| December 17, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Thank you to NYSE and ICE for the lovely NYSE Media Holiday Party last night on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. It was great to be back at the NYSE and on the trading floor for the party and to meet members of the New York media and connect with members of the NYSE and ICE staff.
This was the second time I have been at a party on the NYSE floor. I have been invited to this party before, but it never coincided with other plans to be in New York in December. I am glad it worked out this year. It was nice to see such a large and diverse media community in attendance.
As a reminder, FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken is organizing a benefit event on January 16 at Pearl Street Warehouse in Washington, DC to raise funds to pay the medical bills for his friend Tony Perez, who was diagnosed with ALS five years ago.
Walt's band, The District, will be performing at the event. Walt's kindness and dedication to his friends, even as he leads a major industry organization, is heartwarming, and it is particularly moving to see Walt use his musical talents and influence to help a friend in need, showcasing his character beyond his professional role. Walt's goodwill shines through whether he's wearing a suit or his IU sweatshirt. His efforts to support Tony highlight the importance of community and friendship in difficult times. Walt's actions remind us of the power of coming together to help others. You can donate to support Tony HERE.
Euronext FX reported a strong 2024, with a 20% increase in average daily volume (ADV), outpacing growth at other anonymous platforms. CEO Nicolas Jegou attributed the success to a 9% rise in trading clients, a 126% surge in precious metals trading-making gold the platform's 5th most-traded currency pair-and the success of the innovative Collapse-To-Mid (CTM) order type, he shared in a LinkedIn post. Launched in late 2023, CTM achieved an ADV of $1.1 billion by November, driving significant growth in resting orders. Jegou thanked clients for their continued support.
The U.K. is facing a Guinness shortage as surging demand, fueled by social media trends like "splitting the G," caught brewer Diageo off guard during the festive season, The Wall Street Journal reported. Guinness, Britain's top-selling pub beer since 2022, has seen exceptional growth, with Diageo restricting supplies to prevent stockpiling. Pubs like London's Old Ivy House are rationing Guinness with fun strategies to stretch supplies, though deliveries remain delayed. The stout's popularity has soared among younger and female drinkers, supported by Diageo's advertising and alcohol-free variant. Competitors like Murphy's and smaller craft stouts are seeing a boost, but publicans say loyalty to Guinness remains unmatched. Diageo is building a second Irish brewery, but it won't open until 2026.
The NFA's Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Review is now available on NFA's website.
Paul Jiganti's career was highlighted by STAC in this spotlight article found HERE. Jiganti is retiring from IMC at the end of the month after a 40-year career in the markets.
TP ICAP Group plc CEO Nicolas Breteau reported on LinkedIn that this year's ICAP Charity Day raised more than £5m for good causes around the world. He offered much thanks to the brokers and teams, charities and ambassadors, and of course, TP ICAP's clients. He posted a dynamic, action-filled, sometimes animated video of employees and celebrities.
Mike Boccio is starting a new position as founder & president at Pragmative Communications, he shared on LinkedIn. He has been a senior managing director at Sloane & Company and an executive director at RF Binder for corporate and financial services. He was also at Intermarket Communications back in the day.
Bloomberg has appointed Lauren LaCapra as team leader for Leveraged Finance and Private Credit, recognizing her strong market expertise and newsroom leadership during her tenure on the Markets Editing Hub, Chris Roush of TalkingBizNews reported.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: ESMA publishes final guidance on crypto regulation, ANALYSIS: FX markets lagging on DORA compliance - OSTTRA, EEX to add to Spanish and Greek power futures offering in February, ANALYSIS: UK funds using FX derivatives to hedge rather than speculate - BoE, Fed's Neal to head blockchain specialist Fnality next year and ISDA appoints HSBC executive as chair for 2025.
If you're in the market for a castle, there are stunning options available across Europe, including a baronial-style mansion in the Scottish Highlands with a trout fishing loch and a Lake Como retreat complete with a guesthouse and limonaia. Financial Times: Hot Property - Five European Castles offers a glimpse into these grand estates fit for royalty.
On the other side of the Atlantic, former Charles Schwab CEO David Pottruck is auctioning his sprawling 19-acre wine country estate in Santa Rosa, California. The property, built in 2005 as a family retreat near the exclusive Mayacama Golf Club, is hitting the auction block with a reserve price of $5.25 million. A dream home with deep ties to the area's serene landscape, it's now looking for its next owner. Read more via Mansion Global.
Condolences to Sean Smith of Fenics Market Data on the death of his father two days ago. The entire JLN team sends its prayers to the Smith family.
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:
- CME Group Volatility Index from CME Group.
- BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Put Options at $30, $35 Price Levels See Volume Spike from Markets Insider.
- Wall Street Eyes 2025 Volatility Spikes on Trump Tariffs, Geopolitics from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 Broadridge Advances Futures Execution Platform with AI and Partnerships JohnLothianNews.com In a recent interview at FIA Expo in Chicago, Dan Smalley, global head of business development - derivatives at Broadridge, outlined the company's strategy for innovation in the futures execution space. Watch the video »
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China's Investment Bankers Struggle With Low Pay, Few Deals and Fear of Arrests; Recent stock market rally hasn't revived IPOs and deal making; Brokerages have cut pay and imposed travel curbs amid probes
Bloomberg News
Investment bankers in China are struggling to stay relevant after a tough year for deal-making, deep pay cuts, and widening regulatory probes that have sent a chill through the once-vibrant industry. While their peers on Wall Street are looking forward to bigger bonuses for the first time since 2021, Chinese bankers are bracing themselves for a third consecutive year of little or no extra payouts. A stock market rally in September sparked by Beijing's economic stimulus plans raised hopes of a revival in capital markets deals, but the euphoria has ebbed. Revenue remains lackluster for investment banks that earn fees from brokering mergers and acquisitions and helping companies sell shares and bonds.
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****** All this sounds like a good reason to switch from investment banking to plumbing.~JJL
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Explainer-How would a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve work?
Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Lisa Pauline Mattackal - Reuters
Bitcoin hit a record high above $107,000 on Monday after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated plans to create a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve, stoking the enthusiasm of crypto bulls. Here's how the plan could work.
