| May 01, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Cheryl and I arrived home last night after our travels to Nashville for the Options Industry Conference and a trip to Ohio to see friends we have not seen in 33 years. After my memory was jolted, I was reminded by my friend Jim that his mother and mine were roommates when they taught at Highland Park High School. And my dad and mom introduced his father to his mother.
Jim's wife Becky is a minister who is retiring mostly because of Covid and being burned out. Her second bout of Covid was pretty rough and she serves an Ohio congregation with many unvaccinated people. She has buried 12 members of her congregation from Covid, she said.
She and Jim gave Cheryl and me a red steel comma made by a local ironworker that is the symbol of the United Church of Christ "God is still speaking" campaign. It is proudly displayed in our front garden.
Larry McMillan is really getting into this Cboe 50th anniversary and OCC 50th anniversary remembrance thing with another interview, this one with former Cboe Chairman and CEO Bill Brodsky
The Options Clearing Corporation has issued its 2022 annual report. It is titled "Resilience in a Changing World." Another way to do the same thing is how EEX released its 2022 annual report. EEX has published a YouTube video about its "2022 Annual Results" featuring EEX CEO Peter Reitz
Whenever I drive down I-65 south toward Lafayette during the evening hours, I suddenly feel like I am surrounded by aliens as the blinking windmill tower lights turn on and off to warn planes of their presence. Well it turns out that some rural residents don't like their night sky disrupted by the constant blinking either and have enlisted some lawmakers to pass laws to limit their blinking to happen only when aircraft are approaching, The Wall Street Journal Reports.
The editors of Bloomberg weighed in on the banking crisis with some advice in a commentary titled "If the Banking Crisis Offers One Lesson, Let It Be This." The advice: "More capital would make future disasters much less likely." Mohamed A. El-Erian weighed in with is own take in a commentary titled "JPMorgan, First Republic and the Curse of the Second Best." The sub-headline is "The solution to regional bank's crisis raises more questions and concerns about the US financial system."
Bourbon drinkers could be in for a shock as a white oak shortage could ruin the industry, Bloomberg reports. White oak is a specific kind of wood used in the barrels made for aging the bourbon, and in the interview we learn why other woods can't be used to replace it. We need a white oak futures market to give us pricing to promote production.
Every day I take my two dogs, Bella and Indy (Indiana Jones) for a walk using a retractable dog lead. But now these long extendable leads are being blamed for serious brain injuries as they are behind a rising number of finger fractures and dangerous falls, The Telegraph reports. I normally walk the dogs while carrying the leashes in one hand and a walking stick in the other to help me with balance and support. However, I guess I need to change back to the shorter leashes.
The Guardian has a number of health tips for us today, including that chocolate does not cause acne, carrots do help you see in the dark and the best thing to eat when you have a cold is a hearty, nutritious bowl of soup, particularly chicken soup.
But how about when you are feeling better? What is the healthiest beer for you to drink? USA Today has that story.
R.J. O'Brien is hiring a new accounting analyst in Chicago.
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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What Science Says About the Coronation of Charles III; The ceremony is a reaffirmation of the bonds that tie us together. Emile Durkheim told us as much.
Adrian Wooldridge - Bloomberg Opinion
On May 6, a 74-year-old eccentric will be crowned king of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms following the longest apprenticeship in history. The Archbishop of Canterbury will anoint Charles with holy oil, made according to a secret recipe, and present him with various symbolic objects, including an orb and a scepter.
/jlne.ws/3Vjd0Su
***** This is no Game of Thrones. There are no dragons. Hardly any fun at all.~JJL
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Billionaire Steve Cohen Has a Plan to Become the King of Queens; To win a coveted New York casino license, he's 'hired the best team that money can buy.'
Laura Nahmias and Gregory Korte - Bloomberg
Steve Cohen likes to boast that he'll spend whatever it takes to win. He did it over three decades building his $27.2 billion investment business, buying the New York Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020 and then assembling a team to win the World Series at such incredible cost - his $353 million payroll is the highest in MLB history - that rival owners dubbed a penalty teams must pay when their payroll exceeds a certain level the "Cohen tax."
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****** Now here is a man on a mission to win the game of throws.~JJL
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Biden Calls for Release of Jailed Journalist Evan Gershkovich, Other Detainees
John McCormick - The Wall Street Journal
President Biden and others at an annual Washington dinner called for the release of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia during a gathering that brought together members of the media and government officials to celebrate press freedom. Mr. Biden met privately with Mr. Gershkovich's family, who attended the White House Correspondents' Association dinner as Journal guests, as he arrived for Saturday's black-tie gala and recognized them in his remarks.
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***** Thank you, Joe. Free Evan Now!~JJL
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The power and the limits of the American dollar
The Economist
EVERY SO often an appetite surges for an alternative reserve currency to the dollar-and a market booms in predictions of the greenback's imminent demise. For nearly three-quarters of a century the dollar has at a global scale dominated trade, finance and the rainy-day reserve portfolios of central banks. Yet high inflation, fractious geopolitics and the sanctions imposed by America and its allies on countries such as Russia have lately caused dollar-doubters to become vocal once again.
/jlne.ws/3AHLRzh
****** Never underestimate the power of the almighty dollar. Just saying.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was the CFTC press release Federal Court Orders South African CEO to Pay Over $3.4 Billion for Forex Fraud, about the CFTC's biggest fraud scheme case involving bitcoin and the highest civil monetary penalty ordered in a CFTC case. Second was FTX Exchange Revival Is 'Impossibility,' Ex-Ally Scaramucci Says, from Bloomberg. Third was Have Zero-Dated Options Broken VIX?, from Interactive Brokers.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | First Republic Bank Is Seized, Sold to JPMorgan in Second-Largest U.S. Bank Failure; Lender teetered for weeks following Silicon Valley Bank's collapse in March
Rachel Louise Ensign and Ben Eisen - The Wall Street Journal
Regulators seized First Republic Bank and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase & Co., heading off a chaotic collapse that threatened to reignite the recent banking crisis. JPMorgan said it will assume all of First Republic's $92 billion in deposits-insured and uninsured. It is also buying most of the bank's assets, including about $173 billion in loans and $30 billion in securities.
/jlne.ws/3Nuh6FO
***** Bloomberg version, Financial Times version and the New York Times version. Here is the official press release from JP Morgan Chase this morning about the First Republic acquisition.
First Republic Becomes Second-Largest Ever US Bank Failure; Lender supplants Silicon Valley Bank after regulator seizure; Three of largest FDIC failures this century occurred in weeks
Max Reyes - Bloomberg
For just over one month, Silicon Valley Bank was the second-largest bank failure in US history. That was until First Republic Bank, a California lender that catered to wealthy clients, knocked it off that spot. First Republic was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. early on Monday after failing to undo the damage from a flood of customer withdrawals and declining asset prices. The US regulator struck an agreement for JPMorgan Chase & Co. to take over the bank's assets including $173 billion of loans and $30 billion of securities, as well as $92 billion in deposits, after talks to rescue the lender dragged on for weeks.
