| July 10, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Strangely, it is time to go long shorts. The Financial Times is reporting, "World in line for hottest year as 1.5C limit breached for 12 months in a row." The FT reported that "this year was on track to become the warmest on record as the global surface air temperatures breached the threshold of 1.5C for each of the past 12 months and seas had reached their warmest for 15 months in a row. June was the 13th consecutive month to be the hottest on the books, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said."
The STA 91st Annual Market Structure Conference is set to feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including key regulatory figures and industry leaders. Mark Uyeda, commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will share his insights on current regulatory issues and future developments. Dan Gallagher, chief legal, compliance & corporate affairs officer at Robinhood, will participate in a fireside discussion, bringing his extensive experience in compliance and corporate affairs within the financial technology sector. Brett Redfearn, founder and CEO of Panorama Financial Markets Advisory, will provide his expert views on market structure and financial markets, drawing from his vast experience in both the private sector and regulatory environments. Jessica D'Alton, executive director and head of Americas market structure and liquidity strategy at UBS, will moderate the fireside discussion, ensuring a dynamic and informative session.
CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam will testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry regarding the oversight of digital commodities. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (EST) and will take place at the 328A Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
Renato Mariotti has moved to Paul Hastings as a partner. Renato is an accomplished trial attorney who focuses on many types of complex high-stakes litigation. Renato's work includes defending firms and individuals in enforcement actions, conducting internal investigations, and advising and advocating for clients in the digital asset and crypto space. Paul Hastings is a global law firm. Renato had this to say about his move: "The needs of my clients have grown with it. Paul Hastings has top-flight groups in the areas my clients need -- litigation and trials, white collar, digital assets, futures and derivatives -- and will give my practice the bandwidth needed to continue its growth."
Here is a recap of stories from in front of FOW's paywall from July 9th: Abaxx Exchange, a new Singapore-based commodities futures market, has chosen Eventus for its trade surveillance platform following its June launch. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will accept Chinese government bonds as collateral for its Northbound Swap Connect service, with plans for implementation by the end of 2024. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) reported that clearing margins in Europe have surged by over 50% in the past two years due to market volatility in commodities. Clear Street has named former Cboe chief effective immediately, after his departure from Cboe Global Markets last year.
The July 10 stories from FOW in front of the paywall include the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has introduced a new value at risk (VaR) calculator in anticipation of US Treasury clearing reforms. In Europe, the securities regulator has recommended that national regulators deprioritize enforcing rules that limit the use of bank guarantees as collateral for non-bank clearers, ahead of new market regulations. Singapore Exchange (SGX) is set to relaunch short-term interest rate (STIR) derivatives, marking the culmination of its multi-year expansion strategy. CME Group has hired Jain from BGC Partners to lead its crypto derivatives efforts, following her success in launching BGC's Digital Assets desk. Lastly, the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) will rebrand as the Gulf Mercantile Exchange (GME) in September, reflecting the inclusion of Saudi Tadawul Group as a shareholder.
Three Chicago suburbs-Hinsdale, Lake Forest, and Wilmette-rank among America's wealthiest, according to a 2024 GOBankingRates survey. Hinsdale stands out at No. 7 with an average household income of $380,479 and a typical home value of $1.09 million. Lake Forest ranks 30th with an average income of $284,784 and home value just under $1.1 million. Wilmette places 40th with an average income of $273,718 and a home value of $896,128. The ranking analyzed suburbs with 5,000 or more households, focusing on average household income and home values using data from the American Community Survey and Zillow, according to a story in The Patch.
The July 2024 edition of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) publication, Focus, is out and presents a collection of articles addressing innovative risk models, sustainability, and market resilience. It begins with an exploration of systems designed to provide quicker indications of initial margin increases, which would benefit clearing members and their clients by factoring in market volatility. Elizabeth Aceituno from the World Wildlife Fund discusses how global exchanges can facilitate the transition to a nature-positive economy. Insights from Canada highlight efforts to align capital markets with sustainability goals, offering a model for other jurisdictions. Yuji Yamashita from Japan's Financial Services Agency emphasizes the need to strengthen the resilience of central counterparties (CCPs). The progress in climate risk reporting and the move toward a global baseline for sustainability standards are examined for their benefits to investors. Laura Klimpel addresses upcoming SEC rules on U.S. Treasury clearing, focusing on the optional nature of margin posting and the necessity for account segregation. Pratima Divgi from CDP outlines challenges in meeting net-zero commitments and the role of stock exchanges in addressing them. Finally, Barbara Zvan argues for mainstreaming sustainable finance to drive systemic change toward climate objectives.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Tesla's the latest example of options underpricing the possibility of big moves from MarketWatch.
- Clear Street's Bold Move: Former Cboe Chairman & CEO Ed Tilly Joins Fintech to Revolutionize Clearing and Custody Systems from John Lothian News.
- Asia's Richest Banker Gets Caught in Adani-Hindenburg Crossfire from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Celebrating Independence and Competition: A Fourth of July Reflection
JohnLothianNews.com
Upholding the Values of Openness, Transparency, and Fairness in Markets While Embracing the Power of Competition for a Better Future; FMX Competition with CME, AI Rivalry in the Making.
Read More »
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UBS Sees $83 Trillion Wealth Transfer Over Next Three Decades; UK seen as biggest millionaire loser, Taiwan biggest gainer; Almost a third of millionaires set to be in emerging markets
Levin Stamm, Benjamin Stupples, and Denise Wee - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG said it expects more than $83 trillion of wealth to be inherited within the next three decades, with about a fifth of the world's assets held by people over the age of 75. A "large chunk" of those assets will be transferred over the next 10 years as that population hits typical life expectancy, UBS said in its Global Wealth Report 2024. The Asia-Pacific region has the world's largest population of people in that age range, more than triple the number in the Americas.
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***** That transfer will have one heck of a Boom(er) to it~JJL
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Quant Trader Worth $11 Billion Builds Firm to Manage XTX Riches; Alex Gerko's net worth has almost doubled since start of 2023; Ex-Deutsche Bank trader has built XTX into a top market-maker
Benjamin Stupples - Bloomberg
Billionaire Alex Gerko, founder of quantitative-trading firm XTX Markets, has set up a personal investment firm to help manage his rapidly growing fortune. Cromulon Capital was incorporated this year at the same London address as XTX, one of the world's top market-makers along with Ken Griffin's Citadel Securities, according to UK registry filings. It's controlled by a similarly named firm that Gerko oversees along with XTX executives and Nikolajs Smirnovs, 38, whose LinkedIn profile lists his role as chief executive officer for a family office.
/jlne.ws/4bFAk3z
***** It is good to have problems like having to build a personal investment firm to manage your wealth.~JJL
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How Digital Money Really Works; An interview with Patrick McKenzie, who's built a following explaining the infrastructure of modern finance.
Teresa Xie - Bloomberg
If you have a burning question about how money works, Patrick McKenzie probably has the answer. The software engineer/blogger/vaccine database founder's widely read newsletter, Bits About Money, is dedicated to thinking about the often-misunderstood concepts at the intersection of tech and finance-or, as he puts it, "the modern financial infrastructure that the world sits atop of." McKenzie started his career as a "salaryman" in Japan, working 19-hour days before quitting to work for himself; now he advises payment processor Stripe Inc. in addition to software and writing work. His real passion, though, seems to be making sense of what happens when you tap "pay" on your phone. Our conversation with him has been edited for clarity and length.
