| October 17, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The introduction of tariffs has long been a flashpoint for economic friction that can escalate into broader geopolitical conflict. Historical examples illustrate how protectionist policies-designed to secure economic interests-have fueled nationalistic sentiments, economic grievances, and, ultimately, war. In analyzing these cases, the parallels to the contemporary global trade environment are stark and offer a sobering lesson on the dangers of using tariffs as a tool in international relations.
Throughout history, tariffs have been a recurring factor in escalating tensions that lead to war. In the American Revolutionary War, Britain's imposition of tariffs and trade restrictions on its American colonies stoked resentment. These taxes, along with restrictions on free trade, were seen as exploitation, ultimately fueling the desire for independence. Economic grievances, embodied in tariffs, thus played a foundational role in the birth of the United States.
Similarly, in the lead-up to the U.S. Civil War, tariff policies deepened the economic divide between the North and South. While slavery was the primary issue, tariffs exacerbated sectional tensions, as the agricultural South relied on free trade, while the industrial North sought protectionist tariffs to guard its developing industries. These economic policies added fuel to the fire of secessionist sentiment, helping to precipitate the bloodiest conflict in American history.
Tariffs have also played a critical role on the global stage. The Opium Wars between China and Britain, while largely focused on trade imbalances related to opium, were also fueled by China's restrictive tariffs and policies under the Canton System. Britain's demand for freer trade access to China's markets, coupled with economic pressure, led to violent military conflict and opened the door to an era of imperial dominance in China.
Perhaps the most striking example of tariffs contributing to global instability is found in the lead-up to World War II. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 raised U.S. tariffs to record levels, sparking a global trade war that worsened the Great Depression. This economic strain contributed to the rise of authoritarian regimes in Germany and Japan, whose militaristic ambitions were fueled by economic insecurity. The economic isolation caused by tariffs encouraged nationalist policies and aggressive territorial expansion, culminating in the outbreak of World War II.
In the Pacific War, Japan's military expansion in Asia was driven in part by economic necessity, as U.S. tariffs and embargoes on vital resources like oil and steel choked Japan's economy. The pressure of these sanctions led directly to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, pulling the United States into the conflict. Once again, trade barriers contributed to a path toward war, underscoring the dangerous link between economic policy and military aggression.
In the present day, the use of tariffs as a tool in global trade relations seems to be repeating the mistakes of the past. Tariffs are increasingly being wielded not just as economic levers but as political weapons in disputes between major global powers. In recent years, the trade war between the United States and China has seen tit-for-tat tariffs, raising the specter of deepening economic rifts between the world's two largest economies. While these tariffs may offer short-term protection for specific industries, they risk long-term damage to the global economy and international relations.
The introduction of tariffs today is more than just an economic decision-it is a move that inflames nationalism and fosters a zero-sum mentality in international affairs. As history has shown, tariffs often lead to retaliation, which can spiral into broader conflict. In a world where global supply chains and interconnected economies are the norm, the use of tariffs disrupts cooperation and encourages economic isolationism. When nations turn inward, focused on protecting domestic industries at the expense of international trade, they often resort to more aggressive means of securing their interests.
Moreover, tariffs foster an "us vs. them" mentality, stoking nationalist sentiments within countries. As tariffs harm consumers by raising prices and shrinking trade, domestic populations often rally around the idea of protecting national sovereignty or punishing foreign competitors. This economic nationalism creates fertile ground for political leaders to pursue more extreme measures, including military posturing or outright conflict, in defense of their "national interests."
The parallels between the contemporary use of tariffs and past conflicts are concerning. Just as tariffs contributed to tensions in the lead-up to the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II, today's protectionist policies risk igniting similar dynamics. Economic warfare through tariffs may begin with trade disputes, but history shows how quickly these can escalate into political and military conflict. That is good for no one.
The FIA Law and Compliance Division is hosting a webinar titled "Double Trouble (or More): Effectively Navigating Parallel Investigations, Domestic and Cross-Border" on October 31, 2024, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM ET. The event will focus on the challenges market participants face when dealing with parallel enforcement investigations by the CFTC, DOJ, international regulators, financial exchanges, and SROs. These investigations often involve complex issues like market manipulation, anti-corruption, and sanctions. A team from Morgan Lewis, including experts in fraud and market integrity, will discuss strategies for managing these parallel and cross-border investigations to minimize risk. The session will be hosted by Michael Sorrell, FIA's Deputy General Counsel.
The FIA Law and Compliance Division is hosting a webinar titled "Commodities Enforcement Trends and Developments" on November 7, 2024, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM ET. The session will focus on the DOJ and CFTC's enforcement efforts in commodities, particularly in cases of market manipulation, spoofing, insider trading, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Former senior DOJ prosecutors will discuss recent trends, legal developments, enforcement tools, and best practices to mitigate risk. The event will be hosted by Michael Sorrell, FIA's deputy general counsel, with panelists Edward Imperatore and Brian Kidd from Morrison & Foerster.
The FIA Law and Compliance Division is also hosting a webinar titled "Self-Reporting in the Age of Whistleblowers" on December 5, 2024, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM ET. The event will focus on the CFTC's policy regarding self-reporting and cooperation credit in enforcement actions, examining its application in recent cases and discussing potential reforms. The session will also address developments in the enforcement of supervisory violations and provide practical guidance on navigating the different whistleblower regimes of the DOJ, CFTC, and SEC. Hosted by Natalie Tynan, FIA's associate general counsel, the webinar will feature panelists Renato Mariotti and Michael Spafford, both partners at Paul Hastings.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: ANALYSIS: Experts outline problems with 24/7 trading in US futures, Robinhood to offer Cboe index options trading to retail investors, OSTC founder Langley replaces Jenkins as head of training firm ZISHI, Former HKEX managing director Lee resurfaces at AI tech firm, Interactive Brokers opens Dubai office to serve Middle East trading demand.
Last night was the Rocktoberfest event for ALTSO in Chicago. I missed attending as I am still down in Florida, but I hope they had a successful, rocking event. It is a yearly charitable event I hate to miss.
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:
- Division of Clearing and Risk Announces Participants and Agenda for October 16 Staff Roundtable on Existing, New and Emerging Issues in Clearing from the CFTC.
- Hedge Fund FX Option Bets Are Soaring on Trump Tariff Risk from Bloomberg.
- ICE Reports Record Futures and Options Trading from MarketsMedia. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Russia to deploy North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Ukrainian president warns that Moscow is preparing to use 10,000 troops from Asian nation in 'first step to a world war'
Henry Foy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he has intelligence reports that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to enter the war on the side of Russia against Ukraine. "We know that there are 10,000 soldiers of North Korea, that they are preparing to send, fight against us," he told reporters in Brussels, adding that they were "land forces, other tactical personnel". "This is the first step to a world war."