/jlne.ws/3AEYvPE
Euroclear profit soars as payments from Russian sanctions pile up; European securities depository benefits from sharp rise in interest rates
Daria Mosolova - Financial Times
Profits at Euroclear have more than doubled in the last year as the world's largest settlement house gained an unexpected windfall from the western sanctions on Russia. The Brussels-based group said on Friday its balance sheet had swelled by EUR88bn to EUR140bn at the end of March as the coupon and fund redemption payments the company normally moves to and from Russian bank accounts were frozen and locked in its accounts.
/jlne.ws/3Vinj9C
US approach to financial regulation is set up to fail; Oversight based on innumerable detailed rules misses the point on risk management
Richard Bookstaber - Financial Times
In 2008, regulators did not see the potential for contagion from a subprime crisis. Nor did they see the possibility of a resulting nationwide residential real estate meltdown. Lesson learned. Thousands of pages of regulation followed, among them the requirement for many large financial institutions to perform costly, detailed tests of their financial viability in the face of market stresses.
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U.S. Treasury encouraged by First Republic resolution, says banking system remains sound
Reuters
The U.S. Treasury Department is encouraged that First Republic Bank was resolved with the least cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund, and believes the U.S. banking system remains sound and resilient, a Treasury spokesperson said early Monday.
/jlne.ws/41PZatB
Szu Ping Chan - The Telegraph
Waves of money printing have turned banks into "drug addicts" reliant on cheap cash to stay afloat, one of the world's top central bankers has warned. Raghuram Rajan, who was once a contender to lead the Bank of England, said repeated rounds of quantitative easing (QE) had encouraged lenders to take bigger risks in search of returns that are disappearing in the world of higher interest rates.
/jlne.ws/3AJ8F1G
Charlie Munger: US banks are 'full of' bad commercial property loans
Eric Platt and Harriet Agnew - Financial Times
Charlie Munger has warned of a brewing storm in the US commercial property market, with American banks "full of" what he said were "bad loans" as property prices fall. The comments from the 99-year-old investor and sidekick to billionaire Warren Buffett come as turmoil ripples through the country's financial system, which is reckoning with a potential commercial property crash following a handful of bank failures.
/jlne.ws/3Lp2gxk
ASX Update on CHESS Replacement
MarketsMedia
ASX released details of proposed eligibility criteria for certain stakeholders to receive an incentive payment as part of the CHESS Replacement Partnership Program, ("Partnership Program"). In a message to stakeholders, ASX invited feedback on the proposed criteria ahead of making the first development incentive payment under the $70 million program.
/jlne.ws/41QWQT1
US regulators seize First Republic and sell 'substantially all assets' to JPMorgan in largest bank failure since 2008 crisis
David Hollerith - Yahoo News
Regulators seized First Republic (FRC) early on Monday and sold the bulk of the bank's operations to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, agreed to assume $173 billion in assets, $30 billion in securities and all of First Republic's $92 billion in deposits. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation sweetened the deal by agreeing to share losses on certain residential and commercial loans, giving JPMorgan some protection if the assets go bad.
/jlne.ws/40QUxOr
Exxon Has 40 Billion Reasons to Go Shopping; A gusher of cash and a richly priced stock could steer the supermajor toward a deal
Jinjoo Lee - The Wall Street Journal
Exxon Mobil has what Texans would call a "high class problem"-too much money and a richly-valued stock. Cash is piling up for all oil majors, but none as prolifically as Exxon. That adds pressure on the oil giant to spend it wisely. The company said Friday that its net income was $11.4 billion in the first quarter, handily beating Wall Street estimates.
/jlne.ws/3LIu0P2
Private Equity Is Gutting America - and Getting Away With It
Brendan Ballou - The New York Times
"Private equity" is a term we've all heard but which, if we're honest, few of us understand. The basic idea is simple: Private equity firms make their money by buying companies, transforming them and selling them - hopefully for a profit. But what sounds simple often leads to disaster. Companies bought by private equity firms are far more likely to go bankrupt than companies that aren't.
/jlne.ws/3Vnhs2Y
'They're Printing Trillions'-Crypto Now Braced For A $20 Trillion 'Black Swan' After Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polygon And Solana Price Boom
Billy Bambrough - Forbes
Bitcoin, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies have rocketed higher so far this year (despite a stark warning that China, Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve could "destroy all value of bitcoin"). The bitcoin price has doubled from its late 2022 lows to around $30,000 per bitcoin while ethereum and other top ten cryptocurrencies BNB, XRP, cardano, dogecoin, polygon and solana have added a combined $200 billion to the crypto market-fueling hopes "crypto winter" could finally be over.
/jlne.ws/3VjXB4p
Peter Thiel Tells Black-Tie NYC Audience That Diversity Is a Distraction; The tech billionaire says society faces more serious issues; He calls diversity 'a giant machine to redirect our attention'
Amanda L Gordon - Bloomberg
Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech investor and one-time adviser to President Donald Trump, is renewing his argument that there are more serious issues facing society than debates over diversity and identity politics. At a New Criterion event in New York on Thursday, the polarizing Republican megadonor, who has backed hard-right candidates that have leaned into the culture wars, gave an address titled "The Diversity Myth," a version of which is set to appear in the June issue of the conservative arts and ideas magazine.
/jlne.ws/44sxY5Q
Fed points finger at Trump-era rollback for SVB demise
Douglas Gillison - Reuters
The Federal Reserve on Friday blamed the deregulatory zeal that occurred during the Trump era for contributing to the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, appearing to take a clear stand on an acrimonious policy divide in Washington. Amid the turmoil that Silicon Valley Bank's implosion unleashed on the financial system last month, some Republicans and industry advocates have argued strenuously that a 2018 roll-back of post-financial-crisis safeguards was not to blame.
/jlne.ws/3Hrn6eu
The Slow Dance Between Markets and Central Banks; All eyes are on First Republic, but what monetary authorities do this week matters more. Meanwhile, companies are enjoying healthy margins ... for now.
John Authers - Bloomberg
As I write, there is still no white smoke over First Republic. I had been hoping to cover what looks set to be the second-biggest bank failure in US history, but as I write, approaching midnight in New York, negotiations between regulators and potential buyers are dragging on. High-stakes discussions with a midnight deadline are all very well, but they're a tad trying if you're hoping to write something about them, also with a midnight deadline. Particularly if that deadline is missed.
/jlne.ws/42aJxwh
Stagflation Is the Risk That Eludes Investors Mispricing Markets; Slowing economy, high inflation create treacherous backdrop; Schroders Plc says bonds will be 'stand out' asset for 2023
Liz McCormick, Garfield Reynolds and Reade Pickert - Bloomberg
Financial markets are caught up in a tug of war between lingering inflation and concern about a recession as they try to guess the next move by the Federal Reserve. That means investors are potentially ignoring a far more dangerous outcome: stagflation.
