| July 07, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Marex is reportedly nearing a $235 million deal to buy the bulk of ED&F Man's brokerage. This is a complicated relationship, as Marex was once the London arm of Refco that Man Financial did not buy when it bought Refco to form MF Global. Man Financial was spun out of Man Group, which was spun out of ED&F Man's commodity business when the hedge fund and the commodity business were separated. Confused yet? Bloomberg has the story.
The Wall Street Journal has a video of its investigation revealing a secret Russian smuggling network formed to steal Ukrainian grain.
Bill Ackman donated $18,000 for the toddler who was orphaned in the Highland Park shooting. The billionaire investor was one of 37,000 people who responded to a GoFundMe campaign to raise $500K for the two-year-old whose parents were both killed in the July 4th shooting. The fund ultimately raised more than $2 million in less than 24 hours, Bloomberg reported.
ISDA published a commentary by CEO Scott O'Malia titled "Understanding Trading in the EU." It is short and easy, maybe too easy.
John McPartland's employer, the firm Hidden Road, has raised $50 million in a series A fundraising round led by Castle Island Ventures with participation from Citadel Securities, FTX Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Greycroft, XBTO Humla Ventures, Wintermute, SLN Capital, Profluent Trading, Coinbase Ventures and Corner Capital, among other global investors.
The CME Group announced plans to expand its suite of E-Mini sector index futures with the addition of six new contracts on August 8, pending approval from the friendly regulators. The contracts include E-mini S&P Regional Banks Select Industry futures, E-mini S&P Insurance Select Industry futures, E-mini S&P Biotechnology Select Industry futures, E-mini S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Select Industry futures, E-mini S&P Retail Select Industry futures and E-mini PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index futures.
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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Industry Degrees for ESG Future; College students see energy transition marginalizing industry; Number of new oil grads seen plunging 83% from 5 years ago
Diana Li - Bloomberg
Scott Lindberg's dream of becoming a petroleum engineer was fueled by childhood drives through Texas oil country with his energy-consultant father, passing pumpjacks and pipeline hubs that kept the world's biggest economy humming. But after recently graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a petroleum-engineering degree, Lindberg is turning his back on the oil industry and plans to attend law school instead. His disenchantment is rooted in concern that fossil fuels may not have much of a future given increasing pressure from politicians, activists and investors to pivot toward more climate-friendly energy sources.
/jlne.ws/3NPruEg
****** There is an old story that says when you build something new on a college campus, don't put in the sidewalks until you see where the college kids walk. I think the same thing applies here. ~JJL
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HKEX Loses Two Sustainability Veterans, Adding to Turnover; The city's bourse is seeing a string of executive departures; HK has ambitions to become a hub for ESG-related business
Kiuyan Wong - Bloomberg
The Hong Kong stock exchange lost two heads leading its green and sustainability initiatives in recent weeks, adding to the bourse's turnover as Hong Kong sees a drain in financial talent. Head of Group Strategy Till Rosar and Co-Head of Emerging Business Development Julien Martin are leaving Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. to pursue interests outside the company, the company said in an emailed statement. Glenda So, co-head of markets, is leading HKEX's sustainability and climate-related efforts, a spokesperson said.
/jlne.ws/3agWVKk
***** There are new leaders coming, paving new sidewalks, so don't worry.~JJL
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Burnt out on quant trading and Chicago winters, Danny Jachowski quit to invent new pricing models in the stodgy insurance world
Alex Morrell - Business Insider
To some, it might've seemed like an odd move: Leaving Jump Trading, a premier name in proprietary trading, and joining a startup that didn't even have a name. But Danny Jachowski had his reasons. For one, nearly a decade of Chicago winters had worn on him and the Maui-raised and Stanford-educated machine learning expert wanted a less bone-chilling climate. More importantly, Jachowski was growing bored with the lucrative but Sisyphean world of quant trading and was itching to tackle something that could have a greater impact on society. "You go in every day and you're solving the same problem. You're trying to predict where the price of X will be on a time horizon," Jachowski said. "It just became a little stale."
/jlne.ws/3nGuVCS
****** We do miss the testosterone-filled days of the trading floors.~JJL
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JW Marriott Chicago heads to auction block; One of the biggest Loop hotels facing COVID-induced financial distress, JW Marriott's trip through foreclosure is nearing an end.
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
The JW Marriott Chicago hotel is going up for auction this week, a step toward the completion of one of the largest downtown commercial foreclosures since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 610-room hotel at 151 W. Adams St. is scheduled for a July 8 sheriff's foreclosure sale, according to a notice of the event from the Illinois Foreclosure Listing Service. A Cook County judge issued an order of foreclosure in March against the property's owner—a venture of Orlando, Fla.-based Estein USA—which defaulted last year on its $203.5 million loan tied to the hotel, court records show.
/jlne.ws/3alsCSB
***** The loop hospitality business is not looking so good.~JJL
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Ken Griffin and J.B. Pritzker's secret meeting: The origin of a political feud; The newly elected governor and the state's richest man met for a secret breakfast three years ago. But instead of peace, what followed was three years of war. What happened?
Greg Hinz - Crain's Chicago Business
Was there a way for two of Illinois' richest residents to reach peace and avoid a years-long war, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker getting the tax revenue he wanted to run the state and Citadel's Ken Griffin keeping both his residence and his company headquarters in Illinois? Much of the answer to that question lies in what happened at a previously undisclosed, one-on-one meeting between the two billionaires in the early days of the Pritzker administration. There are some striking similarities between what the two sides are saying now about the session—and some striking differences. On balance, what happened then tells a lot about how a possible understanding of sorts instead became an expensive and nasty all-out feud that has dominated Illinois politics for years. This meeting set the tone.
/jlne.ws/3OR1YzQ
****** At least they talked so their million dollar battle is personal, not imagined.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top story Wednesday was Michael Lewis: 'The thing that really works for Trump is: the system's rigged', from The Financial Times. Second, for its fifth time in the top three, was Business Insider's A hedge fund manager who moved to Miami from Chicago breaks down the pros and cons of living in the Magic City for employees of Ken Griffin's Citadel — from food to crime to the weather. Third was Nodal Exchange and IncubEx Collaborate to Launch First-of-their-kind Environmental Futures & Options, from IncubEx.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | The US Industrial Complex Is Starting to Buckle From High Power Costs; Surging bills are forcing companies to scale back industrial operations, threatening a greater drag on the economy.
Joe Deaux and Naureen S Malik - Bloomberg
It was only a matter of time, really. Europe's fertilizer plants, steel mills, and chemical manufacturers were the first to succumb. Massive paper mills, soybean processors, and electronics factories in Asia went dark. Now soaring natural gas and electricity prices are starting to hit the US industrial complex. On June 22, 600 workers at the second-largest aluminum mill in America, accounting for 20% of US supply, learned they were losing their jobs because the plant can't afford an electricity tab that's tripled in a matter of months. Century Aluminum Co. says it'll idle the Hawesville, Kentucky, mill for as long as a year, taking out the biggest of its three US sites. A shutdown like this can take a month as workers carefully swirl the molten metal into storage so it doesn't solidify in pipes and vessels and turn the entire facility into a useless brick. Restarting takes another six to nine months. For this reason, owners don't halt operations unless they've exhausted all other options.
