| March 06, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
My wife Cheryl and I leave Thursday after JLN is published to head to Florida. We will be driving for the third consecutive year, heading first to our place in Sarasota, then over to Boca Raton for the FIA International Futures Industry Conference starting Sunday. This year there is a different schedule with the Sunday start and Wednesday finish, but there is more content on the last day than they normally have at the conference. I am looking forward to the Hall of Fame ceremony and meeting with my fellow inductees. I am also gearing up for conducting 40-some videos at the conference with regulators, exchange leaders, proprietary trading leaders, technology leaders, fellow Hall of Fame inductees, and leaders in other fields.
There is a bit of a contest among the JLN team going on to produce the best image using AI to represent the question "Is ESG dead?" We are getting some creative entries.
Thank you to Christopher McNulty, Sr. and Joe Schroeter for their contributions to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign supporting our efforts to preserve industry history with our various video series. We greatly appreciate their support.
Fintech entrepreneur Jeremie Bacon was honored with the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award of the National Eagle Scout Association of the Boy Scouts Of America and the Pathway to Adventure Council. I introduced Jeremie to the council and his The Forge Adventure Parks in Lemont, IL has been the center of many Scouting activities.
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero is scheduled to deliver a fireside chat at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Washington Conference on Monday, March 11, 2024. The event will take place from 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. (EDT) at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. Attendees can find more information and access the event HERE.
Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is set to engage in a fireside chat focusing on 'The Future of Financial Regulation' during the Malta Stock Exchange's Governance, Risk, Compliance, and ESG Week 2024. The session is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 7, 2024, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CET), or 5:45 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. (EST) at the Hilton Malta Hotel in St. Julian's, Malta. For more information go HERE.
Our good friend Simon Rostron has been updating the record movement of gold on the London Bullion Market Association in LinkedIn updates. He reports staggering new highs in the price of gold, with the LBMA London Gold Price reaching unprecedented levels during both morning and afternoon auctions, culminating in a record-breaking close at $2134.40. This surge marks the seventh time in nearly 50 days since December 27th that gold prices have shattered previous records. The remarkable ascent began with the afternoon auction on December 27th, where the price soared to $2069.40, followed by successive spikes in subsequent auctions. The latest milestones include the morning auction on March 4th, closing at $2083.15, and the afternoon auction on March 5th, achieving the historic peak of $2134.40.
Bloomberg has hired Serena Ng as senior editor for Asia finance and investing. Serena brings a wealth of experience from her tenure at The Wall Street Journal, where she served as Asia finance editor, leading a team of reporters dedicated to covering markets, deals, and financial institutions across the region.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Market prophet Gary Shilling warns stocks could crash 30% - and says the odds are 'very much in favor of a recession' from Markets Insider.
- Gold price surges to record high from the Financial Times.
- Hedge Fund Startups on the Rise With Giant Firms Under Scrutiny from Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance.~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Chicago Board of Trade museum aimed at drawing people to LaSalle Street
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
Before they became a relic of a bygone era, open-outcry trading pits drew steady foot traffic for decades to the Chicago Board of Trade Building. Now the landmark tower's new owner is hoping that storied piece of the city's history can do it again. In a move meant to help lure new tenants and visitors alike to the historic building anchoring the southern tip of LaSalle Street, Chicago real estate firm R2 will build out a Chicago Board of Trade museum on the ground floor of the 44-story tower at 141 W. Jackson Blvd., an R2 spokesman confirmed. The project is one piece of a tower revamp that R2 is leading on behalf of Apollo Global Management, the New York-based investment giant that took control of the building last year.
/jlne.ws/49GmLk3
***** If you see a statue of me at the Chicago Board of Trade Museum, it is likely just me. I just move very slowly.~JJL
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DMIST releases annual progress report
FIA
The Derivatives Market Institute for Standards, a body established by FIA in 2022 to encourage widespread adoption of standards in the exchange-traded and clearing derivatives industry, has released its latest annual report outlining the progress of the organization over the last year. DMIST also announced changes to its organizational structure to help accelerate the pace of development and adoption of standards in the exchange-traded derivatives markets. In June 2023, DMIST published its first standard on Improving the Timeliness of Trade Give-Ups and Allocations, which establishes 30-minute timeframes for completing steps in the allocation process.
/jlne.ws/49WjGMC
****** I hope DMIST can provide some transparency with its annual report.~JJL
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Loop retail vacancy tops 30% for the first time
Rachel Herzog - Crain's Chicago Business
Nearly four years since the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of empty storefronts in the Loop has surpassed a daunting threshold: More than 30% of the central business district's retail space is vacant. The Loop retail vacancy rate increased for the fourth year in a row in 2023, rising to 30.13% from 28.32% in 2022, according to a report from Chicago retail brokerage Stone Real Estate. That's more than double the pre-pandemic rate of 14.92% in 2019 and the highest level since 2002, when Stone began tracking the Loop market.
/jlne.ws/49VuRVR
****** The storefronts in the Loop business district in Chicago look like a small town that had a Walmart move to the edge of town.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Tuesday was John Lothian News' Futures Discovery: Physical Delivery VS Cash Settlement, a video by Corties Draper. Second was The New York Times' Juli Lynne Charlot, Creator of the Poodle Skirt, Dies at 101. Third was The Wall Street Journal's Bitcoin Funds Pull In Money at Record Pace.
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| Lead Stories | FIA announces 2024 President's Award winners
FIA
FIA today announced the winners of its President's Award, an annual honor that recognizes outstanding individuals for their contributions to the global cleared derivatives industry over the past year. The 2024 class of President's Award winners are: Natalia da Gama, President's Award - Advocacy; Helen Gordon, President's Award - Capital; Martin Kalnins, President's Award - CCP Risk; Julian O'Leary, President's Award - Operations; Lou Rosato, President's Award - Operations.
/jlne.ws/48HHfaT
You Can Now Buy Shares in Music by Beyonce or Taylor Swift; Startup JKBX is offering securities backed by the royalty streams from songs recorded by popular artists
Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
It's the latest musical mashup: Top 40 hits meet financial engineering. A startup is offering securities backed by the royalty streams from songs recorded by such artists as Beyonce, Taylor Swift and the pop-rock band OneRepublic. Its goal is to bring music investing to the masses.
/jlne.ws/49V0Upv
AI Talent Is in Demand as Other Tech Job Listings Decline; Postings for artificial-intelligence-related roles are growing and touting higher pay
Nate Rattner - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. companies are ramping up recruitment of artificial-intelligence professionals and paying a premium for talent. Firms in the tech sector and beyond went on a hiring spree after the onset of the pandemic before pivoting to a focus on efficiency through layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. The market for AI-related roles has proved resilient, job-listings data show.
/jlne.ws/3IrxJxU
Cboe Now Lists IShares By Blackrock ETFs Across Its Entire Global Exchange Network
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced that Cboe Australia has listed for trading new Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) from iShares by BlackRock. With these new iShares ETF listings, BlackRock becomes the first global asset manager to list its iShares ETFs on each of Cboe's listings exchanges in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK and the European Union. Three of the funds commence trading on Cboe Australia on February 16, 2024, while two Australian hedged versions of the funds are planned to launch February 23, 2024.
