| December 13, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Sam Bankman-Fried did not show up for the Senate Banking Committee after all, and he had the best excuse. He had been charged by U.S. authorities and arrested by Bahamian authorities at the request of the U.S. Mr. SBF was in custody and charged "with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), the crypto trading platform of which he was the CEO and co-founder." And investigations are ongoing for "other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct."
Forbes was able to get its hands on a copy of testimony that SBF was to deliver to the Senate Banking Committee and it showed all the people he blamed for the fall of FTX. Introspection and honesty seem to be lost. Call this ineffective altruism.
And if it were not bad enough for Sam, his parents are under scrutiny as well, The New York Times reports, though "no evidence has emerged linking them to the potentially criminal practices that caused the exchange to implode."
Meanwhile, SBF is not the only crypto king who has problems with the law. Reuters has an exclusive report that prosecutors are split over whether to bring charges against individual Binance executives, including founder Changpeng Zhao
As you can imagine, that is causing some investors to question keeping their crypto at Binance, and the crypto exchange is seeing an outflow of crypto.
And Coinbase in its transparency report said law enforcement requests rose 66% from a year ago, up to 12,320.
Turkey is printing its highest-value banknote at a record rate amid runaway inflation. You might think this high-value banknote might be used for money-laundering, but you would be wrong. The 200 lira note is worth about $10.73.
I was in a Zoom meeting yesterday with FIA's Emma Davey, who was wearing what looked like an Easter themed sweater. When I asked her about it, she said it was very cold there in the U.K. and it was a very warm wool sweater. This proved the thesis that even in a work from home environment, the 90/10 rule applies. The 90/10 rule is that if it is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit or below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, then you dress for the weather, even if it looks like you have the wrong holiday. The 90/10 rule even applies if you use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. It would be the 32.2222/-12.2222 rule in Celsius, which is just not as sexy.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is looking to hire a vice president - business development, buy-side, North America HKEX (U.S.) LLC.
Tastytrade is being rebranded as Tastylive, so all the content you are used to getting is now available at tastylive.com.
The Purdue University men's basketball team has moved into the number one spot in the AP poll of the top ranked men's basketball teams. The Boilermakers were ranked number four last week. This is the second year in a row they have been ranked number one. Let's hope they can hold on to it longer than they did last year when they were quickly upset. So far, it is a nice Christmas gift for us Boiler alums.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has published a draft of "Roadmaps to Nature Positive Guidelines," a tool to help businesses implement and iterate nature-related target setting and financial risk assessments. This draft is part of a broader partnership with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), and the emerging guidelines from the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). WBCSD is requesting feedback on the "Roadmaps" draft. You can register your interest and access the survey prior to 31 January 2023 here. The draft is available for review here
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Introduction to Options Greeks and Options Theory; CQG's Vp of Execution Technology, Kevin Darby, Talks Options and Tech With JLN's Alex Teng.
JohnLothianNews.com
In this Options Discovery Full interview Kevin Darby, the VP of execution technology at CQG, breaks down the basics of options theory and the options greeks. Kevin also talks about new technology at CQG and describes the recent announcement on the joint innovation lab between CQG and NUTS Finance called Optio Research.
Watch the video »
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Asset managers must diversify trading counterparties to deliver best outcome, finds new report; Asset managers that use independent market makers as direct liquidity partners report lower execution costs and fewer issues accessing continuous liquidity during periods of intense volatility, finds data from Acuiti.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
A new survey of European asset managers has found that 71% of those that use independent market makers (IMMs) as direct liquidity partners started to do so in the last three years, coinciding with the rise in market stress. However, only a third of the Bloc's top asset managers currently engage with IMMs directly, suggesting significant room for growth.
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****** This is something I have said forever, that the best markets have the most participants. If you are playing a game with a concentrated party on the other side, it is not a good market. There is too much power for the concentrated party or parties.~JJL
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Why Heart Attacks Rise During the Holiday Season; Heart problems are more common in December, but watching for symptoms and getting early care can help
Sumathi Reddy - The Wall Street Journal
People often put off going to the doctor during the holidays, but they shouldn't ignore signs of heart problems that can arise during the festive season. Winter and especially the holidays are the time when heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems spike, doctors say. More cardiac deaths happen on Dec. 25, Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 than on any other days of the year, research has shown. Heart disease, which includes heart attacks, is the leading cause of death in the U.S. year-round.
/jlne.ws/3UROc2q
****** Go easy on that egg nog maybe?~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top story Monday was The Block CEO resigns after failure to disclose loans from Bankman-Fried's Alameda, from The Block. Tied for second place were The 50 Best Wines Under $50 Right Now, From Alto Adige to New Zealand from Bloomberg, and FTX collapse shakes up Chicago crypto market, where its US trading platform was going to be the next big thing from The Chicago Tribune. Third was Microsoft to Buy 4% of London Stock Exchange Group on Cloud Deal, from Bloomberg.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | SBF charged with "orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud"; The adventures of "fiat@ftx"
FT Alphaville
Aaaaand there it is. The US Securities and Exchange has levelled the first formal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, and the watchdog doesn't mince its words. FT Alphaville's bold emphasis in the painfully stark charge sheet below, and some our comments further down. HT to Kadhim Shubber for the document. Don't forget that criminal charges are also expected to be unsealed later today (RIP the conspiracy theories that predicted that SBF's political donations would shield him from prosecution).
/jlne.ws/3FNKi66
US reveals first charges against Sam Bankman-Fried; SEC case alleging FTX founder defrauded investors comes ahead of criminal indictment expected on Tuesday
Joshua Oliver and Kadhim Shubber - Financial Times
US securities regulators have charged Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors in his recently bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the first move in an expected onslaught of criminal and civil charges following his arrest in the Bahamas late on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3uLIkNr
Brokers braced for big overhaul of US stock trading rules; Four SEC proposals aimed at lowering investor costs would be broadest shake-up since 2005
FT reporters - Financial Times
Banks, trading firms and brokers are bracing for the biggest overhaul of US stock trading in almost two decades with the release on Wednesday of plans designed primarily to lower costs for small investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to vote on four proposals aimed at pushing brokers and market-making firms to execute deals at the best price available - and prove this was done.
/jlne.ws/3uJoT7U
UK Downplays Risk of an EU 'Land Grab' of London's Traders; Only a fraction of bank staff have to move, PRA's Woods says; Goldman is moving euro swaps traders to Milan from London
William Shaw and Philip Aldrick - Bloomberg
UK regulators are watching out for a "land grab" of London traders by the European Union, though they are satisfied with the post-Brexit personnel moves so far, the head of the Prudential Regulation Authority said. Sam Woods told reporters on Tuesday that the watchdog had always known the European Central Bank would want more banking roles in the bloc, adding that a reasonable compromise had been reached between regulators.
/jlne.ws/3uNPIYM
FSB ready for rapid rollout of global crypto standards; Watchdog says there is 'strong agreement' on framework for digital asset rules%
Laura Noonan - Financial Times
The world's most powerful financial watchdogs will lay out firm steps to regulate the cryptocurrency industry in early 2023 and enact them swiftly, the outgoing secretary-general of the Financial Stability Board told the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3hgkeYc
SEC charges former FTX CEO with defrauding crypto investors
Ken Sweet - Associated Press
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the former CEO of failed cryptocurrency firm FTX with orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors. An SEC complaint filed Tuesday alleges that Sam Bankman-Fried raised more than $1.8 billion from equity investors since May 2019 by promoting FTX as a safe, responsible platform for trading crypto assets.
/jlne.ws/3FOv2pR
SEC Says Bankman-Fried Defrauded Investors of $1.8 Billion; FTX co-founder 'built a house of cards,' SEC's Gensler says; Sam Bankman-Fried is also facing US criminal charges
Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was accused by US regulators of carrying out a multi-year scheme to defraud investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday that Bankman-Fried, who was arrested on Monday in the Bahamas and is facing criminal charges in the US, raised more than $1.8 billion from investors. The SEC also said he concealed risks and FTX's relationship with his trading firm Alameda Research, and used commingled customer funds.
/jlne.ws/3Byyan3
'Just another cheque': Saudi National Bank's move into Credit Suisse; A month on from the deal, SNB chair Ammar Alkhudairy is nonplussed by the attention the investment has drawn
Samer Al-Atrush - Financial Times
When Credit Suisse asked its board member Michael Klein to find capital to help its painful restructuring push, the former Citibank executive with ties in the Middle East ended up in a series of meetings with a powerful Saudi bank little known outside the Gulf.
/jlne.ws/3FLUIU2
Binance and Its CEO at Risk of Criminal Charges Over Money-Laundering Rules: Report
Jack Denton - Barron's
The cryptocurrency exchange Binance and executives including CEO Changpeng Zhao are at risk of U.S. criminal charges over compliance with U.S. money-laundering laws and sanctions, according to a report. A split among prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice is delaying charges in a criminal investigation into Binance that began in 2018, Reuters reported on Monday, citing four people familiar with the matter whom it didn't identify.
