| January 29, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Today's lead story in JLN from the Financial Times titled "Donald Trump's commerce nominee Howard Lutnick accused of conflict of interest" with the subheadline "Billionaire entrepreneur expected to be confirmed after senate hearing" tells how Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick is facing accusations of conflicts of interests as he undergoes a Senate hearing for his nomination as secretary of commerce. He has pledged to resign from his brokerage firm and divest holdings in various companies, including BGC Group, which has a joint venture with a Chinese firm. However, concerns persist, as he has not assured that his adult children, two of whom are employed by Cantor companies, will refrain from acquiring these divested assets. Critics argue that without such assurances, potential conflicts of interest may remain, potentially affecting decisions impacting consumers. Cantor Fitzgerald holds substantial investments in areas overseen by the Commerce Department, such as a $1.2 billion stake in AI chipmaker Nvidia and interests in the stablecoin Tether. The firm also manages a significant portion of Tether's reserves, primarily held in U.S. Treasury bills. Despite previous regulatory issues, including a recent $6.75 million penalty by the SEC for misleading investors, Lutnick is anticipated to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the committee evaluating Lutnick, has endorsed him, citing his extensive experience and commitment to promoting American entrepreneurialism.
Crypto, memecoins, now it is fintech for Trump. Trump Media and Technology Group, led by former President Donald Trump, is expanding into financial services through a partnership with Charles Schwab, the Financial Times reported. The collaboration aims to introduce a range of investment options, including exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrency-related products, under a new service named Truth.Fi, which will be integrated into Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. As part of this initiative, Trump Media plans to deposit $250 million into a custodial account at Schwab. This move follows a recent announcement by Elon Musk's X platform about its partnership with Visa to enable payment processing capabilities.
It is not easy being a CEO. A record number of CEOs departed their roles in 2024 as activist investor pressure and AI-driven disruptions reshaped global corporations, according to a report by Russell Reynolds Associates, the Financial Times reported. CEO turnover across 13 major stock indices reached 202 exits, a 9% increase from 2023, with 43 leaders stepping down within three years of taking office. Technology firms saw the highest turnover, with a 90% rise in CEO departures, including Intel's Pat Gelsinger. Investor impatience was evident in high-profile leadership shakeups, such as HSBC's Noel Quinn and CVS Health's Karen Lynch, driven by demands for strategic overhauls.
Despite rising turnover, companies increasingly promoted internal candidates, with 73% of new CEOs stepping up from within. Financial expertise became a key qualification as firms prioritized cost-cutting and efficiency. The S&P 500 saw the steepest increase in CEO departures, while the FTSE 100 defied the trend, retaining leaders amid economic uncertainty. Gender parity in leadership showed slow progress, with estimates suggesting it will be more than 72 years until balance is achieved.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the Doomsday Clock one second closer to midnight. It is now set at 89 seconds, with the Bulletin citing escalating global threats, including nuclear war, climate change, and artificial intelligence misuse, The New York Times reported. The organization warned that the war in Ukraine, nuclear arms control failures, and the worsening climate crisis have heightened existential risks. Additionally, advances in AI and biological science raise concerns over the potential development of undetectable biological weapons. While critics dismiss the clock as symbolic, its creators stress its role in raising awareness of global dangers. Despite the grim outlook, the bulletin emphasized that coordinated global action, particularly among the U.S., China, and Russia, could help mitigate these threats and turn back the clock.
The FEAS (Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges) Meetings and Tabadul Conference will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on February 13-14. The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) will host the 40th General Assembly FEAS, focusing on 2025 initiatives, exchange collaboration, and capital market infrastructure improvements. On February 14, KASE will officially join the Tabadul Hub electronic trading system, marked by a conference featuring KASE members, international partners, and government officials. Discussions will center on financial market development in the Middle East and Central Asia, strategies to enhance market liquidity, and trading opportunities within the Tabadul Hub.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Europe 'on track' for active account requirements in June - ESMA, ANALYSIS: Industry has more work to do on margin standards - WFE, ANALYSIS: Tech sell-off drove demand for VIX call options - Cboe and EEX backs its Nordic power offering after Euronext-Nasdaq deal.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Our most read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
- Hedge-Fund Options Bet Surged Most Since 2020 in Tech Tumult from Bloomberg.