/jlne.ws/3Rjr3Fu
A Global Famine Is Still an Avoidable Disaster; Putin's desire to maintain Russia's status as a leading grain exporter gives the U.S. and its allies leverage to try to restore Ukraine's unhindered access to global commodity markets.
Leonid Bershidsky - Bloomberg
The EU and the US accuse Russia of creating a global food crisis with its Ukraine invasion. Yale history professor Timothy Snyder even finds ominous historical parallels between the current goings-on and the famine in Ukraine — and parts of Russia — caused by the Bolshevik collectivization in the early 1930s. "Putin has a hunger plan," Snyder recently tweeted.
/jlne.ws/3AyDMOt
CME Group to Launch Six New E-mini Sector Index Futures on August 8
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to expand its suite of Sector futures with the addition of six new contracts on August 8, pending regulatory review. These new contracts will include:
E-mini S&P Regional Banks Select Industry futures
E-mini S&P Insurance Select Industry futures
E-mini S&P Biotechnology Select Industry futures
E-mini S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Select Industry futures
E-mini S&P Retail Select Industry futures
E-mini PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index futures
/jlne.ws/3Rhiifa
Marex Nears $235 Million Deal for Bulk of ED&F Man Brokerage
Isis Almeida and Mark Burton - Bloomberg
Marex Group is close to a deal to buy the bulk of ED&F Man Holdings Ltd.'s brokerage business for about $235 million, cementing its position as one of London's largest commodities dealers, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussions over the sale of ED&F Man Capital Markets are in the final stages and an announcement on the progress of the talks could come as early as this week, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the terms of the deal. The sale would be one of the last big steps in restructuring ED&F Man after the trader -- best known for hauling sugar and coffee -- got the green light to ring-fence its commodities business and restructure about $1 billion in debt beyond 2025.
/jlne.ws/3IkqAP3
Boris Johnson bows to pressure and quits as Conservative leader; Prime minister says timing of contest to replace him will be announced next week
George Parker, Jim Pickard and Sebastian Payne - FT
Boris Johnson has announced his "painful" resignation but defied pressure to step down immediately as prime minister, insisting he would remain in office until a new Conservative party leader is chosen.
/jlne.ws/3nGYPHb
Boris Johnson: the entertainer who tried to defy political gravity; UK prime minister once united people in amusement but ended up uniting them in contempt
Henry Mance - FT
Twenty years ago, Boris Johnson, then editor of The Spectator magazine, was hosting the BBC quiz show Have I Got News for You when he struggled to work out which team had got the correct answer. "You edit a magazine?!" mocked one of the regular panellists, Paul Merton. "What on earth are the editorial meetings like?"
/jlne.ws/3ahVLy9
Sterling Markets Are Right to Ignore Politics; What's happening in the economy is far more important than the drama at Downing Street.
Marcus Ashworth - Bloomberg
UK financial markets have remained indifferent to the soap opera playing out in UK politics in recent days, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally announcing his resignation on Wednesday. The only Britons not rivetted by the drama at No. 10 are those who trade British pounds, UK equities and gilts for a living. For them, the economic backdrop remains more important than who leads the government.
/jlne.ws/3RkIkOn
Crypto Tumult Highlights Lack of Investor Protections; Trading platforms don't have the insurance offered to customers of traditional banks, brokers
Dave Michaels and Andrew Ackerman - WSJ
Cryptocurrency investors are learning that there is no government safety net to protect them when their funds seemingly disappear with a trading and lending platform that has failed. Federal regulators have warned for years that crypto trading platforms and other dealers of crypto assets don't offer customary protections for investors and savers that apply when banks or brokerage firms fail.
/jlne.ws/3nLGuZs
Tycoon Whose Bet Broke the Nickel Market Walks Away a Billionaire; Nickel's 'Big Shot' is moving on, but the market is still reeling.
Alfred Cang, Jack Farchy, and Mark Burton - Bloomberg
By 2:08 p.m. Shanghai time on March 8, it was clear that Xiang Guangda's giant bet on a fall in nickel prices was going spectacularly wrong. Futures had just skyrocketed above $100,000 a ton and his trade was more than $10 billion underwater. It was threatening not only to bankrupt Xiang's company, but to trigger a Lehman Brothers-like shock through the entire metals industry and possibly topple the London Metal Exchange itself.
/jlne.ws/3yJMR5L
Europe Is at Center of New Wave of Covid Infections, WHO Says; Covid cases rising globally, but weekly death rate is stable; World no longer hostage to virus with better tools to fight it
Deirdre Hipwell - Bloomberg
Europe is at the center of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections as more people mix at large-scale events and travel, according to the World Health Organization. "We are seeing a much more intense wave of the disease passing through Europe again," Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said at a media briefing Wednesday. "And we will see it happen elsewhere -- we are already seeing it in South East Asia and in the eastern Mediterranean region as well."
/jlne.ws/3ABTJ6z
Crypto Billionaire's Firm Is All Things to Bankrupt Voyager; Alameda Reseach is lender, borrower, holder of crypto broker;l Interconnectedness among crypto players seen as risk to space
Yueqi Yang and Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
The bankruptcy filing by crypto broker Voyager Digital Ltd. provides a road map of the company's relationships, including borrowers, lenders and investors. It turns out Alameda Research, the trading firm co-founded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is all three.
/jlne.ws/3yl9f3X
In Voyager Bankruptcy, Crypto Trading Firm Alameda Is Creditor, Shareholder and Borrower; Sam Bankman-Fried's firm borrowed almost $400 million in crypto from Voyager
Vicky Ge Huang and Alexander Osipovich - WSJ
Crypto trading firm Alameda Research provided emergency credit lines to the now-bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital Ltd., in which it owned a minority stake. Bankruptcy filings show Alameda was also a customer. Alameda, founded by the crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, borrowed $376.8 million worth of cryptocurrencies from Voyager, the filings in the New York bankruptcy court show, paying rates between 1% and 11.5%.
/jlne.ws/3OUlbB0
Brokers Get Unfair Profits From Lending Stock, Pension Funds Say
Bill Alpert - Barron's
Five of Wall Street's biggest brokers are a step closer to defending class-action claims that they conspired to wring unfair profits from the nearly $2 trillion dollar market for stock loans. A successful class-action case could crimp profits at the prime brokerage units of defendants Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, the J.P. Morgan unit of JPMorgan Chase, and the Merrill Lynch unit of Bank of America.
