| March 26, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
President Donald Trump is breaking a key rule I lived by for many years that I learned from my mother-in-law, Betty Bergstrom. She had the practice of only being mad at one of her children at a time, lest two or more of them who would be in her doghouse together might gang up on her. The rule is don't put two or more children in the doghouse at the same time. Which brings me to a Bloomberg story titled "The Art of the Deal Meets a Four-Power Axis" with the subheadline "By putting deals over values, President Donald Trump may pry apart a fledgling pact among China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. But at great cost."
President Donald Trump's foreign policy approach, focused on quick deals and photo ops, risks undermining the international order while potentially preventing the formation of a hostile four-power axis comprising China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, the Bloomberg columnist Andreas Kluth wrote. While these nations share common animosity toward the US and its global primacy, their cooperation is fragile due to ideological and strategic differences. Trump's lack of interest in the traditional contest between democracy and autocracy, along with his desire for isolated deals, could inadvertently drive these powers to cooperate more closely. His approach to Iran, characterized by maximum pressure while seeking a new deal, contrasts with his pragmatic engagement with Russia and China, potentially leading to a new detente that weakens the US's global influence and its role in maintaining international stability. Although Trump may prevent a direct confrontation, this strategy comes at the cost of allowing these powers more freedom to pursue their regional ambitions without risking war between them.
It was during the first Trump administration that I remember reading about many officials using messaging apps that would not archive the conversations. It was after that that we had the problems on Wall Street with messaging apps and the over one billion dollars in fines for some of the world's biggest banks for employees using similar apps. It is not a surprise to me to hear that the second Trump administration is using commercial messaging apps again, but I am quite surprised it occurred in a national security setting. In 2022, 11 Wall Street banks and brokers agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in fines after an investigation uncovered "pervasive off-channel communications" using personal devices and messaging apps like WhatsApp. In this case, the Espionage Act of 1917 is the law to consider. The Espionage Act criminalizes the unauthorized transmission of classified information or sensitive government materials. In this case, discussing sensitive military operations in a non-secure messaging app like Signal could potentially violate the Act if any classified or operational details were leaked. Additionally, issues related to federal record retention laws could also be implicated if the messages were not properly archived or retained, as required by law. If it is good enough for Wall Street, it should be good enough for Washington, D.C.
The FIA Law & Compliance Division will host a timely webinar on March 27, 2025, titled "CFTC Self-Reporting, Cooperation, and Remediation Advisory: A Game-Changer." The event will examine the CFTC's new Enforcement Advisory, which offers long-awaited clarity and incentives for firms that self-report, cooperate, and remediate potential violations. Featuring a presumptive discount matrix and detailed eligibility criteria, the advisory marks a significant shift in enforcement strategy and risk management for market participants. Michael Sorrell, FIA's deputy general counsel, will host a panel including Renato Mariotti and Michael Spafford of Paul Hastings, and Brian Young, CFTC's director of enforcement, to explore how this guidance reshapes regulatory compliance decisions.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: ICE plans first battery metal futures in challenge to CME, ANALYSIS: US retail brokers eye futures as client demand shifts, FIA backs Hong Kong regulator's plan to raise index position limits, Sucden completes Euro rates options offering with Eurex, Former SG, BNP broker Chart joins Standard Chartered and ANALYSIS: Abaxx Exchange says Asia deserves its own gold market.
As a Boy Scout leader I was always looking for the latest camping gear upgrade. The better your gear, the better you could manage the risks of the outdoors and enjoy its wonders. I also enjoyed some of the camping tech and gear that made life easier. Bloomberg has a story today about one of the latest offering for campers in a story titled "A Premium Portable Pizza Oven Is the Latest Glamping Perk" with the subheadline "Autocamp and its competitors are making access to nature easier, more luxurious-and more delicious, too."
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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WILD (Women In Listed Derivatives) Dallas is hosting a Networking Happy Hour on Wednesday, April 9 from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. CT at Eno's Pizza Tavern in Coppell, TX. The event is open to all WILD members and prospective members. Drinks and appetizers will be provided by WILD. You can go here to register. ~SR
Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Why the 'JPMorgan options whale' can help the stock market over the next week from MarketWatch.
- Why stock-options traders seem unfazed by the April 2 tariffs deadline from MarketWatch.
- Building the Future: How Citadel Securities is Shaping Miami's Finance Scene from Traders Magazine. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 CQG CEO Outlines Financial Market "Ecosystem" Strategy at FIA Expo JohnLothianNews.com BOCA RATON, Fla. (JLN) - March 25, 2025 - CQG CEO Ryan Moroney positioned the 44-year-old trading technology firm as a unifying "ecosystem" for global financial markets during an interview at the FIA Expo50, emphasizing partnerships and infrastructure over traditional front-end tools. Watch the Ryan Moroney Video »
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Trump signs order seeking to overhaul US elections, including requiring proof of citizenship
Ali Swenson and Christina A. Cassidy - Associated Press
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul elections in the U.S., including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day. The order says the U.S. has failed "to enforce basic and necessary election protections" and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don't comply.
/jlne.ws/4kZxaxk
***** This is where I get very concerned about the chaos this could create and the possibility of elections being delayed or thrown out, whereby Congress is sidelined by its own actions or inactions.~JJL
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Sports Illustrated to Roll Out Athletics-Linked Wagers Market
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
The Sports Illustrated brand is teaming up with UK-based media firm Galactic to launch a predictions market allowing users to bet on anything linked to athletic events - except the outcome of games. The platform, which will be known as SI Predict, joins a growing field of quasi-betting exchanges, including Polymarket and Kalshi, which offer products based on derivatives contracts. SI Predict will be available globally and feature bets on things such as football-game attendance or what song a halftime musician will perform, but not who will win a specific game.
/jlne.ws/3E5dUxP
***** Oh this is fun. From the article: While SI Predict will comply with regulations put in place by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US, "as a non-custodial platform, it does not need to be regulated," Stott said in an emailed response to questions. The platform's wagers aren't concerned with the outcome of a specific sports event, but rather on adjacent gambles, such as whether Taylor Swift will attend a certain game. SI Predict's products "are akin to futures contracts," Stott said.~JJL
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Kalshi Saw $208 Million in March Madness 'Bets.' But Don't Call It Gambling; Kalshi and other prediction markets have effectively opened the door to nationwide sports betting-depending on your definition of a bet.
Nick Devor - Barron's
A year ago, sports gamblers in Texas, California, and 15 other states were left out of the $2.7 billion in NCAA tournament bets. This year, technology firms are giving all 50 states a chance to get in on the action. New York City-based Kalshi has invited users to "Make $ on March Madness" using its nascent prediction market platform. Kalshi customers placed $208 million worth of trades during the first two rounds of NCAA tournament games, the company says. That's pocket change in the face of the broader March Madness gambling ecosystem, but it represents a seismic shift in the sports betting landscape.
/jlne.ws/3Xwj78w
***** I love the diss in the previous article, calling Kalshi a "quasi-betting exchange."~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was There's a Stock Exchange for Lawsuits, an opinion piece by Matt Levine in Bloomberg. Second was Big Take: Googling in the ChatGPT Era, also from Bloomberg. And third was The SEC Crypto Roundtable Was a Missed Opportunity, an opinion piece by Renato Mariotti in CoinDesk.
