| October 10, 2022 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Welcome to Columbus Day in the U.S., the day that in 2005 made the 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond contract at the Chicago Board of Trade the most traded contract of the century following the Volker statement on the preceding Saturday following an unscheduled FOMC meeting held earlier that day. It was also the day the world found out Refco had no clothes. Or rather, the day the world found out Refco was playing a shell game with $430 million of its capital and was the beginning of the end for the heavily fined futures broker.
Following the Volcker statement where he said the Fed was going to let interest rates float, the banks were closed and there was no place other than the CBOT to express your opinion about the direction of interest rates. From that day forward, volume on the 30-year bond contract would grow exponentially and make it the most traded contract in the 20th century.
Needless to say, don't go into Columbus day short vol. Just sayin'.
Bloomberg reports that "London's Most Expensive Mansion Is on Sale Again" for the low low price of ?? It was last sold in April 2020 for £210 million.
This is the day in 1973 when former Vice President Spiro Agnew, for whom former FIA President John Damgard was once a campaign aide, resigned as vice president.
John Stark, the former SEC chief of the Office of Internet Enforcement wrote a powerful takedown of web3 on LinkedIn and comments on a piece by the FT's Jemima Kelly in which he is quoted. It is worth reading to understand the mind of a regulator about web3 and the risks it presents, which are many, and the punishments that should be doled out to mitigate these risks.
There is a Supreme Court case being decided about the quality of a pig's life and the ability of the state of California to influence the treatment of pigs in other states. Pigs are being grown in pens called gestation crates that are so small, the pigs can't even turn around. One story I read equated a pig's life to living seated in an airplane seat.
The FBI is recruiting special agents. This is what they say: "We are looking for special agent applicants who come from a broad range of backgrounds, expertise, and professional experiences. Our mission-critical work requires unique skill sets and perspectives to conduct criminal and national security investigations. Special agents bring their skills, compassion, and integrity to stay ahead of threats, uphold the law, defend civil rights, and protect innocent people. They seek out cybercrime, infiltrate organized crime rings, and investigate terrorists. A day for an FBI special agent might entail surveilling a subject in the morning, tracking terrorists' online social activity before lunch, testifying in court in the afternoon, and addressing a public forum on identity theft in the evening." For more information go HERE.
My mother Marjorie J. Lothian celebrated her 92nd birthday over the weekend. It is quite the accomplishment to persevere for so many years, but she has. Happy Birthday, Mom!
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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The 17th Global Roundtable of United Nations Environment - Finance Initiative (UNEP FI),"Transforming Finance, Accelerating Change," begins today, Oct.10, and continues through Oct.14. This online event brings together decision-makers, experts and thought leaders to help shape approaches to integrating sustainability across the banking, insurance and investment industries. In 2020, the event drew attendance of 4500 finance officials. You can sign up to view the agenda and recordings here.~SAED
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MWE SHORT: Peter Fredriksson - Stockholm: The Origin and Global Leader of Transaction Technology
JohnLothianNews.com
Peter Fredriksson, chairman of the board of Baymarkets, says OM, the company that eventually became Nasdaq OMX, basically invented transaction technology. In his view, Stockholm and more broadly, Sweden, have been pioneers in automating the financial markets and making them more efficient.
Watch the video »
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Stressed Wall Street execs flock to ketamine therapy sessions
Natalie O'Neill - New York Post
Therapy's a trip for these Wall Street executives. Wealthy stock traders are flocking to a Manhattan-based ketamine therapy practice that doles out the hallucinogenic drug in a lavish setting to treat depression, stress and burn-out syndrome, according to the psychiatrist who runs it. The Jeff Ditzell Psychiatry center in the Financial District legally doses patients with the drug — best known as a psychedelic party favor — via IV drip for $750 a pop, Ditzell told The Post Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3RNykfJ
****** What happened to just going for a three martini lunch?~JJL
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The Purpose of Extra-Large Marshmallows? A U.K. Court Weighs In; A British tribunal considered how a slightly larger marshmallow might be taxed by evaluating its taste, size and packaging.
Amanda Holpuch - The New York Times
A court in Britain looked at a bag of 27 marshmallows this summer and considered the future of the soft, sweet treats: Were these marshmallows destined to be eaten straight from the bag or turned into s'mores? The question may seem straightforward, but a tax tribunal presented with the sweets evaluated them in granular detail to determine if a food product called Mega Marshmallows would be subject to the same standard retail sales tax as regular marshmallows, which are about an inch shorter and about a half-inch thinner.
/jlne.ws/3Evhqzt
****** Mega Marshmallows are for one thing: s'mores. Go from there tax man!~JJL
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10 Ways Climate Change Is Threatening The World's Wine Industry
Jill Barth - TastingTable.
2011 to 2020 was the warmest decade on record for planet Earth, according to United Nations. The global wine industry, which is largely the product of the growing environment of each vineyard within unique production regions, is reporting that changes in the climate are impacting traditional methods and expectations. This goes beyond rising temperatures. "Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others," (via United Nations).
/jlne.ws/3fTDcma
******* Here is a real problem. Forget the marshmallows.~JJL
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Demanding employees turn on their webcams is a human rights violation, Dutch Court rules
Lionel Bonaventure - TechCrunch
When Florida-based Chetu hired a telemarketer in the Netherlands, the company demanded the employee turn on his webcam. The employee wasn't happy with being monitored "for 9 hours per day," in a program that included screen-sharing and streaming his webcam. When he refused, he was fired, according to public court documents (in Dutch), for what the company stated was 'refusal to work' and 'insubordination.' The Dutch court didn't agree, however, and ruled that "instructions to keep the webcam turned on is in conflict with the respect for the privacy of the workers'. In its verdict, the court goes so far as to suggest that demanding webcam surveillance is a human rights violation.
/jlne.ws/3CozWXF
****** Sure I will turn on my webcam. Here is a picture of my ceiling.~JJL
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Saudi Arabia wealth fund commits $2.3bn to football sponsorships; PIF enters into agreement with 'multiple clubs' mainly in the domestic game
Josh Noble, Arash Massoudi, Robert Smith and Andrew England - Financial Times
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has committed more than $2bn to new long-term football sponsorship deals this year, in a sign of the kingdom's growing ambitions in the world's most popular sport. The Public Investment Fund said in its most recent financial statement that it had entered into sponsorship agreements "with multiple football clubs amounting to SAR8.75bn [$2.3bn]" in the first eight months of 2022. Most of the money is for domestic football.
/jlne.ws/3RQJ1OH
****** FTX, I will see your sponsorship and raise you $2.3 billion?~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was Bloomberg's A $568 Million Hack of Binance Coin Roils Crypto Sector Anew. Second was the Financial Times's Binance blockchain suffers $570mn hack. That number is an approximation. Third was the home page for Cboe Digital.
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MarketsWiki Stats
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | 'Crash-protection mode' helps managed futures ETFs crush rivals; The largest fund DBMF has delivered returns in excess of 30 per cent this year
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
With equities, bonds and real estate all underwater this year, most exchange traded fund investors are nursing sharp losses. One small corner of the ETF world has delivered decent returns, though, despite — or maybe because of — the red ink elsewhere. Managed futures funds take both long and short positions in futures contracts linked to equities, bonds, commodities and currencies, potentially allowing them to make money even when markets fall — as long as there is a clear trend for them to follow.
/jlne.ws/3rJF8jO
Former Crypto Employees Find a Home in Traditional Finance; Engineers and software developers who understand digital assets are sought after in more traditional financial sectors.
Victoria Vergolina - Bloomberg
The cooling crypto market has had a domino effect for people who work in the sector. In the wake of plummeting digital currency prices, a flurry of crypto firms have reduced their headcount. Coinbase Global Inc. announced an 18% reduction of its workforce, BlockFi Inc. cut their staff by 20% and Crypto.com by 5%. So, what happens to employees in decentralized finance, or DeFi, who are laid off?
/jlne.ws/3SQcJoh
The Gold Market's Great Migration Sends Bullion Rushing East
Eddie Spence and Sing Yee Ong - Bloomberg
There's a global migration underway in the gold market, as western investors dump bullion while Asian buyers take advantage of a tumbling price to snap up cheap jewelry and bars. Rising rates that make gold less attractive as an investment mean that large volumes of metal are being drawn out of vaults in financial centers like New York and heading east to meet demand in Shanghai's gold market or Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.
/jlne.ws/3STbLYk
NFT Platform OpenSea's CFO Exits Role in Another Crypto Shake-Up
Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg
The latest in a spate of C-suite departures in the sector comes from nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea, where Brian Roberts has exited from the role of chief financial officer after less than a year in the job. Roberts, who joined the NFT platform in December after seven years at ride-sharing firm Lyft Inc., said in a LinkedIn post he'll be an adviser to OpenSea.
/jlne.ws/3rLhm7g
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics know how to avoid a financial crisis
Ananya Bhattacharya - Quartz
This year's Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel went to Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig, on Monday (Oct. 10). As the threat of a global recession looms and Credit Suisse fights off rumours of a Lehman-style collapse, the prestigious award recognized the three laureates "for research on banks and financial crises," which they started back in the 1980s.
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Whistleblowers accuse EY of whitewashing suspicious trades at longstanding client; Two trades created for a workers co-op and a mystery EUR120,000 payment are central to internal row at Leonteq
Dan McCrum, Victor Mallet and Leila Abboud - Financial Times
Whistleblowers have accused EY of whitewashing suspicions of money laundering and tax evasion in an investigation it conducted this year for longstanding client Leonteq. At the heart of the whistleblower complaints are two trades that the company, a listed fintech that designs bespoke investment products, created for a French workers co-operative society at the start of 2021.