/jlne.ws/3yg7mW8
UK fund managers lobby for approval of blockchain-traded funds; Investment Association says utilising digital ledgers would cut administration costs
Chris Flood - FT
Britain's asset management industry is pushing the government to establish a new class of fund employing blockchain technology, highlighting how financial firms are tapping the architecture that underlies the crypto market. The Investment Association, the trade body representing the UK's asset management industry which oversees close to £10tn for clients worldwide, will call on Thursday for the government and City regulator to work "at pace" to approve blockchain-traded funds that will issue digital tokens to investors instead of traditional shares or fund units.
/jlne.ws/3nLLSvE
EU Set to Ease IPO Rules to Lure $47 Billion Deep Tech Funding
Jillian Deutsch - Bloomberg
The European Union wants to increase the number of deep tech startups in Europe by attracting 45 billion euros ($47 billion) in private money and making it easier for founders to keep control of a firm once it goes public. The EU Listing Act, which is set to be put forward in the second half of this year, will allow "founders and families to retain control post-listing, while raising a larger amount of funds and enjoying the benefits associated to listing," according to a draft of a new digital innovation strategy seen by Bloomberg News.
/jlne.ws/3nKTVcg
AT&T Asks Judge to Throw Out SEC Suit Over Disclosures to Analysts
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
AT&T Inc. and three of its employees asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit by a federal regulator claiming they selectively disclosed nonpublic information about the company's finances to certain analysts. At a hearing in Manhattan on Wednesday, they said the data was already public and that investors wouldn't have considered the revelations important enough to influence their decisions anyway.
/jlne.ws/3RiEEgj
Voyager Account Holders Likely Won't Get All Their Crypto Back
Jeremy Hill - Bloomberg
Account holders at now-bankrupt Voyager Digital Ltd. shouldn't expect to get all their crypto back as the company reorganizes. The crypto brokerage and lender filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late Tuesday, renewing unresolved legal questions about how digital assets will interact with US insolvency law. One thing is certain: Voyager doesn't intend to simply give users back their Bitcoin, Ether and other assets stored on the platform.
/jlne.ws/3bYsrgg
Investors Take Bitcoin Off Exchanges as Crypto Winter Settles In; Crypto whales withdrawing funds from exchanges, Glassnode Says; Coinbase overtaken by Binance as most popular Bitcoin exchange
Immanual John Milton - Bloomberg
As the crypto winter deepens, only the staunchest Bitcoin investors are still holding onto their tokens -- but not on the exchanges. Investors in the world's biggest cryptocurrency are going into hibernation mode with on-chain activity dropping by 13% in early July from November's highs -- levels last seen in the bear phases of 2018 and 2019 when Bitcoin was worth less than $10,000 -- according to a Glassnode analysis.
/bloom.bg/3IjAAZ5
Monthly Activity Report; As the leading institutional, wholesale and retail marketplace for fixed income, derivatives and ETF trading, we believe that market participants will better understand the real impact of e-trading with more centralized access to data on our market activity.
Tradeweb
Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was $1.24tn, an increase of 18.0 percent (%) year-over-year (YoY). For the second quarter of 2022, total trading volume was $72.6tn and ADV was a record $1.18tn, an increase of 20.4% YoY. Average daily trades for the month totaled 101,935. In June, Tradeweb reported record ADV in swaps/ swaptions = 1-year. For the second quarter of 2022, Tradeweb reported record ADV in swaps/swaptions = 1-year, fully electronic U.S. High Grade credit, municipal bonds and Repurchase Agreements.
/jlne.ws/2TwpBEI
Understanding Trading in the EU; ISDA Chief Executive Officer Scott O'Malia offers informal comments on important OTC derivatives issues in derivatiViews, reflecting ISDA's long-held commitment to making the market safer and more efficient.
ISDA
As the EU considers changes to its Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and regulation (MIFID II/MIFIR), new ISDA research on derivatives trading in the region shows some interesting trends. Importantly, it confirms the post-crisis commitment of the Group-of-20 nations to move standardized over-the-counter derivatives to electronic trading platforms or exchanges where appropriate has largely been achieved in the EU.
/jlne.ws/3bNzFDP
Rajeev Misra steps back from SoftBank to launch new fund; Former trader turned Japanese conglomerate into world's biggest technology investor
Arash Massoudi - FT
Rajeev Misra, the trader who helped transform SoftBank into the world's biggest and most controversial technology investor, is stepping back from his role at the Japanese company to launch a new fund.
/jlne.ws/3usGz8g
Private equity platform doubles assets under management; Moonfare aims to open up the asset class to a wider group of investors
Joshua Oliver - FT
Private equity platform Moonfare has topped EUR2bn in assets under management as the asset class, historically reserved for the ultra-wealthy, has become more open to everyday investors, raising new opportunities and risks.
/jlne.ws/3P5oViy
Rethinking the value of collateral for money markets; When it comes to QE and QT, quality counts
Manmohan Singh - FT
Two recent Federal Reserve papers have argued that the balance sheet run-off (or shrinking in the size of its asset holdings) is equivalent to tightening. A Federal Reserve Board of Governors paper by Edmund Crawley et al says $2.5tn of Fed balance sheet unwind would approximately equate to a 0.50 percentage point of tightening, or 20 basis points per trillion dollars. Meanwhile, Stefania D'Amico and Tim Seida of the Chicago Fed analyse 10 year US Treasury bonds data to reach an estimate of 25 bps per trillion dollars.
/jlne.ws/3yn6CyK
Europe's biggest biogas producer warns EU targets unachievable; Head of Denmark's Nature Energy says it will take years to ramp up capacity
Harry Dempsey and Alice Hancock - FT
Europe's largest biogas producer has warned that it will take years to significantly boost production despite the EU pushing for a rapid increase in output to reduce reliance on Russian gas.
/jlne.ws/3P0Q3zk
Whither Britain's crypto masterplan? A government on the brink means fear, uncertainty and doubt pervade plans to launch a Treasury NFT
George Steer - FT
Global Britain's position at the cutting edge of crypto was plunged into doubt this week following the shock resignations of chancellor NFT enthusiast Rishi Sunak and city minister fintech bro John Glen.
/jlne.ws/3ReHItD
Meme stock madness - how the 'superbroker' business model challenges market infrastructure and risk management; Vinod Jain, senior analyst at Aite-Novarica Group, looks at how the meme stock events of January 2021 challenge the "superbroker" business model.
The Trade
The "superbroker" business model pioneered by Robinhood took advantage of digital advancement, accelerated the adoption of gamification, revolutionised the account opening process and made it easier than ever to participate in the stock market. With so much to offer, it looked revolutionary and still is. But the meme stock events of January 2021 challenge the business model, revealing deficiencies exploited by this new generation of retail superbrokers.
