| July 09, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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$50,456/$300,000 (16.8%)
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MarketsWiki Education's World of Opportunity 2021 Virtual Event Announced For July 21
John Lothian News is pleased to announce a 2021 virtual event for the MarketsWiki Education World of Opportunity series. The one-day, 60-minute event will be held on Wednesday, July 21 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. CDT.
The online only event is FREE to registered participants. Click HERE to register.
The event includes two live presentations. The first is a fireside chat between JLN Publisher John Lothian and Cboe Global Markets Executive Chairman & CEO Ed Tilly. The second presentation will be by Ed Haravon of Get Real about how to use virtual reality in displaying and using data. Haravon will take us deep into the cutting-edge world of virtual reality data and its possibilities.
Additionally, other videos will be shared with the attendees for viewing at their convenience. The first additional video will be a presentation by OCC Executive Director of Talent Acquisition Andre Buckles. Buckles will discuss working for a company from a work-at-home or remote location.
The second video will be an interview with Robin Wood, a full-time compliance examiner at the National Futures Association who is a former summer intern from the Greenwood Project. She will discuss the Greenwood Project and how it prepared her for the opportunity to join the NFA full time.
The World of Opportunity series is aimed at interns, college students, new employees or anyone who is interested in a career in the financial markets. Our goal is to educate and inspire the next generation of industry professionals through insightful presentations by industry leaders.
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Names for Consideration as Chair of the CFTC
John Lothian - John Lothian News
Leading Industry Legal Sources' Recommendations for CFTC Chair Collected by JLN
I have written a letter to the President of the United States about the need for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have a permanent chair named and confirmed. I have suggested that Rostin Behnam, the current acting chairman of the CFTC, should become the permanent chair of the Commission.
I determined Behnam was the choice after I requested suggestions from leading legal sources from the derivatives and capital markets who are known to me and who are subscribers to the John Lothian Newsletter. However, there was an exhaustive list of other suggestions for chairman of the CFTC from my sources. If Behnam is not President Biden's choice, then any of these named individuals has the experience, knowledge, education and leadership to serve admirably as CFTC chair.
I have not distinguished the choices by any demographic category, I only listed them by their qualifications to serve. However, qualified people of many different demographics are on the list. Listed are people from the industry, or from Washington. Listed are people who are lawyers and some who are not (though most are). Listed are people with previous service at the CFTC and many other government organizations and party affiliations. Listed are people who leading legal sources of mine think would make excellent chairs of the CFTC, or potentially commissioners.
Read more HERE.
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
The FIA has produced a couple of videos to promote IDX, including this one that features images of CQG's Pat Kenny fumbling the gala raffle box. You can subscribe to the FIA's YouTube channel HERE. Such a nice way to promote IDX.
It has been two weeks since I mentioned the most interesting man in the world, Pat Kenny, in JLN.
Yesterday we opened up registration for the 2021 MarketsWiki Education World of Opportunity Virtual Event. You see the notice and link to register at the top of today's newsletter. This year's event is only an hour long and features just two presenters, Cboe's Ed Tilly and Get Real's Ed Haravon. We are also issuing additional videos that are pre-recorded and edited for the audience to watch at their convenience. We hope to shoot more videos to add to the collection to send to those who register for the event. The videos will also be available in JLN. Sign up your interns, whether they are in Chicago, New York, London, Tokyo or Singapore. Even if they don't attend in person, they will get the links for all the videos we produce for this year's series.
Today we also published the list of suggested names for the role of CFTC chairman. These names came from legal sources of mine who read JLN. It was an informal survey and not meant to be exhaustive, though it is quite the list. My apologies for any oversights of people who should be on the list but were not suggested by my sources. I am sure there are many qualified people who could have been added to this list.
The rumor is Ceres, the restaurant on the main floor of the CBOT Building, may open this month, though no date has been set.
There were no new donations to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign yesterday. Support our efforts to preserve industry history by giving to our GoFundMe campaign. Thank you to all who have given and all who have yet to give.
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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U.K. Leaves Door Open to Bank Holiday If England Wins Euro 2020
Emily Ashton and Alex Morales - Bloomberg
England play Italy on Sunday in first major final since 1966; Johnson's spokesman says premier doesn't want to "tempt fate"
The U.K. government held out the prospect of an extra bank holiday if England wins soccer's European Championship on Sunday. England will play Italy in the final at London's Wembley stadium. It's the team's first major soccer final since it won the World Cup in 1966. Asked on Friday whether there might be a national bank holiday on July 19 as a result of a win, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman, Jamie Davies was at pains not to deny it and he didn't want to "tempt fate."
/bloom.bg/2SXjKd6
******Do you want to see how a politician can lose a football championship for a nation?~JJL
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Yes, winning the Euros really can help your stock market
Marc Jones - Reuters
Euro 2020 semi-final victories for England and Italy mean football's either coming home or going to Rome, but the last 20 years show that hoisting the European Championship trophy can also lift a stock market.
