| July 27, 2016 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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John Lothian News | |
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Battling Adversity
Jim Kharouf, JLN
Every year, our Marketswiki Education series provides great speakers with great advice to summer interns and young professionals. But sometimes, there is one that just stands out because it is valuable to everyone, no matter where they are in the careers. Such is the case in today's newsletter, where we posted the presentation from Lisa Dunsky, senior compliance officer at OCC. There are times where you just tell people to watch something, without the big set-up. This is one of those. If you are facing adversity in your career or life, this one will help you. Check it out below.
This is the first of more than 25 presentations from our Chicago and New York MarketsWiki Education events. There are some great presentations. Stay tuned.
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Lisa Dunsky, OCC - Hit By A Brick: How Setbacks Shape Your Career
MarketsWikiEducation.com
"Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." - Steve Jobs, at the commencement speech at Stanford in 2005.
It's sometimes hard to see what challenges and setbacks will do for your career, but in this very personal and articulate presentation, Lisa Dunsky, senior compliance officer at OCC, describes how tragic events can transform your skill set and your career.
Speaking at the MarketsWiki Education World Of Opportunity event in Chicago in 2016, Dunsky tells the story of the October 2005 meltdown of Refco, the publicly traded brokerage firm that went bankrupt after its CEO, Phil Bennett, covered up $430 million in customer losses and debt. Bennett and other executives, including Dunsky's boss and mentor at the outside law firm she worked for that represented Refco, were convicted and sentenced to prison for securities fraud. Devastated, Dunsky learned from the experience in the most unexpected places and built a career path that led her to her current role today at OCC.
"This brick that just hit me in the head, of losing my mentor, was going to teach me something I don't think I could have learned any other way."
She learned how to pick herself up, build on the skills needed to succeed in the derivatives industry and deal with other bombshell events such as the MF Global bankruptcy and Lehman Brothers' collapse.
Watch the video »
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Stay Hungry: A Fintech CTO's Advice To Interns
Drew Shields, Trading Technologies
On July 14, I gave an address to interns at the 2016 MarketsWiki World of Opportunity Summer Intern Education Series. What follows is an extended version of my remarks.
/goo.gl/CB2hLG
***DA: Yesterday we excerpted Shields' writeup of his MarketsWiki Education talk from two weeks ago, then inserted an incorrect link. And when I say "we" I mean "me." Apologies to Drew and to TT.
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ASX Gets Technical: ASX deputy CEO Peter Hiom Talks About New Trading Platform And Pioneering Into Blockchain
Jim Kharouf, JLN
ASX deputy CEO Peter Hiom has a long technology checklist these days. The stock and derivatives exchange is transitioning to a new trading platform from Cinnober. It is also looking to be among the first exchanges to implement blockchain technology as part of its equity clearing facility, perhaps in the next few months. John Lothian News spoke with Hiom last month at the FIA IDX conference in London about the next steps for the exchange.
goo.gl/W3UdQh
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Chicago Tech Rocks Raising Money For Tech Education
Synap Software Labs, and the Chicago Leadership Alliance are teaming up with a handful of rock-star companies like Silicon Valley Bank, Signal, MB Real Estate, Trading Technologies, Centro, TechNexus, and others to put on the first ever Chicago Tech Rocks benefit concert at Metro on August 25th at METRO, 3730 N. Clark Street, Chicago. Doors open at 5:30pm; First act starts at 6:15 pm.
CTR is aiming to support of six local non-profit organizations focused on developing a new generation of talent through ongoing training and hands-on learning: Black Tech Mecca, Genesys Works, i.c. stars, Lumity, Project Infinite Green, and Year Up.
bit.ly/2audcZE
**JK: A great event for the next generation from Jeremie Bacon, co-founder and chairman of Synap Software Labs, Trading Technologies and others.
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Your Grandparents Are Killing the Economy
Fortune
Old people are ruining it for the rest of us, at least that's what a group of economists think.
