| October 11, 2017 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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How AI Is Reshaping ISVs: TT's Rick Lane Looks at AI for Everything from Compliance to Finding Trading Opportunities
John Lothian News
Trading Technologies announced yesterday the acquisition of Neurensic, an artificial intelligence regulation and compliance firm (terms were not disclosed). The deal brings Neurensic's AI technology into TT and provides a new compliance platform for the firm. But the potential for the technology goes well beyond that. TT's CEO Rick Lane spoke with JLN's Jim Kharouf about where this technology is going next.
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Hits & Takes
By JLN Staff
We have closed registration for the October 16 MarketsWiki Education Recruiting event at the CBOE, however students may still submit their resumes for the database we will be sharing with sponsors. They can email them to [email protected]. We have 175 students signed up and are hoping they don't all show up at once. We are grateful for all the help we received getting the word out about the event. Thank you to all who helped. ~JJL
Rob Creamer of Geneva Trading is featured in a video for our MarketsWiki Education Recruiting event talking about what they do and careers at his firm. ~JJL
David Widerhorn, CEO of Neurensic, acquired by Trading Technologies, will not be joining TT. ~JK
Asia Pacific financial news from John Lothian News from yesterday is available HERE. ~JJL
A Texas Hold Em Tournament is being held on behalf of the STAC Fund on Thursday, October 12 at Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse. ~JJL
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Trading Technologies' Acquisition of Neurensic Couples World-class Trade Execution Platform with Cutting-edge AI Surveillance
Trading Technologies
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global provider of high-performance professional trading software, today announced it has acquired Neurensic, LLC, an artificial intelligence (AI) regtech solution for trading, compliance, surveillance and banking. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
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Geneva Trading Helps Students Get Real World Experience
Education.JohnLothianNews.com
Our MarketsWiki Education Recruiting Intern Event is less than two weeks away! As our sponsor firms gear up to meet with students from all over the Midwest, we interviewed Geneva Trading's, President and CEO, Rob Creamer, about what they are looking for and what students can expect interning at the proprietary trading firm.
Watch the video »
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Exclusive: Symantec CEO Says Source Code Reviews Pose Unacceptable Risk
Reuters
U.S.-based cyber firm Symantec is no longer allowing governments to review the source code of its software because of fears the agreements would compromise the security of its products, Symantec Chief Executive Greg Clark said in an interview with Reuters.
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**Which trading firm will allow China or Russia to review its source code to trade on its markets, if asked? ~JK
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TMX Group Launches New Brand Campaign "THE FUTURE IS YOURS TO SEE"
TMX
TMX Group today launched a new global marketing campaign, designed to celebrate progress and breakthrough achievement in today's continuously-evolving business landscape and to highlight the important role TMX plays in connecting visionary clients to a limitless world of opportunity.
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****I don't know about this slogan... it goes against everything I learned from the lyrics to "Que Sera, Sera." ~SD
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SEC roasts reggae coffee company schemer for $58 million
Rodney F. Tonkovic, J.D. - Jim Hamilton's World of Securities Regulation
An SEC enforcement action against Marley Coffee has ground to a halt with a $58 million final judgment. Wayne Weaver was pressed for participating in multimillion-dollar international pump-and-dump scheme involving the stock of Jammin' Java Corp., a company using the trademarks of reggae artist Bob Marley for licensed coffee products. Weaver, of the U.K. and Canada, is the last defendant in this action against whom a judgment has been obtained (SEC v. Jammin' Java Corp., October 3, 2017).
/goo.gl/fZrFeH
****How did the SEC catch wind of it? Did three little birds tell 'em? ~SD
****No coffee, no cry.~JK
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MarketsWiki Page of the Day: Neurensic
MarketsWiki
Neurensic, a technology startup that provided an AI platform for trading, compliance, surveillance and banking, has been acquired by Trading Technologies for an undisclosed amount.