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****** It is important when listening to a financial markets plumber not to crack any jokes.~JJL
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A Climate Treaty Gets the Shakespearean Treatment in 'Kyoto'; The play based on the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol is narrated by "the person who didn't want this to go the way that it went," says Stephen Kunken, who plays fossil-fuel lobbyist Don Pearlman, on this week's Zero.
Akshat Rathi and Mythili Rao - Bloomberg
In fractured times, what does it take to reach agreement? That's the question writers Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson set out to explore in a new play about the drama of climate negotiations. Kyoto, now running at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, tells the story of the 1997 Kyoto Summit as seen through the eyes of Don Pearlman, a notorious fossil fuel lobbyist. Pearlman, who was employed by a consortium of coal and oil companies and the Saudi Arabian government, worked tirelessly to block the agreement. In the end, he failed - but not before sowing seeds of division that remain in the climate negotiation process to this day.
/jlne.ws/3S0RVMo
***** "To be or not to be eco-friendly? That is the question Don Pearlman ponders as he navigates the drama of the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, hoping for an ending that's more comedy than tragedy."~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story on Tuesday was John Lothian's Clear Street's Bold Move: Former Cboe Chairman & CEO Ed Tilly Joins Fintech to Revolutionize Clearing and Custody Systems from JLN. Second was a tie between What Happens When Your Bank Isn't Really a Bank and Your Money Disappears? from The New York Times, and Funds Shift Trading Patterns to Adapt to T+1 Regime, CLS Says, from Bloomberg. Third was the web page for the Derivatives Forum Amsterdam 2024, from Eurex.
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| Lead Stories | Europe Prepares to Follow US Switch to T+1 as Soon as 2027
Greg Ritchie - Bloomberg
European financial markets look primed to follow the US example of switching to a one-day settlement cycle, with officials considering a move in the final months of 2027. The European Securities and Markets Authority is lining up the fourth quarter of 2027, the first quarter of 2028 or the fourth quarter of 2028 as potential targets for accelerating security settlement times from two days to one, according to Antonio Ocaña Alvarez, a policy officer at the regulator. In a poll conducted at a public hearing Wednesday, around 70% of respondents called for the switch to happen in 2027.
/jlne.ws/4cXgilZ
India IPO Frenzy Draws Retail Investors With Quick 57% Gains
Filipe Pacheco and Ashutosh Joshi - Bloomberg
Retail investors are expected to keep piling into initial public offerings in India this year, as hefty gains for new stocks outpace the broader market and listings abroad. Shares that began trading in India this year have delivered an average gain of about 57% since their debut, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 32% for Asia Pacific and is more than double the global average, the data show. At least 15 more companies are working on offerings that could materialize in coming months that could potentially raise a combined $11 billion. Buying by retail investors has been key for the success of such sales in India, one of the hottest spots globally for IPOs in 2024 as surging valuations and good economic prospects lure issuers.
/jlne.ws/45VQPY5
Private Credit Funds Take On Wall Street's Least Loved Label
Natasha White - Bloomberg
One of the most beleaguered financial labels on Wall Street has quietly been making inroads in the private credit market. ESG - regularly derided as "woke" and anti-capitalist in the US - is finding a foothold away from public scrutiny. Of the $156 billion raised by private credit funds last year, about 16% went into products claiming to target environmental, social and governance goals, according to data provided to Bloomberg by Preqin. That's a bigger share than for any year since at least 2014, with figures through June this year indicating the trend is set to continue.
/jlne.ws/3LiwClz
Four Financial Services Industry Leaders Join DTCC Board of Directors; New Members Bring Deep Subject Matter Expertise and Diverse Experiences to the DTCC Board
DTCC
DTCC, the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that four new Board Members have joined its Board of Directors. The Board plays a critical role in setting the strategic direction of DTCC, working closely with the firm's leadership and advising on topics including risk management, regulatory matters, the development of new products and services, emerging fintech and more. The new Directors are Brian Gallagher of JPMorgan Chase, Christopher Gelvin of UBS, Jon Herrick of the New York Stock Exchange and Igor Modlin of Goldman Sachs.
/jlne.ws/3XyHpzG
World in line for hottest year as 1.5C limit breached for 12 months in a row
'We have never seen such an anomaly' warns climate expert even as La Niña phenomenon brings early signs of cooling
Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
Scientists said that this year was on track to become the warmest on record as the global surface air temperatures breached the threshold of 1.5C for each of the past 12 months and seas had reached their warmest for 15 months in a row. June was the 13th consecutive month to be the hottest on the books, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said. At a surface air temperature of 16.66C, this was 0.14C above the previous June high set last year.
/jlne.ws/4bC7ocy
Treasury Calls for Large Position Reports
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is calling for Large Position Reports from those entities whose positions in the 4-3/4% Treasury Bonds of November 2043 equaled or exceeded $1.6 billion as of Tuesday, December 19, 2023, or Friday, December 29, 2023. Entities must submit separate reports for each reporting date on which their positions equaled or exceeded the reporting threshold. Entities with positions in this Treasury Bond below $1.6 billion as of the reporting dates are not required to submit Large Position Reports.
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Top ECB official sounds alarm on rising risks from shadow banking; Elizabeth McCaul says rapid growth of lightly-regulated lenders could translate into 'systemic' threat
Martin Arnold and Costas Mourselas - Financial Times
A senior European Central Bank official has said the "remarkable" growth of private funds and other sources of finance outside the regulated banks is the biggest threat to the stability of the Eurozone's financial system. "There are certainly caution lights in front of us," Elizabeth McCaul, an ECB supervisory board member, told the Financial Times.
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M&A Is Back. Bonuses, Not So Much; The deal pipeline is healthier, but banks and their employees will need to wait to get paid.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
Life has been getting busier for investment bankers, but dealmakers aren't cashing any checks yet. A stream of big-ticket merger and acquisition announcements this year bodes well for future revenue and bonuses, but no one gets paid until deals are completed. And that might not happen until late 2024 or even next year. Second-quarter revenue at big investment banks is expected to continue the strong recovery from the washout that was 2023 when US lenders kick off the reporting season on Friday. But just like in the first quarter, the business is being driven by debt issuance and refinancing, with a little help from companies looking to raise fresh equity.
/jlne.ws/4cRUngc
Targeting white-collar crime, Justice Dept. seeks more whistleblowers; Under a new program, the agency will offer cash rewards for tips on criminal financial misconduct.
David Nakamura - The Washington Post
Howard Wilkinson was a mid-level manager at a Danish bank branch in Estonia when he alerted his superiors about the suspected illicit transfer of Russian funds through the bank and then into the United States. Danske Bank last year pleaded guilty to criminal charges of laundering $230 billion and agreed to forfeit $2 billion to settle the case with the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Aggressive climate action needed to preserve stocks' value, paper says
Reuters
Decision makers should pursue aggressive policies to bring climate change under control if they want to avoid losses in the value of global stocks that could top 50%, think-tank EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact warned in a 74-page paper published on Wednesday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The report aims to show investors how physical climate damage, along with the costs of transition, can have a material impact on the value of stocks. It's also relevant to regulators who want to understand how a loss in value in climate-sensitive assets held at systemically important financial institutions could ultimately threaten financial stability, it said.
