| February 11, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The FIA exchange leader panel at the Futures Industry Association's International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, is going to be crowded this year with nine leaders of global exchanges represented. Lynn Martin, President of NYSE Group, and Chair of ICE Fixed Income & Data Services, will represent ICE in place of Jeff Sprecher. Adena Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq, will be the only other woman on the panel.
The confirmed exchange leaders are Nicolas Aguzin, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited; Stephane Boujnah, CEO and Chairman of Euronext and the Managing Board; Loh Boon Chye, CEO of SGX Group; Terrance A. Duffy, Chairman and CEO of CME Group; Michael Peters, CEO of Eurex Clearing AG and Eurex Frankfurt AG; David Schwimmer, CEO of LSEG; and Ed Tilly, Chairman, President and CEO of Cboe Global Markets. The moderator will be Walt Lukken, President and CEO of FIA.
It has to be a shot in the arm to FIA to have all these exchange leaders attend this year's Boca conference, especially those who are flying in from overseas.
The JLN team at Boca will look a little different, though it will have veterans of previous Bocas and IDX in the form of Katherine Lothian and Robert Lothian manning the video and audio equipment. Alexandria Perry will also lend a hand there when she is not also conducting interviews. And I will be there as well.
Sarah Rudolph, JLN's editor-in-chief, has had a setback after her recent hip replacement surgery and was readmitted to the hospital on Wednesday evening. She is doing much better and we continue to wish her well and a full recovery.
I knew the wine story in yesterday's JLN would be popular with the readers. It was the most read story in the newsletter, in fact. Maybe it is time for a well known wine salesman and former fintech executive to do some advertising.
For the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals face off with the Rams favored. If you have not registered for one of the online betting sites, you are going to miss out on ridiculous opportunities to bet on just about everything from the point spread to the color of the gatorade splashed on the winning coach.
Also, if you want to participate in the Bitcoin giveaway from FTX, you should sign up for an account and start to make some trades worth more than $10, at least according to the myriad offers I saw on Twitter today. The giveaway total amount is tied to the time of the game when the commercial runs, so if it runs at the 9:01 minute mark, FTX.US will give away 9.01 Bitcoin to people who have traded on their site via some kind of allocation scheme. Here are the details.
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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'Credit Suisse managers knew clients were potential criminals'; 'Each and every transaction . . . was approved by the [bank's] hierarchy', relationship manager tells court
Sam Jones - FT
More than half a dozen senior Credit Suisse managers, as well as its legal department, were aware that a group of clients were potentially violent drug-smuggling criminals, but approved millions of euros in transactions for them before freezing their accounts, a court has heard. Details of the bank's dealings with a group of Bulgarian mafiosi emerged in Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court on Thursday, where Credit Suisse is battling to clear its name in a landmark case against the bank brought by Swiss federal prosecutors.
/jlne.ws/3rD7GfD
***** Back when I was clearing at LIT/America, the head of compliance thought almost every client was a potential criminal, or so it seemed. In too many cases, he was right.
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Crypto Exchange Binance to Invest $200 Million in Forbes; CEO of crypto exchange operator eyes more investment in 'traditional industries' amid regulatory scrutiny
Alexander Osipovich - WSJ
Cryptocurrency exchange operator Binance Holdings Ltd. is making a $200 million investment in the publisher of Forbes magazine, an unusual tie-up between a digital-currency firm and a traditional media outfit, the companies said Thursday. Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange operator by trading volume. It would become one of the biggest investors in Forbes Global Media Holdings Inc. if the deal is completed.
/jlne.ws/3HIQaMN
***** It worked for Jeff Bezos, so why not for Changpeng Zhao, or CZ as he is known. Now all he needs is a bad wardrobe.~JJL
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Beware the algorithms driving up oil prices; Automated trading by investors can lead to 'robo-herding' in markets
Gillian Tett - FT
This week, White House diplomacy has been focused on Ukraine and the threat of war. Yet US president Joe Biden still found time to place a stage-managed call to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, in which they reaffirmed a joint commitment "to ensuring the stability of energy supplies". No wonder. Oil prices have recently jumped to more than $90 a barrel, for both the Brent and West Texas Intermediate benchmarks, their highest level for seven years.
/jlne.ws/3Ln6uox
***** I have seen these wild herds of robo-algos. They are not to be fooled with.~JJL
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City bosses warn over erosion of trust across UK politics and business; FT executive network members say elite have a duty to maintain high ethical standards
Daniel Thomas - FT
The political and business elite have a duty to set an example of high ethical standards, City of London bosses have said following the UK's "partygate" scandal and the ousting of the chair of Credit Suisse. The FT's City Network, a forum of more than 50 senior executives from finance, business and policymaking, warned over the danger that lack of responsible leadership poses to society.
/jlne.ws/3JgHa1G
***** Good to know this is not just a problem in the U.S. It is time for more of the elite to prove they are elite by showing they can maintain high ethical standards.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top story yesterday was VinePair's We Asked 11 Sommeliers: Which Wine Do You Wish People Ordered More? Says a lot about our readers. I'm right there with them. Second most read was the Daily Mail story, 'Power of a dictator... but I'm fly like a gator': Hilariously bad raps and quirky pandemic photoshoot by 'Crocodile of Wall Street' as she and her husband are set bail at $8m for 'laundering $4.5B in stolen Bitcoin'. Who needs succinct headlines anymore? Third was Yahoo Finance's, JP Morgan estimates bitcoin's fair value.
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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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| Lead Stories | The Billion-Dollar Nickel-Swap Scandal That Shocked Singapore; Singaporeans invested a billion dollars in Ng Yu Zhi's nickel-trading company. He's accused of taking the money and skipping the nickel.
