| March 21, 2016 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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| | 2016 Newsletter Subscriptions: | |
John Lothian Newsletter's Guest Editor this week is Martin Mosbacher, CEO and managing partner of Intermarket Communications.
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The Worldly Vibe of FIA Boca
Martin Mosbacher, Intermarket Communications, JLN Guest Editor
It's always tough coming back from the sun and fun of Boca to a snowy merger Monday in New York City. This morning it's IHS and Markit. There's all the talk surrounding an acquisition of the Baltic Exchange. And the past few weeks have been filled with merger plans for LSEG and.... well, just about everyone. And we all know about the massive consolidation that has taken place in the FCM community over the past two decades.
So how is it that the FIA conference in Boca Raton attracted record attendance this year with nearly 1200 registrants? It was so crowded it became nearly impossible to find a quiet corner to conspire in. The truth is that Boca, once a preserve of Chicagoans and New Yorkers, has become a truly global conference. I haven't done the numbers but it's clear that there were nearly as many people from outside the US than from within our borders. And far more representation from the OTC community as well. The delegations from Asia, in particular, have grown year-after-year. An industry that was once 90 percent contained in two cities is now global.
And kudos to the FIA and its staff for making this transition so seamlessly. Its recent restructuring into a global organization is a great first step. Walt Lukken, Mary Ann Burns and the whole staff are to be congratulated in the work they've done to open up the FIA to new faces and new market sectors and for running a great program and a fine show.
Thanks all.
BTW, it was also great to see Big John up and around in Boca, looking far better than anyone should weeks after back surgery. I can only assume he's taken this week off to take his scout troop rock climbing.
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2016 Exchange CEO Series: CME's Gill Looking For Customer Efficiencies
JohnLothianNews.com
CME Group has been focused on global growth, just like every other major exchange. But to get there, the exchange leader believes it has to work with customers to streamline costs so it can expand.
In part one of our two-part interview at the FIA Boca Conference, CME CEO Phupinder Gill said that the exchange is working on new ways to address capital efficiencies through products such as cleared swaptions, but also new clearing services that will help institutions reduce collateral.
CME is also continuing to work on market disruptors such as blockchain technology, which may change the way in which clearing services are delivered.
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Rooting for the Robber Barons, at Least on the Screen
New York Times
This past week brought the announcement that the producer Ben Silverman, with partners, planned to create a television series based on Isn't That Rich, Richard Kirshenbaum's column in The New York Observer examining the habits of the Upper East Side penthouse class. Writing from the perspective of someone living in a 5,000-square-foot duplex on Fifth Avenue, Mr. Kirshenbaum, an advertising executive, isn't agitating for upheaval.
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****MM: So much for all those pundits who claim that Wall Street is always castigated by those Hollywood Liberals. Who wouldn't rather be Bobby "Axe" then Chuck Rhoades?
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`Trump Effect' Unsettles U.S. Economy, Swiss Watchmaker Says
Bloomberg
Donald Trump's presidential campaign is destabilizing the U.S. market, adding to the Swiss watch industry's challenges this year, according to Marc Hayek, who heads Breguet, the maker of $100,000 luxury timepieces owned by Swatch Group AG.
"In the U.S., you've got a Trump effect," Hayek said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Der Bund. "This has unsettled a country whose economy is actually in relatively good shape."
bloom.bg/1LAOmXD
****MM: Clearly Trump's appeal to segments of the American electorate is timeless. That said, you'd think his opponents would be running to stores to pick up a Swatch for fear of running out of time.
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Bridging the Week by Gary DeWaal: March 14 - 18, and 21, 2016 (Regulation AT; Equivalence Recognition; Fund Manager Misstatements; Conflicts of Interest; Trade Options)
Bridging the Week - Gary DeWaal
In response to its proposed Regulation Automated Trading, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission received approximately 50 written views by the termination of the proposal's comment period last week. Submitted comments often criticized both the too broad reach and the exclusion of certain algorithmic traders from the scope of Regulation AT, as well as the highly prescriptive nature of the proposed rules. Also last week, both the CFTC and the European Commission formally recognized each other's oversight of clearinghouses as equivalent. As a result, the following matters are covered in this week's edition of Bridging the Week:
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**** MM: Never a bridge too far. Gary's contributions to the conversation are sort of like the background music of the industry. Always there but too seldom remarked upon. Thanks for your ongoing efforts.
