| July 18, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
In an open letter, the World Federation of Exchanges urges global policymakers, regulators, investors, and issuers to reaffirm their commitment to the core principles that underpin capital markets, emphasizing the essential role of trusted, transparent, and resilient public markets in driving economic growth and societal advancement. The letter highlights the importance of exchanges as guardians of market integrity, innovation, and inclusion, playing a central role in supporting small businesses, facilitating sustainable finance, and ensuring that markets remain accessible and fair for all participants.
The Federation points to the current decline in public listings and trading activity as a concerning trend, noting that the health of public exchanges is a critical signal of a country's broader financial well-being. This trend, they warn, threatens inclusive economic growth and should be a priority not only for those in public markets but also for private market participants who ultimately depend on robust public market infrastructure.
Calling this a global mission, the World Federation of Exchanges invites collaboration among member exchanges, regulators, asset managers, and issuers worldwide to safeguard and enhance the future of public markets. By working together, the letter stresses, stakeholders can ensure that capital markets remain engines of progress, inclusion, and long-term prosperity.
The SEC Historical Society shared on LinkedIn that "This week in 1969, in a decisive step away from its history as a private club, the NYSE voted in principle to allow public ownership of member broker-dealer firms. Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette was the first to go public, followed soon by fifteen other firms and the NYSE itself." The LinkedIn post referenced a larger piece on the SEC Historical Society website titled "The Institution of Experience: Self-Regulatory Organizations in the Securities Industry, 1792-2010."
CME Group President and Chief Financial Officer Lynne Cook Fitzpatrick has been named one of Crain's Chicago Business Notable Leaders in Finance for 2025.
Veteran journalist Jeremy Grant's latest weekly column in The Scotsman is titled "Why Scotland's embattled offshore wind industry must get on a war footing to make its case" with the subheadline "With Trump and Reform leading the anti-net zero zealots, green energy has to convince the public of its merits."
Next week JLN will publish a three-part video interview with Grant that I shot while I was in Scotland ahead of FIA's IDX in London. It is not to be missed.
OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT agent, a new AI-powered bot that automates tasks like creating spreadsheets, generating PowerPoint presentations, online shopping, and booking reservations, directly competing with business software giants such as Microsoft, Belle Lin of The Wall Street Journal reported. The agent leverages advanced web-synthesizing capabilities, enabling users to gather and process large volumes of information for research, financial analysis, and business document creation-aiming to reduce tasks that once took hours to just minutes. While the new features do not currently support Google's productivity tools, OpenAI asserts that the focus remains on improving user convenience rather than directly challenging competitors. This development exemplifies the rapid pace of innovation in AI-driven business productivity solutions.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: CME Group starts testing US Treasury clearing service, ANALYSIS: CME prepares move into $29tn US Treasuries clearing market and Non-US clearing houses should be wary of 'politicised' Federal Reserve.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality, and justice.~JJL
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Our most-read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- 'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb tells BI he agrees with Elon Musk on debt, saying a 'crisis' is looming from Business Insider.
- Options Trading for All: Navigating Risk, Access, and Investor Protection from Traders Magazine.
- Tariff-driven Currency Volatility Hits North American Firms' Profits, Driving Surge in FX Hedging from Traders Magazine. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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Demand, Technology Drive Private Investment Access, Says WealthBlock.ai's Jeong
JohnLothianNews.com
ELMHURST, IL-(JLN)-July 18, 2025 - Rising demand and evolving technology are reshaping the private investment landscape, according to Trilliam Jeong, founder of WealthBlock.ai. In an interview with John Lothian News, Jeong described how both regulatory changes and investor appetite are converging to break down barriers in the alternative assets market.
Watch the video »
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Euronext Sees Surging Innovation Fueled by Integrated Clearing, Eyes Retail Growth with Mini Bond Futures JohnLothianNews.com LONDON, UK (JLN) - July 18, 2025 - Euronext's move to integrated clearing has ushered in "a completely different pace" of product innovation, allowing Europe's largest exchange group to roll out new contracts and market infrastructure developments every month and to break into the fixed income space, according to Charlotte Alliot, head of financial derivatives. Watch the Charlotte Alliot Video » Ashwini Panse - ICE Watch the Ashwini Panse Video » Iouri Saroukhanov - Cboe Watch the Iouri Saroukhanov Video »
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Travelers to the U.S. must pay a new $250 'visa integrity fee' - what to know
Monica Pitrelli - CNBC
Visitors to the United States will need to pay a "visa integrity fee," according to a provision of the Trump administration's recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The fee applies to all visitors who need non-immigrant visas to enter, and cannot be waived. However travelers may also be able to get the fees reimbursed, according to the provision. Details about the new requirement are scant, which has resulted in "significant challenges and unanswered questions regarding implementation," a spokesperson from the U.S. Travel Association told CNBC Travel.
/jlne.ws/3GS1iM0
****** I am not sure the U.S. wants visitors anymore. This is going to put a dent in business and personal travel.~JJL
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Public Interest in Climate Change Wanes says Friends of Science Society; Recent polls indicate that climate change action is no longer a priority for most North Americans, says Friends of Science Society. This runs counter to the 89% climate action advocacy media project of Covering Climate Now and counter to claims of Canada's Abacus Data of a spike in climate interest by the public.
American Enterprise Institute
Results of a new poll by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) think tank published on July 09, 2025, show that Americans are more interested in reliable, affordable power, driving conventional Internal Combustion Engine vehicles over Electric Vehicles, and are generally unconcerned about the alleged "climate crisis," says Friends of Science. The report on the poll results is titled, "The Science vs. the Narrative vs. the Voters: Clarifying the Public Debate Around Energy and Climate." It includes a helpful chronology of how climate change escalated to a 'climate emergency.'
/jlne.ws/3TM3rM5
***** I am always leery of groups that are named "Friends of."~JJL
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The Scariest Thing in Alien: Earth Isn't the Xenomorphs. It's Tech Bros; The new FX series from Noah Hawley is an acid-blooded take on tech's increasing global dominance.
Esther Zuckerman - Bloomberg
Watch enough of the Alien franchise and you'll realize this: The giant drooling monsters are not the real villains. Sure, they're grotesque parasites that kill humans in elaborate, horrific ways. But the true fiend is the company pulling the strings. Ridley Scott's seminal 1979 film, Alien, was essentially about blue-collar workers who are sent on a suicide mission by a faceless conglomerate that doesn't give a hoot about its employees. James Cameron's equally beloved sequel, Aliens, put a 1980s spin on that concept, giving us a villain in the form of a greedy middle manager, played by Paul Reiser, who wants to monetize the acid-blooded xenomorphs as weapons of mass destruction. Last year's Alien: Romulus really drove the point home, focusing on a group of young people desperate to escape their indentured servitude in a rain-shrouded mining colony.
/jlne.ws/44Te70n
****** Beware of Tech Bros!~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top clicked story Thursday was FXPA Issues Guidance on FX Internalisation in Algorithmic Execution, from Finance Feeds. Second was a tie between Preparing for the Future of Treasury Clearing | Conversation with SocGen's Scott Andersen, an ICE video interview on YouTube, and US CFTC begins staff firings, agency source says, from Reuters. Third was Bank CEOs Are Coming Out Fighting for Fed Independence, from The Wall Street Journal.
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| Lead Stories | Jane Street's Trading Secrets Spill Into Open and Face Rivals' Scrutiny; A regulatory probe and bond documents show how a $42 billion war chest and an embrace of risk drive profits
Katherine Doherty and Bernard Goyder - Bloomberg
A poster with the WWII slogan "Loose Lips Sink Ships" long adorned the interior of Jane Street Group's offices - an unsubtle reminder to staff of the secrecy prized by one of Wall Street's most profitable firms. Now the 25-year-old trading powerhouse is in the glare of a global spotlight. It's a privately controlled company so clandestine that it doesn't publicly identify a leader at the top. A staffer who once tried to track down an email list of governing partners recalled giving up, learning that Jane Street doesn't want something like that circulating, not even to people working there.
