| January 14, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reviewing the legality of Crypto.com's Super Bowl betting contracts, which allow investors to wager on major football games. The contracts, launched just before Christmas, may violate gaming laws, prompting a potential 90-day review. Despite Crypto.com's defense, which points to legal clarity from a recent ruling on political prediction markets, the CFTC's stance on event contracts-particularly sports-related bets-remains ambiguous. Meanwhile, the rise of sports betting, including crypto-based platforms, raises ethical concerns. Mitchell S. Jackson, in a commentary in Esquire, argues that the gambling industry, especially its targeted ads within Black communities, resembles the predatory practices of Big Tobacco, exploiting vulnerable populations. Jackson highlights the detrimental effects of gambling, particularly on marginalized groups, and the industry's promotion of unhealthy relationships with money, drawing parallels with historical exploitation.
I've always judged a market based on its economic purpose-whether it genuinely serves a productive, value-creating function or is simply gambling. The CFTC's scrutiny of Crypto.com's Super Bowl bets should find that these markets fail this test. Additionally, they risk undermining the public good, much as Big Tobacco did, by targeting people in economically strained communities with products that encourage unhealthy financial behaviors. Gambling markets should be examined more closely to ensure they don't exacerbate inequality or exploit people's financial desperation.
The parade of officials announcing their departure from the CFTC continues. Clark Hutchison, the director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Clearing and Risk, will depart the agency on January 15, 2025, after nearly six years in the role. Appointed in 2019, Hutchison guided the division through significant market growth, volatility, and structural changes. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam praised Hutchison for his thoughtful management and extensive market expertise, noting his impact on the agency's oversight of derivatives clearinghouses. Hutchison, who previously held leadership roles at global financial institutions and advisory positions with industry boards, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the division and thanked the CFTC staff. His future career plans remain unannounced.
I am moderating a panel at next week's Security Traders Association of Chicago 99th Annual Mid-Winter Meeting, which runs from January 22 to January 23, 2025. It will be held at the Hilton Chicago at 720 South Michigan Ave. The keynote speakers are Gina Martin Adams, global head of portfolio strategy & chief equity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Henry Schwartz, vice president, global client engagement at Cboe Global Markets
Thank you to all those who have given to Sarah and Scott and their family, the sister-in-law and brother-in-law of Patrick Lothian, who lost their home in the fires in Los Angeles. The Rebuild Hope for Sarah and Scott's Family GoFundMe campaign now exceeds $45,000, exceeding the initial goal of $40,000 (New goal is $100K) and includes some familiar names from this newsletter and some readers I did not know. You are the most blessed and precious people, thank you.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: US Treasury clearing service passes $2 trillion milestone - DTCC, Gulf Mercantile Exchange volumes up 12% after Saudi investment, EEX power derivatives volumes surge 63% in 2024, CFTC marks third senior departure before Trump inauguration and ANALYSIS: EEX questions Europe's 'virtual hub' electricity pricing plan.
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:
- Bridging the Liquidity Divide: A Path to Smarter Options Trading from Traders Magazine.
- Traders Brace for Biggest S&P Earnings-Day Reactions Ever from Bloomberg.
- Option Trades in China ETFs Swing From Gain to $100 Million Loss from Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Trading Technologies Expands Multi-Asset Offerings and Innovations
JohnLothianNews.com
Trading Technologies (TT) is set to expand its global reach and multi-asset capabilities, fueled by partnerships and innovations, executives Keith Todd and Alun Green revealed in an interview with John Lothian News at FIA EXPO. The firm plans to introduce access to Cboe's complex index options by early 2025, addressing growing demand from international clients, particularly in Asia.
Watch the video »
Jonathan Kellner - CEO of MEMX
Watch Video »
Sriram Krishnan - National Stock Exchange (NSE)
Watch Video »
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Jamie Dimon says bitcoin is the crypto of choice for 'sex traffickers, money launderers, ransomware'
Katie Balevic - Business Insider
Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, cast doubt on the value of bitcoin once again in an interview with CBS News' Lesley Stahl. "We are going to have some kind of digital currency at some point," Dimon said. "I'm not against crypto. You know, bitcoin itself has no intrinsic value. It's used heavily by sex traffickers, money launderers, ransomware." In the past, Dimon has said cryptocurrencies are as useful as "pet rocks," stating bitcoin is fraudulent like a Ponzi scheme.
/jlne.ws/4hgiIyB
***** I have similar feelings about crypto as Mr. Dimon. Where I personally have issues is with crypto contributing to making it easier and more efficient for the sex traffickers, money launderers, and ransomware criminals to transfer their ill gotten gains. That is an individual issue for me and the economic decisions I make. If other people want to trade crypto, let them trade crypto.~JJL
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Sernova Financial joins FIA Tech's Databank Network
FIA Tech
FIA Tech, a leading technology provider to the exchange-traded derivative industry, announced today that Sernova Financial, a leading provider of outsourced post trade clearing processes for financial services, has joined the FIA Tech Databank Network and will be integrating FIA Tech's exchange fees, cross reference symbology and core contract specifications data including position limits into its client offering. Sernova Financial will be the first outsourcing provider to join the Databank Network. The Databank Network is FIA Tech's interoperable global network to simplify the use of reference data, analytics and software solutions.
/jlne.ws/4hxsCMr
***** FIA Tech adds royalty to its Databank Network.~JJL
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The Hidden History of Eurodollars, Part 1: Cold War Origins
Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
At more than $10 trillion outstanding, the eurodollar market is one of the biggest forms of shadow banking activity out there. It's also one of the most interesting markets in existence, allowing non-US banks to hold and lend offshore dollars that effectively sit outside of the Federal Reserve's control. But where did eurodollars actually come from? Why did the US allow these "shadow dollars" to exist at all? And what do eurodollars mean for the greenback's role in the global financial system? In this special three-part series, we look back at the hidden history of the eurodollar market. The story is told by Columbia Law School Professor Lev Menand and Federal Reserve Bank of New York Policy Advisor Josh Younger. We start in the aftermath of World War II, when Europe is in the midst of an expensive reconstruction and the world is in the early throes of the Cold War. It's here that the eurodollar is born.
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****** Ooh, ooh, I love this stuff. Do we get to go to a basement and open a crypt to find a lost cache of Eurodollars from the Cold War?~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top clicked story Monday was Prediction-Markets Venue Kalshi Appoints Donald Trump Jr. as Adviser, from The Wall Street Journal. Second was Gambling, Murder and Mayhem: Welcome to the New Futures Markets of Today, by John Lothian from JLN. Third was CFTC Announces Departure of Enforcement Director Ian McGinley, from the CFTC.