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Friday's Top Three
As someone who does not drink coffee I sometimes forget what a minority I am in. Friday's top story was: How to Transform Your Coffee Into a Wonder Drug. However, as someone who is getting closer to 65 than I care to think about it is not a surprise that If You're Over 65, You Should Love the Fed was the second most read story. In third place is California man gives $2 million aluminum penny back to U.S. Mint. Honorable mention goes to JLN's exclusive part 1 interview with CME's Gill from Boca. Worth a look. Part 2 coming soon.
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FOW Derivatives Asia, 12-13 April, Hong Kong
FOW returns to Hong Kong on 12-13 April for the next instalment of Asia's largest derivatives conference. Join over 600 delegates to hear the latest thinking on the Chinese and Asian derivatives markets. Topics this year include realising Asia's ambitions to becoming a commodity powerhouse, next steps for the Connect initiative and the outlook for the internationalisation of China. The event is free to attend for banks, brokers, props and the buyside. For more information and to register, click below.
goo.gl/Wc7Nkr
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| Lead Stories | IHS Is Buying Markit in a Business Information Deal Worth $6 Billion
Reuters
Business research provider IHS IHS 0.37% said it would buy Markit Ltd in an all-stock deal that values the London-based financial data provider at about $5.9 billion.
for.tn/22yueJV
Australian Securities Exchange chief resigns amid bribery probe
Peter Wells - FT
Elmer Funke Kupper has resigned as chief executive of the Australian Securities Exchange amid allegations of foreign bribery at a gaming company where he was previously in charge. Mr Funke Kupper has also been granted a leave of absence from Tabcorp, the company under investigation, where he sits on the board.
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****MM: ASX deserves better than this.
ASX boss quits as police probe his other company; Resignation follows investigation into company which ASX's CEO is a board member.
By Joe McGrath - The Trade News
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has confirmed that its chief executive officer Elmer Funke Kupper has resigned after Australian Federal Police launched an investigation into another company of which he is a board member.
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****** See the official announcement here
FIA Boca Day 3: The Best Exchange CEO Position in the World?
Chuck Mackie - Mavenwave.com
Charles Li may well have the best exchange CEO position in the world. He is positioned in Hong Kong, the gateway to China, and he has the ability to take the long view and work patiently to develop his markets in what everyone knows will be a leading financial center for the next 25 years, at the very least.
bit.ly/1pX0Pec
****MM: Li has done a great job keeping HK relevant and a leader in the world. The LME acquisition is already paying dividends despite the downturn in China.
Deutsche Börse chief Carsten Kengeter plans German 'Aim' market
Financial Times
Deutsche Börse plans to export a version of the UK's Aim market for smaller companies to Germany, as it seeks to leverage its proposed merger with the London Stock Exchange. Carsten Kengeter, Deutsche Börse's chief executive, said the idea would help broaden the funding base for Germany's vast Mittelstand  the 3.7m small businesses that constitute the country's economic backbone.
goo.gl/yP8KCR
Nasdaq's Friedman Bulks Up Board Business in $200 Million Deal
By Annie Massa and Matthew Leising - Bloomberg
Nasdaq Inc. agreed to buy Boardvantage, a business that allows corporate boards to exchange information, as Chief Operating Officer Adena Friedman helps continue a spate of dealmaking in an industry full of activity.
****MM: This on top of the ISE bid last week. Nasdaq is giving DB and ISE a run for their money.
Baltic Exchange prepares to repel foreign boarders
The Times
Opposition is growing to an attempted takeover of the Baltic Exchange by bidders in the Far East, amid concerns that new owners might increase the price of its services.
thetim.es/22ywsJ8
****MM: They're just saber rattling. When the time comes these pirates will happily accept the booty.
Traders Get New Gauge of `Brexit' Risk With Vote 3 Months Away
Bloomberg
Next Wednesday marks exactly three months until Britain's referendum on its European Union membership. That gives another opportunity for an insight into how concerned pound traders are about the outcome. The benchmark three-month gauge of volatility in sterling versus the dollar will cover the June 23 vote for the first time next week, giving traders another instrument to protect themselves against price swings. With surveys still pointing to the 'remain' and 'leave' camps running neck and neck, a six-month measure is about 1 percentage point from a five-year high reached last month.