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****** If you want to know how this works, just look up the phrase "Rent Seeking." Forget about all the technology talk, or libertarian freedom inherent in a decentralized cryptocurrency, an investment by the U.S. government in bitcoin, I believe would be nothing but good old fashioned rent seeking by the owners of bitcoin who helped elect pro-crypto government officials. One could argue that this will increase the country's wealth, thus not making it rent seeking. I disagree about the underlying value of bitcoin and thus its use as a long term store of wealth to the country. I don't argue about its current price.
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Trump's bonanza of the century; Elon Musk and other super-wealthy entrepreneurs stand to benefit from deregulation
Edward Luce - Financial Times
A rising tide is lifting all megayachts. As growing net worth goes, however, Elon Musk is in a category of one. Since Donald Trump won re-election on November 5, Musk's wealth has leapt by roughly two-thirds to $440bn. At this rate, he will comfortably become a trillionaire during Trump's presidency. Laggards, such as Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, are getting in on the act. Both have given $1mn to Trump's inauguration committee, a traditional way of currying favour with an incoming administration. Their wealth has also jumped. America is going through the biggest deregulatory play in history.
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***** Here is the last line of this commentary by Luce about the benefits being reaped by the billionaire backers of Donald Trump: "The winners are already reaping unimaginable rewards. All this is taking place before Trump is even in office." America truly is the land of opportunity!~JJL
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Happy New Year from DORA! Getting Ready for the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act
Andy Jennings - BornTech
Turning the calendar page to December naturally leads to reflection about the year that has just passed as well as a gaze forward to see what looms in the future. In the present case, 2024 was a year many referred to as organized chaos that was characterized by plenty of growth but also plenty of disruption. Now, whilst we prepare for 2025 and set our tasks and goals for the year with the hopes of conditions that are more "normal" alas, we have to deal with DORA.
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***** We have been tardy in sharing this blog post from BornTec, but here you go.~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top story Monday was London Stock Exchange suffers biggest exodus since financial crisis, from the Financial Times. Second was Global mental health crisis hits workplaces, also from the Financial Times. And third was John Lothian's piece from last year, Opinion: Class-Action Lawsuit Against CME Group Holds Disruptive Potential to Membership Prices, Future Deals and CME Leadership, in JLN.
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| Lead Stories | Trump's tariffs could usher in a worst-case economic scenario not seen since the 1970s
Analysis by Elisabeth Buchwald - CNN
Jamie Dimon, head of America's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - and commonly referred to as the 'president of Wall Street' - spent much of this past year warning that there's an elevated risk that the US experiences 1970s-esque stagflation, which is when economic growth stagnates while inflation heats up. "I look at the amount of fiscal and monetary stimulus that has taken place over the last five years - it has been so extraordinary; how can you tell me it won't lead to stagflation?" Dimon said at a conference in May.
/jlne.ws/4iIfncU
Private companies to skip market abuse rules in share sales, says FCA; UK venues for trading stakes in private businesses will be subject to lighter regulation than public markets
Martin Arnold and Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
The owners of private companies will be able to sell shares to financial institutions and other professional investors from next year without complying with market abuse and other detailed disclosure regulations, the UK watchdog has said. The Financial Conduct Authority presented plans on Tuesday to introduce a lighter regulatory regime for a new type of trading venue that will allow investors in private businesses to sell shares on a limited number of days.
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His Startup Is Now Worth $62 Billion. It Gave Away Its First Product for Free; As CEO of Databricks, Ali Ghodsi has performed a series of 'strategic surgeries' to make his company one of the fastest-growing startups in Silicon Valley
Berber Jin and Tom Dotan - The Wall Street Journal
When he was in college in Sweden, Ali Ghodsi read an article about a chief executive who was hired to save a struggling tech company. It reminded him of the surgeries his parents, both doctors, performed while he was growing up. "I loved the fact that you could think about large corporations as patients, and you could perform surgery on them to make them super healthy and successful," he said.
/jlne.ws/3BnqjvZ
AI Can Take the Slog Out of Compliance Work, but Executives Not Ready to Fully Trust It; Risk-averse compliance teams are sussing out a crop of young startups with a note of caution
Marc Vartabedian - The Wall Street Journal
A wave of startups offering artificial-intelligence-infused compliance software are promising to help organizations meet complex new regulations while keeping costs in check. No need to hire new employees to do the laborious data-related work their AI does in minutes, the startups say. But compliance executives are proceeding with caution. On the one hand, these executives say using emerging AI features to automate tedious tasks like fraud reviews or compiling data security reports could be a game changer, especially as companies struggle to meet new compliance regulations without ballooning costs.
/jlne.ws/3VJ52DA
Taiwan Banks Seek Deposits as Regulator Pressures Over Mortgages; Central bank pushes banks to lower exposure to housing market; Policy meeting on Dec. 19 eyed for possible lending curbs
Chien-Hua Wan and Miaojung Lin - Bloomberg
Taiwan's biggest banks are stepping up efforts to lure deposits from both individuals and companies, responding to regulator demands for them to reduce a key ratio tracking their exposure to the island's hot housing market. Multiple bank employees told Bloomberg News that domestic lenders are aggressively seeking both Taiwan dollars and foreign currencies. Lenders are targeting institutions, including insurers and corporates, and retail investors to fulfill internal deposit targets, they said, asking not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak publicly.
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Elon Musk Heard From the SEC; Also duplicating the MicroStrategy trade, buffer ETFs and hedge funds, Masayoshi Son's $100 billion commitment and snorting Adderall in the bullpen.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
Oh Gary
I think a useful rough model is something like: 1. You and I and most people are approximately 100% subject to the law. If we do crimes we'll get arrested; if we commit securities violations we'll get fined; if we drive too fast we'll get pulled over. 2. Elon Musk is, like, 60% subject to the law? 3. In roughly a month, he will be, like, 20% subject to the law? Musk is extremely rich, he's litigious and willing to fight even without great legal arguments, he's popular online and has a large army of fans who get mad at his critics, and he is essential to various essential companies. You can't seriously expect all of the laws to apply to him.
/jlne.ws/3P2uBfn
Deribit Partners With Paxos to Launch Pax Gold Futures and Options Trading; Deribit will now offer spot, perpetual, futures and derivatives for the PAXG token.
