| April 06, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Today we have the JLN Industry Leader video from FIA Boca featuring Paul Cusenza, CEO of Nodal Exchange. Nodal Exchange put out a press release yesterday announcing a new record and achieving the second highest quarterly power trading ever in the first quarter of 2023. In the first quarter of 2023, Nodal saw three of its five highest volume months ever in power futures trading, including a record January.
Trading Technologies shared on LinkedIn that Acuiti.io "today published the whitepaper "Changing Approaches to Crypto Trading Technology" in partnership with TT. The study indicates that crypto derivatives market participants will increase their use of third-party trading technology systems and move away from in-house systems. According to the study's findings, this shift is being driven in part by the challenges firms have experienced building trading execution, risk management and market data tools in house.
You can read the press release HERE and download the study from Acuiti.io HERE.
FIA Futures Hall of Fame member Jim Oliff is featured by the FIA in LinkedIn today with the presentation of the full-length video interview, edited by John Lothian Productions.
Gillian Tett, the chair of the FT's editorial board and US editor-at-large, has written a column titled "What I learnt from three banking crises." The subheadline is "Gillian Tett has had a ringside view of a quarter-century of financial crashes. What can each teach us - and will technology change the game?"
The Financial Times reports that hedge funds made $7bn from betting against banks during turmoil and that the "short sellers' March haul was their largest from the banking sector since 2008."
Do you want to learn about the Russell 2000 Covered Call - a strategy for finding yield in volatile times? You can join some experts from Cboe Global Markets, Global X ETFs and FTSE Russell on April 12, 2023 at 12 pm CDT/1pm EST and do just that. You can register now HERE.
The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Chicago Chapter's spring event is here and features a fireside chat with Stephen Skardon, Chief Risk Officer (CRO) for the City of Chicago, and Cary Lyne, GARP's Chicago Regional Director and President of CJL Risk Enterprises. The spring event is on April 25, 2023 from 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM CST and held at 11 S LaSalle St, Chicago, Illinois, US, 60603, the Residence Inn by Marriott, Chicago Downtown. For more information and to register, go HERE.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says that the Google search function will include Chat AI. Great, now when people look me up on Google, I will be dead.
The son of assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has decided to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination for president. There was a time when this would have been a bigger challenge for Biden, but Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic who has been rubbing elbows with fringe elements of the MAGA group, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kennedy is also an environmental lawyer, who has fought for many good causes over the years, but his recent anti-vaccine work has even turned off family members.
I am an admirer of his father and he is one of several Roberts that my son Robert is named for. Not so much for the junior.
Looking for something to keep your mind active? Stanford is offering 15 classes for free, "15 of the best Stanford University courses you can take online for free."
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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Miami International Holdings, Inc. today reported March 2023 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries - MIAX, MIAX Pearl and MIAX Emerald. Total multi-listed monthly volume for the MIAX Exchange Group reached a record 161.3 million contracts, a 32.5% year-over-year (YoY) increase and representing a monthly market share of 16.74%, a 21.8% increase YoY. Read about it here.~SAED
At the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), SPIKES Futures set an open interest record of 764 contracts on March 24, 2023. See additional MGEX volume here.~SAED
"Strategies Towards Reaching Zero Plastic Pollution: The role of collective action and international agreement," is a free online briefing offered by Financial Times Live in partnership with Global Partners for Plastics Circularity. The event takes place Thursday May 11, from 9:00 a.m.-11.00 a.m.(BST). Learn more and register here.~SAED
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Nodal CEO Paul Cusenza explains how Nodal is growing as part of the Eurex family
JohnLothianNews.com
Paul Cusenza, Chairman and CEO of Nodal Exchange and Nodal Clear, was interviewed by John Lothian News at the FIA International Futures Conference in Boca Raton, FL., about Nodal's growth from a start-up in 2009 and the ways it operates as a clearing house and collaborator to introduce products. Cusenza discussed the interconnected markets of natural gas and electric power, and how geopolitical forces and the weather are shaping those markets, making Nodal Exchange's risk management role important.
Watch the video »
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'We may be looking at the end of capitalism': One of the world's oldest and largest investment banks warns 'Greedflation' has gone too far
Will Daniel - Fortune
When costs go up, so do profits? That's not how capitalism is supposed to work, but that is the recent trend. For over a year now, consumers and businesses, both in the U.S. and worldwide, have struggled with stubborn inflation. But the soaring costs haven't prevented corporations from raking in record profits. The companies in last year's Fortune 500 alone generated an all-time high $1.8 trillion in profit on $16.1 trillion in revenue. Voices largely on the left side of the political spectrum have been sounding the alarm on this-think: Bernie Sanders in Congress or Jon Stewart's recent grilling of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers-but now an economist at one of the world's oldest and greatest investment banks is singing the same tune.
