| September 30, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk will hold a public roundtable on October 16 to address key clearing issues, including custody and delivery of digital assets, digital asset margins, full collateralization, 24/7 trading, and conflicts of interest in vertically-integrated entities. Participants will include a diverse range of stakeholders such as derivatives clearing organizations, futures commission merchants (FCMs), end-users, proprietary traders, and state regulators. The goal is to gather expert insights into emerging challenges in the clearing sector.
The 2024 Women in Financial Markets (WIFM) Awards celebrated exceptional women and allies across various categories. Emerge Award winners were Cristina Diaz (DTCC), Simone Kramer (Bloomberg), Alexis Megdanoff (Nomura), Michelle Mullen (Bank of America), and Emily Scott (LSEG). Rising Stars included Sarah Dickey (CME), Allie Hunt (Tradeweb), Katie Oliverio (AllianceBernstein), Tierney Seidel (Rabobank), and Kelsey Stokes (S&P Dow Jones). Trailblazers recognized Laura Chepucavage (Bank of America), Jennifer Ilkiw (ICE), Laura Klimpel (DTCC), and Ula McCrindle (Nomura). Dr. Tina Hasenpusch (CME) and Elizabeth King (ICE) were Game Changers, while Penny Foley (TCW) received the Luminary Lifetime Achievement Award.
NFA is hiring for Summer 2025 interns and full-time roles in its Regulatory departments. Check out its job opportunities at hashtag#NFA, which includes generous benefits and in-depth training.
/jlne.ws/3ZJqxai
Gary Flagler, head of international business development, markets and data at Bolsa Mexicana de Valores wants to remind you that "Tuesday, October 1, 2024, is a public holiday in Mexico to honor the swearing-in of the new President. The Mexican markets, including the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) and Mercado Mexicano de Derivados (MexDer), will be closed for the day and reopen on Wednesday, October 2, 2024."
On Friday I mentioned I did not have access to the FT's Lex column titled "Lex. Rivals are not the only reason for CME's lost lustre." The author, Jennifer Hughes of the FT, sent me the contents, which can be boiled down to this: "CME Group, once dominant in interest rate futures, is facing competitive challenges and lagging investor enthusiasm. Despite record open interest across its six asset classes in 2024, its shares have underperformed rivals ICE and Nasdaq. Competition has intensified, notably from BGC Group's new short-term interest rate products backed by Goldman Sachs and Citadel. While CME benefits from cross-margining advantages, making it cost-effective for clients, the complexities of its business model and looming economic uncertainties have dampened market sentiment, limiting its recent stock performance."
I am on my way to Florida and a friend was telling me there was another hurricane I should be worrying about. He told me about a YouTube channel he follows. Mr. Weatherman on YouTube is a channel focused on tracking hurricanes, tropical storms, and severe weather in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and tropical Atlantic. Brian, the host, brings decades of forecasting experience and has credentials in Geography, Broadcast Meteorology, Emergency Management, and Volcanology. His top priority is safety, and the channel is part of a ministry associated with St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. For more information, visit Mr. Weatherman's YouTube channel.
Here are excerpts from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: The London Metal Exchange (LME) will require aluminum emissions reporting starting in June 2025, continuing its efforts to enhance sustainability in metal trading. At LME Week, CEO Matthew Chamberlain emphasized the green agenda's impact on future metals demand, positioning the LME as a key player in the decarbonization shift. Experts stress that governments must implement unified regulations to meet energy transition goals. Meanwhile, CME Group will introduce Spodumene futures, adding to its suite of battery metals contracts, underscoring the importance of metals like copper and cobalt for a green future.
The CME Group issued a disciplinary notice regarding Nomura Securities International Inc. (case number CBOT 23-1704-BC) effective on September 27, 2024, related to the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). For more details, you can read the full notice HERE.
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:
- Execution Prices Across Retail Option Brokers Vary Significantly from Traders Magazine.
- Wall Street's ETF Assets Hit $10 Trillion Milestone from Bloomberg.
- 'Crystal Ball' Breaks as Traders Fail to Get Rich in New Study from Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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That's Why We Did That: What We 'Do'
David Klotz - MetroTrade via LinkedIn
Earlier this summer, I spent some time on the East Coast with my wife's family, and I got the inevitable question: 'So, _____________ said you started your own business. How's it going?' After trying and failing to adequately explain what I do for the fourth or fifth time, I decided to just write it all out and send them the link to this article. This way I can hopefully gain 4-5 more monthly subscribers and maybe my mom will stop thinking I'm 'sort of' a stockbroker.
/jlne.ws/3zMJ4rA
****** David Klotz continues his "What We Do campaign."
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JPMorgan's 'Jamie premium' to be tested as CEO succession looms
Nupur Anand - Reuters
Questions hang over who will succeed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and when, but analysts and investors say one thing is almost certain: the bank's stock will slump when the powerful bank chief eventually departs. JPMorgan shares reflect a so-called "Jamie premium" of 10% to 15% that could evaporate when the longest-running chief of a major Wall Street bank decides to leave, according to estimates from four investors and three analysts.
/jlne.ws/3ZJxlog
***** This is such "Tarte" premium.~JJL
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Harvard's Not-So-Smart Money: Two Decades of Poor Returns and Rich Pay; Its money managers underperformed after changing personnel and strategies at the worst times.
Janet Lorin - Bloomberg
Harvard University alumni and business luminaries gathered at the memorial service in Midtown Manhattan. They were there to honor Ron Daniel, a McKinsey & Co. managing partner and Harvard's treasurer from 1989 to 2004. Daniel, who died at age 93, oversaw astonishing growth of the school's endowment as chairman of the fund's board. Under his leadership, the university built up a kind of in-house hedge fund, Harvard Management Co., or HMC. From Boston's Federal Reserve building, with sweeping views of the harbor, HMC pioneered a strategy of long-term investments in then-exotic fare for endowments such as private equity and hedge funds.
/jlne.ws/3ByUOhW
****** This is such smart money.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was How the U.S. is Helping the World Use AI for Good by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, from the U.S. Department of State. Second was Shigeru Ishiba to be next Japanese prime minister after winning LDP leadership, from the Financial Times. Third was FIA Forum: Treasury Clearing 2024; The Evolution of Agency Clearing, from the FIA.
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| Lead Stories | New titans of Wall Street: How trading firms stole a march on big banks; Handful of secretive businesses including Jane Street and Citadel Securities have seized market share from the old guard
Joshua Franklin in New York and Costas Mourselas in London - Financial Times
In Manhattan, Goldman Sachs and Jane Street are separated by a street, a century, and a 160 per cent average pay gap. Goldman and its rival investment banks were once the titans of trading. Now it is Jane Street that paid an average of over $900,000 per employee last year to Goldman's $340,000, according to FT calculations. The upstart, founded at the turn of the millennium, is among a handful of highly secretive trading firms - also including Citadel Securities, Susquehanna International Group, XTX Markets and DRW - to have capitalised on the electronification of financial markets to seize market share from less nimble and more heavily regulated banking stalwarts, and reshaped Wall Street's trading landscape in the process.
/jlne.ws/4dpVcN5
India Regulator Set to Curb Booming Options Frenzy as Risks Abound; It may limit options with weekly expiry, raise contract size; Nine out of every 10 retail traders lose money in F&O: SEBI
Chiranjivi Chakraborty and Saikat Das - Bloomberg
India's securities market regulator will consider rules to limit a surge in derivatives trading in the nation, people familiar with the matter said, after growing retail participation took the speculative bets to the highest in the world. The Securities and Exchange Board of India will discuss the measures proposed earlier in July - including limiting the number of options with weekly expirations and raising the minimum contract size - at a board meeting Monday, the people said, asking not to be identified before a final announcement.
/jlne.ws/3N3Ofqn
The Mavericks of Metals Are Back, Rocking a $15 Trillion Market
Mark Burton, Alfred Cang, Archie Hunter and Jack Farchy - Bloomberg
In 2002, the metals industry was jolted into uproar, after a US warehouse owner announced it would start charging a fee to safely buckle up each cargo being trucked from its depots in the London Metal Exchange's storage network. Overnight, traders trying to access metal backing the LME's futures contracts were hit with tens of thousands of dollars in extra costs for work that took a matter of minutes. If any refused to pay, their metal stayed put, meaning the warehouse could keep charging rent. After furious complaints, Metro International Trade Services was reprimanded by the LME for charging to discourage withdrawals from its sheds.
/jlne.ws/3Y4bLty
Hedging Goes Out the Door With Burst of China Stocks Euphoria
Sangmi Cha - Bloomberg
When it comes to Chinese equities, the dominant feeling has turned to optimism. The nation's bazooka stimulus announced last week has pushed a gauge of Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong to its best weekly surge in almost 13 years, putting it on track to become one of the world's biggest gainers for 2024. What's more, market participants chasing the rally have sent the cost of volatility hedges over the next month spiking to a two-year high relative to six-month contracts, indicating confidence for the medium term. In just a few days, China boosted measures to spur everything from consumer spending to the housing market and local equities. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which earlier this month was barely up for the year, rebounded more than 22% in 11 consecutive days, its longest streak of gains since its glory days of 2018.
