| March 13, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Here is the opening bell of the NYSE being rung at the Boca Resort by DRW's Don Wilson during the FIA Boca50 conference yesterday.
Don Wilson, Jeff Sprecher, Terry Duffy, Mark Bagan, Laura Cha, and former Sen. Debbie Stabenow have all been officially inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame as the 20th Hall of Fame Class. This was an amazing moment for the industry, and I believe I may have played a small part in making it happen. I submitted Hall of Fame petition nominations for both Duffy and Sprecher.
Four years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken about the FIA Hall of Fame. I expressed my belief that there were many deserving individuals who should be recognized but might be overlooked due to a small, closed circle of selectors. I suggested that the nomination process needed to be more open and inclusive. It seems that Lukken took this feedback to heart, as he later announced a new petition process for the Hall of Fame. Notably, he even acknowledged my input by tagging me on LinkedIn when he made the announcement. Or maybe he just wanted me to spread the word about the change. This change, though, has likely helped ensure that more deserving individuals are considered for this prestigious honor.
I immediately submitted a nomination for Thomas J. Cashman, my former employer, mentor, and a highly respected leader at the Chicago Board of Trade. Lukken expanded the committee to consider these petitions and graciously included me as a member. I was truly honored to be part of this process. Notably, John Lothian Productions has been involved in producing the videos for the Hall of Fame presentations over the past few years. The iconic voiceover, affectionately referred to as the "Voice of God" by Jeff Sprecher yesterday, is provided by Patrick Lothian
Somehow that first year my name appeared on the list of potential candidates. However, since there were a vast number of more deserving candidates, I was told, "Not your year, John."
As I reflected on the selection process for the Hall of Fame last year, I considered who was more deserving of recognition. I realized that Duffy was notably absent from the Hall of Fame despite his significant contributions. Duffy's leadership and stewardship of CME Group, including his role in taking the exchange public and overseeing major mergers, made him a strong candidate. His long service and his leadership in the merger with the Chicago Board of Trade and the acquisition of NYMEX are significant achievements.
In my view, Duffy's inclusion in the Hall of Fame was not only justified by his professional accomplishments but also by his influence on the industry's landscape, akin to winning the "Game of Thrones" at CME. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping CME Group into the world's leading derivatives marketplace, and his recognition in the Hall of Fame is a testament to his enduring legacy.
Sprecher's induction into the FIA Hall of Fame is well deserved, given his transformative impact on the futures industry. He founded Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in 2000, revolutionizing energy trading with an online platform that eventually expanded into a global powerhouse in financial markets. Sprecher's entrepreneurial spirit and vision have led to numerous innovations and acquisitions, including the New York Stock Exchange. I love the way he has preserved the building and the brand of the NYSE. Sprecher and I first met in the lobby of the NYMEX building in the early 2000s. When he met Leo Melamed for the first time, introducing himself to Leo while in line for breakfast at his first FIA Boca, Leo said, "I know who you are, you are the guy with the website."
When the Hall of Fame selection committee met two years ago and nominated me, I was truly honored. However, there was a strategic decision to delay honoring Terry Duffy and Jeff Sprecher until the 50th FIA Boca conference and the 20th Hall of Fame class. Adding Wilson and the other nominees added to the luster of the historic event.
There was another barrier that I may have helped break down. Previously, there was a misconception that one had to be retired or deceased to be considered for the Hall of Fame. I am alive and well (albeit with some caveats) and still actively working, with no plans to stop anytime soon. Similarly, Wilson continues to reinvent himself as a trader, investor, and entrepreneur, showing no signs of slowing down. As a result, he became a highly eligible candidate for the Hall of Fame and was included in this year's prestigious class by the FIA. I loved Wilson's final line from his comments at the ceremony, "I can't think of a better time to do what we do."
 At the ceremony yesterday, the Hall of Fame members presented selected individuals to introduce them. Mark Bagan, who had passed away, was represented by his children, who accepted the award on his behalf. Laura Cha and former Sen. Debbie Stabenow were not in attendance. Terry Duffy was introduced by his longtime friend and CME customer, Vinnie Viola, the former Chairman of NYMEX. Don Wilson was introduced by Yuval Rooz, the co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset.
Sprecher was introduced, in a manner of speaking, by his wife, Kelly Loeffler, who currently serves as secretary of the Small Business Administration in the Trump Administration. However, she handed off the final introduction and a plethora of accolades to her boss, President Donald Trump, who appeared via a pre-recorded video. Sprecher humorously noted that Trump's introduction added $20 billion to ICE's valuation compared to the introduction he received from the "Voice of God" (Patrick Lothian). Trump stated that ICE was a $100 billion company, whereas Patrick Lothian's introduction valued it at $80 billion. Trump's valuation is closer to ICE's current market value of approximately $97 billion, meaning that the script for the video was written several weeks before the recent volatility that propelled ICE's stock to new all-time highs.
At the FIA Boca conference, I ended up conducting 30 interviews, with one no show and two interviews added once we arrived at the conference. I am sure I could have done a dozen more interviews had we had the time. We ended up having to reschedule our interview with Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham when her aide told me that she suddenly had to take a call from The White House during her scheduled 11:20 a.m. interview slot on Tuesday. We interviewed her at 2:30 and I missed the PTG press conference I had planned to attend.
It appears even the Democrats have caught the wishy-washy bug in Washington, DC. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer announced that his party would block a Republican spending bill aimed at averting a government shutdown, instead urging the GOP to adopt a Democratic plan extending funding through April 11, Bloomberg reported. This move heightened the stakes in the ongoing standoff between congressional Republicans and Democrats, potentially increasing the risk of a shutdown at a sensitive time for financial markets. However, by Wednesday evening, there were signs of a potential deal, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune open to allowing Democrats a vote on a short-term spending bill if they consent to all final votes on the House measure before the deadline. The situation remains uncertain, with moderate Democrats hesitant to support a shutdown, while others fear failing to draw a line could set a precedent for future battles over budget cuts proposed by Elon Musk.
The FIA had an "In Memoriam" message during the FIA Hall of Fame ceremony that honored the passing of Mark Bagan, Scott Eisner, Maurice Farhart, Dennis Murray, Hugh Freedberg, Gareth Roberts, Anne Bagan, Sir Brian Williamson, Robert "Bucky" Isaacson and Helen Nicol.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Exchange chiefs discuss opportunities in crypto derivatives, CME's Duffy doubles down on Bank of England fears in Treasury futures, Euronext agrees EUR400m deal for Norwegian fintech, ANALYSIS: Exchange leaders positive on volatility impact - Boca, MIAX Futures hits wheat record ahead of migration and Trade body calls for more work on Indian margin regulation.
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:
- Tariffs are causing stock-market panic and leading investors into riskier options trading from MarketWatch.
- Wall Street's 'fear gauge' surged past a key level this week - what it says about the S&P 500 through year-end from MarketWatch.
- Trump Is Remaking Markets. Is 'Buy the Dip' Dead? from Barron's. ~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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Trump Criticizes Ireland Over 'Massive' Trade Imbalances
Jennifer Duggan and Kate Sullivan - Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump assailed what he cast as imbalances in global trade during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, reiterating his threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on other nations. Trump injected trade tensions into the visit of Ireland's premier to mark St. Patrick's Day, normally a light-hearted affair. He singled out the visiting leader's country, which relies heavily on corporate tax receipts and has an export-driven growth model.