Matthew Campbell and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen - Bloomberg
Not long after the novel coronavirus arrived in Singapore, forcing the hyperconnected city-state to shut its borders for the first time, a rumor circulated among its many wealthy people—and among others who weren't so well-off. A little-known investment manager was apparently delivering an astonishing 15% quarterly profit to anyone who invested with him, by trading nickel.
/jlne.ws/3HKRLlc
One Wall Street: the residential takeover of a banking behemoth; The biggest office-to-apartments conversion in New York's history signals a deeper shift in Manhattan power
Edwin Heathcote - FT
It's a good address. One Wall Street. Not a bad building either, one of Manhattan's best Art Deco skyscrapers by its very best Art Deco architect. A good address, at least, for a bank. But for a home? Why would anyone want to live on Wall Street? In the heart of that famously potholed, intensely dense, dead-in-the-evening neighbourhood that stands for finance capital and the global hegemony of banking?
/jlne.ws/3LsbeJr
MEMX introduces fees for real-time equities market data; The exchange is proposing a blanket fee of $0.01 for professional and non-professional users, subject to approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Annabel Smith - The Trade
MEMX, the members' exchange, has proposed a new pricing model for its real-time equities market data aimed at providing a "significantly less expensive" service to other equities exchange operators. From 1 April this year, the new pricing model will impose a blanket fee of $0.01 for both professional and non-professional users of depth-of-book, top-of-book and last sale market data, subject to approval from the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
/jlne.ws/3gDngBw
Euronext Securities Oslo Appoints Kristine Bastøe As CEO
Mondovisione
Euronext Securities, the Euronext CSD network connecting European economies to global capital markets, is pleased to announce the appointment of Kristine Bastøe as the new Chief Executive Officer of Euronext Securities Oslo, with effect from 1 March 2022.
/jlne.ws/3gCOfNJ
Andrew Bailey calls for indefinite waiver on EU lenders' access to London clearing; BoE governor sees no need for time limit to temporary extensions on intermediary rules
Laura Noonan - FT
The EU should allow its banks and fund managers to use UK clearing houses indefinitely, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said on Thursday, just weeks after the EU proposed extending temporary permissions by three-years. EU banks and fund managers have long used UK clearing houses but after Brexit Brussels baulked at being dependent on a non-EU country for the critical infrastructure that acts as an intermediary to prevent defaults on trades triggering a domino effect through markets.
/jlne.ws/3oGhVho
China's Price For Capping Commodities Will Be Higher Emissions
Bloomberg News
Government eases up on demands for energy conservation; Aluminum and copper production expected to rise this year
China's success in capping the surge in commodities prices looks increasingly dependent on its ability to deliver more supply. But to do that, it's going to have to tolerate higher carbon emissions. That calculation seems baked into the latest directive on Thursday from the National Development and Reform Commission, which suggests that local governments will be given more leeway in setting energy conservation goals. The rush to meet targets last year was a major contributor to the energy crisis that struck in the fall, as power rationing on the heaviest users and carbon emitters constrained output of key materials.
/jlne.ws/3uIWccA
Shareholder Voices Poised to Grow Louder With SEC's Help; The regulator scrapped some mechanisms companies use to shoot down shareholder proposals, giving nonexecutives a megaphone on social and other issues
Richard Vanderford - WSJ
A Walt Disney Co. shareholder wants the board to study the company's workplace training, arguing it could discriminate against white employees. A shareholder in Apple Inc. is asking for a public report on the corporation's use of mandatory arbitration and other legal tools in dealing with sexual-harassment claims. In the past, such shareholder proposals could have been easily swept aside, never making it to a vote at a company's annual meeting. But the Securities and Exchange Commission in November overturned several mechanisms that companies routinely use to shoot down shareholder proposals, and specified that shareholders were allowed to press companies on issues of broad social importance.
/jlne.ws/36bGr3L
Wall Street's Era of Secrecy for Harassment Claims Is Finally Over; New legislation will put sexual harassment and assault claims in front of judges and juries — but it doesn't cover allegations of racial discrimination.
Max Abelson and Paige Smith - Bloomberg
When Lee Stowell saw that Congress was banning mandatory arbitration for workplace sexual harassment and assault claims, it hit home. Years ago, the former junk-bond saleswoman sued her boss, a colleague and Cantor Fitzgerald, accusing them of harassment, discrimination and retaliation — allegations they denied. Instead of going to court, Stowell, like so many before her, was forced into arbitration's shadow legal system.
/jlne.ws/3rFA2Wy
SEC Proposes Giving Activist Investors Less Time to Report Positions; The proposed rule would reduce the window for filing a 13D disclosure form to five days from 10
Paul Kiernan - WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Thursday to shorten the window for shareholders to alert the market when they build an ownership stake of more than 5% of a company's stock, a potential setback to activist investors.
/jlne.ws/3swcNxl
SEC Says It Won't Limit Whistleblower Payouts; Regulator proposes changes to two amendments adopted during Trump administration that it says could have been used by future commission to reduce awards
Mengqi Sun - WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday that it was revising two amendments governing the rules of its whistleblower program to address concerns that they would discourage tipsters from coming forward. The two amendments were adopted in September 2020, during the Trump administration. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a Democrat tapped by President Biden, said last year that one amendment could be used by a future commission to lower an award because of its size. Another amendment could prevent the SEC from making an award in related enforcement actions brought by other authorities if another whistleblower award program might also apply to the action, he said.
