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John Lothian Newsletter
June 19, 2023 "Irreverent, but never irrelevant"
 
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff

CME Group posted a very nice Father's Day video on LinkedIn on Saturday featuring Tim McCourt, Chrissy Somers's family, Arthur Yu, Ryan Mahoney, Pavel Solyak's sons and Steve Stasys

Speaking of Tim McCourt, on Sunday we published a podcast interview I did with Tim and FTSE Russell's Catherine Yoshimoto about the upcoming Russell reconstitution on Friday. I also posted a couple of short videos to YouTube that are excerpts from the podcast, the first from Catherine explaining why the reconstitution is important and the second from Tim explaining how to use Russell futures during the reconstitution process to manage different risks you might have.

Robbert Booij's Kilt Challenge fundraising total is up to 21,459 pounds after RJ O'Brian CEO Gerry Corcoran and others kicked in, bringing the ABN AMRO Clearing Bank CEO's total to 171% of his 12,500 pound goal. Help Robbert get to 200% of his goal and support Futures For Kids and the Kilt Challenge.

Robby (USA) Lothian and Nichole Price have landed in London, and Julie Ros has been there since Thursday. The team is ready for FIA IDX 2023, including Robby (UK) Lothian.

It is a good thing I did not come over for IDX as on Sunday I tested positive for Covid-19. The symptoms are similar to my previous case in January of 2021 of a bad headache and runny nose. Luckily, my wife did not test positive for the virus this time. I have had four Covid vaccine shots, so hopefully it will be a mild case again.

Binance struck a deal to keep operating in the U.S. by having funds of U.S. customers in special digital repositories that would not be accessible to Binance's international operations or its founder, Changpeng Zhao, several publications reported, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Optiver published a blog post titled "A day in the life of a student Trading Analyst."

The CFTC's Market Risk Advisory Committee will meet on July 10. You can see the list of members of the MRAC HERE.

The CFTC will hold an open meeting on June 26. The commission will consider the commencement of a 90-day review, pursuant to CFTC Regulation 40.11(c), of KalshiEX, LLC congressional control contracts.

Which country owns the most bitcoin? It is not El Salvador, which uses bitcoin as its official currency. The answer is the United States. It has 10 times the amount of bitcoin as El Salvador and some 94% of the bitcoin in global government coffers, Forbes reports.

The Financial Times has a story about Crypto.com and how it has internal "proprietary trading and market making teams" and that this raises conflict of interest questions. While it is true that many markets don't need internal trading teams, there are examples of regulated markets who have done just that without any regulatory issues. Now, the other market makers/members were not too happy at times about this, but the CME Group is one such example. Back in the days of open outcry, they deployed an internal market making group in the currencies and some new products to tie the cash market to their futures products during Globex-only trading hours. The goal was not to make money, but rather to keep the markets in line and orderly. Of course the CME board member who had the account clearing the trades did OK.

The title of Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast hosted by Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal today is "Josh Younger on the Surprising Origins of Eurodollars and Petrodollars." The subheading is "What made the dollar really go global."

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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FTSE Russell Reconstitution Podcast Interview with Catherine Yoshimoto and Tim McCourt
JohnLothianNews.com

John Lothian News interviewed Tim McCourt, Global Head of Financial and OTC Products at the CME Group and Catherine Yoshimoto, Director of Product Management for the Russell US Indexes, FTSE Russell about the June 23 FTSE Russell reconstitution.

Listen to the podcast »

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The SEC's campaign to define 'exchange' should concern every American-even those without ties to crypto
Amanda Tuminelli - Fortune
The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a new front in its campaign against crypto. In its latest gambit, the agency is targeting the entire domestic decentralized finance industry by proposing a fundamental change to how it defines an "exchange." If successful, the SEC could drive one of the most innovative sectors of finance-as The Economist highlighted with its 2021 DeFi cover-from American shores.
/jlne.ws/3XaeijX

***** I would expect no less hyperbole from the chief legal officer of the DeFi Education Fund.

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Melinda French Gates Says World Debt Woes Need Bold Action Now; Debt payments causing economic dilemma for African governments; China, US must work together in this fraught moment, she says
Peggy Collins and Shawn Donnan - Bloomberg
Melinda French Gates is urging world leaders gathering in Paris this week to take bolder action to reform the global financial system and offer a way out of growing debt woes for places like Africa. In an interview with Bloomberg News, French Gates said too many African countries are emerging from the coronavirus pandemic with debt loads that are forcing them to contemplate sacrificing investments in social programs with proven long-term benefits to make short-term payments. This also comes as they struggle to raise funds to confront climate catastrophes.
/jlne.ws/3p99xdI

***** There are billions of reasons why we should listen to Melinda French Gates.~JJL

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He Went After Crypto Companies. Then Someone Came After Him; Kyle Roche was a rising star in the field of cryptocurrency law - until his career imploded. Who orchestrated his downfall?
John Carreyrou - The New York Times
When he arrived in London in late January 2022, Kyle Roche was riding high. At just 34 years old, he had established himself as one of the biggest players in the burgeoning field of cryptocurrency litigation. He boasted a law firm bearing his name, lawsuits filed against more than a dozen crypto companies and a huge verdict against the man who claimed to have invented Bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/3CyfCU8

****** The crypto world is dangerous in lots of ways, including for lawyers trying to take it on.~JJL

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Friday's Top Three
Our most-read story Friday was The Wall Street Journal's Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman Pursues a Black Belt in Deal Making. Second was - surprise! - the web site Ireland.com's page celebrating Bloomsday, June 16, the day in 1904 when James Joyce's modernist epic novel "Ulysses" takes place. Third was the video on the NFA Board Update for its May 2023 Meeting, which was produced by JLN's Head of Video, Patrick Lothian.

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MarketsWiki Stats
27,342 pages; 245,289 edits
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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.
 
