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John Lothian Newsletter
June 26, 2023 "Irreverent, but never irrelevant"
 
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff

On Sunday JLN published a story and a podcast about the increase in trading volume on the floor at the CME Group after it reopened after it was closed in March 2020 for the pandemic. A significant factor behind the volume growth was the proliferation of a brokerage floor technology designed to improve execution and reporting of complex orders that was previously used only by Smart Confirm, the firm that developed it, and a brokerage firm named MarkV. I wrote a story about the podcast interview I conducted with MarkV broker Mark LeeMaster and Smart Confirm developer Mike Ashcraft. You can find the story HERE and the podcast HERE. A podcast version of the story is available HERE. The story is titled "The Smart Confirm Trading Floor Renaissance Is Bringing New Life To The CME Trading Floor."

During FIA IDX, FIA European Principal Traders Association Chairman and Co-Founder Mark Spanbroek stepped down as head of the group after five consecutive years as chairman and twelve years as a member of the FIA EPTA Executive Committee. Additionally, the FIA EPTA Executive Committee elected Alistair McGrath from Tower Research Capital Europe as the new chair. Spanbroek will remain with the group as an advisor for six months.

The FIA welcomed GFO-X, a digital asset derivatives exchange, as a new member of the organization. GFO-X has been authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority and has partnered with LCH SA.

Julie Winkler is the guest in a Deloitte On Cloud Podcast series titled "How CME Group is driving digital transformation success."

The Financial Stability Board has issued a paper titled "Enhancing Third-Party Risk Management and Oversight with the subheading "A toolkit for financial institutions and financial authorities."

The Wall Street Journal has a timely article for all of you cyclists titled "How to Make Your Bike Really Hard to Steal" with the subheading "Theft-prevention tech for bikes and e-bikes is cheap. Here are the best tools."

Repeating from Friday: I need some help finding a summer internship for a young woman who is attending the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, studying advertising and informatics. She is also the sister of David Cooke, the Eagle Scout who was recently hired by the Nodal Exchange after I asked for help from readers for him in his job search.

Elizabeth Cooke is David's younger sister, who has experience as a researcher and strategist for advertising campaigns, using Qualtrics and Google Sheets/Excel to look at data. She has a strong interest in understanding how and why people think the way they do.

Outside the classroom, she is a swimmer, cyclist and runner who competes in triathlons. She also enjoys living up to her name "Cooke," and enjoys breaking bread and new recipes. She is a musician and music fan who may just be a Swiftie.

Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL

*****

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued its inaugural standards - IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 - on June 26. The standards create a common language for disclosing the effect of climate-related risks and opportunities on a company's prospects. The long-awaited standards were announced at the IFRS Foundation Conference 2023. You can follow the conference livestream |here. View the standards on the IFRS Foundation website.~SAED

Correction: Our top clicked item on Thursday, as mentioned in Friday's newsletter, was the selfie Walt Lukken took at the IDX Conference gala dinner in London, not the OIC Conference that took place earlier this year in Nashville. It is hard to confuse London with Nashville, but sometimes when you go to these conferences they all blend together. Unfortunately, I did not attend either conference so that is no excuse. Apologies for the error.~SR

Our most read stories in JLN Options last Friday were; Option demand explodes in June as investors use bullish bets to chase stock-market rally and Research Finds Retail Options Traders Bet Big, Bet Often and Bitcoin holds $30K as bulls flaunt their advantage in Friday's $715M BTC options expiry.~JB

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The Smart Confirm Trading Floor Renaissance is Bringing New Life to the CME Trading Floor
JohnLothianNews.com

Why has volume significantly increased in the open outcry trading pits at the CME Group in recent months compared to before the pits were closed for the Covid-19 breakout? Open outcry volume stood under 50% of total volume before Covid-19 closed the pits, but in the last three months, volume has been about 64%. A company called Smart Confirm might have something to do with it, the leaders of the firm say.

Listen to the podcast »

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Harry Markowitz, Nobel-Winning Pioneer of Modern Portfolio Theory, Dies at 95; He overturned the traditional approach to buying stocks by examining the relationship between risk and reward.
Robert D. Hershey Jr. - The New York Times
Harry M. Markowitz, an economist who launched a revolution in finance, upending traditional thinking about buying stocks and earning the Nobel in economic science in 1990 for his breakthrough, died on Thursday in San Diego. He was 95.
/jlne.ws/3NOmWBi

***** A great economist from Chicago has died.~JJL

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Only Half of People Stay Employed Through Their 50s. How to Prepare.
Elizabeth O'Brien - Barron's
When Eric Schauer was laid off last July at age 55, he wasn't too worried about landing a new position. A senior manager in Albany, N.Y., Schauer figured the generous severance package he got from his company in the chemicals industry would tide him over until he found a new job in the tight labor market. Nearly a year later, he's been a finalist for a handful of positions but hasn't been hired yet. Schauer suspects his age may be to blame.
/jlne.ws/3XowfuY

****** I did not want to be a 50-year-old commodity broker because I saw too many of them who died in their 50s. The stress of being a broker is tremendous. Instead, I decided I wanted to be my own boss so I would not have the potential problem of being laid off because the world changed and my brokerage business lagged as a result. So far my plan has worked and being my own boss is one of the best things that I have ever done. I love being an entrepreneur. But it also has its own challenges. It is harder to retire, but then when you love what you do, you don't want to.~JJL

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What Financial Planning Looks Like for L.G.B.T.Q. People; The cost of family planning and transition care - and other personal finance stories from L.G.B.T.Q. people.
Sara Youngblood Gregory - The New York Times
I married my wife last October in a backyard wedding that my parents hosted and covered for $5,000. My wife's mother gave us an equivalent honeymoon fund to fly us to France, and our guests were also generous, giving us - to our surprise - a few thousand dollars to start our new lives. Of course, I knew people were given money for their weddings, but this seemed like an abstract, heterosexual concept to me: free money, for loving someone? In my experience, nothing about being a lesbian came without, at minimum, a metaphorical price tag.
/jlne.ws/44BtwB5

***** Pride month generates lots of stories you don't see the rest of the year.~JJL

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Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg agree to hold cage fight
Peter Hoskins - BBC
Two of the world's most high-profile technology billionaires - Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg - have agreed to fight each other in a cage match. Mr Musk posted a message on his social media platform Twitter that he was "up for a cage fight" with Mr Zuckerberg. Mr Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, then posted a screenshot of Mr Musk's tweet with the caption "send me location".
/jlne.ws/3Nuwb8u

****** Can't we just put them in the cage and leave them there?~JJL

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Friday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Friday was the FIA's LinkedIn post with pictures of the black-tie gala dinner at the FIA's IDX Conference in London. The "black tie" also included a kilt and some plaid pants. Second was An IPO for a Painting? This $55 Million Masterpiece Is Going Public, from The Wall Street Journal, about a portrait by Francis Bacon painted in 1963. Third was This Trading Card Is So Preciousss, It Could Be Worth Millions-Plus Dinner in Spain, from The Wall Street Journal, about a $2 million card from the new 'Lord of the Rings' edition of "Magic: The Gathering."