/jlne.ws/44jMmNo
Deutsche Bank plans to beef up investment bank advisory team; Expansion designed to prepare for dealmaking rebound and reduce reliance on fixed-income sales and trading
Stephen Morris and Owen Walker in London and Olaf Storbeck - Financial Times
Deutsche Bank is planning a hiring spree and significant expansion of its investment bank advisory team, as the German lender positions itself for a dealmaking rebound and to take advantage of market dislocation after the collapse of rival Credit Suisse.
/jlne.ws/3LJcjPh
S&P criticised by pension funds over dual-class shares decision; Move to reopen S&P 500 and other indices to companies with multiple share class structures draws backlash
Patrick Temple-West and Antoine Gara - Financial Times
Large pension funds are demanding answers from S&P Global about its decision to allow companies with unequal shareholder voting rights into its popular indices, a move that allows private equity giants Blackstone and Ares to join the S&P 500.
/jlne.ws/427dbma
Total's chief tells investors European listing to blame for oil group's trading discount; Patrick Pouyanné makes clear moving French company's listing to the US is not an option
Harriet Agnew, Anjli Raval, Arash Massoudi and Tom Wilson, Sarah White - Financial Times
The chief executive of TotalEnergies has complained to investors that the French oil group's valuation gap with its US-listed rivals is down to its listing in Europe, not its profitability.
/jlne.ws/3HsKZSK
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Wagner Group could soon cease to exist, chief says; Founder of mercenary unit Yevgeny Prigozhin accuses Russian military of hampering his supply of ammunition and manpower
George Styllis - The Telegraph
Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday said his Wagner Group of mercenaries could soon cease to exist, as he hit out at the Russian military over ammunition supplies. Mr Prigozhin, who is close to Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly touted the group's success on the battlefield in Ukraine in spite of what he claims are Kremlin efforts to weaken them.
/jlne.ws/42um6P1
Ukraine's Arms Industry Survives Russian Onslaught to Hit Back; Weapons makers boost output, dispersing production to avoid attacks
Alistair MacDonald - The Wall Street Journal
For Ukraine's largest weapons maker, the war started with a barrage of Russian missiles that destroyed one factory and several of its giant Antonov cargo planes. Despite a persistent onslaught, Ukroboronprom says it has delivered more than eight times the weapons to Ukraine's military over the past year than the one before. To avoid Russian attacks and boost production, Ukroboronprom and other local defense companies have spread manufacturing across Ukraine and set up shop in neighboring countries.
/jlne.ws/3Nt6N4O
Russia Missiles Seek to Erode Ukrainian Air Defense; Ukraine intercepts 15 of 18 missiles, but at least 34 people are injured in the latest attack on civilian centers
Stephen Kalin - The Wall Street Journal
Russia launched another barrage of missiles at cities across Ukraine following last week's deadly attacks, as Moscow seeks to erode Ukrainian air defenses ahead of a planned offensive by Kyiv in coming weeks. Air raid sirens were activated in the early hours of Monday in the capital Kyiv and at least five other Ukrainian regions far from the front lines. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 15 of the 18 missiles launched by Russian jets, its military said.
/jlne.ws/42da1NW
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | New York Stock Exchange exec mulling Michigan Senate bid; John Tuttle has deep ties in the state.
Ally Mutnick - Politico
The vice chair of the New York Stock Exchange is considering a run for Senate in Michigan, where Republicans have been searching for a candidate for retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow's seat.
/jlne.ws/3HuRUeh
Russia's domestic stock investors, shut off from the international financial system, have helped send the Moscow Exchange to a 12-month high
Huileng Tan - Insider
Russia's benchmark MOEX index is trading at levels not seen in over 12 months. Russia's stock market is boosted by domestic investors who have few options amid sweeping sanctions. The MOEX Russia Index has gained 24% so far this year after tanking 42% in 2022. Moscow's stock market hit its highest level in over a year thanks to the country's domestic retail investors who have been left with little option about where to invest their money.
/jlne.ws/3LLL9HO
CME Group Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Compensation Is Looking A Bit Stretched At The Moment
Simply Wall St
Performance at CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has been reasonably good and CEO Terry Duffy has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 4th of May, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.
/jlne.ws/40XGOoV
Trading Overview in April 2023
JPX
Japan Exchange Group released Trading Overview in April 2023.
/jlne.ws/3LtGtF8
Status of Acquisition of Own Shares;; (Acquisition of Own Shares based on Provisions of the Articles of Incorporation Pursuant to Article 459, Paragraph 1 of the Companies Act)
JPX
Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) previously announced its decision in the Board of Directors meeting held on January 30, 2023 on matters regarding acquisition of own shares pursuant to the provisions of its Articles of Incorporation and Article 459, Paragraph 1 of the Companies Act. JPX hereby announces the status of acquisition as follows.
/jlne.ws/3LgxEOG
Norse Atlantic Transfers To Euronext Expand Oslo
Euronext
Oslo Boers, part of the Euronext Group, today congratulates Norse Atlantic (ticker: NORSE) on its transfer from Euronext Growth Oslo to Euronext Expand Oslo. This is the third transfer between Oslo Boers marketplaces so far this year and the 35th since the beginning of 2020. This illustrates that the Growth market is fulfilling its intended aim, providing growing companies with access to capital for further development and helping them progress to a listing on the main market.
/jlne.ws/3NwPHmF
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | India's Anti-Money Laundering Agency Searches Byju's Offices; Searches were at places in Bengaluru: Enforcement Directorate; Byju's says have provided agency with all information required
Anto Antony - Bloomberg
India's anti-money laundering investigation agency conducted searches at offices of Byju's, the country's most valuable startup, as part of a probe and has seized documents. The Enforcement Directorate officials, mandated to investigate money laundering and forex violation cases, searched the Bengaluru-based startup's offices and seized documents and digital data, the agency said in a Twitter post.
/jlne.ws/44htEWH
Exponential Exchange Partners With Solactive on Upcoming Used Vehicle Index
Exponential Exchange via PR Newswire
Fintech startup Exponential Exchange today announced Solactive as its calculation partner for an index designed to serve as a best-in-class industry wholesale pricing benchmark for used vehicles. A leading provider of indexing solutions for the global investment and trading community, Solactive will use Exponential's proprietary algorithms and industry-leading transactional wholesale data to calculate the index on a weekly basis.
/jlne.ws/3Nlxk3U
Data Visualisation at Optiver: Streamlining trading decisions
Optiver
Data visualisation is at the core of effective decision-making in the fast-paced, data-driven world of trading. For Optiver's traders to access the information they need right when it matters, it's crucial to display data intuitively and meaningfully. In this blog post, we'll take you behind the scenes of data visualisation at Optiver and explore how our engineers collaborate with traders to optimise workflows, manage compute power and tackle the challenges of latency and volume through innovative technological solutions.
/jlne.ws/3LdjLRa
Cross River Bank Gets FDIC Enforcement Order Over Lending
Yueqi Yang and Paige Smith - Bloomberg
Cross River Bank, a partner of financial technology companies and crypto firms, received a cease-and-desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over what the agency said were "unsafe or unsound" practices related to fair-lending laws. The bank failed to establish and maintain "internal controls, information systems, and prudent credit underwriting practices," the FDIC said Friday.
