| November 29, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Crypto native publication Decrypt published a story on November 27 about a slip of the tongue CME Group Terry Duffy appeared to have while being interviewed by FOX News' Tucker Carlson about Duffy's prescience on Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and FTX. Duffy had called SBF a fraud to his face at a Boca meeting and testified to Congress that FTX could lose 85% of its value in a single day, for example. On Carlson's show, Duffy appeared to say he (Duffy) bribes or bribed the CFTC amidst appearing to change his train of thought. The title of the Decrypt story is "CME Head Appears To Say He Bribed CTFC Official; Terry Duffy made the slip while speaking to Tucker Carlson on Fox News."
You can watch the entire interview between Carlson and Duffy with this YouTube link. The slip of the tongue is at about the 4:05 mark.
For the record, at the 4:35 mark Duffy makes a strong statement about wanting to know "if there was pressure put on the agency from politicians or not, and there are hearings coming up, and I hope someone has the courage to take on the commission of the CFTC and others and ask them why they were trying to put a round hole in a square peg."
Yes, Duffy said that backwards. But he goes on, "They should have dismissed his proposal out of hand. Instead I was forced to go into Congress, get berated by people who don't know what they are talking about and I told them what could potentially happen. And again, it did happen."
Duffy is clearly intimating that the money SBF was spreading broadly around Washington was a factor influencing the CFTC's decision making, or at least influencing those who were pressuring the CFTC on SBF's behalf. In his Carlson interview, Duffy called out by name former Commissioner Mark Wetjen, who has since the FTX bankruptcy wiped his LinkedIn profile of any mention of FTX. Duffy also alluded to a former CFTC counsel who became his general counsel, I believe referring to former CFTC Attorney Ryne Miller who became the general counsel of FTX.US. Miller's LinkedIn page still has him listed as general counsel of FTX.US and he is pictured wearing FTX swag. Duffy also mentioned that the former head of the House Ag Committee, Mike Conaway, was lobbying for FTX.
Given the amount of money SBF was spreading around Washington, starting with the $5 million he gave to President Biden's election campaign in 2020, it is not surprising that Duffy had the idea of bribes on his mind and it slipped out while he was shifting gears in his thought process. Even the lead-in from Carlson in the interview hinted at bribery or campaign contributions influencing the Congressman Duffy confronted in an edited clip from FOX News.
You can watch the May 12 House Ag Committee meeting here where Terry Duffy makes an incredibly strong statement about the FTX proposal to the CFTC and why it was flat out wrong even to consider the proposal. For the record, he even said any trial version of the model, even for a limited time (something I had suggested in my comments to the CFTC) would be inappropriate and dangerous. Upon further consideration, I think Terry is right and I was wrrrroong (h/t to Fonzie).
After listening to the May 12 video, I want to know who Mr. Lumpken is. The committee chairman, Rep. David Scott of Georgia, misspoke when pronouncing Walt Lukken's name, repeatedly calling him Mr. Lumpken.
Mistakes happen. The CFTC did not respond to a request for comment.
There was great debate within JLN about whether to mention this Decrypt story and whether it is a story or not. Mr. Duffy has not clarified his comments. I thought we should at least try to give the slip of the tongue some context based on my knowing Terry for 43 years and having great respect for his integrity and honesty.
The Wall Street Journal reports that 'Gaslighting' Is Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year." I would not mislead you about this. I don't gaslight my readers.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger was interviewed by CoinDesk in a video about her outlook for the "U.S. crypto regulatory landscape and the CFTC's role as BlockFi becomes the latest crypto firm to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following FTX's collapse."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement seeks to hire a trial attorney in Washington, DC. For qualification determinations and to apply, CLICK HERE.
Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo was interviewed on TalksonLaw with Joel Cohen about "Regulating Cryptocurrency after FTX."
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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Catching Up with Trading Technologies CEO Keith Todd at FIA EXPO 2022
JohnLothianNews.com
John Lothian News caught up with Trading Technologies CEO Keith Todd at the recent FIA EXPO 2022 in Chicago about recent announcements from TT and updates on its progress under its new owners.
He spoke about the recent KRM22 announcement and how it will help clients manage risk on a holistic basis, including managing margins, liquidity challenges and a calibration of a risk score.
Watch the video »
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Wall Street Whistleblowers Tip Off SEC - But Hear Nothing Back; Landmark program recoups $5.6 billion for victims. Informants say it could be even more.
John Holland - Bloomberg
Janice Shell likes to sniff out fraud. An art historian by training, she once spent her days digging through Renaissance archives in Italy. Now 74, retired and living in suburban Philadelphia, she pores over financial filings instead. She hunts for sketchy penny stocks, then flags them in tart commentaries on message boards such as Investorshub.com. Shell has been remarkably prescient. In several cases, the US Securities and Exchange Commission later sanctioned companies she'd called out-and for the same reasons.
/jlne.ws/3GV7r7S
****** If a whistleblower blows a whistle in the woods....~JJL
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Scientists Revive 48,500-Year-Old 'Zombie Virus' Buried in Ice
Low De Wei - Bloomberg
The thawing of ancient permafrost due to climate change may pose a new threat to humans, according to researchers who revived nearly two dozen viruses - including one frozen under a lake more than 48,500 years ago.
/jlne.ws/3gMdtgm
***** I knew Brendan Fraser making a comeback in Hollywood was a bad idea.~JJL
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Ken Griffin finds buyer for Park Tower condo he listed for $13M
Bob Goldsborough - Chicago Tribune
Billionaire Ken Griffin has found a buyer for an 8,000-square-foot full-floor condominium on the 66th floor of the Park Tower building on the Near North Side, which he has had for sale for $13.25 million. If Griffin, who recently relocated his hedge fund firm, Citadel, and his own family to south Florida after complaining about crime in Chicago, ends up selling the Park Tower condo at or below his asking price, he would take a loss on the unit, which he bought for $15 million in 2012.
/jlne.ws/3iqEw1m
****** The good news is that Mr. Griffin does better on his Citadel investing than he does on his personal real estate investing. This is the second condo he has sold at a loss.~JJL
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Trading and Gaming for Charity: An Inside Look Into IMC Trading's Culture of Giving Back; IMC Trading has a long history of giving back to the community, but the trading firm has taken its impact international with its annual Trading and Gaming for Charity event - a day in which the firm donates its entire profits to a nonprofit partner.
Written by Jenny Lyons-Cunha - Built in Chicago
Morning sunlight poured into IMC Trading's sleek office in the Chicago Loop. Luminous blue and silver balloon arches swayed as t-shirt-clad employees buzzed around the party space. The earthy-sweet smell of Tanzanian coffee and mandazi - an East-African pastry - invigorated the office air already filled with the excited chatter of colleagues reunited after two long years.
/jlne.ws/3VknUqC
****** IMC = I M Charitable? ~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top story Monday was FTX's Bahamas crypto empire: Stimulants, subterfuge and a spectacular collapse, from The Washington Post. Second was The fall of Bankman-Fried's FTX will spur the bitcoin bros to ever more crypto capers, from The Times of London. Third was 'You're an absolute fraud': CME Group CEO says he called out Sam Bankman-Fried the first time he met him, months before FTX's collapse, from Business Insider, which also came in third in Friday's top three.