/reut.rs/3r2kr1A
****** Another reason for politicians to just shut up about football.~JJL
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Is COVID coming home? England at risk from Euro 2020 euphoria
Alistair Smout, Iain Axon, Emilio Parodi - Reuters
"Football's coming home," is the chant of England soccer fans at this year's Euro 2020 tournament, but with it may come COVID-19. England face Italy on Sunday in the final at London's Wembley Stadium, which has already hosted two semi-finals over two days this week with crowds of around 60,000 people. And while Wednesday's semi-final victory over Denmark was greeted with jubilation, England is facing a new wave of COVID-19 cases, fuelled by a combination of a highly contagious variant and its emergence from a third lockdown.
/reut.rs/3wpavjv
****** And the true cost of a championship is....~JJL
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Britons Say They Value Masks as U.K. Ends Compulsory Wearing
Eamon Akil Farhat - Bloomberg
The British public continues to see value in the current health measures to slow the spread of coronavirus as the government prepares to end compulsory face coverings and social distancing on July 19.
/bloom.bg/3hqHyzB
*****Maybe there is hope.~JJL
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Can Reddit's silver "apes" beat the market?
Peter Hobson - Reuters
Kerry Kraker, 56, has worked in kitchens all his life. Since March he's spent around $100 a week - half his spare cash - on silver coins. He's part of a growing social media movement who say they are buying bars and coins for protection from a coming age of inflation.
/reut.rs/3htzMot
***** From the article: "Inspired by Reddit forum WallStreetBets, some of the 122,000-strong community hope to corner the market and bring down what they say is an unjust banking system."~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our most read story Thursday was John Lothian's Dear Mr. President: The CFTC Needs a Permanent Chairman, Not an Acting One, from JLN. Second was Biden executive order to target noncompete agreements - White House, from Reuters. Third was Bloomberg's Crypto Scammers Rip Off Billions as Pump-and-Dump Schemes Go Digital.
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MarketsWiki Stats
26,454 pages; 234,317 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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| Lead Stories | Xi and Washington's China hawks unite against Chinese tech IPOs in US; Didi debacle signals end of steady stream of New York listings for Chinese companies
Tom Mitchell - FT
President Xi Jinping is finally addressing what his administration has long seen as a nagging national security risk and a glaring weakness in China's capital markets — their inability to attract the country's best tech companies, which have instead streamed to New York to raise capital.
/on.ft.com/3xyt3zh
Exclusive: White House to target bank mergers, financial data with competition order
Nandita Bose, Michelle Price - Reuters
President Joe Biden's planned executive order to promote greater U.S. competition will target bank mergers by pushing the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice to update merger guidelines and increase scrutiny of deals, according to a source familiar with the matter.
/reut.rs/36rMKgq
U.S. Slaps Curbs on 30 Companies, Faults China Firms on Abuses
Jennifer Jacobs - Bloomberg
Washington expanding list of enterprises targeted globally; Tensions rise over China's actions in Xinjiang region
The U.S. will add at least 30 companies to its economic blacklist Friday, including 14 Chinese enterprises that are alleged to be involved in human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and aiding the Chinese military, two people familiar with the move said.
/bloom.bg/36mUj85
Top Fed official warns Delta variant poses threat to global recovery; San Francisco's Mary Daly fears 'premature' declaration of victory against Covid-19
James Politi and Colby Smith - FT
A top Federal Reserve official has warned the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant and low vaccination rates in some parts of the world poses a threat to the global recovery as she urged caution in removing monetary support for the US economy.
/on.ft.com/3yFatpf
BIS, IMF call for global coordination on digital central bank currencies
Marc Jones - Reuters
The Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank made a joint call on Friday for global cooperation on central bank digital currencies.
/reut.rs/3qWMbV4
Thiel-backed crypto group Bullish Global plans Wall Street debut; Exchanges operator plans to list in New York through a deal with a blank cheque company
Philip Stafford - FT
Bullish Global, the crypto group backed by billionaires Peter Thiel, Louis Bacon and Alan Howard, has announced plans to list in New York through a Spac deal in a further sign of the industry's willingness to tap equity markets.
/on.ft.com/3qYl9g8
Binance Booms as Crypto Trading Unfolds Beyond Nations' Reach
Tom Schoenberg, Benjamin Bain, and Matthew Leising - Bloomberg
Firm and its founder, CZ, have thrived amid Bitcoin's surge; Now, regulators are asking questions and launching probes
It pays its people in a digital token of its own devising. It's based wherever its founder happens to be. A growing list of countries want no part of it. And Binance Holdings Ltd. might just be the biggest, craziest thing in the big, crazy realm of cryptocurrencies.
/bloom.bg/3k4RujV
Carbon Offset Trading Is Taking Off Before Any Rules Are Set; A group led by finance titans Mark Carney and Bill Winters wants to establish high standards, but surging demand is pushing exchanges to start trading well before that.
Jess Shankleman - Bloomberg
The most ambitious attempt to set a high standard for carbon offsets is getting left behind as exchanges start trading contracts before the rules are finalized.
/bloom.bg/2UBKBvE
US regulator drops case against two former forex traders; Richard Usher and Rohan Ramchandani had been acquitted on a criminal charge of price-fixing in 2018
Kate Beioley - FT
A US federal banking regulator has dropped its case against two former London-based bank traders just months before they were due to stand trial, ending an eight-year battle concerning allegations they tried to fix prices in the global foreign exchange market.