/jlne.ws/3rPeqGp
Morgan Stanley-Led Banks Face $500 Million Loss on Twitter Debt; Banks are on the hook to provide financing, lawyers say; Potential losses could be even higher as debt markets sour
Paula Seligson, Davide Scigliuzzo, and Lisa Lee - Bloomberg
When banks led by Morgan Stanley agreed in April to help finance Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter Inc., they were eager to aid an important client, the richest person in the world. Now neither Musk nor the banks have an obvious way to wriggle out of it. Lenders that also include Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. committed to provide $13 billion of debt financing for the deal. Their losses would amount to $500 million or more if the debt were to be sold now, according to Bloomberg calculations. They agreed to fund the purchase whether or not they were able to offload the debt to outside investors, according to public documents and lawyers who have looked at them.
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Crypto Gets Reminder of DeFi Risks From Latest Loan Default; TrueFi says Korea's Blockwater defaults on $3.4 million loan; Crypto rout has roiled the decentralized finance industry
Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
A lending service in the cryptocurrency sector said a debtor had defaulted on a $3.4 million loan, a development that highlights the potential for ongoing stress in the digital-asset marketplace. Decentralized lending protocol TrueFi said in a blog post Monday that South Korea's Blockwater Technologies had missed a payment due in stablecoin Binance USD. Blockwater couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
/jlne.ws/3Vi9xTS
US and Germany lead calls for climate action at World Bank meetings; Pressure increases on development banks to fund clean energy in poorer nations
Camilla Hodgson and Aime Williams - Financial Times
The US and Germany are leading calls from shareholders in the World Bank for an overhaul of its business model to boost action on climate change at this week's annual meetings. The bank, a leading provider of loans and grants to poorer nations, has come under increasing pressure to provide greater financial support to developing countries to help their economies grow while coping with the consequences of climate change.
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UK companies face bigger cash calls from pension funds after LDI crunch; Asset managers curb exposure to hedging strategies at heart of last month's crisis
Josephine Cumbo - Financial Times
Hundreds of UK companies could face demands for larger cash injections from their retirement schemes after cracks formed in pension funds' hedging strategies during last month's crisis in the country's debt markets. A rapid drop in UK government debt prices after chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's announcement of unfunded tax cuts quickly threatened to spiral out of control when certain pension schemes sold gilts to satisfy their so-called liability-driven investing (LDI) strategies.
/jlne.ws/3yq7Jyo
Pension schemes' dash for cash shakes UK corporate debt; Ripples from government debt shock push investors away from company bonds
Ian Johnston - Financial Times
A rush for cash by UK pension funds has weakened the already shaky sterling-denominated corporate debt market and pushed up borrowing costs for companies across the country. UK government bonds fell sharply in price last month as investors recoiled at chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's plans for unfunded tax cuts, with the debt remaining under pressure in the early days of October. Pension funds have been forced to sell more gilts to maintain their hedged positions, forming a spiral that the Bank of England intervened in to halt.
/jlne.ws/3rJxMgj
How meltdown in a $1 trillion market brought the UK to the brink of a financial crisis
Julia Horowitz - CNN Business
Pension funds are designed to be dull. Their singular goal — earning enough money to make payouts to retirees — favors cool heads over brash risk takers. But as markets in the United Kingdom went haywire last week, hundreds of British pension fund managers found themselves at the center of a crisis that forced the Bank of England to step in to restore stability and avert a broader financial meltdown. All it took was one big shock. Following finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng's announcement on Friday, Sept. 23 of plans to ramp up borrowing to pay for tax cuts, investors dumped the pound and UK government bonds, sending yields on some of that debt soaring at the fastest rate on record.
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Bank of England Offers Further Support for Pension Funds Amid Crisis; A series of auctions designed to steady the gilts market is coming to an end, but more help is on offer for funds at the forefront of market stress
Paul Hannon - The Wall Street Journal
The Bank of England on Monday offered to buy long-dated U.K. government bonds in larger amounts and said it would provide continuing support to pension funds that have been at the heart of the U.K.'s bond-market crisis. On Sept. 28 the U.K.'s central bank launched a series of auctions in which it offered to buy £5 billion of long-dated gilts, as U.K. government bonds are known, equivalent to $5.5 billion. The program was aimed to stanch the damage from a furious selloff in U.K. government debt over previous days in the aftermath of a surprise package of tax cuts announced by the government.
/jlne.ws/3EuxFwF
Food Prices Drop Again, Easing Pain of High Grocery Bills; UN's index of global food costs falls for a sixth month; An economic downturn is threatening agricultural demand
Megan Durisin - Bloomberg
Global food prices fell for a sixth month, potentially offering relief to consumers battered by across-the-board inflation. Agricultural demand is easing on mounting worries about an economic downturn that risks curbing dairy sales and biofuel use. Plus, crop exports from Ukraine have picked up, buffering world grain supplies that had been threatened by Russia's invasion. A United Nations gauge of food prices declined 1.1% in September to the lowest since January. Costs for vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy products retreated, keeping the index in the longest slump since 2015, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
/jlne.ws/3EqCAPj
US Republicans pull $1bn from BlackRock over ESG investing concerns; State treasurers punish asset manager for pursuing policies allegedly hostile to fossil fuel industry
Patrick Temple-Wes - Financial Times
BlackRock has lost more than $1bn in asset management business in US Republican states upset with the company's green investing policies, withdrawals that have become a political problem but so far have not dented the company's revenues. In an interview with the Financial Times, South Carolina state treasurer Curtis Loftis said he would pull $200mn from BlackRock by the end of the year. Louisiana treasurer John Schroder said last week he is withdrawing $794mn from BlackRock. Utah's treasurer Marlo Oaks said he liquidated $100mn in BlackRock funds, and Arkansas reportedly pulled $125mn this year.
/jlne.ws/3VgPfKE
A 27-Year-Old Is Taking On Big Banks to Lure Mega-Rich Families
Jasper Lau has gained backing from almost two-dozen of the world's super-rich since co-founding venture firm 8090 Partners.
Benjamin Stupples - Bloomberg
At first glance, 27-year-old Jasper Lau's investment firm is just like any other trying to strike it rich in the world of startups. It typically invests $10 million to $15 million a deal, and has had its share of successes and setbacks in this year's market tumult. Yet behind the scenes, Lau is building a roster of backers — often young — from almost two dozen global billionaire families, allowing him to look past rising rates and widespread inflation as he maps out the ambitions of his 8090 Partners.
/jlne.ws/3rJwAtb
Malin Norberg: The woman behind the world's biggest wealth fund; Global head of fixed income trading at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), Malin Norberg, tells Laurie McAughtry why the firm's investment profile is so unique, why her strategy is so long-term, and why it makes her job so much easier.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
NBIM needs no introduction. As the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, the $1.3 trillion fund manages the country's oil assets on behalf of the Norwegian people, and is one of the most influential global investors - accounting for an estimated 1.5% of all the world's listed companies. The fund occupies an unusual position with just one single owner, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance - or indeed five million individual stakeholders, if you count its public position owned by the people of Norway - which gives it a uniquely long-term perspective... and informs a uniquely P&L-driven investment strategy.
/jlne.ws/3RNRnGS
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Himars Transform the Battle for Ukraine—and Modern Warfare; The mobile, high-precision U.S. rocket system is thwarting Russia's invasion as it revolutionizes military strategy
Stephen Kalin and Daniel Michaels - The Wall Street Journal
A global revolution in warfare is dramatically tipping the scales of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, putting in the hands of front-line troops the kind of lethality that until recently required aircraft, ships or lumbering tracked vehicles. It also has the capacity to change battlefields far from Eastern Europe. The centerpiece of the new battle order is the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars. Provided by the U.S. and operated by Ukrainian soldiers since June, they are augmenting lightweight and precise weaponry that includes drones, Javelin antitank rockets and Stinger antiaircraft missiles, enabled by GPS guidance and advanced microelectronics.
/jlne.ws/3ehr4uK
The fight to cut off the crypto funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine; Violent Russian militias have received at least $4 million in crypto donations.
Andy Greenberg - Ars Technica
As Russian troops have flooded into Ukraine's borders for the past eight months—and with an ongoing mobilization of hundreds of thousands more underway—the Western world has taken drastic measures to cut the economic ties that fuel Russia's invasion and occupation. But even as those global sanctions have carefully excised Russia from global commerce, millions of dollars have continued to flow directly to Russian military and paramilitary groups in a form that's proven harder to control: cryptocurrency.
/jlne.ws/3CH9PfU
Burned out military vehicles and shredded uniforms mark Russia's retreat of Lyman - video
The Guardian
Shredded uniforms and burned out military vehicles litter parts of Lyman in Ukraine after it was liberated from Russian occupation where bodies of Russian soldiers were also found. The city in Donetsk became the latest strategically important city Russian occupiers surrendered as the Kremlin faces heavy losses. The gains by Ukraine come after Russia illegally claimed four territories as its own last week.
/jlne.ws/3RNXef6
Why the failures of Russia's top brass are now fair game
Nathan Hodge - CNN
Truth, the saying goes, is the first casualty in war. Nowhere is that more true than in Russia, where the Kremlin has engaged in a campaign of false advertising to sell its invasion of Ukraine to the public. Russian President Vladimir Putin cast the campaign as a "special military operation" - not a war - and told citizens that they could, essentially, forget about the conflict in Ukraine. Draftees, he promised falsely, would not fight, and military operations would be left to the professionals. And Putin's Ministry of Defense delivered platitudes about progress on the battlefield, talking points quickly parroted by Russian state television.
/jlne.ws/3CMMyJD
Vladimir Putin blames Ukrainian 'terrorism' for Crimea bridge explosion; Russia president to hold security council meeting after attack on critical military supply route
Polina Ivanova, Christopher Miller, Max Seddon and Roman Olearchyk - Financial Times
Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of carrying out a "terrorist attack" against the bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia, a critical military supply route for its invasion of Ukraine and symbol of Russian prestige. Russia's president said there was "no doubt" that Ukraine was behind the explosion, which sent two of the bridge's road spans crashing into the sea and set off a fire that left clouds of smoke billowing over the peninsula on Saturday morning. In a video released by the Kremlin on Sunday, Putin accused "Ukrainian secret services" of carrying out the assault, which he described as a "terrorist attack aimed at destroying critical Russian civilian infrastructure".
