| September 26, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Joe Guinan, the CEO of Advantage Futures, was presented with the inaugural A. Stamford White Award for living up to the spirit of the Scout Oath and Scout Law and the leadership of White, a two-time president of the Chicago Board of Trade and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America. White was also the first chairman of the Chicago Council and founder of Camp Owasippe, which was originally called the A. Stamford White - Owasippe Scout Camp.
Guinan was presented with the award shortly after surprising the attendees of the LaSalle Street fundraiser in support of the Scouts last night by announcing that even though no one matched his $50K donation challenge, he would donate another $50K for a total of $100K to the event. The event raised over $171K, which is a record high since I have been involved with the event.
 Joe's son Joe was among the top three winners in the pinewood derby race. My car was dead last.
I will have more details about the event and pictures on Monday. Thank you to all who contributed to the event and attended.
Exchanges don't trade. They provide a platform for others to trade, but if someone was trying to send a message to the market on Thursday about where there is the best liquidity, it came through clear as a bell. A record-breaking trade occurred in the short-term interest rates market on Wednesday at the CME, involving 118,000 futures contracts linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), Bloomberg reported. This massive block trade, the largest ever recorded for SOFR, surpassed the previous record of 75,000 contracts set in April. The trade, executed at 9:38 a.m. New York time, may represent either a bet on less Federal Reserve easing than expected or an investor taking profits by unwinding a long position as the contract neared its yearly highs. Following the trade, the December 2024 SOFR price dropped sharply, indicating a seller-initiated transaction. The CME Group confirmed the trade's record size. The deal, equating to about $3 million in risk per basis point move, suggests a potential $60 million profit from a 20-tick price increase. Preliminary open interest data indicated a modest rise, hinting at the possibility of a new position being established.
Meanwhile, yesterday FMX traded 1 of the 3M SOFR Futures Sep24 contracts and 4 of the 3M SOFR Futures Dec24 contracts, with 2 and 3 contracts open respectively. See their Daily Trade Report page for details.
Former Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing CEO Charles Li has launched a new exchange in Macau through his company, Micro Connect Ltd., aimed at listing small Chinese businesses. The Micro Connect Macao Financial Assets Exchange, which already lists 39 firms, targets micro businesses with at least 5 million yuan in annual revenue and one year of operating history, Bloomberg reported. Li envisions eventually listing 100,000 to 200,000 such firms annually. The exchange connects institutional capital with smaller firms, functioning as a "mini HKEX." It also introduced 25 funds, including those managed by Hopu Fund and Plum Ventures. Micro Connect, launched in 2021, initially invested 4.4 billion yuan in over 13,000 small shops but has since scaled back, recovering 2 billion yuan so far. Despite criticism likening the business model to peer-to-peer lending, the firm was valued at $1.7 billion after its 2023 funding round.
My plans to start my trip driving to Florida are on hold because of the hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and its impact on the southern states I would be driving through to get there. Also, I don't know what to expect when I get there. Will I have power? Should I bring a generator? Hurricane Helene is set to make landfall on Florida's Big Bend Coast as a powerful Category 4 storm on Thursday evening, with winds of up to 135 mph and life-threatening storm surges reaching 20 feet, The Wall Street Journal reports. The storm is expected to hit south of Tallahassee and then move rapidly north, potentially causing unprecedented damage in the area, including winds over 110 mph and up to 8 inches of rain. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in most counties, with mandatory evacuations ordered in several areas. The storm has already caused flooding in Cuba and is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flooding risks to parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Helene could be a once-in-a-generation event, with widespread power outages and severe flooding expected.
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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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Weather Derivatives Grow as Risks Intensify from The Wall Street Journal.
- SEC Hits Pause on Ethereum ETF Options Following Bitcoin Nod from Decrypt.
- Justice Department Pushes Companies to Consider AI Risks from The Wall Street Journal. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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News publishers and broadcasters warn over advertising blacklists; Perception that brands are damaged when displayed close to certain stories is unfair, says study
Daniel Thomas - Financial Times
Media groups have warned that advertisers have been blacklisting news over ill-founded fears that their brands are damaged by being displayed close to certain stories, leading to concerns about the effect on future funding for important journalism. A study carried out by US-based marketing group Stagwell said that "news has been systematically demonetized and faces significant bias" compared with more "favourable advertising environments" such as sports and entertainment.
/jlne.ws/4eGXs3H
****** Human psychology is a difficult thing.~JJL
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Trading Technologies recognized as Technology Vendor of the Year, TT platform honored as Trading System of the Year in FOW Asia Pacific Awards
Trading Technologies
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform provider, announced that it won two major categories at the FOW Asia Pacific Awards 2024. The firm received the award for Technology Vendor of the Year while its TT platform earned the honor of Trading System of the Year at a ceremony yesterday in Singapore. Hosted by Futures & Options World (FOW), the awards are designed to recognize the "best and brightest innovations in the derivatives industry," and the winners in the two categories were decided by a specialist panel of experts from across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. TT's Alice Pocklington, EVP Head of APAC, and Alun Green, EVP Managing Director, Futures & Options, accepted the awards on behalf of the firm at the ceremony following FOW's Trading Singapore conference.
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****** Just memorialize the award in their name and be done with it. ~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our most read story Wednesday was Justice Department Pushes Companies to Consider AI Risks, from The Wall Street Journal. Second was Daily FMX Futures Exchange Prices, Volume, and Open Interest, from FMX Futures Exchange. Third was High-Speed Traders Made $7 Billion in Indian Options Market Boom, from Bloomberg.
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| Lead Stories | Biggest Futures Trade on Record Notched in SOFR Market; 118,000 SOFR block beats prior record-sized trade from April; Market has been debating the size of the Fed's next rate cut
Edward Bolingbroke - Bloomberg
A massive trade was made in the short-term interest rates market Wednesday. If not an outright bet on less Federal Reserve easing than currently priced for the year, the transaction could also be an investor taking profits and unwinding their long position as the contract traded close to its yearly highs. Some 118,000 contracts changed hands at 9:38 a.m. New York time in the futures market - it was the largest such transaction on record. The block trade was linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, where performance is closely attuned to the immediate path of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.
/jlne.ws/4eHbuSZ
Nasdaq Divides Listing Business Into Regions to Capture Demand
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Nasdaq Inc. is re-organizing its listing business into three regional divisions to be led by senior executives amid efforts to capture demand for initial public offerings at a local level. The exchange business will have an east coast region, a west coast segment and a Texas, southern US and Latin America division, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by a spokesperson. Rachel Racz, who previously worked at Nasdaq before taking senior leadership roles elsewhere, will rejoin the company as head of listings for the Texas, Southern US and Latin America operation, the company said in the memo. Jack Cassel, who joined Nasdaq in 2018, will head the Western segment.
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Yellen Defends Regulation Role in Bolstering Financial Stability; Treasury chief set to speak to Treasuries forum in New York; Yellen says Dodd-Frank regulations proved good for US economy
Viktoria Dendrinou - Bloomberg
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the role of regulation in supporting a resilient financial system as she touted her department's focus over the past few years on securing stability. "A resilient financial system is critical to a strong economy," Yellen said in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday, excerpts of which were released by the Treasury. "And strengthening it requires insisting on thoughtful regulation, including in the face of challenges from those who advocate to roll back policies and regulations."
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FCA chair says he will not quit over whistleblower mishandling; Campaigners accuse UK financial regulator of hypocrisy after internal ruling cleared him of wrongdoing
Martin Arnold - Financial Times
The chair of the UK's financial watchdog has refused to resign following calls to stand down, after he failed to follow its own rules on protecting the identity of whistleblowers. Ashley Alder came under fire in August after the Financial Times reported he had forwarded correspondence from two whistleblowers that included their name and details against their will, and despite the Financial Conduct Authority's whistleblowing policy not to reveal such information.