A working paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which studied the effects of the aging of the American population on economic growth, found that old people could be the reason the economy has been more sluggish the last few years than expected. The researchers found that the U.S.'s aging population is cutting as much as 1.2 percentage points off of per capita GDP growth, which is a huge amount if you think of how slow GDP has been growing recently.
goo.gl/wwZNGv
***DA: That's the generational contract. When you are a kid and when you are retired, you are by definition a drag on the economy. For four decades in the middle, you work hard to support yourself, your dependents, and the aged. But in this age of conspicuous consumption, savings is viewed as somehow evil. I worry about the future, not because "old people are ruining it for the rest of us," as the article says, but because most of us have lost the ability to live simpler lives.
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Healthy clones: Dolly the sheep's heirs reach ripe old age
Reuters
The heirs of Dolly the sheep are enjoying a healthy old age, proving cloned animals can live normal lives and offering reassurance to scientists hoping to use cloned cells in medicine.
reut.rs/2asUODN
***DA: The next study is titled "The Gyros Test."
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Beckett's Battle Update
Giving News - John Lothian News (JLN)
Mildred Ryba, from the CME Group, and her family could be celebrating the fact that their son Beckett hit the five-year mark since he was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor in May 2016. However, that traditional milestone that many cancer patients observe, is not so for the Ryba family. Instead they are fighting through six-year-old, Beckett's third chemo treatment after a harrowing, near-death hospitalization the entire month of December 2015.
goo.gl/3eSPBh
***DA: The direct link to Beckett's team can be found HERE.
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Tuesday's Top Three
So, ahh, you like CME stories?
CME Group dominated with a win, place and show yesterday. Two stories about CME's new clearing member category were the most read, starting with the runaway winner CME Group Proposes New Clearing Member Category to Help Customers Avoid Pro Rata Distribution Risk in Case of FCM Insolvency by industry master Gary DeWaal, who wrote it wearing his fishing vest and baseball cap. Second place went to FOW's CME files for new direct clearing membership. The third most read piece from MarketsMedia focused on CME's new tool to measure what most of us already know - that futures are cheaper than ETFs in CME Launches Online Comparison of Futures vs ETF Costs. You knew that right?
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| Lead Stories | Deutsche Boerse gets shareholder approval for LSE deal
Reuters
Deutsche Boerse has won the necessary backing from its shareholders for the planned merger with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L), with the German exchange operator reporting a 60.35 percent approval rate on Tuesday ahead of the 2200 GMT deadline.
reut.rs/2aszFK3
Deutsche Bank reports trading slump, warns of further cuts
Hayley McDowell, The Trade
Deutsche Bank's trading sales have plummeted by almost a third, as chief executive officer John Cryan warns its restructuring process will be intensified should the economic environment not improve.
goo.gl/aerzt8
KCG To Acquire Neonet
Press Release
KCG Holdings, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Neonet Securities AB, an independent agency broker and execution specialist based in Stockholm, Sweden from its shareholders, Hay Tor Capital, KAS BANK and Cidron Delfi Intressenter Holding. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founded in 1996, Neonet provides a comprehensive suite of advanced algorithmic trading, smart order routing and sales trading primarily in European equities across 30 public and private markets to approximately 200 clients in more than 20 countries.
prn.to/2a8Tnpi
Citigroup, HSBC Jettison Customers as Era of Global Empires Ends
Yalman Onaran - Bloomberg
How does a company lose 69 million customers? Just ask Citigroup Inc. Once upon a time, about a decade ago, the New York-based bank had a global retail empire stretching from Tokyo to Tegucigalpa. It offered consumer banking in 50 countries, covering half the planet's land mass, and served 268 million people.
bloom.bg/2asRHLY
Goldman Sachs' 1MDB woes deepen on conflict of interest lawsuit
FT.com
Goldman Sachs' troubles stemming from the 1MDB scandal deepened on Tuesday, as the bank was sued for more than $500m by a shareholder of a former client claiming fraudulent misrepresentations and breaches of fiduciary duties.
