| July 12, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T announced that a hacker downloaded call and text-message metadata covering almost all of its wireless subscribers from a third-party cloud system. The data breach, primarily involving information from 2022, did not include personal details such as names, credit card information, or Social Security numbers. The attack targeted a workspace that stored data from nearly all of AT&T's cellular subscribers, mobile reseller brands, and landline customers interacting with wireless subscribers between May and October 2022. Additionally, a small portion of records from early 2023 was affected. AT&T assured that, so far, there is no evidence of the data being publicly shared.
The company is working with law enforcement, and at least one person has been apprehended in connection with the breach. This incident adds to a series of data leaks affecting telecom companies, which store sensitive information on nearly every U.S. resident. Earlier this year, AT&T reported another breach involving older subscriber data, and in 2021, the company faced scrutiny over leaked records found online despite initially downplaying the incident. With nearly 90 million cellphone subscribers, excluding reseller brands, AT&T continues to address these significant security challenges.
The CME Group recently announced several product modifications and rule violation penalties. Effective August 5, 2024, additional Treasury Invoice Swaps and Spreads will be available, and starting July 22, 2024, there will be amendments to the termination of trading for existing Crude Oil Weekly Option Contracts. Concurrently, the CME Group issued fines for various rule violations. TP ICAP Global Markets Americas, LLC was fined $3,000 for violating Rule 536.B.1 by submitting incorrect account numbers at order entry and Rule 536.C by improperly using Execution Operation Suspense Accounts between January 1, 2024, and March 31, 2024. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC received a $1,000 fine for late reporting of block trades and incorrect execution times for trades executed in February and March 2024, violating CME Rule 526 and 526.F. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. was fined $1,000 for failing to maintain accurate registrations in the Exchange Fee System, violating Rule 576 during the same period. Lastly, Wedbush Securities Inc. was penalized $1,000 for incorrectly assigning Customer Type Indicator (CTI) Codes to trades in May 2024, violating Rule 536.D. BGC Brokers L.P. was fined $1,000 for failing to report block trades with accurate execution times for March 2024 Three-Month SOFR Call Options in January 2024, violating CME Rule 526 and Rule 526.F.
For the third consecutive year, CME Group has been honored as the Best Exchange for FX at the FX Markets 2024 e-FX Awards, it shared on LinkedIn. Meanwhile, Geneva Trading is looking to hire an FX trader in Chicago.
Today HKEX announced the expanded list of eligible ETFs on Stock Connect, marking a significant milestone in enhancing access and diversity in the ETF markets of both Hong Kong and Mainland China. Effective July 22, six new ETFs will be added to the Southbound Stock Connect and 85 new ETFs to the Northbound Stock Connect, bringing the total to 16 and 225 ETFs, respectively, on each channel.
The Capital Market Revolution 25th Anniversary Edition is out on Amazon Kindle today. Patrick Young has updated the book with context and some history examining how the revolution developed and why it remains relevant today. You can find it HERE.
Do you have a pickleball outfit fit for a business engagement? You might need one soon. Bloomberg is reporting that corporate bookings at pickleball clubs are surging as companies find the sport to be a cheaper, less time-consuming, and more inclusive alternative to golf for business meetings and client interactions. Pickleball's rising popularity is evident, with sports venue booking platform PodPlay reporting a spike in corporate bookings in June. Individual club operators like Ace Pickleball Club and Pickleballerz have seen significant increases in corporate events, with some locations experiencing tripled bookings since 2021. Lawyers, bankers, and real estate professionals are increasingly turning to pickleball courts to expand their professional networks. The sport's accessibility makes it a more approachable option than golf for business-related activities.
Correction: Yesterday in our video from IDX with Nils-Robert Persson, we identified him in the headline and the story as the CEO. He was correctly identified in the video as the chairman of Vermiculus. We apologize for the error, especially to Taraneh Derayati, CEO of Vermiculus. The story is now correctly titled "Vermiculus Chairman Envisions Future of Exchange Tech: Microservices and AI Lead the Way."
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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New research from the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute examines how climate change, through both the costs of transitioning to a greener economy and the physical damages it causes, impacts the value of stocks worldwide. The research, "How Does Climate Risk Affect Global Equity Valuations? A Novel Approach," proposes a new method of calculation that combines asset pricing techniques with an upgraded integrated climate economics model. Learn more about the research on the EDHEC website. ~SAED
Women in Financial Markets (WIFM) announced that Julie Winkler has been appointed as its new chair. Winkler has been a WIFM board member since 2021. Marisol Collazo, who has served as WIFM Chair since 2019, will join the WIFM Advisory Council. Congratulations to both.~SR
Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Firms launch options on swap-based Bitcoin ETF from Reuters.
- Complete Interview: David Prosperi; How to Be Successful in the Options Industry from John Lothian News.
- Wall Street's 'Fear Gauge' Is Super Zen Right Now. What That Means for Stocks. from Barron's. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Vermiculus Chairman Envisions Future of Exchange Tech: Microservices and AI Lead the Way
JohnLothianNews.com
In a recent interview at London's Park Plaza Westminster Hotel during the FIA's International Derivatives Week, Nils-Robert Persson, chairman of the Swedish technology firm Vermiculus, shared insights into the company's innovative approach to financial technology and its vision for the future of exchange systems.
Watch the video »
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'We're Living in a Nightmare:' Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town
Andrew R Chow - TIME
On an evening in December 2023, 43-year-old small business owner Sarah Rosenkranz collapsed in her home in Granbury, Texas and was rushed to the emergency room. Her heart pounded 200 beats per minute; her blood pressure spiked into hypertensive crisis; her skull throbbed. "It felt like my head was in a pressure vise being crushed," she says. "That pain was worse than childbirth." Rosenkranz's migraine lasted for five days. Doctors gave her several rounds of IV medication and painkiller shots, but nothing seemed to knock down the pain, she says. This was odd, especially because local doctors were similarly vexed when Indigo, Rosenkranz's 5-year-old daughter, was taken to urgent care earlier that year, screaming that she felt a "red beam behind her eardrums."
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***** There was a humming noise from the bitcoin mining operation in town. Add bitcoin mining to the NIMBY movement.~JJL
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Your Money Will Be Gone in 60 Seconds, and That's Good; A protocol to move money across borders quickly at a low fee will be the best thing to happen to instant payments - until the next best thing comes along.
