| May 23, 2018 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
|
| | | | First Read | | |
| | 2018 Newsletter Subscriptions: | |
Hits & Takes
JLN Staff
A follow up to our top read article yesterday: A story in the Mid Sussex Times on the death of HSBC's Cian Burke reported that he died after a collision with a tractor near Splayne's Green in the UK, while riding with his son Tom and a friend.~JK
The Executives Club of Chicago event "Bitcoin Boom: Defining Chicago's role in the Cryptocurrency Market event" on Tuesday featured Sunil Cutinho, president of CME Clearing, who said blockchain will not be the clearing disruptor some believe. He said real time settlement on the blockchain may be good for some types of markets, but next day settlement can be much more capital efficient.~JK
Also from the Executives Club panel, Mike Unetich, vice president of cryptocurrencies at Trading Technologies, said the biggest impediments to large institutional money coming into cryptocurrencies are the lack of institutional custodial services and regulatory clarity.~JK
Imagine using your cell phone camera to distinguish between a fake drug and a real one or a cheap bottle of wine and an expensive one or a fake diamond and a real one. Yeah, it's a thing from IBM and it uses blockchain technology to boot.~JB
A quote in a CFA blog from Harvard Professor Mihir A. Desai - "Finance is being demonized, and it's being demonized because people don't understand it. If we want to stop demonization, we have to make it accessible . . . And it turns out stories and the humanities are a really powerful way to do that." Sooo, my time at an overpriced liberal arts school was or was not a waste? ~SD
According to a new post on the Bank of England's Bank Underground blog, "...if the last 30-years frequencies persist, the recent experience of the 2017 hurricane season is probably not an outlier but closer to the norm." ~SD
++++
Sincere Flattery and Competition
John Lothian - John Lothian News
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," wrote English cleric and writer Charles Caleb Colton. The NYSE and Nasdaq have flattered each other plenty over the years as they competed globally in the exchange and OTC market space. It often seemed there was not a move NYSE made that Nasdaq did not try to match or top, and vice versa.
The imitation here is not that NYSE matched Nasdaq by naming a woman, Stacey Cunningham, as head of the exchange to counter Nasdaq's Adena Friedman. Rather, both exchanges chose the best qualified candidates for the role of president or CEO. They both happen to be women.
As Chris Concannon of Cboe said in a statement, "Stacey is a fierce competitor, an absolute professional and a profoundly well-qualified executive. I am delighted for her as she steps into this role."
However, it is the story of Tom Farley leaving that is really the most flattering, or the best attempt at imitation.
Read the rest here.
++++
The Options Industry Leader Series 2018 - NYSE's Ivan Brown
Brought to you by the OCC
In this video from the 36th annual Options Industry Conference (OIC) in Amelia Island, Fla., Ivan Brown, NYSE's head of options, talks about launching options on the FANG+ index, implementing a complex price improvement auction mechanism, and the resiliency of U.S. options markets.
Watch the video here »
++++
Former CBOT chairman Patrick Arbor arrested  briefly  in divorce case
Mark Brown - Chicago Sun-Times
Nearly five years ago, former Chicago Board of Trade chairman Patrick Arbor left the country and moved his assets overseas to avoid paying a court-ordered $18 million divorce judgment to his ex-wife. On Monday, Arbor was arrested in Boston by Massachusetts State Police after he slipped into the country to attend his grandson's graduation, only to be released again hours later when Cook County sheriff's officials declined to extradite him.
bit.ly/2GEOGTm
**By the time Pat Arbor finished telling Boston cops about his mountain climbing expeditions, Italian wine and barefoot water skiing, they upgraded his plane ticket back to Europe.~JK
++++
How Politicians Intensify Financial Cycles: 300 Years of Pro-Cyclical Regulation
Jihad Dagher - ProMarket, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Blog
Three hundred years of financial regulation offer a cautionary tale to today's push against yesterday's regulations. This column revisits the political economy of financial crises and documents a consistent pattern of politically driven procyclical regulations. These regulatory cycles have a poor track record.