/jlne.ws/3BPdXMO
***** I think President Zelenskyy's count is a few steps behind.~JJL
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The New York Times has had it with generative AI companies using its content
Rebecca Bellan - TechCrunch
The New York Times sent a cease and desist letter demanding that Jeff Bezos-backed Perplexity stop accessing and using its content in AI summaries and other output. The Wall Street Journal reviewed the document. The letter argues that Perplexity has been "unjustly enriched" by using the publisher's "expressive, carefully written and researched, and edited journalism without a license," which it says violates copyright laws. This isn't the paper's first tangle with AI companies -- it's suing OpenAI for using content without consent to train ChatGPT. Other publishers have also accused Perplexity of unethical web scraping.
/jlne.ws/489hwJI
****** The New York Times is also very angry at the AI companies' platforms for solving the New York Times crossword puzzles every day without any problems.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Wednesday was Division of Clearing and Risk Announces Participants and Agenda for October 16 Staff Roundtable on Existing, New and Emerging Issues in Clearing, from the CFTC. Second was Why Wall Street Is Warming to the Tokenization of Assets, from Bloomberg. Third was Pillars, Challenges, and Mentions: Recap of the FIA's Washington Outlook Event, from Derek Haworth at BornTech.
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| Lead Stories | Shakeup in Bond Futures Stands to Reignite Burned Treasury Trade; De-leveraging in futures can support a steeper Treasury curve; Trader positioning now less extreme, moving closer to neutral
Edward Bolingbroke - Bloomberg
The unwinding of positions in Treasury futures stands to rekindle a popular bond-market wager that's been burned as traders pare back expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. The recalibration is pushing firms to unwind leveraged positions, with some closing out bets against short-dated Treasuries and others unwinding bullish trades on longer-dated bonds. That's expected to keep fueling buying of shorter bonds and sales of longer-maturity ones, widening the gap between the two.
/jlne.ws/3Nu0dtC
CLOs Are So Hot Right Now, They're Getting ETF'd; New exchange-traded funds are aimed at individual investors
Vicky Ge Huang - The Wall Street Journal
Low-rated corporate loans are having a banner year. Wall Street is trying to find more ways to sell them to ordinary people. At least four asset managers, including BlackRock and Nuveen, have recently asked permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch new exchange-traded funds of collateralized loan obligations-securities made by bundling junk-rated loans together. Those will join about a dozen CLO ETFs that have already entered the market in recent years and that now have about $16 billion in assets under management. The funds mark the latest effort to bring a hot Wall Street product within reach of ordinary investors. CLO sales have been rising fast: Firms such as Ares Management and Blackstone have logged around $147 billion in sales this year, compared with $87 billion during the same period last year, according to PitchBook LCD data through Oct. 11.
/jlne.ws/3UdqFeu
Nasdaq to process risk calculations up to 100 times faster through integration of AI; "The sheer scale of computing power required to meet the most demanding regulations, alongside the strategic benefits of more accurate real-time analytics, is driving a profound rethink about how we can leverage AI to reduce the cost of compliance," said Gil Guillaumey, senior VP and head of capital markets technology at Nasdaq.
Claudia Preece -The Trade
Nasdaq has integrated AI into its Calypso platform to enhance bank and insurance risk calculations, in a move set to process risk calculations up to 100 times faster. The offering offers new methodology to conduct investment portfolio risk calculations and produce predictive analytics, based on advanced machine learning. As well as improving execution time, the offering will also reduce costs, said Nasdaq.
/jlne.ws/3NvkzCy
Saudi Finance Hub Bigger Than Canary Wharf Seeks $700 Million; Riyadh financial district is developing real estate complex; PIF has encourged companies to find new sources of funding
Matthew Martin and Nicolas Parasie - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia's main finance district - almost three times the size of London's Canary Wharf - is looking to raise about $700 million from equity investors to fund further development of its Riyadh real estate complex. The King Abdullah Financial District, or KAFD, is planning to raise the money by putting some of its income-generating buildings into a real estate investment trust and offering a stake to investors through a listing on the Saudi stock exchange, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/4hbMcOy
UK investors seize advantage and feast on bargain passive funds; Analysts suggest kickbacks might explain how, in contrast, 89% of flows to Luxembourg funds went to active vehicles
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
UK investors have poured 92 per cent of the money they have invested into domestically domiciled funds in the past decade into cheap, passively managed index-tracking vehicles. In sharp contrast, over the same time period 89 per cent of the new money invested in Luxembourg - Europe's largest fund industry hub - has been pumped into more expensive actively managed funds. The findings, based on data collated by Broadridge Financial Services, a fintech consultancy, point, in part, to the impact of differing fee models across Europe.
/jlne.ws/488g1M7
Cboe Global Markets and S&P Dow Jones Indices Plan to Launch New Cboe S&P 500 Constituent Volatility Index (VIXEQ); The VIXEQ Index is a direct component in the calculation of the Cboe S&P 500 Dispersion Index; New index aims to measure the market cap weighted 30-day implied volatility of a basket of S&P 500 constituent stocks; Furthers Cboe's and S&P DJI's efforts to provide insight into market volatility and implied dispersion
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, and S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), the world's leading index provider, today announced plans to launch the Cboe S&P 500 Constituent Volatility Index (VIXEQ Index), calculated by Cboe Global Indices. Using an adaptation of Cboe's proprietary VIX Index methodology, the VIXEQSM Index is designed to measure the market cap weighted 30-day implied volatility of a basket of S&P 500 constituents, as represented by the Cboe S&P 500 Dispersion Basket Index (DSPBX Index). The announcement was made by Cboe and S&P DJI at Cboe's 39th annual global Risk Management Conference (RMC), currently taking place in Snowbird, Utah.
/jlne.ws/3YdfROO
Bankers Dodging Blame for Money Laundering Never Ends; Toronto-Dominion Bank executives are largely unscathed after it was fined $3.1 billion for enabling money laundering.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
There's one lesson for any bank executive looking at the record money laundering penalties handed to Toronto-Dominion Bank last week: Whatever happens in their business, they're never going to jail. The Canadian bank was hit with fines totaling $3.1 billion and pled guilty as an institution for enabling egregious and long-lasting money laundering, much of it linked to the criminal trade in Fentanyl, the drug ravaging parts of the US.
/jlne.ws/3NvkWwW
BlackRock's Third Pivot Is Its Most Adventurous Yet; After adding equities and passive investment products, the world's biggest asset manager is expanding its private markets franchise.
Marc Rubinstein - Bloomberg
When BlackRock Inc. completed its initial public offering in 1999, it fell a bit flat. There was no first day pop; Founder and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink didn't even get to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Valued at just under $900 million, the firm was one of 30 large investment-managers in the US, managing $165 billion of assets. This month, the firm marks its 25th anniversary on the stock market - and how it's grown. BlackRock is now the largest player in its field, with assets of almost $11.5 trillion and a market cap of nearly $150 billion; its executives regularly ring the bell to celebrate the launch of another BlackRock-branded exchange-traded fund.