/jlne.ws/3oY43Cb
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Russian ransomware attack software targets Apple Mac and MacBook
Kurt Knutsson and CyberGuy Report - FOX News
One of the most well-known ransomware attack tools has now begun attacking Mac computers. This alarming news came from a tweet posted by MalwareHunterTeam warning Mac users. Let's dive into what this ransomware does and how you can protect yourself. LockBit, a type of ransomware, is one of the first known instances of this malware targeting Mac computers.
/jlne.ws/3ViCxLQ
Coro's Mythbuster Series-Myth No. 7: SMBs Can't Afford Cybersecurity
Dror Liwer - Forbes
It is said that a cyberattack occurs once every 39 seconds on average. With the relentless coverage of such incidents hitting the headlines daily, it's no wonder organizations are anxiously in search of solutions to ensure they won't be the next to fall in line. For many global Fortune 500 enterprises, this often requires an investment of millions of dollars in cybersecurity-an amount that small and mid-market companies certainly cannot afford. In fact, according to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness 2022 report, enterprise firms with over 1,000 people spend an average of $20 million on cybersecurity, rising nearly fivefold in three years. This seems only to have perpetuated a long-standing myth.
/jlne.ws/3niZlOR
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | The Case for Regulating, Not Banning, Crypto
Kristin Smith - CoinDesk
American University professor Hilary Allen, who recently wrote an article titled "The Case for Banning Crypto" in the influential publication Foreign Affairs, is part of a very small cohort of "crypto banners" working toward that end. In addition to engaging the media, Allen and her peers are pushing the argument that crypto does more harm than good while speaking with federal agencies. She is testifying before the congressional hearing on "the future of digital assets" Thursday afternoon.
/jlne.ws/41Qouzn
CoinDesk Indices and CoinFund Announce CESR, the Benchmark Rate for Staking on Ethereum
CoinFund
CoinDesk Indices, the leading provider of digital asset indices by AUM since 2014, in partnership with CoinFund, a leading Web3 and crypto-focused investment firm and registered investment adviser, today announced CESR, the composite ether staking rate. CESR is a global floating rate benchmark derived from the daily transaction fees and staking rewards emitted from the Ethereum Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain.
/jlne.ws/3VhIF72
Crypto Exchange Kraken Blasts IRS Summons as 'Treasure Hunt'
Joel Rosenblatt - Bloomberg
Kraken is pushing back against the Internal Revenue Service, arguing the agency's demands for information about the cryptocurrency exchange's users amounts to an "unjustified treasure hunt." After hitting an impasse in negotiations to narrow the scope of the government's inquiry, Kraken is now asking a federal court in San Francisco to order the IRS to back off. The agency says it's investigating users who might be underreporting their tax liability.
/jlne.ws/3Ldb09K
Bankrupt Crypto Lender Genesis, Creditors to Enter Mediation; Genesis and creditor group will hold 30-day mediation process; Parties want two 'substantive' mediation sessions before May 8
Jonathan Randles - Bloomberg
Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Holdco LLC and a key creditor group have agreed to meet with a mediator in an effort to save a proposed bankruptcy exit plan backed by the company's parent, Digital Currency Group. Genesis lawyer Sean O'Neal said Friday that the crypto lender has agreed to a 30-day mediation period including its committee of unsecured creditors, which has opposed the proposed restructuring deal.
/jlne.ws/40WkPPg
Crypto must end anonymity for illicit finance, U.S. regulator says
Huw Jones - Reuters
Anonymity is allowing crypto assets to finance illegal activities, a top U.S. regulatory official said on Tuesday, posing national security risks that must be addressed. Christy Goldsmith Romero, a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said cryptocurrencies were being used to finance cybercrime with victimes including individuals, companies, hospitals and critical infrastructure.
/jlne.ws/3NuvxJN
Crypto Royalties: How To Earn Long-Term Income From Crypto Investments
Eric Rosenberg - Entrepreneur
The cryptocurrency space suffered in 2022 as the world economy tumbled due to supply chain issues, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and soaring inflation rates. Many NFT projects disappeared; we even saw a crypto collapse when Luna crashed. Luna's landing platform, Anchor, also went down when the entire blockchain was destroyed.
/jlne.ws/40SOPf3
Why Everyone Is Keeping a Close Eye on Mt. Gox, US Gov Bitcoin Wallets; Investors are keeping their eyes on these unorthodox HODLers.
Mat Di Salvo - Decrypt
Bitcoiners are eying up crypto held by the feds. On Wednesday, the price of Bitcoin took a sharp nosedive-plunging 7% in an hour. It took most of the crypto market with it, too. The dip came shortly before blockchain analytics firm Arkham had said wallets linked to defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox and the U.S. government had moved large amounts of Bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/41X8bAX
Bitcoin on Course for Longest Streak of Monthly Gains Since 2021; Largest digital asset is climbing for a fourth month in a row; Similar runs in the past decade presaged a tripling in price
Akshay Chinchalkar - Bloomberg
Bitcoin is set to climb for the fourth month in a row after eking out an April gain, the longest such stretch since a six-month advance through March 2021. The token added as much as 2.5% on Sunday and was trading at about $29,700 as of 1:55 p.m. in New York. Smaller digital assets such as Ether, Binance Coin and Cardano also advanced.
/jlne.ws/40OCuIF
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | G7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say
Kantaro Komiya - Reuters
Group of Seven advanced nations should adopt "risk-based" regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital ministers agreed on Sunday, as European lawmakers hurry to introduce an AI Act to enforce rules on emerging tools such as ChatGPT. But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan.
/jlne.ws/44u4q7Z
Companies Are Colluding to Cheat H-1B Visa Lottery, U.S. Says; Multiple employers are said to enter same applicants to boost chances
Michelle Hackman - The Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration says it has found evidence that several dozen small technology companies have colluded to increase the chances that their prospective foreign hires will win a coveted H-1B visa for skilled foreign workers in this year's lottery. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that awards H-1B visas, said it has found that a small number of companies are responsible for entering the same applicants into the lottery multiple times, with the alleged goal of artificially boosting their chances of winning a visa.
/jlne.ws/44jaK1E
US Chamber of Commerce warns of rising risk of doing business in China; Washington lobby group says new scrutiny from Beijing has 'dramatically' increased uncertainty for western groups
Demetri Sevastopulo - Financial Times
The US Chamber of Commerce has warned that mounting Chinese scrutiny of American companies has "dramatically" raised the risks of doing business in the country, as signs emerge that Beijing may be cracking down on some foreign businesses. The powerful US business lobby group, led by chief executive Suzanne Clark, said in a statement on Friday it was "closely monitoring" China's scrutiny of US professional services and due diligence firms.
