| May 14, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The annual Robin Hood Benefit Gala at the Javits Center raised a record $72 million to support basic needs and expand opportunities for low-income New Yorkers, as more than 3,500 guests, including business, sports, and entertainment leaders, enjoyed performances by The Weeknd, Keith Urban, Seth MacFarlane, and Oz Pearlman. The event, themed around the resilience and teamwork of New York sports, comes at a critical time: New York City's poverty rate has climbed to 25%, with 58% of residents living on less than twice the poverty threshold, underscoring the urgent need for Robin Hood's grantmaking, which funds emergency food, housing, education, job training, and legal services for millions.
The proceeds from the gala, which was co-chaired by prominent city leaders and featured high-profile sponsors, will help address rising living costs and looming threats to federal safety net programs that keep hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers out of poverty. Robin Hood CEO Richard R. Buery, Jr. emphasized the organization's commitment to expanding opportunity, strengthening local nonprofits, and scaling proven solutions to help New Yorkers move out of poverty. At the same time, co-founder Paul Tudor Jones II highlighted the crucial role of philanthropy in filling gaps left by potential government funding cuts.
Jasmina Midzic, managing director at Miami-based Typhon Capital Management, was detained for 26 hours and deported from Los Angeles International Airport after U.S. authorities alleged she engaged in capital raising and other business activities while traveling on a B1/B2 tourist visa, in violation of immigration rules. Midzic, who holds British residency and oversees $250 million in assets, was en route to the Milken Institute Global Conference when officials questioned her about her employment status and, according to sources, she admitted to working in the U.S. on a $13,000-a-month retainer without proper work authorization, resulting in a five-year ban from re-entering the country. The incident, which Typhon founder James Koutoulas called "a disturbing overreach," comes amid a broader crackdown on foreign nationals conducting business on non-work visas under the Trump administration, raising concerns about the intersection of immigration enforcement and international finance. Midzic denies wrongdoing and claims the process violated her rights. At the same time, legal experts warn that the case highlights increased scrutiny and risks for global finance professionals traveling to the U.S. for business.
James Franey of the NY Post reported on this issue in a story titled "'Balkan beauty' hedge funder known for steamy bikini selfies banned from US over immigration 'lies': sources." Matthias Knab of Opalesque shared the story via LinkedIn with the headline "HEDGE FUND executive DEPORTED at LAX for CAPITAL RAISING on a VALID B1 VISA - even a ticket to Milken Institute's Global Conference did not help." Maria Nelli of VNY La Voce di New York has a story titled "Hedge Fund Executive Detained, Deported at LAX Over Alleged Visa Violations."
The SEC seems to think that one tweet on X/formerly Twitter will offset the bullish calls of thousands of influencers and the street's salesforce. TheStreet is reporting that the SEC "advised investors to "Say NO GO to FOMO" in a post on X, which is part of a renewed effort in response to potential over-exuberance among retail traders as the crypto markets heat back up. The SEC's post, which was made on May 13, brings attention to digital assets and meme stocks.
You can buy as many $1.50 hot dogs as you want at Costco when you visit the warehouse superstore, but now you can only buy one gold bar per visit, Quartz reported. OK, I made up the part about all the hot dogs you can eat, but Costco, which makes about $200 million per month in gold bar sales, is now limiting sales of gold.
Former AFX CEO John Shay is starting a new position as interim chief executive officer at AccessFintech, he shared on LinkedIn.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: US capital rule changes critical for US Treasury clearing rollout - ISDA, Cboe expands Asia sales coverage for data arm with two hires, Clearing houses should guard against increased cyber risk - DNB's Maijoor, Bank of England considering expanding mandatory clearing of Gilt market - Breeden, TP ICAP mulls delay of Parameta listing plan, citing volatility and ANALYSIS: CME on track for Treasury futures record as rates trading booms.
I had a brain fart yesterday and wrote up and posted the wrong video for BMLL in JLN. I posted my interview with Paul Humphrey at FIA Boca in 2023, not the one I did this March. The 2025 interview is posted in today's newsletter and on www.johnlothiannews.com
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:
- Robinhood Moves to Win Over More Active Traders, Expand International Business from Barron's.
- Singapore seeks to rival London and New York with new gold contract from the Financial Times.
- Oil Traders Double Down on Bets for 45% Rally in Coming Months from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Russell 2000 Index quarterly chartbook - April 2025
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BMLL's Big Data Dream: Turning Market Noise Into Market Insight, One Packet at a Time JohnLothianNews.com For Paul Humphrey, the CEO of BMLL Technologies, every blip, cancel, and order on an exchange tells a story - if you can wrangle the data. "We specialize in Level 3 data; market by order data, every packet, every message," Humphrey explained. "It's a huge amount of data." Known initially for deep dives into equities, BMLL now includes seamless futures coverage and, as Humphrey noted with pride, "full coverage of CME, ICE and Eurex, across all asset classes." Watch the Paul Humphrey Video » Robert Blackwell, Jr. - Quant16 Watch the Robert Blackwell, Jr. Video » Robert Blackwell, Jr. - Quant16 Watch the Robert Blackwell, Jr. Video »
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JPMorgan's Ornate City of London Office Vandalized by Protesters
Meg Short and Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
A JPMorgan Chase & Co. office in the City of London has been defaced, making it the latest firm in the Square Mile to draw protesters over the past few years. The revolving glass doors of the Blackfriars complex, which houses the US bank's asset and wealth management division, were shattered and red paint was sprayed on the exterior walls of the building, including the ornate Victorian facade of the building that used to house the City of London School. The main London office in Canary Wharf wasn't affected.
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*****This is far better than when on September 16, 1920, a horse-drawn cart bomb exploded across from the J.P. Morgan building on Wall Street, killing more than 30 people and injuring around 300, in what became known as the Wall Street bombing. Earlier, on July 3, 1915, J.P. Morgan, Jr. was shot and wounded at his Long Island home by Frank Holt, a Harvard professor.~JJL
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India Is Now Most Favored Asian Stock Market, BofA Survey Shows
Chiranjivi Chakraborty - Bloomberg
Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. India has replaced Japan as fund managers' top Asian stock market pick, as the South Asian nation is likely to benefit from supply chain shifts amid global trade tensions, according to BofA Securities' latest monthly survey. In the fund manager survey, 42% said they are overweight on India, followed by 39% for Japan, and 6% for China. Thailand fared the worst. A total of 109 panelists with $234 billion of assets responded to the survey's regional questions.
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***** And there is a reason JLN is trying to connect liquidity providers with the Indian markets with a new marketing campaign.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Tuesday was the Keynote Address at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Tokenization by SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. Second was the LinkedIn post from the Association of Futures Markets noting that Dr. Richard L. Sandor will deliver the keynote at Tech Day 2025. Third was CFTC Undermines Public Comment Process, Lets Coinbase Launch 24/7 Trading Without Review, from Better Markets.
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| Lead Stories | Acting Chairman Pham Statement on Court Sanctions Against CFTC
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham made the following statement regarding the Federal District Court report and recommendations for sanctions against the CFTC for misconduct in CFTC v. Traders Global Group Inc: "Americans rightly demand the highest level of conduct, candor, professionalism, and ethics from the federal government-especially law enforcement agencies like the CFTC. As described in detail in the Court's report, the CFTC engaged in willful and bad faith conduct by making multiple false statements to the Court and other 'numerous instances of sanctionable behavior' over the course of a year. This is inexcusable. The CFTC must now accept accountability so that appropriate corrective action can finally be taken to address the conduct issues, and the CFTC can put this behind us and move forward to restore the agency's credibility and reputation.
