| April 03, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
|
| | | | First Read | | |
| | 2025 Newsletter Subscriptions: | |
Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
I ran across the archives of the John Lothian Newsletter on the WayBackMachine from when they were kept on the PriceGroupETD.com website. The archives began on July 5, 2001 about 11 months after the newsletter started in August of 2000. It is amazing to look at how modestly the newsletter and archives started out compared to the advanced state of John Lothian News and all its offerings today.
Looking at the headlines from the John Lothian Newsletter between July and September 2001 provide a fascinating snapshot of the financial industry's transition during a pivotal era. At this time, exchanges were grappling with the shift to electronic trading, regulatory changes, and the globalization of markets. Headlines like "CME GLOBEX2 Record Volume Surpasses 500,000 Mark" and "LIFFE trades record £45 trillion worth of contracts in first half 2001" highlight the growing adoption of electronic platforms and the increasing scale of trading activity. This was a period when exchanges like CME, LIFFE, and Eurex were breaking volume records as they embraced technology to expand their reach and efficiency. Today, electronic trading dominates nearly all markets globally, with high-frequency trading algorithms executing millions of transactions in milliseconds-a stark contrast to the early 2000s when such advancements were still in their infancy.
The regulatory landscape was also undergoing significant changes during this period. Headlines such as "CFTC and SEC Propose Joint Rules Relating to Trading of Security Futures Products" and "New day trading rules take effect at NYSE" reflected the industry's efforts to adapt to the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and other regulatory shifts. These developments laid the groundwork for modern derivatives markets and introduced new products like single-stock futures. Fast forward to today, when regulatory frameworks have become even more complex, addressing challenges posed by algorithmic trading, digital assets, and global interconnectedness.
Another striking theme from these headlines is the consolidation and collaboration among major exchanges. For example, "CBOE, CME, CBOT Name William Rainer to Head Joint Venture on Single-Stock Futures" demonstrates how competitors were beginning to work together on new initiatives. This trend has only intensified over the years, with mergers like ICE's acquisition of NYSE and NYBOT and CME's consolidation of various markets reshaping the industry into a handful of global powerhouses.
Finally, the technological advancements hinted at in these headlines have transformed not only how markets operate but also who participates in them. The mention of "Investors Need Warning on Online Trading Risks-GAO" underscores the nascent concerns about retail investors entering markets through online platforms-a phenomenon that has exploded with today's mobile apps like Robinhood. The financial industry has evolved dramatically since 2001, driven by technology, regulation, and globalization, making these headlines a time capsule of an industry on the brink of transformation.
Today, despite significant advances in trading that have made our markets more globally accessible, fair, and transparent, we increasingly find ourselves navigating volatile, opaque, and unpredictable environments shaped predominantly by arbitrary tariff policies. Economic stability has given way to uncertainty, and genuine market forces are disrupted by political interventions. Such distortions undermine effective price discovery, weakening the market's ability to allocate resources efficiently and accurately signal supply-and-demand dynamics, ultimately diminishing overall economic welfare.
CNN's David Goldman has a story titled "This is the dubious way Trump appears to have calculated his 'reciprocal' tariffs" that can be summarized this way: The Trump administration's newly announced "reciprocal" tariffs, intended to mirror what other nations charge the U.S., appear to be based not on actual tariff schedules but on a simplified formula: a country's trade deficit with the U.S. divided by its exports to the U.S., multiplied by 1/2. Critics argue this approach doesn't account for real tariff or non-tariff barriers and instead targets countries with large trade surpluses. Analysts warn that this method could disproportionately affect nations critical to U.S. supply chains, potentially harming multinational profit margins and disrupting global trade.
A YouTube channel, The Infographics Show, has produced a video titled "Tariff That DESTROYED the American Economy in Just Weeks" that can be summarized as: The Great Depression, marked by widespread unemployment, financial ruin, and social collapse, was exacerbated-if not triggered-by protectionist trade policies like the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Although the stock market crash of 1929 initiated the downturn, the tariffs severely worsened the crisis by igniting global retaliation, shrinking U.S. exports by two-thirds, and crippling the very sectors they aimed to protect, especially agriculture. As global trade collapsed, struggling nations like Germany spiraled deeper into economic turmoil, paving the way for extremist regimes. While economists debate whether tariffs caused the Depression or merely amplified it, the lesson is clear: protectionism can turn economic hardship into global catastrophe. Today, as tariffs once again emerge as tools of political leverage, history warns that such policies risk repeating past mistakes in a far more interconnected world.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: LCH clears first Malaysian interest rate swap, boosting Asian coverage, ANALYSIS: Regulators weigh OTC reporting reforms to tackle global risk, ANALYSIS: Marex says retail demand for listed derivatives to boost, OCC cleared volumes up 30% to new monthly record in March, CME targets retail with first spot-quoted futures in June and CME hits quarterly trading record after 27% rise in March volume.
Neil Lustyk, who retired from the CME Group last year, is starting a new position as volunteer employment coach at Thrive - Transformation At Work, he announced on LinkedIn.
Walt Lukken, FIA president and CEO, has a suggestion for those in Washington, DC to stop by Silver Social by Nationals Park on April 9 for a fundraising Happy Hour for "Sliding into Finance," a group organized by Ari Burstein and dedicated to financial literacy for high schoolers through sports.
David A. Forman, general counsel and head of legal and compliance at EDX Markets, announced on LinkedIn that he decided to step away from his role after "a wonderful three years."
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
*****
Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Retail Investors Reshape Options Trading from Traders Magazine.
- Option traders now expect more of the S&P 500 tariff reaction to occur Thursday from MarketWatch.
- Market Makers Shy Away From World's First Catastrophe Bond ETF from Bloomberg. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
++++
| Sponsored Content |
VeriTrade - The Trading System Built for Leading Marketplaces
Vermiculus' trading system VeriTrade is the result of decades of experience from a team that has built and delivered cutting-edge solutions for the world's largest exchanges. The system is the most advanced on the market today, built to adapt to the rapid changes in the trading industry and designed for those who want to stay ahead of the competition - at a lower cost.
VeriTrade is designed to handle all asset classes with high availability, meeting the demands of the modern trading world. Engineered for ultra-low latency, deterministic order matching, and seamless scalability, it's built to keep you ahead of the curve. Whether implemented on-premises or in the cloud, VeriTrade offers unmatched flexibility with real-time risk management and seamless integration with existing systems.
Built on a microservices architecture with a dual-zone design, VeriTrade enables continuous innovation while ensuring the high reliability that modern trading demands, with 24/7 support for effortless upgrades. The system is designed to evolve with the future of markets - across all asset classes and is delivered on time and on budget.
Discover the next generation of trading. Contact Vermiculus to learn more.
|
++++
 Trading Technologies Doubles Down on Multi-Asset Strategy with New Five-Year Plan JohnLothianNews.com BOCA RATON, Fla. (JLN) - April 2, 2025 - Trading Technologies (TT) is implementing a new five-year strategic plan focused on expanding its multi-asset, multi-workflow, and multi-jurisdictional capabilities, company executives revealed in an interview at FIA Boca50. The plan, developed in 2024, builds upon the previous strategy that was completed three years ahead of schedule under former CEO Keith Todd, according to current CEO Justin Llewellyn-Jones. Watch the Justin Llewellyn-Jones Video »
++++
Want Bananas, Coffee, Chocolate? Hello, Import Tax!; Trump's tariffs won't reverse the US farming deficit, but food inflation will rise and American farmers will suffer.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
In announcing his sweeping tariffs, US President Donald Trump not only justified them by saying they'd protect manufacturing jobs, he also said they would benefit the country's farmers. What a load of nonsense: Trump is about to make food in every American kitchen more expensive. First, Trump's justification on Wednesday: "Just as a nation that does not produce manufactured products cannot maintain the industrial base it needs for national security, neither can a nation long survive if it cannot produce its own food."
