| February 17, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The SEC and CFTC fined the OCC a combined $22 million for rules violations. The SEC said the OCC "failed to comply with its SEC-approved Stress Testing and Clearing Fund Methodology rule during certain times between October 2019 and May 2021." The CFTC said the OCC "failed to establish, implement, maintain and enforce certain policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the operational risks related to its automated systems in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related CFTC regulations."
I am quite certain this is not the way the OCC sought to kick off its 50th anniversary. The word is the OCC is holding an all-OCC meeting this morning with staff to discuss the fines, the actions the organization has taken, and to calm frayed employee nerves. Good move.
The OCC has seen significant turnover at the highest levels of the C-suite in the last year. Some of that turnover has been attributed to delays and cost overrun problems with "The Renaissance Initiative," a multi-year effort to comprehensively redevelop and modernize OCC's technology infrastructure, including clearing, risk management and data management systems.
But this fine also gives a different light to the OCC turnover, which has seen former Akuna Capital, LLC CEO Andrej Bolkovic join OCC on October 3, 2022 as CEO-elect. He will take over from John Davidson some time during the first half of 2023.
Scot Warren is now a senior advisor at OCC, having stepped down as chief operating officer after announcing his retirement from OCC effective in April 2023. Longtime OCC employee Dan Busby is now the OCC COO.
Mike Nowak, formerly of ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago, is now the chief financial officer of the OCC, replacing Amy Shelly
I have great trust in the OCC to right the ship and see its way through the challenges it faces. It has too many good and talented people in the organization to fail, from Executive Chairman Craig Donohue to an experienced board to a roster of excellent employees.
Monday, February 20th, is Presidents' Day. That means the U.S. markets will be closed. Here is the CME Group's holiday schedule for Presidents' Day. The NYSE does not celebrate Presidents' Day, but rather Washington's Birthday. I guess when you have a statue of George Washington across from your doors that makes sense. Here is the NYSE holiday schedule for 2023. Nasdaq celebrates Presidents' Day and here is their 2023 holiday schedule.
Kirsten Hyde has a piece in FIA MarketVoice titled "Black Americans who broke through barriers in finance" with the sub headline "Spotlight on some of the unsung heroes whose vision and tenacity opened doors for future generations."
The NFA has noticed an uptick in scams featuring people pretending to be NFA staff or agents and has posted a notice to their website about it.
The FIA's Bill Herder was on a panel yesterday for The Digital Compliance & Market Integrity Summit in Singapore put on by Solace Labs. You can watch the panel discussion HERE.
Cboe Global Markets is looking for a senior manager, learning & development in Chicago.
How much Tesla stock has Elon Musk sold? Enough that now index funds own more than he does, according to a Financial Times story with the headline "Index funds now own more of Tesla than Musk."
In the continuing fallout from the ION Cleared Derivatives Russian hack, the CFTC announced the postponement of the Commitments of Traders Report.
Greg Hummel of Crain's Chicago Business is endorsing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot for re-election, saying "Give Lightfoot four more years" and "Don't change horses midstream."
Brett Ladendorf is starting a new position as operational risk manager at Marex.
Scott Ray has been appointed sales director of Sterling Trading Tech.
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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Statement: OCC Reaches Settlement with SEC and CFTC Regarding Error in Implementation of Liquidation Cost Model
Options Clearing Corporations
OCC has reached settlements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding OCC's error concerning the implementation of its rule on Liquidation Cost Model Enhancements and its Liquidation Cost Charge ("LC Charge").
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***** And "That's all I have to say about that."
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America's Teenage Girls Are Not Okay; Rising teen anxiety is a national crisis.
Derek Thompson - The Atlantic
American teenagers-especially girls and kids who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning-are "engulfed" in historic rates of anxiety and sadness. And everybody seems to think they know why. Some psychologists point to social media, whereas others blame school shootings; others chalk it up to changes in parenting. Climate-change activists say it's climate change. Atlantic writers like me blather on about the decline of physical-world interactions. These explanations aren't equally valid, and some of them might be purely wrong. But the sheer number of theories reflects the complexity of mental-health challenges and suggests that, perhaps, nobody knows for sure what's going on.
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***** This is a big problem that should be taken very seriously. We need to drop the politics and the division and address the issue.~JJL
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The Bird Flu Outbreak Has Taken an Ominous Turn; The avian flu has killed millions of chickens, decimated wild birds-and moved into mammals. Now the poultry industry needs new measures to stop its spread.
Wired
THIS WEEK, ARGENTINA and Uruguay declared national health emergencies following outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, the fast-moving virus that destroys poultry flocks and wild birds, and for decades has been feared as a possible spark for a pandemic among people. That makes 10 South American countries that have recently marked their first-ever encounter with the virus, including Peru-where more than 50,000 wild birds died last fall, and more than 600 sea lions in January. Combine the sea lion infections with the revelation that H5N1 flu invaded a mink farm in Spain in October, and health authorities must now confront the possibility that the unpredictable virus may have adapted to threaten other species.
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****** Your eggs are not going to get cheaper, and raising your own chickens might not be the best solution.~JJL
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'Last true mansion' on New York City's iconic Fifth Avenue listed at $80 million: See inside
Camille Fine - USA TODAY
A man who once unseated Bill Gates as the world's richest person listed one of New York City's most historic private homes for $80 million. Located on one of the most the iconic streets in the world, the "Duke House" was built during the Gilded Age and remains as one of Fifth Avenue's last true mansions, according to New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
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******The historic building is across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our most clicked item Thursday was the SEC press release, SEC Finalizes Rules to Reduce Risks in Clearance and Settlement. Second was the Vermiculus press release, B3 Chooses Vermiculus to Deliver a Best-in-Class CSD System. Third was a tie between The Wall Street Journal's Michael Jordan Is Donating $10 Million to Make-A-Wish and the announcement on LinkedIn of the Tradier Options Summit in Partnership with Cboe on February 22.
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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 | SEC Charges Options Clearing Corporation with Rule Failures
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) will undertake remedial efforts and pay $17 million in penalties to settle charges that it failed to comply with its SEC-approved Stress Testing and Clearing Fund Methodology rule during certain times between October 2019 and May 2021.
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CFTC Orders The Options Clearing Corporation to Pay a $5 Million Penalty for Violations of Core Principles and Regulations Related to Operational Risk Management
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order simultaneously filing and settling charges against The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), a Chicago-based CFTC-registered derivatives clearing organization (DCO). The order finds the respondent failed to establish, implement, maintain and enforce certain policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the operational risks related to its automated systems in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related CFTC regulations.
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The SEC Comes for Crypto Custody; Also million-vote preferred stock, designated counsel and CEO handwriting.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
Roughly speaking the way the US stock market works is that all of the stocks are in one place. The place is called DTC, the Depository Trust Company, which in some sense owns almost all of the stocks. If you own a stock, what you own is an entry on a list at your brokerage, saying that you are entitled to some of the stocks that it is holding onto for clients, and what your brokerage has is an entry on a list at DTC, saying that it is entitled to some of the stocks that DTC is holding onto.
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The financial system is alarmingly vulnerable to cyber attack
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
Derivatives traders tend to watch the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission closely on a Friday. This is the day the CFTC normally releases its weekly "commitments of traders" report showing overall positioning in derivatives markets, such as oil futures. This month, however, the data has been missing in action because a small, publicity-shy data group called Ion Markets - headquartered in Dublin but used by dozens of American and European players - suffered a ransomware attack on January 31.
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Justice Department to Increase Scrutiny of Technology Exports, Investments; The deputy attorney general says federal prosecutors will team up with the Commerce Department to police technology exports that could pose a national security threat in the hands of foreign adversaries such as China and Russia
Dylan Tokar - The Wall Street Journal
A senior Justice Department official on Thursday said the agency would intensify its efforts to block foreign adversaries such as China and Russia from obtaining sensitive data and technologies, including by launching a new partnership with the U.S. Commerce Department. The partnership, dubbed the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, will pair federal prosecutors with Commerce Department agents to investigate and prosecute criminal violations of U.S. export controls laws, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech in London.
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Bitcoin's Future Depends on a Handful of Mysterious Coders
Paul Kiernan - The Wall Street Journal
Andrew Chow started tinkering with bitcoin in high school. Unknown to his parents, and before he even had a bank account, the teenage coder set up a website that said "I will work for bitcoin" and provided a wallet address for people to tip him. Seven years later, Mr. Chow is one of a handful of people who can write changes into the software that underpins the nearly $500 billion cryptocurrency. Their role is critical to bitcoin, yet is largely unknown to the millions who own it.