/jlne.ws/3N4YxpZ
Shanghai Exchange Races to Fix Glitch That Rocked Hedge Funds; Exchange runs weekend stress tests after issues on Friday; Chinese stocks have soared on optimism over more stimulus
Bloomberg News
The Shanghai Stock Exchange ran weekend stress tests and traders braced for a potentially volatile session on Monday after transaction problems at the end of last week wrongfooted a number of quantitative hedge funds. The exchange asked brokerages to participate in the tests after its systems struggled to cope with a surge in trading activity on Friday as stocks soared. The exchange processed 270 million transactions in the weekend simulations, twice as many as the previous peak and three times the orders placed on Friday, it said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/4eKMha0
SEC's Gensler Won't Reveal His View on Trump's Bitcoin Reserve, Reiterates Bitcoin Isn't a Security; Gensler was responding to CNBC's question on whether the SEC chair was "warming up to top-tier crypto?"
Amitoj Singh - CoinDesk
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler reiterated his stance that bitcoin (BTC) is "not a security" but doubled down on his stated position that regulatory clarity exists for the crypto space in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. "As it relates to bitcoin, my predecessor and I have said, that's not a security," Gensler said. "You now have a way that you can actually express that view - buy into that through exchange-traded products." Such products were approved by the SEC in January, marking a monumental shift in the agency's approach to the crypto space.
/jlne.ws/4gHhOvs
Binance Founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao Is a Free Man; Zhao, who has been in a halfway house since late August, was released on Friday.
Cheyenne Ligon - CoinDesk
Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has been released from prison, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Zhao's release comes two days ahead of his scheduled release date this Sunday, Sep. 29. The BOP is legally allowed to release prisoners early if their release date falls on a weekend or holiday.
/jlne.ws/3BjXCj8
Citadel Securities Seeks Own License in China After Failed Bid
Cathy Chan - Bloomberg
Ken Griffin's Citadel Securities has opted to establish its own brokerage operation in China after failing in its bid for Credit Suisse's onshore business and seeing no viable alternative takeover targets, people familiar with the matter said. The US firm, part of Griffin's sprawling hedge fund and trading empire, is preparing an application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for brokerage, asset management and proprietary trading licenses, the people said, asking not to be named as plans have not been made public.
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Quant Hedge Funds Face More Margin Calls as Chinese Stocks Surge
Bloomberg
China's biggest stock market rally in more than a decade has added pressure on the nation's quantitative hedge funds. Quants that short index futures as part of their market-neutral strategies faced additional margin calls as shares continued to surge on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. The scale of requests was generally smaller than on Friday when an exchange glitch made it harder for funds to raise cash, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information was private. Some managers informally conveyed to regulators the need for more time to meet margin requests, the people added, underscoring the scale of the pressure they faced. Some were able to meet an initial round of margin calls before extended deadlines to avoid getting hit by liquidations.
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A Wall Street state of mind has captured America; Downtown New York is quieter than ever. Finance has never been louder
The Economist
At what time and place should you meet a stranger in New York if you cannot communicate with them beforehand? This hypothetical puzzle was first posed by Thomas Schelling, a game theorist, in 1960, as a method of explaining "focal points"-the solution people default to when co-ordinating if they are unable to converse. The most common answer, according to students he quizzed, was noon at "the information booth in Grand Central Station".
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Big US oil companies reveal massive payments to foreign governments
Tim McLaughlin - Reuters
The three largest US energy exploration companies paid more than $42 billion to foreign governments last year, about eight times more than what they paid in the United States, according to regulatory filings. The disclosures from Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron Corp, (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) were required this year for the first time ever under a new Securities and Exchange Commission requirement.
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As World's Biggest Nuclear Research Center Turns 70, It Looks for Ways to Finance Next Big Thing; CERN looks for funding to build its next-generation collider; CERN is open to idea of more private donors, DG Gianotti says
Hugo Miller - Bloomberg
CERN, the particle physics lab researching the smallest building blocks of the universe, is facing a new challenge: how to fund a $17 billion project to keep it ahead of the competition. The world's top nuclear physics hub needs to finance the construction of the Future Circular Collider as its existing particle accelerator - famed for discovering the Higgs Boson - edges toward the end of its useful life. But as CERN welcomes European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen and other leaders to its 70th birthday celebrations on Tuesday, its chief must rally cash-strapped European member states to foot the bill.
/jlne.ws/3N77Juc
Dutch Review Bonus Cap As Banks Point to Hiring Issues; The evaluation of the law to be published in the coming months; Dutch banks say restrictions make it harder to attract talent
Cagan Koc - Bloomberg
The Dutch government is re-assessing a cap on bank bonuses as lenders argue the restrictions make it harder to attract top talent. The finance ministry is conducting an "evaluation" of the laws regulating the level of bankers' pay and it aims to publish the results in the coming months, a spokesperson said in response to Bloomberg questions. The national parliament would have to ratify any changes before they take effect. The country's banks have long cited the country's stringent bank pay regulation as a major impediment when hiring and retaining executives, who may be able to find better pay outside the Netherlands. ABN Amro Bank NV said in its annual report that the bonus ban has kept pay for its chief executive officers substantially below the European benchmark.
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China Has Broken the 'Critical Minerals' Market; A slump in cobalt and lithium prices doesn't guarantee security of the supply of these elements essential to the energy transition.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg Opinion
Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. He is coauthor of "The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources." Billionaire Elon Musk called them the "new oil," complaining about their "insane" cost. The White House dangled subsidies to whoever could boost supply. European politicians scrambled for a response, also promising financial support for projects. Only a few months ago, the prospect of shortages of elements including cobalt, lithium and a few other metals stoked apprehension as prices of the elements needed to make the batteries crucial for the energy transition climbed. Not anymore. China has broken the market for these so-called critical minerals.
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New Lithium Contracts Added to CME Bourse as Appetite Soars; Chicago bourse to launch spodumene futures from late October; Open interest of hydroxide contracts hit a series of records
Annie Lee - Bloomberg
The operator of Chicago's futures exchange will roll out new contracts for a type of lithium material, as trading liquidity grows for battery metals amid heightened demand and massive market volatility. CME Group Co. will launch the cash-settled futures for spodumene, a lithium-bearing hard-rock, on Oct. 28 pending a regulatory review, according to a statement Monday. The contracts, which will use Fastmarkets spodumene prices as underlying assessments, will be the world's first for the mined raw ingredient that's playing a crucial role in the electric vehicles revolution.
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Crop Trader Olam to Pay $3.3 Million Fine for Delayed Cotton Sales Reports; Olam held back reporting 2021 cotton sales worth $190 million; The delay affected USDA export reports that can move markets
Ilena Peng - Bloomberg
Crop trader Olam Group Ltd. will pay a $3.3 million fine for delayed reporting of cotton sales to the US Department of Agriculture and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a move that could have impacted cotton prices. Olam delayed reporting five cotton sales to an Asian buyer in 2021, the CFTC said Friday. The sales, which were reported as much as five weeks late, amounted to more than 375,000 bales of cotton with a value of over $190 million, according to the CFTC.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Putin vows to reach all 'goals' in Ukraine as army claims new ground
AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Monday to achieve all his "goals" in Ukraine and celebrated the second anniversary of annexing four Ukrainian regions, as his army claimed fresh advances in the conflict. Moscow has captured dozens of Ukrainian towns and villages this year, pressing forward even as Kyiv mounts a cross-border offensive into Russian territory.
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Russia downs over 100 Ukrainian drones in one of the largest barrages of the war
Associated Press
More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia Sunday, officials said, sparking a wildfire and setting an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defenses.
/jlne.ws/4dqFYYm
Ukraine's recent strikes on arms depots caused the largest loss of Russian and North Korean ammo in the war: UK intel
Thibault Spirlet - Business Insider
Recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian arms depots caused the largest loss of Russian and North Korean ammunition recorded so far in the Ukraine war, according to British intelligence. The UK's Ministry of Defence made the assessment on Sunday, citing satellite images showing the aftermath of strikes on three Russian ammunition depots in the Tver and Krasnodar Krai regions in September.
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Russia launches waves of drone attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine's military says
Gleb Garanich and Pavel Polityuk - Reuters
Russia launched several waves of drones targeting Kyiv early on Monday, with air defence units successfully defending the city during the attack which lasted over five hours, Ukraine's military said. Reuters' witnesses heard numerous blasts in the Ukrainian capital in what sounded like air defence systems in operation and saw objects being hit in the air.
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Three-front war fear as Israel strikes Yemen power plant
Melanie Swan - The Telegraph
Israel opened up a war on three fronts with major airstrikes on Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen on Sunday. Huge explosions rocked the Red Sea state as Israel took revenge for missile attacks launched by the Iran-backed group. "The explosions shook the city," said reports from Hodeidah, with social media posts showing major blasts and what appeared to be extensive damage.
