| October 11, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The SEC has charged Chicago-based Cumberland DRW LLC for operating as an unregistered dealer in over $2 billion of crypto assets, violating federal securities laws designed to protect investors. The complaint alleges that since at least March 2018, Cumberland has been buying and selling crypto assets classified as securities for its own accounts, branding itself as a leading liquidity provider in the crypto market. Cumberland reportedly conducts trades around the clock through its online platform, Marea, and on third-party exchanges, treating these crypto assets as investments. The SEC emphasizes that all dealers in securities, including those in crypto, must register with the commission. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC's investigation was conducted by its Market Abuse Unit and the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit.
There is history between DRW and Gary Gensler, when DRW and Don Wilson won a case in 2019 when Gensler was CFTC chairman. Gensler had inherited the case from the former CFTC chairman, J. Christopher Giancarlo
The case, as you might recall, accused DRW of manipulating the prices of certain interest rate swaps, alleging that the firm engaged in unlawful trading practices in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act. DRW would prove they knew the contracts better than the exchange and the clearinghouse where the swaps were created and cleared. The case against DRW Trading, LLC, involved allegations related to swaps that were executed through the International Derivatives Clearing Group (IDCG) and involved DRW trades executed with MF Global. The transactions in question were on the Nasdaq Futures Exchange (NFX).
This case does not involve a start-up exchange but rather an alleged start-up dealer that failed to register as a securities dealer. It highlights the need for regulatory clarity regarding what constitutes a security versus a commodity in the crypto space. The same roles exist in both securities and commodities markets, often filled by the same traders, trading desks, or teams. However, depending on the market, the terminology differs. Are they considered a market maker, a dealer, or, in the case of something new like crypto, simply a "liquidity provider"?
Wilson and Cumberland have been leaders in the crypto space since rumors emerged at the end of 2016 that they had made $1 billion in bitcoin trading that year. This development prompted many trading firms and hedge funds to establish their own crypto trading desks. The crypto world continued to expand from there, with the CME and Cboe launching bitcoin futures markets in 2017.
This case could be perceived as Gensler's revenge against DRW, but I don't believe that's the case. I think Gensler and the SEC would be reluctant to take Cumberland DRW to court, knowing that Don Wilson is the type of person who will fight to the end. I expect Wilson to approach this battle aggressively, especially with the "disgorgement of profits" and potential penalties at stake. That could result in a substantial amount of bitcoin disappearing into the regulatory ether.
Chip Barnett, a financial journalist who worked for Reuters, The Bond Buyer, Source Media and Gannett, has passed away, Gary Siegel, the editor-in-chief of The Bond Buyer shared on LinkedIn two days ago. This is what Siegel wrote about Barnett in a special note to JLN, "Chip was a devoted friend and journalist who touched many lives. Talented, outgoing and kind, he was always giving of himself to help a colleague or mentor young reporters. And as amazing as he was at the job he loved, his personality surpassed that. He cared about people and it showed. Everyone used a word synonymous with amazing to describe him and his impact on their lives."
RSM US LLP and RSM UK Holdings Limited are in advanced discussions to merge, aiming to create a leading partner-owned multinational organization that enhances global service delivery for middle market clients across the U.S., UK, Canada, Ireland, India, and El Salvador. The merger would support 23,000 professionals with combined annual revenues of $5 billion (USD). Both Brian Becker, managing partner and CEO of RSM US, and Rob Donaldson, CEO of RSM UK, highlighted the merger's potential to improve client service and facilitate global expansion. The merger is subject to further discussions and regulatory approvals. RSM UK currently operates 31 locations, employs over 5,420 staff, and generated revenues exceeding £543 million for the year ending March 2024, while RSM International is the sixth-largest global network of assurance, tax, and consulting firms.
Cboe will transition the EDGA Equities Exchange to a maker-taker model starting November 1, 2024, moving away from its previous inverted venue structure. This change includes implementing a high rebate, tier-free pricing model, which aims to better serve the market and address customer needs for simpler pricing options. The decision comes in response to the declining market share of inverted venues and extensive customer feedback indicating a demand for a no-tier pricing model. Cboe believes that these adjustments will attract a broader range of market participants, improve fill rates, stabilize quotes, and streamline workflows on EDGA. The North American Equities Execution Consulting team will analyze the market post-transition and share findings in the coming months.
Acuiti and the Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) have launched the SGX Global Market Sentiment Index, a quarterly barometer that gauges sentiment across the global derivatives market. Based on a poll of senior executives from hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, and the sell-side, the inaugural report found that 68% of respondents were optimistic about the next three months, an increase from 65% in the previous quarter. While sentiment among sell-side and proprietary trading firms improved, concerns over volatility affected confidence among asset managers; overall, 2024 is projected to be a record year for volumes in the global derivatives market.
Architect Financial Technologies announced that its subsidiary, Architect Securities LLC, has received regulatory approval from FINRA to operate as an Introducing Broker Dealer. This approval will enable the company to expand its technologically advanced brokerage services to include equities, ETFs, ADRs, options, and U.S. government securities. Former FTX US President Brett Harrison, now CEO of Architect, emphasized that the new trading platform responds to the growing demand for derivatives and innovative products like private market ETFs and options on digital asset ETFs. Architect had previously launched a CFTC-regulated Introducing Brokerage in May, allowing clients to trade commodity and index futures and options.
Here are some Hurricane Milton photos, scenes of damage and rescue efforts across Florida from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
I am working on setting up an interview with Matrix Executions after its recent big announcement last week. Matrix Executions announced it is set to launch its new electronic alternative trading system (ATS) for U.S. listed options, called Matrix QRX ATS, aimed at institutional investors. The platform enhances price improvement and liquidity by allowing algorithmic strategies to access liquidity providers through blind indications of interest (IOIs), ensuring anonymity in order flow. CEO Jordan Naylor emphasized that the ATS will transform the trading experience by focusing on price discovery, liquidity, and trading cost mitigation, ultimately improving market efficiency for clients.
TSLA was the most actively traded stock yesterday, according to Yahoo Finance. The other most actively traded stocks, many of them familiar to this list, are Nvidia (NVDA), Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT), Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER), Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and Arcadium Lithium plc (ALTM), which was first the other day based on the deal announced with Rio Tinto.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Experts debate Basel bank capital 'fragmentation' concerns, French regulator reviewing European commodity derivatives proposals, Miami International options volumes up 7% in September, EEX to list dry, LNG freight futures and options on November 25 and EXCLUSIVE: G.H. Financials taps JP Morgan's Martin as CEO.
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:
- SGX Group reports market statistics for September 2024 from SGX Group.
- Miami International Holdings Reports Trading Results for September 2024; Multiple Options and Equities Exchanges Report Record Volumes from MIAX.
- The curious case of the revealing orders from Risk.net. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Hurricane Milton hit Florida with a never-before-seen tornado outbreak. Here's why.
Bill Kearney - South Florida Sun Sentinel
As Hurricane Milton neared Florida's west coast on Wednesday, southeast Florida felt mostly removed from the pending destruction. But the region was caught off guard by a historic outbreak of powerful tornadoes. Crucially, Milton's track put South Florida in the most deadly quadrant of the storm. As a result, it spawning at least 47 tornado reports across Florida, from Fort Myers to Homestead, Palm Beach County and north to Martin and St. Lucie counties, where one twister killed multiple people.
