| August 07, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Back on August 1, CNBC published a video titled "Putin's Trader" that was about a big insider trading ring on Wall Street run by the Russian oligarch Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of a cybersecurity company in Moscow called M-13. His firm was secretly a front for a "hacking and insider trading operation that plagued Wall Street for years, generating more than $90 million in illicit profits," CNBC said. CNBC was ready to go with this story about insider trading when Klyushin was among the eight Russians repatriated as part of the prisoner swap that brought home the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. You can watch the Youtube version of the report by CNBC's Eamon Javers that reveals "shocking details of this audacious criminal enterprise" and an interview with a former Russian spy.
Bloomberg has a story about how "Japan's $1.1 Trillion Stock Meltdown Rewrote the Record Books." To summarize the story, Japan's stock market experienced a dramatic three-day crash, with the Topix index and Nikkei 225 plunging 12% on Monday, marking their largest declines since Black Monday in 1987. Over three days, the market dropped 20%, wiping out $1.1 trillion in value-equivalent to Sweden's entire stock market cap. Monday also saw the highest value of shares traded ever, at ¥7.97 trillion ($55 billion). Volatility surged, triggering 10 circuit breakers, the most in a single day since 2016. Despite a sharp 10% rebound on Tuesday, the market remains significantly impacted, with only 20 out of over 2,000 stocks rising on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release yesterday titled "Pakistani National with Ties to Iran Charged in Connection with Foiled Plot to Assassinate a Politician or U.S. Government Official" that media outlets are saying was a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump, or not, depending on the coverage. Here is coverage from CNN and Reuters.
Bloomberg reported that the Federal Reserve's reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) facility usage fell below $300 billion, down from a peak of $2.554 trillion in December 2022. This indicates reduced excess liquidity in the financial system. The Fed's slower pace of balance sheet reduction since June has eased money-market rate strains. JPMorgan predicts RRP balances will remain slightly below $300 billion through year-end. Demand for the facility dropped by $1.8 trillion from June 2023 to April 2024 but has stabilized with lower bill issuance and interest-rate cut uncertainties. Balances have been declining since mid-July.
Cboe Global Markets today announced plans to launch options on VIX futures to expand their volatility product suite. The new options, based on front-month VIX futures, aim to provide a new tool for managing market volatility and meet global demand for hedging. These CFTC-regulated options will be available on October 14, 2024, pending regulatory review, and will allow more market participants to express views on equity market volatility.
I was headed to bed last night. It was late, but my wife was up watching the Olympics and she called me into the living room to see something; speed climbing. I had never seen this sport before. It is climbing a climbing wall as fast as you can. The Wall Street Journal has a story about it titled "The Most Gruesome 4.75 Seconds at the Olympics" with the subheadline "Speed climbing is the fastest sport at the Paris Games. Which is a good thing, since it inflicts a catalog of stomach-churning injuries, including fingernails that get torn clean out of their beds."
Michel Everaert has joined Tradition as global head of e-commerce & digitalisation based in London, he shared on LinkedIn.
Eric Cott is starting a new position as director of sales marketing at RIA Database, he shared on LinkedIn.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Former ABN AMRO Executive Mike Dennis Discusses Market Trends and Opportunities in Crypto and Fixed Income at Options Conference from John Lothian News.
- Agricultural Futures: Navigating the Fields: Futures Discovery EP 12 from John Lothian News.
- S&P 500 put option volume hit record on Monday from MarketWatch. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Why you should sell shares in your company immediately; Diversifying exposure away from an employer makes cold financial sense
Robert Buckland - Financial Times
I have enjoyed a long career in the financial advice business. So it's no surprise that I'm often asked what is the best advice given to me. This came from a grizzled colleague many years ago: "Rob, when your employee stock vests, sell it immediately. Wait a week. If the only investment that you can think of putting all that cash back into is the same stock, then buy it back again." When I thought of it like that, of course, I never bought back in.
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***** Sometimes you can and sometimes you can't.~JJL
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Steve Schwarzman runs into newt headache at his £80mn UK estate; Blackstone boss regaled chancellor Rachel Reeves with planning ordeal before her US trip
George Parker and Madison Darbyshire - Financial Times
Stephen Schwarzman is used to besting Wall Street rivals. But amid the rolling hills of southern England, the Blackstone boss has run into a formidable new opponent: the great crested newt. Schwarzman has been updating Rachel Reeves, UK chancellor, on the hoops he has to go through to avoid disturbing the amphibians during work at his £80mn country estate in Wiltshire.
/jlne.ws/3AfJDu4
***** This could turn into a real froglem for Schwarzman.~JJL
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Musk's X sues brands and trade group over advertising boycott; Billionaire owner of social media platform has accused Global Alliance for Responsible Media and some of its members of 'illegal' collusion
Hannah Murphy - Financial Times
Elon Musk's X is suing a marketing industry trade body and advertisers including Unilever and Mars for an "illegal boycott" of the platform that it claims violates antitrust law, escalating a spat between the billionaire and some of the social media app's biggest sources of revenue.
/jlne.ws/3SB4VZy
***** It is not collusion when many people independently reach the same conclusion and act in their self-interest and that of their companies. Stupid is as stupid does. ~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top clicked story Tuesday was Cub Scouts race Pinewood Derby cars at Woodfield Mall, a video from Chicago's WGN 9 News. Second was The Treasury market scandal hiding in plain sight, from The Wall Street Journal. Third was the Life Tributes page from the family of the late Scott Eisner, on the Morris Funeral and Cremation Care website.
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| Lead Stories | Japan Morphs Into the Center of Worry for Global Investors; Sharp rise in the yen undercuts profitable carry trades; Markets whipsaw with steepest drop in more than 30 years
Lisa Du and Ruth Carson - Bloomberg
In less than a week, Japan has completely upended the world's expectations for its markets and economy. The country was the darling of the financial world for over a year. Its weak currency pushed the stock market to record highs and rekindled inflation after decades. Then the Bank of Japan hiked rates last Wednesday and Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated he intended to keep going, helping trigger a sharp rise in the yen and wild gyrations across the global markets. Traders and investors were forced to abandon strategies based on macro views that Japan's currency would stay weak and interest rates wouldn't rise too fast.
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Unwinding of yen 'carry trade' still threatens markets, say analysts; Resurgent Japanese currency forces speculators to shut down years' worth of bets that could run into trillions of dollars
Leo Lewis and David Keohane - Financial Times
The global unwinding of the world's biggest "carry trade" has the potential to destabilise markets further, analysts have said, as the resurgent Japanese currency forces speculators to shut down bets that could run into hundreds of billions of dollars. Over the past three years, the yen version of the carry trade - borrowing in a low-interest-rate country to fund investment in assets elsewhere that offer higher returns - has exploded because of Japan's ultra-low rates.
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SEC investigating Wall Street banks over 'billions' in lost interest payments; Lenders face scrutiny over 'sweeping' idle client cash into other investments and pocketing the difference
Will Schmitt and Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating allegations that Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and other Wall Street groups have been systematically cheating customers out of billions of dollars of interest payments. The probe into "cash sweep" accounts comes as a number of companies have increased the interest they are paying clients. But the rates being offered to savers, particularly by the nation's largest banks, remains far lower than the returns paid to banks based on short-term interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.
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Regulators Probing Big Banks' Handling of Zelle Scams; Investigation examines whether JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others do enough to shut down accounts controlled by bad actors
AnnaMaria Andriotis - The Wall Street Journal
Regulators are investigating some of the biggest U.S. banks for their handling of customer funds on the peer-to-peer payments platform Zelle, which has been facing scrutiny over scams and fraudulent transactions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau probe focuses on JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, among other large banks, according to people familiar with the matter. It is broad in nature and meant to examine how the banks respond when customers dispute transactions made through Zelle, the people said. JPMorgan disclosed in a filing Friday that it was responding to CFPB inquiries regarding Zelle; other large banks are expected to disclose contact with the CFPB soon.