/goo.gl/KjdQSc
**Somewhere, Walt Lukken is saying, "Smart regulation, smart regulation, smart regulation..."~JK
++++
Tuesday's Top Three
Yesterday's top read piece was the second most read article from Monday, Global Custodian's HSBC Securities Services global head Cian Burke dies in cycling accident. Second was RCM Alternatives' nice dissection LJM - The Autopsy. Third was Robert Shiller's look at crypto markets in The Old Allure of New Money
++++
MarketsWiki Stats
126,516,173 pages viewed; 23,123 pages; 213,164 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
++++
|
|  | | | |
 | |
| Lead Stories | Sweeping Overhaul of Bank Rules Clears U.S. House
Elizabeth Dexheimer - Bloomberg
The U.S. House has approved a sweeping overhaul of bank regulations, sending to President Donald Trump a bill that will give him a chance to make good on his vow to "do a big number" on the Dodd-Frank Act. Lawmakers voted 258-to-159 Tuesday to advance a measure that is the product of years of financial-industry lobbying to soften post-crisis rules and sensitive negotiations on Capitol Hill to attract bipartisan support needed to get it through the narrowly-divided Senate.
/goo.gl/QZAHWJ
***Other sources - NBC, Washington Post and CNN
Overstock.com unit, BOX to launch security token exchange
Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss - Reuters
Overstock.com unit t0.com (tZERO)and BOX Digital Markets said on Tuesday they plan to launch a regulated exchange for security tokens.
Security tokens are digital representations of financial assets such as stocks, real estate or debt. Analysts said there are several projects in the works that would tokenize these financial assets.
/reut.rs/2LibITr
CFTC Opens Access for U.S. Customers to Trading in Australian Markets
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the approval of Australian Securities Exchange Limited's (ASX 24) application to permit direct access for U.S. customers to trade on its platform. By this order, issued May 15, 2018, ASX 24, a foreign board of trade (FBOT) is registered with the CFTC and allowed to permit members and other participants in the U.S. to trade by direct access on the exchange without having to trade through an intermediary. In order to be registered with the CFTC, an FBOT must be legally organized under its home country regulatory regime and must be subject to relevant regulations and appropriate supervision.
/goo.gl/7rEemz
****Hedgeweek here and Finance Magnates here.
Italy Rout Wipes Five Billion Euros From Bond Futures Market
James Hirai - Bloomberg
Open-interest positions fall by most ever in past week; Expect more volatility in short term, says broker Marzotto
The sell-off in Italian assets has stripped over five billion euros worth of positions from the country's bond futures, the most ever in a week, as the risks around a new government come to fruition for investors.
/goo.gl/ERt9UJ
Citadel Securities ups ETF game as part of growth push
John McCrank - Reuters
Citadel Securities LLC has entered the lead market making business with a small list of exchange-traded funds, and is doubling down on hiring and analytics in 2018 to keep an edge over rival electronic trading firms, according to sources and an internal memo.
/reut.rs/2GGSV0C
Spencer quits frontline City role, or will it be back to the futures?
Harry Wilson - The Times
After more than four decades in the City and nearly 20 years as the chief executive of a public company, Michael Spencer took a step back from the front line of finance yesterday as he presented the final annual results of his electronic trading business as a standalone company. Mr Spencer revealed Nex's results as it prepares to be taken over by CME, the American exchanges operator, which last week won shareholder approval for a £3.9 billion deal with the British company.
/goo.gl/Lgz6PT
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Overstock Subsidiary tZERO Prepares 'First Security Token Exchange'
bitsonline.com
In conjunction with Box Digital Markets, Overstock subsidiary tZERO is preparing to introduce the cryptoverse's inaugural security token exchange. The move continues tZERO CEO Patrick Byrne's push to bring innovation to capital markets' status quo.
bit.ly/2IIjiVO
Stacey Cunningham was born to run the New York Stock Exchange (VIDEO)
CNBC
Richard Grasso, former NYSE chairman and chief executive, discusses Stacey Cunningham's appointment to the presidency of the New York Stock Exchange, the first female president in the NYSE's 226-year history.
/goo.gl/cz5LKQ
NYSE to Launch FANG+ Options on June 4; Offers Efficient Hedging and Exposure to Basket of Key Tech Stocks
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), part of the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), today announced it will launch a new equity option contract on the NYSE FANG+ Index - a new product that offers exposure to a select group of highly-traded next generation technology and tech-enabled companies. The NYSE FANG+ Index Option contract will trade in the United States exclusively on the NYSE's options markets, NYSE Arca and NYSE American, beginning Monday, June 11.
/goo.gl/76FAw7
CME amends feeder cattle futures, options contract rules
Reuters
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange will amend the feeder cattle futures contract rule to include cattle identified in the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports as fancy, thin, fleshy, gaunt or full in the calculation of CME's feeder cattle index price, the exchange said in a release on Tuesday.