/jlne.ws/3yOrMqS
Hidden Road Raises $50 Million in Series A Led By Castle Island Ventures
Hidden Road Partners
Hidden Road, the global credit network for institutional investors, today announced it has recently closed a $50 million Series A, led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Citadel Securities, FTX Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Greycroft, XBTO Humla Ventures, Wintermute, SLN Capital, Profluent Trading, Coinbase Ventures and Corner Capital, among other global investors.
/jlne.ws/3ypDOFD
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russia taking 'operational pause' in Ukraine, analysts say
Maria Grazia Murru And Oleksandr Stashevskyi - AP
Foreign analysts say Russia may be temporarily easing its offensive in Ukraine as the Russian military attempts to reassemble its forces for a renewed assault. On Wednesday, Russian forces made no claimed or assessed territorial gains in Ukraine "for the first time in 133 days of war," according to the Institute for the Study of War. The think tank based in Washington suggested that Moscow may be taking an "operational pause," but that it does not entail "the complete cessation of active hostilities."
/jlne.ws/3nIqzuU
Ukraine raises flag on recaptured island as Russia consolidates gains in east
Max Hunder and Simon Lewis - Reuters
Ukrainian forces raised their national flag on a recaptured Black Sea island on Thursday in a defiant act against Moscow, but Kyiv lost a main international supporter after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would step down.
/jlne.ws/3Pd7jl5
Russia Targets Europe With a Commodity Weapon: Kazakh Crude
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin has found another weapon to use against European countries supporting Ukraine -- Kazakhstan's crude -- and it will cost him almost nothing, writes Bloomberg oil strategist Julian Lee. While a grace period ticks down before European sanctions on Russian oil kick in on Dec. 5 and the G7 group of industrialized countries considers a price cap on Moscow's crude exports, Putin is getting his retaliation in early. A court in the town of Novorossiysk has ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to halt shipments from its Black Sea export terminal for a month as punishment for violating oil spill regulations.
/jlne.ws/3aiCjRE
Romania Reopens Soviet-Era Rail Line to Aid Ukraine Grain Sales; Country fixed link connecting Danube port of Galati to Ukraine; Ukraine's exports have slumped with Black Sea ports blocked
Andra Timu and Irina Vilcu - Bloomberg
Romania reopened a Soviet-era rail link connecting its Danube River port of Galati to Ukraine a month earlier than expected to help boost vital grain exports from its neighbor.
/jlne.ws/3Au4MP5
Russia prepares to mobilise economy for longer war in Ukraine; Bills to support military will increase control over businesses as Moscow aims to withstand sanctions pressure
Polina Ivanova - FT
Russia will give the state greater control over private business and workers in order to put the economy on a stronger war footing, signalling that the country is preparing for the long haul in its battle for control of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3bVhk7Y
Kremlin official suggests Russia could one day try to reclaim Alaska from the US
Cheryl Teh - Business Insider
A Russian official this week threatened the US over the freezing of Russian assets, urging it to remember that Alaska was once part of Russia's territory. "Let America always remember: there is a part of its territory that is Russia — Alaska," Vyacheslav Volodin, a Putin ally and speaker of the Russian parliament's lower house, said on Wednesday, according to multiple media outlets.
/jlne.ws/3bPFwbL
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | HKEX CEO Sees China Giants Moving to Primary H.K. Listing
Kiuyan Wong and John Cheng - Bloomberg
Hong Kong is likely to see more dual-traded companies shift toward primary listings in the financial hub as they seek inclusion in trading links with mainland China, according to the city's exchange chief. In a wide-ranging interview that also covered topics including Hong Kong's quarantine policy and China's support for the city's global role, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin said more companies with secondary shares in Hong Kong are considering primary listings while others may be forced to do so by market rules as more of their trading volume migrates to the city. The most prominent dual-listed company currently excluded from the Stock Connect with China is e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
/jlne.ws/3yP3a1q
Eurex sees growth bounce for interest rate derivatives; In addition to strong figures related to interest rate derivatives, Eurex also saw total repo volumes increase by 54% year-on-year.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Eurex has released its June 2022 figures revealing strong growth in a number of sectors, with interest rate derivatives showing the strongest year-on-year growth. Interest rate derivatives saw an increase of 42% year-on-year from 57.9 million traded contracts to 82.0 million, while index derivatives grew by 28% from 77.9 million traded contratcs to 99.3 million.
/jlne.ws/3yfQG1a
Cboe Global Markets Reports Trading Volume for June 2022
Cboe Global Markets
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today reported June monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines and provided guidance for selected revenue per contract/net revenue capture metrics for the second quarter of 2022.
The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain June trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines.
/jlne.ws/3NQvmoT
EBS Market on CME Globex Notice
CME Group
Topics in this issue include: Critical Information; Product Changes;
Announcements and Additional Resources.
/bit.ly/3yOf1N0
Expansion of the Listing Schedule of the Three-Month SOFR Futures Contract
CME Group
Effective Sunday, July 24, 2022, for trade date Monday, July 25, 2022, and pending all relevant CFTC regulatory review periods, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. ("CME" or "Exchange") will expand the listing schedule of the Three-Month SOFR Futures contract (the "Contract") for trading on the CME Globex electronic trading platform ("CME Globex") and for submission for clearing via CME ClearPort as noted in the table below.
/bit.ly/3PcwbJo
EEX Group Monthly Volumes - June 2022
EEX
EEX Group reports its June volumes with the following highlights: Power; Natural Gas; Environmentals; Agricultural Products.
/bit.ly/3In4RpR
Euronext announces volumes for June 2022
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announced trading volumes for June 2022.
/bit.ly/3bQ6zDT
Moscow Exchange publishes 2021 Sustainability Report
MOEX
The Moscow Exchange has published its Sustainability Report 2021 . For the first time, the compliance of the report with the international standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) was confirmed by an independent auditor, the FBK audit and consulting group.
/bit.ly/3P8TMei
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Why Eric Schmidt believes bioscience will change the world; The former Google CEO is convinced AI and geopolitics will accelerate a post-internet revolution
Gillian Tett - FT
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, became one of the wealthiest people in the US by specialising in software engineering. Yet, if he was starting out again today, Schmidt says he would not be targeting bits and bytes alone. The 67-year-old thinks the next big thing is the "bioeconomy", not the internet.
/jlne.ws/3uvMNnC
Moody's Analytics adds market risk capabilities to PFaroe Portfolio Management platform; Enhanced platform will help aid portfolio managers navigate increased volatility in the current trading environment.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Moody's Analytics has added market risk analytics to its PFaroe Portfolio Management (PM) Platform to help portfolio managers navigate current market volatility, The TRADE can reveal. PFaroe PM will now offer historical and Monte-Carlo risk analytics alongside its multi-asset class performance attribution capabilities.
/jlne.ws/3RjAhl6
State Street to streamline data flows through FactSet partnership; The collaboration promises an improved experience from client portals for equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies.