/jlne.ws/44eudAK
How New York and California Botched Marijuana Legalization
Zusha Elinson and Jimmy Vielkind - The Wall Street Journal
State agents broke through the doors of a stucco home in a gated community in March shouting "Police! Search warrant!" Inside, they found marijuana growing in bedrooms and the living room, with fertilizer stowed in the Jacuzzi tub. Officers piled the plants on a trailer already overflowing from a morning of busting illegal growers in this quiet Bay Area suburb. An agent jumped up and down on the mound to make more room.
/jlne.ws/3LGdtLo
Ron DeTedious: DeSantis underwhelms Britain's business chiefs
Stefan Boscia - Politico
He hopes to win the hearts and minds of devoted Donald Trump supporters ahead of next year's U.S. election. But Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis failed to impress British business chiefs at a high-profile London event Friday, in a tired performance described variously as "horrendous," "low-wattage" and "like the end of an overseas trip."
/jlne.ws/3HrAZt2
Congress hasn't banned lawmakers from trading stocks. Can a bank crisis change that?
Ben Werschkul - Yahoo!Finance
At least 9 lawmakers from both parties sold banking stocks during the financial turmoil in March, disclosures that are already renewing calls for an outright ban of Congressional stock trading. Notable traders include Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who sold Silicon Valley Bank stock after that bank had signaled deep trouble and one day before regulators seized the lender.
/jlne.ws/3LEtZLX
America's Spies Are Losing Their Edge; New technologies and a lack patriotism in Silicon Valley are leveling the playing field for Russia and China.
Max Hastings - Bloomberg
What a month this has been for secrets! Or rather, for no-longer-secrets. Ukraine is not winning its war, thinks the US military. Egypt planned to send rockets to Russia. Russia's Wagner Group mercenaries tried to buy arms from Turkey through Mali. The US has penetrated Russian intelligence services. These are just a few of the delicious tidbits allegedly exposed by 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, apparently from a Pentagon treasure trove.
/jlne.ws/42ur66f
A Biden-Trump Rematch? American Democracy Is Broken
Clive Crook - Bloomberg
A lot can happen between now and next year's election, but President Joe Biden's decision to run and former President Donald Trump's barely diminished standing with Republicans make a repeat of their 2020 contest quite likely. Pause for a moment to consider this prospect - and the epic failure it represents.
/jlne.ws/44euVOv
Trudeau Says He's Focused on Canada's Strategy to Compete With US
Danielle Bochove - Bloomberg
The US Inflation Reduction Act has forced Canada to "step up" with public money to lure investment from major firms, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday in a Bloomberg Television interview. "The IRA is something we have had to step up to, to make sure we are competitive. We are going to be more strategic about how we pick and choose the right investments. We cannot just do a blanket like the US," Trudeau said.
/jlne.ws/42cxcb3
America's Spies Are Losing Their Edge; New technologies and a lack of patriotism in Silicon Valley are leveling the playing field for Russia and China.
Max Hastings - Bloomberg
What a month this has been for secrets! Or rather, for no-longer-secrets. Ukraine is not winning its war, thinks the US military. Egypt planned to send rockets to Russia. Russia's Wagner Group mercenaries tried to buy arms from Turkey through Mali. The US has penetrated Russian intelligence services. These are just a few of the delicious tidbits allegedly exposed by 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, apparently from a Pentagon treasure trove.
/jlne.ws/42ur66f
Vladimir Putin's once feared and almighty navy is sinking into a sorry state
James Kilner - The Telegraph
A military band roared into life as Ekaterina Bogdasarova, a millionaire socialite married to a powerful governor, smashed a bottle of champagne against the Kremlin's latest submarine. But the pomp and glamour of the launch of the Mozhaysk at the naval shipyard in St Petersburg this week came at the end of a torrid month for the Russian navy, which analysts said has been exposed as often decrepit and dysfunctional.
/jlne.ws/428WGpN
India's Anti-Money Laundering Agency Searches Byju's Offices; Searches were at places in Bengaluru: Enforcement Directorate; Byju's says have provided agency with all information required
Anto Antony - Bloomberg
India's anti-money laundering investigation agency conducted searches at offices of Byju's, the country's most valuable startup, as part of a probe and has seized documents. The Enforcement Directorate officials, mandated to investigate money laundering and forex violation cases, searched the Bengaluru-based startup's offices and seized documents and digital data, the agency said in a Twitter post.
/jlne.ws/44htEWH
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | CFTC Charges Commodity Trading Advisor, Commodity Pool Operator and Its Owner with Fraudulently Allocating Trades; Court Issues Restraining Order to Protect Assets and Documents
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Systematic Alpha Management, LLC (SAM), a registered commodity trading advisor (CTA) and commodity pool operator (CPO), and Peter Kambolin, its owner and registered associated person, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
/jlne.ws/3HrWMRE
Federal Court Orders Former Head of International Binary Options Scheme to Pay More than $561,000 in Restitution
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio entered a consent order on April 27 for a permanent injunction, restitution, and equitable relief against Jared J. Davis, a former resident of Ohio. Davis, at times, conducted business as Erie Marketing, LLC.
/jlne.ws/417HuIN
SEC Chairman Gensler Releases Another Video Dig at Crypto Industry
Jesse Hamilton - CoinDesk
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler took his crypto-critical message to the web again with a new investor-protection video Thursday, cautioning people about digital-assets businesses that are breaking securities laws. As the industry wrestles with enforcement actions and court challenges involving the SEC - a major topic at the Consensus 2023 event this week in Austin, Texas - the agency chief reiterated his long-standing position that crypto platforms are operating illegally.
/jlne.ws/44ktZZ4
SEC Reopens Comment Period for Proposed Rule Amendments to Modernize Beneficial Ownership Reporting
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today reopened the comment period for its proposed amendments to modernize the rules governing beneficial ownership reporting, and the staff of the Commission's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis released a memorandum that provides supplemental data and analysis related to the proposed amendments' economic effects.
/jlne.ws/44erqHN
SEC Charges Colorado Man with Fraudulently Selling Promissory Notes for Luxury Travel Business
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Tyler L. Andrews for making false statements while raising over $1 million from investors in an unregistered offering of securities for a luxury travel business, Platinum Travel and Entertainment, LLC, whose owner Gregory A. Ciccone fraudulently diverted all the money raised. The SEC previously charged Platinum and Ciccone with fraud.
/jlne.ws/3Nrv6ji
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | He Was a Quant at Citadel. Now He Agitates for GameStop Investors.; Dave Lauer is mobilizing individual investors in favor of a stock-market overhaul
Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
Dave Lauer was once a quant at hedge fund Citadel. Now he is a thorn in the side of Wall Street in a battle over how individual investors' trades are handled in the U.S. stock market. Mr. Lauer is the co-founder of We the Investors, an advocacy group that draws much of its energy from apes-investors active on social media who tend to favor meme stocks such as GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
/jlne.ws/3oMIJPS
Billionaire Steve Cohen Has a Plan to Become the King of Queens; To win a coveted New York casino license, he's 'hired the best team that money can buy.'