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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 | Inequality in Society Drives Stock-Market Performance; Raise inequality and demand for stocks goes up, and so do prices. The question is whether we are at a turning point in how wealth is shared.
James Mackintosh - The Wall Street Journal
There's a bit of GameStop in everything. The so-called meme stocks led by the videogame store put traditional investors to shame in early 2021, achieving 1,000%-plus gains in a few weeks and breaking free of the shackles of ordinary financial analysis. Instead of price-to-earnings ratios or even the potential addressable market for their products, what mattered for the share price was the ability to attract money from private buyers who got their information from Reddit.
/jlne.ws/3EO9JD6
LME Says It Saved Nickel Market From $20 Billion 'Death Spiral'; Exchange responds to lawsuits filed by Elliott and Jane Street; Cascade of defaults would have threatened financial stability
Jack Farchy and Mark Burton - Bloomberg
The London Metal Exchange has defended its controversial decision to cancel billions of dollars of nickel trades in March as necessary to avoid a $20 billion margin call that would have sent the market into a "death spiral" and threatened the exchange's own survival. The LME on Monday provided its most detailed account yet of the historic short squeeze this year when prices soared 250% in little over 24 hours, in a filing outlining its defense against lawsuits from Elliott Investment Management and Jane Street.
/jlne.ws/3OMT47e
Crypto Lender BlockFi Goes Bankrupt in Wake of FTX's Fall; The digital-asset lender filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey; Firm asked clients to refrain from depositing more funds
Kevin Simauchi and Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
Crypto lender BlockFi Inc. filed for bankruptcy, becoming the latest digital-asset firm to collapse in the wake of the rapid downfall of the FTX exchange and stoking worries that more corporate failures lie ahead. BlockFi said in a statement Monday that it will use the Chapter 11 process to "focus on recovering all obligations owed to BlockFi by its counterparties, including FTX and associated corporate entities," adding that recoveries are likely to be delayed by FTX's own bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to continue operating while working out a plan to repay creditors.
/jlne.ws/3FdeoA0
Crypto Lender BlockFi Follows FTX Into Bankruptcy; BlockFi will use chapter 11 to recover what it can from failed crypto exchange FTX
Alexander Gladstone - The Wall Street Journal
Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi Inc. filed for chapter 11 on Monday, following FTX into bankruptcy and spotlighting the contagion effects that the failure of the crypto exchange has unleashed. BlockFi blamed its chapter 11 filing on the downturn in cryptocurrency prices this summer and this month's failure of FTX, a big exchange with ties throughout the largely unregulated industry. FTX's affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research, defaulted on $680 million owed to BlockFi earlier this month, the firm disclosed in court papers.
/jlne.ws/3UeS6BZ
After FTX collapse, Polk US Rep. Soto draws scrutiny for letter questioning SEC inquiries
Gary White - The Ledger
The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX has attracted new attention to a letter sent to a federal agency in March and signed by Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee. The letter questioned the agency's use of its enforcement powers to seek information from cryptocurrency and blockchain companies. Soto joined a bipartisan group of eight U.S. House members in signing the letter addressed to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/jlne.ws/3VhlhFU
'No Cooperation': How Sam Bankman-Fried Tried to Cling to FTX; Emails and text messages show how lawyers and executives struggled to persuade the 30-year-old entrepreneur to give up control of his collapsing crypto exchange.
David Yaffe-Bellany - The New York Times
When the cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, the company's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, announced the news in a contrite message on Twitter. But his attempt to calm the situation belied what had just taken place within the company. As the crisis unfolded, a group of FTX lawyers and executives moved to strip authority from Mr. Bankman-Fried and urged the company's top leaders to prepare for bankruptcy. For days, Mr. Bankman-Fried ignored their warnings and clung to power, seemingly convinced that he could save the firm, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
/jlne.ws/3ATn77U
India's Free-Market Oasis Aims to Take On Singapore and Dubai; A finance hub rises in Gujarat.
Jeanette Rodrigues and Subhadip Sircar - Bloomberg
India's newest financial hub is rising from scrubland near the banks of the Sabarmati River once dominated by marsh birds and grazing buffalo. In the state of Gujarat, just a few glass-fronted towers greet the 20,000 employees of companies such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc who commute in each weekday. Its full name is Gujarat International Finance ÂTec-ÂCity, but it's more commonly known as GIFT City. It occupies 886 acres between Gujarat's capital, Gandhinagar, and Ahmedabad, its biggest city. As of October, bankers managed a combined $33 billion here.
/jlne.ws/3ON29gt
Buyer signs for 2nd piece of Ken Griffin's $54.5 million condo selloff
Dennis Rodkin - Crain's Chicago Business
The second of four condos that Citadel chief Ken Griffin put on the market after decamping for Florida has a buyer on the line. Griffin's five-bedroom, 8,000-square-foot condo on the 66th floor of the Park Tower, 800 N. Michigan Ave., for sale at $13.25 million, went contingent on Nov. 22. "Contingent" means buyer and seller have struck a deal but some details still need to be settled, such as the buyer's financing.
/jlne.ws/3FbW3mI
Loop Capital moving to new Loop office
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
One of Chicago's most prominent investment banking firms is moving its office from one Loop building to another, shoring up the tenant roster for its new landlord and creating a big headache for its current one. Loop Capital Markets has signed a lease for about 37,000 square feet at 425 S. Financial Place, where it will relocate from roughly the same amount of space it occupies today at 111 W. Jackson Blvd., according to sources familiar with the deal.
/jlne.ws/3XFgVKj
BlockFi sues Sam Bankman-Fried over Robinhood shares; Complaint against FTX founder comes as crypto company becomes latest to seek bankruptcy protection
Kadhim Shubber and Antoine Gara and Alexandra Scaggs - Financial Times
Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi is suing Sam Bankman-Fried to seize shares in Robinhood that the FTX founder allegedly pledged as collateral just days before his exchange collapsed. The lawsuit on Monday came just hours after BlockFi filed for bankruptcy protection having suffered "a severe liquidity crunch" triggered by the failure of Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange.
/jlne.ws/3FbKLyY
BlockFi Bankruptcy Hijacks More Customer Cash; The troubled lender filed for bankruptcy on Monday, the latest worry for users of the platform.
Claire Ballentine and Paulina Cachero - Bloomberg
The bad news just keeps coming for retail traders with money on crypto platforms. In the wake of FTX's rapid downfall, BlockFi Inc. became the latest crypto lender to file for bankruptcy on Monday. The New Jersey-based company had warned customers more than two weeks ago it would halt withdrawals, and now traders have to wait out the bankruptcy process to see if they can get any of their money back. Past examples offer little hope. Insolvency proceedings can take months or even years, and BlockFi had significant exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried's empire of companies, which are themselves bankrupt.
/jlne.ws/3gK2rIp
BlockFi Commences Restructuring Proceeding to Stabilize Business and Maximize Value for all Clients and Stakeholders Files voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 protection to preserve client value and pursue recoveries on counterparty obligations
Business Wire
BlockFi Inc. and eight of its affiliates ("BlockFi" or "the Company") today commenced voluntary cases under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey ("the Court") to stabilize its business and provide the Company with the opportunity to consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximizes value for all clients and other stakeholders. As part of its restructuring efforts, the Company will focus on recovering all obligations owed to BlockFi by its counterparties, including FTX and associated corporate entities ("FTX"). Due to the recent collapse of FTX and its ensuing bankruptcy process, which remains ongoing, the Company expects that recoveries from FTX will be delayed.