/jlne.ws/3HyiGDs
Binance reportedly processed over $10 billion in illegal payments this year and a DOJ investigation is looking into top executives including CEO Changpeng Zhao
Morgan Chittum - Business Insider
The US Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, according to Reuters. US prosecutors are looking into Binance on money laundering conspiracy, unlicensed money transmission, and criminal sanctions violations, four sources told the news outlet. The DOJ has also discussed potential plea deals with Binance's legal team, the report said. A Binance spokesperson told Insider that it would be "inappropriate for us to comment" on matters related to the DOJ.
/jlne.ws/3j2Pmeg
Binance Hit by Crypto Outflows as FTX's Fall Shakes Exchanges; FTX implosion has sapped confidence in centralized exchanges; Binance's native token fell as much as 7.1% on Tuesday
Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Binance Holdings Ltd., the dominant cryptocurrency exchange, has been hit by large outflows as traders move to take custody of their tokens amid revelations that rival FTX may have misused customer funds before its November implosion.
/jlne.ws/3iNvUSn
Banks Compete for $6 Billion of Deposits as Nigeria Redesigns Its Banknotes; 2.7 trillion naira outside banks in Africa's biggest economy; Nigeria fixes Jan. 31 to capture funds outside formal sector
Emele Onu - Bloomberg
Nigerian lenders are competing to attract up to 2.7 trillion naira ($6 billion) that's outside the formal sector, taking advantage of the six-week window citizens have to replace old currency notes. Lenders including Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc have already begun reaching out to existing and potential clients online and in-person to turn in unbanked cash. The central bank in October announced a plan to replace 200-, 500- and 1,000-naira notes from Dec. 15.
/jlne.ws/3uM9Fip
Wall Street Journal Names Emma Tucker as Next Chief Editor; Tucker goes to the WSJ after leading the UK's Sunday Times; She becomes the first woman to lead the daily's newsroom
Gerry Smith - Bloomberg
The Wall Street Journal named Emma Tucker as its next editor-in-chief, appointing a leader from a News Corp. publication in the UK to lead the business newspaper. Tucker, who will start the new role Feb. 1, succeeds Matt Murray, who has led the paper since 2018. She is 56, according to the Journal, and will be the first woman to lead its newsroom. Murray will start a senior position at the Journal's owner, News Corp., according to a press release. Tucker has been editor of the Sunday Times since January 2020. She also held leadership roles at the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/3hmmpJC
Microsoft's LSEG Deal Opens Door to Lucrative Finance Market; Company expects partnership to generate billions over a decade; Microsoft will co-develop financial-data platform, analytics
Amy Thomson and William Shaw - Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. has made its largest push into financial services in a deal with London Stock Exchange Group Plc where the software company will co-create analytics products and integrate LSEG's products into its own software suite. LSEG's Workspace platform - along with a messaging service used by traders, bankers and analysts - will be integrated into Microsoft 365 and Teams, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in a statement on Monday. Microsoft said it will also work with the stock-exchange operator on a financial-data platform, and will develop analysis and modeling services using its machine-learning capabilities.
/jlne.ws/3WbBkoD
Sam Bankman-Fried's parents are reportedly in the Bahamas with him, and his father pushed a Stanford law class he was set to teach to the next semester
Britney Nguyen - Business Insider
Sam Bankman-Fried's father, a law professor at Stanford Law School, is reportedly pushing his class to the next semester while he stays in the Bahamas with his son amid FTX's fallout. Joseph Bankman, who teaches mental health law, is postponing his Stanford law class, originally scheduled for January, to the spring, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a Stanford Law School course updates list from the end of October, Bankman is listed as leading a partnership tax reading group and teaching tax policy for the winter semester. However, he is no longer listed as the professor for those courses for that semester, according to the course catalog.
/jlne.ws/3V8f3HH
Keystone Has Leaked More Oil Than Any Other Pipeline in US Since 2010; The major conduit runs from Canada into the US Midwest; Pipeline was shuttered last week after crude leaked in Kansas
Robert Tuttle - Bloomberg
Last week's oil spill in Kansas means that TC Energy Corp.'s Keystone pipeline has now leaked more crude oil than any other conduit on US land in the past 12 years. The major line running from Canada into the US Midwest was shut after a spill of 14,000 barrels, with some of that crude released into a local waterway. The spill, in combination with several others in recent years, will mean that Keystone has leaked almost 26,000 barrels of crude on US land since 2010. That's the most of any other pipeline during that period, according to preliminary spill data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
/jlne.ws/3hmbcIZ
The Parents in the Middle of FTX's Collapse
David Yaffe-Bellany, Lora Kelley and Kenneth P. Vogel - The New York Times
At the height of its corporate power, the cryptocurrency exchange FTX convened a group of athletes and celebrities for a charity event in March at the Miami Heat's N.B.A. arena. Local high school students competed for more than $1 million in prizes, pitching "Shark Tank"-style business ideas to a panel of judges that included David Ortiz, the former Boston Red Sox slugger, and Kevin O'Leary, an actual "Shark Tank" host.
/jlne.ws/3PpeF69
Sam Bankman-Fried's Apology Is as Hollow as His Empire; The downfall of FTX isn't just about a frothy market coming undone. It looks more like the combination of a financial bubble and murky accounting with a dash of charisma thrown in.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
Apologies from tech chief executive officers are in vogue, as years of easy money and pandemic profits come to an end. "I got this wrong," Mark Zuckerberg said after the Facebook billionaire's pivot to a more Meta world decimated its stock price and led to 11,000 layoffs. Charismatic leaders are learning humility.
/jlne.ws/3FoJlzV
Credit Suisse's Next Mission: Win Back Customers; It could take years for the Swiss bank to regain lost client deposits and investments, analysts say
Margot PatrickF - The Wall Street Journal
Credit Suisse CS 0.89%increase; green up pointing triangle Group AG got onto firmer financial footing by selling $4.3 billion in stock. Now, it needs to woo back rich customers who pulled their money while the bank's fate was uncertain. The Swiss bank is attempting to mount a comeback from financial losses and scandals. It is spinning off an investment-banking arm and cutting one in six of its 52,000 staff. Investors including Saudi National Bank bought shares in the recent stock sale at rock-bottom prices to help pay for a yearslong restructuring.
/jlne.ws/3VUpAY2
Hedge-Fund Bets Give Boost to Huge Texas Teachers' Pension; Man Group, Citadel gains contributed to $184 billion fund's performance
Juliet Chung and Heather Gillers - The Wall Street Journal
Stocks and bonds have been pummeled this year. But bets on hedge funds have paid off for the giant Teacher Retirement System of Texas. The roughly $184 billion pension fund, one of the biggest in the U.S. and a significant investor in hedge funds, lost 2.3% for the fiscal year ended June 30, outpacing the median 5.1% loss for large pension funds reported by Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. Its $9.7 billion portfolio of so-called stable-value hedge funds-which includes funds run by Man Group PLC, EMG 3.00%increase; green up pointing triangle Systematica Investments and Citadel that are intended to zig when markets zag-gained 9.4% for the period.
/jlne.ws/3FNVnUP
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | EU agrees to unlock 18bn euro Ukraine aid package as Hungary drops veto; Wider political deal includes approval for minimum corporate tax in EU and Budapest having possible access to recovery funds
Sam Fleming and Valentina Pop - Financial Times
EU member states have agreed to unlock an €18bn funding package for Ukraine after Hungary dropped its veto as part of a wider political bargain giving Budapest the potential to access billions of euros of EU cash. In a late-night deal struck by EU ambassadors on Monday, Hungary agreed to lift its blockade on an EU funding plan aimed at shoring up Kyiv's finances in 2023. It also dropped its veto on the EU's implementation of a minimum effective corporate tax in the union, EU diplomats said.
/jlne.ws/3hm4ZwJ
G7 considers more air defence for Ukraine as fighting rages
Pavel Polityuk and Oleksandr Kozhukhar - Reuters
Global economic powers pledged to beef up Kyiv's military capabilities with a focus on air defence, as Russian missiles, artillery and drones hammered targets in Ukraine with no end in sight to Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two. The Group of Seven promised to "meet Ukraine's urgent requirements" after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed for modern tanks, artillery and long-range weapons to counter Russia's devastating invasion.
/jlne.ws/3FMGwKt
Estonia's Top Diplomat Makes Pitch for Russia's Total Isolation; Reinsalu, vocal Ukraine backer, says EU aid hasn't been enough; Minister calls on full banking embargo, $30 oil-price cap
Ott Tammik - Bloomberg
Estonia's top diplomat called for the "complete isolation" of Russia's financial system and an oil-price cap that would cripple the nation's energy producers, extending punitive measures to cover the whole economy.
/jlne.ws/3WdPkyl
Russian Budget Surplus More Than Quadruples on Energy Cash Spike
Bloomberg News
Russia's budget surplus more than quadrupled in November despite the financial drain of the war in Ukraine, recording another month of improvement thanks largely to dividends and a windfall tax paid by Gazprom PJSC.