/jlne.ws/3MkCAUK
***** I love hyperbole. I think this might be the end of hyperbole.~JJL
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'No doubt' WSJ reporter is wrongfully detained by Russia, US says; Comments by Antony Blinken come as state department aims to step up efforts to obtain release of Evan Gershkovich
Henry Foy and Felicia Schwartz - Financial Times
The US state department is preparing to declare American journalist Evan Gershkovich wrongfully detained, a designation that will escalate Washington's efforts to secure his release. "In my own mind, there's no doubt he's being wrongfully detained by Russia," secretary of state Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. However, the US must complete the appropriate procedures to make that designation official.
/jlne.ws/3Khf4oZ
***** Let Evan Go!~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top story Wednesday was Forbes' The 25 Richest People In The World 2023. Second was 4 takeaways from Chicago's mayoral election between Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, from the Chicago Sun-Times. Third was Chicago Elects Tax Proponent, Progressive Johnson as Mayor, from Bloomberg.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital Was Spiraling, and Then Came FTX; The hedge fund's bad crypto bets-and a reputational hit from its partnership with Sam Bankman-Fried-have investors looking for the exit.
Katherine Burton and Francesca Maglione - Bloomberg
On Jan. 31, Anthony Scaramucci sat onstage at a hedge fund conference in Miami, answering questions about, among other things, his former business partner Sam Bankman-Fried. Seven weeks earlier, Bankman-Fried had been arrested for allegedly stealing billions of dollars from clients of FTX, the crypto brokerage he founded. A few months before that, he'd bought a 30% stake in Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital, which earns fees by investing in hedge funds and digital assets.
/jlne.ws/3GlZUh3
China clears path for foreign investors to $5tn swaps market; Access to 'Connect' hedging mechanism comes after $126bn debt sell-off
Hudson Lockett and Cheng Leng - Financial Times
China's delayed Swap Connect scheme has won regulatory approval and is set to launch within months, opening up a $5tn swaps market to foreign investors needing to hedge their exposure to renminbi debt. Final rules for the programme were recently agreed by China and Hong Kong authorities, three people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3Mhp705
Loan Market Faces More Regulation as Overlooked Lawsuit Heats Up; SEC is reviewing whether loans are essentially securities; Case is becoming "closely watched," industry lawyer says
Scott Carpenter, Lisa Lee and Paula Seligson - Bloomberg
A lawsuit that went unnoticed by many debt market professionals for years is getting more attention after a US appeals court asked rulemakers to weigh in on whether leveraged loans should be regulated more like bonds. If judges decide in favor of treating the loans like securities, the $1.4 trillion market might face a series of sweeping changes. Banks selling the debt would have to overhaul their disclosure practices and build systems to speed their trading because bonds have to settle faster, among other shifts.
/jlne.ws/3Gm0jA5
Jane Street, Tower and Radix Are Unnamed 'VIPs' in Binance Case
Lydia Beyoud, Allyson Versprille and Ava Benny-Morrison - Bloomberg
Jane Street Group, Tower Research Capital and Radix Trading are the three unidentified trading firms cited as "VIP" clients of Binance Holdings Ltd. in a top US regulator's lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week accused Binance of "sham" compliance with US derivatives regulations, including failing to keep Americans off its exchange as promised and not registering with the regulator.
/jlne.ws/410BEci
BOJ's Kuroda Leaves $11.7 Trillion 'Shock and Awe' Experiment to His Successor
Toru Fujioka - Bloomberg
Within weeks of taking office a decade ago, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda fired his "shock and awe" stimulus targeting a return to steady 2% inflation in around two years. As his tenure ends, the original "time horizon" remains largely that - something within sight but out of reach.
/jlne.ws/3nPdG5J
Walnuts and conspiracies: Credit Suisse and UBS shareholders vent about takeover; Two weeks after Switzerland forced together its two biggest banks, investors had the opportunity to voice their concerns
Sam Jones - Financial Times
It was the first shareholder meeting in four years, and the last of 167. Three police vans stood outside the entrance to the Hallenstadion on the outskirts of Zurich, as a crowd of mostly older white faces shuffled into Credit Suisse's annual meeting. Two protesters - a mother and daughter - stood silently holding a banner: "Justice for Mozambique" - a reference to just one of the many scandals in recent years that brought Credit Suisse, Switzerland's most illustrious bank, founded in 1856, to this point.
/jlne.ws/3zV0nDD
Tradeweb Reports March 2023 Total Trading Volume of $34.7 Trillion and Record Average Daily Volume of $1.51 Trillion
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today reported total trading volume for March 2023 of $34.7 trillion (tn). Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was a record $1.51tn, an increase of 23.0 percent (%) year-over-year (YoY), despite continued foreign exchange headwinds.
/jlne.ws/3KCcE5H
Thomson Reuters Launches Return of US$2.2 Billion to Shareholders; US$2.2 billion return of capital and share consolidation expected to be completed in June
Reuters
Thomson Reuters (TSX/NYSE: TRI) today finalized its planned uses of its approximate US$2.3 billion of gross proceeds related to dispositions of shares in London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSEG) co-owned by the company and certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone completed thus far in 2023.
/jlne.ws/3GhppQz
Australia cancels Binance's financial services licence amid probe
Lewis Jackson - Reuters
Cryptocurrency exchange operator Binance will close its Australian derivatives business after relinquishing a financial services licence on Thursday amid a regulatory probe into its operations.
