July 02, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | John Lothian Publisher John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Firms that host interns this summer should encourage them to sign up for the John Lothian Newsletter using their school email address, ensuring they stay informed on the latest industry news and trends throughout their internship and beyond. The newsletter is free for students and provides valuable daily insights into global derivatives, securities, and related markets, making it an excellent educational resource for aspiring professionals. Additionally, firms with multiple current subscribers who want to expand access to the newsletter while keeping costs manageable should contact JLN to discuss a flat-priced enterprise subscription that allows unlimited employees to receive the newsletter. A new study by Vermiculus and GreySpark Partners reveals that North America's shift to T+1 settlement is creating timing misalignments, FX friction, and staffing pressures for firms in Europe and Asia-Pacific, even as U.S. firms adapt smoothly. The accelerated move from T+2 to T+1 compresses post-trade processing, forcing global institutions to manage after-hours operations and execute foreign exchange under tighter deadlines, raising the risk of settlement failures. Industry expert Lars-Goran Larsson of Vermiculus emphasizes that automated affirmation and allocation are now essential, and as 24/7 trading and real-time settlement loom, firms must modernize their systems to stay competitive in an evolving market landscape. Here is the press release titled "Global firms Grapple with North American T+1: New Study Reveals Early Impacts" and the report titled "New Report: International implications of the North American T+1 Settlement." Speaking of reports, here is the report from The World Federation of Exchanges from today's lead story, titled "The WFE's 11th Sustainability Survey" with the subheadline "Exchanges confirm a strong and expanding commitment to play an active role in promoting sustainable finance." The very busy WFE also published its Focus July 2025 edition today. In Issue 98 (July 2025), a range of industry leaders share insights on sustainability, market innovation, and responsible investing. In "Navigating Change: How SGX Group is Using Climate Change Scenario Analysis to Navigate Transition Risk," York Hao Yeo, AVP, Risk Validation, and Timothy Tan, AVP, sustainability & sustainable finance at SGX, detail how the Singapore Exchange is using scenario analysis to manage climate-related transition risks. Christa Clapp, the co-founder of Shades of Green and global head of sustainable finance market analytics at S&P Global Ratings, discusses the emerging green equity market and its growth prospects in "Green Equity Momentum." Paul Wightman, senior director, international research and product development at CME Group, explores the launch of European Rapeseed Oil futures in response to rising biofuels demand. Lim Sian Choo, chief sustainability officer at Bumitama, highlights sustainable palm oil production efforts, while Azalina Adham, managing director at Securities Commission Malaysia, explains ASEAN's collaborative approach to a just and sustainable transition. Adam Kirkman, strategic advisor, and Ben Stuart, chief commercial officer at Xpansiv, examine how exchanges are scaling environmental commodity markets, and Dr. Soraphol Tulayasathien, head of corporate strategy & strategic initiatives at SET, outlines Thailand's efforts to build corporate sustainability and economic resilience. Leave it to a team of brazen journalists to teach us about AI and what it can do. In "How AI is Turbocharging Our Hunt for 'The Syndrome'," journalist and Project Brazen co-founder Bradley Hope describes how artificial intelligence has revolutionized his team's investigation into the mysterious Havana Syndrome. By leveraging advanced AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Manus, Perplexity, and Gemini, Hope and his colleagues were able to analyze scientific data, simulate potential microwave or ultrasound weapons, and rigorously test competing theories. AI not only helped extract and synthesize complex technical information but also challenged the team's assumptions, acted as a virtual peer reviewer, and even generated plausible specifications for a hypothetical directed-energy device. This collaborative approach enabled the team to bridge gaps between scientific disciplines and investigative journalism, offering new insights into the plausibility and mechanics of the syndrome's possible causes, and signaling a future where AI becomes an indispensable partner in unraveling complex, interdisciplinary mysteries. In "UK's City watchdog expands rules on bullying and harassment," by Martin Arnold in the Financial Times, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it will require tens of thousands of UK financial services firms-beyond just banks-to report serious cases of bullying and harassment by senior employees to regulators and future employers starting in September 2026. This move aims to prevent individuals from evading consequences by moving between companies and addresses non-financial misconduct such as sexual harassment, racism, and offensive language. The FCA's expanded rules come in response to a significant rise in reported incidents and underscore the regulator's commitment to improving workplace culture and accountability in the financial sector. Adam Inzirillo, EVP, global head of Cboe Data Vantage, was named one of Crain's New York Business' Notable Leaders in Finance 2025. Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: ABN Amro's Martin Frewer retires after 43 year career, ANALYSIS: UK, EU commodity derivatives rules to diverge further in one year, ICE hits second consecutive record quarter for trading volume, MIAX launches futures platform after migration from CME, LME plans metals trade-at-settlement contracts in August and Iron ore options 'natural progression' in base metals - Marex. Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality, and justice.~JJL ***** Our most-read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were: - JPMorgan Fund's Expiring S&P Options Position Draws Market Focus from Bloomberg. - Zero-Day Options Had Their Best Month in May. But, Should You Join the Party? from Investopedia. - Hedge Funds Pile In as Big US Banks Soar to All-Time Highs from Bloomberg. ~JB Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free). ++++ Oil Markets on Edge as Geopolitical Tensions and Trade Policies Reshape Commodities, Says Societe Generale's Haigh JohnLothianNews.com LONDON, UK-(JLN)-July 2, 2025-The global commodities landscape is being fundamentally reshaped by escalating geopolitical tensions, trade policy shifts, and the ongoing green transition, according to Michael Haigh, managing director and global head of FIC and commodities research at Societe Generale. Speaking in an interview with John Lothian News at the FIA IDX conference in London, Haigh warned that recent events have injected unprecedented uncertainty into energy and metals markets. Watch the Michael Haigh Video » Nils-Robert Persson - Vermiculus Watch the Nils-Robert Persson Video » Don Wilson - DRRW Watch the Don Wilson Video » ++++ Bank of England to redesign banknotes - and wants your help Kevin Peachey - BBC Victoria Cleland, the Bank's chief cashier, wants people to have their say. Banknotes issued by the Bank of England are about to get their first major redesign in more than 50 years. Notable historical figures, such as Sir Winston Churchill on the current fiver, have featured on these banknotes since 1970 but could be on the way out. The public are being asked for their views on new themes, such as nature, innovation, or key events in history. /jlne.ws/4nlFZTo ***** Jeff Bergstrom said this morning, "You'd think they'd have learned not to ask this after Boaty McBoatface." He is not wrong.~JJL ++++ The Greatest Ever Panel on the World's Most Important Market; Talking US Treasuries. Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg Okay, that's quite a title but we think it's justified! In this special episode - recorded live onstage at our June 26 event in New York City - we bring together some of the best thinkers we know when it comes to the US Treasury market. US government bonds form the backbone of global financial markets, and are the "risk-free" rate to which all other rates are benchmarked. But recently, there's been concern about who will buy all those bonds as the US deficit explodes higher. Meanwhile, there have been long-running concerns about volatility and liquidity in the market. We speak with Nellie Liang, senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution and former undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic finance, Ira Jersey, chief US interest rate strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Josh Younger, a lecturer at Columbia University and repeated Odd Lots guest. /jlne.ws/4klSewD ****** I don't remember moderating this panel! How can it be the greatest ever? (said every moderator, ever) ~JJL ++++ Trump threatens to throw 'bad' citizens 'the hell out' of the U.S. as his next major action Emily Goodin - Daily Mail President Donald Trump warned American criminals they may be the next inhabitants of the 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility and deported out of the country. He issued the threat during a tour of a migrant detention center in the Everglades surrounded by alligators, musing that home-born 'bad people' may be his next targets to get them 'the hell out' of the U.S. 'We also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time,' he said. 'Some of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that'll be the next job.' /jlne.ws/4nMQnUH ***** I would start throwing out the bad with the American bands: Bad Religion, Bad Brains, Bad Wolves, Bad Omens, and Bad City. I would have added Bad Company and Badfinger, but they are British bands that were heavily promoted in the U.S.~JJL ++++ Tuesday's Top Three Our top story Tuesday was Robinhood Launches Stock Tokens, Reveals Layer 2 Blockchain, and Expands Crypto Suite in EU and US with Perpetual Futures and Staking, a press release from Robinhood. Second was Europe's Heat Wave Is Dangerous and Still Getting Worse, from The New York Times. And third was DRW's Don Wilson Says 24/7 Collateral Mobility and Tokenization Are Essential for Market Evolution, a John Lothian News video interview from FIA IDX in London. ++++
