| February 03, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
|
| | | | First Read | | |
| | 2023 Newsletter Subscriptions: | |
Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The story from Bloomberg about Mayor Lori Lightfoot wanting a corporate champion for Chicago mentioned she "is urging executives who have 'profited mightily' to tell their success stories." The story also mentioned that she has "met several CEOs, including Terry Duffy, the head of exchange CME Group Inc., to discuss crime and some of the city's biggest issues."
One can't help thinking she is hoping that Mr. Duffy might become that champion for Chicago after the highly profitable CME Group, formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, might step up. The CME Group is a huge contributor to various non-profit organizations in the city, including some near and dear to me. The Cboe is also a big contributor to city non-profits, though the Cboe from appearances has a higher profile of civic leadership. Former Cboe Chairman & CEO Bill Brodsky is an example of this, leading the Navy Pier board of directors and serving on the board of Northwestern Hospital for 24 years, including serving as chairman. Ed Tilly has followed in Brodsky's footsteps and has served on the board of Northwestern Medical Group, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.
Both Mr. Tilly and Mr. Duffy would be great champions for the city. They already are in many ways, just not the way Mayor Lightfoot would like to see, especially during a mayoral election.
Burling Bank, which was founded by the Goldberg Brothers after they sold their clearing firm, has been sold to a Houston-based financial services firm focused on trading and banking cryptocurrencies, LevelField Financial. Burling was founded by Robert (Bobby) and Dave Goldberg. Bobby Goldberg died on November 5, 2022. Dave Goldberg died in 2016. Burling had moved in recent years from backing traders to also backing fintech and crypto firms. The bank will retain the Burling name in Chicago, the story said.
Also in banking news, Bank of Montreal, or BMO, is officially killing off the Harris Bank name in Chicago, Crain's Chicago Business reported. So much for Hubert the lion.
Also, the Cboe Global Markets issued their fourth quarter earnings today. HERE is a link for their presentation of the earnings.
Katten has inked a new deal for space in their current building in Chicago, though they downsized just a bit, from 220,000 square feet to 204,000, Crain's reported. They did not need Art Hahn's old office anymore anyway.
Tyler Cowen of Bloomberg has an interesting commentary today titled, "Deglobalization Is the New Globalization; National industrial policies aren't a move away from a more globalized economy so much as an extension of it."
JLN friend Clive Furness is moderating a webinar for Trayport titled "To Algo Or Not to Algo?" On Wednesday, February 15 from 4:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m CST, or 10:30 a.m. GMT. You can find details at 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
*****
ICE has published its Sustainable Finance Monthly, a summary of recent ICE research delivered under the signature of Elizabeth King, president, sustainable finance and chief regulatory officer for ICE. The newsletter reports on subjects including trends in funds integrating sustainability factors into their investment purposes; the link between ICE Social Impact scores and school district outcomes; and the importance of materiality in emissions reporting. You can read the newsletter and access the research here.~SAED
++++
Gedon Hertshten - Open Outcry Traders History Project, Part Two
JohnLothianNews.com
This is part two of a two-part video interview JLN did with Gedon Hertshten, the founder of G.H. Financials, for the Open Outcry Traders History series.
Gedon Hertshten had his share of ups and downs during his long trading career. He told the story of having an open position and not getting out of it in time. He said Ray Cahnman was trading in the same pit with him, in Treasuries.
Watch the video »
++++
Harris Bank name relegated to history as BMO rebrands
Steve Daniels - Crain's Chicago Business
So long, Hubert. BMO Financial Group, the Toronto-based parent of BMO Harris Bank, will formally do away with the Harris name later this year. The decision coincides with BMO's acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West, which closed today. The bank will be called BMO Bank North America once systems integration for the two banks is completed this coming fall.
/jlne.ws/3JCFbbx
***** Chicago lost its banks a long time ago, but at least the Harris name persisted, until now.~JJL
++++
Katten, Chubb ink big West Loop lease renewals
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
Two of the biggest tenants in a West Loop office building have slightly reduced their workspace with new long-term leases, a pair of deals that amount to good news for their landlord as rampant space-cutting floods the market with vacancy. In the larger of the two deals, law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman inked a new 11-year lease for 204,000 square feet at its longtime home at 525 W. Monroe St., according to the firm and Tishman Speyer, the building's New York-based owner.
/jlne.ws/3DC1p9A
****** The difficulty of having an office is keeping enough space for when everyone is in, but not having too much so you are wasting money for when people are all working from home. It is a delicate balance. Some kind of share space solutions are bound to be the result, methinks.~JJL
++++
The battle for the Colorado River is a water warning to us all; Who should control access to increasingly scarce resources?
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
This week, a nasty fight has exploded on the US political stage. This is not about congressional votes or presidential candidates. Instead, it revolves around something so mundane that it is often ignored: water. On Tuesday, the seven states that use the Colorado River for hydration - Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming - were supposed to agree a plan to cut their water usage. This comes after the region's driest two decades in 1,200 years.
/jlne.ws/3JDekf9
****** You can't just give water to the highest bidder, you also need a market based solution. Conundrum!~JJL
++++
Thursday's Top Three
Our most-read story Thursday, by a wide margin, was FIA Announces 2023 Hall Of Fame Honorees, from the FIA via Mondovisione. Second was The Washington Post's An alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire. Third was ION cyber concerns continue - US Treasury steps in.
++++
MarketsWiki Stats
27,187 pages; 242,680 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
++++
|
|  | | |
| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
Publisher | | | Sarah Rudolph
Editor-in-Chief
| | | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
| | | 
|
| |
|
|
 | |
| Lead Stories | Cyberattack Sends Derivatives Trading Back to the 1980s; Shops clearing trades were forced to process deals manually; Incident highlights importance of a little known software firm
Katherine Doherty, Mark Burton and Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
Derivatives shops, used to clearing hundreds of billions of dollars in trades every day, found themselves in a dramatically different era this week: the old days of manually processing deals. Early Tuesday morning in Europe, a little known but critically important software company that underpins the smooth functioning of stock, bond and commodities markets started to seize up. London-based ION Trading UK had succumbed to a cyberattack.
