| November 28, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Thanksgiving is full of family, food and lots of sports on television. My Purdue Boilermakers were very active over the weekend, both in football and basketball. The football team beat instate rival Indiana University and retained the Old Oaken Bucket trophy. The basketball team played in the Phil Knight legacy men's tournament and beat the likes of West Virginia University, Gonzaga (ranked 8th) and Duke (ranked 5th). Purdue men's basketball team was led by 7'4" Zach Edley, who was the MVP of the tournament. They were ranked 24th before these wins.
The Purdue Boilermaker football team won the west division of the Big Ten and will face Michigan for the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, after Michigan beat Ohio State 11-0 on Saturday on Ohio State's home field in Columbus, OH.
My father, uncle and aunt all went to Ohio State, so I was brought up watching the Ohio State-Michigan game. I don't give the Boilers much of a chance against the 12-0 Michigan Wolverines, but it will be fun to watch.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) today launched Hang Seng TECH Index (#HSTECH) options on futures.
The Financial Times has a Special Report about Lithuania that includes stories about basketball, LNG and fintech. My cousin Jack played professional basketball in Lithuania after college, so I know a little about how basketball crazy they are. The stories are:
- Hoops and glory: why basketball is Lithuania's 'second religion'; After the country's annexation by the USSR, the sport provided a channel for nationalist dissent
- Lithuania proves prescient on risk of Russian energy; The country's bet on LNG has paid off, but it still needs to generate more electricity
- Lithuania makes push to become Europe's fintech hub; User-friendly regulation is attracting start-ups, though the UK's lead will be hard to match
The Wall Street Journal reported that life insurance payouts hit a record of $100 billion in 2021, likely tied to Covid-19 deaths. The headline of the story is "Life-Insurance Payouts Hit Record $100 Billion in 2021" and the subheadline is "Covid-19 deaths likely fueled an increase in death-benefit payments."
Miami-Dade county is trying to end its stadium naming rights deal with the bankrupt crypto firm FTX, claiming they broke the deal by running afoul of the laws governing crypto exchanges, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Joseph Cerullo has joined Hidden Road as their chief compliance officer. He was previously at JP Morgan in a similar position.
I suspect that JLN's interview of CoinDesk Deputy Editor-in-Chief Nick Baker has spurred interest in CoinDesk's role in the SBF and FTX collapse. CNN has a story from November 24 titled "How a scoop by a little-known crypto site led to the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and implosion of FTX." But maybe I am wrong.
FIA Asia kicks off tomorrow and runs this week through December 1. Learn more about it at FIA.org/Asia.
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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Global Investor Group, a publisher of data analysis and research, is hosting FOW Trading London 2022, "THE conference for derivatives trading and investment," on December 6 at the Hilton Bankside in London. View the agenda and register here.~SAED
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All Options CEO Allard Jakobs Talks About Running a Successful Trading Firm, What He Looks for From New Traders, and More in This Full Interview With JLN's Alex Teng
JohnLothianNews.com
In this Options Discovery interview, Allard Jakobs, the CEO of All Options, sits down with JLN's Alex Teng. In this interview Allard shares his thoughts on a variety of topics from hiring new traders to the All Options approach to market making. He also shares the history of how and why he founded his firm and how All Options has lasted for over 24 years.
Watch the video »
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How Carla Harris Became One of the Most Powerful Black Women on Wall Street; The Morgan Stanley executive and Walmart director overcame numerous hurdles during her career. Advisers offered guidance on good relationships and seeing the big picture.
Emily Glazer - The Wall Street Journal
Veteran Morgan Stanley executive Carla Harris faced a series of challenges as her career progressed. The more difficult the obstacles, the more she says she wanted to overcome them.
/jlne.ws/3GRN23h
****** I like this story. Overcoming obstacles.~JJL
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The fall of Bankman-Fried's FTX will spur the bitcoin bros to ever more crypto capers; The collapse of the FTX exchange has caused carnage in the industry, but the 30-year-old founder is not about to go quietly
Kathryn Parsons - The Times
Sam Bankman-Fried was last spotted on TikTok, running towards an apartment block in Nassau. Like many cash-strapped 30-year-olds, he's moved back in with his parents. Albeit, couch-surfing at one of the 19 properties that they - Stanford law professors, specialising in tax law - had bought in the Bahamas with $121 million (£100 million) of his failed FTX crypto exchange's money.
/jlne.ws/3XCMh4c
****** Yes, there will be more crypto capers, you can count on it.~JJL
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FTX's Bahamas crypto empire: Stimulants, subterfuge and a spectacular collapse; Crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried had promised the island paradise a path to financial glory. His meltdown has left some Bahamians worried about the ripple effects.
Tim Craig, Drew Harwell and Nitasha Tiku - The Washington Post
Before Sam Bankman-Fried's $16 billion empire imploded, Margaux Avedisian remembers thinking there was something unsettling about the cryptocurrency wunderkind. Bankman-Fried had become a legend by pushing an image of monkish aloofness, vowing to forsake the allures of his extraordinary wealth - sleeping on beanbag chairs, driving a Toyota Corolla - and to give away his fortune for the greater good.
/jlne.ws/3FaxO8C
***** This is a good, well written story.~JJL
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Crypto will survive the FTX collapse - but more scandals will follow
Kenneth Rogoff - The Guardian
The epic collapse of wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried's $32bn (£27bn) crypto empire, FTX, looks set to go down as one of the great financial debacles of all time. With a storyline full of celebrities, politicians, sex and drugs, the future looks bright for producers of feature films and documentaries. But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumours of the death of crypto itself have been much exaggerated. True, the loss of confidence in "exchanges" such as FTX - essentially crypto financial intermediaries - almost surely means a sustained steep drop in prices for the underlying assets. The vast majority of bitcoin transactions are done "off-chain" in exchanges, not in the bitcoin blockchain itself. These financial intermediaries are vastly more convenient, require much less sophistication to use and do not waste nearly as much energy.
/jlne.ws/3EMHYKY
***** The next scandal will involve who? Which monogram?~JJL
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Crypto's Final Price Could Be Zero; No sane lender would extend credit against assets lacking any underlying collateral.
Andy Kessler - The Wall Street Journal
There aren't many leveraged buyouts of technology companies, and for good reason. Technology and debt, like Red Bull and milk, don't mix. Why? Because when technology works, it commands high valuations. You can't LBO Google. But when technology moves on to the next new thing, there isn't much residual value in the form of assets and collateral to call on in case of debt defaults. FTX, Elon Musk and SoftBank are learning this lesson.
/jlne.ws/3gExVzN
****** That black hole created by FTX could be the cause.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was a tie between two FTX-related (of course) stories: How the hell did Jane Street alumni end up creating FTX? from the Financial Times, and FTX Hires Ex-Regulators to Investigate Firm's Collapse, from The Wall Street Journal. Second was another FTX-related story, also from The Wall Street Journal, Crypto Firm FTX Landed in the Bahamas With a Bang, and Now the Bahamas Is Picking Up the Pieces. And third was another FTX story, with some CME added in: 'You're an absolute fraud': CME Group CEO says he called out Sam Bankman-Fried the first time he met him, months before FTX's collapse, from Business Insider via Yahoo!Finance.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | FTX's Collapse Upends Sam Bankman-Fried's Washington Play; The goal was to steer oversight of crypto into the hands of what was perceived to be a friendlier regulator than the SEC
Paul Kiernan - The Wall Street Journal
Sam Bankman-Fried's multimillion-dollar Washington charm offensive revolved around a small financial regulator and a group of senators with whom the purported crypto billionaire found common cause in a bid for light-touch regulation of digital assets. For FTX, the crypto exchange Mr. Bankman-Fried founded, the goal was to steer oversight of crypto into the hands of what was perceived to be a friendlier regulator than the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been promising a more stringent approach.
/jlne.ws/3gAGBas
FTX US Donated $1 Million to a Super-PAC Aligned With Mitch McConnell in October; Donation came just days before FTX declared bankruptcy; Bankman-Fried became sixth largest donor in midterm elections
Bill Allison - Bloomberg
FTX US, a part of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire that catered to American customers, contributed to a super-PAC fighting for control of the Senate in the midterm election just days before the company's collapse. The Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and was the top spender in the 2022 midterms, received the $1 million donation on Oct. 27, according to its most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission. Only a couple of weeks later, more than a 100 FTX-related companies, including the US arm, filed for bankruptcy, and Bankman-Fried resigned as head of the corporate group.
/jlne.ws/3VzzRYW
Hong Kong's Stock Market Struggles to Find Shelter From the Storm; Unlike other major exchanges, storms and heavy rains can close the market
Jing Yang - The Wall Street Journal
When Hong Kong hosted a summit for some of Wall Street's top executives in early November, its aim was to show the city was open to the world. In a case of bad timing, its financial markets were forced to close early that day. The city's weather observatory issued a Typhoon No. 8 signal a little before 2 p.m. on Nov. 2, causing its exchange to suspend trading in stocks and derivatives for the rest of the day.
