| October 18, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The CFTC yesterday announced it was getting tougher with a press release titled "CFTC Releases Enforcement Advisory on Penalties, Monitors and Admissions." CFTC Enforcement Director Ian McGinley addressed the subject at the New York University School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement in a speech titled "The Right Touch: Updated Guidance on Penalties, Monitors, and Admissions."
Bloomberg covers the subject in the second story in leads, titled "US Regulator Pledges Harsher Punishment for Wall Street Misdeeds" with the subheadings "Top CFTC enforcement attorney lays out policy shift for agency" and "There will be higher fines and admissions of wrongdoing."
Former CME Digitization Head Sandra Ro, who is now the CEO of the Global Business Blockchain Council, appeared on Bloomberg TechnologyTV yesterday to talk about the impact the FTX trial is having on the blockchain industry and the future of regulation for the blockchain technology,
CNBC has a bitcoin crime-themed documentary titled "How To Steal And Lose More Than $3 Billion In Bitcoin" that tells the story of twenty-two-year-old Jimmy Zhong, who said he never meant to become a criminal billionaire. However, in 2012 Zhong found a way to steal bitcoin from Silk Road, "a dark web exchange then known for some of the most unsavory trade on the internet." Over the next decade, the bitcoin Zhong stole from Silk Road skyrocketed in value, all the way to $3.36 billion.
Bloomberg reports that Acker, the oldest wine merchant in the U.S., which began as a package store in 1820, held its first live auction in Singapore on Saturday and sold $4.2 million of wine and rare spirits. The auction fell short of projections and some of the whiskeys went unsold.
Citadel's Ken Griffin is not happy with the recent Crain's Chicago Business editorial about the movie "Dumb Money" and Griffin's supposed concerns with the movie. So Griffin wrote a letter to Crain's titled "Letter from Ken Griffin: Stop attacking me and focus on Chicago's real problems, Crain's" that starts like this, "A recent Crain's editorial, 'A pass-the-popcorn moment for Chicagoans' (Oct. 2), presents a misguided narrative on my concerns about the film 'Dumb Money' and the future of Chicago."
Katten attorneys Gary DeWaal, Dan Davis and Christian Hennion have a new commentary titled "CFTC Resuscitates Version of MLB's Former 'Neighborhood Play' to Sue Principal of Defunct Crypto-Asset Entity Voyager as a Commodity Pool Operator."
MIAX is set to launch its fourth U.S. options electronic exchange and a physical trading floor in Miami in the second quarter of 2024, pending regulatory approval, The Trade reported. The new exchange will be named MIAX Sapphire.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories yesterday on JLN Options were:
- How 0DTE Options Took Over the Market from The Wall Street Journal.
- Shorter duration options spur gamification of derivatives market from The Hindu Business Line.
- FIA Expo 2023: Options Trading Skyrocketing in Popularity, Barchart CEO Explains Why from Finance Feeds. ~JB
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OCC CEO Andrej Bolkovic Provides Update on OCC's Progress
JohnLothianNews.com
OCC CEO Andrej Bolkovic, in a recent exclusive video interview with John Lothian News at FIA EXPO, shed light on several key aspects of the organization's operations, including his first year as CEO, the current state of the Renaissance project, changes implemented to address recent regulatory issues, recently enunciated OCC values, and the future of the OIC conference.
Watch the video »
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Bug-Out Bags and Survival Training Go Mainstream; More people are prepping for a few weeks of flood, fire or other urgent situations by buying supplies to get them through
Rachel Wolfe - The Wall Street Journal
Disaster preparedness, once the province of fringe groups and so-called preppers convinced doomsday was at hand, has a new face. A renewed interest in self-reliance is driving city dwellers and suburbanites to stock their homes and cars for emergencies, owners of disaster-preparedness businesses say. Blame supply-chain shortages and the shock of empty grocery shelves during the pandemic, or more recent natural disasters and tense global events.
/jlne.ws/3PZSFzA
***** With disasters on the rise, having a bug-out bag at the ready is smarter than ever. As a good Scouter, I would remind you that being prepared is never a bad idea. ~JJL
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Google just changed how you log in to your account; 'Passkeys' are the default now - and that's a good thing
Tatum Hunter - The Washington Post
Google is changing how you log into your account, but don't worry - it'll make your life easier. This month, Google said it's making "passkeys" the default log-in option for Google accounts. That means that instead of typing in a password, you'll log into your Google account and Google apps with the same PIN, face ID or thumbprint you used to unlock your device.
/jlne.ws/3Qkdd7k
****** Can't remember your password? Don't worry, your fingerprint or face will do the trick for Google from now on. ~JJL
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Cryptocurrencies play 'endemic role' in organised crime, says Met Police; 'Drugs, guns, girls and workers' are areas where digital assets are increasingly being used
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
Cryptocurrencies now play an "endemic role" in organised crime, according to London's Metropolitan Police, which has set up a dedicated team to combat growing illicit activity in the digital assets sector. The Met, the UK's largest police force, has bolstered its anti-crypto crime efforts over the past year. It began recruiting a crypto investigation team last December that now has about 40 members of staff.
/jlne.ws/46ypvi9
****** This goes back to my original theory about the origin of bitcoin and its creation as a means to improve the efficiency of money laundering. Who are the natural users of a market? That was the question I asked back then. The answer, unfortunately, has not changed. There are plenty of investors, speculators and the like, but who is using the market is the key question. ~JJL
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X, formerly known as Twitter, will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features including the ability to tweet and retweet
Kylie Robison - Fortune
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features including the ability to tweet, reply, and quote, according to a source familiar with the matter and later confirmed by the company. The company will begin charging the fee on Tuesday for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines, marking one of the most significant changes to the social media platform since Elon Musk acquired the company nearly a year ago.
/jlne.ws/3M5uJJW
****** $1 a year is not going to stop entities using X for chaos. They are finding greater value or profit from it than $1. And if Musk increases the price to a level that prices out the bots, then he will have most likely priced out his user base too. ~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was People: Tomczyk in, Tilly out at Cboe, Sibbern moves to Six, and more, from Risk.net. Second was Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried got shady doctor to prescribe Adderall as judge denies greater access to pills during trial, from Business Insider. Third was How 0DTE Options Took Over the Market, a video from The Wall Street Journal.