/jlne.ws/3ItH2Rs
HSBC Disbands Team Focused on Managing Geopolitical Risks
Ambereen Choudhury, Denise Wee, and Harry Wilson - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is disbanding a team of staffers that were focused on identifying and managing geopolitical risk even as the possibility of such threats has ratcheted up since US President Donald Trump returned to power. The move will impact fewer than 10 roles across Asia, Europe and other regions, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of those staffers have been given the opportunity to apply for other jobs within the lender, they said, asking not to be identified discussing personnel information.
/jlne.ws/4kLj41c
Bitcoin Has Found a New Purpose. What Could Go Wrong?
Maria Clara Cobo - Bloomberg
When Bitcoin broke into the public consciousness in 2013, the idea behind it quickly captured people's imagination: a digital currency for instant, anonymous payments that dispenses with the need for a bank. Its price surged that year, from around $13 to $747.Twelve years on, the world's best-known cryptocurrency has topped $120,000. Tens of thousands of personal fortunes have been made (and some lost) along the way. But for all the talk of Bitcoin going mainstream, it's never really threatened to displace regular currencies as a way to pay for groceries, buy a car, or even send money across borders - a business arguably ripe for disruption given the significant fees involved.
/jlne.ws/456u4BP
Crypto Industry Reaches Milestone With Passage of First Major Bill; After a week of squabbling in Washington, the cryptocurrency industry secured one of its primary legislative objectives and made progress toward a second one.
David Yaffe-Bellany and Robert Jimison - The New York Times
The cryptocurrency industry reached a major milestone in Washington on Thursday, as Congress cleared legislation outlining the first federal rules for stablecoins, a popular form of digital currency. A bipartisan vote in the House to approve the bill, known as the Genius Act, sent it to the White House for President Trump's signature, now expected on Friday. He has promised to make it the first major piece of crypto legislation signed into law in the United States. But even as the industry and its backers notched their first big policy victory, the fate of a potentially more consequential digital currency regulation bill still working its way through Congress was in doubt.
/jlne.ws/4eXoJ3a
*****Here is Reuters' version of the story.
Regulating Stablecoins Will Take a Genius Act, and This Isn't It; The new cryptocurrency legislation would introduce needless risk to both the financial system and consumers.
Allison Schrager - Bloomberg
If this session of Congress is remembered for anything, it may be for its poorly named its legislation. First there was the One Big Beautiful Bill, which wasn't. Now there is the Genius Act, which isn't. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, which Congress passed this week, would regulate stablecoins and effectively transform them from a security to a means of payment. While there is a need for some regulation, as some retailers are considering issuing their own stablecoins, mainstreaming the cryptocurrency is hardly a genius move.
/jlne.ws/4lA5sXR
Coinbase Eyes Regulatory Win as Trump Pushes Crypto-Friendly Legislation; The cryptocurrency exchange stands to benefit from the passage of a bill that would establish oversight of currency-pegged stablecoins
Connor Hart - The Wall Street Journal
President Trump and his administration have worked to open the doors for widespread adoption and investment in the crypto industry, and things are moving more quickly than expected, Coinbase said. "It's really urgent for us to get it settled so that investors can invest in the sector, and that tokens that are issued can be traded on our platform," Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase's chief policy officer, said Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/4m2S3aN
David Bailey's Fund Is Up 640% After Converting Trump on Crypto
Ryan Weeks - Bloomberg
A key architect of the lobbying campaign that turned Donald Trump into crypto's most powerful advocate has made a wildly lucrative bet on one of the industry's frothiest corners. David Bailey's hedge fund 210k Capital posted a net return of 640% in the 12 months through June after investing in about a dozen companies that turned themselves into Bitcoin buyers, according to a person familiar with the matter, far exceeding gains in the token itself. The fund had $433 million in assets under management as of June 30, according to the person.
/jlne.ws/3TIgezc
Brandon Lutnick Pushes Cantor to Go All-In on Crypto SPACs
Todd Gillespie and Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
The crowd was lining up at the Venetian hotel for the latest attraction in Las Vegas: Wall Street's new crypto royalty. It was late May, and Brandon Lutnick - the son of billionaire US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick - had flown in with his banker colleagues to celebrate the rise of cryptocurrencies under President Donald Trump.
/jlne.ws/4fgsxgd
Bitcoin treasury firms are a better bet than crypto ETFs, says Twenty-One Capital CEO Jack Mallers
Leo Schwartz - Fortune
At a time when Bitcoin broke the $120,000 mark for the first time, Wall Street's appetite is growing for new ways to hold the first-and largest-cryptocurrency. The latest vehicle: publicly traded companies that hold Bitcoin in their treasuries. On the inaugural episode of Fortune's vodcast Crypto Playbook, Jack Mallers-a prominent Bitcoin champion and the CEO and cofounder of the new Bitcoin treasury company Twenty-One Capital-argued that betting on firms whose sole goal is to accumulate more Bitcoin is a superior way for traditional investors to get access to the red-hot asset class. Pioneered by Michael Saylor's technology company MicroStrategy, many firms have recently adopted the approach of using balance sheet capital to buy Bitcoin, with some launching over the past few months. Those include the upstart Twenty-One Capital, which is backed by stablecoin leader Tether and tech investment giant Softbank and led Mallers, a 31-year-old known for founding the Bitcoin company Strike and leading efforts to push global adoption, including in El Salvador through his work with President Nayib Bukele.
/jlne.ws/4eXPAfl
Marex Financial Products issues its first structured 'cash-and-carry' note linked to cobalt
Marex
Marex today announces that its structured products business Marex Financial Products issued its first structured 'cash-and-carry' note linked to cobalt. This innovative 'cash-and-carry' product was executed thanks to Marex's ability to access physical cobalt in the spot market, hold it, and simultaneously sell cobalt futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The derived value was packaged into a structured investable product with a guaranteed coupon over a fixed tenor.
/jlne.ws/44XXD7u
24-Hour U.S Equities Trading Advances
Shanny Basar - MarketsMedia
Wedbush Securities has become the latest financial services firm to launch 24-hour trading for U.S. equities as the first phase of 24X National Exchange is due to launch in September this year. 24X National Exchange said it will be the first national securities exchange approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer 23-hour weekday trading of U.S. equities. In June this year 24 Exchange said in a statement that the first stage of the project will launch on 29 September 2025, with the exchange offering trading of U.S. equities from 4am ET to 8pm ET on weekdays, the current trading day for U.S stock exchanges.
/jlne.ws/4nVv7fj
Mesirow CEO Natalie Brown stepping down after three years in the role
Mark Weinraub - Crain's Chicago Business
Mesirow Chief Executive Officer Natalie Brown is stepping down as head of the Chicago-based investment firm she has led for three years. "I am incredibly proud of what we've accomplished together: from growing key businesses and expanding our capabilities through strategic acquisitions, to deepening our client relationships and preserving the intentional culture that makes this firm special," Brown said in a letter to Mesirow's staff.
/jlne.ws/3Uhy5x3
The Global Risks That Come With the Loss of an Independent Fed; It isn't just the U.S. Other countries have also come to expect an independent U.S. central bank.
David Uberti and Justin Lahart - The Wall Street Journal
President Trump's threat to attempt to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has raised a pressing but potentially unanswerable question: What would the global economy and financial markets look like without an independent U.S. central bank? Shielded from White House interference, the independent Fed has increasingly served as an anchor for U.S. and global markets, stepping in to steady the ship during the 2008-09 financial crisis, the Covid pandemic and other shocks of recent years. Economists credit the central bank's ability to help keep things stable in large part to its power to make moves it deems necessary, regardless of politics.
/jlne.ws/3IEpy4J
What Happens If Trump Fires Powell? Bad Things; In this week's episode of Everybody's Business, we discuss how markets and the economy would react to an attempted ouster of the Fed Chair.
Max Chafkin - Bloomberg
On the morning of July 16, a White House official told Bloomberg News that President Donald Trump was preparing to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Such a firing would potentially be illegal (as the Supreme Court recently noted) and undermine decades of goodwill that Fed policymakers have built up with investors. Trump quickly took the threat back, while making it clear he might still try to dismiss Powell, ostensibly based on alleged overspending on a renovation of the central bank's headquarters. On this week's episode of Everybody's Business, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin are joined by Martha Gimbel, director of the Budget Lab at Yale, to explore what's at stake.
