| March 14, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The CFTC has published the script of the keynote address by Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline D. Pham to the FIA BOCA50 conference on Tuesday. You can read the entirety of the address HERE.
Gold surged past $3,000 an ounce for the first time, fueled by central bank buying, economic uncertainty, and President Trump's trade tariffs, Bloomberg reported. The Financial Times has a story titled "From London to New York via Switzerland: the booming trade in gold bars" with the subheadline "Fears that Donald Trump could impose tariffs on gold imports have upended the market."
Paul Britton, founder and CEO of Capstone Investment Advisors, highlights the growing volatility in markets driven by policy unpredictability, particularly under President Trump's administration in an opinion piece in the Financial Times. He notes that while broad indices like the S&P 500 may seem stable, the dispersion of individual stock performance is increasing, creating hidden risks for investors. Factors such as trade tariffs, executive orders, and social media-driven policy announcements contribute to market swings, affecting key sectors like renewable energy, AI, and automotive. Investors must now rely on unconventional data sources and be cautious of overexposure to specific stocks, as policy shifts create winners and losers across industries.
CCP Global announced the release of its CCP Public Quantitative Disclosure Quarterly Trends Report and the Public Quantitative Disclosure Newsflash for Q4 of 2024. The full report and Newsflash can be found by clicking on the links, and more information about PQDs is available here.
As expected, Sen. Chuck Schumer folded on whether he would support the Republican stop-gap funding bill, the Financial Times reported.
The Pan Asian American Business Council upcoming Global Cyber Security Initiative conference, GCSI 2025, will be held at IIT Chicago Kent College of Law, 565 W. Adams St., Chicago on April 23, 2025. To register visit: http://GCSIChicago.org
The former Chicago home of Peregrine Financial Group, which was brought down by the conviction of its owner, Russell Wasendorf, Sr., for embezzlement of customer funds, mail fraud, and making false statements to regulators, is now for sale. The 190 S. LaSalle Building, known for housing the iconic Library on its upper floors-a development by previous owners, New York-based Tishman Speyer-is being offered for sale. There is no specified asking price for the property, which is owned by a venture of Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners. Beacon Capital Partners acquired the building for $230 million in late 2019.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Japan Exchange hits rates futures record, extends fee waiver, ANALYSIS: Exchanges warn of regulatory overreach amid retail boom, Acting CFTC chair plans sprint to clear enforcement backlog and Why Trump's Tariffs Could Backfire on the US Economy (free article).
Registration is now open for the STAC Fund Face-Off Hockey Tournament, set for Thursday, May 22, 2025. The event brings together professionals from the securities industry for a fun day of competition, networking, and supporting a worthy cause. All proceeds benefit the STAC Fund Scholarship Program, honoring Michael J. Guzy III, which provides financial assistance to students pursuing education in finance-related fields. If you're not a hockey player, you can still join the excitement by selecting a "Spectator Pass" to watch the action.
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:
- US swaption investors pay steep price for hard-landing bets from Reuters.
- Hong Kong Mulls Lowering Threshold to Buy Most Expensive Stocks from Bloomberg.
- Miami International Holdings and BSX unveil new trading and settlement platform from TheTrade. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Dan Sullivan & John Nuckel on Developing the Movie "The Frontrunner"
JohnLothianNews.com
Screenwriters Daniel F. Sullivan and John Nuckel collaborated on "The Front Runner," a screenplay inspired by a true story from Chicago's financial markets. The script was featured in the John Lothian Newsletter's "Auditions" section, with selections of the script released periodically. It was also released on the "Auditions" section of the John Lothian Newsletter.
Watch the video »
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Hiltzik: Are White House insiders using Trump's tariff announcements to play the stock market? It's not that simple
Michael Hiltzik - LA Times
In what may be a sign of the times, and not an especially healthy one, my readers and friends recently have been filling my email inbox with questions about whether Donald Trump and White House insiders have been manipulating the stock market with his vacillating announcements about tariffs and the economy. Speculation along those lines broke into the open Tuesday when Fox News reporter Peter Doocy referred to the overall slide in the stock market since President Trump's inauguration and asked White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, "You're sure nobody here at the White House shorted the Dow?"
/jlne.ws/4kPYpKM
****** Doing your job in The White House and trading Dow Jones futures would be very difficult to do and Mr. Market would get them in the end if they were so bold to try.~JJL
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Alan K. Simpson, Acerbic Yet Approachable US Senator, Dies at 93
Stephen Miller - Bloomberg
Alan K. Simpson, the three-term Republican US senator from Wyoming who worked with Democrats to overhaul federal immigration law in 1986 and lead a deficit-reduction commission in 2010, has died. He was 93. He died on Friday in Cody, Wyoming, after struggling to recover from a broken hip he suffered in December, according to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, where he was a board member and former chairman.
/jlne.ws/3Dxs3DY
****** My kind of public servant.~JJL
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Musk Boosts Claim That Hitler Wasn't to Blame for Holocaust
David Gardner - The Daily Beast
Elon Musk has reposted a tweet suggesting that Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong were not responsible for murdering millions of people. The post amplified by Musk to his 219.6 million followers blamed "public sector workers" for the atrocities carried out in the name of some of the most barbarous tyrants in modern history. It was unclear whether the DOGE boss was seeking to defend the infamously ruthless former leaders of Germany, China, and the Soviet Union, or seeking to encourage debate over the mass killings carried out in their names.
/jlne.ws/3FregiT
****** I went back into X/Twitter and Musk retweeted this on March 12.~JJL
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Americans Overestimate the Value of Business Skills in Government; In The Best and the Brightest, David Halberstam demonstrated that private-sector skills have no place in government.
Richard Stengel - Bloomberg
A newly elected president looking to inject private-sector energy and efficiency into a sclerotic government bureaucracy assigns the task to one of world's best-known business leaders, the chief executive of a major American car company. To identify waste, cut spending and increase productivity, the businessman gathers around him a posse of bright young systems analysts and statisticians. Soon, they've identified millions of dollars in savings that can be achieved with a stroke of the presidential pen.
/jlne.ws/4bQStNu
****** Been there, done that, didn't work.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Thursday was the video of Don Wilson and exchange execs ringing the NYSE opening bell at FIA Boca50, the 50-year anniversary of FIA's international futures industry conference in Boca Raton, Florida. Second was Bloomberg's ADM Is Said to Consider Selling Futures Clearing Arm. (ADM was also the MarketsWiki Page of the Day on Thursday.) Third was Exclusive: Terry Duffy on CME's cloud future, takeover targets, and ... candy, from Waters Technology.
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| Lead Stories | Wall Street Goes All In on Great Crypto Comeback Fueled by Trump
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
It was only three years ago that a dispute between an infamous crypto billionaire and a titan of the financial establishment became the center of attention at an annual event known as the Davos of the derivatives market. The dust up between FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Terry Duffy, the boss of the US's largest futures and options exchange, was emblematic of Wall Street's skepticism then about a new generation promoting digital assets and the crypto bigwig's plans to change the way derivatives trade. But that was then. This year, as executives from the world's largest exchanges and trading firms prepared to head to the Futures Industry Conference in the crypto hotbed of Florida, President Donald Trump announced he was creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve - a move that's symbolic, but one that effectively entrenches the legitimacy of digital assets as mainstream financial instruments.
