| March 15, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Bitcoin prices have pulled back after making new highs five times in seven days, but the mania about Bitcoin is returning as the word "bitcoin" has outpaced "Taylor Swift" and "Beyonce" among the top search terms on Google in the last week. Bitcoin searches were the highest they have been in the last year, Bloomberg reported.
Author and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler should have a smile on his face this morning. Gensler, the author of the 2004 book "The Great Mutual Fund Trap: An Investment Recovery Plan" about how you should not invest in actively managed mutual funds or invest on your broker's advice, and instead invest in index funds. Today the Financial Times reported that assets in passive funds outstrip those in stock selecting funds.
Bloomberg has published a Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary titled "How Diversity Became a Dirty Word in Corporate America" in which it explores how the debate over DEI got to this point, and the road forward for corporations.
CCP Global published its CCP Public Quantitative Disclosure Quarterly Trends Report and Public Quantitative Disclosure Newsflash for 2023 Q4.
AtlasClear Holdings, Inc. Chief Strategy Officer John Schaible was on Fintech.tv with Vince Molinari to discuss ringing the opening bell and the future of Atlas Clear, which aims to create a more efficient platform for trading and banking.
Silvana Davi has accepted an offer from Nasdaq as a business analyst intern within the Investment Intelligence business group. Silvana is the daughter of former Nasdaq Head of Global Corporate Communications, Media Strategy & Nasdaq MarketSite Studio; Vice President Silvia Davi
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:
- Fad or foundation? Options industry executives weigh in the equity options trading boom in India and the US from FIA.
- Traders Pile Into Bullish Copper Options as Output Cuts Loom from Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance.
- Are Option Income Funds Suppressing Volatility? from Cboe. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Jeff Yass' $15 Billion TikTok Fortune Shines Light on His GOP Clout
Tom Maloney - Bloomberg
As some of the harshest Republican critics of TikTok soften their stance on the China-backed social media app, one billionaire donor's name is ricocheting around Washington. The prospect that the app will be banned has thrust Jeff Yass, the trading mastermind behind market-maker Susquehanna International Group, into an uncomfortable spotlight. That's because he owns a stake in TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, that's worth $15 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the largest single asset in his $40.8 billion fortune.
/jlne.ws/3x3rSMJ
***** I would say that 37.5% of a fortune in one asset controlled by the Chinese would not make a person a good candidate for U.S. Treasury Secretary, but that is what I am reading in the press amid the speculations on who a President Trump might select to run the department. ~JJL
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Phony Billionaires on Facebook Are Scamming Americans Out of Their Life Savings; A fake Bill Ackman, a bogus Cathie Wood and a false Steve Cohen are among the impersonators luring victims on social media, and their real-life counterparts can't keep up. 'It's like a game of whack-a-mole.'
Randall Smith - The Wall Street Journal
Bill Ackman is fighting a losing battle against Bill Ackman. Impostors posing as the billionaire hedge-fund manager on Facebook keep luring hapless investors into stock-market scams-and the real Ackman has been powerless to stop them. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management has found more than 90 different ads impersonating him. Many of the ads remained visible for weeks after the company flagged them to Facebook, spokesman Fran McGill said. One ad promised annual returns of 125%, another a 25% return in a week and told victims to "hold these three stocks and you'll be a millionaire."
/jlne.ws/43gHOaL
***** I fell for a fake Katie Greifeld Twitter account the other day. I followed it back after it followed me. Katie and I had recently connected on LinkedIn, so it made sense, but then she was already following me and the Twitter handle was just a "_" difference from hers. Once the account laid the bait, I was gone.~JJL
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If Companies Are So Focused on Cybersecurity, Why Are Data Breaches Still Rising? One reason: Ransomware gangs are on the rise, allowing even criminals with minimal computer knowledge to get into the game
Stuart Madnick - The Wall Street Journal
Organizations are spending more money than ever on cybersecurity-an estimated $188 billion globally in 2023, a figure expected to grow to almost $215 billion in 2024-yet hackers always seem to stay a step ahead. The number of reported data breaches in the U.S. rose to a record 3,205 in 2023, up 78% from 2022 and 72% from the previous high-water mark in 2021, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center. Trends are similar in other parts of the world.
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****** What is the correlation between liquidity in the crypto markets and the increased numbers of ransomware gangs? It would seem that the better you can move the money, the more lucrative it will be and the more the number of gangs will increase.~JJL
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How many dogs have government jobs? What about sea lions?
Andrew Van Dam - The Washington Post
Washington is going to the dogs - for real this time. As of 2022, the federal government employed 5,159 German shepherds, Belgian Malinois, beagles, Jack Russell terriers and other forms of everyone's favorite furry friend. Another 421 worked as canine contractors. Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend. The job descriptions for these four-legged feds range from the sublime - 31 help "park rangers traverse Denali National Park in winter" - to the subprime: Others "detect waterfowl feces" infected with bird flu.
/jlne.ws/3PlWhfE
****** That is a lot of good boys working for Washington. Normally, it is the good ole boys.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top story Thursday was Kane to leave Citadel Securities for senior Miax role, from Risk.net. Second was Bakkt Notified by NYSE of Non-Compliance with NYSE Trading Share Price Listing Rule, a Bakkt press release. Third was U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS Launch Direct File Pilot Program, a press release from the U.S. Treasury Department.
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| Lead Stories | JPMorgan Hit With Nearly $350 Million Fine for Compliance Failures in Trading; Federal regulators allege that JPMorgan didn't properly oversee and monitor trades that the bank and clients carried out through its systems
Alexander Saeedy - The Wall Street Journal
Federal regulators fined JPMorgan Chase roughly $350 million on Thursday for failing to properly monitor billions of trades that the bank has executed since 2019. The Federal Reserve said JPMorgan didn't adequately surveil trading and order activity through the firm's corporate and investment bank across 30 exchanges and other trading venues. The trades were for the firm and for clients. Regulators and law enforcement require banks to watch and record clients and trades as a front line in market policing and to ensure their own risks are under control. Banks are required to flag suspicious activity and hand over documents to investigators when asked.