/jlne.ws/3zRwB6l
Stacey Cunningham Prepared for the Unexpected at NYSE
Shanny Basar - Markets Media
At Markets Media's inaugural Women in Finance Awards, Stacey Cunningham won the award for Excellence in Exchanges 2015 when she was chief operating officer at the New York Stock Exchange. She went on to become the 67th president of NYSE in May 2018 and the first woman to lead the exchange since it was founded in 1792. At the end of 2021 Cunningham was succeeded in that role by another woman, Lynn Martin. Cunningham joined private equity firm Advent International as an operating partner in October 2022 and remains on the NYSE board. Markets Media's 10th-annual Women in Finance Awards program will be held on Thursday, November 21, at the Hard Rock Hotel.
/jlne.ws/40dGMwq
US Urges Five Years for Mastermind of $6 Billion Crypto Heist
Sabrina Willmer - Bloomberg
The mastermind of one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists ever should spend five years in prison for a money-laundering conspiracy tied to the $6 billion hack of the Bitfinex exchange, US prosecutors told a judge. Ilya Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty last year, should spend more time behind bars than his rapper wife and co-conspirator Heather Morgan, the government said Tuesday in a court filing. Last week, prosecutors said Morgan, who'd dubbed herself the "Crocodile of Wall Street," should get 18 months in prison.
/jlne.ws/3Ys6WdK
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | As U.S. election nears, gloom settles over Ukraine; Zelensky's victory plan will likely be a far cry from the outright "victory" many hoped for, as cynicism and fatigue set in among Ukraine's western allies.
Ishaan Tharoor - The Washington Post
In December 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to Washington and was feted as a hero at a joint session of Congress. He received 18 standing ovations from the assembled U.S. lawmakers as he recounted his nation's defiant struggle 10 months into Russia's full-scale invasion. Zelensky vowed that his nation would "never surrender" just hours after President Joe Biden insisted the United States would back Ukraine for "as long as it takes" - a line that Biden and his European counterparts have reiterated in the months and years since.
/jlne.ws/4haceSr
UK Slaps Largest Sanctions Yet on Russia's Oil Tanker Fleet
Alex Longley - Bloomberg
The UK issued a fresh round of sanctions on Russian oil and gas carriers, and said three government bodies will act to challenge vessels hauling fuel for Moscow in the English Channel with dubious insurance. In London's largest package of measures against Russian shipipng yet, 18 oil tankers and four liquefied national gas carriers were sanctioned, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/3BL7ylP
U.S. Shifts Ukraine's F-16 Training to Focus on Younger Pilots; Decision could extend timeline for Kyiv to have full squadron ready for the battlefield
Lara Seligman and Brett Forrestn - The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. is refocusing its training of Ukrainian F-16 pilots on younger cadets rather than experienced air force members, a decision that could extend by many months the timeline for when Kyiv will have a full squadron of the Western-built aircraft ready for the battlefield. The new direction is the result of the lack of experienced Ukrainian pilots with requisite English-language abilities who can be spared from the battlefield, U.S. officials said. Some officials also said that the U.S. believes younger cadets would be more open to Western-style instruction.
/jlne.ws/48afxF3
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel says it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; Israeli military examining possibility that Sinwar was one of three militants it killed 'during IDF operations in Gaza'
Neri Zilber - Financial Times
Israel said on Thursday it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the deadly October 7 attack last year. The Israel Defense Forces said it was examining the possibility that Sinwar was one of three militants it killed "during IDF operations in Gaza". "The IDF and [Shin Bet internal security agency] are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar," the Israeli military said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/4h6VN9v
Israel Said It Was Aiming at Hezbollah. Its Strike Also Killed Dozens of Civilians; At least 45 were killed and 70 wounded in the September strike near Sidon on a crowded apartment building
Stephen Kalin and Adam Chamseddine - The Wall Street Journal
For years, a helpful, middle-aged man lived in the basement apartment of a seven-story residential building on a hillside. Some neighbors in Ain el-Delb said they knew that he was connected to Hezbollah, the militant group. But they said they didn't think he was important enough to be an Israeli target. At around 4 p.m. on Sept. 29, an Israeli munition slammed into the building, killing the man and his wife, along with at least 43 others, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health. Another 70 people were wounded. It was one of the deadliest strikes in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
/jlne.ws/408bBTd
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | First Initial Access Document on BME Scaleup from REDEGAL
BME-X
The Market Coordination and Incorporations Committee considers that REDEGAL will meet the requirements to join the BME Scaleup trading segment. It is the twentieth company to join this BME market. The reference price of the shares will be taken from the capital increase to be carried out by the company and will be communicated in an addendum to the Initial Access Incorporation Document of BME Scaleup.
/jlne.ws/3NABmEd
Cboe Global Markets and S&P Dow Jones Indices Plan to Launch New Cboe S&P 500 Constituent Volatility Index (VIXEQ)
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, and S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), the world's leading index provider, today announced plans to launch the Cboe S&P 500 Constituent Volatility Index (VIXEQ Index), calculated by Cboe Global Indices. Using an adaptation of Cboe's proprietary VIX Index methodology, the VIXEQSM Index is designed to measure the market cap weighted 30-day implied volatility of a basket of S&P 500 constituents, as represented by the Cboe S&P 500 Dispersion Basket Index (DSPBX Index). The announcement was made by Cboe and S&P DJI at Cboe's 39th annual global Risk Management Conference (RMC), currently taking place in Snowbird, Utah.
/jlne.ws/3YdfROO
Robinhood to Offer Cboe's Index Options, Expanding Retail Access
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, and Robinhood Markets Inc. today announced at the HOOD Summit in Miami, Florida, Robinhood's upcoming launch of Cboe's index options on its platform. For the first time, Robinhood customers will soon be able to trade index options - including Cboe's flagship S&P 500 Index (SPX) options, Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) options, Russell 2000 Index (RUT) options and Mini SPX (XSP) options - expanding their trading capabilities on its platform. Cboe's proprietary suite of index options will provide Robinhood's customers potential new ways to gain broad U.S. market exposure, hedge against U.S. large-cap and U.S. small-cap equity market volatility, generate income and capitalize on market movements1 on Robinhood's platform. Index options offer the benefits of cash-settlement (accounts are debited or credited in cash; there is no physical transfer of shares) and European-style exercise (options expire on their expiration date; there is no risk of early assignment).
/jlne.ws/3BNXfNW
Clearstream's digital securities platform D7 reaches EUR10 billion milestone
Deutsche Borse
Clearstream, Deutsche Borse Group's post-trade services provider, has reached a significant milestone of a digital issuance volume of EUR10 billion on its next-generation digital post-trade platform, D7. With D7, Clearstream aims to digitise the entire post-trade value chain, helping the financial industry to move to the digital world. Starting with the issuance process, D7 already processed over 250,000 digital issuances. With up to 15,000 new digital issuances added on a weekly basis, D7 is positioned as the leading digital financial market infrastructure globally.
/jlne.ws/4eS7PSQ
Credit Index Futures: Increasing price transparency, liquidity and capital efficiency to credit markets
Eurex
Davide Masi, fixed income and currencies product manager, and Vassily Pascalis, senior vice president, fixed income sales, discuss developing the asset class and the opportunities for firms across the global market. Eurex first launched Credit Index Futures in 2021 with the EURO Investment Grade contract. The product suite has now expanded to cover new currencies and underlyings. As of August 2024, it has traded a total notional volume of EUR 26.7bn. This September, the exchange will expand the asset class further with the USD Corporate Bond index future.
