| January 02, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Welcome to 2024. We start the year with some job news in the industry, including Nick Rustad and Gregg Doud. Also, the CME is looking to add someone to its corporate communications team in Chicago. Additionally, Taraneh Derayati, the CEO at Vermiculus Financial Technology, wrote a "2023: A Retrospective from Vermiculus' CEO."
JLN has hired an intern for a week, starting January 8. Joanna Clohessy, an Eagle Scout, member of Troop 117G, Venture Crew 711 and an original member of the Exploring Club Flying Pigs patrol will be working for JLN. She is exploring a career in journalism and will be headed to either University of Missouri or Indiana University to study the subject. We hope to give her some experience with all the different aspects of what JLN does, which is classified as convergence journalism.
Gregg Doud shared on LinkedIn that he is starting a new position as president and CEO at the National Milk Producers Federation. Doud is a former president of the Commodity Markets Council and served as a chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative.
Nick Rustad, former global head of futures and derivatives clearing at JP Morgan Chase, announced on LinkedIn that he has landed at Taula Capital as a global asset manager specializing in global macro, fixed income relative value and inflation trading.
The CME Group is looking for a "Manager Editorial Communications" in Chicago.
The Wall Street Journal has a video explaining "Why Short Sellers Are Targeting Struggling EV Companies" with an introducing paragraph that says, "Electric vehicle manufacturers like Lucid, Lordstown Motors and Faraday Future were big winners of the stock boom two years ago. Now all three companies' shares are about to hit zero. WSJ's Dion Rabouin and George Downs discuss why."
Did you enjoy some fine wine over the holidays after reading some of the wine suggestions from this newsletter? Well, now you can take your wine experience to the next level, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal's Lettie Teague. The piece is titled "How to Become a Wine Snob in 5 Exhausting Steps" and the subheadline is "It takes some time and effort, plus the willingness to annoy your fellow wine drinkers. But our wine columnist-a self-confessed occasional snob herself-has some guidance for the truly committed."
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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Options Discovery Episode 28: Understanding Market Movements to Make Options Trades; Matt Amberson, Principal and Founder of ORATS, Discusses This and More With JLN's Asma Awass.
JohnLothianNews.com
In this episode of Options Discovery, Asma Awass discusses the different stages of a market cycle. This episode includes a breakdown of the four different stages of a market cycle, what tools traders can use to analyze the markets, and some potential options strategies! Asma then sits down with Matt Amberson, the founder of Options Research and Technology Services, and he shares more insight on different market movements. You can check out ORATS here: https://orats.com/
Watch the video »
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Nobel Prize Winner Cautions on Rush Into STEM After Rise of AI
Tom Rees - Bloomberg
A Nobel Prize-winning labor market economist has cautioned younger generations against piling into studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, saying as "empathetic" and creative skills may thrive in a world dominated by artificial intelligence. Christopher Pissarides, professor of economics at the London School of Economics, said that workers in certain IT jobs risk sowing their "own seeds of self-destruction" by advancing AI that will eventually take the same jobs in the future.
/jlne.ws/4aHw4Bh
***** My father recommended moderation. While I loved finance, I also loved journalism, so I studied and degreed in both. People in finance needed to be able to write and otherwise communicate. And people in journalism needed to understand the subject they were writing about. Focusing solely on STEM disciplines without a grasp of the humanities can lead to a less satisfying life.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was Musk Leads World's Richest to $1.5 Trillion Wealth Gain in 2023, from Bloomberg. Second was Abercrombie's 285% Surge in 2023 Beats Even Sizzling Nvidia, also from Bloomberg. Third was Chairman Leaves Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's Sponsor as Investors Await Call on ETF, from The Wall Street Journal.
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| Lead Stories | Vanguard and rivals gain ground on BlackRock in US ETF market; Challenge to domestic leadership contrasts with continuing dominance of iShares in Europe
Will Schmitt - Financial Times
BlackRock's lead in the US exchange traded fund market is being eroded by Vanguard and smaller rivals as firms jockey for a larger slice of the $8tn industry. BlackRock's iShares managed about 32 per cent of the US ETF market as of November. That compared with 33.7 per cent in late 2022 and was down more than 7 percentage points from the end of 2018, when the $9.1tn asset manager controlled nearly two out of every five dollars invested in US ETFs, according to data from Morningstar Direct.
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US office owners face $117bn wall of debt repayments; Pain likely to be widely spread as landlords struggle to refinance at current interest rates
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
Billions of dollars of debt will fall due this year on hundreds of big US office buildings that their owners are likely to struggle to refinance at current interest rates. There are $117bn of commercial mortgages tied to offices which either need to be repaid or refinanced in 2024, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. nMany of those were taken out a decade ago in an era when interest rates were far lower. Since then, commercial mortgage rates have nearly doubled, while the performance of many buildings has sunk, raising the prospect of billions of dollars of losses for investors.