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John Lothian News Editorial Staff:
 
John Lothian
Publisher
 
Sarah Rudolph
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Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
 
Patrick Lothian
Head of Video
 
Robert Lothian
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Nichole Price
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Sally Duros
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Asma Awass
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Lead Stories
The World's Most Feared Investor Heads for Showdown Over Nickel; Paul Singer's Elliott takes on the LME in London case Tuesday; Fight over canceled nickel trades is personal for Elliott boss
Jack Farchy, Mark Burton and Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
A decade ago, Paul Singer did battle with the government of Argentina - and won. Next week, the notoriously pugnacious hedge fund boss is taking on a bastion of the City of London, the 146-year-old London Metal Exchange. For Singer, the case is personal, say several people familiar with the matter. When on March 8 last year the LME decided to cancel billions of dollars in nickel trades as prices skyrocketed, Singer was appalled and affronted, seeing it as a perversion of the free market with few precedents in the modern history of finance.
/jlne.ws/43YgywY

Farmers Worry $8.2 Billion Agriculture Deal Will Diminish Competition; Consumer advocates say Bunge's agreement to buy Viterra could drive up prices, while Bunge says the companies don't overlap
Patrick Thomas - The Wall Street Journal
Farmer and consumer groups warn that the planned agricultural megadeal uniting the grain-trading giants Bunge and Glencore-backed Viterra could leave farmers with fewer alternatives for selling crops and drive up consumers' prices for food. Bunge's $8.2 billion deal to acquire Viterra, announced this past week, would combine two of the biggest global operators of grain-shipping ports and crop-processing plants. The planned deal would make the enlarged Bunge the world's second-largest agribusiness company, with revenue of more than $110 billion, only trailing privately held Cargill.
/jlne.ws/3XhZCz5

U.S. Government Owns Way More Bitcoin Than Any Other Country - So Why Aren't They Selling It?
Michael del Castillo - Forbes
Washington owns more than $5 billion worth of seized bitcoin and has been reluctant to part with it. That may represent inertia more than strategy. From the increasingly ferocious federal crackdown on the cryptocurrency business, it might appear the U.S. government cannot stand digital currencies. Yet there is a love-hate dynamic: the Treasury is sitting on a stash of 207,189 bitcoin, worth $5 billion, by far the largest such state-owned hoard.
/jlne.ws/3JmzjlM

Trading teams at Crypto.com exchange raise conflict questions; Singapore group has desk to profit from market moves
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
Crypto.com, the exchange endorsed by Hollywood actor Matt Damon, deploys internal teams to trade tokens for profit, the latest sign of potential conflicts of interest in the digital assets industry. The Singapore-based group, one of the top-10 crypto marketplaces in the world, operates proprietary trading and market making teams, according to five people with direct knowledge of the matter.
/jlne.ws/3Xu3opr

Computer-driven trading firms fret over risks AI poses to their profits; Executives fear complex algorithms may not be able to differentiate fake data from genuine information
George Steer and Laurence Fletcher - Financial Times
Hedge funds and other computer-driven trading firms are growing increasingly concerned about the threat that artificial intelligence presents to their profits, after a fake image of an explosion near the Pentagon triggered a brief sell-off in US stocks.
/jlne.ws/43VJs0I

A Cheap Fix to Global Warming Is Finally Gaining Support; Countries are building unlikely alliances and enacting new laws that will curb methane leaks from oil and gas fields to coal mines.
Aaron Clark - Bloomberg
Global support for one of the cheapest and most powerful climate actions is accelerating - and it couldn't come at a more urgent time. Countries are starting to get more serious about slashing avoidable methane emissions from fossil fuel production, as the rapidly warming planet forces leaders to double down on solutions that can reign in scorching temperatures within decades.
/jlne.ws/4698dYZ

India's NSE Plans Derivatives Based on Bond Indexes; Credit index-based products due to launch by September; Officials rolled out regulatory change back in January
Saikat Das - Bloomberg
India's National Stock Exchange is planning to offer derivatives based on its bond indexes, according to people familiar with the matter, as it seeks attract more investors to its platform. The NSE has already applied to the Securities Exchange Board of India for approval and is aiming to launch the corporate debt product by September, the people said.
/jlne.ws/43MSD3M

HKEX launches dual counter model and market making programme to expand use of Renminbi internationally; New offering will enable mainland investors to trade Renminbi (RMB) stocks listed in Hong Kong using their onshore RMB.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has launched its new Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)-Renminbi (RMB) dual counter model and a dual counter market making programme in its securities market - in a bid to expand trading of RMB-denominated Chinese stocks.
/jlne.ws/3Pki5t5

Top US Regulators Flag Increasing Commercial Real Estate Risks; Delinquencies are low, but vacancies are rising, FSOC says; Watchdogs are emphasizing risk management in oversight
Christopher Condon - Bloomberg
The top US financial regulators say they are stepping up scrutiny of how exposed banks are to commercial real estate, as vacancy rates increase. The Financial Stability Oversight Council said in a statement Friday that delinquency rates are low, but empty offices are on the rise. The group, which was set up after the global financial crisis, includes the heads of the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/jlne.ws/42MlwM7

Deutsche Bank $75 million settlement with Epstein accusers wins preliminary approval
Jonathan Stempel - Reuters
A U.S. judge on Friday granted preliminary approval to Deutsche Bank's $75 million settlement with victims of Jeffrey Epstein who accused the bank of facilitating the late financier's sex trafficking.
/jlne.ws/3pj8PdT

Odey Wealth tells customers it is 'considering options' for the business; Wealth manager tries to reassure private clients as fallout from allegations against Crispin Odey grows
Laura Noonan and Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
The board of Odey Wealth Management has told clients it is "considering several options" for the business as the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations against Crispin Odey spreads through the businesses he founded. While recent attention focused on Odey's eponymous hedge fund, after key banking partners cut ties, Odey Wealth said in a letter to its customers on Sunday that the "events of the last week have had a serious impact on our business".
/jlne.ws/46bM3VR

Binance, SEC strike deal to keep US customer assets in country
Baranjot Kaur and Akanksha Khushi - Reuters
Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, and Binance.US have entered into an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that U.S. customer assets remain in the United States until a sweeping lawsuit filed this month by the regulatory agency is resolved.
/jlne.ws/3qSQzJ2

Under court deal, Binance can continue U.S. operations as it battles SEC fraud charges
Frank Bajak - Associated Press
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance have reached an agreement in court that lets the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange continue to operate in the United States as it battles SEC fraud charges.
/jlne.ws/3JixOVw

How Hong Kong's multinationals and global funds are preparing for the worst; Corporate contingency planning in the territory will be a litmus test for assessments of China risk
Leo Lewis - Financial Times
A phrase you hear used with a lot more friction than before, remarks a senior Hong Kong investment banker on the theme of geopolitics, is "worst-case scenario". Its enhanced deployment, he adds, is revealing. However remote the worst-case scenario may be, a diminishing number of companies and investors feel they have any permission to ignore that risk.
/jlne.ws/3Xit1Jt

