| April 18, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Mark Bagan, executive vice president - U.S. futures strategy of MIH and chief executive officer of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), has passed away, JLN reported yesterday and MIAX confirmed today. A statement released this morning said:
"We are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Mark," said Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIH. "Mark provided us with a strong foundation for our growth opportunities in futures markets, and his dedication, wisdom and unwavering commitment to MGEX and entire MIAX organization have been an inspiration for us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family at this difficult time. He will be greatly missed."
MIAX had recently named Troy Kane as the president of MGEX and CEO of newly formed MIAX Futures, with Bagan transitioning to executive vice chairman of the board after a while.
JLN learned of Bagan's passing shortly before 11 a.m. yesterday, and our inquiry to MIAX about it hit their mailboxes shortly after the internal notice, raising questions about our source. However, our source was not from MIAX. We shared the news yesterday on X/Twitter and LinkedIn once we confirmed the news with a second source.
Our condolences to Anne Bagan and the whole Bagan family, and the friends and colleagues of Mark's on his passing. Mark and Anne had been married for 20 years and it was a second marriage for both of them, with both bringing children into the marriage. This upcoming weekend is the wedding of the eldest daughter, the first to be married, according to a family friend.
The FIA European Principal Trader Traders Association has published a paper that "identifies unreported segment of liquidity in European equity markets." According to the paper, "European equity markets are perceived to be suffering a longstanding liquidity crisis, with reported average daily volume stagnating, particularly relative to the US. This perception has been blamed for declining capital allocation towards European markets and the migration of listings to other regions."
Congratulations to David Klotz on the approval of MetroTrade by the CFTC/NFA as an Introducing Broker. Klotz reminded me yesterday that he once interviewed with me for a job at The Price Group as a broker, but it was not a good fit. That was our first connection, one of many over the years as his career has progressed. Good luck to MetroTrade in the very competitive retail futures space.
You have heard a lot about generative AI, but you have wondered "how can I use it?" The Wall Street Journal has your answer in a story titled "The Smartest Way to Use AI at Work" with the subheadline "Generative AI tools can help you get ahead in the office-if you know how to use them."
Gary Gensler, the chair of the SEC, posted a thread to X/Twitter that reflected with pride on his tenure, highlighting the SEC's efforts to serve investors and issuers. Over the past three years, they've filed over 2,000 enforcement actions resulting in orders for more than $6 billion in civil penalties and disgorgement. Additionally, they've finalized 38 rules aimed at enhancing market efficiency, competitiveness, transparency, and resilience. Looking ahead, he said with a hint of optimism and determination, the SEC plans to continue their work, focusing on further equity market structure rules and additional cybersecurity measures.
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero will take part in a panel discussion titled "AI and Machine Learning: The Unknown Future Rolls Towards Us" at FIA's Law & Compliance Conference. The session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24, 2024, from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. (EDT) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.
The STAC Scholarship Fund deadline for the 2024-25 academic year has been extended and is now April 24th. This opportunity offers financial support to high school seniors and college students, regardless of STAC affiliation. Last year, over $54,000 in scholarships were awarded to 18 local students. Apply online before the deadline!
According to a story in Insider, "Jamie Dimon says the future of the world depends on whether the US can sort out its relationship with China." How is that Mars project coming along, anyway?
I am conducting a fireside chat later this morning at the GCSI Annual Conference 2024 at Illinois Institute of Technology. Last night we had a speakers' dinner before the conference and I was seated across from Lewis Borsellino, who used to fill my S&P 500 orders when I was at First American Discount. Borsellino is now the co-owner and director of business development for DefendEdge. The other owner is the son of a former neighbor of mine in Wisconsin. It is a very small world.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- A Fear Trade as Tensions Rise in the Middle East from Barron's.
- Hedge Funds Sell Off Winning Energy Stocks to Buy Soaring Oil from Bloomberg.
- Cboe Asks SEC To Approve Use of Multi-Share Classes from Bloomberg (video).~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Options Discovery Episode 32: Portfolio Margining in Options; Doug Engmann, Senior Consultant at SageTrader LLC, Discusses This and More With JLN's Asma Awass.
JohnLothianNews.com
In this episode of Options Discovery, Asma Awass explores portfolio margining in options. This episode includes a breakdown of what portfolio margin accounts are and how they different from strategy based margin accounts. Asma then sits down with Doug Engmann, a senior consultant at SageTrader, who shares more insight into his role in making portfolio margining mainstream . You can check out SageTrader here: https://sagetrader.com/
Watch the video »
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Portfolio Margining in Options: Doug Engmann, Senior Consultant at SageTrader LLC, Discusses Portfolio Margining and It's History In This Options Discovery Full Interview
JohnLothianNews.com
In this Options Discovery full interview, Asma Awass speaks with Doug Engmann, a senior consultant at SageTrader. Doug addresses a variety of topics from his career, including what got him started in the options industry. He gives more insight into what portfolio margining is and he goes deeper into the influential role he had in making portfolio margin accounts mainstream in the options industry. You can check out SageTrader here: https://sagetrader.com/
Watch the video »
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Cboe Global Markets Announces Recipients of the 2024 Cboe Empowers Scholarship Program; Expands Program to New York City
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, announced the recipients of its 2024 Cboe Empowers Scholarship Program, which for the first time included students from New York City. This year, Cboe Empowers awarded full-ride scholarships to five recipients in Chicago, three recipients in Kansas City and two recipients in New York City. Initially launched in 2021, the Cboe Empowers Scholarship Program awards a select number of full-ride scholarships to students from Chicago's South or West sides, Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas), and New York City. This year's recipients were honored with a celebration and bell-ringing ceremony attended by Cboe leadership and associates at each of the respective Cboe offices. The scholarship program is part of Cboe Empowers, the company's community engagement program that supports under-resourced students across all stages of education, from elementary or primary school to career. In addition to scholarships, Cboe Empowers provides mentorship, guidance and educational and leadership opportunities to under-resourced students.
/jlne.ws/445lfpZ
***** Cboe Global Markets is slowly taking over the world, first with its markets, next with its scholars.~JJL
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Air Canada Staff Are Suspects in Heist of 6,600 Gold Bars
Derek Decloet - Bloomberg
Police named two Air Canada employees among the suspects in the theft of millions of dollars in gold from a cargo facility at the country's busiest airport, in what's been dubbed Canada's largest-ever gold heist. Police in Peel Region, a Toronto suburb, identified nine men they believe were involved in the crime; they've arrested five and issued nationwide warrants for three others. The ninth person, the alleged driver of a five-ton truck that hauled away the gold and banknotes, is in US custody on firearms trafficking charges, a police detective said.
/jlne.ws/4aFrVxj
****** The Canadian suspects are such Goodfellas and so polite.~JJL
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Oil Traders Wager on $250 Price by June as War Risk Escalates
Devika Krishna Kumar and Alex Longley - Bloomberg
Oil traders piled into more than 3 million barrels worth of options contracts in a bet that prices would spike to $250 a barrel by June as geopolitical risks remain elevated. About 3,000 lots of June $250 call options in US crude traded for a penny each on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was likely a "lottery ticket" that might pay off if prices spike to unheard of levels by the middle of next month, although the trade appeared to be paired with $25 put options, which could also signal a broader macroeconomic strategy, some traders and brokers said.
/jlne.ws/3JlBsh9
***** I hope the $250 calls are part of a spread and just insurance.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Wednesday was the picture of Claire Kenny, senior risk management policy associate at CME Group, with Pat Kenny and other family members, right after Claire completed the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 26 minutes and 41 seconds, or 7 minutes and 53 seconds per mile. Second was the job posting for a Futures Trader Relative Value (RV) at Geneva Trading in Chicago. Third was Commissioner Johnson to Deliver Keynote at Institute of International Finance Carbon Markets Gathering, from the CFTC, an event which will take place today at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Institute of International Finance, 1333 H Street, NW, Suite 800E Washington, DC.
