| December 13, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
|
| | | | First Read | | |
| | 2024 Newsletter Subscriptions: | |
Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
A source close to the class action lawsuit of CME Group members against the exchange reported to me yesterday that Lance R. Goldberg, one of the original plaintiffs in the class action suit, has passed away. Goldberg was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade since 1977 and was proactive during his tenure in protecting his membership rights, including the CBOE exercise rights that were part of a full membership at the CBOT. Our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
A year ago I wrote a story about the class action lawsuit because I was concerned about the number of former members who were dying and my expectation that the suit could be settled sooner rather than later for a case that had dragged on for 10 years. Now one of the plaintiffs has died, as well as others who have been following the case closely.
The next step in the case is a January 10 status hearing for the newly appointed judge to rule or ask for more information on the CME's motion on summary judgment and other issues. A court date of July 7 is set for the case to begin to be heard.
It is just sad that this case has taken this long to resolve itself and that some of the people involved won't be around when it finally is.
Apple went public 44 years ago yesterday, Fortune reported. The story says that "If you had invested $10,000 of today's dollars in Apple when the company went public at $22 a share, your investment would now be worth $32.7 million, according to calculations by Fortune using data from S&P Capital IQ." Not a bad return. No wonder Forrest Gump invested in Apple.
Now here is a new policy I could see a lot of support for moving forward. The Financial Times reports Tokyo is launching a four-day workweek for city government employees starting April 2025 to combat Japan's declining birth rate. This initiative allows employees to choose one day off each week, aiming to improve work-life balance and make child-rearing less daunting. The program follows a 15% drop in Tokyo births over the past decade and aligns with broader efforts to empower women and address Japan's labor shortages. Supported by 4 Day Week Global, similar trials worldwide have shown increased productivity and reduced sick days. Japan's demographics remain a "quiet emergency," with births projected to fall below 700,000 in 2024, despite government incentives like cash benefits, tax breaks, and daycare expansions. Governor Yuriko Koike also introduced a government-backed dating app to promote marriage and family formation.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Margin pressure driving shift to total return futures - Nomura FSB to publish latest report on non-bank financial intermediaries, European regulator warns investors about crypto 'hype' LCH SA sees profits 'normalising' in two years after Euronext exit, ICE launches first credit futures to rival CME, Eurex and Cboe and Climate Impact X to launch first CORSIA contracts.
I updated to the latest version of the iOS software for my iPhone and I really like the AI improvements to the mail app. The way it automatically categorizes the different types of communications you receive is very nice and easy to work with to assign categories to emails.
I finished my project installing the laminate flooring in the living room of my home in Florida. I am finishing up a couple of small projects today and then will be headed to New York beginning tomorrow, to be in the Big Apple on December 16 and 17. I will leave the evening of the 17th to head back to Chicago. One of the issues I always have to manage when traveling is sometimes having to get my various medicines refilled. One of them, I was informed by my doctor's office, because of the merger between Edwards-Elmhurst Hospital with Northshore, is that my Pain Center doctors are now part of the hospital, following their protocols. Thus, another one of my medicines is not available to be sent over state lines for a refill. Luckily, I will run out of it on Wednesday evening, just as I return home (if all goes well). Traveling is so much fun!
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
*****
Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Options expiry triggers $4bn liquidity shortfall at NSCC from Risk.net.
- The Reason Certain Options Trade in Penny Increments from the OIC.
- Short Sellers' Secret Talks and Alliances Emerge in Court Battle from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
++++
 Eurex's Matthias Graulich Highlights Growth and Advantages of Credit Index Futures JohnLothianNews.com Matthias Graulich, head of strategy at Eurex, discussed in an interview with John Lothian News at the FIA Expo in Chicago the success and growth of Eurex's credit index futures, emphasizing the product's competitive advantages and market adoption. "When we restarted this whole credit initiative back in 2021, there were some fundamental changes in regulation, like margin rules for OTC derivatives," Graulich said. He noted that technological advancements and increased electronic trading created an opportunity to introduce a more efficient product for buy-side firms. Watch the video »
++++
Musk's Charitable Foundation Sent Most of Its Millions to His Own Entities
Sophie Alexander and Biz Carson
Elon Musk's charitable foundation ballooned to $9.5 billion in assets last year while handing out $237 million in gifts, most of which went to other entities controlled by the world's richest person. The figures are part of the Musk Foundation's latest tax filing, obtained Thursday by Bloomberg News. The annual snapshot shows the organization got a boost from the millions of Tesla Inc. shares it holds and sent $137 million to Musk's other nonprofit, The Foundation, which he set up to establish a STEM-focused primary and secondary school.
/jlne.ws/3PeXsNL
****** At least he has a charitable foundation.~JJL
++++
Travelers Going to Europe Next Year Will Have to Register Online First; These mandatory requirements will add an extra step for those visiting the U.K. and over two dozen other countries
Allison Pohle - The Wall Street Journal
American travelers headed to the U.K. next year will need to fill out online authorizations ahead of their trips, as part of new rules that take effect in early January. Visitors to the European Union will also face new regulations, with more information to be released next month. The changes mark a meaningful disruption to European travel from the U.S. Travelers have grown accustomed to booking tickets to much of Europe without applying for a visa or other advanced permission. Those who don't apply in advance risk being denied entry to the country they hope to visit.
/jlne.ws/3VCiZU0
***** Just what we all needed, more friction in travel.~JJL
++++
Thursday's Top Three
Our top story Thursday was Trump Rings NYSE Bell After Being Named Time's Person of the Year, from The Wall Street Journal. Second was Police Investigate NYC 'Wanted' Posters of Finance Executives, from Bloomberg. Third was John Lothian News' "Auditions" page, a new "space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading." Currently on display is a movie script titled "The Front Runner," from Daniel F. Sullivan and John Nuckel.
++++
++++
|
|  | | | |
 | |
| Lead Stories | Donald Trump's election win sparks trading surge for banks and brokers; Markets activity 'exploded' as traders bet on a more business-friendly approach by incoming administration
Jennifer Hughes, Madison Darbyshire, Stephen Gandel and Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
Donald Trump's election victory last month ignited a trading frenzy at brokerage houses and Wall Street banks as expectations for sweeping policy changes added fuel to a US stock rally. Trading volumes in US equities jumped 38 per cent in November from the same month in 2023, reaching levels not seen since the meme stock craze of early 2021 and this month are still running above their average for the year, according to exchanges operator Cboe Global Markets.
/jlne.ws/49B6P3o
Cantor Fitzgerald Pays SEC $6.75 Million for Alleged SPAC Abuses; Cantor had two SPACs in 2020, 2021 that raised $750 million; Firm settled without admitting to or denying SEC's allegations
Nicola M. White and Bailey Lipschultz - Bloomberg
Cantor Fitzgerald LP agreed to pay $6.75 million to settle US Securities and Exchange allegations that it misled investors in two blank-check firms before their stock-market debuts. The firm, led by Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick, controlled two special purpose acquisition companies in 2020 and 2021 that raised $750 million. The SPACs claimed in regulatory filings that they hadn't had substantive talks with potential merger targets, the agency said in a statement on Thursday. In reality, the entities had already started negotiations with a small group of candidates, it said.
