| December 24, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
I am sure there are many cases among the 1499 sentences commuted by President Joseph Biden that brought forth significant or emotional responses from the affected communities or families impacted by the crimes committed. Let me share with you a statement about the crime committed by Eric A. Bloom, and the impact it could have had on the futures industry as a whole as testified by Robert Wasserman, Chief Counsel for the CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk; his declaration is part of the "Government's Position Paper as to Sentencing Factors Concerning Defendant Eric A. Bloom."
Exhibit C, Declaration of Robert B. Wasserman. Mr. Wasserman, the CFTC's Chief Counsel for its Division of Clearing and Risk, points out that maintaining segregation of funds serves as commodity customers' legal protection against insolvency by FCMs, and that there is no other protection available, unlike the protection afforded by the FDIC to bank depositors, or to securities investors by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. As of August 13, 2007, the day Bloom announced that Sentinel was halting customer redemptions, Sentinel held approximately $562 million in customer funds deposited by its FCM customers for trading on U.S. exchanges.
On August 16, 2007, Bloom agreed to sell to the hedge fund Citadel a portfolio of securities held for the benefit of Sentinel's FCM customers. The sale netted approximately $350 million, and a portion of the sale proceeds was distributed to the FCM customers. But for the distribution of the sale proceeds, Sentinel's FCM customers collectively would have been under-segregated by approximately $156 million as of August 24, 2007, and approximately 12 of Sentinel's FCM customers had insufficient funds to cover the loss of the customer funds they entrusted to Bloom. Those 12 FCMs would have defaulted on their customer fund obligations to their own customers were it not for the Citadel sale and distribution, and would most likely have been placed in bankruptcy. Id. According to Mr. Wasserman, "The simultaneous failure of such a substantial number of FCMs would have had a devastating effect on customer confidence, and Sentinel's violative conduct thus put the entire futures market in jeopardy."
It was pointed out to me that FCMs were not the only entities to lose money in the Sentinel fraud. Also losing money were hedge funds, pension funds and other similar investment vehicles. One of the funds to lose money was Lake Shore Asset Management, which itself was a fraud. I remember discovering a connection between the two during a search one morning while editing JLN and I believe I was the first to publicly report the connection.
Given the magnitude of Bloom's fraud, I would not have put him on my list to get a commuted sentence, end of Presidential term, Christmas season, or not.
Germany has its own 'Magnificent Seven' that has propelled the Dax, the Financial Times reported. Germany's Dax index defied economic gloom in 2024, rising 18.7%, driven by seven standout companies: SAP, Rheinmetall, Siemens, Siemens Energy, Deutsche Telekom, Allianz, and Munich Re. SAP alone accounted for nearly 40% of the index's gains, fueled by its transition to cloud-based services and its position as Europe's largest tech company. Siemens Energy surged 329% due to renewable power demand, while Rheinmetall rose 107% on increased European defense spending. The rally reflects a shift in the Dax from heavy industry to financial and tech-driven firms.
The lead story from Vicky Ge Huang of The Wall Street Journal about Justin Sun, contained this nugget of information, "Almost half of all illicit crypto volume occurred on the Tron blockchain last year, according to crypto-analytics firm TRM Labs." This is the network developed by Sun, who bought the banana art for $6.2 million and allegedly caused CoinDesk's top editors to be fired. He also "invested $30 million in the Trump family-backed crypto project World Liberty Financial in November" after it had only raised $20 million prior, but this allowed the Trumps to get paid. Needless to say, continue to pay attention to Mr. Sun as it seems like it is going to only get more interesting in the coming months.
Tomorrow is Christmas and we will not be publishing JLN or JLN Options. During the break between Christmas and New Year's, we will be publishing JLN Options only next Monday. We will be publishing JLN on its regular schedule throughout the rest of the year, other than on New Year's Day.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice. For those of you who celebrate the Christmas holiday, Merry Christmas! ~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Max Pain-Largest Bitcoin Options Expiry in History to Conclude a Volatile Year from Bitcoin.comNews.
- Investment Advisers to Supplant Hedge Funds as Top BTC ETF Holders in 2025: CF Benchmarks from CoinDesk.
- Bitcoin Pares Early Loss After First Weekly Drop Since Trump Won from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Crossroads of Innovation: Cathie Wood, Peter Zeihan, and Jamie Metzl Share Visionary Insights at Miami Summit
JohnLothianNews.com
In a recent interview with John Lothian News, James Putra, vice president and head of product at TradeStation, discussed key insights from several prominent speakers at the recent "Crossroads Summit" focused on innovation and economic trends, including Investor Cathy Woods, Author Peter Zeihan and Jamie Metz, founder and chair of OneShared.World.
Watch the video »
Dan Smalley - Broadridge
Watch Video »
David Greely - Abaxx Exchange
Watch Video »
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Prestigious Litigation Boutique Offers Eye-Popping Bonuses That Blow Away The Market Scale; Now *these* are some very generous bonuses.
Staci Zaretsky - Abovethelaw.com
Money StackBiglaw may seem like the place to be when it comes to high salaries and even higher bonuses, what with Milbank's generous year-end and special bonus scales, but once again, it's time for us to consider elite boutique law firms. We've got another bonus from a boutique that absolutely blows away the current market standard. Susman Godfrey has entered the scene to wow its associates - and the market at large, to be frank - with its astounding bonus scale. We're told that these numbers exceed the prevailing market scale, including base and special bonuses. This year, the firm is sharing bonuses with associates that reach a median of $260,000 by graduation year.
