| June 30, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Today JLN published an interview I did with Jahmal Cole and Will Hobert. Jahmal Cole is the founder of My Hood, My Block, My City and Will Hobert is the founder and CEO of WH Trading. Hobert and WH Trading hired Cole to help move WH Trading's offices and that began a relationship that turned into a full time job for Cole and ultimately to his founding M3, as his organization is referred to in shorthand. It is an inspiring story that I titled "WH Trading Spawned a Social Justice Phenomenon in My Hood, My Block, My City." Cole is an incredible story and the support and mentoring from Hobert has been essential to his success. Chicago has its issues, but people like Cole and Hobert are making a difference in addressing those issues.
So how bad is the Canadian wildfire smoke situation for the U.S.? According to a Yahoo News story, over 120 million people, more than one third of the U.S. population, found themselves under air quality alerts on Thursday from the massive clouds of smoke from the Canadian wildfires. The smoke blanketed 12 states. There are 501 active fires in progress, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, with more than half of them, 254, considered to be burning out of control. This has burned a record 30,000 square miles, or 17.7 million acres, so far this year. In terms of carbon emissions, the smoke emitted has released about 160 MEGATONS so far, the highest annual total estimated for Canada since such recordkeeping started in 2003.
Today is the end of LIBOR, and Joe Rennison of The New York Times has a timely story titled "The End of LIBOR Is (Finally) Here" with the subheading "It has been an arduous process to get the financial system to stop relying on the tarnished interest-rate benchmark."
Our friends at the Managed Funds Association sent along this statement about the MiFIR agreement. According to the European Council of the European Union, "The revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and the Second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) aims to empower investors, in particular by making consolidated market data easily available at EU level."
Statement from Taggart Davis, Managed Funds Association (MFA) Head of EU Government Affairs:
"The MiFIR agreement is a positive step for the competitiveness of EU capital markets and the broader European economy. It supports broader, cost-effective access to market data, which enhances the ability of alternative asset managers to deliver reliable returns for their investors, including EU-based pensions. We appreciate Danuta Hübner MEP, the Swedish Presidency, and other negotiators for their leadership and constructive approach to a deal that paves the way for a more integrated, competitive, and dynamic Capital Markets Union."
On Monday we will publish JLN, but not JLN Options. Tuesday is the official 4th of July holiday and there will be no JLN or JLN Options that day.
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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WH Trading Spawned a Social Justice Phenomenon in My Hood, My Block, My City
JohnLothianNews.com
At a recent meeting of the social justice committee at my church, St. Peter's UCC in Elmhurst, IL, I was asked to look into the organization My Hood, My Block, My City. While perusing the organization's website I noted the board chairman listed at the time was Will Hobert of principal trading group WH Trading.
Listen to the podcast »
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Exponential Exchange Launches Tradable Automotive Index for Used Vehicles; Product helps vehicle portfolio owners and insurance companies mitigate exposure to volatility in wholesale used vehicle prices, creates new asset class for traders
Exponential Exchange
Fintech startup Exponential Exchange today announced the publication of a first-of-its-kind tradable index for the used vehicle market designed to offer a more accurate and efficient representation of wholesale price changes for pre-owned cars than currently exists.
/jlne.ws/445vbyG
***** Good to see Exponential Exchange making progress, even if it is incremental and not exponential.~JJL
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Austria declines to attend Opec conference over media ban; Host nation's foreign minister was due to be one of first speakers at Vienna seminar
David Sheppard and Sam Jones - Financial Times
Austria's foreign minister has declined to attend an Opec conference in Vienna next week amid an escalating dispute over the oil cartel's decision to bar large numbers of prominent news organisations from attending. Alexander Schallenberg, who was due to be one of the first speakers at the Opec seminar in the Austrian capital on July 5, said through a spokesperson that "media freedom" including "coverage of political developments" was a "cornerstone of any democratic society".
/jlne.ws/3JFpq2K
****** Alexander Schallenberg is now on my list of heroes.~JJL
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Why Exchange Rebate Tiers Are Anti-Competitive; Two men in suits stand on different levels. The man on the higher level is being held even higher by a large hand. The man on the lower level is shrugging in disbelief.
John Ramsay - IEX
The existing system of rebate tiers fails the smell test. As the SEC examines competitive inequities in the stock market, here's an explainer on how exchanges' rebate tiers are used to stack the deck for a small number of firms. In recent months, there has been a vigorous debate about market competition, as it impacts the handling of retail orders. Another aspect of competition, involving exchange market makers, has received much less attention. Yet, there is glaring evidence that the business of making markets has grown increasingly more concentrated and less competitive over time. There is also clear evidence that the exchange fee structure helps to keep it that way. As the SEC considers areas needing reform, this is one that cries out for it.
/jlne.ws/3CPD1Rc
***** John Ramsay is always worth the read.~JJL
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CFTC Division of Enforcement Creates Two New Task Forces; One Team Will Address Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology, Another to Combat Environmental Fraud
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Enforcement today announced it has established two new task forces. The Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Task Force will address cybersecurity issues and other concerns related to emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence). The Environmental Fraud Task Force will combat environmental fraud and misconduct in derivatives and relevant spot markets. The task forces are comprised of attorneys and investigators across different offices within the Enforcement Division, who will prosecute cases, serve as subject matter experts, and coordinate efforts with the CFTC's other divisions and offices.
/jlne.ws/3NQFrFs
***** How about a cybersecurity fraud involving greenwashing? Who gets the case?~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top story Thursday was Wall Street Regulators' New Target: Emojis, from The Wall Street Journal. Second was the podcast Larry Williams and I: Stunning Similarities by John J. Lothian, a commentary John wrote when he was running for the board of the NFA back in 2001. Third was the FIA's June 2023 Highlights, on LinkedIn.
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MarketsWiki Stats
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| Lead Stories | Singapore Bids Libor Farewell With Surge in SORA Derivatives; Outstanding SORA index swaps jumped to nearly $2 trillion: LCH; Swaps pegged to new rate have risen over 60% from June 2022
Ameya Karve - Bloomberg
Singapore's financial markets have rapidly switched to a new lending benchmark as the city-state joins the world in saying goodbye to the discredited London interbank offered rate. The outstanding value of index swaps pegged to the Singapore Overnight Rate Average - or SORA - climbed to almost $2 trillion at the end of May, more than 60% higher than in June 2022, data from clearing-house LCH Ltd. show. For loans, the total outstanding climbed to S$171 billion ($126 billion) in December, according to the local banking association.
