| December 20, 2016 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Matt McFarland, CBOE - Business Development Challenges for Derivatives Exchanges
MarketsWikiEducation.com
"I would say that derivatives can be financial weapons of mass destruction if they are used improperly. If they're used properly they can be risk-reducing tools rather than risk-enhancing tools."
This year the CBOE opened a London office in an effort to expand their reach in Europe. Matt McFarland is the head of the new outpost and also in charge of business development.
The number one issue he faces when trying to get prospective customers to trade on the CBOE is dispelling Warren Buffet's imminently quotable quote that "derivatives are weapons of mass destruction." Once that hurdle is out of the way, he has to placate customers' fears about liquidity and counterparty risk.
In this MarketsWiki Education video, McFarland delivers a primer on those three main challenges.
Watch the video »
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He's a bitcoin trader who snacks on fro-yo at Cumberland Mining
Chicago Tribune
Cumberland Mining is a subsidiary of DRW, one of the largest principal trading firms in the financial sector, mostly in traditional products and securities. It came about that all the cryptocurrency, let's say bitcoin activity, was going to happen out of Cumberland Mining. So we handle anything and everything related to trading and liquidity related to those products.
trib.in/2hODrPF
**JK: Nothing goes better with bitcoin than fro-yo.
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Ex-U.S. Attorney Yang Is Trump's Top Contender for SEC
by Benjamin Bain , Jennifer Jacobs , and Robert Schmidt - Bloomberg
Debra Wong Yang is now a partner at law firm Gibson Dunn; She was part of team that absolved Christie in bridge scandal
President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating ex-U.S. attorney Debra Wong Yang to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, positioning her to be the second consecutive former federal prosecutor to lead Wall Street's top regulator, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
/goo.gl/lxcJkm
**JK: Wang lead's Gibson Dunn's crisis management practice. She's perfect for the job.
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Mnuchin's Ultra-Long Bond Idea Is an Ultra-Longshot for Treasury
by Brian Chappatta and Alex Harris - Bloomberg
Ultra-long U.S. Treasuries look like an ultra-longshot.
That's the message from traders, strategists and even duration-starved bond investors about the potential for 50- or 100-year U.S. obligations. Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, said he'd "take a look at everything," in response to a question about those maturities in a Nov. 30 CNBC interview.
/goo.gl/PxWjWF
**JK: Hello Citi? Yes, I'd like to refinance my home with a 100-year mortgage. Yes, yes, I'll be around to pay that off.
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Kudlow Is a Troubling Economics Adviser for Trump
By Noah Smith
Donald Trump is reportedly close to picking Larry Kudlow to be the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers. This will doubtless annoy many economists and policy wonks because Kudlow isn't an economist -- he didn't even major in econ in college. He's an econ commentator, much like me, but without the academic training.
/goo.gl/PqWLa6
**JK: Do you appear on TV and say outrageous things? You're hired!
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Top Three
Yesterday's top three was led by Bloomberg's piece Barclays Severing Ties With Up to 7,000 Business Clients about Barclays firing more clients, an industry trend to boost profitability. Second went to The Times' piece Deutsche axes bonuses to pay toxic loans fine. Third went to Automated Trader's piece High frequency trading: Reaching the limits
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| Lead Stories | Wall Street billionaire Vincent Viola chosen as US army secretary; Former Nymex chairman is founder of high-speed market maker Virtu Financial
Nicole Bullock, Gregory Meyer and Adam Samson in New York -FT
President-elect Donald Trump has added another billionaire to his administration, nominating high-frequency trader Vincent Viola as secretary of the army.
/goo.gl/katca2
Platinum Hedge Fund Executives Charged With $1 Billion Fraud
NY Times
For years, the little-known New York hedge fund Platinum Partners stood out for double-digit investment returns that rivaled some of the biggest names in the industry.
It turned out that those returns were too good to be true, according to federal prosecutors.
nyti.ms/2ib3P2V
Euronext in talks to buy French clearing business from LSE; Deal may help smooth path for Deutsche Börse deal with London counterpart
Philip Stafford - FT
Euronext, the European exchanges operator, has confirmed it is in exclusive talks with the London Stock Exchange Group to buy the French clearing arm of LCH, a deal which could help smooth the path for regulators to bless the LSE's merger with Deutsche Börse.
