| July 24, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Sad news this morning; the legendary CBOT trader, member and brokerage executive Henry Shatkin passed away yesterday. A source indicated Shatkin was active right up until the end, swimming the day before. Shatkin owned several different futures commission merchants that catered to floor traders and helped launch the career of many traders. Condolences to his family and friends on his passing.
Shatkin did so many things to help so many people over his long career in the Chicago futures and options community. He was even involved in some fintech companies that emerged from the industry. He was a longtime partner with Pat Arbor. Shatkin and four other geriatric contemporaries were reportedly the parties responsible for putting up the funds to spring Arbor from Cook County Jail and settle Arbor's dispute with his ex-wife.
I also wanted to mention the passing of Gloria Melges, 93, the wife of the late Olympic-medal-winning and America's Cup-winning sailor Buddy Melges. Gloria passed away peacefully on July 20, 2024.
John Tuttle, the longtime executive at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is leaving after 17 years to become president of Acrisure, a Michigan-based insurance brokerage and real estate services company, starting September 1, Alexander Osipovich of the Wall Street Journal reported. As vice chairman of the NYSE, Tuttle was instrumental in attracting high-profile IPOs, including Palantir Technologies and Snowflake, often seen at the bell podium during IPO celebrations. Despite stepping down as the primary IPO salesman in 2022, he continued to manage relationships with listed companies and led the NYSE Institute. Under his tenure, the NYSE faced competition from Nasdaq, which has outperformed it in IPO capital raised over the past five years, though the NYSE has had a better showing in 2024.
Tuttle's career began in the State Department under the George W. Bush administration, and he joined the NYSE in 2007 as part of the global affairs team. Last year, he considered running for a U.S. Senate seat from Michigan but ultimately decided against it. Acrisure, founded in 2005, has grown into one of the world's largest insurance brokerages through acquisitions and was valued at $23 billion in 2022. The company also secured naming rights for the Pittsburgh Steelers' stadium in 2022.
CME Group Inc. today reported an all-time record revenue of $1.5 billion for Q2 2024, along with record quarterly adjusted net income of $932 million and earnings per share of $2.56. The quarter also saw the highest Q2 average daily volume (ADV) in the company's history, with 26 million contracts traded daily. Growth was noted across every asset class, with significant increases in U.S. Treasury products. CME Group's success is attributed to the rising need for risk management amid escalating uncertainties. The company said it plans to focus on capital efficiencies, new product offerings, and value creation through its partnership with Google Cloud for the rest of 2024.
The Wall Street Journal Street Journal reports that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to push boundaries with the launch of his new artificial intelligence company, Lumi Story AI. Backed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's venture-capital firm Seven Seven Six, the platform aims to democratize storytelling by providing aspiring creators with tools to overcome industry barriers. Lumi will allow creators to leverage AI to generate graphics, pair text with illustrations, and streamline production processes, effectively filling skill gaps and reducing high production costs and long timelines that often hinder new entrants in media and publishing.
Despite not playing in the NFL since 2016 due to the political fallout from his civil rights protests, Kaepernick remains proactive in empowering others. He acknowledges the valid concerns about AI potentially displacing jobs but emphasizes that Lumi's approach is to enhance and empower creators rather than replace them. By turning creators into the beneficiaries of AI, Kaepernick aims to make storytelling more accessible and diverse, with plans to expand Lumi's offerings to include merchandise creation and sales. This venture reflects Kaepernick's ongoing commitment to fostering inclusivity and innovation in the creative industry.
The New York Times reports that the U.K. Royal Family has seen a significant financial boost, primarily driven by offshore wind deals. Profits at the Crown Estate, which manages the royal family's extensive land and property assets, soared to £1.1 billion from £442.6 million the previous year, largely due to leasing seabed sites for wind farms. This increase has led to a rise in the sovereign grant-the funding the royal family receives from the government-from £86.3 million to £132 million for 2025-2026.
In addition to wind energy profits, visitor numbers to royal palaces have nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels, further enhancing the family's income. Despite this financial windfall, King Charles III has ensured that the surplus profits are directed towards public benefits rather than significantly increasing the royal grant, which has been reduced from 25% to 12% of net profits. This move aims to maintain the royal family's popularity amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in Britain.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are hosting a webinar on beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements on Wednesday, July 24, at 2 p.m. ET. The session will cover the Corporate Transparency Act, which mandates many U.S. businesses to report details about their owners and controllers to the government. Speakers include SBA National Ombudsman Michele Schimpp, FinCEN's Phil Lam, and Senior Advisor Michael Dobson. The webinar aims to help new and existing small businesses understand and comply with BOI reporting requirements. Register HERE.
Bloomberg reports that the owners of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks are embarking on a $7 billion real estate development around the United Center, to be built over 10 years. This multi-use project, named the 1901 Project, will include a 6,000-seat music hall, a 10-acre park, hotels, and retail spaces. The initiative aims to revitalize the West Side neighborhood, making it more walkable and resident-friendly. The project will replace existing parking lots around the arena and is supported by local officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson's office and West Side Alderman Walter Burnett. The development will be financed privately, without seeking state funding, and is positioned to benefit from the adjacent tax-increment financing district.
Registration is open for the second annual TT Connect event in London on Thursday, September 12. The event will focus on using data, analytics, and technology to enhance trading profitability, effectiveness, and regulatory compliance. Key topics include the impact of AI on capital markets, AI applications for research and analytics, building a data platform, transaction cost analysis, regulatory technology, and data management's influence on the global research landscape. The event targets traders and brokers from various sectors, with others potentially waitlisted due to capacity limits. Find our more and register HERE.
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:
- ANALYSIS: New entrant Abaxx says tech stack in place for rapid growth from FOW.
- FSB targets liquidity of hedge funds, broker-dealers from FOW.
- The Sharpe Ratio and Options Trading from tastylive. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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LSEG's Kooroshy: carbon intensive debt almost a mini asset class
JohnLothianNews.com
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) systematically quantified how much debt in fixed-income markets relies on repayment from companies in carbon-intensive sectors. The report, "Tracing Carbon-Intensive Debt: Identifying And Calibrating Climate Risks In Corporate Fixed Income," uncovered $5.5 trillion of this debt, with two-thirds owed by privately held companies or state-owned enterprises, with more than half of it needing to be refinanced before 2030.
Watch the video »
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Paris Heat Builds Before Olympics While Parts of Greece Burn
Eamon Akil Farhat and Paul Tugwell - Bloomberg
France's capital is forecast to see temperatures exceeding 35C (95F) as the Olympic Games shift into full swing next week, while heat continues to sear the Mediterranean. Paris will approach 30C on Friday, the day of the opening ceremony, before warming further early next week, according to Weather Services International. Temperatures won't drop below 20C as hotter conditions sweep Europe. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves, bringing extreme weather events from flooding to wildfires. While Greece and the Balkans have been hardest hit parts of Europe so far this summer, many parts of Spain will also experience temperatures of 42C in the coming days.
/jlne.ws/3WByUTA
****** The cafe seats in Paris in the shade are very popular right now.~JJL
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France arrests Russian suspected of planning to destabilize Olympics
Reuters
French police have arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the Olympics, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Wednesday, just days before the Games begin. The 40-year-old man was detained on Tuesday after police raided his house at the request of the Interior Ministry, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. The evidence found at his home raised "fears of his intention to organize events likely to cause destabilization during the Olympic Games," it said.