/jlne.ws/3XOdSBa
Digital Asset Legislation Pushed as Trump Embraces Crypto Agenda
Stephanie Lai - Bloomberg
Representative Byron Donalds will introduce legislation on Friday to codify an executive order that President Donald Trump signed earlier this month that establishes a strategic Bitcoin reserve and US digital asset stockpile. Passing the bill would ensure that the reserve and stockpile could not be eliminated by executive action from a future president, protecting the crypto-friendly policy that Trump embraced both on the 2024 campaign trail and in his second administration. While the bill would require 60 votes in the Senate and a majority in the House, cryptocurrency-friendly policies have gained bipartisan support in this Congress.
/jlne.ws/4bQ8rr4
High-speed trader urges regulator to clamp down on 'unfair' Eurex trading loophole; Exchange says allegations 'unfounded' and concerns have been 'repeatedly reviewed'
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
A French high-speed trading firm has urged Europe's top markets regulator to close what it says is a loophole at futures exchange Eurex that gives some traders an "unfair" advantage. Paris-based Mosaic Finance, which specialises in trading derivatives, has called on the European Securities and Markets Authority to end a "significant" flaw in the German exchange's systems that it claims has existed for three years and allows some traders to break the exchange's rules.
/jlne.ws/4i762Lb
The Wall Street bosses who aren't hitting the panic button on Trump policies despite new worries
David Hollerith - Yahoo Finance
Some of the biggest bosses on Wall Street aren't hitting the panic button on President Trump's policies this week despite the recent gyration in markets, even as they acknowledge some new concerns from the business world. Blackstone (BX) CEO Steve Schwarzman said earlier this week that US tariffs will produce more manufacturing in the United States "at the end of the day," and "given the size of the US, that tends to be a good thing for the world."
/jlne.ws/4iOk307
Regulations Requiring DeFi Platforms to Report Tax Information Nullified by Congress
Tom Geraghty of Vedder Price via JD Supra
On March 11, 2025, under the auspices of the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the U.S. House of Representatives approved a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 25) officially disapproving of recently finalized regulations that would have potentially imposed stringent tax reporting requirements on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, categorizing them as "brokers" under existing US tax laws (DeFi Regulations). Although the Senate passed S.J. Res. 3 similarly disapproving of the DeFi Regulations on March 4, 2025, the Senate will need to pass the joint resolution before it can be sent to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. As a result, the DeFi Regulations, which would have been effective for transactions beginning in 2027, will not take effect.
/jlne.ws/43KeICD
Rise of the AI apps; A blizzard of new companies is winning users for products that make work easier
Richard Waters - Financial Times
It's a truism in tech that every new computing platform opens the door to an entirely new generation of software companies. The client-server era that took off in the 1990s brought Oracle and SAP, while cloud computing gave birth to Salesforce and a host of "software as a service" companies. Large language models are shaping up to be the next platform to launch a thousand entrepreneurial dreams. With generative AI available on tap from companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, there has been a blizzard of "smart apps" designed to make work easier. The speed at which some of these are winning users, and their surging valuations, is setting new records in the software world.
/jlne.ws/3DTXisN
Investors should take stock of the shift in volatility; Dispersion in the performance of companies is increasing relative to broader moves in indices
Paul Britton - Financial Times
It was only a matter of time before mixed signals on policy in the US would translate into higher volatility. When trade tariffs are on, then off, then on again, for example, markets have to adjust to the odd reality we're living in. The Vix - an indicator of investor expectations of volatility in the S&P index - has risen sharply since mid-February. Given the risks of a systematic dismantling of trust between nations, index volatility might have risen even more. Some market participants active in trading volatility have long been anticipating such a shift - particularly given that the dispersion of individual stock moves, the hidden underbelly of index volatility, had been intensifying. The performance of the Magnificent Seven tech companies that dominate the US stock market and other big companies had disguised a broader divergence among stocks.
/jlne.ws/4hf7lqb
The Original Prediction Market Was Betting on the Pope; Renaissance Romans loved to gamble.
Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg
Prediction markets are everywhere nowadays. You can go online and bet on political outcomes, or the weather, or how long Taylor Swift will stay together with Travis Kelce. But prediction markets have a long history, and one of the earliest involved betting on who would be the next pope. In fact, Renaissance Romans gambled on everything from papal elections to whether a particular noblewoman would give birth to a boy or girl. So why was betting such a big thing in 1500s Italy? How did the papal prediction market actually work? And what can it tell us about prediction markets today? We speak to Ryan Isakow, the author of the No Dumb Ideas substack.
/jlne.ws/4haQbtI
No, no, no, and no: Overnight trading fails in SIP votes; The CTA and UTP operating committees voted yesterday on proposals from US exchanges to expand their trading hours and could not reach unanimous consensus.
Nyela Graham - Waters Technology
The securities information processors (SIPs) committees, made up of the Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) and Unlisted Trading Privileges (UTP) Plan, voted yesterday morning on whether to approve four proposals for extended trading hours from 24X National Exchange, Nasdaq, CBOE, and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). None of the proposals reached unanimous consensus, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the vote, effectively halting efforts to expand exchanges' trading hours. Unanimous consensus is required for all SIP votes, and just one vote against can stall a proposal from moving forward. Sources with knowledge of the voting tell WatersTechnology that NYSE and Nasdaq voted against each other's proposals. Representatives for Nasdaq, CBOE, NYSE, 24X, either declined to comment or did not respond in time for publication. A spokesperson for the SIPs collective also declined to comment.
/jlne.ws/3DH3uUW
Innovations in Market Liquidity and Price Discovery: A Path to Efficiency
Anna Lyudvig - Traders Magazine
The financial markets have undergone a significant transformation in recent years, driven by advancements in technology and functional developments in trading protocols. Innovations in liquidity and price discovery mechanisms are shaping the market structure, making trading more efficient, transparent, and scalable. Industry experts believe that the evolution of market protocols stems from the experience of market practitioners who identify inefficiencies and develop solutions to enhance liquidity, as it was heard at Liquidity Discovery panel discussion at FIA Boca on March 11.
/jlne.ws/4bOywH6
Ex-Deutsche banker sues for EUR152mn over Monte dei Paschi scandal; Former head of institutional clients Dario Schiraldi brings case against former employer over alleged harm to his career
Florian Müller and Olaf Storbeck - Financial Times
A former senior banker at Deutsche Bank is suing his ex-employer for EUR152mn in damages for alleged harm caused to his career by criminal proceedings relating to an accounting scandal at Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Deutsche's former head of institutional clients Dario Schiraldi is demanding compensation from the German lender in a civil lawsuit filed in Frankfurt District Court for "alleged harm caused to his career by the Italian criminal proceedings and conviction at first instance".
/jlne.ws/4hBGaFY
How much does cryptocrime pay? Long 'pig butchering', short ransomware was the trade of 2024
Toby Nangle - Financial Times
Crime is not the only use case for crypto. But reading the 2025 Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report, it appears to be one that is booming.As its authors note, crime existed before the advent of cryptocurrencies. However: Historically, tracing these financial relationships required infiltrating closed networks, navigating opaque banking systems, or relying on siloed intelligence. Now, blockchain transactions provide a clear record of payments between cartel-linked wallets and international suppliers, revealing not just individual transactions, but the broader financial infrastructure that sustains this fatal trade.
/jlne.ws/4kv5jVK
Inside the downfall of trading titan and Blackpool FC owner Simon Sadler; He was a heavyweight in Hong Kong finance and a hometown hero. Now he faces the possibility of jail
Kaye Wiggins - Financial Times
It's match day in Blackpool, and the Armfield Club is preparing for a busy one. The venue is close to the football stadium and, in recent years, has been turned into what is perhaps best described as part pub, part shrine to Blackpool Football Club. The Armfield's pool table is the same tangerine colour as the team's kit. So are its chairs, window blinds, the handrail on the stairs and the bunting lining the upstairs bar.