/jlne.ws/3Yv4Mbo
Military briefing: escalating air war depletes Ukraine's weapons stockpile; Both sides are running low on resources as Kyiv seeks to thwart Moscow's attacks on its infrastructure
Roman Olearchyk and Ben Hall - Financial Times
For two months Russian forces have been pounding Ukraine's power network with the aim of plunging the country into darkness and breaking its resolve during winter. But in its latest bombardment, on December 5, only 10 out of 70 Russian missiles made it past Ukrainian air defences, according to Kyiv.
/jlne.ws/3uMFKqv
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Deutsche Boerse reaches new milestone with 2,000 ETFs
Deutsche Boerse
As of today, 2,000 ETFs can be traded on Xetra for the first time. The ETF segment of Deutsche Bourse has thus reached a new milestone. On August 22, 2012, Deutsche Boerse became the first stock exchange in Europe to exceed the 1,000 listed ETFs mark. Ten years later, the range of ETF products remains the largest of all European stock exchanges.
/jlne.ws/3FsOVRM
Trading Charity at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange raises €70,000 in donations
Deutsche Boerse
With the "Trading Charity - act and help" campaign, Deutsche Boerse and the securities trading banks ("specialists") active on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange floor received a donation of €70,000. The exchange operator and the nine trading houses support a total of four charitable organizations: Tafel Hessen eV, the German Children's Hospice Association, the Children's Aid Foundation and the KinderPalliativTeam Südhessen.
/jlne.ws/3YmGVur
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Launches ESG Themed Index Futures
Mondo Visione
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad ("Bursa Malaysia Derivatives" or "the Exchange") today launched the cash settled FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index Futures ("F4GM") Contract, with the aim to meet the growing demand from Malaysian investors to include sustainable investment themes into their portfolios. F4GM is the first Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") based futures contract launched by Bursa Malaysia Derivatives with the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia ("F4GBM") Index as its underlying instrument. The F4GBM Index measures the performance of more than 80 Malaysian public listed companies ("PLCs") from across the small, medium and large market capitalisation segments that demonstrate strong ESG practices.
/jlne.ws/3j23qEv
Microsoft to buy minor stake in London Stock Exchange
The Business Times
Microsoft will acquire a holding worth £1.5 billion (S$2.49 billion) at current prices, while London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) committed to spending a minimum of US$2.8 billion on cloud-related services. US software giant Microsoft will buy a four-per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange Group under a new IT services tie-up, the pair announced on Monday (Dec 12). The long-term partnership focuses "next-generation data and analytics and cloud infrastructure solutions" including artificial intelligence (AI), a statement said.
/jlne.ws/3YkS2Un
Cboe Global Markets Announces Date of Fourth-Quarter 2022 Earnings Release and Conference Call
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today said it will announce its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 before the market opens on Friday, February 3, 2023. A conference call with remarks by the company's senior management will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET).
/jlne.ws/3YgnSlm
DTCC's Alternative Investment Product Reaches New Milestone, Processing Over 500 Million Transactions Since Inception
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that its Alternative Investment Product (AIP) service has reached a new milestone, successfully processing over 500 million transactions since its inception as service adoption continues to increase. Today, AIP has over 8,000 unique funds leveraging the automated service to modernize trading and post-trade reporting of alternative investment products.
/jlne.ws/3FwP0nM
HKEX To Introduce Hkd-Rmb Dual Counter Model And Dual Counter Market Making Programme In Hong Kong Securities Market Corporate Market Operations
HKEX
HKD-RMB Dual Counter Model to be introduced in Hong Kong securities market; Dual Counter Market Making Programme to be introduced, supporting liquidity and minimising price discrepancies between two counters; Onboarding for the new initiatives expected to commence in 1H 2023. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Tuesday) pleased to announce the introduction of a new Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)-Renminbi (RMB) Dual Counter Model (Model) and an inaugural Dual Counter Market Making Programme in its securities market, further supporting the listing, trading and settlement of RMB counters in Hong Kong. HKEX expects to commence onboarding for these initiatives in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approval and market readiness.
/jlne.ws/3US8AQY
NSE Indices launches Nifty SDL Jul 2026 Index
NSE
NSE's index services subsidiary, NSE Indices Limited today launched a new target maturity index Nifty SDL Jul 2026 Index. The Nifty SDL Jul 2026 Index follows a target maturity structure with maturity date of July 31, 2026. It includes State Development Loans maturing six month ending July 31, 2026.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Twitter's Advertising Truth Hurts; Elon Musk is leading with narrative at Twitter. Don't lose sight of the dollars and sense.
Laura Forman - The Wall Street Journal
Elon Musk is probably telling the truth about advertising pressure on Twitter-but not all of it. Mr. Musk's vague tweets on the subject have Twitter-watchers in a tither. This might not be such a bad thing: Recall Mr. Musk's 2019 Tesla Cybertruck demonstration, in which a metal ball was thrown at the truck's supposedly tough windows, only to smash them on public display. Seemingly every entrepreneur's nightmare, the failure hardly discouraged Mr. Musk. He later tweeted that the Cybertruck received hundreds of thousands of preorders for the model following the demonstration.
/jlne.ws/3UTFm49
Microsoft Buys Stake in London Stock Exchange; The deal reflects the growing symbiosis between big tech and financial markets
Josh Mitchell - The Wall Street Journal
Microsoft Corp. will take a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange's corporate parent and help shift the exchange's financial data and trading platforms to the cloud, in a deal that reflects the growing use of data and tech in global finance. The deal revealed Monday calls for London Stock Exchange Group PLC, owner of Europe's biggest stock exchange by market value, to spend $2.8 billion over the next decade on Microsoft products, mainly its Azure cloud service.
/jlne.ws/3FMdnij
Twitter Blue Service Is Back, Including 'Verified' Badges; Musk will remove verification badges for users who don't pay; Premium service will cost more on Apple devices to cover fees
Kurt Wagner - Bloomberg
Twitter Inc. resumed selling its Twitter Blue premium offering, which gives users a blue verification badge by their names, following a weeks-long pause because some subscribers were using the paid service to impersonate well-known accounts. After several postponements, the social network said in a blog post that Twitter Blue is available now. Users who pay $8 a month will received a check mark in a blue badge next to their profile pictures and will be able to edit tweets, among other perks.
/jlne.ws/3BxLyYB
Elon Musk's Twitter Disbands Trust and Safety Council; Role of coalition of civil-society groups that worked with Twitter before Mr. Musk took ownership had become unclear
Patience Haggin - The Wall Street Journal
Twitter Inc. disbanded its Trust and Safety Council on Monday night, according to an email viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The council, composed of civil-society groups, advised Twitter on how to enforce its policies on content such as hate speech before the social-media site was purchased by billionaire Elon Musk.
/jlne.ws/3UToSJ6
Twitter Reintroduces Upgraded Subscription Service
Sarah E. Needleman and Alexa Corse - The Wall Street Journal
Twitter Inc. said Monday it reintroduced a new version of its paid subscription service, the second attempt in recent weeks by owner Elon Musk to launch the feature central to his goal of reducing the platform's reliance on advertising dollars. Twitter said new subscribers will get access to features including the ability to edit tweets, upgraded video uploads and the company's famed blue check mark after their account is reviewed for verification purposes. Twitter previously used the blue check marks for accounts it had deemed "active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest" and that it had independently verified based on certain requirements.
/jlne.ws/3BxImfw
Equinix to Invest $160 Million in South Africa Data Center Entry; Equinix to build in Africa's richest city, Johannesburg; Deal forms part of US data center firm's Africa expansion push
Loni Prinsloo - Bloomberg
Equinix Inc. plans to invest $160 million to build its first data center in South Africa, as part of the firm's African expansion push.
/jlne.ws/3FO7MrX
Into the bankingverse with Nvidia; What is dead may never die
Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan - Financial Times
Once upon a time you had to go to a bank branch to carry out transactions. Today, you can move money at the click of a mobile app button. Courtesy of Nvidia, we now have a new vision for the bank of tomorrow - and it's powered by web3. Naturally. Buried in an excitable press release about a new partnership with Deutsche Bank on artificial intelligence, Nvidia has an intriguing line that "future use cases will explore immersive metaverse experiences with banking clients." (that reference to the metaverse is absent in Deutsche's own version of the release).
/jlne.ws/3WeuQpi
JP Morgan AM and Trovata partner to help traders manage rising interest rates; Partnership will allow mutual clients to determine their liquidity needs alongside improving access to higher yields on corporate investing.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
JP Morgan Asset Management and bank-connected platform Trovata have partnered to help mutual clients utilise Morgan Money's services to access higher yields on corporate investing amidst rising interest rates.
/jlne.ws/3Bw6fEy
Cboe FX and State Street become latest to join oneZero's EcoSystem; The move marks oneZero's continued expansion of liquidity provision, giving Cboe FX and State Street access to more than 200 FX brokerages in the oneZero network.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Multi-asset enterprise trading technology provider oneZero has added Cboe FX and State Street to its network of liquidity providers and venues. As part of the move, the two firms will have access to more than 200 FX brokerages in the oneZero network which make over 10 million transaction and 150 billion quotes per day across retail and institutional FX markets.
