| January 22, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reported a record 2 billion futures and options contracts traded in 2024, the highest volume in its history. This included 1.2 billion commodity contracts and 753 million interest rate derivatives. Energy derivatives drove much of the growth, with 655 million oil contracts and 404 million natural gas contracts traded, including records for Brent (346 million) and TTF gas (93 million). ICE's European interest rate markets also saw record volumes, with 467 million Euribor and 186 million SONIA contracts traded. ICE credited its multi-asset, multi-geography platform for enabling global risk management.
Forget the J6 crowd pardons, let's talk about the pardon of the Dread Pirate Roberts, and not the one from the movie "The Princess Bride." President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, fulfilling a campaign promise aimed at cryptocurrency advocates and libertarian voters. Announcing the decision on Truth Social, Trump said he had informed Ulbricht's mother of the pardon, citing the Libertarian Movement's strong support for his campaign. Ulbricht, known as "Dread Pirate Roberts," was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison for running Silk Road, where more than $200 million in illegal transactions occurred using cryptocurrency. Convicted of drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering, Ulbricht, now 40, had served over a decade of his double-life sentence. Prosecutors also alleged he tried to arrange murders to protect his business, but the government did not believe any were carried out, Bloomberg reported.
President Donald Trump's recent launch of $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins has sparked backlash within the crypto industry over concerns of reputational damage and investor risks. The coins, initially valued at a combined $17.5 billion, have lost over half their value, leading to allegations of conflicts of interest and fears of retail investor losses. Critics, including lawmakers and crypto executives, warn that the coins divert attention from legitimate blockchain projects while enabling anonymous financial transfers that could raise ethical and legal concerns. Most trading activity has occurred on lesser-known Asian exchanges, and 80% of the tokens are held by Trump-affiliated entities, with insider sales expected in the coming months, the Financial Times reported.
DRW is hosting two Discover DRW events this April in Chicago and London, offering selected students an opportunity to explore careers in trading. Participants will gain insights through networking, desk shadowing, lectures, and quantitative activities while learning practical strategies for job interviews. Applications are open until February 10th. Apply for Chicago. Apply for London.
Global exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) markets are on track to set a record for the sixth consecutive year in 2024. Join Liquidnet's Michael du Plessis, global head of listed derivatives, and Alex Grinfeld, co-head of listed derivatives Americas, as they discuss key trends driving growth in trading volume and open interest across interest rate, equity, and commodity futures and options. Hosted by Will Acworth, global head of market intelligence at FIA, the webinar takes place on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. ET. Register HERE.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Cboe moves indices data to cloud in latest migration, ANALYSIS: EEX chief sees Japanese power matching Europe's largest, ANALYSIS: New CFTC, SEC chairs outline lighter regulatory touch, Deribit passed $1 trillion spot, crypto options milestone in 2024, FOW Trading London 2025 Awards Shortlists Announced and Nasdaq's Friedman latest to warn about over-regulation of banks.
Sachin Kumar, a co-founder of Clear Street, which is responsible for clearing over $20 billion notionally for U.S. equities and supports $60 billion in client balances, announced on LinkedIn that he is taking a step back from his day-to-day responsibilities, and moving into a board advisory role.
Coquest Inc. is celebrating 35 years in energy brokerage, strategic advisory, and hedge consulting services. Established in 1990 by John Vassallo and Dennis Weinmann, who brought their experience from the New York Mercantile Exchange, the firm works with energy producers, consumers, and financial institutions globally.
Save the date! The Annual David Setters Cricket Trophy at the Blackheath Cricket Club for raising much needed funds for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association will be held on Friday, the 13th of June, 2025.
This is too close for comfort. According to WikiTree, I am 26 degrees separated from Rupert Murdoch.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Miami International Holdings Promotes Joseph Bracco to Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales from MIAX.
- A $500 Million ETF Will Be Next Big Launch in Tax-Busting Trend from Bloomberg.
- FX Options Traders Forced to Reverse Course by Trump Tariff Move from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 CME Group Prepares for U.S. Treasury Clearing Mandate with New Securities Offering, Tokenization, and AI Innovations JohnLothianNews.com CME Group is preparing for the implementation of the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate by leveraging its long-standing partnership with the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation and developing its own securities clearing offering, according to Suzanne Sprague, chief operating officer and global head of Clearing & Post-Trade Services. Watch the video »
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Trump Meme Coins Are a Disaster in Waiting; The First Family's chaotic cryptocurrency ventures feel like ICOs and NFTs all over again.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg Opinion
As a European who doesn't own Bitcoin, I enjoy a bit of schadenfreude when the cryptocurrency industry is really upset about something. And the latest bout of outrage is a doozy: The virtual-currency elites who saw Donald Trump as a crypto savior are now upset over his recent multi-billion-dollar Trump-branded meme coin sale. Investor Ari Paul called it "fleecing people for billions"; former Trump associate Anthony Scaramucci said it was dictator-level "corruption"; ex-Coinbase Global Inc. executive Balaji Srinavasan called it a "lottery" with no wealth creation.
/jlne.ws/4ar6918
***** Good, it is not just me. Lionel missed the Presidential historical perspective I shared yesterday, but this is a good look at the crypto-related issues.~JJL
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I'm a neuroscientist. Here's how gambling can change your brain
Dean Burnett - BBC Science Focus Magazine
We now know that gambling can be as addictive as drugs, but there are factors that can make it even harder to quit. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is the text produced by the World Health Organization that summarises all the medical issues they recognise. When the latest version, the ICD-11, was produced, the section concerning addictive disorders included a category for addictive behaviours. It's now medically recognised that people can become addicted to specific actions and not just substances. Chief among these behaviours is gambling.
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****** I bet you won't read this article!~JJL
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Trump's Economics Are Anybody's Guess. Here's Mine; Prepare for inflation, higher interest rates and turbulence as the president puts his plans into action.
Bill Dudley - Bloomberg
Now that Donald Trump has taken office, markets and the economy have a new and very different driving force. Forget about the Federal Reserve. America's outlook will depend much more on how, and to what extent, the president puts his plans on everything from tariffs to deportations into action. What to expect? That's a very difficult question. Nevertheless, one can make an educated guess. Here's mine. Trump will take tariffs much higher than before - to at least 10% of aggregate imports, compared with 3% in his first term. He's genuinely a fan, seeing them as a great negotiating tool and income generator. His government needs the revenue, given projected budget deficits of about 6% of gross domestic product over the next decade (and that's assuming no extension of the 2017 tax cuts). As a result, inflation will probably run 25 to 50 basis points higher over the next year, as importers pass on costs and protected domestic producers raise prices. This price shock will come at a time when inflation is already above the Fed's 2% target. It will depress consumer spending, especially for lower-income households that have no savings buffer and spend more of their income on imported goods.
/jlne.ws/4hsgMTM
***** I advised someone yesterday to look to the bond market for a career path as I think that is the next area of opportunity given the volatility and higher rates to come.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our most clicked story on Tuesday was the SEC press release CFTC Names Caroline D. Pham Acting Chairman. Second was Elon Musk Comments on Salute Controversy, from TIME Magazine. Third was Change Your iPhone, Android Location Settings Now-Do Not Ignore NSA Warning, from Forbes.