/jlne.ws/420BTr3
****** Mr. President, you are never going to offset the Irish Guinness-related trade deficit.~JJL
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Blackstone Ups Bid for 'Can of Ham' London Tower to £330 Million
Damian Shepherd and Jack Sidders - Bloomberg
Blackstone Inc. has sweetened its offer for London's Can of Ham skyscraper with a bid of about £330 million ($428 million), upping its wager on rising office rents in the City. While negotiations to secure exclusivity are in an advanced stage, they could still fall apart because a final agreement hasn't been reached, according to people familiar with the matter. The previous top bid for the building - an offer of just over £300 million late last year, also from Blackstone - collapsed after falling short of the roughly £322 million asking price. A deal, if successful, would value the building at a yield of less than 6%, the people added, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It would be one of London's biggest office sales in recent years.
/jlne.ws/43HeHzm
******London's architectural landscape is a real feast for the eyes! With buildings like the Gherkin, Cheesegrater, and Can of Ham, it's like the city's skyline is trying to serve up a giant plate of snacks. And let's not forget the Shard, which then Prince Charles, now King Charles once likened to an enormous salt cellar-though it's more commonly known by its sleek, non-culinary name. It seems London's buildings are a bit like a quirky recipe: mix in some pickle-shaped skyscrapers, add a dash of grated cheese, and top it off with a pinch of salt.
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NBA paused. Tom Hanks' diagnosis. A Trump address. Here's what happened on March 11, 2020.
Greta Cross - USA TODAY
It's now been half a decade since the COVID-19 pandemic altered reality for the entire globe. Though ripples of the pandemic continue to affect us all, one day continues to stand out as monumental. On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic, the NBA suspended its 2019-2020 season, Tom Hanks shared that he had tested positive for the virus and President Donald Trump announced a travel ban in the United States.
/jlne.ws/3XNKBX8
***** Do you remember where you were five years ago when all of this was happening on March 11, 2020?~JJL
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An 'Untradable' Market: Trump Sows Profound Uncertainty for Stocks; The administration's whipsawing moves are leaving investors guessing. The risk is that this uncertainty comes at a real cost to the economy.
Joe Rennison - The New York Times
Investors are adept at finding ways to navigate just about any government policy, good or bad. Tariffs, once set, can be modeled for how they will affect corporate profits, prices and, in turn, the broader economy. The mass firings of federal workers can be analyzed for how they might increase unemployment. nThe thing that investors really struggle to put a price on is uncertainty. And right now, there is a profound sense of uncertainty in the stock market.
/jlne.ws/3XQk4bP
***** A recurring theme from several exchange executives was that in the short term the uncertainty producing volatility was good for volumes and the exchanges, but in the long term it undermines investments by firms in infrastructure and hiring and that will ultimately hurt the financial markets.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top story Wednesday was Exclusive: Terry Duffy on CME's cloud future, takeover targets, and ... candy, from Waters Technology. Second was Bloomberg's Nomura Expands in Singapore, Dubai as Wealth Turns Profit. And third was The Wall Street Journal's Trump's Economic Messaging Is Spooking Some of His Own Advisers.
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| Lead Stories | ADM Is Said to Consider Selling Futures Clearing Arm
Matthew Monks, Bernard Goyder, and Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. is exploring a sale of its futures brokerage arm, as the company weighs divestitures to slash costs, according to people familiar with the matter. The commodities trading and food-processing conglomerate is working with a financial adviser to seek a buyer for ADM Investor Services Inc., or ADMIS, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the details aren't public. While it isn't clear how much ADMIS might fetch in a sale, it holds $439 million in adjusted net capital, according to filings. Rival Marex Group Plc currently trades at more than three times its adjusted net capital.
/jlne.ws/43ICVt7
After-Hours Trading of US Stocks Has Picked Up Steam in Asia
Abhishek Vishnoi and Bailey Lipschultz - Bloomberg
Investors in Asia ramped up their trading of US stocks outside of normal market hours last year, according to data from a popular platform, a sign of the increasing shift to all-hours equities trading. Volumes at after-hours trading platform Blue Ocean Technologies LLC, which generates around 80% of its revenues from Asian clients, quadrupled in 2024, the company said. The surge of after-market trading among Asian investors in part reflects their increasing need to trade macro news, with policy announcements from Beijing a key factor in the performance of Chinese stocks listed in the US last year. President Donald Trump's all-hours social media habit is also encouraging a move to after-hours trading, according to market participants.
/jlne.ws/421KLwD
Trump Family Has Held Deal Talks With Binance Following Crypto Exchange's Guilty Plea; Discussions for stake in Binance's U.S. arm come as founder Changpeng Zhao has pushed for the administration to pardon him for his own 2023 guilty plea
Rebecca Ballhaus, Patricia Kowsmann, Angus Berwick, Josh Dawsey and Caitlin Ostroff - The Wall Street Journal
Representatives of President Trump's family have held talks to take a financial stake in the U.S. arm of crypto exchange Binance, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would put Trump in business with the firm that pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering requirements. At the same time, Binance's billionaire founder, Changpeng Zhao-who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to a related charge-has been pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon, people familiar with the matter said. Zhao, widely known as CZ, remains Binance's largest shareholder.
/jlne.ws/3DC46LI
Is Trump Taking a 'Liquidationist' Approach to the Economy? The administration's view that damaging the economy now could help it later comes with little upside for investors
Jon Sindreu - The Wall Street Journal
During President Trump's first term, stocks rode high on the belief that he would always pull back on policies that led to a selloff. Now, the administration is making a much tougher pitch: that even if tariffs and budget cuts cause a period of havoc, there are unexpected gains to be made on the other side. The problem is there isn't much evidence to make investors believe that. Indeed, such views edge close to the "liquidationist" approach historically espoused by laissez-faire economists, and most infamously associated with former President Herbert Hoover's Treasury secretary who advised him to let the economy fall.
/jlne.ws/41OGZWa
Donald Trump threatens 200% tariffs on EU alcohol imports; President demands bloc removes duty on US whiskey
Aime Williams and Peter Wells - Financial Times
Donald Trump has threatened a 200 per cent retaliatory tariff on alcohol imports from the EU if the bloc imposes a duty on US whiskey, in the latest salvo in his escalating trade war. Posting on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, the US president said the move was a response to the EU's decision to impose a "nasty" 50 per cent tariff on whiskey.
/jlne.ws/4kFkQlM
Doge's 'villain' fantasy is wrong about public service; Most choose to do it because the job matters
Simon Kuper - Financial Times
Elon Musk's crusade to root out fraud in government is piling up evidence that, in fact, federal workers are overwhelmingly clean and useful. Musk's Doge team keeps trumpeting discoveries of "fraud", then quietly removing them from its Wall of Receipts, as it learns what government actually does. At one point, Doge "deleted from the website all five of the biggest savings it had claimed", reports Reuters. Donald Trump told Congress that Doge has found "hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud", but the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute estimates Doge's true saving is "closer to $2bn, or 0.03 per cent of federal budget".
/jlne.ws/4ilp1lc
Five Questions for Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev; He's bullish on the prospects for AI, crypto and Donald Trump.
Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
What's the biggest impact the Trump administration will have on the stock market?
Their intent appears to be to ensure that the US is the best place to do business and the leader in both of the emergent technology industries coming to the fore: crypto and AI. They've got smart people thinking through these problems, and so we should expect the bureaucracy to be reduced, more regulatory clarity and hopefully tighter integration with the private sector to make it happen.
Do you think there's a point when the crypto markets get bigger than stocks?
If we play this well, they will merge. So, I like to think about crypto less as a distinct, tradable asset and more as a new technology-so, along the chain of filing cabinet and pen and paper, to mainframes. If you've got a tradable token on all blockchains, and it's liquid, that's essentially an IPO.