/jlne.ws/3zrVdSY
Israel Bombs Yemen Port, Power Stations After Houthi Attacks
Mohammed Hatem and Marissa Newman - Bloomberg
Israeli fighter jets bombed a seaport and several power stations in Yemen, its military said Sunday, following a string of attacks this month on central Israel by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The strikes in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and in Ras Issa targeted oil infrastructure, the Israeli army said in a statement. Al-Masirah TV, which is controlled by the Houthis, said four people were killed and 33 were injured.
/jlne.ws/3Y4T7Sg
Israel Hits Beirut as Strikes Escalate After Nasrallah Death; Attacks on Monday kill Palestinian militants, Hamas official; Bombings stepped up amid fears of Israeli ground incursion
Henry Meyer - Bloomberg
Israel bombed the center of Beirut for the first time in almost a year of hostilities with Lebanon's Hezbollah, stepping up air assaults following the killing of the Iran-backed group's chief last week. The strike on a building in the heart of the Lebanese capital early Monday killed three senior members of a Palestinian group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Lebanon's state-media reported. Hamas, still at war with Israel in Gaza, said the head of its Lebanese branch died in an attack on his home in southern Lebanon.
/jlne.ws/4eJUWJT
Hezbollah Drones Are Potent Threat as Israel Mulls Incursion; Drones have become a key part of Hezbollah's arsenal; Israeli bombing campaign has targeted Hezbollah weapons caches
Marissa Newman - Bloomberg
A week into the intense Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah's weapons sites across Lebanon, the group's arsenal of Iranian-designed drones still poses a threat, particularly if the fighting escalates. Hezbollah has launched hundreds of drones into Israel over the past year and used other small unmanned aerial vehicles to knock out communications equipment and cameras along the border. While Israeli bombs have devastated the group's leadership, including killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the head of its UAV program, it's not clear how significantly the strikes have eroded stockpiles it has spent years building.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CME Group to Expand Battery Metals Suite with Launch of Spodumene Futures on October 28
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that it will expand its battery metals suite and launch a Spodumene CIF China (Fastmarkets) Futures contract on October 28, 2024, pending regulatory review.
/jlne.ws/3zMG3ri
Unscheduled component change in SDAX
Deutsche Borse Group
STOXX Ltd. has announced an unscheduled component change in the SDAX index. Vitesco Technologies Group AG will leave the SDAX due to a merger as defined in chapter 8.3.2 of the DAX Equity Index Calculation Guide (Target Company - Deletion).
/jlne.ws/4efjZ7P
STOXX Europe 600 index underlies new Total Return Futures on Eurex
Eurex
The TRFs on the leading pan-European benchmark were listed on 30 September. TRFs have seen strong demand from market participants as a way to efficiently gain exposure to price-plus-dividend returns of shares and indices. Eurex has introduced Total Return Futures (TRFs) on the STOXX Europe 6001, expanding an increasingly popular type of exchange-traded derivatives to a broad pan-European benchmark for the first time.
/jlne.ws/3Y3UxfX
Predict lists on Euronext Growth Milan
Euronext
Borsa Italiana, part of the Euronext Group, today congratulates Predict on its listing on Euronext Growth Milan. Predict is an innovative SME dedicated to the development of technologies in the healthcare sector and, primarily, in non-invasive in vivo diagnostics.
/jlne.ws/4epSgBn
KRX launched Korea Value-up Index
KRX
License contract with KRX shall precede launching Value-Up index based financial instruments including ETF, ETN, index funds, and structured products. Inquiries regarding index license and constituent data contract can be sent to the following contact information.
/jlne.ws/3TSSI2P
Welcome remarks by Mr Michael Syn, President, SGX Group at the Securities Market Opening for Remisiers Development Programme
SGX
Good morning, everyone and welcome to SGX! On behalf of SGX Group and our partners, the Society of Remisiers Singapore (SRS) and the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS), it's a tremendous pleasure to have you all join us today. The remisier force has been and continues to be a unique community in the Singapore market, growing together with our country's broadening internationalisation. Remisiers play an essential role in serving and guiding investors in their stock-trading decisions. The remisiers' high-touch personalised service provides a distinct model of stock market access that is much valued by Singapore investors, perhaps even more so now that robo-advisers and electronic trading become more widespread.
/jlne.ws/4eEbV0N
MPs, local footballers and financial community embrace #BetterHappensTogether spirit to raise $137,000 at SGX Cares Bull Charge Charity Futsal
SGX
Over 300 participants including Members of Parliament, local football legends and the financial community came together to raise $137,000 as part of the SGX Cares Bull Charge Charity Futsal 2024 held at Kick Off! @ Kovan.
/jlne.ws/47Pk6o0
Additions and Deletions of Weekly Equity and ETF Options Classes
TMX
Bourse de Montreal Inc. (the Bourse) and Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC)
hereby inform you that at the opening of trading on Thursday October 3, 2024, the following
changes will be made to the weekly equity and ETF options classes.
/jlne.ws/3N3SbY2
TMX Group Thanksgiving Holiday Market Closures
TMX
Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange and Montréal Exchange will be closed on Monday, October 14, 2024 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Exchanges will re-open and resume regular trading on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
/jlne.ws/3XNS0F5
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Strategies to beat the AI bots; Whether the risks to jobs is real or not, it behoves us all to act like it is given how consequential the costs could be
Aswath Damodaran - Financial Times (opinion)
The writer is professor of finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University.
A few months ago, I was teaching my classes at Stern, when my friend, Vasant Dhar, who teaches a range of classes from machine learning to data science, called me about the Damodaran Bot. This is an AI creation, which had read everything that I had ever written, watched every webcast that I had ever posted and reviewed every valuation that I had made public. He told me that the Bot was ready for a trial run and ready to value companies. Those valuations could then be measured up against valuations done by the best students in my class.
/jlne.ws/3ZJlIxG
Gavin Newsom Blocks Contentious AI Safety Bill in California; The bill was intended to protect against severe harms from AI; Tech leaders and VCs said regulation could stifle innovation
Shirin Ghaffary - Bloomberg
California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed what would have become one of the most comprehensive policies governing the safety of artificial intelligence in the US. The bill would've been among the first to hold AI developers accountable for any severe harm caused by their technologies. It drew fierce criticism from some prominent Democrats and major tech firms, including ChatGPT creator OpenAI and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, who warned it could stall innovation in the state.
/jlne.ws/3Y2P4WD
SoftBank to Invest $500 Million in OpenAI, Information Reports
Seth Fiegerman - Bloomberg
SoftBank's Vision Fund is planning to invest $500 million in OpenAI as part of a larger funding round, the Information reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the deal. OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5 billion from investors at a valuation of $150 billion, Bloomberg previously reported. The funding round is slated to be led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Microsoft Corp., the company's largest investor, and other investors.
/jlne.ws/4dqMhLw
China AI Chip Leader Soars 20% Limit as Beijing Warns on Nvidia
Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance
Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies Corp. soared its 20% daily limit on Monday, leading a sector rally after Bloomberg News reported Beijing was stepping up pressure on domestic companies to ditch Nvidia Corp. processors for local alternatives. Cambricon, the biggest publicly traded designer of the chips that underpin AI development, gained the maximum allowed in heavy trading. The company led a clutch of chip firms that ranked among the biggest gainers on the benchmark CSI 300 index. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. surged almost 20% in Shanghai, while gear maker Naura Technology Group Co. climbed 9%.
/jlne.ws/3Y6Y0cz
AI Code Checker Qodo Raises $40 Million to Serve Bigger Clients
Marissa Newman - Bloomberg
Qodo, a Tel Aviv-based startup selling artificial intelligence software that tests and finds bugs in code, has raised $40 million to expand the business and service larger customers. The funding round, led by Susa Ventures and Square Peg, brings the total amount raised by the startup to $50 million, the company said in a statement. It declined to disclose its valuation.
/jlne.ws/3Y51jlF
PayPal is headed for a total transformation, CEO says
Brian Sozzi - Yahoo Finance
Turning around an iconic company that has been stumbling is no small task. Sometimes, a turnaround never materializes. Other times, it happens very slowly. But every so often, a new CEO's initiatives gain hold and reinvigorate the organization, and the one-time iconic company enters a new period of growth. Investors in legendary digital payments company PayPal (PYPL) are waiting to see what one of those buckets it will fall into under new CEO Alex Chriss. Chriss is now officially one year into the top job, and has wasted no time shaking up the company's internal mindset and leadership team. He is beginning to roll out new products to go alongside a revamped corporate logo and marketing campaign.
/jlne.ws/4eFxKfR
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | UK Man Hacked Executives' Emails for Illegal Trades, US Says; Robert Westbrook is charged with hacking executives' emails; He allegedly gained access to earnings before public release
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
A British man was charged by US prosecutors with hacking corporate executives' email accounts to obtain confidential earnings information. Robert B. Westbook made more than $3 million trading on the hacked information ahead of public announcements, according to an indictment unsealed Friday by New Jersey federal prosecutors. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a parallel lawsuit.
