| October 03, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
India has rapidly become the world's largest equity derivatives market, driven primarily by inexperienced retail investors engaging in speculative trading, Bloomberg reports. The market's annual turnover now surpasses the total output of India's economy, with risky options trading posing potential financial instability. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced new regulations, set to take effect in November 2024, aimed at curbing speculative trading by limiting short-term option contracts and increasing margin requirements. Despite benefiting stock exchanges like the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), these changes are expected to reduce trading volumes and hurt high-frequency traders and domestic funds.
Trading Technologies (TT) has created a new Platform Services business unit, merging its global Product Development and Services teams. Jason Shaffer has been appointed Chief Platform Officer to lead this integrated unit. This move finalizes TT's organizational changes following the establishment of six business lines earlier in the year, including Futures & Options, Fixed Income, and FX. CEO Keith Todd emphasized that the new unit will provide the core platform for all TT's services, which have processed over 2.5 billion transactions in 2024. Former Chief Services Officer Vasco Sousa has left the company.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reported strong trading volumes for September and Q3 2024, with notable records in energy and interest rate derivatives. September saw total average daily volume (ADV) up 29% year-over-year, driven by a 24% rise in energy ADV, with Brent and WTI futures and options hitting record levels. Natural gas ADV surged 45%, including a 110% jump in Asia Gas. Environmental products also saw a 60% increase. In financials, total ADV rose 40%, with interest rates ADV up 50%. For Q3, total ADV grew 28% year-over-year, with energy up 23%, and record performances in Brent, WTI, and natural gas trading.
Acuiti and Connamara Technologies collaborated on a report, "Building Competitive Technology for the Exchanges of the Future," which highlights the critical role of technology investment for global exchanges, especially in emerging markets where 87% of firms view it as central to growth. Additionally, 97% of exchanges cited their matching engine as essential to their operations. Despite this, fewer than half of the exchanges surveyed have upgraded their technology in the past six years. The report, based on surveys and interviews with 58 senior executives, also explores growth strategies, technology sourcing, and the challenges of maintaining legacy systems.
Here are excerpts from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories:
Cboe Global Markets successfully unified its global derivatives business under one umbrella, positioning it well amid a volatile year. The London Metal Exchange (LME) reported a 17% volume growth in Q3, continuing its recovery. Meanwhile, US voters are increasingly wary of large financial institutions ahead of the upcoming presidential election, with crypto emerging as a potential campaign topic. New trading venues are investing heavily in technology, according to an Acuiti report, and Eurex aims to become a leader in credit futures with new product launches. CME Group recorded a 25% jump in September volumes, setting a quarterly record. Marex continued its acquisition spree by purchasing a Middle East clearing and broking firm. G.H. Financials is eyeing the Asia Pacific region for growth, and a group of trade bodies is seeking a financial exemption from upcoming European DORA regulations. The Singapore Exchange saw a 46% rise in iron ore futures trading, reflecting strong market demand.
Former MarketsWiki Development Team Member Doug Cameron shared on LinkedIn that he was "culled by The Wall Street Journal, somewhat unceremoniously after 16 years." He plans to continue to report, focusing on the defense industry, he wrote. Doug is a former Financial Times reporter, who replaced Jeremy Grant in Chicago, or at least tried to (given those big shoes to fill).
Paul Jiganti, managing director at IMC, announced on LinkedIn that after an incredible 40 years in the securities industry, with the last nine years at IMC, he will be retiring at the end of 2024. He will continue to keep his hand in the business, consulting for IMC, he said.
Jacek Bugaj has joined Prometheum as head of product, Prometheum shared on LinkedIn.
The CFTC has an infographic about crypto investment scams that you should download and put up in the lunchroom or on your website. Print it up and give a copy to your parents or grandparents, as pig butchering is a big problem that they should understand.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Open Outcry trading - Yes, it still exists: Futures Discovery EP 13 from John Lothian News.
- OCC September 2024 Monthly Volume Data from OCC.
- Yuan Options Bets Reveal Jitters Over China Stimulus Impact from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 Indexing the Future: How AI and ESG are Reshaping Asset Management JohnLothianNews.com In the ever-evolving world of finance, asset managers are facing a new frontier: the intersection of artificial intelligence, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns, and the growing appetite for private markets. Rick Redding, CEO of the Index Industry Association, offers a glimpse into this brave new world. Watch the video »
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'Last year was a nightmare': why Britain's carrot farmers need our help; With National Carrot Day underway, here's why you shouldn't overlook the forgotten hero of the veg rack
Sarah Todd - The Telegraph
Guy Poskitt and his son Ben are hoping to raise awareness around the importance of supporting local farmers Asadour Guzelian "Whenever I'm on holiday or out for dinner and get talking to people I haven't met before they're always interested when I say I'm a carrot farmer," reflects Guy Poskitt. This isn't an experience unique to him. His good friend and chairman of the British Carrot Growers Association (BCGA), Rodger Hobson, says the same. The pair of them, along with four other carrot farming families, have joined forces to finance today's inaugural National Carrot Day.
/jlne.ws/4eRK3WF
***** I find it a tragedy that so many baby carrots never get the chance to grow up. But they sure do taste good.~JJL
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Biden Says Prolonged Port Strike Would Be 'Man-Made Disaster'
Laura Curtis and Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
President Joe Biden ratcheted up pressure on US port employers and shipping lines to restart talks with striking dock workers, warning that the unfolding strike could turn into a "man-made disaster." Biden spoke about the strike that has shuttered every major container port on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts before leaving on a trip to survey damage from Hurricane Helene, which has left communities in the US southeast facing an economic and humanitarian crisis.
/jlne.ws/4gPKHWg
****** Get ready for the stockpiling of all things made overseas. "I did not know we imported that!!!!"~JJL
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'Forgotten' Gen X Saves More and Spends Less as Retirement Nears
Cecile Daurat - Bloomberg
Gen Xers are starting to spend less and save more as many approach retirement age. It doesn't bode too well for the US economy. The generation was dubbed the "middle child" because it is tiny compared with the older Baby Boomers and younger Millennials, and oft overlooked by marketers and researchers alike. Yet these middle-age consumers - who today are aged 47 to 59 - have punched well above their weight when it comes to spending, according to a report from Bank of America Institute, keeping the economy roaring during the pandemic recovery.
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****** How can Gen X near retirement if this baby boomer is still working? ~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Wednesday was DAILY TRADE REPORT: Daily FMX Futures Exchange Prices, Volume, and Open Interest, from FMX Futures Exchange. Second was AQR's Asness, Liew Donate $60 Million to University of Chicago, from Bloomberg. Third was CME Group Sets New, All-Time Quarterly and September ADV Records Driven by Growth Across All Asset Classes, from CME Group.