/jlne.ws/4imXKPi
Schumer Says Democrats Will Block GOP Plan to Avert Shutdown
Erik Wasson - Bloomberg
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his party would block a Republican spending bill to avert a government shutdown on Saturday and urged the GOP to accept a Democratic plan to provide funding through April 11 instead. Schumer's declaration Wednesday raised the stakes in an ongoing game of chicken between congressional Republicans and Democrats and appeared to heighten the risk of a shutdown at a time financial markets are hyper-sensitive to new disruption.
/jlne.ws/4ipIK34
Brevan Howard Slashes Traders' Risk-Taking as Losses Exceed 5%
Nishant Kumar and Donal Griffin - Bloomberg
Macro hedge fund specialist Brevan Howard Asset Management is slashing the amount of risks that its traders can take amid a performance slump that has wiped out last year's gains. The firm's Chief Executive Officer Aron Landy has taken some defensive steps in recent days given rising volatility and market chaos, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. That includes lowering risk limits for some traders, the people said.
/jlne.ws/3FElkZe
Global Investors Make a Risky Bet on Russia's Return to Markets; It's a massive geopolitical gamble that could yet backfire.
Bloomberg News
Traders at one London brokerage have been scouring the financial world in recent weeks for an asset almost untouchable for the past three years: Russian debt. They have been racing to find owners of dollar-denominated bonds issued by Gazprom to meet demand from Middle Eastern family offices. They quickly found the Russian energy behemoth's bondholders were either unwilling to sell or demanding significantly higher prices, according to two traders who spoke on condition that neither they nor the firm were identified because of the sensitivity of the transactions. This combination of limited supply and growing demand helped to drive down yields on dollar and euro-denominated Russian bonds by about five percentage points in February, one of the traders estimated.
/jlne.ws/4irHLiU
CEOs Don't Plan to Openly Question Trump. Ask Again If the Market Crashes 20%; Behind closed doors, business leaders air plenty of concerns about the administration and its policies
Chip Cutter and Lauren Thomas - The Wall Street Journal
How business leaders talk about the Trump administration in private has been markedly different than what they are game to say in public. The dissonance was on full display here this week. Early on Tuesday, dozens of corporate executives and others assembled at a Yale CEO Caucus not far from the White House just as news emerged that the Trump administration planned to potentially double tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada. Those in the room responded with a mix of groans and shocked laughter.
/jlne.ws/4hyoriK
Deutsche Bank's highest-paid employee in line to earn nearly twice as much as chief; One individual was paid about EUR18mn in 2024
Florian Muller - Financial Times
Deutsche Bank's highest-paid employee could earn almost twice as much as chief executive Christian Sewing for 2024, as Germany's largest lender boosted bonuses following a surge in investment banking profits. The number of employees earning more than EUR1mn jumped 28 per cent to 647 in 2024, up from 505 the previous year. The rise was fuelled by a 78 per cent increase in pre-tax profits in the investment banking division, where variable performance-linked pay makes up a larger share of total pay.
/jlne.ws/3FnbU4y
Elon Musk's cuts fail to stop US federal spending hitting new record; Government spending rose to $603bn in February despite hyperactive efficiency drive, data shows
Chris Cook and Joe Miller - Financial Times
Elon Musk's hyperactive efficiency drive failed to prevent US federal spending rising to a record $603bn last month, new Treasury data has revealed, highlighting the Trump administration's difficulty in drastically cutting the size of government. Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency claims to have already made more than $100bn of savings, but only a handful of departments registered any drops in spending in the first full month of the new administration.
/jlne.ws/42509Z6
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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. | South Korea Braces for Market Disruptions After Trump Tariffs
Soo-Hyang Choi - Bloomberg
South Korea's Acting President Choi Sang-mok urged top policymakers to prepare for possible market disruptions after President Donald Trump proceeded with plans to apply 25% tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports. South Korea, a major metals producer in Asia, refrained from taking any immediate retaliation steps after the duties took effect Wednesday. Instead, Seoul sent its trade minister to Washington to accelerate negotiations with the Trump administration. "Choi called for utmost efforts in negotiations with the US and ordered officials to make sure a rapid influx of steel materials that could not be exported to the US and other countries doesn't cause disruptions in the domestic market," his office said in a readout Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3Fot2GR
These Tariffs Will Be Worse Than Markets Think; Growth will slow, and inflation will limit the Federal Reserve's response.
Bill Dudley - Bloomberg
How bad will the economic impact of the Trump administration's chaotic tariff policies be? Markets seem to think that if the president won't stop the damage, the Federal Reserve will. I think they're too complacent. Higher tariffs - such as those Trump is imposing on Canada, China and Mexico - affect both inflation and growth. Prices of imports rise, giving domestic producers leeway to raise their own. Sticker shock weighs on consumer spending, while uncertainty about the level and persistence of tariffs - as well as retaliation - cause businesses to defer hiring and investment.
/jlne.ws/3Fkq6en
Trump's $1.4 Trillion Tariff Threat Spurs Companies to Seek Cover
Albertina Torsoli - Bloomberg
Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk A/S is planning to make more of its medicines for the US market locally; Boeing Co. risks a gummed up supply chain and higher aircraft costs it may not be able to pass on; Chinese online retailer Shein Group Ltd. is offering incentives to its top apparel providers to set up new production capacity in Vietnam. Companies across the world are looking for cover from President Donald Trump's frenzied tariff barrage, planning for the worst even as reversals and exemptions leave them desperately seeking clarity.
/jlne.ws/4hx5r48
'At Risk Of My Job': CNBC Reporter Sounds Alarm On 'Insane' Donald Trump Move
Lee Moran - Huffington Post
CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman pulled no punches with his blistering analysis of Donald Trump's economic policies, in particular the tariffs the president keeps proposing and then, in some cases, pulling back on. "I'm going to say this at risk of my job but what President Trump is doing is insane. It is absolutely insane," Liesman said on Tuesday's broadcast of "The Exchange." "And now he's saying he's putting 50% tariffs on Canada unless they agree to become the 51st state," the journalist continued. "That is insane. There is just no other way of describing it."
/jlne.ws/3XNN18d
Canadians shun car trips to the U.S. on tariff anger, weak loonie
Gigi Suhanic - Financial Post
Growing trade war tensions were likely "the dominant factor" in a big drop in cross-border car trips from Canada to the United States in February, a Big Six bank economist says. The number of Canadians who crossed the border by car dropped 23 per cent in February compared to a year ago, according to Statistics Canada, which described the drop as a "steep decline."
/jlne.ws/4kLsjzO
Trump pledges to escalate economic war on Canada, saying annexation is "only thing that makes sense"
Charles R. Davis - Salon
President Donald Trump is planning to further escalate his economic war on Canada as part of a push to annex his country's northern neighbor, he announced Tuesday. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was imposing another 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imported to Canada, above the 25% he announced he previously. He said the increased taxes were a response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford imposing a 25% export tax on electricity to the United States, itself a response to Trump's decision to renege on a U.S.-Canada free trade agreement that he negotiated during his first term in office.