/reut.rs/2Lkq0D6
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | UK fintech 35 under 35: Top young entrepreneurs, engineers, and marketers
Oscar Williams-Grut - Business Insider
Fintech is a big business in the UK.
The British Treasury has now held two conferences to promote the country's burgeoning financial technology industry on the world stage and the government estimates that the entire sector is worth £7 billion to the UK economy. That's up from almost nothing a decade ago.
/read.bi/2IXrwwC
Sterling Trading Tech Welcomes Brazil Broker Dealer Nova Futura To Global Trading Network
PRNewswire
Sterling Trading Tech (STT) welcomes its newest international client to its global trading presence, Nova Futura, a leading independent Brazilian brokerage firm.
/prn.to/2Lixvud
Goldman Sachs-Backed Fintech Startup Plaid Heads to Canada
Jen Wieczner - Fortune
Consumers who have ever used an app to manage any aspect of their finances have most likely used PlaidÂeven if they didn't know it.
Fintech companies from robo-advisors to budget trackers to lenders all depend on the little-known startup. Based in San Francisco, Plaid provides the technology that allows consumers to connect their bank accounts to a plethora of mobile apps, including Venmo (for free payments), Robinhood (no-commission stock-trading), robo-advisors Betterment and Wealthfront, and Coinbase (a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange).
/for.tn/2J2PlmG
Hedge fund billionaire Dan Loeb seeks to raise $400M to target fintech
Carleton English - NY Post
Billionaire hedge funder Dan Loeb is looking to play in the emerging financial technology space.
The hedgie behind Third Point is looking to raise $400 million for Far Point Acquisition Corp., a so-called "blank check" acquisition company, he revealed in a regulatory filing.
/nyp.st/2khOHnq
CCRManager Talks FinTech And Trade Finance
PYMNTS.com
With a market gap as wide as $1.5 trillion, it's no wonder the trade finance industry has landed the attention of FinTechs at a lightning pace in recent years. Much of that focus occurs in the form of alternative lenders introducing new avenues through which businesses can access trade finance services that they cannot access through a traditional bank.
But research suggests that FinTech is struggling to make a dent in the $1.5 trillion trade finance gap (as estimated by the Asian Development Bank).
bit.ly/2IZsicB
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin Trading App Coinigy Lets You Buy, Sell Cryptocurrency
American Inno
The cryptocurrency world may be coming down from its high in early 2018, but one Milwaukee startup believes there's still plenty of demand for trading bitcoin and other digital currencies, and it just launched an app to give serious crypto traders the tools they need to buy, sell and manage their portfolios on the go. Coinigy, founded in 2014, has developed a steady user base since it launched its web app. The company has around 80,000 users, roughly half of which pay around $20 per month for the productÂwhich offers data on more than 40 exchanges and the ability for users to trade on nearly 20 exchanges.
bit.ly/2GJSy5G
Bitcoin could be another failed currency, Robert Shiller says
Kate Rooney - CNBC
Cryptocurrencies mirror some of the most famous failed currency experiments throughout history, according to Nobel-winning economist Robert Shiller.
Enthusiasm around the thousands of existing cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, remains strong despite warnings from investors such as Warren Buffett that they're worthless. That mania and attempts to launch new units of money have existed in different forms since the 1800s, Shiller said.
/cnb.cx/2J29NUE
We're Not Running Any Crypto Scams, Regardless of What Twitter Says
Olga Kharif and Lily Katz - Bloomberg
Crooks spoofed the Twitter accounts of two Bloomberg reporters to separate their followers from their money.
/goo.gl/EjkS2C
Fed Reserve's Kashkari Rips Cryptocurrency Market: 'It Has Become a Farce'
Samantha Chang - CCN
Neel Kashkari, the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, slammed the cryptocurrency industry, saying it has become a "farce" due to unregulated chaos and escalating fraud.
Kashkari made the biting remarks at Bay College in Escanaba, Michigan, on May 21, where he expressed dismay at the proliferation of scams in the nascent crypto ecosystem.
bit.ly/2kkfkIs
ICO Shareholder Suits Booming, Says SEC Fintech Leader
Ted Knutson - Forbes
There are a lot of class action shareholder suits against initial coin offering issuers alleging fraud and claiming the offerings were not registered with regulators, Securities and Exchange Commission Distributed Ledger Technology Working Group Chief Valerie Szczepanik said Monday.
