| February 17, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Breaking just as we were about to push the publish button, CME announces senior management changes.
Sunil Cutinho has been appointed chief information officer replacing Kevin Kometer who is retiring at mid-year.
Julie Holzrichter, chief operating officer, will assume an expanded role to oversee both global operations and CME Clearing.
Suzanne Sprague has been promoted to the management team as senior managing director, global head of clearing and post-trade services, reporting to Holzrichter.
Sean Tully will continue to lead the company's interest rates business, its largest asset class by revenue, as senior managing director, global head of rates and OTC products. He also will continue to oversee CME Group's cash and OTC businesses.
Tim McCourt has been promoted to the management team as senior managing director, global head of equity and FX products and will be responsible for overseeing equity, foreign exchange, cryptocurrency and alternative investment products.
CFO John Pietrowicz has announced his plans to retire in 2023. Lynne Fitzpatrick has been promoted to the management team as deputy chief financial officer and will succeed Pietrowicz upon his retirement.
Risk Magazine has named the OCC as the clearing house of the year for 2022. This is what Craig Donohue, OCC Executive Chairman had to say about the award:
"This award highlights the importance of OCC's role in providing resiliency, stability and integrity to financial markets and the broader economy. We are proud of this recognition and will continue to strive for excellence while fulfilling our commitment to delivering world-class clearing, settlement and risk management services to our participant exchanges, clearing member firms and market participants, and to serve as the foundation for secure markets."
The Nodal Exchange hit a new volume record on Tuesday, topping 185,000 contracts.
Murray Pozmanter, DTCC Managing Director and Head of Clearing Agency Services and Global Operations has a commentary titled "Applauding the SEC's Proposal to Accelerate the Settlement Cycle to T+1."
Sean Downey has been promoted to managing director, clearing chief compliance officer and head of policy at the CME Group. Previously, Downey was executive director clearing, risk and capital policy.
Jin Mun has been named head of product for order and execution management solutions at LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group). Mun spent 15 years at the CME and 5 at Fidessa previously.
Former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo appeared on Yahoo Finance Presents video with senior reporter David Hollerith to talk about spot market regulation and the CFTC's role in cryptocurrency.
The video for the 40th Annual Options Industry Conference is out. You can watch it on the conference website HERE. Registration for the conference is open.
Thank you to Trading Technologies for matching the latest gifts to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign. The campaign is up to $56,206 of the $300,000 goal we set up to support our efforts to preserve industry history with our various video series. Thank you, TT, for your continued generosity, and to recent donors, Aaron Walters, Diane Saucier, Michael Walsh and Sean Smith, whose gifts TT matched.
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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In warning to U.S., COVID rates soar after Denmark lifts all restrictions
Andrew Romano - Yahoo News
At the beginning of February, Denmark became the first major country to lift the last of its COVID-19 restrictions and effectively declare its part in the pandemic over. Around the world, and especially in the United States, Denmark's "liberation" from indoor mask mandates, vaccine passports and nightclub closures was heralded as a watershed moment — the shape of things to come. Democratic governors across the U.S. started rescinding their own mask rules a few days later.
/jlne.ws/3BrRhOj
*****"Here is a quote from this story: "Since then, however, Denmark has continued to record more COVID-19 cases per capita than nearly anywhere else in the world, and both COVID hospitalizations and deaths have shot up by about a third." ~JJL
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Bitcoin Critic Charlie Munger Says Crypto Should Be Banned
Katherine Chiglinsky - Bloomberg
Buffett's partner speaks at Daily Journal's annual meeting; He sees more opportunity investing in Chinese companies
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's longtime business partner, called out the "wretched excess" in both venture capital and Bitcoin, and said that cryptocurrencies should be banned. "I wish it had been banned immediately, and I admire the Chinese for banning it," Munger said Wednesday at Daily Journal Corp.'s annual meeting, which was held virtually. "I certainly didn't invest in crypto. I'm proud of the fact I've avoided it. It's like a venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt."
/jlne.ws/3gR7iDZ
***** When you are old and rich, you can really tell people what you think. It is a wonderful thing.~JJL
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Charlie Munger Expects Index Funds to Change the World—and Not in a Good Way; Warren Buffett's business partner says passive funds like those run by BlackRock wield too much power
Orla McCaffrey - WSJ
Charlie Munger doesn't think Larry Fink should be running the world. Mr. Munger, the billionaire vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B -0.17% and Warren Buffett's business partner, said the rise of index funds like those run by Mr. Fink's BlackRock Inc. BLK 0.29% has resulted in an "enormous transfer" of the power to sway corporate decision making. That shift will "change the world," he said, and not for the better.
/jlne.ws/3rVicio
***** We should give all the power to vote for everything to a select elite. Yah, that would be great! ~JJL
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El Salvador leader tells 'boomer' US senators to stand down over bitcoin adoption
Lexi Lonas - The Hill
El Salvador's president rebuked several U.S. senators on Wednesday for introducing legislation targeting the Latin American country's adoption of bitcoin as legal currency, referring to the lawmakers as "boomers." "OK boomers... You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation," El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, 40, tweeted. "We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard. Stay out of our internal affairs. Don't try to control something you can't control."
