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John Lothian Newsletter
November 05, 2020 "Irreverent, but never irrelevant"
 
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Rich Mackey

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Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Thank you to Rich Mackey, who was the latest donor to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign. Rich is a managing director of strategic initiatives at Prime Trading, LLC in Chicago and one of the nicest guys in the industry. He was a speaker at our MarketsWiki Education World of Opportunity series in Chicago in 2017. He was also formerly with RCG and Bakkt. Please help our efforts to preserve industry history by becoming a donor to our GoFundMe campaign.

The CFTC yesterday approved Eris Clearing, LLC to clear fully-collateralized swaps. ErisX has been on a roll.

The CFTC yesterday also designated KalshiEX LLC as a contract market. KalshiEX is a limited liability company located in San Francisco, CA and is formed under Delaware state law. According to their LinkedIn page, they are trade event outcomes. Also, it appears they will be cleared by LedgerX. Their website is www.kalshi.com. Timothy McDermott, former CEO of North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex), is a public director on the KalshiEX board of directors. See more about them in Thom Thompson's comments below.

It is a bad day to be a mink in Denmark. It is not that you are going to end up being part of a coat or stole, but every mink in Denmark is going to be exterminated because of a coronavirus outbreak among Denmark's mink farming population.

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

*****

The CFTC designated Kalshi, a start-up events betting platform, as a regulated contract market on Tuesday. Kalshi announced earlier that its contracts will clear at LedgerX, the CFTC-regulated bitcoin swaps market that launched in October 2017. LedgerX gained permission to clear futures contracts on September 2 this year. LedgerX's and Kalshi's current licenses do not permit them to have brokers for their cleared and traded contracts. Look for a launch early next year. ~Thom Thompson

On Election Day, voters in New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Montana approved legalized recreational marijuana use for their states. New Jersey's legislature, though, is required to pass enabling legislation before adult recreational use can be permitted. In Arizona, the state health department must first implement regulations before local residents can light up. In Montana, possession, cultivation and use of marijuana by adults over 21 years old will be legal on January 1, 2021. The state also can begin licensing retail operations on January 1. Mississippi voters approved medical use marijuana on Tuesday, as did South Dakota voters, in addition to their approval for recreational use. Both Mississippi and South Dakota will take up enabling legislation. No state-wide marijuana ballot initiatives were defeated on Tuesday.~Thom Thompson

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CFTC Approves Eris Clearing, LLC to Clear Fully-Collateralized Swaps
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it has approved an Amended Order of Registration for Eris Clearing, LLC, located in Chicago, Ill., to clear additional products, subject to the terms and conditions specified in the order, as a derivatives clearing organization under the Commodity Exchange Act.
/bit.ly/3k4GdfQ

*****The god of crypto trading takes another step forward.~JJL

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Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation awards the HfG Photo Prize to Verdiana Albano
Deutsche Börse Group
The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation has awarded the HfG Photo Promotion Prize 2020 to Verdiana Albano for her project "surrounded". The prize is awarded annually to students at the Offenbach University of Design (HfG) who deal with the medium of photography in their training. As part of its commitment to promoting young contemporary artists, the Foundation has been awarding the EUR 2,500 prize since 2010. The traditional tour of the HfG and the subsequent award ceremony were canceled this year due to the corona pandemic. Instead, some students had created a newspaper with their works, which served as the basis for the judging. This year's jury members were photographer Barbara Klemm and Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.
/jlne.ws/3l742oQ

*****Surrounded is not how I feel in 2020.~JJL

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GameStop TikTok challenge: Winner gets extra hours during Black Friday
Josh Peter - USA Today
GameStop is sponsoring a TikTok contest with a highly unusual prize: 10 hours of labor on Black Friday.
That's right, win the contest and work a little overtime!
/jlne.ws/2TXTDzy

**** Tom Sawyer could learn a thing or two from these guys. ~JB

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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top story Wednesday was The New York Times's How to Worry More Mindfully, a very timely story. Second was Roxy Rong's super power is coding, from Peak6. Third was UK allows firms to trade on EU venues in 'simple' approach to share trading obligation, from The Trade News.

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John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals.
 
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Lead Stories
Japan's ethical capitalism has lessons for the world on ESG; The country's business model and that of western society are beginning to converge
Jim McCafferty - FT
Stakeholder capitalism has really taken hold amid the social and economic disruption of Covid-19. More than $30bn has been added to global environmental, social and governance funds in the first nine months of this year, more than in all of 2018 and 2019 combined, Morningstar data shows.
/jlne.ws/3mN0Zm2

Ant's failed IPO points to wider clash on fintech; Next US administration must tackle regulation of start-up sector
The editorial board - FT
Jack Ma has built his fortune disrupting the status quo. In just over two decades the entrepreneur has helped to revolutionise China's economy by changing the way millions of its citizens buy, sell and invest. This time, however, the limelight-seeking billionaire appears to have flown a little too close to the sun. Mr Ma's swipe at China's state-dominated banking system, just days before the expected flotation of Ant Group, his online finance business, caused consternation in Beijing. The result has been the dramatic suspension of Ant's market debut.
/jlne.ws/32fSXdI

How a Japanese Rice Farmer Got Tangled Up in the Hertz Bankruptcy; The coronavirus pandemic disrupted a lucrative trade route that funneled global cash into risky U.S. corporate loans
Cezary Podkul and Megumi Fujikawa - WSJ
Shogo Takemoto 's family has tilled the rice fields of eastern Japan for more than 200 years. They stash their savings in an agricultural cooperative and borrow from it to help finance the farm's day-to-day operations. But with interest rates near zero, the return on the loans is too little to keep the cooperative going. So it deposits Mr. Takemoto's savings with Japan's bank for farmers and fishermen, which sends the money overseas to earn a better yield.
/jlne.ws/3oYJv87

