| January 06, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has released research analyzing the relationship between stock market development and economic growth across 36 countries from 2003 to 2022. Key findings reveal a two-way relationship between stock market capitalization and economic growth in high-income countries, while low- and middle-income nations experience a one-way impact where market capitalization drives economic growth but not vice versa.
In the short term, doubling market capitalization boosts economic growth by over 0.4% in low- and middle-income countries within two quarters, highlighting the need for policy interventions to stimulate stock market activity. Long-term analysis shows that stock market capitalization promotes economic growth across all income groups, with stronger effects in high-income countries due to efficient financial systems. WFE CEO Nandini Sukumar in a summary press release about the paper emphasized the need for tailored regulatory strategies, urging low- and middle-income nations to strengthen their stock markets to foster sustainable development, while high-income countries should support struggling markets to sustain growth. You can download the paper HERE.
You don't want to be an innovator and entrepreneur in China. It is not the land of second chances and learning from your mistakes and experiences. The Financial Times reports that Chinese venture capitalists are using aggressive tactics like redemption rights to pursue failed founders, forcing them onto a national debtor blacklist and seizing personal assets. Unlike in the U.S., where such provisions are rare, over 80% of Chinese venture deals include clauses requiring founders to repurchase investors' shares if certain targets aren't met. This practice has thrown the start-up ecosystem into crisis, with founders facing asset seizures, travel bans, and economic restrictions in a country lacking personal bankruptcy laws. Critics argue that this approach stifles innovation and turns entrepreneurship into a "game of unlimited liability." China's debtor blacklist, fueled by aggressive VC tactics, is transforming venture capital into a debt trap rather than a growth engine. Instead of fostering innovation, I would say these harsh measures risk suffocating the very entrepreneurs needed to drive economic progress.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Eurex wins CFTC approval to offer dividend options to US traders, Japan Exchange latest to set trading volume records in 2024 and Abaxx nickel sulphate future highlights light week for new products.
In today's presentation of The Front Runner, Danny Lombardo escorts Mike Harris onto the bustling trading floor, where the chaotic energy of the pits immediately overwhelms and fascinates Mike. As Danny points out the various pits, Mike is captivated by the vibrant scene, especially by the no-nonsense Lena Caldwell, who commands the floor with sharp, vulgar exchanges while executing trades. The unapologetic intensity of the environment leaves Mike mesmerized, marveling at both Lena's confidence and the raw energy of the trading floor. Danny, sharing in Mike's enthusiasm, continues to guide him, showcasing the dynamic and high-pressure atmosphere of the trading world.
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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GMEX Group and ZERO13 said they are partnering with Financial Markets iNSiGHTS on a "groundbreaking" white paper titled "Transforming Today's Global Carbon Market for a Sustainable Future." The report, produced with contributions from ZERO13 and other leading experts, highlights the challenges and opportunities in reshaping the global carbon market and the approach to address them, GMEX wrote in an email. You can go here to read the report. ~SR
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New WFE Research quantifies the impact of stock exchanges on economic growth
The World Federation of Exchanges
The World Federation of Exchanges, the global industry association for exchanges and CCPs (The WFE), has published new research which analyses the link between stock market development and economic growth on a global scale. The research analysed quarterly data from 36 countries over two decades (2003-2022).
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****** Is the impact of derivatives exchanges next?~JJL
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What It Felt Like When Everyone Was Hopeful, Happy, and Rich; Let's revisit the turn of the century.
Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg (podcast)
If you look at various surveys, Americans feel grim about the state of the economy. But even outside of the economy itself, you see negative readings for faith in various American institutions. Pessimism seems to be in right now, at least on a societal level. But it wasn't always this way. In the 1990s, we were between the Cold War and the War on Terror. The stock market boomed through much of the decade. Optimism was in. So what was that like, and then how did it come to an abrupt end in the early years of the new millennium? On this episode, we speak to Colette Shade, author of the new book Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything, about this time period in America, what stood out, and what is relevant today.
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******* Those days proved that as long as the stock market went up, it didn't matter what the president was doing with interns in the Oval Office or other actions that would have previously been disqualifying.~JJL
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National Day of Mourning for Jimmy Carter: What It Means, and What's Closed; Jimmy Carter, the only centenarian ex-president, died on Dec. 29. Here's what to expect on Thursday.
Victor Mather - The New York Times
A national day of mourning will be observed on Thursday for Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at 100 years old. In a proclamation after Mr. Carter's death, President Biden called him "a man of character, courage, and compassion." In announcing the day of mourning, he said: "I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter Jr. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance."
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***** The American Flag will be at half-staff for 30 days after the death of President Carter, per tradition, and this means it will be at half-staff for the inauguration for the first time in history. President-elect Trump is none too happy about this fact for political reasons.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was Art Cashin's sons pay homage to NYSE legend by carrying on New Year's poem tradition, from Bob Pisani of CNBC. Second was Transforming financial markets: How FIA Tech built the Trade Data Network on AWS, from Amazon Web Services. And third was CNBC's Bob Pisani and the Cashin family lead NYSE traders in singing "Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie" to welcome 2025, a LinkedIn post from the NYSE.
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| Lead Stories | Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse Ran Deeper Than Was Known, Hidden Files Reveal; Fresh look at archives unearthed Nazi-linked accounts discovered by bank in 1990s but never disclosed to investigators
Margot Patrick - The Wall Street Journal
Switzerland thought it came to terms with its Nazi-assisting past after harrowing probes in the 1990s led its two largest banks to pay more than $1 billion restitution to Holocaust victims. Documents unearthed in bank archives show it might have been at least in part a whitewash. A cache of client files stamped "American blacklist," a designation for those financing or trading with Nazis or Axis partners, was recently found by independent investigators probing Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland's biggest banks and now part of UBS. The investigators, who studied dusty ledgers and pored over microfilm that hadn't been part of earlier reviews into the dark chapter, found something else, too: signs of a coverup. The Credit Suisse archive in Zurich is stacked with pallets of boxes containing bank records, with redactions by the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.
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Wall Street's Top Banks Just Quit a Once Popular Alliance
Saijel Kishan and Natasha White - Bloomberg
Within the span of a month, Wall Street's biggest banks have quit what had been one of the most popular clubs inside global finance. The Net-Zero Banking Alliance - a group dedicated to helping lenders reduce their carbon footprints - has in quick succession been abandoned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest US bank, looks to be next in line. The moves reflect US banks' desire to shield themselves from increasing political pressure as Donald Trump returns to the White House, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. And NZBA is bracing for more US exits, Secretariat Lead Sarah Kemmitt told members in a Dec. 31 letter seen by Bloomberg. She cited the "political environment."