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ABN Amro CEO Grilled Over Missing Explanation for His Departure
Sarah Jacob - Bloomberg
ABN Amro Bank NV Chief Executive Officer Robert Swaak's decision last week to resign eclipsed a positive earnings day for the Dutch lender as investors and journalists peppered him with questions that he largely ducked. Swaak said he'll leave the firm next year in a stunning announcement that came about three months after he got reappointed for a new term and without presenting a successor. The decision left people scratching their heads as Swaak didn't provide a clear reason for his move - and he again refused to give more details during results presentations on Wednesday.
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British Brokerage TP ICAP Favors New York Listing for Data Unit
Joe Easton - Bloomberg
Even London's biggest inter-dealer broker is looking to the US as it considers an initial public offering of a lucrative data business, the latest sign that the City is struggling to compete with New York for equity capital markets activity. TP ICAP Group Plc is considering listing its Parameta Solutions data unit in New York rather than its hometown because it believes it will get better liquidity in the US than the UK, the firm said in an emailed statement. Listing in the US is also more reflective of Parameta's business, since 95% of its revenue is dollar-denominated, the company said.
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A Volatility Storm Is Buffeting Markets. When Will It Clear?; Stocks rebounded Tuesday, but there might still be bumpy weeks ahead
Jon Sindreu - The Wall Street Journal
This week's stock-market roller coaster appears to be driven by a reversal in speculative trades, rather than the popping of a bubble or an omen of economic disaster. But that doesn't mean we are in the clear. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 10.2% Tuesday, undoing more than half the damage caused on Monday, when it recorded its worst one-day drop since the 1987 flash crash. Stocks also rose in European morning trading, albeit much less dramatically. The lightning-fast rebound mirrors the pattern observed Monday in the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX-a measure of the expected volatility of the S&P 500, known as Wall Street's "fear gauge." In the early morning, the VIX hit 65.73, the third highest mark since records started in 1992, following the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2020 Covid-19 crash. By the market close, however, the VIX had fallen to 38.57, closer to a regular bad day.
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Jump Trading Allegedly Moves $29M in ETH as Ether Tops $2.5K; According to a blockchain data tracking service, Jump Trading moved large amounts of ether to an address previously used to deposit coins to centralized exchanges.
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
A wallet tagged as belonging to trading giant Jump Trading moved large amounts of ether (ETH) on-chain as the second-largest cryptocurrency recovered from Monday's crypto-market rout. According to blockchain sleuth Spot On Chain, the wallet unstaked 11,500 ether, worth $29 million, from liquid-staking service Lido Finance and moved the coins to an address labeled Jump Trading 0xf58: 0xf584f8728b874a6a5c7a8d4d387c9aae9172d621.
/jlne.ws/3AfGSJa
KKR Founders Sued for Allegedly Getting Giant Payday for No Work; Lawsuit adds to legal scrutiny of arcane tax deals benefiting private-equity heavyweights
Ben Foldy - The Wall Street Journal
When Henry Kravis and George Roberts handed off the day-to-day management of private-equity firm KKR KKR to their successors in 2021, the two billionaires netted shares now worth more than $650 million. A new lawsuit is accusing the company of paying Kravis and Roberts but getting nothing in return. Their windfalls came from a complicated financial structure that has netted billions of dollars for other company founders and dealmakers in similar transactions.
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Steven Mnuchin Says It's Time to Kill the New Treasury Bond He Created; Four years ago as Treasury head he revived the 20-year bond; It fell flat with investors. Now he says the US should dump it
Ye Xie, Liz Capo McCormick, and Saleha Mohsin - Bloomberg
It only takes a quick glance at the US bond curve to realize something is off. One Treasury security - the 20-year - is detached from the rest of the market. It hovers at yields that are far higher than those on the bonds surrounding it - the 10-year and the 30-year. This isn't just some minor aesthetic for traders to fret about. It costs the American taxpayer money. Since the Treasury re-introduced the 20-year bond in monthly auctions four years ago, their sale has tacked on roughly $2 billion a year in interest expenses on top of what the government would have otherwise paid, a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation shows. That's some $40 billion over the life of the bonds.
/jlne.ws/3ysf5Vq
Australian hedge fund star among big winners from market turmoil; Greg Coffey's hedge fund made hundreds of millions of dollars in recent sell-off
Joshua Franklin and Harriet Agnew, Emma Dunkley and Ortenca Aliaj - Financial Times
Greg Coffey, the Australian hedge fund star once nicknamed the "Wizard of Oz", has emerged as one of the big winners in this month's markets sell-off, according to three people familiar with the situation. Kirkoswald Capital, the firm Coffey started in 2018 after coming out of retirement and which now manages about $8bn, has made hundreds of millions of dollars in the recent market turmoil, two of the people said.
/jlne.ws/4fCUJJA
India's central bank warns lenders not to add to bets against rupee; Request comes after global market turmoil pushes currency to record low against the dollar
Chris Kay - Financial Times
India's central bank has called on the country's lenders not to add to existing bets against the rupee as it seeks to prop up a currency that has recently hit record lows. Officials from the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday contacted some of the country's largest banks with the aim of easing pressure on the rupee, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
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Google Just Lost a Lawsuit that Is Going to Save It $20 Billion a Year; A Federal judge ruled Google is a monopoly. Will it actually change anything?
Jason Aten - Inc. (opinion)
This week, a Federal judge ruled that Google is a monopoly in search text advertising and that the company acted to illegally extend that position. Judge Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with the Justice Department's argument that Google overstepped by entering into financial arrangements to make its search engine the default option on browsers like Safari and Firefox. The decision is the first major win for the U.S. government in an antitrust case against one of the largest tech companies. The White House called it a win for President Biden's position that the internet should be a more competitive place.
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Outsourced trading: Easy to do, difficult to get right; As outsourced trading gains traction, Claudia Preece delves into what factors make for success in the space, pinpointing some of the main elements influencing the future landscape. As ever-larger players continue to make real moves, costs rise, and expectations placed on providers increase, only those with truly effective offerings will reap success as consolidation continues.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Outsourced trading, though undoubtedly a contentious topic, is something that has been around in capital markets for decades in some form or another. However, an undeniable surge has occurred across the trading sphere over the last few years, with decidedly mixed results. Achieving the same (or better) outcomes as trading inhouse is undeniably difficult. Buy-side heads of trading at this year's TradeTech Europe conference explained that while of course "there will be cases for outsourcing" there are certain aspects of the trading process which are inherently convoluted and thus difficult to execute.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine Launches Rare Cross-Border Ground Assault Into Russia, Kremlin Says; Troops and armored fighting vehicles crossed into Russia's western Kursk region on Tuesday, according to Moscow and independent analysts. Ukrainian officials have not commented.
Constant Meheut - The New York Times
Ukraine has launched a surprise ground assault into Russia with troops and armored vehicles, Russian officials and independent military analysts said on Wednesday, in what could be one of the largest Ukrainian incursions onto Russian soil in more than two years of war. The assault, which began on Tuesday into the Kursk region of western Russia, appeared to have resulted in heavy fighting, according to images from the battlefield verified by independent military analysts and Russian statements. Russia's defense ministry said midday on Wednesday that the fighting was continuing.
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French imports of Russia's liquified natural gas surge, and Ukraine supporters seek a stop
Ed Davey - Associated Press
Shipments of Russian liquified natural gas to France more than doubled the first half of this year, according to new analyses of trade data, at a time when Europe has tried to pull back from energy purchases that help finance the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Europe has restricted oil imports from Russia, but natural gas is still allowed. And while companies in France are importing the most, one analysis found EU countries overall imported 7% more Russian LNG, natural gas that has been chilled and liquified for easier ocean transport, in the first half of this year compared to the same period a year ago.