/jlne.ws/41NKbDh
***** The associates at the law firm behind the CME member class action lawsuit are doing quite well.~JJL
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New York vows to 'fill the gaps' left by Donald Trump's regulation rollback; Head of state's powerful financial regulator could seek new powers to scrutinise banks and crypto groups
Joe Miller - Financial Times
New York's financial watchdog is ready to "fill the gaps" left by the incoming Donald Trump administration's planned deregulation spree, its chief has said, by increasing its scrutiny on banks, insurance companies and cryptocurrency groups that transact in the world's commercial capital. Adrienne Harris, head of the state's Department of Financial Services, which licenses many of the globe's largest financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, ICBC and Deutsche Bank, told the Financial Times that a rollback of federal regulations would "certainly increase the volume of consumer protection cases that we may bring on the enforcement side".
/jlne.ws/4gsPcW1
****** The new federal crypto regulation will take care of upstarts like New York's regulators.~JJL
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Bitcoin Boom Validates Wall Streeters Who Jumped Into Crypto; Finance veterans who left traditional jobs to work with digital assets have enjoyed the 2024 rally.
Francesca Maglione and Charlie Wells - Bloomberg
They went to Ivy League schools. Top Wall Street firms recruited them. They grinded for years and rose up the ranks. And then, before it all melted down, they took the plunge into crypto. It was a big career risk, and one that not so long ago looked like a bust. FTX collapsed. Bitcoin plummeted below $16,000. Their families, friends and former colleagues seemed to arrive at the same conclusion: You made a big mistake.
/jlne.ws/3P9Psx9
***** Big risk, big reward. Bigger risks, no reward? It all depends on which side of the virtual coin comes up heads.~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top story yesterday was from the White House. FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Clemency for Nearly 1,500 Americans. Merry Christmas to those people I'd guess. Second was from AP via Yahoo News, Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died. Third was A Looming Threat to Bitcoin: The Risk of a Quantum Hack from The Wall Street Journal. Happy holidays to all!
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| Lead Stories | Justin Sun Wants to Be the Musk of Crypto; The Tron blockchain entrepreneur courts attention, and backs the president-elect
Vicky Ge Huang - The Wall Street Journal
President-elect Donald Trump's newest ally in the cryptocurrency markets is a Chinese-born entrepreneur who has been accused of fraud by U.S. regulators and recently spent $6.2 million on a banana. Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, invested $30 million in the Trump family-backed crypto project World Liberty Financial in November. Sun stepped in when the project appeared to struggle to meet its fundraising targets, imperiling a potential payout for the Trump clan. The Trumps now stand to get paid, and Sun serves as an adviser to World Liberty. Sun could use more friends in Washington. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued him and three of his businesses in 2023. The agency alleges he sold unregistered securities, manipulated token prices and paid Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities to promote his schemes.
/jlne.ws/49RTfJ3
China's Wild Markets Send Hong Kong Derivatives to Third Record Year; Trading of futures and options on city's bourse jumps 14%; Equities turnover surged with volatility on China stimulus
Charlotte Yang - Bloomberg
For a third year in a row, trading of derivatives in Hong Kong has hit a record. More than 377 million futures and options have changed hands on the city's bourse since January, up 14% from 2023, data from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. show. That happened as stock-volatility gauges hit their highest levels in more than two years in October. China's pledge to revive its economy initially spurred a wave of euphoria among traders, but that quickly waned with the government's slow pace of implementation. Equity gyrations jumped as trading of shares hit levels never seen before, increasing the need to hedge. Some investors used derivatives to bet on the market in a cautious way, according to Societe Generale SA's Frank Benzimra.
/jlne.ws/3PaYH0d
New York Fed's Tweak to Key Repo Facility Hampered by Its Design; Bank to offer second standing repo operation Dec. 30-Jan. 3; Late settlement unlikely to ease any potential repo squeeze
lex Harris - Bloomberg
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's plan to conduct additional liquidity operations through the end of the year will provide needed support at a time when funding markets tend to be volatile, though its current framework will limit the effectiveness of the measures. The Standing Repo Facility, or SRF, allows eligible banks and primary dealers to borrow funds overnight in exchange for Treasury and agency debt at a rate set by the Fed. The goal of a having a rate set by the Fed is to contain the overall repo market from pushing outside the central bank's target range.
/jlne.ws/3VT0H0M
US Regains Primacy in Crypto Market on Trump Agenda, ETF Demand; Bitcoin trading versus dollar is more concentrated in US hours; Open interest in CME futures for Bitcoin, Ether scaled records
Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
The crypto market's center of gravity is back in the US as 2025 approaches, courtesy of Donald Trump's reelection to the presidency and widening demand for the nation's digital-asset funds and derivatives contracts. Trump's vow to make America the linchpin of the crypto sector ignited a frenzy of trading, adding to a spurt in activity triggered by the surprisingly successful rollout of US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds from the start of 2024.
/jlne.ws/3VWKE2e
Singapore Pulls Ahead of Hong Kong in Race to Be Crypto Hub
Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Singapore forged ahead with efforts to formulate a digital-assets hub in 2024, while rival financial center Hong Kong has struggled to gain traction. Singapore doled out 13 crypto licenses in 2024 to a range of crypto operators including top exchanges OKX and Upbit, as well as global heavyweights Anchorage, BitGo and GSR. That's more than double the licenses awarded by the city-state the previous year. A similar licensing regime in Hong Kong has been slow to progress.