/jlne.ws/48BzVy6
Stampede into money market funds sparks fee bonanza for asset managers; Fidelity, Vanguard and Charles Schwab among groups reaping the benefit of more than $1tn of inflows
Brooke Masters, Harriet Clarfelt, Madison Darbyshire, Kate Duguid and Alexandra Heal - Financial Times
Record inflows into US money market funds in 2023 have triggered a multibillion-dollar fee bonanza for the asset management industry, which for years treated the product as a loss-leader. US money market fund providers - such as Fidelity, Vanguard and Charles Schwab - collectively earned $7.6bn in fees in 2023 as assets passed $6.3tn, according to government figures.
/jlne.ws/4aEZUq8
UK fund launches fall to 20-year low; Volatile markets and returns on cash products push investors to pull £37bn in 10 months
Sally Hickey - Financial Times
Asset managers have launched the lowest number of funds for UK investors in two decades, as higher living costs and interest rates have prompted investors to move out of investment funds. Some 397 funds started in the UK in 2023, according to data from Morningstar, down a quarter from the number of a year before, and far below the most recent peak of 899 in 2010. This marks the lowest number of launches since 2003, when markets were reeling from the dotcom crash.
/jlne.ws/3S3GcNC
Europe's top securities regulator warns on risks from leveraged trades; Esma's Verena Ross says efforts to monitor and curb bets that use borrowed money need to go further
Laura Noonan - Financial Times
The threat to financial markets from leveraged trades has not abated in the last year, despite regulators' efforts to rein them in, the head of Europe's securities regulator has warned. "My view is that leverage and liquidity risks in funds remain as high as they were [in the past year]," Verena Ross, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), told the FT, of her outlook for 2024. "This continues to be an area where we need to monitor very closely and react where we see risks."
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India's Food-Security Problem Is Also the World's; India's tightly controlled agricultural market has left food production highly vulnerable to climate change
Megha Mandavia - The Wall Street Journal
Climate change is already beginning to reshape global agriculture. India, the world's most populous country, looks particularly vulnerable: not just because of extreme weather, but because of government price controls. Fixing the problem is becoming more urgent, both for India and the world-because India is a big food exporter, too. But politics makes that very difficult.
/jlne.ws/47pyXDY
Winemakers in England reap rewards of warming climate; Demand for land is rising as groups look to cultivate wider range of wines
Madeleine Speed - Financial Times
Four years ago Ned Awty quit his job at cigarette maker British American Tobacco to run his parents' vineyard in Somerset, south-west England, because he had "had enough of corporate life". Oatley Vineyard had from the 1980s made wine from two cool-climate grapes: Madeleine Angevine, a little-known French variety, and Kernling, a relative of Germany's Riesling.
/jlne.ws/3NM0ngm
Crypto Options Trading Volume Hits Record as ETF Deadline Nears
David Pan - Bloomberg
This year's massive rebound in cryptocurrencies is firing up the digital-asset derivatives market. Crypto options and futures are seeing a surge in demand from traditional institutional investors making bets ahead of the deadline for US regulators to approve or reject exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin. Trading volume for Bitcoin options has reached an all-time-high, according to data compiled by The Block. Deribit, the largest crypto-options exchange, is poised for its biggest-ever quarterly expiry on Friday.
/jlne.ws/48zUk6t
The Tax Whiz With the Strangest Hustle on Wall Street; Investing in tax deals requires smarts and lots of patience
Ben Foldy - The Wall Street Journal
Andy Lee is the king of a lucrative niche in the financial markets. Being king isn't easy. Lee invests in tax receivable agreements, increasingly common arrangements that put cash into the pockets of early investors in companies. Not many investors know how they work, and a surprising number of people don't even know they have them. That gives Lee an opening to buy up the cash flows from TRAs, as they are known, at a discount and count his winnings as they pay off. To get to that point requires deep knowledge of taxes, investing and the law, plus lots of persistence.
/jlne.ws/3tJHALJ
Banks Bring Back Night Shifts as Korean Won Trading Hours Stretch Past Midnight
Hooyeon Kim and Daedo Kim - Bloomberg
Most large South Korean banks plan to set up night shifts when won trading hours are extended this year, bringing back a relic from the 1990s that had disappeared due to changes in working conditions. Shinhan Bank started rostering traders to work nights in September, while Korea Development Bank, Woori Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and NongHyup Bank have all taken steps toward doing the same. Suhyup Bank is planning to add more staff without specifying whether or not they will work at night. "We are analyzing our middle and back offices along with IT and other related departments and preparing for any risks that may emerge in the first stages of the FX market reform," Industrial Bank said in a statement released in response to a Bloomberg query.