/on.ft.com/3e2wsyx
Investors need to prepare for the 'Yotta Age' of data; The scale of future growth is immense and investors need to ask where and when the tide of disruption will strike next
Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi - FT
The modern world is defined by data use, a superpower that is creating new entrepreneurial opportunities and disrupting business. At a time of historically high valuations, investors need to ask themselves which companies will be disrupted by the data tide next — and when.
/on.ft.com/3hRNrET
Nonprofits in the Era of Stakeholder Capitalism; The growth of double bottom line and impact investing can give nonprofits new ways to raise funds and opportunities to grow their influence.
Judith Rodin & Saadia Madsbjerg - Stanford Social Innovation Review
As larger and larger sums of capital move into sustainable and impact investing—now accounting for $1 in $3 of total assets under professional management in the US—nonprofits must adapt to a world where money from public, private, and philanthropic institutions is increasingly co-mingling to address everything from inequality to climate change.
/bit.ly/3qZ6dOS
Sen. Warren warns of cryptocurrency risks, presses SEC on oversight authority
Andrea Shalal - Reuters
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Thursday warned of the growing risks posed to consumers and financial markets by the "highly opaque and volatile" cryptocurrency market and blasted its lack of regulation as unsustainable.
/reut.rs/3wwJmeF
Big Bang UK market rules need refresh to keep City competitive, says think tank
Huw Jones - Reuters
Britain's "big bang"-era financial rules need a refresh to show the world that the City of London is open to business after Brexit ended access to the European Union, a think-tank report said on Thursday.
/reut.rs/3yCrosH
Banks tighten grip on FX market as algo trading rises - survey
Saikat Chatterjee - Reuters
Top global banks consolidated their stranglehold on the $6.6 trillion a day global foreign exchange market last year, with new entrants ceding ground, a widely watched industry survey showed.
/reut.rs/3hRkF7s
NY Fed terminates commercial paper funding facility
Reuters Staff
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced on Thursday that it terminated the commercial paper funding facility, an emergency lending program launched during the pandemic to help get credit directly to businesses and households.
/reut.rs/3e3aY4F
FTSE Russell to remove more China stocks from indexes over U.S. ban
Reuters
Global index publisher FTSE Russell said it will delete a further 20 Chinese companies from its indexes after user feedback on an updated U.S. executive order that bars U.S. investment in companies with alleged ties to China's military.
/reut.rs/3wpbq3r
What The Lambda COVID-19 Variant Means For Us Right Now; The newest coronavirus strain has been reported in 29 countries. Here's what you need to know.
Catherine Pearson - Huffington Post
The delta variant first identified in India is spreading widely in the United States, accounting for more than half of all new COVID-19 infections. But even as it becomes the dominant strain here, threatening to increase new infections among unvaccinated individuals, a new variant, called the lambda variant, or C.37, has also caught public health officials' attention.
/bit.ly/3hteIPd
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Heath and Wellness Information | 'Those deaths were preventable': Unvaccinated parts of country are driving the pandemic now
Alexander Nazaryan - Yahoo News
Virtually all deaths from COVID-19 in the United States are now among people who have not received their coronavirus vaccine. And those deaths are highly concentrated in counties — many of them in the Midwest and Southeast — where vaccination rates are precariously low.
/yhoo.it/2UAfGQF
Malaysia Reports Record Daily Coronavirus Cases Amid Lockdown
Yantoultra Ngui - Bloomberg
Malaysia on Friday reported the biggest single-day increase in new coronavirus cases since the outbreak began, even as authorities impose tighter movement restrictions in several areas to curb infections.
/bloom.bg/3e0McCf
Pfizer Outlines Booster Plans While Regulators Signal Caution
Robert Langreth and Josh Wingrove - Bloomberg
Early human data shows third shot raises antibody levels; Federal health agencies say no need for boosters at this time
Pfizer Inc. plans to request U.S. emergency authorization in August for a third booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, based on early data showing that it can sharply increase immune protection against the coronavirus.
/bloom.bg/3dWIEAU
Early Mandates Boost Worker Vaccine Rates, Prompt Few to Quit
Carey Goldberg - Bloomberg
Requirements multiply across hospitals, senior care and beyond; Inoculations give some facilities a competitive advantage
Covid vaccines soon will be required for all the roughly 6,000 staff members of New England's biggest assisted living network, Benchmark Senior Living.
/bloom.bg/3e3ygHw
Get Used to Them: Face Masks Will Be Around For a While Yet; Boris Johnson is letting people bin their masks. That may feel good but it's not going to help control virus transmission.
Therese Raphael - Bloomberg
In the U.K., July 19 is being called Freedom Day. To some, it will feel a bit like England winning the Euros. After 15-plus months of setbacks, uncertainty and constraints on everyday life, there will be something to celebrate: Brits can congregate without restriction and are free to bin or burn their face masks if they want. Masking up will no longer be required in public spaces or even on public transport.
/bloom.bg/3e0Nmh5
Thailand Tightens Curbs in Virus Hotspots as Deaths Spike
Randy Thanthong-Knight and Prim Chuwiruch - Bloomberg
Non-essential outlets in malls, spas to close from Monday; Restrictions to cover Bangkok, other high-risk provinces
Thailand announced a set of tighter virus containment measures, including a ban on gatherings of more than five people and non-essential travel, and a night curfew to quell a worsening Covid outbreak.
