| July 13, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Today I have an Open Outcry Traders History Project interview with a longtime CBOT member who served as a board member of the CBOT and CME Group and whose father started at the CBOT as a young boy after attracting the attention of a neighbor for his entrepreneurial activities cutting grass. Thus began a multigenerational experience in Chicago's futures markets. More details to follow.
It was not just a couple of the hottest days on record in July, as reported earlier. Bloomberg is now reporting the earth has experienced "The 10 Hottest Days Ever Put People and Livelihoods at Risk."
VOX is reporting that "It's even hot in Antarctica, where it's winter," while NPR is reminding us that heatwaves in Europe last year caused 61,600 deaths, according to a study. In Death Valley, where it is supposed to be hot, the temperatures are approaching 130F, scorching the southwest U.S, Accuweather reported.
Meanwhile, yesterday Chicago had some severe weather across the region that saw tornadoes near O'Hare Airport and other locations, The Washington Post reports. One of those tornadoes was on the northside of Elmhurst, my town.
The Wall Street Journal reports the City of New York is considering air quality regulations for inside buildings following this summer's smoky haze in the Big Apple and the Covid-19 issues the city faced.
I always enjoy stories from the Harvard Business Review. Today they have a story titled "The 6 Ways to Grow a Company." That is a subject we should all appreciate.
For those of you who are math challenged, or just like the thrill of the lottery, the Powerball lottery is one of the largest. It is up to $875 million, The New York Times reports. Powerball has gone three months without a winner, leading to that lofty prize. Good luck!
Nico Farr shared on LinkedIn that he is starting a new position as chief operating officer with Quantitative Brokers
It was bad enough in the 1970s when soccer, or football as the rest of the world calls it, invaded the United States. Now Bloomberg is reporting that the "Ultra-Rich Are Betting the Next Big American Sport Is Cricket." The story says the "Inaugural Major League Cricket starts this Thursday in Dallas." Quite frankly, I was still adjusting to pickleball as a fast growing U.S. sport.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
*****
Ceres, a sustainability non-profit, and the California Department of Insurance, the largest U.S. state insurance regulator, are hosting a webinar, "Climate Risk Management in the U.S. Insurance Sector," on July 27, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET. The webinar will review the results of a 2022 survey of 1500 insurance companies, representing 80% of the U.S. insurance market, by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. For the first time, survey questions were aligned with recommendations on climate risk reporting from the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Learn more and register here. ~SAED
Our most read stories yesterday on JLN Options were:
- FAQ: Trade Marker at Close (TMAC)
- Option Volatility Indicator Developer Guy Cohen Talks to JLN About the OVI, His Career and Building a Hedge Fund
- Tom Hutchinson - Open Outcry Traders History Project - Part Three ~JB
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Matrix Executions CEO Allen Greenberg on options trends, 24-hour trading, and how Tony Saliba got the band back together
JohnLothianNews.com
JLN talked to Allen Greenberg, the CEO of Matrix Executions, at the OIC Conference in Nashville in April.
Matrix Executions, an agency broker-dealer, started in February of 2018, so it just turned 5. It was formed by the old management team that ran Liquidpoint and then converted the options to Convergex after Dash took over Convergex, Greenberg said. Tony Saliba, the company's co-founder, "started making calls, saying, 'Hey, we want this band back together if you're interested,'" Greenberg added. So they put together a matrix and took the old ITG derivatives broker-dealer and combined the two. ITG (since purchased by Virtu) is one of its investors.
Watch the video »
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When Parents Want to Pass Down Furniture You Hate: An Awkward True Story
Michelle Slatalla - The Wall Street Journal
The Battle of the Secretary started in the spring of 1991 when I was in my 20s. My mother began the offensive. "Would you like to have my secretary?" she asked. She was referring to a desk-a mahogany behemoth that stood for many years in the living room of the house where I grew up. It was 8 feet tall and almost 4 feet wide, and pretty much loomed over our normal-size center-hall brick colonial.
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***** I have a theory about dining room tables. Everyone has their parent's dining room table. My father had his mother's dining room table at our house in Wisconsin. I have my father and mother's dining room table at my house in Elmhurst. And we have plenty of ugly furniture that has been passed down from all sides.~JJL
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New Ranking Lists the World's 50 Best Vineyards to Visit; Argentina's Catena Zapata was just crowned the No. 1 wine estate in the world to go experience firsthand.
Elin McCoy - Bloomberg
A vast blue sky, a backdrop of awe-inspiring snow-covered Andes mountains, and a spectacular pyramid shaped adobe building that looked like a Mayan temple surrounded by vines: that was my first impression of Catena Zapata, one of Argentina's most famous wineries, on my first visit almost two decades ago. Winemaker Nicolas Catena put Argentine malbec on the world map.
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****** Little known fact: the vineyard for Ripple moved up two spots. Mad Dog 2020 is still at the bottom.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our most read story Wednesday was How a £10 Billion Tax Trade Unraveled for a Commodities House, from Bloomberg. Second was FAQ: Trade Marker at Close (TMAC), from the CME Group. And third was Amendments to CME and CBOT Rule 524. ("Trading at Settlement ('TAS'), Basis Trade at Index Close ('BTIC') and Basis Trade at Cash Open ('TACO') Transactions") to Include ("Trade Marker at Close ('TMAC') Transactions"), a special executive report from CME Group.
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MarketsWiki Stats
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| Lead Stories | Acuiti launches Asset Management Expert Network
Acuiti
Acuiti today launches its Asset Management Expert Network, the latest in its series of networks of senior executives focused on the global derivatives markets. Acuiti Expert Networks provide a virtual forum through which senior executives can gauge sentiment and benchmark approaches to common challenges. Each quarter, members of the network have the opportunity to pose questions anonymously to their peers. These questions are then sent to the network and aggregated in a quarterly report, which provides an analysis of attitudes and approaches to the challenges that network is facing at that time.