/jlne.ws/3VAYdSq
Miami nightclubs mourn absence of high-rolling crypto entrepreneurs; 'Revenge of the nerds' screeches to a halt after collapse in value of digital currencies
Madison Darbyshire - Financial Times
It was the spring of 2021, and Miami's hottest night clubs were inundated with phone calls from cryptocurrency entrepreneurs that no one had heard of. They wanted to reserve lots of tables - or rent an entire venue for a whole evening at a cost of half a million dollars or more. With the price of bitcoin then at $60,000 and crypto becoming mainstream, its biggest beneficiaries descended on the Florida city to flaunt their wealth at lavish parties.
/jlne.ws/3F4JLwl
Crypto Entrepreneurs Fail to Capture Elon Musk's Attention With $600,000 Goat Statue; Co-founders of Elon GOAT token deliver 12,000-pound sculpture to Tesla's Austin headquarters, but Musk doesn't respond
Joseph Pisani, Alyssa Lukpat and Adolfo Flores - The Wall Street Journal
Even as a cold night started to settle outside Tesla's headquarters here on Saturday, a group of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs had no plans to leave until Elon Musk, the man they named their currency after, accepted a 12,000-pound sculpture of a Mr. Musk-headed goat riding a rocket.
/jlne.ws/3iiXG9g
FTX Tensions Intensify as Bahamas Blasts Company's New Chief Ray; Nation and FTX restructuring team have been trading jabs; Attorney general calls remarks in bankruptcy 'regrettable'
Katanga Johnson - Bloomberg
The Bahamian government blasted the person in charge of restructuring crypto exchange FTX, the latest salvo in an escalating fight over what remains of Sam Bankman-Fried's crumbled empire. Bahamas Attorney General Ryan Pinder on Sunday said that recent statements made in US bankruptcy proceedings by John J. Ray III were "regrettable" and misrepresented actions taken by the nation's securities watchdog. Ray, a turnaround and restructuring expert, is also acting as FTX's chief executive officer.
/jlne.ws/3OGkpYM
The week that could unravel the global oil market; As western countries prepare to impose a price cap on Russian crude, many of the industry's norms are being undermined
Derek Brower and David Sheppard - Financial Times
As an epic oil crash threatened more havoc on a pandemic-stricken global economy in April 2020, the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and other G20 countries met to thrash out a solution. The co-operation helped end an Opec+ price war and restored stability to the market. Prices recovered.
/jlne.ws/3XBjDk3
U.S. Natural-Gas Pioneer Struggles in His Second Act; Charif Souki founded one of the first American LNG exporters, but his attempt to re-create that success has stalled
Benoit Morenne and Collin Eaton - The Wall Street Journal
Charif Souki has played a starring role in transforming America into an energy powerhouse, but his second attempt at exporting natural gas is foundering. Mr. Souki's new firm, Tellurian Inc., TELL -1.13%decrease; red down pointing triangle is struggling to line up financing to build a large export plant for liquefied natural gas on the Gulf of Mexico despite soaring demand for cargoes of the fuel this year.
/jlne.ws/3GRwicx
Local Governments, Many on Wall Street Line Up Against Muni-Data Bill; Effort to improve transparency by requiring machine-readable financial disclosures raises hackles
Heather Gillers - The Wall Street Journal
A pitched battle over data is under way in the $4 trillion market that finances roads and sewers. At issue is a little noticed measure in proposed federal legislation that would mandate how state and local governments across the country present their financial results to investors. The municipal-bond market in some ways remains stuck in the last century. Municipalities file reports erratically according to different standards, and the files aren't machine-readable by investors attempting to study city or state finances before they buy or sell. That marks a contrast to corporate disclosures, where standardized data can be extracted by computers.
/jlne.ws/3inFWtu
The Wall Street fight that has echoes of the cold war; Dispute between between Politan Capital and Masimo Corp has erupted at a crucial time in activist investing
Sujeet Indap - Financial Times
Is Quentin Koffey Wall Street's Manchurian Candidate? In the cold war classic film, an American soldier is brainwashed by a hostile foreign power into unwittingly bringing down the US government. Koffey is a well-known activist investor who, after stints at Elliott Management and DE Shaw, now has his own hedge fund, Politan Capital Management. He is seeking a board seat at Masimo Corp, a California-based maker of pulse oximeters with an enterprise valuation of $8bn.
/jlne.ws/3OFcQSk
Barclays chief to undergo treatment for cancer; CS Venkatakrishnan says his 'prognosis is excellent' and he will remain 'actively engaged' at bank
Stephen Morris and Oliver Ralph - Financial Times
Barclays has announced that its chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and will be undergoing treatment for the next 12 to 16 weeks. In a letter to staff on Monday, Venkatakrishnan wrote: "The doctors have advised that my prognosis is excellent, and my condition is curable with their prescribed regimen. This is likely to last 12 to 16 weeks." He will be treated at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
/jlne.ws/3i93SAs
Cboe Derivatives Europe brings US market practices to the Bloc; Speaking to The TRADE, Cboe's head of European derivatives Louri Saroukhanov said the aim of the infant exchange offering was to alter EU market structure, not to grab market share.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Just over a year ago Cboe Derivatives Europe (CEDX) launched into the EU markets but has remained relatively dormant ever since. The Amsterdam-based market initially offered 12 equity future and option products across six indices and received backing from ABN Amro Clearing, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in April 2021 ahead of its launch that September.
/jlne.ws/3EL2FH8
HKEX Launches Hang Seng TECH Index Futures Options and Further Enhances Existing Hang Seng TECH Index Derivatives Products
HKEX
Hang Seng TECH Index Futures Options begins trading today; Hang Seng TECH Index Options introduced in After-Hour Trading Session, effective today; Additional contract months for Hang Seng TECH Index Futures and Hang Seng TECH Index Options introduced, effective today
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Monday) pleased to announce the launch of its Hang Seng TECH Index Futures Options and several enhancements to its existing Hang Seng TECH Index derivatives products.
HKEX's Hang Seng TECH Index Futures Options (Options on Futures, OOF) will begin trading today and complement the existing derivatives suite on Hang Seng indices. Investors holding an OOF will now have the opportunity to manage their risk with reference to a futures position on HKEX, prior to the settlement of the underlying futures contract.
/jlne.ws/3u41xJZ
Putin's War Leaves West More Reliant Than Ever on Asian Fuel; Bulk of new refineries are being built in Asia and Middle East; US and Europe face shortages after cutting refining capacity
Elizabeth Low and Chunzi Xu - Bloomberg
The war in Ukraine is strengthening the role of Asia and the Middle East as the world's main providers of fuels like diesel and gasoline that are crucial to the global economy. As Europe and the US seek to cut off their dependence on Russian petroleum products, they are facing a shortage of supplies at home. That's opening opportunities for mega-refineries in places like China and Kuwait to flood the market with fuel.
/jlne.ws/3Fagsc0
Giant Wind Farms Arise Off Scotland, Easing the Pain of Oil's Decline; Oil and gas workers, losing their jobs as fossil fuel investment wanes, find work in the wind energy business.
Stanley Reed - The New York Times
The pilot of the nearly 80-foot work boat gunned its powerful engines, pinning the bow against the base of a towering wind turbine in the smooth North Sea. Three men in yellow and orange outfits stepped onto metal rungs and started slowly scaling the nearly 300-foot structure, past the huge blades that help send electricity to Scotland.
/jlne.ws/3VkVSva
If greed can ever be good, that philosophy didn't work at FTX's charity
Tim Adams - The Guardian
I remember reading William MacAskill's book Doing Good Better back in 2015 and wondering: is this too good to be true? MacAskill, the fresh-faced Oxford philosopher and prime mover of "effective altruism", was on a mission to take personal emotion out of charitable giving. Doing good works was one thing, he suggested, but if you really wanted to scale charitable effect it was the duty of social justice warriors in the affluent west to earn as much money as possible, and then give it away in the most evidence-based fashion, to the poorest people on the planet.
/jlne.ws/3OH5zkN
FTX remains focus of 'active' investigation, Bahamas attorney general says
Reuters
Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX remains the subject of "an active and ongoing investigation" by Bahamian authorities, Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder said on Sunday, as he praised the Bahamas' regulatory regime and swiftness with which it responded to the crisis.
/jlne.ws/3U9y77H
FTX Collapse: Bankman-Fried May End Up in Jail, Says Mark Cuban; The founder of the cryptocurrency exchange has become a persona non grata.