/jlne.ws/3UP1qwB
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity Market worth $60.6 Billion by 2028 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets
Bloomberg
The artificial intelligence in cybersecurity market size is valued at USD 22.4 Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to be USD 60.6 Billion by 2028; growing at a CAGR of 21.9% from 2023 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The key factors contributing to the growth of Artificial intelligence in the cybersecurity market include the increasing instances of cyber threats, rising concerns of data protection, and increasing vulnerability of Wi-Fi networks to the
security threats are among the factors driving the growth of Artificial intelligence in the cybersecurity market.
/jlne.ws/3FNarC1
State Department of Finance hit by 'cybersecurity incident'
Christian Martinez - Los Angeles Times
A cyberthreat targeting the California Department of Finance prompted the response of multiple agencies, state officials said Monday. "The California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) is actively responding to a cybersecurity incident involving the California Department of Finance," the Governor's Office of Emergency Services said in a statement. "The intrusion was proactively identified through coordination with state and federal security partners."
/jlne.ws/3HxALl3
How The Talent Shortage Changes the Approach to Cybersecurity
Sue Poremba - Security Intelligence
There's good news, and there's bad news. The good news is that the number of cybersecurity professionals has reached an all-time high. According to (ISC)2's annual Cybersecurity Workforce Study, 4.7 million people currently work in a security-related job. The bad news: the study also found a worldwide gap of 3.4 million cybersecurity workers. 70% of those surveyed also said they think their organization's security team is understaffed, decreasing its effectiveness.
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Effective federated cybersecurity requires balancing situational awareness and response
Jim Richberg - Federal News Network
As government and critical infrastructure sectors prepare to confront a rapidly evolving threat landscape, coordinating security across organizations has become a critical imperative.
Key steps toward closer international collaboration include NATO's Madrid Summit Declaration announcing plans to stand up a rapid response cyber force as well as recent statements indicating an increased focus on building greater shared situational awareness with the European Union. Initiatives such as the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative focus on collaboratively gathering, analyzing and sharing information across organizations and between the public and private sector to better defend against cyber threats.
/jlne.ws/3PqZqda
How the US has helped counter destructive Russian cyberattacks amid Ukraine war
Ines Kagubare - The Hill
The U.S.'s increased efforts to assist Ukraine and other Eastern European countries in shoring up their cyber defenses amid Moscow's war on Kyiv appear to have been successful in countering destructive Russian cyberattacks and mitigating their impact.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | How the 'Alameda Gap' in Liquidity Is Impacting Crypto Markets (Podcast); Investors and traders are just beginning to grapple with the consequences of FTX and Alameda Research's collapse.
Sharon Beriro - Bloomberg
For the last six months or so, the digital asset industry has been knee-deep in the trenches of a 'crypto winter.' Now, the demise of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX and Alameda Research has produced a dramatic decline in market liquidity. While these bankruptcies could take years to be resolved in the court system, the effects of the collapse have been immediate. Investors and traders are just beginning to grapple with the consequences.
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FTX allowed trading affiliate Alameda to borrow unlimited funds; New CEO blames 'absolute concentration of control' by unsophisticated leaders for bankruptcy
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
FTX allowed affiliated trading firm Alameda Research to borrow funds from the cryptocurrency exchange "without any effective limits", according to its court-appointed chief executive, highlighting the depth of ties between the digital asset groups that failed last month.
/jlne.ws/3FoMtf9
A brief-ish history of crypto audits; Binance, OKX and proof of reserves through the ages
Bryce Elder - Financial Times
In 2014, a former Bloomberg programmer called Changpeng "CZ" Zhao became chief technology officer at OKCoin, a start-up Chinese token exchange. Being OKCoin's community cheerleader was a big part of the role. Bitcoin's price had crashed following the collapse of the Mt Gox exchange, Beijing's hostility to crypto was strengthening and miners globally had been switching off.
/jlne.ws/3YmD68z
New FTX Chief John Ray Chides Crypto Firm's Previous Leadership
Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
The person in charge of restructuring crypto giant FTX told lawmakers that the company's spectacular collapse was due to failures by its previous leaders. "The FTX Group's collapse appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals," John J. Ray III said in remarks prepared for a hearing in the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3USeP7a
Transparency Report 2022
Paul Grewal - Coinbase
Coinbase is proud to publish our fourth Transparency Report. This report covers the period from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. Last year's report can be found here. Our goal with these reports is to provide customers with data about requests for their information that we receive from government agencies and law enforcement. We also intend to provide some insight into law enforcement and regulatory trends around the world.
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Exclusive-U.S. Justice Dept is split over charging Binance as crypto world falters - sources
Angus Berwick, Dan Levine and Tom Wilson - Reuters
Splits between U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors are delaying the conclusion of a long-running criminal investigation into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, four people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The investigation began in 2018 and is focused on Binance's compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws and sanctions, these people said. Some of the at least half dozen federal prosecutors involved in the case believe the evidence already gathered justifies moving aggressively against the exchange and filing criminal charges against individual executives including founder Changpeng Zhao, said two of the sources. Others have argued taking time to review more evidence, the sources said.
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Their silence is deafening: Stars including Gisele and Tom, Larry David and Shaquille O'Neal who took SBF's cash to advertise his doomed FTX crypto exchange say nothing as he's arrested and charged
Melissa Koenig and Hope Sloop - Daily Mail
Celebrities who once endorsed the cryptocurrency platform FTX have remained notably quiet since its disgraced founder was arrested on Monday. A-listers including Tom Brady and his now ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, Shaquille O'Neal and even Larry David have done advertisements endorsing the cryptocurrency exchange and expressing their faith in Sam Bankman-Fried.
/jlne.ws/3Ybf2VU
FTX US 'Was Not Independent' of Parent Company, New FTX CEO Will Say in House Testimony
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
FTX's new leadership is "working around the clock" to find and secure the defunct crypto exchange's assets, its new CEO will tell U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday, according to published remarks released Monday. John Ray III, who assumed leadership of the company last month hours before it filed for bankruptcy protection, will tell the House Financial Services Committee that his new team has so far secured over $1 billion in digital assets, though that's only a small portion of the billions the company owes customers and other creditors.
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SBF Says He Isn't Attending DC Hearing in Person Due to 'Paparazzi Effect'
Mathew Di Salvo - Decrypt
Ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried today said he will not appear in person at tomorrow's House committee hearing in Washington D.C. because of the "Paparazzi effect" his presence would cause. When listeners of a live Twitter Spaces interview pressed the founder of the fallen exchange about his attendance, Bankman-Fried, who also is known by his initials SBF, added he would attend be "calling in" to the event. After a bizarre back-and-forth with House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters on Twitter earlier this month, SBF confirmed late last week that he would testify before the committee. Bankman-Fried is now expected to testify at the U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday where lawmakers will quiz the crypto businessman on the colossal collapse of his exchange.
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FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested in the Bahamas; A statement by the government of the Bahamas said Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested after prosecutors in the United States filed criminal charges.
David Yaffe-Bellany, William K. Rashbaum and Matthew Goldstein - The New York Times
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday after U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges. "S.B.F.'s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against S.B.F. and is likely to request his extradition," the government of the Bahamas said in a statement. The arrest was the latest stunning development in one of the most dramatic falls from grace in recent corporate history.
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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested in Bahamas; Founder in custody following U.S. criminal charges tied to collapse of giant crypto exchange
Alexander Saeedy, Justin Baer, Dave Michaels, Vicky Ge Huang and Andrew Scurria - The Wall Street Journal
FTX founder and former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday in the Bahamas after the U.S. filed criminal charges, the authorities in the two countries said. Mr. Bankman-Fried, 30 years old, was arrested without incident shortly after 6 p.m. EST at his apartment in Nassau, the Bahamas, said the Royal Bahamas Police Force in a statement. The arrest was made based on a sealed indictment filed by the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. attorney said. The charges in the indictment include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering, according to a person familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3HsZLKg
Sam Bankman-Fried's Parents Were There for FTX's Rise, and Now Its Fall
Justin Baer and Hardika Singh - The Wall Street Journal
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed exchange FTX, always stood apart from other cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, and it wasn't for his baggy shorts or taste in videogames. Both his parents, as Mr. Bankman-Fried would note in meetings with Washington policy makers, are professors at Stanford Law School. Their reputations were a credential to their son as he grew his crypto empire, even to those inclined to see little value in the industry.
/jlne.ws/3uLLy3x
FTX Had Some Luna Trouble; Also a Carvana debt truce, a Tesla margin loan, title paper and AI Money Stuff.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
One way to put this is that big serious players in crypto are long crypto volatility at a small scale, but short crypto volatility at a large scale. At the level of napkin math, you could say "if Thing X goes down, I will make $200 million, and I would like to make $200 million"; more volatility means more trades. But at a more conceptual level, if Thing X goes down, that increases the chances that you will also go down. If Thing X goes down by 50%, you make money. If Thing X goes down by 100%, you go bankrupt and become an international fugitive. You are long a put spread I guess.
