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John Lothian Newsletter
November 10, 2023 "Irreverent, but never irrelevant"
 
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff

The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation has shifted to a VaR margin methodology for enhanced investor protection.

Effective November 6, 2023, the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), affiliated with the Japan Exchange Group (JPX), has updated its margin calculation approach for JPX's derivatives market. The transition from the SPAN to the Value at Risk (VaR) method is aimed at bolstering investor safeguards within the marketplace. JPX has launched a marketing campaign to promote this important change to the way its customer margins are calculated, including a two-week sponsored content run in the John Lothian Newsletter that will begin next week.

The newly implemented VaR margin calculation framework is bifurcated into two distinct methodologies: the Historical Simulation Method (HS-VaR) and the Alternative Simulation Method (AS-VaR). The HS-VaR approach is adopted for Index Futures/Options, including the benchmark Nikkei 225 futures (with the exception of dividends index futures), as well as Japanese Government Bond (JGB) Futures/Options, Interest Rate Futures such as the 3-Month TONA Futures, and both Electricity and LNG Futures from the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), all traded on the Osaka Exchange (OSE).

Conversely, the AS-VaR method is designated for OSE's Dividends index futures, in addition to Precious Metals Futures/Options, Rubber Futures, Agricultural Futures, and the remainder of TOCOM's Energy Futures excluding Electricity and LNG contracts. JPX says this strategic enhancement reflects JSCC's commitment to maintaining robust risk management standards and aligning with global best practices for financial market infrastructure.

For more information on the VaR margin methodology, click HERE.

The news of the ransomware attack on Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. combines a number of key categories of this newsletter. The story is important, so it is in the leads section. It is a cybersecurity issue, so it is in that section. Ransomware attacks are often linked to cryptocurrencies for payment of the ransom, though this one will be interesting as China has restricted the use of cryptocurrencies. It also allegedly involves a criminal group with Russian connections. Of course, it involves the U.S. Treasury market and equities as well, so trading and investing is involved. And then there is the use of a USB stick to transfer the data of the trades of the bank, which I would include in the fintech section. Quite a story, all in all.

A reminder that on November 16, 2023, the LaSalle Street Trading Tech Reunion event for the Pathway to Adventure Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be held at the Chicago Board of Trade Building from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The entertainment for the evening is going to be Wallace Tallman, aka Andrew Lothian. Perhaps we can even get him to play the Iowa Dreams song about James "Bugz" Brooks at the event. If you are interested in attending, please reach out to me. Terry Duffy of Advantage Futures is the chairman of this year's event and we will have the last of the Harlan Award winners, Scouts who completed five of the Trading Tech merit badge clinics. The Harlan Award is named in Honor of Harlan Ten Pas, my former business accountant and a Scouter who taught me a lot. If you would like to register or donate, click HERE.

Coindesk reports that the CME Group has recently outstripped Binance, the cryptocurrency-focused exchange, in the rankings for Bitcoin futures trading. This shift is underscored by a surge of excitement surrounding the potential for a Bitcoin ETF, which has contributed to increased Bitcoin futures activity on the CME. The platform is predominantly utilized by large-scale, traditional financial institutions, indicating a significant uptick in institutional interest in Bitcoin as an investment asset. An analyst pointed to CME's ascent to the top position as a clear sign of this burgeoning demand from professional financial entities.

Congratulations to Sarah Rudolph and Jeff Bergstrom, who in November are celebrating 16 years at John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. I asked Jeff to come help after we launched MarketsWiki and we needed more hands on deck, and he has continued to grow and help the operation prosper. Sarah has contributed so much to MarketsWiki over the years and to the evolution of John Lothian News. Thank you to both for your hard work, loyalty and many years of service to the firm and our goal of helping people manage non-price-oriented risk.

Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL

*****

The monthly UN Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) newsletter features news from members of the SSE; the latest information from regulators and standard setters; as well as gender equality updates. Updates for October include news from Bursa Malaysia, BME, Boursa Kuwait, and HKEX, among others. The SSE is a joint partnership program of the UN UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, the UNEP Finance Initiative and Principles for Responsible Investment. View the newsletter and sign up here. ~SAED

Our most read stories yesterday on JLN Options were:
Bitcoin Rallies Past Terra Crash Level in Win for Bruised Bulls from Bloomberg.
There's value in options with US CPI data in focus from Reuters.
Global X launches options ETF for volatile emerging markets from Reuters. ~JB

Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).

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The Russell 2000 Index provides live index tracking data, with historical performance dating back to January 1984. Academic and practitioner research confirms that large-cap stocks behave differently to small-cap stocks and performance is variable. There are sub-periods during which the Russell 1000 outperforms the Russell 2000 and vice versa. Quarterly performance assessments provide valuable datapoints for understanding market sentiment and US economic activity. View the report: Russell 2000 Index Quarterly Chartbook - October 2023 | LSEG"

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CQG CEO Ryan Moroney Talks CQG Acquisition Deal by Senior Executives in John Lothian News Interview
JohnLothianNews.com

In an exclusive video interview with John Lothian News, CQG CEO Ryan Moroney offered insights into the company's strategic deal announced yesterday morning, when CQG said it has entered into an agreement for acquisition by a group of its senior executives.

Watch the video »

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Prediction markets can tell the future. Why is the US so afraid of them? Inside the fight over political betting, which remains a taboo in the US
Oliver Roeder - Financial Times
Over the past year, John Aristotle Phillips and I have placed a lot of bets. Meeting regularly for sandwiches and beers at Soho House, a members' club in Manhattan and his de facto office, we debated and wagered on the outcome of many contests - football games, macroeconomic data, Kentucky Derby thoroughbreds, election results and more.
/jlne.ws/3u5i5UZ

****** Why is the U.S. so afraid of them? One word. Manipulation. ~JJL

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Editorial: SBF made crypto suffer. Now the industry must turn the page.
The Editorial Board - Chicago Tribune
The cryptocurrency industry is looking ahead these days, hoping that Sam Bankman-Fried's recent criminal fraud conviction provides an opportunity to break with an unsavory past and chart a respectable future. It's a nice thought for a business that has amazing potential, but, in our view, it is premature to be turning the page. Cryptocurrencies are digital files akin to money that trade actively on the Internet. Their reputation has a long way to go to overcome the Sam Bankman-Fried effect. We hope the industry now can stay out of big trouble long enough to restore its image and find a place in the mainstream financial world, where it belongs.
/jlne.ws/47sI7Ac

****** Who knew? The Chicago Tribune editorial board members are true believers in crypto?~JJL

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Thursday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Thursday was the CQG press release CQG Enters into Agreement on Acquisition by Group of its Senior Executives. Second was our MarketsWiki page for CQG, which was the MarketsWiki Page of the Day Thursday. And third was our MarketsWiki page for Ryan Moroney, the chief executive officer of CQG.