Deribit
Deribit, the world's premier digital assets derivatives exchange, today announced it has added support for the Pax Gold (PAXG), a token created by Paxos that is backed 1:1 by a fine troy ounce of LMBA good delivery gold vaulted in London. By adding PAXG to its platform, Deribit empowers traders to diversify their portfolios and hedge against market volatility. PAXG offers a unique opportunity to gain exposure to gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, within the digital asset ecosystem. Within the first week of launch, Deribit trading volume exceeded a quarter billion USD in notional value for gold, underscoring the growing demand for trading traditional assets on the blockchain.
/jlne.ws/4iFSMOb
The Original Rogue Trader's Lament: Compliance Is Still an Afterthought; Nick Leeson infamously brought down Barings Bank. He has thoughts to share.
Nick Leeson - Bloomberg Opinion
This February marks 30 years since my rogue trading rocked the financial system and cratered Barings, Britain's oldest and most venerable bank. I racked up $1 billion in losses right under the noses of Barings' management and compliance teams, staking vast sums of the bank's cash in a desperate attempt to dig myself out of an ever-deepening hole. The walls came crashing down a day after my 28th birthday, with the bank declared insolvent while I fled Singapore hoping to avoid arrest.
/jlne.ws/49HXNSk
Trafigura under fresh scrutiny after scandals hit profits; Commodities trading house hit by repeated failures of risk controls that have taken financial and reputational toll
Leslie Hook - Financial Times
Commodities trader Trafigura is coming under heightened scrutiny by some of its lenders after a series of scandals hit earnings and dented the company's value. The privately held group uncovered a "massive problem" at its Mongolian oil division this year, which cost it $1.1bn and contributed to a steep decline in profits and dividend payouts. It is the second such issue to hit Trafigura in two years after it said in 2023 that it had been the victim of a $600mn nickel fraud.
/jlne.ws/41FNI6m
TikTok Asks Supreme Court to Intervene on U.S. Ban; Chinese-backed app seeks to delay ban's Jan. 19 effective date
Jacob Gershman - The Wall Street Journal
TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to delay enforcement of a national security law that could effectively ban the popular social-media app in the U.S. next month. In an emergency application, lawyers for TikTok and its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, asked the court to suspend the ban while they appeal a lower-court ruling upholding the law, which is supposed to take effect Jan. 19.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Trump Says Zelenskiy Should Prepare to Make Deal to End War; Trump downplays value of territory seized by Russian invasion; President-elect hasn't invited Zelenskiy to his inauguration
Josh Wingrove and Akayla Gardner - Bloomberg
President-elect Donald Trump said Ukraine needs to reach a deal to end the Russian invasion and downplayed the value of occupied land, in the latest signal he may push for a settlement that codifies Russian territorial gains. "He should be prepared to make a deal, that's all," Trump said of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, while speaking Monday at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club. "Got to be a deal. Too many people being killed."
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Russia Oil Being Delivered on More Mainstream Tankers, BRS Says
Yongchang Chin - Bloomberg
There's been a resurgence of tankers that are part of the mainstream fleet loading Russian crude after oil slipped closer to price-cap compliant levels, according to BRS Shipbrokers. The share of regular ships taking Russian crude over recent weeks has climbed by about 2%, BRS said in a note dated Dec. 16. Should oil prices remain weak into next year, and assuming the price cap remains unadjusted, this trend could lead to a decline in demand for so-called gray fleet vessels, they added.
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Trump says it was 'stupid' for Biden to let Ukraine use US weapons to strike deeper into Russia
Colleen Long and Tamer Madani - Associated Press
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday suggested that he may reverse President Joe Biden's recent decision to allow Ukrainian forces to use American long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory. Trump called the decision made by Biden last month "stupid." He also expressed anger that his incoming administration was not consulted before Biden made the move. With the loosening of the restrictions, Biden gave Ukraine long-sought permission to use the Army Tactical Missile System provided by the U.S. to strike Russian positions hundreds miles from its border.
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Ukraine's Zelenskiy tells allies Russia's shadow fleet must be stopped
Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to allies on Tuesday to ensure the so-called shadow fleet of vessels used by Russia to circumvent sanctions no longer operated in the European waters. Zelenskiy posted on X that the fleet should be limited "not just with sanctions, but in other ways too".
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Russia must be ready to fight NATO in Europe in next decade, minister says
Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Antonov - Reuters
Russia's defence minister said on Monday that Moscow must be ready to fight the NATO military alliance in Europe in the next decade, as President Vladimir Putin said he believed the Ukraine war was turning in Moscow's favour. Andrei Belousov, Putin's defence chief, cited a NATO summit in July, and military doctrines in the U.S. and other NATO members, as evidence that Moscow had to prepare for direct conflict with a more assertive NATO in the coming years.
/jlne.ws/3VGBZR6
A bomb killed a Russian general in Moscow. A Ukrainian official says secret service was behind it
The Associated Press
A senior Russian general was killed Tuesday by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after Ukraine's security service leveled criminal charges against him. A Ukrainian official said the service carried out the attack. Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed as he left for his office. Kirillov's assistant also died in the attack.
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***** Here is The Wall Street Journal's version of this story.
Third tanker in trouble as oil washes up on Russia's Black Sea coast
Vladimir Soldatkin -Reuters
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Russia to boost its ballistic arsenal with new missiles and testing, commander says
Lidia Kelly - Reuters
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Europe agrees insurance crackdown on Russia's 'dark fleet'; Tankers carrying Russian oil must show they have adequate cover when passing through European waters
Chris Cook and David Sheppard, and Henry Foy and Laura Duboiss - Financial Times
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Exclusive-Syria retains 26 tons of gold reserves after Assad's fall - sources
Timour Azhari - Reuters
The vault of Syria's central bank holds nearly 26 tons of gold, the same amount it had at the start of its bloody civil war in 2011, even after the chaotic fall of Bashar al-Assad's despotic regime, four people familiar with the situation told Reuters. But the country has only a small amount of foreign currency reserves in cash, the same people said.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | EEX expands power derivatives portfolio to facilitate renewables integration
EEX
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is set to introduce "Mon-Sun Peak Power Futures", a unique suite of contracts for the Spanish market, in addition to short-term futures for the Greek power market. Both new sets of contracts will be available from 24 February 2025. Developed in close coordination with the power trading community, the new "Mon-Sun Peak Futures" address the shift in power spot prices influenced by photovoltaic generation during daytime, regardless of the day of the week. These new contracts cover peak hours from 8:00am to 8:00pm CET, Monday to Sunday, matching the hedging needs over a full week, in line with solar power production. A full range of expiries from Day to Year will be available for these contracts, which will be initially launched for the Spanish market, with the potential to expand to other European markets in due course.