Biden on Brink of Defeating Trump With Few States Left to Report
Jordan Fabian and Tyler Pager - Bloomberg
GOP opens legal fights to halt counting in battleground states; Biden needs to win six more Electoral College votes to win
Joe Biden stood on the brink of claiming the presidency from Donald Trump on Thursday, with a handful of states expecting to complete their vote counts despite Republicans opening legal fights to stop counting in at least two states. Biden held 264 Electoral College votes out of the 270 needed to win the White House, according to the Associated Press. Trump has 214.
/jlne.ws/32hlhwa

Inside the Chaotic Unraveling of Jack Ma's $35 Billion IPO
Bloomberg News
Ma's meeting in Beijing marked the start of a wild 72 hours; Ant faces new reality of tighter regulation, restrained growth
The mid-level bureaucrats left China's richest man waiting as they prepared for a meeting that would send shockwaves across the financial world. It was Monday morning in Beijing, and Jack Ma had been summoned to a conference room at the China Securities Regulatory Commission just days before he was set to take Ant Group Co. public in the biggest stock-market debut of all time.
/bloom.bg/38dpSmJ

HKEX to launch futures and options on Hang Seng TECH index; The HKEX futures and options contracts will launch on 23 November 2020 and 18 January 2021 respectively as the first ETDs to track the Hang Seng TECH index.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is preparing to roll out futures and options contracts on the Hang Seng TECH Index as the first exchange-traded derivatives to track the benchmark. The Hang Seng TECH index futures will launch later this month on 23 November, with plans to go live with options on 18 January next year, subject to market readiness and regulatory approval.
/jlne.ws/2TYlMGK

Beijing Wants to Treat Ant Like a Bank and Its Value Hangs in the Balance; Move prompts reassessment of whether the company's growth and profitability will be curtailed
Jing Yang, Xie Yu and Joanne Chiu - WSJ
The sudden halt to Ant Group Co.'s giant initial public offering left investors hanging, employees shellshocked and shareholders trying to come to grips with why China pulled the plug on the record-breaking deal when it was so close to the finish line.
/jlne.ws/38dc7V7

Société Générale Returns to Profit as European Banks Beat Expectations; French bank lost money in the first half of the year as the pandemic struck
Simon Clark - WSJ
Société Générale SA SCGLY -1.97% returned to profit in the third quarter after the French bank lost money in the first half of the year because of problems in its trading unit. The Paris-based lender reported a net profit of EUR862 million, equivalent to $1 billion, for the third quarter, after losing EUR1.59 billion in the first half of 2020.
/jlne.ws/38kg5vr

Ant's rocky road holds lessons for business in a digital age; Its meteoric rise tells us about how companies flourish and are constrained by their markets
John Thornhill - FT
There are many eye-popping aspects to Ant Group's plans for a blockbuster public listing in China this week, not least its dramatic last-minute suspension by the Shanghai stock exchange. The saga shows both how capitalist China has become and how Communist it remains.
/jlne.ws/2Jz1EZP

UK fires warning shot at Brussels over post-transition share trading; FCA says it may deviate from EU financial rules if City of London not granted equivalence
Philip Stafford and Jim Brunsden - FT
UK regulators have threatened to deviate from EU rules on share trading if Brussels does not deliver market-access permissions to the City of London. The move on Wednesday by the Financial Conduct Authority is a sign of UK frustration over the EU's silence on post-January 1 arrangements.
/jlne.ws/3mT26R9

Ant Group IPO faces at least 6-month delay after Beijing intervention; Chinese fintech's valuation could fall after being hit by new regulations
Hudson Lockett and Primrose Riordan - FT
Ant Group's initial public offering could be delayed by at least six months and its valuation sharply reduced after Beijing abruptly halted its trading debut this week, people directly involved in the deal and investors said.
/jlne.ws/2JtZZ7R

BOE Gives Bigger-Than-Expected QE Boost to Slumping Economy
David Goodman and Lucy Meakin - Bloomberg
Government bond purchase target raised by 150 billion pounds; Central bank says economy will contract in the fourth quarter
The Bank of England boosted its bond-buying program by a bigger-than-expected 150 billion pounds ($195 billion) in another round of stimulus to help the economy through a second wave of coronavirus restrictions. The BOE, which now expects the economy to shrink this quarter, has eased monetary policy four times since March, flooding the economy with cash to keep borrowing costs down in the hope of spurring demand.
/jlne.ws/2IaE59n

Bank of England Probes Potential Information Leak
David Goodman - Bloomberg
The Bank of England is investigating a potential leak of its decision to boost its bond-buying program by a larger-than-expected amount.
/bloom.bg/3oYj0j6



CQG

SGX




Coronavirus
Stories relating to the COVID-19 pandemic
The US just reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 infections, the most cases in a single day since pandemic's start
Christina Maxouris, CNN
The US recorded a staggering 102,831 new Covid-19 infections Wednesday -- the first time since the start of the pandemic it has reported a six-figure number.
/cnn.it/38hSLhE

Coronavirus Study in Germany Offers Hope for Concertgoers; Findings from a test event with 1,200 attendees suggest that indoor concerts have a "low" impact on infection rates, providing they are well ventilated and follow hygiene protocols.
Isabella Kwai - NY Times
Researchers in Germany may have some good news for frustrated concertgoers across the world whose activities have been constrained by the spread of the coronavirus.
/jlne.ws/32imlzI