/jlne.ws/3wQFuHR
SEC WhatsApp Probe Expands to Phones of Hedge Fund Employees; Point72 and Citadel among industry recipients of request; Officials seeking evidence of business on unofficial platforms
Tom Schoenberg, Lydia Beyoud, Austin Weinstein and Katherine Burton - Bloomberg
Major hedge funds have been asked by US regulators to review certain employees' personal mobile phones as part of a mushrooming probe into Wall Street's use of unofficial messaging platforms like WhatsApp to conduct business. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently asked Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management, Ken Griffin's Citadel and several other firms to search through the devices for evidence of business dealings on unapproved channels, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing the private requests.
/jlne.ws/3kVUnGc
Trader-focused Burling Bank sells to Houston crypto exchange
Steve Daniels - Crain's Chicago Business
Burling Bank, which has served Chicago traders for more than 30 years, is selling to a Houston-based financial services firm focused on trading and banking cryptocurrencies. LevelField Financial announced the deal yesterday. The companies didn't disclose terms. Marketwatch reported the price at $50 million, which would be about 2.6 times Burling's Dec. 31 book value.
/jlne.ws/3jsYZ6l
SEC Considers Easing Climate-Disclosure Rules After Investor Pushback; Wall Street regulator is revisiting how proposals would affect financial reporting
Jean Eaglesham and Paul Kiernan - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a softening of planned rules requiring companies to disclose the effects of extreme weather and other costs related to global warming when the regulator completes its climate-change proposals, people close to the agency said. The Wall Street regulator is looking again at the financial reporting aspect of the climate-disclosure plan it issued last year, following pushback from investors, companies and lawmakers, the people said.
/jlne.ws/40sPyEQ
ISDA, AIMA, EFAMA and FIA warn against possible negative impact of EU's proposed EMIR amendments; While acknowledging potential benefits of the European Commission's latest proposals, the associations noted that the changes could make EU firms less competitive and have a negative impact on the derivatives market.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
In December, The European Commission (EC) proposed amendments to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) to make derivatives clearing in the EU more attractive, which has caused some debate. Among the various aims of the new proposals, the EC sought to encourage clearing in the EU by simplifying the procedures for central counterparties (CCPs) when launching new products and changing risk models by introducing a non-objection approval for certain changes that do not increase the risks for the CCP.
/jlne.ws/3Yju6Ab
FIA, ISDA, AIMA and EFAMA publish statement on the EC's proposed amendments to EMIR
FIA
FIA, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) have published the following statement in response to the European Commission's proposed amendments to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation to make derivatives clearing in the EU more attractive, known as EMIR 3.0.
/jlne.ws/3HtMNKF
More 'Finfluencers' Breaking Investment Rules, UK Watchdog Warns; FCA has blocked posts illegally promoting financial products; Regulator says scams could prey on those struggling with bills
Leonard Kehnscherper - Bloomberg
Britain's markets watchdog asked firms to amend or remove 8,582 promotions last year - 14 times more than 2021 - as it targets a growing number of internet personalities posting ads that break its rules. So-called finfluencers, who advertise financial products on social media, have become a growing concern for the Financial Conduct Authority, the regulator said in a statement Friday. It's already acted against several influencers over the past year, in the most serious cases referring them for criminal investigation.
/jlne.ws/3Yog7cu
UK regulator targets bloggers in crackdown on illegal promotions; FCA warns tech companies to better protect consumers as data shows 14-fold rise in takedown orders
Daniel Thomas - Financial Times
The UK's financial regulator has told tech groups to do more "to protect consumers", after a surge in misleading product promotions by social media influencers and bloggers led it to issue a record number of take-down orders. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday that it had required companies to amend or remove 8,252 promotions in 2022 - 14 times more than the year before - and published over 1,800 alerts to prevent consumers losing money to scams.
/jlne.ws/3l8RCRT
Crypto industry welcomes regulation plans; Rules will not come into force for two years, warns lawyer
Rafe Uddin - Financial Times
Financial advisers and lawyers have welcomed the UK government's plans to regulate the crypto sector, which come amid turmoil in digital asset markets and calls for consumer protection following industry scandals. The Treasury this week announced plans for new rules governing the issuance, lending and trading of crypto tokens. If implemented, crypto exchanges would have to ring fence retail funds in the face of insolvency, while undertaking due diligence and monitoring of assets listed on their platform.
/jlne.ws/3HUaFs5
Share buybacks: welcome payments in a suspect currency; Such moves are hardly a sign of faith in companies
Financial Times
European companies are buying their own shares in spades. They earmarked $350bn for the purpose in 2022, equivalent to 2.4 per cent of their market value, according to analysis by Bernstein, a wealth manager. Stock repurchases reached £55.5bn in the UK market last year, according to AJ Bell. Shell and BP alone accounted for £22bn. Lloyds, NatWest and Barclays contributed £5.5bn to the buyback pot.
/jlne.ws/3jp7Kyv
Britain's new crypto plans step up competition with EU regulations; UK proposals come months after Brussels finalised a bloc-wide framework for digital assets
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
The competition between the UK and EU to lure crypto business has stepped up a notch after Britain unveiled a slate of new rules for regulating the industry months after Brussels finalised sweeping rules to regulate digital assets. The UK on Wednesday unveiled sweeping proposals that would pull large swaths of the crypto industry into the type of regulatory regime that applies to traditional financial institutions and assets.
/jlne.ws/3l8WQx0
Boris Johnson's younger brother just resigned from an Adani-linked investment bank after a $100 billion stock rout amid claims of a shady offshore account
Eleanor Pringle - Fortune
Lord Jo Johnson, younger brother of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has bowed out of a high-profile role with a global investment bank that reportedly has links to the Adani empire. Since June, the former Conservative peer had acted as a director for Elara Capital, a self-proclaimed "full service investment bank," which was founded in 2002 with the aim of "raising funds for Indian corporates through GDR's, FCCB's and the London AIM market."
/jlne.ws/3DFwmKe
Another LaSalle Street landlord faces foreclosure, but it's not what you think
Alby Gallun - Crain's Chicago Business
Apartments may be the solution to LaSalle Street's problems, but they couldn't save one building there from financial trouble. An affiliate of Barings has filed a $74 million foreclosure suit against the developer that converted a vintage 13-story office building at 29 S. LaSalle St. into 216 apartments a couple years ago. The developer, an affiliate of Florida-based DLC Residential, failed to pay back a construction loan on the property by its Nov. 1 maturity date, according to the foreclosure complaint.