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HKEX to Reduce Minimum Spreads in Hong Kong Securities Market
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce today (Tuesday) the conclusions to its Consultation Paper on the proposed reduction of minimum spreads in the Hong Kong securities market. HKEX received 110 non-duplicate responses from a wide spectrum of market participants. The proposals to reduce minimum spreads of equities, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and other Applicable Securities (excluding Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), debt securities, Exchange Traded Options (ETOs) and Structured Products) in two phases received support from a majority of respondents, both in terms of the total number of respondents and from the proportion of the cash market turnover that the respondents in support of the proposals represent.
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Nasdaq Welcomed 171 IPOs in 2024
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced today that in 2024, it welcomed 171 initial public offerings (IPOs), raising a total of $22.7 billion. A total of 123 operating companies and 48 SPACs listed on Nasdaq in 2024, representing an 81% win rate of Nasdaq-eligible IPOs in the U.S. market, and extending Nasdaq's leadership to 44 consecutive quarters. In addition to IPOs, there were 23 exchange transfers to Nasdaq, representing $180 billion in market cap, including Palantir, the largest switch this year.
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Argus Guarantee of Origin prices available through Trayport Joule
Argus Media
Trayport Limited (TMX Trayport), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group, and Argus, the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets, today announced a collaboration to provide Argus' Guarantee of Origin (GO) benchmark prices through TMX Trayport's Joule.
/jlne.ws/49JrMsV
Tradeweb Names Co-Heads of Global Markets
Tradeweb
Troy Dixon to Join from Hollis Park Partners, Enrico Bruni to Assume Expanded Role; Newly-Created Roles Strengthen Senior Leadership, Reflect Company's Global Growth. Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today announced that Enrico Bruni and Troy Dixon have been named to the newly-created roles of Co-Heads of Global Markets effective January 2025. Mr. Bruni is presently Managing Director and Head of Europe and Asia business for Tradeweb. Mr. Dixon is presently Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Hollis Park Partners LP.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Prometheum Secures $20 Million in Funding to Cap Landmark Year of Growth; In 2024, Prometheum became the first to operationalize the special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) license for digital asset securities custody through its subsidiary Prometheum Capital, and significantly expanded its employee and investor base
Prometheum
Prometheum Inc., the leading market infrastructure provider for digital asset securities, announced today it raised approximately $20 million in 2024 from a group of high-net-worth investors and institutions. The capital will support Prometheum's continued hiring and development plans in 2025 as it completes the rollout of its vertically integrated, blockchain-enabled ecosystem for the trading, clearance, settlement, and custody of digital asset securities through its SEC-registered and FINRA member affiliate subsidiaries, Prometheum Capital and Prometheum ATS.
/jlne.ws/3ZEXd39
Brazilian fintech Nubank's $150mn investment to give South Africa's Tyme unicorn status; UK fund manager M&G to inject $50mn through its sustainability focused Catalyst business
David Pilling - Financial Times
Nubank, the world's biggest digital bank by market value, is planning to invest $150mn in Tyme Group, valuing the neobank launched in South Africa at $1.5bn and helping to finance its push into south-east Asia. The cash injection will bring Tyme into a select club of Africa-related "unicorns" - start-ups valued at above $1bn - and underline Nubank's growing reach outside Latin America.
/jlne.ws/4fmsm12
Elon Musk's courtroom clash with rival Sam Altman threatens to slow down OpenAI
Alexis Keenan - Yahoo Finance
Elon Musk's escalating legal feud with Sam Altman could act as a drag on OpenAI's rocket-like ascent to the top of the artificial intelligence world. The two one-time collaborators are now locked in a simultaneous battle to advance AI and prevail in a courtroom fight over the future of OpenAI, the organization Musk and Altman founded together in 2015 before parting ways.
/jlne.ws/4giXBv8
OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Search Features to All Users; As part of the expanded rollout, OpenAI users will be able to make the feature their default search engine via their web browser.
Rachel Metz - Bloomberg
OpenAI is rolling out a search product to all users of its chatbot ChatGPT beginning on Monday, escalating its rivalry with Alphabet Inc.'s Google. The product, called ChatGPT Search, will be available to any user who is logged in with an account for the chatbot across the company's mobile apps and website, the artificial intelligence startup announced at an event Monday. OpenAI previously made the search option available to paid subscribers.
/jlne.ws/3VIddjU
UK looks at forcing greater transparency on AI training models; Consultation could see easier access to copyrighted works but require tech groups to be clearer on what they have used
Daniel Thomas and Anna Gross - Financial Times
Tech companies may be forced to open their artificial intelligence models to greater scrutiny in the UK, in an effort to stop the creative industries having their work being reproduced without compensation. In a consultation announced on Tuesday, the UK government will offer an exemption to copyright laws, letting tech companies use material ranging from music and books to media and photos to train their AI models unless the rights holder objects under a so-called "rights reservation" system.
/jlne.ws/4gaa8kF
'Monetising data': how Hitachi has soared with bets on AI future; New chief executive takes over streamlined conglomerate with most of its revenues and employees overseas
Harry Dempsey and David Keohane - Financial Times
Hitachi has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of booming demand for artificial intelligence and clean energy - soaring into the top five of Japan's most valuable companies after a deep corporate overhaul. The 114-year old manufacturing conglomerate has rewarded investors for backing its transformation into an industrial software and hardware provider, with its market capitalisation trebling in the past two years to more than $100bn.
/jlne.ws/4iC5wW7
Broadcom's AI Success Won't All Come at Nvidia's Expense; Latest trillion-dollar chip maker has strong AI growth prospects, but the shares are now trading at a premium to market leader
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/4gfIy5J
OptimX and BTON partner on AI analytics for block liquidity
Claudia Preece - The Trade
/jlne.ws/3Dm2Rjh
Arm CEO downplays ambitions to make its own chip in Qualcomm case
Tom Hals and Max A. Cherney - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3VKtyEt
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Cyber Security
Chirag Shah - Forbes
The role of cybersecurity cannot be underestimated. The increasing adaption of technology means businesses are becoming more dependent on devices and virtual systems. Although these systems boost convenience, they also make sensitive information more accessible to malicious actors. Cybersecurity keeps information safe, but it, too, must evolve. It must be updated to detect new threats and advance as cybercriminals become more innovative. AI is often integrated into cybersecurity to monitor systems and detect threats before they turn into bigger issues.