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| Lead Stories | Super Bowl Bets on Crypto.com Poised for CFTC Review of Legality
Lydia Beyoud and Ira Boudway - Bloomberg
Federal regulators are deciding whether to probe the legality of trading in Crypto.com futures contracts that let investors bet on who will win major football games including the Super Bowl. The five-member Commodity Futures Trading Commission is in the process of voting on a measure to subject the contracts to a 90-day review, according to people familiar with the matter, who weren't authorized to speak publicly. The agency lacks the power to halt trading immediately, and the review would extend until well past the Super Bowl's Feb. 9 game day, but the commission could ban this type of contract after its examination is completed.
/jlne.ws/3WGEQKH
At Charles Schwab, a Fresh Start After a Close Call; The venerable brokerage risked falling into the SVB vortex, but it's back on its feet with a new home in Texas.
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
Two years ago, as relatively obscure regional banks in California and New York sputtered toward oblivion, a far better-known pillar of Main Street finance found itself sucked downward by association. Charles Schwab Corp., the brokerage-and, more recently, bank-founded by a guy Americans know as Chuck from countless TV ads, faltered when its paper losses ballooned. Investors feared it was suffering from a similar mismatch of assets and liabilities. These days, Schwab is back on more solid footing and out of the headlines again. Although it took a year and a half for the company's stock to fully recover, the unrealized losses have been abating, and Schwab in December upped its 2024 growth outlook to as much as 3.5%. "As storms come, storms also go," says Walt Bettinger, who stepped down as chief executive officer on Dec. 31.
/jlne.ws/3WhP4Rw
Robinhood to pay biggest fine among more than $100mn imposed by SEC; Broker agrees $45mn settlement as part of data breach while Blackstone and KKR among those penalised by US regulator
Jennifer Hughes and Stefania Palma - Financial Times
Robinhood has agreed to pay fines of $45mn to cover data breach and record-keeping failures - one of a series of penalties levied by US regulators on Monday against financial groups, including units of Blackstone and KKR. The online broker paid the biggest penalty in a group of settlements announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission that totalled more than $100mn in fines.
/jlne.ws/4jccb9N
The Problem With Legal Gambling That Everyone Seems to be Ignoring; Of course no one's talking about it.
Mitchell S. Jackson - Esquire
Confession: I've long loved the lexicon of a dice game happening on a street corner or in the basement of an after-hours spot or in the parking lot of a strip club or, an eon ago, in the halls of my high school: "Fever in the funkhouse, and I'm looking for a fin...Nina Ross the new boss...Box cars...Lil Joe out the back door...Six, eight running mates. Seven come eleven...Aces...Snake eyes...Mama need clothes. Baby need new shoes...Taking all side bets...Bet it back."
/jlne.ws/3C8KLAT
UK financial watchdog mistakenly named insurer placed under review; Slip-up risks denting confidence in FCA as it seeks to defuse criticism of its disclosure reforms
Ellesheva Kissin and Martin Arnold - Financial Times
The Financial Conduct Authority has mistakenly revealed information about plans to review an insurer, dealing a blow to the UK's financial watchdog as it tries to ease City concerns about proposals to "name and shame" more of the companies it investigates. A contract notice for an independent review of the insurer's "product oversight and governance" was posted on the government's contracts finder website by the FCA on December 20.
/jlne.ws/4fUEZRf
Supreme Court Rejects New Bid to Let President Fire Agency Heads
Greg Stohr - Bloomberg
The US Supreme Court turned away a fresh bid to put independent federal agencies under direct presidential control, as the justices steered clear of a fight with implications for the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission. Leachco contended the case was fundamentally flawed because the CPSC's commissioners have job protections that insulate them from political accountability. The company argued in its appeal that the Constitution gives the president broad power to fire the heads of executive-branch agencies.
/jlne.ws/40tioXs
Robinhood Is Fined $45 Million Over a New Set of Securities Violations; The upstart brokerage agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to protect sensitive customer data, among other infractions.
Rob Copeland - The New York Times
Robinhood was hit with $45 million in fresh fines from the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, the latest reprimand that the crypto-favorite brokerage has received from regulators. The violations laid out by the S.E.C. stretched from 2019 to 2023 and included a failure to protect sensitive customer data, employee use of encrypted messaging applications and errors of basic bookkeeping. The agency also said Robinhood had fallen short of its obligations to report suspicious client transactions to the authorities.
/jlne.ws/42bTBZc
*****Here is The Wall Street Journal's version of the story titled "Robinhood to Pay $45 Million SEC Settlement Over Data Breach, Other Violations."~JJL
U.S. Judges Demand SEC 'Explain Itself' for Rebuffing Requests for Crypto Rules; In another 11th-hour court loss for Chair Gary Gensler's tenure, judges in a Coinbase case again call the SEC's crypto position "arbitrary and capricious."
Jesse Hamilton - Coindesk
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission must now thoroughly "explain itself" for refusing to grant Coinbase.'s formal request that the agency write regulations for how the industry should assess whether crypto assets are securities or not, according to a circuit-court ruling on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3BWNm0X
Trading Technologies launches new equities broker ranking system; The new scorecard system will provide monthly rankings of equity brokers for institutional investors.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Capital markets technology provider Trading Technologies (TT) has moved to enhance its institutional clients' visibility and agility in the equities markets with the launch of a new broker ranking system. Named TT Broker Scorecard, the new offering will publish a monthly report ranking global and regional equity brokers by their liquidity and execution quality. The system is based on trade data compiled by Abel Noser Solutions which TT acquired in 2023.
/jlne.ws/3DRqlgd
Basel stops short on wrong-way risk; New guidelines a step in right direction, but experts warn they won't prevent another Archegos
Luke Clancy - Risk.net
When the highly leveraged family office Archegos Capital Management collapsed in March 2021, multiple investment banks suffered heavy losses amounting to as much as $10 billion. Investor confidence in Credit Suisse never fully recovered from the damage, ultimately leading to its rescue by UBS two years later. In response, national regulators in the European Union, the UK and US have all taken steps designed to improve counterparty credit risk management in the banks they supervise. Last April
/jlne.ws/4fXJoTm
Hong Kong bridges China, Asean, Middle East as market ties grow: HKEX official
South China Morning Post
Hong Kong is spearheading efforts to strengthen regional market collaboration, connecting global investors with opportunities in mainland China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, according to the chief operating officer of the city's bourse operator. "For the Hong Kong exchange and also importantly for Hong Kong, that regional collaboration needs to continue," Vanessa Lau of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. "We need to be more connected, not less."
/jlne.ws/4jcpF5t
JPMorgan Chase's chief operating officer Daniel Pinto to step down; Jenn Piepszak elevated to take on role by Wall Street bank in leadership shake-up
Peter Wells - Financial Times
JPMorgan Chase has said Daniel Pinto, a top lieutenant to chief executive Jamie Dimon, will be replaced as chief operating officer by Jenn Piepszak in a shake-up to the top ranks of the biggest US bank. Pinto, JPMorgan president and chief operating officer, will relinquish his responsibilities at the end of June and retire by the end of next year, Dimon said in a memo to employees, which was seen by the Financial Times. Piepszak will take the reins as COO effective immediately, the memo said.