/jlne.ws/3PqUu99
LCH looking at clearing US Treasuries, competition set to increase
Carolina Mandl and Davide Barbuscia - Reuters
London Stock Exchange Group's London Clearing House (LCH) business is considering expanding into clearing U.S. Treasuries, its head of Americas John Horkan said on Wednesday, as competition in the market looks set to increase. Currently, the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, a subsidiary of trade processor DTCC, is the country's sole clearer of Treasuries. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in December adopted new rules aimed at reducing systemic risk in the $26 trillion U.S. Treasury market by forcing more trades through clearinghouses. LCH's Horkan said at a conference hosted by the Futures Industry Association in Boca Raton, Florida, that LCH is actively engaged with market participants about Treasury clearing.
/jlne.ws/3ViYeNS
Crypto Titans Threaten to Unleash War Chest on Hostile Lawmakers; Pro-industry super PAC has around $75 million to spend; US policymakers weighing rules to regulate the asset class
Allyson Versprille, Yueqi Yang, and Karen Breslau - Bloomberg
The crypto lobby is putting US political candidates on notice: Side with us or risk defeat at the ballot box. As evidence, it's pointing to the defeat of Democratic Representative Katie Porter in California's Senate primary last week. Deep-pocketed industry participants pumped $10 million into an advertising and get-out-the-vote effort that they've said helped eliminate Porter in the open primary. That set a clearer path for her fellow Democrat Adam Schiff - seen as being more friendly to crypto - to take the spot in November.
/jlne.ws/4ceBDrH
Frenzy Over AI and Nvidia Turbocharges the Options Market
Gunjan Banerji - The Wall Street Journal
The artificial-intelligence trade is taking over the options market. Traders are doubling down on the market's 2024 stars, sending broader activity in the market for stock options to some of the highest levels ever. Options trades tied to semiconductor stocks made up 42% of activity pegged to S&P 500 companies in February, according to Goldman Sachs. That includes stocks such as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology. The heavy trading has continued in recent weeks ahead of Nvidia's widely anticipated technology conference.
/jlne.ws/4abBNOI
The Hypocrites Are Crying Hypocrisy on Gaza and Ukraine; It's legitimate to back a cease-fire in Gaza and not Ukraine.
Marc Champion - Bloomberg Opinion
Search for the words Israel, Ukraine and hypocrisy on X, the social media gutter once known as Twitter, and you'll find righteous indignation from the progressive left wing, the MAGA right and Global South. How can you argue for a cease-fire in Israel and not Ukraine? How can you accuse Russia of war crimes and not Israel? How can you arm the victims in Ukraine and the aggressors in Israel? Some are genuinely difficult questions. At the top of your search results this week would have come a thunderous speech that Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim gave while in Australia. How, he asked, can the West leap to condemn Russia's invasion while remaining "utterly silent on the relentless bloodletting inflicted on innocent men, women and children of Gaza?"
/jlne.ws/48TdsMx
Blame Crypto Bros for the Rising Cost of Your Rolex; Bitcoin's surge three years ago presaged a bubble in second-hand watch prices. History may repeat.
Andrea Felsted - Bloomberg
If that Rolex you've got your eye on is getting more expensive, Bitcoin may be to blame. The last time the cryptocurrency rallied, in 2021, it presaged a bubble in second-hand watch prices. There's a fair chance that the recent resurgence that's seen Bitcoin climb to a record will boost the values of timepieces, but for now, a repeat of the unprecedented escalation we saw back then looks some way off.
/jlne.ws/3PjCayI
US FX Deadline Becomes $70 Billion-a-Day Risk for Europe's Currency Markets
Greg Ritchie - Bloomberg
European asset managers are piling pressure on global regulators as they warn as much as $70 billion of daily currency trading could be at risk from a faster US settlement cycle. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York should get the world's largest currency settlement firm, CLS, to extend its cut-off time for next day settlement, the European Fund and Asset Management Association said. That's because US plans to halve the time it takes to complete securities transactions to just one day from May - known as T+1 - means European investors will struggle to meet the current deadline of 6 p.m. in New York.
/jlne.ws/3PlWNdE
The Biggest Bank Heist in History Is Coming
Linda Jeng - CoinDesk
In February, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's acting head Michael Hsu announced plans for new rules on operational resilience for large banks with critical operations, including third-party service providers. Critically, he did not discuss how these rules will treat the use of permissioned networks by the big banks to tokenize real world assets and liabilities, an omission that neglects critical new vulnerabilities for the global financial system. As Hsu pointed out, bank call report data show that the top four custodian banks alone now safeguard over $108 trillion in assets. These assets are in the process of being tokenized by the big banks, which is the process of creating digital representations of real world assets and liabilities on blockchain. These banks have been piloting the tokenization of bank deposits and will soon turn to tokenizing U.S. Treasuries and corporate debt.
/jlne.ws/3Tdav3E
European fund group warns of 'systemic' risk from US settlement reform; Up to 40% of foreign exchange deals could be shut out of main currency settlement service, says Efama
Mary McDougall - Financial Times
Looming changes to the time it takes to settle trades on Wall Street pose a "systemic" risk to currency markets, European asset managers have warned. The European Fund and Asset Management Association said that around 40 per cent of daily foreign exchange deals would be shut out of the main platform for reconciling currency trades when the US moves from two-day to one-day settlement in May. That total could rise to "hundreds of billions" on volatile days, it added.
/jlne.ws/3Tj3U7N
Skillz Founder, Former NBA Star Sued Over Insider Trading Claims
Mike Leonard - Bloomberg
A shareholder sued Skillz Inc. founder Andrew Paradise and scores of corporate insiders, saying they manipulated the gaming platform's share price so they could save tens of millions of dollars dumping stock. The lawsuit, made public Wednesday, targets several current and former company leaders and nearly 80 investors tied to them, including former NBA All-Star Luol Deng. The heavily redacted complaint says they dodged $94 million in losses by inflating Skillz's stock with strategically timed disclosures, then selling shares worth $462 million when they knew the company was about to reveal bad news.