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***** Forty-seven tornadoes spawned by the hurricane. That is A LOT~JJL
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America's hurricane crises should not be a surprise; The human and financial repercussions are a wake-up call about the realities of climate change
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
Three months ago the US Federal Emergency Management Agency made a small piece of history: it finally started to incorporate scientists' projections about climate change into its aid programmes. In some senses, this is good news. Hurricanes Helene and Milton have demonstrated the terrible costs of weather disasters, in human and financial terms. It thus makes sense to ensure that Fema does not waste money rebuilding places that could be wiped out again. However, the bad news is that this decision only emerged a short while ago. Worse, this delay shows why taxpayers have every right to feel angry with their government.
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***** OK, I am not surprised, but I am astonished.~JJL
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The Anti-Status Watch: Why Men in Finance Love Cheap, Cheesy Watches; The ultimate trading-floor flex? A Snoopy Swatch. Or a Casio calculator. Why lots of money men (still) favor novelty watches.
Carson Griffith - Financial Times
How do you tell the time? Neal W. McDonough, the COO of a finance and policy startup in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., looks to Charlie Brown, the lovable, miserable "Peanuts" protagonist. An illustration of the character occupies the exec's watch dial, Brown's stout arms acting as the minute and hour hands. McDonough, 55, bought the kooky Timex for a Valentine's Day trip about five years ago, along with a matching model depicting Lucy van Pelt (Brown's frenemy) for his then-girlfriend. To his surprise, he kept wearing the $150-ish ticker after the trip. "It's now my business watch," he said, adding that such a nonluxury model can telegraph that he's under no obligation to be flashy. "I have nothing to prove to anyone," he said. "And the fun thing is, a lot of people notice [my watch]."
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****** Finance men going retro, wearing watches I wore in college or my father wore in the 80s.~JJL
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Man learns he's being dumped via "dystopian" AI summary of texts; "No longer in a relationship; wants belongings from the apartment," Apple AI summarized.
Benj Edwards - Ars Technica
On Wednesday, NYC-based software developer Nick Spreen received a surprising alert on his iPhone 15 Pro, delivered through an early test version of Apple's upcoming Apple Intelligence text message summary feature. "No longer in a relationship; wants belongings from the apartment," the AI-penned message reads, summing up the content of several separate breakup texts from his girlfriend-that arrived on his birthday, no less. Spreen shared a screenshot of the AI-generated message in a now-viral tweet on the X social network, writing, "for anyone who's wondered what an apple intelligence summary of a breakup text looks like." Spreen told Ars Technica that the screenshot does not show his ex-girlfriend's full real name, just a nickname.
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***** I can't decide if this is a good example of AI being helpful or not. ~JB
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Thursday was Cboe to Launch Options on VIX Futures on Monday, October 14, a Cboe press release. Second was SGX Group reports market statistics for September 2024, from SGX Group. Third was the page to register for Double Trouble (or More): Effectively Navigating Parallel Investigations, a webinar from Morgan Lewis and FIA taking place on October 31.
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| Lead Stories | SEC Says Cumberland DRW Acted as Unregistered Crypto Dealer; Cumberland runs one of the largest trading desks in crypto; Firm is also a market maker for several Bitcoin ETF products
Nicola M. White and Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the cryptocurrency arm of Chicago-based proprietary trading giant DRW Holdings LLC of operating as an unregistered securities dealer in more than $2 billion of digital assets. In its latest attempt to crack down on the crypto industry, the market regulator said Cumberland DRW bypassed registration rules designed to protect investors and brought in millions in the process. Since at least March 2018 through the present, Cumberland bought and sold crypto assets 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the SEC said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois.
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SEC Charges Cumberland DRW for Operating as an Unregistered Dealer in the Crypto Asset Markets
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Chicago-based Cumberland DRW LLC with operating as an unregistered dealer in more than $2 billion of crypto assets offered and sold as securities, in violation of the registration requirements of the federal securities laws that are designed to protect investors. According to the SEC's complaint, since at least March 2018 through the present, Cumberland has acted as an unregistered dealer by buying and selling crypto assets offered and sold as securities for its own accounts as part of its regular business. As alleged in the complaint, Cumberland publicly calls itself "one of the world's leading liquidity providers" in crypto assets and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week by trading with counterparties by the telephone or through its online trading platform, Marea. The SEC's complaint further alleges that Cumberland engages in trading crypto assets that are offered and sold as investment contracts on third-party crypto asset exchanges as part of its regular business.
/jlne.ws/47ZCfzL
CME Blocked Istim Warehouse After Objections from Metal Traders; Critics aired concern about Istim's recent fee increase on LME; CME Group sought views on Istim's application last week
Mark Burton - Bloomberg
CME Group's recent decision to deny an aluminum warehouse registration by Istim Metals was influenced by feedback from metal market participants, some of whom objected to the listing, according to people familiar with the matter. Istim, which already dominates metals storage on the London Metal Exchange, applied in July for accreditation as a delivery point in Gwangyang, South Korea, for CME's Comex aluminum contract. CME sought input from market participants, some of whom raised concerns about a controversial fee increase announced earlier this year by the warehousing company at its LME-registered depots.
/jlne.ws/3NkDjEG
RSM US and RSM UK pursue transatlantic merger to strengthen global client offering and deliver long-term growth; RSM's largest entities work toward accelerating delivery of high quality, globally integrated services designed for the middle market; New structure would establish a leading partner-owned organization with enhanced reach and resources to service global clients;
RSM
RSM US LLP and RSM UK Holdings Limited - the leading providers of assurance, tax and consulting services for middle market leaders globally - announce today that they are in advanced discussions to merge, subject to definitive agreements and customary legal, regulatory and other approvals. The transatlantic merger would establish a partner-owned multinational organization spanning locations across the U.S., the UK, Canada, Ireland, India and El Salvador, supported by 23,000 professionals, with combined annual revenues of $5 billion (USD).
/jlne.ws/3Y64sQX
Accounting firm RSM in talks to combine UK and US businesses; Rare transatlantic deal aims to remove 'barriers' to serving mid-market companies across borders
Stephen Foley and Simon Foy - Financial Times
RSM, the fifth-largest US accounting firm by revenue, is in advanced talks to acquire its smaller sister firm in the UK in what would be the first major transatlantic combination in a sector that is rethinking traditional business models. RSM US and RSM UK both target mid-market companies too small for the Big Four accounting firms, and they told the Financial Times that the deal would allow them to better serve clients with international operations.
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David Martin appointed as Chief Executive Officer of G. H. Financials Limited
G. H. Financials
G. H. Financials (GHF), a global independent clearing firm for exchange-traded derivatives, announces the appointment of David Martin as Chief Executive Officer of G. H. Financials Limited, effective 14th October, who will relocate to London. Martin joins GHF following 27 years with J.P. Morgan where he was most recently Asia Pacific Head of Futures and Derivatives Clearing. He has been with the bank since 1997, holding various senior roles within the futures and options business before relocating to Singapore in 2014 to manage the derivatives clearing business in the region. Martin is also highly involved in the industry beyond his role at the bank, where he has chaired the FIA Asia Regional Advisory Board, contributing his extensive experience to regulatory and market discussions in the region.