/jlne.ws/4fy6nEk
Big banks planning to sue US Fed over annual stress tests, CNBC reports
Reuters
Major banks are planning to sue the U.S. Federal Reserve over the annual stress tests conducted by the regulator, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. A lawsuit is expected this week and could come as soon as Tuesday, the report said.
/jlne.ws/4gNdWbu
Fed says it is weighing changes to bank tests for systemic risk; Overhaul could alter the models for hypothetical losses, averaging results over two years to cut results' volatility
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
The Federal Reserve is weighing "significant changes" to its annual stress tests for large US banks that would reduce volatility of tests' results and make the process more transparent. The Fed did not provide a detailed account of the changes but said they could amend models that calculate hypothetical losses for banks, averaging results over two years to lessen the risk of large year-on-year swings, and allow the public to comment on hypothetical scenarios each year before they are finalised.
/jlne.ws/3PbjcK8
MicroStrategy mania exposes rare faultline in ETF industry; Sharp deviations have appeared in expected returns of two leveraged funds amid surge in bets
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
The sheer popularity of betting on the bitcoin-buying juggernaut MicroStrategy has led to rare growing pains in a corner of the $15tn global exchange traded fund industry. The rapid growth of the ETF sector - with assets surging by 30 per cent in the past year alone - has thus far led to precious few structural problems, with the vast majority of funds working entirely as planned. However, investors in two US-listed leveraged MicroStrategy ETFs targeting twice the daily return of the white-hot software company - which has raised almost $20bn from investors this year to buy bitcoin - have often received returns markedly at variance from what they might have expected in recent weeks.
/jlne.ws/408g3Rx
Coffee's Rally Forces Traders to Seek Alternative Hedging Plans; Arabica futures in New York have jumped around 70% this year; Traders forced to seek new ways to hedge, manage volatility
Archie Hunter and Mumbi Gitau - Bloomberg
Coffee prices have been on a tear and for the traders who buy, sell and ship beans around the world this means navigating additional risks. They're turning to alternative ways to hedge prices and avoid or delay the cash crunch caused by volatile moves. Futures prices for arabica beans - the variety favored for high-end brews - have gained around 70% in New York this year, breaking past the highest levels in more than forty years. Big price swings are a regular feature.
/jlne.ws/4gQcYex
Biden to Decide on US Steel Takeover After Panel Deadlocks; President has indicated he will kill deal with Nippon Steel; Companies say they will go to court if takeover gets blocked
Joe Deaux and Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
A US national security panel has deadlocked on its review of the sale of United States Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp., a procedural development that opens the door for President Joe Biden to block the transaction. The case was referred by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to Biden's desk Monday, which was the deadline, according to people familiar with the matter. The proponents were notified that the panel was unable to reach consensus, which means the final decision is left up to Biden.
/jlne.ws/41O2uIc
Iran Oil Tycoon 'Hector' Plays Key Role in Arms Sales to Russia; Hossein Shamkhani, whose father is a senior figure in Tehran, has emerged as a major player in the supply of Iranian arms to Russia, according to US officials and people familiar with his dealings.
Ben Bartenstein - Bloomberg
An Iranian oil tycoon who's managed to quietly embed himself in the heart of the Western financial system is among a cadre of businessmen handling weapons deliveries across the Caspian Sea to Russia, helping Moscow in its war in Ukraine. Hossein Shamkhani, through a web of firms he oversees that include Dubai-based Crios Shipping LLC, began moving missiles, drone components and dual-use goods across the Caspian Sea on at least two ships last year, according to more than a dozen US, UK and European officials as well as people with direct knowledge of his dealings. They spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.
/jlne.ws/3BKedwT
Japan's 2024 Stock Rally Brought Meager Returns in Dollar Terms; Dollar-based gains in the Topix dwarfed by those made by peers; Foreigners' investments 'disappointing': Asymmetric Advisors
Winnie Hsu and Momoka Yokoyama - Bloomberg
Japanese stocks have had a banner year in 2024 but for dollar-based investors, it has been a different story. The benchmark Topix index reached a record high in 2024 and rose around 15%. But the dollar-denominated gains are a meager 3% as the yen tumbled around 10% against the greenback. That's far below those posted by its global peers, including the S&P 500 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in US currency terms, which both rose over 25%.
/jlne.ws/4fsov2A
Harvard's Fiercest Foes Are Gaining Power and Vowing Punishment; Some of the Ivy League school's harshest critics are set to assume powerful government positions, making President Alan Garber's job more difficult.
Janet Lorin - Bloomberg
In the days after Kamala Harris lost all seven swing states, the popular vote and the 2024 presidential election, Harry Lewis was disappointed to read that some Harvard teachers offered condolences to students and told them classes were optional. One physics professor "stress-baked" lemon bars to ease the pain of Donald Trump's victory, according to the Harvard Crimson.
/jlne.ws/4gLSVxO
Prestigious Litigation Boutique Offers Eye-Popping Bonuses That Blow Away The Market Scale; Now *these* are some very generous bonuses.