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27,347 pages; 245,395 edits
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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.
 
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John Lothian News Editorial Staff:
 
John Lothian
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Sarah Rudolph
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Jeff Bergstrom
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Patrick Lothian
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Sally Duros
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Lead Stories
FTX's Final Days Were Pure, Unadulterated Chaos; The collapse of SBF's crypto exchange came fast. In Episode 5 of the Spellcaster podcast, old allies quickly become enemies.
Annie Massa, Hannah Miller and Max Chafkin - Bloomberg
FTX's public meltdown started when a couple writers got their hands on a spreadsheet that purported to show the balances for Sam Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency trading firm, Alameda Research. James Block, who writes a crypto blog under the pseudonym Mike Burgersburg, said that when a source sent the spreadsheet to him in late October 2022, he clicked on it and started laughing. "It looks nothing like a traditional real balance sheet from a real company," he said.
/jlne.ws/44aLeew

Crypto Custodian Prime Trust Teeters on the Brink of Collapse; The company previously stored assets and provided banklike services to crypto firms Binance.US, FTX and Celsius
Vicky Ge Huang and Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
Another crypto quasi-bank appears to be on the brink. Prime Trust, a state-chartered trust company that serves as a custodian for crypto firms, is feared by digital-asset investors to be on the verge of failing after being rebuked by its state regulator and abandoned by a potential acquirer. Las Vegas-based Prime Trust has a shortfall of customer funds and was unable to honor customer withdrawals this week, according to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry.
/jlne.ws/3PvVFov

London's Brokers Face a Crunch as Downturn Picks Off the Weakest; Smaller firms in the Square Mile are increasingly looking to merge as a way to survive
Leonard Kehnscherper - Bloomberg
John Farrugia spent last Christmas in Dubai, studying merger models. The chief executive officer of FinnCap Group Plc was just months into his new role as he weighed up potential partners for the London-based firm when he was meant to be on holiday. His deliberations led eventually to a tie-up with Cenkos Securities Plc, announced in March, following unsuccessful talks with another rival.
/jlne.ws/3poksjU

Brokers Split Fees for Research and Trading. Here's How That Could Change
Sam Potter - Bloomberg
More than five years after Europe upended the securities business by requiring brokerages to separate charges for investment research from trading commissions, the rules are back in the spotlight. Now the European Union is considering a rollback of the change, just as the Securities and Exchange Commission finally makes US firms adopt solutions for the regulatory mismatch it created between the two regions.
/jlne.ws/3XntBWt

Hong Kong Stock Trading in Yuan Starts Slowly With One Exception; China Mobile has seen yuan trading proportion of almost 10%; Yuan deposits in Hong Kong still low: Bloomberg Intelligence
Jeanny Yu - Bloomberg
Hong Kong's initiative to allow trading of some locally-listed stocks in yuan has seen a muted start, with an average of just 1% of volume in those counters using the Chinese currency. One outlier has been China Mobile Ltd., which has seen yuan trading account for almost 10% of shares exchanged since the ability to transact the stock using the mainland currency began last week. The telecom firm has been on a US sanction list since 2021, limiting American investment.
/jlne.ws/3JslwtF

Crypto has a new rescuer: Wall Street
David Hollerith - Yahoo Finance
Some of the biggest names in finance are making new bets on cryptocurrencies, adding competition and momentum to an upstart industry that is under increasing pressure from US regulators. The world's largest money manager, BlackRock (BLK), wants to start a new exchange-traded fund that would use bitcoin as an underlying asset.
/jlne.ws/437fMwM

HSBC Set to Exit London's Canary Wharf as It Plans New Headquarters
Eliot Brown - The New York Times
Banking giant HSBC is planning to leave London's Canary Wharf for a smaller global headquarters near St. Paul's Cathedral, in a blow to the skyscraper-filled office district. The forthcoming downsizing, announced internally Monday, comes at a shaky time for Canary Wharf, a hub of global banking east of the historic financial district, the City of London. While overall office demand has held up far better in Europe than in major U.S. cities, debt investors and analysts fear Canary Wharf will be hit particularly hard by the drop in demand for office space since the pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3CORXyM

News organizations challenge court decision on FTX customer privacy
Dietrich Knauth - Reuters
A group of media organizations on Friday appealed a court decision that allows collapsed crypto exchange FTX to keep customer names secret during its bankruptcy case. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled earlier this month that FTX did not have to reveal its customers' names because doing so could expose them to identity theft and other scams. Bankrupt companies are typically required to reveal the names of their creditors and the amounts of debt they hold, including those of individual customers, but U.S. bankruptcy law contains an exception for information that would create undue risk of identity theft or other injury.
/jlne.ws/3NMfZ3L

For Investors, the Russian Gun Hasn't Fired Yet; Sorting out the uncertainties from the Wagner mutiny will take time, and there's no obvious market play to make.
John Authers - Bloomberg
When you don't know what to say, get someone else to say something. The events of the last few days in Russia have been utterly confounding. Nobody that I have heard has a confident and conclusive explanation for how the Wagner Group's mutiny got started, or why it ended as suddenly and meekly as it did. Betting the farm on the basis of any one interpretation of these events would be madness.
/jlne.ws/44g173d

UBS-Credit Suisse Won't Be the Bloodiest of Bank Mergers; The kind of open warfare that typically flares up when banks combine shouldn't be as bad in the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
Investment-banking deals have a reputation as bloody affairs of rainmakers and traders fighting it out in a kind of full-contact version of musical chairs. But UBS Group AG looks like it can avoid the worst of this in its takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG. Many of the people that UBS doesn't want have already walked away, and those it does want to keep will help it fill gaps in its capabilities.
/jlne.ws/44fCLGI