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| Lead Stories | Lloyd's finds major hack of a payments system could cost $3.5tn; Insurers and policymakers are increasingly worried about the threat to infrastructure from cyber attacks
Ian Smith - Financial Times
Lloyd's of London has warned that a major cyber attack on a global payments system could cost the world economy $3.5tn, as insurers and companies worry about the systemic threat from hackers and whether the risks are insurable. The Lloyd's market, which is a hub for cyber insurance alongside traditional sectors such as shipping, said a "hypothetical but plausible cyber attack" would create "widespread disruption" to global business.
/jlne.ws/3FjevsW
US Regulator Pledges Harsher Punishment for Wall Street Misdeeds; Top CFTC enforcement attorney lays out policy shift for agency; There will be higher fines and admissions of wrongdoing
Austin Weinstein - Bloomberg
Wall Street firms will soon face stiffer penalties for running afoul of US derivatives rules and more often admit their misconduct when settling with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. When US regulators, including the CFTC, agree to resolve cases, financial companies are often allowed to pay fines while not admitting to the government's allegations. But the commission's top enforcement attorney, Ian McGinley, said Tuesday that the watchdog will start taking a tougher stance in negotiations.
/jlne.ws/45CiECM
A Mark-to-Market Maelstrom Is Slamming a $10 Trillion Market Even Worse Than Before; Paper losses in corporate bonds, but potentially real pain.
Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
The surge in benchmark interest rates is hammering the $10.6 trillion market for US corporate bonds once again. To get a sense of the damage, look no further than a hypothetical portfolio of high-quality debt created by data provider BondCliQ Inc. These are investment-grade corporate securities sold by some of America's best-known and highest-rated companies - think Coca-Cola, Boeing Co., Microsoft Corp. and more - yet they've all been ensnared by the dramatic moves in rates this year.
/jlne.ws/48VmslF
Wall Street's Latest Obsession Is an Unknowable Number; Signs that 'term premium' is driving up Treasury yields stir worry and doubt
Sam Goldfarb - The Wall Street Journal
Investors and Federal Reserve officials scrambling to make sense of surging U.S. Treasury yields have a new obsession: a number that exists only in theory. Known as the term premium, the number is typically defined as the component of Treasury yields that reflects everything other than investors' baseline expectations for short-term interest rates set by the Federal Reserve. That could include anything from an increase in the supply of bonds to harder-to-pin down variables such as uncertainty about the long-term inflation outlook.
/jlne.ws/3FklrpA
U.S. Derivatives Regulator Plans Tougher Enforcement Approach; The CFTC said it intends to crack down in particular on recidivist firms
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
Commodity Futures Trading Commission enforcers intend to push for heavier fines, particularly on repeat offenders, and will increasingly eschew settlements that allow firms to avoid admitting fault, the financial regulator's enforcement unit said Tuesday. The CFTC, which polices derivatives markets, will crack down in particular on repeat offenders, it said in a memo to enforcement staff. Recidivist firms can expect to see monitors put in place to oversee compliance as part of their settlements, it said.
/jlne.ws/3S4goRB
Citadel, Trade Group Sue SEC Over Data-Reporting Cost
Katherine Doherty and Lydia Beyoud - Bloomberg
Citadel Securities and a trade group sued the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday over changes the regulator is making to how trading data are reported and paid for in the markets. Ken Griffin's market-making firm and the American Securities Association petitioned the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to review the SEC's approval of the funding model for the Consolidated Audit Trail.
/jlne.ws/3S4YJtd
EU's Bond Benchmark Ambitions Suffer Terminal Growing Pains; The bloc's ambition to become the regional benchmark issuer is faltering.
Marcus Ashworth - Bloomberg
The pandemic brought out the best in the European Union. The EUR807 billion ($850 billion) NextGeneration program was lauded as a Hamiltonian moment, delivering a swift and effective response to a sudden economic crisis. Unfortunately, it isn't aging well. Funded by bond sales that currently total EUR450 billion and are set to double by 2026, the bloc faces hard decisions on either permanently making the program the main EU financing vehicle - or accepting that centralized borrowing was just a one-time emergency measure.
/jlne.ws/3S51VoH
Cboe to offer single stock options from next month after backing from major participants; Firms including ABN AMRO Clearing, All Options, Barak Market Making B.V, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Susquehanna International Securities, and Interactive Brokers, have confirmed their support for CEDX's expansion into equity options.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX) has confirmed that it is set to offer single stock options from next month, with equity options available from 6 November, having secured backing from a broad range of participants. Following regulatory approvals, the available products are set to be expanded by the end of Q1 2024, and plans are in place to begin Cboe's Liquidity Provider Programme for all equity options after the March 2024 expiry period.
/jlne.ws/402Os2G
MIAX set to launch US options electronic exchange and physical trading floor; New exchange will utilise taker-maker pricing and a price-time allocation model; will commence electronic trading in Q2 next year, following regulatory approval.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
MIAX is set to launch a new US options electronic exchange and physical trading floor, following its application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to become a national securities exchange. Miami International Holdings (MIH) - MIAX's parent company - confirmed on Tuesday 17 October that a notice for its Form 1 application for its newest options exchange had been published by the regulator.
/jlne.ws/40gIqM9
Singapore to Inspect Credit Suisse, Others in Major Scandal; Credit Suisse's local arm among firms to be examined by MAS; Chinese client had kept S$92 million with the Swiss bank
Chanyaporn Chanjaroen - Bloomberg
Singapore's financial regulator will conduct an on-site inspection of Credit Suisse Group AG after at least one of its customers was charged for money laundering in a scandal that has rocked the city-state. The local unit of Credit Suisse will be among banks the Monetary Authority of Singapore plans to examine to determine whether they properly handled the monitoring of wealthy clients, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials from the regulator are set to interview personnel and review documents within weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public.