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| Lead Stories | US Stock Market Liquidity Drying Up as Trade War Concerns Mount
Jess Menton - Bloomberg
Worries over the economic effects of the global trade war are sapping liquidity in US stocks, creating a headache for institutional investors that could also boost volatility in broader markets. Liquidity - the ease of buying or selling an asset without affecting its price - has been dwindling for years due to factors such as tighter regulations and the rise of automatic trading. Now, tariff concerns have introduced a new wrinkle, stoking gyrations in individual stocks that have made it harder for institutions to trade in size. The phenomenon can be seen in a pair of widely tracked liquidity measures. Liquidity in S&P 500 stock-index futures, as measured in the most active contract, stands at a two-year low, data compiled by Deutsche Bank AG show. Meanwhile, the five-day moving average of Citigroup Inc.'s liquidity index, which is based on futures volumes for the S&P 500, is also hovering near its lowest level in two years.
/jlne.ws/3XvWi4O
CME Tests Google's Blockchain Technology in 24-Hour Trading Move
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
CME Group Inc. is testing Google Cloud's blockchain technology as it seeks to improve market infrastructure amid the global shift toward round-the-clock trading. The Chicago-based exchange operator is piloting payment solutions and the tokenization of assets using distributed ledger from Google Cloud, according to a statement Tuesday. CME has completed the first phase of integration and testing of the Google technology, it said.
/jlne.ws/4l8fKin
IEX Appoints Steven Bonanno as Chief Information Officer
IEX Press Release via Traders Magazine
IEX Group, Inc. (IEX) today announced the appointment of Steven Bonanno as Chief Information Officer (CIO) to support ongoing company growth and innovation in exchange technology. As a member of the leadership team, he will drive the implementation of the firm's technology strategy, focused on the resilience and scalability of IEX's platforms as the company expands into new markets.
/jlne.ws/4kZhGJX
What Happens When US Economic Data Can't Be Trusted?; With Donald Trump firing independent regulators and killing off advisory committees, data on the world's largest economy may be next.
Sommer Saadi and Stephanie Flanders - Bloomberg
Last week, while many in the US were focused on court orders and secret flights to El Salvador, something else happened that we at Trumponomics think should have gotten more attention. President Donald Trump fired two commissioners on the US Federal Trade Commission-apparently for being members of the Democratic Party. And while firing federal employees-legally or otherwise-is common practice in Trump's Washington, it's not supposed to happen at an independent agency-not like this anyway. But if it can happen to officials there, that raises questions about whether folks at other independent bodies, even senior people like Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, could be arbitrarily jettisoned, too.
/jlne.ws/43qk06r
Trumponomics is putting lipstick on a policy pig; How do technocrats expect the needed macroeconomic adjustments to occur?
Martin Wolf - Financial Times
Last week I attempted what some condemn as the "sanewashing" of the Trump administration's international economic policies. In other words, I asked whether there might be logic and evidence underlying what members of his administration, notably Stephen Miran, chair of the council of economic advisers, argue. Berkeley professor Brad DeLong counters that this is irrelevant: "To do deals, you need your counterparties to regard you as a deal-keeper. Donald Trump demonstrates, every day, that he is not." I agree - and said so.
/jlne.ws/4c7ErHp
Corporate America's Euphoria Over Trump's 'Golden Age' Is Giving Way to Distress; CEOs and investors are fretting over what they see as whipsaw policy changes and complacency about the risks of recession
Nick Timiraos, Alex Leary and Chip Cutter - The Wall Street Journal
Rapturous applause and a sea of phones in the air greeted President Trump as he walked on stage and declared, "The golden age of America has officially begun." He was barely a month into office when the Saudi-backed investor conference in Miami captured the optimism. "The Nasdaq is up nearly 10% in just a few months," Trump said, ticking through a list of economic indicators. "The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 2,200 points." On the same day, Feb. 19, the S&P 500 hit an all-time high.
/jlne.ws/4j2wTrN
Mercuria takes on Trafigura and Glencore in metals trading drive; Geneva-based group plans to buy more stakes in mines as it snaps up copper supplies in challenge to bigger rivals
Leslie Hook - Financial Times
Swiss trading house Mercuria is preparing to invest even more in its rapidly expanding metals division and buy further stakes in mines, according to top executives at the company. The Geneva-based group, which has roots in oil trading, has been snapping up copper supplies around the world as it challenges incumbent traders such as Trafigura and Glencore, after launching a metals unit last year.
/jlne.ws/4j7fPkp
Private Equity Is Coming for America's $12 Trillion in Retirement Savings; Inside the push to change how every American's nest egg is invested and make private assets mainstream.
Allison McNeely and Dawn Lim - Bloomberg
Less than a week before President Donald Trump's second inauguration, more than 30 money managers gathered on Zoom to strategize about how to pull America's retirement savers into investments far beyond stocks and bonds. During the meeting attended by Blackstone Inc., UBS Group AG, Neuberger Berman and others, participants assembled a manifesto articulating private equity's rightful position in 401(k) plans, including in the default portfolios for workers who don't select their own investments.
/jlne.ws/4hOqgZ0
DOGE staffer, 'Big Balls', provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show
Reuters
The best-known member of Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service team of technologists once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent, according to digital records reviewed by Reuters. Edward Coristine is among the most visible members of the DOGE effort that has been given sweeping access to official networks as it attempts to radically downsize the U.S. government.
/jlne.ws/4iKFX4X
Trump's $5 Million Gold Card Visa May Have a Tax Problem
Abby Schultz - Barron's
President Donald Trump has said the new $5 million "gold card" visa he's proposing as a path to U.S. citizenship for wealthy folks from across the world would allow them to avoid paying U.S. taxes on their worldwide income. It's not as simple as that. Despite Trump's statement that his proposed gold card won't require Congressional approval, only Congress can change the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individuals from being considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes, said George Ganey, founding partner with the Ganey Law Group in Washington.
/jlne.ws/4l1KG3t
Donald Trump widens war on legal industry with order targeting Jenner & Block; White House says law firm 'abandoned the profession's highest ideals' and 'condoned partisan lawfare'
Stefania Palma and Amelia Pollard - Financial Times
Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting Jenner & Block, a law firm with ties to a former prosecutor who investigated allegations of collusion between Russia and his first presidential campaign, in the government's latest broadside against the legal industry. The White House on Tuesday said Jenner & Block was "yet another law firm that has abandoned the profession's highest ideals" and had "condoned partisan 'lawfare'." The order said Andrew Weissmann, a former partner of the firm, engaged in "partisan prosecution as part of Robert Mueller's entirely unjustified investigation".
/jlne.ws/4l7T8OY
Security Traders Association Of Chicago Names New Executive Board As It Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary
STAC
The Security Traders Association of Chicago, a membership organization for individual professionals in the securities industry in Chicago and an affiliate of The Security Traders Association (STA), announced its Executive Board for the 2025 - 2026 membership year. The new leadership team will direct STAC as the organization celebrates its 100th anniversary, commemorating a century of dedication to its mission of education, professional networking and philanthropy.
/jlne.ws/4hJViRO
Shell's Revamped Strategy Is a 'Successful Failure'; The London-listed oil giant hasn't succeeded in closing a valuation gap to its US peers. Maybe a change of domicile is needed.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
In 1970, NASA described the Apollo 13 mission as "successful failure" after safely returning the spacecraft to Earth following an explosion halfway to the Moon. The same term can be applied to European oil giant Shell Plc's nearly two-year-old strategy, which got an important refresher Tuesday. Shell has done almost everything it promised in June 2023, when the original 10-quarter-long "sprint" was unveiled by newly arrived Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan: cut costs, shed underperforming renewable energy units, refocus on fossil fuels (above all, liquefied natural gas), reduce debt and devote a growing share of the cash the business generates to buy back shares. Its quarterly dividend has increased, too.