Andy Mukherjee - Bloomberg Opinion
Money will soon jump borders in 60 seconds or less. When I described Nexus as consumer banking's next big thing three years ago, it was just a concept: a blueprint for countries to link their smartphone-based payment networks. The idea is now much closer to reality. The central banks of India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are working with the Bank for International Settlements on live implementation. Bank Indonesia is participating as an observer. The goal is to start weaving a world wide web of retail payments. The internet is the same everywhere, and anyone can be on it by following the standards laid down by its governing institutions. This will be similar. Nexus won't be a separate download on your phone. A not-for-profit body will oversee a common architecture that any country's banks and e-wallet providers can adopt to make their apps go global.
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***** One of the reasons for a look back at the 25th anniversary edition of "The Capital Market Revolution" from Patrick Young, or even Leo Melamed's earlier 1979 "The Tenth Planet: A Single Player in Futures Trading," is to see how each of their predictions stands up. Both of them predicted digital money that moved quickly around the world. ~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top story Thursday was Citadel Securities Crafts Plan to Shake Up Banks' Trading Desks, from Bloomberg. Second was Greenwood Project Announces Strategic Board Expansion With Four Renowned Leaders, from the Greenwood Project. Third was These 3 Chicago Suburbs Are Among The Wealthiest In America: Ranking, from Patch, which was No. 2 on Wednesday.
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| Lead Stories | AT&T data on 'nearly all' wireless customers accessed in hack; Telecoms group joins list of big US companies over the past year to reveal cyber security breaches
Zehra Munir and Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu - Financial Times
AT&T suffered a vast cyber security breach earlier this year, with hackers accessing the call and text message information of "nearly all" the US telecoms company's tens of millions of wireless subscribers. Over 11 days in April, "threat actors" accessed and copied records of customer calls and texts from a period of several months in 2022 as well as on January 2, 2023, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
/jlne.ws/4cOopBw
Peak XV, Jump Invest in Temasek-Backed Payments Blockchain; Singapore-based Partior raises $60 million to expand products; Partior to add intraday forex swaps, cross-currency repos
Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Partior, a cross-border payments and settlement blockchain company, raised more than $60 million in an investment led by Peak XV Partners, with other investors including Jump Trading and Valor Capital, according to a statement. Singapore-based Partior's series B funding round also included existing shareholders Temasek Holdings Pte, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc.
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Foreign Use of Fed Tool Hits Record Amid Japan Intervention Talk
Alexandra Harris - Bloomberg
Foreign central bank usage of a key Federal Reserve facility rose to a fresh all-time high, an indication policymakers worldwide keep building cash positions, especially amid reports Japan may have intervened to bolster its currency. Monetary officials stashed a total $399 billion at the Fed's reverse repurchase agreement facility, according to data for the period through July 10, up from $385 billion a week earlier, a $13.7 billion increase. It surpassed the previous all-time high of $390 billion in the week through June 26.
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JPMorgan posts record profit on back of dealmaking revival; Second-quarter earnings rise 25%, boosted by $8bn gain on Visa stake
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
JPMorgan Chase profits reached a record high in the second quarter, boosted by a stronger than anticipated rebound in investment banking and a gain from its stake in credit card network Visa. The Wall Street lender reported a 25 per cent rise in quarterly net income to $18.1bn, roughly in line with what analysts had expected.
/jlne.ws/4cOp6L8
Elon Musk's X Hit by EU Charges Over Blue Checkmarks; European Commission says it identified three grievances over X's content practices
Dominic Chopping - The Wall Street Journal
The European Union charged Elon Musk's X with breaching its online-content law, opening the social-media platform up to a large potential fine. Friday's decision from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, follows a monthslong investigation into X, formerly known as Twitter, to assess whether it infringed the Digital Services Act. The commission said it identified three grievances over X's content practices, which could lead to a fine of up to 6% of the company's total worldwide annual revenue. After Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he delisted the company and its financial performance data are no longer publicly available, making the potential size of any fine difficult to calculate.
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SEC Ends Probe Into Paxos Over Binance USD Token; Crypto firm said it received a formal investigation termination notice from the SEC this week
Mengqi Sun - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its investigation into Paxos Trust in relation to Binance USD, a digital asset that Paxos issues and lists, the cryptocurrency platform said Thursday. Paxos said it received a formal termination notice on Tuesday from the SEC, saying it won't recommend taking an enforcement action against the firm over BUSD, a Binance-branded stablecoin pegged to the dollar on a one-to-one ratio.
/jlne.ws/3VYoAmZ
The Supreme Court Blows Up a Popular Small-Business Succession Plan; Life insurance can help pay for a transfer of ownership after a small-business owner dies. Now it may bring an unexpected tax bill.
Laura Saunders - The Wall Street Journal
Small-business owners have lots of aggravations. The U.S. Supreme Court just added to their burden. The Court's little-noticed decision in Connelly v. United States, issued in June, throws a wrench into a common succession strategy for many closely held firms with more than one owner. In this strategy, a company buys life insurance on its owners so that when one dies, there's cash to repurchase his or her stock. The goal is for the insurance payment to be tax-free and for the company to avoid the burden of funding a share repurchase from operating profits. In Connelly, however, the court ruled that the strategy didn't provide the expected benefits. As a result, the owner's estate owed nearly $900,000 more in estate tax.
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Archegos speculator Bill Hwang could spend the rest of his life behind bars after his disastrous bets ushered in the demise of Credit Suisse
Christiaan Hetzner - Fortune
The founder of fund management firm Archegos may spend the rest of his life behind bars after his speculative bets cost global investment banks $10 billion in combined losses three years ago. A federal jury in Manhattan found 60 year-old Sung Kook "Bill" Hwang guilty on multiple counts of fraud for lying to lenders over billion dollar wagers on stocks including streaming service provider ViacomCBS. Hwang lost it all in March 2021 after the forerunner of Paramount shocked markets with a surprise share sale which brought down his house of cards.
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Citigroup's new head of banking granted $40mn in stock; Equity issued to Viswas Raghavan who joined from JPMorgan in June will vest over seven years
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
Citigroup's recently hired head of banking is receiving more than $40mn worth of shares from his new employer. The grant, enormous even by Wall Street standards, was made earlier this week to Viswas Raghavan and disclosed by the bank in a filing on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/4cAODHL
'Get us more paper' - Indian equity issuance hits record high; More than $28bn raised in first half, almost triple the amount a year ago
Chris Kay - Financial Times
Indian equity issuance has skyrocketed as companies take advantage of a stock market bull run and a surge in local investor flows, even though some foreign fund managers are balking at the country's richly valued shares. More than $28bn was raised in India's equity markets in the country's busiest ever first half of the year, according to Dealogic data, a 198 per cent jump from the same period in 2023. In contrast, issuance in the rest of Asia, excluding Japan, dropped 32 per cent. The frenetic activity across corporate India has been underpinned by the world's fastest headline growth in a large economy - forecast by the IMF to be 6.8 per cent this year - a stable currency and strong company earnings.