- Options on French Companies Pick Up Steam as Index Lags Behind from Bloomberg.
- Wall Street asks SEC to extend timeline for US Treasury market overhaul from Reuters. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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| Sponsored Content |
Japan's Single Stock Options Markets Primed for Revitalization after Regulatory Improvements
The recent upturn in Japanese stock markets has drawn attention from domestic and overseas investors. Originally listed in 1997, Japan's Single Stock Options (JSSO) market is set for a dynamic revitalization, JSSOs are attracting both domestic and international investors. Together with Nikkei 225 and TOPIX derivatives, JSSOs are poised to be an important part of the Japanese equity derivatives markets.
In 2024, Osaka Exchange (OSE) has made groundbreaking changes:
1. Revised margin rules and dedicated SSO accounts to lower additional margin requirements for certain trades.
2. Expanded the number of eligible underlying assets, including popular stocks favored by retail investors.
3. Created an enhanced market-making environment for individual stock SSOs.
4. Improved rules for setting strike prices, making trading more attractive.
In addition to the existing local and international brokers, with the entry of new brokerage firms, the JSSO market is becoming more accessible to retail investors. This wave of improvements is expected to significantly boost market participation and liquidity.
Investors are encouraged to explore the exciting opportunities in Japan's revitalized SSO market, poised for substantial growth and offering diverse investment prospects. Join the momentum and capitalize on the emerging potential of Japan's Single Stock Options market today!
Click here for the full story!
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BMLL Expands Global Reach with Unified Market Data and Advanced Analytics
JohnLothianNews.com
BMLL, a data analytics provider for capital markets, emphasizes the ease of use and efficiency of its platform as it expands its global reach and diversifies its offerings, according to Rob Laible, who spoke with John Lothian News at the FIA EXPO.
Laible, head of sales for North America at BMLL, highlighted the platform's ability to quickly address client queries. "It just makes it so much easier for people to take a question from a client, do some quick ... market microstructure research and get an answer back," Laible said. He added that users can avoid legacy systems, stating, "You're not going into some kind of legacy system trying to pull the data out and then kind of get back to the client tomorrow. You can actually get it much more efficiently."
Watch the video »
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 Injective Labs Leaders Discuss Blockchain Innovation on John Lothian News Podcast JohnLothianNews.com Eric Chen, CEO of Injective Labs, and Mirza Uddin, head of business development, recently joined John Lothian News for a podcast exploring the transformative potential of blockchain technology in financial markets. The discussion focused on Injective's efforts to create efficient, borderless trading environments, enhance exchange infrastructure, and cater to the rising demand for digital assets, particularly stablecoins. Chen outlined Injective's strategy for modernizing financial systems by bridging traditional and decentralized finance. The company has prioritized upgrading exchange resilience and reliability while developing institutional-grade tools and digital assets for building blockchain-based financial applications. Recent advancements were highlighted, showcasing Injective's alignment with its long-term vision to facilitate more accessible and robust markets. Listen to the podcast »  Alli Brennan and Kevin Darby - Americas & EMEA and CQG Watch Video »
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"Trump Is Going to Pump Our Bags to Kingdom Come"; A night out with the New Yorkers who are about to get very, very rich.
Alexander Sammon - Slate
A guy, stool-bound inside the front door of PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, motioned for my ID. I reached for my wallet. But wait-turns out he wasn't actually working the door. "We're just trying to get people," he told me, chortling. Epic prank, sir! Hence got, I made my way to the bar's backroom for a panel called "Coin Based: Concepts of a Plan for Nation-State Bitcoin Adoption." "My how things have changed," read the online event page. "Ideas that only a few weeks ago were laughed at by pundits and commentators are now on the table." It was time to decide what exactly the crypto community desires from the Trump administration on a policy level, and a few dozen guys had gathered to listen to a four-guy panel debate potential legislative achievements that could define Trump 2.0. It was off to an annoying start, as expected, but money buys you that right, even digital money.