SVB Securities to Be Acquired in Management Buyout; The investment-banking business tied to Silicon Valley Bank will go back to being called Leerink Partners
Dave Sebastian - The Wall Street Journal
SVB Securities, the investment-banking business tied to Silicon Valley Bank, will be acquired in a management buyout led by Jeff Leerink, the unit's founder and chief executive officer. The deal is backed by funds managed by billionaire Seth Klarman's Baupost Group, Silicon Valley Bank's former parent said on Sunday, confirming a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month. SVB Financial Group, which used to own the technology-focused bank, has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since mid-March.
/jlne.ws/3Nzhu5q



Abaxx Exchange


Barchart



CME Group


CQG

SGX




Ukraine Invasion
News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact
Tattered and Bandaged, Russian POWs Describe Ukraine's Offensive; Russian soldiers taken captive talk of poor morale and brutal commanders
Marcus Walker and Ievgeniia Sivorka - The Wall Street Journal
The barefoot Russian prisoner of war limped across a pitted asphalt yard, watched by Ukrainian military police. His boots had been covered in the blood of fallen comrades. He had removed and then lost them in the confusion of being transferred to this makeshift detention center in eastern Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3qNyTOM

US-made MaxxPro mine-resistant armored fighting vehicles 'are almost indestructible,' Ukrainians say
Isobel van Hagen - Insider
US-made MaxxPro mine-resistant armored fighting vehicles are proving crucial in Ukraine's fight against Russian forces, according to a report by The Times. Earlier this month, soldiers from Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade became stranded as they tried to push forward in the village of Blahodatne.
/jlne.ws/42Ojs6n

What Sanctions on Russia Have and Haven't Achieved
Daniel Flatley and Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
As Russia massed troops near its border with Ukraine early in 2022, the US, the European Union and their allies held out hope that threats of massive sanctions might deter an invasion. Once hostilities began, there was a sense that sanctions could force an immediate economic crisis in Russia and a quick end to the war. With fighting now in its second year, the latest thinking is that prolonged sanctions, including restrictions on essential Russian imports, will have a cumulative effect, eventually forcing President Vladimir Putin into deciding between continuing the war and saving his economy. Tightening the pressure further carries risks for those doing the sanctioning, however.
/jlne.ws/447i1RC

Kissinger Says Putin Survival 'Improbable' If Ukraine Prevails
Bloomberg News
President Vladimir Putin may struggle to hold on to power if the war in Ukraine forces Russia to abandon military aggression and accept a peace deal with Europe, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said.
/jlne.ws/43JxTKj

Ukraine steps up strikes deep into Russian-occupied regions; Attacks on weapons depots and logistics centres aimed at supporting counteroffensive
Roman Olearchyk - Financial Times
Ukraine has stepped up attacks this weekend on Russian arms depots and other targets deep in occupied territory, supporting a counteroffensive that has made modest gains against heavily fortified Russian frontline positions.
/jlne.ws/443KHeb

BlackRock and JPMorgan help set up Ukraine reconstruction bank; Fund aims to attract billions of dollars in private investment to assist rebuilding projects in war-torn country
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase are helping the Ukrainian government set up a reconstruction bank to steer public seed capital into rebuilding projects that can attract hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment.
/jlne.ws/3JkOX0Y








Exchanges, OTC & Clearing
Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities
HKEX Launches HKD-RMB Dual Counter Model And Dual Counter Market Making Programme
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Monday) pleased to launch its new Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)-Renminbi (RMB) Dual Counter Model (Model) and the Dual Counter Market Making Programme in its securities market. A total of 24 Hong Kong-listed companies, accounting for 40 per cent of the average daily turnover of the cash equities market, will trade and transact as Dual Counter securities at launch, offering both HKD and RMB counters. In addition, nine Exchange Participants have joined the Dual Counter Market Making programme as market makers.
/jlne.ws/3NyUsLZ

JSE expands its cloud based colocation services offering
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Through a new, international tech collaboration, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will soon launch Colo 2.0 - an advanced managed infrastructure as a service (IaaS) solution that will provide JSE clients with cloud-based colocation services.
/jlne.ws/468jWqP

Qatar Stock Exchange Launches Investment Campaign In London To Showcase Qatari Listed Companies
Mondonvisone
Qatar Stock Exchange concluded an investment forum in London aimed at showcasing its leading listed companies in London, at a roadshow which took place at HSBC's GCC London Conference. The roadshow, for the first time including all the GCC exchanges together, is part of QSE's strategy to expand its investor base, attract further foreign investment and showcase the strength and potential of Qatar's capital markets.
/jlne.ws/4457J4b

Tehran Stock Exchange Re-Elected As FEAS Board Member; The annual meeting of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) hosted by the Armenian Securities Exchange was held in Yerevan on 14 June 2023.
MondoVisione
Reported by PR and Int'l Relations of Tehran Stock Exchange, FEAS 37th General Assembly was held on Wednesday, 14 June 2023 in Yerevan, Armenia; and Tehran Stock Exchange was re-elected as one of the federation's board members for the next two years. Also, in the meeting, the financial statements of 2022 and the future plans of FEAS were reviewed and approved.
/jlne.ws/42Jnsox

TSE to Unveil First Hedge Fund; Market observers say expanding market instruments, like the launching the hedge fund, can and should contribute to the diversification of investment strategies and attract a wider range of investors, including institutional players
Tehran Stock Exchange
The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) is working to establish the first hedge fund, the SENA news agency said Sunday.Mahmoud Goodarzi, the TSE chief said, "We have met financial institutions to exchange views on setting up a hedge fund -- a fund that has not been utilized in the capital market so far. The Securities and Exchange Organization [SEO] has voiced agreement and will issue the license for hedge fund."
/jlne.ws/42P2qVN

Moscow Exchange becomes a partner of Zorko investment platform
MOEX
The Moscow Exchange became a partner of the Zorko investment platform, created on the initiative and with the participation of the Funds of the new investment cycle of Rusnano (Rosnano 2.0). The platform provides investors with access to pre-IPO shares of high-growth and technology companies and can become an effective mechanism for companies to transition to initial public offering of securities.
/jlne.ws/3p3m7eJ

Moscow Exchange and the Russian Climate Partnership plan to jointly develop the market for carbon credits
MOEX
On June 16, 2023, at the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Moscow Exchange signed a memorandum of commitment to the principles of the Russian Climate Partnership. The partnership unites the efforts of Russian business to reduce environmental impact and prevent climate change.
/jlne.ws/463ADUa