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Is the Banking Crisis Over? We Could Be About to Find Out; Big banks likely had a decent second quarter, but jury is out on the smaller ones
Ben Eisen - The Wall Street Journal
Lenders will sort through the damage from this year's banking crisis when they report their financial results starting Friday. Earnings for the second quarter will show whether the recent failures of three lenders and a slowing economy are eroding what has been a long period of strength for the industry. Earnings are expected to fall 7% in the quarter from a year earlier, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
/jlne.ws/44K6VC6
FIA Leipzig forum focuses on energy crisis, commodities regulation; Market participants and regulators gathered in Leipzig to discuss the crucial issues affecting European energy and commodity markets
Kirsten Hyde - FIA MarketVoice
FIA held a forum in Leipzig, Germany on 29 June, bringing together market participants and regulators to discuss recent energy market events, regulatory responses, and areas for future growth in the energy and commodities trading and clearing arena.
/jlne.ws/3XMQqDb
U.S. Takes Third Shot at Shoring Up Money-Market Funds; SEC votes to change rules governing the funds, whose holdings have ballooned this year
Paul Kiernan - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. regulators rewrote the rules for money-market funds for the third time in 15 years in hopes of preventing bailouts in times of turmoil, as investors pour money into the funds this year. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to change the rules governing money-market funds, which the Federal Reserve had to backstop with emergency lending facilities in 2008 and 2020. Two previous overhauls by the SEC failed to stop investors from fleeing certain funds en masse when markets faced extreme stress.
/jlne.ws/3PTmeUU
I told you Elon Musk was going to screw up Twitter - but I didn't realize he'd wreck it this fast
Linette Lopez - Business Insider
It's been less than a year since he bought it, and Elon Musk's Twitter is already well on its way to suffering a fate worse than death - irrelevance. The platform, which Musk promised to turn into a free-speech, bot-free haven, is glitchier, bottier, and spammier than ever. In May, when Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced his presidential candidacy on Twitter, a parade of malfunctions turned what should have been a historic moment for the company into a mess. Twitter hasn't even been able to hold it together during the news-making events it's known for - such as while Rihanna was performing at the Super Bowl halftime show. And pretty much every new "feature" that Musk rolls out - from an increase in the length of tweets to the now infamous "rate limit" that prevents users from seeing more than a set number of tweets a day - has made the product worse.
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Silk Road-Linked Bitcoin Worth $300M Moved by U.S. Government: On-Chain Data; The U.S. government previously sold 9,861 bitcoin for $216 million in March.
Oliver Knight - CoinDesk
Two wallets tagged as belonging to the U.S. government and linked to the Silk Road seizure of crypto have moved over $300 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) in three separate transactions on Wednesday morning, on-chain data shows The price of bitcoin fell by 0.8% to $30,480 after the transaction was sent; it has since recovered to $30,660 as of press time.
/jlne.ws/3rqD0R9
The Color of the Ocean Is Changing, and Scientists Blame Global Warming; A satellite measured recent shifts in ocean color that have turned waters near the Equator greener and indicate changes in marine ecosystems.
Coco Liu - Bloomberg
More than half of the world's ocean has changed colors in the past 20 years, a phenomenon that is likely driven by climate change, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The study, which analyzes decades' worth of satellite data, found that 56% of the global ocean - a territory larger than the total land area on Earth - experienced color change between 2002 and 2022.
/jlne.ws/3rh1JqX
Supporting women in leadership on their paths to success; Georgie Dickins of Women in Leadership Global discusses leadership development and executive coaching
Katie Raymond - FIA MarketVoice
Georgie Dickins, founder and CEO of Women in Leadership Global (WILG), a membership network for female leaders in finance, recently led the WILG team in ringing the Nasdaq opening bell to celebrate a major achievement - the launch of her book Women in Leadership: 500 Lessons to Our Younger Selves. "It was an incredible moment, a celebration of community and collaboration that will stay in the memory bank for a long time," said Dickins, who as well as founding WILG is the co-founder and Managing Director of Cajetan Group, a boutique business specializing in leadership development and executive coaching.
/jlne.ws/3rqF8s7
Epstein-Staley Emails Reveal Friendship Forged at JPMorgan
Harry Wilson, Ava Benny-Morrison and Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
Sitting on his yacht in January 2011, Jes Staley was taking time out from running one of the world's largest investment banks to enjoy the fruits of his success. "Anchored in Chrismas [sic] Cove," Staley wrote in an email to Jeffrey Epstein from his 91-foot yacht moored in the US Virgin Islands. "Heaven is being on Bequia. Safe travels to Paris. And, as always, thanks for the friendship.
/jlne.ws/46PwDar
Metals tycoon Gupta says Trafigura 'devised' $590mn nickel fraud scheme; Allegations set up blockbuster showdown in London's High Court
Harry Dempsey and Cynthia O'Murchu - Financial Times
Prateek Gupta, the businessman that Trafigura has accused of being behind a $590mn nickel fraud, has said in his defence that it was in fact the global commodity trading giant that "devised and proposed" the scheme. Gupta's defence has alleged that certain Trafigura employees first proposed trading other materials that would be presented to the Singapore-based commodity trader's lender Citibank as nickel trades, according to court filings submitted in London on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3pFu2PF
California and Arizona brace for 'historic' heat wave with possible temperatures over 120°F
David Knowles - Yahoo! News
The formation of yet another "heat dome" over the southwestern United States is expected to cause temperatures in parts of California and Arizona to rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the coming days. One of the hottest places on the planet, California's Death Valley, is expected to see temperatures as high as 125°F to 130°F this weekend. Portions of the Central Valley further north are also expected to see temperatures as high as 117°F.
/jlne.ws/3PU5nRO
Fossil-Fuel Demand for Electricity May Have Peaked Globally
Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
The exponential growth of renewable energy is pushing down global electricity prices and helping remove so much carbon from power systems that fossil fuels are no longer economical, and their use has peaked, according to a report. From China to Europe, the capacities of solar, battery and wind power are surging, the Rocky Mountain Institute said in an analysis released Thursday in conjunction with the Bezos Earth Fund.
