| February 23, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Joseph J. Ritchie, founder of proprietary trading firm Chicago Board Crushers, which later changed its name to a more memorable Chicago Research and Trading and was known widely as CRT, died Monday at the age of 75. The name of the firm was changed, Ritchie said, because people would call up and say they wanted their boards crushed.
Ritchie was a legendary trader who took his computer programming skills and programmed a Texas Instrument calculator with the Black Scholes options formula. However, he only stayed at the CBOE for two months working on the floor there and gave his calculator to Blair Hull. Hull used it very well, the story goes. Ritchie went to the CBOT to trade the silver arbitrage, then later moved over to the soybean crush.
And just to show you how antiquated our markets were, and how innovative guys like Ritchie were, let me share this story. Ritchie rigged up a slide rule for trading the soybean crush with values for beans, meal and oil on them to be able to quickly calculate the value of the crush. No other traders had such a tool and this allowed him and his clerks to be faster than other traders.
He would later go on to be a leader in computer driven trading strategies, using futures and options prices in real time to evaluate opportunities. Meanwhile, competing traders were getting paper sheets of option prices updated a couple times a day. He would go on to found CRT with $100K in 1977 and in the 1980s it was 30% to 40% of the U.S. equity market volume. He sold the firm to NationsBank in 1993 for $225 million.
At the time of NationsBank buying CRT in 1993, Pat Arbor was the Chairman of the CBOT, Bill Brodsky was the CEO of the CME, the late Jack Sandner was the Chairman of the CME and that same day Sandner had just unveiled his grand plan for overhauling the way the U.S. markets are regulated.
David Goone is one really good strategist. He has been ICE's chief strategy officer and he strategized a deal that had ICE make a strategic investment in technology firm tZERO and that makes him its new CEO. That is pretty slick.
Of course to those in ICE that may not be Goone fans, Jeff Sprecher may be the master strategist here, trading his chief strategy officer and cash for a return to be named later, to put it in baseball terms. Goone will also continue to be a consultant for Sprecher at ICE.
Either way you look at it, Goone is ICE-free(zer) and has a chance to do some interesting things with tZERO. For Mr. Sprecher, this looks like another example of not putting all his eggs in one basket in the hugely dynamic crypto space after ICE's investment in Bakkt has so far been a disappointment.
NYSE Farrell Kramer has a new commentary titled "NYSE Chair Sharon Bowen Has Never Been Shy About Making History" and he could not be more correct about the former CFTC commissioner. She has blazed a trail all the way to the chair of the NYSE board of directors.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) 36th Annual General Meeting (AGM) is in person in Madrid from Tuesday, May 10, until Thursday, May 12, 2022. The keynote speakers are headlined by the everpresent Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO, FTX and Rostin Behnam, chairman, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Other keynote speakers are Klaas Knot, of European Central Bank and chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, president of De Nederlandsche Bank and chair of the Financial Stability Board; and Verena Ross, chair, European Securities and Markets Authority. Click HERE for details and to see ISDA's slick promotional video for the event.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking for a Senior Officer - Associate Director in the Office of Derivatives Policy and Trading Practices (ODPTP) within the Division of Trading and Markets. The position is located in Washingington and you must be a U.S. citizen and get along with Gary Gensler, but then who doesn't?
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is looking for some help in the area of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) research. Their Project Hamilton team is looking for a full-time analyst, a spring 2022 graduate intern and a summer 2022 graduate intern.
Symphony has created a new Engineering Blog where it says it will focus on how microservices architecture can be choreographed to deliver overall product functions, allow data sharing, and power data analytics. The first entry is by Jean-François Garet with assistance from Siamak Khoubyari Olivier Richaud and is titled "Introducing: Symphony's Engineering Blog, Do mesh with me!"
The latest podcast from IEX, number 57 of Boxes and Lines, a market structure podcast with Ronan Ryan and John Ramsay is titled "The Stock Market's Morning Routine with Ramon Gonzalez of IEX Exchange."
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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Cboe Global Markets Promotes Greg Hoogasian to Executive Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today announced the promotion of Greg Hoogasian to Executive Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer, and appointment to the company's executive leadership team. Hoogasian was previously Senior Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer at Cboe. In this new role, he will continue to oversee the regulation of Cboe's U.S. equities, options, futures and swap execution facility (SEF) markets, in addition to supporting regulatory oversight of the markets associated with Cboe's further expansion into North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
/jlne.ws/35hWhJt
***** I am always proud to see another person with "IAN" at the end of their name get a promotion, even though I am not Armenian, which is normally the case with such names. Lothian is of Scottish origin. Congratulations Greg on your promotion. The way Cboe Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ed Tilly and Cboe are going, your job will keep growing globally. Make sure you have a good map.~JJL
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Virtual Lenders Shake Up Hong Kong's Banking Industry; A group of eight digital-only banks is using mobile games and higher interest rates, among other things, to try to win over consumers
Yi Wei Wong - WSJ
An upstart group of virtual banks has gained a toehold in Hong Kong, luring consumers from bricks-and-mortar lenders in the Asian financial hub with offerings such as numberless credit cards that promise more security and mobile games that churn out cash prizes. The eight digital lenders, mostly backed by large banks and other corporations, operate only online or via mobile phones and have no physical branches. They have been expanding aggressively in one of Asia's most banked cities since starting operations in 2020, leading other traditional banks to follow suit with their own digital offerings.
/jlne.ws/3t0guvt
***** That toaster you wanted when you opened your account, it is virtual and you can find it in the metaverse.~JJL
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Vegetable Oil Rally Powers On, Adding to Food Inflation Pressure
Megan Durisin - Bloomberg
Soy and palm oil prices climbed on worries about tight supply; The products are used in vast array of consumer goods
Vegetable oil prices are booming around the world, raising costs of the raw materials used for everything from frying food to powering engines. From soy to palm oil -- a product used in about half of all supermarket goods -- prices have surged to records or near multiyear highs this week. Cooking oils go into biodiesel and are churned into goods from soaps to salad dressings and sweets, so the rallies are more bad news for consumers and sectors also being hit by higher transport, energy and labor costs.