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| Lead Stories | TMX Group Launches New US Equity ATS Venue; AlphaX US marks first international expansion for TMX Markets
TMX
TMX Group today announced the launch of AlphaX US, a new US Alternative Trading System (ATS) venue, that is designed to create a trading environment with a focus on enhanced execution quality. AlphaX US is the first venue expansion outside of Canada for TMX Group's Markets division and it will trade US-listed securities only (Reg NMS). Participants will be FINRA-registered broker dealers.
/jlne.ws/3PLLT0E
Cboe Launches Index Datasets on Snowflake Marketplace, Further Expanding Access via the Cloud
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced the availability of the Cboe Global Indices Feed on Snowflake Marketplace. Joint customers can now find end-of-day summary data and tick data from seven Cboe Global Indices Feed channels on Snowflake Marketplace - available for purchase through Cboe DataShop - gaining efficient access to high-quality index data via the cloud. The Cboe Global Indices Feed is a streaming data service delivering real-time index values that reflect market trends and insights across various asset classes. Known for its precision, versatility and reliability, the data helps to empower market participants with actionable insights derived from Cboe's trusted indices, including the globally recognized Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) and other proprietary Cboe indices developed in collaboration with S&P Dow Jones Indices, FTSE Russell, Morningstar, MSCI, and CoinRoutes RealPrice. All of this valuable data is now available on a historical basis through Snowflake.
/jlne.ws/3Cdprud
Billionaire Alex Gerko's XTX to Build EUR1 Billion Data Hub in Machine-Learning Bet; Billionaire's quant firm plans five data centers in Finland; The move bucks trend of relying on third-party infrastructure
Anna Irrera and Justina Lee - Bloomberg
Billionaire Alex Gerko's quantitative-trading firm XTX Markets is investing more than EUR1 billion ($1 billion) building five data centers in Finland to underpin its growing use of machine learning. The London-based market maker, which uses complex algorithms to trade over $250 billion worth of assets a day, will build the hub in the area around Kajaani, in central Finland, where it owns a 478-acre site, XTX said in a statement on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3Wvl7gF
Acting Chairman Pham: Time For CFTC to Get Back to Basics
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham today made the following statement: "I'm humbled and grateful to be entrusted by President Trump to lead the CFTC as we approach a significant milestone in our history with tremendous opportunities ahead," Pham said. "For the past half century, the CFTC has proudly served our mission to promote market integrity and liquidity in the commodity derivatives markets that are critical to the real economy and global trade-ensuring American growers, producers, merchants and other commercial end-users can mitigate risks to their business and support strong U.S. economic growth. As the CFTC celebrates our 50th anniversary, we must also refocus and change direction with new leadership to fulfill our statutory mandate to promote responsible innovation and fair competition in our markets that have continually evolved over the decades. It's time for the CFTC to get back to the basics.
/jlne.ws/4hgdzqk
SEC task force stokes new crypto optimism as industry awaits Trump actions
David Hollerith - Yahoo Finance
A new SEC cryptocurrency task force announced on Donald Trump's second day in office helped stoke some new investor enthusiasm for digital assets as the crypto world waited for executive orders from the new president. The goal of the "crypto task force" from the Securities and Exchange Commission is to help the US regulator "draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously," according to the SEC.
/jlne.ws/4h1XuEV
Deadline Pressure on Treasury Clearing
Scott O'Malia - ISDA
By the end of this year, the first phase of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Treasury clearing mandate is scheduled to come into force, affecting users of US Treasury securities all over the world. It's difficult to overstate how big a deal this is, and a huge amount of work is underway to implement the new requirements. However, several legal, operational and capital issues crucial to implementation must be resolved before the new requirements take effect - and time is running out. With the start of a new administration in the US, we hope the deadlines will be quickly revisited to provide sufficient time to tackle the various implementation challenges.
/jlne.ws/40JPlPq
Nasdaq CEO on corporate America under Trump: Quieter DEI efforts, exciting IPO environment
Brian Sozzi - Yahoo Finance
Corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are out of favor as President Donald Trump returns to the White House. But they aren't totally down for the count, a public company leader who has pushed for more DEI initiatives at tech companies said.
/jlne.ws/3PIG6sC
NYSE President Martin Says More Companies Are Pursuing US IPOs
Damian Shepherd - Bloomberg
The market for US initial public offerings is opening up following the election, according to New York Stock Exchange President Lynn Martin. "The activity is real," Martin said in a Bloomberg TV interview from Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday. "Deals are now getting on the road, they're making plans to IPO either in the coming days and weeks or in quarters or second half of the year."
/jlne.ws/40jewXS
Trump Pardons Imprisoned Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht
Stephanie Lai - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace, delivering on a campaign promise he made to court the cryptocurrency community and libertarian voters. Trump made the announcement on Tuesday in a post to his Truth Social platform, where he initially misspelled Ulbricht's name. Trump said he had called Ulbricht's mother "to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross."
/jlne.ws/42nPxp5
FCA chief calls for politicians to define acceptable level of harm to consumers; Nikhil Rathi warns easing controls on mortgage lending risks more defaults and repossessions
Martin Arnold - Financial Times
The head of the UK financial watchdog has called for politicians to define an acceptable level of harm to consumers as he warned more would "go wrong" as a result of Sir Keir Starmer's demands to slash regulation. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, said on Wednesday that its recent proposal for easing controls on mortgage lending would increase defaults and repossessions of homes.
/jlne.ws/4g3xqrH
Massive new energy source discovered hiding under Earth's surface; Experts are divided over how useful it could be.
Noa Leach - BBC Science Focus
How much energy we use and where it comes from has long been the central problem of the climate crisis. That's why some strategies have turned to tapping into new, cleaner fuels. A new discovery of a vast reserve of hydrogen energy hiding under the Earth's surface could help - but just how much of a difference could it make? Geologic hydrogen is formed during natural geochemical processes in the Earth and, so far, has been discovered in just a few places, including Albania and Mali. A new study, published in journal Science Advances, estimates these reserves stretch all around the globe.
/jlne.ws/3WplIk7
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Stefanik says she supports giving Trump 'maximum flexibility' in ending Ukraine war
Molly Finnegan - PBS
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., questioned Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., in her confirmation hearing Tuesday about how, as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., she might "address and punish Russia's ongoing attempted genocide in Ukraine."
/jlne.ws/3WvxIRb
Donald Trump Issues Ukraine Warning to 'Smart' Putin
Brendan Cole - Newsweek
President Donald Trump has threatened further sanctions against Russia if Vladimir Putin does not agree to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said he was talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and would have a conversation with his Russian counterpart "very soon," Reuters reported. Trump said he had a "very strong understanding with Putin" and added that "he disrespects people," saying that, "he's smart, he understands."
/jlne.ws/4h9GH2Q
Trump expresses possibility of more sanctions against Russia for Ukraine war
VOA News
U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the possibility of placing additional sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine. Asked about the prospect while speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump responded, "Sounds likely." Trump said his administration has been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon."
/jlne.ws/40u5YgG
Zelenskiy says security guarantee would need at least 200,000 peacekeepers
Alessandra Galloni - Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is seeking a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that at least 200,000 European peacekeepers would be needed to prevent a new Russian attack after any ceasefire deal. The Ukrainian leader, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland a day after Trump returned to power following months of promises to end the war in Ukraine quickly, also urged European leaders to do more to defend the continent.