Denmark Will Kill All Farmed Mink, Citing Coronavirus Infections; Government officials said on Wednesday that a mutation in the virus could interfere with vaccine effectiveness in humans.
James Gorman - NY Times
The Danish government will slaughter millions of mink at more than 1,000 farms, citing concerns that a mutation in the novel coronavirus that has infected the mink could possibly interfere with the effectiveness of a vaccine for humans.
/jlne.ws/2Jz4Ep3

Americans Were Given the Coronavirus Option to Raid Their 401(k). Most Didn't; Low-income workers who would be most likely to tap a retirement-savings account are least likely to have one
Anne Tergesen and Corrie Driebusch - WSJ
Despite the financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic, few American households have raided their retirement accounts to make ends meet. Faced with the prospect of surging unemployment and a declining economy, Congress in March passed a law that temporarily allows Americans to use their retirement money today.
/jlne.ws/3mYxwFV

Switzerland holds out against following its neighbours into new lockdown; Bern hopes raft of new measures will be sufficient to ward off second wave of coronavirus
Sam Jones - FT
Just as much of Europe has been plunged into a second lockdown, Switzerland is holding out. As governments across the continent rush to implement new restrictions to contain an upsurge in coronavirus cases, the wealthy Alpine state is insisting the severe curbs on public life imposed in the original shutdown must be avoided.
/jlne.ws/3p1aXlK

Sweden's PM Self-Isolates After Potential Exposure to Covid-19
Rafaela Lindeberg - Bloomberg
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has begun self-isolating after potentially being exposed to the coronavirus. Lofven said in a Facebook post that someone in his vicinity had been close to another person who had contracted Covid-19. Lofven and his wife Ulla have now chosen to isolate themselves on the advice of a doctor.
/jlne.ws/38eXDUE

Greece to Go Into Nationwide Lockdown Saturday, Premier Says
Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas - Bloomberg
Mitsotakis hopes country can have 'relatively normal December'; Prime minister cites rising case load, pressure on hospitals
Greece is set to impose a new national lockdown, joining countries from France to the U.K. that are resorting once again to broad shutdowns as coronavirus cases soar. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country will begin a three-week national lockdown from 6 a.m. Saturday, after a prolonged rise in infections and an increase in the number of patients in intensive care.
/jlne.ws/2JIaFjD

AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid Vaccine on Track for Year End, CEO Says
Suzi Ring and James Paton - Bloomberg
Pascal Soriot dismisses reports of manufacturing delays; Soriot says FDA may wait for U.S. data to approve shot
AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus shot could be ready for large-scale vaccinations as early as this year, Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said, dismissing reports of delays and production snags.
/jlne.ws/3mRr57t

Europe's Second Lockdown Wave Risks Double-Dip Recessions; Governments are trying to limit the pain to a few industries, but the costs may still be high.
Alessandra Migliaccio, Carolynn Look, Piotr Skolimowski - Bloomberg
It's 5:45 p.m., and a small square close to Rome's Spanish Steps is full of the sounds of alfresco diners and children playing. Twenty minutes later, all that can be heard is the scraping of metal chairs on cobblestones as waiters close up for the night, the piazza darkening as they turn off the lights.
/jlne.ws/36aLbTg

Mass Testing Could Be a Covid Game Changer; Boris Johnson's claims about antigen tests aren't entirely hype. But they need to be folded into a stronger program of contact tracing and isolation.
Therese Raphael - Bloomberg
Until a vaccine arrives, the world has to find a way to live with Covid-19 and without lockdowns. One approach gaining currency is testing entire populations with new tests that deliver near-instant results. Slovakia just used such rapid diagnostic tests on 3.6 million people — two-thirds of its population — in two days.
/bloom.bg/3mS9U5C

'Brutal and terrifying,' and 'the sickest I've ever been in my life.' More COVID patients report symptoms that won't go away
Barbra Williams Cosentino - MarketWatch
Ever since he contracted the coronavirus in mid-March, Jake Elsas, 53, has spent every waking moment feeling like he's had the worst sleep of his life. The kind of sleep "where a person fitfully rolls around for hours and, once in temporary slumber, has nothing but anxiety dreams and nightmares. Tired and groggy and lethargic, the cobwebs in my head become an impermeable blanket. And that's on a good day," said Elsas, who lives in Atlanta.
/on.mktw.net/3oZm5j0








Exchanges, OTC & Clearing
Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities
HKEX to Introduce Futures and Options on Hang Seng TECH Index
HKEX
Hang Seng TECH Index Futures to launch on 23 November 2020;Hang Seng TECH Index Options to launch on 18 January 2021; Trading fee discount and SFC Commission Levy Exemption will be applied to newly launched contracts
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Thursday) pleased to announce it will introduce futures and options contracts based on the Hang Seng TECH Index on 23 November 2020 and 18 January 2021 respectively, subject to regulatory approval and market readiness.
/jlne.ws/3jYb1Pd

CME Group Declares Quarterly Dividend
CME Group
CME Group Inc., the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today declared a fourth-quarter dividend of $0.85 per share, payable December 29, 2020, to shareholders of record as of December 10, 2020.
/jlne.ws/2I4s7Og

Position Limits and Large Trader Reporting Requirements in Connection with the Initial Listing of the Pork Cutout Futures and Options on Pork Cutout Futures Contracts
CME Group
In connection with the listing of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. ("CME") Pork Cutout Futures and Options on Pork Cutout Futures contracts (the "contracts") on trade date Monday, November 9, 2020 (see SER-8651 published September 29, 2020), please note below and in Exhibit C of CME Submission No. 20-339 the corresponding spot-month position limits (Rule 559), single month position limits (Rule 559), aggregation allocations (Rule 559.D) and reportable levels (Rule 561) for the contracts.
/jlne.ws/3l1pcoc

