| November 30, 2016 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Blockchain That Makes Sense: How Post-Trade Digital Ledger Technology Will Make Banks And Brokers Happy
Jim Kharouf - JLN
When you talk about the potential for digital ledger technology, words like revolutionary and transformative are often mentioned.
Ray Kahn and Thorsten Peisl are not in the disruptor camp. Yet both left solid jobs in the financial markets and launched blockchain start-ups aimed at bringing new efficiencies to the marketplace.
Their message about blockchain was clear at the World Federation of Exchanges annual meeting in Cartagena, Colombia this month. Yes, blockchain is coming. No, it's not going to turn this industry upside down and replace all of the key functions of the transaction chain. But it will save lots of participants lots of money, they said.
Kahn, founder and principal advisor of Archon Capital Advisors, and Peisl, who launched Rise Financial in January, are firmly focused on using distributed ledger technologies to address post-trade challenges. Each sees tremendous potential for the technology and both are practical about how and where their firms fits in.
Read the rest here
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Steve Woodyatt, Object Trading - Blurring the buy and sell sides
MarketsWikiEducation.com
Over the last 10 years the buy and sell sides have undergone drastic shifts due to two main factors: unbundling and fragmentation. In this talk from MarketsWiki Education's London event, Steve Woodyatt, CEO of Object Trading, discusses those two phenomena.
Woodyatt details how unbundling and fragmentation are caused, to one degree or another, by regulation and competition. Whereas traditionally the sell side provided a whole host of services to the buy side, now the lines have been blurred and in some cases the buy and sell sides appear to have traded places. These service packages are essentially being "unbundled." That in turn, affects the clientele.
"Banks are unbundling customers that no longer fit their profitability criteria," Woodyatt said. "Whole customer bases are moving about to different suppliers and some are finding they just don't have a home at all."
Watch the video »
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OptionsCity Launches CityTrader Mobile, Native iOS Futures and Options Trading Application
OptionsCity Software
OptionsCity Software, a global provider of electronic trading solutions for professional futures and options traders, today announced a brand new mobile version of its cloud-based futures trading platform, CityTrader. CityTrader Mobile offers the same intuitive functionality as its desktop counterpart, such as futures and options trade execution, custom spread-building and RFQs, with the ease of an on-the-go iPhone application.
/goo.gl/FcZ5o6
**JK: Morning commute: Candy Crush or OptionsCity, Candy Crush/OptionsCity...
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Conquering Chaos: Three Traders, Three Stories
Brian Mehta - Trading Technologies
As I mentioned last month in Conquering Chaos: Fari Hamzei, Hamzei Analytics, we've partnered with Futures Radio Show host Anthony Crudele to ask successful traders how they've managed the chaos on the most chaotic trading days of their careers. Today, we're recapping stories from three of Anthony's recent guests. Dennis Parmelee is an independent futures trader who has also been a teacher, coach and real estate investor. He said his most chaotic trading day was a longer-term strategy trading options - specifically silver strips. Miguel Vias, now with Ripple, was the Head of Precious Metals at CME Group when he spoke with Anthony last month. When asked about his most chaotic trading day, he took us back to the spring of 2007, when he was trading gold at Bank of America. Jeff Davis, who currently trades privately, said his most chaotic day was early in his career when he was trading at a proprietary trading firm in New York.
/goo.gl/7StP5y
**JK: Great looks into the minds of traders.
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Mobs Lock Up Bankers During India's Cash Chaos
Anto Antony and Anirban Nag - Bloomberg
Most Indian employers pay salaries in the month's first week; Bank staff seek police protection as cash shortages continue
Bankers are bracing for long hours and angry mobs as pay day approaches in India, the first test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to invalidate almost all cash in circulation.
/goo.gl/Be9BCJ
**JK: Two words: Bank card.
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Get Thee to a Brokerage! Low Rates Turn Nuns Into Traders; Sister Lioba manages German convent's $2 million portfolio; a 2.6% return
By GEORGI KANTCHEV - WSJ
On a recent morning, Sister Lioba Zahn read the Bible, attended prayer, did the laundry and then prayed again. In the afternoon, she called her bank and started trading.
