| March 14, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Welcome to FIA Boca Week, which kicks off today on Pi Day, March 14, or 3.14. It is back to an in-person event at the not-quite-fully refurbished/operational Boca Resort and Club. As I write this, I have not yet arrived and seen all the changes, but will share some pictures during the week.
The FIA has big news this morning about risk management, announcing the launch of a central repository of exchange-provided risk controls and practices in global cleared derivatives markets. The FIA, after consulting member firms, developed a survey to provide greater transparency and benchmarking of risk controls for market users, i.e. global brokers, clearing firms, commercial and institutional traders. The idea is to have one source of information about exchange risk controls. The FIA has received responses from 20 exchanges so far.
If you want to use the repository, you need to be an FIA member. That is the catch, or the reason to finally join the FIA, because this is a resource that can save you time and perhaps boatloads of money. I am not talking about a dinghy, but a big boat, like the ones docked by the Boca resort. The information includes pre-risk controls, both general and configurable. It includes market integrity controls, certification and testing environments, and exchange website URL and email addresses for additional information.
This effort of the FIA reminded me of the beginnings of FIA Tech, which is now an independent organization with bigger fish to fry to help the FIA member community. I also have an appreciation of central locations for risk management information (ahem, MarketsWiki). This risk-controls-and-practices information would have been helpful to me back when I was running an electronic trading operation.
Goldman's CEO asked workers to come back to the office and only 50% of them did. Then he was quoted in a Time Magazine article, reported by Business Insider, saying it was not the job of bankers to 'ostracize Russia' despite calls on social media for corporations to pull out of the country. Mr. Solomon is correct in his statement to Time's Executive Editor John Simons that "I don't think businesses are supposed to decide how global trade works in the world. Government sets policy and then businesses follow that policy."
This statement is true in times of war, but not so much at other times when business has more influence. And we are in a time of war, and have been for a number of years by my reckoning. There has been a cyberwar waging for years that I believe is related to this current military action in Ukraine. And this cyberwar is not just being waged by Russia, but by many players. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Facebook took down 1.7 billion fake accounts, down from 1.8 billion the previous quarter. Yes, there is phishing and other criminal behavior associated with some of this, but some of it was done to sow dissent and weaken perceived global enemies. I believe the cyberwar has been a proxy war raging under the surface, which I think sometimes shaded my early perspective on the origins of bitcoin and the role of money laundering by Putin-influenced or connected oligarchs. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but a journalist who played connect the dots a lot as a kid. Sometimes when you get enough dots connected, a picture begins to form.
Look at the extent to which Putin has gone to control the messages received by the Russian people. Independent Russian media has been shut down. Foreign media has been chased out of the country with threats of 15 years in prison for publishing false information. The cyberwar rages at home and abroad while military action is taken in Ukraine.
The FIA was not the only one to take action concerning MOEX. CCP12, the global association for CCPs, representing 41 members who operate over 60 individual CCPs globally across the Americas, EMEA and the Asia-Pacific region, decided to temporarily suspend MOEX and its clearinghouse, NCC, as of March 9, 2022.
Deutsche Börse Group raised EUR170,000 for its ''Acting for Ukraine" campaign trading charity on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The amount is used to support the non-profit organization "Voices of Children," which offers psychological support to children affected by the war in Ukraine.
In Covid news, China has locked down Shenzhen city and Jilin province as cases have spread. China also locked down the world's second tallest building, a 128-floor skyscraper that is home to Chinese financial and technology firms. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Fitch Ratings Inc. are among the firms in the building.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek's The Big Take today is titled "Inside the 18 Minutes of Trading Chaos That Broke the Nickel Market; When the commodity's price went vertical last week, the metals industry plunged into turmoil not seen since the Tin Crisis of 1985." The story by Jack Farchy, Alfred Cang, and Mark Burton is a good in-depth look at what happened and the potential implications for the LME.
Today, Sarah Rudolph, JLN's Editor-in-Chief, is back from medical leave and will be resuming her editorial duties at JLN. She will not be attending FIA Boca but will be helping to coordinate JLN's coverage of the events. Her recovery from a hip operation has gone well and she thanks everyone who sent their well wishes. Please feel free to contact her with any press releases or requests for the newsletter and/or questions about MarketsWiki as usual.
It is very nice to have Sarah back. We all missed her.
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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FIA Removes MOEX Membership; David Howson to become Cboe President; LME Halts Nickel Trading
JohnLothianNews.com
"Alex Perry's Optionstopia" takes a look at this week's options news highlights: FIA Removes MOEX Membership; David Howson to become Cboe President; LME Halts Nickel Trading
Term of the Week: Options Buyers & Sellers from Euronext
Watch the video »
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Pope Francis issues an urgent plea for an end to the war
Rina Torchinsky - NPR
Pope Francis condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Sunday, calling it a "massacre." "The only thing to do is stop this unacceptable armed aggression before it reduces cities into cemeteries," Francis told a crowd of worshipers gathered at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City during his Sunday blessing.
/jlne.ws/3i6cvIU
***** Give peace a chance.~JJL
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How to puncture Russia's disinformation bubble; Kremlin media create an alternative reality about the war in Ukraine
The editorial board - FT
Journalists and human rights groups are playing a courageous role in reporting Russia's savage war in Ukraine to global audiences. Many Russians, though, are seeing an entirely different conflict. Moscow's vitriolic state propaganda channels spin a web of lies. In this alternative reality, Russian forces are not invaders shelling hospitals and apartments, but liberators fighting to free citizens held hostage by Ukrainian "Nazis". A concerted information campaign to convey the truth to the Russian people is vital to countering President Vladimir Putin's war. As the Kremlin clamps down on the last vestiges of independent media in Russia, this will need creativity and ingenuity.
/jlne.ws/3KG0ki7
****** Information is the ultimate currency. It is also the ultimate driver of innovation. Those two factors give me hope that the bubble can be punctured.~JJL
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The kindness of strangers: Polish volunteers mount vast Ukraine relief effort; Basing the system on the goodwill of private citizens is not enough, aid groups warn
James Shotter - FT
Beata Borucka's social media channels offer Polish grandmothers tips on everything from using Facebook to staying in shape. But last week, she gave her more than 300,000 followers something different: information on how to become a "temporary grandmother" to Ukrainian children forced to flee to Poland after Russia invaded their country.
/jlne.ws/3I90Kft
******The goodwill of private citizens is the ultimate basis of help. Love your neighbor as yourself, or something like that.~JJL
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Shaming Apple and Texting Musk, a Ukraine Minister Uses Novel War Tactics
Adam Satariano - NY Times
After war began last month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine turned to Mykhailo Fedorov, a vice prime minister, for a key role. Fedorov, 31, the youngest member of Zelenskyy's Cabinet, immediately took charge of a parallel prong of Ukraine's defense against Russia. He began a campaign to rally support from multinational businesses to sunder Russia from the world economy and to cut off the country from the global internet, taking aim at everything from access to new iPhones and PlayStations to Western Union money transfers and PayPal.