/jlne.ws/42cYUGf
****** It is going to be back to the potassium pills for me instead of a daily banana. ~JJL
++++
Trump's Auto Tariffs: We Broke Down an F-150 to Explain Industry Impact
The Wall Street Journal (YouTube video)
President Trump says cars made in the U.S. will face "absolutely no tariff," but it's not so simple. No car is built from 100% U.S. parts-not even the U.S.-built Ford F-150 pickup truck. Major components of the car are from Mexico, Canada and South Korea, which could all be a part of the auto tariffs. WSJ takes a look inside a Ford F-150 to better understand Trump's slew of new tariffs and why automakers are warning it could backfire.
/jlne.ws/4chj5Yk
***** Wait, what about apple pie? ~JJL
++++
How to Pack for a Trip, According to Great Explorers (and Genghis Khan); Learn these smart packing strategies from past and present adventurers, who know what to take and leave behind
Daniel Seifert - The Wall Street Journal
Genghis Khan helped me pack for a trip to Kazakhstan years ago. When Genghis presided over the Mongol Empire in the early 1200s, his clan rode like lightning, unencumbered by extra baggage and aided by smart "packing." As one story goes, they placed strips of tough meat under their saddles; it became paper-thin and sufficiently tenderized to eat. I wasn't traveling by horse or hauling beef-jerky snacks, but the riders' example made me crush my boxers flat at the bottom of my backpack so they took up no space at all. (It worked.) Other adventurers who pack for hellish conditions also have advice to offer:
/jlne.ws/3FQyi6x
***** I am not sure I could ever pack like Genghis Khan. ~JJL
++++
'Liberation Day' Tariffs Won't Make America Wealthy; Companies aren't about to invest in the US without knowing how high import barriers might be next month or next year.
The Editorial Board - Bloomberg
The White House's eagerly awaited announcement on tariffs marks, as promised, a stunning departure in US trade policy. Its reach and ambition are startling - which adds to the uncertainty weighing on investors, businesses and consumers. If the goal really is to encourage investment in US manufacturing, as officials insist, they should look for ways to change course quickly. The new policy seems designed to spur negotiations, forcing trade partners to reconsider their own barriers. It's thus a work in progress, with no clear end.
/jlne.ws/3G6DIu0
***** Tariff....squirrel!....Tariff....SQUIRREL!....Tariff....squirrel!~JJL
++++
Wednesday's Top Three
Our most clicked item on Wednesday was the obituary for Patrick J. Catania, who passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at age 75 on March 21, from the Heeney-Laughlin Funeral Home. Second was The CFTC at 50: Examining the Past and Future of Commodity Markets, a YouTube video from the House Committee on Agriculture. Third was the Testimony Before the House Committee on Agriculture by Richard L. Sandor, Chairman of the Board & CEO at Environmental Financial Products, LLC, on LinkedIn.
++++
|
|  | | | |
 | |
| Lead Stories | US Emerges as Biggest Loser in Markets From Trump's Tariffs
Richard Henderson and Sagarika Jaisinghani - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump's shake-up of the global trading system is hurting US assets more than those in many of the big economies he has just slapped with additional tariffs. US equity index futures tumbled more than 4% after Trump announced a sweeping series of tariffs following the market close on Wednesday, and a gauge of the dollar slumped. But the impact elsewhere was less extreme. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1.9%, while the euro was up 2.2% against the dollar, hitting its highest level since October. A broad gauge of Asian stocks fell as much as 1.7%.
/jlne.ws/4iQaI8l
CME Starts Smaller, Longer Futures Contracts Targeting Retail Investors
Katherine Doherty and Bernard Goyder - Bloomberg
The contracts will be available for two digital currencies, Bitcoin and Ether, as well as four equity indexes: the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, CME said in a statement Wednesday. It will offer futures positions in spot-market terms, meaning the price that is quoted on the screen or trading application. The new offering, which is subject to regulatory review, is part of a larger push by the derivatives exchange to reach more retail traders. Earlier this year, Chicago-based CME rolled out futures products on Robinhood Markets Inc.'s app, seeking to expand beyond institutional investors. It also launched new "micro" contracts for farm commodities that trade in finer increments and are cash-settled instead of physically delivered, Bloomberg reported in February.
/jlne.ws/4jclNAr
Trump Tariffs Aim to Bring Down Curtain on Era of Globalization; The president wants companies to return production to the U.S., but it won't be easy
Jason Douglas and Tom Fairless - The Wall Street Journal
President Trump's biggest tariff blitz yet sends a clear message to U.S. and foreign companies alike: The era of globalization is over. Trump's "Liberation Day" plan to impose sweeping new duties on trillions of dollars in imports shows that the White House wants goods sold to American consumers to be built in American factories-bringing down the curtain on U.S. support for the turbocharged globalization that powered the world economy for decades.
/jlne.ws/4lgO2jh
Trump Tariffs Set to Wipe Out Nearly $2 Trillion From US Stocks
Jeran Wittenstein, Carmen Reinicke and Matthew Griffin - Bloomberg
Roughly $1.7 trillion is set to be erased from the S&P 500 Index when trading opens Thursday amid worries that President Donald Trump's sweeping new round of tariffs could plunge the economy into a recession. The damage was heaviest in companies whose supply chains are most dependent on overseas manufacturing. Apple Inc., which makes the majority of its US-sold devices in China, is on track to open down 7.7%. Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Nike Inc., among companies with manufacturing ties to Vietnam, are down at least 9%. Walmart Inc. and Dollar Tree Inc., retailers whose stores are filled with products sourced outside of the US, are trading at least 4% lower.
/jlne.ws/43DEYyH
US coffee drinkers in for double shot of pain from tariffs; Beans and chocolate prices set to rise as a result of new levies
Susannah Savage - Financial Times
US consumers face even steeper rises in the price of coffee and chocolate as a result of US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on the world's largest producers. The levies, which will hit coffee imports from Brazil, Colombia and Vietnam, are expected to push up prices in shops and cafés at a time when bean costs have already soared amid supply shortages.
/jlne.ws/4hUqg9X
The rule of law is democracy's last defence; It's no accident that populists from France to Wisconsin seek to undermine faith in the judiciary
Robert Shrimsley - Financial Times
An old joke tells of a man who finds a magic lamp, summons the genie and is offered the statutory three wishes. "First, I want a world without lawyers," he says. "Done," says the genie who then turns to leave. "What about my other two wishes," the man protests. The genie replies, "sue me". In a liberal democracy, the rule of law remains society's ultimate protection - and you notice when it's gone. Not everyone shares this view. The corruption of the judiciary is the "long con of the left", declared Elon Musk after failing to swing an election for a state supreme court justice by flooding the contest with cash. By corruption he means rulings that go against his side. But then subjugating the judges is a sine qua non of demagogues.
/jlne.ws/448uwiQ
US tariff shock underscores the instability of a shifting world; The global economy is on a bumpy journey to an unknown destination
Mohamed El-Erian - Financial Times
"Just tell me how things will end up!" It's a question on many minds as the global economy undergoes a genuine paradigm shift that goes well beyond the US tariff announcement currently shocking global markets and businesses. Think of it as a "three-S" change in how things work: structural, secular and systemic. This shift sees politics overwhelmingly driving economics at a time when many domestic economies are unusually vulnerable to tricky external forces. America's once-anchoring global role is not only changing beyond what most CEOs and investors have been bracing for. It is certain to trigger similarly unsettling behaviour on the part of other countries.
/jlne.ws/3E80pxx
Senate Pencils In $5 Trillion for Tax Relief, Leaves Blank Spaces for Spending Cuts; GOP budget framework employs controversial accounting maneuver and conflicts with a competing House plan
Richard Rubin - The Wall Street Journal
Senate Republicans rallied behind a fiscal framework that allows more than $5 trillion in tax cuts over a decade, taking a crucial step toward turning President Trump's agenda-tax cuts, border security and national defense-into law. But the GOP budget resolution released Wednesday won't be the final word along the complicated path to a major tax and spending bill. The plan employs a controversial accounting maneuver, postpones decisions about spending cuts and conflicts with a competing House plan.