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Ex-Goldman Banker Argues 1MDB Bribes Only $1 Billion, Not $2 Billion; Roger Ng is set to be sentenced for role in scandal next month; Prosecutors say he is still trying to litigate facts of case
Patricia Hurtado - Bloomberg
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng is disputing the amount in bribes that were paid during the 1MDB scandal ahead of his sentencing for conspiring to loot billions of dollars from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Ng, who is set to be sentenced on March 9, said in a sealed reply to a government presentencing report filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, that $1.1 billion was paid to corrupt officials including former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
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How did Hindenburg short Adani stock? People familiar with the firm's modus operandi say it may have used single stock futures and the help of western banks in Singapore
Ortenca Aliaj and Antoine Gara - Financial Times
When US short seller Nathan Anderson decided to take on Indian conglomerate Adani Group, he faced the ultimate challenge for someone in his line of business: India's anti short selling rules. The founder of New York-based Hindenburg Research has not detailed how he structured his financial bet against the infrastructure group, which he has accused of fraud and stock price manipulation in a 100-page report published last month - saying only that the firm had taken a short position in Adani "through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments".
/jlne.ws/3Ixy0QQ
Investment bank China Renaissance reassures staff after founder goes missing; Shares plunge as company says information on Bao Fan 'is limited'
Hudson Lockett and Gloria Li and Ryan McMorrow - Financial Times
China Renaissance, one of the country's leading investment banks, was on Friday working to calm anxious employees following the disappearance of its founder and renowned dealmaker Bao Fan. Shares in the Hong Kong-listed company fell 50 per cent when the market opened on Friday before paring losses to be down about 28 per cent, after the boutique bank disclosed it was unable to contact Bao.
/jlne.ws/3lLpsNq
The perils of (bond contract) faith; "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have work(ing contract definition)s?"
Mark Weidemaier and Mitu Gulati - Financial Times
To cure insomnia, read the fine print of a bond contract. For extra somnolence, check out its Definitions: dozens of pages of technicalities, all before the first provision. A reader intent on staying awake might skip directly to the legal provisions, believing that, upon encountering a dreaded Capitalised Term, they can simply turn back to the Definitions to learn its meaning. Except that every Tenth Word of this Stupid Document turns out to be a Defined Term! Who has patience to keep flipping back?
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Slouching towards Britcoin, part 2: Quids Game; Sterling job?
Louis Ashworth - Financial Times
Welcome back, digiPound enthusiasts. In part one, we looked at the Bank of England's difficulties establishing the "need" for a digital pound ("Britcoin"). Here we're moving on from the cheap thrills of theorisation to the fibrous goodness of pragmatics.
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Why China Didn't Invent ChatGPT; The state's hardening censorship and heavier hand have held back its tech industry; so has entrepreneurs' reluctance to invest for the long term. It wasn't always that way.
Li Yuan - The New York Times
Just a few years ago, China was on track to challenge United States dominance in artificial intelligence. The balance of power was tilting in China's direction because it had abundant data, hungry entrepreneurs, skilled scientists and supportive policies. The country led the world in patent filings related to artificial intelligence.
/jlne.ws/3YI8YnU
Martin Wolf shines a light on the doom loop of democratic capitalism
Bill Emmott - Financial Times
When Karl Marx was forecasting revolution in the British Museum Reading Room in the 1860s, he relished the idea that capitalism was prone to recurrent crises that would ultimately bring down the state. What he did not anticipate was how the growth of democracy over the next century and a half would manage and mitigate those crises, developing a symbiotic relationship in which capitalism provided the prosperity while democracy set the rules and created a shared interest in the outcome.
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Judge on Bankman-Fried: 'Why am I being asked to turn him loose?'
Luc Cohen - Reuters
A U.S. judge intimated on Thursday that Sam Bankman-Fried might deserve to be jailed pending trial after prosecutors suggested that the indicted FTX co-founder might have tampered with witnesses while out on bail. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan challenged prosecutors on their willingness to let Bankman-Fried remain under house arrest with his parents, despite signs the former billionaire might have broken the law while out on $250 million bail.
/jlne.ws/3xxBLPO
US judge questions Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions; Prosecutors grilled over whether pre-trial confinement measures for FTX founder are tough enough
Joe Miller - Financial Times
A US federal judge has questioned Sam Bankman-Fried's "extraordinary" bail conditions following prosecutors' allegations of potential witness tampering, while raising the prospect that the FTX founder could be forced to await his criminal trial in jail rather than his parents' home.
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US 'Strike Force' to Thwart Theft or Use of Disruptive Technology; Lisa Monaco warns of adversaries weaponizing data, technology; Commerce, Justice Departments lead effort to head off threats
Chris Strohm - Bloomberg
US enforcement agencies are forming a "strike force" to combat adversaries trying to steal advanced technology, hack for financial gain or use new tools to collect intelligence. The move comes as government officials are grappling with how to respond to new threats such as the balloon they allege that China sent to collect intelligence. It was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4 after flying across the US.
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Europe to Unveil Electricity Market Reform Proposal on March 14; EU seeks to break link between power and fossil-fuel prices; National leaders to discuss energy at summit on March 23-24
Ewa Krukowska and Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
The European Union's executive arm has set a target date of March 14 to unveil its proposal to overhaul the bloc's power market to make electricity prices less dependent on volatile fossil-fuel costs. The plan may be raised by EU heads of government during a discussion on energy at their summit in Brussels nine days later, according to diplomats with knowledge of the matter.
/jlne.ws/3HZya1W
CFTC Charges California Firm and CEO With Fraud, Misappropriation of Digital Assets
Nelson Wang - CoinDesk
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has charged California-based Vista Network Technologies and its CEO, Armen Temurian, with fraudulently soliciting over $7 million in bitcoin and ether from customers, according to a Thursday press release. It also alleged that Vista and Temurian misappropriated a portion of these assets in a Ponzi-like scheme.
/jlne.ws/3lLo6Ck
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Soros says Russian defeat in Ukraine would trigger dissolution of 'Russian empire'
Guy Faulconbridge - Reuters
Billionaire financier George Soros said on Thursday that if Russia was defeated in the Ukraine war it would result in the dissolution of what he called the 'Russian empire,' something he said would be greeted by former Soviet republics. Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the deadliest European conflicts since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Missiles hammer Ukraine as Russia eyes Bakhmut's capture by April
Max Hunder and Pavel Polityuk - Reuters
Russia rained missiles across Ukraine on Thursday and struck its largest oil refinery, Kyiv said, while the head of the Wagner mercenary group predicted the long-besieged city of Bakhmut would take weeks if not months to fall. Following a pattern of heavy bombardments after Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic gains, Russia launched 36 missiles in the early hours, Ukraine's Air Force said.
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Russia accuses United States of inciting Ukraine to escalate the war
Guy Faulconbridge - Reuters
Russia on Friday accused the United States of inciting Ukraine to escalate the war by condoning attacks on Crimea, warning that Washington was now directly involved in the conflict because "crazy people" had dreams of defeating Russia.
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'If there's a war, call it a war': Russia's relentless crackdown on free speech; Year since Ukraine invasion has been the most repressive in Russia's modern history
Polina Ivanova - Financial Times
"To prove my innocence, all you have to do is open the constitution and read it." Standing in the metal cage of a Siberian courtroom, Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko this week closed her trial, triggered by a social media post about the war in Ukraine, by dismissing the entire process as a sham. "What is happening to our country? If there's a war, call it a war," she told the judge. The next day, Ponomarenko, a mother of two, was sentenced to six years, becoming the first journalist imprisoned under Russia's tough new censorship laws, which include a ban on the word "war".
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | JSE SA Trade Connect 2023: Will South Africa follow Europe when it comes to best execution? Panellists assess lessons learned in Europe around venue fragmentation and how South Africa could or should follow suit in terms of defining best execution. Is the country on the cusp of major change?
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Speaking at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) South Africa (SA) Trade Connect 2023 conference, panellists were unanimous in their belief that South Africa is on the cusp of major change. Historically the market has been dominated by one primary venue, the JSE, and alternative MTF A2X, while others have tried and failed to make a dent in this market. But regulators and participants predict this could be about to change.
/jlne.ws/3lNIOS8
Crypto Regulatory Crackdown Drives Investor Demand for CME Futures Trading; Exchange venue sees higher trading volumes and new accounts; Digital coins recover from FTX fiasco, also driving futures
Katherine Doherty and Yueqi Yang - Bloomberg
As the crypto industry spiraled from the fallout of FTX and regulators began closing in, one corner of the sprawling market saw an influx of demand from institutional investors: listed futures trading. CME Group Inc.'s average daily trading volume in its crypto futures products rose a record 13% in 2022 to 53,600 contracts. Every crypto collapse, arrest and regulator probe since the FTX scandal has continued to feed that demand.
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BME admits to trading a new 700 million sustainable bond of the Basque Government; The seven ESG debt issues registered by the Basque Country since 2018 amount to a total of 4.4 billion euros
BME-X
BME, through the Bilbao Stock Exchange, has today admitted to trading a sustainable issue by the Basque Government in the amount of 700 million euros and maturing in April 2033. The bonds, which have a unit value of EUR1,000, carry a nominal annual interest rate of 3.5%. The issue was seven times oversubscribed. This is the seventh issue linked to ESG principles carried out by Euskadi since it launched its first operation in May 2018. The combined amount of the seven issues totals EUR4.4 billion.