FEX


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Fintech
A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors
Talk of a U.S. TikTok Ban Is Shaking Up the Creator Economy; Influencers and others who make money on TikTok are looking to hedge their bets by diversifying their content across other platforms
Lori Ioannou - The Wall Street Journal
The threat of a U.S. government crackdown on TikTok is making some content creators nervous. They aren't abandoning the popular Chinese-owned social-media app, but many are looking to build audiences across several platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. At stake are the millions of dollars that U.S. influencers earn annually making and sharing videos for TikTok, which has become a key way for advertisers to reach young adults.
/jlne.ws/464BuUN

Blockchain-based securities are emerging in Hong Kong, further expanding distributed ledgers in local financial markets
South China Morning Post
New blockchain-based security products are emerging in Hong Kong, offering investors a variety of ways to tap into the city's growing Web3 industry in areas that are distinct from virtual assets like cryptocurrencies.
/jlne.ws/444rSY5



Vermiculus



Cybersecurity
Top stories for cybersecurity
A ransomware attack is hitting schools, businesses and government agencies. Here's what you should know
Jennifer Korn and Sean Lyngaas - CNN
A growing number of businesses, universities and government agencies have been targeted in a global cyberattack by Russian cybercriminals and are now working to understand how much data was compromised. While the scope of the attack is not yet fully known, officials at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Thursday that "several federal agencies... have experienced intrusions" and suggested a number of businesses could be impacted as well.
/jlne.ws/3qSIX9m

8 notable entry-level cybersecurity career and skills initiatives in 2023; Businesses must get better at attracting, supporting, and hiring new cybersecurity talent. Here are eight initiatives launched this year to facilitate entry-level skills development and career opportunities.
Michael Hill UK Editor - CSO
The cybersecurity sector has been battling a workforce shortage for years with cybersecurity training and certifications provider (ISC)2 estimating that the global skills gap currently sits at 3.4 million. There are over 600,000 current cyber-related job openings in the US alone, and the supply-to-demand ratio stands at 69%, the lowest it has been since 2010, according to Cyberseek.
/jlne.ws/3NfAFzV

Hacked Reddit Data To Be Published Unless API Changes Dropped, Hackers Say
Davey Winder Senior Contributor - Forbes
The BlackCat ransomware criminal group, also known as ALPHV, hacked into Reddit servers earlier this year: a breach that Reddit confirmed in February. It was reported that while the attackers gained access to internal documents and codes, as well as internal dashboards and business systems, there was no evidence that production systems were breached or user accounts accessed. Not a great deal more was heard about the incident. Until now. A posting to the BlackCat leak site reveals that it is demanding $4.5 million and the scrapping of API pricing changes or it will publish 80GB of stolen data.
/jlne.ws/46dDyto





Cryptocurrencies
Top stories for cryptocurrencies
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Would Be a Big Deal; And it doesn't really matter if it's technically a trust
George Kaloudis - CoinDesk
Well, well. BlackRock (BLK) entered the chat early last year and it finally spoke up. BlackRock's iShares unit filed paperwork Thursday afternoon with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the formation of a spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) As with all things perpetually online, many are tying themselves up and tripping over semantics. Is this proposed fund actually an ETF or just a trust? The question seems odd, but the tippity top of BlackRock's S-1 filing sports this as the name of the proposed fund: iShares Bitcoin Trust.
/jlne.ws/42NNWFk

Jack Dorsey-Backed Bitcoin Wallet Bitkey To Integrate With Coinbase and Cash App
Frederick Munawa - CoinDesk
Jack Dorsey's FinTech company Block (SQ) will integrate its new self-custody bitcoin wallet, Bitkey, with its financial services platform Cashapp and the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Public beta testing for the wallet will commence in a few weeks with a global launch expected later this year, according to a blog post on Wednesday by the company.
/jlne.ws/3qSKCvm

Biggest Crypto Stablecoin Tether Was Once Backed by Chinese Securities; Documents show Tether held securities issued by ICBC, CCB; Tether said in July 2022 it held no Chinese CP at that point
Yueqi Yang, Muyao Shen and Jason Leopold - Bloomberg
Tether Holdings Ltd. once counted securities issued by Chinese companies among the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin, the world's largest, documents released by New York's Attorney General show.
/jlne.ws/3qScboL

Binance's CEO micromanaged who bought hoodies. The SEC says that shows his regulatory dodging tactics
Joanna Wright - DLNews
Staff of a trading company set up by Binance boss Changpeng "CZ" Zhao had to get his approval to buy Binance-branded hoodies. Such extreme levels of micromanagement highlight the lengths Binance went to dodge US regulation, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a complaint on Monday.
/jlne.ws/42LRGqT

CoinEx to Leave U.S. After Settling New York Lawsuit; The cryptocurrency company will turn over $1.8 million and exit the U.S. after a settlement with New York's attorney general
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
Cryptocurrency platform CoinEx will wind down its U.S. operations after reaching a settlement with New York, said the state's attorney general, Letitia James, who had sued the company over its failure to properly register.
/jlne.ws/3JjhVhL

This Week in the Metaverse: A Sothebys auction brings in $11 million-and a bit of hope for the NFT market
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez - Fortune
After a plummet in the NFT market, a Thursday auction at Sotheby's was a rare bright spot, and we partly have to thank failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. It was the second time Sotheby's had hosted an auction of 3AC's NFTs, according to CoinDesk, except this one wildly outperformed expectations.
/jlne.ws/3CA5VEH




FTSE



Politics
An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets
How Local Officials Seek Revenge on Their Hometown Newspapers; When coverage upsets them, towns and counties are revoking newspapers' lucrative contracts to print public notices.
Emily Flitter - The New York Times
Two of the most powerful women in the village of Delhi in central New York sat face to face in a brick building on Main Street for what would become a fight over the First Amendment. It was the fall of 2019. Tina Molé, the top elected official in Delaware County, was demanding that Kim Shepard, the publisher of The Reporter, the local newspaper, "do something" about what Ms. Molé saw as the paper's unfair coverage of the county government.
/jlne.ws/44p6L3d

Judge to Decide if U.S. Government Improperly Censored Social-Media Users; Lawsuit against Biden administration tests limits of First Amendment's free-speech protections
Jacob Gershman - The Wall Street Journal
A federal judge is set to decide whether the Biden administration's efforts to stamp out disinformation online crossed a line into coerced censorship and, if so, what should be done about it. The case is among the most potentially consequential First Amendment battles pending in the courts, testing the limits on government policing of social-media content.
/jlne.ws/3NBmGFN