REVISED: New Product Summary: Initial Listing of the Pork Cutout Futures and Options on Pork Cutout Futures Contracts
CME Group
Initial Listing of the Pork Cutout Futures and Options on Pork Cutout Futures Contracts
/jlne.ws/2TYG6rH

OTC FX New Release - Trade Register Update
CME Group
Please be advised that CME will add four new columns to the end of the OTC FX Trade Register CSV report in New Release on November 11, 2020. CME will confirm the production date in a forthcoming advisory.
/jlne.ws/2I6g2rQ

Nasdaq October 2020 Volumes
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported monthly volumes for October 2020, on its investor relations website.
/jlne.ws/2HVhkXb

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Pricing of Secondary Offering of Common Stock
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of mortgage technology, data and listings services, announced today the pricing of an underwritten secondary offering by Cyprus Parent, LP, an entity controlled by Thoma Bravo and formerly known as Ellie Mae Parent, LP (the "selling stockholder"), of 9,180,569 shares of ICE's common stock at a price to the public of $98.00 per share. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as the sole underwriter for the offering. The offering is expected to close on or about November 9, 2020, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
/jlne.ws/34XBFn6

ICE Notice: TWELVE NEW MSCI INDEX FUTURES CONTRACTS TO BE LISTED FOR TRADING ON DECEMBER 14, 2020
Effective with the start of trading for trade date Monday, December 14, 20201, ICE Futures U.S. will begin trading new futures contracts on the following MSCI Indexes: MSCI Australia NTR Index (contract symbol AS7) MSCI Malaysia NTR Index (contract symbol MYY)
/bit.ly/365ycSV

TMX Group Limited Declares Dividend of $0.70 per Common Share
TMX
The Board of Directors of TMX Group Limited today declared a dividend of $0.70 on each common share outstanding, payable on December 4, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 20, 2020.
/jlne.ws/3evELSp

TMX Group Limited Reports Results for Third Quarter 2020
TMX
TMX Group Limited [TSX:X] ("TMX Group") today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.
/jlne.ws/3l2K6TJ

TMX Group Consolidated Trading Statistics - October 2020
TMX
TMX Group Limited today announced October 2020 trading statistics for its marketplaces - Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange and Montréal Exchange.
/jlne.ws/3525285

ASX Group Monthly Activity Report - October 2020
ASX
/jlne.ws/351gPmZ

Regulatory Market-Making: Amendment of spread parameters
Eurex
Eurex Circular: Regulatory Market-Making: Amendment of spread parameters
/jlne.ws/3k1GT5M

Euronext and the French Tech mission announce a partnership dedicated to French Tech Next40 and French Tech 120 companies
Euronext
Euronext, the leading market infrastructure in Europe, and the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, through the French Tech Mission, announce an exclusive partnership to support technology companies in the La French program Tech Next40 - French Tech 120 in financing their growth through the Stock Exchange.
/jlne.ws/3jYa3T5

Euronext announces volumes for October 2020
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announced trading volumes for October 2020.
/jlne.ws/3eAhZZN

Skyline University College Signs A MoU With The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange
Mondovisione
Skyline University College (SUC) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) aimed at providing scholarship opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students. Under this agreement, the two entities will share knowledge and provide DGCX members as well as their families the chance to pursue higher education at SUC's School of Business and School of Information Technology (IT).
/bit.ly/3n7VlLB

Tradeweb Reports October Total Trading Volume Of $19.4 Trillion - Average Daily Volume Of $910.8 Billion In October Marks Tradeweb's Second-Highest Month Ever
Mondovisione
/bit.ly/3jYyU9C




FEX


Japan Exchange Group


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Fintech
A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors
Data visualisation for transaction reporting; "A picture is worth a thousand words". This is as true for data as it is for art.
The Trade
With the advent of big data, there is a tremendous need to manage, interpret and communicate it effectively - because even the best data is meaningless without being able to understand it and then apply it to your business. Data visualisation transforms bland data into useful visuals that tell a story and, if done right, can be used with little effort to make data-driven decisions. And while these tools have traditionally been used only by front office, revenue-generating teams where the value is immediate and obvious, there are plenty of reasons why it can and should be adapted for internal, back office systems and users.
/jlne.ws/2TYcuuA

Bloomberg adds Credit Benchmark risk data to Terminal; The data from Credit Benchmark is accessible on the Bloomberg Terminal alongside existing credit risk datasets and risk indicators.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Bloomberg has expanded the credit risk datasets on its Terminal with the addition of data from Credit Benchmark to support credit assessments and predictive models during market volatility for users.
/jlne.ws/3k8VLPX

Vincent Turcotte joins Eventus Systems as Sales Director, Asia Pacific
Operating out of Hong Kong, Turcotte brings 30 years of markets experience to trade surveillance and risk management firm
Eventus Systems, Inc., a multi-award winning global trade surveillance and risk management software platform provider, today announced that Vincent Turcotte has just joined the firm as Sales Director for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, operating out of Hong Kong. Turcotte has more than three decades of experience at exchanges, broker-dealers and futures commission merchants (FCMs), most recently as Director, Asia Pacific for Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
/prn.to/3p0gDwg

WhatsApp Introduces Messages That Delete After Seven Days
Amy Thomson - Bloomberg
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at developments last year; Financial services firms struggling to monitor staff at home
Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp will roll out disappearing messages to users this month, which will delete posts in a chat after seven days, mirroring rival platforms such as Signal.
/jlne.ws/36aLAFz