/jlne.ws/4eJ6aOH
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Japan Crypto Review May Open Door to Lower Taxes, Dedicated ETFs; Officials may weigh whether to put crypto under investment law; Industry seeks to slash the levy on digital-asset gains to 20%
Takashi Nakamichi - Bloomberg
Japan is set to begin a review of the nation's cryptocurrency rules, opening up the possibility of lower taxes on digital assets and potentially paving the way for the roll out of domestic funds investing in tokens. The Financial Services Agency in coming months will assess whether the current approach of regulating crypto under the payments act is adequate, an official at the agency said, asking not be identified in line with the institution's rules.
/jlne.ws/3zFapvR
The farce that is America's 'crypto election'; This campaign may be awash with crypto money and rhetoric but it's not clear that either of the candidates really care
Jemima Kelly - Financial Times (opinion)
November 5, by all accounts, is set to be America's first "crypto election". Hundreds of millions of real dollars have poured into pro-crypto political action committees. Kamala Harris has talked about encouraging "innovative technologies". Donald Trump, her rival for the presidency, has decided that bitcoin isn't "a scam" after all, and has embarked on a series of crypto ventures and promises to make America "the crypto capital of the planet". "The crypto voter is real, bipartisan and ready to engage this cycle," the executive director of lobby group Stand With Crypto, founded and funded by America's biggest crypto exchange Coinbase, enthused last week. (The group gives politicians grades for their crypto stance, and Trump - unusually - gets an A.) But reader, I must level with you right off the BAT (a digital token): the crypto voter is not, in any substantive sense, real. Aside from the small group of men (OK, mainly men) whose livelihoods now depend on this digitally indigenous fluff, most Americans have rather bigger things to worry about - food prices, healthcare, the jobs market, or the general state of their nation, maybe.
/jlne.ws/3N7pdqa
Crypto Billionaire Zhao Vows More Tech Investment After Leaving US Custody
Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Billionaire Changpeng Zhao pledged to keep investing in the blockchain sector as well as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, in the crypto mogul's first public comments since his release from US custody. In a post on social-media platform X over the weekend, the co-founder of the Binance Holdings Ltd. digital-asset exchange described himself as a long-term investor who cares about "impact, not returns."
/jlne.ws/4gLbMd1
MicroStrategy 2X Leveraged ETF Sees Massive Inflows In First Week Of Trading As MSTR Outperforms Bitcoin; The T-REX 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) took in $72 million in the first week of trading, according to data by Bloomberg Intelligence.
Helene Braun, James Van Straten - CoinDesk
Seven days after hitting the market, the T-REX 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) has become one of the most successful new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the market after attracting over $72 million. The fund, issued by REX Shares and Tuttle Capital Management, promises two times the daily performance to the stock of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software mogul turned bitcoin strategy company, the most leverage any fund tied to MSTR gives.
/jlne.ws/3BytvUX
Swan Bitcoin Claims Ex-Employees 'Stole' Its Mining Business at Tether's Direction; In a new lawsuit, Swan is looking for financial compensation and legal protections against its former employees.
Cheyenne Ligon - CoinDesk
Swan Bitcoin has filed suit against a group of former employees and consultants, alleging they "hatched and executed a 'rain and hellfire' plan" to "steal" its lucrative bitcoin mining business with the help of Tether, Swan Bitcoin's one-time ally and fundraising partner. The lawsuit accuses six employees of looting Swan's trade secrets - including "highly proprietary code," hash-rate optimization techniques, and financial models - and using them to create an "illegal facsimile" of Swan's bitcoin mining operation called Proton Management. After two months of pilfering and planning, the lawsuit claims, the coup-de-grace came on Aug. 8, when they and several other employees resigned "near-simultaneously" to join Proton.
/jlne.ws/3TNEJvn
Mango Markets Agrees to Destroy MNGO Tokens in SEC Settlement; Mango DAO, Mango Labs and Blockworks Foundation agreed to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday.
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled charges with Mango DAO, Mango Labs LLC and Blockworks Foundation alleging that the MNGO token was an unregistered security and that the latter entities offered unregistered broker services. The entities will destroy their MNGO tokens and ask crypto exchanges to stop trading the tokens, as well as pay $700,000 total as part of the settlement, which is still subject to a court's approval, the SEC announced Friday in a press release. The settlement comes just over a month after Mango DAO held an open vote on whether it should adopt the settlement offer proposal. The DAO voted on a settlement proposal with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) earlier this week as well, which passed unanimously.
/jlne.ws/4gMEzhF
BlackRock's spot Ethereum ETF surpasses $1 billion in value for the first time
Zack Abrams - The Block
Following a favorable week of trading for US-based spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds, BlackRock's fund has surpassed $1 billion in total asset value just two months after launch. Last week was only the second week since the funds launched that net inflows were positive, signaling renewed enthusiasm for the token. US-based spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds have logged their highest weekly inflows since early August in a reversal of a streak of six straight weeks of negative outflows, with one fund broaching a significant milestone: more than $1 billion in net asset value.
/jlne.ws/3ZOadFh
FTX to set aside up to $230 million for shareholders, not creditors, from gov't forfeiture proceeds
Zack Abrams - The Block
As part of a newly-revealed provision, the debtors in charge of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX will set aside up to $230 million from government forfeiture proceedings for preferred shareholders. The agreement, which was revealed in a recent filing, came as a surprise to creditors, who are traditionally reimbursed before shareholders in bankruptcy proceedings, and who were unaware of the provision when they voted overwhelmingly to approve the plan before the August 16 voting deadline.
/jlne.ws/3ZK3ts8
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Rio Tinto chief urges western governments to speed up clean energy transition; US's IRA programme yet to have 'significant impact', says Jakob Stausholm as he opens London Metal Exchange week
Leslie Hook - Financial Times
Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has called on western governments to "learn from China's example" in industrial policy as he urged them to do more to speed up the clean energy transition. The US Inflation Reduction Act had not yet "had any significant impact" on manufacturing output, said Stausholm, as he gave the opening address at London Metal Exchange week, the industry's most important annual gathering, on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3Y293F0
JD Vance turned away from Pittsburgh sandwich shop
Robert Mendick - The Telegraph
A sandwich shop made a meal out of an unannounced visit by JD Vance, turning the vice-presidential candidate away during a campaign pitstop. The senator attempted to gain entry into Primanti Bros in North Versailles, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but was denied by staff, alarmed at the sudden arrival of his entourage. The 90-year-old business subsequently reversed course to serve Mr Vance and his team, avoiding threats of a boycott from customers inside the store who had wanted to meet Donald Trump's running mate.
/jlne.ws/47J3WNf
Trump 2.0 Climate Tipping Points; A guide to what a second Trump White House can - and can't - do to the American effort to slow global warming.
Jennifer A. Dlouhy - Bloomberg
For the first time ever, the entire US government has taken up the fight against climate change. President Joe Biden unleashed hundreds of billions of dollars toward clean energy and enacted new regulations throttling planet-warming pollution from cars, oil wells and power plants. Some of those policies were explicitly designed to be popular - winning over hearts and minds as tax breaks turned homeowners into solar enthusiasts and dollars flowed into factories, creating new jobs. The dynamic has been especially pronounced in deeply red districts where voters are more likely to be skeptical of climate change.
/jlne.ws/4eLBrjZ
Newsom vetoes US's first bill aimed at regulating large-scale artificial intelligence
Yasmin Khorram - Yahoo Finance
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a first-of-its-kind state bill that would potentially enact the most impactful artificial intelligence regulation in the country. The measure, known as the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act, would require safety measures from companies that spend more than $100 million to train AI models. It aims to prevent potential harms by AI such as mass casualty events, and includes implementing a "kill switch" to completely shut down a rogue model.
/jlne.ws/4epZ024
Traders Blow Off US Election Risks as Stocks Race Into October; S&P 500 heads for best first nine months of a year since 1997; Put-call ratio for equity options sends bullish market signal
Jess Menton - Bloomberg
US stocks survived what's traditionally their toughest stretch of the year, and investors expect the rally to keep running in October despite a contentious presidential election campaign, shifting Federal Reserve policy and fears of a pending recession. The S&P 500 Index just posted its third straight winning week and is up 5.1% in the third quarter, putting it on track for its best start to a year since 1997, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It also has pushed the benchmark's market capitalization above $50 trillion for the first time. And oddly enough, it all happened in September, which historically is the stock market's worst month.
/jlne.ws/3ZKa1af
Norway is mulling building a fence on its border with Russia, following Finland's example
Jari Tanner - Associated Press
Norway may put a fence along part or all of the 198-kilometer (123-mile) border it shares with Russia, a minister said, a move inspired by a similar project in its Nordic neighbor Finland. "A border fence is very interesting, not only because it can act as a deterrent but also because it contains sensors and technology that allow you to detect if people are moving close to the border," Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said in an interview with the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK published late Saturday.