/jlne.ws/3IdWxrL
****** As a Baby Boomer, I take offense at this slight. In the old days, we would just say something like this, "I would like to introduce you to my little friend, the U.S. Navy."~JJL
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Nearly 24M Americans still waiting for IRS to process 2020 tax returns
Caroline Vakil - The Hill
As Americans get started on their tax returns for the 2021 tax season, the Internal Revenue Service is grappling with a backlog of millions of tax returns from the last tax season, The Washington Post reported. Nearly 24 million individual and business tax returns that require at least one action by an IRS employee have yet to be processed as of Jan. 28, according to taxpayer advocate data obtained by The Post.
/jlne.ws/3HXB5qP
***** I am still waiting for mine. No word. No letters. No updates. Nothing.~JJL
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Innovation in technology: International Swaps and Derivatives Association; Risk Awards 2022: Isda takes a fintech turn with quant analysis tool Perun, leveraging data standards legacy
Risk.net
International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) Standardised approaches Capturing variability in capital calculations, a problem that has vexed regulators and banks alike, has been resolved by a natty piece of kit from an unlikely candidate. The kit in question - a quantitative engine named Perun - is among the latest tech innovations to spin out of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, a once-traditional trade body that these days looks increasingly like a fintech.
/jlne.ws/36biLME
****** Winning for a "natty piece of kit from an unlikely candidate" is ISDA! ~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
It is a mystery to me why our #1 story from yesterday is #1 but...numbers don't lie. FINRA's Monthly Disciplinary Actions - February 2022 led the pack. Second was Bloomberg's NYSE Wants to Be Marketplace for NFTs Just Like With Stocks. I can't even... Our third most read story yesterday was The Wall Street Journal story, Bakkt, Once Wall Street's Hot Crypto Play, Has Cooled. Almost normal.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | Lee Olesky to step down as Tradeweb chief; Co-founder of $20bn bond trading platform says new leader is needed for next cycle
Philip Stafford - FT
Lee Olesky is to step down as chief executive of Tradeweb Markets after more than a decade leading the bond trading venue he co-founded that went from a start-up to a $20bn giant of the fixed income markets. The US group said on Wednesday that Olesky, who launched Tradeweb in 1996, would move aside as chief executive at the end of the year. He will also replace Martin Brand, a partner at private equity group Blackstone, as chair immediately. Billy Hult, president of Tradeweb and a close associate of Olesky will replace him as chief.
/jlne.ws/3BoE5tL
Global financial watchdog calls for 'urgent' action to contain crypto risks; Financial Stability Board warns of threat of digital asset crisis spilling into financial system
Laura Noonan - FT
The risks cryptocurrencies pose to the global financial stability could "escalate rapidly", top policymakers warned on Wednesday, as they called for urgent action to ensure a crisis in the digital asset market could be contained. The Financial Stability Board, which makes recommendations to the G20 nations on financial rules, said on Wednesday that policymakers must act quickly in crafting rules covering the digital asset market, given the tightening link with the traditional financial system.
/jlne.ws/3rSfLx7
Hong Kong breaks Singapore's grip on China stock futures; Battle between rival exchanges for control comes as demand booms for Chinese equities
Hudson Lockett and Robin Harding - FT
Hong Kong stock exchange has seized market share from its Singapore rival in China stock futures, opening up a winner-takes-all battle for control of how global investors hedge Chinese equities. The fight to become the dominant pool of liquidity for so-called A-share futures not only pits Hong Kong's share market against Singapore but also Blackrock against Chinese fund companies and the index provider FTSE Russell against MSCI, with implications for their global competitiveness.
/jlne.ws/3Jz53BQ
Investment industry welcomes SEC efforts to reform private equity fees; US regulators aim to strengthen transparency and disclosure stands
Chris Flood and Antoine Gara - FT
Consultants and investor groups have welcomed plans by US regulators to force greater fee transparency on private equity managers, saying they will help pensions and other fund managers to track performance and to demand fair treatment on costs. The Securities and Exchange Commission last week proposed that private equity funds should provide standardised quarterly data on fees, expenses and performance, in a move that would transform disclosure standards and curtail managers' ability to present potentially misleading information to investors.
/jlne.ws/3IdTIHb
Data: Illicit crypto wallets hold over $25B as hacks, thefts mushroom
David Hollerith - Yahoo Finance
Major criminal wallets hold over $25 billion in cryptocurrency, new data showed on Wednesday, with the majority of illicit funds coming from theft with criminals engaged in increasingly brazen activities involving digital tokens. Following last week's seizure by the U.S. Department of Justice of $3.6 billion in Bitcoin (BTC-USD) stolen from a 2016 hack against crypto exchange Bitfinex, blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis found more evidence showing illicit cryptocurrency flows.