/jlne.ws/3DcYTpX
Millions face a relentless summer of smoke that won't end anytime soon; Northerly summer breezes that would usually offer relief from heat waves are likely to carry Canadian wildfire smoke for months
Scott Dance, Kate Selig, Ian Livingston and Matthew Cappucci - The Washington Post
In Detroit, where air pollution was worse than any other city in the world Thursday, a basement coffee shop became a bunker from the smoke. One Washington summer camp forbade children from an outdoor pool and kept them inside. On a third-straight day of heavy haze in Chicago, an improvement in air quality meant it was merely "unhealthy" to venture outside, rather than "very unhealthy."
/jlne.ws/3rdENc1
European Council and Parliament reach milestone Mifid compromise on consolidated tape and PFOF; Thursday's agreement establishes a consolidated tape across asset classes and enforces general ban on payment for order flow with temporary member state exemptions.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The European Council and European Parliament have today reached a milestone agreement to implement a consolidated tape and limit the practice of paying for order flow. Thursday's agreement will see the establishment of a real-time EU-level consolidated tape for "different kinds of assets" traded in the EU. Key information such as the price of instruments and the volume and time of transactions will be included. Data from "all trading platforms" will be included in consolidated tapes.
/jlne.ws/46HD3IH
Capital markets union: Council and Parliament agree on proposal to strengthen market data transparency
European Council of the European Union
The Council has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on changes to the EU's trading rules that will increase the global competitiveness of the EU's capital markets and give investors access to the market data necessary to invest in financial instruments more easily. The revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and the Second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) aims to empower investors, in particular by making consolidated market data easily available at EU level.
/jlne.ws/46tm9x0
Climate Change Means Farming Needs a Revamp to Secure Enough Food
Agnieszka de Sousa - Bloomberg
If you were vacationing in France last year, you may have noticed shortages of mustard on supermarket shelves. Harvest failures in Canada and France and the war in Ukraine meant that Unilever, the biggest seller of the condiment in the country, found itself without enough mustard seeds to make its classic Maille product. But if the world can survive without mustard, then it should take a note of drought threatening Spain's tomato crop this year, according to Hanneke Faber, head of nutrition at Unilever.
/jlne.ws/44rGjpm
The End of LIBOR Is (Finally) Here; It has been an arduous process to get the financial system to stop relying on the tarnished interest-rate benchmark.
Joe Rennison - The New York Times
The arduous, decade-long process to end the financial system's reliance on a tarnished interest-rate benchmark, which once underpinned trillions of dollars in contracts across the globe, is almost over. From next week, the rate, known as the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR for short, will cease to be published.
/jlne.ws/3PBqzvO
EU bows to exchanges' fears with stock trading plan; European authorities agree to create consolidated records of securities deals
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
European authorities on Thursday agreed a deal to create real-time databases of share trading information, three people familiar with the talks said, but the accord has disappointed banks and fund managers hoping to break open exchanges' grip on the most valuable data.
/jlne.ws/44hM8G8
FCA warns banks over 'greenwashing' in sustainable loans; UK regulator says penalties for borrowers that miss sustainability targets are too lenient
Kenza Bryan - Financial Times
The Financial Conduct Authority has written to banks that lend to UK companies to admonish them about "greenwashing" and "conflicts of interest" in the sustainable loans market.
/jlne.ws/448tYXE
Blockchain Association joins Coinbase in pushing back against SEC over crypto crackdown
Danny Park - Forkast
The Blockchain Association, a lobbyist group for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler should remove himself from enforcing rules on the crypto sector, arguing his public comments have made clear he doesn't have an impartial approach to the issues.
/jlne.ws/446vTvy
Don't lose the exponential benefits of fractional share trading; Barring younger traders from holding US stocks in Isas risks subtracting investor engagement
Claer Barrett - Financial Times
What was it that first sparked your interest in investing? For 28-year-old FT Money reader Nathan, it was a childhood spent watching Formula One. He remembers asking one day: "What is Shell?" The power of Shell's brand was his entry point into investing; learning about what a company is, and how investors could own a piece of those listed on the stock market. Fast forward to the pandemic and Nathan became one of many new investors using trading apps to put their money into the markets.
/jlne.ws/3plSLZb
Three men charged with insider trading related to Trump media Spac; US authorities allege more than $20mn in ill-gotten profits after private merger information was shared
Ortenca Aliaj and Mark Vandevelde - Financial Times
An architect of the plan to take Donald Trump's media business public has been charged with insider trading after he allegedly shared information about the transaction during a trip to Las Vegas and helped two of his associates make $22.8mn from illicit trades.
/jlne.ws/4464ObV
CME Group to Launch Ethereum-to-Bitcoin Ratio Futures Next Month
Andrew Asmakov - Decrypt
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group on Thursday revealed plans for the launch of Ethereum/Bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio futures on July 31, pending regulatory approval. Per the product description on the company's website, the ticker for the ETH/BTC ratio futures is EBR, with the ratio defined as Ethereum futures price divided by the Bitcoin futures price. The ratio will be calculated as the final settlement price of ETH divided by BTC and will always be positive across all contract months.
/jlne.ws/3XyL26n
CFTC issues no-action letter for swap data reporting requirements to ease burden of LIBOR transition; Recommendation from the Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Data (DOD) relates to swaps transitioning from USD LIBOR to risk-free rates.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
A staff letter from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Data (DOD) has recommended a no-action position regarding enforcement actions being taken against entities failing to comply with certain swap data reporting obligations.
/jlne.ws/3JEHee2
Tokenization Is Likely to Transform Infrastructure and Financial Markets: Bank of America
Will Canny - CoinDesk
Tokenization is just one application of blockchain technology, but it's the one that could transform financial and non-financial infrastructure and financial markets over the next five to 15 years, Bank of America (BAC) said in a research report Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3r4GmsV
Funding to Cut Methane Emissions 'Woefully' Short of What's Needed; Curbing the potent gas is a quick climate fix, but global spending on it is only about 10% of the amount required, according to a new analysis.
Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
Scores of nations have pledged to slash their methane emissions, recognizing that the gas is a powerful climate pollutant and stifling it is one of the best and fastest ways to slow global warming. But when it comes to financing that work, the world isn't stepping up.
/jlne.ws/3JC6hP7
South Korea Passes Inaugural Standalone Crypto Bill After Spate of Scandals; Do Kwon's fall, crypto crime spurred regulation in South Korea; Officials around the world are stepping up oversight of crypto
Hooyeon Kim - Bloomberg
South Korea approved its first standalone digital-asset bill to boost investor protection just over a year after the implosion of tokens created by countryman Do Kwon exacerbated a $2 trillion crypto-market rout.
/jlne.ws/3NSltJp
The Crypto Industry's New Favorite Punching Bag - Prometheum - Asks for a Chance; Its SEC-praising co-CEO insists he's pro-crypto and just needs a little time to prove his company can trade digital assets, even if the token issuers would rather it didn't.
Jesse Hamilton - CoinDesk
Crypto entrepreneur Aaron Kaplan, added at the last minute to the witness list of a House of Representatives hearing on the industry's future earlier this month, used his moment on the national stage to praise the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as "the most capable financial markets regulatory agency in the world."
/jlne.ws/3Xz8noB
Climate nears point of no return as land, sea temperatures break records, experts say
David Stanway - Reuters
Temperature records topple around the world; Sea temperatures also hit record high;
Climate talks failing to respond to extreme weather emergencies. The target of keeping long-term global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) is moving out of reach, climate experts say, with nations failing to set more ambitious goals despite months of record-breaking heat on land and sea. As envoys gathered in Bonn in early June to prepare for this year's annual climate talks in November, average global surface air temperatures were more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for several days, the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.
/jlne.ws/438fPrQ
The thing about crypto ownership; Will digital assets be defined as 'third category'?
Lex Populi - Financial Times
The Thing is one of the more mysterious characters in the Marvel universe. Seemingly agglomerated from giant cheese puffs, he is visibly less human than his Spandex-encased compadres. Similar ambiguity surrounds crypto assets. These are recognised as "things" by UK law. This means they exist beyond the fevered imaginings of crypto bros. But what kind of things are they, exactly? The Law Commission, a statutory review body, posed that question in a consultation this week. The answers are crucial to the ownership rights of would-be investors. These not only matter if you dabble in cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, currently trading at under half its peak value of almost $69,000. Stocks and bonds may eventually become digital assets, exploiting the purported advantages of distributed ledger technology.
/jlne.ws/3NwmA0Y
Bankers' fees plunge to near-decade low owing to deal drought; Industry suffers from wave of job cuts as prolonged M&A slowdown takes its toll
Ivan Levingston and Ortenca Aliaj - Financial Times
Investment bankers' advisory fees have plunged to the lowest level in almost a decade as the industry suffers from a wave of job cuts because of a prolonged slowdown in deal activity.
/jlne.ws/3XMLGh3
Glencore chief says European investors too focused on ESG; New York more attractive place to list than London as US investors 'more pragmatic', says Nagle
Leslie Hook and Harry Dempsey - Financial Times
Glencore chief executive Gary Nagle struck out at European investors for placing ESG above financial returns, as he defended a proposal by the London-listed miner to list a spin-off of its coal business in New York. New York was an attractive place to be listed compared with London because American investors were "more pragmatic", Nagle said.
/jlne.ws/3JFTMSx
Mexico Faces Menacing Storm as Heat Grips US: Weather Watch; Intense winds off of Mexico's Pacific coast and extreme heat in the US are on Bloomberg Green's radar today.
Brian K Sullivan - Bloomberg
Tropical Storm Beatriz will likely become a hurricane Friday along Mexico's Pacific coast where it could make landfall or at least menace the shoreline near Manzanillo, a large container port, the US National Hurricane Center said. Beatriz is going to move over very warm water that will fuel its strength and possibly cause it to rapidly intensify, Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the center wrote in his forecast.
/jlne.ws/431los5
The Bank of England's Big Decision on Digital Currency; With the public comment period ending this week, the central bank will soon begin the process of deciding whether "Britcoin" is worth doing.
Sommer Saadi - Bloomberg
The Bank of England has a vision for the digital pound. But first, it has to decide whether "Britcoin" is worth building in the first place. The BOE wants to make a cash-like alternative to the banknote-an instrument that works like cash and holds its value but won't accrue interest or become a tool of speculators.
/jlne.ws/442RhlF
The female power behind Binance's throne says she's no Caroline Ellison
Jeff John Roberts - Fortune
While founder Changpeng Zhao has long been the face of Binance, another figure-Yi He-wields immense power at the company and is little known, at least in Western media. But in a revealing new Bloomberg profile, He comes forward and explains how she shaped Binance.
/jlne.ws/3r6RmGm
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russia Is Tightening its Grip on the World's Wheat Supply
Aine Quinn - Bloomberg
Russia has tightened its hold on the world's wheat supplies following its invasion of Ukraine, bolstering the Kremlin's role in global food supply to secure political support and hard currency. With Russia's internal politics in disarray after an aborted armed mutiny and its international standing damaged by the war, grain remains a major source of influence, and Moscow has been expanding its sway over the market at home and abroad.
/jlne.ws/3Nx0g7w
Greta Thunberg slams world response to dam collapse 'ecocide' during Kyiv visit
Reuters
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg visited Kyiv on Thursday to draw attention to environmental damage caused by war in Ukraine and criticized the world's response to the June 6 collapse of the vast hydro-electric Kakhovka dam. Ukraine is investigating the dam blast, which unleashed floods across southern Ukraine and Russian-occupied areas of the Kherson region, as a war crime and possible criminal environmental destruction, or "ecocide". It has estimated the cost of the dam's collapse at 1.2 billion euros.
/jlne.ws/43bUT3b
Russians' Support for Peace Talks With Ukraine Grows After Unrest, Poll Shows; Wagner uprising fueled fears about prospects on battlefield; Backing for talks still below high seen after mobilization
Bloomberg News
Russians' support for peace talks with Ukraine has grown after an abortive mutiny led by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to a new opinion poll from the independent Levada Center. The share of respondents backing negotiations increased by eight percentage points to 53% from a month earlier. Following the march by Prigozhin and Wagner fighters toward Moscow over the weekend, the share of those favoring a continuation of fighting fell to 39%, according to the survey, due to be published Friday.