/jlne.ws/48SkuRH
Hedge Funds, PE Firms Aim to Temper SEC's WhatsApp Probe
Austin Weinstein, Tom Schoenberg and Dawn Lim - Bloomberg
Top hedge funds and private equity firms including Citadel, KKR & Co. and Blackstone Inc. are discussing ways to blunt any fallout from the Securities and Exchange Commission's crackdown on the financial industry's use of disappearing messaging apps. With the regulator stepping up efforts to police Wall Street's electronic communications, some of the firms have held talks on a legal approach and what potential settlements could look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. The goal is to minimize any fines and ensure that if they reach a settlement, no firm is singled out for a harsher penalty, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak publicly.
/jlne.ws/3TfpzOl
Hedge fund manager faces arrest over $533 million taken from ed-tech startup
Dietrich Knauth - Reuters
A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday ordered the arrest of William Cameron Morton, a hedge fund manager who allegedly helped Indian education technology startup Byju's hide $533 million from its lenders. Byju's Alpha, a subsidiary controlled by Byju's lenders, filed for U.S. bankruptcy in February after the Bangalore-based startup defaulted on $1.2 billion in debt. While seeking repayment, the lenders discovered that Byju's had sent $533 million to Morton's "unknown and unproven hedge fund" Camshaft Capital, Byju's court filings showed.
/jlne.ws/3IBsZpN
Miami's mayor pitches his city as wealth-friendly 'American Switzerland'; Francis Suarez's low-tax 'capital of capital' has become a springboard for his political ambitions
Madison Darbyshire - Financial Times
Miami is positioning itself as a business haven to rival Switzerland, Monaco or Singapore, according to Francis Suarez, the mayor for whom the Florida city's rise has become a springboard for his wider political ambitions. The city had an influx of wealth and business during the coronavirus pandemic, in part because of its favourable conditions for companies and high earners. People who reside in the US state for half the year or more pay no individual income tax, and Miami boasts a corporate income tax rate of just 5.5 per cent.
/jlne.ws/3TynK09
US private funds struggle to cash out from China; TikTok bill in Washington impedes path to exit investments after IPO market fizzles
Sun Yu - Financial Times
US institutions with private fund investments in China are struggling to exit what were once among their most successful bets as the regulatory environment tightens and geopolitical tensions mount. Four public pension plans with more than $4bn allocated to China-focused private equity funds told the Financial Times they were ready to delay redemptions from investments nearing the end of 10-year lifespans.
/jlne.ws/3veCkRc
Companies take step back from making climate target promises; Hundreds failed to lay out goals aligned with Paris agreement to limit warming to 1.5C
Kenza Bryan and Michael Pooler - Financial Times
Hundreds of companies including Microsoft, Unilever and JBS have been removed from a validation process for their climate plans after failing to submit sufficiently ambitious targets. More than 1,000 companies representing $23tn in market capitalisation responded to a call before the UN COP26 climate summit in 2021 in Glasgow to commit to setting net zero emissions goals.
/jlne.ws/3PoOsGd
Tom Hayes' Libor conviction 'extraordinarily unfair', court hears; Former trader's barrister tells London judges that US appeals court followed 'correct approach' when overturning similar convictions
Alistair Gray - Financial Times
The judge who oversaw Tom Hayes' conviction for conspiring to rig the Libor interest rate denied him a fair trial by giving "extraordinarily unfair" directions to a jury, the former trader's barrister argued in a fresh appeal on Thursday. Adrian Darbishire KC told the Court of Appeal in London that the former UBS and Citigroup trader's conviction in 2015 - for which he served five and a half years in prison - was "unsafe".
/jlne.ws/4chrryD
Fireside Friday with... DTCC Digital Assets' Nadine Chakar; The TRADE sits down with Nadine Chakar, global head of DTCC Digital Assets, to discuss how digital assets are impacting traditional financial markets, their influence on traditional trading practices and how market infrastructure can help bridge these two separate worlds together.
Wesley Bray
What impact has digital assets had on traditional financial markets?
If we were having this conversation just three months ago, I'd tell you that the digital and traditional markets are operating in entirely different universes. Now, I think we've reached a turning point as both sides are starting to converge. We're hearing a lot more chatter now on the traditional side, especially after the arrival of bitcoin ETFs in the US, and with crypto prices on a recent tear.
/jlne.ws/4caZRDj
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Germany's Scholz defends his refusal to send Ukraine Taurus missiles, says prudence is a virtue
Geir Moulson - Associated Press
Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his refusal to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, telling German lawmakers Wednesday that prudence is not a weakness while insisting that he trusts Kyiv. Germany has become the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, but Scholz has stalled for months on Ukraine's desire for Taurus missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) and could in theory be used against targets far into Russian territory.
/jlne.ws/3VkrB2q
Scholz Partners Push to Change His Mind on Ukraine Missiles
Kamil Kowalcze - Bloomberg
Olaf Scholz's top coalition partners are pushing the German chancellor to drop his opposition to supplying long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. As invading Russian forces seek to press home their advantage in troops and materiel, the Greens and Free Democrats have been urging Scholz to send the weapons, which are used for precision strikes against hardened targets like bunkers and have a range of more than 500 kilometers (311 miles).
/jlne.ws/3wOFXxy
EU Gives Initial Backing to EUR5 Billion Weapons Fund for Ukraine
Jorge Valero and Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
Ambassadors of the European Union agreed in principle to provide EUR5 billion ($5.5 billion) in military support for Ukraine, after member states reached a compromise to allow purchases from outside the bloc. The envoys backed the plan at a meeting Wednesday, the Belgian presidency of the EU said in a post on X. The agreement boosts the European Peace Facility (EPF), a mechanism used to refund member states for weapons they send Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3vb3jNA
The myth of cheap Russian gas in Europe; There never was such a thing and to base policy on it would be a serious mistake
Michael Stoppard - Financial Times
Will Europe go back to Russian gas? The EU has vowed to give up once and for all its "addiction" to Russian gas, but will it? Some argue that Europe will be forced to turn back to Russia because it needs "cheap" Russian gas to revitalise its economy and stave off deindustrialisation. But that is a myth, both seductive and dangerous. It is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the European gas market worked. Put simply, Russian gas was never cheap.