/bloom.bg/3hQE4Fu
Mexico Creates Vaccine Oasis in Bid to Reopen U.S. Border
Nacha Cattan - Bloomberg
Baja California has jabbed 79% of adults, California only 62%; Shortages threaten AMLO's city-by-city plan, and the nation
The state of Baja California is Mexico's Covid vaccination beachhead, an island of safety better protected than California itself, just a few hundred tantalizing yards away.
/bloom.bg/3AHI8Ay
How effective are coronavirus vaccines against Delta variant? Real-world studies show Pfizer and AstraZeneca still offer strong protection against severe disease
Donato Paolo Mancini and John Burn-Murdoch - FT
As rising coronavirus infections force some countries to reimpose restrictions, scientists and drugmakers are racing to answer a crucial question: how well do the current vaccines protect against the Delta variant?
/on.ft.com/3hR0xlU
BioNTech/Pfizer plan to trial Delta variant vaccine in August; Drugmakers seek US regulator's approval to begin clinical tests
Nikou Asgari - FT
Pfizer and BioNTech are preparing to start clinical trials next month on a version of their Covid-19 vaccine targeting the Delta variant amid fears that existing jabs will offer less protection against the strain spreading across much of the world.
/on.ft.com/3hV1x8q
Travel restrictions to ease for double-jabbed in England; Quarantine for Britons returning from 'amber' countries to end, as Border Force brings in retired staff to deal with added checks
Sebastian Payne, Philip Georgiadis and Robert Wright - FT
Grant Shapps, UK transport secretary, has confirmed that quarantine for British travellers returning to England from countries on the "amber" list will end on July 19 for those who have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine.
/on.ft.com/3e20zWP
Covid death toll of 4m 'likely underestimates' real global figure, says WHO; Director-general says variants and 'shocking inequity' in vaccination compound sharp rise in cases
Oliver Barnes and Donato Paolo Mancini - FT
The global death toll from Covid-19 has passed 4m confirmed cases, as the virus continues to ravage countries with low vaccination coverage.
/on.ft.com/3ANYBTG
As Delta Variant Spreads, China Lacks Data on Its Covid-19 Vaccines; Country's leading vaccine makers, Sinopharm and Sinovac, say they are studying Covid-19 variants
Chao Deng - WSJ
The spread of the Delta variant is raising fresh concerns about the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, which have been central to inoculation efforts in the developing world, as recent data shows the protection provided by Western vaccines waning against the highly contagious variant.
/on.wsj.com/2TRuTwB
Citing the Delta Variant, Pfizer Will Pursue Booster Shots and a New Vaccine; Scientists were critical of the announcement, pointing to evidence that the current two-dose regimen is powerfully effective against the coronavirus.
Apoorva Mandavilli - NY Times
Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday that they were developing a version of the coronavirus vaccine that targets Delta, a highly contagious variant that has spread to nearly 100 countries. The companies expect to begin clinical trials of the vaccine in August.
/nyti.ms/3dWWDXq
UK scraps quarantine for fully vaccinated Britons in boost for airlines
Sarah Young - Reuters
Fully-vaccinated Britons returning from medium-risk amber list countries will no longer have to quarantine when they arrive home from July 19, transport secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday.
/reut.rs/3hqSDkc
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Euronext and Early Metrics team up to support Tech SME investors
Euronext
Euronext announced today that it has partnered with Early Metrics, a leader in independent start-up ratings, valuations and analysis of tech trends, to deploy free automated analytical reports about Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the technology sector listed on Euronext. The reports are available on the Euronext Live website. The interactive web pages will enhance the visibility of these companies by providing investors with a unique tool to understand their performance.
/bit.ly/3ALgbb7
Eurex ESG derivatives OI over 3.5 billion EUR
Eurex
Strong volume growth with five NEW records in our ESG derivatives:
1. Daily traded contracts over 168K; 2.Monthly traded contracts over 390K; 3. Quarterly traded contracts 720K; 4. Yearly traded contracts June 2021 exceeds already 2020 of 1.28 million; 5. Month end Capital Volume Open Interest at 3.5 billion EUR
/bit.ly/3xzFfzO
Experiences shape the future - Equity Product Roadmap 2021; Part II - Q&A with Megan Morgan, Global Head of Equity and Index Sales at Eurex
Eurex
As the world transitions from the 'new normal' to something resembling the 'old normal,' we sat down with Megan Morgan, the Global Head of Equity and Index Sales at Eurex, to get her views on the derivatives landscape that lies ahead of us.
/bit.ly/36oKmXx
Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Energy, Equity, FX, Interest Rate, and Metal Margins - Effective July 09, 2021
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below.
/bit.ly/2T1UBOA
Performance Bond Requirements: Metals & Energy - Effective July 09, 2021
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below. The rates will be effective after the close of business on 7/9/2021.