/jlne.ws/3HhmKUK
***** The good news about a market like vegetable oil is that users can switch from one oil to another in order to keep costs down and move demand forward or back. Just be careful you don't replace your salad oil with diesel oil. There is a difference in taste.~JJL
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Make the Meta Quest 2 a Better VR Headset—and Portal to the Metaverse; The headset once known as the Oculus Quest 2, from the company once known as Facebook, still has its flaws. Here's how to fix some of them, and what they tell us about its future.
Joanna Stern - WSJ
Every time I put on the Meta Quest 2 virtual-reality headset, I have two thoughts:#1: I love you, you magical device that transports me from my dirty basement to a floating pedestal on Machu Picchu. #2: I hate you, you uncomfortable, finicky, battery-sucking face computer! Ah yes, face computers—aka VR headsets. If the crystal-ball predictions pan out, we'll soon all be wearing them to transform into digital avatars and work, play, shop and more in the so-called metaverse.
/jlne.ws/352xbi2
***** My brother Scott is the poster-boy for the Oculus. He uses it everyday to exercise. I don't play in the metaverse, at least yet.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our most read news yesterday was Bloomberg An Obscure Corner of Wall Street is Making Billion Trading Inflation. Coming in second was Inc. The Secret to Happiness, According to This Harvard Professor: A Reverse Bucket List. And third, Fast Company These 5 factors will make you more promotable.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
Publisher | | | Sarah Rudolph
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| Lead Stories | NYSE Owner Gets on Board With Crypto-Powered Revamp of Trading
Katherine Doherty and Yueqi Yang - Bloomberg
A senior ICE executive is also becoming CEO of tZero; TZero offers digital securities for companies like Overstock
TZero's mission to remake U.S. stock trading into a blockchain-powered business just got a prominent new ally: the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. Intercontinental Exchange Inc., NYSE's parent, has purchased a stake in tZero, according to a Tuesday statement. ICE Chief Strategy Officer David Goone will become tZero's new chief executive officer next month.
/jlne.ws/3hcaH0m
Intercontinental Exchange Announces Strategic Investment in tZERO Group, Inc.; Longtime ICE executive David Goone to be named tZERO's new Chief Executive Officer
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of mortgage technology, data and listings services, announced today that it is making a strategic investment in tZERO, a leader in blockchain innovation and liquidity for digital assets. In connection with ICE's investment in tZERO, David Goone, a longtime member of ICE's management team and currently ICE's Chief Strategy Officer, will join tZERO as its next Chief Executive Officer and will serve on tZERO's Board of Directors.
/jlne.ws/3v5JLYx
Oil, Gas and Commodities Aren't Being Weaponized — for Now; The West each day continues to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of resources from Russia, indirectly financing the Ukrainian crisis.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
In the 24 hours after Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing two breakaway Ukrainian territories, the European Union, the U.K., and the U.S. bought a combined 3.5 million barrels of Russian oil and refined products, worth more than $350 million at current prices. On top of that, the West probably bought another $250 million worth of Russian natural gas, plus tens of millions dollars of aluminum, coal, nickel, titanium, gold and other commodities. In total, the bill likely topped $700 million.
/jlne.ws/3JMS7bt
Banks That Stuck With Russia Face Their Biggest Test of Nerve; Italian and Austrian firms have increased Russia loans since 2015, and France has a big presence too. SocGen, UniCredit and Raiffeisen are in the spotlight.
Nicholas Comfort, Hannah Levitt, and Sonia Sirletti - Bloomberg
Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 was the moment when many global banks sharply cut their exposure to Vladimir Putin's regime. But firms from some European nations weren't put off for long. Enticed by the profits on offer, lenders from Italy and Austria have actually increased their combined business in Russia since the start of 2015, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. French banks have reduced their Russian loans over the same period, but Societe Generale SA still has a significant presence in the country.
/jlne.ws/3BNFGJU
Traders leave US penny stocks in sign speculative fever is cooling; Volume on over-the-counter market was 70% below February's all-time high
Nicholas Megaw - FT
Trading in unlisted US shares has dropped almost three-quarters from its peak at the height of last year's retail trading frenzy, as investors rein in speculative bets and regulators crack down on potential fraud in penny stocks. January marked the 11th consecutive monthly decline in volumes of "over-the-counter" equity trades, according to data from Finra, the watchdog for US broker-dealers and exchanges. The total number of trades was 70 per cent below the all-time high set last February.
/jlne.ws/3HkNi7S
NYSE Chair Sharon Bowen Has Never Been Shy About Making History
Farrell Kramer - NYSE
"If you can see it, you can be it." It's impossible to speak with those who know Sharon Bowen and not come across this phrase again and again. Bowen, whose journey began as a standout student at an all-Black elementary school in her native Virginia, has blazed a groundbreaking trail of leadership in law, finance and public service that has cleared the way for others to follow.
/jlne.ws/3sboHOf
Barclays CEO Took Salary Cut When He Replaced Staley in Top Job
Harry Wilson and Stefania Spezzati - Bloomberg
Venkatakrishnan was previously head of the bank's markets unit; CEO's salary is low compared to international peers: Barclays
Promotions normally mean a bigger salary, but when C.S. Venkatakrishnan replaced Jes Staley as chief executive officer of Barclays Plc he took a pay cut. The bank's former head of global markets accepted a 2.7 million-pound ($3.7 million) salary when he was handed the job of CEO in November following Staley's exit over his links to the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
/jlne.ws/3vbDCKu
Goldman Sachs Wants Its Bonuses Back as Punishment for Jumping Ship; The Wall Street bank is going to great lengths to head off departures with measures like seizing vested pay.
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
As Wall Street firms struggle to hold on to top talent, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. isn't just paying bigger bonuses to dissuade executives from leaving — it's turning the screws on those who do. For decades, Goldman has cultivated close ties with departing executives, nurturing the corporate world's most powerful alumni network. They often establish lucrative, second careers and then enlist Goldman for advice, deals and trades. It's a connective tissue for a lifetime of shared riches.