/jlne.ws/420xFjb
Canada hits U.S. with $21B in retaliatory tariffs as global trade war heats up
Rob Wile - NBC News
/jlne.ws/41O4jTW
Trump Takes On Ireland Over Trade at St. Patrick's Day Event; This year's celebrations at White House provided a festive backdrop to high-stakes policy discussions
Chelsey Dulaney - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/4ir4T13
Trump threatens retaliatory 200% tariff on European wine after EU proposes American whiskey tariff
AAmer Madhani - Associated Press
/jlne.ws/3DshmCF
Map Shows States to Be Most Impacted If Mexico Passes Corn Amendment
Natalie Venegas - Newsweek
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
'War has come': Russians shaken by Ukrainian drone barrage
AFP
As a drone smashed into the side of her apartment block early on Tuesday, Russia's full-scale offensive on Ukraine literally came home to Svetlana in a suburb southeast of Moscow. Like for most Russians, Moscow's three-year military campaign had until then felt distant -- mostly constrained to television screens. Despite militaristic propaganda and a mass recruitment of soldiers, authorities have tried to keep society at arm's length from the conflict's death and destruction -- especially in and around the capital.
/jlne.ws/3FqUO5D
America Turns to Ukraine to Build Better Drones; Silicon Valley is tapping into the know-how of war-trained drone makers; 'no U.S. company is keeping up with Ukraine'
Heather Somerville - The Wall Street Journal
With America's drone technology a disappointment on the battlefield, defense startups have joined forces with Ukrainian manufacturers to build better, war-proven aircraft for the U.S. military. U.S. startups have spent billions of venture-capital dollars in hopes of developing the small drones that the Pentagon says it needs for future conflicts, but many have produced only expensive aircraft that don't fly very well. Ukrainian drone makers, meanwhile, have mastered mass-producing drones despite limited resources and are looking for new customers and capital.
/jlne.ws/3R8aoFO
Ukraine Needs US Weapons But It Needs Intelligence More; Shutting off the flow of information for a few days cost Ukraine countless lives, and Putin will want Trump to do it again before any ceasefire.
James Stavridis - Bloomberg Opinion
Over the past couple of weeks, America's Ukrainian partners have been riding a roller-coaster of President Donald Trump's making. The low point was the disastrous blow-up in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which led to the US cutting off military aid and intelligence sharing until the Ukrainians were "ready for peace."
/jlne.ws/4iHYka6
Russia says it does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine; Putin's foreign policy adviser says Moscow wants long-term settlement taking its interests into account
Max Seddon - Financial Times
Russia does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and is pushing for a long-term peace settlement that will take into account its interests and concerns, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said. Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president's foreign policy adviser, told state television on Thursday that the 30-day ceasefire proposed after talks between the US and Ukraine this week was "nothing other than a temporary breather for Ukrainian troops".
/jlne.ws/41ERCe0
The hope of a ceasefire in Ukraine; Donald Trump must now play hardball with Moscow as he has with Kyiv
The editorial board - Financial Times
After more than 1,100 days of fighting and hundreds of thousands of people killed or injured, a pause in hostilities in Ukraine is within sight. Now that Kyiv has agreed to a US-brokered proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, the ball - as US secretary of state Marco Rubio made clear - is firmly in Russia's court. The first question is whether Vladimir Putin will accept the plan; with US officials heading to Moscow, an answer could come soon. An even bigger question is whether such a ceasefire has any chance of opening the way to a stable and lasting peace - or whether Russia will agree to terms anywhere close to what Kyiv could accept.
/jlne.ws/43ILmob
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Hong Kong Mulls Lowering Threshold to Buy Most Expensive Stocks
Kiuyan Wong - Bloomberg
Hong Kong's stock exchange is discussing options to lower the threshold for investors to buy some of the city's most expensive stocks to stoke trading, according to people familiar with the matter. In background meetings between Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. and the brokerage community in recent weeks, bourse officials raised the option of streamlining the minimum trading unit, or board lot, of each stock, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.
/jlne.ws/4ila9mS
CME Group Inc. Announces First-Quarter 2025 Earnings Release, Conference Call
CME Group
CME Group Inc. will announce earnings for the first quarter of 2025 before the markets open on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Written highlights for the quarter will be posted on the company's website at 6:00 a.m. Central Time, the same time it provides its earnings press release. The company will also hold an investor conference call that day at 7:30 a.m. Central Time, at which time company executives will take analysts' questions.
/jlne.ws/3RaO6TO
Miami International Holdings and BSX unveil new trading and settlement platform; New technology platform will utilise MIAX's proprietary trading, middle- and back-office technology; clearing, settlement and depository technology will be built in conjunction with Vermiculus.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Miami International Holdings (MIM) has launched a fully integrated trading, clearing, settlement and depository (CSD) technology platform for The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX). "The launch of the new BSX technology platform represents an important milestone in our strategy to build and operate all our exchanges utilising proprietary MIAX technology," said Thomas Gallagher, chair and chief executive at MIH.
/jlne.ws/4inke2E
Euronext scales up its SaaS offering with the acquisition of Admincontrol
Euronext
Euronext announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Visma to acquire 100% of Admincontrol, a leading provider of governance and secure collaboration Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions in the Nordics and in the UK. On 8 November 2024, as part of its "Innovate for Growth 2027" strategic plan, Euronext outlined its ambition to scale up its SaaS offering and increase Euronext's share of subscription-based revenues. Euronext significantly accelerates this strategic ambition through the contemplated acquisition of Admincontrol. This acquisition strengthens the development of Euronext Corporate Solutions in the Nordics and in the UK. 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/4irTgqz
HKEX Achieves Carbon Neutrality Goal in 2024
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce it has achieved carbon neutrality across the Group's operations at the end of 2024. This milestone in HKEX's climate action journey underscores its commitment to advancing the global net-zero transition. Since earlier announcing its carbon neutrality goal, HKEX has made significant progress to decarbonise its operations by enhancing energy efficiency, exercising a low-carbon procurement approach, and investing in high-quality carbon projects, among other initiatives.
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KHFC brings new social covered bond to LuxSE
LuxSE
Following Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC)'s debut on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) in October 2024, the South Korean social bond pioneer returns to the exchange with a new EUR 600 million social covered bond.
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EBS Market on CME Globex Notice: March 13, 2025
CME Group
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Product Modification Summary: Expiry Date for Good Friday 2026 for Certain Options on Foreign Exchange (FX) Futures Contracts - Effective March 12, 2025 [Corrected Advisory Number]
CME Group
Expiry Date for Good Friday 2026 for Certain Options on Foreign Exchange (FX) Futures Contracts.
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Product Modification Summary: Expiry Date for Good Friday 2026 for Certain Options on Foreign Exchange (FX) Futures Contracts - March 12, 2025
CME Group
Expiry Date for Good Friday 2026 for Certain Options on Foreign Exchange (FX) Futures Contracts.
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SPAN Files Decommission on FTP Sites - Effective July 14, 2025
CME Group
Effective July 14, 2025, CME Group will provide SPAN files only via the SFTP and CME Datamine services. SPAN files will no longer be available over the public FTP or CME Group website. This change applies to CME Group SPAN files as well as partner exchanges SPAN for BMD, XMA, SMX, etc.
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Business Conduct Committee
CME Group
Attached is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange disciplinary posting for the following, which has an effective date of Wednesday, March 12, 2025.