/jlne.ws/3E227Ak
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| 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. | The Gold Rush at the Root of Massive US Trade Deficits
Vince Golle - Bloomberg
Gold bars that were rushed from London to New York with a stop in Switzerland helped drive the US trade deficit to a record in January and the flood of bullion has showed no sign of abating since. Swiss customs figures show that 147.4 metric tons of gold worth more than $14 billion were shipped to the US in February. That was second only to the record 193 tons that were sent at the start of the year, based on data back to 2012.
/jlne.ws/4iZ55o1
Spike in Gold Inventories Points to Another Large US Trade Gap
Vince Golle - Bloomberg
The rush of gold bullion deliveries into New York depositories from overseas will likely keep the US goods-trade deficit close to a record. February merchandise-trade data on Thursday are likely to show the deficit grew to almost $162 billion, according to Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Santander US Capital Markets. He's one of several forecasters who expect the deficit to widen, or at least stay close to January's $155.6 billion, though the median projection in a Bloomberg survey calls for it to narrow.
/jlne.ws/3FIceuP
Canada and India Look to Reset Ties in Counter to Trump's Duties
Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Laura Dhillon Kane - Bloomberg
Canada and India are taking steps to cool an escalation of diplomatic tensions that included harsh accusations and recriminations as both sides look to strengthen trade ties to counter US tariff threats. The two countries are considering sending back envoys after tit-for-tat expulsions last year, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
/jlne.ws/4l32Yl9
Canada steel, aluminum plants lay off workers due to US tariffs
Anna Mehler Paperny - Reuters
Hundreds of Canadian workers, many in the steel and aluminum sectors, have been laid off as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, according to a major union and companies.
Economists warned this was only the beginning as the impact of tariffs is expected to broaden the longer they are in place. Uncertainty surrounding Trump's policies has cast a chill over Canada's economy and labour market.
/jlne.ws/4l0dvgK
UPS Is Making It Easier for Shoppers to See Added Cost of Tariffs
Cailley LaPara - Bloomberg
United Parcel Service Inc. is launching a new tool for online shoppers to automatically see the added cost of tariffs that are increasingly flummoxing international shippers. The new service will calculate and guarantee the cost of any levies on products in a shopper's online cart at checkout, UPS said on Wednesday. The product aims to address a longstanding problem of buyers being handed surprise charges from international duties when their parcel arrives, an issue that risks becoming more prevalent as President Donald Trump's trade war escalates.
/jlne.ws/43mx2BO
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Trump Says It's Possible Putin Is Dragging His Feet on Ceasefire
Kate Sullivan - Bloomberg
President Trump thinks Russia wants to end the conflict, but might be "dragging their feet" in finalizing a ceasefire agreement. President Donald Trump said it was possible that Vladimir Putin was avoiding finalizing a ceasefire agreement, but that he remained confident the Russian leader intended to strike a deal. "I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they're dragging their feet," Trump said Tuesday in an interview with Newsmax. "I've done it over the years. You know, I don't want to sign a contract. I want to sort of stay in the game, but maybe I don't want to do it quite - I'm not sure."
/jlne.ws/4j1y1fd
Russian Explosive Makers Use Fertilizer Firms to Blunt Sanctions
Alberto Nardelli and Jonathan Tirone - Bloomberg
Russia is scheduled to receive deliveries of chemical ingredients critical to the manufacture of explosives, ordered from fertilizer companies that have largely escaped international sanctions, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. Tens of thousands of tons of nitric acid and a nitric-sulphuric-acid mix have been ordered for entities and plants controlled by JSC Spetskhimiya, one of Russia's biggest makers of explosives, the documents show. The contracts are one way in which the country maintains its military strength despite rigorous economic restrictions.
/jlne.ws/41YhIZO
Trading Giants Say They'll Return to Russia If Sanctions End
Archie Hunter, Jack Farchy and Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
The heads of some of the world's top energy traders said they would be open to returning to Russia for business if sanctions were fully lifted, although some expressed caution about the prospect happening any time soon. "If sanctions are eased in a way that we can go back in, why wouldn't we? It's our job," Gunvor Group CEO Torbjörn Törnqvist said in an interview. "We don't do anything today because we think even though there are some gray zones, we just don't do it. But if these are removed, why wouldn't we?"
/jlne.ws/4c4Wa2n
Russia, Ukraine agree to sea, energy truce; Washington seeks easing of sanctions
Steve Holland and Anastasiia Malenko - Reuters
The United States reached separate deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to pause their attacks at sea and against energy targets, with Washington agreeing to push to lift some sanctions against Moscow. While it was not clear when or how the Black Sea maritime security deals would start, the agreements are the first formal commitments by the two warring sides since President Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump is pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine and a rapid rapprochement with Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv and European countries.
/jlne.ws/4iW3S1v
Inside Russia's Gazprom: can the ailing energy giant be revived? The gas and oil company is struggling to recover from record losses after Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine destroyed its business model
Anastasia Stognei and Max Seddon - Financial Times
In June 2023, Vladimir Putin boarded a yacht on the Gulf of Finland for a commemorative flag-raising ceremony at the glittering new waterfront home of Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant that is the cornerstone of his imperial project. "Beautiful," he remarked to his host, Elena Ilyukhina, who had overseen the skyscraper's construction. Though little known to the public, the elegantly dressed woman was a highly influential player in Russia's energy sector and a senior executive at a successful Gazprom oil subsidiary.
/jlne.ws/4l4Pvcn
Middle East Conflict
The money menders of Gaza; Traders charge commissions of 30% on hard currency while others repair bills by hand due to severe shortage
Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper - Financial Times
Black market traders in Gaza have developed a lucrative business selling cash as Israel's siege creates a currency shortage so severe that some Palestinians are forced to mend tattered bills and rusted coins by hand. With Israel blocking deliveries of new cash into the strip, banks shuttered and ATMs empty, traders and brokers now control the supply of whatever hard currency is left, distributing it in exchange for electronic bank transfers and charging exorbitant fees.
/jlne.ws/4l2Y9rZ
Middle East latest: Israeli military orders evacuation of parts of Gaza City
The Associated Press via The Hill
The Israeli military on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of parts of Gaza City as it steps up its renewed offensive against Hamas. Israel has vowed to increase military pressure until the militants return the remaining 59 hostages - 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel has also demanded that Hamas disarm and send its leaders into exile. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
/jlne.ws/41ZIKQn
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | LME fined for failing to hit the brakes in nickel crisis
Andy Home - Reuters
The venerable 148-year old London Metal Exchange (LME) has just made it into the history books for the wrong reasons by becoming the first British trading exchange to be fined by a regulator. The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) imposition of a 9.2 million pound ($11.9 million) penalty draws a line under the 2022 nickel crisis, which resulted in the eight-day suspension of the LME nickel contract and the controversial decision to cancel trades.
/jlne.ws/4hHupOC
CME Group Will Introduce Tokenization Technology to Enhance Capital Market Efficiency Using Google Cloud's New Universal Ledger
CME Group
Further expanding their transformational partnership, CME Group and Google Cloud today announced that they are piloting solutions for seamless and secure wholesale payments and tokenization of assets. CME Group has successfully completed the first phase of integration and testing of Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), a novel distributed ledger from Google Cloud.
/jlne.ws/4iVvkMi
CME and Google move to reinforce processes as reality of 24/7 trading looms; CME Group and Google Cloud are focused on facilitating "significant efficiencies" as the industry hones in on round-the-clock trading; direct testing with market participants is planned for later this year.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
CME Group and Google Cloud have announced that they are introducing tokenisation technology, focused on "significant efficiencies" through the use of Google Cloud's Universal Ledger (GCUL) as the industry continues to confront the reality of overnight trading. The established partnership is piloting solutions for the seamless and secure wholesale payments and tokenisation of assets, with direct testing with market participants planned for later this year.