/jlne.ws/3RgqJs1
Compass in Talks to Buy Warren Buffett's Real-Estate Brokerage Unit; A sale by Berkshire Hathaway would be the latest sign of consolidation in the residential brokerage business amid slow home sales
Nicole Friedman and Lauren Thomas - The Wall Street Journal
Compass is in advanced talks to acquire Warren Buffett's real-estate brokerage business, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest sign of consolidation among real-estate brokerages during a prolonged period of lackluster home sales. A deal could come together soon, if talks don't hit any last-minute snags, the people said. The acquisition price couldn't be determined.
/jlne.ws/43JVAVm
The case for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund
Stephen Prince - Fortune
Stephen Prince is CEO of TFG Asset Management.
Sovereign wealth funds are usually the strategic resources of petrostates with budget surpluses, not diverse, debt-heavy economies like the United States. That should change. Instead of managing our nation's balance sheet with a spendthrift's short-term outlook, the U.S. should think like an investor and put its assets to work deliberately.
/jlne.ws/4kSrdCg
After Vladimir Putin Said 'Nobody Can Ban Bitcoin', The Bank Of Russia Is Looking To Allow Crypto Purchases
Murtuza Merchant - Benzinga
The Bank of Russia has proposed allowing a limited group of qualified investors to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies under a new three-year experimental legal regime. What Happened: Announced on Wednesday in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's directives, the initiative targets "particularly qualified" investors-individuals with over 100 million rubles ($1.02 million) in securities and deposits or annual income exceeding 50 million rubles ($510,000)-and companies already classified as qualified investors.
/jlne.ws/3Fvbpp5
LaSalle Street office tower hits the market at a tough time
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
A LaSalle Street office building on track to lose a couple of its largest tenants is up for sale despite a recent string of downtown office property trades that financially thumped the sellers and their lenders. Brokers from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield are seeking a buyer for the 40-story building at 190 S. LaSalle St., according to a marketing flyer. The 798,782-square-foot property is owned today by a venture of Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners, which bought it in late 2019 for $230 million.
/jlne.ws/43Nz0LF
Jamie Dimon raises concerns about tariffs two months after his now-famous 'get over it' line
Samantha Delouya - CNN
Two months ago, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon had a curt message for people protesting President Donald Trump's tariff policy: "Get over it." But with stock markets lower and cracks appearing to form in the US economy, Dimon himself might not be over it. "I don't think the average American consumer who wakes up in the morning and goes to work ... changes what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," Dimon said in an interview with Semafor on Wednesday. "But I do think companies might," he added. "Uncertainty is not a good thing." Dimon appeared to shift his focus on tariffs after the CEO of America's largest bank said to "get over it," when discussing tariffs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
/jlne.ws/422gj5D
PTFs clash with banks over 'done-away' US Treasury clearing; Trading firms losing patience with banks' reluctance to unbundle trading and execution
Luke Clancy - Risk.net
The debate over 'done-away' clearing is driving a wedge between principal trading firms (PTFs) and the banks that clear their US Treasury repo trades. Risk.net reported last month that repo desks were "undecided" about whether to back a done-away model proposed by CME Group, which has filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to clear US Treasury cash and repo transactions. Some PTFs have responded by threatening to establish direct connections with central
/jlne.ws/41I8n88
Op risk data: Crypto hack bites Bybit; fat-finger flurry at Citi; Also: OKX gets AML scold, UK motor finance fiasco revs up. Data by ORX News
ORX News - Risk.net
In a mind-blowing month for operational mishap, February's most momentous loss was the result of a sophisticated $1.42 billion cyber attack by North Korean hackers on crypto exchange Bybit - a theft said to be the largest in history. The hack was initially reported on February 21, 2025, with a loss to Bybit of approximately $1.46 billion in crypto assets. On February 23, the exchange announced it had recovered $42.9 million, bringing its total loss to $1.42 billion.
/jlne.ws/43Lx7Pu
Investment Bank Boom Creates More Millionaire Earners in Europe
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
The boom in dealmaking and trading has boosted the ranks of high earners at some of Europe's banks, creating a stark divide with lenders that rely less on those businesses. The number of Deutsche Bank AG employees making more than EUR1 million ($1.1 million) last year shot up by 28% to 647, with one employee making as much as EUR18 million, the German lender said Thursday. It also lifted the bonus pool to its highest in a decade after a strong year for its investment bank.
/jlne.ws/4icHlgw
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| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | Trump Expands Trade Threats in Global Game of Chicken; Trade wars with allies could spiral as the president tries to get trading partners to back down from retaliation with new threats of his own.
Ana Swanson - The New York Times
For the second time this week, President Trump has threatened to disrupt trade with a close ally for retaliating in a trade war that he started - a tactic that could lead to compromise, or to economic spats that spiral further out of control. On Thursday morning, Mr. Trump tried to cow the European Union into submission, threatening in a social media post to put a 200 percent tariff on European wine and Champagne unless the bloc dropped a 50 percent tariff on U.S. whiskey. The European Union had imposed that tariff in response to levies that Mr. Trump put on global steel and aluminum on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3XQpXFY
Farmers face steep losses in the middle of Trump's trade war and funding cuts; From funding cuts to tariffs, farmers have found themselves struggling to find markets for their products and facing the risk of steep losses for the year ahead.
Shannon Pettypiece - NBC News
Jennifer Gilkerson never imagined that her West Virginia farm's freeze-dried fruits would get caught up in political fights in Washington, D.C. But last Friday, she learned that funding for a U.S. Agriculture Department program that helps schools and food banks buy products from local farmers like her had been cut. Without those federal dollars, Gilkerson no longer expects local schools to be able to buy her freeze-dried fruits, which she has already spent thousands of dollars preparing to produce.
/jlne.ws/43T86BY
Wine Businesses Fear Disaster in Threat of Huge Tariffs; President Trump's threat to impose 200 percent fees on European wines could harm importers, distributors, retailers and restaurants without necessarily helping U.S. producers.
Eric Asimov - The New York Times
It's not clear who will benefit if President Trump follows through on his threat to impose 200 percent tariffs on all wines and alcoholic beverages from the European Union, but it certainly would not be American consumers. The tariff warning was posted by Mr. Trump on social media Thursday in retaliation to 50 percent tariffs on American whiskey and several other products announced by the European Union, which were themselves a response to a set of U.S. tariffs that took effect last week.
/jlne.ws/3DKvGq7
Trump accuses Ireland of luring companies away from US
Chris Price - The Telegraph
Donald Trump has criticised Ireland for using its tax policies to lure away US companies, as he threatened to escalate his trade war with the EU. Speaking in the Oval Office next to the Irish premier, Micheál Martin, he took aim at Ireland's use of its tax system to attract pharmaceutical and other companies.
/jlne.ws/3Rb3fVg
Musk's Tesla raises concern over Trump tariffs
Vishala Sri-Pathma - BBC News
Donald Trump hosted an event at the White House this week where he promised to buy a Tesla
Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla has warned it and other US exporters could be harmed by countries retaliating to Donald Trump's trade tariffs. Mr Musk is a close ally of the US president and is leading efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. But in an unsigned letter addressed to the US trade representative, Tesla said while it "supports" fair trade it was concerned US exporters were "exposed to disproportionate impacts" if other countries retaliated to tariffs.
