| December 10, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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John Lothian News | |
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FIA Asia-V: Call for Greater Operational Efficiency Unanimous, But 'Need a Few Heroes'
By Suzanne Cosgrove - John Lothian News
The COVID-19 pandemic and the period of intense volatility that followed its initial onslaught highlighted gaps in the infrastructure that supports global exchange-cleared derivatives systems. But those glitches have been at play for a while and need to be addressed, panelists at FIA's Asia-V said.
In a panel on operational efficiencies during day two of the conference, Don Byron, FIA's head of global industry operations and execution, pointed to the group's November 2021 "Blueprint" plan to modernize trading processes.
The FIA report was based on interviews with 25 firms and more than 60 industry participants, done in collaboration with JDX Consulting. It showed the industry needs to move to "effective fire prevention rather than effective fire fighting," said Byron. There's some pain from operational inefficiencies, but in periods of volatility "it becomes a very sharp pain." The FIA wanted to bring the industry together to help solve the problem, and the Blueprint is the first step in that direction, he said.
To read the rest of this story, go here.
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FIA Asia-V Panel Addresses Lessons from Archegos default
By Sarah Rudolph - John Lothian News
The first topic brought up at the panel titled "Future State: Where do we go from here?" at FIA Asia-V was the fallout from Archegos Capital Management and what the industry might learn from it.
Archegos was a $10 billion family office founded by the New York investor Bill Hwang. Its default in March 2021 was one of the largest trading disasters of all time. Archegos failed to meet margin calls from its prime brokers, which then led to huge losses for Credit Suisse and Nomura, among other banks.
The default took the industry by surprise on a number of levels, said the panel's moderator, David Martin, head of global clearing, Asia-Pacific at J.P. Morgan. He added that some analysis has since been done and good articles have been written about Archegos and practices in the financial industry.
He asked Philip Huang, head of risk management at Orient Futures International in Singapore, what the industry can do better in the future.
To read the rest of this story, go here.
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The FT's Lex has a video titled "Where crypto 'anarchy' will end" that looks at why cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have gained traction in finance worldwide thanks to "dissent, greed, idealism and fear of missing out." Where will it all end? Watch the video and find out how Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols fits in and where Lex thinks it will end.
The UK's FCA has a press release titled "FCA issues final messages on LIBOR before end-2021." And they really, really, really mean it this time. This will be their final message for 2021 on the subject of LIBOR.
The NFA ordered Chicago, Illinois commodity trading advisor K-Ratio Advisory LLC and former introducing broker K-Ratio Brokerage LLC never to reapply for NFA membership. Let's just say they had their ratio of good to bad behavior all out of whack.
Ken Griffin is hiring Joe Biden's top Secret Service agent, David Cho. Cho is joining the hedge fund Citadel as deputy head of security. Cho was the first Korean American to be special agent in charge of the Secret Service Presidential Protection Division. --Business Standard.
There is an interview on CNN with Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and author of The New York Times bestseller, "Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs."
He says this in the interview:
"You cannot outrun the game clock with this pandemic. This virus will find you and, unfortunately, many of the outcomes are very sad. Look at what's happening right now in the US. We have health care systems around the country, including in my home state of Minnesota, that are hanging on by a thread. We've seen health care systems virtually broken by this pandemic. They just couldn't provide critical care to non-Covid patients." Melanie Budden, co-founder and managing director of The Realization Group, is the latest to give to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign. The London-based Budden is an originating team and steering committee member of the Digital Pound Foundation and spent 15 years in marketing and business development at EDS and Singeris. She also worked for GE Information Services. Thank you to Melanie and all who have given and all who have yet to give.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
*****
Qontigo is offering its perspective on the equity markets in this past year in an Equity Risk Review seminar slated for December 16, at 11 a.m. ET. The company said Melissa R. Brown, Qontigo's managing director, applied research, will "review the risk environment in 2021 from a number of vantage points," adding that stocks tended to follow their individual characteristics rather than broad market movements this year. Registration information is here.~SC
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Most Influential 2021: Gary Gensler
Nikhilesh De - Coindesk
When Gary Gensler came to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he had the reputation of a regulator who had reformed U.S. law to address novel financial products once before. In 2009, Gensler was given the task of wrangling the then out-of-control derivatives market after the crash in 2008 and the Great Financial Crisis. Twelve years later, he heads an agency overseeing a financial system shaped by that crisis and in the midst of a raging pandemic that has changed how retail customers interact with the system. And again Gensler is tasked with addressing a class of novel financial products.
/yhoo.it/3pGk78l
***** Gary would be on my list too. I am just not going to tell you which list.~JJL
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Griffin Says Florida Can Reposition Itself to Lure Talent
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Florida has the chance to reinvent itself as a destination for talented workers after a portion of the finance industry relocated to the state during the pandemic, Citadel founder Ken Griffin said. "Right now Florida has an opportunity to capture a new moment in America," the 53-year-old hedge fund billionaire said Thursday at a luncheon hosted by the Palm Beach Civic Association at the Florida town's Four Seasons hotel. "There is a chance for Florida to reposition itself as a destination for talent in a way that forever changes the state."
/yhoo.it/3pFFo21
***** I am sure that Mr. Griffin likes the governor of Florida more than the one in Illinois, and this is just another tweak at J.B. Pritzker.~JJL
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US 'best place' to hide, launder illicit funds: Yellen
AFP
While small countries are often perceived as major havens for hiding or laundering money, "enormous amounts of illicit funds" end up in the US financial system, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday. "There's a good argument that, right now, the best place to hide and launder ill-gotten gains is actually the United States," Yellen said in a speech to the Summit on Democracy.