/jlne.ws/3WFexUV
***** I spent a lot of time in bars in Wisconsin in my 20s. What I learned was that I needed to get a life.~JJL
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The Great Wealth Transfer will take longer than expected, says Charles Schwab
Preston Fore - Fortune
Baby Boomers are trying to figure out what to do with their wealth: Give it to their kids now, or wait until they pass on. It's a nice problem to have, surely, but when it concerns the $80 trillion Great Wealth Transfer the indecision could have major ramifications for both heirs and the rest of the U.S. economy. One study found that for many Boomers, the question has already been decided: Hurry up and wait, kids. Nearly half of high-net-worth Baby Boomers-people between the ages of 60 and 79 with more than $1 million in investable assets-say they plan to hold onto their wealth during their lifetime, according to a recent survey from Charles Schwab.
/jlne.ws/40VSsnS
***** My kids will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands, clamped shut by chronic carpal tunnel syndrome.~JJL
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AI Needs a Lot of Computing Power. Is a Market for 'Compute' the Next Big Thing? Startup trading platforms seek to capitalize on AI's need for vast amounts of processing capacity
Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
Some investors are betting that the artificial-intelligence revolution of the 21st century will give rise to a huge, actively traded market for computing power, the same way that global energy demand led to the emergence of the crude-oil market last century. Compute Exchange, a startup set to announce its launch on Wednesday, plans to conduct auctions where data-center operators and cloud providers can sell their computing capacity-or "compute" in tech-industry jargon. Buyers such as AI companies can use the auctions to buy chunks of processing time for arrays of chips, such as Nvidia's H100 and H200 systems. The trading platform's co-founder and best-known investor is Donald Wilson Jr., founder of high-frequency trading firm DRW Holdings and a veteran Chicago trader. "The total dollars spent on compute will, over the next 10 years, exceed total dollars spent on oil," predicted Wilson. "Obviously oil is the largest commodity right now, so I believe it will be displaced by compute."
/jlne.ws/40xx4Ut
****** Don Wilson is not standing still. Electricity will do that to you.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was The Wall Street Journal's DeepSeek Chief's Journey From Math Geek to Global Disruptor, all about Liang Wenfeng. Second was Trump's New Memecoins, Explained, from The Dispatch. Third was Man Pardoned in Jan. 6 Riot Is Fatally Shot by Sheriff's Deputy During Traffic Stop, from The New York Times.
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| Lead Stories | Donald Trump's commerce nominee Howard Lutnick accused of conflict of interest; Billionaire entrepreneur expected to be confirmed after senate hearing
Joe Miller and Alex Rogers - Financial Times
Billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick will face a senate hearing on Wednesday for his nomination to be Donald Trump's secretary of commerce, as questions swirl over whether his pledge to unwind his significant holdings will be enough to avoid numerous conflicts of interest. If confirmed, the chief executive of Wall Street brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald and major Trump donor will be the president's emissary to the business community he once helped lead - and will oversee a department with sway over many of his prior interests, including cryptocurrencies, the commercial satellite sector and the microchip industry.
/jlne.ws/3EgQuW4
GenAI Increasingly Powering Scams, Wall Street Watchdog Warns; More swindlers are using the technology to trick firms and customers, Finra says
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
Generative artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used by swindlers in sophisticated ways to scam financial institutions, a Wall Street watchdog warned, calling the problem an emerging risk. Scammers are, for example, creating synthetic identification documents to help open fraudulent new brokerage accounts or take over customers' existing accounts, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street's self-regulatory arm, said Tuesday in a new report. Swindlers are also in some cases using deepfake technology to create images of GenAI-generated people holding GenAI-created phony IDs, Finra said.
/jlne.ws/412Yx1T
More Risk, Less Reward: Welcome to the New World Order; The global economy is entering a new era in which economic relationships are secondary to political considerations.
Allison Schrager - Bloomberg
When you are at Davos - and I was there last week, no apologies, I was just doing my job - it is tempting to read small shifts as profound trends that will upset the world order as we know it. You have to work to resist this temptation. More likely, you're just hungry and tired. This year, however, I feel confident in saying that major change is upon us. The world is entering a new regime in which economic relationships are secondary to political considerations. That will bring more financial risk and less economic growth.