/jlne.ws/3DbyR6f
A 'Made in Germany' Solution to a Climate-Crisis Problem; Engineers have come up with a solution to ever-lower Rhine water levels.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
It reads like a script for an ad promoting German engineering prowess: an intractable problem, billions of dollars at risk, old-fashioned industrial design and, voila, a solution. The problem, exacerbated by the climate crisis, is ever-lower water levels on the Rhine, a river of huge importance for European heavy industry. The waterway acts as a conveyor belt connecting chemical plants, oil refineries, steel foundries, coal-fired power stations and other manufacturing sites across Switzerland, Germany, France, and the Dutch ports.
/jlne.ws/3Dis9eB
Expect 'more muted trading revenues' from investment banking Q2 results, says Moody's; Ahead of upcoming quarterly results, ratings and research house Moody's analyses indicators including equity volumes and volatility as well as the impact this will have on trading revenues.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
US-based investment banks including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley will begin to report Q2 earnings tomorrow, which Moody's anticipates will showcase "more muted trading revenue" and mixed results in investment banking.
/jlne.ws/3DixkLz
Over half of asset managers do not believe that the T+1 shift will make US equities more attractive, finds Acuiti report; Asset managers also discussed headcount with a third saying they intend to add more traders to the desk, along with operations talent in the build-up to market structure and regulatory changes.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
The US move to T+1 settlement was passed through in a bid to increase the efficiency of market operations, however an Acuiti report has stated that 53% of asset managers believe that the move will not make US equities more attractive.
/jlne.ws/3Oe3I8L
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Masked Gunmen and a Stolen Toilet: How Russia Seized a Ukrainian City's Businesses
Alistair MacDonald and Oksana Pyrozhok - The Wall Street Journal
In occupied Ukraine, corporate mergers and acquisitions begin with a visit from masked gunmen. Not long after Russia's military took control of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, balaclava-clad men arrived at the head office of one of its largest companies, beat its security guards and announced that the business was under new ownership.
/jlne.ws/43mjTFi
Only Weapons Can End the Ukraine War
Mike Pence - The Wall Street Journal (opinion)
I recently traveled to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. I can report that what Russian troops are doing to Ukrainians is not just war-it is evil. After my visit, I am more resolved than ever in my belief that it is in America's national interest to give the Ukrainian military the support it needs to repel Russia. Sadly, President Biden has made the U.S. a laughingstock on the world stage.
/jlne.ws/3rqqocL
Russian Military Hit by Uncertainty as One General Is Killed and Another Remains Absent
Paul Sonne - The New York Times
One top commander has disappeared since a mutiny. Another was killed in an airstrike in Ukraine. Another accused his leadership of treachery after being fired. And a fourth former commander was gunned down while out on a jog in what may have been an organized hit.
/jlne.ws/44p2DAz
Russia Finally Cuts Crude Exports, at Most Opportune Moment
Bloomberg News
Russia is finally cutting crude exports, at the most advantageous moment possible. Moscow has pledged to curb shipments to global markets by 500,000 barrels a day next month. It's a show of unity with fellow OPEC+ leader Saudi Arabia, but also an attempt to answer months of questions about whether Russia could really have been cutting oil production - as announced in February - while simultaneously raising crude exports.
/jlne.ws/46LDukW
Russian general says top military brass betrayed soldiers fighting in Ukraine
Guy Faulconbridge - Reuters
A Russian general said he had been dismissed as a commander after telling the military leadership about the dire situation at the front in Ukraine, where he said Russian soldiers had been stabbed in the back by the failings of the top military brass. After the June 24 mutiny by Wagner mercenaries, the biggest domestic challenge to the Russian state in decades, President Vladimir Putin has so far kept Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov in their jobs.
/jlne.ws/3O9HuEC
Russian spy chief says he spoke to CIA boss about 'what to do with Ukraine'
Mark Trevelyan - Reuters
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France to Become Second Nation to Send Ukraine Cruise Missiles; Move increases pressure on Washington to provide Kyiv with long-range capabilities
Yaroslav Trofimov - The Wall Street Journal
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Zelenskiy says Ukraine needs long-range weapons, will raise with Biden
Reuters
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | ICE and KX Bring High Performance Real-time Analytics to More Than 25 Million Financial Instruments
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, and KX, maker of kdb+, an industry-trusted Data Timehouse and the KDB.AI vector database, today announced an agreement to leverage KX's platform to provide real-time analytics on data from ICE's Consolidated Feed and Consolidated History. The rapidly increasing volume, speed, and complexity of market data presents significant challenges for financial firms struggling to manage and extract meaningful insights from their data quickly enough to drive impactful business decisions. The alliance with KX directly addresses these challenges.
/jlne.ws/3NNaZuF
Borsa Istanbul's Opening Bell Rang for Ak Asset Management Emerging Companies Equity Fund
Borsa Istanbul
Ak Asset Management Emerging Companies Equity Fund provides investors with the opportunity to invest in selected 30 companies with strong growth performance in Turkiye through a single transaction. Ak Asset Management, the largest Portfolio Management Company in Turkiye's Private Sector with asset size reaching up to 300 billion TL, continues to offer new funds that enable savers to easily invest in different themes in domestic equities.
/jlne.ws/3NTeGz1
INDEXA CAPITAL GROUP to start trading in BME Growth on 12 July
BME Growth
The Board of Directors of the Market has approved the listing of INDEXA CAPITAL GROUP on 12 July following a thorough review of all the information presented by the company and after the favourable assessment report on its listing issued by the Coordination and Admission Committee. The company's Board of Directors has taken a reference price of 10.30 euros per share as the starting point for trading, taking into account the valuation report by an independent expert, which implies a total valuation of the company of 149.8 million euros.
/jlne.ws/3pKtbNs
Taiwan Stock Exchange set to further attract foreign capital with newly launched ESG InfoHub and Investment InfoHub
Media OutReach Newswire
The Taiwan Stock Exchange (the "TWSE") announced the launch of the new ESG InfoHub and Investment InfoHub - The Taiwan Markets Dashboard to establish a one-stop information service platform, so as to further strengthen the services for international investors. TWSE hopes to improve the information transparency of listed companies, enhance its competitiveness among international markets, and continue to attract foreign investment to Taiwan.