/jlne.ws/33IGQJS
London Bankers Seen to Be Primed for Bigger Bonuses After Brexit
Silla Brush - Bloomberg
Lloyd's of London chairman says U.K. is now free from EU rules; British banker bonuses have been capped relative to base pay
Leading London financiers now expect the U.K. to rewrite European Union restrictions on banker bonuses as a way to attract talent after Brexit. The nation is beginning to embrace the freedom to set its own policies outside the EU and is no longer consumed by efforts to ensure British regulation comports with those of the 27-member bloc, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, chairman of Lloyd's of London, said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg journalists in New York. A limit on banker bonuses relative to base salaries is among the EU's most prominent curbs on the financial industry.
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Germany Says It Can Do Without Russian Gas. That's Tricky
Elena Mazneva, Iain Rogers, and Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
Minister sees 'possibility' of managing without Gazprom fuel; But Germany relies on Russia for more than half its gas
Germany's economy minister said the country could do without Russian gas. But that won't be easy. Europe's industrial powerhouse currently relies on Russia's Gazprom PJSC for more than half its gas. And if anything, demand will only grow as the country phases out nuclear and coal-fired electricity. No. 2 supplier Norway is already pumping at full tilt, and Germany has no means of importing liquefied cargoes.
/jlne.ws/3vbzBFy
Hong Kong Weighs Easing Listing Rules for Large Tech Firms
Kiuyan Wong - Bloomberg
SFC, HKEX review the main board listing rules, Paul Chan says; Hong Kong dropped out of the top three global listing venues
Hong Kong is considering easing some listing requirements for large, advanced technology firms that are currently not eligible in an effort to help them meet capital needs for research and development, according to the city's top financial official. The Securities and Futures Commission and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. are reviewing the Main Board listing rules, such as the profit and trading record requirements, and examine to revise them to meet the fundraising needs of "large-scale advanced technology enterprises," Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in his annual budget speech Wednesday.
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Banks haven't even tackled the first question on climate; Lenders such as NatWest are still working through the balance sheets even as expectations on their role grow
Helen Thomas - FT
It is faintly depressing that leadership in financial services around the shift to net zero still starts with a discussion of coal. But, close to a decade after the first divestment policies homed in on the world's most polluting fossil fuel, it does. NatWest, which two years ago set itself a target of halving the climate impact of its financing by 2030, last week updated its commitments around stopping doing business with coal companies and with oil and gas majors lacking a "credible" transition plan.
/jlne.ws/35kxGUz
Barclays Freezes Jes Staley's Deferred Pay Until Epstein Probe Concludes; Staley has around 11.2 million unvested shares with a value of around $32 million
Anna Hirtenstein - WSJ
Barclays PLC said it has frozen former chief executive Jes Staley's deferred pay while regulators complete a probe into how he characterized his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank made the announcement Wednesday alongside its latest financial results, which showed net profit rose in the fourth quarter as it released funds set aside to cover for Covid-19 damages, even as trading moderated following a furious period of activity.
/jlne.ws/3IeVVSF
Almost 80% of FICC traders expect to increase electronic trading in 2022, finds JP Morgan survey; Nearly two thirds of FX and over half of futures, commodities and rates traders are already executing high e-trading volumes or expecting them to increase in 2022.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Electronic and algorithmic trading methods in the FICC markets are expected to continue to surge in the year to come, JP Morgan's annual FICC e-trading survey has found. Just under 80% of the traders surveyed expect to increase electronic trading in 2022, followed by 63% expecting an increase in algorithmic trading.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | London to Scrap Face Mask Rule on Tube, Buses From Thursday
Charles Capel - Bloomberg
People in London will no longer be required to wear face coverings on public transport from Thursday, the same day all coronavirus-related laws will be lifted in England. The move comes amid declining case rates in the capital, although Transport for London will strongly recommend people still wear a mask on its services. While the rules were already frequently ignored, the transport authority acted after Boris Johnson's government this week said it would lift national Covid mandates.
/jlne.ws/3p5GBjy
Hong Kong Posts 8,674 Covid Cases as Curbs Fail to Slow Outbreak
Michelle Fay Cortez - Bloomberg
Hong Kong reported 8,674 new Covid cases and 24 deaths from the virus on Wednesday as the city's leaders planned new measures designed to contain its largest outbreak yet. Existing curbs on restaurants, gyms and other venues, and bans on flights from high-risk countries, rolled out in the past several weeks have failed to slow the spread of the omicron variant, with more than 61,000 infections diagnosed since the latest wave began. The city's health leaders are doubling down on efforts to quash the contagion, building isolation facilities to house thousands of infected people and rolling out city-wide testing with help from mainland China.
/jlne.ws/3paT0mf
Hong Kong to give out spending vouchers as Covid cases hit record level; Economists warn that elimination strategy is 'unsustainable' as Omicron sweeps through city
Chan Ho-him - FT
Hong Kong launched a new round of financial handouts as the city struggles to contain China's biggest outbreak of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, even as economists warned the city's zero-Covid strategy was "unsustainable".
/jlne.ws/3LYpKt0
Fast-Spreading Covid-19 Omicron Type Revives Questions About Opening Up; BA.2 subvariant now accounts for more than a third of global cases, according to global database
Peter Landers, Miho Inada - WSJ
A more infectious type of the Omicron variant has surged to account for more than a third of global Covid-19 cases sequenced recently, adding to the debate about whether countries are ready for full reopening. Health authorities are examining whether the subvariant of Omicron, known as BA.2, could extend the length of Covid-19 waves that have peaked recently in Europe, Japan and some other places.
/jlne.ws/3p9AR8F
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | IncubEx Announces Launch Date Of The Voluntary Climate Marketplace
IncubEx
The Voluntary Climate Marketplace (TVCM), a venue for trading global carbon offsets and other bespoke environmental attributes, has announced it will launch on March 25, 2022. TVCM, operated by IncubEx and utilizing Trayport's Joule platform, provides a best-in-class marketplace to meet the needs of global buyers and sellers of carbon offsets and other renewable attributes.