/jlne.ws/4huRgNm
Gold Market Launches Ledger To Track Bars From Refiner to Vault; Transparency need to counter laundering and counterfeit bars; Digital database launched by London Bullion Market Association
Jack Ryan - Bloomberg
The gold market has launched a digital database to track bullion and keep precious metal from illicit sources out of the market. The Gold Bar Integrity Database, developed by the London Bullion Market Association, will trace the precious metal in an effort to prevent supply from criminal gangs or conflict zones ending up in bank vaults. It will also seek to stop counterfeit bars stamped with the logos of major refineries from entering the market, as occurred in previous years.
/jlne.ws/3CwCI0Z
LBMA Launches Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) Database
LBMA
LBMA is delighted to announce the launch of its Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) Database powered by aXedras, marking a significant milestone in enhancing trust and transparency within the global precious metals market. The database went live this January, offering participants the opportunity to onboard and leverage this transformative digital platform. By end of 2025, we expect all 100+ Good Delivery refiners to be onboarded by aXedras, enabling enhanced reporting.
/jlne.ws/3EpYwfb
Rush to stockpile gold in New York leads to London shortage; Wait to withdraw bullion from BoE rises sharply as fears of Trump tariffs drive shipments to US
Leslie Hook - Financial Times
A surge in gold shipments to the US has led to a shortage of bullion in London, as traders amass an $82bn stockpile in New York over fears of Trump administration tariffs. The wait to withdraw bullion stored in the Bank of England's vaults has risen from a few days to between four and eight weeks, according to people familiar with the process, as the central bank struggles to keep up with demand.
/jlne.ws/42xKNxd
Lutnick Pledges to Be Responsive to Business as Commerce Chief; Longtime Cantor Fitzgerald CEO appears before Senate panel; His statement offers little on Trump's tariff and trade goals
Alicia Diaz - Bloomberg
Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's nominee for Commerce Secretary, said in prepared remarks for his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would focus on helping American companies and "take a thoughtful and rigorous approach" to the role. "I will dedicate myself to making our government more responsive, working to ensure Americans have the greatest opportunity for success," the longtime chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, said in the statement to the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee.
/jlne.ws/3PSRXo2
We will have to learn to live with machines that can think; The impact of artificial intelligence on productivity could be epoch-making
Martin Wolf - Financial Times
Two topics dominated the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos last week: Donald Trump and artificial intelligence. Of the two, the latter was the more interesting and almost certainly the more significant. Much attention in the discussion was devoted to DeepSeek, the surprise Chinese upstart. Yet we have merely learned that knowledge spreads: no country is going to monopolise these new technologies. This has surprised markets. With new technologies, such "surprises" are not surprising. But it does not change the big question, which is what advancing machine intelligence means for us all.
/jlne.ws/4hbcnov
Tokyo stock exchange looks to protect small investors as buyouts surge; Minority shareholders viewed as victims of sales that undervalue companies
David Keohane and Harry Dempsey - Financial Times
Tokyo's stock exchange is to unveil major new protections for minority investors, as corporate Japan faces surging interest from global private equity firms and a record-breaking wave of management buyouts. The exchange will use a suite of new rules to address a long-standing complaint from minority investors in Japanese stocks: the lack of transparency around takeover prices and how boards accept or reject offers.
/jlne.ws/4aAOfc6
Shell dominates carbon credit market as clean energy spending scaled back; Oil and gas groups rely more heavily on offsets to reach climate targets than any other sector
Kenza Bryan - Financial Times
Shell dominated the $1.4bn global market for carbon credits last year as oil and gas companies scaled back their spending on clean energy and relied more heavily on offsets to reach their climate targets than any other sector. Credits represent a tonne of COâ‚‚ or other greenhouse gases reduced, removed or saved, and are used as a cheap way to progress towards climate promises made to investors.