/jlne.ws/3UHKPi4
LME announces new senior leadership appointments and organisational design; New Group General Counsel appointed; new Group CFAO role created; new business line heads announced; Strategic delivery, operational strength and a high-performance culture underpin changes being made
LME
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is pleased today to announce a number of senior leadership appointments and organisational design changes. These are being made to ensure that the LME continues to advance as a world-leading metals marketplace - supporting its customers, building mutually beneficial partnerships with its stakeholders, enhancing its operational resilience and underpinning the group's future goals and ambitions. The LME appointments complement appointments recently announced by LME Clear and come into effect 1 April 2024. Matthew Chamberlain, LME CEO, said: "These changes and appointments are part of an ongoing programme of enhancements and organisational refinements at the LME that will ensure the business continues to be a global leader in the trading, pricing and clearing of metals, in turn powering some of the most exciting business opportunities and industries around the world."
/jlne.ws/4a1gDCY
LSEG investors offload $2.4 billion of shares in London bourse owner
Reuters
A consortium of investors in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) sold about 1.9 billion pounds ($2.41 billion) of shares in the London bourse owner, as it looks to cash in on rising interest in LSEG's transition into a financial data powerhouse. The consortium, which includes private equity firm Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab, Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), opens new tab and other investors, "executed a monetisation" of about 21.5 million shares in LSEG. Institutional investors purchased around 15.9 million shares at 8,980 pence per share, reflecting a discount of around 0.7% to Tuesday's closing price.
/jlne.ws/3TcRUoy
Carbon Markets Test the Limits of Voluntary Action; As companies retreat from green pledges, advocacy for broader corporate climate action may be misplaced.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
The limits of voluntary climate action are evident everywhere you look. Every day it seems there's another company scaling back its sustainability ambitions or another investment firm pulling out of industry coalitions set up to press corporations to decarbonize their operations. In the voluntary carbon market, where corporates buy credits to compensate for their emissions, that same regressive dynamic may soon be at play. But there are still some who have hope that companies will not only keep buying credits, but perhaps invest in cleaning things up beyond their own patch.
/jlne.ws/48I2h9e
EV Charging Stations Are Getting Busy Enough to Make Money in the US; As electric car sales pick up in the US, the average utilization rate of many of the country's fast-charging stations nearly doubled last year.
Kyle Stock - Bloomberg
When it comes to electric vehicle charging in the US, the cars are finally catching up to the cords. Last year, the average utilization of a US fast-charging station not operated by Tesla Inc. doubled - from 9% in January to 18% in December, according to new data from Stable Auto Corp., a San Francisco startup that helps companies place EV infrastructure. Put another way: By the end of 2023, every fast-charging cord in the country was plugged in for an average of nearly five hours a day.
/jlne.ws/3Tq8vqe
Leading U.S. banks leave ESG project finance group
Simon Jessop, Isla Binnie and Ross Kerber - Reuters
Four of the biggest U.S. banks are no longer signatories to the Equator Principles, an industry benchmark for assessing environmental and social risks in project-related finance, its website showed on Tuesday. Set up by the banking industry in 2003, the principles help firms identify, assess and manage potentially adverse impacts created by large infrastructure and industrial projects.
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**** This story from The Guardian.
The Believers Who Rode Bitcoin to a Record High-and the Ones Who Missed Out; Wild fluctuations in the price of bitcoin have left some celebrating windfalls and others kicking themselves for bailing on it
Joe Pinsker and Caitlin Ostroff - The Wall Street Journal
Joe Oathout lost $500,000 on bitcoin, but he didn't lose faith. Few would have the stomach to hold on after watching a $20,000 investment soar halfway to $1 million in 2021 only to have nearly all of it evaporate. After the price of bitcoin rose above $69,000 to a record high Tuesday, the 45-year-old in Palmer, Alaska, said he feels vindicated. His crypto holdings are back up to $150,000, though still short of the peak he discussed with The Wall Street Journal last year.
/jlne.ws/3uQlbgD
Exponential Markets Launches Electric Vehicle Index; Today, Exponential Markets is announcing the launch of our newest product-the Exponential Markets Electric Vehicle Index.
Exponential Markets
Today, Exponential Markets is announcing the launch of our newest product-the Exponential Markets Electric Vehicle Index. This innovative index is specifically tailored for the battery electric vehicle segment, making it a groundbreaking benchmark in the automotive industry. This release follows the successful introduction of our flagship composite market index, the first tradable index for the overall used vehicle wholesale market.
/jlne.ws/3V3mzH8
Boerse Stuttgart Digital partners with Profidata to grant its institutional clients first-time ever access to trading and custody of crypto assets
Boerse Stuttgart Digital
For the first time, institutional clients of Profidata shall gain access to easy, seamless and fully regulated crypto asset trading through Boerse Stuttgart Digital's infrastructure; This cooperation involves the solutions of Boerse Stuttgart Digital's integrated portfolio: institutional brokerage and custody; Profidata manages a total portfolio of +4.5 trillion euros for its clients with its investment management solution XENTIS. Boerse Stuttgart Digital, the leading infrastructure provider in crypto and digital business among European exchange groups, announces its partnership with Profidata - a primary provider of software and SaaS solutions for investment and wealth management. By integrating the institutional brokerage and custody solutions of Boerse Stuttgart Digital, more than 40 institutional clients of Profidata can gain access to easy, reliable, and fully regulated trading and custody of crypto assets for the first time ever. https://jlne.ws/3InFG7t
Bitcoin Volatility Picks Up After Token's Run to All-Time High; Largest digital asset climbed to a record peak above $69,000; Token didn't stay there long and is gyrating below that level
Suvashree Ghosh and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Bitcoin posted sharp swings after printing its first record in more than two years as traders assessed whether demand from recently launched exchange-traded funds can keep the token's rally going. The largest digital asset rose some 4% to $66,000 as of 2:46 p.m. Wednesday in Singapore, helping to lift the wider digital-asset market. A day earlier, Bitcoin touched an all-time peak of $69,191.95 before quickly sinking below $60,000.
/jlne.ws/3T54PZp
Binance US laid off 2/3 of staff in wake of SEC lawsuit, revenue plunged 75% after 'near-mortal blow'
Leo Schwartz - Fortune
The Securities and Exchange Commission hit Binance with a massive lawsuit in June of this year, and not long after, the U.S. arm of the leading crypto exchange "imploded," according to new court documents filed on Tuesday. In a deposition from December that was released on Tuesday, Binance.US COO Christopher Blodgett revealed that the company has been forced to lay off more than 200 employees, or two-thirds of its workforce, since June as a result of the SEC's action.
/jlne.ws/3Ipt8w9
Top real estate CEO warns '500 or more' banks will either fail or be consolidated over the next two years
Will Daniel - Fortune
Ever since four regional banks holding a combined $532 billion in assets-headlined by Silicon Valley Bank-failed in March 2023, regional banks have been under scrutiny from regulators. And given the commercial real estate (CRE) industry's issues, a key focus has been on banks with the most exposure to the volatile sector. In an upcoming white paper seen exclusively by Fortune, RXR CEO Scott Rechler described how regional banks will face a "slow-moving train wreck" as waves of commercial real estate loans mature over the next few years. Rechler has faith that many commercial real estate owners, operators, and lenders will figure out a way to overcome the challenges facing them, but he's more skeptical about regional banks. "I think there's going to be...500 or more fewer banks in the U.S. over the next two years," he said. "I'm not saying they're all going to fail, but they're going to be forced into consolidation if they don't fail."
