| May 06, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Alex Jacobson, 72, a longtime industry options educator, passed away on Friday surrounded by his family. Chapel service Wed, May 7, 2025, 12:15 PM at Shalom Memorial Funeral Home, 1700 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights.
Interment will follow at Shalom Memorial Park. Donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org, or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, www.pancan.org. Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Alex, who was a true gentleman.
Cboe Global Markets reported exceptional trading volume growth across its global business lines in April 2025, highlighting a 29.7% year-over-year increase in multiply-listed options average daily volume (ADV) to 13.3 million contracts and a 17.0% rise in index options ADV to 5.1 million contracts-the second-best month on record for index options. U.S. equities trading saw on-exchange matched shares surge 61.7% and off-exchange volumes climb 74.6%, while European equities trading jumped 65.8% year-over-year; Global FX ADV was also up 27.4%. The only significant decline was in Japanese equities, which fell 24.3% compared to April 2024.
April 4 set several new single-day records for Cboe, including total U.S. options volume of 31.0 million contracts, proprietary index options volume of 8.8 million contracts, and S&P 500 Index (SPX) options volume of 6.0 million contracts, 1.2 million above the previous record. Cboe's global trading hours session also saw 437,000 contracts traded.
Today, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services is holding a hearing entitled "American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: A Blueprint for the 21st Century" at 10:00 EST, 1300 Longworth House Office Building. The scheduled witnesses are James Rathmell, general counsel, Haun Ventures; Alex Miller, CEO, Hiro Systems; Daniel J. Davis, partner and co-chair of financial markets and regulation, Katten and former general counsel, Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Greg Tusar, vice president of institutional product, Coinbase; and The Honorable Rostin Behnam, distinguished fellow, Psaros Center, Georgetown University and former chairman, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Click HERE to view the hearing on livestream.
Meanwhile, last night, President Donald Trump held a $1.5 million per person fundraiser at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar who collaborates with lawmakers on potential regulations for digital assets, co-hosted the event. It does not stop there, as on May 22, a second fundraising event will offer the top 220 holders of the $TRUMP meme coin an exclusive opportunity to have dinner with the president at the same golf club.
A Financial Times investigation revealed that a small group of traders made nearly $100 million by buying Melania Trump's $MELANIA memecoin just minutes before its public launch, then quickly selling their holdings as the price soared following her announcement. This is a textbook example of a pump and dump scheme: insiders accumulated tokens ahead of a major news event, capitalized on the resulting price surge fueled by retail investor excitement, and rapidly offloaded their positions for massive profits-leaving latecomers holding devalued assets. The episode highlights regulatory gaps in the crypto market, especially for politically branded tokens, and demonstrates how anonymity and lack of oversight can enable market manipulation at the expense of ordinary investors.
RIP Skype.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) move to settle its case with Kalshi over political betting markets is not just a procedural footnote; it is a revealing signal about the agency's priorities and capacity in the face of mounting regulatory and political pressures.
On its surface, the CFTC seems to be winding down a legal fight that has captured national attention and sparked fierce debate about the appropriate boundaries for prediction markets in American democracy. But the timing, coming just as Brian Quintenz, President Trump's nominee for CFTC chairman and a recent Kalshi board member, awaits Senate confirmation, raises more profound questions about the true motivations behind the agency's request to dismiss the case.
Let's be clear: if Quintenz ascends to the chair and the Kalshi case remains active, he will be ethically obliged to recuse himself from any related commission decisions. In a closely divided commission, that recusal could result in a deadlock, and the case would linger unresolved. Rather than allow that scenario or expose the new chairman to early controversy, the outgoing CFTC leadership has decided to clear the deck. This appears to be less about principle or process and more about political expediency.
But there's more at play. The CFTC's decision to drop such a high-profile case, rather than see it through, smacks of institutional cowardice and a retreat from its core mission. The CFTC was expressly created to protect market participants and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices in derivatives markets. By stepping aside at this critical juncture, the agency implicitly admits that it lacks the resources, expertise, or political will to oversee the complex, fast-evolving world of prediction markets properly. The agency's silence on the reasons for dismissal, as noted in the court filing, only adds to the impression that the CFTC is abdicating its responsibility, not on the case's merits, but to avoid institutional discomfort and internal conflict.
The implications are troubling. While Kalshi and similar exchanges tout transparency and democratic foresight as virtues, prediction markets, especially those on political outcomes, raise profound questions about market integrity, voter trust, and regulatory capacity. The CFTC's unwillingness to fully litigate the issue is a disservice to investors and the long-term credibility of the regulatory regime. Rather than clarify the rules or set new standards, the agency's retreat leaves a policy vacuum that will be filled by state regulators, courts, or, more likely, a patchwork of inconsistent and inadequate oversight.
Ultimately, the move to settle with Kalshi is less a reasoned regulatory judgment than an abdication. It shields incoming leadership from tough decisions, sidesteps a politically sensitive issue, and leaves the industry and the investing public with more questions than answers. The CFTC's mission is to protect market participants, not to protect itself from the burdens of governance. On this issue, it has regrettably chosen the latter.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: EEX clearing arm secures first Asian general clearing member, Eurex lists nano FTSE Bitcoin and Ethereum index futures - FOW Data, Cboe's US options buoyant in April on tariff-boosted trading and Euronext unveils targeted 'ESG' complex focussing on European strategic autonomy.
Kelly Kinahan is starting a new position as social media & community manager at Plus500, she shared on LinkedIn. She was previously at Northern Trust and OCC before that.
Pat Luongo has joined NYSE as a director in options sales, he shared on LinkedIn. He was previously a senior vice president with Jefferies.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Trump's crypto-friendly stance lures firms to US market from the Financial Times.
- CME Group Crypto Derivatives Volume Soars 129% in April With ETH Leading the Charge from CoinDesk (via Yahoo Finance).
- Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo And UBS Will Offer Bitcoin ETFs To Clients By Year-End, Bitwise CIO Says, Predicting Record Inflows from Benzinga (via Yahoo Finance). ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 In the Pits: Policing, Camaraderie, and Redemption on the NYBOT Floor JohnLothianNews.com Fred Schoenhut, former chairman of the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), likened his role on the floor committee to being part of the trading floor's police force. "I would get into a lot of heated arguments with people when I would see something unethical or illegal ... But often, apart from the fines, not much would happen to those brokers," he recalled in a candid interview. Violations, he lamented, seemed almost "part of the game," and true consequences were rare. "There was just too much that wasn't punished ... it enabled people to continue to trade unethically." Watch the Fred Schoenhut Video »
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Many in US and western Europe think 'third world war likely within five to 10 years'
Jon Henley - The Guardian
Eighty years after the second world war, polling shows many Americans and western Europeans believe an even more devastating third global conflict could break out within a decade, with tensions with Russia seen as the most probable cause. As Europe prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the YouGov polling also showed large majorities felt that events during and before the second world war were relevant today and must continue to be taught to younger generations. Between 41% and 55% of respondents in the five European countries polled: Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, said they thought another world war was very or fairly likely within the next five to 10 years, a view shared by 45% of Americans.
/jlne.ws/3SrJFog
***** Is war likely, very likely, probable, very probable, or certain? It is a probability, and the probability has been moving in recent years more than before.~JJL
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Trump's crypto ventures complicate path for stablecoin legislation as Democrats revolt
David Hollerith and Jennifer Schonberger - Yahoo Finance
Democrats are putting up new resistance to crypto legislation prioritized by the Trump administration as they object to the involvement of the Trump family in that industry, in addition to a host of other issues. Their resistance burst into the open this past weekend as nine Democrats, led by Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), released a public statement opposing the GOP-led Senate bill that seemed likely to deliver a major crypto win for Trump and Republicans.
/jlne.ws/43hqHqO
***** How difficult would it be to create a stablecoin linked to another stablecoin used to buy political influence in the U.S.? It has happened before that foreign actors tried to change U.S. policies in their favor by spreading money around interest groups and politicians. The history of Nazi Germany's efforts to influence and bribe U.S. Congressmen and America First groups before World War II is a striking example of foreign interference in American politics, though the full scope is sometimes overlooked in public discourse. Why not use crypto, or try to, to buy the influence?~JJL
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Avoid Unforced Errors and Stay Humble: Warren Buffett's Leadership Lessons; Business leaders share the advice they took to heart from the consummate CEO whisperer
Chip Cutter - The Wall Street Journal
For chief executives across America, Warren Buffett isn't just an unrivaled investor. The Oracle from Omaha is a regular source of management wisdom that business leaders have drawn on for decades. Buffett hasn't been shy about sharing his views on how companies should operate. He has railed against corporate bloat, heaping scorn on PowerPoint presentations, meetings, overpaid board members and what he has described as "make-work activities" at companies. At Saturday's Berkshire Hathaway meeting, he once again called bureaucracy dangerous and said many big companies could be run better.
/jlne.ws/44VVhY7
***** "Stay humble" is excellent advice. I think I will have a Coke and a cheeseburger and contemplate it.~JJL
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Addicted To ChatGPT? Here's How to Reclaim Your Brain; More young workers are growing dependent on AI tools. One found relief by going cold turkey.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
Edison Earl excels at his job as a graduate intern at Arts University Bournemouth in England. He's produced more marketing content than ever for the school and doubled its Instagram followers in the last seven months. But he struggles to take credit, since the ChatGPT app did much of the work. In the last two years he's gone from brainstorming on paper to talking to ChatGPT most of the day. "Can you rewrite this email for me?" he'll ask it. "What do you think of this social media post and this event?" And it not just work; the 23-year-old enlists its help in everything from choosing what to eat to what clothes to buy.
/jlne.ws/3Z2FKC4
***** My father always said, "Everything in moderation." If you are overdosing on ChatGPT, then that is not moderate use. ~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top story Monday was Your Home Without China, from The New York Times, about America's reliance on Chinese products and how Trump's tariffs will affect prices. Second was the United Nations' page noting World Press Freedom Day on May 3 and discussing "freedom of expression in the face of the AI revolution." Third was a tie between the page for the FIA Connect Mission (Im)possible: Kilt Challenge at the IDX Gala and the FIA's Trends in ETD Trading Q1 2025 Webinar taking place on May 8.
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| Lead Stories | CFTC Seeks Court's Permission to Settle Kalshi Political Betting Case
Lydia Beyoud - Bloomberg
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked a court for permission to settle its legal fight with Kalshi Inc. over allowing Americans to bet on the outcome of elections. The agency didn't expand on the reason for possibly dismissing the case, according to a filing submitted Monday to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
/jlne.ws/4jGALiO
Citigroup Partners With Swiss Bourse in Private Markets Push
Levin Stamm - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. is partnering with Switzerland's stock exchange SIX Group AG as part of a push by the Wall Street lender to make it easier for investors to settle and store their private markets holdings. The New York-based bank will use a platform operated by SDX, a subsidiary of SIX, to offer shares in late-stage, pre-IPO companies to investors, according to a statement. The offering will be available starting in the third quarter.
/jlne.ws/3GI1v3V
Germany's Merz Suffers Surprise Setback in Bid to Be Confirmed Chancellor; The conservative lost a first-round parliamentary vote to become leader, spelling fresh uncertainty for Europe
Bertrand Benoit - The Wall Street Journal
Germany faced a political crisis after Friedrich Merz failed to secure enough support in parliament to be confirmed as the country's next chancellor in a first round of voting, triggering fresh uncertainty in Europe. The outcome of the vote has no precedent in postwar Germany and came despite Merz's proposed coalition holding a relatively comfortable 12-seat majority in the house. Since the vote is secret and no dissenter has come forward, it isn't clear why a dozen members of Merz's proposed coalition didn't back him in the vote.
/jlne.ws/3StmQAB
UBS to Pay $511 Million to Settle Credit Suisse U.S. Tax Case; The operating parent bank, UBS AG, expects to record a charge in relation to the settlement
Adria Calatayud - The Wall Street Journal
UBS Group agreed to pay $511 million to settle a yearslong U.S. probe into violations by Credit Suisse of an earlier agreement with the Justice Department over American clients who evaded taxes. The Swiss bank, which acquired Credit Suisse in 2023, and the Justice Department said Monday that Credit Suisse Services AG pleaded guilty to tax crimes and entered into a separate nonprosecution agreement related to conduct in Singapore on behalf of U.S. taxpayers.
/jlne.ws/42SBV3u
US financial leaders see private assets coming to more investor portfolios
Suzanne McGee - Reuters
Individual investors are likely to see a growing array of financial products containing private credit heading their way in the coming months and years, financial executives said at the Milken Institute's annual global conference on Monday. While only a handful of exchange-traded funds and other products aimed at investors who are not high-net-worth buyers have been approved or launched so far, senior figures from banks, asset management firms and private equity firms said this roster likely will grow.
