| February 27, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
As Cboe is approaching its 50th anniversary, it shared on LinkedIn the memoir of the late Joe Sullivan, the founding president of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
The Financial Times editorial board has an editorial this morning titled "Goldman Sachs has lost its way." It was not that title that caught my eye, or the reference to the firm's notoriety as the "Vampire Squid." Rather it was the pithy subheadline of "The wisdom of Solomon's strategy will be weighed by investors."
The Big Read this morning in the Financial Times is about European defense policy being impacted by the Ukraine-Russia war. The title of the piece is "Arming Ukraine: how war forced the EU to rewrite defence policy." The subheadline is "Brussels ripped up its playbook with a bold move to use a recently formed fund to send billions of euros in weapons to Kyiv."
The CME Group is looking for a manager of corporate communications in Chicago. More details are available HERE.
The Norm Singer Open Outcry Traders History Project video received a large number of online likes since it was posted on various exchange trading groups on LinkedIn and Facebook, echoing the large impact Singer had training and giving starts to a great many traders across multiple exchanges.
Dan Pritchard is the latest to give to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign. Dan is a longtime industry professional who is a managing director of Onix Solutions, but has seen time at BornTec, ELX and The Chicago Corporation, among other venues. Thank you to Dan and all who have given and all who have yet to give to support our efforts to preserve industry history with our various video series.
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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To highlight the important work and successes of women in financial services, the Security Traders Association (STA) Women in Finance recently launched a new series of interviews with women in the industry who aim to inspire the next generation of women in finance. The series starts off with an interview with Jennifer Nayar, president and CEO of Sterling Trading Tech. You can learn more about it on the STA web site and read the interview here.~SR
Join the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative on March 2-3 for two free global webinar trainings on financial reporting aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the foundation for upcoming ISSB standards. TCFD 101 provides an overview of what climate-related reporting is and why it is important. TCFD 102 looks at best practices and case studies. Learn more and register here.~SAED
Edie 23, Leadership through Crisis, is March 1-2 AT 133 Houndsditch events venue in London. The event has three themed stages - strategy, net-zero and action - combined with eight interactive workshops. The keynote is Green Finance and Investment: Seizing the Business Opportunity, given by Dr Steve Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer, Temasek. View the agenda and register for this in person only event here.~SAED
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Broadridge Chief Product Officer Martin Koopman Has a Lot Going On
JohnLothianNews.com
John Lothian News interviewed Martin Koopman, chief product officer of Broadridge, about his new position at the firm and the different businesses Broadridge is known for and expanding into. Koopman and Broadridge have a lot going on.
Broadridge has been known for capital markets, and is best known for its clearing technologies, Koopman said. They are also known for their investor communications business, focusing on regulatory communications.
Watch the video »
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Sam Bankman-Fried Cosplayed as a Genius. The Facts Reveal His Incredible Stupidity
David Z. Morris - CoinDesk
One nagging question about Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX Crime Family has always been: what was the endgame? Given the incredible extent of the theft taking place, how did Bankman-Fried and his inner circle of co-conspirators foresee escaping their giant con with their freedom and dignity intact? New charges filed Thursday against the disgraced effective altruist support the idea that he hoped to curry enough favor in Washington, D.C. to somehow escape the consequences of his actions.
/jlne.ws/3IBUYoV
****** The shorts, t-shirt and sneakers, the Einstein hair, yep, he cosplayed it all right.~JJL
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Now that's one giant penguin: Fossilized bones of 340-pound 'monster bird' discovered in New Zealand
Janet Loehrke - USA Today
Paleontologists have discovered gigantic fossilized penguin bones on the coast of New Zealand, according to a study published in the Journal of Paleontology. Only a few bones were found, but it was enough for scientists to determine their size. The penguin species, named Kumimanu fordycei, was found in the Otago Region in New Zealand's South Island.
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****** They are supposed to be small and cute. Now, they are part of my nightmares.~JJL
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To Regain Trust, the News Media Need Objectivity; Being objective will also help in the search for truth, which reporters claim to be interested in.
Clive Crook - Bloomberg
Authorities in the news industry, whose reputation is near a record low, have a novel idea to restore public faith in their work: They can improve trust, they say, by renouncing objectivity. This is not something that would have occurred to me. In a recent column in the Washington Post, the paper's former executive editor, Leonard Downie, says that in the quarter-century he was a top editor, he "never understood what 'objectivity' meant." The piece quotes other notable journalists saying much the same.
/jlne.ws/3IU1ske
****** I don't believe there is such a thing as "objective." We all have our biases. The best we can do is try to be balanced and give voice to multiple sides of a story. However, sometimes in stories the hateful, racist, or evil sources don't deserve a platform to elevate their message and normalize it. There is the conundrum of trying to be fair and do what is right in journalism. It is also important to fully disclose one's biases. If I am writing about how I hate Indiana University, it is important to know that I went to Purdue, and so on. ~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our most read story on Friday was Billionaire financier Thomas H. Lee found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound in NYC office: sources, from the New York Post. Second was New SBF indictment docs just dropped, from the Financial Times. Third was a tie between the NFA notice NFA's Board of Directors re-elects Maureen C. Downs to serve as Chair and Bloomberg's First DeSantis Took On Disney. Now He's Coming for Wall Street.
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MarketsWiki Stats
27,220 pages; 243,138 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | Wall Street's ChatGPT Nightmare Is Over Before It Starts as Banks Crack Down; Traders experiment, but quickly find the AI system's limits; JPMorgan, Goldman, Citigroup restrict access to the technology
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
In a dark future for humans on Wall Street, banks fire traders en masse as artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT take over bond and commodities markets that were once too tough to automate. But not yet. And maybe not ever. Wall Street banks are taking steps to limit or prohibit its use, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc.
/jlne.ws/3YjTxBn
How Singapore stacks up against Hong Kong in battle of Asia hubs
Primrose Riordan, Andy Lin, Chan Ho-him and Mercedes Ruehl - Financial Times
Hong Kong has lost ground to regional rival Singapore, according to a Financial Times analysis of real estate prices, air traffic and other indicators, underlining the challenge the Chinese territory faces as it reopens to the world after years of pandemic controls. In recent weeks, John Lee, Hong Kong's chief executive, has launched a campaign to convince the world that despite Covid-19 and a brutal security crackdown, the Chinese territory is not only open for business but remains Asia's premier financial centre.
/jlne.ws/3EFHDdV
Xi and Putin have declared a new cold war
Tobias Ellwood - The Telegraph
Our global order is in deep trouble. It is now more protectionist and more divided than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Our post-Cold War complacency has seen autocratic states multiply in recent years. Now, China and Russia are openly pioneering a competing vision - a post-West world order that we cannot afford to ignore. Many commentators missed it, but President Xi Jinping's decision to send China's most senior diplomat to Russia in the week of the anniversary of Vladimir Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point; a line in the sand.
/jlne.ws/3xY0X28
The inherent flaws of corporate bond ETFs; The investment vehicles present a worrying systemic vulnerability
Patrick Jenkins - Financial Times
The world of ETF academia is a rarefied one. But the spats it hosts are no less heated than those in the better known field of macroeconomics. This month, a paper by a quartet of academics from three business schools - Columbia, Chicago Booth and Pennsylvania - set off a row about the niche issue of the market liquidity of the baskets of securities that underpin corporate bond exchange traded funds.
/jlne.ws/3mbwcV3
US investors need to keep a much closer eye on everywhere else
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
Here we go again. Last month, the American S&P 500 jumped 7 per cent, supposedly because investors started to think (or hope) that lower inflation rates would slow Federal Reserve rate rises. On Tuesday, however, US equity markets suffered their biggest fall for two months, as strong economic data sparked a welter of market chatter about the prospect of more tightening from the Fed.
/jlne.ws/3xTvpdN
We're watching one of the most spectacular technology implosions of all time
Andrew Orlowski - The Telegraph
Few true crime stories horrify us more than those of bogus doctors. One, Zholia Alemi, who was convicted of fraud earlier this month was described by the Judge as "a most accomplished forger and fraudster [who] has no qualification that would allow her to be called, or in any way to be properly regarded as, a doctor". Yet she had graced the NHS as a psychiatrist for over two decades.
/jlne.ws/3ZmQucr
It's Official: Twitter Is Trying To Destroy Itself
John Brandon - Forbes
Bots have been trying to take over my Twitter account for years. I'm not really sure why. Almost once a day or more, a request comes in by text to authenticate my account, even though I'm not trying to login. It's either a bot or a hacker I'm sure, someone (or something) that has correctly guessed my password but, thankfully, can't access my account because they don't have the authentication code.
/jlne.ws/3IwdjUd
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hid investments for 22 years, SEC says
Russ Wiles - Arizona Republic
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an affiliated investment arm will pay penalties and adhere to standard investment-reporting practices after federal regulators accused them of failing to properly disclose the church's stock-market investments worth billions of dollars and other details. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 21 charged nonprofit investment firm Ensign Peak Advisors with failing to file required forms that would have fully and properly disclosed the church's stock holdings.
/jlne.ws/3KFElej
Blackstone's Schwarzman received over $1 billion in pay, dividends in 2022
Rhea Binoy and Jose Joseph - Reuters
Blackstone Inc Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman took home about $1.26 billion in pay and dividends for 2022, a regulatory filing showed. Schwarzman received more than $1 billion in dividends from his Blackstone shares and $253.1 million in compensation, filing showed on Friday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc slashed compensation for CEO David Solomon by 29% to $25 million for 2022, while JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon's total compensation was unchanged at $34.5 million.
/jlne.ws/3Y2RQI3
Supply Chains Have Healed Yet Their Mark on Inflation to Endure; Bulk of goods transported under contracts set at higher rates; Retail chiefs say worst is over, but price pressures remain
Laura Curtis - Bloomberg
Supply chains across the world are healing up almost as fast as they broke down. That doesn't mean the pressure they're exerting on inflation will disappear as quickly. Take the cost of shipping containers. Spot rates from Asia to the US West Coast increased more than 15-fold during the pandemic and have since returned to pre-Covid levels as trade between the world's two largest economies cools from a frenzied pace.