/jlne.ws/3EMqJtc
EU's proposed carbon removal rules open to greenwashing, say experts; Draft plan accused of lacking detail on critical issue of verified, permanent solutions to limit emissions
Alice Hancock - Financial Times
EU plans to certify removals of carbon from the atmosphere are at risk of allowing greenwashing and fall short of what is needed to curb emissions to limit global warming, say climate change experts. Under the latest draft of the proposal, operators of carbon removal schemes will be able to register carbon that is taken and stored deep in underground rock formations.
/jlne.ws/3u6FAKa
FTX Received Some Customer Deposits Via Bank Accounts Held by Alameda; Customers instructed to wire transfers to Alameda's account; Relationship between FTX and Alameda is at heart of collapse
Yueqi Yang and Max Reyes - Bloomberg
As everything was collapsing around him, Sam Bankman-Fried talked casually about the way FTX had accessed regulated banks otherwise out of reach to the crypto exchange: Through his trading firm, Alameda Research. The arrangement arose because banks were reluctant to do business with crypto companies including FTX, according to people familiar with the matter. To work around the problem, some FTX customers were instructed to send wire transfers via Alameda, which was allowed to have accounts at Silvergate Capital Corp., a cryptocurrency and fintech bank, the people said.
/jlne.ws/3AVq0oF
Leverage means contagion - just look at crypto
Felix Salmon - Axios
The financialization of crypto made it vulnerable to the kind of contagion we're now seeing. Why it matters: The big change in crypto between 2018 and today is the introduction of large-scale lending to the sector. And with lending comes a new kind of risk - counterparty risk - that crypto still hasn't found a good way of dealing with.
/jlne.ws/3us8pRH
New CEO for Flow Traders; The current chief executive has decided not to seek re-appointment, instead passing the baton to his chief financial officer.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Dennis Dijkstra has decided not to continue in his role as chief of the market maker and liquidity provider, Flow Traders. Instead, he plans to transfer authority to the current CFO, Mike Kuehnel, who will take on the position from February 2023. Dijkstra has been at the helm of the firm for well over a decade, first joining in 2009 as CFO before being appointed co-CEO in 2014.
/jlne.ws/3Fcajfe
Servicing the new financial giants: tackling post-trade in market making
The Trade
Torstone Technology's chief executive, Brian Collings, discusses the post-trade challenges in servicing electronic market makers - servicing the breadth of asset classes, as well as the enormous volumes - as they continue their meteoric rise, filling gaps left by incumbents retrenching from the market. The balance of power is shifting in global markets. While banks are still powerful institutions, underpinning much of the functioning of global finance, the growing influence of electronic market makers - responsible for vast volumes of institutional and retail flow - are reshaping markets.
/jlne.ws/3AT4y3s
Complexity of trade surveillance has increased significantly over the past three years, finds report; New study from Acuiti, commissioned by Eventus, found increased regulatory requirements and market volatility to be the main drivers of heightened complexity in trade surveillance.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
A new study from Acuiti has found increasing investment in automation to combat pressure on manual processes. This has been found to be resulting from the complexity of trade surveillance requirements driven by regulatory demands and heightened volatility. Commissioned by Eventus, the report collated views from 71 senior trade surveillance, risk, compliance, technology and trading executives at banks, brokerages and proprietary trading firms.
/jlne.ws/3gLhVMo
FTX fallout: The contagion continues with BlockFi bankruptcy; One of the world's largest crypto lenders has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - the latest casualty following the foundering of FTX. But what could the current chaos mean for the future of the market?
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
BlockFi, one of the world's largest crypto lenders, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, joining a crushing line-up of crashed crypto firms including Celsius, Voyager, 3AC and of course the headline-hitting FTX, which seemingly started a contagion effect earlier this month.
/jlne.ws/3gMspLs
I Remain DeFiant: DeFi Is Not the Answer (to Price Discovery) in Crypto
The Streetwise Professor
The meltdown of FTX continues to spark controversy and commentary. A recent theme in this commentary is that the FTX disaster represents a failure of centralization that decentralized finance-DeFI-could correct. Examples include contributions by the very smart and knowledgeable Campbell Harvey of Duke, and an OpEd in today's WSJ. I agree that the failure of FTX demonstrates that the crypto business as it is, as opposed to how it is often portrayed, is highly centralized. But the FTX implosion does not demonstrate that centralization of crypto trading per se is fundamentally flawed: FTX is an example of centralization done the worst way, without any of the institutional and regulatory safeguards employed by exchanges like CME, Eurex, and ICE.
/jlne.ws/3u9RnYf
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Europe accuses US of profiting from war; EU officials attack Joe Biden over sky-high gas prices, weapons sales and trade as Vladimir Putin's war threatens to destroy Western unity.
Barbara Moens, Jakob Hanke Vela, Jacopo Barigazzi - Politico
Nine months after invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is beginning to fracture the West. Top European officials are furious with Joe Biden's administration and now accuse the Americans of making a fortune from the war, while EU countries suffer. "The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons," one senior official told POLITICO.
/jlne.ws/3gLw104
Russian Diesel Halt Is Still Looking Like Europe's Big Problem; Europe's imports on course to stay high after October surge; Russia is still by far the region's biggest diesel supplier
Jack Wittels - Bloomberg
Europe continues to lean heavily on Russia as a source of diesel with fewer than ten weeks to go until sanctions all but block the trade -- a stark reminder of the work that still needs to be done to find new supplies. The European Union and UK received almost half their waterborne imports of diesel-type fuel from Russia in the first 24 days of this month, Vortexa Ltd. data compiled by Bloomberg show. The level of reliance jumped sharply from October, when the region's overall imports surged to cope with strikes that knocked out French oil refining capacity.
/jlne.ws/3VCg0IU
Putin Will Carpet-Bomb Ukraine Unless the West Acts; Zelenskiy is winning the land war, but Putin has the advantage in the air war.
James Stavridis - Bloomberg
The strategically vital city of Kherson is back in the hands of Ukrainians, albeit under threat of Russian shelling and attacks on its electricity supply. But as combatants on both sides of an increasingly static firing line prepare for winter war, there are effectively two separate conflicts emerging: one on the land, the other in the air. What can the West do to help Ukraine meet the immediate tactical challenges, and ultimately seize the longer-term advantage?
/jlne.ws/3XJKNp1
Russian Oil Keeps Gushing Despite Uncertainty Over Price Cap; Seaborne crude flows remain steady with EU ban just a week away
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
Overall crude shipments from Russian ports have yet to show clear evidence of drying up as a result of impending European Union sanctions, despite a massive diversion from Europe to Asia. EU countries have been struggling to find a level at which they can agree to cap Russian crude prices, leaving buyers in limbo before the group's sanctions come into effect on Dec. 5.