Luc Olinga - The Street
Since the fall of his crypto empire on Nov. 11, almost everything has been said about Sam Bankman-Fried. His crypto bros called him "criminal." They accused him of lying to the clients and investors of his companies FTX and Alameda Research, a hedge fund that also operates as a trading platform. "They lied. FTX lied. I think Sam lied to his employees, his users, his shareholders, regulators all around the world and all the users," Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, said during a Twitter event on Nov. 14. "So yes, he should take most of the blame."
/jlne.ws/3F9kKQG
FTX failure can play to the advantage of the old guard; Established exchanges believe fate of crypto disrupter has shown current model is robust
Nicholas Megaw - Financial Times
Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX crypto exchange have overshadowed both of the Futures Industry Association's major US gatherings this year. In March, "SBF" stole the show at Boca Raton in sunny Florida as he chatted with baseball stars and promised to revolutionise not only cryptocurrencies but the entire plumbing that underpins global financial markets. As the first snow of winter arrived at the FIA Expo in Chicago this month, FTX's name was being hastily covered up on sponsor hoardings that had been printed before the group collapsed into bankruptcy.
/jlne.ws/3F8EBQ8
Coinbase Names Four New Executives to Lead Europe Expansion
Muyao Shen and Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
Coinbase Global Inc. has strengthened its European senior ranks to help lead its expansion plans in the region even as conditions for cryptocurrency exchanges continue to toughen globally. Cormac Dinan, who was a general manager at Crypto.com, has joined Coinbase as country director for Ireland, the company said in a statement. Michael Schroeder, former chief compliance and risk officer at Bittrex, will join the crypto exchange as director of controls for Germany.
/jlne.ws/3iiNSfs
Idle Crypto Is the Devil's Workshop
Connel Fullenkamp - The New York Times
The newest monetary system in the world may be undone by the oldest problem there is. A few weeks ago, Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed in a classic run. Investors were spooked by evidence that the exchange had mismanaged their money and couldn't pay them back, so they panicked. And they were right. They couldn't get their money back. The blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency was supposed to make events like this a thing of the past. But FTX's business was to serve as a gateway into (and out of) cryptocurrency. That business still depends on humans to serve as honest gatekeepers. And we've seen over and over that humans can't resist the main temptation that comes with this role: to use their customers' money for their own purposes.
/jlne.ws/3XEH3or
Centralization Caused the FTX Fiasco; Automated market makers can obviate the need to hold customer money and the opportunity for fraud.
Vivek Ramaswamy and Mark Lurie - The Wall Street Journal
Sam Bankman-Fried was among the most prominent public advocates of responsible cryptocurrency regulation. The collapse of FTX, his $40 billion exchange, has amplified calls for more regulation. These demands are misplaced if they fail to distinguish between centralized and decentralized exchanges-a critical distinction that Mr. Bankman-Fried conveniently elided in his lobbying efforts.
/jlne.ws/3BepJNR
'Big Bang 2' reforms expose the City's weaknesses; The chancellor's proposals are only a partial response to London's financial decline
Philip Augar - Financial Times
Among the slew of tax increases in the chancellor's Autumn Statement, one substantial tax cut stood out as going against the trend. The five percentage point reduction in the 8 per cent surcharge imposed on larger banks' profits in 2015 following the great financial crisis will cost the exchequer more than £1bn a year.
/jlne.ws/3OFA8rh
China rocked by protests as zero-Covid anger spreads; Tensions run into second day after vigil ends with clashes with police in Shanghai
Thomas Hale in Shanghai and Tom Mitchell - Financial Times
Protests in Shanghai escalated on Sunday evening as police struggled to disperse large crowds who gathered in the city, part of a nationwide movement that poses one of the most brazen challenges to the Chinese Communist party's authority in decades.
/jlne.ws/3EMtV8n
Finance staff ignoring mandatory office attendance demands, report suggests; Study finds workers and managers favour 'remote-first' approach despite C-suite diktats
Daniel Thomas - Financial Times
Workers in financial services are often ignoring company rules on the number of days they should be in the office, according to a report sponsored by some of the UK's largest financial institutions. The study by non-profit group Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) and the London School of Economics found staff wanted more flexible working as they rejected presenteeism in favour of productivity.
/jlne.ws/3VPPtYL
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Exclusive: U.S. weighs sending 100-mile strike weapon to Ukraine
Mike Stone - Reuters
U.S. and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Boeing's proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America's Eastern European allies, industry sources said.
/jlne.ws/3ASmr2x
Ukraine warns of more Russian attacks as fighting rages in Donetsk
Maria Starkova and Tom Balmforth - Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cautioned on Sunday that Russia was "planning new strikes" on his country, urging defence forces and citizens to be prepared to withstand a new week of strain on the power grid amid freezing temperatures. Moscow has targeted vital infrastructure in recent weeks, sparking power outages and killing civilians. Strikes last Wednesday caused the worst damage so far in the nine-month conflict, leaving millions without light, water or heat as temperatures fell below 0 Celsius (32 Fahrenheit).
/jlne.ws/3VuyTxa
'Russia wins by losing': Timothy Snyder on raising funds for Ukrainian drone defence; Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Historian says Russia needs to lose its war in order to become a 'normal' European country - and stopping destruction of Ukraine's power grid is essential
Jennifer Rankin - The Guardian
When the Yale historian Timothy Snyder was asked by Ukraine's government to fundraise for the war effort, he considered a project to restore Chernihiv library. It would have been an obvious choice for the bestselling author, who has visited the ruined library - a gracious gothic terracotta structure that survived two world wars but was smashed to rubble in March by Russia's 500kg bombs.
/jlne.ws/3XG2WUm
U.S. Effort to Arm Taiwan Faces New Challenge With Ukraine Conflict; Flow of weapons to Kyiv taxes an already-stretched U.S. defense industrial base
Gordon Lubold, Doug Cameron and Nancy A. Youssef - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. government and congressional officials fear the conflict in Ukraine is exacerbating a nearly $19 billion backlog of weapons bound for Taiwan, further delaying efforts to arm the island as tensions with China escalate.
/jlne.ws/3F7ocv1
Ukraine's Victories May Become a Problem for the US; Washington has been a big winner from Russia's fiasco, but a lengthy stalemate could become a huge burden.
Hal Brands - Bloomberg
Ukraine has notched another big victory in its war against Russian aggression: the liberation of the Kherson without a grueling urban battle. Yet that triumph was met with mixed messages from US President Joe Biden's administration on a very sensitive subject: whether the Ukrainians should begin peace negotiations with Russia.
/jlne.ws/3GTHEwU
Putin's Few Oil Buyers Demand Deep Discounts; Russia is still selling plenty of its crude, but the shrinking pool of buyers is throwing its weight around
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
North American import bans and self-sanctioning by refiners and traders in Europe have barely dented the flow of crude from Russian ports, with volumes successfully diverted east. But switching flows to Asia, where India has emerged as Russia's second-biggest customer, has concentrated Moscow's dependence on an ever-shrinking pool of buyers. China and India now purchase two-thirds of all the crude exported by sea from Russia; at least half of the crude exported by pipeline from Russia also goes to China.
/jlne.ws/3UeCOxh
Artillery Is Breaking in Ukraine. It's Becoming a Problem for the Pentagon.
John Ismay and Thomas Gibbons-Neff - The New York Times
Ukrainian troops fire thousands of explosive shells at Russian targets every day, using high-tech cannons supplied by the United States and its allies. But those weapons are burning out after months of overuse, or being damaged or destroyed in combat, and dozens have been taken off the battlefield for repairs, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
/jlne.ws/3XEL4cv
Ukraine remembers Stalin-era famine as Russia war rages
Dan Peleschuk - Reuters
Ukraine accused the Kremlin on Saturday of reviving the "genocidal" tactics of Josef Stalin as Kyiv commemorated a Soviet-era famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the winter of 1932-33. The remembrance day for the "Holodomor" comes as Ukraine is battling to repel invading Russian forces and deal with sweeping blackouts caused by air strikes that Kyiv says are aimed at breaking the public's fighting resolve.
/jlne.ws/3GRN3Ex
Ukraine, partners launch $150 mln grain export plan to help vulnerable nations
Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hosted a summit in Kyiv with allied nations on Saturday to launch a plan to export $150 million worth of grain to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought.
/jlne.ws/3EIaE7R
Ukrainian women have started learning a crucial war skill: how to fly a drone
Ashley Westerman - NPR
Ukrainian women have played a crucial part in their country's resistance to Russia's full-scale invasion. Now, a new school is training women to play a vital new role. The Female Pilots of Ukraine is the country's first school dedicated to solely teaching women - both civilians as well as those serving in Ukraine's security forces - how to fly drones.