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I went from Wall Street...to working at Waffle House
CNN
When James Adams walked into Waffle House in 2009 and requested a job application, the manager asked if he'd been sacked because of the meltdown. "Yeah," Adams said. "Firms like mine caused it." The manager gave him a sympathetic look. She said he could start Monday as long as he had a pair of black pants and vowed not to steal anything. He took the job.
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****MM: I always thought that the Waffle House was any place politicians hung out.
***JK: It's also where customers are called "Hon" or "Sugar."
Rift Among True Believers Threatens Bitcoin's Future
WSJ
The rift in the Bitcoin community over an arcane line of coding remains as wide as ever despite several concerted efforts to close it, and time may be running out to stave off an existential crisis. For almost a year now, the bitcoin industry has been starkly divided over the question of how to expand the digital currency's network, and the fight has morphed from a technical issue to a raging political debate that shows no signs of abating, broadly pitting entrepreneurs who have built businesses around bitcoin against the "miners" who maintain the network, with developers split among the two groups.
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Investors watch as London Stock Exchange unveils midday auction
Philip Stafford - FT
Investors will be closely watching the London Stock Exchange at midday when it introduces a brief auction period to attract more large blocks of shares that increasingly change hands on so-called "dark pools".
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The future of the euro area
ECB
Remarks by Benoît Coeuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB,
at Le Cercle Europartenaires,
"Acting for Europe with Europeans" could also be the ECB's motto. One of its strengths is indeed its European mandate. The Governing Council takes its monetary policy decisions in the interest of the euro area as a whole, with a view to ensuring price stability. As a quid pro quo for its independence, the ECB is accountable for its actions to the people's representatives, who are elected to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage.
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| | | | Regulatory | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Asset managers cheer rejection of EU bond rules
Financial Times
Asset managers have won a reprieve from stringent proposed trading rules designed to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis, and will now redouble their efforts to convince European regulators to water the proposals down. Last week, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, rejected the work carried out by Europe's financial watchdog on transparency in fixed income trading.
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SEC Opens Door to Approving IEX as an Exchange
WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday opened the door to approving IEX Group Inc.'s bid to become a stock exchange and said it would take as much as three more months to rule on the upstart market's application.
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Industry fears grow ahead of Basel IRB consultation
Risk.net
Bank lobbyists fear an upcoming consultation from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision will limit the ability to model capital for loan portfolios and produce higher capital requirements. Regulatory capital modelling for market and operational risk is already more constrained, but credit risk can account for two-thirds of the total capital base even at banks with large trading businesses.
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Lehman employees lose appeal over stock losses from bankruptcy
Reuters
Richard Fuld, the former chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc [LEHLO.UL], is not liable to onetime employees who suffered millions of dollars in losses in company stock as the bank descended into bankruptcy, a federal appeals court has ruled.
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For bank heist hackers, the Philippines was a handy black hole
Reuters
In February 2013, the Philippines was up against a deadline to amend its Anti-Money Laundering Act and get itself off the 'gray list' of a global watchdog, and lawmakers were bickering over whether to include casinos under the legislation. With one day to go, a Congressional committee heard repeated pleas not to hamstring an industry that could rival other Asian gambling meccas by obliging casinos to report suspicious transactions. Finally, the senator chairing the meeting agreed "with a heavy heart" to exclude them, a transcript of the proceedings shows.
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ESMA warns of collateral shortage in bear market; Tensions could rise as pressure on obtaining high quality collateral increases, according to ESMA.
By Joe Parsons - The Trade News
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has warned of a shortage of high quality collateral in the case of bear market conditions.