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Lead Stories | Exchanges double down on sustainability efforts amid global ESG divergence: WFE World Federation of Exchanges Amid a recalibration of attitudes towards sustainability across some jurisdictions, evidence from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) in the 11th edition of its Annual Sustainability Survey reveals that exchanges worldwide continue to deepen their commitment to sustainable finance. Despite increasing political and regulatory divergence internationally on sustainability issues, exchanges - uniquely positioned at the intersection of capital markets and the real economy - continue to lead the way on sustainability transparency, innovation, and action. /jlne.ws/3Ib04Mk JPMorgan's Blockchain Unit Explores Tokenizing Carbon Credits Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. is developing a new service to tokenize carbon credits and is partnering with a trio of carbon companies for an initial trial. Kinexys, the US bank's blockchain unit, is teaming up with S&P Global Commodity Insights, EcoRegistry and the International Carbon Registry to test a new application that will tokenize credits listed in registry systems overseen by the three companies, according to a statement on Wednesday. The companies will explore whether blockchain technology can be applied to regular activities such as tracking ownership of credits from issuance to retirement. /jlne.ws/45RNj2T Stablecoins Are Waking Up Wirecard-Scarred Germany; Let's hope regulators are up to the challenge of a tech-led revolution in payments. Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg German financial regulator BaFin doesn't seem to be hyped up when it comes to stablecoins - blockchain-issued cryptocurrencies designed to mimic the dollar - whose potential in payments has whipped up enthusiasm on the stock market. After a first warning against a Frankfurt-based stablecoin issuer called Ethena, which BaFin accused of serious organizational shortcomings and breaches of European Union crypto rules, the regulator last week instructed it to wind up business. /jlne.ws/4lsPvCk Russia launches accounts with withdrawal guarantees for foreign investors Reuters Russia has launched a new type of investment account that contains withdrawal guarantees, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as Moscow looks to attract foreign investors to the Russian stock market. Since sweeping international sanctions were imposed against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, Russia has frozen billions of roubles of Western investors' cash in special "type-C" accounts inside Russia and seized dozens of businesses with links to foreign ownership. /jlne.ws/3ZVCYPJ The Power of Positive Thinking about Deregulation; How else to explain stock-market highs? James Freeman - The Wall Street Journal Economic growth was negative in the first quarter, government-imposed costs on trade have risen this year, federal debt continues to soar, stocks are richly priced relative to their earnings, and Congress is laboring just to prevent massive tax hikes scheduled for the end of the year. Yet equity investors keep expressing confidence in U.S. business. /jlne.ws/4ew4k4P The World Federation of Exchanges calls for greater oversight as private market growth accelerates The World Federation of Exchanges The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global industry association for exchanges and central counterparties (CCPs), has called for enhanced oversight and policy coordination as private investment markets balloon. Traditionally a complement to public capital markets, private markets have expanded rapidly, aided by policy incentives, raising critical questions about how this unchecked growth could pose significant risks to market integrity, retail investors and potentially even financial stability. In a new paper, Strengthening Private Markets, the WFE calls for improved data and supervisory scrutiny, more global policy focus, and a fairer balance of incentives between public and private markets. /jlne.ws/3GoWltQ Citadel and Millennium outshone by smaller hedge fund rivals after trade war turmoil; Ken Griffin's flagship fund was up 2.5% in the first half of 2025, while Izzy Englander's firm gained 2.2% Costas Mourselas - Financial Times Hedge fund giants Citadel and Millennium have been outshone by smaller rivals so far this year, as the firms were stung by the market volatility unleashed by Donald Trump's trade war. Citadel's flagship Wellington fund gained 2.5 per cent in the first half of 2025 while Millennium gained 2.2, according to people familiar with the matter. Balyasny and ExodusPoint were up 7.3 per cent and 9.3 per cent, respectively, according to people who have seen the figures. /jlne.ws/3I6XvKX Euro Credit to Benefit From Dollar Shift, Deutsche Bank Says Ronan Martin - Bloomberg Investors will shift increasing amounts of cash coming from US investment-grade bonds to Europe as the "de-dollarization" theme is gaining traction, according to Deutsche Bank AG strategists. The team led by Cem Keltek expects 25% of reinvestment flows - where investors put coupon payments and bond redemptions - from dollar-based investment grade credit to move elsewhere. This is equivalent to an average of $9.3 billion every month and the European credit market could absorb about half of it, the strategists wrote in a report. /jlne.ws/3I6SKkz Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle '60 Minutes' Lawsuit; President Trump had sued over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The company needs federal approval for a multibillion-dollar sale. Benjamin Mullin, Michael M. Grynbaum, Lauren Hirsch and David Enrich - The New York Times Paramount said late Tuesday that it has agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News program "60 Minutes," an extraordinary concession to a sitting president by a major media organization. Paramount said its payment includes Mr. Trump's legal fees and costs and that the money, minus the legal fees, will be paid to Mr. Trump's future presidential library. /jlne.ws/4lfOFJM Tech venture firms deploy private equity 'roll-up' strategy; Thrive Capital's backing of Savvy Wealth is part of growing effort to fund groups that go on to buy similar companies George Hammond - Financial Times Top venture capital firms are borrowing a strategy from the private equity playbook, pumping money into tech start-ups so they can "roll up" rivals to build a sector-dominating conglomerate. Among those deploying the approach is Thrive Capital, a backer of OpenAI and Stripe, which is involved in a new $72mn funding round for wealth management start-up Savvy Wealth. The investment values the New York-based group at $225mn, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The funding will go towards buying up smaller advisory firms and hiring individual advisers, as well as embedding artificial intelligence into the group's operations. /jlne.ws/3GwtnYW EU blocks Britain's attempts to join pan-European trading bloc; The PEM convention would reduce exporters' post-Brexit difficulties with supply chains Peter Foster and Andy Bounds - Financial Times British government hopes of joining a pan-European trade area to reduce post-Brexit supply chain challenges for UK goods exporters are being blocked by Brussels, according to officials on both sides. The UK announced it was considering whether to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) convention as part of its new trade strategy published last week, arguing it could help boost the UK's flagging goods exports. /jlne.ws/44Jndhw EU's shift to a US savings model risks dismantling its social contract; Political choices should be debated democratically, not hidden in technocratic agendas of 'financing gaps' Daniela Gabor - Financial Times Europe, the joke runs in Brussels, is permanently at a crossroads. But this time, it seems existential as the region faces the challenge of fickle allies and stronger economic competitors in a world of rapid technological change. The European Commission's way out? A triple transformative imperative: close the innovation gap, make a joint effort to decarbonise while boosting competitiveness, and reduce excessive security dependencies. /jlne.ws/44sI4UP
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Trade War and Tariffs | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | Japan farm minister refutes Trump claims on rice imports; Shinjiro Koizumi calls president's remarks 'misunderstanding of the facts' Nikkei staff writers - Nikkei Asia Japan's agriculture minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Japan does not accept American rice imports, saying, "Rice imports from abroad, including from the U.S., had increased 120 times from a year earlier." Koizumi, speaking to reporters at the ministry in Tokyo, said Trump's comments reflected an "obvious misunderstanding of the facts," and noted that "Japan's tariff on rice is nowhere near 700%," referring to Trump's past claim that Japan imposes a 700% levy on U.S. rice. /jlne.ws/3ZXvL1I Traders' Fear of Missing Out on Stock Gains Outweighs Tariff Concerns Alexandra Semenova - Bloomberg President Donald Trump's tariff pause is set to end on July 9, with few deals locked in and scant progress in negotiations. Yet the stock market that once swung wildly on trade headlines appears to see little risk, as equity indexes sit near all-time highs and volatility evaporates.In part, the calm is being fueled by expectations that Trump will extend his tariff deadline based on his pattern of threatening harsh measures and subsequently backing down, a strategy analysts and strategists call "TACO" for "Trump Always Chickens Out." But more importantly, Wall Street pros see no sense in fighting the market's momentum as the economy remains healthy and Corporate America appears to be taking trade policies in stride - at least for now. /jlne.ws/4ltCV5W Beijing Braces for US Trade Deals That Aim to Shut Out China Bloomberg News The trade truce between Washington and Beijing may be holding for now, but China is increasingly wary about what's happening elsewhere: US efforts to forge deals that could isolate Chinese firms from global supply chains. Ahead of a July 9 deadline, US officials are deep in talks with major trading partners in Asia and Europe, pushing for new agreements that would include restrictions on Chinese content, or secure commitments to counter what Washington sees as China's unfair trade practices. /jlne.ws/4ezDcC8 Trump's 35% Tariff Threat Feeds Japan's Worst-Case Scenario Fear Yoshiaki Nohara, Alice French, and Alastair Gale - Bloomberg US President Donald Trump threatened Japan with tariffs of up to 35% as he ramped up tensions for a third straight day, fueling fears of a worst-case scenario among market players and raising doubts over Tokyo's tactics in trade talks. Japan should be forced to "pay 30%, 35% or whatever the number is that we determine, because we also have a very big trade deficit with Japan," Trump said, again flagging the possibility that across-the-board tariffs could go much higher than the 24% initially penciled in for July 9. "I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it with Japan, they're very tough. You have to understand, they're very spoiled." /jlne.ws/4nAU3ZA