/jlne.ws/3Wf66iY
****Here is The Wall Street Journal version of the story titled "JPMorgan Names Jennifer Piepszak as Operating Chief, Succeeding Daniel Pinto."~JJL
China Weighs Sale of TikTok US to Musk as a Possible Option; ByteDance's preferred strategy is to fight ban, people say; Trump has said he would like to delay ban to seek resolution
Bloomberg News
Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3PxhiDZ
China mulls potential sale of TikTok US to Musk, Bloomberg News reports
Reuters
Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about a potential option to sell TikTok's operations in the United States to billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video app be unable to avoid an impending ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Beijing officials prefer that TikTok remains under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, citing sources.
/jlne.ws/3Pw9VN4
TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk's X 'pure fiction'
AFP
TikTok on Tuesday labeled as "pure fiction" a report that China is exploring a potential sale of the video-sharing platform's US operations to billionaire Elon Musk as the firm faces an American law requiring imminent Chinese divestment. Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News had earlier reported that Chinese officials were considering selling the company's US operations to Musk's social media platform X.
/jlne.ws/4h9Y8zE
Los Angeles Faces Another Day of Extreme Fire Risk as Winds Rise; Conditions set to gradually improve by the end of the week; Firefighters continue to grapple with deadly, costly blazes
Laura Curtis and Brian K Sullivan - Bloomberg
Hot, dry winds are pummeling Los Angeles and surrounding areas of Southern California, raising wildfire risks through at least Wednesday as the region reels from blazes that have killed at least 24 people and burned neighborhoods to the ground. Tropical-storm-strength winds were raking the mountains around LA on Tuesday, with gusts reaching 60 miles (97 kilometers) per hour. About 2 million people face extreme fire conditions across a swath of land that includes Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, according to the US Storm Prediction Center. Red-flag fire warnings extend south to San Diego.
/jlne.ws/4gT8vZ5
The 'terrifying' crackdown on mining companies in Africa's coup belt; Military regimes in the Sahel have turned to tactics including arrests to assert control over critical mineral supplies
Aanu Adeoye and Camilla Hodgson - Financial Times
International mining companies are at the mercy of "terrifying" tactics from military regimes in Africa's Sahel, whose leaders are using legal disputes, nationalisations and arrests to assert greater control over crucial minerals like gold and uranium. Barrick Gold on Tuesday temporarily suspended operations in Mali after the government started seizing gold from its mine, weeks after the country issued an arrest warrant for chief executive Mark Bristow. Authorities separately detained Australian gold miner Resolute's chief executive Terence Holohan for nearly two weeks.
/jlne.ws/3Wijcfq
US LNG industry poised to expand as Donald Trump vows to lift restrictions; S&P finds ramp-up of exports could add $1.3tn to American economy in next five years with capacity expected to double
Alexandra White and Jamie Smyth and Myles McCormick - Financial Times
Donald Trump's plan to ramp up liquefied natural gas exports could provide a $1.3tn boost to the US economy, with the oil and gas industry poised to get the green light to build new export facilities and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. The forecast from S&P Global is based on expectations the industry will double LNG export capacity over the next five years, as the president-elect follows through with a pledge to lift a pause on approvals, expedite new export terminals and turbocharge the industry.
/jlne.ws/4alXI75
SEC Reaches $63 Million Settlement With 12 Firms Over Recordkeeping; The firms used unapproved communication methods to send and receive messages that were required to be preserved, the agency said
Connor Hart - The Wall Street Journal
Twelve firms will pay a combined $63.1 million to resolve allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission that they failed to properly keep records. Each firm used unapproved communication methods, or off-channel communications, to send and receive messages that were required to be maintained under the securities laws, the agency said Monday. These failures involved personnel at multiple levels of authority, including supervisors and senior managers. Under the settlement, investment firms Blackstone and KKR will pay $12 million and $11 million, respectively.
/jlne.ws/428HTPa
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Dozens of oil tankers drop anchor after latest US sanctions bite
Jonathan Saul - Reuters
At least 65 oil tankers have dropped anchor at multiple locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia, since the United States announced a new sanctions package on Jan. 10, ship tracking data showed on Monday. Five of those tankers were stationary off Chinese ports and a further seven dropped anchor off Singapore, with others halting near Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East, according to Reuters' analysis based on MarineTraffic and LSEG ship tracking data.
/jlne.ws/4gQE7P2
Oil tanker sabotage crew were poised to cut more cables when caught, Finland says
Anne Kauranen - Reuters
Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month, the head of the Finnish investigation said. Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Leaders of the NATO member states around the Baltic Sea are set to meet in Helsinki on Tuesday to discuss the alliance's response to the threat.
/jlne.ws/4hfsdxF
Europe Grows More Optimistic Trump Won't Abandon Ukraine; In private talks, Europeans have been making the case for Kyiv; President-elect appears more flexible than allies expected
Ellen Milligan, Alex Wickham, and Andrea Palasciano - Bloomberg
Ukraine's European allies have become cautiously optimistic that US President-elect Donald Trump won't force Kyiv into premature negotiations with Russia. The recognition follows a series of private talks with members of Trump's team, in which the transatlantic partners have made the case for continued support for Ukraine, according to European officials familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because the talks were behind closed doors.
/jlne.ws/4fZItSq
Russia sees shift from Trump towards recognising 'realities' in Ukraine
Dmitry Antonov and Vladimir Soldatkin - Reuters
Russia says it has detected a shift from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his team towards recognising the "realities" on the ground in Ukraine, and sees this as a welcome sign as it prepares to study his plan for ending the war. The Kremlin says it is open to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, which the Republican said on Monday would take place "very quickly".
/jlne.ws/3DNtNZh
Ukraine hits Russian army factories, energy hubs in 'massive' barrage
Stanislav Doshchitsyn - AFP
Ukraine fired missiles and drones at factories and energy facilities across Russia early on Tuesday, sparking fires hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the frontline, a source in Ukraine's SBU security services said. The Russian military accused Kyiv of using US- and British-supplied missiles and promised the strikes would "not go unanswered". The barrage forced schools in the southwestern Saratov region to close, while at least nine airports in central and western Russia temporarily halted traffic, according to Russian officials.
/jlne.ws/4haEKm8
Slovakia's Fico Floats Zelenskiy Meeting to Resume Gas Flows
Daniel Hornak - Bloomberg
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to hold talks on resuming natural gas transit after a deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired at the start of this year. Fico has sought to push Zelenskiy to restart flows, citing rising energy costs for Slovakia and the region. The Slovak premier, who controversially met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, has warned Ukraine of potential reciprocal measures, including vetoing financial aid at the European Union level or halting emergency electricity supplies.
/jlne.ws/4jcTKBT
Ukraine, France discussing allied troop deployment to country, Zelenskyy says
David Breena - Good Morning America
Talks are ongoing between Paris and Kyiv for the possible deployment of French troops inside Ukraine despite the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media. Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron "had a detailed discussion about the situation on the battlefield and the progress of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk operation," the Ukrainian leader said in a Monday night post to X.