/jlne.ws/3SwJlE4
Goldman Sachs has lost its way; The wisdom of Solomon's strategy will be weighed by investors
The editorial board - Financial Times
For only the second time in Goldman Sachs' 154-year history, investors will gather on Tuesday to ponder the future of a Wall Street giant that seems to have lost its way. The bank whose dominance was once so assured it gained notoriety as the "Vampire Squid" is now more of a damp squib. A nosedive in profits in the last quarter of 2022, punishing job cuts denting morale, and a botched strategic overhaul have left Goldman trailing its arch-rival, Morgan Stanley. The Investor Day presents a rare opportunity for shareholders to press the chief executive, David Solomon, on how Goldman can regain its status as top dog. They ought not to demur. Solomon can point to higher profits and a larger market share in Goldman's core businesses of investment banking and trading since he became CEO in 2018. But investors do not value those businesses as highly as they once did because the profits they generate are more unpredictable and undercut by capital demands. Morgan Stanley has pulled ahead of Goldman largely because after the financial crisis, it diversified into asset and wealth management, which generate more stable returns.
/jlne.ws/3EKcLcb
Germany Faces $1 Trillion Challenge to Plug Massive Power Gap; About 250 gigawatts of new electricity capacity needed by 2030; Germany needs 43 soccer fields of solar power every day
Petra Sorge and Josefine Fokuhl - Bloomberg
Germany has set aside more than EUR260 billion ($275 billion) to deal with the immediate risks of an energy crisis triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine, but the ultimate fix will be much costlier - if the country can pull it off at all. The pending price tag for future-proofing the country's energy system is projected to amount to over $1 trillion by 2030, according to BloombergNEF.
/jlne.ws/3m2I7El
Adani Isn't the Only Indian Tycoon in Trouble; Bondholders in Vedanta Resources, a highly leveraged mining group, are jittery about getting repaid next year.
Andy Mukherjee - Bloomberg
Highly leveraged Indian tycoons are having a rough time. Gautam Adani's $236 billion infrastructure empire has shrunk by more than three-fifths in a month. But while his relentless rise and spectacular fall hog headlines, a smaller storm may be brewing for another well-known magnate. Anil Agarwal's once-London-listed Vedanta Resources Ltd. has a pile of debt, including a $1 billion bond due January. Yet, his most recent attempt to trim the load has upset the one partner he can't afford to annoy: New Delhi.
/jlne.ws/3IVNzSt
Global Financial Watchdog Suspends Russia's Membership; The move marks first suspension of a country from the Financial Action Task Force
Mengqi Sun - The Wall Street Journal
A global financial watchdog, in an unprecedented move, suspended Russia's membership in the organization, on the first anniversary of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. T. Raja Kumar, president of the Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based intergovernmental body that sets anti-money-laundering law standards, said Friday it was the first time it has revoked a country's membership.
/jlne.ws/3ZmoGos
Continuing Sanctions Against Russia Mark 'Tectonic' Shift; The U.S. and its allies put together a new kind of sanctions strategy to cause maximum pain to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine a year ago
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago prompted a volley of tough sanctions from the U.S. and its allies, a historic use of economic measures that will likely have lasting implications for businesses. Financial crime experts widely agree that the imposition of large sanctions packages by the U.S. and other countries on Russia marks a watershed moment in the use of economic measures as a tool of foreign policy. The U.S. and allies spearheaded a new kind of sanctions strategy: targeted, coordinated and aimed at causing maximum pain to a globally significant economy.
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Euronext cautious on Allfunds acquisition, deal by no means certain; The group could withdraw its offer rather than enter into a bidding war, sources close to the deal tell The TRADE.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Last week, Euronext confirmed an indicative offer for the Spanish wealthtech platform Allfunds, after media speculation forced its hand. An acquisition would make sense in terms of both revenue and diversification - if completed, the deal would see Allfunds account for more than a quarter of the exchange group's bottom line.
/jlne.ws/3SNFWBb
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | U.S. to impose 200% tariff on aluminum from Russia -White House
Reuters
The United States will impose a 200% tariff on aluminum and derivatives produced in Russia from March 10, the White House said on Friday, effectively a ban as it announced sanctions on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The United States will also apply a 200% tariff on aluminum imports of primary aluminum produced in Russia from April 10.
/jlne.ws/3Y2nxl2
UK issues export bans on every item used by Russia in war
Reuters
Britain marked the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by issuing more sanctions against Russia, including export bans on every item it has used on the battlefield and import bans of iron and steel goods. Britain has frozen assets and targeted a wave of Russian officials and companies in the last year in an effort to cripple Moscow's economy and curb its ability to wage war on its neighbour.
/jlne.ws/3IYWymc
Mitch McConnell tells U.S. to 'wake up' to threat of Russia on Ukraine war anniversary
Liz Goodwin - The Washington Post
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday urged the United States and its allies to renew their resolve to help Ukraine as it stands up to Russian "thuggery," tacitly pushing back against members of his own party who have become loudly skeptical of Ukraine's fight as the conflict passes the one-year mark.
/jlne.ws/3KJwZ9N
One year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, disinformation sites with ads powered by Google have more than doubled
Ryan Joe - Insider
Last year, as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Google and major brands placed ads on sites that promoted Kremlin propaganda. As that invasion hits its one-year anniversary, the number of sites profiting from ads from major brands has tripled from 27 last year to 88 this year, according to NewsGuard, a company that sells tools so advertisers can keep their ads away from misinformation.
/jlne.ws/3Z3ez8n
Putin's war is driven by his fears of Russia's decline. That gives Ukraine a path to victory.
Wesley Clark - USA Today
One year ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces brutally invaded Ukraine. His invasion has sparked the most violent conflict in Europe since World War II. Hundreds of thousands have died, massive ethnic cleansing is underway and thousands of war crimes have been documented. Battles rage across a front of more than 600 miles, and Russian missiles continue to bombard civilian targets. Can the conflict, which seems unstoppable, be ended, and if so, how?
/jlne.ws/3XZqbYx
Ukraine war, 1 year on: conflict presents China, US with financial-decoupling woes that weigh on both
Frank Tang - The South China Morning Post
China has been taking steps toward boosting its own currency overseas and empowering its contingency-payment and settlement systems in the past year, as the Ukraine war significantly altered the geopolitical landscape and also China's strategic thinking in regard to international financial regimes. US dollar hegemony has been a frequent target of criticism by the Chinese government in recent years, with the US-China trade war plunging bilateral relations to a decades-low point, and the ongoing tech-decoupling endeavours of the Biden administration have raised concerns of an all-out clash.
/jlne.ws/3IyzZ6m
'Absolutely necessary' for G20 to condemn war in Ukraine, ending war is key for global economy: Janet Yellen
Reuters and Bloomberg - South China Morning Post
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters that a strong statement condemning Russia's war in Ukraine was "absolutely necessary" for a communique from the G20 finance leaders' meeting in India concluding on Saturday. Yellen said in an interview that leaving a war condemnation out of the communique would be a step back from a statement made by G20 leaders last November on the Indonesian island of Bali.
/jlne.ws/3Z1Vpj6
Poland Says Russia Stops Oil Flows Via Key Druzhba Pipeline
Maciej Martewicz - Bloomberg
Poland's largest oil company PKN Orlen SA has unexpectedly stopped receiving oil via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Obajtek said in a tweet on Saturday. The halt comes a day after Russia's invasion of Ukraine reached the one-year mark. Poland has been among the staunchest backers of Kyiv, sending humanitarian aid, weapons and accepting some 1.5 million refugees. It also was the first European country to have its gas deliveries cut off by Russia in 2022, days after the start of the war.
/jlne.ws/3EExi1G
Putin says Russia will deploy 'Satan 2' Sarmat nuclear missiles - boost land, sea, air forces
Reuters - South China Morning Post
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces by deploying a much delayed new intercontinental ballistic missile, rolling out hypersonic missiles and adding new nuclear submarines. A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin has signalled he is ready to rip up the architecture of nuclear arms control - including the big powers' moratorium on nuclear testing - unless the West backs off in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3SvgArw
Most G20 nations condemn Russia for war, China silent
Aftab Ahmed, Shivangi Acharya and Sarita Chaganti Singh - Reuters
Finance chiefs of the world's largest economies strongly condemned Moscow for its war on Ukraine on Saturday, with only China and Russia itself declining to sign a joint statement. India, which as chair of the Group of Twenty (G20) economies was hosting a meeting in the city of Bengaluru, was reluctant to raise the issue of the war but Western nations insisted they could not back any outcome that did not include a condemnation.
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Ukraine says Russian offensive near Yahidne unsuccessful
Reuters
Ukraine's military said on Sunday that Russia conducted unsuccessful offensives near Yahidne over the past day, after Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed to have captured the village in eastern Ukraine near the focus on intense fighting. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a morning update that Russia keeps concentrating its offensive efforts along the entire Bakhmut front line, where Yahidne is located.
/jlne.ws/3kvYadv
Summers Says Price Caps on Russian Energy Should Be Tightened; Former Treasury secretary cites limited impact of sanctions; G-7, EU countries set price caps in response to war on Ukraine
Gillian Tan - Bloomberg
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said price caps on Russian energy should be tightened as part of sanctions for the war in Ukraine. Economic sanctions on Russia "haven't really bitten that hard" because countries such as China, India and Turkey haven't joined in, Summers said in an interview on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" broadcast Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3Z7q8LK
The Year That Redrew the Energy Map; Russia's invasion of Ukraine hastened a global transformation that will surpass the 1970s shocks - and it isn't over yet.
Clara Ferreira Marques and David Fickling - Bloomberg
Almost exactly a year ago, the worst happened. As dawn broke on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine. He unleashed bloodshed, an avalanche of sanctions - and arguably the first truly global energy crisis. The shock has fueled worldwide inflation; rerouted vast oil, gas and coal flows; and irreparably damaged long-standing commercial relationships, bringing about a reconfiguration of the energy map likely to eclipse even the aftermath of the 1970s oil crises.
/jlne.ws/3m2FWk9
Germany to place order for backfilling howitzers months earlier than planned
Reuters
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday he expected the contracts for the backfilling of howitzers that Berlin rushed to Ukraine last year to be signed by the end of March, months earlier than originally planned. "If everything works out, the contracts for the new howitzers will be signed by the end of the coming month," he told German public broadcaster ARD.