/jlne.ws/3t6Z9SR
****** A 31-year-old vice prime minister? This is a country worth saving.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was Bloomberg's Hedge Funds Walk Away From LME After $3.9 Billion Trades Torn Up. Second was The Wall Street Journal's The Moral Hazard Lessons From Nickel Market Disaster.
And third was TheStreet's Elon Musk Has a Conspiracy Theory About Satoshi Nakamoto.
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MarketsWiki Stats
26,768 pages; 237,696 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
Publisher | | | Sarah Rudolph
Editor-in-Chief
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Editor
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Associate Editor
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| Lead Stories | 'Soviet Metal Exchange': LME irks traders by freezing nickel market; 145-year-old venue scrapped trades after price surge wrongfooted a Chinese metals tycoon
Philip Stafford and Robin Wigglesworth - FT
The London Metal Exchange has enraged some of the world's most influential electronic traders after it shut down its nickel market and unwound thousands of deals in response to a spike in the price of the metal. Months after the 145-year-old exchange upset its traditional users by considering an end to raucous in-person dealing, the LME this week shut down its nickel trading — a market where it sets global benchmarks — in a move last seen in tin in 1985.
/jlne.ws/3JgiMOg
Putin Is Waging War on His Own Country, Too; Russia as we know it might not be able to survive its president's invasion of Ukraine.
Lara Williams - Bloomberg
As another week brought further military atrocities in Ukraine and more sanctions on Russia, it's clear that we're watching the destruction of not just one country, but two. Russia's economy will struggle to pay the price of President Vladimir Putin's invasion. The ruble, however, has been paying the price of his rule for many years. Over the last couple of weeks, nearly 330 companies, including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., have begun pulling out of the country as sanctions isolate Russia from the rest of the world (though mostly the West). The most symbolic is McDonald's, which is closing all 850 of its locations there. Back in 1990, the long lines outside the first to open in Russia were a marker of the end of the Cold War. In 2022, queues for one last "Bolshoi Mak" represent the descent of a new iron curtain.
/jlne.ws/3I8lsvR
How Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Is Tearing Apart the Global Food System; War in Europe's breadbasket is taking its toll on the world's food supply.
Elizabeth Elkin, Allison Nicole Smith, and Sybilla Gross - Bloomberg
The global food system is under threat as Russia's invasion of Ukraine puts one of the world's major breadbaskets in jeopardy. Here are the latest developments and their far-reaching impacts: Food Inflation
The Ukraine war threatens staple crops from Europe's key grain-growing regions, which means escalating food prices that have already been plaguing consumers around the world could get worse, raising the threat of a full-blown hunger crisis. The United Nations warned that already record global food costs could surge another 22% as war stifles trade and slashes future harvests.
/jlne.ws/3t6jPKI
Inside the 18 Minutes of Trading Chaos That Broke the Nickel Market; When the commodity's price went vertical last week, the metals industry plunged into turmoil not seen since the Tin Crisis of 1985.
Jack Farchy, Alfred Cang, and Mark Burton - Bloomberg
It was 5:42 a.m. on March 8 in London when the nickel market broke. At that time of day, bleary-eyed traders are typically just glancing at prices as they swig coffee on their way to the office. On this day, however, metal traders across the city were glued to a screen, watching the price action on the electronic market, which was already open to accommodate Asian trading. Nickel prices usually move a few hundred dollars per ton in a day. For most of the past decade, they'd traded between $10,000 and $20,000.
/jlne.ws/3q3CB3E
Nickel futures aren't trading anywhere globally, leaving Chinese metals tycoon may face steep losses
The BL
Nickel futures weren't trading anywhere globally on Wednesday after prices in Shanghai reached their daily upper limit following unusual swings and a trading halt on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Chinese metals tycoon Tsingshan Holding Group may face potential steep losses stretching into billions of dollars. The metal's price rose 17% overnight on China's biggest commodities exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), reaching the daily limit of 267,700 yuan (42,373 dollars). That means no more deals will be made during the current session, which ends at 3 p.m. local time unless completed below that price.
/jlne.ws/3pWmjcP
JPMorgan Leads Talks to Contain Nickel Crisis Damage; The meltdown bled into the financial system, with nickel giant Tsingshan's brokers owed several billion dollars in the upfront cash required to make trades
Joe Wallace, Rebecca Feng, Jing Yang - WSJ
Some of the world's biggest banks worked over the weekend to resolve a crisis in the nickel market that leaves them on the hook for billions of dollars owed by a Chinese metals giant. JPMorgan Chase JPM -2.25% & Co., Standard Chartered STAN -1.52% PLC and BNP Paribas SA BNPQY -3.09% were among the banks and brokers seeking to reach an agreement with Tsingshan Holding Group, people familiar with the discussions said. Trades placed by the Chinese steel and nickel producer on the London Metal Exchange contributed to an uncontrollable rise in prices that led the exchange to halt trading and cancel eight hours' worth of transactions last Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3Jd47TF
Will Financial Stability Get Nickel-and-Dimed? What used to be routine seems riskier now; strategist Zoltan Pozsar highlights parallels to previous crises
Jacky Wong - WSJ
Is the canary in the nickel mine this time? Much of the financial world—and many commodity producers—are wondering the same after an uncontrolled leap in nickel prices left the world's largest nickel producer struggling to satisfy billions of dollars of margin calls from big banks last week.
/jlne.ws/3i5O5PH
Fall of Lehman shows how unpredictable impact of Russian sanctions could be; The world should take lessons from 2008 and brace for a financial and economic shock
Patrick Jenkins - FT
It's an idea that would appeal to Dick Fuld's famously inflated ego — but it is valid nonetheless. To assess the potential impact on the global economy of international sanctions against Vladimir Putin's Russia, it is instructive to look back to the 2008 financial crisis and the fall of Lehman Brothers.
/jlne.ws/3CNeJq3
The Oil Price Rally Is Bad. The Diesel Crisis Is Far Worse; Diesel is the workhorse of the global economy. And prices have surged in recent days to an all-time high.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
Winston Churchill famously referred to Russia in 1939 as a series of layers: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Very much like a matryoshka doll. The oil market of 2022 is a bit similar: a tight crude market, wrapping an even scarcer oil feedstock market, enclosing a diesel market in crisis mode.
/jlne.ws/36cbcp4
Russia threatens to make external debt payments in roubles; Warning from finance minister Anton Siluanov increases risk of nation's first default since 1998
Max Seddon in Riga and Adam Samson - FT
Russia has threatened to pay international bondholders in roubles rather than dollars just days before a key interest payment on its external debt comes due. Anton Siluanov, Russia's finance minister, said on Sunday that it was "absolutely fair" the country would make all of its sovereign debt payments in roubles until western sanctions that he claimed have frozen $300bn of the country's reserves were lifted.