/jlne.ws/41xeDkN
*****Here is the Financial Times' take on the story.
Trump Advisers Seek to Shrink or Eliminate Bank Regulators; Advisers asked potential nominees whether Trump could abolish the FDIC
Gina Heeb - The Wall Street Journal
The Trump transition team has started to explore pathways to dramatically shrink, consolidate or even eliminate the top bank watchdogs in Washington. In recent interviews with potential nominees to lead bank regulatory agencies, President-elect Donald Trump's advisers and officials from his newfound Department of Government Efficiency have, for example, asked whether he could abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., people familiar with the matter said.
/jlne.ws/4gyOp5D
Musk Ups SEC Feud by Disclosing Twitter Claims, Neuralink Probe; His lawyer's letter cites looming SEC action on Twitter probe; Billionaire calls agency 'just another weaponized institution'
Nicola M. White and Peter Blumberg - Bloomberg
Elon Musk renewed his longstanding feud with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday by posting a letter that said the agency is investigating his brain-computer interface company, Neuralink Corp. The letter that Musk posted on X, which appeared to be from his long-time lawyer Alex Spiro, said the commission this week "reopened" a probe into Neuralink. It also said the SEC is preparing to take action against him related to his investment in Twitter Inc. before he bought the platform in 2022.
/jlne.ws/4gAA6hc
Companies that want to go public without a diverse board may still have to get through Goldman Sachs
Emmalyse Brownstein - Business Insider
Wall Street's board diversity initiatives are not dead - yet. On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Nasdaq's efforts to push companies that want to list their stock on its exchange to diversify their boards or explain themselves. Nasdaq has said it will not appeal the decision. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which approved the Nasdaq rule in 2021, has said it is reviewing the decision. Companies could continue to feel pressure to diversify their boards, however, from other stakeholders including shareholders and even Wall Street banks.
/jlne.ws/41x65u3
US Agriculture Industry Starts Talks With Trump Team on Tariffs, Immigration
Ilena Peng, Gerson Freitas Jr, and Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
The US agriculture industry has started talks with Donald Trump's transition team in a bid to advocate for the food business as the president-elect pledges tariffs and mass deportations. Groups including the National Grain and Feed Association, which represents agriculture powerhouses such as Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and Cargill Inc., and the International Fresh Produce Association, were among those involved in the discussions, according to people familiar with the matter. The National Council of Agricultural Employers also has a meeting on the books.
/jlne.ws/41z0CmO
The crypto crown princes who could 'win, win, win' under Trump; Executives have already profited from bitcoin's rally, and see golden era for industry under incoming US president
Nikou Asgari and Philip Stafford - Financial Times
Standing under a "Bitcoin 2024" logo at a US crypto conference this summer, Donald Trump likened the audience of "bitcoiners" to the inventors and industrialists who pioneered high-tech industries at the turn of the 20th century. "You are the modern day Edisons and Wright Brothers and Carnegies and Henry Fords," he said. "My job will be to set you free...And to let you do what Americans do best...Win! Win! Win!"
/jlne.ws/3OUKgNJ
Blackstone's Wealth Boss Targets $1 Trillion in Assets; After meeting a $250 billion fundraising goal early, Joan Solotar is setting ambitious targets for the next chapter of her career at the private markets giant.
Benjamin Stupples and Anna Edwards - Bloomberg
Blackstone Inc.'s Joan Solotar spent most of the past decade focused on attracting money from wealthy investors as part of the private market giant's race to manage $1 trillion in assets. Now, after hitting a $250 billion fundraising target at her unit about four years ahead of schedule, Blackstone's global head of private wealth solutions is setting her sights on an ambitious $1 trillion goal at her own business.
/jlne.ws/3ZSqJ6X
2024 The World's Most Powerful Women
Moira Forbes, Maggie McGrath, Erin Spencer Sairam and Erika Burho - Forbes
After Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office as Mexico's president in October, a historic cheer filled the congressional chamber: "Presidenta! Presidenta!" Sheinbaum, 62, is the first woman to preside over the nation-the world's 12th-largest economy-in its 200 year history as an independent country. "Many of us were told a version of history since we were children, which wanted us to believe that the course of humanity was led only by men. But little by little this vision has been reversed," she said in her inauguration speech. "It is time for women." The women on the 2024 Power Women list define this moment. It is determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence. The result: 100 women across finance, technology, media and beyond who command a collective $33 trillion in economic power and influence more than 1 billion people.
/jlne.ws/3VBRaLq
British hedge fund trader jailed in Denmark over 'cum-ex' tax fraud; Sanjay Shah receives 12-year sentence for masterminding scheme that led to billions in refunds of non-existent tax payments
Richard Milne - Financial Times
A British hedge fund trader at the heart of Europe's sprawling "cum-ex" dividend scandal has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Danish court for defrauding the Nordic country of DKr9bn ($1.3bn). nSanjay Shah, who was extradited from Dubai last year, was the mastermind behind a system that led to the refunding of billions of euros of dividend taxes that had never been paid, the Danish judges found.
/jlne.ws/3Zz4eT8
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | NATO chief warns that Putin wants long-term confrontation with Europe after Ukraine
Lorne Cook - Associated Press
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to "wipe Ukraine off the map" and could come after other parts of Europe next, as he urged Europeans to press their governments to ramp up defense spending. "It is time to shift to a wartime mindset," Rutte told security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe think-tank in Brussels. He said people should gird themselves for the prospect that Russia might try to use "swarms of drones" in Europe as it has to deadly effect in Ukraine. Putin "is trying to crush our freedom and way of life," Rutte said. The former Dutch prime minister listed Russia's attacks on Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the all-out invasion launched almost three years ago.
/jlne.ws/4fly6rU
'Massive' Russian air attack targets Ukraine's battered energy grid; Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemns 'one of the largest strikes' since full-scale war began
Christopher Miller and Max Seddon - Financial Times
Russia has unleashed a devastating aerial assault targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing it as "one of the largest strikes" against the nation's power facilities since the war began. Zelenskyy said 93 Russian cruise and ballistic missiles and 200 attack drones were launched at Ukraine, including at least one North Korean missile.
/jlne.ws/3BE8fgZ
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | How Israel used a power vacuum to destroy Syria's military assets; The goal, said Avi Dichter, an Israeli minister, "is to establish facts on the ground" as Islamist rebels seek to cement their rule over the fractured country.