/jlne.ws/4bIwCpH
Houston Power Outages Still Top 1.3 Million With Slow Recovery; Blackouts are disrupting service at cell phone towers; The Houston area remains under a heat advisory for Wednesday
Millie Munshi - Bloomberg
The lights are slowly turning back on Houston - though the key word there is slowly. Roughly 1.7 million homes and businesses were still without power in Texas on Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. The majority of the problems are concentrated in Houston, with the area's main utility, CenterPoint Energy Inc., accounting for almost 1.4 million of those outages.
/jlne.ws/3Wefvb1
Sports Betting Ban, Carbon Credit Guides at Risk With CFTC Exits
Matthew Bultman - Bloomberg Law
A reshuffling among President Joe Biden's Wall Street watchdogs is set to leave the top regulator of derivatives trading shorthanded, potentially frustrating its planned crackdown on election and sports betting and other high-profile agenda items. Two of five commissioners at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will appear before a Senate committee Thursday, and are likely to be confirmed for new positions in the coming months, according to agency watchers.
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ANALYSIS: ICE surges in German power options after expiry tweaks
Radi Khasawneh - FOW
Coordinating options expiries in its energy markets have provided impetus for Intercontinental Exchange's ambition to grow market share in European power, according to a senior executive. Speaking to FOW after the firm set in May an open interest record of nearly 80,000 lots in German power options, ICE's senior director for utility markets said ICE has also seen German power futures total volumes also ticking up to over 105,300 lots in the second quarter. That translates to a record average daily volume of 2,100 lots.
/jlne.ws/4bxsKYB
US Commercial Property Crash Is Set to Deepen the Pain Elsewhere
Neil Callanan - Bloomberg
Distressed investors see one of the best opportunities in a generation to buy troubled US real estate assets as the commercial property crash continues to roil the market. Private equity firms are already positioning to take advantage. About 64% of the $400 billion of dry powder that the industry has set aside for property investment is targeted at North America, the highest share in two decades, according to data compiled by Preqin.
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How UBS fell out with Switzerland's establishment after rescuing Credit Suisse; Bank's leaders and Swiss financial officials clashed over issues from capital requirements to chief executive's pay
Owen Walker - Financial Times
UBS staff at a company-wide meeting last month were taken aback by the criticism levelled against Switzerland's establishment by chief executive Sergio Ermotti and chair Colm Kelleher. "They were quite ballsy," recalled one attendee based outside Switzerland. "The tone was that UBS stepped in to save Credit Suisse last year but now we are being punished."
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ESMA publishes new public consultations as Mifir review continues; The consultation package includes five key focuses; the standards once approved are set to facilitate the consolidated tape provider (CTP) appointment for the EU as well as increase transparency across market factions.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today published new public consultations with the aim of "reducing reporting burden and promoting convergence in the supervisory approach". The consultation package includes five key focuses; the standards once approved are set to facilitate consolidated tape provider (CTP) appointment for the EU as well as increased transparency across market factions including more informative pre- and post-trade regimes.
/jlne.ws/3WeJAas
DTCC's FICC launches new public-facing Value at Risk calculator; New offering will provide market participants increased insight into market value, positions and risk profiles.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
DTCC has launched a new public-facing Value at Risk (VaR) calculator to help increase transparency for market participants. The calculator enables participants to evaluate potential margin and clearing fund obligations associated with becoming a member of DTCC's Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) Government Securities Division (GSD).
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Type of Russian missile that struck Kyiv children's hospital uses western components; Kremlin has turned to microprocessors and other technology not intended for military use to skirt sanctions
Christopher Miller, Max Seddon and Chris Cook, Sam Joiner, Toru Tsunashima and Chris Campbell - Financial Times
The type of Russian missile that destroyed a Kyiv children's hospital relies on western-designed components, according to experts and Ukrainian officials, showing the Kremlin's success at evading sanctions. Captured on camera a second before it hit the cancer hospital on Monday, the Kh-101 is one of Russia's most advanced cruise missiles and critical to its intensifying air strike campaign against Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3LiB9EB
Zelenskiy Urges NATO to Help Kyiv Now, Before the US Election; Ukraine seeks permission to hit targets deeper inside Russia; US leadership can make Putin 'fear our actions,' he says
Daryna Krasnolutska - Bloomberg
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged NATO allies to act decisively in helping his country repel Russia's invasion instead of "waiting for November" in an oblique reference to the US presidential election. Speaking at the start of a three-day summit of the alliance's leaders in Washington on Tuesday, Zelenskiy called on the US to take further steps in allowing his military to hit targets, including air bases, inside Russia and assist the country with deep-strike capabilities in Crimea.
/jlne.ws/3zCG0OB
NATO Allies Confront 'Serious Gap' in Arms Production to Counter Russia; U.S. and Europe build weapons too slowly to meet Ukraine's needs, officials say at Washington summit
Lara Seligman and Doug Cameron - The Wall Street Journal
Senior U.S. and European leaders opened this week's NATO summit with a pledge to increase the alliance's investment in military industrial production, while acknowledging that more than two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the allies are still struggling to produce enough weapons and equipment to help Kyiv win the war. Even as Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country on a war footing, cranking out tanks and ammunition rounds at an alarming rate, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has had limited success in accelerating the output of its own defense industry.
/jlne.ws/3xUNCLJ
Russia pledges to discharge Indians fighting for Moscow in Ukraine, New Delhi says
Helen Regan - CNN
Russia has promised to discharge Indian nationals who were "misled" into joining its army to fight in Ukraine, India's foreign secretary said Tuesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "strongly raised the issue of early discharge" to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his two-day trip to Moscow this week, stressing the need to bring all Indians home "as early as possible," Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told reporters in a news briefing.
/jlne.ws/4bEkdmI
NATO Offers Ukraine More Air Defense in New Support Pledge; Concerns grow over future of the war and prospect for peace; Assessments suggest Ukraine is headed toward stalemate
Jennifer Jacobs, Alberto Nardelli, Iain Marlow, and Andrea Palasciano - Bloomberg
NATO allies promised five long-range air-defense systems for Ukraine in a fresh show of support, even as leaders resisted offering the country a path toward membership and fresh assessments indicate the conflict with Russia is headed toward indefinite stalemate. The announcement was intended as a display of unity in the face of a stepped-up air barrage by President Vladimir Putin's forces. It also drew attention to the challenge the allies have faced coming up with military aid: Tuesday's promise repeated some commitments that had already been made in recent weeks.
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NATO's 'Bridge' to Ukraine Is a Ramp to Nowhere; Joe Biden and his 31 NATO allies are right that they need to do more to back Kyiv. Promising membership where none is possible is the wrong way to go.
Andreas Kluth - Bloomberg (Opinion)
Metaphors are dangerous things, especially in matters of war and peace. That makes me dread the communique the 32 allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will issue this week to conclude their summit here in Washington. It will almost certainly contain some version of what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken previewed as "a bridge to membership" for Ukraine, "a bridge that's strong and well-lit." A bridge is something you can fall off while attempting to cross a raging torrent. Well-lit or not, it's a place between two banks and in the safety of neither. It's also something that enemies try to blow up while you're still building it; army types consider "wet gap crossings" among the most perilous operations in war.