/jlne.ws/4h2iAn3
Nasdaq Integrates AI to Simplify and Accelerate Bank and Insurance Risk Calculations
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced it has developed an innovative new methodology to conduct investment portfolio risk calculations and produce predictive analytics, based on advanced machine learning capability. The functionality will be integrated into Nasdaq's Calypso platform, which is used by banks, insurers, and other financial institutions globally to access capital markets, process front-to-back office treasury workflows, manage risk, and meet regulatory reporting obligations.
/jlne.ws/3YpPzua
SGX RegCo lifts Moratorium against UOB Kay Hian Private Limited
SGX
Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) refers to its 27 December 2022 regulatory announcement, where SGX RegCo exercised its powers under Mainboard Rule 1405(1)(k) and Catalist Rule 305(1)(k), and imposed certain requirements on UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH). These requirements included a prohibition from acting as an issue manager or full sponsor for SGX Mainboard and Catalist initial public offering (IPO) and reverse takeover (RTO) submissions (Moratorium), save for submissions which UOBKH agreed to act as issue manager or full sponsor (as may be applicable) under any agreement entered into before 31 August 2022, until such date as SGX RegCo specifies.
/jlne.ws/4dT2U2x
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) Signs MOU With ADIB Securities To Develop An Integrated Digital Onboarding Platform To Elevate Investor Experience
Mondovisione
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), one of the fastest-growing exchanges in the world, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with ADIB Securities, a leading Sharia-compliant brokerage firm in the UAE and a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), to collaborate on the development of a new digital onboarding platform to better serve investors and provide individual investors with easier access to listed companies and investment schemes available on ADX.
/jlne.ws/3Ys7mkk
24 263 Disciplinary Action ABN Amro Clearing Bank NV
LME
This notice records a settlement between The London Metal Exchange (the "LME") and Category 2 member, ABN AMRO Clearing Bank NV ("ICS") which includes a financial penalty of £230,000.
/jlne.ws/409d3VB
EBS Market on CME Globex Notice: October 17, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3A6pW8f
CME STP Notices: October 17, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/40dEz4t
CME Globex Notices: October 14, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/48rNj9f
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Numerix Expands Expertise with Acquisition of Convertible Securities Platform Kynex;Mo ve Strengthens Numerix's Risk Management Solutions and Fixed-Income Coverage
Numerix
Numerix, a leading capital markets Front-to-Risk technology provider, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Kynex, a market leading financial platform known for its expertise in convertible securities valuation, portfolio and risk management, and trade flow/order management. This strategic acquisition further extends Numerix's asset class coverage, confirming Numerix's position as a leading provider of pricing and risk management solutions. Kynex has an established client base comprised of the industry's most respected names, including investment banks, asset managers, hedge funds and broker-dealers. Kynex's platform capabilities align seamlessly with Numerix's suite of Front-to-Risk solutions. This acquisition enhances Numerix's leadership in providing best-in-class analytics, solidifying its commitment to delivering comprehensive and sophisticated solutions that meet the evolving needs of financial institutions worldwide.
/jlne.ws/3YnLPsZ
Amundi Technology selected by Thomas Miller Investment to bolster operational processes; Solution from Amundi will cover the entire front-to-back value chain, enabling improved response times for clients.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Asset manager Thomas Miller Investment (TMI) has selected Amundi Technology and its ALTO Investment platform to bolster its operating model and consolidate its investment management systems. By using ALTO Investment, TMI will leverage a solution covering the entire front-to-back value chain.
/jlne.ws/4f50izA
White House considers expanding Nvidia's and AMD's AI chip export limits to additional countries
Maxwell Zeff - TechCrunch
The Biden administration has privately discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD to certain Persian Gulf countries in the interest of national security, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The restriction could put a ceiling on export licenses for certain countries, potentially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are heavily investing in AI data centers. The White House increasingly views American AI chips as a key advantage on the global stage. Last year, the United States banned the sale of Nvidia's and AMD's advanced AI chips to China, and placed export restrictions on 40 other countries around the globe to close loopholes where AI chips could indirectly get to China.
/jlne.ws/48fwYUL
How the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla has turned the AI boom into a digital gold mine
Kelvin Chan - AP via Yahoo Finance
The artificial intelligence boom has benefited chatbot makers, computer scientists and Nvidia (NVDA) investors. It's also providing an unusual windfall for Anguilla, a tiny island in the Caribbean. ChatGPT's debut nearly two years ago heralded the dawn of the AI age and kicked off a digital gold rush as companies scrambled to stake their own claims by acquiring websites that end in .ai.
/jlne.ws/3A0oSmq
Google's AI Podcast Tool Is Dazzling. But Is It Useful? A new feature rivals ChatGPT for viral excitement, but making it valuable for businesses and consumers is another matter.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
Google is having its very own ChatGPT moment. Technologists, scientists and OpenAI founder Sam Altman have been praising a feature added in September by NotebookLM, a free online research tool that Alphabet Inc.'s core business released last year. Uploading documents to the site allows users to answer questions about their content or synthesize it into summaries, briefing notes and more. Now it can also turn that content into an eerily human-sounding podcast. The male and female AI-generated hosts not only have sonorous, FM-radio voices but punctuate their conversations with "ums," pauses and catchy phrases like "get this." The banter sounds so seamless that you'd be forgiven for thinking the conversation was between people.
/jlne.ws/3AeyN7M
How AI is removing legal obstacles that slow down business; We look at 20 initiatives that save time and money in everyday processes - including contracts and procurement
Tom Saunders - Financial Times
Business processes with a legal component cause hold-ups far too often - in companies and in law firms, alike. But, where there is a problem, there is usually someone ready to step forward with a remedy. The organisations listed below are using technology to help remove some of the most common obstacles, to speed up the pace of business. And, in line with the dominant theme of this year's annual Financial Times Accelerating Business series, many are incorporating artificial intelligence into existing processes.
/jlne.ws/3BRHdmk
Will AI 'compress' the 21st century? Several of the top AI leaders are now tamping down the fear factor and turning up the volume on hope and hype
John Thornhill - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/48iKbMD
AI Agents Can Do More Than Answer Queries. That Raises a Few Questions; A new generation of automation creates an opportunity to build a better economic model for business software users-but only if the technology lives up to its promise
Steven Rosenbush - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/487cq0R
TSMC Hikes Revenue Outlook in Show of Confidence in AI Boom; The chipmaker reported a 54% rise in quarterly net income; TSMC's shares in the US rise after execs suggest strong demand
Jane Lanhee Lee - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4eKHB4B
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Hong Kong Police Bust Group Running $46M Crypto Investment Scam Using Deepfakes; A total of 27 people between the ages of 21 and 34 were taken into custody suspected of conspiracy to defraud following a raid on a Hong Kong office.
Callan Quinn - CoinDesk
Hong Kong police have shut down a group running a HK$360 million ($46.35 million) cryptocurrency investment scam out of an office in the Hung Hom area of the city. A total of 27 people between the ages of 21 and 34 were taken into custody suspected of conspiracy to defraud and possession of weapons last week, according to a police conference on October 14. Several were graduates in digital media from local universities, while others are believed to have links to local triad groups.