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Fireside Friday with... SIX Swiss Exchange's Simon McQuoid-Mason; The TRADE sits down with Simon McQuoid-Mason, head equity products and quant research at SIX Swiss Exchange, to unpack the significance and impact of increased trading activity at the close, analysing potential fall-outs and key liquidity considerations to bear in mind, as well as looking at what the rest of 2024 could have in store.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
With the increased concentration of trading activity at the close, what is the potential fall out?
There has been a clear trend over the past 5+ years that the proportion of average daily turnover executed at the close has increased and various contributing factors have been suggested as drivers of that. This includes the mooted rise of passive investment strategies, the continued importance of the closing price as a desirable benchmark, the evolution of alternative market mechanisms that drain liquidity out of lit-continuous trading phases and the effect of algorithmic trading strategies reacting to a redistribution of liquidity towards the close - in other words, liquidity begets liquidity.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | A Subsea Cable Went Missing. Was Russia To Blame? The destruction of an underwater monitoring system corresponded with inexplicable movements of a single fishing boat.
Jordan Robertson and Drake Bennett - The Wall Street Journal
Norway has always relied on the sea. Fish long dominated the country's diet, and in the 19th century the bloody harvest from Norwegian whalers provided much of the world's lamp oil. Then came the discovery of an even more lucrative source of energy in the depths: massive petroleum and natural gas deposits in Norway's sovereign waters, which turned it into the world's most progressive petrostate. All of this has left the country with a great interest in understanding what happens off its famously wrinkled coast. That's why the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research exists. Headquartered in the city of Bergen on Norway's southwestern coast, the government institute's 1,100 employees monitor the health of the country's salmon and cod stocks, measure the environmental impact of deep-sea drilling platforms and offshore wind farms, and chart how climate change is altering the northern oceans. One of its acoustic engineers, Guosong Zhang, works out of an office cluttered with cables and devices and computers of various vintages, or on one of the institute's eight ships, spending weeks at a time at sea.
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Ukraine war briefing: Ship carrying 'looted' grain seized, Zaluzhnyi starts work as ambassador to UK; Azerbaijani captain was accused of violating rules on entering occupied territory and picking up agricultural products; Ukraine's former armed forces chief begins work as ambassador to Britain. What we know on day 870.
Warren Murray with Guardian writers and agencies - The Guardian
Ukraine has seized a foreign cargo ship near Odesa and arrested its captain, alleging the vessel illegally exported Ukrainian grain via the annexed Crimean peninsula. Ukrainian prosecutors and the security service (SBU) said the Azerbaijani captain was accused of violating rules on entering occupied territory and had allegedly repeatedly docked at the Crimean sea port of Sevastopol to pick up agricultural products in 2023-24. Prosecutors said that on one of its voyages in November 2023, the Cameroonian-flagged Usko Mfu loaded over 3,000 metric tons of agricultural products in Sevastopol intended for a Turkish company. Igor Delanoe, deputy director of the Franco-Russian Observatory, said this was the first time Ukraine had seized an internationally-flagged vessel over such alleged shipments.
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Sixty-Year-Old T-62s Are About To Become The Russian Army's Main Tanks; Losses in Ukraine have greatly outpaced the production of new T-72s and T-90s.
David Axe - Forbes
An analyst scrutinized satellite imagery, crunched the numbers and came to a startling conclusion. Twenty-eight months of hard fighting in Ukraine have radically reshaped the Russian army's tank corps. According to @highmarsed, the army has lost so many modern tanks that the only way it can even come close to maintaining its front-line strength of 3,000 tanks is to pull more 1960s-vintage T-62s out of long-term storage. "In my opinion it is likely that we will see more T-62s in the future and they will probably be one of the main tank types in the Russian army," @highmarsed wrote after weighing the stocks of T-62s against stocks of older T-55s and newer T-72s, T-80s and T-90s.
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Kapustin Yar Is Russia's Most Prestigious Space Test Facility. Ukraine Just Hit It With An Explosive Drone. For Russia, the damage might be mostly political.
David Axe - Forbes
As World War II drew to a close, Soviet and Western officials raced to scoop up Nazi rockets and Nazi rocket scientists. In May 1946, the Soviet Union created a new rocket test range outside Moscow, in part to experiment with ex-Nazi V-2 rockets. In many ways, the Kapustin Yar range is the birthplace of the Soviet space program. Tests of the V-2s spurred the development of domestically made rockets that lofted the first Soviet satellites into orbit.
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Ukraine's F-16 Ambitions Snarled by Language Barrier, Runways and Parts; US, allies pledged US-made fighter jets more than a year ago; NATO officials cite small number of English-speaking pilots
Courtney McBride and Andrea Palasciano - Bloomberg
This summer, Kyiv will finally get the F-16 fighter jets it's been insisting it needs to repel Russia - but in far fewer numbers than it had hoped. The move to send warplanes - a much hyped element of this week's NATO summit in Washington - has been bedeviled by delays, questions around spare parts, and a language barrier between Ukrainian pilots and their foreign trainers, according to people familiar with the matter. Planners also worry that the country doesn't have enough runways - and those it does have are vulnerable to Russian attacks.
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | FinCEN Issues Supplemental Alert on Israeli Extremist Violence in the West Bank; Supplemental Alert: FinCEN Highlights Additional Red Flags Regarding Financing of Israeli Extremist Settler Violence Against Palestinians in the West Bank
FinCEN
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a supplemental alert related to the financing of Israeli extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The supplemental alert builds upon FinCEN's previous alert issued February 1, 2024, and provides additional red flags to assist U.S. financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious activity that finances West Bank violence. Financial institutions with questions about the content of today's supplemental alert should contact the FinCEN Regulatory Support Section at [email protected].