/jlne.ws/4g5WiyR
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Hamas' tight grip on Gaza complicates plan for lasting peace
Nidal Al-Mughrabi - Reuters
In neighbourhoods levelled by 15 months of war with Israel, Hamas officials are overseeing the clearance of rubble in the wake of Sunday's ceasefire. The group's gunmen are guarding aid convoys on Gaza's dusty roads, and its blue-uniformed police once again patrol city streets, sending a clear message: Hamas remains in charge.
Israeli officials have described a parade of jubilant Hamas fighters that celebrated the ceasefire on Sunday in front of cheering crowds as a carefully orchestrated attempt to exaggerate the Palestinian militant group's strength.
/jlne.ws/3E8zYYb
After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza
Samy Magdy and Joseph Krauss - AP
As a ceasefire brought calm to Gaza's ruined cities, Hamas was quick to emerge from hiding. The militant group has not only survived 15 months of war with Israel - among the deadliest and most destructive in recent memory - but it remains firmly in control of the coastal territory that now resembles an apocalyptic wasteland. With a surge of humanitarian aid promised as part of the ceasefire deal, the Hamas-run government said Monday that it will coordinate distribution to the desperate people of Gaza.
/jlne.ws/4hlix4S
Israeli Settlers Burned West Bank Homes in Riots Organized on Chat Groups; Violence reflects anger over the cease-fire deal among people on Israel's extreme right
Anat Peled in Tel Aviv and Omar Abdel-Baqui in Dubai - The Wall Street Journal
As Palestinian families prepared to welcome relatives freed from prisons Sunday in a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank sent out a call to action: stop them from going home. What followed was two nights of armed attacks on Palestinian villages that destroyed homes and cars and left dozens injured, according to the Israeli military and the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The violence reflects the anger over the cease-fire deal among people on Israel's extreme right wing, many of whom are West Bank settlers opposed to ending the war and releasing Palestinian prisoners, and determined to build Jewish settlements in Gaza.
/jlne.ws/4hgNLKy
Aid Is Rushing Into Gaza While the Cease-Fire Holds; Surge in truckloads brings desperately needed food after months of halting deliveries
Stephen Kalin - The Wall Street Journal
Humanitarian supplies are pouring into the Gaza Strip at an unprecedented rate, as foreign governments and aid groups race during a pause in the fighting to bring much needed relief to the beleaguered population. The flows enabled by the cease-fire deal that went into effect Sunday morning are exceeding the 600 trucks a day called for in the agreement. In the first two days, 1,545 trucks have entered the enclave, according to data from the United Nations. That is also up from the 1,460 trucks that entered in the first 10 days of the month combined, according to Cogat, the Israeli military agency responsible for policy in the occupied Palestinian territories.
/jlne.ws/4hm7gBp
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | TMX Group launches US alternative trading system for equities; Named AlphaX US, the venue will trade US-listed securities only (Reg NMS) and follow the US equity market holiday calendar.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
TMX Group has launched a new US-based alternative trading system (ATS) venue, designed to create a trading environment with enhanced execution quality. Named AlphaX US, the ATS is TMX Group's first venue expansion outside of Canada for its markets division. The ATS will trade US-listed securities only (Reg NMS), with TMX Group adding that participants will be FINRA-registered broker dealers.
/jlne.ws/3PJBUbZ
Iberclear renews its mandate as manager of RENADE
BME-X
Iberclear, the Spanish Central Securities Depository and a BME subsidiary, has been awarded the tender to continue performing its functions of support for the National Administrator of the Spanish section of the European Union Registry in relation to the EU's Trading Scheme of Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowances, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement, for the period 2025-2026. The mandate can be extended until 2029.
/jlne.ws/3PHoAVM
Blue Ocean Technologies Expands Asia-Pacific Presence with New Office in South Korea & Appointment of SukJoon KIM; Strategic expansion strengthens Blue Ocean's commitment to global trading with new leadership and regional headquarters in Seoul
Blue Ocean Technologies, LLC
Blue Ocean Technologies, LLC (BOT), a leading fintech company transforming U.S. overnight trading to a global experience, today announced its continued Asia-Pacific expansion with the opening of a new office in Seoul, South Korea. To lead its efforts in the North Asia Pacific (APAC) region, Blue Ocean has appointed SukJoon KIM as Vice President - Head of North APAC at Blue Ocean Technologies, LLC. This strategic move highlights Blue Ocean's commitment to fostering growth and innovation in key financial markets, further supporting investors worldwide.
/jlne.ws/42pM5dE
Cboe Launches Index Datasets on Snowflake Marketplace, Further Expanding Access via the Cloud
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced the availability of the Cboe Global Indices Feed on Snowflake Marketplace. Joint customers can now find end-of-day summary data and tick data from seven Cboe Global Indices Feed channels on Snowflake Marketplace - available for purchase through Cboe DataShopSM - gaining efficient access to high-quality index data via the cloud. The Cboe Global Indices Feed is a streaming data service delivering real-time index values that reflect market trends and insights across various asset classes. Known for its precision, versatility and reliability, the data helps to empower market participants with actionable insights derived from Cboe's trusted indices, including the globally recognized Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) and other proprietary Cboe indices developed in collaboration with S&P Dow Jones Indices, FTSE Russell, Morningstar, MSCI, and CoinRoutes RealPrice. All of this valuable data is now available on a historical basis through Snowflake.
/jlne.ws/3Cdprud
Clearing Transformation Post-Trade Processing Eligibility - Effective February 24, 2025
CME Group
Please be advised that CME Clearing will enable Post-Trade Processing eligibility for Clearing Transformation results, originally referenced in CH Advisory 24-091. The Production Date for this change will be for trade date Monday, February 24, 2025.
/jlne.ws/3ClgBdV
February 2025 Delivery Date Memo
CME Group
Important dates and events through the month relevant to delivery and clearing procedures.
/jlne.ws/4hqXlub
ICE Announces That a Record 2 Billion Contracts Traded in 2024; Includes Record 1.2 Billion Commodity Contracts and Record 753 Million Interest Rates Contracts
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced that a record 2 billion futures and options traded on ICE in 2024, marking the highest volume year in ICE's history, including a record 1.2 billion commodity contracts and a record 753 million interest rate derivatives contracts. ICE is home to the largest and most liquid energy derivatives markets in the world. 2024 marked the largest volume year for the number of oil contracts traded on ICE with a record 655 million oil futures and options contracts traded, including a record 346 million Brent futures and options, a record 92.8 million Gasoil futures and options contracts, 21 million ICE Dubai (Platts) futures and options contracts and 6 million ICE Murban futures contracts.
/jlne.ws/40JkItN
JSE Kicks Off Registrations for the Exciting Annual Investment Challenge
JSE
The JSE Investment Challenge offers participants a unique opportunity to manage a virtual amount of R1 million in investments on the stock market, utilising actual JSE-listed shares. This simulation closely mirrors real-time market fluctuations and conditions, giving students a hands-on experience that aligns with actual trading environments. Over a six-month period, their performance is tracked and measured against their peers. Monthly prizes are awarded to the top-performing teams, while the overall winners will share R1 million in prizes, including a trip to an international stock exchange for tertiary-level participants.