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | More than two dozen Gazans killed in Israeli strike
Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ramadan Abed - Reuters
Palestinian officials said an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza Strip killed more than two dozen people while advancing tanks in Gaza City forced residents to flee under fire as Israel on Tuesday stepped up an offensive that Hamas warned could jeopardise ceasefire talks. The airstrike hit the tents of displaced families outside a school in the town of Abassan east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing at least 29, most of them were women and children, Palestinian medical officials said. The Israeli military said it was reviewing reports that civilians were harmed. It said the incident occurred when it struck with "precise munition" a Hamas fighter who took part in the Oct. 7 raid on Israel that precipitated the Israeli assault on Gaza.
/jlne.ws/3xPdCIu
Israeli air strike near Gaza school kills 30; Israel's military says it was targeting a Hamas militant and is 'looking into' reports that civilians were harmed
Neri Zilber - Financial Times
An Israeli air strike near a school in the southern Gaza Strip killed about 30 people, mostly civilians sheltering at the facility, according to authorities in the Hamas-controlled enclave. Dozens more were injured. The Israeli military confirmed that it targeted a Hamas militant who it said was "adjacent" to al-Awda school east of the city of Khan Younis late on Tuesday, and said it was "looking into the reports that civilians were harmed".
/jlne.ws/461IDWo
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Cboe Global Markets Announces Winners of the 2024 Options Institute Research Grant Program, Sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices and SpiderRock Advisors
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced the recipients of The Options Institute Research Grant Program for 2024, sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) and SpiderRock Advisors. The recipients for the grant programs are as follows: The Options Institute S&P Dow Jones Indices Fixed Income Index Ecosystem Research Grant: Siamak Javadi, Dr. Ali Nejadmalayeri, William Campbell; The Options Institute SpiderRock Advisors Derivatives Solutions for Private Wealth and Institutional Investors Research Grant: Anup Basu, Adam Clements
/jlne.ws/3WdPKaQ
Dubai Mercantile Exchange Announces Name Change to Gulf Mercantile Exchange Following Strategic Partnership with Saudi Tadawul Group
Dubai Mercantile Exchange
Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) is thrilled to announce that it will officially change its name to Gulf Mercantile Exchange (GME) effective September 2, 2024. This strategic rebranding follows the recent addition of Saudi Tadawul Group (STG) as a new strategic shareholder, marking a significant milestone in the Exchange's growth and regional yet global expansion.
/jlne.ws/3S32P47
Wall Street Veteran Mike Dennis Takes Helm Of CME Group's Fixed Income Division
Liquidity Finder
CME Group has tapped industry veteran Mike Dennis to head its global fixed income operations. The Chicago-based exchange operator announced the appointment on Monday, signalling a new chapter in its management of some of the world's most actively traded financial instruments. Dennis, who brings over two decades of interest rate trading experience to the role, will oversee CME's crown jewels: the futures and options contracts on SOFR and U.S. Treasuries. including the 30-year bond, 10-, 5- and 2-year notes that enable investors to manage risk across the entire U.S. yield curve. He will also lead BrokerTec, the world's most liquid electronic cash trading platform for U.S Treasury benchmarks, E.U., U.K. and U.S. Repo trading.
/jlne.ws/3XSoGiD
New Product Summary: Initial Listing of Eight (8) Cross Rate Foreign Exchange (FX) Futures Contracts - Effective August 05, 2024
CME Group
Initial Listing of Eight (8) Cross Rate Foreign Exchange (FX) Futures Contracts
/jlne.ws/3WeMnjK
New Product Summary: Initial Listing of the Effective Federal Funds Rate Variation Futures Contract - Effective July 29, 2024 LINK CORRECTED
CME Group
New Product Summary: Initial Listing of the Effective Federal Funds Rate Variation Futures Contract.
/jlne.ws/4bvSODy
Initial Listing of the D3 Cellulosic RINs (OPIS) Futures and Average
Price Option Contracts and the D4 Biodiesel and D6 Ethanol RINs
(OPIS) BALMO Futures Contracts
CME Group
(SER 9378R supersedes SER 9378 dated July 9, 2024, and is being issued to correct the commodity code for the underlying futures contract of the D3 Cellulosic RINs (OPIS) Average Price Option contract from RO3 to RN3 as noted in blackline format below. No other changes have been made to the original SER.)
/jlne.ws/3LlgEHz
Availability of Additional Treasury Invoice Swaps and Spreads
CME Group
Effective Sunday, August 4, 2024, for a trade date of Monday, August 5, 2024, The Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. ("CBOT" or "Exchange") will avail additional Invoice Swaps pursuant to CBOT Rulebook Chapter 58 ("Treasury Invoice Swaps"), as more specifically noted in Table 1. below.
/jlne.ws/4cPvvWc
Eurex launches trade offset workflow with E-Trading Connectivity to Bloomberg
Eurex
Eurex has launched the Trade Offset workflow, which helps users of cleared Interest Rate Swaps to optimize their portfolio by automating the close out process. The solution seamlessly connects Bloomberg's electronic trading tools to the original Eurex trade record. Clients who need to close out a swap position at the Central Counterparty Clearing House (CCP) can retrieve their trade details by inputting the Eurex CCP ID into Bloomberg's trade register, TREG . The original swap details are then pulled directly from Eurex into this register. The exact offset of the original swap can then be sent to Bloomberg's List trading tool, BOLT IRS , for execution.
/jlne.ws/4bBXasM
Inter-commodity Spread
HKEX
Please be advised that pursuant to Exchange Rule 617(d) and HKCC Rule 402, the Exchange and the Clearing House have determined that with effect from the commencement of trading on Friday, 12 July 2024 (including the mandatory intra-day variation adjustment and margin call, if applicable), the delta/spread ratio and spread credit rate of the following product pair(s) shall be revised and can be found here.
/jlne.ws/4eQ6MDj
Trading Arrangements of Global X US Treasury 3-5 Year ETF
HKEX
Exchange Participants are requested to note that Global X US Treasury 3-5 Year ETF (Stock Code: 3450) has been authorized under collective investment scheme by the Securities and Futures Commission and is expected to commence trading on the Exchange and admitted to the list of Designated Securities eligible for short selling on 11 July 2024 (Thursday). Investors should always refer to the details about the Fund provided by the Fund Manager, e.g. Net Asset Value per Unit, before trading the abovementioned ETF(s). Detail of its trading arrangements (Attachment 1)
is attached for reference.
/jlne.ws/3xNaltb
Listing of ETF Tracking TOPIX 100 in Hong Kong
JPX
Today, Hang Seng Japan TOPIX 100 Index ETF（Issuer：Hang Seng Investment Management Limited）, an ETF that tracks TOPIX 100 Total Return Index, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
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JPX Site Updates
JPX
Daily Publication, etc., Concerning Margin Trading
Margin Trading Ratio
Short Selling Regulation- Information
Premium Charges
Outstanding Margin Trading by Issue
Quantitative data of quoting ETFs
Daily Price Limits
Final Settlement Prices
Current Outstanding Margin Trading
Trading by Type of Investors
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Delayed Trading Start
MCX
We regret to inform you that the exchange commenced trading today at 10.00 am instead of scheduled time at 9.00 am. The delayed start was attributed to the slow processing of end of the day jobs and generation of backend files for the members.