G.O.P. Leaders Embrace Early Voting, but Will Their Base Get on Board? Former President Donald J. Trump has said that until Republicans gain power and can change the law, they have "no choice" but to support voting by mail.
Neil Vigdor - The New York Times
After years of deriding early and mail-in voting, claiming they lead to fraud and help Democrats to steal elections, top Republicans are changing their position, leading to a split in the party as the 2024 election approaches. The converts atop the party warn that they must adapt or risk further electoral setbacks, especially in key states where early and mail balloting are in place. However, the entrenched foes within Republicans' election-denier ranks could muddle the party message on voting.
/jlne.ws/3qUmd8I

Canada's first out lesbian federal minister on why Pride feels different this year
Rachel Aiello - CTV News
For Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge, Pride month feels different this year. It's a sentiment that's being expressed by many in the LGBTQ2S+ community in the wake of a rise in hate and attempts to "push back" on the progress made, but she sees it as an opportunity for Canadian politicians, high-profile athletes and others with platforms to "stand up."
/jlne.ws/3JlGZ7T

Canada Wildfires Heat Up Climate Change Pressure on Trudeau; The toxic smoke clouding North America isn't just driving home climate impacts. It's also shining a spotlight on the political barriers to shifting Canada's economy away from producing fossil fuels.
Laura Dhillon Kane, Kendra Pierre-Louis and Kevin Orland - Bloomberg
While politicians in Alberta and Saskatchewan - Canada's oil-producing heartland - and Conservatives in Ottawa can no longer deny climate change, they continue to stand in the way of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's ambitions. That could leave one of the world's biggest fossil fuel producers without a credible pathway to reduce carbon emissions at the same time that the impacts of climate change send its forests up in smoke.
/jlne.ws/3Xlwgjy

Switzerland passes law to cut carbon emissions after fractious referendum; 'Yes' campaign prevails as strength of green politics is tested by populist nimbyism
Sam Jones - Financial Times
Switzerland's commitment to reducing its carbon emissions was put to the test this weekend in a fractious national vote that challenged the strength of green politics in one of the world's wealthiest countries.
/jlne.ws/3NBIaSX

NATO Must Answer Putin's Latest Nuclear Threat Tit-For-Tat; It seems that Russia will display its atomic bombs in Belarus just as the Western allies gather nearby in Lithuania. There must be consequences.
Andreas Kluth - Bloomberg
It doesn't get more reckless and incendiary than this. Russian President Vladimir Putin is stationing nuclear weapons in his neighboring vassal state of Belarus in July, right as the 31 NATO allies meet next door in Lithuania for their annual shindig. That rattle of his nuclear sabers will be the latest of many since he attacked Ukraine last year. NATO cannot leave this escalation unanswered. The question isn't whether to respond, but how.
/jlne.ws/3paJJhn



Regulation & Enforcement
Stories about regulation and the law.
U.S. Supreme Court allows Justice Department to toss whistleblower cases
Nate Raymond - Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday preserved the Justice Department's power to unilaterally dismiss lawsuits filed under a law that lets whistleblowers sue businesses on behalf of the government to recover taxpayer money paid to companies based on false claims in exchange for a portion of any recovery.
/jlne.ws/3p850YX

Meddling with regulators' duties is an unfortunate UK failing; Watchdogs are burdened with new social policy obligations, with mixed results
Helen Thomas - Financial Times
The UK is in the grips of a duty epidemic. The latest victim (willing, it must be said) is energy regulator Ofgem, which will be legally required to focus on reaching net zero emissions as it oversees the UK energy market. And who could object? Decarbonising the economy requires every bit of government, every arms-length body and every quango to be pushing in the same direction.
/jlne.ws/468CqYa

Financial disputes regulator plays down impact of new UK consumer protection; Chief ombudsman says she has 'no interest' in pursuing spurious claims amid industry concerns
Laura Noonan - Financial Times
The chief financial ombudsman has sought to damp industry concerns that new flagship consumer protection reforms could disproportionately harm the finance sector, saying she has "no interest" in pursuing spurious compensation claims.
/jlne.ws/3Xu56qR

FCA restricts movement of assets by Odey's hedge fund; Voluntary agreement comes after founder Crispin Odey was ousted over sexual impropriety allegations
Laura Noonan - Financial Times
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has restricted the movement of cash and assets from Odey Asset Management in a bid to restore order at the hedge fund after its founder Crispin Odey was ousted over allegations of sexual impropriety. The FCA will publish details on Monday of voluntary restrictions agreed with Odey Asset Management, two people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3N9t4Tk

PIMCO charged by the SEC for swaps disclosure and procedures failures; Without admitting or denying the regulator's findings, PIMCO has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and a censure; will pay a combined penalty of $9 million.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) $9 million for disclosure, policies and procedures violations involving two funds the firm advises on.
/jlne.ws/3PizYs4

SEC Secures Emergency Relief to Protect Binance.US Customers' Assets; Order ensures platform customers can continue to withdraw their assets
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today secured emergency relief in which the all the defendants in its litigation against Binance Holdings Limited, BAM Management US Holdings Inc., BAM Trading Services Inc., and Changpeng Zhao agreed to repatriate to the United States assets held for the benefit of customers of the Binance.US crypto trading platform. The order from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia also prohibits defendants BAM Trading Services Inc. and BAM Management US Holdings, Inc. (together, "BAM") from spending corporate assets other than in the ordinary course of business. The order helps ensure that Binance.US customers are permitted to withdraw their assets from the platform and that those assets that remain on the platform are protected and remain in the United States through the resolution of the SEC's pending litigation against Binance Holdings Ltd., BAM, and their founder, Zhao.
/jlne.ws/3XaUeOp

Infinity Q Capital Management, LLC, No. 23-civ- 05081 (S.D.N.Y. filed June 16, 2023); SEC Charges Infinity Q Investment Adviser with Fraud; Seeks Monitor to Oversee Return of Remaining Funds to Harmed Investors of the Infinity Q Private Fund
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settled action against registered investment adviser Infinity Q Capital Management, LLC for mispricing the net asset value, or "NAV," of its public mutual fund and private fund as part of a massive overvaluation scheme. The SEC's complaint seeks an order appointing a monitor to oversee the return of remaining funds to harmed private fund investors. The SEC previously charged the mutual fund with mispricing its NAV, and the court appointed a special master to oversee the distribution of the mutual fund's remaining funds to its harmed investors.
/jlne.ws/3PC2OEb