/jlne.ws/4gQEMju
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel, Hamas Are Finalizing a Gaza Cease-Fire Agreement; Mediators are working to conclude a final draft and a deal could come as soon as Tuesday
Summer Said - The Wall Street Journal
Israel and Hamas are finalizing the terms of a cease-fire deal that could be announced as soon as Tuesday, Arab and Israeli officials said, raising hopes of an agreement that would at least pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and free some of the hostages held there. Negotiators-including Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump's designated Middle East envoy, along with officials from the U.S., Israel and Arab countries-were meeting midday in Doha, Qatar, to finalize a draft of a deal, said the Arab officials, who are helping to mediate the talks.
/jlne.ws/3C931u0
Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza at closest point yet, officials say; Deal to end 15-month war and secure release of hostages in 'final stages' and could be agreed on Tuesday or Wednesday
James Shotter, Andrew England, and Heba Saleh - Financial Times
Israel and Hamas are the closest they have been to agreeing a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, Qatar's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference in Doha, the ministry's spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that Qatar, which has been mediating the talks with the US and Egypt, had handed drafts of a deal to both parties.
/jlne.ws/4aiEkYK
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CME Group International Average Daily Volume Reaches Record 7.8 Million Contracts in 2024, Up 14% from 2023
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its international average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 7.8 million contracts in 2024, up 14% from 2023. Reflecting all trading reported outside the United States, this was driven by record growth in Energy up 31%, Metals up 27%, Agricultural up 25%, Interest Rate up 12% and Foreign Exchange products up 10% compared to the same period in 2023.
/jlne.ws/3WeU49n
FICC Sponsored Service Volumes Exceeded USD$2 Trillion at the End of 2024, Marking a New Peak and an 83% Year-over-Year Increase
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that Fixed Income Clearing Corporation's (FICC) Sponsored Service volumes reached USD$2 trillion at the end of 2024, marking a new peak volume and an 83% year-over-year increase. In addition, FICC's Indirect Clearing Relationships grew to 7,200, marking a new milestone and representing a 20% growth in indirect relationships year-over-year. This growth comes as more firms begin to prepare and implement solutions to meet expanded US Treasury clearing mandate requirements.
/jlne.ws/3DRsOat
EEX Press release - EEX Group Annual Volumes 2024: continued growth across key markets
EEX
In 2024, EEX Group further solidified its position as a global commodity exchange by achieving further overall growth across its various asset classes. Throughout the year, EEX Group continued to drive market development in collaboration with its customers and focused on the extension of its product portfolio across both established markets and new areas, such as the Guarantees of Origin sector. In addition, the Group also expanded its reach through the establishment of a new EEX subsidiary in Japan, where traded volumes of EEX Japan Power derivatives contracts have almost quadrupled year-on-year.
/jlne.ws/4ju7fxl
ICE Sees Highest Commodities Trading Volume Day in its History
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced that on Friday, January 10, 2025, ICE reported the highest commodities volume day in its history with a record 9.1 million futures and options traded, including a record 8.7 million energy futures and options, and a record 6.1 million oil futures and options. On January 10, 2025, ICE saw trading records across several of ICE's oil benchmarks, including 999,000 Gasoil futures and options, 905,700 ICE WTI (Cushing) futures and options, 214,200 ICE Dubai (Platts) futures and 104,400 ICE Murban futures.
/jlne.ws/3WkJJZv
LME welcomes BMO as Category 2 member
LME
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is pleased to announce that BMO has today been approved as a Category 2 member. BMO is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally.
/jlne.ws/3DSoJ62
Moscow Exchange Trading Volumes in December 2024
MOEX
In December 2024, total trading volumes across Moscow Exchange's markets was RUB 142.3 trln. In 2024, Moscow Exchange progressed in developing and rolling out new tools and services that address the needs of brokers, asset management companies and banks serving retail and institutional investors in the Russian exchange market.
/jlne.ws/40xFs7y
Collaboration Is Crucial for European Market Infrastructures as 2025 Beckons
SIX
It is tough to recall a year that has posed European financial markets so many tough questions. A multitude of headwinds - from elevated geopolitical unrest to lingering economic uncertainty - converged with deeply entrenched structural themes to create a perfect storm of complexity for the region's financial market infrastructures (FMIs) providers.
/jlne.ws/4hgPgZk
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Clearwater Analytics to acquire Enfusion
Jack McRae - Asset Servicing Times
Clearwater Analytics has agreed to acquire Enfusion, an investment management software-as-a-service platform provider, for US$1.5 billion. The acquisition forms part of Clearwater's vision to build the first cloud-native front-to-back platform for the entire investment management industry.
/jlne.ws/3C6zqBm
Trading Technologies launches TT Broker Scorecard; New monthly ranking of equity brokers provides independent proxy of institutional market
Trading Technologies International, Inc.
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform services provider, announced today it has launched TT Broker Scorecard, a first-of-its-kind monthly report ranking global and regional equity brokers by liquidity and execution quality. The report provides an independent proxy of the institutional market with rankings derived from the aggregated, anonymized trade data compiled by Abel Noser Solutions, which TT acquired in 2023.
/jlne.ws/3E5TYuj
Trading Technologies: 'All Engines Firing' for 2025
Editorial Staff - Traders Magazine
Trading Technologies, a SaaS provider to the global capital markets industry, has had a busy past few years, with multiple acquisitions, expansion into new markets, and strong organic growth. Traders Magazine caught up with Trading Technologies CEO Keith Todd to learn more about where the firm stands heading into 2025. How would you describe Trading Technologies as the firm stands today?
/jlne.ws/4g5pztK
Pico and BMLL partner to provide historical and real-time data integration capabilities; Development is set to accelerate research, help better understand liquidity dynamics, and optimise trading outcomes though the integration of the two firms' suite of products.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Pico and BMLL have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at addressing increased demand for access to real-time and historical data sets simultaneously. The move is expected to help accelerate research, understand liquidity dynamics and optimise trading outcomes. As part of the partnership, Pico's raw real-time and historical data will be integrated with BMLL's Level 3, 2 and 1 offerings, allowing clients to gain granularity and actionable insights.
/jlne.ws/4hg64PQ
Databricks Inks $5 Billion of Private Credit, Bank Funding
Ellen Schneider and Carmen Arroyo - Bloomberg
Software maker Databricks Inc. has clinched more than $5 billion of financing from lenders including Blackstone Inc., Apollo Global Management Inc. and Blue Owl Capital Inc. in its largest debt raise to date, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The tech firm, which is one of the world's most valuable closely held companies, tapped JPMorgan Chase & Co. to arrange the financing last year and plans to use the proceeds to offset tax burdens associated with stock sales from staffers, Bloomberg reported. The debt deal comes alongside a $10 billion equity funding round Databricks announced at the end of last year that lifted its valuation to $62 billion.