/jlne.ws/3JyVtBq
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CME Group to Launch Ether/Bitcoin Ratio Futures on July 31
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to launch Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures on July 31, pending regulatory review.
/jlne.ws/46rwQAi
The New York Stock Exchange Reports Strong Momentum in First Half of 2023
Intercontinental Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today reported strong business momentum through the first half of 2023. The NYSE led the industry with the largest IPO of the year to date and welcomed 12 publicly-traded companies that completed the transfer of their listings to the NYSE from other exchanges. The May 4 IPO of consumer health business Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) ranks as the largest worldwide offering since late 2021. The NYSE set the pace for U.S. IPO proceeds in the first six months of 2023 with an industry-leading $6.7 billion and was home to 8 of the 10 largest transactions in the first half.
/jlne.ws/3CVwunU
SEC vs Coinbase Case Set for July 13 After Exchange's 'Creative' Opening Response; The date for the court hearing is much earlier than expected, prompted by a "creative" defense tactic by Coinbase - it filed its response 40 days before the deadline of August 7, 2023.
Sam Reynolds, Amitoj Singh - Coindesk
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will present its response to Coinbase's (COIN) first legal defense on July 13, according to a court order on Thursday. The date for the hearing is now much earlier than expected, prompted by a "creative" defense tactic employed by Coinbase, where in the exchange filed its first response 40 days before the deadline of August 7. According to the rules, the SEC had to file a response to Coinbase's defense by July 3. The SEC asked for an extension of three business days owing to the July 4 holiday weekend, which was granted by the court.
/jlne.ws/3NwaHby
ICE Sustainable Finance Monthly
Elizabeth King - Intercontinental Exchange
Climate Risk to Climate Opportunity. When engaging in climate related discussions with clients and colleagues over the years I've noted the tendency for the narrative to be driven from a risk perspective. Indeed, the phrase Climate Risk has become embedded in financial industry dialog. While the increasing level of climate risk awareness within finance is positive, I'm also encouraged by another trend that's gaining momentum. The discussion of climate opportunity.
/jlne.ws/3NzvsCT
People's bonds of the Finuslugi project are among the leaders of "Strong ideas for the new time"
MOEX
The Bureau of the Expert Council of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) approved the list of finalists of the forum "Strong Ideas for the New Times". People's bonds of the Finuslugi project were included in the top 100 best initiatives, and in the "Entrepreneurship" direction, the project entered the top 30 best ideas.
/jlne.ws/3D0fKfb
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | VC billionaire Marc Andreessen says he wrote 'Why AI will save the world' because a 'hysterical freakout has arrived in Washington'
Rachel Shin - Fortune
The world has gone hysterical over A.I. and had to be set straight. That's why VC billionaire and occasional essayist Marc Andreessen wrote his 7,000-word manifesto "Why AI Will Save the World." That's what Andreessen told the great tech writer Ben Thompson on the Stratechery podcast.
/jlne.ws/44rk8zw
Eventus named Best Market Surveillance Platform in 2023 WatersTechnology Asia Awards
Eventus via Mondovisione
Eventus, a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, market risk and algo monitoring solutions, has won the WatersTechnology Asia Award for Best Market Surveillance Platform for the third consecutive year. The award recognizes the firm's Validus platform and follows Eventus' win last month of the RegTech Insight Europe Award for Best Trade Solution for the second year running. Eventus has now won seven awards specifically for its software solutions and service in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
/jlne.ws/46vlnQ5
Rise Of Fintech: Unveiling The Power Of Fee Transparency
James Messer - Forbes
Ladies and gentlemen, strap yourselves in and prepare for the fintech revolution, the financial equivalent of a high-speed psychedelic roller coaster. These disruptive companies are like an overachieving college dropout's brain to the sleepy traditional banks, shaking things up faster than a cheetah on Adderall. But hey, let's not get too carried away. We're here to talk about something serious-fee transparency!
/jlne.ws/44kApHf
FinTech IPO Gains 1.5% as Opendoor Surges on Sell-Side Enthusiasm
PYMNTS
The platforms surged - many of them anyway. And yet the FinTech IPO Index was up a muted 1.5% headed into the end of the second quarter and headed into a trading week that will be shortened by the July Fourth holiday.
/jlne.ws/3pvldYu
Chinese fintech exec stole insider info to trade tech stocks: SEC
Rohan Goswami - CNBC
The compliance chief at a Chinese payment processor was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York federal prosecutors with violating insider trading laws after sneaking onto his girlfriend's computer to view meetings between investment bankers and companies.
/jlne.ws/3rfUgIA
Why India Risks Falling Behind in the AI Race; The country's coding powerhouses are taking a timid approach to the technology behind platforms like ChatGPT.
Andy Mukherjee - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/436eodx
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Cybersecurity: Launching and Implementing the National Cybersecurity Strategy
U.S. GAO
Federal agency information systems and national critical infrastructure are vulnerable to cyberattacks. This Snapshot covers the status of the National Cybersecurity Strategy. The strategy's goals and strategic objectives provide a good foundation, but the Administration needs to establish specific objectives and performance measures, resource requirements, and roles and responsibilities. It will be difficult to implement the strategy when the specific details have yet to be issued. The continued vacancy in the role of National Cyber Director is also a challenge.
/jlne.ws/44tWjaF
The real impact of cybersecurity breaches on customer trust
Shashi Samar - CSO Online
Australia is facing an unprecedented volume of cybersecurity attacks. We are getting used to news and headlines that inform us that our passwords have been breached, identities have been stolen and personal and health information has been leaked and misused. The objective that all attackers are pursuing is very simple: sensitive data. The more the better.
/jlne.ws/445brvc
Top cybersecurity M&A deals for 2023
CSO Online
Uncertainty and instability marked the end of 2022 for many in the tech sector, a trend that bled into the beginning of 2023. Following on the heels of a drought in IT talent came mass layoffs at many of the world's biggest tech companies as predictions of recession loomed and war in Ukraine dragged on with no end in sight.