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| Lead Stories | SEC Enforcement Director Who Pushed for Big Fines Steps Down; Gurbir Grewal took a tough stance on the fast-growing cryptocurrency industry and pushed for big fines against Wall Street firms
Dylan Tokar - The Wall Street Journal
Gurbir Grewal, who oversaw a stepped-up period of enforcement against Wall Street and the fast-growing cryptocurrency industry, is departing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency said Wednesday. Grewal, a former New Jersey attorney general, was little-known on Wall Street when he was appointed in 2021 to serve as director of the agency's enforcement division. There, he became known for advocating for bigger fines against securities law violators and for taking a tough stance on cryptocurrency, which he cast as a new form of the same activity the SEC had regulated for decades. "The technology is actually beside the point. We have to regulate markets and protect investors based on current realities and existing risks," Grewal said, at a law school symposium in July.
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Why India's Giant Options Market Poses a Danger to Financial Stability
Chiranjivi Chakraborty - Bloomberg
India has gone from being a small player in the equity derivatives market to the world's largest, all within just five years. Most of the new demand is coming from inexperienced retail investors with an appetite for risk. Annual turnover in the market is now greater than the entire output of Asia's third-biggest economy. Dabbling in these options can land investors with big losses when bets go wrong. Regulators are increasingly concerned about the potential danger to financial stability, and India's securities watchdog introduced a slew of steps in October to limit equity derivatives trading, attempting to shield retail investors whose appetite for the products fueled their rise.
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Betting on US Elections Gets Fresh Green Light From Court; Court lifted stay on Kalshi's politics derivatives contracts; CFTC failed to prove threat to integrity of vote, judge says
Sabrina Willmer and Lydia Beyoud - Bloomberg
Americans can again legally wager millions of dollars on the outcome of congressional races after a US appeals court set the stage for a deluge of bets just five weeks before the November election. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Wednesday lifted a stay on trading in Kalshi Inc.'s derivatives contracts over which party will control the House and Senate. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has argued against the products, saying they would harm the public by affecting the integrity of elections.
/jlne.ws/4eMv7cf
Wall Street Races to Bring Private Credit to the Masses; Investing titans are jostling to launch funds made up of hard-to-trade private loans
Matt Wirz - The Wall Street Journal
Money managers are racing to bring the Wall Street craze known as private credit to ordinary investors. Investment giants including Apollo Global Management, BlackRock, Capital Group, KKR and State Street are jostling to launch private-credit exchange-traded funds and other retail products. The funds would allow anyone to buy into the $1.7 trillion market for loans made by Wall Street's nonbanks to corporations and consumers. The winner will be whoever can offer a fund with shares that can be easily bought and sold and get the green light from government regulators. Their prize: full access to mom-and-pop investors when many sophisticated institutions are filling up on private credit.
/jlne.ws/3Bvr6dN
US Election Hedging Likely to Be Last-Second, Options Pros Say; Heightened volatility at present is more about Fed, economy; One exception is solar sector, where candidates clearly differ
David Marino - Bloomberg
Volatility in US equity options remains relatively high by some measures, and while there are handful of reasons for that, the upcoming presidential election isn't one of them, market flows indicate. The Cboe Volatility Index - or VIX - tends to increase into October during election years before selling off just before the event, said Tanvir Sandhu, chief derivatives strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. This year, though, concerns about the US economy and pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts are more in the forefront of investors' minds, at least for now, options pros say.
/jlne.ws/3zNy6Cj
Bank of England warns of 'future stress' from hedge fund bets against US Treasuries; Report also identifies geopolitical turmoil and cyber attacks as major risks to UK financial stability
Martin Arnold - Financial Times
The Bank of England has warned of rising "vulnerabilities" in the financial system stemming from increased bets by hedge funds against US government bonds, which reached a record high of $1tn in recent months. The BoE said on Wednesday that if hedge funds unwound these "short" positions it would have "the potential to amplify the transmission of a future stress". These short bets are often part of so-called basis trades, where hedge funds aim to profit from small discrepancies between prices of US Treasuries and futures contracts linked to them.
/jlne.ws/3Y7Tbk8
Trading Technologies establishes Platform Services business unit
Trading Technologies via PR Newswire
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform provider, today announced the creation of a Platform Services business unit, bringing together the company's global Product Development and Services teams into a single group. Jason Shaffer assumes the new role of Chief Platform Officer with responsibility for leading the newly integrated unit. The move represents the final organization change following the establishment of six lines of business - Futures & Options, Fixed Income, FX, Data & Analytics, Compliance and QTS (Quantitative Trading Solutions) - at the start of the year.
/jlne.ws/3TTdeAs
China's 'World Bank' gives backing to wave of renminbi bonds; Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will provide guarantees and support for developing nations' 'panda bonds'
Lee Harris in New York and Joseph Cotterill in London - Financial Times
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing's answer to the World Bank, is giving its backing to what it believes will be a wave of renminbi bonds issued by developing nations wanting to tap Chinese investors. Jin Liqun, president of the world's second-biggest development bank by members, told the Financial Times he had seen "great demand" for local currency borrowing and that a number of countries had asked for help on how to sell so-called panda bonds.
/jlne.ws/4gMxL3t
Top shale boss says US 'unusually vulnerable' to Middle East oil shock; Harold Hamm blames Joe Biden for decision to drain strategic petroleum reserve in recent years
Jamie Smyth and Amanda Chu - Financial Times
US shale magnate Harold Hamm has accused the Biden administration of leaving the nation "unusually vulnerable" to a Middle East oil price shock by draining its strategic petroleum reserve, damaging domestic production and bungling foreign policy. The Continental Resources founder told the Financial Times he was "very concerned" that Middle East conflict could disrupt global oil supplies while the US shale patch had been put in a "weakened condition", unable to rapidly lift output.
/jlne.ws/4gRrJ1p
Ex-Citi Asia Desk Trader Settles Case After Unfair Dismissal Win; Accord struck before remedy hearing at London tribunal; A London court earlier ruled he was wrongfully fired
Upmanyu Trivedi and Katharine Gemmell - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. settled an employment suit with an ex-trader after judges ruled he was unfairly dismissed by the bank over claims he was scapegoated for the lender's decade-long regulatory failures in executing stock trades for clients in Asia. Ian Weir, an ex-sales trader for Asia Pacific markets based in London, agreed to settle the case before a London tribunal hearing to decide what the bank would need to do to compensate for the unfair dismissal.
/jlne.ws/3Bv4qKO
TotalEnergies CEO Says NY Listing Plan Is 'Work in Progress'; French firm mulls transforming ADRs into shares if feasible; Energy giant seeks to lure more US investors to boost value
Francois De Beaupuy - Bloomberg
TotalEnergies SE Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said the French energy giant is still working on a plan to list shares in New York, on top of Paris and other European exchanges, in a bid to lure more US investors. The company's plan to turn its American depositary receipts into ordinary shares is "work in progress," Pouyanne said during the firm's annual investor day in New York Wednesday. The board "supports unanimously" the project, which would probably boost the stock's liquidity "if it is technically feasible."