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Korea's Kospi Stock Index Heads for 19-Month High Amid Short-Selling Ban, Foreign Buying
Youkyung Lee and Ishika Mookerjee - Bloomberg
South Korea's stock benchmark reached its highest closing level since June 2022 amid foreign investor demand for chipmakers, as the nation kept a short-selling ban in place. The Kospi index climbed 0.6% on Tuesday. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. have been the biggest drivers of the measure's recent gains, with the two semiconductor stocks drawing more than $3 billion in combined net inflows from overseas funds in the last quarter of 2023, boosted by optimism around artificial intelligence and improving chip demand.
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U.S. property reinsurance rates rise by up to 50% on Jan 1-broker says
Reuters
U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance rates rose by as much as 50% on the key Jan. 1 renewal date, broker Gallagher Re (AJG.N) said in a report on Tuesday, as reinsurers look to recoup losses from natural disasters such as wildfires, storms and hurricanes. Reinsurers provide insurance for insurers and the prices they agree at the beginning of each year set the trend for the cost of insurance for the next 12 months. Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, wildfires in Hawaii and other natural catastrophes caused an estimated $100 billion in insured losses in 2023, down from 2022 but still well above normal, reinsurer Swiss Re SRENH.S estimated last month.
/jlne.ws/3NMpqQm
Sam Bankman-Fried Won't Face a Second Criminal Trial; Prosecutors say they won't seek to try additional charges against FTX founder after winning fraud conviction
Corinne Ramey - The Wall Street Journal
Federal prosecutors said Friday that they wouldn't try Sam Bankman-Fried on additional criminal charges that weren't part of the fall trial that resulted in the FTX founder's conviction for fraud related to the collapse of his crypto exchange. The move, announced in a letter to the presiding judge, clears the way for the FTX founder to be sentenced on March 28. A second trial would have delayed that sentencing, and Bankman-Fried already faces the possibility of decades in prison.
/jlne.ws/47n9rz4
Private equity groups hunt for new exit strategies as cash piles up; Investors must get creative to get out of 'a towering backlog' of older investments and put new funds to work
Antoine Gara, Ivan Levingston and Will Louch - Financial Times
The private equity industry has entered 2024 with record amounts of unspent investor cash and an unprecedented stockpile of ageing deals that firms must sell in coming years. Private equity firms were sitting on a record $2.59tn in cash reserves available for buyouts and other investments as of December 15, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Nearly a quarter of that cash was held by 25 of the industry's largest groups, including Apollo Global, Blackstone, KKR, CVC Capital and Advent International.
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BNP Paribas to settle with customers over risky Swiss franc mortgages; France's biggest lender to pay up to euro 600mn to customers who claim being misled over home loan currency risk
Sarah White - Financial Times
BNP Paribas has agreed to pay up to euro 600mn to settle a long-running dispute with French customers who alleged they were misled into taking out risky mortgages in Swiss francs. French consumer group CLCV said on Tuesday that it had reached a deal with BNP on behalf of some 4,400 customers who were hit when the Swiss currency started to strengthen against the euro at the onset of the eurozone's debt crisis in 2010.
/jlne.ws/3TGJrM9
Former TP ICAP MD joins Bloomberg as head of European credit e-trading; Incoming individual has previously held senior positions at: BGC Partners, CME Group, Newedge, and TP ICAP.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Industry stalwart Dan Hinxman has joined Bloomberg as head of European credit electronic trading following almost six years as managing director at TP ICAP. Previously, he also served as global head of institutional sales at TP ICAP, and before that worked as head of sales EMEA and Asia Pacific at BGC Partners for two years.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine's Zelenskiy says Russia suffering heavy losses
Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces are suffering heavy losses and the notion that Moscow is winning the nearly two-year-old war is only a "feeling" not based on reality. "Thousands, thousands of killed Russian soldiers, nobody even took them away," he told The Economist magazine in an interview published on Monday, referring to fighting around the besieged eastern town of Avdiivka which he visited last week.
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Ukraine's gas storage helps Europe avert further energy crises; War-torn country's tanks enable continent to keep its own facilities close to capacity
Shotaro Tani - Financial Times
European companies have accelerated withdrawals of natural gas from Ukraine as demand for heating increases during the winter months, reducing the chances of the continent suffering another energy crisis. They had turned to Ukraine, home to Europe's largest tanks, to store their reserves earlier this year despite the war in the country following Russia's full-scale invasion of 2022.
/jlne.ws/47oYwVE
Seizing Russian reserves is the right thing to do; Blatant violations of international laws require a response and reparations would be in line with historical precedent
Simon Hinrichsen - Financial Times
Of the potential geopolitical flashpoints in 2024, one for investors to watch may be the pressure to seize Russia's reserves in foreign central banks to fund Ukraine. Western nations were reported last month to have been actively exploring the move as political resistance in the US and elsewhere grows to increasing direct financial support to Ukraine in its fight against invading Russia.