/jlne.ws/3VwGsEd
'They grabbed whoever they could': Putin's draft puts more strain on Russian businesses; Mass mobilisation has exacerbated labour shortages and worsened long-term demographic trends
Polina Ivanova, Max Seddon and Daria Mosolova - Financial Times
The morning after Vladimir Putin announced mass mobilisation for his troops in Ukraine, men across Russia went to work to find conscription notices already awaiting, ordering them to head to draft offices. By the evening, wives were turning up to the workplaces, searching for their husbands. "We had to give them drinks to calm them down," an executive at a large metals and mining company recalled, describing desperate scenes on the factory floor. "You can understand them: their men left to go to work in the morning and did not come home."
/jlne.ws/3XStzWy
Russian Retreat Reveals Signs of an Atrocity in a Ukrainian Village; In the southern Kherson region, the pattern seen in eastern Ukraine is repeating: The withdrawal of Russian forces yields evidence of possible war crimes.
Jeffrey Gettleman - The New York Times
First came small pieces of bone. Then a pair of arms tied at the wrists with rope. And then the shovel unearthed a skull with a bullet hole, mouth cracked open, teeth covered in thick, black mud. Even though scenes like this have been repeated across Ukraine wherever the Russians have retreated, the clump of villagers and police officers seemed stunned on Monday as they stood at the lip of a common grave in Pravdyne, a village near the city of Kherson.
/jlne.ws/3FbVWrp
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | BME launches SICAM 2.0, its new RegTech platform against market abuse
BME-X
The new platform release covers more markets and will speed up the work of financial institutions´ regulatory compliance teams, asset managers and brokers; The service, which is already a leader in Spain with around 40 clients, can be exported to other countries where SIX has a presence. BME is launching the new release of its SICAM platform to complete its RegTech service offering. BME's Trade Surveillance service, aimed at financial institutions, asset managers and brokers, has been modernized to cover more markets and products, as well as improving usability and user experience. SICAM 2.0 features a highly intuitive website that makes the analysis and management of alerts generated by the tool easier, thus speeding up the work of compliance teams. It offers an interface specifically redesigned to make it easier for clients to quickly analyze potential market abuse scenarios. It also incorporates new intraday information charts, regulatory announcements, client statistics and historical alerts broken down by client.
/jlne.ws/3ViXVj5
Ecoener debuts on MARF with a 50 million euro Green Commercial Paper Programme
BME-X
BME's Fixed Income Market, MARF, today admitted Grupo Ecoener's new Commercial Paper (CP) Programme for 50 million euros. This programme is the first to be registered by the company on the market and will allow it to raise funding by accessing qualified investors to diversify its sources of financing. The CPs to be issued under the programme will qualify as green instruments, in accordance with Ecoener's sustainable financing framework and ICMA's Green Bond Principles (GBP). The issuer has obtained a second opinion from Sustainalytics. The proceeds of the issues will be used to finance projects aligned with the GBP.
/jlne.ws/3AWTaUq
Euronext launches gender equality indices; The Euronext Equileap Gender Equality Eurozone 100 and Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40 indices offer exposure to companies with strong gender equality performance; Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40 is the first national gender index.
Euronext
Euronext today announced the launch of the Euronext Equileap Gender Equality Eurozone 100[1] and Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40[2] indices. These gender equality indices are the first pillars of a broader family of indices addressing challenges around gender balance in the workplace. In response to the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5 "Gender Equality", these indices have been developed by Euronext leveraging on Equileap's Scorecard and Alarm Bell list to help market participants invest in listed companies committed to improving gender diversity and to respond to the increasing demand for Social thematic investments. The index methodology also applies activity-based exclusions, UNGC compliance and controversial activities exclusion.
/jlne.ws/3V9rjs5
Cboe Global Markets to Present at the Goldman Sachs 2022 U.S. Financial Services Conference Wednesday, December 7
CBOE
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, announced today that Ed Tilly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the Goldman Sachs 2022 U.S. Financial Services Conference in New York City on Wednesday, December 7 at 11:20 a.m. ET.
/jlne.ws/3gLmd6s
Annual Review of Stock Futures Trading Fee Tier Classification
HKEX
Pursuant to the Regulations for Trading Stock Futures (Section 018) of Hong Kong Futures Exchanges, the trading fee tier levels of the following stock futures contracts will be changed, effective from 3 January 2023, as a result of the annual review:
/jlne.ws/3OHU6Sh
Annual Review of Stock Options Trading Fee Tier Classification
HKEX
Pursuant to the Operational Trading Procedures for Options Trading Exchange Participants of the Stock Exchange (Appendix B11), the trading fee tier levels of the following stock option classes will be changed, effective from 3 January 2023, as a result of the annual review:
/jlne.ws/3FbbQC8
Discontinuation of the Eligibility of CCASS Stocks
HKEX
With effect from the below-mentioned effective dates, the following securities will cease to be Eligible Securities in CCASS following the withdrawal of listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. CCASS participants are therefore requested to note the following CCASS arrangements.
/jlne.ws/3UhDUYT
Intercontinental Exchange Chair & CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher to Present at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference on December 6
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, announced today that Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Chair and CEO, will present at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference. The presentation will take place on Tuesday, December 6 at 1:00 pm ET. The presentation will be available live and in replay via webcast and can be accessed in the investor relations and media section of ICE's website at http://ir.theice.com/.
/jlne.ws/3EOnpxM
Base Prices for November 2024 Contracts of Electricity on the First Trading Day
JPX
The base prices for Immediately Executable Price Range (DCB Level) and Circuit Breaker Trigger Level (SCB Level) for November 2024 contracts of Electricity on the First Trading Day, November 30, 2022, shall be as below.
/jlne.ws/3inLAvk
Handling of the Final Settlement Price of the January 2023 contract of TAIEX Futures
JPX
Osaka Exchange, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "OSE") uses the final settlement price for the same contract month of TAIEX futures listed on Taiwan Futures Exchange Corporation (hereinafter referred to as " TAIFEX"). However, for the January 2023 contract which last trading day is January 17, 2023 (Tue.), the final settlement price at TAIFEX will not be determined until January 30, 2023 (Mon.), since the Taiwan market will be closed from January 18, 2023 (Wed.) to January 27, 2023 (Fri.). Therefore, we inform you, in accordance with Article 36.2.3 of OSE Business Regulations, the settlement price（âEUR»1） on the last trading day of the contract month will be the final settlement price for this contract month.（âEUR»2）
/jlne.ws/3ViNg85
Daily Price Limits to be Broadened : 1 issue
JPX
The following issue has fallen under the following (1) or (2) for two consecutive business days. As such, TSE wishes to bring to your attention that it will broaden only the upper (or lower) daily price limit on the next business day (November 30) as follows. (1) The upper (or lower) daily price limit is reached and trading volume is 0 without conducting allocation at the upper (or lower) daily price limit (2) Trading volume remains at 0 shares until the end of the afternoon session, trades are executed at the upper (or lower) daily price limit at the close of the afternoon session with bids (or offers) remaining at the upper (or lower) daily price limit.