/yhoo.it/3lNZJ48
***** Of course it is.~JJL
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Fall on walk from bed to desk is workplace accident, German court rules
Oliver Holmes - The Guardian
A German court has ruled that a man who slipped while walking a few metres from his bed to his home office can claim on workplace accident insurance as he was technically commuting.
The man was working from home and on his way to his desk one floor below his bedroom, the federal social court, which oversees social security issues, said in its decision.
/bit.ly/3dEevpG
***** Good to know. I have a similar commute.~JJL
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Covid Is Making Many Offices Obsolete. Here's What Happens to Them Next; More companies are making remote work permanent, forcing developers to convert old office buildings into warehouses, apartments and other uses
Chip Cutter and Konrad Putzier - WSJ
Allstate Corp.'s suburban campus outside Chicago, with its interconnected buildings, manicured grounds and acres of parking, represented a new vision for the U.S. office when it opened in 1967. That vision is now dead. The insurer reached a deal last month to sell most of the campus. The new owner plans to demolish the office buildings and convert the Northbrook, Ill., site into more than 3 million square feet of e-commerce warehouses and other logistics facilities.
/on.wsj.com/3DDIto1
***** What will become of the Chicago financial district? It needs reinvention.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top story Thursday was Crains' CME loses key battle in potentially costly trader lawsuit, which was also our top story Wednesday. Second was The Wall Street Journal's Crypto Executives Defend Industry as Congress Considers Oversight. And third was also a repeat from Wednesday's top three, Half a Billion in Bitcoin, Lost in the Dump, from The New Yorker.
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MarketsWiki Stats
26,675 pages; 236,548 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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| Lead Stories | As Libor Goes Away, U.S. Replacement Makes a Big Trader Uneasy
Alexandra Harris and Nick Baker - Bloomberg
Dollar Libor's fate is set: It will no longer be available for new loans and other products starting on Jan. 1, mostly replaced by the benchmark that regulators want. But that doesn't mean everybody loves the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the leading U.S. alternative. Take Don Wilson, founder of Chicago-based trading firm DRW, which will play a big role in the Libor-to-SOFR transition since his company trades derivatives tied to both rates. He thinks regulators made a mistake promoting SOFR as the right solution for everyone.
/yhoo.it/3q1tpMv
ECB Official Says Cryptos Aren't Socially, Economically Useful
Carolynn Look - Bloomberg
Crypto-assets show no signs of benefiting society or the wider economy, European Central Bank Executive Board member Fabio Panetta said. While advocates frequently hail their ability to serve the unbanked segment of the population or strip out third parties, the ECB official argued "there is no sign that crypto-assets have performed, or are performing, socially or economically useful functions."
/bloom.bg/3DI2ie2
Meme mania is reshaping US markets; Investors need to study attention patterns in cyber space as well as economic fundamentals
Gillian Tett - FT
If you were to pick a financial word of the year for 2021, "meme" might qualify. Remember the mania around GameStop, when frenzied retail buying and social media pushed the stock price up 2,700 per cent between January 8 and 28 — and caused 900,000 people to trade it on a single day?
/on.ft.com/3yhVUt0
Gensler wants SEC to consider new rules to rein in SPACs
Chris Matthews - MarketWatch
U.S. federal regulators may be on track to enact strict new rules governing the use of blank-check companies to bring private companies public, an increasingly popular strategy that critics say can enrich insiders at the expense of retail investors. "Currently I believe the investing public may not be getting like protections between traditional IPOs and SPACs," Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said during a speech at the Healthy Markets Association Conference Thursday.
/on.mktw.net/3rTwi4w
What You Need to Know About Web3, Crypto's Attempt to Reinvent the Internet; Enthusiasts say tokens can change computing. Is this the real deal or vaporware?
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
If you follow the world of cryptocurrency even casually, you know it produces a constant supply of jargon. There's NFT, dapp, DeFi, and tokenomics, to name a few. Brace yourself for a new one: Web3. The idea is that crypto isn't just for sending money or speculating with, but could be used to build a whole new web. If the believers are right, this is one bit of cryptospeak worth getting familiar with, even if you never touch Bitcoin.
/bloom.bg/3ELHaEX
SEC Readies New Rules for the Type of Swaps That Sank Archegos
Benjamin Bain - Bloomberg
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plans next week to release its plan for scrutinizing the kinds of complex stock derivatives transactions that fueled the collapse of Bill Hwang's Archegos Capital Management.
/bloom.bg/3pPEf8e
Even the Smartest Investors Fall for Crypto FOMO; Regulation is coming. Freewheeling trading venues will have to adjust to a less hospitable world — and so will those throwing them money.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
One of cryptocurrency's spiritual forebears, Timothy C. May, predicted in the 1990s that untraceable digital cash would allow online casinos, bank secrecy and money laundering to flourish. Although laws would be dodged, he said, the individual anonymity and freedom would be worth it — at least, until the inevitable government backlash.
/bloom.bg/3GB67Uj
Gensler Targets SPAC Disclosures as SEC Considers Tougher Rules
Ben Bain - Bloomberg
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler laid out a laundry list of concerns over special purpose acquisition companies, delivering his strongest signal yet that he'll push for much tougher rules for the blank-check firms.