/jlne.ws/44Qa6Kb
Jane Street Scrutiny in India Puts Secretive Firm in the Spotlight; On today's Big Take podcast: Jane Street is famous for its explosive growth - and its secrecy. Now, it's under regulatory scrutiny in India.
Julia Press, Sarah Holder, and Eleanor Harrison-Dengate - Bloomberg
Jane Street is one of Wall Street's most profitable and secretive firms. And when Indian regulators accused it of market manipulation earlier this month, it rocked the finance world. On today's Big Take podcast, Bloomberg finance reporter Katherine Doherty joins host Sarah Holder to go inside Jane Street's unique trading strategy and what new regulatory scrutiny could mean for the high frequency trading industry.
/jlne.ws/4kIx9wF
Threats to the Fed go beyond firing Powell; Curtis Yarvin's ideas are going ever more mainstream in Trump's Washington - and investors should be worried
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
A couple of weeks ago I swapped ideas about the Federal Reserve with Curtis Yarvin - the self-styled "populist authoritarian" blogger who recently gave political advice to Elon Musk. His thoughts might make Fed-watchers blanch. The issue is not just with President Donald Trump's ever-escalating threats to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell; Yarvin also wants Trump to smash the Fed's independence by putting it under the sway of the Treasury, so it can restructure America's $37tn debt and "unplug" its finance from the rest of the world. "My audacious plan is to merge the Fed and Treasury and revalue assets," he explained. "It is very incorrect to regard Treasury obligations as debt - they are restricted stock."
/jlne.ws/4lUYpJ8
Is the U.S. Riskier Than Emerging Markets? While the U.S. stock market has rebounded, the combination of the Trump tariffs, a volatile dollar and an erratic bond market has begun to shake global investment thinking.
Jeff Sommer - The New York Times
People living in the United States and using mainly dollars in their personal lives may not fully appreciate the combination of shocks that have unnerved investors elsewhere in the world. The first half of the year was a game changer for investors in Europe, Japan and many other countries for whom the instability of the U.S. financial markets was a seismic event. After years of U.S. outperformance, stocks, bonds and the dollar all experienced painful reversals that were magnified for those holding euros, yen and other currencies.
/jlne.ws/44CQytZ
Crypto's $4 Trillion Moment; A legislative win in Congress, and the promise of more to come, has helped lift the prospects and the wealth of the cryptocurrency industry.
Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced and Danielle Kaye - The New York Times
Is the sky the limit for crypto? President Trump could deliver a major boost to the crypto industry as soon as Friday, when he's expected to sign into law legislation to create new rules for so-called stablecoins. That, along with a potential move to permit American retirement accounts to invest in crypto, underscores just how much sway crypto companies hold in the Republican-led Washington. That's powering gains in the paper wealth of these businesses - including those tied to Trump himself.
/jlne.ws/44ZjbRa
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| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | Tariff war must end quickly, German finance minister tells G7 partners
Maria Martinez - Reuters
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil made clear in a meeting with his counterparts from the Group of Seven major economies on Friday that the global trade conflict must be ended quickly, he told reporters. "But I also want to say very clearly: There will be no deal at any price, there should be no victory at any price," Klingbeil said in Durban, South Africa, on the sidelines of the G20 finance chiefs meetings, where G7 ministers also met separately.
/jlne.ws/4m5fekU
Trump Targets Brazil Ethanol Market That American Firms Helped Fuel
Dayanne Sousa and Beatriz Reis - Bloomberg
The Trump administration has blamed tariffs for a slump in ethanol shipments to Brazil. But the loss of what was once the biggest export market for US biofuel is, in part, a problem of America's own making. Brazil has drastically reduced its dependence on US biofuel imports by investing billions of dollars in corn-based ethanol, creating a domestic industry that it later moved to protect through tariffs. The push began in 2017, led by Iowa-based Summit Agricultural Group, whose FS unit installed Brazil's first corn ethanol plant.
/jlne.ws/4lZjgLp
Egg Supplier Vital Pays Farmers $200,000 Bonuses in Growth Push
Ilena Peng - Bloomberg
The top US brand of pasture-raised eggs is throwing money at farmers to secure supply of the protein-rich staple as competition tightens and tariffs threaten to drive up costs. In its biggest expansion yet, Vital Farms Inc. has signed contracts with an additional 200 farms since the end of 2023, bringing its total network to 500, the Austin-based supplier said Thursday in a statement. The push includes bonuses of $200,000 per farm to cover rising construction costs and secure loans, according to Chief Executive Officer Russell Diez-Canseco.
/jlne.ws/40YavJr
Blame It on Tariffs: CEOs Roll Out New Excuse for Bankruptcies
Georgia Hall - Bloomberg
When At Home Group Inc.'s lawyer stood before a US bankruptcy judge last month asking to wipe out nearly $2 billion of the retailer's debt, the reason came quick: tariffs. It's a line that's showing up in more and more courtrooms. Tile importer Mosaic Cos. blamed them in a recent filing. Just weeks earlier, it was auto-parts supplier Marelli Holdings Co. and aluminum trader Sinobec Group Inc. In all, tariffs have been laid out as a key reason in at least 10 bankruptcies in the US since early April, when President Donald Trump first unveiled a new wave of levies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/4nMG6HQ
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Russia must be ready to strike West over Ukraine, former leader says; Dmitry Medvedev, who has become one of the Kremlin's biggest hawks, portrayed western backing for Ukraine as part of a centuries-old campaign against Moscow
Marc Bennetts, Foreign Correspondent - The Times
Russia should prepare to carry out military strikes on western countries over their support for Ukraine, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian leader, has said. "What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-fledged war," Medvedev, who is now a senior Russian national security official, told the Tass news agency. "We need to act accordingly. Respond in full. And if necessary, launch preventative strikes."
/jlne.ws/45amV3l
Russian banks prepare for bailouts as Putin's war hammers economy
Tim Wallace - The Telegraph
Russia's banks are reportedly seeking to arrange bailouts from Moscow as borrowers struggle to repay loans across the war-battered economy. At least three of the country's biggest banks are investigating the possibility of a state rescue, according to Bloomberg News, in the latest sign the nation is struggling under the pressure of its invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/4lA1lLB
EU Imposes New Raft of Sanctions on Russia and Its Oil Trade
Alberto Nardelli and Andrea Palasciano - Bloomberg
European Union states have approved a fresh sanctions package on Russia over its war against Ukraine including a revised oil price cap, new banking restrictions, and curbs on fuels made from Russian petroleum. The package, the bloc's 18th since Moscow's full scale invasion, will see about 20 more Russian banks cut off the international payments system SWIFT and face a full transaction ban, as well as restrictions imposed on Russian petroleum refined in third countries. A large oil refinery in India, part-owned by Russia's state-run oil company, Rosneft PJSC, was also blacklisted.
/jlne.ws/4nTYBu0
UK Looking to Join Trump Plan to Purchase US Weapons for Ukraine
Ellen Milligan and Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
The UK is looking to participate in European purchases of US military equipment for Ukraine, as allies seize on Donald Trump's more hostile stance toward Russia even if it means financing the weapons themselves. Defense Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, will discuss what role the UK will play in the purchase program during a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3ICHFId
Middle East Conflict
Iran Is Moving to Rearm Its Militia Allies; Yemen intercepts cargo of missiles, other gear intended for the Houthis; follows seizures in Syria of equipment sent to Hezbollah
Benoit Faucon and Adam Chamseddine - The Wall Street Journal
Iran suffered a significant setback when Israel killed top military leaders and the U.S. struck its nuclear facilities, but a pattern of high-value weapons seizures shows Tehran is making new efforts to arm its militia allies across the Middle East. Forces allied with Yemen's internationally recognized government this week intercepted a major shipment of missiles, drone parts and other military gear sent to Houthi rebels on the Red Sea coast. Syria's new government says it has seized a number of weapons cargoes, including Grad rockets-for use in multiple-launch systems mounted on trucks-along its borders with Iraq and Lebanon.