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NYSE Bonds - Traded Bonds - Change In Clearing Status
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange, Inc. has been advised that the following securities have been changed from Ex-Clearing to NSCC Eligible:
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NYSE Bonds - Addition to the List of Traded Bonds
NYSE
The following bonds will be added at the opening of trading on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. These bonds have been added as "NYSE traded bonds" pursuant to an SEC exemption that allows the NYSE to trade certain non-convertible debt of NYSE listed companies and their wholly owned subsidiaries, without the issuer having listed those securities on the NYSE.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | New research by Acuiti and Eventus reveals increase in regulatory requirements, trading environment complexities drives investment in trade surveillance
Acuiti and Eventus via PR Newswire
The increasing complexity of trade surveillance requirements, driven by regulatory demands and exacerbated by volatility, is putting pressure on manual processes and driving investment in automation, a new study by Acuiti has found. Acuiti's latest report - "Getting to the risk quicker: How trade surveillance leaders are dealing with an increasingly complex environment" - investigates the challenges facing trade surveillance teams as regulations governing trading have grown in scope, detail and enforcement, and as the sophistication and complexity of trading products and techniques has advanced.
/jlne.ws/3in3e2w
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Cybersecurity Consolidation Continues, Even as Valuations Stall
Robert Lemos - DarkReading
As the US economy has tightened, the venture capital and acquisition landscape has quickly shifted to become a buyers' market, with startups failing to command the high valuations that were common in past years. While the sheer number of financing deals is on track to match the more than 1,000 cybersecurity-related investments announced in 2021, the value of those deals has dropped by more than a quarter, according to data from cybersecurity-focused advisory firm Momentum Cyber. The value of purchased companies is also on track to drop by a quarter in 2022, although the absolute number of acquisitions will only drop by about 8%.
/jlne.ws/3ic4K7q
The Cybersecurity Spiral Of Failure-And How Organizations Can Break Out Of It
JC Gaillard - Forbes
For the past two decades, I've found many organizations have been trapped in a spiral of failure around cybersecurity. In my experience helping companies navigate cybersecurity transformation, this failure has been driven by endemic business short-termism and the box-ticking mindset many executives have regarding compliance.
/jlne.ws/3ONenFT
What's in store for cybersecurity in Congress's stretch run
Tim Starks - The Washington Post
Congress has an ambitious agenda as it returns this week for a lame-duck session finishing up the year. Amid the last-minute maneuvering, lawmakers are trying to get cybersecurity proposals across the finish line. Much of the cyber legislation could hitch a ride on the annual must-pass defense policy bill, which Congress has successfully delivered to the president for a signature for the past 61 years. But with House control set to switch from Democrats to Republicans, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who will likely be the next speaker, is pushing for a delay of the fiscal 2023 defense measure.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | FTX Resumes Post-Bankruptcy Payments to Employees; The company will pay employees and vendors, but not former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried or Caroline Ellison.
Jason Nelson - Decrypt
Defunct cryptocurrency company FTX announced today that it would resume "ordinary course payments" of salary and benefits to employees worldwide and certain non-U.S. contractors.
/jlne.ws/3XHxTaT
BlockFi Sold $239 Million of Crypto, Warned of Job Cuts Before Bankruptcy
Jeremy Hill and Steven Church - Bloomberg
BlockFi Inc. sold about $239 million of its own cryptocurrency and warned almost 250 workers that they would lose their jobs in the run-up to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, court papers show.
/jlne.ws/3uedfl2
Centralized Crypto Exchanges Will Remain Dominant Despite FTX Collapse: JPMorgan
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
Centralized exchanges will continue to control the majority of global digital-asset trading volumes, JPMorgan said, contradicting some crypto-native experts who expect a shift toward decentralized platforms in the wake of FTX's collapse. Decentralized exchanges' (DEX) slower transaction speeds, pooling of assets and order-traceability features are likely to limit institutional participation, the bank's strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note to clients on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3ibR0cO
FTX Collapse: Bankman-Fried Will Receive Zero Dollars; The founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange lost his entire fortune.
Luc Olinga - The Street
On the morning of November 8, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX and Alameda Research, a hedge fund that also trades in cryptocurrencies, was a billionaire. The 30-year-old former trader was the institutional face of the crypto space, nicknamed "SBF" by his initials. Bankman-Fried was a god in the crypto sphere.
/jlne.ws/3GVtew7
Would-Be Crypto Sleuths Converge on Bahamas to Hunt for SBF
André Beganski - Decrypt
Following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Crypto Twitter influencers are converging on the Bahamas in search of former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried. The now-bankrupt exchange has been headquartered in the Bahamas since September of last year and operated out of a luxury penthouse at the Albany Resort, a gated community located on the island of New Providence. The neighborhood is now the target of impromptu investigations ostensibly on behalf of the crypto community.
/jlne.ws/3OIuGnr
'Crypto is dead': Wall Street analyst explains why FTX's collapse won't benefit Coinbase
Matthew Fox - Business Insider
Any Coinbase investors that thought the collapse of FTX would be a net benefit to Coinbase should temper their enthusiasm, according to Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev. FTX was a rival crypto exchange of Coinbase, and its downfall was seen by some as a potential for Coinbase to pick up new customers and expand its crypto trading volumes. But in an interview with CNBC on Friday, Dolev said the outlook for crypto is bleak as investor confidence hits new lows, similar to the dot-com crash in tech stocks 20 years ago.
/jlne.ws/3uaTyec
The Bahamas' Attorney General Defends Country's Regulatory Framework Amid FTX 'Debacle'
CoinDesk
During a pre-taped speech, The Bahamas' Attorney General Ryan Pinder summarized the collapse of FTX and stated that the country's regulatory regime was sufficient to oversee crypto businesses. CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De breaks down the speech and the latest on The Bahamas' investigations into FTX.
/jlne.ws/3indyHR
India to Test Retail Version of Digital Rupee in Thursday Launch; e-Rupee will come in the same denomination as notes and coins; Four banks to participate initially; four more to join later
Anup Roy - Bloomberg
India's central bank will launch the retail version of its digital currency on a test basis starting Thursday, a month after allowing some banks to use it for settling secondary-market transactions in government securities.
/jlne.ws/3ikblwH
Why Some Investors Refuse to Give Up on Metaverse Land; Falling prices of digital assets have dampened prices for virtual land, but some people still continue to buy.
Victoria Vergolina - Bloomberg
For a while, there was a real buzz around owning land in the metaverse. As one theory went, Millennials and Gen Z'ers who'd given up on being able to afford a physical property would splurge on a virtual one instead. Well, it's not quite turning out that way. Despite the hype - and investments by everyone from Snoop Dogg to the Bajan government - owning property in the metaverse so far hasn't turned out to be a winning investment. Bloomberg reporter Carly Wanna joins the show to discuss why some are still betting on virtual property despite falling prices and declining user activity.
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Business schools explore teaching in the metaverse; Institutions are venturing into virtual worlds - both as a subject and a learning tool
Seb Murray - Financial Times
From a lectern beneath three giant screens, Professor Alain Goudey gives lessons on digital transformation to students from around the globe in a lecture hall that can potentially seat hundreds. All of this, however, is in the virtual realm - one that offers a glimpse of a potential future for business education.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | BlackRock, UBS Ask to Be Removed From Texas' Energy Boycott List; Firms seek to clarify they don't boycott a key Texas industry; Efforts emerge in correspondence with comptroller's office
Shelly Hagan and Danielle Moran - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. and UBS Group AG are among major financial firms taking steps to be removed from a list of companies that Texas has classified as "boycotting" the fossil fuel industry. Representatives from at least five companies have asked the office of state Comptroller Glenn Hegar to remove them from the divestment list he published in August, arguing that they shouldn't have been included to begin with, according to documents Bloomberg obtained through a public records request.