/goo.gl/LgKsR7
SocGen Computer Glitch Said to Ripple Through Bond Derivatives
William Canny and John Detrixhe - Bloomberg
ICE restated open interest on contracts, citing member error; Bank staff said to manually process orders after malfunction
Societe Generale SA suffered a systems failure that rippled through several futures contracts last month, according to people familiar with the matter, raising questions about the derivatives powerhouse's risk oversight and the reliability of its technology.
/goo.gl/Td1Hk2
Statement From World Federation Of Exchanges Following Letter Calling On "Stock Exchanges To Address Climate Risk"
WFE
"The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) notes the recent joint letter from Parliamentarians who have written to the world's stock exchanges calling on them to address climate risk. "The WFE and its members have been working on this issue for some years in a proactive way. At the WFE Annual Meeting in October 2015, the WFE published its Guidance & Metrics for exchanges, which included setting out 33 key Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) performance indicators for exchanges to consider in relation to sustainability disclosure in their own markets.
bit.ly/2hOkiNT
Exclusive: U.S. proposed $5 billion - 7 billion penalty on Credit Suisse on toxic debt - source
Joshua Franklin, Oliver Hirt and Karen Freifeld - Reuters
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked Credit Suisse to pay between $5 billion and $7 billion to settle a probe over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, a source with knowledge of the matter said, but the bank has resisted settling for that amount. The size of the suggested settlement indicates that the cost to the bank may be higher than analysts had expected and explains why Credit Suisse management, according to a second source, has been seeking a smaller penalty.
/goo.gl/t8s54U
NYSE Exchange-Traded Fund Platform Hit by Tech Glitch
Dow Jones Business News
A software glitch forced the largest U.S. venue for exchange-traded funds to close for 15 minutes on Monday, the latest snafu to raise questions about the reliability of markets that rely increasingly on high-speed computers.
/goo.gl/Z2PcN9
Trump's Treasury Pick Moves in Secretive Hedge Fund Circles
By MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN and ALEXANDRA STEVENSON - NY Times
As a hedge fund manager, Goldman Sachs trader and bank chief executive, Steven T. Mnuchin has long been a member of the financial elite. Yet even on Wall Street he was not widely known before Donald J. Trump chose him to be his campaign fund-raiser last spring.
/goo.gl/0RGEjC
Trump Administration 'Hell-Bent' on Making Big Changes, Dalio Says
by Bei Hu - Bloomberg
Shift could be more significant than 1979-82 in U.K., U.S.; President-elect may ignite 'animal spirits,' attract capital
Economic changes under the Donald Trump administration may be more significant than shifts from "the socialists to the capitalists" in the U.K., U.S. and Germany from 1979 to 1982, according to Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.
/goo.gl/fxrBFc
How Goldman and Seinfeld Helped Put Steve Bannon in the White House
David Rovella - Bloomberg
After a campaign season unprecedented in its divisiveness and a transition unparalleled in controversial appointees, Steve Bannon's selection as chief strategist for President-elect Donald Trump still manages to stand out.
bloom.bg/2h6a0aV
Ex-Deutsche Bank Russia Trader Accused of Stock Manipulation
by Jake Rudnitsky and Anna Baraulina - Bloomberg
Bank of Russia probes trades carried out in 2013-2015; Ex-trader, relatives earned 255 million rubles on probed deals
Yuri Khilov, while head of Deutsche Bank AG's Russia equity trading desk, allegedly engaged in "large-scale" market manipulation from 2013 to 2015, using accounts that he opened in his relatives' names, according to the Russian central bank.
/goo.gl/2Gl8aL
I.M.F. Stands by Christine Lagarde, Convicted of Negligence
By LANDON THOMAS Jr., LIZ ALDERMAN and AURELIEN BREEDEN - NY Times
The International Monetary Fund threw its support behind its leader, Christine Lagarde, on Monday despite her conviction in a French court on charges of misusing public funds.
/goo.gl/Eua7qg
Dimensional Fund Advisors Grapples With Its Future
Julie Segal - Institutional Investor
The smart beta pioneer now manages $445 billion in assets. But can the privately held firm survive its original team?