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel Fights on Three Fronts as It Debates How to End Gaza War
Dion Nissenbaum - The Wall Street Journal
Israel's military said it had carried out strikes in Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as the country's security cabinet prepared for a key meeting later on Tuesday to discuss ways to extricate itself from its three-month-old war in the isolated Palestinian enclave. Israel said its jet fighters hit Syrian military positions outside Damascus and buildings in a southern Lebanon village that the Israeli military said had been used by Hezbollah fighters.
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Philippine Stock Exchange Expects to Double IPOs in 2024
Cliff Venzon - Bloomberg
The Philippine Stock Exchange expects the number of initial public offerings to double in 2024, after a sluggish year that saw more delistings than debuts. The bourse sees six companies going public this year starting with Citicore Renewable Energy Corp., President Ramon Monzon said in a statement. The exchange recorded three IPOs last year - far below its target of 14 - while four companies voluntarily delisted.
/jlne.ws/47A8ILn
2023 Recap - Cboe Index Charts on Performance, Skew and Premiums; Four Cboe Strategy Indices Rose More Than 38% in 2023
Matthew Moran - Cboe Global Markets
One of the most frequent questions I receive from customers is - what is the year-to-date performance of a specific Cboe index? While Cboe offers many dozens of strategy indices, and Cboe's BXMD(SM) Index rose 20%, and Cboe's PUT(SM) index rose 14% in 2023, the three Cboe strategy indices shown below all rose more than 38% in 2023.
/jlne.ws/47kBKOA
HKEX appoints Xing Guiwei to risk management committee
Finance Feeds
The committee's role is to formulate policies on risk management matters relating to the activities of HKEX, the Stock Exchange and the Futures Exchange, and their respective clearing houses, and to submit such policies to the Board for its consideration. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has appointed Xing Guiwei as a member of its Risk Management Committee (statutory) (RMC).
/jlne.ws/48uBjCI
Notice Of Summary Action # CME-23-1721
CME
Effective Date 29 December 2023. File No.: CME 23-1721. Member: Jason Harlow. Rule violations: rule 559. Position limits and exemptions. The position limit levels applicable to those contracts with position limits are set forth in the position limit, position accountability and reportable level table ("table") in the interpretations section at the end of chapter 5.
/jlne.ws/3H2W0cZ
Appointment Of HKEX Risk Management Committee (Statutory) Member
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) welcomes Xing Guiwei, the new chairman of Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL), to its Risk Management Committee (statutory) (RMC). His appointment was in accordance with the Securities and Futures Ordinance. Xing Guiwei replaced David Allen Grimme, HKICL's former chairman, on the RMC. From 1 January 2024, RMC members comprise: Laura M CHA(Chairman); CHOW WOO Mo Fong, Susan; HO Hon Kit, Daryl; KWOK Pui Fong, Miranda; LEUNG Chung Yin, Rico; LEUNG Pak Hon, Hugo; SUN Yu; XING Guiwei.
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NYSE - Fee Changes Effective January 2024
New York Stock Exchange
Summary. On January 2, 2024, pending effectiveness of a regulatory filing, the NYSE will be making the following revisions to its Equities Price List. Tiered Rates for Executions at the Close. The current fee for D-Orders executed at the Close that are last modified in the last 3 minutes before the scheduled close for members in MOC/LOC Tiers 1 and 2 with an Adding ADV of 0.50% of Tape A CADV is $0.0008 per share, for all other members, $0.0010 per share.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Musk's X Value Cut by Another Fidelity Writedown, Axios Reports
Vlad Savov - Bloomberg
Elon Musk's X is now worth less than a third of the price the billionaire paid for the former Twitter Inc., Axios reported, citing disclosures by Fidelity.
/jlne.ws/3NJzNEH
Analysis-US fintechs push into fixed-income trading as retail investor interest grows
Hannah Lang - Reuters
U.S. financial technology companies that popularized amateur stock trading are pushing into fixed income in a bid to capitalize upon growing retail investor interest sparked by soaring yields in 2023. Online brokerage Public, wealth management platform Wealthfront and fintech software company Apex Fintech Solutions are among the firms launching new products that aim to make it easier and more affordable for individual investors to gain exposure to fixed-income products like Treasuries and corporate bonds.
/jlne.ws/3TL2g0t
State Street to become first foreign participant to trade Korean onshore interbank FX market; State Street has had a local presence in Korea for more than two decades with plans to further enhance its onshore and offshore trading offerings.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
State Street has become the first foreign institution registered to participate in the onshore interbank foreign exchange (FX) market in Korea. Henry Quek, head of global markets, Asia Pacific, said: "Korea is an important market for State Street. It is encouraging that Korea is implementing measures to enhance the market accessibility of its FX market structure. We look forward to supporting our clients to participate in the Korean FX market both onshore and offshore."