/jlne.ws/3Xz1wNj
Applications for Spot Call Butter Regularity
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3FRHB5X
HKEX Collaborates with World Economic Forum to Host First Financial Symposium in Hong Kong
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to collaborate with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to host WEF's first-ever financial services event in Hong Kong today (Wednesday). The World Economic Forum's Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems 2025 Symposium welcomed top business and public leaders, tech pioneers and academics from around the world to discuss global themes and megatrends that are particularly relevant to Asia today; these include emerging technologies, fintech, growth financing and sustainability.
/jlne.ws/4kZj13r
NYSE Group Consolidated Short Interest Report
ICE
NYSE today reported short interest as of the close of business on the settlement date of March 14, 2025.
/jlne.ws/3Xy1fKu
Notice Regarding Formulation of "Medium-Term Management Plan 2027"
JPX
At a meeting of the Board of Directors held on March 26, 2025, Japan Exchange Group, Inc. resolved to implement its "Medium-Term Management Plan 2027" as follows.
/jlne.ws/3QOfF5u
Notice on the application of quarterly dividend in Total Return Indices
KRX
Following the amendment to FINANCIAL INVESTMENT SERVICES AND CAPITAL MARKETS ACT in January 2025, companies are now allowed to determine the record date for quarterly dividend through a resolution of the board of directors or provisions in their articles of incorporation. Korea Exchange (KRX) will apply quarterly dividend to total return indices based on the record date set by each company, in a similar manner to final dividend.
/jlne.ws/3FI6Ck8
Moscow Exchange trading schedule over May holidays in 2025; Moscow Exchange announces the trading schedule for its markets over the May 2025 public holiday period in Russia.
MOEX
On 2 and 8 May, which are the public holidays, the Equity and Bond, Deposit, Credit, Derivatives, Standartised OTC Derivatives Markets, FX and Precious Metals Markets will operate as usual. On these days, OTC transactions with the central counterparty (CCP) in the Standardised OTC Derivatives Market (SPFI) will be settled for all instruments, except for SPFI contracts involving obligations denominated in Russian roubles.
/jlne.ws/42jncQ0
Nasdaq Announces Mid-Month Open Short Interest Positions in Nasdaq Stocks as of Settlement Date March 14, 2025
Nasdaq
At the end of the settlement date of March 14, 2025, short interest in 3,124 Nasdaq Global MarketSM securities totaled 13,066,514,117 shares compared with 12,765,719,651 shares in 3,117 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of February 28, 2025. The mid-March short interest represents 2.14 days compared with 2.42 days for the prior reporting period. Short interest in 1,634 securities on The Nasdaq Capital MarketSM totaled 2,598,104,131 shares at the end of the settlement date of March 14, 2025, compared with 2,565,936,316 shares in 1,628 securities for the previous reporting period. This represents a 1.17 day average daily volume; the previous reporting period's figure was 1.00.
/jlne.ws/42j2ZKg
CARF and Its Impact on the Crypto Market: A Comprehensive Overview
SIX
The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is a global initiative led by the OECD to promote the automatic exchange of information between countries in order to tackle emerging tax evasion risks related to cryptocurrency and digital assets. This comprehensive overview delves into the intricacies of CARF, exploring its implications for financial institutions, Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs), and the broader crypto market.
/jlne.ws/4l4jhxQ
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | A Fire Plunged Heathrow Into Darkness. A Nearby Data Center Kept Humming. Why?; It could cost $100 million and take years to install the backup generators to prevent another hourslong power loss like the one at Britain's biggest airport last week.
Michael D. Shear and Ivan Penn - The New York Times
A gleaming new data center sits less than half a mile from the electric substation where a fire plunged Heathrow Airport into darkness last week. The data center's own power was also cut that day. But no one who relied on it would have noticed, thanks to a bank of batteries and backup generators designed to kick in instantly. Meanwhile it took officials at Europe's busiest airport close to 18 hours to bring its terminals and runways back into operation, causing global travel delays and underscoring the vulnerability of Britain's infrastructure.
/jlne.ws/4iWfRLK
TNS Expands European Presence with Equinix ZH4 Colocation in Zurich
TNS
Transaction Network Services (TNS) has expanded its European exchange footprint by launching services in the Equinix ZH4 colocation data center in Zurich. This enables managed hosting and ultra-low latency Layer 1 exchange connectivity to SIX Swiss Exchange. The Equinix ZH4 colocation data center, centrally located on Josefstrasse, provides direct access into the banking district, facilitating interconnection between partners and customers. This deployment helps strengthen TNS' presence in key European financial hubs, complementing its colocation services in London, Frankfurt and other major exchanges. It enables firms, including market data vendors and exchange members, to access Swiss equities and derivatives markets for both market data and order entry.
/jlne.ws/4iHta3e
Catastrophe Experts Tap AI to Tackle Soaring Insured Losses; With annual insured disaster losses of $150 billion now "the new normal," insurers are hoping technology can help turn the tide.
Gautam Naik - Bloomberg
Insurers are betting on a suite of new AI-driven techniques to better predict surging losses from climate-driven weather catastrophes ranging from unprecedented wildfires to hurricanes and floods. Less than three months into the year, natural disasters are already causing major economic disruption around the world, including recent fires across Los Angeles, an economy-denting cyclone in Australia, floods in Jakarta and a giant storm that left dozens dead in the US. According to a recent report by broker Gallagher Re, annual insured catastrophe losses of $150 billion have become "the new normal."
/jlne.ws/4l1nUJa
Blockchain Data Provider Chronicle Raises $12M to Expand Infrastructure for Tokenized Assets
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
Chronicle, a blockchain data provider focused on tokenized assets, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $12 million in a seed funding round. The investment was led by Strobe Ventures, formerly known as BlockTower Capital. Other backers include Galaxy Vision Hill, Brevan Howard Digital, Tioga Capital and Fenbushi Capital, alongside notable crypto angel investors such as Rune Christensen (Sky/MakerDAO founder), Andre Cronje (founder of Sonic and Yearn), Stani Kulechov (founder of Aave), Mark Phillips (co-founder of Steakhouse) and Sam MacPherson (co-founder of Phoenix Labs).
/jlne.ws/4hNLqqi
Tokenized Treasuries Hit $5B Milestone as Fidelity Touts RWA Potential for Collateral
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
The market value of tokenized U.S. Treasuries this week surpassed the $5 billion for the first time, rwa.xyz data shows, as demand for blockchain-based real-world assets (RWAs) accelerates. The asset class grew by $1 billion through just two weeks, led by inflows into asset management giant BlackRock's and digital asset firm Securitize's market leading BUIDL.
/jlne.ws/4c9SCfc
Derivatives Trading Giant CME Group to Test Tokenization with Google Cloud
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
CME Group, a major marketplace in derivatives trading for institutions, said it is exploring tokenization as a way to improve capital market efficiency with U.S. tech giant Google Cloud's distributed ledger technology. The two companies plan to start direct tests with market participants later this year and are aiming to launch new services in 2026, according to a Tuesday press release. CME will use Google Cloud's newly introduced Universal Ledger, a programmable, private network to test how digital asset infrastructure can streamline settlement and clearing.
/jlne.ws/4hLa0YU
I Quit Google Search for AI-and I'm Not Going Back; Ads and search-optimized junk made a mess of the go-to engine. Now ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude-and even Google's own AI-do it better.