/goo.gl/7eKxy6
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Tuesday's Top Three
Yesterday's top stories were led by Reuters's piece Bill Gross of Janus blames Fed for 'fake markets'. Second went to a personal essay from DRW's COO
#DRWat25: Yuval. The company is now 25 years old. Third went to the
Financial Times' interview High-frequency trading: Q&A with Doug Cifu of Virtu Financial
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| MarketsWiki Statistics Sponsored by Level Trading Field | 109,079,887 pages viewed 22,856 pages 209,944 edits
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| Lead Stories | CME, Linchpin of Chicago Finance, Says It's Not Tied to the City
Brian Louis and Nick Baker - Bloomberg
CEO Duffy notes exchange is based there for 'legacy reasons'; But the Chicago native sees many great reasons to stay
CME Group Inc. has a message for Illinois legislators who see the $47 billion global derivatives trading giant as a piggy bank to help solve the state's fiscal woes.
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Nasdaq CEO Friedman Says Exchange Is Keeping ICOs at Arm's Length
Annie Massa - Bloomberg
Friedman sees risks associated with initial coin offerings; SEC Chair also cast doubt on ICOs, which raised $2 billion
Nasdaq Inc. Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman said the exchange operator is keeping its distance from initial coin offerings.
/goo.gl/kGjJJX
US finance industry bemoans 'massive headache' of Mifid II; Finance trade bodies worry the SEC has been too slow in responding to new European rules
Robin Wigglesworth, US markets editor - FT
Europe's looming regulatory overhaul is inducing a "massive headache" for the US finance industry, which is still anxiously waiting for regulators to resolve crucial conflicts with American rules, according to representatives of US banks and investment groups.
/goo.gl/JtbpnU
'Passive' Investing Frenzy Pushes Vanguard to $4.7 Trillion in Assets; Assets topped $4 trillion for the first time earlier this year and have continued their upward climb since
Sarah Krouse - WSJ
Investors plowed nearly $300 billion into Vanguard Group funds in the first nine months of this year, nearly matching flows into the firm for all of 2016 in the latest affirmation of the primacy of low-cost "passive" investing.
/goo.gl/aCGqsd
Nobel Economist Thaler Says He's Nervous About Stock Market
Jeanna Smialek - Bloomberg
Low-volatility market is 'napping' despite uncertain times; Says Trump's 'ratio of certitude to knowledge' at record highs
A buoyant and complacent stock market is worrying Richard H. Thaler, the University of Chicago professor who this week won the Nobel Prize in economics.
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Central bankers face a crisis of confidence as models fail; The new masters of the universe are struggling to understand what makes a modern economy tick and their actions could prove harmful
Chris Giles in Washington - FT
Central bankers usurped the titans of Wall Street as the masters of the universe almost a decade ago. They rescued the global economy from the financial crisis, flooding the world with cheap money. They used their powers effectively to get banks lending again. Their actions raised asset prices, keeping business and consumer confidence up. Financial markets and populations hang on their words. But never have they been so vulnerable.
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ISDA CDS panel faces call for more transparency
Helen Bartholomew - Reuters
The framework for determining whether credit default swaps should pay out may benefit from improved transparency and changes to the composition of the committee that determines credit events, according to a new survey.
jlne.ws/2g9GseL
Jamie Dimon, others to contribute to new NBC opinion website
Sheila Dang - Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is among a roster of high-profile names who will contribute to the online opinion section that NBC News launched on Tuesday, the network said.
jlne.ws/2xxJv2Y
Trading Database Will Be Safe From Hackers, Developer Says
Dave Michaels - WSJ
The developer of what will become one of the world's largest financial databases on Tuesday defended the project from industry critics who want regulators to stall the system, saying it presents a target for hackers.
Mike Beller, chief executive of Thesys Technologies LLC, said the Consolidated Audit Trail shouldn't fall victim to fear that hackers will penetrate it. Speaking at a Washington conference, Mr. Beller offered his first public defense of the CAT project since stock exchanges and some broker-dealers...
jlne.ws/2yfC1W1
Kobe Steel shares plunge as scandal widens; Japanese group adds steel and specialist metals to list of questionable products
Peter Wells, Emiko Terazono and Alice Woodhouse - FT
Corporate Japan's latest industrial scandal widened on Wednesday as Kobe Steel added two more products to the list of materials for which it may have falsified quality data.
