| December 09, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
|
| | | | First Read | | |
| | 2021 Newsletter Subscriptions: | |
Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The LME in its monthly newsletter reported that Sir Brian Bender KCB, former LME Chairman, has sadly passed away. LME said: "He steered the LME through a transformative period leading up to and following its acquisition by HKEX Group in 2012. He was a wonderful mentor and friend to many at the Exchange, and he will be greatly missed."
FIA EXPO is done and FIA Asia-V is complete and the FIA staff is due for a break. Of course, FIA Boca 2022 will be in person and is not that far away and registration is open, so they still have lots of work to do. I hope they remember how to run a Boca conference.
Of course if you are looking for a conference to attend in the meantime, the Security Traders Association of Chicago 96th Annual Mid-Winter Meeting 2022 will be held on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at the Hilton Chicago on South Michigan Avenue. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Yesterday I mistakenly referred to QuikStrike as QuickStrike when reporting about all the different tools the CME Group has on its website. I C the error of my ways now.
Sam Bankman-Fried was in a suit and tie for his testimony in front of Congress yesterday about cryptocurrency regulation. At FIA EXPO he was in shorts and a T-shirt. What does that say?
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
++++
2021 Annual Client Letter
Tradeweb Markets
To our clients, partners and friends:
Looking back to this time last year, about the only positive thing any of us could say about the year 2020 was that it was nearly behind us. This year we find ourselves in a far better and more hopeful place. Clearly the pandemic has not been defeated - in fact at this moment we are all processing the potential impact of the latest Omicron variant - but the global vaccine push has nonetheless eased our return to a more familiar rhythm.
/bit.ly/3DFQSHA
***** Get ready for the end-of-year recaps. Here they come.~JJL
++++
Amazon Outage Disrupts Lives, Surprising People About Their Cloud Dependency; When Amazon Web Services was interrupted, some vacuum cleaners, light switches and cat-food dispensers stopped working
Sarah E. Needleman - WSJ
Kyle Lerner and his girlfriend sensed something was amiss when they came home Tuesday and found their two Persian-Himalayan cats meowing nonstop. Normally, an internet-connected feeding machine dispenses kibble for them at noon, but the felines' bowls were empty and clean. The gadget hadn't worked because of an outage at Amazon.com Inc.'s AMZN -0.00% cloud-computing unit.
/on.wsj.com/3pFgKi2
***** I thought the whole purpose of the cloud was to be reliable and redundant so we did not have outages.~JJL
++++
Crypto and Meme Stocks Rival Afghanistan Atop Google's Year in Search
Thomas Seal - Bloomberg
Meme stocks and cryptocurrencies rivaled major sport and the fallout from the Taliban's rise to power as the biggest search and news trends for Google in 2021. When searching for news, Google users were mostly interested in Afghanistan, according to the latest annual trending report of Alphabet Inc.'s search giant. The rest of the top places were dominated by Reddit stock favorites such as GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., together with popular cryptocoins Ethereum and Dogecoin.
/bloom.bg/3rQDVbG
***** Like I said, here come the end-of-the-year stories.~JJL
++++
Wednesday's Top Three
Our most-read story Wednesday was CME loses key battle in potentially costly trader lawsuit, from Crain's Chicago Business. Second was Half a Billion in Bitcoin, Lost in the Dump, from The New Yorker. Third was the CME Group's web page with its pricing, volatility and strategy QuikStrike tools.
++++
MarketsWiki Stats
26,675 pages; 236,547 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
++++
|
| | | | |
| Lead Stories | Crypto Executives Defend Industry as Congress Considers Oversight; Company officials say at hearing that digital assets wouldn't easily be regulated under existing financial rules
Paul Kiernan - WSJ
Cryptocurrency industry executives appeared before Congress on Wednesday to argue that their technologies hold promise for the future, as lawmakers and regulators wrestle with how to bring the more than $2 trillion market under government oversight. The House Financial Services Committee, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), called the hearing in hopes of improving lawmakers' understanding of crypto assets and how the sector fits into existing regulations. While millions of Americans have invested in crypto assets, many experts say the asset class needs clearer rules of the road, which Congress could provide.
/on.wsj.com/3lKYVgn
Covid Spurs Biggest Rise in Life-Insurance Payouts in a Century; Death-benefits payments jumped 15% last year, biggest increase since 1918 flu epidemic
Leslie Scism - WSJ
The Covid-19 pandemic last year drove the biggest increase in death benefits paid by U.S. life insurers since the 1918 influenza epidemic, an industry trade group said. Death-benefit payments rose 15.4% in 2020 to $90.43 billion, mostly due to the pandemic, according to the American Council of Life Insurers. In 1918, payments surged 41%.
/on.wsj.com/31HD5Dx
Cboe Global Markets Recognized as a Certified Transparent Company™
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe now a Certified Transparent Company™;-- Ranks in top one percent for transparency of global public companies;-- Certification conducted by Transparency Invest™
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, is pleased to announce it has received designation as a Certified Transparent Company™ from Transparency Invest, a company with a mission to accelerate the world's adoption of transparency.
/bit.ly/3dBjKX0
Robinhood's Stock Fizzles After Splashy Public Offering; Shares of the brokerage that created a frenzy for individual investors are struggling to advance
Caitlin McCabe - WSJ
It has been a rough few weeks for Robinhood Markets Inc.'s HOOD 4.36% stock. Shares of the retail-trading platform have tumbled lately and reached an all-time intraday low this week. Robinhood's stock has been trading for more than four weeks below its initial public offering price of $38 a share. It closed Wednesday at $23.72, a 38% decline from its IPO price and a 72% drop from its intraday high of $85 reached earlier this year
/on.wsj.com/3pJbJ7Y
Digital euro, Swiss franc trials were successful, c.banks say
John Revill - Reuters
Europe's first cross-border trial of central bank digital currency payments has been described as a success by the central banks of Switzerland and France, though they said it would not immediately lead to issuance of CBDCs.
