| October 24, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
MIAX, or Miami International Holdings, announced the acquisition of Dorman Trading, a full-service futures commission merchant. This gives the aggressive exchange company an FCM to be able to deal directly with customers should the market model pivot in that direction, influenced by the FTX's and others' moves.
The Financial Times published a Special Report, FTfm: Fixed Income. The description of the report is: "Many asset managers have been caught off guard by the unpredictability of continuing global market ructions - some are battening down the hatches, while others sense opportunity. Plus: China fails to stem bond outflows as property woes persist."
DePaul University's Ninth Annual Cyber Risk Conference, titled "Weathering The Storm of Disruption" will be held on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM CST at the DePaul University Loop Campus DePaul Center, 1 E Jackson Blvd, 8th floor Conference Center Room 8005. The cost to attend is $149.99 and you can register HERE.
According to a Financial Times story, retail investors are "nursing steep losses this year" as their personal portfolios fell 44 percent between early January and October 18, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase. I don't feel so bad now.
October is "National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2022."
Today is the start of Diwali, when Hindus celebrate "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance." Every day should be as such.
Tradier is holding an Options Summit in partnership with the Cboe on October 26, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
IMC is holding a female talent program from January 23 to 27, 2023. It is a chance to learn more about IMC and the world of algorithmic trading and advanced technology. You can learn more HERE.
I have some unusual sporting news. The York Community High School football team of Elmhurst, Ill. completed its first undefeated regular season with a record of 9-0 for the first time in its over 102 year history. This is the high school all my children attended, though none of them played football. The closest one came was Kat, who marched in the band and played the flute in the halftimes of the games. My alma mater, Glenbrook South High School, completed its regular season of football for the varsity team with a record of 8-1. And then there are the Purdue Boilermakers, who have a record of 0-8 the week that Taylor Swift drops a new song out. The Boilers lost to Wisconsin this last weekend making it 0-8.
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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MWE SHORT: Tayloe Draughon - Futures Industry AI and Machine Learning
JohnLothianNews.com
Recent advancements in technology have led to a monstrous spike in trades and trade messaging. Meanwhile, new regulations are requiring banks, brokers, dealers and futures commission merchants to not only store all of this new data, but also to conduct surveillance for trade infractions such as spoofing, layering or "banging the close."
Watch the video »
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Miami International Holdings Announces Acquisition of Dorman Trading, a Full-Service FCM
MIAX
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), owner of Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC (MIAX®), MIAX PEARL, LLC (MIAX Pearl®), MIAX Emerald, LLC (MIAX Emerald®), Minneapolis Grain Exchange, LLC (MGEXTM), and The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSXTM), announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Dorman Trading, LLC (Dorman Trading), a full-service Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Dorman Trading is a Chicago-based FCM providing execution and clearing services for introducing brokers, retail customers, institutional clients and professional traders. Over the past two decades, Dorman Trading has pivoted from primarily a floor clearing business to one focused on clearing electronic trading.
/jlne.ws/3CTUHul
***** This complicates the FCM market a bit.~JJL
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Chicago Finances Win City First Fitch Upgrade in a Decade; Better pension funding, sound revenues prompted Fitch's move; 'The Chicago financial turnaround is now,' CFO Bennett says
Mackenzie Hawkins - Bloomberg
Chicago won its first upgrade from Fitch Ratings Inc. in more than a decade, a sign that the Windy City is finally starting to turn its beleaguered finances around. Fitch boosted Chicago's debt ratings to two notches above junk on Friday, citing the city's improved financial position and increased payments into its pensions. It also held a positive outlook, suggesting that more upgrades could come in the next year or two, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/3eWUsqv
***** It is not all bad news out of Chicago.~JJL
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The giant leap from lab to market: Purdue again among international leaders in patents received at No. 6
Purdue University
Regenerating fractured bones. Analyzing crop sustainability and moisture in soil. Developing a system to simulate breastfeeding. Attaching soft tissue to an implant. How big are the research ideas in Purdue University laboratories? Big enough that the university is once again in rare air internationally and a standard-bearer among peers. In 2021, Purdue Research Foundation received 169 patents, placing it first in both the state of Indiana and the Big Ten, and, again, sixth internationally.
/jlne.ws/3Soge4c
***** Purdue is a place where you can dream things up, make things and then turn it into a business.~JJL
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Ukraine urges global ban of Russia's RT over presenter's call to drown children
Reuters
Ukraine branded the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT as an inciter of genocide on Sunday after a presenter said Ukrainian children who saw Russians as occupiers under the Soviet Union should have been drowned. Within hours, Margarita Simonyan, the channel's editor-in-chief, said she had suspended the presenter, Anton Krasovsky, because of his "disgusting" comments, adding that no one at RT shared his views. In his show broadcast last week, Krasovsky said children who criticised Russia should have been "thrown straight into a river with a strong current".
/jlne.ws/3SJMC1z
***** I never understood why people took RT seriously and appeared on its programs. It is showing its true colors during this current conflict.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was the FIA's FIA announces 10 startups selected for 2022 Innovators Pavilion. Second was the CFTC's CFTC Launches New Commitments of Traders Reports. Third was The financial infrastructure industry needs a new playbook, subtitled "The golden era is over," from the Financial Times.
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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 | How Cold War II Could Turn Into World War III; History shows that nothing causes fiscal and monetary instability quite like multiple big, long conflicts.
Niall Ferguson - Bloomberg
A large proportion of the world's top tourist destinations are the remains of dead empires. A week of sightseeing with my younger children in Italy reminded me of this. The city of Rome was the capital of an empire that at its height stretched from Britannia to Babylonia. The city of Venice once ruled a realm that extended across what are now Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia. To walk among the monuments of the most Serene City and the Eternal City is at once inspiring and melancholy. Like Edward Gibbon, "I sat musing amid the ruins of the Capitol" - but musing about the decline and fall of other empires.
/jlne.ws/3DnlFMA
UK Prosecutors Implicate 11 Glencore Employees in Bribery Probe
Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
As many as 11 Glencore Plc employees could be under investigation by UK prosecutors as the company prepares to be sentenced for bribery across five African countries, prosecutors said. The Glencore staff are implicated in a case summary detailing how the commodities giant paid out more than $28 million in bribes, Alexandra Healy, a lawyer for Serious Fraud Office said in a London court Monday. The investigation makes allegations of serious criminality against those individuals.
/jlne.ws/3DpFB19
New ESG Fund Numbers Plunge as Regulators Probe for Greenwashing
Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
The number of new ESG funds is plummeting as asset managers put the brakes on repurposing existing products amid increased regulatory scrutiny. Reclassifications of funds claiming to target environmental, social or governance goals have fallen 84% compared with a year ago, led by a slowdown in Europe, according to data complied by Jefferies. New ESG funds built from scratch fell 60% over the same period, marking the first time repurposing hasn't led industry growth.
/jlne.ws/3VPjXLb
Brokers Balk as Nickel Tycoon Seeks to Add to LME Short Position; Tsingshan has been seeking to rebuild its hedging book; Brokers are cautious on allowing big nickel positions
Jack Farchy and Alfred Cang - Bloomberg
The metals tycoon at the center of this year's massive nickel squeeze has been seeking to add new short positions for the first time since the crisis, but is struggling to convince brokers to handle the trades. Xiang Guangda's Tsingshan Holding Group Co. pared back its nickel short position over the summer to a relatively low level that has remained stable for months. Now, the world's largest producer of nickel and stainless steel is talking to brokers about starting to increase its position on the London Metal Exchange as a hedge for its own nickel output, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3Dqkr2Y
What 'Backwardation' Has to Do With US Diesel Squeeze
Chunzi Xu - Bloomberg
A crisis is once again brewing in the US for the diesel fuel that powers trucks and heats homes. Global shortages and a market phenomenon known as backwardation are frustrating Biden administration efforts to bolster dangerously low domestic inventories and keep prices from soaring as winter approaches. Officials are now considering steps like export restrictions that would be unprecedented -- and that critics say could well backfire.
/jlne.ws/3SvxTqN
Glitz and Gladwell: the infighting over prized JPMorgan wealth clients; Author of 'The Tipping Point' calls on Jamie Dimon to intervene in tug of war for rich customers
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
Infighting at JPMorgan Chase over how to manage the fortune of retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez has escalated into a two-year battle within the bank, involving prominent personalities such as pop sensation Jennifer Lopez and author Malcolm Gladwell, as well as chief executive Jamie Dimon.
/jlne.ws/3D0TxgW
Credit Suisse fined €238mn in French money laundering deal; Settlement resolves legal case ahead of Swiss lender's major restructuring this week
Sarah White - Financial Times
Credit Suisse has agreed to pay France €238mn to settle claims that it broke laws on money laundering by luring wealthy clients to Switzerland. The deal resolves one of the Swiss lender's outstanding headaches ahead of a major restructuring this week. It is the latest case to be resolved from a series of European investigations into undeclared Swiss bank accounts. In France alone, prosecutors have settled similar claims with HSBC and are pursuing penalties in court against UBS.
/jlne.ws/3eZqW3v
US bankers head to 'Davos in the desert' despite Saudi tensions; West keen to tap kingdom's oil wealth as it enjoys a petrodollar-fuelled boom
Samer Al-Atrush, Simeon Kerr, Antoine Gara and Felicia Schwartz - Financial Times
Relations between the US and Saudi Arabia may have plunged to a new low after the kingdom cut oil production in defiance of Washington's wishes, but for American banks and investors flocking to a Riyadh conference this week it is business as usual.
/jlne.ws/3slSlzE
A political backlash against monetary policy is looming; Defenders of independent central banks must think about their democratic legitimacy
Martin Sandbu - Financial Times
Three weeks ago, Sanna Marin, Finland's prime minister, retweeted a link to an article by a Finnish academic together with the following quote: "There is something seriously wrong with the prevailing ideas of monetary policy when central banks protect their credibility by driving economies into recession."
/jlne.ws/3Sued6D
How banks and regulators reacted to the UK bond market meltdown; The aftermath of the crisis reveals the various ways lenders are exposed to gilt prices
Owen Walker, Laura Noonan, Dan McCrum, Caroline Binham and Kaye Wiggins - Financial Times
On Saturday October 8, the UK's top bank executives were summoned to an emergency video call with Sam Woods, head of the Bank of England's regulatory arm. Ten days earlier the BoE had intervened in the bond market, pledging to buy up to £65bn of long-dated gilts to stabilise prices after turmoil started by Kwasi Kwarteng's "mini" Budget and amplified by the UK's huge pension funds.
/jlne.ws/3VVjFCs
Miami International Holdings completes acquisition of Dorman Trading; The moves comes as part of MIH's strategy to grow the products and services it offers in futures trade execution, listing and clearing.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Miami International Holdings has completed the acquisition of Dorman Trading, a full-service Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Based in Chicago, Dorman Trading is a FCM which provides execution and clearing services for introducing brokers, retail customers, institutional clients and professional traders.