/jlne.ws/46AhdXI
Russia says Ukrainian forces cross into border region, official says situation controllable
Reuters
Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine had launched an attack into Russia's southern Kursk region, but Moscow's forces had responded and the region's acting governor described the situation on the border as "controllable". Russian reports earlier noted the incursion and said it had moved in reserves to help repel hundreds of fighters backed by tanks. The regional governor said three people were killed.
/jlne.ws/3ytO9oa
Ukraine diverts more funding towards missile programme, Zelenskiy says
Reuters
Ukraine has put additional funding towards its domestic missile programme, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday, as it tries to narrow a gap in capabilities with Russia, which has an array of long-range weapons. Ukraine, which has prioritised the production of long-range strike drones since Russia's February 2022 invasion, has tried to build up its domestic output of arms like the Neptun, a Ukrainian anti-ship missile that can also attack land targets.
/jlne.ws/3WTEMYr
Ukraine says it raided Russian-controlled spit in Black Sea
Reuters
Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed on Wednesday that its forces had conducted a raid on the Russian-controlled Tendra Spit in the northwest of the Black Sea, saying they damaged equipment and fortifications and inflicted casualties. The agency published a video showing vessels carrying well-equipped soldiers and troops landing on a shoreline. It said they destroyed a Russian electronic warfare system and armoured vehicles and that they were assessing Russian personnel losses.
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Putin Accuses Ukraine of 'Provocation' Over Russia Incursion; Russia said at least 300 Ukraine troops entered Kursk region; Gas prices jump over report troops reached key transit point
Bloomberg News
President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of a "large-scale provocation" by sending hundreds of troops into Russia's Kursk region, the biggest assault on Russian territory since he ordered the 2022 invasion of its neighbor. Putin opened a meeting with government ministers Wednesday by announcing he'd summoned defense and security officials to report on developments in the border region, in his first comments since the incursion that began early Tuesday.
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Appointment of New Hamas Leader Casts Further Doubt on Cease-Fire Deal
The New York Times
Sinwar is the 'primary decider' in any cease-fire, Blinken says. Hamas's decision to name Yahya Sinwar, its leader in Gaza and a key planner of the Oct. 7 attacks, to head its political wing is shining a spotlight on his central role in reaching any cease-fire deal in Gaza and further complicating prospects for the already troubled negotiations. The choice of Mr. Sinwar "only underscores the fact that it is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a cease-fire," Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told journalists at a news conference in Annapolis, Md., late Tuesday, shortly after the appointment was announced. "He has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding a cease-fire."
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Hezbollah warns more to come after explosive drone strike on Israel
Iona Cleave - The Telegraph
Hezbollah launched a series of drone strikes into northern Israel on Tuesday as it warned more was to come in its much-anticipated retaliation for the killing of a top commander last week. The Lebanese militant group claimed "explosive-laden drones" targeted a barracks near the city of Nahariya, while Israel reported several civilians were injured, one in serious condition, when a drone exploded on a road.
/jlne.ws/4cp47hu
Yahya Sinwar: new Hamas leader and 'dead man walking'
AFP reporters with Sarah Benhaida
After a career in the shadows, spent in Israeli prisons and the internal security apparatus of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar has emerged as leader of the Palestinian group in the middle of a full-blown war. Sinwar, who until now was the movement's Gaza chief, replaces Ismail Haniyeh, whose killing in Tehran last week sent tensions soaring across the Middle East and raised fears of a coordinated attack on Israel by Iran and its regional proxies.
/jlne.ws/3ApIBvp
Why Israel Needs More Than Iron Dome to Thwart an Iranian Attack; Israel has expanded its air-defense systems for a possible multifront assault
Anat Peled - The Wall Street Journal
Israel is preparing for a coordinated attack from Iran and its allies that will present the biggest test yet for a multilayered air defense system that has had to expand far beyond the country's vaunted Iron Dome system. In the past decade, the U.S.-Israel-developed Iron Dome has become the world's leading system for shooting down short-range rockets, reducing the threat from weapons fired by Washington-designated terrorist groups such as Hamas at population centers. Iran's and Lebanon-based Hezbollah's capabilities are another matter.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | TAIFEX Launched Micro TAIEX Futures
TAIFEX
Given the increasing preference for smaller contracts, Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) introduced Micro TAIEX Futures (TMF) on July 29. With a multiplier of 10 NTD and a contract size 1/20th of TAIEX Futures, the trading threshold is significantly lowered, offering greater flexibility in trading. TMF also allows traders to precisely mitigate market risks and adjust portfolio allocations. Within the first week of its launch, TMF witnessed significant trading interest, recording a total volume of over 310 thousand contracts and an average daily volume (ADV) of over 50 thousand contracts. For more information, please visit here.
/jlne.ws/4dpBIbU
TMX's Capital Formation business expands public and private company solution offering
TMX
TMX Group Limited announced today it has acquired Newsfile Corp. (Newsfile), the largest Canadian-owned news dissemination and regulatory filing provider. "TMX Group is committed to delivering best-in-class products and services; we are always looking at ways to add new capabilities to better serve our clients today and well into the future," said Loui Anastasopoulos, CEO, Toronto Stock Exchange and Global Head of Capital Formation, TMX Group. "The acquisition of Newsfile, a client-first newswire and regulatory filing solutions provider, bolsters our Capital Formation business as we continue to expand our offerings beyond listings."
/jlne.ws/3WAhxBk
JPX-Nikkei Index 400 to be reshuffled after periodic review; Component changes for mid- and small-cap index also to take effect on Aug. 30
Nikkei Asia
JPX Market Innovation & Research and Nikkei said on Wednesday that it will reshuffle the component issues of the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 and the JPX-Nikkei Mid and Small Cap Index following its periodic review.
/jlne.ws/3WR1QXI
EEX Group continues growth trend with volume increases and new products in the first half of 2024
EEX Press Release
EEX Group has achieved significant volume growth in the first half of 2024 across major asset classes. The group's global power market volume increased by almost 50%. While natural gas volumes in the US almost doubled in size, European natural gas trading remained stable on the high level seen in the past two years. Environmental markets both in Europe as well as in North America reported a high double-digit growth in the first half of the year. Furthermore, EEX Group has extended its product portfolio in line with market needs.
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Amendments to the Gulf Coast LNG Export Futures Contract: Addition of Cameron LNG Delivery Facility and Increase of Spot Month Position Limit
CME Group
Effective August 23, 2024 and commencing with the first week of October 2024 (LNGV2406) and beyond, the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.'s ("NYMEX" or "Exchange") will implement amendments to the Gulf Coast LNG Export Futures Contract ("the Contract") (see SER-9402 published on August 1, 2024). Specifically, the Exchange will: (1) adopt new language in Appendix-A ("LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement") and Exhibit A-1 ("Measurement") therein and Appendix B ("Loading Ports") of Chapter 240 to include the Cameron LNG delivery facility; and (2) increase the spot month position limit of the Contract from 600 futures contracts per week to 780 futures contracts per week commencing with the first week of October 2024 (LNGV2406) and beyond (collectively, the "Rule Amendments"), as noted below and in Exhibit B. Please note that the spot month limits in the September 2024 contracts are unchanged.
/jlne.ws/3yjAD6J
DTCC's Insurance & Retirement Services Launch Standardized "Can-Sell" API Messaging Application; Producer Authorization provides NSCC members the capability to confirm the credentials of producers instantaneously by moving straight from distributor to carrier
DTCC
New York/London/Hong Kong/Singapore/Sydney, Aug 7, 2024 The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced the launch of DTCC's Insurance & Retirement Services' (I&RS) Producer Authorization (PAR) service, a standardized method for insurance vendors and distributors to communicate with carriers to verify producers' authorization that is mandatory to sell insurance products. PAR deploys synchronous messages, allowing distributors and vendors to ping carriers instantly to certify producer credentials, streamlining processes and increasing operational efficiencies.