/jlne.ws/3BLb2AF
Cboe Global Markets appoints new executive vice president, chief regulatory officer; Incoming executive vice president is promoted to the new role, having served at Cboe since 2004 in various positions.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Cboe Global Markets has promoted Greg Hoogasian to executive vice president, chief regulatory officer and member of the company's executive leadership team. As part of his new role, Hoogasian will continue to oversee the regulation of Cboe's US equities, options, futures and swap execution facility (SEF) markets, alongside supporting regulatory oversight of the markets associated with Cboe's further expansion into North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
/jlne.ws/3vbvcTl
EEX Flagship Power Futures prices form basis of new S&P GSCI European Power Indices
EEX
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) has today announced its role in the newly launched S&P GSCI European Power indices which utilise price data from EEX' flagship European power futures contracts.
/bit.ly/35lWP0N
Subject: Trading Arrangements of HSI ESG Enhanced Select Index ETF Enquiry: Participant
HKEX
Exchange Participants are requested to note that HSI ESG Enhanced Select Index ETF (Stock Code: 3136) has been authorized under collective investment scheme by the Securities and Futures Commission and is expected to commence trading on the Exchange and admitted to the list of Designated Securities eligible for short selling on 24 February 2022 (Thursday). Investors should always refer to the details about the Fund provided by the Fund Manager, e.g. Net Asset Value per Unit, before trading the abovementioned ETF(s). Detail of its trading arrangements (Attachment 1) is attached for reference.
/bit.ly/352qyfE
Candidates for Directors and Executive Officers, etc. and Change in Organizational Structure
Japan Exchange Group, Inc.
Name of Representative: Kiyota Akira, Director & Representative Executive Officer, Group CEO (Code No.: 8697, TSE 1st Section) Inquiries: Corporate Communications (TEL: +81-3-3666-1361) Candidates for Directors and Executive Officers, etc. and Change in Organizational Structure I. Candidates for Directors and Executive Officers, etc. We today announce that Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) decided on candidates for directors and executive officers, etc. effective from April 1, 2022 as follows.
/bit.ly/3LWV7UI
MOEX trading schedule for 23 February and 8 March 2022
MOEX
The Moscow Exchange FX, Precious Metals, Equity, Money, Derivatives, and Standardized OTC Derivatives markets will be open for trading on public holidays in Russia on 23 February and 8 March 2022.
/bit.ly/36nzUTp
When Volatility Calls, NYSE DMMs Answer
Steven Poser, Director - NYSE Research
Our recent article, "NYSE DMMs: Meeting the Volatility Challenge" highlighted our performance when liquidity spiked on January 24, 2022. We showed that NYSE-listed companies had tighter quoted spreads compared to Nasdaq-listed companies and achieved 2 times better accuracy on the opening auction and 3 times better accuracy on the closing auction1. In this article, we take a deeper dive into NYSE listed-company performance when volatility is high, with a special focus on the Designated Market Maker (DMM).
/jlne.ws/33Kbq5T
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange looks for investor base in UAE
Reuters
Israel's stock exchange said on Wednesday it was searching for new investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to partner with leading companies traded in Tel Aviv. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) is working with the UAE Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Dubai International Chamber to match Israeli companies with Emirati strategic investors at a conference in Dubai Feb. 28 to March 3.
/jlne.ws/3BNPrrw
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Securitize Acquires Pacific Stock Transfer; Serving 1.2M Investor Accounts and 3,000 Clients, Securitize Becomes a Top 10 U.S. Stock Transfer Agent, and is the Only Large Transfer Agent Capable of Tokenizing Securities on the Blockchain
Securitize
Securitize, the digital asset securities firm, today announced its acquisition of Pacific Stock Transfer. With over 1.2 million investor accounts and over 3,000 private and publicly traded clients, Securitize is now one of the top 10 largest stock transfer agencies in the U.S. by accounts, as well as the first and only top 10 transfer agent to issue and manage shares digitally.
TransFICC pilots EU fixed income consolidated tape model; Steve Toland, co-founder of TransFICC, tells The TRADE that as the model is based on its existing normalised post-trade data feed, it should minimise costs and time to market.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
TransFICC has launched a consolidated tape pilot for fixed income in Europe with the hope of becoming the technology provider of choice for the bloc's recently announced plans for a unified data source. Based on TransFICC's existing hosted normalised post-trade data feed, the pilot has been developed as part of the regulatory sandbox operated by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets and is available to be tested by participants and regulators.
/jlne.ws/35nhTEs
Horizon Software adds BINANCE to its crypto trading platform; The addition will give its hedge fund clients the opportunity to trade spots and futures cryptos.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Paris-based Horizon Software, a provider of automated trading solutions and algorithmic technology, has expanded its crypto trading platform to include the well-known crypto exchange BINANCE to its list of gateways.
/jlne.ws/3IdzhtS
Madison Dearborn buying MoneyGram; Chicago-based private-equity firm Madison Dearborn plans to pay $1 billion for one of the country's biggest money transfer companies.
Bloomberg
MoneyGram International Inc., one of the largest money-transfer services in the U.S., agreed to be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners for about $1 billion in cash. The private equity firm will pay $11 a share for Dallas-based MoneyGram, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. The price is 23% higher than the closing price Monday. Madison Dearborn also agreed to refinance $799 million of the target's debt.
/jlne.ws/3HcyGY2
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Microsoft's New Security Chief Says It Is Time to Take Shelter in the Cloud; As security challenges grow, Charlie Bell is building tools that can be used on rivals' cloud networks
Aaron Tilley, Robert McMillan - WSJ
Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT -0.07% new security chief, Charlie Bell, has a message for companies and institutions buffeted by a seemingly never-ending string of cyberattacks: Take shelter in the cloud. Microsoft has built a $15 billion business—and one of the world's biggest private cyber armies—to counter cyberattacks, but the storm of threats is expanding. U.S. banks flagged nearly $600 million in ransomware payments during the first six months of 2021, and cybersecurity experts put the cost of that much higher. Corporate and public networks are also under siege from scammers looking to steal their money and government-backed hackers looking to steal their secrets.