/jlne.ws/3EslXmc
Russia Unleashes Biggest Barrage of Strikes on Ukraine Since Invasion; Cities throughout Ukraine, including Kyiv, are bombarded after Putin slams Ukraine over Crimea bridge blast
Ian Lovett - The Wall Street Journal
Waves of Russian missiles slammed into Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday in one of the broadest and most intense barrages of the war, in response to a weekend attack Moscow blamed on Ukraine that seriously damaged a bridge connecting Russia to occupied Crimea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had carried out dozens of strikes using missiles as well as Iranian-made drones to target the country's electrical grid and other civilian infrastructure. "They want panic and chaos," he said in a video address filmed near his office. "They want to destroy our energy system."
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | CME Adds New Crypto Indexes in Step Toward Possible Futures Launch
Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
Exchange giant CME Group is introducing three new cryptocurrency price indexes, a move that could help lay the groundwork for to expand its suite of futures contracts beyond bitcoin and ether. CME and its index partner, CF Benchmarks, said in a press release that they would begin publishing daily and real-time price indexes on Avalanche, Filecoin and Tezos starting Oct. 31.
/jlne.ws/3Mhdt3f
Growth Expectations High among Finance Executives at a Time of Economic Uncertainty; Financial institutions are bullish on growth despite growing fears of a worldwide recession, according to new research from Swiss and Spanish stock exchanges operator SIX.
BME-X
The global Future of Finance Study, of c-level executives across 300 international financial institutions found that over two thirds of firms expect the economic outlook to improve over the next 12-months, with an even greater number (more than 70%) believing that inflation would slow by the end of 2023. What's more, over 90% of executives believe their organization is positioned for strong or moderate growth over the next three years.
/jlne.ws/3EDjXHI
Carbon trading gives wings to China's green goals
Wayne Huang - China Daily
As an important milestone in its progress on climate action, China's national exchange for carbon emissions trading began operations in 2021. The national carbon market celebrated its first anniversary in July and has now replaced the European Union Emissions Trading System — the EU ETS — as the world's largest carbon trading system by coverage, including over 2,000 companies in the power sector and involving more than 4.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, said China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
/jlne.ws/3VgHUKX
Clearstream and leading market participants go live with the first digital securities issues in Germany; Digital instruments enable same-day issuance and are thus the next step towards digital financial markets / First issues are carried out by LBBW and Vontobel via Clearstream's D7 platform of Deutsche Börse / Expansion to other countries and asset classes planned
Deutsche Börse Group
Clearstream has reached the next stage on the way to the digitization of the financial markets: the launch of the Digital Instrument on D7 , Deutsche Börse's digital post-trading platform. European issuers can now use this new infrastructure to issue digital securities. The first automated issues were launched by LBBW and Vontobel, and executed by Clearstream, Deutsche Börse's post-trading service provider. D7 is fully integrated into Clearstream's global infrastructure, connecting existing networks and digital solutions.
/jlne.ws/3Cl3KEs
CME Group Achieves Record Open Interest and Volume in Adjusted Interest Rate Total Return Futures
CME
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that S&P 500 Adjusted Interest Rate (AIR) Total Return futures reached an open interest (OI) record of 268,073 contracts on October 5, surpassing the prior record of 267,754 contracts on September 30, 2022.
/jlne.ws/3CJ3Ebm
Subject Summary Fines for Reporting Infractions
CME
Effective on trade date Tuesday, October 25, 2022, and pending all relevant CFTC regulatory review periods, this Market Regulation Advisory Notice will supersede CME Group Market Regulation Advisory Notice RA2007-5 from October 25, 2022. It is being issued to add "requests for a bona fide hedge exemption" to the list of types of submission or reporting requirements that may result in summary fines pursuant to Rule 512 ("Reporting Infractions").
/jlne.ws/3eemLAE
HSBC appoints Clearstream for third-party fund processing and distribution support services
Deutsche Börse Group
HSBC has chosen Clearstream, Deutsche Börse's post-trading service provider, as its global partner for administering investment fund activities for fund order routing, safekeeping, settlement and distribution support services. Vestima, Clearstream's investment fund processing infrastructure, enables processing of all types of funds - from mutual funds to hedge funds, private equity and ETFs - on a single platform.
/jlne.ws/3TcNQD8
Trading Hub Europe is a new trading participant on the EEX Gas Futures market
EEX
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) admitted Trading Hub Europe GmbH (THE) as a new trading participant on the Gas Derivatives Market. On 5 October 2022, the first trading by THE took place on the EEX Gas Derivatives Market.
/jlne.ws/3Mhbxrz
Euronext announces volumes for September 2022
Euronext
Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris - 7 October 2022 - Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announced trading volumes for September 2022.
/jlne.ws/3MivG0c
Suspension of CCASS Services on 15 Oct, 22 Oct, 29 Oct, 5 Nov, 12Nov,
19 Nov and 26 Nov 2022 (Saturday)
To facilitate internal system testing and upgrade activities, CCASS online services will be suspended on the following Saturday: 15 Oct 2022; 22 Oct 2022; 29 Oct 2022; 5 Nov 2022; 12 Nov 2022; 19 Nov 2022; 26 Nov 2022.
/jlne.ws/3CL7vEu
SPAN Margin Parameters
LME
LME Clear Members are advised that new SPAN1 margin parameters have been set, as marked in the SPAN Margin Parameter spreadsheet. The changes will be made effective at close of business 12th October 2022 and will be reflected in SPS margin calls on the morning of 13th October 2022. Members are advised that Secondary SPAN margin parameters will be updated from the morning of Tuesday 11th October with the new parameters as detailed in this circular.
/jlne.ws/3vimcfa
The Exchange's markets are closed today, October 10, 2022.
TMX
/jlne.ws/3rmxCeo
TAIFEX Launches Simulated Trading Competition in Support of IOSCO and WFE's Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy
TAIFEX
To highlight the importance of investor education, Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) will kick off TAIFEX Trading Challenge on 17 October 2022 and run till 21 December 2022, to echo the Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy initiative as part of the World Investor Week launched by the International Organization of Securities Commissions(IOSCO) and the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).
/jlne.ws/3RR9Fqq
TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - September 2022
TMX Group
TMX Group today announced its financing activity on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for September 2022. TSX welcomed 15 new issuers in September 2022, compared with four in the previous month and 14 in September 2021. The new listings were all exchange traded funds. Total financings raised in September 2022 decreased 79% compared to the previous month, and were down 70% compared to September 2021. The total number of financings in September 2022 was 38, compared with 32 the previous month and 35 in September 2021.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Fintechs say UK credit cards restrict access to consumers' own data; Letter to City minister warns cardholders with issuers such as NatWest and Barclays are losing out on money-saving services
Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan and Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
Fintechs in the UK have accused credit card issuers including NatWest and Barclays of "costing consumers millions" by not giving full access to their own data. "Britain's 14.5mn interest-paying cardholders [are] losing millions, if not billions, of pounds a year, at a time when their finances are already crippled by the cost of living crisis," said Gavin Shuker, chief executive of credit card management start-up Cardeo, in a letter to City minister Andrew Griffith sent last week.
/jlne.ws/3TqFgkj
"Two Problems for FinTech to Solve: Cross-Border Payments and ESG Data"
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
I am grateful to SWIFT for the opportunity to speak to this distinguished gathering of finance and business leaders from across the world. Most of us here have an affiliation to finance or to technology, or more likely to both. Indeed, the extensive application of technology to enhance the design and delivery of financial services has become a defining feature of the last decade - the FinTech phenomenon. FinTech is increasingly pervasive across not just traditional financial institutions but also non-financial players ranging from small start-ups to large technology firms providing financial services.
/jlne.ws/3ennWha
TRON Founder Justin Sun And Stablecoin USDD Appear In Financial District, San Francisco
Mondovisione
Recently, a billboard featuring Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, and TRON's stablecoin USDD appeared in the Financial District of San Francisco, CA, to promote the blockchain industry to one of the world's finance strongholds. Analysts believe that Sun was trying to send a positive signal to blockchain practitioners during the crypto winter to boost their confidence.
/jlne.ws/3SPRVxa
PayPal pulls plan to fine customers $2.5K for promoting 'misinformation'
David Meyer - NYPost
PayPal issued then retracted a policy to fine users $2,500 for "misinformation" after a flurry of criticism erupted on social media, including from Elon Musk and another one of the company's former leaders. The penalties posted on PayPal's website would have been issued to users who "promote misinformation" or "present a risk to user safety or wellbeing," according to the Daily Wire, which first reported the change on Friday.
/jlne.ws/3fWiiTj
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Binance got hacked. Now what?
Jeff John Roberts - FORTUNE
When it rains, it pours. Just when things were starting to look up for the crypto industry comes news that Binance, the world's biggest exchange, suffered a major hack on Thursday night. The details are still trickling out, but the short version is that a hacker was able to exploit a so-called bridge and help themselves to 2 million of Binance's native BNB tokens. Those are worth around $560 million, though Binance is suggesting it may be able to claw much of it back.
/jlne.ws/3SNxjp7
Germany's cybersecurity chief faces dismissal, reports say
Birgit Mitwollen - Reuters
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to dismiss the country's cybersecurity chief due to possible contacts with people involved with Russian security services, German media reported late on Sunday, citing government sources. Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal information security agency, could have had such contacts through the Cyber Security Council of Germany, various outlets reported. Schoenbohm was a founder of the association, which counts as a member a German company that is a subsidiary of a Russian cybersecurity firm founded by a former KGB employee, they wrote.