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Exclusive-Deutsche Boerse, Euronext step up battle against IPO flight to US
Charlie Conchie - Reuters
Two of Europe's major stock exchange operators are stepping up efforts to retain local initial public offerings in the face of U.S. competition, with marketing and research challenging the perception that New York-listed companies fetch higher valuations. Stock exchanges in Europe and the UK have been hit by a drought of IPOs over the past two years and a number of local firms choosing to float or move primary listings to the U.S. for its deeper pools of capital and potentially higher valuations.
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MarketAxess acquires RFQ-hub; MarketAxess has acquired a 90% controlling stake of global derivatives and ETF platform RFQ-hub.
MarketsMedia
RFQ-hub operates a bilateral, multi-asset and multi-dealer request for quote (RFQ) platform, covering listed and over-the-counter derivatives, structures products and exchange-traded funds across equities and fixed income. Established in 2008 it has been run by a consortium of firms since 2022, including MarketAxess. The remaining 10% of RFQ-hub will continue to be owned by founding members, including prominent market makers Citadel Securities, Flow Traders and Jane Street Capital, and asset manager BlackRock.
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****Here is a story on that from Traders Magazine (owned by MarketsMedia).
Annual Robin Hood Benefit Gala Yields $72 Million To Sustain Basic Needs And Support An Infrastructure Of Opportunity For Lower Income New Yorkers; The Weeknd, Keith Urban, Seth MacFarlane, and Oz Pearlman regaled a packed house of 3,500 at the Javits Center, including prominent supporters across business, entertainment, media, sports, and the nonprofit sector, in a night championing hope during a time of uncertainty.
Robin Hood
Last night, more than 3,500 New Yorkers attended Robin Hood's annual benefit at the Javits Center to power the philanthropy's mission to fund opportunity and pathways out of poverty in New York City. The annual benefit raised $72 million, an increase of 6% over the previous year's total. Since 1988, Robin Hood has invested nearly $3 billion to help New Yorkers permanently escape poverty and 100% of the proceeds funding local grantmaking to provide emergency food, permanent housing, high-quality education, job training and placement in high-growth sectors, access to benefits and legal services, and more serving 2 million New Yorkers living in poverty.
/jlne.ws/43daX77
SEC issues warning as fear drives fresh market rally
Anushka Basu - TheStreet
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) advised investors to "Say NO GO to FOMO" in a post on X, which is part of a renewed effort in response to potential over-exuberance among retail traders with the crypto markets heating back up. The SEC's post, which was made on May 13, brings attention to digital assets and meme stocks. The SEC's message is not just a fun one, but contains a more serious message - where investors are cautioned to not be influenced by trends, influencers, or viral hype when making investment decisions.
/jlne.ws/3FgXVgJ
Trump sacked Copyright Office director a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Musk's plan to train AI models, top Dem says
Beatrice Nolan - Fortune
A top Democrat has called the recent firing of director of the U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter, "a brazen, unprecedented power grab." In a press release, Rep. Joe Morelle said: "Donald Trump's termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.
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Crypto platform FalconX partners with Standard Chartered
Summer Zhen - Reuters
Crypto prime broker FalconX and global bank Standard Chartered said on Wednesday they had formed a strategic partnership to serve institutional crypto investors. The partnership marks FalconX's first collaboration with a global traditional bank and suggests growing institutional demand for digital assets through traditional finance channels.
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Israel's eToro seeks to raise up to $620 million in upsized US IPO
Reuters
eToro Group is planning to raise around $620 million in an upsized U.S. initial public offering (IPO) priced above market range, the company said on Tuesday. The stock and cryptocurrency trading platform has offered 11.92 million shares at $52 apiece, above its target range of $46 to $50.
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A New Era in Buy Side Trading: The Move Towards Outsourcing
Anna Lyudvig - Traders Magazine
In the evolving landscape of asset management, the traditional buy-side trading model is undergoing a seismic shift. Outsourced trading, once primarily viewed as a solution for smaller or emerging managers, is now becoming a critical function across firms of all sizes. As institutional investors expand into new asset classes, geographies, and strategies, outsourcing trading desks provide not only operational efficiency but also scale, flexibility, and access to liquidity - key elements that are transforming the way the buy-side interacts with the market.
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Private Credit's Latest Golden Moment Is Hiding the Cracks; Investors are still flocking to the $1.6 trillion asset class, even as questions persist about the strength of its underlying assets.
Kat Hidalgo and Edward Clark - Bloomberg
Anyone betting on the end of the private credit boom has been on the back foot of late as the upstart $1.6 trillion asset class has notched up a string of wins. But the industry's naysayers won't be conceding defeat just yet. First up was Apollo Global Management Inc.'s credit business lifting management fees by almost a quarter in the first three months of 2025, then fellow titan Ares Management Corp. said it had pulled in $20 billion more client money. Talk of a golden opportunity for direct lenders has been revived as borrrowers seek safer shores amid the chaos of Donald Trump's trade policies.
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Jane Street Trading Investigation Closed by India's NSE
Chiranjivi Chakraborty, Anto Antony, and Alex Gabriel Simon - Bloomberg
India's largest stock exchange has closed an investigation into irregular trades by Jane Street Group, one of the most active foreign players in the country's derivatives markets, according to people familiar with the matter. The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., which operates the world's biggest equity derivatives bourse, in January flagged certain trades by high-frequency trading firms including Jane Street, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Moneycontrol had reported of the proceedings earlier.
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Credit Suisse bonus cuts were unlawful, court rules; Swiss court says government did not have legal authority to strip bankers of payouts
Simon Foy and Mercedes Ruehl - Financial Times
The Swiss government's decision to strip former Credit Suisse bankers of their bonuses following the lender's rescue by UBS was unlawful, a court has ruled. The Swiss Federal Administrative Court sided with 12 former Credit Suisse managers in a "pilot judgment" published late on Tuesday, ruling that there was no legal basis for the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) to permanently reduce the payouts after the bank received state aid.
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Michael Saylor's $40bn bitcoin bet; Inside the Strategy chairman's leveraged crypto gamble
Financial Times
Crypto evangelist Michael Saylor has transformed Strategy from a loss-making software company into the world's largest corporate holder of bitcoin. The FT unpacks what some investors have dubbed Saylor's 'infinite money glitch', and questions whether it can survive a crypto crash.
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Ringfencing is bad for UK banks and customers; The post-financial crisis decision to separate retail banking from other operations weakens competition and increases risk
Bob Diamond - Financial Times
I'm writing this in New York. If I take even a short journey from my desk, I can visit the branches and offices of more than a dozen banks. Some are global household names, others are smaller regional corporate and retail banks. All of them are thriving. They compete and innovate and grow and attract investment on a daily basis.
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Julius Baer ordered to pay $5mn over 'serious violation' of regulations; Decision by Swiss regulator focuses on failure to detect or act on suspicious activity between 2009 and 2019
Mercedes Ruehl and Simon Foy and Cynthia O'Murchu - Financial Times
Julius Baer has been ordered to pay more than SFr4mn by Switzerland's financial regulator over anti-money laundering and compliance failings in its handling of high-risk clients. The enforcement decision, contained in a document dated November 2024 and seen by the Financial Times, has not been publicly disclosed. The decision focused on the failure by Julius Baer, Switzerland's second-largest listed lender after UBS, to detect or act on suspicious transactions between 2009 and 2019, according to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority's (Finma) decision notice seen by the FT.