/jlne.ws/36kUuUD
London Finance Firm's Fall Puts Golden Visa Holders in Limbo
Lucca De Paoli and Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
Dolfin's rich Chinese clients invested less than required: FCA; U.K.'s golden visas to be scrapped amid Russia money concerns
The meeting above the Virgin Active gym across the street from the Museum of London on Sept. 2 was raucous and contentious even for a creditor gathering of a company gone bust. Accountants winding down U.K. wealth management firm Dolfin Financial faced more than 50 of its affluent, angry Chinese clients shouting and hectoring them, many in Mandarin, three people present at the meeting said. Dolfin had gotten them "golden visas" for U.K. stays of about three-and-a-half years in exchange for investments, using ways being questioned by the Financial Conduct Authority. Fearing their visas could be revoked, they demanded documents proving the validity of their investments.
/jlne.ws/3rTW7AY
Goldman bankers achieved 'hero status' for 1MDB work, says Leissner; Former partner testifies how 'unprecedented' bond deals were 'celebrated' within the company
Stefania Palma - FT
Goldman Sachs bankers who worked on a series of lucrative bond deals at the centre of the 1MDB scandal achieved "hero status" at the bank, according to testimony from a former partner who has pleaded guilty in connection with the case.
/jlne.ws/3oVHLhy
Risk Magazine Names OCC Clearing House of the Year
OCC
OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, has been honored as the Clearing House of the Year in 2022 by Risk Magazine. "This award highlights the importance of OCC's role in providing resiliency, stability and integrity to financial markets and the broader economy," said Craig Donohue, OCC Executive Chairman. "We are proud of this recognition and will continue to strive for excellence while fulfilling our commitment to delivering world-class clearing, settlement and risk management services to our participant exchanges, clearing member firms and market participants, and to serve as the foundation for secure markets."
/jlne.ws/33tEVc1
Zoltan Pozsar On Why the Fed Needs to Spark a Market Crash to Bring Down Inflation
Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
The first is the Federal Reserve's struggle to tighten financial conditions even as it prepares to raise interest rates. While mortgage rates have moved up recently, overall financial conditions remain roughly where they were in the summer of 2020, just after the central bank flooded the system with emergency liquidity.
/jlne.ws/3JxDjNR
Trade associations sign letter on protecting EU ETS from damaging interventions
ISDA
On February 15, ISDA co-signed a letter with nine other trade associations on the importance of protecting the EU emissions trading system (ETS) from damaging interventions either through position limits or some other action, ahead of the publication of the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) final report on the EU carbon market.
/jlne.ws/3GUuAn2
2022 Market Volatility Demands a Greater Premium on Liquidity
Kirsten Wegner - Modern Markets Initiative
A day after Facebook reported earlier this month that its streak of user growth had come to an end, its parent company's stock plunged over 26% in its biggest one-day drop ever, losing more than $230 billion in market value and triggering Wall Street's worst drop in close to a year. That followed a January where Wall Street's fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, was up 75 percent for the month.
/jlne.ws/3uWpnJo
Applauding the SEC's Proposal to Accelerate the Settlement Cycle to T+1
Murray Pozmanter, DTCC Managing Director and Head of Clearing Agency Services and Global Operations |
We are very pleased to hear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously voted to shorten the settlement cycle for securities to T+1 by March 31, 2024. DTCC supports the move to T+1 because it will deliver significant benefits to the industry and to investors by reducing risk, lowering margin requirements and improving capital liquidity, all while maintaining the resilience and soundness of the U.S. capital markets.
/jlne.ws/3sJiMPK
SEC sets its sights on fixed-income platforms with Reg ATS revamp US regulator's mammoth January proposal has something in it for most US trading systems, but Jo suspects it will be the definitions of exchanges that hit the hardest.
Joanna Wright - Waters Technology
When I think about how different tech was back in 1999, it seems such a short time for human society to change so profoundly. Back then, I didn't have an email address, and it would be two years before I owned a very basic cellphone (a Nokia 5210, natch). If you want to understand how the internet and tech have altered the ways that humans interrelate, you could do worse than read Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan.
/jlne.ws/3uQiR6O
China Summons Top Traders to Discuss Volatility in Iron Ore Market
Alfred Cang - Bloomberg
China's efforts to cool a scorching rally in iron ore are now ensnaring some of the world's biggest commodities traders and producers. Powerhouses Glencore Plc and Trafigura Group are among 10 international and domestic trading houses summoned to the eastern city of Qingdao on Thursday by the National Development and Reform Commission, according to a notice seen by Bloomberg News. The meeting, organized by China's top economic planner, is aimed at ensuring a stable iron ore market, the notice shows.
/jlne.ws/3oSbWWI
Ex-Cantor Trader Found Liable for 'Off Books' Commissions
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
Cantor Fitzgerald LP's former global co-head of equities helped violate SEC rules on recording commissions on trades, a jury found after a weeklong trial in Manhattan federal court.
/jlne.ws/3sIglgk
Federal prosecutors probing short-sellers - WSJ
Reuters
Federal prosecutors are investigating if short-sellers conspired to drive down stock prices by sharing "damaging" research reports ahead of time and engaging in illegal trading tactics, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3oSUVvw
Can Bitcoin Be a National Currency? El Salvador Is Trying to Find Out; The country made bitcoin legal tender last September and now is aiming to raise $1 billion to fund expansive economic policies by cashing in on the crypto craze. But the IMF warns bitcoin is too risky, and Salvadorans are mostly sticking to dollars.
