| November 01, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
A deal to buy Trading Technologies was announced on Sunday with private equity group 7RIDGE buying the Chicago-based derivatives technology firm backed by money from SGX and Cboe. 7RIDGE is led by former Deutsche Börse CEO Carsten Kengeter, who is also a former UBS and Goldman banker. Keith Todd, a veteran of several derivatives technology firms, including Aim-listed KRM22, will be TT's new CEO. Interestly, former Cinnober CEO Veronica Augustsson and Catherine Furrer-Lech, the former chief of staff at UBS under Kengeter, are directors of 7RIDGE.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal also injects cash in the firm to give it resources to grow or make acquisitions. It also keeps TT neutral and not owned by one exchange or bank. A previous deal to sell the firm to Goldman Sachs fell apart after an apparent trial balloon disclosure leaked and customers were quick to share their displeasure.
SGX is making a big statement with this deal, investing $200 million in 7RIDGE, the FT reported. Cboe also keeps up its torrid pace of technology investments and acquisitions.
Cboe, SGX and TT are sponsors of JLN, and TT has been one since we launched MarketsWiki. Congratulations to Harris Brumfield, the majority owner of TT, Tim Geanaopulos, TT's outgoing CEO and all the TT current and past employees that own shares or have options on shares in the firm. Geannopulos replaced Rick Lane as CEO of TT last year after the Goldman deal evaporated.
Also, Trading Technologies is now represented by Ellen Resnick and her firm Crystal Clear Communications. TT had been represented by Drew Mauck and 3PTS Communications for the last several years.
The OCC and the U.S. options exchanges are making a splash this morning with a new streamlined options disclosure document for investors.
Every once in a while I do something I should not have. Sharing the link for the FIA EXPO app is in that category. It was for registered attendees only and the link was wrong, prompting an error message. This is the correct link for FIA EXPO attendees only.
Welcome to the return of EXPO Week. While the pandemic is still with us, an army of vaccinated derivatives, technology and related professionals will descend on the Chicago Hilton this week. Missing are many of our foreign friends who are unable or unwilling to travel because of COVID-19 restrictions. For those who can't make it, we love you, we miss you and hope to see you soon. JLN will do our best to report on the EXPO and keep you in the know.
For the second year in a row, there are so many hurricanes in the Atlantic that they have run out of names to call them. Wanda was the 21st hurricane of the season, and the third most active in history runny back to 1851, Bloomberg reported.
The Oxford English Dictionary's 2021 Word of the Year is Vax, Bloomberg reported. The term captures "the essence of the past year during the coronavirus pandemic." The pandemic has now claimed more than 5 million lives less than two years after the novel pathogen was first documented, Bloomberg reported.
Bitcoin's white paper was released 13 years ago yesterday, on October 31, 2008. The launch of bitcoin was not until January 3, 2009 with the mining of what is called the "genesis block," The Block Reported.
Theft of bitcoin and other crypto currencies is the theme of three stories below, including one involving a dog-themed coin, a phishing attack and losing the $60 million raised as part of a fork of AnubisDAO. Then there is the McRib-themed NFT, believe it or not. Also, a Coinbase user lost $11.2 million dollars of bitcoin shortly after making a trade for 200 bitcoin and then receiving fake notification. Just a thought: if you are trading $11 million in bitcoin, make sure you know the number of your broker/platform and don't just call any number that pops up on your phone.
Yesterday was Halloween, and my wife dressed like a witch and gave candy away on our front porch to a never-ending parade of children dressed as ghouls, goblins and princesses. She, however, was not the only adult dressed up for the candy-give-away holiday. Many adults with small children were adorned in various costumes. My next-door neighbor was unknowable dressed as the beast from the musical "Beauty and the Beast." Adults dressing up with their children for the Halloween candy grab seems to be a trend.
On the positive side, there are two stories from the New York Times about cryptocurrency. The first is about how venture capitalists think crypto will reshape commerce, from banking to gaming. Second is a story about how banks tried to kill crypto and failed and now they are (slowly) embracing it.
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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An industry group, CryptoLiteracy.org, led by Coinme, CoinDesk and Digital Currency Group, today declared November 2021 the first annual Crypto Literacy Month. They say a recent survey conducted by YouGov found 96% of American and 99% of Brazilian and Mexican crypto-aware internet users were unable to pass a quiz that tested basic cryptocurrency facts. They've set out to correct that deficit. For more information, click here.~SC
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U.S. Growth Slows, But Tesla Options Rev Up; Cboe Goes Nanos For Retail; John's Take Previews Expo; Strategizing with Butterfly Spreads - The Spread - October 29, 2021
JohnLothianNews.com
- The U.S. economy sputtered to a 2% growth rate in Q3, but Tesla traders are unfazed; Cboe expands S&P 500 Index options offerings for retail with smaller options; ethereum gets a boost from new ETF expectations;
- John's Take previews next week's in-person return of FIA Expo;
- Catching up with long butterfly spreads in the Term of the Week with Jermal Chandler.
Watch the video »
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Robert Khoury Writes About Successful Internships
JohnLothianNews.com
Robert Khoury knows about interns. He was an intern and he has spent years hiring them and working with them. So during the COVID-19 pandemic when he found himself with time on his hands, he finally decided to write a book about the subject.
Khoury spoke with John Lothian News over Zoom to talk about his book - why he wrote it and what he knows about successful internships. His book is appropriately titled, "How to Intern Successfully: Insight & Insight to Optimize Your Experience."
Watch the video »
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Crypto fork uses dog meme to raise $60 million — then the money goes missing
Tim Copeland - The Block
A project that was promoted as a fork of a project called OlympusDAO raised $60 million in a token sale; But the funds that were raised have been removed, in what may have been a phishing attack.
A newly launched crypto project that raised $60 million overnight appears to have lost the funds in what may have been a phishing attack. The project was called AnubisDAO and it was promoted as a fork of OlympusDAO — a cryptocurrency backed by the assets in its treasury. AnubisDAO was first announced on October 28 with the launch of a Discord server and a Twitter account, which ended up only making a few tweets. The supposed fork was themed around Anubis, an egyptian god of death that has a dog's head, a branding similar to other dog-themed memecoins.
/bit.ly/3w68k5V
*****This is what is called a bad start.~JJL
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There's now a McRib NFT and what are we even doing anymore?
Allison Morrow - CNN
It is a curse of the modern age that technology has rendered us incapable of experiencing beauty in real time — all of our ephemeral, sensual experiences must be pinned down in a digital ledger, easily searchable from our phones. It is not sufficient to be present in our joy; we have to chronicle it, broadcast it. So, the world is getting a McRib NFT.
/cnn.it/3GxMJs5
***** McRibs were scarce enough, now this?~JJL
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It's clear capitalism isn't working when US politicians try to bring back child labor
Arwa Mahdawi - The Guardian
Back in the good old days American children didn't sit around playing video games, making TikToks, and bingeing Netflix. They worked long hours in factories and sweatshops; they knew the value of hard graft. They didn't take sick days either, they just died of diphtheria. It was a simpler time. Some US politicians, it would seem, are trying their best to return the country to a golden era of loose labour laws. The Wisconsin senate recently approved a bill that expands the working day for minors, allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 11 pm on non-school nights.