/jlne.ws/4bZJ9Xp
SEC Expands "Dealer" Definition to Capture Liquidity Providers
Jessica Cohn, Raymond Jensen, Richard Kerr and Eden Rohrer - K&L Gates LLP
On 6 February 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt two new rules that significantly expand the definitions of a "dealer" and "government securities dealer" in Sections 3(a)(5) and 3(a)(44) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). Exchange Act Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 (together, the Final Rules) require certain market participants, particularly those who take on significant liquidity-providing roles in the markets, referred to as "de facto market makers" by the SEC, to register with the SEC under Section 15 or 15C of the Exchange Act, respectively; become members of a self-regulatory organization (SRO); and comply with federal securities laws and regulatory obligations applicable to dealers.
/jlne.ws/435GaZp
Uncovered: A Hidden Crisis In US Housing; In places most prone to wildfires and hurricanes, state "insurers of last resort" are absorbing trillions of dollars in risk.
Leslie Kaufman, Saijel Kishan and Nadia Lopez - Bloomberg
It is so easy to start a wildfire. A smoldering campfire, a lightning strike, an errant firework or a spark from a power line or a hot muffler: However California's next monumental blaze begins, the toll will be vast. People will be injured, some will die. Thousands of homes will be destroyed. When the smoke clears, the most populous US state, home to Hollywood, Silicon Valley and a real estate market worth more than $9 trillion, will be ground zero for a sweeping financial crisis.
/jlne.ws/3IpTLRL
US SEC to vote on long-awaited overhaul of corporate climate disclosure rules
Douglas Gillison, Isla Binnie and Ross Kerber - Reuters
Wall Street's top regulator will vote on Wednesday whether to adopt rules that could overhaul requirements for U.S.-listed companies to report climate-related risks. The proposed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules aim to standardize climate-related company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, risks and how much money they are spending on the transition to a low-carbon economy. The agency says such information is important for investors. Currently, U.S. securities regulations do not impose common standards for climate-related disclosures. The SEC says investors need such information to be consistent and comparable. Currently, companies produce climate information on their own terms.
/jlne.ws/3P80aVs
BlackRock Manager Predicts 40% Jump in Bank Risk Transfer Deals
Esteban Duarte and Cecile Gutscher - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. is forecasting rapid growth for transactions that allow banks to shed risk in their loan portfolios as tougher capital rules take hold. "Given greater acceptance of this as a tool and ongoing Basel III endgame regulatory pressures, there is a real world in which this market has a potential to grow at 30-to-40% each year for the next two years," William Im, a director in BlackRock's global opportunistic credit team, said in an interview before the release of a paper laying out the case for synthetic risk transfer deals.
/jlne.ws/4bZYerV
China's Roaring Bond Market Withstands 1 Trillion Yuan Drag
Bloomberg
China's government bond fever that sent benchmark yields to two-decade lows is powering ahead even after Beijing slapped the market with a $139 billion issuance plan. The yield on the nation's 10-year sovereign note fell below 2.3% for the first time since 2002 on Wednesday afternoon, following central bank comments that the reserve requirement ratio may fall further as part of liquidity support. China's 10-year bond futures closed up Wednesday at a record high since debut in 2015.
/jlne.ws/3uXi9qS
Retail regulatory restrictions could boost European listed derivatives markets, but how will institutional brokers be affected? New report explores the potential shift to listed futures and options by retail brokers following increasing regulatory restrictions on contract for difference markets and the impact this will have on competition and the institutional brokerage landscape.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
European retail brokers are expected to target growth in institutional markets alongside expanding into listed derivatives if restrictions on contract for difference (CFD) markets continue to gain traction, a study by Acuiti in partnership with ION has found. In 2023, Spain joined a growing list of European countries set to introduce new restrictions on instruments aimed at retail investors, which would ban the promotion of CFDs and restricting leverage on other instruments.
/jlne.ws/4c51ouE
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine Slams the Door on Bringing Russian Gas to Europe
Jonathan Tirone - Bloomberg
Ukraine's top energy official ruled out any commercial agreements to allow Russian natural gas to continue flowing through the country after the current transit deal lapses at the end of the year. The European Union and Ukraine have previously said they won't renegotiate the existing contract, but some market participants are optimistic about the possibility of private deals to bring fuel into the trading bloc.
/jlne.ws/4c2HEHS
International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Top Russian Commanders; Bomber-unit leader, head of Black Sea Fleet are accused of targeting Ukraine's civilian power supply
Jess Bravin and Ian Lovett - The Wall Street Journal
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for two Russian commanders it accused of targeting Ukraine's power grid, ramping up an investigation into war crimes during Moscow's invasion that earlier produced charges against President Vladimir Putin. The ICC charged Lt. Gen. Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, head of a long-range air force bombing unit at the time of the attacks, and Adm. Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, who was commander of the Black Sea Fleet, with directing missiles against Ukrainian power plants and distribution stations. Such acts would violate the humanitarian-law prohibition on targeting civilian facilities.
/jlne.ws/3wG20Xp
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Damage to Cables Under Red Sea Highlights Mideast Conflict's Broader Threat; What disabled three major cables linking East to West is still not clear. Suspicion has centered on Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have attacked numerous ships in the area, but they have denied responsibility.
Stanley Reed - The New York Times
Mysterious damage to vital communications cables under the Red Sea has raised concerns about whether the conflict in the Middle East is now beginning to threaten the global internet. Just as the waters off Yemen hold crucial shipping lanes, they are also a critical location for undersea cables that carry email and other digital traffic between Asia and the West. Around a dozen cables run through the area, and more are planned.
/jlne.ws/49RprLA
US now pushes UN to back 'immediate' Gaza ceasefire to free hostages
Michelle Nichols - Reuters
The United States on Tuesday revised language in a draft United Nations Security Council resolution to back "an immediate ceasefire of roughly six-weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages," according to the text seen by Reuters. The third revision of the text - first proposed by the U.S. two weeks ago - now reflects blunt remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris. The initial U.S. draft had shown support for "a temporary ceasefire" in the Israel-Hamas war.
/jlne.ws/3UZo7lE
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | London exchange rejects bid to have 'green' nickel recognised
Matthew Cranston - AFR
The London Metal Exchange has rejected a bid by the Australian government, with US support, to have the clearing house recognise "clean" nickel, in efforts to help ailing Australian miners smashed by a supply glut from Chinese companies in Indonesia.
/jlne.ws/3TnVe1e
Tradeweb Reports February 2024 Total Trading Volume of $37.9 Trillion and Average Daily Volume of $1.87 Trillion; February 2024 ADV up 31.1% YoY
Tradeweb Markets Inc.
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today reported total trading volume for the month of February 2024 of $37.9 trillion (tn)[1]. Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was $1.87tn, an increase of 31.1 percent (%) year-over-year (YoY).