/jlne.ws/3S2Bm2U
Can technology's 'zoomers' outrun the 'doomers'? There may be a case for optimism in AI's transformation of scientific discovery but it's too early to be sure
John Thornhill - Financial Times
A few years ago, the Oxford physicist David Deutsch came up with a simple and beguiling theory, which he called the principle of optimism. In his view, all knowledge that does not contradict the rules of physics is attainable through the application of science and reason. The only variable is how long it takes us to acquire it. "All evils are caused by lack of knowledge," he added, making the case for the accelerated pursuit of scientific inquiry to create a better world.
/jlne.ws/3H1ofJ4
HSBC Takes On Revolut, Wise With New Forex App for Non-Customers
Harry Wilson - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is set to debut an international payments app aimed at directly challenging the dominance of fintechs like Revolut and Wise Plc that have gathered tens of millions of retail customers by offering cheap foreign exchange. Zing will initially be offered in the UK, but Europe's largest bank is planning to roll out the service in other places in the coming months as it looks to grab a share of the fast-growing market servicing affluent consumers.
/jlne.ws/48kBWyQ
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Now is the Time to Improve Cybersecurity Metrics
Matthew.Rosenquist - Medium
We are doing cybersecurity metrics wrong! There are better ways and my guest Rick Howard, the CSO at N2K and longtime cybersecurity metrics expert, provides insights into how metrics can support cybersecurity programs and decisions. This is a timely topic as there are more pressures on CISOs, from new regulations, emerging standards, higher Board expectations, and SEC enforcements, that are increasing the need for better cybersecurity metrics.
/jlne.ws/4aG609G
Four ways companies can respond and more effectively comply with the SEC's new cybersecurity rules
Karen Worstell - SC Media
With two major actions in the last six months of 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made it clear that it plans to get tough on cybersecurity. As a result, chief information security officers (CISOs) and their teams will need to expand their focus from the battlefield to the boardroom, as the threat landscape emerges more than ever as a business concern first and foremost.
/jlne.ws/48Gj3Gv
Key cybersecurity skills gap statistics you should be aware of
Help Net Security
As the sophistication and frequency of cyber threats continue to escalate, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been bigger. The skills gap is not merely a statistical discrepancy; it represents a substantial vulnerability in the defense mechanisms of businesses and institutions. From the shortage of experts in critical areas such as penetration testing and threat analysis to the broader issues of workforce diversity and continuous skill development, the problems contributing to this gap are diverse and complex.
/jlne.ws/48E4WS4
Digital footprints are never washed away; Clickbait confessions of personal trauma online might be regretted but they cannot be erased
Elaine Moore - Financial Times
Trauma is the cheat code to internet fame. Post a tear-stained video that details the worst moment of your life and watch as the views click up. Harrowing confessions of grief and shame run rampant online. I've watched strangers explain the details of their family estrangement, abuse and addiction. Yoga teachers who claim trauma is stored in the hips show stretches that they say will release it. Many repeat the idea that trauma can only be healed with total candour.
/jlne.ws/41GvUWQ
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Best online brokers for buying and selling cryptocurrency in January 2024
James Royal, Ph.D. - Bankrate
Cryptocurrencies have been on quite the ride since being introduced, with some early investors seeing sizable gains, while those who bought at the peak having likely suffered some major losses. The digital coins have sparked much debate in the investment industry about their investment merits and viability, with legendary investors such as Warren Buffett saying cryptocurrencies are essentially worthless.
/jlne.ws/3NKQnUs
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Stock market highs complicate Donald Trump's 2024 economic message; The stock market ends the year in a place that all but assures its ups and downs will be a regular feature on the campaign trail in 2024.
Ben Werschkul - Yahoo Finance
Early in 2023, Donald Trump clearly thought he had a winning issue with stocks. A regular part of his message was to claim President Biden was market poison, with the former president vigorously comparing the down year of 2022 to the Great Depression of 1929.
/jlne.ws/3tFDcxy
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro mobilizes 5,600 troops after Britain sends warship to Guyana amid territorial dispute
A.L. Lee - UPI
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the mobilization of more than 5,600 troops in response to the deployment of a British warship to the coast of Guyana as tensions emerged over the oil-rich territory. The dispatch of the vessel was seen as a signal of support for the former British colony, prompting the Venezuelan ruler to put his military on high alert "in response to the provocation and threat of the UK against peace and the sovereignty of our country," Maduro said.
/jlne.ws/4aAnrIV
UK Brexit 'Space Superpower' Dreams Struggle for Liftoff; Britain's push is challenged by political disarray and weak funding, with UK powerhouses being pulled into overseas conglomerates
Thomas Seal - Bloomberg
Britain's push to become a "space superpower" is being undermined by political disarray and weak domestic investment, while showing how the nation needs international partners more than ever post-Brexit. In a case study of UK industrial strategy after leaving the European Union, Britain is embracing collaboration and mergers, while targeting niche roles in the booming space economy like curbing space junk and launching small rockets, instead of large-scale ownership or leadership, top-ranking officials and executives told Bloomberg News.