/jlne.ws/3ilq0YE
Western sanctions catch up with Russia's wartime economy
Catherine Belton and Robyn Dixon - The Washington Post
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched last month a new council for coordinating supplies for the Russian army, he seemed to recognize the scale of the economic problems facing the country, and his sense of urgency was palpable.
/jlne.ws/3XQMSzB
Britain says Russia likely removing nuclear warheads from missiles and firing at Ukraine
Reuters
Russia is likely removing nuclear warheads from ageing nuclear cruise missiles and firing unarmed munitions at Ukraine, Britain's military intelligence said on Saturday. The defense ministry said open source imagery shows wreckage of an air launched cruise missile fired at Ukraine which seem to have been designed in the 1980s as a nuclear delivery system, adding that ballast was probably being substituted for the warheads.
/jlne.ws/3u713Tu
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | HKEX: Exchange Publishes Findings Of Its Latest Review Of Issuers' ESG Disclosures
Mondo Visione
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), today (Friday) published the findings of its latest review of issuers' environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures (Report). The review1 focused on the requirements that came into effect in July 2020 (2020 Enhancements) as set out in the Exchange's ESG Reporting Guide (ESG Rules)2.
/jlne.ws/3VxbdIt
New Urbas Commercial Paper Programme for 50 million euros
BME-X
BME's fixed income market, MARF, has admitted to trading today Urbas Grupo Financiero's new 50-million-euro Commercial Paper Programme. With this programme, the company initiates its issuance in the fixed income markets through the MARF in order to diversify its sources of financing and access new investors. The CPs under the programme have a unit face value of 100,000 euros and will have a maximum maturity of two years.
/jlne.ws/3u69mid
Cboe Europe Derivatives Welcomes New Participants
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) today announces that Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX), its pan-European equity derivatives exchange, has welcomed three new Trading Participants. These firms are Barak Capital Israel, Barak Capital Market Making B.V. and TTG Capital Limited.
/jlne.ws/3ikKQai
Three more years: EEX remains German auction platform for emission allowances in the EU ETS
EEX
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) won the tender by the German Environment Agency for the auctioning of emission allowances on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. Starting in January 2024 for a period of three years, EEX will continue to conduct the weekly auctions on behalf of Germany within the framework of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS). Thereafter, there is the option for a further extension of two years.
/jlne.ws/3gHUxiM
MiFID II/MiFIR order flagging requirements: Reminder regarding the "short code uniqueness rule" and process for requesting an exemption; Eurex Circular 113/22 MiFID II/MiFIR order flagging requirements: Reminder regarding the "short code uniqueness rule" and process for requesting an exemption
Eurex
1.Introduction. Since 1 January 2022, Trading Participants have been obligated to assign only one short code to each long code. Only in substantiated exceptional cases may the Management Board of Eurex Deutschland ("Eurex") grant an exemption from this rule.
/jlne.ws/3gF9Qsu
Nasdaq Announces Mid-Month Open Short Interest Positions in Nasdaq Stocks as of Settlement Date November 15, 2022
Nasdaq
At the end of the settlement date of November 15, 2022, short interest in 3,471 Nasdaq Global Market securities totaled 10,346,655,385 shares compared with 10,444,123,033 shares in 3,440 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of October 31, 2022. The mid-November short interest represents 2.47 days compared with 2.81 days for the prior reporting period.
/jlne.ws/3UiUtDQ
Passive Funds tracking Nifty Indices in India crosses 200
NSE
The total number of passive funds (ETFs and Index Funds) tracking Nifty Indices in India has crossed a new milestone of 200. Currently there are 110 ETFs and 91 index funds in India tracking 72 unique Nifty Indices. Out of these 201 passive funds, 166 are equity passive funds and 35 are debt passive funds. These 201 passive funds have been issued by 24 different Asset Management Companies (AMCs) in India. Nifty Indices linked passive funds account for 76% market share in terms of total number of equity and debt passive funds and 73% market share in terms of total Asset under Management (AUM) of equity and debt Funds in India.
/jlne.ws/3VzuJUY
SGX Group launches initiative to recognise Sustainable Fixed Income
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) today launched a new initiative to identify green, social and sustainability fixed income securities that meet recognised standards. The SGX Sustainable Fixed Income initiative allows investors to more easily identify investments that meet certain criteria at issuance. These criteria are: Alignment with recognised green, social or sustainability standards for fixed income securities. The list of recognised standards is set out here. Confirmation by an external reviewer that the fixed income securities are aligned to the recognised standards. The reviewer must be a reputable firm with an established track record of providing similar reviews; and Publicly published reports setting out the fixed income securities' alignment with the recognised standards.
/jlne.ws/3AQdhU2
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Alexa, how did Amazon's voice assistant rack up a $10bn loss?
John Naughton - The Guardian
Intrigued by an Ars Technica post about Amazon's Alexa that suggested all was not well in the tech company's division that looks after its smart home devices, I went rooting in a drawer where the Echo Dot I bought years ago had been gathering dust. Having found it, and set it up to join the upgraded wifi network that hadn't existed when I first got it, I asked it a question: "Alexa, why are you such a loss-maker?" To which she calmly replied: "This might answer your question: mustard gas, also known as Lost, is manufactured by the United States." At which point, I solemnly thanked her, pulled the power cable and returned her to the drawer, where she will continue to gather dust until I can think of an ecologically responsible way of recycling her.
/jlne.ws/3BekTjF
Another tech bubble bursts: 2022 has been brutal for Silicon Valley workers; The breadth of the layoffs this year is breathtaking, affecting every part of the tech sector from farming robots and cryptocurrency to social media and semi-autonomous vehicles.
David Ingram - NBC News
The tech industry has enjoyed seemingly unstoppable growth over the past five years, but in 2022 it finally hit an immovable object: a slowing worldwide economy. Tech companies big and small have eliminated tens of thousands of jobs this year as executives cite inflation, rising interest rates and lower sales in digital advertising as all putting pressure on their financial outlooks.
/jlne.ws/3EDMZWe
Eventus wins three more awards for regulatory compliance, trade surveillance, innovation in digital and other assets
Eventus via PR Newswire
Eventus, a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that in the past week, the firm earned three more awards for its service in regulatory compliance and trade surveillance, including two honors for innovation in the digital asset space. The fifth annual Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2022 bestowed its award for Best Solution: Virtual Assets - Market & Trade Surveillance, marking the second consecutive year Eventus has been recognized by Regulation Asia for its leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. The Canadian RegTech Awards declared Validus, the firm's platform, Best Regulatory Compliance Solution, as well as Best Innovation Achievement in Digital Assets.
/jlne.ws/3ARAfKr
Twitter's $5bn-a-year business hit as Elon Musk clashes with advertisers; Top brands abandon social media platform as billionaire owner berates chief executives who have curbed spending
Hannah Murphy, Alex Barker and Arjun Neil Alim - Financial Times
Elon Musk's tumultuous reign at Twitter has led to a damaging rift with top brands and marketers, with the social media company's $5bn-a-year advertising business hit by tensions over content moderation and resources.
/jlne.ws/3OJUoaY
Virtu Financial loses execution services expert to CLSA; The departing player is returning to Hong Kong as director of program trading.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Rob Darling is leaving Virtu Financial to take up a new position as director of program trading with institutional brokerage firm CLSA in Hong Kong, The TRADE can reveal CLSA is the international platform of CITIC Securities, one of China's biggest investment banks and the country's largest securities company.
/jlne.ws/3AT1X9H
Liquidity.net promotes new head of institutional trading; The new hire was formerly with forex trading house FXCM, and will be based in Dubai.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Tim Rudland has started a new position as head of institutional trading for multi-asset liquidity provider Liuqidity.net, The TRADE can reveal. He was promoted internally in November 2022 from his previous position as liquidity manager.
/jlne.ws/3OM2IXR
Blockchain Technology May Transform The Future Of Healthcare
Sai Balasubramanian, M.D., J.D. - Forbes
Blockchain technology has truly revolutionized the vision for the future of information and data. At the most fundamental level, blockchain technology enables decentralization of data; that is, it allows for the control of information to move away from a centralized entity (e.g. an individual or organization) to a distributed network. By utilizing a distributed network to control information, society can establish better transparency, trust, and fidelity in that data.
/jlne.ws/3F7ZQRV
JPMorgan, Other Banks in Talks to Reimburse Scammed Zelle Customers; Volume and sophistication of fraud on Zelle payment network draw attention of lawmakers
David Benoit and AnnaMaria Andriotis - The Wall Street Journal
Some of America's biggest banks are devising a plan to compensate customers who fall victim to scams on their Zelle payment network. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are among the banks in advanced discussions to create a playbook for refunding customers and each other for illegitimate transfers, according to people familiar with the matter. The idea is to boost security and consumer trust in Zelle, the peer-to-peer payment system jointly owned by a consortium of banks, the people said.