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UN carbon trading expert group agrees deal on market framework; Countries to decide at COP29 next month as external observers warn scheme lacks clarity and integrity
Kenza Bryan and Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
A UN expert group has reached a compromise on key elements of a global carbon trading system, in a bid to resolve nearly a decade of talks on what is seen as an important tool for raising climate finance. The 12-strong group which includes representatives from the EU and Saudi Arabia - traditionally opposed on climate policy - chose to "go beyond their formal mandate and establish standards by themselves", said Eve Tamme, managing director of advisory group Climate Principles.
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Recent banking turmoil exposed flaws in liquidity rules, say regulators; Basel committee draws lessons from collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and rescue of Credit Suisse
Martin Arnold - Financial Times
Global rules on how much liquid assets banks should have need to be adjusted in response to last year's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and rescue of Credit Suisse, international regulators have said. The world's top banking supervisors pledged in a report published on Friday to examine ways to strengthen liquidity rules for the sector after identifying several areas where they fell short in last year's crisis.
/jlne.ws/481Rg3U
Mutual fund to ETF conversions pose difficulties, Deloitte finds; The process creates logistical problems for managers and their clients, some of whom do not have brokerage accounts
Daniel Gil - Financial Times
Mutual-fund-to-ETF conversions have become a way for asset managers to refashion investment offerings for investors, but they can be lengthy and arduous processes, a new study has found. Operational risks, such as constraints and logistical issues, pose challenges to asset managers looking to convert mutual funds, according to the recently released 2025 Investment Management Outlook from Deloitte.
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Nine jurisdictions yet to finalise Basel III rules; Turkey and South Africa worst laggards, with no final drafts published
Joshua Walker - Risk.net
Twenty-one months after the January 1, 2023, deadline for the final Basel III rules, almost half of jurisdictions have rules still in the draft phase, and nearly three-quarters have some that banks have yet to implement. Turkey and South Africa were the worst performers on the set of eight revised standards finalised in 2017, with neither country having published final versions of any of the rules as at September 30. South Africa had at least published draft versions of regulations on all seven
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Architect Securities Approved as Broker Dealer
Traders Magazine
Architect Financial Technologies announced that its subsidiary, Architect Securities LLC, received regulatory approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. ("FINRA") to operate as an Introducing Broker Dealer. With this registration, the Company furthers its aim to provide a platform for comprehensive technologically-forward brokerage services in the growing securities and security derivatives markets.
/jlne.ws/3NnK8FK
TD Bank was a safe haven for criminals, feds say - and will pay $3 billion for it
Rocio Fabbro - Quartz
Toronto-Dominion Bank was hit with a total of $3.09 billion in fines from U.S. regulators and agreed to a limit on its growth after pleading guilty to failing to curb financial crimes in its systems. Over the course of six years, Canada's second-largest bank failed to monitor $18.3 trillion in customer activity in the United States. In its plea agreement, TD Bank (TD) admitted that this allowed three money laundering networks to transfer over $670 million through the bank's accounts.
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Regulators should approve crypto-related products for retail investors: The WFE responds to IOSCO's Final Report on Investor Education on Crypto-Assets
The World Federation of Exchanges
The World Federation of Exchanges ("WFE"), the global industry group representing over 250 exchanges and CCPs which operate established, trusted and highly regulated trading venues, commends IOSCO's Final Report on Investor Education on Crypto-Assets. IOSCO is right - with crypto-assets, enhanced investor education is still necessary. Crypto-asset investments might lack basic investor protections, as those offering crypto-asset investments or services may not be complying with applicable law, including registration and licensing requirements," IOSCO notes in the report published this week.
/jlne.ws/3U6LRmq
AI Is Coming for European Bank Jobs With Italy Taking a Hit; BPER Banca is cutting 10% of headcount in technology push; Lenders including UBS and CaixaBank are building AI tools
Sonia Sirletti - Bloomberg
European banks are beginning to cut staff by deploying artificial intelligence tools, with BPER Banca SpA becoming one of the first to put hard numbers on the impact. The Italian lender on Thursday unveiled plans to reduce its workforce by about 2,000 over the coming years as advances in AI boost output. The bank will rely on "AI/GenAI-enabled process optimization and automation" to cut headcount by 10% through 2027 to about 18,500.
/jlne.ws/4f0Qars
Oil Brokerage Acquires Blue Commodities, Expanding Physical Broking Capabilities; Acquisition Enhances Oil Brokerage's Market Reach in Middle Distillates, Fuel Markets, and Shipping, and further expands OTC Global Holdings' global leadership
OTC Global Holdings
Oil Brokerage, a leading player in the global commodities brokerage sector and a subsidiary of OTC Global Holdings, today announced its acquisition of Blue Commodities (BC). This strategic acquisition strengthens Oil Brokerage's (OB) position in key physical broking markets, particularly in Northwest Europe (NWE), the Mediterranean (Med), and West Africa (WAF). OTCGH is the world's largest independent institutional broker of commodities, covering financial and physical instruments from offices in Chicago, Dubai, Houston, London, Louisville, New Jersey, New York, and Singapore. OTCGH has been awarded 5x "Broker of the Year" by Energy Risk. With a portfolio of nearly 20 companies, OTCGH is a liquidity provider for CBOT, ICE, NYMEX, and NODAL. The company serves more than 450 institutional clients, including over 70 members of the Global Fortune 500.
/jlne.ws/4eXHTVs
GFXC Seeks Feedback on Proposed FX Global Code Changes
Colin Lambert - The FullFX
The Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) has published a request for feedback on proposed adjustments to the FX Global Code arising from its recent three-year review of the Code, including amendments to five Principles, as well as the Disclosure Cover Sheets for liquidity providers and platforms. Respondents have until 25 October to provide their feedback, after which, the proposals will be finalised and reviewed by regional FX committees, before potential approval at the December GFXC meeting ahead of publication of the revised Code. Changes to the Cover Sheets will follow in the new year, the GFXC says.
/jlne.ws/3zT7Zdf
Russia Pitches BRICS Payment System Aiming to Break US Dominance; Report says settlements with tokens could save billions; Russia has sought to lower reliance on dollar after sanctions
Bloomberg News
Russia is proposing changes to cross-border payments conducted among BRICS countries aimed at circumventing the global financial system, as the heavily penalized country seeks to sanctions-proof its own economy. The alternatives include developing a network of commercial banks that can conduct such transactions in local currencies as well as establishing direct links between central banks, according to a report prepared by the Russian Finance Ministry, the Bank of Russia and Moscow-based consultancy Yakov & Partners.
/jlne.ws/4f0hvdg
Corporate and Municipal CUSIP Request Volumes Slow in September
CUSIP Global Services
USIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for September 2024. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity over the next quarter, found a decrease in request volume for new corporate and municipal identifiers.
/jlne.ws/4eEroOg
Big Banks Open Their Books for First Test After Rate Cuts; Profits fell at JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, but the lenders reported results that were largely better than had been expected, a sign that the economy remained solid.