/jlne.ws/3LW9vgZ
Finance For Food lists on Euronext Growth Milan
Euronext
Borsa Italiana, part of the Euronext Group, today congratulates Finance For Food on its listing on Euronext Growth Milan. Finance For Food is an industrial and strategic consulting firm that specialises in the entire agri-food supply chain, other sectors of the agro-industry, renewable energy and related economic services and activities. Finance For Food's listing represents the 14th listing this year on Euronext Growth Milan, Borsa Italiana's market for small and medium-sized companies, and it is Euronext's 32nd listing of this year. In the placement phase, Finance For Food raised EUR2 million.
/jlne.ws/46AfkKw
JSE delivers stable performance for H1 2024 amidst challenging macro-economic and geopolitical conditions
JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) announced a stable set of results for the first half of its financial year, with a Net Profit After Tax of R493 million translating into headline earnings per share of 606 cents. The Group continues to be cash generative, with net cash generated from operations of R502.6 million (2023: R487.9 million), up 3%. Notably, these results have been achieved despite a challenging macro-economic, political and trading environment. The JSE reported a 4.2% growth in operating income underpinned by increasingly diversified revenue streams. This solid financial performance is credited to the strong performance of the JSE's diversified business segments and asset classes, whose year on year (Y-o-Y) growth offset the 12% decline in equity value traded (the JSE's largest market): JSE Investor Services (JIS) grew by 28.9%; commodity derivatives revenue by 24.7%; and revenue from bonds and interest rate trading by 7.8%.
/jlne.ws/46EbFf1
Caution for Investors
MCX
It has been brought to the notice of the Exchange that entities named "Angal One, Neetu, Pihu" are operating through mobile numbers 9354005868, 9625286939, 9625285175 & 9062898249 and phone numbers +14056484383 & +12282203778, and are allegedly trapping investors with fake promises of low margin requirement and investment guaranteed returns, providing illegal dabba trading platform and misusing the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) brand name.
/jlne.ws/3LXyRve
Nasdaq Chair and Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman to Present at the Oppenheimer 27th Annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) will be presenting at the following conference with a webcast available at Nasdaq's Investor Relations website: ir.nasdaq.com/events.cfm.
/jlne.ws/4dCqnp7
NSE's consolidated Q1 FY25 operating revenue up by 51% YoY at Rs.4,510 crores
NSE
NSE, India's leading exchange, reported consolidated revenue from operations at Rs.4,510 crores for Q1 FY25, up by 51% on a year-on-year basis. Apart from trading revenue, the revenue from operations was also supported by other revenue lines which mainly includes data centre & connectivity charges, clearing services, listing services, index services and data services.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Philippine Fintech GCash Still Eyeing IPO After MUFG Investment
Ditas B Lopez - Bloomberg
The Philippines' top mobile payments provider GCash is still keen on going public after its latest investment round pushed the fintech company's valuation to $5 billion. "We recognize that the new round of investments further strengthens Mynt's ability and position coming into an IPO," Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. CEO Martha Sazon said Wednesday. Globe Fintech, or Mynt, is the parent of GCash and the entity that will do the initial public offering.
/jlne.ws/4dzPlVS
Could Antitrust Ruling Against Google Bring Breakup of the Company?
Leah Nylen - Bloomberg
Alphabet Inc.'s Google lost the biggest antitrust challenge it has faced when a US judge found Aug. 5 that it illegally monopolized the search market. It was a major win for the US Justice Department and state attorneys general and could result in the breakup of the 25-year-old company. Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that $26 billion in payments that Google made to other companies to make its search engine the default option on smartphones and web browsers effectively blocked any other competitor from succeeding in the market. Mehta's ruling came after a 10-week trial in 2023 - the first on monopolization charges to pit the federal government against a US technology company in more than two decades.
/jlne.ws/3WBWJcH
How chip giant Intel spurned OpenAI and fell behind the times
Max A. Cherney - Reuters
For U.S. chip giant Intel, the darling of the computer age before it fell on harder times in the AI era, things might have been quite different. About seven years ago, the company had the chance to buy a stake in OpenAI, then a fledgling non-profit research organization working in a little-known field called generative artificial intelligence, four people with direct knowledge of those discussions told Reuters.
/jlne.ws/3LVHTbX
AI Is Coming for India's Famous Tech Hub; Country's outsourcing companies have added urgency to shift to higher-end services
Megha Mandavia - The Wall Street Journal
Artificial intelligence is upending India's technology outsourcing business. The industry is pivoting to adapt, but the changes could cost a large number of coveted jobs. The country's big outsourcing companies are already using AI and have plans to integrate it throughout their businesses. That might not save the low-end operations that run call centers or do other basic tasks within the so-called business process outsourcing sector.
/jlne.ws/3WDagAt
TS Imagine enhances margin calculator offering; The sell-side risk management solution will allow users to assess margin requirements from their exchange counterparts.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
TS Imagine has updated its RiskSmart X's CCP margin calculator, adding information around how much margin will be required from exchange counterparts. Previously, users of RiskSmart X were only able to assess margin requirements from their buy-side clients.
/jlne.ws/3WTMv8R
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | China approves 487 deepfake algorithms from the likes of Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent
South China Morning Post
China has approved another 487 artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that can be used for deepfakes, covering products from domestic technology giants such as Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, along with some foreign firms including Hewlett-Packard (HP). The new list from the internet watchdog Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is the second-largest since the regulation came into effect in January 2023. Included algorithms are those used in products like Baidu's portrait image diffusion generator that is bundled with its cloud gallery app Yike, and a search algorithm in Tencent's WeChat, according to the list released by the CAC on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3SDpKn3
Two Russians Who Didn't Make It Into the Historic Prisoner Swap Face Uncertain Future; Well-known cybercriminals were long rumored to be part of the negotiations
Dustin Volz, Louise Radnofsky and Angus Berwick - The Wall Street Journal
The prisoner swap last week that brought Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich home didn't free a pair of well-known Russian cybercriminals in U.S. prisons long rumored to be part of the negotiations between Washington and Moscow. When news of the deal began to leak online last week, multiple media outlets, blogs and social-media posts in the U.S. and Russia erroneously reported that Russian nationals Alexander Vinnik and Vladimir Dunaev, both notorious cybercriminals currently held in American prisons, were involved.
/jlne.ws/3WV8dtc
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Hedge Funds Pile Back Into Crypto Call Options After 'Horrific' Liquidations; Coinbase sees soaring demand for Bitcoin, data shows; Offshore exchanges still see elevated hedging with put buying
David Pan - Bloomberg
Crypto traders are piling back into optimistic bets in the options market almost immediately after one of the worst liquidations of bullish positions this year over the weekend. Traders from both offshore exchanges and US over-the-counter desks are buying calls that gives them the option to buy Bitcoin at $90,000 and more later this year, according to market participants.
/jlne.ws/46Gw96S
Trump's Overtures to US Crypto Sector Put Global Hubs on Alert; US political backdrop is becoming more favorable for crypto; Some in the industry expect capital and staff to move there
Suvashree Ghosh, Emily Nicolle, and Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Aspiring crypto hubs including Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai face a more challenging outlook as a brightening US political backdrop for digital assets attracts the attention of companies and investors. Despite this month's selloff in crypto markets, optimism in the industry remains high that the regulatory tide is turning in the US. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is courting the sector in search of donations and votes, pledging to make the US the "crypto capital of the planet" in part by firing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who cracked down on digital-asset firms for flouting rules.
/jlne.ws/46AxEmY
Is my ex hiding crypto assets from me? Paperwork needs to be checked for signs of digital holdings
Lucy Warwick-Ching - Financial Times
I'm going through a slightly messy divorce and I'm concerned that my ex-partner is concealing assets from me when we're discussing the financial settlement. In particular, I'm sure I overheard conversations about bitcoin while we were living together. I don't have the first clue about cryptocurrency and don't even know the right questions to ask or places to look. I'm not sure my lawyer does either. What should I do?