/jlne.ws/3RvVCrY
Adani's $58 Billion Wealth Wipeout in Six Days Has Few Parallels; The tycoon has lost more than Sam Bankman-Fried and been wiped out almost as fast as Elon Musk, highlighting the unique risks in India and within his empire.
Blake Schmidt - Bloomberg
Gautam Adani has seen $58 billion erased from his personal fortune in the span of just six trading days - a downfall so spectacular that it defies just about every historical comparison. He's not quite like onetime crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried or Archegos Capital Management's Bill Hwang, who went from tens of billions to nothing in a flash as their leveraged trades imploded.
/jlne.ws/3Y2Focd
Zuckerberg Gains Record $12.5 Billion in a Day as Meta Rebounds; Once worth as much as $142 billion, Zuckerberg is mounting a comeback by pledging that his company will be more efficient.
Blake Schmidt - Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg's fortune jumped by $12.5 billion on Thursday, the largest one-day increase in his wealth, after he vowed 2023 will be the "year of efficiency" for his social-media giant, Meta Platforms Inc. The 38-year-old chief executive is rebounding from his worst year on record, with his wealth tumbling from a peak of $142 billion in September 2021.
/jlne.ws/3HRcO7Y
Deglobalization Is the New Globalization; National industrial policies aren't a move away from a more globalized economy so much as an extension of it.
Tyler Cowen - Bloomberg
For better or worse, industrial policy is back. The European Union is placing "green tariffs" on carbon-intensive imports. The US is giving green-energy subsidies to domestic firms. Guaranteed access to high-quality semiconductor chips is a priority for various nations, including China, the US and the UK, for economic and geopolitical reasons. And of course there is now far greater appreciation, after Covid, of the benefits of a domestic vaccine industry.
/jlne.ws/3HxHxpb
The TRADE Close Roundtable: Episode 4 - The impacts continued and how to navigate them
Watch the fourth and final instalment: in which we continue our discussion around the impact on continuous markets, explore where this pattern is heading and unpack how participants can alter their behaviour to manage this developing trend.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
In the fourth and final episode of The TRADE's roundtable series exploring the Closing Auction, senior reporter Annabel Smith and panellists across venues and the buy- and sell-side continue their discussion around the impact of the Close on the continuous trading day and how institutional investors can navigate changing liquidity patterns.
/jlne.ws/3Y13WCB
Coinbase and Others Are Set for a 'GameStop Moment' in Crypto Stock Short Squeeze
Jack Denton - Barron's
Traders bearish on Bitcoin have expressed their position by shorting crypto-exposed stocks.
Rutmer Visser/Dreamstime
There is a short squeeze going on in beaten-down stocks across the cryptocurrency sector. All it takes is a quick look at the likes of Coinbase Global and Silvergate Capital to see that ' GameStop -style' dynamics are at work.
/jlne.ws/3YkjAsj
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russia to Boost Currency Sales to Offset Energy Revenue Drop
Bloomberg News
Russia will almost triple the amount of foreign currency it plans to sell through early March as energy revenues plunge amid mounting restrictions on exports. The Finance Ministry said Friday it will sell 160.2 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) during the Feb. 7-March 6 period under a budgetary mechanism aimed at insulating the economy from the ups and downs in oil prices.
/jlne.ws/3jrJpb5
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Cboe Global Markets Reports Results for Fourth Quarter 2022 and Full Year
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 and full year. "2022 was a year of substantial progress at Cboe as we continued to build out our global network, while delivering record financial results. Our accomplishments in 2022 have laid a strong foundation and, as we enter our 50th year of business, we are more optimistic than ever about the future," said Edward T. Tilly, Cboe Global Markets Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
/jlne.ws/3Y2GtRc
Intercontinental Exchange Reports January 2023 Statistics
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, today reported January 2023 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company's investor relations website at https://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet. January highlights include: Total average daily volume (ADV) up 9% y/y; Energy open interest (OI) up 5% y/y; Total Natural Gas ADV up 19% y/y; OI up 14% y/y North American natural gas ADV up 24% y/y; OI up 21% y/y; TTF natural gas ADV up 4% y/y; Total Ags & Metals ADV up 23% y/y; OI up 7% y/y; Sugar ADV up 27% y/y; OI up 8% y/y; Cocoa ADV up 4% y/y; OI up 12% y/y; Coffee ADV up 34% y/y; Cotton ADV up 18% y/y; OI up 3% y/y
/jlne.ws/3JFRvYA
HKEX Names Head Of Structured Products And Platform Business Development
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Friday) pleased to announce Matthew Cheong has joined the Group as Managing Director, Head of Structured Products and Platform Business Development. In this new role, Mr Cheong will lead HKEX's structured products team and drive initiatives to develop the Group's platform business, supporting its ongoing focus on developing its equities and derivatives offering.
/jlne.ws/3jyvb8j
Nasdaq to Present at the Credit Suisse 24th Annual Financial Services Forum
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) will be presenting at the following conference with a webcast available at Nasdaq's Investor Relations website: ir.nasdaq.com/events.cfm. Who: Ann Dennison, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Nasdaq; What: Credit Suisse 24th Annual Financial Services Forum; When: Tuesday, February 14, 202311:55 AM EST Where: Ms. Dennison's presentation will be webcast at Nasdaq's Investor Relations website: ir.nasdaq.com events.cfm.
/jlne.ws/3JE0fhx
Nasdaq January 2023 Volumes
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported monthly volumes for January 2023 on its investor relations website. A data sheet showing this information can be found at: http://ir.nasdaq.com/financials/volume-statistics.
/jlne.ws/3HqT2Pk
News about Adani Power Limited
NSE
The media had reports that Bangladesh keen to revise Adani Power deal. The Exchange, in order to verify the accuracy or otherwise of the information reported in the media and to inform the marketplace so that the interest of the investors is safeguarded, has written to the company. Response from the company is awaited.
/jlne.ws/3HUkLcu
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Cleared Derivatives Cyber Event
ION Group
ION Cleared Derivatives, a division of ION Markets, experienced a cybersecurity event commencing on 31 January 2023 that has affected some of its services. The incident is contained to a specific environment, all the affected servers are disconnected, and remediation of services is ongoing. Further updates will be posted when available.
/jlne.ws/3HRgDKu
How ChatGPT Kicked Off an A.I. Arms Race; Even inside the company, the chatbot's popularity has come as something of a shock.