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World Conflicts | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion US won't send some weapons pledged to Ukraine following a Pentagon review of military aid Will Weissert and Matthew Lee - Associated Press The U.S. is halting some shipments of weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, officials said Tuesday, a setback for the country as it tries to fend off escalating attacks from Russia. Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to aid its defenses during the more than three-year-old war. The pause reflects a new set of priorities under President Donald Trump and came after Defense Department officials scrutinized current U.S. stockpiles and raised concerns. /jlne.ws/44HvSRr U.S. Halts Key Weapons for Ukraine in New Sign of Weakening Support for Kyiv; Withholding Patriot air-defense missiles comes as Ukraine faces persistent Russian air attacks Michael R. Gordon and Alexander Ward - The Wall Street Journal The U.S. has stopped the delivery of air-defense interceptors and other weapons intended for Ukraine and is using them instead to beef up Pentagon stocks, a Trump administration official and two congressional aides said Tuesday. The U.S. move to withhold arms deliveries earmarked for Ukraine reflects the Trump administration's slackening commitment to aiding Kyiv in its defense against Russia. Administration officials have stressed the need to focus more on the longer-term threats from China and, more immediately, military needs in the Middle East. /jlne.ws/4nwiGpZ Lack of New U.S. Sanctions Allows Restricted Goods and Funds Into Russia; President Trump has issued no new restrictions on Russia this year, in effect allowing Moscow to acquire the money and materials it needs in its conflict with Ukraine. Aaron Krolik - The New York Times Since President Trump returned to office in January, the United States has issued no new sanctions against Russia related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In some cases, the administration has eased restrictions. And without new ones, analysts say, existing measures lose their force. The result has created an opening for new dummy companies to funnel funds and critical components to Russia, including computer chips and military equipment that would otherwise be cut off to the Kremlin, trade and corporate records show. /jlne.ws/4lBzt9A Middle East Conflict Iran Suspends Cooperation With U.N. Atomic Agency; Move leaves agency blind to Iranian nuclear work after U.S. and Israeli strikes damaged its main sites Laurence Norman - The Wall Street Journal Iran said it was suspending cooperation with the U.N. atomic agency, denying international inspectors the chance to assess the damage done by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on its main nuclear sites and setting up a new clash with Washington and other Western powers. Iran's move will leave the International Atomic Energy Agency blind for now to any renewed nuclear work that Tehran is able to do and unable to verify the whereabouts of its large stockpile of already enriched uranium. /jlne.ws/44k1lru Israel Urges China to Pressure Iran to Rein In Nuclear Ambitions Bloomberg News Israel urged China to use its economic and political sway to rein in Iran's military and nuclear ambitions. "China is the only one capable of influencing Iran," Ravit Baer, Israel's consul general in Shanghai, told reporters on Tuesday in the city. "Iran would collapse if China didn't buy its oil." Baer's remarks come with Israel-China relations under strain because of the Jewish state's war in Gaza and last month's attacks on Iran, a key Middle Eastern partner of Beijing. /jlne.ws/3IrH5wM Donald Trump says Israel has agreed to conditions for 60-day ceasefire; US president says Qatar and Egypt will deliver the proposal to the group James Shotter - Financial Times US President Donald Trump has urged Hamas to accept what he called a "final proposal" for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, claiming that Israel had agreed to the "necessary conditions" for it to be finalised. Trump's comments - the latest in a string of public ultimatums he has delivered to the Palestinian militant group - came after he said he would be "very firm" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the need for a quick deal when the two meet in Washington next week. /jlne.ws/4lsQ3bm
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Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Euronext in talks to acquire Athens Stock Exchange; If the acquisition comes to fruition, the combined group would run on a unified trading and post-trade technology, with a cross-border clearing framework. Claudia Preece - The Trade Euronext has confirmed that it is currently in discussions to acquire the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) in a deal thought to value the trading venue at EUR399 million (on a fully diluted basis). The talks with the board of directors of Hellenic Exchanges - Athens Stock Exchange specifically concerns a possible offer to acquire up to 100% of the shares in ATHEX. Value-wise this potential offer would be structured as a share exchange, said Euronext. /jlne.ws/4nvPxLH Nasdaq announces election of all nominated directors to US exchange boards Investing.com NEW YORK - Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), the $51 billion market cap exchange operator, announced Tuesday the election of all nominated directors to the boards of the six U.S. exchanges it operates. According to InvestingPro data, the company's stock has delivered an impressive 52% return over the past year and is currently trading near its 52-week high. The elected directors will serve on the boards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, Nasdaq PHLX LLC, Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq ISE, LLC, Nasdaq MRX, LLC, and Nasdaq GEMX, LLC. /jlne.ws/45SbsXg Announcement Regarding Takeover Proposal from Euronext ATHEX Group On 1 July 2025, the Board of Directors of Hellenic Exchanges - Athens Stock Exchange SA has received an unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional all share takeover proposal from Euronext. The Board, together with its advisors, is evaluating the proposal from a strategic and financial perspective. The Board has not entered into any discussions with Euronext at this time and will respond in due course. /jlne.ws/44JdhVg CME Group Sets Record Quarterly and June ADV, Driven by Growth Across Asset Classes CME Group CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today reported its Q2 and June 2025 market statistics, with average daily volume (ADV) reaching a new quarterly record of 30.2 million contracts and June ADV reaching a record 25.7 million contracts. In Q2, the company's ADV grew 15% year-over-year, with record quarterly volume in interest rate, agricultural and metals products. CME Group's deeply liquid SOFR futures also hit a quarterly ADV record of 4.6 million contracts. /jlne.ws/44efGXX Farmer sentiment weakens due to cloudy trade outlook CME Group Farmer sentiment weakened in June following two months of improvement, as tracked by the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer dropped 12 points to 146 from the previous month. A change in producers' expectations for the future served as the primary factor in the shift, with the Index of Future Expectations sinking 18 points to 146. The Current Conditions Index, however, lost only 2 points, standing now at 144. A drop in optimism about future agricultural exports seems to have influenced producers' weakened outlook. Even with the June declines, all three indices persist at higher levels than a year ago. The barometer survey took place between June 9-13. /jlne.ws/4lkWyxe FICC Successfully Processes USD$11.8 Trillion in Daily Volume, Marking New One-Day Record DTCC The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that its Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) subsidiary processed through its Government Securities Division (GSD) a new peak volume of USD$11.8 Trillion in cleared transactions on June 30. This is the highest GSD volume recorded since April 9, when peak volume reached USD$11.4 Trillion. /jlne.ws/3GsxSnl Re-Emerging Markets: The European Giant Awakens Eurex Europe's economic outlook is getting significantly brighter, as shown by both economic data and the optimistic expectations of companies and consumers. After several years of economic challenges, marked by the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, the energy crisis, and geopolitical tensions, signs of an economic recovery are emerging in Europe, a continent with 450 million consumers. But what are the reasons for this new optimism? /jlne.ws/4kiAAtG Euronext statement regarding recent press speculations Euronext Euronext notes recent speculations. Euronext confirms that it has entered into discussions with the board of directors of HELLENIC EXCHANGES-ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE S.A. ("ATHEX"), the Greek capital markets operator, about a possible offer to acquire up to 100% of the shares of ATHEX. This potential offer would be structured as a share exchange valuing ATHEX at EUR6.90 per share, leading to a fixed conversion rate of 21.029 ATHEX ordinary shares for each new Euronext share. Based on Euronext's share price of EUR145.10 as of 30 June 2025, the potential offer would value the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital 1 of ATHEX at EUR399 million on a fully diluted basis. The submission of an offer would be subject notably to due