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russian court freezes funds of US banks JP Morgan and Mellon
Reuters
The Moscow Region Arbitration Court on Wednesday froze funds of the U.S. Bank of New York Mellon held by the Russian branch of Citibank as well as funds of JP Morgan Chase held by its Russian affiliate of Morgan Chase Bank amounting in total to about $372 million. The court decision said the action was initiated by Russia's deputy prosecutor "in defence of the interests of the Russian Federation" in connection with the Ukrainian central bank's withdrawal of the licence of MR bank with plans to wind up the bank by 2025.
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Putin signs law granting immunity to criminal defendants who join the army
Ashleigh Fields - The Hill
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday that will allow criminal defendants to skip prosecution and potential prison time if they enlist in the army. The bill was originally approved by the Russian Supreme Court and Parliament before Putin stamped the measure, which could potentially place 20,000 new soldiers on the front lines in the war against Ukraine, according to reporting from the Russian independent outlet Important Stories.
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How a weapon packed with US technology killed a 6-year-old girl in Ukraine.
Stephanie Baker and Daryna Krasnolutska - Bloomberg
On the morning of Aug. 19, 2023, Olha Holynska boarded a train in Kyiv with her 6-year-old daughter, Sofiya, to travel to Chernihiv, an ancient city in northern Ukraine. Almost 18 months had passed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the war in the east continued to rage, but Chernihiv hadn't seen any fighting for more than a year. The city and its 300,000 residents had been living in relative peace. Holynska, 37, had friends and relatives in the city, known for its golden-dome churches and flower-filled parks. It was a hot, sunny day, and Chernihiv was busy with people out to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, an Orthodox holiday when worshippers take baskets of apples and honey to churches to be consecrated. Holynska, who works for Ukraine's Ministry of Justice, had arranged to meet her friend Yulia and her 3-year-old twin girls.
/jlne.ws/3TRY7qS
NATO chief Rutte visits Ukraine in first trip in new role
Reuters
NATO chief Mark Rutte discussed the war in Ukraine and Kyiv's "victory plan" with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday after arriving in the Ukrainian capital on his first official trip since becoming the alliance's secretary general. Zelenskiy told a joint press conference that he would like to see Kyiv's allies shooting down Iranian missiles and drones used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine, as some of Israel's allies did when Tehran attacked Israel with missiles this week.
/jlne.ws/3Y6du1o
Russia launches major drone attack on Ukraine, damages energy infrastructure
Reuters
Russian forces launched a major drone attack overnight on 15 Ukrainian regions, causing damage to energy infrastructure and residential buildings, authorities said on Thursday. The Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 78 out of 105 Russian drones during the assault, with 23 more likely impacted by active electronic jamming.
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Ukraine's military says it struck Russian radar station with ATACMS missiles
Reuters
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel
Reuters
The Kremlin on Wednesday said the situation in the Middle East was developing in an alarming direction and called on all sides to exercise restraint. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had contacts with all sides in the region and said Moscow condemned any action that caused the death of civilians.
/jlne.ws/47Vm32C
Israel Hits Beirut as World Awaits Its Response Against Iran
Henry Meyer - Bloomberg
Israel's warplanes bombed Beirut overnight, after eight of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon in ongoing ground battles against Hezbollah. Nine people died in the center of the Lebanese capital after an Israeli strike on a medical site affiliated with Hezbollah, according to local authorities including the health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it killed 15 Hezbollah militants in an overnight airstrike on a local government building used by the group in the town of Bint Jbeil.
/jlne.ws/4er41aF
Iran Exposed to Israeli Counterattack After Blows Against Its Allies; Tehran has no good options as Israel defangs Iran's proxies Hezbollah and Hamas
Yaroslav Trofimov - The Wall Street Journal
With two of Iran's most powerful proxies-Hezbollah and Hamas-fighting for their lives, Tehran has lost a central pillar of its deterrence strategy, giving Israel an opening to strike what it sees as its most dangerous foe. On Tuesday, Iran unleashed one of the biggest ballistic-missile barrages in the history of warfare, aimed at targets across Israel. It said it was retaliating for Israel's killing of the two militant groups' leaders, Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Sonnedix's New Commercial Paper Programme on MARF
BME-X
Sonnedix Espana Commercial Paper has registered a new commercial paper programme on BME - BME's fixed income market, MARF, with a maximum outstanding balance of EUR75 million. The commercial papers issued under the programme will have nominal units of EUR100,000 and will be available only to qualified and professional investors. They will have maturity dates of up to a maximum of 24 months. Sonnedix España Commercial Paper is a subsidiary of Sonnedix Power Holdings Limited. The notes to be issued will be guaranteed by Sonnedix Solar Holdings Limited and Sonnedix UK Services Limited.
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Trading in Tuesday and Thursday Crude Oil Options Surpasses 100,000 Contracts as Demand Soars
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that combined trading in its Tuesday and Thursday Crude Oil Weekly options has surpassed 100,000 total contracts traded since launching on July 22, 2024. This week, more than 50,000 Crude Oil Weekly options also traded on a single day for the first time ever as demand for short-term options soars.
/jlne.ws/4esepyS
CME Group Sets New, All-Time Quarterly and September ADV Records Driven by Growth Across All Asset Classes
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today reported its Q3 and September 2024 market statistics, with average daily volume (ADV) reaching new, all-time records of 28.3 million contracts in Q3 and 28.4 million contracts in the month of September, and growth across all asset classes in both periods.
/jlne.ws/47SHlgY
CME Group to Launch Options on E-mini Select Sector Futures and Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Futures on October 28
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to launch options on six E-mini Select Sector futures, as well as on Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index futures, on October 28, pending regulatory review.
/jlne.ws/3NhFzwp
DTCC Appoints Andrea Gibbons as Managing Director, Chief Human Resources Officer; Gibbons brings over 25 years of HR experience to her new role, with her last decade spent on DTCC's HR leadership team
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced the appointment of Andrea Gibbons as Managing Director, Chief Human Resources Officer. Gibbons will join the DTCC Executive Committee and report to Francis (Frank) La Salla, DTCC's President, Chief Executive Officer and Director. She replaces Anthony Portannese, who will serve as a strategic advisor to DTCC's President and CEO, Frank La Salla, until he retires at the end of the year. Gibbons has served as a key member of DTCC's HR leadership team for the past decade, where she consistently demonstrated the qualities of an enterprise leader and brought experience and a deep understanding of the firm's organizational culture and values.
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FICC's Government Securities Division Surpasses USD$10 Trillion in Daily Activity, Setting New Record; Significant growth in voluntary clearing is a direct result of FICC's flexible access models and the value of central clearing, including significant balance sheet efficiencies.