Joanna Stern - The Wall Street Journal
Somewhere out there, Jeeves is raising his teacup to the AI revolution. The tuxedoed internet butler of the late '90s couldn't really answer every question, but now? That's the entry-level gig of generative-AI chatbots. Jeeves is smiling in retirement. Google's starting to wonder about its job security. Over the past month, I quit Google Search.
/jlne.ws/43mzBUs
Anthropic, Databricks Team Up in Scramble for AI Revenue; The AI startup and data company are working together to help businesses build their own artificial intelligence bots, adding pressure to the race among vendors to sell the technology
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
Anthropic and Databricks struck a five year, $100 million pact to sell artificial intelligence tools to businesses, targeting those seeking to build their own AI agents. Both Anthropic and Databricks are under tremendous pressure to generate revenue from AI that can justify their sky-high valuations-especially as they go up against some of the tech industry's biggest players, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI.
/jlne.ws/4j4oGDx
OpenAI Claims Breakthrough in Image Creation for ChatGPT; The AI startup says it spent a year using human workers to train its GPT-4o model to generate more realistic images, comprehensible text
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
OpenAI unveiled an updated version of its AI system GPT-4o that can generate more realistic images, the result of a year-long effort with human trainers. GPT-4o replaces DALL-E 3 as the default image generation model behind OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, and the ability to use it is now available to ChatGPT Free, Plus, Team and Pro users, the company said. Billed as a less expensive version of its most advanced AI model at the time, GPT-4o debuted last year as a multimodal model capable of creating and understanding text, video, audio and images.
/jlne.ws/3Xz5JAB
CoreWeave triggered defaults after breaching terms on Blackstone loan; US cloud company seeking blockbuster $32bn IPO had to remedy serious administrative errors in December
Robert Smith, Tabby Kinder and Antoine Gara - Financial Times
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AT&T in talks to buy Lumen's consumer fiber unit, Bloomberg News reports
Reuters
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | The battle for 23andMe's DNA customer data
Alexis Keenan - Yahoo Finance
A bankruptcy filing by personalized genomics firm 23andMe (ME) calls into question what happens to its most valuable asset: genetic data from 15 million customers. "I think the law on that is pretty unclear at this point," said Jonathan Lipson, a bankruptcy law professor at Temple University's Beasley School of Law. The murky legal ground sets up an uncertain future for 23andMe and its customers, especially those who want their DNA and other information obliterated from the records of a biotech company that once dazzled Silicon Valley.
/jlne.ws/3DOTzgj
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | SEC's Hester Peirce on risks that crypto could pose to traditional markets (and how she's avoiding them)
Zack Guzman - The Street
As the SEC continues its shift from crypto adversary to potential ally, one question looms large: could the Commission's embrace of digital assets endanger the very markets it's supposed to protect? According to Commissioner Hester Peirce, the answer lies in staying in the agency's lane. "I certainly think it's good for a regulator to understand its jurisdiction, and not to try to act outside of its jurisdiction," she said in a recent interview with Coinage, explaining the new regulatory-light approach the agency is taking towards crypto. "There are a lot of bad things that happen outside of the SEC's jurisdiction, and a lot of them really give me concern and I worry about them. But that doesn't mean it's my responsibility to fix them."
/jlne.ws/3DOipNj
Trump's Crypto Venture Introduces New Digital Currency; World Liberty Financial, the crypto business created by President Trump and his sons, unveiled a cryptocurrency called a stablecoin, furthering his ties to an industry his administration regulates.
David Yaffe-Bellany - The New York Times
World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company started by Donald J. Trump and his sons, announced on Tuesday that it was planning to sell a digital currency called a stablecoin, deepening the president's financial ties to crypto as his administration relaxes enforcement of the industry. The stablecoin would be known as USD1, the company wrote in a social media post, without revealing when it would go on sale. Stablecoins, a popular form of cryptocurrency, are designed to maintain a constant value of $1, making them useful for many types of crypto transactions.
/jlne.ws/41LAdBW
Four New Crypto Roundtables Planned by SEC: Focus on Trading, Custody, Tokenization, and DeFi
Atqa Arif Coin - MarketCap
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced plans to host four more roundtables focusing on various aspects of crypto, including trading, custody, tokenization, and decentralized finance (DeFi). This initiative follows the agency's first crypto roundtable, held on March 21, which aimed to clarify the regulatory landscape for digital assets. The upcoming series will commence on April 11 with a discussion dedicated to tailoring regulations for crypto trading. Subsequent roundtables will address crypto custody on April 25, tokenization and asset movement on-chain on May 12, and DeFi on June 6.
/jlne.ws/4245GhE
GameStop Stock Jumps After Earnings. Here's What Got the Market Excited.
Janet H. Cho and Callum Keown - Barron's
GameStop stock surged ahead of the open Wednesday after the videogame seller reported better-than-expected earnings and said its board approved a plan to buy Bitcoin as an investment. For the fourth quarter ended Feb. 1, GameStop reported net sales of $1.28 billion, below the $1.48 billion analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected. But it's adjusted earnings of 29 cents a share beat the 8 cents a share analysts expected. Net income of $131.3 million was also above the $33 million expected.
/jlne.ws/41ZUL8w
Bitcoin's $12B Quarterly Options Expiry Unlikely to Cause Major Market Reaction, Deribit Says
Omkar Godbole - CoinDesk
Bitcoin (BTC) options worth billions of dollars will expire on Deribit on Friday. The impending settlement, though big, may not yield significant market volatility, the exchange told CoinDesk. More than 139,000 BTC option contracts, worth $12.13 billion, representing nearly 45% of the total active BTC contracts across all expiries, are due for settlement this Friday, according to data source Deribit metrics.
/jlne.ws/42dEi1P
Fidelity plans to launch stablecoin in digital assets push; Asset manager actively testing token as the Trump administration prepares to overhaul crypto oversight
Philip Stafford - Financial Times
Fidelity Investments is planning to launch its own stablecoin, deepening the $5tn asset manager's push into digital assets as the US prepares its first regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The Boston-based fund firm is in the advanced stages of testing its token, which is designed to act as cash in cryptocurrency markets and will be managed through its digital assets arm, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.
/jlne.ws/4l2RnCp
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | What Musk's Millions Mean for Wisconsin-and Congress; On this episode of Elon, Inc., we discuss how the Tesla CEO is trying to finance Republican control of a key state supreme court.
Reyhan Harmanci - Bloomberg (podcast)
Elon Musk's leverage over the Republican Party, made plain by his threats to finance primary challenges against anyone who fails to fully support Donald Trump, comes from his multibillion-dollar bank account. Recently, he's decided to spend some of that money on behalf of the party. In Wisconsin, Musk has spent upwards of $13 million to sway a state supreme court race that has ramifications for Republican control of the US House of Representatives. To discuss this, host David Papadopoulos is joined by Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and politics reporter Ted Mann. Then, later in the episode, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steve Man joins to talk about his optimistic view on Tesla sales.
/jlne.ws/4l4AeIK
The Signal Leak Is Too Big to Sweep Under the Rug; Rather than admitting their colossal mistake, Trump administration officials are quickly falling back on their preferred tactics of denial and deflection.
Nia-Malika Henderson - Bloomberg Opinion
It was only a matter of time before President Donald Trump's national security appointees proved just how unserious and unprepared they are for their posts. Now, just two months into his second term, we've got "Signalgate" - a reckless conversation about war plans over a commercial messaging app with a journalist (inadvertently invited) reading along.