Kevin Roose - The New York Times
One day in mid-November, workers at OpenAI got an unexpected assignment: Release a chatbot, fast. The chatbot, an executive announced, would be known as "Chat with GPT-3.5," and it would be made available free to the public. In two weeks. The announcement confused some OpenAI employees. All year, the San Francisco artificial intelligence company had been working toward the release of GPT-4, a new A.I. model that was stunningly good at writing essays, solving complex coding problems and more. After months of testing and fine-tuning, GPT-4 was nearly ready. The plan was to release the model in early 2023, along with a few chatbots that would allow users to try it for themselves, according to three people with knowledge of the inner workings of OpenAI.
/jlne.ws/3X3aU8T
London Payments Firm Moves $1 Billion a Month Despite 'Red Flags'; Transactive Systems holds a UK electronic payments license and became a powerhouse specializing in higher risk customers. But regulators in Lithuania have now suspended many of its operations there.
Donal Griffin - Bloomberg
In the space of just five years, a little-known company on the outskirts of London has grown into a payments-industry powerhouse, processing more than 1 billion euros ($1 billion) in transactions every month. Backed by licenses from regulators in the UK and Lithuania, Transactive Systems Ltd. touted itself as "one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in Europe," with an ability to service clients from "compliance-intense industries" including cryptocurrencies, gambling and foreign-exchange trading, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/3JCyJRA
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | FBI Seeks Information on ION Hack That Disrupted Derivatives; US agency joins UK regulators in reviewing the cyberattack; ION told clients it won't be fully operational until Feb. 5
Katherine Doherty and Lydia Beyoud - Bloomberg
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking information on the cyberattack on London-based ION Trading UK that's snarled global derivatives trading, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The FBI reached out to ION executives and is reviewing how the attack is affecting customers, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The US agency joins UK regulators who have started their own investigations.
/jlne.ws/3X9gyq4
UK's National Cyber Security Center Also Looking Into ION Hack
William Shaw - Bloomberg
The National Cyber Security Center, part of UK intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters, is part of the growing number of government bodies examining the cyberattack on ION Trading UK. The NCSC joins the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in seeking information about the incident, according to people familiar with the matter, who aren't authorized to speak publicly.
/jlne.ws/3jymJ95
10 Cybersecurity Companies Making Moves: January 2023
Kyle Alspach - CRN
While plenty of cybersecurity companies have been among the tech industry vendors recently announcing layoffs, many companies in the security market had happier news to announce in kicking off 2023. In January, major moves by cybersecurity companies included executive changes, such as CrowdStrike's hiring of two C-level executives from rival endpoint security vendor SentinelOne.
/jlne.ws/3HDEUm6
US is short nearly 530,000 skilled cybersecurity staff, says new study
Security Magazine
Despite recent high-profile tech industry layoffs, demand for cybersecurity professionals remains high, according to the latest data from CyberSeek. The total number of employed cybersecurity workers held fairly steady in 2022 at around 1.1 million, while the number of online job postings edged down to 755,743 from 769,736 in the 12-month period ending in December 2022, according to data from the cybersecurity workforce analytics site developed in partnership by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), CompTIA and Lightcast.
/jlne.ws/3Y2STsj
When Hackers Hobbled Ireland's Hospitals, They Took Themselves Down, Too; A 2021 ransomware attack froze the country's biggest health system, showing some cybercriminals the line they didn't want to cross.
Ryan Gallagher - Bloomberg
At first the attack on Ireland's public-health system fell into a depressingly familiar pattern. In March 2021, hackers duped an employee into clicking on an innocuous-looking spreadsheet, giving them access to its network. On May 14, they rendered most of the 70,000-device system inoperable by encrypting reams of its data. Then they demanded $20 million-which would have been one of the biggest ransomware payouts ever-to reverse the action.
/jlne.ws/3WVFPUs
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bankman-Fried Wins Texas Ruling as States Chase Lost Funds
Madlin Mekelburg - Bloomberg
Embattled FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has staved off a case alleging he broke Texas securities laws, after a judge ruled that the state regulator lacks jurisdiction to act against him. The ruling came in a case brought by the Texas State Securities Board claiming Bankman-Fried offered unregistered securities through FTX's yield-bearing cryptocurrency accounts and that he now owes refunds to Texas investors.
/jlne.ws/3YijbGT
Former Citadel, FTX exec Brett Harrison Is getting ready for his next act
Bloomberg - Crain's Chicago Business
It's been less than three months since FTX collapsed in what US prosecutors called one of the biggest financial frauds in American history - and a former top executive is eager to get it behind him and move on to his next big thing. Yes, Brett Harrison acknowledges, he led FTX US, the crypto exchange's American arm, and was one of its public faces before stepping down in September.
/jlne.ws/3YijLo3
Ex-FTX US President Harrison Shocked at Fraud Allegations
Bloomberg
Former FTX US President Brett Harrison says he and other senior executives were deliberately misled and left out of key decisions being made about the company. Harrison has not been charged with any wrongdoing and won't say if helping in a fraud investigation of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. He speaks exclusively to Bloomberg's Sonali Basak.
/jlne.ws/3Y2sIly
Binance Returns to South Korea's Crypto Market Through a Stake in the GOPAX Exchange; Terms of the agreement for a 'majority' stake aren't disclosed; Binance plans to add capital to replenish customers' deposits
Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
Binance Holdings Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in the troubled South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange GOPAX, returning the biggest digital-asset trading platform operator to a market that it exited two years ago.
/jlne.ws/3YoP2G3
Crypto is back with $300bn frenzy; Bitcoin puts post-FTX collapse behind it with 40% rise so far in 2023
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
With bankruptcies, job cuts and arrests packed into the first few weeks of the year, the crypto industry looked set to pick up right where it left off after a disastrous 2022. But it's not all doom and gloom for the tumultuous world of digital assets. In just a month and change, roughly $300bn has been tacked on to the market value of crypto assets, sending it back above $1tn. Bitcoin has surged more than 40 per cent to roughly $23,000, rebounding from the drop to $16,000 per token, which marred the flagship cryptocurrency in the wake of FTX's bankruptcy last year.