/jlne.ws/3PFUQcX
Russian Cybersecurity Executive Arrested for Alleged Role in 2012 Megahacks
KrebsOnSecurity
Nikita Kislitsin, formerly the head of network security for one of Russia's top cybersecurity firms, was arrested last week in Kazakhstan in response to 10-year-old hacking charges from the U.S. Department of Justice. Experts say Kislitsin's prosecution could soon put the Kazakhstan government in a sticky diplomatic position, as the Kremlin is already signaling that it intends to block his extradition to the United States.
/jlne.ws/3JDiqTO
Center for Internet Security, CREST launch new enterprise cybersecurity accreditation scheme
Michael Hill - CSO Online
The Center for Internet Security (CIS) and international information security certification body CREST have announced a new joint cybersecurity accreditation initiative for organizations. The CIS Controls Accreditation program aims to provide companies a way to show customers and partners that their cybersecurity posture meets the best practice guidance as set forth in the CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls), a set of globally recognized best practices for improving an enterprise's cybersecurity posture, the pair said. It is the first initiative pairing the CIS Controls with a program to deliver accredited consulting, they added.
/jlne.ws/3XE7POs
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Joe Lubin: "The SEC has spoken" on Ethereum's Status as a Security or Commodity
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin has said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already spoken on whether Ether (ETH) should be treated as a security or commodity.
/jlne.ws/3CRxLwv
U.K. bill to regulate crypto assets passes into law, offering 'rocket boost' for economy
Tom Zuo - Forkast
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, a U.K. reform bill that recognizes cryptocurrency trading as a regulated financial activity, received so-called Royal Assent on Thursday to make the bill law, according to a Thursday press release by the U.K. government.
/jlne.ws/446OPua
Crypto Firms Swan, Coinbits Disclose Prime Trust Ties as Fallout Continues
Andrew Throuvalas - Decrypt
Crypto companies that were partnered with Prime Trust are clearing the air about the safety of customers' assets following the custodian's failure. Some firms-many of which declare proudly that they are 'Bitcoin only'-are in worse shape than others.
/jlne.ws/3JB7k1y
Fidelity Refiles For Spot Bitcoin ETF, Says ETF Would Have Protected Investors
Hope C - CoinMarketCap
Fidelity, the investment management company with $4.5 trillion in assets under management, has submitted paperwork for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, a spot Bitcoin ETF, two weeks after the iShares division of BlackRock filed for the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
/jlne.ws/46xRzSX
Citigroup Reviews Partnership With Crypto Custodian Metaco; Ripple Labs bought Metaco for $250 million last month; Citi announced partnership with Metaco in June last year
Anna Irrera and Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. is reviewing its digital-assets custody partnership with Swiss fintech firm Metaco and has started informal talks with other providers, people with knowledge of the matter said. The people asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The Wall Street bank announced the partnership with Metaco a year ago. Ripple Labs Inc., which is locked in a years-long dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, agreed last month to buy Metaco for $250 million.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | North Carolina closer to holding crypto on its balance sheet; The first version of the bill focused on metal bullion, but House members elected to add in virtual currencies during the mark-up process earlier this month
Casey Wagner - Blockworks
The North Carolina House has successfully passed a bill to initiate a study regarding the potential inclusion of cryptocurrencies within the state treasury. The bill, House Bill 721, advanced to the Senate Thursday after passing the House with 73 votes in favor and 40 votes against on Wednesday, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.
/jlne.ws/3NRWlUc
Investors must realise the pendulum of history is swinging to Bidenomics; An explicit repudiation of the Reagan era will make some in the financial sector nervous, but they cannot ignore it
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
Two centuries ago, the notion of the "Hegelian dialectic" emerged in western philosophy as an attempt to explain the development of ideas in history. The German philosopher GWF Hegel posited that any new idea (or "thesis") sparks a reaction (the "antithesis") as the historical pendulum swings, before yielding a "synthesis" in turn.
/jlne.ws/3JFTVp3
Canadian Lawmakers Want to Help Blockchain Businesses 'Flourish'
Pedro Solimano - Decrypt
A group of thirty Canadian lawmakers has published a report endorsing cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, with 16 recommendations for the country's government to create a national strategy on the matter.
/jlne.ws/3rdETAp
Britain Is Still Adrift, Seven Years After Brexit; Bad judgment, biases and recklessness can unwind centuries of global dominance in the blink of an eye.
Timothy L. O'Brien - Bloomberg
I'm old enough to remember that when British voters decided back in June 2016 to end their 43-year membership in the European Union, it seemed the most surreal political and economic event imaginable. Donald Trump would win the US presidency just a few months later, so "surreal" would take on a whole new meaning. But Brexit - Britain exiting the EU - remains a watershed moment.
/jlne.ws/3Nx7k42
European companies sound alarm over draft AI law; Executives from 150 businesses, including Siemens and Heineken, highlight risks of tight regulation
Javier Espinoza - Financial Times
Dozens of Europe's largest companies, including Germany's Siemens and France's Airbus, have spoken out against proposed EU artificial intelligence regulation, saying the rules risk harming competitiveness yet fail to deal with potential challenges.
/jlne.ws/3pstOuS
ASML Hit With New Dutch Limits on Chip Gear Exports to China; Rules will affect sales of some DUV systems starting Sept. 1; Measures designed to restrict shipments of three ASML machines
Cagan Koc - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/43azVBU
Billionaire in Erdogan's Shadow Thrives From Turkey's Gold Trade; Ahmet Ahlatci started his company four decades ago as a jewelry shop. It's grown to become one of the country's biggest conglomerates.
Devon Pendleton, Ercan Ersoy and Eddie Spence - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3CRJ7jM
City minister rejects claims listing reforms would hurt London's standing; Andrew Griffith and LSE chief Julia Hoggett defend FCA's planned shake-up from complaints by top investors
Michael O'Dwyer, George Parker and Chris Flood - Financial Times
The City minister and the chief of the London Stock Exchange have hit back at pension funds over their complaints that proposed changes designed to make the UK more attractive to public companies would water down investor protections.
/jlne.ws/3JyX4ao
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | CFTC Orders Australian Company to Pay Penalty for Both Federal and Exchange Platinum Futures Position Limits Violations
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Australian-based company Challenger Life Company Limited (Challenger Life) for exceeding both the federal and exchange spot month speculative position limits for Platinum futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The order requires Challenger Life to pay a $150,000 civil monetary penalty.