/jlne.ws/3DanFqn
Business Indicators For June 2023
Deutsche Boerse Group
Deutsche Boerse Group provides shareholders and analysts with comprehensive continuous information about its business development. On this page, you will find the most recent monthly trading statistics and business performance figures as an easy and convenient download.
/jlne.ws/46NEkxF
The Trade Desk, Inc. to Join the Nasdaq-100 Index Beginning July 17th, 2023
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced that The Trade Desk, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTD), will become a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index® (Nasdaq: NDX), the Nasdaq-100 Equal Weighted Index (Nasdaq: NDXE), and the Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech Sector Index (Nasdaq: NDXX) prior to market open on Monday, July 17, 2023. The Trade Desk, Inc. will replace Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) in the Nasdaq-100 Index®, the Nasdaq-100 Equal Weighted Index, and the Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech Sector Index. Activision Blizzard, Inc. will also be removed from the Nasdaq-100 ESG Index (Nasdaq: NDXESG) prior to market open on Monday, July 17, 2023.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Does Mark Zuckerberg Even Want Threads to Replace Twitter?; Meta is going to have a hard time engaging users if posts lack wit, personality and a taste of the real world.
Dave Lee - Bloomberg
There was a curious exchange on Meta Platforms Inc.'s new Threads app last weekend - curious in that there wasn't really an exchange at all. An angry American Airlines passenger posted a message asking the airline why their flight had been canceled ... and nothing happened. It spoke to the crucial difference between Threads and the site it might replace, Twitter.
/jlne.ws/3PU5fBO
Generative A.I.'s copyright problem grows as lawsuits pile onto OpenAI, Google, and Meta
David Meyer - Fortune
Hi, and welcome to Eye on A.I. David Meyer here in Berlin, filling in for Jeremy Kahn, who is over at our Brainstorm Tech conference in Utah (more on that later). Copyright-related lawsuits have been an occasional feature of the generative A.I. boom since it began-a class action over Microsoft's GitHub Copilot last November; artists and Getty Images suing Stability AI at the start of this year-but the past couple weeks have seen a real flurry of activity.
/jlne.ws/44G7GfI
Google's AI Chatbot Bard Gets Belated European Release; Bard will now be available in 40 languages, including Chinese; Google announces new features, including using images in chat
Jillian Deutsch - Bloomberg
Alphabet Inc.'s Google released its Bard chatbot to users in the European Union and Brazil, and said the artificial intelligence tool can now generate responses in more than 40 languages, including Chinese, Hindi and Spanish. The EU is among the last part of the world to get access to Bard, which launched in about 180 countries earlier this year. The delay was due to uncertainty around the AI service's compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, the company said.
/jlne.ws/43niIp8
Meta's Threads Now Has to Keep Its Millions of Users Engaged; Text-based app has proven easy to join, thanks to its Instagram sibling, but faces several challenges
Meghan Bobrowsky and Lindsey Choo - The Wall Street Journal
Threads, the new text-first social app from Meta Platforms, made a splash after its release last week. Now the Instagram-dependent platform has to prove it can carve out a unique identity and persuade users to stay.
/jlne.ws/3pJ7A8f
Google's Bard AI Chatbot Adds More Languages to Take On ChatGPT; Latest version to also include a privacy hub for all users
Sam Schechner - The Wall Street Journal
Google is betting a new version of its artificial-intelligence chatbot will say hallo, olá and bonjour to broader adoption, part of its effort to keep up in the high-stakes race to commercialize generative AI, the technology behind ChatGPT.
/jlne.ws/44mzSEF
Ben McKenzie takes on crypto with a probing new book; The star of 'The O.C'. and 'Gotham' also has an economics degree. He saw early on that crypto was largely a scam. Now he's pulling the curtain back completely.
Talib Visram - Fast Money
/jlne.ws/43nMUjF
Crypto Miner Hive Drops 'Blockchain' From Name in Pivot to AI; Company's shift follows headwinds in crypto-mining industry; Hive will branch out into rental of GPU server clusters
David Pan - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3DbAkcN
LTX By Broadridge Integrates With Aladdin, Improving Liquidity Discovery For Corporate Bond Traders
LTX
/jlne.ws/46OcJg0
Broadridge's LTX enters next phase of BlackRock partnership through integration with Aladdin platform; Integration will allow Aladdin users to leverage data-driven capabilities to improve liquidity discovery and trading efficiency.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
/jlne.ws/3XRxinv
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Chinese Hackers Breached Email of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and State Department Officials
Dustin Volz and William Mauldin - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and senior officials at the State Department were victims of a newly discovered Chinese hacking campaign, American officials said Wednesday, a targeted spying effort in the spring that coincided with a Biden administration push to soothe rising tensions with Beijing. The breaches of unclassified email systems, which some officials and experts said may have required extraordinary technical expertise to pull off, raise new alarms about the ability of Chinese hackers to orchestrate more sophisticated attacks and come at a fragile point in U.S.-China relations.
/jlne.ws/3JX1GHh
An American marine does battle in cyberspace
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
Nathaniel Fick shot to fame when he was featured in Generation Kill, a bestseller about the Iraq war by the Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright. The book later spawned an HBO series and Fick wrote his own award-winning memoir - One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer - about serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. These days Fick, 46, is back on the public stage with a different mission. Last year, the White House quietly appointed him its first-ever cyber space ambassador.
/jlne.ws/44JX3s2
Biden administration water cybersecurity plan temporarily blocked
Clark Mindock - Reuters
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday temporarily blocked a Biden administration plan to improve cybersecurity for public water systems, after Republican-led states complained it would thrust burdensome costs on small and rural water suppliers. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis issued a stay temporarily suspending the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cybersecurity plan while a legal challenge filed by the state attorneys general of Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa runs its course.
/jlne.ws/3JSO8g0
Crypto ransom attacks rise in first half of 2023, Chainalysis says
Elizabeth Howcroft - Reuters
Crypto crime fell overall in the first six months of 2023, but the volume of payments to ransomware attackers surged and is on track for its second-biggest annual total on record, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said on Wednesday. Cryptocurrency prices have gradually risen this year, recovering after a string of bankruptcies at high-profile crypto firms in 2022 pushed down token prices and left investors with large losses.