/jlne.ws/3MYifCY
Leaders in Trading 2022: Meet the nominees for.... Outstanding Equities Trading Venue; Learn more about the five firms shortlisted for our Editors' Choice Award for Outstanding Equities Trading Venue this year: including Aquis Exchange, Cboe Europe, Euronext, Nasdaq European Markets and Turquoise.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
The TRADE is delighted to introduce the illustrious shortlist for one of the biggest awards of our Editors' Choice range: the closely fought category of Outstanding Equities Trading Venue. In a competitive and crowded landscape, numerous players stand out and this year it was particularly hard to whittle down the longlist. The nominated venues have all stood out over the past year for their innovative approach and outstanding performance: read on to learn more about Aquis Exchange, Cboe Europe, Euronext, Nasdaq European Markets and Turquoise.
/jlne.ws/3z7DAEg
The $1 Million Amazon Conflict: Washington's Ethics Czars Struggle to Enforce Stock-Trading Laws; The U.S. has rules limiting federal officials' stock-market investing. They can be waived.
Brody Mullins, Rebecca Ballhaus and Joe Palazzolo - The Wall Street Journal
Mark Wu held more than $1 million of Amazon.com Inc. stock when President Biden tapped him to help craft a trade policy that would benefit U.S. technology companies and online retailers. Ethics officials at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said they gave Mr. Wu two options: Get rid of the stock or recuse himself from digital trade issues. He did neither.
/jlne.ws/3gCqoRG
Musk Gutting Twitter Would Be a Threat to Us All; Slashing staff at the public town square belies the notion that its prospective new owner wants to make it better and healthier.
Tim Culpan - Bloomberg
With Elon Musk on the verge of taking over Twitter Inc. comes news that he plans to gut its workforce, with cuts of up to 75%. That should be a worry not only to the platform's staff and users, but for those who care about the flow of information crucial to well-functioning democracies. Musk, who is also the chief executive officer of carmaker Tesla Inc. and space transport company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., plans to whittle Twitter down from 7,500 staff to just over 2,000, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing documents and people familiar with the plans.
/jlne.ws/3Swzhtb
Crypto Means Absolutely Nothing Without Censorship Resistance
George Kaloudis - CoinDesk
Censorship resistance is fundamental to any functioning cryptocurrency or blockchain project. It's been a pillar of crypto from the start, one of the biggest reasons the whole movement got started. What it means is this: As long as a participant in the Bitcoin or whatever network follows the predetermined technical criteria to construct a valid transaction, then nobody - not the cops, not your nosy neighbor - should be able to prevent that.
/jlne.ws/3SDfk48
Crypto Is More Attractive as SEC Gets Aggressive, Investors Say
Emily Nicolle and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
A crackdown by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and other watchdogs who have been investigating crypto's naughtiest companies is proving to be a boon for the industry, with market participants saying they're more likely to invest in the space following greater enforcement action.
/jlne.ws/3SsYUef
China's Billion-Dollar Cash-for-Copper Trade Grinds to a Halt
Alfred Cang and Jack Farchy - Bloomberg
For the past 15 years, the center of gravity of the global copper market has been a row of warehouses in Shanghai's free-trade zone where the Yangtze River meets the Pacific. Traders from London to Lima would obsess over the flows in and out of Shanghai's huge bonded copper stockpile. It was the focal point for a multi-billion-dollar cash-for-copper trade, whereby Chinese companies would use metal as collateral for cheap financing. A cottage industry of analysts sprang up to estimate the size of what became the world's largest cache of copper metal.
/jlne.ws/3N0zlQD
China's New Leadership Hints at Slower Future for Commodities; A resources industry that grew fat on China's appetite for raw materials should watch out.
David Fickling - Bloomberg Opinion
Today's Take: China's Appetite Destruction Over the past few years, China-watchers often seized on statements by outgoing Premier Li Keqiang to look for hints of ideological diversity (or even, in febrile moments, leadership jostling) among the country's elite. The cadre of ageing Xi Jinping loyalists revealed as the new governing Politburo Standing Committee this past weekend should put that speculation to rest.
/jlne.ws/3f1spGy
Wall Street Is Heading to Saudi Arabia as US Oil Spat Simmers; US financial chiefs to attend kingdom's annual business summit; Sovereign funds are key investors amid slowing global economy
Matthew Martin - Bloomberg
An escalating dispute over an OPEC+ decision to cut oil production risks causing lasting damage to political relations between the US and Saudi Arabia. Wall Street seems unfazed. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s David Solomon are among US finance chiefs preparing to attend Riyadh's glittering investment summit this week, a showcase for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Meanwhile, the White House is escalating a war of words, with Joe Biden threatening "consequences" for the kingdom for its role in slashing crude output despite US objections.
/jlne.ws/3TFeGUy
How Front-Loading Rate Hikes Risks Financial Instability; Inflation requires faster increases, which intensify the threat of large financial accidents that can have nasty economic spillovers.
Mohamed A. El-Erian - Bloomberg
The heated debate about how central banks should respond to high and persistent inflation has focused primarily on how high interest rates should go and how long should they stay there. A third issue, that of front-loading the increases, is particularly relevant in this rate cycle. After all, central banks are seeking not just to lower inflation without unduly damaging growth and jobs; they also face the challenge of steering a fragile financial system in which a market malfunction can significantly damage economic well-being.
/jlne.ws/3TwBG8m
How Credit Suisse Can Avoid a Costly Share Sale; A yard sale of disposable trophies and businesses could potentially bring in billions that the bank needs for restructuring.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
Credit Suisse executives really don't want to sell shares to fund the restructuring they're due to reveal on Thursday. The good news for shareholders: They shouldn't need to do so. A string of rumored asset sales ought to get them mostly over the line. The Swiss bank launched a strategic review in the summer - its third since 2015 - and said this time it was definitely going to get out of big parts of investment banking and markets, which have brought scandals and billions in losses in recent years. But shutting down such operations can be like decommissioning a nuclear power station: slow, costly and dangerous. The best route through is to find enough money to cover restructuring costs up front and get someone else to take capital-intensive assets away. Shareholders then get to see the remaining business clearly and value it appropriately.
/jlne.ws/3zbAWNX
Where's Ooki? CFTC's Lawsuit Delivery Via Chatbox Raises Eyebrows
Bloomberg Law
A US financial regulator is scratching its head over how to properly sue a crypto group accused of regulatory violations, highlighting the enforcement difficulty in the emerging technology realm. Judge William Orrick in the US District Court for the Northern District of California will hold a hearing next month to reconsider his decision to allow the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to serve Ooki DAO, a "decentralized autonomous organization," and its members with notice of the lawsuit by posting a copy of the complaint in an online help box and chat forum.
/jlne.ws/3f0Cqne
After $13 Trillion Stock Crash, Signs of a Turn Are Now Mounting; Bullish bets on the up, with inflation and Fed hikes priced in; Demand for bearish options looks muted all things considered
Elena Popina - Bloomberg
Judging by the ominous pronouncements from Wall Street luminaries, every trader under the sun should be prepping for fresh turmoil in the world's biggest stock market. Yet hedging for doom and gloom is falling out of fashion fast, thanks to a historic equity rout that's already erased $13 trillion in market value this year and flushed out both retail and institutional investors.
/jlne.ws/3slnFPd
An Activist Short Seller Gets His Day in Court; Nathan Anderson, who exposed evidence of fraud at Nikola, says he feels vindicated by its founder's conviction.
Bernhard Warner - The New York Times
Last month, Nathan Anderson tried to go unnoticed as he slipped his 6-foot-4-inch frame into the back row of a packed courtroom in Lower Manhattan to catch the opening statements of United States v. Trevor Milton. Mr. Anderson, the 38-year-old whistle-blower turned activist short seller, was there to show support for Paul Lackey, a former Nikola contractor. Two years earlier, the two men had worked closely together to expose the activity that served as the basis for the federal prosecutors' case - that Mr. Milton had misled investors about the technical abilities of his electric vehicle start-up.
/jlne.ws/3FaqH0m
The Hidden Corner of the Energy Market Where Russian Exports to Europe Are Booming; While Russia has throttled its pipeline gas, its exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe are growing rapidly
Georgi Kantchev and Joe Wallace - The Wall Street Journal
Europe is spending hundreds of billions of euros to wean itself off Russian natural gas but there is one corner of the energy market where the continent is finding it hard to kick its habit. While supplies of Russian pipeline gas, which made up the bulk of Europe's gas imports before the Ukraine war, are down to a trickle, European importers have been quietly splurging on frozen Russian gas delivered by giant ships.
/jlne.ws/3sqH01a
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine Strikes Occupied Kherson as More Civilians Flee; Russian forces target Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv with strikes, causing several injuries
Yaroslav Trofimov - The Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian artillery struck the ferry crossing in the southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital captured by Moscow since the February invasion, as Russian forces pounded the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv with renewed strikes. The Russian military had set up ferry crossings after repeated Ukrainian strikes on the Antonivsky bridge, a crucial link with other occupied areas that Russia used to resupply forces in Kherson, made it unusable.
/jlne.ws/3VXSKFW
Macron Accuses US of Trade 'Double Standard' Amid Energy Crunch
Ania Nussbaum - Bloomberg
French President Emmanuel Macron slammed US trade and energy policies for creating "a double standard" with Europe as resentment builds over the economic price the continent is paying over Russia's war in Ukraine. "The North American economy is making choices for the sake of attractiveness, which I respect, but they create a double standard" with lower energy prices domestically while selling natural gas to Europe at record prices, Macron said at a news conference in Brussels following a meeting of European Union leaders.
/jlne.ws/3Tt8aAp
The Private Jet That Took 100 Russians Away From Putin's War; Thousands of working professionals have fled to neighboring countries. This is how they got out, and what their departure means for their homeland.
Willem Marx - Bloomberg
When President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of some 300,000 fresh soldiers for his war in Ukraine, thousands of military-age men across Russia headed for the borders, preferring exile over conscription for a fight they didn't believe in. Within days of the Sept. 21 address, prices for flights to places Russians were still free to visit had soared-if you could get a seat.
/jlne.ws/3snttYl
Putin Is Making Nuclear Warfare the New Normal; If Russian attempts at nuclear blackmail are seen to succeed, the world will be a more dangerous place forever.
Andreas Kluth - Bloomberg
Put aside, if you can, the growing anxiety about Russian President Vladimir Putin going nuclear in his barbaric war against Ukraine. Even if he doesn't - and the risk, though real, remains small - he's already brought the whole world closer to atomic disaster occurring at some point. That's because Putin, with his repeated threats to drop nukes on Ukraine or other European countries, has in effect kicked off a new and global arms race in these diabolical weapons.
/jlne.ws/3z97zfe
As Russia Pummels Ukraine, U.S. Counterdrone System Months Away From Delivery; Pentagon has yet to put Vampire missile system under contract
Brett Forrest - The Wall Street Journal
The Pentagon has yet to approve a contract to deliver a counterdrone system it promised over the summer to Kyiv, despite Russia's surge of recent attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure using Iranian-made unmanned aircraft. In late August, the Pentagon said the U.S. had included a weapons system known as the Vampire in a nearly $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine. The portable, laser-guided missile system is designed to be quickly installed in the bed of a civilian truck and has the ability to destroy drones and other targets beyond the range of standard weapons.
/jlne.ws/3eVWWp6
Netanyahu Asks Putin to Rethink His Invasion of Ukraine; Israel holds elections Nov. 1; Netanyahu's party leads polls; Israel monitoring Iranian drones used by Russia in Ukraine
Daniel Avis - Bloomberg
Israel's opposition leader and contender for next prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, and urged him to reconsider, in his most direct criticism yet of the war. Netanyahu said in an interview with USA Today that he thought Putin's decision to go to war in Ukraine was "guided by his vision of reconstituting a great Russian realm," adding, "I hope he's having second thoughts about it."