/jlne.ws/41Ip5E8
Lagarde Says Euro Gives Greater Sovereignty in a Turbulent World; ECB chief, European leaders mark currency's 25th anniversary; Predictions of the euro's demise have proven to be wrong
Zoe Schneeweiss - Bloomberg
The euro helps Europe stay self-determined globally, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in an op-ed marking the currency's upcoming 25th anniversary. "Issuing the world's second most important currency has given us greater sovereignty in a turbulent world," Lagarde wrote in the joint article with Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Roberta Metsola and Paschal Donohoe - presidents of the European Commission, Council, Parliament and Eurogroup, respectively.
/jlne.ws/41H4WOK
Putin Says He Wants Peace in Ukraine But on Russia's Own Terms
Bloomberg News
President Vladimir Putin said Russia doesn't want to fight "endlessly" in Ukraine but won't give up its positions and is ready for peace only on its own terms. Speaking in televised comments on Monday during a visit to a military hospital, Putin said he's satisfied with the Russian army's performance in Ukraine as it's now holding the strategic initiative on the front, while the opponent is "gradually deflating." Russia is currently occupying about a fifth of Ukraine's territory.
/jlne.ws/3tCjVgf
China and US Should Strive for Peaceful Coexistence, Xi Says
Sing Yee Ong - Bloomberg
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North Korea's Kim says armed conflict becoming reality because of US - KCNA
Jack Kim - Reuters
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Lighter regulation needed to attract 'captive' insurers to London; Calls by industry come ahead of promised UK government consultation on new regime
Ian Smith - Financial Times
The UK insurance industry has urged ministers to adopt a light-touch regulatory regime for so-called captive insurance companies to encourage hundreds of businesses to bring these subsidiaries onshore and fill a gap in London's specialist insurance market.
/jlne.ws/3TLzjlc
How the US justice department became top cop in the crypto 'Wild West'; US criminal prosecutions brought down high-profile figures in 2023 but SEC lawsuits face uphill battles
Joe Miller and Stefania Palma - Financial Times
Last year, Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler vowed that the regulator would be the "cop on the beat" policing the "Wild West" of the cryptocurrency industry. The SEC would go on to file dozens of civil lawsuits against some of the sector's largest players, including exchanges Binance and Coinbase and leading crypto lenders Genesis and Celsius. But the headlines in 2023 were stolen by another arm of the US government, as the Department of Justice swooped in with high-profile criminal prosecutions that produced rapid resolutions.
/jlne.ws/3RF7bO5
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | How Often Should You Mess With Your 401(k)? More Than Before; A more volatile world might have increased the rewards from rebalancing your portfolio, but trading too much is always a risk
Jon Sindreu -The Wall Street Journal
Compulsively checking your 401(k) is seen by behavioral economists as the source of bad investment decisions. Right now, though, looking at your portfolio too seldom could equally lead to missed opportunities. In its 2024 outlook, asset-management giant BlackRock presented an interesting thought experiment: If you had perfect foresight and could shift your U.S. stock investments once or twice a year toward the best-performing sector, how much would you gain? As it turns out, much more than before.
/jlne.ws/48AabC6
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Indiana's Plan to Pipe In Groundwater for Microchip-Making Draws Fire; The state is courting high-tech investments, but a new industrial park may lack enough water. Opponents say piping it from miles away might dry out residential wells.
Dionne Searcey - The New York Times
When Indiana officials created a new industrial park to lure huge microchip firms to the state, they picked a nearly 10,000-acre site close to a booming metropolis, a major airport and a university research center. But the area is missing one key ingredient to support the kinds of development the state wants to attract: access to the huge amounts of water that microchip makers might need.
/jlne.ws/3NRMAVx
Dying in the Fields as Temperatures Soar; Scores of California farmworkers are dying in the heat in regions with chronically bad air, even in a state with one of the toughest heat standards in the nation.
Liza Gross, Peter Aldhous - Inside Climate News
For most of July 2019, stifling heat hung over the agricultural fields of California's Central Valley, as farmworkers like William Salas Jiminez labored under the sun's searing rays. Temperatures had dipped from 99 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit the last day of the month, when the 56-year-old Puerto Rico native was installing irrigation tubing in an almond orchard near Arvin, at the valley's southern edge. Around 1:30 that afternoon Salas sat down to rest. When he stood up to go back to work, he suddenly collapsed. An hour and a half later, he was dead. Reports filed with the U.S. Department of Occupational Health and Safety, or OSHA, say Salas died of a heart attack.
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1 big thing: A record hot 2023 could be just the beginning
Axios Generate
Humanity's hottest year in at least 125,000 is now over. But with further warming ahead, we may soon look back on it as an average year, Andrew writes. The big picture: Last year's record warmth surprised some climate scientists and policymakers alike and contributed to the sense of urgency diplomats addressed during the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. (Whether the agreement they forged fully reflects that urgency is up for debate.) Zoom in: Starting early last summer, global average surface temperatures reached record high levels. They briefly flirted with the 1.5C target set in the Paris Agreement.