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Citadel Extends Non-Compete to 21 Months to Retain Talent; Other firms require mandated leaves closer to one year; Multistrategy firms are competing for top portfolio managers
Katherine Burton - Bloomberg
Ken Griffin's Citadel prolonged its non-compete agreements for some portfolio managers to 21 months, underscoring the unrelenting hiring war among multistrategy hedge funds. The firm's non-competes averaged one year in 2020, though some managers had to sit out as long as 18 months to get their deferred compensation. Citadel's latest extension is longer than rivals' policies, which are closer to 12 months, according to people familiar with hiring practices.
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US set for IPO comeback as private equity firms seek to offload holdings; Bankers hope strong 2024 gains for Wall Street equities and pro-business policies will drive listings rebound
Nicholas Megaw - Financial Times
Wall Street bankers are gearing up for a revival in initial public offerings as private equity groups seek to tap buoyant US equities markets to offload some of their flagship holdings. Several private equity-backed groups have already filed paperwork with securities regulators for IPOs, including medical devices company Medline and software maker Genesys. Bankers and analysts are expecting a flurry of listing announcements in the first half of 2025, after blockbuster gains by US stocks in 2024 and on hopes president-elect Donald Trump will cut regulations and taxes.
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Nippon Steel, US Steel File Lawsuits After Biden Blocks Deal
Simon Casey - Bloomberg
Nippon Steel Corp. and United States Steel Corp. jointly filed lawsuits in a last-ditch effort to preserve the planned merger of the companies, which was blocked last week by President Joe Biden. The companies said Monday in a joint statement that they filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging Biden's decision and what they say is the failure of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States panel to consider the deal on national security grounds.
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Sam Altman on ChatGPT's First Two Years, Elon Musk and AI Under Trump; An interview with the OpenAI co-founder.
Josh Tyrangiel - Bloomberg
On Nov. 30, 2022, traffic to OpenAI's website peaked at a number a little north of zero. It was a startup so small and sleepy that the owners didn't bother tracking their web traffic. It was a quiet day, the last the company would ever know. Within two months, OpenAI was being pounded by more than 100 million visitors trying, and freaking out about, ChatGPT. Nothing has been the same for anyone since, particularly Sam Altman. In his most wide-ranging interview as chief executive officer, Altman explains his infamous four-day firing, how he actually runs OpenAI, his plans for the Trump-Musk presidency and his relentless pursuit of artificial general intelligence-the still-theoretical next phase of AI, in which machines will be capable of performing any intellectual task a human can do.
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Margin breaches skyrocket at JSCC amid market volatility; August turmoil led to record initial margin shortfalls at six clearing divisions
Joshua Walker - Risk.net
Market volatility in August 2024 triggered a wave of initial margin breaches at the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, with six of the central counterparty's (CCP) clearing services reporting their largest backtesting deficiencies on record. During the third quarter of last year, the index futures and options (F&O) clearing unit reported a peak breach of ¥246.7 billion ($1.6 billion) - more than 10 times the previous highest deficiency of ¥22.8 billion recorded in Q3 2016.
/jlne.ws/4a8lDXr
Risk.net's top 10 investment risks for 2025; Trade wars, a stock market crash, strikes and riots, political violence: buy-siders share their fears as the year begins
Faye Kilburn, Rob Mannix, Luke Clancy and Celeste Tamers - Risk.net
Late last year, for its annual ranking of investment risks, Risk.net asked investors what worries them most. The direction of their thinking shows as much in the answers they didn't give as in the ones they did. Gone from the current list are a refinancing crunch, a real estate crash, the possible resurfacing of banking troubles and turmoil in private markets. It's clear what's changed. The US Federal Reserve began a long-expected rate-cutting cycle in September 2024. And with the declining cost
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Hong Kong exchange's IPO reforms would draw more listings, bankers say
South China Morning Post
The latest listing reforms proposed by Hong Kong's bourse operator would help the city attract more initial public offerings (IPOs) and improve its chances of regaining bragging rights as the world's top venue for new share offerings, according to industry players. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is seeking public feedback until March 19 on its plan to substantially reduce the public float requirement and increase the proportion of new shares for subscription by institutional investors.
/jlne.ws/40nOcNi
Chinese venture capitalists force failed founders on to debtor blacklist; Pursuit of entrepreneurs threatens start-up ecosystem as investors target personal assets to claw back funding
Ryan McMorrow, Wenjie Ding and Nian Liu - Financial Times
Chinese venture capitalists are hounding failed founders, pursuing personal assets and adding the individuals to a national debtor blacklist when they fail to pay up, in moves that are throwing the country's start-up funding ecosystem into crisis. The hard-nosed tactics by risk capital providers have been facilitated by clauses known as redemption rights, included in nearly all the financing deals struck during China's boom times.
/jlne.ws/3BSHHZH
Is creative destruction on the decline? Policymakers can raise growth by targeting economic agility
Tej Parikh - Financial Times
The displacement of the old with the new, a capitalist ideal popularised as "creative destruction" by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in the 1940s, actually has eastern roots. In Hinduism, creation and destruction are considered two parts of a trifecta of equilibrating cosmic forces. The etymology is informative because an imbalance in the third force - preservation - may be why creative destruction is in fact slowing across the advanced world. According to Schumpeter, creative destruction is central to long-term economic growth, as it enables people, capital and other resources to be continuously better deployed. A glance at the US - the archetypal free market economy - would suggest the dynamic is alive and well. California's Silicon Valley is the cradle of global innovation, and America's Magnificent Seven tech stocks are leading the AI revolution.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Zelenskiy says Kyiv security guarantees will only work if US provides them
Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth - Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said security guarantees for Kyiv to end Russia's war would only be effective if the United States provides them, and that he hoped to meet U.S. President-elect Donald Trump soon after his inauguration. In an interview with U.S. podcaster Lex Fridman published on Sunday, Zelenskiy said Ukrainians were counting on Trump to force Moscow to end its war and that Russia would escalate in Europe if Washington were to quit the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance.
/jlne.ws/3Pm6pEX
Why Trump's push for peace in Ukraine could spell the end of Nato
Simon Heffer - The Telegraph
In May 2023 at a CNN Town Hall meeting, Donald Trump, already well advanced in his campaign to become president of the United States again, said: "They're dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want to stop them dying. And I'll have that done - I'll have that done in 24 hours." He has repeated the claim often, saying it would be contingent on his sitting down with Vladimir Putin, the Russian aggressor, and Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. He also claimed that had he been president, and not Joe Biden, Putin would never have dared invade as he did in February 2022.