/jlne.ws/40ZxuDS
Israel's Red Lines in Syria Are Drawing It Deeper Into Conflict; Rising violence comes as Washington pushes for a diplomatic deal
Feliz Solomon - The Wall Street Journal
DUBAI-As Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria was collapsing late last year, Israel took the opportunity to destroy the military capabilities of one of its oldest enemies. Since then, it has increased its demands on the new regime, insisting on a demilitarized zone south of Damascus and promising to intervene militarily if needed to protect the Druze minority who live on both sides of the border. That is putting Israel in deepening conflict with Syria's new leadership, as sectarian violence involving the Druze spiraled this week. Druze on both sides of the Israel-Syria border smashed through Israeli troop positions as they tried to save their families from the unfolding violence.
/jlne.ws/3GT9Lyn
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Crypto, FX and Rates - Effective July 18, 2025
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below. Unless otherwise specified, the rates will be effective after the close of business on July 18, 2025.
/jlne.ws/3IROCoT
Nasdaq Halts Bowen Acquisition Corp.
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced that trading was halted on July 15, 2025 in Bowen Acquisition Corp. at 17:45:19 Eastern Time for additional information requested from the company. The last sale price of the company's securities was:
/jlne.ws/4kGXlrj
Former head of equities at SIX returns as managing director after Citadel stint; Individual previously left SIX in February 2024 following a 10-year tenure to join Citadel Securities as head of EMEA business development.
Natasha Cocksedge - The Trade
Adam Matuszewski has rejoined SIX as managing director and part of the management committee for exchanges, following a year-long stint at Citadel Securities, The TRADE can reveal. London-based Matuszewski returns to SIX after having previously left in February 2024 following a 10-year tenure with the firm. During his time at the exchange, he served as head of equities and executive director, as well as covering various product management roles in equities.
/jlne.ws/411hlOe
ETF Market Report: 2nd Quarter 2025; Discover the latest figures about the development of the ETF segment at SIX Swiss Exchange, one of Europe's top 3 ETF venues - including statistics for Quote on Demand (QOD).
SIX
With turnover of CHF 31.89 billion and 840,726 transactions, the figures for the Swiss ETF market was at the same level as the previous quarter. They continued to significantly exceed the figures of the previous year. The number of trades is now already at 68.61% of the previous year, while the average trade size was CHF 40,158. In terms of ticket sizes, the slight upward trend in trades over 1,000,000 continued. The median confirmed the trend reversal that emerged in the previous quarter. The value in the first half of the year was 11.33% higher than in the previous year. The range of newly listed ETFs on SIX Swiss Exchange increased by 108 units in the second quarter, 37 more units than in the previous quarter. On 30 June the total number of ETFs listed at SIX Swiss Exchange amounted to 2,025 units. This is the first time the 2,000 mark has been exceeded. The many new listings primarily comprised equity and bond ETFs. On the other hand, there was a remarkable lack of new products in the commodities segment, despite it having recently attracted renewed interest from investors. The increasing frequency of new listings underscores the ongoing momentum surrounding this extremely popular segment on SIX Swiss Exchange.
/jlne.ws/44OKFc4
Bratislava Stock Exchange becomes EuroCTP's sixteenth shareholder; EuroCTP's shareholder base now includes all 27 EU member states, with other shareholders including the Budapest Stock Exchange, SIX, Euronext and Nasdaq.
Natasha Cocksedge - The Trade
EuroCTP has welcomed the Bratislava Stock Exchange as its sixteenth shareholder ahead of the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) selection of the consolidated tape provider (CTP) for equities expected later this year. The addition of the exchange now expands EuroCTP's shareholder base to include all 27 EU member states, and the firm has said that the move aligns with its vision to create a pan-European participant for the ESMA tender.
/jlne.ws/40psbxq
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Launch of Securities Market Hackathon at Global Fintech Fest 2025 (GFF '25)
SEBI
SEBI, in collaboration with BSE, CDSL, NSDL and KFintech, has launched a Securities Market Hackathon at Global Fintech Fest 2025 (GFF '25). The theme for the Hackathon is "Driving Innovation and tech oriented solutions in securities market". The hackathon intends to bring together India's brightest minds to develop digital-first solutions for tackling real-world challenges in the securities market. Participants will be required to build tools that empower retail investors and enhance transparency, efficiency, compliance, and accessibility across capital markets. They will have to develop solutions using technology and innovative approaches specifically targeting any of the following problem statement(s): https://jlne.ws/40p5YzF
Artificial Intelligence
Robinhood CEO says the majority of the company's new code is written by AI, with 'close to 100%' adoption from engineers
Henry Chandonnet - Business Insider
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev estimates that "a minority" of the company's new code is written by humans. On the 20VC podcast, Tenev said that it's become difficult to distinguish human-written from AI-generated code. He said the company has used tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Windsurf, and nearly 100% of his engineers use an AI editor. At Robinhood, nearly all of the engineers are vibe coders. That's according to Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who said on the 20VC podcast that the company's human-written code was hard to distinguish from AI-generated code. Among the company's engineers, "close to 100%" are using AI code editors, he said.
/jlne.ws/46OaYBC
OpenAI Unveils Agent That Can Make Spreadsheets and PowerPoints; The company's latest move puts it in closer competition with Microsoft and other business software artificial intelligence companies
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
OpenAI rolled out its latest entry in the red-hot area of independently operating AI bots, an agent that lets users automate tasks like online shopping and create spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. ChatGPT agent, as the bot is called, runs on a new AI model created to power the capability, the San Francisco-based company said. It works just as OpenAI's 'Operator' agent does, by accessing the internet through its own browser and can click, scroll and type just as a person would.
/jlne.ws/4nTX47e
Elon Musk Is Cashing In on the AI Romance Boom; Grok's new flirtatious character may be lucrative, but it only offers an illusion of intimacy.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
Elon Musk is a no-holds-barred kind of tech billionaire. So too are his new AI companions. Two characters have been added this week to Grok, the chatbot developed by Musk's company xAI, including a flirtatious girl with all the hallmarks of a manga character: enormous eyes, thigh-high fishnet stockings and an exaggerated hourglass figure. Musk spent the early hours of Wednesday promoting the character on X, pointing to how Grok was climbing the app store ranks across the world.
/jlne.ws/4f0qzjK
Meta Says It Won't Sign EU's AI Code, Calling It Overreach
Gian Volpicelli - Bloomberg
Meta Platforms Inc. said it won't sign the code of practice for Europe's new set of laws governing artificial intelligence, calling the guidelines to help companies follow the AI Act overreach. "Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI," Meta's head of global affairs Joel Kaplan said in a post on LinkedIn. "This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act."
/jlne.ws/4f7ah8L
Japan Inches Toward AI Goals With Rapidus' First Chip Prototype
Yuki Furukawa - Bloomberg
Japan's Rapidus Corp. has prototyped an advanced chip, an early step in the government-backed startup's attempt to leapfrog years of innovation with the help of billions of dollars in public funding.
/jlne.ws/4580ko6
Microprocessors
Nvidia Rally Shows Signs of Overheating as Gains Blow Past 80%
Ryan Vlastelica - Bloomberg
Nvidia Corp. traders keep getting reasons to buy the stock, but the breakneck rally is showing signs of overheating. The chipmaker's 14-day relative strength index topped 80 on Friday, the highest since June 2024 when the stock dropped more than 20% over the following six weeks. The momentum gauge tracks the speed of a stock's recent price changes and a reading over 70 is a signal to some analysts that buying is at extreme levels.
/jlne.ws/4lyh0uF
TSMC Pledges Prudence as It Pursues $165 Billion US Expansion
Debby Wu, Annabelle Droulers and Tian Chen - Bloomberg
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will remain prudent about spending this year while expanding globally to meet surging AI chip demand, as the chipmaker grapples with growing macroeconomic and foreign exchange volatility. The main supplier of chips to Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp. is sitting tight for now on plans to set aside a maximum $42 billion for capital expenditure this year, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang told Bloomberg Television. Calling currency volatility a "big uncertainty" to margins, he said the company will also actively review hedging strategies to manage the impact.