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REVISED: New Product Summary: Initial Listing of the Soybean Oilshare Futures and Options on Soybean Oilshare Futures Contracts (Add Strike Scale) - Effective March 31, 2025
CME Group
Initial Listing of the Soybean Oilshare Futures and Options on Soybean Oilshare Futures Contracts (Add Strike Scale)
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ETP leaders join Texas Stock Exchange to drive expansion into growing market; TXSE continues to build its management team with senior hires
Texas Stock Exchange
The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) announced today the addition of proven industry veterans to drive its growth into the $11 trillion ETP market, as well as key executives to strengthen strategic operations and market intelligence. TXSE is committed to providing a superior offering that is aligned with issuers' priorities around liquidity, pricing, and visibility.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Fintech Neobank Mercury Severs Its Relationship With Evolve Bank
Emily Mason - Bloomberg
Fintech company Mercury Technologies Inc. said it is cutting ties with longtime banking partner Evolve Bancorp Inc. The decision comes after a slate of operational issues at the bank unfolded in public view. Mercury plans to finish the migration of its customers from Evolve to one of its other bank partners, Choice Financial Group or Column National Association, by the end of this year, a spokesperson for the company said. The businesses that need to migrate away from Evolve will have uninterrupted access to Mercury during the process, according to the spokesperson. Clients will need to verify the accuracy of their information and agree to terms and conditions of the new bank partners.
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Fintech Billionaire's Firm Said in Talks to Buy Rabobank Turkey
Beril Akman - Bloomberg
Fintech billionaire Vyacheslav Kim's Kaspi.kz JSC is in talks to buy Rabobank Group's Turkish unit, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussions, in what would be its second acquisition in the country. The deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing confidential information. Any deal will be subject to approval from Turkish regulators, the people said.
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Abu Dhabi's MGX Hires From Apollo, Warburg Amid Trump's AI Push
Alex Dooler - Bloomberg
Abu Dhabi's MGX, which is helping bankroll the $100 billion artificial intelligence venture touted by Donald Trump, is beefing up its US operations with hires from the likes of Apollo Global Management Inc. and Warburg Pincus LLC. The Emirati investment vehicle hired Andy Pickens in New York as managing director and AI product lead, MGX said in an email to Bloomberg News. He was most recently a managing director at Apollo Global, according to his LinkedIn profile.
/jlne.ws/4iGX1rY
Abu Dhabi's MGX Hires From Apollo, Warburg Amid Trump's AI Push
Alex Dooler - Bloomberg
Abu Dhabi's MGX, which is helping bankroll the $100 billion artificial intelligence venture touted by Donald Trump, is beefing up its US operations with hires from the likes of Apollo Global Management Inc. and Warburg Pincus LLC. The Emirati investment vehicle hired Andy Pickens in New York as managing director and AI product lead, MGX said in an email to Bloomberg News. He was most recently a managing director at Apollo Global, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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OpenAI Asks White House for Relief From State AI Rules
Jackie Davalos - Bloomberg
OpenAI has asked the Trump administration to help shield artificial intelligence companies from a growing number of proposed state regulations if they voluntarily share their models with the federal government. In a 15-page set of policy suggestions released on Thursday, the ChatGPT maker argued that the hundreds of AI-related bills currently pending across the US risk undercutting America's technological progress at a time when it faces renewed competition from China. OpenAI said the administration should consider providing some relief for AI companies big and small from state rules - if and when enacted - in exchange for voluntary access to models.
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Who needs revenue when you're a multibillion-dollar AI start-up? Companies with no products or idea yet on how to make money are seeking huge valuations in funding deals
Elaine Moore - Financial Times
To have faith in the recent uptick of multibillion-dollar valuations for tech start-ups that have no profits, no sales and no product to speak of, you have to believe normal rules do not apply. This, of course, is exactly what founders of artificial intelligence companies want you to think.
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Intel Names Lip-Bu Tan as Chief Executive Officer; The semiconductor veteran will succeed co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus
Connor Hart - The Wall Street Journal
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Big Tech Must Be Held to Account for Sextortion Scams, Watchdog Says
Ben Bartenstein - Bloomberg
Some of the world's largest social media platforms should "fundamentally" be held responsible for their role in facilitating sextortion scams that target children, according to the head of a global dirty-money watchdog. Elisa de Anda Madrazo, president of the Financial Action Task Force, said the group is focused on combating one of the world's fastest-growing crimes. In a new report, the Paris-based inter-governmental body said financial intelligence can be leveraged to disrupt online child sexual exploitation. The research also delved into the role apps such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook play in initially connecting perpetrators to victims.
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Cybersecurity Agency Ends Support to Election Security Program
Matt Cohen - Democracy Docket
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - the federal agency responsible for the nation's cybersecurity - has officially cut funding to support states and local election offices on election security. Election officials have warned that the cuts, which the administration signaled since before taking office, could leave them unable to protect voting systems from external threats.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bezos-Backed Bank Startup Targets Brazilian Crypto Businesses
Raphael Almeida Dos Santos and Daniel Cancel - Bloomberg
Stark Bank SA, the Brazilian online-only bank backed by Bezos Expeditions, is positioning itself as the go-to banking provider for the country's crypto startups in a bet that a sector shunned by traditional lenders will bolster growth. The Sao Paulo-based business bank is working with 52 firms focused on digital currencies and blockchain technologies, including Mercado Bitcoin Servicos Digitais, Transfero Swiss AG and Binance Holdings, Chief Executive Officer Rafael Stark said. US President Donald Trump's support for crypto is making it an increasingly attractive segment, he said.
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Abu Dhabi-backed investor buys into Binance with $2 billion of crypto
Elizabeth Howcroft and Federico Maccioni - Reuters
Abu Dhabi-backed investment group MGX has made a $2 billion cryptocurrency investment in Binance, the companies said on Wednesday, deepening ties between the world's largest crypto exchange and the United Arab Emirates.The deal, which Binance called its first institutional investment, is one of the largest ever in the crypto industry. It will see MGX become a minority shareholder after making the investment in stablecoin - a type of cryptocurrency pegged to a fiat currency such as the dollar.
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Most Traded Cryptocurrency Emerges From Shadows During US Goodwill Tour
David Pan - Bloomberg
In addition to being the world's most-traded cryptocurrency, Tether Holdings SA's stablecoin has been dogged by questions for years over its reserves and use by criminals. Now Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino is claiming vindication during his first visit to the US, including a stop in Washington last week while President Donald Trump held his inaugural digital-asset summit. Tether has long denied the speculation about money laundering and terrorist financing. Trump has endorsed a crypto-friendly regulatory regime, that has included the dropping of lawsuits against about a dozen crypto companies since taking office in January.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | White House Defends Banning AP, Says Trump Has Wide Discretion
Erik Larson and Justin Sink - Bloomberg
The White House asked a federal judge to deny the Associated Press' request to restore access for its reporters, arguing that the First Amendment doesn't preclude government officials from favoring particular journalists. In a court filing late Tuesday, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles and other officials urged the judge to rebuff the wire service's request for a court order that would lift the ban while its lawsuit over full access plays out. The filing is the latest development in a suit the AP filed last month after its journalists were banned from parts of the White House for continuing to use "Gulf of Mexico" in its popular style guide after Trump's executive order renaming the body of water "Gulf of America."
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Judge says Trump penalties on law firm send 'chills down my spine'; The Trump administration was ordered to halt, at least temporarily, parts of its executive order punishing the law firm Perkins Coie.
Perry Stein - The Washington Post
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to at least temporarily halt the unprecedented penalties it levied on a powerful law firm that has represented clients whom President Donald Trump considers his political enemies. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled from the bench after the two-hour hearing, saying Trump exerted "extraordinary power" and that Perkins Coie proved it had suffered immediate damages from the penalties.
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****Here is the Wall Street Journal on this story.
Trump Promised Americans Booming Wealth. Now He's Changing His Tune.; President Trump's sweeping promises are running headlong into the reality of governing.
Tyler Pager - The New York Times
As a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump promised an economic "boom like no other." But eight weeks into his presidency, Mr. Trump is refusing to rule out a recession - a striking change in tone and message for a man who rode widespread economic dissatisfaction to the White House by promising to "make America affordable again."