JPMorgan's Jared Gross Says Fiscal Put Killed 'Central-Bank Put'; Reaction to Covid shifted the entire economic dynamic, he says; The Fed 'can't just cut rates because a bank is wobbling'
Michael P. Regan and Katherine Greifeld - Bloomberg
While much of the world has gotten back to normal following the worst of the Covid-19 outbreak, J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Jared Gross has been focused on longer-lasting economic and market legacies of the pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3CPMN5P

Billionaire Friedland Says US Must Brand Copper a Critical Metal
Thomas Biesheuvel - Bloomberg
Billionaire mining investor Robert Friedland said the US government must include copper as critical material under President Joe Biden's landmark clean energy law.
/jlne.ws/3CJ78d3

Virtu Financial Launches Alert+ to Enhance Automated Block Trading Products
Editorial Staff - Traders Magazine
Virtu Financial has launched Alert+, a new workflow solution available in POSIT Alert that enhances the features of POSIT Alert by providing automated routing to Virtu's Covert execution algorithm to seek non-displayed liquidity.
/jlne.ws/43TiLtz

Cryptofinance: Coinbase invokes national security concerns in SEC fight; Plus, an update on FTX and bitcoin hits $30,000
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
I'm coming to you this week from New York, where I attended The State of Crypto Summit, an event hosted by Coinbase in partnership with the Financial Times. The crypto exchange has a long-running and deep difference of opinion with the Securities and Exchange Commission over crypto regulation. That relationship hit a new low this month when the SEC said Coinbase was in violation of several federal securities laws, most notably operating an unregistered securities exchange. Coinbase disagrees with the SEC's interpretation and has said it will fight the lawsuit.
/jlne.ws/3r4v4Vp

Citi Signals Consequences for Flouting Return to Office; Most workers comply, 'we hold colleagues accountable': Citi; Bank weighs plans to track UK office visits, similar to US
Jennifer Surane and Ambereen Choudhury - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. has begun telling managers to let staffers know they'll face consequences if they don't comply with policies for office attendance. While the vast majority of staffers are following the firm's rules for hybrid work, the moves are focused on those employees with persistent, unexplained absences, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Managers will consider compliance with the rules when rating performance and crafting pay packages, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn't public.
/jlne.ws/3r67vLT

Cocaine market is booming as meth trafficking spreads, U.N. report says
Reuters
Cocaine demand and supply are booming worldwide and methamphetamine trafficking is expanding beyond established markets, including in Afghanistan where the drug is now being produced, a United Nations report said on Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3XFrFsJ

The Super Connector Who Built Sam Bankman-Fried's Celebrity World; Michael Kives, a former Hollywood agent, connected FTX's founder to Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Bill Clinton and others. His firm got $700 million in exchange, a lawsuit claims.
David Yaffe-Bellany and Erin Griffith - The New York Times
About 10 months before he was arrested on fraud charges, the cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried posed for a photograph at the 2022 Super Bowl in Inglewood, Calif. On one side of him were Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry, the celebrity couple. On the other was the actress Kate Hudson. Standing in the center, with his arm slung over Mr. Bankman-Fried's shoulder, was a lesser-known figure: Michael Kives.
/jlne.ws/3CK76Sf

BNY Mellon pushes ahead with diversity funds despite 'anti-woke' backlash; Boutique strategy allows bank to offer a range of approaches to ESG
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
BNY Mellon's investment management arm is turning to funds that donate part of their revenue to diversity charities, even as US financial groups come under attack from "anti-woke" politicians.
/jlne.ws/3NL7shI



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Ukraine Invasion
News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact
The Putin system is crumbling; After the march on Moscow, things cannot go back to normal in Russia
Gideon Rachman - Financial Times
The images that defined Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a leader were filmed on February 25 last year. As Russian troops closed in on Kyiv, the Ukrainian president walked the streets of the city with his close colleagues, reassuring citizens that: "All of us are here, protecting our independence and our country."
/jlne.ws/3XrC378

Russia Slides Into Civil War; Is Putin facing his Czar Nicholas II moment?
Anne Applebaum - The Atlantic
The hall of mirrors that Vladimir Putin has built around himself and within his country is so complex, and so multilayered, that on the eve of a genuine insurrection in Russia, I doubt very much if the Russian president himself believed it could be real.
/jlne.ws/3CLotSr

Putin Faces Historic Threat to Absolute Grip on Power in Russia; The Russian leader defused an armed mutiny but doubts about his rule are growing.
Bloomberg News
Vladimir Putin managed to avert an attack on Moscow with an eleventh-hour deal with his mutinous mercenary commander. But the uprising has pierced his aura of total political control over Russia unlike any other event in his nearly quarter century in power.
/jlne.ws/3Jwjysr

Russia censored internet news sources as rebellion rumors flew
Yevgeny Prigozhin - The Washington Post
Russian authorities blocked access to major news sources and information from the Wagner mercenary group as it pushed toward Moscow on Saturday, adding to the confusion as rumors and misinformation about events flourished.
/jlne.ws/3COr4ek

Putin's Beast That Would Now Devour Him
Roger Cohen - The New York Times
Over the course of a month I spent in the Russian capital, the red-and-black billboards of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner paramilitary group multiplied. "Join the team of victors!" they said, beneath an image of menacing mercenaries in balaclavas and masks, only their eyes visible.
/jlne.ws/3Pu11AI

As revolt in Russia subsides, U.S. and allies brace for what comes next; Yevgeniy Prigozhin's extraordinary showdown with Vladimir Putin has dealt a serious blow to the stability of the Russian regime, observers say
/jlne.ws/46zaxsC

Russian Banks Lift Exchange Rates in Early Sign of Financial Stress
Georgi Kantchev - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/3XsvvVZ

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin still faces charges, says Russian state media; Reports at odds with earlier promises from Kremlin that charges against warlord would be dropped
Max Seddon and Henry Foy - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/44kCsuu








Exchanges, OTC & Clearing
Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities
Cboe outlines why its clearing service for securities financing transactions will succeed where others have failed; Regulatory requirements, industry backing and new ownership led Cboe Clear Europe to introduce clearing service for securities financing transactions, a concept which has not taken off in the continent previously.
Jonathan Watkins - The Trade
The central clearing of securities finance transactions (SFTs) is not a new concept, it is one which has been tried before with varying degrees of success.
/jlne.ws/3plwpqq

Euronext agrees to sell LCH SA stake for EUR111 million as part of ongoing clearing migration; Transaction is expected to be completed in July; follows Euronext's early termination of its derivatives agreement with LCH SA in January.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Euronext has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its 11% stake in LCH SA back to LCH Group for euro111 million. In the third quarter, Euronext will incur a non-underlying capital gain of around euro40 million as a result. The transaction is expected to take place in July.
/jlne.ws/3CO3JcS