/goo.gl/pkC5yj
Light trading volume seen as black spot in banks' results
Sinead Carew - Reuters
Trading revenue was likely to be a black spot in U.S. banks' third quarter earnings, as volatility remained low, and investors have little hope the fourth quarter will be much better.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | LME confident of enforcing new fee on OTC business
Eric Onstad - Reuters
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is confident that banks will not try to evade its new fee on over-the-counter (OTC) trades that reference LME prices, which is likely to be $1 per equivalent contract, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
/goo.gl/yPp2vJ
LME poised to join electric car revolution with cobalt sulphate contract
Pratima Desai - Reuters
The London Metal Exchange's new cobalt contract is likely to be for a chemical compound vital for the manufacture of the batteries used in the fast-growing electric vehicle sector, its chief executive Matt Chamberlain told Reuters on Tuesday.
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LME to expand trading around gold and silver reference prices
Jan Harvey, Peter Hobson - Reuters
The London Metal Exchange expects three more clearing members to join its precious metals contracts by year-end and is looking to expand trading around its gold and silver reference prices, Chief Executive Matthew Chamberlain told Reuters on Tuesday.
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NEX Group launches PIVOT, a new cash and collateral movement workflow tool
NEX
PIVOT "Payments and Investments Optimisation Tool"
NEX Group plc ("NEX") (NXG.L), a financial technology company at the centre of the global markets, announces today that it has launched PIVOT, a new cash and collateral movement workflow tool which enables clients to make cash movements and money market sweeps.
/goo.gl/AaDbdr
IEX IPO subscribed 43% on Day 2; should you invest?
ETMarkets.com|
The initial public offering (IPO) of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) got subscribed by 43 per cent on the second day of the bidding process on Tuesday.
/goo.gl/PT1vDK
NCDEX gets farmers' body on board for derivative trade
Business Standard
More than 21,000 tonnes of commodities have been traded by FPOs on NCDEX platform till September this year
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Two NSE officials refute Sebi's charges in unfair access case
Anirudh Laskar & Jayshree P. Upadhyay - Livemint
Two of the 14 officials of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) who received a show cause notice from the capital markets regulator for their alleged involvement in providing unfair access to some brokers have refuted the charges.
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SGX welcomes IREDA's inaugural Green Masala bond listing
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) welcomed the inaugural Green rupee-denominated or Masala bond listing of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), a Public Limited Government Company that provides financial support for renewable energy projects in India.
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Before the Business Conduct Committee of the Chicago Board Options Exchange
CBOE
In the Matter of Oppenheimer & Co.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Trading Technologies buys Neurensic - Finance News
Crain's Chicago Business
Trading Technologies International acquired most of the assets of local startup Neurensic to add compliance and surveillance software to its product line.
jlne.ws/2yd0Y2u
Trading Technologies acquires Chicago AI firm Neurensic
John McCrank - Reuters
Trading software provider Trading Technologies International Inc said on Tuesday it has acquired Neurensic LLC, a startup that uses artificial intelligence for market surveillance and compliance, for an undisclosed amount.
jlne.ws/2yd8A5d
NEX Group Launches New Cash and Collateral Movement Workflow Tool 'PIVOT'
Colin Firth - Finance Magnates
NEX Group (LSE: NXG) a fintech company operating in electronic markets and post-trade business, has launched PIVOT (Payments and Investments Optimisation Tool), a new cash and collateral movement workflow tool which enables clients to make cash movements and money market sweeps.
jlne.ws/2gaAKcH
BTS Spark Now Powered By Celoxica for Lower Latency, Deterministic Performance and Market Expansion
BTS
BTS Spark clients will experience far less market data jitter through lower, deterministic latencies, and superior overall trading performance. The offering includes a low-latency spreader and a front-end User Interface with API access.
/goo.gl/Z7ndVx
Commerzbank, other banks join UBS and IBM trade finance blockchain
Anna Irrera - Reuters
Commerzbank AG (CBKG.DE), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Erste Group Bank AG (ERST.VI) and CaixaBank SA (CABK.MC) have joined an initiative launched by UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) and IBM Corp (IBM.N) aimed at building blockchain-based technology to support trade finance transactions.
jlne.ws/2xxTrJQ
How Bitcoins Are Mined in Moscow Kitchens
Ilya Khrennikov - Bloomberg
Mines founded in Moscow kitchens and Siberian factories; Vladimir Putin called for regulation of cryptocurrencies
Dmitry Gutov's Moscow kitchen is home to an automated mining operation. Not for gold and industrial metals like many of his country's exporters, but for bitcoin-like cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum's ether. Since installing a DIY system assembled from multiple computer graphics processors in April, Gutov has earned $3,000 of virtual currency and paid off the cost of the equipment used to acquire it.