/jlne.ws/3tDKqBK
Emissions Tied to Asset Owners' Financing Activities Fall for First Time; The decline, though small, 'makes us believe our approach works,' according to the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
A $9.5 trillion investor group that includes Allianz SE, Legal & General Plc and the California Public Employees' Retirement System said greenhouse gas emissions enabled by its members' lending and investment activities declined for the first time, albeit modestly. In its latest annual progress report published Wednesday, the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance said total absolute financed greenhouse gas emissions for its 86 members fell 3.5% to 213.4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022 from 221.2 million tons a year earlier.
/jlne.ws/3M8nqkF
HSBC Blocks Staff From Texting on Their Work Phones; UK lender disables SMS function on staff work devices; Regulators playing closer attention to bank communications
Swetha Gopinath and Harry Wilson - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is blocking staff from texting on their work phones, in the latest fallout from regulatory probes into the industry's use of unauthorized communication methods. The firm is in the process of disabling the function on employees' company-issued phones, meaning they will be unable to send or receive text messages, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The ban on SMS applies across the bank, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
/jlne.ws/3FkwFdA
Bondholdings Become Less of a Burden at Bank of America and Other Big Banks; Fixed-rate bonds that lost value as interest rates rose can even help out in some ways
Telis Demos - The Wall Street Journal
Like its peers, Bank of America is seeing the benefit of higher interest rates. It is just happening in slower motion. While the lender's net interest income in the third quarter was up 4% from a year earlier, to $14.4 billion, that pace of growth trailed other megabanks. Citigroup C 0.61%increase; green up pointing triangle and Wells Fargo saw that core measure-which is the interest earned on cash, loans and securities net of what is paid out on deposits and other funding-increase by 10% and 8%, respectively. At JPMorgan Chase , which also absorbed First Republic earlier this year, it jumped 30%.
/jlne.ws/3tDYbk1
'Crack down on Binance': Sam Bankman-Fried trial illuminates crypto rivalry; Court hears former FTX boss sought regulatory action against Changpeng Zhao's trading platform
Scott Chipolina and Joshua Oliver - Financial Times
Testimony and evidence presented in the New York fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried over the past week have shed fresh light on the sudden, chaotic demise of FTX, his crypto exchange. Also revealed: new details of his fateful rivalry with Changpeng Zhao, chief executive of FTX competitor Binance.
/jlne.ws/46WON99
FTX Latest: SBF Calendar Showed Meetings With Clinton, Hochul; Nishad Singh testimony follows that of Ellison, Wang; Singh said Monday that FTX collapse left him in 'distress'
Yueqi Yang, Bob Van Voris, and Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, faces cross-examination at the Sam Bankman-Fried trial Tuesday. Under questioning by prosecutors on Monday, Singh, 28, said he was intimidated by Bankman-Fried, and at times humiliated by him. He also detailed the FTX co-founder's spending on a Bahamian penthouse and political donations.
/jlne.ws/3Q3LOoE
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer rebuts claims of frivolous FTX spending; Value of crypto exchange's deals broached during cross-examination of co-operating witness Nishad Singh in fraud trial
Joshua Oliver - Financial Times
Sam Bankman-Fried's spending at the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange was not "frivolous", his defence lawyer argued in a courtroom cross-examination of former executive Nishad Singh. Bankman-Fried is on trial in New York on criminal charges of defrauding investors, lenders and customers at his exchange and funnelling billions of dollars to his affiliated crypto trading firm. Singh, FTX's former head of engineering, is the last of three central witnesses co-operating with federal prosecutors in the trial.
/jlne.ws/3PXWWn7
China Is Becoming a Data Black Hole, Short Seller Aandahl Says
Ishika Mookerjee - Bloomberg
China's restrictions on overseas access to data are driving investors away, according to short seller Blue Orca Capital LLC, whose founder says the curbs undermine the investment case for the world's second-largest stock market.
/jlne.ws/3Qn7XzS
Leaders in Trading 2023: Meet the nominees for... Outstanding Exchange Group; Learn more about the four firms shortlisted for The TRADE's 2023 Editors' Choice Award for Outstanding Exchange Group: including Cboe Global Markets, the London Stock Exchange Group, Nasdaq and SIX Swiss Exchange.
Editors - The Trade
First up in our introduction to the distinguished nominees for Leaders in Trading 2023 Editors' Choice Awards, we bring you the shortlist for Outstanding Exchange Group - one of The TRADE's highly coveted and legacy awards for the exchange community.
/jlne.ws/3M3LHbq
The TRADE announces the Rising Stars of Trading and Execution 2023; Running for its ninth year, the Rising Stars initiative recognises the budding buy-side talents of the institutional trading space.
Editors - The Trade
For the first time, The TRADE is announcing the 2023 Rising Stars of Trading and Execution ahead of the gala awards ceremony, Leaders in Trading on 8 November. Now in its ninth year, the Rising Stars awards scheme, in partnership with Instinet, is designed to recognise the very best up-and-coming buy-side trading professionals, and to shine a spotlight on those who have the potential to be the future leaders of the buy-side community.
/jlne.ws/3M5POnq
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russia recruits Serbs in drive to replenish military forces in Ukraine; Anti-war whistleblowers leak list appearing to show plans to draft hundreds of Serbs to bolster Moscow's armies
Pjotr Sauer - The Guardian
At the beginning of September, Branko boarded a direct flight from Belgrade to Moscow. After a few days in the Russian capital, Branko, with three other Serbian nationals, was driven to a military recruitment centre in Krasnogorsk, a city on the outskirts of Moscow, where the group signed a contract with the Russian military.m"It all went very fast; in one day I became a soldier for Russia ... Now I am waiting to be sent to Ukraine," Branko said in a text exchange on Telegram, requesting anonymity so he could speak freely.
/jlne.ws/3tIIzeJ
Ukraine Used US-Provided ATACMS Missiles, Zelenskiy Says; Missile attack on Russian airfields destroyed nine helicopters; ATACMS has range of 15-190 miles, can carry cluster munitions
Bloomberg News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country's military used a new type of missile provided by the US after President Joe Biden agreed to supply the weapons. "Special thanks today to the United States," Zelenskiy said in a daily video statement Tuesday. "Our agreements with President Biden are being fulfilled. They are being fulfilled precisely. ATACMS missiles have proved themselves."