/jlne.ws/46lIb5u
****** Word is he was going to throw a bunch of Baby Ruth candy bars into the Seine near the swimming events.~JJL
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Threats to Olympics Turn Paris Into an Open-Air Fortress; Events for the 2024 Summer Games will be held at iconic locales
Matthew Dalton and Noemie Bisserbe - The Wall Street Journal
France is transforming its capital city into an open-air fortress, rolling out the largest peacetime security operation in the country's history to protect athletes, residents and more than 10 million visitors during the Olympic Games. Officials say as many as 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 22,000 private security guards will keep watch at the Paris Olympics, which begins Wednesday and spans the heart of the city-on streets, at landmarks and in the waters of the Seine River.
/jlne.ws/3A3ZJXq
***** The Police Nationale and the Gendarmerie Nationale and the Compagnies Republicaines de Securite (CRS) are on duty and ready for action.~JJL
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UN blasts 'shamefully' high hunger levels; Report says issue will still affect 600mn people by the end of the decade
Susannah Savage - Financial Times
Levels of hunger are set to remain "shamefully" high, UN officials said as the multilateral organisation published a report that predicts almost 600mn people will be undernourished by 2030. The report, published on Wednesday, came as senior UN officials called on donor governments to rethink prioritising national interests over foreign aid.
/jlne.ws/4diAqQ1
****** Here is a problem that should be debated in the U.S. Presidential election that most likely will not be.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was the Financial Times' Markets reassess 'Trump trades' after Joe Biden withdraws from race. Second was a tie between Ken Griffin lists Gold Coast penthouse for $11M, from Crain's Chicago Business and Exberry secures cloud trading tech partnership with Google, from FOW. Third was a tie between ISDA claims document negotiation processes stuck in 2006 and Fires Threaten Mediterranean After World Records Hottest Day.
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| Lead Stories | CFTC Whistleblower Program at Risk Without Lawmakers' Help; Whistleblower fund capped lower than other agencies; Deadline looming to amend temporary funding measure
Matthew Bultman - Bloomberg Law
A stopgap measure that kept a key US financial regulator's whistleblower office afloat during a funding crisis is set to expire unless lawmakers revive it, putting the cash-for-tips program in jeopardy. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under a program established by Congress after the 2008 financial crisis, offers awards to whistleblowers whose tips lead to successful enforcement actions. The awards come from a revolving fund capped at $100 million that also pays for the CFTC's whistleblower office and its staff. Lawmakers are weighing how to keep the office open if the fund is depleted. Also up for debate is raising the fund's cap to $300 million, putting it in line with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/jlne.ws/3zUkeWN
SEC Lets Deadline Pass for Full Appellate Court Review of Hedge Fund Case
Andrew Ackerman - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission declined to seek a full appellate court review of a June decision striking down a set of rules that would have toughened the agency's oversight of private-equity and hedge-fund firms. The SEC missed a Monday evening deadline to ask the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the earlier decision by a three-judge panel, which found the rules in question exceeded the agency's authority. The June decision was a blow to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's campaign to expand his agency's powers over so-called private fund managers.
/jlne.ws/3WkykYY
U.S. Foreign Investment Watchdog Reports Major Uptick in Penalties; The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews mergers for national security concerns, issued twice the number of penalties in 2023 as in the rest of its history
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. government panel that reviews transactions for national security issues imposed more penalties last year than in its entire 50-year history, an uptick in activity that comes amid concern about China. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. assessed four civil penalties in 2023, the panel said in a report to Congress issued Tuesday. Cfius, which reviews foreign purchases of real estate and investments in U.S. companies, had before last year issued only two such penalties since its inception in 1975. The report didn't name the entities that paid the penalties. The committee, which is run by the U.S. Treasury Department, previously imposed penalties in 2018 and 2019.
/jlne.ws/3WlpZEn
NYSE's Longtime IPO Pitchman, John Tuttle, to Leave After 17 Years; Tuttle helped persuade companies such as Palantir and Snowflake to list on the Big Board, rather than Nasdaq
Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
John Tuttle, a veteran executive at the New York Stock Exchange who gained prominence as its top salesman for attracting initial public offerings, plans to leave the NYSE after 17 years. Tuttle is set to begin a new job as president of Acrisure, a Michigan-based insurance brokerage and real-estate services company, on Sept. 1, a spokesman for the company said. Acrisure is set to announce the hire later Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/46eMWh7
Mutiny in the Bond Market as Billionaires Pick a Debt Fight; Bruising encounters with European tycoons like Patrick Drahi and Paul Coulson mean many creditors have fallen out of love with individual business builders.
Eleanor Duncan, Abhinav Ramnarayan, and Luca Casiraghi - Bloomberg
It was only late last summer when telecoms billionaire Patrick Drahi was relying on the personal touch to soothe the frazzled nerves of his investors. As debt prices in his company Altice France came under pressure, he and his lieutenants were reassuring creditors that they'd be looked after. One prominent former owner of Altice's junk bonds, who asked to remain anonymous discussing private commercial matters, says he was told Drahi would do "whatever it takes" to make good on his commitments - echoing the words of his near namesake Mario Draghi at the height of the euro crisis.
/jlne.ws/4fe5Etf
Rollercoaster US Election Floods Crypto-Betting Site With Wagers; Volumes at Polymarket have soared to a record this month; MoonPay deal to allow site to accept credit cards, transfers
Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
The turbulent US presidential election has flooded crypto betting site Polymarket with so many wagers that it's upgrading the platform to handle soaring volumes of incoming funds. Polymarket will start incorporating software from Miami-based MoonPay that will allow users to pay for their bets using bank transfers and credit cards, the companies said on Wednesday. Bettors currently buy stablecoin USDC on a crypto exchange and transfer it to Polymarket before making wagers.
/jlne.ws/3A6Xm68
Wall Street Donors Plan Get-Rich-Quick Ideas for Harris Bid; Donors plan talking points to sell Harris to finance industry; Doug Emhoff to raise money in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket
Amanda L Gordon and Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
Wall Street's Democratic donors have a clear mandate after several rudderless weeks fretting over President Joe Biden's drag on the party's chances of winning the White House and Congressional majorities. Their directive: raise lots of money for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign - and fast. Just days after Biden announced he would step down as the party's nominee and endorsed his No. 2 to lead the Democratic ticket, donors have sprung into action to pepper their well-heeled networks with requests to quickly fill Harris' campaign coffers to close a fundraising gap with their Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
/jlne.ws/4dxGCDV
Baer's New CEO Combines Goldman Pedigree, Swiss Apprenticeship; Bollinger boosted Goldman's wealth business in the EMEA region; Baer looking to move past real estate losses with new CEO
Myriam Balezou, Jan-Henrik Foerster, and Benjamin Stupples - Bloomberg
The next chief executive officer of Julius Baer Group Ltd., Stefan Bollinger, has clinched the top job at the global wealth manager without ever attending university or occupying a C-suite office at a major bank. Instead, the 50-year-old has proved his capabilities in a rather Swiss way: starting as a school-leaving apprentice at the local cantonal bank in the small city of Winterthur, about 30 minutes away from Zurich.
/jlne.ws/3WeGUbD
Don't Loot the Scams; Thomas Braziel, M&A fee certainty, Alexa economics and hedge-fund vibes.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
Fund.com
Fund.com was, for a while, apparently a scam. It was founded in 2004 as Eastern Services Holdings Inc., "one of many entities that Imran Husain formed and took public to sell to market manipulators."[1] In 2007, it was sold to Jason Galanis, a market manipulator who had recently been banned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission from serving as a public-company officer or director. (Galanis is currently in prison for an assortment of other frauds, and is somehow involved in a Hunter Biden situation.) Under Galanis, the company acquired the web address "www.fund.com," changed its name to Fund.com Inc., and told people the address was worth $10 million. "The Website Address certainly had some value, but Galanis appears to have manufactured the $10 million figure through fraudulent transactions."