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Chinese tech groups display closer ties with Communist party; Internal committees designed to show alignment with larger national goals
Emily Feng in Beijing - FT
China's tech sector, once reluctant to display any political affiliations, is becoming more open about ties with the ruling Communist party, on the eve of a landmark meeting where the country's next leaders will be chosen.
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Blockchain company Ripple says it has $15bn war chest; Group behind XRP cryptocurrency says it has signed up more than 100 customers
Martin Arnold in London - FT
The head of Ripple, one of the biggest blockchain companies, has said its $15bn of cryptocurrency reserves could be used to acquire or partner with rivals, as it seeks to dominate its fast-moving sector within financial technology.
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Alibaba to invest $15bn in R&D labs in push to become AI leader; Chinese group to open research hubs and hire hundreds of scientists
Louise Lucas in Hong Kong
Alibaba will invest $15bn in research and development labs and hire a hundred scientists across the tech nexus of the US, China and Israel as it strives to build its clout in artificial intelligence.
/goo.gl/7DddbV
Start-Up Bets on Tech Talent Pipeline From Africa
By STEVE LOHR - NY Times
When Tolulope Komolafe first heard the pitch, she was skeptical. A fledgling company in Lagos, Nigeria, would pay her to learn how to write modern computer code and then offer her a good job in the high-tech economy.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Catalan leader proclaims independence but suspends it pending talks
Angus Berwick, Sonya Dowsett - Reuters
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday proclaimed the region's independence from Spain but said its effects would be suspended to allow for talks with the Madrid government.
jlne.ws/2xxgSmk
What Is the Clean Power Plan, and How Can Trump Repeal It?
NY Times
Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Monday that he would issue a formal proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, a regulation on power plants that would have reduced domestic demand for coal and curbed the country's planet-warming emissions.
jlne.ws/2xxq76p
Kansas Tried a Tax Plan Similar to Trump's. It Failed.
Jim Tankersley - NY Times
In December 2014, the University of Kansas agreed to pay David Beaty $800,000 a year, plus incentives, to be the football program's head coach, but with an interesting structure: More than two-thirds of that pay would be channeled to an organization called DB Sports L.L.C.
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Krugman Says Potential Fed Chair Warsh Is 'Wrong About Everything'
Agnel Philip - Bloomberg
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman didn't mince words when asked about former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh's candidacy to run the institution: "He's been wrong about everything," from inflation to fiscal policy, Krugman told Bloomberg Television in an interview Tuesday.
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Def Con hackers expose holes in US electoral system; Conference breaches all 25 pieces of election equipment examined, some within minutes
Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco - FT
The US electoral system is vulnerable to cyber attack from the voting machines to the electronic pollbooks, cyber security researchers have found, as they team up with state and local politicians to improve the security of upcoming elections.
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Brazil prosecutors charge Batista brothers with insider trading
Reuters
Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday charged brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista, the controlling shareholders of JBS SA, the world's largest meatpacker, with insider trading and market manipulation.
jlne.ws/2xxsHJi
Global Regulators Play Bitcoin Whack-a-Mole as Demand Explodes
Olga Kharif and Camila Russo - Bloomberg
Evading government control a central feature of bitcoin; Efforts to regulate digital currencies stymie authorities
Regulators worldwide are finding that it's incredibly hard to control the explosive growth of money tied to no nation.
/goo.gl/qpJjHG
Hong Kong regulator expands IPO probe to 15 banks and securities firms; Broader listings investigation by SFC regulator follows lawsuits against UBS and StanChart
Don Weinland in Hong Kong - FT
Hong Kong's markets watchdog is investigating 15 banks and securities firms for "substandard work" on initial public offerings (IPOs), broadening a probe that has already shamed UBS and Standard Chartered for their role in a 2009 flotation.
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3 Things to Know About Financial Designations
Pete Chandler - FINRA
You made a decision to work with a financial professional and have started to interview prospective candidates. As you're comparison shopping you notice that some candidates have a string of letters after their name. Chances are that alphabet soup refers to one or more professional designations. Here are three things it pays to know about financial designations.
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Walter Jospin, Regional Director of the SEC's Atlanta Office, to Leave the Agency
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Walter E. Jospin, Regional Director of the agency's Atlanta office, is leaving the agency. Mr. Jospin will remain in his position until his successor is selected.