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| Lead Stories | Miami International Holdings Announces Untimely Passing of MGEX CEO Mark Bagan
Miami International Holdings, Inc.
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes and geographies, today announced the untimely passing of Mark G. Bagan, Executive Vice President - U.S. Futures Strategy of MIH and Chief Executive Officer of Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX). Mr. Bagan began his career at MGEX in 1987, holding various positions until his appointment to President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2005. During his tenure, Mr. Bagan was instrumental in guiding MGEX to record volume levels for MGEX's flagship contract, Hard Red Spring Wheat, and in transitioning MGEX futures contracts to exclusively electronic trading. In 2020, Mr. Bagan oversaw the acquisition of MGEX by MIH on behalf of MGEX, and continued to lead MGEX following the closing of the transaction until his passing.
/jlne.ws/4aEhk5Q
MetroTrade Cleared to Operate as an Introducing Broker; MetroTrade's Summer Launch To Bring Back the Empowered Trader
MetroTrade LLC
MetroTrade LLC announced today that it is now registered with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") as an introducing broker and is a member of the National Futures Organization ("NFA"). The company is gearing up to offer access to the CME Group's U.S. futures exchanges at its launch, which is anticipated for this summer. Founded by David Klotz and Ingmar Mattus out of Chicago, MetroTrade emerges from the combined efforts of its founders from years of broking experience. Their vision is to leverage their extensive knowledge to create a leading trading platform for their clients, utilizing state-of-the-art web and mobile technology.
/jlne.ws/3xGZlx5
How Sweden's stock market became the envy of Europe; Deep pool of retail and institutional investors has helped Stockholm defy continent's capital markets gloom
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
In April last year, a group of nearly 60 EU officials travelled to Sweden on a fact-finding mission to meet Nasdaq Stockholm, operator of the country's highly successful stock market. During a two-hour session on "capital markets ecosystems", the exchange's executives explained why so many small and medium-sized businesses are deciding to list in Stockholm. At a time when the UK and many other European countries are struggling to attract initial public offerings and suffering from falling trading volumes, Sweden stands out for having, relative to its size, thriving capital markets that are backed by legions of investors and which are even tempting foreign companies to list.
/jlne.ws/3TVQO0E
Grayscale's Once-Mighty Fund Is Bleeding Bitcoin; The asset manager has resisted a significant fee cut, insisting that rising bitcoin prices will continue to buoy its fortunes
Vicky Ge Huang - The Wall Street Journal
For years, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust was one of the few ways to bet on bitcoin without buying the cryptocurrency itself. Now, with the sector awash in lower-cost competing funds, investors are fleeing the exchange-traded fund. GBTC, as the trust is known for its ticker symbol, remains the world's largest bitcoin fund thanks to the recent surge in crypto prices. But its assets have shrunk by more than half from their peak in November 2021, in large part because the trust charges a 1.5% fee while bitcoin funds offered by BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and others charge next to nothing.
/jlne.ws/4aFRka3
Bitcoin's Halving Is Coming. Miners Are Looking for New Ways to Make Money; Some crypto-industry companies turn to artificial intelligence to diversify
Caitlin Ostroff and Vicky Ge Huang - The Wall Street Journal
Companies that unlock new bitcoins are revamping their businesses to depend less on the cryptocurrency ahead of a supply contraction that will cut profits in half. The crypto industry is holding its breath for an event called the halving, an adjustment to the bitcoin blockchain that cuts in half the number of bitcoins that can be unlocked by miners. The change, which takes place every four years, will halve the number of bitcoins released on average every 10 minutes to 3.125 from 6.25 on or around April 19.
/jlne.ws/49McFgO
The Smartest Way to Use AI at Work; Generative AI tools can help you get ahead in the office-if you know how to use them
Cordilia James - The Wall Street Journal
Day by day, there's growing pressure at the office. Do you respond to all those clients-or let AI do it? Do you attend that meeting-or do you send a bot? About 20% of employed adults said they have used OpenAI's ChatGPT for work as of February 2024, up from 8% a year ago, according to Pew Research Center. The most popular uses for AI at work are research and brainstorming, writing first-draft emails and creating visuals and presentations, according to an Adobe survey.
/jlne.ws/4dgd5zh
A Trove of ByteDance Records Mistakenly Went Public. Here's What They Say.; The records briefly surfaced in a lawsuit involving the Republican megadonor Jeff Yass's firm.
Mara Hvistendahl - The New York Times
Somehow, thousands of pages of sealed court documents relating to the birth of TikTok's owner, ByteDance, were mistakenly released by a Pennsylvania court. Before they were made secret again, I read them. The documents - emails, chat transcripts and memos - are a fascinating window into ByteDance's origins. They show that Susquehanna International Group, the trading firm of the Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, played a bigger role in the company than previously known.
/jlne.ws/4cVQyaJ
BP to Simplify Organization, Trim Leadership Team; The changes are part of a plan to turn BP into an integrated energy company and invest more in low-carbon activities
Pierre Bertrand - The Wall Street Journal
BP will simplify its organizational structure and cut its executive leadership team to 10 as it seeks to reduce duplication and complexity in management reporting lines. The team currently comprises 11 members, according to BP's website. The changes are part of a plan to turn the British giant into an integrated energy company, to move away from its image as an oil major and to invest more in low-carbon activities.
/jlne.ws/44l2fE5
New HKEX platform to boost derivatives trading
rthk.hk
The city's bourse on Thursday announced it is developing a tech platform that would allow it to offer near 24-hour derivatives trading while improving efficiency and introducing new products to address rapidly changing customer needs. In a statement, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), the city's stock operator, also said that the in-house platform - Orion Derivatives Platform (ODP) - would be launched in 2028, which would help differentiate the group's derivatives offerings while boosting its global competitiveness in the derivatives market.
/jlne.ws/3JmnoUH
CFTC chair backs easing of G-Sib surcharge in Basel endgame; Isda AGM: Fed's proposed surcharge changes could hike client clearing cost by 80% Rostin Behnam Photo: John Harrington
Chris Davis - Risk.net
A senior derivatives regulator says he is hopeful US prudential agencies will modify the so-called Basel III endgame proposals to avoid disincentivising the provision of client clearing services, which are set to attract higher capital charges under the draft new rules. "I definitely do think there's a possibility that the rules could be revised," said Rostin Behnam, chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). "The general consensus among both the official sector and private
/jlne.ws/44bj0Bl
CFTC to give work-from-home relief to traders
Reuters
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is planning to allow market participants to skip certain record-keeping requirements if they work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
The short-term relief from the regulator will apply to trading venues, banks, brokers and other parties until June 30.
/jlne.ws/4aW10gs
High-speed trader Jane Street raked in $4.4bn at start of 2024; Trading revenue for secretive New York firm rivals sums generated by Wall Street banks
Eric Platt - Financial Times
Jane Street's quarterly trading revenues have surged to their highest level since the start of the pandemic, as the secretive high-speed firm flourished alongside traditional Wall Street market makers. The group expects its first quarter net trading revenue will be roughly $4.4bn, more than double the level it achieved a year prior and up 35 per cent from the end of 2023, according to documents reviewed by the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3JoUOlu
Jane Street Scores $10.6 Billion Trading Haul
Paula Seligson and Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Jane Street Group LLC generated $10.6 billion in net trading revenue last year, as the proprietary-trading firm continues to cement its presence as a dominant market-maker. The trading haul was roughly flat compared with the $10.7 billion the company notched in 2022, as marked volatility ebbed. The figures - disclosed to investors as part of a debt deal - showed Jane Street earned about $7.4 billion in adjusted earnings in 2023, down from $7.9 billion in the prior year.