/jlne.ws/4o3gUNB
Tokenization
Securitize Takes Tokenized Hamilton Lane Credit Fund Multichain, Bringing It Closer to DeFi
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
Real-world asset platform Securitize upgraded its tokenized private credit fund with Hamilton Lane, an investment firm with $956 billion of assets under management and supervision, expanding its reach across multiple blockchains and adding features aimed at decentralized finance (DeFi) users. Introduced in 2023 on Polygon (POL), the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities (SCOPE) Fund is now available on Ethereum and Optimism (OP), with blockchain interoperability enabled by Wormhole (W). This means investors can move fund units across chains, unlocking wider participation and liquidity in different DeFi ecosystems. Securitize also added support for daily net asset value (NAV) pricing through RedStone oracles and made the fund instantly accessible through its investor portal. Redemptions can be processed in two ways: on-demand through a built-in liquidity pool capped at 5% of the fund's NAV, or through monthly scheduled withdrawals.
/jlne.ws/44BugsD
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Amazon Warns 220 Million Customers Of Prime Account Attacks
Davey Winder, Senior Contributor - Forbes
Update, July 18, 2025: This story, originally published on July 17, has been updated with additional information from Amazon regarding the Prime account attacks that it has emailed 220 million users to warn them about. I know better than most that Amazon Prime subscribers are under attack: I have been on the sharp end of multiple phone calls and email-based threats in the last four weeks alone. I have the advantage of being a cybersecurity insider, and so you would expect me to be aware of such threats and deal with them accordingly. Not everyone is so well informed, however, which is why Amazon has warned all 220 million Prime customers as attackers strike. Here's what you need to know and do.
/jlne.ws/3IyKvy5
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | US passes first major national crypto legislation
Natalie Sherman - BBC News
Lawmakers in the US have passed the country's first major national cryptocurrency legislation. It is a major milestone for the once fringe industry, which has been lobbying Congress over regulation for years and poured millions into last year's election, backing candidates that included Donald Trump. The bill sets up a regulatory regime for so-called stablecoins, a kind of cryptocurrency backed by assets seen as reliable, such as the dollar.
/jlne.ws/3TN2sv5
Russia's Sberbank offers custody services for Russian crypto assets
Reuters
Russia's largest lender Sberbank wants to offer custody services for Russian cryptocurrency assets, the state-owned bank said on Thursday, seeking a leading role in Russia's development of digital assets. Russia's central bank has softened its opposition to cryptocurrencies, backing a law last year that let businesses use them in international trade to help skirt Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its conflict in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/411KQzv
Coinbase, Robinhood Hit Record Highs as U.S. House Passes Landmark Crypto Legislation
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
Crypto-linked stocks climbed higher on Thursday as the U.S. House passed two major pieces of legislation designed to bring structure to digital asset markets, a move investors interpreted as a step toward long-awaited regulatory clarity. Coinbase (COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, advanced 3.2% during the session closing above $410 for the first time ever and pushing its market cap above $100 billion. Circle (CRCL), issuer of the $62 billion USDC stablecoin, rebounded from its intra-day dip to close 0.8% higher at its strongest price in three weeks and extending yesterday's 19% rally.
/jlne.ws/3GvkajW
Analysis-Institutional investors warm to crypto but demand still nascent
Suzanne McGee, Niket Nishant and Manya Saini - Reuters
Bitcoin's surge to a record this week has reignited questions about the role institutional investors are playing in pushing it higher, with analysts suggesting their role is still in its infancy. The world's largest cryptocurrency earlier this week surged to a record above $123,000, receiving a boost on the expectation of pro-crypto policies from Washington. While buzz around digital assets has increased, there is room for demand from institutional investors to grow as pension funds and other long-term buyers add bitcoin to their portfolios, analysts say.
/jlne.ws/413yrer
Adam Back's Bitcoin Treasury Firm to Go Public with 30K BTC and $1.5B in Buying Power
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
The deal between early Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Adam Back and Cantor Fitzgerald to form a new bitcoin treasury strategy company is taking shape. Named Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), the firm announced on Thursday it plans to go public by merging with Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with the Wall Street investment bank run by Brandon Lutnick, son of Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
/jlne.ws/44EUmuV
Stablecoins
This Under-the-Radar Stablecoin Just Exploded 337%-And It's Reshaping How Businesses Think About Crypto
Nick Thomas - Benzinga
The crypto payments landscape just experienced its most dramatic shift in years, and it's not what most investors saw coming. While Bitcoin grabbed headlines with its price volatility, a quieter revolution was unfolding in the world of digital commerce-one that could reshape how businesses and consumers think about cryptocurrency transactions.The Stablecoin Shakeup That Changed Everything. According to CoinGate's H1 2025 Crypto Payments Report, USDC usage exploded by 337% in the first half of 2025, catapulting it into the top five cryptocurrencies and capturing a dominant 68% share of all crypto payouts. This wasn't just growth-it was a seismic shift that saw USDC overtake Tether in payment volume by June.
/jlne.ws/4nVOIvL
CBDC for thee but not for me; The cognitive dissonance of America's pro-crypto policymaking
Christopher Smart - Financial Times
The US Congress takes another step towards American "exceptionalism" this week - and not the good kind. Amid the package of crypto bills that should head to the president's desk in a few days lurks a ban on a digital dollar. With 72 other countries developing or launching a central bank digital currency and another 35 studying the proposition, what does America's legislature understand that all these others do not?
/jlne.ws/4nX677u
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | U.S. Administration
Pam Bondi ousts ethics watchdog amid DOJ purge
Josephine Walker - Axios
Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ethics director at the Department of Justice on Friday, removing the staff in charge of advising her and other officials on how to navigate conflicts of interest. Why it matters: The ethics director was fired on the same day that Bondi dismissed more than 20 employees involved in various investigations of President Donald Trump, reflecting an ongoing purge of personnel at the department.
/jlne.ws/4kJ5oE0
What Happens If Trump Fires Powell? Bad Things; In this week's episode of Everybody's Business, we discuss how markets and the economy would react to an attempted ouster of the Fed Chair.
Max Chafkin - Bloomberg podcast
On the morning of July 16, a White House official told Bloomberg News that President Donald Trump was preparing to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Such a firing would potentially be illegal (as the Supreme Court recently noted) and undermine decades of goodwill that Fed policymakers have built up with investors. Trump quickly took the threat back, while making it clear he might still try to dismiss Powell, ostensibly based on alleged overspending on a renovation of the central bank's headquarters. On this week's episode of Everybody's Business, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin are joined by Martha Gimbel, director of the Budget Lab at Yale, to explore what's at stake.
/jlne.ws/44GeUTS
Powell defends $2.5 billion Fed renovation in letter to White House
Jennifer Schonberger - Yahoo Finance
Jerome Powell offered his first detailed defense of a $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve's headquarters, arguing in a Thursday letter to White House budget director Russell Vought that "we take seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of public resources." It was a point-by-point response to a July 10 letter Powell received from Vought that raised a number of concerns about cost overruns and certain design elements, while warning that "the president is extremely troubled by your management of the Federal Reserve system."
/jlne.ws/4l4K38t
How Sam Altman Outfoxed Elon Musk to Become Trump's AI Buddy; With his rival out of the way, OpenAI's CEO has a clear path to press for company's goals; leaving the Democratic Party
Dana Mattioli and Josh Dawsey - The Wall Street Journal
Just two weeks after Elon Musk's spectacular breakup with President Trump, the tech billionaire's nemesis strode into the dining room of the president's New Jersey golf club wearing a suit and a wide smile. Sam Altman, the 40-year-old chief executive of OpenAI, had just finished a long one-on-one meeting with Trump, and the two men were about to dine with the president's top donors. Trump introduced Altman to the club's applauding members as "a very brilliant man," adding: "I hope he's right about AI."