/jlne.ws/3CnZAM0
Solana Phantom security update NFTs push password-stealing malware
Lawrence Abrams - BleepingComputer
Hackers are airdropping NFTs to Solana cryptocurrency owners pretending to be alerts for a new Phantom security update that lead to the installation of password-stealing malware and the theft of cryptocurrency wallets. This ongoing attack started two weeks ago, with NFTs titled 'PHANTOMUPDATE.COM' or 'UPDATEPHANTOM.COM' sent that claim to be warnings from the developers of Phantom. When opening the NFTs, wallet owners are told that a new security update has been released and that they should click the enclosed link or visit the site to download and install it.
/jlne.ws/3MhfjBb
Lloyd's of London investigates alleged cyber attack; Lloyd's of London launched on Wednesday an investigating into a possible cyber attack after having detected unusual activity on its network.
Pierluigi Paganini - Security Affairs
Lloyd's of London is investigating a cyberattack after detecting unusual network activity this week. In response to the alleged intrusion it has reset the IT infrastructure and shut down any external connection. The incident comes after the entire insurance industry was alerted of cyber attacks as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Companies in the insurance market condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported sanctions against Moscow. Both UK and European Union banned on insuring ships carrying Russian oil.
/jlne.ws/3CHk2ZN
When are we gonna stop calling it ransomware? It's just data kidnapping now; It's not like the good old days with iffy cryptography and begging for keys
Jeff Burt - The Register
It's getting difficult these days to find a ransomware group that doesn't steal data and promise not to sell it if a ransom is paid off. What's more, these criminals are going down the extortion-only route, and not even bothering to scramble your files with encryption. As we've pointed out before, by ditching all that fiddly cryptography and just exfiltrating information, miscreants don't have to bother writing complex malware backed by a backend infrastructure, storing and selling decryption keys, and all the other steps that come with classic ransomware. Data theft and extortion is cleaner and easier.
/jlne.ws/3CiJza9
Darkweb market BidenCash gives away 1.2 million credit cards for free
Bill Toulas - BleepingComputer
A dark web carding market named 'BidenCash' has released a massive dump of 1,221,551 credit cards to promote their marketplace, allowing anyone to download them for free to conduct financial fraud. Carding is the trafficking and use of credit cards stolen through point-of-sale malware, magecart attacks on websites, or information-stealing malware. BidenCash is a stolen cards marketplace launched in June 2022, leaking a few thousand cards as a promotional move.
/jlne.ws/3SNbQNl
Stolen Crypto Recovered For Clients by DPS Cyber Security Crypto Recovery Firm
NewMediaWire
DPS Cyber Security is recognized as a secure platform for crypto recovery. The organization recently expanded and developed additional services for recovering digital currencies that investors, traders, and corporations lost because of a scam. The company's services also include Forex Trading Scam Recovery Help. Their recently introduced services offer the necessary aid in finding their clients' stolen cryptocurrency to address any problems with their wallets and keep them from being left in the dark. It assists people in how to recover stolen cryptocurrency.
/jlne.ws/3Ev6X6Y
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | What's Inside the FSOC's Long-awaited Report on Crypto Regulation
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) published its own highly anticipated report in response to U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order on crypto earlier this week, calling on Congress to define the line between a security and a non-security, at least as far as crypto is concerned.
/jlne.ws/3RPwVFw
Kim Kardashian did the crypto industry a favor
Emily Parker - CNN
On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it civilly charged Kim Kardashian for promoting a crypto asset, EthereumMax, on Instagram without disclosing that she was paid to do so. Kardashian has agreed to pay a nearly $1.3 million fine and to not promote any cryptocurrencies for three years, the SEC said. This case reflects a much larger problem in the crypto industry: Celebrities are using their influence to promote cryptocurrencies, a notoriously complex and risky asset class, which can lead people to invest in coins or projects that they may not understand.
/jlne.ws/3efyO0z
Yet another brilliant construct of commentary from perhaps the best business journalist there is - Jemima Kelly at the Financial Times.
John Reed Stark - LinkedIn
Whatever the future for Kim Kardashian and other crypto touters, that is beside the point. The more interesting and more pressing issue relates to celebrity endorsements of cryptocurrency trading platforms and exchanges and celebrity NFT promotions and collaborations, which have evolved into a much more menacing peril.
/jlne.ws/3Evd3EG
Shutting Off Fed 'Money Printer' Leaves Bitcoiners Out of Sorts; With M2 dwindling, there's less money floating around: Hogan; Reversal of liquidity has contributed to crypto crash: Goodwin
Vildana Hajric and Carly Wanna - Bloomberg
One of the most popular crypto memes during the Covid pandemic was about how the Federal Reserve was "printing" an endless amount of dollars -- "money printer go brrr," in Twitter parlance -- and how that enhanced the value of Bitcoin, which has a capped amount of tokens. Now the proverbial printer has been turned off, with the central bank raising rates and the price of the largest digital token crashing more than 50% this year, leaving the average investor caring little whether there is a finite amount of Bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/3Evq8xF
Jack Denton - Bloomberg
An influential global payments watchdog has been investigating whether stablecoins—cryptocurrencies that are typically pegged to the U.S. dollar—can help make sending money internationally faster and cheaper. The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), which establishes and promotes global regulations and standards for payments, is probing how stablecoins could improve cross-border payments, according to a Financial Stability Board report.
/jlne.ws/3ehmJYK
How India's proposed digital rupee would be different from cryptocurrency
Niharika Sharma - Quart
The Reserve bank of India (RBI) is set to pilot digital currency. "E-rupee or digital rupee will provide an additional option to the currently available forms of money. It is substantially not different from banknotes, but being digital it is likely to be easier, faster, and cheaper," said the central bank's Oct. 7 concept note (pdf).
/jlne.ws/3MnqTLi
Crypto exchange Huobi Global announces advisory board
Ningwei Qin -Forkacast
Crypto exchange Huobi Global announced the formation of a five-member global advisory board after Hong Kong-based asset management firm About Capital Management purchased a majority stake of the exchange.
/jlne.ws/3VgxeMn
Can Crypto's Richest Man Stand the Cold?; Changpeng Zhao built Binance into the world's biggest digital currency exchange. Now he faces a looming regulatory crackdown in a brutal crypto winter.
Justina Lee and Max Chafkin - Bloomberg
During the first few months of this year—back when buying digital tokens named after dog memes was still seen, at least in some of the most forward-thinking circles, as a perfectly reasonable way to participate in finance's bright new future—the cryptocurrency exchange Binance promoted a new, low-risk way to get in on the action. It urged its customers to invest in something called TerraUSD. The token was what's known in the trade as a "stablecoin," a type of cryptocurrency that functions a bit like a savings account and promises to always be worth $1. Binance told customers who used its service to buy, sell, and invest in various cryptocurrencies that this particular stablecoin offered something special: the promise of annual returns of almost 20%. TerraUSD, Binance suggested to customers, could be somehow both "safe" and "high yield."
/jlne.ws/3CoaTnl
Why It's Time To Stop Using The Term 'NFT'; 'NFT' is a stigmatized term that prevents adoption of NFT technology. Fortunately, there is no practical need to use it when describing digital items.
Phoenix Angell - Screen Rant
The term 'NFT' has the negative connotations of expensive JPEGs and scams, which are the reason why NFTs are so widely misunderstood. 'Non-fungible token' is itself a very broad term that results in more questions than answers, and should be thought of as a technology class. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a blockchain-based medium for creating ownable, transferrable digital property.
/jlne.ws/3yst8XM
How the value of NFTs can evolve beyond speculation
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo - VentureBeat
With all the buzz around the metaverse, cryptocurrencies, NFTs and other digital collectibles have become critical elements of the Web3 space. However, there's a need for crucial conversations about ownership in the metaverse, especially for digital collectibles and the real value they offer. At MetaBeat 2022, a major highlight for attendees using the virtual Decentraland platform were the VentureBeat badges placed at random through the entire virtual landscape (the badges could be collected in exchange for a MetaBeat-exclusive NFT, which could then be leveled up through social interaction.)
/jlne.ws/3edws2g
NFT Platform OpenSea's CFO Exits Role in Another Crypto Shake-Up; Former Lyft CFO had been in OpenSea role for less than a year; Management changes are sweeping across routed crypto sector
Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg
The crypto management carousel just keeps on spinning. The latest in a spate of C-suite departures in the sector comes from nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea, where Brian Roberts has exited from the role of chief financial officer after less than a year in the job.
/jlne.ws/3RPeXTp
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Ireland's reunification talk grows louder; A century after partition, support for unity on the island of 7mn is gaining momentum
Jude Webber - Financial Times
Irish senator Frances Black surveyed the crowd. "What a buzz!" she exclaimed to the 5,000 people packing the concert hall in Dublin. Topping the bill was not Beyoncé, Roger Waters or Bob Dylan — past stars of the 3Arena — but local actors and politicians. The sellout show? A "conversation" about Irish reunification. Organised by Ireland's Future, a three-year-old advocacy group chaired by Black, the aim of this month's event was to spur debate and build support for a "new and united Ireland", a century after it was divided into a 26-county republic and the six-county British-run Northern Ireland.
/jlne.ws/3RRSXY2
Will Biden Embargo U.S. Oil? The White House is considering a self-defeating ban on refinery exports.
The Editorial Board - The Wall Street Journal
Winston Churchill is famously said to have said—who knows if he actually did—that Americans will do the right thing after exhausting every possibility. Alas, the Biden Administration seems intent on exhausting every bad policy to reduce gasoline prices. Its new brainstorm is a ban on refinery exports.
/jlne.ws/3yplFZl
U.S. banks cut donations to federal candidates, up Democrats' share ahead of mid-terms
Pete Schroeder - Reuters
U.S. banks are giving far less to federal candidates this election cycle and increasing the proportion they are handing to Democrats as they rethink their political giving, according to a Reuters analysis of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and more than half a dozen industry officials and lobbyists. With less than a month to go until the mid-term elections which will determine control of Congress, commercial banks' political action committees (PACs) have given roughly $7.4 million to federal candidates, 43% down on the 2020 election cycle and 39% down on the average election spend in the previous decade, according to the Reuters analysis.