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John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals.
 
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John Lothian News Editorial Staff:
 
John Lothian
Publisher
 
Sarah Rudolph
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Jeff Bergstrom
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Patrick Lothian
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Robert Lothian
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Nichole Price
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Sally Duros
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Asma Awass
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Corties Draper
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Lead Stories
Ransomware attack on ICBC disrupts trades in US Treasury market; Chinese bank says it has contained a hack that affected some fixed income and equities transactions
Costas Mourselas, Kate Duguid and Joshua Franklin and Hannah Murphy - Financial Times
A ransomware attack on the financial services arm of China's largest bank has disrupted the US Treasury market by forcing clients of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to reroute trades, market participants said on Thursday. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association first told members on Wednesday that ICBC Financial Services had been hit by ransomware software, which paralyses computer systems unless a payment is made, several people familiar with the discussions said.
/jlne.ws/468LdIj

World's Biggest Bank Forced to Trade Via USB Stick After Hack
Katherine Doherty, Liz Capo McCormick and Alexandra Harris - Bloomberg
On Thursday, trades handled by the world's largest bank in the globe's biggest market traversed Manhattan on a USB stick. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.'s US unit had been hit by a cyberattack, rendering it unable to clear swathes of US Treasury trades after entities responsible for settling the transactions swiftly disconnected from the stricken systems. That forced ICBC to send the required settlement details to those parties by a messenger carrying a thumb drive as the state-owned lender raced to limit the damage.
/jlne.ws/47u5nxp

The First Commercial Carbon-Sucking Facility in the US Opens in California
Nadia Lopez - Bloomberg
The US is getting its first commercial facility to soak up carbon dioxide from the ambient air for permanent storage, a nascent technology that's been both lauded as crucial in fighting climate change and derided as a distraction that will delay the clean energy transition. The plant near San Francisco, built by Bay Area startup Heirloom Carbon Technologies, puts California at the forefront of the emerging carbon removal industry as a handful of so-called direct air capture (DAC) hubs are also slated to get underway. Heirloom's facility, unveiled Thursday, will be capable of removing and storing as much as 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year.
/jlne.ws/49xdUl0

ICBC trying to curb impact of US ransomware attack, says China; Hack at Chinese bank's arm disrupted market for US Treasuries on Thursday
Cheng Leng - Financial Times
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is trying to minimise losses after a ransomware attack on the country's biggest bank disrupted the market for US Treasuries, the Chinese foreign ministry said. At a briefing on Friday, the ministry said ICBC had done a good job in handling the attack on its financial services arm.
/jlne.ws/49p8WHj

Citadel Securities trains sights on eurozone debt market; Miami-based market maker aims to displace banks in euro 10tn market
Hudson Lockett - Financial Times
Billionaire Ken Griffin's Citadel Securities plans to start market making in eurozone sovereign bonds next year, challenging investment banks' dominance of the euro 10tn market. The Miami-based high-frequency market-making firm hopes to capitalise on the steady shift to electronic trading in Europe and the most active market for trading the continent's sovereign debt in almost a decade.
/jlne.ws/3Qyl1RR

UBS Remains Under Swiss Regulator's Magnifying Glass; Finma, Switzerland's financial watchdog, said it is supervising UBS 'intensively' following its tie up with Credit Suisse
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
UBS is facing scrutiny from Finma, Switzerland's chief financial regulator, as it integrates with Credit Suisse following the merger of the two global banks this year, the regulator said, adding that it will appoint outside monitors to oversee the process. The risks of cyberattacks, information-technology disruptions and fraud have significantly increased during the integration of UBS and Credit Suisse, Finma said Thursday in an annual risk outlook report. The regulator also noted an overarching concern that a lack of a "holistic overall risk view" could mean that controls are inadequate.
/jlne.ws/3srbgwK

US and EU Lead Push for COP28 to Endorse Tripling of Renewables
Ewa Krukowska and Jennifer A. Dlouhy - Bloomberg
The US and European Union are leading a global push for the United Nations' climate talks to endorse the tripling of renewables and doubling of energy savings by the end of the decade. Nearly 60 countries are backing the targets to be included in the outcome of the UN's upcoming COP28 talks in Dubai, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Leaders from those nations are planning to join a call for action at a Dec. 2 meeting during the conference, they said.
/jlne.ws/3MC5dME

Suspected Russian hackers disrupted the market in U.S. Treasuries by attacking China's-and the world's-largest bank
Lionel Lim - Fortune
So much for decoupling. Hackers managed to disrupt the U.S. Treasury market not by targeting a U.S. financial institution, but rather a Chinese mega-bank. The financial services arm of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China announced Thursday that a ransomware attack disrupted its systems and that it prevented it from settling Treasury trades on behalf of other market participants. Transactions reportedly failed to clear and traders had to reroute their deals to other financial institutions. The bank was even forced to get settlement data from affected parties using a messenger and a portable USB drive, reports Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/3SCWtcS

Jamie Dimon is selling his stock. These Wall Street bankers are doing the same; The FT rounds up the US bank executives cashing in their shares
Patrick Temple-West, Joshua Franklin and Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
When JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon starts unloading his $1.2bn of stock next year, the Wall Street titan - who has never previously sold stock - will join a parade of top bankers who have cashed in some of their holdings. Dimon's refusal to sell harks back to the era when his early mentor, Sandy Weill, dominated Wall Street and instigated a "blood oath" that required his management team to hold their shares until they left. JPMorgan itself has previously trumpeted the fact that Dimon had "not sold a single share of JPMorgan Chase common stock".
/jlne.ws/3u5hSRH