Shira Rubin and Steve Hendrix - The Washington Post
TEL AVIV - The battle plans had been drawn up years ago, and when the Syrian state fell suddenly, Israel wasted no time putting them in motion. The hundreds of strikes Israel carried out across Syria this week constituted one of the largest single operations in its history, experts said - effectively destroying its neighbor's military capabilities in a matter of days. In parallel, Israeli forces have seized military posts in southern Syria, beyond a U.N.-monitored buffer zone established after the 1973 Yom Kippur war.
/jlne.ws/4iAZNQd
Israel instructs army to bolster its position inside Syria; Defence minister calls on IDF to prepare for winter while US and Turkey meet to shore up fight against Isis
Mehul Srivastava in London and Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul - Financial Times
Israel's defence minister told troops to fortify their position in newly seized Syrian territory, making plans to send in reinforcements and equipment despite UN demands that the country retreat immediately. Since rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime on Sunday, Israeli ground forces have crossed from the occupied Golan Heights into and beyond a previously demilitarised buffer zone in Syria. An Israeli air campaign has also destroyed most of Syria's air force and aerial defences, Israel's military said on Friday.
/jlne.ws/41tZZuJ
Syria's Kurds fear US betrayal under Donald Trump; President-elect has criticised Washington's support for the Kurdish groups now fighting Turkish-backed rebels
Charles Clover, Ayla Jean Yackley and Felicia Schwartz - Financial Times
Syrian rebels who helped topple Bashar al-Assad's regime less than a week ago have pressed ahead with a separate, less-publicised offensive. The Syrian National Army, a rebel group supported by Turkey, has in recent days battled the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed militant movement that Ankara deems a severe threat.
/jlne.ws/3OQfxkW
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Pakistan Bourse Plans to Launch Cash-Settled Futures by March; Equities to ride economic stability wave, CEO Sabzwari says; Options derivatives are also on agenda amid a rally in stocks
Faseeh Mangi - Bloomberg
Pakistan Stock Exchange Ltd. is looking to give traders the option of settling futures deals in cash with testing planned by March, according to the newly appointed chief executive of the nation's bourse. "The first product on our table is cash-settled futures and then options," Farrukh H Sabzwari, who took charge last month, said in an interview at his office in Karachi on Wednesday. The move is expected to boost derivatives trading in the world's best-performing equity market this year, he said.
/jlne.ws/4fhcKM8
HKEX to enhance post-trade systems to ready for T+1; New features are due to begin rolling out in mid-2025, with key upgrades set to include real-time data processing and real-time settlement instruction matching.
Sophia Thomson - The Trade News
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is launching a multi-year enhancement programme to upgrade its post-trade services for the cash equities market, with the aim of being 'technically ready' to support a T+1 settlement cycle by the end of 2025. Bonnie Y Chan Starting in mid-2025, HKEX will gradually introduce new features to its Orion Cash Platform (OCP), a key integrated platform for Hong Kong's cash market. These features aim to improve the efficiency, reliability, and automation of post-trade services.
https://jlne.ws/4gcWAF4
HKEX Introduces Fund Repository on Integrated Fund Platform
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce today (Friday) the launch of a Fund Repository on its Integrated Fund Platform (IFP), marking a significant step forward in enhancing transparency of fund information for Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) authorised funds in Hong Kong. The Fund Repository will provide streamlined access to essential information on over 2,000 SFC-authorised funds. The initiative will support the long-term growth of the fund industry by enhancing information transparency and building investor knowledge and understanding of the fund universe.
/jlne.ws/3VBVB92
Supermarket Income REIT Announces Secondary Listing on the JSE
JSE
Supermarket Income REIT specialises in investing in grocery properties predominantly across the UK, with a focus on omnichannel stores. These unique properties serve dual functions: traditional in-store shopping experiences and sophisticated last-mile logistics hubs for online grocery fulfilment, including home delivery and click-and-collect services. "We are delighted to be able to announce the first day of trading on the JSE via a secondary listing. We look forward to welcoming South African investors onto the Company's register," said Nick Hewson, Chair of Supermarket Income REIT. "The aim of the secondary listing is to enhance share liquidity and improve the diversity of our shareholder base, broadening access to the Company."
/jlne.ws/3Zy3YE0
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Most Employees at Collapsed Fintech Lender Stenn to Lose Jobs
Donal Griffin and Lucca de Paoli - Bloomberg
Most of Stenn Technologies' employees will lose their jobs after HSBC Holdings Plc pushed the troubled trade-finance firm into insolvency last week. "The joint administrators of Stenn International Ltd. can confirm that 155 members of staff have today been made redundant," a spokesperson for administrators at Interpath said Thursday in an email to Bloomberg News, adding that "45 members of staff have been asked to continue their employment."
/jlne.ws/4iwVtl8
Japan's Memory Chip IPO Is No Home Run; Kioxia is going for a discount due to its high debt and lower AI exposure than rivals
Jacky Wong - The Wall Street Journal
Memory-chip maker Kioxia's shares are expected to start trading next week. Photo: Fred Mery/Bloomberg News
Japan's last blockbuster initial public offering of the year comes with a holiday discount. But cheap isn't always a bargain. Memory-chip maker Kioxia will start trading next week after raising about $800 million, valuing the company at only around $5.1 billion. That is a far cry from its $18 billion valuation when a Bain Capital-led consortium purchased the business in 2018 from Toshiba, which was desperately patching financial holes after significant losses in its nuclear division.
/jlne.ws/3P0NJKt
Societe Generale completes first repo on public blockchain; The transaction was made with Banque de France; the first repo transaction in digital securities with an Eurosystem's central bank.
Claudia Preece - The Trade News
Societe Generale has completed its first repo transaction fully executed on public blockchain - on SG-FORGE. The transaction was made with Banque de France and represents the first repo transaction in digital securities with an Eurosystem's central bank. "This transaction demonstrates the technical feasibility of interbank refinancing operations directly on blockchain. It illustrates the potential of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to improve the liquidity of digital financial securities," said Societe Generale in an official announcement.
/jlne.ws/4fjZdDL
Blue Owl-Led Group Lands $600 Million Financing for CoreWeave Data Center
Natalie Wong - Bloomberg
A group of developers led by Blue Owl Capital Inc.'s real estate arm obtained a $600 million construction loan for a data center project in Virginia. The financing was provided by a syndicate led by Societe Generale SA, according to a statement. The site, within the Chirisa technology park in Richmond, is leased to CoreWeave, a cloud-computing provider for artificial intelligence that's backed by Nvidia Corp.
/jlne.ws/3BsV7v5
AI Wants More Data. More Chips. More Real Estate. More Power. More Water. More Everything; Businesses, investors and society brace for a demand shock from artificial intelligence.
Lynn Doan - Bloomberg
It looks easy enough: Ask ChatGPT something, and it responds. But pull back the curtain, and you'll find that every ChatGPT prompt and Microsoft Copilot task consumes vast resources. Millions of human beings engineering, correcting and training models. Enough terawatt-hours of electricity to power countries. Data center megaÂcampuses around the world. Power line networks and internet cables. Water, land, metals and minerals. Artificial intelligence needs it all, and it will need more.