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The Unraveling of the King of Davos; A stunning fall from grace for World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab came amid threats against board members and allegations of financial impropriety, which he denies
Jenny Strasburg, Shalini Ramachandran, Suzanne Vranica and AnnaMaria Andriotis - The Wall Street Journal
For decades, Klaus Schwab ruled over Davos like royalty. That reign ended when he hit "send" on an email to World Economic Forum trustees on a recent Friday afternoon. Schwab was seemingly headed for a graceful exit from the organization he founded more than a half-century ago, after a 2024 investigation by The Wall Street Journal exposed evidence of a toxic culture at the Forum for women and Black employees. But by Friday, April 18, the trustees' audit committee recommended opening a probe into a new wave of whistleblower allegations against Schwab and his wife, Hilde.
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401(k) Giant to Allow Private Markets Investments in Its Retirement Portfolios; Wall Street firms are trying to put private credit, equity and real estate into the hands of individual investors
Anne Tergesen - The Wall Street Journal
More retirement savers are about to see private markets investments in their portfolios. The 401(k) giant Empower will start allowing private credit, equity and real estate in some of the accounts it administers later this year. The firm is expected to announce Wednesday that it has joined with seven firms to offer these investments, including Apollo Global Management and Partners Group.
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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. | 'Tariff Laffer Curve' reins in trade agenda
Mike Dolan - Reuters
An irony about the ludicrously steep import tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on China last month is that they made no sense as taxes - at least if you believe one of the canons of Republican tax policy. The rapid reduction of those bilateral import levies in Geneva this weekend - after less than a month in place - may thus owe much to what some economists dub the 'Tariff Laffer Curve'.
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How Trump's trade war could end by June; The challengers say the president is violating the Constitution and hope the Court of International Trade will grant their request for a preliminary injunction before the end of the month.
Doug Palmer - Politico
President Donald Trump's trade war could come to an abrupt halt this month - even without concessions from dozens of trading partners. It's up to the U.S. Court of International Trade, an obscure, New York-based federal court that decides cases related to trade and customs law. The court is hearing oral arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging Trump's use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping new tariffs last month, before suspending the highest ones on about 60 trading partners for 90 days. If the court grants the plaintiffs' request for an emergency injunction it could upend the trade negotiations the Trump administration is now racing to complete with dozens of countries.
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Trump and MBS Tout $1 Trillion Pledge as Details Remain Elusive
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Hadriana Lowenkron, Kate Sullivan and Fiona MacDonald - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman touted a pledge for $1 trillion in commercial deals in Riyadh on Tuesday, a staggering figure that doesn't quite stand up to scrutiny. "With the help of the people of the Middle East, the people in this room, partners throughout the region, the golden age of the Middle East can proceed right alongside of us," Trump said at a Saudi-US investment summit to announce the planned deals. "We will work together. We will be together. We will succeed together. We will win together, and we will always be friends."
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China warns Starmer over terms of US trade deal
Chris Price - The Telegraph
Beijing has warned Britain that its trade deal with America must not be "to the detriment" of other countries. China's foreign ministry criticised the deal after The Telegraph revealed it would hand the US the right to object to Chinese investment in the UK, in a clause critics said amounted to a "veto". The agreement said that both countries "intend to co-operate on the effective use of investment security measures", which could involve blocking Chinese takeovers.
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Trump Says China Agreed to Roll Back Non-Tariff Barriers
Akayla Gardner - Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump said China had agreed to remove non-tariff barriers to US imports as he announced a deescalation of his trade war with Beijing, suggesting even greater concessions could be in store if talks progress. "China will also suspend and remove all of its non-monetary barriers. They've agreed to do that," Trump said at the White House on Monday following the first publicly known talks between the countries since the start of a crippling tariff fight.
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Russian economy in worse shape than Moscow says, report for EU shows
Jan Strupczewski - Reuters
The Russian economy is in an increasingly precarious state as a result of a shift to a war mode and of Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a report by the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) said on Tuesday. The report, prepared for talks of European Union finance ministers, said that while still relatively stable, the Russian economy was only superficially resilient and that underlying imbalances and structural weaknesses were growing.
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Russia's new drone-launched cruise missile is crammed with parts from Kyiv's allies, Ukraine says
Mia Jankowicz - Business Insider
Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has published a breakdown of parts inside a new Russian cruise missile, and claims that many originate from countries including the US, Japan, South Korea, and potentially Australia. This raises questions about Russia's ongoing ability to get around sanctions imposed on it over its invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/43t4Qg2
Russia's new 'Frankenstein' missile terrorising Ukraine
Iona Cleave - The Telegraph
For weeks, a new Russian missile has been tormenting Ukraine. It is fast, lethal and was unrecognisable until Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) unmasked it as the S8000 "Banderol". Translated as "small parcel" in English, it is a lightweight, low-cost, small cruise missile that reaches speeds of 400mph and can hit targets more than 300 miles away. It is also, specialists have found, a Frankenstein-like creation of foreign-sourced components which flies in the face of international sanctions.
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Inside the Trump administration's quiet shift on Ukraine; Lack of compromise by Vladimir Putin has led the US to view him as an obstacle to a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv
Guy Chazan - Financial Times
When US vice-president JD Vance was asked about the war in Ukraine at a foreign policy forum in Washington last week, diplomats were expecting Maga-style criticism of Kyiv and veiled sympathy for Russia. Instead, they heard something quite different. Vance said of a set of Russian proposals to end the conflict: "We think they're asking for too much." Attendees were surprised. Vance was one of the main protagonists in the now infamous Oval Office showdown in February, when he tore into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and accused him of failing to show enough gratitude to the US for its support - a scene that seemed to presage a complete rupture in relations between Kyiv and Washington.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | BoE to consult on promoting clearing for gilt repo market; Isda AGM: Deputy governor also takes aim at bilateral repo haircuts and cross-CCP netting
Samuel Wilkes - Risk.net
The Bank of England will publish a discussion paper later this year on possible regulatory reforms to the UK's sovereign bond repo market, according to a senior official, following the turmoil that gripped gilt prices in 2022. Previously, Risk.net has reported the BoE was mulling the benefits of requiring gilt repo users to clear their trades at central counterparties. "The DP will be exploratory and will aim to gather views on potential options to help mitigate vulnerabilities, including greater
/jlne.ws/4dfnVFQ
Euronext completes the acquisition of Admincontrol
Euronext
The integration of Admincontrol accelerates Euronext Corporate Solutions development in the Nordics and scales up Euronext's SaaS offering. Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris - 13 May 2025 - Euronext, the leading European capital market infrastructure, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Admincontrol for an enterprise value of NOK 4,650 million. The transaction complies with Euronext's capital allocation policy, with a ROCE expected to exceed WACC between years three to five after closing1. Admincontrol will be part of Euronext Corporate Solutions, strengthening the development of the franchise in the Nordics and the UK. The acquisition accelerates Euronext's strategic ambition to scale up its SaaS offering and increases Euronext's share of subscription-based revenue. It more than doubles the size of the Euronext governance offering and broadens capabilities with state-of-the-art solutions addressing mission-critical workflows.
/jlne.ws/4kkAwKq
Emir 3.0 could complicate Eurex launch of repo on Prisma; Clearing house now targets November 2025, but faces hurdle from new model change approval process
Paulina Pielichata - Risk.net
Eurex Clearing wants to complete the migration of its repo products onto its Prisma margin model in November 2025, according to its chief risk officer (CRO). But a new regulatory approvals process for margin model changes could prove a fresh obstacle to the switchover that has been delayed once already.