/jlne.ws/3CmbWEr
Retirees are expected to get the biggest Social Security cost-of-living increase in decades.
Mark Miller - The New York Times
Social Security will soon announce the largest inflation adjustment to benefits in four decades — a welcome development for millions of older Americans struggling to keep up with fast-rising living costs. The cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 is likely to be around 8.7 percent, based on the latest government inflation figures. The final COLA, as the adjustment is known, will be released Thursday, when the federal government announces inflation figures for September. Medicare enrollees can anticipate some additional good news: The standard Part B premium, which is typically deducted from Social Security benefits, will decline next year.
/jlne.ws/3ytCxhO
What is the Social Security cost-of-living increase, and how do people receive it?
The New York Times
Social Security, the monthly benefit paid to retirees, disabled people and survivors of beneficiaries, includes an annual cost of living increase that is announced every fall. It helps seniors try to keep pace with the price increases that touch every part of the economy. The adjustment for 2023 will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 13.
/jlne.ws/3TbP5Cv
Biden's Chip Limits on China Mark a War of High-Tech Attrition; The US now realizes it can't outpace its foremost rival simply by running faster; it must also slow Beijing down.
al Brands - Bloomberg
The US is escalating the technological cold war with China through new sanctions to squeeze the flow of high-end semiconductors and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment to Beijing. Don't let the technological arcana fool you: Since advanced semiconductors power information-age societies, the US is seeking to hinder Chinese economic dynamism and military muscle alike. Washington's new policy is a warning to Beijing about the long reach of US power in a globalized economy. It also reflects a sobering recognition that the US can't win its competition with China simply by running faster; it must also slow Beijing down.
/jlne.ws/3fYwcEs
US Republicans pull $1bn from BlackRock over ESG investing concerns; State treasurers punish asset manager for pursuing policies allegedly hostile to fossil fuel industry
Patrick Temple-West - Financial Times
BlackRock has lost more than $1bn in asset management business in US Republican states upset with the company's green investing policies, withdrawals that have become a political problem but so far have not dented the company's revenues. In an interview with the Financial Times, South Carolina state treasurer Curtis Loftis said he would pull $200mn from BlackRock by the end of the year. Louisiana treasurer John Schroder said last week he is withdrawing $794mn from BlackRock. Utah's treasurer Marlo Oaks said he liquidated $100mn in BlackRock funds, and Arkansas reportedly pulled $125mn this year.
/jlne.ws/3VgPfKE
BlackRock Walks a Political Tightrope on Climate Issues; Under fire on both sides of the ESG debate, the asset manager is defending its climate bona fides while highlighting energy investments
Angel Au-Yeung - The Wall Street Journal
BlackRock Inc.'s ESG balancing act is getting harder. The world's largest investor is taking heat from government officials on both sides of the climate debate—and the talk is turning into action. Louisiana's treasurer last week said the state would pull nearly $800 million from BlackRock funds by the end of the year, citing the asset manager's support for environmental, social and governance investing. The move came just a few weeks after BlackRock got a flurry of letters calling out its stance on climate issues.
/jlne.ws/3Vgi49N
European Commission aims to end secret system protecting fossil fuel holdings; Proposal aims to reform energy charter treaty that protects multi-billion-pound investments in Europe
Arthur Neslen - The Guardian
The use of secret corporate panels to protect multi-billion-pound fossil fuel investments within Europe could come to an end after a move by the European Commission. Windfall payouts such as a recent £210m award to the British oil firm Rockhopper would no longer be possible between EU states under a new proposal to reform the energy charter treaty (ECT). The 52-nation ECT began as a bid to defend the revenues of European energy firms that invested in former Soviet economies after the iron curtain fell.
/jlne.ws/3SQJamy
Portugal Unveils Digital Nomad Visa to Lure Remote Workers; The new program allows visitors to live and work for up to a year in the country, which has been drawing more and more Americans.
Claire Ballentine - Bloomberg
Not required to return to the office? You can now live and work in Portugal under a new digital nomad visa. The Portuguese government is unveiling a residence permit for workers to stay in the country for up to a year. Officials released new details this week stating the program, originally announced in July, will go into effect Oct. 30. Portugal has become a favorite destination for Americans looking to travel or relocate abroad. Its golden visa program — which offers a pathway to European citizenship — has grown in popularity in recent years while also generating criticism for lax oversight.
/jlne.ws/3MlEUc0
German commission of experts outlines EUR91bn energy aid package; Planned measures include government paying private households' gas bills in December and price subsidies for homes and businesses in 2023
Guy Chazan - Financial Times
The German government should pay all private households' gas bills in December and subsidise residential and industrial gas prices for more than a year from early 2023, a commission of experts proposed on Monday. The 21-member commission of leading economists, business and trade union representatives said the measures would cost about EUR91bn.
/jlne.ws/3CL570u
Putin's Land Grab Mocked by Czechs With Fake Kaliningrad Claim
Deana Kjuka - Bloomberg
The Czechs have backed up their government's rejection of Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions with a time-honored national tradition: mockery and dark humor. Politicians and bloggers have embraced a website dedicated to the purported decision by 97.9% of residents in the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad to join the Czech Republic -- and change its name to Kralovec. No such ballot took place. But that didn't stop the president of neighboring Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova, from considering a state visit.
/jlne.ws/3ysviGG
Hong Kong's reopening to revive office market from its longest and deepest slump, but upswing in rents will have to wait
Cheryl Arcibal - The South China Morning Post
Demand for office space in Hong Kong will receive a boost from the city opening up to the rest of the world, but the segment still faces significant headwinds in the short to medium-term, according to one of the city's largest landlords. "With the gradual reopening of the international borders and the pandemic starting to stabilise, we anticipate that this could prove to be a catalyst for demand," said Don Taylor, director of office at Swire Properties, noting that this would allow in-person inspections of real estate and also removes some of the uncertainty for international companies with regional offices here.
/jlne.ws/3VeN2zj
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Global Crypto Standards Due Next Week Could Test Regulators' Tech Mantra
Jack Schickler - CoinDesk
Next week could prove a turning point in the global regulation of crypto finance - and ministers from the world's 20 biggest economies will potentially confront the system change posed by decentralized finance (DeFi). The Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global watchdog, will set out plans for regulating crypto markets by the middle of next week - and it may have to consider whether to carry on sharpening the tools it already has in its toolbox or go in a whole new direction to rein in the ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi).
/jlne.ws/3SQ6IHY
Spare a thought for Kim Kardashian; Regulators should be keeping an eye on more egregious behaviour in the crypto world
Jemima Kelly - Financial Times
An unusual sequence of words popped into my mind this week: poor Kim Kardashian. At the risk of losing you before I've begun, I would like to ask that you spare a thought for a woman who is mainly famous for being famous (and for being rich). It has emerged that this week Kardashian settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over the charge of "unlawfully touting" a "crypto security", with a fine of $1.26mn, or about 0.07 per cent of her reported net worth of $1.8bn. (Cue the sound of tiny violins.)
/jlne.ws/3rI1Jxb
El-Erian Blames Fed for 'Very High' Risk of a Damaging Recession; Says OPEC+ production cut shouldn't have come as surprise; Allianz adviser renews criticism of Fed for inflation stance
Tony Czuczka - Bloomberg
Allianz SE chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian said the US economy is on "a bumpy journey to a better destination," though the risk of a Federal Reserve overshoot that tips the country into recession persists. "Not only does it have to overcome inflation, but it has to restore its credibility," El-Erian said of the US central bank in a CBS News interview Sunday. "So yes, I fear we risk a very high probability of a damaging recession that was totally avoidable."
/jlne.ws/3yuL1oK
Oil Production Cut Could Be 10% Real, 90% Illusion; Only three Gulf Arab heavyweights will shoulder the burden of OPEC's latest diktat, and their efforts may be diluted as others open the taps.
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
Ministers from the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries agreed to cut their collective output target by 2 million barrels a day from November when they met on Wednesday. How much their actual production falls could be as little as one-tenth of the headline figure. Although the group comprises 23 countries, the burden of the latest cut will be shared by just three — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Most of the others are already pumping so far below their quota levels that their output will still fall short of their new allocations.
/jlne.ws/3CL9dpG
Commissioner Pham to Speak at the Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems Roundtable on Institutional Investors and Crypto Assets
CFTC
Commissioner Caroline D. Pham will participate on a panel titled "Regulation of Crypto Market Structure" with industry leaders and former regulators.
/jlne.ws/3fVlSwZ
SEC Reopens Comment Periods for Several Rulemaking Releases Due to Technological Error in Receiving Certain Comments
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today reopened the public comment periods for 11 Commission rulemaking releases and one request for comment due to a technological error that resulted in a number of public comments submitted through the Commission's internet comment form not being received by the Commission. The majority of the affected comments were submitted in August 2022; however, the technological error is known to have occurred as early as June 2021.
/jlne.ws/3fPgJ9P
SEC Obtains Default Judgment Against Former IIIinois Investment Professional Charged with Fraud
SEC
On September 27, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a final judgment against Ronald T. Molo, a former investment professional, who was previously charged with defrauding three investors and ordered Molo to pay $815,104 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.
/jlne.ws/3Ta76kt
ASIC defends appeal against $30 million penalty imposed on Mayfair 101 Group companies
ASIC
The Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by the Mayfair 101 Group companies seeking to overturn the findings of misleading or deceptive advertising, and a penalty of $30 million that the Court imposed on the companies after ASIC action, other than in respect of an injunction against the companies restraining the companies from using certain specified phrases in their advertising, marketing or promotion which the Full Court has set aside.
/jlne.ws/3CG1tnJ
MAS and SPF take action against former BSI Bank Deputy CEO Raj Sriram
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Mr Raj Sriram, former Deputy CEO and Head of Private Banking of BSI Bank Limited, Singapore Branch (BSIS), has been issued a 24-month conditional warning from the Singapore Police Force's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and a 10-year prohibition order (PO) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for his contribution to BSIS' failure to file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) regarding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)-related transactions.