/jlne.ws/3W6pltw
Russia Hits Ukraine's Power Grid, Causing Widespread Blackouts; Bombing of infrastructure on the rise under new commander; Civilian attacks increase as Russia suffers military setbacks
Volodymyr Verbyany - Bloomberg
Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure was extensively damaged on Saturday as Russian troops delivered another large-scale wave of missile strikes, leaving 1.5 million or more people temporarily without power. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched a "massive attack" overnight, with some 36 missiles fired, most of them intercepted but some that hit their marks. Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is nearing the eight-month mark, and in the past two weeks has been marked by increased targeting of civilian structures including power and heating facilities, as the Kremlin looks to leave millions of people without electricity heading into winter.
/jlne.ws/3TTmrq9
Unseen and underhand: Putin's hidden hybrid war is trying to break Europe's heart
Simon Tisdall - The Guardian
Nato planners have always worried about the Storskog border crossing in Finnmark, where Arctic Norway comes face to face with the cold reality of Russia. In Soviet times, the 121-mile frontier was a potential flashpoint. The Red Banner Northern Fleet's nuclear-armed submarines are still based at nearby Murmansk, on the freezing Barents Sea.
/jlne.ws/3N6ogh5
Cyprus, a haven for Russian expats, welcomes techies fleeing Ukraine war
Mary Ilyushina - The Washington Post
On the wide and shallow Larnaca beach, a group of young, pale men huddled over their phones disrupted the otherwise idyllic scene of blissful, tanned British and German tourists lying on the neatly arranged beige loungers. "Yes! He crossed into Kazakhstan," Ruslan shouted in Russian, taking a triumphant sip of Keo, an inexpensive locally brewed lager. His friend had just texted that he escaped Russia after an agonizing three-day wait at the border, where he feared a notice from an enlistment office might derail his plan to avoid the trenches in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3DnpEbQ
Putin's war creates £1bn black hole for investors
David Brenchley - The Times
The war in Ukraine has left more than £1 billion trapped in funds holding Russian stocks. Russia's invasion triggered a wave of sanctions and caused shares traded on the Moscow stock exchange to be suspended, and some funds available for UK savers suffered the same fate. The full amount trapped could be much higher since the value of Russian shares is currently unknown because they can't be traded, leaving investors unsure how much they will get back and when.
/jlne.ws/3eW04Bm
Vladimir Putin Plays for Time as Russian Forces Fall Back in Ukraine; Kremlin hopes winter will provide a chance to reinforce and regroup
Alan Cullison - The Wall Street Journal
Russia's Vladimir Putin is aggressively trying to prevent further losses in Ukraine by bombarding critical infrastructure and to avert disquiet at home by tightening social controls. The goal: hold on until the winter can give him enough pause to reboot his bogged-down invasion. Mr. Putin's war effort has generated pressure that presents the biggest threat to his 23-year rule in Russia. They include the bite of Western sanctions, shrinking government revenue, an exhausted military and a public irked by a widening conflict in Ukraine in which few wanted to fight.
/jlne.ws/3eX8nwK
MoD takes mothballed tanks out of storage to train in Europe; British troops are exercising the 60 vehicles at a Nato base to ensure they work effectively as tensions rise with Russia continue to rise
Danielle Sheridan - The Telegraph
The Ministry of Defence has taken mothballed tanks out of storage to train in Europe amid rising tensions with Russia. Around 60 Challenger 2 vehicles are being readied by British troops for exercises and operations in Europe at a Nato Forward Holding Base in Sennelager, Germany. A further 400 armoured vehicles move between exercises in Estonia and Poland. The Telegraph was granted exclusive access to one of the regional land hubs where the military has moved ammunition and supplies in case Nato is called upon to intervene in eastern Europe.
/jlne.ws/3VVQEqo
Russia Presses Warning of 'Dirty Bomb' by Kyiv
Bloomberg
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called his counterparts in the UK, France and Turkey warning of a drift toward "uncontrolled escalation" in Ukraine and the potential for Kyiv to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb." The US called the allegation "transparently false" as Shoigu and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke for the second time in three days. Austin's office "rejected any pretext for Russian escalation."
/jlne.ws/3VNtr9A
The Hidden Corner of the Energy Market Where Russian Exports to Europe Are Booming; While Russia has throttled its pipeline gas, its exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe are growing rapidly
Georgi Kantchev and Joe Wallace - The Wall Street Journal
Europe is spending hundreds of billions of euros to wean itself off Russian natural gas but there is one corner of the energy market where the continent is finding it hard to kick its habit. While supplies of Russian pipeline gas, which made up the bulk of Europe's gas imports before the Ukraine war, are down to a trickle, European importers have been quietly splurging on frozen Russian gas delivered by giant ships.
/jlne.ws/3DrhC1S
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Deutsche Bank Unveils New Targets in Cutting Carbon Footprint
Ed Frankl - The Wall Street Journal
Deutsche Bank AG said it will cut emissions tied to its oil-and-gas financing as it refreshes targets for lessening its carbon footprint. The Frankfurt-based lender on Friday said it would cut financed emissions--a type of accounting associated with investments linked to a company's carbon footprint--to upstream oil-and-gas by 23% by 2030 and 90% by 2050. The targets cover sectors accounting for a significant proportion of financed emissions of the bank's 250 billion euro ($244.7 million) corporate loan book, it said.
/jlne.ws/3D1dzb9
ICE Launches Real Time Pricing of Link North American Physical Crude Trade Data Bringing New Transparency and Further Establishing ICE in the Gulf Coast
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced the launch of real-time physical crude pricing from Link Data Services ("Link Data"), in cooperation with Link Crude Resources ("Link"), one of the largest brokers of physical North American crude, bringing additional transparency to the North American crude market.
/jlne.ws/3L4ciC4
Winners of the 2022 JSE Investment Challenge Outperform All-Share Index by Impressive Margins
JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is excited to announce the 2022 top traders in the JSE Investment Challenge whose investment portfolios showed better returns than the all-share index, an incredible achievement given the prevailing trading environment. This year's competition once again brought together individuals who share a common goal, to learn, practice and acquire skills that will help them build an investment portfolio comprising financial instruments listed on the JSE. In 2022, the challenge attracted an impressive 24 000 participants, which represents a 10.6 percent increase on last year's figure. A clear demonstration that South Africa's youth are indeed interested and eager to become financially literate.
/jlne.ws/3MY4STo
JPXI Launches "JPX Listed Company ESG Information WEB (Beta Version)"
JPX
Today, JPX Market Innovation & Research, Inc. (JPXI) launched a new website called the "JPX Listed Company ESG Information WEB (Beta Version)" (hereinafter "the Website"). The Website is the result of a collaboration with DATAZORA Co., Ltd. (DATAZORA, CEO: Aram Zinzalian), a company that collects and disseminates a wide range of data on listed companies including their IR information. JPXI has decided to launch a beta version first so it can gather feedback from listed companies, investors, and other market players regarding the Website's usefulness. The Website provides a list of links to ESG-related information disclosed by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) listed companies on their websites, including ESG-related news as well as reports containing ESG information, such as integrated reports, CSR reports, environmental reports, and sustainability reports (hereinafter "reports containing ESG information"). https://jlne.ws/3SufvhZ
LME advances sustainability agenda with three key developments
LME
LMEpassport enhanced to include emissions data comparability and disclosures related to non-LME grade metal; Responsible sourcing agenda advanced by integrating the first artisanal mining (ASM) standard, as well as scrap material attestations into LMEpassport; LME's own net-zero commitments set with 2040 target.
/jlne.ws/3sp58RP
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to Set Up Platform for Digital Assets
Sandali Handagama - CoinDesk
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), Israel's sole public trading platform for equity and debt, is looking to set up a blockchain-based digital asset trading platform, according to a strategy document published Monday. Establishing the platform is one of four goals outlined in the document, which lays out the institution's roadmap for the next five years. The TASE is looking to "promote the implementation of innovative technologies" and will explore the use of distributed ledgers (DLT) for immutable record-keeping, tokenization and smart contracts (which can be used to execute crypto trades) to improve existing markets infrastructure, and offer digital asset "services and products."
/jlne.ws/3sqGHnk
Product Delisting Summary for Clearing Firms, Bookkeeping Software Providers,
CME Group
Effective immediately, CME Clearing will no longer accept European style Swaptions referencing USD LIBOR as the floating rate, with the attributes noted in the table below (the "Contracts"), for clearing. The Contracts represent all swaptions that CME Clearing currently accepts for clearing.
/jlne.ws/3DqKOpB
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Europe's Most Valuable Tech Company Tries to Avoid the Chip War; The world's leading manufacturer of advanced chipmaking equipment wasn't impacted by the US's latest action, but is likely to remain in the spotlight.
Jillian Deutsch and Cagan Koc - Bloomberg
As the US escalates its campaign to undermine the Chinese semiconductor industry, Europe is trying-with some success-to avoid becoming collateral damage. At the center of the maneuvering is ASML, the Dutch manufacturer of chipmaking equipment and Europe's most valuable tech company. It's one of the very few producers of the sophisticated lithography machines needed to make midgrade semiconductors, and the only manufacturer of the equipment needed to make the most cutting-edge chips. That puts ASML in the spotlight for policymakers.
/jlne.ws/3gplI1c
Google in Talks to Invest $200 Million Into AI Startup; Cohere, which creates natural language processing software, also had talks with Nvidia about potential strategic investment
Berber Jin and Miles Kruppa - The Wall Street Journal
Alphabet Inc.'s Google is in talks to invest at least $200 million into artificial intelligence startup Cohere Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, another sign of the escalating arms race among large technology companies in the sector. Founded in 2019, Cohere creates natural language processing software that developers can then use to build artificial intelligence applications for businesses, including tools for chatbots and other features that can understand human speech and text. Last November, the company announced a multiyear partnership with Google to have its cloud division supply the computing power needed for Cohere to train its software models.
/jlne.ws/3VVZHav
Build on Blockchain, Stay Away From Gambling With Crypto, Turkey's ErdoÄŸan Says
Sandali Handagama - CoinDesk
Blockchain has merits as a technology but "gambling" with crypto should be avoided, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday. Appearing before students at Istanbul University during the Blockchain Istanbul Programme organized by his Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdoğan said he wants to see Turkey be a producer, not a consumer, in the digital assets world, according to a report by Alp Börü for CoinDesk Turkey.
/jlne.ws/3TRumnU
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | A Text Scam Called 'Pig Butchering' Cost Her More Than $1.6 Million; Scammers swindle professionals with friendship to generate fake cryptocurrency investments
Robert McMillan - The Wall Street Journal
The text message on Jane Yan's mobile phone came from a number she didn't recognize. "Are we going to the salon tonight?" It looked like the kind of mistake that can happen any day. In fact, it was part of a continuing scam that cost U.S. victims more than $429 million in losses last year, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's clearinghouse for consumer complaints about online crime.