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Caution for Investors
NSE
It has been brought to the notice of the Exchange that a person named "Dipashri Patil" associated with entity named "Dipashri Tech Analytics" operating through mobile numbers "9373574397" and "9130210976", is providing securities market tips and assured returns on investment in stock
market.
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NYSE Bonds - Addition to the List of Traded Bonds
NYSE
The following bonds will be added at the opening of trading on Thursday, July 11, 2024. These bonds have been added as "NYSE traded bonds" pursuant to an SEC exemption that allows the NYSE to trade certain non-convertible debt of NYSE listed companies and their wholly owned subsidiaries, without the issuer having listed those securities on the NYSE.
/jlne.ws/3WeAbjc
NYSE Bonds - Addition to the List of Traded Bonds
NYSE
The following bonds will be added at the opening of trading on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. These bonds have been added as "NYSE traded bonds" pursuant to an SEC exemption that allows the NYSE to trade certain non-convertible debt of NYSE listed companies and their wholly owned subsidiaries, without the issuer having listed those securities on the NYSE.
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Reminder: NYSE BQT: Proprietary Market Data Feed Migration to Pillar Publishers
NYSE
As previously announced, NYSE is replacing the Legacy XDP proprietary market data publishers with NYSE Pillar publishers for the NYSE BQT market data feed. New Publisher/Refresh/Retransmission multicast channels are currently available in parallel to current channels. The Legacy XDP multicast channels and Legacy refresh/retransmission services will be decommissioned at close of business on Friday, August 16, 2024.
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TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - June 2024
TMX
TMX Group today announced its financing activity on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for June 2024. TSX welcomed 12 new issuers in June 2024, compared with 16 in the previous month and eight in June 2023. The new listings were 11 exchange traded funds and one closed-end fund. Total financings raised in June 2024 increased 110% compared to the previous month, and were up 65% compared to June 2023. The total number of financings in June 2024 was 56, compared with 37 the previous month and 32 in June 2023.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Pico Partners with Blue Ocean Technologies for After-Hours US Equities Trading Expanding PicoNet's Capabilities
Pico
Pico, a leading global provider of mission-critical technology services, software, data and analytics for the financial markets community, announced today a connectivity partnership with Blue Ocean Technologies, LLC (BOT), a capital markets fintech leader in global trading and data, to expand Pico's market services for after-hours trading. As a result, PicoNet™ clients will now be connected to BOT's Blue Ocean ATS to access enhanced overnight trading capabilities for US equities. Blue Ocean ATS offers after-hours trading between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. Eastern Time from Sunday to Thursday. This addition to PicoNet is particularly valuable for APAC investors, who can now manage their risk in real-time and trade US stocks during their daytime hours.
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Ted Morgan explains TT Trade Surveillance (Video)
Trading Technologies via YouTube
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ByteDance, Alibaba, SenseTime lead generative AI infrastructure services market in China
South China Morning Post
TikTok owner ByteDance, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and artificial intelligence (AI) specialist SenseTime are the top generative AI (GenAI) infrastructure services providers in China, according to market research firm IDC. The three companies combined had a more than 50 per cent share of the market in the second half of 2023, according to a report on Tuesday by IDC, without offering each firm's exact share. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
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Microsoft, Apple Drop OpenAI Board Plans as Scrutiny Grows
Dina Bass - Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. dropped plans to take board roles at OpenAI in a surprise decision that underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of Big Tech's influence over artificial intelligence. Microsoft, which invested $13 billion in the ChatGPT creator, will withdraw from the board, the company said in a letter to OpenAI, which was seen by Bloomberg News. Apple was due to take up a similar role, but an OpenAI spokesperson said the startup will have no board observers after Microsoft's departure.
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***** Here is a Reuters version of this story.~JJL
Bitcoin Miners Are Attractive Partners to Build Artificial Intelligence Data Centers: Bernstein
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Bitcoin {{BTC}} miners are attractive partners to help build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, due to their available power supplies and operating capabilities, broker Bernstein said in a research report on Tuesday. Recent AI deals including Core Scientific's (CORZ) 12-year agreement with CoreWeave and Coatue Management's $150 million investment in Hut 8 (HUT) have become key catalysts for the sector, the report said.
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AMD to buy Finnish start-up Silo AI for $665mn in drive to compete with Nvidia; All-cash acquisition by California-based chipmaker is the largest of its kind in Europe in a decade
Michael Acton and Tim Bradshaw - Financial Times
AMD is to buy Finnish artificial intelligence start-up Silo AI for $665mn in one of the largest such takeovers in Europe as the US chipmaker seeks to expand its AI services to compete with market leader Nvidia. California-based AMD said Silo's 300-member team would use its software tools to build custom large language models (LLMs), the kind of AI technology that underpins chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. The all-cash acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approval.
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C8 Technologies enhances FX hedging platform with carry strategies; Users of the platform will benefit from improved returns and strategy diversification when using its active hedging solution.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
London-based fintech C8 Technologies is adding FX carry strategies to its FX hedging platform, C8 Hedge, in response to rate divergence re-emerging as a significant driver in currency markets. Users of the platform will benefit from improved returns and strategy diversification when using its active hedging solution, according to the firm.
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Bipartisan Senate bill takes aim at 'overly burdensome' cybersecurity regs; The Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act would establish an interagency committee to recommend which cyber regulations to lessen or waive.
Matt Bracken - CyberScoop
New legislation from a bipartisan pair of senators would create an interagency committee tasked with streamlining the country's patchwork system of cybersecurity regulations if signed into law.
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Cyber Threat Intelligence In The Age Of Automation
Dan Sorensen - Forbes
Even today, organizations face sophisticated and advanced persistent cyber threats (APT) in today's ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape. One powerful tool in the cybersecurity arsenal is cyber threat intelligence (CTI). By harnessing CTI, organizations can gain valuable insights into emerging threats, adversaries' tactics, techniques, procedures (TTPs) and vulnerabilities in their environment. I have outlined some key strategies to enhance proactive defense measures and strengthen overall cybersecurity posture.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | ASX-listed crypto fund in stoush with co-founder over $29m wallet
Jessica Sier - AFR
DigitalX, the ASX-listed fund manager specialising in cryptocurrencies, is heading to court against its former chief executive over who owns a bitcoin wallet linked to collapsed Japanese exchange Mt. Gox, which began paying out creditors this week. Alex Karis and the company he co-founded are in the midst of a stoush over the ownership of trading accounts that lost 351 bitcoins in the collapse of Mt. Gox in 2014. At today's prices, those bitcoins are worth about $29 million.
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StanChart Crypto Unit in Talks to Buy Alan Howard-Backed Firm
Ryan Weeks and Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
Standard Chartered Plc's crypto subsidiary Zodia Markets Ltd. is in talks to acquire part of a digital-asset business backed by billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, people with knowledge of the matter said. Zodia Markets is nearing an agreement to buy Jersey-based Elwood Capital Management Ltd., which offers over-the-counter trading and settlement services, the people said, asking not to be named as deliberations are private. The deal is expected to be completed this month, one person said.