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European exchanges form consolidated tape joint venture
Finextra
Fourteen European exchanges have formed a joint venture company to participate in the future selection process for the provision of a consolidated tape (CT) for equities in the European Union. The participating exchanges - present in 26 EU member states - have signed a term sheet to establish a joint venture that will evaluate and prepare an application as a CT provider in a future selection process. The project will focus on providing a tape designed to provide a "comprehensive, standardised and consistent source of market data and will seek to collaborate with regulators to develop the optimal solution".
/jlne.ws/3XJCzMe
Publication of Results of Survey on ETF Usage by Individual Investors
Japan Exchange Group
The Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE), in cooperation with securities firms, recently conducted a questionnaire survey of individual investors regarding the use of ETFs.
As evidenced by the recent ETF Beneficiary Survey, the use of ETFs by individual investors continues to grow. We have compiled the most recent status of ETF use by individual investors and the results and suggestions obtained from the questionnaire survey.
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LME Mercury Infrastructure Interface Migration On 25 March 2023
LME
Summary 1. The LMEmercury clearing platform will be undergoing an IT interface migration upgrade on Saturday, 25 March 2023. There are no new functional changes to the LMEmercury application itself over-and-above the current Production releases. 2. This Notice advises members to check, and if need be clear their desktop web browser cache setting prior to attempting to access the LMEmercury user interface.
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TMX Group Completes Acquisition of SigmaLogic, owner of LOGICLY; Deal enhances TMX Datalinx client service capabilities and advances TMX Group's information business strategy
TMX Group
TMX Group Limited (TMX) today announced that it has acquired SigmaLogic, Inc., (SigmaLogic), owner of LOGICLY (formerly ETFLogic), a U.S.-based fintech firm specializing in providing advanced analytics and portfolio tools to the wealth management industry and investment fund manufacturers. This acquisition follows TMX's minority investment in February 2022, and the launch of TMX LOGICLY, a collaboration between TMX Datalinx and ETFLogic, in January 2021. The transaction closed February 16, 2023.
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Notification of dividend / distribution
ASX Limited
Security on which the Distribution will be paid
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | MBX Clearing Selects Rival Systems for Index Option Trading and Enterprise Risk Management
Rival
Rival Systems (Rival), a leading trading and risk management software provider, has announced that MBX Clearing, a new self-clearing PTG, is leveraging Rival's multi-asset trading and enterprise risk platform for index options trading. "Rival's vast experience working with index option traders, advanced option functionality, real-time margin calculations, and ability to provide a fully hosted solution to trade on the CBOE were the key factors in choosing Rival over other solution providers," said MBX Clearing's Chief Risk Officer, Jon Galin.
/jlne.ws/3xrZm4H
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Is Stepping Down After Nearly a Decade in the Role
Joseph Pisani and Miles Kruppa - The Wall Street Journal
Susan Wojcicki, the chief executive of YouTube, said she is stepping down after nearly a decade in the role. Ms. Wojcicki said in a blog post Thursday that she plans to focus on her family, health and personal projects. She'll also have an advisory role at Google and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube.
/jlne.ws/3KeXWC1
Brain-Computer Interface Companies Are Wary of Regulation
Sarah McBride - Bloomberg
The nascent field of brain-computer interfaces is particularly sensitive to security concerns, making it a natural target for stringent oversight. But at a conference Thursday, several executives warned of the potential for what they called overregulation. Brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, aim to enhance brain function using specialized devices.
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | The Future Is Here: Early Lessons From Using Generative AI
V&E Cybersecurity Update
Generative artificial intelligence ("Generative AI") is making waves due to its ability to create entirely new sentences, stories, images, and even music. Those waves also have been felt in the legal industry, and Generative AI has extraordinary potential in the practice of law to help deliver better client service. Vinson & Elkins is evaluating how to responsibly incorporate Generative AI into the law firm environment. While the following is not all-inclusive, here are some early lessons for the responsible use of Generative AI in legal practice:
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Dutch Probe Whether TikTok Is Safe for Government Phones
Sarah Jacob - Bloomberg
The Dutch intelligence agency is probing potential risks associated with government workers using TikTok on their phones. The Dutch cabinet will receive a report within a month from the Netherlands National Communications Security Agency, or NBV, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Digitalization said. The NBV's role is to support the government in the security of special information including state secrets. The news was first reported by Politico.
/jlne.ws/3YZ1DQk
Cybersecurity experts see uses and abuses in new wave of AI tech
Peter Allen Clark - Axios
Cybersecurity experts are cautiously optimistic about the new wave of generative AI innovations like ChatGPT, while malicious actors are already leaping to experiment with it. Cyber leaders see multiple ways generative AI can help assist organizations' defense: reviewing code for efficiency and potential security vulnerabilities; exploring new tactics that malicious actors might employ; and automating recurring tasks like writing reports.
/jlne.ws/3XD1XTJ
The Five Important Moments In History That Shaped The Modern Cybersecurity Landscape
Ben Ben Aderet - Forbes
Cybersecurity, compliance and cyber threats have seen an evolution through modern times. But the core idea remains the same, people trying to find vulnerable spots in your system, then trying to exploit them. It also includes people who try to find vulnerable spots for themselves and try to build a better and secure system to secure their information.
/jlne.ws/3YFs0uO
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto Layoffs and Bankruptcies in 2023: Here's the List to Watch; The crisis roiling the crypto industry has continued to spread
Candice Choi - The Wall Street Journal
The crisis roiling the crypto industry has continued to spread to a number of companies since the run on the stablecoin terraUSD last spring. Many of the biggest crypto lenders have fallen following customer withdrawals, risky practices and lack of regulation. The bankruptcy filings, in particular, have underscored how intertwined many of the industry players were.
/jlne.ws/3k5aTUk
Bankman-Fried Judge Threatens Jail Over Use of Apps, VPNs; FTX co-founder's lawyer called government proposal 'draconian'; Judge made clear he didn't think restrictions were enough
Chris Dolmetsch and Ava Benny-Morrison - Bloomberg
The federal judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial threatened to revoke the FTX co-founder's $250 million bail package if severe restrictions weren't placed on his use of electronic devices and apps. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan made clear at a Thursday hearing that he didn't think a government proposal that would limit Bankman-Fried to one monitored cell phone and laptop and restrict his use of Zoom to communicating with counsel was sufficient.
/jlne.ws/3KivSh5
Judge suggests jail to limit FTX founder's communications
Larry Neumeister - Associated Press
A federal judge showed growing impatience Thursday with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's use of the internet while on bail, suggesting that incarceration might eventually be the most effective way to prevent him from communicating on electronic devices in ways that can't be traced. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan did not immediately change a $250 million bail package that lets Bankman-Fried live with his parents in Palo Alto, California, while preparing for trial on charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits at FTX, his cryptocurrency trading platform.
/jlne.ws/3YZtKyL
Do Kwon, founder of collapsed Terra stablecoin, charged with fraud by U.S. securities regulator
Danny Park - Forkast
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Singapore-based Terraform Labs and its chief Kwon Do-hyung with defrauding investors through "a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud," according to a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York.
/jlne.ws/4160HLM
Coinbase Says Client Assets Are 'Segregated and Secure' Following Proposed SEC Rule Change
Will McCurdy - Decrypt
Coinbase is confident that its Coinbase Custody Trust Co. (CCTC) will remain a qualified custodian even if new rules proposed by the SEC come into play, according the company's chief legal officer Paul Grewal. Coinbase Custody Trust is a New York-based business that provides cold storage for third-party investors' digital assets. The SEC on Wednesday published a rule-change proposal that seeks to enforce much stricter provisions governing where registered investment advisers can custody cryptocurrency on behalf of their investors, limiting such investments to what are known as "qualified custodians."
/jlne.ws/3S4dA5f
Norway seizes record $5.8 million of crypto stolen by North Korea
Elizabeth Howcroft and James Pearson - Reuters
Norway has seized a record $5.8 million worth of cryptocurrency that was stolen by North Korean hackers last year, Norwegian police said in a statement on Thursday. North Korean hackers stole $625 million in March 2022 from a blockchain project linked to the crypto-based game Axie Infinity. The heist was one of the largest of its kind on record, and was linked by the United States to a North Korean hacking group dubbed "Lazarus".
/jlne.ws/3EePK0R
Crypto giant Binance moved $400 million from U.S. partner to firm managed by CEO Zhao
Angus Berwick and Tom Wilson - Reuters
Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance had secret access to a bank account belonging to its purportedly independent U.S. partner and transferred large sums of money from the account to a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, banking records and company messages show.
/jlne.ws/3YGaSW3
Crypto Fugitive Do Kwon Tapped Hoard of 10,000 Bitcoin Via Swiss Bank, SEC Says
Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Crypto fugitive Do Kwon and the firm he founded transferred over 10,000 Bitcoin out of their doomed project and turned some of the tokens into cash via a Swiss bank, the Securities & Exchange Commission said.
/jlne.ws/3SbwVS6
US crypto clampdown promises benefits for Coinbase; Plus, updates on FTX, Celsius and a word on innovation
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
America's top markets regulator has decided that most crypto companies can't be trusted to look after investors' assets. This is a less-than-shocking conclusion to anyone who's been following crypto markets over the past year. So, therefore, who can be trusted?