/jlne.ws/3ZGBWVl
Russian military aircraft blown up near Minsk: Belarusian partisans
Reuters
Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility for what they said was a drone attack on a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday. "Those were drones. The participants of the operation are Belarusian," Aliaksandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian anti-government organization BYPOL, was quoted as saying on the organisation's Telegram messaging app and on the Poland-based Belsat news channel.
/jlne.ws/3EHUwEm
Russia stares into population abyss as Putin sends its young men to die
Szu Ping Chan - The Telegraph
Dmitry Nechaev bought a one-way ticket from Moscow to Tel Aviv a year ago. Two days into Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the 38-year-old businessman abandoned his apartment in the Russian capital and travelled to Israel, leaving his wife, children and dog behind. Within days, Visa and Mastercard suspended their services in Russia, blocking his cards and preventing him from buying plane tickets for his family. His wife had already got rid of many of their belongings in a fire sale, including their country house and camper van in a bid to raise cash quickly.
/jlne.ws/3ZH98vV
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Chinese Group Heads to LME With Plan to Draw a Line Under Nickel Crisis
Alfred Cang and Jack Farchy - Bloomberg News
One of the key Chinese players in last year's nickel short squeeze is preparing to meet London Metal Exchange Chief Executive Matthew Chamberlain in the first face-to-face encounter since the crisis that upended the global metals world. Chen Hongliang, the president of mining and refining company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., plans to discuss an application to register the company's nickel for delivery on the exchange at the meeting early next week, according to people familiar with the matter, a move which - if it happens - could help to revive trading in the LME's beleaguered nickel contract.
/jlne.ws/3m9bAN7
HKEX Welcomes Additional Stock Connect Trading Days
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) welcomes the announcement today (Friday) by Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission on additional Stock Connect trading calendar enhancements, adding up to over 10 trading days to Northbound and Southbound Connect each year. Currently, Northbound trading on Stock Connect would be closed on the trading day before a Hong Kong public holiday, because banking services aren't available in the Hong Kong market on public holidays. The enhancements will enable Northbound trading under Stock Connect on all trading days that are mutual to the Hong Kong and Mainland China markets. Similar adjustments will also be made to the Southbound arrangements of Stock Connect.
/jlne.ws/41nafCo
TMX Group Limited Normal Course Issuer Bid Approved
TMX Group
TMX Group Limited ("TMX Group") announced today that its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") has been accepted by Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). TMX Group intends to purchase up to 560,000 of its common shares by way of normal course purchases on Toronto Stock Exchange, representing approximately 1% of the 55,742,734 common shares outstanding on February 22, 2023. Based on the average daily trading volume of 98,075 common shares during the past six calendar months on TSX, daily purchases on TSX will be limited to 24,518 shares, other than block purchase exceptions. The purchases may commence on March 6, 2023, and will terminate on March 5, 2024, or on such earlier date as TMX Group completes its purchases.
/jlne.ws/3Y7JZJr
Base Prices for February 2025 Contracts of Electricity on the First Trading Day
JPX
The base prices for Immediately Executable Price Range (DCB Level) and Circuit Breaker Trigger Level (SCB Level) for February 2025 contracts of Electricity on the First Trading Day, February 27, 2023, shall be as below.
/jlne.ws/3xTSdub
List of deliverable Canadian government bond issues for the LGB, CGB, CGF and CGZ futures contracts
TMX
For your information, please find enclosed the list of deliverable Canadian Government Bond issues with respect to the LGB, CGB, CGF and CGZ futures contracts delivery months. This list is produced in accordance with the Rules of Bourse de Montréal Inc. and Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC) relating to delivery standards. This list replaces the one that was distributed on February 6, 2023 (circular no. 021-23).
/jlne.ws/3kwJVFj
Position Limits - Government Of Canada Bond Listed Products (Spot Month)
TMX
The applicable position limits for the Government of Canada Bond futures and options on the Government of Canada Bond futures have been updated and are reflected in the position limit file. The position limit file is available in Annex 1 and retrievable here. The position limits will apply as follows.
/jlne.ws/3EFXwkH
SGX RegCo issues Trade With Caution alert on the shares of Healthbank Holdings
SGX Group
Singapore Exchange Regulation ("SGX RegCo") urges investors and potential investors to exercise caution when dealing in shares of Healthbank Holdings Limited ("HHL"). From 22 August 2022 to 1 November 2022, a total of 4,378,600 HHL shares were traded versus no trades executed in the 2 months before that. In particular, from 25 October 2022 to 1 November 2022, the share price soared by 75%, or $0.090, from $0.120 to close at $0.210.
/jlne.ws/3XSAjT2
Moscow Exchange starts trading in futures for the Turkish lira and the Hong Kong dollar
MOEX
On March 1, 2023, trading in settled futures contracts for the Turkish lira - Russian ruble and Hong Kong dollar - Russian ruble currency pairs will begin on the Moscow Exchange derivatives market. The launch of new contracts is due to the growing interest of clients in trading in the Hong Kong dollar and Turkish lira on the currency market of the Moscow Exchange.
/jlne.ws/3kwJpqR
Moscow Exchange expands opportunities for SFI market participants
MOEX
Starting February 27, 2023, the Moscow Exchange has provided trading participants with additional options for managing portfolios in the standardized derivative financial instruments (SPFI) market. The maximum term for transactions with currency swaps (FX Swap), as well as deliverable and settlement currency forwards (FX Fwd, FX NDF) with the currency pair "Chinese yuan - Russian ruble" is increased to five years. Previously, participants could enter into transactions with these instruments for a period not exceeding one year.
/jlne.ws/41t1SFu
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | This Hong Kong fintech employs AI technology to promise collateral-free loans to city's small businesses
South China Morning Post
FundPark, a fintech-focused platform for trade finance, is planning a new round of fundraising from investors as the Hong Kong-based start-up eyes a role in plugging a US$1.7 billion financing gap for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Asia. In contrast to lending provided by banks, the company provides SMEs with multiple financing options for working capital, without collateral requirements, CEO and co-founder Anson Suen said. FundPark could finance up to 70 per cent of the purchase order or contract value, he added.
/jlne.ws/3SyFxSH
Meta Notches Win as FTC Drops Challenge to Virtual-Reality Deal; Agency votes closes case over Meta's Within Unlimited deal; Federal judge ruled against FTC following trial in December
Leah Nylen - Bloomberg
The Federal Trade Commission voted to withdraw an antitrust complaint challenging Meta Platforms Inc.'s purchase of virtual-reality startup Within Unlimited, officially closing the agency's case. The FTC sued to block the deal last year, filing twin complaints in federal court and its in-house court. Following a December trial in a San Jose federal court, US District Judge Edward Davila found in favor of Meta, ruling the FTC didn't offer enough evidence to prove that the acquisition would harm competition in the nascent virtual-reality industry.
/jlne.ws/3KFCIxx
Meta, Twitter Subscription Plans Risk Turning Off Everyday Users
Kurt Wagner - Bloomberg
Social media companies make almost all their money from advertising, and that has started to pose a problem. As we've learned over the past three years, global economic forces like pandemics, wars and record inflation make online advertising a fickle business. So it's not necessarily a surprise that companies like Twitter Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, are suddenly interested in finding new, more reliable revenue streams to complement the ads.
/jlne.ws/3IBjDKc
Jack Ma-Backed Ant Group Plans to Pare Stake in India's Paytm; Ant needs to sell shares after its stake hit a threshold; Billionaire tycoon Mittal meanwhile seeks a stake in Paytm
Lulu Yilun Chen, Baiju Kalesh and Saritha Rai - Bloomberg
Ant Group Co. is considering selling some of its shares in the operator of Indian financial technology firm Paytm to keep its holding within a required threshold, according to people familiar with the matter. The Chinese fintech giant has been discussing options to reduce its stake in One 97 Communications Ltd. after its share percentage increased passively due to share buybacks, the people said, requesting not to be identified because the matter is private.
/jlne.ws/3EFH3Nh
Solana Blockchain Hit by Hours-Long Network Slowdown and Technical Problems; On-chain transactions halted or delayed for several hours; Blockchain operators attempting to restart the network
Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
Developers who operate and maintain the Solana blockchain restarted the crypto network after a technical problem triggered an hours-long slowdown over the weekend. It is the latest in a series of outages, technical issues, and processing problems that has plagued Solana since its debut in 2020. Last October, the blockchain underwent a similar restart process after a glitch caused a prolonged outage.
/jlne.ws/3EFfO5B
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life
Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen - The Wall Street Journal
In the early hours of Thanksgiving weekend, Reyhan Ayas was leaving a bar in Midtown Manhattan when a man she had just met snatched her iPhone 13 Pro Max. Within a few minutes, the 31-year-old, a senior economist at a workforce intelligence startup, could no longer get into her Apple account and all the stuff attached to it, including photos, contacts and notes. Over the next 24 hours, she said, about $10,000 vanished from her bank account.
/jlne.ws/3KFZyF7
Ransomware part of attack that compromised 2,000 LA student records, including COVID status, school district days
Nadine El-Bawab - ABC News
A ransomware attack and data leak in September 2022 compromised assessment records, driver's license numbers, as well as Social Security numbers of approximately 2,000 students, including 60 who are currently enrolled, the Los Angeles Unified School District confirmed to ABC News Friday. An investigation into the cyberattack, which took place Sept. 5, also found that positive COVID-19 test results were also part of the breach, LAUSD said.
/jlne.ws/41xRaOa
Russian cybercrime is starting to rebound after war disruption
Sam Sabin - Axios
Russia's cybercrime underground is starting to recover from the disruptions caused during the ongoing war, which could spell bad news for U.S. companies, experts told Axios. Before the war started, some still hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin might crack down on the deluge of ransomware gangs in his country.
/jlne.ws/3mbewsJ
Here Are Some of the Most Hacked States in America; From sea to shining sea, America is a big target for cybercriminals. These states are their favorites.