/goo.gl/UvZMO0
**JK: Five Hail Marys, 10 Our Fathers and 100 shares of Apple, Amen.
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Tuesday's Top Three
Tuesday's edition covered three topics of interest, starting with the CME's push to buy the LSE's French clearinghouse, what it's like to drive a McLaren (it's awesome), and what it's like to be Don Wilson & Co. versus the CFTC. The top read piece was Reuters' CME Group bids for LSE's French clearing business. Second went to
OptionsCity FIA Winner Enjoys Weekend with a McLaren. Third was the FT's piece, DRW set for court showdown with US derivatives regulator
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| Lead Stories | Has the blockchain hype finally peaked?; Sober reality bites on automating the networks of trust on which modern finance
Philip Stafford and Hannah Murphy - FT
Is the hype around a blockchain for financial markets finally over? The verdict from some of the market's most active participants at a conference in London yesterday was definitive. "The breathless coverage last year has been replaced with a more sober examination," said Michael Bodson, chief executive of DTCC, the US post-trade services group at the DTCC-CSFI event. "We are seeing that when hype meets reality, reality wins. People are much more focused on the ways blockchain will truly be successful now."
/goo.gl/G3VzqH
Launch of Consortium and Proof of Concept Testing for Capital Market Infrastructure Utilizing Blockchain Technology
Japan Exchange Group
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) is pleased to announce that TSE, Osaka Exchange, Inc. (OSE) and Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) (JPX group companies) will form a consortium of Japanese financial institutions to continue to conduct proof of concept (PoC) testing based on past findings and discuss the possibility of applying blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT *1) to capital market infrastructure both from technical and operational perspectives.
bit.ly/2gFANva
RBS Falls on BOE Stress Test Failure, Plan to Shrink Further
Richard Partington - Bloomberg
RBS says intends to cut costs and reduce risk-weighted assets; BOE says broader U.K. banking system is well capitalized
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc slumped after it failed multiple hurdles in the Bank of England's toughest-ever stress test, pushing Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan to further shrink the taxpayer-owned lender.
/goo.gl/oZNlLt
Financial system more vulnerable after Trump victory, says BoE; Stability in the UK remains challenging, warns Britain's central bank
by: Caroline Binham and Martin Arnold in London - FT
The US election outcome has "reinforced existing vulnerabilities" in the financial system, the Bank of England has warned, adding that the outlook for financial stability in the UK remains challenging because of global risks.
/goo.gl/qgQ6AG
No Absolute Immunity For Exchanges, SEC Tells 2nd Circ.
Law360
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told the Second Circuit that national securities exchanges do not enjoy absolute immunity and that the self-regulatory organizations are subject to the jurisdiction of district courts, according to an amicus brief filed Monday in an appeal by several groups of investors to revive their "Flash Boys"-inspired suits. The appeals court asked the SEC to weigh in on the issue, and the agency came down squarely in opposition to a decision last year by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, who tossed five related securities fraud suits against seven exchanges along with dark pool operator Barclays Capital Inc. and its parent company Barclays PLC. The suits alleged that the exchanges gave high-frequency traders an unfair advantage, providing them with trading data marginally sooner than other traders, echoing allegations in Michael Lewis' 2014 book "Flash Boys."
/goo.gl/3nzREg
BGC Partners eyes new platform to trade US Treasuries; Return to changing market would come after end to three-year non-compete period
by: Joe Rennison in New York - FT
BGC Partners plans to launch a new platform to trade US Treasuries early next year, in a bid to return to a market in the middle of evolution, according to people familiar with the plans.
/goo.gl/3IC3Rp
CBOE looks for authority to keep trading floors open during disasters; Recent filing to SEC proposes more powers for exchange to continue operating during disaster recovery periods.
By Hayley McDowell - The Trade
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is seeking authority from the US regulator to continue operating in the event of a physical disaster, system failures or other unusual circumstances.
/goo.gl/3gD57I
Banks to finally turn a profit from derivatives clearing, finds research
Joe Parsons - The Trade
Banks could finally see a profit from derivatives clearing following years of increased capital costs and balance sheet constraints, according to research from TABB Group. According to the research , which interviewed managers at the top 10 US future commission merchants (FCMs), banks could see around $4.5 billion in revenue available from derivatives clearing in 2016, up 5% from 2015.
