July 11, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | John Lothian Publisher John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff I woke up this morning in a tent in the mountains of West Virginia at the Summit Bechtel Reserve High Adventure Base of the Boy Scouts of America. Cheryl and I and our two boys and Robby's girlfriend Nichole are visiting Kat Lothian here and enjoying the beauty and activities of the site. Last night Kat led the camp in an opening campfire program of appropriately corny songs and skits. Speaking of songs, this morning we have news from Clouty introducing MUSIQ, the first benchmarked financial index for the streaming of songs, from founder and CEO David Umeh. David is the young man the JLN team met at FIA's EXPO who was a big fan of MarketsWiki and has used the site to learn the language of our industry and markets. He connected with some key players in our industry after watching a JLN video of Jim Sullivan of Stable and reaching out to Jim. Needless to say, he is one of the most interesting innovators to come into our space in a long time and we wish him nothing but success and best of luck. HKEX has a whitepaper titled "The RMB bond primary market: Access channels and new initiatives." Cboe's Henry Schwartz shared on LinkedIn that "28.7 million FLEX option contracts traded in the first half of 2022 with record average daily open interest of 2.87M contracts. Volume is 52% above the same period in 2022 while OI is 27% higher." The National Futures Association welcomed Jennifer Han as a guest speaker for NFA's July News Exchange. Jennifer Han is chief counsel and head of global regulatory affairs at the Managed Funds Association (MFA). The U.S. government has a website, Vaccines.gov, to find a location near you for a Covid-19 vaccine, and then you can call or visit their website to make an appointment. CNBC says Jim Cramer is moving his Mad Money show to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange floor will now be even more of a television set. Chantal Robinson is starting a new position as a marketing manager at ICE. Joe Rennison is starting a new position as US markets reporter at The New York Times after seven years at the FT on the markets desks. Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL ++++ Musk Laughs Off Twitter Lawsuit in Characteristic Meme Fashion Vlad Savov - Bloomberg Billionaire Elon Musk issued a humorous late-night response to Twitter Inc.'s preparations to sue and force him to complete a $44 billion takeover of the company. Eschewing any words of his own, the Tesla Inc. and SpaceX chief posted a meme late Sunday featuring images of himself laughing with captions recounting one version of events over the past few months. It conveys a lighthearted attitude from the world's richest man to what has been a complex and expensive deal that's weighed on Tesla shares and gone through several iterations of provisional funding. /jlne.ws/3ORD4QN *****How do you go from being one of the richest men in the world to "not so much" anymore? You renege on a $44 billion contract and then don't shut up about it.~JJL ++++ What Happened to the Twitter-Elon Musk Deal? Tesla CEO says he is seeking to terminate his $44 billion deal to buy the social-media platform, setting up a possible legal battle Todd Olmstead - WSJ Elon Musk said he is seeking to terminate his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter Inc., nearly two months after saying the deal was "on hold" over his questions about the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform. Twitter "is in material breach of multiple provisions of that agreement," according to a letter from Mr. Musk's lawyer filed with securities regulators. The letter also accused the company of making "false and misleading representations" when entering into the agreement. /jlne.ws/3O2AlCF ***** Musk is going to need to find someone else to buy Twitter to get him out of this deal.~JJL ++++ 'I'm Done With Crypto': Voyager Bankruptcy Rocks True Believers; Traders who used now-bankrupt platform fear their money is lost for good. Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg Crypto investors are known for their devotion, but their confidence is cracking as the latest company collapse rattles the industry. News that customers of bankrupt broker Voyager Digital Ltd. likely won't get all their money back has struck a new kind of fear into those already whipsawed by the sector's swift declines. /jlne.ws/3IvjiIv ***** Woe to the unbelievers.~JJL ++++ Cask of rare Scotch whisky smashes world record with £16mn sale; Private collector in Asia buys single malt from 1975 for more than its Ardbeg distillery was sold for Alice Lascelles and Oliver Barnes - FT A cask of rare Scotch whisky has sold for £16mn to a private collector in Asia, smashing the previous world record of £1mn which was set only a few months ago. The single malt, which dates to November 1975, was produced at the 207-year-old Ardbeg distillery, on the Scottish island of Islay, west of Glasgow. /jlne.ws/3IspO2y ****** It is so rare, it would be a shame to drink it.~JJL ++++ Clouty Introduces MUSIQ, First Benchmarked Financial Index for Streaming of Songs MUSIQ 500 Composite Officially Launches Today, Opening Door for Industry Risk Management and Music as a Tradable Asset Mondovisione Clouty, the first organization to make music a financial instrument, announced that today it is launching a composite index designed to serve as the key benchmark for the music industry. The firm is partnering with the world's leading data providers to disseminate the index globally. The move paves the way for the introduction of a host of tradable financial products, giving the industry and those with exposure to it an opportunity for much-needed risk management capabilities, and offering institutional investors as well as the general public a chance to have a financial stake in music, even down to their favorite songs and genres. /jlne.ws/3PhBmIb ****** This is an innovation that could bring new young people into the derivatives markets to trade something that is real, true intellectual property.~JJL ++++ Friday's Top Three Our top story on Friday was JPMorgan Spoofing Trial Set To Open With Rare RICO Charges, from LAW360. Second was Big Cities Can't Get Workers Back to the Office, from the Wall Street Journal. And third was The 13 Best Outdoor Dining Venues to Hit During London's Unusually Warm Summer, from Bloomberg. ++++ MarketsWiki Stats 26,912 pages; 239,410 edits MarketsWiki Statistics ++++
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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 Publisher | | Sarah Rudolph Editor-in-Chief