/jlne.ws/3PBYDXA
Amazon races to transplant Alexa's 'brain' with generative AI; Rollout of upgraded voice assistant hit by delays as Big Tech group toils to overcome technical hurdles
Madhumita Murgia and Camilla - Financial Times
Amazon is gearing up to relaunch its Alexa voice-powered digital assistant as an artificial intelligence "agent" that can complete practical tasks, as the tech group races to resolve the challenges that have dogged the system's AI overhaul. The $2.4tn company has for the past two years sought to redesign Alexa, its conversational system embedded within 500mn consumer devices worldwide, so the software's "brain" is transplanted with generative AI.
/jlne.ws/4jgRGsE
Telegram-Linked TON Blockchain to Expand in US as Trump Courts Crypto; TON Foundation names Kingsway's Stotz as its new president; Development is part of a strategic shift to focus on US growth
Ryan Weeks - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/40dQRbo
Biden to issue executive order to ensure power for AI data centers
David Shepardson - Reuters
/jlne.ws/40zmOfH
Macquarie to Invest Up to $5 Billion in Applied Digital AI Data Centers; Deal follows strong investor interest in businesses connected to the AI boom
Asa Fitch and Miriam Gottfried - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/3Px1YY1
Klarna seeks to offload US 'pay in 4' loans; Talks with banks about portfolio sale come ahead of highly anticipated New York IPO
Akila Quinio, Eric Platt and Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/40d5BHj
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | NSA Warns iPhone And Android Users-Disable Location Tracking
Zak Doffman - Forbes
Our phones know where we are and they know where we have been-the problem is they have a nasty habit of sharing that information with others. And the latest location tracking nightmare to hit phone users shows the threat remains, despite new protections built into our iPhone and Android devices. NSA has warned users how to stop this secretive tracking-and you need to make this change now. As first reported by 404media, hackers have compromised location aggregator Gravy Analytics, stealing "customer lists, information on the broader industry, and even location data harvested from smartphones which show peoples' precise movements." This has dumped a trove of sensitive data into the public domain.
/jlne.ws/42etlOa
Hackers have devised a simple text scam to bypass Apple's iPhone protections; Here's what to watch out for so you won't fall for it.
Roman Loyola, Senior Editor - Macworld
The more we use our iPhones to chat, the more smishing (SMS phishing) attacks try to trick us into compromising our accounts. According to research by Bleeping Computer, the latest wave of attacks is simple but includes serious efforts to bypass Apple's way of protecting users from using bad web links. The whole scheme merely attempts to get you to reply to a text, even if it's simply with a Y. Why? So the link in the original text will become active.
/jlne.ws/4j8bQFf
NHS Ransomware Hack Caused Patient Harm in UK, Data Shows; June 2024 breach resulted in long-term, permanent issues; Russian cybercrime group demanded $50 million from UK service
Ryan Gallagher - Bloomberg
A cyberattack that paralyzed hospitals and clinics in London last year resulted in harm to dozens of patients, leading to long-term or permanent damage to their health in at least two cases, according to data obtained by Bloomberg News. In June 2024, a Russian hacking gang targeted Synnovis, a contractor that provides blood testing, transfusion and other pathology services to the UK's National Health Service, or NHS. The incident plunged health-care providers predominantly in the southeast of the city into crisis.
/jlne.ws/4je7jkw
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto Bank Sygnum Hits Unicorn Status With $58 Million Raise; The Swiss firm closed a fundraise led by Fulgur Ventures; The company saw trading revenues and volumes surge in 2024
Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Crypto firm Sygnum Bank AG raised $58 million in an equity funding round, pushing its valuation past the $1 billion mark. Cornerstone investor Fulgur Ventures LLC, a Bitcoin-focused venture capital firm, joined new and existing investors as well as Sygnum team members in the round, according to a Tuesday statement. The raise comes a year after the bank raised $41 million at a valuation of about $850 million. The digital-assets industry rallied throughout 2024 driven initially by the debut of dedicated exchange-traded funds in the US and more recently by President-elect Donald Trump's pro-crypto agenda. Sygnum's trading revenues for crypto, FX and securities had surpassed prior year's totals by the third quarter, according to the statement. Annual trades surged more than 1,000% year-on-year, propelled by partnerships with Swiss banks such as PostFinance.
/jlne.ws/40eJ6BN
Bitcoin Mining Is Now More Difficult Than Ever Before; The price of the asset may be down-but other metrics show the network is working as it should.
Mat Di Salvo - decrypt
It's the metric that many Bitcoin investors don't know-or care-about. But they should, despite the biggest and oldest digital coin's price taking a hit earlier Monday. Bitcoin's mining difficulty has edged up again to touch a new high. Data from CoinWarz shows that the difficulty hit a new all-time high of 110.45 trillion on Sunday. That means it's harder than ever before to mine a new block.
/jlne.ws/4fVOuQk
Man on hopeless quest to recover $600 million of Bitcoin from landfill is finally told by the High Court to quit it, says he's 'very upset'
Rich Stanton - PC Gamer
A UK High Court judge has dismissed a man's attempt to sue Newport council over a long-lost hard drive containing Bitcoin, which should be the full stop on a rather farcical saga that's been running for years. James Howells is a computer engineer who got in on Bitcoin early and mined approximately 7,500 Bitcoin from 2009. Then he forgot about it, and his former partner dumped the hard drive containing the Bitcoin wallet in 2013. Oops! With Bitcoin's price having risen spectacularly since those days, it is estimated that the hard drive now contains $598 million worth of Bitcoin, with Howells claiming it could be worth as much as $1 billion next year.
/jlne.ws/3PAHv4v
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump team studies gradual tariff hikes under emergency powers
Bloomberg via Fortune
Members of President-elect Donald Trump's incoming economic team are discussing slowly ramping up tariffs month by month, a gradual approach aimed at boosting negotiating leverage while helping avoid a spike in inflation, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/40wN3TJ
A Wider War Has Already Started in Europe; Putin's not-so-quiet sabotage campaign against European democracies
Phillips Payson O'Brien - The Atlantic
For the past three years, Russia has used missiles and drones to locate and destroy vital infrastructure in Ukraine-power plants, dams, electrical-transmission lines. Everyone understands that these attacks are acts of war, no matter how steadfastly President Vladimir Putin describes them as part of a "special military operation." When Russia targets other European neighbors, though, the West resorts to its own euphemisms to avoid directly acknowledging what Putin is doing.
/jlne.ws/40vgDsY
US officials reached out to Putin over fears of Russia 'enabling terrorism,' report says
Gustaf Kilander - The Independent
Aides to President Joe Biden sent a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin after they feared that the Russians may attempt to bring the war in Ukraine to the U.S., according to a New York Times report. This summer, cargo shipments began to catch fire at German, British, and Polish airports and warehouses. Both Washington and the Europeans believed that the Russians were responsible.