SEC faces fierce pushback on plan to police AI investment advice; Brokers, hedge funds and advisers say proposals are unnecessary and impossible to implement
Jennifer Hughes - Financial Times
Brokers, hedge funds and investment advisers are pushing back hard against attempts by the main US markets regulator to manage how artificial intelligence is used to give financial advice to investors. Rules proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in July would force banks and fund managers to neutralise or eliminate any conflict of interest involving almost any form of technology when they advise clients.
/jlne.ws/3ubh8L7

Why Are We So Obsessed with Sam Bankman-Fried's Parents? The operatic family saga showed us not just the deranging effect of parental love but the limits of privilege and good intentions in saving our children from themselves
Katie Roiphe - The Wall Street Journal
During the trial for disgraced crypto-wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried, the courtroom artist did an inspired, almost abstract evocation of his parents at the moment of the crushing verdict. His father is bent over, white head in his hands, his mother is covering her face; the shadowing of their dark clothes merges them into a single mountain of unspeakable grief. Journalists in the room were equally riveted by their reaction, writing about Barbara Fried "crumpling" and Joe Bankman "doubling over" and of them "holding each other up." Covering their faces would not shield them from the intense scrutiny aimed in their direction.
/jlne.ws/3SAwouT

EU watchdog cautions against one-size-fits-all rules for non-banks
Huw Jones - Reuters
Regulators should keep on open mind when writing rules for the world's $239 trillion "non-bank" financial sector to avoid one-size fits all approaches, the EU's top securities watchdog said. Non-banks, a sector which includes hedge funds, real estate funds, insurers and private investments and now account for about half of the world's financial sector, are firmly in the regulatory limelight.
/jlne.ws/466lYGD

UBS Remains Under Swiss Regulator's Magnifying Glass; Finma, Switzerland's financial watchdog, said it is supervising UBS 'intensively' following its tie up with Credit Suisse
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
UBS is facing scrutiny from Finma, Switzerland's chief financial regulator, as it integrates with Credit Suisse following the merger of the two global banks this year, the regulator said, adding that it will appoint outside monitors to oversee the process. The risks of cyberattacks, information-technology disruptions and fraud have significantly increased during the integration of UBS and Credit Suisse, Finma said Thursday in an annual risk outlook report. The regulator also noted an overarching concern that a lack of a "holistic overall risk view" could mean that controls are inadequate.
/jlne.ws/3srbgwK

Half of US Is at Risk of Losing Power During Extreme Cold
Will Wade and Naureen S. Malik - Bloomberg
Power grids that supply more than half of the US population may run short of electricity during an extended cold snap or severe storm over the coming winter, according to industry regulators. Regional system operators in a vast swath of the country stretching from Texas to New England are "at risk of insufficient electricity supplies during peak winter conditions," the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said Wednesday in its winter reliability assessment, which also showed Quebec and Saskatchewan facing the threat of power shortfalls.
/jlne.ws/478dTT1

China's Under-Developed CDS Market Worsens Real Estate Pain
Giulia Morpurgo and Pearl Liu - Bloomberg
After a major default, investor attention usually turns to the potential payout from credit default swaps, a type of security that acts as insurance against bankruptcy. But when one of China's biggest property developers missed a coupon on its bonds late last month, few bothered to check whether there would be any money up for grabs.
/jlne.ws/49y6w96

Gensler Supports FTX Reboot Under New Leadership If Done "Within the Law"
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
Gary Gensler, the Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has indicated a willingness to consider the reboot of the crypto exchange FTX, under the condition that any new leadership operates within legal boundaries. Gensler's remarks come in response to speculation about Tom Farley, the former president of the New York Stock Exchange, being a potential acquirer of the bankrupt FTX exchange, originally founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud.
/jlne.ws/3FRe0qc



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Ukraine Invasion
News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact
EU Says Highly Unlikely It Will Meet Ammunition Pledge to Ukraine
Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
The European Union informed member states that the bloc is very unlikely to hit a pledge to provide Ukraine with 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition, complicating Kyiv's ability to keep pace with Russia's own production. The EU's foreign policy arm, the European External Action Service, briefed EU diplomats this week that the bloc would likely miss the March 2024 target, according to people familiar with the matter. Under plans made earlier this year, the EU pledged to provide the artillery ammunition rounds to Ukraine over a 12-month period, first by dipping into existing stocks and then through joint procurement contracts and increasing industrial capacity.
/jlne.ws/3svmvUY

Zelenskiy Aides Deny Split With General Over Stalemate Warning
Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Daryna Krasnolutska - Bloomberg
Aides to the Ukrainian president sought to paper over cracks emerging between the nation's political leader and its top military commander after the general warned of a "stalemate" as the war with Russia heads into its second winter.
/jlne.ws/46a07ya

Zelenskiy hopes for "planet of dogs" to solve world's crises
Reuters
Apart from a detailed peace plan to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has a less conventional idea for ending geopolitical crises like these: let dogs run the world. In the rare downtime he gets as a wartime leader, Zelenskiy, speaking to Reuters by video link on Wednesday, suggested man's best friend might fare better when it comes to getting along on the global stage.
/jlne.ws/3MHvtVR

Ukraine Should Postpone Its Election; Voting amid a raging war would carry too many risks. But the government can still strengthen democracy in the meantime.
The Editorial Board - Bloomberg
If these were normal times, Ukraine would be preparing to hold presidential elections in March. But with war raging and parts of the country under Russian occupation, that looks increasingly infeasible. Delaying the vote makes sense - so long as the government commits to strengthening democracy in the meantime.
/jlne.ws/3N0pKLd

Ukraine's Getting Nearly 200 Leopard 1A5 Tanks. Now It Needs New Tank Tactics.
David Axe - Forbes
The Leopard 1s just keep coming. In the nine months since a German-Danish-Dutch consortium announced it would donate to Ukraine's war effort an initial batch of 100 German-made Leopard 1A5 tanks, the consortium-as well as Denmark acting alone-have added 95 Leopard 1s to the total.
/jlne.ws/49srer5