/jlne.ws/48VZXf1
Kyiv calls on west to fund Ukraine's domestic defence production; Country's revived arms sector can produce some weaponry cheaper and faster than allies, says minister
Ben Hall and Christopher Miller - Financial Times
Ukraine has urged western allies to fund its domestic weapons production with its recently ramped up manufacturing capacity now vastly exceeding the money available for orders. "The fastest way to start production is to do it in Ukraine," said Oleksandr Kamyshin, minister for strategic industries, in an interview with the Financial Times. "We are very capable. We are price competitive and we are close to the front lines."
/jlne.ws/48VaMhx
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Hamas Says It's Submitted New Cease-Fire Proposal to Mediators; Netanyahu says group still making demands that can't be met; Israeli war cabinet may discuss proposal later on Friday
Kateryna Kadabashy and Galit Altstein - Bloomberg
Hamas has proposed what it's calling a "comprehensive" cease-fire deal, in a bid to move forward talks with Israel as their war in Gaza rages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the militant group is still making unrealistic demands. But the country's war cabinet is expected to discuss the matter on Friday.
/jlne.ws/48VgwI0
Israel's war cabinet weighs up Hamas response to ceasefire proposal; Palestinian militant group submits reply to mediators seeking to halt Gaza fighting and free hostages
Neri Zilber - Financial Times
Israel's war cabinet convened on Friday to discuss the latest Hamas response to a potential ceasefire deal in the Gaza war that would also allow for the release of Israeli hostages. Qatar, Egypt and the US have for weeks been attempting to bridge significant gaps between the two warring parties as part of complex talks aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza and securing the release of more than 130 hostages being held by Hamas.
/jlne.ws/4abzbQY
The War That Israel Could Have Fought; The horrific assault by Hamas demanded a firm response, but Israel has depended too much on military might and not enough on diplomacy and political vision
Richard Haass - The Wall Street Journal
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel had not just the right to respond but the necessity: to show that Hamas would pay a high price for its savagery, to keep the perpetrators from killing again and to recover those who had been taken hostage. But the design and conduct of Israel's response-both its tactical decisions and its strategic aims-have been, and remain, a matter of choice. And almost all of those choices have been counterproductive. Israel's actions have left it worse off, at a great cost to itself and its relationship with the U.S. and in the lives of innocent Palestinians.
/jlne.ws/3wW5V2f
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Deutsche Borse targets November launch for dark trading capability; Known as 'Xetra Midpoint', the offering is a customer-driven project, says Maximilian Trossbach, project manager for Deutsche Borse Group's new offering.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Deutsche Borse is currently in the process of developing a midpoint trading functionality, with an envisaged launch of November 2024, The TRADE understands. Known as 'Xetra Midpoint', the functionality is a customer-driven project according to Deutsche Borse and will be integrated into the Xetra market.
/jlne.ws/3wTnyjg
CME Group Inc. Announces First-Quarter 2024 Earnings Release, Conference Call
CME Group
CME Group Inc. will announce earnings for the first quarter of 2024 before the markets open on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Written highlights for the quarter will be posted on the company's website at 6:00 a.m. Central Time, the same time it provides its earnings press release. The company will also hold an investor conference call that day at 7:30 a.m. Central Time, at which time company executives will take analysts' questions.
/jlne.ws/3TmeQ4y
SOLVENTO GROUP 2022 SOCIMI to start trading in BME Scaleup on 18 March
BME-X
The company, which is the second to join this new BME market, starts with a valuation of 64.5 million euros. The Board of Directors of BME Scaleup has approved the incorporation of SOLVENTO GROUP 2022 next March 18 once all the documentation submitted by the company has been analyzed and studied and the favorable evaluation report of the Market Coordination and Incorporations Committee has been issued. The Board of Directors of the company, has taken as a reference for the start of the trading of the shares a price of EUR13 per share, taking into account the valuation report made by an independent expert, which implies a total valuation of the company of EUR64.5 million.
/jlne.ws/49KdGH7
OCC Colleagues Celebrate Black History Month
OCC Views
Throughout February, OCC's Employee Network Group, Black Organization for Leadership and Development (BOLD), proudly celebrated Black History Month by hosting events and starting conversations about milestones in Black history that enacted change in the lives of all Americans. This year BOLD celebrated the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, a groundbreaking 1954 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. BOLD created a presentation detailing the complex history of this landmark.
/jlne.ws/3N7NvB1
Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Energy, Equity, FX, Interest Rate and Metal Margins - Effective March 15, 2024
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below. The rates will be effective after the close of business on March 15, 2024.
/jlne.ws/43gHVCY
Vaziva lists on Euronext Growth Paris
Euronext
Euronext today celebrated the transfer of Vaziva, a French fintech pioneer of social endowments, from the Euronext Access market segment to Euronext Growth Paris (ticker code: ALVAZ). Founded in 2015, Vaziva is a major French player in the field of employee benefits. The company digitalises gift cards, lunch and vacation vouchers through a Mastercard® managed card. Adapting to new employee consumption trends, Vaziva offers a multi-reward payment card solution, complemented by a benefits management software tool and ticketing, to increase employees' purchasing power.
/jlne.ws/49WP7qG
Caution for Investors
MCX
Mumbai, March 15, 2024: It has been brought to the notice of the Exchange that an entity named 'Bull Eye Trade' located at 42/9, Mhatre Bridge, Opp. Siddhi Gardens, Vakil Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra - 411 052, is operating with the help of website www.bulleyetrade.com, and email id: bullseyebroking68@gmail.com. The entity is misusing the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) brand name on their website.
/jlne.ws/3wWdvtI
NYSE Bonds - New Bond Listing - HSBC30C and HSBC35
NYSE
To be admitted to the List and to Trading: The below stated securities will be admitted to the list and to trading at the opening of the trading session Friday, March 15, 2024 as NYSE "Listed Bonds". "Listed" refers to debt securities which have been the subject of a listing application filed with the NYSE by the issuer, the approval and continued listing of which is conditioned upon meeting specific criteria.