/jlne.ws/4jBS6cI
eToro resumes U.S. IPO plans after 'Liberation Day' delay
Anushka Basu - The Street
eToro Group Ltd. is set to proceed with its long-awaited U.S. initial public offering (IPO) as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The Israel based trading and investment platform halted its listing plans in early April after President Donald Trump's shock tariffs announcements sent markets into a roller coaster slide.
/jlne.ws/4m1kw1q
Hong Kong launches new measures to attract more tech, bio listings
Reuters
Hong Kong launched a scheme on Tuesday to offer smoother listings for tech companies on its stock exchange, as it looks to capitalize on Chinese companies' growing appetite to raise funds offshore. The new "technology enterprises channel" will make new listings easier for specialist technology and biotechnology firms, the bourse operator and Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission said in a joint statement. Under the scheme, the exchange, a unit of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, will provide guidance on the eligibility and suitability for listing for prospective companies. Applicants can confidentially file for initial public offerings, as disclosures of their operational strategies may pose heightened risk compared to other industries, the statement said.
/jlne.ws/4d97HhA
Morningstar Will Now Call Out Lackluster Private Investments
Silla Brush - Bloomberg
Morningstar Inc. has been rating stock and bond funds for everyday investors for years. Now it will award gold, silver and bronze medals to less-liquid private asset funds marketed to the masses. The data firm will apply a Medalist Rating system to the booming market of semi-liquid funds that can hold private credit and equity, real estate and infrastructure assets, the firm said Tuesday in a statement. The rankings, slated to start in the third quarter, will shed light on funds that typically charge steeper fees in exchange for potentially higher returns.
/jlne.ws/4jSKv9G
The Stock Market's Fear Gauge Is Misunderstood; Contrary to popular belief, an elevated VIX doesn't signal that equities are going down.
Nir Kaissar - Bloomberg
Elevated market volatility means stocks are going down, right? Wrong. I confess that when the VIX, the Cboe Volatility Index, spikes, I brace for stock market declines. Judging by investors' anxious reaction to the VIX's surge following President Donald Trump's big tariff announcement last month, I'm far from alone. The VIX, a gauge of the S&P 500 Index's expected 30-day volatility, nearly tripled over the four trading days that followed the White House's announcement on April 2. It closed at 52 on April 8, the third highest level since its inception in 1990, exceeded only during the 2008 financial crisis and Covid pandemic.
/jlne.ws/44WkTEl
New White Paper Advocates for Targeted Reforms to Strengthen U.S. Equity Markets
Anna Lyudvig - Traders Magazine
U.S. equity markets remain a global benchmark for transparency, liquidity, and resiliency. But even the strongest market structures must evolve with the times. In its recently released white paper, Enhancing Competition and Innovation in U.S. Financial Markets, Citadel Securities outlines a measured path forward-one that avoids sweeping changes in favor of smart, targeted reforms.
/jlne.ws/4m4rvGY
Traders made $100mn from buying Melania Trump memecoin before launch; Small group of digital wallets bought up coins in the minutes before it was announced, FT analysis shows
Eade Hemingway, Oliver Hawkins, Chris Cook and Paul Caruana Galizia - Financial Times
A small group of traders earned a $99.6mn windfall by buying Melania Trump's cryptocurrency token in the minutes before it was made public, an analysis by the Financial Times has found. Melania Trump unveiled the $MELANIA coin in a social media post late on January 19, just hours before her husband was inaugurated as the US president.
/jlne.ws/4jKKYLl
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| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | EU Targets EUR100 Billion of US Goods With Tariffs If Talks Fail
Jorge Valero and Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
The European Union plans to hit about EUR100 billion ($113 billion) in US goods with additional tariffs in the event ongoing trade talks fail to yield a satisfactory result for the bloc, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposed retaliatory measures will be shared with member states as early as Wednesday and consultations will last for a month before the list is finalized, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans are private. The list could change in that time.
/jlne.ws/3ETLXcR
UPS and FedEx Once Handled a Deluge of Packages From China. That's Changing.; President Trump has ended a tariff loophole that generated lots of business for delivery companies shipping inexpensive goods from China to the U.S.
Peter Eavis and Niraj Chokshi - The New York Times
Less than a year ago, executives from FedEx and UPS were talking about how they were handling a flood of packages from China to American consumers. "Explosive" is how Carol Tomé, UPS's chief executive, in July described the volume of shipments from e-commerce companies selling Chinese goods in the United States. And FedEx's chief customer officer, Brie Carere, said about those companies in June, "No one carrier can serve their entire needs."
/jlne.ws/3EW2DR1
Trump's Tariffs Are Already Wreaking Havoc on Holiday Shopping
Jaewon Kang - Bloomberg
This year, the best deals on Theragun massagers won't come at Christmas. nThat's because parent company Therabody Inc. is raising prices this month on its popular massagers and other items by as much as 15% in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs. Chief Executive Officer Monty Sharma said he has to go back to customers such as Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. to discuss even more price hikes after Trump slapped additional levies on China. Meanwhile, all the uncertainty has pushed Therabody to shut down some production and delay product launches. The company, like many suppliers, keeps inventory lean and has about eight weeks of goods left, increasing worry it will sell out by the holidays.
/jlne.ws/4majwbx
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Ukrainian attack on Moscow forces Putin to cancel VE Day parade in Crimea
Akhtar Makoii - The Telegraph
Ukraine fired drones at Moscow days before Vladimir Putin was set to host world leaders at a Victory Day parade through the capital. Russia was forced to cancel Second World War anniversary events in occupied Crimea because of security concerns. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, has said he cannot guarantee the safety of delegates attending the march through Moscow on Friday, which will be attended by Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader.
/jlne.ws/42HPyUu
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
Peter Weber - The Week US
Russian President Vladimir Putin again raised the specter of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, in a state film broadcast Sunday. A day earlier, Kyiv said it shot down two Russian Su-30 fighter jets over the Black Sea using modified U.S.-made missiles fired from Ukrainian sea drones. As Russia intensifies its airstrikes on Ukraine, Kyiv is getting at least one more U.S. Patriot air-defense system, The New York Times said Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3GBpLF1
Russia's Putin says he hopes there will be no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
Reuters
President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Sunday that Russia had sufficient strength and resources to take the war in Ukraine to its logical conclusion, though he hoped that there would be no need to use nuclear weapons. Putin ordered thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering Europe's biggest ground conflict since World War II and the largest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
/jlne.ws/4iKi2lb
Exclusive-Order by Hegseth to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard
Erin Banco, Phil Stewart, Gram Slattery and Mike Stone - Reuters
Roughly a week after Donald Trump started his second term as president, the U.S. military issued an order to three freight airlines operating out of Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a U.S. base in the United Arab Emirates: Stop 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weaponry and bound for Ukraine. In a matter of hours, frantic questions reached Washington from Ukrainians in Kyiv and from officials in Poland, where the shipments were coordinated. Who had ordered the U.S. Transportation Command, known as TRANSCOM, to halt the flights? Was it a permanent pause on all aid? Or just some?