/goo.gl/tV2HmE
The Man Who Invented Libor
Gavin Finch and Liam Vaughan - Bloomberg
When Minos Zombanakis devised Libor - the London interbank offered rate - half a century ago, he had no way of knowing it would star in one of history's greatest financial scandals.
In 1969, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Richard Nixon became president of the U.S., and 400,000 hippies descended on a sleepy New York farm near Woodstock. On the other side of the Atlantic, on a winter's day in London, a mustachioed Greek banker named Minos Zombanakis was taking his own small step into history. He'd hit upon a novel way to lend large amounts of money to companies and countries that wanted to borrow dollars but would rather avoid the rigors of U.S. financial regulation.
bloom.bg/2guCIQk
The Year the World Felt the Might of China's Commodity Traders
Bloomberg
The Chinese speculators shaking up global commodity markets are switched-on, flush with cash and probably not getting enough sleep. For the second time this year, trading has exploded on the nation's exchanges, pushing prices of everything from zinc to coal to multi-year highs and sending authorities scrambling to deflate the bubble before it bursts. Metals brokers described panic earlier this month as the frenzy spread to markets in London and New York, prompting wild swings in prices that show no signs of abating.
bloom.bg/2guE6T1
Goldman Said to Prepare Volcker Defense for $250 Million Trader
Dakin Campbell and Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has conducted an internal review of transactions made by an employee who generated $250 million trading junk bonds, finding that they didn't violate a ban on buying and selling for the bank's own account, according to people with knowledge of the firm's actions.
bloom.bg/2guu6Jk
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| Brexit | | Financials stories regarding the recent decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union | EU's Barnier Said to See Brexit Deal Taking 15 Months to Strike
Dalius Simenas and Ian Wishart - Bloomberg
The European Commission's Brexit negotiator suggested at a briefing with the region's governments that they only have a small window of time to seal a Brexit deal once talks begin. - Bloomberg Michel Barnier held a meeting Tuesday in Brussels about the upcoming negotiations and discussed a possible timeline.
bloom.bg/2guxO5V
Who the UK really is negotiating with over Brexit
David Allen Green - FT
Prime Minister Theresa May is being careful about what information is available to her opponents in the Brexit negotiations. There will be "no running commentary" or any substantial disclosure from Downing Street. Her opponents, however, are not the various EU institutions. Brussels probably knows the strengths and weaknesses of the UK negotiating position better than the UK itself.
/goo.gl/Ne2cb2
Mark Carney warns EU faces financial drought if it cuts off UK overnight - but cautions Trump, China and debt could knock us off course
Tim Wallace - Telegraph
The European Union desperately needs finance from Britain and will face severe knocks to its economy if member nations do not agree to a transitional period to give banks and finance firms time to adapt to Brexit, Mark Carney has warned.
/goo.gl/aepNpK
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Nasdaq Phases Out 'Insecure' ISE FTP Protocols
Max Bowie - WatersTechnology
Nasdaq is scrapping the FTP report download formats used by the International Securities Exchange's Gemini and Mercury platforms as it migrates them to its Inet technology platform, citing the existing FTP processes' "security issues and firewall incompatibilities." Nasdaq says the Inet platform will not support FTP and FTP-Secure protocols, and is recommending that members upgrade to the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP or SCP), which will require limited changes before the Inet migration, whereas those that do not will need to connect to Nasdaq's new Report HQ portal next year.
/goo.gl/tqE76B
TMX Chief Digital Manager leaves Toronto Stock Exchange, will focus on blockchain venture
Tech2
The first chief digital officer of TMX Group Ltd's Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has left the organization to devote more time to his venture based on blockchain, the technology behind the bitcoin cryptocurrency, the executive said on Monday.
/goo.gl/OU5dF6
Nasdaq's Extended Life "Bait and Switch" Order
Themis Trading
Nasdaq has formally proposed their new Extended Life Priority Order Attribute. Before we explain why we think this is just another Nasdaq order type that will leak information about retail and institutional investors, it is important to note that this is NOT a universal speed bump that all orders must pass through. This new Nasdaq order type is an optional order that only some customers will be able to use.