Moorgate Benchmarks Appointed Independent Benchmark Administrator Of TP ICAP's Interest Rate Swap Benchmarks
Mondovisione
Moorgate Benchmarks, the index company driving change, today announced that it has been appointed by TP ICAP plc, a leading provider of market infrastructure and the world's largest interdealer broker active in the world's financial, energy and commodities markets, as the independent administrator of a number of its ISDA-referenced interest rate swap (IRS) benchmarks.
/bit.ly/3643Wbe

Beeks Launches Analytics As A Service - An Industry-First, Cloud-Neutral Monitoring Solution For The Financial Markets
Mondovisione
Beeks Group today announced the launch of Beeks Analytics as a Service, a new network monitoring and trade analytics tool. Beeks Analytics as a Service is an industry-first, cloud-neutral monitoring solution for the financial markets and uses Velocimetrics technology to provide financial clients with the ability to consume powerful wire-based analytics as a cloud hosted offering.
/bit.ly/3mSbS60



Vermiculus



Cryptocurrencies
Top stories for cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin Haul of $1 Billion on Move, Possibly With Silk Road Tie
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Elliptic says it's 60% certain the funds relate to the site; Bitcoin is holding up after reaching the $13,000 range
Almost $1 billion worth of Bitcoin that likely originated from Silk Road is on the move, according to blockchain tracker Elliptic. Some 69,369 Bitcoins have been moved out of a wallet that may be associated with the website, Elliptic said. Silk Road peddled everything from drugs to murder-for-hire before being busted by U.S. agents in 2013. Some Bitcoins associated with the site have been sold in government auctions in prior years.
/jlne.ws/3emZubg

Crypto mining is now drawing in the world's top renewables producers
Marie Huillet - CoinTelegraph
En+ Group, the world's top producer of low-carbon aluminum and the largest private-sector generator of hydropower, has entered its first crypto mining joint venture.
The new venture, called Bit+, will focus on creating facilities that support crypto mining with a low carbon footprint. En+ Group's partner in Bit+ is the Russian company BitRiver, which provides hosting services and turnkey solutions for large-scale, institutional crypto mining operations.
/jlne.ws/32gP3kD

DOJ Seizes $24M In Crypto As Part Of Probe
PYMNTS.com
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized $24 million in virtual currency on behalf of the Brazilian government, according to a press release.
The seizure stemmed from a cryptocurrency fraud scheme being investigated by Brazilian federal police called Operation Egypto. It involved the defrauding of tens of thousands of Brazilian residents for over $200 million, the release stated.
/jlne.ws/3p7KfYP

US Court Fines $900K to Crypto and Forex Ponzi Scheme Operator
Arnab Shome - Finance Magnates
A United States district court has sentenced against a digital currency and forex Ponzi scheme that solicited and misappropriated its clients' funds.
Both Venture Capital Investments LLC (VCI) and its principal and manager, Breonna Clark, otherwise known as Eliot Clark or Alexander Pak, were held accountable for running the fraudulent scheme.
/jlne.ws/32fBZvH

Hong Kong's decision to regulate crypto hailed a 'positive move'
Oliver Knight - Yahoo Finance
Hong Kong has made the bold decision to regulate all cryptocurrency platforms operating within the territory in a move that has split opinion among the community.
Some have suggested that exchanges based in Hong Kong will now consider moving companies abroad in pursuit of more liberal regulatory restrictions.
/jlne.ws/2TYhkYO

Wyoming elects first Bitcoin owner to U.S. Senate
Jeff John Roberts - Fortune
The cryptocurrency industry's fortunes in Washington, D.C., received a potential boost on election night as Wyoming voters elected former congresswoman Cynthia Lummis to the U.S. Senate.
/jlne.ws/3k13zDh

Crypto Exchange Coinbase Is on a Hiring Spree in Japan
Sebastian Sinclair - Coinbase
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is hiring in Japan, years after first saying it planned to launch services in the country.
/bit.ly/3oZYQoT

Ahead of Election Night, the number of large reportable CME bitcoin futures traders hit an all-time high
Frank Chaparro - The Block
As voters across the U.S. cast their ballots for their future president, CME Group's bitcoin futures market revved up, according to data shared with The Block.
/bit.ly/32cgNqw




CryptoMarketsWiwki



Politics
An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets
Trump's Tweeting Isn't Crazy. It's Strategic, Typos and All.; A network of right-wing operatives and activists — and the president himself — spread disinformation about Joe Biden with one simple hashtag.
Emily Dreyfuss - NY Times
In the morning hours of Oct. 30, as most of the country slept, President Trump was binge tweeting again. At 2:32 a.m., he told his 87.3 million Twitter followers: "Way ahead in Texas! Watch the Great Red Wave!" Minutes later, he tweeted the hashtag #BidenCrimeFamiily, with a typo in the word "family." That was it. No context, no link.
/jlne.ws/2Ju3N99

Fake Twitter Accounts Posing as News Organizations Prematurely Declare Election Victories; Similarities in fake accounts and tweets point to coordinated effort to spread online disinformation about presidential election
Dustin Volz, Rob Barry and Jenny Strasburg - WSJ
Several Twitter accounts posed as U.S. news organizations on Wednesday to falsely and prematurely declare election victories for Democrat Joe Biden, in what appeared to be a coordinated campaign to inject disinformation into online conversation about the presidential contest. Twitter quickly suspended the accounts, which mimicked the logos and account names of the Associated Press and, in at least one instance, CNN, both news organizations that independently call U.S. election results. Most of the tweets identified by The Wall Street Journal sought to prematurely announce various victories for Mr. Biden, but in at least one instance, one of the accounts declared President Trump had won re-election.
/jlne.ws/368YZ0C