/reut.rs/3IDE0Wq
DoJ notifies Deutsche Bank it may have violated US criminal settlement; German lender failed to alert authorities about internal complaint at asset management unit
Joshua Franklin, Stephen Morris and Stefania Palma - FT
Deutsche Bank has been notified by the US Department of Justice that it may be in violation of a criminal settlement after it failed to alert authorities about an internal complaint at its asset management division, according to people familiar with the matter.
/on.ft.com/3IA2y2o
Justice Department Told Deutsche Bank Lender May Have Violated Criminal Settlement; The possible violation is related to an internal complaint in its asset-management arm's sustainable investing business
Dave Michaels and Patricia Kowsmann - WSJ
The Justice Department has informed Deutsche Bank AG DB 0.86% that the German lender may have violated a criminal settlement when it failed to tell prosecutors about an internal complaint in its asset-management arm's sustainable investing business, according to people familiar with the matter.
/on.wsj.com/3rKSZHY
Crypto: definitely not a pyramid scheme; Part 109,436.
Jemima Kelly - FT
Ah, le crypto. It's been a minute. Have you noticed the prices of late? About $600bn wiped from the "market value" in the past four weeks according to Coinmarketcap (though this "market value", as we have said many a time before, is to be taken with a grain of salt even larger than the grains us salty no-coiners are smothered in). Bitcoin down to just above $47k at pixel time, having hit almost $70k last month.
/on.ft.com/3GwI2hs
US overtakes EU as biggest financial services export market for Britain; Slowdown in UK trade with bloc following Brexit countered by rise in outflow to other countries
Daniel Thomas - FT
The US has overtaken the EU as the leading destination for UK financial services exports after trade with the bloc dropped last year following Brexit. Financial services exports to the EU fell 6.6 per cent to £24.7bn in 2020, according to a report from TheCityUK, the sector's lobby group, across a range of sectors from banking to insurance.
/on.ft.com/3pAxrLy
U.S. to Crack Down on Cryptocurrency Crimes to Combat Corruption
Matt Robinson - Bloomberg
Focus on crimes by exchanges, tumbling services and bad actors; Biden administration to take advantage of new DOJ task force
President Joe Biden says his administration is focused on policing cryptocurrency crimes to combat corruption globally and is taking advantage of a newly formed Department of Justice task force, according to an anti-graft report released Monday.
/bloom.bg/3EDt5tl
Hong Kong's IPO ranking set to slip as Nasdaq, New York and Shanghai claim top spots in 2021, KPMG reports; IPO proceeds seen shrinking 23 per cent this year to HK$356 billion (US$39 billion), the first decline since 2017, KPMG says; Recovery in 2022 should take hold in the third quarter as foreign-traded VIE-structured Chinese tech companies seek new home in Hong Kong
Georgina Lee - South China Morning Post
Hong Kong is set to end the year as the fourth-ranked venue for global initial public offerings (IPOs) as proceeds shrink amid regulatory clampdown by Chinese authorities, according to KPMG. A rebound may gain momentum in late 2022.
/bit.ly/33eKw5E
Wall Street Finally Learns It Can't Ignore Crypto and NFTs; We look back at our defining events of the year and the photos that captured them.
Stacy-Marie Ishmael - Bloomberg
If you had asked people at the beginning of the year what cartoons of apes and the U.S. Constitution had in common, the result would have probably been a lot of blank stares. The answer is now clear: crypto.
/bloom.bg/3pJUgME
|
| | | |
|
| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Pfizer Says Booster Neutralized Omicron but Variant May Elude Two Doses; Two vaccine doses were significantly less effective against variant but could still protect against severe disease, Pfizer and BioNTech say
Joseph Walker - WSJ
Pfizer Inc. PFE -0.62% and BioNTech SE BNTX -3.55% said that a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine neutralized the Omicron variant in lab tests but that the two-dose regimen was significantly less effective at blocking the virus.
/on.wsj.com/3lPH33H
Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout for Young Children Is Slow in Many States; Some parents cautious about the shots for 5- to 11- year-olds, new poll shows
Jon Kamp - WSJ
Covid-19 vaccinations for children 5 to 11 years old are off to a slow start in many parts of the U.S., federal data show, underscoring the challenges health officials face in persuading parents to inoculate their children.
/on.wsj.com/3lONiEY
Omicron's Explosive Growth Is a Warning Sign; We don't know how severe Omicron is, but we do know it's spreading very fast.
Sarah Zhang - The Atlantic
A lot is still unknown around Omicron, but a worrying trend has become clear: This variant sure is spreading fast. In South Africa, the U.K., and Denmark—countries with the best variant surveillance and high immunity against COVID—Omicron cases are growing exponentially. The variant has outcompeted the already highly transmissible Delta in South Africa and may soon do the same elsewhere. According to preliminary estimates, every person with Omicron is infecting 3 - 3.5 others, which is roughly on par with how fast the coronavirus spread when it first went global in early 2020.
/bit.ly/332CSuT
Omicron Four Times More Transmissible Than Delta in New Study
Kanoko Matsuyama - Bloomberg
Japanese scientist analyzed genome data from South Africans; Variant 'transmits more and escapes immunity': study
The omicron variant of Covid-19 is 4.2 times more transmissible in its early stage than delta, according to a study by a Japanese scientist who advises the country's health ministry, a finding likely to confirm fears about the new strain's contagiousness.
/bloom.bg/3Gv7Z0y
Pfizer Says Its Booster Offers Strong Protection Against Omicron; The company's finding is based on only a small study of blood samples in a laboratory, but others are sure to follow.