on.ft.com/2a90azf
Michel Barnier appointed as EU's chief Brexit negotiator
Financial News
The European Union's executive on Wednesday tapped former French financial services commissioner Michel Barnier as the chief negotiator for the UK's exit from the bloc. The appointment of Barnier, who as internal market commissioner until 2014 led the European Commission's overhaul of EU banking laws in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, could be seen as provocative, as France has taken a tough view on the UK's future relationship with the EU.
goo.gl/VsK1nT
Three scenarios for the City after Brexit
FT.com
As a worker in the City of London for 20 years  first in a lowly role at the Bank of England, then in a mid-ranking position at the now defunct Association for Payment Services  Theresa May would not have imagined her current quandary. Now prime minister, Mrs May faces the daunting prospect of negotiating Britain's divorce from the EU while at the same time protecting the country's key interests.
Depending on how successful Mrs May is, the City could face three different futures.
on.ft.com/2a8ZE4m
Barclays Cartel Trader Told 'Life Isn't Fair' Before Firing
Patrick Gower - Bloomberg
Ashton says he was fired unfairly after whistleblowing; Trader shared confidential information with rivals, bank says
A Barclays Plc trader fired amid the foreign-exchange market manipulation scandal told a London court that a senior bank executive said "life isn't fair" before firing him.
bloom.bg/2asRtVq
Why Uncertainty Isn't the Real Threat for Markets
WSJ
If there is one thing the world seems to be producing in abundance, it is uncertainty. It is said that markets hate uncertainty, but resolution might be the real problem.
on.wsj.com/2a8Z2vy
At World's Largest Hedge Fund, Sex, Fear and Video Surveillance
NY Times
Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, likes to say that one of his firm's core operating principles is "radical transparency" when it comes to airing employee grievances and concerns. But one employee said in a complaint earlier this year that the hedge fund was like a "cauldron of fear and intimidation."
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Merger expert questions union between LSE and Deutsche Boerse
Hayley McDowell, The Trade
An expert in corporate 'mega mergers' has questioned whether the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Boerse merger will be worth the trouble. Professor of Practice at Warwick Business School in the UK, John Colley, explained that the regulatory, competition and political approval process could lead to significant delays and amendments.
goo.gl/GUS6A2
Nasdaq profit down 47.4 pct on acquisition, restructuring costs
Reuters
Trans-Atlantic exchange operator Nasdaq Inc's (NDAQ.O) quarterly profit slumped 47.4 percent due to costs related to acquisitions and restructuring. Net income attributable to Nasdaq fell to $70 million, or 42 cents per diluted share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $133 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier.
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SGX reports FY2016 net profit of $349 million
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today announced net profit of $349.0 million for FY2016, unchanged from the previous year. This included an impairment charge of $6.0 million on SGX's investment in the Bombay Stock Exchange. Revenue was $818.1 million, up 5%. Earnings per share was unchanged at 32.6 cents per share. The Board of Directors has proposed a final dividend of 13.0 cents per share, bringing total dividend for the year to 28.0 cents per share, unchanged from a year earlier.
goo.gl/wUUrYh
Tullett Prebon's selects CME's messaging platform
Finextra
Tullett Prebon, one of the world's leading interdealer brokers, today announced its tpMessenger service has selected CME Group's CME Pivot Instant Messaging platform to power its solution and support open communication for commodities and financial markets.