/jlne.ws/4h3Yybk
Results of the English Disclosure Implementation Status Survey as of the End of December 2024
JPX
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) has promoted English disclosure by listed companies in order to enhance convenience for overseas investors and enable them to make appropriate investment decisions based on the disclosed information. As part of this effort, since 2019, TSE has been conducting surveys on the English disclosure implementation status of listed companies and providing a list of the results on its website to a wide range of people including overseas investors.
/jlne.ws/4awszhA
LCH Limited names de Verdelon as CEO
Reporter: Clelia Frondaroli - Securities France Times
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has appointed Susi de Verdelon as CEO of LCH Limited. Assuming the role in February, de Verdelon takes over the position from Isabelle Girolami, who is set to leave the company after holding the position since November 2019. She joined LCH Limited in 2017 as global chief operating officer for rates. Since then, de Verdelon has advanced to group head of SwapClear, Listed Rates, where she has been responsible for maintaining strong relationships with global clients and setting new strategic directions for the firm.
/jlne.ws/4aJO6DD
LuxSE recognised as 'major overseas market' for corporate issuers in South Korea
LuxSE
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange is now included in the list of 'major overseas markets' in South Korea, unlocking new opportunities for publicly listed South Korean corporate and financial institution issuers to access international capital markets and benefit from LuxSE's FastLane listing process. The Financial Supervisory Service of the Republic of Korea ("Korea"), in consultation with the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the relevant ministry, now recognises the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) as a 'major overseas market' under the Detailed Regulation on Issuance, Public Disclosure of Securities, a subordinate regulation of the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act of the Republic of Korea.
/jlne.ws/3WsNTi2
Miami International Holdings Promotes Joseph Bracco to Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales
MIAX
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today announced the promotion of Joseph Bracco to the position of Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales. "Joe's expertise in developing and managing client relationships has been instrumental to the growth of MIH, and this promotion is a recognition of his substantial contributions to the company," said Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIH. "His ability to execute on our growth plans while scaling them to meet the demands of our larger organization has been a key factor to our success."
/jlne.ws/4aIDPHP
Nasdaq Report Identifies Between $25 Billion and $50 Billion in Potential Efficiency Gains in Banks' Risk and Compliance Functions
Nasdaq
Between $25 billion and $50 billion in potential efficiency gains can be realized through targeted enhancements in banks' Risk and Compliance functions alone without compromising effectiveness, according to a report released by Nasdaq and Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, titled "The New Growth Imperative: Cutting through Complexity in the Financial System" reviews the interconnected challenge of complexity and complicatedness and finds that while external complexity continues to increase, excess layers of internal complicatedness have accumulated.
/jlne.ws/3E8yFIL
OCC Stories - Liz Barnhill on Enriching Connection
OCC
Elizabeth (Liz) Barnhill is part of the Pricing & Margins team in OCC's Dallas office; she also serves as a leader of the employee network group, Women's Leadership Network (WLN). Her OCC story describes how she enjoys championing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at work and how OCC's commitment to DEI makes her feel proud to work here.
/jlne.ws/4jsYzHw
Circular of Shanghai International Energy Exchange on Trading Adjustments for the Spring Festival 2025
SFE
Shanghai International Energy Exchange has released its Circular on Trading Adjustments for the Spring Festival 2025 as follows: In accordance with the Trading Schedule during National Holidays for Year 2025, Shanghai International Energy Exchange (hereinafter referred to as "INE") hereby notifies the trading adjustments for the Spring Festival 2025 as follows:
/jlne.ws/4au67pl
TMX Group Launches New US Equity ATS Venue
TMX
TMX Group today announced the launch of AlphaX US, a new US Alternative Trading System (ATS) venue, that is designed to create a trading environment with a focus on enhanced execution quality. AlphaX US is the first venue expansion outside of Canada for TMX Group's Markets division and it will trade US-listed securities only (Reg NMS). Participants will be FINRA-registered broker dealers.
/jlne.ws/4hqBcMJ
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Google Invests Another $1 Billion in AI Developer Anthropic; San Francisco-based Anthropic is best known for Claude; The startup is among OpenAI's most promising rivals in AI
Rachel Metz - Bloomberg
Alphabet Inc.'s Google is backing artificial intelligence developer Anthropic with a further $1 billion, building its stake in one of the most promising rivals to OpenAI. The new funding comes in addition to more than $2 billion that Google has already invested in Anthropic, according to a person familiar with the deal, who asked not to be named discussing a private matter. Google has a business agreement with Anthropic that covers the use of a suite of online tools and services. Amazon.com Inc. counts among its biggest backers.
/jlne.ws/4g9UrZO
ByteDance to invest US$614 million in computing centre in China amid high AI demand
Wency Chenin, Shanghai - South China Morning Post
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok and Douyin, is set to invest 4.5 billion yuan (US$614 million) in a new computing centre in the city of Datong, in northern Shanxi province, as China's most valuable unicorn boosts computing power to accommodate its popular artificial intelligence (AI) services. The technology giant, known for its popular short video apps, has been aggressively expanding in the AI sector. Its ChatGPT-like service Doubao has become one of China's leading AI platforms, and the company last month unveiled updates for a range of AI models and products.
/jlne.ws/4arQwGx
Elon Musk's Silence on AI Risks Is Deafening; The billionaire has gone quiet while the government scraps software safety guidelines.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
Elon Musk has painted himself as a humanitarian figure building a utopian future through a passel of companies. Don't fall for it. The billionaire's silence on the sudden reversal of US government guidelines for building safer artificial intelligence shows his priorities are political capital - and his own business interests. Among the cornucopia of executive orders that President Donald Trump enacted this week was a repeal of Joseph Biden's order on AI. Launched in October 2023, it called on major AI companies to share safety test results with the government. It was a simple list of requests. The executive order couldn't legally force tech firms to do anything, but it was the strongest signal so far that the US government was serious about the safety and oversight of AI systems.
/jlne.ws/4h3ZkVM
Bogus AI Images Used By Pro-China Accounts To Inflame US Opinion; Microsoft says fabricated pictures aimed to kindle dissent
Jake Bleiberg - Bloomberg
Chinese groups are using social media and artificial intelligence-generated images to stoke controversy in the US during an election year and gain insight into how Americans view divisive issues, according to Microsoft Corp. findings. Social media accounts linked to China have pushed conspiratorial content, such as blaming the US government for summer 2023 wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the company said in a report published Friday. Within days of the wildfire's kindling, the report says, one Chinese group pushed out posts in 31 languages, alleging the US government had deliberately set the blaze. Those posts included AI-generated images of burning coastal roads.
/jlne.ws/40Ifq1p
Microsoft Changes OpenAI Pact to Allow Use of Rival Cloud Services; The software giant was previously the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI and now retains right of first refusal.
Dina Bass - Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. has altered its multiyear deal with OpenAI and will now let the artificial intelligence startup use cloud-computing services from rival providers, so long as the software giant doesn't want the business itself. The agreement, which runs until 2030, will give Microsoft right of first refusal when OpenAI seeks computing horsepower to train and run its AI models, Microsoft said in a statement Tuesday. Previously Microsoft was the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI, but last year it approved a one-time exemption that enabled the startup to buy some capacity from Oracle Corp.
/jlne.ws/4auHoko
ION joins International Securities Lending Association
ION
ION, a global leader in trading and workflow automation software, high-value analytics and insights, and strategic consulting to financial institutions, central banks, governments, and corporates, has been accepted as an Associate Member of the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA).