/jlne.ws/3CDyuzE
***** The drive-ups are open later these days. Makes perfect sense. Plus it keeps the kids from gaming until 1:00 in the morning.~JJL
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A Coinbase user lost $11.6 million in under 10 minutes after falling for a fake-notification scam, the US Attorneys Office said
Kevin Shalvey - Business Insider
A federal judge this month approved a warrant to claw back more than $600,000 in bitcoin from a Huobi Global wallet, after federal investigators said it was part of an $11.6 million haul stolen from a Coinbase account. In April, after a Coinbase user bought 200 bitcoin, a notification popped up, alerting them that their account had been locked, according to a complaint filed by the US Attorneys Office in Los Angeles. Although the notification appeared to be from Coinbase, it wasn't.
/yhoo.it/31nAEFT
***** In every story like this you will notice that the entity stealing the bitcoin will launder it through multiple wallets until it ends up in the final destination. Why is that?~JJL
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Financial Twitter, Beware. The Cops Are On to You; "Alex Delarge" talked up a lot of penny stocks. It didn't go well for investors.
Michelle Leder - Bloomberg
U.S. authorities appear to be opening a new front in their efforts to battle securities fraud. The territory: financial Twitter. Their target is @AlexDelarge6553, an allusion to the movie "Clockwork Orange" and the Twitter handle of a Maumee, Ohio-based trader named Steven Gallagher. His Twitter persona projected an image of success, posting a photo of a Tesla Model S that he claimed to have purchased with his winnings, and touting numerous thinly traded penny stocks to more than 70,000 followers.
/bloom.bg/3BtgCGj
***** Never fall for the guy and his expensive car marketing. It has not worked since Grey Poupon.~JJL
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HfG Photo Prize 2021 of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation awarded to Lena Bils
Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation
On October 29th, the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation awarded the HfG Photo Promotion Prize 2021 to Lena Bils for her project "Siedlung Westhausen". The prize is awarded annually to students of the Offenbach University of Design (HfG) who are studying the medium of photography in their training. As part of its commitment to promoting young contemporary artists, the Foundation has been awarding the EUR2,500 prize since 2010; from this year the prize money will be increased to EUR3,000. The award took place as part of the traditional HfG tour in Offenbach. This year's jury members were photographer Barbara Klemm and Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.
/jlne.ws/3jUM2zs
***** A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it is also worth EUR3,000 now.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was the SEC press release SEC Charges Fixed Income Clearing Corp. With Having Inadequate Risk Management Policies. Second was A crypto wallet shows an investor made an $8,000 shiba inu coin purchase last year. Today, it is worth $5.7 billion, from Business Insider via Yahoo Finance. Third was 1 In 5 Adults Still Reject Covid Vaccines, Poll Finds — Here Are The Biggest Groups Still Holding Out, from Forbes.
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MarketsWiki Stats
26,637 pages; 236,124 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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| Lead Stories | Trading Technologies to be acquired by 7RIDGE; Enables continued expansion of its industry-leading technology platform to become the operating system of capital markets, preserving TT's independence
Trading Technologies International, Inc.
Trading Technologies International, Inc., (TT), a global provider of high-performance professional trading software, infrastructure and data solutions, today announced that the company has agreed to be acquired by 7RIDGE, a specialized growth equity firm invested in transformative technologies. 7RIDGE will fuel Trading Technologies' organic growth and enable the firm to make targeted strategic acquisitions in the future. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) and Singapore Exchange (SGX), who are among the limited partners of the fund managed by 7RIDGE, have voiced their support of the transaction. Terms of the transaction, expected to close before year-end subject to regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.
/jlne.ws/2Y7XVKE
Biggest derivative exchanges back ex-Deutsche Börse chief's fintech buyout; Deal for Trading Technologies resolves future of critical software supplier to the global futures market
Philip Stafford - FT
Two of the world's biggest derivatives exchanges have backed a private equity buyout of US fintech group Trading Technologies by Carsten Kengeter, the former Deutsche Börse chief, in a deal that resolves the future of a critical software supplier to the global futures market. Singapore Exchange (SGX) and CBOE Global Markets are among the limited partners that will invest in 7RIDGE, a London private equity fund owned and run by Kengeter, that will buy Trading Technologies. The deal announced late on Sunday values TT at slightly less than $500m, according to a person involved in the talks.
/jlne.ws/3EySmo8
SGX sees opportunities in next-generation connectivity solutions that enhance access into derivative markets
SGX
Invests approximately US$200 million as one of the Limited Partners in a closed-end fund managed by 7RIDGE, that is acquiring global professional trading software provider Trading Technologies; Trading Technologies expected to accelerate plans to provide seamless and efficient access to the world's major international exchanges and liquidity venues
Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia's leading and most liquid international derivatives exchange, continues to expand its network of global partnerships with a strategic investment that seeks to strengthen investors' participation in the derivatives marketplace across major exchanges globally.
/jlne.ws/3bwcACp
Cboe Global Markets to Invest in Acquisition of Trading Technologies
CBOE
Cboe planning to support continued development and expansion of the Trading Technologies platform globally; Cboe backs Trading Technologies' vision of delivering a seamless trading, connectivity and data network powered by cutting edge technology to the global trading community; Cboe to be limited partner in acquisition, Cboe's investment not material from its financial perspective
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, announced it has entered into an agreement as a limited partner to invest in the planned acquisition of Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global provider of next-generation professional trading software, connectivity and data solutions.
/bit.ly/3pUcflc
Barclays CEO Staley resigns after Epstein probe
Rachel Armstrong and Lawrence White - Reuters
Barclays chief executive Jes Staley is leaving the bank after a dispute with British financial regulators over how he described his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Staley will be replaced as CEO by Barclays' head of global markets C.S. Venkatakrishnan, who on Monday pledged to continue his predecessor's strategy.
/jlne.ws/3GD7x1l
James Staley, Barclays C.E.O., will step down after Jeffrey Epstein inquiry.
Michael J. de la Merced - NY Times
Barclays said on Monday that its chief executive, James E. Staley, would step down immediately following the results of an inquiry by British financial regulators into Mr. Staley's relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
/jlne.ws/3kft9r9
Staley Set for Drawn Out Epstein Fight With City Watchdog
Jonathan Browning and Stefania Spezzati - Bloomberg
Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley has had a regulatory probe into his ties with Jeffrey Epstein hanging over his head for two years -- and it's unlikely to be resolved any time soon. Staley, who stepped down as CEO Monday, plans to fight a preliminary finding by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England into his "characterization to Barclays of his relationship with the late Mr. Jeffrey Epstein," Barclays said in a statement Monday.
/jlne.ws/3pVczjD
Financial firms' race to list first SPAC in Hong Kong heats up as HKEX decision nears
Enoch Yiuenoch - South China Morning Post
Financial firms are busy working with wealthy clients to be among the first to list special purpose acquisitions companies (SPACs) in the city in anticipation of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) giving its approval to blank-cheque companies, according to industry players.