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Drop in Bitcoin Mining Difficulty 'Comparable to FTX Collapse,' CryptoQuant Says
Shaurya Malwa - CoinDesk
One of the most important participants in the Bitcoin network may have a reason to rejoice in the coming weeks as power requirements to mine blocks fell 7.8% over the weekend. Data tracked by Coinwarz shows Bitcoin's mining difficulty slumped from 83.6 terahash per second (TH/s) to 79.50 TH/s on June 5, reaching levels previously seen in March, a month before the halving event in April. A terahash measures how many hashes - or a digital guess for a calculation - per second a mining device, pool, or network can generate.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump airs list of false grievances at Florida rally: 'We don't eat bacon any more'
Richard Luscombe - The Guardian via Yahoo! News
Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Florida on Tuesday night, hurling insults at Joe Biden and airing a litany of familiar grievances, but declining to name a running mate for November's general election. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee was speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters at his golf club in Doral, a western suburb of Miami, keeping them waiting in 90F heat for a freewheeling monologue that began more than an hour later than scheduled.
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Political Gridlock Will Raise the Economic Stakes in France; The French election results point to a prolonged political logjam, which may not help a country bedeviled by high debt and slowing economic growth.
Liz Alderman - The New York Times
One thing was clear after France's surprise election results on Sunday: Any new government formed by President Emmanuel Macron would face months of political paralysis. What's less certain is whether that gridlock will tip France's heavily indebted economy further into distress. The turmoil has focused attention back on France's ballooning 3 trillion-euro debt and a deficit that has grown to more than 5 percent of economic output, and immediately prompted a warning on Monday from S&P Global Ratings over France's sovereign debt rating.
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Lithuania Imposes Record Fine on Crypto Company Over Sanctions
Aaron Eglitis - Bloomberg
Lithuania fined crypto company Payeer a record EUR9.3 million ($10.1 million) for sanctions and money laundering violations involving Russian clients. Payeer allowed Russian customers "to carry out transactions in Russian rubles by transferring them from European Union-sanctioned Russian banks," the Financial Crimes Investigation Service said in a statement on Tuesday. Russian individuals and legal entities were "given the opportunity to receive cryptocurrency wallet, account management or storage services," the service said.
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NFA orders Rimar Capital and its principal Itai Royi Liptz to withdraw from NFA membership
Maria Nikolova - FX Newsgroup
The US National Futures Association (NFA) has ordered Rimar Capital LLC, an NFA Member commodity trading advisor located in Burlingame, California, and Itai Royi Liptz, an associated person (AP) and a principal of Rimar Capital, and an NFA Associate to withdraw from, and not reapply for, NFA membership and principal status for 30 months. If either Rimar Capital or Liptz seeks NFA membership or principal status following the 30-month period, they must pay a $90,000 fine.
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How an ASIC lieutenant was scammed - and her warning for consumers
Hannah Wootton - AFR
When former Australian Securities and Investments Commission deputy chairwoman Karen Chester tried to buy shoes in a sale last month, she thought they would be a nice surprise for her daughters. She did not expect them to be part of a scam, or that she and two friends, who are also executives, would fall victim to it.
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Former FTX execs Nishad Singh and Gary Wang will face sentencing later this year
Sarah Wynn - The Block
FTX co-founder Gary Wang and FTX's former Engineering Director Nishad Singh will be sentenced later this year after testifying against their former colleague Sam Bankman-Fried. Singh will be sentenced on October 30 in a New York courtroom, while Wang will face sentencing on November 20, according to the court docket. Both former FTX executives have pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors.
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Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Regarding CFTC's Spring 2024 Regulatory Agenda
CFTC
The Spring 2024 regulatory agenda (the "Agenda") of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was recently published as part of the government-wide Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.[1] These semiannual submissions set out the CFTC's Agenda of rulemakings that it expects to propose or finalize over the next year.
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Court Enters Final Judgment Against New York Resident Who Conducted $6 Million Fraud Scheme Against Investors in Georgia, California
SEC
On July 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia entered a final judgment against George Iakovou, in an SEC case alleging that he raised approximately $6 million from investors in a fraudulent offering of securities.
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ASIC successful in first DDO case against Firstmac
ASIC
The Federal Court today found that Firstmac Limited breached the new design and distribution provisions by failing to take reasonable steps that would have resulted in, or would have been reasonably likely to have resulted in, the distribution of one of its investment products being consistent with its target market determination (TMD) for the product. This is the first finding by a court of a contravention of these provisions.
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ASIC cancels AFS licence of Accumulus Capital Pty Ltd
ASIC
ASIC has cancelled the Australian credit licence of Accumulus Capital Pty Ltd (Accumulus). The Australian credit licence was cancelled because Accumulus had failed to pay ASIC Industry Funding Levies (levies) and related late payment penalties within 12 months after the due date for payment. Accumulus had also not engaged in credit activities since the licence was granted. Cancellation took effect on 4 July 2024.
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Paul Hastings Adds Former Federal Prosecutor to Investigations and White Collar Defense Practice in Chicago
Paul Hastings
Further strengthening its premier global investigations and white-collar defense practice, Paul Hastings LLP today announced that former federal prosecutor and accomplished trial lawyer Renato Mariotti has joined the firm as a partner in Chicago. Mariotti focuses on complex high-stakes litigation, including private equity and hedge fund litigation, derivative-related claims, and cyber theft. He represents clients in matters related to digital assets and cryptocurrency, governmental inquiries, enforcement actions, director and officer liability, whistleblower allegations, board governance and oversight, and internal controls. He also advises clients on internal investigations, as well as the development of internal compliance programs.
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CCPs, Clearing Members Must Boost Margin Transparency
DerivSource
Standards bodies, industry associations and regulators are calling for greater transparency around margin models to boost the resiliency of the global derivatives markets during periods of market volatility. In a recent DerivSource 'Living the Trade Lifecycle' podcast, Cumulus9 managing director Rafik Mrabet discusses what this means for market participants and the tools that will help them reach this goal. Q: In response to recent market stress events, BCBS-CPMI-IOSCO published three consultative reports: Review of Margining Practices (September 2022), Margin Dynamics in Centrally Cleared Commodities Markets in 2022 (May 2023) and Transparency and Responsiveness of Initial Margin in Centrally Cleared Markets - Review and Policy Proposals (January 2024). What are the key takeaways from these reports? https://jlne.ws/4bIwQ01
China Watchdog Tightens Short Selling Rules to Bolster Market; Regulator approves CSFC to halt stock lending operations; It also raises margin deposit ratio for investors, funds
Bloomberg News
The China Securities Regulatory Commission is tightening rules on short selling and high-frequency trades in a bid to crack down on improper arbitrage and maintain market stability. The market watchdog approved the mainland stock exchanges to boost margin requirements in short selling, starting July 22. Meanwhile, China Securities Finance Corp., the country's biggest stocks lending provider, will suspend its business of lending securities to brokerages starting July 11, with outstanding contracts to be settled by the end of September, the CSRC added.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | This fledgling asset class is generating double-digit returns; Investors are earning attractive returns from land lease communities, which can generate an annuity-style income.