/goo.gl/7qJ5g5
Casablanca Stock Exchange plans share listing -CEO
Duncan Miriri - Reuters
Morocco's Casablanca Stock Exchange plans to sell up to 20 percent of its shares to the public and another 15-20 percent stake to a strategic investor in the next five years, its chief executive said.
reut.rs/2guFoNO
Precious metals derivatives: Discontinuation of trading based on the London gold and silver market fixing
Eurex
Effective 3 April 2017, the Management Board of Eurex Deutschland and the Executive Board of Eurex Zurich AG took the following decisions:
/goo.gl/vOdGFN
Husband of former LME accountant wants fraud charges dismissed
Reuters
The husband of a former accountant at the London Metal Exchange (LME) will ask that fraud charges against him be dismissed due to lack of evidence, a court hearing heard on Tuesday.
/goo.gl/x7nCxT
Fungibility for S&P 500 End of Month and Weekly Options starts December 15; To Clearing Member Firms
>From CME Clearing
On Thursday, December 15, 2016, and pending final regulatory approval, CME Clearing will introduce "options fungibility" for positions in End of Month and Weekly S&P 500 options on futures. This change will allow option positions in the mini and corresponding standard size option products to offset one another in the same way that futures positions do today. The E-mini S&P 500 End of Month Options (EW) and the standard sized S&P 500 End of Month Options (EV) will be eligible for the fungible offset service, together with the corresponding Wednesday and Friday weekly expirations.
/goo.gl/MTZDdv
Deutsche Borse launches new DAX Net Return indices
Deutsche Borse
New index version with net dividend investment enables greater tracking accuracy
/goo.gl/Q6w3mK
Kenya's NSE to start offering ETFs in diversification drive
By Duncan Miriri - Reuters
Kenya's Nairobi Securities Exchange expects its first exchange traded fund (ETF) to be approved by the regulator this year and trading to start soon after.
/goo.gl/nqOdIr
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| Politics | | An overview of politics during an election year as it relates to the financial markets | Steven Mnuchin Is Donald Trump's Expected Choice for Treasury Secretary
NY Times
Steven Mnuchin, a financier with deep roots on Wall Street and in Hollywood but no government experience, is expected to be named Donald J. Trump's Treasury secretary as soon as Wednesday, people close to the transition say.
/goo.gl/sOE1a7
Donald Trump and Wall Street Make Up Quickly; Attacked during the campaign, financial-services groups assist White House transition and look for relief from regulations
By BRODY MULLINS, EMILY GLAZER and ANUPREETA DAS - WSJ
After largely opposing his 2016 presidential campaign, financial-services executives are making fast friends with President-elect Donald Trump.
/goo.gl/aOexZb
Trump Meets With Goldman's Cohn as Dinner Set With Romney
Dakin Campbell, Jennifer Jacobs - Bloomberg
Aides said to weigh possible Cohn role in administration; Romney a contender for secretary of state has second meeting
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President Gary Cohn and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney were meeting Tuesday with Donald Trump as the president-elect and his team consider candidates to fill out key roles in the administration.
/goo.gl/HCFbD0
Merkel Coalition Targets Deutsche Bank's Ex-CEO in Bonus Feud
Birgit Jennen - Bloomberg
Ackermann raises election-year hackles among Berlin lawmakers; Bank's pre-crisis business model under fire as U.S. fine looms
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition is taking aim at former Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann in a dispute over bonuses, distancing her government from the bank's legacy in an election year.
/goo.gl/GyCVzD
Goldman Sachs at Center of Politics, Money and Public Furor Once Again; Trump's Treasury pick is one of a long line of Goldman alumni in Washington
LIZ HOFFMAN - WSJ
Heading into the 2016 presidential election, most executives on Wall Street would have said one thing was certain no matter who won: The next Treasury secretary wouldn't come from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
/goo.gl/9zNIzk
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) | Scary movie sequel beckons for eurozone markets; Move through euro-dollar parity requires significant negative political news in Europe
Roger Blitz in London and Claire Jones in Frankfurt - FT
Just as horror movies can spook fright nerds more than they expect, so political risk is sparking heightened levels of anxiety among seasoned investors.