/jlne.ws/3EMoruj
UK and Singapore deepen collaboration in FinTech and strengthen financial cooperation
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The United Kingdom (UK) and Singapore held the 7th UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in Singapore today. Both countries renewed their commitment to deepening the UK-Singapore Financial Partnership that was agreed in 2021, discussed mutual priorities such as sustainable finance, FinTech and innovation, and agreed on further cooperation in these areas.
/jlne.ws/3XvQYN4
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Australia beefs up scrutiny of Medibank following data breach; Financial services regulator says it has "intensified" its supervision of Medibank following a data breach that impacted 9.7 million customers and believed to be the work of Russian hackers.
Eileen Yu - Zdnet.com
Australia is beefing up its scrutiny of Medibank and will assess if further regulatory action is necessary, following a data breach that impacted 9.7 million customers. The insurance group also has pledged to share the outcome of an external review into the breach, which is believed to be the work of Russian hackers.
/jlne.ws/3F7D5NX
What's next in cybersecurity
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai - MIT Technology Review
In the world of cybersecurity, there is always one certainty: more hacks. That is the unavoidable constant in an industry that will spend an estimated $150 billion worldwide this year without being able, yet again, to actually stop hackers.
This past year has seen Russian government hacks aimed at Ukraine; more ransomware against hospitals and schools-and against whole governments too; a seemingly endless series of costly crypto hacks; and high-profile hacks of companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games, the last hack allegedly carried out by teenagers.
/jlne.ws/3F7l0zv
Canada to boost defence, cyber security in Indo-Pacific policy, focus on 'disruptive' China
David Ljunggren and Ismail Shakil - Reuters
Canada launched its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, outlining spending of C$2.3 billion ($1.7 billion) to boost military and cyber security in the region and vowed to deal with a "disruptive" China while working with it on climate change and trade.
The plan, detailed in a 26-page document, said Canada would tighten foreign investment rules to protect intellectual property and prevent Chinese state-owned enterprises from snapping up critical mineral supplies.
/jlne.ws/3VvCJpV
How to Maintain Strong Cybersecurity in the Face of Economic Headwinds
Beth Maundrill - Infosecurity Magazine
Heading into 2023, the economic outlook looks gloomy and cybersecurity professionals will be faced with challenges that come with any business that is feeling the pinch.
There are multiple headwinds weighing on global economic prosperity and the International Monetary Fund has lowered its global growth forecast for 2023 to 2.7%, down from 3.2% in 2022.
/jlne.ws/3GRZAYt
'Quiet quitting' poses a cybersecurity risk that calls for a shift in workplace culture
Tim Keary - VentureBeat
Are your employees mentally checked out from their positions? According to Gallup, "quiet quitters," workers who are detached and do the minimum required as part of their roles, make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce.
Unengaged employees create new security risks for enterprises as it only takes small mistakes, such as clicking on an attachment in a phishing email or reusing login credentials to enable a threat actor to gain access to the network.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto fraud jumps by a third in UK; Data from specialist police unit reflect growing problem costing victims hundreds of millions
Kate Beioley and Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan - Financial Times
UK crypto fraud rose by a third in one year, police data show, with criminals stealing hundreds of millions of pounds from consumers. The rise in reported losses, obtained via a freedom of information request to UK police unit Action Fraud, comes as the sector faces continued fallout from the collapse of major exchange FTX.
/jlne.ws/3OJmlQr
Nervous auditors re-examine crypto clients after FTX collapse; Collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's company highlights risks in industry where accounting rules are only half-formed
Stephen Foley - Financial Times
Cryptocurrency businesses that need their financial statements audited are probably going to have to pay more for it, and they have Sam Bankman-Fried to thank. The collapse of Bankman-Fried's crypto empire, and the spotlight it put on the auditors that signed off on his books, has prompted small audit firms to re-examine their work for businesses in the nascent industry.
/jlne.ws/3EJXqaN
Bahamian Attorney General Defends Handling of FTX Collapse; Island nation's leaders under pressure after encouraging cryptocurrency companies to set up shop there
Amrith Ramkumar - The Wall Street Journal
The Bahamian attorney general defended the island nation's actions during the collapse of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. and urged patience while authorities investigate the embattled cryptocurrency exchange. In a national address late Sunday, Ryan Pinder disputed recent statements made by FTX's new chief executive and lawyers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court questioning whether Bahamian regulators had the authority to take control of the local FTX subsidiary's assets around the time of its bankruptcy earlier this month. He said they did have the right to do so under local laws and did so to protect customers and creditors.
/jlne.ws/3UdWMIc
Cryptofinance: Barry Silbert, crypto boss on the defensive; Plus updates on crypto's role in Ukraine
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
Welcome to the FT Cryptofinance newsletter. This week, we're taking a look at Barry Silbert, the man at the heart of Digital Currency Group. It's been two weeks since FTX - one of the crypto industry's marquee brands - fell into bankruptcy in spectacular fashion and I compared it to the collapse of Lehman Brothers. As the impact rippled through the market, the biggest players have been trying to steady the ship. Fighting hardest this week has been Digital Currency Group and founder and chief executive Barry Silbert.
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5 Lessons From the Stunning Implosion of SBF and FTX; SBF went from crypto hero to zero in a few ruinous days. The contagion and reputational damage for the industry is brutal. Can we learn from it?
Daniel Roberts
Just six months ago I was in The Bahamas at the FTX/SALT conference, where Sam was treated like Taylor Swift. He chatted onstage with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and Gisele Bundchen. Posed for selfies with admirers. Interviewed Tom Brady about the art of winning-and found time to make some TikTok videos with him.
/jlne.ws/3GOPQyb
Wemade to Take Legal Action Against Delisting of Its Token
Hooyeon Kim - Bloomberg
South Korean online games company Wemade Co. said it will take legal action against an association of local crypto exchanges that plan to delist the company's native token Wemix. "The Wemix team neither acknowledge, nor agree with this decision, especially since the company has not been given an explanation about this resolution," Wemade said in a statement Friday.
/jlne.ws/3EIRfUy
Crypto's Brutal Slump Has Finally Caught Up With Bitcoin ATMs; Dollar amounts received by BTMs fell 28% since start of 2021; Despite the slowdown, some industry executives remain bullish
Carly Wanna, Anna Irrera, and Rachel Butt - Bloomberg
Amherst County, Virginia, doesn't have a hospital. It does have a Bitcoin ATM. It's inside the Dogwood Express Market, a convenience store just down the road from the local used-car dealership. The machine lets people buy, receive and send Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency.
/jlne.ws/3AQMh6K
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Biden's Dirty Oil Deal With Venezuela; Caracas gets a sanctions reprieve while the U.S. vetoes a loan to Guyana, a rare U.S. ally in the region.
Mary Anastasia O'Grady - The Wall Street Journal
At the United Nations climate conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the U.S. agreed to pay environmental reparations to developing countries. Days later it emerged that the Biden administration would issue a new license to Chevron to resume operations in joint ventures with Venezuela's oil company, PdVSA. The U.S. government thinks you're a fool, dear reader. And not only because it waited until Americans were en route to grandma's house for Thanksgiving to let news slip of a deal to increase heavy-crude output from joint ventures controlled by a dictatorship allied with Iran. Or that it expects you to believe that Venezuela is considering a return to free elections in exchange.
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Populist House Republicans Picking a Fight With US Business Over 'Woke Capitalism'; McCarthy has refused to meet with the US Chamber of Commerce; Companies could have 'hell of a time' winning back GOP support
Laura Davison - Bloomberg
Republicans and their longtime corporate allies are going through a messy breakup as companies' equality and climate goals run headlong into a GOP movement exploiting social and cultural issues to fire up conservatives. The ensuing drama will unfold over the next two years in the US House, where the incoming GOP majority plans to pressure companies on immigration, equality and climate change stances that are now being assailed by key Republicans as "woke capitalism."
/jlne.ws/3u3I1x4
Green Factories Are Changing Minds in More Conservative US States; At least $25.7 billion of clean-energy factories are in the works, and the jobs they generate are winning over more Americans to solar, batteries and EVs.
Brian Eckhouse - Bloomberg
At least $25.7 billion in new US clean-energy factories are in the works, thanks in part to the generous subsidies in President Joe Biden's landmark climate law. Most of these projects - and the jobs that come with them - are in traditionally conservative states.