/jlne.ws/4cQVQnv
Coinbase Narrows Demand for SEC Chair Gensler's Crypto Messages
Jesse Hamilton - CoinDesk
Coinbase Inc. (COIN) is going after internal chatter at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that may shed light on its pursuit of cryptocurrency exchanges as illegal enterprises - including Chair Gary Gensler's own communications - but the scope of its latest request filed on Tuesday has been dialed back after resistance from a federal judge. The company heard the message from Judge Katherine Polk Failla, of the District Court for the Southern District of New York, that she thought Coinbase was going too far in its demands for years of communications from the SEC chief that included messages before he showed up to run that agency. Coinbase Chief Legal Office Paul Grewal said its Tuesday motion is responding to the judge's points from a hearing earlier this month, but it still seeks the chairman's correspondence on crypto, any discussions within the various divisions of the SEC and what the agency officials may have talked about before approving Coinbase as a public company.
/jlne.ws/3SkD8wj
AI's Data Appetite Is Huge. That's a Problem for Privacy Laws; Meta said it won't launch its AI assistant in EU for now; Lawful basis for collecting data in question
Isabel Gottlieb - Bloomberg Law
Generative AI's voracious consumption of data is starting to run up against strict rules protecting individuals' rights to data privacy in Europe and around the world. Meta was met with swift scrutiny after it revised Facebook's European privacy policy in May. By June, privacy advocates launched complaints in 11 countries against the company's plans, and the Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland-home of Meta's EU headquarters-opened an "engagement" with the company. The response prompted the social media giant to mothball its plans.
/jlne.ws/3LB4TN5
Ether ETFs Trade Over $1 Billion in Strong Crypto-Fund Debut; Trading volume still trailed amount posted by Bitcoin ETFs; Debuts for two of the funds rank among some of the best ever
Emily Graffeo and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
The first US ETFs that invest directly in Ether made strong debuts, with some seeing relatively high trading volumes for their opening sessions. Over $1 billion shares traded between the nine exchange-traded funds. While that's far from the $4.6 billion traded during the launch of spot-Bitcoin ETFs in January, it's still a robust start for first-day ETFs. Several of the funds are finishing the day among the top 50 highest-traded US ETF debuts of all time. BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ticker ETHA) saw $248 million of shares exchange hands, clocking one of the highest-ever first-day traded values, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Grayscale's Ethereum Trust, which converted into an ETF, traded around $458 million, ranking it among the 25 best ever. A product from crypto-native firm Bitwise Asset Management Inc. (ETHW), meanwhile, also saw solid demand, with turnover exceeding $94 million.
/jlne.ws/4f8RNnU
An unwieldy path to T+1 settlement in Europe: International coordination isn't enough; European authorities must prioritise the transition to T+1 and address the underlying issues that could impede it, writes James Pike, interim CEO at Taskize, a Euroclear company, who explains some of the complexities the continent faces that differ from its US counterparts.
The Trade
In the global and often highly unpredictable world of capital markets, adaptability to change may well be paramount, but not always possible to enact quickly. Recently, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a "call for evidence" to consult on shortening the settlement cycle across equities, fixed income, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). While seeking market feedback is commendable, the urgency of transitioning to a T+1 settlement cycle - a model where transactions are settled the next business day - is a tough proposition but ultimately a change that is inevitable.
/jlne.ws/4f8XnXo
A Brave New World: The Supreme Court Torpedoes the 'Administrative State'
Adam Bolter, Robert Bourret, Daniel Davis,Carl Kennedy, Alexander Kim - Katten via JDSupra
The Supreme Court is at war with the "administrative state." In three major cases decided at the end of the Supreme Court's last term, the Court decided against the administrative state, reducing the powers of administrative agencies. "Chevron deference" to agency interpretations in areas of their expertise was eliminated. The "public rights" exception to a target's right to a jury trial in an action brought by an agency was redefined and limited. The statute of limitations to challenge agency rulemaking was extended to permit a new entity to challenge decades-old rules. Collectively, these decisions shift power away from the agencies (and in some cases Congress), transferring that power to the Courts. Decades-old precedents were swept aside to shift the balance of power in Washington. The implications of these decisions extend to all federal agencies.
/jlne.ws/3LzxxOK
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russia is offering Moscow residents a record $22,000 to fight in Ukraine
Mariya Knight and Kathleen Magramo - CNN
Authorities in the city of Moscow are offering a record signing-on bonus for new recruits to fight in Ukraine, in the latest sign of a scramble to boost Russian troop numbers. The financial sweetener comes as President Vladimir Putin struggles to recruit soldiers for his army as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds on in its third year. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin introduced the one-time signing bonus of 1.9 million rubles (about $22,000) for city residents who join the military, according to a statement on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/4c1BCGa
Kremlin to pay soldiers £50,000 in Ukraine war recruitment drive
Joe Barnes - The Telegraph
Soldiers from Moscow will now earn almost £50,000 for their first year of service, the city has announced, about four times the average annual wage. The increased payment - which includes sign-up bonuses, monthly wages and regional handouts - is part of the Kremlin's drive to find the 25,000 men a month it needs to sustain Russia's front-line force in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3LDWY1I
Russia considers greenlighting crypto for international payments to bypass sanctions
Sabrina Toppa - The Street
On July 23, Russia's parliament will review legislation on whether to permit crypto payments for international transactions, in light of ongoing sanctions imposed by the West. The move would be dramatic since Russia currently outlaws crypto for payments domestically, but has not outright banned crypto in the country.= "This is a need for businesses, especially in cases involving sanction mechanisms, when they need to enter the international market, and it can't always be resolved through standard methods," the head of Russia's money laundering watchdog, Yuri Chekhanchin, said.
/jlne.ws/3zPa0Xq
Ukraine takes delivery of another Patriot air-defense system, as Russian attacks ramp up
Sinead Baker - Business Insider
Ukraine has received another Patriot air-defense system to try to help it combat Russia's air attacks across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Sunday that another Patriot system had arrived from Germany - Ukraine's third one from the country. Ukraine has so far received at least four of the in-demand air-defense systems from its allies, but the exact number and their locations are kept secret.
/jlne.ws/3SkDO4P
Moscow decries 'theft' as EU uses frozen Russian funds to aid Ukraine
dpa international
Moscow on Tuesday again threatened to retaliate against a European Union measure to use interest from frozen Russian funds to finance military aid for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labelled the EU's decision, announced in late June, as "theft." He further called it a "direct violation of international law" and of "property rights," demanding the prosecution of EU decision-makers. The EU measure is set to raise EUR1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) in military aid for Kiev from the proceeds of frozen Russian Central Bank assets.
/jlne.ws/4disT3D
Russia considering ban on diesel exports, Kommersant reports
Reuters
The Russian government is considering a ban on exports of diesel due to rising domestic prices, the Kommersant daily reported on Wednesday, citing several unnamed sources. Russia is the world's top seaborne exporter of diesel just ahead of the United States. Diesel is its top oil product export, at about 35 million metric tons annually, of which almost three-quarters is shipped via pipeline.