Rob Copeland and Emily Flitter - The New York Times
In an early major test of the effect the Federal Reserve's big interest rate cut has had on business, the verdict is: mixed. The split decision came in the latest earnings reports released on Friday by two of the nation's largest banks, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Banks are particularly sensitive to the Fed's actions on interest rates, which affect how much lenders can charge on deposits and loans, among other factors.
/jlne.ws/3U4ewZo
JPMorgan beats expectations with quarterly profits of $12.9bn; Net income figure exceeds forecasts even as bank prepares for higher loan losses from indebted borrowers
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
JPMorgan Chase reported better than expected third-quarter profits of $12.9bn, even as the bank prepared for higher loan losses from more indebted borrowers. The largest US bank's net income exceeded the $12.1bn expected by analysts but represented a 2 per cent fall on the same quarter in 2023.
/jlne.ws/4dHv0hg
BlackRock's assets under management surge to record $11.5tn; World's largest money manager benefited from a rebound in markets
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
BlackRock's assets under management surged to an all-time high of $11.5tn last quarter as the world's largest money manager benefited from a rally in markets and attracted record new cash from investors. The inflows helped push revenues up 15 per cent to $5.2bn, surpassing analysts' expectations. Improved margins lifted the group's net income to $1.63bn.
/jlne.ws/3U1pPBJ
Scottish Widows kills off renowned 'widow' model in rebrand; New look reflects increased digital focus, says insurer
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
Scottish Widows is killing off the iconic "widow" model featured in its branding for decades, as the £200bn life insurer and pensions provider attempts to modernise the business. Owned by Lloyds Banking Group, Scottish Widows said it was "phasing out" the widow model and will instead use a digital logo of a woman wearing a cloak.
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Fireside Friday with... Balyasny Asset Management's Charlie Flanagan; The TRADE caught up with Charlie Flanagan, head of applied AI at Balyasny Asset Management, to discuss his thoughts on how AI is shaping up when it comes to its increasingly active role in capital markets, including its potential when it comes to trading processes and how the industry is adapting to become increasingly AI-focused.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
How is the capital markets sphere reacting to the increasing presence of AI?
At a high level, I think that most teams are pretty excited about the prospects of AI and the opportunities that it presents. Certainly we see very good usage among our teams. Despite this, there are certain concerns, understandably, and hallucination is certainly a topic that people are aware of. But at the end of the day, before trust comes education. It's about helping folks understand where these models can add value right now and where they can't.
/jlne.ws/4f0MXbG
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russian Attacks Spark Surge in War Insurance for Ukraine Grains
Aine Quinn and Alex Longley - Bloomberg
The cost of insuring vessels that transit Ukraine's shipping corridor in the Black Sea jumped this week after Russia ramped up attacks on key ports. Coverage has now surged to above 1% of the value of a ship, according to two people involved in the market, who asked not to be named because the information isn't public. That's up from around 0.75% last week. For a $50 million ship, that would be an increase of $125,000 per voyage.
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Russia is said to be losing another banking partner as more lenders turn their back on Moscow over fear of sanctions
Jennifer Sor - Business Insider
Another bank appears to be turning its back on Russia as lenders grow worried about doing business with Moscow under the threat of Western sanctions. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., the second-largest lender in Singapore, told its clients it would no longer process any transactions related to Russia as of the start of November, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in a report published this week.
/jlne.ws/3ZXdlPn
Russia gains ground in Ukraine, but at steep cost; Russia is trading bodies for ground in Ukraine with no end in sight.
Paul McLeary - Politico
Russia has made slow but steady gains in recent weeks against Ukraine but at a steep cost - the bloodiest month in the nearly three-year war, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Casualties from the offensives in the Donbas have brought Russia's total number of dead and wounded to over 600,000, according to officials granted anonymity to brief reporters at the Pentagon on the course of the war.
/jlne.ws/400loeg
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel's deadliest strike in central Beirut leaves Lebanese stunned as they dig through the rubble
Bassem Mroue - Associated Press
Rescue workers searched through the rubble of a collapsed building in central Beirut on Friday morning, hours after two Israeli strikes hit the Lebanese capital, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens. The air raid was the deadliest attack on central Beirut in over a year of war, hitting two residential buildings in neighborhoods that have swelled with displaced people fleeing Israeli bombardment elsewhere in the country.
/jlne.ws/3BDlGO7
Traders Buy Lebanon's Penny Bonds in Long-Shot Bet Amid Conflict; Dollar bonds continue to trade at a fraction of their value; Progress remains frozen by economic and political paralysis
Kerim Karakaya and Srinivasan Sivabalan - Bloomberg
Trading in Lebanon's defaulted sovereign bonds has jumped in the past two weeks as Israel escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah. The unusual uptick in interest for the defaulted notes is a result of long-shot bets that whatever comes after the conflict will be better for investors than the status quo. Traders are buying the debt on the idea that Lebanon's best prospects for reform hinge on a weakened Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that holds an outsized influence over Lebanese politics
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | EV MOTORS to start trading in BME Growth on Monday, October 14th
BME-X
The Board of Directors of BME Growth has approved the listing of EV MOTORS on Monday, October 14th, once the documentation submitted by the company has been analyzed and studied and a favorable evaluation report has been issued by the Market Coordination and Incorporations Committee. It will be the fourth company to join this BME market so far this year. The Board of Directors of the company has taken as a reference for the start of trading of the shares a price of 6.88 euros per share, which represents a total value of the company of 329 million euros.
/jlne.ws/3YjT6Kf
EEX Press Release - EEX to launch new futures for dry and LNG freight markets
EEX
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) will introduce a new suite of freight futures and options contracts for the dry and LNG freight markets from 25 November 2024. The products comprise the new Baltic Supramax 11TC Freight Month Future, Baltic Supramax and Capsize Month Options for various routes in addition to the EEX Baltic LNG 174 Freight Month Futures for three intercontinental routes.
/jlne.ws/40jQzBx
Fixed Income market briefing October 2024
Lee Bartholomew - Eurex
September 2024 was a busy and solid month for the FIC portfolio, continuing to provide new records with interest rate derivatives up by 30% year-to-date. Despite the US Labor Day and the UK bank holiday at the beginning of the month, September began with an accelerated outperformance of traded contracts through the roll period. This translated into an all-time high of 12.8 million Fixed Income Futures contracts traded on 3 September 2024. The roll proceeded smoothly and without hiccups, completing within a few days. Generous rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank further stimulated market activity and boosted Eurex volumes.
/jlne.ws/4dOpZTY
Coronation lists seventh AMETF on the JSE
JSE
Trading under the share code, COGOE, the AMETF will provide on-market investors with access to a portfolio of global equity managers with a developed market bias. The benchmark of this fund is the MSCI All Country World Index.
/jlne.ws/4dLvhj7
Miami International Holdings Reports Trading Results for September 2024; Multiple Options and Equities Exchanges Report Record Volumes; MIAX Sapphire Market Share Surpasses 1.1% in September 2024
MIAX
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today reported September 2024 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries - MIAX, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Emerald and MIAX SapphireTM (collectively, the MIAX Exchange Group), and MIAX Futures.