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GUIDELINES ON TRANSACTION REPORTING, REFERENCE DATA, ORDER RECORD KEEPING & CLOCK SYNCHRONISATION
ESMA
/goo.gl/d9sP0z
| | | | Exchanges & Trading Facilities | ASX CEO RESIGNS
ASX
Today the ASX Board accepted the resignation of Mr Elmer Funke Kupper as Managing Director and CEO of ASX Limited. His resignation is effective immediately.
goo.gl/uqPjPF
Deutsche Boerse Bid For London Stock Exchange: Naked Nationalism On Display
Forbes
One of the more ridiculous sights in the financial markets is when people start dragging naked and archaic nationalism into their arguments. Such and such must remain British, or European, or, well, you know, we just mustn't let Johnny Foreigner get their hands on it. The reason this is ridiculous is because it doesn't really matter very much who owns something. It can matter where something is based, this is true, but where the people who own it are is trivial even by comparison with that. And vastly more important than where something is based is what that something does for consumers, for the customers.
goo.gl/u75PMk
LSEG to launch intra-day auction on Monday
The Trade
The London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) announced its very first intra-day auction is set to go live on Monday. Its intra-day auction is designed to provide new benchmarking opportunities for fund managers, and a way of processing volume caps introduced by Mifid II.
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LSE Shareholders Said to Seek More Money in Exchange Takeover
Bloomberg
Some shareholders of London Stock Exchange Group Plc are telling management they're getting shortchanged by Deutsche Boerse AG's all-share acquisition agreement, as a rival bidder contemplates a counter offer, according to people familiar with the discussions.
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German takeover of London Stock Exchange is God's will, claims boss: Critics suggest he must have been referring to the God of Greed during comments to staff
The Daily Mail
The German hoping to take control of the London Stock Exchange has caused outrage by describing the takeover as 'God's will'. Carsten Kengeter, the chief executive of rival Deutsche Boerse, made the comments while addressing staff in Frankfurt. This infuriated critics last night with one prominent business leader suggesting Mr Kengeter must have been referring to Mammon - the god of greed.
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SGX reports 3Q results on 20 April 2016
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is reporting third-quarter results for Financial Year 2016 (FY2016) after the market closes on 20 April 2016.
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SGX welcomes Global Link Securities as Securities Trading Member
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today welcomes Taiwan-based Global Link Securities Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) to its Securities market as a trading member.
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MoU Signed Between Borsa Istanbul And The Scientific And Technological Research Council Of Turkey (TÃBITAK) And Two New Investments On Borsa Istanbul Private Market
Press Release
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey becomes a solution partner on "Technology and Innovation Support" for Borsa Istanbul Private Market with the MoU envisaging cooperation of the parties for strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Turkey.
goo.gl/M1MHAn
HKEX Welcomes Government Re-appointments to its Board
HKEx
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) welcomes the Government's re-appointment of Chow Chung Kong and Timothy Freshwater to its Board of Directors. Mr Chow is HKEX's current chairman.
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Forfeiture of Unclaimed Final Dividend for 2009
HKEx
Pursuant to the Articles of Association of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited ("HKEX"), the unclaimed final dividend for 2009 will be forfeited and will revert to HKEX on 3 May 2016.
goo.gl/Ev7Lhj
Exchange Publishes its Latest Listing Committee Report
HKEx
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), today (Monday) published its Listing Committee Report 2015, a review of the work of the Listing Committee in upholding market quality last year and an overview of its policy agenda for 2016 and beyond.
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LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE INTRA-DAY AUCTION TO GO LIVE MONDAY 21
London Stock Exchange
Innovation provides new benchmarking opportunities for fund managers and mechanism for managing MiFID II volume caps; Auction will see continuous trading of stocks pause for 2 minutes every day at 12:00; Introduction follows comprehensive, market-wide consultation and comes with institutional investor support
The first of London Stock Exchange's daily intra-day auctions, designed to provide new benchmarking opportunities for fund mangers and a process for managing impending MiFID II volume caps, will take place on Monday 21 March at 12:00. During the two minute auction, continuous trading of all SETS equities, the largest and most liquid shares listed on London Stock Exchange, will be paused allowing the whole market the opportunity to take part in the auction process.
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| | | | Politics | Sanders Urges Treasury to Set Tax Restrictions on Inversion Deals
WSJ
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is urging the Treasury Department to impose new tax rules that could halt Pfizer Inc.'s proposed merger with Allergan PLC, or at least make it more expensive.
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When Donald Trump Needs a Loan, He Chooses Deutsche Bank
WSJ
One of Donald Trump's closest allies on Wall Street is a now-struggling German bank. While many big banks have shunned him, Deutsche Bank AG has been a steadfast financial backer of the Republican presidential candidate's business interests. Since 1998, the bank has led or participated in loans of at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Mr. Trump, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of public records and people familiar with the matter.