/jlne.ws/3me2FKG
Morgan Stanley's CEO Built a Wall Street Powerhouse. His Next Act Is No Less Ambitious; The firm plans to hit $10 trillion in client assets over the next decade. If James Gorman can get it there, the stock will keep winning.
Carleton English - Barron's
Morgan Stanley kept its head down and chin up amid the recent banking turmoil. If the company emerges without a scratch, it will be by design. CEO James Gorman has pivoted sharply from the firm's roots in investment banking and trading, turning Morgan Stanley (ticker: MS) into an asset-management giant. With more than $20 billion in recent acquisitions, primarily for discount brokerage E*Trade and fund manager Eaton Vance, the company looks far better equipped to ride through another bout of banking stress.
/jlne.ws/410CmGo
Crisis jolts Wall Street bankers already resigned to tough job market
Tatiana Bautzer - Reuters
Wall Street bankers face an increasingly gloomy job market after last month's banking crisis worsened an already bleak outlook for pay and staffing. The failure of two U.S. banks - Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank - shook confidence in the industry and prompted government intervention to protect the financial system. That turbulence may prompt banks to pare back their lending and slow economic activity, according to industry experts.
/jlne.ws/43f14or
The TradFi vs. DeFi rivalry is hitting a new peak - and that's bad for everyone
Rachel Lin - Forkast
For the last year or so, we have watched the crypto sector endure a series of implosions. Now the traditional banking industry is facing a seismic shakeout of its own. The swift collapses of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and then Credit Suisse each individually rank among the largest bank failures in the world since the global financial crisis of 2008.
/jlne.ws/3MrJAQ1
RBC's CEO Sees Banking System as Stable Without 'Full Rewiring'
Daniel Taub - Bloomberg
Rising interest rates have brought down several lenders that made bad bets, but the worldwide banking system is in generally good shape, Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer Dave McKay said.
/jlne.ws/3MEmBRV
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Putin Says US-Russia Ties in 'Deep Crisis,' Blames Washington; Russian leader speaks at ceremony for new foreign envoys; Putin accuses EU of policy of 'confrontation' with Russia
Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin said relations between the US and Russia are "experiencing a deep crisis," as he sought to blame Washington for his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. American encouragement of "color revolutions" led to the war in Ukraine, Putin said Wednesday at a Kremlin ceremony to receive the credentials of 17 new foreign ambassadors including US envoy Lynne Tracy and the European Union's representative, Roland Galharague.
/jlne.ws/3Ugds3v
Ukraine 'ready' to talk to Russia on Crimea if counteroffensive succeeds; Senior official says Kyiv does not exclude liberation of occupied peninsula by military means
Christopher Miller and Felicia Schwartz - Financial Times
Kyiv is willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reach the border of the Russian-occupied peninsula, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3UcIHN0
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Miami International Holdings Reports Trading Results for March 2023; Multiple Volume and Market Share Records Set on MIAX Options and Equities Exchanges
Miami International Holdings
Miami International Holdings, Inc. today reported March 2023 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries - MIAX, MIAX Pearl and MIAX Emerald (together, the MIAX Exchange Group), and Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX). March 2023 Trading Volume Highlights; Total multi-listed monthly volume for the MIAX Exchange Group reached a record 161.3 million contracts, a 32.5% year-over-year (YoY) increase and representing a monthly market share of 16.74%, a 21.8% increase YoY.
/jlne.ws/3GioTlG
Cboe Global Markets Reports Trading Volume for March 2023
Cboe Global Markets
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today reported March monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines and provided guidance for selected revenue per contract/net revenue capture metrics for the first quarter of 2023.
/jlne.ws/3GKh4p9
Nodal Exchange sets new records and achieves second highest quarterly power trading ever in Q1 2023
Nodal Exchange
Nodal Exchange today announced strong performance in power, environmental, and natural gas trading in the first quarter of 2023. In power, Nodal posted its second highest quarter ever in Q1 2023 with 833 million MWh power futures volume traded, just shy of Q1 2022's record 850 million MWh. In the first quarter of 2023, Nodal saw three of its five highest volume months ever in power futures trading, including a record January.
/jlne.ws/3nHd69S
MGEX Reports Trading Results for March 2023; SPIKES Futures Sets New Open Interest Record
Minneapolis Grain Exchange
Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), today reported March 2023 trading volume of 242,712 contracts, representing a 29.1% year-over-year (YoY) decrease and a 4.2% decrease from February 2023.
/jlne.ws/3ZG3r0E
SGX-ST Listings Disciplinary Committee reprimands former CEO of Magnus Energy Group Ltd, Luke Ho Khee Yong, and former Directors Kushairi Bin Zaidel, John Ong Chin Chuan, Ong Sing Huat and Seet Chor Hoon
SGX Group
Public Reprimand: Breaches of Listing Rules
/jlne.ws/3UeDGmW
TMX Group Consolidated Trading Statistics - March 2023
TMX Group
TMX group; Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange and Montréal Exchange. TMX Group Limited today announced March 2023 trading statistics for its marketplaces - Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange and Montréal Exchange.