/jlne.ws/3PVcAkF
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Coinbase CEO Starts Poll on Whether BofA Is Closing Accounts Transacting With Crypto Exchange; Crypto exchange's head Brian Armstrong starts poll on Twitter; Move came after blockchain executive claimed BofA shut account
Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Tension between the crypto and banking sectors bubbled anew when Coinbase Global Inc.'s chief executive started a Twitter poll on whether Bank of America Corp. is closing accounts that transact with the exchange. Brian Armstrong tagged Bank of America's Twitter handle when he posed the question late Wednesday in the US, saying he was "curious if this is the issue."
/jlne.ws/3NTMsE2
SEC sues Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky for 'fraudulent' crypto sales
Chris Matthews - MarketWatch
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Celsius founder and CEO Alex Mashinsky Thursday, alleging he he raised billions of dollars from investors through "unregistered and fraudulent" sales of crypto asset securities. The SEC also alleges that Mashinsky and Celsius "fraudulently manipulated" the price of Celsius' native CEL token, according to a complaint filed in federal court in New York. Celsius filed for bankruptcy last July after freezing customer withdrawals and transfers amid a decline in the value of major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin BTCUSD, 0.54%.
/jlne.ws/3pQ7POE
Miami's Mayor Got Crypto Rich While His Voters Got Candy Crushed
Jessica Karl - Bloomberg
Miami's mayor, Francis Suarez, seems to have more extracurricular activities than the average high schooler: He's a real estate lawyer, a private equity executive and the proud owner of a $235,000 boat. He spends his time unveiling laser-eyed bulls, campaigning for president and running 5Ks. And he's making a lot of money while doing it all: "Despite last year's market rout, the 45-year-old Republican's net worth more than doubled to $3.5 million," Michael Smith writes for Bloomberg News.
/jlne.ws/3JVxZXi
Google Unveils NFT Policy for Play Store as Token Interest Wanes; Game developers have clearer guidelines for in-app NFTs; NFT interest, prices have been hit hard by the crypto winter
Hannah Miller - Bloomberg
Google's decision to allow developers to expand the ways nonfungible tokens can be used in their games on the Play Store was met with a collective sigh of relief on crypto Twitter. NFT investors, who have for months watched the prices of their collections fall and interest in this colorful corner of the digital-asset market wane, see the changes in Google's policy as a sign that the market is not dead yet.
/jlne.ws/44l2IFt
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | U.S. Takes Third Shot at Shoring Up Money-Market Funds
Paul Kiernan - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. regulators rewrote the rules for money-market funds for the third time in 15 years in hopes of preventing bailouts in times of turmoil, as investors pour money into the funds this year. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to change the rules governing money-market funds, which the Federal Reserve had to backstop with emergency lending facilities in 2008 and 2020.
/jlne.ws/3PTmeUU
Stockholdings of Federal Executives Would Be Easier to Track Under New Bill
Brody Mullins - The Wall Street Journal
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday to create an online and searchable database of the corporate stocks, mutual funds and other assets owned by senior officials in the executive branch. The legislation, by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.), comes in response to The Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize-winning Capital Assets series last year, which found that many top executive-branch employees owned stocks in companies that their agencies helped to regulate.
/jlne.ws/44IVPxu
Trump's SPAC Deal Tests Stock-Market Faithful With Clock Ticking; If deadline not extended, SPAC must close deal by Sept. 8; Trump co. said it's not bound to deal if there's another delay
Bailey Lipschultz - Bloomberg
In politics, Donald Trump has held on to a faithful following even as his legal problems cast doubt on his future. The same goes in one risky corner of the stock market. The shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special-purpose acquisition company that's seeking to take Trump's nascent media company public, are holding nearly 30% above the approximately $10.40 investors will get back if the merger collapses - indicating they expect the deal to go through instead.
/jlne.ws/44CPDHL
Illinois Nears Settlement With Wall Street Banks Over Muni Price-Fixing Case
Joe Mysak - Bloomberg
Illinois reached a tentative deal to settle a nearly decade-long lawsuit that alleged about a dozen of the biggest US banks engaged in price fixing in the municipal bond market. The banks have offered to pay the state $68 million, according to Todd Schneider, an attorney who is representing plaintiff side.
/jlne.ws/3JVuOPa
Russia's Flagship Crude Oil Surpasses G-7 Price Cap for First Time
Alaric Nightingale and Lucia Kassai - Bloomberg
Russia's flagship Urals crude oil breached a price cap set by the Group of Seven, a blow to western sanctions efforts and arguably an economic win for Moscow. According to price reporting agency Argus Media, Urals crude topped $60 a barrel on Wednesday, climbing above the cap that the Group of Seven set last year in an attempt to restrict revenue to Moscow's war machine.
/jlne.ws/3NQmSQD
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | EBA encourages timely preparatory steps towards the application of MiCAR to asset-referenced and electronic money tokens
European Banking Authority
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published a statement for the attention of financial institutions and other undertakings who intend to commence, or have commenced, asset-referenced token (ART) or electronic money token (EMT) activities prior to 30 June 2024 (the application date for the relevant provisions of the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation - MiCAR) and for competent authorities.
/jlne.ws/3Omsl3b
Federal Court Orders Digital Asset Derivatives Platform and Florida Resident to Pay More than $15 Million for Multiple Violations of the Commodity Exchange Act
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that on July 5, Judge Roy K. Altman, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a default judgment granting a permanent injunction against Florida resident Adam Todd and four companies he controlled - Digitex LLC, Digitex Limited, Digitex Software Limited, and Blockster Holdings Limited Corporation.
/jlne.ws/3JY3dNj
SEC Imposes Money-Market Fund Rules to Thwart Rapid Outflows
Lydia Beyoud and Alexandra Harris - Bloomberg
Money-market funds are getting their biggest rules overhaul in years after Wall Street's top regulator finalized a plan to stem rapid outflows during times of financial stress. The US Securities and Exchange Commission decided Wednesday to require fees that could significantly affect a key corner the $5.5 trillion industry.