/jlne.ws/4c4MYKI
Cboe Global Markets Reports Trading Volume for February 2024
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today reported February monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines. The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain February trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines.
/jlne.ws/49D3Xm0
Correction: Two changes each in MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX
Deutsche Boerse Group
(The original press release on March 5 stated that Adtran Networks SE would be delisted from the TecDAX. However, the company leaving the TecDAX is ADTRAN HOLDINGS INC.) STOXX Ltd. has announced the new composition of the DAX index family. DAX, MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX bring together the largest listed companies (based on free float market capitalization) in the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that meet all of the basic criteria for index inclusion described in the DAX rules and regulations. The indices are reviewed quarterly. The regular exit, regular entry, fast exit and fast entry criteria apply to the scheduled March review.
/jlne.ws/48DrjX7
DTCC Advances Pilot to Further Automate Corporate Actions Announcement Process and Deliver New Efficiencies
DTCC
The pilot is expected to run through the end of 2024 and will introduce greater levels of automation in sourcing Corporate Actions announcement data. DTCC, the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced a pilot to further automate the corporate actions (CA) process, delivering new efficiencies and capabilities that address decades-long asset services challenges around the sourcing of corporate actions announcements.
/jlne.ws/3Irpimm
EEX Group Monthly Volumes - February 2024
EEX Group
EEX Press Release, Monthly Volume Report. EEX Group reports its February volumes with the following highlights: Total monthly trading volume on the EEX Group global power markets exceeded 1,000 TWh for the first time in February 2024, with 1,067 TWh traded in a month, which is a 66% increase year-on-year. Volumes on the European power spot markets grew by 26% YoY, reaching 67.1 TWh. European power derivatives volumes more than doubled YoY, with a 108% growth to 614 TWh. The EEX Nordic Power Markets recorded a substantial growth compared to last year, followed by significant volume increases on the Swiss, Spanish, Belgian and French markets. The German and French power futures markets also registered record monthly volumes. The Japanese Power Futures market had another record month with 6.6 TWh, a 176% growth YoY.
/jlne.ws/3uVCkp7
ELITE launches its second group of leading companies in Portugal, growing Euronext's large private market ecosystem
Euronext
Initiating a dynamic partnership with Deloitte and VdASeventeen companies already joined ELITE in Portugal to accelerate their sustainable growth and access private and public capital markets. Successful launch of ELITE's second cohort supported by our leading partners Deloitte and VdA. Over 1500 companies and 200 partners in Europe part of the ELITE network. Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, welcomes the second group of Portuguese companies into ELITE, Euronext's ecosystem dedicated to nurturing small and medium private enterprises in their path for sustainable long-term growth by connecting them to financial capital, knowledge capital and relational capital.
/jlne.ws/49XYlCz
Easter and ANZAC Day Operating Hours
FEX
Introduction. FEX Global (FGL) operating hours for the market over the Easter and ANZAC. Day periods are as follows: Change to Normal Operations. Easter. Thursday 28 March 2024: Night session Closed (from 2030hrs) Friday 29 March 2024: Closed Monday 1 April 2024: Closed. Tuesday 2 April 2024: Normal trading recommences at Day session Open (from 1000hrs).
/jlne.ws/3VcV5ii
JPXI to Begin Providing Sample Data for the Scheduled Dates of Earnings Releases Information Service
Japan Exchange Group
As announced on January 24, 2024 (see Note), we at JPX Market Innovation & Research, Inc. (JPXI) will launch a service on May 20, 2024 that provides information on the scheduled dates of earnings releases that listed companies, REITs, and infrastructure funds periodically report to Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE).We are pleased to announce that starting today we will provide historical data for the past three years (hereinafter referred to as "the sample data") so that you can see what kind of data is provided.
/jlne.ws/4c71mlZ
Euronext announces March 2024 annual review results of the AEX Family
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the March 2024 annual review for the AEX, AMX, AScX and AEX ESG, which will be implemented after markets close on Friday 15 March 2024 and will be effective from Monday 18 March 2024.
/jlne.ws/3wHfNNj
The 6th edition of the MCX-IPF COMQUEST Quiz witnessed over 5900 students in participation from across India
MCX
'MCX-IPF COMQUEST'- 2024, the premier, National-level Commodity market educational quiz for students, organized by the MCX Investor Protection Fund (MCX-IPF) successfully concluded its 6th edition on the 1st of March 2024. This year, more than 5900 individual students of which 43% were female students, from over 485 academic institutions & universities, across 148 cities / towns pan India, participated in the competition. The grand finale of the 6th edition of 'MCX-IPF COMQUEST' 2024 Quiz Competition was held at the prestigious Mumbai University Campus, Kalina, Santacruz.
/jlne.ws/3TkDqE9
NSE Indices launches two new thematic indices
National Stock Exchange of India
NSE's index services subsidiary, NSE Indices Limited today launched two new thematic indices namely, Nifty500 Multicap India Manufacturing 50:30:20 index and Nifty500 Multicap Infrastructure 50:30:20 index. The Nifty500 Multicap India Manufacturing 50:30:20 aims to track the performance of select large cap, mid cap and small cap stocks from the Nifty 500 index that represent the manufacturing theme.
/jlne.ws/49YPZuu
Transactions on the Moscow Exchange were concluded by more than 4 million private investors in February
Moscow Exchange
The number of individuals with brokerage accounts on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) at the end of February 2024 exceeded 30.7 million, they opened 54.3 million accounts. Transactions on the Moscow Exchange in February were concluded by 4.1 million private investors - the maximum value in the entire history of exchange trading. The share of individuals in the volume of trading in shares was 76%, in the volume of trading in bonds - 33%, in the spot currency market - 12%, in the derivatives market - 62%.
/jlne.ws/3V5rQhF
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | OSTTRA and Baton Systems partner to launch FX PvP service; New service will be delivered on distributed ledger technology (DLT) from Baton Systems and will help increase market-wide access to PvP, addressing FX settlement risk concerns.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Post-trade solutions provider OSTTRA has launched an FX payment-versus-payment (PvP) settlement orchestration service designed to mitigate bilateral settlement risk between participants, while optimising intraday funding, liquidity and credit risk. The launch of the new OSTTRA service follows the Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) advocated an increase in the adoption of PvP in FX transactions to reduce FX settlement risk.
/jlne.ws/3v9rRGu
OSTTRA and Baton Systems partner to launch FX PvP service, mitigating settlement risk in FX markets
Baton Systems
OSTTRA will operate an on-demand payment-versus-payment (PvP) service, powered by Baton's proven distributed ledger technology, designed to mitigate settlement risk in the US$2.2 trillion of daily FX turnover settled outside CLS. The service will be open to FX market participants globally - including market maker banks, investment managers, and large corporates. Initial participants include HSBC and Wells Fargo.
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BidX Markets rebrands to Multi Asset Solutions; The decision to rebrand reflects the company's commitment to innovation, growth and enhancing its offering, said the firm.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Multi-asset liquidity and B2B trading technology provider BidX Markets has rebranded to Multi Asset Solutions (MAS Markets). According to the firm, this strategic move reflects the company's commitment to innovation, growth, and enhancing its offerings to better serve professional clients globally.