/jlne.ws/3sqMPeA
U.S. Mocks 'Bluster' of Pair Charged in Massive Crypto Scam
Erik Larson - Bloomberg
Ilya Lichtenstein, Heather Morgan say they'd never flee N.Y.;Prosecutors say the couple is a sophisticated flight risk
U.S. prosecutors came out swinging against the Manhattan couple charged with trying to launder billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin stolen from the Bitfinex currency exchange, mocking the pair's "bluster" in a request for bail and urging a judge to keep them locked up until trial. Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31, have "highly troubling" overseas ties and fraudulent identities as well as access to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency that make them flight risks, the U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing Thursday in Washington.
/jlne.ws/3oGXhxx
Federal Reserve to Test Ability of Largest Banks to Weather Recession; Stress test will feature a scenario in which markets seize up and unemployment jumps to 10%
Andrew Ackerman - WSJ
The Federal Reserve said it would test the ability of the largest U.S. banks to weather a hypothetical recession in which markets deteriorate markedly and unemployment jumps above 10%. The so-called stress test, conducted annually to see how banks would react to drastic market and economic shocks, will feature a scenario in which a severe global recession leads to "heightened stress" in commercial real estate and corporate debt markets, the Fed said.
/jlne.ws/3JC4tmX
Blowout capital raises give LSE indigestion as Arm heads west; Tough times for London's biggest floats; BATM faces FTSE ejection after communications breakdown
Bryce Elder - FT
On the same day SoftBank revealed plans to refloat UK chip designer Arm Holdings, the London Stock Exchange touched an ignominious milestone: every one of its biggest capital raises from the past six years was underwater. At Tuesday's market open, private equity group Bridgepoint dropped momentarily below the issue price on its July flotation. The brief reversal meant that, according to Bloomberg data, the last nine LSE companies whose gross proceeds from IPO totalled at least £750mn were all in negative territory: from Dr Martens (down 23 per cent from its issue price) to retailer THG (down 73 per cent) and Aston Martin (down 91 per cent).
/jlne.ws/3LqcsoK
NFT Art Is Transforming the Market and Setting New Records; Meet some of the players who are creating NFTs and profiting from this booming market
Wall Street Journal Video
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have gone in the last year from a relatively obscure blockchain technology to a market valued at around $44 billion. WSJ explores how NFTs are transforming the art market and tells the story of who is behind the buzz. Photo illustration: Alexander Hotz/WSJ
/jlne.ws/3oHx2am
US buy-side warily eyeing changes to payment for order flow, finds report; Coalition Greenwich report found that almost half of equity traders see proposed changes to payment for order flow (PFOF) as the most important ongoing regulatory initiative.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Amidst the host of regulatory and structural proposals ongoing in the market, the institutional buy-side in the US see proposed changes to the payment for order flow (PFOF) regime as the most crucial, a report by Coalition Greenwich has found. In its latest study examining the buy-side's perspective on the expected biggest regulatory and market structure debates in the year to come, Coalition found that 40% of institutional equity traders in the US peg PFOF as the one to watch.
/jlne.ws/3gCM8th
Borsa Italiana addition grows Euronext 2021 trading revenue by a third; The Italian deal drove a 27% growth of trading revenue and contributed EUR337.7 million to the exchange operator's full year Income.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Euronext saw its trading revenue swell to EUR465.3 million in 2021, driven by its completed acquisition of Borsa Italiana from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in April. In its fourth quarter and full year results, the exchange operator confirmed a 27% growth of trading revenues, driven "primarily by the consolidation of the Borsa Italiana Group capital markets" alongside yield management in cash trading offsetting lower volumes compared with 2020.
/jlne.ws/3oDFhV2
1MDB to Hold $8B Suit Against Najib Till Another Case Ends, Report Says
Ravil Shirodkar - Bloomberg
The 33.5 billion ringgit ($8 billion) civil suit against Najib Abdul Razak and several others filed by the troubled state fund 1MDB won't proceed until a related criminal case against the former prime minister is disposed, The Edge reported.
/jlne.ws/3JmxWBa
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | As Omicron Declines, U.S. Rethinks Mask Guidance and Covid-19 Measures; As mask mandates loosen and cases fall, health experts say U.S. must bolster defenses
Brianna Abbott and Jon Kamp - WSJ
Health officials and epidemiologists are working out how quickly they think the U.S. should dial back Covid-19 restrictions while also preparing for an uncertain future living with the virus and its variants. New Jersey and New York are among the states relaxing some restrictions such as masking requirements as cases and hospitalizations fall, after maintaining strictures through the Omicron surge. The pandemic downturn creates an opportunity to better prepare for any future surges, public-health officials and experts say.
/jlne.ws/3Jl7s2J
Hong Kong's New Covid Rules Face Resistance From Weary Public
Krystal Chia, Kari Soo Lindberg, and Chloe Lo - Bloomberg
City imposed limits on families gathering in private premises; Cases surge as authorities push on with Covid Zero strategy
Hong Kong's escalating campaign to stamp out its biggest ever Covid outbreak is facing resistance from a population that's distrustful of the government and weary of a zero-tolerance strategy that much of the world has abandoned.
/jlne.ws/3Lq9TD8
'People are moving on with their lives': is the end of Omicron in sight? Series of announcements this week raise hopes that worst of the crisis has passed
Oliver Barnes, John Burn-Murdoch and Hannah Kuchler - FT
England joined Denmark with plans to lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions, Joe Biden's top medical adviser said the "full-blown" phase of the crisis was nearly over and Europe's biggest holiday group revealed that bookings were returning to levels last seen before the pandemic. The flurry of announcements from around Europe and North America this week crystallised hopes that the worst of the Omicron variant wave has passed, allowing health experts to speculate whether a return to normal life was within grasp.