/bit.ly/3ht7HOn
Effective Dates for Spot Month Position Limits in the August 2021 Core Products
CME Group
Spot month limits are effective at the close of trading on the dates listed (in chronological order):
/bit.ly/3xuTSo2
Application for Silver Regularity
CME Group
Notice is hereby given that Brink's Incorporated has applied to become an Approved Depository for silver at the following location:
/bit.ly/3xup8DN
Application for Increase in Aluminum, Lead, and Zinc Regularity
CME Group
Notice is hereby given that PGS, a warehouse regular for delivery of Aluminum, Lead, and Zinc, has applied for approval of additional warehouse space as follows:
/bit.ly/3qWHsTk
HKEX - Appointment Of Listing Review Committee Members - 1
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), announces the appointment of members to the Listing Review Committee of the Main Board and GEM (together, the Listing Review Committee1).
/bit.ly/3xuVDBE
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Broadridge Names Keir Gumbs Chief Legal Officer
Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader, today announced that Keir Gumbs has been appointed Chief Legal Officer, effective July 27, 2021. Gumbs will succeed Adam Amsterdam, who will be retiring after nearly 30 years of leading Broadridge's Legal function. As part of a long-planned transition, Amsterdam will step into a Senior Advisor role.
/bit.ly/3wme3mI
Broadridge selects former SEC counsel for chief legal officer; New chief legal officer at Broadridge will replace Adam Amsterdam who is retiring after serving in the role for almost 30 years.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed the former counsel to Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) commissioner Roel Campos, as its new chief legal officer.
/bit.ly/3yIQkhY
Symphony's Cloud9 Acquisition Lays Path for Combining Voice Communications with Natural Language Processing
A-TeamInsight.com
Infrastructure and technology platform provider Symphony's recent acquisition of electronic communication specialist Cloud9 Technologies for an undisclosed sum is aimed at allowing the combined entity to offer new services and solutions combining trader voice with natural language processing (NLP) and automation. The company believes this approach will accelerate trade flows, improve transactional accuracy, and extend back office and remote worker use-cases.
/bit.ly/36upa2h
Can Blockchain Run a Financial Market? This Company Thinks So
Jacinta Sherris - Benzinga
In 1792, about 24 stockbrokers and merchants gathered in lower Manhattan under a buttonwood tree to sign an agreement that would allow them to trade with each other at a set commission. This became known as the Buttonwood Agreement and marked the foundation of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
/yhoo.it/3AJ8QbR
Using Blockchain to Protect Venezuelans From Hyperinflation
Bloomberg
Simon Chamorro has a radical idea for cryptocurrency. His startup Valiu uses blockchain to offer digital exchange in the hopes of protecting fellow Venezuelans from hyperinflation. If the experiment succeeds, it could be a template for struggling economies everywhere. (Source: Bloomberg)
/bloom.bg/3yIC20O
A Wise move? London listing may open fintech floodgates
Abhinav Ramnarayan - Reuters
Wise's record breaking direct listing has come as a relief to other tech firms aiming to go public in the coming months, the bankers managing those deals and to post-Brexit London.
/reut.rs/3yHnmPA
Exclusive: Online payments firm Stripe takes first step toward blockbuster listing -sources
Anirban Sen, Echo Wang - Reuters
Digital payments processor Stripe Inc, the most valuable U.S. technology startup, has taken its first major step toward a stock market debut by hiring a law firm to help with preparations, according to people familiar with the matter.
/reut.rs/3wwLl2B
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Ransomware demands are digital extortion: don't pay; Security in cyber space should be approached in the same way as any other sector
John Thornhill - FT
It is every manager's nightmare: a crippling cyber attack blocking access to your own data followed by a chilling ransom demand. That was precisely the scenario faced by Sweden's Coop supermarket chain last weekend as it was forced to shut 800 stores after being targeted by the REvil cyber crime group.
/on.ft.com/3AN5Ye8
New York City Opens Cyberattack Defense Center; Initiative brings together government agencies and business groups to share intelligence and respond to digital threats
Deanna Paul - WSJ
New York City has become the first major American metropolitan area to open a real-time operational center to protect against cybersecurity threats, regional officials said. Set in a lower Manhattan skyscraper, the center is staffed by a coalition of government agencies and private businesses, with 282 partners overall sharing intelligence on potential cyber threats. Its members range from the New York Police Department to Amazon.com Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. to the Federal Reserve Bank and several New York healthcare systems.
/on.wsj.com/3yKixVZ
The anatomy of a ransomware attack
Gerrit De Vynck, Rachel Lerman, Ellen Nakashima, and Chris Alcantara - The Washington Post
Just hours before the Fourth of July weekend, a huge, coordinated cyberattack hit hundreds of businesses across the world. A group of hackers broke in by exploiting a hole in the software code of an information technology company with a wide-ranging client base, then demanded $70 million in ransom.
/wapo.st/36pnKWZ
Kaseya Hack Ripples Across Europe as Ransomware Boom Escalates
David Uberti - WSJ
A ransomware attack disclosed last week by a Miami-based software provider spread to customers in six European countries, a company official said Thursday, showing how a hack targeting digital supply chains can quickly extend across industries and international borders. A criminal hacking group used a Kaseya Ltd. product as a springboard to reach nearly 60 of the firm's clients on July 2, the company said, launching a sprawling ransomware attack.