Israel/Palestine Conflict
News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Palestine
Bank of Israel Chief Says War More Expensive Than Estimated
Catarina Saraiva and Galit Altstein - Bloomberg
Israel's central bank governor said the war with Hamas is a "major shock" to the economy and proving costlier than initially estimated. While Israel's economy is strong and stable, "there is no doubt the war will have fiscal implications and generate budget pressures," Amir Yaron said Thursday in Washington.
/jlne.ws/478ex2Z

Israel Fears War on the Horizon Against Hezbollah in the North; Border military presence toughened to stop potential incursion; Israel frets Hezbollah may open second front in Hamas conflict
Ethan Bronner and Galit Altstein - Bloomberg
In Kibbutz Eilon, an Israeli cooperative a mile south of Lebanon, the avocado and banana farming families have been replaced by an infantry company specialized in mortars and anti-tank support. The boom of howitzers punctuates the soft air. There is a sense of impending conflict.
/jlne.ws/3ssSrJv

Israel Commits to More Limited Pauses in Gaza Strip Fighting; Biden says he's seeking longer pauses for hostage releases; Israel says it's allowing safe passage but rejects ceasefire
Jenny Leonard - Bloomberg
Israel said it agreed to limited pauses in fighting in the Gaza Strip so civilians can flee its war with Hamas, a description that fell short of what the US hailed as a significant agreement for daily, four-hour halts. Israel will enact "tactical local pauses for humanitarian aid, which are limited in time and area," Israeli army spokesperson Richard Hecht said. He played down the importance of the announcement as Israel presses ahead with a campaign against Hamas in the wake of the group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
/jlne.ws/40zRlsb

'They Have Nowhere to Go': A Gaza Hospital Braces for Fighting; Masses of Palestinians have taken shelter at Al-Shifa Hospital-but Israeli allegations that Hamas has operations there have staff worried about an attack
Margherita Stancati and Chao Deng - The Wall Street Journal
At the sprawling Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, families pack the hallways inside, while others have set up makeshift tents outside, with bed sheets hung up for privacy. Doctors, short on space and supplies, tend to bloodied patients on the floor. By evening, most of the wards go dark because fuel is running low, leaving medical staff to sometimes examine wounds and injuries with the lights on their cellphones.
/jlne.ws/3QUhxdQ








Exchanges, OTC & Clearing
Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchanges and ICE Global Network collaborate to offer direct market access; Through leveraging the ICE Global Network, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) aims to expand its global investor base by facilitating real-time access to market data and order entry.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has selected the Intercontinental Exchange's (ICE) Global Network to offer direct market access to global institutional investors. ICE Global Network will be leveraged by ADX to expand its global investor base by facilitating real-time access to market data and order entry.
/jlne.ws/3MEEIGe

Euronext posts strong Q3 trading performance, offsetting lower cash trading revenue; Euronext has appointed Simon Gallagher head of global sales for Euronext and chief executive of Euronext London, having formerly led the cash and derivatives team.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Euronext posted solid double-digit growth in fixed income and power trading, with the former up 18.7% year-on-year, which more than offset its lower performance in cash trading which saw its revenue fall 4.4% since this time last year. The derivatives trading revenue decreased by 3.9% driven by a decline in equity and index futures compared to the particularly volatile environment seen in Q3 2022, while FX trading was down 11.4%.
/jlne.ws/49staQn

Nodal Exchange achieves record volume in power and environmental markets
EEX Group News
Nodal Exchange today announced new trading records in power and environmental futures. In power, Nodal achieved a year to date record with January 2023 - October 2023 traded power futures volume of 2.355 billion MWh, up 15% from 2.050 billion MWh during the same time period 2022. In October, Nodal Exchange traded volume was 242.5 million MWh, up 27% from October 2022. Nodal continues to be the market leader in North American power futures having the majority share of the open interest with a 1.268 billion MWh at the end of October. The open interest represents over $121.4 billion of notional value (both sides).
/jlne.ws/49y3UIg

Euronext announces volumes for October 2023
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announced trading volumes for October 2023. Euronext fixed income volumes continue to perform extremely well. MTS Cash average daily volumes were up +76.1% year on year to euro 27,833 million in October 2023 (the highest ADV in two years), and MTS Repo term adjusted average daily volume stood at euro 499,317 million, up +26.6% compared to the same period last year and the highest TAADV recorded since March 2020.
/jlne.ws/4698RVf

NYSE Group Announces 2024, 2025 and 2026 Holiday and Early Closings Calendar
Intercontinental Exchange
NYSE Group, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, announced today the 2026 holiday calendar and early closing dates for its cash equity markets: New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE Chicago, and NYSE National, as well as the NYSE American Options, NYSE Arca Options and NYSE Bonds markets. The 2024 and 2025 holiday and early closing dates are also set forth below.
/jlne.ws/3SHUmV4

Decision Notice Regarding Consultation On Initial Action Plan Proposals (Off-Warrant Stock Reporting And Delivery Deferral Powers), And Proposed Miscellaneous Amendments To The LME Rulebook And LME Clear Rules
London Metal Exchange
Summary. 1. This document ("Decision Notice") is being issued in response to comments which the London Metal Exchange ("LME") and LME Clear Limited ("LME Clear") have received regarding the consultation on initial proposals announced in the Action Plan to Strengthen the LME Group's Markets ("Action Plan") appended to LME Notice 23/053 / LME Circular 23-009, and regarding a number of miscellaneous proposed amendments to the Rules and Regulations of the LME ("LME Rulebook") and to the LME Clear Rules and Procedures ("LME Clear Rules") ("Consultation") which was set out in LME Notice 23/090 / LME Clear Circular 23-020 ("Consultation Notice").
/www.lme.com/en/News

US Exchanges to Close in Observance of Thanksgiving Holiday
New York Stock Exchange
In observance of Thanksgiving, the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE Chicago Equities, NYSE National Equities, NYSE Arca Options, NYSE American Options, and NYSE Bonds markets will be closed on November 23, 2023, and will operate on a shortened trading schedule on November 24, 2023. Regular trading sessions will close for all markets at 1:00 p.m. (1:15 p.m. for eligible options) Eastern Time (ET).
/jlne.ws/3MzoMFi