Kejal Vyas, Santiago Pérez - WSJ
President Nayib Bukele called Canadian videogame developer and bitcoin enthusiast Samson Mow up on stage at a beachside bitcoin convention in November that had the flair of a rock concert.
/jlne.ws/3LF3iou
Bakkt Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results; Fourth Quarter 2021 net revenue of $2.2 million for Predecessor, $11.5 million for Successor and $13.7 million for Combined (non-GAAP); Combined net revenue (non-GAAP) increased 45% over prior year quarter
Bakkt Holdings, Inc.
Net revenue expected to grow to $60 million - $80 million in 2022, an increase of approximately 50% to 100% compared to 2021 Combined net revenue, respectively; Over $390 million of available cash provides significant growth capital; Signed partnerships across crypto services, loyalty and payments; Activated point conversion capabilities for Wyndham Rewards customers; Financial results include significant non-cash charges related to the closing of business combination with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings (VIH)
Bakkt Holdings, Inc. ("Bakkt") (NYSE: BKKT) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.
/jlne.ws/3pi50CP
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon
Gregg Gonsalves - NYT
Dr. Gonsalves is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, a longtime AIDS activist and a 2018 MacArthur fellow. The early 1990s were in many ways the most terrible of those first years of the AIDS epidemic in America. Research on the disease was in high gear, but drug after drug failed to stop H.I.V. Funerals for friends and family in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s continued unabated, and many of us at risk for getting sick had given up hope of a normal life. My friends and I, most of us just a few years out of college, lived in the moment because we weren't sure of how much time we had left.
/jlne.ws/3gYf9zC
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | DTCC Launches Treasury Kinetics Service, Providing Access To Repo Trade Data Amid Market Uncertainty; The service is part of the firm's ongoing effort to increase market transparency and provide new insights as the industry continues to navigate volatility.
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced the launch of DTCC Treasury Kinetics, a new service that provides access to critical U.S. treasury transaction data, increasing transparency into the repurchase agreement (repo) market. Leveraging data from the Government Securities Division of DTCC's subsidiary, Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC), this new service provides a daily summary of aggregated and anonymized trade activity including number of trades, volumes, dollar amounts and rates for delivery vs. payment (DVP) repo. On average, FICC matches, nets and settles repo transactions valued at more than $3 trillion dollars each day.
/jlne.ws/3H0BozA
Quincy Data Redistributes MEMX data at the Lowest Latency
Quincy Data
Oakland, California | Quincy Data Powered by McKay Brothers, has added MEMX market data to its New Jersey Metro Quincy Raw Data (QRD) service. MEMX data is distributed via QRD at the lowest latency to key US equity trading hubs in Mahwah and Carteret, NJ. Since its launch in 2019, QRD has been adopted by banks, hedge funds and market-makers and has significantly leveled the playing field for ultra low latency equity exchange market data.
/jlne.ws/3LQ2tt8
Christoph Hansmeyer is moving to the Pre- & Post-Trading board department; Jörg Pietzner will follow on March 1, 2022 as Managing Director Group Strategy/M&A
Deutsche Börse
Christoph Hansmeyer, who has been Managing Director Group Strategy/M&A/Chief of Staff at Deutsche Börse Group since April 1, 2018, will switch to the Pre- & Post-Trading Board department on March 1, 2022, where he will manage key projects. In his role, he played a key role in the successful implementation of the Compass 2023 strategy.
/jlne.ws/3gRN2SS
Deutsche Börse successfully places a EUR 500 million hybrid bond with an attractive coupon of 2 percent
Deutsche Börse
Today, Deutsche Börse AG successfully placed a corporate bond in the amount of EUR 500 million. The hybrid bond has a term of 26.25 years with a first optional call date after 6 years and a coupon of 2.00 percent annually until June 2028.
/jlne.ws/3oWisvE
Civitanavi Systems S.p.A. lists on Euronext Milan
Euronext
Second listing of 2022 on Euronext Milan; Civitanavi Systems S.p.A. brings the total number of companies listed on Euronext Milan to 233; Total placement volume of the offering equal to EUR34.1 million
Milan - 17 February 2022 - Borsa Italiana, part of the Euronext Group, today congratulates Civitanavi Systems S.p.A. on its listing on Euronext Milan. Civitanavi Systems S.p.A., born as a start-up in 2012, is one of the main players in the design, development and production of inertial navigation and stabilisation systems used in the aerospace and defence sectors in space, terrestrial, aeronautical, naval and industrial, mining and oil & gas.
/jlne.ws/3sNAx
HKCC Participant Additional Deposit
HKEX
Please be advised that HKFE Clearing Corporation Limited (HKCC) has recalculated the HKCC
Participant Additional Deposits (HPAD) pursuant to the HKCC Rule 705A and the Clearing House Procedures. The new total HPAD requirement of HK$1,822 million after the recalculation will be shared by all the Participants based on their daily average net margin liabilities during the period from 19 November 2021 to 16 February 2022 in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Clearing House Procedures for Futures/Options Contracts Traded on the Automated Trading System of the Exchange ("HKATS").