/jlne.ws/3kXqB3Q
Billionaire Charlie Munger says crypto is a 'gambling contract' that US should ban
Thomas Barrabi - NY Post
Cryptocurrencies amount to a "wretched excess" that should be banned in the US, Berkshire Hathaway's billionaire vice chairman Charlie Munger argued in a scathing column this week. Munger - the 99-year-old right-hand man of legendary investor Warren Buffett - has been an outspoken critic of bitcoin and other unregulated digital tokens, which he once likened to a "venereal disease" that he was glad to have avoided.
/jlne.ws/3YqtOrn
Better Exchange Due Diligence Could Help Define Crypto's 2023
Christopher Robbins - CoinDesk
The crypto industry lost a lot in 2022, but there's plenty of optimism it will rebound stronger and better in the years to come. One reason for that optimism is more risk-conscious investing and better due diligence, according to Doug Schwenk, CEO of Digital Asset Research (DAR), a securities analyst operating within the digital assets space. "When prices were always going up, it became pretty easy for people in general to kind of ignore risk management," said Schwenk.
/jlne.ws/3YfBvAm
Why Ex-SEC Official John Reed Stark Is Wrong About Crypto
Miller Whitehouse-Levine - CoinDesk
In earlier eras, town criers would announce the latest news, a royal decree or warn the population of some threat. These figures were especially important at times of low literacy rates in society, where they could transmit, through common spoken language, the most vital announcements. Something analogous exists today with social media replacing the public square, allowing any digital citizen to warn the netizens of this opportunity or that calamity.
/jlne.ws/3kUzGdJ
Former FTX Executive Harrison Is Getting Ready for His Next Act; Brett Harrison, ex-president of FTX US, starts new crypto firm; Startup follows FTX's market-rattling November implosion
Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
It's been less than three months since FTX collapsed in what US prosecutors called one of the biggest financial frauds in American history - and a former top executive is eager to get it all behind him and move on to his next big thing. Yes, Brett Harrison acknowledges, he led FTX US, the crypto exchange's American arm, and was one of its public faces before stepping down in September.
/jlne.ws/3RtHOy2
Why NFTs saw $941 million in trading volume in January - the highest since June 2022
Anushree Dave - MarketWatch
Non-fungible tokens registered $941 million in trading volume in January 2023, up 38% from December, and the highest on record since June 2022, according to a Feb. 2 report by DappRadar, which tracks and analyzes the activity of NFT marketplaces. Non-fungible tokens, which provide proof of ownership of a digital asset like online artwork, surged in popularity in 2021 with the sale of a $69 million digital art piece by Beeple. Two large NFT art collections, including CryptoPunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club, also saw a rise in popularity the same year.
/jlne.ws/3HUbWQ3
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Biden's Stock Market Is Nearly Identical to Trump's; It may seem hard to believe, but the performance of the S&P 500 under the current administration is similar to what it was at this point during the last one.
Robert Burgess - Bloomberg
The victories for President Joe Biden keep adding up heading into next week's State of the Union address. The American Rescue Plan. The Infrastructure Act of 2021. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As impressive as those accomplishments are, perhaps the most astonishing one is what has happened in the stock market. Yes, the stock market.
/jlne.ws/3wTBjva
China Spy Balloon Over US Adds to Tensions Ahead of Talks; Biden was advised against shooting it down, due to debris risk; Disclosure complicates top US diplomat's planned China trip
Roxana Tiron and Anthony Capaccio - Bloomberg
The Pentagon is tracking a Chinese surveillance balloon that lingered at high altitude over the western US, home to sensitive sites including nuclear missile silos, injecting new strain into relations before a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Chinese balloon, first spotted earlier this week, was loitering over Montana - where Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos are located - but posed no physical or intelligence threat, a senior Defense Department official said.
/jlne.ws/40DFKYL
Germany Studies Tapping Coal-Exit Funds for Defense Projects
Kamil Kowalcze and Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
Germany is considering re-routing existing subsidies for eliminating coal-fired power plants to help defense manufacturers build new production facilities, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions between Germany's federal government and regional states are aimed at providing the country's armed forces with more weapons and ammunition and creating jobs in regions that are affected by the shift away from coal, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential.
/jlne.ws/3HyNWjV
A Trader's Guide to Betting on the Next Bank of Japan Governor; Amamiya could lead to yen weakness, Nakaso the opposite; Hawkish Yamaguchi could trigger the biggest move in markets
Matthew Burgess - Bloomberg
Investors are readying for the final stretch in the race to replace Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, a decision that could whipsaw markets from the yen to Treasuries. With a nomination anticipated in early February and a history of press leaks before the official announcement, traders are weighing the perceived policy bias of the main contenders and positioning their books accordingly.
/jlne.ws/3wTBBSM
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | CFTC Statement on ION and the Impact to the Derivatives Markets
CFTC
Staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Divisions of Clearing and Risk, Market Participants, Data, and Market Oversight today released the following statement on the cyber-related incident at ION Cleared Derivatives (a subsidiary of ION Markets), a third-party service provider of cleared derivatives order management, order execution, trading, and trade processing:
/jlne.ws/3HVzofY
Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger on Revision and Extension of Staff No-Action Positions for Swaps Intended to be Cleared
CFTC
I support the revised and extended staff no-action relief regarding swaps intended to be cleared ("No-Action Relief"). This expanded No-Action Relief appropriately recognizes the developments in the cleared swaps market in the decade following the issuance of the existing no-action positions in 2013, including the Commission's issuance of exemptions from registration to certain non-US clearing organizations and swap execution facilities as provided for in the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA").[1] This approach facilitates the efficient use of cleared swaps and furthers our mandate to recognize comparable, comprehensive supervision and regulation of derivatives market infrastructure providers in other countries.[2]
/jlne.ws/3RC9OQk
CFTC Staff Revises No-Action Positions Regarding External Business Conduct Standards and Documentation Standards for Intended-To-Be-Cleared Swaps
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Market Participants Division today announced it has issued a time-limited no-action letter replacing CFTC Staff Letter No. 13-70, regarding certain duties imposed on swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs).
/jlne.ws/3Y2Tdr1
SEC asks big hedge funds for employee phone review - Bloomberg News
Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked some major hedge funds to review certain employees' personal mobile phones for evidence of business dealings on unapproved channels, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The hedge funds include Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management and Ken Griffin's Citadel, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The SEC and Point72 and did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment, while Citadel said it had no immediate comment.
/jlne.ws/3JD1u0B
SEC Publishes Annual Staff Report on Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a staff report that provides a summary of the staff's examinations of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) and discusses the state of competition, transparency, and conflicts of interest among NRSROs.