diligence. /jlne.ws/4l3UtFW The New York Stock Exchange Leads Globally with over $60BN in Total Capital Raised During First Half of 2025 ICE The New York Stock Exchange, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today reported an industry-leading $61 billion in total capital raised during the first half of 2025, up nearly 40% versus the same period last year. During the first half of 2025, the NYSE led the industry with an additional $187 billion added to its community's total market cap. The NYSE has listed the largest IPO by capital raised with Venture Global (NYSE: VG) and IPO with the best price performance from Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL). Additionally, the NYSE has continued its four-year leadership position in operating company transfers welcoming five companies year to date, including Virtu (NYSE: VIRT) and QXO (NYSE: QXO). /jlne.ws/44JlPLJ JSE Investor Services continues to deliver Integrated, End-to-End Solutions for Share Plan Administration JSE Optio Incentives, a Nordic fintech specialising in employee equity and incentive programmes, has acquired the share plan software platform from Investec Wealth & Investment International, a division of leading international bank and wealth manager Investec Group. The transaction supports Optio's global expansion and also provides access to long-standing client relationships, a highly scalable infrastructure and an experienced team behind the platform. /jlne.ws/4kD2hxD JPX Monthly Headlines - June 2025 JPX JPX group companies undertake various initiatives and disseminate information with the aim of providing the most attractive markets to all users. /jlne.ws/3ThhTLX Launch of Regulatory Reporting Leveraging DRR & CDM JPX As announced in the press release dated January 15, 2025, titled "Global Standardization of Regulatory Reporting Leveraging DRR & CDM," JSCC has been exploring a framework for regulatory reporting leveraging DRR and CDM as part of adapting to a new global standardized framework. We are pleased to announce that we commenced parallel production operations as planned on June 27, 2025. /jlne.ws/3IoPaCs LMEselect Trade at Settlement Functionality LME This Notice advises members and other market participants on the roll out of trade-at-settlement ("TAS") functionality on LMEselect. /jlne.ws/3ZYeZiX LuxSE launches a new innovative Transition Finance Gateway LuxSE The pioneering Transition Finance Gateway provides climate transition data on non-financial corporate issuers with debt securities listed on the exchange. It strives to promote clarity, comparability, harmonisation and transparency by consolidating transition data from four internationally recognised data providers all in one, free-to-use space. /jlne.ws/3TG8TjL Moscow Exchange Trading Volumes in June 2025 MOEX In June 2025, total trading volumes across Moscow Exchange's markets was RUB 125.9 trln. /jlne.ws/4nt6mH6 Miami International Holdings Announces Successful Launch of MIAX Futures Onyx Trading Platform MIAX Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today announced the successful launch of MIAX Futures Onyx, a proprietary technology platform designed to power trading of agricultural and financial futures, and options on futures in geographically diverse locations. /jlne.ws/4ldi7Qu MIAX Exchange Group - Options Markets - Fee Change To Extend Historical Open-Close Report Data Discount Mondovisione On June 30, 2025, MIAX Options Exchange, MIAX Pearl Options Exchange, MIAX Emerald Options Exchange, and MIAX Sapphire Options Exchange filed with the SEC to extend the following discount for historical data requests to current monthly subscribers of the Open-Close Report: From July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, any single purchase of $20,000 or more of historical End-of-Day Open-Close Report data and/or historical Intra-Day Open-Close Report data by an existing subscriber to the End-of-Day or Intra-Day Open-Close Report, will receive a 20% discount when the subscriber purchases the same category of historical data for which they have a monthly subscription. /jlne.ws/3GfFKIZ Anna Scott resigns from Smart NZX NZX advises that Smart Chief Executive Anna Scott has resigned following her appointment to lead the New Zealand office of a global financial services group from 1 October 2025. NZX thanks Ms Scott for her contribution and wishes her well for the future in her new role. An announcement will be made in due course regarding the Smart Chief Executive role. /jlne.ws/4ex0k4i Nasdaq Announces the Board of Directors of its U.S. Exchanges Nasdaq Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the election of all nominated directors to the boards of the U.S. exchanges operated by the company, which include The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, Nasdaq PHLX LLC, Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq ISE, LLC, Nasdaq MRX, LLC, and Nasdaq GEMX, LLC: /jlne.ws/4kj0P2Y S&P Global Affirmed SIX Group's 'A' Rating, Revised Outlook to Stable SIX S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'A' credit rating for SIX Group AG and revised the outlook from negative to stable. This revision reflects SIX Group's robust operational performance and solid cash generation, both of which have exceeded S&P's expectations. S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'A/A-1' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on SIX Group AG, as well as its 'A+/A-1' ratings on all operating subsidiaries. The stable outlooks for all rated entities within SIX Group reflect expectations that the group will successfully execute its 2027 strategy, achieve EBITDA margin expansion, and maintain financial leverage sustainably below 1.75x. S&P further considers the acquisition of Aquis as a potential strengthening of the competitive position of SIX Group. /jlne.ws/3Tl7cYF B1G Numbers June 2025: Key Figures from Exchanges SIX After six months, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange has reached over CHF 600 billion. This is a 21.1% increase over 2024. While the equity segment progressed by 16.1%, turnover in the ETF segment has more than doubled, reaching 68.8 billion. On BME Exchange, turnover across all segments has increased by 9.4% to reach over EUR 246 billion in the first half of the year. The Swiss blue chip index SMI declined by 2.5% in June and dropped below the 12,000 points mark. Since the start of the year, the performance stands at 2.8%. The Spanish blue chip index IBEX 35 ended the month at 13,992 points (-1.1%), which means that in the first half of the year, its performance has been 20.7%. /jlne.ws/3TmJY4r SGX Group welcomes Tickrs Financial Singapore Pte Ltd as Derivatives Trading Member SGX Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) is pleased to welcome Tickrs Financial Singapore Pte Ltd as a trading member of its derivatives market. Headquartered in Singapore and licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore since 2022, Tickrs Financial Singapore Pte Ltd serves a broad spectrum of clients - including institutional investors, accredited investors, and high-net-worth individuals - through its comprehensive investment platform that offers access to a diversified range of asset classes. The firm has a robust infrastructure that enables seamless operations across jurisdictions and asset classes, ensuring efficient execution, settlement, and compliance in cross-border transactions. /jlne.ws/4lyktJn
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Fintech | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Artificial Intelligence Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla predicts AI will replace 80% of jobs by 2030-and take much of the Fortune 500 with it Ashley Lutz - Fortune Tech entrepreneur and investor Vinod Khosla's prediction of AI automating 80% of high-value jobs by 2030 coincides with a reckoning for Fortune 500 companies. Khosla shared his predictions for the future in a wide-ranging interview on the Uncapped With Jack Altman podcast. As a venture capitalist and early investor in companies like Square and Instacart, Khosla offered advice for business leaders on navigating unprecedented changes ahead. Companies like Sears and Toys "R" Us collapsed under digital pressure, but Khosla warns the 2030s will see a "faster demise" of giants as AI rewrites industry rules. /jlne.ws/45L8JyG Apple and Meta are proving it: AI is going corporate Hamza Shaban - Yahoo Finance After a fundraising round that pinned the AI startup's value at more than $60 billion, Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) has enjoyed a vigorous run. The company notched an early court victory over a copyright lawsuit with implications for AI's future, and now it stands in contention to power Apple's new version of Siri. That would place Anthropic's Claude model in one of the most enviable positions in tech. /jlne.ws/44mCMf7 Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman: AI can provide complex medical support, diagnoses Brian Sozzi and Francisco Velasquez - Yahoo Finance Microsoft says its AI can now outperform doctors in diagnosing complex medical cases. "We already have 50 million health-related queries per day coming through Copilot and Bing," Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid. "Our goal is to provide the most high quality, most accurate, and ultimately the cheapest health advice and support." /jlne.ws/3GisT8U Microprocessors Intel's new CEO explores big shift in chip manufacturing business Max A. Cherney, Jeffrey Dastin and Stephen Nellis - Reuters Intel's (INTC) new chief executive is exploring a big change to its contract manufacturing business to win major customers, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a potentially expensive shift from his predecessor's plans. If implemented, the new strategy for what Intel calls its "foundry" business would entail no longer marketing certain chipmaking technology, which the company had long developed, to external customers, the people said. /jlne.ws/4laMlDR Chipmakers Win Bigger Tax Credit Under Bill Passed by Senate Alicia Diaz and Mackenzie Hawkins - Bloomberg Sweeping tax legislation passed by the Senate Tuesday would make it cheaper for semiconductor manufacturers to build plants in the US, delivering a win to chipmakers and boosting US efforts to expand the industry domestically. Companies such as Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Micron Technology Inc. will be eligible for an investment tax credit of 35% if they break ground on new plants before an existing 2026 deadline. That's a jump from the existing 25% and tops an increase to 30% envisioned in a draft proposal. /jlne.ws/44rqSz9 Technology Firms Broadridge Announces Expanded Roles for Senior Leaders Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader, today announced expanded roles for two senior members of its leadership team to support Broadridge's continued evolution to a platform company. The changes are effective as of July 1. Doug DeSchutter has been named President, Investor Communication Solutions ("ICS"). Doug has been with Broadridge and its predecessors since 2002. He has held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility, with a particular focus on digitizing communications. He was instrumental in creating and leading Broadridge's Customer Communications business, and in 2023 he became Co-President of Broadridge's Investor Communication Solutions segment ("ICS"). Mike Tae, who has served as Co-President of ICS since 2023, will continue to lead Broadridge's Asset Management, Issuer, and Data-Driven Fund Solutions businesses, reporting to Mr. DeSchutter. /jlne.ws/4l960nl