/jlne.ws/3Vnq5wf
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | CQG Unveils AI Predictive Model for Traders in Futures Market, Tested at 80% Accuracy
A-Team Insight Blogs
CQG, the financial markets technology solutions provider, has announced the successful completion of testing of its artificial intelligence (AI) predictive model for traders, boasting an impressive 80% accuracy rate in forecasting the future movements of the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract. The newly developed machine learning (ML) toolkit is designed to provide retail traders and institutional clients, such as proprietary trading firms and hedge funds, with cutting-edge tools for identifying trading opportunities, guiding trading strategies, and managing positions effectively.
/jlne.ws/3TglI3t
Apple acquires AI startup specializing in overlooking manufacturing components
Ivan Mehta - TechCrunch
Apple has added another AI startup to its acquisition list with Canada-based DarwinAI, which specializes in vision-based tech to observe components during manufacturing to improve efficiency, Bloomberg reported. While Apple or DarwinAI haven't announced this deal, several members of the startup's team joined Apple's machine learning teams in January, as per their LinkedIn profiles.
/jlne.ws/4ckTGwz
Abu Dhabi in talks to invest in OpenAI chip venture; State-backed group MGX in discussions over ambitious plans by Sam Altman to build semiconductor business
Chloe Cornish and Madhumita Murgia - Financial Times
A new Abu Dhabi investment company is in talks to back OpenAI's ambitious chip venture, in the latest effort by the United Arab Emirates to become a global powerbroker in the development of artificial intelligence. State-funded MGX is in early stage discussions over a funding deal with OpenAI, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The US start-up's chief executive Sam Altman is seeking to launch a semiconductor business to reduce its dependence on cutting-edge chips made by Nvidia.
/jlne.ws/4ckFXFN
AI theme bucks gloomy trend for European-domiciled thematic ETFs; Four of top six thematic funds by inflows this year have been AI vehicles, data shows
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
Investors pulled a record $533mn from European-domiciled thematic ETFs in February, according to data from ETFbook. The withdrawals added to the gloom from a poor 2023, when the sector bled $1.1bn, the first annual outflow after at least a decade of net buying. The numbers would have been worse still without the allure of artificial intelligence, however. Four of the top six thematic funds by inflows in the first two months of 2024 were AI vehicles, ETFbook data shows - not bad considering the continent only boasts five such ETFs with combined assets of $5.1bn.
/jlne.ws/3VnuAH9
Nvidia and AI Have Given the Chip Industry a Lot to Prove; Semiconductor valuations remain expensive even after selloff and with Nvidia's Next Big Thing coming
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
Generative artificial intelligence doesn't happen without chips, but the picks and shovels have gotten expensive. Semiconductor stocks have taken a beating this week, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index falling more than 7% since hitting a record high last Thursday. That point marked a 24% year-to-date gain for the main chip index that followed a 65% surge in 2023-the index's best annual performance since 2009. The launch of the ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, which captured the public's attention, has been an undeniable factor given the computing horsepower needed by generative AI services. At last week's high point, the PHLX index had more than doubled in value since the start of 2023. The S&P 500 rose a mere 34% in the same time frame.
/jlne.ws/3ThTt4y
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | McDonald's suffers tech outage in several countries, some stores back up
Reuters
McDonald's said on Friday a technology outage had disrupted operations at many of its outlets worldwide, including Japan, UK and Australia, but ruled out the possibility of a cybersecurity incident. Many McDonald's stores in Japan stopped taking in-person and mobile customer orders because of the system disruption, a spokesperson at McDonald's Holdings Company Japan said, adding that it was working to restore operations soon.
/jlne.ws/3v3iE2J
NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 Reveals Major Shifts In Federal Guidance
Megan L. Brown, Kathleen E. Scott, Jacqueline F. "Lyn" Brown, Sydney White and Joshua K. Waldman - Mondaq
On February 26, 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the Cybersecurity Framework version 2.0 (CSF 2.0). CSF 2.0 is a generational update to NIST's foundational cybersecurity guidance, which was last updated in April 2018 (version 1.1) (CSF 1.1). Risk governance and supply chain risk management comprise the most significant changes from CSF 1.1 to 2.0. In this blog post, we look at what the CSF 2.0 means for organizations, and what executives and cybersecurity professionals should be thinking about as they integrate this new guidance into existing cybersecurity risk management programs. We note that NIST is also seeking public comments on a guide for developing Community Profiles by May 3, 2024.
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Microsoft has 'formidable presence in cybersecurity' says Morgan Stanley
Sam Boughedda - Investing.com
Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note Friday that they believe Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) remains the cybersecurity leader. The firm maintained an Overweight rating and a $465 price target on the stock. The investment bank cited the tech giant's large installed base and broadening platform addressing multiple product categories as reasons it is still the industry leader.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | US Senators Urge Gensler To Halt Crypto ETF Approvals, Citing "Enormous Risks"
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
Two US senators have called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to halt the approval of any further crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), citing risks to retail investors. In a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Senators Jack Reed and Laphonza Butler expressed concerns about the potential for fraud and manipulation in the thinly traded markets for smaller cryptocurrencies.
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Bitcoin Retreats After Setting Fifth Record High in Seven Days
Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
Bitcoin declined after setting a record high for the fifth time in seven days, dropping below $70,000, with investors pulling back from riskier assets across financial markets. The oldest cryptocurrency fell as much as 6.3% to $68,549, after earlier climbing to an all-time high of $73,797. Other tokens such as Ether, Avalanche and Litecoin also fell.
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Crypto for Advisors: The Investment Case of Bitcoin vs. Ether
Sarah Morton, Alex Tapscott - CoinDesk
We continue to watch the unprecedented inflows into the spot bitcoin ETFs, as AUM exceeded $55 billion and bitcoin reached "larger than silver" status. Alex Tapscott, author of Web3: Charting the Internet's Next Economic and Cultural Frontier, outlines that while bitcoin is getting all the attention, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is evolving and has different investment criteria.