/jlne.ws/3ZLFkS6
Russia invokes its nuclear capacity in a UN speech that's full of bile toward the West
Edith M. Lederer and Jennifer Peltz - Associated Press
Russia's top diplomat warned Saturday against "trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power," delivering a U.N. General Assembly speech packed with condemnations of what Russia sees as Western attempts at global domination and machinations in Ukraine -- and even inside the United Nations itself. Three days after Russian President Vladimir Putin aired a shift in his country's nuclear doctrine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of using Ukraine - which Russia invaded in February 2022 - as a tool to try "to defeat" Moscow strategically, and "preparing Europe for it to also throw itself into this suicidal escapade."
/jlne.ws/3Y2UqRC
Kremlin says Russia's updated nuclear doctrine is being formalised
Reuters
The Kremlin said on Sunday that amendments to Russia's nuclear doctrine had been prepared and were about to be formalised, meaning the relevant documents setting out the circumstances in which nuclear arms can be used by Moscow will be updated. President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that under proposed changes to the doctrine Russia could use nuclear arms if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
/jlne.ws/3Y2IuPP
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | EDF Cleared at Paris Trial Over EUR20 Million Consultancy Deals; Judges dispute prosecutors' interpretation of an internal memo; Case concerned contracts awarded by EDF to 44 consultants
Gaspard Sebag - Bloomberg
Electricite de France SA was cleared by a Paris court over accusations it unfairly awarded advisory deals worth more than EUR20 million ($22.4 million) to a select group of consultants without putting them up for tender. Paris judges on Monday disputed prosecutors' claim that an internal memo they relied on to make their case was a smoking gun showing the company's guilt. The presiding judge said it can't be concluded from the document that former EDF boss Henri Proglio set up an unlawful system to hire the external advisers that might boost his influence and improve his chances of getting his term renewed.
/jlne.ws/3N7zra2
Mali Junta Arrests Four Barrick Gold Employees, Reuters Says
John J Edwards III - Bloomberg
The military-led authorities in Mali have arrested four employees of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corp., Reuters reported Friday, citing two people it didn't identify. Those arrested are all senior Malian employees, one of the people told Reuters. A government official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the employees had been arrested for alleged financial crimes.
/jlne.ws/3Y17Iya
CFTC Charges Fake Commodity Trading Platform with Fraud and Misappropriation in an Online Scam Targeting Asian Americans
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Aipu Limited, Qian Bai, and Lan Bai, together with Fidefx Investments Limited and Chao Li. The complaint alleges from approximately Feb. 6, 2023 to the present, Bai and Lan Bai, individually and as controlling persons of Aipu, with Fidefx and Li, acting as a common enterprise, fraudulently solicited and misappropriated at least $3.6 million from at least 32 customers as part of a fraudulent investment scheme. The defendants have and continue to solicit and accept assets - fiat currency and digital assets - from customers for the sale of agreements; contracts or transactions in commodities on a leveraged or margined basis or financed by the offeror counterparty or a person acting in concert with the offeror or counterparty on a similar basis; off-exchange retail foreign currency contracts and commodity futures contracts.
/jlne.ws/4gEFwsf
CFTC Orders Olam Group Ltd. to Pay $3.25 Million for False, Misleading, or Inaccurate Reporting of Cotton Sales
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and settling charges against Olam Group Ltd., a Singapore-based integrated supply chain manager, for submitting false, misleading, or inaccurate reports to the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in connection with the sale of U.S. cotton worth more than $190 million. The order requires Olam to pay a $3,250,000 civil monetary penalty and to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as charged. "Olam's failure to report accurate cotton sales data to USDA resulted in the publication of inaccurate and misleading information regarding cotton sales, undermining faith in a key indicator of supply and demand, and potentially impacting the integrity of commodities pricing," said Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. "This enforcement action sends the message that CFTC will ensure entities that play fast and loose with reporting requirements are held accountable."
/jlne.ws/3N48swi
Division of Clearing and Risk Announces Staff Roundtable Discussion on New and Emerging Issues in Clearing
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Clearing and Risk will hold a public roundtable Oct. 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., to discuss existing, new, and emerging issues in clearing. The roundtable will be held in the Conference Center at CFTC's headquarters at Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street N.W., Washington, D.C. The roundtable will include participants from derivatives clearing organizations, futures commission merchants (FCM), FCM customers, end-users, custodians, proprietary traders, public interest groups, state regulators, and others. The goal of the roundtable is to gather information and receive expert input from a wide variety of stakeholder groups. Topics to be covered include the custody and delivery of digital assets, digital assets and margin, full collateralization, 24/7 trading, non-intermediated clearing with margin, and conflicts of interest related to vertically-integrated entities.
/jlne.ws/3Y1KkQU
Report From FINRA Board of Governors Meeting - September 2024; Board Appoints Industry Governors, Discusses FINRA's Long-Term Financial Planning and Hears Latest From Key Stakeholders
FINRA
FINRA's Board of Governors met on September 18-19. The agenda included discussions around FINRA's long-term financial planning and engagement with key stakeholders, including representatives of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and FINRA's South and Mid-West Regional Committees.
/jlne.ws/3N5xL0N
Musk Agrees to Meet SEC After Ditching Meeting for Rocket Launch
Rachel Graf - Bloomberg
Elon Musk's lawyers assured a judge in San Francisco that the mercurial billionaire will show up next week to be questioned by securities regulators investigating his 2022 acquisition of Twitter Inc., after Musk ditched an earlier meeting to attend a rocket launch. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking information about Musk's purchases of Twitter stock and statements he made about his investments before buying the social media platform for $44 billion. Regulators sent Musk a letter asking about the delayed disclosure of his Twitter stake.
/jlne.ws/3XKD8HB
Statement on EDGAR
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Today, the Commission approved amendments regarding login, password, and other account access protocols for filers and other registrants using the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System, commonly known as EDGAR. I am pleased to support these amendments because they enhance EDGAR's security and further improve filers' access to the EDGAR system. The public and the SEC long have benefitted from the EDGAR electronic filing system. Today, EDGAR is a rich and accessible library for investors and filers alike. Unlike streaming platforms and other subscription platforms, EDGAR is available to the public free of charge. I think it's one of the great innovations of the SEC.
/jlne.ws/4eLrL99
Nevermore: Statement on the Adoption of the EDGAR Filer Access and Account Management Final Rule
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce - SEC
The Commission's EDGAR system ensures the relatively easy submission of filings to the Commission and quick retrieval of filings by the public. Few notice when it works, but the problems can be significant and potentially market moving if EDGAR's systems are disrupted or breached. Today's EDGAR Next rulemaking facilitates an important modernization of EDGAR. I hope-to quote the raven in Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem-that now we will be able to say "Nevermore" to unauthorized filings and, in the process, make life easier for authorized filers.
/jlne.ws/3N82XN0
Statement on EDGAR Next
Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda
SEC
Beginning in May 1996, all domestic companies were required by the Commission to make their filings electronically, through EDGAR.[1] At the time, I was a first-year associate at a law firm. A fourth-year associate handed the EDGAR Filer Manual to me and muttered something along the lines of "I guess we need to file with the SEC electronically now; I don't want to figure it out, so that's now your job." Such was my introduction to the wonders of EDGAR. In some respects, I have "grown up" with EDGAR as a securities lawyer since then.[2] Over time, EDGAR has moved beyond being a system to electronically file documents with the Commission to one that is the principal method by which corporate disclosures are disseminated to the public and available for free. Accordingly, I consider EDGAR to be one of the Commission's crown jewels. As with any company and its important assets, the Commission must continuously improve EDGAR to keep up with changes in technology.
/jlne.ws/4f2fJZx
SEC Monitoring Impact of Hurricane Helene on Capital Markets
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission is closely monitoring the impact of Hurricane Helene on investors and capital markets. The SEC divisions and offices that oversee companies, accountants, investment advisers, mutual funds, brokerage firms, transfer agents, and other regulated entities and investment professionals will continue to closely track developments. They will evaluate the possibility of granting relief from filing deadlines and other regulatory requirements for those affected by the storm. Entities and investment professionals affected by Hurricane Helene are encouraged to contact SEC staff with questions and concerns:
/jlne.ws/3XNJTZ9
Richard R. Best Named Senior Advisor to the Director of the Division of Examinations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Richard R. Best, the Director of the Division of Examinations, will transition to an advisory role as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Division of Examinations once he returns from medical leave. Keith E. Cassidy will continue serving as the Division's Acting Director, a role he began in July. "The Division of Examinations serves a critical role in helping firms to comply with the law," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "I want to thank Rich for his time serving as Director, and I'm pleased he will continue in an important role. I also want to thank Keith for ably leading the Division as Acting Director."
/jlne.ws/4eJrNhM
SEC Charges U.K. Citizen in Hacking and Trading Scheme Involving Five U.S. Public Companies
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against U.K. citizen Robert B. Westbrook for hacking into the computer systems of five U.S. public companies to obtain material nonpublic information about their corporate earnings and using that information to make approximately $3.75 million in illicit profits by trading in advance of the companies' public earnings announcements.