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Cybersecurity | Top stories for cybersecurity | Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles Tabby Wilson - BBC News, Sydney Qantas is contacting customers after a cyber attack targeted their third-party customer service platform. On 30 June, the Australian airline detected "unusual activity" on a platform used by its contact centre to store the data of six million people, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers. Upon detection of the breach, Qantas took "immediate steps and contained the system", according to a statement. /jlne.ws/3ZY9tNa Columbia University Applicants' Personal Data Stolen by Hacker Cameron Fozi - Bloomberg Personal information about Columbia University students and applicants - including whether they were accepted or rejected by the school - has been stolen, according to a Bloomberg News review of data provided by a person who claimed to have hacked the school in June. The 1.6-gigabyte volume of data provided to Bloomberg represents 2.5 million applications dating back decades, according to the alleged hacker. It includes students' and applicants' university-issued identification numbers, citizenship status, decisions on their applications, the academic programs to which they applied, among other things. Bloomberg confirmed the accuracy of the data for eight Columbia students and alumni who applied to Columbia between 2019 and 2024. /jlne.ws/4la1B3y Columbia Cyberattack Appears Politically Motivated, University Says; The attacker, described as a "hacktivist," shut down computer systems and stole student data last week. Sharon Otterman - The New York Times The cyberattack that caused a widespread shutdown of Columbia University's computer systems last week appears to be the work of a "hacktivist" - a hacker who also stole student data with the apparent goal of furthering a political agenda, a Columbia official said on Tuesday. During the outage, which began on June 24, a smiling image of President Trump appeared on some computer screens at the university, including on public monitors in the student center. The Columbia official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, did not provide a motivation for the attack. /jlne.ws/44CbvEm Cybersecurity Flaws Plagued EU Border Control System, Audit Shows Olivia Solon and Tomas Statius - Bloomberg An information-sharing system used by EU border forces to flag illegal immigrants and suspected criminals in real time was rife with software and security vulnerabilities, according to emails and confidential audit reports obtained by Bloomberg News and investigative newsroom Lighthouse Reports. The Schengen Information System II had thousands of cybersecurity issues that the European Data Protection Supervisor, an EU auditor, deemed to be of "high" severity in a 2024 report. It also found that an "excessive number" of accounts had administrator-level access to the database, creating "an avoidable weakness that could be exploited by internal attackers." /jlne.ws/44eog97
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Cryptocurrencies | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | SEC Approves Grayscale ETF That Includes BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA Helene Braun - CoinDesk The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the conversion of Grayscale's Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), a filing shows. The fund tracks the price of bitcoin BTC, ethereum ETH, XRP XRP, Solana SOL and Cardano ADA. The majority of the fund's weight, currently about 80%, is in bitcoin. The SEC's letter on Tuesday noted that the fund is benchmarked to the CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5). /jlne.ws/4kgKQ5t Bitcoin Network Hashrate Declined in June as Miners Reacted to Recent Heatwave: JPMorgan Will Canny - CoinDesk The Bitcoin (BTC) network monthly average hashrate fell about 3% in June, Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Tuesday. The hashrate refers to the total combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, and is a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty. It is measured in exahashes per second (EH/s). /jlne.ws/4knjhHQ The Blockchain Group Raises $13M to Advance Bitcoin Treasury Vision James Van Straten - CoinDesk The Blockchain Group (ALTBG), listed on Euronext Growth Paris has secured roughly 11 million euros ($13 million) in fresh funding as it doubles down on becoming Europe's first bitcoin (BTC) treasury company. This strategic move underscores the firm's commitment to growing its bitcoin holdings relative to its share count, aiming to deliver long-term value to investors through exposure to digital assets. /jlne.ws/40uNu0u Stablecoins Deutsche Bank's DWS, Galaxy, Flow Traders Venture to Introduce German-Regulated Stablecoin Ian Allison - CoinDesk A joint venture between Deutsche Bank's (DBK) asset management subsidiary DWS, Flow Traders and Galaxy (GLXY) said it will issue Germany's first regulated, euro-denominated stablecoin after receiving an e-money institution (EMI) license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) this week. The AllUnity EURAU stablecoin, which will comply with Europe's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, was teased by the companies back in December 2023. /jlne.ws/44fylTi Stablecoin Push Gains Ground in China in New Challenge to US Bloomberg News China faces growing calls from policy advisers and economists to explore using stablecoins for cross-border payments, as the US moves to entrench the dollar's dominance through the still-emerging technology. While China hasn't formally embraced stablecoins - digital tokens pegged to traditional currencies - and maintains a sweeping ban on crypto activities, recent remarks from senior central bank officials have given fresh momentum to discussions about their potential role in global payments. /jlne.ws/4eF4vLu Italy's Banking Group Sella Is Said to Test Stablecoin Custody Anna Irrera and Sonia Sirletti - Bloomberg Banca Sella Holding SpA, an Italian banking group, is running an internal pilot to test custody of digital assets like stablecoins, people familiar with the matter said. Sella has been working with technology provider Fireblocks on the trials, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a private initiative. The banking group currently enables a limited number of specialist employees to hold digital assets with the company, and may roll out the service to clients later, the people said. /jlne.ws/3G8Xt4S
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Politics | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump's Finances Were Shaky. Then He Began to Capitalize on His Comeback; Contrary to the president's assertions, records filed in a fraud case against him suggest that his riches were not the product of a steady and strong empire. Russ Buettner - The New York Times Last spring, even as Donald J. Trump's march back toward the White House dominated public attention, his finances, largely out of view, faced serious threats. His office building in Lower Manhattan generated too little cash to cover its mortgage, with the balance coming due. Many of his golf courses regularly lacked enough players to cover costs. The flow of millions of dollars a year from his stint as a television celebrity had mostly dried up. And a sudden wave of legal judgments threatened to devour all his cash. Then, with his clinching of the Republican nomination, everything began to change. /jlne.ws/4kdjTQ9 U.S. Administration We've Never Seen a President This Unconstrained; Six months in, Donald Trump is showing us daily that he's unbound by the forces that usually keep presidents from going too far. Ronald Brownstein - Bloomberg From Iran to Capitol Hill, President Trump is governing as if he believes all the constraints that limited him during his first term have collapsed. He may be right in that assessment. But if he is, both he and his party could ultimately regret it. Consider his decision last week to bomb Iran. The problem of Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon has vexed presidents for decades. Yet Vice President JD Vance, reflecting the courtier mindset that has come to dominate Trump's White House,insisted that other presidents hadn't bombed Iran only because they were "dumb." /jlne.ws/4eALQAm Donald Trump's big, beautiful act of self-harm; Many Republicans could lose their seats in Congress as a result of the president's reverse Robin Hood budget Edward Luce - Financial Times Two cheers for Thom Tillis. The North Carolina Republican voted against Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill", then said he was quitting politics. Like a bee, the outgoing senator stung once then died. But Tillis forfeits a third cheer because he would in any case have been likely to lose next year's re-election. All things being equal, many Republicans could lose their seats because of Trump's reverse Robin Hood budget. Having chosen to live by the Trumpian sword, some will die by it. /jlne.ws/45Rhozz U.S. Congress Private Equity Caught in Crosshairs of Elise Stefanik's Attack on Harvard; Lawmaker's call for an SEC investigation into the school highlights the industry's fishy valuation practices Jonathan Weil - The Wall Street Journal Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) recently