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Russia-appointed officials in Crimea declare emergency as oil spill reaches Sevastopol
The Associated Press
Russia-appointed officials in Moscow-occupied Crimea announced a regional emergency on Saturday, as oil was detected on the shores of Sevastopol, the peninsula's largest city. Fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers nearly three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, close to eastern Crimea - about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Sevastopol, which lies on the southwest of the peninsula.
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Top Russian general betrays Putin's worst fears as Ukraine attacks Kursk again
James Kilner - The Telegraph
Russia's defence ministry may believe its forces are "defeating" Ukraine's counter-offensive in the Kursk region, but Vladimir Putin clearly doesn't. He has sent one of his toughest generals to organise the fight back against Ukraine's surprise Sunday morning counter-offensive.
/jlne.ws/4gFpUo0
'Now all the rules are different': Ukraine braces for dealmaker Trump to enter negotiations
Shaun Walker - The Guardian
A new year in Ukraine began in much the same way as the old one finished: with deadly Russian drone attacks across the country. In Kyiv, one person was killed and at least six others were injured in the first few hours of 2025.
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Gaza Deal Still Elusive as Hamas Names Hostages It May Free; Israel-Hamas disputes remain on how many captives still alive; Trump's inauguration adds ticking clock to long-running talks
Fares Alghoul - Bloomberg
Hamas disclosed a list of 34 hostages it's willing to return to Israel in the first phase of a potential ceasefire in Gaza, which the US wants to achieve before President Joe Biden leaves office in two weeks. The Palestinian militant group circulated the list to Bloomberg and other media outlets, but didn't clarify whether each person is alive or dead. The return of only living hostages in the first phase of a deal is one of Israel's demands in fresh negotiations aimed at pausing the devastating war.
/jlne.ws/3W5lH4s
U.S. Plans $8 Billion Sale of Arms, Including Bombs, to Israel; Biden administration notified Congress on Friday of weapons package made up of thousands of bombs, missiles, and artillery shells
Jared Malsin, Nancy A. Youssef and Carrie Keller-Lynn - The Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration notified Congress of an $8 billion weapons package for Israel, including thousands of bombs, missiles and artillery shells, in one of the largest new arms sales since the war in Gaza began in 2023. The weapons package, which congressional officials received notification of late on Friday afternoon, also includes the planned sale of thousands of bombs, air-to-air missiles and precision munitions, according to U.S. officials familiar with the sale.
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Blow For Putin As UK Reveals True Extent Of Economic Damage Caused By Ukraine War; Interest rates in Russia are at 21% as officials continue to battle high inflation.
Kevin Schofield - Huffington Post
The Ukraine war is continuing to have a devastating effect on the "overheating" Russian economy, according to UK intelligence. In a blow for Vladimir Putin, the Ministry of Defence said the Russian Central Bank (CBR) is still struggling to tackle high inflation.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CFTC approves Eurex dividend options for US trading; Specifically, EURO STOXX 50 Index Dividend Options and EURO STOXX Banks Index Dividend Options can now be directly traded from the US.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved Eurex dividend options for trading in the US as of today, 6 January. US market participants can now more efficiently manage their exposure in European equity markets through these additional instruments, said Eurex. Specifically, EURO STOXX 50 Index Dividend Options and EURO STOXX Banks Index Dividend Options can now be directly traded from the US.
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Eurex dividend options received CFTC approval for trading in the U.S.
Eurex
Eurex reached another milestone in providing global access to its markets. As of 6 January, the leading European derivatives exchange can offer its successful dividend options directly to participants in the U.S. after receiving approval from the U.S. regulator CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Market participants located in the U.S. thus have another instrument at hand to efficiently manage their exposure in European equity markets. Besides EURO STOXX 50 Index Dividend Futures (FEXD) and EURO STOXX Banks Dividend Futures (FEBD), they can now trade and clear the respective options at Eurex (OEXD, OEBD).
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Intercontinental Exchange Reports December, Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Statistics Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today reported December 2024 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company's investor relations website at https://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet. "ICE began building a global network of exchanges over 20 years ago, and our record performance in 2024 is a testament to the value customers find in our deeply liquid multi-asset markets," said Ben Jackson, President of ICE. "ICE's commodity markets, including energy, as well as our interest rate derivatives complex all traded at record levels in 2024, highlighting the key role these play as risk management tools for market participants globally."
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New Year's Message from Group CEO Yamaji
JPX
It has been exactly a year since the new NISA scheme was launched. As the Japanese economy begins to move toward inflation and individuals become more aware of and interested in investment, I feel that after a long wait, there has now been steady progress in the "shift from savings to investment." We at JPX have also been working to support these trends by providing platforms that enable easier investment for everyone. Last year, as well as beginning discussion on issues around and possible ways to enable smaller investments through the Study Group on Small-Size Investments, in November we acted to expand trading opportunities and improve transparency in closing price formation through the extension of trading hours and the introduction of a Closing Auction Session.
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SIX Exchanges Figures December and full year 2024
SIX
SIX publishes the monthly key figures for SIX Swiss Exchange and BME Exchange about the trading and listing activity in Switzerland and Spain
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SIX Expands Global Reach of SIX Repo Data, Enhancing Transparency and Connectivity; Data from the SIX Interbank Repo Market is now available globally via MDDX, the low-latency, real-time data feed of SIX Swiss Exchange.
SIX
By integrating CO:RE trading platform into the MDDX feed of SIX Swiss Exchange, trading data becomes accessible to a broad audience of money market participants through data vendors, enhancing transparency and connectivity in the repo market.
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EGX Holiday On Tuesday 7th Of January 2025
Mondovisione
EGX will be on official holiday on Tuesday 7th of January 2025 as it is Eastern Christmas holiday, trading will be resumed on Wednesday 8th of January 2025.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | How Are Companies Using AI Agents? Here's a Look at Five Early Users of the Bots; These businesses are using AI agents for drug discovery, customer service, marketing, writing code and research. But they aren't quite ready to let the bots run amok.
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
Artificial intelligence agents have emerged as one of the most exciting aspects of generative AI for business because they take chatbots to the next level, performing complex tasks without help from humans. These autonomous AI agents can follow instructions and do things from checking a car rental reservation at the airport to screening potential sales leads. Software companies from Salesforce to ServiceNow, Microsoft and Workday last year all announced their own AI agents, which they say can help businesses be even more hands-off in areas like recruiting employees, contacting potential sales leads, creating marketing content and managing their information-technology.