/jlne.ws/4djiOny
Bitcoin as 'Digital Gold' Thesis Undermined by Crypto Selloff; Bitcoin has decoupled from gold's price since last month; This year's rally mainly driven by new US Bitcoin ETFs
Sidhartha Shukla and Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
The cryptoasset selloff is testing the industry axiom that Bitcoin is the equivalent of "digital gold," and therefore belongs in an asset portfolio to hedge against stock market gyrations, like seldom before. As equities sank on Monday and carry trades unraveled, Bitcoin behaved more like stocks than gold, at one point tumbling 17% to below $50,000 before recouping some losses. Its correlation with the precious metal turned negative in July, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
/jlne.ws/3MgRHxz
Satoshi Era Bitcoin Miner Moves $14 Million BTC to New Wallets; The transfer coincides with what CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju has said is an accumulation phrase for Bitcoin after its Monday crash.
Murtuza Merchant - Decrypt
A Bitcoin miner who has been dormant for over a decade, transferred 250 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at approximately $13.95 million, to five new wallets on Wednesday. Beginning in 2010, the wallet meticulously accumulated 250 BTC through mining, a process that was then significantly less competitive and energy-intensive compared to today's standards, according to on-chain data.
/jlne.ws/3AnNBAG
Bitcoin Isn't a Stock-but It Sure Is Acting Like One; What happened to the currency of tomorrow?
Alex Kirshner - Slate
Your retirement accounts had a horrible, no good, very bad Monday. The S&P 500 fell by more than 3 percent by midafternoon, the Nasdaq for big tech stocks by 4 percent, and the morale of people who furiously refreshed their brokerage accounts by an even deadlier 45 percent. Also, Bitcoin-the standard-bearer for crypto and the token that tends to affect and reflect sentiments about crypto as a whole-had fallen by 9 percent. Over the past five years, there have been months when stocks and crypto have moved almost in lockstep and months when they've sprinted away from each other. The past 30 days have seen a gradual convergence, and maybe that will keep up for the long haul, or maybe stocks and Bitcoin will split up again.
/jlne.ws/3yjz20J
CSA and CIRO expect crypto trading platforms to prioritize applications for investment dealer registration and CIRO membership
Canadian Securities Administrators
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) are reminding crypto trading platforms (CTPs) to ensure their operations comply with Canadian securities laws by prioritizing their applications for registration as investment dealers and membership with CIRO.
/jlne.ws/3YBXODY
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump's Plan for US Bitcoin Stockpile Alarms Forfeiture Experts; 'It doesn't make a lot of sense,' one former prosecutor says; Seized assets usually sold to help victims, law enforcement
David Voreacos and Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
Donald Trump's campaign promise to create a national Bitcoin stockpile with cryptocurrency held by the US government alarmed former prosecutors, who said it would divert seized digital assets that otherwise would be used to compensate victims of crime. If he's elected president, the US would keep all Bitcoin the government holds or will acquire, transforming "that vast wealth into a permanent national asset to benefit all Americans," Trump said at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 27.
/jlne.ws/46BvOCc
Polls show Kamala Harris moving ahead of Donald Trump in 2024 US election
Martin Pengelly - The Guardian
As Kamala Harris named Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, as her running mate, recent polls showed the vice-president moving ahead of Donald Trump in the race for the White House. Among recent national head-to-head polls, SurveyUSA put Harris up three points ahead of Trump, 48%-45%; Morning Consult put her up four points, 48%-44%; YouGov and CBS News made it a one-point Harris lead, 50%-49%; and University of Massachusetts Amherst put Harris up three, 46%-43%.
/jlne.ws/3WVbGrm
Climate Deniers Aren't Mainstream, But Congress Is Rife With Them; These Republicans occupy almost a quarter of seats, though few Americans believe their false rhetoric.
Oliver Milman and Dharna Noor - The Guardian via Mother Jones
US politics is an outlier bastion of climate denial with nearly one in four members of Congress dismissing the reality of climate change, even as alarm has grown among the American public over dangerous global heating, an analysis has found. A total of 123 elected federal representatives-100 in the House of Representatives and 23 US senators-deny the existence of human-caused climate change, all of them Republicans, according to a recent study of statements made by current members.
/jlne.ws/4fxOFlR
Suspected Foreign Agitators Boost UK Extremists to Inflame Riots; British agencies probe possible foreign government involvement; White supremacist networks exploit Telegram to push messaging
Alex Wickham, Jeff Stone, Daniel Zuidijk, and Eleanor Thornber - Bloomberg
Suspected foreign state-backed actors and UK domestic extremists have coalesced online to stoke racism and incite violence across the UK, taking advantage of services from TikTok to the messaging service Telegram. Over the last 10 days, channels on the social media site Telegram, prominent accounts on X and self-described British patriots on ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok have pushed users to appear at centers for asylum-seekers and take part in demonstrations that later turned violent. Other accounts have spread false allegations about members of the Islamic community.
/jlne.ws/4fDixgs
Even Switzerland Is Discussing How to Tax the Super-Rich; Wealthy entrepreneurs have threatened to leave over inheritance tax proposals.
Levin Stamm and Bastian Benrath-Wright - Bloomberg
To escape a wealth tax hike in his homeland, real estate magnate Tord Kolstad left Norway two years ago. But the danger has followed him south. Switzerland, Kolstad's new home, is in the midst of a heated debate about inheritance taxes on the super-rich. The proposal - to take half of any passed-on wealth above 50 million francs ($59 million) - has prompted public warnings from business-owning multi-millionaires and billionaires that they'll go elsewhere.
/jlne.ws/46DNCwD
Kenyan Lawmaker Proposes Price Controls for Essential Goods; If passed, Treasury will fix price band for corn, wheat, rice; Kenya already controls fuel prices with monthly reviews
Eric Ombok - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Ex-Pfizer Manager Gets Nine Months for Covid Insider Trading
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
A former Pfizer Inc. statistician was sentenced to nine months behind bars for making more than $200,000 by trading on confidential information before a key announcement about the drugmaker's Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid. Amit Dagar, convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy after a one-week trial in January, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan by US District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. Dagar was charged in June 2023 with trading ahead of a November 2021 announcement that Paxlovid had reduced hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients by 89%, which sent the shares surging. He had asked for a sentence of probation or home confinement.
/jlne.ws/3WRTPlo
Japan's Top Finance Regulator Hesitant on Crypto ETF Approvals; FSA chief said some doubt merits of funds investing in crypto; Regulators globally have softened on crypto ETFs this year
Taiga Uranaka and Nao Sano - Bloomberg
The head of Japan's finance regulator said "cautious consideration" is needed in deciding whether to follow the likes of Hong Kong and the US by approving crypto-linked exchange-traded funds. Many people believe cryptoassets "do not necessarily contribute to the wealth creation of the Japanese people in a stable and long-term manner," said Hideki Ito, commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, in an interview.
/jlne.ws/4dam4RS
Regulator hopes active ETFs will boost Taiwan's standing in Asia; JPMAM and Nomura AM are among managers expected to enter Taiwan's market next year
Sinyi Au - Financial Times
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission expects the first active and multi-asset exchange traded funds to be listed next year and hopes a "butterfly effect" will boost Taiwan's standing as a major asset management hub in Asia. The move is likely to usher more global managers into Taiwan's booming onshore ETF market, with JPMorgan Asset Management and Nomura Asset Management already confirming their intention to enter the active ETF space.