/jlne.ws/4l4I98L
Why the Fed Wants to Keep More US Government Debt; It's just making sure Congressional wrangling over the debt limit doesn't destabilize interest rates.
Bill Dudley - Bloomberg Opinion
The Federal Reserve has raised some questions with its recent decision to slow the pace at which it's shrinking its more-than-$4-trillion pile of Treasury securities. For example: Is it merely preparing for an adjustment to the federal debt limit, or is it trying to avert a crisis in the US government bond market? With apologies for dampening the drama, I'm going with the mundane explanation.
/jlne.ws/3XwfjnK
Warren asks Lutnick how Trump will stop tariff-driven price hikes
Jennifer Schonberger - Yahoo Finance
Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter Tuesday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging him to explain how the Trump administration plans to prevent companies from using tariffs as a cover to hike prices. "Tariffs can be a strategic tool to grow American industry and good manufacturing jobs, but President Trump's across-the-board tariffs have been chaotic, not strategic," the Democratic lawmaker wrote in the letter reviewed by Yahoo Finance.
/jlne.ws/4l3S0vy
Trump administration's use of disappearing Signal messages to discuss military strikes not allowed under record law, experts say
Beatrice Nolan - Fortune
Senior officials in the Trump administration are under fire after inadvertently sharing secret war plans with a reporter via a Signal group chat. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, said he was added to a group chat that included U.S. vice president JD Vance, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, national security advisor Mike Waltz, and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
/jlne.ws/4hNiC15
Tokyo frets about durability of US alliance ahead of visit by Pete Hegseth; Donald Trump's language about American allies has sparked anxiety among Japanese officials
Demetri Sevastopulo and Leo Lewis - Financial Times
Concerns over the durability of the US-Japan alliance and the threat of tariffs will loom large in Tokyo this week as Donald Trump's defence secretary visits for high-level talks. Pete Hegseth will meet defence minister Gen Nakatani on Sunday to discuss deeper military collaboration in a meeting that Nakatani said would have "great significance" for Japan's security. Japanese officials said the talks could cover whether Tokyo would raise its planned spending on defence.
/jlne.ws/4c4PocN
Sweden Plans $30 Billion Military Spending Hike Through 2035
Christopher Jungstedt - Bloomberg
Sweden unveiled plans to spend an extra 300 billion kronor ($30 billion) on its armed forces during the next decade to shore up the defenses of the NATO bloc's newest member. The "loan-financed investment," announced by Premier Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm on Wednesday, would lift the defense spending of the largest Nordic nation to 3.5% of its economic output by 2030, versus the previous target of 2.6%, from last spring.
/jlne.ws/3RjZDAn
Governments should nationalise smelters to compete with China, says Trafigura; CEO Richard Holtum says minerals processing industry should be considered 'a national security issue'
Tom Wilson and Leslie Hook - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4hKoNmJ
Trump SEC pick discloses family fortune of more than $328 million
Douglas Gillison and Chris Prentice - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4iIh2yZ
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Ripple to Get $75M of Court-Ordered Fine Back From SEC, Drops Cross-Appeal
Cheyenne Ligon - CoinDesk
The long-running legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems to finally be near an end, with Ripple emerging victorious. The SEC will return the lion's share of the $125 million-court ordered fine paid by Ripple last year, according to a Tuesday X post from Ripple's chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty, keeping just $50 million and returning the $75 million balance to Ripple.
/jlne.ws/42fwvAy
Ripple Closes In On Legal Resolution With SEC, Will Recover $75 Million From Original Fine
Murtuza Merchant - Benzinga
Ripple Labs appears poised to conclude its lengthy courtroom standoff with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with a proposed settlement returning $75 million of a previously imposed $125 million penalty. In an update shared Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter), Ripple's Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty announced the SEC agreed to retain only $50 million of the fine and return the remainder. The proposal is still pending formal approval by both SEC commissioners and the court.
/jlne.ws/4237VBL
Anatomy of a Chinese pump and dump; Seven defendants were accused on Friday of stealing $214mn from US investors
George Steer - Financial Times
We've written a few times about some rather fishy price swings involving China-based, Nasdaq-listed stocks and US regulators' seeming inability to get to the root of the problem. So credit where it's due - on Friday, Chicago federal law enforcement seized $214mn in an alleged "pump and dump" fraud investigation. They indicted seven defendants in China, who, it is claimed, spent January manipulating the shares of a penny stock taken public by one of FT Alphaville's favourite US bilge-bracket banks.
/jlne.ws/4j7gwu1
Former Japanese Judge Found Guilty in Insider Trading Case
Ryotaro Nakamaru - Bloomberg
A Tokyo court found a former judge guilty of insider trading, in a verdict that comes amid a string of financial scandals at banks as well as the stock exchange. The Tokyo District Court handed Soichiro Sato a suspended two-year prison sentence Wednesday for using confidential information he obtained while working at the Financial Services Agency last year to buy stocks before tender offers were made public, according to the court's spokeswoman.
/jlne.ws/3DWP6In
Switzerland's Finance Sheriff Takes on UBS and Banking Elite
Bastian Benrath-Wright, Laura Noonan, and Jan-Henrik Foerster - Bloomberg
In the year since Stefan Walter has been in charge of Switzerland's financial regulator, he's made a name for himself among the bankers he oversees. They call him "The Sheriff." Walter, 60, a German citizen with decades of experience in top-level regulation including in the US, is using a tumultuous period in Swiss finance to establish a forthright, public presence for Finma that few in Zurich or Geneva are accustomed to. Under his watch, Finma has communicated penalties or investigations against seven banks and fintech firms, including Julius Baer Group Ltd, using the limited powers that the body has to the full.
/jlne.ws/425dm38
CFTC's enforcement resolution sprint has no expiration date; But firms that offered settlements in first two weeks will be prioritised for 30-day turnaround
Janice Kirkel - Risk.net
A fast-track process to settle outstanding enforcement cases at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is not time-limited, the regulator has clarified, but priority will be given to firms that responded in the first two weeks after it was announced. The plan was highlighted by acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham at a Futures Industry Association conference in Florida on March 11.
/jlne.ws/41Yekhy
SEC Crypto Task Force to Host Four More Roundtables
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Crypto Task Force announced today it will hold four more roundtables in its ongoing series discussing crypto asset regulation. The dates and topics for each roundtable are as follows:
/jlne.ws/3DTJHlh
Meeting expectations
ASIC
Address by ASIC Commissioner Kate O'Rourke at the Australasian Investor Relations Association's (AIRA) 'Trends in AGM practice and shareholder engagement' Conference in Sydney on 26 March 2025.
/jlne.ws/4c5un1x
ASIC provides further guidance on virtual meetings for companies and registered schemes
ASIC
ASIC has updated its webpage addressing some frequently asked questions from companies and registered schemes on holding virtual meetings, following the Government's response to a review into the virtual meetings provisions. The updated FAQs: Virtual meetings for companies and registered schemes further explain the amendments that permit hybrid and virtual-only meetings.
/jlne.ws/3QPrlov
Consultation: Expiring class legislative notices
FMA
Throughout 2025 and 2026 we will be consulting on a range of class exemption that are due to expire before the end of 2026. We will also be reviewing our class designations at the same time. This page will be updated as new consultations are published, decisions are made and notices granted.