/on.wsj.com/2Uzga9J
Morgan Stanley faces data breach, corporate client info stolen in vendor hack
Niket Nishant - Reuters
Morgan Stanley (MS.N) has disclosed that personal data of some of its corporate clients was stolen in January in a data breach that involved a third-party vendor and hackers accessed information, including social security numbers.
/reut.rs/3wytIPL
Cyber Security Today, July 9, 2021 - Don't be caught by Black Widow movie scams, another Accellion FTA hack and more
Howard Solomon - IT World Canada
Action movie fans starved for entertainment are eagerly looking forward to today's release of the Black Widow film. It stars Scarlett Johansson as a KGB-trained assassin turned member of the superhero group the Avengers. You can be a superhero too, by not falling for any of the phony websites that have been set up to sucker people eager to see the film online. These sites offer the ability to see the film, but after the first few minutes viewers have to register by filling in their credit or debit card details. Scammers have been setting up these sites for months since the first expected film release was set for early in May, says security firm Kaspersky. The film is only available online through the Disney+ streaming service.
/bit.ly/3hvoXlK
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond looks to take crypto company Circle public; USD Coin issuer valued at $4.5bn in deal with Spac to bring stablecoin group to Wall Street
Philip Stafford - FT
Circle, the US financial technology company behind USD Coin, has announced plans to list on Wall Street through a deal with a blank-cheque company chaired by former Barclays chief Bob Diamond.
/on.ft.com/2SWHfTD
Stablecoin Issuer Circle Announces $4.5 Billion SPAC Deal
Brandon Kochkodin - Bloomberg
Deal with Bob Diamond's Concord was driven by growth: Allaire; USDC currently eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is set to go public in a merger with special purpose acquisition company Concord Acquisition Corp. The deal values Circle at $4.5 billion and comes just weeks after the firm raised a $440 million funding round from investors including Fidelity, Marshall Wace and Willett Advisors, the investment arm for the personal and philanthropic assets of Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.
/bloom.bg/3AUz23J
Santander to block payments by UK banking customers to Binance; Decision severs another link between traditional financial institutions and the crypto exchange
Joshua Oliver - FT
Santander joined Barclays as the latest British high street bank to block retail customers from sending money to Binance, following the UK financial watchdog's warning about the international crypto exchange.
/on.ft.com/3hVJmQ0
Square plans to make hardware wallet for bitcoin
Reuters
Square Inc will make a hardware wallet for bitcoin, the payments company confirmed in a tweet on Thursday shortly before U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren flagged growing risks posed to consumers and financial markets by the cryptocurrency market.
/reut.rs/3wvEBlF
Bitcoin miners break new ground in Texas, a state hailed as the new cryptocurrency capital; The Lone Star State is at the center of global attention to produce bitcoin
Dalvin Brown - Washington PostChad Harris, the CEO of Whinstone Inc., the operator of the largest crypto "mine" in North America, remembers one of the last times Texas's electric power problem became his electric power problem.
/wapo.st/3htKFa4
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | In New Papers, Economists Argue Deficits Are Like Ponzi Schemes; Laurence Kotlikoff and others say accumulating debt to pay for current expenses is taking money from the young to pay off the old.
Peter Coy - Bloomberg
The current boom in deficit spending by governments around the world probably owes at least something to Olivier Blanchard, who in 2019 wrote, "Put bluntly, public debt may have no fiscal cost." Blanchard, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, argued that if the economy's growth rate is durably higher than the government's borrowing rate, a lump of debt becomes more affordable over time because interest payments shrink as a share of the economy.
/bloom.bg/3dZWAKx
Senators call on US securities regulator to investigate Didi IPO; Two members of powerful banking committee say SEC must examine whether company misled investors
Kiran Stacey and James Politi - FT
Two senior members of Congress have called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-sharing company, misled US investors ahead of its initial public offering last week.
/on.ft.com/3AIfMWR
Biden Takes Aim at Corporate Consolidation, Big-Business Tactics; Executive order calls on government agencies to boost competition, saying it is needed to protect consumers and workers
Brent Kendall and Ryan Tracy - WSJ
President Biden on Friday will sign a broad executive order that aims to promote competitive markets and limit corporate dominance that the White House says puts consumers, workers and smaller firms at a disadvantage
/on.wsj.com/2TQutXa
Antitrust's New Mission: Preserving Democracy, Not Efficiency; Neo-Brandeisians like FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan target concentrated economic and political power
Greg Ip - WSJ
Amazon.com Inc.'s proposed acquisition of film studio MGM would ordinarily provoke little antitrust concern. MGM's share of box office receipts is tiny and Amazon's entertainment footprint is relatively small.
/on.wsj.com/3hVLqaI
EU says UK liable to pay 47.5 billion euros to EU in post-Brexit settlement
Kanishka Singh - Reuters
The European Union said that the United Kingdom is liable to pay 47.5 billion euros ($56.2 billion) to the EU as part of its post-Brexit financial settlement.
/reut.rs/3htkro5
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Georgia Man Sanctioned for Fraudulent Scheme Attempting to Profit from COVID-19
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a default judgment against Kenzley Ramos, a Georgia resident, for engaging in fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation, operation of an unlawful commodity pool, and failure to register with the CFTC.