/jlne.ws/445hqQL
Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham on Enforcing Federal Position Limits
CFTC
I support the Commission's Order instituting proceedings, making findings, and imposing remedial sanctions against Challenger Life Company Limited, for exceeding the CFTC's established Federal spot-month speculative position limit for the New York Mercantile Exchange's (NYMEX) April 2022 Platinum futures contract, and for exceeding the NYMEX delivery limit for the April 2022 and May 2022 Platinum futures contracts. It is the first CFTC enforcement action under the CFTC's 2021 final rule that implemented new Dodd-Frank Act authority to establish Federal speculative position limits for 16 additional agricultural, metals, and energy commodities and certain derivatives contracts related thereto ("2021 Final Rule").
/jlne.ws/3CQPXGf
Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson Releases Insight on Planned Agenda for July 10 Market Risk Advisory Committee
CFTC
Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson, sponsor of the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC), today provided further insight on planned discussion topics for the upcoming MRAC meeting. The public meeting will be held on Monday, July 10, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT) via teleconference. "For years, the MRAC's productive subcommittees have historically examined and proposed valuable interventions to the Commission addressing complex regulatory issues," said Commissioner Johnson.
/jlne.ws/3XychxT
European Council and Parliament reach milestone Mifid compromise on consolidated tape and PFOF; Thursday's agreement establishes a consolidated tape across asset classes and enforces general ban on payment for order flow with temporary member state exemptions.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The European Council and European Parliament have today reached a milestone agreement to implement a consolidated tape and limit the practice of paying for order flow. Thursday's agreement will see the establishment of a real-time EU-level consolidated tape for "different kinds of assets" traded in the EU. Key information such as the price of instruments and the volume and time of transactions will be included. Data from "all trading platforms" will be included in consolidated tapes.
/jlne.ws/46HD3IH
Ex-Pfizer employee charged with insider trading over Covid treatment; Massachusetts police chief and former pharmaceutical executive also among those indicted by federal prosecutors
Joe Miller - Financial Times
US prosecutors have charged a former Pfizer employee, a Massachusetts police chief, a former pharmaceutical executive and investors in a Donald Trump media venture in separate insider trading cases, as part of a wide-ranging sweep targeting alleged corruption in public markets. The US attorney's office in Manhattan indicted 10 defendants with securities fraud and other charges, for stealing a combined total of $30mn by allegedly trading on privileged information. The individuals were also sued in related cases brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/44q5tow
Trump SPAC Investors Charged in $22 Million Scheme
Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
Three investors in the listing vehicle that was poised to take Donald Trump's fledgling media company public were charged with using inside information about the plans to make more than $22 million in illegal trades. Federal prosecutors say the three Florida men, who were arrested and charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday, were invited to invest in the special purpose acquisition company, Digital World Acquisition Corp., after signing nondisclosure agreements with it and another SPAC.
/jlne.ws/46vgNRT
Statement on Insider Trading Enforcement Actions Announced on June 29, 2023
SEC
Today, the SEC announced charges against 13 defendants in four separate insider trading schemes: The SEC alleges that these defendants, which include corporate executives and insiders, a police chief, and a SPAC board member, made more than $40 million in ill-gotten gains, collectively, from their schemes.
/jlne.ws/3JEX0Wn
SEC Charges Stockbroker and Friend with Insider Trading
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Jordan Meadow, a registered representative for a New York-based broker-dealer, and Steven Teixeira, the Chief Compliance Officer of an international payment processing company, in connection with their trading based on material nonpublic information that Teixeira obtained from his girlfriend's laptop while she was working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3PyUWTP
SEC Charges Former DWAC Board Member and Others for Insider Trading in DWAC Securities
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against Bruce Garelick, a former board member of Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC); Michael Shvartsman and his firm Rocket One Capital LLC; and Gerald Shvartsman for trading in advance of DWAC's October 2021 announcement that it had reached an agreement to acquire Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG).
/jlne.ws/436CK77
SEC Charges Police Chief, Four Others in Connection with Insider Trading Before Pharmaceutical Merger
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against five individuals, including a police chief in Dighton, Massachusetts, arising from trading before the announcement of a tender offer by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. to acquire Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. in May 2020. Four of the defendants traded on nonpublic information obtained, directly or indirectly, from the fifth defendant, and realized more than $2.3 million in ill-gotten gains and tipped others who realized more than $1.7 million in trading profits.
/jlne.ws/3JBbg2k
SEC Charges Former Pfizer Statistician with Insider Trading Ahead of COVID-19 Announcement
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Amit Dagar, a former Pfizer Inc. employee, and his close friend and business partner, Atul Bhiwapurkar, for trading in advance of the company's November 5, 2021, announcement that a randomized, double-blind study of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was successful. Following that announcement in which Pfizer's CEO referred to the news as a "game-changer" in the global efforts to "halt the devastation" of the pandemic, the company's stock price increased by nearly 11 percent, the largest single-day price move in the stock since 2009.
/jlne.ws/43ebLqo
Auditor regulation and oversight plan - Reports
Financial Markets Authority
Auditor regulation supports the quality and integrity of audits of FMC reporting entities. By ensuring a high standard of auditing we aim to increase investor confidence in the quality of the audited financial statements of FMC reporting entities and give wider recognition to the professional status of New Zealand auditors in overseas jurisdictions.
/jlne.ws/3JCJhPU
Broker Charged With Insider Trading on Data From Laptop of Friend's Banker Girlfriend; Broker faces federal securities fraud, conspiracy charges; Data on laptop included info on Broadcom, Penn National deals
Ava Benny-Morrison - Bloomberg
A New York City broker was charged over an insider trading scheme that involved a friend stealing sensitive merger information from the laptop of an executive assistant at an investment bank. Spartan Capital Securities LLC broker Jordan Meadow was using deal information that his friend, Steven Teixeira, allegedly took from his girlfriend's computer while the pair were working at home during the pandemic, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.
/jlne.ws/3JCxUrg
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Drained of Cash, Buffalo Bills Owner's SPAC Closes In on a Deal
Bailey Lipschultz - Bloomberg
The cachet of Terry Pegula, owner of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills, is such that even after his blank-check company returned the bulk of its cash to shareholders, it's still an attractive deal partner.