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CFTC Finds that Proprietary Trading Firm Arab Global Commodities DMCC Engaged in Spoofing of Copper Futures Contracts
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and settling charges against Arab Global Commodities DMCC (AGC), a proprietary trading firm headquartered in Dubai, with several trading offices in India, for engaging in the disruptive trading practice of "spoofing" in the copper futures contract traded on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX) between March and August 2016.
/goo.gl/7tkoBm
Federal Court Enters More than $2 Million Judgment against Grand Island, Nebraska, Resident Who Controlled International Fraudulent Scheme; Ruling Follows a Jury Trial and a Liability Verdict on All CFTC Charges
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a Final Judgment and Order against Grace Elizabeth Reisinger of Grand Island, Nebraska and her company ROF Consulting, LLC (ROF) for operating a fraudulent commodity pool scheme.
/goo.gl/HWAzDw
US blocking new list of global too-big-to-fail insurers; US wants designation suspended until new, activities-based approach is ready
Rob Mannix - Risk.net
US regulators are blocking efforts to update a global list of too-big-to-fail insurers, leaving the designated firms in regulatory limbo and raising questions about the current entity-based approach to managing systemic risk in the industry.
/goo.gl/8nx5TB
Trading Database Will Be Safe From Hackers, Developer Says; Consolidated Audit Trail uses sophisticated cybersecurity controls, contractor says as stock exchanges push for delay to November launch
Dave Michaels - WSJ
The developer of what will become one of the world's largest financial databases on Tuesday defended the project from industry critics who want regulators to stall the system, saying it presents a target for hackers.
/goo.gl/8Yq4tq
SEC Asked to Probe Trades of Student Loan Firm Navient; Some investors made big purchases ahead of a Trump administration decision to limit cooperation with the CFPB.
Shahien Nasiripour - Bloomberg
A series of well-timed trades before the Labor Day weekend in shares of student loan giant Navient Corp. spurred the AFL-CIO to ask regulators for a review of possible insider trading.
/goo.gl/jCwf5J
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | FX Markets Are Stuck in Low-Volatility Quicksand With No Escape
Dani Burger -Bloomberg
Currency markets are trapped by low volatility and only a fundamental break of historic proportions can shake them free.
/goo.gl/QuQdKb
Bitcoin suffers mystery flash crash on popular cryptocurrency index
David Reid and Arjun Kharpal - CNBC
The digital currency had hit a high of $4,867 early on Monday, according to industry website CoinDesk, its highest since September 2.
But the same index showed that it dropped by over $600 to a low of $4,200 at roughly 9:00 a.m. London time.
CNBC checked the four exchanges that make up the CoinDesk bitcoin price index, but none showed any sign of a flash crash.
jlne.ws/2xxpv0o
Want to Buy an IPO from Ashton Kutcher? Small Firms Turn to Star Power for IPOs
Corrie Driebusch and Ben Eisen - WSJ
Some startups are trying to lure investors to a risky new kind of share offering with an old tactic: the sheen of celebrity.
These firms are using a process known informally as Regulation A+, which is meant to help small businesses that are typically ignored by big investment banks to go public through a crowdfunding approach.
jlne.ws/2xxflNu
Why asset managers are agreeing to absorb millions in research costs
Alex Morrell - Business Insider
The world's largest asset managers are falling in line and deciding to absorb millions in research costs ahead of the implementation of European market reform that's shaking up Wall Street.
jlne.ws/2xx2Bq6
The Metal in Your Phone is Getting Expensive
RCM Alternatives Blog
With World Stocks up 20% YTD, it might be surprising to know it's not even the best performing asset on the year? For that designation, we turn to a commodity. No, not gold or crude oil, but palladium.
jlne.ws/2g9L6cO
Junk Bond Boom Reaches Far Corners of the World; Some investors warn such frenzied buying of risky assets sometimes presages market turning points
Carolyn Cui and Manju Dalal - WSJ
The global bond boom has reached Tajikistan. The central Asian country last month raised $500 million in its first-ever international bond sale, paying just 7.125% in annual interest on the debt after the U.S.-dollar offering drew a swarm of American and European buyers. Bankers had earlier shopped the 10-year bonds from the former Soviet satellite with an 8% yield, which was pulled down by strong investor demand.