/jlne.ws/424fCJ0
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Putin Rejects Immediate Cease-Fire in Ukraine; Russian leader said battlefield conditions made such a pause good for Ukraine
Matthew Luxmoore and Natalie Andrews - The Wall Street Journal
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he didn't support an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, calling for more discussion on a permanent end to the war as Moscow's army made rapid gains toward expelling Kyiv's forces from its Kursk region. Putin said any pause in fighting at this point would be in Ukraine's interest because Russia is gaining on the battlefield, and a host of issues would need to be resolved before a cease-fire could be reached.
/jlne.ws/4hwxmBi
Russia Says Nyet to Trump's Ukraine Cease-Fire; As his troops take more territory, Putin rejects what Kyiv accepted.
The Editorial Board - The Wall Street Journal (opinion)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that if Russia rejected the 30-day U.S.-brokered cease-fire that Ukraine had accepted, "we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here." We knew that before, but now we know even on Mr. Rubio's terms, as the Kremlin on Thursday said nyet.
/jlne.ws/4iopDGK
Russia lays out demands for talks with US on Ukraine, sources say
Erin Banco and Jonathan Landay - Reuters
Russia has presented the U.S. with a list of demands for a deal to end its war against Ukraine and reset relations with Washington, according to two people familiar with the matter. It is not clear what exactly Moscow included on its list or whether it is willing to engage in peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance. Russian and American officials discussed the terms during in-person and virtual conversations over the last three weeks, the people said.
/jlne.ws/3Fwv9Zu
Putin suggests US ceasefire idea for Ukraine needs serious reworking
Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn and Vladimir Soldatkin - Reuters
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia supported a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine in principle, but that fighting could not be paused until a number of crucial conditions were worked out or clarified. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West.
/jlne.ws/3FwJHbx
'Very broad consensus' emerging among Europeans on Ukraine: France
Mathieu Rabechault - AFP
A "very broad consensus" is emerging among European nations on boosting Ukraine's long-term security through the Ukrainian armed forces, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Wednesday after a meeting of Europe's five key defence powers in Paris. The defence ministers of France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland addressed reporters after meeting for talks in Paris.
/jlne.ws/4iPFQV9
Finland will be part of the 'coalition of the willing' for Ukraine, says foreign minister
Reuters
Finland will definitely be part of any "coalition of the willing" that could help support Ukraine's security, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Britain's Times Radio on Wednesday. Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain, France and some other nations would form a coalition to draw up plans to offer Ukraine support in the event of a peace deal to end Russia's war.
/jlne.ws/3XTwShA
Trump Asks Russia to Spare Ukraine Troops in Ceasefire Push
Nick Wadhams - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops he said were in a "very bad and vulnerable position" and avoid what he said would be a massacre unlike anything since World War II. "I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
/jlne.ws/4iQNUVH
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says Turkey is a partner in security guarantees
Reuters
/jlne.ws/4iqn7je
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | SPX And PNGX Release Request For Proposal For An Integrated Trading Platform And Central Securities Depository Solution For The Pacific Stock Exchanges
Press release via Mondovisione
Papua New Guinea's PNGX Group Limited ("PNGX Group") and Fiji's South Pacific Stock Exchange Pte Limited ("SPX") have together released a Request For Proposal ("RFP") for an integrated Trading Platform and Central Securities Depository solution for the Pacific stock exchanges. The release of the RFP follows PNGX and SPX entering into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") in January 2025 to explore technology sharing opportunities and reaffirming their commitment to fostering innovation and enhancing sustainability in the capital markets of Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the wider South Pacific region.
/jlne.ws/3RaaVHj
JSE and Rapid Addition unveil new order routing service; New offering aims to simplify access to South Africa's secondary markets and contribute to growing the increasingly diverse community of asset managers, sell-side brokers, and technology providers in the region.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Rapid Addition have collaborated on a new order routing hub - JSE-FIX - set to reduce the cost of sending orders. JSE-FIX is a vendor, venue and asset class agnostic offering and aimed at simplifying access to South Africa's secondary markets and contribute to growing the increasingly diverse community of asset managers, sell-side brokers, and technology providers in the region.
/jlne.ws/3FGpksd
3-Month TONA Futures Open Interest Surpasses 100,000 Contracts, Setting a New Record
JPX
OSE's 3-Month TONA Futures achieved an open interest milestone of 100,000 contracts, reaching 100,335 contracts on March 13, 2025. OSE's TONA is a leading Japan STIR futures market among world exchanges, with the largest trading volume and open interest. Since the late 1990s, yen interest rates have remained at historically low levels. However, following the removal of negative interest rates and the abandonment of Yield Curve Control (YCC) in March 2024, along with two policy rate hikes in July 2024 and January 2025, JPY interest rates are once again moving. As demand for risk management grows in response to potential future monetary policy changes, more domestic and international financial institutions are entering the market to hedge against further rate hikes, expanding the investor base.
/jlne.ws/3Fsh3IF
Performance Bond Requirements: Cryptocurrency, Energy, FX, Interest Rate and Metal Margins - Effective March 14, 2025
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below.
/jlne.ws/4bONdKa
Euronext announces March 2025 quarterly review results of the CAC 40 ESG
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the quarterly review for the CAC 40 ESG index, which will be implemented after markets close on Friday 21 March and will be effective from Monday 24 March 2025.
/jlne.ws/3FoSXyb
Euronext announces March 2025 annual review results of the ISEQ Family
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the annual review for the ISEQ Family indices, which will be implemented after markets close on Friday 21 March and will be effective from Monday 24 March 2025.
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Euronext announces March 2025 quarterly review results of the CAC® Family
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the quarterly review for the CAC Family indices, which will be implemented after markets close on Friday 21 March and will be effective from Monday 24 March 2025.
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LME Clear Margin Parameters March 25 ad hoc
LME
LME Clear Members are advised that new SPAN margin parameters have been set.
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MEMX Receives Regulatory Approval for MX2, its Second Exchange Medallion; The Approval of MX2 Underscores MEMX's Commitment to Meeting the Needs of Market
MEMX
MEMX, a technology-driven exchange operator founded by members to benefit all investors, today announced it has received regulatory approval for its second exchange medallion, MX2. This milestone marks a significant step in the company's continued commitment to providing innovative trading solutions to all market participants. As a result of this approval, MEMX now has rules in place to govern trading on a second equities exchange. MEMX is actively working with market participants to determine the optimal launch date for MX2 Equities and will announce exact timing at a future date. Additionally, MEMX intends to submit a rule filing to govern trading options utilizing a pro-rata model. This filing will support the expansion of MEMX exchange operations and the build out of the MX2 Options platform, which is targeted to launch in the first half of 2026.
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Nadex Amends Rules Relating To Liability, And Adds Rules Relating To Technology Service Providers
Mondovisione
Pursuant to Section 5c(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and Commission Regulation §40.6(a), Nadex has submitted to the Commission its intent to amend Rule 1.1 adding a definition for Technology Service Providers. Nadex has also submitted to the Commission its intent to add Rule 2.11 to account for its relationship with Technology Service Providers as well as amending Rule 10.1 relating to Liability. This submission will become effective on March 24, 2025.
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Osaka Exchange: 3-Month TONA Futures Open Interest Surpasses 100,000 Contracts, Setting a New Record
Mondovisione
OSE's 3-Month TONA Futures achieved an open interest milestone of 100,000 contracts, reaching 100,335 contracts on March 13, 2025. OSE's TONA is a leading Japan STIR futures market among world exchanges, with the largest trading volume and open interest.