Biden risks being a lame duck president; The real lesson from Tuesday's hotly contested vote is that the US is almost ungovernable
Edward Luce - FT
Damaged liberal hearts may briefly be lifted by the fact that Joe Biden received more votes than anyone in US presidential history — until they find out Donald Trump came in a historic second. He even exceeded Barack Obama's peak 2008 tally. The real lesson from Tuesday's record turnout and the continuing vote counts is that America is bitterly, energetically and almost evenly divided.
/jlne.ws/3mUGPX9

Trump raises prospect of protracted election litigation; President faces high bar to halt vote counts after vow to take election fight to US Supreme Court
Kadhim Shubber - FT
Donald Trump has set up the possibility of protracted litigation over the election result after vowing to turn to the Supreme Court to secure another four years in office.
/jlne.ws/2HYOPYF

Trumpism Is Here to Stay, No Matter Who's in the White House; And if he's defeated this time, Trump could even run again in 2024.
Joshua Green - Bloomberg
As the ballot-counting drags on, President Trump's fate is still unsettled. The fate of Trumpism, on the other hand, is clear: It isn't going away. And Trump himself may remain in the political spotlight even if he loses.
/jlne.ws/38eVxEg

Trump Launches Legal Onslaught Over Battleground-State Votes
Erik Larson and David Yaffe-Bellany - Bloomberg
Campaign sued to halt vote count in Pennsylvania and Michigan; Trump is also pushing to get U.S. Supreme Court involved
President Donald Trump's repeated threats to contest election results in court took shape Wednesday with lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia trying to halt vote counts trending toward Democrat Joe Biden. In Pennsylvania and Michigan, the Trump campaign claimed it hasn't been given meaningful access to counting locations to observe the process for opening and tabulating ballots as guaranteed under state law. The Pennsylvania filing couldn't be immediately confirmed. Earlier on Wednesday, the campaign also said it would request a recount in Wisconsin.
/jlne.ws/3mVIRX2

Trump's Election Lawsuits Are Legally Hollow; Attempts to meddle with vote counts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia are dead on arrival.
Noah Feldman - Bloomberg
Legally speaking, President Donald Trump's various election lawsuits amount to nothing. On Wednesday the Trump campaign announced an array of different legal efforts to fight Joe Biden's apparently impending Electoral College victory.
/bloom.bg/3p2Fdwk

Biden Path to Electoral College Win Widens as Votes Come In
Gregory Korte and Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
Biden victory in Arizona gives Democrat breathing room; Trump still needs to win four out of five battleground states
The presidential battlefield is narrowing to a smaller number of states, with Democratic nominee Joe Biden's chances of an Electoral College victory getting higher as votes come in. Biden now has 238 electoral votes to President Donald Trump's 213.
/bloom.bg/38gagz8



Regulation & Enforcement
For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts.
Court imposes $90,000 penalty on former Tennis Australia director Harold Mitchell
ASIC
Justice Beach of the Federal Court of Australia has imposed a pecuniary penalty of $90,000 on the former Tennis Australia Vice President Harold Mitchell for breaching his director's duties in connection with a 2013 decision by the Tennis Australia Board to award the domestic television broadcast rights for the Australian Open tennis tournament to the Seven Network.
/jlne.ws/350kRff

Former financial advisor convicted and fined $30,000 for dishonest conduct
ASIC
Mark Damion Kawecki, of Frankston, Victoria, has been convicted and fined $30,000 in the Melbourne County Court for engaging in dishonest conduct related to attempts to artificially satisfy the minimum spread requirement for companies seeking to be admitted to the ASX.
/jlne.ws/2I6OF0Y

ESMA publishes first Q&As on SFTR Reporting
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has today published its first set of Questions and Answers relating to reporting under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR).
/jlne.ws/3lddPJG

FCA bans disgraced 'celebrity adviser' after sexual assault conviction; 'Adviser to the stars' currently in jail
Jenna Brown - InvestmentWeek
A former adviser jailed in 2018 for violent and sexual offences has been banned from operating in financial services by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Frank Cochran, who founded Celebrity Financial Planning in 2007, was sent to prison after being convicted of sexual assault, coercive behaviour and harassment.
/bit.ly/2JuecSf

ESMA specifies obligations on environmentally sustainable activities
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has today published its Consultation Paper containing ESMA's draft advice to the European Commission on Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation. This specifies the content, methodology and presentation of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that non-financial undertakings and asset managers are required to disclose.
/jlne.ws/2TYh7os

FINRA Internal Production Testing
FINRA
As a reminder, FINRA will often conduct internal production region testing of its TRACE, ORF, ADF and TRF systems on Saturdays without the participation of firms. Clients are advised to only bring up their applications and connect to FINRA on Saturdays if they will be participating in testing.
/jlne.ws/2TSQCke

SEC Announces New Asset Management Advisory Committee Member
SEC
Today the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointment of Renee LaRoche-Morris, Chief Operating Officer, BNY Mellon Investment Management, as a new member of the Asset Management Advisory Committee. Ms. LaRoche-Morris was appointed following the resignation of Mark Tibergien, who retired from BNY Mellon/Pershing.
/jlne.ws/3euxliD

Federal Court Orders Colorado Company and its Principal to Pay Over $900,000 for Digital Asset and Forex Ponzi Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado entered a judgment against defendants Venture Capital Investments LLC (VCI) and its principal and manager Breonna Clark d/b/a Eliot Clark d/b/a Alexander Pak (Clark), both of Denver, Colorado, for fraudulently soliciting and misappropriating funds from clients in a digital asset and forex Ponzi scheme.
/bit.ly/3euy03n