/goo.gl/Cv5sa7
European equities a global laggard on political risk; Weaker euro fails to bolster share prices as investors remain on sidelines
Thomas Hale - FT
Donald Trump's victory in the US elections has delivered a boost to some of the world's most important equity markets. All of the major US stock indices hit record highs last week, as optimism over the performance of the US economy gathered pace. In Japan, a weak yen has helped propel the Topix index to its highest level since early January. It's a different story entirely for Europe. Its main equities index has gained a paltry 0.2 per cent since the end of October.
/goo.gl/zlxVFi
Iron ore's dollar ride wrongfoots markets and buoys miners; Rising currency prompts non-US buyers to lock in supply but some fear rally is overdone
Neil Hume, Commodities and Mining Editor - FT
Iron ore has burst through $80 a tonne for the first time in more than two years as Asian steel mills and traders scramble to secure more of the steelmaking ingredient.
/goo.gl/5JjLuA
US markets under Trump: don't write off dividend stocks; Even if the Federal Reserve raises rates, dividend growth stocks will offer critical income
Richard Turnill - FT
The US Federal Reserve will gather in two weeks' time and is widely expected to increase interest rates. This would mark the Fed's only hike in 2016, despite early-year indications of many more.
/goo.gl/U7i9nV
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Number of 'problem' banks at seven-year low
Alistair Gray and Ben McLannahan - Financial Times
The number of banks on US regulators' list of lenders that are at risk of collapse has reached a seven-year low, a reflection of how much the industry's health has improved since the crisis even as its profitability remains depressed. Problem banks identified by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation fell from 147 to 132 over the third quarter. That compares with a high of 888 hit in the first quarter of 2011.
on.ft.com/2guxtA3
UBS AM unveils ETF range tracking US TIPS indices
Tom Eckett - Investment Week
UBS Asset Management has launched a range of ETFs tracking an index of US Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). The ETFs replicate the Barclays TIPS 1-10 and Barclays 10+ indices, which provide exposure to TIPS of shorter and longer duration, and will seek to reduce the risk of inflation.
/goo.gl/JfXdUM
Macquarie merges securities and commodities trading units
Joe Parsons - The Trade
Australian investment bank Macquarie Group has merged its securities and commodities trading units, bringing the majority of its trading operations under one roof. The bank will merge two of its three capital markets facing businesses, Macquarie Securities Group (MSG) and the Commodities and Financial Markets Group (CFM).
/goo.gl/m6X2NM
BNY Mellon creates innovation role for treasury services
Hayley McDowell - The Trade
BNY Mellon has appointed Christopher Mager as head of its newly established global innovation group for treasury services. Mager was previously head of markets segments for BNY Mellon's treasury business, heading up product development, sales and marketing strategies for several global markets.
/goo.gl/uCjrt0
RBS emerges as biggest failure in tough UK bank stress tests; State-controlled lender plans to bolster capital position by at least £2bn
by: Martin Arnold and Caroline Binham - FT
Royal Bank of Scotland has emerged as the biggest failure in the UK's annual stress tests, forcing the state-controlled lender to present regulators with a new plan to bolster its capital position by at least £2bn.
/goo.gl/2WOfVS
RBS Must Add $2.5 Billion in Capital After Failing BOE Stress Test; Barclays and Standard Chartered also stumble in annual health check
By MARGOT PATRICK and MAX COLCHESTER 0- WSJ
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC must add around £2 billion ($2.5 billion) in capital after failing a Bank of England stress test Wednesday, sending its shares down 4%.
/goo.gl/ZfDee4
Hedge Fund Settlement With Labor Board on Worker Rights Stays Secret
NY Times
The resolution of an action by the National Labor Relations Board against Bridgewater Associates, the world's biggest hedge fund, regarding the rights of employees will remain a mystery - at least to anyone outside of the firm.