/jlne.ws/3WbkTsp
Sam Bankman-Fried's Arrest a 'Sigh of Relief' for Some: Ballet Global
Bloomberg
Bobby Lee, founder of crypto storage solution provider Ballet Global Inc., discusses the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas and the implications for the broader market. The disgraced co-founder of digital-asset exchange FTX is being held in custody pending an extradition process after the US government filed a criminal indictment, the island nation's attorney general said. Lee speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia."
/jlne.ws/3BqNK4f
Former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas after U.S. files charges
Jasper Ward, Luc Cohen and Angus Berwick - Reuters
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas at the behest of U.S. prosecutors on Monday, the day before he was due to testify before Congress about the abrupt failure last month of one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The arrest marks a stunning fall from grace for the 30-year-old entrepreneur widely known by his initials SBF, who rode a boom in bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire many times over until FTX's rapid demise.
/jlne.ws/3Fo0MAK
Sam Bankman-Fried's sudden turn from white knight to detainee
Hannah Lang - Reuters
The sudden fall from grace and arrest of FTX's former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has stunned investors and crypto enthusiasts who once hailed the 30-year-old American as the savior of the industry. Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities at the request of the U.S. government, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. The Bahamian attorney general said in a separate statement the United States is likely to request his extradition.
/jlne.ws/3uLgKzP
Bankman-Fried says lawyers pressured him to name new CEO -testimony
Reuters
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said he was pressured into nominating John Ray as chief executive of the crypto exchange in early November by Sullivan and Cromwell lawyers who were advising his firm at the time, according to a draft of his testimony to Congress seen by Reuters. Shortly after Bankman-Fried agreed to nominate Ray, he received a "potential funding offer for billions of dollars to help make customers whole," Bankman-Fried wrote. But by then he was told it was too late to rescind the move.
/jlne.ws/3Ybj5S6
Coinbase Says Law Enforcement Requests Rose 66% From Year Ago
Nelson Wang - CoinDesk
Coinbase (COIN) said that total worldwide law enforcement and agency requests increased 66% to 12,320, according to its latest transparency report, released Monday.
/jlne.ws/3Yc1DNk
Canada to Prohibit Crypto Firms From Offering Leveraged Trading to Citizens
Alys Key - Decrypt
Crypto platforms applying for registration in Canada will have to agree to tighter rules in the country, including a ban on margin and leverage trading. Firms will also have to hold the assets of Canadian clients separately from their proprietary business, according to expanded terms outlined by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3WbD7dt
Bahamas Told Bankman-Fried to Mint New Crypto as FTX Collapsed, Lawyers Say
Steven Church and Jeremy Hill - Bloomberg
Bahamas government officials worked closely with Sam Bankman-Fried and tried to help him regain access to key computer systems of bankrupt FTX Trading, lawyers for FTX said in a court filing before the failed crypto magnate was arrested on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3YifQbF
Tom Brady, David Ortiz sued again over FTX endorsements
Daniel Kaplan - The New York Times
Cryptocurrency investors last week filed a lawsuit in Florida state court against Tom Brady, accusing the Buccaneers quarterback and baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz of duping consumers when they backed now bankrupt digital money platform FTX. The lawsuit also named former FTX executives.
/jlne.ws/3UUIw7B
FTX's collapse prompted the largest-ever outflow of bitcoin from crypto exchanges, with investors pulling $1.5 billion last month
Phil Rosen - Business Insider
The implosion of FTX has led to a record amount of bitcoin outflows from cryptocurrency exchanges, as the episode rocks the digital asset sector and weakens confidence in centralized platforms. According to a Monday Financial Times report citing data from CryptoCompare, investor withdrawals of bitcoin were the highest ever in November, with 91,363 tokens worth nearly $1.5 billion pulled from exchanges including Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance. It's unclear whether those cryptocurrencies were sold or transferred to private wallets, the report said.
/jlne.ws/3WfeuMU
In FTX Collapse, Binance Sees a Chance to Become the New Face of Crypto
Emily Flitter and David Yaffe-Bellany - The New York Times
In early November, just days before the cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, reached out to his archrival, Changpeng Zhao, to ask for help. "I don't know how things got so bad between us," Mr. Bankman-Fried texted Mr. Zhao, according to a person with knowledge of the exchange. "I need your help for the sake of the industry and users." Mr. Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, initially agreed to provide a loan and buy FTX to save it. But after examining FTX's books - and seeing the extent of its financial troubles - Mr. Zhao changed his mind, and Mr. Bankman-Fried had no choice but to put his company into bankruptcy. On Monday, Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas after American prosecutors filed criminal charges against him.
/jlne.ws/3PlZ9b4
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | It's Time for Biden to Unleash His Mega Oil Trade; The President has promised to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at around $70, putting a floor under the price. Buying now will give oil producers the confidence to drill.
Liam Denning - Bloomberg
Is this consistent enough Joe? All crude oil futures now trade within or below the price band at which the White House said it could buy barrels for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. President Joe Biden's administration outlined a new rule in October whereby the Department of Energy could buy oil for future delivery - most likely 2024 - at fixed prices to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The mooted price range is $67 to $72 per barrel. Then, earlier this month, Biden's energy security adviser Amos Hochstein appeared to set a new condition by saying the DoE would solicit for those barrels when oil prices were trading "consistently" around $70.
/jlne.ws/3uMVnhO
US
Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested in Bahamas as US Files FTX Charges; Detention follows investigation into FTX implosion last month; The Bahamas said on Monday that he faces extradition to the US
Katanga Johnson, Ava Benny-Morrison, and Gillian Tan - Bloomberg
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of digital-asset exchange FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas after the US government filed a criminal indictment, following weeks of speculation that client funds were misused before his empire's collapse. Bankman-Fried is being held in custody pending an extradition process, the island nation's attorney general, Ryan Pinder, said in a statement Monday.
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Testimony of Mr. John J. Ray III
John J. Ray III - House Financial Services Committee
Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, distinguished members of the Committee: thank you for the invitation to appear before you today. I truly appreciate - and am very grateful for - your interest in this matter, and I hope my testimony can be helpful to you as the Committee continues its inquiry into the collapse of FTX and the efforts that are underway to help those who have been harmed.
/jlne.ws/3HuPcGw
Bankman-Fried Jolts Hearings, Upsets Senators With No-Show Plan; Former FTX CEO will testify in House panel virtually Tuesday; Lawmakers investigating the collapse of FTX and customer funds
Yueqi Yang and Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
After spending the past two weeks participating in media interviews, former FTX Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried is being more selective when it comes to appearing before Congress to discuss the collapse of his cryptocurrency empire. Bankman-Fried said Monday during a Twitter Space interview that he is "currently not scheduled" to attend the Senate Banking Committee's hearing on Dec. 14, though he will testify at a separate hearing by a House panel a day earlier.
/jlne.ws/3UTNqBG
Elon Musk Is the New Donald Trump, Apparently; Somebody else has figured out how to suck all the oxygen out of the media space.
Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg
As a cog in the media-industrial complex, I still have PTSD from that time we were all obligated to write at least one (1) thing daily about Donald Trump, an era some people call "the past six years." The end of this nightmare had only just hove into view when along came Elon Musk. The switchover happened sometime around the midterms. Trump had stamped his feet about the 2020 election for so long that he finally crashed through the floor like Rumpelstiltskin. On a quiet night you can still hear him rattling around down there, but it's starting to seem like you can mostly ignore him.
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FTX CEO to detail 'unacceptable management practices' in congressional testimony
Hannah Lang - Reuters
FTX CEO John Ray will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange had "unacceptable management practices" including the commingling of assets and lack of internal controls, according to prepared remarks published Monday by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection last month and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive. Both Ray and Bankman-Fried will testify before the committee on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET (1500 GMT). Bankman-Fried said earlier Monday that he would appear remotely the hearing.
/jlne.ws/3iMIBgf
Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities
US Office Of The Comptroller
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported cumulative trading revenue of U.S. commercial banks and savings associations of $12.7 billion in the third quarter of 2022. The third quarter trading revenue was $2.4 billion, or 22.9 percent, more than in the previous quarter and $5.8 billion, or 84.1 percent, more than in the third quarter of 2021.
/jlne.ws/3YbkfNs
Why the UK needs to ditch the ringfencing of banks; The post-crisis regulatory regime for retail lenders has created a costly illusion of safety
Simon Samuels - Financial Times
The UK's move to relax some of the so called ringfencing restrictions on the banking sector as part of wider 'Big Bang 2.0" reforms after Brexit is a case of too little, too late. The move is welcome but if the UK really wants its liberalisation to be both big and to have a bang, it should simply abandon the ringfence.
/jlne.ws/3iZ4Kbs
Poland's President Sees Agreement on German Missiles Nearing
Patrick Donahue and Piotr Skolimowski - Bloomberg
Poland's president welcomed Germany's offer to send Patriot missiles to its eastern neighbor and said talks on how to integrate the batteries into Warsaw's air-defense system are making progress. "Strengthening Poland's air defense is of the greatest importance for building our security," President Andrzej Duda told reporters in Berlin after a meeting with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He said he hopes for an agreement in the "coming days."