/jlne.ws/4doSlns
Former HKEX Boss Li Kicks Off Micro Exchange in Macau
Kiuyan Wong - Bloomberg
A former head of the Hong Kong stock exchange has launched an exchange in neighboring Macau to list Chinese micro businesses. Charles Li, co-founder of Micro Connect Ltd., said the firm's licensed exchange in Macau has listed 39 small firms. The trading platform adhered to rules very similar to traditional finance but takes into account the specific features of smaller firms with funding needs, he said at a ceremony in Macau on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3BhfuLn
Extreme Weather Is Hitting Americans in the Wallet; Cities and counties are selling bonds to cover costs from storms and drought
Heather Gillers - The Wall Street Journal
Extreme weather is pressuring local budgets, sticking Americans with the bill and putting the $4 trillion market for state and local bonds at the center of the climate-change fight. Clyde, Texas, will likely face increased borrowing costs after the city defaulted on debt last month during a drought. Higher parking fees at the beach in Naples, Fla., are helping repay bonds sold to rebuild the city's hurricane-damaged pier. Residents of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma will spend the next two decades chipping away at the multibillion-dollar cost of maintaining power during a 2021 winter storm. "We'll be paying off the bond for the four days of electricity for years to come," said Georgetown, Texas, Mayor Josh Schroeder.
/jlne.ws/3BkMORG
Mario Draghi is wrong about European startups; In a very, very narrow sense
Bryce Elder - Financial Times
Here's an unsatisfying chart: Deutsche Bank says it was inspired to run the numbers by the European Union's Competitiveness report released a couple of weeks ago. Here's the relevant bit of Mario Draghi's foreward: "First - and most importantly - Europe must profoundly refocus its collective efforts on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, especially in advanced technologies. Europe is stuck in a static industrial structure with few new companies rising up to disrupt existing industries or develop new growth engines. In fact, there is no EU company with a market capitalisation over EUR 100 billion that has been set up from scratch in the last fifty years, while all six US companies with a valuation above EUR 1 trillion have been created in this period. This lack of dynamism is self-fulfilling."
/jlne.ws/4eERhNy
China Weighs $142 Billion Capital Injection Into Top Banks
Bloomberg
China is considering injecting up to 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion) of capital into its biggest state banks to increase their capacity to support the struggling economy, according to people familiar with the matter. The funding will mainly come from the issuance of new special sovereign bonds, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The details have yet to be finalized and are subject to change, the people added. Such a move would be the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008 that Beijing has injected capital into its big banks.
/jlne.ws/4eBy0fV
Citigroup, Apollo Join Forces in $25 Billion Private Credit Push; Firms set one of the most ambitious goals in industry tie-ups; Mubadala and Athene will also participate in new venture
Todd Gillespie and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. and Apollo Global Management Inc. are teaming up in the fast-growing private credit market, agreeing to work together on $25 billion worth of deals over the next five years. The two Wall Street heavyweights have struck an exclusive partnership to arrange financings for corporate and private equity clients, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg. Mubadala Investment Co. and Apollo's insurance unit Athene will also participate in the venture, which will initially focus on North America.
/jlne.ws/47JIPKr
Top Bankers Chase a Big Payday by Defecting to Private Credit
Eleanor Duncan, Silas Brown, Ellen Schneider and Paula Seligson - Bloomberg
At a finance conference in London this summer, four senior investment bankers set about persuading the room that the $1.7-trillion private credit market isn't a threat to Wall Street. Barely three months later, two of them have jumped ship to seek their fortunes in the upstart asset class. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Luke Gillam and Bank of America Corp.'s Murad Khaled, set to join AlbaCore Capital and Apollo Global Management, are the latest in a growing list of top bankers to make the leap. The brain drain is yet more evidence of private capital firms' emergence as an enduring threat to banking's traditional dominance of the lucrative corporate loan market.
/jlne.ws/3Xyu5tm
Kenya Bond Exchange's Secondary Trading Plans in Limbo due to Central Bank Delays; EABX seeks to link trading platform to central bank's system; Says integration to central bank's system is facing delays
Eric Ombok and Helen Nyambura - Bloomberg
The East African Bonds Exchange says secondary trading on its platform is yet to commence because of delays in integrating its system to the Central Bank of Kenya's. "EABX had not anticipated the present delays in the integration of its electronic trading platform to the CBK depository system," Chief Executive Officer Terry Adembesa said in an interview. "This has hampered the implementation of our go-live plan."
/jlne.ws/3zHoOYn
Knowing the Future Won't Make You Money; Traders can still perform badly even if they already have tomorrow's news. What really matters is how much they bet.
John Authers - Bloomberg
Pretending to See the Future
Nobody in the world wants yesterday's papers. Within 24 hours, they're no use for anything more than wrapping fish and chips. But tomorrow's papers are no more useful if you're playing the stock market. In the short run, knowledge of the next day's news doesn't help you make money. This seems strange. In Back to the Future 2, Biff Tannen gets rich when he's gifted a sports almanac from the future that allows him to bet correctly on every sports event. But day-to-day and minute-to-minute, markets attempt to discount what's coming. Knowledge of what comes next isn't that helpful. Instead, the best route is a rigorous gamblers' approach, knowing when to stake a lot and when to be conservative. (A vital corollary of knowing when to hold 'em, etc.)
/jlne.ws/3TFRKH6
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Russian missiles and drones target Kyiv for 5 hours and hit Ukraine's power grid
Illia Novikov - Associated Press
Ukraine's air defenses battled an overnight Russian aerial attack on the capital Kyiv for five hours, officials said Thursday, as missiles and drones again hammered the Ukrainian power grid. The Kyiv attack injured at least two people, Ukraine's Emergency Service said. A kindergarten, a gas pipe and around 20 cars were damaged in the city, said the Kyiv Military Administration.
/jlne.ws/47J7wXv
Russia's adaptability to US sanctions stymied their effectiveness, economists say
Fatima Hussein - Associated Press
Waves of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration after Russia's invasion of Ukraine haven't inflicted the devastating blow to Moscow's economy that some had expected. In a new report, two researchers are offering reasons why. Oleg Itskhoki of Harvard University and Elina Ribakova of the Peterson Institute for International Economics argue that the sanctions should have been imposed more forcefully immediately after the invasion rather than in a piecemeal manner.
/jlne.ws/3XUoajD
Putin lowers threshold of nuclear response as he issues new warnings to the West over Ukraine
Associated Press
In a strong, new warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that any nation's conventional attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. The threat, outlined in a revision of Moscow's nuclear doctrine, was clearly aimed at discouraging the West from allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with longer-range weapons and appears to significantly lower the threshold for the possible use of Russia's nuclear arsenal.
/jlne.ws/4ejqtlZ
Thinking the 'unthinkable': NATO wants Canada and allies to gear up for a conventional war
CBC
NATO says it wants its members to develop national plans to bolster the capacity of their individual defence industry sectors, a concept Canada has struggled with - or avoided outright - for decades. At the NATO leaders summit in Washington in July, alliance members agreed to come up with strategies to boost their domestic defence materiel sectors, and to share those strategies with each other. Almost entirely overshadowed at the time by debates about members' defence spending and support for Ukraine, the new policy got little attention.
/jlne.ws/3TH0wo8
Putin Is Already Escalating His War on the West; Biden shouldn't worry about giving Ukraine long-range missiles when Russia is upping its sabotage in Western Europe and aid to terrorists in the Middle East.
Hal Brands - Bloomberg
Since the war in Ukraine started, avoiding escalation - a leap into a larger, more globally consuming conflict - has been US President Joe Biden's abiding preoccupation. But nearly three years in, the reality is that the war has already sprawled and escalated, just not quite in the ways many observers might expect. Concerns about escalation have flared in recent weeks, as Biden has considered whether to allow Ukraine to use US weapons, notably ATACMS missiles, to conduct long-range strikes into Russia. (Kyiv has already been using those missiles against Russian targets within occupied Ukraine, while employing its own drones and munitions to strike within Russia.)