/jlne.ws/45ARM6c
US decision to send long-range missiles to Kyiv a grave mistake - Russia's envoy
Reuters
Washington's decision to send long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine was a grave mistake that will have serious consequences, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. said on Wednesday, after Kyiv said it used the weapons for the first time. "The consequences of this step, which was deliberately hidden from the public, will be of the most serious nature," , Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on the Telegram messaging app.
/jlne.ws/46B66Nh
Putin Sends Jets With Hypersonic Missiles to Patrol Black Sea; Patrols to give 'visual control' of Mediterranean, Putin said; Putin says he discussed Middle East, Ukraine with Xi in China
Bloomberg News
resident Vladimir Putin said he's ordered fighter jets armed with hypersonic missiles to begin round-the-clock patrols over the Black Sea, ratcheting up tensions with the US amid the war in Ukraine and the spiraling crisis in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. Putin told reporters in Beijing after talks Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping that he'd ordered MiG-31 aircraft armed with Kinzhal missiles that "have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers at a speed of Mach 9" to conduct permanent missions over neutral waters in the Black Sea.
/jlne.ws/3M8pARj
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| Israel/Palestine Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Palestine | Humanity must prevail in Gaza; A human catastrophe will follow unless hostilities are suspended for the UN to provide help
Philippe Lazzarini and Martin Griffiths - Financial Times
As we write this today there is no water or electricity in Gaza. Soon there will be no food or medicine either. An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes. Every hour we receive more desperate calls for help from people across the Gaza Strip.
/jlne.ws/3tzIRoh
Joe Biden tells Israel 'other team' appears to be behind deadly hospital explosion; US president arrives in Tel Aviv after blast inflames tensions in region
John Reed and Neri Zilber - Financial Times
Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the deadly explosion in a Gaza hospital appeared to have been caused by Palestinians, not the Israeli military, as outrage and mutual accusations fanned across the Middle East. Appearing with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, the US president sided with accounts that blamed the blast on a misfired rocket by Palestinian militants, rather than an Israeli air strike.
/jlne.ws/403tcKk
Gaza Hospital Tragedy Escalates War Risk, No Matter Who's to Blame; It's too soon to assign responsibility, and the stakes are too high for guesswork.
Marc Champion - Bloomberg
Truth, infamously, is the first casualty of war and that's never more important to remember than after a major tragedy such as the reported strike on a Gaza hospital, with initial death-toll estimates exceeding 500. It isn't just the scale and pain of the human loss that has shocked. The event also upended US President Joe Biden's visit to the region, where he had been due to meet separately with Israeli and Arab leaders on containing the conflict and getting aid to civilians in Gaza.
/jlne.ws/3rV87ov
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Stock exchanges should make ESG disclosures mandatory: World Investment Forum
Imogen Lillywhite - ZAWYA
Stock exchanges should make ESG disclosures mandatory, not voluntary, The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) vice chairman Heiba ElSerafi told delegates attending the World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi. According to ElSerafi, EGX has made ESG disclosures for listed companies mandatory. Those companies valued at EGP500 million ($16 million) or more are also required to comply with requirements set down by G20 organisation Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), she said.
/jlne.ws/490JmI8
Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 Per Share
Nasdaq
The Board of Directors of Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on the company's outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on December 22, 2023 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 8, 2023. Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
/jlne.ws/45B3vSb
Nasdaq Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results; Broad-Based Growth Drives Solutions Businesses Revenue Acceleration
Nasdaq
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2023. Third quarter 2023 net revenues increased 6% compared to the third quarter of 2022. Solutions Businesses revenues increased 9%, with organic growth of 8% Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)4 increased 6% compared to the third quarter of 2022. Annualized SaaS revenues increased 11% and represented 37% of ARR. Anti-Financial Crime revenue increased 21% compared to the third quarter of 2022. Growth reflects continued Verafin adoption by small and medium banks, an expansion with an existing Tier 2 financial institution, and Surveillance solutions customer growth including Tier 3 banks and retail brokers.
/jlne.ws/3S4y5AB
Cboe Europe Derivatives Secures Support of Key Participants for Single Stock Options Launch
Cboe Global Markets
Cboe Global Markets Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) today announced it has secured commitment from of a broad range of participants to support the launch of single stock options on Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX), Cboe Europe B.V.'s pan-European equity derivatives exchange. CEDX expects to begin offering equity options from 6 November and plans to broaden its universe of available products by the end of Q1 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.
/jlne.ws/46Sib0y
New and approved: OCC lines up for future investment
OCC
Earlier this year, OCC received regulatory approval to update our clearing membership criteria allowing banks to apply for membership. OCC's Oberon Knapp, Head of Securities Lending, and Sheila Zak, Executive Director of Member Services, spoke with Securities Finance Times reporter Carmella Haswell about the changes and other enhancements in the works. The article appeared in SFT's magazine for The Risk Management Association's 38th annual Securities Finance & Collateral Management Conference.
/jlne.ws/408buoP
On trading on the Moscow Exchange during the November holidays
MOEX
The Moscow Exchange has determined the rules for the operation of markets during the November holidays in 2023. On November 6, 2023, trading will be held on the foreign exchange market and the precious metals market, the stock market, the deposit and loan market, the derivatives market and the standardized derivatives market (SDFI).
/jlne.ws/3tDZGyF
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Social platform X tests $1-a-year subscription model for new users; Company formerly known as Twitter cites proliferation of bots as reason for experiment
Hannah Murphy - Financial Times
Elon Musk's X has said it is testing a new subscription model in which it will charge $1 a year to new web users for features such as sharing or liking posts, as part of the billionaire's efforts to rid the social media platform of bots. In a post on Wednesday, the company formerly known as Twitter said the subscription model, called "Not a Bot", would be introduced to new users in New Zealand and the Philippines.
/jlne.ws/3rNBrgR
Marc Andreessen Wants to Reclaim the Moral High Ground for Tech
Lizette Chapman - Bloomberg
Marc Andreessen vs. the world. Celebrity venture capitalist Marc Andreessen issued a call to action on Monday morning, California time. In a blog post titled "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto," the Netscape co-founder excoriated the enemies of progress ("elites," "luddites," "communists") and celebrated the potential for technology to advance human greatness.