/jlne.ws/3Jr7kyZ
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Euronext publishes Q4 and full year 2021 results; Strong revenue growth, driven by solid organic performance of non-volume related activities and significant contribution from acquisitions. 2021 costs guidance over- achieved and first delivery of synergies from the Borsa Italiana Group integration.
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today publishes its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021.
/jlne.ws/3Ln6XHj
Euronext Dublin 2022 IPOready programme gets underway
Euronext
Euronext Dublin's fourth edition of IPOready, a strategic financing programme for high-growth companies exploring fundraising options up to and including IPO, launched today with nine companies commencing the six-month long programme. The objective of the programme is to equip participating companies with an in-depth understanding of all sources of finance available to them and determine which is most suited to their needs. On completion, the participating founders and entrepreneurs will have the skillsets required to get their businesses investment ready, refine their pitch for investors and form a valuable network of peers, advisors and investors.
/jlne.ws/3LrGgkX
Euronext announces launch of AEX® ESG Index to meet market's financial community's sustainable investment needs
Euronext
New index identifies 25 companies within AEX® and AMX® Indices demonstrating best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices; 3rd ESG Index variant for national blue-chip indices, following successful launch of CAC® 40 ESG Index (France) and MIB® ESG Index (Italy)
Euronext today announces that it will launch a new ESG Index on Euronext Amsterdam, the AEX® ESG Index. This index will identify the 25 companies that demonstrate the best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices from the 50 constituents of the AEX® and AMX® indices. The launch of this sustainable index follows the successful launch of the French CAC40® ESG Index and the Italian MIB® ESG Index. In launching this new suite of ESG indices, Euronext is responding to the growing demand for sustainable investment tools from investors and the wider market. The launch of the AEX® ESG Index is scheduled during the course of Q2 2022.
/jlne.ws/3LoYcwf
BOX Options Market: Equalized Cabling Infrastructure - Test Dates
BOX
This circular is being issued by BOX Options Market LLC ("BOX") to advise participants of test dates
being made available to validate new connections under the equalized cabling infrastructure,
previously described in information circular IC-2021-52.
/jlne.ws/3LtIsYS
NZX completes superannuation acquisition from ASB
NZX
NZX has today completed the acquisition of the management rights of the ASB Superannuation Master Trust, confirming settlement of the transaction within the timeframe announced on 11 November 2021. The acquisition (through NZX's wholly owned subsidiary, Smartshares Limited) represents a step-change in scale for NZX's passive funds management business and is aligned with NZX Group's strategy to capture complementary opportunities across its Funds Management, Wealth Technologies and Markets businesses.
/jlne.ws/3gFnbxj
Moscow Exchange to launch single stock futures contracts on eight Russian companies
MOEX
On 15 February 2022, deliverable futures contracts on stocks of eight Russian companies will begin trading on the Moscow Exchange Derivatives Market. The new instruments will improve diversification and portfolio management opportunities for both retail and institutional investors.
/jlne.ws/3rJevfI
Cboe Global Markets Declares First-Quarter 2022 Dividend
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today announced its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.48 per share of common stock for the first quarter of 2022. The first-quarter 2022 dividend is payable on March 15, 2022, to stockholders of record as of February 28, 2022.
/jlne.ws/3uYqpVh
-- Market Surveillance Effective Dates for Spot Month Position Limits in the March 2022 Core Products - CME
-- Performance Bond Requirements - Interest Rates Margin - Effective February 11, 2022 - CME
-- Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Energy, Interest Rate & Metal Margins - Effective February 11, 2022 - CME
-- Application for Copper, Lead, and Zinc Regularity - CME
-- CME Globex Notices: February 7, 2022
-- CME STP Notices: February 10, 2022
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | ThinkMarkets secures US$40 million Growth Capital Funding Package from Leading Institutional Investors
ThinkMarkets
ThinkMarkets is pleased to announce the recent successful closing of a US$40 million funding package which will enable rapid growth across existing and exciting new business initiatives in 2022. The funding package consisted of a US$10 million in pre-IPO convertible equity investment and US$30 million senior secured debt facility.
/jlne.ws/3BcCC9T
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Lawmakers urge SEC to propose mandatory cybersecurity reporting rules
Breaking Defense
Jaspreet Gill - Breaking Defense
A group of bipartisan lawmakers is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase transparency requirements for companies through mandatory cybersecurity reporting.
Senators on Tuesday sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler urging him to propose rules regarding cybersecurity disclosures and reporting, including asking companies to disclose whether a cybersecurity expert is on the company's board of directors.
/jlne.ws/3rHICnN
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Agencies Need to Assess Adoption of Cybersecurity Guidance
U.S. GAO
The U.S. has 16 critical infrastructure sectors that provide clean water, gas, banking, and other essential services. To help protect them, in 2014 the National Institute of Standards and Technology developed cybersecurity standards and procedures that organizations within these sectors may voluntarily use. Federal agencies are charged with leading efforts to improve sector security.
We found agencies have measured the adoption of these standards and procedures for 3 of 16 sectors and have identified improvements across 2 sectors. For example, the EPA found a 32% increase in the use of recommended cybersecurity controls at 146 water utilities.
/jlne.ws/3HIJGNW
Cybersecurity threats are always changing—staying on top of them is vital, getting ahead of them is paramount
Vasu Jakkal - Microsoft
With a 1,070 percent increase in ransomware attacks year-over-year between July 2020 and June 2021, staying on top of attack trends—such as ransomware and supply chain threats—is more important than ever.1 To successfully detect and defend against security threats, we need to come together as a community and share our expertise, research, intelligence, and insights.