Chris Lemmon - The Trade
State Street has partnered with FactSet to streamline data flows across the front, middle and back-office through State Street Alpha's data platform. The two companies expect the partnership to provide clients with an improved experience from client portals for equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies through to custody.
/jlne.ws/3uvSL80
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Heads of FBI and MI5 raise fresh alarms about Chinese economic espionage; 'It's the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security,' Wray says in London speech
Associated Press - MarketWatch
The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain's domestic intelligence agency raised fresh alarms Wednesday about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese government's efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5's London headquarters and alongside the agency's director general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity. The remarks also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijing's foreign policy actions.
/jlne.ws/3yMWvol
Heads of FBI, MI5 Issue Joint Warning on Chinese Spying; Officials say Beijing employs large-scale hacking and global network of agents to steal Western technology; U.S. also warns about efforts to influence policy-making
Max Colchester - WSJ
The heads of the FBI and Britain's domestic security service issued sharply worded warnings to business leaders about the threats posed by Chinese espionage, especially spying aimed at stealing Western technology companies' intellectual property. In a rare joint appearance on Wednesday at the headquarters of MI5, Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Ken McCallum, director-general of MI5, urged executives not to underestimate the scale and sophistication of Beijing's campaign. "The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology—whatever it is that makes your industry tick—and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market," Mr. Wray told the audience of business people. "They're set on using every tool at their disposal to do it."
/jlne.ws/3NMWHIw
China's Cabinet Urges Greater Cybersecurity After Data Leak; State Council meeting discusses need to safeguard information; Gathering follows largest potential hack in country's history
Bloomberg News
China's cabinet stressed the need to bolster information security, following a huge leak of personal data that could be the largest cyber-attack in the country's history. A State Council meeting led by Premier Li Keqiang emphasized the need "to improve security management provisions, raise protection abilities, protect personal information, privacy and commercial confidentiality in accordance with the law," according to the official Xinhua News Agency. These measures would allow the public and businesses to "operate with a peace of mind," the report added.
/jlne.ws/3nKPldV
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | UK's Crypto Strategy 'Back to Square One' as Sunak, Glen Quit
Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
The UK's plan to turn itself into a global crypto hub just suffered a major setback, with the initiative's two most important backers quitting Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen were the architects of a campaign launched in April to strengthen the nation's image as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction. That push came after years of regulatory caution that prompted many crypto companies to relocate elsewhere. But after the two quit their positions in Johnson's cabinet this week in the midst of a political scandal, crypto proponents are concerned that the strategy may fizzle. Sunak and Glen made overtures to the sector in recent months, meeting with executives in an effort to formulate a more cohesive strategy on digital assets.
/jlne.ws/3RiFQjN
Celsius shuffles its board of directors amid liquidity crisis
Monika Ghosh - Forkast
Embattled cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network has reorganized its board of directors amid bankruptcy speculation, according to filings published by U.K. government executive agency Companies House on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3AxDbMT
Crypto Exchange Bitstamp Cancels Plans for 'Inactivity Fee'; Customer response was a cataylst for the reversal, CEO says; Bitstamp says it has no exposure to companies 'under stress'
Immanual John Milton - Bloomberg
Crypto exchange Bitstamp canceled a planned "inactivity fee," reversing course just five days after announcing the charges. The Luxembourg-based company scuttled a plan to start charging non-US users 10 euros ($10.18) a month on accounts that haven't traded, deposited, withdrawn or staked assets for a year with a total balance of less than 200 euros, a third-party spokesperson confirmed in an email to Bloomberg on Wednesday. "We have taken everyone's concerns onboard and have decided to cancel the Inactivity Fee," JB Graftieauz, Bitstamp's chief executive, said in a statement citing customer feedback.
/jlne.ws/3yNofsU
Crypto Lender Genesis Confirms Exposure to Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital; Genesis parent Digital Currency Group assumed some liabilities; Michael Moro, Genesis CEO, comments Wednesday in tweets
Yueqi Yang - Bloomberg
Genesis, one of the largest cryptocurrency brokerages for institutional investors, confirmed that it was exposed to bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and had mitigated its losses. Genesis sold collateral and hedged its downside once Three Arrows failed to meet a margin call, Michael Moro, chief executive officer of Genesis, said in a series of tweets Wednesday. The loans to Three Arrows had a weighted average margin requirement of over 80%, he said, without disclosing the total loan amount. Digital Currency Group, the parent company of Genesis, assumed some liabilities of Genesis to ensure its continued operation, Moro added.
/jlne.ws/3OBOgks
Crypto Tax Cheats Likely to Get Relief as US Crackdown Hits Snag; Treasury mulls delay for exchanges to collect clients' data; Firms supposed to start tracking capital gains, losses Jan. 1
Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
The US government's bid to collect billions of dollars in taxes is hitting a snag, with the Biden administration poised to delay when crypto brokers and exchanges must start gathering detailed information on their clients' trading. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are likely to push off a January date for the firms to begin tracking data such as customers' capital gains and losses, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because a final decision hasn't been made. The move would mean the tax agency waits longer to get the kind of data it gets for stocks or bonds. Crypto tax evasion remains a major issue for Washington policy makers even amid the recent downturn. Treasury and the IRS have struggled to quickly draft rules, which firms will use in collecting and reporting the information on their clients' trades.
/jlne.ws/3OW6opu
Crypto Crisis: Struggling Crypto Lender About to Be Acquired by Rival
Rob Lenihan - The Street
And the great crypto shrinkage continues...The crypto platform Nexo, which recently made an offer to buy the assets of Celsius Network, stepped up on July 5 to say it signed a term sheet with Vauld to buy the struggling crypto financial services company. The agreement gives Nexo a "60-day exclusive exploratory period" of its intended acquisition of Vauld, pending a due diligence review. "In a consolidation effort aimed at the betterment of the space, as well as the strengthening of our presence in Southeast Asia, we've entered exclusive talks with @VauldOfficial for the full acquisition of the Singapore-based company," Nexo said in a tweet.
/jlne.ws/3bUrwxw
A $1 Billion Junk Bond Down 38% in Less Than a Year Shows Just How Much the Market Has Changed
Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
If you liked it at 7.5%, you'll love it at 18%? Payday lender Curo Group Holdings Corp. sold $750 million of junk bonds about a year ago, offering investors a juicy yield of 7.5% in return for the risk of taking on exposure to a wide variety of consumer lending. It then sold another $250 million of the securities in November at slightly above face value. The bonds — now rated CCC+ by S&P Global Ratings — yield a whopping 17.9% and are trading at just 62 cents on the dollar. It's quite a change from last year, when both the first deal and the reopening were increased in size thanks to rampant demand from investors for the debt.