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Acuiti and SGX Group launch global derivatives market sentiment index
Acuiti
London - 9 October 2024: Acuiti and Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) today released the SGX Global Market Sentiment Index, a barometer of sentiment from across the global derivatives market. The Sentiment Index is based on a quarterly poll of Acuiti's Expert Networks, comprising senior, derivatives-focused executives from hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms and the sell-side.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Sequoia Invests in German Weaponized Drone Startup Stark Defense; Sequoia invested EUR14 million in Stark's Series A round; A wave of defense startups emerged after the Ukraine invasion
Christina Kyriasoglou - Bloomberg
US venture capital firm Sequoia Capital invested in a German startup developing autonomous attack drones, according to people familiar with the situation. Sequoia invested EUR14 million ($15 million) in a Series A round for the Munich-based firm Stark Defense, valuing it at around EUR90 million, people with knowledge of the funding said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public.
/jlne.ws/3Y3IAW9
BMLL Wins 'Best Data Science Solution Provider' At The Hedgeweek US Awards 2024
Mondovisione
We are delighted to announce that BMLL has won "Best Data Science Solution Provider" at the HedgeWeek US Awards 2024. These awards recognise excellence among fund managers and service providers in the US across a wide range of categories. BMLL was awarded for providing harmonised, Level 3, Level 2 and Level 1 historical data and analytics to hedge funds, helping them improve predictability, quality and speed of alpha through a scalable, managed data and analytics service.
/jlne.ws/3Nom5GO
AMD rolls out new AI chip to rival Nvidia; Chief Lisa Su believes Silicon Valley group is closing performance gap with larger competitor
Michael Acton - Financial Times
AMD's chief executive believes the chipmaker is closing the performance gap with Nvidia's market-leading artificial intelligence processors, as it unveiled new products targeting a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars. On Thursday, the Silicon Valley-based group announced that its MI325X chip will roll out to customers in the fourth quarter of this year, saying it offered "industry-leading" performance compared with Nvidia's current generation of H200 AI chips.
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AMD's Second AI Act Faces a Tougher Crowd; Strong sales of first GPU chips still barely make a dent in Nvidia's armor
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
Going from zero to nearly $5 billion in sales in a year is nothing to sneeze at. Unfortunately for Advanced Micro Devices, it's also a hard act to repeat. The chip maker better known as AMD unveiled its latest generation of artificial intelligence processors Thursday. Those come a little less than a year after the company launched its first entry into the market of so-called GPU accelerators-the systems crucial to generative AI computing. Nvidia dominates that market, but that didn't stop AMD from making some bold promises, including a target of selling $2 billion worth of the initial chips in their first year on the market.
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Companies Had Fun Experimenting With AI. Now They Have to Show the Returns; 'The window for experimenting is mostly behind us now,' said one tech leader at WSJ's CIO Network Summit
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
Business technology leaders are winding down two years of fast-paced artificial intelligence experiments inside their companies, and putting their AI dollars toward proven projects focused on return on investment. "When generative AI came along, there was a certain amount of discretionary funding that we could look at to go experiment and test out some of the technology," said Jonny LeRoy, chief technology officer of industrial supplier W.W. Grainger. "But really to scale beyond some of those experiments, we're seeing the need to actually make a better business case."
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | American Water Works reconnecting systems a week after cyberattack; The water utility said there is no evidence of damage to its facilities, but law enforcement and forensic experts are still investigating.
David Jones - Cybersecurity Dive
American Water Works said it is in the process of securely reconnecting its systems following a cyberattack discovered on Oct. 3, according to a Thursday regulatory filing. The largest regulated water utility in the U.S. said there is no evidence the incident impacted its water or wastewater facilities. American Water Works serves more than 14 million people, operating in 14 states and 18 military installations.
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Cybersecurity Experts Brace for the Next Crisis After the CrowdStrike Near-Disaster
Peter Suciu - ClearanceJobs
This past summer's "CrowdStrike incident" - which began as a "minor" error - came as close to a total system crash as the world has yet seen. It grounded airlines, hospitals were forced to cancel surgeries, and retailers couldn't process digital payments. The issue was made worse because though a patch was quickly released, it required every single computer impacted to be manually restarted.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Wall Street Races to Launch Latest Cohort of Crypto-Spot ETFs; Firms seek to debut exchange-traded funds tied to XRP token; Efforts come after regulatory clarity around Ripple Labs
Isabelle Lee - Bloomberg
The race to launch an exchange-traded fund tracking XRP, the seventh-largest digital token, has begun. Canary Capital Group, a new digital asset-focused investment firm founded in September, submitted paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday to launch the Canary XRP ETF. It comes just a week after Bitwise Asset Management Inc. became the first firm to file for an ETF tracking the token. Canary, founded by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Steven McClurg, said in a statement that it was encouraged by "signs of a more progressive regulatory environment coupled with growing demand from investors."
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Visa Launches Platform to Help Banks Issue Stablecoins Globally; Platform is expected to go live in 2025, payments firm says; A pilot test will be run on Ethereum at some point next year
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
Visa Inc. is launching a platform for banks to issue fiat-backed tokens such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits, as more financial institutions and businesses express interest in how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can improve their operations. The product, which will be known as the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform or VTAP, will allow banks to "mint, burn and transfer" tokens. While still in the testing stage, the plan is to go live next year, according to a Thursday statement.
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Stripe Says Stablecoins Payments Made in More Than 70 Countries After Relaunch; Fintech is allowing crypto after ending the service in 2018; USDC stablecoin acceptance enabled for more than 150 countries
Emily Mason - Bloomberg
Stripe Inc. said individuals from more than 70 countries have used stablecoins for online transactions during the first 24 hours after allowing merchants using its platform to accept crypto payments again. Stripe merchants in the US were authorized as of Oct. 9 to receive the Circle-issued stablecoin USDC through their online checkout pages. The payments firm was among the first to enable Bitcoin payments in 2014, but disabled the feature four years later, explaining that slow processing times were leading to failed transactions.
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Ripple files notice of cross-appeal in ongoing litigation with the SEC
Sarah Wynn - The Block
Ripple Labs filed a cross-appeal as litigation continues in a case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission almost four years ago. Ripple filed its "notice of cross-appeal" on Thursday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This comes a week after the SEC said it was appealing an earlier judgment.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | The Ex-Soros Executive Who Is Trump's New Obsession; Scott Bessent wasn't involved when the former president was in office. Now he is Trump's go-to economic adviser.
Gregory Zuckerman and Peter Rudegeair - The Wall Street Journal
"One of the most brilliant men on Wall Street." "Respected by everybody." "A nice-looking guy, too." This is how former President Donald Trump recently described Scott Bessent, a little-known hedge-fund manager, onetime Al Gore supporter and George Soros's former top investor. Bessent, in some ways an unlikely ally for Trump, has become his latest obsession. Trump sang Bessent's praises at an August rally in North Carolina, then surprised him by having him come onstage. On Thursday, Trump called Bessent "one of the top analysts on Wall Street" during a speech before the Detroit Economic Club.