Staci Zaretsky - AboveTheLaw
Biglaw may seem like the place to be when it comes to high salaries and even higher bonuses, what with Milbank's generous year-end and special bonus scales, but once again, it's time for us to consider elite boutique law firms. We've got another bonus from a boutique that absolutely blows away the current market standard. Susman Godfrey has entered the scene to wow its associates - and the market at large, to be frank - with its astounding bonus scale. We're told that these numbers exceed the prevailing market scale, including base and special bonuses. This year, the firm is sharing bonuses with associates that reach a median of $260,000 by graduation year.
/jlne.ws/41NKbDh
Bank of America Settles With U.S. Regulator Over Compliance Issues; The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency didn't impose a fine in the settlement over sanctions compliance, suspicious activity monitoring and other alleged issues
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
Bank of America has agreed to take remedial action as part of a settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which said the financial institution had problems in its sanctions compliance and suspicious activity monitoring. On Monday, the OCC said Bank of America must appoint a compliance committee and hire a third-party consultant to review its compliance efforts to resolve alleged deficiencies in the bank's controls, along with other steps.
/jlne.ws/3DFjZAq
Spreading Famine Threatens Hundreds of Thousands of Lives in Sudan, Panel Warns; Sudan's military government, which international agencies have accused of obstructing lifesaving aid, disputes famine findings
Gabriele Steinhauser and Mohamed Zakaria - The Wall Street Journal
Famine has expanded to more areas of Sudan, an international panel monitoring global hunger said Tuesday, as hundreds of thousands of people face starvation in the war-ravaged nation. At least 638,000 people across five localities in Sudan's Darfur and Kordofan regions are now suffering catastrophic hunger, which is equivalent to famine, according to the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system, or IPC.
/jlne.ws/49Uao59
The overlooked benefits of real Christmas trees
Jocelyn Timperley - BBC
The environmental pros and cons of Christmas trees go far beyond the climate impact of "real or plastic", scientists say. So what's the best choice for a green Christmas? In 1800, Queen Charlotte, the German wife of King George III, set up what is thought to be the first Christmas tree in England, at Queen's Lodge in Windsor. Decorated Christmas trees already had a long history in Germany, but they soon became a fashionable part of the festive season for the English upper classes, and by the 1850s were a common sight across the UK.
/jlne.ws/3ZR4ddh
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after engine room explosion; The Ursa Major had been under US sanctions linked to war in Ukraine
Anastasia Stognei - Financial Times
A Russian cargo ship operated by the Ministry of Defence's logistics fleet sank on Tuesday in international waters between Spain and Algeria while en route from St Petersburg to Vladivostok. The vessel, called Ursa Major, sank following an explosion in its engine room. Two crew members remain missing, while 14 others had been rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena, Russia's foreign ministry said.
/jlne.ws/3BRIRV6
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel's Enemy in Yemen Proves Hard for U.S. to Deter; Houthi militants haven't pulled back attacks on global shipping and Israel despite a U.S. campaign to stop them
Carrie Keller-Lynn, Benoit Faucon and Saleh al-Batati - The Wall Street Journal
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have kept up a steady drumbeat of attacks on commercial shipping passing through the vital waterway and have continued to lob missiles at Israel. Other Iranian-backed groups, from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the now-deposed regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, have all stopped fighting, at least for now.
/jlne.ws/406QVe8
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | January 2025 Delivery Date Memo - Effective December 23, 2024
CME Group
Important dates and events through the month relevant to delivery and clearing procedures.
/jlne.ws/3P8v6V0
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Don't Look Now, but China's AI Is Catching Up Fast; Startups use workarounds to challenge OpenAI in some areas despite lack of leading-edge chips
Raffaele Huang and Tracy Qu - The Wall Street Journal
Chinese startups show signs of catching up with America's leading artificial-intelligence models more quickly than many in the industry had expected, despite the restrictions China faces in buying advanced chips. DeepSeek, a startup funded by one of China's most successful hedge-fund managers, released a preview version of its latest large language model in November. It said the program's abilities compared favorably with OpenAI's reasoning model called o1, which came out in preview form in September.
/jlne.ws/3DwxUsD
Chinese Data Center Operator Yovole Is Said to Consider US IPO
Dong Cao, Dave Sebastian and Julia Fioretti - Bloomberg
Yovole is considering an initial public offering in the US, people familiar with the matter said, years after the Chinese data center operator's failed attempt to list in mainland China. The company, which is backed by Beijing-based alternative asset manager CDH Investments, is working with an adviser on a potential first-time share sale that may help it raise more than $100 million, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Yovole may consider submitting a confidential filing with US regulators as soon as in January, the people said.
/jlne.ws/408KWp4
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Trump 2.0 Portends Big Shift in Cybersecurity Policies; Changes at CISA and promises of more public-private partnerships and deregulation are just a few ways the incoming administration could upend the feds' role in cybersecurity.
Becky Bracken - Dark Reading
Before it was subsumed by political commentary, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was a Trump accomplishment - signed into existence in 2018 during his first administration. But that was before accusations of dirty politics and free speech shenanigans turned CISA into a conservative pariah. Now, CISA is facing an existential political clash with the incoming Trump administration, threatening to take much of the US federal government's involvement in cybersecurity along with it. The result could potentially increase cyber-risk, but also open up business, investment, and innovation opportunities. A lot of things can be true at once.