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that its Fixed Income Clearing Corporation's (FICC's) Government Securities Division (GSD) successfully cleared a record-breaking USD$10 trillion in daily activity for the first time on September 30, an 8.7% increase from the previous daily activity peak of USD$9.2 trillion on September 3.
/jlne.ws/47UgOjm
Intercontinental Exchange Reports September and Third Quarter 2024 Statistics
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today reported September 2024 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company's investor relations website at https://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet. "ICE began building a global multi-asset network of exchanges and markets over two decades ago, and this past quarter we witnessed record trading across commodities, specifically in our global energy markets, as well as interest rate derivatives," said Ben Jackson, President of ICE. "Notably, Brent futures and options, used to price three quarters of the world's internationally traded crude oil, traded at record quantities in the last quarter, solidifying its role as the global benchmark price for oil."
/jlne.ws/3YanTJm
Miami International Holdings Announces Renaming of Minneapolis Grain Exchange to MIAX Futures Exchange
MIAX
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today announced the renaming of Minneapolis Grain Exchange, LLC (MGEX), a wholly owned subsidiary of MIH, to MIAX Futures Exchange, LLC (MIAX Futures). MIAX Futures provides MIH with a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) to list and trade futures and options on futures products. MGEX's flagship Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) futures and options will be rebranded as Minneapolis Hard Red Spring Wheat futures and options concurrent with the name change to MIAX Futures.
/jlne.ws/3YctiA0
EBS Market on CME Globex Notice: October 3, 2024
CME Group
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CME STP Notices: October 3, 2024
CME Group
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CME Globex Notices: September 30, 2024
CME Group
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Vermiculus selected to deliver microservice-based CSD system to The Bermuda Stock Exchange
Vermiculus Financial Technology via PR Newswire
Vermiculus Financial Technology, a global provider of trading, clearing, and CSD technology, today announced it has been selected to deliver microservice-based clearing, settlement and depository (CSD) system to The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Miami International Holdings, Inc.
/jlne.ws/3TPJIeX
BestEx Research launches new aggregation functionality for execution algorithms; Named 'Order Aggregation', the new tool has been developed in response to a request from Nordea Asset Management, a BestEx Research client.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
BestEx Research has launched a new functionality for execution algorithms for stocks and futures - named Order Aggregation - aimed at increasing efficiency when managing multiple orders. Specifically, the tool addresses a major issue facing the buy-side, wherein higher slippage occurs when sending multiple parent orders for the same instrument when they arrive at different times.
/jlne.ws/3zIKinT
Should banks make money from your financial data? Some companies are already planning targeted marketing
Akila Quinio - Financial Times
Financial companies including credit card issuers, banks and payment processors sit on a huge trove of their customers' data. And they are increasingly seeking to monetise it. Companies including PayPal, Chase US and Revolut are moving to partner with advertisers to offer "transaction-enabled" marketing campaigns. Meanwhile, customers are increasingly privacy conscious. Clients of UK financial services are also able to ask companies if they are using and storing their personal data, and request copies of this information under the Data Protection Act.
/jlne.ws/488KDx7
OpenAI Nearly Doubles Valuation to $157 Billion in Funding Round; Startup behind ChatGPT raises $6.6 billion from backers including Microsoft, SoftBank and Thrive Capital
Deepa Seetharaman, Tom Dotan, and Berber Jin - The Wall Street Journal
OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in new funding, capping a complex fundraising process that involved negotiations with multiple tech giants and large private investors at the same time it has been experiencing disruptive internal turmoil. Investors are valuing the startup behind ChatGPT at $157 billion, a total that puts it on par with the market capitalizations of publicly traded household names such as Goldman Sachs Group, Uber Technologies UBER and AT&T. OpenAI was last valued at $86 billion early this year, when employees sold existing shares.
/jlne.ws/4gQIzh6
California's AI bill was well-meaning but flawed; Tech regulation needs to support innovation, while setting clear safety standards
The editorial board - Financial Times
It may sound a bit like a science fiction plot, but in the future artificial intelligence could conceivably reach the point of rapid self-improvement, evade human control, and unleash chaos upon humans through cyber attacks or even nuclear disasters. That is the concern of some scientists and developers, and was the motivation for an AI safety bill in California, which is home to 32 of the world's 50 leading AI companies. But on Sunday, state governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the legislation. The decision is seen as a big win for Big Tech, a reckless decision for public safety, and a missed opportunity to set de facto AI safety standards nationally. It is not that simple.
/jlne.ws/3BoKCbO
OpenAI feels competitors breathing down its neck; Latest funding round has boosted the company's valuation to $150bn, but it faces formidable challenges
Richard Waters - Financial Times (opinion)
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Use of BlackRock Tokens as Collateral Moves Closer to Mainstream; CFTC subcommittee moved its recommendations to full committee; The full committee is expected to vote on them later this year
Olga Kharif and Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4eFbcfq
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Judge blocks new California law cracking down on election deepfakes
Associated Press Finance
A new California law allowing any person to sue for damages over election deepfakes has been put on pause after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday blocking it. U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez said artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose significant risks, but he ruled that the law likely violates the First Amendment.
/jlne.ws/47Z1NNp
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Banks Set to Use Swift for Token Transactions Starting in 2025
Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
Commercial and central banks will be able to conduct live trials of digital-asset transactions on the Swift messaging network starting next year, nudging widespread institutional adoption of blockchain technology closer to reality. The organization behind the global Swift network will allow lenders to move real money and assets in trial transactions between different blockchain ledgers, it said in a statement on Thursday, after previously experimenting with such transactions solely in test environments.
/jlne.ws/3ZUNbwJ
Elon Musk and Mark Cuban Agree on One Thing: Dogecoin Is No Longer a Joke; King of memecoins becomes popular among small businesses; Musk hints Dogecoin may be accepted for Tesla merch again
Teresa Xie - Bloomberg
At Williamsburg Pizza in New York, there is only one cryptocurrency you can use to pay for your pie: Dogecoin. You can also use the memecoin to buy a beer and the "famous wings," or maybe a "Barry Bonds Homerun Baked Potato," at the University Sports Grill in Tempe, Arizona. And even the most high-profile fan of Dogecoin, Elon Musk, has floated the idea of once again accepting the token as payments for Tesla merch.
/jlne.ws/47UZ5ss
Bitwise Makes XRP ETF Plans Official With SEC Filing; The asset manager's S-1 comes a day after it registered a trust entity with the state of Delaware.
Helene Braun - CoinDesk
Bitwise took a big step toward launching an exchange-traded fund tied to XRP (XRP), the Ripple-associated token that's among the biggest cryptocurrencies in the world. On Wednesday, the asset manager submitted an S-1 form to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a requirement for companies seeking to issue a new security and be listed on a public stock exchange. "Today we filed an S-1 for a Bitwise XRP ETP!" Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley wrote in a post on X. "For more than a decade, XRP has been an enduring crypto asset that many investors want exposure to."