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Yale Endowment, Often a Pacesetter, Is a Laggard This Time
Geraldine Fabrikant - NY Times
Yale University's endowment, the second largest among the nation's colleges, has been distinguished in recent years for its handsome returns  and for turning out money managers who follow the investment principles of its chief, David F. Swensen. But its latest report card, issued Tuesday, was disappointing.
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Why Bond Traders Should Take a Breath When Trump Makes His Fed Pick
Liz McCormick - Bloomberg
Long-bond yield rose 32 basis points on his appointment to Fed; Market veterans see lessons for today in 1987 transition
Marty Mitchell recalls how his colleagues on the trading desk at Perpetual Savings Bank in Virginia, along with the rest of the bond market, were stunned in June 1987 by the resignation of Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker and the choice of Alan Greenspan as his successor.
/goo.gl/apYDJo
Shiller's Ratio Flunks at Predicting Stock Performance; Equities are still the place to invest, assuming investors can handle the greater volatility compared with bonds.
Charles Lieberman - Bloomberg
My weekend reading included a number of articles, sometimes within the same publication, arguing either that stocks were primed for a sharp decline, or were likely to continue advancing. We remain fairly positive on the outlook for equities and quite bearish on bonds.
/goo.gl/BWz72m
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Elliott's Paul Singer Is Targeting European Companies
Benedikt Kammel and Eyk Henning - Bloomberg
Paul Singer's activist fund adds engineering, health care; Activist typically targets underperforming assets for change
Activist investor Paul Singer, whose campaigns in the past year have taken him from Australia to South Korea, is focusing on Europe with efforts aimed at German engineering firm GEA Group AG and British medical-device maker Smith & Nephew Plc.
/goo.gl/5pQtai
US bank earnings season: the four key questions; Analysts expect only modest growth in overall profits from a year earlier
Ben McLannahan in New York
The big US banks start reporting earnings for the third quarter this week. JPMorgan Chase, the number one by assets, gets things rolling on Thursday morning, followed by Citigroup.
/goo.gl/gSi4Re
BNP to cut links with shale and tar sands groups; One of most aggressive steps to date by large bank to reduce fossil fuel exposure
Andrew Ward in London and David Keohane in Paris - FT
BNP Paribas is to stop doing business with companies whose primary activity involves oil and gas extracted from shale deposits or tar sands in one of the most aggressive steps so far by an international bank to reduce exposure to fossil fuels.
/goo.gl/azsF7L
Deposed Hedge Fund Kingpin Steven Cohen Loses His Top Trader
Matthew Goldstein - NY Times
The longtime top trader for Steven A. Cohen, the deposed hedge fund kingpin, is leaving  just months before Mr. Cohen is expected to re-enter the hedge fund game.
/goo.gl/VN9BVf
Goldman creates 'brain trust' in effort to boost deals business
Olivia Oran - Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) is betting it can get its money-making mojo back by pitching creative deals to big, complex clients, marking a return to its investment banking roots as trading revenue slows.
/goo.gl/5Ufy8Z
Commerzbank in the sights of potential suitors; Rivals eye bank's strong market position in German corporate credit
Olaf Storbeck in Frankfurt - FT
Commerzbank has long been a symbol of what is wrong with Germany's banking sector. Now the country's second-largest bank seems to be attracting the attention of several rivals and could be a potential target in a takeover that would be German banking's largest in a decade.
/goo.gl/w6D9uw
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Growth Without Industrialization? by
Dani Rodrik - Project Syndicate
Despite low world prices for the commodities on which they tend to depend, many of the world's poorest economies have been doing well. Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth has slowed precipitously since 2015, but this reflects specific problems in three of its largest economies (Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa). Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda are all projected to achieve growth of 6% or higher this year. In Asia, the same is true of India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
jlne.ws/2xxjlgL
Wall Street Journal Reporter Sentenced to Prison by Turkish Court; Conviction on terrorist propaganda charges highlights government's increased targeting of journalists; reporter to appeal decision
Thomas Grove - WSJ
A Turkish court sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Ayla Albayrak to two years and one month in prison Tuesday, declaring her guilty of engaging in terrorist propaganda in support of a banned Kurdish separatist organization through one of her Journal articles.
/goo.gl/k3VYx7
Your news about China depends on intrepid journalists whose names you'll probably never know
Zheping Huang - Quartz
When the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad announced after an inquiry that its longtime China-based correspondent had fabricated parts of his recent stories, many Chinese news assistants working for foreign correspondents saw it as a vindication.