/jlne.ws/3DwogpW
NSF Awards $15 Million To Four Universities For Cybersecurity Programs
Michael T. Nietzel - Forbes
The National Science Foundation announced this week that it has awarded CyberCorps Scholarship for Service grants to four public universities to support the training of more cybersecurity professionals for federal, state, local and tribal government positions. The total investment of nearly $15 million is being made to Washington State University, Iowa State University, George Mason University and The Ohio State University in the form of five-year grants ranging in size from $3.5 million to almost $4 million.
/jlne.ws/49U96aj
These are the cybersecurity stories we were jealous of in 2024
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Zack Whittaker and Carly Page - TechCrunch
Since 2018, along with colleagues first at VICE Motherboard, and now at TechCrunch, I have been publishing a list at the end of the year highlighting the best cybersecurity stories reported by other outlets. Cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy are huge topics that no one single publication can cover effectively on its own. Journalism is by definition competitive, but also a highly collaborative field. That's why it sometimes makes sense to point our readers to other publications and their work to learn more about these complicated and sprawling beats.
/jlne.ws/49TgFxO
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto Exchange's Outflows Swell on North Korean Trader Concern
Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
Hyperliquid, a crypto-derivatives trading platform, suffered its biggest-ever daily outflow as traders rushed to remove funds amid concern that North Korean hackers were trading on the exchange. Digital wallets associated with the hackers have been trading on Hyperliquid since as early as October, said Taylor Monahan, a security expert working at digital-wallet provider MetaMask. She shared the addresses of the suspected wallets and their activities on the social-media platform X on Monday. Trading is usually a way for North Korean hackers to test potential security bugs on a platform like Hyperliquid, according to Monahan.
/jlne.ws/40igLMt
Bitcoin would need over 300 days of downtime to adequately defend itself from the 'imminent' threat of quantum computing, research finds
Sasha Rogelberg - Fortune
Advancements in quantum computing, such as Google's Willow chip, pose a threat to today's means of encryption, University of Kent lecturer Carlos Perez-Delgado argued. For Bitcoin, protecting itself against a future attack would be time-consuming and costly. "If I had a large quantum computer right now, I could essentially take over all the Bitcoin," he said. Bitcoin's record high value of more than $106,000 is under threat by ever-evolving quantum computing that could undo its foundational encryption, some computational science experts say. If the cryptocurrency wants to avoid an attack that would overhaul its means of protecting transactions, it would need to undergo a costly-and time-consuming-update process that could take nearly a year, according to new research.
/jlne.ws/4fysVFf
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | After Trump threat, Mexican president says Panama Canal belongs to Panamanians
Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed support for Panama's government on Monday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday. "Indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians," Sheinbaum said, speaking during her regular morning press conference.
/jlne.ws/407fOGn
US appeals court allows anti-money laundering law to be enforced
Nate Raymond - Reuters
A federal appeals court on Monday lifted an order blocking the nationwide enforcement of an anti-money laundering law that requires corporate entities to disclose the identities of their real beneficial owners, to the U.S. Treasury Department. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold a nationwide injunction issued earlier this month by a federal judge in Texas who had concluded that the Corporate Transparency Act was unconstitutional.
/jlne.ws/3VUENKH
Congress is looking to ban Chinese drones that are widely used in US. What to know about the debate
Didi Tang - Associated Press Finance
The economic and technological rivalry between the United States and China has come to the drone market, where Chinese-made flying devices are a dominant player. Lawmakers in Washington are seeking to ban new sales of drones from two dominant Chinese manufacturers, arguing they could be used to spy on Americans and that the low-cost models are hurting the U.S. drone industry.
/jlne.ws/3P7t5Zs
Canada's Trudeau faces increasing pressure from his own MPs to quit
David Ljunggren - Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party looks set to lose power early next year, is under increasing pressure from his own legislators to step down and let someone else take over. The ruling Liberals face obliteration in the next election after more than nine years in office amid voter fatigue as well as anger over high prices and a housing crisis. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp said more than 50 Liberal members of parliament from Ontario - the most populous of the 10 provinces and the party's main stronghold - held a call on Saturday and agreed Trudeau had to step down.
/jlne.ws/3VUEwYb
He Inherited a Seat in Britain's House of Lords. How Will It Feel to Lose It? The U.K. government has pledged to remove hereditary peers from Parliament in 2025. For Lord Cromwell and 87 others, it is a wistful departure.
Mark Landler - The New York Times
Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley, the 7th Baron Cromwell, traces his family's title back to 1375. His forebears fought the French at the Battle of Agincourt. For the last decade, Lord Cromwell's day job has been in Britain's House of Lords, where he mulls legislation, runs to committee meetings and briskly greets fellow lawmakers in Parliament, many of whom are elected. His right to be there is rooted in his ancestry: Hereditary peers inherit their seats, in his case from his father, the 6th Baron Cromwell. But Lord Cromwell insists that his aristocratic lineage has little bearing on his work as a public servant in the halls of Westminster.
/jlne.ws/3VS8PPf
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | The SEC's distressed debt dragnet; Two is a trend
Sujeet Indap - Financial Times
Public debt markets are more opaque and concentrated than equity markets. Does that make them more prone to securities fraud? The SEC might be trying to find out. On Friday, MainFT brought you the tale of Silver Point Capital, a top credit fund that was last week charged by the US markets regulator over how its (now deceased) bagel-throwing legal eagle Chaim Fortgang handled material non-public information that he came into possession during the Puerto Rico sovereign debt crisis five years ago.