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Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital Should Be a 'Core Holding' for Digital Asset Investors, Stifel Says
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Galaxy Digital (GLXY) should be a core holding for equity investors looking to gain exposure to the digital asset ecosystem, investment bank Stifel (SF) said in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel resumed coverage of Michael Novogratz's crypto financial services firm with a buy rating and a price target of C$20. Galaxy closed 4.7% lower on Thursday at C$13.11.
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Gold Investors Aren't Switching Into Bitcoin, JPMorgan Says
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Institutional investors and individuals have been buying both gold and bitcoin {{BTC}} this year, not switching between the two, as some analysts have postulated, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report on Thursday. Outflows from gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a surge in bitcoin ETF inflows raised the possibility that investors were shifting from the precious metal into the cryptocurrency, the report said. The bank said it disagreed.
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Posthaste: The inside story on Bitcoin's crazy gains - and why this record run might have legs
Pamela Heaven - Financial Post
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MicroStrategy's massive debt-fueled bitcoin purchases could make a future downturn worse, JPMorgan says
Filip De Mott - Business Insider
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Ether ETFs Could Be Bigger Than Bitcoin ETFs, Says VanEck
Helene Braun - CoinDesk
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Schumer Urges Netanyahu Exit as Democrats' Gaza Worries Grow; Call for new leadership comes as civilian deaths mount; Senate leader says there should be two-state solution
Steven T. Dennis and Galit Altstein - Bloomberg
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reached his breaking point Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 159 days into the Israel-Hamas war. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US, called for new Israeli elections and replacement of Netanyahu, an extraordinary public rebuke that reflects a wrenching reexamination of close bonds with Israel that the Gaza conflict has provoked among Democrats.
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Biden's LNG Freeze Delaying Projects and Risking US Market Share
Ruth Liao and Stephen Stapczynski - Bloomberg
The Biden administration's pause on new licenses for liquefied natural gas exporters is already stalling progress for projects that were aiming to come online later this decade. Several LNG buyers have delayed signing new long-term contracts with US producers until there is more clarity, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Malaysian state oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. is in talks with Cheniere Energy Inc. and other firms, but is reluctant to commit until licenses are approved, said the people, who didn't want to be named due to the sensitivity of discussions.
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Scholz Calls 'Emergency' Ukraine Summit With Macron and Tusk
Agnieszka Barteczko and Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz invited French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to Berlin on Friday to align their stance on supporting Ukraine. The meeting, announced by Tusk late Tuesday after talks with US President Joe Biden at the White House, follows Macron's suggestion that France wouldn't rule out sending troops to Ukraine. The comments sparked pushback from several NATO allies and a public spat with Scholz over military aid to Kyiv.
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Putin Digs In to Divide World Order as He Conquers at Home
Bloomberg
Just before Russia's presidential election six years ago, Vladimir Putin delighted lawmakers by showing off video simulations of the country's newest strategic weapons. One was even aimed at a map of Florida. This time around, the muscle flexing has gone further. Last month, he took a test flight on Russia's latest nuclear bomber while issuing blunt warnings to the US and Europe about the risks of Armageddon over his invasion of Ukraine.
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Putin Puts Clash With West at Center of Presidential Election; The Russian leader is all but guaranteed to win, but the Kremlin is seeking a large turnout to anchor his next six years in power
Ann M. Simmons - The Wall Street Journal
The video splashing across Russian television screens in the run-up to this weekend's presidential election didn't leave much room for surprises. "Who will ensure development?" it asked. "Who guarantees stability? Who unites? And, in whom do you have confidence?" "Only in him!" the narrator declared, as a highlight reel showed Vladimir Putin at work in his office, being exalted by adoring crowds and walking across red carpets to meetings with Asian and Arab leaders.
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China Urges US to Stop 'Unreasonably Suppressing' TikTok
Bloomberg
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Argentina's Senate rejects Javier Milei's deregulation push; Senators turn down libertarian president's sweeping emergency decree, calling it unconstitutional
Ciara Nugent - Financial Times
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Federal Court Orders Binary Options Firm and Owners to Pay Over $204 Million in Monetary Sanctions for Fraudulent Binary Options Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas entered an order of final judgment against Jonathan Cartu, Leeav Peretz, Nati Peretz, all believed to be residents of Israel, and Blue Moon Investments Inc., a Seychelles corporation. The order finds them liable for offering illegal, off-exchange binary options and committing fraud in connection with the illegal offering. This resolves the CFTC's September 2, 2020 case against the defendants. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8231-20]
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CFTC Awards Insider Whistleblower Approximately $1.25 Million
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced an approximately $1.25 million award to a whistleblower who reported misconduct to the CFTC after initially reporting it to the whistleblower's employer. Although stricter requirements for whistleblower awards apply to employees with compliance or internal audit responsibilities, this whistleblower satisfied the CFTC's whistleblower rules by raising the matter internally and then waiting at least 120 days to contact the CFTC after the employer took no meaningful remedial action. This award is the first to apply the CFTC's 120-day safe harbor provision to a whistleblower who served in an entity's internal compliance or audit function.
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SEC Charges 17 Individuals in $300 Million Crypto Asset Ponzi Scheme Targeting the Latino Community
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 17 individuals for their roles in a $300 million Ponzi scheme that involved Houston, Texas-based CryptoFX LLC and targeted more than 40,000 predominantly Latino investors in the U.S. and two other countries. Today's complaint follows the SEC's successful emergency action in September 2022 that halted the CryptoFX scheme and charged its two main principals, Mauricio Chavez and Giorgio Benvenuto.
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ASIC update on internal dispute resolution data collection for new reporting requirements
ASIC
As part of new data reporting requirements, between 1 January and 29 February 2024, over 8,600 financial firms were due to report internal dispute resolution (IDR) data to ASIC for the first time. ASIC extended the submission window to 14 March to allow firms more time to complete this, understanding it is the first time most firms are engaging with the new reporting process. Around 87% of financial firms successfully submitted an IDR data report to ASIC.