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Lead Stories | Lumber Futures Are Getting a Makeover; New contract is meant to boost two-by-four trading with smaller loads, central delivery point Ryan Dezember - WSJ Exchange operator CME Group Inc. is rolling out a new lumber futures contract aimed at boosting the trade in two-by-four derivatives, which has dwindled in recent years and exacerbated wild swings in America's benchmark price for wood. The new contract will be fulfilled with a truckload of boards instead of a railcar full, which is about one-quarter the volume of wood, delivered to Chicago rather than a remote Canadian rail junction. The specifications will allow for eastern species of spruce, pine and fir, instead of only varieties that grow in the West. /jlne.ws/3nRC439 Europe regulator warns of 'cautionary lesson' from crypto crash; Verena Ross says investors cannot expect bailout because risks were so widely flagged Laura Noonan - FT Crypto investors should take the market crash as a "cautionary lesson" about putting money into risky unregulated assets and cannot count on any kind of a bailout, Europe's top securities regulator has said. "We already warned earlier this year . . . about the serious risks retail investors were taking investing in some of the crypto assets," said Verena Ross, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority. /jlne.ws/3Irfat7 EU Mounts Urgent Call for Covid-19 Boosters as Cases Rise Again; EU regulators recommend second booster for people 60 and over; Work is underway to approve adapted vaccines in September Lyubov Pronina - Bloomberg European regulators are urging second booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines for people over 60 years old as cases and hospitalizations are again rising sharply. Recommendations from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency also include people with medical conditions that put them at high risk of severe disease, both agencies said in a statement on Monday. Weekly case rates among people age 65 and over increased 32% in 22 of the 24 reporting countries in the week ending July 3 compared to the previous week, according to an ECDC statement. /jlne.ws/3OUfRgO Twitter hires US law firm Wachtell to sue Elon Musk for ending $44bn takeover; Social media group prepares to file suit vowing to hold billionaire to original deal terms Hannah Murphy and Sujeet Indap, Ortenca Aliaj and Eric Platt - FT Twitter has hired elite law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as it readies for a legal battle against Elon Musk, who has moved to terminate his $44bn acquisition of the social media company, according to two people familiar with the situation. /jlne.ws/3RiYg3T US credit union lobby group says cost of developing CBDCs outweighs benefits Dylan Butts - Forkast In a letter to the U.S. Commerce Department, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) warned that the cost of developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) outweighs the "hypothesized benefits." /jlne.ws/3ORLffX End of the affair: London's super-prime market breaks up with Russian money; Sanctions imposed since the attack on Ukraine have complicated deals, with estate agents under pressure to scrutinise funds Robert Wright - FT Alisa Zotimova was looking forward this March to completing a typical transaction for her estate agency business, which caters mainly to Russian speakers. Her Moscow-based client was buying a flat in Westminster, central London, for his two children, who are studying in the UK. Then the other side started stalling on the £2mn sale. /jlne.ws/3yzHiWt For Crypto Survivors, There Are Deals to Be Had; With valuations slashed after a meltdown, 'this is a very ripe scenario for some M&A' Paul Vigna - WSJ In the rubble-strewn land of virtual currencies, cash is king. A blowout in the cryptocurrency market sparked a wave of layoffs, punished valuations and drove some companies to bankruptcy. Now firms that still have capital are gearing up for a shopping spree. "This is a very ripe scenario for some M&A," said Jalak Jobanputra, the founder and managing partner of crypto-focused venture-capital fund Future Perfect Ventures. /jlne.ws/3yuEfyv Jump Trading Is All In on Crypto, Despite the Wintry Mix; The financial firm has made a big commitment to digital assets. But in a bear market, is that sustainable? Victoria Vergolina - Bloomberg Jump Crypto burst onto the scene less than a year ago, with the appointment of a former intern named Kanav Kariya as its founding president. Within a few months, Jump Crypto found itself spending hundreds of millions of dollars bailing out market participants because of a major crypto hack, and having to navigate the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. Undeterred by critics, Kariya believes that the market's current volatility is the perfect time to double down. In this episode, you'll hear from Bloomberg reporters Katherine Doherty and Yueqi Yang, who went to Chicago to visit Jump's headquarters, and hear about what's next for the firm. /jlne.ws/3OROYdr FTX Presses for Crypto Derivatives Approval, Agitating Legacy Exchanges; U.S. investors could deal directly with FTX instead of going through a broker, raising objections from CME and others on risk Alexander Osipovich - WSJ The cryptocurrency exchange FTX is seeking a green light from regulators to let individual investors use derivatives to place leveraged bets on bitcoin, a move opposed by rivals. Traditional exchanges and financial-industry groups say FTX's proposal might endanger market stability. Their concerns center on a key element of the plan, under which investors could deal directly with FTX instead of going through a broker. This approach represents a change from the way derivatives markets have operated for decades. /jlne.ws/3yuWi7Y Financial engineering to be put on trial in bankruptcy courts; Many innovations over the past decade have yet to be tested in a down market Sujeet Indap - FT US corporate bankruptcy lawyers may suddenly have to cancel their summer holidays. They may not object as they have been mostly unoccupied for at least two years. Even though stock markets have been retreating all year, financial conditions have only tightened markedly of late. The result is that several companies facing a cash or supply chain crunch have not so easily been able to raise fresh rescue capital, money that would have flowed easily at most any point in the last decade. /jlne.ws/3PeHrFm High-Tech Weathermen Forecast Climate Risks for Bond Investors; Startups use satellite imaging, public databases and algorithms to map out threats of natural disasters for specific towns—and even buildings—that back bonds Matt Wirz - WSJ For centuries, bond investing has boiled down to forecasting two things: which way interest rates are going to move and how likely a borrower is to repay its debts. A handful of startups are betting that to predict repayments in the future, bond analysts will need better data on something they've long overlooked—climate risk. /jlne.ws/3PlDOxA JPMorgan Gold Desk Ripped Off Market for Years, Jurors Told; US says three from bank 'decided to cheat' with spoof trades; Defense says orders were genuine, didn't manipulate prices Tom Schoenberg and Alex Nguyen - Bloomberg The precious-metals business at JPMorgan Chase & Co. operated for years as a corrupt group of traders and sales staff who manipulated gold and silver markets for the benefit of the bank and its prized clients, a federal prosecutor told jurors in Chicago. /jlne.ws/3yyb2mv Former JPMorgan employees 'scammed the metals market', prosecutors say; Trial begins in Chicago for three defendants accused of racketeering in alleged years-long scheme Steff Chávez and Joshua Franklin - FT Prosecutors on Friday said three former members of JPMorgan Chase's precious metals trading desk "scammed the market" as part of a years-long criminal conspiracy to manipulate the global silver and gold markets. The comments came at the start of a trial that is a reminder of the misconduct that blighted metals markets between 2008 and 2016, and resulted in stiff penalties for several banks by US authorities, including a $920mn fine for JPMorgan in 2020. /jlne.ws/3uEcLFv Top Fed official warns of 'serious vulnerabilities' in crypto industry; Sector needs tighter regulation as it is susceptible to same risks as traditional finance, Lael Brainard says Scott Chipolina and Gary Silverman - FT Federal Reserve vice-chair Lael Brainard has said recent crypto volatility has exposed "serious vulnerabilities" in an industry in need of tighter regulation. Brainard told a Bank of England conference in London on Friday that crypto is not yet "so large or so interconnected" with traditional finance to pose systemic risk but raises familiar regulatory concerns. /jlne.ws/3Iryfvd Citi forced to update disclosures on Russia exposure by