/jlne.ws/4enVs0m
Driving Global Payments Volume with Blockchain
Team Ripple
Cross border payments are blockchain's killer use case, and global fintechs can leverage a real-time cross border payments solution to gain a competitive advantage and win more market share. Growing Demand for B2B Cross-Border Payments Fintechs are already filling market gaps across a variety of financial services, providing innovative solutions where traditional banks historically haven't. In fact, almost 90% of financial institutions anticipate losing at least 5% of their market share to fintechs over the next 5-10 years. Those that offer superior cross border payments have an opportunity to shine.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | IMF 'too polite' on China policies, financing assurances, US Treasury official says
David Lawder - Reuters
The International Monetary Fund is "too polite" when it comes to criticizing China's economic policies and should more fully disclose financing assurances given by China and some other countries to support IMF loan programs, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday. Brent Neiman, the Treasury's deputy undersecretary for international finance, said the IMF has failed to apply enough analytical rigor to China's industrial policies.
/jlne.ws/3ZW5Ho6
How Gigantic Sums of Money Shape This US Election Season; Your guide to the rules of campaign finance in a country where there are no legal limits to spending - and candidates who spend the most tend to win
Bill Allison - Bloomberg
Money plays a bigger role in elections in the US than it does in other countries. There's no legal limit to campaign spending in the US, and candidates who do more of it usually win. Thus, fundraising - via emails and texts, social media and glitzy galas - is vital to virtually any run for office. Political campaigns are expensive in the US and keep getting pricier. Spending on presidential and congressional elections totaled $14.4 billion in the 2020 election, more than double the record amount spent on the race four years earlier. For the 2024 election scheduled for Nov. 5, candidates and groups supporting them had already raised more than $14.8 billion as of Aug. 31, Federal Election Commission records show, with the biggest fundraising still ahead.
/jlne.ws/3XUnPw6
Donald Trump touts fossil fuel agenda in bid for cash from Texas oil donors; Tickets for private fundraiser for Republican candidate sell for up to $1mn
Myles McCormick in Midland, Texas - Financial Times
Donald Trump touted his pro-fossil fuel agenda and accused President Joe Biden of holding back the US's oil and gas industry on Wednesday during a closed-door meeting in Midland, Texas, where he courted deep-pocketed industry barons for cash. At a private fundraiser in the west Texas oil city, where tickets went for almost $1mn each, the Republican presidential candidate told donors the US "could not be in a worse position as far as energy security goes", according to people who were in the room.
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DoJ accuses Donald Trump of 'private criminal effort' to overturn 2020 election result; Filing from Jack Smith lays out evidence in interference case against former president in bid to beat immunity claims
Stefania Palma - Financial Times
Donald Trump engaged in a "private criminal effort" to overturn the 2020 US election result, the prosecutor appointed to lead federal cases against the former president has alleged, in a bid to advance one of the most serious cases against the Republican presidential candidate. Trump and his allies "pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt" the 2020 vote, Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the US Department of Justice's cases against Trump, said in the 165-page court document unsealed on Wednesday.
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UK, EU to Hold First Summit in 2025 as Part of Post-Brexit Talks
Ellen Milligan - Bloomberg
Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to "stand firm" during what are likely to be difficult negotiations to forge closer ties with the European Union, as he announced the first-ever UK-EU bilateral summit next year. During his first visit to Brussels since winning the UK election in July, Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said summits will be held on a regular basis to oversee the development of the relationship. The move signifies warming relations between the UK and EU, as Starmer's administration seeks to repair the damage caused by years of animosity in the aftermath of Brexit.
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Martin Lewis leads call for UK chancellor to prioritise financial inclusion at FCA; Consumer champion and former FCA chair among signatories in letter to Rachel Reeves
Martin Arnold - Financial Times
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TotalEnergies warns it will curb UK investment over windfall tax; Patrick Pouyanné says he has been 'arguing' with the Labour government over plans to increase the levy
Sarah White and Rachel Millard - Financial Times
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EU Must Be Able to Fight Russia, Says Next Defense Commissioner; Lithuania's Kubilius faces confirmation hearing for new post; He is expected to focus on boosting investment in defense
Andrea Palasciano - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | US securities regulator's top cop to leave agency
Chris Prentice - Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement director is leaving the agency, the regulator said on Wednesday, marking the end of a three-year tenure during which the regulator stepped up scrutiny of Wall Street and cryptocurrency firms. Gurbir Grewal has led the SEC's 1,500-person enforcement unit since July 2021, after serving as New Jersey attorney general as well as in other state and federal government roles. During his tenure, SEC enforcement has drawn ire from the likes of cryptocurrency and Wall Street firms for its crackdown on core business practices.
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SEC Appeals $125 Million Judgment in Ripple Labs XRP Lawsuit
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
The US Securities and Exchange Commission appealed a court decision ordering Ripple Labs Inc. to pay a $125 million civil penalty for improperly selling its XRP token, a fraction of the $2 billion the regulator sought in a long legal battle with the cryptocurrency company. Ripple Labs was sued in 2020 by the SEC, which claimed the company broke the law when it raised money by selling the digital token without registering it as a security. The case has been closely watched because of its implications for the SEC's regulatory power over crypto.
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Carbon Offset Pioneer Charged With $100 Million Fraud Scheme
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
A pioneer in developing carbon offsets was accused by federal prosecutors of faking emissions-reduction data as part of a scheme to obtain millions of carbon credits and secure more than $100 million in investment. Former C-Quest Capital LLC Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Newcombe, who stepped down as CEO in February, was indicted Wednesday in New York on wire fraud and commodities fraud charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charges.
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CFTC Charges Former CEO of Carbon Credit Project Developer with Fraud Involving Voluntary Carbon Credits; In First CFTC Actions for Fraud in the Voluntary Carbon Credit Market, CFTC Also Files and Settles Charges Against Project Developer and Former COO
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Kenneth Newcombe of California, the former chief executive officer and majority shareholder of a Washington, D.C.-based carbon credit project developer, charging fraud and false, misleading, or inaccurate reports relating to voluntary carbon credits. The CFTC also issued orders filing and settling charges against Washington, D.C.-based CQC Impact Investors LLC (CQC) and against Jason Steele, CQC's former chief operating officer. These are the first CFTC actions for fraud in the voluntary carbon credit market.
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CFTC Charges Oregon Resident and His Corporation with Fraud Related to Leveraged Foreign Currency and Metals, and Failing to Register
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against SimTradePro Inc., an Oregon corporation, and its founder, Robert L. Adams. The complaint alleges the defendants defrauded more than 100 U.S. customers out of at least $2.3 million; acted as an unregistered commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor; failed to make the required disclosure regarding simulated or hypothetical trading results; and Adams acted as an unregistered associated person of an introducing broker.