"I hate complexity and a lot of changes," the 70-year-old co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors says. "It undermines people's trust in you. If people understand what you do, they'll stick with you over the long haul, and if they do that, they'll be okay."
/goo.gl/Jtt4eu
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| Brexit | | Financials stories regarding the recent decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union | Brexit Defined -- U.K. Lawmakers Told What Hard and Soft Mean
John Ainger - Bloomberg
The U.K. Parliament has produced a glossary to help lawmakers -- and anyone wanting to bluff their way through political conversations over the holiday season -- get to grips with the jargon being used about Britain's departure from the European Union. The entry for Brexit -- the term most often used to describe the U.K.'s exit from the bloc -- contains four sub-definitions in the briefing document, which was published by the House of Commons library on Monday.
/goo.gl/qU5wVB
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Euronext in exclusive talks to potentially acquire LCH.Clearnet SA
Euronext
Euronext announces that it is in exclusive talks with London Stock Exchange Group plc ("LSEG") and LCH.Clearnet Group Limited ("LCH.Clearnet Group") in relation to a potential acquisition of LCH.Clearnet SA ("Clearnet"), a subsidiary of LCH.Clearnet Group.
/goo.gl/at3kQG
London Stock Exchange Group in Talks to Sell French Clearing Arm
By CHAD BRAY - NY Times
The London Stock Exchange Group said on Tuesday that it was in "exclusive" talks to sell the French arm of its majority-owned clearing business to Euronext, part of the British-based company's efforts to win regulatory approval for a merger with Deutsche Börse.
/goo.gl/WjEkd6
NYSE Extends Global Capital Raising Leadership to Sixth Consecutive Year
ICE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) extended its leadership as the premier venue for global capital raising with $119.4 billion in proceeds from 392 transactions in 2016, more than any other exchange in the world. Despite muted global IPO activity this year, largely due to equity market volatility early in the year and uncertainty surrounding geopolitical events, the NYSE raised $13.1 billion from IPOs including the largest U.S. IPO of the year in which Chinese express delivery company ZTO Express raised $1.4 billion.
/goo.gl/ANJdVG
HKEX Publishes 2016 Market Statistics
HKEX
A number of new records were set in Hong Kong's derivatives markets in 2016, according to market statistics from 1 January to 15 December 2016 published on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited's (HKEX) website today in response to media requests.
/goo.gl/GdHp9C
Update on Direct Funding Participant CFTC 40.10 Rule Filing
To Clearing Member Firms
CME Group
On July 22, 2016, CME submitted to the CFTC proposed rules to create a new "Direct Funding Participant" category of clearing membership. The effectiveness of the proposed rules remains temporarily stayed while CME continues to discuss the program with the relevant regulatory authorities as part of the CFTC's Rule 40.10 filing process.
/goo.gl/5moRpz
CME targets Q1 2017 for buy-side clearing membership launch; The new membership category will allow buy-side clients to directly deposit cash collateral with the CCP.
By Joe Parsons - The Trade
CME Group is aiming to launch its new direct clearing membership model in the first quarter of 2017, following a delay of approval from the US derivatives regulator.
/goo.gl/JDd6yr
Eurex/TAIFEX link: Extension and adjustment of incentive programmes for Daily Futures on TAIEX derivatives
Eurex
The Management Board of Eurex Deutschland and the Executive Board of Eurex Zürich AG decided to extend and adjust the incentive programmes for Daily Futures on TAIEX futures and options with effect from 1 January 2017.
/goo.gl/MVFrbu
Futures on the indices ATX®, ATX® five, CECE® EUR and RDX® EUR: Extension of Designated Market-Making scheme
Eurex
In order to further promote trading activities, the Management Board of Eurex Deutschland and the Executive Board of Eurex Zürich AG decided the following effective 1 January 2017:
/goo.gl/ckoVzr
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| Politics | | An overview of politics during an election year as it relates to the financial markets | Trump's New Billionaire Army Chief Was Once Considered A Stock Market Villain
Jen Wieczner - Fortune
Though Donald Trump's new pick for secretary of the U.S. Army may be most famous for owning the Florida Panthers, the hockey team is not what made Vincent Viola rich. Viola, whom Trump selected Monday for the Army's top post, has a net worth of $2.3 billion, according to Bloomberg. Much of that wealth has come from Virtu Financial, the high-frequency trading firm that Viola, 60, founded in 2008 and took public last year: Viola still owns more than 68% of the Class A common stock of Virtu, which has a market cap of about $2.2 billion.