/jlne.ws/3U4juEJ
Jamie Dimon Has a New Vision for Money in an AI World
Emily Chang - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon makes no secret that his firm is all-in on artificial intelligence. Now, the head of the world's biggest bank is laying out his vision for the future of money in an AI world. Will you be able to turn to the bank's future chatbot-let's call it ChatJPM-and say, "I have 30 years, what should I do?" Yes, says Dimon, kicking off the second season of the Bloomberg Originals series The Circuit with Emily Chang. "We, in some ways, can do that a little bit already today," he said in an interview.
/jlne.ws/44252Sk
How climate change is turning camels into the new cows
Chico Harlan - The Washington Post
The camels had thump-thumped for seven days across northern Kenya, ushered by police reservists, winding at last toward their destination: less a village than a dusty clearing in the scrub, a place where something big was happening. People had walked for miles to be there. Soon the governor pulled up in his SUV. Women danced, and an emcee raised his hands to the sky. When the crowd gathered around an enclosure holding the camels, one man said he was looking at "the future." The camels had arrived to replace the cows.
/jlne.ws/442xzqJ
Dubai battles flood waters as historic storm causes chaos; Airport, metro and road traffic disruption continue in financial centre even as skies clear
Chloe Cornish and Simeon Kerr - Financial Times
An intense storm has caused travel havoc across the United Arab Emirates, forcing the cancellation of flights at the world's second-busiest aviation hub and leaving passengers stranded as flooding disrupted roads and public transport. The UAE has experienced its heaviest rains in the 75 years for which it has kept weather records, according to meteorological authorities. One Emirati man was reportedly killed in flash flooding in Ras Al Khaimah. In neighbouring Oman, where dangerous storms are more frequent, more than a dozen people were reported killed.
/jlne.ws/3JkFsyq
Hedge fund Citadel to expand its London office space with tower move; Ken Griffin's firm will move into British Land's flagship development at Broadgate
Joshua Oliver and Costas Mourselas - Financial Times
Ken Griffin's Citadel has agreed a ''dramatic increase" of its London office footprint, with a deal to move into British Land's new flagship City tower. Hedge fund Citadel and its sister firm, market-maker Citadel Securities, have agreed to pre-let at least 250,000 sq ft, or a third of the space, at 2 Finsbury Avenue. The building, part of British Land's joint venture with Singapore's GIC at Broadgate, is under construction and due to be completed in 2027.
/jlne.ws/3U5eX4N
New paper identifies unreported segment of liquidity in European equity markets; Addressing this gap would present a much more accurate and appealing market environment for those seeking to invest and raise capital in Europe
FIA
A new paper published today by FIA European Principal Traders Association identifies an entire segment of equity activity in both EU and UK markets that is currently unreported. Consequently, European share trading volumes are perceived by the market, including global investors and issuers, as being significantly lower than they actually are. The paper points out that European equity markets are perceived to be suffering a longstanding liquidity crisis, with reported average daily volume stagnating, particularly relative to the US. This perception has been blamed for declining capital allocation towards European markets and the migration of listings to other regions.
/jlne.ws/3UmcTXr
Microsoft's $13 billion deal with OpenAI falls short of a takeover, EU competition regulator finds
Samuel Stolton and Bloomberg - Fortune
Microsoft Corp.'s $13 billion investment into OpenAI Inc. is set to avoid a formal investigation by European Union merger watchdogs, calming fears that the relationship could be forced apart.
/jlne.ws/3Um6bkn
New study calculates climate change's economic bite will hit about $38 trillion a year by 2049
Seth Borenstein - Associated Press
Climate change will reduce future global income by about 19% in the next 25 years compared to a fictional world that's not warming, with the poorest areas and those least responsible for heating the atmosphere taking the biggest monetary hit, a new study said. Climate change's economic bite in how much people make is already locked in at about $38 trillion a year by 2049, according to Wednesday's study in the journal Nature by researchers at Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. By 2100 the financial cost could hit twice what previous studies estimate.
/jlne.ws/49H8t1R
How a Legendary NFL Receiver Became a Wall Street Player; On the latest episode of The Deal, Arizona Cardinals icon Larry Fitzgerald explains why a banker's pep talk and a board seat elevated his game off the field.
Jason Kelly - Bloomberg
Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said he always expected to be coached. Just not by a Wall Street banker. So when Frank Bisignano-then a senior JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive and now chief executive of Fiserv-pushed a twentysomething Fitzgerald to think about life beyond the National Football League, it changed his trajectory.
/jlne.ws/3U6CBy4
Cocoa hits record high as global shortage worsens in first quarter; London futures prices near £10,000 a tonne as poor west African harvests hit supplies
Susannah Savage - Financial Times
The price of cocoa hit a record high in London on Thursday after an industry report said crop failures in west Africa in the first quarter had further exacerbated the global shortage of beans for chocolate. Futures rose as much as 9.6 per cent to an all-time high of £9,477 a tonne, extending the rally since the start of the year as poor harvests in the world's main growing regions in west Africa have worsened the shortfall.
/jlne.ws/4cZCmxj
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Germany arrests men who allegedly spied on U.S. military sites for Russia in sabotage plot to undermine Ukraine aid
Carlo Angerer and Patrick Smith - NBC News
Two men have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia and collecting information on potential attack targets, including U.S. military facilities, authorities said Thursday. The German Federal Prosecutor's office said in a statement that two German-Russian nationals - named only as Dieter S. and Alexander J. in line with the country's privacy rules - were working with a Russian secret service agent to undermine international military support for Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3vXQeYa
Opinion: This defiant Ukrainian general has no smile - and surprising remarks on Trump
David Ignatius - The Washington Post
Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov's glowering face is barely visible in the half-light of his office. He likes to work in the dark, as befits the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence service, the GUR. Behind him in the gray gloom, you can see a painting of a giant owl, the symbol of his service, savagely devouring a bat that is the motif of its Russian counterpart. Budanov is the dark prince of the Ukraine war. His drop-dead stare has become an icon for Ukrainians - a symbol of bravery and defiance in this third year of conflict with Russia. Ukraine's NV news outlet calls him the man "without a smile." A meme that circulates on the internet shows nine identical pictures of his scowling face, labeled "happy," "angry," "troubled," "excited" and so on.
/jlne.ws/3W3xSj7
Kremlin says any new 'colonial' U.S. aid to Ukraine won't change frontline situation
Reuters
The Kremlin said on Thursday that any new U.S. military aid for Ukraine would not change the situation at the front where Kyiv's forces were in a poor position and cast such aid as part of a "colonial" policy which enriched the United States. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has said he will hold a long-awaited vote on a new aid package as early as Saturday. The proposed package includes $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, of which $23.2 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities.
/jlne.ws/3WaYmiC
Russia reports downing 5 Ukrainian military balloons in Kyiv's latest apparent war innovation
Associated Press
Russian air defenses downed what authorities described as five Ukrainian balloons overnight, the defense ministry in Moscow said Thursday, as the sides kept up long-range strikes that have featured heavily in what has largely become a war of attrition. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials have provided details about the secretive balloons, which Moscow authorities and media have reported on the battlefield in recent weeks. Ukraine's military has been driving innovation since the war began in February 2022, notably adapting drones for wide use against the bigger Kremlin forces.
/jlne.ws/4aHA7gK
Four Russian missile launchers 'critically damaged' in Crimea, Ukraine says
Reuters
A Ukrainian attack on a military airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea on Wednesday seriously damaged four missile launchers, three radar stations and other equipment, Ukraine's military spy agency said on Thursday. Four launchers for S-400 surface-to-air missiles and an air defense control point stationed at an air base in Dzhankoi were among equipment "destroyed or critically damaged", the agency said on Telegram.
/jlne.ws/3xHgxCC
'Russian spies' arrested in Germany attempting to attack weapons deliveries to Ukraine
James Rothwell - The Telegraph
/jlne.ws/3Q4fm6s
Will America Let Ukraine Collapse? Speaker Mike Johnson is stepping up. Failure would haunt U.S. security-and the GOP.