/jlne.ws/3XGbDNx
USP Stablecoin Loses Dollar Peg as DeFi Protocol Platypus Suffers $8.5M Attack
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Platypus Finance suffered a flash-loan attack on Thursday, blockchain security firm CertiK tweeted. The potential loss in the exploit is $8.5 million. Platypus USD (USP), the protocol's stablecoin, lost its price peg to the dollar as a result of the exploit, falling to 48 cents from its $1 anchor, according to CoinGecko.
/jlne.ws/3xsRfEX
Short Trades Make up 90% of $200M in Losses as Bitcoin, Ether Surge
Shaurya Malwa - CoinDesk
Traders betting on a market-wide decline were caught off guard as a broader market recovery in the past 24 hours saw $185 million in shorts, or bets against price rises, getting liquidated. That contributed to over $200 million in overall liquidation losses. Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader's leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader's initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open).
/jlne.ws/3Z1qjrD
Top Creditor of Mt Gox Crypto Exchange Opts for Bitcoin Payout; The creditor, Mt Gox Investment Fund, selects September payout; Opting for payment in fiat may have pressured Bitcoin price
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
The largest creditor in the long-running bankruptcy process of the Mt Gox crypto exchange has opted for an early payout in Bitcoin rather than fiat currency, easing some concerns about the token's price outlook. Mt Gox Investment Fund has picked an early payout in September this year, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
/jlne.ws/3I7lohS
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | 'Financial criminals love crypto' and other takeaways from a Senate hearing on cryptocurrency
Nolan D. McCaskill - Los Angeles Times
A Senate panel met Tuesday morning to hear from a trio of expert witnesses about what the federal government can do to create safeguards for digital assets such as cryptocurrency. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, opened the hearing illustrating the abrupt fall of the crypto industry, contrasting the explosion of money behind crypto commercials during last year's Super Bowl with the sector's absence at Sunday's game.
/jlne.ws/3xuvkNu
Opinion: Don't change horses midstream. Give Lightfoot four more years.
Greg Hummel - Crain's Chicago Business
Over the years that I've lived in the Chicago area, we've seen mayors come and go, many with the same mindset: "How can I make the biggest impact over the next four years?" While these leaders have brought some progress and innovation to our neighborhoods, they've ultimately seemed more concerned with the immediate future rather than paving the way for long-term change that lasts beyond a mayor's time in office.
/jlne.ws/3S3q2SF
Biden Is Old, But Age Isn't What It Used to Be
Julianna Goldman - Bloomberg
If there was any doubt that age was going to be a major issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, Nikki Haley just erased it. In announcing her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, the 51-year-old former governor of South Carolina proposed "mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old." Conveniently, the requirement would apply not only to 76-year-old Donald Trump, but also to 80-year-old Joe Biden.
/jlne.ws/3Iw3aIf
Republican Megadonor Miriam Adelson Is Leading a Push for Gambling in Texas
Shelly Hagan - Bloomberg
Texas voters could soon get a chance to decide whether to bring Las Vegas-style resorts to the Lone Star State, thanks to a campaign by deep-pocketed casino operators and sports team owners. State lawmakers have filed legislation to legalize gambling and approve the construction of casino resorts in major cities, an initiative that has bipartisan support, a rarity in Texas politics. The bill, if passed by two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, would then go to voters in November elections.
/jlne.ws/3XFI0Md
Hong Kong Is Not Shanghai, Shenzhen or Singapore. It's Better; China's upper middle class, eager to diversify investments, will be a powerful driver of Hong Kong's revival.
Shuli Ren - Bloomberg
Hong Kong's bankers have been feeling a bit insecure, worried that the city will lose its status as Asia's most prominent financial hub, and they will lose their well-paying jobs. Flashy news headlines certainly did not help. In 2018, the neighboring tech hub Shenzhen, once a rural backwater, surpassed the Hong Kong economy for the first time. In 2021, Shanghai became the region's top initial public offering destination. Last year, the number of family offices operating in Singapore soared, as the two cities diverged on Covid policies.
/jlne.ws/3SdiAEI
With Japan's new central bank boss, Kishida bids farewell to Abenomics
Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto - Reuters
For Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan's next central bank chief had to symbolise a departure from the unconventional policies of his predecessor Shinzo Abe - but without angering pro-growth lawmakers of Abe's powerful political faction. The tricky task of steering the Bank of Japan (BOJ) out of years of ultra-low interest rates without upending markets required the skill to read markets and clearly communicate policy intentions, both domestically and internationally.
/jlne.ws/413lXSp
When U.S.-China Relations Go 'Pop'; Even with both sides trying to re-engage, Sino-U.S. relations keep getting more tense
Nathaniel Taplin - The Wall Street Journal
U.S.-China relations, as complex as they have always been, used to be largely governed by a simple law-the law of common interests. These days, however, another well-known principle, is driving events-Murphy's Law, or whenever something can go wrong, it will. The diplomatic furor about alleged spy balloons over the U.S. and its allies from China is only the latest example of this phenomenon.
/jlne.ws/3S3S3tp
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Statement of CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero in Support of Increasing Transparency in Swap Markets Through the Use of Unique Product Identifiers
CFTC
Swap data reporting is fundamental to post-crisis financial regulation. Given the important goal of the Dodd-Frank Act to bring transparency to risk in swap markets that was previously hidden, I support the Commission's designation of unique product identifiers for swap data reporting.
/jlne.ws/3lCKcGZ
CFTC Designates Unique Product Identifier for Swaps Recordkeeping and Reporting
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order to designate a unique product identifier and product classification system to be used in swap recordkeeping and reporting. The Commission has determined the unique product identifiers (UPIs) the Derivatives Service Bureau Limited (DSB) issues for swaps in the credit, equity, foreign exchange, and interest rate asset classes comply with the Commission's requirements for a UPI and product classification system.
/jlne.ws/3IuERud
Statement of Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson Regarding Fraud and Misappropriation by a Digital Asset Ponzi Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed a complaint against Armen Temurian and Vista Network Technologies (Defendants), in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The complaint alleges that Defendants lured investors into their fraudulent digital asset scheme by promising to trade the Bitcoin and Ether that investors deposited and ensure a daily 2.5% return.
/jlne.ws/416As83
CFTC Charges California-based Company and Its CEO with Fraudulent Solicitation and Misappropriation of Digital Asset Commodities
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today it has charged Vista Network Technologies (Vista), a California-based company, and its CEO, Armen Temurian (Temurian), with fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of customers' digital asset commodities. In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the CFTC alleges the defendants fraudulently solicited over $7 million worth of bitcoin and ether from customers. The complaint also alleges the defendants misappropriated a portion of these assets in a Ponzi-like scheme.
/jlne.ws/3KfvIqP
CFTC Designates Unique Product Identifier for Swaps Recordkeeping and Reporting
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order to designate a unique product identifier and product classification system to be used in swap recordkeeping and reporting. The Commission has determined the unique product identifiers (UPIs) the Derivatives Service Bureau Limited (DSB) issues for swaps in the credit, equity, foreign exchange, and interest rate asset classes comply with the Commission's requirements for a UPI and product classification system.
/jlne.ws/3XSprol
CFTC Announces Postponement of Commitments of Traders Report
CFTC
Staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Divisions of Clearing and Risk, Market Participants, Data, and Market Oversight today released the following statement to update the public on reporting delays due to the cyber-related incident at ION Cleared Derivatives (a subsidiary of ION Markets), a third-party service provider of cleared derivatives order management, order execution, trading, and trade processing:
/jlne.ws/3Ib6PK8
NFA orders Sioux Falls, S.D. introducing broker VBI Company to pay a $135,000 fine
National Futures Association
NFA has ordered Sioux Falls, S.D. introducing broker Member VBI Company (VBI) to pay a $135,000 fine. Peter Mark Vanden Berge, an associated person and principal of VBI, shares liability with the firm jointly and severally for the fine. The Decision, issued by an NFA Hearing Panel, is based on a Complaint issued by NFA's Business Conduct Committee (BCC) and a settlement offer submitted by VBI and Vanden Berge. In the settlement offer, the firm and Vanden Berge neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the Complaint.
/jlne.ws/3lyKpea
Investor Advisory-Beware of NFA Imposters
National Futures Association
NFA has noticed a recent uptick in scams perpetrated by fraudsters posing as NFA staff or agents. Typically, these scammers promise to assist individuals in recovering funds lost in an investment scheme in return for a fee. NFA reminds investors that NFA staff will never solicit payment or fees from investors for any reason.
/jlne.ws/3IaMUuK
NFA orders Sioux Falls, S.D. introducing broker VBI Company to pay a $135,000 fine
National Futures Association
NFA has ordered Sioux Falls, S.D. introducing broker Member VBI Company (VBI) to pay a $135,000 fine. Peter Mark Vanden Berge, an associated person and principal of VBI, shares liability with the firm jointly and severally for the fine. The Decision, issued by an NFA Hearing Panel, is based on a Complaint issued by NFA's Business Conduct Committee (BCC) and a settlement offer submitted by VBI and Vanden Berge. In the settlement offer, the firm and Vanden Berge neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the Complaint.