/jlne.ws/3DRDCFI
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | China Securities Regulator Vows Efforts to Stabilize Market
Foster Wong - Bloomberg
China's top securities regulator said it will work on building a mechanism to stabilize the market, vowing to anchor market expectations in 2025 after a disappointing start to the new year. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said stability is top of its agenda in 2025 as it pledged to make every effort to induce and maintain the market's stabilizing and positive momentum, according to a statement following its work meeting on its priorities for the year.
/jlne.ws/4gRzZ1f
Hongkongers can use FPS for cross-border payments by midyear: HKMA
South China Morning Post
Hong Kong and mainland China are linking up their digital payment systems to allow small cross-border payments via mobile phone numbers this year, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The HKMA has also added three more banks - HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of Communications - allowing Hongkongers to open bank accounts on the mainland without having to show up in person. The banks join five other lenders that have been providing account-opening services since 2019.
/jlne.ws/4jhi6KU
China Evergrande's unit receives liquidation order from Hong Kong court
Reuters
China Evergrande said on Monday that a court in Hong Kong had ordered one of its key offshore units to be wound up, the latest in a slew of legal victories for the embattled developer's liquidators.= The liquidators had filed a winding-up petition against company subsidiary CEG Holdings BVI in September, in a bid to recover funds from the debt-laden property company that defaulted in 2021 and triggered China's real estate market crisis. Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer with more than $300 billion of liabilities, was ordered by the Hong Kong High Court in January 2024 to liquidate after it failed to offer a concrete restructuring plan for its $23 billion offshore debt.
/jlne.ws/4ai17Uw
B. Riley Discloses More SEC Subpoenas to Firm and Bryant Riley
Rick Green - Bloomberg
B. Riley Financial Inc. said federal regulators sent additional demands for information about its dealings with now-bankrupt Franchise Group as well as a personal loan for Chairman Bryant Riley. In a long-delayed quarterly filing, the Los Angeles-based investment firm said the company and Riley each received additional subpoenas from the US Securities and Exchange Commission seeking documents and information about Franchise Group as well as Riley's personal loan and his pledge of shares as collateral.
/jlne.ws/427HKeR
Gemini Trust Ordered to pay $5 Million for Making False or Misleading Statements, Omissions to the CFTC
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent order against Gemini Trust Company LLC, a New York trust company. The order includes a permanent injunction, and finds Gemini violated the CEA and made materially false or misleading statements or omissions to the Commission. The order requires Gemini Trust to pay a $5 million civil monetary penalty. "Making false or misleading statements to the CFTC in connection with a derivatives product certification undermines the CFTC's efforts to ensure all futures products trading on CFTC-regulated markets comply with the CEA and CFTC regulations and, among other things, are not readily susceptible to manipulation," said Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. "This result sends a strong message that the Commission will act to safeguard the integrity of the market oversight process, regardless of whether the market involves complex digital asset derivative products or more traditional commodity futures."
/jlne.ws/42c8ieR
Mosaic Exchange Ltd. and CEO Ordered to Pay Over $1.1 Million for Fraudulent Digital Asset Commodity Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered orders of final default judgment on Dec. 23 and 30, 2024, against Mosaic Exchange Ltd., a Pennsylvania limited liability company, and its owner and Chief Executive Officer Sean Michael, of Miami, Florida, for running a fraudulent digital asset commodity scheme. The orders stem from the CFTC's three-count complaint filed Sept. 26, 2023, charging the defendants in connection with their fraudulent digital asset solicitation and trading scheme and misappropriation. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8789-23].
/jlne.ws/4gdJlmV
CFTC Announces Departure of Clearing and Risk Director Clark Hutchison
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced Division of Clearing and Risk Director Clark Hutchison will depart the agency Jan. 15. Mr. Hutchison has served as director since July 2019. "Clark has led the Division of Clearing and Risk with distinction for nearly six years, bringing extensive market experience to the CFTC, and guiding the Commission through periods of immense market growth, multiple episodes of historic volatility, and significant changes in market structure," said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. "Clark's precise, thoughtful and practical approach to management and financial markets policy will be missed across the CFTC. I wish Clark well as he turns to new opportunities in his career."
/jlne.ws/3DU3y3A
Twelve Firms to Pay More Than $63 Million Combined to Settle SEC's Charges for Recordkeeping Failures; One firm received credit for self-reporting and will pay a reduced civil penalty
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against nine investment advisers and three broker-dealers for failures by the firms and their personnel to maintain and preserve electronic communications, in violation of recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws. The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders, acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws, agreed to pay combined civil penalties of $63.1 million, as outlined below, and have begun implementing improvements to their compliance policies and procedures to address these violations. One of the firms, as noted below, self-reported its violations and, as a result, will pay significantly lower civil penalties than it would have otherwise.
/jlne.ws/4jgLUY0
SEC Charges Former Public Company Officer and His Sister-In-Law with Insider Trading
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., the former president and chief investment officer (CIO) of one public company and a member of the board of another, and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading that resulted in more than $428,000 in illegal profits. The defendants have agreed to pay more than $1.36 million to settle the charges.
/jlne.ws/4hef1Jt
Two Robinhood Broker-Dealers to Pay $45 Million in Combined Penalties for Violating More Than 10 Separate Securities Law Provisions
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that broker-dealers Robinhood Securities LLC and Robinhood Financial LLC (collectively, Robinhood) have agreed to pay $45 million in combined civil penalties to settle a range of SEC charges arising from their brokerage operations.
/jlne.ws/4fXn0tz
Ashford Inc. To Settle Negligence-Based Charges for Misleading Investors Regarding a Cyber Incident
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Ashford Inc. for materially false and misleading disclosures to investors regarding a cyber incident. Ashford, a formerly registered issuer based in Dallas, Texas, is an alternative asset management company with a portfolio of strategic operating businesses that provides global asset management, investment management, and related services to the real estate and hospitality sectors.
/jlne.ws/40exMWo
SEC Announces Final Judgment Against Fraudulent Investment Fund Founder William K. Ichioka
SEC
On January 8, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against William K. Ichioka, who was charged by the SEC with conducting a fraudulent offering through his investment fund, Ichioka Ventures. The complaint alleges that Ichioka fraudulently raised money from individual investors for Ichioka Ventures by claiming he was an accomplished investor, promising oversized returns, and guaranteeing investors' principal. In reality, though, as the complaint alleges, Ichioka was unable to pay investors the promised returns and used money from new investors to repay other investors. Also, as alleged in the complaint, Ichioka falsified a bank statement and other documents to create an appearance of success. Furthermore, according to the complaint, Ichioka misappropriated millions of dollars of investors' funds for his personal use, such as on luxury watches, cars, gambling, and a penthouse apartment.
/jlne.ws/4h5nA9A
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | The Incredible Growing Stock Market; The U.S. market is now four times bigger than the next largest market, up from two times bigger in 2008.