/jlne.ws/3VXAONp
Florida woman to serve 20 years for $200M Ponzi scheme - left victims 'blindsided' and 'devastated.' How her scam worked
Maurie Backman - Moneywise
Bernie Madoff - who made off with $65 billion of innocent investors' funds - became a household name across the country when news broke of his massive Ponzi scheme. The name Johanna Garcia may not ring the same bell, but it's safe to say a number of households in Florida won't soon forget her name. Garcia was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in a nearly $200 million Ponzi scheme in Broward, Florida.
/jlne.ws/3BN6Ncj
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against ForceField Energy Defendant for Role in Offering Fraud
SEC
On December 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against Richard Brown, enjoining him from violating certain provisions of the federal securities laws. According to the SEC's complaint, starting in 2014, Brown was involved in a scheme to deceive investors into buying shares of ForceField Energy Inc. ("ForceField Energy"). The SEC alleges that Brown was paid cash kickbacks in exchange for recommending and buying shares of ForceField Energy stock in his customers' accounts without disclosing to customers that he was being paid cash kickbacks.
/jlne.ws/3BKDbwc
SEC Charges Connecticut Investment Adviser and its Principal for Improperly Withholding Investor Funds, Charging Excessive Fees, and Misleading Investors
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Connecticut-based Dolphin Associates III, LLC, and its principal, Donald T. Netter. The SEC's complaint alleges that Dolphin and Netter with improperly withholding withdrawals from a private fund (the "Fund") that they managed, charging the Fund with excessive fees, and making materially misleading statements to investors.
/jlne.ws/41N6CZ6
Perth property developer disqualified from managing corporations for four years
ASIC
ASIC has disqualified Allen Bruce Caratti, of Perth, Western Australia, from managing corporations for a period of 4 years, after his involvement in three failed companies.
/jlne.ws/3P7ttHo
Results of the Cybersecurity Self-Assessment for Financial Institutions (FY2023)
FSA
With cyberattacks increasing, it has become more important to develop cybersecurity management posture and ensure its effectiveness. Given this background, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) developed a tool for conducting a self-assessment of cybersecurity management posture, with which individual financial institutions are to identify their own positions in comparison with other financial institutions and also identify areas of their own challenges. The FSA and the BOJ have been requesting financial institutions to conduct cybersecurity self-assessment (CSSA) using the tool and then providing them with overall results since FY2022. In FY 2022, this initiative was implemented for regional financial institutions. In FY 2023, it was expanded to include insurance companies and securities companies.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Why the mysteries of corporate longevity matter to investors; It is unclear why some companies have staying power
Financial Times (opinion)
How many companies stand the test of time? Remarkably few, to judge by the average span of quoted companies on the stock market. Just over 1 per cent of the 1,513 UK-listed companies in 1948 still existed 70 years later, according to an analysis by two Cambridge professors. Roughly half of US public companies traded for 10 years or fewer over the past century, says Morgan Stanley.
/jlne.ws/3ZUFHIn
Germany's own 'magnificent seven' help Dax defy bleak growth outlook; Software provider SAP responsible for two-fifths of all Frankfurt gains in year of political tumult
Rafe Uddin and Mari Novik - Financial Times
A handful of companies dubbed Germany's answer to the US "magnificent seven" have driven a strong rally in the country's stock market this year, defying the gloom enveloping the domestic economy. Frankfurt's Dax, an index of 40 blue-chips, has risen 18.7 per cent this year, beating the benchmarks in France and the UK, and far outstripping the region-wide Stoxx Europe 600 index's 4.8 per cent gain.
/jlne.ws/49Pu61R
Investors call for UK government to reform defined benefit pensions; Overhaul could free up billions for real estate and infrastructure, asset managers say
Mary McDougall - Financial Times
The UK government should prioritise reform of the UK's £1.2tn defined benefit pensions system to unlock billions of pounds for investment, according to asset managers. In November the government announced plans for a series of "megafunds" across defined contribution (DC) and local government pension schemes to drive more investment in British infrastructure and fast-growing companies.
/jlne.ws/4gqWIAX
Why You May Want to Cheer for Money-Market Funds; Money funds remain an attractive place for excess cash and can help keep a lid on short-term borrowing costs
Telis Demos - The Wall Street Journal
Cash might be a trash asset to some risk-loving traders. But it's a pretty good thing to have sloshing around the economy. U.S. money-market fund assets have so far through mid-December grown by over $800 billion in 2024, bringing the nearly two-year gain since the end of 2022 to roughly $2 trillion, according to Investment Company Institute data.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Catastrophe-Bond Issuance Pushes Overall Market to Almost $50 Billion; Roughly $17.7 billion of new bonds have been sold this year; Market returns were about 16%, down from a record 20% in 2023
Gautam Naik - Bloomberg
Catastrophe-bond issuance rose to a record this year, increasing the overall market to almost $50 billion, as insurers transferred more risk from costly climate disasters to private investors. Sales of bonds earmarked for supplemental coverage of large windstorms, earthquakes and other events totaled $17.7 billion, up 7% from the previous record set a year ago, according to Artemis, which tracks the market for insurance-linked securities. The figures include cyber-risk and private transactions.