/jlne.ws/4243oRi
Hongkongers' start-up eyes 100,000 global investment pros as market for AI tool
South China Morning Post
A technology start-up led by Hongkongers including a former Goldman Sachs analyst aims to help finance professionals and investors globally make better investment decisions with its artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot that can perform rounds of "thinking and reasoning". Arbor's AI chatbot ArborChat leverages large language models (LLMs) to analyse text and extract investment ideas to enhance fundamental stock analysis, the company said. About 100 firms have used it in trials, and a few have paid for the system, which was launched two months ago, according to Cheney Cheng, Arbor co-founder and CEO. The goal is to grow the client base to 100,000 in three years, targeting the global fund industry, he said.
/jlne.ws/4j1jSj5
Intel's Problems Are Even Worse Than You've Heard; There is fresh evidence the once-mighty innovator is losing market share in more areas
Christopher Mims - The Wall Street Journal
You may think you know how much Intel is struggling, but the reality is worse. The once-mighty American innovation powerhouse is losing market share in multiple areas that are critical to its profitability. Its many competitors include not just the AI juggernaut Nvidia but smaller rivals and even previously stalwart allies like Microsoft.
/jlne.ws/3PpYJBG
Chinese ship 'severs undersea cables around Taiwan'
Kieran Kelly - The Telegraph
Taiwan has accused a Chinese-owned ship of severing a critical data cable off its northern coast on Friday. Officials in Taipei discovered that four cores of an international submarine cable, which transmits data to America's AT&T, were left ruptured early on Jan 3. Tracking data revealed the Shunxing39 cargo vessel had dropped its anchor around the rupture site near the port of Keelung, according to Taiwan's coast guard.
/jlne.ws/4h5CH2W
Broadridge names new head of international buy-side sales; Incoming appointment has previously held sales-related roles at Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Broadridge has appointed Stephen Wilkes senior vice president, head of international buy-side sales, based in London. As part of the role, Wilkes will be responsible for the firm's sales efforts across EMEA and APAC, focusing on the asset management and asset servicing communities. "I'm looking forward to leading a talented team of sales professionals across both regions. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the continued growth and innovation in Broadridge's international buy-side business," said Wilkes in a social media announcement.
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | How Chinese Hackers Graduated From Clumsy Corporate Thieves to Military Weapons; Massive 'Typhoon' cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure and telecoms sought to lay groundwork for potential conflict with Beijing, as intruders gathered data and got in position to impede response and sow chaos
Dustin Volz, Aruna Viswanatha, Sarah Krouse, and Drew FitzGerald - The Wall Street Journal
The message from President Biden's national security adviser was startling. Chinese hackers had gained the ability to shut down dozens of U.S. ports, power grids and other infrastructure targets at will, Jake Sullivan told telecommunications and technology executives at a secret meeting at the White House in the fall of 2023, according to people familiar with it. The attack could threaten lives, and the government needed the companies' help to root out the intruders. What no one at the briefing knew, including Sullivan: China's hackers were already working their way deep inside U.S. telecom networks, too.
/jlne.ws/401KiZj
Cybersecurity M&A Roundup: 37 Deals Announced in December 2024; Roundup of the thirty-seven cybersecurity-related merger and acquisition (M&A) deals announced in December 2024.
Eduard Kovacs - SecurityWeek
Thirty-seven cybersecurity-related merger and acquisition (M&A) deals were announced in December 2024. An analysis conducted by SecurityWeek shows that 178 cybersecurity M&A deals were announced in the first half of 2024, representing the least busy half year since SecurityWeek started tracking M&A deals in 2021.
/jlne.ws/3PnIx3B
The Cybersecurity Priorities For 2025: What Leaders Should Focus On
Andrew Hay - Forbes
As a seasoned executive with years of experience in cybersecurity leadership, I've seen how quickly the landscape can evolve. In my career, I've worked with organisations ranging from start-ups to multinational enterprises, and I've come to a clear conclusion: cybersecurity is not just a technical issue-it's a leadership challenge.
/jlne.ws/4j0Oscz
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Is this Bitcoin's golden moment? These are 3 key things to watch for cryptos in 2025
Rafael Nam - NPR
Here's what Trump 2.0 means for the economy, from tariffs to mass deportations. Bitcoin hit above $100,000 for the first time last month after more than doubling in price last year - and analysts believe bitcoin and other cryptos could see another game-changing year in 2025. To help explain why bitcoin investors are so excited, here are three key things to watch and why critics are so concerned.
/jlne.ws/3DDyG7a
Ripple pivots to US hires amid crypto-friendly Donald Trump optimism; Ripple signed more US deals in six weeks than in the previous six months, highlighting Trump's market optimism.
Oluwapelumi Adejumo - CryptoSlate
Ripple has shifted its focus back to the United States after Donald Trump's election victory in November 2024 sparked market-wide optimism. On Jan. 5, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted this strategic pivot, revealing that three-quarters (75%) of the company's active job listings are now based in the United States. This move marks a significant shift after years of focusing on international recruitment due to regulatory hurdles at home.
/jlne.ws/3BLQuN7
Crypto ETPs start 2025 with $585M inflows - CoinShares; US spot Bitcoin ETFs contributed to 100% of the record-breaking $44.2 billion crypto ETF inflows in 2024, according to CoinShares.
Helen Partz - CoinTelegraph
Cryptocurrency investment products are off to a good start in 2025, with global crypto exchange-traded products (ETP) posting $585 million of inflows in the first three days of the year. The early inflows did not offset heavy selling in the last two trading days of 2024, which meant crypto ETPs saw $75 million in net outflows for the full previous trading week, crypto investment firm CoinShares reported on Jan. 6. Despite the late-year dip, 2024 closed as a record-breaking year for crypto ETFs, with $44.2 billion in inflows - a 320% increase from the previous record of $10.5 billion set in 2021.
/jlne.ws/4gJiNe5
Crypto Lands in Washington as Less-Than-Unified Political Force; Industry in 'Welcome to Washington' moment, Cato's Schulp says; Crypto, AI czar pick, David Sacks, came as a surprise to many
Teresa Xie - Bloomberg
Over the last few weeks, the crypto industry has been doing victory laps from Silicon Valley to Washington. With a pro-crypto president-elect, a new AI and crypto czar, and the pending exit of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, the future of digital assets in the US has never looked more promising.