/jlne.ws/4dcARLB
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel tanks advance deeper in southern Gaza as more ceasefire talks expected
Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Maayan Lubell and Hussam Al-Masri - Reuters
Palestinian residents of eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip fled their homes on Tuesday as Israeli tanks advanced deep into the area after Israel ordered the population to evacuate. The tanks pushed into the Khan Younis town of Bani Suhaila and several districts nearby were bombed for a second day, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to seek refuge elsewhere. Israel said its action - the latest in a series of major assaults in recent weeks in parts of Gaza where it had long since claimed to have rooted out Hamas - was intended to prevent the militant group's fighters from regrouping.
/jlne.ws/4cOogOO
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CME Group Inc. Reports All-Time Record Revenue of $1.5 Billion for Q2 2024
CME Group
Record quarterly adjusted net income and earnings per share
Highest Q2 average daily volume (ADV) in company history (26 million contracts)
Year-over-year growth across every asset class; CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2024. The company reported revenue of $1.5 billion and operating income of $1.0 billion for the second quarter of 2024. Net income was $883 million and diluted earnings per common share were $2.42. On an adjusted basis, net income was $932 million and diluted earnings per common share were $2.56. Financial results presented on an adjusted basis for the second quarter of 2024 and 2023 exclude certain items, which are detailed in the reconciliation of non-GAAP results.1
/jlne.ws/4db7ppd
First LME brand producer builds enhanced digital link to LMEpassport
London Metal Exchange
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is pleased to announce that Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has become the first LME primary aluminium brand producer to build a digital certificate of analysis (CoA) connection directly from its smelters to the LMEpassport platform - removing the requirement for paper documentation and further innovating the future of aluminium production. CoAs are key specification and quality assurance documents that must accompany shipments of LME metals into and out of warehouse. Primary aluminium smelters that produce LME brands are integrating their documentation processes digitally with LMEpassport this year to provide the market with greater chain of custody confidence, and to help remove inefficiencies resulting from paper-based processes.
/jlne.ws/3y754wJ
Stock Admission - New Listing of Securities
HKEx
The following securities have been approved for admission into CCASS for clearing, settlement, withdrawals and deposits. With effect from their respective listing dates, the Exchange trades of the said securities will be cleared inside CCASS and automatically settled on a Continuous Net Settlement (CNS) basis unless they are isolated from the CNS System by the counterparty Exchange Participants at the time of trade or isolated from the CNS System by HKSCC, in which case such trades will be settled on a trade-for-trade (TFT) basis.
/jlne.ws/4fh2l4j
Inter-commodity Spread
HKEx
Please be advised that pursuant to Exchange Rule 617(d) and HKCC Rule 402, the Exchange and the Clearing House have determined that with effect from the commencement of trading on Friday, 26 July 2024 (including the mandatory intra-day variation adjustment and margin call, if applicable).
/jlne.ws/3Yc2y2Q
Base price and daily price limits for newly listing ETF : Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF(Code: 223A) and 1 other
JPX
The base price, etc. of 2 ETFs including Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (Code: 223A), which are scheduled for initial listing on July 25, are as below.
/jlne.ws/3WAGn5i
24 019 LME Clear Margin Parameters July 24
LME
LME Clear Members are advised that new SPAN1 margin parameters have been set.
/jlne.ws/46j5sEY
Caution for Investors
NSE
It has been brought to the notice of the Exchange that telegram channel named "Banknifty Express" operating through mobile number "8306829377" is collecting funds from the public and providing securities market tips for trading and assured/guaranteed returns on investment in stock market.
/jlne.ws/3zNZjnZ
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | CrowdStrike to overhaul software updates after causing global IT outage
Matthew Field - The Telegraph
The US cyber security business blamed for last week's global IT outage has pledged to overhaul how it issues critical software updates. In a "post-incident review" of the IT blackout, CrowdStrike said it would reform how it tests and sends out future upgrades. The bug last Friday was found to have originated in a rogue file sent out to customers globally at 5.09am. CrowdStrike routinely sends out software updates for its Falcon product, which is designed to detect and protect against new hacking threats.
/jlne.ws/4fcQ4xT
Revolut Targets Valuation Jump to $45 Billion in Sign of Fintech Revival; The digital banking app provider has begun to churn out profits thanks to user growth and rising interest rates
Ben Dummett and Eliot Brown - The Wall Street Journal
Bank disrupter Revolut is nearing a deal to sell about $500 million of employee-owned shares at a valuation of $45 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that animal spirits are returning to the financial-technology sector. Revolut, already the world's second most-valuable fintech startup after Stripe, is in talks to sell the shares to new shareholders, including New York-based Coatue Management, and existing investors such as Tiger Global Management.
/jlne.ws/4bVRw51
Meta warns EU regulatory efforts risk bloc missing out on AI advances; Comments come after privacy watchdog asks Facebook owner to pause training of future AI models on region's data
Hannah Murphy in San Francisco and Cristina Criddle - Financial Times
Meta has warned that the EU's approach to regulating artificial intelligence is creating the "risk" that the continent is cut off from accessing cutting-edge services, while the bloc continues its effort to rein in the power of Big Tech. Rob Sherman, the social media group's deputy privacy officer and vice-president of policy, confirmed a report that it had received a request from the EU's privacy watchdog to voluntarily pause the training of its future AI models on data in the region.
/jlne.ws/3zSl7PB
OpenAI's GPT is a Recruiter's Dream Tool. Tests Show There's Racial Bias; Recruiters are eager to use generative AI, but a Bloomberg experiment found bias against job candidates based on their names alone
Leon Yin, Davey Alba and Leonardo Nicoletti - Bloomberg
Lately, Tatiana Becker has been flooded with work. As the founder of the boutique US firm NIAH Recruiting, she spends her days sifting through hundreds of resumes, hoping to fill dozens of roles at companies that have hired her to find matching employees. Companies tend to hire the most at the start of the year, mainly because of hiring budgets that have been set and go into effect in the first quarter. "Everybody came back to work, and it's been kind of insane," Becker said in a recent interview. In her professional groups and in forums for human resources and recruiting, everyone is buzzing about the same thing: using new artificial intelligence tools to ease the workload.
/jlne.ws/3zSc0yd
Google Parent's Ad Sale Growth Slows as AI Investments Soar; Shares fall after Alphabet warns third-quarter margins will be crimped
Miles Kruppa - The Wall Street Journal
Google's advertising sales growth slowed in the second quarter, putting a damper on parent Alphabet's primary revenue engine as it pours more money into artificial intelligence investments. Alphabet reported that its Google division generated $64.6 billion in ad sales from April to June, an increase of 11.1% from the same period last year. That represented a slowdown from the previous quarter, when ad sales rose 13% year-over-year. Shares in Alphabet were down 1.4% during after-hours trading after Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat indicated third-quarter operating margins would be crimped by investments in technical infrastructure and the cost of launching new hardware products, such as the Pixel phone.
/jlne.ws/3YhOVyZ
Meta unveils biggest Llama 3 AI model, touting language and math gains
Katie Paul - Reuters
Meta Platforms released the biggest version of its mostly free Llama 3 artificial intelligence models on Tuesday, boasting multilingual skills and general performance metrics that nip at the heels of paid models from rivals like OpenAI. The new Llama 3 model can converse in eight languages, write higher-quality computer code and solve more complex math problems than previous versions, the Facebook parent company said in blog posts and a research paper announcing the release. With 405 billion parameters, or variables that the algorithm takes into account to generate responses to user queries, it dwarfs the previous version released last year though is still smaller than leading models offered by competitors.