/jlne.ws/3sb8gBt
New York state, top cities to unite in fighting cybersecurity threats
Jon Campbell - Gothamist
New York state is partnering with its six largest cities to open a joint command center meant to foster collaboration in fighting cybersecurity threats, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
The Joint Security Operations Center will be housed at the MetroTech Center complex in downtown Brooklyn, where Hochul was joined by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The mayors of Buffalo, Yonkers, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany are also on board with the effort.
/jlne.ws/3vrhufh
GitHub calls for contributions to new cybersecurity Advisory Database
Jonathan Greig - ZDNet
GitHub announced on Tuesday that their Advisory Database for security data is now open to contributions from experts.
GitHub senior product manager Kate Catlin explained that the company has teams of security researchers that review all changes and help keep security advisories up to date.
/jlne.ws/356Oi22
NIST Seeks Input to Update Cybersecurity Framework, Supply Chain Guidance
NIST
To keep pace with the always evolving cybersecurity landscape, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is planning to revise the widely adopted NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). In advance of the update, NIST is asking the public for information that would improve the effectiveness of the CSF and its alignment with other cybersecurity resources. The agency is also requesting suggestions to inform cybersecurity guidance related to supply chain risks.
/jlne.ws/3JTDqDL
IBM Cybersecurity Hub to mitigate APAC cyberattacks
Rebecca Oi - TechWire Asia
In a move that has the potential to revolutionize cybersecurity training, IBM virtually inaugurated its Cyber Range and IBM Security Command Center. The center located in Bengaluru explicitly trains cybersecurity response techniques through highly realistic, simulated cyberattacks designed to prepare everyone from C-Suite through technical staff.
The first of its kind center was launched by Shri. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
/jlne.ws/3v5NoO6
'Deep learning is a completely terrible idea for security,' says cybersecurity expert
Jonathan Vanian - Fortune
Zulfikar Ramzan, the former chief technology officer for cybersecurity giant RSA, holds a controversial belief regarding artificial intelligence and security.
"I think deep learning is a completely terrible idea for security," Ramzan bluntly says. His statement flies in the face of conventional wisdom that neural networks and their ability to discover patterns in massive amounts of data will revolutionize the cybersecurity industry.
/jlne.ws/36zPrQh
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Coinbase CEO bashes ad agencies and their 'gimmicky' ideas, then backpedals after a major ad firm calls him out and claims credit for the company's Super Bowl ad
Áine Cain - Business Insider
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong kicked off an advertising-related controversy this week by claiming on Twitter that his company's spartan Super Bowl commercial was developed in-house. The resulting clash revealed the behind-the-scenes messiness over partnerships and ideas that can occur in the world of big budget, high stakes advertising.
/jlne.ws/3saSoPr
'Frozen' Bitcoin Tied to Canadian Protests Lands at Coinbase, Crypto.Com
Anna Baydakova, Sam Reynolds - Coindesk
Cryptocurrency tied to the Canadian truckers protesting COVID-19 restrictions has been on the move, in defiance of the authorities' orders to freeze funds, blockchain analysis shows. Nearly all of the roughly 20 BTC (about $788,000 U.S. at current exchange rates) sent to the Tallycoin fundraiser is gone from that address, with only 0.11 BTC left, according to Blockchain.com data.
/jlne.ws/3scRemJ
Morgan Stanley Says Bitcoin Cannot Escape Energy Requirements
Will Canny - Coindesk
Mining for cryptocurrencies can be highly energy intensive with bitcoin mining alone requiring the same amount of electricity as the Netherlands' annual total power generation or 0.5% of total global electricity consumption, Morgan Stanley said in a report entitled "ESG Considerations." Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are standards for a company's operations that some investors use to screen potential investments.
/jlne.ws/35kxPXM
Coinbase Wallet Adds Ledger Hardware Wallet Support for Better Security
Aaryamann Shrivastava - FX Empire
Coinbase has been one of the leading crypto organizations. Their extension towards one of the biggest hardware wallets will enable almost 4 million more investors to be a part of the cryptocurrency exchange.
/jlne.ws/3LWBYSE
Hundreds of Salesforce employees are rebelling against the software giant's NFT plans
Yoonji Han - Business Insider
More than 400 employees have signed an open letter of protest, citing environmental and economic concerns, the Thomson Reuters Foundation News first reported. Salesforce announced last week it plans to launch an NFT Cloud sales platform that lets users create and sell NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.
/jlne.ws/3t2YxfJ
CSOP AM launches metaverse ETF in Hong Kong; The move follows buoyant interest for metaverse ETFs in South Korea, which already has 8 such funds
Sandra Heistruvers - FT
CSOP Asset Management has become the latest fund house to launch an exchange traded product targeting the metaverse investment theme. The CSOP Metaverse Concept ETF, Hong Kong's first metaverse-focused fund, will invest mainly in US-listed companies that are directly or indirectly involved in technology that backs products or services that will aid the development of the augmented reality of the metaverse. Meta Platforms, the newly rebranded parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was its largest holding, at 6.38 per cent at its launch on Monday.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Global Banks Poised for Turmoil as West Hits Russia With Sanctions; The U.S. and Britain are aiming to throttle Russia's access to foreign capital. But things could get complicated for the entire global financial system.
Lananh Nguyen and Alan Rappeport - NY Times
Global banks are bracing for the ripple effects of harsh new financial and economic sanctions against Russia intended to hobble its economy and restrict its access to foreign capital. On Tuesday, President Biden announced that the United States would impose sanctions on Russia's main development bank, VEB, and its military bank, Promsvyazbank, and enact comprehensive curbs on Russia's sovereign debt, effectively cutting the country off from Western financing. He said the United States was also preparing to impose sanctions on Russian elites and their family members.