/jlne.ws/3ToHVew
Australia to Introduce Tougher Penalties for Data Breaches
Ainsley Thomson - Bloomberg
The Australian government will next week introduce legislation to significantly increase penalties for privacy breaches after the huge hack at mobile-phone operator Optus. The legislation will boost the maximum penalty for serious or repeated privacy breaches to A$50 million ($32 million); three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information; or 30% of a company's adjusted turnover in the relevant period, whichever is greater. The current level is a A$2.22 million penalty.
/jlne.ws/3TuaHuj
Here's what regulators will want boards to know about cybersecurity
Christopher Hetner and John Frazzini - World Economic Forum
New United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rulemaking makes cyber risk reporting and business resilience planning a key component of effective board governance. Earlier this year, the SEC released a proposed cybersecurity disclosure rule to advance risk management and governance towards the treatment of cyber risk.
/jlne.ws/3TATOOz
Report: Cybersecurity Labor Shortage Grows Worse in U.S. And Worldwide
Jay Fitzgerald - CRN
Despite the training and hiring of hundreds of thousands of new workers, the cybersecurity industry's labor shortage is only growing worse, not better, according to a new report.
The International Information System Security Certification Consortium, known as ISC2, reports that a survey of 11,799 cybersecurity professionals shows that the total global workforce for security personnel rose over the past year to 4.6 million people, a jump of 11.1 percent.
/jlne.ws/3N0ISqT
What the industry wants to improve on NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0
Anastasios Arampatzis - Tripwire
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework was meant to be a dynamic document that is continuously revised, enhanced, and updated. These upgrades allow the Framework to keep up with technological and threat developments, incorporate lessons learned, and transform best practices into standard procedures. NIST created the Framework in 2014 and updated it with CSF 1.1 in April 2018. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is planning a new, more significant update to the Framework, CSF 2.0, in response to feedback from stakeholders in order to reflect the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape and assist organizations in managing cybersecurity risk more efficiently.
/jlne.ws/3sq0PWE
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | The Next Terra Luna? A Major $5 Billion Cryptocurrency Could Be About To 'Self-Destruct'-Potentially Hitting The Price Of Bitcoin and Ethereum
Billy Bambrough - Forbes
BitcoinBTC, ethereum and the wider crypto market was hard hit by the collapse of the terra stablecoin and its support coin luna earlier this year-with the market's "fate" still to be decided. The bitcoin price has crashed under $20,000, down more than 70% from its all-time highs, while ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies have suffered even sharper falls (though some think they've spotted a $28 trillion opportunity).
/jlne.ws/3Fap3Me
FSB's Proposed Recommendations on Stablecoins and Cryptoassets
Henley Hopkinson - Crypto Council for Innovation
On October 11, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a proposed framework for the international regulation of cryptoasset activities. It contains proposed recommendations for the regulation, supervision, and oversight of cryptoasset activities (CA Recommendations) and revised proposed recommendations for the regulation, supervision, and oversight of "global stablecoins" (GSCs) (GSC Recommendations).
/jlne.ws/3Szg7Ts
The Bitcoin Futures ETF at 1: $1.8 Billion Lured, Over Half Lost; Poorly timed launch has seen fund's price plunge more than 70%; Despite drop ETF saw inflows in all but two months since debut
Vildana Hajric and Katherine Greifeld - Bloomberg
A year on from its blistering debut, America's first Bitcoin futures ETF has been an almost unqualified success, unless of course you're invested in it. Operationally speaking, it's performance has been near-flawless. A slew of worries over cryptocurrency volatility, the depth of the market for futures and the cost of rolling its underlying contracts have all fallen by the wayside in 12 months of solid functioning for the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ticker BITO).
/jlne.ws/3TMWTL1
Crypto Exchange FTX to Provide $6 Million Phishing Compensation
Sunil Jagtiani - Bloomberg
Digital-asset exchange FTX will provide about $6 million compensation to its account holders impacted by a phishing incident via a third-party website. Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's chief executive officer, said on Twitter on Monday that the decision was a one-off as the firm won't be "making a habit" of compensating users caught up in phishing efforts targeting non-FTX websites.
/jlne.ws/3SprwoJ
Coinbase Says It's Wary of Suggested Changes to ATOM's Monetary Policy
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Cosmos' revamped roadmap attempts to position interchain security as the core application of the Cosmos Hub, with the introduction of liquid staking and the possible monetization of shared security, Coinbase said in a research report dated Thursday. Cosmos released a white paper last month that proposed major expansions to the utility of the Cosmos Hub - the blockchain that sits at the center of the ecosystem.
/jlne.ws/3TSi12r
Anyone Can Start a Hedge Fund: How On-Chain Credit Changes the Crypto Economy
James McGirk - CoinDesk
There is one thing you can't do with lending in decentralized finance (DeFi). You can't borrow more than you can stake. With a few minor and heavily asterisked exceptions, there are no on-chain credit cards, no mortgages, no unsecured loans and no commercial paper in crypto. Decentralized finance uses blockchain technologies and smart contracts to gradually replace traditional finance functions. Think of it as a stack of financial pancakes.
/jlne.ws/3zby8Ap
Crypto Exchange Bit2Me Acquires Software Development Company Dekalabs
Jamie Crawley - CoinDesk
Spanish cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me said it bought blockchain and crypto-focused software development company Dekalabs for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will enhance Bit2Me's position in helping companies and institutions build tools on cryptocurrency and blockchain protocols such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the firm said in a Monday email.
/jlne.ws/3VYAPio
Crypto Is More Attractive as SEC Gets Aggressive, Investors Say; Bitcoin will trade between $17,600 and $25,000 until the end of this year, survey of market participants shows.
Emily Nicolle and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
A crackdown by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and other watchdogs who have been investigating crypto's naughtiest companies is proving to be a boon for the industry, with market participants saying they're more likely to invest in the space following greater enforcement action. Almost 60% of the 564 respondents to the latest MLIV Pulse survey indicated they viewed the recent spate of legal action in crypto as a positive sign for the asset class, whose trademark volatility has all but dissipated in recent months.
/jlne.ws/3TtcK1v
State Regulators Charge NFT Casino Project With Securities Violations; Regulators in Texas, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Alabama say Slotie NFT illegally offered NFTs that promised holders shares of casino profits.
Sander Lutz - Decrypt
Regulators in four states have banded together to accuse a metaverse casino of selling NFTs that violated securities laws. On Thursday, state securities regulators from Texas, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Alabama filed emergency cease-and-desist orders against Slotie NFT, a Tbilisi, Georgia-based virtual gambling entity that markets itself as "the largest and fastest growing online casino network on the blockchain."
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NFTs Can Be Considered Property, According to Singapore High Court Ruling
Jamie Crawley - CoinDesk
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be considered property, the Singapore High Court has said. Justice Lee Seiu Kin ruled Friday that NFTs meet certain legal requirements to be considered property, such as being distinguishable from other similar assets and having an owner which can be recognized by third parties.
/jlne.ws/3f0btjM
Metaverse Game Backer Yat Siu Says Low User Count Isn't Best Measure; Yat Siu said there are better ways to assess player engagement; He also defended embattled blockchain game Axie Infinity
Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
The Sandbox, a virtual world based on blockchain, is doing just fine despite a report that the platform only had around 500 daily active users, according to Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands Corp., the majority owner of the digital game. Such a low user count would be shocking for The Sandbox, which has considered raising funds at a more than $4 billion valuation. The CoinDesk report used data that only looked at blockchain transactions, Siu said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.
/jlne.ws/3FdtcPg
Meta's $10B metaverse investment is 'not enough' according to Animoca Brands' Yat Siu
Romain Dillet - Tech Crunch
Yat Siu, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, has a lot of thoughts about the metaverse. That's because his company owns The Sandbox and has investments in many different web3 companies, such as OpenSea, Dapper Labs and Axie Infinity. At TechCrunch Disrupt, he shared his thoughts about Meta's take on the metaverse.
/jlne.ws/3VVLBWY
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | How Disinformation Splintered and Became More Intractable
Steven Lee Myers and Sheera Frenkel - The New York Times
On the morning of July 8, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, a social media platform he founded with people close to him, to claim that he had in fact won the 2020 presidential vote in Wisconsin, despite all evidence to the contrary. Barely 8,000 people shared that missive on Truth Social, a far cry from the hundreds of thousands of responses his posts on Facebook and Twitter had regularly generated before those services suspended his megaphones after the deadly riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021.
/jlne.ws/3Tt0qyA
Zuckerberg Should Focus on the Midterms, Not the Metaverse; Election lies are still swirling on Facebook. Meta's CEO urgently needs to reassess his priorities.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
You have to hand it to Mark Zuckerberg. In the face of criticism about the radical strategic shift he has chosen for Facebook, he is stubbornly focused on turning it into a metaverse company. Other tech billionaires may lash out at dissent, but Zuckerberg remains stoic, tuning out the noise to give earnest interviews and presentations about his virtual-reality vision.
/jlne.ws/3sliTRI
US Eyes Russia Oil Price Cap Above $60 to Keep Supply Flowing; Treasury points to historical oil prices as one guide for cap; Plan seeks to keep global market supplied with Russian crude
Christopher Condon - Bloomberg
US officials may aim to set a price cap for Russian oil exports above $60 a barrel, a higher level than earlier signaled. That's based on speeches and references to historical pricing data that officials have said they will use as a partial guide. Earlier discussions on the plan, devised by the US Treasury Department as part of the broader international reaction to President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, focused on a ceiling in the $40 to $60 range.
/jlne.ws/3f1Nukb
Paul Ryan's SPAC Is the Latest Hit by a Massive Investor Exodus; About 95% of investors chose to bail on the SPAC this week; Average redemption rate for October currently sits at 92%
Bailey Lipschultz - Bloomberg
A SPAC that counts former US House Speaker Paul Ryan as chairman became the latest vehicle to be bailed on by investors who want their money back. Executive Network Partnering Corp. saw roughly 95% of its investors opt to swap their shares for $10 when they voted on a tie-up with oil and gas company Granite Ridge Resources Inc. The deal will leave a little more than two million of the initial 41 million shares outstanding ahead of the merger's closing.
/jlne.ws/3z8tV0d
CDC director tests positive for Covid-19; The head of the federal public health agency is isolating at home with mild symptoms.
Krista Mahr - Politico
CDC director Rochelle Walensky has tested positive for Covid-19, according to a statement issued by the agency on Saturday. Walensky is "up to date with her vaccines," the statement said, and is experiencing mild symptoms. She is isolating at home, per her agency's guidance, which recommends quarantining for at least five days after testing positive.
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How the Tories Brought Endless Anarchy to the UK; They don't know what they want, or how to get it. Britain will suffer in austerity and limbo waiting two years for a general election.
John Authers - Bloomberg
I never expected a knowledge of the United Kingdom to be quite so useful for this job. Liz Truss has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party and will be replaced as prime minister possibly as early as next Monday, and no later than Friday, depending on how many leadership aspirants can win nomination for their candidacy to move forward. It has been by some margin the shortest prime ministership in British history, as pointed out in this handy chart produced for the terminal.
/jlne.ws/3TJS318
Sunak Gains Ground in Race to Become Next UK Prime Minister; Ex-chancellor says he'll fix economy, unite Conservative party; Braverman is latest high-profile endorsement for Sunak
Ellen Milligan and Victoria Wakely - Bloomberg
Rishi Sunak gained momentum in the race to become UK prime minister, securing the public backing of senior Conservative Party lawmakers ahead of an initial leadership vote on Monday and putting pressure on Boris Johnson to declare his hand. The former chancellor announced on Sunday he was running for the party leadership in a contest sparked by the resignation of Liz Truss after a turmoil-filled 44 days as premier. "I want to fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country," he said in a Twitter post.