/jlne.ws/3Y06DHg
'Depression, Emptiness, No Hope.' Life as an Israeli Hostage in Gaza; Man recounts travails of being held by Hamas militants before dramatic rescue last month
Carrie Keller-Lynn - The Wall Street Journal
Andrei Kozlov spent his first days as a hostage in Gaza with his hands bound behind his back with rope. When he was finally fed a bit of bread and hummus, he had to shimmy his hands behind his back and under his thighs to grip the food. All the while, his captors beat him and threatened to kill him, he said. Days later, his ropes were switched for chains across his wrists and ankles. They would remain that way for two months.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CME Group and CF Benchmarks to Launch Two New Cryptocurrency Reference Rates and Real-Time Indices on July 29
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, and CF Benchmarks, the leading provider of cryptocurrency benchmark indices, today announced plans to launch two new cryptocurrency reference rates and real-time indices for XRP and Internet Computer (ICP), which will be calculated and published daily by CF Benchmarks, beginning July 29. These reference rates and indices are not tradable futures products.
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U.S. retail traders turn to Europe to trade election volatility
Eurex
Retail trading in Europe's listed derivatives stayed somewhat muted as investors have access to various leveraged products like CFDs and warrants. However, European markets are increasingly seeing volume growth from American retail investors. This year, a record number of people will go to the polls to choose their leaders, and three key elections in Europe have driven volatility in the first half of 2024, creating opportunities for U.S. retail and institutional traders.
/jlne.ws/3WlLhSr
Launch of Euronext Wireless Network (EWIN), providing microwave order transmission
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announced the successful launch of its new London-based microwave service, the Euronext Wireless Network (EWIN). Euronext is the first exchange in Europe to offer "Plug & Play" order entry in London via microwave technology. This service is set to significantly enhance the speed of order transmission between London, UK, and Bergamo, Italy, where Euronext's core data centre is located, offering unparallelled improvements in latency for our many London-based members. The Euronext Wireless Network (EWIN) is a fully resilient service with 100% fibre back-up, providing order submission via microwaves from London Equinix LD4 to Bergamo Aruba IT3 in less than 4 milliseconds. This new service is provided in collaboration with McKay Brothers, the largest independent microwave network provider in Europe.
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Derivatives Holiday Trading (July 15, 2024)
JPX
The derivatives market will be open for holiday trading on Monday, July 15, 2024 (Marine Day).
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24 212 LME Week 2024
LME (PDF)
This notice provides an update to members and other interested parties about LME Week 2024, which this year begins on Monday 30 September 2024.
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Caution for Investors
MCX
It has been brought to the notice of the Exchange that persons/ entities named "Anfidah Ameed, Arun Ashok, Vineet and Ram" associated with entities named "Eagle Trading and Eagle Traders" operating through Telegram channel "Eagle Trading Official" and mobile numbers "7510661158, 8590632432, 9747148974, 7902308311, 8438551524 and 7845942717" are providing illegal dabba trading platform and misusing the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) Brand name.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Bain Capital to buy financial software vendor Envestnet in $4.5 billion deal
Niket Nishant - Reuters
Private-equity firm Bain Capital will buy Envestnet in a $4.5 billion deal, adding to its portfolio a financial software vendor that counts 16 of the 20 biggest U.S. banks among its customers. A cohort of investors, including Reverence Capital, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton and State Street Global Advisors, is backing the transaction, Envestnet said on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3LG1soJ
Trading Technologies named Best Execution Management System Provider and Best Algorithmic Trading Provider in 2024 Waters Rankings
Trading Technologies
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform provider, announced today that it has won two Waters Rankings 2024 awards including Best Execution Management System (EMS) Provider and a second annual win as Best Algorithmic Trading Provider. Voted on by thousands of end users across the buy side and sell side, the Waters Rankings reflect "best-in-class" service providers across 35 categories, recognizing initiatives, innovation and achievements of the industry's technology and data providers.
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BNY and BlackRock collaborate on front-to-back mandate with AIA; Hong-Kong headquartered insurance giant AIA will implement BlackRock's Aladdin alongside BNY's investment operations and data management solutions.
Chris Lemmon - The Trade
Asia-based insurance giant AIA Group has selected BNY and BlackRock to provide a front-to-back investment platform, supporting the firm's long-term investment programme. The agreement will see AIA implement BlackRock's end-to-end investment management and operations platform Aladdin, alongside BNY's specialised investment operations and data management services technology - together providing AIA with an end-to-end solution with enhanced data and analytics capability.
/jlne.ws/3S3O7tO
Universities Don't Want AI Research to Leave Them Behind; Outspent by Big Tech, some academics are focusing on research that requires less computing power, even as they try to build more of it
Isabelle Bousquette - The Wall Street Journal
Universities are in a race for relevance in the field of generative AI as private companies, loaded with talent and pricey chips, drive the conversation. Outspent by Silicon Valley, some are turning their research focus to less computing-power intensive areas of artificial intelligence, even as they seek to build additional computing resources capable of powering bigger models.
/jlne.ws/3xHIIBS
SoftBank Group Buys British AI Chip Company Graphcore; The wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group will continue to operate under the Graphcore name
Kosaku Narioka - The Wall Street Journal
SoftBank Group has acquired U.K. semiconductor company Graphcore, the latest in a series of steps taken by the Japanese tech investment company in the artificial-intelligence field. The Bristol-based chip company, which specializes in AI, said that it is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group and will continue to operate under the Graphcore name.
/jlne.ws/4d0LJMz
New Patent Guidance on AI Could Quash Innovation; Artificial intelligence helps researchers accelerate progress, but the Biden administration wants to limit inventions created with it.
Andrei Iancu and David Kappos - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/3XYSfyS
Pioneering British AI chip designer bought by Japanese firm
Tom Gerken - BBC
/jlne.ws/3Wkg0Ag
Data centre operator Equinix mulls minority stake sale in Hong Kong assets, sources say
Kane Wu and Yantoultra Ngui - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3zwVpzJ
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | AT&T Says Hacker Stole Data on Nearly All Its Wireless Customers; Telecom giant says call and text-message metadata taken from third-party cloud system
Drew FitzGerald - The Wall Street Journal
AT&T said a hacker downloaded call and text-message information covering almost all of its wireless subscribers, the latest in a string of major customer-data leaks. The cellphone carrier said in a securities filing that the data, mostly from 2022, was downloaded in April but it hadn't found evidence that the information was shared publicly. It said the purloined records didn't include personal subscriber information, such as names, credit card data or Social Security numbers. AT&T said the attack targeted a third-party cloud workspace that held information from "nearly all" of its cellular subscribers, mobile reseller brands and landline customers who interacted with its wireless customers from May through October in 2022. The company said the stolen records also covered a sliver of customers' records from Jan. 2, 2023.