/jlne.ws/4l0df1g
Hong Kong's securities industry posted broad-based growth in 2024
SFC
Hong Kong's securities industry showed remarkable resilience in financial performance in 2024, with total net profits surging 56% year-on-year to $44.4 billion, as detailed in the Securities and Futures Commission's (SFC) report on the financial review of the securities industry issued today. The earnings growth came on the back of an 11% increase in total income to $222.6 billion, which outpaced the mild 4% rise in overheads. In 2024, the total value of transactions of all securities dealers and securities margin financiers (Note) in Hong Kong jumped 34% to $144.1 trillion.
/jlne.ws/3FRuYI6
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Half of American Households Hold 97.5% of the National Wealth
Alexandre Tanzi - Bloomberg
The richest half of American families owned about 97.5% of national wealth as of the end of 2024, while the bottom half held 2.5%, according to the latest numbers from the Federal Reserve. The lower 50% of the distribution saw their wealth share improve marginally during President Joe Biden's term in office, climbing from 2.2%. The 66.6 million households in that group collectively owned about $4 trillion in net wealth at the end of last year, an increase of $1.25 trillion from four years earlier.
/jlne.ws/3RkCuOh
Surging gross repo costs highlight US dealers' divergence on netting; Lack of offsetting in GAAP presentation leads BNY and Northern Trust to report paying double- or triple-digit rates on fed funds, repos
Lorenzo Migliorato - Risk.net
BNY and Northern Trust reported paying 117% and 59%, respectively, in annualised interest on federal funds and repos before netting in Q4 2024 - an accounting-induced distortion that nevertheless suggests a different approach to netting compared to other dealers. Accessing the overnight interbank markets had cost the custodians virtually nothing until Q4 2021, as the US Federal Reserve held the cost of money at all-time lows.
/jlne.ws/4iGK7KZ
EU debt wave raises dealer capacity concerns; Ongoing QT and upcoming defence spending piles pressure on bank balance sheet supply, say dealers
Rebekah Tunstead - Risk.net
Dealers have warned of mounting pressure on balance sheet capacity for European government bond and repo, as sovereign debt supply rises with quantitative tightening (QT) and increased defence spending, while regulatory constraints limit intermediation capacity. The strain comes from a glut of European government bonds (EGBs) expected to enter the market in the coming year, but with limited expansion of bank balance sheet to accommodate it.
/jlne.ws/4hM5jOk
Danish Bonds Set for Liquidity Boost After Issuance Gets Pooled
Christian Wienberg - Bloomberg
Denmark's AAA rated government bond market is set to get a much-needed boost to liquidity as the central bank takes over financing for the Nordic country's municipalities. KommuneKredit, which serves local governments and had total loans and leases of about 200 billion kroner ($29 billion) last year, will immediately stop issuing new bonds as the central bank's debt office takes over, according to a statement on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/43qz4AY
Corporate and Municipal CUSIP Request Volumes Increase in February
Globe Newswire via Mondovisione
CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for February 2025. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity over the next quarter, found a strong monthly increase in request volume for new corporate and municipal identifiers.
/jlne.ws/4c1Lph8
Gold is the real 'Trump put'; But the craziness from the White House has not turned me into a gold bug yet
Jonathan Guthrie - Financial Times
US equity investors were initially optimistic about the second presidency of Donald Trump. A so-called "Trump put" was one reason for this. The assumption was that the Republican leader would tweak his policies to support the stock market if it faltered. Equities therefore had an implicit "put" - a limit on downside risk. A decline of 6 per cent in the S&P 500 since November's election has weakened the belief that Trump will backstop US equities. Proponents of the Trump put might argue that a bigger fall is needed to trigger any intervention.
/jlne.ws/4j9kDpz
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Years of Climate Action Demolished in Days: A Timeline; Trump's environmental directives are gutting basic protections for Americans and the agencies designed to deliver them.
Mark Gongloff and Elaine He - Bloomberg Opinion
We've long known President Donald Trump is a climate-change denier. And we knew that, during last year's campaign, Trump promised to make the dreams of fossil-fuel tycoons reality if they bankrolled his candidacy. But nothing could have prepared us for the breadth or intensity of the assault on climate action that Trump has unleashed during his first months back in office. There's a chance you've seen one or 20 news reports in recent weeks detailing some of this activity. Far more likely is that you don't even know the half of it. Here are just a few of the highlights:
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Trump's 'climate' purge deleted a new extreme weather risk tool. We recreated it; The Guardian has recreated a searchable climate future risk tool developed by Fema but then deleted
Oliver Milman and Andrew Witherspoon - The Guardian
When Donald Trump won November's election, a small team working on a key new US government tool charting impacts of the climate crisis scrambled into action. They hastily renamed the resource to remove the word "climate" and quietly released it without fanfare in December, before Trump's return to the White House. However, the unusual precautions taken by staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) weren't enough to save the tool, which they had rebadged as the Future Risk Index.
/jlne.ws/420swqi
Commentary: Welcome to the age of Big Oil's managed decline
Ron Bousso - Reuters
Top oil and gas companies are losing confidence in the outlook for their core businesses. Recent strategy updates by leading European and U.S. energy firms saw them lower capital expenditures while increasing shareholder payouts. This looks a lot like the beginning of a long-term managed decline. While there is no question that oil, and especially gas, will continue to fuel global economies for decades, there is tremendous uncertainty about the price outlook due to the acceleration of alternative clean technologies such as wind, solar and biofuels.
/jlne.ws/429TUlR
A Growing ESG Market Is Led by US Government Agencies
Ishika Mookerjee - Bloomberg
A $1.8 trillion corner of the sustainable debt market is defying the wider downturn, as investors snap up bonds largely backed by US government agencies even as Donald Trump leads a green retreat. Sales of so-called social bonds, which direct proceeds to areas like health, housing and education, jumped about 130% to $657 billion globally last year, and continued at a similar pace in the first quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. Issuance now rivals the traditionally larger market for green bonds, the data show.
/jlne.ws/4hINrUF
Dolphin Hunting Is Their Tradition. Rising Seas Have Made It a Lifeline.; The residents of Fanalei Island, in the Solomon Islands, say the lucrative hunts will help them buy land elsewhere and move off their sinking home.
Prianka Srinivasan - The New York Times
The call of a conch shell roused the dolphin hunters from their beds. Under moonlight, the six men shuffled to the village church. There a priest led them in a whispered prayer, his voice barely audible over the sound of crashing waves; the tide was high that day. Saltwater pooled in parts of the village, which is on Fanalei Island, an ever-shrinking speck of land that is part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.
/jlne.ws/3DTLXZN
New bid to quash North Sea licences is latest test for Labour energy policy; Campaigners argue in High Court that UK ministers ignored potential climate impact of oil and gas exploration
Kenza Bryan - Financial Times
The UK government is fighting a fresh bid by environmentalists to quash North Sea oil and gas licences in the latest test of Labour's attempts to balance net zero goals and business complaints about regulation. At the High Court on Wednesday, campaign group Oceana challenged the process by which licences were granted last May to allow companies, including TotalEnergies, Ineos and Perenco, to explore for oil and gas.
/jlne.ws/3QQOCGK
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Institutional ETF users fuel corporate bond volatility, IMF warns; Research found volatility is particularly marked at times of market stress
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
Institutional investors are increasing volatility in the corporate bond market by aggressively trading exchange traded funds, according to analysis from the IMF. This heightened volatility is particularly stark at times of market stress, when instability is most likely to bleed into real-world effects for corporate borrowers and the investors in their debt.
/jlne.ws/3XsHhRq
Exclusive: UBS floats concessions to broker Swiss capital compromise, say sources
Ariane Luthi and Oliver Hirt - Reuters
ZURICH, March 26 - Two years since it acquired Credit Suisse to create a Swiss banking giant, UBS is trying to head off tougher regulations by offering to limit the future size of its investment bank and hold more capital, people familiar with discussions said. The 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse was a watershed for Switzerland, leaving it with just one global lender and prompting regulators to demand it hold more capital to make the industry safer.