Laura Nahmias and Gregory Korte - Bloomberg
Steve Cohen likes to boast that he'll spend whatever it takes to win. He did it over three decades building his $27.2 billion investment business, buying the New York Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020 and then assembling a team to win the World Series at such incredible cost - his $353 million payroll is the highest in MLB history - that rival owners dubbed a penalty teams must pay when their payroll exceeds a certain level the "Cohen tax."
/jlne.ws/3NrpTIl
Getting the Sharp End of the Investing Stick
Jason Zweig - The Wall Street Journal
Imagine an investment that can deliver high returns with barely any risk, almost completely independent of the stock market. Good luck finding that. But you can easily find funds that make such grandiose claims. They're common in one of the hottest areas in markets today, private investments. Consider a recent online factsheet from Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund, a $1.5 billion portfolio of private debt. The document said the fund had a Sharpe ratio of more than 10 and a beta of zero.
/jlne.ws/3Vorel9
Warren Buffett Will Beat the Market in Recession Times, Investors Say
Ven Ram - Bloomberg
Investors are worried about a looming US recession and looking for ways to beat it. A few ideas are in vogue. Defensive stocks. Japan. And -- Warren Buffett. Finance professionals and retail investors reckon that there is a significant price premium embedded in Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s shares, betting that the conglomerate will outperform the US market, according to the latest Markets Live Pulse survey.
/jlne.ws/3oUhYcy
Don't Make It Too Hard for Americans to Invest in China; It's a mistake to give the federal government too much power over capital flows and economic activity.
Tyler Cowen - Bloomberg
President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order next month restricting US investment in China, in part over concerns about US national security. Those concerns are valid, but the move would cede far too much arbitrary power to the federal government over capital flows and economic activity. The policy will reportedly cover semiconductors, AI and quantum computing, and on the supply side it applies to venture capital, private equity and some technology transfers and joint ventures.
/jlne.ws/3AH5Ii5
Companies may now be more resilient to inflation shocks; While financial accounts may be distorted by rising prices, the squeeze on corporate cash flow is more bearable
John Plender - Financial Times
Milton Friedman famously declared that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. While this is undeniably true, no policymaker can afford to overlook the behavioural dynamics that are part and parcel of the inflationary process. In confronting an energy price shock it would be helpful, as Huw Pill, chief economist of the Bank of England, implied in a podcast last week, if companies and households stopped trying to maintain their real spending power by passing energy costs on to customers and bidding up wages.
/jlne.ws/3AKtxpj
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | What Climate Change Could Mean for the Coffee You Drink
Somini Sengupta - The New York Times
First the bad news. The two types of coffee that most of us drink - Arabica and robusta - are at grave risk in the era of climate change. Now the good news. Farmers in one of Africa's biggest coffee exporting countries are growing a whole other variety that better withstands the heat, drought and disease supersized by global warming.
/jlne.ws/42cytyY
Banks and oil groups place bets on carbon capture schemes; Four companies including H&M and JPMorgan to spend a collective $100mn on carbon removal credits by 2030
Camilla Hodgson - Financial Times
Companies from banks and insurers to oil majors are placing bets on the development of a carbon capture industry and the resulting carbon removal credits used by buyers to compensate for their pollution that is expected to build into a lucrative market. Four companies including the retailer H&M and leading fossil fuel financier JPMorgan Chase in recent weeks have agreed to spend a collective $100mn on carbon removal credits by 2030.
/jlne.ws/3oR166l
What does the rise in wildfires mean for fine wine?
Jancis Robinson - Financial Times
One of the fascinating things about wine, unlike most of the things we eat or drink, is that every year produces wines that are obviously different. The reputation of some combinations of region and vintage, both clearly identified on the label, are irrevocably blighted - sometimes even before harvest. The 2021 growing season in Burgundy was such a nightmare for vignerons, who had to cope with frost, persistent mildew and a dispiritingly long wet, cool summer, that some merchants and consumers decided in advance that the wines would taste dire too. More fool them.
/jlne.ws/426CxAC
Wall Street darlings, ESG funds may be on the way out
IANS - Investing.com
Environmental, social, and governance-focused funds, which were once deemed the darlings of Wall Street, may be on the way out, media reports said. They're currently weathering a "perfect storm of negative sentiment," said Robert Jenkins, head of global research at Lipper, a financial data provider, CNN reported. Despite the gloomy forecast, Jenkins remains optimistic. He sees this as a natural phase of the market's evolution. A new, more efficient system is taking shape that incorporates ESG standards into the bedrock of stock valuations, he said.
/jlne.ws/3LIsxYS
Are You Ready For AI-Driven Radical ESG Transparency?
Solitaire Townsend - Forbes (contributor)
If you're like most business leaders, you've been playing on ChatGPT, Bard or Bing and inventing weird pictures on Midjourney. The opportunities fizzle in these generative AI space and CEO's have teams dedicated to cracking open those benefits. You're probably thinking about customer service chatbots, hyper-optimised ad targeting, and the endless options for automation. You might even have thought about how it fits into your sustainability plans - by analysing your supply chain, or helping out with ESG reporting. But, did you ask the chat-bots about your brand? Because others are.
/jlne.ws/41TrDOT
Jean Case On Impact Investing, ESG And Women Can Be The 'Secret Sauce'
Joan Michelson - Forbes (contributor)
/jlne.ws/44fJ6mo
On frontier of new 'gold rush,' quest for coveted EV metals yields misery
Soaring demand for electric vehicles is fueling dramatic changes in Guinea, home to the world's largest bauxite reserves
Rachel Chason and Chloe Sharrock - Washington
/jlne.ws/3Ns3kTT
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Banking Problems May Be Tip of Debt Iceberg; 'Shadow banks' have grown rapidly and, like banks, are exposed to risk from higher interest rates
Greg Ip - The Wall Street Journal
The biggest question facing the economy lately has been: How bad will the banking turmoil be? Though two U.S. banks failed a month ago, and a third is still struggling, emergency lending by the Federal Reserve seems to have prevented broader harm. The next question should be: Will it spread beyond the banks? That is because the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank a month ago, which touched off this bout of turmoil, was a symptom, not a cause, of broader forces at work in the financial system and the economy.
/jlne.ws/40SMHni
Federal Reserve Sheds Light On SVB's Collapse In New Report: 'Failed To Manage Risks'
AJ Fabino - Benzinga
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday issued a review of Silicon Valley Bank's failure, led by Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr. The report found that Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) senior leadership and board of directors failed to manage risks, and Federal Reserve supervisors did not fully appreciate the extent of the vulnerabilities as the bank grew in size and complexity.
/jlne.ws/41UNw0o
Stress Builds as Office Building Owners and Lenders Haggle Over Debt
Matthew Goldstein, Julie Creswell and Peter Eavis - The New York Times
A real estate investment fund recently defaulted on $750 million of mortgages for two Los Angeles skyscrapers. A private equity firm slashed the value of its investment in the Willis Tower in Chicago by nearly a third. And a big New York landlord is trying to extend the deadline for paying down a loan for a Park Avenue office tower.