/jlne.ws/3Dbeeud
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Making smart cybersecurity spending decisions in 2025
Jennifer Gregory - SecurityIntelligence
December is a month of numbers, from holiday countdowns to RSVPs for parties. But for business leaders, the most important numbers this month are the budget numbers for 2025. With cybersecurity a top focus for many businesses in 2025, it is likely to be a top-line item on many budgets heading into the New Year.
/jlne.ws/3VFxRRp |
| | | |
|
| |
| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Can Crypto Bros Save Luxury in 2025?; With asset prices including Bitcoin rising, high-end groups are looking to the US to offset China weakness.
Andrea Felsted - Bloomberg
New York is obsessed with Louis Vuitton. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE's biggest brand is refurbishing its flagship on the corner of East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It has covered the construction with a 230-foot tall installation depicting six stacked monogrammed trunks. Towering above nearby landmarks, it has become a surprise tourist attraction and TikTok sensation.
/jlne.ws/4gieA0Y
Crypto Ads Crackle in a Trump-Energized Landscape; Marketing messages have regained the sector's geeky confidence since Donald Trump's electoral win and bitcoin's subsequent blastoff
Mengqi Sun - The Wall Street Journal
Some cryptocurrency exchanges are raising their advertising voices again as the polarizing sector rides a wave of good news. "Go where dollars won't," Gemini Trust urges in a new campaign, depicting space travelers visiting woolly mammoths on Mars and skiing down the slope of an asteroid. Those astral projections are an abrupt departure from Gemini's somber tone in 2019, when its ads argued that the sector needed to protect investors from crypto chaos through best practices and rules. The slogan then? "The Revolution Needs Rules."
/jlne.ws/3Df2M0N
Australian Pension Fund Reveals Rare Wager on Bitcoin Futures; AMP's investment in bitcoin futures is worth about A$27m; Wealth manager has no plans to increase its allocation
Amy Bainbridge - Bloomberg
Australian pension and wealth firm AMP Ltd. has become one of the nation's first large retirement managers to invest in cryptocurrency products, allocating about A$27 million ($17.2 million) to Bitcoin futures. The fund "took the plunge and made a modest allocation to bitcoin" earlier this year, AMP Senior Portfolio Manager Steve Flegg said in a LinkedIn post this week. A spokesperson for AMP said the investment was in Bitcoin futures, adding that there are no plans to increase the allocation. Bitcoin last week passed $100,000 for the first time and has gained more than 40% since Donald Trump's victory in the US Presidential election in November. Trump is avowedly pro-crypto and has pledged to foster a supportive environment for digital-asset firms in the US.
/jlne.ws/3ZOff4i
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | The World According to Trump Is Already Here; Central banks are making zero-sum moves, and we can expect a lot more during the next four years.
John Authers - Bloomberg
Dispatches From a Zero-Sum World
Get used to this. Confusion reading the signals coming from the global economy has combined with the radical uncertainty generated by the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House to send markets in opposite directions. The presiding philosophy for the next four years will be a zero-sum world, where gains can only come at others' expense. That's led in the last two days to very surprising central bank decisions and strange market reactions.
/jlne.ws/49zsjO2
Will Trump's new antitrust enforcers help make M&A great again? Wall Street is hoping for a less tough approach but the reality could be more complex
James Fontanella-Khan and Stefania Palma - Financial Times
Animal spirits are back on Wall Street. The return of "Merger Monday" this week, with a wave of large transactions being announced at the same time, was the strongest indication yet that dealmakers are gearing up for a robust comeback under president-elect Donald Trump. The recent surge in activity - $35bn in transactions in a single day - reflects dealmakers' excitement over the imminent exit of President Joe Biden and his progressive trustbusters: Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, and Jonathan Kanter, head of the Department of Justice's antitrust division.
/jlne.ws/49zHUNI
Trump Team Weighs Options, Including Airstrikes, to Stop Iran's Nuclear Program; Advisers to president-elect, concerned economic pressure isn't enough to contain Tehran, consider military action
Alexander Ward and Laurence Norman - The Wall Street Journal
President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions. The military-strike option against nuclear facilities is now under more serious review by some members of his transition team, who are weighing the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad-Tehran's ally-in Syria, the future of U.S. troops in the region, and Israel's decimation of regime proxy militias Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran's weakened regional position and recent revelations of Tehran's burgeoning nuclear work have turbocharged sensitive internal discussions, transition officials said. All deliberation on the issue, however, remains in the early stages.
/jlne.ws/3DfVidV
Reasons to Block US Steel Deal Are Buried in Treasury Letter
Joe Deaux, Daniel Flatley and Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
US President Joe Biden is said to be planning to end Nippon Steel Corp.'s $14.1 billion bid to buy United States Steel Corp. on national security grounds. A Treasury Department letter from August provides the justification. The case against the takeover is spelled out in a letter to the steelmakers written by Treasury on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, the secretive panel charged with scrutinizing foreign deals for American companies. Cfius relies heavily on a novel argument: that the Japanese company represents a threat to an industry critical not just for production of military equipment, but also for infrastructure.
/jlne.ws/3ZCd4zy
Trump Woos Wall Street With Corporate Tax Cuts at NYSE Visit; Capital gains tax cuts are under discussion, Trump said; President-elect named Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year'
Skylar Woodhouse and Jenny Leonard - Bloomberg
Donald Trump rang the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell Thursday, a celebratory moment for the president-elect who was returned to the White House in an election in which the US economy took center stage. Trump used the occasion to make a fresh round of pledges to cut taxes, a key priority for many of the political donors and business leaders gathered on the NYSE trading floor. The president-elect vowed to lower the corporate rate to 15% from 21% and said he's talking with his advisers about cutting levies on capital gains and dividends, changes that would be well-received by investors and would likely spur a market bump.
/jlne.ws/4ffQItp
Trump Advisers Consider Raising SALT Write-Off Limit to $20,000; Trump vowed on the campaign trail to restore the tax break; He limited the state and local tax deduction in his first term
Stephanie Lai - Bloomberg
Trump's economic advisers are considering doubling the state and local tax deduction, a popular - but expensive - tax break that could deliver big savings to many residents of New York, New Jersey, and California. Economist Stephen Moore, a member of President-elect Donald Trump's economic advisory transition team, told Bloomberg Thursday that the group has discussed expanding the tax write-off limit from $10,000 to $20,000.