/jlne.ws/3gJspMe
Pressure builds to step up weapons tracking in Ukraine; Legislation would require greater scrutiny of the $20 billion in military aid President Biden has sent Ukraine, and it has bipartisan support
Karoun Demirjian - The Washington Post
Emboldened by their success in the midterm elections, House Republicans, who will hold a slim majority in the next Congress, have warned the Biden administration to expect far tougher oversight of the extensive military assistance it has provided Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3u6XDQE
Chinese takeovers become a geopolitical frontline; Semiconductors blur the line between national security and the national interest
The editorial board - Financial Times
Newport in south Wales finds itself on an unlikely geopolitical faultline. The UK government cited national security concerns to retrospectively block the sale of one of Britain's biggest semiconductor plants, Newport Wafer Fab, to a Dutch company owned by China's Wingtech. The UK is not alone: Germany has blocked two similar deals, with its vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, accusing China of pursuing a "deliberate strategy" of "trying to acquire knowledge" in the sector.
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The UK government should stop doing stupid stuff; It should not consider regulatory changes unless they will clearly be for the better
Martin Wolf - Financial Times
Barack Obama famously said "don't do stupid stuff". (Actually, he said something even stronger.) This is always good advice. It is particularly good advice for today's UK. It would be wonderful if it could start doing sensible stuff. But one must keep one's hopes in check. It should, however, surely be possible to stop doing really stupid stuff.
/jlne.ws/3F8LYag
You Say Price Cap, I Say Speed Bump. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off; There is a deep pointlessness to current negotiations on oil and gas price caps intended to hurt Russia.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
European leaders are wrangling about the level of two energy price caps: one on European wholesale natural gas prices and another on Russian oil exports. Despite the focus on the price level disagreement, the real fight is about policy: What the price caps are intended to do, and whether there are any acceptable tradeoffs for them.
/jlne.ws/3GXamNr
Russia Drafts Decree Banning Oil Sales to Price-Cap Participants
Bloomberg News
The Kremlin is drafting a presidential decree that will prohibit Russian companies and any traders buying the nation's oil from selling it to anyone that participates in a price cap, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
/jlne.ws/3AQcjr2
Singapore Government Faces Parliament Grilling Over FTX Fallout
Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg
Singapore's government faces increased scrutiny over the fallout from the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX crypto empire. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minster Lawrence Wong face a raft of parliamentary questions this week over the losses incurred by retail investors and the due diligence undertaken by state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, which wrote down its entire $275 million investment in FTX.
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Regulators can't keep turning a blind eye to crypto craziness; Stopping a hyped-up project that promises to disrupt the status quo requires decisiveness and courage
Adam Tooze - Financial Times
In a now notorious TV advert for trading platform Crypto.com, the Hollywood star Matt Damon intoned the following lines: "History is filled with almost. With those who almost adventured, who almost achieved, but ultimately, for them it proved to be too much. Then, there are others. The ones who embrace the moment, and commit. And in these moments of truthâEUR‰.âEUR‰.âEUR‰.âEUR‰they calm their minds and steel their nerves with four simple words that have been whispered by the intrepid since the time of the Romans. Fortune favours the brave."
/jlne.ws/3H0COh4
FTX Invoked by Canada Banks Group in Call for Payment Safeguards
Kevin Orland - Bloomberg
The main lobbying group for Canada's banking industry invoked the collapse of FTX and Celsius Network in warning that the government needs to establish better consumer protections for the country's payments systems. The Bank of Canada was given power to oversee payment-service providers last year -- a move the banking industry welcomed -- but the absence of consumer protections in its supervision framework so far is "a significant shortcoming," Canadian Bankers Association President Anthony Ostler said in a speech to the Canadian Club Toronto Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3AIVUEG
Nigeria SEC to Avoid Cryptocurrencies in Digital Assets Push; Commission to focus on digital assets that protect investors; Nigerian SEC to develop trade in 50 digital assets by 2025
Emele Onu - Bloomberg
Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission does not plan to include cryptocurrencies in a plan to improve trading in digital assets until regulators agree on standards that protect investors. The commission is avoiding the digital currency as crypto exchanges do not have access to the banking platform that is needed to drive their trades in Nigeria yet, Director-General Lamido Yuguda told reporters in Lagos, the nation's commercial hub. "We are looking at digital assets that really protect investors," not necessarily crypto, Yuguda said.
/jlne.ws/3ih5ND9
ASIC grants FSG relief to certain authorised representatives that provide claims handling and settling services
ASIC
ASIC has provided relief from the requirement to provide a Financial services Guide to representatives that are authorised by licensees to: deal in general insurance products and/or bundled consumer credit insurance products and provide claims handling and settling services.
The relief is set out in the legislative instrument ASIC Corporations (Financial Services Guides) Instrument 2022/910.
/jlne.ws/3gAPGQA
FCA confirms plans to deliver redress to over 1,000 former British Steel Pension Scheme members
FCA
The FCA has published final rules for a redress scheme for former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) who received unsuitable advice to transfer out. The FCA expects that over 1000 consumers will receive redress as a result.
/jlne.ws/3Vg6DPh
SFC and CSRC hold high-level enforcement cooperation meeting
Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) recently held the 13th regular high-level meeting on enforcement cooperation. This was also the first meeting with Mr Luo Zifa, Chief Enforcement Officer and Director-General of Enforcement Bureau of the CSRC after Mr Christopher Wilson assumed the role of the SFC's Executive Director of Enforcement (Note 1).
/jlne.ws/3F5rgIe
SFC consults on risk management guidelines for futures dealing activities
Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today launched a consultation on proposed risk management guidelines for licensed futures brokers.
The proposed guidelines mainly include qualitative requirements for the control and management of key risks arising from futures dealing activities. Key proposals include requiring futures brokers to set prudent client risk limits and comply with additional requirements relating to commodity futures. They would also be required to conduct due diligence reviews of executing or clearing agents, safeguard client assets more properly, and put in place controls relating to trading in futures markets and handling client assets outside Hong Kong.
/jlne.ws/3gIFNA4
Suspected syndicate leader charged in connection with ramp-and dump schemes
Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong
A suspected ringleader of a sophisticated ramp-and-dump syndicate appeared at the Eastern Magistracy today and was charged with various criminal offences stemming from an earlier joint operation of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Police. Thirteen other people were charged in connection with the case earlier (Note 1).
/jlne.ws/3EKgYvH
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | SPACs Slap Some Lipstick on Their Penny-Stock Pigs; Reverse stock splits can help companies avoid delisting, but they're not a panacea.
Chris Bryant - Bloomberg
Life comes at you fast in the stock market. At the start of the year, investors were so enamored of the technology sector that Alphabet Inc., Tesla Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. split their shares into smaller increments to attract even more retail buyers, often causing the stocks to rocket even further. Now, with sentiment toward speculative tech companies near rock bottom, hundreds of startups that have seen their shares plummet this year are having to consider the opposite move: reverse stock splits to consolidate a large number of shares into smaller amounts, boosting the share price to a less embarrassing level.
/jlne.ws/3i7utxN
Stock Market Has a Black Friday Tradition: Low Trading Volume; Trading volume is light but higher than in recent history; Last year's Black Friday volume was the highest in five years
Norah Mulinda - Bloomberg
The day after the US Thanksgiving holiday is traditionally among the lightest sessions of the year in the stock market, and Friday is no exception with volume on the S&P 500 Index 46% lighter than the average over the last 30 days. Trading has been sluggish all week, steadily declining in the days preceding the holiday. Only 1.7 billion shares traded on Wednesday. But the shortened session after Thanksgiving is usually particularly light. In 2019, volume was less than one billion shares, a level already eclipsed in this Black Friday session.
/jlne.ws/3gDvOMH
IPO Hole Is Partly Plugged by $24 Billion Burst in Share Sales; Deals are helping banks hit by slump in equity underwriting; Markets rallied this month on prospect of smaller rate hikes
Julia Fioretti, Swetha Gopinath, and Filipe Pacheco - Bloomberg
All is not lost for equity capital market bankers. While initial public offerings have largely vanished, share sales have been surging. Since the start of November there have been $24 billion in additional stock sales globally, on track for the biggest monthly haul since August when almost $25 billion was raised, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
/jlne.ws/3ijQHwM
Copper's Biggest Mystery Is Finally Cracking; BHP Group is negotiating with startup Jetti to use its technology at the world's biggest copper mine, Escondida in Chile.
Thomas Biesheuvel - Bloomberg
The warnings keep getting louder: the world is hurtling toward a desperate shortage of copper. Humans are more dependent than ever on a metal we've used for 10,000 years; new deposits are drying up, and the type of breakthrough technologies that transformed other commodities have failed to materialize for copper.
/jlne.ws/3AT64Tf
Access to EU public registers ends: 'We are going back to era of corporate secrecy'; Campaigners say invalidation of member states' databases will hinder efforts to tackle abuse of ownership rules
Kate Beioley - Financial Times
Until last week, anyone wanting to know the ultimate owner of an EU-based company could consult databases held by member states. This public access has helped expose myriad abuses, including by a Czech prime minister and a Lebanese central bank governor.