/goo.gl/CwDbW7
Euronext Pursues Innovation Strategy With Tredzone
Mondovisione
Euronext, the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, has signed a partnership agreement with Tredzone, a technology solution provider specialised in developing software tools for handling complex data with high volumes and guaranteed latency.
goo.gl/QFS2c6
DGCX Hits The Highest Daily Volume Record On July 26
Mondovisione
Trading volumes on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) witnessed a new daily trading record on Tuesday, July 26, leading the Exchange to record its highest ever daily volume of 176,645 contracts valued at USD 3.6 Bn.
goo.gl/8BC5XO
The U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission Recognizes The Athens Stock Exchange As A "Designated Offshore Securities Market" Under U.S. Regulation S
Press Release
On July 15 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the supervisory authority of the U.S. capital markets, has recognized the "Hellenic Exchanges?Athens Stock Exchange S.A. (ATHEX) as a "Designated Offshore Securities Market (DOSM)" within the meaning of Rule 902 (b) of Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act). With this designation, ATHEX joins a number of leading international stock exchanges which have already been designated as DOSM.
goo.gl/Y7RKVi
Euroclear-DTCC joint venture eyes Asia after signing up Northern Trust
Samuel Agini - Financial News
The joint venture between post-trade giants Euroclear and DTCC has signed up its second big fund administrator to its settlement messaging service, paving the way for it to move into Asia. GlobalCollateral, the tie-up between European-headquartered Euroclear and US-based DTCC to create the world's largest pool of collateral, has signed up Northern Trust to its settlement and tracking service, a couple of weeks after State Street came on board. So far, GlobalCollateral has focused on North America and Europe for launching the settlement and tracking service. The joint venture will continue its efforts in those regions, according to chief commercial officer Ted Leveroni, but plans to increase engagement with businesses in the Asia-Pacific region in 2017.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics during an election year as it relates to the financial markets | Wall Street's Mr. Risk Thrives on Traders' Ignorance of Politics
Sangwon Yoon - Bloomberg
Ian Bremmer recast academic discipline as financial product Growing cottage industry turns instability into income source Share on Facebook Share on Twitter It was 1998 and Russia was on the verge of gaining investors' confidence when oil tumbled to nearly $10 a barrel. Foreign creditors dismissed talk of a collapse. Russia had the money to pay its debts, they said, and it wouldn't sacrifice its credibility. Then-President Boris Yeltsin's appointment of a young reformer to manage the crisis was proof.
goo.gl/s3hLZz
At Democratic Convention, Economic Messages Reveal Tensions
WSJ
Headline speakers at this week's Democratic convention are offering jarringly different visions of the state of America's economy, revealing one of the harder questions for presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to answer this fall: How good is the economy, anyway?
on.wsj.com/2a93meo
Hollande meets religious leaders, Clinton makes history, killing is contagious
FT.com
French president François Hollande met religious leaders in a show of interfaith solidarity the day after France was shocked by the brutal killing of a priest in a church in Rouen. Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist leaders stood by the president at the Ãlysée Palace and pledged to resist attempts by Isis to divide the country.
on.ft.com/2a92XZy
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) | How Does Hedge-Fund Manager Joseph Meyer Make So Much Money?
Simone Foxman and Margaret Newkirk - Bloomberg
Fund reports annual returns as high as 91% since 2013; Meyer guarantees clients will never lose money with his system
Ten miles south of downtown Atlanta, in an anonymous business center overlooking the airport, sits the headquarters of what, on paper, is a hedge-fund powerhouse. The numbers coming out of the part-time office at One Hartsfield Centre are remarkable: annual returns of 13 percent, 24 percent, even 91 percent since 2013.
bloom.bg/2asRwjV
Man Group's funds fall in first half, Brexit yet to hit flows
Reuters
British hedge fund manager Man Group on Tuesday posted a 3 percent fall in funds under management in the first half of the year as investment losses and other market moves more than offset a small rise in net inflows. Asset managers have faced a tough year so far due to uncertain global growth. Man has joined rivals Aberdeen Asset Management and Ashmore in seeing investors pull money from funds betting on rising equity prices.
reut.rs/2a90rlL
The German Yield Curve is Getting Kinky
WSJ
Germany's yield curve is getting kinky. The European Central Bank's extraordinarily easy monetary policy has led to an unusual kink in the path of bond yields, with the 10-year bond offering a higher yield than the bond maturing in 12 years. The shape of yield curves is closely watched by investors, and usually arbitrageurs step in whenever bonds get out of line.