/jlne.ws/44IXgiL
Middle East Conflict
Israel Approves Plans to Occupy Gaza, Control Aid Distribution; Netanyahu says Israeli troops will hold on to territory cleared of Hamas militants in new offensive
Carrie Keller-Lynn and Feliz Solomon - The Wall Street Journal
Israel's security cabinet approved a new ground operation to occupy territory in the Gaza Strip, in a strategic shift that would entail moving most of Gaza's population to an area cleared of militants and taking control of aid distribution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would retain a presence in areas it seizes in Gaza and would rely on the tens of thousands of reservists the military would call up as part of the offensive.
/jlne.ws/3Z74WYf
Other Conflicts
Drone Strikes Rock Sudan's Key Port, Intensifying Civil War
Mohammed Alamin and Simon Marks - Bloomberg
Armed drones struck the airport and harbor in Sudan's main coastal city, escalating a deadly conflict between the North African nation's army and the Rapid Support Forces militia. Footage aired by pan-Arab TV channel Al-Arabiya after Tuesday's blasts showed massive smoke clouds billowing from the waterfront in Port Sudan, the de facto seat of Sudan's military-aligned government since shortly after the civil war erupted in April 2023.
/jlne.ws/3Z58g65
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Shanghai Gold Exchange to Expand Warehouse Network to Hong Kong
Bloomberg News
The Shanghai Gold Exchange plans to expand its warehouse network to Hong Kong, helping to raise the profile of its yuan-denominated products, including for the precious metal, beyond mainland China. The new vault will be operated by a subsidiary of Bank of China Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter, who requested not to be identified as the information is private. The timeline for the move is not yet clear, they added. At present, there are two such warehouses in Shanghai, plus a third in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong.
/jlne.ws/4m3mfTS
A 70% Rally in Indian Bourse's Shares to Get Lift From Earnings
Ashutosh Joshi - Bloomberg
BSE Ltd.'s recent share rally may get another boost from its upcoming earnings, with analysts expecting quarterly profits to triple thanks to growing investor interest in derivatives. The shares have surged more than 70% from a low in March to an all-time high at the end of April, as a rival bourse deferred plans that would have increased its market share in equity derivatives. Analysts have largely remained bullish on the stock, with 12 buy recommendations and two holds, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. There is no sell rating on BSE.
/jlne.ws/3EDJgw4
ASX Group Monthly Activity Report - April 2025
ASX
Trading - Cash Markets (including equities, interest rate and ETP trades): In April 2025, the average daily number of trades was up 53% on the pcp. The average daily value traded on-market of $7.473 billion was up 43% on the pcp.; Volatility (as measured by the average daily movement in the All Ordinaries Index) was 1.3% in April, compared to 0.6% in the pcp.; Future volatility (as measured by the S&P/ASX 200 VIX) in April was an average of 16.0, up 37% on pcp. Click here for full details.
/jlne.ws/4lXrLHD
Cboe Global Markets Reports Trading Volume for April 2025
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today reported April monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines. The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain April trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines.
/jlne.ws/4k88ZvG
Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum derivatives your way
Eurex
Eurex has significantly expanded its cryptocurrency derivatives product suite with the 5 May launch of nano futures on FTSE Bitcoin and Ethereum indexes, as well as iShares Bitcoin ETP options. With these new products, smaller investors now enjoy greatly improved access to cryptocurrency derivatives traded in the secure environment of a traditional exchange. As these products enter the market, we spoke with Nicolae Raulet, Product and Business Development at Eurex, to better understand which needs these products serve and what we can expect from them.
/jlne.ws/3EVJj6q
Euronext strengthens its support for European strategic autonomy with New ESG focused initiatives: Energy, Security and Geostrategy
Euronext
Euronext today announced the launch of a full set of initiatives related to Energy, Security and Geostrategy, the "New ESG", to strengthen European strategic autonomy. This set of initiatives led by Euronext will increase the visibility of European companies operating in strategic sectors and give them unprecedented tools to meet their financing needs through easier access to capital. These New ESG solutions are also designed to address the growing demand from asset managers, institutional and retail investors to get better exposure to high-growth segments through thematic indices.
/jlne.ws/3Z7dZIH
ICE Expands Fixed Income Liquidity Offering With Launch of Price Improvement Volume Clearing
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced a key enhancement to the ICE Bonds' Risk Matching Auction (RMA) protocol for corporate bond trading, with the introduction of Price Improvement Volume Clearing - a patent-pending innovation designed to deepen liquidity and enhance pricing outcomes for market participants. The RMA protocol, which is part of the ICE Bonds' suite of trading solutions, conducts multiple dealer-to-dealer sweep auctions weekly. It has seen strong adoption, with over 66 registered firms and 700+ users actively participating. In the RMA, traders simply upload bond inventories, and the ICE Bonds' proprietary algorithm matches buyers and sellers of the same securities. Pricing suggestions are generated using ICE's Continuous Evaluated Pricing (CEP™) and can be affirmed or rejected on a line-item or bulk basis, giving participants a powerful mechanism to reduce risk and access liquidity efficiently.
/jlne.ws/4mhNOZY
ICE and OPEN Introduce New Benchmark for Tracking 20 U.S. Venture-Backed Unicorns; NYSE OPEN VC Unicorn 20 Index provides focused exposure to 20 large U.S.-based Unicorns; Built using a liquidity-screened, valuation-weighted methodology for pre-IPO companies
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, and OPEN, a pioneer in private market indexing, today announced the launch of the NYSE OPEN VC Unicorn 20 Index (NYOV20L), a new benchmark designed to track the performance of 20 of the largest U.S.-based, privately held, venture-backed Unicorn companies. This new index expands upon the success of the NYSE OPEN Venture Capital Unicorn Index (NYSEOVC) by offering a focused, liquidity-screened basket of the highest-valued private companies. The NYSE OPEN VC Unicorn 20 Index aims to provide investors with enhanced transparency into the largest and most dynamic companies driving innovation across sectors such as artificial intelligence, technology, fintech and aerospace.