/jlne.ws/3oS6XVZ
NYSE Pillar Gateway Validation and Proprietary Market Data Enhancements
NYSE
Beginning March 28, 2022, NYSE will implement changes to the NYSE Pillar Gateways and NYSE Pillar Proprietary Market Data Feeds across all NYSE Group equity markets.
/jlne.ws/34ICtPJ
Nasdaq Private Fund Manager Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Data Now Available Free to Investors
Nasdaq
Starting today, qualifying investors can receive free access to private fund manager diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data via the Nasdaq eVestment platform, a provider of institutional investment data and analytics to asset owners and asset managers.
/jlne.ws/3BtUfC6
Aware Financial Services Australia fined $20 million for charging fees for no service: Royal Commission case study
ASIC
Aware Financial Services Australia Limited (Aware FS), formerly State Super Financial Services Australia Limited (StatePlus), has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a $20 million penalty for charging over 25,000 customers fees for financial services it did not provide, in contravention of the ASIC Act.
/jlne.ws/33xZrZe
Opening statement to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee Additional Estimates - 17 February 2022
Opening statement by ASIC Chair Joseph Longo at the Senate Economics Legislation Committee Additional Estimates, 17 February 2022.
ASIC
Good morning Chair and Committee members. I would like to take the opportunity at this last hearing of the Committee for the term of this Parliament to make some brief introductory remarksI will summarise some key parts of ASIC's work in recent months, before outlining our organisation's priorities in the year ahead.
/jlne.ws/3t6ZDYf
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Stronghold Capital Launches With $100M Fund for Web3, Blockchain and Fintech
Jacquelyn Melinek - Blockworks
Stronghold, a payments and financial infrastructure firm, has launched Stronghold Capital to deploy a $100 million fund to expand into early-stage startups in Web3, blockchain and fintech ecosystems.
The fund will focus on investing in "overlooked" companies and fund managers, the company said in a statement. The capital firm has previously invested in Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research and Precursor Ventures, which backs seed-stage investors and aims to deploy capital to founders who are women, LGBTQ and people of color.
/jlne.ws/3JukgUs
JP Morgan is first leading bank to launch in the metaverse
Kate Birch - FinTech Magazine
JP Morgan has become the first bank to enter the metaverse, opening a lounge in the popular blockchain-based world, Decentraland - one of the most popular metaverses. This marks the banking giant's entry into the metaverse, as it eyes the potential financial gains.
The metaverse is a virtual world where people can interact, attend events, and explore, as digital avatars of themselves.
/jlne.ws/3JBc5WI
Google Cloud to Announce 10-Year Deal With Dun & Bradstreet; The two companies also plan to co-develop software and services around supply-chain visibility and other business issues
Isabelle Bousquette - WSJ
Google Cloud will announce a 10-year deal with Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc. Wednesday to provide it with cloud computing services, while the two companies will also collaborate on developing software and services on supply-chain risk and other issues. Under the agreement, Dun & Bradstreet will accelerate its infrastructure modernization using Google Cloud as its preferred cloud provider. The two companies also said they plan to work first on increasing visibility in supply chains, which have been jammed during the pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3uXCvxU
UAE Readies National Cryptocurrency Licensing in Push to Embrace Fintech
Ben Bartenstein and Abeer Abu Omar - Bloomberg
The United Arab Emirates is poised to issue federal licenses for virtual asset service providers by the end of the first quarter in an effort to attract some of the world's biggest crypto companies, according to a government official.
The Securities and Commodities Authority is in the final stage of amending legislation to allow VASPs to set up, said the official, who requested anonymity due to government policy.
/jlne.ws/3JyTEll
CanDeal and IHS Markit partner to improve fixed income pricing accessibility; The partnership aims to provide clients with access to improved market datasets in order to achieve better informed pre- and post-trade decisions.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Canadian financial markets, data and information services provider CanDeal has partnered with IHS Markit to integrate its proprietary market data into the latter's platform, which will provide the Canadian market with a new level of fixed income pricing accessibility.
/jlne.ws/3rYEsbs
Quincy Data to redistribute low latency MEMX market data; US equity trading hubs in Mahwah and Carteret, New Jersey will be able to access the data via Quincy Data's raw data service.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
McKay Brothers-powered Quincy Data has incorporated MEMX market data into its New Jersey Metro Quincy Raw Data (QRD) service. QRD is being used to distribute MEMX data at the lowest latency to major US equity trading hubs in Mahwah and Carteret, New Jersey.
/jlne.ws/36nf1YD
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | BNP Paribas Staff Abused Monitoring Tool to Spy on Boss's Bonus
Harry Wilson and Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
RedOwl monitoring tool could access employee pay information; Compliance staff looked up bonus of senior staff member
In early 2019, BNP Paribas SA compliance staff were handed a powerful new tool designed to help them police a massive trading division that handled billions of euros of transactions each day. Called RedOwl, it was monitoring software that let front-line supervisors search through thousands of employees' emails and documents to suss out wrongdoing. But the bank soon discovered someone should have been watching the watchdogs.