/jlne.ws/412ZuUS
ASX Group Monthly Activity Report - March 2023
ASX
Listings and Capital Raisings
/jlne.ws/351gPmZ
More than half a million people became investors on the Moscow Exchange in March
MOEX
The number of individuals with brokerage accounts on the Moscow Exchange ( MOEX ) in March 2023 reached 24.5 million (+522.7 thousand people), they opened 41.4 million accounts (+983.2 thousand accounts) . In March 2023, 2.6 million people made transactions on the stock market.
/jlne.ws/3KCj055
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Exclusive-China plans $500 million subsea internet cable to rival U.S.-backed project
Joe Brock - Reuters
Chinese state-owned telecom firms are developing a $500 million undersea fiber-optic internet cable network that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe to rival a similar U.S.-backed project, four people involved in the deal told Reuters. The plan is a sign that an intensifying tech war between Beijing and Washington risks tearing the fabric of the internet.
/jlne.ws/40Ms6C8
Google cracks down on predatory loan apps; Access denied to sensitive data such as debtors' contacts and photos after borrowers report blackmail attempts by lenders
Tim Bradshaw - Financial Times
Google is cracking down on predatory loan apps by cutting off their access to "sensitive" data including debtors' contacts, photos and location, after growing criticism that unscrupulous lenders are tapping the contents of borrowers' smartphones for harassment and blackmail.
/jlne.ws/3MmwB1L
Fintechs face reckoning over customer service; Regulators crack down after complaints mushroom about digital money services
Laura Noonan, Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan and Ella Hollowood - Financial Times
In early 2023, John started to get calls about unpaid bills from longtime business contacts. The business was fine, he says. The problem was his bank, Revolut, which froze his account without notification.
/jlne.ws/3m5SiIV
CrowdStrike Takes Big Swing at Microsoft; Cybersecurity star addresses competitive threat from software giant, but financial targets still imply caution
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
Give CrowdStrike credit at least for trying to punch up. The provider of cloud-based cybersecurity software has been one of the hottest names in the space, and for good reason. Revenue growth has averaged 67% annually over the last three years-well above the 45% average growth over that time shown by other cloud-software companies generating at least $2 billion in annual revenue. Still, CrowdStrike's annual revenue is about what Microsoft Corp.
/jlne.ws/3Kd8dwZ
Citi Analyst: CBDCs Will Be a 'Trojan Horse' for Blockchain Adoption
Fran Velasquez - CoinDesk
Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) will be the driving force behind getting more people to use blockchain, Ronit Ghose, future of finance global head at Citi, told CoinDesk TV. In Citi's latest "Money, Tokens, and Games" report, the banking giant said the crypto industry is reaching an inflection point where blockchain's potential will be seen and measured in "billions of users" coupled with "trillions of dollars in value."
/jlne.ws/3ZPTrls
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | DOJ seizes stolen passwords marketplace Genesis Market
Sam Sabin - Axios
The Justice Department announced today that the FBI and its international partners have seized notorious cybercrime marketplace Genesis Market. Malicious actors often use marketplaces like Genesis Market to buy and sell stolen passwords and other login credentials that can help others in future data breaches.
/jlne.ws/3Kfv2jJ
AI For Cybersecurity Is Here To Stay-The Good And The Bad
Jim Goldman - Forbes
Cybersecurity is a topic that reverberates throughout every sector of business. According to a recent report by Accenture, cyberattacks could cost businesses over $5.2 trillion in the form of lost revenue and additional expenses. The entry of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought with it some solutions, but also newer threats that did not exist a while back. Let's look at the bittersweet relationship between AI and cybersecurity and what can be done about it.
/jlne.ws/3nFnmiT
Leonardo, Siemens sign deal to create cybersecurity platform
Reuters
Leonardo (LDOF.MI) and Siemens (SIEGn.DE) on Thursday said they signed a memorandum of understanding to offer cybersecurity solutions for infrastructure in the energy, oil and gas and industrial sectors. "The main area of intervention will concern the resilience against accidents and cyber attacks to automation and connectivity systems that monitor and supervise assets, equipment and processes of critical infrastructures," they said in a joint statement.
/jlne.ws/3ZKuaJt
Gorilla Technology Group Secures Significant Smart Government Cybersecurity Project
Yahoo Finance
Gorilla Technology Group Inc. ("Gorilla") (NASDAQ: GRRR), a global provider of AI-based edge video analytics, IoT technologies, and cybersecurity, today announced that it has won a significant Smart Government project in the MENA region.
/jlne.ws/3KjGivg
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Japan's CoinTrade partners with Fireblocks to improve digital asset security
Danny Park - CoinDesk
Japan-based cryptocurrency trading and staking service provider CoinTrade on Thursday said it has partnered with Singapore-based crypto custody platform Fireblocks to provide institutional clients with improved security for digital assets.
/jlne.ws/3nGXDGQ
Crypto-Focused Menai Financial Group Shuttering Market-Making Business in London and Tokyo
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Crypto financial-services firm Menai Financial Group is closing its market-making business in Tokyo and London, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The process of refocusing the group is ongoing and the business could still be sold and internal staff reallocated, according to one person with knowledge of the matter.