/jlne.ws/4m27xN5
JSE Investment Challenge Attracts over 28 000 Participants and Celebrates March Winners
JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is pleased to announce the March winners of the annual JSE Investment Challenge: Eden College Durban, John Bisseker Secondary School, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Bloubergrant High School, the University of Western Cape and Stellenbosch University.
/jlne.ws/4k5lsjA
MarketAxess appoints new Americas head of client product; Incoming individual brings more than 20 years of fixed income trading experience, and has previously worked at TS Imagine, Agilon Capital and BlackRock.
Natasha Cocksedge - The Trade
MarketAxess Holdings has named Spencer Lee as its new head of client product in the Americas, effective 12 May 2025. The new position will see Lee, who is based in San Francisco, covering the responsibility for business and product management across US high-grade, high-yield, municipals, dealer and client solutions. He will also lead MarketAxess X-Pro, the firm's trading platform for portfolio trading.
/jlne.ws/4d0PaE2
MarketAxess Announces Trading Volume Statistics for April 2025
MarketAxess
Record Total Credit ADV up 32%; Record Total Rates ADV up 93%. Record Open Trading ADV of $5.7 Billion on Increase in Volatility and Client Demand for Liquidity. Record Total Portfolio Trading ADV up 99%; Block Trading ADV in Emerging Markets and Eurobonds up 39%
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Nasdaq Reports April 2025 Volumes
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported monthly volumes for April 2025 on its Investor Relations website.
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B1G Numbers April: Key Figures from Exchanges
SIX
Watch the new "B1G Numbers" video and get first-hand information about the trading and listing activity in the past month on SIX Swiss Exchange and BME Exchange.
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TMX Group Limited Reports Results for First Quarter of 2025
TMX Group
TMX Group Limited [TSX:X] ("TMX Group") announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.
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Tradeweb Reports April 2025 Total Trading Volume of $57.8 Trillion and Average Daily Volume of $2.7 Trillion
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today reported total trading volume for the month of April 2025 of $57.8 trillion (tn)[1]. Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was $2.7tn, an increase of 38.6 percent (%) year-over-year (YoY). Excluding the impact of the ICD acquisition, which closed on August 1, 2024, total ADV for the month of April was up 25.9% YoY.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Skype is shutting down after 20 years. A look back at 8 other beloved apps from the 2000s that no longer exist; Social media users reacted to the announcement by sharing how they "grew up" with the voice and video call service.
Katie Mather - Yahoo News
Microsoft shut down Skype, the internet-based phone and video call service, on Monday, 14 years after the tech company bought it for $8.5 billion. Microsoft announced in February that Skype users could opt into integrating their accounts with Microsoft Teams for free or export all of their data from Skype ahead of the shutdown. Microsoft Teams offers one-on-one and group calls similar to Skype and its more contemporary competitors Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Google Meet.
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Binance to bring crypto payments to Kyrgyz Republic
GlobalData
Binance has joined forces with the National Agency for Investments of the Kyrgyz Republic through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster the growth of the digital asset sector in the region. The announcement came during the first meeting of the Council for the Development of Digital Assets, attended by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Japarov.
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Former Palantir workers condemn company's work with Trump administration
Bobby Allyn - NPR
Thirteen former employees of influential data-mining firm Palantir are condemning the company's work with the Trump administration weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement reached a deal to pay Palantir $30 million to provide the agency with "near real-time visibility" into the movement of migrants in the U.S. In a letter shared exclusively with NPR, the ex-Palantir workers, former software engineers, managers and an employee who worked in the firm's privacy and civil liberties team, say when they joined the powerful tech company, they believed in its code of conduct stating that its software should protect the vulnerable and ensure the responsible development of artificial intelligence.
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US Energy Sec. Wright on Ramping Up Energy for AI Race
Katie Roof and Rachel Metz - Bloomberg
Energy for the AI arms race in the US will come from natural gas, nuclear and coal, says US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. He joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Technology."
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OpenAI Abandons Planned For-Profit Conversion; Maker of ChatGPT to remain under the control of a nonprofit organization
Keach Hagey - The Wall Street Journal
OpenAI abandoned a controversial effort to place its juggernaut artificial-intelligence business under control of a for-profit entity and will instead remain under its founding nonprofit board. The move could complicate the company's future fundraising efforts. Unlike traditional boards, which must act in the best interest of shareholders, OpenAI's nonprofit board has a fiduciary duty "to humanity."
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OpenAI Reaches Agreement to Buy Startup Windsurf for $3 Billion
Bloomberg
OpenAI has agreed to buy Windsurf, an artificial intelligence-assisted coding tool formerly known as Codeium, for about $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, marking the ChatGPT maker's largest acquisition to date.
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The people refusing to use AI
Suzanne Bearne - BBC News
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Musk's Lawyer Says OpenAI Reform Proposal 'Changes Nothing'
Rachel Metz - Bloomberg
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India panel to review copyright law amid legal challenges to OpenAI
Arpan Chaturvedi - Reuters
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Microsoft is key holdout for OpenAI restructuring plan
Dina Bass and Shirin Ghaffary - Bloomberg
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SoftBank-Backed OakNorth Partners With OpenAI to Expand AI Uses
Aisha S Gani - Bloomberg
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Donald Trump's attack on green energy could hurt US in AI race, data centres warn; Industry needs renewables to meet surging power demand from artificial intelligence
Martha Muir - Financial Times
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Broadridge incorporates AI agents to enhance OpsGPT offering; The new offering has been designed to assist operations teams in enhancing solutions across fails research, inventory optimisation and email integration automation.
Natasha Cocksedge - The Trade
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Hacking Group That Wreaked Havoc on Las Vegas Appears to Be Back; Attacks on U.K. retailers appear to mark comeback of 'Scattered Spider,' a network that has disrupted operations at dozens of corporations
Robert McMillan - The Wall Street Journal
The hacking group that once shut down half the Las Vegas Strip has returned and is causing turmoil at U.K. retailers. The hackers call themselves Star Fraud but are more widely known as Scattered Spider, a collective of largely young men and teenagers that have wreaked havoc across industries in recent years. U.K. retailers Harrods, Marks & Spencer and Co-op have all reported cyber intrusions in the past two weeks. Scattered Spider hasn't been publicly named as the culprit of the hacks, but is suspected in at least some of them, according to people familiar with the investigation.