Distributed ledger technology encompasses blockchain and other fintech systems.
bit.ly/2knjW0B
GST On Bitcoin: India Mulls GST On Trading Of Virtual Currencies
Nikunj Ohri - Bloomberg
India may levy Goods and Services Tax on cryptocurrency trading, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, even as there's lack of clarity about their legal status in the country.
The government may levy an 18 percent GST, the people said requesting anonymity as they weren't authorised to speak to the media. The proposal, being considered by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, will be tabled before the GST Council after it's finalised, they said.
bit.ly/2klwNQK
Fugees founder brings blockchain to your smartphone
Kate Rooney - CNBC
Grammy-award winning rapper and founding member of the Fugees Pras Michel is launching a blockchain-enabled smartphone that lets users earn dividends on every purchase.
The phone is part of Michel's digital platform Blacture, which was announced in a 2018 Super Bowl ad, and celebrates black culture through content and technology. The first retail move for Blacture is the launch of Motif, a $300 smartphone that hits stores this fall.
/cnb.cx/2kkceEk
Circle Targets Cryptocurrency Rookies With Coin Investing App
Lily Katz - Bloomberg
Circle Internet Financial Ltd., a mobile-payments and cryptocurrency-trading firm backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is making a push to become the go-to destination for first-time Bitcoin buyers.
/goo.gl/NHh2QW
Major Banks Pilot Successful Thailand-Singapore Blockchain Remittance
Samburaj Das - CCN
A joint effort by major banks in south-east Asia has led to a successful blockchain-powered cross-border funds transfer in real-time from Thailand to Singapore.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya - commonly referred to as Krungsri - revealed a successful pilot test involving an international remittance from a domestic bank account to a Standard Chartered account in Singapore using its own blockchain, dubbed the Krungsri Blockchain Ledger.
bit.ly/2J5oJ4N
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | How Congress Rolled Back Banking Rules in a Rare Bipartisan Deal
Ryan Tracy and Andrew Ackerman - WSJ
Ten days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump promised to "do a big number" on the Dodd-Frank law that tightened rules on financial firms after the 2008 crisis. Behind the scenes, his then top economic adviser and a powerful senator settled on a less ambitious plan. And in recent weeks, Mr. Trump called a senior House lawmaker, urging him to move forward despite objections from Republicans who wanted broader changes.
/goo.gl/bQippB
Can anything stop foreign government favors to Trump?
Associated Press
First came news that a Chinese government-owned company had signed on to help build an Indonesian project that will include a Donald Trump-branded hotel and golf course. Then, days later, the president tweeted that his administration would ease sanctions against a Chinese smartphone maker accused of espionage. "Too many jobs in China lost," he wrote.
/goo.gl/GmciQS
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Lawmakers Officially Forget the Financial Crisis Now it's up to the Fed to prepare for the next one.
The Editors - Bloomberg
The U.S. Congress might have just set a record for shortness of memory: Just 10 years after a crisis that nearly brought down the global financial system, it's loosening the safeguards designed to prevent a repeat. Now it's up to regulators  and specifically the Federal Reserve  to ensure that the backsliding doesn't go too far.
/goo.gl/b23jxY
Too Big to Fix: No One Can Figure Out What to Do With Fannie and Freddie
Joe Light - Bloomberg
Latest talks on resolving companies are stuck on old problems; Mnuchin pushed solution to 2019; some think it'll take longer
Will anyone ever fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
/bloom.bg/2x197tW
Musk's Stock-Option Tweet May Invite U.S. Labor Board Complaint
Dana Hull and Josh Eidelson - Bloomberg
The United Auto Workers has been Elon Musk's target for days of derision on Twitter, and his posts may open Tesla Inc. up to trouble with U.S. labor regulators.
/goo.gl/P4r74S
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Why Copper Is Missing Out on the Commodities Rally; Investors fear protectionist trade policies, a possible slowdown in China and troubling signs in Europe and Japan
Amrith Ramkumar - WSJ
After hitting a nearly four-year high in 2017, copper prices have slumped this year, a worrying signal for the global economy even as stocks, oil and other markets have rebounded.
/goo.gl/kyVfzY
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Barclays has no plans for tie-up with rival banks: sources
Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise - Reuters
Barclays Plc (BARC.L) is not actively exploring a potential merger with rivals, two sources close to the bank said, as speculation mounts about how the British lender plans to defend itself against activist investor Edward Bramson.
/goo.gl/vwLSQr
Barclays explores mergers with rival banks; Private talks with StanChart form part of contingency plans after investor pressure
Martin Arnold, Patrick Jenkins and Caroline Binham - Financial Times
Barclays has been privately exploring a possible merger with rival international banks, including Standard Chartered, in response to pressure from an activist investor who has become one of its biggest shareholders.