The Editorial Board - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/49FM05u
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Qatar re-evaluating its role as mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks
Reuters
Qatar is re-evaluating its role as mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, citing concerns that its efforts are being undermined by politicians seeking to score points, its prime minister said on Wednesday. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister, said there was a "misuse of this mediation for narrow political interests, and this necessitated Qatar to undertake a full evaluation of this role".
/jlne.ws/4d2TNgA
Putin Urges Iran's Raisi to Avoid 'Catastrophic' Conflict
Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of the risk of a "catastrophic" escalation in the Middle East as he urged restraint in a phone call with Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi. Putin "expressed hope that all parties will show reasonable restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation, fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region," according to a Kremlin statement published Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3vT8uSH
Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Protest of Israeli Cloud Contract
Nico Grant - The New York Times
Google on Wednesday fired 28 workers after dozens of employees participated in sit-ins at the company's New York and Sunnyvale, Calif., offices to protest the company's cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. A day earlier, nine employees were arrested on charges of trespassing at the two offices.
/jlne.ws/3U27u6z
Ronald Reagan Just Saved Israel From Iran's Attack; In 1986, Sen. Joe Biden mocked as 'reckless' the idea of defending against ballistic missiles
Daniel Henninger - The Wall Street Journal
Allow me to identify who saved the people of Israel last weekend from Iran's missile barrage: Ronald Reagan. In 1983, President Reagan in a televised speech proposed what he called the Strategic Defense Initiative. Its core idea was that the U.S. would build defense systems that could shoot down nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, then expected to be fired by the Soviet Union at the U.S. mainland.
/jlne.ws/3vYuECY
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Miami International Holdings Announces Untimely Passing of MGEX CEO Mark Bagan
MIAX
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes and geographies, today announced the untimely passing of Mark G. Bagan, Executive Vice President - U.S. Futures Strategy of MIH and Chief Executive Officer of Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEXâ„¢). Mr. Bagan began his career at MGEX in 1987, holding various positions until his appointment to President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2005. During his tenure, Mr. Bagan was instrumental in guiding MGEX to record volume levels for MGEX's flagship contract, Hard Red Spring Wheat, and in transitioning MGEX futures contracts to exclusively electronic trading. In 2020, Mr. Bagan oversaw the acquisition of MGEX by MIH on behalf of MGEX, and continued to lead MGEX following the closing of the transaction until his passing.
https://jlne.ws/4aEhk5Q
How Sweden's stock market became the envy of Europe; Deep pool of retail and institutional investors has helped Stockholm defy continent's capital markets gloom
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
In April last year, a group of nearly 60 EU officials travelled to Sweden on a fact-finding mission to meet Nasdaq Stockholm, operator of the country's highly successful stock market. During a two-hour session on "capital markets ecosystems", the exchange's executives explained why so many small and medium-sized businesses are deciding to list in Stockholm.
/jlne.ws/3TVQO0E
Cboe Global Markets Announces Recipients of the 2024 Cboe Empowers Scholarship Program; Expands Program to New York City
Cboe Global Markets
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, announced the recipients of its 2024 Cboe Empowers Scholarship Program, which for the first time included students from New York City. This year, Cboe Empowers awarded full-ride scholarships to five recipients in Chicago, three recipients in Kansas City and two recipients in New York City.
/jlne.ws/445lfpZ
NSE to launch derivatives on Nifty Next 50 Index (NIFTYNXT50) from April 24, 2024
National Stock Exchange of India
National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), the world's No 1 derivatives exchange in the year 2023 based on contracts traded, has received approval for Derivatives on Nifty Next 50 index (NIFTYNXT50) from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and will launch these contracts from April 24, 2024. Exchange will offer 3 serial monthly index futures and index options contract cycle. The cash settled derivatives contracts will expire on the last Friday of the expiry month.
/jlne.ws/3xDvWUh
SIX strengthens its position in Cyprus with the "Go live" of the Dual-Listing of the EMTN (Euro Medium Term Notes) of the Republic of Cyprus at the Cyprus Stock Exchange
SIX
Today, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, SIX and the Cyprus Stock Exchange announce the "Go Live" of the dual- listing of the EMTN of the Republic of Cyprus at the Cyprus Stock Exchange. First Trading Day in the EMTN officially commenced on March 27th, 2024. SIX strengthens its position in Cyprus with the "Go live" of the Dual-Listing of the EMTN (EURO MEDIUM TERM NOTES) of the Republic of Cyprus at the Cyprus Stock Exchange. SIX has developed a post-trade solution that empowers the Cyprus Stock Exchange in its function as Central Securities Depository to provide safekeeping, settlement and asset servicing for the Euro Medium Term Notes of the Republic of Cyprus.
/jlne.ws/4aEt5cy
Eurex Home Market Settlement drives the further unification of the single stocks derivatives market
Eurex
The growth of European single stocks derivatives (SSDs) created a large and diverse range of products for equity market exposure. However, this growth came with complexity, often adding costs to trading. As the key hub for the European market, Eurex has undertaken constant upgrades to ensure cost-efficiencies for traders. The newest feature is enabling the home market settlement. While equity derivatives investors can take positions in OTC and structured products, changes such as stricter regulatory enforcement of uncleared margin and the demand for higher transparency made more traders choose listed venues to trade single stock contracts.
/jlne.ws/4cYLqmc
HKEX appoints Lilian Cheng as Group Chief Compliance Officer
Maria Nikolova - FNG
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced today the appointment of Ms Lilian Cheng as Group Chief Compliance Officer. Ms Cheng joins the Group on 1 May 2024 and succeeds Adam Singer, who will be leaving HKEX in May 2024 to explore opportunities outside the Group. In her new role, Ms Cheng will have responsibility for the Compliance function across the HKEX Group in Hong Kong, Mainland China and internationally, and for continuing to advance the Group's compliance practices. She will report to HKEX Chief Executive Officer, Bonnie Y Chan.
/jlne.ws/3Q7A7y4
HKEX To Develop Orion Derivatives Platform, Providing Best-In-Class Trading, Clearing And Risk Management Solutions For Global Clients
HKEX
HKEX is launching the development of a proprietary derivatives platform to address rapidly evolving client needs; New platform will give HKEX capability to offer near 24-hour derivatives trading, introduce new products and provide enhanced efficiency, elevating Group's competitiveness as a global exchange; ODP platform development ongoing; system migration will be carried out in phases to ensure smooth transition; market rollout expected in 2028. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce today (Thursday) the development of the Orion Derivatives Platform (ODP), offering enhanced trading, clearing and risk management capabilities. This new platform, being developed in-house by HKEX's technology teams with expected launch in 2028, will help differentiate the Group's derivatives offerings and elevate its competitiveness in the global derivatives marketplace.
/jlne.ws/3Uob90b
JSE proposes amendments to Listing Requirements to introduce market; With the aim of repositioning the JSE's Main Board into two segments, being the Prime and General Segments, affording smaller companies with more flexibility
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
As part of its continued commitment to creating an enabling environment for listed companies, the JSE today announced the proposed amendments to its Listings Requirements to introduce the Market Segmentation Project aimed at the smaller issuers on the Main Board of the exchange. In May 2022, the JSE sought the input of stakeholders through a consultation paper that proposed various strategic initiatives, including the Market Segmentation Project. The feedback then - and the feedback in June 2023 when an independent survey was conducted to obtain input on specific segmentation proposals - was resoundingly positive and supported the repositioning of the JSE's Main Board into two distinct segments.