/jlne.ws/3BiOvPL
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Hezbollah may have enough missiles to breach Israel's Iron Dome. But doing so could trigger its destruction.
Tom Porter - Business Insider
In recent weeks, Israel has inflicted a series of humiliating blows on the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, reportedly planting explosives in its pagers, killing its top leaders, and raining missiles on its bases. But at any moment, Hezbollah could strike back with a massive missile and drone swarm attack that could devastate Israeli forces and rapidly escalate the conflict, analysts say. The Iran-backed group likely has stockpiles of up to 200,000 missiles, a report from March by the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.
/jlne.ws/4eCtn5k
Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right allies attack ceasefire proposal with Hizbollah
James Shotter in Jerusalem, Raya Jalabi in Beirut and Felicia Schwartz in New York - Financial Times
Far-right members of Benjamin Netanyahu's government lashed out at a US-French proposal for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah on Thursday, urging the prime minister not to accept the deal. The proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday was a last-ditch attempt to stop hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese militant group - which have escalated dramatically over the past two weeks - from erupting into a full-blown war.
/jlne.ws/3XIcgIb
Iran races to allay Hizbollah fears; Tehran's restraint in the face of increasingly aggressive Israeli operations has unsettled Lebanese militant group
Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran, Raya Jalabi in Beirut and Andrew England in London - Financial Times
Iran has raced to reassure Hizbollah of its commitment to the militant group after unease within its ranks over Tehran's restraint in the face of increasingly aggressive Israeli operations in Lebanon. Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's reformist president who took office in July, has said his country wants to usher in a "new era" of foreign policy and re-engage with the west to ease sanctions on the Islamic republic and repair the economy.
/jlne.ws/3XIuSrO
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | ICE First Look at Mortgage Performance: Mortgage delinquencies remain low despite modest year-over-year rise
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, reports the following "first look" at August 2024 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market.
/jlne.ws/4egVKGf
FTSE Russell launches Fixed Income TPI Index and TPI Focused Glidepath Index
LSEG
FTSE Russell today announces the launch of two new indices - the FTSE Fixed Income TPI Climate Transition Index Series and the FTSE Fixed Income TPI Focused Glidepath Index Series1. The new indices will help meet the growing demand of investors and offer a fixed income solution to support their climate commitments.
/jlne.ws/3N78Bid
Nasdaq Appoints Rachel Racz to Drive Growth of Listings Franchise across Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America Region
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced it has implemented a regional management structure for its Global Listings franchise, designed to deepen client connectivity, enhance focus, and accelerate growth. Across the Americas, Nasdaq's Listings business will have three key divisions: East Coast region, West Coast region, and Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America region. Nasdaq today has also appointed Texas-native and oil & gas industry veteran, Rachel Racz, as SVP, Head of Listings for Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America.
/jlne.ws/3ZEdmaM
Tradeweb Announces Date for Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, will release financial results for the third quarter of 2024 on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at approximately 7:00 AM EDT. In addition, Tradeweb will host a conference call for investors.
/jlne.ws/3zx0MPY
Indian Bourse Said to Push for Tighter Scrutiny of SME Listings; BSE executive told bankers to watch out for inflated numbers; Tiny companies' IPOs have boomed with huge oversubscription
Ashutosh Joshi - Bloomberg
Indian stock exchange operator BSE Ltd. has told bankers to increase their oversight of the initial public offering applications of small companies, after the exchange found discrepancies in the filing documents of some recent deals, according to people familiar with the matter. Sundararaman Ramamurthy, BSE's chief executive, told bankers on Tuesday to ensure IPO hopefuls aren't inflating their numbers, the people said, requesting not to be named because they aren't authorized to discuss the meeting. He also asked bankers to put more effort into assessing potential listing candidates in-person, including visiting company premises, they said.
/jlne.ws/3TJbCt8
NSE in collaboration with IFC organizes a two-day capacity building workshop on Green, Social, Sustainability, Sustainability-linked (GSS+) and Transition Bonds under the aegis of IFSCA in GIFT City
NSE
The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is pleased to announce the completion of a two-day capacity building workshop on Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-linked and Transition Bonds under the aegis of International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in GIFT City on September 24th - 25th, 2024. On a similar theme of GSS bonds, two workshops were conducted earlier on April 3rd and 5th 2024 in Mumbai and New Delhi respectively for select major debt listed companies both from Private Sector and PSUs. The comprehensive training program focused on issuance of thematic labelled bonds and particularly about Green, Social, Sustainable, Sustainability-linked and Transition Bonds instruments for bridging the gap of sustainable finance in India. The workshop attracted a diverse array of participants from various sectors including policy makers fostering a collaborative environment for knowledge sharing and innovation.
/jlne.ws/3zx0ad8
Euronext's MTS partners with BondVision on growth initiative launch; New initiative was established to further develop BondVision and has received support from dealers including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citi.
Wesley Bray - The Trade News
European electronic fixed income trading platform MTS has partnered with BondVision to launch a new growth initiative. The initiative was established to further develop BondVision, a multi dealer-to-client (D2C) trading platform for rates, credit and repo, alongside promoting competition within the market. "Sustainably competitive and straightforward" fees will be introduced by the initiative for all BondVision dealers.
/jlne.ws/4eiQJgu
EBS Market on CME Globex Notice: September 26, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3XJGhYe
CME STP Notices: September 26, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3Bh616X
CME Globex Notices: September 23, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3zpHo7w
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Meta Debuts Orion AR Glasses as Eventual Smartphone Rival
Kurt Wagner and Aisha Counts - Bloomberg
Meta Platforms Inc. debuted its first pair of augmented reality glasses - devices that show a combined view of the digital and physical worlds, a key step in Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's goal of one day offering a hands-free alternative to the smartphone. The new glasses, introduced Wednesday and called Orion, look like thick, black reading glasses, but have lenses that can display text messages, video calls, and even YouTube videos onto the user's field of vision. They are prototypes that aren't for sale, but will be used internally at Meta for testing and improving the product.
/jlne.ws/4euozii
ADP Nears $1.2 Billion Deal for WorkForce Software
David Carnevali, Ryan Gould, and Crystal Tse - Bloomberg
Automatic Data Processing Inc., the human-resources software provider, is in talks to buy WorkForce Software for about $1.2 billion, people familiar with the matter said. ADP could announce a deal to acquire the Livonia, Michigan-based company from its backers including Elliott Investment Management and Insight Partners in the coming weeks, according to the people.
/jlne.ws/4gCpuz3
Chinese AI firm Chongqing Terminus Smart Technology files papers for Hong Kong IPO
South China Morning Post
Chongqing Terminus Smart Technology, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company, joined a growing list of companies seeking to launch their initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong. The AI company, backed by China Everbright and Jingdong Technology, submitted its IPO application on Thursday without disclosing a target amount for the fundraising.
/jlne.ws/3N1Hc1c
OpenAI departures from company not linked to restructuring, CEO says
Reuters
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Thursday the recent departure of top executives from the company had nothing to do with its planned restructuring. OpenAI's longtime chief technology officer Mira Murati abruptly announced her departure from the company on Wednesday. Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president, has also been on leave.
/jlne.ws/3XAuiMC
OpenAI pushes ahead with for-profit plans and talks to give Sam Altman a stake; Chief technology officer Mira Murati to step down in leadership shake-up
Cristina Criddle in San Francisco and Madhumita Murgia in London - Financial Times
OpenAI is moving ahead with plans to restructure as a for-profit company and is in discussions to give chief executive Sam Altman a stake as it confronts a series of senior departures including its high-profile chief technology officer Mira Murati. The artificial intelligence start-up is considering becoming a public benefit corporation, a type of for-profit entity committed to bettering society, in a bid to be more attractive to investors, one person familiar with the discussions said.