/jlne.ws/3LCf97X
Colin Kaepernick Launches New AI Startup; The former NFL quarterback is launching a platform to use the technology's capabilities to give aspiring creators tools they might otherwise not have access to
Andrew Beaton - The Wall Street Journal
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Chinese cloud giant releases homegrown operating system for Chinese server CPUs - TencentOS Server V3 supports Huawei Kunpeng, Sugon Hygon, and Phytium FeiTeng chips
Anton Shilov - Tom's Hardware
/jlne.ws/4cQoOUk
Payments using digital wallets surge in Britain; Better security and looser limits on spending fuel mobile transactions as cash continues its decline, report finds
Akila Quinio - Financial Times
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Lessons from the global IT outage; Businesses and governments need to mitigate against single points of failure
The editorial board - Financial Times
Organisations around the world are still recovering from one of the biggest ever IT outages. On Friday, a glitch caused by a faulty software update from CrowdStrike, an American digital security vendor, affected 8.5mn Microsoft Windows devices. Flights were grounded, hospital appointments postponed, and several news broadcasters dropped off air. A fix was rapidly deployed, and many services have resumed. It may take time for all affected computers to be reset.
/jlne.ws/46fvBVh
Hackers Leak Documents From Pentagon IT Services Provider Leidos; Files linked to a breach of Diligent Corp. disclosed in 2023; Leidos' clients include Pentagon, Homeland Security and NASA
Charles Gorrivan - Bloomberg
Hackers have leaked internal documents stolen from Leidos Holdings Inc., one of the largest IT services providers to the US government, according to a person familiar with the matter. Leidos recently learned of the issue and believes the documents were stolen in a previously disclosed breach of a Diligent Corp. system it used, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public. Leidos is investigating the issue, the person added.
/jlne.ws/4fukJXV
Security Summit urges tax pros to watch out for identity theft red flags; Week 3 of "Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself" series focuses on security warning signs
IRS
In the third part of a special series, the Internal Revenue Service and the Security Summit partners today urged tax professionals to learn the signs of data theft so they can respond quickly to protect their business and their clients. The IRS and the Security Summit partners continue to see a relentless string of attempts by identity thieves to target tax professionals in hopes of gaining valuable client tax information. With stronger fraud defenses put in place by the IRS and Security Summit partners, identity thieves have shifted their attention to tax pros to get more detailed information to help prepare bogus tax returns.
/jlne.ws/4fbCj2t
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto Exchange Gate.io Exits Japan; "As one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, we strive to comply with financial regulations in all regions in which we operate," a blog on Gate.io said.
Amitoj Singh - CoinDesk
Crypto exchange Gate.io has terminated its services in Japan, it announced on Monday, suggesting a lack of compliance in the nation. It said that it would "comply with laws and regulations in Japan" and support customers who wish to transition to compliant cryptocurrency exchanges within Japan. The company's website does not show it has regulatory approval in Japan. The company is headquartered in George Town, Cayman Islands.
/jlne.ws/3WfvLqT
U.S. Government Moves $4M Bitcoin to Coinbase, Arkham Data Show; An address labeled "U.S. Government: Ryan Farace Seized Funds" moved BTC worth nearly $4 million to Coinbase 11 hours ago.
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
The U.S. government transferred 58.742 bitcoin (BTC), worth nearly $4 million, to Coinbase (COIN) on Monday, according to data tracked by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The transfer originated from an address labeled "U.S. Government: Ryan Farace Seized Funds" and identified onchain as 3B2jEBZi8fJWGEDrh6Pe7hDMaJ6iGfFtaU. The funds were seized three years ago from Ryan Farace, who was convicted in 2018 for selling Xanax pills on the dark web.
/jlne.ws/4c1BQNr
Iris Energy Is Positioned to Become One of the Biggest Listed Bitcoin Miners: Canaccord
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Iris Energy (IREN) is positioned to become the most efficient and one of the biggest publicly listed bitcoin {{BTC}} miners, with options in high-performance computing (HPC) as it starts its pilot in Childress, Texas in the second half of the year, broker Canaccord said in a research report on Tuesday. As the Sydney-based company scales its business, there are very few bitcoin miners with the same amount of power at their disposal, the report said.
/jlne.ws/3Ygxi2M
Bitcoin Reward Firm Fold Said to Near Deal With Betsy Cohen SPAC; FTAC Emerald deal could value Fold at about $500 million; An agreement could be announced as soon as Wednesday
Crystal Tse and David Pan - Bloomberg
Fold Inc., the Bitcoin reward firm, is in advanced talks to go public via a blank-check company started by SPAC veteran Betsy Cohen, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The deal with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. would value Fold at close to $500 million, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The transaction with the special purpose acquisition company could be announced as soon as Wednesday, the people said. Representatives for Fold and the SPAC declined to comment.
/jlne.ws/3zWlpEW
Ethereum-Based Protocol Alkimiya Creates Market for Hedging Bitcoin Fees; One question is whether the protocol can pull in loyal bitcoin users - or if it will eventually end up on an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 network atop Bitcoin.
Bradley Keoun - CoinDesk
Blockchain protocol Alkimiya launched, introducing a tool that allows users to hedge against volatile Bitcoin (BTC) transaction fee rates. The hardest part might be getting hardline bitcoiners - sometimes known as "maximalists" or "maxis" - to use the new protocol since it's built atop the Ethereum blockchain. Target users for the platform, described as a "blockspace markets protocol
/jlne.ws/4fjgFJV
DeFi Giant dYdX Says Its v3 Platform Is Compromised - Just as It's Reportedly Up for Sale; News of the problem emerged just as Bloomberg reported dYdX v3 is for sale.
Danny Nelson - CoinDesk
Decentralized crypto-exchange giant dYdX said Tuesday that one of its on-chain trading services has been "compromised" and warned users against visiting dydx.exchange until further notice. Specifically, the website for dYdX v3, an older version of its trading platform that averages around $1.5 billion in weekly derivatives trading volume, "has been compromised," per a tweet.
/jlne.ws/3W9d6Nm
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump Floated Jamie Dimon for Treasury Secretary, Then Denies It; 'He is somebody that I would consider,' Trump said in June; On Truth Social, he also denies considering BlackRock's Fink
Gregory Korte and Nancy Cook - Bloomberg
Former President Donald Trump is disavowing a previous statement that he would consider JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon for Treasury secretary - and denied that he was considering BlackRock Inc.'s Larry Fink, too. "I don't know who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon or Larry Fink for Secretary of the Treasury," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. It was Trump himself who said Dimon could be a potential cabinet member. In a June 25 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump talked about his recent meeting with CEOs hosted by the Business Roundtable in Washington.
/jlne.ws/3SiCcZ2
Oil Billionaires Bet on Trump's Energy Agenda; Donald Trump's plan to bolster fossil fuels and weaken environmental agencies draws support from powerful oil-and-gas backers
Benoit Morenne and Collin Eaton - The Wall Street Journal
As Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination last Thursday, he reminded the megawealthy coterie of oil tycoons backing him why he is their man. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far, we are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy," Trump said during his prime-time address. The speech was music to the ears of oil billionaires Harold Hamm of Continental Resources, Kelcy Warren of Energy Transfer, Jeffery Hildebrand of Hilcorp, and George Bishop of GeoSouthern Energy. Since March, they, together with their spouses and companies, have contributed at least $9.9 million to Trump-aligned committees and the Republican National Committee, according to Federal Election Commission data.