Sam Tamblyn - AFR
Investors are earning attractive returns from land lease communities, which can generate an annuity-style income. With significantly lower development costs, long-term annual returns from land lease communities have been impressive. Sitting in the mid-to-high teens, returns are comfortably above the high single-digit or low double-digit of the build-to-rent sector.
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Short Sellers Gained $10 Billion in Second Quarter Despite S&P 500 Rally
Carmen Reinicke and Magdalena Del Valle - Bloomberg
Short sellers had a lucrative second quarter this year, managing to successfully bet against stocks even as the overall market continued to grind higher. Short sellers, who borrow and then sell stocks in a bid to make money from price declines, amassed $10 billion in second-quarter paper profits, according to data from S3 Partners LLC. Paper earnings from sectors such as industrials, health care and financials offset a $15.7 billion mark-to-market loss in technology, said Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3.
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A borrower's struggles highlight risk lurking in a surging corner of finance; Investors face a wide-ranging estimate of losses on loans to Pluralsight after demand for its training videos fell
Eric Platt and Amelia Pollard - Financial Times
Wall Street's new titans have differed significantly in valuing the $1.7bn of debts they provided to workforce technology company Pluralsight, highlighting the risk that some private credit marks are untethered from reality. The loan is now at the centre of a messy restructuring that the $800bn direct lending industry is closely scrutinising, as Pluralsight's investors prepare to turn it over to creditors. The divergent marks illuminate one risk regulators have raised about private credit: the inherent difficulty of valuing non-traded loans, which could expose investors in these funds to unforeseen losses.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Amid extreme heat, California adopts long-term water-saving targets for cities
Ian James Staff Writer - Los Angeles Times
Welcome to Boiling Point. I'm Ian James, a reporter on The Times' climate team, writing the newsletter this week to fill in for my colleague Sammy Roth. The blistering heat across California and the West over the last several days has been a stark reminder of how weather extremes are becoming more extreme with the burning of fossil fuels and how this demands a greater focus on adapting to rising temperatures not just today but years into the future.
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China launches investigation in response to EU probes of solar, wind power and other products
Associated Press
China announced an investigation Wednesday into whether the European Union has adopted unfair trade practices in its probes of Chinese companies bidding on projects in the 27-nation bloc. The move is the latest in a brewing trade war between the two economic giants. The investigation will focus on wind power, photovoltaics, security equipment and electric trains, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said.
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New Zealand's sea temperatures hit record highs, outstripping global averages; Experts say the new figures dispel the notion that the country is protected from extreme temperatures and raise fears for local marine life
Eva Corlett - The Guardian
New Zealand's sea temperatures have hit record highs, outstripping global averages threefold in one region, and prompting alarm over the health of the country's marine life and ecosystems. New data from Stats NZ shows since 1982, oceanic sea-surface temperatures have increased on average between 0.16 - 0.26C a decade, and between 0.19-0.34C a decade, in coastal waters. Each oceanic and coastal region experienced their hottest years ever recorded in either 2022 or 2023. When comparing data from the previous 20 years, the rate of ocean surface warming around New Zealand has outstripped the global per decade average of 0.18C twofold, with one region - the Chatham Rise - three times warmer than the global average, said Matt Pinkerton, a principal scientist at the National Institute for Water and Atmospherics.
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'Natural capital 101': IEMA guide seeks to unpack benefits of natural capital
Stuart Stone - BusinessGreen
New paper explores the concept of natural capital and its application by businesses after sustainability professionals flag knowledge gap; The Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) has attempted to more clearly define the concept of "natural capital" and explore its benefits for businesses, after almost nine-in-10 members of its and Natural Capital Network flagged it as a high priority.
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London Stock Exchange: $7.2tr green economy outpaced only by tech sector over past decade
Stuart Stone - BusinessGreen
Green economy is the second best-performing industry globally over the last 10 years, new London Stock Exchange Group report claims; Companies operating in the global green economy have hit $7.2tr in market capitalisation, according to new figures from the London Stock Exchange Group, which suggest green industries are the fourth largest sector by value, ahead of banks, retail, and energy, and only surpassed by healthcare, industrial firms, and tech giants.
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Europe's Top Power Exchange Says Trust Shaken by IT Glitch; Glitch meant German power soared to highest since August 2022; Feature upgrade was the initial reason for system issues on the Bloomberg Terminal
Eamon Farhat and Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
The head of Europe's biggest spot power exchange said he regrets the turmoil created when an IT glitch caused German electricity prices to spike 550% last month. The price was the highest since the worst days of the energy crisis in 2022 but this time was caused by Epex Spot SE rolling out a " feature upgrade." The chaos that ensued shows how easily market integration can break down. The effect for traders was more than EUR300 million of losses in German power alone, based on volumes traded. Industry felt the pain too with Feralpi Stahlhandel GmbH, a large steel manufacturer, temporarily shutting down its plant near Dresden to try to limit losses.
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Greenwashing fears: Businesses wary of 'over-promoting' sustainability progress
Sarah George - edie
Two-thirds of large businesses in the UK and USA are likely to be under-promoting their sustainability progress, with most choosing enhanced annual data disclosures over flashy PR claims as greenwashing fears grow.
/jlne.ws/3xS4YJa
Amazon meets renewable energy matching goal, launches supply chain decarbonisation resources
Sarah George - edie
Amazon has achieved an ambition to match electricity use across global operations with renewable energy purchases ahead of schedule. It has also launched a new 'Sustainability Exchange' providing suppliers with advice on cutting emissions.
/jlne.ws/3LgLFw7
Dozens of Sanctioned Russian Oil Tankers Are Sitting Idle All Over the World
Eleanor Thornber and Julian Lee - Bloomberg
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Tesla's energy business is growing - and it could be company's next big earnings driver; Tesla said it more than doubled its energy storage deployment in Q2 from the previous quarter.
Pras Subramanian - Yahoo Finance
/jlne.ws/4bCR7Et
Your climate questions, answered
Washington Post
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | US regional banks to face increased scrutiny as CRE exposure stifles buybacks
Manya Saini - Reuters
U.S. regional banks will probably stockpile more rainy-day funds and stay conservative on stock buybacks as losses from commercial real estate (CRE) loans are expected to pressure their earnings, analysts said. As regional lenders prepare to report second-quarter results next week, they continue to face tough scrutiny from investors over potential weakness from CRE and commercial borrowers.
/jlne.ws/3WiNM83
HSBC Reshapes Investment Banking to Look More Like Rivals; Bank whittles existing sector teams into five bigger groups; Changes come as lender prepares to appoint new CEO shortly
Ambereen Choudhury, Harry Wilson, and Manuel Baigorri - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is revamping parts of its investment bank in a move that will make it look more like rivals such as Citigroup Inc. Executives in HSBC's global banking business will winnow its existing sector teams into five larger groups, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg. The move will allow bankers to work more efficiently and boost its focus on sectors involving innovation and sustainability, the memo shows.
/jlne.ws/3xSVBsQ
Celsius Wants Some Money Back; Also Bobby Jain, Bill Ackman, Vlad Artamonov and frozen heads.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
Celsius
The way a Ponzi scheme works, for a while, is that (1) you take people's money, (2) you tell them that they are earning a nice return on their money and (3) if they want to withdraw their money, with those nice returns, you just give them someone else's money. With enough investors, you can keep this going for a while: There's plenty of money from new investors to pay off anyone who wants to withdraw, and because everyone who wants to withdraw gets their money back, no one suspects anything, so not too many people withdraw and the system works. Eventually it doesn't.