/jlne.ws/3OMDad3
China Should Listen to Covid Protesters; Xi Jinping's top priority should be reopening safely - not suppressing dissent.
The Editors - Bloomberg
The lesson Chinese President Xi Jinping drew from the fall of the Soviet Union is that leaders must show strength in the face of threats. Now confronting perhaps the greatest challenge to emerge during his rule, Xi should instead show flexibility.
/jlne.ws/3VC7Mk0
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | A Digital Approach to Reporting
ISDA
The first batch of amendments to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) swap data reporting rules come into effect in a matter of days, on December 5. The revisions are an important step towards greater global consistency in reporting rule sets, thanks to the incorporation of globally agreed critical data elements. But, for the first time, firms also now have the means to check they are interpreting and implementing the rules in line with their peers, further improving the accuracy and consistency of what is reported to regulators.
/jlne.ws/3UgZRY0
Crypto Exchange Kraken Settles With US on Alleged Iranian Sanctions Violations; OFAC characterized the apparent violations as 'non-egregious'; Exchange will pay about $360,000 as part of agreement
Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has agreed to pay a little over $360,000 to settle allegations that it violated US sanctions against Iran. "Due to Kraken's failure to timely implement appropriate geolocation tools, including an automated internet protocol (IP) address blocking system, Kraken exported services to users who appeared to be in Iran when they engaged in virtual currency transactions on Kraken's platform," Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement Monday.
/jlne.ws/3gHytoz
SEC Awards $20 Million to Whistleblower Who Gave Critical Info
Benjamin Bain - Bloomberg
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is awarding $20 million to a tipster who the agency said contributed to a successful enforcement action. The SEC said on Monday that the whistleblower shared "new and critical" information. In keeping with the agency's policy, the regulator didn't disclose details about the case.
/jlne.ws/3Fb32MD
BlockFi Bankruptcy Filing Shows It Owes $30 Million to SEC; SEC has $30 million unsecured claim against the crypto lender; BlockFi bankruptcy is latest blow amid slew of crypto blowups
Vildana Hajric and Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is one of the largest creditors to BlockFi, which filed for bankruptcy in the wake of a number of failures within the digital-assets space. The regulator has a $30 million unsecured claim against the crypto lender, according to a filing Monday. That makes it BlockFi's fourth-biggest creditor, behind Ankura Trust Company, which is listed as being owed more than $729 million; West Realm Shires Inc., which is the entity that operates FTX US and which is owed $275 million; as well as an unnamed customer due more than $48 million.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Hong Kong Peg Creator Says Sky-High Rates Can Defend It
Tania Chen - Bloomberg
Hong Kong is willing to tolerate sky-high borrowing rates and near term economic pain to defend its currency peg with the dollar in the wake of renewed attacks by speculators.
/jlne.ws/3u7kStx
Trafigura Traders Enjoy 247% Share Price Gain After Record Year; About 1,000 top employees to share bonanza as profit soars; Trafigura is due to report its annual results next week
Archie Hunter and Jack Farchy - Bloomberg
The price of shares in Trafigura Group held by its top employees surged 247% in its last financial year, as the trading house benefited from commodity market volatility to post a record profit. Executives at Trafigura were informed of the share-price gain after its financial year closed at the end of September, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the figures are private. The company is due to report its annual results next week.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Shipping Emissions Are Black Friday's Dirty Secret; The industry that brings most of our stuff to our door has been notoriously difficult to decarbonize.
Molly Taft - Gizmodo
It may be tempting to load up on online shopping deals this Black Friday-but before you order a whole new wardrobe or electronics setup, take a moment to think about the trip all those packages may take. International shipping to bring all that stuff to your door is responsible for almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And as the world's online shopping addiction grows bigger and bigger, the problem only gets worse: global shipping emissions could become 17% of the world's total emissions by 2050 as trade expands.
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The Australian suburbs where more than half of properties will be uninsurable by 2030; 'We're now seeing that the system is not able to cope with climate change,' insurance analyst says
Natasha May and Christopher Knaus - The Guardian
When Kim Sly moved to a lower-lying area of Forbes four years ago, she was asked to pay $12,000 a year for flood insurance. The bill was a shock. Her new home was built 1.2 metres above the ground to protect it from floods, a factor that did not seem to influence the insurance company's assessment. By now, she would have paid a staggering $48,000 in insurance costs.
/jlne.ws/3ELcB3p
Industry rips FERC bid to stop spread of misinformation; A proposed rule would apply to energy sectors overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, including natural gas pipelines, hydropower dams and electricity markets.
Miranda Willson - E&E news
ENERGYWIRE | A proposal from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to prevent companies and individuals from spreading false information is drawing pushback from industry groups, but environmental advocates say the policy is long overdue. Energy companies, state officials and the American Bar Association this month called on FERC to change a proposed "duty of candor" standard. It would require all entities engaging with the commission to submit accurate information and avoid misleading statements or omissions of facts.
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Mining Coal in Your Garden Is a Lucrative Business in Poland; A shortage of fuel for households because of the war in Ukraine has spawned a cottage industry of illegal digging.
Natalia Ojewska - Bloomberg
Polish taxi driver Grzegorz says his phone won't stop ringing, such is the demand for his services. Yet it's not a ride people want. Grzegorz has given up driving for a far more lucrative line of work as Poland grapples with energy shortages: illegal mining. Around his home in the Lower Silesian city of Walbrzych, coal sits as little as a meter below the surface in fields, recreation areas and even gardens. A four-man team can unearth a ton in an hour and make 1,000 zloty ($220) each for half a day's work, roughly 60% of what an average person earns in a week.
/jlne.ws/3F8H50G
Archax Partners with CIC for Institutional Voluntary Carbon Offsets; Explores creation of digital carbon exchange for top-tier project investments in nature-based solutions
Archax
Archax, a global, FCA regulated, digital asset exchange, brokerage and custodian based in London, has selected Climate Investment Corp (CIC), a group of nature-based solutions (NBS) technical experts and carbon traders with a large scale proprietary development pipeline and two decades of voluntary carbon market (VCM) sales, trading and brokerage experience, to partner with to explore building a leading digital carbon exchange.
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Shell to buy biogas producer Nature Energy in $2B deal
Carl Surran - Seeking Alpha
Shell (NYSE:SHEL) said Monday it agreed to acquire Danish biogas producer Nature Energy Biogas from hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management for nearly $2B. Shell (SHEL) said it is acquiring Europe's largest producer of renewable natural gas, which will enhance its ability to work with its established customer base across multiple sectors to accelerate its transition to net-zero emissions.