/jlne.ws/3VLCzgK
CrowdStrike: Cybersecurity pros want safer, specialist GenAI tools
Ryan Daws - AI News
CrowdStrike commissioned a survey of 1,022 cybersecurity professionals worldwide to assess their views on generative AI (GenAI) adoption and its implications. The findings reveal enthusiasm for GenAI's potential to bolster defences against increasingly sophisticated threats, but also trepidation over risks such as data exposure and attacks on GenAI systems. While much has been speculated about the transformative impact of GenAI, the survey's results paint a clearer picture of how practitioners are thinking about its role in cybersecurity.
/jlne.ws/4gDpcqR
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Ripple Launches Dollar-Backed Stablecoin
Vicky Ge Huang - The Wall Street Journal
Crypto firm Ripple Labs announced on Monday the launch of a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin after securing approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services last week. The token, dubbed RLUSD, is 100% backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds, and cash equivalents, according to the company. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that aims to maintain a 1:1 exchange ratio with government-issued currencies.
/jlne.ws/3Dgl3uH
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | AI admin tools pose a threat to national security; Even seemingly innocuous tasks designed to enhance efficiency in the military could compromise our safety
Heidy Khlaaf - Financial Times
Artificial intelligence is already being used on the battlefield. Accelerated adoption is in sight. This year, Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI all declared that their AI foundation models were available for use by US national security. AI warfare is controversial and widely criticised. But a more insidious set of AI use cases have already been quietly integrated into the US military. At first glance, the tasks that AI models are being used for may seem insignificant. They are helping with communications, coding, resolving IT tickets and data processing. The problem is that even banal applications can introduce risks. The ease with which they are being deployed could compromise the safety of civil and defence infrastructure.
/jlne.ws/3VIL3Fr
US hits North Korea and Russia with new sanctions, Treasury says
Timothy Gardner and Doina Chiacu - Reuters
The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang's financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials, as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest U.S. measure aimed at disrupting North Korea's support to Russia's war in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/41FmZqM
Ken Griffin Plans to Donate $1 Million for Trump's Inauguration
Michael Smith - Bloomberg
Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of the Citadel financial empire, plans to give $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund after declining to donate to his campaign during this year's race. Griffin has made similar contributions before, including for Trump's 2017 inauguration and President Joe Biden's 2021 swearing-in.
/jlne.ws/49DAg4Z
Trump's Immunity Claim Fails to End New York Hush Money Case; He was found guilty in May of falsifying business records; It's still not certain his case will proceed to sentencing
Patricia Hurtado and Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
Donald Trump failed to convince a judge to set aside his conviction in the New York hush money case on presidential immunity grounds, though it's unclear if the case will still proceed to sentencing as the president-elect continues to challenge the verdict. New York state court Justice Juan Merchan on Monday rejected Trump's argument that the trial was tainted by testimony and other evidence that shouldn't have been allowed under a July US Supreme Court decision that granted presidents broad immunity from criminal charges.
/jlne.ws/4gcQpRk
Trump 'Middleman' Remark Sinks CVS, UnitedHealth, Cigna Shares
John Tozzi - Bloomberg
Shares of pharmacy benefit managers fell Monday after President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to "knock out" drug-industry middlemen, a sign the sector isn't likely to see relief from political scrutiny during his administration. CVS Health Corp. shares fell as much as 4.3%, UnitedHealth Group Inc. dropped as much as 3.9%, and Cigna Group shares dropped as much as 2.6% after the comments. The companies own the largest prescription drug middlemen, businesses that have been blamed by both Republicans and Democrats for driving up the cost of medicine.
/jlne.ws/4iGVQJP
SoftBank Pledges $100 Billion US Investment at Trump Event
Min Jeong Lee and Akayla Gardner - Bloomberg
President-elect Donald Trump announced that SoftBank Group Corp. planned to invest $100 billion in the US over the next four years during an event alongside Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son on Monday. "He's doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election," Trump said, adding that the pledge represented a "demonstration of confidence in America's future."
/jlne.ws/4iC6zp1
Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Resigns From Cabinet; Freeland cites conflict with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the direction of fiscal policy
Paul Vieira - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/4081n5f
EU imposes sanctions on oil trader Niels Troost over alleged Russian involvement; Dutch national is first EU citizen targeted in relation to western price cap measures introduced after full-scale Ukraine invasion
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4iHlEWa
FBI warns some lawmakers that China aims to create fake stories about them to erode support for Taiwan
Scott Wong - NBC News
/jlne.ws/4iC25ib
China Warns UK Not to Make 'Trouble' After Royal Row
Alex Wickham - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | CFTC Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson Announces Reports and Recommendations Advanced by MRAC in 2024
CFTC
The Market Risk Advisory Committee held a public meeting Dec. 10 during which the MRAC adopted three sets of recommendations for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's consideration. The reports and accompanying recommendations, detailed below, address (i) U.S. Treasury markets with a focus on effective risk management practices for the cash-futures basis trade, (ii) modernization of regulation governing cyber resilience and critical third-party service providers for central counterparties, and (iii) the potential benefits and limitations of formally adopting obligations to employ legal entity identifiers for beneficial account holders of certain intermediaries.
/jlne.ws/49G2ZpI
SEC Modernizes the Submission of Certain Forms, Filings, and Materials Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to require the electronic filing, submission, or posting of certain forms, filings, and other submissions that national securities exchanges, national securities associations, clearing agencies, broker-dealers, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants make with the Commission.
/jlne.ws/3OZM6wU
Wamco's Ken Leech Granted $10 Million Bail on US Fraud Charges; Leech appears in court for first time in Cherry-Picking Case; Trader is scheduled to enter plea at second hearing Monday
Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
Ken Leech, the former co-chief investment officer at Western Asset Management Co., was granted $10 million bail on federal charges that he improperly allocated trades to favored clients. Leech, 70, appeared in court for the first time on the charges that he steered more than $600 million in gains to some clients while forcing losses on others. He is scheduled to enter a plea at a second hearing in federal court in New York Monday afternoon. The criminal charges - filed in parallel with a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit - follow a bruising year for Wamco, which has been bleeding investors since it disclosed US authorities were looking into Leech's trading. Pension funds and other big clients have yanked vast sums, about $65 billion so far, with more withdrawals in the works.