/jlne.ws/3Jxf3LR
White House Focuses on Improving the Cybersecurity of National Security Systems
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP - JDSupra
President Biden recently signed a National Security Memorandum on cybersecurity. This memorandum was required by an earlier executive order, which we previously have discussed here. The new memorandum (NSM) requires certain network cybersecurity measures for any government information system that is used for highly sensitive national security purposes. The requirements go into effect on a rolling basis over the next 6 months.
/jlne.ws/34SM7Pw
Managing the cybersecurity risks of ungoverned accounts
Jim Taylor - Security Magazine
Over the last four months, I've received more spam offers, scam texts and fake emails than at any other point in my career. And I know why: in September, I joined SecurID as Chief Product Officer and updated my LinkedIn.
That update sent a signal to observant cybercriminals around the world. But the scammers have only gotten worse — and more creative — recently: after another executive joined SecurID, several fake versions of that colleague started texting me about missing Amazon gift cards.
/jlne.ws/3uURpF1
5 tips to develop a best-in-class cybersecurity function
Prasad Jayaraman - Security Magazine
The chief information security officer (CISO) role continues to evolve, just as the business context in which they operate is driven by continuous advancements in technology, growing emphasis on the importance of data, and evolving ecosystems of suppliers and partners. Also ever-changing is the threat, security and regulatory landscape which dominates their lives.
/jlne.ws/3LJv5UA
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | NFT sales hit $501 million over the past week. These were the 5 best-selling digital collections.
Matthew Fox - Business insider
These were the five best-selling digital collectibles that helped drive $501 million in NFT sales over the past week. The cryptocurrency boom over the past few years has helped propel a newer market to record heights: digital collectibles known as NFTs.nIn fact, total NFT sales volume hit $22 billion over the past year as artists, investors, and entrepreneurs descend upon the nascent Web3 space. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique, irreplaceable, mostly digital items that users buy and sell online.
/jlne.ws/3LylFLP
Bank of Russia Proceeds With Digital Ruble, Renews Push for Crypto Ban
Anna Baydakova - Coindesk
The Bank of Russia said it started the pilot stage of the digital ruble, its planned central bank digital currency (CBDC). It must become an alternative to cryptocurrencies for Russians, the regulator has said, which should be totally banned.
/jlne.ws/36o5DEh
JPMorgan Is the First Bank Into the Metaverse, Looks at Business Opportunities
Ian Allison - Coindesk
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., said it has become the first lender to arrive in the metaverse, having opened a lounge in Decentraland, a virtual world based on blockchain technology. As well as the unveiling of the Onyx lounge (the name refers to the bank's suite of permissioned Ethereum-based services), JPMorgan also released a paper exploring how businesses can find opportunities in the metaverse.
/jlne.ws/33oMgtm
The World's Cheapest Bitcoin ETP by Fidelity Launched in Europe
Varuni Trivedi - FX Empire
Asset manager Fidelity International announced the launch of its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe. This marked the company's entry into the European cryptocurrency space. More significantly, however, the ETP garnered attention after being dubbed as the world's cheapest Bitcoin ETP.
/jlne.ws/3rQVGaz
The Soccer Mom, the Bitcoin Miner and Yet Another Corner of the Crypto Universe
By Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber - Bloomberg
Everybody has a friend (or three) who's gone "full crypto." So Joel's ears perked up when a friend from high school and college, Char Boger, told him about her interest not in Bitcoin — the more common refrain — so much as publicly traded Bitcoin-mining companies.
/jlne.ws/3gUUz3b
Crypto Tax in India Spurs Bonanza for Digital-Coin Bourses
Ruchi Bhatia and Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Tax seen as legitimizing a sector stuck in regulatory limbo; WazirX expects some 100 million Indians to flock to crypto
India's decision to impose a 30% tax on profits from cryptocurrency trading is turning out to be a boon for the country's digital-asset exchanges. Binance-owned WazirX, India's largest crypto bourse, has seen daily sign-ups on its platform jump almost 30% since Feb. 1, when the government unveiled the levy on the transfer of digital assets in its annual budget, said co-founder Nischal Shetty. At rival CoinSwitch, the daily increase was 35%, according to founder Ashish Singhal.
/jlne.ws/3Bqb40M
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | New York's Adams Tells CEOs to End Work-From-Home Policies
Fola Akinnibi - Bloomberg
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told leaders of major companies in the city it was time to get their workers back in offices, emphasizing that empty buildings are holding back the city's pandemic recovery.
/jlne.ws/3LyPSKJ
The right way to ban Congressional stock trading
Rick Newman - Yahoo Finance
Should members of Congress be allowed to make money by investing? Yes. Should they abide by special rules to assure they don't exploit inside information they get because of the unique nature of their jobs? Yes.
