The London-based bank is proposing a benchmark-size - at least $500 million - dollar perpetual AT1 note, callable in June 2030, in the 10.5% area, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The lender has seen more than $5 billion of investor demand so far for the deal, which is expected to price later on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3sC5lFe
Scaramucci Says SkyBridge Is Exploring an Acquisition Next Year
Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg
Anthony Scaramucci is on the hunt for a purchase at his alternative asset manager SkyBridge Capital. SkyBridge is considering targets such as a fund-of-funds similar to his own, or potentially a multistrategy firm, for a possible tie-up. He's also considering alliances with younger people who might have good investment ideas but lack resources to execute them.
/jlne.ws/47w1wAb
UBS Wins Right to Fight for Cut to EUR1.8 Billion French Fine; Judges question EUR1 billion confiscation, EUR800 million damages; French top court orders lower judges to reexamine UBS penalty
Gaspard Sebag - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG won a French top court ruling that may help it cut a EUR1.8 billion ($2 billion) penalty it got two years ago for helping wealthy French clients stash away undeclared funds in Swiss accounts.
/jlne.ws/3MIYctj
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | World's Best Performing Office Market Has Occupancy of Over 98%; Seoul's office market sees tenants compete over space; Lack of new office supply has pushed up rental prices
Shawna Kwan and Shinhye Kang - Bloomberg
From London to New York, nobody wants to be a commercial landlord these days. But in the South Korean capital, owners of office towers are living the boom life. Seoul's office market is every landlord's dream: More than 98% of grade-A offices are occupied, with rents surging 15% from last year. The competition for space is so fierce that when there was a floor available in Parnas Tower at the heart of the prestigious Gangnam district, a dozen domestic and international companies turned up in a tender to outbid each other.
/jlne.ws/46bGe9P
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Rise in England After Covid Drop; Overuse, overexposure to antibiotics can accelerate resistance; Resistant infections up 4% after pandemic, health agency says
Ellie Harmsworth - Bloomberg
Cases of antibiotic-resistant infection increased in England last year, along with the number of related deaths, as experts warn that overuse and overexposure to antibiotics are helping breed resistant bacterial strains. The number of people diagnosed with antibiotic-resistant infections increased 4% in 2022, according to a report from the UK Health Security Agency. That comes as some forms of bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae which causes sepsis, are becoming increasingly resistant to a range of antibiotics typically used as first-line treatments.
/jlne.ws/3u9BVOW
A discussion with Naomi Klein on wellness culture: 'We really are alive on the knife's edge'
Katherine Rowland - The Guardian
In the terrifying early days of the pandemic, a concerning development emerged in the wellness space. Chiropractors, health coaches, ayurvedic healers and other mind-body professionals took to the internet in earnest to circulate QAnon content, stories about Hillary Clinton guzzling blood, and screeds against social distancing.
/jlne.ws/3QYML3n
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China Pumps Cash Into Banking System to Support Stimulus Funding; Net cash injection via MLF is the largest since Dec. 2016; StanChart still sees possibility of a reserve ratio cut
Tania Chen - Bloomberg
China stepped up its support for the economy by pumping the most cash since late 2016 into the financial system with one-year policy loans. The People's Bank of China offered 1.45 trillion yuan ($200 billion) of cash through its medium-term lending facility - 600 billion yuan more than the amount coming due in November. The net injection was the most in nearly seven years, while the rate on the loans was kept unchanged at 2.5%.
/jlne.ws/3SIIy5i
China Curbs on Australian Beef May End Next Month, Minister Says
Ben Westcott - Bloomberg
China's punitive trade actions on Australian beef and lobster exports may be lifted by the end of the year, Trade Minister Don Farrell said, in what would be the latest sign of warming ties between the two governments. Farrell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. he is due to meet with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on the sidelines of APEC meetings in the US on Wednesday. He said the restrictions around lobster and beef were "biosecurity issues" compared with tariffs imposed on wine and barley more than three years ago.
/jlne.ws/40GCrjW
A Hedge Fund Picks a Property Fight No One Else Dared; A lone bondholder accuses the Swedish real estate company of breaching its covenants. But why have its fellow creditors preferred to threaten a fight rather than start one?
Chris Hughes - Bloomberg
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Bondholders are impatient by nature, but they've shown surprising forbearance toward troubled Swedish landlord SBB as their securities have plunged in value. Now a US hedge fund has broken ranks and wants its bonds repaid early. It's a brave fight to pick: The adversary is not just the company, but potentially fellow creditors.
/jlne.ws/3SHCGch
US-Based Financier Shuts Ethiopian Unit Citing Forex Rules; Ethio Lease says laws were changed after its establishment; The Ethiopian birr has plunged since company was set up
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
Ethio Lease, a foreign-owned financial company operating in Ethiopia, said it will close after the National Bank of Ethiopia changed currency laws and made it impossible for it to repay its debts. The planned move to shut the unit of New York-based Africa Asset Finance Co. that won a license from the central bank in 2019, is a blow to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's aim of opening up the economy to foreign capital. Mamo Mihretu, the central bank governor, refuted Ethio Lease's reasons.
/jlne.ws/3uae5Tc
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