CFTC Designates KalshiEX LLC as a Contract Market
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that it has issued an Order of Designation to KalshiEX LLC, granting it status as a designated contract market (DCM). KalshiEX is a limited liability company located in San Francisco, CA and is formed under Delaware state law.
/bit.ly/2GwcJKf

Chairman Tarbert to Keynote FIA's 36th Annual Futures and Options Expo
CFTC
/bit.ly/32fNJ1u








Investing & Trading
Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities)
This Is Looking Like the Best of Both Worlds for Asia's Markets
Bloomberg News - Bloomberg
China stocks, Korean won may benefit from Biden presidency; Analysts see lower U.S. rates boosting appeal of Asian assets
A likely Joe Biden presidency and a divided U.S. government is being touted by market watchers as a favorable election outcome for Asian assets. Regional stocks, particularly in China, stand to gain from a more conventional trade policy under Biden, they say. With Republicans looking likely to maintain their slim majority in Senate, falling odds for major debt-financed stimulus are seen keeping U.S. rates lower, much to the benefit Asian emerging-market bonds and currencies. South Korea's won is seen as a key beneficiary.
/jlne.ws/3mSl8ak

Why day trading is such an incredibly bad idea right now, and what you should be doing instead
By Liz Weston - MarketWatch
The current day trading boom will end as these frenzies always do: in tears. While we wait for the inevitable crash, let's review not only why day traders are doomed but also why most people shouldn't trade, or even invest in, individual stocks.
/on.mktw.net/38fjJX6





Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance
Stories about environmental, social and governance investing
Japan's ethical capitalism has lessons for the world on ESG
Jim McCafferty - Financial Times
Stakeholder capitalism has really taken hold amid the social and economic disruption of Covid-19. More than $30bn has been added to global environmental, social and governance funds in the first nine months of this year, more than in all of 2018 and 2019 combined, Morningstar data shows.
/on.ft.com/38ftQeQ

Iberdrola pledges EUR75bn to capitalise on energy transition; The world's third-biggest utility aims to double its renewables capacity in 5 years
Nathalie Thomas and Daniel Dombey - FT
Iberdrola, the world's third-biggest utility, has promised to invest EUR75bn over the next five years to double its renewable energy capacity and help it capitalise on the global move away from fossil fuels.
/jlne.ws/2I74apY

A Paris Exit Creates Climate Liability for U.S. Businesses; No matter who is president, there will be consequences for bucking global trends on addressing climate change.
Nathaniel Bullard - Bloomberg
The outcome of the U.S. general election is not yet clear. What's been obvious for months is that climate change was on the ballot, and the U.S. election matters for global climate action. And one thing is certain: The U.S. exited the Paris Climate Agreement on Wednesday, formally casting off the signature international commitment to cut carbon emissions and limit global warming.
/jlne.ws/3p1T1rd

ESG inflows quadruple in 2020
Imogen Tew - FT Adviser
Investors have plunged nearly four times the amount of cash into responsible investment funds in 2020 that they did last year, latest data has shown.
Figures from the Investment Association, published today (November 5), showed responsible investment funds saw net flows of £7.1bn in the nine months to September this year — 275 per cent more than the £1.9bn measured in the first first three quarters of 2019.
/bit.ly/34YJFEl

Glass Shortage Threatens Solar Panels Needed for Climate Fix
Bloomberg News
PV glass output seen 20%-30% short of demand next year; Price have risen 71% since July, hurting solar power economics
The world's biggest solar power company says a shortage of glass is raising costs and delaying production of new panels, throwing a wrench into China's plans to accelerate its shift to clean power.
/bloom.bg/364yzNy








Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds
The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures
Jamie Dimon urges 'faith' and 'patience' amid election uncertainty
Thornton McEnery - NY Post
JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon is urging "faith," "patience" and "fortitude" as Wall Street sorts through a tense presidential election that may not get resolved for days.
/jlne.ws/2TTrF8j

BlackRock looks for new profit rockets as rivals play defence; World's largest asset manager has once again outperformed a rocky stock market in 2020
Richard Henderson and Michael Mackenzie - FT
When the pandemic knocked US stocks from record highs in February, Paul Stappard, a portfolio manager for Deltec, a private bank, scoured the stock market for companies with a record of prospering during big bouts of upheaval. He landed upon a surprising candidate: BlackRock, the world's largest fund manager.
/jlne.ws/32isVX3

Lloyd's of London aims for £800m of savings for brokers and underwriters; Insurance market has faced complaints that the cost of doing business is too high
Oliver Ralph - FT
Lloyd's of London has put out a firm estimate for cost savings for the first time as it launches the latest stage of its turnround. The 334-year-old insurance marketplace, where brokers and underwriters meet to buy and sell commercial policies, has been restructuring under chief executive John Neal after the companies that operate there complained that the cost of doing business was too high.
/jlne.ws/38fUvZ0

SocGen Rebounds From Losing Run After Equities Trading Gains
Alexandre Rajbhandari - Bloomberg
Bank's net income of EU862 million almost double estimates; Equities trading recovers after dividend cancelation hits
Societe Generale SA rebounded from its worst loss in 12 years with a third-quarter profit that was almost double analyst estimates, relieving pressure on Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea after a string of trading hits. The French lender reported net income of 862 million euros ($1 billion) after losing about 1.6 billion euros in the first half. Revenue at its key equities business almost quadrupled from the previous quarter, and the bank joined other European lenders in setting aside significantly less than expected to cover bad loans.
/jlne.ws/3oZ3kMC