/jlne.ws/3T7SEJU
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Cracks in financial markets fuel debate on whether the next crisis is inevitable
Vivien Lou Chen - MarketWatch
To paraphrase a quote by legendary investor Warren Buffett: It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming without a suit. In this case, the metaphorical tide represents the end of an ultralow interest-rate era in the U.S., with borrowing costs now rising at the fastest pace in decades due to inflation. The Federal Reserve's main policy rate target appears to be heading next month toward 4%, a level that some say is enough to send shivers through the financial system. If it then heads for 5% — as expected by some at Deutsche Bank and SEI, an overseer of $1.3 trillion in assets — that could spell even more trouble for markets.
/jlne.ws/3TatmdU
'Terrifying' falls in pensions could delay retirement for 750,000 people
Grace Gausden - inews.co.uk
Three quarters of a million people face pushing back their retirement after the value of their pensions saw significant falls. About 752,000 people over the age of 55 who are still in work - and who have defined contribution workplace and personal pensions - may have already lost significant amounts. About half of those, who have more than £43,000 in their pots, could have seen the value of their pots fall by at least £10,000 due to recent market volatility.
/jlne.ws/3Mky9HE
Will the stock market be open on Columbus Day?; Holiday, also known as Indigenous Peoples' Day, isn't a day off for most traders
Joy Wiltermuth - MarketWatch
It's a regular day of business for the U.S. stock market on Monday, October 10, as equity exchanges stay open for Columbus Day, a federal holiday that also has been recognized as Indigenous Peoples' Day. Bond markets, however, take the day off, which means a long weekend for the Treasury market, corporate bonds and other forms of tradable debt, starting after the close of business on Friday. Stocks have endured a brutal selloff in the first nine months of the year as the Federal Reserve has worked to fight inflation that's been stuck near it highest levels since the early 1980s.
/jlne.ws/3VdKpO2
Congress Likely to Change Rules for IRA Catch-Up Contributions; The goal of the change is to encourage people to save more for retirement
Leonard Sloane - The Wall Street Journal
Catch-up contributions have long allowed older individuals to funnel additional funds into their individual retirement accounts or workplace plans. Now Congress is likely to increase the annual amount that those individuals can save using this method. Proposed modifications, which are mostly uncontroversial and bipartisan, passed the House earlier this year. The Senate Finance Committee recently sent its version to the full Senate. "These changes to the catch-up contribution rules are designed to encourage people to save for retirement," says Sarah Brenner, director of retirement education at Ed Slott & Co., a tax consulting firm in Rockville Centre, N.Y. "Those close to retirement would be able to put away a little more."
/jlne.ws/3RNWhn2
Here Are the Few Stock-Fund Managers Who Managed to Post Gains Over the Past Year; The winning manager believes that we're in the midst of a massive economic and market transformation
Suzanne McGee - The Wall Street Journal
Many stock-fund managers can spin tales of how they triumphed over a bear market. Few, however, have encountered the kind of nightmare market they now are confronting. Only the most stubborn contrarians think that a lasting rebound has begun with the positive bounce taken in early October by U.S. stock indexes. Investors still face painful inflation, rising interest rates, nerve-racking volatility and geopolitical tensions.
/jlne.ws/3rG4wXJ
Why Are My Inflation-Protected Bonds Falling When Inflation Is So High?; A look at how a popular postpandemic investment works and how you can benefit
Matt Grossman - The Wall Street Journal
You would think this would be TIPS' time to shine. Instead, the prices of Treasury inflation-protected securities—government bonds that are adjusted to keep up with inflation—have declined this year, even as inflation has soared. These declines show how hard it has been to find a safe harbor from the fastest price-level rise in four decades. Through Thursday, inflation-protected bonds tracked by ICE had lost 13.2% this year, including price changes and interest payments. The comparable loss for ICE's index of regular Treasury bonds was 13.5%.
/jlne.ws/3CK6pJa
September's Stock-Market Woes May Bode Well for October; October's reputation as a 'bear killer' may be more than a historical fluke
Mark Hulbert - The Wall Street Journal
October has a reputation as a "bear killer"—a month during which an above-average number of past bear markets have ended. Is there anything to this reputation? Or is it just a historical fluke? Nobody knows for sure, but there are some clues that it might be more than just a coincidence that so many bear markets have come to an end in October.
/jlne.ws/3eew6IF
Currency-Hedged ETFs Start to Make a Comeback; The funds draw interest, albeit modest, as currency volatility roils global markets
Lori Ioannou - The Wall Street Journal
Shifts in monetary policy around the world have added volatility to foreign-exchange markets. As a result, exchange-traded funds that invest in foreign stocks and bonds and use currency-hedging techniques have generally fared better than similar funds that don't use currency hedging. Such funds—which use hedging to protect the funds against wild swings in the foreign-exchange market—fell out of favor over the past five years. But more recently, nearly every one of the ETFs has outperformed its unhedged counterparts as the dollar continues its upward trajectory.
/jlne.ws/3TbOWir
Here's a Different Way to Think About Stock Diversification; Everybody knows to spread money across many investments. Fewer think about diversifying over time.
Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff - Bloomberg
Investors often think of diversification as a free lunch—it allows them to maintain returns while reducing risk. But most people only get part of diversification right, and that can hurt them later in life. With traditional diversification, people spread money around different kinds of investments to mitigate risk. That approach misses a key opportunity: "diversifying" how you invest over time. Most people start investing with a small amount of money, because that is all they can afford, and ramp it up as their earnings grow. But investing so much later in life unnecessarily puts people at greater risk when they are close to retirement.
/jlne.ws/3rFMu7Y
Twitter LBO Offers Latest Headache for Depleted Credit Markets; Primary markets are drying up, leaving focus on Twitter plans; Banks have recently been forced to accept losses on debt deals
Olivia Raimonde and Kevin Simauchi - Bloomberg
It's already bleak for Wall Street banks that struggled to sell risky debt to fund leveraged buyouts. Elon Musk's revived deal for Twitter Inc. is only adding to the strain. Banks have already been saddled with losses of about $600 million for the buyout of Citrix Systems Inc. and are still stuck with $6.5 billion of debt they couldn't sell. They also had to shelve a $3.9 billion deal for Brightspeed after investors balked at the offer -- and are expected to soon fund the buyout of Nielsen Holdings, and possibly even Tenneco Inc.
/jlne.ws/3ErM3G3
Bank of England unveils measures to ease strains in UK pension funds; Treasury moves forward new fiscal plan and OBR forecasts to October 31
Adam Samson, Tommy Stubbington and Mark Wembridge - Financial Times
The Bank of England has unveiled measures to stave off rushed asset sales by pension funds as it tries to steady UK financial markets, while the UK Treasury also seeks to assuage markets by bringing forward a much-awaited fiscal plan to October 31. In the wake of fears of a "cliff edge" when its emergency bond-buying programme ends on Friday, the central bank both loosened the rules for the £65bn scheme and announced longer-lasting measures in a statement before markets opened on Monday.
/jlne.ws/3Cl3SUs
Asset Management: How bond market mayhem set off a pension 'time bomb'; Plus, Ashmore's rocky ride, negative bond yields and Cézanne at the Tate Modern
Harriet Agnew - Financial Times
One thing to start: Asset managers are under scrutiny on two continents for their power and importance as well as concerns about the products they sell. Just like bankers following the financial crisis, and the complex financial products (think CDOs, CLOs and MBSs) they cooked up, once again the focus is on an alphabet soup of acronyms, in particular ESG and LDI. Are asset managers the new bankers? Email me: harriet.agnew@ft.com
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How to Make Peace With Your Stock Market Losses; For investors, the only thing worse than losing is having to admit that you're a loser. Here's how to clean up your portfolio without feeling ashamed.
Jason Zweig - The Wall Street Journal
Have you read your account statements for the just-finished third quarter? If you're anything like me, your answer is no. You probably already know stocks are down 20% and bonds 14% for the year to date. Looking at our losses won't make them any smaller. But it might make us feel smaller. And it's natural to avoid looking too closely at any evidence that might undermine our belief that we are skilled investors. In down markets, however, making good decisions often requires admitting things about ourselves we would much rather ignore.
/jlne.ws/3rGE1kW
More Companies Pause Deal-Making Amid Market Volatility, High Inflation; Value of deals struck during the third quarter from a year earlier falls by largest amount since the financial crisis
Kristin Broughton - The Wall Street Journal
Many companies are taking a pause on acquisitions as a cocktail of worrying economic factors, including high inflation, rising interest rates and market volatility, is sapping the confidence of buyers and sellers. During the first nine months of the year, the value of global mergers and acquisitions announced by companies plunged 34%, to $2.81 trillion, according to Refinitiv, a data provider. That is the largest year-over-year drop since 2009, when M&A declined amid the global financial crisis by 42% compared with 2008 levels, Refinitiv said. Deals declined across global markets, with those involving sellers in the Americas down 40% from a year earlier, to $1.3 trillion, and in Europe down 24%, to $712.2 billion.
/jlne.ws/3SRWDKG
Markets Are Topsy-Turvy, and There's Worse: It's Hard to Cushion Your Portfolio; Stocks and bonds are going down together—in a way they haven't for years
James Mackintosh - The Wall Street Journal
Good news is bad news, and on Friday it was very good, and very bad. The monthly payrolls report showed a superstrong labor market, with more jobs created than expected and unemployment matching a 53-year low. Stocks dropped, as did bond prices, with bond yields up. Such is the world of high inflation—and it is creating serious problems for those trying to cushion their portfolios against severe loss.