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Circular On The Release Of The "Steel Rebar Futures Rules Of The Shanghai Futures Exchange (Revised)" And Other Rules
Mondovisione
The Steel Rebar Futures Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Revised), Hot-Rolled Coil Futures Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Revised), Wire RodFutures Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Revised), and Stainless Steel Futures Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Revised), having been approved by the Board of Directors of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) and filed with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), are hereby issued and will come into effect on April 14, 2025.
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EACH's Women In Clearing Series - Getting Inspired By Jennifer Robertson, Head Of Unit - Financial Markets Infrastructure, DG FISMA, European Commission
Mondovisione
Following the successful launch of the Women in Clearing Network, in March 2024 the EACH's Women in Clearing Series was launched. This an initiative with the objective of featuring a key female leader on a regular basis to inspire other professionals in the industry. Jennifer Robertson is our honoured contributor for this month. Jennifer Robertson joined the European Commission in 2004 and has worked in DG Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union since 2005. She is currently a Head of Unit in the unit responsible for financial markets infrastructure. Previously she worked on retail financial services issues and SME finance in various departments of the European Commission.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Clearwater Analytics to Acquire Beacon and Blackstone's Bistro to Deliver Investment Intelligence Across Private Markets; Building the Future of Investment Management with a Fully Integrated, Front-to-Back Platform That Unifies Data, Analytics and Execution Across Public and Private Securities; PIMCO, a Longtime Strategic Partner and Investor in Beacon, Will Continue to be a Partner in Developing the Next-Generation Platform
Clearwater Analytics
Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN) ("Clearwater") today announced two strategic acquisitions, marking a major step toward transforming investment management technology. Clearwater has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Beacon, a next-generation leader for cross-asset class modeling and risk analytics for derivatives, private credit and debt, structured products and other alternative assets.
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US weather agency job cuts could jeopardise climate risk data, insurers warn; Reinsurance trade group lobbies US commerce secretary about potential impact to monitoring hurricanes and drought conditions
Lee Harris - Financial Times
Insurers have warned that mass firings at US science agencies could threaten the critical weather and geospatial data that the industry uses to manage natural disaster risks and potentially raise prices for consumers. The Reinsurance Association of America, a trade group, is lobbying US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to preserve data collection at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), after the department said that it would fire more than 1,000 staff.
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Quants should take care with synthetic data - Lehalle; Synthetic data creates an illusion of certainty and risks messing up portfolio construction, says quant
Rob Mannix and Mauro Cesa - Risk.net
A top quant has cast doubt on one of the hottest new practices in investing - the use of synthesised data to train machine learning models and to backtest strategies. In a new working paper, Charles-Albert Lehalle, a professor in applied math at École Polytechnique, together with Adil Rengim Cetingoz, a researcher at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, shows that synthetic data cannot reduce uncertainty in models - no matter how much of the new data quants might create.
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JPMorgan engineers' efficiency jumps as much as 20% from using coding assistant
Haripriya Suresh - Reuters
Tens of thousands of JPMorgan Chase software engineers increased their productivity 10% to 20% by using a coding assistant tool developed by the bank, its global chief information officer Lori Beer said. The gains present "a great opportunity" for the lender to assign its engineers to other projects, Beer told Reuters ahead of DevUp, an internal conference hosted by JPMorgan, bringing together its top engineers in India this year.
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China Announces Generative AI Labeling to Cull Disinformation
Debby Wu - Bloomberg
China joined the EU and US in rolling out new regulation to control disinformation by requiring labeling of synthetic content online. The Cyberspace Administration of China together with three other agencies on Friday announced a new set of rules that will require service providers to label AI-generated material as such, either explicitly or via metadata encoded in each file. Those rules come into effect on Sept. 1.
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Why I'm Feeling the A.G.I.; Three arguments for taking progress toward artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I., more seriously - whether you're an optimist or a pessimist.
Kevin Roose - The New York Times
Here are some things I believe about artificial intelligence: I believe that over the past several years, A.I. systems have started surpassing humans in a number of domains - math, coding and medical diagnosis, just to name a few - and that they're getting better every day. I believe that very soon - probably in 2026 or 2027, but possibly as soon as this year - one or more A.I. companies will claim they've created an artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I., which is usually defined as something like "a general-purpose A.I. system that can do almost all cognitive tasks a human can do."
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Tokenized Treasuries Hit Record $4.2B Market Cap as Crypto Correction Fuels Growth; Ondo Finance, BlackRock-Securitize and Superstate gained the most among the larger issuers, while Hashnote's USYC declined.
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
As cryptocurrencies have been battered in a broad-market correction over the past weeks, digital asset investors sought refuge in tokenized U.S. Treasury products. Since late January, the combined market capitalization of Treasury-backed tokens grew $800 million to hit a fresh all-time record of $4.2 billion on Wednesday, data source rwa.xyz shows.
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She Promised Not to Speak Ill of Meta. Then Wrote a Tell-All. Now, She Can't Talk About It.; Arbitrator ruled former Meta employee has to halt publicity push for her new book; publisher plans to keep promoting it
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg and Meghan Bobrowsky - The Wall Street Journal
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | White House instructs agencies to avoid firing cybersecurity staff, email says
Alexandra Alper - Reuters
The White House is urging federal agencies to refrain from laying off their cybersecurity teams, as they scramble to comply with a Thursday deadline to submit mass layoff plans to slash their budgets, according to an email seen by Reuters. Greg Barbaccia, the United States federal chief information officer, sent the message on Wednesday, in response to questions about whether cybersecurity employees' work is national security-related, and therefore exempt from layoffs.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Binance founder 'CZ' denies report of Trump investment, pardon campaign
Catherine McGrath - Fortune
Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of the world's largest crypto exchange Binance, is denying that the Trump family is in talks to buy a financial stake in the American arm of the exchange following a bombshell Wall Street Journal report on Thursday.
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Argentina seeks arrest of U.S. crypto figure tied to Melania and Milei cryptocurrencies
Ben Weiss - Fortune
An Argentine prosecutor asked a judge on Thursday to issue an Interpol "Red Notice"-a sweeping arrest request-for Hayden Davis, who claims to be behind the launch of a memecoin that has ensnared Argentine president Javier Milei in a political scandal, and another coin tied to First Lady Melania Trump.
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Coinbase to suspend memecoin trading for Floki, Turbo, and Gigachad in New York
Sabrina Toppa - The Street
On Wednesday, Coinbase, America's largest crypto exchange, announced the temporary suspension next month of three key memecoins: Floki, Turbo, and Gigachad in New York state. The company said it was reviewing cryptocurrencies on the Coinbase exchange to verify compliance with listing standards, and had decided to temporarily halt trading for the three cryptocurrencies "based on recent reviews." The suspension will go into effect starting April 14, 2025.
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Crypto Trader Loses $308 Million as Ether Drops Below $1,877 in Market Sell-Off
Ayesha Aziz - CoinMarketCap
Cryptocurrency trader lost over $308 million after their 50x leveraged Ether position was liquidated, showing the dangers of high-risk trading in volatile markets. The trader had invested more than 160,234 ETH when the price was around $1,900, but with a liquidation price set at $1,877, the sudden drop forced the position to close. Data from Lookonchain revealed that the trader had moved all their Bitcoin holdings into this leveraged ETH trade before the loss.