/goo.gl/3dAf5q
Scientists Find $1.8 Million Worth of Gold in Swiss Wastewater
Cindy Roberts - Bloomberg
Switzerland is home to some of world's largest gold refineries; Concentrations high enough to consider recycling, study shows
Switzerland's gold refineries may want to consider starting a recycling program.
/goo.gl/C5S2nM
Spanish Bonds Need a Dose of Reality
Marcus Ashworth - Bloomberg
Spanish markets breathed a sigh of relief that the melodrama in Catalonia -- with the nuclear option of unilateral independence, declared but then suspended -- might lead to constructive talks.
/goo.gl/XN86nC
Japan Stocks Are Back at 1996 High - And Still Playing Catch Up
Sarah McDonald - Bloomberg
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average marked a milestone on Wednesday, vaulting past a 2015 peak to close at the highest level in more than two decades.
/goo.gl/E5T1Dc
China to issue $2bn dollar-denominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong
Hudson Lockett - FT
China's government has announced plans to issue $2bn of dollar-denominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong, the first such issuance in 13 years.
/goo.gl/XrXy8Z
China's Next Five YearsÂSqueezing the People to Feed the State; To support Communist Party rule and fend off a debt crisis, China needs to shore up state-owned companies' weakened foundations
By Nathaniel Taplin - WSJ
China achieved its economic miracle by unleashing the entrepreneurial private sector. With President Xi Jinping poised to further consolidate power at the Communist Party's twice-a-decade leadership shuffle kicking off Oct. 18, the narrative of the next five years is becoming clear.
/goo.gl/A73Zy8
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| Brexit | | Financials stories regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union | EU lawmakers give tentative nod to Brexit clearing law that could clobber Britain
Huw Jones - Reuters
European Union lawmakers on Tuesday gave broad support to a law that could end the City of London's global dominance in clearing euro-denominated financial contracts after Brexit.
/goo.gl/uXpU8J
Hammond Warns U.K. Must Prepare For 'Bad-Tempered Brexit'
Robert Hutton and Thomas Penny - Bloomberg
Chancellor sets new year deadline for some no-deal spending; Says he'll spend on no deal preparations only when needed
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said he will start releasing more money to help the government prepare for a "no deal" Brexit if there aren't clear signs of progress in talks with the European Union by early 2018.
/goo.gl/5uPQea
Brexit 'will work out just fine in the end', says £12.5bn fund manager
Laura Suter - Telegraph
Nick Train runs some of the largest and best-known British investment funds, in total managing more than £12.5bn of investor money.
/goo.gl/KapLHA
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Seed Giants See Fresh Start in Gene Editing
Jacob Bunge - WSJ
The agriculture industry is betting that new technology for editing the genes of plants will yield enhanced cropsÂand potentially reset a long-running debate over genetically engineered seeds.
jlne.ws/2xxNNHs
Dow Jones Newswires Publishes Erroneous Test Headlines; Company says systems error during technology test caused dummy items used in training to be published
Lukas I. Alpert - WSJ
A systems error during a technology test Tuesday inadvertently published scores of erroneous test headlines and articles on Dow Jones Newswires.
/goo.gl/aR59iu
MacArthur Foundation Names 2017 'Genius' Grant Winners
Jennifer Schuessler - NY Times
The past year has been a whirlwind for Rhiannon Giddens, the Grammy-winning musician who became the first woman and first nonwhite person to win a major prize for excellence on the banjo and then celebrated the release of her latest album, "Freedom Highway," with a performance at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
/goo.gl/Wija4y
Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering
From Severe Anxiety?; Parents, therapists and schools are struggling to figure out whether helping anxious teenagers means protecting them or pushing them to face their fears.
Benoit Denizet-Lewis - NY Times
The disintegration of Jake's life took him by surprise. It happened early in his junior year of high school, while he was taking three Advanced Placement classes, running on his school's cross-country team and traveling to Model United Nations conferences. It was a lot to handle, but Jake  the likable, hard-working oldest sibling in a suburban North Carolina family  was the kind of teenager who handled things. Though he was not prone to boastfulness, the fact was he had never really failed at anything.
/goo.gl/S2LYXG
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