The Moscow Exchange begins trading in perpetual futures on the Moscow Exchange Index
MOEX
On November 14, 2023, trading on the Moscow Exchange derivatives market will begin with a new settlement perpetual futures contract, the underlying asset of which is the main indicator of the Russian stock market - the Moscow Exchange Index (IMOEX). This is the first perpetual index contract on the Moscow Exchange derivatives market. The new tool allows you to invest in a basket of the most liquid shares of Russian companies with one click at low costs, and also does not require the transfer of a position, unlike classic futures contracts. Perpetual futures will be convenient for both private and institutional investors.
/jlne.ws/49wtNZ5




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Fintech
A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors
CQG Announces Ownership Transfer to Senior Executives in Major Shift
Tradingview.com
CQG is set to undergo a transformation as a group of its senior executives prepares to acquire the company. The firm, renowned for its technology solutions tailored to market makers, traders, brokers, commercial hedgers, and exchanges, has been privately held since its inception in 1980.
/jlne.ws/47nKzb1

Citrix owner Cloud Software becomes latest US software company to quit China as economy weakens, regulations tighten
South China Morning Post
Cloud Software Group, the parent of cloud computing company Citrix, has announced it would stop all new commercial transactions in China, becoming one of the latest American technology companies to pull back from the market. The decision would extend to customers, either directly or through partners, in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, effective December 3, a spokesman said in a statement to the Post on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/46olFax



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Cybersecurity
Top stories for cybersecurity
World's Largest Bank Hit By Ransomware Gang Linked to Boeing, Ion Attacks
Katherine Doherty and Liz Capo McCormick - Bloomberg
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. is suspected of being hacked by the same group that has - just in the past year - also hit Boeing Co., ION Trading UK and the UK's Royal Mail. The prolific gang known as Lockbit is suspected to have orchestrated a ransomware attack against the US unit of ICBC, the world's largest lender by assets, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public. The attack has resulted in disruptions across the US Treasury market, with some transactions failing to clear and traders being asked to reroute their deals.
/jlne.ws/3SxePvN

OpenAI Suggests Cyber-Attackers Behind Persistent ChatGPT Outage
Edwin Chan and Rachel Metz - Bloomberg
OpenAI is grappling with "abnormal traffic" that suggests hackers are trying to swamp its services, revealing for the first time the potential cause of outages that've plagued ChatGPT this week. The Microsoft Corp.-backed startup, which helped galvanize the development of generative AI around the world, said it spotted signs of a Distributed Denial of Service attack, where external perpetrators try to overload a platform by repeatedly pinging it.
/jlne.ws/465hwb7





Cryptocurrencies
Top stories for cryptocurrencies
BlackRock plans for ethereum trust fuel speculation about ETF filing
Suzanne McGee - Reuters
Asset management giant BlackRock registered to create an ethereum trust, a potential first step toward asking regulators to approve an exchange-traded fund tied to ether, the second-largest digital token. BlackRock registered the iShares Ethereum Trust as a Delaware statutory trust on Thursday. Nasdaq also filed a proposal on Thursday to list and trade shares of the trust.
/jlne.ws/3Szx3go

Jump Crypto Faces SEC Scrutiny Over Alleged Role in Do Kwon's Terra's $1 Billion UST Deal
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
Jump Crypto, a segment of the Jump Trading group, is currently facing scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its suspected involvement in a transaction with former Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon. The SEC's inquiry is focused on whether Jump Crypto entered into an agreement in May 2021 to stabilize the peg of Terra USD (UST) to the U.S. dollar by acquiring substantial quantities of the algorithmic stablecoin.
/jlne.ws/3sy1fO8

SEC Fires Back at Binance's Motion to Dismiss its Lawsuit in New Filing
CoinDesk
Binance's efforts to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit do not have a basis in the law, the federal regulator said in a filing Wednesday. This comes after the SEC first sued Binance in June, a day before suing Coinbase, arguing both companies offered unregistered securities to the investing public. CoinDesk Managing Editor of Global Policy and Regulation Nikhilesh De gives the latest update.
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Tighter rules make an impact on UK crypto markets; FCA issued 146 alerts on the first full day of regulation
Robert Wright - Financial Times
New UK rules are "making progress" in stamping out the worst excesses of crypto investment promotions, marketing experts and participants said, after regulators issued 146 alerts about malpractice in the first full day of regulation. The Financial Conduct Authority issued the alerts, warning consumers about companies that were offering cryptocurrency assets without regulatory clearance, after the industry came under the organisation's regulatory oversight on October 8.
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Sam Bankman-Fried Has Fallen. Long Live Crypto? Despite ongoing legal scrutiny, the performance of the asset class this year has defied and dismayed skeptics.
Michael P. Regan - Bloomberg
Financial markets have alarmingly short memories. Dreaming about the future is a much more powerful force than dwelling on the past. Just look at what transpired in the cryptocurrency market as the US government successfully prosecuted FTX exchange co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried for one of the biggest financial crimes in history. Rather than selling off amid the powerful reminders of how much everyone got wrong during the digital-asset bubble in general-and the ascendancy of Bankman-Fried's empire in particular-crypto prices continued their vigorous rebound from last year's face-plant.
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FTSE



Politics
An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets
US lawmakers unveil bill requiring private equity firms to reveal China investment
Karen Freifeld - Reuters
Two U.S. senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would require private equity firms to make public how much they invest in China and other countries of concern. The bill, introduced by Democratic Senator Bob Casey and Republican Senator Rick Scott, is the latest effort to track U.S. investments in China.
/jlne.ws/47u9lGj