/jlne.ws/3jQmIKP
Into the Metaverse: Where Crypto, Gaming and Capitalism Collide; From Manhattan to Manila, players are turning their backs on Wall Street careers and medical school to seek their fortune in an online arena.
Charlie Wells, Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou - Bloomberg Wealth
To understand why Mark Zuckerberg thinks "the metaverse" is the next frontier, consider the case of Sam Peurifoy. The 27-year-old chemistry PhD from Columbia University left his job at Goldman Sachs at the height of the pandemic and is now seeking out his fortune in crypto by playing video games.
/jlne.ws/3Eu3HFM
How Venture Capitalists Think Crypto Will Reshape Commerce; From banking to gaming, investors are sending billions of dollars to crypto inventors who seek to disrupt industries. Here's a look at some of those bets.
Ephrat Livni and Eric Lipton - NY Times
Venture capitalists are betting billions of dollars to create what in effect is an alternative world of finance, commerce, communications and entertainment on the web that could radically transform major elements of the global economy — all built on the blockchain technology popularized by Bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/3EPkQtZ
Banks Tried to Kill Crypto and Failed. Now They're Embracing It (Slowly); Digital payments technology is forcing the financial system to evolve. Banks feel their power waning and want to regain control.
Emily Flitter - NY Times
In 2014, as regulators in New York were exploring ways to control Bitcoin, executives at Wall Street's biggest banks fretted that regulating cryptocurrencies would also legitimize them — and that could threaten the finance industry. So they tried to sow doubt.
/jlne.ws/3o4ycf9
Setting EU CCP policy - much more than meets the eye
Apostolos Thomadakis / Karel Lannoo - CEPS.EU
More than EUR 3.2 trillion notional outstanding of interest rate swaps (IRS), the most active interest rate derivative (IRD) product, are cleared every day in the City of London, including around 94% of all euro-denominated IRS that are traded globally. Brexit has naturally raised questions around whether London's central role can continue. A new study 'Setting EU CCP policy - much more than meets the eye', now calls for a long-term vision for the future of the European clearing market, by taking financial stability, efficiency, and market development objectives into account.
/jlne.ws/3nMhdhj
How Robinhood Cashes In on the Options Boom; Brokers can profit more from options than stocks, thanks to payment for order flow
Alexander Osipovich and Gunjan Banerji - WSJ
High-speed trading firms are paying brokers billions of dollars a year to execute options orders, leading them to promote the risky trades whose popularity has boomed among small investors. The practice, called payment for order flow, has made options a cash cow for brokerages such as Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD -1.41% and TD Ameritrade. They can make twice as much or more from selling customers' options orders as they do from selling order flow for stocks.
/on.wsj.com/3pUBWSE
Digital Currency Group Wants to Be Crypto's Standard Oil; The Grayscale and CoinDesk owner sells $700 million of shares at a $10 billion valuation, in a funding round led by two SoftBank funds
Paul Vigna - WSJ
Digital Currency Group Inc., a cryptocurrency conglomerate that counts the asset-management firm Grayscale and media company CoinDesk among its holdings, raised $700 million in an investment round, the second-largest in the crypto sector. The funding round valued the company at $10 billion and was led by SoftBank Group Corp.'s 9984 2.68% Vision Fund 2 and Latin America Fund, and included GIC Capital, Ribbit Capital and Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG 1.47% CapitalG.
/jlne.ws/3EABQnr
Climate change could bring near-unliveable conditions for 3bn people, say scientists; Each degree of warming above present levels corresponds to roughly 1bn people falling outside of 'climate niche'
Steven Bernard, Daniel Clark and Sam Joiner - FT
Up to 3bn out of the projected world population of about 9bn could be exposed to temperatures on a par with the hottest parts of the Sahara by 2070, according to research by scientists from China, US and Europe.
/jlne.ws/31pwQnz
Combatting The Rising Cyber Threat in Banks
Kevin Lupowitz, CIO, Tassat via International Banker
Banks have always represented lucrative targets for cybercriminals - after all, as famed pre cyber era bank robber Willie Sutton said, "that's where the money is." A 2019 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that financial firms experience as many as 300 times more cyber-attacks than other companies, and the threat has only grown over the years. When a bank falls victim to a cyber-attack, the impact extends beyond potential financial damages; it can also significantly impact customer loyalty, result in regulatory penalties and damage the organization's reputation. Banks also host a tremendous amount of personal customer data, itself valuable even without the theft of funds, and that data must be protected as well.
/bit.ly/3CwraFN
Top US commodities cop challenges SEC's authority to regulate bitcoin
Lydia Moynihan - NY Post
A feud has broken out over which US regulator has the authority to regulate cryptocurrencies, with the interim head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission challenging Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. On Wednesday, acting chair of the CFTC Rostin Behnam argued with the Senate Agriculture Committee that the CFTC should have jurisdiction over the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market — in part because 60 percent of it, including bitcoin, is classified as a commodity.
/bit.ly/3pRYEuE
Mark Carney, Ex-Banker, Wants Banks to Pay for Climate Change; The veteran of central banks in Canada and the U.K. has to round up enough private capital to support climate goals set by the United Nations. It is a tough sell on Wall Street.
Jacquie McNish and Liz Hoffman - WSJ
Diplomats heading to the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow next week know their governments can only raise a fraction of the trillions needed to cut carbon emissions and transition the energy market to renewables. They asked Mark Carney to come up with the rest. Mr. Carney, the former head of central banks in Canada and the U.K., beseeched, cajoled and browbeat the world's top financiers to pay the bill. When that failed, powerful allies flexed their muscles.
/on.wsj.com/2Y2z1Mp
The Fight Between Texas and Wall Street Is About to Get Bigger
Max Abelson - Bloomberg
Outside San Antonio this month, a veteran of Texas politics got so upset about Wall Street's retreat from fossil fuels that he compared the oil industry's fight for funding to the civil rights struggle. In Dallas, a hedge fund manager trading junk bonds on his iPhone lamented his upcoming move to the posh Highland Park neighborhood, fearing locals might brand him an outsider even though he relocated from New York years ago.
/yhoo.it/2XVwhjK
Steep Cuts to Carbon Emissions Gain Stronger Economic Backing; New research on the cost of climate change lends support to tougher pledges ahead of the Glasgow climate conference
Greg Ip - WSJ
As a growing number of global leaders pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions ahead of this week's climate conference in Glasgow, an awkward question hovered in the background: Is it worth it? That is as much an economic as a scientific question, and the economics of climate are far less settled than the science.
/jlne.ws/31m1FcE
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Russia Suffers Deadliest September Since World War II With Covid Untamed
Jake Rudnitsky and Evgenia Pismennaya - Bloomberg
Authorities reported 44,265 Covid-linked deaths in September; Low vaccination rates helped make fourth wave the worst
Russia suffered its deadliest September since World War II, according to figures published Friday, even before the peak of its current wave of the Covid-19 pandemic forced authorities to order non-working days for the first week of November.
/bloom.bg/3EvqzVk
Covid Vaccines Protect Better Than Earlier Infection, CDC Says
John Tozzi - Bloomberg
A new study offers more evidence that Covid-19 vaccines provide stronger protection against hospitalization than immunity from an earlier infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Hospitalized patients who weren't vaccinated but had been previously infected with Covid were about five times more likely to test positive for the infection than people who had been vaccinated, according to the CDC study.