/jlne.ws/4dkUr83
It's time for limited, mandatory testing for AI; Like other dangerous products, the largest models should be tested to prevent possible harm
Anja Manuel - Financial Times (opinion)
The writer is executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
While millions of lives have been saved through medical drugs, many thousands died during the 19th century by ingesting unsafe medicines sold by charlatans. Across the US and Europe this led to the gradual implementation of food and drug safety laws and institutes - including the US Food and Drug Administration - to ensure that the benefits outweigh the harms. The rise of artificial intelligence large language models such as GPT-4 is turbocharging industries to make everything from scientific innovation to education to film-making easier and more efficient. But alongside enormous benefits, these technologies can also create severe national security risks.
/jlne.ws/3zBWUNB
I Built a Chatbot to Replace Me. It Went a Little Wild; Our experimental AI bot built on Google's Gemini was helpful, except when it wasn't
Joanna Stern - Financial Times
You know what they say, the quickest way to prove your value at work is to replace yourself with an AI bot...that can get tricked into talking about Hitler. Last week, we launched Joannabot, an experimental generative-AI assistant instilled with knowledge of my years of iPhone reviews and reporting. (Scroll down to try it for yourself.) The chatbot mostly stuck to the assignment: help readers decide if the iPhone 16 is worth an upgrade. Thousands of you shared your current iPhone model and got answers about where you'd see-and not see-improvements. Many of you wrote to me that it felt like a personalized phone helper. Good bot!
/jlne.ws/4gyGvKB
Can machines be more 'truthful' than humans? A new film based on the life of Brian Eno raises some profound questions about the disruptive effects of AI
John Thornhill - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3MY81Dw
Altman's OpenAI Windfall May Reach $10 Billion If He Gets Stake; Altman's already worth $2 billion, Bloomberg calculations show; His wealth will balloon if he receives OpenAI equity stake
Anders Melin and Annie Massa - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3N2SdPO
The World's Call Center Capital Is Gripped by AI Fever - and Fear; The experiences of staff in the Philippines' outsourcing industry are a preview of the challenges and choices coming soon to white-collar workers around the globe.
Saritha Rai - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3ZlUzAN
Cerebras Systems Targets Raising Up to $1 Billion in IPO
Amy Or and Bailey Lipschultz - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/47IRHQP
How Nvidia's Blackwell chips can help solve AI's energy problem
Seana Smith and Madison Mills - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4eguQ1q
Nvidia stock edges up as industry report predicts 'unprecedented levels' of investment in AI data centers
Ines Ferre - Yahoo Finance
/jlne.ws/4eeXwrq
US antitrust lawsuit accuses Visa of using dominance to shut down rivals; Payments company had 'web of exclusionary agreements' to shore up $7bn-a-year debit business, justice department says
Stefania Palma - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/47FFX1m
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Reporting cybersecurity posture and systemic risk to the board
Dr. Ken Knapton - CIO
Board members need to be able to assess whether the cybersecurity risks their company is facing align with its established risk appetite. CISOs and CIOs, meanwhile, have long struggled to distill cybersecurity risk into a digestible report for the board. They must get better.
/jlne.ws/4gFBYWr
US senators urge investment in airport cybersecurity
Kylie Bielby - Passenger Terminal Today
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and committee Democrats have said there is a need to invest in resilient and redundant information technology systems at airports and airlines to better protect against cybersecurity threats.
/jlne.ws/3XIg643
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | PayPal Expands Cryptocurrency Offerings to US Business Accounts
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
PayPal Holdings Inc. will now permit merchants to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency from their business accounts, expanding on the payments firm's already-available consumer offerings. PayPal has allowed consumers to buy, hold and sell digital crypto via their PayPal and Venmo accounts since 2020, and then further committed to digital currency with the launch of its US dollar-denominated stablecoin, PayPal USD, last year. The San Jose, California-based firm has since learned more about how people want to use their crypto, according to Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal's senior vice president of blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital currencies.
/jlne.ws/3zpIct4
Trump and Harris Want More Crypto Innovation. Yikes. Rate cuts are a guide to what digital currencies are actually good for: speculation.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
With only a few weeks to go before US elections, in a race where every vote and dollar counts, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are courting the cryptocurrency crowd. Not quite to the same extent, of course: Trump is predictably going the extra mile to promote cringey NFTs and a crypto lending platform with dubious connections. But hearing both candidates laud digital-asset "innovation," mentioning it in the same breath as artificial intelligence, requires chutzpah - or a very short memory.
/jlne.ws/47IZfmu
Dubai Adopts Stricter Rules Around Marketing Crypto Investments
Kateryna Kadabashy - Bloomberg
Dubai's crypto regulator updated its marketing guidelines for virtual assets, with the new rules requiring firms to include a disclaimer clarifying the risks of such investments. As of Oct. 1, companies looking to market virtual assets in the United Arab Emirates will have to include a "prominent" disclaimer stating that "virtual assets may lose their value in full or in part, and are subject to extreme volatility," the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority said Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3MYCFwq
Bitcoin Trading on Korean Exchanges at Steepest Discount Since October 2023
CoinDesk
Bitcoin is trading on Korean exchanges at the steepest discount since October 2023, according to CryptoQuant. The analytics firm's Bitcoin Korea premium index, which measures the price gap between Korean and offshore exchanges, slid to negative -0.55, a sign that bitcoin has fallen out of favor in the country. CoinDesk's Christine Lee presents the "Chart of the Day."
/jlne.ws/4ejWF8S
Mark Zuckerberg's AI Vision Makes Metaverse a Slightly Easier Sell; Meta's latest AI tools and headsets could prove an edge in consumer adoption and keep investors on board with massive spending
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse show has become an AI show. The makeover is apt. The chief executive of Meta Platforms kicked off the company's annual developers conference on Wednesday, showing off its latest headsets that now employ a mix of virtual reality and augmented reality technology. That has been the historic aim of the event, at least since the company once known as Facebook spent $2 billion to acquire VR headset maker Oculus in 2014. But the VR business mostly has been a dud. Meta's Reality Labs division that includes VR generated just over $2 billion in revenue for the 12 months ended in June-about what the company's core advertising operation generates every five days.
/jlne.ws/3ZEEKFl
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Could an Alleged Affair on Long Island Affect the Control of Congress? Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, a former police officer in one of the House's most competitive races, allegedly gave a job to his mistress
Jimmy Vielkind and Katy Stech Ferek - The Wall Street Journal
A New York congressman in one of the country's most competitive districts was put on defense following a report that he employed a woman with whom he had an affair, an unwanted distraction for the GOP in its quest to maintain control of the House. Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R., N.Y.) denounced a report, published Monday in the New York Times, that he had cheated on his fiancée with a woman who later worked in his district office on Long Island. "My personal life has never interfered with my ability to deliver results," the congressman said in a statement that didn't deny the relationship. "I have upheld the highest ethical standards of personal conduct."
/jlne.ws/3N1upfl
Biden Meets Vietnam Leader to Strengthen US Alliance in Asia
Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen and Skylar Woodhouse - Bloomberg
President Joe Biden celebrated "a new era of relations" with Vietnam as he met with the country's Communist Party's General Secretary To Lam amid US efforts to counter Chinese economic and security influence across Asia. The two nations are "united building a more open and secure" Indo-Pacific region and are "committed to freedom of navigation and rule of law," Biden said, hailing the two nations' joint efforts since they upgraded diplomatic ties during Biden's visit to Vietnam in September last year.
/jlne.ws/4gywZal
Harris Says Keeping US Steel Domestic 'Most Important' Over Jobs
Hadriana Lowenkron - Bloomberg
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said keeping domestic control of steel production was more important than possible job losses if a proposed deal for Nippon Steel Corp., a Japanese company, to purchase United States Steel Corp. fell through. "It's most important that we maintain America's ability to have American manufacturing of steel by American workers," Harris said Wednesday in an interview with MSNBC, when asked which concern weighed more heavily in her consideration of the deal.