/jlne.ws/4jVSqmZ
Fincom Announces Series B Financing Led by Nasdaq Ventures with Participation from Macquarie Group and G1 Ventures
Nasdaq
Fincom, a leader in anti-money laundering (AML) Sanction Screening and Entity Resolution technology, today announced the successful completion of its Series B funding round, securing a strategic investment led by Nasdaq Ventures, with participation from Macquarie Group, G1 Ventures, and existing investors including AnD Ventures and ff Venture Capital. This investment marks a significant milestone in Fincom's growth journey and underscores confidence in its vision and market potential. Global banks are facing increasing complexity in managing sanctions compliance, with resource constraints, evolving regulatory requirements, and limitations in legacy Sanctions and Watchlist screening solutions that result in high volumes of false positives. According to research by Celent, sanctions screening alone makes up 20% of the $35 billion spent on Financial Crime & Compliance technology by financial institutions globally. The digitization of financial services has led to faster payments, requiring scalable solutions that handle an increased volume of transactions. Meanwhile today's geopolitical landscape underscores the need for additional data and multilanguage capabilities.
/jlne.ws/4dlbHM0
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Expands Strategic Partnership with Nasdaq to Modernize Capital Market Ecosystem; SET to Advance Capital Market Infrastructure with Nasdaq's Risk and Surveillance Technology
Nasdaq
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced an expanded strategic technology partnership aimed at modernizing Thailand's capital markets. The collaboration focuses on strengthening market resilience and integrity while aligning with global standards and leveraging Nasdaq's AI capabilities.
/jlne.ws/4dhL0aR
The Dream Exchange: A Beacon of Hope for the Capital Markets
Todd Kenney, Chief Operating Officer - The Dream Exchange
Recently, I had the opportunity to represent Dream Exchange at the 2023 Security Traders Association National Conference in Washington, D.C with my colleague, Chief Exchange Architect, Ray Edwards. It was a pleasure to meet our fellow attendees and introduce ourselves and our mission at Dream Exchange - which is to bring more access to the public capital markets for previously underrepresented groups. Thanks to the STA and all the sponsors for hosting such a wonderful networking event with such engaging dialogue.
/jlne.ws/3GUsZna
REVISED: New Product Summary: Initial Listing of Six (6) CME and CBOT Spot-Quoted Futures Contracts (Update listing convention and SER link) - Effective June 30, 2025
CME Group
REVISION: Initial Listing of Six (6) CME and CBOT Spot-Quoted Futures Contracts (Update listing convention and SER link)
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Application for Copper Regularity
CME Group
Notice is hereby given that Metal Ox Warehousing, Inc. has applied for regularity for copper deliverable against the COMEX Copper futures contract:
/jlne.ws/3GVoLLV
Pfisterer Holding SE joins the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Deutsche Borse Cash Market
As of today, Pfisterer Holding SE (ISIN: DE000PFSE212) is listed in the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the growth segment in the Open Market for small and medium-sized companies. The first price of the share was EUR30.00. The current share price is available via Borse Frankfurt.
/jlne.ws/42Zu31y
Holiday Reminder - Closed May 26, 2025
MEMX
MEMX Equities and MEMX Options will be closed Monday, May 26, 2025, in observance of Memorial Day. Normal trading will resume on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
/jlne.ws/42TUvK2
Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange and Montréal Exchange Closed for Victoria Day
Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange and Montréal Exchange will be closed on Monday, May 19, 2025 for the Victoria Day holiday. The Exchanges will re-open for regular trading on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
/jlne.ws/4j8sBid
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Databricks to Buy Startup Neon for $1 Billion; The deal is aimed at making it easier for businesses to build artificial intelligence agents with their own data, Databricks CEO says
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
Databricks has agreed to acquire database startup Neon in a deal valued at about $1 billion, a move the company hopes will make it more attractive to businesses that want to create their own artificial intelligence bots. The data analytics company said the deal addresses a challenge that businesses face when deploying AI agents: how to quickly link up the data they need to make their services run. The problem gets harder as more AI agents are writing code and executing tasks, said Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and chief executive of Databricks.
/jlne.ws/3S07YK2
Trillium Surveyor Partners with Blue Ocean Technologies
Anna Lyudvig - Traders Magazine
Trillium Surveyor and Blue Ocean Technologies have announced a strategic partnership to integrate Blue Ocean's overnight NMS ATS pre and post-trade data onto Trillium's trade surveillance platform. "Our integration with Blue Ocean Technologies brings the same level of surveillance rigor to overnight sessions as during the standard trading day. This industry-first milestone enables firms to detect manipulation, address compliance risks quickly, and maintain continuous oversight across all hours of trading," Lisa Balter Saacks, President of Trillium Surveyor, told Traders Magazine.
/jlne.ws/4kgKAno
Pico Appoints Holly Meacham as Chief Sales Officer to Drive Global Growth and Sales Strategy
Pico
Pico, a leading global provider of mission-critical technology services, software, data and analytics for the financial markets community, today announced the appointment of Holly Meacham to Chief Sales Officer. Holly brings more than 25 years of global executive sales leadership experience to Pico and will be pivotal in advancing the company's strategic goals as it continues to expand its presence across the financial services sector.
/jlne.ws/3Fckvag
Instinet's BlockMatch Announces Venue Name Change and Enhanced Liquidity Optimization
Instinet
Instinet, a leading global agency-only broker, announces a strategic rebranding of its BlockMatch RFQ venue to "BlockMatch Select". This change responds to increasing buy-side demand for enhanced liquidity access and reflects Instinet's role as a leading liquidity aggregator.
/jlne.ws/44zscln
US fintech firm Chime files for IPO
GlobalData
San Francisco based fintech company Chime Financial has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering (IPO) of Class A common stock. The fintech company has applied to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker "CHYM."
/jlne.ws/4jXK9Po
China says to accelerate financial support for sci-tech innovation·
Reuters
China said on Wednesday it would further enhance capital market support for science and technology innovation enterprises and would expand bank credit support for firms in the sector. The move comes as the nation steps up efforts to reduce dependence on foreign technology amid rising China-U.S. geopolitical tensions.
/jlne.ws/43amELK
Atos Announces Reorganization Aiming to Restart Sales Growth
Benoit Berthelot - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3SAVCIp
Trump strikes a blow for AI - by firing the US copyright supremo
Blake Montgomery - The Guardian
/jlne.ws/4jPhOdX
Trump to Rewrite AI Chip Curbs Reviled by Nvidia and US Allies
Mackenzie Hawkins and Stephanie Lai - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4dhwdNF
Nvidia to send 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabia
Associated Press
/jlne.ws/43crjga
DeepSeek's 'Tech Madman' Founder Is Threatening US Dominance in AI Race; The company's sudden emergence illustrates how China's industry is thriving despite Washington's efforts to slow it down.
Bloomberg Businessweek
/jlne.ws/43oEH10
US issues worldwide restriction on using Huawei AI chips; Move comes despite recent Washington-Beijing tariff climbdown
Lauly Li, Yifan Yu and Cheng Ting-Fang - Nikkei Asia
/jlne.ws/3GTFhfu
US warns against using Huawei chips 'anywhere in the world'; Commerce department guidance aims to toughen export controls on tech used by China to make AI processors
Demetri Sevastopulo, Zijing Wu and Ryan McMorrow - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/44ykWWT
US Data Center to Add Batteries Without Lithium Mined Overseas; The first battery will be installed in 2027 as part of a bid to provide reliable power.
Josh Saul - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4kkIwLs
Power-Hungry Data Centers Are Warming Homes in the Nordics; By pairing computer processing facilities with district heating systems, countries like Finland and Sweden are trying to limit their environmental downsides.
Lars Paulsson, Kari Lundgren, and Kati Pohjanpalo - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4iZTAwg
Broadridge patents underlying BondGPT mechanism; Broadridge has been awarded a US patent for the mechanism behind its BondGPT and BondGPT+ solutions.