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A Shrimper's Crusade Pays Big Dividends on a Remote Stretch of Texas Coastline; Five years after Diane Wilson's landmark settlement with Formosa Plastics, money flows to "the bay and the fishermen."
Dylan Baddour - Inside Climate News
Few men still fish for a living on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The work is hard and pay is meager. In the hearts of rundown seaside towns, dilapidated harbors barely recall the communities that thrived here generations ago. But at the docks of Port Lavaca, one group of humble fishermen just got a staggering $20 million to bring back their timeless way of life. They're buying out the buyer of their catch, starting the largest oyster farm in Texas and dreaming big for the first time in a long time.
/jlne.ws/4gtTi0m
Japan Picks Jera, Marubeni and BP for Offshore Wind Projects
Shoko Oda - Bloomberg
Jera Co., Marubeni Corp. and BP Plc were among the winners in Japan's latest offshore wind auctions as the government pushes forward with plans to expand the nation's green power generation capacity. Projects totaling about 1 gigawatts of capacity were awarded in a recent round of auctions, according to a government statement on Tuesday. One consortium including Jera will develop a project off Aomori prefecture, while another group, including Marubeni and BP, will work on a unit off Yamagata prefecture.
/jlne.ws/49QVlce
Japan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2035 vs 2013 levels
Yuka Obayashi - Reuters
Japan's environment and industry ministries on Tuesday finalised a plan to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60% from 2013 levels by 2035, up from its 2030 goal of a 46% cut. The move follows the Biden administration's new U.S. target under the Paris climate agreement to slash GHG emissions by 61%-66% below 2005 levels by 2035, a goal officials called achievable by states even if President-elect Donald Trump reverses federal policies.
/jlne.ws/4gwjmYE
BYD construction site in Brazil shut over 'slavery-like' conditions; More than 160 Chinese nationals were found living in 'degrading' conditions and working excessive hours
Kalyeena Makortoff - The Guardian
Brazilian authorities have halted the construction of a factory for the Chinese electric vehicle company BYD, after they found more than 160 Chinese nationals living in "slavery-like" conditions. The workers, based in a construction site in the north-eastern Brazilian state Bahia, were found to be labouring for excessive hours - sometimes for seven days straight - and living in "degrading" accommodation.
/jlne.ws/3DFhjTq
Exclusive: India reviews $30 billion sulphur-cutting programme for coal plants
Sarita Chaganti Singh - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4gGDJCa
Climate change isn't 'woke'
James Murray - Business Green
/jlne.ws/4fE7ylQ
EU burns through gas storage at fastest rate since energy crisis; Colder weather and lower seaborne imports increase reliance on stored gas
Shotaro Tani - Financial Times
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Iran's Energy Crisis Hits 'Dire' Point as Industries Are Forced to Shut Down; Although Iran has one of the biggest supplies of natural gas and crude oil in the world, it finds itself in a full blown energy emergency, coming just as it also suffers major geopolitical setbacks.
Farnaz Fassihi and Leily Nikounazar - The New York Times
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Mizuho CEO Sees Global Boom in M&A After Trump Takes Office; Deals worldwide have risen in 2024 after two years of drops; Mizuho seeks smooth integration with Greenhill after purchase
Taiga Uranaka and Hideki Suzuki - Bloomberg
Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s efforts to expand its global mergers and acquisitions advisory business will likely get a boost from the incoming Donald Trump administration's policies. Masahiro Kihara, the chief executive officer of Mizuho, Japan's third-largest lender, is expecting President-elect Trump to make regulations more business friendly. This could aid the firm, which is seeking a bigger dealmaking presence in US financial markets and acquired boutique investment bank Greenhill & Co. last year. "I think there are many positives for the US such as a pickup in M&As" as a result of Trump's return, Kihara said in an interview. For foreign firms, though, "given 'Make America Great Again,' I don't know yet how the acquisition of US companies by the Japanese will be viewed," he said.
/jlne.ws/3VTjSrA
Private equity investors trapped in China as top firms fail to find exit deals; Sales and listings of Chinese companies by world's biggest buyout groups have ground to a halt, data shows
Kaye Wiggins and Thomas Hale - Financial Times
The world's biggest private equity groups have been unable to sell or list their China-based portfolio companies this year, as Beijing's crackdown on initial public offerings and a slowing economy leave foreign investors' capital trapped in the country. Among the 10 largest global private equity groups with operations in China, there is no record of any having listed a Chinese company this year or fully sold their stake through an M&A deal, figures from Dealogic show.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | US chief executives are leaving the corner office in record numbers; Soaring stock markets have allowed company leaders to cash out rather than deal with turmoil in 2025
Patrick Temple-West - Financial Times
Chief executives of publicly traded US companies are leaving in record numbers despite historic pay bonuses as the booming stock market and fear of turmoil in 2025 has prompted executives to exit. In the year to November, 327 chief executives at US public companies announced they were leaving, exceeding the record 312 exits in 2019, according to Challenger Gray, a consultancy. A number of tumultuous CEO exits occurred at blue-chip companies as leaders at Boeing (Dave Calhoun), Intel (Pat Gelsinger) and Nike (John Donahoe) stepped down this year amid sinking share prices.