/jlne.ws/4cRlxnW
Trump's Weaker Dollar Pledge Plots Possible Tailwind for Bitcoin; Weak dollar policy view seen as a break with precedent; Greenback has largely traded inversely to Trump's rising odds
Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
Donald Trump's potential return to the White House in November may bring about a weaker dollar, if the former US president gets his way. Some analysts reckon that would be a benefit for Bitcoin. Concern around the dollar's strength relative to currencies of trading partners like China and Japan has emerged as one of the Trump campaign's key policy issues in recent weeks, leading the greenback to decline as Trump's odds of winning the US election improved. A devaluation would support riskier assets like cryptocurrencies and gold, which have bounced under a strategy know as the Trump Trade.
/jlne.ws/46kFYXQ
A Harris presidency would carry baton on financial industry crackdown
Michelle Price and Pete Schroeder - Reuters
A potential Democratic administration led by Vice President Kamala Harris would likely advance President Joe Biden's agenda of tough financial rules, an unwelcome prospect for Wall Street banks, crypto companies and other players that have chafed under the current administration. Harris is the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination after Biden exited the presidential race on Sunday and endorsed her. While Harris has had a low profile when it comes to the administration's financial policies, her track record taking on Wall Street banks and voting against deregulation suggests she would continue with Biden's ambitious agenda, said analysts.
/jlne.ws/4cRhjfP
Wall Street billionaires rally around Kamala Harris as Silicon Valley leaders side with Trump
Lydia Moynihan - NY Post
The biggest Democrat-supporting names on Wall Street are holding an all-hands Zoom call to rally financial support for Kamala Harris, sources tell The Post. Major New York financial players including Avenue Capital CEO Marc Lasry, Lazard President Ray McGuire, Centerview co-founder Blair Effron, Paul Weiss Chair Brad Karp and C Street co-founder Brian Mathis will connect with around 40 other prominent Wall Street titans on the call Wednesday at 3PM, according to the insiders.
/jlne.ws/3Wy4XUj
Nigel Farage 'debanking' scandal prompts complaints about financial companies;UK Information Commissioner's Office receives surge of customer grievances about handling of data requests
Akila Quinio - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4f9P51D
India Scraps Import Taxes to Speed Green Energy Uptake
Lou Del Bello - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | FCA takes push for $700mn BlueCrest Capital redress plan to Court of Appeal; Regulator fined macro hedge fund £41mn following allegations of 'reckless' conduct
Alistair Gray and Costas Mourselas - Financial Times
The UK's financial conduct regulator is fighting to resurrect a $700mn redress scheme that it wants to impose on billionaire Michael Platt's BlueCrest Capital over allegations of "reckless" conduct. Three senior judges in London on Tuesday heard a legal challenge brought by the Financial Conduct Authority after a tribunal last year found the regulator had demonstrated "a considerable amount of muddled thinking" and blocked the regulator's redress plan.
/jlne.ws/46l6ZdS
Transparency rules for US private funds lapse after SEC allows deadline to pass; Appeals court ruling that found financial regulator had exceeded its authority will stand
Brooke Masters and Stefania Palma - Financial Times
Contentious US transparency rules for private equity and hedge funds will be wiped off the books after the Securities and Exchange Commission did not ask for reconsideration of a court decision striking them down. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that the SEC had exceeded its authority when it required private fund managers to disclose more information on earnings, expenses and separate agreements with large investors. The SEC allowed Monday's deadline for a rehearing to pass.
/jlne.ws/3LAXiy9
We suspect ANZ broke the law in $14b bond sale: ASIC
Ronald Mizen and Jonathan Shapiro - AFR
The corporate cop's probe into big four bank ANZ market trades during a $14 billion government bond sale involves suspected illegality and is more than a "please explain", its chairman Joe Longo says. In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian Financial Review, the head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission also detailed new initiatives to crack down on insider trading, previewed an intervention into the private credit market, and hit back at claims ASIC is a "toothless tiger".
/jlne.ws/4bS1ZhH
2 Promoters of Forcount Crypto Ponzi Scheme Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud Conspiracy; Promoters of the Brazil-based crypto scam stole a collective $8.4 million from Spanish-speaking investors around the world.
Cheyenne Ligon - CoinDesk
Two more promoters of the Forcount crypto Ponzi scheme - a Brazil-based scam that bilked Spanish-speaking investors out of $8.4 million between 2017 and 2021 - have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. On July 22, Nestor Nunez, 66, and Antonia Perez Hernandez, 49, separately pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
/jlne.ws/3LCKasq
SEC Charges Fund Manager with $37 Million Offering Fraud and Misappropriation of Investor Money
SEC
On July 22, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged fund manager Robert Newell and his prior firm, Black Hawk Funding, Inc., with engaging in undisclosed misuses of investor funds, making Ponzi-like payments, and distributing misleading disclosure documents to investors in connection with three cannabis-related private fund offerings. The SEC's complaint also alleges that Newell misappropriated at least around $668,000 of investor money. Black Hawk Funding agreed to settle the charges against it.
/jlne.ws/3SnpqZr
Australians can be confident in the integrity of our equity markets: ASIC report
ASIC
ASIC's latest market cleanliness report has shown Australia's equity markets continue to operate with a high level of integrity and remain consistently among the cleanest in the world. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, 'Clean financial markets are essential for the financial wellbeing of Australians and fundamental to an efficient economy. They enable business to raise capital and manage risk and give investors confidence to invest.
/jlne.ws/3YgUjm5
FMA publishes guidance note for providers of client money or property services
FMA
The Financial Markets Authority has published guidance on how providers of client money or property services, and custodians, can meet their obligations under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act). It replaces the FMA's 2014 guidance note for brokers and information sheet on custodians' obligations to align with the new regulatory regime. It also provides additional guidance for custodians who have specific obligations in addition to those that apply to all client money and property service providers.
/jlne.ws/4divTwZ
Over £100m in redress offered to former British Steel pension scheme members
FCA
£106m in redress has now been offered to 1,870 former British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members to put them back in the position they would have been at retirement. More than 6,500 former members have been supported by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or through our redress scheme. We have been working closely with FOS and FSCS to help those who transferred out of the BSPS following poor advice get the retirement they worked for.
/jlne.ws/46fyh5b
FCA confirms plan to protect access to cash for consumers and small businesses
FCA
Banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services, like branches and ATMs, and plug significant gaps, under new FCA rules.
/jlne.ws/3YaUxLA
MAS Proposes to Impose Minimum Interest Coverage on All REITs
MAS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today published a consultation paper to subject all REITs to a minimum interest coverage ratio (ICR) threshold of 1.5 times and an aggregate leverage limit of 50%, as it simplifies leverage requirements for the sector.
/jlne.ws/3LCfEis
MAS Cancels the Insurance Broker Registration of Acesynergy Brokers Pte. Ltd.
MAS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has cancelled the registration of Acesynergy Brokers Pte. Ltd. (ABPL) as an insurance broker in Singapore with effect from 24 July 2024. ABPL is no longer permitted to carry on insurance broking business in Singapore from the same date. ABPL has returned all remaining policyholders' moneys and connected them with their respective insurers.
/jlne.ws/3WBze4K
SEBI study finds that 7 out of 10 individual intraday traders in equity cash segment make losses
SEBI
A study conducted by SEBI has found that more than 70% (7 out of 10) of individual intraday traders in equity cash segment have incurred losses in FY 2022 - 23. The study also noted the surge of over 300% in the number of individuals participating in intraday trading in equity cash segment in FY 2022 - 23 compared to FY 2018 - 19.
/jlne.ws/46j7jcU
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Alphabet revenue jump shows no sign of AI denting search business; Cloud computing growth shows continued demand as companies race to build large language models
Stephen Morris - Financial Times
Alphabet's revenues jumped 14 per cent in the second quarter, with double-digit growth in advertising suggesting that AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT have not yet made a dent in queries on its dominant search engine. Even stronger growth in its cloud computing business demonstrated the rapacious demand for computing and data services as Big Tech companies and start-ups race to build large language models and integrate AI into their businesses.