/jlne.ws/4b0hdkY
Joint Provision of Linked Service for Spot and Futures Trading Related to Electricity
Japan Exchange Group
Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX) (Chairperson: Kanemoto Yoshitsugu) and Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) (Director & Representative Executive Officer, Group CEO: Yamaji Hiromi) will jointly provide a linked service (JJ-Link (Tentative Name)) for spot and futures trading related to electricity as part of measures based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on January 19, 2023. JJ-Link is a service to procure and sell through JEPX spot trading the electricity that underlies positions in electricity futures on the JPX Group's Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM). The service will be provided in two phases.
/jlne.ws/442EH6s
SPAN Margin Parameters
London Metal Exchange
LME Clear Members are advised that new SPAN1 margin parameters have been set, as marked in the SPAN Margin Parameter spreadsheet located here: https://www.lme.com/en/Clearing/Risk-management/Margin-parameter-files. The changes will be made effective at close of business 19 April 2024 and will be reflected in SPS margin calls on the morning of 22 April 2024. Members are advised that Secondary SPAN margin parameters will be updated from the morning of 18 April 2024 with the new parameters as detailed in this circular.
/jlne.ws/3vimcfa
United Nations Sanctions (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Regulation
HKEX
Enquiry: Ms Ruby Chan 2840 3044 Holders of Futures Exchange Trading Rights and Exchange Participants are requested to note that the updated list of individuals and entities under the United Nations Sanctions (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Regulation was published on the website of Commerce and Economic Development Bureau ("CEDB") on 16 April 2024
/jlne.ws/49Mfkai
Stock Admission- China Connect Securities under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect
HKEX
Enquiry: Hotline at 297 The following China Connect Securities, which will be eligible for trading under ShenzhenHong Kong Stock Connect as announced by the Exchange on 12 April 2024, will be admitted to CCASS as Eligible Securities with effect from their respective commencement date of trading. Trades in such China Connect Securities will be cleared and settled in Renminbi under the Continuous Net Settlement System of CCASS in accordance with the General Rules of HKSCC and the HKSCC Operational Procedures. No deposit and withdrawal services will be provided by HKSCC in respect of China Connect Securities.
/jlne.ws/3xA1ZVa
New Product Summary: Initial Listing of the Options on Euro Short-Term Rate (euroSTR) Futures Contract - Effective May 20, 2024
CME Group
Initial Listing of the Options on Euro Short-Term Rate (euroSTR) Futures Contract (Update Delivery)
/jlne.ws/4aDonvo
Product modification Summary: Amendments to Strike Price Listing for all Options on: E-mini S&P 500 Index, Micro E-mini S&P 500 Index, E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index, Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index, and E-mini Russell 2000 Index Futures Contracts - Effective May 13, 2024
CME Group
Amendments to the Strike Price Listing Schedule for all Options on: E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures, Micro E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures, E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index Futures, Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index Futures, and E-mini Russell 2000 Index Futures Contracts.
/jlne.ws/4aAvrZV
Product modification Summary: Expansion of the Listing Schedule of the North European Hot-Rolled Coil (Argus) Futures and the North European Hot-Rolled Coil (Argus) Average Price Option Contracts - Effective May 20, 2024
CME Group
Expansion of the Listing Schedule of the North European Hot-Rolled Coil (Argus) Futures and the North European Hot-Rolled Coil (Argus) Average Price Option Contracts
/jlne.ws/3UjjguS
ESG Index Derivatives Development Update Q1/2024
Eurex
Eurex ESG Index Derivatives segment continued its strong development in Q1 2024. New SRI products recorded their first trades, while selected ESG Index Derivatives reached new highs.
/jlne.ws/4aRipak
Discontinuation of the Eligibility of CCASS Stocks
HKEX
China Connect Securities under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect Enquiry: CCASS Hotline : 2979 7123/ E-mail : clg@hkex.com.hk The following China Connect Securities will cease to be Eligible Securities in CCASS with effectfrom the date of withdrawal of listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. CCASS participants are therefore requested to note the following CCASS arrangements.
/jlne.ws/3JkCCtj
FINI Services Suspension on 27 April 2024 (Saturday)
HKEX
To facilitate internal system testing and upgrade activities for FINI (Fast Interface for New Issuance), the suspension hours for system maintenance will be extended from 12:00 midnight instead of 12:00 noon on 27 April 2024 (Saturday), and to be resumed back to normal at 12:00 noon on 28 April 2024 (Sunday).
/jlne.ws/49CerkN
Position Limits - Equity Listed Products
TMX
The applicable position limits for share futures and options on stocks, exchange-traded funds, and trust units have been updated and are reflected in the position limit file and table1 below. The position limit file is retrievable here.
/jlne.ws/4aErRhs
Revision in names of Nifty Corporate Group Indices
National Stock Exchange of India
The Index Maintenance Sub-Committee (Equity) of NSE Indices Limited has decided to revise the names of the Nifty Corporate Group Indices as mentioned hereunder.
/jlne.ws/3UonTna
The Moscow Exchange begins calculating the IPO index
MOEX
On April 19, 2024, the Moscow Exchange begins calculating and publishing a new indicator - the Moscow Exchange IPO Index . Index code - MIPO. Russian private and institutional investors will receive a convenient indicator of the share prices of companies that have recently completed an initial public offering. The index can act as a benchmark for creating exchange-traded mutual funds.
/jlne.ws/3Q5YyMi
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Exegy, ING and Optiver become latest members to join Sustainable Trading; The three additions join the growing list of global members at the non-profit industry initiative aimed at improving ESG measures in the trading industry.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Exegy, ING and Optiver have become the latest organisations to join non-profit organisation Sustainable Trading, which is dedicated to transforming environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices in the global markets landscape. The three firms join a growing list within Sustainable Trading's global membership network of investment managers, banks, brokers, exchanges, trading platforms and service providers who share the goal of improving the sustainability of global markets.
/jlne.ws/441B6pn
Buy-side set to leverage newly combined real time and historical BMLL and Quanthouse offering; BMLL and Quanthouse partnership aims to combine real time and historical data to support the buy-side with understanding market behaviour and testing investment strategies in equities and futures.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Depth of book data provider BMLL and real-time data services provider Quanthouse, part of Iress, have collaborated to expand buy-side data analysis capabilities across equities and futures.
/jlne.ws/3UprbH7
oneZero integrates New Change FX benchmark data feeds into its analytics suite; The firms are banking on the fact that independent data "is the key to objective price measurement and improved trading outcomes".
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Multi-asset enterprise trading technology provider oneZero has partnered with New Change FX to integrate its benchmark data feeds in a bid to boost its client trading performance. New Change FX's feeds will be incorporated into oneZero's suite of analytics in Data Source, adding a new stream of independent FX reference data.
/jlne.ws/3W2iUtG
AI deepfakes could decide the election in November, experts warn, after just 44,000 votes handed Joe Biden the presidency in 2020
Christiaan Hetzner - Fortune
The 2020 election swung in Joe Biden's favor by just 44,000 votes in three swing states, a margin thin enough to elicit fears that deepfakes spread by generative artificial intelligence could alter the outcome of the next U.S. Presidential election, in 2024.
/jlne.ws/3vYrpLO
ChatGPT-style AI bots have 'lit a fire in boardrooms' and it's all thanks to slick design, says AI unicorn 'chief wizard'
Orianna Rose Royle - Fortune
AI ChatGPT's explosive launch in November 2022 caused an immediate frenzy among venture capitalists, high school students and anybody who does creative work. And although well over a year has passed, people still can't stop talking about the large language model's impact on humanity-and whether it will create a three-day week for workers or doom us all.
/jlne.ws/3Uk1fMO
The AI race is generating a dual reality; US tech giants may dominate but they won't have it all their own way
John Thornhill - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3xA107q
AI Computing Is on Pace to Consume More Energy Than India, Arm Says
Ian King - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4cZ1u7o
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Police bust global cyber gang accused of industrial-scale fraud
Tom Symonds, Home Affairs correspondent - BBC
Police have taken down a gang accused of using a technology service that helped criminals use fraudulent text messages to steal from victims. They have arrested 37 people worldwide and are contacting victims. Officers say younger people who grew up with the internet were the most likely to fall for the "phishing" scam. The technology allowed scammers without technical skills to bombard victims with messages designed to trick them into making payments online.