/jlne.ws/3IhIQI5
Putin Is Making a Historic Mistake
Madeleine Albright - NY Times
In early 2000, I became the first senior U.S. official to meet with Vladimir Putin in his new capacity as acting president of Russia. We in the Clinton administration did not know much about him at the time — just that he had started his career in the K.G.B. I hoped the meeting would help me take the measure of the man and assess what his sudden elevation might mean for U.S.-Russia relations, which had deteriorated amid the war in Chechnya. Sitting across a small table from him in the Kremlin, I was immediately struck by the contrast between Mr. Putin and his bombastic predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.
/jlne.ws/3scUa2x
Canada Instructs Banks to Unfreeze Freedom-Convoy Accounts; Finance official tells lawmakers process started Monday, days after police largely shut down Covid-19 protest in capital
Paul Vieira - WSJ
Canada told banks to unlock financial accounts belonging to individuals involved in a weekslong Covid-19 protest in Ottawa that police shut down this past weekend, according to a finance ministry official. "They started [Monday] to unfreeze accounts," Isabelle Jacques, a senior official in Canada's finance department, told lawmakers Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3Hg4mf3
Britain mistakenly puts Russian central bank's address on sanctions list
Reuters
Britain on Tuesday mistakenly assigned the address of the Russian central bank to a privately held bank with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin that was the target of sanctions announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson slapped sanctions on five private banks including Bank Rossiya, which the government said was "privately owned by elite Russian billionaires with direct links to Putin", but spared Russia's largest state banks for now.
/jlne.ws/3p8YwWL
Russia's waning reliance on London markets reduces bite of UK sanctions; Johnson threatens to shut out Russian companies looking to raise capital, but only three have listed since 2014
Philip Stafford and Adrienne Klasa - FT
As world leaders tried to face down Vladimir Putin, UK prime minister Boris Johnson warned the time had come "to bring in some tough sanctions against the Russian regime". The "first tranche" of measures he unveiled on Tuesday targeted five small banks and three oligarchs, but were quickly criticised by British lawmakers as underwhelming.
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Venture Capitalist Dubbed 'Selfish' by Judge Faces U.K. Arrest
Gaspard Sebag - Bloomberg
Julie Meyer issued with arrest warrant in spat over legal fees; Meyer says Swiss law prevents her from complying with court
A Switzerland-based venture capitalist faces a U.K. arrest warrant in a case over unpaid legal fees, where a judge labeled her "selfish and untrustworthy." The arrest warrant comes after Julie Meyer, chief executive officer of VIVA Investment Partners AG, failed to attend a hearing last week and disclose documents requested by a London judge, who previously handed her a suspended six month jail term in her absence for contempt of court.
/jlne.ws/3IfNsP0
SEC Charges Health Care Co. and Two Former Employees for Accounting Improprieties
SEC
Washington D.C., Feb. 22, 2022 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges and an $18 million penalty against Baxter International Inc. for engaging in improper intra-company foreign exchange transactions that resulted in the misstatement of the company's net income. The SEC also announced settled charges against Baxter's former treasurer and assistant treasurer, Scott Bohaboy and Jeffrey Schaible, respectively, for their misconduct related to these transactions.
/bit.ly/3LVajl5
ESMA launches Call for Evidence on climate risk stress testing for CCPs
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, today publishes a call for evidence on the methodology to assess climate risk with a new stress testing framework for Central Counterparties (CCPs).
ESMA, to support the EU's efforts in improving the financial sector's resilience and contribution to sustainability, has started developing a climate risk stress testing framework tailored to the specificities of CCPs.
/jlne.ws/3BNqXhR
New financial sanctions measures in relation to Russia
FCA
Following the Prime Minister's statement to the House of Commons on 22 February 2022, the UK has announced a tranche of sanctions on Russia. The full details of the measures are available on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website. If you require a licence to permit any activity which would otherwise be prohibited by sanctions regulations, you must contact the relevant department.
We expect firms to have established systems and controls to counter the risk that they might be used to further financial crime and this includes compliance with financial sanctions obligations. Where the FCA identifies failings in financial crime systems and controls we can impose restrictions and/or take enforcement action. Additionally, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has the power to levy civil monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions and works with law enforcement for the most egregious cases where criminal prosecution may be considered.
/jlne.ws/33OH1na
FMA warns primefirmtrade.com unreasonably withholding investor funds
FMA
FMA are concerned that primefirmtrade.com is involved in a scam.
The entity is withholding client funds unreasonably. Clients are required to make a large sum payment for a "withdrawal code" to withdraw funds from their trading accounts.
/jlne.ws/3HcdgdA
Consumer Price Developments in January 2022
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Published Feb. 23. This January 2022 report contains an update of the latest consumer price developments in Singapore, prepared by MAS and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
/bit.ly/3IeVqbf
SFC concludes consultation on regulating trustees and custodians of public funds and further consults on implementation details
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today released consultation conclusions and began a further consultation on a proposal to regulate depositaries (ie, top-level trustees and custodians) of SFC-authorised collective investment schemes (CIS) (Note 1).
/bit.ly/3h60CCi
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | JP Morgan e-FICC Survey Reflects the Return of FX, Interest Rate Volatility
Colin Lambert. - The FullFX
The findings of the sixth annual JP Morgan e-FICC survey, which polls the opinion of traders in the FICC markets, very much reflect the return of volatility to financial markets, which concerns rising over liquidity and price consistency, and inflation charging to the number one influence on markets in 2022.
/jlne.ws/3sc3xPY
Inflation-Obsessed Investors Can't Get Enough of Commodities
Alex Longley and Mark Burton - Bloomberg
More money is in commodity funds than any time in last decade; Investors attracted by forward curve, inflation hedge appeal
Investors are pumping more money into commodity funds than at any time in the last decade, enticed by red-hot inflation and a futures market offering big profits. Tight supplies of everything from aluminum to oil to grains have sent raw-material prices to a record, while also pushing markets into backwardation, where near-term supplies fetch a premium. That's allowing investors to book returns by selling spot contracts and buying later-dated ones at lower prices.