/jlne.ws/4lgbFbE
Deutsche Bank Warns Dollar at Risk of Broad 'Confidence Crisis'
Alice Gledhill - Bloomberg
The dollar is at risk of a confidence crisis if President Donald Trump's trade war leads investors to dump US assets accumulated over the past decade, according to Deutsche Bank AG. "We are in the midst of dramatic regime change in markets," George Saravelos, the bank's global head of FX strategy, wrote in a note to clients. "Given the dramatic nature of the moves, we are becoming increasingly concerned that the dollar is at risk of a broader confidence crisis."
/jlne.ws/3EevHmf
OPEC+ Deepens Oil Price Slump by Accelerating Supply Hike
Grant Smith, Fiona MacDonald, Salma El Wardany, and Nayla Razzouk - Bloomberg
OPEC+ agreed to make a larger than expected oil supply hike in May, deepening the slump in oil prices triggered by President Donald Trump's tariffs. The group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will add 411,000 barrels a day to the market next month, the equivalent of three monthly tranches from its previous plan to revive output, according to a statement posted on the OPEC website. The decision followed a call between ministers on Thursday that was focused on member countries that had been consistently exceeding their quotas, delegates said.
/jlne.ws/42dQCy1
Winklevoss Twins' Gemini Expands to Miami With New Office Space
Natalie Wong - Bloomberg
Gemini, the cryptocurrency firm backed by the billionaire Winklevoss twins, is expanding to South Florida with its first office deal in the region. The New York-based firm signed a lease for 8,840 square feet (821 square meters) at 545wyn, in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, according to a statement Thursday. Gemini is expected to occupy the new space by May.
/jlne.ws/4i2TCmt
CFA Level I Pass Rate Rises to 45%, Candidates Get New Scorecard
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
The pass rate for the first level of the chartered financial analyst exam came in well above its historic average, while test-takers were also given a new scoring mechanism to better understand their results. In February, 45% of candidates passed the Level I test, up from 43% for those who sat for the exam in November and 44% for those who took it in August, the CFA Institute said Thursday. That's also higher than the 40% average for the past decade and the lows from 2021, when exam performance was hurt by test-taking deferrals amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
/jlne.ws/43Esx5I
Tim Geithner on How to Fight the Next Financial Crisis; The next generation of financial crisis-fighters.
Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg
The 2008 financial crisis is fading into history, but the risks of something big happening again remain. In this episode, we speak with Tim Geithner, the former US Treasury secretary and head of the New York Fed during the tumultuous collapse of Lehman Brothers. The conversation coincides with the launch of Yale's New Bagehot Project, which is aimed at guiding the next generation of financial crisis-fighters (Geithner is Chair of the program on financial stability at the Yale University School of Management). We talk about what's most important when it comes to putting out financial fires, and what could have been done differently during 2008. And of course, we also talk current risks in the financial system.
/jlne.ws/42fOFRI
Navigating the Private Markets Boom; On this week's episode of In the City, we discuss the renewed momentum behind the private credit market and what's driving it.
Sommer Saadi - Bloomberg
On this week's In the City, host Francine Lacqua discusses the rise of private credit amid economic uncertainty driven in large part by US President Donald Trump and his global trade war. Joined by Bloomberg senior reporter Silas Brown, Lacqua looks at how key figures like Blackrock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink have emphasized a shift towards private markets, and the importance of non-publicly traded opportunities as a way for average Americans to build wealth. The discussion also includes the challenges of high interest rates on valuations, and the evolving regulatory landscape required to protect retail investors as they gain access to private investments.
/jlne.ws/4cdRgQw
Short-Selling Hedge Funds Deserve a Level Playing Field; Regulators should use carefully the discretion they have in how they police public companies and the hedge funds that bet against them.
Chris Hughes - Bloomberg
Life has never been easy for short sellers in Europe. Post Brexit, the contrast with the UK is becoming more pronounced. And it's the more lenient British approach that should prevail. European companies have proved a difficult hunting ground. For starters, a hedge fund launching a public attack on a firm risks becoming a target itself for regulatory scrutiny. Wirecard AG is the textbook example, given that Germany authorities initially sided with the fraudulent firm against its critics before it imploded in 2020. But it's not the only one. The French watchdog went after Muddy Waters LLC over its research on grocer Casino Guichard Perrachon SA, eventually letting the short seller off after a long fight.
/jlne.ws/42vyVeo
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | China's Tariff-Dodging Move to Mexico Looks Doomed; Chinese firms invested billions of dollars in Mexican factories to make products for the American market, shipping goods tariff-free under a U.S. trade pact now in peril
Rebecca Feng and Santiago Perez - The Wall Street Journal
Su Xiuyong moved to Mexico from central China 20 months ago. He doesn't speak Spanish or English, and finds that he hates the food, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. Su's employer, a Shenzhen-based construction company, helped set up Chinese factories south of the U.S.-Mexico border, part of a business boom triggered in 2018 by President Trump's first round of tariffs on Chinese imports. Su said his firm, Jilian Engineering, can build a small factory in as little as seven months in Mexico.
/jlne.ws/43x8AOe
US Excludes Steel, Aluminum, Gold From Reciprocal Tariffs
Joe Deaux - Bloomberg
Steel, aluminum and a long list of other metals won't be subject to "reciprocal" tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday, in a move that provides relief to domestic buyers and suggests the administration is exercising some caution around commodities where the US is heavily reliant on imports. The long list of exemptions to the cascade of duties captures all base metals, precious metals including gold, as well as niche materials. That means that tariffs on steel, aluminum and, eventually, copper won't be stacked on top of the newly-announced country levies.
/jlne.ws/448nP08
How 'groceries' Explains Trump's Detachment From Working Americans; The president's "Liberation Day" tariffs are expected to lead to higher prices on everyday goods. He doesn't seem to care
Ryan Bort - Rolling Stone
Donald Trump is set to impose a sweeping tariffs package on Wednesday that everyone from economists to Republican lawmakers to even Trump himself have acknowledged will make life harder for working Americans. The president doesn't seem too bothered. "I couldn't care less," he said over the weekend, when asked about his tariffs jacking up the cost of cars. Trump doesn't care because affordable cars - especially the cheaper ones that will be most impacted by the tariffs - aren't of much concern to him or the other rich people whose immediate personal interests his administration is tailored to serve. Nevertheless, the president conned millions of people into voting for him last November in part by promising to lower costs for working Americans.
/jlne.ws/3YfvWnT
Trump tariffs pile stress on ailing world economy
Mark John, Francesco Canepa and Leika Kihara - Reuters
The latest round of U.S. trade tariffs unveiled on Wednesday will sap yet more vigour from a world economy barely recovered from the post-pandemic inflation surge, weighed down by record debt and unnerved by geopolitical strife. Depending on how President Donald Trump and leaders of other nations proceed now, it may also go down as a turning point for a globalised system that until now had taken for granted the strength and reliability of America, its largest component.
/jlne.ws/3FSs4mE
Trump signs order ending duty-free treatment for cheap shipments from China
Andrea Shalal - Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that closes a trade loophole known as "de minimis" that has allowed low-value packages from China and Hong Kong to enter the United States free of duties.
/jlne.ws/3E5gRhY
Lawmakers seek to hit a single country with massive 500 percent tariffs
Sarah Ewall-Wice - The Daily Mail
While the Senate is deeply divided ahead of President Trump's planned tariff announcement, the U.S. imposing tariffs that hit one country in particular has bipartisan support. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday announced new legislation on Tuesday that would slap 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium or other products.
/jlne.ws/43CTXZH
|
| | | |
|
| |
| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Putin Is Betting Trump Will Deliver Ukraine Concessions He Wants
Bloomberg News
Russia is still counting on US President Donald Trump to deliver an acceptable peace deal in Ukraine, though it's prepared to continue the war if talks fail, according to people in Moscow familiar with the matter. The Kremlin is unconcerned by Trump's threat to slap punitive secondary sanctions on Russian oil over the lack of progress toward a ceasefire, the people said. Still, President Vladimir Putin realizes that Trump represents his best chance of bringing the war to an end and wants to continue diplomacy, they said, asking not to be identified discussing internal policy.