/yhoo.it/3pKJOEQ
Regulators affirm Hong Kong's role as China's link to the world, underscoring city's status as financial hub
South China Morning Post
Top financial regulators in Hong Kong and China on Thursday reaffirmed the city's role as an international financial centre. Various "connect schemes", such as the Stock Connect and the Bond Connect, have bolstered the city's role as a connector between mainland China and the world and this is likely to be further amplified going forward amid heightened tension between the US and China, they said.
/yhoo.it/3rSHoXe
Lawyers write the future for $200tn of post-Libor deals; New contract wording will help institutions avoid risk in the transition period
Laura Noonan - FT
Lary Stromfeld, a senior lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York, has spent much of his working life dealing in big numbers. Still, the $200tn stakes in his latest project took matters to a new level — even for him.
/on.ft.com/30eXZJB
How to Lose $2 Billion in 10 Years: Unpaid Bills Pile Up for Former Hedge-Fund Star; Philip Falcone is in a decadelong battle with the many people he owes money. They include ex-employees, a law firm and limo companies.
Rachel Louise Ensign - Bloomberg
Philip Falcone was worth more than $2 billion a decade ago. By last year, he was representing himself in court, saying he couldn't afford a lawyer. "I'm behind on virtually every one of my bills," Mr. Falcone said at a court hearing in a lawsuit filed by one of his many creditors. "Including my kids' tuition."
/on.wsj.com/3DJWG35
Is the Metaverse Really the Next Big Thing? Its advocates say more immersive interfaces will increase our sense of presence. I think they have their definitions wrong.
Steven Johnson - WSJ
Mark Zuckerberg would like you to be a little more present. That's the message that the Facebook founder hammers home in one of the most elaborate concept videos ever produced by a tech company: an 80-minute video rolling out his company's vision of "the metaverse," which Mr. Zuckerberg believes is the next paradigm shift in computing. The video—and Facebook's decision to re-christen itself with the new corporate name Meta Platforms Inc. —marked a fitting endpoint for a year in which the somewhat murky concept of the metaverse became one of the most hyped buzzwords in technology.
/on.wsj.com/3dDlLlk
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | U.K. Omicron Spread May Be Faster Than in South Africa
Corinne Gretler - Bloomberg
Epidemiologist notes average age of U.K. population is higher; A fast rollout of booster shots can help in 'severe setback'
The omicron strain may be spreading faster in England than in South Africa, with U.K. cases of the variant possibly topping 60,000 a day by Christmas, according to epidemiologist John Edmunds.
/bloom.bg/3lOOxUI
German Lawmakers Back Vaccine Mandate for Health Workers
Frank Jordans - AP
German lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a bill Friday that requires staff at hospitals and nursing homes to get immunized against the coronavirus — the first of two vaccine mandates being considered in the country.
/bloom.bg/3IDHMPd
Longer Wait for Sinovac Booster Improves Protection, Study Finds
Bloomberg News
A longer gap between second and third doses of China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine provides more protection against the virus than a shorter wait, according to a study published in medical journal the Lancet.
/bloom.bg/3EIKL6B
ECB's Next Meeting to Be Held Virtually Amid Latest Covid Wave
Alexander Weber - Bloomberg
The European Central Bank will hold next week's Governing Council meeting in a fully virtual format after Covid-19 infections in Germany surged to record levels, according to a person familiar with the decision.
/bloom.bg/3EMslC5
Scientists puzzle over Omicron's origins as variant spreads; Emergence of mutation prompts virologists to weigh competing theories
Oliver Barnes, Clive Cookson and Jamie Smyth - FT
Reports of a heavily mutated coronavirus variant first surfaced in late November after a flurry of baffling genomes was uploaded to a global database. Omicron, as it came to be known, was traced back to a disparate set of cases: university students in South Africa's capital Pretoria, a diplomatic mission in Botswana and a South African traveller in a Hong Kong quarantine hotel.
/on.ft.com/30cw90o
Covid-19 Patients Benefit From Improved Screening and Treatment of Blood Clots;
Doctors focus on early diagnosis of the potentially dangerous condition
Suryatapa Bhattacharya - WSJ
Edward Hatfield didn't think he had any symptoms of blood clotting when he sought emergency care for Covid-19 in August. He experienced breathing difficulty and a falling oxygen level.
/on.wsj.com/3yekAm2
It's a question of 'when, not if' the definition of fully vaccinated is changed to include a further shot, Fauci says
Insider
Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's top medical doctor, said that it would be "a matter of when, not if," the definition of 'fully-vaccinated' is reclassified to include an additional shot. His comments came after early stage lab studies suggested that a further dose of vaccine may be necessary to provide protection against the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
/bit.ly/30eyvfn
Pfizer CEO says we may need a fourth vaccine dose to combat the Omicron variant
Natalie Musumeci 21 hours ago
Albert Bourla - Insider
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that a fourth dose of the drugmaker's coronavirus vaccine may be needed amid growing concern about the Omicron variant. "I think when we see real-world data [we'll] determine if the Omicron is well covered by the third dose and for how long," Bourla said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday.
/bit.ly/3ydEBck
Covid-19 Vaccine Makers Are Unsure if Fine-Tuning Shots for Omicron Is Worthwhile; Researchers question whether 'original antigenic sin' applies to the new variant
Denise Roland - WSJ
Several vaccine makers are racing to develop revamped Covid-19 shots against Omicron in case the highly mutated variant renders the existing shots less effective. But it isn't yet clear that the immune response can be fine-tuned to the new strain by boosting with a tweaked vaccine.