/jlne.ws/37uRndl
Deutsche Bank Joins Peers in Winding Down Operations in Russia; Move follows similar decisions by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan; 'There won't be any new business in Russia': German lender
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG reversed course and is now joining Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in pulling back from business in Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3MQjiVo
IMF Head Says Russian Default No Longer an 'Improbable Event'; Georgieva sees no immediate risk of broader financial crisis; Fund expects to downgrade 2022 growth outlook, she says
Tony Czuczka - Bloomberg
A Russian sovereign default is no longer improbable, though it's unlikely to trigger a global financial crisis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. With Russia and Russian banks under sanctions by the U.S. and its allies after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia's credit rating has faced downgrades. Fitch Ratings said last week that a bond default is "imminent" as a result of measures imposed since the war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
/jlne.ws/3i526Nu
Russia Lost Access to Half Its Reserves, Finance Minister Says
Bloomberg News
Russia has already lost access to almost half of its reserves and sees more risks to President Vladimir Putin's war chest due to increased pressure from the West on China, said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. "The total volume of our reserves is about $640 billion, and about 300 billion are in such condition that we can't use them now," he told state television in an interview on Sunday.
/jlne.ws/36f4VsT
It's Crunch Time for Traders Juggling Russia Default Risk, Fed; Russia is due to pay a coupon on its sovereign debt Wednesday; The U.S. Federal Reserve is meeting to discuss monetary policy
Payne Lubbers and Michael G Wilson - Bloomberg
Markets are gearing up for a jampacked week that will test whether Russia plans to repay its international debt and will likely see the Federal Reserve raise interest rates for the first time since 2018. The U.S. dollar will be closely watched when currencies begin trading at 2 p.m. in New York (5 a.m. Monday in Sydney) after a whipsaw few days in which a gauge of the greenback plunged the most since November 2020, before ending Friday back near a 20-month high. Expectations for tighter U.S. monetary policy to tackle raging inflation could further buoy the currency in days to come after helping push the yen to its lowest level versus the dollar in five years on Friday and adding fuel to a selloff in the euro. Yields on U.S. Treasuries have also soared in anticipation.
/jlne.ws/3J7K74N
Why Banks and NATO Are Worrying About a Future 'Quantum Attack'; How soon might an ultra-powerful computer be able to crack any password? Soon enough for billions to be spent preparing now.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
Investment and new milestones in quantum computing are bringing the prospect of an ultra-powerful computer that can crack any code closer to reality. Alphabet Inc.'s Google and International Business Machines Corp. are racing to increase the number of qubits — the quantum equivalent of bits that encode data on classical computers — on a quantum chip. Firms like Canada's D-Wave Systems Inc. and French startup Alice&Bob are offering quantum computing services to clients that want broad processing power to solve complex problems.
/jlne.ws/3q26i4Y
Billionaire investor predicts energy crisis will spur green spending boom; Sir Christopher Hohn says oil price spike will lead to more funding for renewable sources of fuel
Leslie Hook and Camilla Hodgson - FT
Billionaire hedge fund founder Sir Christopher Hohn expects the greatest "demand disruption" for oil since the 1970s shock to trigger a surge in renewable energy investment. The activist investor, whose TCI Fund Management has more than $40bn in assets, said high oil prices are "a positive thing" for the climate as the energy crisis prompts a "dramatic acceleration" in decarbonisation.
/jlne.ws/3MOjUuw
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | 'A serious failure': scale of Russia's military blunders becomes clear; First phase of offensive held back by intelligence weaknesses and poor planning and logistics
Sam Jones, John Paul Rathbone and Demetri Sevastopulo - FT
Three weeks into its invasion of Ukraine, the scale of Russia's military blunders is becoming clear. The outcome of Russian president Vladimir Putin's war is still far from certain: little information exists on Ukrainian forces' rates of attrition, while Russia's military still outmans and outguns that of its neighbour. The chances of escalation have meanwhile increased as the Russian leadership looks to regain the front foot.
/jlne.ws/3t9HHgO
What LNG Can and Can't Do to Replace Europe's Imports of Russian Gas
Sergio Chapa - Bloomberg
Provoked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its threat to cut off natural gas exports to Europe, the European Union says it intends to wean itself off Russian supplies entirely within a few years. It's a tall order, as Russian gas covers about a third of the continent's consumption. A crucial part of the plan is to greatly increase purchases of liquefied natural gas from non-Russian producers. The extent to which global LNG supply can expand is constrained, however, setting Europe up for a battle for supply with Asian buyers. That risks precipitating higher prices and energy shortages that could compel Asian countries to shift to dirtier fuels, compromising climate goals.
/jlne.ws/3q3Grd7
Russian Stock Market Trading Halt Extended to March 18; Record shutdown aims to shield investors from sanction fallout; Central bank is considering further extending trading halt
Bloomberg News
The Moscow Exchange equity market will remain shut until at least March 18, extending a record shutdown meant to shield domestic investors from the impact of harsh sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3vZMgMo
Bermuda Delists Russian Jets in Setback for Foreign Owners; Move likely to shorten window for lessors to cancel contracts; SMBC Aviation terminates deals with Russian airlines
Anthony Palazzo - Bloomberg
Bermuda's Civil Aviation Authority removed all aircraft tied to Russia from its airworthiness registry, exposing hundreds of jetliners owned by foreign leasing firms to devaluation.
/jlne.ws/3MICpAu
Russia Strikes Ukrainian Military Base Near Polish Border; Strike follows Moscow warning supply convoys are targets; Peacekeeping center was used often by NATO before invasion
ByKevin Whitelaw and Aliaksandr Kudrytski - Bloomberg
Russian missiles hit a military training facility in western Ukraine close to the Polish border that had been used regularly by NATO before the invasion. The strike, which comes after Russia warned that convoys of Western military supplies for Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets, raised new concerns about the conflict potentially spilling over Ukraine's borders.
/jlne.ws/3i4b6T7
Serbia to Reduce Moscow Flights After Criticism, President Says
Misha Savic - Bloomberg
Serbia's flag carrier will scale back flights to Moscow after criticism that it's profiting from the service at a time when most other airlines stopped flying to Russia to comply with sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, President Aleksandar Vucic said.
/jlne.ws/3tSGA4f
Law firm DLA Piper to exit Russia as industry divide deepens; One of the world's highest-grossing LLPs will transfer its operations to local partners
Kate Beioley - FT
DLA Piper, a UK law firm with a big operation in Russia, plans to quit the country, deepening an industry split between those joining the wider corporate exodus and others staying to advise clients amid the economic crisis engulfing the nation.
/jlne.ws/3w64lIG
Akzo Nobel expects Russian operations to fold in weeks; Europe's largest paint maker reveals toll sanctions are taking on country's economy
Harry Dempsey - FT
Europe's biggest paint maker Akzo Nobel expects its Russian operations to collapse in a matter of weeks, making it one of the first multinationals to reveal how the country's economy is buckling under the wave of sanctions. Thierry Vanlancker, who has led Akzo Nobel since 2017, said that a combination of interruption to key supply chains and the financial strains facing its Russian customers made the failure of the business inevitable.
/jlne.ws/3JhFfdO
Russia turns to Syria playbook with shifting claims over grounds for war; Allegations that Ukraine has chemical and biological weapons leave Kyiv fearing 'false flag' attempt
Max Seddon and Erika Solomon - FT
As Russia began to build a pretext for war with Ukraine in February, it accused Kyiv of firing into Russian soil and blowing up a remote border checkpoint — albeit with no reported casualties.