Sharon LaFraniere - NY Times
Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that laboratory tests suggest a booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine offers significant protection against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus.
/nyti.ms/3GrcwRM
AstraZeneca Covid-19 Antibody Authorized by FDA as Novel Tool to Prevent Symptomatic Disease; Drug combination called Evusheld aimed at minority for whom vaccines are less effective
Jenny Strasburg and Joseph Walker - WSJ
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a preventive antibody combination from AstraZeneca AZN 0.68% PLC that has shown strong efficacy in reducing risk of symptomatic Covid-19, offering a first-of-its-kind alternative for a minority of people for whom vaccines are considered less effective.
/on.wsj.com/3IwTonf
How the Supply Chain Upheaval Became a Life-or-Death Threat; A maker of medical devices can't keep up with customer demand as the shortage of computer chips puts it in competition with bigger companies with more clout.
Peter S. Goodman - NY Times
For much of this year, Joseph Norwood's next breath was locked in a zero-sum competition with people eager to upgrade their iPhones. Mr. Norwood has sleep apnea, meaning that he frequently stops breathing while sleeping. A device known as a CPAP — or continuous positive airway pressure machine — can pump air into his body through a face mask while he sleeps, greatly reducing his risk of sudden death.
/nyti.ms/3lOZO7I
The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find; The research may help explain why people who are overweight and obese have been at higher risk of severe illness and death from Covid.
Roni Caryn Rabin - NY Times
From the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus seemed to target people carrying extra pounds. Patients who were overweight or obese were more likely to develop severe Covid-19 and more likely to die.
/nyti.ms/3lLz2N9
Denmark reintroduces some COVID-19 restrictions
Reuters
Denmark will again impose restrictions aimed at curbing the rapid spread of COVID-19 including the new Omicron variant, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday.
/reut.rs/3lQ2BgK
People with health issues or inactivated vaccine should get COVID-19 booster - WHO
Stephanie Nebehay and Josephine Mason - Reuters
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Thursday that people who are immunocompromised or received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster dose to protect against waning immunity.
/reut.rs/3GsTFWC
Act now to curb Omicron's spread, WHO's Tedros tells world
Stephanie Nebehay - Reuters
Governments need to reassess national responses to COVID-19 and speed up vaccination programmes to tackle Omicron, though it is too early to say how well existing shots will protect against the new variant, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
/reut.rs/3lLgCME
The Hunt for a Single Shot to Defeat Omicron and All Coronaviruses; While the science is still in its early stages, the hardest part about developing a super-vaccine for all coronaviruses could be finding a way to pay for it.
Robert Langreth - Bloomberg
As Covid-19 began spreading in early 2020, one of Linfa Wang's first ideas was to test the blood of people who'd survived a previous coronavirus outbreak. The virologist, who works out of Duke-NUS Medical School, a collaboration between Duke and the National University of Singapore, has been studying bat-borne viruses for decades. He'd helped show that SARS-CoV-1, which killed almost 800 people in 2003, likely jumped to humans from horseshoe bats. Wang's new theory was that people who'd recovered from the original SARS might harbor antibodies that could help fight the new one, SARS-CoV-2.
/bloom.bg/3rOPVKQ
|
| | | |
|
| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | NYSE Pillar Weekend Production Testing Opportunity
NYSE
On Saturday, December 11th, NYSE Arca Options will offer an end-to-end Production test, including OCC participation, in preparation for the February 2022 migration to NYSE Pillar. Exchange Participants wishing to participate can register by contacting [email protected].
/bit.ly/3GrOqWV
CME Group Announces 2022 Annual Meeting Date
CME Group
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it will conduct its 2022 annual meeting of shareholders at 10:00 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Additional information will be provided in the company's proxy statement.
/prn.to/3IwFaCW
CME Group to Launch Two China Portside Iron Ore Futures Contracts on January 10
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that it will launch two new China portside iron ore futures contracts on January 10, 2022, pending all relevant regulatory reviews.
/bit.ly/3IwVljF
CME Group Declares Annual Variable Dividend
CME Group
CME Group Inc., the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today declared its annual variable dividend, amounting to $3.25 per share. The dividend is payable January 14, 2022, to shareholders of record on December 28, 2021.
The annual variable dividend of $3.25 per share to be paid in January 2022 totals approximately $1.2 billion. Including today's announced variable dividend and the previously announced fourth-quarter 2021 dividend of $0.90 per share to be paid in December, the total dividend yield for dividends announced during 2021 is 3.3% based on the average closing stock price in 2021 to date.
/prn.to/3dDaUbj
Taiwan Futures Exchange adds mini futures to lure young investors; Financial stocks account for 50% of top-20 longest-held stocks among young Taiwanese investors in 2020
Sophia Yang - Taiwan News
The Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) announced on Monday (Dec. 6) the listing of small finance-sector futures (ZFF) as major exchanges around the world offer lower-cost tickets for futures investing to lure young investors and boost trading momentum.
/bit.ly/3dzBQbW
TAIFEX Launched Mini Finance Sector Index Futures and Received CFTC Certification - Newsletter
TAIFEX
Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) listed Mini Finance Sector Index Futures (ZFF) on
December 6, 2021, in an effort to strengthen its small-sized product line-up, as well as to adapt
to surging demand from retail investors for managing their risk exposure in Taiwan's finance
industry. Complementing the Exchange's larger Finance Sector Index Futures (TF) contract and
one-fourth of its size, the value of the new ZFF contract is around USD 15,000 (NTD 400,000) at current index level, and is designed to enable investors of all sizes to more precisely execute their trading strategies. The new ZFF traded a total of 874 contracts on its first day of launch, and with the receiving of the Commission Certification from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the product can now be offered and sold to U.S. persons.