/jlne.ws/3G6A4jO
Putin's AI blunder is a gift to opponents; Depriving the country of access to the compute needed to build this sector could help deter Russia
Arthur McFarlane - Financial Times
Vladimir Putin does not use the internet, according to a Russian intelligence officer who defected. Nor does he have a smartphone. A decade ago he made the people in his inner circle use typewriters. In this context, it shouldn't be surprising that Russia has fallen so far behind on artificial intelligence. Global sanctions have also prevented the country from developing a domestic AI sector. Radio Free Europe recently reported that Sberbank - Russia's majority state-owned financial services giant - has only been able to procure 9,000 graphics processing units since Russia began a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 (Microsoft bought almost 500,000 last year). Russia has new trade partners, but not ones with access to large quantities of advanced semiconductors. Compounding the problem, it has lost about 10 per cent of its tech workforce to emigration since 2022.
/jlne.ws/4ckH6O8
A Russian Jet Just Blew Up A Russian Dam With A Thermobaric Bomb
David Axe - Forbes
Effective Ukrainian radio jamming has blunted Russia's advantage in precision glide bombs by blocking the signals between the bombs and their navigation satellites-often causing the bombs to veer off target. Russia's advantage in precision glide bombs by blocking the signals between the bombs and their navigation satellites-often causing the bombs to veer off target. That jamming may not extend very deep into Russia, however. Which may explain why, on or just before Tuesday, a Russian air force fighter was able to accurately strike a dam near Ukrainian positions in Belgorod Oblast in western Russia.
/jlne.ws/4lgIDca
Middle East Conflict
Israeli Airstrikes Pound Syria in Effort to Weaken Military
Sherif Tarek - Bloomberg
Israel carried out airstrikes across Syria, including in the capital Damascus, part of an ongoing campaign to weaken the country's military capabilities following the overthrow of long-time leader Bashar al-Assad. The Israel Defense Forces said on Telegram it targeted Syrian army bases in the cities of Hama and Homs, alongside "military infrastructure sites in the area of Damascus." The attacks, carried out in five different areas, wounded civilians and military personnel, the Syrian foreign ministry said.
/jlne.ws/4jkMFhZ
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | BME launches a new system to settle foreign exchange transactions in a payment versus payment mode
BME-X
BME has obtained approval from the Bank of Spain to implement an innovative system for settling foreign exchange transactions in a payment versus payment (FXS) mode. This new system offers numerous advantages over bilateral settlement and is designed to improve efficiency and reduce the risks associated with foreign exchange transactions. BME will offer the FXS system to eliminate the principal risk of foreign exchange transactions that are settled bilaterally, where one of the counterparties would face the loss of the total transaction amount if the other did not deliver the sold currency.
/jlne.ws/3FQpCgp
CME Group to Launch Spot-Quoted Futures, Providing Innovative New Trading Opportunities for Retail Investors
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to launch Spot-Quoted futures on June 30, pending regulatory review. Spot-Quoted futures will allow investors to trade futures positions in spot-market terms (i.e., the price quoted on screen on financial media and investment sites). Contracts will be available for the two leading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ether, as well as across the four major U.S. equity indices, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. In addition, investors will be able to hold these contracts for up to five years - without needing to roll - making a long-term position easier to hold than ever.
/jlne.ws/4jhU3e0
ASX celebrates 25 years of S&P/ASX indices
ASX
ASX is today celebrating the 25th anniversary of S&P/ASX indices, which have become the cornerstone of Australia's financial markets since their introduction in 2000. Over the past quarter-century, the indices have played a critical role for investors in benchmarking performance, supporting investment decisions, and enhancing market transparency for Australian and global investors.
/jlne.ws/41Z8r53
Listings and Market Operation Committee - Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX)
ATHEX Group
The Listings and Market Operation Committee of Athens Stock Exchange, during today's session, approved the listing of Stock Future products for the stocks of the following company "INTRALOT S.A.". Monday 07/04/2025 is defined as start trading date of the aforementioned product.
/jlne.ws/43xcMgW
EBS Market on CME Globex Notice: April 3, 2025
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3FU9yu4
Intercontinental Exchange Reports March and First Quarter 2025 Statistics
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today reported March 2025 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company's investor relations website at https://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet. "Twenty-five years ago, ICE began building a derivatives platform to serve customers' evolving risk management needs, and today, we are the home to benchmarks such as Brent, TTF and Euribor, used by customers across the world to address their hedging needs," said Ben Jackson, President of ICE. "The support from our customers has created the depth of liquidity that our markets offer, and we thank them for making the first quarter of 2025 the highest traded volume quarter in ICE's history."
/jlne.ws/4cnrhq6
Donation Toward Earthquake Relief in Myanmar
JPX
We at Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) would like to express our deep sorrow for those who lost their lives in the recent earthquake in Myanmar and extend our heartfelt sympathies to those affected by the disaster. To aid relief efforts for those affected and reconstruction work in the disaster areas, JPX has decided to donate JPY 10 million.
/jlne.ws/4iW6tZc
LCH launches Malaysian Ringgit non-deliverable swaps
LSEG
LSEG today announces that LCH SwapClear has cleared its inaugural Malaysian Ringgit-denominated non-deliverable interest rate swaps (MYR NDIRS). Launched in response to growing demand among clearing members and clients in the Asia-Pacific region, the milestone is underscored by the early adoption from leading Malaysian and global banks. CIMB and Maybank were among the first institutions to clear MYR NDIRS as clients, with HSBC serving as one of the clearing brokers. The addition of the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) further strengthens LCH SwapClear's robust product suite, which now spans across 28 currencies. MYR is the eleventh APAC currency available for clearing, with notional registration volumes in APAC-domiciled currencies growing by 165% from 2021 to 2024 to reach US$166.8 trillion.
/jlne.ws/43IB5IZ
UBS and SIX List First SARON-Based ETF
SIX
On April 2, UBS Asset Management is introducing the first-ever exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the Swiss Average Rate Overnight (SARON) with SIX. The ETF will be listed and traded on SIX Swiss Exchange with SIX also calculating the relevant rates, specifically SARON and the "SARON index" which compounds the daily interest rates.
/jlne.ws/3YfHQhw
NSE Academy Limited collaborates with Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU for workforce development programs in business and leadership domains
NSE
/jlne.ws/4lgzWP4
OCC March 2025 Monthly Volume Data
OCC
/jlne.ws/4jl0JIm
SGX Securities welcomes the listing of Amova MSCI AC Asia ex Japan ex China Index ETF
SGX
SGX Securities today welcomed the listing of Amova MSCI AC Asia ex Japan ex China Index ETF. It is the first ETF globally that tracks the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan ex China Index, offering investors a more targeted opportunity to capture Asia's growth story. Managed by Nikko Asset Management (Nikko AM), the ETF provides targeted exposure to large and mid-cap companies across some of the most dynamic and rapidly developing markets in Asia. It captures growth opportunities in economies such as India, the world's fastest-growing major economy; South Korea and Taiwan, which are at the forefront of AI and technology trends; and the ASEAN region, offering diverse potential driven by industrialisation, rising consumer demand and global supply chain shifts. The ETF reflects the increasing investor interest in accessing key growth engines across Asia, highlighting the region's economic dynamism.
/jlne.ws/3XHfvAF
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Robinhood to launch banking product
Rajashree Chakravarty - Banking Dive
Stock trading platform Robinhood seeks to dive deeper into financial services with the launch of a banking product later this year. Robinhood Banking, set to be rolled out this fall, will offer checking and savings accounts for its gold members featuring services that aim to solve some of the challenges with legacy bank accounts, said Deepak Rao, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Money.
/jlne.ws/4i2XQdY
Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers From Chicago to Jakarta
Brody Ford, Dawn Lim, Vinicy Chan, and Faris Mokhtar - Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. has pulled back on data center projects around the world, suggesting the company is taking a harder look at its plans to build the server farms powering artificial intelligence and the cloud. The software company has recently halted talks for, or delayed development of, sites in Indonesia, the UK, Australia, Illinois, North Dakota and Wisconsin, according to people familiar with the situation.