/jlne.ws/3YfZqAy
Countries try to weaken EU clampdown on methane emissions -documents
Kate Abnett - Reuters
Some European Union countries are trying to weaken the bloc's planned law to cut methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, documents show, weeks after the EU pledged at the COP27 climate conference to do more to tackle the potent greenhouse gas. Methane is the second biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide and has a far higher warming effect, meaning rapid cuts in methane emissions are crucial if the world is to avoid severe climate change.
/jlne.ws/3VR2YaM
Europe may not find energy efficiency sexy - but it's crucial; EU leaders are right to try to protect consumers and keep business costs down, yet they have to do more
Elisabetta Cornago - Financial Times
Given how much time EU leaders devote to discussing gas price caps, you would be forgiven for thinking that they are the solution to Europe's energy woes. Another favourite: fretting about industrial competitiveness - not only because high energy costs put Europe at a disadvantage, but also because the US is offering big subsidies to green technology sectors through the Inflation Reduction Act.
/jlne.ws/3iZ2Yai
Putin Skips Annual News Conference, Avoiding Possible Questions on War
Neil MacFarquhar - The New York Times
It has been an annual ritual of Vladimir V. Putin's Russia: The president holds a wide-ranging, marathon news conference in December, making a somewhat choreographed show of openness to questioning and demonstrating his command of an array of topics. But after a series of military setbacks in his war in Ukraine, with Russia's casualties mounting and its economy faltering under sanctions, Mr. Putin has decided to skip the tradition. Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putin's spokesman, did not offer a reason when he told reporters during a daily briefing on Monday that the event would not take place this month; he held out the possibility that it might be rescheduled for the new year.
/jlne.ws/3FnYhhQ
Japan Is Set to Boost Limit on Tax-Free Investment Accounts; Documents show NISA tax-free investment system to be expanded; Tax hike may affect people on incomes of more than ¥3 billion
Yuki Hagiwara and Emi Urabe - Bloomberg
Japan is set to increase the annual limit on tax-free investment accounts aimed at the middle classes and raise taxes on ultra-wealthy individuals, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pursues his agenda of fairer distribution of the fruits of growth. The revamped NISA tax-exempt system will expand the amount that people may invest over a lifetime to ¥18 million ($131,000), according to documents seen by Bloomberg. It would allow investments of up to ¥1.2 million a year on installment accounts, triple the previous limit. The maximum amount on other accounts would be doubled to ¥2.4 million, in changes that take effect in January 2024.
/jlne.ws/3iOsnmO
Japan Weighs $1.1 Trillion Bond Risk for Banks If BOJ Pivots; 'Large unrealized losses' could happen, FSA official says; Regulator's scrutiny highlights risk of BOJ changing course
Taiga Uranaka and Komaki Ito - Bloomberg
Japan's financial regulator is examining how vulnerable lenders would be to a sudden slump in government bonds should the nation's central bank pivot away from its ultra-loose monetary policy in future. At stake is around $1.1 trillion in debt held by megabanks and regional lenders, potentially sparking a wave of markdowns if the central bank loosens its grip on 10-year JGB yields. As of March, just under two-thirds of that amount was held in government bonds, and the remainder in municipal and corporate bonds, according to data from the Japanese Bankers Association.
/jlne.ws/3Bxe6lb
Japan's Top Refiner Is Gearing Up for the Oil Industry's Decline; Eneos forecasts domestic fuel use to drop 50% by 2040; Company preparing to close some of its 10 refineries in Japan
Shoko Oda and Tsuyoshi Inajima - Bloomberg
Japan's biggest oil refiner is drawing up plans to consolidate production as domestic demand slumps because of a shrinking population and efforts to cut emissions. Eneos Holdings Inc. has an outline for fusing operations but is still discussing which of its refineries to shutter when, President Takeshi Saito, who took over the helm of the Tokyo-based company in April, said in an interview. Eneos, which expects domestic fuel demand to slump 50% by 2040, has already announced a plan to close one of its 10 refineries next year.
/jlne.ws/3BLVfDm
The Indian Rupee's Most Appealing Trait For Traders is Vanishing; Rupee's one-year implied yields fell to lowest since 2009; Lower premia may become "self-perpetuating" for rupee: Emkay
Malavika Kaur Makol, Akshay Chinchalkar, and Subhadip Sircar - Bloomberg
The Indian rupee's most appealing trait for traders is fast deteriorating, helping turn the currency into emerging Asia's worst performer over the past month. Twelve-month implied rupee yields - typically a reflection of interest rate differentials with the US - fell to the lowest since 2009 last week. That's bad news for carry traders, who seek profits from capturing the difference between the rates of high-yielding versus low-yielding currencies.
/jlne.ws/3WebkZT
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Bank of England Calls for 'Urgent and Robust' LDI Regulation
Philip Aldrick and William Shaw - Bloomberg
The Bank of England has recommended the UK take swift regulatory action to strengthen the pensions market after recent bond market turmoil exposed shortcomings in its oversight. The central bank's Financial Policy Committee said Tuesday the pensions regulator and Financial Conduct Authority should work with overseas regulators to ensure liability-driven investment funds are more resilient to higher interest rates.
/jlne.ws/3iZYvnK
Tri Viet Securities Says Chairman Probed for Market Manipulation
Jamille Tran and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen - Bloomberg
Pham Thanh Tung, chairman of Tri Viet Securities and Tri Viet Asset Management Corp. JSC, is being investigated for alleged market manipulation, the latest police probe into securities activities. The companies, which are under Tri Viet Group, reported the inquiry in separate website statements that cited a December 9 decision of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam.
/jlne.ws/3FMjdjO
Factbox: Global regulatory actions against FTX
Reuters
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was arrested on Monday in The Bahamas after being criminally charged by U.S. prosecutors. FTX and its units had already attracted scrutiny from regulators around the world. Here's a roundup of what global authorities are doing about FTX.
/jlne.ws/3WgxAT5
A UK Slant on Basel III
International Swaps and Derivatives Association
Over the coming years, the final parts of the Basel III framework will be implemented around the world, completing an important phase of the post-crisis financial regulatory reforms. At the end of last month, we got a sense of how the UK intends to implement the rules when the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published legislative proposals, just over a year after the European Commission (EC) came out with its own proposals in October 2021. The PRA has opted to stay fairly close to the Basel standards, but it has proposed some targeted changes that it says would better capture risk and support the competitiveness of the UK.
/jlne.ws/3FqZvIT
CFTC Orders Minnesota Registrant to Pay $550,000 for Cross-Product, Cross-Calendar, and Single-Product Spoofing in Soybean Complex Futures
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order simultaneously filing and settling charges against Walleye Capital LLC (Walleye), a CFTC-registered commodity pool operator (CPO) and commodity trading advisor (CTA), headquartered in Minnesota, for spoofing by a former trader in soybean futures, soybean meal futures, and soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), a futures exchange and designated contract market owned and operated by the CME Group Inc. (CME Group).
/jlne.ws/3VV95en
SEC Awards More Than $20 Million to Whistleblower
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $20 million to a whistleblower who provided information and assistance that significantly contributed to a successful enforcement action. The whistleblower provided new information, met with Enforcement Division staff multiple times, and remained cooperative throughout the investigation.
/jlne.ws/3BtFqAw
SEC Charges Samuel Bankman-Fried with Defrauding Investors in Crypto Asset Trading Platform FTX
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Samuel Bankman-Fried with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), the crypto trading platform of which he was the CEO and co-founder. Investigations as to other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing.
/jlne.ws/3WeTt53
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Microsoft buys stake in London Stock Exchange in cloud deal
Yahoo!Finance
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss Microsoft buying a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange. Let's talk about Microsoft a little bit more, which is on the lower left of that screen there. It's up a little bit today after announcing this morning it's taking a 4% equity stake in the London Stock Exchange. This is part of 10-year partnership that will migrate the UK exchange's data onto the Microsoft Cloud. Now, Microsoft shares are up a little bit.
/jlne.ws/3uLZsCM
Investors Are Losing Faith in Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation; The ETF founder is seeing a drop in large holdings such as Tesla and Zoom
Jack Pitcher - The Wall Street Journal
Investors who bought the dip in Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund have been punished this year. Some finally appear to be losing their conviction. Shares of the fund, a pandemic-era favorite largely made up of unprofitable, growth-oriented technology companies, are down 63% this year. While the S&P 500 index has rallied 12% since mid-October to cut its 2022 losses to 16%, Ms. Wood's flagship fund is hovering near a five-year low.
/jlne.ws/3hjl5Y3
BlackRock's Top Bet Is Shunning Sovereign Bonds in All Scenarios; Asset manager is underweight long-term rates in new regime; Fund likes inflation-linked securities to protect portfolio
Ruth Carson - Bloomberg
The chorus of buy calls on government bonds is growing louder but BlackRock Inc. begs to differ. The firm's top conviction is to avoid long-term sovereign securities as debt levels rise, government borrowing climbs and inflation hits elevated levels. Investors will increasingly demand higher yields to compensate and interest rates may stay higher for longer than the market is expecting, according to the world's biggest money manager.