Securities and Exchange Commission v. BHP Capital NY, Inc. and Bryan Pantofel, 1:23-CV-22233 (S.D. Fla. filed June 16, 2023); SEC Charges Convertible Note Dealer and Its Owner for Failure to Register
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against a convertible note dealer, BHP Capital NY, Inc., and its managing member, Bryan Pantofel, for failing to register with the SEC as securities dealers. As part of the settlement, Pantofel and BHP Capital agreed to pay more than $2.5 million in monetary relief and have BHP Capital surrender for cancellation the securities it allegedly obtained from its unregistered dealer activity.
/jlne.ws/3CBu91f

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Native American Energy Group, Inc., et al., No. 23-civ-4455 (E.D.N.Y. filed June 16, 2023); SEC Charges Microcap Company, Its CEO, and Former Consultant with Fraud and Registration Violations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Native American Energy Group, Inc., its CEO, Joseph D'Arrigo, and one of its former consultants, David Hudzik, with violating antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws in connection with a multi-million dollar offering fraud.
/jlne.ws/3p9Qtfk

ESMA in 2022 - Focus on financial stability and investor protection
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published its Annual Report for 2022. It sets out the key achievements of the authority in fulfilling its mission of enhancing investor protection and promoting stable and orderly financial markets in the European Union (EU) during a transformative year.
/jlne.ws/3Cz20rA

Ice Futures Europe review
FMA
Ice Futures Europe (IFEU) is licensed to operate the IFEU derivatives market in New Zealand. The FMA is required to report, at least once every two years, on how well IFEU is meeting its obligations as a licensed market operator.
/jlne.ws/3N9ziCG

Ice Futures US review
FMA
ICE Futures U.S., Inc. (IFUS) was licensed to operate the IFUS derivatives market in New Zealand from 1 December 2014 until 5 April 2023, when its licence was cancelled at IFUS's request. The FMA was required to report, at least once every two years, on how well IFUS was meeting its obligations as a licensed market operator.
/jlne.ws/3JmE0Mp

FMA warns New Zealanders of comparison website harvesting investor details
FMA
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - is urging New Zealanders to exercise extreme caution when dealing with a phony interest rates comparison website. The FMA believes the website is harvesting users' personal information for criminals to sell fake investments.
/jlne.ws/3PhftMp

MOVEit vulnerability
UK FCA
We are aware of a vulnerability to the file transfer application MOVEit that has been impacting organisations and exposing personal data.
/jlne.ws/3p99Y7O

Overview of financial results of major insurance companies as of March 31, 2023
Japan FAS
Following the announcements by major insurance companies of their financial results as of March 31, 2023, the FSA has compiled the figures, etc. announced by these insurance companies.
/jlne.ws/3qCUEAH

SFC reprimands and fines Taiping Securities (HK) Co Limited $1.3 million for internal control failures over employee dealings
Securities and Futures Commission - Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined Taiping Securities (HK) Co Limited (TSCL) $1.3 million for internal control failings in relation to employee dealings between 1 January 2016 and 30 November 2018 (Note 1).
/jlne.ws/3NBdSjh








Investing & Trading
Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities)
Boomers Got Hooked on Stocks. Now They Can't Let Go; Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults age 65 and older have money in stocks
Hannah Miao and Amina Niasse - The Wall Street Journal
When it comes to investing, older Americans can't quit their stock-market habit. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults age 65 and older own equity through individual stocks, mutual funds or retirement savings accounts, according to an April survey by Gallup. That is up from roughly half of Americans in the same age cohort before the 2008 financial crisis-âEUR‹the only age group to see stock ownership rates rise over that period.
/jlne.ws/3NyJfLq

How Today's Teens Get More Financial Firepower Than Past Generations; Teen accounts on payment apps offer financial freedom with oversight
Oyin Adedoyin - The Wall Street Journal
Teenagers used to nag parents for the car keys or a little extra cash. These days, they are just as likely to want Uber , Venmo and Amazon accounts. Access to a growing library of payment apps is now a rite of passage and easier than ever. In May, Uber and PayPal's Venmo launched accounts for children ages 13-17. Cash App, Fidelity, Amazon and others already offered similar services they pitch as a way to satisfy both adolescent desire for the apps and parents' anxiety about how to manage their use.
/jlne.ws/3XbrEwj

Frontier markets forecast to thrive as investors avoid US-China rivalry; Mercer predicts money will flow to non-aligned states that have dodged geopolitical crossfire
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
Emerging and frontier markets are poised to benefit from US-China tensions as global investors seek companies and projects that can avoid the economic rivalry, Mercer's chief investment strategist has said.
/jlne.ws/3JlSlIG

Apollo's mission in finance; Marc Rowan talks up the firm's strategy that is challenging the traditional Wall Street powerhouses
William Cohan - Financial Times
To hear the chief executive of Apollo, Marc Rowan, tell it, there are still some misunderstandings about the rise and rise of private credit houses since the end of the global financial crisis. Rowan came to this realisation after a recent overseas tour, where he met the CEO of one of the largest European banks. "I had never met him before," Rowan told the Economic Club of New York on June 6. "It's a blind date and sometimes blind dates can be fun."
/jlne.ws/3PnihYn

Assets invested in global exchange traded funds hit record $10.32tn; Industry at new peak while most other asset classes are still below their previous highs
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
Assets invested in global exchange traded funds have hit a record of $10.32tn off the back of rallying stock markets and resilient inflows. The figure exceeds the $10.26tn mark set at the end of 2021 when markets peaked before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a global surge in inflation, according to data from ETFGI, a consultancy.
/jlne.ws/3pgdhKn

Will the US Treasury yield curve invert further? Market Questions is the FT's guide to the week ahead
Kate Duguid, Mary McDougall and Hudson Lockett - Financial Times
Will the US yield curve invert further? The gap between short- and long-term US government borrowing costs this week reached its widest point since the banking turmoil in March, a spread which may widen further next week as investors coalesce around the view that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer
/jlne.ws/42ImEjH

Top Stock Picker Scouts AI Fringes to Beat 97% of Peers; Scout24, Nordson to benefit from AI frenzy: Fairlight's Cregan; Sydney-based fund sees cheap valuations in small, mid-caps
Georgina McKay - Bloomberg
When it comes to trading the artificial intelligence frenzy, one top-performing global equity fund is winning big by scouting out some out-of-the-box ideas. Fairlight Asset Management's Nick Cregan invests in companies he believes will be enhanced by AI or well protected from its implications. It's a conviction that's helped propel his Fairlight Global Small & Mid Cap fund up 24% over the past year, beating 97% of peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/444KhnU