/jlne.ws/3WV7acK
EY fined £250,000 over audit of Russian steel group Evraz; Big Four firm found by Financial Reporting Council to have breached fee cap
Simon Foy - Financial Times
The UK accounting regulator has hit EY with a £295,000 penalty after the accounting firm breached a fee cap in relation to its client Evraz, the Russian steel company in which oligarch Roman Abramovich was at the time the largest shareholder. The Financial Reporting Council imposed a fine of just over £250,000 and costs of £45,000 on the Big Four firm after EY failed to adhere to the watchdog's ethical standard rules for its 2021 audit of Evraz. EY also received non-financial sanctions, including a reprimand.
/jlne.ws/3yD3bb9
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against New York Real Estate Developer for Perpetrating a $229 Million Fraud Against EB-5 Investors
SEC
On July 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against Yi (Richard) Xia, his company Fleet New York Metropolitan Regional Center, LLC, and his wife JiQing (Julia) Yue. The SEC had charged Xia and Fleet with perpetrating an offering fraud of more than $229 million related to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and had named Yue as a relief defendant.
/jlne.ws/3WWqBSt
SEC Charges Founder of Social Media Company "IRL" with $170 Million Fraud
SEC
On July 31, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Abraham Shafi, the founder and former CEO of Get Together Inc., a privately held social media startup known as "IRL," with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about the company's growth and concealing his and his fiancée's extensive use of company credit cards to pay for personal expenses.
/jlne.ws/3yvtTTa
Stop order revoked after ASIC intervention on Rhinomed Limited Prospectus
ASIC
ASIC recently placed an interim stop order on an entitlement offer (Offer) made under a prospectus lodged with ASIC on 27 June 2024 (Prospectus) by Rhinomed Limited (Rhinomed). ASIC was concerned that the Prospectus did not adequately disclose all the required information under section 710 of the Corporations Act, including, but not limited to:
/jlne.ws/4fBV1AI
ASIC reports low take up of simplified liquidations since 2021 reforms
ASIC
Fewer than one in 10 liquidators have adopted a simplified liquidation process when winding up companies with debts not exceeding $1 million, even though liquidations may be eligible, a new report from ASIC has found.
/jlne.ws/3WVddOv
ASIC proposes to extend the operation of three legislative instruments
ASIC
ASIC Credit (Breach Reporting-Prescribed Commonwealth Legislation) Instrument 2021/801.
ASIC has assessed that these instruments, which are due to expire in October 2024, are operating efficiently and effectively, and continue to form a necessary and useful part of the legislative framework.
/jlne.ws/3AobLuR
Deepfake video scam warning: fake news stories, political endorsements
FMA
A public warning about new look online investment scams has been issued today, after a surge in complaints from New Zealanders tricked into clicking on fake advertisements featuring 'celebrity endorsements' - some of which use deepfake videos of New Zealand political figures.
This scam uses fake news stories, spread through multiple websites and advertisements, with the names of investment schemes and websites used to promote the scam changing frequently.
/jlne.ws/4dy5BXt
FCA announces further expansion of Leeds office, creating more jobs in the region
FCA
The FCA is set to base a further 100 of its workforce in Leeds as it expands its footprint in the city. The FCA will increase its floor space by nearly 5,000 square feet of its 6 Queen Street office - an additional 35%. The refurbishment project will begin late summer, and the new space will open in the autumn.
/jlne.ws/3SEdliG
H2O will pay EUR250 million to investors following FCA investigation
FCA
Asset manager H2O AM LLP (H2O) will pay EUR250 million to investors unable to access their funds since 2020, following an investigation by the FCA. Between April 2015 and November 2019, H2O failed to carry out proper due diligence on investments relating to the Tennor Group of companies owned by Lars Windhorst, or other companies he introduced. The investments were high risk and hard to sell.
/jlne.ws/4cgee7V
FCA helps improve crypto firms' compliance with new marketing rules
FCA
We recently reviewed several crypto firms' compliance with certain financial promotion rules designed to help people better understand the risks of investing in crypto. The regime, introduced in October 2023, followed detailed consultation and a change in legislation. This review looked at how firms are implementing personalised risk warnings, the 24-hour cooling off period, client categorisation and appropriateness assessments.
/jlne.ws/3ylbZCG
Written reply to Parliamentary Question on measures to minimise risks of cross-border scams and fraud
MAS
To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with regard to cross-border instant money transfer initiatives, what measures will be implemented to minimise the risks of cross-border scams and fraud, especially for vulnerable groups of users such as the elderly.
/jlne.ws/3LXrlQK
Market Misconduct Tribunal finds China Forestry's former chairman and CEO culpable for disclosure of false or misleading information and former CEO for insider trading
SFC
The Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) has found Mr Li Kwok Cheong and Mr Li Han Chun, former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of China Forestry Holdings Company Limited (China Forestry), culpable for disclosing false or misleading information in China Forestry's IPO prospectus and its annual results announcement and annual report for the year ended 31 December 2009, inducing transactions in the company's shares (Notes 1 to 3).
/jlne.ws/4dy6CPd
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | The Insurance Industry Is Winning a Fight to Kill New Protections for Retirement Savers; Advisers are promoting annuities with big commissions that eat into returns
Jean Eaglesham - The Wall Street Journal
The insurance industry is waging a legal war against new protections for retirement savers. The courtroom offensive appears likely to kill a yearslong effort to curb advice steering people toward products packed with hidden fees. The high-stakes battle centers on a new standard for financial advice affecting the nearly $1 trillion a year rolled over from employer-sponsored 401(k)s to individual retirement accounts. The Labor Department rule would require advisers on IRAs to recommend what is best for the saver and avoid misrepresentations and excessive charges.
/jlne.ws/3AeUmF7
Blame the Stock Market Crash on the Weather, Says Ed Yardeni. Seriously.
Jack Hough - Barron's
Blame it on the rain, and yen squeezers, and maybe artificial intelli-xuberance -but not jobs. Those were some of the takeaways from a recent conversation with economist Ed Yardeni, who says to stick with the bulls, but beware the debt pig. More on that in a moment, and further down, BofA Securities has thoughts on what to buy now. Stocks slid in New York and crashed in Tokyo after a weak U.S. jobs report stoked recession fears, you might have heard. Yardeni, publisher of a popular Wall Street newsletter, has a different take. "We're blaming it on the weather," he says. Employers added just 114,000 jobs in July, far short of a predicted 175,000. The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that Hurricane Beryl "had no discernible effect," which Yardeni finds baffling.
/jlne.ws/4dalXpF
There's a Smarter Way to 'Buy the Dip' Next Time
Steven M. Sears - Barron's
A major change has occurred in how some investors react to sharp, volatile stock market declines. Rather than simply rushing to buy S&P 500 index SPX 1.44% put options to hedge their stock portfolios, investors are now increasingly selling puts when their favored stocks decline. (A put sale obligates the seller to buy shares at a set price within a set period.) Put selling always increases in downturns, but it has occurred in such large amounts during recent routs that it has stood out from the tens of millions of options that trade each day.
/jlne.ws/4dfCtEA
Intel has lost Wall Street's patience as headwinds keep mounting
Ryan Vlastelica - Bloomberg
After another catastrophic earnings report, Intel Corp. (INTC) bulls are increasingly few and far between on Wall Street. Intel shares have shed nearly a third of their value since the firm gave a grim growth forecast, announced plans to slash 15,000 jobs, and suspended a dividend that has been in place since 1992. The report was the latest in a series of discouraging updates, and underlined the myriad headwinds facing the chipmaker as it struggles to execute an ambitious turnaround and compete in the artificial intelligence era.
/jlne.ws/4ftASwJ
Northern Trust tapped by True Potential for outsourced trading solutions; Northern Trust will provide services across equities, fixed income and exchange traded derivatives, with coverage from multiple trading locations.
Chris Lemmon - The Trade
Northern Trust has been selected by UK-based wealth management firm True Potential to provide outsourced trading services. Offered through its Integrated Trading Solutions (ITS) platform, Northern Trust will provide services across equities, fixed income and exchange traded derivatives, with coverage from multiple trading locations. The custodian will assume the trading function across True Potential's internally managed funds with approximately £6.1 billion in assets under management.