/jlne.ws/3wIGkK8
Microsoft Just Invested In OpenAI's Competitor Amid SEC Investigation Into Sam Altman After Board 'No Longer Had Confidence In His Ability To Lead'
Caleb Naysmith - Benzinga
Microsoft Corp. has made waves with its strategic investment in Mistral AI, signaling a notable shift in artificial intelligence (AI) development. However, this move comes against a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding OpenAI, compounded by a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its CEO Sam Altman. Mistral AI, a French newcomer to the AI arena, has swiftly garnered attention for its innovative approaches to AI system optimization. Microsoft's investment and partnership with Mistral, which they claimed to be an "innovator and trailblazer" shows the company's commitment to staying at the forefront of AI advancements.
/jlne.ws/3TpwJQf
Elon Musk Is Right About OpenAI But for the Wrong Reasons; The world's second-richest man accuses Sam Altman of putting profits over the good of humankind.
Max Chafkin - Bloomberg
Fast-growing technology companies exaggerate constantly. This isn't to say they lie; it's just that when you're raising large sums of money, it helps to present an impressionist picture of your current business rather than a photorealistic one. Google's founders talked about organizing "the world's information" back when they weren't even the most successful search engine from Stanford University; Airbnb's founders argued that vacation rentals would, by some unknown alchemy, end hatred; and WeWork spun a fairly conventional real estate startup into a pseudo-spiritual lifestyle brand.
/jlne.ws/3T2dX0Z
Why Elon Musk Has It In for Sam Altman; On this episode of Elon, Inc., we discuss Musk's many grievances with OpenAI and its CEO.
Max Chafkin - Bloomberg
Elon, Inc: Sam Altman v. Elon Musk v. Delaware (Podcast)
Elon Musk is mad at Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI. Musk has many grievances with the nonprofit research lab, some of which he has brought up repeatedly on podcasts, during television interviews and in social media posts. Among them: Musk thinks ChatGPT, the company's AI chatbot, is insufficiently conservative ("WokeGPT," he likes to call it), worries it might somehow lead to the end of the world if the chatbots get out of control and seems to be very frustrated about receiving insufficient credit for OpenAI's achievements. ("I am the reason OpenAI exists," he claimed on CNBC last year.)
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The Nvidia Chips Inside Powerful AI Supercomputers; Built to drive the graphics of videogames including 'Call of Duty, ' they now also power ChatGPT and other AI tools
Asa Fitch, Eric Niiler and Peter Champelli - The Wall Street Journal
Nvidia is having a moment over its graphics processing units, or GPUs-hot commodities that are essential in creating AI systems such as ChatGPT. But what exactly are GPUs? Unlike the circuitry on standard computer chips, which handle one computation at a time, in what is called serial processing, GPUs handle much more complex tasks by making many calculations at the same time, an approach known as parallel processing. Originally designed to make videogames run better, GPUs started to be widely used in AI around 2012.
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OpenAI releases Elon Musk emails to show he backed for-profit plans; ChatGPT maker says Tesla boss wanted top job and board control as feud over AI start-up deepens
George Hammond - Financial Times
OpenAI has hit back at Elon Musk, releasing emails to show that he supported its plan to create a for-profit entity and raise billions of dollars - decisions at the heart of the Tesla boss's lawsuit against the artificial intelligence start-up. Musk, who was part of OpenAI's founding team, claimed in the suit he filed last week that it had breached an agreement to make breakthroughs in AI "freely available to the public" by forming a multibillion-dollar alliance with Microsoft, which has committed $13bn to the company.
/jlne.ws/439KDtZ
CCData Partners With ANNA/DTIF To Accelerate Adoption of the Digital Token Identifier Standard
CCData
CCData, an FCA-authorised benchmark administrator and leading provider of digital asset data and index solutions, today unveiled its strategic partnership with the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and the Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) to introduce Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs) and International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) into CCData's Asset Metadata solution. The integration of these two identifiers means stakeholders of both parties can access metadata for 7,000+ digital assets and respective ISO identifiers via CCData's REST API. This will enhance transparency in the digital asset market by distinguishing between the ISIN-identified asset itself and its blockchain-based implementation, identified by DTI.
/jlne.ws/49w0jdv
Adobe Finds AI Hype Is a Two-Edged Sword; Competitive threat from OpenAI's Sora tool is overblown, but rising valuation made its stock vulnerable
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
Creating professional-level images is harder than it looks. Creating trouble for the maker of Photoshop turns out to be a lot easier. Adobe's rapid embrace of generative artificial intelligence made it one of the hottest stocks among large-cap software firms last year, even outperforming AI leader Microsoft. But that image has taken a hit of late. The company's last earnings report in December included a forecast that investors found disappointing for lack of perceived AI contributions to the company's growth prospects. And OpenAI's announcement last month of a new text-to-video creation tool called Sora caused further worry. Adobe's shares have tumbled neary 10% since that announcement-more than double the decline of the S&P 500 Software & Services Group in that time.
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | CrowdStrike Soars After Earnings Beat and Market Share Gains
Jake Bleiberg - Bloomberg
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. gave a forecast for revenue and profit in the current quarter that far surpassed Wall Street's expectations, crediting a single-platform strategy that has allowed it to gain market share. The stock soared in extended trading. The cybersecurity company said it expects earnings per share of 89 cents to 90 cents in the first quarter, beating the average analyst forecasts for 82 cents. It sees revenue of $902.2 million to $905.8 million, also surpassing estimates.
/jlne.ws/3IrqW7m
Cyber Defense Company Claroty Secures $100 Million in Funding; Claroty says it will pursue a public offering when market conditions are right
James Rundle - The Wall Street Journal
Industrial cybersecurity company Claroty has raised $100 million in financing, and will consider a public offering when market conditions are right, its chief executive said.
/jlne.ws/3v5ZOHZ
The State Of Cybersecurity (Part One): Why Are There Still So Many Data Breaches?
Anand Kashyap - Forbes
When it comes to cybersecurity, the industry has developed a case of "Einstein insanity"-doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Specifically, organizations are spending more and more on a security tech stack that simply isn't working.
/jlne.ws/48F9x5T
Official: Super Tuesday spared from cybersecurity threats
SC Media
No notable cybersecurity threats and influence operations have been deployed to compromise the Super Tuesday presidential primaries as per a senior Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin ETFs Smash $10B Trading Volume Record Amid Wild BTC Price Action
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs had their busiest day ever on Tuesday as bitcoin's {{BTC}} run for all-time high price turned into a bloodbath, the price tumbling more than 10% after hitting a record above $69,000.The ten ETFs topped $10 billion in trading volume during the session, breaking last week's daily record, according to Bloomberg data compiled by Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. BlackRock's IBIT, Fidelity's FBTC, Bitwise's BITB and ARKB, co-managed by Ark Invest and 21Shares, all broke their personal volume records, Balchunas noted.