/jlne.ws/3P2aKwO
Becton Dickinson to Pay $175 Million for Misleading Investors About Alaris Infusion Pump
New Jersey-based company will also retain independent compliance consultant
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Becton, Dickinson and Company, a New Jersey-based medical device manufacturer known as BD, for repeatedly misleading investors about risks associated with its continued sales of its Alaris infusion pump and for overstating its income by failing to record the costs of fixing multiple software flaws with the pump. BD agreed to pay a $175 million civil penalty.
/jlne.ws/4gBXhHR
Statement on Electronic Filing
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Today, the Commission approved a final rule to require broker-dealers, securities-based swap dealers, exchanges, clearing agencies, and other self-regulatory organizations to submit forms electronically. I am pleased to support this adoption because it would improve the efficiency of our markets by modernizing the filing process for a wide range of registrants. We live in a digital age, in which technology and electronic trading have transformed our markets. In 2024, one might think that all filings to the Commission already could be made electronically. That's not yet true. The Commission oversees thousands of broker-dealers, the vast majority of whom submit annual audit reports. While many filers voluntarily submit these audits electronically, nearly half submitted them on paper last year.
/jlne.ws/4gixF30
Dissenting Statement on Electronic Submission of Certain Materials Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Amendments Regarding the FOCUS Report
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce and Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda - SEC
The Commission is adopting rule amendments that require certain filings and submissions under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to be made electronically. The amendments will mandate that many of these filings and submissions be provided using structured, machine-readable data language.[1] While we generally support the transition from paper filings to electronic filings, we object to the manner in which the Commission is imposing structured data requirements. Accordingly, we are unable to support today's amendments.
/jlne.ws/4iH35BK
SEC Seeks Court Order Requiring Colorado-Based Company to Comply with Subpoenas
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed a subpoena enforcement action against Cast Your Nets Ministries; subsidiary CYNM Consulting, LLC; Cast Your Nets Ministries Board Member Phillip Trujillo; and Cast Your Nets Ministries executive Jeremy Hammonds. The filed action seeks an order directing Cast Your Nets Ministries, CYNM Consulting, Trujillo, and Hammonds to comply with the subpoenas.
/jlne.ws/3ZEO3Uj
Former Victorian director charged with making false statements to ASIC
ASIC
Benjamin Thomas Molloy of Point Cook, Victoria has been convicted of making false statements to ASIC, contrary to sections 1308(1) and 1308(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). On 13 December 2024, in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, Mr Molloy was sentenced to a recognisance release order under section 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), with a fully suspended sentence of 12 months' imprisonment on the condition he be of good behaviour for two years. The recognisance security was set at $2,000.
/jlne.ws/3VHIseT
Former registered liquidator Peter Amos sentenced to prison for dishonest use of position as external administrator
ASIC
Former registered liquidator and external administrator Peter Andrew Amos was sentenced on 13 December 2024 in the District Court of NSW to four years imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of dishonestly using his position with the intention of gaining an advantage for his business and himself contrary to s 184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The court imposed a non-parole period of two years.
/jlne.ws/4gAtQ91
ESMA names T+1 lead as 11 October 2027 earmarked for co-ordinated switch with UK; Appointment will coordinate the work of the industry, acting as the link between various market participants.
Chris Lemmon - The Trade
The European Securities and Markets Authority has appointed Giovanni Sabatini to act as independent industry chair, leading the organisation's work to facilitate the T+1 migration in the EU. Sabatini has a wealth of experience working in securities markets, both in the private and public sector. He has served as a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and held roles within the International Organization of Securities Commissions - IOSCO, the European Banking Federation and the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA).
/jlne.ws/3OZLRlj
ESMA releases last policy documents to get ready for MiCA
ESMA
/jlne.ws/4fmpcuc
FCA consults on new private stock market; Proposals for a new platform - The Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) - on which shares in private companies will be bought and sold have been set out by the FCA.
FCA
PISCES will open the door to more opportunities for investors to take stakes in private companies. Greater confidence to invest in these companies will lead to more funding to help them to grow and scale up. With many companies choosing to stay private for longer, there is increasing demand for investors to be able to trade shares in private companies more easily. A world-leading innovation in private markets, PISCES could provide opportunities for more diversified returns for investors.
/jlne.ws/41DLDYB
FCA responds to High Court motor finance judicial review decision; We welcome the additional clarity the judgment brings to discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) complaints.
FCA
On 17 December 2024, the High Court found in favour of the Financial Ombudsman ServiceLink is external, in a review of its decision to uphold a complaint relating to a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) in a motor finance agreement. The Court dismissed all 3 grounds of appeal brought by the lender, Barclays Partner Finance.
/jlne.ws/49GBlc9
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Starbucks pares hedging programme despite coffee market surge; Buyer of 3 per cent of world's coffee holds less than $200mn in fixed-price contracts, down from $1bn in 2019
Gregory Meyer - Financial Times
Starbucks has slashed its use of hedges against coffee price shocks even as the price of beans has soared, raising concerns that it may be unusually exposed to market swings. The world's largest cafe chain held less than $200mn worth of fixed-price contracts for so-called green, or unroasted, coffee at the end of its fiscal year in September, according to its newly filed annual report, down from $1bn as recently as 2019.
/jlne.ws/411ZiIz
Porsche Billionaires Are in a Tight Spot, Again; Giant writedowns are eyecatching, but reliance on dividends from VW is a bigger concern.
Chris Bryant - Bloomberg Opinion
Porsche Automobil Holding SE sure knows how to do drama. Last week, the listed holding of the Porsche and Piech families warned it may have to book up to EUR22 billion ($23 billion) of impairments amid a decline in the market value of its 31.9% stake in Volkswagen AG and 12.5% economic interest in the Porsche AG automaker.
/jlne.ws/4gE7kfl
What You Can Learn From Young Warren Buffett; A look at 10 of the legendary stockpicker's early investments reveals his diligence, his patience-and his willingness to bet big
Jason Zweig - The Wall Street Journal
The late Charlie Munger liked to say that to be a good investor, you have to fish where the fish are. To be a great investor, though, you have to fish where the fishing boats don't even go. That's one of the messages of a new book about the methods and thinking of an investor at the beginning of an extraordinary career. "Buffett's Early Investments," by Brett Gardner, looks at 10 of the companies Warren Buffett bet on between 1950 and 1966, when he was in his 20s and 30s.