/jlne.ws/3zz870V
BlackRock Counts on Jocular Ex-Trader to Boost Muni Business
Martin Z. Braun - Bloomberg
Not long after Pat Haskell took over Morgan Stanley's municipal-bond department in 2013, he handed out rubber bracelets with the letters "EFD." He wanted his team to bring their best every f---ing day. And it worked - during his tenure, the business rose in client rankings and found new ways to deliver revenue. Today, Haskell is trying to fire up another group, this time as BlackRock Inc.'s head of municipal bonds. A key challenge facing the 52-year-old executive is how to reverse severe outflows from actively managed mutual funds after bouts of underperformance.
/jlne.ws/4cXGuNF
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Singapore's CEO Hell Camps Teach Value of Teamwork and Resilience
Olivia Poh - Bloomberg
Silicon Valley prides itself on putting startup founders through the wringer, from cutthroat hackathons to arduous all-nighters to meet launch deadlines. One outfit in Singapore is taking things further with a physical boot camp to help aspiring tech leaders find their physical limits.
/jlne.ws/3xZsvI3
American Workers Have Quit Quitting, for Now; The job-hopping frenzy of the pandemic years has given way to what some economists are calling the 'big stay'
Ray A. Smith - The Wall Street Journal
Americans aren't as restless in their jobs as they were a couple of years ago. Numerous surveys show that fewer U.S. adults are currently seeking to leave their roles, compared with the job-switching frenzy of the pandemic years. Other data suggest job satisfaction is rising, and in interviews, formerly job-hopping workers say they're content with the balance they've struck in the positions they have. Those who are tempted to make a jump face a tightening job market and shrinking pay premium for switching jobs, federal data show. "Applying for jobs right now, it's like hitting your head against the wall," says Heather Sundell, a director of social strategy and copywriting in Los Angeles.
/jlne.ws/3zwxgJA
The short answer on office shorts: No; Ask yourself these questions before you free your knees.
Ashley Fetters Maloy - The Washington Post
Dylan Viner couldn't believe he had never done this before. It was September, but scorching temperatures in New York were refusing to wane. On the way to the Tribeca brand studio he runs, he was congratulating himself: Shorts on a work day! A cool breeze across my thighs while everyone else is suffering! What a concept! Then, Viner, 38, got to his office, and the euphoria quickly dissipated. No one gave him a hard time; no one did a spit take when the elevator doors opened. Maybe it was just the immediate realization that he was showing quite a lot more skin than normal. Or maybe it was his childhood in Britain haunting him: "The last time I did something serious in a pair of shorts, I was, like, a school kid, with the high socks and little shorts," he says.
/jlne.ws/3S18XKo
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Tainted Cooking Oil Scandal Revives China Food Safety Fears; Jinding brand oil removed from Taobao, JD.com online stores; China conglomerate starts investigation in oil transportation
Bloomberg News
Cooking oil produced by a major Chinese state-run food company has been removed from leading online stores after concerns over contamination have revived consumer fears over food safety in a country scarred by past scandals. "Jinding" brand cooking oil - produced by conglomerate China Grain Reserves Corp., - was withdrawn from platforms including Taobao and JD.com. That followed a report in state-run Beijing News last week, which described tankers being filled with soybean oil at crushing facilities owned by companies including Sinograin, as it is known, immediately after unloading inedible coal oil and without being checked for cleanliness.
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They Went Viral Making Sunscreen From Scratch. Experts Have Concerns.
Katie Mogg - The New York Times
Last month, the model and influencer Nara Smith said she had recently run out of sunscreen. Instead of buying more, she asked her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, to make some from scratch. Mr. Smith's process, which Ms. Smith posted to TikTok last month, looked more like a cooking video than anything else. Wearing an unbuttoned shirt and holding a toothpick between his lips, he combined ingredients including coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba oil and zinc oxide powder in a clear bowl.
/jlne.ws/3Lfw4No
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | EUR130 Billion Nuclear Dream in Europe Meets Financial Reality; Eastern European governments from Prague to Sofia have grand plans to build new plants, but the question is who will pay for them.
Andrea Dudik, Jonathan Tirone, and Jan Bratanic - Bloomberg
The explosion at the Chernobyl plant in 1986 slowed the Soviet-era flurry of nuclear projects in Eastern Europe, and then the fall of communist regimes reduced it to a trickle. Now as the west of the continent focuses on upgrading or replacing old reactors, its east is uniting behind the biggest drive for new capacity in decades. The question, though, is who will pay for it and how much of it becomes reality. From the Czech Republic down to Romania, nations are drawing up plans for what some have called the "biggest project of the century." They want to build at least a dozen new nuclear units to the tune of almost EUR130 billion ($139 billion), based on the latest projections gathered by Bloomberg. The first could be operational within a decade.
/jlne.ws/3RVZSCj
China is freaking out over an 'open secret' that its cooking oil was ferried for years in chemical tanks that weren't cleaned
Matthew Loh - Business Insider
A new cooking-oil scandal has erupted in China, about a decade after the country's infamous crackdown on restaurants reusing gutter oil and sewage grease. The furor follows a bombshell investigation published on July 2 by the state media outlet Beijing News, which found multiple cases of tank trucks transporting edible cooking oil immediately after delivering chemicals used for coal-to-liquid processing.
/jlne.ws/3WgedMJ
China Watchdog Tightens Short Selling Rules to Bolster Market; Regulator approves CSFC to halt stock lending operations; It also raises margin deposit ratio for investors, funds
Bloomberg News
The China Securities Regulatory Commission is tightening rules on short selling and high-frequency trades in a bid to crack down on improper arbitrage and maintain market stability. The market watchdog approved the mainland stock exchanges to boost margin requirements in short selling, starting July 22. Meanwhile, China Securities Finance Corp., the country's biggest stocks lending provider, will suspend its business of lending securities to brokerages starting July 11, with outstanding contracts to be settled by the end of September, the CSRC added.
/jlne.ws/4bxUsVn
Yandex split nears completion as Russian traders finalise share exchange
Reuters
Russian traders have finalised a share exchange for investors in Yandex, often dubbed Russia's Google, one of the final steps needed to complete a more than $5 billion deal that will see local investors take control of the bulk of the technology company's business. A consortium of Russian investors is leading a buyout of Yandex from its Dutch parent company Yandex NV after months of negotiations, with the parent selling its assets in Russia at a heavily discounted price due to Kremlin demands on foreign asset sales.
/jlne.ws/3VUfgR7
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Arabica Coffee Near Two-Year High as Roasters Warn on Prices
Mumbi Gitau - Bloomberg
Arabica coffee futures held near a two-year high as supply concerns mount, threatening to drive up the cost of consumers' caffeine fix. The most-active contract for the variety fell nearly 2% to $2.450 a pound in New York, after rising Tuesday to the highest since early 2022. Still, prices remain about 30% higher in 2024 as shortages of the cheaper robusta variety bolster demand for higher-end arabica, favored by Starbucks Corp. and Nestle SA's Nespresso brands.
/jlne.ws/4bIpJF0
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