/jlne.ws/3lyKpea
SEC Sues Over TerraUSD Stablecoin That Rocked Crypto; Lawsuit asserts turf for Wall Street's main regulator; Agency alleges company and co-founder Kwon misled investors
Allyson Versprille, Austin Weinstein and Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon and the firm he co-founded of a fraud involving the failed TerraUSD stablecoin. The SEC alleged in federal court on Thursday that Terraform Labs and Kwon offered and sold unregistered securities, including the stablecoin, and carried out a scheme that wiped out at least $40 billion worth of market value.
/jlne.ws/3YEKgVp
SEC targets built-in marketing fees in fund-to-ETF conversions; One question is whether 12b-1 fees levied on mutual funds can be used to promote them as converted ETFs
David Isenberg - Financial Times
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether 12b-1 fees are being appropriately handled during the process of converting mutual funds to ETFs, compliance consultants say. Certain mutual fund share classes charge 12b-1 fees, which cover marketing, distribution and shareholder costs. But it is exceedingly rare for ETFs to carry such fees. And companies that convert mutual fund share classes with 12b-1 fees into ETFs could open themselves up to SEC scrutiny, the consultants say.
/jlne.ws/411hkIB
SEC Charges Terraform and CEO Do Kwon with Defrauding Investors in Crypto Schemes
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Singapore-based Terraform Labs PTE Ltd and Do Hyeong Kwon with orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities.
/jlne.ws/3YVKWVZ
SEC Sues Over TerraUSD Stablecoin
Bloomberg Daybreak
The US Securities & Exchange Commission is suing the company behind TerraUSD, the crypto stablecoin whose collapse last year kicked off an industry-wide crisis. Austin Weinstein reports on Bloomberg Television.
/jlne.ws/3YRvNF8
SEC sues stablecoin operator Terraform and chief Do Kwon; Action against creator of TerraUSD is the latest move by US regulators to crack down on prominent crypto firms
Stefania Palma - Financial Times
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued the collapsed stablecoin operator Terraform Labs and its chief executive, Do Kwon, for allegedly arranging a cryptocurrency fraud that led to billions of dollars in losses. The SEC complaint filed on Thursday said that between April 2018 and May 2022, Singapore-based Terraform and Kwon raised billions of dollars from investors by selling a number of interlinked digital securities, many of which were not properly registered with regulators.
/jlne.ws/3kdjVyx
SEC Charges Final Participant in Multi-Million Dollar Scheme to Spread and Trade on False Rumors about Public Companies
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Milan Vinod Patel, of Cumming, Georgia, for spreading more than 100 false rumors about public companies to generate more than $1 million in illicit trading profits. The SEC previously charged Barton Ross, Mark Melnick, Anthony Salandra, and Charles Parrino for their roles in this scheme.
/jlne.ws/3KliNUt
SEC Charges Options Clearing Corporation with Rule Failures
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) will undertake remedial efforts and pay $17 million in penalties to settle charges that it failed to comply with its SEC-approved Stress Testing and Clearing Fund Methodology rule during certain times between October 2019 and May 2021.
/jlne.ws/3lBeJ7X
SEC Charges Final Participant in Multi-Million Dollar Scheme to Spread and Trade On False Rumors About Public Companies
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Milan Vinod Patel, of Cumming, Georgia, for spreading more than 100 false rumors about public companies to generate more than $1 million in illicit trading profits. The SEC previously charged Barton Ross, Mark Melnick, Anthony Salandra, and Charles Parrino for their roles in this scheme.
/jlne.ws/3YFtntG
Federal Court sanctions Getswift with record continuous disclosure penalty
Australian Securities & Investments Commission
The Federal Court has handed down the largest ever penalty against a company for breaching continuous disclosure laws, ordering GetSwift Limited (former ASX:GSW) (GetSwift) (in liquidation) pay a penalty of $15 million. The Court described Getswift as a company that 'became a market darling because it adopted an unlawful public-relations-driven approach to corporate disclosure instigated and driven by those wielding power within the company.'
/jlne.ws/3YVvp8z
Repayment calculator leads to infringement notices against credit company
ASIC
ASIC has issued two infringement notices to credit provider Jacaranda Finance Pty Ltd (Jacaranda) in further action to protect consumers against poor conduct by credit providers.
Jacaranda is a credit licensee that, at the relevant times, offered loans up to $15,000, typically for 12 to 36 months. ASIC was concerned that a repayment estimate calculator on Jacaranda's website may have been false or misleading because:
/jlne.ws/3Kh6vwi
Subprime lenders: FCA is a finger-waving friend indeed to Amigo; Regulator waives £73mn fine on lender
Financial Times
Subprime lending is infamous for incubating the Great Financial Crisis. The catchall term applies to any lending made to borrowers with poor credit standing, those people or businesses with patchy loan payment histories. Since 2008, when billions of dollars of subprime mortgages almost crashed the financial system, regulators have kept a beady eye on subprime lenders.
/jlne.ws/3YK1TTF
FMA issues interim stop order to Validus and its associated persons
Financial Markets Authority
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - has today issued an Interim Stop Order (Order) to Validus International LLC (registered in Delaware, USA) pursuant to section 465 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the Act).
/jlne.ws/3I3mkDY
SFC and CSRC enter into an MoU on regulatory cooperation
Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong
To further strengthen cross-boundary regulatory cooperation on matters concerning the listing of Mainland enterprises in Hong Kong, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have agreed to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with respect to the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, which will come into effect on 31 March 2023.
/jlne.ws/3IwahjT
China's Securities Regulator Releases Long-Awaited Rules on Overseas Listings; The new guidelines could remove uncertainty over Chinese IPOs overseas
Jing Yang - The Wall Street Journal
China's securities regulator has released its long-awaited rules on companies' overseas listings, taking a concrete step to move past a long regulatory assault that upended some of the country's biggest internet companies. The move follows repeated calls from the country's top leadership to normalize the policy environment, part of an attempt by the government to shift focus back toward economic growth after a strict zero-Covid policy and a series of regulatory moves pushed down valuations in the technology and internet sectors and shook investor confidence.
/jlne.ws/3Ec8WMv
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Short Trades Make up 90% of $200M in Losses as Bitcoin, Ether Surge
Shaurya Malwa - CoinDesk
Traders betting on a market-wide decline were caught off guard as a broader market recovery in the past 24 hours saw $185 million in shorts, or bets against price rises, getting liquidated. That contributed to over $200 million in overall liquidation losses. Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader's leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader's initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open).
/jlne.ws/3Z1qjrD
Longer Mortgage Rate Locks Aren't Worth Paying Extra
Alexis Leondis - Bloomberg
After seeing mortgage rates spike last year, those now on the hunt for a house are wondering what they can do to limit the damage. Some optimistic borrowers think rates will be headed down again and want to be able to take advantage of a dip. More pessimistic homebuyers want to ensure they can hang onto the lowest rate possible in case the market heads higher.
/jlne.ws/3YAV7Qf
Zero-Day Options Are Like Betting on 'Horse Race,' Tchir Says; Volume has exploded and is driving market swings, Tchir says; JPMorgan's Kolanovic warns of potential Volmageddon-type risk
Vildana Hajric and Lu Wang - Bloomberg
A surge in short-dated options trading, driven by risk-taking behavior from investors, is amplifying daily moves in the stock market, according to Peter Tchir at Academy Securities. "People are really literally gambling," Academy's head of macro strategy told Bloomberg TV and Radio Thursday, adding "it's almost like watching a horse race."
/jlne.ws/3lIJcRK
The Impact of Derivatives Collateralization on Liquidity Risk: Evidence from the Investment Fund Sector
Audrius Jukonis, Elisa Letizia and Linda Rousová - International Swaps and Derivatives Association
This paper analyzes whether euro area investment funds hold adequate levels of cash and other highly liquid assets to meet liquidity needs from their derivatives exposures under a range of market stress scenarios. The analysis focuses on liquidity risk arising from variation margin (VM) calls.
/jlne.ws/3YGiSGs
Sequoia Partner on AI: 'This Time It's Not Vaporware'
Edward Ludlow and Caroline Hyde - Bloomberg
The artificial intelligence industry is experiencing a "Cambrian explosion" of applications, said Sequoia Capital Partner Sonya Huang. That's because unlike the overhyped startups of cycles past, AI will represent a fundamental change in the way much of technology works, she said. "Whenever there is a platform shift, it opens the door for founders to build new and daring legendary companies," Huang told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3S3uGQB
Random Walk's Malkiel Says Case for Index Funds Is Stronger Than Ever; Author of Wall Street investing classic argues active management makes sense only in a few illiquid areas.
Suzanne Woolley - Bloomberg
When Burton Malkiel published A Random Walk Down Wall Street 50 years ago, he said a blindfolded chimpanzee throwing darts could pick a stock portfolio that would do as well as one created by experts. The professor of economics at Princeton University argued that the smarter strategy would be to own a portfolio of all the stocks in a broad-based index - a product that didn't exist then. Today, some $5.7 trillion sits in index funds.