/jlne.ws/3vaPDjl
Why Republicans Stalled Raskin's Bid for Top Fed Post: Climate Views, Business Ties; Difficult confirmation process comes as lawmakers are split on role of Fed and Biden regulatory agenda
Andrew Ackerman, Nick Timiraos - WSJ
Sarah Bloom Raskin, the Biden administration's nominee for a top regulatory post at the Federal Reserve, is struggling to overcome resistance from Republicans on a Senate committee for which she once served as a lawyer.
/jlne.ws/3sMRqbt
Bank regulator disputes KC Fed claim about firm linked to Biden nominee Raskin
Thomas Franck - CNBC
The Colorado Division of Banking on Tuesday objected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's description of how it came to classify fintech company Reserve Trust as a bank.
The dispute represents another headache for President Joe Biden Fed nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin and Democrats hoping to confirm her to be one of the most powerful bank regulators in the world.
/jlne.ws/3v1s9Nh
'Crypto isn't money': Super Bowl cryptocurrency ads slammed by top Senate Democrat
Thomas Barrabi - Bloomberg
This year's wave of Super Bowl crypto commercials drew sharp criticism from the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, who grumbled that they were proof that cryptocurrencies shouldn't be treated as a legitimate form of money.
/jlne.ws/3JwFukM
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Yahoo Finance Presents: Former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo
Yahoo Finance Video
Yahoo Finance senior reporter David Hollerith speaks with former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo about spot market regulation and the CFTC's role in cryptocurrency.
/jlne.ws/3HUUisY
Hong Kong Exodus Forces Market Watchdog Staff Into 12-Hour Days
Kiuyan Wong - Bloomberg
SFC lost 12% of employees, 25% of its junior staff in 2021; Overworked staff leave for bigger pay, more work-life balance
Now even Hong Kong's top market regulator is warning the city's development as an international financial center is at risk. After years of political upheaval and a deepening isolation because of Hong Kong's zero-Covid strategy, the Securities and Futures Commission is struggling to police the city's $6.3 trillion market. Grappling with a brain drain due to emigration and job switches, the watchdog lost 12% of its employees last year, including 25% of its junior professional staff, forcing those remaining to work 12-hour days to cover the workload, according to former employees.
/jlne.ws/3rW2fZl
Rita Sampson Named Director of Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Rita M. Sampson has been named Director of the agency's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO). "Rita brings a wealth of experience to the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, and the SEC will greatly benefit from her leadership," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "I'd also like to thank Stacey Bach for serving as Acting Director of the OEEO."
/jlne.ws/3LCWtDQ
Statement on Jury's Verdict in Trial of Adam Mattessich
Gurbir Grewal - Director, Division of Enforcement - SEC
Today, after a 5-day trial, a jury in the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the SEC against a former senior trader at Cantor Fitzgerald for a commission-splitting scheme. This verdict completes a multi-year case.
/jlne.ws/3sOYUuh
SGX RegCo investigates and reports Tee International Limited's late disclosure of claims to authorities
SGX
Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) refers to Tee International's announcements of 19 June 2021 and 29 June 2021 on the receipt of letters of demand and claims for overdue trade-related payables (Overdue Claims) by the company and its principal subsidiaries.
/jlne.ws/3uXFDd2
Establishment of "Technical Committee for ESG Rating and Data Providers, etc."
Japan FSA
The FSA's "Report of the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance," published in June 2021, recommended that the FSA should promote discussions on expected codes of conduct for ESG rating and data providers, which are becoming increasingly important as the world's and Japan's sustainable investment expands. The FSA announced that it had decided to establish the "Technical Committee for ESG Rating and Data Providers, etc." under the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance. The Committee will discuss issues related to ESG rating and data providers, as well as co
/jlne.ws/3gRgFn9
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Oil's Spectacular Covid Crash Set the World Up for $100 Crude; The energy industry cut back during the pandemic, paving the way for a runaway rally that has huge implications for the global economy.
James Herron, Grant Smith, Kevin Crowley, and Laura Hurst - Bloomberg
The two-year Covid crisis put many markets on a wild ride—just look at U.S. treasuries—but few have had a crazier time than crude oil: from total collapse in 2020 to the brink of $100 a barrel today. It's not only the price swings that have shocked motorists, investors, CEOs and OPEC+ ministers alike. An entire industry has gone from being written off as a wounded dinosaur and shunned by investors to getting pressure from the U.S. President to step up and save the economic recovery.
/jlne.ws/3LJt9eM
The Great Rotation Into Stock Funds Risks a 2018-Style Collapse
Lu Wang - Bloomberg
JPMorgan's Panigirtzoglou expects stock inflows to weaken; Stock bulls lured by robust 2021 returns are facing bumpy ride
The great rotation on Wall Street into stock funds and out of bonds risks falling apart. Defying the worst January for the S&P 500 since 2009, investors have sunk $152 billion into equities this year, after a gangbusters 2021 for both stock returns and flows, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
/jlne.ws/3I1snb4
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Fossil fuel and agriculture handouts climb to $1.8tn a year, study says; Subsidies that support environmentally damaging sectors run counter to pledges to cut the pollution behind global warming
Camilla Hodgson - FT
Governments worldwide are spending at least $1.8tn a year on subsidies in support of heavily polluting industries led by coal, oil, gas and agriculture, according to new research, despite their commitment to climate change targets. About 2 per cent of global gross domestic product was spent annually on subsidies that encourage unsustainable production or consumption, deplete natural resources and degrade ecosystems, the independent researchers Doug Koplow and Ronald Steenblik concluded.