/jlne.ws/3i6D7cK
Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures; McDonald's, Coke, P&G and IBM among those warned that leaders could be arrested, trademarks seized
Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, Heather Haddon - WSJ
Russian prosecutors have issued warnings to Western companies in Russia, threatening to arrest corporate leaders there who criticize the government or to seize assets of companies that withdraw from the country, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3w2jM4H
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Inspirational female leaders unite at IWD closing bell ceremony; Join The TRADE News team for the closing bell ceremony at the London Stock Exchange and a very special reception for International Women's Day.
Kiays Khalil - The Trade
The TRADE and LSEG gave a sparkling closing bell ceremony and reception for International Women's Day at the London Stock Exchange on 9 March, hosted by The TRADE editor Laurie McAughtry, at which inspirational female leaders in finance and trading gathered together to exchange stories, build relationships, and develop new pathways to success.
/jlne.ws/36khhzX
Investors Will Soon Be Able to Trade Daily Futures Price Moves with Event-Based Contracts from CME Group; Smaller-sized products will allow investors to trade on their knowledge of benchmark global metals, energy, equities and foreign currency futures markets with risk limited to the amount of their trade
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that it is introducing event-based contracts designed for the retail audience that will make it easier for everyone to trade their views on daily up or down price moves in some of the world's most widely quoted benchmark futures markets, including gold, oil, equity indices and foreign currencies. These new daily options on futures contracts will offer short-term trading opportunities for individuals seeking to take a position on daily price moves using smaller-value trades of up to $20 per contract.
/jlne.ws/3i7BnQw
ETD Volume - February 2022
FIA
Worldwide volume of exchange-traded derivatives reached 6.23 billion contracts in the month of February, the highest monthly total ever recorded. The February total was up 2.4% from January 2022 and up 35.6% from February 2021.
On a year-to-date basis, volume in the first two months of the year was 12.3 billion contracts, up 32.9% from the first two months of 2021. The majority of that increase came from equity index contracts.
/jlne.ws/34IBdMq
MARF admits a 200 million euro Commercial Paper Programme from Euskaltel
BME-X
MARF, BME's Fixed Income market, has admitted a 200 million euro Commercial Paper (CP) Programme from Euskaltel. This continuous issuance programme allows Euskaltel to access qualified investors on a recurring basis and diversify its financing sources through the issuance of CP issues, whose maturity can now reach up to two years.
/jlne.ws/3I9TTCf
New Product: Initial Listing of the Options on Micro Bitcoin Futures and Options on Micro Ether Futures Contracts (Revised SPAN Code and Price Format for Micro Ether Weekly Options) - Effective March 28, 2022
CME Group
/bit.ly/3w4Cusg
Review of Collateral Haircuts - Effective March 11, 2022
CME Group
/bit.ly/3608mnc
Increase of the September 2022 Coupon Rates for all of the Eris US Dollar Swap Futures, Eris SOFR Swap Futures, and MAC SOFR Swap Futures Contracts
CME Group
/bit.ly/3Jeleoq
Amendments to Rules 11F101. ("Contract Specifications") and 11F102.D. ("Price Limits") of the FOB Santos Soybeans Financially Settled (Platts) Futures Contract Commencing with the August 2022 Contract Month and Temporary Suspension of Trading and Clearing of August 2022 and Beyond
CME Group
/bit.ly/35TcpSp
Acting for Ukraine: Trading Charity on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange raises EUR170,000 in donations
Deutsche Börse Group
With the "Trading Charity - act and help" campaign, Deutsche Börse and the securities trading banks ( specialists ) active on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange floor raised a donation total of EUR170,000. The amount is used to support the non-profit organization " Voices of Children ". This offers psychological support to children affected by the war in Ukraine.
/bit.ly/3w19emb
Introduction of Daily Futures on KOSPI 200 Weekly Options - prerequisites for trading and simulation
Eurex
With this Newsflash, Eurex would like to provide more detailed information regarding the requirements for trading of the new Daily Futures on KOSPI 200 Weekly Options (OKW1, OKW3, OKW4, OKW5) to be introduced on the Eurex/KRX Link, as announced in Eurex circular 006/22 and in Eurex Clearing circular 001/22.
/bit.ly/3KMLSoN
Awards will be Presented for Best Market Makers 2022
JPX
The Tokyo Stock Exchange, in an effort to improve liquidity in the ETF market, introduced a market making scheme in the ETF market and has been operating it while making improvements. Since 2021, the Best Market Makers Award has been given to market makers who have contributed to the improvement of market liquidity through continuous quoting, and the role of market makers in the market has been widely communicated. We are pleased to announce that this year's award winners have been selected.
/bit.ly/3t8aFNM
[Preliminary Notice] Notice of Trading Halt, etc. Concerning "NEXT FUNDS Russia RTS Linked Exchange Traded Fund(1324)"
JPX
With regard to the ETF "NEXT FUNDS Russia RTS Linked Exchange Traded Fund (Securities Code: 1324)" listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, TSE issued an alert on Thursday, March 7 this year*1 . However, due to the difficulty in trading Russian stocks, the management company of the ETF has been suspending applications for creation and redemption of the ETF for a long period of time. As a result, it is expected that the situation in which the market price of the ETF tends to differ from NAV over a considerable long period of time will not be resolved.
In light of these circumstances, TSE will conduct trading of the ETF until March 16 of this year and will halt trading for the time being from March 17.
/bit.ly/3q2ddeE
Nickel market - position transfers in LME smart and LME mercury
LME
This Notice sets out details of the LME and LME Clear's position transfer process in relation to Contracts in Nickel.
/bit.ly/3624ceb
NSE's index services subsidiary, NSE Indices Limited today published its first Nifty Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Benchmark Report.
NSE
The Nifty AIF Benchmark Report aims to provide the users insights into the aggregate historical performance of various categories of AIFs in India. This report will help the investors in comparing historical performances of various AIFs with their respective benchmarks and with public market indices like Nifty 50, Nifty 100 and Nifty 500 etc., where applicable.
/bit.ly/3pckN5S
NSE and IBJA to come together to set-up Domestic Bullion Spot Exchange
NSE
National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) is pleased to announce that NSE and India Bullion and Jewelers Association Ltd (IBJA) will soon launch the Domestic Bullion Spot Exchange as per SEBI guidelines.
/bit.ly/3pckN5S
SGX and OCBC Bank launch low carbon index tracking Singapore's largest companies
SGX
First-of-its-kind index tracks 50 Singapore or globally-listed companies domiciled or incorporated in Singapore based on carbon intensity performance, provides an opportunity for investors to reduce the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios
The launch adds to the SGX Sustainability Indices suite, as the SGX Group continues to expand indexing capabilities in ESG, low carbon and climate risk
/bit.ly/3CD8gxX
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | CQG to Roll Out Newest Trading and Analytics Platform, CQG One
Cision
CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance technology solutions for traders, brokers, commercial hedgers and exchanges, announced today the phased roll-out of its newest trading platform, CQG One. Designed for professional traders and institutional investors, the new cloud-based CQG One combines the ease of use of the firm's retail-oriented CQG Desktop platform with many of the popular market data, charting, visualization and advanced analytics features of CQG Integrated Client, its flagship professional trading platform.