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SEC Announces Departure of Enforcement Director Gurbir S. Grewal; Sanjay Wadhwa, a 21-year agency vet, named Acting Director; Sam Waldon named Acting Deputy Director
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the Division of Enforcement, will depart the agency, effective Oct. 11, 2024. Upon Mr. Grewal's departure, Sanjay Wadhwa, the Division's Deputy Director, will serve as Acting Director, and Sam Waldon, the Division's Chief Counsel, will serve as Acting Deputy Director.
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SEC Charges Three Individuals in the New York Metropolitan Area for Perpetrating a $120 Million Pre-IPO Fraud Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged John LoPinto, Robert Wilkos, and Laren Pisciotti for their roles in a fraudulent scheme involving investments in pre-IPO private companies. The SEC also charged several companies owned and/or controlled by the defendants: the Pre IPO Marketplace Inc. ("Marketplace"); Keyport Venture Partners LLC ("Keyport Partners"); Keyport Venture Management LLC ("Keyport Management"); and Keyport Venture Advisors LLC ("Keyport Advisors"), which were jointly owned and/or controlled by LoPinto and Wilkos; and Principal Pre-IPO Consulting Group LLC ("Principal") and GlobalX VC LLC ("GlobalX"), which were owned or controlled by Pisciotti.
/jlne.ws/3Br4vzc
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Rari Capital, Inc. and its Founders in Connection with Their Operation of Crypto Investment Platforms
SEC
On September19, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered final judgments against Rari Capital, Inc. and its three co-founders-Jai Bhavnani, Jack Lipstone, and David Lucid-for various violations of the securities offering registration and antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the broker registration provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Court ordered injunctive relief, equitable officer-and-director bars against the co-founders for a period of five years, and total monetary remedies of $63,567.51 against Bhavnani, $43,199.98 against Lipstone, and $45,208.92 against Lucid.
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Supreme Court orders ISG Financial to wind up its registered managed investment schemes
ASIC
On 30 September 2024, the Queensland Supreme Court directed that receivers be appointed to A.C.N. 114 733 569 Limited (formerly ISG Financial Services Limited) (ISG), the responsible entity for the ISG Private Access Fund and the ISG Real Estate Equity Fund (together, Schemes), to wind up the Schemes in accordance with their constitutions.
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ASIC publishes updated regulatory guidance for registered liquidators
ASIC
ASIC has today released its updated regulatory guidance for individuals who are or wish to become registered liquidators. The guidance was updated to reflect several developments since it was first published in March 2017.
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FMA appoints Kari Jones as Executive Director Transformation and Operational Delivery
FMA
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - today confirmed the appointment of Kari Jones to join the FMA's executive leadership team as Executive Director for Transformation and Operational Delivery. Kari joins the FMA from Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora, where she is Chief Data Officer, leading a team of over 170 people. Prior to joining Health New Zealand, she specialised in advanced analytics and insights at Woolworths.
/jlne.ws/4gLVVLn
FCA wins appeal in BlueCrest case
FCA
In December 2021 the FCA announced that it planned to fine BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP (BlueCrest) for conflicts of interest failings and impose a requirement on the firm to pay redress to clients. BlueCrest referred the case to the Upper Tribunal, which ruled that the FCA did not have the power to impose a redress requirement. The Tribunal also decided that it was unable to consider certain new allegations and issues the FCA had sought to introduce into the Tribunal proceedings in response to arguments BlueCrest had put forward as part of their defence.
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FCA begins criminal proceedings against two individuals for insider dealing
FCA
The FCA has started a criminal prosecution against Matthew and Nikolas West for insider dealing. Matthew and Nikolas West are jointly charged with conspiracy to deal in 4 stocks while having inside information.
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Speech by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Board Member of MAS, at the Asian Financial Leaders Programme Graduation Dinner on 2 October 2024
MAS
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SFC welcomes voluntary code of conduct for ESG ratings and data products providers
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) welcomes the publication today of a voluntary code of conduct (VCoC) by an industry-led working group for environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings and data products providers providing products and services in Hong Kong. The code, an initiative supported and sponsored by the SFC, was led by the Hong Kong ESG Ratings and Data Providers VCoC Working Group (VCWG) (Note 1). The International Capital Market Association (ICMA), which has acted as the Secretariat of the VCWG in the formulation of the VCoC, will host and maintain the code (Note 2).
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Nvidia is a single-stock active management wrecking ball
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
Somehow, unbelievably, despite FTAV being assured by many investors and analysts that this would be a fab year for active management, stockpickers are once again underperforming the stock market,. It hasn't been a bad year, per se. The average active large-cap US equity fund is up 20 per cent this year, net of fees, according to UBS. If sustained that would make 2024 one of the better years on record. The problem is that the S&P 500 has returned 22.1 per cent as of the end of last week, once you include dividends. The 2.1 per cent active undershoot is the greatest since at least 2019, according to UBS figures.
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Marex Expands in the Middle East with the Acquisition of Aarna Capital
Marex Group
Marex Group plc, the diversified global financial services platform, today announces that it has agreed to acquire Aarna Capital Limited ("Aarna Capital") to expand its operations in the Middle East and grow its clearing business, in line with its strategy to broaden its client base, diversify its operations and increase earnings resilience. Based in Abu Dhabi, Aarna Capital provides clearing, execution and customised risk management solutions in energy, base and ferrous metals, as well as financial markets such as equities, fixed income and FX. The acquisition of Aarna Capital will provide Marex with additional capabilities in a new location and access to around 180 local clients, which includes institutional investors, family offices and corporate clients, through a well-established and respected team.
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Markets Need an October Surprise to Break Deadlock; And investors shouldn't count on another jumbo rate cut, either.
John Authers - Bloomberg Opinion
Waiting to Break the Deadlock: When is something going to break the deadlock in the US? The nation is awaiting clarity in a tense presidential campaign that appears stuck in a dead heat. The notorious "October Surprise" could come from any direction, most obviously the Middle East and the US ports strike. But one doesn't happen until it happens.
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Costco adds platinum to its growing line of precious metal offerings
Chris Morris - Fortune
Costco (COST) isn't the place you'd expect to be a precious-metals hub, but following the success of its gold bar sales and silver coins, the retailer has added platinum to the lineup. The company has launched the sale of 1-oz. platinum bars on its website, with a price tag of $1,089.99. A 1-oz. Canada Maple Leaf platinum coin sells for the same price. Both carry a premium markup of about $94.