/jlne.ws/3Av7cwY
Bear Market Building, the 'Right Game' and Avoiding NFT Stigma: Scenes from the Sandbox Summit in London
MacEagon Voyce - DeCential
Hope was in the air in London last week at a web3-focused music conference. The day showcased startups and other web3 projects that are leveraging blockchain technology to ameliorate some of the music industry's long standing woes - all amidst the worst crypto selloff in several years. In the face of a drowning market, the presenters stood defiant. "Things that succeed are generally built in bear markets - because that's when you're playing the right game," said Kieran George, Head of NFTs and Blockchain at Soundr, a metaverse music label for virtual artists.
/jlne.ws/3AxgYPo
Take Me Out To The Digital Ball Game: NFTs Enter the Field; Sorare is partnering with MLB for a fantasy baseball NFT experience, where users own their digital baseball cards.
Victoria Vergolina - Bloomberg
Sorare is one of several companies attempting to take the idea of collectibles like baseball cards and bring them into the digital context. In May, Sorare announced a partnership with Major League Baseball in the US. And Serena Williams is a member of their advisory board. Why is Sorare betting big on sports? Do collectibles really need to be on a blockchain? Will baseball players benefit from the deal? On this episode, we'll talk to Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller and to Sorare's CEO Nicola Julia.
/jlne.ws/3bQ7dkN
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Lying politicians are a product of society's devaluing of truth; In a world that has so undermined veracity, is it any wonder Boris Johnson shows such casual disregard for it?
Jemima Kelly - FT
Every time I tick that small box that says I have read, understood and agree with several thousands of words of terms and conditions, I am telling a lie. It might only be a little lie, but the frequency with which I am asked to perform it — almost every time I download a new app, upgrade to a fresh version of an operating system, or sign up for a digital subscription — makes me feel uneasy, and gives me the sense that I am somehow complicit in a bigger one.
/jlne.ws/3RfLses
US and UK intelligence chiefs call for vigilance on China's industrial spies; Beijing is using 'every tool' to steal western technology, FBI director says after MI5 meeting
Demetri Sevastopulo and John Paul Rathbone - FT
The heads of the FBI and MI5 have warned that China's industrial espionage poses a growing threat to western groups, including through special purpose acquisition companies. In a joint appearance in London, the chiefs of the US and UK intelligence agencies called on companies to be much more vigilant about China.
/jlne.ws/3amAlzG
Who Would Replace Boris Johnson? Here Are His Likely Successors; Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Ben Wallace and Liz Truss are the top contenders for the Conservative Party leadership position.
Bobby Ghosh - Bloomberg
It's been a tumultuous 24 hours in British politics. As resignations pile up, the odds that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be forced to resign shorten. But who would take over? Bobby Ghosh spoke to Bloomberg Opinion columnists Adrian Wooldridge and Clive Crook on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday afternoon. Here is part of their conversation, lightly edited for clarity and length.
/jlne.ws/3P6VhcP
Boris Johnson Is Being Forced to Make a Borexit; With his government crumbling around him, his days are numbered.
Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg
America recently celebrated its declaration of independence from Britain — though many of us may regret that, now that all power in the dysfunctional US government is vested in six unelected amateur historians and Co-Presidents Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. The UK has its own political nightmares aplenty, but at least the governing party can toss its leader, currently played by Boris Johnson, whenever it feels like it. It even has a couple of ways to go about it. The first, more confusing way is if something called the "1922 Committee," a thing that I have definitely heard of before today, agrees to change Ye Olde British rules to hold a second no-confidence vote on Johnson just a month after the last one, which he barely survived.
/jlne.ws/3nHnjjB
Defiant Johnson Refuses to Quit, Fires Gove Over Past Betrayal; Plans to fill government positions after slew of resignations; Johnson is likely to face another confidence vote next week
Kitty Donaldson, Alex Wickham, and Joe Mayes - Bloomberg
Boris Johnson is desperately clinging to power after suffering an avalanche of resignations from his government that's unprecedented in recent British political history. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng were among senior figures telling Johnson on Wednesday that his time was up, as more than 40 ministers and aides followed the example set a day earlier by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid in quitting. For much of the day, Johnson's government was in real danger of imploding as his authority ebbed away. But following a meeting of his inner circle, Britain's wounded prime minister went on the attack, firing Michael Gove -- one of the Cabinet's remaining big hitters -- in what one official described as revenge for his attempt to remove the premier and a past act of betrayal.
/jlne.ws/3yOtkB2
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | ESMA stress test of Central Counterparties finds clearing system resilient
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has published the results of its fourth stress test exercise of Central Counterparties (CCPs). The results confirm the overall resilience of European Union (EU) CCPs, as well as third-country Tier 2 CCPs, to credit, concentration and operational risks under the tested scenarios and implemented framework. However, the stress test also identified areas where some CCPs may need to strengthen their risk management frameworks, or where further supervisory work should be prioritised, including on concentration and operational risks.
/jlne.ws/3bZDGp3
MAS and IBF adjust training scheme funding parameters amidst stepped up skills development support for Finance Sector
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) today announced changes to provide more targeted support under the IBF training schemes. This follows earlier announcements to enhance funding for talent development programmes in growth and priority areas and to return subsidy rates under the IBF training schemes progressively to pre-pandemic levels .
/jlne.ws/3P50sKi
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Defendants in Netflix Insider Trading Ring
SEC
On July 5, 2022, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington entered final judgments by consent against the four remaining defendants who were charged for their roles in a scheme to trade on confidential information about Netflix's subscriber growth.
/jlne.ws/3Io7o2R
SEC Obtains Judgments Against Three Individuals for Participating in Multi-Million Dollar International Fraud Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced judgments against three defendants charged with participating in a fraudulent scheme to sell shares of microcap company Aureus Inc. The defendants' scheme involving Aureus generated over $5 million in fraudulent trading proceeds. The final judgment against Amar Bahadoorsingh, last of Canada, ordered him to pay over $700,000, and the judgments against Jamie Wilson, of the United Kingdom, and Justin Wall, of the United Kingdom, ordered them to pay $31,280 and $9,468 respectively. The Court also entered judgments against two relief defendants, the Martha Y. Jimenez Trust and the Charles A. Carrillo Trust (collectively the "Trusts"), which received proceeds of fraud.
/jlne.ws/3P7Rv2T
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Corn, soybeans, wheat down over 20% from peaks
Ines Ferré - Yahoo! Finance
Corn (CZ=F), soybeans (ZS=F), and wheat (ZW=F) have tumbled over the last couple of weeks. Agricultural commodity futures are in bear market territory, more than 20% off their peaks earlier this year. The "talk across all commodity assets is demand destruction," Dennis Sweeney, CEO of Infinity Brokerage, told Yahoo Finance. "I believe funds are worried about a recession." Agricultural commodities skyrocketed earlier this year when Russia invaded Ukraine. Supply concerns drove prices to record highs.
/jlne.ws/3ReVKeQ
Dividend stocks are a top inflation-fighting investment you want in your corner now; Stocks with the highest dividend yields outperform the S&P 500 and beat inflation. Quality dividends, that is.