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Beware hackers imitating IT help desks, UK cyber agency tells retailers; National Cyber Security Centre has urged companies to pay attention to so-called social engineering tactics
Laura Onita - Financial Times
The UK's cyber security agency has warned retailers to be alert to cyber criminals impersonating IT help desks, after a spate of recent attacks on major high street names. The advice comes after Marks and Spencer, Co-op and Harrods have been targeted by hackers. The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, has issued guidance to companies urging them to pay particular attention to so-called social engineering tactics, whereby criminals target IT help desks to change passwords and reset authentication processes in order to gain access to their systems.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Strategy Doubles Bitcoin Buying Capital Plan to $84 Billion
Teresa Xie - Bloomberg
Michael Saylor's Strategy doubled its capital raising plan to $84 billion after posting a record first-quarter loss that resulted from the adoption of an accounting change that requires valuing the firm's massive Bitcoin holdings at market prices. Strategy registered to sell another $21 billion in common shares on Thursday, saying in a statement that it had exhausted a similar sized equity program that was authorized in October. It doubled the size of its planned debt purchase program, of which it has $14.6 billion remaining, to $42 billion.
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Ethereum's Latest Upgrade Is Seen Doing Little to Bolster Price
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Software developers are readying the Ethereum blockchain for yet another upgrade that aims to make the network more competitive with upstart rivals such as Solana. The so-called Pectra update scheduled for May 7 aims to cut transaction costs, reduce network traffic and make it easier for users to accomplish more complex tasks using digital wallets on the most widely commercially-used blockchain.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Donald Trump hosts a $1.5 million-per-person fundraiser, raising ethics concerns
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy - USA TODAY
A $1 million-per-plate campaign dinner? That was so April. Just 11 days after President Donald Trump hosted a $1 million dollar dinner for the MAGA Inc Super PAC, he kicked it up another notch in May with a $1.5 million-per-plate dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Co-hosting the shindig with him on May 5 was David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar who collaborates with lawmakers on potential regulations for digital assets.
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Democrats call for investigation into Trump family crypto deal over potential foreign influence
Julia Shapero - The Hill
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on a federal watchdog Monday to launch an inquiry into a recent deal announced by the Trump family's crypto firm, raising concerns it could create an opening for foreign influence. The company launched by President Trump and his sons, World Liberty Financial, revealed last week that its new stablecoin would be used to complete a $2 billion transaction between Emirati firm MGX and crypto exchange Binance.
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Video: Lutnick Criticizes Canada Ahead of Tuesday's Trump-Carney Meeting
WSJ Staff
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was critical of Canada ahead of President Trump's coming meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "I think this is really complex because they have been basically feeding off of us for decades upon decades," he said in a Fox Business interview Monday, when asked if he was optimistic about a U.S.-Canada trade deal. Newly elected Carney is set to meet with Trump in Washington today. Last week, he said talks would focus on near-term trade pressures and broader economic prospects. Lutnick said the meeting would be "fascinating," adding, "I just don't see how it works out so perfect."
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President Trump says he will call CEOs personally as he gets more involved in corporate America: 'Wouldn't you want me to call?'
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez - Fortune
President Donald Trump said he wouldn't hesitate to call any CEO who makes a business decision he doesn't like, much like he did with Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos. As the president described to Meet the Press on Sunday, he called Bezos to complain following a report that Amazon was preparing to break out the price of tariffs for products listed on its website. Because of the phone call, Trump implied, Amazon changed course. "He's just a very nice guy. We have a relationship. I asked him about it," Trump said of the speculation that Amazon would break out tariff charges. "He said, 'Well, I don't want to do that,' and he took it off immediately."
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NPR and PBS Are a Threat to the White House; The two outlets - with their journalistic and educational programming - are even more crucial in a media landscape now full of platforms that aren't committed to facts.
A.J. Bauer - Bloomberg
When Donald Trump signed an executive order last week cutting federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, he was right about one thing: We do live in a moment of media abundance. But his market-based notion of abundance fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of public broadcasting, which is not about quantity but quality.
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US Citizenship Could Soon Look Very Different; Trump has signed several executive orders that, taken together, create a new vision for what it means to be an American citizen.
Patricia Lopez - Bloomberg
Nearly four months into his second term, it's becoming clear that President Donald Trump's xenophobic views on immigration are reshaping what it means to become a US citizen. His vision tilts heavily toward the wealthy and well-to-do, with special shortcuts for them and barriers to entry for the rest - particularly the world's refugees and asylum seekers. There's Trump's proposal for $5 million "gold visa" cards, the prototype of which is literally Trump's visage and Lady Liberty emblazoned on a golden rectangle. The cards would allow, in Trump's words, "very high-level people" a "route to citizenship." One goal of the gold card is to cut years off the typical vetting process, producing residency in as little as two weeks.
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Harvard Blocked by White House From New Research Funding
Josh Wingrove and Janet Lorin - Bloomberg
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BlackRock, Citi CEOs to Visit Saudi Arabia Along With Trump
Christine Burke - Bloomberg
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Merz fails to be elected chancellor by German parliament
Reuters
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Russia Mulls Tightening Budget Rule Over Slumping Oil Prices
Bloomberg News
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Germany's Merz Misses Majority In 1st Parliament Vote On Chancellor
AFP - Agence France Presse via Barron's
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SIFMA and Arteria AI Announce US Treasury Clearing Solutions Partnership
SIFMA
SIFMA and Arteria AI have partnered to provide all US Treasury clearing participants a data-driven documentation platform to streamline and scale the onboarding, legal compliance, and operational systems integration with respect to the mandated central clearing of US Treasury securities repurchase transactions, as required by new rules out of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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SEC Further Delays Litecoin ETF, Requests Public Comments
Helene Braun - CoinDesk
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has further delayed making a decision on Canary Capital's proposal for a spot Litecoin (LTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). This comes after the agency delayed several other applications for spot crypto ETFs last week, including XRP, Hedera, and Dogecoin but hadn't done so for the Canary Litecoin ETF, sparking hopes that the regulator might have different plans for this fund.
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FINRA Statement to Correct Misinformation About FINRA's Outside Activities Proposal
FINRA
FINRA recently proposed amendments to streamline and reduce unnecessary burdens regarding existing requirements addressing outside activities of broker-dealers' associated persons. Unfortunately, several recent statements published in news media mischaracterize FINRA's proposal in a number of ways.