/jlne.ws/3AUxI2g
India City Plans Nation's First Retail Muni Bond for Solar Plant; Indore seeks up to 2.6 billion rupees via 10-year offering; Bond proceeds will be used to fund solar power plant
Divya Patil - Bloomberg
An Indian city with a strong environmental record is planning to issue the nation's first local government bond targeting individual investors, with proceeds used to fund a solar power project. Indore Municipal Corp. seeks to raise as much as 2.6 billion rupees ($31.8 million) via a 10-year bond sale next month, according to Divyank Singh, chief executive officer of Indore Smart City, who is working with various stakeholders to finalize the offering.
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After 'disappointing' COP27, calls grow for new approach to fighting climate change
Terry Slavin - Reuters
In the hundreds of pavilions and stalls on the sprawling Blue Zone of the COP27 climate negotiations there was a buzzing trade fair atmosphere, a world away from the rooms where the hard business of negotiating a global consensus for climate action was taking place. Indeed, the Egyptian hosts had ensured that the government negotiators were physically separate from the 40,000 strong army of what is known as non-state actors: civil society activists, businesses, consultancies, scientists, environmental groups, foundations and sub-national government representatives who flocked to Sharm el-Sheik this year for their annual climate fix, the second-largest Conference of the Parties attendance after COP26 in Glasgow last year.
/jlne.ws/3GUxQT6
Philadelphia has slim chances of a white Christmas
Isaac Avilucea - Axios Philadelphia
Dreaming of a white Christmas? Keep dreaming. State of play: Philadelphia hasn't seen snow on Christmas Day since 2009, according to Lauren Casey, a meteorologist at Climate Central, which tracks emerging weather patterns. The city has a 10% to 25% chance of seeing at least an inch of snowfall this Christmas, Casey, who's Philly-based, told Axios. The big picture: Global warming has affected snowfall throughout the U.S. over the last five decades, according to Climate Central. The group's analysis of data from 1970 to 2019 found most places have experienced decreases in fall and spring snowfall.
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Here's why the US has more tornadoes than any other country
Allison Chinchar - CNN
The US averages over 1,150 tornadoes every year. That's more than any other country. In fact, it's more than Canada, Australia and all European countries combined. Within the US, every state has had at least one tornado, and some have dozens each year. The US is special in terms of producing so many tornadoes, especially violent ones.
/jlne.ws/3ViwtC5
BlackRock closes ESG fund due to lack of interest, amid poor performance; Asset management giant calls time on strategy in light of costs related to running fund below capacity.
Chris Sloley - Citywide.com
BlackRock has opted to liquidate a multi-strategy fund overseen by two veteran investors after struggling to amass sufficient assets since its launch three-and-a-half-years ago. According to a shareholder note seen by Citywire Selector, BlackRock intends to close the BSF Style Advantage Screened fund on 10 May. The fund manager launched the Luxembourg-domiciled fund in 2018. Philip Hodges and Kevin Franklin run it.
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Energy CEOs Hit Mute Button on ESG, Hinting at Fading Interest; The use of environment-related terms on US fossil fuel companies' earnings calls has declined 40% since peaking last year, a Bloomberg analysis finds.
Gerson Freitas Jr and Raeedah Wahid - Bloomberg
The top bosses of US oil and gas companies are speaking less and less about climate and carbon emissions, a signal that the industry's public focus on ESG over the past couple of years may be fading. That, at least, is according to a Bloomberg analysis of quarterly conference calls held by 172 American oil and gas companies. The data shows how terms such as "climate change", "energy transition" and "net zero" have come up with gradually less frequency in the most recent rounds of conversations with analysts and investors.
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Adapting to a New Climate
UNEPFI
With extreme events such as heatwaves, severe precipitation and droughts all expected to increase in a warming world, adapting to a changing climate requires as much attention as mitigating climate impacts. Action on adaptation is particularly salient for countries in many emerging markets and developing countries where the costs of climate impacts will far outweigh the costs of emissions reductions. UNEP's latest Adaptation Gap Report, 'Too Little, Too Slow' issued just ahead of COP27 estimated the adaptation needs for developing countries alone to be up to $340bn annually by 2030. Private finance clearly has a role to play in closing the adaptation gap, and by shaping their financing to a changing climate, banks will not only contribute to mitigating the risks from the physical impacts of climate change, but also be able to seize business opportunities as clients, markets and technologies respond to a new climate.
/jlne.ws/3GS4TqT
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | FTSE Russell launch first multi asset digital asset index series
FTSE Russell
FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider, today announces the launch of its first multi asset, market cap index series covering the investable digital asset market. The newly launched FTSE Global Digital Asset Index Series, built in association with the experts at Digital Asset Research (DAR), covers eight indices from large to micro cap, and is the second FTSE Russell index series based on FTSE DAR Reference Price data.
/jlne.ws/3gQhYGB
Carlyle Plans to Raise $8.5 Billion for New Illiquid Credit Fund; New capital pool is part of firm's illiquid credit platform; Private markets are giving companies much-needed financing
Gillian Tan - Bloomberg
Carlyle Group Inc. plans to raise at least $8.5 billion for a new private credit fund, as it competes with rivals to snap up lending business abandoned by banks.
/jlne.ws/3GWokiq
NatWest Banker Fired After Cancer Surgery Seeks £4.3 Million; Court found Adeline Willis was unfairly dismissed by the bank; Willis said firing had worse impact on her than diagnosis
Katharine Gemmell - Bloomberg
An ex-NatWest Group Plc compliance manager who was unfairly dismissed by the bank two days after getting surgery for cancer is seeking about £4.3 million ($5.2 million) from the bank. Lawyers for Adeline Willis, a former senior risk and compliance officer, have asked for the payout after she was unfairly dismissed from a £160,000-a-year job, according to court documents prepared for a hearing Monday.
/jlne.ws/3VcWm6i
Hedge Fund SPX Taps Former Goldman Trader for Asia Expansion; William Bethlem will oversee the creation of Singapore office; Asset manager already has London, New York, Cascais outposts
Vinicius Andrade and Felipe Marques - Bloomberg
Brazilian hedge fund manager SPX Capital has enlisted a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader to set up its new Singapore office, kicking off its expansion into Asia. William Bethlem, who joined SPX last year, will oversee the push, Bruno Pandolfi, a co-founder at the asset manager, said in an interview. The firm plans on opening the outpost in February, with a staff of Asia-focused researchers and traders, Pandolfi said, adding that an exact headcount hasn't been defined yet.
/jlne.ws/3APzVMb
No respite for Credit Suisse as investors dump rights in $2.3 billion cash call
Reuters
Shares in Credit Suisse tumbled to another lifetime low below 3 Swiss francs on Tuesday as investors dumped rights to subscribe to new shares in the loss-making lender.
/jlne.ws/3OJnTd2
Goldman Moves London Traders to Milan in Fresh Brexit Shift; Wall Street firm relocating some of euro swaps trading desk; Headhunters say bankers are drawn by generous tax incentives
William Shaw and Tommaso Ebhardt - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is shifting some of its euro swaps trading desk to Milan from London, the latest example of roles moving to the continent after Brexit. The Wall Street giant is relocating staff as it bolsters European offices in the wake of the UK's departure from the European Union, according to people familiar with the matter. Staff will likely move early next year and Goldman will also be hiring staff locally, two of the people said.