goo.gl/gEA825
Home Country Bias: The Worst Offenders
The Reformed Broker
Are US investors right to hold roughly 80% of their equity exposure in US stocks, given that the US market capitalization is only 50% of the global opportunity set? If you're judging solely by recent years, then the emphatic, backward-looking answer is a resounding "Hell yes!" If you're judging by the data we have going back a few decades, then the answer is "sometimes" or no.
goo.gl/QmUvuK
BlackRock ETP Landscape: Flows Remain Resilient Post-Brexit
Press Release
The BlackRock ETP Landscape report Industry Highlights provides commentary on the global Exchange Traded Product (ETP) industry as of June 2016.
goo.gl/WIHLQM
Federal Reserve interest rate meeting: what to watch
FT.com
When Federal Reserve policymakers last gathered in June, the picture that confronted them was a murky one. Britain was just a few days away from holding an epochal vote on its membership of the EU, while the US labour market recovery appeared to have hit an unexpected roadblock.
on.ft.com/2a92SEV
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | EU readies contingency plan for possible Monte Paschi wind down - source
Francesco Guarascio - Reuters
European Union authorities are making contingency plans for the possible winding down of Banca Monte dei Paschi if the Italian lender has a poor reading in stress tests this week and no private or public support is available, an EU official said.
reut.rs/2atawif
Banks Have a New Phrase for Risky Customers: 'Near Prime'
AnnaMaria Andriotis - WSJ
Ever since the financial crisis, subprime has been a dirty word. So banks have coined a new phrase for riskier borrowers: they are now "near prime" customers. During its second-quarter earnings call this month, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. finance chief Marianne Lake said the bank has been lowering credit-score requirements to lend to more borrowers who she called "near-prime." This appears to be the first time the bank has used the term, at least on earnings calls dating back to 2007.
on.wsj.com/2asUrsF
Deutsche Bank: not Lehman Brother
DW
Germany's most important bank has become a mainstay in the headlines, and rarely in a good way these days. A record loss in the last year, rock-bottom share prices, every fourth branch shut down, and rumors of a split. The Deutsche Bank is more "zombie than champion", according to "The Economist." As if that weren't bad enough, the International Monetary Fund labeled the bank the most dangerous bank in the world, because of all the systemic risk it brought to the international banking system - more than HSBC.
goo.gl/66FxKY
Commerzbank's Capital Shocker
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
Germany's Commerzbank has a muddled message for the market. Its loss-absorbing capital base is being eroded by a multitude of factors beyond its control, yet it's still setting aside a large pot of cash to pay out to loyal investors. That could be interpreted as a show of strength by a bank that only recently resumed dividends after a painful crisis turnaround.
bloom.bg/2asWWLT
Turkey Strategist Stripped of License for Post-Coup Analysis
Bloomberg
Capital Markets Board files criminal complaint for report; Ak Investment strategist accused of insulting Turkish leader
The head of research at one of Turkey's largest brokerages was stripped of his professional license and is facing criminal charges over a report analyzing the impact of the July 15 coup attempt, marking an extension of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown to the nation's private financial sector.
goo.gl/7Y8Ilz
Pokemon Go Craze Befuddles Analysts at Biggest Investment Banks
Yuji Nakamura and Takashi Amano - Bloomberg
Nintendo analysts have scrambled to keep up with share moves; Company hasn't disclosed financial interest in Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go's stunning surge in popularity is leaving few more befuddled than the analysts who cover Nintendo Co. for the world's biggest investment banks.
bloom.bg/2asSBIm
New Hope for Bank Stocks
Aaron Kuriloff - WSJ
Plenty of investors have shunned U.S. bank stocks this year, but some are seeing new hope for the sector. Large U.S. banks have outpaced the S&P 500 since J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. became the first of the biggest U.S. lenders to beat reduced earnings expectations earlier this month, rising roughly 2.3% between July 13 and Tuesday morning, compared with the broader index's 0.8% gain. Financial shares in the S&P 500 have outgained the market, rising 1.4% in that time.