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Beware America's fake fiscal conservatives; Republicans are indulging in budgetary chicanery in order to preserve Trump's tax cuts
Oren Cass - Financial Times
An arcane budgetary sleight of hand is poised to take central stage in the US debate over tax and spending cuts. Magic tricks can at least entertain, and sometimes even inspire awe. But the budget trick is, in the words of Congressman David Schweikert, oversight chief for the tax-writing House ways and means committee, just "a fraud".
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US CEOs Need to Find Their Missing Backbones; Corporate America needs to push Trump in more business-friendly directions before he does lasting damage to the US economy.
Adrian Wooldridge - Bloomberg Opinion
Corporate chieftains and investors never expected an entirely smooth ride from a second Trump presidency. But did any CEOs expect fierce trade wars with America's closest allies? And did any investors expect the current nosedive in the markets? America's businessman president is turning out to be a capital-basher like no other.
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Donald Trump taps Michelle Bowman as Fed vice-chair for supervision; Champion of light regulation expected to be welcomed by Wall Street
James Politi - Financial Times
Donald Trump has tapped Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman to be vice-chair for supervision at the US central bank, a White House official said, elevating a champion of light-touch banking regulation to the post. Trump's move will be welcomed on Wall Street. Top US financial institutions had been critical of the tougher approach to regulation taken by former vice-chair for supervision Michael Barr - a Joe Biden appointee who recently stepped down from the job.
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Iran's President to Trump: I will not negotiate, 'do whatever the hell you want'
Parisa Hafezi - Reuters
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New Zealand pitches itself as 'safe harbour' for foreign investments; PM Christopher Luxon looks to put country 'squarely on the map' after Jacinda Ardern era
Nic Fildes - Financial Times
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | ABN Amro Unit Gets Fined for Paying Finfluencers to Lure Clients
Sarah Jacob - Bloomberg
ABN Amro Bank NV-owned online broker Bux BV was fined EUR1.6 million ($1.7 million) for paying finfluencers, comparison websites and existing customers a fee to refer potential new clients. BUX engaged finfluencers - influencers who give financial recommendations on social media - and paid them a fee per follower who had taken steps in the registration process for opening an investment account, Dutch financial markets regulator AFM said on Wednesday. Such referral fees violate a ban on commissions, said the regulator, which imposed the fine Nov. 18. Bux stopped paying referral fees about two years ago.
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Rogue Aluminum Trader Gets Life in Jail After $1 Billion Fraud
Alfred Cang - Bloomberg
A Chinese aluminum trader involved in a metal inventory scam that caused more than $1 billion in losses has been sentenced to life in prison by a court in the eastern province of Zhejiang. Chen Xi, who controlled several trading houses and warehousing firms, was detained in June 2022 over his role in a high-profile over-pledging scheme, after lenders found metal they had financed did not exist. The court ruling, seen by Bloomberg, named him as the mastermind, and also ordered personal property to be confiscated by the government.
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CFTC aims to settle 'hundreds' of enforcement cases within 30 days; Remediation initiative accompanies new effort to slash penalties for technical violations
Cole Lipsky - Risk.net
The acting chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission wants regulated firms that are currently under investigation to propose financial settlements to resolve outstanding cases within 30 days. Caroline Pham, who was appointed acting chair of the CFTC by US president Donald Trump in January, said quickly settling cases that don't involve customer harm or market abuse would allow the CFTC to focus on more serious offences. "We will be looking to expeditiously resolve these [ongoing
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Gilt repo clearing mandate on Bank of England's radar; Sources say regulator mulling benefits of US-inspired regime, but is non-committal
Samuel Wilkes - Risk.net
The Bank of England (BoE) is examining the notion of a mandate to clear UK government bonds and repurchase agreements secured by them, according to five sources, but without any firm commitment so far. "They make no secret that they'd like clearing, and people like me push back," says Glenn Handley, a securities financing consultant at his own company, SecFin Solutions, who previously held senior positions within HSBC's repo business. "The Bank's attitude is: 'well, why not mandate it?' But the
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Simpson Thacher fined £362,000 over anti-money laundering failures; US law firm agrees settlement with England's legal regulator over failings in London office
Suzi Ring and Euan Healy - Financial Times
US law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett must pay £362,000 to England's legal regulator after admitting failings in relation to the anti-money laundering controls in place in its London office. The settlement agreement, which includes a £300,000 fine and £62,000 in costs, was approved by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on Wednesday.
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SEC Charges Three Former Biopharmaceutical Company Executives with Scheme to Mislead About Cancer Drug Application
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Stefano R. Carchedi, Marie L. Foegh Ramwell, and James G. Cullem-the former chief executive officer, chief medical officer, and chief business officer of Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company Allarity Therapeutics, Inc., respectively-for scheming to conceal from investors a harsh critique levied by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2020 about the likelihood that dovitinib, Allarity's flagship cancer drug candidate, would be approved by the FDA.
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ASIC sues FIIG Securities for systemic and prolonged cybersecurity failures
ASIC
FIIG Securities Limited (FIIG) allegedly failed to have adequate cybersecurity measures for more than four years, according to documents filed by ASIC in the Federal Court. This enabled the theft of approximately 385GB of confidential data, with some 18,000 clients notified that their personal information may have been compromised.
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ASIC warns that payday lenders may be breaching consumer protection laws
ASIC
An ASIC review reveals that some lenders who provide small amount credit contracts may be attempting to move vulnerable consumers into contracts with fewer protections.
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Disqualified company director convicted of dishonestly using his position
ASIC
Former CEO and director of FAL Healthy Beverages Pty Ltd (FAL HB), Tim Xenos, also known as Efthymios Xenos, of Peakhurst, NSW, has been found guilty of making business decisions while disqualified from managing a corporation, using his position dishonestly with the intention of gaining an advantage for himself, and failing to fully and truly disclose information to his bankruptcy trustee.
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Former financial adviser Peter Surtenich permanently banned
ASIC
Between 28 July 2020 and 14 December 2020, while a director and responsible manager of Australian financial services (AFS) licensee Suetonius Wealth Management Pty Ltd, Mr Surtenich recommended to at least 18 clients that they invest in a 'Principal-protected Private Placement Program' which offered 'high yield' returns. ASIC determined that in recommending these investments, Mr Surtenich failed to comply with financial services law by making dishonest representations that the investment was 'capital protected', was 'similar to' a cash investment, and could generate high returns. Mr Surtenich had no basis for making the representations.
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FMA issues warning to Evco Pacific Limited and its directors for breaching disclosure requirements
FMA
The Financial Markets Authority - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - has issued a warning to Evco Pacific Limited (EVCO) for failing to make the proper disclosure requirements under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA). The warning also applies to EVCO's current director, Neville Montefiore, and former directors Roger MacDonald and Christopher Nathan. In the FMA's view, EVCO and its directors breached the FMCA by failing to provide the required disclosure to investors about an offer of shares in EVCO by its parent company EVCO International Limited during the period 27 November 2017 through to 26 March 2019. The FMA began looking into the issue after receiving a complaint from an investor.