Qontigo




Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance
Stories about environmental, social and governance investing
Why Juneteenth matters everywhere in the world
John Letzing and Andrew Berkley - World Economic Forum
19 June commemorates the end of slavery in the US and is a federal holiday. The day marks an opportunity to reflect on ways to combat racism in every country. To some, it might seem like a relatively obscure Americanism. Even in America, it was only made a federal holiday a year ago. But Juneteenth, celebrated on 19 June, presents an opportunity to take stock of the systemic racism and intolerance that have long cut across international borders.
/jlne.ws/3CymEbs

Pride at Work Is Priceless, but It's Nice to Be Paid; In June, when rainbow flags are everywhere, including corporate logos, it's meaningful to see a company support queer employees and allies with compensation.
Roxane Gay - The New York Times
Pay to Parade. At my place of work, we typically have a presence at local festivals and parades. We have a team that does outreach events as part of its work. Employees on the team are paid to set up a table, talk about our business and sign people up for our membership program.
/jlne.ws/42N8LRe

As the Colorado River Declines, Water Scarcity and the Hunt for New Sources Drive up Rates; The price of water is rising across the Southwest as utilities look to cover the cost of the increasingly scarce resource, the infrastructure to treat and distribute it and the search for new supplies.
Wyatt Myskow and Emma Peterson - Inside Climate News
Across the Southwest, water users are preparing for a future with a lot less water as the region looks to confront steep cuts from the Colorado River and states are forced to limit use to save the river. Farms are being paid to not farm. Cities are looking to be more efficient and find new water supplies. And prices are starting to go up. In Phoenix, the city's Water Services Department is preparing to increase residents' monthly water bills starting this October if the hike is approved by the city council. The city isn't alone.
/jlne.ws/42VjPw4

Europe Keeps Breaking Heat Records as Fastest-Warming Continent; A new scientific report on the impacts of climate change in Europe finds it's continuing to get hotter on land and at sea.
Olivia Rudgard - Bloomberg
Europe had the warmest summer on record last year, contributing to thousands of deaths, marine heat waves and extreme weather, an analysis has found. The continent warmed to 2.3C above the pre-industrial average in 2022, a joint report by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said. Sea surface temperatures reached record highs and there was also "unprecedented" glacier melting, the agencies said.
/jlne.ws/3qNbrkK

Ancient Amazon Charcoal Seen as Next Big Thing in Carbon Markets; Biochar drawing interest from blue chip firms like Microsoft
Sheryl Tian Tong Lee, Peter Millard and Heesu Lee - Bloomberg
A type of charcoal first used by Amazonian tribes thousands of years ago is becoming a key component of net-zero goals set by Microsoft Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other blue chip companies eager to offset their carbon emissions.
/jlne.ws/3NDvL13

Green alliance crisis is more than just a US drama
Pamela Barbaglia - Reuters
Global insurers are testing the limits of United Nations-backed green bodies. Back in March the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) boasted 30 members, representing about 15% of global premium volume. Now the NZIA, a key financial forum for insurers to set decarbonisation targets and a part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), has shrunk to just 13 companies.
/jlne.ws/468CcjN

GMEX ZERO13 and Zumo collaborate on new carbon credit offering for banks and corporates; Integrated solution to offset carbon footprint using tokenised carbon credits
GMEX Group
/jlne.ws/447Jumc

Biodiversity Finance: Protect the Planet, Strengthen Livelihoods
Nadya Nikiforova - IFC.org
/jlne.ws/3XgToiQ

Big Oil's Green Retreat Helps Clear the Way for Everyone Else in Renewables
William Mathis - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3qNcp0m

Trillion-Dollar Answers to Tackle a Fast Heating World; As summer approaches and climate-driven impacts ramp up, the Zero podcast discusses a slew of solutions to cut emissions and adapt to a warmer planet.
Oscar Boyd, Christine Driscoll and Akshat Rathi - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/42MlpQv

Berlin Risks Water Shortages in Fallout From Germany's Coal Exit;l An unintended consequence of climate reform means the Spree River may get 75% less water
Petra Sorge - Bloomberg
On extremely hot and dry summer days, water in Berlin's Spree River gets sucked upstream by an array of pumps to ensure the German capital has enough to drink. Reversing the natural flow is set to become more frequent as the country's exit from coal means a key source of water is lost.
/jlne.ws/3XcL57Q








Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds
The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures
'Prospects for UBS are better than ever' - CEO Ermotti
Reuters
UBS's Chief Executive sought to reassure Switzerland on Saturday over its new banking giant, created by the Swiss bank's historic takeover of former rival Credit Suisse.
/jlne.ws/3JgbdJl

SVB Financial to sell investment banking unit to management team; Securities division has been for sale since Silicon Valley Bank's failure in March sent tremors through banking industry
Eric Platt and Sujeet Indap - Financial Times
SVB Financial Group has reached a deal to sell its investment banking division to a group led by some of its own top bankers, including Jeffrey Leerink, as well as a hedge fund, the Baupost Group, the firms said on Sunday.
/jlne.ws/446bCWB

Fidelity pushes into European corporate lending as banks retreat; Asset manager to launch fund that will make secured loans to midsized European businesses
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
Fidelity International is expanding into European business lending as asset managers seek to exploit gaps in the market after the financial crisis and recent banking turmoil. Fidelity, which oversees more than $700bn, is launching a fund that will make secured loans to midsized European corporates with annual earnings of around EUR5mn to EUR30mn.
/jlne.ws/3XiaQDJ

Odey's collapse is only partial justice; Founder of firm still walking away with spoils of investing career made while allegedly abusing employees along the way
Patrick Jenkins - Financial Times
There is an irony in JPMorgan Chase having proved the last straw for Odey Asset Management. Last Monday, the US banking giant agreed to pay up to $290mn to the sex crime survivors of the late Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire who JPM kept on as a lucrative client despite multiple internal warnings about his behaviour. Last Tuesday, the bank severed a prime brokerage and custody arrangement that was vital to Odey's survival.
/jlne.ws/3XgTZkA

Barclays faces trial over Dutch landlord derivatives losses; Social housing group came close to collapse in 2012 after it bought complex interest rate products
Jane Croft - Financial Times
Barclays is facing a High Court trial next year after being sued by a Dutch social housing association that came close to collapse in 2012 after it bought complex interest rate derivatives. The housing association, known at the time as Vestia, rents homes to thousands of low-income tenants and brought lawsuits against seven global banks over interest rate derivative contracts sold to it between 2008 and 2011.
/jlne.ws/3NhMKEw