/jlne.ws/3X3d9Jg
SEC Obtains Judgment Against Texas-Based Technology Company and Its CEO for Fraud & Misappropriation of Investor Funds
SEC
On January 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a final judgment against defendants Aether Innovative Technology, Inc. ("Aether"), a Texas-based technology company, and its CEO John C. Wilson II ("Wilson").
/jlne.ws/3l6vvf8
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Alleged Perpetrators of Fraudulent Pyramid Scheme
SEC
On February 1, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky entered final judgments against defendants John Brian McLane, Jr. and Paul Anthony Nash, whom the SEC previously charged for their roles in orchestrating a fraudulent pyramid scheme.
/jlne.ws/3Y0Xag9
SEC Charges Nevada-Based Investment Adviser for Conducting Fraudulent "Cherry-Picking" Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Steve Susoeff, LLC (dba Meritage Financial Group), a Henderson, Nevada-based investment adviser, and Steven J. Susoeff, its sole owner and principal, for conducting a cherry-picking scheme that defrauded their clients.
/jlne.ws/3Yqn78J
Financial watchdog blocks thousands of misleading ads
FCA
The FCA also published over 1,800 alerts to help prevent consumers from losing their money to scams. Social media remains a major focus for the regulator's work in combatting misleading promotions. The FCA has worked closely with several Big Tech companies to change their advertising policies to only allow financial promotions that have been approved by FCA-authorised firms, but more needs to be done by tech companies to protect consumers.
/jlne.ws/3HsKiZ7
Wilsons Advisory and Stockbroking Ltd ACN 010 529 665 pays $548,328 infringement notice
ASIC
Wilsons Advisory and Stockbroking Ltd ACN 010 529 665 (Wilsons) has paid a penalty of $548,328 to comply with an infringement notice given by the Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP).
ASIC contacted Wilsons in March 2022 after conducting a thematic review of Trade with Price Improvement (TWPI) reported by market participants. TWPI is one of the specified exceptions under Rule 6.1.1 of the ASIC Market Integrity Security Rules (Securities Markets) 2017 (the Rules) that otherwise require trades in equity market products to be matched on an order book of a market and have pre-trade transparency.
/jlne.ws/3JDJKlL
Former Perth adviser sentenced for making unauthorised client transactions
ASIC
On 31 January 2023, former financial adviser John Wertheimer was convicted and sentenced in the Perth District Court for one count of providing a financial service on behalf of a person who carries on a financial services business while unauthorised to do so and one count of engaging in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial service.
/jlne.ws/3l8ANqx
SEC employee phone probe reportedly snags Steve Cohen, Ken Griffin firms
Reuters via NY Post
Securities and Exchange Commission has asked some major hedge funds to review certain employees' personal mobile phones for evidence of business dealings on unapproved channels, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The hedge funds include Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management and Ken Griffin's Citadel, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3HX9sk5
ESMA confirms changing scope of multilateral trading definition including request-for-quote and execution management systems; The conclusion comes as part of a consultation on the scope of a multilateral trading venue launched by the EU watchdog in January last year to level the playing field.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
EU markets watchdog ESMA has confirmed its new definition of a multilateral trading venue, bringing some RFQ and EMS systems into scope to the dismay of some industry participants. ESMA launched its consultation in January last year in a bid to level the playing field: focusing on grey areas in the market including RFQ systems, technology providers, execution management systems (EMS) and systems that allow for pre-arranged transactions.
/jlne.ws/3DFqbpj
Bankman-Fried Family Subpoenas Opposed by US Government in FTX Filing
Jack Schickler - CoinDesk
Proposals for FTX and a committee of its creditors to subpoena founder Sam Bankman-Fried, his immediate family and senior staff of the bankrupt crypto exchange have been opposed by the U.S. Trustee, a branch of the Department of Justice dealing with bankruptcy.
/jlne.ws/3HxNqCN
Logan Paul Faces 'Rug Pull' Class-Action Lawsuit Over CryptoZoo NFTs
Will McCurdy - Decrypt
Famed internet personality Logan Paul and NFT project CryptoZoo have been accused of engaging in a "rug pull" in a new class-action lawsuit. Announced in September 2021, CryptoZoo was marketed as an NFT-based game and billed as "an autonomous ecosystem" that would enable virtual ZooKeepers to buy, sell, and trade exotic animals on the blockchain, hatching them from eggs at the time of purchase.
/jlne.ws/3wWBoy9
U.S. prosecutors probe Silvergate's dealings with FTX, Alameda -source
Reuters
Federal prosecutors in Washington are probing Silvergate Capital Corp and its dealings with bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors in the Justice Department's fraud section are involved in the criminal probe into the crypto-focused bank's dealings, the source said. Scrutiny of Silvergate has been mounting in the wake of FTX's collapse. Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators sent a letter to Silvergate asking for details of its risk management practices and its dealings with FTX.
/jlne.ws/3YDZUA3
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Day Trading Army's Grip on Stock Market Is Tighter Than in Meme Stock Era
Lu Wang and Elena Popina - Bloomberg
Animal spirits are raging again among retail investors and topping the meme frenzy seen exactly two years ago - at least by one measure. Unbowed by losses of more than 50% in their favorite stocks last year, individual traders are storming back to stocks like Carvana Co. and crypto-related products as the market staged a rebound that added almost $2 trillion to equity values in January alone.
/jlne.ws/3JUYq0b
Stock Buybacks Race to Record $132 Billion Start as Companies Snub All Warnings; Robust demand seen adding fuel to new year's equity rally; Morgan Stanley's buyback desk see orders picking up pace
Lu Wang - Bloomberg
President Joe Biden dislikes them. The taxman is coming after them. And Wall Street strategists warn the boom won't last. Yet against all odds, Corporate America continues to splurge on its own shares - a force that has fueled the new year rally. In the first month of 2023, announced buybacks more than tripled to $132 billion from a year ago, reaching the highest total ever to start a year, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates. The planned repurchases surpassed the previous January record, set two years ago, by more than 15%.