SEC; Bank says it revised cash flow statements and updated information at US regulator's request Imani Moise - FT Citigroup was forced to update disclosures related to its exposure to Russia after being pressed by the US securities regulator, according to correspondence published on Friday, the latest example of the bank coming under pressure to improve risk management and compliance. The Securities and Exchange Commission asked Citi to provide "enhanced" disclosures about which aspects of its business needed to be evaluated for possible impairment as a result of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, issues that would impede its effort to sell its Russian consumer bank, and other material risks. /jlne.ws/3AWtzfd U.S. Treasury to end 1979 treaty with global minimum tax holdout Hungary Reuters The U.S. Treasury on Friday said it was moving to terminate a 1979 tax treaty with Hungary in the wake of Budapest's decision to block the European Union's implementation of a new, 15% global minimum tax. /jlne.ws/3axIa5F Is crypto really democratizing finance? New data shows a class divide between low-income users and rich investors Dina Al-Shibeeb - Moneywise In a short time, cryptocurrencies have gone from a curiosity to a popular way to diversify a portfolio — but are they really accomplishing what their inventors set out to do? Whether crypto is being used as a replacement for traditional money or just another way to grow one's wealth can depend on a person's income, banking status and even education, a recent Federal Reserve report shows. /jlne.ws/3bThyfO Downtown Chicago's revival hinges on this man: Crain's Daily Gist podcast; Crain's commercial real estate reporter Danny Ecker talks with host Amy Guth and shares highlights from his recent conversation with developer Mike Reschke. Crain's Chicago Business Crain's commercial real estate reporter Danny Ecker talks with host Amy Guth and shares highlights from his recent conversation with developer Mike Reschke of The Prime Group. /jlne.ws/3yvN777
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Ukraine Invasion | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine Latest: Russia Accused of Trying to Damage Grain Harvest; Gazprom PJSC's Kasimovskoye Underground Gas Storage Amid Euro Gas Crisis Source: Bloomberg Ukraine accused Russia of trying to choke off the country's grain harvest by targeting fields and depots in the country's south. Russian natural gas shipments to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany are due to stop on Monday for planned annual maintenance, and Western allies fear President Vladimir Putin will use the opportunity to cut off flows for good. Even so, gas prices fell Monday after Canada said it would return a stranded turbine for a key Russian pipeline to Germany. /jlne.ws/3uFRGL7 Europe's Natural-Gas Crisis Is Worse Than It Looks; Markets now see shortages and sky-high prices lasting until 2024. Javier Blas - Bloomberg European natural gas prices are still well below the all-time high set in March. Dig a bit deeper, however, and they are signaling a more protracted disruption than markets anticipated in the immediate aftermath of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. /jlne.ws/3RmK9dL Putin's New Weapon of Mass Disruption: Kazakh Oil; The threat to shut down an export terminal is a clear warning to Europe. Julian Lee - Bloomberg Russia is threatening to use oil from neighboring Kazakhstan as a weapon against European countries supporting Ukraine. A court order this month to close the export terminal on the Black Sea for a month is a clear warning to Europe of Russia's leverage. On Tuesday, a Russian judge in the town of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea coast ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to halt shipments for 30 days. Suspension of operations was sought as punishment for a number of "documentary violations" under CPC's Oil Spill Response Plan, which the company had been given until the end of November to rectify. /jlne.ws/3uDibRs
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Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Chief Financial Officer Gillian Larkins to Leave ASX ASX Gillian Larkins, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ASX, has advised that she will be leaving the Group at the end of August 2022. After almost four years at ASX, she has decided to pursue new opportunities elsewhere. Ms Larkins joined ASX in October 2018. As a member of the ASX Executive Committee and in leading the Finance and Facilities team, she has shown dedicated and strategic leadership to overhaul the finance area and bring a more rigorous approach to the financial management of ASX. /bit.ly/3sGw54D Miami International Holdings Wins Patent Case Against Nasdaq; All Asserted Patents Invalidated And Patent Claims Permanently Dismissed with Prejudice MIAX Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), the parent holding company of the MIAX Options®, MIAX Pearl® and MIAX Emerald® exchanges (collectively, MIAX®), today announced that the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey has entered a stipulation and order (the Order) in Nasdaq, Inc., et al v. Miami International Holdings Inc., et al (Civil Action No.: 3:17-cv-06664-ZNQ-DEA) dismissing with prejudice all of the six patent infringement claims asserted by Nasdaq against MIH and its affiliates. The Order was signed on June 30, 2022 by the Honorable Zahid N. Quraishi - United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey. /bit.ly/3AFLczu Clearstream's new data solutions enable prediction of successful settlement Deutsche Börse Settlement dashboard and AI-assisted settlement prediction tool provide insights into past, present and future settlements. New tools increase efficiency and liquidity for the entire market and optimize the settlement cycle; Solutions provide high-quality data to support clients with settlement discipline regime (SDR) requirements; Clearstream has launched two new data-based solutions that provide insights into past, present and future settlements: the Settlement Dashboard and the Settlement Prediction Tool, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI). /bit.ly/3c4p73A Crypto derivatives: Stepping out of the sidelines Eurex The space of cryptocurrencies is evolving fast, yet many institutional market participants are still waiting on the sidelines. In the latest DerivSource commentary, Sascha Semroch, product development manager for volatility and crypto currency derivatives at Eurex explains some of the common obstacles firms face as they look to jump into the digital derivatives space and how Eurex aims to tackle these challenges using crypto futures and by leveraging existing infrastructure. Read on for insights into how eager firms can participate in crypto derivatives now. /bit.ly/3ABJm2J Approval of Initial listing (ETF):Global X Nikkei 225 Covered Call ETF (option premium reinvestment type)(Global X Japan) JPX Today, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) approved the listing of new ETF managed by Global X Japan. The ETFs will be listed on Friday, July 29, 2022. /bit.ly/3NUcbu9 Moscow Exchange Launches Federal Treasury Auctions with DOM.RF Mortgage Bonds MOEX DOM.RF, the Federal Treasury and the Moscow Exchange are preparing to hold repo auctions secured by mortgage bonds guaranteed by DOM.RF with the participation of a central counterparty (CC), whose functions are performed by the National Clearing Center (NCC, part of the Moscow Exchange Group). /bit.ly/3It99Me Miami International Holdings Reports June 2022 Trading Results; Sets Year-to-Date Volume Records MIAX Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH) today reported June 2022 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries - MIAX®, MIAX Pearl® and MIAX Emerald® (together, the MIAX Exchange Group™), and Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX™). June 2022 Trading Volume Highlights. Total U.S. multi-listed options market share for the MIAX Exchange Group reached 13.74%, down 171 basis points year-over-year (YoY) and representing an 11.1% decrease. A total of 101.9 million multi-listed options contracts were executed on the MIAX Exchange Group, representing a 20.2% decrease YoY and an average daily volume (ADV) of 4,852,472 contracts. Total year-to-date (YTD) volume reached a record 662.8 million contracts, an increase of 2.6% from the same period in 2021. /bit.ly/3PcPIJK NYSE Pillar Options: Final Reminder - Arca Options Migration July 11th Go-Live NYSE NYSE Arca Options Pillar Migration - Tranche 1 (ICE, AFRM, HYG, XLF) NYSE Arca Options' migration to the NYSE Pillar trading platform will begin on Monday, July 11, 2022. The following symbols will migrate in Tranche 1: AFRM, HYG, ICE, XLF. The migration will take place over two weeks in five tranches. If required, any adjustments to the schedule will be announced via Trader Update. /bit.ly/3c4VJdb