/jlne.ws/3DIC3K5
'X Money' Leak Reveals Elon Musk's Game-Changing Plan As Bitcoin Nears $100,000 Price
Billy Bambrough - Forbes
Elon Musk, the Tesla billionaire who accidentally caused crypto price chaos this week, has hovered on the fringes of the crypto world in recent years. The bitcoin price surge to $100,000 per bitcoin last year spurred unprecedented interest in bitcoin and crypto among Wall Street giants and incoming U.S. president Donald Trump-as Musk has declared a "financial emergency." Now, as China scrambles to contain a crisis that some think could blow up the bitcoin price, a leak has revealed Elon Musk's X could be about to "imminently" launch a bitcoin and crypto game-changer.
/jlne.ws/423NPsO
If bitcoin is the future, what explains MicroStrategy's need for speed? Accelerating purchases, insider sales, and a rapidly evaporating premium
Craig Coben - Financial Times
Something peculiar is afoot at MicroStrategy. The company has amassed over two per cent of all bitcoin in existence, funded through a combination of shares and convertible bonds. This strategy has turned a humdrum business software firm into something akin to a bitcoin ETF, albeit one trading at a frothy premium to its net asset value. The stock is up over 20 times since the pivot to bitcoin in August 2020.
/jlne.ws/4fOtzOO
Strive files to launch 'bitcoin bond' ETF; Filing says active ETF would invest in bonds issued by companies such as MicroStrategy
Alf Wilkinson - Financial Times
Strive Asset Management plans to launch an exchange traded fund investing in bonds issued by companies to pay for bitcoin investments, according to a regulatory filing. The ETF manager, co-founded and majority-owned by Vivek Ramaswamy, a high-profile "anti-woke" ally of president-elect Donald Trump, has registered the Strive Bitcoin Bond ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/jlne.ws/3PpKNYf
Crypto Could Go Rogue in 2025; When Trump returns to the White House, digital currencies may either go mainstream or be brought down by a cast of villains.
Tobin Harshaw - Bloomberg Opinion
How to Be Dumb
I am tempted to blame my job for my failure to buy crypto; for a (fake-ish) financial journalist that sort of speculation is out of bounds. But the truth is, I never would have bought Bitcoin anyway. Because I am dumb.
/jlne.ws/4iWDDYW
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Private equity to lobby Trump for access to savers' retirement funds; Industry hopes incoming administration will open long-restricted private investments to individual investors
Antoine Gara - Financial Times
The private equity industry is preparing to lobby the incoming Trump administration to give it access to broad pools of capital it has not historically been allowed to tap, including retirement savings, in a move that could unlock trillions for their firms. The $13tn industry is hoping the new White House will revive a deregulatory push from the final months of Donald Trump's first presidency, which allowed private equity investments to be included in professionally managed funds.
/jlne.ws/40nbAeb
Putin plus Trump spell trouble for European security; German rearmament is crucial to shoring up Europe's defences
Gideon Rachman - Financial Times
A security crisis is brewing in Europe. Two dangerous elements could combine in 2025. A growing threat from Russia and increasing indifference from Donald Trump's America. European countries urgently need to respond to this alarming geopolitical combination by building up their own defences. For that to happen, it is crucial for Germany, Europe's largest economy, to finally make good on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's promise of a dramatic rise in defence spending.
/jlne.ws/3W9YMoH
Maga vs the billionaires; Trump's fragile coalition is already splintering over immigration
Rana Foroohar - Financial Times (opinion)
Donald Trump isn't even in office yet, but his strange political coalition of anti-immigrant Maga supporters and globalist billionaires has begun to fracture already. The most recent cause was the nomination of Sriram Krishnan as Trump's senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence. Krishnan is an American of Indian descent who has close ties to both Trump and Elon Musk (he helped facilitate the evolution of Twitter to X). Krishnan, like Musk, wants to make it easier for skilled foreign workers to come into the US on H-1B temporary visas.
/jlne.ws/4adip5i
Trump's eyeing Greenland - but other Arctic investment is frozen
Jorn Madslien - BBC
The Arctic recently made headlines after Donald Trump repeated his desire to buy Greenland. Trump cited national security interests, but for many the territory's vast mineral wealth is the main attraction. Yet economic development elsewhere in the vast polar region has ground to a halt. Working conditions in the Arctic Ocean are extremely challenging at this time of the year for Norwegian fisherman Sondre Alnes-Bonesmo. The sun last rose at the end of October, and it is not due to appear in the sky again until the middle of February.
/jlne.ws/4a9XPCS
Capitol heavily secured for election certification as Trump's Jan. 6 pardon plans remain largely a mystery; Donald Trump has promised to pardon Capitol riot defendants, but the reach of those pardons remains uncertain.
Ryan J. Reilly - NBC News
Four years after supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in support of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, members of Congress will be under heavy security Monday as they certify Trump's 2024 election victory, ensuring the first president to face federal felony criminal charges will return to the White House in two weeks.
/jlne.ws/40k7ALj
Canada PM Trudeau is likely to announce resignation, source says
David Ljunggren - Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is increasingly likely to announce he intends to step down, though he has not made a final decision, a source familiar with Trudeau's thinking said on Sunday. The source spoke to Reuters after the Globe and Mail reported that Trudeau was expected to announce as early as Monday that he would quit as leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party after nine years in office.
/jlne.ws/4h3VsUo
Sarkozy Tried for Criminal Conspiracy Tied to Qaddafi Cash; Former president accused of taking money for 2007 winning bid; Paris case is third French criminal trial against Sarkozy
Gaspard Sebag - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4a61zFc
Putin orders Russia's top bank to team up with China in AI push to challenge Western tech dominance
Huileng Tan - Business Insider
/jlne.ws/401HKud
Lawmakers Bicker as Chile's Capital Market Black Hole Deepens; Pension bill that would boost savings rate repeatedly stalled; Capital flight has drained $23.9 billion from Chile in 5 years
Carolina Gonzalez - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/402QCQo
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Five Defendants in Insider Trading Case
SEC
On December 23, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Joseph M. Dupont, Shawn P. Cronin, Stanley Kaplan, Paul Feldman, and Jarett G. Mendoza resolving the insider trading case filed against them. The SEC's complaint, filed on June 29, 2023 alleged that Dupont, who was then a vice president at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., tipped his close friend Cronin to confidential information about the acquisition of Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. Cronin then allegedly provided the information to Mendoza and Kaplan, and Kaplan, in turn, provided the information to Feldman. The SEC's complaint alleged that Cronin, Mendoza, Kaplan, and Feldman used this material, nonpublic information to purchased Portola securities prior to the announcement of the acquisition. The complaint further alleged that Kaplan and Feldman passed information on to other family members and friends, who also profitably traded.