/jlne.ws/4hUlfy9
Dealers bullish on Bloomberg chat interface for FX markets; Service expanded its API offering to integrate broker chats into banks' engines for cash FX pricing late last year
Joe Parsons and Emma Siponmaa - Risk.net
Bank trading desks are optimistic that initiatives by Bloomberg to open its chat application programming interface (API) will significantly help them price bilateral foreign exchange trades more accurately - and help bridge the gap between voice and electronic market-making. In certain currencies and cash FX instruments, where electronic liquidity on trading platforms is thin, interdealer brokers (IDBs) are still the main way for banks to gather prices and connect to the market.
/jlne.ws/4lll1TU
Plaid notches $575 million funding round as fintech sector rides upswing
Leo Schwartz - Fortune
Plaid, a fintech startup that connects financial institutions, is announcing its latest funding round on Thursday, valuing the company at $6.1 billion. While the new mark represents a steep decline from Plaid's peak valuation of $13.4 billion in April 2021, a year after a failed acquisition by Visa, the round still reflects a rebound for the startup, which struggled as part of a sector-wide "fintech winter" over the past few years.
/jlne.ws/4jdGWtY
Fintech Plaid completes new funding round but finds valuation cut in half; Pioneer of open banking will use $575mn raised from BlackRock and others to cover employee taxes and share buybacks
Joshua Franklin and Akila Quinio - Financial Times
The valuation of US fintech Plaid has fallen by more than half to about $6bn, a victim of stubbornly high interest rates and signalling a more challenging environment for fast-growing start-ups. Plaid, which built its financial technology business on helping consumers link their bank accounts to other websites and apps, announced on Thursday that it had raised $575mn. New investors include BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton.
/jlne.ws/4hZsKDU
Swiss Fintech Teylor Snaps Up Some Grenke Factoring Businesses
Levin Stamm - Bloomberg
Swiss fintech Teylor AG bought some of the factoring businesses of Grenke AG, the latest in a flurry of acquisitions for the upstart lending platform. For now, the deal only includes Grenke's factoring units in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Poland, and Hungary, Teylor said in a statement on Thursday, which didn't include terms of the transaction. The fintech ultimately intends to acquire the company's Italian and Portuguese entities at a later stage, though.
/jlne.ws/4cn137a
DeepSeek success spurs banks to consider do-it-yourself AI; Chinese LLM resets price tag for in-house systems - and could also nudge banks towards open-source models
Menghan Xiao - Risk.net
/jlne.ws/4jl5rG2
Wealthy cities may be surprise losers from AI automation; The geographic pattern of digital dislocation's impact may be very different from that of previous waves of automation
John Thornhill - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4i33Pzs
Wall Street Giant DTCC Unveils Tokenized Collateral Platform in Crypto Push
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3RBUXWA
Jack Dorsey's Block Pushes Into Banking as Stock Price Tumbles
Emily Mason - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/43yadLB
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | TikTok Faces Fine Over EUR500 Million for EU Data Sent to China
Samuel Stolton - Bloomberg
TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. is set to be hit by a privacy fine of more than EUR500 million ($553 million) for illegally shipping European users' data to China, adding to the growing global backlash over the video-sharing app. Ireland's data protection commission, the company's main regulator in Europe, will issue the penalty against TikTok before the end of the month, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/4hSrq5L
How North Korea Cheated Its Way to Crypto Billions; More than $6 billion from heists highlights the sophistication of cyber operations funneling cash to Kim Jong Un's nuclear program
Patricia Kowsmann and Timothy W. Martin - The Wall Street Journal
At 11:49 a.m. on July 18, North Korean hackers pounced on a major cryptocurrency exchange handling hundreds of millions of dollars. The hackers slipped into the exchange's virtual vault, took control and then started pilfering cryptocurrency tokens. Within a little more than an hour, the hackers had disappeared-and with them, more than $200 million for the Kim Jong Un regime.
/jlne.ws/4jlHQ85
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | OnlyFans founder, crypto foundation submit late-stage bid to buy TikTok
Anna Tong - Reuters
A startup run by Tim Stokely, founder of adult content social media site OnlyFans, has partnered with a cryptocurrency foundation to submit a late-stage plan to acquire short video app TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance, the two said on Wednesday. The intent to bid was sent this week to the White House by Zoop, billionaire Stokely's new company, and the Hbar Foundation, which manages the Hedera cryptocurrency network's treasury.
/jlne.ws/3E68XFe
CME Crypto Derivatives Average Volume Hit Record $11.3B in Q1
Francisco Rodrigues - CoinDesk
CME Group (CME) saw record activity in its cryptocurrency derivatives markets during the first quarter of the year, driven by increased interest in micro-sized contracts. The company reported average daily volume of 198,000 contracts for crypto products, representing $11.3 billion in notional value. It pointed to record highs across its micro ether futures, with 76,000 contracts being traded, as well as its BTC and ETH futures contracts with a volume of 18,000 and 13,000 contracts, respectively.
/jlne.ws/4hYFQS2
Depositary Receipts: A Critical Direct Bridge Between Crypto and TradFi
Ankit Meht - CoinDesk
Digital assets have grown into a multi-trillion-dollar market, yet they remain largely disconnected from traditional finance. Institutional investors increasingly want to own and monetize digital assets, but most banks, broker-dealers and asset managers operate on infrastructure designed for stocks and bonds - not blockchain-based assets. While spot crypto ETFs are an important step toward integration, they only enable passive exposure to the asset class. For digital assets to fully mature, they need a mechanism that bridges them with the entirety of the existing capital markets infrastructure in a familiar, regulated way.
/jlne.ws/4leNoD1
First Digital to 'Pursue Legal Action' Over Justin Sun Allegations as FDUSD Drops
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
FDUSD, the stablecoin issued by Hong Kong-based First Digital, has wobbled from its $1 price peg as investor concerns mounted over its reserves, though the company said Wednesday that it was "completely solvent." FDUSD has dropped to 0.87 against Tether's USDT stablecoin and 0.76 against Circle's USDC on Binance, the main exchange where FDUSD is listed. Notably, bitcoin (BTC) also nearly hit 100,000 against FDUSD. The token has stabilized around $0.98-$0.96 later, still trading below its supposed price anchor.
/jlne.ws/4clIGzk
Amber's Nasdaq Debut Signals IPO Wave for Crypto Firms, Pantera's Veradittakit Says
Sam Reynolds - CoinDesk
Amber Group's (AMBR) listing on Nasdaq earlier this month paves the way for more crypto companies to take the same path, said Paul Veradittakit, a partner at Pantera Capital. Pantera was an early investor in the Hong Kong-based provider of crypto financial services to institutions, whose subsidiary Amber International listed on the exchange on March 13.
/jlne.ws/4i0v79O
Eric Trump says he moved to crypto after family business became 'most canceled company'
MacKenzie Sigalos - CNBC
Eric Trump says his family was "the most canceled company, probably on Earth." That was then. With his dad, President Donald Trump, back in the White House, he sees a new money-making opportunity. "It actually is what drove us toward cryptocurrency," the president's middle son told CNBC, referring to the Trump family's latest business endeavors. "You realize that cryptocurrency was a lot faster, it was a lot more pragmatic, it was a lot more transparent, it was exponentially cheaper."
/jlne.ws/3E8PzHv
Tariffs Disrupt Bitcoin Mining Supply Chain Rooted in Asia
Ryan Weeks - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3R3dE5A
House Stablecoin Bill Advances in US House With Support of Trump, Democrats
Steven T. Dennis - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4iTCcdt
Tron's Justin Sun Bailed Out TUSD as Stablecoin's $456M Reserves Were Stuck in Limbo, Filings Show
Sam Reynolds - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3FTRC2H
Pump.fun Launches PumpFi To Fund Meme Coins and NFTs
Ayesha Aziz - CoinMarketCap
/jlne.ws/4iUoQOd
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | US bans government personnel in China from romantic or sexual relations with Chinese citizens
Dake Kang, Matthew Lee and Didi Tang - Associated Press
The U.S. government has banned American government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, The Associated Press has learned. Four people with direct knowledge of the matter told the AP about the policy, which was put into effect by departing U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns in January shortly before he left China. The people would speak only on condition of anonymity to discuss details of a confidential new directive.