MarketsMedia
/jlne.ws/4mfNlr7
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Agencies explore post-quantum cryptography in acquisitions; Agencies are being encouraged to factor post-quantum encryption requirements into the acquisition process, as CISA works on a products list.
Justin Doubleday - Federal News Network
Agencies are being encouraged to consider post-quantum cryptographic standards in the acquisition process, as part of a multiyear push to secure sensitive data from exploitation. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Office of the National Cyber Director, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Security Agency are leading post-quantum cryptographic efforts.
/jlne.ws/43gNou3
EU launches vulnerability database to tackle cybersecurity threats
Alexander Martin - The Record
The European Union launched on Tuesday its new vulnerability database to provide aggregated information regarding cybersecurity issues affecting various products and services. Despite being known as the European Vulnerability Database, the service is more of a notification platform than a repository for vulnerability reports, resembling MITRE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) Program.
/jlne.ws/3S5Bmyv
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | UK's First FCA-Regulated Crypto Derivatives Trading Venue GFO-X Debuts in London
Jamie Crawley - CoinDesk
GFO-X has debuted its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated crypto derivatives platform, the U.K's first such trading venue for digital assets. The new platform executed its first trade on Tuesday between financial institutions Virtu Financial and IMC, and was cleared by DigitalAssetClear, GFO-X announced on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3F9eqLS
M&G-Backed UK Crypto Derivatives Trading Venue Makes Debut
Anna Irrera - Bloomberg
A new London-based crypto derivatives venue, backed by M&G Investments and aimed at large financial firms, has made its debut, as the recent rally bolsters institutional interest in digital assets. Trading venue Global Futures and Options Ltd., known as GFO-X, said on Tuesday that market makers Virtu Financial and IMC had carried out their first trade on its platform. The transaction was centrally cleared through the London Stock Exchange Group's LCH DigitalAssetClear, a new offering developed to cash-settle GFO-X derivatives trades, the companies said.
/jlne.ws/4kcieuC
D2X Partners with ABN AMRO Clearing Bank to Launch First-of-its-Kind Collateral Management Solution for Institutional Crypto Derivatives
D2X Group
D2X Group N.V., the first crypto derivatives exchange regulated in a Tier-1 jurisdiction and operational 7-days-a-week, has announced its strategic partnership with ABN AMRO Clearing Bank, introducing a novel approach to collateral management in digital asset derivatives markets. Through this collaboration, D2X enables institutional clients to trade crypto futures and options, while their collateral remains in safeguarded, segregated accounts at ABN AMRO Clearing Bank - eliminating counterparty exposure to the exchange itself.
/jlne.ws/3ZhGl2Z
Watch: Daughter of crypto boss escapes kidnappers in Paris
Henry Samuel - The Telegraph
The daughter and grandson of a cryptocurrency chief executive have escaped abduction in Paris in a dramatic daylight struggle. A video, authenticated by a source close to the case, shows a man and a woman walking with their son on Rue Pache in the eastern 11th arrondissement at 8am on Tuesday. A van, apparently bearing a fake Chronopost logo, then draws up and three hooded individuals attempt to force the mother and son into the vehicle. A source said that the man with them intervened and was beaten "with blunt objects".
/jlne.ws/45buyXH
Standard Chartered (STAN) is now providing banking services for institutional prime broker FalconX.
Jamie Crawley - CoinDesk
Standard Chartered (STAN) is now providing banking services for institutional prime broker FalconX. The San Mateo, California-headquartered broker will access a range of currency pairs, helping to enhance the speed and reliability of its cross-border settlement, FalconX said in an announcement on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/4jVygJR
Robinhood Enters Canada by Taking Over Crypto Exchange WonderFi for $179M; WonderFi's platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, bolster Robinhood's international expansion efforts in the crypto market.
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
Robinhood Markets (HOOD), the California-based financial services company, said it agreed to buy Canadian crypto firm WonderFi (WNDR) for $178.98 million. The all-cash acquisition values WonderFi at 36 Canadian cents per share, a 41% premium over its closing price prior to the Tuesday announcement.
/jlne.ws/4kgI5Bw
Arizona rejects Bitcoin reserve plan, caps ATM use at $2K per day
Anushka Basu - TheStreet
/jlne.ws/3SCkgsa
Here's Who Is Going to Donald Trump's Meme Coin Dinner
Matt Stieb, Intelligencer staff writer - New York Magazine
/jlne.ws/44xkTdU
Morgan Stanley Crypto Chief Exits to Launch DeFi Fund in Switzerland: Bloomberg
Will Canny - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/4kkDYoh
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump's Freebie Qatar Jet Is the Stuff of Nightmares in Spyworld
Jamie Tarabay - Bloomberg
Qatar's offer of a luxury Boeing 747 to President Donald Trump has set off alarm bells within the US intelligence and diplomatic community, where gifts from foreign powers have long been viewed with suspicion. Aside from any legal and ethical qualms about Trump accepting the plane - an 89-seater with a sumptuous French-designed interior - there are technical and security concerns too. Experts say any such gift on a foreign government's behalf presents opportunities for surveilling, tracking or compromising communications of the president and anyone traveling with him.
/jlne.ws/4kp9kdz
Republicans Raise Concerns Over Trump's Plane Gift as He Heads to Qatar; Some lawmakers flag potential security issues as the president doubles down on defending the offer, saying only a 'fool' would turn it down
Lindsay Wise and Annie Linskey - The Wall Street Journal
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday expressed national-security concerns over the proposed $400 million plane that the Qatari ruling family wants to give to the U.S. for use as Air Force One, offering rare GOP resistance to a venture backed by President Trump. Many of the Republicans who expressed doubts serve on congressional committees that oversee the nation's armed services and intelligence agencies. They said that the White House would be subject to a battery of questions regarding security if the transfer goes forward. They added that scrubbing the plane for foreign surveillance technology would be a costly and laborious process and questioned whether the Qatari plane would have necessary capabilities-such as being able to refuel in midair-or carry the advanced technology needed for an airborne command center.
/jlne.ws/43w5ZUc
Trump Pushes Supreme Court to Undercut the Judges Who Thwart Him
Greg Stohr - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump is pressing the US Supreme Court to use a dispute over one of his most audacious immigration initiatives as a way to constrain the judges who keep thwarting his agenda. The court on Thursday will consider the administration's bid to strip judges of the power to block government policies nationwide. The unusual May session - the court's first oral argument tied to Trump's government overhaul - stems from his attempt to unilaterally topple the longstanding consensus that the Constitution confers so-called birthright citizenship on virtually everyone born on US soil.
/jlne.ws/3F94XUM
Trump is visiting 3 countries on his Middle East trip. The Trump Organization recently made business deals with all of them.
Business Insider
President Donald Trump is heading to the Middle East for the first international diplomatic trip of his second term, with plans to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. His family business has expanding interests in all three countries. The Trump Organization, run by the president's eldest sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., has recently announced its involvement in a number of new projects in the three countries - two of which were unveiled just in the last few weeks.
/jlne.ws/4mh3ixc
17th timeʼs a charm? US lawmakers write another crypto bill
Niece Prayoonrat - Compliance Corylated
US lawmakers are working on the Digital Asset Market Structure bill, adding to the 16 existing pieces of digital assets legislation introduced since the Biden administration. The House Committee on Financial Services published a discussion draft of the bill on April 5. The draft mainly draws details from the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21); which was passed by the House of Representatives during the previous Congress, but did not complete the legislative process.