/jlne.ws/3oVdy57
Deutsche Bank investigates HR head's bond purchase ahead of earnings
Reuters
Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said on Friday it is investigating the purchase of the bank's own bonds by a senior executive just days before the lender reported earnings, a move that appeared to flout the bank's own rules designed to prevent insider trading. A filing earlier this week showed that Michael Ilgner, head of human resources at the German lender, bought 201,000 euros ($221,542) of the bank's bonds on April 18, breaking a ban on purchasing securities eight weeks ahead of earnings.
/jlne.ws/3nn4kOr
Cross River Bank Gets FDIC Enforcement Order Over Lending
Yueqi Yang and Paige Smith - Bloomberg
Cross River Bank, a partner of financial technology companies and crypto firms, received a cease-and-desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over what the agency said were "unsafe or unsound" practices related to fair-lending laws. The bank failed to establish and maintain "internal controls, information systems, and prudent credit underwriting practices," the FDIC said Friday.
/jlne.ws/3oY43Cb
JPMorgan, PNC Submit Bids to Buy First Republic in Government-Led Sale; FDIC is expected to name a winner before First Republic opens Monday morning
Andrew Ackerman, David Benoit, Rachel Louise Ensign and Nick Timiraos - The Wall Street Journal
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is reviewing bids for First Republic Bank and preparing to seize the lender, according to people familiar with the matter, weeks after a $100 billion deposit run shattered its business model. Big banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. submitted offers for the troubled lender earlier Sunday, the people said, and the FDIC went back to the bidders with questions in the evening.
/jlne.ws/3nlDtT1
Fed Says It Failed to Act on Problems That Led to Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
Andrew Ackerman and Ben Eisen - The Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve's banking supervisors failed to take forceful action to address growing problems at Silicon Valley Bank before it collapsed last month, the central bank's top regulator said, signaling a broad push to toughen rules on the industry. Michael Barr, the Fed's vice chair for supervision, said supervisors didn't fully appreciate the extent of the vulnerabilities as SVB grew in size and complexity.
/jlne.ws/44fngPX
Jamie Dimon says he understands workers' threats to not return to the office, but 'they can not do it elsewhere'
Jane Thier - Fortune
Three years into the return to office battle, an exasperated JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is not mincing words. Earlier this month, JPMorgan senior leaders asked hybrid workers to continue coming in three days a week at minimum and managing directors to start coming in full-time. Workers would still have flexibility to work from home for things like family issues or doctor's appointments, but it seemed there was an "or else" implied for those who wouldn't comply.
/jlne.ws/3LkPIr0
Charlie Munger: US banks are 'full of' bad commercial property loans
Eric Platt and Harriet Agnew - Financial Times
Charlie Munger has warned of a brewing storm in the US commercial property market, with American banks "full of" what he said were "bad loans" as property prices fall. The comments from the 99-year-old investor and sidekick to billionaire Warren Buffett come as turmoil ripples through the country's financial system, which is reckoning with a potential commercial property crash following a handful of bank failures.
/jlne.ws/3Lp2gxk
Fast-moving markets meet slow-motion real estate world; High interest rates and worries that banks might become more conservative in lending hit the sector
Jennifer Hughes - Financial Times
There's something refreshing about a slow-moving market in such a speedy world. At least there would be if it wasn't commercial real estate, which is currently topping the 3am worry list of many investors and bankers. Already facing the challenge of rising interest rates, the sector has been hit by fears since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month that weakening property valuations would be hurt further by a more conservative approach to lending by banks. Offices, affected too by the shift to working from home, have been at the centre of these fears.
/jlne.ws/3VmyRc3
First Republic Talks Extend Into Night After Banks Place Bids; Process could lead to tidier cleanup of troubled bank than SVB; A sale to JPMorgan would require exception to rule on size
Hannah Levitt, Katanga Johnson, Gillian Tan and Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
US regulators were working into the night to resolve the First Republic Bank crisis late Sunday after a midday deadline passed for submitting final bids to take over the struggling lender. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had asked banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., and Citizens Financial Group Inc. to submit offers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
/jlne.ws/3oWFVQo
Bank Failures, Broken Markets Loom Over Milken's Capitalist Utopia; Annual Milken Conference kicks off in Beverly Hills on Sunday; Summit offers diverse sessions, from Wall Street CEOs to yoga
John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
Michael Milken wants to teach people about the harsh realities of an unforgiving world - balanced with some doses of techno-optimism and playtime with puppies. The 1980s junk bond king turned 21st-century philanthropist is once again taking over the Beverly Hilton in California, bringing together 3,500 bankers, investors and government leaders for four days of presentations and parties starting Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3HtiIvD
Fed points finger at Trump-era rollback for SVB demise
Douglas Gillison - Reuters
The Federal Reserve on Friday blamed the deregulatory zeal that occurred during the Trump era for contributing to the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, appearing to take a clear stand on an acrimonious policy divide in Washington. Amid the turmoil that Silicon Valley Bank's implosion unleashed on the financial system last month, some Republicans and industry advocates have argued strenuously that a 2018 roll-back of post-financial-crisis safeguards was not to blame.
/jlne.ws/3Hrn6eu
Why Banks Keep Failing; Three previously solid, medium-size banks suddenly faced annihilation. The blame lies with the system itself.
William D. Cohan - The Atlantic
In March, Silicon Valley Bank, once the envy of the nation's tech elite with more than $200 billion in assets, went down the tubes in a flash-pretty much 36 hours from start (rumors of its insolvency) to finish (the announcement of a takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). It was the second-largest bank failure in American history.
/jlne.ws/3Nq6EPq
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | FDIC Says Signature Oversight Hampered by Lack of NY Staff; Many large-firm examiner positions vacant or filled by temps; Regulator says that it was slow in its response to some issues
Katanga Johnson, Max Reyes and Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acknowledged it was too slow to respond to problems at Signature Bank before the lender's rapid collapse last month, partly due to a staffing shortage in its New York office. The FDIC said that "resource challenges" in that office kept it from adequately staffing an examination team dedicated to the lender.
/jlne.ws/41SpjYv
Flying Tractors Are a Window Into Farming's Future; AI-guided drones can spray fertilizer, apply fungicide and sow seeds with a precision that leaves traditional heavy equipment in the dust.
Amanda Little - Bloomberg
Early one recent morning in Vidalia, Georgia, third-generation farmer Greg Morgan launched an AG-230 drone carrying eight gallons of fungicide over a field of sweet onions. The chemical, which is essential to crop survival in this humid state, would typically be dragged and dripped from a 500-gallon tank behind Morgan's 10,000-pound tractor.
/jlne.ws/3LFKM1g
How ChatGPT and Other LLMs Work-and Where They Could Go Next
David Nielo - Wired
AI-powered chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard are certainly having a moment-the next generation of conversational software tools promise to do everything from taking over our web searches to producing an endless supply of creative literature to remembering all the world's knowledge so we don't have to. ChatGPT, Google Bard, and other bots like them, are examples of large language models, or LLMs, and it's worth digging into how they work.