/jlne.ws/3FQ3piq
Lutnick Says Foreign Nations' Non-Tariff Barriers Are 'Monster'
Stephanie Lai, Jonathan Ferro, Annmarie Hordern, and Lisa Abramowicz - Bloomberg
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that foreign nations will need to address a host of regulatory and other policies limiting imports of American products in order to secure relief from President Donald Trump's new reciprocal levies. "These non-tariff trade barriers, they are the monster that needs to be slayed," Lutnick said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's Surveillance Thursday. "Our teams are talking to all the great trading partners today," he said. "It is time for them to do deep soul searching on how they treat us poorly and how to make it right."
/jlne.ws/3FTFHSE
Justice Department lawyers struggle to defend a mountain of Trump executive orders
Carrie Johnson - NPR
Most days this year, in courtrooms all over the country, the Justice Department has been busy defending President Trump's executive actions. But in many of those cases, the government's own lawyers have been struggling to answer questions and having to correct the record. It's a function of how aggressively Trump has moved so far - and how the attorneys have been having a hard time keeping up. "There have been over 130 lawsuits that have been filed in the past two months and that would be an extraordinary amount of litigation for DOJ to defend even if it were fully staffed, which it is not," said Kelsi Brown Corkran, who spent six years at the Justice Department. "It is far from it."
/jlne.ws/4hVXK7S
Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon
Rachael Bade - Politico
President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man. The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.
/jlne.ws/42s67U5
CEOs and Normal Humans Are Starting to Agree: On Trump and the Economy, They've Made a Huge Mistake; Introducing our new opinion polling and existential fear column, Margin of Terror!
Ben Mathis-Lilley - Slate
Welcome to Margin of Terror, a new column in which we'll track the reception the second Donald Trump presidency is getting from the United States electorate. To do this, we'll of course be referring to public opinion polls-hence the name of the column, a delightful pun that evokes both the phrase "margin of error" and the sense of bleak, nauseated panic that many Americans currently feel when they think about the present and future. Befitting a political environment in which every faction can build its own siloed version of reality, though, we'll also go beyond the topline approval numbers to try to figure out how Trump is faring with various demographic and cultural subgroups whose support (or indifference) were crucial to his victory in 2024.
/jlne.ws/4jkz0aH
The Signal Story Is Far From a Closed Case; The Trump administration wants to move on but I want answers. We deserve to know how this happened.
Mark R. Warner - The Wall Street Journal (opinion)
Given the dizzying pace of events in Washington, Americans can be forgiven for wondering which issues are worth paying attention to, and which are like one of national security adviser Mike Waltz's disappearing Signal messages-here today, gone in a second. More than a week after news broke that President Trump's top advisers were using an unclassified messaging app to discuss details of a planned military strike, there's still much we don't know about this security breach.
/jlne.ws/4jjAlOY
Trump Gives China's Xi a Chance to Win Over World Hit by Tariffs
Bloomberg News
/jlne.ws/3Rz0QUy
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | BlackRock Secures UK FCA Crypto Registration
Camomile Shumba - CoinDesk
BlackRock managed to land on the Financial Conduct Authority's tough crypto register on Tuesday, the regulators website showed. The world's biggest asset manager will be allowed to act as an arranger for iShares Digital Assets AG, which issue Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) - a financial instrument that is pegged an underlying asset, in this case a crypto asset.
/jlne.ws/42bDfhF
Galaxy Secures UK Approval for License to Expand Derivatives Trading
Camomile Shumba - CoinDesk
Galaxy Digital UK, the subsidiary of Mike Novogratz-led digital asset financial services firm's application for a license to execute derivatives trading in the U.K. has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The firm's Investment Banking arm will also use Galaxy Digital UK's FCA authorization to provide capital raising and investment banking services, according to a statement on Wednesday. The Galaxy U.K. subsidiary will also support its asset management business with fund distribution activities.
/jlne.ws/3DUtX1E
Kraken Secures Restricted Dealer Status in Canada Amid 'Turning Point' for Crypto in the Country
Tom Carreras - CoinDesk
Crypto exchange Kraken has registered as a restricted dealer in Canada, allowing the exchange to continue offering crypto trading services to Canadian users under the country's evolving regulatory framework. The registration, announced on Tuesday, comes after a multi-year process that required exchanges to meet higher standards for investor protection and governance. Kraken said it worked closely with Canadian regulators during this pre-registration phase, upgrading its compliance systems and internal controls to meet expectations set by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
/jlne.ws/4jbp6rz
Rahul Varma Named Acting Director of CFTC Division of Market Oversight
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham today announced Rahul Varma will serve as the Acting Director of the Division of Market Oversight. "Rahul has ably served the CFTC for more than a decade and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this new role," Pham said. "I thank Rahul for his continued leadership in DMO."
/jlne.ws/3FR4qHc
By Building Wealth, Investors Power U.S. Economy
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) today announced, as part of April's National Financial Literacy Month, it will highlight the key role investing plays in both powering the U.S. economy and preparing U.S. investors for their own financial future. Investing is an important tool for individuals and families in achieving their financial goals, such as affording higher education, supporting retirement, or simply building wealth for the future. While building for their own financial future, investors are also playing a key role in powering the innovation-based U.S. economy by providing capital to businesses of all sizes.
/jlne.ws/4leH91Z
SEC Charges Three Arizona Individuals with Defrauding Investors in $284 Million Municipal Bond Offering That Financed Sports Complex
SEC
On April 1, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Randall "Randy" Miller, Chad Miller, and Jeffrey De Laveaga with creating false documents that were provided to investors in two municipal bond offerings that raised $284 million to build one of the largest sports venues of its kind in the United States.
/jlne.ws/44d7ffJ
Scam alert: Scammers are impersonating ASIC in text messages
ASIC
ASIC has become aware of scammers sending text messages that fraudulently seem to be from ASIC. Scammers are using alpha tags to trick consumers into thinking they are dealing with ASIC to obtain their personal and financial information.
/jlne.ws/3RDY9Rz
FSA Weekly Review No.630
FSA
/jlne.ws/3E7VPiP
Comments by MAS on Market Conditions
MAS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said today that Singapore's foreign exchange and money markets continue to function normally.
/jlne.ws/4iWsWFv
Joint Advisory On Scammers Impersonating Officials From The Monetary Authority Of Singapore
MAS
The Singapore Police Force and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would like to alert members of the public to scams leveraging MAS' Register of Representatives e-service platform to deceive victims into believing that they are MAS officials. The Register of Representatives is not a list of MAS employees. Since March 2025, there have been at least three cases reported, with total losses amounting to at least $614,000.
/jlne.ws/4cgYYJP
SEBI launches "Document Number Verification System"
SEBI
1.Keeping in mind the public interest, transparency in the functioning of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) andto ensure verifiability of all documents issued by SEBI, the Document Number Verification System (SEBI-DNVS) has been launched.
/jlne.ws/4hW4uCD
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs make apparel stocks like Nike un-investable: Wall Street reacts
Brian Sozzi - Yahoo Finance
Cross apparel and footwear stocks off your buy list, analysts are suggesting in the aftermath of President Trump's sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs. "Until visibility improves, we expect investors show very little appetite for investment in our coverage universe," said Stifel apparel analyst Jim Duffy in a note to clients early Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3FVvd59
The Race to Get Gold Bars Into the US Is Screeching to a Halt
Jack Farchy - Bloomberg
A massive arbitrage trade that has drawn tens of billions of dollars' worth of gold and silver to the US came to an abrupt halt with Wednesday's announcement that precious metals would be exempt from Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. For several months, prices in New York have traded at large and unusual premiums to global benchmarks as traders weighed the risk that precious metals could be caught up in tariffs. The differential created an incentive for banks and traders to load planes and ships with so much bullion that it distorted US trade data in the process.