/jlne.ws/3I5ltSc
Climate ETF on brink of failure months after UN summit launch; NTZO has attracted less than $2mn in assets despite funding commitments from banks
Kristen Talman and Patrick Temple-West - FT
A UN-backed green investment fund is on the brink of failure three months after its launch during the Glasgow climate summit because institutions including big banks never delivered expected seed funding. The MSCI Global Climate Select exchange traded fund was unveiled in early November. Trading under the ticker NTZO, it excludes fossil fuel companies and boosts holdings of companies with lower carbon emissions.
/jlne.ws/33xU2kU
Europe's Energy Crisis Pays Off for U.S. Natural-Gas Sellers, Global Traders; Dash to sell gas to Europe at high prices made the U.S. the biggest LNG exporter for the first time
Benoit Faucon, Collin Eaton, Joe Wallace - WSJ
U.S. natural-gas producers and global commodity traders are emerging as some of the biggest beneficiaries of the surging energy prices spreading pain in Europe. Falling supplies from Russia to Europe, as well as the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, have elevated prices of the coveted fuel used to heat homes and generate electricity. The rally has burned European utilities including Électricité de France SA EDF -1.44% and Germany's Uniper SE UN01 0.52% and put dozens of British energy suppliers out of business. It is also leading to substantially higher bills for consumers, creating headaches for governments across the continent.
/jlne.ws/3BAv4Of
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | 1MDB scandal: US prosecutors allege ex-Goldman banker made millions
BBC
US prosecutors allege a former Goldman Sachs banker siphoned off millions of dollars from Malaysia's scandal-hit 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Roger Ng, who was Goldmans' head of investment banking in Malaysia, is charged with conspiring to launder money and violate anti-bribery law.
/jlne.ws/33q4MS7
Ex-Goldman banker testifies 1MDB scheme a 'house of cards'
AP
A former top banker at Goldman Sachs testified Wednesday that he and other corrupt executives at the firm built a "house of cards" that was doomed to fall to try to conceal an audacious scheme to ransack a Malaysian state investment fund.
/jlne.ws/34LiJuE
Ex-Goldman banker: 'Bribes' made 1MDB business possible
BBC
Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, once hailed for bringing the bank lucrative Malaysian business, has told a court that "bribes and kickbacks" made the deals possible. Mr Leissner was testifying in the trial of his former colleague, Roger Ng.
/jlne.ws/3553Djy
One hedge fund manager made $2 billion last year from a decade-old bet on Avis as the company briefly achieved meme-stock status and soared 456%
Carla Mozée - Business Insider
A 47-year old hedge fund manager made roughly $2 billion in 2021, largely on the back of a bet he made on Avis Budget Group as the value of the car rental company's stock rocketed last year, according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday. Karthik Sarma, managing partner at SRS Investment, placed the wager on Avis stock 11 years ago. Then came the meme-stock craze, and shares zoomed up by 456% last year to end at $207.37, aided in part by a short-squeeze in one session in November that sent the price charging up as much as 212%.
/jlne.ws/3gT4rKY
Top Cantor Trader Knew Rules on Pay But Ignored Them, SEC Says
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
Former top Cantor Fitzgerald LP equities trader Adam Mattessich knew the firm had to keep detailed records on compensation but went ahead anyway with a secret plan to share other traders' commissions for over a decade, an SEC lawyer told a jury.
/jlne.ws/34J78fD
Pelham Hedge Fund Suffers Its Worst Monthly Loss in 14 Years
Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
The firm's flagship long/short fund was down 18.5% in January; All the losses were attributed to the fund's long positions
Pelham Capital, one of Europe's best-known stock pickers part owned by Petershill Partners Plc, has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in January, marking its worst monthly performance since its founding just over 14 years ago.
/jlne.ws/3oVRp3J
Hedge fund Caxton raises fees as inflation bets pay off; Management and performance charges will increase after firm delivers record profits
Laurence Fletcher - FT
Caxton Associates, one of the world's oldest and best-known macro hedge funds, is raising its fees and preparing to shut one of its funds to new money as it reaps big gains from bets on surging inflation and higher interest rates.
/jlne.ws/36naIwr
Wall Street Turns to Goldman for Banking's Outlook Beyond Covid-19; CEO David Solomon to issue bank's first long-term business forecast since pandemic upended its 2020 prediction
Charley Grant - WSJ
Investors are looking for hints of the banking industry's post-pandemic future. Goldman Sachs GS -1.07% Group Inc. is set to give some answers. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon is scheduled to update investors on Goldman's long-term outlook at a conference Thursday. His previous update came in January 2020, just weeks before the pandemic set Wall Street on a sharply altered course.
/jlne.ws/3JyTiLx
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