/jlne.ws/3Y1i4wX
Kamala Harris sets out pro-business economic philosophy in swing-state speech; Democratic presidential candidate has been under pressure to offer more details on plans
Lauren Fedor - Financial Times
Kamala Harris used a major speech in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to make a direct appeal to businesses, describing herself as a "capitalist" who believes in "free and fair markets" and an "active partnership between government and the private sector". In her most extensive comments on the US economy to date, the Democratic presidential candidate also sought to draw a sharp contrast between herself and her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
/jlne.ws/3Bta5kh
Trump Seeks to Wipe Out His Biggest Debt Costing $112,000 a Day
Erik Larson, Bailey Lipschultz and Tom Maloney - Bloomberg
Donald Trump's lawyers are on a mission to wipe out his biggest financial liability - a nearly half-billion dollar fraud verdict that's soaring by about $100,000 every day. Lawyers for the Republican presidential nominee will ask a New York appeals court Thursday to throw out the $454 million verdict handed down in February. They argue the claims were filed too late and that the "massive" penalty violates constitutional guarantees against excessive punishments.
/jlne.ws/4eE9eMg
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Indicted After Federal Corruption Probe; 'I have been facing these lies for months' Adams says in video
Laura Nahmias, Myles Miller, and Patricia Hurtado - Bloomberg
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted following a federal corruption investigation, according to people familiar with the matter, calling into question the political future of the man in charge of running the biggest US city.
/jlne.ws/4ds0K9Q
Belgium calls for EU ban on Russian gas as imports; Existing regime not strong enough for companies to exit long-term contracts, says energy minister
Alice Hancock and Laura Dubois - Financial Times
Belgium, one of Europe's biggest importers of liquefied natural gas from Russia, has urged the EU to ban the Russian fuel, warning that companies cannot break long-term contracts unless the bloc as a whole imposes sanctions. Tinne Van der Straeten, Belgium's energy minister, told the Financial Times the EU must "go further" to stop Russian LNG reaching the bloc as concerns rise about an increase in imports.
/jlne.ws/3TMv3Bg
US Hails Early Notice of China ICBM Test to Avoid Miscalculation
Natalia Drozdiak - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4eoimon
A Trader's Guide to Japan's Ruling Party Leadership Election; BOJ view is key as hawks Ishiba, Koizumi face dovish Takaichi; Vote has implications for stocks in banking, energy, defense
Aya Wagatsuma - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3zHpgWz
Colombia and Panama Plan a Legal Jungle Route for Migrants to US; System aims to displace mafia-controlled human traffickers; More than 500,000 people crossed the Darien Gap in 2023
Matthew Bristow - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/47Jfz6F
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | How a Chinese billionaire's Silicon Valley splurge caught the eye of the FBI; Shan Xiangshuang's $10bn buyout group quietly became a top US tech investor. That has triggered official concern
Tabby Kinder - Financial Times
Shan Xiangshuang said five years ago that his $10bn private equity firm CSC Group was building a "direct train" to Silicon Valley to "accelerate the introduction of foreign high-tech technologies" into China. The billionaire investor, Chinese Communist party member and former civil servant went on to develop US business interests through Hone Capital, CSC's California-based investment vehicle. Hone built stakes in almost 400 US tech start-ups developing critical technologies from artificial intelligence to cyber security and supersonic jets.
/jlne.ws/3MYnfZp
Australian Regulators Working With Banks to Monitor AI Adoption
Swati Pandey - Bloomberg
Australia's financial regulators are engaging with the industry to understand and monitor the adoption of artificial intelligence, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday. The use of AI has brought economic benefits as banks have been using the tool for both back- and front-office operations to improve efficiency, but its widespread use brings risks, the RBA said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Review.
/jlne.ws/47LMTdd
How a Chinese billionaire's Silicon Valley splurge caught the eye of the FBI; Shan Xiangshuang's $10bn buyout group quietly became a top US tech investor. That has triggered official concern
Tabby Kinder - Financial Times
Shan Xiangshuang said five years ago that his $10bn private equity firm CSC Group was building a "direct train" to Silicon Valley to "accelerate the introduction of foreign high-tech technologies" into China. The billionaire investor, Chinese Communist party member and former civil servant went on to develop US business interests through Hone Capital, CSC's California-based investment vehicle. Hone built stakes in almost 400 US tech start-ups developing critical technologies from artificial intelligence to cyber security and supersonic jets.
/jlne.ws/4dl0RnM
Federal Court Orders Texas Man and Six Companies to Pay Over $9.5 Million in Fraudulent Scheme Involving Futures, Options, and Foreign Currency
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced Judge Samuel A. Lindsay of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered multiple orders and a judgment against Rudy Avila; L.I.F.T. Group LLC (LIFT), Trading Ventures Group (TVG), Capital Ventures Group, LLC, (CVG), and Ventures Group, LLC ( VGL), all U.S. companies; and CIG Internacional Sociedad Anónima (CIG) and Trading Technologies Group Sociedad Anónima (TTG), both Costa Rican companies, requiring monetary relief totaling over $10.5 million The orders and judgment resolve the CFTC's enforcement action against these defendants filed Sept.14, 2021. [See CFTC Press Release 8424-21]
/jlne.ws/3MYsl7P
CFTC Orders Swap Dealer to Pay $1.5 Million Penalty for Position Limit Violations, and Supervision and Position Limit Monitoring Failures
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and settling charges against Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc., based in Houston, for exceeding the federal and ICE Futures U.S. position limits in contracts that reference natural gas futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange and for swap dealer supervision and position limit monitoring failures.
/jlne.ws/3TIzwVB
CFTC Charges Texas Associated Person with Misappropriation of Nonpublic Information and Execution of Fictitious Trades
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today it filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against John Cartwright, a Houston resident.
/jlne.ws/3XJJWoW
CFTC Staff Extends No-Action Position for Certain Reporting Obligations Under the Ownership and Control Reports Final Rule
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight (DMO) today issued a no-action letter that extends the current no-action position for reporting obligations under the ownership and control reports final rule (OCR Final Rule). The OCR Final Rule, approved in 2013, requires the electronic submission of trader identification and market participant data for special accounts and volume threshold accounts through Form 102 and Form 40.
/jlne.ws/3ZGfkrc
CFTC Orders U.S. Trading Firm to Pay $800,000 Penalty for Federal Natural Gas Futures Position Limits Violations
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Aspire Commodities LLC (Aspire) for exceeding the federal spot month speculative position limits for cash-settled reference contracts to the New York Mercantile Exchange's (NYMEX) physically-delivered Henry Hub Natural Gas (NG) futures contract on seven occasions from 2022 to 2024.
/jlne.ws/3Y1OwAw
SEC Levies More Than $3.8 Million in Penalties in Sweep of Late Beneficial Ownership and Insider Transaction Reports; Alphabet, Goldman Sachs among parties charged for late filings
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against 23 entities and individuals for failures to timely report information about their holdings and transactions in public company stock. Two public companies were also charged for contributing to filing failures by their officers and directors and failing to report their insiders' filing delinquencies as required.
/jlne.ws/4dl3DsT
SEC Charges Merrill Lynch and Harvest Volatility Management for Ignoring Client Instructions; SEC penalizes firms, recovers more than $6 million of excess fees tied to options trading strategy
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Harvest Volatility Management LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. for exceeding clients' designated investment limits over a two-year period beginning in March 2016, which resulted in clients paying higher fees, being subjected to increased market exposure, and incurring investment losses. As part of the separate settlements, Harvest and Merrill have agreed to pay a combined $9.3 million in penalties and disgorgement to resolve the SEC's claims.