/bloom.bg/2ZBSiEV
Covid Shots Are a Go for Children, but Parents Are Reluctant to Consent; Vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds could be a big step toward returning to normal life in the U.S., but even parents who got the shot are worried about how it might affect their kids.
Jan Hoffman - NY Times
The Food and Drug Administration's authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine for ages 5 to 11 on Friday makes 28 million unvaccinated children in the United States suddenly eligible for the shot and offers the country an opportunity to make big inroads in its efforts to achieve broad immunity against the coronavirus.
/nyti.ms/3ECgoi1
Fully Vaxxed, Anti-Vax: Vax Is Oxford's 2021 Word of the Year
Ronan Martin - Bloomberg
Vax has been chosen as the Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year for 2021, with the term for vaccine capturing the essence of the past year during the coronavirus pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3nGQnXU
Hong Kong Ends Quarantine Exemptions for Senior Executives
Jinshan Hong - Bloomberg
City tightens travel rules for senior bankers, consulate staff; Only groups essential to city's operations will be exempted
Hong Kong will end quarantine exemptions for senior executives, bankers and most entitled groups starting Nov. 12, tightening what is already one of the world's strictest Covid-19 policies as it works to open the border with mainland China.
/jlne.ws/3jVniqq
Moderna Confirms FDA Delayed Covid-19 Vaccine in Adolescents to Review Myocarditis Risk; The drugmaker also said it would delay seeking authorization of its vaccine for younger children pending the outcome of the FDA's review
Felicia Schwartz - WSJ
The Food and Drug Administration is delaying a decision on Moderna Inc.'s MRNA -0.78% application to authorize use of its Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents to assess whether the shot leads to a heightened risk of myocarditis, the company said.
/jlne.ws/3pTbQPZ
WHO Calls for More Experts to Study Covid's Disputed Origins
Thomas Mulier - Bloomberg
The World Health Organization reopened a search for experts to join a committee to study Covid-19's origins to add more specialists in areas such as biosecurity. Applicants have until Wednesday to express interest, and the WHO said Monday it's looking for experts in social science, anthropology, ethics, political science and biosafety.
/jlne.ws/3Exuxgi
Covid Deaths Top 5 Million Even as Vaccines Slash Fatality Rate
Jinshan Hong - Bloomberg
The pace of deaths has slowed amid the global inoculation push; Upcoming winter will test immunity gained through vaccination
More than 5 million people worldwide have died from Covid-19 less than two years after the novel pathogen was first documented, despite the arrival of vaccines that have slashed fatality rates across the globe.
/jlne.ws/3jUOGFi
Mariners Can Now Get Covid-19 Vaccines at Port After Months Stranded at Sea; Crews on cargo ships are receiving shots world-wide, preventing more supply-chain disruptions and allowing them to finally disembark
Vipal Monga - WSJ
Health workers and humanitarian groups at more than 200 ports around the world are making a push to vaccinate thousands of mariners, a population of essential workers that has been largely neglected in the fight against Covid-19.
/jlne.ws/3BxkshC
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | SGX to collaborate with Shanghai Stock Exchange subsidiary to bring securities market data to investors in Mainland China
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) has entered into an agreement with Shanghai Stock Exchange's (SSE) wholly-owned subsidiary, China Investment Information Services (CIIS), to distribute its securities market data within Mainland China, offering market participants real-time access to prices in Asia's most international marketplace.
/jlne.ws/3jVaKQd
Exchange operator Cboe's 3rd-qtr profit boosted by VIX franchise
John McCrank - Reuters
Exchange operator Cboe Global Markets Inc on Friday said its third-quarter profit jumped 9%, driven by higher trading levels across nearly all of its segments, notably in index options and volatility products.
/yhoo.it/3BvfC4e
FTSE Russell considers revamping China index after launch of Hong Kong rival; Number of stocks included in Singapore futures contract to hedge mainland exposure could be doubled
Mercedes Ruehl and Hudson Lockett - FT
FTSE Russell is considering major changes to the index underpinning a widely used China futures contract in Singapore, including potentially doubling the benchmark's constituents, after Hong Kong's stock exchange broke its rival's monopoly on the highly popular trade.
/jlne.ws/2Y4Hpel
Deutsche Börse supports financial industry with comprehensive CSDR reference data set
Eurex
New data offering supports compliance with CSDR; Solution allows clients to identify in-scope instruments and their relevant reference data
Together with Eurex Securities Transactions Services GmbH (Eurex STS), Deutsche Börse's Market Data + Services business is launching a new data offering with regards to the new settlement discipline rules coming along with the European Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR).
/jlne.ws/3EE56tD
Cash market trading volumes in October
Deutsche Börse Group
Deutsche Börse's cash markets generated a turnover of EUR147.1 billion in October (previous year: EUR146 billion). EUR119.7 billion were attributable to Xetra (previous year: EUR119.4 billion), bringing the average daily Xetra trading volume to EUR5.7 billion (previous year: EUR5.4 billion). Trading volumes on Börse Frankfurt were EUR3.7 billion (previous year: EUR4.3 billion) and on Tradegate Exchange EUR23.6 billion (previous year: EUR22.3 billion). By type of asset class, equities accounted for EUR122.2 billion in the entire cash market. Trading in ETFs/ETCs/ETNs generated a turnover of EUR22.7 billion. Turnover in bonds was EUR0.4 billion, in certificates EUR1.4 billion and in funds EUR0.2 billion.
/jlne.ws/3EyNSO7
Helios Technologies Completes Listing Transfer to the New York Stock Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
The New York Stock Exchange, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, announced that Helios Technologies (NYSE: HLIO) has completed its listing transfer and will begin trading today as an NYSE-listed company. Helios, a global industrial technology leader that develops and manufactures hydraulic and electronic control solutions, will now be able to leverage all of the advantages of membership in the NYSE community.
/jlne.ws/2ZL92ty
Trading Overview in October 2021; Japan Exchange Group released Trading Overview in October 2021.
JPX
Cash Equity Market- In October 2021, the daily average trading value for the TSE 1st Section (domestic common stocks) was JPY 3. 4828 trillion; In October 2021, the daily average trading value of ETF market was JPY 332. 0 billion.
Derivatives Market - In October 2021, total derivatives trading volume was 30,773,702 contracts; In October 2021, total derivatives trading value was JPY 241 trillion.
/jlne.ws/2ZNE3gz
-- Performance Bond Requirements - Energy Margin - Effective November 01, 2021 -- CME
-- Application for Spot Call Nonfat Dry Milk and Spot Call Dry Whey Regularity -- CME
-- Application for Spot Call Butter Regularity. -- CME
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Charles River® Appoints Caroline O'Shaughnessy as New EMEA Head
BusinessWire
Charles River Development (CRD), a State Street Company, has appointed Caroline O'Shaughnessy as Head of EMEA, where she will be responsible for all business oversight within the region and collaboration with State Street Alpha?, State Street's global front to back-office platform. Charles River, provider of the Charles River Investment Management Solution (Charles River IMS), was acquired by State Street in 2018.