/jlne.ws/3tCTQgM
US fintech Plaid hires first chief financial officer on road to potential IPO; Start-up appoints former Expedia CFO two years after failed sale to Visa
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
US financial technology start-up Plaid has hired its first chief financial officer, a milestone in its highly anticipated plans to go public following a failed sale to Visa two years ago. Former Expedia chief financial officer Eric Hart will join the 10-year-old company a year after leaving the travel group. His appointment fills a major vacancy in Plaid's preparation for an initial public offering, which co-founder and chief executive Zach Perret has said is his aim for the company, without offering a timeline.
/jlne.ws/45vooOM
Broadridge's LTX offers enterprise clients custom generative AI solutions through launch of BondGPT+; New offering enables users to answer complex bond-related questions alongside helping users rapidly identify corporate bonds on the LTX platform.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Broadridge Financial Solutions subsidiary LTX has launched an enterprise version of its BondGPT application, named BondGPT+, offering new capabilities focused on the needs of its enterprise client base. The new offering incorporates Broadridge technology and OpenAI GPT-4 to answer complex bond-related questions alongside helping users identify corporate bonds on the LTX platform rapidly.
/jlne.ws/45Ds8On
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Five Eyes spy chiefs warn Silicon Valley over Chinese threat; US and allies say Beijing is targeting intellectual property in range of high-tech sectors
Demetri Sevastopulo - Financial Times
The heads of security services in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have urged the world to step up efforts to shield innovation from "unprecedented" Chinese spying. FBI director Christopher Wray on Tuesday hosted counterparts from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network in Silicon Valley to raise awareness about risks posed by China in high-tech sectors from quantum computing and artificial intelligence to synthetic biology.
/jlne.ws/3M4tSct
Federal Cyber Chief Tells Agencies to Tap Brakes on AI
Kim S. Nash - WSJ
Federal agencies have pitched more than 1,000 use cases for generative artificial intelligence, but the U.S. government's cybersecurity chief wants risks associated with the technology properly addressed before they can press ahead.
/jlne.ws/3tEnaUf
Accenture and Google Public Sector launch cybersecurity CoE
Melissa Evatt - ERP Today
Accenture Federal Services and Google Public Sector have announced the launch of a new Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CoE) to help US federal agencies rapidly detect and respond to cyberattacks. The Cybersecurity CoE will be powered by the front-line threat intelligence of Mandiant and Accenture Federal Services' full-spectrum cybersecurity services.
/jlne.ws/3Fm3dUF
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | How African Students Became Victims of FTX's Collapse; "We saw an exchange that was supposedly better than every other one we had used, so we let a lot of family and friends get involved with the FTX platform," FTX Africa's former education lead Pius Okedinachi told CoinDesk.
Dilin Massand - CoinDesk
"There were people who, because of their reputation, their friends and family trusted them. And now, after FTX collapsed, their reputation went," a former Student Ambassador for FTX, in Nigeria, told CoinDesk several months ago.
/jlne.ws/3M5EbwJ
Crypto giant Binance's US affiliate halts direct dollar withdrawals
Reuters
The U.S. unit of cryptocurrency exchange Binance has halted withdrawal of dollars by its clients from the platform, its updated terms showed on Monday. In early June, Binance.US had halted dollar deposits, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked a court to freeze its assets.
/jlne.ws/46V7bzn
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Oil Industry Leaders Gave Money to Trump in 2020. Now They're Funding His Rivals
Jennifer A. Dlouhy - Bloomberg
Oil industry leaders contributed top dollar to President Donald Trump in 2020. But now oil and gas titans are underwriting his GOP rivals instead. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley were the biggest beneficiaries of donations from oil and gas representatives in the third quarter, according to a Bloomberg review of new campaign finance disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. Both Republicans have done fundraising tours through the oil patch, with DeSantis even going so far as to unveil his energy policy platform in front of a drilling rig in Midland last month.
/jlne.ws/3FljY2f
Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan loses vote for US House Speaker; Ohio congressman must overcome deep Republican divisions in second ballot scheduled for Wednesday
Lauren Fedor - Financial Times
Jim Jordan was fighting for his political future on Tuesday night, after 20 members of his own party voted against the Donald Trump loyalist in his bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. The House went into recess immediately after Jordan lost the vote on Tuesday afternoon. Plans for a second ballot were scrapped, as the Ohio congressman struggled to win over detractors. Another vote has been scheduled for 11am Eastern Time on Wednesday. "We're gonna keep going," Jordan said, adding that he was having "great discussions" with colleagues.
/jlne.ws/3PZzGoL
Xi Jinping hails 'deep friendship' with Vladimir Putin as leaders meet in Beijing; China's president says annual bilateral trade with Russia has reached a 'historic high' of nearly $200bn
Joe Leahy and Max Seddon - Financial Times
China's president Xi Jinping lauded record high trade with Russia and stressed his "deep friendship" with Vladimir Putin, as the two leaders met in Beijing to reaffirm a partnership that has grown steadily closer since the Ukraine war. Meeting on the sidelines of a forum to celebrate 10 years of his flagship Belt and Road foreign policy initiative, Xi told Putin annual bilateral trade between their countries had reached a "historic high" of nearly $200bn.
/jlne.ws/3Q4FP2W
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Hidden in Plain Sight?
ISDA
More than a decade after the introduction of rules requiring the reporting of all derivatives to trade repositories, some regulators have started to ask questions once again about the level of transparency in the derivatives markets. The trigger has been the sudden emergence of several recent bouts of market turbulence that seemed to have occurred without warning - precisely the type of events the reporting of data was meant to prevent. But, as a recent ISDA paper on transparency points out, a significant amount of information does currently exist that, with sufficient data cleansing and analysis, could help regulators spot warning signals.
/jlne.ws/3tCR9Mi
Episode 34: Changing Treasury Market Structure
ISDA
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed increased clearing of certain US Treasury securities, but what impact would that have on market structure? Frank La Salla, president and chief executive of DTCC, gives his views.