Lucas Ropek - Gizmodo
Every year, the FBI publishes a report on the state of cybercrime in the U.S., based on statistics collected from the previous year. The organization that does the collecting, the bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, compiles information on a state-by-state basis, detailing where hacking incidents occurred, how many people were victimized, and how much money was lost or stolen as a result.
/jlne.ws/3m8cJEy
2022 Hits All-Time High For Crypto Crimes; Russian Sanctions, North Korean Hackers Lead The Pack
Kamran Rosen - Forbes
While 2022 was another huge year for crypto adoption (with global ownership growing by 39% according to Crypto.com), it was also an industry record year for a less desirable factor: crime. Crypto-related crime reached its highest-ever level in 2022, according to blockchain data platform, Chainalysis, cumulatively reaching $20.6 billion in illicit funds transferred. This marks a 15% growth from 2021, and a 145% increase from just two years ago.
/jlne.ws/3ZaTglu
Cyber Insurance Is Back From the Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks; Price increases are moderating following a surge last year; After a pandemic-era retreat, more insurers enter the market
Max Reyes - Bloomberg
The cyber-insurance market, battered by a rash of pandemic-era ransomware attacks, is making a comeback. Price hikes are moderating, new carriers and fresh sources of capital are emerging, and companies can better afford coverage. Cyber-insurance pricing increased 10% from a year earlier in January, a fraction of the 110% annual increase reported in the first quarter of 2022, preliminary data from insurance broker Marsh McLennan show.
/jlne.ws/3kob8du
LinkedIn scammers step up sophistication of online attacks
Ian Johnston - Financial Times
LinkedIn has been hit by a rise in sophisticated recruitment scams, as fraudsters seek to take advantage of the trend towards remote working and widespread lay-offs across the tech sector. Jobseekers on the world's largest professional network are being defrauded out of money after taking part in fake recruitment processes set up by scammers who pose as employers, before obtaining personal and financial information.
/jlne.ws/3lXMss
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried helped create a new company with no employees to get round FTX being rejected for a bank account in California
Pete Syme - Business Insider
When a California bank refused to give FTX an account in early 2020 because it wasn't registered as a money services business, prosecutors say that Sam Bankman-Fried started a new company to skirt that prohibition, and subsequently made false statements on a due diligence questionnaire. The allegations form part of new charges against Bankman-Fried unsealed this week for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business - two of four new counts that were made public Thursday. The bank's name was not revealed in the court filing.
/jlne.ws/3Z1T5IU
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers request extension for bail condition proposal
Turner Wright - CoinTelegraph
Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in federal court have requested an extension to file a proposal related to his bail conditions. In a Feb. 24 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wanted until March 3 to file a proposal for additional bail conditions for Bankman-Fried and find a suitable candidate to act as a technical expert in the case.
/jlne.ws/3Y2S7em
Cryptocurrency: Here come the regulators
The Week Staff
The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web: "The sun may be setting on the cryptocurrency craze," said Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times. Crypto's decline from a peak market capitalization of more than $3 trillion in late 2021 to about $800 billion today means that late-stage investors likely reaped "enormous losses." And now, initiatives in Congress that were aimed at liberalizing the crypto market "appear to be running out of steam" as regulators have "tightened the screws." Evangelists for the new form of currency had claimed it was a financial innovation that would allow those on the margins of the financial system to prosper. But after 14 years of bubbles and scams, it's become clear that crypto is merely a speculative asset, something to buy in the hope that someone else will buy it for more. That's "often described as the 'greater fool' theory." What the unbanked really need are simple and inexpensive ways to save their money, but crypto transactions, bristling with hidden fees, "tend to be just the opposite."
/jlne.ws/3ECs06Y
Illegal Crypto Mining Operation Found Hidden Under High School
Luke Plunkett - Kotaku
A man has been arrested and is facing charges in a small town outside of Boston after local authorities discovered "an illegal cryptocurrency mining operation" tucked away under a school's floor. As the BBC report, the accused-39-year-old Nadeam Nahas-was previously the assistant facilities director for the small town of Cohasset, which is roughly 10 miles outside Boston. In December 2021, a "routine inspection" of the school turned up some suspicious modifications.
/jlne.ws/3ITDGVr
Don't let crypto burn? The IMF thinks we may have to save crypto from itself
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
What should be done about the crypto clown car crash? Should regulators step in and bring some basic oversight and impose clear rules on the industry, or merely laugh, shrug and let the whole thing burn?
/jlne.ws/3EBAMSP
Binance Australia Derivatives Business Reviewed by Regulator; Review includes categorization of retail and wholesale clients; Binance earlier said some Australia users wrongly classified
Georgina McKay and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said it's conducting a "targeted review" of the local derivatives business of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. The review includes Binance's "classification of retail clients and wholesale clients," a spokesperson for the regulator said in a statement on Friday.
/jlne.ws/41rl9qS
Binance Closed Derivative Positions of 500 Australian Users, Will Compensate Them for Losses
Shaurya Malwa - CoinDesk
Binance said on Thursday that it had incorrectly tagged 500 Australian users as "wholesale investors," resulting in their derivative positions being unceremoniously closed. Documents show Binance Australia has historically not allowed retail traders to trade futures and financial derivatives products on the platform in accordance with local regulations. Only "wholesale" traders are allowed to trade such products on Binance Australia.
/jlne.ws/3KFCvtV
'Italian FTX' Leaves Users in Limbo, Citing 'Difficulties in Liquidity Management'
Anna Baydakova - CoinDesk
On Feb. 17, users of a small but well-known Italian crypto exchange received emails saying The Rock Trading (TRT) was having liquidity issues and is "interrupting" its work. "The company is conducting internal audits to identify the causes of the problem and evaluating the adoption of all appropriate or necessary initiatives to protect customers and other stakeholders," said the email, reviewed by CoinDesk. The website became a single page showing the same message.
/jlne.ws/41uHyn5
The crypto kids are onto something-and they shouldn't listen to billionaire bankers like Jamie Dimon
Omid Malekan - Fortune
Over the past few months, a chorus of some of the world's most powerful businessmen has been determined to scare the financial system into believing that crypto is dangerous. Jamie Dimon said, "Bitcoin itself is a hyped up fraud." Jane Fraser opined, "If grandma is investing in crypto, we better have protections in place." And Charlie Munger described it as "a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house."
/jlne.ws/3Z43Jit
FTX Debacle Spurs Indonesia to Revamp Crypto Sector
Eko Listiyorini and Yudith Ho - Bloomberg
Indonesia is drawing on the structure of the stock market to revamp crypto trading and mitigate the risks exposed by the collapse of the FTX digital-asset exchange. A key plank of the plan is a proposed state-backed crypto bourse where private-sector platforms will execute trades, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, which currently oversees digital assets.
/jlne.ws/3KJCCoq
Some companies are already replacing workers with ChatGPT, despite warnings it shouldn't be relied on for 'anything important'
Trey Williams - Fortune
In the 10 or so days since its grand entrance, ChatGPT has been everywhere: littering Twitter feeds, cluttering promotional emails, igniting ethical debates in schools and newsrooms, infiltrating dinner table discussions-it's inescapable and apparently already nestling its way into companies' important business decisions. OpenAI initially launched ChatGPT toward the end of November, but the artificial intelligence chatbot had its stable release in early February.
/jlne.ws/3KFFVwL
Texas' Objections to Voyager Sale to Binance.US Cites Connections to Binance Holdings; Texas is the latest to object to Voyager sale to Binance.US; Bankrupt exchange Voyager had earlier agreed on sale to FTX
Stacy-Marie Ishmael - Bloomberg
Texas officials are doubling down on their objection to a proposed deal between bankrupt crypto exchange Voyager Digital Ltd. and Binance.US, according to documents filed in New York bankruptcy court on Friday. In a follow up to an earlier objection, lawyers representing the Texas State Securities Board and the Texas Department of Banking cited "inadequate" disclosures around the Binance.US terms of use as an area of concern.
/jlne.ws/3Szor7p
IMF Wants More Regulations for Private Cryptocurrencies
Ruchi Bhatia - Bloomberg
The Financial Stability Board, International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlements are committed to presenting a foundation for the regulation of private cryptocurrencies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. "In that world of private issuances, there has to be more regulation," Georgieva said on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting on Saturday.
/jlne.ws/3ma4jww
Crypto Miners Await Verdict on Exclusion from IRS Broker Reporting Rule; White House finishes review on proposed reporting rules; Treasury has signaled miners, stakers can avoid requirements
David Pan and Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
Crypto miners and staking-service providers may learn in the days ahead if they're excluded from a proposal requiring digital-asset brokers to turn over information on their clients' transactions. The subset of the crypto industry - which includes companies like Lido and Digital Currency Group's Foundry - is hoping it will be spared by the rule, which the White House finished reviewing Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3IBWvLk
Sam Bankman-Fried Did 'Immeasurable' Damage to Crypto Industry: Ava Labs CEO
André Beganski - Decrypt
The implosion of FTX last fall dealt crypto a black eye, bruising the nascent industry's reputation in terms of legitimacy and trust. And this damage is vast, according to Ava Labs CEO and Founder Emin Gün Sirer. "The damage that Sam did is immeasurable," he said on the latest episode of the gm from Decrypt podcast. "All of that goodwill that we built over many, many years of hard work is just usurped by some guy who comes in and puts on this boy genius act."
/jlne.ws/3KFDgDB
BitFlyer Founder Seeks Comeback to Calm Crypto Exchange Turmoil; Japan's top cryptocurrency exchange was almost sold last year; Former CEO Yuzo Kano seeks to return, guide startup to an IPO
Takashi Nakamichi and Nao Sano - Bloomberg
BitFlyer Holdings Inc. co-founder Yuzo Kano plans to reinstate himself as chief executive officer of Japan's biggest cryptocurrency exchange and guide it to an initial public offering, seeking to end a dispute with current management and other shareholders over control of the startup. Kano, who owns 40% of BitFlyer and stepped aside from the top role in 2019 after a regulatory crackdown, said he will put forward his proposal at a shareholders meeting planned for next month.
/jlne.ws/3IBc6L9
Will Smoking-Monkey JPEGs Clog Up Bitcoin's Blockchain? (Podcast); Until January, NFTs were primarily found on the Ethereum network. Not anymore.