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Washington Law Attempts to Fill the Void in Federal Regulation of Hazardous Chemicals; With a years-long backlog in the U.S. government's risk assessments of thousands of potentially hazardous chemicals, the new law requires companies to disclose what chemicals are used in their products.
Emma Peterson - Inside Climate News
A new act implemented earlier this year in Washington has banned five chemical classes in 10 product categories throughout the state, making it the nation's strongest law regulating toxic chemicals in products. The Safer Products for Washington program, an outgrowth of the Pollution Prevention for Our Future Act signed by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2019, is setting a precedent for other states and changing the game for the U.S. chemical industry. The law gives the Washington Department of Ecology the authority to require companies to disclose ingredients in products that may use toxic chemicals, and to enforce the mitigation or complete elimination of them. If safer alternatives exist, the law requires they be used to replace toxic chemicals. Companies that refuse to comply will be fined.
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Ireland Could Become the Next Nation to Recognize the Rights of Nature and a Human Right to a Clean Environment; The move to enshrine those rights is part of a flurry of developments advancing the rights of nature movement this year.
Katie Surma - Inside Climate News
Ireland-a nation synonymous with its abundant, verdant landscapes-is considering a nationwide referendum on the rights of nature and the human right to a healthy environment. If that happens, Ireland would become the first European country to constitutionally recognize that ecosystems, similar to humans and corporations, possess legal rights. More than two-thirds of the 27 European Union countries already recognize a universal human right to a healthy environment.
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Sunak under fire for 'inexplicable' failure to appoint new climate committee chief; Experts say prolonged delay in replacing chair signals that government does not take net zero policy seriously enough and is harming investment
Robin McKie and Toby Helm - The Guardian
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China's 'dinosaur' state-owned enterprises make a green pivot; The groups are Helping Beijing Achieve Its Goals On Cleaner Energy
Edward White - Financial Times
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Landlords in a bind as France imposes tough new emissions rules; Owners of historic apartments among those affected by green standards
Leila Abboud - Financial Times
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2023 was UK's second warmest on record, says Met Office
Reuters
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | BNP Reaches Compensation Agreement With Swiss Franc-Loan Clients
Alexandre Rajbhandari - Bloomberg
BNP Paribas SA agreed to compensate clients who signed up for Swiss-franc mortgages that became ruinously expensive amid the financial crisis of 2008-2009, after the lender was found to be responsible for the damage they suffered in a ruling last year. The Paris-based lender reached the agreement with customer association CLCV, both sides said in separate statements. The total amount to be paid out is expected to be between EUR400 million ($440 million) and EUR600 million, according to French daily Le Parisien.
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AllianceBernstein obtains China mutual fund business license
Reuters
U.S.-based AllianceBernstein Holding LP has obtained a license to run its wholly-owned mutual fund business in China, the company said on Tuesday, making it the latest foreign asset manager to tap China's $3.8 trillion mutual fund market. "AllianceBernstein will offer Chinese investors onshore investment products and solutions, and help them explore opportunities in China's domestic market," the company said in a statement posted on its WeChat account. China in 2020 removed foreign ownership caps in its mutual fund industry. BlackRock, Fidelity International Ltd and Neuberger Berman Group have secured approvals to run wholly-owned mutual fund businesses in China in recent years.
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D.E. Shaw's Biggest Hedge Fund Returned Almost 10% in 2023; Quant firm's Composite flagship posted 9.6% gain in 2023; The firm's macro-focused Oculus fund jumped 7.8% last year
Katherine Burton - Bloomberg
D.E. Shaw & Co.'s biggest hedge fund returned just under 10% in 2023, in a challenging year when the quant firm's peers produced mixed results. The $60 billion firm gained 9.6% in its flagship Composite fund, according to a person familiar with the matter. The fund makes bets across various asset classes and geographies. The Oculus fund, which mostly makes macro wagers and is the firm's second biggest, rose 7.8% last year, the person said.
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Help wanted: fund staff who can sell wealthy investors on 'alts'; Asset managers struggle to hire salespeople as they move into more complex products
Madison Darbyshire - Financial Times
Big asset managers are battling to hire personnel to sell new, more complex investment products as they move away from mutual funds and into alternative products aimed at a rich clientele. Developing products in "alternatives" - asset classes such as credit, private equity and real estate - have received intense focus for asset managers that have otherwise suffered fund outflows in the past few years.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Wayfair's CEO Wants Staff to Work Harder. Your Boss Probably Agrees; Plenty of company leaders say employees will have to dig in and work leaner in the new year. The question is how to motivate them.