/jlne.ws/3BNtMDT
China Employs Hackers and Celebrities to Undermine Taiwan; Taiwan accuses Beijing of wide-ranging campaign to weaken the island's resolve
Joyu Wang and Austin Ramzy - The Wall Street Journal
As Beijing dispatched its military Monday in a show of force that encircled Taiwan, China's coast guard posted a map showing its ships ringing the island in a heart-shaped formation, describing it as "an act of love." To Taiwan, the social-media message was just one piece of China's multifaceted campaign to intimidate, isolate and influence the people and leaders of the island democracy to give up their commitment to self-rule.
/jlne.ws/3YqzDrj
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | CoinDesk bolsters information services offering with strategic acquisition of CCData and CryptoCompare
CoinDesk
CoinDesk, one of the most trusted media, events, indices, and data companies for the global crypto economy, today announced that it has acquired CCData, a U.K. FCA-regulated benchmark administrator and one of the leading providers of digital asset data and index solutions, including its trusted retail site, CryptoCompare, which serves over 300,000 active users. The acquisition significantly scales CoinDesk's information services and data products, while offering enhanced cross-sell opportunities to CCData and CryptoCompare's extensive number of institutional and retail clients. For over a decade, CCData has been providing its institutional-grade data solutions, digital asset index suite, and award-winning research to government, institutional, and retail clients navigating the digital asset ecosystem. The acquisition of CCData's robust data platform and retail platform CryptoCompare further strengthens CoinDesk's data offerings, immediately increases subscription revenues, and complements the existing suite of solutions offered by CoinDesk Indices and CoinDesk Media.
/jlne.ws/3Ybxq1A
Italy to Raise Capital Gains Tax on Bitcoin to 42% From 26%
Philip Lagerkranser and Antonio Vanuzzo - Bloomberg
Italy plans to raise the capital gains tax on Bitcoin to 42% from 26%, part of efforts to finance expensive election promises while cutting the fiscal deficit. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's cabinet made the move given the "phenomenon is spreading," Deputy Finance Minister Maurizio Leo said during a conference call on Wednesday in reference to Bitcoin. Earlier efforts by other countries to tax crypto trading haven't always yielded much for state coffers. India imposed onerous digital-asset levies two years ago, only to see trading volumes shrivel up as local investors switched to offshore platforms to get around the taxes.
/jlne.ws/409nBE1
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Donald Trump has a new crypto venture. The industry is not impressed; Industry executives worry World Liberty Financial will undermine painstaking efforts to rebuild trust after scandals
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
A new digital assets venture promoted by Donald Trump is being shunned by much of the crypto industry, as executives fear the project will undermine efforts to rebuild trust with consumers after years of high- profile collapses and frauds. The former US president and his three sons have been promoting World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture set up by his longtime business partners and others. The company began selling its token to qualified investors on Tuesday, aiming to raise $300mn. By Wednesday it had raised $12mn, selling 4 per cent of the 20bn available tokens.
/jlne.ws/48rOci5
Trump-Touted Crypto Website Crashes as Token Sale Goes Live, With Just 1.7% of Target Sold
Shaurya Malwa, Sam Kessler - CoinDesk
The Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial's WLFI token sale went live at 12:40 UTC. The token sale website suffered numerous outages shortly after going live, and as of 15:41 UTC, some 344 million tokens had been sold to around 3,000 unique wallets. Still, the amount represented just 1.7% of the 20 billion tokens allocated to the public sale.
/jlne.ws/3YqKmCf
Opinion: World War III is already under way. Not that Harris or Trump has noticed.; A new axis is sowing global disorder. The U.S. presidential campaign is what reckless disregard looks like.
George F. Will - The Washington Post
In October 1940, as Americans prepared to select a president, World War II was raging - German troops occupied Paris - but without U.S. participation. American voters had, however, a choice worthy of the ominous moment. The Democratic candidate was two-term incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, with his 1937 "quarantine" speech on aggressor nations, and subsequent military buildup, was nudging a mostly isolationist nation toward involvement in a global conflict. The Republican candidate was businessman Wendell Willkie, a political novice aided by the mostly internationalist and Republican "Eastern establishment" - much maligned, and today greatly missed. Having registered zero support for the GOP nomination in polls three months before the convention, he wrested it from Ohio's isolationist Sen. Robert A. Taft.
/jlne.ws/4h8kH8C
Chris Christie Joins Brian Kahn Defense in Probe of Failed Fund
David Voreacos - Bloomberg
Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, is helping to defend Brian Kahn, a former key client of B. Riley Financial Inc., in an ongoing criminal investigation into the collapse of hedge fund Prophecy Asset Management. Christie, who once served as US attorney in New Jersey and later ran for president, has met with prosecutors who are nearing a decision on whether to charge Kahn over the fund's 2020 failure, according to people familiar with the matter. Kahn worked as a money manager at Prophecy. Chris Porrino, a former attorney general in New Jersey, is also defending him, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
/jlne.ws/4h69Wnr
Abrdn Suggests Compromise on UK Stamp Duty Ahead of Budget; Abolish levy on non-FTSE 100 shares, asset manager says; Calls to scrap tax drowned out by public-finance concerns
Joe Easton - Bloomberg
Abrdn Plc suggested a middle ground on the UK stamp-duty debate, advocating for the levy to be scrapped on non-bluechip shares as calls for full abolition of the levy fade ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves's first budget. Extending the stamp duty exemption that currently exists for AIM - the London Stock Exchange Group Plc's market for small and medium-sized companies - to all listed companies outside the FTSE 100 "could be a good starting point," the asset manager said in an emailed statement.
/jlne.ws/3A6qZ8b
In China, Harris Is Mostly Seen as Preferred to Volatile Trump; Beijing is seeking to build on more stable ties under Biden; Trump's tariff threat poses risk to Xi's bid to boost economy
Bloomberg News
While China isn't enamored with either US presidential candidate, conversations in Beijing indicate a clear preference for the continuity of Kamala Harris over the unpredictability of Donald Trump. US-China ties have stabilized over the past year, even as major divisions persist over issues including Taiwan, the South China Sea and President Joe Biden's export controls on advanced chips and other technology. A big part of that has been regular, low-profile talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
/jlne.ws/3YrCHn9
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | READOUT: FinCEN Hosts Regional Training Event in Botswana to Combat Money Laundering
FinCEN
From September 17 through September 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), with funding and support from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and the International Law Enforcement Training Academy in Gaborone, Botswana, hosted a multi-day regional training event in Gaborone as part of the Counter Illicit Finance Teams program.