/jlne.ws/46wCv7K
Misaligned T+1 timelines 'a big problem' for global securities industry, says panel; Views come as UK expected to reveal shorter timeframe for T+1 switch than European counterparts.
Chris Lemmon - The Trade
Inconsistent settlement cycles around the world are expected to cause increased disruption to the global securities market, with a panel at InvestOps Europe bemoaning the lack of urgency in certain markets to align to a T+1 cycle. The discussion began with an overview of the settlement landscape around the world, which included the expectation that the UK's Treasury taskforce on T+1 will move forward its timeline and publish its final recommendations, rather than simply initial findings, by the end of this year - potentially pointing to an accelerated timeline for T+1 in the UK.
/jlne.ws/3M8aCL3
CFTC Releases Enforcement Advisory on Penalties, Monitors and Admissions
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Enforcement today issued an advisory designed to give enforcement staff guidance on future enforcement resolution recommendations to the Commission. In particular, the advisory provides guidance on determining whether proposed civil monetary penalties are sufficient; when the imposition of a corporate compliance monitor or consultant is appropriate; what the duties and responsibilities of monitors and consultants should be; and whether admissions should be recommended in a particular enforcement action.
/jlne.ws/3S3Jlgw
Statement of Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero on CFTC Enforcement Division Advisory Regarding Penalties, Monitors and Consultants, and Admissions
CFTC
The CFTC has impressive enforcement staff. I am very proud of them. The substantial and hard-hitting cases we have brought this year reflect their dedication to protecting customers, investors and markets. Too often, however, they face limitations based on past cases-past cases that do not always reflect the growing potential for harm given the growth in our markets and in recent volatility. Past cases don't reflect that it has now been more than a decade since the implementation of Dodd-Frank Act rules, which is certainly enough time for registered entities to come into compliance. Past cases also may not reflect recidivism.
/jlne.ws/3S3ZHGf
Remarks of Enforcement Director Ian McGinley at the New York University School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement: "The Right Touch: Updated Guidance on Penalties, Monitors, and Admissions"
CFTC
Thank you for that introduction, Professor Arlen. It is an honor to make this announcement as part of NYU's Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, one of the marquee programs in the world on these topics. I'm also delighted to be back at NYU Law School, my alma mater. As a student, I frequently attended the incredible events in Lipton Hall, often sitting in the back row. So, it's quite a thrill to move from the nosebleeds to the podium.
/jlne.ws/490cgrQ
Joint Readout of Principals' Meeting of UK and U.S. Authorities Regarding Central Counterparty Resolution
CFTC
Senior officials from the Bank of England, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Federal Reserve Board convened a hybrid meeting today to discuss certain issues relating to the resolution of a central counterparty (CCP). This meeting was one of a regular series of senior-level meetings held since 2017 to share views on CCP resolution and review the progress of an ongoing program of joint work among the agencies.
/jlne.ws/3RZOUwH
SEC Charges Illinois Resident with Insider Trading
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Brian Marc Rubin of Deerfield, Illinois, for insider trading in stock options of Array BioPharma Inc. in advance of an announcement that Pfizer, Inc. was acquiring Array via a tender offer. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, alleges that Rubin unlawfully traded Array stock options based on material, nonpublic information about the acquisition that he learned about and then misappropriated from his spouse, who worked at Array. The SEC's complaint further alleges that Rubin traded the Array stock options prior to the announcement of the acquisition, and as a result made illegal profits of $90,458.
/jlne.ws/45B1BRx
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Less is more when it comes to strategic asset allocation; As a JPMorgan strategist argued recently, complexity is both pointless and counterproductive
Toby Nangle - Financial Times
Returns from equities have been so consistently and implausibly higher than government bonds over long time horizons that the phenomenon earned a name: the equity premium puzzle. Despite this, few investors are willing to place all their chips on red. Typically, they or their regulator lack the stomach for stocks' extreme valuation swings or do not have confidence in the persistence of historic market trends. Furthermore, belief that things will probably work out for markets in the long-run is little comfort to investors with short-run cash needs.
/jlne.ws/45AGIGj
Treasury market liquidity: basically ok; But not great either
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
When Janet Yellen told former Alphavillain Colby Smith that she didn't see signs of Treasury market "dysfunction" despite the sell-off, it prompted a glut of considered responses from some of the internet's bond savants.
/jlne.ws/3PXXIAx
Pimco Fund Walks Away From 20 Hotels With $240 Million of Debt; Appraisal for the properties was cut 16% in December; Buildings were located in states including Texas and Indiana
John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
A joint venture tied to a Pacific Investment Management Co. fund surrendered a portfolio of 20 hotels with a $240 million mortgage. The properties, located in cities including San Antonio and Carmel, Indiana, were forfeited in a deal that closed in September, according to commentary filed this week by the loan's servicer. The Pimco portfolio, valued at $326 million when the debt was originated in 2017, was cut 16% to $272.8 million in a December appraisal.
/jlne.ws/46WaiY2
Carl Icahn Criticizes Short Sellers at Investor Conference
Yiqin Shen and Crystal Tse - Bloomberg
Carl Icahn criticized short sellers on Tuesday, months after his firm became the target of one. "I think there's a place for short sellers without question but to go out and spread rumors that are basically untrue or close to untrue, there's no place for that," Icahn said at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit. "I think it is unconscionable, and I'm very much against that."
/jlne.ws/46YHi1P
US Mortgage Applications Hit 28-Year Low as Rates Keep Rising
Vince Golle - Bloomberg
A measure of US mortgage applications stumbled to an almost three-decade low as borrowing costs increased for a sixth-straight week, indicating further downside momentum for a battered housing market.
/jlne.ws/3M7v2np
Investment Mistakes to Avoid Right Now; Four experts highlight popular investment areas today that may be treacherous.
Suzanne Woolley - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3FnRBk6
Wall Street Worries Over Swelling US Debt Put Fed in Tight Spot; Investor angst about deficits pose growth, inflation risks; Concerns about debt have helped push bond yields higher
ich Miller - Bloomberg
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FXPA adds Fidelity International as new buy-side member; The welcoming of Fidelity comes as the Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA) aims to foster an intentionally diverse organisation, according to its chair.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
/jlne.ws/3M7VNbA
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Climate Change Is Driving a Global Water Trade You Can't See; More extreme weather is reshaping the availability of water, a commodity embedded in almost every product bought and sold in international markets.