/jlne.ws/3EAHHZS
Charles River appoints new head for EMEA; New hire will have responsibility within the region for State Street Alpha.
Anita Hawser - The Trade
Investment management platform Charles River has appointed Caroline O'Shaughnessy, formerly of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), as head of EMEA, responsible for all business oversight within State Street Alpha, its global front- to back-office platform.
/jlne.ws/3pSuwzu
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Mandatory Cybersecurity CLE Credits—At a Bar Near You?
Robert Brown - Bloomberg
A lawyer's duty of confidentiality includes taking reasonable steps to protect a client's electronically stored information. The state of New York has taken a small yet bold step that could lead to lawyers better understanding their obligation by seeking to add cybersecurity to its continuing legal education (CLE) credit requirements. Considering the rise in law firm and corporate data breaches worldwide, coupled with lawyers' concerns about the security of their own legal technology, I expect other state bars to follow New York's example—and law schools to start teaching students more about cybersecurity as well.
/jlne.ws/31ma3ZG
How AI can be the next leap for cybersecurity
Andrew B. Gardner - TechRadar
With the growing threat of cyberattacks, AI is the answer to rebalance the cybersecurity game and move the industry forward. Cybersecurity historically has evolved out of necessity as threats emerge and existing solutions become ineffective. Since the first example of antivirus software was developed, new technologies and subsequent vulnerabilities require innovation to combat them. This is why AI is essential in today's fight against cybercriminals.
/jlne.ws/2ZNsGoW
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Robinhood investors fall out of love with Dogecoin, as it drops from 32% of revenue to just 8%
Declan Harty - Fortune
For Robinhood investors, Dogecoin appears to have lost some of its luster. On Friday, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based brokerage disclosed that transaction-based revenues attributable to Dogecoin, a Shiba Inu-themed token that was created as a joke, represented 8% of its total net revenues of $364.9 million in the third quarter. And while about $30 million is still significant amount for what is ultimately a fledgling asset, it marks a significant pullback from the second quarter, when Robinhood collected 32% of its total revenues from Dogecoin transactions.
/yhoo.it/3jSWO9i
Bitcoin Accounting Zaps Millions From MicroStrategy's Income
Bailey Lipschultz and Tom Contiliano - Bloomberg
MicroStrategy Inc.'s massive bet on Bitcoin is seriously enriching the company as the cryptocurrency surges. It's also battering the firm's income statement. Its Bitcoin hoard increased in value by more than $1.3 billion during the third quarter. But accounting rules require MicroStrategy to take a writedown if the tokens it buys fall -- even only temporarily -- below the price it paid for them.
/bloom.bg/3Bzst5z
The Tungsten Cube NFT Marks the Dawn of the 'Thingsperience' Economy
Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg
It was just two weeks ago that I wrote about how crypto traders were contributing to a surge in demand for tiny tungsten cubes. Since then, there have been numerous developments in the tungsten space. Things are moving very quickly. More and more people are getting cubes, for one thing. Interest is off the charts, if Google Trends is to be believed.
/bloom.bg/2Zv2hM6
Steve Wozniak on accepting crypto pitches in 'Unicorn Hunter'
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Julie Hyman speak with Apple Co-Founder and 'Unicorn Hunters' Circle of Money Investor, Steve Wozniak, about his new TV show, Apple earnings, the state of big tech, and much more.
/yhoo.it/3GBvciq
A crypto project that raised $60 million overnight using a dog meme saw all of that money go missing in what may have been a phishing attack
Carla Mozée - Business Insider
$60 million quickly vanished from a cryptocurrency project, with the disappearance apparently stemming from a phishing attack, according to a report Friday. AnubisDAO was first promoted this week as a fork of OlympusDAO, a cryptocurrency backed by assets in its treasury, according to The Block, which publishes news and research about digital assets. Forks are either minor and major updates in a network protocol, or the open-source software that runs blockchains.
/yhoo.it/3jSWveE
Bitcoin's white paper was published 13 years ago today
Michael McSweeney - The Block
The bitcoin white paper was released 13 years ago today, on October 31, 2008. The email containing the white paper was sent just after 2 p.m. ET on a mailing list for cryptographers. According to a copy of the email maintained by the Nakamato Institute, bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, wrote at the time: "I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party."
/bit.ly/3Ew6XAp
The Tether equation for investors: risk vs yield; Cryptocurrency still draws huge inflows despite concerns over asset backing
Eva Szalay - FT
There is a very simple reason for Tether's dramatic growth as a cryptocurrency despite questioning of the way it operates: yield. The world's largest so-called stablecoin has grown more than 300 per cent in size in the past 12 months, with nearly $71bn of funds currently parked in the digital coin. In the last 30 days alone, it has drawn some $1.5bn of funds.
/on.ft.com/3nOk3lS
A top crypto exec shares why GameFi is so hot right now - and lists 2 reasons why play-to-earn-games like Axie Infinity are taking the market by storm
Shalini Nagarajan - Business Insider
GameFi is one of the hottest technologies in the crypto ecospace, and early investors can expect gaming-related collectibles to power virtual economies, according to Jeff Mei, director of global strategy at crypto exchange Huobi. "Users want the hottest, most innovative, the most creative, the most promising assets on the market," he told Insider in a recent interview.
/jlne.ws/3jS5H2Y
Maturing Bitcoin Means Rallies With Less Volatility
Crystal Kim - Bloomberg
Volatility has always been a defining characteristic of Bitcoin, with price swings usually increasing when new highs are reached. Now it appears the gyrations are diminishing if you take a longer view, which Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone attributes to a natural maturation and greater institutional adoption, including last month's U.S. launch of the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds. During the largest cryptocurrency's recent rise to an all-time high of almost $67,000, volatility measured over a 260-day period dropped to around 66, levels unseen since May, when Bitcoin dipped under $40,000.
/jlne.ws/2ZI70L0
Thiel Says High Cryptocurrency Prices Show Inflation is Real
Bill Allison - Bloomberg
PayPal co-founder regrets not buying more when price was lower
Thiel critical of institutions for dismissing opposing views
Peter Thiel said Sunday at a conservative conference that the high price of Bitcoin indicates the economy is facing real inflation. The tech billionaire said price rises aren't transitory, and criticized the Federal Reserve for not addressing inflation and failing to recognize its seriousness.
/jlne.ws/3nJOYju
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Japan's ruling Liberal Democrats secure general election victory; Party of PM Fumio Kishida to retain control of lower-house despite close-run contests for senior figures
Kana Inagaki and Leo Lewis - FT
Fumio Kishida secured a bigger-than-expected victory for the Liberal Democrats in Japan's general election despite a nationwide weariness against the ruling party's near-decade-long grip on power.
/on.ft.com/3GOYhHF
COP26: how green politics went mainstream; In some countries green politicians, elected by voters concerned about climate change, have a greater voice than ever before
Pilita Clark - FT
Peter Rein-Hodurek was sitting at his computer in his Vienna office earlier this year when he spotted a headline on an online news site. A "climate ticket" was about to go on sale allowing Austrians to travel as far and often as they liked on public transport for the equivalent of just EUR3 a day.