/goo.gl/eXRkrG
With Cabinet Nominees, a Challenge to See Which Master Is Served
White Collar Watch
By PETER J. HENNING - NY Times
The Bible says that "no one can serve two masters." In federal law, this admonition is embodied in statutes that prohibit government officials from receiving any outside compensation for their work and bar them from acting in ways that favor their own financial interests.
/goo.gl/oA5vOq
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) | A New Fund Seeks Both Financial and Social Returns
Andrew Ross Sorkin - Bloomberg
"There is a lazy mindedness that we afford the do-gooders." That was Bono, the musician turned activist turned investor, lamenting the pitfalls of what has become an increasingly fashionable form of financing: social impact investing.
/goo.gl/GL5tir
Hedge Fund Winners and Losers Emerge as Year Ends on Better Note
by Katia Porzecanski, Nishant Kumar, and Bei Hu - Bloomberg
Strategies focused on macro trends produced the worst returns; Distressed-debt hedge funds profited from rally in oil prices
This was the year to ridicule hedge funds. Pension funds, politicians, Warren Buffett, even hedge fund managers themselves -- they all had something to say about the disappointing performance, high fees and market saturation.
/goo.gl/KErqUF
Record $97.6 billion pumped into U.S. equity ETFs since Election Day
Reuters
Investors poured a record $97.6 billion into U.S. equity ETFs since the U.S. election, TrimTabs Investment Research reported for the period from Nov. 8 to Dec. 15. "The stampede into U.S. equity ETFs since the election has been nothing short of breathtaking," said David Santschi, chief executive officer at TrimTabs, late on Sunday in a statement.
/goo.gl/ygL8HB
Young Americans Piled Into Some Horrendous ETF Trades Right After the Election
Luke Kawa - Bloomberg
Mimicking President-elect Donald Trump  who has called himself "the king of debt"  risk-loving millennials used exchange-traded funds that employed leverage to juice their returns in the wake of the real-estate mogul's election victory. That didn't work out so well for them.
/goo.gl/NE9u6D
The chemical effects of trading
Yael Warman, Leverate - LeapRate
The best thing you can do for your trading account is to get a grip. Let me explain. Yael Warman, Leverate Brian Knutson, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Stanford University, found that financial trading has the means to tweak the same part of the human brain that is normally affected by sexual desire and drug abuse.
/goo.gl/q0y7oI
A Billionaire Retrenches in a Tough Year for Hedge Funds; Jamie Dinan goes on an offensive as his York Capital Management fund digs out from its second straight down year
By JULIET CHUNG - WSJ
Hedge-fund manager Jamie Dinan is ending 2016 the way he started it: eating humble pie.
/goo.gl/rGohZx
Energy 'Tsunamis' Threaten to Drag Oil Down to $10, Engie Says
by Francois De Beaupuy - Bloomberg
Lower cost for solar, hydrogen and batteries to weigh on crude; Innovation chief Lepercq sees 'quasi-infinite and free energy'
The oil industry must brace for five energy "tsunamis" that threaten to drag prices as low as $10 a barrel in less than a decade, according to Engie SA's innovation chief.
/goo.gl/0Vz4Yf
Markets Are Going to Roil Next Year
By Mark Gilbert - Bloomberg
The European Central Bank reckons that financial market uncertainty, as measured by how far stocks, bonds and the euro are from historical norms, is currently close to zero, in contrast with elevated uncertainty during the recessions of 2009 and 2013:
/goo.gl/7J5nEX
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | JPMorgan Declares Debt the New Frontier in Battle for ETF Assets
by Rachel Evans - Bloomberg
Asset management unit plans six or more new bond funds in 2017; Bank is chasing competitors Goldman, BlackRock in ETF market
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is opening a new front in Wall Street's battle for domination of the market for exchange-traded funds: debt.