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Convicted felon who stole $750K from Bloomberg's campaign joins Trump's team in New York
Daily Mail
A political consultant who stole $750,000 from Michael Bloomberg's 2009 campaign has joined Donald Trump's team in New York. John Haggerty Jr, 47, will act as a consultant after being hired by Carl Paladino, the volunteer adviser for Trump's campaign in the city, the Buffalo News reported.
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| | | | Hedge Funds & Managed Futures | | For more, subscribe to the JLN Managed Futures newsletter or visit the Managed Futures section on JohnLothianNews.com. | Merger Arb Hedge Funds to Make Comeback Amid Turbulence, K2 Says
Bloomberg
One of the most overlooked hedge-fund strategies is poised to shine this year as record mergers activity coincides with deepening uncertainty about the global economy's direction, according to an investor with more than $10 billion in such pools.
goo.gl/5ab61i
Taste for Bacon Spurs Investor Feast as U.S. Hog Prices Advance
Bloomberg
Hedge funds are loading up with pork. With Americans expected to eat the most pork since 2007, money managers are now the most-bullish since 2014 on hog futures, which already are at a nine-month high. Fast-food restaurant owners like McDonald's Corp. are selling more bacon, and the price of pork bellies used to make the rashers has surged 30 percent this year.
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Liquidity crunch elevates bond traders
Financial Times
Falling liquidity in fixed income markets has created a new sphere of influence at some of the world's largest investment houses: the trading desk. Over the past 18 months, large fund houses have hired more bond traders, overhauled the technology their traders use and encouraged those responsible for executing deals to work more closely with portfolio managers.
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The Three Worst Words of Stock-Market Advice: Trust Your Gut
WSJ
With U.S. stocks surging this past week and breaking into the black for 2016, remember: What you expect the stock market to do next is shaped largely by what it just did. Earlier this year, when stocks lost 5% in January and were down 10.5% at their worst, individual investors were the most pessimistic they had been since March 2013, according to surveys conducted by the Yale School of Management. And if history is any guide, the mood of investors is already lifting in lockstep with stock prices. The more stocks go up and the faster they rise, the more likely you become to expect more of the same.
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Wall Street's Pile of Unwanted Treasuries Exposes Market Cracks
Bloomberg
The world's biggest bond dealers are getting saddled with Treasuries they can't seem to easily get rid of, adding to evidence of cracks in the $13.3 trillion market for U.S. government debt. The 22 primary dealers held more Treasuries last month than any time in the last two years, Federal Reserve Bank of New York data show. While at first glance that may suggest a bullish stance, the surge in holdings is more likely the result of investors including central banks dumping the debt on the firms, said JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist Jay Barry. Foreign official accounts sold a net $105 billion of the securities in December and January, an unprecedented liquidation, Treasury Department data show.
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Hedge fund exit requests rise in third straight month this March - SS&C
Reuters
Investor requests to pull money from hedge funds rose for the third straight month in March, slightly surpassing the number of redemptions flagged at the same time a year earlier, data on Friday showed.
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Dimon's Timing Looks Savvier by the Day as Equities Rebound
Bloomberg
Even to hardened market veterans, the wild ride in stocks this year has been gut-wrenching. Global equities delivered $8.6 trillion of losses through Feb. 11 as the MSCI All-Country World Index tumbled 12 percent. Talk of a global recession and powerless central banks could be heard from Tokyo to London to New York. And then Jamie Dimon appeared. After the close of trading that day, news broke that the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. spent $26.6 million to buy shares of his New York-based bank.
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Louis Dreyfus full-year profit tumbles on weak commodities
Reuters
Louis Dreyfus , one of the world's largest traders of agricultural commodities, reported a sharp drop in full-year profit and announced a new brand strategy as it tries to weather a market downturn.
goo.gl/flQdi1
Here's Why Oil Prices Have Tanked Four Times in Three Decades
Bloomberg
Oil may have hit its top price. Prices are in the middle of a rally, having inched up to about $38 a barrel from a 12-year low of $27.10 in January. Analysts are warning that this recovery might sputter out once prices climb high enough to convince U.S. shale producers to increase productionÂabout $55 a barrel.