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UK Can't Shake Pound Negativity After Weeks of Political Chaos; Soaring inflation, weakening economy all weighing on outlook; Morgan Stanley analysts see UK as 'structural underperformer'
Alice Gledhill - Bloomberg
Prime Minister Liz Truss is on her way out, just as markets wanted. But the huge economic and fiscal headwinds ahead spell further pain for the pound regardless of who wins the contest to become the UK's next leader. Investors distracted by the political circus engulfing the nation may start turning back to the economy's woeful outlook: inflation at a 40-year high, soaring interest rates, depressed consumer sentiment and a potential return to austerity.
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Financier Guy Hands Warns UK Risks IMF Rescue Without Brexit Renegotiation; Guy Hands warns UK faces increased poverty, IMF bailout; Financier Hands speaks on BBC Radio 4's Today program
Helen Chandler-Wilde - Bloomberg
A leading financier has warned that the UK is "on a path to be the sick man of Europe" and risks needing an IMF bailout unless the government is prepared to renegotiate the terms of its exit from the European Union. Guy Hands, the co-founder and chair of Terra Firma Capital Partners and a long-term Conservative supporter, said on the BBC's Today program Monday that the UK economy is "frankly doomed" unless the Conservatives pick a leader who "has the intellectual capability and the authority to renegotiate Brexit."
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Europe's Energy Shock Spurs Rethink of Liberalized Gas Markets; The European Union wants the power to cap gas prices and plans to introduce a new pricing benchmark
Joe Wallace and Kim Mackrael - The Wall Street Journal
Rocked by its biggest energy shock since the 1970s, Europe is unpicking parts of a two-decade endeavor to foster a competitive market in natural gas. In coming weeks, the European Union will ask member states for the ability to cap gas prices in extreme market conditions. It wants energy companies to club together to gain price-negotiating clout against overseas exporters. And it is planning a new reference for gas prices in the region.
/jlne.ws/3DmFH9Y
Meloni's Pick as Italy Finance Minister Isn't Like Predecessors; League deputy leader Giorgetti isn't academic nor a technocrat; Compromise appointment follows weeks of political haggling
Alessandra Migliaccio - Bloomberg
The appointment of Giancarlo Giorgetti augurs a different kind of finance minister than what Italians are used to as he takes up one of the most pivotal roles in euro-zone politics. The 55-year-old political veteran and deputy leader of the right-wing League party brings the credibility of having served in the government of Giorgia Meloni's predecessor as premier, Mario Draghi. But he contrasts with prior holders of the job as being neither a former academic, nor a product of Italy's technocratic elite.
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Macron's Crypto Dream May Be a Gamble; The French president wants to make Paris a crypto hub, but tougher rules are needed to safeguard users.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
Paris is offering shelter from crypto winter. The City of Lights has welcomed Binance and more recently Crypto.com (of Matt Damon cringe fame) with regulatory licenses; an "NFT Factory" showcasing digital artworks has also opened its doors opposite the Centre Pompidou. President Emmanuel Macron's administration sees an advantage in luring tech talent and investment, while France's culture and entertainment champions have felt pressure to dabble in meta-collectibles in a Silicon-Valley-dominated world - even as enthusiasm has dimmed somewhat.
/jlne.ws/3F8FQiq
Russia Is Offering Extra Payments to Mobilized Troops; Subsidies, meant to bolster families of men called up in the unpopular draft, are rolling out unevenly and sparking criticism
Ann M. Simmons - The Wall Street Journal
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who this week gave local authorities new powers to maintain order, is also seeking to appease the public with compensation packages of money and goods for the men swept up in his unpopular mobilization campaign. The subsidies-which range from payments that can well exceed average monthly salaries to distributions of animals and food-are billed as support for the families of the more than 200,000 men called away since last month to serve in the military.
/jlne.ws/3F7I2Xy
Putin demands all-Russia war effort as he declares martial law in occupied Ukraine
Mark Trevelyan - Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was introducing martial law in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that Moscow claimed last month as its own territory but is struggling to defend from Ukrainian advances. In televised remarks to members of his Security Council, Putin boosted the security powers of all Russia's regional governors and ordered the creation of a special coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to step up the faltering war effort.
/jlne.ws/3eZRSQw
Ukraine Has Become Putin's Cuban Missile Crisis; Sixty years ago Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took a huge gamble and lost. Within two years he was out of power.
Max Hastings - Bloomberg
Not merely for the past few decades, but for the past several centuries, Western leaders have grappled with an intractable problem: How to understand what Russia, the growling bear, thinks it is doing? Most conspicuously, on the morning of Oct. 16, 1962, President John F. Kennedy and his advisers racked their brains at the Cabinet Room table over the motivation for the Soviet Union's deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. "Well, it's a goddam mystery to me," said Kennedy. "I don't know enough about the Soviet Union, but if anybody can tell me any other time since the [1948-49] Berlin Blockade where the Russians have given us so clear a provocation, I don't know when it's been."
/jlne.ws/3TSnEhp
Chinese Markets Tumble as Xi's Tightening Grip Alarms Investors
Bloomberg News
Chinese Markets Tumble as Xi's Tightening Grip Alarms Investors
China's yuan weakened and country's stocks tumbled to the lowest level since the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis in Hong Kong, a stark rebuke of President Xi Jinping's move to stack his leadership ranks with loyalists.
/jlne.ws/3Dr3rty
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | South African crypto platforms must be licensed in 2023 -regulator
Rachel Savage - Reuters
Cryptocurrency financial companies in South Africa will need to apply for a licence between June 1 and Nov. 20, 2023, in order to operate legally, the country's financial conduct regulator said on Thursday. A declaration on Wednesday that crypto assets are financial products does not mean that they are legal tender, Eugene Du Toit, head of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority's Regulatory Frameworks Department, said at a press conference. "We are not legitimising crypto assets," Du Toit said. "We are not giving credence to crypto assets."
/jlne.ws/3Tyc5Ms
Taiwan Tightens Short Selling Curbs Again to Stem Market Selloff
Cindy Wang - Bloomberg
Taiwan's financial regulator has ratcheted up rules on short selling as a way to stabilize its equities market amid a continued global rout. Investors will no longer be able to short stocks at a price lower than the previous close if shares drop more than 3.5% the day before, the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement on Friday. The rule is effective immediately.
/jlne.ws/3f1qotV
Credit Suisse to Pay €238 Million to Settle Tax Suit
Alexandre Rajbhandari and Gaspard Sebag - Bloomberg
Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay €238 million ($234 million) to settle a French criminal probe into allegations the bank helped clients stash undeclared funds. The deal brings to an end the investigation into suspicions of laundering of tax fraud proceeds, top financial prosecutor Jean-Francois Bohnert said in court Monday. Under the terms of the agreement, the Swiss bank makes no admission of guilt.
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SEC asks court to deny Ripple motion for summary judgment in XRP lawsuit
Timmy Shen - Forkast
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a legal rebuttal to Ripple Labs Inc.'s motion for summary judgment, a day after Ripple took a similar move against the SEC.
/jlne.ws/3VPcvzH
FCA asks private equity about knock-on effects of market turmoil; UK financial regulator tries to find out impact of higher rates and pensions crisis
Kaye Wiggins - Financial Times
Britain's financial regulator has been asking private equity firms how rising rates and the bond market turmoil unleashed by the government's "mini" Budget are affecting them and their investors, as it assesses potential risks in an industry that has ballooned in influence over the past decade. Officials at the Financial Conduct Authority have contacted several buyout groups following former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-Budget in late September, according to people briefed on the calls.
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Concurring Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham Regarding Amended Complaint
CFTC
I respectfully concur with the amendments to the CFTC's Complaint originally filed on April 27, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Archegos Capital Management, LP and Patrick Halligan.[1]
This is an important CFTC enforcement action. However, I concur because I note that the SEC has recently issued an FAQ on security-based swaps that states that, pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, a swap based on the shares of an exchange-traded fund that tracks a broad-based securities index is a security-based swap.
/jlne.ws/3SudqTd
Chairman Behnam to Keynote a Rutgers Law School Crypto Regulation Symposium
CFTC
Chairman Rostin Behnam will be interviewed for a Rutgers Law School's Symposium on Regulating Financial Innovation: The Future of Crypto and Blockchain.
/jlne.ws/3MY9AQW
Commissioner Johnson to Deliver Keynote Address at the Stanford Crypto Policy Conference
CFTC
Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson will deliver a keynote address at the Stanford Crypto Policy Conference hosted by Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford Cyber Policy Center, and Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX).
/jlne.ws/3N0hGZw
Commissioner Johnson to Participate in a Panel Discussion at FIA Expo 2022
CFTC
Commissioner Johnson will participate in a panel discussion on the topic Crypto Winter or Crypto Summer at FIA Expo 2022.
/jlne.ws/3gCdh2P
SEC Charges Mattel with Financial Misstatements and Former PwC Audit Partner with Improper Professional Conduct
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that California-based Mattel Inc. has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle charges relating to misstatements in its third and fourth quarter 2017 financial statements. Separately, the SEC is initiating litigation against Joshua Abrahams, a former audit partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, or PwC, to determine whether he engaged in improper professional conduct and violated auditor independence rules.
/jlne.ws/3Dqt5yI
SEC Obtains Judgments Against Three Defendants in a Microcap Fraud Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it obtained final judgments against three defendants, Douglas Roe and an entity Roe controlled named Atlantean Management Corp., as well as Kelly Warawa, in a previously-filed action against 11 defendants alleging a fraudulent scheme that generated more than $25 million from illegal sales of multiple microcap companies' stock.
/jlne.ws/3gxj2Pg
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Citadel Doubles Staff in Europe After Billionaire Ken Griffin's Hiring Spree; Hedge fund, securities unit now employ about 750 in Europe; Trading talent is migrating toward bigger investment firms
Nishant Kumar and Benjamin Stupples - Bloomberg
Ken Griffin's trading empire is growing its European footprint at a ferocious pace. Since the start of 2019, hedge fund Citadel and market maker Citadel Securities have doubled their combined headcount in the region to roughly 750, according to a spokesman. That makes it one of the region's most significant recruiters in the world of asset management and trading in recent years.
/jlne.ws/3TybiuY
A legendary options trader who banked 70 consecutive months of profits above 6 figures shares the spread he would use in the current stock market environment and explains why it's optimal
Laila Maidan - Insider
Tony Saliba is an options trader known for maintaining a winning streak by having 70 consecutive months of profits that exceeded $100,000, beginning in the summer of 1982. He began his career in 1979 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Options trading grabbed the then 23-year-old's attention because it had nonlinear payout opportunities. He could create options spreads, which are contracts to buy and sell a security at different strike prices. This type of trade takes into account dynamic factors beyond just the price of a stock, including the time decay of contracts and the implied volatility of the underlying security.
/jlne.ws/3TehhVr
The Treasury Market Could Seize Up. That Could Be Disastrous for Everyone.