Vanessa Fuhrmans - The Wall Street Journal
If you want to know what the boss really wants from you in 2024, Wayfair Chief Executive Niraj Shah's staff memo might be a good place to start. Shah emailed Wayfair's corporate employees in the thick of the holiday season. First he praised everyone's effort in returning the online home-goods retailer to profit, then called on them to dig deeper. "Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success," Shah wrote.
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Companies around the world adopt four-day work week pilot programs to meet growing demand from Gen-Z and millennial employees
Zinnia Maldonado - CBS News
With a growing demand for a four-day work week among Gen-Z and millennial employees, how many companies are actually offering the benefit? CBS New York's Zinnia Maldonado asked the experts about the future of a shorter work week, and what employers and employees would have to be willing to give up.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Luxury Wellness Tourism: 2024's Trillion Dollar Industry
Karee Blunt - Chronicle-Tribune
As the global wellness market flexes its rejuvenated muscles, poised to leap past the $1 trillion mark in 2024, the travel industry is experiencing its own kind of "spa-tacular" transformation. In a world of pampered travels and holistic retreats, "well-being" is not just a state of mind but a journey travelers are willing to shell out big bucks for in pursuit of unparalleled rest and rejuvenation.
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Regular Sit-Down Dinners With Your Loved Ones Have Some Major Wellness Benefits
Amanda Chatel - Women.com
The concept of the family dinner is relatively new in American culture. Before the 18th century, families would eat in shifts. Not only because dining room tables as we know them today didn't exist, but neither did the space and time for such a luxury. By the 19th century, more families started having the necessary room for a sit-down dinner, and as the middle of the 20th century rolled around, sit-down family dinners - especially the ones we see in Norman Rockwell paintings - officially became part of the American landscape.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Japan Searches for Survivors After Earthquake Kills at Least 48; Fire rips through city of Wajima, where at least 19 are dead; About 120 requests for rescue of people trapped in rubble
Erica Yokoyama and Jon Herskovitz - Bloomberg
The death toll from a powerful earthquake that toppled buildings in the Noto Peninsula on Japan's northwest coast rose to nearly 50 as rescue workers searched for survivors trapped under rubble. One of the places hardest hit from Monday's magnitude-7.6 tremor was Wajima, a city of about 23,000 people known for its lacquerware and fishing port on the Sea of Japan. A fire in the heart of the city after the quake engulfed about 200 homes and shops, Kyodo News reported, and prefectural officials said at least 19 people have been confirmed dead in the city.
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Cheap China Stocks Lure Investors Who See 60% Slump as Rock Bottom; Almost a third of survey respondents say they will increase their China investments over the next 12 months
Richard Henderson and Sofia Horta e Costa - Bloomberg
For some, a slump of almost 60% is a signal to buy Chinese stocks. Almost a third of 417 respondents to Bloomberg's latest Markets Live Pulse survey say they will increase their China investments over the next 12 months. That compares with just 19% in a similar August survey and is higher than the 25% who planned to boost exposure in March. Only a fifth now anticipates cutting their China holdings.
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China Injects $50 Billion Into Policy Banks in Stimulus Push
Bloomberg
The People's Bank of China injected nearly $50 billion worth of low-cost funds into policy-oriented banks last month, suggesting the central bank may be ramping up financing for housing and infrastructure projects to support the economy. The outstanding amount of the PBOC's Pledged Supplemental Lending program to policy banks climbed to 3.25 trillion yuan ($456 billion) at the end of December from 2.9 trillion yuan in the previous month, the central bank said in a Tuesday statement. The net injection of 350 billion yuan was the largest increase via the tool since November 2022.
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Russian Oil Cargoes Head Away From India Amid Payment Issues
Rakesh Sharma - Bloomberg
A number of vessels hauling crude from Russia that had been idling off India are now headed away from the country eastwards, amid concerns over oil payments to Moscow that spurred a slump in arrivals last month. Five ships all carrying Sokol oil from Russia's Far East - the NS Commander, Sakhalin Island, Krymsk, Nellis, and Liteyny Prospect - are moving toward the Malacca Strait at 7 to 10 knots, according to vessel-tracking data. A sixth also holding Sokol - the NS Century - is still close to Sri Lanka.
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Swedish Bankruptcies Surge to Highest Level Since 1990s; Bankruptcies are increasing again after stabilizing in autumn; High inflation and interest rates are pressuring companies
Charles Daly - Bloomberg
Swedish bankruptcies jumped 29% in 2023 to the highest level since the 1990s, when the bursting of a property bubble crippled the Nordic nation's banking system. This may just be the tip of the iceberg in the wake of persistently high inflation and interest rates, according to UC, a credit reference agency that compiled the data. In December, bankruptcies increased overall by 23% from a year earlier, it said. "The slightly optimistic trend that we saw in the autumn, where bankruptcies seemed to stabilize, has now reversed, and the development has picked up speed again," said Gabriella Goransson, chief executive at UC.
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