David Pan, Philip Lagerkranser and Muhammad Farouk Abdulrahman - Bloombeerg
In a major twist in the digital-assets world, Bitcoin has added nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to its blockchain. The new protocol that makes them is called "Ordinals." And just like anything in crypto, fierce debate has ensued about this on social media. Bitcoin NFT proponents call the move a game-changer. Naysayers worry about potential pitfalls of Bitcoin NFTs - like rising transaction costs and environmental concerns. Higher fees could push Bitcoin away from its primary use as a decentralized currency. Plus, some hard-core Bitcoiners are also concerned that these NFTs could clog up the blockchain.
/jlne.ws/3Y6zV3s
The metaverse has failed? It never even took off
John Mac Ghlionn - The China Morning Post
Last month, The Atlantic magazine's Megan Garber argued that we were already living in the metaverse. She's wrong. More recently, The New York Times published a piece forecasting that the next housing boom will take place in the metaverse. It won't. Nothing will take place there, because it does not exist. It is a concept, a hype-filled hypothesis detached from reality.
/jlne.ws/3EHkaJo
Republic Cancels $75 Million Metaverse Fund Following Crypto Collapse and SEC Guidance
Caleb Naysmith - Benzinga
Republic is the third largest equity crowdfunding portal in the U.S. and the owner of the largest U.K. portal, Seedrs. In March of 2021, they launched the "Republic Realm Metaverse Real Estate Fund" available exclusively to a handful of accredited investors. In December of 2021, they launched a Test the Waters (TTW) Regulation A campaign to open it up to all investors. It was incredibly popular and maxed out the entire $75 million reservation max in a very short time.
/jlne.ws/3IXfH7Z
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Republican war on 'woke' policies creeps into U.S. debt-ceiling debate
Jason Lange and David Morgan - Reuters
U.S. House Republicans are eyeing $150 billion in spending cuts that reflect a hardline drive to target education, healthcare and housing - particularly efforts to address racial inequities that conservatives deride as "woke" - as they push forward in talks on the federal debt ceiling.
/jlne.ws/3IWZKys
Florida bill would ban gender studies majors, diversity programs at universities
Sharon Bernstein - Reuters
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would gain more influence in the state's public university system, and majors involving gender studies or critical race theory would be eliminated if a bill filed this week wins support from the Republican-controlled legislature. The new measure, which largely reflects a legislative agenda announced by DeSantis in January, also would ban consideration of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in hiring of faculty.
/jlne.ws/3Y2SbuC
Bankman-Fried Flooded Politicians with Millions of Dollars From FTX Clients, Prosecutors Say
Luc Olinga - TheStreet
Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, was known to be a big donor to the Democrats. He was the face of the cryptocurrency industry with whom politicians could appear in front of the cameras. Known as SBF, the former trader became the crypto king or "the figurehead of a trustworthy and law-abiding segment of the cryptocurrency industry" and a "savior" of the fledgling financial services industry which wants to disrupt traditional finance with the help of blockchain technology.
/jlne.ws/3kxja3E
Sunak Aims to Unveil N. Ireland Brexit Deal After Meeting Monday; Sunak to have final meeting with EU's Von der Leyen in UK; Premier to brief Cabinet, face media, tell Parliament
Kitty Donaldson, Ellen Milligan and Alberto Nardelli - Bloomberg
Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen will meet in the UK on Monday in the early afternoon for final talks ahead of an expected announcement of a post-Brexit settlement for Northern Ireland. The meeting in Berkshire, where King Charles II's Windsor Castle is situated, suggests the UK and the European Union are finally ready to settle their differences over a stand-off that has persisted since the UK's departure from the EU single market and customs union in 2021.
/jlne.ws/3Z0jB5s
'The whole point of Brexit was to permanently prevent the EU from telling the UK what to do'
Ellen Murphy - The Telegraph
The new Brexit deal Rishi Sunak is announcing on Monday is set to scrap Boris Johnson's Northern Ireland Protocol Bill - a move that will snub the former PM. The Prime Minister believes he has fixed fundamental legal changes that render the Bill no longer necessary as a bargaining chip. Mr Sunak wrote in The Telegraph that the Northern Ireland Protocol has undermined the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
/jlne.ws/3IwUobL
BOE Official Says Digital Pound a Big Opportunity for Business
Lucy White - Bloomberg
A top Bank of England official has doubled down on claims that new technologies such as digital currencies could present lucrative new opportunities for businesses. Ben Broadbent, deputy governor for monetary policy, said the UK central bank's "keenest attention" was focused on the regulatory implications of new payments technologies.
/jlne.ws/3EEzrug
Europe Banks on Its EUR72 Billion to Counter Biden's Green Payouts; European criticism of Biden's green subsidy plan has ebbed; Some EU officials see the US law as playing catch-up
Richard Bravo - Bloomberg
Europe's initial anger at President Joe Biden's massive green subsidy plan has waned in light of assessments that rank EU incentives to boost clean technology as equal to or surpassing some of the benefits offered in the US law. The US's Inflation Reduction Act - which offers as much as $369 billion in handouts and tax credits over the next decade for clean energy programs - is playing catch-up to the EU, which currently spends more than EUR70 billion ($74 billion) in renewable energy subsidies each year, according to people familiar with the thinking in the European Commission and some capitals.
/jlne.ws/3IW8SU9
Russia Sold Oil Far Above Price Cap, Researchers Say; Prices averaged $74 a barrel in first weeks after price cap; Authors advise stricter enforcement of oil sanctions
James Herron and Jack Farchy - Bloomberg
Russian companies got far more money from selling the country's oil than previously thought in the weeks that followed the imposition of a price cap on the nation's exports, a group of academics said. The research weakens the idea that the price limits are crushing Moscow's revenue to fund the war in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3xVT4uo
How to contain a recalcitrant Russia
David Manning and Jonathan Powell - Financial Times
On February 22 1946, 77 years ago this week, George Kennan sent a 5,000-word telegram to James Byrnes, then US secretary of state. It was to become known as the "long telegram" and would form the basis of America's policy towards the Soviet Union for nearly half a century. A shy and introverted Midwesterner, Kennan had first served in the US embassy in Moscow in the mid-1930s, during Stalin's purges.
/jlne.ws/3IXkCFZ
Hong Kong tells America to stop 'scaremongering' over city's future after Beijing warns US consul general to stay out of financial hub's affairs
Chris Lau and Lilian Cheng - The South China Morning Post
Hong Kong authorities on Saturday hit out at the United States consulate in the city over its promise to continue to voice its deep concerns over the financial hub's future and insisted Washington's "scaremongering" only reflected its "ill intent". The latest row broke out after a meeting between Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of Beijing's foreign office in Hong Kong, and US Consul General Gregory May last week, where the Beijing official laid down three red lines for the American diplomat.
/jlne.ws/3m44KbD
Rising Heat in India Raises Alarm on Another Energy Crunch; Electricity demand forecast to surpass current record in April; Rajasthan is already implementing power rationing: minister
Rajesh Kumar Singh and Bibhudatta Pradhan - Bloomberg
High temperatures across parts of India have pushed electricity demand to near-record levels in recent weeks, triggering worries about yet another summer squeeze on power supply. Peak demand for electricity touched 211 gigawatts in January, close to an all-time high last summer when heavy industry roared back from pandemic curbs and the population contended with sweltering conditions that saw a 122-year-old heat record breached.
/jlne.ws/3xXRatc
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC has to clarify what's permissible for staking, former CFTC chair says
Timmy Shen - Forkast
It remains unclear whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) enforcement action against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken represents a broader crackdown on staking, according to Timothy Massad, former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman. "The Kraken case, just given its terms, was very much clearly solicitation of an investment and falls within the definition of an investment contract, so the facts make it clear why the SEC took its action," Massad told Forkast during an interview at the Taiwan Fintech Association conference on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/41qQolQ
SEC's Coinbase Insider Trading Case Is 'Backdoor Rulemaking,' Trade Association's CEO Says
Fran Velasquez - CoinDesk
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is trying to stop a case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a former Coinbase (COIN) employee accused of insider trading. The organization's founder, Perianne Boring, said if the SEC succeeds, many digital assets could be defined as securities. "We see this action as seriously concerning and would have significant ramifications for the entire digital asset industry," Boring said Friday on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" about the group's "friend of the court" (amicus) brief in the SEC action before the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
/jlne.ws/3EAQPAj
SEC Investor Advisory Committee to Discuss the Growth of Private Markets, Oversight of
Investment Advisers, and Open-End Fund Liquidity Risk Management at March 2nd Meeting
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advisory Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on March 2 at 10:00 a.m. ET. The meeting will be webcast on the SEC website.
/jlne.ws/3ZpX028
SEC Charges Clean Energy Companies and Officers with Long-Running Offering Fraud
SEC
The SEC today filed and sought court approval for a full settlement of an offering fraud case charging California-based entities Energy & Environmental Investments, LLC ("EEI") and Energy & Environment, Inc. ("E&E) with conducting a fraudulent securities offering that raised $9.3 million from over 200 investors nationwide since August 31, 2012. The complaint also charged EEI's CEO Amir Sardari and his daughter, EEI's former Vice President of Investor Relations Narysa Luddy, for their roles in the offering.
/jlne.ws/3Z4Sw14
SEC Charges Georgia Residents in Microcap Fraud Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges alleging securities fraud and registration violations in a complaint filed against Enviro Impact Resources, Inc., formerly known as Industry Source Consulting, Inc. (OTC Pink: INSO) ("INSO"), a Georgia microcap company. The SEC's complaint further charges alleged fraud and registration violations by INSO's former CEO Michael Molen, his son Seth Molen, and Pixel Arcanum, Inc. ("Pixel"), a Georgia company that was controlled by both Michael and Seth Molen.
/jlne.ws/3Zq2rOt
SEC Charges Recidivist Alan Shinderman and His Company with Fraud for Misappropriating Investor Assets
SEC
On February 23 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged recidivist Alan Shinderman and his company, Markman Biologics Corp. ("Markman Biologics"), with making materially false and misleading statements to investors in four unregistered offerings and misappropriating investor funds for Shinderman's personal use, including for the benefit of Shinderman's wholly-owned entity, Relief Defendant Aspen Asset Management Services, LLC ("Aspen").