/jlne.ws/4fOG5y3
SFC bans Chan Ka Him for life for insurance fraud
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has banned Mr Chan Ka Him, a former insurance specialist of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (SCB), from re-entering the industry for life following his criminal convictions for insurance fraud (Note 1). Chan was sentenced by the District Court on 2 February 2024 to 20 months' imprisonment after his convictions for three counts of fraud and one count of attempted fraud (Note 2). The Court found that Chan was assigned to a branch of SCB in Wan Chai at the material time, and his job duties included the promotion of insurance products issued by external insurers to the bank's clients.
/jlne.ws/427OWYx
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Trader Who Made Billions in 2008 Returns to Bet on Market Swings; Steve Diggle's Vulpes seeking as much as $250 million for fund
Bei Hu - Bloomberg
A former hedge fund manager whose firm made billions during the global financial crisis is ready to pounce on volatility again, as he sees threats to market stability at a level not seen since 2008. Steve Diggle's family office Vulpes Investment Management is seeking up to $250 million from investors as early as in the first quarter, the Oxford, UK-based investor said in a telephone interview.
/jlne.ws/3BZtJFo
Nvidia Investors Look to Huang CES Speech to Spark Next Breakout
Jeran Wittenstein and Ryan Vlastelica - Bloomberg
Nvidia Corp. investors have high hopes that Monday's speech from CEO Jensen Huang will spark a fresh breakout in the chipmaker's shares, which have plateaued since November after roaring higher for much of 2024. Huang is set to take the stage at the closely-watched CES trade show in Las Vegas. Nvidia has typically used the event to showcase consumer devices using its chips. However, investors will focus today on any commentary on the Blackwell chip, considered Nvidia's next major growth driver. Despite seeing robust demand, Blackwell has faced supply constraints due in part to manufacturing challenges that have slowed its rollout.
/jlne.ws/40kiFfq
Is the Stock Market's 'January Effect' Real?
Jess Menton - Bloomberg
For decades, a popular theory has held that US stocks tend to rise more in January than in other months. The existence of this phenomenon, known as the January effect, once appeared to be undeniable as studies showed gains several times larger in January than in an average month. The effect was most pronounced among small-company stocks from 1940 to the mid-1970s. But it seemed to shrink through around 2000 and hasn't been as reliable since.
/jlne.ws/40wU7A5
MarketAxess Announces Trading Volume Statistics for December and Fourth Quarter 2024 MarketAxess
MarketAxess (MKTX) reported record Q4 2024 total trading average daily volume (ADV) of $41.0 billion, up 38% year-over-year. The growth was driven by record total rates ADV of $27.1 billion (+64% YoY) and total credit ADV of $13.9 billion (+6% YoY).
/jlne.ws/4a5phBr
Accounting firms try to block new US disclosure rules about auditors; Regulator has been accused of piling pressure on companies with a flurry of rulemaking
Stephen Foley - Financial Times
Accounting firms are trying to block new rules that would reveal how many hours are being worked by auditors of US public companies, and how much training and experience they have, saying the information risks being misinterpreted by investors. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates the profession, approved the new disclosure requirements in November but they cannot go into force unless rubber stamped by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has received a flurry of letters in opposition.
/jlne.ws/41XQAvF
Prince Andrew suffers fresh blow as firm managing his private investments shuts down
Nika Shakhnazarova - NY Post
A financial firm managing Prince Andrew's private investments has sensationally shut down. In documents obtained by The Post, Urramoor Limited, a private investment firm that the disgraced Duke of York had "significant control over," applied to be dissolved just a year after receiving last-ditch backing from an anonymous donor. Andrew, 64, initially set up the investment fund in 2013 under the name HRH Andrew Inverness. However, after his friendship with late financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light, the company removed Andrew from his trade envoy role.
/jlne.ws/4a4Hi2S
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | US finance navigates Trump 'anti-woke' era while staying open for green business; Political war sees banks ditch climate-related alliance at the same time as meeting EU client demands
Kenza Bryan and Patrick Temple-West - Financial Times
An exodus from banking's biggest climate target-setting group has provided an opportunity for US banks to ditch awkward commitments while still selling "green" products and services. Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have quit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), following Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, in the final weeks of 2024, citing the need for more targeted strategies.
/jlne.ws/4082dxk
Biden Bars Offshore Oil Drilling in US Atlantic and Pacific; The ban doesn't affect most waters in the Gulf of Mexico
Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
President Joe Biden is indefinitely blocking offshore oil and gas development in more than 625 million acres of US coastal waters, warning that drilling there is simply "not worth the risks" and "unnecessary" to meet the nation's energy needs. Biden's move is enshrined in a pair of presidential memoranda being issued Monday, burnishing his legacy on conservation and fighting climate change just two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Yet unlike other actions Biden has taken to constrain fossil fuel development, this one could be harder for Trump to unwind, since it's rooted in a 72-year-old provision of federal law that empowers presidents to withdraw US waters from oil and gas leasing without explicitly authorizing revocations.
/jlne.ws/4069fCH
Rich must pay for others to go green, says EU environmental pioneer; 'Green Deal' architect Frans Timmermans warns of boost to radical right from rising costs
Andy Bounds - Financial Times
European voters will abandon the fight against climate change unless the wealthy help fund the cost of going green for all, the architect of the EU's ambitious "Green Deal" said. Frans Timmermans, who now leads the Dutch Green/Labour alliance, said there was "unrest" because people were being asked to buy new boilers and cars as they struggle with rising fuel and food bills.
/jlne.ws/3BZzsLo
Canada aims to become world's biggest uranium producer as demand soars; Demand for emissions-free power and energy security mark a turnaround for the resource-rich
Ilya Gridneff , Jamie Smyth and Camilla Hodgson - Financial Times
Canada is racing to become the world's biggest uranium producer as prices for the radioactive metal surge in response to soaring demand for emissions-free nuclear power and geopolitical tensions threaten supplies. Cameco, the country's largest producer, said that production of uranium would jump by almost a third in 2024 to 37mn pounds at its two mines in the heartland of the country's uranium industry in northern Saskatchewan.
/jlne.ws/423MvpQ
China Oil Refineries Face Reckoning as Beijing Tackles Overcapacity
Bloomberg
China's independent oil refineries face a reckoning this year as Beijing tackles overcapacity in the industry, and the crude they rely on becomes a lot scarcer. Over a fifth of the country's oil refining is handled by smaller, privately owned outfits, many of them housed in the eastern province of Shandong. These independents, dubbed teapots, have a reputation as wily operators used to navigating razor thin margins. Some may now be at a tipping point where none of their old tricks to stay profitable will work. China is the world's biggest crude importer and the teapots are a cornerstone of a market that has driven gains in global oil demand for over a decade. But three firms in Shandong went bankrupt late last year and more company failures are predicted.