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Investors snap up inflation-proofed Treasury bonds
Financial Times
Investors have rushed to snap up inflation-proofed US government bonds in the wake of last week's Federal Reserve meeting, which analysts say indicated that officials are willing to tolerate higher inflation before tightening monetary policy more aggressively.
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| | | | Banks & Brokers | America's Fifth Largest Brokerage Goes Fiduciary
Reformed Broker
When I first started writing about the Fiduciary Standard of care versus the traditional brokerage industry's Suitability Standard seven years ago, my view was that the Suitability Standard would eventually be dead. My best guess was that a combination of consumer choice and regulatory pressure would bring about a drastic industry change over to the Fiduciary side. To understand why this is so important to America's retirement investors, read my post at Fortune, The Most Horrendous Lie on Wall Street.
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When an Analyst Has a Stake in the Stock He Picks
New York Times
File this column under: Why It Pays to Read the Footnotes. On Tuesday, Longbow Research, an independent institutional research and brokerage firm with offices in New York, San Francisco and Independence, Ohio, published a report recommending that its clients buy shares in Tempur Sealy International, the mattress maker. That's not unusual. Wall Street research analysts put out buy recommendations every day. Probably too often, in fact.
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HSBC fires gun on finding new chairman
Financial Times
HSBC has kicked off the process of finding a replacement for Douglas Flint as chairman of Europe's biggest bank by next year. Mr Flint said in a notice of the bank's annual meeting: "The board aims to nominate my successor during 2017 but the exact timing is clearly dependent upon identifying and securing the appropriate candidate."
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Banks urged to beef up bonus clawbacks
Financial Times
Wall Street executives are facing further scrutiny of their pay deals as governance crusaders push to beef up bonus "clawback" regimes. Campaigning shareholders want JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup to toughen schemes that put senior bankers on the hook for future losses.
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| | | | Clearing & Settlement | Risk Focus announces 'Validate-on-demand'
Automated Trader
Risk Focus, a provider of regulatory trade reporting solutions to the global capital markets, has announced Validate-on-demand, a free, cloud-hosted, cut-down version of its product Validate.Trade. In the last year Validate.Trade has been adopted by the DTCC and eight global banks for testing their trade reporting software and pre-validating trade reporting messages before submitting them to the GTR (the DTCC Global Trade Repository), helping firms to deliver and maintain compliance with EMIR, Dodd-Frank and other G20 regulatory demands. The service is at multiple points in the trade reporting lifecycle used to reduce risks and costs associated with regulatory reporting.
goo.gl/lteF3g
Insurer should reimburse a stock exchange for broker defaults
Business Standard
The Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) had obtained a Default Insurance Policy from New India Assurance. The policy provided coverage to indemnity against losses at the time of settlement due to defaults committed by its members, whose names were specified in a list. The policy also covered the BSE's Trade Guarantee Fund (TGF). A premium of Rs 1.39 crore was paid for the policy.
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Banks Green Light Same-Day Payments but Must Find a Way to Red Light Fraud
International Banker
Years behind UK banking initiative Faster Payments Service (FPS), US banks have finally approved a proposal to allow consumers and businesses to send same-day electronic payments (Same-Day ACH) among the nation's 12,000 financial institutions. This same-day payments rule, approved by NACHA, The Electronic Payments Association ®, is a game-changer for consumers, businesses and government entities as they call for the creation of two new same-day settlement windows, meaning that funds will move among financial institutions three times per day rather than onceÂopening up tremendous opportunities for anyone who needs to move money faster.
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| | | | Indexes & Products | Hedge Funds, Smart Beta And Volatility Timing Are Magically Delicious
Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute
The first three months of 2016 has startled institutional investors and the asset management community. Many name brand hedge funds posted lackluster returns, thus giving less credibility to the name "absolute return".
goo.gl/NefPjJ
Emerging Market ETFs Surge $2.72 Billion, Turn Positive for Year
Bloomberg
Investors added $2.72 billion to U.S. exchange-traded funds that buy emerging-market stocks and bonds, the most in almost two years, as inflows turned positive for the first time in 2016.