/jlne.ws/45fCF5w
Chief Justice Roberts Sure Doesn't Sound Like He's Ready and Able to Defend the Constitution; The alarm bells are ringing, and this guy is the snooze button.
Charles P. Pierce - Esquire
Gee, what was your 285th clue, Sparky? From Politico: "The notion that rule of law governs is the basic proposition," Roberts said during an appearance at Georgetown Law. "Certainly as a matter of theory, but also as a matter of practice, we need to stop and reflect every now and then how rare that is, certainly rare throughout history, and rare in the world today. ... That's really too bad," the chief justice told graduating students at the law school. "We're developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works."
/jlne.ws/4mfautF
Multiple Trump White House officials have ties to antisemitic extremists
Tom Dreisbach - NPR
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | US has got what it wanted from Basel, say former regulators; Calls to stay at the table come after US Treasury Secretary condemned "outsourcing" of regulation
Janice Kirkel - Risk.net
Former regulators are urging the US to continue active participation at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, arguing that membership has consistently served US interests. The stance comes as prominent voices in president Donald Trump's second administration question the process of Basel rulemaking. "Since its inception, Basel has been essentially driven by the US interest," says Randal Quarles, who was appointed vice-chair of supervision at the Federal Reserve during Trump's first
/jlne.ws/3S5BsWT
Taiwan Regulator Probes Firms for Pressuring Staff to Sell ETFs
Cindy Wang and Chien-Hua Wan - Bloomberg
Taiwan's financial regulator is probing 20 financial institutions over how they pushed staff to sell exchange-traded fund products, the latest sign of excessive competition in one of Asia's biggest ETF markets. The Financial Supervisory Commission will probe ten brokerages, nine asset managers and a bank for allegedly pressuring staff to meet sales quotas for newly launched ETFs, said Huang Hou-ming, deputy director-general of the FSC's Securities and Futures Bureau. The regulator received complaint letters from employees across the firms, he said. The probe comes after Taiwanese investors emerged as the biggest buyer of bond exchange-traded funds in Asia last year, with the bulk of their money pouring into US debt. Volatile markets caused by US President Donald Trump's tariff policies have increased competition for financial firms selling ETFs, with Taiwanese stocks entering a bull market earlier this month after a record selloff in April.
/jlne.ws/4dhDP2H
Macquarie Sued by Regulator Over Misreporting of Short Sales
Adam Haigh - Bloomberg
Australia's markets regulator is suing Macquarie Group Ltd.'s local securities business, alleging that the firm misreported millions of short sales for more than 14 years. Macquarie Securities (Australia) Ltd. failed to correctly report the volume of short sales by at least 73 million between December 2009 and February 2024, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission said in a statement Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3GVzoOP
CFTC's Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee to Meet May 28
CFTC
CFTC Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger, sponsor of the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee, today announced that the EEMAC will hold a virtual public meeting Wednesday, May 28 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT. Members of the public may also attend the meeting.
/jlne.ws/42VV3it
Our 2024 Gender Pay Gap Employer Statement
ASIC
ASIC is committed to reducing the gender pay gap and driving lasting change in gender equality. Over the past year we have continued to close the gender pay gap. As of 31 December 2023, ASIC's average total remuneration gender pay gap was 5.7%, down from 6.1% in 2022. This compares with the Australian average gender pay gap of 21.8%: see Gender pay gap data on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) website.
/jlne.ws/4jZzPGw
ASIC sues Macquarie Securities for repeated and systemic misleading conduct
ASIC
ASIC is suing Macquarie Securities (Australia) Limited (MSAL) alleging it engaged in misleading conduct by misreporting millions of short sales to the market operator for over 14 years. In proceedings filed in the NSW Supreme Court, ASIC alleges that between 11 December 2009 and 14 February 2024, MSAL failed to correctly report the volume of short sales by at least 73 million. ASIC estimates that this could be between 298 million and 1.5 billion short sales.
/jlne.ws/4jXR4rM
FCA confiscates over £300,000 from convicted fraudsters
FCA UK
The FCA has secured confiscation orders of £305,284 against Raheel Mirza, Cameron Vickers and Opeyemi Solaja for their roles in an investment fraud. This amounts to all their remaining assets. The confiscation proceedings for Reuben Akpojaro have been adjourned to a later date. The money will be returned to investors at the earliest opportunity. Failure to pay can lead to imprisonment. Between June 2016 and January 2020, the defendants cold called people to convince them to invest in a shell company. They then claimed to trade their client's money in binary options (a type of fixed odds financial betting) when the money was actually used to bankroll their lifestyles. In 2023 they were convicted and sentenced to a combined 24 and a half years for investment fraud.
/jlne.ws/4mhPlz6
FCA strips back insurance rulebook
FCA
The UK's world leading insurance market could benefit from simpler, more straightforward rules, under proposals published by the FCA today. The regulator plans to strip outdated or duplicated requirements from its insurance rulebook, having asked what improvements it could make. The changes could support lower costs and wider access for the businesses and consumers who rely on insurance to manage risk, while maintaining appropriate levels of protection.
/jlne.ws/4kdYHKZ
SFC and Central Bank of Ireland enhance cooperation in public fund distribution
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Recognition of Funds (MoU) to allow the distribution of eligible Hong Kong and Irish public funds in each other's market through a more streamlined process in light of the continued global financial market growth and increasing cross-border activities in asset management. This agreement serves as an updated cooperation framework following the two regulators' MoU in 1997 on the supervision of cross-border investment management activities.
/jlne.ws/4mlHa4U
Caution to investors: SEBI accepts surrender application of Strata SM REIT
SEBI
Pursuant to certain news reports and review of certain legal proceedings against thepromoter of a SEBI registered SM REIT, namely Strata SM REIT having RegistrationNumber N/SM-REIT/24-25/0004 in terms of SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts)Regulations ('REIT Regulations'), SEBI engaged with Strata SM REIT, itsindependent director, compliance and other officers and the trustee.
/jlne.ws/4mhlEho
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Options Market is 'Fantastic Spot' for Buy Side
Traders Magazine
Strong volumes, a stress-tested market structure, and attractive volatility have created near-ideal conditions for institutional investment managers to buy and sell options. That was a key takeaway of the Navigating Market Trends: Buyside Perspectives in Options Trading panel, which took place May 8 at the Options Industry Conference in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In essence, institutional firms who haven't used options in the past are increasingly entering the space as more liquidity suggests larger trades can be executed efficiently.
/jlne.ws/438k4Y1
Costco is limiting gold bar purchases as demand surges
Kevin Williams - Quartz
For many, a Costco (COST) membership is as good as gold. And, for some, a membership means buying gold. Just not too much of it. The retailer's gold bars have garnered much attention since their June 2023 launch. And now, the gold has proven so popular that the chain recently placed a one-bar limit on purchases.
/jlne.ws/3GUi8tb
US cattle producers have started rebuilding herds, or will soon, Tyson Foods CEO says
Reuters
U.S. cattle producers have started rebuilding the nation's herd or are close to doing so, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said on Wednesday, after supplies dwindled to a 74-year low. Tight cattle inventories have driven up beef prices for U.S. consumers and forced meatpackers, including Tyson and rivals like Cargill and JBS, to pay more for livestock to slaughter.
/jlne.ws/3Fh2d7P
Scrap Copper Was Piling Up in the US. Now It Can Finally Move
Yvonne Yue Li - Bloomberg
A mountain of scrap metal in Salt Lake City that had been growing in recent weeks is finally set to shrink, thanks to the temporary truce in the trade dispute between the US and China. The 300,000 pounds of copper salvaged from old air conditioners, razed buildings and rusty cars has been piling up in the yard at Utah Metal Works Inc. after US shipments to China ground to a halt during the tit-for-tat tariff battle. Now that both countries have agreed to lower their levies for the next three months, the race is on to get the waste metal moving again.