/jlne.ws/3zCKz8o
Overseas crypto transfers cost 96.7% less than traditional system: Coinbase
Pradipta Mukherjee - Forkast
Americans spend more than US$12 billion in remittance fees each year when sending money to family and friends living overseas using the traditional financial system. However, overseas remittances using Bitcoin and Ethereum cost 96.7% less, according to research by Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges based in the U.S.
/jlne.ws/410AKfU
Blockchain interoperability firm LayerZero Labs valued at $3B after $120M funding round
Ben Weiss - Fortune
LayerZero Labs, which builds technology to help blockchain protocols communicate with one another, announced on Tuesday that it had raised $120 million in a funding round led by a16z crypto, a section of the venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz.
/jlne.ws/3m4qpB2
Happy 48th Birthday, Satoshi Nakamoto; We love you but we don't miss you.
George Kaloudis - CoinDesk
Today we celebrate the creator of Bitcoin on Satoshi Nakamoto's birthday. Happy birthday, Satoshi! We don't know who Satoshi is and we likely never will, but the pseudonymous founder does apparently have a birthday. Satoshi entered a birth date when they registered the pseudonym with The P2P Foundation. Satoshi's birthday is, according to that registration, April 5, 1975. (For proof, Satoshi's age showed up as 38 on The P2P Foundation on April 4, 2014, and as 40 on April 5, 2015, implying an April 5, 1975, birthday.)
/jlne.ws/3Kfuv1d
Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy adds to its bitcoin trove, purchasing 1,045 coins for $24 million
Carla Mozee - Markets Insider
MicroStrategy continued adding to its bitcoin basket through early in the second quarter of 2023, with its latest purchases bringing the value of total holding to about $4 billion. The company bought 1,045 tokens for $23.9 million between March 24 and April 4, it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3GlQ3rJ
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | IMF warns geopolitical fragmentation could raise financial stability risks
David Lawder - Reuters
Rising geopolitical tensions and the resulting fragmentation of the global economy could increase financial stability risks, reducing cross-border investments, asset prices, payment systems and banks' ability to lend, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3MDP0HN
McCarthy's Message to Wall Street: You Should Worry About the US Debt Ceiling
Billy House - Bloomberg
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that Wall Street should be concerned about the political impasse over the US debt ceiling as the country inches closer to a possible payment default. The California Republican, in an interview with Bloomberg TV's "Balance of Power" said he is "very concerned" about reaching a deal with Democrats on the debt limit. But he remained opposed to increasing the nation's debt limit without curbing government spending.
/jlne.ws/3KEIdfa
Anti-Vaccine Activist RFK Jr. Challenging Biden in 2024
Michelle L. Price - AP
Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country's most famous political families, is running for president. Kennedy filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission. The 69-year-old's campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination is a long shot. Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running in the Democratic race.
/jlne.ws/3zDGUqS
UK Politics Is Getting Boring. About Time; Rishi Sunak's quiet, competent leadership marks a refreshing change of pace.
Bloomberg
Is common sense making a comeback in British politics? Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pragmatic, detail-oriented approach to government could hardly be more different from the reckless posturing of his two predecessors. And these days the Labour Party also has a moderate and methodical leader in Keir Starmer. The UK's appetite for upheaval might be receding.
/jlne.ws/3KyJXqp
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Goldman Sachs Fined for Marking 60 Million Short Sales as Long
Austin Weinstein - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was fined $3 million by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or Finra, for mistakenly marking tens of millions of stock orders as long instead of short, according to the industry-backed regulator.
/jlne.ws/3GK8iYf
Opening Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Before the Agricultural Advisory Committee
CFTC
Good morning, and thank you to all of the participants joining today to take part in the second Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) meeting under Chairman Behnam's sponsorship. Given the fascinating presentations and level of discussion during the previous AAC meeting, I expect today's meeting to be just as robust and informative. We learn so much from the CFTC's advisory committee meetings, and the time and effort advisory committee members and presenters put into their presentations is greatly appreciated. Your contributions are invaluable.
/jlne.ws/3zHWL7v
Statement of Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero on "Celebrating the 50th National Agricultural Day" Before the Agricultural Advisory Committee
CFTC
On March 21, 2023, Americans celebrated the 50th National Agricultural Day to recognize the hard work and dedication of the entire Ag industry. That includes members of the Agricultural Advisory Committee ("AAC"). My biggest message today is thank you and we celebrate your contributions to the American and global economies.
/jlne.ws/40GUKo6
Opening Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham before the Agricultural Advisory Committee
CFTC
Good morning. Thank you Chairman Behnam for your leadership of the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) and for holding this meeting today. Thank you to AAC Designated Federal Officer, Swati Shah, AAC Chair Scott Herndon, and to the committee members for the discussions and work you have planned. Your time is valuable, and I appreciate you sharing your expertise with us.