Jin Wu, Laura Millan, Chris Udemans and Jack Wittels - Bloomberg
Every manifestation of the dangerous weather wreaking havoc around the world has one thing in common: water. As the Earth's climate changes, the lack of water, or its sudden abundance, is reshaping the global economy and international trade. From prolonged drought slowing down ships in the Panama Canal to deluges halting industrial production in Japan, it's one of the most obvious ways that rising temperatures are affecting businesses. Increasingly acute scarcity has forced cities, countries and companies to purchase much more water from farther-away places than before.
/jlne.ws/3QjXHIy
To Track a Forest's Recovery, Artificial Intelligence Just Listens; By "listening" to forest soundscapes and identifying animal species, AI can be used to evaluate biodiversity efforts, according to a new study.
Sana Pashankar and Kendra Pierre-Louis - Bloomberg
The sounds of a forest - from the guttural croaking of frogs to the chirpy trills of birdsong - can be used to track biodiversity recovery, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications. Paired with artificial intelligence, soundscapes can provide a low-cost way to measure the health of an ecosystem.
/jlne.ws/3S3YG0T
In Detroit, a 'magic wand' makes dirty air look clean - and lets polluters off the hook; Across the US, local governments, lobbyists and industry have spent millions to get wildfire pollution excluded from the record. People like Robert Shobe pay the price.
Molly Peterson and Dillon Bergin - The Guardian
Revealed: how a little-known pollution rule keeps the air dirty for millions of Americans
What is the exceptional events rule? The loophole letting US regulators wipe air pollution from the record. In south-east Detroit, the Environmental Protection Agency says, the air is clean. Robert Shobe's lungs tell a different story. Like a lot of Detroiters, Shobe suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD, a long-term lung ailment that flares up when the air is smoggy or smokey. On those days, Shobe said: "I probably am low on energy, and I feel like I'm seeing a haze in the air."
/jlne.ws/3Q4Kr9g
Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia; Forest fires leave Manaus with second worst air quality in the world, while low river levels cut off communities
Jonathan Watts - The Guardian
A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels in 121 years. The city of 1 million people, which is surrounded by a forest of trees, normally basks under blue skies. Tourists take pleasure boats to the nearby meeting of the Negro and Amazon (known locally as the Solimões) rivers, where dolphins can often be seen enjoying what are usually the most abundant freshwater resources in the world.
/jlne.ws/3FneiEV
Biden's 2030 Wind Goal Looks Like It Simply Won't Happen; As the price of construction climbs, developers are rapidly revising their plans - at great cost.
Will Wade and Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
When President Joe Biden in 2021 laid out a target of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity during the next nine years, the plan was deemed bold and ambitious. Best of all, many saw it as within reach. Two years later, the industry has another word for it: impossible. After a cascading series of setbacks, from sobering cost revisions to billions in possible impairment charges, the US offshore wind industry's 2030 generation goal now looks further away than ever.
/jlne.ws/3twck2m
COP 28 agenda to focus on emissions cuts pre-2030, and money
Andrew Freedman - Axios
/jlne.ws/45JuUBO
Alabama Wood Pellet Mill Seeks Millions in Climate Funds, but Critics Say It Won't Cut CO2; Opponents say pellet mills will harm Alabama communities already burdened by industrial air and water pollution, and are worse for the climate than burning coal.
Dennis Pillion - AL.com
/jlne.ws/48ZJGXW
Texas Continues to Issue Thousands of Flaring Permits; State regulators raise doubts about natural gas flaring permits but rarely reject them. Advocates for reform say the permit process is a "rubber stamp" and that companies shouldn't get a free pass to keep flaring indefinitely.
Martha Pskowski - Insisde Climate News
/jlne.ws/46YHvlD
Greta Thunberg Charged by Met Over London Oil Event Protest; UK passed new laws that have power to disrupt peaceful protest; Thunberg among 26 charged by Metropolitan Police Service
Upmanyu Trivedi - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3M5kYvc
Volta Trucks Files for Bankruptcy After Supply Chain Fails; August failure of battery supplier Proterra hit production; Biggest shareholder says Volta became 'impossible to fund'
Jerrold Colten and Rafaela Lindeberg - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3rXPD6R
Singapore to Pilot Transactions in 'Transition Credits'
Regulation Asia
Regulator seeks industry support to develop credits for reducing the economic gap from retiring coal plants early.
/jlne.ws/3Q4Ld6a
NZAOA Calls on Politicians to Accelerate Climate Policy Reform
Aaran Fronda - ESG Investor
/jlne.ws/3tAP8Aj
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Green Fees Overtake Fossil Fuels for Second Straight Year; But the rate of growth may be too slow in the race against global warming.
Tim Quinson - Bloomberg
For a second straight year, banks are making more money providing loans and underwriting bond sales for green-related projects than they're earning from fossil fuel companies.Together, banks have generated about $2.5 billion of revenue from climate-focused financing so far this year, compared with $2.2 billion from their work with oil, gas and coal companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/3Fm08UB
ETFs viewed as large opportunity by 74% of US asset managers, poll says; After eating into mutual funds' market share, there are signs that separately managed accounts are feeling the pressure
Will Schmitt - Financial Times
Exchange traded funds, already thrashing mutual funds in the battle for new investor dollars, are beginning to challenge another bastion of the asset management industry, a survey of US asset managers suggests. For the first time ETFs have edged out separately managed accounts for institutional clients as representing the largest opportunity among investment vehicles in the monthly survey of product trends by specialist consultancy Cerulli Associates.