/jlne.ws/3Mi3x9M
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | UK Warned Not to Copy EU's ESG Investing Rules in Key Areas; EU handling of real estate seen as 'problematic' by advisers; UK still advised to regard EU taxonomy as a general template
Greg Ritchie - Bloomberg
UK regulators have been advised to avoid a number of key planks in the EU's green taxonomy including the bloc's handling of real estate, as Britain tries to build an ESG investing framework of its own. The EU's treatment of sectors including real estate, shipping, bio-energy and hydrogen in its taxonomy is potentially "very problematic," according to the UK's Green Technical Advisory Group. Applying the same standards as those laid out in the EU rulebook would be inconsistent with the UK's net-zero ambitions, GTAG said on Friday.
/jlne.ws/3ClBstF
Wall Street Bankers Told They Can Set Own CO2 Terms After Spat; With roughly a month before COP27, GFANZ says its sub-alliances can set their own rules
Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg
The world's biggest climate-finance alliance has sought to dismiss reports that a number of Wall Street banks are threatening to leave, as it races to bring its house in order in the run-up to next month's COP27 climate summit. In a statement to Bloomberg News on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero said the group has "received no indication from any of our members that they intend to leave."
/jlne.ws/3VdKz86
More Businesses Want to Hire People With Criminal Records Amid Tight Job Market; Companies including banks, pharmacy chains and railroads have recognized so-called second-chance hiring can help them find more workers
Allison Prang - The Wall Street Journal
A labor shortage has pushed more employers to recruit employees who have served prison time. In recent years, small businesses and big U.S. companies including banks and pharmacy chains say they have recognized that so-called second-chance hiring offers a chance to ease societal inequities. It also helps them find more workers in a tight job market. Union Pacific Corp. in the spring started hiring people who had been incarcerated, said Beth Whited, the railroad company's executive vice president for sustainability and strategy.
/jlne.ws/3SKHWcm
The future of farming: how global crises are reshaping agriculture; Surging costs of inputs such as fertiliser and the growing threat of climate change are driving a return to pre-industrial methods
Emiko Terazono, Benjamin Parkin and Nic Fildes - Financial Times
From little wild orchids to the sound of warblers, nothing much gets past Jake Fiennes as he surveys a strip of wild flowers that borders a field of spring barley on the 25,000-acre Holkham estate in the east of England, where he is conservation manager. Creating such buffer zones, known as "hay meadows", around a field reduces its acreage, but boosts its biodiversity and improves the quality of the underlying soil. A smaller field might mean less crop, but with fewer input costs and a small uptick in yields, it also means more profits, he says.
/jlne.ws/3ytvV2P
ESG Is About Sustainable Returns for Investors; Its widespread embrace isn't the result of a hidden hand pulling the strings of the financial market.
Nathan Fabian - The Wall Street Journal
Paul Tice's op-ed "ESG Threat Goes Beyond BlackRock" (Sept. 28) demonstrates a flawed understanding of Environmental, Social and Governance investing and mischaracterizes the mission of my organization, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The widespread embrace of ESG investing isn't the result of a hidden hand pulling the strings of the financial market. Investors increasingly recognize that ESG factors are material to their investments and that climate change exposes companies to risk. They know consumers increasingly favor sustainable products and businesses, and that the alternative to a sustainable global financial system is an unsustainable one. ESG investing is a means to an end: sustainable returns.
/jlne.ws/3RNj1Uf
Bob From Accounting Saves The Day - The Finance Office And ESG
Hughey Newsome - Forbes
Finance and accounting professionals may not be the most exciting people. Indeed, the clichéd Bob from Accounting is known to be a dry, bland character who crunches numbers all day and has no life. He has no cape and does not appear to have a superpower, other than possibly making excel macros that could blow up a laptop. In contrast, the role for investors - think of those aggressive Wall Street warriors - in averting the climate crisis has been well documented. The International Panel on Climate Change reported in 2018 that, globally, $3.5 trillion is needed annually in climate-related investments to limit warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade. The IPCC and so many other think tanks have made it clear that those who move millions, and billions of dollars have a clear role in saving our planet and society.
/jlne.ws/3rFNE3s
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | The worlds most important financial market is not fit for purpose
The Economist
Everyone wants to trade Treasuries. Big banks hold them for liquidity management, pension funds own them for long-term yields, hedge funds use them to bet on the economy, individuals' savings are stored in them and central banks use them to manage foreign-exchange reserves. The market for Treasuries, most of the time, is deep and liquid. Some $640bn of government bonds change hands each day, at prices that become the benchmark risk-free rate by which all financial instruments are valued and lending rates set.
/jlne.ws/3RTC5jz
Jefferies puts maximum loss exposure due to involvement with FXCM at $80M
Maria Nikolova - FX News Group
Investment bank and financial services firm Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) has just filed its quarterly report for the three-month period to August 31, 2022 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The report outlines, inter alia, Jefferies' involvement with provider of online Forex trading services FXCM Group, LLC (FXCM).
/jlne.ws/3Tau7ng
Boaz Weinstein Protege Bests Hedge Fund Titans in Charity Poker; Bronx-born Tyrone Davis makes it to the final table, outlasting David Einhorn and Point72's Mo Grimeh.
Amanda L Gordon - Bloomberg
Tyrone Davis, who has worked at Saba Capital for a month, made it to the final table at the Take 'Em to School charity poker tournament early Friday morning at Gotham Hall in Manhattan. By that point, the 21-year-old, who started playing poker as a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had outlasted hundreds of players, including David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, Mo Grimeh of Point72 and his own boss, Boaz Weinstein. The feat had him stacking his chips alongside professional poker player Erik Seidel, as well as Charles Korn of Pershing Square, Min Htoo, who left Blackstone Alternative Asset Management earlier this year, and real estate agent Alejandra Cata, the eventual winner.
/jlne.ws/3VejotZ
Martin Gilbert steps down from Abrdn funds' board over conflicts of interest; Asset manager says it is working with number of clients to resolve historic documentation issues at Luxembourg Sicavs
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
City grandee Martin Gilbert has been asked to step down from the board of two major funds run by Abrdn because of potential "conflicts of interest". Abrdn, which was relegated from the FTSE 100 last month, said Gilbert had left his role at two Luxembourg-based funds called Sicavs, which form an umbrella for many of the company's individual funds, because of his other positions in the asset management industry. Gilbert, who co-founded Abrdn in 1983 as Aberdeen Asset Management, is chair of AssetCo, an investment firm that acquires other fund managers.
/jlne.ws/3MqsJuQ
Under Pressure, Goldman CEO Ditches Dream of Consumer Domination; David Solomon once predicted the firm would be a leader in retail banking, like it is on Wall Street. The expansion proved expensive.
Sridhar Natarajan - Bloomberg
David Solomon, the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., jumped on a flight to go meet Reese Witherspoon. The Legally Blonde star-turned-mogul was toying with offering online financial services to her legions of fans, and the head of Wall Street's most prestigious firm wanted in. He saw it as a potential new source of business for Marcus, his firm's foray onto Main Street and handling money for the masses. In the effort to turn Goldman Sachs into a bank for the everyman, that moment in 2019 may have been peak Marcus.
/jlne.ws/3VeZWNK
Financial Action Task Force to Put Congo on Its Gray List; DRC under 'increased monitoring' by anti-money laundering body; Decision expected by Oct. 21 at FATF plenary meetings
Michael J Kavanagh - Bloomberg
Democratic Republic of Congo will be placed on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force, the intergovernmental anti-money-laundering body, later this month, according to the government. Paris-based FATF will add the Central African nation to its so-called increased-monitoring program to improve its financial structures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
/jlne.ws/3SRwLP2
US banks to set aside $4bn for potential losses from bad loans; Wall Street will signal its concerns about the US economy in Q3 earnings this week
Joshua Franklin - Financial Times
The biggest US banks will signal their worries about the US economy in third-quarter earnings reports starting this week, with analysts expecting they will set aside more than $4bn to cover potential losses from bad loans.
/jlne.ws/3RXuu3S
Ailing lender Monte dei Paschi explores options as EUR2.5bn cash call falters; Arranger banks wary of mopping up shares in event investors shun them
Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli - Financial Times
Monte dei Paschi di Siena's management could begin to explore alternative options to a EUR2.5bn capital increase planned this month, after some arranger banks signalled their unwillingness to mop up shares in the ailing Italian lender should investors shun the sale. Chief executive Luigi Lovaglio, a turnround specialist appointed this year by Mario Draghi's government to revamp and privatise MPS, said in the summer that the Tuscan lender would launch a cash call partially backed by the Italian Treasury to restore capital buffers.
/jlne.ws/3VgPJk0
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | China Covid Cases Rebound as Party Gears Up for Key Congress
Bloomberg
China is being hit by a rebound in Covid-19 cases following the week-long National Day holiday, just as the country's top leaders gather in Beijing for a meeting with President Xi Jinping. The nation recorded 1,645 new Covid infections on Saturday, the highest total since Sept. 2. While Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang had the biggest clusters, both Beijing and Shanghai found new cases outside of quarantine, suggesting the virus might be still spreading.
/jlne.ws/3Vi2XwT
Many Americans are shunning the Omicron COVID booster. What it means for the coming season as the virus mutates
Erin Prater - FORTUNE
Relatively few Americans have received the new Omicron booster—and most don't plan to get it anytime soon, if at all, according to a new survey. Only 7.6 million Americans—out of 333 million total—have received the new COVID vaccine, which became widely available around Labor Day. That compares with 225 million people who received the initial jab. Everyone 12 and older is eligible for the booster if they've received their primary shots. But most Americans—more than two-thirds—have put off receiving the jab or don't intend to at all, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last week.
/jlne.ws/3Cn6Urb
This Is Now The Most Common Covid Symptom; Cases are expected to peak in November, according to the Zoe Health Study app.
Habiba Katsha - HuffPost
The main symptom for Covid now is having a sore throat, Tim Spector, co-founder of the Zoe Health Study app, told Times radio. Last week Covid cases increased by 25% in just seven days, according to the latest official estimates. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data that highlighted 1,327,900 people in the UK caught the virus in the end of the week of September 26 - the highest UK number of infections since the week of August 16.