/jlne.ws/3F9OQ6P
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Biden's zero-emission government fleet starts with USPS; The Postal Service is set to roll out 34,000 electric mail trucks in the coming years, and it's transforming its operations to make them go
Jacob Bogage - The Washington Post
The grandest experiment of the government's sprint to electrify its vehicle fleet is happening here, a 1 million-square-foot warehouse leased by the U.S. Postal Service in the outer reaches of Atlanta. As the White House pushes public agencies and big business to slash greenhouse gas emissions, it is leaning on the Postal Service to step up the pace to meet President Biden's directive to ensure all new government-owned vehicles are EVs by 2035. And, after a hard-won $3 billion infusion from Congress to jump-start its transition, the first of the agency's 34,000 zero-emission mail trucks will begin rolling out next year.
/jlne.ws/3VeSLEU
Houston Issues Boil Water Notice After Power Outages Imperil Supplies; Texas governor dispatches environmental-testing crews; Office towers tell tenants firefighting, AC systems are intact
Joe Carroll - Bloomberg
Houston ordered schools to close and warned residents not to drink tap water without first boiling it after power outages shut treatment plants. Water pressure in the city's distribution network fell below levels required to ensure supplies are safe to drink after severe storms cut power to three water-treatment plants, according to municipal leaders.
/jlne.ws/3VzFgPI
Great Barrier Reef should be placed on world heritage 'in danger' list, UN-backed report says; Experts from Unesco and IUCN find climate change threatens reef's values and work to improve water quality is too slow
Graham Readfearn - The Guardian
A UN-backed mission to the Great Barrier Reef has concluded the world's biggest coral reef system should be placed on a list of world heritage sites in danger.The long-awaited report on the 10-day mission that took place in March said climate change was presenting a "serious challenge" to the values that saw the reef inscribed as a global wonder in 1981.
/jlne.ws/3AP2SrC
How to Tear Down a Nuclear Power Plant in Vermont and Bury It in Texas; After the $600 million dismantling job is complete, the town is considering turning the site into sports fields or a solar farm.
Josh Saul and Will Wade - Bloomberg
People get nervous around nuclear power plants, which means that demolishing one has to be done very, very carefully. The Vermont Yankee power plant sits on the bank of a scenic river in Vernon, Vermont, and for more than 40 years, the atoms split in its reactor generated as much as 70% of the state's electricity. But then natural gas prices undercut the plant's electricity and local anti-nuclear protesters worried about safety marched with signs that read "Hell no, we won't glow." Entergy Corp., the big Louisiana-based power company that owned Vermont Yankee, shut the plant down in 2014. It then sold the site to NorthStar Group Services Inc., which is now responsible for the decommissioning.
/jlne.ws/3OH6vpg
Drive to Bypass China in Lithium Refining Grows in Australia; Pilbara pilot plant to produce semi-processed battery chemical; Part of Canberra's efforts to challenge China on EV metals
James Fernyhough - Bloomberg
Pilbara Minerals Ltd., one of Australia's biggest lithium producers, plans to build a demonstration plant in Western Australia capable of refining the material that's key to the booming global battery metals market. The pilot plant would process Pilbara Minerals' hard-rock ore into lithium salt near the company's Pilgangoora Project in Western Australia, in a joint venture with Australia's Calix Ltd. that uses the latter's patented "calcination" technology.
/jlne.ws/3AQ25XG
DOL's final ESG rule puts an end to Trump administration restrictions; The new rule frees retirement plan advisers to incorporate risk and return factors associated with climate change and other ESG investment alternatives.
Mark Schoeff Jr. - Investment News
A final regulation released by the Department of Labor Tuesday will reassure retirement plan advisers that they can utilize sustainable investing without running afoul of federal law, experts said. The DOL rule allows - but does not require - plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and environmental, social and governance factors in selecting investments, DOL Assistant Secretary Lisa Gomez said.
/jlne.ws/3XwinP0
Linking Executive Compensation to ESG Performance
Merel Spierings - The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance
As companies address two fundamental and related shifts-the intensified focus on environmental, social & governance (ESG) issues driven by investors, employees, consumers, business partners, ESG rating agencies, and regulators, [1] and the shift to a multistakeholder form of capitalism [2] -corporate boards are not only incorporating nonfinancial matters into discussions of company strategy and business plans, but also increasingly considering ESG performance measures in incentive plans. At the same time, there are concerns about the benefits of incorporating ESG measures into compensation, the risks of doing so (e.g., rewarding the wrong behaviors, setting inadequate targets, and creating guaranteed bonuses), and challenges in providing investors with what they view as sufficient transparency and specificity in ESG-based pay plans. These concerns have now been compounded by skepticism about whether ESG can actually drive financial performance for companies and investors alike.
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BOJ to conduct annual survey on climate finance to nurture ESG market
Leika Kihara - Reuters
Climate change has big impact on economy, inflation - Amamiya; Aug survey showed strong demand for green bonds - BOJ Amamiya; BOJ's climate scheme has extended $26 bln in loans. Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said on Sunday the central bank will conduct a survey annually of financial institutions and companies, seeking ways to nurture the country's growing climate finance market. An initial survey in August showed "strong demand" in Japan for "green" bonds and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) debt instruments, Amamiya said.
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China calls for ambitious, pragmatic biodiversity deal
Reuters
China will lead talks to secure an "ambitious and pragmatic" new global pact to preserve biodiversity at a U.N. meeting that begins next week, but implementing the deal remains the biggest challenge, Chinese officials said on Monday. Representatives of nearly 200 countries will gather in Montreal on Dec. 5 to secure a "post-2020 framework" to protect habitats and ecosystems and ensure the sustainable and equitable use of biological resources.
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Greta Thunberg Sues Her Native Sweden for Failing on Climate; Climate activist is among 600 plaintiffs in Swedish case; Lawsuit part of a wave of climate action targeting governments
Niclas Rolander - Bloomberg
A group of children and young adults including Greta Thunberg have filed a class action lawsuit against the Swedish state for failing to take adequate measures to stop climate change. The lawsuit is part of an international wave of climate-related legal action, some of it targeting national governments.
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Europe's Hottest Summer Led to 20,000 Excess Deaths; High temperatures recorded in 2022 were made much more likely by climate change, scientists say
Laura Millan Lombrana - Bloomberg
Europe's hottest summer on record likely resulted in more than 20,000 excess deaths in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, according to official data. The excess deaths - the difference between the total number of deaths in the summer of 2022 and the historical average - were particularly elevated during the three intense heat waves that struck Western Europe between June and August.
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South Africa Faces Decade of Blackouts Without Gas, Study Finds; Wartsila sees gas-engine plants as solution to energy crisis; Investment would cost as much as $8 billion, company says
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
Wartsila Oyj, a Finnish company that makes power plants, expects South Africa to face electricity outages for at least another decade unless it installs as much as $8 billion worth of gas-fired generation capacity.
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Deutsche Bank's Asset Manager May Ditch Niche German Corporate Form; CEO Hoops to lay out strategy vision at Dec. 7 investor day; Firm has faced controversy over greenwashing allegations
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
DWS Group Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hoops is considering changing the firm's legal structure as part of his effort to raise the appeal of the firm to a broader range of shareholders. One option for the CEO of Deutsche Bank AG's asset-management arm is to switch the current setup, which curbs the influence of minority shareholders, into the German form equivalent to a UK Plc, people familiar with the matter said. It's not clear whether Hoops plans to reference the considerations during a strategy update in two weeks, the people said asking not to be named discussing the private information.
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Credit Suisse Shares Are Having Their Worst Run in 11 Years; Shares fall as much as 5.4% on Monday to a fresh record low; Lender has been hit by wealth management outflows, scandals
Allegra Catelli - Bloomberg
Shares in troubled Swiss lender Credit Suisse Group AG slipped as much as 5.4% on Monday, hitting a fresh record low and putting them on track for their longest losing streak since 2011.
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India Banking Regulator Asks Paytm Unit to Reapply for License
Sankalp Phartiyal - Bloomberg
India's banking regulator asked a unit of Paytm to resubmit its application for approval required to provide payment aggregator services, a potentially lucrative business the company is trying to expand into.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Next Covid-19 Strain May be More Dangerous, Lab Study Shows; Study done by team that first tested omicron against vaccines; Samples taken over six months from immunosuppressed person
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
A South African laboratory study using Covid-19 samples from an immunosupressed individual over six months showed that the virus evolved to become more pathogenic, indicating that a new variant could cause worse illness than the current predominant omicron strain.