Mark Hulbert - MarketWatch
Investors are too quick to shun dividend-paying stocks when inflation worsens. That's because they're focusing on too short of a time horizon. When measured over at least several years, dividends historically have done an admirable job of keeping up with inflation. To illustrate how the short term can lead you astray here, contrast the Dow Jones Industrial Average's DJIA, +0.23% real (inflation-adjusted) yield currently with where it stood at the beginning of 2021.
/jlne.ws/3nLN0iK
Crypto Lender Genesis Confirms Exposure to Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital; Genesis parent Digital Currency Group assumed some liabilities; Michael Moro, Genesis CEO, comments Wednesday in tweets
Yueqi Yang - Bloomberg
Genesis, one of the largest cryptocurrency brokerages for institutional investors, confirmed that it was exposed to bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and had mitigated its losses. Genesis sold collateral and hedged its downside once Three Arrows failed to meet a margin call, Michael Moro, chief executive officer of Genesis, said in a series of tweets Wednesday. The loans to Three Arrows had a weighted average margin requirement of over 80%, he said, without disclosing the total loan amount. Digital Currency Group, the parent company of Genesis, assumed some liabilities of Genesis to ensure its continued operation, Moro added.
/jlne.ws/3OBOgks
A $1 Billion Junk Bond Down 38% in Less Than a Year Shows Just How Much the Market Has Changed
Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
If you liked it at 7.5%, you'll love it at 18%?Payday lender Curo Group Holdings Corp. sold $750 million of junk bonds about a year ago, offering investors a juicy yield of 7.5% in return for the risk of taking on exposure to a wide variety of consumer lending. It then sold another $250 million of the securities in November at slightly above face value. The bonds — now rated CCC+ by S&P Global Ratings — yield a whopping 17.9% and are trading at just 62 cents on the dollar. It's quite a change from last year, when both the first deal and the reopening were increased in size thanks to rampant demand from investors for the debt.
/jlne.ws/3Av7cwY
Vanguard to Pay $6 Million to Investors Hit With Big Tax Bills; Settlement follows investigation by Massachusetts securities regulators into changes Vanguard made to target-date funds
Caitlin McCabe and Jason Zweig - WSJ
A Vanguard Group subsidiary will pay about $6 million to Massachusetts investors who were whacked last year with unexpectedly painful tax bills. Massachusetts securities regulators on Wednesday reached a $6.25 million settlement with Vanguard Marketing Corp., a subsidiary of Vanguard, following an investigation launched this year into changes the Malvern, Pa.-based financial giant made to its target-date funds.
/jlne.ws/3ajcW2n
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | French state plans to take full control of EDF; Nuclear investments have saddled power company with debt
Sarah White - FT
France plans to take full control of power group EDF, a nuclear energy specialist that has been grappling with high debt, production outages and conflicting demands from its state shareholder as it gears up to try to process its biggest orders for new reactors in decades. The takeover, announced by prime minister Élisabeth Borne on Wednesday, would close a rollercoaster chapter for the former monopoly, which has included a shelved government attempt last year to restructure the sprawling company, still 84 per cent controlled by the state. "I confirm to you today that the state intends to control 100 per cent of EDF's capital," Borne told lawmakers as she set out priorities for the new government following Emmanuel Macron's re-election as president in April and legislative elections in June. She did not detail how the operation would take place, or when.
/jlne.ws/3NQsaJA
Scorching Heat Tops 100 Degrees in US Cities Across the Plains, South; 'Strong heat dome' means temperature records are expected to topple.
Brian K Sullivan - Bloomberg
Scorching heat will bear down on the central US for the rest of the week as temperature reach much higher than normal, even for summer. Records are expected to be set across the Great Plains and South. Temperatures could peak at 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in Memphis Wednesday. With the humidity, it could feel closer to 112, according to the National Weather Service. St. Louis could hit 98; Paducah, Kentucky, is forecast to reach 100; and 97 in Kansas City. Across all of those areas, moist air will make it feel even hotter. Memphis reached 103 Tuesday, missing a record for the date by one degree, while Tupelo, Mississippi set a new high for July 5 at 101, according to the weather service.
/jlne.ws/3yn3ClV
Industry Degrees for ESG Future; College students see energy transition marginalizing industry; Number of new oil grads seen plunging 83% from 5 years ago
Diana Li - Bloomberg
Scott Lindberg's dream of becoming a petroleum engineer was fueled by childhood drives through Texas oil country with his energy-consultant father, passing pumpjacks and pipeline hubs that kept the world's biggest economy humming. But after recently graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a petroleum-engineering degree, Lindberg is turning his back on the oil industry and plans to attend law school instead. His disenchantment is rooted in concern that fossil fuels may not have much of a future given increasing pressure from politicians, activists and investors to pivot toward more climate-friendly energy sources. The 22-year-old Houston-area native illustrates an alarming trend for the top US petroleum-engineering programs, where enrollments are dwindling despite the surge in crude prices that historically prompted more aspirants to join the industry.
/jlne.ws/3NPruEg
Investors Join Activists in Slamming 'Disappointing' EU Gas Vote; EU members, activists threaten legal fight as gas dubbed green; Investor groups say fund managers may ignore EU decision
John Ainger, Alastair Marsh, and Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
Europe has botched an historic opportunity to create a global benchmark for sustainable investing after agreeing to treat gas as a green asset, according to bankers, investors, climate activists and their lawyers. Stephanie Pfeifer, chief executive of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, whose members oversee more than $50 trillion in combined assets, described Wednesday's decision by the EU Parliament to include gas in Europe's green investing rulebook as "disappointing." Stephan Kippe, head of ESG research at Commerzbank AG, said it "doesn't make the fight against greenwashing any easier."
/jlne.ws/3Rbje4J
UK Maps Out £54 Billion of Wiring to Connect Offshore Wind; New wires and pylons are needed to bring power from Scotland; Transmission projects can expect local objections in planning
Will Mathis and Rachel Morison - Bloomberg
National Grid Plc has laid out plans for a £54 billion upgrade to the electricity grid, the biggest investment since the 1950s, to connect up its growing fleet of offshore wind farms. The current government set a goal to reach 50 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade, more than triple the amount generating power today. That will require a huge upgrade to cabling infrastructure to transport electricity from the turbines at sea to population centers in the south of England.
/jlne.ws/3uv3gZw
UK unveils biggest round of clean energy subsidies; Results show offshore wind has become cheapest form of renewable power
Leslie Hook - FT
UK has unveiled its biggest round of clean energy subsidies, including for 10 onshore wind projects, signalling a revival for a sector has been virtually banned in the UK in recent years.