Molly Cook Escobar - Barron's (paywalled)
The U.S. stock market has far outpaced other global markets since the financial crisis of 2008-09. The S&P 500, the leading benchmark for large U.S. stocks, has exceeded the growth of the second-strongest market by more than 200 percentage points.
/jlne.ws/3Wf0tkQ
Amazon, Meta and Tesla reject FX hedging; Risk.net study shows tech giants don't hedge day-to-day exposures
Cole Lipsky - Risk.net
Amazon, Meta and Tesla - three of the so-called magnificent seven tech firms that drive US stock market performance - decline to hedge their day-to-day foreign exchange exposures. So concludes a study by Risk.net of the firms' quarterly filings over the past five years. Corporates operating in dozens of countries typically hedge the FX risk from their foreign revenues and expenses with derivatives. But a study of the three companies' filings shows no evidence of any FX hedging activity. What's
/jlne.ws/3PBXH5w
Egg inflation surges 8.5% in December as bird flu, high demand strain supply
Ariel Zilber - NY Post
Egg prices are once again on the rise - and experts warned not to expect relief until at least next year. Soaring demand coupled with reduced supply due to the ongoing avian flu outbreak has sent the price of eggs surging by 8.5% month-over-month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In California, local restaurant owners are struggling to stay afloat as the average price of a dozen eggs has spiked to nearly $9 - up 70% compared to the year before. A sign indicating possible egg shortages due to bird flu and high demand in a Glendale, California grocery store in 2025
/jlne.ws/4gKddbr
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Banks Claim They're Still in the Climate Fight. Are They? Having fled a major climate alliance, some worry Wall Street giants may lose their stomach for financing a low-carbon transition.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
The exodus of Wall Street's biggest firms from prominent climate groups has been greeted with triumphant cheers from Republicans in the US who accuse such coalitions of colluding to boycott the fossil-fuel industry. It could prove to be a hollow victory, though. That's because, almost without fail, every lender that's recently left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley, has taken great pains to claim that quitting the group wasn't the same as quitting their net-zero goals (or helping their clients achieve their targets). BlackRock Inc. for example said its departure last week from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative "doesn't change the way we develop products and solutions for clients or how we manage their portfolios."
/jlne.ws/3CbOs91
An Inauguration Watch Party Aimed at Celebrating Fossil Fuels; Harold G. Hamm, the founder of the Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, and other oil and gas companies stand to profit from Donald Trump's energy policies.
Lisa Friedman - The New York Times
Harold G. Hamm, the billionaire oil and gas executive who helped bankroll Donald J. Trump's campaign and stands to profit from his energy policies, is hosting an exclusive fossil fuel industry celebration on Inauguration Day. The daytime party on the roof of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel, a block from the White House, will be a moment of triumph for Mr. Hamm, who poured more than $4.3 million into political action committees supporting Mr. Trump.
/jlne.ws/40y7cZU
Revealed: US hazardous waste is sent to Mexico - where a 'toxic cocktail' of pollution emerges; Investigation finds very high levels of lead and arsenic in homes near a factory processing US toxic waste
Erin McCormick and Veronica Garcia de Leon - The Guardian
Raquel Villarreal lives in a bright-yellow house in Mexico's Monterrey metropolitan area with her family and nine cats. Here, the emergency medicine doctor has raised three daughters, one of whom died at the age of 14. Just steps away is an industrial plant that operates 24 hours a day, emitting pollution that neighbors say blankets the neighborhood and which Villarreal says is hard to remove from her car.
/jlne.ws/42wu4dJ
Biden Trump-proofs $74bn in climate funding but $20bn remains vulnerable; Allocation of funds from Inflation Reduction Act makes it harder for president-elect to halt green initiatives
Oliver Milman, with graphics by Aliya Uteuova - The Guardian
The Biden administration has raced to allocate $74bn of funding for climate initiatives before Donald Trump's inauguration, leaving $20bn vulnerable to potential rollback by the incoming president, new figures reveal. As the inauguration of Trump looms, the outgoing administration has been accelerating its allocation of cash for climate change and clean energy programs before they are throttled by the incoming US president.
/jlne.ws/4jqT8sy
Advocates Warn of Climate, Cancer Risks From a Potential Trump Rollback on Electric Big Rigs and Buses; From eliminating $40,000 incentives for electric school buses to going to war with California regulators, experts say there's a lot the second Trump administration can do to pump the brakes on efforts to decarbonize one of the country's most polluting sectors.
Kyle Bagenstose - Inside Climate News
When a massive explosion proved the death knell of a 150-year-old South Philadelphia oil refinery in 2019, nearby resident Mark Clincy chalked it up as a health victory for surrounding neighborhoods that long bore the brunt of its air pollution. Then the trucks arrived. Construction equipment and other heavy-duty vehicles go back and forth through Clincy's predominantly Black neighborhood as the site is redeveloped into a warehouse hub. Among the tailpipe emissions from the vehicles is the carcinogen benzene, a problem that Clincy and some other residents fear could get exponentially worse once fleets of tractor-trailers and delivery vehicles arrive in earnest.
/jlne.ws/4fW84f1
Hyundai's slow EV ramp-up in India hurts its decarbonisation efforts, Greenpeace says
Nandan Mandayam and Aditi Shah - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4fSnlO8
German Oil-Fired Generation Surges as Wind Set to Plunge; Nation's power demand jumps to highest in almost a year; Renewables roll-out adds to volatility during wind drought
Eamon Farhat - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4heB5nc
China's Mega Refiners Rush for Oil to Avert Sanctions Disruption
Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4gUZgaI
China and UK confirm plans for new London green bond
James Murray - Business Green
/jlne.ws/3BYMAk2
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Jamie Dimon Wants to Take JPMorgan Chase to Germany and Beyond; America's biggest bank plans to launch a digital retail lender in Germany, Europe's biggest economy but one with an unprofitable banking sector
Joe Wallace and Alexander Saeedy - The Wall Street Journal
Jamie Dimon is taking JPMorgan Chase on a big adventure. The long-serving CEO, heading into what he says is his final chapter as chief executive, has set his sights on a major territorial expansion: building a sprawling digital-focused consumer bank outside the U.S. From a WeWork office with chessboard floors and a view of Berlin's spaceshiplike TV Tower, JPMorgan is gearing up to launch a bank with the Chase brand in Germany. Europe's biggest economy has a population of more than 80 million, a huge pool of savings-and a notoriously unprofitable banking sector.
/jlne.ws/3WgsyIo
TD Bank's annual op loss tab surges 144% amid AML settlement; US plea deal drives bank's op RWAs to record C$120 billion
Lorenzo Migliorato - Risk.net
The bill from operational failures at TD Bank surged 144% in the bank's latest financial year, marking a domestic high that will weigh on the bank's capital requirements for years to come. Canada's second-largest dealer reported losses totalling nearly C$5 billion ($3.5 billion) over the 12 months to October 31, 2024 - the highest among the 'big five' banks since at least 2014. The tally, arising from 1,703 loss events, are primarily due to a punitive resolution of an anti-money laundering probe
/jlne.ws/4afqqGC
JPMorgan names Jennifer Piepszak as its new COO
Reuters
JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday named Jennifer Piepszak, co-CEO of its commercial and investment bank, as its chief operating officer. Daniel Pinto, currently president and chief operating officer of the largest U.S. bank, will retire at the end of 2026. He will relinquish his responsibilities as of June 30, the bank said.