/jlne.ws/3AnNWDs
Meta Kicks Off Bond Sale as Companies Storm High-Grade Market; Around 15 borrowers seen tapping the market Wednesday; Bond sellers emboldened as Monday's volatility seen retreating
Caleb Mutua - Bloomberg
Meta Platforms Inc. was the first to tap the US investment-grade market Wednesday, as borrowers look to take advantage of a primary market that was left wide open after Monday's volatility slammed shut the issuance window. The Facebook and Instagram parent company is selling bonds in as many as five parts for general corporate purposes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The longest portion of the offering, a 40-year security, may yield 1.55 percentage points above Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
/jlne.ws/46EI6tr
Glencore CEO Sees Cobalt Glut Lasting as Long as Two Years; Swiss firm is second biggest producer of the battery metal; Miner could raise output at Mutanda mine when demand improves
William Clowes - Bloomberg
Glencore Plc, the world's second-biggest cobalt miner, said oversupply in the market may stretch into 2026 as new output overwhelms demand. "Best guess is 18 to 24 months to work through the surplus," Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle told reporters on Wednesday. The firm has stopped stockpiling and started to sell some of its inventory, he said.
/jlne.ws/4dzPVmw
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Climate Crisis Hinges on Green Power for the Poor, Rockefeller Study Shows; Rockefeller study suggests 72 nations to triple power output; That expansion needs to be green to curtail climate warming
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
The world's poorest nations need to triple power production by 2050 to prosper and will become the biggest emitters of climate-warming gases unless they are given assistance to build renewable energy facilities, the Rockefeller Foundation said in a new report. A study of the world's 72 most energy-poor nations, of which 44 are in Africa, shows that they will need to deploy 8,700 terawatt hours of clean energy production a year, or twice the US's current generation, to avoid accounting for three quarters of emissions by 2050. That would necessitate - depending on what technologies are used - the construction of about 5,000 gigawatts of generation capacity.
/jlne.ws/3WEACC6
This Startup's Carbon Tracking Project Fell Short. Nevada Kept Giving It Government Contracts Anyway.
Anjeanette Damon - ProPublica
The summer heat collected inside a fire station in Reno, the nation's fastest-warming city, where Nevada's governor and key local government leaders had gathered in July 2021. They were there to announce what they called a "groundbreaking" step to address climate change through a "landmark partnership" with a little-known green tech company. "We get to be the city, the county and the state that lead the way into a new day and a new era," Bob Lucey, then-Washoe County Commission chairperson, told the small crowd of reporters, lobbyists and government officials.
/jlne.ws/4fyfiad
Adair Turner: 'I still think we have a chance of limiting global warming to well below 2C'; The businessman and academic on the path to a zero carbon economy
Martin Wolf - Financial Times
"Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell, is the UK's technocrat for all seasons, a British version of a French énarque." This is how I described the subject of this exchange in a "Lunch with the FT" in 2016.
/jlne.ws/4fxOt65
Maersk Orders LNG Ships and Takes a Detour on Its Green Goals; Boxship giant's order includes ships that will run on natural gas, a fuel it vowed to avoid
Costas Paris and Nina Kienle - The Wall Street Journal
Danish boxship giant A.P. Moller-Maersk is hedging its bets on non-carbon fuel ships. The world's second-biggest liner will add up to 60 new vessels to its fleet, many of which will run on liquefied natural gas, a carbon-based propulsion fuel. The move marks a departure from Chief Executive Vincent Clerc's repeated pledge to avoid LNG-powered vessels and focus on methanol-powered ships that emit no carbon dioxide. Maersk's rivals have ordered LNG vessels, which emit about 25% less carbon than ships burning bunker oil. The new ships, which will also be able to run on traditional bunker fuel, will be delivered from 2026 to 2030. They will be a mix of charters and purchases of new vessels, which cost more than $120 million on average.
/jlne.ws/3WvOuPc
Democrats' VP pick Tim Walz welcomed as climate champion by green advocates; Kamala Harris's running mate boasts a strong record on climate policy and green energy as Minnesota governor
Dharna Noor and Oliver Milman - The Guardian
Tim Walz, tapped as Vice-President Kamala Harris's running mate on Tuesday, may not be a household name, but the Minnesota governor is well known as a climate champion in green advocacy circles. "Like Vice-President Harris, Governor Walz knows that climate change is the existential threat of our time," the Sierra Club executive director, Ben Jealous, said in a statement. "The Harris-Walz ticket is one that understands the fight before us."
/jlne.ws/3AcMBQ7
Study Links Permian Blowouts With Wastewater Injection
Dylan Baddour - Inside Climate News, and Carlos Nogueras Ramos - Texas Tribune
Fracking wastewater, injected underground for permanent disposal, traveled 12 miles through geological faults before bursting to the surface through a previously plugged West Texas oil well in 2022, according to a new study from Southern Methodist University. It's the first study to draw specific links between wastewater injection and recent blowouts in the Permian Basin, the nation's top producing oil field, where old oil wells have lately begun to spray salty water.
/jlne.ws/3LXoR4S
Exclusive: US EPA says it is auditing biofuel producers' used cooking oil supply
Leah Douglas - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4de37hl
Glencore Abandons Plan to Exit Coal After Investors Say No; Glencore CEO Nagle says 'common sense has prevailed'; Company reports drop in first-half earnings, trading profit
Thomas Biesheuvel - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4cb9lgw
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Citigroup whistleblower denied share of $400 million penalty
Jonathan Stempel - Reuters
A federal appeals court on Tuesday said a Citigroup (C) vice president was not entitled to a share of a $400 million civil fine that the bank agreed to pay in October 2020 over its risk management failures. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Tamika Miller did not show that her whistleblowing over Citigroup's alleged altering of audit reports obligated the bank to pay a penalty, leading to its settlement with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
/jlne.ws/4dcEQYY
DBS Picks Tan to Be First Female CEO of Singapore's Top Bank; Tan will replace Gupta, who has led DBS for more than 14 years; Gupta credited with transforming DBS while multiplying returns
Chanyaporn Chanjaroen - Bloomberg
DBS Group Holdings Ltd. said Tan Su Shan will take over from Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta in March, becoming the first woman to lead Southeast Asia's biggest bank. Tan, currently head of DBS's institutional banking group, was given the additional appointment of deputy CEO, according to a statement from the Singapore bank on Wednesday. She will succeed Gupta when he retires at the next annual general meeting on March 28.
/jlne.ws/3LXBXiO
Private Credit Fund Burned by Risky Bets Is Bleeding Cash; As Prospect Capital faces a surge in troubled borrowers paying interest with more debt, concerns over the fund's finances are growing louder.
John Sage and Ellen Schneider - Bloomberg
Prospect Capital, a little-known New York firm that helped pioneer the private credit boom, has come up with an unusual technique to keep dividends flowing out of an $8 billion fund it runs. For years now, it's sold financial instruments to retail investors and handed over the proceeds to shareholders. The sales helped the fund deliver hefty payouts even as the performance of its investments - mostly corporate loans to mid-size companies and real estate - deteriorated markedly. But they've also long raised concerns among some analysts who say the strategy obfuscates returns and is unsustainable.
/jlne.ws/4deT8br
David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital Trails the Market Again; Fund gained 2.8% in second quarter, compared to S&P 500's 4.3%; Significant addition in Capri position betting deal will close
Yiqin Shen and Carmen Reinicke - Bloomberg
David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital underperformed the broader market again in the second quarter, according to a letter sent to investors. Greenlight returned 2.8% during that period, trailing the S&P 500 Index's 4.3% total return as the benchmark rose to record highs. "We wonder if this is a genuine bull market," Greenlight wrote in the letter on Tuesday, calling out a "peculiar relationship" that existed between the 20 largest stocks by market capitalization in the S&P 500 and the remaining 480 or so stocks.