/jlne.ws/3XZyd7l
Apple issues yet another 'spyware' iPhone warning to users in nearly 100 countries; iPhone users last received a spyware notification just this past April. Just 3 months later, Apple sent another one.
Matt Binder - Mashable
Apple is sending out another round of spyware warnings to targeted users in 98 countries this week. On Wednesday, numerous iPhone users reported receiving these messages and posted their experiences along with screenshots. "Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID," reads Apple's notification, addressed to targets from a [email protected] contact. "This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it's never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning - please take it seriously."
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Scaramucci's SkyBridge Limits Client Exits Even as Crypto Soars; Investors holding 70% of shares want their money back; Fund started curtailing redemptions during 'crypto winter'
Katherine Burton - Bloomberg
Anthony Scaramucci effectively barred clients from exiting SkyBridge Capital's crypto-focused hedge fund, even though returns have jumped. Investors who own about 70% of the fund's shares asked for their money back in the latest redemption period that ended in March, according to a regulatory filing. The fund - which returns money through a tender offer - bought back roughly 7% of those shares.
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Germany has 9K Bitcoin left just 3 weeks after it started selling; Germany's Bitcoin stack briefly dipped below 5,000 BTC after a large amount of funds was sent to Coinbase, Bitstamp and Kraken, but it has since moved some back.
Brayden Lindrea - Cointelegraph
The German government's Bitcoin wallet is down to 9,094 Bitcoin - just 18% of what it started with - after the latest string of back-and-forth transfers to crypto exchanges on July 11. The wallet, which has been holding Bitcoin BTC $57,240 seized from a film pirating website crackdown in January, has transferred out billions in Bitcoin since June 19 but ramped up efforts at the start of July. On July 11, the wallet briefly dipped below 5,000 BTC after sending 10,620 BTC worth around $615 million to cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase, Bitstamp, Kraken, Flow Traders and two anonymous addresses, blockchain intelligence firm Arkham noted.
/jlne.ws/3xWsWmC
Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy announces 10-for-1 stock split
James Hunt - The Block
MicroStrategy has announced a 10-for-1 stock split, effective Aug. 1. The company said the split aims to make its stock more accessible to investors and employees. Business intelligence firm and corporate bitcoin holder MicroStrategy announced a 10-for-1 stock split on Thursday. Effective as of the close of business on Aug. 1 by means of a stock dividend to its holders, the class A and class B common stock splits aim to make MicroStrategy's shares more accessible to investors and employees, according to a statement by the firm.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | U.S. Lawmakers Seek Probe of Microsoft's $1.5B Deal With Abu Dhabi AI Firm; The lawmakers requested that the National Intelligence Council assess any ties between G42 and China
Kimberley Kao - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. Republican lawmakers are seeking a probe into Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment in artificial intelligence firm G42, citing concerns about the transfer of advanced technology and possible ties the Abu Dhabi-based company may have with China. Representatives Michael McCaul and John Moolenaar, chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, respectively, said in a letter to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan that the deal "deserves continued special scrutiny" as one of the "most consequential investments by a U.S. technology firm in the Middle East in decades."
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Clean Energy Is Booming in Purple Wisconsin. Just Don't Mention Climate Change As America's culture wars rage on, Democrats are marketing renewable energy in battleground states as a win for the economy and labor unions. Will it work?
Kristoffer Tigue - Inside Climate News
Scott Walker's disdain for climate-friendly policies was no secret. During his tenure as Wisconsin's governor from 2011 to 2019, he eliminated state clean energy programs, slashed environmental agency budgets and made it more difficult for state employees to use peer-reviewed climate studies to inform policy decisions. Walker, a staunch Republican who made a name for himself by championing anti-union policies, even made a point during his 2016 presidential campaign to aggressively attack then-President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, which aimed to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's power plants. "It will be like a buzz saw on the nation's economy," Walker said in a statement from the campaign trail.
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Companies Sharply Criticize Draft U.S. Cyber Reporting Rules; Critical infrastructure operators say the proposed regulation is confusing and burdensome
James Rundle - The Wall Street Journal
Companies urged the U.S. government to rethink its rules for reporting cyberattacks, saying that a draft proposal from a federal agency is confusing, overly broad and often duplicates existing rules. The proposed rules from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, published in the Federal Register on April 4, would mandate critical infrastructure companies report substantial cybersecurity incidents within 72 hours, and ransom payments within 24 hours.
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SEC Commissioner Grilled on Bitcoin ETFs as Senators Weigh U.S. Regulator Nominees
Jesse Hamilton - CoinDesk
Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told senators on Thursday that rampant fraud in crypto markets left her unwilling to approve bitcoin exchange traded products earlier this year. In a nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Crenshaw and others seeking Senate confirmations defended their records. Crypto issues received only minimal attention, including in the questioning of Crenshaw as she seeks another SEC term.
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Biden's Pick to Lead F.D.I.C. Faces Little Resistance in Senate Hearing; Nominated for chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Christy Goldsmith Romero was cheered by Democrats and accepted by Republicans at a hearing.
Emily Flitter - The New York Times
With a broad smile and crisply delivered answers, Christy Goldsmith Romero, President Biden's nominee to take over the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, appeared to cruise through her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. Ms. Goldsmith Romero's testimony, before the Senate Banking Committee, is the first step in a process that could put her in charge of the regulator that oversees smaller banks, administers the fund that protects bank depositors' cash and steps in when a bank fails; it was recently roiled by revelations of widespread sexual harassment and abuse of junior employees by their longtime managers.
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Labour's UK Wealth Fund Ambitions at Mercy of Statisticians; ONS to determine how much fund can invest within fiscal rules; Economists propose Labour switches to different debt rule
Philip Aldrick - Bloomberg
Labour's plans to drive rapid green investment into the UK through a National Wealth Fund rest in the hands of the country's statisticians. When the fund is set up, the Office for National Statistics must make a critical accounting determination on whether it counts as national debt. If the ONS keeps the fund off the books, Labour will be able ramp up investment while sticking to its fiscal rules. If it's on the books, those rules will prove a major constraint.
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NATO allies are discussing reclaiming some Chinese-owned infrastructure in Europe
Kayla Tausche and Kylie Atwood - CNN
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French Elections Result Is Least Worst Outcome for Business; Legislative gridlock means that Macron's pro-investment reforms will likely stay in place.
William Horobin - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Marathon Oil reaches historic $241 million settlement with EPA-the largest-ever penalty for violating the Clean Air Act
The Associated Press
The federal government announced a $241.5 million settlement with Marathon Oil on Thursday for alleged air quality violations at the company's oil and gas operations in the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.