/jlne.ws/3zwAnBO
SEC Charges North Carolina Business Owner with Multimillion-Dollar Fraud
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Greensboro, North Carolina resident William Rhew, III for defrauding investors in Chadley Capital LLC, a company that Rhew owned and controlled.
/jlne.ws/3XF50wW
SEC Charges Crypto Companies TrustToken and TrueCoin With Defrauding Investors Regarding Stablecoin Investment Program
SEC
On September 24, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against TrueCoin LLC and TrustToken Inc. for their fraudulent and unregistered sales of investment contracts involving TrueUSD ("TUSD"), a purported stablecoin.
/jlne.ws/3zoTQV3
SEC Charges Public Company WM Technology, Inc. and Two Former Senior Executives with Making Negligent Misrepresentations Regarding the "Monthly Active Users" on the Company's Online Cannabis Marketplace
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged public company WM Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAPS), its former CEO, Christopher Beals, and its former CFO, Arden Lee, for making negligent misrepresentations in WM Technology's public reporting of a self-described key operating metric, the "monthly active users," or "MAU," for WM Technology's online cannabis marketplace.
/jlne.ws/4eHcJ4B
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Defendant for Role in Hemp Company Offering Fraud
SEC
On September 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Vitaly Fargesen, enjoining him from violating certain provisions of the federal securities laws and imposing a penny stock bar. Previously in this action, Fargesen was enjoined from future violations of the charged provisions and barred from serving as an officer or director of a publicly-traded company.
/jlne.ws/3ZDP6W0
ASIC to allow instrument for primary production managed investment schemes to expire
ASIC
Specific requirements relating to land used in primary production managed investment schemes under ASIC Corporations (Land Holding for Primary Production Schemes) Instrument 2024/15 will no longer apply from 1 October 2024, with ASIC opting to allow the instrument to expire ('sunset'). The instrument imposed minimum standards that a responsible entity must meet in relation to the holding of certain interests in land for certain types of registered managed investment schemes.
/jlne.ws/47JOoZl
ASIC Annual Forum 2024: Speakers and sessions announced
ASIC
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ASIC extends Consultation Agreement with Financial Markets Standards Board
ASIC
ASIC today announced the two-year extension of its Consultation Agreement (Agreement) with the Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB) to 25 September 2026. ASIC and FMSB first signed the Agreement in September 2022 to promote global standards for fair and effective wholesale financial markets, and to formalise ASIC's active interest in the development of global industry standards.
/jlne.ws/3TDXtwX
Catalist market operator obligations review
FMA
Catalist Markets Limited (Catalist) is licensed under section 316 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act) to operate Catalist Public Market. The FMC Act requires the FMA to carry out a review and report on how well Catalist is meeting its licensed market operator obligations. We may carry out this review at any time but must do so at least once a year.
/jlne.ws/3XYNC7O
Response to letter "Insurance companies should handle claims matters transparently" - Lianhe Zaobao, 26 September 2024
MAS
We refer to the letter by Mr 黄å...‹æ˜Œ ("ä¿é™©å...¬å¸åº"éEUR明处ç†ç†èµ"事宜") published in Lianhe Zaobao on 9 September 2024. At the point of sale, financial institutions and their representatives are required to clearly explain to their customers all material information concerning the product, including the terms and conditions under which claims payment will or will not be made. Insurers are also required to present material information clearly in their point of sale documents.
/jlne.ws/4eDcO9d
SFC and HKMA conclude on further proposals to enhance Hong Kong's OTC derivatives reporting regime
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (26 September) jointly published the conclusions paper on a further consultation on enhancements to the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives reporting regime in Hong Kong.
/jlne.ws/3XXqaHO
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Masimo Has a New Boss; Proxy fights, private equity operations, more cell phone fines and ESG pay.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
"Who controls a company," I often ask around here, and generally I am writing about some weird corner case in which the standard legal rules don't exactly match up with the practical realities. Sometimes they do though. For instance, if you are the founder and chief executive officer of a tech company, and you take the company public, and the company has a single class of stock and you own about 9% of it, then you work for the shareholders, but it is not exactly easy for them to supervise you. You are the CEO, and you mostly get to make the decisions. You answer to the board of directors, who are elected by the shareholders, but the directors are probably friendlier with you than they are with the shareholders, and as we discussed yesterday the election of directors is usually just symbolic.
/jlne.ws/3XXhqS6
When Will Money-Market Funds Lose Their Allure? Cash has been one of the hottest investments since 2020. Now, some investors are weighing when to get out.
Gunjan Banerji and Hardika Singh - The Wall Street Journal
Americans' dash for cash isn't over yet. Investors have poured $126 billion into money-market funds since the Federal Reserve's jumbo-size interest-rate cut. That sent assets in such funds to a record $6.76 trillion as of Tuesday, based on Crane Data going back to 1998. The trillions of dollars sitting in cash has been a fixation for big Wall Street investors and market watchers alike. They have been trying to divine what the sum will mean for the path of stocks, which have historically provided the highest returns in the long run. Skeptics say some Americans have simply shifted their savings to higher-yielding money markets from traditional bank accounts-and they question the idea that a pile of cash is waiting on the sidelines to enter the market.
/jlne.ws/3TKDgWB
Private equity just smashed another record Recapping and backslapping
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
Last week FT Alphaville predicted that hot credit markets and investor desperation for some cash returns would cause the already record-breaking volume of "dividend recaps" to boom even harder. But we didn't know how quickly this would come true. On Monday the D'Ieteren Group in Belgium announced that its subsidiary Belron - a global car windscreen repair company jointly owned with a bunch of private equity firms - was borrowing EUR6.25bn in seven-year dollar and euro loans. This is part of a broader EUR8.1bn borrowing spree that, combined with some of its own cash, will finance a EUR4.3bn special dividend to its owners. Trebles all round!
/jlne.ws/3Bk8Ns0
Millennials still have time to build wealth-but they need to 'start now,' says money expert
Alicia Adamczyk - Fortune
Millennials face a number of well-publicized financial hurdles, but they're always had one very important factor on their side when it comes to securing a sound financial future: Time. But now, with the oldest members of the generation approaching their mid-40s, it's past time for them to take investing seriously in order to build wealth.
/jlne.ws/3N0XDuI
TCW backtracks on ETF conversion plan; Manager has cancelled plans to convert investment-grade credit fund and will opt for a corporate bond fund instead
Daniel Gil, Ignites - Financial Times
TCW has backtracked on its decision to convert an investment-grade credit mutual fund into an ETF, opting to switch over another one of its bond mutual funds instead, regulatory filings show. In April, the manager filed to refashion the now-$28mn TCW MetWest Investment Grade Credit Fund into an ETF. However, last week, the fund's board voted to reverse its decision, determining that "proceeding with the reorganisation [was] no longer in the best interest of the fund and its shareholders," according to a filing.
/jlne.ws/4ehUAKD
Silver Surges to the Highest Since 2012 as Precious Metals Rally
Mark Burton and William Clowes - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3XX1YFB
Any setback for Treasuries should be seen as a buying opportunity; Long-term debt and political concerns might lead to more volatility but this is outweighed by the unique financial status of the US
Maria Vassalou - Financial Times (opinion)
/jlne.ws/3THQAea
About 45% of Americans will run out of money in retirement, including those who invested and diversified. Here are the 4 biggest mistakes being made.
Laila Maidan - Business Insider
/jlne.ws/4eyivoM
Why Ken Fisher Says 'Capital Preservation' Could Cost You Big In Retirement
AJ Fabino - Benzinga
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Goldman Strategists Say US Election to Test Optimism in Stocks; US stock sentiment has improved since summer, Goldman says; Sees benefit of international diversification into year end
Christian Dass and Sagarika Jaisinghani - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4dCAQ3v
Adani's Billion Dollar Copper Play Slows Amid Mining Shortfall; First copper concentrates to be processed in November; Kutch smelter is part of $1.2 billion copper-producing complex
Archie Hunter - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4gIsYzV
Big corporate predators bolster global M&A market; String of recent megadeals includes $36bn acquisition by Mars and $20bn takeover by Verizon
Maria Heeter and Ivan Levingston - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3MY5zgr
Markets Keep Climbing the Great Wall of Worry; Despite the justifiable scepticism, markets have welcomed China's change of tone.