/jlne.ws/3NtpRyz
Musk's Empire Risks Being Targeted by EU for Potential X Fines; Commission may base fine on revenue from Musk's ventures; Investigators haven't come to a conclusion about fining X
Gian Volpicelli and Samuel Stolton - Bloomberg
The European Union has warned X that it may calculate fines against the social-media platform by including revenue from Elon Musk's other businesses, including Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Neuralink Corp., an approach that would significantly increase the potential penalties for violating content moderation rules. Under the EU's Digital Services Act, the bloc can slap online platforms with fines of as much as 6% of their yearly global revenue for failing to tackle illegal content and disinformation or follow transparency rules. Regulators are considering whether sales from SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Company, in addition to revenue generated from the social network, should be included to determine potential fines against X, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public.
/jlne.ws/3Yplgnl
SEC Charges Virginia-Based RTX Corp. with Violating Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Connection with Efforts to Obtain Contracts with the Qatari Military
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that RTX Corporation, a Virginia-based aerospace and defense company, agreed to pay more than $124 million to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with payments made to assist in obtaining contracts with the Qatari military. RTX, which was named Raytheon Technologies Corp. until 2023, was formed after the 2020 merger of Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corp. (collectively, Raytheon).
/jlne.ws/3Ys9mcs
SEC Charges Registered Representative with Violations of Regulation Best Interest and Fraud for Excessive Trading in Customer Accounts
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Baris Cabalar, a registered representative at the broker-dealer PHX Financial, Inc., for recommending a short-term, high-volume investment strategy to customers without a reasonable basis.
/jlne.ws/3BMp4Gx
SEC Charges Connecticut Investment Advisers with Misappropriation of Funds
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Jeffrey Arsenault of Greenwich, Connecticut and two investment advisers he controls, Old Greenwich Capital Advisors, LLC and OGCP Management Co, LLC. The SEC's complaint charges the defendants with conducting a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate at least $4.1 million from two private funds they advised and ultimately from the investors in those funds.
/jlne.ws/4e6yKJr
ASIC action results in penalty and disqualification against former Noumi CFO and Company Secretary
ASIC
The Federal Court has ordered Campbell Nicholas, former Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of Noumi Limited, to pay a $100,000 penalty and be disqualified from managing corporations for four years. The penalty and disqualification order follow an earlier judgment by his Honour Justice Jackman, finding that Noumi contravened its continuous disclosure obligations. This related to the value of its inventories in its financial reports for the full year ending 30 June 2019 (FY19) and the half year ending 31 December 2019 (HY20), along with the overstatement of its HY20 disclosed revenue and disclosed profit.
/jlne.ws/4f97J8O
Appointments to the ASIC Executive Leadership team
ASIC
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's program of transformation work has continued with key appointments to its senior executive leadership team.
/jlne.ws/3BL43fb
Winding-up requirements for registered schemes
FMA
This guidance explains our interpretation of the law, to promote consistent market practices and ensure the requirements of section 212 (Initial steps in winding up of registered scheme) and section 213 (Winding-up report) of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act) are met.
/jlne.ws/3YdmQr9
FCA responds to market review on delivering finance for global decarbonisation and UK growth
FCA
We welcome the report and recommendations from the Transition Finance Market Review (TFMR). This is an important area and we're encouraged to see a significant number of firms across the economy start to set out plans for how they will decarbonise.
/jlne.ws/404xxil
Ten years of FCA innovation: impact and opportunity
FCA
Speech by Jessica Rusu, FCA Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer delivered at an FCA Innovation 10th anniversary event.
/jlne.ws/4eH3PUW
SFC welcomes appointment and re-appointment of Non-Executive Directors
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) welcomes the Financial Secretary's appointment of Mr Keith Pogson and re-appointment of Mr Chew Fook-aun as Non-Executive Directors, respectively for a term of two years (Note 1). Mr Tim Lui, the SFC's Chairman, said: "I would like to extend a warm welcome to Keith. His standing in the accounting profession, rich experience in the financial services industry and knowledge of capital markets will be important assets to the SFC Board in fulfilling its mission to develop Hong Kong's financial markets, address risks and protect investors."
/jlne.ws/4eMoFSK
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Robinhood Plans to Give Traders Access to Futures, Index Options
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
Robinhood Markets Inc. is broadening its offerings to futures trading and index options as the retail brokerage aims to attract more sophisticated investors to its platform. The futures contracts investors will be able to trade include stock indexes, currencies, metals and energy including natural gas and crude oil, with an access commission of 50 cents for Robinhood Gold members and 75 cents for other customers. Cryptocurrency futures will also be available, the company said Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
/jlne.ws/4f8eOXu
Florida homeowners fear soaring insurance cost after hurricanes
Michelle Conlin and Matt Tracy - Reuters
For 32 years, Jim Tynan had a homeowners' policy with Allstate on his 1,200-square foot condo in Ponte Vedra, Florida. In January, Tynan's Allstate subsidiary told him it was going to drop him. Tynan called ten different agencies, "and none would cover me," he said. Finally, he found one that would. It cost 50% more. Florida has been hit with four major hurricanes in the past four years, which has sent insurance premiums rocketing and caused some insurers to pull back on coverage. For residents cleaning up after storms or living nearby water, they have another worry: Will they still have insurance?
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Helene and Milton are both likely to be $50 billion disasters, joining ranks of most costly storms
Seth Borenstein - Associated Press Finance
Monstrous hurricanes Helene and Milton caused so much complex havoc that damages are still being added up, but government and private experts say they will likely join the infamous ranks of Katrina, Sandy and Harvey as super costly $50-billion-plus killers. Making that even more painful is that most of the damage - 95% or more in Helene's case - was not insured, putting victims in a deeper financial hole.
/jlne.ws/3Y2at0M
Foreigners Step Up Options Trading on Volatile Korean Stocks; Trading of single-stock contracts hits record on higher swings; Optiver sees more growth in the market that's still trailing
Youkyung Lee - Bloomberg
For years, the South Korean exchange sought to lure investors to its single-stock options with little success. That's starting to change. The recent bout of volatility that's pushed up equity trading also sent the volume of the contracts surging. The number of options on companies including brokerage Mirae Asset Securities Co., battery-materials supplier LG Chem Ltd. and biotech Seegene Inc. reached peaks. Chip giant Samsung Electronics Co., the nation's biggest firm, saw trading of its contracts climb to the highest level since 2018.
/jlne.ws/4eYt9FM
BHP's Iron Ore Output Edges Up as Supply Glut Concerns Grow; CEO Mike Henry sees further fiscal stimulus from China on way; Production guidance unchanged for steelmaking ingredient
Paul-Alain Hunt - Bloomberg
BHP Group Ltd. said iron ore output in its first quarter rose 2% from the year-before, as moves by major miners to ramp up production raise the specter of over-supply. The world's largest miner produced 64.6 million tons of iron ore over the three months to the end of September, it said in a statement Thursday. Full-year guidance for its iron ore operations was kept at 255 to 265.5 million tons. It comes as China - the biggest consumer of iron ore - attempts to prop up its struggling property sector amid a slump in its economy. While domestic steel demand is muted, it has been somewhat offset by the local manufacturing industry and exports to other Asian markets.