/jlne.ws/433ErUe
'My Mom Texted Me': Bitcoin's Comeback Energizes Long-Time Proponents
Yueqi Yang and Teresa Xie - Bloomberg
From Wall Street to main street, the sudden comeback of Bitcoin is energizing investors big and small. Bitcoin briefly topped $69,000 on Tuesday, surpassing the all-time peak it achieved in late 2021. The biggest digital currency is back in the spotlight with the crypto industry persevering through two years of bankruptcies, lawsuits, and criminal scandals. For Anthony Scaramucci, this moment is not yet time to celebrate. The SkyBridge Capital founder said he was at a Starbucks drinking coffee Tuesday morning when he got the notification on Bitcoin breaking the previous all-time-high.
/jlne.ws/3IptAdV
Crypto's $800 Billion Rally Widens Beyond Record-Setting Bitcoin
Bloomberg
Smaller cryptocurrencies are starting to pull ahead of record-setting Bitcoin as traders bet the tokens are next in line to test all-time peaks. An index tracking the bottom half of the largest 100 digital assets is up about 60% over the past month, beating the 56% advance in Bitcoin. During the same period, the overall value of tokens jumped by more than $800 billion, according to data tracker CoinGecko
/jlne.ws/3IpV9np
Bitcoin ETF Issuer VanEck Has Huge Crypto Growth Goals in Europe
Helene Braun - CoinDesk
VanEck, a 69-year-old asset manager with a history of bringing newfangled investments to customers, has high hopes for the role crypto will play in its European division. Today, roughly 10% of the business' assets under management come from crypto products and 90% derive from conventional investing through ETFs, Martijn Rozemuller, the CEO of VanEck Europe, said in an interview.
/jlne.ws/3Io4V9C
Jupiter's Perpetual Crypto Trading Falters as Bitcoin Hits Record
Danny Nelson - CoinDesk
Bitcoin's wild price swings spawned widespread chaos in the crypto markets Tuesday, including at Jupiter, an on-chain derivatives trading platform where users reported failed trades and liquidated positions. Jupiter's founder said he plans to "look into making users whole" after issues were reported. In a message on Telegram, pseudonymous founder Meow said Jupiter's perpetual futures exchange had resumed full operations Tuesday afternoon New York time. In the preceding hours it experienced "serious issues" stemming from a surge in demand, per a tweet.
/jlne.ws/4c2y6wq
Crypto 'Meme-Coin' Mania Returns on Bitcoin Boom
Angus Berwick - The Wall Street Journal
Bitcoin's new record-topping streak is unlocking the crazies of the crypto world. The value of "meme coins"-projects whose value is based largely on the popularity of internet memes-is rocketing once again. Dogecoin's price this week reached its highest levels since early 2022, more than doubling over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap. The market capitalization of the token, which originated in a meme involving the misspelling of "dog," now sits at over $24 billion.
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Bitcoin Is Up But the Future of Money Lies Elsewhere; FOMO is no match for real utility, as an alternative digital gold rush in Brazil shows.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3uZMV2d
Bitcoin Miners Show Muscle Pushing Back Against Warrantless 'Emergency' Order
Daniel Kuhn - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/4c0iN7F
Bitcoin ETF Giant Grayscale Introduces a Crypto Staking Fund
Ian Allison - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3uQdXJx
Spain blocks Sam Altman's eyeball-scanning venture Worldcoin; Cryptocurrency project co-founded by OpenAI chief has raised concerns from regulators around the world
George Hammond, Barney Jopson and Carmen Muela, Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4c3dGmX
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Column: Trump and RFK Jr. want to make the world safe again for polio and measles. You should be terrified
Michael Hiltzik - LA Times
What are the chances that the noted anti-vaxxers Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would make common cause to undermine Americans' health in their pursuit for the presidency? It didn't take much hindsight to say the answer is 100%. But there's no need to speculate any longer - not since this weekend, when Trump and Kennedy both associated themselves with policies that would bring vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio back to the United States.
/jlne.ws/3wJgR3d
New York moves to rewrite law on sovereign debt default recovery; Draft legislation sets up confrontation with investors who say it will disrupt markets
Kate Duguid and Joseph Cotterill - Financial Times
New York lawmakers have moved to limit how much creditors can recover from defaulted sovereign debt in the state's jurisdiction, proposing to rewrite the law that governs about half of the foreign currency bonds issued by governments across emerging markets. Draft legislation submitted to the New York State Assembly last week resurrected a proposal for the state's courts to limit creditors' recoveries on debts governed under New York law to what is typically accepted under international "burden-sharing standards". That has set up a confrontation with investors who say it will disrupt markets.
/jlne.ws/3IlQvqF
China and Russia are outpacing the US and its allies in military technology development, Australian defense official warns
Erin Snodgrass - Business Insider
The US and Australia must reinforce their industrial partnership and step up military preparations in the Indo-Pacific region amid China's increasingly aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, a high-ranking Australian defense official said this week. Hugh Jeffrey, Australia's Deputy Secretary of Strategy, Policy, and Industry, issued the warning while delivering a keynote speech for a Tuesday event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, DC-based think tank. Jeffrey's comments come after years of rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. The US has responded by working to bolster its presence throughout Asia.
/jlne.ws/49Chtq3
China to Mobilize Nation as It Fights US for Tech Supremacy
Sarah Zheng and Gao Yuan - Bloomberg
China pledged to harness the entire nation's resources to speed homegrown scientific breakthroughs, reaffirming a central priority to become self-reliant in spheres from AI to chipmaking to wrest technological supremacy from the US. Beijing hammered home a longstanding goal to break an American stranglehold on key spheres, according to government work reports submitted to the nation's legislature on Tuesday. The central government will increase spending on scientific and technology research by 10% to 370.8 billion yuan ($51.5 billion) in 2024, promote national champions and grant enterprises a central role in spearheading advances, according to the documents, which are closely scrutinized for clues to President Xi Jinping's thinking.
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC Expected to Approve Weakened Climate Disclosures Rule; Regulator drops a requirement fiercely contested by companies
Scott Patterson - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to approve sweeping new requirements that public companies disclose their greenhouse-gas emissions, but stop short of mandating that they report emissions from their supply chains and customers' use of their products. The rule is the result of a contentious two-year process involving intense lobbying from some of the world's biggest industries and influential climate groups. It has faced relentless criticism from corporations and Republican lawmakers who say the agency is reaching beyond its authority.
/jlne.ws/4a043DN
Exclusive: US regulators expected to significantly reduce Basel capital burden
Pete Schroeder - Reuters
U.S. regulators are expected to significantly reduce the extra capital banks must hold under a proposed rule that has drawn aggressive pushback from Wall Street, said eight industry executives in regular contact with the agencies and regulatory officials. Bank regulators led by the Federal Reserve in July unveiled the "Basel III" proposal to overhaul how banks with more than $100 billion in assets calculate the cash they must set aside to absorb potential losses.
/jlne.ws/3uYiLwf
Cryptocurrency: game-changing blockchain will need shrewd regulation to protect consumers, says Franklin Templeton boss
South China Morning Post
Blockchain is quickly shaking up the financial sector and, given the popularity of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), regulators will need to step up their game when it comes to consumer protection and oversight of the burgeoning industry, according to the president and chief executive of fund manager Franklin Templeton. "I'm so bullish on blockchain," said Jenny Johnson at the first distinguished speakers series event of the year, organised by the Hong Kong Academy of Finance on Tuesday. "It drives out costs in the system and reduces the size of transactions."