/jlne.ws/4d3l6Hn
NSA Warns of AI Cybersecurity Risks, Urges Businesses to Bolster Defenses
PYMNTS
The National Security Agency (NSA) is sounding the alarm on the cybersecurity risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) systems, releasing new guidance to help businesses protect their AI from hackers. As AI increasingly integrates into business operations, experts warn that these systems are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. The NSA's Cybersecurity Information Sheet provides insights into AI's unique security challenges and offers steps companies can take to harden their defenses.
/jlne.ws/3vZt2Ji
Understanding The Full Impact Of A Healthcare Ransomware Attack
Mike Kijewski - Forbes
Although the industry has made efforts to tackle the issue, ransomware attacks continue to be a concern in the ever-evolving digital landscape of healthcare. While significant strides have been made in strengthening cybersecurity defenses, there is a clear need for further improvement as the healthcare industry remains a primary target for cyber-related incidents and attacks.
/jlne.ws/49EJSL7
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto miners hoard bitcoin as supply cut looms; Digital assets market prepares for 50% drop in reward for verifying bitcoin transactions
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
Cryptocurrency miners are stockpiling near-record amounts of bitcoin, hoping the token will rise in value and offset a drop in new supply that will cut the rewards for verifying deals in half. Listed miners such as Marathon Digital, CleanSpark and Bitfarms have hoarded bitcoin collectively worth about $2.8bn, according to data provider The Miner Mag, days before the reward for mining is cut in half.
/jlne.ws/49JxRnQ
Crypto Trader's $110 Million Manipulation Case Now With Jury
David Voreacos - Bloomberg
Federal jurors in New York heard sharply contrasting arguments on whether a trader manipulated the Mango Markets cryptocurrency exchange to steal $110 million or executed a perfectly legal strategy that was permissible under the rules of the platform.
/jlne.ws/3U2LSXU
Senator Warren wants to extend anti-money laundering rules to crypto miners and validators; Warren argued that sanctioned countries like Iran make substantial revenue from validating blockchain transactions and mining Bitcoin.
Oluwapelumi Adejumo - CryptoSlate
US Senator Elizabeth Warren said any new crypto regulation, including the newly proposed regulatory framework for the stablecoin market, must include the full suite of anti-money laundering authorities that the Treasury Department requested in November 2023. In an April 16 letter addressed to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senator Warren articulated her stance and advocated for the extension of Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations to cover miners, validators, and DeFi intermediaries alongside stablecoin issuers.
/jlne.ws/49J1kyj
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Secret Russian foreign policy document urges action to weaken the U.S.
Catherine Belton - The Washington Post
Russia's Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance, according to a secret Foreign Ministry document. In a classified addendum to Russia's official - and public - "Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation," the ministry calls for an "offensive information campaign" and other measures spanning "the military-political, economic and trade and informational psychological spheres" against a "coalition of unfriendly countries" led by the United States. "We need to continue adjusting our approach to relations with unfriendly states," states the 2023 document, which was provided to The Washington Post by a European intelligence service. "It's important to create a mechanism for finding the vulnerable points of their external and internal policies with the aim of developing practical steps to weaken Russia's opponents."
/jlne.ws/3UjfJg3
Microsoft finds Russian influence operations targeting U.S. election have begun
Reuters
Microsoft said on Wednesday that Russian online campaigns to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election kicked into gear over the past 45 days, but at a slower pace than in past elections. Russia-linked accounts are disseminating divisive content aimed at U.S. audiences, including criticising American support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, researchers at the tech giant said in a report.
/jlne.ws/3TX4Lvg
Trump Pushed to Embrace 17% Income Tax for All; Trump has not endorsed flat tax, but has called for levy cuts; Conservative economists regularly pitch Trump on tax ideas
Stephanie Lai, Amanda L Gordon, and Enda Curran - Bloomberg
Donald Trump is under pressure from economists in his circle to embrace a flat tax rate, softer trade stance and to hold the line on the state and local tax deduction. The minds behind these proposals include Steve Forbes, of Forbes Media, former White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and economists Stephen Moore and Arthur Laffer. The men, who aren't official advisers to his campaign, typically emphasize unleashing the supply potential of the economy with lower taxes, and to a degree that would have been unremarkable in the 1980s but which places them outside the economics mainstream today.
/jlne.ws/4aPlXd0
Truth Social Has an Edge as Rival Right-Wing Apps Falter; Donald Trump's social media platform has outdistanced similar conservative sites such as Parler and Gettr, even as it lags far behind X and others.
David Yaffe-Bellany and Matthew Goldstein - The New York Times
After former President Donald J. Trump was kicked off Twitter in 2021, conservative entrepreneurs rushed to promote social media alternatives tailored to him and his supporters. There were Parler and Gab, Twitter-like sites popular among the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Then came Gettr, a social media app created by one of Mr. Trump's former advisers.
/jlne.ws/4b02eax
China's overproduction of clean energy goods needs to be mitigated, Yellen says
Andrea Shalal and David Lawder - Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that China's massive investments in advanced manufacturing of clean energy goods have resulted in an unfair playing field that puts American workers and businesses at risk, and it needs to be mitigated. Yellen told reporters on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings that overproduction of electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and other goods could put companies in the U.S. and other countries out of business while Chinese firms continue to receive support.
/jlne.ws/3U2uSAY
Biden Calls China 'Xenophobic,' Ramping Up 2024 Campaign Rhetoric
Justin Sink and Michelle Jamrisko - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/445JDaF
US Steel 'Guaranteed' to Stay US-Owned, Biden Tells Steelworkers
Josh Wingrove, Joe Deaux and Justin Sink - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3Umnba7
China Denounces U.S. Probe Into Shipbuilding Sector; U.S. Trade Representative plans to open an investigation into China's practices
The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/3JqBfcC
How A.I. Tools Could Change India's Elections; Avatars are addressing voters by name, in whichever of India's many languages they speak. Experts see potential for misuse in a country already rife with disinformation.
Suhasini Raj - The New York Times
/jlne.ws/3xEs2uu
Foreign investor in Ukraine accuses officials of corruption; Anglo-German businessman makes extortion claims against figures in security services and presidential administration
Sam Jones - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3Un89ku
Saudis, UAE Warn of Dangers of a War Spreading in the Region
Dana Khraiche and Sam Dagher - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3WaaU9Y
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC's Division of Investment Management to Host Second Annual Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Investment Management (IM) today announced it will host the second annual Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management on Thursday, May 16, 2024. The conference will bring together a variety of asset management industry participants, regulators, and academics to discuss emerging trends in asset management. The full agenda with a list of speakers is available here.
/jlne.ws/3W4EhdP
SEC Issues Second Fee Rate Advisory for Fiscal Year 2024
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that, starting on May 22, 2024, the fee rates applicable to most securities transactions will be set at $27.80 per million dollars. Consequently, each self-regulatory organization will continue to pay the Commission a rate of $8 per million for covered sales occurring on charge dates through May 21, 2024, and a rate of $27.80 per million for covered sales occurring on charge dates on or after May 22, 2024.
/jlne.ws/3vWZ9cn
Remarks at the 43rd Annual Small Business Forum
Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda - SEC
Our capital markets and the regulatory environment have changed significantly since that time. Public companies have more disclosure obligations and private companies have more ways to raise capital. The number of public companies, though, has declined significantly over the last couple of decades.[2] Smaller companies have accounted for the vast majority of this decline.[3] The retreat by smaller companies from the public markets highlights the importance of the private markets as a source of capital. For early-stage start-up companies, these sources might be angel investors and individuals who have a pre-existing relationship with the founders.