BME includes the Belgian Market to its Cross-Border Services
BME
The Belgian Market joins those of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Switzerland with which BME is connected BME, through IBERCLEAR, the Spanish Central Securities Depository, has included on June 26, 2023, the Belgian market to its Cross-Border Services (CBS). BME clients will thus have access to this market through the connection with the Belgian central securities depository, National Bank of Belgium operator of the securities settlement system.
/jlne.ws/3NKIzm6

IGBM index new composition for the second half of 2023
BME
The index will consist of 111 stocks following the additions of Lingotes Especiales, Montebalito and Squirrel Media and the delisting of Mediaset España
The Indice General de la Bolsa de Madrid (IGBM) Management Committee, during its ordinary index review meeting has decided that the Indice General de la Bolsa de Madrid (IGBM) and the Indice Total will consist of111 stocks in the second half of the year, following the inclusion of Lingotes Especiales, Montebalito and Squirrel Media, and the exclusion of Mediaset Espana.
/jlne.ws/3XnSAsM

EEX develops trading platform for hydrogen markets and signs Letter of Intent with first customer Hintco, a subsidiary of the H2Global Foundation
European Energy Exchange
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) has developed a platform for the future technical implementation of sale auctions and other trading instruments for hydrogen and its derivatives, aimed at both governmental and commercial players. EEX will provide and operate the platform on behalf of these actors.
/jlne.ws/3XFUDZv

Euronext announces the sale of its 11.1% stake in LCH SA to LCH Group Holdings Limited
Euronext
Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris - 26 June 2023 - Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announces it has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its 11.1% stake in LCH SA to LCH Group Holdings Limited ("LCH Group"), for an amount of EUR111 million. The completion of the transaction is expected to occur in early July 2023. The relevant authorities have been notified.
/jlne.ws/43Tl4No

HKEX Signs Cooperation Agreement With Ningbo Municipal People's Government
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and Ningbo Municipal People's Government today (Monday) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation, and in particular support Ningbo-based companies that are interested in seeking a listing in Hong Kong. Under the MOU, HKEX and Ningbo Municipal Government will jointly host seminars on relevant topics for Ningbo-based organisations and enterprises, as well as exchanging ideas on the latest developments in the capital markets of Hong Kong and Ningbo.
/jlne.ws/46gYNe9

Tokyo Stock Exchange to Conduct a Survey on English Disclosure by Japanese Companies
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) is conducting a survey on disclosures in English by listed companies to investors. This survey is aimed to encourage disclosures in English based on the needs of overseas investors by identifying the information that they need and providing feedback of those responses to the listed companies. In addition, TSE will use the responses as reference information for considering the content of English disclosure to be made mandatory in the Prime Market.
/jlne.ws/3XmHx37

LCH Group to acquire Euronext's stake in LCH SA, assuming full ownership of the CCP
London Stock Exchange Group
LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) announces that through its majority ownership of LCH Group it has agreed to acquire Euronext N.V's (Euronext) 11.1% stake in LCH SA, the French subsidiary of LCH Group for a total cash consideration of EUR 111 million (the Transaction). Completion of the Transaction will see LCH Group take full ownership of LCH SA. The Transaction is being funded from existing cash resources and is expected to close in early July 2023.
/jlne.ws/43XjKt3

Nasdaq Closing Cross Calculates Russell US Indexes Reconstitution for the 20th Consecutive Year
Nasdaq
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the Nasdaq Closing Cross was used for the 20th consecutive year to rebalance Nasdaq-listed securities in the entire family of Russell US Indexes, part of leading global index provider FTSE Russell, during its annual reconstitution. Approximately 2.55 billion shares representing $61.7 billion were executed in the Nasdaq Closing Cross in 0.86 seconds across Nasdaq-listed securities.
/jlne.ws/440ZCpY

NZX appoints Smartshares Chief Executive
New Zealand Exchange
NZX today announced the appointment of markets professional and senior executive Anna Scott as Smartshares Limited Chief Executive. Anna joins NZX from Auckland-based private wealth advisory group, Hobson Wealth, where she is the Chief Operating Officer.
/jlne.ws/3XsKi2A

Qatar Stock Exchange Eid Al-Adha Holiday For 2023
Mondovisione
Qatar Stock Exchange would like to inform you that Eid Al-Adha Holiday will be starting on Tuesday 27 /06/2023 till Thursday 29/06/2023.The market will resume trading on Sunday 02/07/2023.
/jlne.ws/42T6Gn2

Moscow Exchange conducts trading on June 26 as usual
MOEX
On June 26, 2023, trading and settlement on all markets of the Moscow Exchange will be carried out as usual, including all trading periods and instruments.
/jlne.ws/3Ps1fsh




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Fintech
A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors
Tokenization Could Be a $5T Opportunity Led by Stablecoins and CBDCs: Bernstein; About 2% of global money supply, via stablecoins and CBDCs, could be tokenized over the next five years, which is about $3 trillion, the report said.
Will Canny - CoinDesk
The benefits of tokenization are simple, the process brings operational efficiencies and improved liquidity and accessibility, Bernstein said in a research report on Tuesday. Tokenization is the process by which real-world assets are converted into blockchain-based tokens.
/jlne.ws/3XrB32F

Token issuers in Japan exempt from 30% crypto tax on paper gains; Japan's National Tax Agency published a partial revision of its corporate tax guidelines, implementing new tax rules for token issuers.
CoinDesk
Token issuers in Japan no longer have to pay corporate taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains, according to a law revision by the National Tax Agency on June 20. The tax exemption goes into effect nearly six months after the Japanese government approved a proposal eliminating the requirement for crypto firms to pay taxes on paper gains on tokens they issued and held.
/jlne.ws/3JuAIGV



Vermiculus



Cybersecurity
Top stories for cybersecurity
Suncor Energy says it experienced a cybersecurity incident
Reuters
Canadian energy firm Suncor (SU.TO) on Sunday said it experienced a cybersecurity incident, adding that some transactions with customers and suppliers could be impacted while they investigate and resolve the situation.
/jlne.ws/449KciK

U.S. Cybersecurity Agency Adds 6 Flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog
Ravie Lakshmanan - The hacker News
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has added a batch of six flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation.
/jlne.ws/44kuVLQ