/jlne.ws/4nVpOwr
Trump AI Guidelines Expected to Loosen Rules, Pursue Energy
Oma Seddiq and Stephanie Lai - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump is expected to announce policy guidelines for artificial intelligence that will call for easing regulation and expanding energy sources for data centers, while urging Congress to consider federal legislation to preempt state oversight of the emerging technology. The administration's so-called AI Action Plan is set to be published in the coming days, following a directive this year to formulate a comprehensive framework outlining key initiatives designed to accelerate development in the US. Trump is expected to sign several executive orders to enact some of the policies outlined in the plan, according to people who were briefed by administration officials.
/jlne.ws/44Bvrbx
U.S. Congress
Senator Warren Has a New Target on Wall Street: Private Credit; A warning by the Democratic senator comes as the Trump administration weighs how to open private-assets to retail investors
Dylan Tokar - The Wall Street Journal
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for more scrutiny of the booming private-credit market, and she's homing in on the agencies that rate the industry's products. The Democrat from Massachusetts sent letters Thursday to agencies including S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings, asking for information about how they score the riskiness of private-credit products.
/jlne.ws/3IBgFJd
Senator Warren Asks Ratings Firms How They Assess Private Credit Risk
Olivia Fishlow and Isabella Farr - Bloomberg
Senator Elizabeth Warren asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and various ratings agencies for more information on risks posed by the $1.7 trillion private-credit industry. In the letter to ratings firms including S&P Global Inc., Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings, the Massachusetts Democrat expressed concern that some companies may be "inflating" ratings of private debt instruments, which could pose risks to the larger financial system.
/jlne.ws/4lE9hLV
MTG links Trump's crypto bill to the Biblical end of time as she quotes Book of Revelation
Ariana Baio - The Independent
Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene invoked the Bible on Wednesday to declare her opposition to a landmark cryptocurrency bill, equating the legislation's potential impact to the Biblical end of times. Referring to a passage of the book of Revelation, Greene insinuated that if the bill, called the GENIUS Act, did not explicitly ban digital currency from being issued by a central bank, it could lead to the demise of the world. "I will not vote for this," Greene wrote on X. "The only way to guarantee a ban on a central bank digital currency is through law."
/jlne.ws/40sYqf7
Republicans' Surprise Gambling Tax Rolls the Dice on Young Men; The demographic that swung hard to the GOP might not like how the party has just voted to tax casino losses.
Erika D. Smith - Bloomberg
Politicians don't typically spend a lot of time talking about the needs of professional gamblers. But they are now - and their fight over a little-known provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that will hit high rollers with a new tax penalty is worth watching because it's exposing the many tensions within MAGA. There are the socially conservative Republicans who don't like gambling. The libertarian Republicans who don't care. The Republicans who say they are for the working class, including casino workers. The business-friendly Republicans who see an opportunity in an industry that made $72 billion in revenue last year, according to the American Gaming Association. And then there's President Donald Trump, a former casino owner who pals around with current casino owners who shower him with campaign donations.
/jlne.ws/4o20i90
United Kingdom
UK places sanctions on Russian spies over cyber and poison attacks; Foreign secretary David Lammy accuses Kremlin of running 'campaign to destabilise Europe'
David Sheppard and Henry Foy - Financial Times
The UK has imposed sanctions on several Russian spy units and military intelligence officers in response to Moscow's hybrid warfare against western states. The UK government said on Friday it was placing sanctions on three units of the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) and 18 military intelligence officers, who it said were "responsible for conducting a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the UK".
/jlne.ws/46nfbwd
European Union
Merz Warns of Financial Risks From UniCredit-Commerzbank Tie-Up
Arne Delfs and Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated his opposition to UniCredit SpA's bid to take over Commerzbank AG, criticizing the Italian lender's "unfriendly approach" and warning a combination could carry financial risks. Asked about the issue at a news conference in Berlin Friday, Merz explained that his "reservations" about UniCredit's move for Germany's second-biggest bank are twofold.
/jlne.ws/4lEayTd
Japan
Traders' Guide to Navigating Japan's Upper House Election
Aya Wagatsuma and Alice French - Bloomberg
Investors are bracing for a potential triple dip in Japanese bonds, stocks and the yen after Sunday's upper house election, as polls point to a defeat for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party. A loss of majority for the ruling bloc, which is already in the minority in the lower house, threatens to destabilize economic policy and push up government spending. That could trigger selloffs across assets, strategists and investors say.
/jlne.ws/46RV8Gf
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC's Atkins Says Changes to 401(k) Plans Must Be Reviewed Carefully
Nicola M White - Bloomberg
US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins says the agency will work closely with its counterparts at the Labor Department when considering potential changes to rules for retirement plans. "We have to do this in a smart way," Atkins said an interview Friday on Bloomberg Television's Surveillance. The Trump administration is finalizing an executive order that would pave the way for 401(k) retirement savings plans to invest in private equity, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week. Details are still being discussed and no date is set for an announcement, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/4lGOIP0
SEC to Weigh 'Innovation Exception' Tied to Crypto, Atkins Says
Yash Roy and Lydia Beyoud - Bloomberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission is weighing an innovation exemption from regulations to incentivize tokenization, Chairman Paul Atkins said, after the US House passed a landmark stablecoin bill earlier Thursday. "Staff is considering what other changes may be appropriate to incentivize tokenization within our regulatory framework, including an innovation exception that would permit novel ways of trading and more narrowly tailored forms of relief to facilitate the building of other components of a tokenized securities ecosystem," he said at a press event.
/jlne.ws/4o20tBc
Australia Regulator Probes $20 Billion Private Credit Manager
Sharon Klyne - Bloomberg
Australia's corporate watchdog is scrutinizing private credit manager Metrics Credit Partners Pty because of concerns over loan valuations and governance practices that have emerged as part of a broader industry probe, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The probe is part of a two-year review of private markets that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission is conducting across the industry. The regulator is giving more attention to Metrics and some of its transactions because of specific concerns about the firm's practices and in light of its substantial exposure to real estate, according to the people.
/jlne.ws/4m2XtCK
Former HSBC trader has fraud conviction overturned
Andy Verity - BBC
A British trader who was jailed in the United States for allegedly manipulating foreign exchange rates has had his conviction overturned after a nine-year struggle for justice. Former HSBC trader Mark Johnson, 59, has fought to establish his innocence ever since he was convicted of fraud in 2017 in connection with a large foreign exchange trade six years earlier. He served time in jail in US federal prisons and in Wandsworth prison in the UK, exhausting avenues of appeal before being released on license in 2022.
/jlne.ws/4f01tld
Statement on Passage of the GENIUS Act by the House of Representatives
Paul S. Atkins, Chairman - SEC
I would like to congratulate the House of Representatives on passing the GENIUS Act and commend the work both the House and Senate put into this important legislation. Advancement of this bill to President Trump's desk marks a historic milestone for crypto entrepreneurs, financial market participants, and everyday Americans. I would like to thank Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, Senator Cynthia Lummis, and my longtime friend Senator Bill Hagerty, who sponsored this legislation, for their leadership in advancing this much-needed legislation.
/jlne.ws/46iqCFo
ASIC disqualifies NSW construction director for five years
ASIC
ASIC has disqualified director Anthony Azizi of Bexley, NSW, from managing corporations for five years following his involvement in the failure of three construction industry companies. Between January 2001 and September 2021, Mr Azizi was the director of Trinity Constructions (Aust) Pty Ltd and Regal Consulting Services Pty Ltd. ASIC was satisfied that Mr Azizi, who conceded to be a shadow director, acted as a director of Trinco Pty Ltd.
/jlne.ws/4kW7XTy
Protections to help Buy Now Pay Later borrowers navigate their financial lives
FCA
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) borrowers will benefit from key protections in place for other types of lending, under proposals put forward by the FCA. The proposals include requiring lenders to check that people can afford to repay BNPL loans and to offer support if they get into financial difficulty. They form part of the FCA's commitment to helping consumers navigate their financial lives. BNPL borrowers will also be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if something goes wrong. The rules would take effect when BNPL comes under the FCA's remit in 2026.