/bit.ly/3GsMBJA
Saudi Stock Exchange Soars on Debut After $1 Billion IPO
Julia Fioretti and Farah Elbahrawy - Bloomberg
Saudi Tadawul Group surged on its trading debut after the stock exchange raised $1 billion, marking the biggest exchange IPO since Euronext went public in 2014. The shares rose as much as 22% on Wednesday on bets that buoyant Middle East stock markets will attract more listings from private companies and cash from investors around the world.
/yhoo.it/3EIzWlm
Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG extends Gregor Pottmeyer's mandate on the Management Board
Deutsche Börse AG
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG has extended Gregor Pottmeyer's (59) executive board mandate by three years until the end of September 2025. In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Gregor Pottmeyer heads the CFO department of Deutsche Börse Group and is responsible for Group Organizational Services, Group Tax, Financial Accounting & Controlling, Investor Relations, Treasury and Risk Management.
/bit.ly/3pNyc42
Trading Charity at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange: "Act and Help"; Remuneration from December 13th will be donated to charitable organizations
Deutsche Börse AG
Deutsche Börse and the securities trading banks (specialists) active on the Frankfurt stock exchange will donate the transaction and trading fees, which will meet on Monday, December 13th via the Frankfurt Stock Exchange , to non-profit organizations.
/bit.ly/3pAiwRe
Equity derivatives: Name change of Single Stock Futures, Single Stock Dividend Futures and Equity Options
Eurex
Due to previous corporate actions, the Management Board of Eurex Deutschland took the following decision with effect from 10 December 2021: Name change of Single Stock Futures, Single Stock Dividend Futures and Equity Options pursuant to Annex A, B and D of the Attachment.
/bit.ly/3oBvhvQ
ICE Launches its First Asia Ethylene Futures Contracts to Hedge Key Component in Manufacturing of Plastics and Packaging
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced that it plans to launch its first ethylene futures contracts on December 13.
/bit.ly/308Et1a
ICE Expands Climate Change and Alternative Data Capabilities With Acquisitions of risQ and Level 11 Analytics; Leverages sophisticated geospatial data technologies for innovative services in the municipal bond, mortgage-backed security and real estate markets
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, today announced the acquisitions of risQ and Level 11 Analytics, which deploy sophisticated, data-driven technologies for managing climate change risk and expanding our alternative data capabilities in U.S. fixed income, municipal and mortgage-backed securities markets.
/bit.ly/3ye6Urk
LSEG opens up digital global gateway for investor community
London Stock Exchange Group
Investment in OpenExchange Inc. builds on existing successful partnership; Expanded digital global gateway for issuers, public and private companies, now including debt issuers; SparkLive clients will benefit from fully integrated experience within Eikon and Workspace
LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) today announces an expansion of its digital offering for issuers, public and private companies with an investment in OpenExchange Inc. The announcement deepens our three-year partnership with OpenExchange during which OpenExchange technology has helped to power SparkLive.
/lseg.group/31NTZQI
BdF, SNB, BIS and SIX successfully complete cross-border wCBDC experiment
BME-X
Banque de France (BdF), Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Bank for International Settlements' (BIS) Innovation Hub have successfully completed Project Jura, an experiment in cross-border wholesale CBDC, in collaboration with Accenture, Credit Suisse, Natixis, R3, SIX Digital Exchange and UBS.
/bit.ly/3pDJMi1
Miami International Holdings Reports November 2021 Trading Results; MIAX Exchange Group Sets Annual Volume Record; MIAX Pearl Equities Sets Market Share and Volume Records
Miami International Holdings, Inc.
Miami International Holdings, Inc. today reported November 2021 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries - MIAX®, MIAX Pearl® and MIAX Emerald® (together, the MIAX
Exchange Group™) and Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX™).
/bit.ly/3GuYHSg
-- CME/CBOT/NYMEX/COMEX Exchange Transaction Fee Amendments Effective February 1, 2022 -- CME
-- Notice of Summary Action; MEMBER: ADVANTAGE FUTURES LLC, RULE VIOLATION:536. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR PIT, GLOBEX AND NEGOTIATED TRADES, F. CTR Enforcement Program and Sanction Schedule (In pertinent part) -- CME
-- EBS Market Integration Notice 09 Dec 2021 -- CME
-- Initial Listing of Two (2) China Portside (Argus) Iron Ore Futures Contracts -- CME
-- CME STP Notices: December 9, 2021 -- CME
-- CME Globex Notices: December 6, 2021 -- CME
|
| | | |
|
| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Zeta Markets Completes $8.5M Strategic Funding Round Led by Jump Capital
Zeta Markets
Zeta Markets ("Zeta" or "the Platform"), a cutting-edge decentralized finance (DeFi) futures and options exchange built on Solana, today announced that it completed a $8.5M strategic funding round led by Jump Capital.
/prn.to/3DyRrmz
Ideal Partners With Broadway To Deliver FICC Trading Analytics - Ideal's Trading Performance Analytics Now Available As A Turnkey Solution Within Broadway's Secure Environment https://
Mondovisione
Ideal, the decision intelligence firm, is now offering its powerful performance analytics solution to fixed income traders within Broadway's secure environment. The partnership between Ideal and Broadway provides traders with turnkey access to industry-leading analytics and actionable insights.
/bit.ly/3GoaiCC
Eventus named Best Solution - Market Abuse & Surveillance in Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2021; Earns fourth Asia-Pacific region award in six months; named for fourth consecutive year to global RegTech100
Eventus Systems
Eventus Systems, Inc., a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced that the firm today won the award for Best Solution - Market Abuse & Surveillance in the Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2021. This is the fourth award win for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region that Eventus has earned in the past six months for its Validus platform.