/jlne.ws/3I8Ih3j
FOMO May Lift Megacap Stocks When the Market Turns
Ryan Vlastelica - Bloomberg
Funds are underweight biggest names such as Apple, Microsoft; Morgan Stanley says rest of big tech slightly overowned
In this year's technology stock slump, fund managers have cut their ownership of marquee names such as Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. to below their weight in benchmark indexes. Bulls couldn't be happier. The data is a reason to be slightly more bullish on big tech, according to Morgan Stanley. Stocks with relatively low institutional ownership tend to gain over the next quarter, the firm said. The thinking is that bearishness is a contrarian buy signal: Investors will come rushing back in at the first sign of a stabilization or recovery in share prices, out of fear of underperforming the market.
/jlne.ws/3LNDk22
Rio Tinto pays FTSE's second-largest dividend of $16.8bn as earnings soar; Mining sector has emerged as a payout powerhouse after commodities price surge
Neil Hume - FT
Rio Tinto has delivered the second-biggest payout in UK corporate history after the miner cashed in on surging prices for its main commodities. Confirming its position as one of the big winners from the rebound in economic growth from the pandemic, the company reported record results on Wednesday and declared dividends worth $7.7bn (£5.7bn).
/jlne.ws/3p4TIl9
Rio Tinto Needs to Spend Money to Make Money; The company is showing investors the money but structural shifts looming in the global economy will necessitate big mining investments too
Nathaniel Taplin - WSJ
A world-wide shortage of many major commodities is a headache for most companies these days. But for Australian metals heavyweight Rio Tinto, RIO 0.18% one of the world's largest mining companies, it adds up to a bonanza. The main question, as always, is what to do with that bounty.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | South Africa Extends Incentives Period to Cut Carbon Emissions
Monique Vanek - Bloomberg
Budget lengthens carbon tax incentives until end of 2025; Carbon budgeting system to become mandatory from 2026
South Africa will extend the first phase of its carbon tax by three years, enabling companies to continue benefiting from tax-free allowances and revenue-recycling initiatives as the country prepares to accelerate its transition toward a zero-emissions economy by 2050.
/jlne.ws/3HcQX7E
ESG Litigation Over Social Issues Is Poised to Rise; More corporate disclosure will lead to more discrepancies—and more lawsuits
Saijel Kishan - Bloomberg
Climate-related lawsuits like those filed against energy companies Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Plc and PG&E Corp. have dominated ESG litigation in recent years. But there are signs an increase in cases extending beyond the environmental pillar of ESG may be coming.
/jlne.ws/3scQ0b2
DWS Fund Plans Its First Green Bond as ESG Probe Proceeds
Priscila Azevedo Rocha
A real-estate fund managed by DWS Group is planning its first green bond in the face of ongoing investigations into alleged greenwashing. Grundbesitz Europa, an open-ended fund that invests in commercial property, is talking to investors about 500 million euros ($568 million) of five-year bonds, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named as they aren't authorized to speak publicly. The fund is moving ahead with the deal as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice and the German watchdog BaFin investigate DWS's earlier ESG claims.
/jlne.ws/3JKIbPK
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Mizuho Americas Partners with Quantifi to Support its Robust Equity Derivatives Platform
Quantifi
Quantifi, a provider of risk, analytics and trading solutions today announced that it has been selected by Mizuho Americas, an integral part of the Japan-based Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., to support its expanding equity derivatives platform. Quantifi will complement Mizuho America's existing internal process, providing additional pricing models to further validate its internal models.
/jlne.ws/35kuece
J. Ira Harris, Salomon Brothers' Chicago dealmaker, dies at 83; In the 1980s, Ira Harris was Chicago's best-known dealmaker. "I like Chicago better than New York," he once said. "It's a friendlier city, a fine place to raise my children."
Bloomberg
J. Ira Harris, a former senior partner of Salomon Brothers who played a leading role in establishing Chicago as a viable Wall Street stand-in for dealmaking and investment banking, has died. He was 83. He died on Monday at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, of an apparent heart attack, according to his son, Jon.
/jlne.ws/3Hab3PB
Suisse Secrets: Florida real estate baron tied to mob probes stashed millions in Swiss bank
Cecilia Anesi, Ben Wieder - Miami Herald
Antonio Velardo wasn't happy. The suspected Italian money launderer, who would go on to invest in scores of South Florida properties, heard Switzerland had moved to dilute its famous banking secrecy laws, so that foreign authorities would be able to track down any bank accounts linked to tax evasion. "Look, I need all the information on Switzerland," Velardo demanded of an associate in March 2009 in a profane missive. "I really don't like this fact. ... These f--kers [the Swiss] have sold themselves. Switzerland will become a f--ked up country. A--holes."
/jlne.ws/3LV5OqH
JPMorgan Accused of Ignoring Red Flags in Nigeria Transfers
Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
Nigeria kicks off six-week trial over role of JPM in payments; JPMorgan calls claim over transfers to ex-minister 'baseless'
Nigeria alleged JPMorgan Chase & Co. ignored "overwhelming" evidence of fraud and stark warnings from its own compliance staff as it kicked off a London court fight over transfers to a former oil minister accused of corruption. JPMorgan acted negligently in transferring some $875 million between 2011 to 2013 from escrow accounts to Dan Etete, who had been convicted of money laundering, Nigeria's lawyers said Wednesday. They cited an email by JPMorgan's senior country official saying the matter "had gone right to the top of the firm."
/jlne.ws/3hdbbU9
Barclays Suspends Vesting of Staley's Shares on Epstein Probe
Stefania Spezzati and Charles Capel - Bloomberg
Barclays Plc is freezing potentially millions of pounds worth of payouts to former Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley as a U.K. regulatory probe continues into his ties to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank's board remuneration committee has suspended "the vesting of all of Staley's unvested awards, pending further developments in respect of the regulatory and legal proceedings related to the ongoing FCA and PRA investigation," according to the bank's 2021 annual report.
/jlne.ws/3IaaYwK
HSBC, Citi Among Banks Selected for Egypt's First Islamic Bonds
Mirette Magdy and Archana Narayanan - Bloomberg
Finance Ministry aiming to raise $2 billion from the issuance; Egypt is diversifying financing sources to ease debt burden
Egypt has named six international lenders, including Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc, to manage its first sale of sovereign Islamic bonds as one of the Middle East's most indebted nations looks to diversify funding sources and ease the burden on its economy.