/jlne.ws/46kvwPV
Meme Stock AMC Wants Creditors to Take a Haircut; Clearlake-backed Springs Window Fashions and software firm McAfee are also in talks with lenders
Reshmi Basu - Bloomberg
Aggressive Maneuvers
A fresh batch of debt haircut proposals highlights how companies are becoming increasingly aggressive in managing their borrowings and extending maturities, often by pitting creditors against creditors. The highest-profile pitch came from movie theater chain AMC Entertainment on Monday. The company unveiled a restructuring deal that will help it extend as much as $2.45 billion of debt to 2029 or later. The world's largest cinema group will use new loans and exchangeable notes to repurchase certain debts due in 2026. It will also turn some borrowing into equity.
/jlne.ws/3Wz14yg
Ex-Banker Behind $1.7 Trillion Japan Rally Says It's Just Starting; The head of Japan Exchange Group is credited with turning Tokyo into one of the world's top-performing equity markets.
Lisa Du and Yasutaka Tamura - Bloomberg
The man who helped spark a nearly $2 trillion rally in Japanese stocks says the rebound is just getting started. Hiromi Yamaji, whose unconventional reforms and globe-trotting sales pitches have helped make Japan one of the world's best performing equity markets, sees no reason why the nation's stocks can't keep rising after reaching an all-time high this month. "These records happen regularly in other places like the US," said Yamaji, the head of Japan Exchange Group Inc., operator of the country's bourses. "I would like to make it so it's not an unusual thing for the market to hit a new record high."
/jlne.ws/3LWs0lL
This popular retirement option is still risky. Is it worth it? Target-date funds took a hit in 2022. Here's what savers need to know about how they work.
Rivan Stinson - The Washington Post
Saving for retirement is always filled with uncertainty: Past investment performance doesn't indicate future gains, and you may not have saved enough for an unexpected health issue or other family emergency. But for decades, investors and advisers alike have followed one guiding light: You can count on bonds or bond funds for safe, stable returns. That all changed in 2022, when inflation soared and forced the Federal Reserve to up interest rates. Those rate hikes hammered bond funds, which reflect bonds' sensitivity to interest-rate changes: When interest rates rise, they erode the price of bonds and lift yields, which move in the opposite direction. The higher rates hit stock markets as well because they ramped up borrowing costs for companies.
/jlne.ws/3Wi2E6p
Can the natural diamond market regain its sparkle? Some think market for rough stones will bounce back as falling prices for factory produced rivals trigger profitability warnings
Harry Dempsey and Chris Kay - Financial Times
The market for rough diamonds for jewellery is suffering one of its worst downturns as consumers switch to factory-made stones because of the plunge in prices. But now, the direction of the $83.5bn market may be set to turn with some forecasting a recovery in rough or natural stones as lab-grown prices have fallen too far.
/jlne.ws/3WBAWCQ
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | The dangerous effects of rising sea temperatures; Scientists are increasingly concerned that the world's oceans are approaching the limits of their capacity to absorb heat
Attracta Mooney, Steven Bernard and Jana Tauschinski - Financial Times
In 30 years of studying the oceans, Matthew England has learnt to understand their irregular yet constant rhythms - the cycles of wind, temperature and atmospheric changes that interact with the masses of water covering most of the Earth's surface. But what he has seen in the past 15 months has shocked him. Global sea surface temperatures have reached and stayed at record levels, fuelling heatwaves and melting sea ice. Temperatures in the north Atlantic waters he has been studying, including around the UK and Ireland, were described last year as "beyond extreme" by the EU's Earth observation service.
/jlne.ws/3WzLdzt
Revealed: wealthy western countries lead in global oil and gas expansion; The US and the UK among countries with low dependence on fossil fuels criticized for 'hypocrisy' on climate pledges
Oliver Milman and Nina Lakhani - The Guardian
A surge in new oil and gas production in 2024 threatens to unleash nearly 12bn tonnes of planet-heating emissions, with the world's wealthiest countries - such as the US and the UK - leading a stampede of fossil fuel expansion in spite of their climate commitments, new data shared exclusively with the Guardian reveals.
/jlne.ws/3YmMHi9
AI Boom to Slow Pace of US Emissions Reduction, Report Says; US will miss Biden's ambitious 2030 goal for cutting pollution; A Trump win in November would complicate decarbonization path
Rafaela Jinich - Bloomberg
US greenhouse gas emissions are not falling fast enough to meet the Biden administration's goal of cutting greenhouse gas pollution by at least half in 2030, compared with 2005 levels, according to new analysis by research firm Rhodium Group. The group said the Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022, has helped create a pathway for deep decarbonization across the energy and transportation sectors - but the US is still only on track to achieve as much as a 43% emissions reduction at the start of the next decade.
/jlne.ws/4fjEAbW
US remains off track on climate pledge despite Biden green spending push; Record clean energy investment fails to drive emissions cuts far enough to close the gap on UN climate goal
Aime Williams - Financial Times
The US remains off track for the steep greenhouse gas emissions cuts promised by 2030 under the Paris accord despite the Biden administration's sweeping green subsidies and new climate rules, the latest analysis shows. The US, historically the world's biggest polluter, has significantly reduced emissions under President Joe Biden but it will still fall short of the pledge to eliminate at least 50 per cent by the end of the decade, compared with 2005 levels, according to independent research from Rhodium Group.
/jlne.ws/3YemS3q
The Accounting Flaw at the Heart of 'Financed Emissions'; With so many players disclosing the same emissions, the system is inherently duplicative - in both directions.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
A frequent critique of carbon accounting is that Scope 3 emissions, those that arise from a company's customers and supply chains, are essentially double-counted. Since one company's Scope 3 emissions are comprised of other companies' Scope 1 emissions, which are those that occur from sources controlled or owned by an organization, by definition Scope 3 accounting involves multiple actors counting the same emissions.
/jlne.ws/4dfolLq
Barclays Calls On Starmer's Government to Lead on Climate Tech; The UK bank is focused on the crippling 'funding challenge' facing companies in low-carbon industries.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
Among the many pressing problems the UK's new government needs to address is how to increase financing to companies developing the critical technologies needed for the low-carbon transition. That's according to Barclays Plc, which on Wednesday published its recommendations for how Kier Starmer's team can address a crippling "funding challenge" that's "hindering the ability of growth-stage climate-tech firms to scale at pace." Find a solution, and Britain can "leapfrog international markets and become a destination of choice for innovative climate technologies," the London-based bank said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/3Yd1QT3
Biden Administration Targets Domestic Emissions of Climate Super-Pollutant with Eye Towards U.S.-China Climate Agreement; Reducing nitrous oxide emissions from U.S. chemical plants could reduce greenhouse gas emissions at little cost. Similar plants in China offer a "far bigger prize."