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Nvidia insider share sales top $1.8 billion and more are coming
Jeran Wittenstein and Carmen Reinicke - Bloomberg
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) insiders have cashed in on shares worth more than $1.8 billion so far this year - and more selling is on the horizon. Nearly 11 million shares have been sold by Nvidia executives and directors in 2024, the most in a year since at least 2020 after adjusting for stock splits, according to data compiled by the Washington Service. It represents a tiny percentage of the company's 24.5-billion outstanding shares, but the sales are coming at a time when investors are already on edge about Nvidia's delayed Blackwell chips and the longevity of artificial intelligence-related spending.
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Bain joins battle for control of world's biggest zinc smelter; Big commodities groups watching outcome as founding families vie for Korea Zinc
Christian Davies and Song Jung-a in Seoul and Leslie Hook in London - Financial Times
Private equity firm Bain Capital has joined a bitter struggle for control of the world's biggest zinc smelter, one of an array of big-name industrial companies trying to fend off South Korea's leading buyout group. The battle over Korea Zinc is being closely watched in the mining sector because of concerns it could delay the smelter's annual zinc supply contract negotiations, which serve as a global benchmark. Korea Zinc is a close partner to big resources groups such as Teck Resources and Trafigura.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Net Zero is becoming synonymous with economic suicide; There is a reason why every developing country's plan for industrialisation involves a steel plant. It is critical to everything else
Matthew Lynn - The Telegraph (opinion)
If any two commodities were central to the industrial revolution, they were coal and steel. Britain pioneered the mass production of both, launching a worldwide transformation that multiplied living standards many times over. And now, ironically, it looks as if, in an almost Maoist pursuit of global leadership in achieving Net Zero, we will be the first major developed country to close them both down. There is just one catch. In reality, that is economic suicide - and time is running out to do anything about it.
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Tokyo expands underground 'cathedral' complex to counter climate change rains
Issei Kato and Tom Bateman - Reuters
Just after 5 a.m. on August 30, water began flooding a vast underground chamber called the "cathedral" just north of Tokyo. The gushing water, captured by security cameras, was the rain that was drenching the capital region as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan, 600 km (373 miles) away. The cathedral and its vast network of tunnels did their job: they prevented a vulnerable river basin in the metropolis from flooding. But as global warming causes more severe weather, authorities are having to give the system a major upgrade.
/jlne.ws/3TRJfIY
Europe's Global Green Ambitions Push Too Hard Once Again
John Ainger, Ewa Krukowska and Agnieszka de Sousa - Bloomberg
Europe forged its plan to curb global deforestation three years ago when more than 100 world leaders pledged at the COP26 climate conference to reverse the destruction of millions of hectares of woodland every year. There was an aggressive timetable, but as with many of the European Union's green plans, it proved too much for some, and the bloc on Wednesday caved to calls from countries including Brazil and the US to slow down.
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Why Kamala Harris says we need a national reserve for critical minerals
Ben Werschkul - Yahoo Finance
Kamala Harris doesn't just want to build more factories in the US if elected President. She also wants to help secure steady supplies of materials to fuel them. A recent promise that embodies this approach is her proposed establishment of a "national reserve" of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel - the crucial building blocks in everything from EV batteries to jet engines to medical devices. Such a new reserve could join existing government reserves like the Department of Energy's strategic petroleum reserve and put a Harris administration in competition with Chinese businesses that have long dominated the work of mining and refining these metals.
/jlne.ws/4eNabBY
Libya Resumes Oil Production, Ending Crippling Crisis; Eastern government orders all output and exports to resume; Return of the halted production puts pressure on oil prices
Salma El Wardany and Hatem Mohareb - Bloomberg
Libya resumed oil production on Thursday, returning hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to global markets after a political standoff in the OPEC member eased. The nation's eastern government, which had initially ordered the halt to output, has lifted the embargo, allowing all fields and export terminals to resume, according to a statement on its Facebook page. The largest field Sharara, where 260,000 barrels a day of supply shut before the political feud started in late August, has also resumed, people with knowledge of the operations said.
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World Gas Use to Hit Record in 2025 Amid Fight for LNG, IEA Says; Europe likely to require more LNG imports next year: report; IEA sees gas consumption in Europe dropping slightly this year
Elena Mazneva - Bloomberg
Global demand for natural gas will hit an all-time high next year as competition for seaborne fuel intensifies between Asia and Europe, according to the International Energy Agency. After a drop in imports this year, Europe will need more liquefied natural gas in 2025, tightening both the market and price spreads with Asia, the Paris-based agency said in a market report Thursday.
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Mexican President's Clean Power Plan Dismissed as 'Pipe Dream'; President is aiming for 45% renewable power generation by 2030; Plan would imply fastest energy buildout in Mexico's history
Scott Squires - Bloomberg
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Banks must loosen up on ChatGPT use - risk chiefs; Risk Live: 'Shadow use' and inability to attract new hires mean restricting access to GPTs is untenable
Tom Osborn - Risk.net
The hard line taken by many banks towards staff access to popular third-party artificial intelligence tools is showing signs of wavering. When the latest generation of GPT-based large language models (LLMs) emerged last year, most banks moved to impose initial blanket bans on their use by most staff, with data privacy and copyright concerns the most commonly cited reasons. Senior risk managers are now acknowledging publicly what many long feared in private: simply blocking tools, rather than
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Europe's Equity Bankers Rush to Get Deals Done as US Vote Nears; Companies have raised nearly $76 billion so far this year; US election, earnings blackout period set to slow activity
Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro - Bloomberg
Equity capital market bankers are rushing to finalize a fresh slate of deals in Europe before the US presidential election and an earnings blackout period bring an anticipated slowdown in activity. Fueled by rallying stock markets and the anticipated easing of interest rates, companies in the region have raised nearly $76 billion across European exchanges so far this year, an increase of 17% over the same period in 2023, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/3BrNG6Z
Softbank Says Credit Suisse to Blame For Fund's $440 Million Greensill Loss; Swiss bank had struck a deal with Greensill to help investors; Credit Suisse suing for $440 million over Greensill losses
Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
Softbank Group Corp., facing a $440 million lawsuit from Credit Suisse, said the bank was to blame for some of the investor losses tied to the collapse of Greensill Capital. In the latest stage of the long-running dispute, Softbank said the now defunct Swiss lender's executives had agreed to a deal with Greensill that would have helped repay the bank's investors only for the transaction to stall.
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Inside Nomura's European equities rebuild; Talking Heads: Global chief Simon Yates also addresses US crowding and Japan's prospects post-carry trade
Lukas Becker - Risk.net
For an investment bank, running a European equities business is a difficult task. Unlike the US or Japan, it has multiple markets and currencies, different languages, and complex, nation-specific clearing systems. For a Japanese bank without a natural home in the region, it's even more tricky. Nomura inherited a full-service equity franchise from its 2008 purchase of Lehman Brothers
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ETF flows smash record in third quarter; More than $500bn pumped into the fund format despite volatile markets
Emma Boyde - Financial Times
Quarterly flows into global exchange traded funds have smashed previous records with investors throwing half a trillion dollars worth of new money into the vehicles over the past three months. Data from ETFGI, a consultancy, indicates that $501bn of net new money had already flowed into ETFs by the end of trading on September 27, which means that with one trading day to go until the end of the third quarter flows had already soared past the previous record of $398bn set in the first quarter of this year.