/on.ft.com/2ZGqr6W
Glenn Youngkin: the private equity multi-millionaire aiming to run Virginia; The Republican former co-chief of Carlyle is in a neck-and-neck race for governor
Antoine Gara and Lauren Fedor - FT
Two years before he resigned as co-chief executive of Carlyle Group to run for Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin steered the private equity giant into one of the largest infrastructure projects in the US: the $7bn redevelopment of Terminal 1 at JFK Airport in New York City.
/on.ft.com/3EsmDom
Texas showdown shows limits of seeking gun control through banks; Republicans strike back at lenders that take action over weapons
John Dizard - FT
We now have the first measurable results of the campaign to use major banks' market power to curb the US gun trade. When faced with a legal counter-attack from the Republican-controlled state of Texas, the anti-gun movement appears to have been unsuccessful.
/on.ft.com/319aFla
Biden hails EU-US steel deal as chance to curb 'dirty' Chinese imports; Washington and Brussels set aside dispute and aim for global arrangement to encourage low-carbon production
Andy Bounds and Katrina Manson - FT
President Joe Biden has said the US and EU are seeking ways to curb imports of "dirty steel" from China after Washington and Brussels put aside their own trade dispute. In a deal that was swiftly criticised by China, the US and EU have agreed to work jointly on a "global arrangement" to support sustainable steel and aluminium to reduce overcapacity and encourage greener production.
/on.ft.com/3jQnac4
Rubio to call for GOP to rebrand, divorce Big Business
Alayna Treene - Axios
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will call for Republicans to break up with Big Business when he addresses the National Conservatism Conference on Monday, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Rubio is seeking re-election in one of the most high-profile and expensive races of the 2022 cycle. He's using this speech to differentiate himself from traditional economic conservatism by branding himself as a leading proponent of the working class.
/yhoo.it/3Cx37q5
Biden pick for Fed chair expected soon, Yellen says
Andrea Shalal - Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said President Joe Biden should pick an "experienced and credible" person as Federal Reserve chair to reassure markets, and while current chair Jerome Powell fit the bill, others would too.
/jlne.ws/3nN9aRp
Yellen Praises Powell's Response to Fed Trading Controversy
Christopher Condon - Bloomberg
Treasury chief speaks on Fed's strengthening of rules; Fed barred senior officials from trading individual stocks
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she believes Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has taken "significant action" in the wake of revelations over the personal investments of U.S. central-bank policy makers.
/jlne.ws/2ZNmFZl
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | The CFTC vs. the Truth
Daniel Kuhn - Coindesk
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has neither confirmed nor denied a report that it's investigating a popular Ethereum-based betting market. But you're free to place bets on the likelihood of such a probe on the platform at the center of the kerfuffle, Polymarket. Founded in March 2020, Polymarket allows a wide range of individuals to place bets on the likelihood of real-world events. Still in beta testing mode, the so-called "truth market" has seen some $4 billion shares trade over its lifetime.
/yhoo.it/3pSyB6z
Financial regulators publish fourth edition of plan for upcoming work
UK FCA
The Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum has today issued the fourth edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid. The first edition of the Grid, which aims to give firms a clear idea of upcoming regulatory work, was published in April 2020.
/jlne.ws/3jUDFUy
FCA and PRA statement on Jes Staley investigation
UK FCA
'The FCA and PRA do not comment on ongoing investigations or regulatory proceedings beyond confirming the regulatory actions as detailed in the firm's announcement.' FCA and PRA spokesperson quote in relation to the Jes Staley investigation.
/jlne.ws/3GPQQzU
U.K. Fraud Cops Drop Probe of Individuals in Amec Bribery Case
Ellen Milligan - Bloomberg
Decision comes months after John Wood Group settled suit; U.K.'s SFO has been under pressure over prosecution failures
The U.K.'s fraud prosecutor closed its investigation into individuals over bribery at Amec Foster Wheeler Plc, after the British engineering firm's parent company settled the four-year probe earlier this year. John Wood Group Plc, which acquired Amec in 2017, agreed to pay $177 million as part of a global agreement to settle the investigation in June. The U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office walked away with 103 million pounds ($141 million), the biggest portion of the settlement, while U.S. prosecutors got more than $28 million as part of the deal.
/jlne.ws/3pTeXr9
UK pushes back deadline for Basel III update; Latest version of banking standard will come into force 'post March 2023'
Laura Noonan - FT
The UK has eased its timetable for implementing the latest global bank capital standards, but stopped short of the 2-year delay recently announced by the EU. In its twice yearly update on regulatory initiatives, the UK said it would implement the latest Basel III banking standards "post March 2023", without specifying a date.
/jlne.ws/3GEjCDs
FICC to pay $8 million for inadequate risk management policies; Securities and Exchange Commission found that FICC's risk failings could've resulted in significant costs for participants and the wider US financial system.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) has agreed to pay an $8 million penalty to settle claims from the SEC that it had inadequate risk management policies within its government securities division. According to the US regulator's order, between April 2017 and November 2018, the clearing house failed in its requirements to have the correct procedures in place for holding sufficient liquid resources to meet its obligations if a large participant failed.
/jlne.ws/3Eu7jYg
New ID requirement for directors
ASIC
Company directors need to verify their identity as part of a new director identification number (director ID) requirement; A director ID is a unique identifier that a director will apply for once and keep forever; When you must apply depends on when you were appointed as a director.
/jlne.ws/3EqW2bo
SEC Awards More Than $2 Million to Whistleblower for Successful Related Action
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $2 million to a whistleblower who provided information that led to a successful related action by the U.S. Department of Justice.
/jlne.ws/31fiRAp
SEC Charges Newport Beach Company and its Principals with Operating a $13.5 Million Ponzi-Like Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has charged BNZ, a Newport Beach, California-based company, and its co-founders and co-managers Brett Barber and Louis Zimmerle, for fraudulently raising $13.5 million from more than 100 retail investors.
/jlne.ws/3ExxXQb
ESMA makes new bond liquidity data available and publishes data for the systematic internaliser calculations
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has today made available new data for bonds subject to the pre- and post-trade requirements of MiFID II and MiFIR through its data register.
/jlne.ws/3GJ15FV
European enforcers target COVID-19 and climate-related disclosures
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has issued its annual Public Statement on European Common Enforcement Priorities (Statement). This year's priorities cover the impact of COVID-19 and climate-related matters, provide guidance on the measurement of expected credit losses and highlight disclosure obligations pursuant to Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation.
/jlne.ws/3GDjl3z
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Oil Majors Won't Come Running to Help World Facing Energy Crunch
Kevin Crowley and Laura Hurst - Bloomberg
The world's biggest energy companies are producing the most cash in years, but don't expect them to spend it on bringing on fresh supplies of oil and natural gas to combat shortages in Europe and China this winter.
/yhoo.it/3ExnR1D
Princeton's Endowment Gains 46.9% for Second-Best in Ivy League
Janet Lorin - Bloomberg
The endowment, led by Andrew Golden, climbed to $37.7 billion; nly Brown University's 52% gain was bigger last fiscal year
Princeton University's endowment returned 46.9% and rose to $37.7 billion in the latest fiscal year, driven by a surge in its private equity portfolio The results announced Friday are second-highest among the eight-member Ivy League for the fiscal year ended in June, trailing only Brown University's 52% advance. Dartmouth College was No. 3, posting a 46.5% gain, while Columbia University brought up the rear with a return of 32%.