/jlne.ws/49OwlT6
Investors on alert for ructions in US funding market; Some fear that Fed's quantitative tightening programme could trigger liquidity crunch similar to 2019
Ian Smith, Harriet Clarfelt, Colby Smith and Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
Investors are on alert for a potential end-of-year increase in US overnight lending rates, with some calling for the Federal Reserve to slow the pace at which it shrinks its balance sheet to avoid the kind of liquidity crunch that hit funding markets five years ago. Analysts and executives at several banks and asset managers told the Financial Times they were monitoring strains in short-term funding rates after an unexpected jump at the end of the third quarter.
/jlne.ws/3Burx8H
Why This Frothy Market Has Me Scared; When investors are wildly optimistic, it is much harder for the market to rise and much easier for it to fall on any hint that they might be wrong
James Mackintosh - The Wall Street Journal
The market feels toppy. There is no science to this and readers will have to judge for themselves. But here are a bunch of things that make me think trouble might be imminent for stocks-perhaps a correction, perhaps the start of something bigger, but at least a bump in the road. Bulls are everywhere. Bears are hard to find. This shows up in sentiment, in surveys and in the capitulation of the permabears.
/jlne.ws/41zUdYx
The TRADE predictions series 2025: The liquidity landscape; Participants across TD Securities, Comgest, OpenGamma, Six Swiss Exchange and XTX Markets explore the changing liquidity landscape unpacking the increasing dominance of new players, fragmentation and navigating the macro landscape.
Editors - The Trade
James Baugh, managing director, head of European market structure, TD Securities: Market consolidation versus liquidity fragmentation will be a point of discussion into next year. The Swiss Exchange Group acquisition of Aquis will be an obvious one to watch, while in contrast, there are a slew of new liquidity opportunities expected to go live in 2025. However, the jury's out on whether further fragmentation is needed given the continued squeeze in order book liquidity and/or whether the market has the capacity to connect as internalisation continues to take priority for many.
/jlne.ws/3OYUsoj
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Last EU Carbon Auction of the Year Is the Cheapest Since 2020
Michal Kubala - Bloomberg
The final 2024 offering of European Union carbon allowances cleared Monday at EUR63.64 a metric ton, the cheapest year-end auction since 2020 when the permits were less than half of today's price. While the annual auction break in December tends to help lift prices as buyers stock up ahead of the sales hiatus over the holidays, carbon has slumped toward the end of 2024. Mild weather and falling gas prices have weighed on the cost of permits.
/jlne.ws/3ZWJlCN
China opens world's largest solar farm on site of former coal mine: 'Making that entire area much more suitable for life'
Kristen Lawrence - The Cool Down
China is dominating the world in installed solar capacity, and the launch of its largest solar farm yet will bring it one step closer to a coal-free future. According to Electrek, China's 3 gigawatt Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station in the vast, remote Gobi Desert came online in early November. The plant is located in Inner Mongolia at the site of a former coal mining operation. It can power a whopping 2 million households.
/jlne.ws/41KsUKS
California Lets Insurers Price Climate Risk, Sparking Cost Fears
Alexandre Rajbhandari and John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
California adopted a rule that aims to bolster access to home insurance in the state, after several major carriers retreated from the market amid growing risk of wildfires. The rule, which takes effect Jan. 2, allows insurance providers to compute policy rates by using catastrophe models that incorporate the growing risk of climate change as well as mitigation efforts, instead of relying solely on historical disaster data, the California Department of Insurance said in a statement. In exchange, insurance carriers must increase business in high-risk areas by as much as 85% of their statewide market share.
/jlne.ws/4iJsfjd
Poland Favors Delay of New Carbon Market for Transport and Heating; EU new cap-and-trade emissions system due to start in 2027; Bolesta says vulnerable consumers need better protections
Ewa Krukowska and John Ainger - Bloomberg
The European Union should consider postponing its new carbon market for transport and heating fuels to give consumers more opportunity to invest in clean energy sources, according to Poland's deputy climate minister, Krzysztof Bolesta. The Emissions Trading System 2 is due to start in 2027 as part of the EU's massive effort to reach climate neutrality by mid-century. The cap-and-trade program will come with a dedicated fund to shield the most vulnerable - estimated to be at least 87 billion euros from 2026 to 2032.
/jlne.ws/41WLT5p
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Bank of America Flagged Suspicious Payments to Epstein Only After He Died; Senate staff members are urging that Bank of America be investigated for the way it reported payments to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier
Matthew Goldstein - The New York Times
When Bank of America alerted financial regulators in 2020 to potentially suspicious payments from Leon Black, the billionaire investor, to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier, the bank was following a routine practice. The bank filed two "suspicious activity reports," or SARs, which are meant to alert law enforcement to potential criminal activities like money laundering, terrorism financing or sex trafficking. One was filed in February 2020 and the other eight months later, according to a congressional memorandum reviewed by The New York Times.
/jlne.ws/3DiZkSF
Shadow Banks Are Catching Up With Actual Banks
Margot Patrick - The Wall Street Journal
A record 36% of lending last year was extended by shadow banks, according to a new report from the Financial Stability Board, as asset growth far outpaced that at traditional lenders. The annual breakdown by the FSB, an international body that monitors global finance, illustrates the rapid rise of nonbank lenders such as insurers, hedge funds and private credit funds. Shadow banking shifts risks away from regular banks, who can be more prone to sudden runs and crises of confidence. But regulators are keen to ensure the risks and linkages of nonbanks are well understood.
/jlne.ws/3P1kPtK
Tech-Loving Hedge Funds Have a Crush on Utility Stocks; Coatue, Lone Pine and Third Point are placing their AI bets on power producers
Peter Rudegeair - The Wall Street Journal
Hedge-fund firms such as Coatue Management that are known for investing in next-generation technology companies have lately been piling into a sleepier sector. Old-school power companies such as Vistra, Constellation Energy and Talen Energy have become darlings among hedge-fund firms thanks to their starring role in the artificial-intelligence boom. Such companies command the scarcest resource in the generative-AI supply chain: the extra electricity that fuels the data centers needed to train large language models and answer prompts from users of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT.