/bit.ly/3xseFIS
ASIC consults on guidance and relief for litigation funding schemes
ASIC
ASIC has today released Consultation Paper 345 Litigation funding schemes: Guidance and relief (CP 345) to seek feedback on proposed guidance and relief for litigation funding schemes.
/bit.ly/3hsarLK
ASIC and Dixon Advisory enter conditional agreement to resolve ASIC civil penalty action
ASIC
On 8 July 2021, ASIC and Dixon Advisory & Superannuation Services Limited (Dixon Advisory) entered into a heads of agreement to resolve civil penalty proceedings commenced by ASIC against Dixon Advisory in the Federal Court in September 2020.
/bit.ly/3dXZVtG
ESMA consults on the review of transparency requirements under MiFIR
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has today launched a Consultation Paper on the review of the regulatory technical standards - RTS 1 equity and RTS 2 - non-equity transparency - on transparency requirements under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR).
/bit.ly/3qWt11y
ESMA consults on derivatives clearing and trading obligations in view of the benchmarks transition
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, today launches a consultation on the review of the regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying classes of derivatives subject to the clearing (CO) and trading obligations (DTO).
/bit.ly/2TRBmHT
FINRA Continues to Encourage Firms to Notify FINRA if They Engage in Activities Related to Digital Assets
FINRA
For the past several years, FINRA has encouraged firms to keep their risk monitoring analyst informed if the firm, or its associated persons or affiliates, engaged, or intended to engage, in activities related to digital assets, including digital assets that are non-securities.1 FINRA appreciates members' cooperation with this request and is encouraging firms to continue to keep their risk monitoring analyst abreast of their activities related to digital assets on an ongoing basis.
/bit.ly/3ALfCy8
Statement on supervision of commodity position limits
UK FCA
In December 2020, we published a Supervisory Statement setting out our approach to the operation of the MiFID markets regime after the end of the EU withdrawal transition period. This included a changed approach to commodity derivative position limits in the light of evidence of potential constraints on market functioning during the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis because of inflexibilities in the commodity derivatives position limits regime.
/bit.ly/3hqCgUL
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Markets Are Feeling the Weight of Pandemic History; The collapse of the reflation trade shouldn't be a surprise given the tendency of plagues to presage lousy returns.
John Authers - Bloomberg
The Ill Effects of Covid-19
Sometimes the answer to the problems that most concern us is lying under our nose. Or dormant in our files. It's just possible that the answers to the Conundrum of the Disappearing Reflation Trade lie in historical research that we were all anxiously reading more than a year ago.
/bloom.bg/3ked31N
Billion dollar 'unicorns' hit record numbers as valuations surge; Private companies worth more than $1bn proliferate with US groups leading the way
Miles Kruppa - FT
The number of start-ups valued above $1bn grew rapidly in the second quarter, as venture capitalists increased the size and pace of their investments following several blockbuster public listings in the US.
/on.ft.com/3AJiv2n
The new world of venture capital; Traditional model of private finance for start-ups overtaken by rush of new investors
Richard Waters - FT
It's time to stop talking about venture capital. It's not that risk capital for new growth companies is on the wane — far from it. Rather, the term, which conjures images of enterprising investors seeking out visionary young founders in their garages, fails to capture a powerful new reality.
/on.ft.com/3e21M0j
Why art and sneakers usually fail to make the investment grade; A genuine asset has a residual value — but it's impossible to judge what a collectible is worth
Merryn Somerset Webb - FT
I have just bought an original Vernon Ward - a large and beautiful oil painting of a vase of roses completed in the 1930s or 1940s. How can you possibly afford an original Ward on a journalist's salary, I hear you say?
/on.ft.com/3k1BbnS
The Meme Stock Fantasy Is Becoming a Reality for GameStop and AMC; The hot companies of the moment are converting hype into real value, following a Wall Street tradition practiced by Tesla, AOL, Cisco and others. But true believers will pay for it.
Spencer Jakab - WSJ
If you really, truly believe in meme stocks, clap your hands. Two decades ago psychologist Frank Durgin coined the term "The Tinkerbell Effect" to describe things that can exist only because people think they do. The name stems from the original stage play of Peter Pan, in which the audience is asked to clap if they believe in the fairy Tinker Bell, reviving her as if through their applause.
/on.wsj.com/3e3zgvl
The Bond Market Is Telling Us to Worry About Growth, Not Inflation; The economy remains hot, but the future is looking less buoyant than it did just a short while ago.
Neil Irwin - NY Times
For months, the United States has been experiencing the growing pains of an economy rebooting itself — surging economic activity, yes, but also shortages, gummed-up supply networks and higher prices.
/nyti.ms/3qYsOuK
Double whammy for food buyers as freight costs spike amid high grain prices
Naveen Thukral, Gavin Maguire - Reuters
Rising costs to ship crops globally are adding to concerns about food inflation that are already at decade-highs and hitting cost-sensitive consumers in import-dependent markets.
/reut.rs/3hqTPEc
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Carbon Offset Trading Is Taking Off Before Any Rules Are Set; A group led by finance titans Mark Carney and Bill Winters wants to establish high standards, but surging demand is pushing exchanges to start trading well before that.