/jlne.ws/3Dag0Z9
SEC Charges RSE Markets Inc. for Operating an Unregistered Securities Exchange
U.S. Securities Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against RSE Markets Inc. for operating as an unregistered exchange by maintaining and providing a marketplace and facilities that brought together purchasers and sellers of securities, specifically equity interests in "collectible assets" such as valuable cars and watches. The SEC's order finds that, between July 1, 2018, and November 20, 2021, RSE operated the Rally Platform, consisting of the RallyRd.com website, the Rally App, and trading functionality, for retail investors based in the United States to purchase and sell securities.
/jlne.ws/3XT3yqy
SEC Awards Whistleblower More Than $9 Million
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $9 million to a whistleblower whose significant and detailed information and assistance led to a successful SEC enforcement action. After repeatedly internally reporting the concerns, the whistleblower alerted SEC's Enforcement Division to the conduct, prompting the opening of the investigation. In addition, the whistleblower provided substantial and ongoing cooperation.
/jlne.ws/3rsGxP1
SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to the Broker-Dealer Customer Protection Rule
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed amendments to Rule 15c3-3 (the Customer Protection Rule) to require certain broker-dealers to increase the frequency with which they perform computations of the net cash they owe to customers and other broker-dealers (known as PAB account holders) from weekly to daily. Net cash owed to customers and PAB account holders must be held in a special reserve bank account.
/jlne.ws/3JVRHCm
SEC Adopts Money Market Fund Reforms and Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to certain rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The amendments will increase minimum liquidity requirements for money market funds to provide a more substantial liquidity buffer in the event of rapid redemptions.
/jlne.ws/3XP9a4R
Highlighting the risks of securities lending in relation to retail client financial instruments and clarifying certain important MiFID II investor protection requirements
European Securities and Markets Authority
Certain firms in the EU engage in securities lending and other securities financing transactions (SFTs)1 in relation to retail client financial instruments. While SFTs may bring the benefit of generating extra returns on financial instruments, SFTs are also a risky and complex practice that is difficult to understand for the average retail client. MiFID II2 therefore imposes strict requirements regulating the use of client financial instruments.
/jlne.ws/3OdKakw
SFC and AFRC join forces to combat misconduct by listed issuers
Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) today issued the first joint statement as part of their enhanced collaboration in the regulation of the securities and futures markets in Hong Kong. Today's joint statement addresses an observable increase in cases of listed issuers channelling a company's funds to third parties in dubious circumstances under the pretext of loans (Note 1). These loans were often approved or granted without sufficient commercial rationale and appropriate documentation, and in some cases without adequate risk assessments, due diligence or internal controls. Listed issuers suffered significant losses when loans were not repaid.
/jlne.ws/43jo3xH
Our emerging regulatory approach to Big Tech and Artificial Intelligence
Nikhil Rathi - Financial Conduct Authority
Depending on who you speak to, AI could either lead to the destruction of civilisation, or the cure for cancer or both. It could either displace today's jobs or enable an explosion in future productivity. The truth probably embraces both scenarios. At the FCA we are determined that, with the right guardrails in place, AI can offer opportunity.
/jlne.ws/44GUPcX
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Pimco Looks to Alternatives as Credit Market Nears Boiling Point; Bond giant hopes that its large restructuring team will give it an edge as more borrowers become distressed.
Laura Benitez - Bloomberg
Pacific Investment Management Co. has a decent record of betting on distress. Almost a decade ago, the firm managed to cope with the chaotic departure of its founder Bill Gross because of the fortune it made from snapping up cheap mortgage debt after the financial crisis. Now, as the bond behemoth manages another awkward moment - confronted by choppy fund flows and returns - it wants to repeat the trick. This time it wants to take advantage of finance's latest craze: private credit.
/jlne.ws/3NStaPs
Brazilian Meatpacker JBS to Pursue U.S. Listing
Patrick Thomas - The Wall Street Journal
The world's largest meatpacker, Brazil's JBS, said it plans to restart its yearslong efforts to list its shares publicly in the U.S. Through a parent company based in the Netherlands called JBS NV, the company said Wednesday it intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and the São Paulo Stock Exchange using Brazilian Depository Receipts by the end of 2023, though it said the timing could vary. The BDRs will be backed by Class A shares listed on the NYSE.
/jlne.ws/43jbGBL
North Sea Oil Trading Window Sees a Rush of Bids and Offers
Sherry Su - Bloomberg
A 30-minute trading window that helps to determine the world's most important oil price saw a frenzy of bidding and offering of crude on Wednesday, another sign the market is livening up after weeks of torpor. In total, there were 10 bids to buy - and six offers to sell - grades of oil that can set the Dated Brent price benchmark published by S&P Global Commodity Insights, better known by traders as Platts.
/jlne.ws/44p26hO
Charles Schwab Boosts Services for Wealthy Investors
Andrew Welsch - Barron's
Charles Schwab (ticker: SCHW) will now automatically offer wealthy customers access to financial advisors and personalized services, a move the company hopes will boost its business with a lucrative and fast-growing client segment. Jonathan Craig, head of Investor Services at Charles Schwab, says the changes, which include new benefits and investment capabilities, "reflect our commitment to deliver meaningful differentiation for the growing number of wealthy clients we serve, who are increasingly attracted to our breadth of services and outstanding value."
/jlne.ws/3JU7Ms5
How the stock market is getting a boost from short sellers
Ines Ferre - Yahoo! Finance
Big tech names drove the stock market's massive gain in the first half of the year. As the breadth of the market rally broadens, another group is contributing to the increase too: heavily shorted stocks. Upward market movements have been exacerbated by shorts sellers who made bets to the downside on those stocks, forced to cover their positions. Short covering refers to the practice of buying back borrowed shares to close out an open short position.