/jlne.ws/3BYnXDQ
World's largest LNG carrier fleet is about to get even bigger; Japanese trio to increase ships 40% in coming years, eyeing U.S. gas boom
Nikkei Asia
Japan's three biggest marine shipping companies aim to increase their total of liquefied natural gas carriers more than 40% by fiscal 2030, anticipating a global rise in LNG production, Nikkei has learned. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines will expand its fleet of LNG ships 40% to 140 by fiscal 2028, with an eye to reaching 150 by fiscal 2030.
/jlne.ws/3DUvZOD
Analysis-Exodus by Wall Street banks from climate group worries advocates
Simon Jessop, Iain Withers and Saeed Azhar - Reuters
U.S. lenders have been rushing in recent weeks to leave one of the world's top banking sector climate coalitions, drawing scorn from campaigners who worry the industry is losing resolve to take action on fossil fuels. Goldman Sachs broke ranks to announce on Dec. 6 it was leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and was soon followed by Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. The exit of some of the world's biggest lenders means the NZBA, whose members aim to align their financing with the global climate fight, now includes just JPMorgan among the Big Six U.S. banks.
/jlne.ws/4j1NKfb
Tropicana Supplier Alico to End Output Due to Disease, Storms; Alico to stop investing in citrus after current 2025 crop; Florida-based grower to become a diversified land company
Ilena Peng - Bloomber
gAlico Inc., one of the biggest US orange growers and a supplier to Tropicana, will wind down its citrus division after a decades-long decline in production caused by disease and hurricanes. The Florida-based company won't invest further in its citrus operations after the current crop is harvested in 2025, and instead will transform into a diversified land company, Alico said Monday in a statement.
/jlne.ws/4fOgmFY
Force Majeure on South Sudan Oil Exports Lifted After 10 Months; Notice issued March after conduit ruptured in war-torn Sudan; Crude exports are South Sudan's main source of revenue
Okech Francis - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/40jGh3N
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Investment banks prepare for crunch year in 2025; Boutiques counting on M&A rebound to support elevated valuations and star hires
Joshua Franklin and Sujeet Indap - Financial Times
Investment banks are bracing for a crunch year in which they must deliver a step change in deal fees to justify record share prices and expensive hires made during a two-year downturn. The six listed independent investment banks - Evercore, Lazard, PJT, Moelis, Perella Weinberg and Houlihan Lokey - reached record highs in recent weeks as investors anticipate a long-awaited recovery in mergers and acquisitions activity under Donald Trump's second presidency. Perella roughly doubled in value in the last year, while shares in bulge bracket investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase also touched fresh highs in November and December.
/jlne.ws/3C8SKOl
UBS Targets Japan's Regional Banks With Senior Sales Hires
Takashi Nakamichi - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG hired three salesmen in Japan to boost its business selling high-yielding structured investments and other tailored derivative products to local financial firms, as activity heats up in this area. Former HSBC Holdings Plc banker Shuhei Sanada joined the Swiss lender's Tokyo brokerage arm on Jan. 1 to lead sales for regional financial firms, according to a statement. Eiichiro Yoshida from Nissay Asset Management Corp. and Hiroaki Sato from Barclays Plc also started at UBS Securities Japan Co. on the same day.
/jlne.ws/4fKO2UH
BNY to name new head of large UK pension manager; Executive known as the 'Godfather of the LDI market' will retire
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
BNY is changing the leadership of a large UK pension fund unit as the US bank seeks to become a bigger player in the global investment management and wealth industry. Abdallah Nauphal, the longtime chief executive of BNY-owned Insight Investments who is known as the "Godfather" of liability-driven investment products - which seek to match income and assets with future obligations - would retire later this year, the company said. Nauphal, 64, is being replaced by Raman Srivastava, 49, who is joining from Canadian Insurance firm Great-West Lifeco, where he was the global chief investment officer.
/jlne.ws/4a6Pkby
Insignia Financial Gets $1.8 Billion Takeover Proposal From CC Capital Partners; Insignia is considering whether it is in the best interests of shareholders to engage with CC Capital
Rhiannon Hoyle - The Wall Street Journal
Australian wealth manager Insignia Financial said it received a takeover proposal worth about US$1.8 billion from CC Capital Partners, a private investment firm founded and led by ex-Blackstone dealmaker Chinh Chu. The offer comes roughly two weeks after Insignia rejected a US$1.7 billion takeover proposal from Boston-based Bain Capital, which it said undervalued the company.
/jlne.ws/4h2c66O
Investment trusts hit back against activist Boaz Weinstein; US hedge fund manager called on shareholders of seven trusts to overhaul their boards and install his fund as investment manager
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
Two UK investment trusts have hit back at US activist investor Boaz Weinstein, who last month called on trusts' shareholders to overhaul their boards and install his hedge fund as the investment manager. The board of the Keystone Positive Change trust said on Monday that it was "appalled" by Saba Capital's approach and warned that the US hedge fund was "acting opportunistically, seeking to seize control of the board without a controlling shareholding, to pursue its own agenda".
/jlne.ws/4h2SfnR
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Job recruiters are carrot-and-sticking candidates with work-from-home perks to get people to sign on at lower salaries
Sydney Lake - Fortune
Remote workers are accepting lower salaries in order to achieve remote status. Some are taking as much as 5% to 15% less pay to do so, while other employers are reversing the strategy to entice workers to come to the office at higher salaries. As major employers increasingly demand workers return to the office, we've witnessed a sometimes-visceral negative reaction from employees who wish to continue working from home.
/jlne.ws/4gU8wf2
How to make it to the corner office in 2025: A checklist for up-and-comers
Natalie McCormick and Ruth Umoh - Fortune
New Year's resolutions could help fast-track aspiring CEOs' career development.
/jlne.ws/3DGaCAF
Unemployed Office Workers Are Having a Harder Time Finding New Jobs; More than 1.6 million unemployed workers have been job hunting for at least six months
Matt Grossman and Jasmine Li - The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. economy has added more than two million jobs over the past year. But more people who are out of work are having a hard time getting back in. As of November, more than seven million Americans were unemployed, meaning they didn't have work and were trying to find it. More than 1.6 million of those jobless workers had been job hunting for at least six months, according to the Labor Department. The number of people searching for that long is up more than 50% since the end of 2022.