/jlne.ws/3Tk15Vf
SEC Pushes Back Decision on BlackRock, Fidelity's Ether ETF Applications
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday delayed making any decision on ether exchange-traded fund applications from BlackRock and Fidelity on Monday, launching comment periods for both applications in the process. The SEC asked public commenters to explain if they agree with Fidelity, BlackRock, Cboe and Nasdaq that the arguments made in favor of the recently approved spot bitcoin ETFs similarly support ETFs that would hold Ethereum's ether. The regulator also wants feedback on whether spot ether ETFs might be susceptible to manipulation and whether spot and futures ether exchange-traded products are similar.
/jlne.ws/3IniA0C
Remarks to the Council of Institutional Investors - Dangers of the Unbounded Administrative State
Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda - SEC
Thank you for the invitation to address the Council of Institutional Investors, whose members are responsible for combined assets under management of nearly $5 trillion.[1] They include pension plans obligated to act prudently when investing the savings of millions of workers and their families to provide retirement benefits. Council members include state and local government pension plans, which are important to secure the retirement promise made to individuals who have provided a lifetime of public service. It is a promise that I am quite familiar with. As a former California state securities regulator, I am a member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). I am also the son of a retired community college instructor, whose retirement has been made possible by the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS).
/jlne.ws/49Kf3pd
Publication of the "Statement on the end of Euroyen TIBOR (Publication of the Results of Public Consultation on permanent cessation of Euroyen TIBOR and related issues)" by JBA TIBOR Administration
FSA
On March 6, 2024, JBA TIBOR Administration ("JBATA"), which is a "Specified Financial Benchmark Administrator", published the "Statement on the end of Euroyen TIBOR (Publication of the Results of Public Consultation on permanent cessation of Euroyen TIBOR and related issues)". For further details, please refer to the following:
/jlne.ws/434v7j2
Synopsis of speeches and discussions at SFC Regulatory Symposium
6 Mar 2024
SFC
The synopsis of the speeches and panel discussions at the SFC Regional Securities Regulatory Leadership Symposium is now available on the SFC website. The event was hosted by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on 28 February 2024.
/jlne.ws/49ZCRoL
SEC Votes Today on Scaled-Back Climate Disclosures
Bill Alpert - Barron's
A yearslong campaign to enforce climate reporting on public companies comes to a head Wednesday morning, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission votes on an environmental disclosure rule.
/jlne.ws/3P9vDGP
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Reddit's IPO Success Hinges on Infamously Unruly User Base; Some Redditors have scoffed at the invitation to buy shares, but they keep coming back to the platform.
Priya Anand - Bloomberg
Reddit's users love to complain about Reddit. They also love to use it. This week marks the deadline for the company's most loyal posters and moderators to preregister for the chance to buy shares in Reddit's impending initial public offering, before they start trading on the open market. There will be space for about 75,000 users, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move is intended to give the people who moderate Reddit's forums and write its content for free the chance to reap some financial rewards.
/jlne.ws/49ZS5Kx
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | UN environment chief warns on lack of climate engineering controls; Nations' failure to agree about examination of emerging techniques to block solar radiation heightens concerns
Kenza Bryan - Financial Times
The UN's top environmental agency chief has warned that a rush into experimental techniques to cool the atmosphere by partially blocking the sun risked harming wildlife, oceans, the ozone layer and crops, after a failure by governments to agree on how to control geoengineering. "To look at it purely as a risk-risk within climate, what happens if we do not decarbonise versus what happens if we deploy [climate engineering]...is a false narrative for the whole of the global environment," Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN environment programme, told the Financial Times.
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Britain's finance ministry to regulate ESG ratings
Reuters
Britain's finance ministry said on Wednesday it will introduce regulation for providers of environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings on companies to improve "clarity and trust" in benchmarks widely used to steer investments. The ministry was following up on its public consultation last year, and since then a voluntary industry code of conduct has been introduced as a stop gap for the unregulated ratings activity.
/jlne.ws/3Tq0T78
Exclusive: Norway's wealth fund pushes for more women on emerging market company boards
Gwladys Fouche - Reuters
Norway's $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, will call on emerging market companies in which it invests to appoint more women to their boards, top officials told Reuters, making the policy global for the first time. One of the world's largest investors, the fund holds stakes in around 8,800 companies globally, owning about 1.5% of all listed stocks. It has set the pace on a range of issues in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) field.
/jlne.ws/4c2wtPk
EV Charging Stations Are Getting Busy Enough to Make Money in the US; As electric car sales pick up in the US, the average utilization rate of many of the country's fast-charging stations nearly doubled last year.
Kyle Stock - Bloomberg
When it comes to electric vehicle charging in the US, the cars are finally catching up to the cords. Last year, the average utilization of a US fast-charging station not operated by Tesla Inc. doubled - from 9% in January to 18% in December, according to new data from Stable Auto Corp., a San Francisco startup that helps companies place EV infrastructure. Put another way: By the end of 2023, every fast-charging cord in the country was plugged in for an average of nearly five hours a day.
/jlne.ws/3IK90Fv
ECB sparks staff revolt over board's 'disrespectful' approach to climate change; Employees complain after executive said new recruits had to be 'reprogrammed' to support green policies
Martin Arnold - Financial Times
European Central Bank staff are in revolt over the board's approach to climate change after an executive said new recruits had to be "reprogrammed" to ensure they supported its green policies. The ECB's staff committee has called for the bank's president Christine Lagarde and her top team to rethink their management style in a letter, seen by the Financial Times, which complains about the "disrespectful" comments made by an executive board member at a meeting last month.
/jlne.ws/48JzilI
Singaporean bank DBS grows sustainable financing by 37% to $52.1 billion in 2023
Reuters
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Treasury, IRS finalize rules on elective payments of certain clean energy credits under the Inflation Reduction Act
IRS
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US solar installations to benefit from Inflation Reduction Act in 2024, report says
Reuters
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Citi Reorganization Has Gone Swifter Than Expected, CEO Says; Jane Fraser reaffirms expense guidance for the year ahead; Firm sees rising investment-banking revenue this quarter
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
A Citigroup Inc. reorganization aimed at streamlining the bank and making it more competitive with its peers has gone swifter than expected, Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser said, as she set out positive guidance for the year ahead. "We're not going to make the mistakes we've made in the past," she said at the RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference in New York on Tuesday, where she also reaffirmed the bank's expense guidance for the year ahead. "We're getting this done."
/jlne.ws/3v5qGrB
UBS chief Sergio Ermotti hits out at Europe's 'parochial' view of banks; Regulations stopping lenders growing allows US rivals to dominate, says CEO overseeing Credit Suisse takeover
Owen Walker - Financial Times
UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti has hit out at European politicians and regulators for deliberately suppressing the continent's banks and allowing US rivals to dominate globally. Europe's approach to managing its lenders stood in stark contrast to watchdogs in the US, which had encouraged their lenders to expand internationally, Ermotti argued.