/jlne.ws/3ZmUtpp
ASIC sues former Freedom Foods Group and its former CEO and CFO alleging disclosure failures and breaches of director and officer duties
ASIC
ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Noumi Limited (formerly Freedom Foods Group Limited), its former managing director and CEO Rory Macleod and its former CFO Campbell Nicholas for alleged continuous disclosure failures, breaches of company director and officer duties, and false or misleading conduct.
/jlne.ws/3ZrVw7B
City of London minister attacks flagship regulatory reform; Andrew Griffith concerned about impact of Financial Conduct Authority's consumer duty measures
Laura Noonan, George Parker and Ian Smith - Financial Times
Andrew Griffith, City of London minister, has raised concerns that flagship reforms to stop consumers being ripped off by financial services companies could damage the sector and trigger a wave of spurious lawsuits, putting him on a collision course with the UK's chief financial regulator. Griffith has criticised the consumer duty, a key measure by the Financial Conduct Authority that from July requires banks, insurers and other financial services companies to prove they have acted in their customers' best interests and produced "good outcomes" in areas such as pricing. Bosses of financial services businesses have complained about the administrative burdens associated with the consumer duty, and warned it could unleash spurious lawsuits by opportunistic claims management companies that argue customers who run into trouble have not been treated fairly.
/jlne.ws/3IWOXo5
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | The trouble with corporate bonds; Defaults always scare me - are yields worth the risk?
Stuart Kirk - Financial Times
Exactly a month ago, physicists at the University of Copenhagen revealed a breakthrough of mind-boggling importance for the future of mankind. I have to admit it passed me by, as I was leading a personal war against dry January. The researchers worked out how to control two quantum light beams, rather than the usual one. Why does this matter?
/jlne.ws/41ozMeF
The new LBO market: it's gone private
Ellen Carr - Financial Times
Private equity was a bright spot in institutional investors' portfolios last year. The asset class held up much better than public stocks, which were whipsawed by rising rates. Sure, the valuations put on private equity portfolios might be suspect, or at least lagging, given a disconnect with moves in public markets. But many investors value private equity's insulation from volatility and the herd mentality seen on public markets.
/jlne.ws/3Sw0Bcu
Investors wary of Chinese assets as political risk ramps up
Carolina Mandl, Davide Barbuscia and Tom Westbrook - Reuters
Many large money managers are steering clear of Chinese assets, missing out on the nation's post-COVID stock market rally in the latest example of strategic concerns trumping juicy returns. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) has rallied 50% in the three months to the end of January, but incoming foreign investment has moderated and broker analysis attributes much of the rally to hedge funds seeking quick gains.
/jlne.ws/3IWmoqI
BlackRock Says Bond Yields Offer Chance to 'Fix' the 40 in 60/40; Chance for diversification strategy to work again: Laipply; Meanwhile, debt-ceiling issue could impact front end in summer
Vildana Hajric and Michael P. Regan - Bloomberg
Investors have poured more than $20 billion into US fixed-income exchange-traded funds so far this year. As the dust settles from the bond market's worst year on record, ETFs focused on safe and simple Treasuries have attracted the bulk of the money. Stephen Laipply, the US head of fixed-income ETFs at BlackRock, explains this state of affairs on the latest episode of the "What Goes Up" podcast.
/jlne.ws/3EGVGjz
A One-Way Market Foils Stock Pickers as Fed Trounces Everything; Repricing of expectations for rates overshadows other factors; Growth, value stocks moving in lockstep by most since 2005
Elena Popina - Bloomberg
Stock pickers who successfully navigated the 2022 bear market are having a harder time making it through the 2023 faltering recovery. First, an unexpected risk-on rally in January caught some defensively positioned mutual funds off-guard. Then, stocks started falling pretty much in unison on renewed anxiety about how far the Federal Reserve will go with its rate hikes, ruining efforts to find some way to come out ahead. And as long this one-way wave lasts, equities traders will find few opportunities to make money.
/jlne.ws/3KGX21w
UK Bond Traders Say Don't Fear the £250 Billion Debt Wall; Retail, foreign investors, banks' treasuries among buyers; Still, UK Treasury will need to stay nimble in its offerings
Libby Cherry and Alice Gledhill - Bloomberg
A flicker of optimism in the UK's public finances and the return of long-absent debt investors are fueling hopes the government's bumper bond sale plan can be digested by the market. Yields on sovereign notes are so high that even wary foreign investors and multi-asset funds can't ignore them. Better-than-expected public finances data - and a rosier economic outlook - are hinting the UK Treasury will unveil a smaller-than-previously expected issuance plan on March 15.
/jlne.ws/3IWr7Zu
What Are Zero-Day Stock Options? Why Do They Matter?
Lu Wang - Bloomberg
Trading in equity options can be life in the fast lane compared with trading stocks themselves, offering investors big and small a quick road to riches paved with risk. As a form of derivatives, options have traditionally been the domain of Wall Street pros. But retail investors plunged in during the pandemic, and positions began getting opened and closed at a frantic pace.
/jlne.ws/3Y3XqKk
Morgan Stanley Says Trading Probes Are Scrutinizing Information Sharing
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley disclosed more detail about the probes into its trading business by US regulators that are examining the sales of large blocks of stock. The investigations are focused on whether employees shared or used information regarding impending block transactions in violation of securities regulations, the New York-based bank said Friday in a filing. The probes are being handled by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
/jlne.ws/3IC1I6d
Mistrust of Xi Endangers One of Wall Street's Favorite Trades; The rally in China assets is stalling after quick easy gains; Now Xi must try to persuade long-term investors to trust him
Sofia Horta e Costa, Henry Ren and Tania Chen - Bloomberg
After triggering a years-long exodus of foreign investors from Chinese markets, President Xi Jinping looked like he'd cracked the formula to revive his economy and lure back global funds. China's very public pivot away from Covid Zero late last year was accompanied by a speech from Xi impressing upon top officials the importance of attracting and retaining funds from abroad.
/jlne.ws/3Sx0QUK
The markets are alive with the sound of echo bubbles; Investors refuse to give up on ideas that recently made them a lot of money
Ruchir Sharma - Financial Times
The recent surge in tech stocks has true believers buzzing that the downturn of late last year is over and the boom of the past decade is back. But the opposite case is more likely. This surge had all the hallmarks of an echo bubble - a brief rebound of the kind that has punctuated the long decline of every major bubble in the past century.
/jlne.ws/3xTHvUk
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Polar bears and climate change: What does the science say?
Ayesha Tandon and Roz Pidcock - CarbonBrief
The image of a polar bear stranded on melting sea ice is often used as a symbol of the world's rapidly changing climate. Yet every now and again, claims emerge in the media that polar bears' plight might not be so serious after all. Carbon Brief has dug through the literature on polar bears and climate change and spoken to experts from around the world to determine what a changing climate means for polar bears. The consensus is clear - as Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears are finding it harder to hunt, mate and breed.
/jlne.ws/3F3zFf1
Plastic consumption on course to nearly double by 2050 - research
Reuters
Plastic use in G20 countries is on course to nearly double by the middle of the century unless a comprehensive and legally binding global treaty to curb consumption is drawn up, according to research published on Monday. Existing programmes to boost recycling or cut single-use plastic consumption only "scratched the surface" and a more comprehensive global plan is required, according to Back to Blue, a research group run by the Economist Impact think-tank and the Nippon Foundation, a private philanthropic organisation.
/jlne.ws/3EFUBsf
NY Battery-Recycling Project Gets $375 Million US Backing; Energy Department offers conditional loan to Li-Cycle Holdings; Funding comes as US seeks to create domestic battery industry
Ari Natter - Bloomberg
The U.S. subsidiary of Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. is getting a $375 million loan offer from the Biden administration for the expansion of a New York lithium-ion battery recycling plant. The conditional loan would help finance the expansion of a first-of-its-kind facility in Rochester that recycles old lithium-ion batteries into chemicals that can he used for the batteries of more than 200,000 electric vehicles a year, according to the Energy Department. Li-Cycle shares jumped as much as 9% in pre-market trading on Monday.
/jlne.ws/41veWKl
Ford's Electric Pickup Is Built From Metal That's Damaging the Amazon; A Bloomberg investigation traced much of the aluminum in the F-150 to a refinery in Brazil accused of sickening thousands of people
Sheridan Prasso and Jessica Brice - Bloomberg
The new all-electric model of America's best-selling pickup truck, the Ford F-150, relies on aluminum to keep it light and give it speed. With no delay from a piston-firing combustion engine, it can bolt like a high-performance sports car from zero to 60 in 4 seconds. It emits no exhaust, makes no sound. Yet its impact can be heard a world away - in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. That's where the Ford F-150's troubled trail of aluminum begins. Aluminum used to frame the truck's passenger compartment can be traced back from Ford Motor Co.'s historic Rouge assembly complex in Dearborn, Michigan, to a parts manufacturer in Pennsylvania, to a smelter in Canada and, ultimately, to Brazil. There, in the heart of the Amazon, rust-colored bauxite is being clawed from a mine that has long faced allegations of pollution and land appropriation. And, near where the Amazon River empties into the Atlantic, a refinery that processes the ore stands accused of sickening thousands of people.