sought an investigation into Harvard's financial disclosures to bondholders. She might as well have fired a bazooka at the entire private-equity industry. In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins, the Republican congresswoman said the university's finances might be more precarious than publicly acknowledged. Much of its $53 billion endowment is invested in private-equity funds that "are often overvalued due to reliance on internal estimates and outdated transaction data," she said. /jlne.ws/46qh7nn House Republicans Threaten to Sink Trump's Megabill; Tax-and-spending legislation moves back to lower chamber for another vote Olivia Beavers - The Wall Street Journal House Republicans are already lining up to oppose President Trump's "big, beautiful bill," with conservatives and centrists blasting the legislation just hours after Vice President JD Vance cast his tiebreaking vote on the Senate version. The number of House Republicans vowing to oppose the Senate version is enough to block the bill's passage, failing a last-minute scramble to negotiate with holdouts and a successful pressure campaign by the president. Only three House Republicans need to join Democrats in opposing the bill to sink it. /jlne.ws/3I7Yc6W Other U.S. Politics Campaign Regulations Are Unconstitutional; The government has the power to administer elections, not to control speech about them. Bradley A. Smith - The Wall Street Journal (opinion) The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that "the First Amendment has its fullest and most urgent application precisely to the conduct of campaigns for political office." But it has declined to review, and in some cases affirmed, many campaign-finance laws that directly abridge First Amendment rights. Can the government legitimately exercise this power over our "fullest and most urgent" political speech? /jlne.ws/44RrVc7 We Both Served as Treasury Secretary. We Know This Bill Is Dangerous. Robert E. Rubin and Lawrence H. Summers - The New York Times Donald Trump as a candidate promised his policies wouldn't add to the debt. Before taking office, he vowed "to restore fiscal sanity to our nation." His "big beautiful bill" does the opposite. We served under a president who made that same vow - and who also took it seriously. We were members of Bill Clinton's economic team when the federal budget was balanced, the only time that has happened in more than half a century. In nearly every respect, the Trump administration's approach is the opposite of what worked in the 1990s - and it poses huge risks to our economy. There are important parallels between the two moments. Mr. Clinton then and Mr. Trump now face serious fiscal problems and an economy that is being rapidly changed by new technology; then it was the internet, now it's artificial intelligence. /jlne.ws/4lDnvMx The DOGE Wild Card in Musk's Feud With Trump; Joe Gebbia, a confidant of the technology billionaire and a Tesla director, is also a leader of the federal cost-cutting team. The fight might put him in a bind. Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced and Danielle Kaye - The New York Times A Musk ally to watch The short-lived truce between President Trump and Elon Musk appears over, broken by Musk's persistent criticism of the Republican domestic policy bill - more on that below - and then the president's heated response. "Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. The president added, "Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?" /jlne.ws/4es2IJk American Pride Slips to New Low; Pride among Democrats tumbles, while independents also hit new low, more than offsetting increase among Republicans Jeffrey M. Jones - Gallup A record-low 58% of U.S. adults say they are "extremely" (41%) or "very" (17%) proud to be an American, down nine percentage points from last year and five points below the prior low from 2020. The 41% who are "extremely proud" is not statistically different from prior lows of 38% in 2022 and 39% in 2023, indicating most of the change this year is attributable to a decline in the percentage who are "very proud." /jlne.ws/3Goe6cN
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Regulation & Enforcement | Stories about regulation and the law. | Making sense of the 'crazy quilt' of financial regulators Caitlin Mullen - BankingDive As the U.S. bank regulatory system has grown throughout history, so have calls to simplify it. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan this year lamented "the spaghetti chart of overlap" among bank regulators and reiterated suggestions from big-bank executives that it's time to "start with a fresh sheet of paper." The bank regulatory system is a fragmented, complex web that involves a host of national and state agencies focused on lenders operating safely and soundly. Despite periodic efforts to consolidate functions, the general framework is likely here to stay, many observers said. /jlne.ws/4nup6WN Deutsche Bank Says Basel Capital Rules to Crimp Defense Finance Arno Schuetze - Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG's top risk manager has warned Europe against crippling lenders with so many rules that its legacy will be "unfortunately, they didn't have tanks, but the banking regulation was really fair." Marcus Chromik, Deutsche Bank's new chief risk officer, told a Frankfurt banking conference that the European implementation of new global capital rules would frustrate banks' support for longer-term projects critical to defense. /jlne.ws/3Ti5c3t Federal Court Orders Chicago Commodity Pool Operators, Owner, Former Chief Portfolio Manager to Pay More Than $6M in Fraud Action CFTC The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order imposing permanent injunctive relief, civil monetary penalties, disgorgement, and equitable relief against Chicago commodity pool operators LJM Partners Ltd and LJM Management Ltd (collectively, LJM); former LJM chairman, owner, and registered associated person Anthony J. Caine of Colorado; and former LJM chief portfolio manager and registered AP Anish Parvataneni of Illinois. /jlne.ws/3IoRVDO Crypto Asset Exchange-Traded Products SEC As part of an effort to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets,[1] the Division of Corporation Finance is providing its views[2] on the application of certain disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws to offerings and registrations of securities by issuers of crypto asset exchange-traded products ("crypto asset ETPs"). Crypto asset ETPs are investment products that are listed and traded on national securities exchanges. They are typically structured as trusts that hold assets which consist of spot crypto assets or derivative instruments that reference crypto assets. These trusts are issuers of securities who must register their offerings and classes of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"), respectively. Issuers of crypto asset ETPs[3] are also subject to the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. However, the crypto asset ETPs addressed in this statement are not registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940.[4] /jlne.ws/4lsV9VP Issues Revisited: Titles, Amendments to Rule 15c2-12 Undertakings and Voluntary Disclosure Dave A. Sanchez, Director, Office of Municipal Securities - SEC Before I delve into disclosure practices, I would like to start by offering my views on another area of concern to which OMS is paying careful attention. It's been fifteen years since Congress created a new class of regulated person required to register with the Commission: municipal advisors.[1] But when I speak with market participants or pick up an official statement or visit an issuer's website, I am regularly confronted with a title that imprecisely[2] reflects the nature of the relationship between municipal entities and/or obligated persons and their advisors: financial advisor.[3] /jlne.ws/40xmddP SEC Settles Charges Against Advisers and Portfolio Managers in Lawsuit Alleging Misrepresentations About Risks in Funds That Lost More than $1 Billion SEC On June 30, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgments by consent against Defendants Antony Caine, Anish Parvataneni, LJM Funds Management, Ltd. ("LJMFM") and LJM Partners, Ltd. (collectively with LJMFM, "LJM"), whom the SEC previously charged with allegedly defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about the risks of LJM's "net short" options trading strategy and LJM's risk management practices. /jlne.ws/3GkWApW ASIC secures travel restraint and asset freezing orders in connection with its investigation into First Guardian ASIC Following an application made by ASIC, the Federal Court has made interim travel restraint orders against Falcon Capital Limited directors David Anderson and Simon Selimaj. Those orders prohibit Mr Anderson and Mr Selimaj from leaving or attempting to leave Australia until 27 February 2026. /jlne.ws/3GoiBnI Former wealth manager sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for breaching Court orders ASIC The Federal Court has convicted former Wealth and Risk Management director, Joshua Fuoco, of contempt of court and has sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment to be suspended for two years, after finding he deliberately defied the Court's orders made on 5 February 2018 prohibiting him from conducting or being involved in a financial services business for ten years. /jlne.ws/4nuoikJ ASIC cancels AFS licences of two Australian financial services providers for failure to pay industry funding levies ASIC ASIC cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Downunder Insurance Services Ltd effective from 24 June 2025 and Ipraxis Pty Ltd effective from 25 June 2025. The AFS licences were cancelled after the financial services providers failed to pay industry funding levies which were outstanding for over 12 months. /jlne.ws/401P8Xf FCA clarifies expectations on bullying, harassment and violence to deepen trust in financial services FCA UK Serious bullying and harassment in financial firms qualify as misconduct, under rules confirmed by the FCA. Previously, it was often unclear when these types of behaviours would amount to a conduct rules breach in a firm other than a bank. On 1 September 2026, the same rules will be extended to around 37,000 other regulated firms, increasing consistency across financial services. /jlne.ws/3I6O2mT "Resilience and Adaptability in an Ever-Changing Fund Management Industry" - Keynote Speech by Mr Teo Kok Ming, Executive Director (Investment Intermediaries), Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Investment Management Association of Singapore's 11th Regulatory Forum on 2 July 2025 MAS /jlne.ws/3GqxAxq Common Contract Note with Single Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP)-Enhancing Ease of Doing Business for Market Participants SEBI In a significant step towards promoting ease of doing business for institutional investors and market participants, Common Contract Note (CCN) with a Single Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP)has been made mandatory with effect from June 27, 2025. /jlne.ws/4ns5baO