/jlne.ws/3YdRUaW
To clear 24/7 trading, CCPs must rethink how they work
Alexander Kristofersson - PostTrade360
Crypto exchanges and other new digital trading platforms are pushing the operational boundaries of traditional financial market infrastructures. Clearinghouses are increasingly asking themselves how they can monitor clients and markets - and file calls for additional money as "margin" - far outside traditional office hours. A panel in the WFEClear conference in Seoul looked into it on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3E5GFdO
STANY's 89th Markets Conference Offers Insights, Innovation, and Networking
Anna Lyudvig - Traders Magazine
The Security Traders Association of New York (STANY) will host its 89th Markets Conference & Reception on April 7 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the NYSE. Attendees can expect fireside chats and panels on key subjects, including understanding AI, the rise of hosted pools, prediction markets, and trends in retail trading. This action-packed day will kick off with a breakfast hosted by STANY Women in Finance. Traders Magazine caught up with Kimberly Unger, the Executive Director and CEO to learn more.
/jlne.ws/4iWI063
Corporates Focus on FX Risk Management Amid Growing Geopolitical Uncertainty
Press Release via Traders Magazine
London, 2 April 2025 - A new report from FX-as-a-Service provider, MillTechFX, has revealed that over four-fifths (81%) of corporates hedge their foreign exchange (FX), increasing protection from increased currency volatility, driven by growing geopolitical uncertainty. The MillTechFX Global FX Report 2025 analyses the findings from surveys of 750 finance leaders at corporates across Europe, the UK and North America, revealing their FX strategies, the impact of domestic currencies, geopolitical influences, operational challenges and more.
/jlne.ws/43yjm6Q
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | US Embassy Told Dutch Firms to Drop DEI Goals, Says Minister
Patrick Van Oosterom - Bloomberg
Dutch companies supplying the US Embassy in the Netherlands have been asked to drop their diversity, equity and inclusion goals, echoing moves seen in other European countries, including France. The US embassy sent letters to their direct suppliers asking them to "drop their diversity goals," Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Reinette Klever told MPs in The Hague on Thursday, noting that "this pressure from the American government is unwanted and uncalled for."
/jlne.ws/4cgLduH
Company using renewable energy to power bitcoin operations hits major milestone: 'A critical achievement'; "This project represents a significant increase in our shovel-ready momentum."
Kristen Lawrence - The Cool Down
Soluna, a leading developer of sustainable data centers that convert excess renewable energy into computing power for energy-hungry applications - such as bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence - announced that it secured 60 acres of land to build a new 187-megawatt data center in Texas, an important milestone in its expansion efforts. According to a company news release, the data center, called Project Rosa, will be conveniently co-located next to a 240 MW wind farm, allowing it to directly harness a significant amount of renewable energy.
/jlne.ws/3E6jDni
The next chapter of embodied carbon; Reducing emissions from material production and construction processes
Crain's Chicago Business
Design and construction professionals know that buildings are responsible for 37% of global carbon emissions and significantly contribute to a company's carbon footprint. Embodied carbon, emissions from material production and construction processes, can account for up to 50% of a building's total carbon footprint. As our industry is preparing to launch new standards, including LEED v5, we are looking for more ways to help our clients reduce their carbon footprints and greenhouse gasses overall.
/jlne.ws/3FT6hLv
Goldman Says German Fiscal Boost Is Game Changer for Power Needs
Eva Brendel - Bloomberg
Germany's ambitious plans to ramp up defense and infrastructure spending will drive "major pivot" in power demand during the next few years, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The country's recently approved fiscal stimulus could trigger up to EUR2 trillion in investments over ten years, analysts led by Alberto Gandolfi wrote in a report. That's likely to drive a "re-industrialization" of the economy and push electricity demand 2.5% higher per year by 2027, with infrastructure investments, data centers and electrification raising energy usage.
/jlne.ws/3G3FM64
UK North Sea Oil Is 'Uninvestable' Due to High Tax, Ineos Says
Rachel Graham - Bloomberg
The development of new oil and natural gas resources in the UK isn't viable due to high taxes, according to Ineos Group. "Tax rates are so punitive that the UK is uninvestable," Brian Gilvary, chairman of the Ineos Energy unit, said by phone on Wednesday following the company's acquisition of production assets in the US. The UK introduced what's known as the Energy Profits Levy in 2022, and the tax increased to 38% last year. Ineos, which has production in the UK, is paying a total tax rate of 78% on its output, according to Gilvary.
/jlne.ws/3FQE4Fg
Oil Traders Shun China-Made Ships for US Flows on Trump Levies
Serene Cheong, Alex Longley, and Weilun Soon - Bloomberg
Oil traders looking to book ships that call at US ports are trying to avoid Chinese-built vessels, after President Donald Trump proposed hefty fees on them in a bid to revive American shipbuilding. Charterers booking ships to haul cargoes that will load from, or discharge at, US terminals are asking for vessels that weren't constructed in Chinese yards, according to people involved in the market. The requests are being made when traders have alternatives, such as South Korean-built tankers, the people said, declining to be identified discussing sensitive commercial matters.
/jlne.ws/3YepSfq
BP's low-carbon mobility team axed as company reverts to oil and gas; Executive tells staff it is not 'commercially viable' for group to keep unit focused on low-emission trucking
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/448v2gM
Trump's DEI Purge Drives 34% Drop in Pro-ESG Investor Proposals
Jeff Green - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4cglLp3
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Goldman Sachs and FlexTrade enhance algo offering with API order status updates; New partnership makes Goldman the first broker to offer order updates via API on an EMS; launch is designed to enhance buy-side visibility on algo order performance intraday.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Goldman Sachs has gone live with a new connectivity that will offer clients algo order status updates delivered via API on their FlexTrade execution management system. The new offering is the first of its kind and designed to enhance buy-side visibility of algo orders throughout the trading day, building on existing capabilities in this sphere delivered via FIX connectivity. The service will give clients access to proprietary data on Goldman algos directly via EMS.
/jlne.ws/3E27Zd2
Stephen Hood promoted at Marex
Lucy Carter - Markets Media
Marex has appointed Stephen Hood as head of clearing for the Americas. The clearing service provider covers the energy, commodity and financial markets. It reported almost US$1.6 billion in revenue over 2024. Hood replaces Jamal Oulhadj, who is moving to the UAE as MENA head of business development for clearing to develop Marex's operations in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Hood has more than 25 years of industry experience, the last 13 years of which have been spent with ED&F Man Capital Markets, which was acquired by Marex in 2022. Most recently, he was chief risk officer for North America at Marex.
/jlne.ws/3RBOACE
Ermotti Says Swiss Parliament Adds Long-Term Uncertainty for UBS
Noele Illien - Bloomberg
The Swiss government's decision to delegate a critical ruling on UBS Group AG's future capital levels to the country's parliament increases long-term uncertainty for the bank, Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said. If the government "thinks that's the best way to address the subject, OK, but there are consequences, for sure," Ermotti said at an event in Zurich on Thursday, adding that the bank will respect the result.
/jlne.ws/3E8Iabb
UniCredit tops Europe's VAR breach leaderboard in 2024; Swedbank, Commerzbank and SocGen among model users repeatedly blindsided by volatility
Lorenzo Migliorato - Risk.net
UniCredit incurred seven value-at-risk backtesting breaches in 2024, the highest tally among European banks, as market volatility repeatedly caught dealers off-guard. The Italian lender overshot its VAR threshold on a hypothetical - or 'clean' - profit-and-loss basis on May 17, August 1 and December 20. It also breached VAR on an actual - or 'dirty' - P&L basis on June 27, September 27, November 28 and December 20.
/jlne.ws/3FR7UJI
Rahm Emanuel returns to investment banking
John Pletz - Crain's Chicago Business
Rahm Emanuel is going back to investment banking, rejoining Centerview Partners, where he worked for two years after leaving office as mayor of Chicago. It's familiar territory for Emanuel, who has toggled between investment banking and public office throughout his long career. In addition to his previous stint at Centerview, Emanuel worked at Wasserstein Perella, where he was involved in the 1999 merger that created Exelon, before running for Congress.