/jlne.ws/3kwI0Rb
European Power Producers Switch to Gas From Coal as Prices Fall; Relatively cheaper gas prices mean generators drop coal; Lower rainfall could also threaten coal plant deliveries again
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
Power producers in western Europe are expected to burn more gas to generate electricity, reducing the amount of coal the continent needs to keep its lights on. The relative profitability of burning gas has increased as prices dropped, while the cost of coal has stayed relatively high. Gas plants with an efficiency of 55% - meaning that proportion of fuel is directly converted to power - are able to out-compete 40% efficient hard-coal units in some markets, according to Sabrina Kernbichler, a power analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
/jlne.ws/3EBAYBx
UK's Smart Pension Halves CO2 of Default Fund
Vibeka Mair - ESG Investor
Smart Pension, a pounds 2.5bn (US$3 billion) UK workplace pension scheme, has halved the emissions of its default growth fund, in what it claims is an industry first. The organisation has pledged to make its default growth fund net zero by 2040, and it's 50% emissions cut is two years ahead of schedule, it said. It noted that its approach focuses on decarbonisation, rather than using offsets. The news comes after Smart Pension announced a range of lifestyle strategies that are sustainable, in what it claims is another first. It includes the default growth fund, and two other growth funds, which are all classified as Article 8 under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
/jlne.ws/3xYrMUa
No Excuse" for Oil and Gas Methane Cut Failure
Jack Grogan-Fenn - ESG Investor
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has hit out at the oil and gas sector, saying there is "no excuse" for its failure to cut methane emissions last year. The energy sector accounted for 40% of total methane emissions attributed to human activity during that 12-month period, according to the IEA's Global Methane Tracker, confirming a slight increase in the sector's methane emissions year-on-year, reaching 135 million tonnes in 2022. Coal, oil and natural gas operations are each responsible for around 40 million tonnes of methane emissions, with the incomplete combustion of biomass and leaks from end-use oil and gas equipment accounting for the remainder.
/jlne.ws/3Y3vJS6
Asset Managers Found to Have 'Blind Spot' Around New ESG Risk; Biodiversity risks are being overlooked by even the best ESG managers, new study says.
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
The asset management industry is overlooking what promises to be a major new ESG risk: biodiversity. A fresh analysis by nonprofit ShareAction found that only 10% of the asset managers it surveyed say they have a dedicated biodiversity policy covering all their portfolios.
/jlne.ws/3IC2EYh
JPMorgan Investment Arm Purges Its ESG Funds of Adani Stocks
Natasha White - Bloomberg
The asset management unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. has wiped its ESG portfolios clean of their exposure to the Adani empire. The move, captured by an analysis of data compiled by Bloomberg, comes as a number of major investment firms such as BlackRock Inc. and the fund management unit of Deutsche Bank AG, DWS Group, continue to sit on Adani stakes in ESG funds that track indexes offered by MSCI Inc.
/jlne.ws/3xWD2QQ
UK Pension Funds "Poised" to Target Social Care
Emmy Hawker - ESG Investor
Eighty-four percent of UK pension schemes expect institutional investors to increase their exposure to social care, according to a new survey conducted by investment services firm Downing. Responses from the 50 UK pension funds, which collectively manage £102 billion (US$122 billion) in assets, indicated that funds believe investing in social care strengthens their ESG credentials, with 54% noting that the social care sector is "poised" to benefit from institutional investors' targeting social-related themes. Eighty-eight percent said increasing commitments and pledges from local authorities and the UK government to bolster social care demonstrates "the strong defensive attributes of the sector".
/jlne.ws/3XZ38NG
Mutual Funds May Introduce 5 New Categories Under ESG; Check Sebi's Latest Proposal
Namit Singh Sengar - News18.com
Presently, mutual funds can launch only one ESG scheme under the thematic category of equity schemes. Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed allowing mutual funds to introduce five new categories under ESG (environmental, social and governance) scheme. Presently, mutual funds can launch only one ESG scheme under the thematic category of equity schemes.
/jlne.ws/3mdVWjG
ESG investing meets the reality of the U.S. political divide
Judith Crown - Crain's Chicago Business Forum
The red state-blue state divide is roiling the staid world of investing. The practice of considering environmental, social and governance, or ESG, risk has gained mainstream traction over the past two decades - in some quarters, it's almost routine. Is it wise to invest in an oil and gas producer if the market is shifting away from fossil fuels, or in a company that has a record of sexual harassment complaints? Some Republican officials have decided, however, that they've had it with what they call "woke" investing. A dozen states have enacted bills or issued advisories restricting ESG investing for public pension funds and other public money. Other states are considering similar measures.
/jlne.ws/3KGS7xj
UK oil and gas sector warns windfall taxes are deterring investment; Trade body says levy is pushing explorers away and undermining nation's energy security
Gill Plimmer - Financial Times
Oil and gas companies are scaling back North Sea operations and prioritising investment outside the UK because of the government's windfall taxes, the industry's trade body has warned. David Whitehouse, the new chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said 95 per cent of members surveyed had been "negatively impacted" by the levy and were "looking to invest elsewhere", adding that "this leaves the UK reliant on overseas imports and puts the UK's energy security at risk".
/jlne.ws/41veBax
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Ex-Goldman Banker Roger Ng Seeks Leniency in 1MDB Scandal; Ng was only Goldman banker to go to trial for global scandal; Former banker is scheduled to be sentenced in NY on March 9
Patricia Hurtado - Bloomberg
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng, the only employee of the bank to be tried and convicted over the global 1MDB scandal, asked a US judge not to send him to prison for his role in the epic looting of the Malaysian fund. Ng's lawyers said in a filing early Saturday to a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, that the 50-year-old native of Malaysia has suffered enough, having spent six months in a Malaysian prison and four years alone under house arrest in the US.
/jlne.ws/3Y5Xfyn
Sequoia Capital Resigns from Board of Crime App Citizen: FT
Ronan Martin - Bloomberg
Sequoia Capital stepped down from the board of controversial crime-watch app Citizen, telling the company it wouldn't join its latest funding round, the Financial Times reported. Citizen, which has previously raised about $133 million from backers including Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, has over 9 million users and operates in 60 cities across the US, according to its website. The app allows users to live-stream crimes and access reports from 911 calls.
/jlne.ws/3Iry96Y
Russia's Tinkoff bank to suspend trading in euros from Feb 27
Reuters
Russian online bank Tinkoff, run by TCS Group Holding, said on Sunday it would suspend trading in euros from Monday following the imposition of a further set of European Union sanctions. The EU agreed a 10th round of punitive measures late on Friday to punish Russia for invading Ukraine. The package includes cutting off more banks, among them Tinkoff and the private Alfa-Bank, from the SWIFT global payments system.
/jlne.ws/3SurjCw
Goldman Turns to 'Make-or-Break' Unit as CEO Solomon Put to Test; Investors await fresh narrative at Feb. 28 investor day; After partner grumbles spill into open, analysts seek answers
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s leaders take the stage this week hoping to turn the page on a forgettable 2022, lay out new reasons for investors to rally around the stock and quell dissatisfaction within the firm's ranks. After a year in which profits slumped by half and a consumer-banking strategy unraveled, executives plan to offer a more forceful case for shareholders to appreciate its $2.5 trillion asset and wealth management business. The top brass sees the unit, dubbed AWM, as critical to unlocking a higher valuation.
/jlne.ws/3kpuUFr
Missing Banker Bao Fan Is Cooperating in China Probe, His Firm Says; Investment bank says it's still trying to locate Bao; Bao Fan's disappearance this month has unnerved business elite
Bloomberg
China Renaissance Holdings Ltd. said Chairman Bao Fan is cooperating in an unspecified investigation by Chinese authorities, offering the first public information about the banker's whereabouts since he disappeared just over a week ago. In a short stock exchange statement on Sunday, the firm suggested it hadn't been in touch with Bao and didn't know where he was.
/jlne.ws/3Z64Caj
Citigroup loses top London-based dealmaker; Alison Harding-Jones, who runs M&A business in Europe, Middle East and Africa, to depart in March
Kaye Wiggins and Arash Massoudi - Financial Times
Citigroup is losing one of its most senior dealmakers, with Alison Harding-Jones, the head of its M&A business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, set to depart at the end of next month, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Harding-Jones has run the US bank's M&A operations in the region since 2017, when Citi poached her from UBS as it sought to bolster its European business. She also holds the title of vice-chair of corporate and investment banking for the region.
/jlne.ws/3m8hq18
Trafigura offered $15mn from alleged nickel fraudster using Mauritian bank
Robert Smith and Harry Dempsey - Financial Times
Indian business tycoon Prateek Gupta offered to pay Trafigura $15mn using financing from a Mauritian bank under scrutiny for its ties to the accused fraudster, according to court documents obtained by the Financial Times. Trafigura, the world's largest private metals trader, this month secured a $625mn freezing order against Gupta and his business empire in one of London's biggest ever commodities lawsuits.
/jlne.ws/3Zr2LfI
Sequoia Capital walks away from crime app Citizen amid funding crunch
Tabby Kinder - Financial Times
Sequoia Capital has resigned from the board of controversial crime-tracking app Citizen after it told the company it would not participate in its latest attempt to raise capital amid a funding crunch for tech start-ups. The New York-based app, which has 7mn-plus users, allows people in US cities to live-stream crimes and access real-time reports from 911 calls. It has raised about $133mn from large venture investors including Greycroft, 8VC and Lux Capital, according to data from Crunchbase.
/jlne.ws/41t8q6Y
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker seeks mercy in 1MDB case
Shivani Tanna - Reuters
Roger Ng, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker convicted for helping to embezzle Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, appealed to a New York court on Saturday not to force him to spend more time in prison. In anticipation of his sentencing hearing scheduled for March 9, Ng's lawyers asked the court to show mercy and to sentence him to the prison time he has already served in Malaysia.
/jlne.ws/3IWHzsC
Goldman Sachs Discloses Expanded Probe Into Its Credit-Card Business
Steve Dickson - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said that investigations and inquiries into its credit-card business have expanded beyond the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to include other government agencies. The bank, which has card tie-ups with Apple Inc. and General Motors Co., made the disclosure in a regulatory filing Friday. It had said last year that the CFPB is looking into its credit-card practices, including how it resolves incorrect bills and processes refunds. The probe also is examining advertisements and how Goldman credits "nonconforming payments" and reports information to credit bureaus.
/jlne.ws/3ECFdwM
JPMorgan slashes China weighting in proposed new Asia bond index; Bank lines up alternative benchmark after Chinese property crisis chokes off debt issuance in the sector
Hudson Lockett - Financial Times
JPMorgan has proposed an alternative to its popular index of Asian corporate bonds that slashes the weighting of Chinese issuers, following a financial crisis in the country's real estate market that has choked off new issuance from the highly-indebted sector.
/jlne.ws/3xWKQC8
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Global Clearing Talent Programme
ABN AMRO Clearing
Do you want to be part of an international company, a global leader? Work for a business that plays a vital role in financial markets around the world. Do you want to work with the newest technologies, find new markets, clients or products? Then the ABN AMRO Clearing Global Talent Programme might be just what you are looking for. You will work together globally to serve the best trading firms via our network and proximity to market infrastructures on four continents.