/jlne.ws/4dO6NFV
Victory in Cotton Takeover Battle Gives Trader Dreyfus a Boost in Asia; Major trader outbids Olam Agri for control of Namoi Cotton; Waning demand, tight margins prompt industry consolidation
Keira Wright - Bloomberg
Louis Dreyfus Co. is finally at the end of its eight-month pursuit of Australia's biggest cotton processor, securing victory in a bitter fight for control of the company that pitted the major trader against fellow behemoth Olam Agri Holdings Ltd. The tussle for Namoi Cotton Ltd. drew a series of bids from two of the world's biggest crop traders, often in quick succession, and prompted directors of the Australian company to flip their support as the offers got higher. At one point, Louis Dreyfus cried foul over Olam's tactics with top shareholders, and the Namoi chairman had to convince regulators not to derail the process.
/jlne.ws/3zSnLVT
Nasdaq 100 Futures Holdings Shrink by $6 Billion After ASML Chip Selloff
Jan-Patrick Barnert - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4h2hebX
The great wall of debt; Given the pile of maturing financing, 2025 and 2026 will prove challenging years for investors
Michael Howell - Financial Times
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Amazon buys stake in nuclear energy developer in push to power data centres; Citadel's Ken Griffin takes part in X-energy's $500mn fundraising alongside ecommerce group
Jamie Smyth - Financial Times
Amazon is buying a stake in US nuclear developer X-energy, as part of a collaboration with the company aimed at deploying small modular reactors to provide low-carbon electricity to power its data centres. X-energy said on Wednesday that Amazon had agreed to anchor a $500mn fundraising, which would help the company finance the development and licensing of its new generation of SMRs, which it said are more efficient than large-scale nuclear reactors.
/jlne.ws/3zYE5Ez
Hungry for Energy, Amazon, Google and Microsoft Turn to Nuclear Power; Large technology companies are investing billions of dollars in nuclear energy as an emissions-free source of electricity for artificial intelligence and other businesses.
Ivan Penn and Karen Weise - The New York Times
Technology companies are increasingly looking to nuclear power plants to provide the emissions-free electricity needed to run artificial intelligence and other businesses. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have recently struck deals with operators and developers of nuclear power plants to fuel the boom in data centers, which provide computing services to businesses large and small. The demand has accelerated because of the big investments these and other tech companies have made in A.I., which requires far more power than more conventional technology businesses like social media, video streaming and web searches.
/jlne.ws/4eLGS2T
Germany Takes Protective Measures Against Chinese Wind Industry; Economy ministry says the sector needs a level playing field; Officials urge scrutiny of projects with Chinese producers
Eva Brendel - Bloomberg
Germany is taking measures to protect the domestic and wider European wind industry as fears of being squeezed out by Chinese competition grow. The economy ministry set out an action plan to ensure a level playing field in the sector, improve cyber security and reduce dependencies for critical components. The announcement came after policymakers met with representatives of European wind turbine manufacturers, and emphasized the need to particularly scrutinize Chinese manufacturers involved in European projects.
/jlne.ws/4eKUbk1
King Charles and Big Banks Jump Into New Market to Save Nature; As financiers and diplomats gather for the UN's biodiversity summit, British landowners are exploring the promise - and risk - of nascent markets for conservation.
Natasha White - Bloomberg
Last year Britain's King Charles III warned delegates to the COP28 climate summit that "nature's unique economy" was in grave danger, and unless humans acted to restore it, "our own economy and survivability will be imperiled." Now the monarch is taking part in a multi-million-dollar financial experiment to harmonize man's relationship with the natural world, and using some of his vast landholdings as a laboratory.
/jlne.ws/4f3O6iz
Water Crises Threaten the World's Ability to Eat, Studies Show; Food production is concentrated in too few countries, many of which face water shortages, the researchers said.
Somini Sengupta - The New York Times
Want to stay updated on what's happening in Brazil and China? Sign up for Your Places: Global Update, and we'll send our latest coverage to your inbox. High food prices, meet the global water crisis. The world's food supply is under threat because so much of what we eat is concentrated in so few countries, and many of those countries are increasingly facing a water shortage. That's the conclusion of three independent studies published this week. One study, published by World Resources Institute, found that one quarter of the world's crops is grown in places where the water supply is stressed, unreliable or both.
/jlne.ws/3Ue6Nbc
Water Dispute Before Supreme Court Gives Rise to Unusual Alliances; The justices heard arguments on Wednesday in a long-simmering dispute between San Francisco and the E.P.A. over regulation of water pollution.
Abbie VanSickle - The New York Times
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared to side with the City of San Francisco in its unusual challenge of federal water regulations that it said were too vague and could be interpreted too strictly. The outcome could have sweeping implications for curtailing water pollution offshore and would deal another blow to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has faced a string of losses at the court over its efforts to protect the environment.
/jlne.ws/4dP3Q7V
Lawsuits aim to prevent 'illegal' hiding of toxic chemicals by US regulators; Companies often claim 'confidential business information' to not disclose key information about dangerous chemicals
Tom Perkins - The Guardian
Two lawsuits aim to stop US federal regulators and industry from "illegally" hiding basic information about toxic chemicals that are potentially polluting the environment, used in consumer products and endangering public health. Companies often claim that toxic chemicals' health and safety data, and even their names, are "confidential business information" (CBI) because making the data public could damage their bottom line.
/jlne.ws/3U7o8T5
Debt Swaps Created by Credit Suisse Find Favor on Wall Street; Ecuador, Barbados, African nations working on ESG debt swaps; 'Strict safeguards' will be set in next Ecuador deal, IDB says
Natasha White, Esteban Duarte, and Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3Ue7ph0
Latest Dominion Energy Development Forecasts Raise Ire of Virginia Environmentalists; The state's monopoly utility outlined its plans to keep investing in natural gas through 2039, despite also building large volumes of clean energy and battery storage.
Jake Bolster - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/4eS4Vxq
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Ventum Financial Shakes Up Executive Team With President's Departure
Geoffrey Morgan - Bloomberg
Jean-Paul Bachellerie is out as president of boutique investment firm Ventum Financial Corp., less than four months after it was formed by the merger of two smaller Canadian companies. "JP's departure will result in some changes to other team members' roles as we reorganize and ensure that we are set up for success," Ventum Chief Executive Officer David Cusson said Wednesday in an email to employees that was seen by Bloomberg News.
/jlne.ws/4eH5Yjs
Bank of America Sets Up Foreign Exchange Business in Philippines
Ditas B Lopez and Manolo Serapio Jr - Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp. on Thursday kicked off its foreign exchange business in the Philippines, looking to tap foreign investors, outsourcing companies and chip manufacturers in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. "We want to service our global clients, our MNCs, and to be able to do that we want to expand their services," Vince Valdepenas, the bank's Philippine country head, said in an interview on Thursday, referring to multinational companies.
/jlne.ws/4f9HcYX
Morgan Stanley Shares Soar Most in Four Years on Trading; Bank's wealth-management group had $7.27 billion of revenue; A 'standout quarter' but not yet at peak: CFO Sharon Yeshaya
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley traders and bankers joined the rest of their Wall Street rivals in posting better-than-expected revenue, fueling a 32% profit surge for the third quarter and sending the shares up the most in almost four years. Bloomberg Intelligence Morgan Stanley Shares Soar on Trading Surge 57:18 Revenue from the trading business rose 13%, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. That followed gains recorded by its biggest rivals as the markets business lifted fortunes across the industry and a rebound in dealmaking fueled higher investment-banking fees.