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BMLL reveals big plans for 2022 with US expansion and new hire; The data provider is expecting a big year as it brings in a new FinTech expert to grow its US business, on the back of strong revenue growth.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Historical Level 3 data and analytics provider, BMLL, has appointed Tim Baker as senior adviser, as the company looks to grow its US presence.
/jlne.ws/3q2ObMx
Smear Index: dramatisation of novel shouldn't undermine the importance of market making
The Trade
Well over a decade has passed since the Dow Jones infamously plummeted over 650 points in half an hour, wiping close to $9 billion off share prices, before rebounding to regain almost 10% of its value within minutes. Numerous "flash crashes" have taken place since, most notably the sterling flash-crash of October 2016.
/jlne.ws/3u1YL7I
Where have all the blockchain startups gone? Building a startup is hard. Building a blockchain startup is harder. More than 10 current and former financial blockchain builders and users detail their experiences of trying to cut their teeth on a once-darling tech, and the lessons they're still learning from it.
Rebecca Natale, Nyela Graham - Waters Technology
Some roads are paved with good intentions but end at underwhelming destinations. Blockchain, as a tool for capital markets, but also as a grand promise—of less dependency on intermediaries, increased reliability of information, and faster settlement; the list goes on—has traversed road that's led it, in some cases, to a version of technology purgatory.
/jlne.ws/3i4iPR1
India Punishes Paytm Bank for Sharing Data With China Firms; Servers were said to be sharing data with China-based entities; Paytm shares tumbled as much as 14.7% in Mumbai on Monday
Anup Roy and Saritha Rai - Bloomberg
Paytm Payments Bank, which processes transactions for India's digital payments giant Paytm, was barred from taking on new customers because it violated rules by allowing data to flow to servers abroad and didn't properly verify its customers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Annual inspections by the Reserve Bank of India found that the company's servers were sharing information with China-based entities that indirectly own a stake in Paytm Payments Bank, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private.
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Rosneft's German unit reports cyber attack- media reports
Reuters
The German subsidiary of the Russian energy company Rosneft has reported a hacker attack, die Welt newspaper reported on Sunday, citing the country's BSI cybersecurity watchdog.
The paper said the BSI had offered support to overcome the problem, which occurred on Friday night or early Saturday morning, and had issued a cybersecurity warning to other companies in the energy sector.
/jlne.ws/35YZvCh
Cyber Security Stocks and the New Defense Industry
Frank Hartzell - TheStreet
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has refocused investor attention on the defense industry and especially on cybersecurity companies.
/jlne.ws/3w1bbz1
Crossword Cybersecurity Buys Threat Status for GBP1.5 Mln
Anthony O. Goriainoff - MarketWatch
Crossword Cybersecurity PLC said Monday that it has bought U.K.-based threat intelligence company Threat Status Ltd. for 1.5 million pounds ($2 million).
The U.K. cybersecurity technology commercialization company said the acquisition takes its portfolio to five cybersecurity offerings, alongside its cybersecurity-consulting and managed-services offerings.
/jlne.ws/3pYfJCD
Spending bill includes large funding increase to boost cybersecurity
Rebecca Beitsch - TheHill
The government funding bill sent to President Biden includes a surge in funding to the agency that oversees the nation's cybersecurity infrastructure and includes language that requires companies in critical sectors to alert the government of potential hacks.
/jlne.ws/3q2afXv
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Russians flood UAE crypto firms to liquidate 'billions' over fears about sanctions
Reuters
Crypto firms in the United Arab Emirates are being deluged with requests to liquidate billions of dollars of virtual currency as Russians seek a safe haven for their fortunes, company executives and financial sources said. Some clients are using cryptocurrency to invest in real estate in the UAE, while others want to use firms there to turn their virtual money into hard currency and stash it elsewhere, the sources said
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What a U.S. Digital Dollar Means for the Future of Your Wallet; Advocates see lower-cost transactions and greater access to the financial system, but critics worry about privacy.
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou and Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg
The world's reserve currency may be about to go digital, potentially transforming the way Americans move and use their money. On Wednesday, the White House directed federal agencies from the Treasury to the Commerce Department to research a number of crypto-related topics, including the pros and cons of a digital dollar. For consumers, the move could mean lower-cost transactions and greater access to the financial system, but it could also threaten their privacy and hurt U.S. banks that depend on deposits.
/jlne.ws/3MMe5NZ
CoinShares makes further strategic investment in FlowBank to enhance its integrated strategy; CoinShares increases its stake in FlowBank, the Swiss online bank targeting trading enthusiasts, facilitating increased digital asset exposure through its proprietary technology platform.
CoinShares
CoinShares ("the Company"), Europe's largest and longest-standing digital asset investment firm, today announced that following approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, has acquired an additional 20.8% stake in Swiss-based FlowBank. This acquisition was priced at CHF 24,740,000. Following the Company's October 2021 strategic investment of a 9.02% stake in FlowBank, today's disclosure brings CoinShares' overall holding to 29.3%, with voting rights equal to 32.06%.
/jlne.ws/3Ja22YF
Crypto exec: U.S. Labor Department 'is right' about 401(k) warning
Alexis Keenan - Yahoo Finance
The recent U.S. Labor Department (DOL) warning to fiduciaries who offer cryptocurrency investments inside 401(k) plans makes sense, one crypto executive told Yahoo Finance. "I think that the Department of Labor is right to say 'heed caution,' and don't just jump barrel-in to this because it's popular and you need to offer it — be pragmatic about it," Chris Kline, COO and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA
— an investment platform that allows investors to roll over their IRAs and 401(k)'s into an IRA capable of holding multiple cryptocurrencies — said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "But I think the days of saying 'Bitcoin is a fraud, and it's over, and it's gone,' are behind us."
/jlne.ws/3q3vSqd
Stablecoin Tether Disregards Ukraine's Plea to Halt Russian Use; Tether said it adheres to international sanctions on Russia; Ukrainians asked Tether to halt all Russian transactions
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Tether, the crypto stablecoin that's been under scrutiny from regulators, appears to be turning a blind eye to pleas by the Ukrainian government to stop all transactions with Russians.
/jlne.ws/3pXzv0P
EU to Review Regulatory Framework for Crypto; Measure could ban Bitcoin, Ethereum, industry leaders say;
'Proof of work' mechanism to be targeted by regulations
Eyk Henning - Bloomberg
A European parliamentary committee will vote Monday on a new regulatory framework for crypto assets, which could accelerate passage of a measure that industry executives say could practically ban key digital currencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum in Europe.
/jlne.ws/3pY02eM
Stuck in Ukraine, Crypto Startup Mobilizes Aid in Fight for Survival; Allbridge CEO Andriy Velykyy juggles relief efforts with running business
Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
For weeks, friends and family warned Andriy Velykyy that he should leave Ukraine as tensions grew with Russia. But Velykyy delayed, wanting to stay in Kyiv, a tech hotspot where he could continue working closely with colleagues on his crypto startup, Allbridge. "I didn't believe the situation could get this bad," he told Bloomberg over video chat. "I do regret that decision right now."