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Jupiter Asset Management Ltd Jupiter poaches team from rival Origin as part of push into global equities
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
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Man Group Mandate With Australia Wealth Fund Drops by $1 Billion; Future Fund made A$50b of changes to portfolio in one year; Hedge fund giant Man maintains biggest unlisted mandate
Amy Bainbridge - Bloomberg
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Bank of America glitch that stressed customers coast-to-coast is resolved
Ruben Vives - Los Angeles Times
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Stop Asking People 'What Do You Do?' As legions of retirees, laid-off workers and stay-at-home parents can attest, there are better ways to define yourself.
Joanne Lipman - The Wall Street Journal
For people who have taken career breaks, four little words-"What do you do?"-can provoke dread. It seems to conceal a bundle of judgments: What's your social status? What's your income? What's your education? Are you worth my time to talk to? This has long been an issue for professional women who leave the workforce to raise kids. They describe feeling invisible and being ignored by people they meet. But the dreaded question is now affecting a wider swath of people: stay-at-home fathers, career-changing young people, gig workers, baby boomers forced into retirement and laid-off workers.
/jlne.ws/3NaZLQH
CEOs turn to podcasts to control their message; Increasingly popular corporate shows allow bosses to speak out in a less formal setting
Anjli Raval - Financial Times
When Nicolai Tangen, head of Norway's $1.6tn oil fund, started interviewing chief executives for his new podcast in 2022, it was a way to give the Norwegian people a glimpse into the large international companies their country was investing in. His roughly 45-minute weekly episodes, which have featured top bosses from Goldman Sachs' David Solomon and Citi's Jane Fraser to Microsoft's Satya Nadella and X's Elon Musk, have since reached a far broader audience, with 5mn total downloads.
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Schools Make Millions Offering Degrees That Double as Work Visas; A gray area in immigration law has spawned a lucrative industry.
Zachary R Mider and Nic Querolo - Bloomberg
At 1 p.m. on certain Saturday afternoons, hundreds of foreign-born professionals from all over the US converge on a small city in central Pennsylvania. They assemble in a high-rise office building, where they sit through four hours of college classes. Then they return to the airport and head home. What's drawing these students to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is not the prospect of landing a good job. A majority already have one. Nor is it the prestige of a Harrisburg degree. If they're lucky, they won't ever graduate.
/jlne.ws/4ewrPu2
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | How virtual reality can help make us more human; Works on show at the London Film Festival shed light on conditions such as ADHD, aphasia and breast cancer
Tom Faber - Financial Times
My daughter sits across from me at the kitchen table, asking me to write down the date. I look down at the page in front of me, where the name of the month is already half-written. D-E-C-E-M. Just a few more letters. I reach out my right hand and am momentarily surprised by its many wrinkles. I trace the letter B, somewhat clumsily, but legibly. Then, before my eyes, the letter changes shape, resolving into a P. That's not what I wrote. I don't think it is, anyway. My daughter looks up patiently. Let's try again. But then I'm swept away from the scene and plunged into a torrent of memories. My time in the army, half-remembered holidays, quiet moments at the beach with my children. I try to stay in the moment but it's too difficult to hold on. I let go.
/jlne.ws/4evNy5a
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China's Fast-Growing Copper Champion Is Reshaping Global Metal Supply
Bloomberg
Chen Jinghe was not long out of university when a government official handed him the assignment that would change his life. Go to Zijin mountain, he was told, and find gold. It was 1982, and the geology graduate found himself on forested slopes in the remote, humid highlands of southeastern China. The bet paid off. The deposit his team eventually discovered became the nation's biggest gold mine - and the foundation for a $67 billion state-owned behemoth that is today driving copper supply growth and gaining ground on some of the most established names in the global resources industry.
/jlne.ws/3TPCRlO
New Japanese prime minister's dovish comments rekindle yen carry trade; Currency falls after Ishiba says Japan's economy is 'not in an environment' for further interest rate rises
Leo Lewis - Financial Times
An apparent policy U-turn by Shigeru Ishiba, made within just 36 hours of being formally sworn in as Japan's new prime minister, has rekindled market bets on the yen "carry trade" and sent the currency to a six-week low. During Tokyo trading on Thursday, the yen dropped below ¥147 against the dollar, following an acute overnight fall in US market hours. Hedge funds are betting there will be no interest rate increases for at least four months under Ishiba and have begun to rebuild short positions in the yen.
/jlne.ws/3TOtwKH
China Ready for $1.4 Trillion Fiscal Bazooka, Top Economist Says; Former government-affiliated researcher proposes the amount; Anticipation builds on authorities to ramp up fiscal support
Josh Xiao - Bloomberg
A leading economist in China said the country has room to ramp up fiscal support for the economy by issuing as much as 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in special debt, reflecting rising expectations for Beijing to expand public spending as part of its stimulus package. Jia Kang, a former head of a research institute affiliated with the Ministry of Finance, said authorities could lift confidence by drastically raising government investment in public projects. He spoke in an interview with Chinese publication The Paper published Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/4esWUPa
Rice Plunges the Most in 16 Years After India Eases Export Curbs
Bloomberg
Rice prices tumbled the most in more than 16 years in Asia as concerns over supply eased after India relaxed some export restrictions. Thai white rice 5% broken - an Asian benchmark - plunged about 11% to $509 a ton on Wednesday, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association. That was the biggest decline in data compiled since May 2008, and extended a prolonged slide in prices to the lowest level in more than 15 months.
/jlne.ws/47Q5Mvw
Japan's Richest Person Donates $31 Million to UCLA Program
Alex Perry - Bloomberg
Tadashi Yanai, the chief executive officer of Fast Retailing Co. and Japan's richest person, donated $31 million to the University of California at Los Angeles' College Division of Humanities, a record amount for the program. His latest donation surpasses the previous record that Yanai set himself when he gave $25 million to the school in 2020. The latest gift will go to the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, which was created a decade ago, according to a statement Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3XR1waD
Europe's Record Stock Rally to Lose Buyback Boost, Barclays Says; Upcoming blackout period, France's higher tax plans pose risks; Buyback factor was the worst-performing strategy in past month
Sagarika Jaisinghani - Bloomberg
A key driver of Europe's record-setting equity rally is at risk of fading as companies pause buybacks ahead of reporting results and as France proposes higher taxes, according to Barclays Plc strategists. Stock repurchases - which ran above average at EUR15 billion ($16.5 billion) in September - are set to dwindle this month and next given a requirement for firms to temporarily suspend programs ahead of earnings, according to a team led by Emmanuel Makonga.
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