/jlne.ws/3KfyFb4
The Way Americans Retire Has Changed Forever. Why Saving a Nest Egg Isn't Enough.
Martin Neil Baily - Barron's
The early stage of the pandemic was especially hard on retirees and those nearing retirement. Families who had saved diligently and invested in the stock market saw their assets plunge. Those who were planning on working a few more years before retiring may have lost their jobs as businesses closed or cut back; older workers in frontline jobs were forced to quit their jobs out of fear of Covid. Despite government support, for millions of older Americans, retirement security became endangered nearly overnight.
/jlne.ws/3lK21E8
JPMorgan's top strategist warns markets could be heading for another 'Volmageddon'
Christiaan Hetzner - Fortune
Something is very wrong with the stock market, according to a top strategist at JPMorgan. Equities have stormed back from their 2022 lows as fears of an economic hard landing give way to hope there may not be any landing at all thanks to a robust labor market and declining inflation.
/jlne.ws/3k7MQnM
US energy groups queue to go public as sector returns to favour; Oil and gas IPOs in the pipeline amid investor hunger for cash-generating businesses
Nicholas Megaw and Myles McCormick - Financial. Times
Energy companies are making plans to go public in the US at the fastest rate in six years, as a sector that has long been out of favour benefits from renewed investor appetite for businesses that generate steady cashflows rather than prioritising long-term growth. Texas-based oil and gas producer TXO Energy Partners in January became the first energy group to list in the US in more than six months, and a further nine companies in the energy and utility sector have publicly filed or updated initial public offering documents in the past 90 days, according to data from Renaissance Capital.
/jlne.ws/3KaPu6S
Billions pouring into bond ETFs are bright spot for BlackRock; World's largest asset manager dominates inflows into products attracting professional investors
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
Enthusiasm for bonds is proving to be a bonanza for BlackRock's fixed-income exchange traded funds, which have attracted more investor cash since US interest rates started rising than all their competitors combined.
/jlne.ws/3YVjNm6
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Great Salt Lake's retreat poses a major fear: poisonous dust clouds; The largest salt lake in the western hemisphere risks 'one of the worst environmental disasters' as it faces the prospect of disappearing in just five years
Oliver Milman - The Guardian
To walk on to the Great Salt Lake, the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere which faces the astounding prospect of disappearing just five years from now, is to trudge across expanses of sand and mud, streaked with ice and desiccated aquatic life, where just a short time ago you would be wading in waist-deep water. But the mounting sense of local dread over the lake's rapid retreat doesn't just come from its throttled water supply and record low levels, as bad as this is. The terror comes from toxins laced in the vast exposed lake bed, such as arsenic, mercury and lead, being picked up by the wind to form poisonous clouds of dust that would swamp the lungs of people in nearby Salt Lake City, where air pollution is often already worse than that of Los Angeles, potentially provoking a myriad of respiratory and cancer-related problems.
/jlne.ws/3KcQG9R
U.S. LNG producers poised to leapfrog rivals with three new projects
Scott DiSavino - Reuters
At least three proposed U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants have likely found enough customers to receive financial approvals this year, according to Reuters calculations, developments that would make the country the world's largest LNG exporter for years to come. After a dearth of plant approvals last decade, developers have secured dozens of long-term contracts to finance new multibillion-dollar LNG plants. The pace of approvals has accelerated as Europe has shifted away from Russian gas since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3xwiwq0
US Clean Energy Goals Hinge on Faster Permitting
Lori Bird and Katrina McLaughlin - World Resources Institute
The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act directs unprecedented investment in clean energy development and climate investments - a whopping $369 billion or more over the next decade. But finance is just one piece of the puzzle for delivering the country's clean energy goals. Building renewable energy and transmission projects in the U.S. at the speed and scale the climate crisis requires will require reforms to the way they're sited and permitted - at the federal, state and local levels.
/jlne.ws/3KfMeac
What Happens When a Greenpeace Activist Gets Into Government?; Germany's climate envoy, Jennifer Morgan, left Greenpeace just as the Russian attack on Ukraine upended decades of energy policy.
Akshat Rathi and Oscar Boyd - Bloomberg Zero podcast
As Germany's climate envoy, Jennifer Morgan stands alongside John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua of China as one of the world's top climate negotiators. But she is no typical bureaucrat. Before taking up the position of envoy, she headed up Greenpeace, known for its political activism and climate stunts.
/jlne.ws/3KeMpT8
Water funds dilute the environmental message; There may be an investment case for holding them, but it's not obvious they are saving the planet
Alice Ross - Financial Times
Investing in water sounds like it should be right up sustainable investors' street. Help the planet, improve access to sanitation, tick off a United Nations' sustainable development goal: job done. In reality, investing in water in an environmentally-friendly way is not as simple as it might seem.
/jlne.ws/3XypGog
Governments Spent Record $1 Trillion Last Year Subsidizing Fossil Fuels; Governments subsidize fossil fuels, despite climate goals; Offical aid hit a record as energy prices soared last year
Will Mathis - Bloomberg
Even as global governments raise their ambitions to cut fossil fuels in the future, they spent a record $1 trillion last year subsidizing energy sources that are the main driver of climate change. That's the finding from the International Energy Agency, which estimates that the combined subsidies for oil, natural gas, electricity and coal hit an all-time high in 2022 as soaring energy prices crippled economies. It underlines the challenge for policy makers trying to grapple with the immediate threat of runaway fuel inflation, while still trying to push a shift to low-carbon sources.
/jlne.ws/3YFqqZU
Microvast's $200 Million US Grant Under Review; Shares Plunge; Microvast's links to China have drawn outrage from lawmakers; Funds are in 'post-selection' review, Energy Department says
Ari Natter - Bloomberg
The Biden administration is reviewing $200 million in funds it originally earmarked for lithium-ion battery maker Microvast Holdings Inc. amid criticism about the company's ties to China and as part of a broader evaluation of similar awards made in the sector. The Energy Department, in letters to concerned lawmakers that were seen by Bloomberg News, said the funding is undergoing "a thorough post-selection risk-based, due-diligence review." That's happening in consultation with the Department's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence among other agencies. The grants were first announced in October.
/jlne.ws/3lIhxAi
JPMorgan Strategy Shows US Climate Act's Effect on Wall Street; One of the giants of Wall Street is among firms keen to pile vast sums into clean tech, as IRA transforms investment strategies.
Gautam Naik - Bloomberg
Inside the asset management arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a private equity group is busy positioning itself for a seismic shift in government climate policies. Formed at the start of last year, the team is now studying details of the Inflation Reduction Act to figure out which clean technologies are best placed to benefit from the huge US climate package.
/jlne.ws/3Kkj7CG
Barclays accused of falling behind rivals on climate policies
Kristen McGachey - Financial News London
Barclays has refused to say whether it will restrict funding on new oil and gas projects, something climate experts have warned is needed to reach net-zero targets. In its annual results on 15 February, the UK bank said it will stop bankrolling oil sands exploration and production companies, but did not update its policy on financing other oil and gas expansion, which currently allows the practice.
/jlne.ws/3XwXvGg
South American drought in 2022 partly driven by 'triple-dip' La Nina; Climate change was not the main driver of the drought plaguing large parts of central South America late last year, according to a new "rapid attribution" study.
Ayesha Tandon - Carbon Brief
South America has been suffering through a prolonged dry spell for the past three years. Water levels in the Parana River - the second-longest river in South America - have plummeted to their lowest level in nearly 80 years and Argentina is facing its worst drought in 60 years.
/jlne.ws/3S8UfzB
Congo Watchdog Wants Billions of Dollars More From China Infra Deal; Finance authority wants $20 billion in infrastructure projects; IGF says Chinese partners breached capital controls, owe $100m
Michael J Kavanagh - Bloomberg
The Democratic Republic of Congo's government watchdog called for a major overhaul of the country's $6.2 billion minerals-for-infrastructure deal with China after its investigations found significant breaches of the 2008 agreement. Congo hasn't been adequately compensated for the copper and cobalt reserves it contributed to the venture, which undertook to finance $3 billion of infrastructure projects using the proceeds of mineral sales from a $3.2 billion mine, the General Inspectorate of Finance said. It called for the value of the investment in infrastructure to be increased "to at least $20 billion in view of the value of the deposits transferred."
/jlne.ws/3EDmMbl
Italy Axes Controversial euro 110 Billion Push for Greener Cities
Alessandro Speciale - Bloomberg
Italy has stopped a climate-friendly tax credit system that helped fuel the country's post-pandemic rebound but caused spiraling costs already exceeding euro 110 billion ($117 billion) and widespread fraud. The halt was necessary to counter a "reckless policy" that threatened the solidity of public finances, Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told reporters late Thursday.
/jlne.ws/40YGLuB
Bankers Whose Job Title Includes 'ESG' Are Dodging Wave of Cuts
Greg Ritchie - Bloomberg
A wave of job cuts that's swept through the global finance industry hasn't affected demand for ESG specialists, where hiring growth continued through 2022, according to a study by Barclays Plc. Analysts at the UK bank, who used natural language processing to trawl through more than 200 million job postings, found that asset managers, asset owners, and banks "continue to seek ESG skills and talent, defying a broader hiring downturn and outpacing every other sector."