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A Small-C Conservative Case for Kamala Harris
Joe Klein - The New York Times
In 1978, I visited my first war zone, Beirut. There were, in fact, several wars going on. The Israelis had made an incursion in the south, but there was chaos everywhere, with various local militias squaring off in the streets. Two of them had battled each other for control of the Holiday Inn. Imagine that. Beirut, clearly, had been a civilized and sophisticated city; parts of it still were - and yet it was descending into the unthinkable. The lesson was stark: My American soul, my life experience, had assumed that civilization was a rock-solid given, especially in historic cultural and commercial centers like Beirut. But it wasn't. It was a tenuous state of grace. It needed to be nurtured, protected.
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Give Ukraine NATO Membership. Peace Depends on It.
William B. Taylor - The New York Times
In Washington and New York last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said his country's people were fiercely committed to a just and lasting peace to end the war on their nation. This week in Kyiv, I heard a similar sentiment from every Ukrainian I spoke with, from senior officials to frontline soldiers. They want Russians out of their country and security guarantees to protect Ukrainian sovereignty. When the war ends, Ukraine must join NATO. An end to the conflict will come either with Ukraine repelling the Russian invaders or with the international community pressuring Russia to halt it, or both, as President Zelensky has suggested. But without Ukraine in the alliance, that nation will never be safe from the Russian aggression that has menaced it for 300 years, and Europe as a whole will not be secure.
/jlne.ws/3BHe3WL
France Hits Big Firms, Wealthy to Trim 'Colossal' Debt Pile; Temporary levy on 440 firms to raise EUR12 billion in 2025-2026; Tax on shipping companies to raise EUR800 million over two years
William Horobin, Ania Nussbaum, and Samy Adghirni
The French government unveiled a budget for next year that aims to deliver a EUR60.6 billion ($66.2 billion) remedy for its creaking public finances and rebuild investor confidence even as it risks eviction by a hostile parliament. Spending cuts will account for just over two thirds of what Finance Minister Antoine Armand called an unheard-of fiscal effort, with the rest coming from higher taxes on businesses, the wealthy and energy.
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As Brussels Booms, an Old Boogeyman Returns: Brusselization; Belgium's capital became notorious for ugly high-rises and haphazard urban planning in the 1960s. But the city's new wave of development could be different.
Feargus O'Sullivan - Bloomberg
In a bid to tackle its housing crisis, Brussels is building upwards. Across the Belgian capital, new residential or mixed-use towers are springing up across the city. These aren't supertalls, but they're significant by local standards, and they stand to reshape the skyline within a few years. For some, the wave of high-rises is also stirring unwelcome memories of a earlier era of urban development, and the pejorative term it inspired: Brusselization.
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Lithuania installs 'dragon's teeth' to fend off potential Russian attack
James Kilner - The Telegraph
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Putin hails 'very close' links with Iran at landmark first meeting with president, as Middle East tensions soar
Lauren Kent - CNN
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Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japanese anti-nuclear weapon group Nihon Hidankyo
Alexander Smith and Arata Yamamoto - NBC News
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Why Politicians Ignore Abuses in India's Sugar Industry: They Run It; Politicians run most of the mills in the state of Maharashtra. They deny or downplay evidence of coerced hysterectomies, debt bondage and child labor in the fields.
Megha Rajagopalan and Qadri Inzamam - The New York Times
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Binance compliance chief denied bail in Nigeria money laundering case
Camillus Eboh - Reuters
Binance's head of financial compliance was denied bail for a second time on Friday as his trial on money laundering charges started in Nigeria, with a judge ruling that the prison in which he is being held is capable of meeting his medical needs. Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen, has been in detention in Nigeria since the end of February. He and Binance deny the charges against him.
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TD Bank to pay $3 billion, face asset cap to resolve US money-laundering probe
Reuters
TD Bank became the largest bank in U.S. history to plead guilty to violating a federal law aimed at preventing money laundering, and agreed to pay over $3 billion in penalties to resolve the charges, government authorities said on Thursday. The plea deal, which includes a rare imposition of an asset cap and other business limitations, arises from multiple government investigations into what authorities described as pervasive issues.
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US officials on TD Bank as 'easy target' for money laundering
Reuters
TD Bank became the largest bank in U.S. history to plead guilty to Bank Secrecy Act program failures on Thursday, and the first bank in history to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Below are comments from U.S. government officials describing how TD's lapses led to $3 billion in penalties, an asset cap and independent monitoring of its operations. Some quotes have been edited for length.
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Federal Reserve Board fines Toronto-Dominion Bank $123.5 million for violations related to anti-money laundering laws
Federal Reserve Board
The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday fined Toronto-Dominion Bank $123.5 million for violations related to anti-money laundering laws. The Board is also requiring TD to implement enhanced measures to comply with anti-money laundering laws and to correct its risk management deficiencies. TD failed to conduct adequate risk management and oversight of its retail banking operations in the United States, resulting in a U.S. subsidiary being used to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds. The Board's action will help ensure that TD operates in compliance with all U.S. laws and regulations.
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Office Hours with Gary Gensler: Fraud and Deception in Artificial Intelligence
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
This video can be viewed at the below link. In 1950, the famous mathematician Alan Turing asked, "Can machines think?" What does that mean for securities law, particularly the laws related to fraud and manipulation? Bad actors, ever since antiquity, have found new ways to deceive the public. With artificial intelligence, fraudsters have yet a new tool to exploit. But make no mistake. Under the securities law, fraud is fraud.
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SEC Charges Rimar Capital Entities and Owner Itai Liptz for Defrauding Investors by Making False and Misleading Statements About Use of Artificial Intelligence; Rimar Capital USA, Inc. Board Member Clifford Boro also Charged
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Rimar Capital USA, Inc. (Rimar USA), Rimar Capital, LLC (Rimar LLC), Itai Liptz, and Clifford Boro for making false and misleading statements about Rimar LLC's purported use of artificial intelligence, or AI, to perform automated trading for client accounts and numerous other material misrepresentations. The parties agreed to settle the SEC's charges and pay $310,000 in total civil penalties.
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SEC Issues $12 Million Award to Joint Whistleblowers
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a $12 million award to be split among three joint whistleblowers who provided critical information and assistance in an SEC enforcement action. The joint whistleblowers provided the SEC significant information and extensive cooperation, which helped expand the scope of the investigation and the charges brought in the enforcement action and also saved the agency substantial time and resources. The joint whistleblowers met numerous times with SEC's enforcement staff and certain of the joint whistleblowers suffered hardships due to their whistleblowing.
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SEC Charges Cumberland DRW for Operating as an Unregistered Dealer in the Crypto Asset Markets
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Chicago-based Cumberland DRW LLC with operating as an unregistered dealer in over $2 billion of crypto assets offered and sold as securities, in violation of the registration requirements of the federal securities laws that are designed to protect investors.
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ASIC cancels two Australian financial services licences and 11 Australian credit licences
Published 11 October 2024
ASIC
ASIC has cancelled two Australian financial services licences (AFS licence) and 11 Australian credit licences (collectively, the Licensees). The Licensees were required by law to be a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA membership gives consumers access to a free, fair, and independent dispute resolution scheme if a complaint cannot be resolved internally by a Licensee.