/jlne.ws/4jVM72N
Quants Chasing Trends in Exotic Markets Hit by Commodity Turmoil
Justina Lee - Bloomberg
Hedge funds riding the momentum of alternative markets - everything from electricity and eggs to carbon emissions - are nursing outsized losses as Donald Trump's trade war whips up volatility across assets. Alternative trend funds - a subset of trend followers who focus on niche markets, often in the commodities space - are posting heavy losses this year as tariff uncertainty hits a slew of assets, in particular in the energy sector. It follows a miserable 2024, when fickle price trends also hammered performance.
/jlne.ws/4kcUYN6
"Incalculable" Damage: How a "We Buy Ugly Houses" Franchise Left a Trail of Financial Wreckage Across Texas
Anjeanette Damon and Mollie Simon - ProPublica
Ronald Carver was skeptical when his investment adviser first tried to sell him on an "ugly houses" investment opportunity eight years ago. But once the Texas retiree heard the details, it seemed like a no-lose situation.
/jlne.ws/3SCy2Lo
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Ghost in the machine? Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters
Sarah Mcfarlane - Reuters
U.S. energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two people familiar with the matter said. Power inverters, which are predominantly produced in China, are used throughout the world to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids. They are also found in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.
/jlne.ws/3S6fCCK
China's CATL set to price shares at HK$263 each in $4.6 billion Hong Kong listing, sources say
Scott Murdoch and Kane Wu - Reuters
Chinese battery maker CATL is set to price its shares at HK$263 ($33.70) each and increase the size of the company's Hong Kong listing, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, raising about $4.6 billion. It would be the largest listing globally in 2025, according to LSEG data. Prospective investors have been told orders for CATL stock made below HK$263 per share risk missing out on allocations, the sources added.
/jlne.ws/3F7ZYnk
Netflix and Meta's Carbon Credits Snared in Dispute With Maasai Herders; Approvals for mammoth project were suspended after a Kenyan court sided with herders in a row over access to grasslands
Caroline Kimeu - The Wall Street Journal
Netflix and Meta are among the companies that could lose some of the valuable carbon credits they hoped would burnish their green credentials after a court intervened in a dispute between conservationists and the Maasai herders they were claiming to help. The Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project is the world's largest soil-carbon plan, its boosters say. Launched in 2012, it was designed to preserve some 4.7 million acres of grasslands to lock in carbon on land communally owned by the Maasai, Borana and other pastoralist groups, which is part of a network of protected areas hosting threatened species such as cheetahs, black rhinos and Rothschild's giraffes.
/jlne.ws/3GUIP16
Louisiana: controversial Denka plant suspends production after dire losses; Chemical plant linked to air pollution and cancer risks in majority-Black region 'exploring all options for the future'
Oliver Laughland - The Guardian
A controversial chemical plant in the centre of Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" region has indefinitely suspended all production following dire financial results, the facility's operators announced on Tuesday. The Denka Performance Elastomer plant in St John Parish has long been associated with chronic air pollution issues and was the subject of a years-long Guardian reporting series examining the disproportionate cancer risk rates experienced by the majority-Black fence-line communities that surround the facility.
/jlne.ws/4j6Folp
Property Rights Take Center Stage as Montana Grapples With Wind Development; Some bills to restrict the size and spacing of wind towers failed in the Montana Legislature, but local zoning is a new battlefield as debates over the renewable energy source heat up.
Karin Kirk - Inside Climate News
Colstrip, in Rosebud County, Montana, sitting next door to the strip mines that feed it, remains the second-largest coal power plant in the American West, even after part of it was retired in 2019. But not long after that, Rosebud County also became the home of the biggest wind energy project in Montana.
/jlne.ws/4dnxMK4
EU proposes curbing more green rules on farming subsidies
Kate Abnett - Reuters
The European Commission proposed weakening more of the environmental conditions tied to the EU's huge farming subsidy programme on Wednesday, as part of plans to cut back regulations and paperwork for farmers. Farmers across Europe wielded their political clout last year during months of protests over issues including strict EU regulations and cheap imports. In response, the EU diluted some green conditions attached to farming subsidies.
/jlne.ws/4dgFYLX
Gavin Newsom Can't Afford to Ignore California's Oil Gap; The state is losing fuel production faster than it is losing its appetite for gasoline. High prices have electoral consequences.
Erika D. Smith and Liam Denning - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3F83dv0
TotalEnergies to Sell 50% Stake in Polish Biogas Unit to HitecVision
Francois De Beaupuy - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/42W4VJ5
Indonesia Hikes Palm Export Levy to Boost Biofuel, Replanting
Eko Listiyorini - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4jPpcGd
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | ABN Amro Profit Beats Estimates on Fees, Bad Loan Provisions
Sarah Jacob - Bloomberg
ABN Amro Bank NV reported first-quarter profit that beat expectations after higher fees and lower-than-forecast provisions for souring loans helped offset the effect of declining interest rates. Profit at the Amsterdam-headquartered bank came in at EUR619 million ($693 million) for the three months through March, compared with the analyst estimate of EUR543 million in a Bloomberg survey. Fee income grew 8% due to higher assets under management and increased trading volumes that drove income from clearing, better than estimated.
/jlne.ws/459CqZP
Robinhood Rival EToro, Backers Raise $620 Million in Upsized IPO
Matthew Griffin and Anthony Hughes - Bloomberg
EToro Group Ltd. and some of its shareholders raised nearly $620 million in an upsized US initial public offering priced above the marketed range. The trading and investment platform and a group of its investors sold 11.92 million shares at $52 each, according to a statement Tuesday. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Inc. had signaled interest in buying as much as $100 million worth of EToro shares at the IPO price, according to an earlier filing.
/jlne.ws/3S6tCwi
Fidelity users report technical issues trying to check their accounts after U.S.-China trade deal sends stocks surging
Weston Blasi - MarketWatch
As the stock market jumped Monday on news that the U.S. and China have reached a preliminary trade agreement, pausing reciprocal tariffs of as high as 145% for 90 days, popular brokerage Fidelity suffered widespread technical issues as traders flooded its app and website to check their portfolios. The technical issues kept some users from logging in to their accounts as trading opened on Monday, and many people took to social-media platforms like X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice their concerns.
/jlne.ws/4khnKMx
Macquarie raked over the coals again by ASIC
Andrew McKean - Financial Standard
Macquarie Securities, the broking arm of Macquarie Group, has been sued by ASIC for allegedly engaging in repeated and systemic misleading conduct in its short sale reporting to the market operator, supposedly misreporting millions of trades over 14 years.
/jlne.ws/4dmyLdk
European ECM Playbook 2025; How banks can best protect their clients' - and own - ECM pipelines
Laurie McAughtry - Euromoney
The European Equity Capital Markets (ECM) Playbook 2025 leverages exclusive interviews with senior ECM leaders at Barclays, BNP Paribas (BNPP) and UBS, as well as several other interviewed banks, along with supporting data from the 2024 full-year and Q1 2025 Dealogic EMEA ECM league tables. Through the combined lens of insider insight and analytics, we explore market dynamics, strategic positioning, and client expectations shaping the ECM landscape in the months ahead.