/jlne.ws/3BEMk9o
Ontario to restrict electricity exports to US and bar American-made alcohol if Trump tariffs applied
Rob Gillies - Associated Press
/jlne.ws/3ZUSKec
Canada Weighs Export Taxes on Uranium, Oil If Trump Starts Trade War; Move would be a last resort to put economic pressure on US
Brian Platt - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4gABiBc
Macron Names Centrist Bayrou as France's New Prime Minister; The new premier will need to quickly pass a budget for 2025; The move comes after the previous premier was ousted last week
Ania Nussbaum and William Horobin - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4gR8aWv
Lagarde Laments EU's 'Self-Inflicted' Political Uncertainty
Craig Stirling, Mark Schroers, and Daniel Hornak - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/49FCi4v
Swiss Government Rejects Proposed Super-Rich Inheritance Tax
Bastian Benrath-Wright - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3VCVVnU
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Ex-Avana Partners Sentenced to Over 5 Years Over Tax Fraud Crimes
Karin Matussek - Bloomberg
Two former partners of now-defunct German asset management firm Avana Invest GmbH were sentenced to prison terms of five years and three months over their roles in the Cum-Ex tax trading scandal. The men were found guilty of aggravated tax evasion, the Munich Regional Court ruled on Friday. The court seized a total of EUR15.6 million ($16.4 million) from the defendants.
/jlne.ws/4gcVrx4
Elon Musk and DOGE vs. Regulators; The billionaire has needled government agencies, armed with potential influence over their budgets. But some of these organizations are also looking into his interests.
Andrew Ross Sorkin, Ravi Mattu, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch and Benjamin Mullin - The New York Times
Elon Musk remains perhaps the most consequential figure in President-elect Donald Trump's orbit, with a commission for cutting government spending headed by him and Vivek Ramaswamy - widely known by its acronym, DOGE - promising huge reductions. Federal regulators have become prominent targets for Musk and his allies. But those agencies are continuing to scrutinize the tech billionaire's interests, raising questions about conflicts.
/jlne.ws/41xTqal
CFTC Staff Issues Advisory Regarding Form 304 Submission Format Beginning January 15, 2025
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight today issued an advisory notifying all merchants and dealers of cotton holding or controlling positions for future delivery in cotton (traders) that beginning next year they must submit the regulatory filing identified as "Form 304" through the CFTC's online filings portal.
/jlne.ws/3BApiAw
Board Appoints Public Governor and Discusses Budget, Rules Regarding Outside Business; Activities and Private Securities Transactions, and 2025 Regulatory Oversight Report
Erik Sirri - FINRA
FINRA's Board of Governors met on December 4-5. The agenda included discussions around FINRA's 2025 budget, FINRA's Outside Business Activities and Private Securities Transactions rules, and an overview of the 2025 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. The Board also recently appointed a Public Governor, Erik Sirri, Emeritus Professor of Finance at Babson College and a former Director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, who participated in his first Board meeting. Professor Sirri has extensive experience with securities regulation and his research focuses on the interaction of securities law and finance, investment management, securities market structure and capital markets.
/jlne.ws/41tPTKl
SEC Charges Cantor Fitzgerald Over Misleading SPAC Disclosures
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. with causing two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it controlled to make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs). Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed to pay a $6.75 million civil penalty to settle the SEC's charges. A SPAC is an entity with no underlying business operations that is formed to raise money through an IPO so it can then identify and acquire an operating business.
/jlne.ws/3DflCVo
SEC Small Business Advocacy Office Delivers Report to Congress on Capital Raising for Startups to Small Public Companies
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation issued its 2024 Annual Report today to Congress and the Commission. The report is a comprehensive and data-packed resource on the dynamics of capital raising across the country.
/jlne.ws/49D1Mzv
SEC Charges Former Representative of Advisory Firm SeaCrest with Cherry-Picking
Firm settles SEC charges related to former employee's misconduct
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Eric Cobb of South Carolina with engaging in a fraudulent scheme where he allocated profitable securities trades to favored accounts and unprofitable trades to disfavored clients, a practice known as cherry-picking, while he was a representative of investment adviser SeaCrest Wealth Management, Inc. The SEC also announced settled charges against SeaCrest in connection with the scheme.
/jlne.ws/49Iuq2o
Statement on CAT Cost Savings
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Today, the Commission approved amendments to the 2016 National Market System Plan that established the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). I am pleased to support this amendment estimated to save $21 million annually while maintaining the core functionality of CAT. This amendment modifies requirements related to linking market maker quotes for equity options. In addition, it also makes changes to storage and retention requirements.
/jlne.ws/3DgdHaw
Dissenting Statement Regarding Recent SPAC Cases - Digital World Acquisition Corp., Northern Star Investment Corp. II, and Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.
Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda - SEC
Since July 2023, the Commission has brought three cases against special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and/or SPAC sponsors, charging them with fraud because they made false and misleading statements regarding the details of their communications with potential target companies. I have declined to support these cases because the alleged misstatements and omissions are not material, and I do not view the facts in the Order as demonstrating investor harm.
/jlne.ws/41QDIaL
SEC Charges Three Individuals with Impersonating Financial Professionals in Fraud Scheme Targeting Retail Investors
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Chibuzo Augustine Onyeachonam, Stanley Chidubem Asiegbu, and Chukwuebuka Martin Nweke-Eze with fraud for impersonating legitimate securities brokers and investment advisers in an elaborate online scheme through which the defendants stole more than $2.9 million from at least 28 investors.
/jlne.ws/4giMKBx
ASIC cancels AFS licence of Macgill Financial Services Pty Ltd
ASIC
ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services licence held by Macgill Financial Services Pty Ltd ACN 096 357 630 (Macgill Financial Services) on 29 November 2024, after finding it has ceased to carry on a financial services business. ASIC may suspend or cancel an AFS licence, by giving written notice, if the licensee ceases to carry on the financial services business under section 915B of the Corporations Act.
/jlne.ws/4gaV1r3
Lead auditor of Greensill Group suspended by Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board until June 2026
ASIC
Registered company auditor Joseph John Santangelo will not be able to audit companies until June 2026 after the Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board (CADB) found that he failed to carry out or perform adequately and properly the duties of an auditor in conducting the group audits of the financial statements of the entity comprising Greensill Capital Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries (the Greensill Group).
/jlne.ws/41rXFnX
ASIC cancels AFS licence of Patrick Joseph O'Neill
ASIC
ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services licence held by Patrick Joseph O'Neill on 9 November 2024, due to Mr O'Neill's failure to comply with licence obligations. The Corporations Act imposes obligations on Australian financial services licensees. Mr O'Neill has not complied with the obligations to be a member of an external dispute resolution scheme, to lodge annual financial statements with ASIC for the financial years ending 30 June 2018 to 2023, and to pay outstanding industry funding levies to ASIC.
/jlne.ws/49AyvFz
ESMA appoints Carlo Comporti as a new member to its Management Board and reappoints the Chairs of its Standing Committees
ESMA
/jlne.ws/4fxxnUR
FMA's calendar of events
FMA
The FMA runs a programme of engagement throughout the year, including speeches, presentations, roundtable discussions and webinars, alongside bilateral engagement with the Boards and Executives of firms we regulate. The FMA also engages through industry bodies. If you would like any more details on the programme of events or would like the FMA to give a speech or presentation, please contact us.