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ASIC issues 2023-24 update on licensing and professional registration activities
ASIC
ASIC has provided an update on its licensing and professional registration activities to assist current and prospective Australian financial services (AFS), and credit licensees understand the licensing regime. Report 797 Licensing and professional registration activities: 2024 update (REP 797) provides the latest information on registration and licence applications from the 2023-24 financial year and key changes to licensing processes.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | A Record $6.47 Trillion Is Piling Up in US Money-Market Funds; Investors added another $11 billion in week ended Oct. 9: ICI; JPMorgan says outflows are unlikely to materialize soon
Alex Harris - Bloomberg
A stampede into US money-market funds has pushed the industry's total assets to a fresh record $6.47 trillion as investors seek out lofty yields in the face of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Some $11 billion flowed into money-market funds in the week ending Oct. 9, according to the latest Investment Company Institute data released on Thursday. That boosts this year's inflows to more than half-a-trillion dollars as traders debate the pace of reductions ahead in US borrowing costs.
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Surging US repo activity likely exacerbating funding pressure
Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss - Reuters
A sharp steady rise in overnight repurchase agreements is overwhelming banks that serve as middlemen for such short-term borrowings in U.S. government securities, threatening to fuel major funding pressure at the end of every quarter and year. The market for so-called repos allows banks to borrow money quickly and cheaply when they need cash, and lend with little risk. Hedge funds and Wall Street financial firms rely on the roughly $4 trillion repo market to finance daily trades, and any disruption could force them to cut holdings of bonds, stocks and other securities.
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China Investors Expect $283 Billion of New Stimulus This Weekend; Finance Minister Lan to host anticipated briefing on Saturday; Polled analysts expect local debt relief, consumption boost
Bloomberg News
Investors and analysts are expecting China to deploy as much as 2 trillion yuan ($283 billion) in fresh fiscal stimulus as Beijing seeks to shore up the world's second-biggest economy and boost confidence. That's what they hope the country's finance minister will announce at a highly anticipated briefing on Saturday, according to a majority of 23 market participants surveyed by Bloomberg. Most of the respondents expect the funding to come in the form of government bonds.
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The IPO Slump Is Fine Unless You're Jamie Dimon; Established players like the status quo. But markets like to evolve.
Aaron Brown - Bloomberg Opinion
Two senior Wall Street executives complained this week that over-regulation is discouraging initial public offerings. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon partly blamed the zeal of securities regulators for the drop in IPOs that began in March 2022, a sentiment echoed by Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao. I'm not convinced we should care about the number of IPOs. It doesn't pay to fight the market. If companies have found better alternatives, the response should be to anticipate problems and exploit opportunities with those rather than trying to woo companies back to the old paths. Established players like JPMorgan and Citadel often like to keep things the same for markets they dominate, but I tend to root for the little-guy innovators.
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The Market Has Been Fabulous, Maybe Excessively So; You may not realize how great the stock market has been. But, our columnist says, it can't keep rising at this pace for long.
Jeff Sommer - The New York Times
September is typically a dicey month for the stock market. In many years, so are the weeks before a contentious election. But the returns that millions of investors have been seeing lately have been wonderful - far better than Wall Street projected at the end of last year. The S&P 500 is already 20 percent higher than the Wall Street consensus for all of 2024. As a consequence, Wall Street has upgraded its outlook radically: Now that stocks have been rallying, why shouldn't they rise further?
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Trudeau Carbon Tax in Crosshairs as Report Sparks Fresh Debate; Conservatives, Liberals both say document proves their claims; Budget officer had to redo report after making modeling error
Brian Platt - Bloomberg
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national carbon price faced a fresh round of fierce political bickering after a spending watchdog stood by his conclusion that most households will be worse off due to the tax. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux released an updated report on Thursday to fix a mistake in his initial review of the tax published in March 2023. The new document holds to the basic findings of the original report - prompting both Trudeau's Liberals and Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives to claim it as a political win.
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China Seeks Carbon Data From Ships as Trading Scheme Grows; Some vessel owners asked for figures on voyages to local ports; Shipping accounts for about 2% of global emissions, IEA says
Weilun Soon - Bloomberg
Authorities in China have started to ask some overseas shipowners to report on their carbon emissions, highlighting greater scrutiny of the industry as the regulatory framework shifts. The requests for figures on voyages that service local ports affect some tanker and container-ship owners, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. The move follows the EU's recent adoption of a carbon levy on vessels, and could help in China's expansion of its emissions-trading system to cover shipping. It's unclear how many ports are involved.
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Scientists See Hope in Race to Save the Banana; Chiquita announced a new disease-resistant strain, and Australian researchers have developed a genetically modified fruit
H. Claire Brown - The Wall Street Journal
Two diseases threaten to wipe out the banana as we know it, and scientists are racing to breed a fruit of the future. It's starting to look like they might succeed by the end of the decade-and in their best-case scenario, consumers won't even notice. Chiquita Brands International last month said it bred a new banana called the Yelloway 1 that is resistant to one of the major diseases and shows promise in resisting the second. Meanwhile in Australia, researchers have developed a disease-resistant genetically modified banana.
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KKR Says Focus on Demand to Avoid 'Stupid' Green Investments; Focus on demand is crucial, says firm's co-head of climate; Green hydrogen largely 'uninvestible' due to supply focus
Will Mathis and Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
The key to avoiding bad investments in the transition away from fossil fuels is to focus on demand, not just supply. Focusing on energy supply - without thinking about who's going to buy it - is what led to a lack of investment in green hydrogen, according to Emmanuel Lagarrigue, partner and global co-head of climate at KKR & Co Inc. The US-based alternative asset manager is now betting that its own demand-driven approach could finally lead to major investments in the clean fuel in the coming years.
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EPA Settles Some Alabama Coal Ash Violations, but Larger Questions Linger; Alabama Power Company agreed to pay $278,000 to resolve two of three alleged coal ash violations, but the biggest unknown about the utility's 76.7 million cubic yards of coal ash stored in unlined pits across the state remains unresolved.
Dennis Pillion - Inside Climate News
Alabama's largest electric utility reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency resolving two of three alleged violations stemming from one of its largest coal ash ponds. But the larger question-whether the 21.7 million cubic yards of coal ash in the pond will have to be excavated and moved to a lined landfill-remains unanswered.
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Stellantis CEO says EU carbon rules are pushing industry costs up by 40%
Reuters
Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said on Friday the current European Union carbon emission regulation is imposing 40% higher costs on the car-making industry at a time when customers are reluctant to buy expensive electric vehicles. Tavares, who was speaking before an Italian parliamentary committee in Rome, however, said Stellantis was not asking for any changes in regulation, including the intermediate carbon targets the EU has set for next year.