Jess Shankleman - Bloomberg
The most ambitious attempt to set a high standard for carbon offsets is getting left behind as exchanges start trading contracts before the rules are finalized.
/bloom.bg/3dYyjo2
Carney defends plans for carbon offset market with oversight board; Proposal for new governance team fails to assuage environmentalists' greenwashing concerns
Leslie Hook and Billy Nauman - FT
Mark Carney defended plans for a new market for carbon offsets with a proposal for a governance committee to oversee what the former Bank of England governor has estimated will be worth at least $50bn by 2030.
/on.ft.com/3hRObKb
Fixing Climate Change Isn't the Central Bank's Job; The ECB joins the fight against climate change, but there are problems posed by mixing environmental mandates with financial regulation enforced by unaccountable institutions
Jon Sindreu - WSJ
For central banks, a task as momentous as fixing climate change may be one job too many. As part of its first strategic review in 18 years, the European Central Bank said Thursday that it will target 2% inflation rather than the "close but below 2%" enforced now. The impact should be small, since officials have spent a decade failing to push inflation anywhere near those levels. More important, the ECB will "increase its contribution to addressing climate change," including in its corporate-bond purchases. It will likely invest more in "green bonds" and less in pollutive industries.
/on.wsj.com/2TRuslX
ECB to factor climate change more into policy
Reuters
The European Central Bank said on Thursday it would further incorporate climate change considerations into its monetary policy, including on disclosure, risk assessment, and decisions on collateral and corporate sector asset purchases.
/reut.rs/3r6qW3q
Analysis: Europe's carbon push stokes backlash fears
Kate Abnett, Mark John - Reuters
A European Union plan to extend carbon pricing to the fuel used in cars and to heat homes is facing a wall of early resistance from countries and lawmakers fearing a public pushback unless backers find ways to compensate those worst hit.
/reut.rs/36oPURR
US's Yellen urges better coordination on carbon policy
David Lawder - Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Friday for better international coordination on carbon-cutting policies to avoid trade frictions, days before the European Union is due to unveil a controversial carbon border tax.
/reut.rs/36qHF7S
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Lloyds Bank fined £90m for misleading insurance customers; Penalty is largest handed out by Financial Conduct Authority since 2019
Nicholas Megaw and Ian Smith - FT
Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £90m for sending millions of misleading letters to customers in its home insurance division, the largest penalty levied by the Financial Conduct Authority since 2019.
/on.ft.com/2VkyEed
BNP Paribas Asset Management Survey Reveals Significant Investor Movement Toward Thematic Investing
Mondovisione
BNP Paribas Asset Management ('BNPP AM') reveals the key findings of its latest survey conducted by Greenwich Associates[1] on institutional and wholesale investors' attitudes to thematic investing.
/bit.ly/2UANAEK
The hedge fund badly bruised by betting against GameStop is still struggling after ending the first half with a 46% loss, report says
Shalini Nagarajan - Insider
Gabe Plotkin's Melvin Capital Management, targeted by the Reddit army of day traders for its bearish GameStop bets, ended the first half of the year with a 46% loss, Bloomberg reported.
/bit.ly/36wNj8p
Credit Suisse promotes Hu to China chief executive
Reuters Staff
Credit Suisse has appointed Janice Hu to become its China chief executive, according to a statement from the bank on Friday. Hu will replace Zhenyi Tang who has taken a job out of financial services, the bank said, without identifying where he was going.
/reut.rs/3htzoX3
Exclusive: Robinhood gives founders second chance at $1.4 billion windfall
Jessica DiNapoli - Reuters
Stock-trading app Robinhood Markets Inc is giving its billionaire founders four more years to hit share price targets that trigger stock awards worth $1.4 billion, according to a regulatory filing and four executive compensation experts who reviewed it.
/reut.rs/3hqH7oX
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China Set to Hit Pause Button on U.S. Corn Buying on Weak Market
Bloomberg News
Country will have new crop corn available in September; Domestic futures have dropped to lowest level this year
China is likely to take a break from buying large amounts of U.S. corn after record purchases this year because the domestic harvest is approaching and local prices have slumped to the cheapest since late 2020.
/bloom.bg/3jWPElf
Fed-up expats begin drifting away from Singapore; Resentment over jabs, jobs and travel restrictions weigh down city-state's foreign professionals
Stefania Palma - FT
Tom Meredith had just arrived in London after more than a year away when Singapore revoked the re-entry pass he needed to fly home to his wife and six-year-old twin daughters. What should have been a short business trip in May suddenly had no return date, forcing Meredith to shuffle between family and friends' homes in the UK for weeks.
/on.ft.com/3jWRti5
Asian ETF launches outstrip the rest of the world; Rising interest in Chinese bond market helps drive regional surge
Ernest Chan - FT
The number and variety of exchange traded funds in the Asia Pacific region is expanding faster than in the US and Europe, and Asian institutions are increasingly turning to locally listed products for more cost-efficient trading during Asian market hours.
/on.ft.com/3dYPaqI
China's corporate bond defaults touch a record high
Patturaja Murugaboopathy, Andrew Galbraith - Reuters
China's corporate bond defaults have hit a record high this year, highlighting tightening credit conditions and a growing reluctance by regional governments to bail out troubled state-owned firms.
/reut.rs/36rLOZs
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