Phil McKenna - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/4bVYN4W
Nestle, Mars Wrigley, Ferrero back EU deforestation law, document shows
Kate Abnett - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3Wjvrr7
Study: Oil and gas exploration booming despite global pact to 'transition away' from fossil fuels
Cecilia Keating - BusinessGreen
/jlne.ws/4cWRf3c
Canadian Wildfires Threaten Oil Output and Prompt Evacuations; Fires burn close to 388,000 barrels a day of oil production; Jasper National Park is evacuated due to wildfire threat
Robert Tuttle - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3YgjiG9
GE Vernova Now Must Explain Broken Wind Turbine to Investors; Company to report earnings after massive blade fell into sea; Incident could affect nascent US offshore wind industry
Will Wade - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3ycLDCG
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | How private equity tangled banks in a web of debt; Complex layers of leverage could pose a threat to the global economy
Ortenca Aliaj, Sam Learner, Irene de la Torre Arenas, Sam Joiner, Will Louch and Kaye Wiggins - Financial Times
Private equity firms have become an integral part of the global economy, owning everything from family homes to supermarkets and cosmetics companies - even hospitals. Assets controlled by groups such as Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group have quadrupled since 2012, to about $8tn. As the size of the private equity industry has grown, so too has the debt it uses to buy companies, enabled by a decade of ultra-low interest rates.
/jlne.ws/4cRiyeZ
Deutsche Bank shares drop as buyback plan halted; Germany's largest lender pauses buybacks after legal charge tied to acquisition of Postbank
Olaf Storbeck - Financial Times
Deutsche Bank has ditched plans for more share buybacks this year after taking a more than EUR1bn litigation charge tied to its botched acquisition of German retail lender Postbank. Shares in Germany's largest lender fell as much as 8 per cent on Wednesday after chief financial officer James von Moltke said that the bank would focus on "building excess capital" over the rest of the year.
/jlne.ws/46hh7E6
China's quant funds suffer deep losses amid crackdown
Summer Zhen - Reuters
Chinese computer-driven "quant" hedge funds suffered heavy losses in the first half of the year, underperforming traditional stocks strategies at home and other popular global fund strategies, data shows. That dismal performance is leading to a reshuffle in the $200 billion industry, prompting some to even exit their businesses, market participants say.
/jlne.ws/3yaLVKc
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | World's Largest Recruiter Says Clients Don't Have Enough Confidence to Hire
Sarah Jacob - Bloomberg
Randstad NV, the world's largest recruiter, says continued macroeconomic uncertainty has resulted in businesses not having enough confidence to make big decisions around investments and hiring. Persistent inflation in both the US and Europe, slower economic growth, and uncertainty around the path of interest-rate cuts have affected its clients' spending patterns in several key markets, Chief Executive Officer Sander van't Noordende said in a phone interview after second-quarter results on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/4cSS2Ca
New York's Office Workers Are About to Get a Major Lunch Upgrade; Star chef Daniel Boulud is starting a new high-volume catering business after 25 years of boutique operations for the likes of LVMH and FIFA.
Kate Krader - Bloomberg
As return-to-office numbers hit almost 80% of pre-pandemic levels, lunch options in midtown New York keep proliferating-whether it's the standard $17 takeout salad or a $34 Gruyère cheeseburger at the splashy new Four Twenty Five. Now there's yet another recourse for white-collar workers who want to escape pedestrian meals during the day, not to mention uninspired event dinners at night.
/jlne.ws/3LBFyTu
The Hottest Job Market in a Generation Is Over; Pandemic-induced hiring spree wanes, leaving U.S. workers with more ordinary prospects
Jeanne Whalen - The Wall Street Journal
Americans' once-in-a-generation job market has come to an end. The red-hot hiring and rock-bottom unemployment that helped millions of workers find new gigs, boost their wages and reinvent their careers are giving way to more prosaic times. While the market is still healthy by many measures, signs of difficulty are creeping in. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% last month-the first time it has crossed above 4% since 2021. That's still low by historical measures, but it's up from 3.4% early last year. Workers have stopped quitting jobs at a frenzied pace, and college grads are having a hard time breaking into the market at all. The number of open positions for every unemployed person is back to the prepandemic level of 1.2, down from over 2 in 2022. And while the risk of getting laid off is still low, hiring has fallen beneath its pre-Covid level.
/jlne.ws/3WxnqQS
FTC Gets Win on Noncompete Ban After Loss in Another Court (3)
Justin Wise - Bloomberg Law
A federal judge rejected a small Pennsylvania company's challenge of the Federal Trade Commission's ban on noncompete contracts, creating a divide in the judiciary over the regulator's powers. The FTC has clear legal authority to issue "procedural and substantive rules as is necessary to prevent unfair methods of competition," said Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. ATS Tree Services has failed to establish it would eventually succeed on the merits of its argument that the agency lacks such power, she said.
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Delaware's Shareholder Move Could Reshape Regulation of Startups
Anat Alon-Beck - Bloomberg Law
In a landmark decision for the startup ecosystem, Delaware Gov. John Carney enacted a law that redefines shareholder rights in venture-backed startups. This move comes at a critical time when the dynamics of corporate governance are rapidly evolving, necessitating a fresh perspective on shareholder protections.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Pastoral wellness survey finds pastors struggle with financial, physical, and mental stresses
The Christian Index
Recent key research findings into pastoral wellness reveal that many pastors struggle with financial, physical, and mental wellness. Commissioned by GuideStone Financial Resources and conducted by Grey Matter Research & Consulting, a 2024 Pastoral Wellness Study found that over 80% of pastors surveyed sometimes sacrifice their own wellbeing in their ministerial capacity, with more than half saying they sometimes sacrifice their family's wellbeing while doing ministry.
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Male Infertility Anxiety Is Driving the Latest Wellness Boom
Daniela Morosini - Business of Fashion
Male wellness products have long been centred around muscle building, endurance and other athletic pursuits. Now, brands and consumers are switching their focus to virility, fertility and sexual peak performance.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | The flashpoints that threaten a detente between China and the Philippines; Manila fears control of Sabina Shoal could help Beijing enforce territorial claims over disputed region
Kathrin Hille - Financial Times
For the past month, Philippine and Chinese diplomats have been working overtime. After the countries' most violent clash yet in the South China Sea, officials on both sides have been trying to de-escalate a confrontation that threatens to spiral into open conflict. Those efforts have led to agreement to open new communication channels for maritime incidents, and a temporary arrangement for the Philippines' resupply missions to its military outpost on Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the disputed waters.
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India closes in on China as largest emerging market; Rise to almost a fifth of global stock benchmark quandary for fund managers concerned at high Indian valuations
Alan Livsey and Joseph Cotterill - Financial Times
India is catching up on China's spot as the largest country in a benchmark emerging-market index, underlining a quandary for global investors who are becoming increasingly exposed to its ebullient but expensive stock market. Soaring share prices, stock sales and earnings growth by Indian companies have pushed India to just under a fifth of the MSCI emerging markets index while China has fallen to a quarter, from more than 40 per cent in 2020.
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African Nations Turn to Gold to Protect Against Currency Losses; At least six are building up gold reserves or considering it; The move is being spurred by rising geopolitical tensions
Ray Ndlovu and Okech Francis - Bloomberg
African nations are rushing to build their gold reserves to hedge against geopolitical tensions that have battered their currencies and fanned inflation. Nations from South Sudan, Zimbabwe and Nigeria have either taken steps to shore up their holdings or are considering doing so. The move follows that of central banks in places such as China and India that have accumulated gold to diversify reserves and reduce dependency on the US dollar. About 20 central banks are expected to stock up in the coming year, according to a World Gold Council survey.
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Land dispute threatens to derail Namibia's energy hub plans
Wendell Roelf and Nyasha Nyaungwa - Reuters
A dispute in Namibia over access to diamond-rich land around the town of Luderitz is now threatening to derail major energy projects, state and company officials said as the government steps up efforts to resolve the dispute. Any protracted delays may scare off investors at a crucial time for Namibia, as it aims to accelerate its first oil production following large offshore finds by TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab and Galp (GALP.LS), opens new tab.
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