Lisa Beilfuss - Barron's
Treasury-market liquidity is drying up and it's going to get worse. The problem is bigger than it seems. Liquidity in the U.S. bond market, the world's largest, has been deteriorating since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates earlier this year. The end of massive monthly bond purchases followed by the start of quantitative tightening has worsened the problem as the Fed tries to extricate itself from Treasury and mortgage markets after buying a third of each. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said she was "worried about a loss of adequate liquidity in the market," as Treasury supply booms to fund government spending but regulations limit big financial institutions' willingness to serve as market makers. At the same time, traders see the potential for another 2% in rate hikes by March 2023.
/jlne.ws/3f2ubqL
Stock Manager Paranoia Is Only Thing the Market Has Going for It; Seasonal pattern puts equity bears on alert for year-end rally; Active-manager poll, options activity show fear of missing out
Lu Wang and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
Another week of gloom on the inflation and central bank fronts turned into a positive one for the equity faithful. Shares surged the most in four months as evidence built that active fund managers are getting worried about missing a winter rally. It's an old investment saw that cuts surprisingly well: the idea that institutional investors -- alert to catastrophe in the closing stretch -- bid up markets in November and December. The case is stronger in 2022 with midterm elections approaching, traditionally a pressure-reliever for bulls that on average gives rise to more gains.
/jlne.ws/3SqhUKt
IRS Increases 401(k) Limit by Record Amount as Inflation Surges; Individuals can contribute $22,500 to the popular savings plans starting in 2023, up from $20,500.
Suzanne Woolley - Bloomberg
The Internal Revenue Service is boosting how much Americans can plow into their 401(k) plans next year by a record amount amid a surge in inflation. The contribution limits for the popular tax-deferred retirement savings accounts will rise by $2,000 to a maximum of $22,500 in 2023, reflecting the change in the headline consumer price index, the IRS said Friday. It's the biggest dollar increase since the cutoff began being indexed to inflation in 2007, when the maximum amount allowed was $15,500.
/jlne.ws/3gDvDAF
BMO's Davis Warns of Japan as Next Potential Bond 'Hurricane'; Speculation of possible BOJ pivot continues despite denials; BMO Global to overweight Canada corporates as rate swaps rise
Esteban Duarte - Bloomberg
Investors digesting tumult in British bond markets in recent weeks should keep an eye on Japan, home of some of the world's biggest international investors. Earl Davis, head of fixed income at BMO Global Asset Management, joined a chorus of analysts worried about potential turmoil in global markets if the Bank of Japan shocks investors by tightening monetary policy. And it could be even worse than that caused by the UK's recently abandoned economic plan.
/jlne.ws/3THsLB2
De Beers to Offer Sweeter Terms as Diamond Market Shows Strain; Diamond miner offers to buy back more stones from customers; Market is weakening after boom that started during pandemic
Thomas Biesheuvel - Bloomberg
De Beers told its diamond buyers they can purchase stones on sweetened terms at its next sale, in the first sign the market is slowing after a bonanza that started during the global pandemic. The diamond industry was one of the surprise winners as the world economy rebounded from the first effects of the pandemic. Consumer demand for diamond jewelry grew strongly last year, while supply remained constrained.
/jlne.ws/3CTHUYQ
Credit-default swaps are an unfairly maligned derivative; They are back in the headlines. That is not entirely bad news
The Economist
Vultures, rats and maggots are often the focus of disgust, less because of anything for which they can be blamed, and more because of the conditions with which they are associated. Death, disease and squalor carry a stigma that is hard to shake. Something similar is true of credit-default swaps, financial instruments that make headlines during market turmoil and economic misery.
/jlne.ws/3eZIrkg
Ediphy Markets launches Ediphy Credit
Dan Barnes - The Desk
"Credit markets are notoriously difficult to trade, particularly in current market conditions, and this new service helps our clients find the right liquidity wherever it is," said Chris Murphy, Ediphy co-founder and CEO. "We have heard from our clients that they continue to look for new solutions to help them navigate the myriad of protocols and venues to find the best liquidity. With this service, clients have a one stop shop to work their orders, taking advantage of contextualised data to understand what can be traded and when. The combination of data-driven execution and trade workflow in an integrated platform is truly transformational. We're excited to make Ediphy Credit available today."
/jlne.ws/3TQv2JW
Bond Market Sees No End to Worst Turbulence Since Credit Crash; Fed policy pause may calm markets for only a limited period; BofA says Treasury market 'fragile & vulnerable to shock'
Michael Mackenzie - Bloomberg
For bond traders, the upward drift of Treasury yields hasn't been that hard to predict. It's the short-term swings that are vexing. The world's largest bond market is being whipsawed by its longest stretch of sustained volatility since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007, marking a stark break with the stability seen during the long era of historically low interest rates. And the uncertainty that's driving it doesn't appear set to fade anytime soon: inflation is still running at a four-decade high, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates aggressively, and Wall Street is struggling to gauge how well a still-resilient economy will hold up.
/jlne.ws/3MYU3R2
Russian Oil Logistics in Chaos Ahead of Looming Sanctions
Serene Cheong - Bloomberg
Traders, tanker companies and the world's most powerful governments are becoming increasingly fixated upon one question in the oil market: can the petroleum industry's supply chain handle the harshest sanctions on Russian exports in history? A vast shadow fleet of tankers with unknown owners is being amassed to service Moscow's interests. Intense US-led diplomatic wrangling to soften aggressive European Union sanctions has been going on for months but time is ticking.
/jlne.ws/3soAUPa
South Korea Pledges $35 Billion in Support for Credit Markets; Announcement follows central bank-finance ministry meeting; Missed debt payment by theme park developer fueled strains
Sam Kim - Bloomberg
South Korea pledged at least 50 trillion won ($34.7 billion) in support for credit markets that have been strained by rising interest rates, stepping in to reduce the risk of defaults weighing on the economy. South Korea will expand and operate its "liquidity supply program" to prevent a credit squeeze roiling corporate bonds and other short-term money markets, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said on Sunday in a statement, after a meeting with Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong and other senior policymakers.
/jlne.ws/3TwAGRU
Nasdaq Freezes Chinese Small-Cap IPOs After Price Spikes; The exchange clamps down after dramatic volatility from new listings
Michelle Chan - The Wall Street Journal
The Nasdaq Stock Market has quietly halted listings of small-cap Chinese companies, holding up approval letters and demanding more information about related parties in deals, after a series of meteoric run-ups-and dramatic collapses-in IPOs this year. Shares of more than 20 recently listed companies have risen over 100% on their first day of trading. They include Hong Kong-based fintech company AMTD Digital Inc., which briefly jumped over 320-fold after its July listing, and Chinese garment maker Addentax Group Corp., which rose more than 130-fold on its market debut in August. The two stocks have since lost more than 98% of their value.
/jlne.ws/3DpaEKA
Not so SPAC-tacular anymore
Kia Kokalitcheva - Axios
When the special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) boom was in full swing, a number of VCs jumped in by sponsoring their own. Now, several have withdrawn from the market. Turns out, SPACs aren't everything to everyone. By the summer of 2020, investors of all stripes were rushing into the growing SPAC market, forming and sponsoring their own vehicles in the hopes of adding one more investment to their arsenal. At least, that's how many explained it at the time.
/jlne.ws/3FbGYlG
UK Consults Private Equity Firms on Market Turmoil Effects: FT
Dominic Lau - Bloomberg
Britain's financial watchdog has been consulting private equity firms about the effects on the companies and their investors of rising rates and the bond market tumult triggered by the government's failed mini-budget, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3DoZXHR
LDI Chaos Likely to Hurt Private Equity and Property Allocations; Global holding of alternatives rose to 26% from 7% in 20 years; PensionsEurope says some funds capping illiquid assets
Anchalee Worrachate - Bloomberg
The UK market turmoil triggered by a gilt-linked derivatives strategy is bad news for allocations to everything from private equity to real estate. The volatility left pension pots nursing heavy mark-to-market losses, forcing them to unload everything from government bonds to securitized debt. That's spurring a rethink for European retirement funds after they amassed illiquid assets in the cheap money era, according to PensionsEurope, an industry group whose members have a combined assets of more than 7 trillion euros ($6.9 trillion).
/jlne.ws/3MY6BIi
The World's Oil Buyers Are Being Crushed by a Surging Dollar; From Paris to Mumbai, exchange rates are keeping fuel costly; Oil is at record levels in Ghana, while Sri Lanka is shut out
Alex Longley - Bloomberg
Brent oil has dropped more than 30% from this year's high, but you wouldn't know it if you live in Paris, Mumbai or Accra. The decline in the global oil benchmark from nearly $128 a barrel has dovetailed with a jump in the dollar of about 15% over the same period. That means fuel prices remain a significant factor driving up the cost of living across most of the world.
/jlne.ws/3F6W6kb
Thematic fund resilience and inflows confound critics; Morningstar analysis shows mainstream equity vehicles are more likely to be closed down
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
Niche thematic funds, often dismissed as gimmicky fads, are proving more resilient than more mainstream funds, even as markets turn against them. The funds - which invest in anything from clean energy and artificial intelligence to robotics and the metaverse - have higher survival rates than other equity funds, which are more likely to be closed down, according to analysis by Morningstar. They have also seen proportionately stronger inflows this year than more mainstream equity funds, despite their tilt towards technology and other growth stocks often translating into larger losses, with total assets falling from a peak of $849bn at the end of last year to $618bn as of June 30.
/jlne.ws/3Ds90rR
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Stellantis Targets $1.9 Billion in Recycling Revenue by 2030
Albertina Torsoli and Gabrielle Coppola - Bloomberg
Stellantis NV is accelerating efforts to extend the life of used vehicles and build new ones with recycled materials to become more efficient amid high energy costs and scarce natural resources. The maker of Jeep SUVs and Fiat cars is targeting annual revenue of more than 2 billion euros ($1.9 billion) by 2030 from its recycling push. Stellantis aims to have roughly 35% recycled materials in vehicles being rolled out as of 2027, Alison Jones, who heads the Stellantis circular economy business unit, said Tuesday during a media call on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3f0fjJI
Half-Earth Day is not a celebration, but a warning
Lydia Strohl - CNN
When I first learned that October 22 marks Half-Earth Day, I thought it was because the date is six months to Earth Day. (True.) But it's got a message all its own. Half-Earth is the notion that for humans to survive, we must retain earth's waning biodiversity by reserving half the planet for nature, stabilizing large swaths of ocean, prairie, rainforest and desert to house the birds, insects and ecosystems that affect the water we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe. Not to mention the economies, cultures and past-times that sustain us.
/jlne.ws/3TyzvBw
Global Climate Summit Is Heading for a Geopolitical Hurricane; The energy crunch intensified by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has set the stage for backsliding.
Marc Champion and Salma El Wardany - Bloomberg
The last time world leaders got together for a climate summit, the backdrop was thoroughly menacing. A pandemic had decimated national budgets. Poor countries were up in arms over the hoarding of Covid-19 vaccines by the same wealthy nations whose fossil fuel consumption did most to warm the planet. Relations between the two largest emitters, the US and China, had devolved into zero sum skirmishes over everything from trade to Taiwan. Those were the good old days.