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SFC warns public against unlicensed virtual asset trading platform MEXC
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today warns the public of a purported virtual asset trading platform (VATP) known as "MEXC" (Notes 1 and 2). MEXC, which is actively promoting its services to Hong Kong investors, has neither been licensed by the SFC nor applied to the SFC for a licence to operate a VATP in Hong Kong (Note 3). Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, it is an offence to carry on a business of providing a virtual asset service (ie, operating a virtual asset exchange) in Hong Kong and/or actively market such services to Hong Kong investors without a licence.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | ADM Needs More Than Nutrition Revamp to Fix $8 Billion Wipeout
Gerson Freitas Jr., Isis Almeida and Anne Riley Moffat - Bloomberg
It took just one day for Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. to lose more than $8 billion in value following news of an investigation into its accounting practices earlier this year. Bouncing back will take a lot longer. The storied agricultural commodities trader, which historically dubbed itself the "supermarket to the world," has spent billions to grow its nutrition unit, the business that makes pet food and veggie burgers that's now under scrutiny. But the strategy to diversify beyond corn, wheat and soybean trading - ADM's staples - has faltered, with no obvious alternative in place.
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Passive funds leave actives languishing; Assets in US index-trackers now outstrip those in stock selectors as investors opt for a smoother ride
Philip Coggan - Financial Times
Water can dramatically change the landscape, as the slow but steady process of erosion creates cliffs, caves and oxbow lakes. A similarly remorseless transformation has been occurring in the fund management industry as active managers (those who like to select stocks) have been outcompeted by passive managers (those who track an index).
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | BlackRock, GIC Consider Sale of UK Gas Pipeline Assets
Dinesh Nair - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte are exploring the sale of a network of gas pipeline assets in the UK that could fetch about $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The owners are working with investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to find potential buyers for Kellas Midstream, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. The company owns a network of pipes, including the the 404-kilometer (251-mile) undersea Central Area Transmission System that deliver gas from the North Sea into the UK.
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Baku climate summit must make finance a priority, UN leaders say; 200-odd nations that will gather for COP29 are expected to bring improved targets for emissions reduction
Lee Harris and Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
The UN climate summit held in Baku this year must prioritise finance and unlock new sources of funding to tackle climate change, leading veteran participants said. "This year, it's finance," Tina Stege, the climate envoy of the Marshall Islands, told the Financial Times Climate Capital Live audience on Thursday.
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How Clean Energy Tax Breaks Could Fuel a US Wood Burning Boom; While the forest biomass industry maneuvers to try to take advantage of new federal climate policy, environmental advocates are pushing back and trying to protect trees.
James Bruggers - Inside Climate News
Businesses that burn wood to produce energy have struggled in the United States to compete economically, even as wood-pellet exports to Europe from states like Alabama and North Carolina have soared with overseas subsidies. But the industry's domestic fortunes could soon change.
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Chances of a Weather-Roiling La Nina This Year Are Now Above 80%
Brian K. Sullivan - Bloomberg
The odds of a weather-roiling La Nina in the coming months are rising, elevating the risk of an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season. The chances of La Nina, a cooling of the equatorial Pacific, rose to 82% for August, September and October, the US Climate Prediction Center said. Last month there was a 74% chance.
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Strained Texas Power Grid Is Poised to Lose a Big Gas Plant
Naureen S. Malik - Bloomberg
The Texas power grid is poised to lose a big natural gas-fired power plant, potentially straining a system that's already grappling with an exodus of fossil fuel generation. CPS Energy plans to "indefinitely suspend operations" of three units of the V.H. Braunig facility totaling 859-megawatts by March 31, 2025, according to a notice posted by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Wednesday. That's typically enough to supply enough power to about 171,800 homes on the state grid.
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Why Corporate America Has a Diversity Problem; In this Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary, we explore the political blowback that has many companies running away from DEI programs.
Jeff Green and Simone Foxman - Bloomberg
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | UBS Has Better Business Mix Than Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Says; Wealth management business has exposure to Asia 'sweet spot'; Credit Suisse integration may boost earnings, capital returns
Myriam Balezou - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG's more diversified wealth management exposure and business mix makes it more attractive than US peer Morgan Stanley, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. While both firms are forecast to generate about 60% of earnings from asset-gathering businesses in 2027, JPMorgan analyst Kian Abouhossein said the Swiss bank has a better wealth management franchise than Morgan Stanley outside of the US. It's helped by being highly geared to Asia, which is seen as the "sweet spot."
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Citi Puts Banker on Leave, Probes Treatment of Junior Worker
Gillian Tan - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. placed a senior dealmaker within its equity capital markets group on leave as the firm investigates a complaint regarding a verbal altercation with a junior banker, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Edward Ruff, a New York-based managing director in the investment banking unit that handles initial public offerings and other stock deals, was suspended from work in January and has yet to return, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the review hasn't been widely disclosed. Ruff publicly berated a junior banker, who is a person of color, in the office, leading to a complaint about the language he used, said the people.
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Morgan Stanley Wins EUR1.4 Million French Bonus Spat With Banker Who Quit
Gaspard Sebag - Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley won a court fight to overturn EUR1.4 million ($1.5 million) in deferred bonus payments given to a managing director who sued for the award after he quit to join one of his biggest clients. The Paris court of appeals ruled against Bernard Mourad, saying the bank's cash and shares incentive programs "sought to ensure his loyalty in the long term." The judges said they were distinct from his performance compensation - covered by his salary and discretionary bonus.
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BNP Paribas Considers Buying Fosun's Ageas Stake
Jan-Henrik Forster, Alexandre Rajbhandari, Manuel Baigorri and Pamela Barbaglia - Bloomberg
BNP Paribas SA is considering a potential acquisition of Fosun International Ltd.'s stake in Belgian insurer Ageas, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The French lender has been holding discussions on a possible purchase of Fosun's holding in Ageas, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
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Millennium Trader Scored $40 Million Windfall in Egypt FX Plunge
Donal Griffin and Srinivasan Sivabalan - Bloomberg
Millennium Management, one of the world's biggest hedge funds, made tens of millions of dollars when Egypt allowed its currency to weaken after a successful bet by one of its senior traders, people familiar with the matter said. Naveen Choppara, who joined Millennium in Dubai last year, wagered that Egypt would allow the devaluation in order to stave off an economic crisis, according to the people, who requested anonymity as the details aren't public. When the pound tumbled 38% on March 6 after the country's central bank introduced a record interest-rate hike, he made a profit of about $40 million, some of the people said.