/jlne.ws/3Y3J9Rx
FTC Seeks More Info on ConocoPhillips, Marathon Deal; Companies say they have received new requests for information from Washington but still expect to seal the deal by the end of the year
Colin Kellaher - The Wall Street Journal
Federal regulators are taking a closer look at ConocoPhillips' planned $17 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil, widening government scrutiny of recent dealmaking in the oil patch. ConocoPhillips and Marathon on Friday said they have received requests from the Federal Trade Commission for additional information and documentary materials as the antitrust enforcer reviews the deal.
/jlne.ws/4cCp4q2
IOSCO announces themes for its 8th edition of World Investor Week
IOSCO
The World Investor Week (WIW) is a week-long, global campaign to raise
awareness of the importance of investor education and protection, and to
highlight the various initiatives of securities regulators in these two critical
areas.
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Steady fund flows have bolstered Hong Kong's asset, wealth hub status, SFC study finds
South China Morning Post
An increase in assets under management, a highly diversified investor base, globalised asset allocation and robust fund inflows have solidified Hong Kong's position as an asset and wealth management hub, according to an annual survey by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Hong Kong-domiciled funds authorised by the SFC saw net fund inflows of HK$33 billion (US$4.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2024 after rebounding by a robust 93 per cent to HK$87 billion last year, according to the SFC.
/jlne.ws/4bFL1Ty
First Interagency Fraud Disruption Conference Focuses on Combatting Crypto Schemes Commonly Known as "Pig Butchering"
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section's National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) announced today they convened the first Fraud Disruption Conference to work on efforts to combat a type of fraud commonly known as "pig butchering." It is estimated that Americans are scammed out of billions per year, making this a top law enforcement priority.
/jlne.ws/3zEchVr
I.R.S. Crackdown on Delinquent Millionaires Yields $1 Billion; The beefed-up enforcement is part of the agency's modernization initiative aimed at improving customer service and catching wealthy tax evaders.
Alan Rappeport - The New York Times
"Our message for these taxpayers is that now that we are resourced, we can do the job of ensuring that they pay," said Daniel Werfel, the I.R.S. commissioner.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times By Alan Rappeport Reporting from Washington July 11, 2024 The Biden administration's yearlong effort to crack down on delinquent rich taxpayers has yielded $1 billion, a milestone that the Treasury Department said on Thursday was the result of beefed-up enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service.
/jlne.ws/3W3xsYF
What companies and registered schemes should know about virtual-only meetings
ASIC
Companies (including corporate collective investment vehicles (CCIVs)) and registered schemes can hold virtual-only meetings of members if expressly required or permitted by their constitutions. For the 2024 annual general meeting (AGM) season, companies should ensure their constitutions have been amended if they wish to hold virtual-only meetings of members.
/jlne.ws/4cZGcG6
SFC and CSRC hold high-level enforcement cooperation meeting
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) recently held their 16th regular high-level meeting on enforcement cooperation. The focal point of the meeting in Kunming, Yunnan Province, was initiatives to strengthen collaboration. The two regulatory agencies conducted in-depth discussions on bolstering enforcement cooperation in order to tackle cross-boundary securities crimes and misconduct more effectively, protect the interests of investors in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and reinforce Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre.
/jlne.ws/4cHE8Td
Enduring strength of Hong Kong as leading international asset and wealth management hub: SFC survey 2023
SFC
The key benchmarking metrics in an annual survey by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) reaffirmed Hong Kong's position as a premier asset and wealth management hub with a highly-diversified investor base, globalised asset allocation and robust fund inflows. According to the SFC's Asset and Wealth Management Activities Survey 2023 published today (Notes 1 and 2), investors outside Mainland China and Hong Kong have consistently accounted for 54-56% of total asset under management (AUM) in the past five years, while 60% of the assets managed in Hong Kong are allocated to overseas markets. Over the past three years, the city also saw the number of Type 9 licensed firms (ie, asset management) increase steadily by 12% to 2,161 as of June 2024.
/jlne.ws/3WjA1H9
B.C. Securities Commission Adopts Business Conduct Rule For Derivatives Dealers And Advisers
Mondovisione
The B.C. Securities Commission today published advanced notice of adoption of a comprehensive regime for regulating the business conduct of dealers and advisers in the over-the-counter derivatives market, including a number of provisions that are specific to B.C. If approved by B.C.'s Minister of Finance, National Instrument 93-101 Derivatives: Business Conduct comes into force on September 28, 2024, and B.C. will join other Canadian securities regulators who published advanced notice of adoption in September 2023. With B.C.'s adoption of the Instrument and its related Companion Policy, the rule will become a National Instrument. The instrument to be adopted by B.C. includes several provisions that were necessary due to differences between B.C.'s Securities Act's and securities legislation in other provinces.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | 'Big Short' investor Steve Eisman says shorting current market would be 'insanity'
Louis Goss - MarketWatch
'Big Short' investor Steve Eisman has said "there's no fundamental case to be massively short" in the current stock market and said it would be "insanity" to start shorting stocks like Nvidia. Eisman, who was played by Steve Carrell in the 2015 film 'The Big Short,' said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that he believes "the economy is fine" and that there's "no case to be massively short" on it.
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Bacon Brand Smithfield Said to Pick Banks for $1 Billion IPO
Dong Cao, Pei Li, Dave Sebastian and Ryan Gould - Bloomberg
Smithfield Foods Inc., the maker of Farmland bacon and Farmer John sausages, has picked banks to arrange a US initial public offering that may seek to raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is working with Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley on the planned listing, the people said. It could carry out an IPO as soon as this year, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
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What are ETFs? How have they become the new darling of investors globally?
South China Morning Post
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have quickly won favour among investors globally in recent years, with many choosing the passive investment product over actively managed ones because of lower costs and convenience in trading. Investors continue pouring money into ETFs despite a challenging investment landscape, including entrenched inflation and a flare-up in geopolitical tensions.
/jlne.ws/3Lj3DOP
Forget big tech stocks, the 'Other 493' are set for a comeback says BofA
Alicia Adamczyk - Fortune
The Magnificent Seven may be getting most of the credit for driving the S&P 500 to ever greater heights this year, but investors' obsessions with this small group of big name tech stocks may be wearing off, according to Bank of America.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Japan's $566 Billion Pension Funds Sign ESG Investment Pledge
Satoshi Shizume - Bloomberg
Japan's huge public pension funds holding about ¥90 trillion ($566 billion) in assets are set to get more active in making ESG investments after signing the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment. So far this year, six funds have signed the non-binding statement, including the National Pension Fund Association, which oversees about ¥4.6 trillion in assets.