/jlne.ws/4i3URU3
SFC steps up anti-scam publicity with "Don't be Sucker" campaign
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today launched a new anti-scam campaign titled "Don't be Sucker" to raise public awareness of the common tactics used in fraudulent schemes, as part of its ongoing efforts to caution investors against investment scams especially in the digital realm. Central to this initiative is the debut of an original cartoon character named Shui Yu (æ°´éš), which pervades the SFC's new anti-scam advertisements and other publicity materials. Shui Yu symbolises an impulsive, simple-minded and gullible personality that is commonly an easy target of investment scams (Note 1).
/jlne.ws/3VBRzgU
SFC welcomes launch of Integrated Fund Platform
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today welcomed Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited's (HKEX) launch of the first phase of the Integrated Fund Platform (IFP). The Fund Repository, part of this new financial infrastructure in Hong Kong, will provide investors with a one-stop access to information on retail funds (Note 1). HKEX will roll out other functionalities of the IFP, including a business platform and a communications network to facilitate dealing of funds on a business-to-business basis between fund managers and distributors (Note 2).
/jlne.ws/3VDxRl1
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Coffee price surges to highest on record
Joao da Silva - BBC
Coffee drinkers may soon see their morning treat get more expensive, as the price of coffee on international commodity markets has hit its highest level on record. On Tuesday, the price for Arabica beans, which account for most global production, topped $3.44 a pound (0.45kg), having jumped more than 80% this year. The cost of Robusta beans, meanwhile, hit a fresh high in September.
/jlne.ws/3BiG5bs
Ghana Cocoa Buyers Sidelined as Exporters Fill Funding Gap; Cocoa futures have soared to record levels on supply concerns; Ghana has typically relied on a loan from international banks
Ekow Dontoh and Mumbi Gitau - Bloomberg
Ghana's cocoa regulator's growing dependence on top exporters to help finance bean purchases is leaving local buying companies marginalized and making the world's No. 2 grower and global markets increasingly reliant on big foreign players. Top exporters stepped in to fill the gap after efforts by industry regulator, Ghana Cocoa Board, known as Cocobod, to secure a $1.5 billion loan to finance the current season stalled earlier this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because of the private nature of the information.
/jlne.ws/4gbvtdj
S&P 500's Record Rally Shows Cracks as Most Stocks Left Out; Streak of losers outpacing gainers is longest in decades; Streak shows 'early cracks' in bull market: SentimentTrader
Geoffrey Morgan - Bloomberg
Beneath a stock market that goes from one record to the next lies a concerning trend for some Wall Street strategists: Fewer stocks are buttressing the advance. The S&P 500 Index closed out its ninth consecutive day where the number of constituents falling outnumbers those rising. That's longest such streak since Bloomberg started collecting the data in 2004. The development signals that the foundation of the stock-market rally is weakening, with strength in technology high-flyers offsetting softness everywhere else. While a top-heavy market is nothing new, it comes at a time when a 27% rally this year has only heightened the sense that valuations look stretched and positioning elevated.
/jlne.ws/3ZQKSdm
Hottest Indian Options Trade Sees Volume Slump 90% on Crackdown; Fewer than 20 million Nifty Bank Index options trade daily now; Derivatives turnover has halved on the NSE and BSE bourses
Chiranjivi Chakraborty and Savio Shetty - Bloomberg
It's been barely a month since India's regulator acted to stem a frenzy in the derivatives market, but the impact is clear. The volume of options on the NSE Nifty Bank Index - traders' favorite - has slumped below 20 million contracts daily on average since the last expiration, from more than 200 million since January up until then. On the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., the leading bourse, and peer BSE Ltd., derivatives' daily notional turnover has halved in December compared with the mean for the rest of 2024.
/jlne.ws/4gcUZyS
Trafigura Profit Drops 62% After 'Massive Problem' in Mongolia; Trading house took $1.1 billion loss after alleged misconduct; Impairments mar Jeremy Weir's final set of results as CEO
Archie Hunter and Jack Farchy - Bloomberg
Trafigura Group reported a sharp drop in profit as it took $1.1 billion in losses related to alleged employee misconduct in its Mongolian oil business. The Mongolia losses mean Jeremy Weir's tenure as chief executive officer at one of the world's largest commodity traders is ending on a sour note, with Trafigura forced to restate several years of prior accounts. Weir will hand over to gas and power head Richard Holtum on Jan. 1, after more than a decade at the helm.
/jlne.ws/49DwBnB
How Seniors Can Donate More to Charity and Pay Less in Taxes; While all Americans can get tax breaks for giving, those 70½ or older have the best choices. Here's a rundown on two key tax-favored ways to give.
Laura Saunders - The Wall Street Journal
'Tis the season for charitable giving-and for seniors, in particular, to make sure they get the best tax breaks for their donations. Hint: If you're writing checks for cash to charities, you're probably missing out. While all Americans can get tax breaks for giving, those 70½ or older have the best choices. They include strategies that can reduce a range of taxes, offset income from Roth IRA conversions, or bypass capital-gains taxes. Givers in their 60s should take note and factor them into long-term planning.
/jlne.ws/4gf9Xoc
Liquidity, it's a two-way street; Annabel Smith explores the growth of bilateral trading volumes in European equities, unpacking how the ascension of this increasingly complex segment could impact future liquidity and if it's something regulators will assess further.
Annabel Smith - The Trade News
The growth of bilateral trading has caught the attention of many industry participants in the last year, spurring intense debate at many industry conferences. While the concept is by no means a new concept - banks have offered the buy-side bilateral connections to their central risk books (CRB) for years - in the last 12 months, the segment has grown massively and subsequently found itself under the industry's lens thanks to a few key alternative players championing new ways of directly connecting to the buy-side.
/jlne.ws/4gyYijP
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | With Trump Looming, Biden's Green Bank Moves to Close Billions in Deals; The Energy Department's lending program is a key part of Biden's climate legacy, but its future is uncertain after January.
Ari Natter and David R Baker - Bloomberg
US President Joe Biden's $400 billion green bank has just weeks to close billions of dollars in deals to finance green technology before handing the keys to the Trump administration. The Energy Department's Loan Programs Office (LPO) has provided crucial support for companies deploying first-of-its-kind technology and large projects that banks typically shy away from. Among other loans under Biden, LPO has made a record $9.2 billion offer to Ford Motor Co. to finance building three battery factories and provided $1.5 billion to Holtec International Corp. to restart a shuttered nuclear power plant.
/jlne.ws/3OQ9cWG
Tim Latimer on Solving the Financing Problem for Geothermal; How to cross the chasm.
Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway - Bloomberg
Geothermal is a promising technology to provide clean, low-cost, baseload power to the electricity grid. It works by getting heat from deep in the ground, using technology that is similar to that used in fracking. Despite this potential, however, geothermal still remains a very small percentage of the US power mix. So what will it take for it to scale up? One big challenge is the core problem of financing. Firms need customers in order to get financing. But customers don't want to sign up for projects unless firms can finance them and get them built. On this episode, recorded live onstage at the Department of Energy's Deploy24 conference in Washington DC, we speak with Tim Latimer, the founder and CEO of geothermal company Fervo Energy. Tim was previously in the fracking industry. He explained to us how geothermal works, what's being built, and what it will take from private and public actors in order to scale it up.
/jlne.ws/4gzkWbW
It's time for a shift in approach to carbon credits; After a slump in the market, more rigour and a change in incentives is needed
Simon Mundy - Financial Times
Four years ago this month, former Bank of England governor Mark Carney issued a rallying cry for investment in carbon credits, through which companies could offset their emissions in pursuit of net zero targets. "This needs to be a $50-100bn per annum market," Carney said. For a year or so after Carney's remarks, it looked as if his vision could become reality. Volumes surged from a low base as corporations jostled to announce eye-catching green pledges. But now the market has gone into reverse. Last year was the second consecutive year of decline, with the total value of credits sold amounting to $723mn, according to Ecosystem Marketplace - down from $2.1bn in 2021. Data from MSCI shows no rebound this year.
/jlne.ws/4gzRmCY
Trump's Choice to Run Energy Says Fossil Fuels Are Virtuous; Chris Wright, Donald Trump's pick for energy secretary, says oil, gas and coal are key to solving global poverty. Some call that misleading.
Lisa Friedman - The New York Times
Chris Wright, the fracking magnate and likely next U.S. energy secretary, makes a moral case for fossil fuels. His position, laid out in speeches and podcasts, is that the world's poorest people need oil, gas and coal to realize the benefits of modern life that Americans and others in rich nations take for granted. Only fossil fuels, he says, can bring prosperity to millions who still burn wood, dung or charcoal for basic needs like cooking food and heating homes.
/jlne.ws/3BszvyY
BP and Shell rein in electricity ambitions to escape 'valley of death'; Oil majors caught between pro-fossil fuel and pro-climate investors scale back $18bn power generation push
Malcolm Moore and Rachel Millard - Financial Times
BP and Shell spent a combined $18bn over five years to become major players in electricity. Now the oil majors are scaling back their ambitions in power generation after poor progress and widespread scepticism. In 2019, Shell set a goal of becoming the world's largest electricity company, with Maarten Wetselaar, director of gas and new energies at the time, forecasting that power revenues would equal those from oil and gas by the 2030s.
/jlne.ws/4ix02fg
Tribes in Canada Stand to Reap Billions From Gas. Some Fear a Greater Loss.; New export terminals on Indigenous land have reignited a generations-old debate over identity and environmental stewardship.
Max Bearak - The New York Times
With her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, her arms and legs covered with 20 tattoos, and her compact frame fitted out in athleisure, Crystal Smith, the elected chief of the Haisla people, looked more like the hometown basketball star she once was than the fossil fuel exporter she's about to become. Ms. Smith, 45, lives in an apartment that overlooks a nearly 100-mile-long inlet - a fjord, really - whose densely forested shores the Haisla inhabited well before Europeans colonized what is today British Columbia. Through her kitchen window she can see a $31 billion natural gas export terminal that is about to open for business. Its flare emits a glow strong enough to penetrate the thick fog that can shroud the village of Kitamaat for weeks on end.
/jlne.ws/4gbZlGz
President Biden: stand up to Chevron and pardon Steven Donziger
Jim McGovern - The Guardian
It's a tale as old as time: an underdog fighting for what's right, and a powerful giant doing everything it can to stop him. Yet in today's America, the giants don't lose - they rig the system to crush anyone who dares to challenge them. That's exactly what happened to Steven Donziger, a well-known human rights lawyer who stood up to oil giant Chevron. After helping Indigenous and farming communities in Ecuador secure a historic $9.5bn judgment against the company for decades of environmental destruction, Chevron retaliated with a vicious legal campaign designed not just to discredit him, but to ruin his life.
/jlne.ws/3VCZmLk
In Houston, a City Council Member Questions 'Advanced' Recycling of Plastic and a City Collaboration with ExxonMobil; Councilmember Letitia Plummer said pyrolysis perpetuates fossil fuel extraction and pollution. Her conclusion: The most effective way to reduce plastic waste is to limit its production in the first place.
James Bruggers - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/3DauhIC
New offshore wind in Sweden not viable without support, government commission says
Reuters
/jlne.ws/3BtJVyi
Risks Mount for Polish Power Market as Gas Units Fail at Auction
Maciej Martewicz - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4iw0ESn
Putin abandons Arctic gas production as sanctions bite
Jonathan Leake - The Telegraph
/jlne.ws/4iqyIiG
UAE to Curb Oil Shipments Amid OPEC+ Push for Quota Discipline
Serene Cheong, Yongchang Chin, and Grant Smith - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4gABC2S
Trump is the poster child of DEI; His incoming administration illustrates the benefits of diversity
Stuart Kirk - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4gzldM0
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | UOB Financial Chief Lee Wai Fai to Step Down After Two Decades; Lee has been seen as the second-in-command to the CEO; UOB names Leong Yung Chee as new CFO, effective April 22
Chanyaporn Chanjaroen - Bloomberg
United Overseas Bank Ltd.'s Chief Financial Officer Lee Wai Fai is set to step down next year after two decades in the role. Lee, 64, has held the position at Southeast Asia's third-largest lender since 2005. Leong Yung Chee, the 51-year-old group corporate banking head, will take the role on April 22, UOB said in a statement Friday.
/jlne.ws/3DqzuvW
Goldman Sachs granted licence for China fund sales
Selena Li - Reuters
Goldman Sachs received regulatory approval to sell funds in China, the latest U.S. investment bank to get a financial licence in a sign of Beijing's commitment to continue opening up the sector to foreign companies. The Beijing Bureau of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) granted a fund sales licence to the U.S. bank's Chinese securities brokerage unit on Friday, an official record shows.
/jlne.ws/3VBLnpa
HSBC Sent Stenn Into Administration Over Fears About Client List
Donal Griffin and Lucca de Paoli - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc triggered the shuttering of trade-finance firm Stenn Technologies after uncovering transactions that were supposed to be with key customers but were potentially bogus instead, people familiar with the matter said. HSBC, which provided Stenn with a revolving credit facility, became concerned that the company's relationships with large customers in Taiwan and Japan may not have been legitimate, the people said. Employees at Stenn believed that much of the London-based firm's revenue came from this group of longstanding clients known internally as "legacy" customers, they said.