/goo.gl/BbMNpw
Goldman Sachs isn't done raising cash for its $4.5 billion fund
New York Business Journal
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is not done filling its new private-equity coffer. The New York-based investment adviser, through its merchant bank division, has been busy raising $4.5 billion since this past summer. According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs is actually shy of its goal and is expected to continue the effort in 2017.
/goo.gl/gxGzEv
Hedge Fund Winners and Losers Emerge as Year Ends on Better Note
Katia Porzecanski, Nishant Kumar, and Bei Hu - Bloomberg
This was the year to ridicule hedge funds. Pension funds, politicians, Warren Buffett, even hedge fund managers themselves -- they all had something to say about the disappointing performance, high fees and market saturation.
/goo.gl/KErqUF
RJ O'Brien hires industry veteran Totman in Chicago
Luke Jeffs - FOW
Chicago-based broker is looking to expand its business in US and abroad
RJ O'Brien has hired in recent weeks experienced futures sales broker Andy Totman to help the Chicago-based firm tap futures trading clients cut loose by investment banks. RJO hired Totman as a senior vice president in Chicago last month, according to sources. He latterly worked for five months in sales with ED&F Man in Chicago and before that spent more than 18 months as North American managing partner of COEX Partners, the London-based brokerage.
/goo.gl/DfPCE7
One Wall Street bank is using Snap Spectacles to help recruit young talent
Portia Crowe - Business Insider
Citi is taking a different tack when it comes to recruiting young talent. The Wall Street firm is using Snap Spectacles  the sunglasses made by Snapchat's parent company with miniature cameras used to record video  to show candidates what life at Citi might look like.
/goo.gl/xB3dWm
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | 2017 Â The Year UK FinTech Goes Mainstream
Coin Telegraph
Brexit has created uncertainty. How does the UK maintain its lead? 2017 is the year when UK FinTech must go mainstream.
/goo.gl/TbDsvX
Hong Kong to host Fintech Finals 2017 in January
EconoTimes
Hong Kong will be hosting 'Next Money Fintech Finals 2017' on January 18-19, 2017, as a part of the week-long StartmeupHK Festival.
/goo.gl/gJrAQr
Your 2017 Fintech Guide
Nasdaq
Whether it's mobile payments, P2P transactions, or some other financial innovation, it's obvious Fintech is growing fast! Knowing what's happening, getting information, and networking has never been so important in this young industry. Below, you'll find your guide to Fintech in 2017.
/goo.gl/L76dP4
PwC's Arslanian: China Is Global FinTech Leader
Bloomberg
Henri Arslanian, China and Hong Kong FinTech and RegTech leader at PwC, discusses Financial technology in China, India's FinTech projects, the benefits of RegTech solutions and the outlook for the sector. He speaks to Bloomberg's Haidi Lun and Rishaad Salamat on "Bloomberg Markets."
/goo.gl/9xSBJG
The Coming Millennial FinTech Crisis
Pymnts.com
It's not news that the 70 million people born between 1980 and 2000  the millennials  are financially challenged. But Karen Webster says that new research out of Stanford sheds extraordinary new insight on their financial state of affairs. Only 50 percent of them will ever outearn their parents, and the picture gets worse for middle and lower middle class kids. That, Webster says, raises a whole host of questions for society and some big decision points for the payments, retail and commerce players seeking to serve them. She lays it all out here
/goo.gl/OP2CV4
One Wall Street bank is using Snap Spectacles to help recruit young talent
Portia Crowe - Business Insider
Citi is taking a different tack when it comes to recruiting young talent. The Wall Street firm is using Snap Spectacles  the sunglasses made by Snapchat's parent company with miniature cameras used to record video  to show candidates what life at Citi might look like.
/goo.gl/EP369v
Goldman, JPMorgan to invest in blockchain startup Axoni: sources
By Olivia Oran and Anna Irrera - Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and a group of other financial institutions including inter-dealer broker ICAP Plc's (IAPLF.PK) venture arm are finalizing an investment in blockchain startup Axoni, people familiar with the deal said this week.