/jlne.ws/3FqiIu
Biggest Merger to Shake Up India Debt Market as Top Seller Exits; HDFC is one of India's top borrowers in rupee bond market; Other mortgage lenders may get access to bigger pool of funds
Divya Patil - Bloomberg
India's biggest merger ever will likely take away from the rupee bond market one of its top issuers, an absence that may weigh on debt sales and arrangement fees for banks. The consolidation of Housing Development Finance Corp. and unit HDFC Bank Ltd. will create a more than $200 billion financial services behemoth, and the parent will be able to tap the bank's deposits to grow, rather than pile on more debt. That's not all bad for India's bond world as the hole created by the shadow lender may let new borrowers sell notes, helping India deepen its debt market.
/jlne.ws/3Wg3sXF
Vanguard Fixed-Income Chief Sees Good Year Ahead for Bonds - If You Pick the Right Ones; She's constructive on corporates but sees better price points; Recession worries help make it a bond picker's market in 2023
David Caleb Mutua - Bloomberg
For Vanguard's Sara Devereux, the recent debt rally brought the chance to reduce credit exposure and buy mortgage agency securities based on valuations, setting up what promises to be a bond picker's paradise in the new year. "This is not an environment where all boats are going to rise and selection is going to be critical," Devereux, global head of Vanguard Fixed Income Group, said in an interview on Friday. "We are maintaining dry powder that we can deploy at more attractive levels."
/jlne.ws/3iWewLl
Prime Trading Hires Starbucks Alum for Foray Into Commodity Bets; Chicago firm will now trade soft commodities including coffee; Kljunak's hire adds to Prime's traditional trading strategies
Alyce Andres - Bloomberg
After 35 years of delivering profits from a safe and steady business model, Prime Trading decided to push the envelope. The proprietary trading firm, one of the mainstays of the Chicago financial market with a focus on options and other derivatives, recently hired a former Starbucks Corp. trader to take it into new territory: betting on the direction of commodity prices in the futures market. Prime wasn't looking for a new strategy before executives had a chance meeting with Ksenia Kljunak, a 33-year-old Croatia native with a degree in Management from University of Warwick who has also worked for Louis Dreyfus Co.
/jlne.ws/3VLelRD
The Treasury Market Throws a Curveball; The yield curve is signaling a recession, but the risk still isn't fully priced in
Justin Lahart - The Wall Street Journal
The yield curve is flashing a recession signal, but the still-high level of long-term Treasury yields suggests the bond market itself doesn't quite believe it. That might be a reason to buy Treasurys. The yield curve is now deeply inverted, with short-term rates far above long-term ones. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, lately at 3.61%, is 0.79 percentage point below the yield on the two-year note. When this happens it has historically been a harbinger of a recession, and the current inversion is far more worrisome than the one that briefly occurred in the spring.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Amazon delays graduate hiring as part of cost-cutting efforts; Students due to start work in May must now wait until December, according to an email
Dave Lee - Financial Times
Amazon has delayed the start dates for some university graduates who had been set to the join the company in May, blaming the "macroeconomic environment" and telling students they would now not be able to begin until the end of 2023. According to an email seen by the Financial Times, a one-off payment of $13,000 has been offered to those affected, regardless of whether or not they decide to still join the company. "As a part of our annual operating planning review, we look at each part of our business and make adjustments as needed," students were told in an email on Monday, following a phone call to discuss the matter.
/jlne.ws/3hiBtYS
G-7 Nations to Open Climate Club to Avoid Green Trade Wars
Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
Leaders of the world's most advanced economies have agreed to push ahead with a new climate club by launching a permanent bureau that will help coordinate joint rules and standards in the hope of avoiding trade disputes over green tariffs. The Group of Seven nations reached a deal on the issue in June at a three-day summit in Bavaria, Germany. It's a significant achievement for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has made better coordination on climate protection measures a key theme of Germany's G-7 presidency.
/jlne.ws/3FN9dqw
Europe Strikes Deal to Tax Imports Based on Greenhouse-Gas Emissions; The landmark move will likely unsettle manufacturers in the U.S. who are concerned it will create a new web of red tape to export to Europe
Matthew Dalton and Kim Mackrael - The Wall Street Journal
The European Union reached an agreement to impose a tax on imports based on the greenhouse gases emitted to make them, inserting climate-change regulation for the first time into the rules of global trade. The deal on Tuesday morning between European national governments and the European Parliament ends more than a year of negotiations on the details of the plan. The EU is expected to adopt it in the coming weeks as part of a sweeping package of legislation that would step up the bloc's efforts to limit global warming.
/jlne.ws/3Bs6sZ1
BlackRock, Vanguard ESG Policies Get Political Pushback
Right-wing politicians are pushing back against the new environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment policies of the world's largest asset managers.
Tony Owusu - The Street
Politics is fraught with pitfalls for those not adept at navigating the landscape. It's a lesson that major Wall Street firms are currently learning. Last week Vanguard, an investment adviser with more than $7 trillion in global assets, announced that it was reversing course and abandoning its commitment to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative that it joined in 2021.
/jlne.ws/3HzhAre
Asset Management: Norwegian oil fund turns more aggressive on ESG Plus, the ascent of ETFs, investors flee crypto exchanges, and a century of Surrealism
Harriet Agnew - Financial Times
The path to net zero. Nicolai Tangen, chief executive of the $1.3tn Norwegian oil fund, said it will become a more vocal shareholder and plans to vote against companies that fail to set a net zero emissions target, overpay their top leaders, or lack diversity on their boards. Speaking at the Financial Times Global Boardroom event in London, Tangen said the fund would become more aggressive on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and aim to be a more contrarian and long-term investor.
/jlne.ws/3uMN3ys
Political fight against ESG continues in 3 states
Kentucky, Florida, N.C. latest to attack ESG, but pension plans not following
Rob Kozlowski - Pensions & Investments
Politicians in Kentucky, Florida and North Carolina have continued a crusade by Republican leaders for pension funds to break with ESG and BlackRock. While several state treasury funds have dropped BlackRock from investments, pension plans have been less willing to follow. In Florida, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis terminated BlackRock from the management of $2 billion in the state's long-duration portfolio and called on the Florida State Board of Administration, Tallahassee, to drop BlackRock from more than $13 billion in pension plan portfolios.
/jlne.ws/3PvvZqb
DOL takes more neutral stance with ESG rule; Long-awaited rule puts ESG factors among broader group of investment considerations
Brian Croce - Pensions & investments
The Department of Labor's new rule permitting retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when selecting investments and exercising shareholder rights is a regulatory return to normal and takes more of a neutral approach than the proposal on which it was based, industry experts said. "I think the DOL was looking to place ESG factors within the broader pantheon of investment considerations that fiduciary decision-makers consider all the time," said Julie K. Stapel, Chicago-based partner with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.
/jlne.ws/3iYhRtk
SEC Continues Enforcement Scrutiny of ESG Claims by Investment Advisers
Kirkland & Ellis
In November 2022, the SEC announced a settlement with Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (GSAM), including a penalty in the amount of $4 million, in which the SEC alleged that GSAM initially failed to adopt procedures to ensure compliance with certain ESG claims made to GSAM clients/investors and then, once adopted, failed to follow such procedures. Like the BNY Mellon ESG order, which was settled last May for $1.5 million, the SEC focus was on statements made by the adviser regarding how it integrated ESG into its investment decision-making process.
/jlne.ws/3PptXaV
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Goldman's Former Broad Street Tower Eyed for Housing Conversion; Fortress and NYC developer Metro Loft near a deal to buy a stake in Financial District office building from landlord Ivanhoe Cambridge.
Natalie Wong - Bloomberg
Manhattan developers have found another potential office to convert to residences: the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. headquarters at 85 Broad St. Fortress Investment Group and Metro Loft Management are nearing a deal to acquire a stake in the 30-story Financial District building, with plans to redevelop it into housing, according to people familiar with the matter. Landlord Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate unit of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, will maintain an ownership interest, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Talks are ongoing and no deal is finalized.
/jlne.ws/3iUoGfw
Small Banks Warn They Might Have to Drop Zelle Over Scam Payment Costs; Credit unions, community banks say they might not be able to afford to repay targeted customers
Imani Moise - The Wall Street Journal
Community banks and credit unions might drop out of partnerships with instant-payment apps like Zelle if required to reimburse customers who fall victim to scams, two industry trade groups said. Facing pressure from lawmakers and regulators to do more to protect customers from fraud, the seven large banks that own Zelle are working on a plan to standardize refunds for customers duped into sending money. Scams using instant-payment apps like Zelle, Venmo and CashApp are expected to cost Americans $3 billion by 2026, up from $1.6 billion in 2021, according to a recent report by ACI Worldwide, a payments-software company.