/goo.gl/hx7Qgb
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Options Completes Major Trading Platform Migration for Systematica Investments; Fully Managed Global Solution For Quant Hedge Fund
Bob's Guide
Options, the leading provider of cloud-enabled managed services to the global capital markets, has today announced the successful platform migration for quantitative trading hedge fund Systematica Investments (Systematica). The project involved the extensive rollout of a fully managed infrastructure and trading platform across all of the firm's European, Asian and North American operations.
https://goo.gl/wx4UN4
Episode 6: The Rebirth of Inmate 92164-054 ... Charlie Shrem (Part 2)
TABB Forum
This is the conclusion of a two-part episode on Charlie Shrem, America's first Bitcoin superstar. When we left Charlie at the end of our last episode, he was just being confronted by a joint FBI, DEA, and IRS taskforce at JFK Airport in New York. Upon his arrival, he is arrested and detained by the federal authorities. Tune in to part two to find out what happened to Charlie. Why was he detained? On what charges? And what happens to him next? In the "Rebirth of Inmate 92164-054," we find out exactly what happened to Charlie. We also hear about how his experiences changed him, as well as what he is doing now.
/goo.gl/BLf48J
Deep tech ascent: Europe's emerging digital industries; European start-ups take lead in AI, robotics, virtual reality and chip design
by: Madhumita Murgia - FT
Europe's tech sector is regularly criticised for lacking ambition but growth in so-called "deep tech" start-ups operating in less glamorous segments of the industry has raised hopes for the future of the region's digital hubs. European industrial tech applications and technical platforms that underpin more consumer-focused services - from artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality to big data analytics and chip design - are attracting record levels of activity and investment, according to Atomico, the venture capital fund.
/goo.gl/2ZrRms
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | City must apply EU rules to keep lead role, says eurogroup chief
Jim Brunsden in Brussels - Financial Times
The City of London risks losing its role as the continent's premier financial centre unless the UK agrees to fully apply EU regulations post-Brexit, one of Europe's most senior policymakers has warned. The stance of Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the eurogroup of 19 eurozone finance ministers, would in effect scupper any attempt by Britain to negotiate a special deal for its financial industry to maintain prized "passporting" rights that allow UK-based banks to operate across the EU.
on.ft.com/2guAz7g
SEC Votes to Renew Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the Commission voted to renew the Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee's charter until August 2017 with the current membership. The committee's charter was originally scheduled to expire in February 2017.
/goo.gl/BmuJHA
Clock synchronisation...time is ticking
Hayley McDowell - The Trade
In August this year, UBS signed an agreement with the National Physical Laboratory in the UK to implement its time accuracy technology, ahead of regulatory synchronisation reporting requirements. The technology was described as 'atomic', with the laboratory currently operating two of the world's most accurate clocks - accurate to one second every 158 million years.
/goo.gl/KSE66O
China Tightens Controls on Overseas Use of Its Currency
Keith Bradsher - NY Times
As an exodus of money adds to the pressure on a slowing economy, regulators are trying to put the brakes on overseas use of China's currency by increasing the scrutiny of certain overseas deals. The decision to restrict overseas use of the renminbi represents a setback in China's long-term drive to turn the currency into a rival to the dollar and euro in the global marketplace.
nyti.ms/2guuXcX
Ontario Securities Commission Announces New Commissioner Appointments
Press Release
Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Chair and CEO Maureen Jensen announced today the following appointments to the OSC. The Commissioners will each serve a two-year term effective November 16, 2016.
/goo.gl/RSqg1z
NFA Changes Margin Requirements on Forex Trades
Finance Magnates
The US National Futures Association (NFA), the agency responsible for policing the futures industry in the United States, said it would temporarily raise margin requirements on the forex futures involving the Mexican peso, Japanese yen, and New Zealand dollar, effective December 5, 2016.
/goo.gl/3E3QK8
Financial Transaction Tax talks postponed
Automated Trader
An EC spokesperson said a lot of 'technical work' is still outstanding, causing a final decision on the imposition of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) to be postponed until January 2017.
/goo.gl/FhBC88
Ackman's fund asks SEC for exemption after campaign donation
Svea Herbst-Bayliss - Reuters
Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund firm run by billionaire William Ackman, wants to be exempted from possibly having to return millions of dollars in fees after a former employee donated $500 to a family friend's political campaign.
/goo.gl/9eY2vJ
Binary options - AMF updates its list of illegally operating platforms
AMF
Once again, the Autorite des marches financiers (the "AMF") is sounding the alarm and alerting Quebec consumers to the dangers of binary options. The AMF wishes to stress that no business is currently authorized to market or offer binary options in Québec.