on.wsj.com/2asVDwf
Ed Royce: 'Lebanese banks are doing the right thing'
Olivier Homley - Euromoney Magazine
The Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (HIFPA), a US law aimed at blocking Hezbollah's access to the financial sector, has caused weeks of commotion in Lebanon, where the central bank's decision to implement the rules has led to tension between the country's banks and the Lebanese Shi'ite group. For the first time since the law's implementation in Lebanon, the instigator of HIFPA, US congressman Ed Royce, reacts to the situation in the country.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Barchart Partners with MarketXLS to Deliver Real-Time Stock Market Data to Excel Users
Barchart
Barchart, a leading provider of financial market data and technology, has announced a partnership with MarketXLS, a downloadable Microsoft Excel add-in that helps investors boost their productivity while researching stocks and other financial instruments. MarketXLS provides an add-in that turns Excel into a powerful investing research tool. Barchart's partnership with MarketXLS allows its users to access real-time prices within Excel by using MarketXLS' new real-time functions.
goo.gl/ZTeK4Q
Fintech Innovation and Opportunity Meet the Regulators
Aurora Cassirer and Katherine McDaniel - Bloomberg BNA
In this first article in Troutman Sanders' series on fintech, the authors focus on the major areas of fintech's innovation and disruption, examine the regulatory and legal challenges in these spheres, and discuss how fintech companies can better exploit the opportunities created by emerging regulation.
Mark Carney Has Started A Revolution By Embracing Fintech And Blockchain
Forbes
In the aftermath of Britain's referendum vote to leave the European Union, Brexit's loudest advocates scurried from public view and the political establishment descended into a caustic battle for control. Emerging from the melee was Theresa May, who has a reputation for consistency, if little else. But the UK doesn't need a caretaker in these uncertain and turbulent times. It needs bold and innovative leadership.
goo.gl/CWPP0v
Global Blockchain Consortium Agentic Group Opens London Office To Boost U.K. Fintech
CryptoCoinNews
Agentic Group, a New York City-based global blockchain consortium, has seized an opportunity to boost the U.K. fintech sector following the Brexit vote with the opening of a London office. The consortium, formed in 2015 to provide a cohesive voice on the financial implications of blockchains and digital currencies, has more than 35 blockchain and digital currency related companies worldwide to provide blockchain development services.
/goo.gl/ht4FOq
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | FCA publishes final findings of credit card market study
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published the final findings of its study of the credit card market, and set out a package of measures, which include a series of industry led proposals, to help consumers take better control of their spending.
goo.gl/SlfIyW
Deutsche Bank hopes to settle largest litigation cases in 2016
Reuters
Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) hopes to draw a line under its four largest remaining litigation cases this year, it said on Wednesday, as Chief Executive John Cryan continues to put a speedy revamp ahead of short-term profit. Among other, the lender wants to settle U.S. investigations into mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, where Deutsche Bank Deutsche begun settlement talks with the U.S. Department of Justice.
reut.rs/2a930Eo
Goldman is sued in U.S. over merger linked to Malaysia's 1MDB
Jonathan Stempel - Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) was sued on Tuesday by a major shareholder of a Malaysian bank it once advised, and which accused the Wall Street bank of fraudulently shortchanging it in a merger to curry favor with that country's prime minister.
reut.rs/2asWLjt
Goldman Sachs abused trust in dealings with Libyan LIA, fund's lawyer tells trial
Claire Milhench - Reuters
Goldman Sachs abused its position as a trusted adviser to Libya's sovereign wealth fund, a lawyer for the fund argued on Tuesday, in a case that has subjected the bank's dealings to a forensic degree of scrutiny.