/prn.to/3lRxwcq
***** I fear Eventus is winning so many awards, they will need to reinforce their office infrastructure to handle the weight of all those trophies.~JJL
Broadridge and SLIB Joint SRD II Proxy Voting Solution for French Market is NOW LIVE
French intermediaries now able to meet new EC regulatory requirements under SRDII
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
Global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), and SLIB, a leading-edge software vendor in electronic voting and securities services based in France, have announced the live operational running of their joint cross-border proxy voting solution. Unique in the French market, the solution enables intermediaries - including banks, brokers and wealth managers that serve France-based investors - to meet their new, mandatory obligations to support voting for European shareholder meetings under the updated Shareholder Rights Directive (SRDII).
/yhoo.it/3pDQepi
Liquidnet Enhances Continental Europe Coverage; The firm assigns equities and fixed income specialists in key financial hubs in the region
Liquidnet
Liquidnet, the global institutional investment network, today announced it has enhanced its continental European coverage by deploying specialists in equities and fixed income in Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt and Copenhagen to offer a range of execution services including client coverage, sales trading and trading.
/yhoo.it/3pzNZ6g
Cassini Systems Secures $20.5 Million Growth Round Led by Ten Coves Capital
Cassini Systems via PRNewswire
Cassini Systems, Ltd, a leading provider of pre- and post-trade margin and collateral analytics for derivatives market participants, today announced it has just completed a $20.5 million growth financing round led by Ten Coves Capital and joined by existing investor, Mosaik Partners. The company will use the proceeds to further accelerate its product development and global market expansion.
/prn.to/3rRv75C
OSTTRA expands Its OTC LimitHub service to support equities ahead of crucial CSDR deadline; The market is looking to clear more OTC equities flow to benefit from settlement and capital efficiencies.
Anita Hawser - The Trade
OSTTRA's OTC LimitHub service, powered by Traiana, has gone live with BNP Paribas Securities Services to extend clearing of European OTC equities in support of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR).
/bit.ly/3oBuj2G
Scotiabank and BestEx to build first algo trading platform for Canadian equities; New platform aims to address demand for improved performance and increased transparency and control, while delivering technology designed specifically for the Canadian market.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
BestEx Research Group has expanded into global equity markets, forming a partnership with Scotiabank, which is aimed at reshaping electronic trading for Canadian equities.
/bit.ly/3oDhXXK
|
| | | |
|
| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Cybersecurity can pose a risk in more than one way for advisors
Sarah O'Brien - CNBC
Financial advisors may want to view cybersecurity as a critical issue on more than one level.
While protecting client data should be a priority, cyber attacks also could affect the investments they make on behalf of their clients. Basically, some companies may be more prone to costly cyber attacks than others.
/cnb.cx/3oEfBYx
Chinese Hackers Targeted Southeast Asian Nations, Report Says
Jamie Tarabay - Bloomberg
Targets included prime ministers' offices, senior ministries; Campaigns support Beijing's regional aims, says report
Chinese hackers this year targeted military and civilian organizations in several Southeast Asian nations, particularly those with similar territorial claims or strategic infrastructure projects, suggesting the involvement of the state, a U.S.-based cybersecurity firm said in new research released late Wednesday.
/bloom.bg/3ICdHj0
When Scammers Get Scammed, They Take It to Cybercrime Court
Becky Bracken - Threatpost
Blocked from legitimate courts, cybercriminals have set up their own system for settling disputes, handing over ultimate decision-making to senior underground forum administrators who have awarded claims totaling as much as $20 million.
A new report from Analyst1 details activities inside these underground systems and found more than 600 requests for mediation on just one Russian-language forum alone, tackling disputes ranging from missing affiliate payments to contract violations.
/bit.ly/3y74SsU
DHS TSA Security Directive to Strengthen Transportation Sector Cybersecurity
Scott Ferber and Robert Duffy - The National Law Review
On December 2, 2021, the US Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced two new Security Directives and additional guidance for voluntary measures to strengthen cybersecurity across the transportation sector. These follow a pair of Security Directives from TSA, on May 28, 2021, and July 26, 2021, imposing a variety of cybersecurity requirements (technical and administrative) on the 100 TSA-designated "most critical" pipeline owners/operators. The Biden administration does not appear to be taking its foot off the gas any time soon, particularly when it comes to the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. Media reports indicate a draft blueprint is currently being circulated by the White House seeking to enhance the cybersecurity of US water utilities, too.
/bit.ly/3ynQixr
US government struggling to hold on to cybersecurity talent
Jay O'Brien - WTGS
The U.S. government is facing a "brain drain" of cybersecurity professionals, experts warn, just as the nation encounters unprecedented cyber threats, engineered by everyone from ransomware gangs to foreign adversaries.
In the competitive cyber field, the federal government has long struggled to keep up with the private sector, which also has a serious need for cybersecurity professionals but can typically pay higher than many federal agencies.
/bit.ly/3DF5vuL
Cybersecurity Notification Rule for US Banking System
Moorari Shah and A.J. S. Dhaliwal - The National Law Review
Last month, the FDIC, Federal Reserve Board, and the OCC announced a final rule to improve information sharing about cyber incidents that may affect the U.S. banking system. Among other things, the final rule requires banking organizations to inform their primary federal regulator no later than 36 hours after a determination that a "computer-security incident" has reached the level of a "notification incident." The final rule notes that notification is required for incidents that have affected, in certain circumstances:
/bit.ly/3dyjHen
|
| | | |
|
| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin mining nears record pace as industry shrugs off China clampdown; Companies creating new tokens scatter across the world after China's crackdown in May
Eva Szalay and Philip Stafford - FT
The amount of computing power dedicated to churning out new units of bitcoin has jumped close to an all-time high as cryptocurrency miners shift their operations to new countries following a clampdown in China.