/jlne.ws/3PHxId0
XTX Markets to make EUR1 billion investment in Finnish data centre project; Development will allow computational resources to be housed in the firm's own large-scale data centre for the first time.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
XTX Markets is set to invest more than EUR1 billion to develop a data centre complex in Kajaani, Finland. "We believe the best way to future-proof our business is to invest in our own infrastructure, which we can continue to leverage over time," said Joshua Leahy, chief technology officer at XTX Markets. Construction on the first data centre has begun, with completion planned for 2026. In the coming years, the firm plans to build four additional data centres on the same site.
/jlne.ws/3Wwvh0K
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Crypto Exploits Account for 40% of All Reported Heists in Blockchain History
Crypto Presales
Despite regulatory efforts and significant improvements in blockchain tracking technology, crypto-related crime remains a billion-dollar industry. Although the number of reported crypto crimes dropped, crypto criminals have stolen over $1.71 billion in 2024 alone, practically the same as the year before, and crypto exploits remained their top pick among all scams. According to data presented by CryptoPresales.com, crypto exploits account for nearly 40% of all reported crimes in blockchain history. Exploits Are 15% more Common than Crypto Hacks and Twice more than Flash Loans
/jlne.ws/40I1SDf
Swedish Spam Blocker Truecaller Takes on AI Voice Clones
Charles Daly - Bloomberg
Sweden's Truecaller AB, the developer of a caller ID and spam-blocking app, is deploying technology to counter the growing number of criminals using artificial intelligence-generated voice cloning to defraud phone users. Scammers are cloning voices to increasingly target companies, Chief Executive Officer Rishit Jhunjhunwala told Bloomberg News. For example, he's seen a fake version of a CEO's voice being used to call up the firm's finance chief to request a large transfer. Fraudsters are also posing as fake customers to get inside companies' systems.
/jlne.ws/4getRPb
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto executives fear investor backlash over Trump memecoins; Industry trying to rebuild its reputation frets over potential conflicts of interest and investor losses
Nikou Asgari in London, Arjun Neil Alim in Hong Kong and Stephen Morris in Davos - Financial Times
The memecoins launched by President Donald Trump and his wife days before his inauguration are damaging the industry's reputation and risk a backlash from investors, crypto executives have warned. $TRUMP was launched by the president on Friday evening in the US and was followed on Sunday by $MELANIA. The total nominal value of both tokens initially surged over the weekend, with the president's reaching $14.5bn and Melania's hitting nearly $3bn. But they have since lost more than half of their value, leading to accusations of conflicts of interest and concerns that thousands of retail investors were sucked in to trading tokens even more volatile than bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/3CkGEly
Deribit's Crypto Trading Volume Nearly Doubled to Over $1T in 2024; Total trading volume surged 95%, with options accounting for a giant share of the total platform activity.
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
Need evidence of the crypto market's maturation? Look no further than Deribit, the crypto exchange that registered record trading volumes in 2024. Total trading volume in Deribit's product suite, which comprises crypto options, perpetual futures, volatility futures, and spot market, rose 95% from $608 billion in 2023 to $1.185 trillion in 2024.
/jlne.ws/40jbaEg
Trump's meme coin is a reminder of crypto's dumbest use case
Allison Morrow - CNN
President Donald Trump promised crypto investors he'd usher in an era of legitimacy for an industry that's long been relegated to the financial wilderness - dismissed by some mainstream investors as an highly speculative bet at best or an elaborate Ponzi scheme at worst. But days before his inauguration, Trump shocked many of his crypto supporters by peddling a digital token known as a meme coin, a functionally worthless asset that trades on hype and are a go-to vehicle for scams known as rug pulls.
/jlne.ws/3EgXsdu
Trump to converge TradFi, crypto with regulatory clarity: Franklin CEO; Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson predicts that blockchain will ultimately be used to build ETFs and mutual funds because of the technology's efficiency.
Stephen Katte - CoinTelegraph
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson believes the new Trump administration will begin working toward clearer regulations by integrating traditional finance and crypto. "I think that the thing with the Trump Administration is we're going to start to see them converge more, the TradeFi and the crypto, which is something that we need," she told Bloomberg in a Jan. 21 interview. "We need to have some sort of regulatory clarity so that you could bring these together because, fundamentally, it will drive out costs, and there is great innovation that the technology enables," Johnson added.
/jlne.ws/3E3HuDP
Prometheum Appoints Dr. Arthur Laffer as Senior Strategic Advisor
Prometheum Inc.
Prometheum Inc., the leading market infrastructure provider for digital asset securities, announced today the appointment of Dr. Arthur Laffer as a senior strategic advisor, and the inaugural member of its advisory committee. In this role, Dr. Laffer will advise on Prometheum's engagement with policymakers, offer insights on the economic and tax implications of new product development and emerging technologies, and collaborate with the company's leadership to broaden its engagement across the finance and technology landscape.
Wall Street Looks Beyond Trump Memecoin to Focus on Crypto Plans; CEOs gathered in Davos anticipate clearer rules under Trump
Cagan Koc and Francine Lacqua - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4jtcAEK
The Ethereum Foundation Has Lost Its Way; Ethereum founding member Anthony DOnofrio says the non-profit needs change.
Anthony DOnofrio - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3WsjsbI
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump Pardons Creator of Silk Road Drug Marketplace; Ross Ulbricht was serving a life sentence for creating a site in a shady corner of the internet to sell heroin, cocaine and other illicit substances.
David Yaffe-Bellany and Ryan Mac - The New York Times
President Trump on Tuesday granted a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road drug marketplace and a cult hero in the cryptocurrency and libertarian worlds. In doing so, Mr. Trump fulfilled a promise that he made repeatedly on the campaign trail as he courted political contributions from the crypto industry, which spent more than $100 million to influence the outcome of the election. A Bitcoin pioneer, Mr. Ulbricht, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015, after he was convicted on charges that included distributing narcotics on the internet.
/jlne.ws/4hpA0cn
Why Trump Pardoned 'Silk Road' Founder Ross Ulbricht
Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
On his second day back in office, President Donald Trump issued a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of dark-web marketplace Silk Road. Trump had pledged to free Ulbricht as part of a raft of promises made to the cryptocurrency community while on the campaign trail. The president announced the move in a post to his Truth Social platform, saying he had called Ulbricht's mother to inform her it was his "pleasure" to sign the pardon "in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly." Libertarian activists have long argued Ulbricht's sentence was an example of government overreach.
/jlne.ws/42vkSWC
Trump's second coming and the world; An economic renaissance is unlikely, not least because the US economy is very far from the disaster he proclaims it to be
Martin Wolf - Financial Times (opinion)
What impact will Donald Trump's second coming have upon the world? The world is unpredictable. Trump is also unpredictable. His first presidency transformed the US and the world. His second is likely to have a deeper impact. "From this day on," Trump said in his inaugural address, "the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation." We are so used to such expressions of self-pity from him and those around him that they have (almost) ceased to startle. Yet he is speaking of the world's most powerful country, which has been at the forefront of innovation for one and a half centuries, and has shaped the world we live in. What on earth has prevented the US from being a free, sovereign and independent nation? The answer, it seems, is self-imposed obligations and voluntarily accepted constraints on its own power. Now, he suggests, the US will do whatever it wants.