/jlne.ws/3zE2rPY
SEC Obtains Over $1 Million Final Judgment Against Three Individuals in Microcap Fraud Scheme Targeting Retail Investors
SEC
On April 4, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered final judgments against Utah resident Matthew Nicosia and California residents William ("Rocky") Reininger, and Ronald Touchard whom the SEC had charged for their roles in a microcap fraud scheme targeting retail investors. Among other things, the judgment orders the defendants to pay a total of over $1.2 million.
/jlne.ws/3KE1cH1
FCA and ASA team up with Sharon Gaffka to warn fin-fluencers of risks of promoting illegal 'get rich quick' schemes
FCA
In addition, the FCA and ASA will be engaging with influencers and their agents, providing them with clear information about what could be an illegal financial promotion. This includes an infographic, designed for influencers, which will set out what they should check before accepting brand deals for financial products and services.
/jlne.ws/40Hy4UK
Chatham Asset Management and its founder charged by SEC for improper fixed income securities trading; Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, Chatham and its founder agreed to pay over $19.3 million in combined disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties to settle the charges.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
/jlne.ws/40HCMSq
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Bitcoin Deserves Some Space in Your Portfolio; A rethinking of the traditional 60/40 investing model may have made room for the volatile cryptocurrency.
Alexis Leondis - Bloomberg
First, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. highlighted Bitcoin as the best-performing asset in terms of absolute and risk-adjusted returns earlier this year. Then the banking crisis happened and the largest digital coin rose to its highest price in ten months. It's enough to make even some naysayers reconsider. But is this year's turnaround just a short-lived bubble or evidence of the what-doesn't-kill-you-makes-you-stronger thesis? Views are all over the place.
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Retail Traders Ignore Banking Crisis and Buy the Dip in Lenders; Individuals snap up bank stocks even as uncertainty swirls; BofA, First Republic see strong demand from the retail crowd
Bailey Lipschultz and Alexandra Semenova - Bloomberg
Individual investors have been pouncing on battered bank stocks, pouring money into heavyweights like Bank of America Corp., despite lingering concerns about an industry crisis after several lenders collapsed. Net purchases of Bank of America stock this year soared to $769 million, catapulting the financial giant past former darlings like Netflix Inc. and Rivian Automotive Inc., data compiled by Vanda Research show.
/jlne.ws/3zyNmzc
VC funding was down 53% year-over-year in Q1 2023, data says
Alexandra Garfinkle - Yahoo! Finance
Venture capital funding worldwide declined 53% in the first quarter of this year, according to data from Crunchbase released Wednesday. In the same quarter last year, global VC funding shook out to $162 billion; by Q1 2023 that number was $76 billion. This decline is also flattered by Microsoft's (MSFT) $10 billion investment in ChatGPT-developer OpenAI and Stripe's $6.5 billion round.
/jlne.ws/439bTbL
Banking fears fuel £1.2 trillion stock market exodus, Barclays warns - latest updates
Chris Price - The Telegraph
The banking crisis that has shaken the US and Europe has put investors off risk, according to Barclays. Analysts are forecasting that $1.5trn (£1.2trn) will be invested in low risk money market funds over the next year, rather than in stock markets or other investments. While the move could limit losses for investors, it is likely to hobble growth by making it harder for companies to raise money.
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Energy Trader Gunvor Made Record $2.4 Billion Profit in 2022; Gunvor is the latest energy trader to announce record numbers; Market volatility was stoked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Archie Hunter - Bloomberg
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Here's Some Good News About the Planet for a Change; Elephants fighting climate change, a big biodiversity deal and more stories to brighten your day.
Leslie Kaufman
The eighth issue of Bloomberg Green's magazine is here. Usually we save the last page for just optimistic developments - as covering the climate beat, with its ominous indicators and frequent disasters, can sometimes hide progress.But you can find reasons to feel positive about the future across this entire issue of Bloomberg Green. Much of the focus throughout is on new technologies that will help clean up the emissions causing the climate crisis.
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One-Minute Battery Swaps Are Spurring EV Adoption in Asia; Companies like Gogoro are proving that two- and three-wheelers are well suited to battery swaps, which can alleviate range anxiety.
Coco Liu - Bloomberg
Hsiao Ding Hong fell in love with his electric moped right away. The battery-powered two-wheeler doesn't make noise, vibrate or emit any exhaust. It has a sleek gray-blue exterior, can be controlled via smartphone app and even sings for Hsiao on his birthday. Best of all, it takes just one minute to get a full charge.
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The Business Community Is Terrified of the ESG Backlash. It's Just Starting to Fight Back
Justin Worland - TIME
It's not good for business for lobbyists to cross the legislators they're meant to sway in a public setting. And yet on March 14, a stream of insurance lobbyists stepped up to the podium at a hearing of the insurance committee of the Texas House of Representatives to oppose the state's latest foray into legislation meant to cut the legs out from under Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts. "If there are climate-changing weather patterns, insurance companies need the flexibility to factor that in," said Paul Martin, a vice president at the Reinsurance Association of America.