/jlne.ws/446wAVG
Time to make waves in my portfolio; Slow and steady no longer does it for me - time for some fun
Stuart Kirk - Financial Times
I wasn't the only one who snuck off to the beach on Tuesday. The wind was up and blowing from the south-west. A merry band of kiters and wing-boarders we were, with hours blocked-out in our diaries for the same crucial meeting. It's the sort of behaviour that gives WFH a bad name. Quite rightly. As an investor in a bank ETF, however, I was pleased. Two blokes on the water were employees of lenders with a lower return on equity than their cost of capital. They would only be destroying value if they worked.
/jlne.ws/3PFIL7A
Investors' use of Fed overnight facility falls to lowest in a year; Usage of reverse repo facility falls by more than $200bn this month as money market funds slowly move into Treasuries
Kate Duguid - Financial Times
Usage of a Federal Reserve facility that allows investors to park their cash overnight has dropped to its lowest level in a year, as US money market funds instead add to their holdings of government debt. Investors on Thursday stashed $1.93tn in the Fed's overnight reverse repo facility (RRP), where cash is stored risk-free for a generous return. That is the lowest amount in a year, down by more than $200bn this month.
/jlne.ws/43e8eIE
How Scared Should You Be About Commercial Real Estate? If troubles hit banks and the wider economy, they will probably start in offices you wouldn't want to work in, let alone own
James Mackintosh - The Wall Street Journal
Nothing gets the blood running in the veins of U.S. property investors like interest from Japanese buyers. The legendary prices paid by Japanese buyers of American trophy assets culminated in Mitsubishi Estate taking control of New York's Rockefeller Center in 1989-just before Japan slumped. It defaulted on its mortgage just six years later.
/jlne.ws/3r8uIgC
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | In the Everglades, a Clash Portrayed as 'Science vs. Politics' Pits a Leading Scientist Against His Former Employer
Amy Green - Inside Climate News
An influential foundation contends that Tom Van Lent stole "trade secrets." Environmentalists question why such "secrets" exist, as work unfolds on a controversial reservoir touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis as the "crown jewel of Everglades restoration." In the two decades since one of the most ambitious attempts at ecological restoration in human history became law, Tom Van Lent has built a reputation as a leading scientist in the effort to save the Florida Everglades.
/jlne.ws/3JEYC2n
The oil company CEO running the next UN climate change summit
Michael Safi with Damian Carrington - The Guardian (podcast)
The UN's annual climate conference is being dogged by scandal months before it even begins. Environment editor Damian Carrington reports
/jlne.ws/3PBi8k8
Shell's renewables boss to leave after CEO strategy shift
Ron Bousso - Reuters
Shell's (SHEL.L) head of renewable generation Thomas Brostrom is leaving the company, a spokesperson said on Friday, weeks after CEO Wael Sawan scaled back the company's energy transition plans. "Thomas Brostrøm has elected to leave Shell to pursue an external opportunity," the company said. He will be succeeded by Greg Joiner, currently VP Shell Energy Australia.
/jlne.ws/437MWfJ
DeepMind Alum Wants to Use AI to Speed the Development of Green Materials
Mark Bergen - Bloomberg
Novel materials for everything from wind turbines to carbon capture could help cut emissions. A small but growing number of startups want to use AI to develop them faster. Ever since ChatGPT went viral last fall, companies have touted many ways artificial intelligence can make our lives easier. They've promised superhuman virtual assistants, tutors, lawyers and doctors. What about a superhuman chemical engineer?
/jlne.ws/44tVEpD
Perennial Possibilities for Agriculture
Switched On (Investing) - Bloomberg (podcast)
Agriculture, forestry and land use are among the most climate-sensitive areas of our economy. They also account for almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, which begs the question: Can anything be done to reduce farming's sizable carbon footprint? On today's show, Dana talks to Caroline Lewis, an analyst from BNEF's Sustainable Agriculture team, about perennial crops, one possible solution. Together they discuss the benefits of multiyear lifecycles, the evolution from annual to perennial cereals, and how these crops could aid carbon sequestration while also reducing overall emissions in the sector.
/jlne.ws/3r3rxXr
A Giant Grid Bottleneck Is Threatening Climate Goals; Renewable supplies rise and fall with the availability of wind and sunshine.
Lars Paulsson and Naureen S Malik - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3PFVib9
Billionaires want to save the world. What's so wrong with that? Today, practically everyone above a certain net worth has a 'World-Saving Project'
Andrew Hunter Murray - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/46vhOJH
Governance Perspectives: Courage, Curiosity, and Aligned Compensation
Lindsay Patrick - TabbForum
/jlne.ws/3pqMhYX
An Expert View on the Future of ESG - Plus 2 Fund Case Studies
Tara Clee - TabbForum
/jlne.ws/3PKH6gW
KitKats Are No Longer Carbon Neutral. That's Good; Nestle's decision to emphasize true emissions reductions rather than offsets offers a lesson for other companies.
Mark Gongloff - Bloomberg
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Pressure from ETFs forecast to lead to more active fund fee cuts; Average charges for European passive funds have declined faster than their active counterparts
Chloe Leung - Financial Times
Active funds in Europe are forecast to further lower their fees as they try to "secure their future" in the face of rising demand for low-cost passive funds, experts say. Fabrizio Zumbo, director of European asset and wealth management research at Cerulli, said active funds had been suffering "downward pressure" on costs as they struggled to outperform their benchmarks. "Investors are questioning the value of active management and the costs attached to the products," Zumbo said.
/jlne.ws/3PD31aa
SVB Depositors Who Lost Their Money Win Court Victory; Silicon Valley Bank's customers in the Cayman Islands weren't covered by a U.S. deposit guarantee program
Frances Yoon - The Wall Street Journal
Silicon Valley Bank customers who saw their Cayman Islands deposits wiped down to zero have won a court ruling that could help them get their money back. A Cayman Islands court on Thursday approved a petition to wind up the local branch of SVB, according to Paul Kennedy, a partner at law firm Campbells, who filed the petition and attended the hearing.
/jlne.ws/3JFM9LX
Citadel Securities Is Muscling Its Way Into Credit Trading; Ken Griffin's market-making arm expands fixed-income presence; Electronic trading is rising in debt markets of all stripes
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Ken Griffin's market-making powerhouse is challenging Wall Street banks on their own turf as it enters the multitrillion-dollar world of corporate debt. Citadel Securities LLC started offering investment-grade trading to clients this month with plans to make markets in high-yield bonds by the end of the year, according to executives.