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Fifth individual charged over suspected water investment scam
FCA
We have charged John Dobbs with 3 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation. We allege that John Dobbs - alongside Bruce Rowan, David Simmons, Robert Sweeney and Justin Russell - was involved in the operations of an unauthorised investment scheme, which defrauded investors out of £3.9m.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Stagflation Trade Emerges as Rare Winner in US Stock Market Rout
Natalia Kniazhevich - Bloomberg
There have been few winning strategies to seek refuge in as the stock rout sparked by President Donald Trump's start-stop tariff war drags on for a third week. One, though, is soaring right now: a pair trade that bets on stocks that thrive in an economy sinking into stagflation. A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket bets on strength in commodities and defensive sectors like health care, and is short on the consumer discretionary sector, semiconductors and unprofitable tech stocks. As of Tuesday, it's the bank's best-performing US long-short basket in 2025, up nearly 20% compared to the S&P 500 Index's 5.3% decline.
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Traders Are Already Betting That Russia Bonds Are Coming Back
Kerim Karakaya and Phil Serafino - Bloomberg
There's a massive geopolitical gamble under way right now: Investors are quietly betting that Donald Trump's overtures to Moscow for a deal to end the war in Ukraine will eventually translate into Russia's return to the global financial markets.
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'Buy the dip' calls fade as Trump selloffs rattle Wall Street
Carmen Reinicke and Alexandra Semenova - Bloomberg
In a few short weeks, President Donald Trump has started silencing the buy-the-dip stock traders who set the tone on Wall Street for the better part of two decades. In their place are growing calls to lock in profits and sit on the sidelines while Trump's trade-war chaos upends the economic outlook - and casts uncertainty over who, if anyone, will emerge as the new era's stock-market winners.
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The hidden alpha of corporate websites; People, pay your website designers more
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
Four decades ago this Saturday, a computer company called Symbolics Inc registered the first ever dotcom internet domain name. It's still alive today as an online relic, despite the company itself going bankrupt long ago. If only it had invested more heavily in its pioneering website! At least, that's the obvious conclusion from a fascinating new report from Wolfe Research's quantitative analysts.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Investment Bankers Don't Work for Free; Also the American Dream mall is open, coal companies as climate solutions and round-number stock prices.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
The way investment banking works is that you do a lot of free work for companies, meeting with them frequently to pitch ideas and give them advice and listen to their troubles and analyze their finances, in the hope that one day they will hire you to advise them on a merger or a bond deal and pay you a lot of money. Your fee for doing the merger is, generally, very generous, measured against the number of hours that you spend working on the merger. Measured against the number of hours that you spent pitching that company, and the 20 other companies that didn't mandate you on mergers, it looks more reasonable.
/jlne.ws/3DMWJRt
UK Carbon Prices Surge as Minister Talks About EU Market Linkage; UK Treasury official briefs lawmakers in the House of Lords; Britain set up its own carbon market after quitting the bloc
Eamon Farhat and Will Mathis - Bloomberg
UK carbon futures jumped on Wednesday after a Treasury minister said the government would consider linking the country's emissions market to the European Union's system. The UK continues "to explore all options to improve trade and investment with the EU, which includes the UK and EU giving serious consideration to linking our emissions trading schemes," Spencer Livermore, financial secretary to the Treasury, told lawmakers in the UK's House of Lords. He didn't elaborate further.
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Trump Mounts Sweeping Attack on Pollution and Climate Rules
Ari Natter and Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
The Trump administration is launching a sweeping overhaul of US environmental mandates in a campaign it billed as the "biggest deregulatory action" of its kind in US history. The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it will formally reconsider more than a dozen Obama- and Biden-era regulations, including mandates governing chemical plant safety and pollution curbs on electricity, as it aims to deliver on President Donald Trump's pledge to speed US energy development. The agency described the effort as "historic actions" that "will roll back trillions in regulatory costs and hidden taxes on US families."
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Arctic Weather Blast to Put Strain on Europe's Energy Systems
Joe Wertz and Eamon Farhat - Bloomberg
A blast of Arctic air will bring icy temperatures and low wind speeds to Europe over the next week, putting pressure on energy systems already struggling with depleted natural gas inventories. There are warnings for ice and snow across parts of the UK, France, Germany and Spain. The temperature in cities like London and Paris - which soared close to 20C (68F) last weekend - will dip below zero on Friday. That will push up power demand just as generation from solar and wind drop - a combination known as "Dunkelflaute."
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Estonia Joins Calls on EU to Delay New Carbon Market for Fuels
Ott Tammik and Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg
Estonia joined other European Union nations in urging the bloc to delay or even scrap a new carbon market for transportation and heating fuels, on concerns it could boost energy costs. While Estonia supports EU climate goals, it sees a risk that the new program could boost fuel prices and put household and business budgets under pressure. The country wants to examine alternative options to drive emissions reductions in the buildings and transport sectors first, according to Prime Minister Kristen Michal.
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NZ Seabed Mining Poses Unprecedented Challenge for Offshore Wind
Tracy Withers - Bloomberg
New Zealand's willingness to encourage seabed mining in the same piece of ocean where offshore wind generation could be built is unprecedented, according to an international wind farm developer. Parkwind is among several companies looking at the opportunity to build a wind farm off the south coast of Taranaki on New Zealand's North Island. However, the same location offers potential for mining of iron sands and other minerals from the seabed.
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How Corporate America Is Retreating From D.E.I.
Emma Goldberg, Aaron Krolik and Lily Boyce - The New York Times
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Over 1,600 Financial Firms Tapped Fed's Emergency Lending Tool
Carter Johnson and Alex Harris - Bloomberg
More than 1,600 financial firms and their subsidiaries tapped the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program created to support the industry during the regional banking turmoil two years ago. Beal Bank USA and First Republic Bank took out the biggest loans through the Bank Term Funding Program, which was established in March 2023 to bolster liquidity within the financial system after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. At their peak, they each borrowed loans in excess of $8 billion from the Fed, according to data released from the Fed on Wednesday.
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HSBC Puts Some Bankers on Short-Term Retention Amid Overhaul; HSBC has said it will shutter certain investment banking units; Bank also plans to cut many vice chair roles, people say
Ambereen Choudhury, Manuel Baigorri, Harry Wilson, and Denise Wee - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is placing some of its investment bankers on short-term retention agreements as it winds down various businesses in a broad overhaul led by new Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery, according to people familiar with the matter. In some cases, the bankers are on three- to six-month work arrangements to finish client mandates across Europe, Asia and the Americas, after the lender said it would shutter selective investment-banking units, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private.
/jlne.ws/4ipJxB4
Banks Share Private Information to Snag Debt Trades, Study Says
Caleb Mutua and Olivia Raimonde - Bloomberg
Global banks appear to be giving top clients private information to win corporate-bond trading business, according to a new study showing the $56 billion-a-day market is stacked in favor of the most active investors with the broadest dealer networks. The study examined the profitability of trades by insurance companies, which are whales in the credit world. It found that those with the best access to Wall Street's bond-trading desks often had better outcomes than other investors ahead of market-moving events, such as mergers and acquisitions and rating downgrades.
/jlne.ws/43IFprl
Jefferies Emerging-Markets Desk Hit by Shakeup as Traders Flee
Jill R Shah, Kerim Karakaya, and Vinicius Andrade - Bloomberg
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is reshuffling the ranks of its emerging-markets division following a wave of high-profile departures, including some of its most senior traders, according to people familiar with the matter. Jonathan Joseph, the co-head of emerging markets at the firm, has left after nearly a decade. His peer, managing director Adam Groothuis, was removed from his role as co-head of the desk, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing personnel information.
/jlne.ws/3XMjeNg
Deutsche Bank Bonuses Rise to Decade High on Trading, Deals
Arno Schuetze - Bloomberg
Bonuses for Deutsche Bank AG's traders and dealmakers grew by almost a third for last year, as the lender increased its overall variable pay pool to the most in a decade. Germany's largest lender announced EUR2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) in variable compensation to staff for their work in 2024, or 26% more than in 2023, it said in its annual report Thursday. The pool was also affected by a new remuneration system which allows for a larger number of staff to receive bonuses, the bank said.