/goo.gl/ys8pfU
Sebi imposes Rs 10-lakh fine on Franklin Templeton MF; This, for forming an 'informal group' as investment committee
Chandan Kishore kant - Business Standard
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund for forming an 'informal group' as investment committee.
/goo.gl/uCy8eZ
Coming soon: A 'passport' for investment in mutual fund schemes of other countries
Ashley Coutinho - Business Standard
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is working on the concept of 'passporting' - a unified regulatory mechanism that will allow Indian mutual fund (MF) schemes to be sold in other Asian countries without the need for exclusive regulatory approvals from the latter.
/goo.gl/nzg8Rk
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Cash-Starved Zimbabweans Trade Dollars for Dollars - at Fluctuating Rates
Gabriele Steinhauser and Bernard Mpofu - WSJ
In Zimbabwe, a U.S. dollar is no longer worth a U.S. dollar. Money changers charge $102 in small notes for a $100 bill. Workers withdraw their salary by paying other people's groceries at the supermarket - often receiving less cash than the charge on their card. Online buy-and-sell groups trade large amounts of cash for bank transfers at a 12% premium. The devaluation - and simultaneous appreciation - of the U.S. currency against itself is one of the more peculiar consequences of Zimbabwe's worst economic crisis in years.
on.wsj.com/2guc6ie
Saudi king showcases mining hub in push to move beyond oil
Reem Shamseddine - Reuters
Saudi Arabia's King Salman underlined the kingdom's intention to invest heavily in speeding up is diversification away from oil exports with the inauguration on Tuesday of a $35 billion mining and minerals processing complex.
reut.rs/2guxO5K
Chinese firms hit by huge increase in cyber attacks: survey
Sijia Jiang - Reuters
Cyber attacks on Chinese companies have soared in the past two years, according to a survey, with new technologies that connect household items to the internet and allow them to receive and send data seen as particularly vulnerable.
reut.rs/2guAiRJ
Putin's Oil Benchmark Dream Fails to Attract Foreign Traders
Will Hadfield and Laura Hurst - Bloomberg
Russian crude futures contract begins trading on Tuesday; Clearing costs, low liquidity concerns deter foreign traders
Vladimir Putin's dream of trading Russian oil in Russia is being realized Tuesday on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange. He has the participation of domestic traders to thank, since foreign firms are holding back.
/goo.gl/lFSWOv
Canada approves new crude pipelines to boost capacity; Decision opens way for growth in Alberta oil sands production
Ed Crooks in New York - FT
Two pipeline projects that could increase Canada's crude oil export capacity by almost 1m barrels per day have been approved by the country's government, opening the way for potential growth in production in Alberta's oil sands.
/goo.gl/Y3rhb5
China's leaders emerge from the fog of pollution denial; Some question the legitimacy of an unelected government that cannot provide clean air
Jamil Anderlini - FT
In mid-2012, Donald Trump fired off this tweet: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive."
/goo.gl/gI59Li
What will RBI do with scrapped currency notes?; According to reports, the central bank has chalked out unique ways for innovative use of banned notes
Business Standard
With about Rs 8.45 lakh crore worth of scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes deposited in bank accounts across India over 20 days from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation announcement on November 8, banks are plush with cash and depositing it with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). And RBI has been supplying banks newly printed Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes, besides other valid currency notes, to meet the demand of people queueing up at banks and ATMs for cash.
/goo.gl/TqDsi3
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Incredibly difficult interview questions asked by top hedge funds
Sarah Butcher - eFinancialCareers.com
Interviewing with a top hedge fund is not dissimilar to interviewing with Goldman Sachs: you'll usually be expected to attend multiple rounds of interviews and the process might be stopped at any point. But while Goldman Sachs has all but given up asking brainteaser style interview questions, hedge funds are still fully committed to putting people on the spot.
/goo.gl/h99dKq
Sparkling effort; The dominance of French champagne is under threat - from south-east England
Alan Livsey - FT
Alison Nightingale has travelled a long way in her career. Fifteen years ago, based in Singapore, she was spreading the word on ketchup in Asia as a marketing executive for Heinz, the food company. Today, back in the UK, she peers down rows of neat vine trellises, watching over her 30 acres in the Sussex hills.
/goo.gl/Ng0L0U
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