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SEC Announces Agenda, Panelists for Roundtable on Tokenization Plus Date Change for Roundtable on DeFi
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Crypto Task Force has announced the agenda and panelists for its May 12 roundtable, "Tokenization - Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet." "Tokenization is a technological development that could substantially change many aspects of our financial markets," said Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, leader of the Crypto Task Force. "I look forward to hearing ideas from our panelists on how the SEC should approach this area."
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Joint announcement on launch of Technology Enterprises Channel
Securities and Futures Commission
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), are pleased to jointly announce today the launch of a dedicated Technology Enterprises Channel (TECH) to further facilitate New Listing applications from prospective Specialist Technology Companies and Biotech Companies (Note 1), as well as a new confidential filing option for these companies.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | European investors ramp up FX hedging as 'dollar smile' fades; Analysts at one bank expect average hedge ratios to jump from 39% to 70% within six months
Joe Parsons - Risk.net
European asset managers and pension funds are adding more currency hedges to their US equity portfolios following a breakdown of the so-called dollar smile. The greenback typically appreciates when US stocks are booming or under extreme stress. For foreign investors, the phenomenon - known as the dollar smile - offers a natural hedge against sharp selloffs in US holdings. The tariffs unveiled by US president Donald Trump on April 2 turned the relationship on its head. The S&P 500 shed 5% through
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ADM Profits Shrink to Lowest Since 2020 Amid Trade Uncertainty
Gerson Freitas Jr - Bloomberg
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.'s earnings shrunk to the lowest level since the pandemic as a difficult crop trading market is complicated by mounting trade and biofuel policy uncertainty. Adjusted earnings for the first three months of 2025 slumped 52% from a year earlier to 70 cents a share, making it the worst quarterly result since early 2020, the company said in a statement. That compares with a 66-cent average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
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MIT Joins Deluge of Colleges Selling Bonds Amid Funding Threats
Amanda Albright - Bloomberg
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the latest elite college to borrow money from the bond market as universities contend with threats to federal funding under President Donald Trump's administration. MIT is joining Harvard, Stanford and Princeton in selling taxable bonds in a deal that's set to price Tuesday, according to a roadshow for investors. Taxable bonds are often quicker to sell compared to tax-exempt bonds, which have restrictions on what the proceeds can be used for.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Microsoft Expands Carbon Removal Deal With Stockholm Exergi
Lars Paulsson - Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. expanded its deal to buy carbon removal credits from heat-plant operator Stockholm Exergi AB, increasing volumes first agreed last year by more than 50%. The agreement will now include the capture and storage of 5.08 million tons of carbon dioxide over a 10-year period, up from 3.33 million previously, Stockholm Exergi said Tuesday in a statement. It's the world's largest such accord, the Swedish utility said.
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Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes' Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.; The Trump administration's slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people.
Anna Clark - Politico
Just one year ago, JD Vance was a leading advocate of the Great Lakes and the efforts to restore the largest system of freshwater on the face of the planet. As a U.S. senator from Ohio, Vance called the lakes "an invaluable asset" for his home state. He supported more funding for a program that delivers "the tools we need to fight invasive species, algal blooms, pollution, and other threats to the ecosystem" so that the Great Lakes would be protected "for generations to come." But times have changed.
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CATL Files Initial Prospectus for Hong Kong Listing; Analysts say the fundraising could be the largest since ByteDance rival Kuaishou Technology's $5.4 billion initial public offering in 2021
P.R. Venkat and Jiahui Huang - The Wall Street Journal
Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology has filed a preliminary prospectus with the Hong Kong Exchange for a secondary listing, as it seeks to tap the enthusiasm surrounding the electric-vehicle market to gain more access to overseas capital. CATL didn't say how much it expects to raise or how many shares will be offered, but analysts say the fundraising could be Hong Kong's largest share offering since ByteDance rival Kuaishou Technology's $5.4 billion initial public offering in 2021.
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US Shale Output Has Peaked as Prices Fall, Diamondback Says
David Wethe - Bloomberg
Diamondback Energy Inc., the largest independent oil producer in the Permian Basin, says production has likely peaked in America's prolific shale fields and will decline in the months ahead after crude prices plummeted. The Texas company trimmed its own full-year production forecast Monday, and said in a letter Monday to investors that it expects onshore oil rigs across the entire US industry to drop by almost 10% by the end of the second quarter and fall further in the months after.
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Brussels seeks to force EU companies to disclose Russian gas contracts; European Commission will propose rules next month requiring that contract details be shared with energy and security authorities
Alice Hancock - Financial Times
The European Commission plans to force EU companies to reveal details of their Russian gas contracts, as it seeks to crack down on fuel imports from the country. Companies would be required to disclose the volume and duration of any gas contracts held with Russia to the commission, and to national energy and security authorities, under rules to be proposed next month, according to a document seen by the Financial Times.
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U.S. Electricity From Fossils Fuels Dips Below 50% for the First Time Ever
Robert Rapier - OilPrice.com
For the first time in history, fossil fuels supplied less than half of the United States' electricity generation for an entire month, according to new data released by energy think tank Ember. This milestone, achieved in March 2025, represents a turning point in the evolving energy mix of the world's largest economy.
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Swiss Bank Pays $510 Million Fine for Helping Clients Evade Taxes; The fallen banking giant Credit Suisse, now a part of UBS, admitted to hiding billions of dollars from the I.R.S.
Rob Copeland - The New York Times
The toll for misconduct at the fallen Swiss bank Credit Suisse just keeps getting bigger. Federal prosecutors said on Monday that UBS, which rescued Credit Suisse from the brink of collapse two years ago, would pay $510 million in fines for the role Credit Suisse played in helping clients evade taxes. Credit Suisse, among other moves, helped clients hide more than $4 billion from the Internal Revenue Service in at least 475 accounts, prosecutors said. Credit Suisse's Singapore office was singled out for holding undeclared accounts for people who owed taxes.
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Credit Suisse admits scheme to hide more than $4 billion in offshore accounts for ultra-rich Americans
Amanda Gerut - Fortune
A services unit of Credit Suisse pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Monday in a long-running scheme that hid wealthy U.S. accounts from authorities, according to the Department of Justice. Between 2010 and July 2021 Credit Suisse AG plotted with its employees and ultra-rich U.S. account holders to conceal the money and assets they held at the Swiss bank, authorities said. In turn, this allowed the bank's U.S. clients to allegedly avoid paying taxes while Credit Suisse helped the scheme along by providing private banking services, according to the plea agreement.