/goo.gl/6oxrAd
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Platinum executives charged in $1bn investment fraud; Mark Nordlicht and six others accused of 'brazen' scheme to defraud investors
by: David J Lynch in Washington
Platinum Partners founder Mark Nordlicht and six other executives employed by the New York-based hedge fund were arrested Monday on charges of engaging in a $1bn investment fraud.
/goo.gl/RlA8UD
Fed approves rule requiring banks to publicly disclose liquid assets
Reuters
The Federal Reserve on Monday finalized a rule requiring big banks to disclose certain liquidity measures for the first time, as part of an effort to make sure they can cover large or rapid withdrawals.
/goo.gl/ugWV8k
Effective Date of Interpretive Notice to NFA Compliance Rule 2-46: Reporting Financial Information on NFA Forms PQR and PR
NFA
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently approved NFA's amendment to NFA Compliance Rule 2-46 and a related Interpretive Notice entitled NFA Compliance Rule 2-46: Reporting Financial Information on NFA Forms PQR and PR. The amendment and Interpretive Notice require commodity pool operators (CPO) and commodity trading advisors (CTA) to report two financial ratios regarding a CPO's or CTA's financial condition on the quarterly Forms PQR and PR. The amendment and the Interpretive Notice will be effective for Forms PQR and PR as of the quarter ending June 30, 2017.
/goo.gl/UfkV3m
Commodities traders question EU's insider trading regime; Esma guidance on Mar leaves market in the dark, say critics - particularly for hedges
Roberto Barros - Risk.net
Two new sets of European rules are aiming to make commodities markets more open, fair and transparent; a side-effect has been to plunge market participants into a thick fog. In part, this is because one of the regulators' key aims - stamping out insider trading - is tough to achieve in markets where hedging is the main aim for many participants, says Jonathan Whitehead, London-based global head of commodities at Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB). "If you know a company...
/goo.gl/twiuqI
Deutsche Bank could settle U.S. penalty this week: source
Andreas Kroner and Karen Freifeld - Reuters
Deutsche Bank could this week agree a penalty with the U.S. Department of Justice over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, one person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The penalty stems from a 2012 initiative launched by U.S. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, to penalize banks for allegedly selling sub-prime debt while misleading investors about the risks, a practice that contributed to the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
/goo.gl/Qjcc7o
U.S. charges Platinum Partners execs with $1 billion fraud
Nate Raymond and Lawrence Delevingne
Top executives of New York-based hedge fund manager Platinum Partners were arrested on Monday and charged with running a $1 billion fraud that federal prosecutors said became "like a Ponzi scheme" as its largest investments lost much of their value. Led by Mark Nordlicht, Platinum was known for years for producing exceptionally high returns -- about 17 percent annually in its largest fund -- by taking an unusually aggressive approach to investing and fund management, as detailed by a Reuters Special Report in April.
/goo.gl/wmHSvA
Lagarde keeps IMF job, escapes penalty after negligence conviction in France
Chine Labbé and David Lawder - Reuters
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde escaped punishment and kept her job on Monday despite a conviction on negligence charges over a state payout made while she served as France's finance minister in 2008.
/goo.gl/dEQkpe
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Finalizes Aggregation Rules, Re-Proposes Position Limits Rule
Gary De Waal, Kevin M. Foley and Arthur W. Hahn, Katten Muchin Rosenman - National Law Review
On December 5, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued final regulations regarding the aggregation of positions and accounts to assess compliance with speculative position limits, as well as to add a potential exemption to such requirements for entities within a group that trade independently of each other and have procedures and controls to ensure such independence. The CFTC also re-proposed regulations establishing position limits for 25 core physical commodity futures contracts and their economically equivalent futures, options and swaps (referenced contracts).
/goo.gl/5oQU0u
CFTC fines Maryland investment firm in fraud case linked to CEO's death
Reuters
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered a Washington area wealth management firm to pay $800,000 on Monday in a fraud case involving the firm's chief executive, who apparently committed suicide in 2014.
/goo.gl/c4nAxY
SEC Punishes Company Over Restricting Would-Be Whistleblowers
By SAMUEL RUBENFELD - WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission penalized a company for impeding outgoing employees from communicating with the agency, the latest violation of a rule protecting would-be whistleblowers.