Google backs $20M effort to train students for key cybersecurity jobs
David Jones - Higher Ed Dive
Google is committing $20 million to help train thousands of students in the information security field in collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, announced Thursday. The funding will be used to develop clinics at 20 higher education centers across the U.S. The clinics will help train students from diverse backgrounds in cybersecurity with the intent that they, in turn, can provide security to under-resourced organizations in local communities.
/jlne.ws/42YGkjB





Cryptocurrencies
Top stories for cryptocurrencies
Binance ordered to stop all digital currency services in Belgium
Sudip Kar-Gupta - Reuters
Belgium's FSMA regulator on Friday ordered Binance to cease offering any virtual currency services in the country, adding to pressure on the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
/jlne.ws/3qXGaf9

Crypto Feeds on AI Hype as Tech Offers New Uses for Blockchain; Venture capitalists and innovators have been flocking to AI; Blockchain can make articial intelligence more transparent
Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
New lawsuits filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Coinbase Global Inc. and Binance Holdings Ltd. have raised serious questions about the future of crypto. As digital assets face mounting regulatory pressure and other market headwinds, they have also been dethroned as the latest technology fad. When OpenAI launched its ChatGPT bot in November, it paved the way for practical uses of artificial intelligence. Since then AI has captured the attention of founders and investors - the same folks that fueled the crypto boom.
/jlne.ws/3PvqJFd

Steve Cohen-Backed 24 Exchange Shuts Down Spot Crypto Product Citing Weak Demand; The exchange will continue to support a crypto NDF product; Exchange will reapply for license to trade equities 24/7: CEO
Olga Kharif and Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
A trading platform that raised millions of dollars in a round backed by Steve Cohen's Point72 Ventures is shutting down one of its digital-asset offerings. 24 Exchange raised $14 million in late 2021, partly on the strength of its enthusiasm for crypto. Now, with regulators around the world cracking down on the asset class, the company is retiring its spot crypto product.
/jlne.ws/3Pyziin

This Is How Scammers Can Drain Your Crypto Wallet; Scammers use a variety of techniques to steal users' money, some of which only require knowing your wallet address, a Forta Network researcher said.
By Anna Baydakova - CoinDesk
Scammers spun up at least 7,905 blockchain wallets in May to collect crypto they steal from ordinary users, according to a blockchain security company Forta Network. Forta, which has recently launched its own token, operates a network of bots that detect various kinds of scams on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Optimism, Avalanche, Arbitrum and Fantom blockchains.
/jlne.ws/42XOcBJ

Leveraged Bitcoin Futures ETF to Start Trading Tuesday, Sponsor Says
Amitoj Singh - CoinDesk
Volatility Shares' 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX) will become the first leveraged crypto ETF available in the United States after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) let it go effective on Friday, an executive at the company told CoinDesk.
/jlne.ws/431aLFE

Japan exempts cryptocurrency issuers from 30% tax on unrealized gains
Danny Park - Forkast
/jlne.ws/3CK1ZRQ

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Prices Are Plunging-Why?
Nivesh Rustgi - Decrypt
/jlne.ws/3PpFI3d




FTSE



Politics
An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets
A.I.'s Use in Elections Sets Off a Scramble for Guardrails; Gaps in campaign rules allow politicians to spread images and messaging generated by increasingly powerful artificial intelligence technology.
Tiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers - The New York Times
In Toronto, a candidate in this week's mayoral election who vows to clear homeless encampments released a set of campaign promises illustrated by artificial intelligence, including fake dystopian images of people camped out on a downtown street and a fabricated image of tents set up in a park.
/jlne.ws/46Ap07J

Biden Energy Subsidies Risk Distorting Critical Metals Market, UK Minister Warns; Inflation Reduction Act has been 'huge challenge,' Ghani says; Law has spooked governments and companies across Europe
Thomas Biesheuvel - Bloomberg
US President Joe Biden's landmark clean-energy law - and the huge subsidies it offers - risk distorting the global market for essential minerals, a UK government minister said. The Inflation Reduction Act has earmarked almost $400 billion in incentives and tax credits for clean technologies from electric cars to hydrogen production. While it's aimed at boosting green-energy spending in the US and wresting back control of critical metal supply chains from China, it has spooked governments and companies across Europe.
/jlne.ws/3NJaX8d

Greece's Mitsotakis Wins Majority in Landslide Election Victory
Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas - Bloomberg
Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis scored a landslide victory in Sunday's general election - the country's second vote in just over a month - giving the former prime minister a comfortable majority in parliament to allow him to form a single-party government.
/jlne.ws/3Nil4PO



Regulation & Enforcement
Stories about regulation and the law.
Coinbase Wins Supreme Court Ruling in Arbitration Lawsuit
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
Crypto exchange Coinbase won a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, after the high court ruled that a lawsuit filed by one of the exchange's users couldn't proceed until Coinbase defends an appeal of a lower court ruling. The ruling, which won a 5-4 majority, allows Coinbase to continue its effort to compel arbitration against the putative class action lawsuit, halting the lawsuit's progress through the federal court system in the meantime. While this marks a win for Coinbase, it has little direct effect on the crypto industry.
/jlne.ws/43Xii9Q

Deutsche Bank tells investors some of their Russian shares are missing
Sinead Cruise and Carolina Mandl - Reuters
Deutsche Bank has told clients it can no longer guarantee full access to Russian stocks that belong to them, underlining the challenges global investors face to recover stranded investments in the country's companies.
/jlne.ws/42Yewf1

Switzerland freezes US$26 million in crypto held by Terraform Labs and Do Kwon
Danny Park - Forkast
Swiss prosecutors have reportedly frozen about US$26 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that belong to Terraform Labs, its chief executive officer Kwon Do-hyeong, former chief financial officer Han Chang-joon, former head of research Nicholas Platias and others. The crypto was stored in Swiss-based digital asset bank Sygnum, South Korean news outlet Digital Asset reported Saturday citing unnamed authorities and investigators.
/jlne.ws/3CMozcx

SEC Sought Freeze Order Despite 'No Evidence' That Binance Was Moving U.S. Customer Fund
David Z. Morris - CoinDesk
In pretrial proceedings on June 15 in its case against Binance, lawyers for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) struggled to justify their request for a near-total financial freeze order against American arm Binance.US. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is expected to oversee the entire case, was palpably annoyed as the SEC lawyers tried to fill the gaping hole in their allegations with wilting word-salad.
/jlne.ws/3NnwFxg