/jlne.ws/3VgLp4g
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Kim Jong Un Touts New Missile, Calls Recent Tests Warning to US
Youkyung Lee and Jon Herskovitz - Bloomberg
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged further shows of his nuclear capabilities to deter the US, after two weeks of military drills in which he claimed to launch a new ballistic missile and demonstrate tactical atomic strikes. Kim described a series of exercises since Sept. 25, which included the first missile fired over Japan in five years, as a "severe warning" to the US and its allies, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Monday. The drills included simulated nuclear strikes on airports in South Korea and rocket attacks on seaports, the report said, describing the moves as responses to US-led naval exercises.
/jlne.ws/3VcYL1l
Chinese regulator gives greenlight to fund targeting Korean chipmakers
Reuters
China's securities regulator has given the greenlight to the country's first mutual fund targeting top Chinese and South Korean chipmakers, an official at Huatai-PineBridge Fund Management Co said, amid an escalating Sino-U.S. tech war.
/jlne.ws/3VhPpBc
China's Tolerance for Xi's Unyielding Covid Fight Is Cracking; More complaints emerging about lockdowns, mass testing; Xi set to trumpet China's Covid fight at party congress
Bloomberg
As most of the world moves on from Covid-19, President Xi Jinping is set to trumpet his strict measures to control the virus at China's once-in-five-year party congress. The question now is how long they can last. Since the initial outbreak emerged in the central city of Wuhan, many people in China have been more or less supportive of mass testing, citywide lockdowns and strict hotel quarantine that has restricted overseas travel. But signs are emerging that patience is wearing thin.
/jlne.ws/3ytE3QT
Lockdown Worries Return to Shanghai as China Covid Tally Climbs; Fences around Shanghai compounds revive lockdown memories; Country step up curbs to contain Covid before Party Congress
Bloomberg
China is stepping up efforts to contain Covid-19 outbreaks ahead of the Party Congress, with national cases climbing to the highest in almost two months and concerns about widening lockdowns rippling across the financial hub of Shanghai. The country reported 1,878 cases for Sunday, the highest since Aug. 20, as the week-long National Day holiday saw cases flare among returning travelers. Shanghai posted 34 new local infections, the most in almost three months, with two infections found outside of its quarantine system. The uptick has seen neighborhoods locked down and buildings barricaded with the green fences that were a feature of the financial hub's extended shutdown earlier this year.
/jlne.ws/3SSVJOi
Norway is portrayed as both hero and villain in Europe's energy crisis
Emily Rauhala - The Washington Post
With natural gas scarce and pipelines in peril, Europe has rarely needed Norway more. Or resented it as much. More than seven months into the war in Ukraine, the Scandinavian country is increasingly central to Europe's energy security. Norway, not Russia, is now the European Union's leading natural gas supplier. The explosions that damaged Russia's Nord Stream pipelines didn't lead to a supply crisis because the E.U. had cut its reliance on Russian gas and was celebrating a new pipeline from Norway to Poland the same week.
/jlne.ws/3Vghl8z
London Housing Crisis Spreads With Squeeze on Room Rental Market; Surge in borrowing costs hits those who can't afford to buy; Workers demand more pay to cope with rising living costs
Eamon Akil Farhat - Bloomberg
London's housing crisis is spreading, with a record surge in the number of tenants looking for rooms to rent far outstripping the places available. The trend, mirrored across the UK, reflects a jump in house prices and interest rates, which have made it less profitable for landlords to rent out their properties. It also shows record demand from people looking for space in the capital as they return to offices and universities. Data compiled by SpareRoom, a website that matches people seeking roommates, shows that the number of prospective tenants has more than tripled to 106,000 since the pandemic lockdown of early 2021. The number of rooms advertised has declined over that period to less than 15,000.
/jlne.ws/3rKtpBu
Desperate Europeans Return to the World's Oldest Fuel for Warmth; 'It's back to the old days' as demand for firewood soars due to gas shortage.
Lars Paulsson and Josefine Fokuhl - Bloomberg
Not far from Berlin's Tempelhof airport, Peter Engelke is putting up a new security gate at his warehouse because of concerns about desperate people pilfering his stock. The precious asset at risk is firewood. Engelke's actions reflect growing anxiety across Europe as the continent braces for energy shortfalls, and possibly blackouts, this winter. The apparent sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline is the latest sign of the region's critical position as Russia slashes supplies in the standoff over the war in Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3rJR45i
France reassures UK on maintaining winter electricity flows; Different peak times in each country should allow supplies when needed, says French grid operator
Sarah White in Paris and Nathalie Thomas - Financial Times
France has reassured the UK that it should be able to provide Britain with power at critical moments if its electricity supplies come under strain this winter, despite problems with nuclear reactors that have forced it to rely on imports. Grid operators in France and Great Britain have been in discussions about energy supplies in recent months, with authorities on both sides of the Channel signalling they will need imports to avoid power cuts this winter.
/jlne.ws/3ehsDJ8
In U.S., ruinous cotton boll weevils are exiled to a 'last frontier'
Mary Beth Gahan - The Washington Post
When Charles Niemann started farming in 1960, he knew the threat of the cotton boll weevil made his livelihood risky. He treated his fields in South Texas with pesticide every few days, up to 16 times in a season. Profits were spent spraying during the next season. To call the quarter-inch beetle a pest would be an understatement. It's prolific and quickly destroys cotton once it enters a field. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates it cost the industry more than $100 billion in the 20th century, accounting for inflation.
/jlne.ws/3MimjxA
In Idaho, America's first, and only, cobalt mine in decades is opening
Kirk Siegler and Eric Whitney - NPR
The first — and only — cobalt mine in America in decades opened Friday in Idaho amid rising demand for the unique metal, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and battery storage. The opening of Australia-based Jervois Global's Idaho facility, near the site of a defunct cobalt open pit mine, is being hailed by state and federal officials pushing to fast track development of minerals that support domestic and national security. "We're talking about building a world class clean energy economy, and this mine, this project ... is key to that vision," the U.S. Department of Energy's Geri Richmond told workers and dignitaries gathered at the remote mine site.
/jlne.ws/3RPxwXM
Florida's Biggest Utility Reconnects 99% of Customers After Ian; Florida Power & Light on pace to reconnect most by late Friday; But thousands of homes and businesses too damaged to reconnect
David R Baker and Naureen S Malik - Bloomberg
Florida's largest electric utility said it had restored service to 99% of customers blacked-out by Hurricane Ian and remained on track to reconnect the rest by late Friday. Florida Power & Light, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc., reported that 31,000 homes and businesses in its territory remained without power as of 4 p.m. Friday, down from 2.1 million in the storm's immediate aftermath. However, "thousands" of homes and businesses have been so badly damaged that they can't safely accept electricity service, FPL said in the statement. Statewide, more than 110,362 customer accounts still lack electricity nine days after Ian made landfall, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks blackouts.
/jlne.ws/3Er9W0f
'The US dammed us up': how drought is threatening Navajo ties to ancestral lands
Annette McGivney - The Guardian
Candice Mendez grew up on the Navajo reservation in a home that lacked running water and electricity. There was no phone service and few paved roads. A supermarket was miles away. But to Mendez, now 39, it felt like a time of abundance. "We did not want for anything," she said. Mendez's grandmother raised sheep on the family's ancestral land and her grandfather farmed along moist, fertile gulleys. They ate corn, beans, squash and freshly butchered mutton. It was a self-sufficient lifestyle that had been much the same for centuries. But then in the early 1990s, things changed.
/jlne.ws/3fNNyE1
Barges grounded in Mississippi River as water levels approach record lows
Stephen Sorace - FOX Business
Shipping travel along the Mississippi River has been disrupted as water levels nearing record lows cause barges to get stuck in mud and sand, likely creating another snag for the supply chain. The U.S. Coast Guard said last week that at least eight barge groundings have been reported within the past week. One of the groundings happened Friday between Louisiana and Mississippi, near Lake Providence, Louisiana. It halted river traffic in both directions for days, forcing dozens of barges to line up and wait to pass by.
/jlne.ws/3ehocOv
Huge Barge Backup Eases on Mississippi, Freeing Tons of Cargo; Two closures have reopened with restrictions, Coast Guard says; Blockages forced companies to find other methods to move goods
Victoria Cavaliere - Bloomberg
A backup of more than 2,000 boats and barges on the Mississippi River is being cleared as two closures along the waterway reopened on Sunday. Low water levels had halted commercial shipments of commodities, including recently harvested corn and soybeans, in the latest supply chain snarl that came in the middle of the autumn harvest and amid prolonged local drought. By Sunday, the river had reopened at two choke points: near Stack Island, Mississippi, and near Memphis, Tennessee, the US Coast Guard said.
/jlne.ws/3EulxLZ
Saudi steps up ambitions with new primary dealers for government debt; The exchange has appointed five international banks to act as market makers in a bid to boost its secondary debt market.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance and National Debt Management Centre (NDMC) last week signed up five new banks as primary dealers for its local government debt instruments, as it positions itself to grow secondary market trading. The banks, which include BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered, all have an existing presence in the Kingdom. The agreement now adds them to the government's Primary Dealers' Program, which already lists local financial institutions Saudi National Bank, Saudi British Bank, Bank AlJazira, Alinma Bank and Al Rajhi Bank.
/jlne.ws/3SQmraa
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Why skills are more important than ever; The evolving labour market is disrupting assumptions about career tracks — employers and jobseekers need to shift to expertise-based hiring
Sophia Smith - Financial Times
As new technology drives an evolution in business needs, it is less likely you can get by in today's job market with the skill set you established 10 or 15 years ago. The World Economic Forum has suggested that 1bn people need to be trained in new and evolving skills by 2030. The types of professional skills for which the WEF forecasts high demand include not only specialised technical abilities for working with new technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, but also the soft skills necessary for collaboration and interacting with others, like team building and developing strong company culture.
/jlne.ws/3ejAE0g
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