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Investing & Trading | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Keeping the APAC door open as Europe moves to T+1; With Europe traditionally trading with APAC markets more than the US - thanks to shared market hours - a symbiotic relationship has emerged, but what does this mean when it comes to the European shift to T+1? Claudia Preece delves into the real cost of being out of global alignment, the impacts of fragmentation, and the potential for 'third mover advantage'. Claudia Preece - The Trade The European shift to T+1 is finally in our sights, an inescapable restructuring of the markets set to enhance global alignment and ultimately bring with it a sweep of benefits. But, as this massive shift for trading processes looms, it's time to take a look eastward at what this change for Europe could mean for its APAC counterparties. /jlne.ws/4eroNI0 Del Monte Foods Files for Bankruptcy With Plans to Pursue Sale; Packaged-foods maker secures a commitment for $912.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing Colin Kellaher - The Wall Street Journal Packaged-foods maker Del Monte Foods, a U.S. unit of Singapore-based Del Monte Pacific, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to pursue a sale. Del Monte Foods said it has reached a restructuring support agreement with a group holding some of its term-loan debt that contemplates the Walnut Creek, Calif., company undertaking a going-concern sale process for all or substantially all of its assets. /jlne.ws/4etF5Aa Why Markets See Budget Math Differently From Congress Spencer Jakab - The Wall Street Journal The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed by the U.S. Senate yesterday used some creative budget math to make $3.8 trillion equal zero. If only congressional scoring could make actual costs vanish. The enlarged package of tax-and-spending measures looks a lot better to domestic investors who measure returns in dollars than to foreigners anxiously adding up Uncle Sam's tab. /jlne.ws/4la0lNS 'Irrational Exuberance' Stock Gauge Sparks Fresh Bubble Worries Alexandra Semenova - Bloomberg Wall Street speculators have returned in full force: US stocks have snapped back from the throes of April's tariff selloff, hovering near record highs, the pipeline of new SPACs is rebounding and Cathie Wood's flagship fund is on a historic tear. That's sparked a swift jump in a Barclays Plc measure of the market's "irrational exuberance" - a phrase coined by former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan for when prices exceed assets' fundamental values. The one-month average on the proprietary gauge has swung back into the double-digits for the first time since February - reaching levels that have signaled extreme frothiness in the past. /jlne.ws/4kkCYQz European junk bond sales hit record as investors cut US exposure; June issuance of about EUR23bn comes as companies take advantage of lower borrowing costs Euan Healy - Financial Times Sales of risky European corporate debt surged to their highest ever level in June, as lowly rated companies take advantage of a capital flight out of US markets on fears over the fallout from President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. Issuance by high-yield, or junk-rated, companies - many of which have previously struggled to access the market - rose to about EUR23bn in June, according to JPMorgan data. That beats the previous monthly record, set in June 2021, by roughly EUR5bn. /jlne.ws/4l9hur0
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Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Trump admin tries to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering observatory Andrew Freedman - CNN The Trump administration's proposed budget seeks to shut down the laboratory atop a peak in Hawaii where scientists have gathered the most conclusive evidence of human-caused climate change since the 1950s. The Mauna Loa laboratory in Hawaii has measured atmospheric carbon dioxide, which - along with other planet-warming pollution - has led directly to climate change, driving sea level rise, supercharging weather and destroying food systems. /jlne.ws/44shlrL LuxSE launches climate data platform to boost market transparency Kangkan Halder - Delano The Luxembourg Stock Exchange has introduced a new digital tool aimed at improving access to climate transition data for over 500 non-financial corporate debt issuers. This move aims to support investor decision-making and issuer accountability amid growing urgency for climate action. /jlne.ws/3GqF03F EU Set to Offer Shields for Exporters Under Carbon Border Levy Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg The European Union is planning a measure to shield its exporters from disproportionate financial burdens when the bloc's landmark carbon border levy kicks in next year. The European Commission, the bloc's executive, will say on Wednesday that it wants to use the revenues generated by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to support production at risk of being relocated to third countries with laxer environmental rules, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg News. /jlne.ws/3GgIK7Z Europe's Climate Resolve Faces Test as EU Unveils 2040 Goal John Ainger and Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg The heat wave searing Europe is making a compelling case for one of the most ambitious climate targets ever set by Brussels. Many in the European Union, however, have yet to be convinced. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, proposed Wednesday a binding law to slash emissions by 90% by 2040 as part of its overarching goal to reach climate neutrality by the middle of the century. While that shows the bloc is still up for the fight against global warming, it's been forced to offer various "flexibilities" to help countries meet the target. /jlne.ws/40B1Mg2 A Power Line for Clean Energy Was in the Works. Now, an Investigation Looms.; The Grain Belt Express line, meant to carry electricity from wind farms across the Midwest, faces an inquiry from the Missouri attorney general. David Gelles - The New York Times An 804-mile-long transmission line in the Midwest appeared to be finally ready for construction after more than a decade of delays. Known as Grain Belt Express, the $11 billion line would carry electricity produced by wind farms in Kansas across Missouri and Illinois all the way to Indiana, making it the very sort of infrastructure that experts say is needed to modernize America's aging electrical grid. /jlne.ws/4lULN51 Solar Industry Says Senate Plan Would Cede Production to China; A revival of U.S. solar panel manufacturing that began during the first Trump administration could end with the phasing out of tax incentives for clean energy. Ivan Penn - The New York Times After the first Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported solar panels, companies opened or announced plans for new U.S. solar panel factories, reviving a manufacturing business that had largely withered away. Those plans accelerated under the Biden administration, which offered generous tax incentives to manufacturers and developers of solar farms. /jlne.ws/3TSvFEU Germany Gives Go-Ahead for Gas Drilling in Protected Marine Zone Petra Sorge - Bloomberg /jlne.ws/3I83MWW Sabotage suspected as mystery blasts hit oil tankers; Five vessels hit with limpet mines this year shortly after visiting Russian ports Robert Wright - Financial Times /jlne.ws/44JtUA3
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Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Biggest US Banks Boost Payouts After Lighter Fed Stress Test Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg Wall Street's largest lenders boosted their dividends after passing this year's Federal Reserve stress tests, a hurdle that regulators made easier to clear by softening some of the requirements laid out in previous years. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. were among firms that raised quarterly payouts after the Fed's annual review last week showed that all 22 banks examined would maintain enough capital to withstand a hypothetical economic downturn. /jlne.ws/4knmmaS Nomura Stops Selling JGB-Backed Loans After Regulatory Scrutiny Takashi Nakamichi - Bloomberg Nomura Holdings Inc. followed Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. in halting the business of selling loans backed by Japanese government bonds, as regulatory officials tighten scrutiny of the products. "After extensive internal discussions and a comprehensive evaluation, we have discontinued the sale of JGB repackage loans from the end of June," a spokesperson from Japan's largest brokerage said Wednesday in a reply to Bloomberg News queries. The impact on revenue is "extremely limited," she said, declining to comment on the value of outstanding repackaged JGBs Nomura has sold to local financial firms. /jlne.ws/40zwc2a Why Barclays CEO Venkat Is Nearing Crunch Time; The bank thinks its cuts are over, but that depends on the turnaround at the investment bank. Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg Barclays Plc is halfway through the three-year plan of Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan to boost returns and cut reliance on its investment-banking arm. The dealmaking and trading business has been the center of the UK lender's ups and downs for years and has been put through several rounds of refocusing and cost-cutting exercises. And yet Barclays is still struggling to convince investors that the unit can fulfil its promise. The UK bank's executives are determined that its dieting is done, and the rewards are just around the corner. However, its bankers might be looking over their shoulders following recent headlines about jobs cuts and consultants from McKinsey & Co. hunting for efficiencies. The industry has been buoyed by an unexpected recovery in deals and capital-markets activity in the closing weeks of the second quarter following a tough start when the Trump tariff barrage sowed chaos and confusion in April. /jlne.ws/4lt1hxj Private Markets Why Vanguard, Champion of Low-Fee Investing, Joined the 'Private Markets' Craze; Traditional money managers, after years of cutting fees, look to tap in to higher-cost private investments Matt Wirz and Anne Tergesen - The Wall Street Journal View more Vanguard Group grew into a $10 trillion financial colossus by pioneering simple, ultralow-cost investing. Its wildly popular index funds proved that people don't need expensive portfolio managers to pick their investments. These days, the company's most exciting new product is a striking departure from that playbook-a foray into the world of private markets, where investors pay steep fees for access to complex deals that promise high returns. /jlne.ws/45QB6LZ Former E*Trade CEO: How to get the opening of private markets for retail investors right-with the benefit of hindsight Mitchell Caplan - Fortune In 1983, a dentist in Michigan executed the world's first online trade from his home computer, sending an order through Trade Plus-a precursor to E*Trade. At a time when individual investing meant calling a broker during business hours and relying on their recommendations, this simple transaction marked a radical departure. Overnight, technology shifted the balance of power from institutions to individuals, permanently reshaping how the world would interact with markets. /jlne.ws/449PEFc Private Equity Private Equity Is Struggling to Overcome Doubts on Valuations; The spike in public stock markets is pushing up the mooted price of comparable private assets too, making them harder to sell. Claire Ruckin - Bloomberg Blackstone Inc., Apollo Global Management and a host of private-capital mammoths have pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in Europe over the next decade. But the immediate outlook for buyout deals is still looking pretty dicey. After years of stagnant dealmaking, M&A bankers finally had some cause to celebrate in the last quarter as several big-ticket corporate deals were signed and fears about US President Donald Trump's tariff policies abated somewhat - temporarily, at least. And yet, most buyout firms are in no mood to party. /jlne.ws/3TGdvq5
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Work & Management | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | How AI is impacting lawyers, auditors, and accountants holds lessons for us all Jeremy Kahn - Fortune AI is rapidly changing work for many of those in professional services-lawyers, accountants, auditors, compliance officers, consultants, and tax advisors. In many ways, the experience of these professionals, and the businesses they work for, are a harbinger of what's likely to happen for other kinds of knowledge workers in the near future. /jlne.ws/3ZVB2GX Microsoft to Cut 9,000 Workers in Second Wave of Major Layoffs Brody Ford and Matt Day - Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. began job cuts that will impact about 9,000 workers, a second major wave of layoffs this year as it seeks to control costs. Less than 4% of the company's total workforce will be impacted, a spokesperson said. The cuts will have an impact across teams, geographies and tenure and are made in an effort to streamline processes and reduce layers of management, the spokesperson said. "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace," the spokesperson said. /jlne.ws/3GkXVNu
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Wellness Exchange | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | AYR Wellness Misses Senior Note Interest Payment Amid Debt Restructuring Efforts TipRanks AYR Wellness has announced that it did not make the interest payment due on its senior notes by June 30, 2025, which could lead to a default if not addressed by July 30, 2025. The company is actively engaged in discussions with noteholders to explore capital structure alternatives as part of a strategic review. Despite the missed payment, AYR does not expect any operational disruptions, indicating a focus on restructuring its debt profile to achieve a more sustainable financial position. /jlne.ws/3I8nhhW Why this alcohol distributor's employee wellness strategy is simple: 'BYOB' Jen Colletta - HR Executives In 2016, Southern Wine & Spirits merged with Glazer's beverage maker to create the nation's largest alcohol distributor. With a workforce spanning North America and today numbering more than 26,000, the merger highlighted for leadership that talent would be critical to the success of the new company. To enable that talent, the organization has doubled down on employee wellness. /jlne.ws/3G6ECaF Mpox epidemic strains African health systems after US aid cuts; More than a dozen nations struggle to contain outbreak as health systems flounder with loss of international support Aanu Adeoye and David Pilling - Financial Times More than a dozen African countries are struggling to contain an outbreak of mpox after cuts to US and European aid has left fragile health systems ill-prepared to fight the spreading virus. More than 21,000 cases have been recorded in at least 13 countries this year - already more than the 19,738 diagnoses across all of 2024, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. By the end of 2025, it could be double last year's tally, said Africa CDC's mpox manager Ngashi Ngongo. /jlne.ws/4nteJm0
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Regions | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | The New Gold Hub? Here's Why Singapore Is Rising; See why the emerging power in the world of gold is worth your attention. Nomi - Prinsights with Nomi Prins via LinkedIn Gold's price tells only part of the story that's unfolding in the world today. Where that gold ends up and who has control over it can signal where monetary power is shifting next - and that's why you should be following it right now. The power fulcrum of the world is changing, especially when it comes to the stockpiling of physical gold. Gold is moving East. /jlne.ws/3ZVPa2X The U.S. is having the worst tornado season in 14 years Jesse Ferrell - Yahoo News The 2025 tornado season is the most active in the United States in more than a decade, with more preliminary tornado reports by the end of June than in any year since 2011. Fueled by a series of major outbreaks this spring, four states have emerged as the hardest hit so far this year. /jlne.ws/44uhxqg London IPOs Hit 28-Year Low Amid AstraZeneca Exit Concerns Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Joe Easton, and Neil Campling - Bloomberg London marked the slowest first half-year for IPO volume since 1997, a grim milestone punctuated by a report that AstraZeneca Plc's chief executive officer wants to move the company's listing to the US. With companies going where liquidity is abundant, a steady drip of firms being taken private, and too few initial public offerings coming along to replace them, pressure is mounting to reverse the slow but inexorable shrinking of London's historic trading venue. More than $100 billion worth of London-listed companies have announced or executed plans to move to New York in recent years, Bloomberg calculations show. /jlne.ws/4laT9Bm Trillion-Dollar Pools of Capital Mask Middle East VC Paradox Laura Gardner Cuesta and Christine Burke - Bloomberg Despite a strong first quarter for startup funding, the Middle East's venture ecosystem faces a unique paradox: The region's sovereign wealth funds and family offices wield trillions of dollars and yet startups are struggling to access the funding they need to scale. At the heart of the problem lies a gap in late-stage venture capital, particularly at the Series B stage and beyond. In a region that's become a hub for initial public offerings in recent years, this threatens to slow the pipeline of IPO-ready companies in the Middle East. Government-owned companies and long-established private businesses have dominated the Middle East's recent wave of IPOs. Fewer than 6.5% of the region's funded startups have gone public in the past decade, according to data platform Magnitt. /jlne.ws/4lDLv2f Milei's Foreign-Exchange Shakeup Has Brokers Moving Into Banking Ignacio Olivera Doll - Bloomberg Argentina's brokerages are restructuring after President Javier Milei took away lucrative arbitrage opportunities that juiced their business when he rolled back capital controls. With more than 280 brokers operating in the Latin American country - a figure unmatched anywhere else in the region, according to local regulator CNV - competition has always been fierce. It's even more so now that exploiting the gap between the official and parallel exchange rates doesn't generate as much profit, and that banks can sell dollars now, too. By comparison, that far exceeds the number of brokers in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Peru. /jlne.ws/4ntaerC Goldman Bankers See Election as Trigger for a Brazil M&A Revival Cristiane Lucchesi and Rachel Gamarski - Bloomberg Brazil's presidential election in 2026 will be key to unlocking more action in the merger-and-acquisition market, according to some of the nation's top investment bankers. "Next year's election could be a trigger for a much broader universe of players to materially increase their conviction and deploy more capital in the country," Ricardo Bellissi, co-head of investment banking in Brazil for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in an interview. /jlne.ws/46mKyGW
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Miscellaneous | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Ex-UBS CFO Wins UK Top Court Case Over £133 Million Divorce Hillary Boye Doku and Lucca De Paoli - Bloomberg A former UBS Group AG executive can hold onto the majority of his wealth after the UK's top court ruled in his favor in a divorce fight with his ex-wife over the split of their £133 million ($182 million) estate. Clive Standish's former wife, Anna, brought the legal challenge to the Supreme Court after her ex-husband won an earlier decision that he should keep the majority of their wealth. Her appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court, according to a judgment handed down on Wednesday. /jlne.ws/44v8iX5
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