/jlne.ws/4dxwudI
SEC Charges Entities Operating Crypto Asset Trading Platform Mango Markets for Unregistered Offers and Sales of the Platform's "MNGO" Governance Tokens; Pair of affiliated entities separately charged for acting as unregistered brokers
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed settled charges against Mango DAO and Blockworks Foundation for engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of crypto assets called "MNGO" tokens. The SEC also settled charges against Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs LLC for engaging in unregistered broker activity in connection with various crypto assets being offered and sold as securities on the Mango Markets platform. The SEC's complaint alleges that by skirting the SEC's registration provisions, Mango DAO, Blockworks Foundation, and Mango Labs deprived investors of critical protections afforded by the federal securities laws.
/jlne.ws/3ZImevW
SEC Adopts Improvements to EDGAR System to Enhance Security, Filer Access, and Account Management
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rule and form amendments intended to enhance the security of its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system and improve filers' access and account management capabilities. "The public and the SEC long have benefited from the EDGAR electronic filing system," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "Today's amendments are an important next step for EDGAR account access protocols."
/jlne.ws/3TR1AG9
SEC Charges U.K. Citizen in Hacking and Trading Scheme Involving Five U.S. Companies
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against U.K. citizen Robert B. Westbrook for hacking into the computer systems of five U.S. public companies to obtain material nonpublic information about their corporate earnings and using that information to make approximately $3.75 million in illicit profits by trading in advance of the companies' public earnings announcements.
/jlne.ws/4dnxelv
SEC Charges Fund Principals With Pitching Fund Investors Using A Fake Performance History
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against brothers Akshay and Dev Kamboj, principals of the Crawford Ventures Absolute Return Fund (the "Fund"), with defrauding investors by using offering materials that fraudulently presented their trading track record. The Fund raised more than $16 million from investors in 2022 and 2023.
/jlne.ws/3ZLBMzg
SEC Charges Investment Advisers for Conducting Fraudulent Cherry-Picking Schemes
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against William D. Carlton, a former investment adviser representative in Kirkland, Washington, and Hans K. Hernandez, a former investment adviser representative in Hillsborough, New Jersey, for each conducting separate multi-year cherry-picking schemes that defrauded their clients.
/jlne.ws/4gZmehx
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Former Stock Promoter
SEC
A federal district court in Boston, Massachusetts has entered a final judgment in a microcap fraud case against Canada resident Marco Babini, a former stock promoter for a Massachusetts-based medical diagnostics company previously called Endeavor Power Corp. The SEC previously charged Babini and two other defendants with a scheme to defraud potential investors in Endeavor's publicly traded stock. The SEC's complaint alleged that Babini attempted to manipulate the market for Endeavor's stock by, among other things, engaging in coordinated trading designed to artificially inflate its price.
/jlne.ws/4eFYZH6
SEC Charges Former CEO of Romeo Power, Inc. for Misleading Investors
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled fraud charges against Lionel Selwood, Jr., the former CEO of Romeo Power, Inc., a Southern California-based company that built batteries for commercial electric vehicles. The SEC's complaint alleges that Selwood misled investors about a shortage of battery cells, the main component for the company's products.
/jlne.ws/3ZMaZmo
SEC Charges Canadian Company, Recidivist Paul Bilzerian, and Others with Scheme to Falsely Inflate Revenues
SEC
On September 27, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Canadian consumer goods company Ignite International Brands, Ltd., recidivist Paul Bilzerian, and six other defendants for improperly recognizing and reporting revenue in 2020.
/jlne.ws/3Y1Y2U5
SEC Charges Broker with Violating Regulation Best Interest
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged California resident Robert Vance - a former registered representative of a broker-dealer - with failing to comply with Regulation Best Interest's Care Obligation when recommending high-risk debt securities known as L Bonds to his retail brokerage customers.
/jlne.ws/4gHAk6T
Pair of affiliated entities separately charged for acting as unregistered brokers
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Mango DAO and Blockworks Foundation for engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of crypto assets called "MNGO" tokens. The SEC also settled charges against Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs LLC for engaging in unregistered broker activity in connection with various crypto assets being offered and sold as securities on the Mango Markets platform. The SEC's complaint alleges that by skirting the SEC's registration provisions, Mango DAO, Blockworks Foundation, and Mango Labs deprived investors of critical protections afforded by the federal securities laws.
/jlne.ws/3XO6rcw
ASIC extends relief for employee redundancy funds
ASIC
ASIC has extended existing relief granted to operators and promoters of employee redundancy funds from the AFS licensing and managed investment provisions of the Corporations Act for a transitional period of 18 months. The decision facilitates further consultation by ASIC on the framework for the regulation of these funds.
/jlne.ws/4eiNRAa
ASIC disqualifies NSW director for five years following the failure of six companies
ASIC
ASIC has disqualified Graeme John Doble, of Gymea Bay, NSW, from managing corporations for the maximum period of five years due to his involvement in the failure of six companies.
/jlne.ws/3Bnv7B0
ASIC updates guidance for participants in the carbon market following Safeguard Mechanism reforms
ASIC
ASIC has today released its updated regulatory guidance for carbon market participants in Regulatory Guide 236 Do I need an AFS licence to participate in carbon markets? (RG 236). RG 236 provides guidance for participants in the carbon markets including people involved in the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme, responsible emitters for safeguard facilities, market intermediaries and advisers to participants in the carbon market.
/jlne.ws/4gJwgmE
CoFI Licensing - Provident Insurance's experience
FMA
Registered banks, licensed insurers, and licensed non-bank deposit takers in the business of providing one or more relevant services to New Zealanders will need to hold a financial institution licence by 31 March 2025 to continue operating. Provident Insurance applied for their Financial Institution licence in early 2024. Altaaf Osman, Head of Risk and Compliance, discussed their licensing journey with Anita Frazer from the FMA, providing insights into the challenges and key milestones they faced during the process.
/jlne.ws/3XLZZCH
Olumide Osunkoya pleads guilty to illegally operating crypto ATM network
FCA
Mr Olumide Osunkoya pleaded guilty to 5 offences at today's hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court. This is the first UK conviction of its kind for offences relating to the operation of crypto ATMs. Mr Osunkoya is due to be sentenced for running multiple crypto ATMs without FCA registration, creating and using false documents, and for possession of criminal property.
/jlne.ws/47MmjAF
Digital Securities Sandbox opens for applications
FCA
The Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) reshapes how we regulate by allowing firms to test legislative changes in real world scenarios before the changes are implemented. The Bank of England and the FCA have opened the DSS. We encourage firms that are innovating in financial market infrastructure to apply and have published guidance to help them.
/jlne.ws/4eHoJmz
New public fund depositaries regime comes live on 2 October 2024
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today published updated codes and guidelines for implementing the new Type 13 regulated activity (RA 13) regime governing public fund depositaries, which will take effect on 2 October 2024 (Note 1). To facilitate the transition for existing practitioners, the SFC has processed their applications and will grant RA 13 licences or registrations to 19 depositaries under major banking or insurance groups operating in Hong Kong and over 300 of their staff members on the launch date (Note 2 and Note 3).
/jlne.ws/4epKffI
SFC reprimands and fines Profitech Securities Limited $3.99 million for regulatory breaches
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined Profitech Securities Limited (Profitech) $3.99 million for failures to comply with the Securities and Futures (Financial Resources) Rules (FRR) and other regulatory requirements (Note 1). The SFC's investigation found that Profitech failed to maintain its required liquid capital of $3 million in compliance with the FRR between February and June 2021 and since July 2022.
/jlne.ws/3N669Zt
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Mark Spitznagel warns we're in 'black swan' territory now, and diversified portfolios are a 'big lie'
Jason Ma - Fortune
The stock market crashed last month on recession fears but has since soared to fresh record highs as the Federal Reserve began cutting rates and China unveiled stimulus measures. To Mark Spitznagel, cofounder and chief investment officer of the hedge fund Universa Investments, events are unfolding as he predicted.
/jlne.ws/3TKF6H2
Copper producers issue fresh warnings about price volatility; Antofagasta chief says there is a 'disconnect' between government policies and growing demand for red metal
Camilla Hodgson and Leslie Hook - Financial Times
Copper producers have issued fresh warnings about price volatility for the red metal - vital for the clean energy transition - as the industry meets for its most important annual gathering, the London Metal Exchange week. Ivan Arriagada, chief executive of Chilean copper producer Antofagasta, said there was a "disconnect" between government policies that were not issuing permits for new mines quickly enough, and demand for the metal. Over the next decade the world would need to add the equivalent of Chile's entire copper production, he said, otherwise there was a risk the energy transition "will be delayed".