/jlne.ws/41x7eCb
Hedge fund Citadel poaches second Elliott portfolio manager in London; Move by Pawel Serej indicates Ken Griffin's hedge fund may adopt more activist tactics
Arash Massoudi, Harriet Agnew and Ivan Levingston - Financial Times
Citadel has poached a second London-based portfolio manager from rival Elliott Investment Management, suggesting Ken Griffin's hedge fund is looking to adopt activist tactics. Pawel Serej, who left Elliott in the summer, is joining $65bn hedge fund Citadel in London as an event-driven portfolio manager, according to people familiar with the situation. He will focus on risk arbitrage, a strategy that speculates on the successful completion of mergers and acquisitions. Citadel declined to comment.
/jlne.ws/4guGW7G
Aquis and OptimX unveil new dark trading solution; OptimX has launched actionable liquidity through the Aquis Matching Pool.
Claudia Preece - The Trade News
Aquis UK members are now able to direct actionable liquidity opportunities to their institutional clients via OptimX Markets. Specifically, the offering is for brokers subscribed to the Aquis Matching Pool (AMP) order book which can instruct Aquis (through OptimX) to "deliver liquidity opportunities seamlessly within the institutional trader's workflow". Aquis Exchange picked up a minority stake in OptimX back in August 2023 as it looked to expand its block crossing remit.
/jlne.ws/3Dfv6zY
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Workers skipping office Christmas parties after feeling 'too much pressure to socialise with colleagues'
Calum Muirhead - The Daily Mail
Cost-cutting and 'too much pressure to socialise with colleagues' are pushing many workers to give their office Christmas party a miss this year. A third of UK workplaces are planning to scale down their Christmas celebrations while just over a quarter say they won't be holding any celebrations at all. The data, compiled by recruitment firm Robert Walters, showed that nearly half of 1,700 professionals surveyed said they did not plan to attend their office Christmas party this year, with nearly 80 per cent saying the annual knees-up had become 'less important since the pandemic.'
/jlne.ws/3OX1J8h
SAP CTO Said to Have Left After Allegedly Touching Woman's Rear; Executive Jurgen Muller abruptly stepped down in September; Muller left after what he called 'inappropriate' behavior
Christina Kyriasoglou and Karin Matussek - Bloomberg
SAP SE's former Chief Technology Officer Jurgen Muller, who abruptly left the company in September months after signing a contract extension, stepped down after being accused of touching the rear of a female colleague at an office party, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The incident, which has not been reported previously, allegedly happened at a farewell party for a longtime SAP manager at the German software company's Berlin office on March 27, the people said, asking not to be identified because details of the incident aren't public.
/jlne.ws/41wUNpW
Meet the People Who Refused to Go Back to the Office and Lost Their Jobs; These people are coming to terms with the fact that they might never work from home again
Callum Borchers - The Wall Street Journal
If you're reading this from your home office, it's time to consider whether you're prepared to lose your job over a return-to-office mandate. Companies are finally getting serious about in-person requirements, after years of lax enforcement. Amazon.com will require employees to report to offices five days a week beginning Jan. 2. Several other major employers, including UPS, JPMorgan Chase and Boeing, also have called at least some of their workers back to the office for the full five. Outright firings for RTO noncompliance appear to be rare, or at least handled quietly, but the specter is real. Publicis Media in October terminated several dozen employees who flouted in-office requirements, according to multiple reports. The company declined to comment. Starbucks has warned its office employees they could be fired if they don't show up three days a week, starting next month.
/jlne.ws/4fxxxeV
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Kennedy's Lawyer Has Asked the F.D.A. to Revoke Approval of the Polio Vaccine; Aaron Siri, who specializes in vaccine lawsuits, has been at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s side reviewing candidates for top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg - The New York Times
The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death. That campaign is just one front in the war that the lawyer, Aaron Siri, is waging against vaccines of all kinds. Mr. Siri has also filed a petition seeking to pause the distribution of 13 other vaccines; challenged, and in some cases quashed, Covid vaccine mandates around the country; sued federal agencies for the disclosure of records related to vaccine approvals; and subjected prominent vaccine scientists to grueling videotaped depositions.
/jlne.ws/3DcueMy
Six Childhood Scourges We've Forgotten About, Thanks to Vaccines; Most Americans, including doctors, have no memory of the devastating diseases that routinely threatened children until the 1960s.
Emily Baumgaertner - The New York Times
Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump's picks for the government's top health posts have expressed skepticism about the safety of childhood vaccines. It's a sentiment shared by a growing number of parents, who are choosing to skip recommended shots for their children. But while everyone seems to be talking about the potential side effects of vaccines, few are discussing the diseases they prevent. It has been half a century or more since many of the inoculations became routine in the United States, and the experience of having these illnesses has been largely erased from public memory. Questions today about the risk-benefit ratio of vaccines might just be a product of the vaccines' own success. Here is what people should know about six once-common illnesses that vaccines have contained for decades.
/jlne.ws/4ggoyzU
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Majority of Brexit voters 'would accept free movement' to access single market; Europe-wide polling finds UK and EU leaders now out of step with public opinion and pursue 'ambitious reset'
Peter Walker and Jon Henley - The Guardian
A majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU would now accept a return to free movement in exchange for access to the single market, according to a cross-Europe study that also found a reciprocal desire in member states for closer links with the UK. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump's election as US president had "fundamentally changed the context" of EU-UK relations, the report by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank said.
/jlne.ws/49Basq2
New Zealand Pleads Case With US for No New Tariffs Under Trump; Finance Minister Nicola Willis speaks in Bloomberg interview; 'Our starting position is please don't do that,' Willis says
Matthew Brockett - Bloomberg
New Zealand believes it should be exempt from any sweeping US tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump might impose when he takes office and has instructed officials to make its case, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said. "Our starting position is please don't do that," Willis said in an interview Thursday in Wellington. "The job that we've tasked our diplomats with is to put New Zealand's absolute best foot forward." Trump has threatened across-the-board tariffs on both US friends and foes, specifically targeting China but including 10% duties on the rest of the world. While New Zealand is a tiny trading partner from Washington's perspective, the US is New Zealand's second-largest export market.
/jlne.ws/3DhKR9O
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. | ONE YEAR EARLIER TELLURIDE COLORADO
Ext. Drone shot of Telluride. The camera zooms in on the entrance of a deluxe hotel.
INT. LATE AFTERNOON IN A HIGH END RESTAURANT BAR
It’s a one man bar. Small but elegantly designed. The bar itself is black marble and the bar back is littered with top shelf liquor on glass shelves. The lighting is dim and there’s a piano playing off camera. Mike Harris is standing behind the bar wearing a hotel vest. He looks very handsome and suits the decor perfectly. There’s a middle aged woman sitting at one end of the bar reading a book and nursing a cosmopolitan.
To read the script, go HERE.
|
| | | |
|
| |
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.
© 2024 John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