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Fidelity Charitable: New Grants to Surpass Deposits in 2022
Glenn Gamboa - Associated Press
Fidelity Charitable, the nation's largest grantmaker, expects 2022 will be the first year since 2018 that the value of grants from its donor advised funds exceeds the value of investments going into the funds. Jacob Pruitt, Fidelity Charitable's president, told The Associated Press that donations this year are on track to set a record, even before counting gifts from GivingTuesday, which has grown into a major fundraising day for charities since its launch 10 years ago. In 2021, Fidelity Charitable donated more than $10.3 billion in donor-recommended grants to more than 187,000 organizations.
/jlne.ws/3EOjcu8
HSBC to sell Canadian unit to RBC for $10bn; UK bank has been resisting pressure from shareholder Ping An to split its Asian and western operations
Sarah Provan - Financial Times
HSBC is to sell its Canadian business to Royal Bank of Canada for $10bn, as the lender reshapes its global network to focus on Asia and other growth regions. The cash consideration for the unit came to C$13.5bn ($10bn), HSBC said on Tuesday, adding that it estimated it would make a pre-tax gain of about $5.7bn.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | China Pushes Elderly Vaccination as Reopening Pressure Grows; Officials aim to promote shots harder, stop short of mandates; Move comes days after protests erupted over Covid Zero curbs
Bloomberg News
China said it would bolster vaccination among its senior citizens, a move regarded by health experts as crucial to reopening an economy stuck in an endless loop of harsh Covid Zero curbs. But it stopped short of announcing mandates that helped raise inoculation rates in other countries. Instead, officials vowed to push shots harder in places like nursing centers, and make those unwilling to get inoculated provide a reason for their refusal, according to a statement Tuesday from the National Health Commission. The government will also use big data to identify elderly people who need the vaccine, the statement said.
/jlne.ws/3Vf9nwn
China blames local officials for outbreaks as Beijing sticks to zero-Covid plan; Health authorities vow to boost vaccination of elderly after widespread protests against restrictions
Edward White, Eleanor Olcott and Hudson Lockett and Thomas Hale - Financial Times
China's health authorities on Tuesday blamed local governments for their handling of coronavirus outbreaks as Beijing distanced itself from the crisis after unprecedented protests against President Xi Jinping and his zero-Covid policy. The National Health Commission reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to the zero-Covid measures and pledged to boost vaccination rates among the elderly, a day after police and security forces appeared to have stamped out demonstrations across at least 18 cities.
/jlne.ws/3AVKMEq
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | South Korean investors pour money into Japan-listed US ETFs; The strategy is a bet that the dollar will become even stronger against the yen
Lisa Kim - Financial Times
South Korean investors are increasingly turning to Japan-listed currency-hedged exchange traded funds that invest in the US hoping to cash in on a trend that has seen the yen weaken against the dollar.
/jlne.ws/3XEtFRj
South African Stocks Wipe Out 2022 Losses After China Boost; Market set to benefit next year from China's economy reopening; Johannesburg banking stocks are on course for a record year
Khuleko Siwele - Bloomberg
Better news from China on Tuesday gave South African stocks the boost they needed to erase their losses for 2022. The main index climbed as much as 1.1% as Chinese markets rebounded, briefly wiping out this year's declines, with sentiment soothed by an easing in the protests over Covid restrictions that had unnerved global investors. The gains are a reminder of how South African equities stand to benefit from China reopening its economy, given the influence of commodities, technology and even luxury retail on the Johannesburg bourse.
/jlne.ws/3UcDJ0Z
Qatari Stocks Miss World Cup Boost as 2022 Gains Are Erased; Oil weakness is creating headwinds for Qatari stocks; Country remains focused on World Cup soccer tournament
Leen Al-Rashdan - Bloomberg
The Qatar Exchange Index extended losses for a third day as oil tumbled to its lowest level since December amid China unrest. The move wiped out yearly gains on the benchmark. Qatari stocks fell as much as 2% today, taking the index back to end-December levels. It was trading down 0.9% on the year at 13:48 pm in Doha. It's given up gains as investors assessed the drop in crude prices and the global economic slowdown.
/jlne.ws/3EL9I2E
Qatar to supply Germany with LNG as EU seeks secure energy options; Fifteen-year agreement marks first long-term deal in Europe since Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine
Shotaro Tani and Guy Chazan - Financial Times
Qatar is to provide Germany with liquefied natural gas under a long-term supply deal that marks a big step forward in efforts by Europe's biggest economy to wean itself off Russian gas. Under the two sales and purchase agreements signed on Tuesday by state-owned QatarEnergy and US group ConocoPhillips, about 2mn tonnes of LNG will be sent to Germany annually for at least 15 years, with deliveries expected to start from 2026.
/jlne.ws/3VFlIK1
Centrica chief warns of more UK energy supplier failures this winter; Head of Britain's biggest provider says some companies likely to be trading while technically insolvent
Nathalie Thomas - Financial Times
The head of British Gas-owner Centrica has warned that more UK retail energy suppliers will probably go bust this winter, with some who are "struggling for cash" already likely to be trading while technically insolvent.
/jlne.ws/3gGDX2X
Venezuelan oil offers little to U.S. or Chevron
Robert Cyran - Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden is open to Venezuelan oil. Over the weekend, the Treasury Department issued $355 billion oil giant Chevron (CVX.N) a license to resume limited production in the country. That helps to spread around extraction of the fossil fuel, and could ease prices on the margin. But between the dirty Venezuelan oil and decrepit fields, the help is limited.
/jlne.ws/3FaQBjQ
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Only One in Three Workers Think Their Pay Is Fair, Study Finds; Employees' perceptions of pay equity is driven mostly by how much they trust their organization.
Jo Constantz - Bloomberg
Only 32% of employees think their compensation is fair, according to a new survey by consulting firm Gartner Inc. Employees' perceptions of unfairness can be attributed largely to trust - or lack thereof - in their organizations, according to Gartner, which surveyed more than 3,500 employees. Toxic culture, poor inclusivity, inadequate work-life balance and unfair experiences can all undermine that trust.
/jlne.ws/3XJ6uFo
Apollo Co-Founder Leon Black Accused in New Suit of Rape in Epstein Mansion; Virginia woman files suit under NY's new Adult Survivors Act; Black's lawyer calls latest allegations 'categorically false'
Chris Dolmetsch and Heather Perlberg - Bloomberg
Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black was sued by a woman who claims the billionaire raped her in 2002 in Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. The lawsuit, in which Cheri Pierson of Virginia alleges Black assaulted her after Epstein introduced them, was filed Monday in state court in New York by the same law firm representing former Russian model Guzel Ganieva. Ganieva, who also claims Black raped her, sued him last year, accusing him of defamation for calling their relationship a "consensual affair" and claiming she had extorted money from him over it.
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The Class Where Future Bosses Learn How to Deliver Bad News; New course at Berkeley's business school prepares students to navigate workplace tensions
Lindsay Ellis - The Wall Street Journal
A new business-school course at the University of California, Berkeley promises to teach the delicate art of having tough conversations. The prerequisite? Deciding to get comfortable with conflict. As M.B.A. programs train the next generation of bosses, lessons in improving interpersonal skills, emotional awareness and even happiness have become core parts of the curriculum. Some of these offerings teach how to wield greater influence or hone better negotiating skills, part of the schools' aims to turn out better people managers.
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