/jlne.ws/3q4ynIX
El Salvador prepares to launch bitcoin bond: 'If this fails, a lot of doors close'; President Nayib Bukele is relying on crypto fans to boost finances amid growing criticism from US and IMF
Christine Murray - FT
Josué País, owner of an El Salvador taxi business that accepts payments in bitcoin from the tourists who use the service, is enthusiastically backing the country's latest plan to cash in on the cryptocurrency craze.
/jlne.ws/3MQoLeM
Bored Ape Yacht Club Creators Scoop Up CryptoPunks, Meebits; Yuga Labs is buying many NFTs as well as brands and logos; Yuga said it will transfer commercial rights to NFT holders
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Some of the world's most famous non-fungible tokens are getting a new owner. Yuga Labs, creators of the Bored Apes Yacht Club tokens that look like cute apes, has bought intellectual property of the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from Larva Labs. It acquired 423 CryptoPunks and 1,711 Meebits. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
/jlne.ws/3I636eL
The real problem with NFTs? They're ugly; The art market is feverish for non-fungibles — so how come they're all so unappealing?
Louis Wise - FT
The email arrived, like so many others, announcing a "historic NFT sale" of "fRiENDSiES" by "FriendsWithYou", that is soon to take place at Christie's. This was nothing new. Historic NFT events now arrive daily. I looked at the "fRiENDSiES", cartoonish digital figures in rainbow-bright colours: one resembling a pink-cheeked blue mouse in acid-yellow dungarees, another wearing what looks like a multicoloured lampshade. The artists, Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, announced that "this is the future of art". They see the project as "a wave of hope and optimism" looking to create "a garden of friendship".
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | The West Misjudged Russia. It Shouldn't Repeat That Mistake with China; Its policies toward both superpowers have been based on the same illusions and flawed assumptions.
Adrian Wooldridge - Bloomberg
Private CompanyHere's another nightmare to add to a lengthening list: The current economic war between the West and Russia may simply be the first act of a much bigger economic war between the West and China. Not only can China inflict much greater damage than Vladimir Putin's ailing petro-state — and Russia is inflicting considerable damage on the global economy — but a war with both China and Russia (and their client states) could mean a long-term, prosperity-destroying division of the world into two hostile blocks.
/jlne.ws/3i3wp78
Joe Biden finds a way to please the crypto crowd; US president's vague executive order on digital currencies is described as 'balanced'
Gary Silverman - FT
Roughly a century ago, Hermann Rorschach developed a psychological test that still bears his name. To assess his patients' state of mind, he presented them with a series of ink blots and asked them to describe the image or emotion each design evoked.
/jlne.ws/3t8Kren
UK authorities urge firms to divest their Russian holdings; The UK chancellor has called on UK firms to "think very carefully" about any investments that would support the Putin regime, following a meeting with asset managers last week.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has clarified the position of the UK government on Russian investments, confirming that there is "there is no case for new investment in Russia" and that he is "crystal clear" on his support for firms and investors to diversify away from Russian assets.
/jlne.ws/3w6jzxu
EU Must Seize Hamilton Moment to Lift Euro's Role; Europe's shared currency may be on the cusp of finally challenging the supremacy of the dollar.
Jenny Paris - Bloomberg
Perhaps the war in Ukraine and a global pandemic may accomplish what years of a nasty sovereign debt crisis in the European Union never could: foster a tighter fiscal partnership that makes the euro an attractive alternative to the dollar.
/jlne.ws/3I9cPkG
Russians Are About to Learn Some German Lessons; As citizens of an aggressor state, Russians around the world will have to face up to the consequences of what their country has done, and their own responsibility.
Leonid Bershidsky - Bloomberg
Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine will have momentous consequences for many — above all for Ukrainians, those who are fleeing the country and those who have stayed to fight off the invading army or to helplessly endure the devastation. But the effect on Russians, too, will be enormous, whether or not we realize it now. It's time for we citizens of the aggressor state to try on the shoes of post-World War II Germans.
/jlne.ws/3I8ikA7
Putin's Biggest Lie: Blaming NATO for His War; The growing transatlantic alliance kept the peace in Europe for decades and actually made Russia safer.
Hal Brands - Bloomberg
The great NATO enlargement debate never ends. In the 1990s, U.S. officials and academics argued about whether pushing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into Eastern Europe was likely to sustain the post-Cold War peace or prematurely end it. More recently, critics have charged that Russia's war in Ukraine is a natural response to the aggressive expansion of America's most powerful alliance.
/jlne.ws/3t78Mkr
War Crimes Charges Wouldn't Scare Putin; The process required to prosecute the Russian president for attacking Ukraine would move slowly. The chance of acquittal would be high. And how would the authorities arrest him?
Stephen L. Carter - Bloomberg
The horrific carnage in Ukraine has led to cries across the world for Vladimir Putin to be charged with war crimes. I share the outrage, and would like to see the Russian president punished. But the threat of a future war crimes trial isn't likely to prove much of a deterrent.
/jlne.ws/3Ie1Mqm
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | ESMA coordinates regulatory response to the war in Ukraine and its impact on EU financial markets
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), in coordination with National Competent Authorities (NCAs), is closely monitoring the impact of the Ukraine crisis on financial markets and is prepared to use its relevant tools to ensure the orderly functioning of markets, financial stability and investor protection. This is part of the European Union's overall response to the tragic consequences of Russia's military aggression.
/jlne.ws/3w0IimN
Prosecutors Charge Ex-Wirecard Chief Braun, Handelsblatt Says
Karin Matussek and Rainer Buergin - Bloomberg
The Munich prosecutors' office filed a series of charges against former Wirecard AG Chief Executive Officer Markus Braun, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported. Braun was accused of fraud, misappropriation of corporate assets, accounting fraud and market manipulation, the newspaper said. Braun's attorney Alfred Dierlamm didn't immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
/jlne.ws/35UDSD5
***** FT version and the WSJ version
SEC Awards Approximately $14 Million to Whistleblower
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of about $14 million to a whistleblower who published an online report exposing an ongoing fraud. The whistleblower, who days later shared the same information with the SEC and was persistent in reaching out to the staff, prompted the opening of an investigation which resulted in a successful enforcement action and the return of millions of dollars to harmed investors.
/jlne.ws/3MLSbdP
The third Meeting of the EU-Japan Joint Financial Regulatory Forum
FSA Japan
On March 10 and 11, 2022, the third Meeting of the EU-Japan Joint Financial Regulatory Forum was held virtually by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the European Comission.
/jlne.ws/3q6l8rd
Update on the market share test under the ancillary activities exemption for commodity derivatives
UK FCA
The MiFID II Article 2(1)(j) ancillary activities exemption enables firms trading in commodity derivatives, emission allowances and emission allowance derivatives to be exempt from authorisation as a MiFID investment firm if they fulfil certain criteria. As part of verifying that they fulfil these criteria, firms are currently required to perform the 'market share test' and the 'main business test' as set out in UK MiFID RTS 20.