/jlne.ws/4ht9KOB
Singapore's prime minister warns of a 'third world war' if U.S. and China force rest of the world to pick sides
Lionel Lim - Fortune
As Trump returns to the White House with new threats against China, Singapore's leader thinks that a full split between Washington and Beijing is unlikely, yet warns that disaster looms if the two sides can't get along-and drag the rest of the world along with them. At an event at the National University of Singapore on Tuesday, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was asked what Trump's second term meant for the region. According to the Straits Times, a local newspaper, Wong suggested that while the U.S. and China were competing for global leadership, neither Washington nor Beijing wanted a hot war.
/jlne.ws/4h3XDYq
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Norway Fines Danske for 'Grave' Case of Bond Market Manipulation; Norway registered abnormal movements in 2023 bond issuance; Danish lender works to restore image after laundering scandal
Christian Wienberg - Bloomberg
Danske Bank A/S, which is trying to move on from one of Europe's largest money laundering scandals, was fined in Norway for manipulation in the country's sovereign bond market. The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority handed Denmark's largest lender a fine of 50 million Norwegian kroner ($4.4 million), Danske said in a statement on Wednesday. The Copenhagen-based bank said it acknowledged it didn't act properly in connection with a 2023 bond issuance.
/jlne.ws/3Wo0ClV
Chicago weed exec, golf buddies charged with insider trading surrounding $413 million acquisition
Tom Schuba - The Chicago Sun-Times
A former executive of a major Chicago cannabis firm has been indicted on insider trading charges tied to a planned acquisition of another weed firm that devolved into an acrimonious court battle. Anthony Marsico was executive vice president of Verano when he allegedly used confidential information about the blockbuster plan to take over Minneapolis-based Goodness Growth in order to enrich himself and manipulate Verano's stock value, according to the indictment filed in federal court in Chicago on Jan. 16. The indictment also names three of Marsico's golf buddies. Like Marsico, they allegedly used the insider information to purchase shares of Goodness Growth stock before it ballooned in value.
/jlne.ws/42iwvAm
SEC Crypto 2.0: Acting Chairman Uyeda Announces Formation of New Crypto Task Force
Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead agency-wide effort
SEC
Today SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda launched a crypto task force dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. Richard Gabbert, Senior Advisor to the Acting Chairman, and Taylor Asher, Senior Policy Advisor to the Acting Chairman, will serve as the task force's Chief of Staff and Chief Policy Advisor, respectively.
/jlne.ws/3E02yLa
SEC unveils new crypto task force; The initiative has been introduced by Mark Uyeda who was appointed acting SEC chair earlier this week by the new US administration.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a crypto task force aiming to develop a clear and thorough regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. The initiative will "draw from talented staff across the agency," and specifically work for the development of the asset class, helping the Commission to "draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously".
/jlne.ws/4ht3FSh
Mark T. Uyeda Named Acting Chairman of the SEC
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that President Donald J. Trump has designated Mark T. Uyeda as Acting Chairman of the agency. "I am honored to serve in this capacity after serving as a Commissioner since 2022, and a member of the staff since 2006," Acting Chairman Uyeda said. "I have great respect for the knowledge, expertise, and experience of the agency and its people. The SEC has a vital mission-protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation-that plays a key role in promoting innovation, jobs creation, and the American Dream."
/jlne.ws/40SVA3T
SEC Charges Father and Son for $25.8 Million Unregistered Securities Offering
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against South Carolina-based Old South Trading Co., LLC ("Old South"), its owner Brendan H. Church, and his father Edwin N. ("Chuck") Church, for conducting an unregistered offering of securities. Chuck Church was also charged for acting as an unregistered broker in connection with the offering.
/jlne.ws/4g94MoM
European Commission in 'listening mode' on potential FRTB changes; Delay or relief measures on the table after UK postpones start of Basel III to 2027
Samuel Wilkes - Risk.net
The European Commission is considering relief measures to adjust new trading book capital rules, according to six sources, but European Union banks disagree over whether a further delay to implementation is also desirable. "The Commission seems to be in listening mode," says a senior risk modeller at a European bank. "They might well go for a consultation, formal or informal. The question is: when will they do this consultation?"
/jlne.ws/40Jb7TM
Financial Conduct Authority places restrictions on Arthur Temlett
FCA
The FCA has taken action to protect consumers by stopping Arthur Temlett, trading as Abacus Insurance Consultants, from carrying out any regulated activities, including acting as an insurance broker. The FCA is concerned that Abacus Insurance, which was based in Dumfries and Galloway, may have been selling home/motor insurance and not passing premium payments on to the insurance provider. Having a valid insurance policy is essential, and customers affected may be concerned about whether cover they have paid for is in place.
/jlne.ws/40o9JUZ
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Rio Tinto bets Donald Trump will give green light to US copper mine; Arizona facility could supply 25% of American needs after being held up for 12 years in battle over permits
Leslie Hook in London and Pilita Clark in Davos - Financial Times
Rio Tinto is betting Donald Trump will finally give the green light to its giant copper mine in Arizona after a 12-year permitting battle, as part of a wave of domestic projects expected to be approved by the new US administration. "I do think that we have really good chances now to progress that project," said Jakob Stausholm, chief executive of the London-listed miner, in an interview with the Financial Times, which will be broadcast on Wednesday. "We have made a lot of progress." The Resolution mine, which first submitted a mining plan to the US Forest Service in 2013, would be the biggest copper mine in North America once fully developed.
/jlne.ws/3E4OEaN
Europe's Stoxx 600 index hits record high as EU tariff concerns soften; Investors pour money into European equities as tariff fears ease
Mari Novik and Ian Smith - Financial Times
The Stoxx Europe 600 hit a record high on Wednesday as fears over US tariffs eased and investors bought cheaper European stocks following strong corporate earnings. The broad-based European index rose as much as 0.8 per cent to a record high of 529.88, fuelled by gains for some of Europe's largest companies, such as Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and Germany's Adidas. Frankfurt's Dax rose more than 1.3 per cent - also to a fresh high - led by a 7 per cent gain for Adidas following strong full-year results from the sports goods maker.
/jlne.ws/4jjoPnD
Derivatives Group Publishes Paper on Position Transfers
Press Release via Traders Magazine
DMIST, the Derivatives Market Institute for Standards, today published a proposed standard aimed at improving the processing of position transfers in the exchange-traded derivatives markets. This is the third standard proposed by DMIST, an independent organization formed by FIA in July 2022, to promote greater efficiency in the trading and clearing workflow for derivatives. Today's action kicks off a consultation process with industry stakeholders that will last until March 21. DMIST aims to finalize the standard by the end of the Q2 2025. Any member of the public may submit a comment, and DMIST will post all comments at its website.
/jlne.ws/3PIAbDU
JPMorgan's Dimon Says US Stock Prices Are 'Kind of Inflated'
Hannah Levitt - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said there are signs that the US stock market is overheated. "Asset prices are kind of inflated," Dimon said in a CNBC interview Wednesday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "You need fairly good outcomes to justify those prices, and we're all hoping for that. I think having pro-growth strategies helps make that happen, but there are negatives out there and they can tend to surprise you."