/jlne.ws/3vNL1Cp
SEC Charges Media Company and Its CEO with Defrauding Investors
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it filed charges against Icaro Media Group, Inc. ("Icaro") and its CEO, Paul H. Feller ("Feller"), for allegedly engaging in a multimillion-dollar offering fraud.
/jlne.ws/4aEpRWj
FMA appoints Louise Unger as Executive Director, Response and Enforcement
Financial Markets Authority
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko - today confirmed the appointment of Louise Unger to join the FMA's executive leadership team as Executive Director for Response and Enforcement. Louise joins the FMA from the Commerce Commission, where she is the General Manager of the Credit branch leading the team that regulates the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, as well as a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Prior to joining the Commission, she specialised in risk and compliance at Lawyers on Demand NZ, an international law firm. She has significant expertise providing legal, risk and compliance services to a range of New Zealand and international organisations, including banks, telecommunications and electricity companies. She brings particular strength in the financial services industry, having led legal and risk teams at Bank of New Zealand across a period of 12 years.
/jlne.ws/49JsxRo
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Why the World of Chocolate Is in Crisis; Chocolate plants are shutting and market liquidity is tumbling; Supplies of cocoa beans will trail demand for a third season
Mumbi Gitau, Dayanne Sousa, Ilena Peng, and Ekow Dontoh - Bloomberg
The world of chocolate is facing such immense cocoa shortages that the wild trading lured an unlikely player: Pierre Andurand, a hedge-fund manager best known for his bets on oil. By early March, prices had already more than doubled in just a 12-month span. At that point, many speculators were calling it quits and slashing their bullish wagers. That's when Andurand saw an opportunity to go long.
/jlne.ws/3JqCyIy
Private Equity's Titans Are Told to Cough Up Their Own Cash; Dealmakers are being told to put more of their own assets on the line as they struggle to wring cash from their increasingly wary backers.
Laura Benitez and Swetha Gopinath - Bloomberg
For years, private equity executives across the globe called the shots when they met with prospective investors for their next big fund raise, many of whom had traveled thousands of miles to meet them for the privilege. Now, the tables have turned. The biggest backers of buyout firms are wielding their ever-growing bargaining power to drive increasingly tough deals. The latest in a string of investor demands is this: If you want our money, put more of yours in first. As a result, some private equity executives - at both big and small firms - are loading up on more debt and pledging personal assets to appease them. This includes their homes and other valuables as well as traditional collateral such as fees and stakes in other funds.
/jlne.ws/3U2FYGb
Ethiopia Opens Door for Prized Coffee Exports to Foreigners; Until now, foreign traders purchased coffee from local traders; Reforms extended to other commodities such as oilseeds
Fasika Tadesse - Bloomberg
Africa's biggest coffee producer has revised rules to allow foreign companies to buy the commodity directly from farmers and processors, the latest in reforms to liberalize East Africa's biggest economy. Until now Ethiopia - which prides itself as the birthplace of coffee - required buyers such as Starbucks Corp., Volcafe Ltd., Louis Dreyfus Co., Olam International Ltd. and Sucafina SA to purchase shipments from local companies.
/jlne.ws/4aEETLE
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Carbon price fall deprives Europe's green funds of billions
Kate Abnett, Riham Alkousaa and Susanna Twidale - Reuters
A drop in the European Union's carbon price this year could mean that a fund intended to be among the world's biggest schemes for new green technologies will be smaller than budgeted for and potentially jeopardise some low-carbon projects in the EU. After soaring above 100 euros per ton of CO2 last year, the cost of EU carbon permits had nearly halved by February, as emissions covered by the market plunged as a result of lower power demand and higher renewable power generation.
/jlne.ws/3JpmTJq
Drought Pushes Millions Into 'Acute Hunger' in Southern Africa; The disaster, intensified by El Nino, is devastating communities across several countries, killing crops and livestock and sending food prices soaring.
Somini Sengupta and Manuela Andreoni - The New York Times
An estimated 20 million people in southern Africa are facing what the United Nations calls "acute hunger" as one of the worst droughts in more than four decades shrivels crops, decimates livestock and, after years of rising food prices brought on by pandemic and war, spikes the price of corn, the region's staple crop. Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all declared national emergencies.
/jlne.ws/441oej7
Record ocean warming adds to dangers for native fish species, environment chief warns; Urgent need to ratify UN treaty to protect 30% of oceans by 2030, backers say
Eleni Varvitsioti - Financial Times
Unprecedented warming of the oceans over the past year has widened the repercussions for marine life, including already dwindling native fish species such as Baltic Sea cod, an EU environment chief has warned. The European commissioner for the environment, oceans and fisheries, Virginijus SinkeviÄius, cited the migration of the cod towards colder waters near Russia and Norway as an example of the effect on biodiversity, speaking after an international oceans conference held in Athens.
/jlne.ws/3vZruyS
Climate Change's 'Physical Risks' Are Catching Up With Banks; The financial industry is waking up to the potential losses from extreme events and long-term changes in weather patterns.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
As the world veers further off course from its goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, banks are increasingly having to pay attention to the financial implications of a rapidly-warming planet. The economic shocks inherent to the current trajectory of global warming may leave banks facing loan losses and impaired balance sheets. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has said climate change has the potential to affect "the safety and soundness of banks and the stability of the broader banking system."
/jlne.ws/3xElZGi
Latest Victim of Diversity Backlash: Your Workplace Affinity Group; A mainstay since the '70s, employee resource groups are caught up in the battle against woke capitalism
Jeff Green - Bloomberg
The call goes out routinely to America's rainbow workforce - to employees who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, indigenous, women, LGBTQ+. Come and join an employee resource group that's tailored to you. Only now, after decades of growth, these popular company organizations are coming in for new scrutiny, along with just about every other diversity initiative in business and academia today.
/jlne.ws/3W55CwC
Investor climate group sets target for assets in private equity, debt
Virginia Furness and Simon Jessop - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4d5udHB
Exclusive: JDE Peet's sees coffee industry struggling to meet EU deforestation law
Maytaal Angel and Richa Naidu - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4cYCsVT
Slow clean power generation growth hits Texas power sector: Maguire
Gavin Maguire - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3vYrHSU
Tesla Co-Founder JB Straubel Has Built an EV Battery Colossus; A first look inside the high-tech recycling machine that's gobbling up the equivalent of 250,000 dead EV batteries a year.
Tom Randall - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4b3FIOd
New York's First Electric Skyscraper Promises Luxury With Lower Emissions; An apartment tower in downtown Brooklyn has ditched fossil fuel heating and appliances as new city rules on energy efficiency are phased in.
Kendra Pierre-Louis - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/49Bxony
The US Now Has a Fast EV-Charging Station for Every 15 Gas Stations; The number of public fast-charging stations for electric cars in the US increased by 7.6% in the first quarter, bringing the total to nearly 8,200.
Kyle Stock - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3WmydxN
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Jack Malvey, Bond Market Expert Who Worked at Lehman, Dies at 72; He ran the bond indexes that became market benchmarks
Liz Capo McCormick - Bloomberg obituary
John "Jack" Malvey, a respected figure in the bond market whose decades in the industry included a long run as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s chief strategist in fixed income, has died. He was 72. He died on April 11 after an extended illness, according to a death notice on the website of the Hugh M. Moriarty Funeral Home in Montclair, New Jersey. Malvey was the chief global fixed-income strategist at Lehman Brothers and managed the team that ran the firm's bond indexes, which became benchmarks that guided bond investors of all types. Those gauges became the Barclays Capital Bond Indices and, ultimately, the Bloomberg indexes.