/jlne.ws/3z8arJa
Chicago teachers fund to divest fossil fuels by end of 2027
Rob Kozlowski - Pensions & Investments
Chicago Public School Teachers' Pension & Retirement Fund plans to divest from fossil fuels by the end of 2027. The $11.5 billion pension fund's board at its Oct. 20 meeting approved a new resolution seeking to engage with fossil fuel companies to encourage them toward paths of renewable energy, as well as commit to divesting from fossil fuel companies by Dec. 31, 2027, said Fernando Vinzons, chief investment officer, in an email.
/jlne.ws/3CWSAGl
South Africa's $8.5 Billion Climate Pact Is 97% Loans, CHN Says
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
Less than 3% of an $8.5 billion climate finance deal being offered to South Africa by some of the world's richest countries will come in the form of grants, Climate Home News reported, citing a copy of the financing provisions. Of the rest of the money 54% will come in the form of concessional loan and 43% will be commercial loans and investment guarantees, the UK-based publication said. The proposed pact was announced at last year's international climate summit in Glasgow as a package offered by Germany, France, the US, UK and the European Union to help South Africa transition away from coal.
/jlne.ws/3D1dcxc
Ahead of COP27, Climate-Vulnerable Countries Consider Plans to Stop Paying Debt
Mary Riddle - Triple Pundit
The world's wealthiest, most polluting nations have yet to fulfill their 2009 commitment to finance climate adaptation and mitigation funds for developing nations. Leaders of the 55 countries most vulnerable to climate change, known as the V20, are getting creative ahead of the U.N. COP27 climate talks next month. Finance ministers from the V20 are considering a plan to stop payment on a combined $685 billion in debt until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank address climate change the way their nations see fit. Their goal is to create a plan to swap some of their debt for climate adaptation and conservation projects.
/jlne.ws/3gCXWPx
High-emitting countries 'need to step up' at COP27, US official says
Valentina Romano | EURACTIV.com
With the UN climate summit COP27 less than three weeks away, world nations are still struggling to find common ground on key issues on the agenda, such as 'loss and damage' to compensate vulnerable countries for climate-related disasters. "I think there will be a big discussion on that topic," US assistant secretary of state Monica Medina told journalists in Brussels. Egypt, this year's host country, wants to prioritise climate reparations.
/jlne.ws/3TSin9g
Business groups block action that could help tackle biodiversity crisis, report finds; Industry associations for sectors from oil to agriculture in the US and Europe found resisting wildlife-friendly laws, say researchers
Phoebe Weston - The Guardian
Industry groups representing some of the world's largest companies are "opposed to almost all major biodiversity-relevant policies" and are lobbying to block them, according to a new report. Researchers found that 89% of engagement by leading industry associations in Europe and the US is designed to delay, dilute and block progress on tackling the biodiversity crisis, which scientists say is as serious as the climate emergency. Just 5% of support was positive and the remaining 6% was mixed or neutral, according to the climate thinktank InfluenceMap.
/jlne.ws/3gDxDZl
ELFA, LMA updates ESG guides
Reuters via Nasdaq
The European Leveraged Finance Association and Loan Market Association have published the second edition of their ESG disclosure guide for advisers to leveraged finance borrowers that was first published in January 2021. The 41-page report adds two chapters covering ESG in the private debt market and a guide to ESG litigation. The former provides an overview of key themes and emerging issues relating to ESG adoption in private credit, while the latter highlights potential legal risks presented by the increased volume in ESG-related transactions and disclosures.
/jlne.ws/3F5B59v
Female Bosses Face a New Bias: Employees Refusing to Work Overtime; Research shows workers don't expect them to insist on long hours, exposing a leadership challenge.
Arianne Cohen - Bloomberg
In December 2019, a scandal erupted at Away, a luggage maker known for hard-shelled suitcases. Disgruntled workers at the company, then just four years old, complained publicly about working conditions, spurring a media investigation, which found that employees were expected to put in long hours, avoid taking vacation time during busy periods, answer messages on nights and weekends, and prioritize customer needs above all.
/jlne.ws/3TOBbGF
Gas Drilling Is Wreaking Havoc on Animal Migration; Scientists are examining the behavior of creatures like mule deer-and how we can get out of their way.
Gregory Barber - Mother Jones
In late spring, as the days begin to lengthen, the mule deer of central Wyoming begin to "surf" the sagebrush landscape. Their break is found in the low flats where they spend their winters. That's where the first buds of greenery erupt, offering a fleeting burst of food that's rich in protein and easy to digest. These tender shoots go away quickly, but the bloom keeps moving, rising steadily uphill as the spring warmth reaches the harsher climes. As this "green wave" of vegetation crests, the mule deer ride it. Sometimes they'll travel hundreds of miles until they reach their summer range. Ideally, they'll time their journey perfectly, storing up enough fat on their rumps to last through the brown summer and barren winter ahead.
/jlne.ws/3F4TT8R
The War to Define What Work Looks Like; Pay. Productivity. Commuting. Rarely have bosses and workers been so at odds over so much.
Chip Cutter, Katherine Bindley and Kathryn Dill - The Wall Street Journal
Employees at General Motors Co. balked at a request to return to the office. At Meta Platforms Inc., bosses are asking workers to get more done with fewer resources. Some CEOs say things are so tense that handing out modest raises can spark a backlash in an era of rising inflation. The workplace is in the middle of an unusual collision between what bosses and workers want. Employees feel empowered after two years of changing their work habits and leverage gained in a tight labor market. Employers are under increasing pressure to cut costs and boost performance as inflation soars, markets plunge and a possible U.S. recession looms. The result is a battleground at many companies.
/jlne.ws/3sogaa0
Women in Leadership Roles Are Quitting at Faster Rate Than Ever; The departures 'could spell disaster' for companies, according to an executive whose organization helped conduct large-scale study of women in the workplace.
Kelsey Butler and Matthew Boyle - Bloomberg
Women are leaving the top ranks of companies at higher rates than ever before - as female employees remain less likely to get promoted into leadership roles in the first place. For every woman at the director level who gets promoted, two female directors are choosing to leave their company, according to a new McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org report. The organizations, which analyzed data from 12 million employees at more than 330 companies in the US and Canada, have been tracking the state of female workers since 2015, with the findings published in an annual report.
/jlne.ws/3Ttbk7b
Wall Street Landlords Want to Rent You a Greener Suburban House; The single-family rental industry is slowly making its homes more energy-efficient.
Patrick Clark - Bloomberg
The Ponds at Walden Woods in Plant City, Fla., looks a lot more like a classic suburban tract than a blueprint for sustainable design. It's full of new three- and four-bedroom homes-their prominent garages indicating how residents get around here-30 minutes from downtown Tampa. The Thoreauvian branding and solar-powered amenity center seem less like a come-on to eco-minded house hunters and more like a finger in the eye to critics of suburban sprawl. But American Homes 4 Rent says the community (which got through Hurricane Ian with only minor damage) demands a second look. The landlord was founded a decade ago, when it acquired Sun Belt homes in the aftermath of the US foreclosure crisis, then shifted focus to building communities of rental houses like Walden Woods. It now owns about 60,000 single-family rental homes across the country, and for the past five years it's been tweaking designs of houses it builds itself to make them more durable and energy-efficient. The company says it could eventually operate its entire portfolio at net-zero.
/jlne.ws/3spHBAm
Climate Protesters Throw Mashed Potatoes At Monet Painting
The Associated Press
Climate protesters threw mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a German museum to protest fossil fuel extraction on Sunday, but caused no damage to the artwork. Two activists from the group Last Generation, which has called on the German government to take drastic action to protect the climate and stop using fossil fuels, approached Monet's "Les Meules" at Potsdam's Barberini Museum and threw a thick substance over the painting and its gold frame.
/jlne.ws/3N32JWv
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | China central bank head likely to step down amid reshuffle
Kevin Yao and Xie Yu - Reuter s
China's central bank chief Yi Gang is likely to step down after he was dropped from an elite body of the ruling Communist Party, with a former central banker a leading contender to succeed him, sources close to the central bank said. The potential retirement in early 2023 of Yi, 64, has been the subject of intense speculation as he nears the official retirement age of 65 for minister-level officials. Some policy insiders and advisers had suggested Yi's tenure might be extended, as was the case with his predecessor, Zhou Xiaochuan.
/jlne.ws/3z8LpKd
Billionaire Dan Och Slammed by Hedge Fund for 'Mismanagement'; Sculptor Capital Management criticized Och in court filings; Och jousts with Sculptor CEO over pay, performance documents
Jef Feeley and Hema Parmar - Bloomberg
The hedge fund firm formerly known as Och-Ziff "deteriorated" under the "mismanagement" of its founder Daniel Och, forcing those who succeeded him to spend years stabilizing the Wall Street firm, the company said in court filings. Och's handling of a 2016 African bribery scandal involving the firm now rebranded as Sculptor Capital Management Inc. damaged the fund's business and balance sheet while leaving staffers reeling, lawyers said Oct. 19 as part of a legal dispute over whether Och can get access to the firm's internal files.
/jlne.ws/3D3Hf7d
BOE's Hands Aren't Tied by Emergency Bond Buys, Mann Says; Long-dated debt purchases were 'targeted and temporary'; Central bank set to start QT on Nov. 1 after market turmoil
Lucy Meakin - Bloomberg
The Bank of England's decision to commence its program of bond sales next month shows the Monetary Policy Committee doesn't feel its "hands are tied" by the recent emergency buying of long-dated debt, Catherine Mann said. Those purchases were "very targeted and temporary" to prop up the market and the central bank "worked exactly the way it's supposed to," she told an event in Cambridge on Saturday. Bond sales were initially due to begin on Oct. 3 but were delayed after the market panic surrounding Liz Truss's economic plans. The initial run will now exclude longer-dated securities.
/jlne.ws/3Sv4MnB
Credit Suisse Chief Compliance Officer Is Set to Leave Firm
Marion Halftermeyer and Eyk Henning - Bloomberg
Credit Suisse Group AG's Chief Compliance Officer Rafael Lopez Lorenzo is set to leave the firm in the coming weeks after spending little more than a year in the post, according to people familiar with the decision. Lopez Lorenzo was appointed in September 2021 to fill the gap left by the exit of Lara Warner after the twin hits from Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital Management.
/jlne.ws/3Soxiap
Palace Intrigue at UBS Pits CEO Against a Rising Star; The world's biggest wealth manager is caught between a tech-savvy CEO and his results-driven lieutenant
Marion Halftermeyer and Myriam Balezou - Bloomberg
Underneath UBS Group AG's Zurich headquarters, where black Mercedes sedans drop off and retrieve their passengers, lies a zone by the elevators furnished with a cylindrical ashtray. It is here that Iqbal Khan, the powerful head of UBS's wealth business, has been known to retreat for a subterranean smoke. The area has become a discreet corner where Khan can take a drag on his cigarette and casually chat with colleagues. Among UBS employees, one topic of late has been the direction of the bank.
/jlne.ws/3z7Lkq4
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | FDA's vaccines chief sees possibility of more Covid boosters - sooner than he'd like
Helen Branswell - STAT
Peter Marks, who leads the Food and Drug Administration's vaccines operation, is still losing sleep over Covid. Yes, vaccines for all age groups have been authorized or approved. Yes, an updated vaccine is now available. And, yes, multiple products are in use and hundreds of millions of doses have been given in this country. But Marks said there are other issues that weigh on him.