/jlne.ws/3S7fm6S
Climate Change Is Putting Swelling Cities at Risk; A warming world is putting Bangladesh, Niger, Pakistan and other countries more at risk for extreme weather.
Dorothy Gambrell and Brian Kahn - Bloomberg
Weather events exacerbated by climate change will threaten many places in the coming years, and many of these locations are also projected to gain a lot of new inhabitants. In the world's largest cities, governments will have to do more to protect the millions of people in danger from a hot planet.
/jlne.ws/3W3B5xu
Labour considers ban on new North Sea licences in pipeline; The UK government has also pulled support from a Cumbrian coal mine
Jim Pickard, Rachel Millard, Kenza Bryan and Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
The government is expected to ban new North Sea drilling licences from companies whose applications are already being processed, while it has also pulled support from a new coal mine in Cumbria. Energy secretary Ed Miliband is considering blocking a handful of outstanding applications made as part of an oil and gas licensing round that opened in late 2022.
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In New York, Protesting the Backers of Big Oil With Die-Ins, Drums and Song; Amid soaring temperatures, hundreds of activists are staging boisterous blockades and solemn marches at banks and insurers that support fossil fuel projects.
Somini Sengupta and Cara Buckley - The New York Times
They slather SPF 50+ on their toddlers' legs under scorching sun before breaking out in song. They march joyously through the canyons of the Financial District while banging drums. The oldest among them lie down on the burning hot pavement and allow themselves to be dragged away by police. Over the course of a blistering summer in New York, hundreds of activists have been assembling day after day to draw attention to the main thing that's driving up global temperatures: the burning of coal, oil and gas, which produces heat-trapping gases and makes heat waves more intense and more frequent.
/jlne.ws/3zF07vu
Trump Return Could See Climate Progress 'Unraveled,' Sally Jewell Says; The former Interior secretary said she's "terrified" about what a second Trump administration could mean for climate and environmental policy.
Zahra Hirji - Bloomberg
Sally Jewell, who served as US Interior secretary from 2013 to 2017, said the climate stakes of the election in November "could not be higher" and that she's "really afraid for the future of our planet" should former President Donald Trump return to the White House. "To go backwards is not acceptable," Jewell told attendees at the Bloomberg Green Festival in Seattle on Thursday. "I can't say enough about the importance of continuing the progress that has been made over the last three years" on climate change, she added, especially the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
/jlne.ws/3Y1odea
US Government Launches New Attempt to Gather Data on Electricity Usage of Bitcoin Mining; The Energy Information Agency is starting the process to require cryptocurrency miners to submit energy consumption data after a previous attempt faced legal challenges.
Keaton Peters - Inside Climate News
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Searing Heat Threatens Health of Millions in Southeast Europe; Athens temperatures won't drop below 30C at end of next week; WMO says high minimum temperatures dangerous to human health
Eamon Farhat and Sotiris Nikas - Bloomberg
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Changeblock eyes 65 million tonnes of carbon transactions by 2050 after JustCarbon acquisition
Stuart Stone - BusinessGreen
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From onshore wind to clean rivers: Nine announcements from the Labour Party you may have missed this week
Sarah George & Matt Mace - edie
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Saudi Arabia Ramps Up Purchases of Dirtiest Oil Amid Scorching Summer; Fuel oil imports in June highest since at least November 2020; World's biggest crude exporter buys fuel oil for power plants
Anthony Di Paola - Bloomberg
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | JPMorgan's Profit Drops Excluding Big One-Time Gain; CEO Jamie Dimon repeats view that interest rates could stay higher than some economists have forecast
Alexander Saeedy - The Wall Street Journal
JPMorgan Chase continues to feel the pinch from a plateau in interest rates. The biggest U.S. bank reported a drop in profit, excluding a big one-time gain and other items, sending its shares down 1% in premarket trading. The bank's second-quarter profit declined 9% year-over-year to $13.1 billion. That figure excludes an $8 billion gain the bank received on an exchange of its shares of Visa and other one-time items.
/jlne.ws/3xXLH9d
Citi profit beats on surge in investment banking, services strength
Tatiana Bautzer and Manya Saini - Reuters
Citigroup beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit on Friday, boosted by a 60% jump in investment banking revenue and gains in its services division, sending the company's shares up 3% before the bell. The third largest U.S. lender reported a profit of $1.52 per share in the three months ended June 30. That compares with analysts' expectations of $1.39, according to LSEG data.
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Citigroup's new head of banking granted $40mn in stock; Equity issued to Viswas Raghavan who joined from JPMorgan in June will vest over seven years
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
Citigroup's recently hired head of banking is receiving more than $40mn worth of shares from his new employer. The grant, enormous even by Wall Street standards, was made earlier this week to Viswas Raghavan and disclosed by the bank in a filing on Thursday. Raghavan, who joined Citi in June, was the head of investment banking at rival JPMorgan Chase before making the jump. He joined Citi to be the head of the bank's newly combined investment, corporate and commercial bank - one of five divisions formed in a restructuring, the biggest in more than a decade, unveiled late last year.
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Wells Fargo misses interest income estimates as deposit costs bite, shares slump
Noor Zainab Hussain, Saeed Azhar and Manya Saini - Reuters
Wells Fargo's second-quarter profit declined and the lender missed analysts' estimates for interest income on higher deposit costs amid intense competition for customers' money, sending its shares down more than 5% in premarket trading. Net interest income (NII) -- or the difference between what a bank earns on loans and pays out for deposits -- slid 9% to $11.92 billion. Analysts on average had expected $12.12 billion, according to LSEG data.
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Citi Rejects Racial Bias Claim From a Conservative Legal Firm
Simone Foxman - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. urged a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that alleged its decision to waive ATM fees for customers of minority-owned banks amounted to racial discrimination. "While Citibank's ATMs require a user to enter his or her personal PIN, they do not ask any user to enter their race," lawyers for the lender wrote in a motion filed late Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale. In the suit, filed in May, plaintiffs who don't bank with Citigroup claimed they were harmed because they paid out-of-network fees for ATM withdrawals while customers of minority-owned financial institutions didn't. The suit was filed by Consovoy McCarthy, the law firm that successfully argued against affirmative action in college admissions in front of the Supreme Court last year.