/jlne.ws/49JTgNJ
UBS Plans Next Round of Layoffs in Credit Suisse Integration; Cuts expected in banking, markets and wealth management; Swiss bank has said it aims to save billions in staff costs
Gillian Tan and Jan-Henrik Foerster - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG is planning another round of job cuts as the firm continues to trim headcount following its rescue of Credit Suisse, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The job cuts are expected to affect more than a hundred positions across the firm's global investment bank, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The reduction in force - which goes beyond a routine pruning of underperformers - is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, they said.
BMO chief says US economy improving, calls California 'a strategically important market'
Reuters
The U.S. economy was showing signs of stronger than expected growth, with California being a strategically important market, said the head of Bank of Montreal, which has rapidly expanded in its southern neighbour. CEO Darryl White, addressing shareholders at the bank's annual meeting, said the bank was well positioned to cater to clients between American and Canadian economies in a shifting global landscape.
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Neil Woodford says he is 'neither hero nor villain'; Former star fund manager says downfall of his investment firm will 'always weigh heavily' on him
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
Former fund manager Neil Woodford has said he is not "a villain" and blamed the collapse of his investment firm in part on economic and political issues in the wake of Brexit. Woodford, whose fund company Woodford Investment Management collapsed in 2019, said in a new blog that he hoped to shed light on the events that led to his fund's demise.
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China's top lenders face $221 bln loss-absorbing capital shortfall by 2025, Fitch estimates
Reuters
China's five globally systemically important banks would have a shortfall in their total loss absorption capital (TLAC) of 1.6 trillion yuan ($221 billion) by January 2025, Fitch Ratings estimates, indicating huge strains on the lenders' capital buffers. Five of China's largest state-owned lenders - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications - are designated as global systemically important banks by Chinese regulators and the Swiss-based Financial Stability Board (FSB).
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Morgan Stanley Downplays Queries Into Wealth Management Clients
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley said federal inquiries about its efforts to monitor the background of its wealth management clients aren't new, and that the bank has already accounted for the costs of fixing its related processes. "This is not a new matter. We've been focused on our client onboarding and monitoring processes for a good while," Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick said Tuesday on the first-quarter earnings call. "We have ongoing communications with our regulators, as all the large banks do."
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Blackstone warns that private equity cannot return capital 'overnight'; Industry sitting on record amounts of unsold assets that will take time to sell even as M&A market returns to life
Antoine Gara - Financial Times
Blackstone has said it will take time for private equity firms, which are sitting on record amounts of unsold assets, to return cash to investors even as the market for mergers and acquisitions comes back to life. "I think we're still in the early stages of the recovery phase that will ultimately allow private equity investors to return capital. It doesn't happen overnight," Jonathan Gray, president of Blackstone, told the Financial Times in an interview.
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Ex-Balyasny London Office Head Irvine Shutters His Hedge Fund
Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
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Pension Funds Are Pulling Hundreds of Billions From Stocks; Some turn to bonds or private markets after major indexes' run to records
Heather Gillers and Charley Grant - The Wall Street Journal
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Some interns at Big Tech and consulting giants are already earning six-figure salaries, Glassdoor data shows
Orianna Rosa Royle - Fortune
The $23 billion gaming giant Roblox is paying fresh-faced interns over $10,000 a month, according to Glassdoor. New data from Glassdoor has shattered the notion that lucrative careers require years of toil. Instead, a select group of fortunate graduates are securing the equivalent of six-figure salaries straight out of college.
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Ex-Google recruiter says LinkedIn 'open to work' banner 'is the biggest red flag'-some career experts disagree
Gili Malinsky - CNBC
When you're looking for a new job, it may seem like a no-brainer to let as many people as possible know. But career experts differ on their opinions about LinkedIn's "open to work" banner, the green sign that shows up just under your photo if you choose to activate it. "It is the biggest red flag" in a job candidate, says Nolan Church, former Google recruiter and current CEO of salary data company FairComp. "There is a truism in recruiting that the best people are not looking for jobs," he says, and therefore those people would not be advertising that they're looking for work either. Former Amazon recruiter and current career coach Lindsay Mustain agrees.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Taking Account of Rising Health Care Costs; Have your out-of-network insurance bills skyrocketed? Chris Hamby, an investigative reporter for The Times, may have an explanation.
Josh Ocampo - The New York Times
Navigating the health care system in the United States can often feel like being lost in a maze. What kind of doctor should I see? Who takes my insurance? What even is a co-pay, anyway? For that reason, Chris Hamby, an investigative reporter, has devoted much of his five-year career at The New York Times to guiding readers through such dizzying questions. His latest article, which was published online this month, explored the complex subject of insurance bills.
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A Little Bit of Dirt Is Good for You; Go on, grab a handful of soil or hike a muddy trail: It can benefit everything from your mood to your microbiome.
Holly Burns - The New York Times
Scientists have long known that a little dirt can be good for you. Research has suggested that people who grow up on farms, for instance, have lower rates of Crohn's disease, asthma and allergies, likely because of their exposure to a diverse array of microbes. In the 1970s, scientists even found a soil-dwelling bacterium, called Mycobacterium vaccae, that has an anti-inflammatory effect on our brains, possibly both lowering stress and improving our immune response to it.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Mystery 99% Stock Crash in China Cement Maker Linked to Margin Call
Bloomberg
China Tianrui Group Cement Co. said a sudden drop in its stock last week triggered a margin call for a major shareholder, shedding some light on a dramatic plunge that wiped out nearly all of its market value. About 4.53% of the company's stock was "forcibly sold in the open market due to the unusual price drop" on April 9, Tianrui said in a filing on Wednesday. The 133.1 million shares were held in the margin accounts of controlling shareholder Yu Kuo Co., which is indirectly owned by non-executive director Li Liufa and his spouse.
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Spanish drought pits tourists against locals in contest for water; Threat of another dry summer increases struggles over swimming pools and scarce resources
Barney Jopson - Financial Times
The threat of another parched summer in Spain is pitting tourists against local residents and left against right in battles over water in the country's holiday hotspots. Hotel swimming pools are the latest flashpoint in Spain's struggle to cope with the effects of climate change, with local governments forced to consider strict controls on water usage to prevent the taps running dry across the south. Right-of-centre politicians are seeking to cosset sunlounging holidaymakers, while leftwing leaders have pointed to hotels as part of the problem.
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Reports: Scottish Government poised to ditch 2030 climate target
Michael Holder - BusinessGreen
Statement on national emissions targets expected from Holyrood later today, following recent advice from Climate Change Committee that sluggish policy progress has rendered ambitious 2030 climate goal 'no longer credible' The Scottish Government is reportedly planning to ditch its flagship 2030 climate target to slash emissions by 75 per cent by the end of the decade against 1990 levels, following independent advisors' recent warnings that meeting the goal is "no longer credible". While the Scotland's overarching, legally-binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2045 - five years earlier than the rest of the UK - is expected to remain in place, BBC News reported last night the near-term 2030 target is due to be scrapped or watered down. The Scottish Government's annual climate goals are also expected to be ditched.
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Malaysia wants to benefit from chip companies trying to diversify their supply chains: 'There is enough growth that will go around'
Lionel Lim - Fortune
Don't ignore smaller economies in the semiconductor supply chain. The chipmaking hubs of Taiwan and South Korea get plenty of attention as the home of leading-edge chip manufacturing, while the U.S. and Japan are spending billions to revive their domestic chip sectors. But places like Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines are also trying to carve an important niche in the semiconductor supply chain.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Nonprofit Museums Worldwide Receive Conservation Funding From Bank of America
Abby Schultz - Barron's
Artworks in the collections of 24 nonprofit cultural institutions located from Nara City, Japan, to Paris, Cape Town, and Charlotte, N.C., will be conserved this year with grant funds provided by Bank of America The bank's Art Conservation Project, which launched in 2010, has granted museums large and small across the world with "well over US$20 million" to conserve paintings, tapestries, sculptures, photographs, and other works of art, says Brian Siegel, global arts, culture, and heritage executive. The specific amount granted in 2024 wasn't provided.
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