/on.wsj.com/3dGQGNY
Fix the global vaccine rollout or face even worse COVID variants, experts warn
Ashish Valentine - NPR
The world has "lost the plot" on equitable vaccine access during the coronavirus pandemic and is falling far short of targets to vaccinate the global south, according to scathing assessments from experts as the omicron variant spreads to more countries. From the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization [WHO] and several other public health groups have argued the only way out of the pandemic is to vaccinate the entire world.
/n.pr/3DNkAud
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | LCH RepoClear SA clears first euro repo by Sponsored Member
LCH
PGGM is first to use the service, clearing a euro repo as a Sponsored Member of RepoClear SA; Sponsored Clearing at RepoClear SA enables buy-side member firms to directly access repo clearing across 13 euro debt markets and EURGCPlus; Expansion to buy-side increases multilateral netting opportunities for members
LCH, part of LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group), today announces RepoClear SA has registered its first euro repo trade under the Sponsored Clearing model. The trade was executed by PGGM, the Netherlands-based cooperative pension fund service provider, for the account of Dutch pension fund PFZW, with the support of its clearing agent, Societe Generale via the trading venue, Tradeweb.
/bit.ly/3EEYQlE
Brigade-M3 European Acquisition Corp. lists on Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext
SPAC listing raises $250 million; 22nd SPAC listed on Euronext's markets in 2021 (YTD)
Euronext today congratulates Brigade-M3 European Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), on its listing on Euronext Amsterdam (ticker code: BACE). It is the 22nd SPAC listing on Euronext markets thus far.
/bit.ly/3EVmtq4
Pegasus Entrepreneurial Acquisition Company Europe B.V. lists on Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext
SPAC listing successfully raises EUR210 million - upsized due to strong investor demand; 21st SPAC listed on Euronext markets in 2021 (YTD), of which 15 on Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext today congratulates Pegasus Entrepreneurial Acquisition Company Europe B.V. ("Pegasus Entrepreneurs"), a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), on its listing on Euronext Amsterdam (ticker code: PEACE and PEACW) and on successfully raising EUR210 million in an Offering. The offering was upsized by EUR10 million due to strong investor demand. It is the 21st SPAC listing on Euronext markets thus far, of which 15 on Euronext Amsterdam.
/bit.ly/31Vc1Ra
Eurex MSCI roll update: total OI over EUR 176 billion
Eurex -
MSCI futures activity on Eurex this week (6 December to 8 December 2021)
Open interest: over EUR 176 billion
Contracts traded: over 750K
MSCI World (RSW) - over 307K contracts traded/EUR 13 billion traded
MSCI EM Asia (ZTW) - over 97K contracts/EUR 6.2 billion traded
MSCI Mexico (ZVP) - over 37K contracts/EUR 870 million traded
/bit.ly/3dGDatq
TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - November 2021
TMX
TMX Group today announced its financing activity on Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange for November 2021. TSX welcomed 25 new issuers in November 2021, compared with nine in the previous month and 11 in November 2020. The new listings were 14 exchange traded funds, one closed-end fund, three mining companies, six technology companies, and one financial services company. Total financings raised in November 2021 increased 46% compared to the previous month, and were down 10% compared to November 2020. The total number of financings in November 2021 was 60, compared with 37 the previous month and 39 in November 2020.
/bit.ly/3oHMxzB
LSEG delivers streamlined and faster FX OTC trade clearing with launch of FXall connectivity to LCH ForexClear
London Stock Exchange Group
Refinitiv FXall (FXall) has expanded FX traders' access to cleared workflows for FX OTC trades by building connectivity to LCH ForexClear from Settlement Center, FXall's post-trade processing platform. This change gives FXall users a streamlined and quicker way of clearing NDF trades through LCH ForexClear.
/lseg.group/3ymo9qs
SGX reports market statistics for November 2021
SGX
Commodity volumes up sharply as China outlook remains in focus; New COVID-19 variant Omicron and rising inflation key themes for equities
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today released its market statistics for November 2021. Risk management activities amid price swings in the physical market sharply lifted volumes in our commodity derivatives market.
/bit.ly/3rUST0y
Solarprofit to start trading on BME Growth on Tuesday 14 December
BME-X
It will be the 15th company to join BME Growth this year; It reached a value of 183.92 million euros on its market debut
The Board of Directors of BME Growth has approved the listing of SOLARPROFIT following a thorough review of all the information presented by the company and after the favourable assessment report on its listing issued by the Coordination and Admission Committee.
/bit.ly/3lSGia
Daily Price Limits to be Broadened : 1 issue
JPX
The following issue has fallen under the following (1) or (2) for two consecutive business days. As such, TSE wishes to bring to your attention that it will broaden only the upper (or lower) daily price limit on the next business day (December 13) as follows. (1) The upper (or lower) daily price limit is reached and trading volume is 0 without conducting allocation at the upper (or lower) daily price limit.(2) Trading volume remains at 0 shares until the end of the afternoon session, trades are executed at the upper (or lower) daily price limit at the close of the afternoon session with bids (or offers) remaining at the upper (or lower) daily price limit.
/bit.ly/31Dqnpv
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Trading app Public adds 4 more cryptocurrencies including metaverse token Decentraland
Natasha Dailey - Business Insider
Trading app Public just added four more tokens to its crypto exchange, including metaverse favorite Decentraland.
/yhoo.it/3GyOLHI
Welcoming Immerse to the Get Real Partner Alliance! We are thrilled to announce today that Immerse has officially joined our Get Real Partner Alliance.