/jlne.ws/3T37z9D
How JPMorgan thrived amid a banking crisis
Financial Times (podcast)
It's been a year since Silicon Valley Bank's collapse left everyone worried that the US's banking sector sat on shaky ground. Despite that turmoil, one bank stands out: JPMorgan Chase. The largest bank in the country, JPMorgan took home record profits in 2023, and its dominance looks set to continue. The FT's US banking editor Joshua Franklin walks through the reasons why JPMorgan flew past its competitors, and what threat its size could pose to smaller banks.
/jlne.ws/4c05u79
Fidelity International Plans 1,000 Layoffs With Costs in Focus
Loukia Gyftopoulou - Bloomberg
Fidelity International is cutting around 1,000 jobs globally this year as the asset manager looks to cut costs. The firm will cut about 9% of its staff across all business lines and regions over the course of 2024 as it adjusts to a more challenging economic environment. "This is to make sure we are resilient for the future given the challenging economic environment, and give us additional flexibility and agility to innovate, invest, and provide capabilities to our clients," a spokesperson for Fidelity International said in an emailed statement. "We will be reprioritising investments in some non-core projects. This will include pushing out timelines or pivoting our approach to projects where circumstances have changed."
/jlne.ws/3wEHk1Y
Franklin Templeton plans to take top-performing turnaround fund to new markets; Fondul Proprietatea has delivered big gains after overhauling corporate governance at Romanian state companies
Joseph Cotterill - Financial Times
The manager of a turnaround fund that has produced supercharged returns overhauling Romanian state companies is in discussions to take the model to other emerging markets. US investment firm Franklin Templeton told the Financial Times that it was in talks with more than five governments to reproduce Fondul Proprietatea. The vehicle has returned nearly $7bn in capital through dividends and buybacks to shareholders including Romania's government since it was listed in 2011.
/jlne.ws/48G36ja
Active ETFs look set to storm Europe's mutual fund bastions; PwC and Blackwater report that interest from mutual fund providers in European ETFs has never been higher
Emma Boyde - Financial Times
Fund providers in Europe that until recently saw little threat to their business model of selling actively managed mutual funds appear to be changing their tune. Two surveys released over the past few days reveal the marked change in sentiment. The first, performed by Blackwater, an exchange traded fund consultancy, found that 62 per cent of European fund managers are now concerned by the growth of ETFs, up from 18 per cent in 2021, when it last conducted the survey.
/jlne.ws/3wKCYpZ
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The rise of the job-search bots; I used resume spammers to apply for 120 jobs. Chaos ensued.
Aki Ito - Business Insider
In the fall of 2020, I found myself in unfamiliar territory: I was looking for a new job. In theory, it was something I should have known a lot about as an economics reporter. But in practice, I was lost. Because I had stumbled into a great job right out of college, and stayed with that company for a decade, I was blissfully unaware of how soul-crushing it was to be a job seeker in 21st-century corporate America.
/jlne.ws/3v0zyPo
13 Red Flags of Gaslighting at Work and How to Respond, According to Psychologists
Parade
The term "gaslighting" is commonly talked about when it comes to relationships. However, that's not the only place you can experience it. You can encounter it in your career too. In fact, over the years, it's sadly become more and more common. No matter if you work in the glamorous world of fashion, practice law at a prestigious firm, sell real estate to the stars, dedicate your time to others as a nurse, work at "the happiest place on Earth," or teach kids for a living, anyone in any type of job can find themselves in a not-so-dreamy situation where a colleague is gaslighting them.
/jlne.ws/3wJvMul
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Europe Is Wargaming a Food Crisis; A group of people came together last month to tackle the worst-case scenario for one of the best-fed regions in the world.
Agnieszka de Sousa - Bloomberg
The combined forces of El Nino and La Nina have crippled Latin American soy output. Ukrainian and Russian grain farmers have gone to war. Indonesia has banned shipments of palm oil to Europe, while China is hungry for crops. The Mediterranean region is getting more like a desert. The year is 2024. "Food shortage in Europe? The only question is when, but they don't listen," says an unidentified voice in a video broadcast. The audience sits quietly - listening.
/jlne.ws/438XhcW
The Negative Economics of Intermittent Fasting; Is going without food for 16 hours or more each day a healthy proposition?
Howard Chua-Eoan - Bloomberg
For the pious, fasting mortifies the flesh to fortify the soul. For those who profess a secular faith, however, fasting has come to be associated with wellness. From lots of recent reports - both breathless and scientific - fasting has become a tantalizing path to health. Non-religious fasting can range from 24 hours or more without food to intermittent periods of up to 16 hours a day. It supposedly pushes your cells toward autophagy, from Greek for "self-eating" or "self-digesting," one of the body's housecleaning functions that rids your system of the junk accumulated. Autophagy may contribute to the prevention of diabetes, dementia and heart, liver and kidney disease; and it's triggered when your energy levels are depleted - that is, when you're hungry.
/jlne.ws/3V7nJlc
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese investors rush abroad, hitting outbound investment limit
Summer Zhen and Samuel Shen - Reuters
Chinese money is pouring into funds invested in offshore assets at breakneck speed, butting up against outbound investment limits and complicating Beijing's efforts to revive domestic markets and stabilise the yuan. The rush to invest offshore reflects low confidence at home and is evident in sales of funds issued under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) programme, a key outbound investment channel that allows Chinese to buy overseas securities under Beijing's strict capital controls.
/jlne.ws/3wK10l2
Japan's Biggest Bank Sets Trading Strategy for BOJ Pivot This Month
Taiga Uranaka and Hideki Suzuki - Bloomberg
One question is obsessing Tokyo's financial markets - when will the Bank of Japan exit negative interest rates? The country's biggest bank expects the move to come in two weeks and is positioning itself accordingly. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s view is much more definitive than the swap market, which rates the chances of BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda changing policy this month at about 50%. When he does change course, it will have major implications for both the 1,096 trillion yen ($7.3 trillion) government bond market and for the nation's currency.
/jlne.ws/49F7Bf8
Egypt Devalues Currency by More Than 35% After Big Rate Hike
Mirette Magdy and Tarek El-Tablawy - Bloomberg
Egypt hiked interest rates and allowed its currency to weaken more than 35% in a long-awaited devaluation that may pave the way for billions more in loans from the International Monetary Fund. The government will hope it's enough to ease a dire shortage of foreign exchange that's hammered businesses and caused the cost of imported goods to soar.
/jlne.ws/3V825NK
Big Oil's success in Namibia will push others to drill for growth; Law of averages could catch up with explorers, as typical success rate for a series of offshore wells is around a third
Financial Times
Those arguing that higher oil prices are ahead often point in evidence to a chronic lack of investment in oil exploration of late. Without sufficient capital put into large, offshore projects, crude supply will wither, they say. In fact, there have been very large oil discoveries including in the Norwegian North Sea, offshore Guyana (11bn barrels of oil) and, most recently, offshore Namibia. Shell, TotalEnergies and Portugal's Galp have made a series of discoveries of oil (and some gas) off the coast of the south-west African country in the past two years. Together these could produce hundreds of millions, if not billions, of barrels of oil.
/jlne.ws/4c0ZQBM
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