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India's trade minister says 'irrational' EU standards, unfair rules hurt ties
Reuters
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UN adopts sustainable development standards for regulated carbon markets
Cecilia Keating - Business Green
/jlne.ws/4eEbxPL
'We're raising the alarm': IRENA warns £1.5tr a year of investment needed to meet global renewables goal
Michael Holder - Business Green
/jlne.ws/3Yjdtap
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Buffett Cuts Bank of America Stake Below 10%, Letting Him Trade in Secret; US rules required Buffett to disclose trades within a few days; His Berkshire Hathaway plowed $5 billion into the bank in 2011
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Warren Buffett can take his time to reveal trades in Bank of America Corp. stock now that his conglomerate's stake has been trimmed below a 10% regulatory threshold requiring rapid disclosure. A selling spree that began in mid-July has helped his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reap about $10.5 billion from its massive, years-long investment in the bank, whittling down the holding to 9.99% of the lender's outstanding shares.
/jlne.ws/3YkMsUj
Wells Fargo's Investment Bankers Help Counter Rate-Hit Drop
Hannah Levitt and Jenny Surane - Bloomberg
Wells Fargo & Co. posted third-quarter profit that topped analyst expectations as a surge in investment-banking fees helped counter a dip in lending revenue as interest rates fall. Investment-banking fees rose 37% to $672 million in the third quarter, the San Francisco-based bank said in a statement Friday. That helped buoy non-interest income, which climbed 12% to $8.7 billion in the period.
/jlne.ws/3XWDI5g
BNY Q3 profit rises as assets under custody and administration top $50 trillion
Reuters
BNY's (BK) profit jumped 16% in the third quarter on higher investment services fees as assets under its custody and administration exceeded the $50 trillion mark for the first time, the world's largest custodian bank said on Friday.
/jlne.ws/4eEXnxA
The Rise of the Quick-Buck ETF; On this episode of Trillions, we discuss tempting but risky derivatives-enhanced exchange-traded funds that are all the rage.
Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas - Bloomberg
Derivatives-enhanced exchange-traded funds have become a hit with retail investors. There's been more than 160 such launches so far this year, with monikers such as "laddered buffer" and "covered call," and they've attracted $50 billion and counting. While many of the products were designed to protect from downturns, some include options that can generate cash, which comes back to investors in the form of dividends. (Did someone say "yields"?)
/jlne.ws/4gXMOaD
Hedge Fund Up 800% in Seven Years Buys Dip in China Tech Stocks; Valuations remain cheap even after rally, Huaan Hexin says
Bloomberg News
A top-performing Chinese hedge fund is buying the dip in Hong Kong-listed China technology stocks, saying valuations remain cheap even after their strong rally this year. Shenzhen Huaan Hexin Private Investment Fund Management Co., which manages almost 6 billion yuan ($849 million), is adding such holdings after a 14% two-day slump in the Hang Seng Tech Index earlier this week. "Such a correction is more like a buying opportunity," Yuan Wei, founder and fund manager, said in an interview on Wednesday. "If you compare to their fundamentals, the stocks remain very cheap."
BlackRock Hits $11.5 Trillion of Assets With Private-Market Push; Total net flows hit record $221 billion last quarter; Flows into fixed-income and private funds boosted performance
Silla Brush - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. pulled in a record $221 billion of total client cash last quarter, pushing the world's largest money manager to an all-time high of $11.5 trillion of assets as it seeks to become a one-stop shop for stocks, bonds and, increasingly, private assets. Investors added $97 billion to exchange-traded funds and $63 billion to fixed-income overall in the third quarter, New York-based BlackRock said Friday in a statement. BlackRock has pulled in $360 billion of total net inflows so far this year, surpassing the full-year net flows of 2022 and 2023.
/jlne.ws/3U6JPCO
JPMorgan Posts Surprise NII Gain, Raises Key Revenue View; Dimon calls geopolitics 'treacherous and getting worse'; Investment-banking fees surge 31%, topping analyst estimates
Hannah Levitt - Bloomberg
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The '80-hour circuit breaker': Wall Street banks tackle workloads of junior staff; Moves to cap weekly hours for entry-level bankers butt against reality of competitive industry
Joshua Franklin and Suzi Ring and Ortenca Aliaj - Financial Times
If you have to ask whether long hours are really necessary in investment banking, then it is probably not the career for you. The high-stress, high-reward business of dealmaking and being on call for clients of top Wall Street banks is famously gruelling. It is not uncommon for entry-level bankers to rack up more than 100 hours a week.
/jlne.ws/3NlAjbi
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Mpox is killing again. It didn't have to be this way.
Carmen Paun - Politico
Mpox is back. More than 900 people, mostly African children, have died this year and public health officials say the new variant inflicting that toll could arrive in the U.S. at any time. There's a lot of blame to go around. It was only two years ago that mpox, previously known as monkeypox, arrived in the U.S. and began spreading. U.S. authorities contained it with a vaccination campaign targeted at those most at risk, men who have sex with men. But no vaccines got to Africa, where the disease is endemic in some countries, making it easier for the new variant to emerge.
/jlne.ws/3Ykzxlk
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Emmanuel Macron's pro-business agenda undercut by French budget plan; Tax rises, higher labour costs and political uncertainty spook potential investors and threaten to unwind president's policies
Leila Abboud and Sarah White - Financial Times
Companies in France are bracing for a salvo of tax rises and higher labour costs in a deficit-cutting budget that risks undermining seven years of pro-business policies pushed by President Emmanuel Macron. Conservative premier Michel Barnier, who leads an uneasy power-sharing government with Macron's centrists, on Thursday unveiled budget proposals that include tax increases on business and wealthy individuals in a reversal of the president's agenda that signals his diminishing political influence.
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Chinese premier hopes Japan, China can meet halfway, keep relations on right track
Reuters
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said he hopes Japan can meet China halfway and keep bilateral relations on the right track, state media reported, as the two countries try to ease escalating tensions in the region. In talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Li also said he hoped China and Japan can continuously strengthen dialogue and cooperation, according to the official Xinhua news agency on Friday.
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Blinken says Asia concerned about spread of Middle East conflict
Panu Wongcha-um - Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday there was deep concern in Asia about the prospect of conflict spreading in the Middle East, as the U.N. chief called for everything possible to be done to avoid "all-out war" in Lebanon.
The conflict in the Middle East was a central issue during Friday's East Asia Summit in Laos, where Blinken said Washington was dedicated to using diplomacy to try to control the situation in the face of what he called an Iranian-led axis of resistance.
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China's Stimulus Barrage Draws Out Cautious House Hunters; Home viewings and sales jumped in China's biggest cities during a recent holiday period-but hesitancy remains after a yearslong slump
Jonathan Cheng - The Wall Street Journal
The Chinese government's flurry of stimulus measures has upended the country's stock markets. It has also brought potential home buyers back into the marketplace, raising hopes that official attempts at boosting confidence can rekindle a sector critical to any lasting rebound. Home viewings and sales of new and previously owned homes jumped in China's biggest cities during the recently concluded weeklong National Day holiday, state media reported, while rising more modestly in lower-income cities.
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Shares in shipbroker Braemar fall after FT report on Russian 'shadow fleet'; Moscow is using the vessels to move oil beyond the reach of western sanctions
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
London-listed shipbroker Braemar closed down 6 per cent on Thursday, the biggest one-day drop in more than a year, after the Financial Times reported its involvement in the sale of nine ageing oil tankers that have joined Russia's "shadow fleet". Braemar's shares ended the day at 278p, the lowest since May, and were down another 5 per cent to 264 on Friday.
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