/jlne.ws/3MLktFn
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Inflation Stings Most If You Earn Less Than $300K. Here's How to Deal; More Americans than ever expect their finances to worsen as inflation hits a 40-year high. Do you really need that extra car?
Teresa Ghilarducci - Bloomberg
If your income is more than $289,000 a year, the run-up in gas prices may be alarming — but it's unlikely to hammer your overall finances. After all, Americans at that level spend no more than 1% of their take-home pay on gas and oil, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
/jlne.ws/3q3Chlv
Panic Selling Grips Chinese Stocks in Biggest Plunge Since 2008; Rout has erased $2.1 trillion from China tech stocks from peak; Geopolitical risks saw U.S.-listed Chinese shares slump Friday
Jeanny Yu and Charlotte Yang - Bloomberg
Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong had their worst day since the global financial crisis, as concerns over Beijing's close relationship with Russia and renewed regulatory risks sparked panic selling. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed down 7.2% on Monday, the biggest drop since November 2008. The Hang Sang Tech Index tumbled 11% in its worst decline since the gauge was launched in July 2020, wiping out $2.1 trillion in value since a year-earlier peak.
/jlne.ws/3qprRNl
Wall Street's China Stock Rout Nears Dot-Com Crash Levels; Index of U.S.-listed Chinese shares has fallen 72% from peak; Xi's alliance with Putin boosts risk of holding China stocks
Richard Frost - Bloomberg
Only a year ago Chinese stocks in the U.S. were enjoying an unprecedented boom. Now they're mired in a 72% plunge that's on the cusp of matching losses during the 2008 financial crisis -- and within spitting distance of the Nasdaq Composite Index's 78% peak-to-trough slump during early 2000s dot-com bust. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. alone has lost about $522 billion of value, the biggest wipeout of shareholder wealth worldwide.
/jlne.ws/3KH1I49
Hedges Give Companies Temporary Relief From Surging Energy Prices; The average price at which businesses lock in hedges in the U.S. and Europe has climbed over the past year
Mark Maurer, Nina Trentmann, Kristin Broughton - WSJ
Companies that previously locked in energy prices are being shielded from surging gas, oil and electricity markets, but that protection will fade as hedges expire and the costs of new ones catch up with today's higher energy prices.
/jlne.ws/3i986F7
The Secret to Braving a Wild Market; For most of the past decade, investing has required almost no courage at all. That may well be changing.
Jason Zweig - WSJ
In the fall of 1939, just after Adolf Hitler's forces blasted into Poland and plunged the world into war, a young man from a small town in Tennessee instructed his broker to buy $100 worth of every stock trading on a major U.S. exchange for less than $1 per share.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | How genomic sequencing can spot the next coronavirus variant; Discovery of new strain that combines elements of Delta and Omicron shows the importance of surveillance
Donato Paolo Mancini, Clive Cookson and Ian Bott - FT
A new coronavirus variant that fuses elements of Delta and Omicron was identified last week, according to the World Health Organization and GISAID, the organisation that tracks the mutation of viruses. Its detection, say experts, highlights the important role played by genomic surveillance.
/jlne.ws/36hrzR5
Pfizer CEO Says Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Dose 'Is Necessary'; Pharmaceutical head Albert Bourla said it is preparing to submit data to the FDA that would show the effectiveness of receiving a second booster shot.
Nina Golgowski - U.S. News
A fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot will be necessary to prevent future coronavirus infection, Pfizer's CEO said Sunday as the pharmaceutical company prepares to submit supporting data to the Food and Drug Administration. "Right now, the way that we have seen, it is necessary, a fourth [shot] right now," CEO Albert Bourla said in an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation."
/jlne.ws/3CCIwSa
China's Covid Lockdowns Could Threaten Half of Economy; Shenzhen restrictions will have direct hit on Guangdong: BE; Nomura says market expectations of growth are over-optimistic
Bloomberg News
Widespread lockdowns in China akin to the measures just taken in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen could affect half of the country's gross domestic product. Authorities on Sunday placed Shenzhen's 17.5 million residents into lockdown for at least a week amid a surge of Covid-19 infections in the city, an action that Bloomberg Economics said will deal a "direct hit" to Guangdong, the manufacturing powerhouse province where the city is located and which accounts for 11% of GDP.
/jlne.ws/3ML4qHD
China Locks Down Shenzhen, Jilin as Cases Spread: Virus Update
Bloomberg News
China locked down Shenzhen city and Jilin province, threatening technology and auto manufacturing output in the nation's latest effort to contain a resurgent Covid pandemic led by the omicron variant.
/jlne.ws/3q21rRu
China Locks Down World's Second-Tallest Building in Covid Fight
Bloomberg News
Shanghai Tower was locked down Monday, trapping workers and visitors inside as authorities race to contain a spreading Covid-19 outbreak that's ensnared China's financial and tech hubs. China's tallest building and the second-tallest in the world after Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the 128-floor skyscraper was locked down as required by virus control measures from health authorities, according to a statement from its property management firm.
/jlne.ws/35QuqRs
Apple supplier Foxconn shuts plants as Covid outbreak in China grows; Factories in Shenzhen closed after city of 17.5mn is put under lockdown
Ryan McMorrow, Primrose Riordan and Gloria Li and Kathrin Hille - FT
Apple supplier Foxconn and dozens of other factories in Shenzhen have stopped production after authorities imposed a lockdown on the city of 17.5mn as China confronts its worst nationwide Covid-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic.
/jlne.ws/37tSM3O
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Oxfam GB chief: 'Doing good can't be an excuse for tolerating harm'; Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah took on the challenge of changing the culture at the scandal-hit organisation
Michael Skapinker - FT
"The big defining thing in my life: sometimes I think of it as guilt," Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, says. "Sometimes I think of it as a responsibility. I just feel incredibly fortunate that my parents had the wherewithal and the opportunity to leave Sri Lanka when they did and take me with them later." It allowed them to escape the country's devastating civil war that began in 1983.
/jlne.ws/3t79cHF
Britain's Failed Frackers Hope for Reprieve Due to Russia Crisis; Soaring energy prices spur fresh lobbying for fracking, but the same old obstacles remain
Jess Shankleman - Bloomberg
Next week, a group of workers are due to perform the last rites on Britain's shale gas industry. But the concrete that would have finally smothered the country's dwindling hopes of mimicking the U.S. energy boom may not be poured, for now.
/jlne.ws/3w8zg7n
Europe Ramps Up Coal Burning With Natural Gas Out of Favor; Region seeks to reduce dependence on Russian gas supplies; Coal prices stable on Friday after swinging wildly earlier
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
European utilities are getting increasingly reliant on coal for power as the region tries to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas. Even with prices for the dirtiest fossil fuel surging with most other commodities, it's still much cheaper for power plants to burn coal than gas to make electricity. Last week, plants on the continent burned 51% more of the sedimentary rock than a year earlier, according to data from Fraunhofer ISE. At the same time, gas demand from power stations declined.