How a Crypto Fugitive Upended the Politics of a Troubled Balkan Nation; Only days before an election in Montenegro, a letter from Do Kwon, the fugitive founder of the Luna digital coin, claimed that crypto "friends" had provided campaign funding to a leading candidate.
Andrew Higgins - The New York Times
Already notorious as an agent of market mayhem, the crypto industry has now unleashed political havoc, too, upending a critical general election in Montenegro, a troubled Balkan nation struggling to shake off the grip of organized crime and the influence of Russia.
/jlne.ws/3r2gqhH

CFTC Announces Review of Kalshi Congressional Control Contracts and Public Comment Period
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that it has commenced a review of contracts self-certified by KalshiEX, LLC (Kalshi) on which political party will be in control of each chamber of the U.S. Congress, under CFTC Regulation 40.11(c). Kalshi, a designated contract market, submitted the contracts to the CFTC following the close of business on June 12, 2023. The CFTC has 90 days subsequent to the date that it commences review, or if applicable, until the conclusion of such extended period agreed to or requested by Kalshi, to make a determination with respect to the contracts.
/jlne.ws/3PrNw4v

CFTC June 26 Open Meeting Cancelled
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Open Meeting scheduled for Monday, June 26, 2023 has been cancelled. The matter under consideration has been completed through the Commission's seriatim process.
/jlne.ws/42YMhwP

SEC Charges Convicted Fraudster in Real Estate Ponzi Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Wilson Baston with defrauding numerous investors in a Ponzi scheme, in which he raised millions of dollars through dozens of transactions purportedly to fund real estate investments, but frequently used the money to instead pay off earlier investors and for personal expenses.
/jlne.ws/3XocBiO

SEC Charges Former Georgia Investment Adviser in Multipart Offering Fraud
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Michael Wayne Williams, an investment adviser formerly registered with the State of Georgia and currently residing in Miami, Florida, and two businesses controlled by him, Highguard Capital, LP, and Guardian Opportunity Management, LP, with conducting a multipart offering fraud.
/jlne.ws/3JxBwL1

FMA publishes final guidance for the intermediated distribution of financial products
Financial Markets Authority
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - today published its final guidance for financial institutions that distribute products and services through intermediaries as part of the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime. CoFI will introduce a new conduct regime to ensure financial institutions (banks, insurers and non-bank deposit takers) comply with a fair conduct principle to treat consumers fairly, and establish, implement and maintain a fair conduct programme.
/jlne.ws/3NNBPE3

CoFI intermediated distribution
Financial Markets Authority
The Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Act 2022 (CoFI) amends the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 to introduce a new conduct regime aimed at ensuring financial institutions treat consumers fairly. This guidance outlines our expectations when financial institutions are distributing products and services through intermediated channels. It communicates high-level expectations that can be applied across different sectors and distribution models. CoFI applies to a range of financial institutions, so the guidance is workable for a diverse range of business models and distribution methods.
/jlne.ws/44fRvp4

FCA welcomes launch of ISSB standards
FCA
Today, the FCA welcomes the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) launch of its first sustainability-related reporting standards: the General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related financial information (IFRS S1), and the requirements for Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS S2).
/jlne.ws/44n0wNf

MAS Proposes Framework for Digital Asset Networks
The Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today published a report proposing a framework for designing open, interoperable networks for digital assets (i.e. tokenised real-economy and financial assets ). The report Enabling Open & Interoperable Networks was jointly developed with subject matter experts at the Bank for International Settlements' (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI), with contributions from participating financial institutions [1] .
/jlne.ws/437juGI








Investing & Trading
Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities)
Larry Ellison Scores $482 Million Gain by Cashing in Expiring Options
Biz Carson - Bloomberg
Larry Ellison, the world's fourth-richest person, exercised expiring options and sold $640 million of Oracle Corp. shares this week after the company's stock surged to a record. Ellison, 78, offloaded 5.25 million shares from June 20 through June 22 at an average price of about $122, according to a filing late Thursday. During that same period, he also exercised stock options at a conversion price of $30.11 that granted him 5.25 million shares.
/jlne.ws/3CJgtBt

Investors at risk in absence of adequate US crypto regulatory regime; SEC rulebook makes it difficult to register as a securities exchange
Hal Scott - Financial Times
The failure of the FTX exchange has triggered a sharp regulatory crackdown on the crypto world. The Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil charges against the largest crypto exchanges in the world - Binance and Coinbase - for allegedly failing to register with the regulator as securities exchanges.
/jlne.ws/3ppmIar

Bond Traders Are Heeding Powell's Pledge to Stay on Volcker Path; US yield curve may remain inverted for unprecedented duration, but stocks and bonds acting as hedges for each other tempers bleak outlook.
Mark Cudmore - Bloomberg
Investors are conceding that the Federal Reserve is now intensely focused on fighting inflation and less concerned about higher interest rates breaking the US economy. That suggests the extraordinary bond market volatility of the past 15 months is set to persist, as 80% respondents to the midyear Markets Live Pulse survey predict the US yield curve will remain inverted into 2024.
/jlne.ws/46o2WwL

After Extra Large Rate Increase, Bank of England's Critics Multiply; Pressure is building in Britain for the bank's governor, Andrew Bailey, to show that policymakers have a handle on the inflation problem.
Eshe Nelson - The New York Times
"Mortgage misery for millions." "Rate rise nightmare." These were just two of the grim headlines on Britain's front pages taking aim at the Bank of England on Friday, the day after it announced a surprisingly large increase in interest rates.
/jlne.ws/44eJOiY

Junk-Rated Companies Accept Tougher Terms to Borrow; Investors are often getting greater protections in the form of collateral
Sam Goldfarb - The Wall Street Journal
Low-rated companies are learning to live with higher interest rates, finding ways to tap bond markets while minimizing the hit to their borrowing costs. So far this year, companies such as American Airlines and Six Flags have issued $91 billion of speculative-grade bonds, according to PitchBook LCD, up 35% from the year-earlier period, when rapidly rising rates cut junk-bond issuance to a trickle.
/jlne.ws/3NMBRfj

'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb warned about the stock market's brewing AI bubble in a new interview. Here are the 8 best quotes.
Matthew Fox - CNBC
/jlne.ws/431civo

Deutsche Bank tells investors some of their Russian shares are missing
Sinead Cruise and Carolina Mandl - Reuters
/jlne.ws/42Yewf1

Tesla dominates US single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs; There are 29 such funds in the market with $1.3bn in assets, but $1bn is in ETFs targeting the performance of Tesla
Brian Ponte - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3PvZBFN




Qontigo




Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance
Stories about environmental, social and governance investing
New rules aim to clamp down on corporate greenwashing
Huw Jones and Simon Jessop - Reuters
Companies will face more pressure to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global rules aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing. The norms published on Monday have been written by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as trillions of dollars flow into investments that tout their environmental, social and governance credentials.
/jlne.ws/3JBcz1l

Five Takeaways From the Paris Summit to Fix Global Climate Finance; More than 40 world leaders attended the talks that built momentum for a climate-ready financial system.
Akshat Rathi and Natasha White - Bloomberg
After two days of talks overhauling the global financial system to tackle climate change, more than 40 world leaders who assembled in Paris this week made limited progress on reforms that could increase support from rich countries to poor countries facing crises.
/jlne.ws/3Jz613f

***** More coverage of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact from Politico, Reuters, AlJazeera, and South China Morning Post.