John Stepek - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3XF3I4T
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | COP29 host's own climate plans are 'critically insufficient', says expert group; Pressure mounts on UN climate summit host Azerbaijan to upgrade its national plan to limit global warming
Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
The country hosting this year's UN climate summit is making "critically insufficient" efforts in tackling its own contribution to global warming, according to an expert assessment that will prove embarrassing to Azerbaijan. The report comes about six weeks ahead of the UN climate talks to be held in Baku and during New York climate week, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where Azerbaijan presented its vision as COP29 host.
/jlne.ws/47FV6Qi
ACER Is Consulting On Its Revision Of The European Market Rules On Gas Transmission Capacity Allocation
Mondovisione
The Capacity Allocation Mechanisms Network Code (CAM NC) harmonises how Transmission System Operators (TSOs) offer and allocate available gas transmission pipeline capacity to network users. With Europe's decarbonisation goals and the evolving gas market, the network code, last amended in 2017, needs to be updated.
/jlne.ws/3XE6mYU
Legal challenges to North Sea oil projects gather pace after court ruling; Hearing date set for climate campaigner cases against Rosebank and Jackdaw developments
Rachel Millard - Financial Times
Legal challenges against two major oil and gas projects will be allowed to go ahead after a ruling from Scotland's highest civil court, raising further doubts over the future of fossil fuel production in the UK. The country's Court of Session has set a hearing date of November 12 for the two judicial review cases brought by climate campaign groups Uplift and Greenpeace against the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments in the North Sea.
/jlne.ws/3ZEajPS
Energy-hungry tech groups express interest in US-led carbon credits scheme; Programme spearheaded by John Kerry among key themes at New York climate week
Aime Williams - Financial Times
Tech groups including Meta and Netflix have joined the list of companies expressing interest in backing a carbon credits scheme spearheaded by former US climate envoy John Kerry, as they grapple with a surge in emissions from power-hungry data centres and artificial intelligence. But Kerry warned, at the same time, that the businesses must cut their emissions directly, even as a growing number prepare to pour money into offsets.
/jlne.ws/3XUqgA1
China's accelerating green transition; Two-thirds of all new solar and wind power projects are based in the country. But to wean industry off coal, Beijing needs to set up a real energy market
Edward White - Financial Times
The sea of solar panels covering an area twice the size of Manhattan in the north-western Xinjiang region and the blades of an offshore wind turbine the height of the Eiffel Tower near the south-eastern island of Hainan reflect the magnitude of China's renewable energy ambitions. The scale and pace of the country's transition away from fossil fuels has smashed international forecasts, exceeded Beijing's own targets - and put the rest of the world on notice.
/jlne.ws/3ZEsuVv
Microsoft Wants Nuclear Power So Bad for AI That It's Paying Double, Experts Say
Avi Salzman - Barron's
Microsoft is so hungry for clean, reliable power that it's paying at least twice the going electricity rate to ensure it can get power from a nuclear reactor for the next 20 years, analysts estimate. The price tag shows just how much big tech firms are willing to spend to secure enough capacity to power the massive data centers they're using to run artificial intelligence applications.
/jlne.ws/4gIoeu7
Saudi Arabia ready to abandon $100 crude target to take back market share; Oil price falls as Kingdom prepares to raise output from December
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
Saudi Arabia is ready to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel for crude as it prepares to increase output, in a sign that the kingdom is resigned to a period of lower oil prices, according to people familiar with the country's thinking. The world's largest oil exporter and seven other members of the Opec+ producer group had been due to unwind long-standing production cuts from the start of October. But a two-month delay sparked speculation over whether the group would ever be able to raise output, with the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly dropping below $70 this month to its lowest since December 2021.
/jlne.ws/4duuqmY
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Jefferies Sees Profit Boost From Strength in Dealmaking Activity; Firm notches record quarter for advisory thanks to M&A rebound; Prior investments in talent help boost results, president says
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. profit soared as a pickup in mergers and acquisitions helped the firm notch a record, a sign the long-awaited rebound in dealmaking is taking hold. Fiscal third-quarter investment-banking revenue rose 47%, the New York-based firm said in a statement Wednesday. Earnings totaled $167.1 million, or 75 cents a share, in the three months through August, up from $51.4 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier. Advisory revenue jumped 77% jump to $592 million, making it the firm's best quarter ever.
/jlne.ws/3zGW2qQ
Commerzbank to hold first meeting with UniCredit on Friday; German lender lays out standalone case as it lifts growth and profit targets
Olaf Storbeck - Financial Times
Commerzbank will "exchange views" with UniCredit in a first meeting on Friday, incoming chief executive Bettina Orlopp told investors, as the German lender attempted to woo them with promises to lift profits and payouts to shareholders more than previously expected. Orlopp, who was this week named as the bank's next chief executive in the wake of aggressive stakebuilding by the Italian lender, told investors on Thursday that "UniCredit is now a shareholder and it is very normal that you exchange views".
/jlne.ws/3Bj1i4t
Vanguard plans fresh push into active fixed-income market; CEO Salim Ramji cites inefficiencies and opportunities in the asset class
Brooke Masters in New York and Madison Darbyshire in London - Financial Times
Vanguard, the world's second-biggest asset manager, is planning a fresh push into the active fixed-income market, citing "extraordinary" inefficiencies and opportunities. While the firm is better known for its equities business, increasing its scale in fixed income is a priority, according to chief executive Salim Ramji. Roughly 10 per cent of Vanguard's assets are currently allocated to active fixed income. Fixed income "is going to be more important as people retire...it's going to be more important in, at least our view is, the long term rate environment", Ramji told a Financial Times conference on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3TEYZze
Citi, Apollo partner for $25 billion of private credit deals, Bloomberg News reports
Reuters
Citigroup and private equity giant Apollo Global have struck a private credit partnership to work together on $25 billion of deals over the next five years, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a statement. Citi will rely on its investment banking expertise to source new debt deals among its clients and will earn a fee for originating the transactions while Apollo and its partners will provide the cash, the report said.
/jlne.ws/3BgsfpE
BNP Paribas macro and credit global co-head departs following fixed income rejig; Individual had been with BNP Paribas for over two decades in various roles across FX, commodities, and credit. New global FICC business line will be lead by Arne Groes.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
BNP Paribas' global co-head of global macro and global credit, Francisco Oliveira, has left the bank, following its decision to consolidate its fixed income divisions. Francisco Oliveira Announced internally this week, the bank is set to "create scale" by consolidating its fixed income divisions into one global business line for Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities (FICC). Arne Groes has been appointed as the global head of FICC, effective 1 October.
/jlne.ws/3THAn8V
BlackRock to Invest $1 Billion a Year in Banco Santander Loans; It's another step in BlackRock's expansion into infrastructure; Deal allows the bank to offload risk and burnish its finances
Silla Brush - Bloomber
BlackRock Inc. will invest as much as $1 billion a year in energy and project finance assets from Banco Santander SA, signaling another step in the money manager's growing expansion this year into infrastructure. The move deepens a partnership with Santander that has included BlackRock investing $600 million in April into an infrastructure credit portfolio from the Madrid-based bank, according to a statement Thursday.
/jlne.ws/4eGETN5
Korea's $860 Billion Pension Fund to Triple Advance FX Purchases; The move is aimed at alleviating forex market fluctuations; Fund's overseas investments have weighed on the Korean won
Jaehyun Eom - Bloomberg
South Korea will triple the maximum amount of foreign currency that the National Pension Service can buy in advance to $3 billion per month starting October, to mitigate foreign exchange market fluctuations as the pension fund seeks to boost its overseas investments. The previous ceiling for the advance purchase was set at $1 billion per month, when the fund signed the initial swap agreement in 2022.