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NSE pitches for new investment products, bullish on ETFs
Business Standard
Pitching for new products to attract more investors to stock markets, leading exchange NSE has said there is a need for tailor-made instruments for different kinds of people and 'one vanila' cannot serve all.
goo.gl/IxF8Mc
Paysafe joins FTSE 250 Index
LeapRate
Provider of payment solutions Paysafe Group Plc (LON:PAYS), formerly known as Optimal Payments, is joining the FTSE 250 Index from the start of trading today.
/goo.gl/HmgtC1
Eurex expands equity index segment with new quanto futures; Launch of USD-denominated futures on the Euro STOXX 50 index as of 21 March 2016
Eurex
Eurex, one of the world's leading derivatives exchanges and part of Deutsche Börse Group, will introduce Euro STOXX 50 quanto futures as of 21 March 2016. The USD-denominated product allows investors to participate in the performance of the index without being subject to currency fluctuations between Euro and US dollar.
goo.gl/uNX6Qf
New Japan ETF A Standout Among Giants
ETF.com
The Global X Scientific Beta Japan (SCIJ) is a smart-beta take on Japan's total equity market, and one that's not even a year old yet. Still, this youngÂsmallÂfund, with less than $12 million in assets, is delivering an impressive performance relative to the giants in the space.
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| | | | Technology | | For more, visit the Tech/HFT section on JohnLothianNews.com. | MIT's $75,000 Big Data finishing school (and its many rivals); New courses target the need for managers and techies to talk to each other as data proliferate
Adam Jones - FT
For most students, a top degree in a field such as computer science or maths ought to be a passport to a career perfectly in tune with the relentless digitisation of work.
goo.gl/a9oYBc
What actually is ... Blockchain technology?
Eurex
A new technology is causing a stir in the FinTech community: Blockchain has many market experts believing that it is the greatest achievement of the past decade for financial technology and the most important digital innovation since the internet protocol TCP/IP. With Blockchain, all transaction participants share a data base, the same data pool and each transaction is recorded - similar to a bank statement, but on a distributed ledger which is maintained by a network of computers. The special feature of Blockchain is that data is transmitted peer to peer, that is without a central instance, and transactions are verified by Blockchain users themselves.
goo.gl/u5I9kx
Despite Talk of Partnerships, Banking Still Fears Fintech
The Financial Brand
The impact of digital technology and the digital consumer is transforming the way consumers access financial products and services. Beyond simple transactions, such as checking balances, the intersection of finance and technology (fintech) is impacting virtually all categories of financial services at an increasing rate, reshaping the industry's status quo.
goo.gl/G03RBv
Commonwealth turns to fintech and appoints advisory board
ZDNet
The federal government has released its statement on Australia's fintech future, saying that financial technology is transforming the nation's financial system, with the ability to revolutionise how consumers and businesses interact.
zd.net/1LAM5vF
| | | | Enforcement | Hedge Fund Priest's Trades Probed by Wall Street Cop
Bloomberg
A priest who sidelines as a hedge-fund manager is being investigated by U.S. regulators for possible stock manipulation, prompting scrutiny of trading skills that the cleric has described as a "gift from God," according to people with knowledge of the matter.
bloom.bg/1LAOFBC
Sachs probed in alleged Treasury rig: sources
New York Post
Washington's probe into the alleged rigging of the $13 trillion US Treasurys market by Wall Street banks has narrowed its focus to a handful of firms  including Goldman Sachs, The Post has learned.
goo.gl/wKvFUj
| | | | Environmental & Energy | | For more, subscribe to the JLN Environmental/Energy newsletter or visit the blog. | Earth Hour 2016: Lights go out worldwide in demonstration against increasing climate change
By Geoffrey Lean - The Independent
On the evening of 19 March the lights went out not just all over Europe, but throughout the world. But far from being a harbinger of doom - as in Sir Edward Grey's celebrated observation on the eve of the First World War - it was a sign that one of the world's most perilous, impending problems might yet be solved.
ind.pn/21Brk4F
Environmental Activists Take to Local Protests for Global Results
By John Schwartz - The New York Times
They came here to get arrested.
nyti.ms/1UsWewX
Researcher: New butterfly has clues to geology, climate
Associated Press
A new species of butterfly could provide clues about Alaska's geological history and its changing climate, according to a University of Florida researcher.