/jlne.ws/3l7YcbC
BofA Warns Investors Risk Sleepwalking Into Selloff; Recession at the back of 2023 is a risk to equities: BofA; Global stock funds see $44.7 billion of inflows in 4 weeks
Farah Elbahrawy - Bloomberg
The US stock rally has already gone too far, and investors face brutal declines if economic growth crumbles in the second half of the year, Bank of America Corp. strategists say. The "most painful trade" is always the "apocalypse postponed," a team led by Michael Hartnett wrote in a note. The risk is that inflation flares up again over the next few months, and that the US economy faces a deeper recession in the second half of 2023 after staying resilient in the first six months of the year, they said.
/jlne.ws/3HwpVKC
Rating Firms Eye Adani's Fundraising Ability After Rout
Divya Patil - Bloomberg
Two global rating firms said they will closely watch Adani Group companies' ability to raise funds but took no action on their debt scores, in their first comments after short-seller Hindenburg's report triggered a stock and bond rout. Fitch Ratings said it expects no material changes to Adani Group's forecast cash flow and noted that there aren't significant offshore bond maturities in the near term. But Fitch said in a report that it will monitor the companies' access to financing or cost of financing on a long-term basis, and whether regulatory and legal developments that aren't favorable emerge.
/jlne.ws/3HxwgoZ
US investors dump domestic equity ETFs for overseas funds; The turnround is a sharp reversal on 2022 when flows to American vehicles were three times the $100bn attracted by foreign ones
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
US investors appear to be losing faith in their own stock market and pumping money into overseas bourses. The move represents a sharp about-turn for Americans, who have traditionally favoured Wall Street stocks by a wide margin, over and above the 60 per cent of global stock market capitalisation the US accounts for.
/jlne.ws/3l5FKAr
They're baaaaack. Retail participation in the stock market just surpassed the GameStop days.
Steve Goldstein - MarketWatch
The ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) which in 2022 lost about two-thirds of its value, also up 42%. To put that in perspective, it got to 22% a few times when GameStop (GME) first started surging in value and everyone was talking about Roaring Kitting and Reddit Wall Street Bets. Tesla (TSLA) was the most sold stock by retail investors, while Amazon and Apple were the most bought, according to JPMorgan analyst Peng Chang, using data up to Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3RsIIuT
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Ani Dasgupta shares the 4 stories that will shape 2023
World Resources Institute
What are the actions that governments, businesses, institutions, and people must take to get people, nature, and climate on the right path?
/jlne.ws/3X3XQQi
Black Americans Are Much More Likely to Face Tax Audits, Study Finds; A new report documents systemic discrimination in how the I.R.S. selects taxpayers to be audited, with implications for a debate on the agency's funding.
Jim Tankersley - The New York Times
Black taxpayers are at least three times as likely to be audited by the Internal Revenue Service as other taxpayers, even after accounting for the differences in the types of returns each group is most likely to file, a team of economists has concluded in one of the most detailed studies yet on race and the nation's tax system.
/jlne.ws/3l5zU1M
World's biggest investment fund warns directors to tackle climate crisis or face sack; Norway's sovereign wealth fund threatens to vote against boards on firms it holds investments with over lax climate and social targets
Rupert Neate - The Guardian
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's single largest investor, has warned company directors it will vote against their re-election to the board if they do not up their game on tackling the climate crisis, human rights abuses and boardroom diversity. Carine Smith Ihenacho, the chief governance and compliance officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages more than 13tn Norwegian kroner (pounds 1tn) on behalf of the Norwegian people, said the fund was preparing to vote against the re-election of at least 80 company boards for failing to set or hit environmental or social targets.
/jlne.ws/3RwWmx9
Carbon capture project is 'Band-Aid' to greenwash $10bn LNG plant, locals say; Texas community fights to save its coastline as the developers of Rio Grande LNG regain interest over claims of carbon capture
Matthew Green for Floodlight and DeSmog
As the Mexican Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, festivities drew to a close, Dina Nuñez called to order a meeting of women grassroots activists in a modest home in the heart of Port Isabel, Texas. Top of her agenda: how to stop a Houston-based oil and gas company from building a $10bn project to export liquefied natural gas on a nearby stretch of coast. For Nuñez and her friends, the fight against the scheme - known as Rio Grande LNG - is about protecting their community from air pollution; preserving shrimping and tourism; and defending habitats for pelicans, endangered ocelots and aplomado falcons at the project site on unspoiled wetlands between Port Isabel and the larger city of Brownsville.
/jlne.ws/3HU390o
Foresight Capital Management Expands Into U.S.
Financial Advisor
Foresight Capital Management, a London-based financial services firm, is expanding into the United States with the launch of a sustainable infrastructure fund, the firm announced today. The Cromwell Foresight Global Sustainable Infrastructure Fund is designed to replicate the strategy of the FP Foresight Global Real Infrastructure Fund, and is being launched in partnership with Cromwell Funds, based in Baltimore. The newly formed partnership represents an expansion of Foresight's footprint into the United States. The fund will provide U.S. investors with an entry into a portfolio that concentrates on sustainable infrastructure, with a strong focus on energy transition, the firm said.
/jlne.ws/3laYz5i
The right's anti-ESG crusader
Jael Holzman and Andrew Freedman - Axios
The right's most prominent crusader against climate-conscious investing is vying for states to spurn Big Finance - and deal with his own business instead. Driving the news: Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy says he hopes his firm, Strive Asset Management, becomes the go-to alternative for GOP states seeking to ditch the BlackRocks of the world.
/jlne.ws/3RyYy7k
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Jo Johnson, the investment bank and the Adani allegations
Louis Ashworth and Cynthia O'Murchu - Financial Times
Well, well... Lord Jo Johnson has abruptly resigned as a director of an investment bank with links to Indian business magnate Gautam Adani, after less than a year on its board. Lord Johnson, the younger brother of former prime minister Boris Johnson (and a former FT journo), resigned from Elara Capital on February 1st, according to Companies House records. That was after FT Alphaville contacted him for comment and visited Elara's offices on Tuesday, and was politely but swiftly shown the door.
/jlne.ws/3DDwD08
Cathie Wood Says ARKK Is 'the New Nasdaq'; ARK chief says innovation no longer present in Nasdaq index; ARKK fund 'felt it every time Powell spoke' last year
Emily Graffeo and Carol A Massar - Bloomberg
Cathie Wood's funds had a scorching start to the year and she wants investors to know it. In an interview with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec, the founder and chief executive officer of ARK Investment Management said her flagship fund now gives investors better exposure to long-term innovation than most of the market's most popular growth stock benchmarks.