/jlne.ws/4iICNOA
Deutsche Bank Flags Loans to Auto Industry as Growing Risk
Arno Schuetze and Libby Cherry - Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG warned that a challenging economic environment in Europe, the transition to electric vehicles and competition from China are posing a growing risk to its loans to the automotive sector. Potential US tarriffs and persistent global excess capacities could add to woes in the industry, Germany's largest bank said in its annual report published Thursday.
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JP Morgan QIS notionals hit $100bn; Dealer sees 15% annual growth in 'imperfect' notional measure, eyes rates and FX for next phase
Helen Bartholomew - Risk.net
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CIBC Names Harry Culham as Next CEO After Long Rise From Intern
Christine Dobby - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/43I4faU
Revolut Hiring Hundreds to Become a Fully-Fledged UK Bank
Aisha S Gani - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4kPGCmT
Millennium to Open in Monaco With Kerbage as First Trader
William Shaw - Bloomberg
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Multistrategy Hedge Funds' Haven Appeal Tested Amid Trump Trade War
Nishant Kumar, Katherine Burton, Bei Hu, and Siddharth Vikram Philip - Bloomberg
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Pimco Taps Five New Managing Directors in US, UK and Australia
Laura Benitez - Bloomberg
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Monsanto Endgame Is Risky Trade for Hedge Funds; Lawsuits still haunt Bayer since it bought Monsanto - putting them to rest is the key to unlocking long-term investment.
Chris Hughes - Bloomberg Opinion
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BlackRock, Investors Pump Funds Into Struggling Aggregator Razor
Libby Cherry, Arno Schuetze, and Spencer Soper - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/43KcHGB
State Street Risks Losing $52 Billion Swiss Pension Mandate
Bastian Benrath-Wright and Jan-Henrik Foerster - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3DEc4Uw
Swiss Keep State Street for Pensions, Dismissing Trump Fears
Bastian Benrath-Wright and Jan-Henrik Foerster - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4bT2vxB
Consultants warned Aberdeen boss against Abrdn rebrand; Marketing firm Wolff Olins wanted its name off asset manager's promotional material
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/43G8CDl
Liontrust trader departs for BlackRock; Individual was one of The TRADE's Rising Stars of Trading and Execution 2024.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
/jlne.ws/4huThZx
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | New Research Explores Mental Health Costs Of Emotional Labor At Work; Maintaining work personas may lead to burnout, reduced mental health
The University of Mississippi
"Fake it till you make it" might be common advice to climb the corporate ladder, but new University of Mississippi research shows that this attitude could also adversely affect job satisfaction and mental health. Kash Afshar, UM assistant professor of marketing, and Omar Itani, associate professor of marketing at Lebanese American University, recently published their team's findings in Industrial Marketing Management. The study looks at how image management - curating a work persona - can affect mental health and well-being in the long run.
/jlne.ws/3DQuGAF
'Gender numeracy gap' is hitting women's earnings power; One in three UK women say they would not apply for jobs that require working with numbers or data
Claer Barrett - Financial Times
More than one in three women say they would not apply for jobs that listed using numbers or data as a requirement compared with just one in five men, revealing the "gender numeracy gap" lurking in modern British workplaces. The study of over 2,000 UK adults by the National Numeracy charity claims that women are disproportionately affected by a lack of confidence using numbers and maths, which can negatively impact their earnings, career choice and progression at work.
/jlne.ws/4bNyjE4
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Trump's CDC Pick Would Add Another Vaccine Critic in Health Role
Damian Garde and Gerry Smith - Bloomberg
A physician who spent decades disparaging the life-saving measles vaccine is poised to be the next head of the largest US public-health agency. David Weldon, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has previously spread debunked theories linking childhood vaccination to autism. If he's ultimately confirmed following Thursday's hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Weldon will be in charge of the vaccine schedule doctors typically follow to administer shots to kids.
/jlne.ws/3DsxlAD
White House to Withdraw Weldon as CDC Nominee; Former GOP congressman and medical doctor had doubted vaccine safety
Liz Essley Whyte and Natalie Andrews - The Wall Street Journal
The White House plans to withdraw President Trump's nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to people familiar with the matter. A Republican familiar with the nomination said Dr. Dave Weldon didn't have the votes in the Senate to be confirmed.
/jlne.ws/3DsKLfZ
Health care for more than 100 million Americans is being turned over to a supplement salesman
KFF Health News and Darius Tahir - Fortune
President Donald Trump's health officials want you to take your vitamins. Mehmet Oz, the nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has fed calves on camera to tout the health wonders of bovine colostrum on behalf of one purveyor in which he has a financial stake. Janette Nesheiwat, the potential surgeon general, sells her own line of supplements.
/jlne.ws/3FpOsU9
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | High CNH rates curb appetite for Hong Kong's new repo scheme; Dealers remain hopeful initiative is a prelude to full onshore repo market access
Jiefei Liu - Risk.net
Hong Kong's new renminbi bond repo scheme is off to a slow start, with high offshore funding costs and paperwork bottlenecks putting a damper on early trading, dealers say. Launched on February 10, the offshore repo arrangement allows investors in Northbound Bond Connect to use their onshore bonds as collateral for repo transactions in Hong Kong. However, despite registering a large number of client enquiries about the scheme, dealers say actual participation has so far been limited to testing
/jlne.ws/4iojryl
Can Europe prepare ground for insurers in securitised products? Convincing regulators to make investing more viable would be a first step to revitalising insurer interest
Ben St. Clair - Risk.net
European policymakers have set their minds on stimulating the region's market for securitised products - and some have now planted their gaze on the continent's insurance companies. With deep balance sheets - the argument goes - insurers can partner with banks to absorb some of their lending risk and free up capacity for additional support to European businesses. But first, the industry will need to convince regulators to change some deeply unpopular sections of the capital rules for insurers
/jlne.ws/4iGaHmY
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | JPMorgan Stopped Banking Staley Over Probe Into Epstein Links
Harry Wilson and Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. stopped providing banking services to Jes Staley as a result of regulators' investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a London court heard on Wednesday. Staley said he hadn't banked with JPMorgan, where he was once one of its most senior executives and a potential heir to Jamie Dimon, for several years.
/jlne.ws/423rISI
Staley Said He Had Sex With Epstein Staffer in NYC Apartment
Jonathan Browning and Harry Wilson - Bloomberg
Jes Staley said he had sex with a member of Jeffrey Epstein's staff at a New York apartment owned by the disgraced pedophile financier's brother. Giving evidence as part of his legal challenge against UK regulators, the former Barclays Plc chief said that he'd had a consensual sexual relationship with a woman who worked for Epstein. He said that he didn't believe that the convicted sex offender was aware of the relationship.
/jlne.ws/3XNLQWl
TechCrunch Founder-Turned-Crypto Investor Pays $60 Million for Miami Beach Home; Michael Arrington bought the 'Mediterranean modern' house in an off-market deal
Katherine Clarke - The Wall Street Journal
A recently completed home on affluent La Gorce island in Miami Beach, Fla., has sold for $60 million. James Curnin, founder of the Miami-based real-estate firm Clara Homes, purchased the land with his wife, Jennifer Halegua, for $7.525 million in 2020, records show. Curnin spent about four years building the house for his own family, he said. They moved into the home in the fall of 2024.
/jlne.ws/4hzO9U2
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