Ex-Natwest CEO Rose Loses Bonus, Stock After Farage Scandal; Lender said Rose will forfeit deferred shares she'd earned; Rose to continue to collect her salary, pension contributions
Jennifer Surane - Bloomberg
British lender NatWest Group Plc has slashed former Chief Executive Officer Alison Rose's pay by pounds 7.6 million ($9.28 million) as the company looks to move beyond the debanking scandal that forced her out earlier this year. Rose, who led the bank until July, will forfeit pounds 4.7 million in deferred shares she'd been awarded, according to a statement on Friday. The company will also not pay Rose her pounds 2.9 million bonus and other long-term awards for 2023, the statement said.
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Finland Defense Model Proven as Fix For Europe, Minister Says
Leo Laikola - Bloomberg
European nations need to adopt Finland's approach to national security by boosting their defense forces and ammunition supplies to deal with the risks from increasingly confrontational Russia, according to the official in charge of the region's largest military reserve.
/jlne.ws/3MCOOYj

Scholz Promises Longer-Term Boost to German Military Spending
Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged that Germany will forge ahead with a significant expansion of its military capabilities even after a special fund for defense spending is exhausted, as the nation builds out its role as the "central hub" of NATO in Europe. Scholz announced the euro 100 billion ($107 billion) fund three days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Two thirds of the cash will likely be allocated by the end of this year, enabling Germany to meet NATO's goal of spending at least 2% of GDP on defense for the first time in more than three decades next year and beyond, Scholz said Friday in a speech in Berlin.
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Hungary's Orban says EU must not start membership talks with Ukraine
Reuters
The EU must not start membership talks with Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday, stressing this was Hungary's "clear stance" on the issue. EU countries' leaders are due to decide in mid-December on whether to accept the Commission's recommendation to invite Kyiv to begin membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions.
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ANC Leader Says Climate Pact Causing South African Power Cuts
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
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On Argentina's Pampas, Farmers Are All In on Libertarian Milei
Jonathan Gilbert - Bloomberg
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Regulation & Enforcement
Stories about regulation and the law.
Jefferies Trader Is Charged With Spoofing at Earlier TD Bank Job
Chris Strohm and Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
A Jefferies Group trader was charged with fraud for alleged placing "spoof" orders to manipulate the market for US Treasuries while at a former employer, TD Bank. Jeyakumar Nadarajah was indicted in New Jersey federal court, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. Nadarajah was charged with 16 counts of fraud and securities manipulation based on actions taken between April 2018 and May 2019. At that time, Nadarajah was TD Bank's head of US Treasuries trading.
/jlne.ws/3SviIBz

Wall Street Warns of Risks in Push to Rein In Home-Loan Banks
Alexandra Harris - Bloomberg
A push by US regulators to rein in the Federal Home Loan Banks risks casting broad ripples through the US financial system, increasing costs to banks by pulling a major force from the nation's funding markets. That's a key takeaway from Wall Street strategists after the Federal Housing Finance Agency released a report this week that called for limiting access to loans from the banks.
/jlne.ws/467OJTi

Fifth Third to pay $8M SEC penalty, warns of solar lending probe
Dan Ennis - Banking Dive
Fifth Third has agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission an $8 million penalty to settle the regulator's investigation into bank employees' use of unapproved channels for business communications, the Cincinnati-based lender said in an SEC filing Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3QUbrKu

SEC Charges Former Co-CEOs of Tech Start-Up Bitwise Industries for Falsifying Documents While Raising $70 Million From Investors
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin, Jr., the former co-CEOs of Fresno, California-based private technology services startup Bitwise Industries Inc., for misleading investors about the company's finances. Soberal and Olguin have agreed to resolve the charges against them.
/jlne.ws/3SAWJcl

SEC Charges Connecticut Investment Adviser with Stealing Clients' Money
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Darien, Connecticut-based investment adviser John A. Masanotti, Jr. and his company, Middlesex Mortgage Group, LLC, with fraud for lying to investors while taking at least $5.9 million from investors from 2016 to the present. The defendants also allegedly used investor money to make Ponzi-like payments back to investors and stole some of their money for Masanotti's own personal purposes.
/jlne.ws/47Kvqkr

ASIC oversees more than $17.4 million in compensation to retail investors by OTC derivative issuers
ASIC
ASIC has overseen more than $17.4 million in combined compensation payments to over 2,000 retail clients affected by breaches of financial services laws by eight retail OTC derivative issuers.
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Investing & Trading
Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities)
Bank of England to model major bond market shock; Central bank's exercise aimed at understanding how 'severe stress scenario' could affect financial sector
Stephen Morris and Oliver Ralph - Financial Times
The Bank of England has asked a group of 53 major financial institutions to model the impact of a sharp rise in sovereign and corporate bond yields, in an effort to understand how the market as a whole would react to a severe geopolitical shock.
/jlne.ws/3ubhnpv

Crunch time for LOBO; If this dog were an option, would it be exercised?
Nicholas Dunbar - Financial Times
There are two kinds of options in finance. There are those traded as financial instruments, and priced using the Black-Scholes formula or more complex equivalents. Then there are options embedded in financial contracts, which are not traded and have to be modelled.
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Investment trusts: a sector under siege; Once a highly successful vehicle for income investors, the sector has suffered as inflation took hold
Moira O'Neill - Financial Times
Peter Walls cannot remember a time "when passions were running this high" in the world of investment trusts. "A sector that has been around for more than 150 years and has served generations of investors well appears to be under siege," says the manager of the Unicorn Mastertrust Fund, which invests primarily in a range of listed investment companies.
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What Is the Goal of the 60/40 Portfolio? No one can agree whether the main purpose is to diversify or to reduce risk - and they aren't quite the same thing.
Allison Schrager - Bloomberg
I am not a fan of one-size-fits-all financial strategies. Yes, I see the value of making investment as simple as possible, but the right balance of risk and reward is a personal decision, and the most common strategies are either arbitrary or agnostic about crucial details. Which brings me to the subject of this column: the popular yet endlessly criticized 60/40 asset allocation strategy. With bond prices tanking and correlations flipping, last year the 60/40 portfolio had its worst returns in decades. Then again, maybe that was just a blip and investors just need to wait it out.
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Qontigo




Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance
Stories about environmental, social and governance investing
EU to Push COP28 Host UAE to Pay Up for Climate Loss and Damage; Move would be major signal to China, Saudi Arabia on finance; EU is calling for global phase out of unabated fossil fuels
John Ainger and Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
The European Union is set to push the United Arab Emirates, host of this year's COP28 climate summit, to financially contribute to a fund that will help poor countries pay for the damage wrought by increasingly extreme weather, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would be a signal to high-emitting countries like China and Saudi Arabia that they too should help contribute climate finance, and not just the likes of the EU and the US. The issue is set to be one of the most divisive issues at the United Nations-convened summit in Dubai in less than three weeks time.
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Kerry Says COP28 Is Critical to Keep Climate Change Hopes Alive; US envoy's comments follow meetings with Chinese counterpart; Global warming's impact on weather conditions is worsening
Dan Murtaugh - Bloomberg
US Climate Envoy John Kerry said the world can still win the fight against climate change, and the upcoming United Nations summit will be "absolutely critical" to that. Urgency was the central message of Kerry's speech at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore just weeks ahead of the COP28 summit in Dubai. The world needs to stop building coal power plants and rapidly accelerate its deployment of wind and solar, he said. At the same time, rich nations need to start making funds available for the damage that climate change is already unleashing on poorer countries.
/jlne.ws/3u9Wx9R

Why Michigan's Clean Energy Bill Is a Really Big Deal; A comparison with laws in Illinois and Minnesota shows the scope of the state's ambition.
Dan Gearino - Inside Climate News
Michigan is set to become the third state in the Midwest and twelfth in the country to require a shift to clean electricity. Of all those states, Michigan is one of the most ambitious because of the extent of the change it is making. Michigan's target year for reaching 100 percent clean electricity is 2040, which is as soon or sooner than every state except for Rhode Island. (The bill that would do this is heading to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk for an expected signature, as Aydali Campa and I wrote this week.)
/jlne.ws/40xVs7W

Australia offers Tuvalu residents climate change visas; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signs treaty with Pacific island nation affected by global warming
Nic Fildes - Financial Times
Australia is offering residents of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu a chance to migrate to escape climate change as part of a landmark treaty with one of the countries most affected by global warming. "We believe the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts worsen," said Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister.
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Cheap Coal Hampers Green Shift in Emerging World, Says Macquarie
Francine Lacqua and Stephen Stapczynski - Bloomberg
Cheap fossil fuels are holding up developing nations' efforts to move toward green alternatives, highlighting the need to make clean sources more affordable if the world is to meet its climate goals, Macquarie Group's chief executive officer said.
/jlne.ws/47a3aI2

Europe's Gas Traders Start Tapping Storage as Cold Snap Arrives
Anna Shiryaevskaya and Elena Mazneva - Bloomberg
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Legendary oil mogul Harold Hamm eyes the next stage in the US shale oil boom: 'Generation 3' rock
Filip De Mott - Business Insider
/jlne.ws/3u7MRgf

Exxon and Chevron deals point to Big Oil's needed shift; Acquisitions will allow more room to manoeuvre if energy transition picks up pace
Charlie Penner - Financial Times
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Wood Pellet Giant Enviva Discloses a Financial Crisis; The company's stock price plunged as its new interim CEO announced financial losses. Environmentalists had long questioned a business model they said was based on greenwashing.
James Bruggers - Inside Climate News
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Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds
The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures
Jefferies Raises $2 Billion for Direct Lending Fund
John Sage - Bloomberg
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised more than $2.1 billion from investors in its second private credit fund, according to an email seen by Bloomberg. The fund, named Jefferies Direct Lending Fund II, will focus on making senior secured loans to middle- and upper middle-market companies. It's already deployed more than half of its investor commitments, with investments ranging in size from $200 million to $400 million.
/jlne.ws/3QBpAL0

Mark Mobius Plans to Step Back From Mobius Capital Partners
Laura Benitez and Netty Ismail - Bloomberg
Mark Mobius, the veteran emerging-markets investor, plans to step back from his namesake investment firm he co-founded five years ago. London-based Mobius Investment Trust will continue to be managed by Mobius Capital Partners LLP, which is led by Founding Partner Carlos Hardenberg, according to a statement from the trust on Friday. The fund had $250 million in assets under management as of February.
/jlne.ws/40w3mi6

Hedge Fund Eisler Capital to Lock Up Investor Money for Longer; Investments from next year will take twice as long to redeem; Eisler Capital is transforming into a multi-strat hedge fund
Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
Eisler Capital is cutting how much money investors can pull from the firm, joining a cohort of peers that have made similar moves as demand for their services rises. The $3.8 billion firm is halving the amount of capital that investors in the Eisler Capital Multi Strategy Fund can withdraw each quarter, according to an investor letter sent by the firm on Friday and seen by Bloomberg. Starting in May next year, clients can take out only 12.5% of their investment during each three-months period, down from 25% previously, meaning they will need two years to get their entire money back.
/jlne.ws/49J4mnt

Wall Street Managers Pile Into Closed-End Funds on Big Discounts; AQR, D.E. Shaw and Saba are among firms looking to profit; Firms are betting on mean reversion or pursuing activism
Vildana Hajric, Katie Greifeld, and Yiqin Shen - Bloomberg
Money managers ranging from Boaz Weinstein's Saba Capital Management to AQR Capital Management are pouncing on historic dislocations in a normally sleepy corner of the investment world. The firms are buying what are known as closed-end funds, which invest in cash-generating assets like junk debt, muni bonds, or even stocks that pay dividends. They're typically pitched to retirees looking for regular income, but with bond yields jumping, many individual investors have seen the value of their holdings drop, and are looking to bail out.
/jlne.ws/3SxmrOT




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Work & Management
Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends.
Wall Street Is Talking About Unions More Than Ever; Mentions of strikes and unions on earnings calls have surged this year as the US labor movement gains momentum.
Jo Constantz - Bloomberg
Labor is having a moment, and Wall Street has taken note. S&P 500 executives and analysts talked about unions on earnings calls more this year than any other on record, according to data going back two decades. Mentions of unions and related terms, such as strikes and labor contracts, rose almost 80% from a year ago and surged more than three-fold from 2021, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of transcripts. The subject was brought up on the calls of 81 companies, or 16% of the index.
/jlne.ws/3suEbjn