/jlne.ws/4du1wDo
Investors pounce on 'once in a decade' trade in European property bonds; 'Hybrid' debt was hard hit in 2022 but has rebounded strongly as interest rates start to come down
Alan Livsey - Financial Times
Credit investors believe they have found a "once in a decade" trade in the beaten-down bonds of European residential property companies, which are now surging in price. Fund managers, including UBS and Schroders, are among those who have been buying property companies' so-called hybrid bonds, hoping to profit from falling interest rates as some of these companies raise fresh capital to ease short term cash flows. Hybrid bonds are riskier junior debt without a maturity date, and were issued by property developers seeking to bolster their balance sheets when borrowing costs were low.
/jlne.ws/4gI1quH
Chinese investors rush into stocks for fear of missing out on epic rally
Samuel Shen and Summer Zhen - Reuters
Animal spirits are back in China's stock market as investors rush into equities, galvanized by Beijing's policy bonanza and driven by fear of missing out on what some see as a rally of historic intensity. Brokerages are bustling with retail clients and a burst of orders is jamming trading systems as investors rotate money out of bonds and deposits into stocks, leading to an explosion in stock turnover and a jump in yields. "Deposit rates are too low, and real estate investment is no longer safe," said 30-year-old office worker Darren Wang, who started buying stocks using borrowed money.
/jlne.ws/4eG4ju4
Freeport cranks up copper output as rivals scour for deals to grow
Ernest Scheyder - Reuters
Freeport-McMoRan is turbo-charging its copper output across three continents with no plans to join a buyout frenzy sweeping the mining industry, a strategy that analysts say positions the company well to capitalize on the clean energy transition's rising demand for the red metal. Used widely across the global economy, copper is an ideal conductor of electricity and easily malleable, qualities that have made it widely popular for use in wiring, engines, construction equipment, electronics and other devices.
/jlne.ws/3Nrff3n
FOMO Grips China Stock Buyers on 'Epic' Trading Day Before Break; CSI 300 Index rises the most since 2008, entering bull market; Rally extends after fresh steps to ease housing woes
Bloomberg News
For Shao Qifeng, the frenzy in Chinese stock trading in the last five sessions was a first in his 15-year market career. The Beijing-based chief investment officer at Ying An Asset Management Co. has been receiving non-stop client inquiries in his WeChat groups asking whether this is the time to buy stocks, after authorities unveiled a stimulus blitz last week. "I think this means we are in the second phase of a bull market, when stocks are getting wide attention," Shao said. "On the surface, I'm keeping my cool, but deep down in my heart I'm celebrating."
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88-Year-Old Japanese Ex-Pet-Shop Owner Built A $14 Million Fortune Buying Stocks; Shigeru Fujimoto started trading 69 years ago as a 19-year-old; Fans and local media call him Japan's 'Warren Buffett'
Yasutaka Tamura - Bloomberg
When a regulatory filing revealed a stake of more than 5% had been built up in Japanese property management firm Storage-OH Co. last October its shares spiked 17%. The investor that provoked the fevered market response was Shigeru Fujimoto, an 88-year-old former pet-shop owner from the city of Kobe. In a nation where the norm has been for people to park their assets in cash and deposits that offer almost no interest, he's built a small fortune. After almost seven decades of stock trading, the octogenarian has accumulated about ¥2 billion ($14 million) of wealth.
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The Intelligent Investor: The Fed Made Its Move. Why Didn't I? In which our columnist investigates a financial pitfall called the 'flypaper effect,' only to find that he was trapped in it himself
Jason Zweig - The Wall Street Journal
Now that the Federal Reserve has finally cut interest rates, you'll be hearing a lot of advice that comes with exclamation points: You've got to raise your yield! Take more risk! Buy "alternatives" like private real estate and private credit! Ignore the shouting. Instead, use this month's half-percentage-point cut in rates as a quiet pretext for the simplest possible fix: moving money out of cash that you never intended to leave there in the first place. I'm telling you this largely to shame myself into doing it, too.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | The great green business rethink is finally happening; An overdue push to reshape markets, not just individual companies, is under way at last
Pilita Clark - Financial Times
Is corporate sustainability as we know it finally over? Are traditional green business strategies failing to the point that they are doing more harm than good? Perhaps not entirely. But the growing number of sustainable business leaders calling for a rethink of these measures suggests a tipping point is at hand. For those of us who have never thought it likely that businesses and the markets that shape them would be enough to fix the gathering menace of climate change, this realisation is overdue. But it's not trivial. There may not be enough time to upend capitalism but there is plenty of time for companies to push for markets to be reformed in ways that drive faster climate action.
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Pension investors seek better means to force action on climate; Savers with environmental and other ethical concerns now have plenty of options to vote with their money
Moira O'Neill - Financial Times
Pension savers across the world are increasingly looking to invest their money in ways that help the climate. And, for those so inclined - whether as an employee with a workplace scheme or someone going it alone with a private pension - there are plenty of options available. Since 2022, UK pension schemes with more than £1bn in assets under management have been legally required to consider and report on climate-related risks and opportunities. Each relevant scheme should have a climate report available on its website.
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Is ESG Inherently Flawed? HBO's Industry Wants Viewers to Decide; "Can you be altruistic and also want to make money? ESG felt like a good arena to explore that idea," says co-creator Mickey Down of the show's third season.
Olivia Rudgard - Bloomberg
ESG, says one character on Industry less than a half hour into the show's third season, is nothing more than a "utopian opiate for morons who believe in a better world." It's a characteristically misanthropic introduction to the HBO/BBC banking drama's latest series, which takes on the financial sector's enthusiastic adoption - and later repudiation - of environmental, social and governance principles. It's also the latest salvo in an existential question Industry has been raising since premiering in 2020, which co-creator Mickey Down characterizes as "whether you can be good in this world of finance."
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The Hedge Fund Betting Fed Cuts Can't Revive 'Failing' Green Bets
Sheryl Tian Tong Lee - Bloomberg
It's wrong to expect that a cycle of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve will suddenly revive the green transition, according to Barry Norris, the founder and chief investment officer of UK hedge fund Argonaut Capital Partners. "For the last few years, energy-transition insiders believed that the problems in the industry stemmed purely from high interest rates," Norris said in an interview. "Interest rates are now falling, so logically sentiment in this part of the market should be better. Instead, the insiders are going back to governments asking for more subsidies."
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China beefs up computing power by 25% as AI race drives demand
South China Morning Post
Total computing power in China, a critical infrastructure element for processing data and performing digital tasks, grew 25 per cent in the first half of the year, driven by the needs of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies. As of June, computing capacity in the country reached 246 EFLOPS, or 246 quintillion floating-point operations per second, according to a report published on Saturday at the annual China Computational Power Conference in Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province. One quintillion is 1 followed by 18 zeros and is equivalent to a billion billions.
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Zombie Tanker Turns Up at Northern Chinese Port Laden With Oil
Weilun Soon - Bloomberg
Singapore-flagged oil tanker EM Longevity made its final voyage almost three years ago, after more than two decades at sea. Earlier this month, ship-tracking data showed it arriving at a Chinese port, loaded with crude and ready to discharge. With the expansion of the dark fleet moving restricted oil around the world, new tactics are constantly emerging. So-called "zombie vessels", which assume the identity of legitimate but defunct ships, are among the tools used by operators to circumvent tightening restrictions and to manipulate the Automatic Identification System, or AIS, tracking system.
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Macron lures British nuclear start-up to Paris
Matt Oliver - The Telegraph
An advanced nuclear startup is moving its headquarters from London to Paris after complaining about a lack of support from the British Government. Newcleo, an Anglo-Italian company developing a type of mini reactor that can be fuelled with reprocessed nuclear waste, announced its relocation on Monday. The company's switch comes after Stefano Buono, the chief executive, revealed he was personally lobbied by Emmanuel Macron, the French president, unlike the British Government which showed comparatively little interest in his business.
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United States approves $1.52B loan to restart Michigan's Palisades nuclear plant
Clyde Hughes - United Press International
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China Coal Hub Could Lead Its Energy Transition, Researchers Say
Bloomberg
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Britain's last coal-fired electricity plant is closing. It ends 142 years of coal power in the UK
Jill Lawless - Associated Press
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These six places saw their worst storm surge ever during Helene
Kevin Crowe, Anna Phillips, John Muyskens and Brady Dennis - The Washington Post
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Helene Leaves US South Reeling From Flooding and Power Outages
Lauren Rosenthal - Bloomberg
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North Carolinians begin daunting task of cleaning up from Helene
Reuters Videos
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The Three Big Things Driving the Nuclear Energy Revival; Why they're restarting a reactor at Three Mile Island.
Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg (podcast)
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | UBS Kept Less Than Half of Credit Suisse Bankers in Germany
Arno Schuetze and Myriam Balezou - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG has retained less than half of Credit Suisse's bankers in Germany, giving a glimpse of the scale of job losses following last year's merger of the two Swiss lenders. The redundancies in are a mix of cuts, early retirement and voluntary departures, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Credit Suisse's German unit employed 163 staff at the end of 2021, according to its annual accounts.