Get Real
The Immerse platform empowers virtual reality creators to import and/or create their own enterprise-ready content, provision users, schedule training sessions and access robust analytical data. From idea creation through full deployment of content, the Immerse platform is the foundation of enterprise VR. The platform encourages flexibility by providing the tools and architecture to create and deliver experiences across the employee journey, including a publicly available SDK. Users are able to create new content or use existing Unity-based XR content with peace of mind through scalability with enterprise grade security.
/bit.ly/3GyFWNJ
Blockchain-powered breakthrough on mutual fund; A new, tech-based breed of fund promises potential big savings for clients
Laura Noonan - FT
Dechert partner Timothy Spangler well remembers standing next to a whiteboard on Franklin Templeton Investments' San Mateo campus in California, about three years ago. He was with some of the asset manager's senior executives.
/on.ft.com/3oGjr3o
Bloomberg's data license content now available on AWS; The extended partnership with Amazon Web Services will allow Bloomberg's data license clients to receive content cloud-natively.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Bloomberg's data license content is now available on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a move which allows clients worldwide to receive content cloud-natively while reducing data on-boarding time significantly. The move builds upon Bloomberg's existing relationship with AWS, following the launch of its B-PIPE data feed on the cloud in late 2019.
/bit.ly/3oFnyNk
AXA IM and Societe Generale complete first blockchain bond trade; The investment manager bought EUR3 million euros of European Investment Bank (EIB) unsecured bonds in security tokens on the public blockchain Ethereum.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
AXA Investment Managers and Societe Generale's digital assets division, Forge, have successfully completed their first transaction based on blockchain infrastructure.
/bit.ly/3oGlHro
The last chance saloon for SDR: embrace post-trade automation or face potential penalties
The Trade
With less than three months to go before the implementation of the Settlement Discipline Regime (SDR) in February 2022, market participants at the recent DTCC CSDR Forum identified clear steps that should be taken to maximise settlement efficiency and avoid fines associated with failed trades. The overarching message was that embracing post-trade automation will give market participants the best chance of timely settlement, while those that continue to use manual processes will likely encounter late settlement penalties.
/bit.ly/31Jzy7n
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Microsoft Fires Back at Crowdstrike on Cybersecurity
Bloomberg (VIDEO)
Microsoft Corporate Vice President Vasu Jakkal joins Emily Chang to respond to Crowdstrike's claims that its software "causes" cybersecurity issues. They also come back on how Microsoft disrupted the activities of a China-based hacking group, and underlines that collaboration is crucial in the cybersecurity space.
/bloom.bg/3dEsjjL
Want to Invest in Cybersecurity? Here Are Some ETFs for Your Watchlist
Prableen Bajpai - Nasdaq
A covert attack is the hardest to combat. While the increasing use of internet-enabled interconnected devices and other technologies has created an advanced ecosystem, it has also given rise to cyber threats. Hence, the need for cybersecurity is being felt more than ever before.
/bit.ly/3DHNMmG
NIST Outlines Request for Information Toward a New Cybersecurity Framework
Mariam Baksh - Nextgov
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is preparing to again update a document that has long been at the center of federal cybersecurity policy with a request for information expected early next year, according to officials from the agency.
NIST's Cybersecurity Framework has only been updated once since it was published in 2014. But with the evolution of large-scale cyberattacks affecting the federal enterprise over the last year, as well as the emergence of new technologies, has the agency revisiting the landmark document.
/bit.ly/3DGSYqU
Now is the optimal time for orgs to collaborate on cybersecurity
Maximilian Groth - VentureBeat
Despite the new and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats emerging on a daily basis, most organizations still continue to rely on their own security teams to defend their networks and infrastructure in isolation. However, relying on one's own cybersecurity data is no longer enough for an organization to effectively defend against the latest cyberthreats.
/bit.ly/3oDTbqp
Two fundamentals of great industrial cybersecurity decision-making
Felipe Sabino Costa - Security Magazine
Effective cybersecurity management is imperative for all organizations. There are many standards and guidelines available for organizations to refer to in order to move forward. In this article, we will introduce specific action items based on well-defined frameworks and standards when building a cybersecurity management system for your own industrial control system (ICS). Taking a defense-in-depth approach to network construction and choosing secure-by-design solutions from trusted vendors can help simplify the ICS cybersecurity decision-making process.
/bit.ly/30cPCxZ
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Stablecoins are taking over the crypto world and they're a hot topic for Congress—here's what they are and the fastest-rising ones to keep an eye on
Felicia Hou - Fortune
All eyes are on Congress this week as the leaders of six cryptocurrency companies testify
before the House Financial Services Committee on what the future of the crypto industry might look like. Legislators have already begun to ask questions about stablecoins, and what kind of regulations they might require.
/yhoo.it/3rWpPWi
Chris Brummer - Joining Paradigm
Paradigm
I'm delighted to announce that I'm joining Paradigm as a Scholar in Residence and Senior Advisor, working with Fred, Matt, and the rest of the team as they tackle some of the most interesting and exciting developments in crypto.
/bit.ly/3mcEDwz
Cryptocurrency Trader 'Coin Signals' Pleads Guilty to Commodities Fraud; Jeremy Spence, whose trades consistently tanked, lured investors with tales of 148% returns.
AI-CIO.com
Jeremy Spence, a 25-year old cryptocurrency trader known as "Coin Signals," has pleaded guilty to commodities fraud for making false representations when soliciting over $5 million from more than 170 investors. Spence, whose investments consistently lost money, admitted to luring investors to his cryptocurrency investment scam with fictitious historical returns of up to 148%.