/goo.gl/tDGi87
US has more than 5,600 banks. Consolidation is coming
Ben McLannahan - FT
The US's banks have largely sat out the mergers and acquisitions wave of recent years. While deal records have fallen in almost every other sector, big banks have done almost nothing, shrinking rather than expanding. And merger activity among small and mid-sized banks  some 5,607 of them, at last count  has been subdued.
/goo.gl/SBzndv
Ellevest caters to the needs of female investors
Kellie Ell - CNBC
Men outnumber women as financial advisors, Wall Street traders, mutual-fund managers and hedge-fund managers.
"It's not ... particularly surprising that industries that are dominated by men tend to do a better job for men," says Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a female-focused financial advisory firm.
Ellevest helps female investors understand the unique set of obstacles they face as women.
/goo.gl/C2GqjR
Managing This Bond ETF Is Like Solving a $55 Billion Rubik's Cube
Liz McCormick - Bloomberg
If you think running a passive bond fund is a formulaic task that a robot could do, think again.
When your underlying index is filled with thousands of fixed-income securities, tracking it isn't exactly a simple task. The crux of the problem: It's essentially impossible to own every note and bond in the benchmark.
/bloom.bg/2x0kp1L
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | How Bad Can Things Get for Italian Markets? Rome's prospective antiestablishment government has shocked markets, with bond yields jumping higher on the potential for anti-euro policy positions
Mike Bird - WSJ
The prospective antiestablishment government of Italy has shocked markets, with bond yields jumping higher on the potential for anti-euro policy positions and a burst of new government spending.
/goo.gl/49TjSq
Meet the Startup Building a Market From Scratch to Become Africa's Alibaba; Tech firm Jumia has drawn backers including Goldman Sachs
Matina Stevis-Gridneff - WSJ
KenyaÂOn safari for the rare African tech unicorn, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other big-name investors think they have spotted a winner in Jumia, the continent's aspiring Alibaba.
/goo.gl/jv7uk9
Turkish lira hits record low, down 20 percent against dollar this year
Daren Butler, Behiye Selin Taner - Reuters
The Turkish lira tumbled more than 5 percent on Wednesday before recovering some ground, the latest drop in a sell-off that reflects growing investor alarm over the direction of monetary policy under President Tayyip Erdogan.
/goo.gl/rSMn4h
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Brexit | | Financials stories regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union | How Britain's departure from the EU stretches to mid-2020s; Brexit negotiators on both sides agree process will struggle on through next decade
Alex Barker - FT
One practical reality is starting to register in Brexit talks: extracting the UK smoothly from the EU will be a process that stretches into the mid-2020s.
/goo.gl/zUHNMM
Boris Johnson Wants His Own Jet to Sell Brexit
Tim Ross - Bloomberg
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wants his own plane to fly around the world so that he can promote the U.K. as a global trading nation as it prepares to leave the European Union.
/goo.gl/gC7Emh
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Here's How Much Money You Need for Bankers to Think You're Rich
Suzanne Woolley - Bloomberg
Just how rich is "rich?" The answer, of course, depends on who's askingÂand these days, many are.
/goo.gl/KTfpmy
Why JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon puts work 'literally last' on his priority list
Ruth Umoh - CNBC
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is the chairperson of one of the world's most valuable banks. But that doesn't mean he focuses all of his time and attention on work. In fact, in a wide-ranging interview with CNBC's "Squawk Alley," Dimon says his secret to a successful life is to prioritize his family.
/goo.gl/F9CVL4
Jeff Bezos named his role models, and Jamie Dimon is one of them
Sally French - MarketWatch
As the head of a vast business empire and the richest person on earth, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos may well come to mind as an obvious idol for many budding entrepreneurs. But who are the people he seeks to emulate?
/goo.gl/1WoYx7
|
| | | |
|
| |
Disclaimer: All John Lothian Newsletters, JohnLothianNews.com, MarketsWiki.com and MarketsReformWiki.com are products of John Lothian News, a division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. The opinions expressed in all John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. publications are strictly those of their respective editors. They are intended solely for informative purposes and are not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted. Security futures are not suitable for all customers. Futures and options trading involve risk. Past results are no indication of future performance. Nothing on any John J. Lothian & Company site should be considered an endorsement by any sponsor of any website or newsletter content.
© 2018 John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