/jlne.ws/3NJxzGj
AI journalism is getting harder to tell from the old-fashioned, human-generated kind
Ian Tucker - The Guardian
A couple of weeks ago I tweeted a call-out for freelance journalists to pitch me feature ideas for the science and technology section of the Observer's New Review. Unsurprisingly, given headlines, fears and interest in LLM (large language model) chatbots such as ChatGPT, many of the suggestions that flooded in focused on artificial intelligence - including a pitch about how it is being employed to predict deforestation in the Amazon.
/jlne.ws/40U5BKO
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | China Owes Us All the Truth About When Covid Emerged
Faye Flam - Bloomberg
Scientists are starting to get a better picture of the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic in China. To better understand this pandemic and prevent the next one, it matters not just how and where the virus jumped to humans but when. But information is scarce, in part because it seems the Chinese government has been withholding crucial data on early cases that could fill in the timeline.
/jlne.ws/42aWwy7
CDC Will Stop Tracking Covid-19 Community Levels, Here Are The Problems
Bruce Y. Lee - Forbes
It's about to get a whole lot harder to anticipate and prevent another Covid-19 surge or outbreak in U.S. With the U.S. declaration of Covid-19 as a public health emergency scheduled to expire on May 11, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to cease reporting Covid-19 Community Levels as it has been doing, according to Brenda Goodman reporting for CNN.
/jlne.ws/42aCUtV
Covid-sniffing dogs may help detect infections in schools
CNN
A new study looked at the Covid-19 dog screening pilot program that was launched in some California K-12 public schools. CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports on how the dogs can detect the coronavirus and may be trained to sniff out other diseases.
/jlne.ws/3oWK0UI
Masks come off in the last refuge for mandates: The doctor's office
Fenit Nirappil - Washington Post
Doctors' offices were the last place in Montana where Missoula resident Jenna James, who has long covid and other chronic conditions, had felt comfortable knowing others had to mask. Then, like in nearly all states this spring, Montana health-care facilities ended their mask requirements. One clinic warned James when she called that it may not have masks on hand for staff, she recalled. A nurse at a hospital took 10 minutes to find one. An unmasked receptionist coughed as James waited in a crowded waiting room recently to have blood drawn.
/jlne.ws/3LpCadA
Moderna co-founder calls on US politicians and judges to stop questioning science; Noubar Afeyan says court rulings on abortion pills and access to healthcare undermine efforts to combat diseases
Jamie Smyth - Financial Times
The co-founder of vaccine maker Moderna has called on US politicians and judges to stop questioning established science and over-ruling regulators, adding that they risk sowing public confusion that damages people's health. Noubar Afeyan told the Financial Times that recent decisions by courts in Texas set bad precedents, referring to the moves to overturn regulatory approval of the abortion pill and strike down key elements of the Affordable Care Act that mandated free access to preventive healthcare.
/jlne.ws/3VjfyQG
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Singapore deepens US defence ties despite Chinese financial inflows; The city-state draws both people and capital from Beijing, but looks to Washington for regional security
Mercedes Ruehl - Financial Times
Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong recently managed what few other global leaders would be able or willing to do: travel to China and publicly praise a US-led Asian initiative. "Asia should always remain an open region," Lee said at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan. "As Asian countries develop co-operation among ourselves, we should also cultivate our relations with the US, Europe and other parts of the world."
/jlne.ws/41RgONv
China's largest auction houses plan to take on western rivals
William Langley - Financial Times
China's biggest auction houses plan to increase travel and open offices overseas this year as they try to take on their larger western rivals in the lucrative market for international contemporary art. Poly Auction and China Guardian, two of the world's largest auction houses by sales, told the Financial Times that the easing of pandemic travel restrictions would enable them to source more contemporary art, pieces of which regularly command the highest prices at auction and can rapidly surge in value.
/jlne.ws/40Skw87
China Reopening Party Over as Emerging Markets Slip Back to Void; EM stocks lag developed-market peers dragged by China stocks; Hurdle is high for investments into China: Union Bancaire
Marcus Wong and Tania Chen - Bloomberg
Emerging-market bulls betting that China's reopening would drive a year of asset outperformances are seeing their dreams turn into dust. The benchmark gauge for developing-nation stocks has not only totted up losses of more than 7% since a peak in January but is also underperforming its rich-nation counterpart by the most in three years. Chinese shares have contributed 70% of those losses, helping to erase $750 billion in market value. And the selloff is spreading to nations with the closest trade ties to China, such as South Korea and South Africa.
/jlne.ws/40Ujf0z
The British dairy farmer shaking up the milk world; After making a hefty fortune in the City, Oliver Hemsley decamped to Dorset, where his happy, grass-fed cows are key to a dairy revolution
Harry de Quetteville - The Telegraph
Twelve and a half billion litres is a lot of milk. So much, in fact, that were you a giant cat, using Wembley Stadium as your bowl, there would be enough for 11 brim-high refills. For ordinary-sized Britons, meanwhile, this vast amount - the quantity of milk produced each year by our island's 1.9 million dairy cows - equates to an annual consumption of 185 litres, roughly a pint a day, for every man, woman and child.
/jlne.ws/424juHq
StanChart Says 'No' to Financing $5 Billion Ugandan Oil Pipeline; Activists warn they'll target banks and investors involved in supporting the controversial project.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
Standard Chartered Plc no longer intends to finance an oil pipeline in East Africa that's been estimated to generate seven times more CO2 emissions each year than the entire country of Uganda.
/jlne.ws/3nmfDGL
What to Know About Red-Flag Warnings, an Ominous Wildfire Forecast; When fire weather warnings go out in the Northeast, 'the hair should stand up on the back of your neck."
Brian K Sullivan - Bloomberg
The northeast US is no stranger to extreme weather and the warnings that come with it. But every now and then, residents are faced with an unfamiliar color in the forecast: red. "If you get a red flag warning on Long Island, the hair should stand up on the back of your neck," Heath Hockenberry, a fire weather program manager with the US National Weather Service, said. "It is something to pay attention to."
/jlne.ws/3B0nFZj
Epstein's Private Calendar Reveals Prominent Names, Including CIA Chief, Goldman's Top Lawyer
Khadeeja Safdar and David Benoit - The Wall Street Journal
The nation's spy chief, a longtime college president and top women in finance. The circle of people who associated with Jeffrey Epstein years after he was a convicted sex offender is wider than previously reported, according to a trove of documents that include his schedules. William Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency since 2021, had three meetings scheduled with Epstein in 2014, when he was deputy secretary of state, the documents show.
/jlne.ws/3LI7CoZ
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Chicago Booth's PhD Program receives $100 million gift in celebration of its 100th anniversary
University of Chicago News
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Ross Stevens, PhD '96, has made a gift of $100 million to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business's PhD Program to advance the frontiers of academic business research. In recognition, the school's PhD Program will be renamed the Stevens Doctoral Program. "Thanks to Ross's extraordinary generosity and bold vision, the Stevens Doctoral Program is poised to accelerate and broaden the impact of its scholars now and long into the future," said Madhav Rajan, Chicago Booth dean and the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting.
/jlne.ws/3Hqv7QO
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