/bit.ly/31ImxLG
Binance Weighs Crypto Venture With Richest Indonesian Family
Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Fathiya Dahrul - Bloomberg
Bank Central Asia, Telkom Indonesia are in talks with Binance; Discussions ongoing for a cryptocurrency trading platform
Binance Holdings Ltd. is in talks with Indonesia's richest family, the Hartonos, and a state-owned telecom operator to set up a cryptocurrency trading exchange, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
/bloom.bg/3EKBbjU
Where crypto 'anarchy' will end
Lex Megatrends - FT
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have gained traction in finance worldwide thanks to dissent, greed, idealism and fear of missing out. But in the absence of centralised authority, where will it all end? Also, join the discussion with FT Live at the FT Crypto and Digital Assets Summit: ft.com/cryptosummit
/on.ft.com/30eXbUV
Don't Hoard Reward Points. Do Hoard Bitcoins; In any case, be careful you're not throwing away something valuable.
Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg
The Case for Some Light Hoarding
If you're anything like me, you have too much useless stuff laying around: old receipts, old bills, terrible writing that should never see the light of day but will probably be exposed and disgrace my family after my death, ticket stubs. Stuff like that. Reality television tells us disposing of this detritus is good (see: Marie Kondo) and keeping it is bad (see: the "Hoarders" extended cinematic universe). But I swear there's a happy middle ground, where you don't just willy-nilly throw things away that could be useful.
/bloom.bg/3oEmZmS
Omicron Wave Sees South Africa's Weekly Excess Deaths Almost Double
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
South African excess deaths, a measure of mortality above a historical average, almost doubled in the week ending Nov. 28 from the preceding seven-day period as a new coronavirus variant spread across the country.
/bloom.bg/3EICNdO
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Bitcoin surge was a windfall for white supremacists, research finds
Kevin Collier and Brandy Zadrozny - NBC News
Some prominent white nationalists invested early in bitcoin and have gotten rich off its sharp rise in value in recent years, researchers say. Fringe movements have acquired an estimated tens of millions of dollars in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a study released Thursday by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
/yhoo.it/31JK4fd
Rift Between Senator and Son Shows the Challenge of Taxing the Ultrarich; A dispute between Ron Wyden, the Democratic Senate Finance Committee chairman, and his hedge fund-manager son illustrates how the merely rich help the fabulously rich resist tax increases.
Jonathan Weisman - NY Times
ADW Capital Partners would appear to be the kind of hedge fund that Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee would like to tax more heavily: small but growing fast, with $330 million in assets, an address in New York, an incorporation in Delaware but doing business in Florida, and an offshore "feeder" corporation shielding some of its clients from U.S. taxation.
/nyti.ms/3dHa6lL
Joe Biden's top secret service agent David Cho to join hedge fund Citadel; The head of President Joe Biden's security detail is retiring and taking a job with Citadel, billionaire Ken Griffin's hedge fund
Business Standard
The head of President Joe Biden's security detail is retiring and taking a job with Citadel, billionaire Ken Griffin's hedge fund. David Cho has been with the United States Secret Service for more than 25 years and is the first Korean American to become special agent in charge of the service's Presidential Protective Division. He'll start at $43 billion Citadel on Jan. 3 as deputy head of security, according to a spokesman for the firm.
/bit.ly/3oHkJLC
A Surge in Trading Preceded Trump's SPAC Deal; Trading in the merger partner's warrants, which allow holders to buy shares later, spiked several times before the Trump Media agreement was made public.
Matthew Goldstein - NY Times
A few weeks before Digital World Acquisition announced a deal to merge with a fledgling social media company backed by former President Donald J. Trump, it was at the center of a sudden trading frenzy.
/nyti.ms/3DFoW6J
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Treasury's Yellen vows big push against corruption, new 'kleptocracy fund'
Reuters
The U.S. Treasury Department must play a major role in combating corruption at home and abroad, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told President Joe Biden's democracy summit on Thursday, unveiling a new "kleptocracy fund" to reward tips on where corrupt foreign leaders hid their money in the United States.
/yhoo.it/31Koqaz
Nigerian Minister Against Crypto Clampdown Seeks Fair Regulation
Emele Onu - Bloomberg
Backs regulation that promotes wider blockchain opportunities; Individuals in Nigeria own cryptocurrencies despite trade ban
A minister in Nigeria, where cryptocurrencies are largely banned, is calling for regulation that promotes opportunities from the wider use of the digital technology rather than clamp down on it.
/bloom.bg/3lRA62a
SEC chair orders staff to recommend new investor protections for Spacs; Deals with blank-cheque companies may have 'incomplete information or just plain old hype,' Gary Gensler warns
Stefania Palma and Nikou Asgari - FT
Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has signalled the regulator is poised to heighten scrutiny of blank-cheque companies as authorities bring a flurry of cases against these vehicles.
/on.ft.com/3dKO8y1
Changes to FCA listing rules make the UK more attractive for growth businesses, Aquis CEO says; Rule changes present an opportunity for alternative venues such as AQSE, the primary listings business of Aquis.
Will Canny - The Trade
The changes to the Financial Conduct Authority's listing rules, announced this month, mark a "divergence in regulation between the UK and the European Union," which will make the UK a more attractive place to raise capital for growth companies, Alasdair Haynes, CEO of Aquis Exchange, told The TRADE in an interview.