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What's the Difference Between Sustainable Fund Managers and Other Fund Managers? Not Much; Study finds that both sets of managers behave similarly, which suggests the sustainable impact might not be as big as some think
Alex Edmans - The Wall Street
Advocates of sustainable investing believe it could be the key to lowering carbon emissions and creating a more just society, claiming that asset managers can prod companies to do good by incorporating environmental and social factors into their investment decisions. New research, however, suggests such expectations are probably overly optimistic.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The chemicals boss standing up to Germany's far right; Evonik chief Christian Kullmann pulls no punches when it comes to the AfD
Arjun Neil Alim - Financial Times
For a company at the centre of some of Germany's most complex challenges, from deindustrialisation to foreign competition and the climate crisis, its chief executive has two simple rules for success. "Number one: be tolerant. Number two: perform," says Christian Kullmann, head of Evonik, one of the country's largest chemical companies. The group's seemingly arbitrary product areas, which include tyres, dish soap, animal feed and electric batteries, are connected by the fact that Evonik supplies many of the base chemicals needed to manufacture them.
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Why moves by Amazon and comments by Jamie Dimon don't threaten an end to remote work benefits
Jeanne Sahadi - CNN
If your employer lets you work remotely one or more days a week, and you highly value that kind of flexibility, you probably didn't love hearing last week that Amazon will soon require its corporate employees to return to the office five days a week. Or when AT&T last year announced it was consolidating offices and requiring managers to work on site at least three days a week - which meant some managers who lived near an office that was closing had to relocate or quit.
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To Get What You Want, Try Shutting Up; Silence makes us feel awkward. Deploying it can be a superpower.
Rachel Feintzeig - The Wall Street Journal
To get what you want, try closing your mouth. A well-deployed silence can radiate confidence and connection. The trouble is, so many of us are awful at it. We struggle to sit in silence with others, and rush to fill the void during a pause in conversation. We want to prove we're smart or get people to like us, solve the problem or just stop that deafening, awkward sound of nothing. The noise of social media and constant opinions have us convinced we must be louder to be heard. But do we? "I should just shut up," Joan Moreno, an administrative assistant in Spring, Texas, often thinks while hearing herself talk. Still, she barrels on, giving job candidates at the hospital where she works a full history of the building and parking logistics.
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OpenAI Executives Exit as C.E.O. Works to Make the Company For-Profit; Mira Murati, the chief technology officer, and two others are leaving as leaders including Sam Altman work to transform the start-up.
Mike Isaac and Cade Metz - The New York Times
Mira Murati, the chief technology officer at OpenAI, the influential artificial intelligence start-up, said on Wednesday that she would leave the company after working there for more than six years. In a memo she sent to employees and later shared on X, Ms. Murati said she was stepping away to "create the time and space to do my own exploration," though she did not elaborate on what those next steps would be. "For now, my primary focus is doing everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining the momentum we've built," she said.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Chinese Americans Face Racism, Mental Health Risks Amid Tensions
Karoline Kan - Bloomberg
A majority of Chinese Americans face racial bias, fueled by elevated tensions between the world's two largest economies as they spar over trade, supply chains and geopolitics, according to a new survey. The finding was part of the survey by New York-based Committee of 100 and the University of Chicago's NORC, in which 68% of Chinese Americans said they face at least one form of discrimination every month, and 85% of them perceive the prejudice to be based on their race, ethnicity, accent, or name. While 27% of the survey respondents said they experienced verbal insults, 21% said the unwelcome behavior extended to physical threats or harassment.
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AstraZeneca in AI collaboration with Immunai to inform cancer drug trials
Reuters
AstraZeneca will pay $18 million to biotechnology firm Immunai Inc to use the New York-based firm's AI model of the immune system to make certain cancer drug trials more efficient, the latter said on Thursday. This is the latest in a string of tie-ups by Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca to use artificial intelligence for drug discovery and development, including a $247 million deal with U.S.-based Absci late last year to design an antibody to fight cancer.
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Who's Really Keeping Ozempic and Wegovy Prices So High? The steep cost of obesity drugs is a barrier for patients and a risk to the US health insurance system.
Lisa Jarvis - Bloomberg Opinion
On Tuesday, congressional leaders spent two hours taking to task Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen over the high price of the company's diabetes and obesity drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Now the question is whether those prices will change.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | World's Most Popular Vegetable Oil Is No Longer the Cheapest; Palm at rare premium to soyoil as output worries boost prices; Soybean oil futures have declined about 9% so far this year
Bernadette Toh, Eko Listiyorini, and Pratik Parija - Bloomberg
Palm oil has lost its position as the world's cheapest edible oil, thanks to shrinking output in the biggest growers and plentiful supply of the main alternative. The tropical oil, which traded at a discount of $782 a ton to soyoil as recently as November 2022, is currently commanding a rare premium. In contrast to soy, sunflower and rapeseed crops, palm is harvested year-round and needs less land to produce, meaning it's usually cheaper.
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BP scouts for opportunities in India, to hold board meeting
Reuters
Global energy major BP said on Wednesday it is holding a board meeting in India this week, as it scouts for more opportunities in the country. India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, wants to quickly raise its oil and gas output, which has been stagnant for years. In June, the government had said that the country's top exploration company Oil and Natural Gas Corp was seeking a technical tie-up with a global oil major to boost production from its western offshore Mumbai High fields.
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Russia expands Baltic ports as it eyes new grain markets
Olga Popova and Gleb Stolyarov - Reuters
Russia, the world's leading wheat exporter, is expanding its Baltic Sea ports as it aims to boost agricultural exports by 50% by 2030 while reducing dependence on traditional Black Sea routes, officials and executives said. The country, which exported at least 72 million metric tons of grain in the 2023/24 season, is looking at new markets in Latin America and Africa to diversify from its traditional grain markets in North Africa and the Middle East.
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Impending expiry of U.S. sanctions licence threatens Russia's yuan liquidity
Elena Fabrichnaya - Reuters
The impending expiry of a U.S. licence permitting transactions involving the pillars of Russia's financial infrastructure could make it harder and costlier for Russian businesses to deal in Chinese yuan, sources engaged in imports and payments told Reuters. The yuan, which hit a near-one-year high against the rouble on Wednesday, has become the most traded foreign currency in Moscow since Russia's decision to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 sparked sweeping Western sanctions and a ramping-up of Russia's de-dollarisation policy.
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Mexico is diverging from North America - Washington should be worried; Claudia Sheinbaum's commitment to the 'Fourth Transformation' puts at risk decades of reform
Michael Stott - Financial Times
Four decades ago, the presidents of the US and Canada made a risky bet. George HW Bush and Brian Mulroney wagered that free trade and closer integration could transform Mexico from a corrupt, one-party nationalistic state into a multi-party democracy with strong institutions and an economy more like theirs. The North American Free Trade Agreement was born and the bet paid off. Mexico became the US's biggest trading partner and American companies invested more than $200bn south of the border. Mexico passed reforms guaranteeing clean elections, strengthening the judiciary and creating independent regulators.
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Brazil's Farmers Are Plowing Over an Ancient Amazon Civilization; An underfunded agency is up against the agriculture industry's unstoppable expansion - and humanity's heritage hangs in the balance.
Peter Millard - Bloomberg
In the badlands of the southwestern Amazon, Antonia Barbosa is fighting to protect ancient archaeological finds from Brazil's unstoppable $523 billion agribusiness industry. There, farmers view the land as a cash cow and the area's historic geometric earth carvings, known as geoglyphs, are in the way. Already, at least nine of the most emblematic ancient sites - some of which span as many as 1,260 feet wide (385 meters) and 16 feet deep - have been plowed over in the past few years.
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