/jlne.ws/3BLZT7c
The 'Invisible Wall' Amplifying China's Population Doom Loop; A two-tier system that has long made workers leave offspring behind in villages is cutting into birthrates
Liyan Qi - The Wall Street Journal
Even as China's leaders have looked for ways to lift sagging birthrates, Beijing thought there was one group who would always want to have many children: rural couples. They were wrong. Research suggests that rural migrant workers have severe reservations about starting a family. And a big reason appears to be China's household-registration system, which since the 1950s has divided the population into rural or urban and makes it hard for rural workers to take their children with them.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Research Finds Vaccines Are Not Behind the Rise in Autism. So What Is? There is no one factor that causes autism - or explains its growing prevalence. Researchers are seeking explanations for the surge. Here are some possibilities.
Emily Baumgaertner - The New York Times
When President-elect Donald J. Trump mused in a recent television interview about whether vaccines cause autism - a theory that has been discredited by dozens of scientific studies - autism researchers across the country collectively sighed in frustration. But during the interview, on NBC's "Meet The Press," Mr. Trump made one passing comment with which they could agree: "I mean, something is going on," he said, referring to skyrocketing rates of autism. "I think somebody has to find out."
/jlne.ws/4iTesGy
Mpox Is Spreading in Congo's Capital, Threatening Global Efforts to Contain the Virus; Our reporter went to Congo, where the mpox epidemic has reached the teeming capital, infecting children and their mothers, who sell sex to survive.
Stephanie Nolen - The New York Times
Mireille Efonge got sick a few months ago, with a fever and painful blisters on her groin. She became too weak to move, so neighbors carried her to a health center with walls of plastic sheeting in Pakadjuma, a crowded, poor community in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
/jlne.ws/4iSkkjC
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Japan Rolls Out More Yen Warnings as Market Liquidity Thins
Erica Yokoyama, Daisuke Sakai and Mia Glass - Bloomberg
Japan rolled out more warnings against speculative yen movements as the currency continues to show weakness ahead of two potentially market-moving central bank events this week. "I'm deeply concerned about recent currency moves, including those driven by speculators," Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters, reiterating his warnings from last week.
/jlne.ws/3DwuqX5
Indian central bank likely selling dollars to cap rupee depreciation, traders say
Reuters
The Indian central bank was likely selling dollars to limit the rupee's losses after it hit a record low on Tuesday on higher U.S. bond yields and dollar demand from local oil companies. The rupee was quoted at 85.16 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:20 a.m. IST after dipping to a low of 85.1625 in early trade.
/jlne.ws/4gzCm8Q
Indian Investors Get Reminded About Hidden Risks of Small Cap Stocks
Ashutosh Joshi - Bloomberg
Hidden dangers of small-cap stocks. Investors just got reminded on the risks of betting on tiny companies with dubious accounting practices. First, SEBI suspending trading in Bharat Global Developers over fake disclosures. Then, BSE delayed Solar91 Cleantech's IPO bidding after "certain queries raised by complainants in media." Small-cap firms have always been more prone to price manipulation and accounting tricks compared to their larger peers. But as long as there was quick money to be made, many investors turned a blind eye to the risks. Now, with the exchanges and regulator stepping up the heat, the risks may no longer be worth it - especially, if trading in such shares gets suspended.
/jlne.ws/4gGGV0M
Mexican president confident Congress will ban planting GM corn in 2025
Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expects Congress to approve a ban early next year on planting genetically modified corn in the country, she said on Saturday. Sheinbaum's announcement comes a day after a trade-dispute panel ruled Mexico's restrictions on U.S. exports of GM corn violate the USMCA trade agreement.
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| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. | INT. MIKES MOTHERS APARTMENT
Mike and his mother sip coffee at the kitchen table. Mike has a pen in his hand and is drumming on the table. He turns around and looks at the door.
MOTHER
Why so jumpy? My coffee's not that strong.
MIKE HARRIS
Nothing Ma. Just excited to get started.
MOTHER
So, what's in Chicago that's important enough to make you leave me here all alone?
MIKE HARRIS
C'mon ma. You know, it's been my lifelong dream to be a trader. I'm heading to Chicago to work at the Chicago Board of Trade. It's a once in-a-lifetime opportunity
MOTHER
Please stay. Who's going to visit me?
Mike reaches across the table and holds his mothers hands.
MIKE HARRIS
I can't mom. I have to get going,
See today's complete entry of Auditions HERE and the complete script to date HERE.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Investment in online education groups plummets following rise of AI; Funding for edtech companies hits decade low as sector struggles to compete post-pandemic
Cristina Criddle - Financial Times
Global investment in online education companies has fallen to its lowest level in a decade as the industry comes under pressure from the rapid rise of free generative artificial intelligence tools that are undercutting their products. Edtech businesses, which offer services such as online tutoring and exam practice, received just $3bn of investment in 2024, compared with $17.3bn at the peak of the pandemic in 2021, according to data from PitchBook. This is the smallest amount since 2014, when edtech companies attracted $2.3bn.
/jlne.ws/3BA8uKe
Newsweek Says 'Fairness Meter' Helps Magazine Tackle Bias Claims; The LA Times is introducing a new bias tracker for editorials; Public support for the media has been hitting all-time lows
Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
A "fairness meter" that Newsweek began attaching to its online stories more than a year ago has been generating strong support from readers, according to the publication, though some industry observers find the idea of rating articles for bias unnecessary. The meter, featured at the end of most of the news outlet's stories, gives readers the chance to decide if the article was biased or not based on five potential choices, including unfair/left-leaning, fair or unfair/right-leaning.
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