/jlne.ws/4hZfTSa
Jefferies Moving to Bigger Singapore Office Amid Expansion Push
Low De Wei, Elffie Chew, and Joyce Koh - Bloomberg
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is set to move to a larger office space in Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter, in a further signal of the Wall Street firm's expansion drive in Asia. The firm will move from UOB Plaza, a building owned by United Overseas Bank Ltd. next to the Singapore River, to a larger office space at Ocean Financial Centre, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Both locations are in the city-state's central business district.
/jlne.ws/43CRtul
PIMCO steps up private lending to emerging market governments
Yoruk Bahceli - Reuters
/jlne.ws/41Y13qD
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | How Smartsheet Uses 'Enterprise-Grade Scalability' to Elevate Work Management; UC Today spoke to Sarfraz Ali, Vice President and General Manager of EMEA at Smartsheet, about the work management business's story so far, EMEA ambitions, and long-term strategy
Kieran Devlin - UC Today
The work management revolution has blossomed in tandem with its UC and collaboration equivalents, similarly turbocharged by the past half-decade's hybrid and remote working boom. Project management, task management, portfolio management. Sales systems, IT projects, and marketing campaigns. All of it falls under the broad work management umbrella, and all of it has seen a competitive and wildly innovative market emerge to accommodate such demand.
/jlne.ws/41VyZ77
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | This Isn't How You Make America Healthy Again; Gutting the public health agencies that keep Americans safe - and not being transparent about it - will cause harm that can't easily be reversed.
Lisa Jarvis - Bloomberg Opinion
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s grand plan for Making America Healthy Again is taking shape. It centers on dismantling the public health systems that have kept Americans safe for decades. The damage from sweeping cuts this week at the Department of Health and Human Services, which Kennedy oversees, will be felt within public health, the biomedical sciences, and, yes, by ordinary Americans.
/jlne.ws/4cfksXz
Gen Z and millennials are creating a recession-resistant corner of the market
Jennifer Sor - Business Insider
Gen Zers and millennials are spending big and helping insulate one area of the market from a recession: the wellness industry. Bank of America analysts said Tuesday that younger Americans look to be driving a long-term interest toward healthier lifestyle habits, something that could support the health and wellness sector to continue to grow even if the economy turns.
/jlne.ws/3XImQjA
RFK Jr. Lays Off Staffers Who Run FDA's Vaccine Expert Panel
Rachel Cohrs Zhang - Bloomberg
The Food and Drug Administration laid off staffers who run an expert panel that advises the agency on vaccines, according to people familiar with the situation. The responsibilities of the four employees included monitoring conflicts of interest and overseeing meetings, according to the people who asked not to be named because the moves aren't public.
/jlne.ws/4leLnqn
The Next Big Thing in Wellness Tourism? Your Brain
Nicole Kliest - Vogue
It sounds like an excerpt from a cyberpunk novel, but scientific equipment that can map and decode your brain is already here. Advancements in neurotechnology are ushering in a new frontier of brain health, one that could have a profound impact on not just longevity, but overall quality of life. Of course, brain monitoring presents all kinds of ethical issues (a fact that organizations like UNESCO and The United Nations are already examining in great detail), but beyond the very legitimate concern of protecting our private thoughts, this new era also holds incredible potential-and the wellness industry is ready to meet the moment.
/jlne.ws/3XL9wuB
Starting a New Life Together, With Wellness Top of Mind; Couples who view health and mindfulness as key components of their everyday lives have worked to ensure that their weddings strongly reflect those values.
Sarah Lyon - The New York Times
Kara Ladd-Blum said she was "pushed into the wellness world" after being diagnosed in 2016 with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer affecting the body's soft tissues. "I became hyper-aware of what I was putting on and in my body, and that evolved into this spiritual awakening," said Ms. Ladd-Blum, 32, of Brooklyn, who has been cancer-free for eight years. Now, she works with wellness brands as a conscious marketing consultant and hosts a podcast focused on mindful living.
/jlne.ws/4jdKn3Q
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese Stock Investors Flock to Hong Kong to Bargain Hunt
Bloomberg News
Chinese investors snapped up nearly HK$29 billion ($3.7 billion) worth of stocks in Hong Kong on Thursday, buying the dip after President Donald Trump hit China with steep tariffs. The day's tally is the second-largest following a record in March, when mainland buyers added HK$29.6 billion via the trading links with Hong Kong. Chinese investors have been on a shopping spree for stocks trading in the city this year, with buying concentrated in the tech, electric vehicle and telecom sectors. Inflows so far have totaled HK$500 billion, already more than half of last year's annual record. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ended the day down 1.3%, trimming an earlier drop of 2.6%.
/jlne.ws/4i2WlMJ
China to Diversify Offshore Bond Issuance After Green Debut
Bloomberg News
China is looking to diversify its offshore debt program and make sales more regularly to tap international investors, following hefty demand for its debut green bonds. "We'll think about expanding the issuance location and also the currency combination of our sovereign bonds, including green bonds and regular sovereign bonds," said Liao Min, vice minister of the Chinese ministry of finance. Officials are also discussing "how to make issuance in the future on a more regular basis," he said in response to Bloomberg News questions.
/jlne.ws/4iik2RH
Swiss Attorney General Who Busted Trafigura Wants US-Style Powers
Hugo Miller - Bloomberg
Switzerland's top prosecutor has called on legislators to give him sweeping US-style powers and more investigators to dole out faster justice to errant companies. The recent convictions on bribery charges of former executives from top commodity-trading firms Trafigura and Gunvor, while notable, took years to prosecute "and the protracted nature of such proceedings poses a major challenge," the office of Swiss Attorney General Stefan Blaettler said in a statement Thursday. Criminal investigations into wrongdoing at Glencore Plc which resulted in a so-called summary penalty order still took more than four years to complete, it said.
/jlne.ws/42rAiea
Dubai Chocolate Frenzy Has Finally Arrived in the UK; Demand is so high, stores are rationing their supplies.
Kate Krader - Bloomberg
Dubai chocolate has been around since 2021, when a woman named Sarah Hamouda layered sweet-salty pistachio cream with tahini and crispy shredded phyllo dough with chocolate for her company Fix Dessert Chocolate. The confection quickly made the rounds on TikTok, people began making it themselves, and posts about the nutty, crunchy chocolate regularly generate millions of views. Demand has been so strong that the Turkish pistachio industry was impacted: In 2024 the country substantially increased exports of Syrian nuts to stabilize prices of pastries such as baklava.
/jlne.ws/4ckOFob
|
| | | |
|
| |
| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Anger against Trump is likely to cost the US international visitors, forecaster says
Dee-Ann Durbin - Associated Press
Anger over the Trump administration's tariffs and rhetoric will likely cause international travel to the U.S. to fall even further than expected this year, an influential travel forecasting company said Tuesday. Tourism Economics said it expects the number of people arriving in the U.S. from abroad to decline by 9.4% this year. That's almost twice the 5% drop the company forecast at the end of February.
/jlne.ws/4leT007
The Story of the Gilded Age Wasn't Wealth. It Was Corruption.; Richard White, the historian and author of The Republic for Which It Stands, explains what made the late 19th century gilded.
Derek Thompson - The Atlantic
Is the U.S. in a second Gilded Age? Many in the news media seem to think so: You'll find the claim in The New Yorker, NPR, Politico, and these pages. The White House, for its part, seems to think that would be a good thing: "We were at our richest from 1870 to 1913," Donald Trump said days into his second presidential term, a period that covers-that's right-the Gilded Age. Although the claim was factually lacking, it was politically prophetic. Trump has governed like a late-19th-century president, with his penchant for tariffs, his unusual relationship with a major industrial titan, and his bald-faced corruption.
/jlne.ws/4lh07oM
|
| | | |
|
| |
Disclaimer: All John Lothian Newsletters, JohnLothianNews.com, MarketsWiki.com and MarketsReformWiki.com are products of John Lothian News, a division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. The opinions expressed in all John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. publications are strictly those of their respective editors. They are intended solely for informative purposes and are not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted. Security futures are not suitable for all customers. Futures and options trading involve risk. Past results are no indication of future performance. Nothing on any John J. Lothian & Company site should be considered an endorsement by any sponsor of any website or newsletter content.
© 2025 John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