/jlne.ws/3YBoeph
Japan Hedge Funds Post Best Single Day Performance, Goldman Says
Hema Parmar and Lulu Yilun Chen - Bloomberg
Japan-focused hedge funds erased their losses from Monday's trading turmoil, posting their best ever single day performance, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Japan manager group rose 3.6% intraday on Tuesday amid a global market rebound, reversing the setback seen a day before when such funds saw their largest single day drawdown, data compiled by Goldman's prime brokerage showed in a report.
/jlne.ws/4fCiu4Q
H2O Asset Management to pay investors EUR250mn after FCA finds 'serious breaches'; Regulator criticises 'false' statements, lax due diligence and failing to declare hospitality including use of a superyacht
Robert Smith and Cynthia O'Murchu - Financial Times
H2O Asset Management has agreed to pay EUR250mn to investors after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority found it committed "serious breaches" in relation to illiquid investments. Once a star of the European investment world that oversaw more than EUR30bn at its peak, H2O was plunged into crisis in 2019 after the Financial Times revealed it had substantial exposure to hard-to-sell securities tied to the controversial financier Lars Windhorst.
/jlne.ws/4dAROj8
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | It's Getting Harder for Companies to Keep Politics Out of the Workplace; Employers teach de-escalation techniques as divisive political discussions become almost impossible to avoid
Chip Cutter and Lauren Weber - The Wall Street Journal
As Republicans prepared to gather at their party's national convention in Milwaukee last month, restaurateur Paul Bartolotta and his team reminded the company's wait staff of a longstanding policy: If a diner starts spouting political beliefs, try to stay quiet. "If you hear something, it's not your position to engage," Bartolotta said he told his staff. "Let it play out." Like a number of businesspeople, Bartolotta is on a quest to keep politics out of the workplace this election cycle-a goal that many others are finding all but impossible to achieve as former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris head into the final 90 days of the presidential campaign.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Court Enjoins Fraudulent Medical Debt Collection Scheme Targeting Veterans and Older Americans
Department of Justice
The Justice Department announced today that, as of Aug. 2, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has entered permanent injunctions that bar three Tulsa, Oklahoma-area men and two companies from running a fraudulent medical debt collection scheme that targeted current and former servicemembers and older Americans.
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The Medications That Make Extreme Heat Even Riskier; Antidepressants and some heart drugs can leave patients vulnerable to dehydration and heat exhaustion
Kayla Yup - The Wall Street Journal
Your medications could be making you even more vulnerable to record-setting heat. Breana Turner, 27, a doctoral candidate who takes the antidepressant venlafaxine to treat anxiety, was participating in a parade on a sweltering afternoon this June in Roanoke, Va., when her ears started ringing and her heart started racing. She vomited and was rushed inside. Emergency medical technicians placed cool compresses on her lower back and neck. The EMTs reminded her that antidepressants can increase the chance of suffering heat-related illnesses.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Japan's Itochu Buys Stake in Trader Javelin Global Commodities; Itochu takes a minority stake in London-headquartered Javelin; Javelin plans to open Shanghai trading office next year
Archie Hunter - Bloomberg
Japanese trading giant Itochu Corp. has bought a minority stake in Javelin Global Commodities, the historically coal-focused firm that's fast expanding into oil, metals and renewables. The companies didn't disclose the size of the stake taken by Itochu, or the amount paid, in a statement Wednesday. Itochu previously lent London-based Javelin $25 million as a convertible bond, and the two firms had significant commercial agreements in coal according to company filings in the UK.
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China's PBOC Keeps Gold Buying on Hold As Prices Hit Record
Jessica Zhou - Bloomberg
China's central bank didn't buy any gold for a third straight month in July, as the precious metal surged to record high. Bullion held by the People's Bank of China was unchanged at 72.8 million troy ounces at the end of last month, according to official data released on Wednesday. This is the third month of no reported purchases - the central bank in May ended an 18-month buying spree that helped drive strength in bullion.
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Indian Companies Shun Global Worries to Push Ahead With Listings; IPOs raised $5.6 billion this year, bigger debuts in offing; Local funds have enough liquidity to absorb large sales
Ashutosh Joshi and Dave Sebastian - Bloomberg
India's bustling initial public offering market is barreling ahead with bigger debuts, shrugging off this week's global equity selloff. The nation saw 189 companies going for fresh share sales to raise $5.6 billion this year, making it one of the busiest markets in this space. At least 30 IPOs are in the offing as demand powered by domestic money pushes companies to explore listing.
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Japan Likely Sold Foreign Securities to Fund FX Intervention
Erica Yokoyama - Bloomberg
Japan's holdings of foreign securities decreased in July, suggesting that the government likely financed a large portion of the recent currency intervention by selling Treasuries. The country's holdings of foreign securities fell by about $17 billion in July to $911 billion, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday. Foreign deposits remained largely unchanged at $159 billion, as total reserves edged lower to $1.22 trillion.
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Exclusive: India cenbank asks top banks to refrain from large trading bets against rupee, sources say
Jaspreet Kalra and Nimesh Vora - Reuters
The Reserve Bank of India has asked some large banks to not add to their existing positions against the rupee in a bid to support the currency which has fallen to all-time lows for three straight days, four bankers told Reuters. Officials from the RBI's financial markets regulation and operations department rang big banks on Tuesday, when the currency was at risk of breaching the 84/$ level in the spot market, the bankers, who declined to be identified since they are not authorised to speak to the media, said.
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Microcredit Pioneer Muhammad Yunus to Lead Caretaker Bangladesh Government; Role marks a change in fortunes for the economist, who faced legal proceedings under the government of Sheikh Hasina
Tripti Lahiri - The Wall Street Journal
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, a widely respected microcredit pioneer, was chosen Tuesday to lead Bangladesh's caretaker government after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned following weeks of violent protests and fled the country. The appointment was decided Tuesday in talks between the president, armed-forces chiefs and more than a dozen student protest leaders, said Bangladesh's news agency, citing the president's press secretary. The executive director of the Yunus Center, Yunus's Dhaka-based development think tank, and a student leader confirmed the appointment.
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Egypt Eyes Bumper Wheat Purchase With Prices Near Four-Year Low
Abdel Latif Wahba, Aine Quinn and Celia Bergin - Bloomberg
Egypt is taking advantage of the current dip in wheat prices to buy up nearly a third of its yearly requirement of the grain in one go. The country's state-run buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities, said it is looking to buy a maximum of 3.8 million tons of wheat in a tender next week. The country usually buys less than a million tons and does not announce how much it intends to purchase. The tender also has a longer-than-usual delivery period.
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Ex-NFL Owner's Money Manager Leads US Wagers for Brazil Tycoon; Lee Herzog joins family office of fintech founder Ivan Toledo; He once worked for former Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner
Benjamin Stupples and Daniel Cancel - Bloomberg
A veteran money manager for the former owner of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns has joined an investment firm for one of Brazil's richest fintech tycoons. Lee Herzog recently started at Raiz Investimentos as an investment director to set up and lead its New York-based unit, according to his LinkedIn profile. The firm serves as the family office for Ivan Toledo, founder of electronic toll-payment firm Sem Parar that was sold in 2016 for about $1.1 billion, according to business registry data.
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Deepfake video scam warning: fake news stories, political endorsements
Financial Markets Authority (New Zealand)
A public warning about new look online investment scams has been issued today, after a surge in complaints from New Zealanders tricked into clicking on fake advertisements featuring 'celebrity endorsements' - some of which use deepfake videos of New Zealand political figures. This scam uses fake news stories, spread through multiple websites and advertisements, with the names of investment schemes and websites used to promote the scam changing frequently. Some recent examples include images of the New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, with accompanying text falsely claiming, 'pensions payments will be cancelled'. This is not true and designed to alarm readers into clicking on links included with the content.
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