/jlne.ws/3MMxT3V
Germany to Relax Environmental Rules to Bolster Domestic Crops; Move is part of measures to ensure Germany's self-sufficiency; Ukraine war shows vulnerability of agricultural system
Irina Anghel - Bloomberg
Germany wants to roll back some environmental policies in order to boost domestic crop production as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens global grain and oilseed supplies.
/jlne.ws/3tQP6Rb
Climate Change Doesn't Have to Spell Doom for Farms and Food; A Q&A with Jeffrey Dukes, a Purdue University ecologist, on the impact of global warming on agriculture and the best ways for societies to manage it.
Adam Minter - Bloomberg
The world's leading climate scientists have issued six assessments of the state of climate-change knowledge since 1990. The first five were influential, driving efforts to build global climate agreements. The sixth report, issued four days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been largely overlooked.
/jlne.ws/3CDauxc
Goldman accused of breaching coal pledge with Peabody deal; Activists claim $150mn loan goes against vow to curb fossil fuel financing
Patrick Temple-West - FT
Goldman Sachs, which won applause from environmentalists for its 2019 pledge to curb fossil fuel financing, is under fire over a $150mn loan last week to Peabody Energy, the world's biggest private sector coal producer.
/jlne.ws/3MH8hW6
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Goldman Sachs' CEO demanded all employees return full-time to the office. Only half showed up
Geoff Colvin - Fortune
Fighting a strong trend toward hybrid work, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has repeatedly insisted that employees return to the office full-time, leaving no doubt that he views remote work as a temporary aberration.
/jlne.ws/3w3p7Zy
Goldman Sachs CEO says it's not Wall Street's job to 'ostracize Russia' amid calls on social media for corporations to pull out of the country
Hannah Towey - Business Insider
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said it's not Wall Street's job to "ostracize Russia" despite growing calls on social media to do so, he said in a Time interview published Sunday, "I don't think businesses are supposed to decide how global trade works in the world. Government sets policy and then businesses follow that policy," he told Time executive editor John Simons, adding that he "strongly" agrees with the sanctions placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3MLMqwG
SMBC Nikko trading scandal threatens future of brokerage's equities division; Investigation by Japanese regulator resulted in arrest of four executives earlier this month
Antoni Slodkowski, Leo Lewis and Eri Sugiura - FT
In late 2020, the dealing room of Japan's third-largest brokerage SMBC Nikko was cautiously returning to normality after months of pandemic upheaval. Makoto Yamada, the head of equities trading known for his blue Berluti shoes and sharp suits, was back on the floor. Alexandre Avakiants, the deputy global head of equity and owner of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym, was reviving animal spirits after lockdown.
/jlne.ws/3tWoiik
Steve Cohen's Point72 to Redeem $750 Million From Hedge Fund Melvin; Point72 will be pulling the cash in portions over time; Melvin lost 2.8% in February amid tumultuous markets
Hema Parmar - Bloomberg
Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management is pulling the $750 million it invested in Melvin Capital Management. Point72 will be redeeming the money in portions over time, starting shortly, according to people familiar with the matter. Cohen's firm follows Citadel in such a move. The latter began asking for some of its cash back last year and by January had requested to receive about $1.5 billion of the $2 billion it invested.
/jlne.ws/3pXmq7S
BlackRock funds just lost $17 billion due to Russian exposure. That's just the tip of the iceberg, as Western banks are owed $121 billion by Russian entities
Will Daniel - Fortune
BlackRock funds have taken a $17 billion loss as a result of its Russian exposure since Putin's invasion of Ukraine began in late February—and it's not the only Western bank or asset manager set to take a sizable hit. International banks are owed roughly $121 billion by Russia-linked entities, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements—and because of the recent decoupling of the West and Russia, clients may not get most of that money back.
/jlne.ws/3tWxZx8
Banks told to provide information on oligarchs under sanctions; UK financial regulators want details of how wealthy Russians shift their money around the world
Laura Noonan, Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan and Stephen Morris - FT
UK financial regulators have ordered banks to contribute to a crackdown by western governments on oligarchs and companies with links to Russian president Vladimir Putin, by sharing information on how individuals and businesses subject to sanctions move their money around the world.
/jlne.ws/3MQg7wT
StanChart searches for new risk head and starts planning for next CFO; Mark Smith to exit as emerging markets-focused lender maps out succession plan for veteran CFO Andy Halford
Stephen Morris - FT
Standard Chartered has started the search for a new chief risk officer and has begun preparing for the eventual departure of its chief financial officer as an overhaul of top managers at the emerging-markets focused bank continues. The board has appointed headhunters Odgers Berndtson to identify internal and external candidates to succeed CRO Mark Smith, with the 60-year-old set to step down after more than six years in the role, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3KLzDsx
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Can India Really Overthrow Visa and Mastercard? New Delhi has pushed its homegrown RuPay as a patriotic alternative to global plastic. But an internationalist approach may be a better bet.
Andy Mukherjee - Bloomberg
Long before the war in Ukraine, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that international card networks could be used as instruments of statecraft — and that he should channel the rising economic power of his country's 1.4 billion people to resist the dominance of Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and American Express Co. "Everyone cannot go to the border for the security of the nation," Modi said in a 2018 speech. "If you develop a habit of using RuPay card ... that will also become a medium to serve the nation."
/jlne.ws/3pYMMGA
Nickel Price Surge Puts Chinese Manufacturers in a Bind; Producers and suppliers of nickel compounds send notices to their customers and investors warning of supply hiccups, price hikes, or slowdowns on orders
Rebecca Feng - WSJ
The unprecedented surge in nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange has disrupted the operations of producers and manufacturers in China that make nickel-related products, showing how the trading fiasco is reverberating across the supply chain for the widely used material.
/jlne.ws/3i3GMI7
Owners outfoxed as Russia absconds with $10 billion worth of jets
Julie Johnsson and Danny Lee - Bloomberg
Aircraft owners are coming to grips with the loss of hundreds of Airbus SE and Boeing Co. jets that Russian carriers have effectively shielded from seizure behind a new incarnation of the Iron Curtain. With the window just about closed, foreign leasing firms have succeeded in repossessing only about two dozen of the more than 500 aircraft rented to Russian carriers, according to Dean Gerber, general counsel for Valkyrie BTO Aviation. The planes in limbo have a market value of about $10.3 billion, aviation analytics firm Ishka estimates.
/jlne.ws/3pXNS5h
US banks shun last Russian stock still trading in Hong Kong; Rusal trading volumes up 600% since invasion of Ukraine but Wall St lenders steer clear
Hudson Lockett - FT
Some of the few Russian shares still trading on a global exchange are changing hands at a blistering pace in Hong Kong, but traders say US banks refuse to touch them. Unlike most big Russian companies, aluminium producer Rusal is not on international sanctions lists. Weekly trading volumes in its shares have shot up almost 600 per cent in Hong Kong since Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | The truth about 'shadowbanning' is more complicated than influencers think; Algorithms that reward engagement are just as likely to leave unpopular content out in the cold
Elaine Moore - FT
There is an persistent conspiracy theory in the world of internet celebrities that claims social media platforms like to slash viewing figures to punish creators. So-called shadowbans are thought to reduce popularity by stealth. No matter how many times tech companies say they are not real, the idea persists.
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