/on.ft.com/3GkIsr0
Bitcoin Miners Who Flocked to Kazakhstan Now See 'Zero Potential'; A crunch in the country's power supply has pushed the government to crack down on an energy-intensive industry it had once welcomed with open arms.
Will Mathis and Nariman Gizitdinov - Bloomberg
Kazakhstan's Bitcoin-mining boom ended even quicker than it started. A squeeze in the central Asian nation's power supply has pushed the government to place big limits on the energy-intensive industry. The rapid reversal has eliminated one of the cheapest places to mine the cryptocurrency just as Bitcoin's rise this year has made the process more profitable.
/bloom.bg/3GsvG9P
Digital Custody Is The Key To Unlocking Crypto Spot Markets For Institutions
Lawrence Wintermeyer - Forbes
I am often heard saying that "custody is the Gordian Knot of digital assets", and it's never been more apparent than over recent months. Amid all the excitement of the first futures-backed bitcoin ETF launch and the waning interest from issuers, once the inevitable problems with futures-backed products came to pass, a straightforward fact appears to have become lost. There's a vast market appetite for exposure to the bitcoin spot markets with one industry insider dubbing the current institutional inflow as a land grab.
/bit.ly/3IwS8Ax
|
| | | |
|
| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Republican lawmakers embrace crypto as 'Web 3.0,' Democrats worry over investor protection in digital asset hearing
Chris Matthews - MarketWatch
A partisan divide over regulation of cryptocurrencies was on display Wednesday, when members of the House Financial Services Committee questioned the leaders of some of the nation's larghttps://yhoo.it/3IxnRS2
Why Nord Stream 2 is at heart of US warnings to Putin over Ukraine; Russia-controlled gas pipeline to Europe offers obvious target if west wants to send message to Moscow
Henry Foy and Nastassia Astrasheuskaya - FT
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany was top of the list when US officials brainstormed potential sanctions that western countries could threaten against Russia to show President Vladimir Putin that any invasion of Ukraine would come at a heavy cost.
/on.ft.com/3pNqaIq
Senate Votes to Scrap Biden Vaccine Mandate as Republicans Eye 2022; The action was largely symbolic, but it allowed Republicans to press an attack on Democrats that is likely to be central to their midterm election campaigns.
Emily Cochrane - NY Times
The Senate on Wednesday voted narrowly to roll back President Biden's vaccine and testing mandate for large employers, taking mostly symbolic action as Republicans escalate their protest of the administration's push to immunize Americans against a deadly pandemic.
/nyti.ms/3IslkIS
SIFMA Statement on House Passage of LIBOR Legislation
SIFMA
SIFMA released the following statement from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president and CEO, regarding passage of H.R. 4616, the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, by the U.S. House of Representatives: "We commend the House's bipartisan passage of the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). There are currently trillions of dollars of existing contracts and instruments that, as a practical matter, cannot be amended to utilize an alternative rate and Federal legislation is necessary to facilitate a smooth transition away from LIBOR to an alternative reference rate for these 'tough legacy' contracts. This legislation will benefit all market participants including LIBOR's end users, who range from investors to companies to consumers.
/bit.ly/3y9Rlk9
|
| | | |
|
| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Japan's financial regulators may propose legislation in 2022 restricting stablecoin issuance; The move comes as the Bank of Japan wants to roll out a digital yen CBDC by the end of next year.
Cointelegraph
According to The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), one of the world's largest financial newspapers and the entity behind the Nikkei 225 stock index, Japan's Financial Services Agency, or FSA, will propose legislation next year restricting stablecoin issuance to only bank and wire transfer companies. Theoretically, this would prevent entities such as Tether (USDT), which does not operate as a bank and is only regulated in the British Virgin Islands, from conducting business with Japanese customers.
/bit.ly/31JDpBe
ASIC sues ANZ for misleading customers and failing to provide promised benefits - final Royal Commission investigation
ASIC
ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) for failing to provide certain benefits it had agreed to give customers with offset transaction accounts or a 'Breakfree' package.
/bit.ly/3pFeWp5
AML/CFT risk ratings confirmed for sectors under FMA supervision
NZ FMA
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko has filed High Court civil proceedings against Kiwibank for making false and/or misleading representations, under the fair dealing provisions of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMC Act).
/bit.ly/3IBUjmC
FMA files civil proceedings against Kiwibank for false or misleading representations over fee waivers
NZ FMA
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko has filed High Court civil proceedings against Kiwibank for making false and/or misleading representations, under the fair dealing provisions of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMC Act).
/bit.ly/333gyRS
ASIC highlights focus areas for 31 December 2021 financial reports under COVID-19 conditions
ASIC
ASIC is calling on directors, preparers of financial reports and auditors to focus on some key areas for financial reporting by companies, under COVID-19 conditions, for reporting periods ending 31 December 2021.
/bit.ly/3pDseCF
31st Annual Credit Law Conference - Regulatory Update; Speech by Commissioner Sean Hughes at the 31st Annual Credit Law Conference, Thursday 9 December 2021.
ASIC
Good morning all, thank you for having me, and allow me to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands I am on today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples joining the forum today.
/bit.ly/3lPcbQO
FCA turns to science and music to protect public from loan fee fraud this Christmas
UK FCA
The FCA has launched the UK's first official anti-fraud jingle in a bid to protect consumers against loan fee fraud over the Christmas period.