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Hedge Fund Giants Poised for One of Best Years Amid Strong Start; Light Street, Whale Rock lead pack for returns through June; This year set to be 'a good vintage,' NS's Bastianpillai says
Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Managers may be key to addressing front-line turnover, skill gaps; Those in the middle can help executives gain insights to improve efficiencies, trust and loyalty across an organization.
Carolyn Crist - HR Dive
Managers play a vital role in addressing the complexity crisis among organizations with a front-line workforce, according to a July 9 report from Dayforce, a global human capital management firm. While front-line workers and managers tend to have alignment, both often have a disconnect with executives on front-line challenges, including high turnover, avoidable costs and negative customer experiences. With 70%-80% of the workforce not sitting behind a desk, managers can make a significant difference - but also need support, the organization said.
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Half of employers say hybrid working has made absences more difficult to manage, poll finds; Research also reveals firms believe employees are pushing the boundaries of hybrid working arrangements, as commentators call for businesses to set clear expectations
Mahalia Mayne - People Management
Over half (50.4 per cent) of employers say that adopting a hybrid working model in their organisations has made it more difficult to manage staff absences, a study by WorkNest has found. According to the report, which questioned over 100 businesses, 43. 2 per cent of employers said managing hybrid absences was 'somewhat more difficult', while 7.2 per cent said 'yes, it's much more difficult'. The poll also found that nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) employers think their employees push the boundaries of a hybrid working environment, with a list of reasons for working remotely on office days.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | More People Are Dying at Home. Is That a Good Thing? New research classifies the rise in home deaths as progress, but we need to look more closely at what these deaths look like.
Sunita Puri - The Wall Street Journal
In photos taken a year before we met, my patient smiled widely, flashing a peace sign, her feet planted in the damp sand of a local beach. "Mom was a firecracker," her daughter told me. My patient, who now slurred her sentences, was dying of cirrhosis. Her jaundiced skin was golden, the corners of her pale lips crusted with dried blood. She wanted to die at home, according to her daughter, who had been estranged but re-entered her mother's life to care for her. I was still in my training in palliative medicine and, like my patient's daughter, I believed that a "good death" took place at home, surrounded by family. I shared her view that a hospital death was a failure, painful and undignified. I was glad to help her leave behind uncomfortable tubes and noisy machines for a death I presumed would be more peaceful.
/jlne.ws/4eWt85Z
The Best and Worst Habits for Your Teeth; Dentists talk charcoal toothpastes, flavored coffees, post-meal water rinses and more.
Markham Heid - The New York Times
The secret to healthy teeth and gums isn't much of a secret: Brush twice a day, floss once a day and visit a dentist regularly for cleanings. "It's not sexy or surprising, but this is what works if you want to avoid cavities and gum disease," said Dr. Matthew Messina, a clinical director and assistant professor at Ohio State University College of Dentistry. But dentists say there's more we could be doing in the name of oral health. Here are some good and bad habits they suggest starting - or stopping.
/jlne.ws/4bI6v2q
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Australia's ANZ to probe allegations of inflated bond trades, CEO tells staff
Rishav Chatterjee and Byron Kaye - Reuters
Australia's ANZ Group plans to "get to the bottom" of allegations of misconduct that have been raised against its bond trading operations and will hold people accountable for any wrongdoing, its CEO said in an email to staff. The email, a copy of which has been reviewed by Reuters on Friday, comes after media reports that the lender had overstated the value of government bonds that it traded by more than A$50 billion ($33.81 billion) over a one-year period.
/jlne.ws/3zB74NX
India Forex Reserves at Record High in Week After Bond Inclusion; Stockpile grows $5.2 billion to $657.16 billion in July 5 week; Indian stocks, bonds saw overseas inflows during the week
Malavika Kaur Makol and Khushi Malhotra - Bloomberg
India's foreign exchange reserves touched an all-time high a week after the country's sovereign debt was included in a key JPMorgan Chase & Co. emerging market index. The stockpile grew by $5.2 billion to $657.16 billion in the week of July 5, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India. India is starting out with a 1% weightage on the key emerging market bond index, in a process that began on June 28. This will increase by a percentage point every month over ten months.
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China exports rise at fastest pace in more than a year; Falling imports drive record trade surplus in June as Beijing leans on manufacturing to support economy
William Langley and William Sandlund - Financial Times
China's exports grew at the fastest pace in more than a year last month, as trade remained a rare bright spot for the world's second-largest economy despite growing tensions with Europe and the US. Exports jumped 8.6 per cent year on year in dollar terms in June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday, accelerating from 7.6 per cent in May and marking the strongest expansion since March 2023. The figure beat expectations, with a Reuters poll of analysts forecasting growth of 8 per cent.
/jlne.ws/3WikbMV
The audacious rise of the Athens Riviera; The revitalisation of the Greek capital's southern coastline is a Herculean task. Can the country's infrastructure support such an epic vision?
Eleni Varvitsioti - Financial Times
As the purple-red light settles over the Athenian coastline at sunset, entrepreneur Chrysanthos Panas, owner of the restaurant and club Island, is reminded of his father's daily mantra: "This is paradise." The phrase, delivered each afternoon without exception, described a feeling that became familiar to Panas too: admiration for the beauty of his home of Vouliagmeni, a suburb on the southern rim of the Greek capital.
/jlne.ws/3zEUwoU
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Companies Are Ditching Golf for Pickleball to Get Deals Done; Corporate bookings at pickleball clubs are surging as companies realize the sport is cheaper, less time-consuming - and easier to play.
Jo Constantz - Bloomberg
Look out golf: Pickleball is coming for your corporate schmoozers. While golf courses have long been hailed as the premier venue for closing deals and wooing clients, a growing number are finding that pickleball saves them time and money - while being more inclusive and easier to play for newcomers. Corporate bookings at pickleball clubs across the US spiked in June from the previous month, according to PodPlay, a sports venue booking platform.
/jlne.ws/3W1cfhN
Treasure Hunters Battle for Chance to Unearth London's Past; The tradition of "mudlarking" sees amateur archeologists combing the Thames foreshore for relics from millenniums of human history. But some fear that past risks getting lost forever.
Brendan Murray - Bloomberg
On a Sunday afternoon in June, as tourists buzz around London's Tate Modern museum on the south bank of the River Thames, Lara Maiklem is inspecting the shoreline around old wooden pilings, wearing kneepads and rubber gloves. In one small patch of sand and sludge, she spies some discarded junk from the city's seaport heyday - a clay tobacco pipe stem, a lump of coal, a shard of German stoneware.
/jlne.ws/4f0NBqf
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