/jlne.ws/34Nr8xi
Stop ransomware with a deterministic approach to cybersecurity
Satya Gupta - Security Magazine
There was an unprecedented increase in ransomware attacks in 2021. With each passing day, threat actors are getting more empowered as they gain even more financial success, giving them the funds to conduct larger-scale data breaches. Alarmingly, a large computer manufacturer, Acer, paid the highest ransom demand in history, shelling out $50M. Some other prominent victims of ransomware include Colonial Pipeline, Acer, JBS Foods, Axa, Kaseya and Deloitte.
/jlne.ws/3GHzxje
The Long Game In Cybersecurity
Asheem Chandna - Forbes
I have followed the evolution of cybersecurity for almost three decades. The one constant is that as quickly as the underlying technology advances, so, too, does the cyber threat.
To understand how things might play out in the coming years, I spoke with four cybersecurity experts, each of whom brings a different lens: a national security leader; a pioneering technologist; a veteran CISO inside one of the most sophisticated technology companies; and a prominent cryptography professor whose students will invariably shape the course of the field.
/jlne.ws/34Sf9yn
5 ways to attract top cybersecurity talent in a tight labor market
George Gerchow - TechCrunch
He graduated from a college I'd never heard of. He earned a master's degree from Villanova, but it was in human resources development. He spent 16 years in the Marine Corps in various military and civilian roles, but none directly involved cybersecurity. His most recent job was as a project manager at a construction firm.
When I asked other senior executives at my company, Sumo Logic, to interview him for a security operations center (SOC) manager position, I initially was met with shoulder shrugs and eye rolls. "Why am I talking to this guy?" went the typical response. "He doesn't seem a fit at all."
/jlne.ws/3BdItvv
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Binance plans to take $200mn stake in US business media group Forbes; Crypto exchange forges deal as century-old publisher seeks to go public via blank-cheque company
Joshua Oliver, Nikou Asgari and Antoine Gara - FT
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to take a $200mn stake in Forbes as the century-old US business magazine aims to go public through a blank-cheque company. Forbes has been seeking $400mn of additional capital through a private placement as part of its plans to list in New York via a tie-up with special purpose acquisition company Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited, a deal that is expected to value the business title at $630mn.
/jlne.ws/365LKSa
Jamaican Digital Currency Coming in 2022, PM Holness Says
Jim Wyss - Bloomberg
PM Andrew Holness says e-cash will reduce transaction costs; Jamaica has been piloting the CBDC project since 2021
Jamaica's Prime Minister said the country is on track to launch its own e-currency this year, as the island joins the ranks of those embracing digital fiat.
/jlne.ws/35UUCtA
Crypto Paychecks Have More Appeal Outside the U.S., Says Hiring Firm
Alexandre Tanzi - Bloomberg
Employees all over the world are opting to get paid in cryptocurrencies, though they're still in a small minority, according to global payrolls and hiring company Deel. Out of 100,000 hires in more than 150 countries that Deel has been involved with over the past six months, about 2% opted to take at least part of their salaries in currencies not backed by a sovereign, the firm's data show. Bitcoin accounted for about two-thirds of the crypto payments since Deel began offering that option in July last year.
/jlne.ws/3BerCZl
To Understand Bitcoin, We Need to Understand What Money Is
Isaiah Douglass - Coindesk
Recently, a popular financial Twitter (or #FinTwit) personality joined the financial TV channel Real Vision and said that "bitcoin is a pretty terrible form of money." The same day, Fidelity Digital Assets released a report called "Bitcoin First: Why investors need to consider bitcoin separately from other digital assets
/jlne.ws/34J54Ux
BlackRock Planning to Offer Crypto Trading, Sources Say; clients would be able to trade crypto through the firm's Aladdin investment platform, said one of the sources.
Ian Allison - Coindesk
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is preparing to offer a cryptocurrency trading service to its investor clients, according to three people with knowledge of the plans. The New York-based company, which manages over $10 trillion in assets for institutions, plans to enter the cryptocurrency space with "client support trading and then with their own credit facility," one of the people said. In other words, clients would be able to borrow from BlackRock by pledging crypto assets as collateral.
/jlne.ws/3rGfFZl
Female-led Metaverse Company Raises $60MM Series A Round Led by Andreesen Horowitz and Announces New Name; Republic Realm is now Everyrealm, the gateway to the metaverse ecosystem.
Republic Realm
Republic Realm, one of the most active investors in and developers of the metaverse ecosystem, announced that it is changing its name to Everyrealm. The shift signals the company's vision of becoming the gateway to the entire metaverse ecosystem, a vast and interconnected network of social, interactive and immersive Web3 experiences, accessible to everybody.
(NOLINK)
Crypto Firms Are Spending Big on Super Bowl Ads. It Could End Badly.
Randall W. Forsyth - Barron's
Sunday brings the Super Bowl, which has been transformed from a football game to a kind of secular Fat Tuesday: a celebration involving most of the Seven Deadly Sins in an attempt to stave off SAD (seasonal affective disorder) for the six dreary weeks of winter that inevitably remain in northern climes. Lots of parti
/jlne.ws/3GL0lyZ
The founder of a Coatue-backed crypto analytics platform breaks down how the firm achieved unicorn status in just over 3 years — and shares why 'a sobering downturn' in the short term might be a good thing for the industry
Vicky Ge Huang - Insider
Haga shares the firm's rapid growth and why a "sobering downturn" might be good for the industry.
After venture capital investors poured a record $30 billion into crypto companies last year, it seems as though any blockchain-related startup has a fair shot of getting funded. After all, VCs injected nearly $5 billion into crypto ventures in January even as the broader market was in freefall.