/jlne.ws/4eLK0Ml
Citadel Staff's Fund Stake Triples to $9 Billion in Four Years; Strong returns and deferred capital boosted employees' assets; Ken Griffin is the Wellington fund's single biggest investor
Miles Weiss and Hema Parmar - Bloomberg
Citadel employees' investment in its $45 billion flagship hedge fund surged during the past several years, driven by robust returns and lockups that the firm imposes on a big chunk of their annual compensation. The assets held by principals and staff in the Citadel Wellington fund jumped to 20% as of Dec. 31 from 12% at the end of 2019, filings show. In dollar terms, the value of their combined stake, including that of founder Ken Griffin, more than tripled to about $9 billion during that span.
/jlne.ws/48aawMJ
Man Group Sees $5.5 Billion Outflows as Client Goes Passive; The firm attributed the outflows to a single client redemption; Impact of the withdrawal was partially offset by market gains
Nishant Kumar and Jack Sidders - Bloomberg
Man Group Plc reported $5.5 billion in outflows during the third quarter, the biggest drop in at least four years after a client withdrew its funds to invest passively. The world's largest publicly traded hedge fund firm said assets under management declined to $174.9 billion, due mainly to outflows it attributed to a single client in its systematic long-only fund, according to a statement Thursday. Net outflows were worse than a company-compiled analyst estimate of $5.1 billion.
/jlne.ws/3BKYHAt
Blackstone plans to list some of its largest investments; Sluggish asset sales hit third-quarter profits at world's biggest private capital group
Antoine Gara - Financial Times
Blackstone plans to list some of its largest investments, the world's biggest private capital group said on Thursday, after sluggish asset sales hit its third-quarter profits. Jonathan Gray, Blackstone's president, said the recent technology-fuelled rally in global stock markets signalled a likely return of investor interest in initial public offerings. He argued that this paved the way for share sales by the group, whose global assets now total $1.1tn.
/jlne.ws/4dOWTnE
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Deere Announces More Layoffs in Iowa, Illinois During Farm Slump
Michael Hirtzer - Bloomberg
Deere & Co. is laying off an additional nearly 300 people in Iowa and Illinois as demand for farm equipment slows from the peak production of recent years. It's the latest round of layoffs this year for the world's top agricultural machinery maker, after it slashed its annual earnings outlook in May. An expansion in crop supplies this year has pressured grain prices, leaving farmers with less to spend on new gear. The move is unrelated to plans to shift some of its production from the US to Mexico, Deere said in a statement. Former President Donald Trump has threatened to hit the company with steep tariffs if it moves jobs to Mexico. Deere has said it is committed to US manufacturing.
/jlne.ws/402b0Tg
Gen Z workers skip lunch, feel 4X guiltier than Boomers when they leave their desk
Brooke Seipel - Fortune
In today's fast-paced work environment, lunch breaks are quickly becoming a thing of the past for many employees. At least that's what a new study from researchers at ezCater, a food-tech company, has found.
/jlne.ws/4eNQyKe
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Are You at Risk for Long Covid? Columbia researchers identify the people most likely to suffer.
Columbia Magazine
Women, adults with a history of cardiovascular disease, and people who are not vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 are at heightened risk for developing long COVID, whose symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, and joint and muscle pain that persist for three months or longer after initial infection, according to a recent study by Columbia University researchers. The study, which involved 4,700 Americans who had COVID-19 between 2020 and 2023, found that the average recovery time is twenty days and that about one in five people experience symptoms lasting longer than three months. It also found that people who catch Omicron variants, which have accounted for the vast majority of infections in the US since late 2021, are less likely to develop long COVID than those exposed to more virulent strains of SARS-CoV-2. People who are vaccinated recover more quickly from all strains.
/jlne.ws/3YsP2aX
Weight-loss drugs show promise in tackling opioid and alcohol abuse; Analysis points to potential of drugs such as Ozempic beyond tackling obesity and diabetes
Ian Johnston and Michael Peel - Financial Times
Ozempic and similar products cut opioid and alcohol abuse by up to half, according to research that adds to evidence of the hugely popular blockbuster drugs' broad potential beyond tackling obesity and diabetes. An analysis of more than 500,000 people with a history of opioid-use disorder showed that more than 8,000 participants who were separately prescribed so-called GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic, had a 40 per cent lower rate of opioid overdose than those who did not.
/jlne.ws/4dSRNGG
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Extreme Weather Could Push Corn Harvest to Worst Slump in Decades; Production hit by extreme weather from heat waves to floods; Slack consumption and plentiful stockpiles to soften impact
Hallie Gu - Bloomberg
China's corn harvest could be about to record its worst slump since the turn of the century, although that still might not be enough to lift prices in such a moribund market. Extreme weather, from heat waves to floods, has ravaged production this year in the world's largest consumer of the grain. But stockpiles are plentiful, and demand is so sluggish that traders are shrugging off the immediate impact. Still, it means the country could be vulnerable to rising import needs if the government's efforts to kickstart the economy prove successful.
/jlne.ws/3YoSyD4
How China's Planning Its Biggest Push in Years to Cut Hidden Debt
Bloomberg News
Finance Minister Lan Fo'an announced in October that China would soon launch its largest effort in years to address risks from local-authority debt. That's stoked expectations for a massive swap of so-called hidden debt that would bring a swath of borrowing on to local governments' official balance sheets. The hope is that the process would reduce risks of default, lower debt-servicing costs and give local officials greater scope to support economic growth.
/jlne.ws/4879Mbr
Australia's Woodside Energy to end London listing; Decision is latest hit to UK market's status as a hub for natural resources groups
Nic Fildes - Financial Times
Woodside Energy, Australia's largest oil and gas developer, will delist its shares from the London Stock Exchange next month, in the latest blow to the UK market's status as a natural resources hub. Perth-based Woodside listed shares in the UK when it merged with BHP's oil and gas assets in 2022, to allow British shareholders in the mining company to maintain their exposure to the assets.
/jlne.ws/3BYTx3V
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Italian Wine Gives Its Owners Yet Another Cause for Regret; The nation's vineyards were already grappling with a changing climate and changing tastes. A spike in borrowing costs makes their lives even more difficult.
Giulia Morpurgo and Antonio Vanuzzo - Bloomberg
A visit to Cantina Torrevilla's winemaking site just south of Milan is a chance to get a real flavor of the problems confronting this cherished old Italian industry. On a cloudy, damp-feeling October day the producer collective's boss Massimo Barbieri speaks with pride about the grape quality for 2024's premium La Genisia wines. But it hasn't been an easy vintage. Like wine-growing heartlands everywhere from Bordeaux to Napa Valley, Lombardy's Oltrepò Pavese region is grappling with two historic challenges: a changing climate and changing tastes. It's been incredibly rainy in northern Italy this year. Fungi took hold of some vines, and had to be dealt with hastily.
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