/jlne.ws/3I15HsA
Carbon trading is booming globally - what is it and how does it work?
King & Wood Mallesons - Lexology
The role of carbon markets is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years as nations continue to focus on sustainable economic development and drive towards a net zero economy. Understanding how they work and the role they can play is critical. Carbon trading has developed dramatically since the landmark Kyoto Protocol in the 1990s saw nations worldwide commit to cutting carbon. There are 19 Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) under formal consideration by governments globally, in addition to the existing 34 recorded by The World Bank in its Carbon Pricing Dashboard for 2022. Voluntary markets could reach US$10-40 billion in value by 2030.
/jlne.ws/3YAoPVk
Not all Heroes Wear Capes
Paolo Quattrone - ESG Investor
At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), held in December in Montreal, leaders agreed a global deal to protect the ecosystems that support the world economy, and prevent the further loss of already severely damaged plant and animal populations - including what many have termed the "insect apocalypse". The deal was reached in large part thanks to pressure from the Chinese presidency and the Canadian host government and despite an objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which contains many acres of rainforest.
The main headline of the COP15 deal was '30-by-30'. This is the commitment to protect 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030. Beneath this headline policy, COP15 also challenged companies around the world to analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues.
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Wendy's aims to cut 47% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
Aneurin Canham-Clyne - Restaurant Dive
Wendy's has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 47%, or the equivalent of 7.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, by 2030 compared to the base year of 2019, according to a press release issued Thursday. The burger chain plans to reduce emissions at company-owned stores and from corporate operations, while working to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by franchisees and supply chain partners. Possible changes include a renewable energy purchasing agreement, new refrigerant chemicals and more energy-efficient store designs.
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Emails Reveal Deep Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein, Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley
David Benoit - The Wall Street Journal
Former Barclays PLC chief Jes Staley exchanged more than a thousand emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some of which included photos of young women in seductive poses, according to court documents released this week. The emails, revealed by the U.S. Virgin Islands government in a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., where Mr. Staley was once a top executive, shed new light on the relationship between the banker and the late financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide in 2019.
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Well-Known Chinese Financier Is Unreachable, His Firm Says; Fan Bao built China Renaissance by advising some of China's most dynamic technology companies
James T. Areddy - The Wall Street Journal
Fan Bao, a well-known deal maker in China's technology sector, has been unreachable, according to the investment bank he founded. Shares of the bank, China Renaissance Holdings Ltd., plummeted on Friday morning in Hong Kong trading, losing more than a fifth of their value. The financial firm said it has not been able to contact its chairman, chief executive and controlling shareholder.
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Bankman-Fried Judge Threatens Jail Over Use of Apps, VPNs; FTX co-founder's lawyer called government proposal 'draconian'; Judge made clear he didn't think restrictions were enough
Chris Dolmetsch and Ava Benny-Morrison - Bloomberg
The federal judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial threatened to revoke the FTX co-founder's $250 million bail package if severe restrictions weren't placed on his use of electronic devices and apps. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan made clear at a Thursday hearing that he didn't think a government proposal that would limit Bankman-Fried to one monitored cell phone and laptop and restrict his use of Zoom to communicating with counsel was sufficient.
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'Broker Butcher' Set to Be China's Top Securities Regulator; Wu, known for his hardline approach, is a CSRC veteran; Focus will be on how he tackles IPO reform, financial opening
Bloomberg
Wu Qing, a 57-year-old who earned the nickname "the broker butcher" for cracking down on traders in the mid-2000s, is slated to become the head of the nation's securities regulator. Wu, now the vice mayor of Shanghai, is poised to replace Yi Huiman as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a person familiar with the move said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Yi, in charge of the CSRC since 2019, will oversee the banking and insurance sector.
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China Set to Name New Chiefs at Banking, Market Regulators; Shanghai vice mayor to become CSRC chief as Yi heads to CBIRC; Reshuffle comes amid growing risks in the $60 trillion market
Bloomberg
China is poised to name regulatory veterans known for their strict campaigns against financial wrongdoing as new chiefs of the country's banking and securities watchdogs, according to a person familiar with the matter. Yi Huiman, the current chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, is likely to be appointed to the same post at the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, putting him in the middle of a fraught balancing act to revive Asia's largest economy while containing growing strains in the $60 trillion financial industry.
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FTSE 100 Closes At Over 8000 For The First Time In Its History
FTSE Russell - Mondovisione
FTSE Russell has announced the FTSE 100 reached 8012.53 at market close today, the first time in its history that the index has closed at over 8000.
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EU Banks Make Fat Profits From Deposits While Savers Get Little
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
European banks are keeping the vast majority of the benefit from rising interest rates to themselves, helping to drive profits in the industry to decade highs. "There has been no material passing on of rates to customers," Commerzbank Chief Financial Officer Bettina Orlopp said on an analyst call Thursday. Although Commerzbank may raise interest rates on deposits as competition for them is intensifying, there's a good chance the rate, known in industry parlance as 'deposit beta,' will remain below the 30% level Commerzbank currently assumes as this year's average, Orlopp said.
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Nomura and Wolfe Research enter long-term extension agreement for Strategic Alliance; Launched in July 2020, the Alliance offers clients capabilities across equity research, capital markets, derivatives products and execution.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Nomura and Wolfe Research have entered into an agreement to strengthen their Strategic Alliance through a long-term extension to at least 2030. Launched in July 2020, the Strategic Alliance provides clients with a combination of capabilities across equity research, capital markets, derivatives products and execution.
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Fireside Friday with... OpenGamma's Joe Midmore; Six months on from the UK Gilts crisis, The TRADE speaks to Joe Midmore, chief commercial officer at OpenGamma, about the ongoing impact - and what lessons have been learned from the chaos.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Following the recent UK Gilts crisis, what would you say have been the biggest impacts?
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'Substantial reduction' in bonuses at Deutsche Bank and Barclays as fallout from WhatsApp scandal continues
Chris Dorell - City A.M.
Deutsche Bank and Barclays have both cut bonuses for senior staff that inappropriately used WhatsApp as the fallout from an industry-wide crackdown on the use of private messaging services continues. According to Bloomberg, employees at Deutsche Bank who were found to be in severe breach of policies will see a "substantial reduction" in their bonus.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The Extraordinary Exit of the Women of Silicon Valley; Susan Wojcicki is one of Google's longest-serving employees and one of the highest-profile female executives in Silicon Valley.
Emily Chang - Bloomberg
The resignation of YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki after 25 years at Google is another example of an unsettling trend in Silicon Valley: High profile women are heading for the exits. Just this week, Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Business Officer Marne Levine stepped down after 12 years at the social media juggernaut. Last year, Sheryl Sandberg left her role as chief operating officer of Meta.
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Bank of America Plans Job Cuts in Its Investment Bank; The company had already paused hiring in recent months; Firms across Wall Street wrestle with investment-banking slump
Katherine Doherty, Ruth David and Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp. is planning to cut jobs in its investment bank, one of the last major holdouts to bow to expense pressures that have left no one immune. The number of reductions, which are still being discussed, could affect less than 200 bankers globally, according to people familiar with the matter. Still, the move goes beyond the pause in hiring the firm began earlier this year, and reflects a return to pre-pandemic levels of workforce trimming.
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Computer Science Majors Will Earn Less This Year After Tech Layoffs
Paulina Cachero - Bloomberg
New college graduates who hoped to earn top dollar in Silicon Valley may be disappointed. Starting salaries for graduates with a bachelor's degree in computer science are projected to drop by 4% to $72,843 for the class of 2023 compared to a year ago, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Other majors that typically serve as a pipeline into tech roles, including math and engineering, are projected to see marginal gains at just 0.7%.
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Workers Are Mastering the Art of the At-Home Promotion; Two years into the pandemic, resourceful employees are finding new ways to advance their careers without ever seeing their boss.
Alice Kantor - Bloomberg
For some, working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic was a boon to their careers. Better pay, better titles, better hours. And they didn't have to have a bunch of face time with the boss in person to do it. Princess Pierre, 35, describes herself as naturally introverted and never felt at ease in office settings. While working from home, the communications specialist found that she was able to let her output speak for itself.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Adderall's Disappearing Act Has Left Millions Without Treatment; The tightly regulated ADHD drug has been plagued by supply issues, with little information why.
Ike Swetlitz - Bloomberg
The Adderall shortages that emerged across the US last year started quietly. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the country's largest producer of the pills, ran into manufacturing troubles but made no announcement. The Food and Drug Administration, which tracks such problems, didn't alert the public. In fact, the news came out almost by accident: In July, a Reddit user posted about their difficulty finding a pharmacy to fill their prescription.
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The Teens Are Not Alright - Especially the Girls; A report from the CDC offers a heartbreaking illustration of just how many young people are being pushed to the brink.
Jessica Karl - Bloomberg
Getting mono used to be one of the worst things that could happen to you in high school. Rumors would swirl around about whom you kissed. You'd miss out on sports games, prom, even graduation. But today, "the kissing disease" is well down the list of a teenager's worries. Adolescents that have grown up during the pandemic are living with fears and anxieties that adults today can't fathom, Lisa Jarvis writes.