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Goldman Says China May End Covid Zero Earlier Than Expected; Goldman sees 30% probability the country reopens before 2Q; Local govs struggle for quick balance of virus control, easing
Bloomberg News
China may end its Covid Zero policy earlier than previously expected, with chances growing of a messy exit as infections spread and residents protest virus controls, according to analysts including from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
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Nine Covid symptoms affecting the fully vaccinated - and signs you may have it; Fainting and fatigue may signal onset of variant, experts say
Maryam Zakir-Hussain - The Independent
Covid vaccines helped moved the UK out of a cycle of lockdowns and restrictions - but even with the jab you can still catch the virus. Thanks to variants like Omicron, Covid-19 has adapted throughout the pandemic and therefore even those with boosters can be infected or reinfected.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China's Covid Restrictions Are Forcing Farmers to Destroy Crops
Jinglu Gu and Alfred Cang - Bloomberg
China's strict Covid controls are leaving farmers with no option other than to destroy crops they can no longer sell, triggering concerns about food shortages and stirring outrage on social media. Videos circulating online show farmers dumping healthy crops because they're struggling to sell their harvest. Local and state media also reported that fields of vegetables are being destroyed in major producing regions such as Shandong and Henan provinces to make way for the sowing of the next crop.
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Korea's Rhee Warns Against Japan-Like Stimulus to Combat Aging; Central bank chief urges painful reforms to boost productivity; Fertility crisis raises concerns over low rates to spur growth
Sam Kim - Bloomberg
South Korea should avoid following Japan's lead of using fiscal and monetary stimulus to combat the challenges of an aging economy, central bank Governor Rhee Chang-yong said, urging reforms instead to boost fertility.
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China's State Support Is Helping to Ease Credit Market Stress; China Credit Tracker
Alice Huang and Ailing Tan - Bloomberg
China credit is showing signs of recovery after months of distress sparked by a property debt crisis, with the already better insulated onshore market improving further after defaults declined. Authorities have been stepping in with more concrete measures to aid the real estate sector, following unprecedented mortgage boycotts, slumping home sales and mounting debt failures.
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'Value Annihilation' Haunts Investors in China Property Bonds; China Credit Tracker
Wei Zhou and Ailing Tan - Bloomberg
China's offshore credit market rebounded this week after a key bond regulator expanded a financing support program. But one of the worst routs ever suffered just last month is making many investors skeptical that the rally will last, after even giants of the property industry previously considered safer were shown to be vulnerable.
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Italy Has a $127 Billion Debt Problem It Can't Easily Resolve; State-guaranteed corporate debt rose in 2Q, bucking EU trend; That's a further burden on top of energy and recession risks
Giulia Morpurgo - Bloomberg
While much of Europe Inc. is shrinking state-backed loans from the pandemic, Italian companies are still sitting on mountains of such borrowings, complicating government efforts to help them surmount the latest crisis: soaring energy costs. Italian companies had a record €123.2 billion ($127 billion) of Covid-era state-backed credit lines outstanding as of June 30, up from €118 billion in the previous quarter, according to a European Banking Authority report published last month. The country has the most government-guaranteed debt yet to be repaid in the euro zone, even though it's not the region's largest economy.
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How Long Can Italian Bonds Stay In Vogue? Analysts are wondering how long rally in Italian debt can last; Risks include ECB bond sales, new populist government policies
James Hirai and Alice Gledhill - Bloomberg
Italy's bonds are heading for their biggest gain in nearly three years this month, leaving analysts wondering how long the rally can last. The nation's debt is in vogue on bets that a recession in the euro area will slow the pace of European Central Bank interest-rate hikes. That's driven down yields on 10-year bonds by more than a percentage point from a nine-year high in September, and cut their premium over Germany -- a gauge of risk in the region -- by the most since 2020.
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Iraq Plans to Start Expanding Oil Export Capacity From Next Year
Khalid Al Ansary and Kadhim Ajrash - Bloomberg
Iraq, OPEC's second largest producer, plans to start increasing oil export capacity from its southern ports from next year to add a total of 1 million to 1.5 million barrels a day by 2025, according to its OPEC delegate. The project involves rehabilitating the southern Khor Al-Amaya port and marine pipelines, Mohammed Saadoon, Iraq's national representative at OPEC and a deputy director general of the state-run oil marketing company known as SOMO, said in an interview on state-run Iraqiya TV.
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Kuwait Exports First Shipment of Jet Fuel From New Zour Refinery
Fiona MacDonald - Bloomberg
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. exported its first shipment of aviation jet fuel from the country's newly commissioned Al-Zour mega-refinery. The first cargo is currently being shipped aboard the Pacific Sarah tanker, KPC said in a statement on Sunday. The company and its subsidiaries are "continuously working to meet the rising demand of the global market for clean fuels in line with environmental regulations," KPC said.
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FTX Chaos Prompts Reckoning on Dubai's Embrace of Crypto Giants; The UAE has tried to lure firms with crypto-friendly policies; FTX, Three Arrows implosions trigger debate over regulation
Ben Bartenstein - Bloomberg
On Oct. 26, days before the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried sat for lunch at an upscale Dubai restaurant, subtly testing the waters for funding at a table of founders, bankers and financiers, including Anthony Scaramucci.
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UK Egg Crisis Shows Food-Supply Crunches That Won't Go Away; Bird flu, war, cost-of-living crisis are squeezing egg supply; Situation could be repeated in other markets, says food expert
Agnieszka de Sousa, Katie Linsell, and Celia Bergin - Bloomberg
In Britain, the humble egg has fallen victim to an array of disruptions that's led to empty shelves in some stores. Supermarkets are rationing sales, bakers are contemplating alternatives and farmers are demanding government action. Beyond the immediate impact, the crisis reveals more broadly how the structures in food markets can be easily disrupted.
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Chevron can resume key role in Venezuela's oil output, exports
Daphne Psaledakis and Marianna Parraga - Reuters
Chevron Corp on Saturday received a U.S. license allowing the second-largest U.S. oil company to expand its production in Venezuela and bring the South American country's crude oil to the United States. The decision grants broader rights for the last big U.S. oil company still operating in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela. However, it restricts any cash payments to Venezuela, which could reduce the oil available to export.
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Exxon Mobil Has a Potash Problem in the Permian Basin; The Texas-based oil company shares a chunk of New Mexico land with mining companies, which makes drilling a challenge
Collin Eaton - The Wall Street Journal
A vital crop nutrient that lies underground near oil and natural-gas reserves is holding back Exxon Mobil Corp.'s XOM -0.35%decrease; red down pointing triangle development of a key asset in the booming Permian PR 0.19%increase; green up pointing triangle Basin. Unlike many of its rivals in the largest U.S. oil patch, the Texas oil company shares a sizable chunk of its land with mining companies that extract potash and other minerals used to produce fertilizer from underground mines, blocking drillers' direct access to bounties of oil-soaked rocks.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Manchester United's Price Tag May Set 'Landmark' for Football; The Glazer family is considering a sale after 17 years; Travails on the pitch mask what's still a coveted asset
David Hellier and Rodney Jefferson. - Bloomberg
It's been roughly a decade since Manchester United FC were the kings of English football, much to the consternation of its fans and schadenfreude of rivals. Yet the lack of recent success may be of little matter to a buyer. The American Glazer family that owns what's arguably still England's biggest club is looking for an investor and might be prepared to sell up. They are in the market for a deal that values Manchester United at about £5 billion ($6 billion), Bloomberg News reported in August.
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Scotch Whisky Prices Jump as Investors Seek Haven, FT Says
Adeola Eribake - Bloomberg
The value of rare Scotch whiskies has climbed by more than a fifth this year as younger investors sought tangible assets amid volatile financial markets, the Financial Times reported. Volumes have jumped by almost a quarter, the FT said, citing a report by Scottish investment bank Noble & Co. The increase in auction sales was mainly driven by bottles priced between £100 and £1,000, with that category seeing values rising 40% and volumes 30% in the first three quarters.
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How Free Is the Press in the Birthplace of Democracy? Reporters under surveillance. Political opponents being wiretapped. The scandal is called the 'Greek Watergate.' But not enough people are paying attention.
Lauren Markham and Lydia Emmanouilidou - The New York Times
On a Saturday morning last November, Stavros Malichudis, a Greek journalist, made a cup of coffee and began scrolling Facebook, where he came across a bombshell expose by the left-leaning news outlet EFSYN: According to the article, the centralized Greek intelligence service was closely monitoring the activities of people doing work related to refugees, and even tapping their phones. Mr. Malichudis was stunned.
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The New York Times is yet another of Sam Bankman-Fried's easy marks
Nicole Gelinas - NY Post
The old joke is that "journalistic ethics" is a contradiction in terms. The New York Times is doing its best to prove it true this week, with its bizarre showcasing of Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen founder of blown-up crypto exchange FTX, at the paper's exclusive Davos-style summit in Manhattan featuring "icons of business" and "changemakers" for their "influential minds" and "powerful insights."
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