/jlne.ws/3PXNgum
ISDA Publishes Conceptual Framework for Climate Scenario Analysis in the Trading Book
International Swaps and Derivatives Association
/jlne.ws/3PVIY6P
ETFGI reports assets invested in the ETFs industry in Europe reached a record US$1.63 trillion at the end of June
Deborah Fuhr - ETFGI LLP
/jlne.ws/44n47v7
Omega, Rolex Watch Demand Booms Despite Rising Prices; Omega maker forecasts 'excellent' growth in second half; Watches of Switzerland CEO says demand remains solid
Andy Hoffman - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/44FeMRB
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Climate ministers raise pressure on COP28 summit host; Leaders call for phaseout of unabated fossil fuels and tripling of renewable energy capacity in letter to the FT
Attracta Mooney and Camilla Hodgson - Financial Times
A group of countries led by Germany and Canada has called on the United Arab Emirates, host of the UN's climate summit COP28, to focus on the phaseout of all fossil fuels in which the emissions are not captured. Sultan Al Jaber, president-designate of COP28, is expected to outline a plan for the summit, due to take place in Dubai in December, as climate ministers from G20 countries meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
/jlne.ws/3PPHKdj
Chicago Mayor Receives Blueprint for 'Green New Deal' to Address Environmental Justice; The "intentionally bold" environmental justice objectives include creating a Department of Environment, a promise on which former Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to deliver.
Aydali Campa - Inside Climate News
Mayor Brandon Johnson received a blueprint last week for tackling some of the most important issues-including environmental justice-facing the city from his transition committee. A team of environmental justice leaders outlined what a "Green New Deal" could look like in Chicago with ideas including utility affordability measures, clean energy job opportunities, streamlined stormwater management and environmental justice curricula in schools.
/jlne.ws/3Oc1cQh
European Union Approves Ambitious Nature Restoration Law; European countries hope healing forests, wetlands and oceans will help them meet their climate and biodiversity targets, and bolster food security.
Bob Berwyn - Inside Climate News
The European Union strengthened its environmental policies this week with adoption of a nature restoration law that member countries hope will help them meet climate and biodiversity targets set under the 2015 Paris Agreement and a global biodiversity agreement reached late last year. The new measures go beyond simply preserving existing species and ecosystems. The law tasks the 27 EU member countries with finding ways to restore large tracts of damaged forests, wetlands and fields, as well as rivers, lakes and oceans, with an overall goal over the next few decades of restoring 30 percent of damaged ecosystems in the EU region, which spans 1.6 million square miles from the Arctic Circle to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
/jlne.ws/3JVEXeI
Big Automakers Grab $1 Billion Deal for Urgently Needed Battery Metals
Amrith Ramkumar - The Wall Street Journal
The world's largest automakers are moving deeper into the supply chain for metals to power their electric cars. A $1 billion deal set to close in the coming weeks highlights the urgency of their effort and the risks they are taking to get there. Volkswagen and Jeep maker Stellantis are each committing $100 million in a complicated transaction that will create a publicly traded mining company producing nickel and copper from two Brazilian mines that run on hydropower.
/jlne.ws/3Obi1ut
World's Biggest Climate Fund Makes Its Largest Water Investment; Green Climate Fund pledges $235 million to S. African program; Program is an attempt to spur private investment in water
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
The world's biggest global climate fund has made its largest bid yet to encourage private investors to spend money on water projects in countries hit by climate change. The $235 million Green Climate Fund has contributed to a water reuse funding facility in South Africa is expected to help create a program of almost $1.5 billion. The Water Reuse Programme will be run by the state-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa.
/jlne.ws/3NSNOyY
Developer Confirms Funding For Massive Rio Grande Gas Terminal; The Port of Brownsville was the last major deepwater port of Texas still undeveloped by large fossil fuel projects.
Dylan Baddour - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/3XRs3nP
UK must increase flood defence spending, insurance scheme chair urges; Mark Hoban says growing challenge from climate change requires action from insurers and homeowners
Ian Smith - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3rvEOIw
New Research Rooted in Behavioral Science Shows How to Dramatically Increase Reach of Low-Income Solar Programs
Dan Gearino - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/43qikGn
Exxon Buys Pipeline Operator, Making Big Bet on Carbon; Oil company says acquisition of Denbury gives it the opportunity to play a greater role in a thoughtful energy transition
Collin Eaton - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/3rpzQxd
UAE's COP28 president lays out plan for 'brutally honest' climate summit
Kate Abnett and Maha El Dahan - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3JXR0IG
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Goldman Breaks Its Own Rule to Flag Results Much Worse Than Rivals; Analysts say they rarely hear so much from bank before results; That's prompted sharpest cut to quarterly estimates in years
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
Rarely has Goldman Sachs Group Inc. worked so hard to unimpress. The Wall Street giant has embraced a new game plan to avoid a third straight quarter of disappointing investors on earnings day. Breaking with its own long-standing convention, Goldman executives have been actively downplaying expectations for results that will be disclosed next week.
/jlne.ws/3pOIJjl
Second Frank Executive Charged in JPMorgan Fraud; Olivier Amar was chief growth officer at college-finance site; Prosecutors say Javice, Amar defrauded bank in deal for Frank
Chris Dolmetsch - Bloomberg
The former chief growth officer of college financial-planning startup Frank was indicted by federal prosecutors for allegedly helping founder Charlie Javice defraud JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its $175 million acquisition of the company. Olivier Amar was added to the case Wednesday in a superseding indictment filed in Manhattan federal court.
/jlne.ws/43pwVSc
Biggest Foreign Stock Fund in Taiwan Shows Shift Away From China
Winnie Hsu and Chien-Hua Wan - Bloomberg
A Taiwanese firm has sold the island's biggest Japan equity fund, reflecting local investors' keen demand for their neighbor's booming share market as they retreat from China. Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Co., Taiwan's largest fund company by assets managed, gathered its targeted NT$20 billion ($638 million) by Friday after a week of public offering, a company statement shows.