/bit.ly/3IC6EqT
Federal Court Sanctions Slovakian Trader and His Principals for Spoofing and Engaging in a Manipulative and Deceptive Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order on December 7, resolving CFTC charges that Roman Banoczay Jr. (Banoczay Jr.) of Bratislava, Slovakia, as an agent of Roman Banoczay Sr. (Banoczay Sr.) and their company, BAZUR Spol. S.R.O. (BAZUR), engaged in spoofing and in a manipulative and deceptive scheme to defraud in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) crude oil futures market in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
/bit.ly/3pEbUkV
Report from FINRA Board of Governors Meeting - December 2021; Board Approves Rule Proposals and FINRA's 2022 Budget, Appoints SFAC and NAC Members
FINRA
FINRA's Board of Governors met on Dec. 1-2 in New York. During the meeting, it approved two rule proposals and FINRA's 2022 budget, appointed members to the Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC) and National Adjudicatory Council (NAC), and received the results of recent SFAC and Regional Committee elections.
/bit.ly/3lLJap9
December 2021 Board Update
FINRA
FINRA's Board of Governors met last week in New York, and I am pleased to share some updates from our discussions. As is customary for our last meeting of the year, the Board discussed FINRA's finances and other long-term planning. The Board reviewed FINRA's financial performance from 2021 and approved our 2022 proposed budget, scheduled to be published in the coming months.
/bit.ly/3rMsVMB
|
| | | |
|
| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Trump's SPAC proves you can now create a meme stock on purpose
Thornton McEnery - MarketWatch
Even with a new CEO Digital World Acquisition Corp.'s SPAC deal with the Trump Media & Technology Group is fundamentals-proof, because it still has no fundamentals.
/yhoo.it/3dw5U8b
Flow Traders joins Neptune as first non-bank sell-side participant in Europe
Shanny Basar - MarketsMedia
Flow Traders will become the first non-bank sell-side participant in Europe on Neptune Networks, the fixed income platform for disseminating real-time axe data. Byron Cooper-Fogarty, COO at Neptune Networks, said: "In the US we have had some broker dealers join the platform, In Europe Flow Traders are the first non-bank sell-side participant."
/bit.ly/3lLSgTa
What the Heck Is a 'Reverse Repo Note' and What Happened to All of Tether's?
Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
Tether published its latest 'proof of funds' last week. The figures are a snapshot of the controversial stablecoin issuer's assets as of Sept. 30, 2021 and show it holding some $69.2 billion in reserves to back its tokens, which form an important backbone of the cryptomarket, and for Bitcoin in particular. The breakdown looks like this:
/bloom.bg/3lP6bYG
Andreessen Horowitz Founders Begin Slow Process of Stepping Back; Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen have bought homes in Las Vegas and are cutting down on board memberships.
Sarah McBride, Lizette Chapman - Bloomberg
Recently, the Bay Area-based venture capitalist Ben Horowitz took part in a popular pandemic-era pastime: updating the location on his LinkedIn profile. Goodbye, California. Hello, Las Vegas. The change is notable among the wave of personal relocations because Horowitz has been one of Silicon Valley's biggest boosters for years. His partner, Marc Andreessen, has also purchased property in Nevada.
/bloom.bg/3lP7lDw
Stock Pickers May Have Their Moment in 2022, Deutsche Bank Says
Nikos Chrysoloras - Bloomberg
'End of free money' may mean return to fundamentals for stocks; Deutsche Bank strategists see opportunity for active investing
Next year will mark the return of stock-picking for equity markets, according to Deutsche Bank AG. "In 2022, as equity markets lose the flood of money that has propped up all stocks over the last decade, investors may be forced to become more discerning," strategist Luke Templeman wrote in a note on Wednesday.
/bloom.bg/3pJkxuy
|
| | | |
|
| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | U.S. Companies Seeking 100% Renewables Still Use Fossil Fuel
Vanessa Dezem - Bloomberg
Firms still have to draw dirty energy, says a Columbia study; Nike, Walmart and others pledged to buy 100% renewables
U.S. companies with contracts to buy only renewable power are still relying heavily on fossil fuels because of a lack of clean-energy supplies, a Columbia University study has shown.
/bloom.bg/3pF8bDF
Peak Oil Demand Is Coming But Not So Soon; Oil demand could be 21 million barrels less per day by mid-century thanks to electric vehicles.
Nathaniel Bullard - Bloomberg
Electric passenger vehicle sales are on a tear. In the first quarter of 2010, 395 EVs were sold worldwide. Last quarter, more than 1.7 million were sold — of those, more than 935,000 sold in Asia. In 1Q 2010, you would have needed three decimal places to show EVs as a percentage of global passenger vehicle sales (0.002%). Last quarter, the decimals hardly mattered: EVs were 10.8% of sales, an order of magnitude increase in little more than four years since passing 1% in the second quarter of 2017.
/bloom.bg/3Iyn97a
FX industry needs to better understand the environmental impact of trading, says MillTechFX CEO; A lot of work has already gone into the 'G' in ESG, now the focus needs to shift to measuring the carbon footprint of all entities involved in a trade.
Anita Hawser - The Trade
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles should eventually become part of best execution for trading FX, says Eric Huttman, CEO of MillTechFX, but first the industry needs to figure out the total carbon footprint of all participants in an FX trade.
/bit.ly/3ERmE5K
|
| | | |
|
| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Barclays Plots Asia Revival With Strategic Hires After Hiatus
Suvashree Ghosh and Ambereen Choudhury - Bloomberg
Barclays Plc plans to make key hires in investment banking and wealth management across Asia next year as the British lender plots its return to some of the world's fastest growing economies after a 2016 restructuring.
/yhoo.it/3rMxFlp
Custody banks: unglamorous plumbers can offset fee pressure; Shares in the three biggest standalone players are outperforming the S&P 500
LEX - FT
Custody banks are often likened to unglamorous plumbers working behind the financial scenes. The biggest of these standalone businesses — Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Northern Trust — make money from providing back-office services to institutional investors and fund managers.