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Bank of Russia Proposes Crypto Investment Pilot for High-Net-Worth Investors
Francisco Rodrigues - CoinDesk
The Bank of Russia has submitted proposals to the government for a controlled experiment allowing a "limited group of Russian investors" to trade cryptocurrencies, based on a directive from the country's President Vladimir Putin. The plan would introduce an experimental legal regime (ELR) lasting three years wherein "particularly qualified" investors would be allowed to conduct cryptocurrency transactions, according to a statement from the central bank.
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Trump is diving into crypto headfirst. Has China missed the boat?
South China Morning Post
During his first term in office, US President Donald Trump decried the utility of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying their value was based on "thin air". But since his campaign for a second term - which put him back in the White House in January - he has taken on a decidedly different tone. Trump gathered CEOs and investors for a first-ever White House summit dedicated to digital assets on Friday, where he stated the country would be the "crypto capital of the world".
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Russia using crypto in oil trade with China and India to skirt Western sanctions: Reuters
James Hunt - The Block
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | U.S. Senate Takes First Big Step to Advance Stablecoin Bill; The first committee approval of a stablecoin bill in this new congressional session now moves the so-called GENIUS Act toward the Senate floor.
Jesse Hamilton, Cheyenne Ligon - CoinDesk
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has advanced the crypto industry's stablecoin regulation bill, a first major step toward getting the effort to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed into law. With its first committee approval, the bill that would regulate U.S. stablecoin issuers at the federal level now needs passage by the overall Senate, and a similar version also awaits approval in the House of Representatives. While a number of hurdles remain, including an eventual melding of the different bills from each chamber, the committee advanced the bill with a 18-6 vote.
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A Federal Judge Roasts the DOJ's "Sham" Excuses for Trump's Mass Firings
Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern - Slate
U.S. District Judge William Alsup delivered a furious rebuke to the Trump administration over its mass purge of civil servants during an extraordinary hearing in San Francisco on Thursday. Alsup condemned the terminations of thousands of probationary workers as a "sham" designed to circumvent the law, accused the Justice Department of filing a bogus declaration, and declared in open court that he felt "misled" by dishonest government lawyers. He closed the hearing with a sweeping order compelling the administration to rehire thousands of workers whom it had unlawfully laid off.
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DOGE has 10 staffers at Social Security in hunt for dead people
Gregory Korte and Bloomberg via Fortune
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency now has 10 staffers at the Social Security Administration as the Trump White House looks for evidence to support its claim that there could be millions of dead people receiving public benefits.
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DHS official defends Mahmoud Khalil arrest, but offers few details on why it happened
Michel Martin - NPR
President Trump has ramped up efforts to deliver on a campaign promise to carry out the largest ever deportation of immigrants in U.S. history. Parallel to those deportation plans is a crackdown on what the administration calls antisemitism on college campuses. Both efforts came to the forefront this week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate student, who has not been charged with any crime yet. This is likely the first high profile arrest of a legal permanent resident in connection with the pro-Palestinian protests that rippled across the nation's campuses last year. Trump has vowed that this is the first of many arrests to come as he lays a framework for increased deportations.
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Trump administration directs military to develop options for Panama Canal
MSNBC
NBC News' Courtney Kube reports on the Trump administration directing the U.S. military to begin developing options for the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
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Federal Budget Ax Threatens Contractors, but Could Also Be an Opportunity; By cutting federal employees, the Trump administration may increase its reliance on firms that take in billions through government contracts.
Noam Scheiber - The New York Times
A contracting firm called Leidos took in more than $16 billion in revenue last year, most of it through contracts with federal agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs. So when the Trump administration's budget cutters took aim at the V.A. last month, it seemed like bad news not just for the department's employees but also for Leidos and dozens of other private-sector firms.
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Republicans Step Up Attacks on New ESG Regulations From Europe
Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Federal Reserve Board announces termination of enforcement action with Lake Shore MHC and Lake Shore Bancorp Inc.
Federal Reserve Board
The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced the termination of the enforcement action listed below: Lake Shore MHC, Dunkirk, New York and Lake Shore Bancorp Inc., Dunkirk, New York
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Keynote Address by Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham, FIA BOCA50
CFTC
Thank you to Walt and the entire FIA team for inviting me here to speak at a very special FIA BOCA conference. This year, not only it is the 50th Annual International Futures Industry Conference, but it is the CFTC's 50th anniversary since we were established by Congress as a Commission. It is an incredible honor to serve as the CFTC's Acting Chairman during such a historic moment. I also want to thank my staff, Harry Jung, Meghan Tente, Brigitte Weyls, Taylor Foy, and Nick Elliot-I couldn't have done this without you.
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CFTC Staff Withdraws Advisory on Swap Execution Facility Registration Requirement
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight today announced it is withdrawing CFTC Letter No. 21-19, Staff Advisory Swap Execution Facility Registration Requirement, effective immediately.
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SEC Charges California-Based Company and Two Individuals with Offering Fraud
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it filed charges against California-based Gauntlet Holdings, LLC, Gauntlet's managing member Darrell W. Rideaux, and Ali Derakhshanfar for allegedly engaging in offering fraud. Sal N. Ortiz was charged as a relief defendant.
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ASIC targets financial advisers providing poor superannuation advice through the Financial Services and Credit Panel
ASIC
ASIC convened multiple sitting panels of the Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) between July and October 2024 targeting poor superannuation advice involving contributions or superannuation rollover. By following the advice, clients exceeded the superannuation contribution caps or untaxed plan cap resulting in clients paying more tax. ASIC acted after it identified multiple instances or a theme from breach reports submitted by Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees of such misconduct by financial advisers.
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Victorian man charged over alleged market manipulation
ASIC
Behzad Eghrari, of Vermont South, Victoria, has been charged with three offences of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading following an ASIC investigation. Mr Eghrari appeared via his legal representative in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today charged under sections 1041B(1)(a) and 1311 of the Corporations Act.
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FCA seeks views on removing the £100 contactless limit
FCA UK
The FCA is looking at whether removing or increasing the contactless limit could benefit consumers, merchants and economic growth in the UK.Families and businesses across the country could benefit from greater choice, flexibility and smoother purchases, under proposals being considered by the FCA. Making regulation less prescriptive would also give firms greater control and could promote innovative payment methods or fraud prevention solutions. This forms part of the work, announced in January in a letter to the Prime Minister to support growth.
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The second meeting of the Expert Study Group on Assurance of Sustainability-related Financial Information (of the Financial System Council)
FSA
The Expert Study Group on Assurance of Sustainability-related Financial Information (of the Financial System Council) will hold its second meeting on March 21, 2025 as follows.
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FSA Weekly Review No.627
FSA
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Joint Advisory on Scammers Impersonating Officers from Monetary Authority of Singapore, NTUC Union and Financial Institutions Representatives
MAS
The Singapore Police Force and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would like to alert members of the public to scams involving impersonation of MAS officials and representatives from NTUC Union and financial institutions (i.e. Income Insurance and Unionpay staff). Since January 2025, at least six cases have been reported to the police, with total losses amounting to at least S$1.7million.
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SFC seeks disqualification and compensation orders against entire former board of 3DG Holdings (International) Limited
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has commenced legal proceedings in the Court of First Instance to seek disqualification and compensation orders against eight former directors of 3DG Holdings (International) Limited (formerly known as Hong Kong Resources Holdings Company Limited) (HK Resources) for their alleged failure in preventing misappropriation of $74.4 million in corporate funds (Notes 1 to 3).