/bit.ly/3yc9DRU
ASIC signs MoU with Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency
ASIC
The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (CFSSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding mutual assistance in the supervision and oversight of managers of alternative investment funds that operate on a cross-border basis, and the entities they delegate functions to or that hold securities on their behalf.
/bit.ly/3oJELFs
Super trustees offering default income protection insurance urged to check on member outcomes
ASIC
A 2021 ASIC review has again highlighted that trustees need to examine outcomes for their members and proactively consider whether they are delivering value for money through their insurance in superannuation offering.
/bit.ly/3dJn0zq
Report From SEC Small Business Advocate Details Capital Raising During Past Year
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation today issued its 2021 Annual Report that details how entrepreneurs and investors are building companies together from startups to small public companies.
/bit.ly/3rRTDn5
Statement of Commissioner Dawn D. Stump
CFTC
Earlier this year, I informed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and the White House that I will not be seeking another five-year appointment at the upcoming conclusion of my current term. As the President and the United States Senate consider the nomination of others to fill the position, I intend to continue working alongside Acting Chairman Behnam to carry out the important work of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
/bit.ly/3lT7JAy
NFA orders Chicago, Ill. commodity trading advisor K-Ratio Advisory LLC and former introducing broker K-Ratio Brokerage LLC never to reapply for NFA membership
NFA
NFA has ordered K-Ratio Advisory LLC (KRA), a CFTC-registered commodity trading advisor and former NFA Member located in Chicago, Ill., and K-Ratio Brokerage LLC (KRB), a previously CFTC-registered introducing broker Member located in Chicago, Ill., never to reapply for membership or act as a principal of an NFA Member.
/bit.ly/3lTFdPj
Consumer warning on Renaissance Advisory Ltd
UK FCA
We have removed Renaissance Advisory Ltd's permissions. It is therefore no longer authorised to carry out any regulated activities. Any investments with Renaissance may not be protected.
/bit.ly/3Gyrndm
FCA issues final messages on LIBOR before end-2021
UK FCA
Today we have issued our final LIBOR publications before the important end-2021 deadline. In a speech delivered earlier this week, Edwin Schooling Latter, Director of Markets and Wholesale Policy and Wholesale Supervision, outlined the remaining actions firms need to take, as the end of the year, when the majority of LIBOR rates will stop being calculated, approaches.
/bit.ly/3pJ1lNy
So long LIBOR - 3 weeks to go
UK FCA
Keynote speech by Edwin Schooling Latter, Director of Markets and Wholesale Policy and Wholesale Supervision at the FCA, delivered at Risk.net's LIBOR telethon on 8 December 2021.
/bit.ly/31DrUMh
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Taking the Games Out of GameStop; Retailer's latest results reflect focus on hardware, but lack of details and cash burn might test even meme stock fans' patience
Dan Gallagher - WSJ
A videogame retailer without games? The new GameStop GME 1.01% seems to think it is at least plausible. The retail chain's fiscal third-quarter results reported late Wednesday showed the company's third consecutive period of double-digit sales growth. Revenue jumped 29% year over year to about $1.3 billion. That was ahead of the $1.2 billion consensus target of the few Wall Street analysts still willing to cover the meme-addled stock. But merchandise inventory also exploded by 91% from the previous quarter—the biggest sequential jump in more than a decade as the company claimed it was "front-loading investments" to meet increased demand and mitigate supply-chain issues. GameStop's share price fell 10% Thursday.
/on.wsj.com/30cJCoY
AMC's Meme-Courting CEO Sells $9.65 Million More of Shares
Brian Eckhouse and Scott Carpenter - Bloomberg
Adam Aron, chief executive officer of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., sold another $9.65 million in shares of the meme-driven theater stock, following sales that he had said were prudent for estate planning. Aron, who has led the struggling company since 2016, sold 312,500 shares on Dec. 7, according to a regulatory filing Thursday after markets closed. That followed recent sales of more than $25 million.
/yhoo.it/3rQTPms
****** An elegant pump and dump?~JJL
Elon Musk, Other Leaders Sell Stock at Historic Levels as Market Soars, Tax Changes Loom; Insiders like the Waltons, Mark Zuckerberg and Google's co-founders have sold $63.5 billion through November, up 50% from 2020
Tripp Mickle and Theo Francis - WSJ
Company founders and leaders are unloading their stock at historic levels, with some selling shares in their businesses for the first time in years, amid soaring market valuations and ahead of possible changes in U.S. and some state tax laws.
/on.wsj.com/3DGSG3i
Investment advisers surpass retail as biggest holders of US-listed ETFs; Retail ownership slips below 40% as institutional investors begin using products to build portfolios
Steve Johnson - FT
Investment advisers have eclipsed retail traders to become the largest owners of US exchange traded funds, highlighting how professional investors are increasingly using the vehicles to build portfolios.
/on.ft.com/3EI5bgk
The sell-off in market silliness; Is the rout in speculative investments a blip, a return of sobriety or an ill omen for broader markets?
Robin Wigglesworth - FT
A month ago a Financial Times reader pithily described their investment strategy for 2021 as "just buying what my kids want to buy and holding eyes firmly shut on valuation". For much of the year it would have worked like a dream. Until now.
/on.ft.com/3dC5qNU
Market volatility could portend a retreat of liquidity; The Omicron variant, inflation and concerns about China and Russia are a recipe for uncertainty
Mohamed El-Erian - FT
As bouts of market volatility have become more common in recent weeks, it is clear that investor appetite to buy on dips, while still strong, will be tested when the US Federal Reserve withdraws support for asset prices.