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Why Business Leaders Must Resist the Anti-ESG Movement
Andrew Winston - Harvard Business Review
The culture wars in the U.S. continue to rage, and they've come for business. Companies are being dragged into issues that stir emotions, such as abortion, gay and trans rights, racial and gender equity, and climate change. In particular, business is facing questions about its stance on societal issues mainly from the right side of the political aisle. So with 70% of America's top execs calling themselves Republicans, business leaders now find themselves in an odd position: accused by high-profile members and pundits from their own party of being part of a "woke" or "anti-ESG" progressive agenda.
/jlne.ws/3ZMoWgp
Unboxing Nature-related Risks: Insights from the UNEP FI-led TNFD Piloting Programme
United Nations Environment Programme - Finance Initiative
This report presents the results of an extensive global pilot testing led by UNEP FI with the private finance sector to test the draft risk management and disclosure framework from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
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From skeptic to evangelist: MIT Sloan economist runs the numbers on ESG; Why It Matters: Conventional wisdom posited that investing with a purpose meant sacrificing return. A framework developed by MIT Sloan's Andrew W. Lo debunks that belief.
Betsy Vereckey - MIT Management
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Q&A with TNFD's James d'Ath
Thomas Helm - IFLR
TNFD's data expert explores key post-COP-15 developments in the nature finance space
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After DEI, Conservatives Attack ESG; Republican governors in 18 states vowed to go after the use of environmental, social and governance criteria in investing. Such legislation could impact college endowments.
Josh Moody - Inside Higher Ed
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ESG And The Future Of Impact Investing: A Conversation With Jim Sorenson And Terrence Keeley
The Sorenson Impact Center - Forbes (contributor)
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US SIF Appoints New Policy and Programmes Director
Jack Grogan-Fenn - ESG Investor
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Swiss government cuts bonuses for 1,000 senior Credit Suisse bankers; Executive team will lose outstanding variable pay entirely following lender's rescue by UBS
Owen Walker - Financial Times
The Swiss government has cut bonuses for about 1,000 senior bankers at Credit Suisse, with the executive team losing their outstanding variable pay entirely, after the lender's rescue by its rival UBS last month. Following a meeting on Wednesday, the federal council, Switzerland's executive body, called on the finance ministry to cut bonuses at Credit Suisse worth up to a total of SFr60mn ($66.1mn).
/jlne.ws/3MmGdJZ
Switzerland cuts bonus payouts for top Credit Suisse management
Reuters
Switzerland has instructed Credit Suisse to cancel or reduce all outstanding bonus payments for the top three levels of management and examine whether those already paid can be recovered, the Federal Council said on Wednesday. Under Swiss banking law, the Federal Council can impose bonus-related measures on a systemically important bank if it received state aid from federal funds, according to a statement.
/jlne.ws/3GjWGus
Swiss cut up to $66M in bonuses for top Credit Suisse execs
AP Finance
The Swiss government says it's ordered cuts to the bonuses of top executives of Credit Suisse, with nearly 1,000 managers being "deprived" of tens of millions combined as the troubled bank heads toward a forced merger with rival UBS. The Federal Council, a seven-member panel that runs Switzerland's executive branch, announced Wednesday that it has instructed the Finance Department to cancel altogether or reduce by either one-half or one-quarter such bonuses due last year among the top three rungs of management.
/jlne.ws/413Jm5p
First European defence ETF launches in the face of controversy; The VanEck Defense Ucits ETF will exclude armaments such as cluster weapons and anti-personnel mines
Emma Boyde - Financial Times
Europeans have been given their first mainstream opportunity to invest in a defence exchange traded fund despite longstanding investor concerns about the sector. Thirteen months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the VanEck Defense Ucits ETF started trading on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker DFNS and Deutsche Börse's Xetra as DFEN, and there are plans to list on Switzerland's SIX and Borsa Italiana.
/jlne.ws/3Kzjlpf
Enfusion announces partnership with leading risk management provider Qontigo
Qontigo
Enfusion, Inc. ("Enfusion") (NYSE: ENFN), a leading provider of cloud-native, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for investment managers, today announced a new partnership with Qontigo, provider of Axioma Risk, an award-winning enterprise risk management solution, to expand Enfusion's risk capabilities.
/jlne.ws/3zEj91U
BlackRock Hired to Sell $114 Billion Failed-Bank Securities
Dan Reichl - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. was hired as an adviser to help the US government arrange the sale of $114 billion in securities that were held by failed lenders Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank.
/jlne.ws/3KAkDAq
Exclusive-German banks hit by wave of complaints from savers
Tom Sims and Marta Orosz - Reuters
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China's Smaller Banks Stung by 70% Drop in Capital Bond Sales
Bloomberg News
/jlne.ws/43bPHgX
RBC Capital Markets names new Continental Europe head of equity derivatives flow sales; Incoming head brings a wealth of experience to the firm, having previously served at Optiver, Deutsche Bank, SocGen and Exane.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | ChatGPT AI lists jobs it can do better than humans as millions could be put out of work
Emma Colton - FOX Business
OpenAI's wildly popular chatbot, ChatGPT, is expected to replace 4.8 million U.S. jobs, according to a new report. Outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas recently asked ChatGPT's bot a series of questions, including "What jobs can ChatGPT replace?" and in what fields the bot would be most capable of working, according to a press release provided to Fox News Digital.