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CDC Report on Teen Mental Health Is a Red Alert; The US is failing its young people, especially girls and LGBTQ kids.
Lisa Jarvis - Bloomberg
Teens are struggling - and we're not doing enough to help them. That's the clear message from a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC's biannual Youth Risk Behavior Survey offers a heartbreaking and, for parents, terrifying glimpse at the state of teens' mental health, especially among teenage girls. The trend began before the pandemic but seemed to have been exacerbated by the isolation of the early Covid years.
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The Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Wills
Cheryl Winokur Munk - The Wall Street Journal
Everybody knows they should have a will, and not having one can leave heirs with a big mess. But just having a will isn't enough. Big mistakes are common-from leaving decisions to the last minute and failing to update documents to mismatching beneficiary designations. Everybody knows they should have a will, and not having one can leave heirs with a big mess. But just having a will isn't enough. Big mistakes are common-from leaving decisions to the last minute and failing to update documents to mismatching beneficiary designations.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China's Old Playbook Is Back. That's Bad News; A nod to projects fueled by debt, at the expense of industrial technology, may not end well.
Anjani Trivedi - Bloomberg
China's economy was supposed to be in tatters in the aftermath of Covid Zero. Analysts were betting on a long-term and sustained downshift in growth. Multinational companies were mulling a move away. Now, as the stringent lockdowns pass into distant memory, forecasts are being revised up as industrial activity recovers. It's worth wondering how Beijing has engineered such a swift turnaround.
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Star Banker's Disappearance Unnerves China's Business Elite
Bloomberg News
Bao Fan's knack for closing complicated deals and spotting rising tech stars made him one of China's most influential financiers. His sudden disappearance this week - linked to a Chinese government investigation - is now sending chills through the country's business elite and raising fresh doubts about whether President Xi Jinping's crackdown on the private sector has run its course.
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India Won't Allow New Sugar Exports to Prevent Domestic Shortage; Government has made decision after meeting with cane officials; Prices have retreated as focus shifts to Brazil, Thai supplies
Pratik Parija - Bloomberg
India, which vies with Brazil as the world's biggest sugar producer, will not allow any more exports for now on concern that weaker production will threaten domestic supplies. The government has decided not to approve new sugar shipments after meeting with some cane officials from major producing regions this week, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. That means there won't be additional exports beyond the 6 million tons India has already allowed this season.
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Lebanon's 90% Devaluation Turns Into a Stealth Liquidity Squeeze
Dana Khraiche and Omar Tamo - Bloomberg
Lebanon's first official devaluation in a quarter century has created a severe liquidity squeeze, as lenders scour for local currency in a country already wracked with a strike by bankers and a crackdown on exchange shops.
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Lebanese depositors smash up, burn Beirut banks
Reuters
Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighbourhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country's banking sector, said.
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Polish Assets Dive as Court's $12 Billion Opinion Risks Crisis; Banks face setback in efforts to recoup Swiss-franc home loans; Previous ECJ ruling has led to billions in banking provisions
Maciej Onoszko - Bloomberg
Warsaw's stock index fell on Thursday and the zloty slid, with banks selling off on an EU legal opinion that a Polish official said risked triggering an economic crisis in the eastern European nation. Poland's largest lender, PKO Bank Polski SA, fell as much as 7.2%, while Commerzbank AG's Polish unit MBank SA dropped 6%, dragging the overall WIG20 index down as much as 1.5%, among the worst losses in emerging markets. The currency also took a hit, sliding 0.5% against the euro.
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Egypt to Start Investor Meetings for Debut Islamic-Bond Sale; Investor Calls to be held on Friday, Sunday and Monday; Egypt seeks to sell bonds maturing in the three year tenor
Archana Narayanan - Bloomberg
Egypt will start meeting investors this week before a potential debut sale of Islamic bonds known as sukuk, according to people familiar with the matter. The Arab Republic will conduct a global investor call and a series of fixed-income investor calls starting Friday, two people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn't yet public. The nation may sell a benchmark-sized USD sukuk with a three-year tenor, they said.
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Abu Dhabi to Sell 4% of Natural-Gas Business in IPO; The move comes as Middle East energy producers are ramping up plans to supply Europe
Summer Said - The Wall Street Journal
The United Arab Emirates' national energy company plans to sell a stake of about 4% of its natural-gas business in an initial public offering that it hopes will raise $2 billion, as Middle East petrostates increase plans to supply Europe. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or Adnoc, will sell more than 3 billion shares in Adnoc Gas, one of the world's largest gas-processing entities, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Feb 23. Shares are expected to begin trading on March 13.
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City narrows field for LaSalle Street apartment conversions
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration has shortened the list of LaSalle Street office projects that could win public subsidies to be turned into apartments, a step forward in the city's plan to revitalize the Loop thoroughfare with residents. Six projects totaling $1.1 billion in estimated costs are set to be unveiled with more detail at a March 2 community meeting, according to the city's Department of Planning & Development. The developers behind the proposals are seeking tax-increment financing and other incentives to help finance the projects.
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Oil Stampede Is On in One of the Emptiest Places in the Americas; Oil majors have yet to start developing their discoveries; Suriname hasn't hit billion-barrel gushers like Guyana's
Peter Millard and Francois De Beaupuy - Bloomberg
Annand Jagesar, the managing director of the state-owned oil company of Suriname, is a man in a hurry. He's racing against time, nature and Guyana, the neighboring country that enviably discovered a massive offshore oil field in 2015. Jagesar believes Suriname, the former Dutch colony on South America's northeastern coast (population about 620,000), could have the same bounty, though explorers so far have discovered nowhere near the gushers that have transformed Guyana's economy and made it a significant non-OPEC source of oil.
/jlne.ws/3KdhJli
Why Workers Aren't Returning to North America's Second Biggest Financial Center
Ari Altstedter - Bloomberg
It's been 360 days since Toronto's last pandemic lockdown ended, and the vast underground mall running beneath its financial district is still showing scars. A Starbucks next to the Hockey Hall of Fame, once a favorite place for dealmakers to meet, hasn't reopened. A sprawling food court is largely devoid of restaurants. And in the underground thoroughfares between - built to allow the bankers, traders and investors of Canada's financial capital to visit each other without going outside - many storefronts still sit empty.
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School of Quant: At $29,000, a Public NYC College Outclasses Princeton
Heather Perlberg - Bloomberg
Princeton has its Gothic spires, MIT its Great Dome. But for a no-frills lesson in 21st-century finance, head to a lackluster high-rise on Manhattan's East 25th Street - AKA, Bernard Baruch Way. Nine flights up, along scuffed linoleum hallways, a handful of math-loving graduate students consider equations that would make most people's heads hurt. On the syllabus recently: three-dimensional volatility surface structures for options pricing models.
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France's EDF Lost $19 Billion After Nuclear Outages; Pipe corrosion led the company to shut down more than half of its nuclear reactors, forcing it to buy replacement electricity at record-high prices
Matthew Dalton - The Wall Street Journal
EDF SA EDF lost around $19 billion last year after outages at its nuclear reactors left the state-controlled power company-and much of Western Europe-more exposed to the energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | JPMorgan's Jeffrey Epstein problem; Plus, a K-Pop corporate battle heats up
Financial Times
One thing to start: When US short seller Nathan Anderson decided to take on Indian conglomerate Adani Group, he faced the ultimate challenge for someone in his line of business: India's anti short selling rules. DD's Ortenca Aliaj and Antoine Gara dug into how his firm Hindenburg Research pulled off the short.
/jlne.ws/3ly2YiD
Emails Reveal Deep Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein, Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley; 'I owe you much,' Mr. Staley wrote in a 2009 email to Epstein, who had been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution
David Benoit - The Wall Street Journal
Former Barclays PLC BCS chief Jes Staley exchanged more than a thousand emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some of which included photos of young women in seductive poses, according to court documents released this week.
/jlne.ws/411QfVL
How Liz Truss's Very Powerful Economic Establishment stopped me buying a Lamborghini
Robert Shrimsley - Financial Times
I hate to admit it, but Liz Truss may be on to something. When the former prime minister began her ill-starred comeback tour she placed the blame for the disaster that befell her policies on resistance from the Very Powerful Economic Establishment. Many have mocked, but in the days since I have had to reflect, the Trusster might have a point.
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Wall Street Brings Its Financial Engineering to English Football; Chelsea's new US private-equity owners are betting their knowhow will make the London club more valuable than some of its biggest rivals.
Giles Turner and David Hellier - Bloomberg
It's no secret that Wall Street likes to test the rules. Mortgage-backed securities, options pricing, credit risk, SPACs - all have been subject to what's known as financial engineering. Now, it's the turn of football. Ever since a US consortium led by Clearlake Capital acquired Chelsea Football Club for £2.5 billion ($3 billion) in May, co-owner Todd Boehly has led a charge to outbid rivals for star players. The result was close to £600 million this season alone, more than the total spent in the French, Spanish, German and Italian top leagues combined during the recent January transfer window.
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