/jlne.ws/4g3K9dS
HKMA's renminbi repo plans boost hopes for onshore access; Market participants optimistic that new provisions for offshore repos of onshore bonds is first step towards mainland access
Jiefei Liu - Risk.net
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) recently outlined plans to allow Bond Connect investors to repo their Chinese bond holdings in the offshore market signals progress towards opening the country's larger onshore repo market to international investors, say market participants. "This is very encouraging and probably the first step, or like a pilot programme, to fully open up the onshore repo market," says Ricco Zhang, senior director for Asia-Pacific at the International Capital Market
/jlne.ws/4aupj69
Does no-hedge strategy stack up for mag seven mavericks? At Amazon, Meta and Tesla, the lack of FX hedging might raise eyebrows, but isn't necessarily a losing technique
Cole Lipsky - Risk.net
The so-called magnificent seven - the seven largest US tech companies that famously make up more than a third of the S&P 500 by market cap - are among the world's largest firms. They also have some of the greatest geographical distributions - in some cases operating in over 100 countries. Yet filings for these tech giants show that three of them - Amazon, Meta and Tesla - choose not to hedge their day-to-day foreign exchange exposures. They reveal no holdings of offsetting FX derivatives
/jlne.ws/3PHsKgm
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Donald Trump halts more than $300bn in US green infrastructure funding; New president's order to pause federal disbursements cuts critical loans and grants to developers
Amanda Chu and Jamie Smyth - Financial Times
Donald Trump's return to the White House has put more than $300bn of potential federal infrastructure funding at risk, US investors said, as they grappled with the scale of his move to unpick Joe Biden's climate agenda. Within hours of his inauguration on Monday, Trump signed scores of executive orders rescinding Biden's policies, including one halting federal disbursements to manufacturers and infrastructure developers.
/jlne.ws/4aqywwa
Microsoft secures deal to restore Amazon rainforest and offset AI emissions; Tech giant acquires carbon credits worth around $200mn, as energy usage surges due to generative artificial intelligence
Kenza Bryan - Financial Times
Microsoft will pay to restore parts of Brazil's Amazon and Atlantic forests in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of carbon credits, becoming the latest Big Tech player to bet that nature-based solutions can offset an artificial intelligence-driven surge in greenhouse gas emissions. The $3.2tn US company told the Financial Times it had signed a deal to buy 3.5mn credits over 25 years from Re.green, a Brazilian start-up which buys up farming and cattle land. It restores the land by planting native tree species, in projects financed through carbon credits and timber sales.
/jlne.ws/3WtdCHa
Trump Wants to Unleash Energy, as Long as It's Not Wind or Solar; Legal experts said the president was testing the boundaries of executive power with aggressive orders designed to stop the country from transitioning to renewable energy.
Lisa Friedman, Coral Davenport and Brad Plumer - The New York Times
President Trump is moving to restructure the nation's energy future to block any transition away from fossil fuels. And he is testing the boundaries of presidential power to do it. The orders that Mr. Trump signed on Monday would make it easier and cheaper for companies to produce oil and gas and for the government to stop clean energy projects that have been approved. While some actions lie within his purview, others may violate federal law or run counter to judicial decisions. Among other things, Mr. Trump raised the possibility of reversing the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases, which has been confirmed by the Supreme Court, and proposed to halt funding for electric vehicle charging stations that Congress has already authorized.
/jlne.ws/4jqQuTl
Trump's Paris Accord Abandonment Is a Moral Disgrace; The abdication of global leadership will undermine the fight to prevent catastrophic climate change and damage the world's economy.
Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg Opinion
When the US leaves the Paris climate agreement at President Donald Trump's command about a year from now, it will join Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries not part of the accord. What fine company. It's tempting to think of ways to play down Trump's decision to abdicate global leadership on climate: He's done this all before. The clean-energy transition is strong enough to overcome. Maybe China will save us. But when you consider just how starkly isolated the US will be from the rest of the world on this issue - along with the fact that it is history's most prolific carbon polluter and still the world's biggest economy and second-largest carbon emitter after China - you can see Trump's decision for what it is: a moral disgrace and an act of self-sabotage.
/jlne.ws/3CgA5QU
Trump halt on offshore wind power leases hits European companies
Stine Jacobsen - Reuters
Shares in European wind power companies fell on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended offshore leasing for wind on his first day in office, adding to pain in an industry that had turned to the U.S. to help revive its fortunes. The global offshore wind industry has struggled to play the role that many governments had envisaged in their plans to reduce carbon emissions. Escalating costs, supply chain issues and planning delays have hit the industry and led to project cancellations and delays.
/jlne.ws/3ClMe78
Largest US Grid Issues Alert as Cold Lifts Demand to Near Record
Mark Chediak and Naureen S. Malik - Bloomberg
PJM Interconnection, which operates the largest US grid from Washington DC to Illinois, issued a Level 1 emergency alert for Wednesday as cold weather boosts electricity demand. The network operator expects energy use to near a record set almost a decade ago as dangerously low temperatures spread across the Eastern US, it said. PJM also issued a maximum generation alert, giving it the flexibility to reduce electricity exports to neighboring grids.
/jlne.ws/3E2aTxU
UK Power Prices Spike Again as Wind Output Hits Lowest in Years; Surge in gas generation and imports pushed up intraday prices; Storm Éowyn expected to generate strong winds later this week
Eamon Farhat - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4hsjSXx
Qatar Hopes EU Will Restudy ESG Rule That's Affecting LNG Trade
Cagan Koc and Fiona MacDonald - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3E6tklj
Greenpeace Wins Dutch Court Fight Over Nitrogen Pollution; Court orders state to boost efforts to curb environmental harm; Issue is a long-running political headache for the government
Patrick Van Oosterom - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3WunKQ5
Anti-DEI Activists Target Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase; Bank of America, Citigroup also have received shareholder proposals from right-leaning groups
AnnaMaria Andriotis and Alexander Saeedy - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/4g7YxSf
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Bank of America CEO Says He's 'Not Going Anywhere'
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Brian Moynihan said he's staying put as chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp. unless the board decides otherwise. "The board will make a choice at some point," Moynihan said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I'm not going anywhere unless they throw me out." Moynihan, 65, started his 15th year as CEO of Bank of America this month. He is one of the longest standing US bank executives, having stepped into the role in 2010 during the financial crisis, later leading the lender through the Covid-19 pandemic and the regional banking crisis.
/jlne.ws/3E02ZoM
Mizuho Boss Sees Profit Reaching 1 Trillion Yen in Four Years
Taiga Uranaka and William Shaw - Bloomberg
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is aiming for a net income of 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) over the next three to four years, according to the Japanese bank's chief executive officer. Masahiro Kihara told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday that domestic corporate banking, asset and wealth management and global and corporate and investment banking would all contribute to growth. Mizuho previously projected record annual net income of 820 billion yen for the current fiscal year ending in March, meaning the increase would require an uplift of more than 20%.
/jlne.ws/4h5EpBw
Brevan Howard Cuts 7% of Hedge Fund Trading Staff Globally; Reduction affects roughly a dozen Brevan Howard traders; The firm's two main hedge funds lagged peers last year
Nishant Kumar and Alex Dooler - Bloomberg
Brevan Howard Asset Management has cut about 7% of its trading workforce after two of its main hedge funds underperformed relative to peers last year. The cuts affected roughly a dozen traders from Brevan Howard's offices globally spanning New York, London and Abu Dhabi, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. The firm is now left with almost 150 traders after the reduction, one of the people said.