/jlne.ws/3HbILnR
Deutsche Bank's New London Headquarters Nears $1.3 Billion Sale
ByJack Sidders - Bloomberg
Australian state investment body in talks to acquire property; Developer Land Securities owns office in the City of London
The New South Wales Treasury Corporation is in talks to buy Deutsche Bank AG's new London headquarters from developer Land Securities Group Plc. The state funding arm, known as TCorp, is negotiating a price of about 950 million pounds ($1.3 billion), people with knowledge of the talks said. The process is being led by Lendlease Corp., which has a mandate to invest in real estate on TCorp's behalf, the people said, asking not to be identified as the negotiations are private.
/jlne.ws/3LRTvLP
Barclays' quarterly profit surges as dealmaking boosts investment bank; Results beat expectations as earnings flattered by one-off release of pandemic-related loan loss reserves
Stephen Morris - FT
Barclays' profit more than quadrupled in the fourth quarter as a dealmaking boom boosted its investment bank, while it released more reserves that it had set aside to cover potential loan-losses linked to the pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3h7NSLd
US pension group Calpers hires Canadian as investment chief; Nicole Musicco appointed as $478bn fund manager deepens push into private markets
Josephine Cumbo - FT
Calpers, the largest US public pension plan, has appointed a Canadian fund manager as its new chief investment officer nearly 18 months after the abrupt departure of its former CIO. The $478bn California Public Employees' Retirement System said Nicole Musicco, a private markets specialist, would take over the high-profile position. Musicco will succeed Dan Bienvenue, who had assumed the role of interim CIO in August 2020 after Ben Meng resigned from the post.
/jlne.ws/3pbSIMa
FTSE UK Index Series - Indicative Quarterly Review Changes March 2022
FTSE Russell
FTSE Russell, the global index provider, advises of the following indicative changes to the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, based on data as at Friday 18 February 2022.
PLEASE NOTE: The actual review of the FTSE UK Index Series will be conducted using data as at market close on Tuesday 1 March 2022. Confirmed rebalance changes will be announced after market close on Wednesday 2 March 2022.
/jlne.ws/3BHSWPW
Citi appoints new markets head for France, Belgium and Luxembourg; New markets head of FraBeLux joins from Bank of America where she had spent the last 11 years, The TRADE can reveal.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Citi has appointed a former Bank of America and JP Morgan executive as its new head of markets for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. According to an internal memo seen by The TRADE, Cecile Gambardella has joined Citi after spending the last 11 years with Bank of America, most recently heading up its FICC FraBeLux business and leading the senior client relationships for markets in the region, as well as the Netherlands and Switzerland. She was also responsible for its fixed income solutions business in Italy.
/jlne.ws/34VkK7L
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | World should send 60 million COVID-19 vaccines to N.Korea, U.N. investigator says
Josh Smith - Reuters
The international community should form a strategy to provide North Korea with at least 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to head off humanitarian disaster, an independent U.N. human rights investigator said on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3Hg7pE1
India's IT sector is battling a hiring 'crisis', says Saleforce's India chief; Industry that serves as world's back office faces a skills shortage, warns Arundhati Bhattacharya
Chloe Cornish - FT
The India chief executive of software giant Salesforce said the country's IT sector is grappling with a skills shortage "crisis", as companies struggle to meet surging demand and compete with well-funded tech start-ups for workers.
/jlne.ws/3h7xdYi
ByteDance to exit securities business as China tightens rules; TikTok owner's subsidiary agrees to sell entire stake for $3.16m
Nikkei Asia
TikTok owner ByteDance is set to sell or shut down all of its securities businesses amid the tightening regulatory environment for Chinese internet giants' financial operations, Caixin has learned.
/jlne.ws/3BLuD3V
JPMorgan, HSBC, ING Among Banks Hired for Rare Istanbul Eurobond
Kerim Karakaya and Ercan Ersoy - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc were among banks hired by Istanbul to help sell its second Eurobond in three decades, according to people familiar with the matter, days after the Turkish government's largest-ever overseas debt placement.
/jlne.ws/35nNmGg
Russian Coal Firm Asks Clients to Postpone Deliveries on Covid
Todd Gillespie and Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
Critical staff shortages on railways slowing supply: letter; Coal prices jump this week on fears of gas shortages
The overseas arm of Russian coal company UK Kuzbassrazrezugol AO has asked clients to defer deliveries as Covid-19 causes staff shortages on the country's railways. In a letter to clients seen by Bloomberg News, the company asked for deliveries planned for the first two quarters of this year to be delayed by one quarter respectively. The company cited widespread illness due to the spread of the omicron variant among staff of the railway used to transport the coal.
/jlne.ws/3BLlXKT
Russian Markets Reeling, With Ruble Record Low in Sights
Netty Idayu Ismail, Tugce Ozsoy, and Selcuk Gokoluk - Bloomberg
Currency's weakness is 'here to stay,' says TD Securities; Options show a 50% chance of the ruble falling to a record low
Russian markets have taken historic losses this year and the message coming from traders is that more declines may be ahead for the ruble. Options pricing suggests there's a 50% chance the ruble will sink to a record low against the dollar within the next two months -- dipping below levels from 2016 when the economy was mired in a recession. Technical analysts are also eying the same move, with a trendline of the currency pair on the verge of giving way.
/jlne.ws/36AQS0Q
Top Cocoa Grower Plans Program to Trace Beans in Sustainability Push
Leanne de Bassompierre - Bloomberg
Program will track how and where beans are grown in the nation; Pilot phase to start in April as sustainability pressure grows
Ivory Coast plans to start a cocoa-tracing program from April as the world's top grower faces mounting pressure to prove the sustainability of supplies of the chocolate ingredient. Most cocoa is grown on small farms, with Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana accounting for roughly 70% of output. The industry has long been plagued by issues such as deforestation and child labor, and consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of where and how the goods they buy are produced.
/jlne.ws/3JKBLQI
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