/jlne.ws/3sBIVj5
Self-proclaimed 'Crocodile of Wall St', 31, and her husband, 34, argue they are not a flight risk after $4.5M bail hearing stalls: Couple claim they want to stay near wife's frozen embryos
James Gordon - Daily Mail
A lawyer for the self-proclaimed 'Crocodile of Wall Street', Heather Rhiannon Morgan, 31, and her husband Ilya 'Dutch' Lichtenstein, 34, claim neither of them are 'flight risks' because Morgan has frozen embryos in the city.
/jlne.ws/3HJBUDf
The Case for Bitcoin $10,000 — and Why It's Probably Wrong
By Daren Fonda - Barron's
Bitcoin BTCUSD+0.22% investors may be breathing easier now that prices, which slumped to their lowest level in months, have recovered. But the cryptocurrency's next move is only getting murkier. Crypto markets have turned more volatile and tightly correlated to equities as investors try to gauge the impact of rising interest rates and the Federal Reserve's stricter monetary policies. Technical analysis has proven largely futile - Bitcoin BTCUSD+0.22% prices have blown through both support and resistance levels over the past few weeks, defying chartists trying to predict its next move.
/jlne.ws/3swDoKR
What Silicon Valley sees in NFTs; Tech executives and crypto enthusiasts are buying digital collectibles not just for investment — but as art
Hannah Murphy - FT
In early 2021, Dylan Field, chief executive of San Francisco-based design software group Figma, sold a digital collectible — a non-fungible token (NFT) — for more than $7.5mn. He had bought the CryptoPunk, a pixellated blue alien avatar smoking a pipe, several years before the market mania — for around $15,000.
/jlne.ws/3oHJJSp
Coinbase Teams Up With One River to Offer Separately Managed Accounts
Ian Allison - Coindesk
Cryptocurrency fund manager One River Digital Asset Management has teamed up with U.S. exchange Coinbase (COIN) to offer separately managed accounts (SMA), a popular alternative to mutual funds in traditional finance where affluent investors hold assets directly and use an external asset manager.
/jlne.ws/3uOgWQh
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | UK seeks 'investment big bang' with Solvency II reform; Boris Johnson aims to prove post-Brexit regulatory changes can boost the British economy
George Parker, Daniel Thomas, Laura Noonan and Josephine Cumbo - FT
Ministers are closing in on a deal with City watchdogs to unleash what Boris Johnson has called an "investment big bang", as the prime minister seeks to prove that post-Brexit regulatory changes can boost the economy. Johnson and Rishi Sunak, chancellor, want to reform so-called Solvency II rules, adopted while Britain was in the EU, to allow insurance companies to invest billions of pounds more in infrastructure, including green energy projects.
/jlne.ws/3gCaZxc
SEC Climate-Rule Delay 'Unacceptable,' Senator Warren Says; SEC chief had signaled plan was coming by the end of 2021; Delay comes amid disagreements between agency's Democrats
Benjamin Bain and Robert Schmidt - Bloomberg
Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded the Securities and Exchange Commission speed up its push for new climate-change rules, saying its lack of progress is "unwarranted and unacceptable." In a letter sent Feb. 9, the Massachusetts Democrat told SEC Chair Gary Gensler that investors are being "left in the dark" about companies' exposure to global-warming risks while the commission labors to craft a regulation. Disagreements between the agency's three Democrats over the scope of the rule has bogged down the process, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3Bcq1DB
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | SEC Moves Forward with Heightened Private Fund Regulation
Ryan Meyer - Katten
Meeting this morning, the Securities and Exchange Commission formally proposed rules that would require private fund managers to, among other disclosures: "provide their investors with quarterly statements detailing fund performance, fees and expenses, as well as manager compensation and undergo annual audits." While these disclosures and audits would not be filed publicly, or even with the SEC, they would comprise portions of the funds' books and records subject to audit by the SEC's Division of Examinations. These proposed rules are open for comment for sixty (60) days, at which point the SEC intends to publish the final rule.
/jlne.ws/34OxyMC
ISDA Responds to HM Treasury on Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework
ISDA
On February 9, 2022, ISDA submitted a response to HM Treasury's consultation on the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review. The consultation sets out the UK government's proposals for important changes to the UK's financial services regulatory framework, building on the UK's existing model of regulation established by the Financial Services and Markets Act.
/jlne.ws/3oHDCgV
SEC Charges Robo-Adviser with Misleading Clients
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New York-based robo-adviser Wahed Invest, LLC with making misleading statements and breaching its fiduciary duty, and for compliance failures related to its Shari'ah advisory business. According to the SEC's order, from September 2018 through July 2019, Wahed Invest advertised the existence of its own proprietary funds when no such funds existed, and also promised investors that it would periodically rebalance their advisory accounts, but did not do so.
/jlne.ws/34Ka6jD
SEC Proposed Changes to Two Whistleblower Program Rules
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed two amendments to the rules governing its whistleblower program. The first proposed amendment concerns award claims for related actions that would be otherwise covered by an alternative whistleblower program. The second affirms the Commission's authority to consider the dollar amount of a potential award for the limited purpose of increasing an award but not to lower an award.
/jlne.ws/3gFvFoe
SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to Modernize Beneficial Ownership Reporting; Proposed rules would improve transparency and provide more timely information for shareholders and the market
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it proposed rule amendments governing beneficial ownership reporting under Exchange Act Sections 13(d) and 13(g). The proposed amendments would update those rules to provide more timely information to meet the needs of today's financial markets.