/bloom.bg/3mtSX4h
First Bitcoin. Then GameStop. Now Tiny Tungsten Cubes; Online investors crave tangible pleasure of holding surprisingly heavy metal blocks; 1.7 times as dense as lead
Hardika Singh - WSJ
They bought the bitcoin dip. They took GameStop to the moon. Now the online investor army has a new favorite thing to buy and hold: small tungsten cubes. Even in a year that has featured dog-meme cryptocurrencies and rappers shilling SPACs, tungsten cubes stand out. They are as inert as they sound: gray, an inch or two on each side and 1.7 times as dense as lead. A major selling point, according to Amazon.com's product page, is that they are "extremely heavy for their size."
/on.wsj.com/3buL7AQ
Exclusive: Goldman Sachs offers new way for investors to bet on SPACs - sources
Jessica DiNapoli - Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc has come up with a new offering that allows investors to bet on special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), its latest attempt to capitalize on the dealmaking trend, people familiar with the matter said.
/jlne.ws/3nN938r
Hounded by Short Sellers, $6 Billion Tech Unicorn's ADRs Implode
Filipe Pacheco, Yueqi Yang and Layan Odeh - Bloomberg
It was hailed as the first tech unicorn from the United Arab Emirates in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange and touted as the "Clubhouse of the Middle East." But these days, Yalla Group Ltd., a voice-chat startup based out of Dubai, might be earning a less flattering label: stock-market bust.
/jlne.ws/3GEc1Vs
This Is How They Could Literally Mint a Trillion Dollar Coin; Former U.S. Mint Director Diehl explains how it works
Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
We've spoken before about how, in theory, the Treasury could mint a $1 trillion platinum coin if Congress fails to lift the debt ceiling on time. The law seems very clear on this. But how would the actual minting process work? On this episode we speak with former U.S. Mint Director Philip Diehl, who ran the agency for several years in the late 90s, and who helped draft the legislation which enabled the coin. We're also joined by past guest Rohan Grey, an assistant law professor at Willamette Law School, for a full discussion on the theory and practice of modern coinage.
/jlne.ws/3jXMnkH
What are the drawbacks to investors of holding a bitcoin futures ETF? First US exchange traded fund linked to cryptocurrency garners strong demand following debut
Philip Stafford and Steve Johnson - FT
Last month's arrival of the first US exchange traded fund linked to the bitcoin price made history as the strongest ever ETF launch, quickly amassing more than $1bn in assets. Valkyrie Investments' Bitcoin Fund was second to market, soon after the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Several other bitcoin futures ETFs are expected to launch soon.
/jlne.ws/3pRSM4N
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Nobody Is Drilling the Oil; Also ESG deposits, Trump SPAC, Zillow's algorithm, Facebook and tungsten.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
One claim that you sometimes hear about financial markets is that they are excessively focused on the short term and systematically undervalue long-term investment. Public investors want good earnings and big stock buybacks this quarter, and get impatient when corporate managers spend money on projects that will add lots of value in the long run but won't pay off immediately. Great ideas don't get funded if they can't show results quickly. This concern strikes me as overstated — look at Tesla, etc. — but, sure, there is probably some truth to it.
/bloom.bg/3bkB01H
Global Oil Demand Is Soaring and Refiners Are Reaping the Profit; Millions of barrels of daily refining capacity shut during the pandemic, just before fuel consumption started surging again.
Rachel Graham, Elizabeth Low, and Devika Krishna Kumar - Bloomberg
Fuel consumption is soaring around the globe, and with millions of barrels of daily refining capacity offline, refiners still in the game are reaping some of their fattest margins in years.
/bloom.bg/3Bmg70A
India Climate Body Pushes for Low-Carbon Steel, Heavy Industries
Rajesh Kumar Singh - Bloomberg
Body working to create market for low-carbon steel: CEO; Backs $1 trillion funds for clean energy in developing world
India Climate Collaborative is helping the nation meet its climate goals by working to decarbonize heavy industries such as steelmaking, according to the head of the organisation backed by some of the nation's top corporate leaders and philanthropists.
/jlne.ws/3jUdQnx
Crypto Advocates Call for Greater Clarity Amid Climate Summit
Crystal Kim and Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
Global Digital Finance report shows industry's green pursuits; Coinbase, BitMEX, Cardano Foundation offer up solutions
Digital-asset companies are pushing back against claims of excessive energy usage in the cryptocurrency sector as world leaders flock to Glasgow this week for key climate change talks.
/jlne.ws/2ZRMBTw
How a Global Carbon Market Could Accelerate Net-Zero
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
As companies around the world seek to burnish their green credentials, plans for a rigorous and regulated international carbon market to help countries and businesses reach their climate goals are becoming a key part of the fight against climate change. Proposals were outlined in Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which has been argued over by climate diplomats for six years. Now it's turning into one of the hot topics for the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow. While there are prospects that a deal can be reached, there are also plenty of worries about what could happen if it's poorly executed.
/jlne.ws/3GId6vi
Coffee and Climate Have a Complicated Relationship; Your morning cup may depend on solving issues with a crop that both contributes to and is deeply affected by the changing climate.
Tatiana Schlossberg - NY Times
Wilston Vilchez, a third-generation coffee farmer in the mountains of Nicaragua, has witnessed drastic climatic changes on his 25-acre coffee and cacao farm for years, but when two hurricanes hit within 15 days last year, many other farmers he knows realized they needed to be part of the solution. "They might be small farmers, but they believe in doing something different that will benefit them all," he said.
/jlne.ws/3EAEp93
Is Carbon Capture Here? A Swiss company is operating a device in Iceland that sucks CO2 from the air and shoots it into the ground, where it turns into rock.
Peter Wilson - NY Times
Stephan Hitz paused from his work operating an odd-looking machine in an otherworldly landscape in Iceland and reached for a "Star Wars" analogy to explain his job at the frontier of climate technology. "I feel like I have come from the Dark Side to become a Jedi warrior," he joked as he braced against a chill wind blowing across the treeless stretches of cooled lava and distant volcanoes.
/jlne.ws/3jUggm7
Shell Is the Greenest Big Oil Company. Look What That Got It; Activist proposal to split into 'green' Shell and 'brown' Shell shows the pitfalls of ESG
James Mackintosh - WSJ
Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A -3.20% PLC shows much that is wrong with environmental, social and governance investing. The Anglo-Dutch company was the first to target reduced carbon emissions from customers, has gone further than any of the other oil supermajors to shift its direction away from fossil fuels and is closest of any of them to meeting the Paris carbon target. It even has a better ESG score than electric-car leader Tesla or hydrogen wonder stock Plug Power.
/jlne.ws/3jXoHgl
Israeli Regulator Wants More Women in Bank Boardrooms
Alisa Odenheimer - Bloomberg
Israel's Supervisor of Banks is working to increase the number of women on the boards of the country's lenders, the Bank of Israel said on Monday. The regulator has submitted to the banks a draft amendment aimed at ensuring adequate representation for both genders according to their share of the population.