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Fintech | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Buy vs. Build: The Paradox of Building Technology for the Capital Markets Farid Naib - Sterling Technologies As a provider of technology for the capital markets, STT partners with clients in various segments of the trading industry on both the buy side and sell side. We have seen the industry go through bull markets, bear markets, and multiple industry-wide trends such as high frequency trading, commission free trading, crypto, and everything in between. /jlne.ws/3PgVfPx ING spins out Pyctor digital assets technology to GMEX Group Fintech & Finance News ING announced today that it has spun out Pyctor to GMEX Group. Pyctor's digital post-trade market infrastructure technology is designed for firms operating in regulated environments. It provides highly secure digital custody and transactional network services for a broad range of digital assets, as well as delivering interoperability between permissioned and public blockchains. Pyctor was incubated in ING Neo's Amsterdam innovation lab, in collaboration with major financial institutions and regulators. /jlne.ws/3AGBXPz Wirecard forged client details to secure EUR900mn investment from SoftBank; Collapsed German payments group fabricated data to reassure Japanese investor Olaf Storbeck and Robert Smith and Dan McCrum - FT Wirecard forged client data and lied about internal records to secure a EUR900mn investment from SoftBank that was seen as a vote of confidence in the German payments group after the Financial Times started to raise questions about its business in 2019. /jlne.ws/3nQUTDG Two Meta vets are vying to build the next big blockchain with doomed Diem's technology. They have a16z funding, Big Tech partners—and a $1 billion lawsuit against the startup's CEO Anne Srader - Fortune It was the week before Thanksgiving in 2021, and the pair recall walking out of a meeting at the offices of Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, in Menlo Park, Calif., and realizing that after a fraught nearly three years, the project they had been working on—Meta's embattled crypto payments network, Diem, previously called Libra—could perhaps find new life outside the social media giant. /jlne.ws/3c7udfq Why Banks Face Billions in 'Hung Debt' as Deals Cool Lisa Lee - Bloomberg One of the most lucrative transactions in investment banking has suddenly become a very expensive headache for US and European banks. They're facing big potential losses from about $80 billion in acquisition debt that they promised to raise to facilitate mergers and leveraged buyouts when financial conditions were better. The likes of Bank of America Corp., Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could each face a $100 million hit on the so-called hung debt from just one such financing deal alone. It's not the first time banks have been burned when what's known as committed financing turns sour quickly. Banks are better able to withstand such losses now than they were in the financial crisis of 2008. But as happened before, the experience appears to be contributing to a chill in deal-making. /jlne.ws/3ySybRY UK fund managers lobby for approval of blockchain-traded funds; Investment Association says utilising digital ledgers would cut administration costs Chris Flood - FT Britain's asset management industry is pushing the government to establish a new class of fund employing blockchain technology, highlighting how financial firms are tapping the architecture that underlies the crypto market. The Investment Association, the trade body representing the UK's asset management industry that oversees close to £10tn for clients worldwide, will call on Thursday for the government and City regulator to work "at pace" to approve blockchain-traded funds that will issue digital tokens to investors instead of traditional shares or fund units. /jlne.ws/3nLLSvE Crypto Miner Marathon's 54% Surge Still Leaves Stock Deep in Red; Losses from digital-asset rout far outstrip weekly rally; Marathon among few miners not forced to unload Bitcoin David Pan - Bloomberg Crypto mining giant Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. had its best weekly gain since February 2021, leading a rally in digital-asset shares as the crypto market enjoyed a respite from recent steep declines. The stock's gains, while impressive, were nowhere near enough to erase losses incurred this year. /jlne.ws/3AH1IPY
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Cybersecurity | Top stories for cybersecurity | Here's how North Korean operatives are trying to infiltrate US crypto firms Sean Lyngaas - CNN Devin, the founder of a cryptocurrency startup based in San Francisco, woke up one day in February to the most bizarre phone call of his life. The man on the other end, an FBI agent, told Devin that the seemingly legitimate software developer he'd hired the previous summer was a North Korean operative who'd sent tens of thousands of dollars of his salary to the country's authoritarian regime. /jlne.ws/3c4Xdo2 Cybersecurity experts weigh in on election threats this November Jack Prator - WUSF Public Media Cybersecurity experts are helping prepare election officials across the country as midterm elections draw nearer. The University of Southern California Election Cybersecurity Initiative is holding a number of regional workshops for election workers this month. They started last Thursday by talking to officials from five southern states, including Florida. /jlne.ws/3P1kgys Graduates with a master's degree in cybersecurity are landing starting pay of $214,000 and up Rich Griset - Fortune When it comes to job demand, it's hard to beat the field of cybersecurity. By 2025 there will be an estimated 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs across the globe, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, a researcher and publisher that covers the international cyber economy. And that follows a 350% growth in the number of open cybersecurity jobs between 2013 and 2021. /jlne.ws/3Pb9RjK Why We Need Accountability For Effective Cybersecurity Frameworks Andy Purdy - Fortune Recent security incidents violating IT service providers like SolarWinds and Microsoft have brought to the forefront the importance of accountability and transparency in cybersecurity. The sheer volume of recent reports of ransomware attacks, cyber intrusions reportedly perpetrated by nation-states, and largescale data breaches affecting millions of people indicates that cyber defenses must be raised across the board—particularly in critical infrastructure, government and essential services. /jlne.ws/3IxkGdx FBI director warns China espionage is greatest threat to US and allies; Christopher Wray aims to raise awareness in rare joint public briefing with MI5 boss Demetri Sevastopulo - FT FBI director Christopher Wray often uses US speeches and congressional testimony to warn about Chinese espionage, but in a rare move last week he took his message to the UK to raise global awareness of the threat. /jlne.ws/3OX2wVd