/jlne.ws/4eSUPgk
SFC welcomes re-appointment of Executive Directors
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today welcomed the re-appointment by the Financial Secretary of Ms Christina Choi, Mr Rico Leung and Mr Michael Duignan as Executive Directors for a term of three years. Ms Choi, currently Executive Director of Investment Products, will continue in this capacity until 31 October 2025 (Note 1). Thereafter, she will assume the role of Executive Director of Corporate Finance, effective from 1 November 2025. Mr Leung will continue his position as Executive Director of Supervision of Markets, with effect from 28 August 2025 (Note 2). Mr Duignan will become Executive Director of Enforcement, with effect from 1 November 2025, after his current term as Executive Director of Corporate Finance ends on 31 October 2025 (Note 3). Mr Christopher Wilson, Executive Director of Enforcement, has decided not to seek re-appointment and will leave the Commission when his current term ends on 31 October 2025. Since joining the SFC, Mr Wilson has been instrumental in steering the Commission's legal and regulatory actions against corporate and market misconduct, as well as nurturing close collaboration with local, overseas and Mainland regulatory and enforcement agencies (Note 4).
/jlne.ws/4kHUAWH
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Editorial: Managers of exotic investments want more access to your 401(k). Bad idea.
The Editorial Board - The Chicago Tribune
After George W. Bush won reelection in 2004, he famously decided to spend his political capital on an all-out effort to overhaul Social Security and oblige ordinary Americans to make investment decisions on a portion of their federally funded retirement income. The initiative was a high priority for Wall Street, which salivated at the opportunity to manage this massive pool of cash and earn fees on all those assets. Democrats successfully depicted Bush's Social Security reform as a threat to Americans' economic security in their golden years, and Bush's top priority fizzled without even a congressional vote. Arguably, his second term never really recovered from that failure.
/jlne.ws/4kQuscq
The Worst Performer in Billionaires' Portfolios? Trophy Art; Sales of $10 million-plus paintings have collapsed as high interest rates flushed speculators out of the market
Carol Ryan - The Wall Street Journal
It turns out Andy Warhol is no match for Jay Powell. Expensive paintings are proving to be more sensitive to interest-rate hikes than even sophisticated investors expected. A bubble at the top of the art market has burst. Auction sales of paintings that cost more than $10 million fell 44% last year, and continue to be depressed in 2025, data from ArtTactic shows. The shift in the market was clear at Sotheby's New York auction in May, when a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti with a $70 million asking price didn't attract a single bid and had to be pulled from sale.
/jlne.ws/4595FeO
Foreign investors are warming to London's unloved stocks
Reuters
Britain's stock market finally appears to be reversing years of underperformance against the rest of Europe, as a UK-US trade deal, lighter regulation and cheap stocks deliver juicy returns that are starting to attract foreign investors. The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) has gained nearly 10% this year to hit record highs this week, beating the STOXX 600 (^STOXX), which is up 7.5%.
/jlne.ws/44DVQpg
European Shares' Gains Aren't a Mirage; The Old Continent's outperformance looks like it has room to run.
Marcus Ashworth - Bloomberg
Apologies to fans of the monkey-throwing-darts hypothesis, but equity investing is supposed to be a studied approach to earnings growth rather than a lottery. Not so much this year, as Donald Trump keeps trade partners on pins and needles and forces paid prognosticators to take wild swings against their better judgment. So what to make of Europe and its outperformance against the US this year even as Trump threatens 30% tariffs against the bloc?
/jlne.ws/44ZeVBa
Investment platforms warn over private asset plan for Isas; Chancellor Rachel Reeves' move could leave retail investors unable to access their cash for months
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
Some of the UK's largest investment platforms have warned of the risks of including new private asset funds in stocks and shares Isas. AJ Bell and Interactive Investor said that long-term asset funds, which invest in private assets from infrastructure to start-up companies, do not allow investors to access their money "quickly". LTAFs, which require 90 days' notice from investors seeking to withdraw their cash, can currently be held in pensions and innovative finance Isas, a niche product. But chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her Mansion House speech this week that LTAFs will be eligible for inclusion in the more popular stocks and shares Isa from next year - a move that would make them accessible to many more retail investors.
/jlne.ws/4f5Ob6I
BP offloads US onshore wind business as it pivots back to oil; Sale to LS Power is part of plan to generate $20bn from divestments
Maxine Kelly and Tom Wilson - Financial Times
BP has struck a deal to offload its US onshore wind business to LS Power, as the FTSE 100 energy major pushes ahead with its pivot back towards fossil fuels in a bid to revive its share price. The wind farms, spread across seven states, are all operational and have a combined capacity of 1.7GW, of which BP owns 1.3GW.
/jlne.ws/4m2Y7QB
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | ABN Amro Analysts See ESG Bond Issuance Dropping 'Considerably'
Frances Schwartzkopff and Greg Ritchie - Bloomberg
Issuance of euro-denominated ESG bonds is likely to see a pronounced decline in 2025, as negative sentiment fanned by political backlash weighs on the market, according to analysts at ABN Amro NV. ESG issuance is "expected to considerably lag in 2025," amid "a noticeable surge in negative news related to ESG in the first half of the year," analysts Marta Ferro Teixeira and Filipa de Carvalho Tomás wrote in a note on Friday.
/jlne.ws/4kNHveD
Trump trade regulators reverse Biden-era block on oil board seats; John Hess and Scott Sheffield can become directors of Chevron and ExxonMobil under merger agreements
Martha Muir - Financial Times
The US Federal Trade Commission has set aside two Biden-era antitrust rulings, allowing John Hess and Scott Sheffield to join the boards of Chevron and ExxonMobil, reversing its previous stance on competition. The agency on Thursday unanimously overturned a January ruling that prohibited Hess's appointment to Chevron's board over concerns that he had offered "supportive messaging" to Opec representatives to keep oil prices high. It said the FTC's original complaint had failed to prove an antitrust violation.
/jlne.ws/45axN19
E.P.A. Delays Required Cleanups of Toxic Coal Ash Landfills; President Trump also exempted some coal plants, chemical manufacturers and ore processing facilities from pollution rules for two years.
Maxine Joselow - The New York Times
The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would give utility companies an additional year to begin cleaning up contamination from toxic coal ash landfills across the country. Coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal in power plants, can contain lead, lithium and mercury. Those toxic metals can pollute waterways and drinking water supplies and have been linked to health effects including cancer, birth defects and developmental delays in children.
/jlne.ws/44ZbtGI
EPA signals opposition to Colorado's plan to close coal power plants; State says Trump administration's move won't stop closures, but environmentalists fear climate progress will be derailed
Noelle Phillips - The Denver Post
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday signaled it no longer believes Colorado can mandate utility companies close their coal-fired power plants, leading environmentalists to accuse the Trump administration of attacking the state's plan to shift to 100% renewable energy by 2031 to meet its climate goals. The EPA published a notice in the Federal Register that it intends to deny Colorado's plan to shutter coal-fired power plants as part of the state's strategy to reduce the regional haze that clouds views at Rocky Mountain National Park and other federal lands. Colorado was previously allowed to list coal-plant closures as an acceptable strategy to reduce haze.
/jlne.ws/3GJE4Yu
China pledges to crack down on illicit exports of rare earths, urges US to lift more trade controls
Elaine Kurtenbach - Associated Press Finance
China's state security agency says it is cracking down on alleged smuggling of rare earths minerals that it says threaten national security, just weeks after Beijing and Washington agreed to make it easier for American firms to obtain from China those materials, which are critical for manufacturing and computer chip production. In a report published Friday in the state-run newspaper Global Times, the Ministry of State Security said foreign "espionage and intelligence agencies" were colluding to steal rare earths-related goods by repackaging and relabeling rare metals to hide their Chinese origin.
/jlne.ws/4m5eYlW
A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border; The Kachin Independence Organization fought for decades in obscurity. Now it's supplying essential minerals to manufacturers around the world.
Timothy McLaughlin - Bloomberg
Along Myanmar's 1,300-mile border with China, a town called Pangwa sits in a small valley, surrounded by forested peaks that are occasionally dusted with snow. For years, this hardscrabble outpost was controlled by an aging warlord, an ally of Myanmar's brutal military junta, who ran his fiefdom largely according to his own whims. Loggers felled precious hardwoods and spirited them over the border. Farmers were permitted to grow opium poppies, as long as they paid steep taxes.