/on.ft.com/3Ix0aJI
BuzzFeed's bumpy listing signals what digital media is actually worth; Calculating the value of news and entertainment start-ups has until now been about hype and not the bottom line
Anna Nicolaou - FT
When Jonah Peretti, the founder of BuzzFeed, rang the opening bell on Wall Street, taking his 15-year-old media company public on Monday, it was a festive affair. Confetti shot in the air as Peretti posed for photos and the group's employees dutifully whooped behind him, holding up signs that read "Omg", "Win" and "Glad we didn't sell to Waystar" — a cheeky reference to the fictional company from TV drama Succession.
/on.ft.com/3DKWroh
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | MSCI, the largest ESG rating company, doesn't even try to measure the impact of a corporation on the world. It's all about whether the world might mess with the bottom line.
Cam Simpson, Akshat Rathi and Saijel Kishan - Bloomberg
For more than two decades, MSCI Inc. was a bland Wall Street company that made its money by arranging stocks into indexes for other companies that sell investments. Looking for ways into Asian tech? MSCI has indexes by country, sector, and market capitalization. Thinking about the implications of demographic shifts? Try the Ageing Society Opportunities Index. MSCI's clients turn these indexes into portfolios or financial products for investors worldwide. BlackRock Inc., the world's biggest asset manager, with $10 trillion under management, is MSCI's biggest customer.
/bloom.bg/3ELEcjI
Women of Color Join Stoxx 600 Boards as Diversity Targets Loom
Lisa Pham - Bloomberg
Eight Stoxx 600 firms increased the number of female directors; U.K. board appointments come ahead of a Parker Review target
The recent additions of female board members from ethnic minority backgrounds suggest boardroom diversity in Europe is expanding beyond gender.
/bloom.bg/3EIoMNe
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | SocGen CEO Takes Over Compliance After $2.6 Billion Fines
Alexandre Rajbhandari - Bloomberg
Bank shuffles top level duties as part of ESG, digital push; Shakeup comes after U.S. deferred prosecution agreement ends
Societe Generale SA Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea is taking over the bank's risk and compliance functions, seeking greater control over management of the bank's legal affairs after it paid billions of dollars in penalties.
/bloom.bg/3oH1ilY
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Tesla and Bitcoin to Blame for Exodus From Vietnam's Stocks
Nguyen Kieu Giang and Youkyung Lee - Bloomberg
Overseas funds sold $2.7 billion of Vietnam shares this year; Korean day traders switching to tech stocks and cryptocurrency
Foreign investors have been dumping Vietnam stocks all year, despite a surge to record highs. Competition from popular retail stocks like Tesla Inc. and cryptocurrencies looks like part of the reason why.
/bloom.bg/30ek3nD
Shell investors poised to back HQ move to UK; Vast majority of initial votes support changes to Anglo-Dutch group's share structure and tax residence
Tom Wilson - FT
Royal Dutch Shell's shareholders look set to vote in favour of sweeping changes to the company's share structure and tax residence, paving the way for the board to shift the Anglo-Dutch energy major's headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK in 2022.
/on.ft.com/30jwKh2
UK poultry farmers battle worst-ever bird flu outbreak; Cull of 500,000 animals fails to halt spread of virus introduced by migratory birds
Judith Evans - FT
The UK is battling its worst-ever outbreak of avian flu after a cull of poultry failed to halt the spread of the virus brought in by migratory birds. The outbreak, which has forced chicken farmers to destroy 500,000 animals, has reached 40 sites in the UK and is another blow to the sector that was already struggling with labour shortages and cost inflation.
/on.ft.com/31O53xg
London's sparse spruce beats an NFTree; Oslo's annual Christmas gift has met with a churlish response
The editorial board - FT
"Are we at war with Norway now?" tweeted one wag in a post that went viral, with an accompanying photo of Trafalgar Square's traditional Christmas tree, an annual gift from the people of Oslo since 1947 to thank Londoners for their support during the second world war. Conspiracy theorists posited that the tree's state was a response to the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer by Manchester United football club. "I would like everyone to know that half of my branches are not missing — they are socially distancing," responded the tree's official Twitter account (yes, really), maintained by Westminster Council. This year's spruce is too sparse, according to public opinion. So much for British manners.
/on.ft.com/3oI8XRi
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Billionaire Ken Griffin's Son Told Him 'You Have to Buy the Constitution'
Katherine Doherty and Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg
Billionaire approached crypto group, couldn't reach agreement; Citadel founder told himself, 'I am going to own this'
Why did Citadel founder Ken Griffin buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution last month for $43.2 million? His son told him to. "I was sitting at home in New York and my son calls me to say, 'Dad, you have to buy the Constitution,'" Griffin said in an interview after a luncheon hosted by the Palm Beach Civic Association at the Florida city's Four Seasons hotel. Griffin didn't give his son's specific reason for wanting his father to make the purchase.
/bloom.bg/3GyqBNe
Rupert Murdoch Purchases $200 Million Ranch From Koch Dynasty
Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg
The 340,000 property sale is largest in Montana's history; Patriarch Fred Koch originally bought the ranch 70 years ago
Rupert Murdoch and his wife just became the new owners of a $200 million cattle ranch, formerly owned by the Koch family. The 90-year-old media tycoon bought the 340,000-acre property, known as Beaverhead, said a spokeswoman, declining to comment on the price, which was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal.
/bloom.bg/3EEQ5Ii
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