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Private equity's 'layered leverage' needs more scrutiny, says PGIM chief'
Kaye Wiggins - Financial Times
The chief executive of $1.3tn asset manager PGIM said he was concerned about the "layered leverage" that private equity firms are using to return cash to investors and urged regulators to insist on more transparency about complex forms of debt. David Hunt said that as private equity groups struggle to exit investments, they have been using more complex and opaque forms of borrowing, such as leveraging up funds that own several already-indebted companies to finance payouts for their investors.
/jlne.ws/3ZFN7Rh
Beijing pledges further boosts to ETF industry; Plan to encourage more tech-focused and small-cap ETFs unveiled as part of new financial stimulus package
John Sedgwick and Karen Lai - Ignites Asia via Financial Times
Chinese authorities have announced plans to step up state investment in the country's rapidly expanding exchange traded fund industry and grow the number of ETFs investing in the tech sector and small and medium-size enterprises. The plans are part of a new stimulus package unveiled by China's central bank and top financial and securities regulators on September 24, as the government strives to reignite growth and bolster the flagging stock markets in the world's second-largest economy.
/jlne.ws/3BAAj4r
Wall Street's Income-ETF Boom Comes for Nasdaq 100 With a Twist
Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
A new ETF on Wall Street is offering investors a novel way to eke out income from the world of stocks by targeting an unlikely index: the Nasdaq 100. Issuer Pacer ETF Distributors last week debuted a product that offers exposure to tech companies - more famous for furnishing growth than dividends - alongside amped-up income from the futures market. It joins a wave of new funds offering a slew of different ways to generate reliable income streams from equities of all stripes, often at the price of underperforming the broader market in a bull cycle.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The tough work culture proving too toxic for Gen Z
Charlotte Lytton - The Telegraph
Banking has never been an industry for the faint-hearted. Working 120 hour-weeks over at least six days is common. But for members of Generation Z, infamously protective of their well-being and mental health, the brutal conditions ingrained in the job are proving to be a big turn-off. The long days and persistent pay-your-dues mentality from top brass, who want new recruits put through the same rite of passage they barely survived, have created a culture war between Gen Z bankers and their bosses.
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Banning Alcohol at Australian Bank Would Be Difficult, CEO Says
Harry Brumpton - Bloomberg
ANZ Group Holdings Ltd.'s Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott said an alcohol ban would be "difficult to implement" as the bank works to restore an embattled reputation following a series of scandals in its trading arm. While Australia's fourth-largest lender hasn't ruled out imposing such a policy after complaints of inebriated staff on the trading floor, it wouldn't be easy to do so and maintain, Elliott told Bloomberg Television's Haslinda Amin in an interview on Monday.
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Tolerating the Office When It Feels Like High School; How to stay cordial when your adult colleagues gossip like teenagers.
Anna Holmes - The New York Times
Nosy and Nasty: I enjoy my work, but sometimes find myself trapped at lunch with colleagues who are nasty gossips or just too plain nosy for me. It's all very high school and we're talking people in their 60s here! Maybe I am old school but I draw a strict line between my work and private life. One colleague relishes information about people's private lives, which she repeats at work - truly nasty stuff. I try my best to avoid them, but am sometimes trapped in the lunchroom and am asked pointed questions about my work schedule, etc.
/jlne.ws/3N5HhB3
Octopus Energy CEO: 'Most entrepreneurs are not lovers of risk. They're lovers of control'; New competitor has shaken up UK market with a focus on technology but price spikes this winter could bring challenges
Matthew Garrahan - Financial Times
If the UK's prime minister and chancellor were to compile an identikit picture of a chief executive who best fit their vision for the future of corporate Britain, the result might look a bit like Greg Jackson of Octopus Energy. Environmental credentials? Box ticked: Octopus invests in renewable energy projects and Jackson says green power can drive down bills. "We message customers to let them know that during a windy hour we'll give them free electricity over and above their normal usage," he says, adding that "everyone loves a bargain".
/jlne.ws/4empTEk
The Big Shift From Salaries to Bonus-Based Pay; Did you hit your work goals? Part of your compensation may depend on it.
Vanessa Fuhrmans - The Wall Street Journal
More Americans are in jobs where a chunk of their pay isn't guaranteed. In incentive pay programs, base salaries are often fleshed out with monthly or quarterly bonuses conditional on hitting certain targets. Twenty-eight percent of more than 300 companies surveyed said they were building incentive pay into new roles, according to a 2024 survey by revenue-management consulting firm Alexander Group.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | The Wellness Industry Isn't the Fix
Dr. Stephanie Boyce - Dallas Weekly
On the heels of the COVID pandemic, one of the industries that has surged to all-time highs is the Global Wellness Industry (GWI). In 2022, the Global Wellness Institute, the foremost authority in the industry, reported that the GWI grew its economy to $5.6 trillion, up from $4.9 trillion in 2019. When considering leading segments of the industry some of the most popular include personal care and beauty, healthy eating/nutrition/weight loss, physical activity, and wellness tourism.
/jlne.ws/3zEuhzg
Student Wellness Tip: Supporting Students in Political Uncertainty
Ashley Mowreader - Inside Higher Ed
As colleges and universities prepare for the 2024 presidential election, mental health experts recommend providing spaces for student to connect and set boundaries in their news consumption.
/jlne.ws/4gIMDjj
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | EU joint gas-buying effort fails to ignite market; Tool to harness bloc's buying power led to contracts for just 2% of potential demand, say people with access to data
Alice Hancock in Brussels and Shotaro Tani in London - Financial Times
The EU's flagship joint gas-buying platform has handled only a tiny fraction of the bloc's demand, according to data that raises doubts over its rollout to critical minerals and hydrogen. People who have seen internal figures said the joint procurement exercise, dubbed AggregateEU and introduced at the height of the energy crisis that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, only resulted in an estimated 2 per cent of the potential demand being contracted.
/jlne.ws/3N7CGi0
Xi Jinping just fired his giant money cannon at the wrong target
Linette Lopez - Business Insider
Sure, Wall Street. Go ahead. Ride the dragon. There was a moment of grace on Tuesday for investors, market analysts, and finance's top brass when Beijing announced measures to try to reinvigorate China's croaking economy. Pan Gongsheng, a governor of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, announced that 800 billion yuan, or about $114 billion, would be injected into the stock market. Policymakers also said they were discussing raising a fund designed to stabilize stocks and announced rules allowing Chinese banks to keep less money in reserve, freeing up 1 trillion yuan to go out asloans. They also lowered the People's Bank of China's medium-term lending rate and key interest rates for banks and customers. Homebuyers can also now put less money down on their purchases - an attempt to breathe life into China's moribund property market.
/jlne.ws/3TOXwGl
Carote's Hong Kong IPO Is Said to Have Drawn Hillhouse, Shunwei
Pei Li and Dave Sebastian -Bloomberg
Chinese kitchenware maker Carote Ltd., which is set to be the first company to list in Hong Kong since Midea Group Co.'s $4.6 billion debut, has drawn interest from investors including Hillhouse Investment and Shunwei Capital, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3TQdBvs
India Eases Restrictions on Exports of Key Rice Varieties; White rice shipments allowed with minimum export price; Government cuts duty on parboiled rice exports to 10%
Pratik Parija - Bloomberg
India loosened restrictions on some rice exports, a move that may ease global prices and signal a shift in domestic agricultural policies following recent national elections. The government lifted a ban on non-basmati white rice shipments, and set a minimum export price of $490 per ton, according to a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. On Friday, authorities cut a tax on overseas sales of parboiled rice to 10% from 20%.
/jlne.ws/3Y2UqRJ
South Korea's Chip Stockpiles Shrink at Fastest Pace Since 2009; Inventory falls 42.6% from a year in August, data show Data released amid questions over extent of chip rally
Sam Kim - Bloomberg
South Korea's semiconductor stockpiles dwindled at the fastest clip since 2009 last month in a sign of sustained demand for high-performance memory chips used in artificial intelligence development. Inventories dropped 42.6% from a year earlier, a quicker pace than the 34.3% decline reported in July, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Monday. Production and shipments grew 10.3% and 16.1%, respectively, the data showed, in additional indications that the boom cycle endured through most of the third quarter.
/jlne.ws/4eofOqq
India Records Best Rainy Season in Four Years in Boost to Crops
Atul Prakash and Pratik Parija - Bloomberg
India recorded its best monsoon season since 2020, setting the stage for a bumper harvest of crops such as rice, soybeans and pulses. Precipitation during the June-September period waters about half of the country's farmland and is critical to agriculture because it also influences winter plantings. Rains were below average last year, prompting the government to prolong restrictions on rice, wheat and sugar exports.
/jlne.ws/3ZHiFGf
Google to Spend $1 Billion in Thailand to Speed Up Asia AI Push
Saritha Rai - Bloomberg
Alphabet Inc.'s Google plans to invest $1 billion to build data centers in Thailand, joining global tech companies in adding cloud and AI infrastructure in Southeast Asia. The company will add facilities in Bangkok and Chonburi, a province southeast of the capital. The outlay could help add $4 billion to Thailand's economy by 2029 and support 14,000 jobs annually over the next five years, Google said Monday, citing a Deloitte study.
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