/jlne.ws/3pqO8Np
Bank regulators give more adverse Community Reinvestment Act ratings this year
Zoe Sagalow Xylex Mangulabnan - S&P Global
The number of banks receiving "needs to improve" Community Reinvestment Act ratings jumped in the second quarter, reaching the highest quarterly total in nearly three years. Seven US banks have received "needs to improve" ratings so far in the second quarter, up from four in both the first quarter and year-ago period. This is the highest quarterly total since nine banks received that rating in the third quarter of 2020. Also during the second quarter, one bank received a "substantial noncompliance" rating, the lowest possible score.
/jlne.ws/3rd3VQc
The Big Banks Aren't Stressed; Also hot money, DWAC insider trading and police insider trading.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
If you are a risk manager at a big bank, you might want to run some stress tests examining how your bank will perform under stressful scenarios. If you are creative and good at your job, you will have fun thinking up the scenarios. You will get in a room with some of your subordinates, and ideally with some front-line traders and managers, and brainstorm bad stuff that might happen.
/jlne.ws/3rdcOJS
BNP Faces Questions in Washington Over China Digital Yuan Work; Some US officials worry China's e-CNY project threatens dollar; Bank is among those helping clients access digital yuan
Ambereen Choudhury, Alexandre Rajbhandari and Daniel Flatley - Bloomberg
BNP Paribas SA is facing questions from politicians in Washington over its work with Beijing's electronic yuan project, highlighting political challenges that financial firms must navigate amid tensions between the world's two-largest economies.
/jlne.ws/440mCFo
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | With affirmative action gutted for college, race-conscious work programs may be next
Elena Moore - NPR
The Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday that effectively ends affirmative action in higher education raises questions about the future of employer-run initiatives and programs that consider race - which exist extensively across the United States. Though the opinion focuses on higher education, some legal experts say it could lead to changes in commonplace workplace initiatives like diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and environmental, social and governance commitments.
/jlne.ws/3CYFWXy
The Four-Day Workweek: How Does It Really Work?
Mona Andrews - Forbes
The four-day workweek has generated a lot of buzz after a pilot study in the United Kingdom found that 9 out of 10 participating employers and employees favor it over the usual five-day schedule. But the news has also raised a lot of questions. How, exactly, did this four-day week work? Did employees get paid less? Did they cram 40 hours of work into four days instead of five? And what happened to company revenue? Understanding some of the study details can help to answer these questions.
/jlne.ws/3pssyIb
The 'new-new' normal? More agencies bumping up in-office work
Drew Friedman - Federal News Network
Whether through a large public announcement or a slow quiet change, one by one, agencies are beginning to announce return-to-office plans for their teleworking employees. Though unlikely to span the entire federal workforce, the trend from some agencies is heading toward more in-office, yet still hybrid, work for telework-eligible feds. The Office of Management and Budget's April 13 memo gave agencies an initial 30-day deadline to create a "work environment plan," to outline changes to their telework policy, and detail plans to measure productivity going forward. OMB said agencies are expected to increase "meaningful" in-person work at federal offices, especially at headquarters offices, while at the same time, maintain telework arrangements where they make sense and as a tool to improve recruitment and retention.
/jlne.ws/437NSka
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | World Bank approves $1.5 billion financing for India's low carbon energy sector
Reuters
The World Bank said on Friday it has approved $1.5 billion in financing to accelerate the development of India's low carbon energy sector. The financing will help India promote low-carbon energy by scaling up renewable energy, developing green hydrogen and stimulating climate finance for low-carbon energy investments, the bank said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/3NUN6mf
EU to propose exit from Energy Charter Treaty over climate concerns
Kate Abnett - Reuters
The European Commission is readying a proposal for EU countries to jointly quit an international energy treaty, after some governments already pledged to leave over climate concerns. The 1998 Energy Charter Treaty, which has around 50 signatories including European Union countries, lets energy companies sue governments over policies that damage their investments - a system initially designed to support investments in the sector.
/jlne.ws/46vPOWE
The high rise and fall of Canary Wharf; HSBC's decision to leave underlines London financial district's need to reinvent itself again
Akila Quinio and Owen Walker - Financial Times
Steve Y found Canary Wharf oddly familiar when he first moved from China this year to an apartment in London's high-rise business district near his new job at JPMorgan. "It's quite similar to the financial district in Shanghai," he said. "Tall buildings, modern vibe, impatient people rushing to work and back."
/jlne.ws/3CS7EVV
Rise in solar provides a ray of hope for Dutch green goals
Toby Sterling - Reuters
A pandemic push and a subsidy surge have transformed the Netherlands from renewable energy laggard to Europe's leading per capita user of solar panels, putting it on course to meet green goals after years of struggling. While it faces growing infrastructure challenges to maintain the momentum, in May more than half of Dutch electricity and 20% of national energy was supplied by renewable sources. Both were firsts.
/jlne.ws/44nwSrc
EU-Mercosur trade deal threatens Indigenous lands, activist says
Philip Blenkinsop - Reuters
A planned free trade deal between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur risks increasing demand for farm produce from Brazil at the expense of Indigenous people's land and rights, a leading activist said on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3NRTQBi
In parched Uruguay, tensions rise as water levels fall
Reuters
At the Canelon Grande Reservoir, a major source of water for Uruguay's thirsty capital Montevideo, water levels have been so low for so long that grass now covers much of what used to be a lake. "It's bleak," local Mario del Pino said, standing in the middle of the reservoir, surrounded by weeds and cracked dirt. "Water used to cover everything you can see." The South American country of 3.5 million people is reeling from its worst drought in 74 years, pushing frustrated residents to depend on bottled water.
/jlne.ws/446B6DR
Argentina's Central Bank Allows Banks to Open Accounts in Yuan; The lack of dollar supply drives companies to adopt yuan; Regulator approved issuance of securities in China's currency
Ignacio Olivera Doll - Bloomberg
Argentina's central bank will allow the country's commercial banks to open customer accounts in yuan, as it seeks to address an acute shortage of dollar reserves and encourages local companies to make payments abroad in the Chinese currency.
/jlne.ws/3NTiz87
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