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | This Stock Market Index Is Flashing a Clear Warning About the Economy; The Russell 2000, which includes small companies that are more sensitive to downdrafts in the economy than those in the S&P 500, appears likely to enter a bear market.
Joe Rennison - The New York Times
Investors watching the S&P 500's plunge this week are processing a mix of signals. Will the threat of tariffs push the economy into a recession or is this simply a retrenchment from the highly valued technology companies that some analysts and investors argued were due for a pullback? There is a different stock index that is flashing a clearer warning sign.
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How Wall Street and Business Got Trump Wrong; They thought his second term would be like the first, giving priority to economic growth and the stock market. He had other ideas.
Greg Ip - The Wall Street Journal
The day after last fall's election, the stock market soared. And why wouldn't it? Investors assumed Donald Trump's second term would be like his first, giving priority to tax cuts, deregulation and economic growth. Tariffs would come later, after lengthy deliberations. Trump would treat the stock market as his real-time report card.
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How to tell if the market selloff has hit bottom
James Mackintosh - The Wall Street Journal
Anyone trying to make sense of the stock-market plunge by focusing on President Trump's tariff yo-yo was left scratching their head at the start of this week. Shares in Tesla (TSLA), run by Trump's chainsawer-in-chief Elon Musk, plummeted 15% on Monday to take them back below where they were before the election. Yet shares in General Motors (GM) and Ford, both much more exposed to tariffs on steel, Canada and Mexico than is Tesla, actually rose, bucking the wider selloff.
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Dash for Trash Is Hottest Trade in Europe's Junk Bond Market
Eleanor Duncan, Libby Cherry and Abhinav Ramnarayan - Bloomberg
Fresh from a grueling restructuring, French IT firm Atos SE's bonds are among the surprise winners in Europe's junk debt market this year, part of a trend investors are dubbing "the dash for trash." Three of its notes issued as part of its overhaul have been some of the best performers in European high-yield this year, including two which sit in the lowest bracket of junk ratings. Other low-rated junk bonds issued by troubled companies, including Altice France SA and car parts supplier Standard Profil Automotive GmbH, have also done well. The trend seeks to profit from bets on recently-restructured companies with high coupons, given spreads on high-yield bonds are near the tightest in years and there's little in the way of fresh debt.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | German emissions traders swell ECC membership; CCP's bid for transparency leads to 165-member increase
Joshua Walker - Risk.net
European Commodity Clearing (ECC) reported 323 clearing members at the end of last year, more than double the 158 members it had three months earlier. The increase stemmed from the inclusion of direct clearing participants under Germany's national emissions trading scheme (nEHS).
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German Agency Warns Against Ending Ban on Fossil Fuel Heating
Petra Sorge - Bloomberg
Germany's Environment Agency warned the incoming government against tossing out a ban on fossil-fuel heating systems, with the nation poised to narrowly miss its 2030 climate targets in the housing and transport sectors. "I would strongly advise the next federal government to stick to the law," the agency's president Dirk Messner told reporters on Friday. Europe's biggest economy aims to slash carbon emissions by two-thirds by the end of the decade. However, decarbonising the housing sector has been tough because as many as 80% of the nation's buildings are heated with oil or gas.
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Europe's Winter Storms Will Get Worse as Emissions Rise, Study Says
Joe Wertz - Bloomberg
Global carbon emissions are amplifying a North Atlantic wind pattern that drives northern Europe's biggest winter storms, new research shows. According to projections from scientists at the UK's Met Office and University of Exeter, in a scenario with very high levels of greenhouse gases, global warming will amp up the North Atlantic Oscillation to roughly three times larger than ever recorded by the end of the century.
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Bolivia turns to crypto for energy imports amid dollar, fuel shortages
Reuters
Bolivia's state energy firm YPFB will use cryptocurrency to pay for energy imports amid a painful shortage of dollars and fuel in the landlocked South American nation, a company spokesperson and a government official told Reuters on Wednesday. The country is battling a dangerous slide in foreign currency reserves afters years of dwindling exports of natural gas, which has sparked off a fuel crisis in the country with regular long lines at gas stations and scattered protests.
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Nuclear Power Boom Means Even Germany Is Drawing New Investment
Jonathan Tirone - Bloomberg
Resurgent interest in atomic power means the world's second-biggest provider of enriched uranium is expanding even in Germany, which remains an essential link in the international fuel cycle despite turning off all its reactors. "Strange as it may sound," said Ralf ter Haar, chief financial officer at Urenco Ltd.
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Russian gas giant to sell off luxury properties after European demand collapses
Matt Oliver - The Telegraph
Russia's state-owned gas producer has been forced into a fire sale of luxury property following the collapse of its European business. Gazprom is reportedly preparing to put its Italian palazzo-style export headquarters and other luxury properties on the market as the business scrambles for savings.
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Qube, Balyasny Start Physical Gas Trading in Push for Profit
Anna Shiryaevskaya, Priscila Azevedo Rocha, and Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
Hedge funds Balyasny Asset Management and Qube Research & Technologies Ltd have recently started trading physical gas in Europe, the latest move by financial firms to expand in a volatile market that has generated massive profits for commodity firms in recent years. Both funds are ramping up trading contracts for physical delivery, with Qube already buying and selling as much as some of the biggest companies in the market, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested not to be named discussing private activities.
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After Wildfires, L.A.'s Clear Skies Conceal a 'Toxic Soup'; Scientists collecting water, air and soil samples in neighborhoods ravaged by fires say they're concerned about long-term health risks for residents.
Brendan Borrell - The New York Times
On a Sunday in February, a white Ford van zigzagged through the fire-ravaged neighborhood of Altadena, Calif. Ash piles lined front yards. Charred washing machines sat on bare concrete foundations. "I can't imagine coming back to this," said Albert Kyi, a graduate student researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, briefly looking up from his laptop and out the van's window.
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Ex-staffer sues Deutsche Bank for $165 million over career hit
Sonia Sirletti, Arno Schutze and Bloomberg via Fortune
Deutsche Bank AG was sued by a former employee seeking around EUR152 million ($165 million) in damages for alleged harm caused to his career by criminal proceedings in Italy related to Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA.
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Bank of America lays off 16 investment bankers in Hong Kong in global trim, sources say
Kane Wu and Selena Li - Reuters
Bank of America has laid off 16 bankers in Hong Kong as part of global cuts to its investment banking workforce, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. The lay-offs mainly targeted junior dealmakers, said the sources, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to speak to media.
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State Street Tries to Tap Long-Lost Mojo With Private Credit ETF
Loukia Gyftopoulou - Bloomberg
The first-ever ETF to bring private assets to the masses was meant to be a milestone this year in Yie-Hsin Hung's push to shake off State Street Corp.'s reputation for being cautious and boring. Hung has been tasked with reviving the appetite for innovation at State Street Global Advisors, which revolutionized investing by creating America's first exchange-traded fund three decades ago. Before her arrival in 2022 as SSGA's chief executive, the firm had spent years carefully trying to avoid a repeat of its blowups during the Great Financial Crisis. Under Hung, the $4.7 trillion asset-management division of State Street had created about 100 new funds in 2024, and now it was trying something truly novel.
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Hedge Fund Short Seller Clark Ends Retirement to Trade Chaos
Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
Short seller Russell Clark, who had surrendered to a raging bull market about three years ago, is ending his retirement to start a hedge fund again, hoping to profit from the market chaos sparked by Trump's re-election. London-based Clark is in talks with investors to raise capital for his hedge fund that will trade stocks and bonds based on his macro views of the world. He is setting up Brumby Capital, named after a breed of wild Australian horse, and expects to start trading as soon as next month, Clark said in an interview.