/jlne.ws/3DHeYYi
The Gen Z problem for audit firms; The profession is finding it harder to attract and retain staff - a key factor in the quality of inspections
Stephen Foley - Financial Times
There was an undercurrent of intergenerational tension in an important report on the workplace culture of the US's largest audit firms last month. Based on interviews with executives and partners at Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG, Grant Thornton and BDO, it highlighted grumbles that firms risked losing the old "apprenticeship model" in which entry-level employees learn from their elders.
/jlne.ws/4fNyZdd
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Tech and Wellness Will Combine Like Never Before in 2025, but Will We Benefit?; As more wellness technology continues to reach the mainstream market, you'd think we're all getting healthier. That may not be the case.
Jessica Rendall - CNET
Today's technology has made it easier than ever for us to gain insight into what's going on under our skin. The question remains: Are we going deep enough? Wearable health trackers made available to consumers, like smartwatches and smart rings, continue to refine their research into how our bodies function. Continuous glucose monitors -- which officially hit the "mainstream" wellness market in the US in 2024 with clearance for people without diabetes -- offer an even more intimate look at our metabolic health, a lofty yet neglected aspect for most Americans.
/jlne.ws/4gJuuBq
Employee Wellness Statistics By Types, Frequency of Wellness Programs and Facts
Saisuman Revankar - Coolest Gadgets
Employee Wellness Statistics: Employee wellness is about how healthy and happy people feel at work. Wellness includes physical health, mental well-being, and overall satisfaction with their job. Statistics on employee wellness help companies understand how their staff is doing and where improvements are needed. Current data and analyses may show how stress levels, work-life balance, or access to health programs affect employees. These numbers are important because they highlight issues that might lower productivity or job satisfaction. When businesses focus on wellness, they often see better performance, lower absenteeism, and happier teams.
/jlne.ws/4h4Np9C
Chronic Pain Can Cause a Kind of Madness. I Know This Personally.; Luigi Mangione's evolution from valedictorian to vigilante may never be fully understood. But his bleak inner reality seems to have been forged in part by his losing battle with 'unbearable pain.'
Melanie Thernstrom - The Wall Street Journal
This pain is driving me mad. The phrase comes to mind whenever I catch myself responding angrily or stupidly to some challenge or threat. Who would I be if I didn't have pain? Would I have acted this way, misremembered that thing or viewed a situation so darkly? Would I be so upset about the complete absurdity of our healthcare system? With the fact that the pain clinic where I was getting treatment stopped taking my insurance and sent me a bill for five 45-minute physical therapy sessions at $1,150 apiece?
/jlne.ws/40neX4A
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Yuan Traders Look to PBOC Fixing to Gauge Level of FX Support
Tian Chen - Bloomberg
The yuan weakening past a level that China had been defending throughout December has returned the spotlight to its daily reference rate for the managed currency to gauge Beijing's appetite to support it. Currency traders are waiting to see if the People's Bank of China will set the so-called fixing at a level weaker than 7.2 per dollar, a closely watched line, around which the yuan is allowed trade in a 2% range. The PBOC maintained support on Friday, but the onshore yuan breached the psychological milestone of 7.3 per dollar for the first time since late 2023, amid concerns over China's economic struggles and a widening bond yield discount to the US.
/jlne.ws/3Pn4S18
Hong Kong's nest egg fund gained 13% in 2024, at the best pace in 4 years for pensioners
South China Morning Post
The 4.75 million members of Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) enjoyed a 13 per cent increase in their pension assets in 2024 thanks to the best investment returns in four years. The MPF earned a combined HK$102.4 billion (US$13 billion) last year, equivalent to HK$21,500 for each member, according to data from MPF Ratings, an independent research firm.
/jlne.ws/40pNZJS
German economy 'acutely' at risk after Europe burns through gas reserves
Chris Price - The Telegraph
Europe is burning through its gas reserves at the fastest pace in seven years, leaving Germany "acutely" exposed as cold weather sweeps the Continent. Stockpiles have dropped more quickly than at any point since 2018, falling 25pc from their peak, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data compiled by Bloomberg. Storage sites are just over 70pc full across Europe, compared to about 86pc a year ago, after temperatures dropped over the weekend. Forecasters predict freezing conditions from Spain across to Poland and Ukraine this week, leaving gas prices hovering around their highest level in more than a year. Prices rose by 4pc last week.
/jlne.ws/423tBiB
Wealth Managers Flock to South American Beach Haven for the Rich; Punta del Este is becoming a magnet for foreign money in Uruguay. Health, real estate and airport projects are underway as a result.
Ken Parks - Bloomberg
South America's summer playground for the rich is becoming a new magnet for wealth management, as Uruguay burnishes its reputation as an investor-friendly haven in a tumultuous region. Punta del Este, a mix of Hamptons exclusivity and Miami Beach high rises, has long hosted the continent's wealthy seeking sun and waves in the safe and welcoming nation. But since the pandemic, it's seen an influx of rich foreigners - including Americans and Europeans - buying homes in the area thanks to generous tax breaks and as an insurance policy against political polarization in the Northern Hemisphere.
/jlne.ws/4j7rL6K
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| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. |
DANNY LOMBARDO
They don't f*ck around with security here. Keep that on.
They take the elevator to the same lobby as in the opening scene and pass another security guard at a turnstile, where Danny flashes his badge. They walk through to the hallway leading to the trading floor. The trading day is just starting and noise from the trading pits hits them before they reach the end of the hall. Mike stops in his tracks, overwhelmed, while Danny continues walking. After a moment, Danny looks back and notices Mike isn't with him, then walks back to him.
DANNY LOMBARDO (CONT'D)
You okay big guy?
Mike is mesmerized. He doesn't speak for a second.
MIKE HARRIS
This is f*cking awesome.
DANNY LOMBARDO
Yeah. Pretty cool huh?
See today's complete entry of Auditions HERE and the complete script to date HERE.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Finland fuels children's future with financial literacy and food; World-beating ambition drives real-life business practice and free lunches for kids
Richard Milne - Financial Times
The children scurry around from bank to café, supermarket, TV station and various municipal offices. A farmer drives by on his tractor taking produce to be sold, while nearby a photographer is earning money in their studio. This is not taking place in a real town but a make-believe one in a warehouse on the outskirts of Finland's capital, Helsinki. Dozens of sixth-graders, 12- and 13-year-olds, are taking part in Yrityskyla, a national network of business villages designed to improve their financial literacy.
/jlne.ws/4h5PhiD
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