/jlne.ws/4f7cQHV
Why Access to Running Water Is a Luxury in Wealthy US Cities; "Plumbing poverty" is surging in Houston, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon and other urban areas.
Laura Bliss and Klara Auerbach - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4kHURZJ
Chevron seals $53bn Hess takeover after Exxon fails to torpedo deal; Arbitration panel dismisses ExxonMobil's claim to contested assets in Guyana
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3UhUrOS
Chevron Closes Megadeal for Hess After Winning Exxon Arbitration; Arbitrators said Chevron could clinch its $53 billion acquisition of Hess, after Exxon tried to pre-empt the deal
Collin Eaton - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/4lxtq67
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street's crown? The once-glamorous business may be losing strategic relevance
Craig Coben - Financial Times
Wall Street investors were braced for carnage this week. Analysts were forecasting a 10 per cent drop in quarterly investment banking revenues for the five largest American firms. Their pessimism came after bank chiefs had aggressively guided down expectations in May. But the bloodbath failed to materialise. JPMorgan, for example, was expected to post a 14 per cent decline in investment banking fees. Instead, it posted a 7 per cent increase.
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TD Securities appoints US head of fixed income and FICC trade surveillance; Individual joins from BNP Paribas CIB and has held trader positions at Jefferies, MUFG and FXCM.
Natasha Cocksedge - The Trade
Yi Chi Lin has joined TD Securities as director, US head of fixed income and FICC trade surveillance. New York-based Lin brings extensive FX trading and FICC compliance trade surveillance experience to his new position, which he joins after serving more than seven years at BNP Paribas CIB, most recently as AMER head of quality assurance. During his time at the firm, he has also held the positions of vice president, FICC trade surveillance manager and assistant vice president, compliance trade surveillance analyst.
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Goldman Offers Interns Jobs in Private Equity - Within the Firm
Jayna Rohslau and Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is launching a program aimed at dissuading interns who get full-time offers from later jumping ship for potentially more lucrative jobs at private equity firms and other competitors. For those interested in buy-side careers, Goldman will offer "an early entry point," according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. Selected applicants will get a full-time offer to join investment banking, followed by a shift to its asset-management unit - which has a private-markets arm - after two years.
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Schwab's stock approaches all-time high as 1 million new brokerage accounts boost profit; Trading revenue increases 23% as clients stepped up their activity during April's 'liberation day' selloff
MarketWatch
Charles Schwab Corp.'s stock rose in early trading on Friday, and briefly peeked into record territory, after the brokerage and money manager rode a surge in trading to a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue. Schwab SCHW said its profit for the three months ending June 30 rose to $1.98 billion, or $1.08 a share, from $4.69 billion, or $5.85 a share, in the year-ago quarter.
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Hedge Funds
Hedge Fund Man Group Cuts Jobs, Elevates Greg Bond to New CIO Role
Nishant Kumar, Liza Tetley and Bei Hu - Bloomberg
Man Group Plc cut jobs for the second time in a year and reshuffled its leadership as part of Chief Executive Officer Robyn Grew's ongoing overhaul of the world's biggest publicly listed hedge fund firm. The London-based money manager told staff in a memo on Thursday that Greg Bond, chief executive officer of Man Numeric, head of Americas, will become the new chief investment officer for the group in a newly created role.
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Hedge Funds Hunt for Record Amount of London Office Space
Natasha Voase - Bloomberg
Hedge funds are looking for a record amount of office space in London to accommodate their expansion after a period of bumper returns. Money managers are currently searching for 474,000 square feet (44,036 square meters) of space in the UK capital, according to data compiled by real estate adviser Knight Frank. That's the highest total since the firm began tracking the data in 2019, before the pandemic raised new questions about future demand for workspace.
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University of California fund ditches hedge funds with scathing rebuke; Chief investment officer says stocks and bonds would have prevented 'all the drama'
Sun Yu and Amelia Pollard - Financial Times
The $190bn manager of the University of California's endowment and pension has divested from hedge funds as its chief investment officer lambasted the industry for failing to provide adequate risk protection. UC Investments in a meeting on Tuesday approved a plan to reallocate its 10 per cent absolute return portfolio - or its investments in hedge funds - to public equities, finalising a wind-down that began five years ago.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The Cities Where College Grads Are Actually Landing Jobs; Many younger professionals are finding luck launching careers in second-tier cities like Raleigh, Milwaukee and Birmingham, a new analysis shows
Ray A. Smith and Haley Zimmerman - The Wall Street Journal
Memo to job-hunting college grads: It pays to take your search to cities just beyond America's biggest metro areas. In one of the toughest markets for entry-level jobs in years, several second-tier cities-including Raleigh, N.C.-rise above the pack for their strong hiring, decent salaries and affordability. Instead of Atlanta or Chicago, consider Birmingham, Ala., or Milwaukee. Or think Baltimore, in lieu of Washington, D.C. Those alternative cities, along with Austin, Texas, rank as the top five most promising locations to find work for recent college graduates, according to a new study by payroll-services provider ADP.
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Hybrid Work No Longer Dominant Policy of Fortune 100 Companies
Kaylin Jean-Louis - Bloomberg
For the first time since the pandemic upended work life five years ago, more than half the companies in the Fortune 100 have their employees fully back in the office, according to a report from real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Hybrid schedules, which two years ago were offered by 78% of the 100 largest US companies by revenue, are now available at just 41% of them, while the share of Fortune 100 firms requiring full-time office attendance has jumped to 54% from 5%.
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Rising graduate joblessness is mainly affecting men. Will that last? Unpicking the puzzle of increasing junior white-collar unemployment
John Burn-Murdoch - Financial Times
The marked rise in unemployment among recent college graduates has been one of the most-talked-about economic trends of the past year. Joblessness among highly educated youngsters everywhere from the US to the UK and beyond has climbed above the overall unemployment rate for the first time on record, raising questions about everything from the value of a college education to the role played by AI. But the headline trend masks important nuances beneath the surface, which, once unpicked, shed light on the extent to which these sweeping narratives are true.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Paychex and SoFi at Work Join Forces to Expand Financial Well-Being Offerings
Fintech Finance News
Paychex SoFi Partnership introduces new financial wellness options for employees through Paychex Flex Perks. Paychex, Inc., an industry-leading human capital management (HCM) company, announced today a new partnership with SoFi, a one stop shop for digital finance solutions, to bring the financial well-being resources and solutions of SoFi at Work to users of Paychex Flex Perks. Through Paychex's digital marketplace of curated employee benefits, employees of Paychex customers can seamlessly connect to SoFi's solutions to support their journey to financial independence, including personal loans, student loans, loan refinancing, and more. Studies show access to the right financial tools and advice is essential to achieving long-term financial independence. New research from SoFi found that the top regret among student loan borrowers was not seeking financial guidance. The same survey revealed that becoming debt-free (41%) and owning a home (44%) were the top milestones for students, graduates, and parents.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | A Key Selling Point for China's Onshore Bonds Has Disappeared
Bloomberg News
A once-popular trade that drew foreign funds into Chinese onshore bonds is losing its appeal, threatening to trigger an extended bout of outflows. The total return for foreign investors swapping dollars into the yuan and buying 12-month Chinese negotiable certificate of deposits has tumbled to about 4% this week, erasing its yield premium over US Treasury bills for the first time since February 2023, according to Bloomberg calculations. This suggests the Chinese notes are no longer attractive to offshore buyers seeking extra risk-free returns.
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Taiwan Aims to Ensure Its Security With Tech Export Controls
Yian Lee and Miaojung Lin - Bloomberg
Taiwan is trying to ensure that technology built domestically is not used to compromise the security of its people by imposing certain export curbs on a number of major Chinese companies. "This has been a very challenging conversation between governments and private businesses," Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told reporters in Taipei on Friday in response to a question about Taipei's recent decision to blacklist leading Chinese chip firms. "But we have generally aligned in understanding that ultimately, export control is to ensure that technology innovated, developed, and produced in Taiwan, is not used to compromise our security or to harm the safety and security of the Taiwanese people."
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