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China Mulls 50% Pay Cuts for Underperforming Fund Managers
Bloomberg
China is considering slashing pay of fund managers who underperform their benchmarks as part of a broad overhaul of the nation's 33 trillion yuan ($4.6 trillion) mutual fund industry aimed at boosting long-term investments, according to people familiar with the matter. The China Securities Regulatory Commission is proposing a 50% pay reduction for fund managers if products overseen by them record a loss or return 10% less than their performance benchmarks, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Such pay cuts are part of a long-term assessment mechanism the regulator is trying to establish, the people said, adding it was not clear what time frame it would be applied over. Under the draft plan, fund returns will account for at least half of the weighting in senior management's evaluation, while other metrics such as the firms' size and ranking will become less important, the people said. The proposal has yet to be finalized and may change, they added. The CSRC didn't respond to a request for comment.
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DWS Moves Star Hire Kelly Off Management Role as CEO Takes Over
Leonard Kehnscherper and Arno Schutze - Bloomberg
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Eight fund families and 332 top-performing portfolio managers were honoured at the 22nd U.S. LSEG Lipper Fund Awards
LSEG Lipper
LSEG Lipper announced the results of the prestigious 2025 LSEG Lipper Fund Awards for the United States, held in the heart of New York's financial district. These annual awards remain a focal point for the global asset management industry, highlighting top-performing funds that consistently deliver strong risk-adjusted returns compared to their peers. This event gathered investment professionals, industry experts, and journalists from all over the United States to help us acknowledge and celebrate the success of portfolio managers and fund management companies who posted the strongest risk-adjusted returns in the industry.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Larry Fink says retirement is a benefit increasingly limited to Fortune 500 employees, and widening the scope should be a 'national priority'
Eleanor Pringle - Fortune
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned of a growing retirement crisis, emphasizing that only employees at top companies benefit from adequate retirement planning while many Americans feel unprepared. He urges corporate leaders and politicians to rethink the system, acknowledging younger generations' economic anxiety and suggesting older generations should work longer to restore trust and financial security. While short-term economic uncertainty is fairly high on the list of priorities for CEOs at the moment, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also wants to keep the topic of retirement front and centre.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Dr. Oz Is About to Take Over Medicare. Expect a Show.; If confirmed, the celebrity doctor will head a $1.5 trillion agency that oversees health insurance for more than 160 million Americans
Anna Wilde Mathews - The Wall Street Journal
The expected next leader of the federal Medicare agency recently reposted a social-media photo of himself standing next to his future boss, the secretary of Health and Human Services. Mehmet Oz, 64 years old, was shirtless in swim trunks, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cradled a small lizard. British provocateur Russell Brand lounged on Kennedy's other side. The celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz, who is scheduled to face a Senate hearing Friday on his bid to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would bring a different look to a job usually filled by low-key policy wonks.
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German spy agency concluded COVID virus likely leaked from lab, papers say
Reuters
Germany's foreign intelligence service in 2020 put at 80%-90% the likelihood that the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic was accidentally released from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, two German newspapers reported on Wednesday. According to a joint report by publications Die Zeit and Sueddeutscher Zeitung, Germany's spying agency BND had indications that the institute had conducted gain-of-function experiments, whereby viruses are modified to become more transmissible to humans for research purposes. It also had indications that numerous violations of safety regulations had occurred at the lab, the papers said.
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Measles Can Damage the Immune System for Years; An infection can also leave children and adults with other long-term health problems.
Dani Blum - The New York Times
As more measles cases emerge around the country, doctors say they're concerned that those infected may be at risk of long-term health complications. A bout of measles sends the immune system into shock, demolishing critical cells that help our bodies respond to threats. This can leave people extremely susceptible to other pathogens for weeks after an infection.
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4 Weird Signs You're Getting Older; We asked experts about what's normal - and what's not.
Jancee Dunn - The New York Times
My lower teeth have grown a lot more crooked over the last few years. This is a surprise. They were once perfectly straight, thanks to braces that stayed on throughout three ungainly middle school years. I asked a few friends in midlife whether they had noticed the same thing, and some reported that they, too, had newly crooked lower teeth. So I called Dr. Leila Jahangiri, chair of prosthodontics at New York University College of Dentistry, and asked her if this experience was common. It's not unusual for teeth to "shift and drift" as you age, she said, and it tends to occur more in the bottom teeth than the top.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | US Meat Exports at Risk With China Approvals Set to Expire
Michael Hirtzer - Bloomberg
More than $3 billion in US beef, pork and poultry exports could be disrupted as eligibility is set to expire next week for hundreds of American meat plants that ship to China. Dozens of plants already had registrations lapse in February on the website for the General Administration of Customs of China, despite US requests that they be renewed. Plants facing expiration on Monday were initially approved five years ago as part of the Phase 1 trade agreement between the US and China.
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China's Bond Market Is Changing Its Tune on Japanification
Bloomberg
Just a few months after China's bond market was plagued by fears of Japanification, soaring yields are pointing to a stark shift in sentiment. Benchmark yields hit a three-month high this week as traders unwound bets that the world's second-largest economy is about to enter a Japan-style period of deflation and cheap money. China's 10-year yield jumped above 1.9%, cementing a five-week widening that has erased around a third of its move lower since the start of 2024.
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Foreigners Snapping Up China's Bank Debt May Boost Yuan Defense
Bloomberg
China's bond selloff is creating pockets of opportunity for foreign investors, who can swap dollars for more attractive yuan-denominated short-term bank debt - and inadvertently bolster Beijing's support of its currency. The yield on one-year AAA-rated negotiable certificates of deposits, short-term debt issued by banks, rose to 2.03% this week, the highest since June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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US Soybean Cargoes Sail to China Despite Retaliatory Tariff
Hallie Gu - Bloomberg
More than 30 cargoes of US soybeans are bound for China, with almost half expected to arrive after Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on American farm goods come into effect next month, according to shipping data. Although the eventual destination of the cargoes could change, most were booked by the state stockpiler Sinograin and are likely to be exempt from the tariffs, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing a sensitive matter.
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China set for rapeseed meal shortage after 100% duty on top supplier Canada
Ella Cao and Mei Mei Chu - Reuters
China is likely to face a supply shortage of rapeseed meal by the third quarter of this year as Beijing's tariffs on shipments from top exporter Canada disrupt trade and as alternative sources are unlikely to make up the deficit. Rapeseed meal futures traded on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange have jumped more than 8% since Beijing announced on Saturday a 100% retaliatory tariff on imports of rapeseed meal and oil from Canada effective March 20.
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Taiwan Warns of Currency Risks From Stock Outflows, Trump Policy
Cindy Wang and Chien-Hua Wan - Bloomberg
Taiwan's central bank spent a record amount of money defending its currency last year and may need to do more, given worsening stock market outflows and escalating trade tensions. The central bank sold $16.4 billion on a net basis in the foreign exchange market in 2024, according to a report to lawmakers. The dollar sales were a third year in a row and the most since data going back to 2018. Governor Yang Chin-long presented the report to lawmakers on Thursday morning.
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Gazprom's grandeur fades as Europe abandons Russian gas
Reuters
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Canadians Losing Millions To Investment Scams: Canadian Securities Administrators, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre And Royal Canadian Mounted Police Urge Vigilance And Reporting
Mondovisione
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