/jlne.ws/3FrFiCK
Goldman to Cut Hundreds More Jobs as Consumer Unit Scaled Back; Reductions to hit consumer banking as firm reverses expansion; Goldman will also stop originating unsecured consumer loans
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. aims to cut at least a few hundred more jobs as the Wall Street titan restructures its struggling consumer business and braces for an uncertain economy in the year ahead. The bank is drafting plans that could eliminate at least 400 positions from its loss-making retail banking operations, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3WfgTao
Nomura to Hire Bankers in Dubai for Middle East Wealth Push; Firm to hire as many as 10 relationship managers in Dubai; The Middle East is attracting wealthy individuals from India
Denise Wee and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen - Bloomberg
Nomura Holdings Inc. is set to offer wealth management services in Dubai as the Japanese firm expands its Middle East presence to tap a growing pool of rich clients and flow of funds to the region. Adil Khan, group head for Southeast Asia & Middle East, will relocate to Dubai from Singapore to lead the business and plans to hire five to 10 relationship managers, according to Ravi Raju, the Singapore-based head of Nomura's international wealth management unit, which manages about $13.5 billion of assets.
/jlne.ws/3PllJRg
Goldman Sachs considers hundreds of job cuts at consumer business; Reductions would come on top of annual cull of underperforming bankers
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
Goldman Sachs is considering making hundreds of job cuts at its consumer business after chief executive David Solomon unveiled plans to scale back its "Main Street" banking ambitions, according to people familiar with the matter. Goldman is also planning to stop offering personal loans through its Marcus-branded retail banking platform, the people added. Personal loans, primarily for debt consolidation, were one of the first consumer products launched by Goldman in 2016.
/jlne.ws/3UV8o38
Press Release: NinjaTrader Wins Best Brokerage for Trading Futures at Benzinga Global Fintech Awards for Third Consecutive Year
NinjaTrader Group
NinjaTrader Group, LLC, a global leader in futures brokerage for active traders, was named Best Brokerage for Trading Futures for the third consecutive year at the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards. The firm also took the honor for Most Transformative M&A following its acquisitions over the past two years of TransAct Futures, a futures commission merchant (FCM), and Tradovate Holdings, LLC, an online futures brokerage and technology firm dedicated to meeting the needs of active retail traders.
/jlne.ws/3Pq2MwN
Apollo defends push to retail investors amid Blackstone storm; Group rolling out gated product that seeks to recreate S&P 500 returns for wealthy clients
Sujeet Indap - Financial Times
After Blackstone's retail-focused credit and retail funds were hit by a wave of redemption requests, its rival Apollo is facing scrutiny over its own plans to target wealthy individuals.
/jlne.ws/3hgIfyl
JPMorgan to give $1.7bn in active ETFs a passive makeover; The funds will have their management fees reduced, disclosures show
Brian Ponte - Financial Times
JPMorgan will give three actively managed ETFs with a combined $1.7bn in assets a passive makeover, filings show. The ETFs will become part of JPMorgan's BetaBuilders family of traditional cap-weighted strategies covering various countries and regions, the firm disclosed on Friday.
/jlne.ws/3VXbx3W
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | The Exaggeration of Long Covid; Lingering symptoms after a respiratory infection are common. Most cases are too mild to worry about.
Marty Makary - The Wall Street Journal (opinion)
Long Covid is real. I have reliable patients who describe lingering symptoms after Covid infection. But public-health officials have massively exaggerated long Covid to scare low-risk Americans as our government gives more than $1 billion to a long Covid medical-industrial complex. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that 20% of Covid infections can result in long Covid. But a U.K. study found that only 3% of Covid patients had residual symptoms lasting 12 weeks. What explains the disparity? It's often normal to experience mild fatigue or weakness for weeks after being sick and inactive and not eating well. Calling these cases long Covid is the medicalization of ordinary life.
/jlne.ws/3iSDF9H
China deletes COVID tracking app as reopening gathers pace
Brenda Goh and Farah Master - Reuters
People in China celebrated the withdrawal on Tuesday of a state-mandated app used to track whether they had travelled to COVID-stricken areas, in the latest loosening of some of the world's toughest anti-virus rules. As authorities deactivated the 'itinerary code' app at midnight on Monday, China's four telecoms firms said they would delete users' data associated with the app. "Goodbye itinerary code, I hope to never see you again," said a post on social media platform Weibo, where netizens cheered the demise of an app that critics feared could be used for mass surveillance.
/jlne.ws/3PqSbBJ
Forgetting the secrets of ancient crops could threaten our health; Both cannabis and cereal wheat have been refined over time, teaching us important lessons about resilience
Stephen Bush - Financial Times
What connects the cannabis plant and cereal wheat? The answer is that, while ancient farmers used both, they would be perplexed by their modern variants. Chinese farmers first started to grow hemp to use for ropes, clothing, paper and other materials. But analyses of this ancient marijuana find that it has relatively paltry levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component it is now known for.
/jlne.ws/3VVWhUT
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Australian Beef Production to Climb After Rains Soak Pasture; Pace of slaughter is still constrained by lack of labor; More opportunity for shipments to Japan, South Korea
Sybilla Gross - Bloomberg
Australian beef output is poised to ramp up in the first half of next year as the herd continues to rebuild, increasing supply for markets in the US, Japan and South Korea, according to a major agribusiness lender. Favorable seasonal conditions have improved pastures, allowing producers to keep expanding cattle numbers following years of drought, which ended in 2020, according to Australia's Rural Bank in its agriculture outlook.
/jlne.ws/3v4jBUV
Vitol Cashes in as UK Consumers Pay Record Price for Cold Snap; Trading house's gas plant charges record price for power; Low wind, icy weather are pushing up gas-fired power demand
Todd Gillespie and Rachel Morison - Bloomberg
British consumers are paying one of the world's most profitable trading houses a record price to keep their homes warm and lights on as freezing temperatures boost demand. Vitol Group's Rye House gas-fired power station, just north of London, earned as much as £6,000 ($7,348) per megawatt-hour from the National Grid Plc's operator to generate electricity on Monday afternoon. That's about 100 times the normal price of power before the energy crisis.
/jlne.ws/3j2PEBS
In a Wary Arctic, Norway Starts to See Russian Spies Everywhere; Other European countries are too, blurring the line between vigilance and paranoia.
Erika Solomon and Henrik Pryser Libell - The New York Times
In hindsight, some things just didn't add up about Jose Giammaria. For one, the visiting researcher at the University of Tromso, in Norway's Arctic Circle, was ostensibly Brazilian. But he couldn't speak Portuguese. Then there was the fact that he self-funded his visit, an oddity in academia, and even planned to extend it - yet he never talked about his research. But he was always helpful, even offering to redesign the home page for the Center for Peace Studies, where he worked.
/jlne.ws/3V8gRAt
Canary Wharf plans tower block laboratory as office demand sinks; UK site in east London site submits application for new 23-storey life sciences campus
George Hammond - Financial Times
Canary Wharf Group has submitted plans for a vast "vertical" life sciences campus, as the owners of the east London district look to break their reliance on financial services as demand for office space falls. The new 823,000 sq ft, 23-storey tower block would be among the largest laboratories in Europe and would cost £500mn to develop.
/jlne.ws/3WbFGw7
Europe's Cold Week Strains Power Grids and Piles on Costs; UK intraday prices eased after hitting records on Monday; Cold weather expected to persist across Europe this week
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
A cold week in Europe is sending short-term power prices soaring as grid operators balance supply and pay power stations to keep the region's lights from flickering. After Monday marked the tightest day of the year so far for Britain's electricity grid, strains appeared to recede Tuesday even as temperatures are forecast to stay below average for the rest of the week.
/jlne.ws/3HxCRRP
Colombia, cocaine and the lost war
Mads Nissen - Financial Times
I have been working as a photojournalist in Colombia for more than 15 years. I have documented the brutal civil war here as well as the aftermath of the 2016 ceasefire that ended it. Over that time, in every corner of the country, conversation has almost always drifted to one topic: cocaine. Colombia is the world's largest cultivator of coca plants and the biggest producer of the illegal stimulant made by processing them. For many Europeans and Americans, cocaine is a party drug. For Colombians, cocaine is blood and violence, corruption and death.
/jlne.ws/3hs3Vr3
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Emma Tucker named next editor-in-chief of Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires
Dawn Chmielewski and Helen Coster - Reuters
News Corp named Sunday Times editor Emma Tucker the new editor of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires on Monday. She becomes the first woman to lead the 133-year-old business publication. She replaces Matt Murray, whose four-year tenure at the top of the newspaper's masthead has been marked by ambitious coverage, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump and the Facebook Files series.
/jlne.ws/3iSCGq1
U.S. to reveal scientific milestone on fusion energy
Timothy Gardner - Reuters
The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday will announce that scientists at a national lab have made a breakthrough on fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars that one day could provide a cheap source of electricity, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have achieved a net energy gain for the first time, in a fusion experiment using lasers, one of the people said.
/jlne.ws/3FopeSn
Shrinking Office Building Values Are Becoming a Dilemma for City Budgets; Office landlords appeal property-tax assessments, which could lead to reductions in jobs or programs in some jurisdictions
Peter Grant - The Wall Street Journal
The sharp decline in office building values is likely to become a growing problem for the budgets of cities, schools and other jurisdictions that depend heavily on property taxes from these building owners. Most municipal budgets haven't suffered much yet. For a variety of reasons, declines in property values typically take years before they are reflected in the real-estate assessments of most taxing jurisdictions.
/jlne.ws/3W8Gule
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