Here's what we know about generative AI's impact on white-collar work; Some jobs are vulnerable to automation but if you're a 'cyborg' or a 'centaur' you can work better with robot help
John Burn-Murdoch - Financial Times
Since generative artificial intelligence burst on to the scene last November, the forecast for white-collar workers has been gloomy. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, estimates that the jobs most at risk from the new wave of AI are those with the highest wages, and that someone in an occupation that pays a six-figure salary is about three times as exposed as someone making $30,000. McKinsey warns of the models' ability to automate the application of expertise. I understand the temptation to wave away these warnings as mere projections. Thousands of years of history have lulled many of us into the false sense of security that automation is something that happens to other people's jobs, never our own.
/jlne.ws/4770ISy

Workers Will Spend at Least 20% Less Time in the Office Than Pre-Pandemic; Sulentic speaks about real estate market at Dallas event; Commercial property values may fall more, brokerage CEO says
Shelly Hagan and Julie Fine - Bloomberg
Workers will likely spend 20% to 25% less time in the office than before the pandemic, according to the head of real estate brokerage CBRE Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bob Sulentic said companies such as CBRE are seeking to balance in-person work with the recognition that people don't want to spend hours in traffic.
/jlne.ws/3FSOgK1








Wellness Exchange
An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information
How Power Companies Profited From Italy's Covid Lockdown; Low demand for electricity usually means lower prices, but traders turned that dynamic upside down during the pandemic. They used a technique that has cost consumers billions over the years.
Vernon Silver, Eric Fan and Sam Dodge - Bloomberg
On March 21, 2020, Italy halted all non-essential industry as it navigated the first major outbreak of Covid-19 outside of China. With demand for electricity - and its wholesale price - already slumping, it looked like a lean moment for the energy business.
/jlne.ws/47oirob

Loneliness Isn't Just Bad for Your Health-It's Deadly; People who report often feeling lonely or being socially isolated are at an increased risk of death from any cause, new research suggests
Brianna Abbott - The Wall Street Journal
If you think canceling plans is always good self-care, you might want to think again. People who keep an active social calendar not only enjoy a better quality of life-they could also stave off an early trip to the grave. Loneliness and social isolation were linked to an increased risk of death from any cause, according to new research. That includes missing out on seeing loved ones, not having weekly group activities like a book club, or just often feeling lonely.
/jlne.ws/3SB6jff








Regions
Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
China Banks Rush to Raise Funds After Cash Crunch Spooks Market
Bloomberg News
Chinese banks have ramped up their borrowing of short-term funds, a sign that fears of a cash crunch still loom large even as Beijing sought to calm traders after a recent liquidity squeeze. Onshore lenders this week doubled their issuance of so-called negotiable certificates of deposit, a form of debt with maturities from one to 12 months, to more than 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion). That's the largest weekly issuance of such debt on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/46XLW0h

Chinese Banks Sell Record Bad-Loans Securities as Mortgages Sour
Bloomberg News
Chinese banks are packaging more of their non-performing loans as asset-backed securities, the latest wrinkle in the nation's property debt crisis at the heart of its economic downturn. The ABS bond sales jumped 88% on year to 33.8 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in the first 10 months, mostly by state-owned banks and their subsidiaries, according to data from cn-abs.com, which tracks the market. It's the highest comparable-period total in the data going back to 2016.
/jlne.ws/3StThQS

Indian rupee falls to record low, next week crucial to gauge new range
Reuters
The Indian rupee dropped to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Friday, which alongside the outage of the interbank order matching system, prompted the central bank to step in. The rupee dropped to a record low of 83.42 to the dollar and was last at 83.3925. The rupee had been in a narrow range for more than a month, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) not allowing it to weaken past 83.30, according to traders.
/jlne.ws/49nifHw

China Prepares To Choke Off America's Rare Metal Supply
Aadil Brar - Newsweek
China will tighten reporting controls on strategic rare earth elements, according to its Commerce Ministry, in a move that could choke off America's supply of critical minerals used in the production of electric cars and missiles.
/jlne.ws/47qZt0d

Kenya Plans Early Partial Settlement of $2 Billion Eurobond
David Herbling and Helen Nyambura - Bloomberg
Kenya's president committed to an early buy back of a portion of the nation's $2 billion eurobond after holding talks with funders to help finance the repayment. The authorities will make a payment of $300 million next month on the debt that matures in June, President William Ruto said in his state of the nation address in the capital, Nairobi, on Thursday. The announcement comes after Kenya sought financing from multilateral institutions including the World Bank and syndicated loans from lenders.
/jlne.ws/3QwIId6

Iraq Oil Firms in Talks With Government to Unblock Kurdish Sales
Anthony Di Paola - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3ufRHb2

The risky business that put IPO disaster CAB Payments on the map; What happens in Lagos stays in Lagos
Bryce Elder - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3SAQAwR

Earthquake That Hit Texas Oil Country Was State's Second-Biggest
David Wethe - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/49skj15








Miscellaneous
Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections
The Ex-Goldman Partner Singing and Dancing About Her Retirement; Stacy Polley stars in a cabaret about life after Wall Street; Schwartz, Salame, Varadhan attend the Alzehimer's fundraiser
Amanda L Gordon - Bloomberg
Scores of partners have left Goldman Sachs in recent years. Only one is singing and dancing about it. In public. Stacy Polley was a star of fixed-income sales at Goldman for almost 25 years. Now she's the star of a Manhattan cabaret show about life after the investment bank. In lyrics and patter, she airs what it's like to lose her work identity, and be forced to find new definitions of success.
/jlne.ws/47r0up3

Ken Griffin Gives $30 Million to Medal of Honor Museum in Texas
Felipe Marques and Julie Fine - Bloomberg
Billionaire Ken Griffin is donating $30 million to the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, a Texas-based organization built around the highest US military decoration for valor. The funds will be used in the museum's leadership institute, which will be named after Griffin and include a 220-seat theater and a conference center, and to provide national educational programming, the foundation said. Construction of the museum is slated for completion in early 2025 in Arlington, Texas, midway between Dallas and Fort Worth.
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