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BlackRock, Man Group Reveal Big Japan Bets Before BOJ Decision
Ruth Carson, Winnie Hsu and Yasutaka Tamura - Bloomberg
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Former Goldman Partner's Panview Hedge Fund Hits $1 Billion
Bei Hu - Bloomberg
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Cathie Wood Reshapes Florida City in Image of Her Boom-Bust Fund; The well-known investor is making her mark in St. Petersburg more than two years after she moved her firm out of New York, joining others in the finance world who decamped for the Sunshine State.
Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Bernie Sanders Proposes Reducing Americans' Workweek to 32 Hours; His proposal would pare down the workweek over a four-year period. The 40-hour workweek has stood as the standard in the U.S. since it became enshrined in federal law in 1940.
Victoria Kim - The New York Times
Senator Bernie Sanders this week unveiled legislation to reduce the standard workweek in the United States from 40 hours to 32, without a reduction in pay, saying Americans are working longer hours for less pay despite advances in technology and productivity. The law, if passed, would pare down the workweek over a four-year period, lowering the threshold at which workers would be eligible to receive overtime pay. The 40-hour workweek has stood as the standard in the United States since it became enshrined in federal law in 1940.
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Big Tech's trouble in China: New 'work secrets' law could force tough choices
Paul Rosenzweig - The Hill (opinion)
For years, the national and cyber security communities have warned technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle that escalating tensions between the United States and China would ultimately make them choose between one of their largest customers, the U.S. government, and access to the state-controlled Chinese market. U.S. companies have long had to balance their values with China's authoritarian demands, such as extreme censorship of search engines. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Now, a revision to China's state secrets law that takes effect in May could very well force the issue.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | 20,000 people off work in the UK every month for mental ill health; DWP figures reveal thousands of people a month are assessed as unable to work because of mental health problems
Safi Bugel - The Guardian
Thousands of people in the UK are being deemed incapable of any work every month due to mental health problems, figures have shown. According to official data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), at least 20,000 incapacity benefit claims are for mental health problems - making up more than two-thirds of the total. Previous figures have shown that mental health and learning disabilities are among the main contributors to disability benefits, which are paid regardless of whether someone can work. But until now, there had been no such data for incapacity benefits paid through universal credit when people struggle to work.
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COVID-19 misinformation undermines public health 4 years after pandemic began
Chris Mueller - USA TODAY
Jesse Ehrenfeld, an anesthesiologist at a Wisconsin hospital, asked a patient about to have heart surgery if she would consent to a blood transfusion should it become necessary. It's a standard question. But the patient refused. It was 2021, and the COVID-19 vaccine had become publicly available only a few months earlier. This patient, though, made it clear she did not want it - or blood from anyone who already had it. "It was at that moment I knew we were in for it," Ehrenfeld said.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Exclusive-Indian banks halt silver imports as duty differential spurs private trade
Rajendra Jadhav - Reuters
India's banks have stopped silver imports after private traders bought large volumes of the precious metal from the United Arab Emirates to benefit from a lower duty, a total of five dealers and industry officials said. India, the world's biggest silver consumer, imposes a 15% import duty on the metal.
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China Signals Liquidity Is to Fuel Growth, Not Speculation
Bloomberg
China offered a surprise reminder to bankers swimming in a pool of cash for months now that its liquidity boost is aimed at rejuvenating the economy, not helping support financial speculation. Draining cash from the banking system Friday, policymakers said their support has already "fully" satisfied financial institutions' needs, language it hadn't used in at least a year. While there are no signs that banks are desperate for cash, the move also underscored Beijing's frustration that its monetary stimulus has had more of an impact in fueling a bond market rally than in lifting economic growth.
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Diamonds lose sparkle in China amid property woes and marriage drought; Chinese consumers' shift to gold jewellery helps push down demand despite wider revival in luxury market
Harry Dempsey and Eleanor Olcott, Gloria Li and Chan Ho-him - Financial Times
A recovery in diamond sales in China has stalled after a property sector crisis sapped consumer confidence and Covid-19 restrictions led to a drought of engagements in the world's second-largest consumer market for the gemstones. Sales of diamond jewellery dropped 3 per cent last year to $12.8bn in the Greater China region, which also includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan but is dominated by mainland Chinese demand, according to data from Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond analyst.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Austrian Heiress to Let 50 Strangers Decide Fate of Her Fortune; Engelhorn formed citizens' assembly to give away her wealth; Group will decide over six weekends where to send EUR25 million
Sophie Alexander - Bloomberg
Marlene Engelhorn hadn't given much thought to the wealth that surrounded her as she grew up. She always considered the fortune, inherited from Friedrich Engelhorn, the 19th-century founder of German chemical giant BASF SE, to be her family's money rather than hers. Then she came into more than EUR25 million ($27 million) from her late billionaire grandmother in 2022. She had already co-founded the group TaxMeNow and discovered a community in various progressive groups for guilt-ridden rich people like wealth-redistribution advocates Resource Justice and Patriotic Millionaires. But now the 31-year-old had to grapple with the fact that she was a millionaire in her own right.
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Reichsbank Played Crucial Role in Hitler's Germany, Report Shows; 'Never again should there be antisemitism in Germany': Nagel; Bundesbank publishes 100-page study on central-banking history
Jan Bratanic - Bloomberg
Germany's Reichsbank played an essential role in supporting Adolf Hitler's regime, according to a study that delves into the darkest period of the pre-1945 institution's history. "Central bankers became willing accessories to a criminal regime," Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at Friday's presentation of the findings in Frankfurt. "Never again should there be antisemitism in Germany. Never again should minorities be excluded and subjected to state tyranny." The Reichsbank, as the central bank was called during the National Socialist era, helped finance the war and exploit occupied territories. It was also involved in confiscation, expropriation and sale of Jewish assets, handling gold and foreign currency taken from those murdered in the concentration and extermination camps, the study showed.
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