/jlne.ws/3sFA6oO
Dissenting Statement on Proposed Modernization of Beneficial Ownership Reporting
Commissioner Hester Peirce - SEC
This proposal is characterized as modernization, but it fails to contend fully with the realities of today's markets or the balance embodied in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. The proposed amendments acknowledge some of the challenges, but do not fully grapple with or resolve them in a consistent manner. Accordingly, I do not believe the proposed amendments are prudent and respectfully dissent.
/jlne.ws/3sBSIps
Statement on Proposal to Revisit Recently Adopted Whistleblower Rule Amendments
Commissioner Hester Peirce - SEC
In September 2020, after a lengthy notice-and-comment period and two years of careful consideration, the Commission amended its whistleblower rules for the first time since they were adopted in 2011.[1] I supported the amendments because they drew from a decade of experience with the whistleblower program and were calibrated to balance efficient administration of our effective whistleblower program with the program's overarching goal of providing incentives for individuals to report, sometimes at great risk to their careers, violations of the federal securities.[2] Yet in June 2021, a spare seven months after the 2020 Amendments became effective, the whistleblower rules returned to the Chair's regulatory agenda, notwithstanding the fact that there appeared to be no new information that merited revisiting the recently amended rules.[3] Two months later, over my objection, the Commission published a "policy statement" that, in response to a legal challenge to certain of the 2020 rule amendments, effectively nullified the challenged provisions.[4]
/jlne.ws/34wXZqp
Statement on Beneficial Ownership Proposal
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Today, the Commission proposed to shorten the deadlines by which beneficial owners of a company — those who own at least 5 percent of the company — have to inform the public and other investors of their position. I am pleased to support this proposal because it would update our reporting requirements for modern market, reduce information asymmetries, and address the timeliness of two key filings.
/jlne.ws/3JhQAdi
Statement on Amendments to the Whistleblower Program
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Today, the Commission voted to propose amendments to rules governing the SEC's whistleblower program. I support these amendments because, if adopted, they would help ensure that whistleblowers are both incentivized and appropriately rewarded for their efforts in reporting potential violations of the law to the Commission.
/jlne.ws/34N6SvJ
Remarks Before the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Thank you Carla [Garrett] and all committee members. It's good to be with you again. I appreciate the members' continued willingness to volunteer their time to represent the interests of small businesses.
/jlne.ws/360mdJX
Remarks at SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee Meeting
Commissioner Hester Peirce - SEC
Thank you, Carla [Garrett] and thank you to the Committee members and today's panelists. I am pleased that today's discussion will focus on the accredited investor definition. If we're going to increase participation in our capital markets by a broader group of investors and founders, we need to move off measuring the ability to participate in private markets by wealth and income.
/jlne.ws/3Jfsyzw
SEC Obtains Partial Summary Judgment Against Portfolio Manager for Misrepresenting Risk Management in Mutual Fund
SEC
On February 4, 2022, Judge William M. Conley of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin granted in part the SEC's motion for summary judgment against Edward S. Walczak, a former mutual fund portfolio manager who the SEC alleged fraudulently misrepresented to investors how he would manage risk in the Catalyst Hedged Futures Strategy Fund.
/jlne.ws/34tIaAX
ESMA Prioritises The Fight Against Greenwashing In Its New Sustainable Finance Roadmap
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has today published its Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2022-2024 (Roadmap). ESMA identifies three priorities for its sustainable finance work:
Tackling greenwashing and promoting transparency; Building National Competent Authorities' (NCAs) and ESMA's capacities in the sustainable finance field; andMonitoring, assessing and analysing ESG markets and risks.
/jlne.ws/3GPWZLi
FCA proposes rules for pension providers to help deliver Pensions Dashboards
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today set out the critical role regulated pension providers must play in helping to launch the Government's Pensions Dashboards initiative, which aims to empower savers to engage with their pensions.
/jlne.ws/3oJdSki
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Feeding Cattle Gets Costly as Drought Grips U.S. Pasture
Michael Hirtzer and Brian K. Sullivan - Bloomberg
Widening drought in the U.S. High Plains is putting more pressure on cattle ranches already squeezed by soaring feed prices and a lack of hay. A week of dry weather worsened drought in top U.S. cattle states including Nebraska and Kansas, with recent precipitation totals in the region among the sparsest on record, according to Deborah Bathke, of the National Drought Mitigation Center, who authored this week's U.S. Drought Monitor.
/jlne.ws/3BgdSxb
Big Oil Is Pumping Cash as If $100 Oil Has Already Arrived
Laura Hurst - Bloomberg
Free cash flow highest since 2008 for the five supermajors; Industry's lower spending means more money for investors
The world's oil supermajors are pumping out cash as if crude was already trading at $100 a barrel. BP Plc, Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. just generated the highest free cash flow since the start of 2008 -- when oil first climbed above $100 a barrel. Crude isn't that high yet, but spending is much lower, meaning there's more money to return to investors.
/jlne.ws/3gLAb4p
U.S. Sees Record Oil Production Next Year Moving Even Higher
Sheela Tobben - Bloomberg
2022 output seen reaching nearly 12 million barrels a day; EIA increase oil consumption forecasts through next year
U.S. oil production will grow even more than the government previously expected as a scorching price rally drives producers to boost drilling. Oil output will average 12.6 million barrels a day in 2023, an increase from its previous estimate of 12.41 million, according to Energy Information Administration data. The current annual all-time high of 12.3 million barrels a day was set in 2019. This year's production forecast was also revised higher to 11.97 million barrels a day from an earlier projection of 11.8 million, the EIA said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook report.