/jlne.ws/3gzK0Wx
New York's struggle with the new Omicron variant BQ is trying to tell us something
Erin Prater - FORTUNE
What happens in New York doesn't stay in New York-not during a pandemic, anyway. As scientists speculate what an autumn COVID wave might look like in the U.S., all eyes are on the Empire State. That's because it's considered a "bellwether" when it comes to viral conditions, and what happens there often provides a preview for the rest of the country. Right now, New York is seeing mounting cases of the extremely transmissible, immune-evasive BQ family of COVID variants, which includes BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. Experts tell Fortune that because such variants are thriving there, they're likely to thrive elsewhere in the country too.
/jlne.ws/3Sw7Y1Y
Which Flu Shot Should I Get?
Kristen V Brown - Bloomberg
Before we answer this question it's worth remembering that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone get their flu shot before Halloween - not just seniors. With all our masking, hand sanitizing and hanging out at home in our sweatpants, flu transmission has generally been low in the US since the start of the pandemic. But there are signs that it's back, and perhaps even arriving early this year. Now, on to the answer.
/jlne.ws/3slttIk
Deadly Fungi Are Infecting More Americans Drugmakers pursue stronger, less toxic treatments as fungal infections rise
Dominique Mosbergen - The Wall Street Journal
It wasn't the cancer or rounds of chemotherapy and radiation that almost killed David Erwin. It was a fungus most people inhale every day. Fungal infections kill more than 1.6 million people yearly, according to Global Action for Fungal Infections, a research and fundraising organization. The toll is climbing. Fungi are adapting to rising temperatures in ways that may make them better suited to thrive in the human body, researchers said. And more people undergoing treatments that weaken their immune systems means a larger population vulnerable to severe fungal infections.
/jlne.ws/3VQBVNr
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | The China Bubble Is Losing Air But Won't Burst; The nation has an unparalleled record of surmounting crises.
Tom Orlik - Bloomberg
Is China's economic miracle over? Covid-19 lockdowns, a real estate meltdown, and a crackdown on entrepreneurs add up to a lot of downers. The latest forecasts show growth for 2022 at risk of sliding below 3%, well short of Beijing's 5.5% target. The response from President Xi Jinping and his team so far has been improvised and underwhelming, a stark contrast with the huge government rescue plans in the past.
/jlne.ws/3gCtPI5
Slippery, hungry, sometimes angry: Singapore struggles with 'unparalleled' otter boom; Numbers have doubled, with occasional attacks on humans and fish ponds prompting relocation efforts
Fiona Kelliher - The Guardian
Singapore authorities have an unusual source of mayhem on their hands: an exploding otter population. Amid an upswing in interactions between the buoyant, hand-holding mammals and humans in recent months, the National Parks Board, known as NParks, is working to relocate the island's 170 otters away from residential areas and otter-proof people's homes.
/jlne.ws/3f5UCfc
China Politburo Excludes Women for First Time in 25 Years; Lone female leaving Politburo not replaced, defying norms; Xi breaks host of party rules to stack top bodies with allies
Bloomberg
China won't have a woman sitting on its Politburo for the first time in 25 years, marking a major regression in gender representation as President Xi Jinping tore up Communist Party leadership norms. The world's most-populous nation will be ruled by a 24-member Politburo comprised exclusively of men for the next five years, in a line-up unveiled Sunday. Covid czar Sun Chunlan, 72, was previously the lone female Politburo member but left having exceeded the retirement age of 68.
/jlne.ws/3DmJZy6
Plunging Markets Defy Government Intervention in Taiwan, Korea; Stocks, currencies in Korea and Taiwan have slumped this year; Both introducing short-selling curbs and stabilization funds
Ishika Mookerjee - Bloomberg
Asia's two tech-heavy economies South Korea and Taiwan are facing an uphill battle in trying to stem losses in what are already among the world's worst-performing assets this year. They are hit particularly hard by a global growth slowdown and US chip restrictions. Authorities are stepping up actions, including introducing curbs on short selling, readying market stabilization funds to buy assets and intervening in currency markets in moves reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic. Korea is resuming corporate-bond purchases as yields surge and default risk spreads.
/jlne.ws/3gBlkwB
Shanghai Villages Blamed for Covid Outbreak Face Demolition After Lockdowns; The Chinese financial hub is pressing ahead with a more aggressive approach in redeveloping these "villages within a city."
Bloomberg News
Tens of thousands of migrant workers in Shanghai, who have long been living on the margins in one of China's wealthiest cities, are facing renewed threats of eviction after their ramshackle villages were blamed for causing the Covid-19 outbreak that led to a monthslong lockdown. Like many other major Chinese cities, Shanghai has for years been razing and redeveloping the densely populated neighborhoods - known as "cheng zhong cun" or "villages within a city" - to make room for new residential and commercial complexes to drive growth in the world's second-largest economy. This year, the demolition in Shanghai is gathering pace.
/jlne.ws/3N1MQzv
India launches 36 internet satellites delayed by Ukraine war
Associated Press
India launched a rocket carrying 36 private internet satellites on early Sunday, stepping in to keep the orbital constellation growing after a monthslong interruption related to the war in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3z9TEpg
Japan's Suspected Intervention Estimated at Record $37 Billion
Toru Fujioka and Saburo Funabiki - Bloomberg
Japan likely conducted its biggest ever currency intervention to prop up the yen late Friday, based on Bank of Japan balance of payment figures and an estimate of flows by money broker Central Tanshi Co.
/jlne.ws/3VUvCbx
EDF Reaches Tentative Wage Deal With Unions in Bid to End Strike
Francois De Beaupuy - Bloomberg
Electricite de France SA reached a preliminary wage deal with unions, which could end strikes that have delayed maintenance of nuclear reactors, increasing concern over power shortages this winter in France. The deal is still subject to the approval of workers. Negotiations have been completed, and unions will now present proposals to their members, according to an EDF spokesman, who declined to elaborate. Consultations with workers will take place next week, Philippe Page Le Merour, head of EDF's worker committee and part of the CGT union, told Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/3F6ylZl
Just Stop Oil protest stops traffic in north London; Police arrest 17 protesters after activists glued themselves to the road in Upper Street, Islington
Sarah Haque - The Guardian
Just Stop Oil activists have glued themselves to a road in north London on the 22nd day of the group's campaign of civil unrest. About 20 protesters stopped traffic in Upper Street in Islington, north London, on Saturday. The Metropolitan police said: "Met officers are at the scene at Upper Street N1, where there are 16 Just Stop Oil protesters who have sat down on the road, four of whom are locked on to each other and six are glued to the road."
/jlne.ws/3SwD3Tn
Egypt to develop new currency indicator to wean people off U.S. dollar
Reuters
Egypt will develop a new currency indicator partly to wean people off the idea that the Egyptian pound should be pegged to the U.S. dollar, the new central bank governor said on Sunday. Hassan Abdalla, appointed in August, told an economic conference that the central bank was also working to introduce currency hedging and had already finished futures contracts as it revamps its currency trading system.
/jlne.ws/3MXmrTA
Germany Considers Earlier Start to Natural Gas Price Subsidies; Government mulls moving support to January from March; Energy industry opposes step due to technical constraints
Petra Sorge and Kamil Kowalcze - Bloomberg
Germany is considering the introduction of subsidies on natural-gas as soon as January as the country seeks to cushion costs for households and businesses amid the energy crunch.
/jlne.ws/3F7jD4j
Climate Change Is Strangling the Mighty Mississippi. So Try Saving It.; The US must move faster to protect 200 years of shipping history on the nation's most crucial inland waterway.
Adam Minter - Bloomberg
Two weeks ago the supply chain almost ran aground in the Mississippi River. Thanks to drought and low water, more than 2,000 barges were backed up, delaying shipments of products ranging from corn to coal. The impacts were large: during the first week of October, barge shipments of corn were down 50% compared with the same time in 2021. Meanwhile, barge shipping rates reached their highest levels on record, pushing shippers to seek out more expensive and polluting rail cars and trucks. Consumers, already reeling from inflation, will pay the tab.
/jlne.ws/3TMPTxY
California Faces Weekend Blackouts as Winds Seen Posing Fire Risk; Utilities say about 25,500 customers could lose their power; Shutting power unpopular but effective way to prevent fires
Mark Chediak - Bloomberg
California utilities said they may need to cut power to as many as 25,500 homes and businesses this weekend as gusty winds are forecast to increase the risk of wildfires. Edison International's Southern California utility said it could start switching off power overnight Friday to as many as 19,700 customers in three counties located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. PG&E Corp. said about 5,800 customers in 13 counties along the eastern edge of the coastal range and in parts of the Sierras may be blacked out starting Saturday morning.
/jlne.ws/3sogLIJ
New York, New England Ration Heating Oil Even Before Peak Winter; Fuel stockpiles in New England are a third of seasonal norms; High cost forces consumers to partially fill heating oil tanks
Chunzi Xu - Bloomberg
The US Northeast is so short on heating oil that the fuel used to power home furnaces is being rationed even before the start of winter. Some wholesalers in Connecticut are putting retailers on allocation, meaning they can only get a limited amount of fuel based on availability, according to Chris Herb, president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, which represents around 600 family-owned retailers in the state. These retailers must in turn ration their customers.
/jlne.ws/3f5U5dc
Farmers in US Midwest struggle amid prolonged drought
Thomas Urbain - Agence France-Presse
Months without rain have left farmers across the vast US Midwest, part of the country's essential "breadbasket," seeing crop yields in freefall, with some fields too damaged to harvest. At the 4,000-acre (1,600-hectare) Tucker Farms in Venango, Nebraska, "we were only able to harvest... around 500" acres, most of it wheat, said Rachel Tucker. Much of the rest had shriveled up under a relentlessly hot sun. The drought has attracted grasshoppers, which threatened the flowers the Tuckers also grow -- until they brought in praying mantises to control the winged pests.
/jlne.ws/3TFfx7I
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | How to Make $3,000 a Month Citi Biking; Lyft's "Bike Angel" program offers credit and prizes to riders willing to relocate bicycles across New York City's bikesharing system.
Spenser Mestel - Bloomberg
Each day the weather cooperates, 58-year-old Richard Dennis takes the PATH train into Manhattan from his home in Jersey City, New Jersey. He heads to a Citi Bike docking station, picks up a bike and begins a day of pedaling that will last about six hours, transferring bicycles from locations with too much supply to spots with too little. Dennis started "rebalancing" bikes nine months ago, and that's helped him accrue a stunning collection of statistics: more than 15,000 rides, 920 hours on the bike and 5,357 miles pedaled. It's also earned him "Power Angel" status - and up to $3,000 a month as part of Lyft Inc.'s Bike Angel program.
/jlne.ws/3z9gVro
Zoom, Teams, Slack Are Wreaking Havoc on Employee Productivity; Shifting between multiple apps to get stuff done drains workers' time, efficiency and engagement. Can anything be done?
Matthew Boyle
Technology overload. IT bloat. Barnacle apps. The problem goes by many names, but the story's the same: Employees are swamped by an ever-expanding array of specialized software that's made the workday a disjointed slog. Workplace tools have never been popular - who enjoys filling out expense reports? - but when the pandemic hit, virtual communication and collaboration programs became critical for businesses. New employees got onboarded by one app, trained by another and surveyed by a third.
/jlne.ws/3FbFAPQ
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