/jlne.ws/43uvcyg
European Bank Deals Stalling May Not Be So Bad; Commerzbank, Sabadell and Mediobanca are all trying to make strategic improvements after being roused from their slumber.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
Europe's year of banking deals risks becoming a big fat flop. Political resistance is frustrating potential takeovers in Germany, Spain and Italy, while the conflicting complex of bids among Italian lenders looks like it could end in a stalemate. The year isn't even half over, but if this consolidation wave falls flat it will be a missed opportunity to bolster the scale, efficiency and technology of European middling lenders in ways that would boost their global competitiveness and the bloc's economy, too. Still, there is a positive side effect to all this bid interest: It has pushed some of the targets to sort out their own businesses faster than they might have otherwise done - if at all!
/jlne.ws/43dodbJ
Credit Suisse Bankers Shouldn't Have Been Stripped of Bonuses, Court Says
Hugo Miller - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4dhBgO7
Julius Baer's Fine in Money Laundering Case Compounds Legal Woes
Noele Illien - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4khtvd7
From Early Michael Saylor Bet to Billions in Deals: How Jefferies Became a Crypto Powerhouse; The firm has advised on 120 transactions with over $150 billion of deal value across fintech, market structure, and exchanges since 2015.
Will Canny - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3F94WQO
Banks seek to advance predictive pricing models; AI and machine learning-based tools could give FX desks the power to forecast currency movements
Joe Parsons - Risk.net
/jlne.ws/457lwuP
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Leaders should do more to be likeable; Business tends to look down on it, but being liked can be a powerful currency at work
Kate Mason - Financial Times
Being called likeable can feel like a backhanded compliment. The word can stand as code for non-threatening, a bit like describing someone as "nice". It does not carry much weight. In a work context, the term is frequently used in reference to those not yet seen as leadership material. "Great leaders don't obsess about being liked. They care about being respected," organisational psychologist Adam Grant posted on LinkedIn recently. "Liking is shallow affection. It comes from being pleasant - you bend over backwards to accommodate others. Respect is deep regard. It's earned by being principled - you stand up for your values."
/jlne.ws/3Szx3eX
Software engineer lost his $150K-a-year job to AI-he's been rejected from 800 jobs and forced to DoorDash and live in a trailer to make ends meet
Preston Fore - Fortune
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has predicted that AI will be doing all coding tasks by next year-but an existential crisis is already hitting some software engineers. One man who lost his job last year has had to turn to living in an RV trailer, DoorDashing and selling his household items on eBay to make ends meet, as his once $150k salary has turned to dust. Tech layoffs are nothing new for Shawn K (his full legal last name is one letter). The software engineer first lost his job after the 2008 financial crisis and then again during the pandemic, but on both occasions, he was back on his feet just a few months later. However, when K was given the pink slip last April he quickly realized this time was different: AI's revolution of the tech industry was playing out right in front of him.
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One in 10 Gen Zers want their boss to be replaced by AI-they say that bots are more 'human'
Orianna Rosa Royle - Fortune
Amid the frenzy that AI will result in job losses, there's one role Gen Zers are secretly hoping the bots will replace: The boss. And 69% are already being polite to ChatGPT just in case.
When it comes to AI and job security, most Gen Z are caught up in worrying about the future of their own jobs. But some are not so secretly hoping that bosses will be replaced by the new technology. A snap poll from essay writing service EduBirdie highlights that one in 10 Gen Z workers are pining for a robot boss. While wishing for the demise of a manager is nothing new, what's eye-opening is the reasons why they think the likes of ChatGPT and Gemini would make for a better manager. For one, they ironically think it'd be more human.
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How AI Has Already Changed My Job; Workers from different industries talk about the ways they're adapting.
Marin Cogan - Bloomberg
Today's internet is full of thoughts about how artificial intelligence will transform work. Every possible prediction has been forecast: AI will take all our jobs. Or maybe just the low-skilled jobs. Or perhaps it's the creative ones. Wait, maybe it's coming for anyone who's built their career typing away on a computer. (Uh-oh.) The reality is that AI has already had an impact on the way millions of us do our jobs. Eight American workers talked to Bloomberg Businessweek about how their working lives are changing as a result of the technology. There's a nurse who's had AI foisted on her in ways she worries endangers patients; an Uber driver sharing the streets with Waymos that don't need drivers at all; and a teacher
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What if Your Salary Is Too High for Today's Job Market?; Many who job hopped at the height of the talent war couldn't match their pay today
Callum Borchers - The Wall Street Journal
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | The exact amount of time you need to lift weights to see muscle gains, according to research
Ani Freedman - Fortune
Strength training benefits people of all ages. It has a slew of research-backed perks, including improved mental health, brain health, bone density, lower blood pressure, increased lean muscle mass, decreased visceral fat, and a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. And it turns out, you don't need to spend hours in the gym to see results, according to recent research.
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Here are the worst coffee types for your cholesterol levels; Your morning cup of joe might pack a punch - just not the kind you expect
Tom Howarth - BBC Science Focus
What's the first thing you do when you arrive at work? Unpack your bag, set up your desk - and then make a beeline for the coffee machine? You're not alone. According to the National Coffee Association, the average American drinks just over three cups of coffee a day. In moderation, coffee is often seen as part of a healthy lifestyle, and for good reason - it's been linked to a reduced risk of conditions like diabetes and even certain types of cancer. But your morning brew might have a less wholesome side, too. Coffee contains natural compounds that can raise cholesterol - and depending on how it's prepared, your daily pick-me-up could be giving you more of them than is ideal.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Bad Trader Behavior, Short-Sale Breaches Stalk Australian Banks
Ambereen Choudhury - Bloomberg
Australia's finance industry is beset by a raft of compliance lapses - from data reporting breaches to trader misbehavior - reigniting concerns the $541 billion sector has struggled to clean up after a litany of scandals came to light six years ago. Most recently, the Australian markets regulator sued Macquarie Group Ltd.'s local securities business, alleging the misreporting of millions of short sales for more than a decade. At rival ANZ Group Holdings Ltd., new Chief Executive Officer Nuno Matos said improving risk management is one of his key priorities after missteps plagued his predecessor.
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French unions urge nationalization of ArcelorMittal in bid to save hundreds of jobs
Nicolas Gubert and AFP via Fortune
Unions in France fighting to save 600 jobs at ArcelorMittal operations in the country called Tuesday for the government to take control of them, along the lines of what has happened to British Steel. CGT union chief Sophie Binet promised hundreds of workers demonstrating outside ArcelorMittal's offices of its French subsidiary in France that she would press the issue with President Emmanuel Macron. "I will deliver to him the CGT proposals to nationalise" the group's French operations, she told the protesting workers.
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Milan's 'Empty London' Tax Bet Pays Off as UK Wealth Exits Soar; Italy's financial capital is proving an early winner in the race to attract wealthy investors after the UK's non-dom program ended last month.
Meg Short and Benjamin Stupples - Bloomberg
Italy's plan to lure rich foreigners from the UK is known in private wealth circles as "svuota Londra" or "empty London." Judging by the recent wave of departures, it's working. In just the past six weeks, a slew of well-heeled residents have left the UK in the fallout from Britain's main political parties moving to scrap the preferential tax regime for non-domiciled taxpayers, or "non-doms." Italy, and especially finance hub Milan, is emerging as an early winner after the favored status formally ended last month, attracting a range of wealthy emigrants from hedge fund managers to ex-CEOs and Middle Eastern billionaires.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Hong Kong Tycoon Lau Selling $4.5 Million Wine Collection
Venus Feng - Bloomberg
Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau is selling another wine collection with an estimated value exceeding HK$35 million ($4.5 million) in an auction by Christie's next week. Lau is offering more than 200 lots of fine wine, including rarities from revered producer Henri Jayer, vintages from Petrus and selections from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, as part of Christie's Hong Kong Luxury Week.
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