wapo.st/1RsAlxj
As Coal's Future Grows Murkier, Banks Pull Financing
By MICHAEL CORKERY - NY Times
Tens of thousands of miners were on strike and coal prices were skyrocketing in October 1902. Afraid of unrest, President Theodore Roosevelt sought the help of John Pierpont Morgan.
goo.gl/sLPgqU
| | | | Asia-Pacific | China Has a $590 Billion Problem With Unpaid Bills
Bloomberg
Not since 1999 have China's companies had so much trouble getting customers to actually pay for what they've bought. It now takes about 83 days for the typical Chinese firm to collect cash for completed sales, almost twice as long as emerging-market peers. As payment delays spread from the industrial sector to technology and consumer companies, accounts receivable at the nation's public firms have swelled by 23 percent over the past two years to about $590 billion, exceeding the annual economic output of Taiwan.
goo.gl/KHfgRA
China Market Watch: Relaxed Foreign Investment Control and Liberalization of Stock Market
China Briefing
On March 13, the Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng stated that China would further relax control of foreign investment. With the development of the One Belt One Road initiative, regions in Midwest China have become the new frontier of China's opening-up.
goo.gl/1GMoQM
China's Central Bank Chief Sounds Warning Over Rising Debt
Bloomberg
People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan sounded a warning over rising debt levels, saying corporate lending as a ratio to gross domestic product had become too high and the country must develop more robust capital markets.
goo.gl/Awu4Z8
PBoC Governor Warns Over Corporate Debt, Encourages Stock Markets Growth
Barron's
Speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing on Sunday, the People's Bank of China's long-time Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Chinese companies' debt levels are too high.
Corporate debt in China now stands at 160% of China's GDP.
on.barrons.com/1LANx0W
China's new macro strategy
Financial Times
In the past few years, China's macro-economic strategy has largely failed to command the confidence of investors in developed markets, despite the fact that the reported performance of the economy has remained fairly impressive.
goo.gl/GXgMHE
| | | | Frontier Markets | Fed Grants African Central Banks Reprieve to Pause on Rates
Bloomberg
Central banks in west and east Africa may have room to hold off on raising interest rates this week as the U.S. Federal Reserve scaled back expectations for tighter policy, buoying emerging-market currencies.
bloom.bg/1S0dZO4
IFR Asia Frontier Markets Roundtable 2016: Opening doors | Special Reports
Special Reports | IFRAsia
After a dismal run for global emerging markets, Asia's frontier sovereigns could almost be forgiven for turning down the chance to issue international bonds.
At a low point in the commodity cycle, many of the world's less-developed countries find themselves facing high refinancing costs as they struggle to keep global investors onside. The enthusiasm of 2013-2014, when funding costs for EM governments were almost too good to refuse, seems long gone.
That poses a tricky question for would-be sovereign issuers: is it really worth it?
goo.gl/51xYOC
Market analysis: Mexico leads the pack among emerging markets
The National
Mexico has developed into a high-value-added exporting powerhouse to the United States. It has passed structural reforms geared to encourage competition and attract investments at a time, when most countries are shying away from private investment and liberalisation, and it has stable fiscal and macroeconomic management.
goo.gl/unLuUV
Banks on 4-day holiday from Thursday; IDBI Bank may be closed for an extra day if strike call by some officers, employees on March 28 (Monday) materialises
Business Standard
Customers won't be able to conduct bank transactions at branches for 4 days in a row this week as all banks will be closed from Thursday, although the lenders assure that they will fully load ATMs for meeting people's cash needs.
goo.gl/xGPhKy
| | | | Miscellaneous | De Beers goes into second-hand diamond market
Financial Times
Diamonds might be forever, but their ownership is not. Death, divorce and financial distress can all part an owner from the precious stones. And if that happens, De Beers is now ready to step in. The diamond miner last week launched a venture as a used diamond buyer, hoping to shore up confidence in the market by offering owners a better way to cash in their carats than turning to their local jeweller or the nearest pawnbroker.
goo.gl/bpHKLR
Brazil's Agnelli, who turned Vale into top miner, dies in plane crash
Reuters via FT
Roger Agnelli, the Brazilian banker who turned Vale into the world's number one iron ore producer, died on Saturday in an aircraft crash, a source close to aviation authorities told Reuters. He was 56.
goo.gl/Z0299C
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