Key Outcomes From A High-Level Roundtable On Voluntary Carbon Markets At The Summit For A New Global Financing Pact
Mondovisione
The UAE COP28 Presidency and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) co-hosted a high-level roundtable on Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs), as an official side event to the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. His Excellency COP28 President Designate Dr Sultan Al-Jaber and GFANZ Co-Chair and UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance Mark Carney addressed the session, which brought together policymakers, market standard setters, and leaders in business and finance committed to scaling climate finance.
/jlne.ws/3Xs8AKr

EU braves climate storms by wading into geo-engineering debate; Commission to seek assessment of science to manipulate weather such as shooting particles into atmosphere
Alice Hancock - Financial Times
The EU has waded for the first time into the highly controversial debate on geo-engineering, a contested technology that involves manipulating the weather in order to fight climate change. The European Commission on Wednesday is set to call for international efforts to assess "the risks and uncertainties of climate interventions, including solar radiation modification" and for research into how to regulate it globally, according to a draft paper seen by the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3NpgXS7

How climate scenario analysis helps firms assess the impact of global warming on their assets; Such analysis 'allows companies to better prepare and allocate resources to plan for a range of future scenarios', EY analyst says; Regulators in Hong Kong have been urging firms to become familiar with the TCFD and ISSB reporting standards before they become mandatory by 2025
Martin Choi - South China Morning Post
Climate scenario analysis is an important tool for companies to understand the risks rising temperatures pose to their assets, and is being demanded by both regulators and investors as the impact of climate change is felt across the globe, according to analysts.
/jlne.ws/3pk2Ohf

Raj Shah: Only a new public-private alliance can fund energy transition; President of the Rockefeller Foundation says working with governments is the only possible way to hit climate targets
Aime Williams - Financial Times (opinion)
/jlne.ws/43XCAQJ

EU Faces Pressure to Revive Its Social Investing Rulebook; Commission put social taxonomy on ice amid political division; Social nonprofits call on EU to publish a report on inclusion
John Ainger - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3NKEpL0

Canada's Explosive Wildfires Have Damaged a Forest Carbon Offset Project; The unusually early and intense wildfire season is impacting a popular but controversial tool used to fight climate change: carbon offsets.
Natasha White and Zahra Hirji - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/46fl9wq

Energy Change Sweeps the North Sea; The offshore wind industry continues to grow as nations look to change Europe's oil and gas hub into a major source of renewable energy.
Stanley Reed - The New York Times
/jlne.ws/3CM3JKp

Canada's Explosive Wildfires Have Damaged a Forest Carbon Offset Project; The unusually early and intense wildfire season is impacting a popular but controversial tool used to fight climate change: carbon offsets.
Natasha White and Zahra Hirji - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3Ns0lcx

Europe's Green Revolution Threatens Indigenous Culture; The Sami indigenous people have inhabited northern Sweden for thousands of years. Now their way of life is threatened by giant wind farms, mines rich in rare battery minerals and logging.
Kasia Strek and Jonas Ekblom - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/44fNdxY








Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds
The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures
Epstein victims seek approval of JPMorgan $290 million settlement
Jonathan Stempel - Reuters
Jeffrey Epstein's victims have formally asked a U.S. judge to preliminarily approve JPMorgan Chase's $290 million settlement to resolve claims that the largest U.S. bank turned a blind eye to the disgraced financier's sexual abuses.
/jlne.ws/46lhbCp

Citi will hold employees 'accountable' for office attendance -statement
Reuters
Citigroup will start holding employees "accountable" for compliance with hybrid work model rules, the bank said in a statement on Thursday. Bloomberg reported earlier the bank will start to check whether employees are complying with the requirement of working at least three days a week in the office.
/jlne.ws/3piVp1w

UBS Could See $150 Billion Drop in Wealth Assets, JPMorgan Analysts Say
Andrew Welsch - Barron's
In the long term, analysts at JPMorgan Chase think UBS Group 's acquisition of rival Credit Suisse will create a "wealth management powerhouse" with $5 trillion in assets. But the road ahead for UBS will be bumpy. "We expect significant near-term noise, potentially creating share price volatility, related to PPA adjustments, restructuring, markdowns, litigation," JPMorgan analysts Kian Abouhossein and Amit Ranjan write in a June 22 research note.
/jlne.ws/43W7itj

Credit Suisse to appeal Bermuda court ruling against Georgia's former PM
Reuters
A Bermuda appeals court on Friday largely dismissed Credit Suisse's appeal in an ongoing case involving the Swiss bank's local life insurance arm and Georgia's former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
/jlne.ws/3NtLTAU

Commerzbank to book further provision for mBank after court ruling
Reuters
Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) said on Friday that it would book another provision of 342 million euros ($372.27 million) following a court ruling on how banks treat Swiss franc loans in Poland. The new figure means that Commerzbank, which has extensive operations in Poland through its mBank (MBK.WA), has provisioned or made payouts of more than 2 billion euros to deal with the issue. It had already warned that further provisions were likely.
/jlne.ws/3Xs24mB

Goldman Taps Solomon Ally Montag for Board Amid Disquiet in Ranks; Board plans to add Montag as members gather in India this week; Move comes at a time of heightened discontent among executives
Sridhar Natarajan and Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3PscGjt

UK Banks to Pass All of Rate Hikes to Some Savers, JPMorgan Says; Fixed-term deposits to get full boost amid political pressure; JPM goes underweight Lloyds for the first time since 2012
Joe Easton - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/44gFI9T