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Cryptocurrencies | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Coinbase users unable to withdraw to bank accounts Cryptopolititan.com Leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase seems to be facing an issue with USD withdrawals. Some of the customers are complaining that they are unable to withdraw their USD from the exchange to local bank accounts. One of the users complained he wasn't able to withdraw USD after selling Bitcoin (BTC) from the platform. /jlne.ws/3IsWA3w Crypto Plunge Is Cautionary Tale for Public Pension Funds Steve Karnowski - AP When the Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund bought $25 million in cryptocurrencies, with the fund's chief investment officer touting their potential, retired fire Capt. Russell Harris was concerned. /jlne.ws/3AGxJrp Chris Giancarlo Interviewed about Cryptocurrency on NPR's Freakonomics Radio; Chris interviewed extensively on three-part podcast and radio series on blockchain technology. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP J. Christopher Giancarlo, senior counsel and Co-Chair of the Willkie Digital Works practice, was interviewed extensively on Freakonomics Radio for a three-part podcast series, "What Can Blockchain Do for You?" /jlne.ws/3Iui8wS Miami mayor continues to get paid in bitcoin amid 'crypto winter' Fox Business Miami Mayor Francis Suarez provides perspective on the cryptocurrency and how it has contributed to the Miami economy on 'Mornings with Maria.' /jlne.ws/3c3mPl4 Cryptocurrency Is Coming to Your Credit Cards; Will you one day use crypto for everyday purchases? Visa, Mastercard and others are betting on it and taking steps to pave the way Annamaria Androtis - WSJ Cryptocurrencies are a volatile investment today, but card companies including Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are betting crypto will one day be used routinely for everyday purchases from food to clothes to plane tickets—and they don't want to be left behind when that happens. /jlne.ws/3awWdZl Bitcoin Is More Likely to Hit $10,000 Than $30,000, Survey Finds; A majority sees Bitcoin tumbling to $10,000 in MLIV survey; Retail investors are more bearish on crypto than professionals Emily Nicolle and Isabelle Lee - Bloomberg Bitcoin bulls beware: Wall Street expects the cryptocurrency's crash to get a whole lot worse. The token is more likely to tumble to $10,000, cutting its value roughly in half, than it is to rally back to $30,000, according to 60% of the 950 investors who responded to the latest MLIV Pulse survey. Forty percent saw it going the other way. Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $20,474 on Monday morning in New York. /jlne.ws/3nW8olD BlockFi Investor Prepared for Heavy Losses as FTX Forged Deal; The Private Shares Fund marked down BlockFi warrants to zero; Investments in BlockFi are pari-passu, people familiar say Linly Lin and Hannah Miller - Bloomberg Investors in BlockFi Inc., the hobbled crypto lender that received a capital injection from digital-asset exchange FTX US, are prepared for some of their holdings to be wiped out. /jlne.ws/3uzntgH Crypto collapse hits black Americans hard FT A rundown of the most important global business stories you need to know for the coming day, from the newsroom of the Financial Times. Available every weekday morning. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. /jlne.ws/3IqRipr Troubled Crypto Lender Celsius Hires New Restructuring Lawyers; The company has been exploring a possible restructuring or bankruptcy filing since markets slid and it froze user accounts Andrew Scurria , Soma Biswas and Vipal Monga - WSJ Embattled cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network LLC has hired new lawyers for restructuring advice as it navigates the financial fallout from recent turmoil in crypto markets, according to people familiar with the matter. Celsius brought on lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to advise on options including a bankruptcy filing, replacing the company's prior lead restructuring counsel, the people said. /jlne.ws/3yVSHRz Miami's Gold Rush: Finance Firms and Crypto Move In, Bringing Strains; South Florida wants to remake itself into a business powerhouse, but is it doing too much too fast? Deborah Acosta - WSJ From his new office in Miami Beach, real-estate investor Barry Sternlicht is only steps from the ocean. His waterfront mansion is just a short drive away. Cold winters and state income taxes are a thing of the past now that he has relocated here from Connecticut. /jlne.ws/3RobrQY Three Arrows Wanted a $100M NFT Collection. Instead, It's Worth Less Than $5M Sam Reynolds - Coindesk At the height of last summer's non-fungible token (NFT) mania, Three Arrows Capital - then a behemoth managing tens of billions of dollars - partnered with pseudonymous non-fungible token collector Vincent Van Dough to launch Starry Night Capital, an NFT fund that aimed to raise $100 million. /jlne.ws/3c4DOUd
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Politics | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Why US Sees Saudi Arabia Again as Partner, Not Pariah Iain Marlow - Bloomberg For more than seven decades, despite stark differences on matters such as human rights and the Arab-Israeli conflict, the US and Saudi Arabia maintained a close alliance based on an exchange of security for oil. During Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign he said he'd end the amity, vowing to make Saudi Arabia a global "pariah" over the 2018 murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents inside the country's consulate in Istanbul. Biden didn't actually go that far after taking office in 2021, but he did cool relations, notably shunning the de facto Saudi leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and releasing a report blaming him for the killing. Now, with Russia's war in Ukraine causing oil prices -- and thus gasoline costs for US consumers -- to spike, Biden is working to repair ties with the world's largest crude exporter, which in theory could nudge prices down by ramping up production. /jlne.ws/3ABxsG5 UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss launches bid for Prime Minister Nicky Robertson, CNN British Member of Parliament Liz Truss has joined the race to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party, outlining her campaign in an op-ed published Sunday in The Telegraph. "I am putting myself forward because I can lead, deliver and make the tough decisions. I have a clear vision of where we need to be, and the experience and resolve to get us there," Truss wrote. /jlne.ws/3PhgVLt Opinion Tories awaken to the cost of being led by an entertainer. The GOP still hasn't. Max Boot Every stage of Boris Johnson's political progression has been utterly ludicrous and farcical — and that extended to his downfall, or "clownfall," as the Economist dubbed it. Suddenly, in the past few days, there was a mass exodus from the British government among cabinet ministers who professed themselves to be shocked by the prime minister's duplicity. "A decent and responsible Government relies on honesty, integrity and mutual respect," thundered Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis in his letter of resignation. /jlne.ws/3NW27AT Japan votes in election billed as 'defense of democracy' as police admit security 'problems' during Shinzo Abe assassination Kathleen Magramo, Emiko Jozuka, and Mayumi Maruyama - CNN Japanese voters headed to the polling stations on Sunday for an election billed as a defense of democracy, just two days after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while on the campaign trail. Abe was shot in broad daylight on Friday in the central city of Nara while giving a speech in support of a local candidate for his Liberal Democratic Party, in a killing that has reverberated around the world. /jlne.ws/3PjCye2 Shinzo Abe's Death Highlights Fringe Japan Political Party That Criticized Him; NHK Party member linked Abe to religious groups in campaign; Suspected shooter was angry at religious group: Kyodo Bloomberg News The assassination of Shinzo Abe has drawn attention to a fringe political party that had criticized him ahead of Sunday's upper house election for alleged connections to religious groups. /jlne.ws/3c9Oktu