/jlne.ws/3sBK0Yb
Bigger Is No Longer Better in $1 Trillion Corporate Breakup Boom
Dinesh Nair - Bloomberg
Brookfield, Naturgy among latest companies to consider split; Pressure from activists, drive for efficiency aiding breakups
The corporate breakup party shows no signs of cooling down. Companies with a combined market value of about $1 trillion are pursuing plans to split up their businesses. One of the world's largest institutional investors and a European energy giant are the latest to join the fray.
/jlne.ws/3LqYq66
Bond Traders Haven't Hit Their Pain Threshold Yet; Fixed-income returns aren't likely to improve any time soon. Borrowers should accelerate their issuance plans.
Mark Gilbert - Bloomberg
With the 10-year Treasury yield breaching 2% after this week's higher-than-expected U.S. inflation numbers, bond traders are rightly feeling bruised and battered. The bad news is, there's probably more pain in store in the fixed-income market. But the good news is that governments and companies are still able to benefit from borrowing costs that are way below their historical levels.
/jlne.ws/3gIbN3T
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | UK-EU rule split risks complexity for ESG investors; Confusion and extra costs could be in store for British savers
Akila Quinio - FT
ESG investment could become more complicated for British savers with a growing risk of divergence between European and UK sustainability disclosure rules. While stronger standards for funds focused on environmental, social and governance goals (ESG) have been welcomed by many investment specialists, the industry has warned of increased confusion and high costs if the UK charts a sharply different course from Europe.
/jlne.ws/3GIdSr5
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Hedge funds and activists threatened with new US disclosure rules; SEC proposes halving duration groups have to amass secret stakes in companies
Brooke Masters and Stefania Palma - Ft
Hedge funds and other activist investors would have to disclose significant investments in US public companies within five days, halving the time they currently have to amass a secret stake, under new rules proposed on Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/jlne.ws/3JhMFgy
Ex-Credit Suisse banker says she told bosses "everything" about Bulgarian clients
Stephanie Nebehay - Reuters
A former Credit Suisse employee testified on Thursday that she kept the bank's management fully informed of outflows from Bulgarian customers' accounts after authorities in Sofia asked Switzerland for judicial assistance.
/jlne.ws/3HMdrgA
Sovereign wealth funds find opportunity in energy transition
Kevin Adler - IHS Markit
State-owned investors (SOIs) directed $22.7 billion towards green energy investments in 2021—more than triple the amount in 2020, and far outpacing their $6.9 billion in spending on traditional fossil fuels, consulting firm Global SWF said in its annual report. "2021 will be remembered as the first year in which state-owned investors made more green investments than black investments. This milestone was a few years in the making and has concluded a trend that has been driven by social pressure and financial returns and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic," Global SWF said in the report, which was released in January.
/jlne.ws/3rDXFio
Australia drops banking cartel case against Deutsche Bank and Citigroup; Executives had faced 10-year jail sentences for accusations of collusion over share placement
Nic Fildes - FT
A significant cartel case levelled by the Australian competition watchdog against Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and four senior bankers has collapsed after federal prosecutors dropped criminal charges. The decision to abandon the charges against the two international banks and some of their highest-ranking executives ended a long-running case that had shaken the financial industry in Australia.
/jlne.ws/3JfxmVA
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Turkey to target 'under the mattress' gold in effort to bolster the lira; Ankara hopes to convert about $25bn of the hidden metal into the currency in latest scheme
Laura Pitel - FT
Turkey will expand its drive to lure savers back to the lira next week with a scheme aimed at bringing billions of dollars worth of "under the mattress" gold into the banking system, the country's finance minister told investors during a visit to London.
/jlne.ws/3uLwAvx
Singapore's Clean Energy Dilemma Is a Warning for Small Nations
Ann Koh - Bloomberg
City-state may face problems securing enough carbon-free power; Nuclear power being increasingly pursued by compact countries
Singapore's desire to shift to renewable sources of energy is running up against its geographic limitations. It hasn't got enough space for large solar installations, there are no major rivers for hydro and what little breeze the tropical city-state gets isn't sufficient to push a wind turbine.
/jlne.ws/3uG23iP
Korea's $200 Billion Wealth Fund Is Betting on the Metaverse and AI Startups
Kyungji Cho - Bloomberg
Looks to Silicon Valley as a key source of global growth; Sees hotels benefiting from post-pandemic travel rebound
South Korea's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund plans to boost investments in Silicon Valley startups as it looks to the metaverse and artificial-intelligence to accelerate its expansion in alternative assets.
/jlne.ws/3Lq8ZGK
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Inflation and Other Woes Are Eating Your Girl Scout Cookies; This year, scouts trying to meet their targets have felt the effects of supply-chain woes and price increases; 'Do you have cookies you can spare?'
Rachel Wolfe - WSJ
Girl Scouts are earning a new badge in global economic turmoil. A month into national cookie-selling season, scouts have felt the effects of supply-chain woes and inflation. Some troops are grappling with shortages of flavors from S'mores to Samoas, plus the occasional angry grown-up customer ticked off about price increases, sometimes from $4 to $5 or $6 per box.
/jlne.ws/3HDOOTn
Oreo Maker Mondelez Says Covid Couldn't Quash World's Snacking Habit; CFO Luca Zaramella bets consumers will keep munching its treats like Cadbury chocolates and Ritz crackers despite price hikes.
Taylor Riggs - Bloomberg
The worldwide habit of snacking is here to stay, says Luca Zaramella, Mondelez International Inc.'s chief financial officer. That means the maker of Oreos and Cadbury chocolates remains busy, even in these unsettled times.
/jlne.ws/3HJYEmR
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