/jlne.ws/4j6Smju
UBS offers to limit size of investment bank to appease Swiss regulators; Lender seeks to alleviate concerns that its size could pose risk to country's economy
Simon Foy and Mercedes Ruehl - Financial Times
UBS has proposed capping the size of its investment bank as it seeks a compromise with Swiss regulators who are considering increasing the bank's capital requirements after its takeover of Credit Suisse. The lender has suggested to lawmakers that it could permanently limit the size of the division to reduce risk, according to a person familiar with the matter. The investment bank already has a self-imposed limit of 25 per cent of UBS's risk-weighted assets.
/jlne.ws/4c1XAKQ
HSBC Outsourcing Trading Is a Risky Business; Big banks are talking about renting trading capabilities from firms like Citadel Securities, but the savings might not be worth it.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
Electronic market makers like Citadel Securities LLC and Jane Street Group have been gobbling up market share from investment bank rivals, but to really get ahead they'll need a helping hand. They might be about to get it from a surprising source: Some of those same banks. HSBC Holdings Plc has had talks about outsourcing some of its bond trading operations to a non-bank market maker, Bloomberg News reported Monday. The bank wouldn't confirm the talks or which areas might be affected. Such a deal would be a huge coup not only for the firm that won the contract, but also for the idea of outsourcing that's catching the imagination of European bank bosses. However, there's a long way to go to show it can work and a fair chance that the potential rewards won't exceed the risks.
/jlne.ws/3Y2meFm
Ex-Commerzbank CEO Knof Gets Millions to Make Him Exit Early
Arno Schuetze - Bloomberg
Commerzbank AG's decision a few years ago to poach Manfred Knof made him the lender's best-paid chief executive officer ever. The lender's more recent effort to get him to leave early boosted his pay further. Knof was awarded EUR5.8 million euros ($6.3 million) in compensation last year, according to Commerzbank's annual report published on Wednesday. That sum included about EUR2.4 million in payments for parts of this year and next after Knof agreed in September to leave his post ahead of time, according to the lender's remuneration report published on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3QMix2P
BlackRock Adds Private Credit, Equity Funds to Model Portfolios
Silla Brush - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc., fresh off a $28 billion deal spree to transform into a major player in alternative assets, is integrating complex private investments into its ready-made portfolios for individuals. In what the firm calls a first for the asset-management industry, BlackRock set up the model portfolios with publicly traded stocks and bonds alongside more complex private equity and credit funds - and will possibly include other alternatives at some point.
/jlne.ws/4iDRBhL
"More Record Years Ahead" for ETF Assets
Shanny Basar - Traders Magazine
There are more record years ahead for assets invested in exchange-traded funds according to the Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) Global ETF Investor Survey, as the financial services group said it remains confident of its prediction that ETF assets will reach $30 trillion by 2033. Assets invested in ETFs rose 27.7% last year to $14.7 trillion due to strong market performance and significant cash flows according to the report. BBH surveyed 325 ETF investors in US, Europe and Greater China and 63% had ETFs as their top targets for fresh capital, followed by stocks and bonds at 51%, and mutual funds at 49%.
/jlne.ws/3FEhLm1
Activist Elliott Sues Phillips 66 and Board in Another Push for Seat Changes; Elliott is calling for four board seats be up for election at the oil refiner's next annual shareholder meeting
Sabela Ojea - The Wall Street Journal
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management filed a lawsuit against Phillips 66 and its board of directors to require four board seats be up for election at the oil refiner's next annual shareholder meeting. Elliott, which about three weeks ago nominated seven directors to the Phillips 66 board after disclosing a $2.5 billion stake in the company, said its lawsuit comes after Phillips 66 failed to disclose the number of seats that will be up for election or who its nominees will be.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Wall Street job cuts loom as market turmoil stalls deals
Saeed Azhar - Reuters
U.S. investment banks are poised to cut more jobs if economic uncertainty continues to weigh on dealmaking in the months ahead, according to analysts and recruiters. U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on trading partners have roiled markets, weighed on capital markets activity and raised the risk of an economic slowdown. The turmoil has taken some of the shine off Wall Street expectations that deals would pick up this year under a business-friendly administration.
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Wall Street Bonus Pool Surges to a Record $47.5 Billion for 2024
Georgia Hall - Bloomberg
Average Wall Street bonuses surged last year, with the total pool for payouts jumping to a record $47.5 billion as industry profits soared. The average annual bonus rose by almost a third, to $244,700, the first significant increase since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to estimates by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The total pool is the largest since at least 1987, when records began, as revenue gains from trading and underwriting fueled a near-doubling of profits.
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Exclusive: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows
A.J. Vicens - Reuters
A network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers, according to job ads and a researcher who uncovered the campaign. Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats with the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said some companies placing recruitment ads were "part of a broader network of fake consulting and headhunting firms targeting former government employees and AI researchers."
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | USDA cuts hit food banks, risking hunger for low-income Americans
Leah Douglas, P.J. Huffstutter and Renee Hickman - Reuters
Food banks across the country, already strained by rising demand, say they will have less food to distribute because of at least $1 billion in federal funding cuts and pauses by the Trump administration, according to Reuters interviews with organizations in seven states. Hunger in the U.S. has ticked up in recent years with rising inflation and the end of pandemic-era programs that expanded food aid. President Donald Trump's administration has vowed to lower inflation by cutting back on government spending, including two U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that helped schools and food banks buy food from local farms.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Trafigura's $1.1 Billion Mongolia Fraud Was 'Humbling,' CEO Says
Jack Farchy, Priscila Azevedo Rocha and Archie Hunter - Bloomberg
Trafigura Group's $1.1 billion loss in a suspected multi-year fraud in Mongolia was a "humbling experience," the trading giant's new chief said in his first public comments on the scandal. Richard Holtum, who took over as Trafigura chief executive officer in January, said that he was encouraging the company's traders to speak up if they saw things that did not make sense.
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India discontinues parts of gold deposit scheme amid rising prices
Reuters
India has discontinued parts of a scheme that encouraged households and institutions to deposit idle gold in exchange for interest payments. The gold monetisation scheme, introduced in 2015, included gold deposits for 1-to-3 years, 5-to-7 years and 12-to-15 years. The 5-to-7 and 12-to-15 year deposits have been discontinued, the finance ministry said late on Tuesday, citing evolving market conditions and performance of the scheme.
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Brazil faces inflation risks as surging corn prices eclipse rice plunge
Roberto Samora and Rodrigo Viga - Reuters
Brazil is set to face inflationary pressure from rising corn prices, which could overshadow a sharp drop in rice, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration struggles to contain public discontent over high food inflation. Corn prices in the Campinas region have surged past 90 reais ($15.80) per 60-kg bag, the highest nominal level in nearly three years, marking a more than 23% jump year-to-date, according to the widely followed Cepea index from the University of Sao Paulo.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Axel Springer board member resigns after accusing Politico of leftwing bias; Martin Varsavsky says news coverage is 'not aligned with my own ethical standards'
Laura Pitel and Daniel Thomas - Financial Times
The publisher of Politico has parted ways with a pro-Trump board member just days after he accused the outlet of leftwing bias. Martin Varsavsky, an Argentine entrepreneur who has been on the supervisory board of the German media giant Axel Springer since 2014, took aim at the US news outlet's "ethical standards" on Wednesday as he announced his resignation.
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