A Swiss Fix for Fund Manager GAM Needs Francs as Well as Pride; Rebel shareholders want to save the asset manager from vanishing into a takeover by UK peer Liontrust. A convincing all-Swiss alternative remains elusive.
Chris Hughes - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/46gUG1H

HSBC to move global HQ from Canary Wharf to central London; Expected relocation to smaller office underscores trend of companies cutting space following rise in homeworking
Akila Quinio and Jane Croft - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3pol9tw




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Work & Management
Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends.
Mondays Are the New Office Fight; Bosses argue that starting off the week in person - instead of remotely - creates good energy
Anne Marie Chaker - The Wall Street Journal
When Jeff Hornstein asked his staff to come back to the office on Mondays, he says, it didn't seem like such a big ask. The executive director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia wanted regular goal-setting meetings and team-building at the beginning of the week for his 12-member staff.
/jlne.ws/46zi0Ia

The Reasons More People Are Working in Their 80s; They joke that retirement is boring, but some acknowledge a deeper fear of becoming irrelevant if they quit
Callum Borchers - The Wall Street Journal
The first thing to know about people who shun retirement to work past age 80 is that they are probably busier, and possibly cooler, than you. One said an interview would have to wait because he was traveling to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Another said he would be free after hitting a research deadline and organizing his Harvard Business School class's 65th reunion. A third, available on shorter notice, emailed a physical description before meeting: "In the spirit of YOLO, I have blue hair and tattoos."
/jlne.ws/3r7Fcg7

Annual Reviews Are a Terrible Way to Evaluate Employees; To maintain morale, stay connected to employees and avoid attrition, managers should check in with their reports every week
Marcus Buckingham - The Wall Street Journal
Gena is a really hard worker. She does technical contract support for real-estate salespeople in Southern California at one of the largest agencies in the country. She enjoys the work and is proud of the culture of the company. Her computer login data reveals that she starts work at the same time every day, and, with the exception of an hour for lunch, she remains connected and active until she shuts her computer off at 6 p.m.
/jlne.ws/46fq6Fw








Wellness Exchange
An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information
Green-Card Backlog Fuels Shortage of Nurses at Hospitals, Nursing Homes; Health providers struggle to hire nurses from abroad as staffing problems worsen
Stephanie Armour and Michelle Hackman - The Wall Street Journal
Foreign nurses can't get green cards to work in the U.S., alarming hospitals, nursing homes and other medical providers who have relied on them to help alleviate staffing shortages. Some nursing-home associations say facilities already operating on thin margins could be forced to close or be unable to accept seniors transitioning to care following hospitalizations. Hospitals say the shortage triggered by the backlog could undermine patient care.
/jlne.ws/3pv7e4K

U.S. Vaccine Program Now Flush With Cash, but Short on Key Details; A $5 billion federal program aims to make better Covid vaccines. But vaccine makers are confused by murky regulatory guidance.
Benjamin Mueller, Noah Weiland and Carl Zimmer - The New York Times
Efforts to develop the next generation of Covid vaccines are running up against bureaucratic hassles and regulatory uncertainty, scientists say, obstacles that could make it harder to curb the spread of the coronavirus and arm the United States against future pandemics. The Biden administration, after months of delay, has now addressed at least a shortfall in funding, hurrying to issue the first major grants from a $5 billion program to expedite a new class of more potent and durable inoculations.
/jlne.ws/3PtYExM








Regions
Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
Companies Try New Strategy to Stay in China: Siloing; As tensions rise between Washington and Beijing, firms seek to wall off China businesses
Elaine Yu and Yoko Kubota - The Wall Street Journal
More Western companies are siloing parts of their businesses in China as they try to lower risks from tensions between Washington and Beijing. Salesforce is shifting to a model in which it relies on a local partner to operate some of its products and services there, effectively isolating its China business from its global operations.
/jlne.ws/46kQNZv

Extreme Floods and Heat in China Ravage Farms and Kill Animals; China's leader has made it a national priority to ensure the country can feed its large population. But weather shocks have disrupted wheat harvests and threatened pig and fish farming.
Nicole Hong - The New York Times
The downpour began in late May, drenching the wheat crops in central China. As kernels of wheat blackened in the rain, becoming unfit for human consumption, the government mobilized emergency teams to salvage as much of the harvest as possible. In a viral video, a 79-year-old farmer in Henan Province wiped away tears as he surveyed the damage.
/jlne.ws/42TRPZH

Thailand Destroys $600 Million Worth of Seized Meth, Cocaine
Napat Kongsawad - Bloomberg
Thailand destroyed $600 million worth of drugs seized from illegal traffickers that included tons of amphetamines, heroin and cocaine, according to the nation's Food and Drug Administration.
/jlne.ws/3NKFQsS

Saudi Arabia's Stash of Oil in the Red Sea Is Driving Up Global Floating Storage
Alex Longley - Bloomberg
The amount of oil being stored at sea globally climbed to the highest in more than two-and-a-half years, aided by an unusual stash of Saudi Arabian barrels in the Red Sea.
/jlne.ws/3CMqMEV

Saudis Are Tightening the Screws on US Oil Shipments; Signs point to the US feeling the brunt of the kingdom's unilateral production cut
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
When Saudi Arabia needs to quickly convince the oil market that supply is tightening, putting upward pressure on prices, nothing beats reducing its crude exports into the US. Riyadh has promised to slash oil production next month by 10%, a unilateral cut that would reduce output to just 9 million barrels a day, the lowest since 2011 - save for brief disruptions from Covid and the Yemeni attack on its facilities. Crucially, as important as the cut itself, is where it's going to be felt: The signals point to the US and Europe.
/jlne.ws/3r0ipTJ

Europe's LNG Imports Overtake Pipeline Gas for First Time; Continent was seen as a premium market, helping lure more LNG; Region is rethinking its energy mix after Russia curbed supply
Priscila Azevedo Rocha and Anna Shiryaevskaya - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3NMF5PX

Bundesbank may need recapitalisation to cover bond-buying losses; German audit office's report could make it harder for European Central Bank to carry out similar programmes
Guy Chazan and Martin Arnold - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3Xnu6zP

Turkey unwinds measures designed to increase lira holdings; Central bank calls move 'first step' towards a more conventional monetary policy
Adam Samson - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3NlcIXQ

OPEC Woos Guyana, Tiny Nation That Sits Atop Massive Oil Field; Small South American country doesn't want to join the cartel, aims to pump oil rapidly
Collin Eaton, Kejal Vyas and Benoit Faucon - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/43VP5ML







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