/jlne.ws/3DcPMW8
Hedge Fund Treasury Trade That Blew Up Attracts BOE Concern
Greg Ritchie - Bloomberg
A leveraged trade in US Treasury futures that has regained popularity with hedge funds poses a risk to global financial stability, according to the Bank of England. Known as the basis trade, the strategy typically involves exploiting small price differences between cash bonds and futures, and is attracting scrutiny from US regulators. On Wednesday, the BOE added its voice, saying the risks associated with these trades have mostly not been tackled by regulators.
/jlne.ws/3pK3bBO
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon chides managers who work from home: 'I don't know how you can be a leader and not be completely accessible to your people'
Paige McGlauflin - Fortune
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is no fan of remote work. He's previously claimed it suppresses "spontaneous idea generation." Now he's talking again about his distaste for working from home-and taking aim at remote managers in particular. "I don't know how you can be a leader and not be completely accessible to your people.
/jlne.ws/3DcPXkg
FSB Chair outlines work on recent banking turmoil and to finalise crypto-asset recommendations
Financial Stability Board
/jlne.ws/43nhoT4
Nomura Revives European Equities Business Amid Global Expansion; Firm returns to corporate derivatives, Delta One in EMEA; Bank quit much of the local equities trade in a 2016 overhaul
William Shaw, Takashi Nakamichi and Nao Sano - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3OmAwfT
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | CEO slammed for replacing 90% of his company's support staff with an A.I. chatbot-then bragging about it on Twitter
Orianna Rosa Royle - Fortune
Since ChatGPT's launch, many workers have feared that bosses will take advantage of the cost savings that can be made by using artificial intelligence instead of hiring actual humans to do jobs. Although staunch promoters of the large language model are insisting that A.I. will merely help workers do their jobs more effectively, instead of replacing workers altogether, one CEO is proving otherwise.
/jlne.ws/3Dcm3fP
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill; Perrigo says Opill would be available over the counter by 2024
Sarah Toy - The Wall Street Journal
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter birth-control pill, significantly expanding access to contraception among women across the U.S. The FDA on Thursday followed the advice of expert advisers who recommended in May that the agency grant nonprescription approval to the pill despite questions over some data on its proper use. Medical societies and advocacy groups have called for years for birth control to be available over the counter and it is in countries including South Korea and Greece. The push intensified last year after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, leaving decisions on abortion's legality to the states.
/jlne.ws/3De5YpW
Coronavirus Probably Spread Widely in Deer and Perhaps Back to People, U.S.D.A. Says
Emily Anthes - The New York Times
Humans transmitted the coronavirus to white-tailed deer more than 100 times in late 2021 and early 2022, according to new research led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The research also suggests that the virus probably spread widely among deer, that it mutated in the animals and that they may have passed these altered versions of the virus back to people at least three times.
/jlne.ws/3rqEsmF
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Singapore Is Being Too Picky About Its Billionaires; For family offices to forge deeper connections with the city-state, tax breaks and investment mandates won't cut it.
Andy Mukherjee - Bloomberg
Singapore has seen a boom in family offices. The number of investment vehicles that oversee assets exclusively for the benefit of a single ultra-rich household has risen 22-fold over the past five years, thanks to liberal tax exemptions. But what have the wealthy brought to the table? The short answer: Very little.
/jlne.ws/44K2dUT
US Bill Aims to Counter China Control of Congo Critical Minerals; Draft House bill requires critical minerals strategy for DRC; Strategy would help secure supply of key battery metals
Michael J Kavanagh - Bloomberg
The Chairman of the House Africa subcommittee, Representative John James of Michigan, introduced a bill requiring the creation of a US national strategy to secure supply chains of critical minerals from Democratic Republic of Congo.
/jlne.ws/3XWnMja
Extreme Drought Is Wreaking Havoc on Daily Life in Spain; Soaring temperatures and an unusual lack of rain is touching virtually all aspects of daily life.
Laura Millan - Bloomberg
Drought in Spain, which is going through yet another heat wave this year, is so extreme that virtually no aspect of daily life has been left untouched. Dishes are left unwashed overnight when water allowances run out. Cows raised for gourmet meat risk going thirsty. Tourists heading to a water sports destination are met with hard mud. These stark scenes are taking place as Europe endures its driest period in at least 500 years, a situation that's been made more likely - and worse - by climate change.
/jlne.ws/43jkw2p
Unigel's Brazil Creditors Want Billionaire Owners to Inject Cash; Local bondholders are willing to grant waiver upon conditions; Brazil fertilizer maker set to breach covenant on local bonds
Vinicius Andrade and Giovanna Bellotti Azevedo - Bloomberg
Local creditors of Brazilian fertilizer maker Unigel Participacoes are asking the company's controlling shareholders to provide a cash injection amid talks for a potential covenant waiver, according to people familiar with the matter. A capital injection from the billionaire Slezynger family, which owns Unigel through a holding company, is part of a list of demands from a group of local bondholders, said the people, asking not to be named because discussions are private.
/jlne.ws/3D9qt7g
California and Arizona brace for 'historic' heat wave with possible temperatures over 120°F
David Knowles - Yahoo! News
The formation of yet another "heat dome" over the southwestern United States is expected to cause temperatures in parts of California and Arizona to rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the coming days. One of the hottest places on the planet, California's Death Valley, is expected to see temperatures as high as 125°F to 130°F this weekend. Portions of the Central Valley further north are also expected to see temperatures as high as 117°F.
/jlne.ws/3PU5nRO
San Francisco's beer pioneer, Anchor Brewing Company, is closing its doors after 127 years
Mike Snider - USA Today
/jlne.ws/44CPJiB
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | German Cartel Office Backs Bundesliga Investor Rule After Tweaks; Clubs exempt from 50+1 to strengthen member participation; Ownership mechanism has largely deterred foreign investors
Stefan Nicola - Bloomberg
German competition authorities are willing to close an antitrust probe into the Bundesliga's 50+1 investor rule, a move that would ensure fans retain most of the control over teams in the country's top football competition. The Federal Cartel Office is ready to back the mechanism after the league vowed that three clubs currently exempt from it - TSG Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg - will bolster member participation and pay a fee to balance out their advantage. There also won't be any future exemptions, the office said Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3NONqBC
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