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Regulation & Enforcement | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC to rescind Trump-era rule for proxy advisers; Companies backed requirement that ISS and Glass Lewis tell them voting recommendations Patrick Temple-West and Stefania Palma - FT The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected on Wednesday to rescind a requirement that advisers ISS and Glass Lewis inform businesses of its voting recommendations when they are sent to shareholders, in a blow to companies that supported the Trump-era rule. Adopted in 2020 but never enforced, the SEC rules said the advisers must also give companies an opportunity to respond before shareholders vote at their annual general meetings. /jlne.ws/3Iwcmut Businesses Urge SEC to Consider Mergers in Climate-Disclosure Rule; Deals could be delayed or scrapped if buyers are forced to report on acquisitions' climate risks and emissions without having the time to integrate them, executives and lawyers say Jennifer Williams-Alvarez - WSJ Companies are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to tweak its proposed climate-disclosure rule to give deal makers enough time to report information about acquired companies. Executives and lawyers said they worry the proposal, which would force public companies to disclose information about climate risks and emissions, could delay or even scuttle merger or acquisition deals. /jlne.ws/3AFQbQI Treasury Outlines International Engagement on Digital Asset Regulations; The framework that lays out how the Treasury could work with its overseas counterparts on a regulatory approach for digital assets was delivered to President Biden Thursday Mengqi Sun - WSJ The U.S. intends to continue working with international partners as it develops its regulatory standards for digital assets, the Treasury Department said. In a fact sheet published Thursday, the Treasury Department laid out how it would work with its overseas counterparts and in international forums as the U.S. studies cryptocurrencies to set up a possible regulatory regime. /jlne.ws/3yw02pN Statement on the Order Granting Temporary Conditional Exemptive Relief from Certain Requirements of the National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail Commissioner Hester M. Peirce - SEC I support granting temporary exemptive relief for certain provisions of the consolidated audit trail ("CAT"). The CAT, a project designed to give the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators comprehensive market insight, has proved much harder and more expensive to implement than anyone anticipated. I have grave concerns about the whole project. The dollars, distraction, dissension, and drain of endless meetings over the past several years of CAT implementation are reasons enough to reconsider the entire project; the risks to liberty and security posed by the project should compel us to do so. /jlne.ws/3IuscpE FMA appoints Margot Gatland to Head of Enforcement FMA The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko - has confirmed the appointment of Margot Gatland as its new Head of Enforcement. Ms Gatland was previously the Acting Head of Enforcement at the FMA. Liam Mason, FMA General Counsel, said: "Margot Gatland has been confirmed as our new Head of Enforcement after an extensive local and international search. /jlne.ws/3bNNulK Ashley Alder appointed FCA chair FCA Ashley is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, a role he has held since 2011. Ashley also chairs the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and sits on the Financial Stability Board's Plenary and its Steering Committee. Ashley began his career as a lawyer in London in 1984 and practised in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. He was Executive Director of the SFC's Corporate Finance Division from 2001 to 2004, before returning to private practice at Herbert Smith LLP, a law firm, as Head of Asia. Ashley is expected to take up his role as FCA Chair in January. He is appointed for a five-year term. /jlne.ws/3OMoUjT ECB Says Stablecoin Rules Must be Implemented 'With Urgency'; Says financial risks from stablecoins 'limited' for now; FSB also called for more stablecoin regulation on Monday Carolynn Look - Bloomberg Stablecoins must "urgently" be brought under increased regulatory oversight before they can become a risk to financial stability, according to the European Central Bank. /jlne.ws/3uA066r
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Investing & Trading | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | BlackRock Warns Against Dip Buying as High-Volatility Era Dawns; Strategists are underweight government bonds, DM equities; Prepare to be nimble amid sticky inflation, economic swings Anchalee Worrachate - Bloomberg There's no quick recovery in sight for stocks and bonds that are having their worst year in at least three decades, according to strategists at BlackRock Inc. Russia's grinding war in Ukraine and supply bottlenecks from labor shortages will keep the pace of price growth elevated. Central banks will tighten policy until the economic pain forces them to shift direction and live with inflation. Constrained by the "hyper-politicization of everything," policy makers will struggle to tackle the fallout. /jlne.ws/3c1yvEY JPMorgan's Josh Younger Explains Why the Bond Market Keeps Getting Shocked Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg Bonds have settled down since their big moves last month, but they leave behind them lingering questions over the functioning of the world's most important market at a time when the Federal Reserve is winding down its own debt purchases. /jlne.ws/3ACyh1d Wealth management booms as the rich get richer but markets get choppy; Industry aims to attract rising tide of younger DIY customers coming into inheritances but who need assistance Madison Darbyshire - FT Asset managers and brokerages are rushing into wealth management as "the rich get richer" and a rising tide of young do-it-yourself investors come into inheritances, according to a new report. Growth of wealth management is set to outpace that of asset management by an average of 2 per cent every year until 2030, as DIY investors seek assistance in turbulent markets, according to research by Bain and Company, a consulting group. /jlne.ws/3uHATqT The mystery of how quantitative tightening will affect markets; Central banks are starting to shrink their balance sheets, but fund managers say they have no clue as to how QT will play out Katie Martin and Colby Smith - FT June was not a great month to be a fund manager. Global stocks fell 8.8 per cent, the second-biggest drop in a decade. Bonds, meanwhile, are on track for the worst year since 1865. The bludgeoning came from several directions — first the rapid ascent of interest rates and then rising fears of a recession in the US. But some investors say another factor was also at play: the world's most powerful central bank has yanked away its safety net. /jlne.ws/3nSHlrj Global Investors Dump Bonds of Chinese Banks That Lent Heavily to Russia; State-owned lenders such as China Development Bank extended tens of billions of dollars to Russian borrowers Rebecca Feng - WSJ International investors are rapidly unwinding what was once a popular trade in Chinese bonds. For years, foreigners loaded up on debt from Chinese state-owned lenders known as policy banks, which fund domestic and overseas projects like dams, roads and airports. The easy-to-trade yuan-denominated bonds were viewed as almost as safe as China's sovereign debt, and paid higher interest rates. /jlne.ws/3yVT7Yl