/jlne.ws/438oZG9
Silicon Valley is starting to kill some of its famously lavish perks
Daniel Howley - Yahoo! Finance
For years one of the defining benefits of scoring a job in Silicon Valley has been the over-the-top perks. From in-office laundry and dry cleaning services to free dinners and complimentary shuttles, tech companies courted employees with benefits unheard of in other industries.
/jlne.ws/3Glrb3b
1 big thing: Layoffs via Zoom are here to stay
Emily Peck and Matt Phillips - Axios
Born out of necessity in the pandemic, the once-reviled virtual layoff seems here to stay, Emily writes. Why it matters: The practice of firing people via Zoom or email is picking up steam alongside an uptick in layoffs - particularly among the professional classes where many folks are still working either fully or partly remotely.
/jlne.ws/40YjzMg
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | How exercise leads to sharper thinking and a healthier brain; New findings from 350,000 people make the strongest case yet that exercise improves cognition. A small study shows it raises BDNF, a brain chemical.
Gretchen Reynolds - The Washington Post
To build a better brain, just exercise. That's the message of two important new studies of how physical activity changes our minds. In one, scientists delved into the lives, DNA and cognition of thousands of people to show that regular exercise leads to much sharper thinking. Another study helps explain why exercise is good for the brain. Researchers found that just six minutes of strenuous exertion quintupled production of a neurochemical known to be essential for lifelong brain health.
/jlne.ws/436xilR
Covid's Origins Can't Be Tied to Wuhan Market, Chinese Researchers Say; China publishes data from site of earliest recorded cases; Other researchers said same data indicated an animal spillover
Michelle Fay Cortez - Bloomberg
The origins of Covid-19 can't be conclusively tied to the market in Wuhan where some of the first known cases appeared, according to Chinese researchers, further extending controversy around data collected at the start of the pandemic that had long remained out of view.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | No, South Korea Is Not Ready for MSCI's Elite Club; When the president cannot help but meddle, it's a sure sign your market has a way to go.
Shuli Ren - Bloomberg
It has been a long-time aspiration in Seoul that South Korea, a wealthy nation with $35,000 gross domestic product per capita, joins index provider MSCI's elite club of developed markets. That dream may finally become a reality this summer. Last year, Seoul's wishes were once again brushed aside.
/jlne.ws/3KdHMXW
Hopes for Hong Kong's IPO Market Rest on Alibaba, JD.com Carve-Outs; Investors see tech giants' plans to sell shares in subsidiaries as another sign that China's regulatory crackdown has eased
Dave Sebastian - The Wall Street Journal
Plans by two of China's biggest technology companies to sell shares in their subsidiaries could give a jolt of confidence to a Hong Kong IPO market that has been in the doldrums for more than a year.
/jlne.ws/3nOTWyY
US Dollars Dethrone Zimbabwe's Currency for Second Time; Inflation, local currency weakness have boosted dollar use; Greenbacks were utilized for 77% of transactions this year
Ray Ndlovu and Godfrey Marawanyika - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3nUNRAX
Florida Sugar Grower's Digital Plans Crystallize; 'If any business can be considered analog until very recently, it's farming,' says CIO at Florida Crystals
Isabelle Bousquette - The Wall Street Journal
For years, billions of dollars in technology innovation have flooded the agriculture sector, promising cutting-edge data collection and analysis around the farming process. Some farms are only now starting to figure out how to put that data to work.
/jlne.ws/3KCXGMO
With Russia's Exit, Norway Becomes Europe's Energy Champion; It is now the continent's largest supplier of natural gas, and last year the country's energy earnings jumped $100 billion.
Stanley Reed - The New York Times
The new front line for Europe's energy security is a modest office building overlooking a fjord in Stavanger, Norway. Inside, a company called Petoro oversees three dozen of the largest oil and natural gas fields in Europe, on Norway's petroleum-rich continental shelf.
/jlne.ws/3GowwqB
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | The Gambler Who Beat Roulette; For decades, casinos scoffed as mathematicians and physicists devised elaborate systems to take down the house. Then an unassuming Croatian's winning strategy forever changed the game.
Kit Chellel - Bloomberg
One spring evening, two men and a woman walked into the Ritz Club casino, an upmarket establishment in London's West End. Security officers in a back room logged their entry and watched a grainy CCTV feed as the trio strolled past high gilded arches and oil paintings of gentlemen posing in hats. Casino workers greeted them with hushed reverence.
/jlne.ws/3zArK5t
Nassim Taleb On What Bitcoiners, Anti-Vaxxers, VCs and Deadlifters Are Getting Wrong; What some of his own fans get wrong about antifragility.
Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
Nassim Nicholas Taleb would like some of his biggest fans to know that they misunderstand his famous worldview. Whether it's Bitcoiners, venture capitalists, deadlifters or vaccine skeptics, Taleb sees a widespread misconception of what it means to be antifragile - or how to not only survive but thrive from shocks.
/jlne.ws/417ZFhU
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