SVB Customers Who Lost Their Deposits Remain on the Hook for Loans; The FDIC seized the deposits of Silicon Valley Bank's Asian customers, but their loans remain with First Citizens Bank
Frances Yoon and Serena Ng - The Wall Street Journal
Silicon Valley Bank's customers in Asia whose deposits were recently seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are in a bind for another reason: they still have loans outstanding-to First Citizens Bank. When SVB failed earlier this year, the FDIC stepped in to protect all of the California bank's U.S. deposits and arranged a sale of the lender's U.S. customer accounts, branches and loans to First Citizens Bancshares.
/jlne.ws/43RGlaf




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Work & Management
Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends.
How Companies Are Tackling Job Misery; Ice cream for baggage handlers, fewer meetings and no more counting shrimp
Russell Adams - The Wall Street Journal
What is as good as a raise? A break from drudgery. More companies are betting on it as they try to retain and attract workers in a persistently tight labor market. They are cutting down on meetings and mundane tasks, easing the discomfort of physical jobs and giving employees more say in how and when they work.
/jlne.ws/3Cyi116

These Pandemic-Era Habits Just Won't Die; From how we shop and work to how we connect with others, the pandemic greatly accelerated our adoption of some key technologies. Americans aren't going to go back to the way things were before.
Christopher Mims - The Wall Street Journal
Pandemic lockdowns forced billions of people to reshuffle their work, shopping and spending habits in ways that many businesses and forecasters imagined would be permanent. It turns out they weren't quite right.
/jlne.ws/3qTBV3U

New Grads Have No Idea How to Behave in the Office. Help Is on the Way; As the Class of 2023 enters the workforce, employers are seeing a lack of the skills necessary to navigate the office. The solution: instruction on how to send an email, the right way to buttonhole the boss and what not to wear.
Lindsay Ellis - The Wall Street Journal
Recent graduates might be great at accounting or coding, but they need a little help when it comes to dinner parties and dress codes. Many members of the class of 2023 were freshmen in college in the spring of 2020, when campuses shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They spent the rest of their college years partially in virtual mode with hybrid internships and virtual classes. Students didn't learn some of the so-called soft skills they might have in the past by osmosis on the job, from mentors and by practicing on campus.
/jlne.ws/448zngD








Wellness Exchange
An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information
Lots of Hiring, but Not So Much Working; Companies resist layoffs even as economic weakness looms
Gwynn Guilford and Austen Hufford - The Wall Street Journal
The hiring boom obscures what looks like a contradictory economic trend: Employees are working fewer hours. The average number of hours worked a week by private-sector employees declined to 34.3 in May, below the 2019 average and down from a peak of 35 hours in January 2021, according to the Labor Department.
/jlne.ws/3PhXcP2

Could cancer become a chronic, treatable disease? For many, it already is.
Katherine Ellison - The Wall Street Journal
Kelly Spill was 28, with an 8-month-old son, when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 rectal cancer. A malignant tumor was causing the bleeding and discomfort that her doctors had dismissed for months as postpartum hemorrhoids.
/jlne.ws/3PlQPKM

The unexplained rise of cancer among millennials; Increasing numbers of younger people in the developed world are being diagnosed with the disease. Scientists are not sure why
Sarah Neville and Amy Borrett - Financial Times
When Paddy Scott developed agonising stomach pains in 2017, the possibility of cancer never entered his head. The British expedition photographer and film-maker, whose work often took him into rugged or dangerous terrain, was just 34 years old and prided himself on his physical fitness.
/jlne.ws/3Xl3srq

Cancer Warnings on Beer, Wine in Ireland Spark Industry Alarm; New Irish law will require labels about cancer, liver disease; Debate likely to be raised during this week's WTO discussions
Peter O'Dwyer - Bloomberg
New health warnings by Ireland set to be the world's strictest on beer, wine and spirits have sparked alarm from alcohol-producing countries that argue the labels would impose an obstacle to trade.
/jlne.ws/3qXaR3K








Regions
Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
Nearly 100 die as India struggles with a sweltering heat wave in 2 most populous states
Biswajeet Banerjee - Associated Press
At least 96 people died in two of India's most populous states over the last several days, officials said Sunday, with swaths of the country reeling from a sweltering heat wave. The deaths happened in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar where authorities warned residents over 60 and others suffering various maladies to stay indoors during the daytime.
/jlne.ws/3JjtSUu

Hong Kong's $1.9 Trillion Stocks Await Boost From Yuan Trading
Jeanny Yu - Bloomberg
Hong Kong is betting that a new program allowing investors to trade equities in the yuan on top of its local currency will help revive its flagging stock market and boost turnover that's hovering at a four-year low.
/jlne.ws/3PjUtEF

Singapore to End 3,000% Power Price Spikes That Sank Companies; City state to impose price increase limits from next month; Many retailers exited market in 2021 after prices sky-rocketed
Ann Koh - Bloomberg
Singapore plans to more aggressively regulate electricity markets as price jumps intensify, again threatening to hurt the retailers that sell it to businesses and households. The Energy Market Authority will cap wholesale power prices from July 1 using a formula tied to natural gas and generation costs, it said in a document on its website. That comes after they jumped as much as 3,000% this year despite sharp drops in the cost of liquefied natural gas, the nation's main fuel.
/jlne.ws/3Pmjwas

Florida Is Losing Its Affordability Edge After Drawing a Flood of New Arrivals; The state's housing frenzy is starting to subside as higher mortgage rates and soaring insurance costs erode some of its attractiveness with newcomers.
Prashant Gopal - Bloomberg
A stampede of Northeasterners in search of sunshine and cheaper living sent Florida's housing market into a frenzy through the pandemic. The manic demand is finally starting to wane. Single-family home prices in Florida have flattened for the first time since 2011, after climbing almost 50% in the past three years. Inbound moves are slowing. And soaring mortgage rates and insurance premiums have eroded one of the Sunshine State's most alluring attributes: affordability.
/jlne.ws/46o0BlJ

Empty offices, abandoned malls, concerns over crime: Why San Francisco, the Golden City, is losing its luster
Al Yoon - Insider
Downtown San Francisco's fall from grace is unfolding quickly. Landlords large and small are waving the white flag over the increasing pressures facing the city, stemming in part from the downsizing of some of the largest employers and the inertia of remote work.
/jlne.ws/3XtAxBD








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