/jlne.ws/3C5yAoA
German Bank Aims to Replace AT1 Less Than Year After CRE Beating
Tasos Vossos - Bloomberg
One of the German lenders that saw its riskiest type of debt slump when concerns about the state of US commercial real estate market spread across the world last year, is now looking to replace the bond. Aareal Bank AG is offering to buy back a EUR300 million ($308 million) so-called Additional Tier 1 bond and exercise the option to repay it in April if any of it is left outstanding, it announced on Tuesday. This is contingent on issuing new AT1s denominated in US dollars.
/jlne.ws/40iSHI5
Capital One Accused of Misleading Customers on Savings Rates
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
Capital One Financial Corp. misled customers when it rolled out a new savings account with a higher interest rate it didn't also give to existing savings accounts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday in a lawsuit against the bank. Capital One introduced the 360 Performance Savings Account in 2019, with an interest rate that eventually rose to 4.25%. That was far higher than the 0.3% offered on the bank's existing savings account product, called 360 Savings. The CFPB alleges that the bank promised existing customers one of the US's "top," "best" and "highest" interest rates through their 360 Savings account, according to a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
/jlne.ws/3PB8gG8
Kepler Cheuvreux makes two ETF senior sales appointments; New hires follow the firm's majority acquisition of Trackinsight; Individuals will be based in Paris and Stockholm.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
/jlne.ws/3E49eYE
Citadel Looks to Raise at Least $500 Million From Bond Sale
Josyana Joshua and Olivia Raimonde - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/427Gatr
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | JPMorgan Chase is axing remote work - and angry employees might unionize
Ben Kesslen - Quartz
JPMorgan Chase's announcement that all employees will be required to work from the office five days a week starting in March has predictably sent many workers into a tailspin - and they're reportedly devising ways to fight back. The company officially told its some 300,000 employees on Friday that it was ending remote work. A little over half the workforce was already working full-time in the office, but for employees still on hybrid schedules, the news wasn't particularly welcome. According to the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) had to disable comments on an intranet webpage after it was flooded with aggrieved comments about the new policy. Many employees said the new policy would put a strain on their finances, particularly around child care and commuting costs. Others said it would disrupt their work-life balance.
/jlne.ws/4gSib67
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Drugmakers will ask US government to pause drug price negotiations, Bloomberg News reports
Reuters
Drugmakers will ask the U.S. government to pause price negotiations for prescription drugs, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing Eli Lilly's CEO David Ricks. Ricks said at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference that the government needs to "fix" the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) before the second round of talks over price cuts, the report added.
/jlne.ws/3PCW6wl
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | India's central bank to judiciously handle FX reserves amid headwinds, sources say
Jaspreet Kalra, Siddhi Nayak and Nimesh Vora - Reuters
India's central bank will be more judicious in its use of foreign exchange reserves to mitigate domestic currency market volatility amid strong global headwinds, three sources aware of the development said. The Reserve Bank of India will continue to intervene as and when necessary to smoothen volatility, but won't go against the tide and massively intervene to protect any levels, the sources said, asking not to be named as the discussions are confidential.
/jlne.ws/3E48SBi
Chinese Banks Face Cash Squeeze as Yuan Defense Adds Pressure
Bloomberg
China's increasing determination to defend its currency against a strong dollar has worsened a liquidity squeeze in the country, pushing a key short-term funding rate to its highest level in more than a year. The cost of borrowing cash via seven-day interbank pledged repurchase contracts - a popular funding tool used by financial institutions - spiked this week to its highest level since October 2023. The spread between the rate and the central bank's own reverse repo reference rate is now at its widest point since early 2021.
/jlne.ws/4je1vYg
Barrick Suspends Mali Gold Operations as Standoff Escalates; Dispute centers on asset that's key for company and government; Other miners in Mali have reached settlements with the state
William Clowes and Katarina Hoije - Bloomberg
Barrick Gold Corp. said it's suspending mining operations in Mali after the government started removing gold from the nation's biggest mine in the latest escalation of a months-long dispute. The world's No. 2 gold producer is stopping activity at the vast Loulo-Gounkoto complex, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. The move comes about a week after the company warned it would be forced to take such action if the authorities in the West African country continued to restrict exports and disrupt operations.
/jlne.ws/3CbOgqj
India's Sugar Crop Hit By Disease Dashes Traders' Export Hopes; Government is prioritizing ethanol production as blending fuel; Curbing international sales could boost prices worldwide
Pratik Parija - Bloomberg
Sugar production in India, the second-biggest grower, is trailing expectations as the toll of disease and last year's dry weather curbs the supply reaching mills. Output in the 2024-25 year that ends in September may total about 27.6 million tons after diversions to make ethanol, according to the mean of six estimates in a Bloomberg survey of traders and millers. That would be about 4.4 million tons below a year earlier, and compares with 29.3 million tons estimated in November by the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association.
/jlne.ws/3DQgjfA
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| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. |
In yesterday's entry from "The Front Runner," Mike Harris is briefed by Danny Lombardo on his trading strategy in the chaotic environment of the CBOT trading floor. Lombardo stresses the importance of following strict guidelines: only trading ten contracts at a time, maintaining consistency with bid and offer announcements, and standing firm even when facing intimidation from other traders. Mike is eager but unsure about the stress and intensity of the pit.
As Mike enters the 30-year bond options trading pit, he struggles to navigate the chaotic crowd of shouting, aggressive traders. The frenzied atmosphere, with traders yelling and shoving each other, tests his resolve. Amid the chaos, Mike is physically bumped aside by Richie Armstrong, a seasoned and intimidating trader. Mike fights to stay grounded, realizing the high-stakes, high-pressure environment he's stepped into.
See yesterday's script of The Front Runner HERE and the complete script to date HERE. There are only two more episodes left of "The Front Runner" and then we are introducing "The Floor" from Daniel Sullivan and other contributors.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | CFA Level 1 Pass Rate Falls to 43%, Still Above Historic Average; Those who delay have lower chance of success, institute says; First-time testers score above the decade-average pass rate
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
The pass rate for the first level of the chartered financial analyst exam remained above its historic average, though test-takers who delayed their exams continued to have a much lower chance of success. In November, 43% of candidates passed the Level I test, down from 44% for those who sat for the exam in August, and 46% for those who took it in May, the CFA Institute said Tuesday. Still, that's above the 40% average for the past decade and has recovered since the lows from 2021, when exam performance was hurt by test-taking deferrals amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
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