Pension Funds Want Private Equity to Open Up About Fees and Returns; New proposed guidelines reflect longstanding frustration with funds' levels of transparency
Matt Wirz - The Wall Street Journal
A group of U.S. pensions and other institutions is pushing private-equity firms to share more information on their fees and investment returns, in a bid to address simmering frustration with the industry's disclosures. The Institutional Limited Partners Association, a trade group that counts the retirement plans of public workers in California and Wisconsin as members, proposed this week new guidelines to standardize financial reporting by private-equity firms, people familiar with the matter said.
/jlne.ws/4hqp4LD
Hedge fund Saba settles with BlackRock funds after activist battle; Agreement comes as Boaz Weinstein's firm agitates against UK closed-end funds
Costas Mourselas in London and Brooke Masters in New York - Financial Times
Boaz Weinstein's Saba Capital has agreed to halt its activist battle against 50 BlackRock funds in exchange for a tender offer at two of them, as the hedge fund wages a broader war against the closed-end fund industry. In a deal between Saba and the two funds announced on Tuesday, BlackRock's Innovation and Growth Term Trust and BlackRock's Health Sciences Term Trust will buy back 50 and 40 per cent respectively of outstanding common shares at a share price equal to 99.5 per cent of their net asset value.
/jlne.ws/3PHu2Ie
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | An Anxious Federal Workforce Bids Goodbye to Job Stability and Remote Work; In early executive actions, Trump moved to order government workers back to the office full-time and watered down job protections
Ken Thomas, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Lindsay Ellis - The Wall Street Journal
President Trump's pledge to upend the federal workforce began rippling through Washington on Tuesday after he moved to force government employees back to the office five days a week and weakened their job protections. Inside a number of federal offices, a sense of anxiety and confusion permeated the atmosphere as employees parsed a flurry of executive orders and memos handed down by the new administration. Federal workers' unions rushed to shield employees from the changes, with one filing a lawsuit over an executive order aimed at peeling back civil-service protections.
/jlne.ws/3WscPGm
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Virus season roars back with "quad-demic" of illness
Tina Reed - Axios
The spread of influenza A, COVID and RSV is "high" or "very high" across much of the U.S. at the same time norovirus cases are well above normal levels, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and wastewater surveillance data shows. Why it matters: The result is "quad-demic" of illness hitting simultaneously in what's shaping up to be a more active virus season than last year. The big picture: The simultaneous threats are straining some hospitals to capacity and leading administrators to recommend masking among staff, ABC News reports.
/jlne.ws/3PHniKq
America's Wellness Capital Seeks a Wildfire Detox; Warnings of water and air contamination have locals on high alert. Some are taking safety into their own hands.
Sara Ashley O'Brien - The Wall Street Journal
When Sandra Duran moved to Pasadena, Calif., two years ago, she pictured going on long walks with her cocker spaniel, chic outdoor meals in Los Angeles and monthly hiking trips with her husband. This month's wildfires turned her dreams upside down. Duran lives about five miles from where the Eaton fire struck, but the blazes engulfed her neighborhood in a layer of smoke. "I could see little particles falling in the air, and there were a lot of ashes on the sidewalks," she said. "That's when I started getting a little bit concerned."
/jlne.ws/4h4AuVw
Are Dental X-Rays Safe? We asked experts if regular exposure to low levels of radiation could be harmful to health.
Melinda Wenner Moyer - The New York Times
Q: It seems as if every time I visit the dentist, I'm asked to get X-rays. Will this increase my risk of cancer, and how can I square that with the potential benefits?
Dental X-rays are essential for oral health. They can help dentists spot issues like cavities, abscesses, abnormal growths and gum disease, often before they become serious. But getting X-rays at regular dental cleanings can cause anxiety for some. Dental X-rays emit a form of energy called ionizing radiation, which can damage DNA and increase the risk for cancer. So is it risky to get this type of imaging regularly?
/jlne.ws/4hso61F
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Exclusive-China halts Brazilian soy shipments from five firms, sources say
Laurie Chen, Mei Mei Chu, Ella Cao and Naveen Thukral - Reuters
China, the world's biggest soybean buyer, has stopped receiving Brazilian soybean shipments from five entities after cargoes did not meet phytosanitary requirements, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of the oilseeds, has from Jan. 8 suspended shipments to China from Terra Roxa Comercio de Cereais, Olam Brasil and C.Vale Cooperativa Agroindustrial, one of the sources said.
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TikTok owner asks Chinese staff in Singapore to pay taxes to Beijing; ByteDance's missive comes as China steps up enforcement of global tax collection
Zijing Wu in Hong Kong and Owen Walker in Singapore - Financial Times
TikTok parent ByteDance is asking Chinese staff at its Singapore headquarters to pay tax to their home country or risk losing their ability to cash out on stock options, as Beijing steps up enforcement of its global tax scheme. Employees at ByteDance who relocated from China to Singapore received an internal memo on Tuesday requiring them to report their income to Chinese tax authorities and pay relevant taxes to cash out on stock options that make up a significant portion of their pay, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
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Indian Stock Exodus Balloons to $5 Billion on Downbeat Profits
Abhishek Vishnoi and Ashutosh Joshi - Bloomberg
Stocks in India look set for further declines as foreign investors resumed selling shares amid persistent worries over company earnings growth and sluggish consumption. Global funds pulled a net $5.4 billion from Indian equities in January, marking the worst start to a year, after a brief reprieve last month. While inflows into mutual funds remain robust, continuous selling by foreigners have neutralized much of that support.
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Zambia Overcomes Severe Drought in 2024 to Boost Copper Output; Majors turned to power imports in 2024 to keep mines operating; Mines minister has target of 1 million tons in his sights
Taonga Mitimingi - Bloomberg
Zambia boosted its copper output in 2024, according to the nation's mines minister, with the industry overcoming a severe drought last year that had put production at risk. The nation's total output, including small artisan producers, rose to just over 820,000 tons last year, according to Mines And Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe. Zambia relies on copper for more than 70% of its export earnings.
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Germany Is Still Struggling to Exit Stagnation, Bundesbank Says; Inflation rate is likely to remain elevated at start of year; German central bank discusses outlook in monthly report
Jana Randow - Bloomberg
A meaningful recovery in Germany's economy is unlikely at the moment, according to the Bundesbank. After two years of shrinking output and next to no growth in recent quarters, the outlook for Europe's largest economy remains clouded, the central bank said Wednesday in its monthly report. At the same time, inflation is still elevated. "In the first quarter of 2025, the German economy is unlikely to emerge from its long period of stagnation," the Bundesbank said, citing manufacturing weakness and uncertainty that's damping private spending.
/jlne.ws/40HVoUH
World's No. 2 Citrus Exporter South Africa Detects Bud Rot; Pathogen found in papaya orchards located in two provinces; Agriculture department urges caution in moving materials
Rivaldo Jantjies - Bloomberg
Officials in South Africa, the world's biggest exporter of citrus after Spain, discovered bud rot in commercial papaya orchards in two provinces and warned farmers to exercise caution when moving plants to stop the spread. The agriculture department reported that it found the pathogen that's also known as gray mold and is capable of destroying thousands of hectares of various species including pineapple and citrus, in both the northernmost Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
/jlne.ws/42quRfY
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