reut.rs/2asVNDQ
CFTC Announces Fourth Whistleblower Award
CFTC
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced an award of approximately $50,000 to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided key original information that led to a successful CFTC enforcement action. The award is the fourth award made by the CFTC's Whistleblower Program to a whistleblower who provided valuable information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), and the third whistleblower award made in the last 10 months. The award represents between 10 percent and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected to date, and the whistleblower will be entitled to the same percentage of any additional amounts collected.
goo.gl/d3aj9j
SEC: State Street Misled Custody Clients About Prices for Foreign Currency Exchange Trades
SEC.gov
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that State Street Bank and Trust Company has agreed to pay $382.4 million in a global settlement for misleading mutual funds and other custody clients by applying hidden markups to foreign currency exchange trades.
/goo.gl/7dcwUZ
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | U.S. seek options as farm loan funds run out of cash
P.J. Huffstutter - Reuters
The U.S. government's $2.65 billion operating loan program to help farmers keep their businesses going has already run out of cash, as requests for federal financial assistance grow amid the worst agricultural downturn in more than a decade, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. As a result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking for other money sources "to help bridge the gap in farm operating loans as much as possible until additional funds are made available, either this year or in the next fiscal year," the agency said.
reut.rs/2atbyux
Oil Refiners Struck by Glut Find Comfort in China Teapot Drought
Bloomberg
Lack of infrastructure crimps exports from private refineries Not commercially viable to export fuel now: Teapot association Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Oil refiners rocked by a market glut in Asia are finding some solace as what was expected to be a flood of fuel from China's private processors is proving to be a benign trickle.
goo.gl/Za1bWh
Iran to Cap Government Pay as Salaries Scandal Sparks Furor
Ladane Nasseri - Bloomberg
Iran will cap monthly government salaries as it tries to contain an uproar over high executive wages that has rocked the country's financial industry. A monthly limit of $3,200 will apply to officials including the heads of the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency cited Vice President Mohammad Bagher Nobakht as saying on Tuesday. Monthly salaries of non-government officials will be limited to about $6,200, he said.
bloom.bg/2asSkW5
U.K.'s Biggest Coal Station Now Runs Mainly on Renewable Biomass
Jessica Shankleman - Bloomberg
What was once Britain's biggest coal station is now powered mainly by wood pellets and its owner, Drax Group Plc, will learn in the next few months if can complete the conversion of another unit to run on renewable fuel.
bloom.bg/2asSE74
Ethiopia seen as hottest market for exporters
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
Ethiopia is likely to be one of the fastest growing markets for western exporters in the next five years, while erstwhile emerging market heavyweights Brazil and South Africa offer paltry growth. Perhaps less surprisingly, China will continue to be the emerging market with the largest appetite for western imports, even if these fall well below the value of its exports, according to analysis by UniCredit, the Italian bank. Ethiopia, alongside neighbouring Kenya, "are the two countries that provide the strongest opportunities in Africa, and they are catching up with South Africa," says Fadi Hassan, assistant professor of economics at Trinity College, Dublin, and consultant for UniCredit. "They are going to grow fast [economically], they do not rely on oil or other commodities, there is a rise in industrialisation and entrepreneurship that is quite remarkable and they are just past an income threshold where they start to import goods."
on.ft.com/2asVY21
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Recipe For War: Remove Water and Food, Add Ethnic StrifeÂThen Stir
Eric Roston - Bloomberg
The question is no longer just whether climate change will kill us, but also whether climate change will make us kill each other. Almost 25 percent of armed conflicts in ethnically divided countries occur around the same time as climate-related disasters. This is the main take-away of a new study by researchers that adds crucial data to a debate that's been simmering for several years: Is there evidence (PDF) that ties war and civil unrest to the changing climate? Another finding directly applies to this and humanity's key climate change choke points: food and water. Over the three decades ending in 2010, 9 percent of wars took place in the wake of heat waves or droughts.
bloom.bg/2asQW5K
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