/jlne.ws/3Xko7dY
Here's some bad news for employees looking for raises, remote work and shorter work weeks
Kerry Hannon - Yahoo! Finance
This week, Payscale released the results of its bellwether survey, the 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report. It's not wonderful news for employees: fewer employers are offering pay raises and those that will aren't exactly being generous. As for folks who love the idea of more flexibility in their working lives? The survey reveals there's a growing kibosh on remote work arrangements. Senator Bernie Sanders' four-day work week? Forget about it.
/jlne.ws/3EGROPz
Some companies are already replacing workers with ChatGPT, despite warnings it shouldn't be relied on for 'anything important'
Trey Williams - Fortune
In the 10 or so days since its grand entrance, ChatGPT has been everywhere: littering Twitter feeds, cluttering promotional emails, igniting ethical debates in schools and newsrooms, infiltrating dinner table discussions-it's inescapable and apparently already nestling its way into companies' important business decisions. OpenAI initially launched ChatGPT toward the end of November, but the artificial intelligence chatbot had its stable release in early February.
/jlne.ws/3KFFVwL
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Can a Million Chinese People Die and Nobody Know?
Michael Schuman - The Atlantic
Can a million people vanish from the planet without the world knowing? It seems impossible in this age of instant digital communications, ubiquitous smartphones, and global social-media platforms that anything of comparable consequence can go unnoticed and unrecorded-no matter how remote the country or how determined its rulers might be to hide the truth.
/jlne.ws/3EBTny0
Not enough data to support multiple annual COVID boosters, U.S. CDC advisers say
Aditya Samal - Reuters
There is not sufficient evidence to recommend more than one COVID-19 booster shot a year for older people and those with weakened immune systems, an expert advisory group to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. The COVID-19 working group of the CDC's Advisory Committee For Immunization Practices (ACIP) supported an annual booster campaign, likely in the fall, especially for populations considered at high risk, Dr. Sara Oliver, a CDC official who heads the group, said during a meeting of the agency's outside advisers.
/jlne.ws/3Z6chVX
Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says
Michael R. Gordon and Warren P. Strobel - The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress. The shift by the Energy Department, which previously was undecided on how the virus emerged, is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office.
/jlne.ws/3KHLoDs
Gambling hub Macau drops COVID mask mandate for most locations
Reuters
Authorities in Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, said on Sunday they would drop COVID 19-related mask requirements for most locations, except for public transportation, hospitals and a handful of other areas. The rule change takes effect from Monday, the government said in a statement on its website. "The epidemic situation in Macau has continuously remained stable over the last two months," it said.
/jlne.ws/3kD9c0x
Covid-19 Lab Leak Viewed as More Likely by US Agency, WSJ Says
Olivia Konotey-Ahulu - Bloomberg
A laboratory leak was the most likely origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to findings by the US Energy Department, the Wall Street Journal reported. A classified intelligence report provided to the White House and key members of Congress said the virus likely spread due to a mishap at a Chinese laboratory, the WSJ reported on Sunday.
/jlne.ws/3m5yPHQ
Want to Control Bird Flu? Vaccinate the Chickens!; There are fewer reasons than ever for the US to shun this crucial tool in controlling a costly worldwide epidemic that's hurting our food supply.
Adam Minter - Bloomberg
An especially virulent strain of bird flu has killed off more than 58 million birds in the US since January 2022. That's not the toll from disease. It's mostly the result of whole flocks of poultry slaughtered by American farmers to prevent the virus from spreading after even one infected bird is found. But those drastic measures have failed to stop the devastation.
/jlne.ws/3Z58dp2
Flu Cases Surge in China, Leaving Antivirals in Short Supply; Country deals with influenza's rise after Covid reopening; Empty drugstore shelves reminiscent of pandemic-era shortages
Bloomberg
A spike in flu cases is fueling a shortage of antivirals at Chinese pharmacies, with empty shelves reminiscent of the drug frenzy triggered by the explosive Covid outbreak that accompanied the country's reopening. Supplies of the medicine, known by its generic name oseltamivir and sometimes sold as Tamiflu, have appeared to run low at both brick-and-mortar and online pharmacies across parts of China in recent days, with some stores selling out their floor stocks and only offering deliveries that will take days to arrive, local media reported over the weekend.
/jlne.ws/3Sx3Yjr
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China Has a Debt Ceiling Problem of Its Own
Shuli Ren - Bloomberg
China is cheerfully watching the debt ceiling fight in the US. A divided Congress, the threat of a government shutdown, as well as last-minute scrambles to avert defaults serve to undercut the strength of the Biden administration and bolster President Xi Jinping's belief that Western-style democracy is inferior. However, as top politicians convene this week in Beijing for the annual National People's Congress, where the nation's economic growth target and fiscal budget will be unveiled, China needs to deal with economic tensions within its own ranks too.
/jlne.ws/3y1L9eJ
No, China Isn't Gobbling Up America's Farms; Fears over Chinese purchases of US cropland are vastly overblown. Lawmakers should slow down before imposing damaging new restrictions.
The Editors - Bloomberg
Amid escalating suspicions about China, officials across the US are seeking to block foreigners from purchasing tracts of farmland, for fear they might be used for espionage or to threaten America's food supply. Policymakers have a responsibility to guard against potentially malign foreign investments. But banning Chinese nationals from buying property in the US makes little sense.
/jlne.ws/3EGWuEY
The Myth of the Inevitable Rise of a Petroyuan; Gulf oil producers aren't interested in selling crude in China's currency
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
In diplomacy, what's left unsaid often matters more than what's said. After Chinese President Xi Jinping met the king of Saudi Arabia in December, both nations issued lengthy readouts extolling the burgeoning Saudi-Sino relationship in "all fields." But in more than 5,000 words, the statements were silent on the much-hyped idea of using the yuan to price oil.
/jlne.ws/3kq3xLr
Turkey begins to rebuild for 1.5 million left homeless by earthquakes
Ece Toksabay and Orhan Coskun - Reuters
Turkey has begun work to rebuild homes following this month's devastating earthquakes, a government official said on Friday, as the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria surpassed 50,000. More than 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments collapsed or were severely damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed tens of thousands in Turkey and neighbouring Syria. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced the death toll in Turkey due to earthquakes rose to 44,218 on Friday night.
/jlne.ws/3IT1ZCV
Russia Boosts Pacific Oil Cargoes as Year of War Reshapes Flows; Record volumes of crude were exported from Russia's Pacific terminals last week
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
A year on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's seaborne crude exports held close to the highest levels seen since its troops crossed the border, with record volumes leaving its Pacific ports.
/jlne.ws/3KH7WEn
Gas Crisis Is Far From Over for Europe Inc.; Energy costs well above historical norms threaten to plague the region's industry for years.
Stephen Stapczynski - Bloomberg
European natural gas prices are down 85% from the highs of last summer, but that doesn't mean industries are back on an even keel. BASF SE is a case in point, announcing Friday that it's closing several gas-intensive factories in Germany and cutting thousands of jobs. Europe's biggest chemical producer will instead serve its customers in the region from plants in places like the US and China.
/jlne.ws/3Zatv4z
Foreigners Pull Out From Turkey ETF at Fastest Pace Since 2021
Tugce Ozsoy - Bloomberg
Foreign investors have sold their Turkish holdings in an exchange-traded fund at the fastest pace in more than a year in a sign that their enthusiasm over the government's package of market-supporting measures post-earthquakes is waning. The New York-traded iShares MSCI Turkey ETF, the second largest exchange-traded fund focused on Turkish equities, has seen the biggest weekly outflows since Dec. 2021. Investors sold $26.1 million worth of the ETF in the past week, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
/jlne.ws/3Z8oNo6
A $1.5 Billion Hoard of Copper and Cobalt Is Piling Up in Congo; Exports for CMOC's Tenke Fungurume mine were blocked in July; Large cobalt stockpile has created an overhang in the market
Mark Burton and Michael J Kavanagh - Bloomberg
A growing pile of copper and cobalt worth about $1.5 billion is stranded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, caught up in a standoff over the future of one of the world's biggest battery-metal mines. The huge stash of metal is owned by China's CMOC Group Ltd, which is locked in a dispute with its Congolese state-owned partner over royalty payments. While its exports were blocked in mid-July, CMOC's Tenke Fungurume mine has kept running at close to full capacity, simply stockpiling the extra metal until it can resume shipments, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3Z3g6LK
Ford's Electric Pickup Is Built From Metal That's Damaging the Amazon
Sheridan Prasso and Jessica Brice - Bloomberg
The new all-electric model of America's best-selling pickup truck, the Ford F-150, relies on aluminum to keep it light and give it speed. With no delay from a piston-firing combustion engine, it can bolt like a high-performance sports car from zero to 60 in 4 seconds. It emits no exhaust, makes no sound. Yet its impact can be heard a world away - in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. That's where the Ford F-150's troubled trail of aluminum begins.
/jlne.ws/3Z4hptM
Wall Street's Florida Foray Attracts For-Profit Private Schools; Education company Basis is seeking sites in Miami and Palm Beach to help serve families relocating to the region.
Natalie Wong and Amanda L Gordon - Bloomberg
Basis Independent Schools, a for-profit education provider with 10 locations across the US, is making inroads in South Florida to serve the region's growing population. The company, owned by Campbell, California-based Spring Education Group, is talking to potential partners and shopping for sites in Miami and Palm Beach.
/jlne.ws/3Z59TPm
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Four Ways to Speed Up-and Clean Up-Your Smartphone
Sean Captain - The Wall Street Journal
Your smartphone accumulates a lot of clutter over time. And there's a lot going on with your apps in the background that you don't notice. Also, your battery isn't getting any younger. All of that can slow down your phone and make it glitchy. But there's plenty you can do to clear out storage space, get your apps under control and preserve your battery's efficiency for as long as possible-all while keeping up with the latest security updates in a way that won't cause any headaches. A few simple steps can make your phone run faster and smoother.
/jlne.ws/3xSnRYO
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