ING to Cut Jobs, Close Offices as Profit Misses Estimates
Ruben Munsterman - Bloomberg
Net interest income fell in third quarter on lower lending; Dutch bank reduces long-term CET1 ratio target to 12.5%
ING Groep NV will cut 1,000 jobs by the end of 2021 and close all of its offices in South America and some in Asia as it looks to cut costs and boost its digital transformation amid the economic fallout from coronavirus. The Dutch lender said it would streamline its wholesale offering to focus on key clients and markets and pull back from ambitions to integrate retail banking platform Maggie across some European markets, according to its third-quarter statement Thursday.
/jlne.ws/2JyXNvP

SocGen Caps Bumper Quarter for Europe's Banks as Worries Linger
Alexandre Rajbhandari, Sonia Sirletti, and Steven Arons - Blooomberg
French lender rebounds from worst loss in 12 years on trading; Banks with smaller trading units get hit by negative rates
Societe Generale SA and UniCredit SpA closed out a bumper quarter for European investment banks that fueled calls for a resumption of dividends and buybacks, even as regulators and some rivals warned of the impact of the pandemic's second wave.
/jlne.ws/38igbn5




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Regions
Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
VanEck applies for China retail fund management licence; US manager plans to differentiate from competitors in index offerings
Selena Li and Echo Huang - FT
VanEck has submitted its application to establish a retail fund management business in China, becoming just the fourth global manager to do so after Chinese authorities lifted restrictions on foreign ownership for such operations in April this year.
/jlne.ws/32it1Op

Brussels scales back expectations for EU's economic recovery; Rebound from impact of pandemic will take at least two years, forecasts commission
Mehreen Khan and Martin Arnold - FT
The EU's path to recovery from the economic effects of Covid-19 has been set back by the pandemic's second wave and it will take at least two years for the bloc's economy to return to pre-pandemic levels, Brussels has warned.
/jlne.ws/38ihPFh

Russia's Top Gold Buyer Bets on Precious Metals as Virus Rages
Anna Baraulina, Aine Quinn, and Yuliya Fedorinova - Bloomberg
Central banks will likely continue offering stimulus: Soloviev; VTB's 2020 profits from gold exceed the previous three years'
VTB Bank PJSC, Russia's second-biggest lender, is betting on gold and other precious metals to boost profits this year as investors flock to havens amid the global pandemic. The bank is prioritizing physical gold trading, as well as lending to mining companies and deals with their shares, because they are one of the few sectors to benefit from Covid-19, First Deputy Chairman Yuri Soloviev said in an interview.
/jlne.ws/3mWeYGg

Australia Makes Its First Arrest Under Foreign Interference Laws
Ruth Pollard - Bloomberg
Australia's made its first arrest under its foreign interference laws -- a 65-year-old man who's a prominent member of the local Chinese community as well as groups connected to China's overseas influence efforts, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported.
/jlne.ws/32x5pG7








Brexit
Financials stories regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union
EU, U.K. Warn of Big Disagreements After Intensive Brexit Talks
Ian Wishart and Nikos Chrysoloras - Bloomberg
The European Union and U.K.'s top Brexit negotiators warned of big disagreements between the two sides after 14 days of intense, round-the-clock discussions failed to yield a breakthrough.
The two sides will begin their final round of scheduled talks over their future trade and security relationship in London next week after deliberations broke up on Wednesday without an agreement in sight.
/bloom.bg/2JziGHf

EU's Barnier says 'very serious' gaps still in Brexit trade talks
John Chalmers, Gabriela Baczynska - Reuter's
The European Union's Brexit negotiator said on Wednesday "very serious divergences" remained in trade talks with Britain and suggested the bloc would rather accept disruptions in commerce in eight weeks' time than yield on its key demands.
/reut.rs/38aVvxr

Brexit in a Lockdown Is Worst of Both Worlds for U.K. Businesses
Joe Mayes and Charlotte Ryan - Bloomberg
Michael Poultney already has his hands full getting ready for Brexit. Now a fresh national lockdown is about to make matters worse.
"It's just making the whole process that much more difficult," said the managing director of Albion Stone Plc, who's been working remotely with his accounts department on the paperwork needed to trade with the European Union starting Jan. 1. "It puts hurdles in the way -- everything takes longer."
/bloom.bg/3mT9T1k

Brexit means major changes for Irish firms whether there's a trade deal or not
Jonathan Keane - CNBC
Customs capacity will be a major hurdle for many Irish businesses that trade with the U.K., regardless of whether a deal is struck with the EU by the end of the year.
/cnb.cx/3oZbYdP








Miscellaneous
Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections
Lionel Barber's chronicle of his time as FT editor; The Powerful and the Damned gives an up-close view of the challenges of editing in our age of disruption
Bill Emmott - FT
There aren't really any other jobs like it. For to pick out "a day in the life" of the editor of the modern Financial Times, as at The Economist, is virtually impossible, since the chosen day could be spent almost anywhere in the world, and its features are the stuff of serendipity, apart, of course, from the helpfully regular rhythm of putting out a publication. You never know who you might meet or what events or trends you might need to think about. Which is the pleasure, the privilege and the challenge, rolled into one.
/jlne.ws/38dareh

Australia's Treasury Wine Shelves Penfolds Spinoff as China Weighs Tariffs; A Chinese industry group has asked Beijing to impose retrospective tariffs on Australian wine
David Winning - WSJ
Trade frictions between Australia and China have contributed to one global winemaker putting a cork in plans to spin off a luxury wine brand that is highly prized by collectors and can sell for thousands of dollars a bottle.
/on.wsj.com/32hFfXE







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