/on.ft.com/3Go7pSi
Jefferies Asks Staff to Work From Home Again as Firm's Covid Cases Rise
Amanda L Gordon and Jennifer Surane - Bloomberg
Vaccines already are required for those returning to office; Handler says 10 new infections were reported in one day
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. asked staffers to work from home and will require employees to get a booster for their vaccine by the end of January after the Wall Street firm saw a rise in Covid cases among its workforce. Employees who can do so should consider working remotely for the rest of the month, according to a memo by Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler. The moves come after the company has experienced nearly 40 new cases of Covid since the start of the month.
/bloom.bg/3GuGB32
Credit Suisse Chairman Horta-Osorio Broke Quarantine Rules
Marion Halftermeyer - Bloomberg
Blick says he broke isolation rules going to Iberian peninsula; Chairman has spoken of developing culture of accountability
Credit Suisse Group AG said it "regretfully acknowledged" that Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio breached quarantine rules recently when he left Switzerland before his period of isolation was over.
/bloom.bg/31L7VuV
Deutsche Bank Haunted by Control Lapses as U.S. Warns of Breach
Tom Schoenberg and Steven Arons - Bloomberg
Prosecutors examining potential violation of January agreement; Bank failed to alert DOJ about complaint tied to DWS
Deutsche Bank AG's control lapses keep haunting Christian Sewing. The Chief Executive Officer of Germany's largest lender has spent his almost four years in the role trying to mend relations with regulators and restore a path to sustainable profitability. While he's made progress on the latter, a slew of recent legal and regulatory headaches threaten to overshadow those achievements as he's heading into the final year of his turnaround program.
/bloom.bg/3rYfSHM
Jefferies resumes remote work, cancels travel and parties over fresh COVID fears
Reuters
Jefferies Financial Group on Wednesday canceled all client parties and most travel, asking employees to work from home when possible due to a spate of COVID-19 cases. The firm has had more than 40 new COVID-19 cases this month including 10 on Tuesday, Chief Executive Richard Handler said in a memo seen by Reuters. Handler added that Jefferies was re-imposing a mask mandate in all offices, regardless of vaccination status.
/bit.ly/309maJg
Former Goldman Sachs director joins outsourced trading firm to head up operations; New global chief operating officer at Outset Global spent a decade at Goldman Sachs, most recently in its risk management and corporate treasury division.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Outsourced trading firm, Outset Global, has appointed Cristina Escalante, a former Goldman Sachs executive, as its new global chief operating officer. Escalante will be based in Outset Global's London office and will be responsible for growing its global offering.
/bit.ly/3oDhS6o
TwentyFour Asset Management promotes founding partner to CEO; Growing pains sees current CEO step down to focus on portfolio management role.
Anita Hawser - The Trade
New York and London-based fixed-income manager, TwentyFour Asset Management has appointed Ben Hayward as its new chief executive officer. Hayward, a founding partner at TwentyFour, will replace Mark Holman, who has been the firm's CEO since its inception in 2008. Holman will relinquish his role in January 2022.
/bit.ly/3DyzXXu
|
| | | |
|
| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | This Low-Profile London VC Is Winning Big By Betting On Germany's Startup Scene
Iain Martin - Forbes
One of Europe's largest IPOs this year helped make venture capital veteran Nenad Marovac of DN Capital one of the continent's leading venture capitalists. The London-based investor, who doesn't court publicity, reaped a 25x return on his investment in the Berlin-based used car dealer Auto1, which went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at a $12 billion valuation in February.
/bit.ly/3GwxQoP
Scotiabank and BestEx Research to Build Next Generation Algorithmic Trading Platform Specifically Designed for the Canadian Equities Market
BestEx Research Group
BestEx Research Group, LLC, a provider of high-performance algorithmic execution and measurement solutions for equities, futures, and foreign exchange trading, today announced a strategic agreement with Scotiabank to reshape electronic trading for Canadian equities. Scotiabank will be the only Canadian bank to provide access to this trading platform in the Canadian market through its cross-asset electronic suite of products, ScotiaRED.
/prn.to/3oDmRUJ
Sequoia Sees Indian Financial Firms' Value Soar to $2.5 Trillion
Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Digital adoption will see fintech firms draw in investments; Fintechs valuation to rise 10-fold to $500 billion: top exec
U.S.-based private equity investor Sequoia Capital expects valuations for India's financial services providers to more than treble to $2.5 trillion by the end of this decade, with fintech firms grabbing a fifth of that pie as global investors line up to buy a slice of the fast-growing sector.
/bloom.bg/3pZs9th
|
| | | |
|
| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | More than half of British workers would quit if their bosses dumped hybrid work, new research shows
Sawdah Bhaimiya - Insider
Polling firm YouGov surveyed more than 2,000 UK employees and 504 HR decision makers in October 2021, and found that 53% of workers who started a new job since March 2020 experienced their entire onboarding process remotely. Despite occasional hiccups with remote onboarding, these were counteracted by the perceived long-term benefits of hybrid work.
/bit.ly/31Hy0eu
Over 200 newspapers are suing Facebook and Google for killing their advertising
Alexandra Steigrad - NY Post
More than 200 newspapers are suing Facebook and Google, alleging that the tech titans have unfairly manipulated the advertising market, siphoning away their revenue and crippling their businesses.
/bit.ly/3pBh7Km
|
| | | |
|
Disclaimer: All John Lothian Newsletters, JohnLothianNews.com, MarketsWiki.com and MarketsReformWiki.com are products of John Lothian News, a division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. The opinions expressed in all John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. publications are strictly those of their respective editors. They are intended solely for informative purposes and are not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted. Security futures are not suitable for all customers. Futures and options trading involve risk. Past results are no indication of future performance. Nothing on any John J. Lothian & Company site should be considered an endorsement by any sponsor of any website or newsletter content.
© 2021 John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