/jlne.ws/3wOZY3Y
Wells Fargo Hoped Fed Sanction Would Be Brief. Today It Turns 5; A cap on growth has become banking's most-dreaded punishment; Lender cites its progress: 'We are a different company today'
Hannah Levitt - Bloomberg
When regulators hit Wells Fargo & Co. with an unprecedented cap on growth, executives atop the bank expressed confidence they could get it lifted in a year or so. Today marks its fifth birthday. The unexpectedly sticky cap on assets has become the industry's most-dreaded punishment. Janet Yellen made it her final act as Federal Reserve chair in early 2018 - a moment that's been compared to the final scene of The Godfather. Wells Fargo can't escape until it completes a grueling internal overhaul to address past scandals.
/jlne.ws/3Hy8mtl
Carlyle courts ex-Goldman executive Harvey Schwartz for CEO; Private equity group in talks with experienced Wall Street leader after long search
Antoine Gara and Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
Carlyle Group has spoken to former Goldman Sachs executive Harvey Schwartz about taking over as the private equity group's chief executive, as the company tries to complete a protracted search for a new leader after Kewsong Lee's abrupt resignation in August. Schwartz, a two-decade veteran of Goldman who left the Wall Street bank in 2018, has discussed taking the top job at Carlyle, said two sources familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3Y1JKQW
UK asset managers suffer record outflows in 2022; Retail investors withdraw more than £25bn
Chris Flood - Financial Times
The UK asset management industry suffered its worst year on record in 2022 with net fund outflows surging to £50.1bn as soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis forced retail investors to raid their investment pots. Retail investors took £25.7bn out of funds last year, the first time that an annual outflow for this group has been recorded by the Investment Association, the trade body which has data stretching back to 2002.
/jlne.ws/3Y2Fcto
BlackRock appoints new EMEA head of fixed income and FX trading; The move is an internal promotion, with the new head stepping up from his previous role as EMEA head of rates trading.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
BlackRock has promoted Robert Mitchelson to a new position as EMEA head of fixed income and FX trading, The TRADE can reveal. Mitchelson is a longstanding BlackRock stalwart, serving as EMEA head of rates trading in the London office for the past years, and holding the role of senior rates trader with the firm for 15 years previous, bringing his total time with BlackRock to nearly two decades.
/jlne.ws/3HA2uQo
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Crypto Exchange Bittrex Laying Off More Than 80 People
Helene Braun - CoinDesk
Seattle-based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex is reducing its staff by more than 80 people, the company confirmed Thursday, citing market conditions. In a leaked email on Twitter, Bittrex CEO Richie Lai told employees the team had been working "aggressively" to reduce expenses and increase efficiencies, but were not successful. "The market downturn triggered by multiple failures in the crypto ecosystem became an outright collapse by the end of the year," he wrote.
/jlne.ws/3WZOCEH
Deutsche Bank Set to Spare Traders as It Prepares More Job Cuts
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG is preparing further job cuts to keep costs in check, with the focus likely to be areas outside the trading unit. Meeting expense targets in an inflationary environment will require a redoubling of savings efforts, including job cuts, Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing said at an earnings press conference on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3l5Qy1o
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | How to Tell If Your Brain Needs a Break Taking a few minutes to do a puzzle - or stare into space - can allow you to return to work sharper and more creative.
A.C. Shilton - The New York Times
Do you know what your brain is doing? If the answer is trawling the bowels of the internet instead of finishing those spreadsheets, it might be time to step away from your desk. Brain slumps are real, said Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine. And the antidote to this midafternoon mind sludge isn't muddling through, no matter what hustle culture wants you to believe. It's the opposite: You should take a break.
/jlne.ws/3HRsSWn
'My Watch Thinks I'm Dead'; 911 dispatchers are buried under an avalanche of false, automated distress calls from skiers and other Apple device owners who are very much alive.
Matt Richtel - The New York Times
FRISCO, Colo. - On a recent sunny Sunday morning, following a night of fluffy snowfall, tens of thousands of skiers flocked to the resorts of Summit County. Just minutes after the lift lines opened, sirens began blaring in the 911 emergency service center, where four staff members were taking calls and dispatching help. Each jarring alert was a new incoming call, heralding a possible car crash, heart attack or other life-threatening situation. Often, the phone operators heard a chilling sound at the far end of the line: silence, perhaps from a caller too incapacitated to respond.
/jlne.ws/3HV2yf1
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | OK boomer, you're more generous than we thought; Britain's older generation is not frittering away wealth on fast cars and cruises but passing much of it down
Chris Giles - Financial Times
In his first speech to the Conservative party conference as prime minister in 1991, Sir John Major pledged to create a future Britain with wealth cascading down the generations. "We do not see each generation starting out anew, with the past cut off and the future ignored," he said. More than 30 years later, Major can take some satisfaction from his success.
/jlne.ws/3X3yja5
Germany Falling Short of Gas Saving Goal, Regulator Warns
Petra Sorge - Bloomberg
German households and businesses saved too little gas in the second half of January, according to the country's network regulator. Gas consumers only saved 8.6% in the last week of January compared to the average use between 2018 and 2021, and 14% when taking colder temperatures into account, Klaus Mueller, President of the regulator BNetzA, said in a Twitter post on Friday. He issued a similar warning the previous week, and has said Germany needs to cut gas consumption by at least 20% to help offset the loss of supplies from Russia.
/jlne.ws/3HX3uzH
The battle for the Colorado River is a water warning to us all; Who should control access to increasingly scarce resources?
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
This week, a nasty fight has exploded on the US political stage. This is not about congressional votes or presidential candidates. Instead, it revolves around something so mundane that it is often ignored: water. On Tuesday, the seven states that use the Colorado River for hydration - Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming - were supposed to agree a plan to cut their water usage. This comes after the region's driest two decades in 1,200 years.
/jlne.ws/3JDekf9
|
| | | |
|
| |
Disclaimer: All John Lothian Newsletters, JohnLothianNews.com, MarketsWiki.com and MarketsReformWiki.com are products of John Lothian News, a division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. The opinions expressed in all John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. publications are strictly those of their respective editors. They are intended solely for informative purposes and are not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted. Security futures are not suitable for all customers. Futures and options trading involve risk. Past results are no indication of future performance. Nothing on any John J. Lothian & Company site should be considered an endorsement by any sponsor of any website or newsletter content.
© 2023 John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