/jlne.ws/3EE0nYV
UK companies will be told to bring more women into boardrooms; Ministers to instruct FTSE groups not to take 'foot off the pedal' on gender diversity efforts
Daniel Thomas - FT
The UK government will launch a fresh five-year push for more women on listed company boards, to build on the work carried out by a previous campaign, the Hampton-Alexander review. Ministers will this week tell FTSE-listed businesses not to take "the foot off the pedal" on efforts to improve gender diversity in their senior leadership. Officials will reopen the portal for companies to submit their gender diversity data for analysis and review.
/jlne.ws/3nQbmaI
Investors learn to exert pressure on heavy CO2 emitters; Many net zero pledges by businesses lack substance, but their biggest shareholders can hold them to account
Attracta Mooney - FT
As companies worldwide announce a barrage of commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the role played by their biggest shareholders in holding them to their pledges is coming under scrutiny.
/jlne.ws/3CEf1i7
ESG metrics trip up factor investors; Adding an ethical tilt to a portfolio may not necessarily lead to better returns
Emma Boyde - FT
Asset managers and index providers are increasingly using scores for environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in selecting and weighting stocks — in a similar way to their application of smart beta factor metrics. But some experts now believe this approach is flawed.
/jlne.ws/3mwDpMR
Bond Investors Embrace Fossil Fuels During a Sustainability Push; Yields on speculative-grade energy company debt are near record lows, fueling a surge in issuance by players in sector
Sam Goldfarb - WSJ
Wall Street's embrace of sustainable investing isn't slowing bond sales in the energy sector. Surging oil and natural-gas prices have investors piling into the debt of energy companies, pushing down borrowing costs and prompting a flood of new bond issuance. U.S. oil prices hit multiyear highs near $85 a barrel last week.
/jlne.ws/3ByZ4Z6
Rupak Ghose: «Finance Isn't Data-Ready for ESG»
Finews.com
The gold rush moment of ESG in finance reveals that data models used by banks and insurers to gauge progress simply aren't ready. Mark Twain said «during the gold rush its a good time to be in the pick and shovel business.» There is no greater gold rush in finance today than ESG, or environmental, social, and governance criteria.
/jlne.ws/3jSnjf6
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Dan Loeb Wants a Clean Shell and a Dirty Shell; Also billionaire tax, Twitter pump-and-dumps and nano options.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
We talked yesterday about the somewhat strange possibility that public investors might be too focused on the long term. At a conference in Saudi Arabia, Blackstone Group's Steve Schwarzman and BlackRock Inc.'s Larry Fink both suggested that oil prices are high because investors have become so jazzed about funding a future transition to green energy that they are no longer willing to fund oil drilling. I wrote:
/bloom.bg/3BrETwj
BNP, Like Barclays, Is Shaking Up the Stock Trading Game; The French lender gains ground in equities with its takeover of Exane and Deutsche Bank's prime brokerage.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
The stock-trading game in Europe is changing, and it's not your usual players gaining ground. BNP Paribas SA is following Barclays Plc of the U.K. in winning a more diverse share of this market, which is balancing out their traditional strengths. For Barclays, that was a focus on bond trading; at BNP, it was equity derivatives.
/bloom.bg/3GwTiuR
Barclays chief Jes Staley to step down following Epstein investigation; Disgraced financier was a key client of JPMorgan's private bank, which Staley used to run
Stephen Morris, Owen Walker and Oliver Ralph - FT
Jes Staley is stepping down as chief executive of Barclays following a regulatory investigation into the way he described his relationship with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement on Monday, the bank said it was made aware of the results of the probe by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority on Friday.
/jlne.ws/3nFSEmc
Ex-Barclays Trader Banned for Life After Euribor Conviction
Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
Colin Bermingham given ban after conviction for rigging; Former trader agreed to accept lifetime ban, FCA says
A former Barclays Plc trader convicted of helping rig a key benchmark rate was banned from working in the finance industry for life. Colin Bermingham, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019, was not "fit and proper" to take on any regulated role, the Financial Conduct Authority said. The ruling comes after the former trader lost an attempt to overturn his guilty finding last year.
/jlne.ws/3nQ8T07
Lloyd's of London heads for 'fundamental change' in post-pandemic era; Centuries-old insurance market is built on face-to-face trading whose value is now being questioned
Ian Smith - FT
John Neal could be forgiven for looking enviously at those chief executives agonising over whether to order employees back to the office. As the head of Lloyd's of London, Neal is not simply wrestling with the future working habits of one company, but those of the about 400 firms that make up the centuries-old specialist insurance market, providing cover on everything from a supertanker sinking to a professional footballer breaking their leg.
/jlne.ws/319hvXR
TIFIN valuation now five times higher following latest funding round; AI platform for asset managers closes third successful funding round in less than 12 months.
Anita Hawser - The Trade
TIFIN, which uses AI to drive personalisation and digital distribution for asset managers, raised $47 million in its latest oversubscribed Series C funding round, which valued the company at $447 million.
/jlne.ws/3Expexp
BGC Completes Sale of Insurance Brokerage Business to The Ardonagh Group
BGC Partners, Inc.
BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGCP) ("BGC Partners" or "BGC" or the "Company"), a leading global brokerage and financial technology company, announced today that it has completed the sale of its Insurance Brokerage business to The Ardonagh Group Limited ("Ardonagh"). The transaction was first announced in a press release on May 26, 2021.
/jlne.ws/2ZNAKWK
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | U.S. Firms With Hong Kong Headquarters Hit 18-Year Low
Kari Soo Lindberg - Bloomberg
President Biden warned against operating under security law; City imposes 21-day quarantines that thwart business travel
The number of American companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong has fallen an 18-year low, bolstering arguments that the city's national security campaign and Covid Zero strategy are eroding its appeal as a global financial center.
/jlne.ws/3jVU8Yq
Surging Oil Prices Aren't All Good For Saudi Arabia's Aramco
Anthony Di Paola - Bloomberg
Downstream unit's profit falls compared with second quarter; Upstream business continues to boom as crude production rises
The surge in oil prices has been good for Saudi Aramco's upstream business, but it's hurting the refining and chemicals unit. Aramco's downstream arm -- which includes refineries, retail operations, trading and the energy giant's chemicals subsidiary, Sabic -- made a $4 billion profit before interest and tax in the third quarter. That was up from a loss of almost $800 million a year earlier, but down 13% from the previous three months.
/jlne.ws/3EyUFYi
Bitcoin surge spurs City to recruit crypto natives; 'TradFi' groups say they are investing in digital asset expertise for defensive reasons
Jonathan Guthrie - FT
Establishments survive by assimilating useful upstarts and excluding dangerous ones. This is the theme of Victorian novels where self-made entrepreneurs became MPs and American heiresses married dukes. It is also a trend in financial services. The value of unregulated cryptocurrencies has soared to an estimated $2.8tn. Regulated banks, fund managers and consultants are establishing or expanding fledgling digital asset operations.
/jlne.ws/3btMUGi
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