/jlne.ws/3AzNGQ8
Metals industry opposes proposed EU toxic label on battery component lithium; European Chemicals Agency seeks to classify the metal as a reproductive toxin
Neil Hume - FT
Europe is at risk of falling even further behind China in the race to secure metals used to power electric vehicles if an EU proposal to label lithium "toxic" is approved, industry bodies have warned.
/jlne.ws/3PdJd9U
Inside PRI data: asset owner action
Principles for Responsible Investment
There is much to celebrate about asset owner signatories' responsible investment practices.
Over 90% have a public responsible investment policy. Analysing prospective/ existing managers' responsible investment credentials, and their alignment with the asset owner's responsible investment strategy, is common. More than 85% of asset owner boards now have some oversight of climate-related challenges, and three-quarters have started to take steps to implement the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. Aligned with the findings of the Legal framework for impact project, fiduciary duty is often cited as a primary driver for pursuing a responsible investment approach.
/bit.ly/3OM00AS
Exchange in Focus: JSE consultation papers Awarded by Environmental Finance
Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) last year launched its Sustainability and Climate Change Disclosure Guidance consultation papers to assist companies navigating the sustainability disclosure landscape, bringing together global best practice and local context relevance. The consultation papers have won the "Thought leadership paper on sustainable investing", in the Africa category awarded by Environmental Finance.
/bit.ly/3atdFxI
The Investor Agenda releases new guidance for investors to develop and publish ambitious Investor Climate Action Plans
The Investor Agenda
The seven founding partners of the Investor Agenda have released updated ICAPs Guidance to help investors reach a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 or sooner. The ICAPs guidance is designed to accompany the ICAPs Ladder to raise investor ambition on the climate crisis. The updated guidance adds further information on the ICAPs Ladder's tiers, asset classes, tools and methodologies, sector levels, as well as where to find new resources on topics of increasing importance such as nature, biodiversity, adaptation and resilience.
/bit.ly/3PbRqLu
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Bill Ackman Donates $18,000 for Toddler Orphaned in Highland Park Shooting; Billionaire investor joins outpouring of financial support for two-year-old whose parents were shot and killed at July 4 parade.
Paulina Cachero - Bloomberg
Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman donated $18,000 to a GoFundMe page raising money for Aiden McCarthy, a two-year-old whose parents were among the victims of the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. McCarthy's story has resonated across the US after he was found "bloodied and alone" in the aftermath of a gunman opening fire from a rooftop during an Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburb, the AP reported. Authorities later confirmed that his parents Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, had died in the shooting.
/jlne.ws/3uueNIy
Amundi, JPMorgan Among Bidders for KBank's Asset Manager
Alexandre Rajbhandari, Anuchit Nguyen and Manuel Baigorri - Bloomberg
Europe's largest fund manager Amundi SA and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s asset management arm are considering bids for the asset management business of Kasikornbank Pcl, according to people familiar with the matter. Other firms in the industry including London-based Schroders Plc have also shown initial interest in Kasikorn Asset Management Co., the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Thailand's second-biggest lender is set to kick off a formal sale process as early as in the coming weeks, and a potential deal could value the business at about $1.5 billion, they said.
/jlne.ws/3nGuuIK
BlackRock Sees 30% Jump in Flows to Suite of Climate ETFs; The nine funds that track EU-regulated climate transition benchmarks attracted $2.7 billion this year as of mid-June.
Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc.'s greenest exchanged-traded funds have seen a 30% increase in inflows as investors seek out the most credible ESG products amid a wider cooling toward the industry. The nine ETFs, which have tracked EU-regulated climate transition benchmarks since October, attracted a net $2.7 billion this year as of mid-June, bringing the total amount held in the funds to $11.6 billion, BlackRock said.
/jlne.ws/3uwdZCQ
Bond ETFs Attract New Investors With Narrower Offerings; The specialization allows investors to find lucrative sectors despite rising rates. But there are risks.
Ari I. Weinberg - WSJ
This wouldn't seem to be the best of times for exchange-traded funds that focus on fixed income. A resurgence of inflation not seen in 40 years has put upward pressure on interest rates, which, in turn, has sent prices of bonds and bond funds tumbling. Yet new investment in fixed-income ETFs continues apace.
/jlne.ws/3NRl47E
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Once in High Demand, Now Thrown Away; Drugmakers and health authorities are discarding tens of millions of doses
Peter Loftus - WSJ
Governments, drugmakers and vaccination sites are discarding tens of millions of unused Covid-19 vaccine doses amid sagging demand, a sharp reversal from the early days of the mass-vaccination campaign, when doses were scarce. Vaccine manufacturer Moderna Inc. recently discarded about 30 million doses of its Covid-19 shot after failing to find takers, while pharmacies and clinics have had to throw out unused doses from multi-dose vials from Moderna and from Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE that have a short shelf life once they are opened. Germany's health officials have disposed of about 3.9 million Covid-19 vaccine doses that were sitting in a federal central warehouse and expired at the end of June. Canada has disposed of 1.2 million expired doses of Moderna's vaccine, and is set to throw out about 13.6 million expired doses of AstraZeneca PLC's Covid-19 vaccine, according to the government health department.
/jlne.ws/3AsBznP
Hong Kong Suspends Its Covid Flight Ban Policy; New government's decision aims to ease travel; long quarantine, other constraints still in place
Elaine Yu - WSJ
Hong Kong will stop banning routes for airlines that bring in too many passengers with Covid-19, suspending a policy that has been heavily criticized by businesses and travelers for snarling plans and leaving people stranded.
/jlne.ws/3OUcu9G
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Ukraine to summon Turkey envoy after Russian grain ship sailed
Reuters
Ukraine will summon Turkey's ambassador to seek clarification, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, a day after a Russian-flagged cargo ship suspected of carrying stolen Ukrainian grain left a Turkish port.
/jlne.ws/3yuiajU
Hungary raises key interest rate by 200 basis points as forint tumbles; Budapest says it is ready to make concessions in dispute with EU but investors remain jittery
Marton Dunai - FT
Hungary's central bank raised one of its main interest rates by 200 basis points to 9.75 per cent on Thursday morning in an effort to stop the freefall of the forint.
/jlne.ws/3PdIx4m
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | British Airways Scraps 10,300 More Flights on Staff Shortage; New measures bring total summer timetable reduction to 13%; UK encouraged carriers to trim schedules, end last-minute cuts
Siddharth Vikram Philip - Bloomberg
British Airways is scrapping another 10,300 flights through the summer season as it grapples with a staffing crisis that's unleashed chaotic scenes across Europe's aviation sector. With the latest round of cancellations, which follow others earlier this week, the unit of IAG SA will have pared about 13% of its schedule from April through October, it said Wednesday. Only short-haul routes are affected. BA has been among the carriers hardest hit by a staffing crunch that's being felt across the region, after dismissing 10,000 workers at the peak of the Covid pandemic. The latest move comes after the UK government waived rules that require airlines to use airport operating slots or lose them the next season.
/jlne.ws/3bJytkT
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