/goo.gl/mYrLrg
Lynn Tilton: SEC 'grossly overreached' in $200M fraud case
By Carleton English - NY Post
All Lynn Tilton wants for Christmas is a little lump of coal in the stocking of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The so-called Diva of Distressed Debt has tried again to persuade a judge that the SEC's fraud case against her is full of holes  telling the court the regulator "grossly overreached" when it charged her in 2015.
/goo.gl/0o0jBQ
Authorities Allege $1 Billion Fraud at Platinum Partners; Founder Mark Nordlicht and six others charged with defrauding more than 600 investors
By ROB COPELAND and ERICA ORDEN - WSJ
In June 2014, the founder of hedge fund Platinum Partners sent a panicked email to his partner.
/goo.gl/C6MLnl
ESMA Updates Q&A on Prospectus Directive
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an updated questions and answers (Q&A) document on the application of the Prospectus Directive.
/goo.gl/Aj4LF1
ESMA launches trade repositories consultation; ESMA's latest consultation is in response to a request from the EC to formulate an EU regulation on fees for trade repositories.
By Paul Walsh - The Trade
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper on formulating an EU regulation on fees for trade repositories under the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR).
/goo.gl/Cwq0yL
Derivatives Market Analysis: Interest Rate Derivatives
ISDA
Twice a year, ISDA analyzes interest rate derivatives notional outstanding data reported by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in order to illuminate market trends. The bank's most recent analysis was released in November 2016. This publicly reported data does not describe several notable aspects of the derivatives market. For example, risk metrics associated with derivatives cannot be conveyed through notional figures. Additionally, the effects of clearing and compression skew BIS totals. This report addresses the effects of clearing and compression on interest rate derivatives by adjusting reported notionals in order to provide a clearer estimate of derivative market trends.
/goo.gl/saE170
Company Violated Rule Aimed at Protecting Potential Whistleblowers
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a technology company has agreed to pay a penalty of $180,000 to settle charges involving its severance agreements that impeded at least one former employee from communicating information to the SEC.
/goo.gl/KtR2XZ
Japanese regulator hits out at US cross-border swaps proposal; Japan's financial regulators believe a US proposal to expand its swaps rules to non-US persons could be damaging.
By Joe Parsons - The Trade
Japan's financial regulator has criticised a proposed rule from the US derivatives watchdog to expand stricter OTC derivatives rules to non-US dealers.
/goo.gl/93gLtN
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Be Wary of Hong Kong's Eye-Popping IPO Gains
Crystal Tse and Benjamin Robertson - Bloomberg
Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market has seen a string of the world's best stock debuts this year. It's also been home to some of the biggest plunges, wiping out gains and raising questions about how the exchange operates.
/goo.gl/i7TeVT
Cuba's Rum-for-Debt Offer to Czechs Isn't as Weird as It Sounds
Ben Bartenstein - Bloomberg
Cuba's offer to send rum to the Czech Republic to pay off Cold War-era borrowings may not be as preposterous as it seems, judging by some previous distressed-debt proposals. Short on cash, officials in Havana have offered to send unspecified commodities and cases of the sugarcane-derived spirit to settle the debt, which a report by Agence France-Presse put at $270 million. The swap between the former Communist comrades -- Cuba and Czechoslovakia were among each other's 10 largest trading partners in the 1980s -- is the latest in a series of proposals that have seen countries offer up everything from pasta to doctors to settle their borrowings.
/goo.gl/HeuJgq
China's 'airpocalypse' hits half a billion people; Worst air pollution this year shuts schools and grounds flights
by: Yuan Yang in Beijing
The government has shut schools, restricted road traffic and urged people to stay indoors as 24 cities across north-east China were put on "red alert" for extreme smog on Tuesday.
/goo.gl/YuJniD
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | What London's Libor Traders Did Next
by Suzi Ring , Gavin Finch , and Chiara Albanese - Bloomberg
Former brokers struggle to match salaries outside finance; Libor, FX scandals tarnished those bankers implicated
The former ICAP Plc broker stood near the bar, pint of cider in hand, surrounded by members of his house music collective, Hellsinki-V.
/goo.gl/gxf4UY
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