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Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Carbon is an emerging asset class - how can investors get in on it? Globe and Mail While renewable energy is critical to reducing the world's carbon footprint, building enough capacity will take decades. That's one reason why voluntary carbon credit markets are expected to play an increasingly key role to help offset the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. /jlne.ws/3ACcWVO The Cost of Sand Has Spiked 150% in Texas; Permian crude producers are facing a shortage of frack sand. New mobile miners say they can help ease the crunch. David Wethe - Bloomberg Bumping along the desolate highways of the Permian Basin, the world's busiest oil field, there are long stretches where all you see are drilling rigs, sage brush and miles upon miles of sand. That's why it's so strange that Texas crude producers are facing a sand shortage of more than 1 million tons and prices that have jumped 150%. Frack sand, which gets blasted through shale rocks to unlock oil and natural gas, is at about $55 a ton, up from $22 at the end of 2021, data on spot prices from energy-research firm Lium show. Demand is climbing as oil explorers turn the taps back on after Covid-driven cutbacks. But like in so many pockets of the economy, the recovery is sparking a mismatch. Sand suppliers have seen disruptions, labor shortages and trucking bottlenecks. The chief executive officer of US Silica Holdings Inc., the largest publicly traded frack-sand miner, has dubbed the tight market "sandemonium" and said his company is sold out. /jlne.ws/3uCqM6A ESG Scores Are A CORPORATE COVERUP To Mask Greed, Keep Status Quo: Lee Fang The Hill - Video Investigative journalist at The Intercept, Lee Fang, discusses a private prison's touting of diversity, but whether or not this truly benefits society. /bit.ly/3uG5ZiF How Does the SEC's Focus on ESG Impact Investment Managers? EisnerAmper On May 25, 2022, the SEC proposed new rules for ESG investment practices. The new guidelines appear somewhat daunting, so we sat down with two of our specialists to get some clarification. Louis Bruno, a partner responsible for Regulatory Compliance Services, and Lourenco Miranda, managing director of ESG and Sustainability Solutions, offer their analysis of what the proposed rules entail for fund managers and investors by answering six of the most commonly asked questions. /bit.ly/3c4mwX4 ESG.org Hosting Second Roundtable Event on July 26th Using the power of Governance to change the world! Cision - ESG.org ESG.org, an organization focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) professionals, will host its second ESG Roundtable Event on July 26th in New York City from 8:00 - 10:00AM. This event follows the inaugural event held on May 17th in London's Canary Wharf. At this breakfast, the ESG.org team will discuss our innovative, practitioner focused approach to managing this evolving landscape. Come join the ESG.org team to discuss over breakfast. Networking time will be allotted to foster community growth. We are a new group designed to ensure that practitioners maintain a constant voice in the emerging ESG market. /prn.to/3nTSqbO 'Time is something we don't have': FCA urged to act on ESG disclosure Sally Hickey - FT The Financial Conduct Authority has been urged to act on sustainability disclosure, with industry experts saying the issue risked being "perpetually kicked down the road".Earlier this week the regulator announced a delay in the release of SDR, the first draft of which was due to be released in the second quarter of the year. The FCA said it had postponed this until the autumn to allow it to take into account other international policy initiatives. /bit.ly/3uDfuzk ECB climate stress test flags $71 billion risk to euro zone banks Francesco Canepa - Reuters A sudden jump in carbon prices coupled with floods and droughts this year would lead to losses of at least 70 billion euros ($71.1 billion) for the euro zone's largest banks, the European Central Bank said on Friday. /jlne.ws/3yt8eXL London Hit With Dangerous Heatwave That Could Get Worse; Weather in southern England may be even hotter next week; Temperatures are also rising in parts of western Europe Will Mathis - Bloomberg London is in the midst of a potentially dangerous heatwave that's also spreading across western Europe, with little relief in sight.Temperatures in UK capital are set to hit 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) Monday, according to the Met Office. Early next week could be even hotter in the south of England. /jlne.ws/3NRV5gF Pressure grows on regulators to scrutinise ESG data providers; Influential member of European Commission advisory board calls for action amid rising criticism of greenwashing Josephine Cumbo - FT Pressure is growing on regulators to formally scrutinise the data and rating providers who award investments high or low scores on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. An influential member of an advisory board to the European Commission has added his voice to calls for ESG data and ratings providers to be regulated amid growing concerns about greenwashing in the asset management sector. /jlne.ws/3c4tCuG ESG is facing a political and market backlash. Will it survive? In a world full of crises, does ESG matter any more? We asked some Canadian CEOs what the future holds Jeffrey Jones - The Globe and Mail ESG has been part and parcel of Cody Slater's business from the start. Now, though, with the stock market cratering, ESG - environmental, social and governance - has dropped a few notches on the priority list for investors in his company, Blackline Safety Corp., he says. Blackline manufactures and sells wearable software-enabled sensors used to detect noxious gases that could kill workers. As a safety item, Blackline's products help a global roster of customers such as Shell PLC and Tyson Foods Inc. bolster their records in the S category - social. Meanwhile, Calgary-based Blackline has joined countless other companies in putting its own ESG programs into force, including issuing a yearly report on its progress. /tgam.ca/3Rq5pz9