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HSBC group chairman Mark Tucker to retire
GlobalData
HSBC has announced that group chairman Mark Tucker intends to retire before the end of 2025. Tucker joined the Board in 2017 and has served as group chairman since October that year. Tucker said: "It has been a great honour and privilege to lead HSBC as chair. I am deeply grateful for the trust and support I have received from the board, management, and colleagues and am very proud of all that we have accomplished together.
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BofA's Trading Chief Says Shift Out of US Is Still Marginal
Alice Atkins and Alice Gledhill - Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp.'s head of EMEA markets says the recent surge of interest in Europe isn't necessarily the start of a long-lasting, structural shift. The division posted 23% revenue growth in the first quarter, its best start to the year on record. But there's too little evidence to back up the popular narrative that a vast, permanent shift of capital from the US to Europe is already underway, according to Brian Weinstein.
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A New Tech Fund Backed by Jeff Bezos Courts Individual Investors; Coatue's fund is being anchored by $1 billion from family offices of Amazon founder and Michael Dell
Angel Au-Yeung - The Wall Street Journal
The often opaque world of Silicon Valley venture capital is opening up a bit wider to individual investors. Hedge fund giant Coatue Management is launching a fund that invests in high-growth public and private tech companies, and requires a minimum investment of $50,000. The family offices of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and PC company founder Michael Dell have committed a total of $1 billion to seed the new fund, according to Coatue.
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VanEck files for first-ever BNB ETF
Anushka Basu - TheStreet
VanEck, the $116 billion asset manager, has filed for a BNB ETF, officially signaling more interest among institutions in Binance-linked assets. The registration statement, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Form S-1 on May 2, 2025, details VanEck's plans to offer shares in the ETF to U.S. investors with exposure to BNB and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, without having to purchase or hold the digital asset directly. It is backed by mainstream finance.
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Brookfield to Tap $119 Billion War Chest to Exploit Market Chaos
Layan Odeh - Bloomberg
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Hedge Fund Regal Says Biotech Blowup Triggered No Redemptions
Adam Haigh - Bloomberg
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Pimco calls baloney on Apollo's credit liquidity chart; We have an alternative culprit though
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The AI arms race in hiring is a huge mess for everyone; Companies were using automated screening earlier, but applicants' adoption of the tools is now causing problems
Sarah O'Connor - Financial Times
You can almost hear the howls of frustration from HR departments. Jobseekers have discovered artificial intelligence and they're not afraid to use it. Employers have become snowed under by people using the new tools to churn out impersonal applications. Some applicants are using AI to bluff their way through online assessments, too. The FT has reported that many large employers have a "zero-tolerance attitude towards the use of AI".
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | UnitedHealth Now Has 1,000 AI Use Cases, Including in Claims; But artificial intelligence on its own will never deny a claim, assures the insurer's chief digital and technology officer
Isabelle Bousquette - The Wall Street Journal
UnitedHealth Group said it now has a thousand artificial-intelligence applications in production, leaning into a technology that's dragged it and other insurers into controversy over how claims are processed. The AI applications span across UnitedHealth's insurance, health delivery and pharmacy units, transcribing conversations from clinician visits, summarizing data, helping process claims and powering customer-facing chatbots. Some 20,000 of the company's engineers also use AI to write software.
/jlne.ws/4jGY6RH
RFK Jr.'s Measles Strategy Is Leading the US Down a Dark Path; The secretary of Health and Human Services is peddling misinformation and fake cures and steering public health off course.
Lisa Jarvis - Bloomberg
Amid one of the most significant measles outbreaks in over 30 years, America's top public health official is using his platform to peddle misinformation and fake cures and push an agenda that is opposed to evidence-based medicine and science. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is steering public health far off course. This diversion becomes more dangerous and difficult to correct each passing week.
/jlne.ws/3Z1YrG6
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Hong Kong Ramps Up FX Intervention to Defend Currency Peg
Bloomberg News
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority sold a record HK$60.5 billion ($7.8 billion) of the city's currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page early on Tuesday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. It followed up by offloading another HK$12.8b of local dollars later in the day, in the fourth operation since Friday to cap the currency's gain.
/jlne.ws/4jI6Ff5
India tries to halt auction of Piprahwa gems found with Buddha's remains
David Batty - The Guardian
The Indian government has issued a legal notice to halt the "unethical" auction of ancient gem relics, which it said should be treated as the sacred body of the Buddha. Its ministry of culture said the auction of the Piprahwa gems in Hong Kong this week "violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions", and demanded their repatriation to India "for preservation and religious veneration".
/jlne.ws/44vBVct
Tariffs Could Wreck What Bangladesh's Garment Workers Have Gained; In Bangladesh, the factories that make clothing for export had remade themselves and raised national incomes along the way. They never bargained for a trade war.
Alex Travelli and Saif Hasnat reporting from Dhaka and Savar, Bangladesh - The New York Times
It was always going to be a hard year for Bangladesh. Last summer, amid an economic collapse, protesters toppled a tyrant and pushed the country to the brink of chaos. Then a month ago, as a new government was still working to steady Bangladesh's economy, came the devastating news that the United States was placing a new 37 percent charge on the country's goods. Bangladesh relies on revenue from its exports to buy fuel, food and other essentials.
/jlne.ws/43jpKy4
Argentina's wine heartland eyes copper riches; Mendoza could open new mine in a nationwide rush for the red metal under President Javier Milei
Ciara Nugent - Financial Times
The sun-drenched vineyards of Mendoza make 80 per cent of Argentina's wine, drawing thirsty tourists and stocking the world's cellars with Malbec. But the region is preparing to exploit an even more valuable red commodity that lies underground. While the province contains a chunk of the copper-rich Andes that have made neighbouring Chile the world's biggest producer of the metal, drought-prone Mendoza has long blocked metal mining over environmental concerns from wineries and communities.
/jlne.ws/4m3pOJK
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Northwestern CIO Warns of 'Destructive' Tax on University Funds
Miranda Davis and Janet Lorin - Bloomberg
Northwestern University is preparing for a potential tax increase on endowments, a move its chief investment officer labeled as "destructive" for higher education institutions in the US. Amy Falls, the suburban Chicago university's CIO, said the tax on its almost $15 billion endowment could be raised to anything between 10% and 14%. While that's lower than the 15% to 20% range once talked about in Washington circles, it's still a huge increase from just 1.4% now.
/jlne.ws/4iQwUP5
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