/jlne.ws/49FPAhy
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Bosses struggle to police workers' use of AI; Staff are adopting large language models faster than companies can issue guidelines on how to do so
Stephanie Stacey - Financial Times
Matt had a secret helping hand when he started his new job at a pharmaceutical company in September. The 27-year-old researcher, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, was able to keep up with his more experienced colleagues by turning to OpenAI's ChatGPT to write the code they needed for their work. "Part of it was sheer laziness. Part of it was genuinely believing it could make my work better and more accurate," he says.
/jlne.ws/41AEuIv
Trump Vows to Fire Federal Workers Who Don't Come to Office
Gregory Korte - Bloomberg
President-elect Donald Trump threatened to fire federal employees who don't come back to the office, and said he would go to court to challenge a Biden administration labor contract that locked in remote work arrangements for thousands of federal employees. "If people don't come back to work, come back into the office, they're going to be dismissed," Trump said in a press conference at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3VJpLYh
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | A higher daily step count linked to fewer symptoms of depression, new study finds. Here's how many steps to aim for - and ways to sneak more movement into your day.
Kaitlin Reilly - Yahoo Life
You know that moving more is great for your health. Breaking up sedentary time reduces risk for cardiovascular disease, helps you manage your weight, boosts your memory and even supports better blood sugar control. Now there's good reason to believe that sneaking in more steps can significantly improve your mental health as well. A new analysis from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, which interpreted data from more than 96,000 adults, found that those who took more steps during their day also had fewer symptoms of depression. The research, which looked at 33 separate studies, suggests that the more we move, the more we may be able to stave off the mental health condition.
/jlne.ws/4flvWbY
Your Blood Pressure Reading Is Probably Wrong; Dangling your arm, wearing the wrong size cuff and scrolling on your phone can make a reading higher or lower than it should be
Betsy McKay - The Wall Street Journal
Your blood-pressure reading probably isn't as accurate as you think. More often than not, patients and even nurses and doctors are skipping steps that help paint an accurate portrait of someone's blood pressure. How someone sits and positions their arm, whether they just had a cup of joe or chitchat with their practitioner during the measurement, and other factors can produce readings that are higher or lower than normal blood pressure.
/jlne.ws/3ZXn7AB
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese firms forge ties with UAE as Gulf nation acts as 'superconnector' in global trade
South China Morning Post
Chinese companies are increasingly seeking partnerships in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the Gulf nation acts as a "superconnector", bridging the East and West and amid a shift in trade beyond the traditional sectors, according to a top banker. Business has expanded to innovative industries like hydrogen, ammonia, carbon capture, electric vehicles, solar energy and consumer tech because of China's substantial investment in research and development, which is driving advances in these areas, Mohamed Al Marzooqi, CEO of HSBC UAE, said in an exclusive interview during Abu Dhabi Finance Week last week.
/jlne.ws/4iCXDQe
China Races to Squelch Unrest as Signs of Economic Malaise Spread; Knife attacks and car rammings have officials unnerved about widespread societal discontent
Chun Han Wong in Singapore and Brian Spegele in Beijing - The Wall Street Journal
Faced with rising social frustrations and public unrest, China's leaders are ramping up security measures and squelching discordant views on the country's economic health. A spate of deadly attacks in China in recent weeks-including mass stabbings and car-ramming incidents-has unnerved officials and ordinary people alike, raising concerns that stagnating growth has played a role in fueling unrest and even outbursts of violence, amid an increase in public protests over economic grievances.
/jlne.ws/3VMiff1
Argentina Weighs Managed Exchange Rate Once It Lifts Currency Controls; 'Dirty float' would limit FX volatility, policymakers say; Milei and his team vow to scrap existing regime in 2025
Ignacio Olivera Doll - Bloomberg
Argentina is weighing whether to introduce a managed exchange rate regime - a "dirty float" - once it lifts its current foreign exchange controls in 2025, according to policymakers. The South American nation has been restricting foreign exchange and capital market operations for the past five years, forcing exporters to sell their dollars. The controls are also preventing companies from sending dividends abroad and limiting individuals from buying foreign currency.
/jlne.ws/49DHXbt
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| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. | INT. CHLOE ADAMS' APARTMENT
Mike walks through the door of an elegantly decorated apartment. A young woman, Chloe Adams is lying on the couch. She's tall, thin and beautiful. She has a book on her lap, wearing jeans and a tank top with no shoes. Mike drops his keys on an end table and leans over to kiss her forehead.
CHLOE
Hey Babe. What's up?
Mike sits on the corner of the couch and grabs Chloe's feet and starts to rub.
MIKE
I finally got a chance to talk to the Sterling guy. You know, the one who comes into the bar every Friday with his crew.
To read this episode of The Front Runner, go HERE.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Former Charles Schwab CEO to Sell California 'Dream House' at Auction; The 19-acre wine country property in Santa Rosa will have a $5.25 million reserve price
Casey Farmer - Mansion Global
A wine country estate in Santa Rosa, California, that was built by a former CEO of Charles Schwab is headed to the auction block on Wednesday. Sitting on 19.23 acres about an hour and a half north of San Francisco, the estate was built in 2005 by David Pottruck, who served as the co-CEO of Charles Schwab with Chuck Schwab from 1998 to 2002. That year, he took over as CEO, a position he held until 2004. He is now retired. During his tenure as CEO, Pottruck was looking for a wine country retreat for his family to escape to from the city, and he wanted to be near Mayacama Golf Club, which was being developed at the time. He couldn't find exactly what he was looking for in a second home, so he bought a plot of land-for $950,000 in 2002, records show-and built one instead.
/jlne.ws/3VJnD2C
Bloomberg taps LaCapra as team leader for leveraged finance and private credit
Chris Roush - TalkingBizNews
Michael Tsang, managing editor of the markets editing hub at Bloomberg News, sent out the following: Please join me in congratulating Lauren LaCapra, who will move to Credit to become TL for Leveraged Finance and Private Credit. During her time on the Markets Editing Hub, Lauren has impressed with her command of markets and finance, a no-nonsense demeanor and her ability to work across the newsroom. She's been an asset to our team from Day 1 and while she will be missed, we'll gain another valuable ally in Credit. I have no doubt she'll continue to grow and do great things in her new role.
/jlne.ws/4foyC8q
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