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Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | UBS Weighs Elevating Khan to Sole Wealth Management Head; Ex-Credit Suisse executive now shares role with Tom Naratil; Naratil may be set to stay at bank as head of UBS in Americas Marion Halftermeyer and Ambereen Choudhury - Bloomberg UBS Group AG is considering a plan to promote Iqbal Khan to sole head of the bank's global wealth management business, potentially setting him up as an eventual successor to Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers. /jlne.ws/3PfPHoz Calpers Unloads Record $6 Billion of Private-Equity Stakes at Discount; Pension giant's selloff aims to free up cash for new wagers; Calpers has looked to buy stakes in private companies directly Dawn Lim, Benjamin Robertson, and Annie Massa - Bloomberg The California Public Employees' Retirement System sold about $6 billion of its stakes in private equity funds to second-hand buyers, severing ties with a slew of past managers and freeing up cash for new wagers. The $440 billion public pension fund, the largest in the US, has cycled through four investment chiefs since 2009 and has long wrestled with the complexity of its $50 billion in private equity holdings. Calpers hired Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to explore ways to clean up its portfolio and shop a swath of assets, according to people familiar with the matter. /jlne.ws/3IsjUhU Credit Suisse Loses Debt Traders as Barclays Beefs Up Its Desk; New York, London, credit-trading desks have hollowed out; Barclays expands in US as desks anticipate volatile markets Rachel Butt, Marion Halftermeyer, and Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is losing four traders from its high-yield and distressed-debt desks just as interest-rate hikes, inflation and volatile markets heighten the need for such expertise. /jlne.ws/3awMjXI Former JPMorgan employees 'scammed the metals market', prosecutors say; Trial begins in Chicago for three defendants accused of racketeering in alleged years-long scheme Steff Chávez and Joshua Franklin - FT Prosecutors on Friday said three former members of JPMorgan Chase's precious metals trading desk "scammed the market" as part of a years-long criminal conspiracy to manipulate the global silver and gold markets. /jlne.ws/3uEcLFv
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Wellness Exchange | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | New Coronavirus Mutant BA.2.75 Raises Concerns Around the World Laura Ungar, Aniruddha Ghosal - AP The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that's worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States. /jlne.ws/3nTJhju As the BA.5 variant spreads, the risk of coronavirus reinfection grows Joel Achenbach - Washington Post America has decided the pandemic is over. The coronavirus has other ideas. The latest omicron offshoot, BA.5, has quickly become dominant in the United States, and thanks to its elusiveness when encountering the human immune system, is driving a wave of cases across the country. /jlne.ws/3RrALFV The U.S. May Be Losing the Fight Against Monkeypox, Scientists Say; Longstanding weaknesses in the public health system are giving the virus a chance to become entrenched. Apoorva Mandavilli - NY Times As epidemics go, the monkeypox outbreak should have been relatively easy to snuff out. The virus does not spread efficiently except through intimate contact, and tests and vaccines were at hand even before the current outbreak. /jlne.ws/3P8XZyy Covid's chronic effects loom increasingly large Despite fewer severe cases, the sheer volume of infections means hundreds of thousands are unwell for the long term John Burn-Murdoch - FT A fresh wave of Covid-19 is deluging much of the world this month, fuelled by the rapid takeover of the latest iteration of Omicron. This marks the third substantial wave from the variant's offshoots in seven months, since it ushered in a new chapter of the pandemic late last year. /jlne.ws/3nPgtbP Long Covid May Be Long Tail of Risk for Insurers; Uncertainties about mortality and health risk from the pandemic might expose insurers to extended illness in coverage for workers Telis Demos - WSJ Insurers are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to figure out the Covid-19 pandemic's lasting effects might be especially challenging. /jlne.ws/3Phy6MX Covid Spreading at Fastest Pace Since Shanghai Lockdown Sends Shivers Through China Markets; As officials nervously track infection charts, investors watch warily for signs of another sudden clampdown Joyu Wang, Rebecca Feng - WSJ China's Covid cases are rising at the fastest pace since late May, unnerving investors wary of a repeat of Shanghai's two-month lockdown, which snarled global supply chains and sank hopes the country will reach Beijing's economic-growth targets. /jlne.ws/3Rj11lL
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Regions | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese Bank Depositors Face Police in Angry Protest Ken Mortisugu - AP A large crowd of angry Chinese bank depositors faced off with police Sunday, some roughed up as they were taken away, in a case that has drawn attention because of earlier attempts to use a COVID-19 tracking app to prevent them from mobilizing. /jlne.ws/3yyGMru Almost 4.5 Million UK Families Are in Serious Financial Trouble; Distress now higher than at any point during the pandemic; Financial Fairness Trust says 36% of households face hardship Seynabou Diouf - Bloomberg The number of UK households facing acute financial strain has risen by almost 60% since October and is now higher than at any point during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey found. /jlne.ws/3nTz7ix The Making of Saudi Inc.; How MBS has presided over the sovereign wealth fund's oil-powered takeover. Vivian Nereim - Bloomberg A few years from now, an American executive flying into Saudi Arabia could disembark from an airline founded by its sovereign wealth fund and order an Uber, a company in which the same fund owns a 4% stake. Whisked across the capital, the executive might check into a boutique hotel in a former palace, also owned by the Public Investment Fund. /jlne.ws/3bXBApr The Fuel Thefts That AMLO Tried to End Are Getting Worse Again; The president helped eradicate illegal taps of Pemex gasoline pipelines, a practice known as huachicol. Now thieves—and cartels—are targeting liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG. Amy Stillman - Bloomberg Four months into his presidency, Andrés Manuel López Obrador walked up to a podium at Mexico's national palace and declared victory against the hordes of thieves that had been siphoning millions of gallons of gasoline a day from government-run pipelines for years. /jlne.ws/3nQsYUm
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Miscellaneous | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Omega Moonwatch Surges After Cheap Swatch Version Goes Wild; Crossover model has boosted Omega's most iconic timepiece; Hayek plans mobile sales points in Europe to meet demand Andy Hoffman - Bloomberg Sales of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch have surged in the wake of a wildly successful collaboration with plastic timepiece pioneer Swatch that's introduced the iconic chronograph to a wider public. /jlne.ws/3NVSYbG WeChat closes Bloomberg's financial news account, making it latest victim of China's online control South China Morning Post A Bloomberg social media account on Tencent Holdings' WeChat accused of violating China's regulations on online public accounts has been shut down, as the government tightens its control over the dissemination of financial news on the internet. WeChat said it had received "complaints" that Bloomberg's "Daybreak" account, which has been posting global market updates on a daily basis since January 2021, has breached Chinese regulations, according to a notice on the account page. /jlne.ws/3nQBpz0 WFH Takes a Toll as UK Workplace Bullying Claims Surge; Bullying allegations jumped 44% year-on-year, study finds; Messaging apps, video calls may be contributing to problem Katharine Gemmell - Bloomberg WFH may not be working for everyone. A record number of bullying claims have featured in lawsuits at the UK's employment courts over the past year, in a sign that while working from home is welcomed by many, it's also contributing to tensions for others. /jlne.ws/3nTwg9m
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