/jlne.ws/45Fm3ki
Nomura Lays Off About 20 Staffers After Review of Markets Unit; FX strategist Jordan Rochester is among those leaving the firm; Job cuts come as Wall Street contends with quieter markets
Harry Wilson and William Shaw - Bloomberg
Nomura Holdings Inc. is cutting roughly 20 staffers following a review of the firm's markets and investment banking businesses. Jordan Rochester, a foreign-exchange strategist who became known as "Mr. Brexit" following the UK's 2016 vote to leave the European Union, is among those leaving the firm, according to the people familiar with the matter, who asked not be named discussing personnel information. A spokesman for Nomura declined to comment. Rochester, who had been with the bank for 10 years, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
/jlne.ws/45z5KWo
Top Japan Fund Bets English Disclosure to Lift Small-Cap Shares; Translated information would spur foreign demand: Gesiuris; Japan Deep Value Fund outperforms most of its peers this year
Aya Wagatsuma and Akemi Terukina - Bloomberg
A top-performing Japanese small-cap fund is betting that pressure on companies to provide financial information in English will help spur demand for shares that foreign investors tend to avoid. Gesiuris Asset Management's Marc Garrigasait, who manages the Japan Deep Value Fund FI from Barcelona, got a head start by side stepping domestic brokers for information and spending months studying translated material to help find undervalued firms with liquid assets. This year it's enabled his fund to beat 97% of its peers, according to Bloomberg data.
/jlne.ws/46y1YO1
U.S. Bancorp Vows to Shrink Itself to Avoid Added Fed Scrutiny
Max Reyes - Bloomberg
U.S. Bancorp promised federal regulators it would shrink its balance sheet and reduce its risk profile, a move that frees it from more stringent regulations. The nation's largest regional lender won approval from the Federal Reserve to retain its designation as a Category III bank, it said in a regulatory filing. That means it faces less costly and time-consuming regulations.
/jlne.ws/45FpAPA
Morgan Stanley Misses 3Q Wealth Management Net Revenue
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3M7vh1N
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | HSBC Blocks Staff From Texting on Their Work Phones; UK lender disables SMS function on staff work devices Regulators playing closer attention to bank communications
Swetha Gopinath and Harry Wilson - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is blocking staff from texting on their work phones, in the latest fallout from regulatory probes into the industry's use of unauthorized communication methods. The firm is in the process of disabling the function on employees' company-issued phones, meaning they will be unable to send or receive text messages, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The ban on SMS applies across the bank, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
/jlne.ws/3tIfj7U
Meta's former director of remote work is now leading one of the world's biggest flexible work programs; While some companies are mandating a return to the office, Atlassian's Annie Dean says the future of work will become even more distributed.
AJ Hess - Fast Company
The return to office has become such a widespread debate-and practice-that many simply refer to its acronym: RTO. One recent survey of 1,000 decision-makers by Resume Builder found that 90% of companies will have fully returned to in-office working by 2024. While some leaders are forcing workers back to the office, Annie Dean, VP of Team Anywhere at Atlassian, is not. The Australian software company responsible for software development and project management products like Jira and Trello has a "distributed" work policy.
/jlne.ws/3MaYj0z
France Will Push Firms Doing Buybacks to Share More With Workers; Buyback plans would force firms to negotiate on profit-sharing; Le Maire says no new tax, government remains pro-business
William Horobin - Bloomberg
The French government will expand obligations for profit-sharing to include large companies conducting share buybacks, in a move that adds a layer of complication to the practice without enforcing extra fixed costs or taxation.
/jlne.ws/48Wle9K
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Premiums for family health insurance at work jump to nearly $24,000 this year
Tami Luhby - CNN
Workers and their employers are paying a lot more for job-based health insurance this year. The annual cost of family health insurance coverage at work soared to an average of nearly $24,000 this year, according to KFF's Employer Health Benefits Survey, released Wednesday. That's up 7% from last year. Employees are shelling out an average of $6,575 for their share of the premium, up almost $500, or close to 8%, from last year, the annual survey found. Their companies are footing the rest of the bill.
/jlne.ws/401KreT
Pfizer Looks for a Covid Bottom; The pharma giant seeks a reset with Wall Street after its stock has dropped 35% this year
David Wainer - The Wall Street Journal
During much of the pandemic, shares of vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna have generally responded similarly following Covid-19 news. That correlation broke down this week. Pfizer said, in a late Friday release, that it was slashing its 2023 revenue projection by $9 billion due to falling sales of Covid vaccines and the Paxlovid treatment. Yet its stock rose 3.6% on Monday, making it among the best performers in the S&P 500, while Moderna dropped 6.5%, making it the worst performer.
/jlne.ws/3Fkm2Ym
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Scotland Leader Announces Plans to Sell First Bonds by 2026; Pro-independence leader seeks financial autonomy for Scotland; SNP's Yousaf sets out plan to counter Labour's resurgence
Ellen Milligan - Bloomberg
The Scottish government will raise funds on capital markets for the first time by 2026, First Minister Humza Yousaf said, in an effort to establish its financial independence from the UK. Scotland will issue its first bond to fund infrastructure projects like affordable housing, Yousaf, the leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party announced in his keynote speech at its annual conference. The debt sale will take place by the end of the devolved administration's parliament, with elections in Scotland due in 2026.
/jlne.ws/46Sbk7k
Ukraine's Risky Bet Pays Off With Ships Streaming to Ports
Aine Quinn and Kateryna Choursina - Bloomberg
A steady stream of ships is hauling grain and metals from Ukraine a month after the first inbound vessel sailed through its new shipping corridor in the Black Sea in defiance of Russian threats. More than 30 vessels have called at ports in the Greater Odesa area since the corridor took effect in mid-September, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. Their cargoes include some 1 million tons of grain, Dmytro Solomchuk, a lawmaker on the Ukrainian parliament's agriculture committee, said this week.
/jlne.ws/46yuLlS
Mexico Is Locking In Prices for 2024 Crude Exports
Devika Krishna Kumar and Alex Longley - Bloomberg
Mexico has been conducting its annual oil-export hedging program, one of the crude market's largest such undertakings, according to people with knowledge of the transactions. The hedging process - in which Mexico buys put options that allow it to sell crude at a pre-determined price - is likely close to completion or already over, according to the people, including those involved in the deals in the past. The Latin American country has been targeting price levels of about $80 a barrel, two of the people said.
/jlne.ws/3FiNy8N
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