/jlne.ws/4gzson7
The British Columbia Securities Commission's got talent; They call Vancouver "Hollywood North" for a reason
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
If you're a regulator trying to protect investors from fraud, there are two ways to go about it. One is to actually fight fraud. This is hard, and not getting easier. If you're a Canadian securities regulator, it's even tougher, because your authority only extends to the borders of your province or territory. The second way to get rid of fraud is to educate people about fraud, which is arguably getting easier, because of AI and social media. That means effective market regulation may require a strong social media game. With that in mind, the BC Securities Commission has rapidly risen to the top of our list of Canadian securities regulators - it's a long list, there are 13 of them! - with this video on AI fraud.
/jlne.ws/3WCJ9GP
Wall Street's Levered ETF Boom Is Near-$1 Billion Money Spinner; Revenue of six biggest firms rose 37% year-over-year in 2024; Such funds carry risks like volatility drag and NAV erosion
Isabelle Lee - Bloomberg
A popular ETF trade beloved by market speculators is fast turning into a billion-dollar revenue generator for nimble-footed financial firms. Traders have been diving into leveraged exchange-traded funds, a subset of a derivatives-enhanced products, offering to amp up the daily moves of the world's most popular stocks and indexes. That's enriched the firms behind the majority of these ETFs. They netted around $940 million in revenue in 2024, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, which used napkin math to multiply their assets by their fees. That's a record 37% jump, beating last year's all-time high.
/jlne.ws/3EpBsx8
Swiss End EU Stock Market Restrictions as Relations Improve; Swiss stocks were barred from European Union trading in 2019; Issue linked to EU decision on Swiss market equivalence
Bastian Benrath-Wright and Allegra Catelli - Bloomberg
Switzerland will remove the European Union from its stock market protection list, ending a restriction on the trading of Swiss shares in the bloc that had been imposed in 2019. The measure was introduced after the EU refused to continue to grant equivalence to Swiss stock exchange regulations. From May, European venues will again be able to start trading and list Swiss shares, and dual listings of Swiss companies will be possible. Due to the absence of EU equivalence recognition however, European securities firms are not allowed to trade European stocks on the Swiss exchange.
/jlne.ws/4jtjsCa
HSBC's Longshot Dream of Rivaling Wall Street Comes to an End; Staff in Europe and New York learned of job cuts on Tuesday; Bank has trailed in equity underwriting and advisory rankings
Harry Wilson, Jan-Henrik Foerster, and Manuel Baigorri - Bloomberg
For years HSBC Holdings Plc harbored dreams of becoming a major player on Wall Street and in the City of London. This week, it finally called time on those ambitions. The London-based lender began informing select managers in its corporate advisory and equity underwriting teams in New York, London and continental Europe that it was shuttering their businesses last Friday. However, for most staffers the announcement on Tuesday came as a complete shock, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing internal information.
/jlne.ws/42xOvGQ
San Francisco tech founder and wife arrested for allegedly defrauding investors out of millions
Summer Lin - Los Angeles Times
San Francisco tech founder Alex Beckman and his wife, Valerie Lau, were arrested last week after prosecutors accused the couple of defrauding investors out of more than $60 million. Beckman and Lau are accused of crimes including securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and obstruction of justice, according to a complaint filed last week in the San Francisco U.S. District Court. Lau worked as an attorney for Beckman's startup, ON Platform, formerly known as GameOn, from at least 2016 to 2024.
/jlne.ws/4hA549k
Should the government be allowed to hold crypto?; The Treasury stands to gain a large chunk of the £5 billion of bitcoin seized from organised crime. We ask if it should stay invested, or be forced to cash in
Jack Simpson - The Times of London
The Crown Prosecution Service is seeking permission from the High Court for legal ownership, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, of the bitcoin that was seized last year. Assuming the money goes to the Treasury, we seek opposing views on whether it should stay invested Yes Keld van Schreven from the digital asset investment firm KR1 I believe that the Treasury and Bank of England should buy bitcoin, and other digital currencies such as ethereum, to add to the country's asset reserve and fund Britain's future.
/jlne.ws/4jCe144
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Why peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are not as simple as Trump makes out; The US president says he will use financial leverage to force Russia to accept a deal to end the invasion of Ukraine
Tom Watling - The Independent
US president Donald Trump's pre-election promises to end the war in Ukraine in less than 24 hours - and before his inauguration - have proved empty. Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, says the administration's new goal is to stop the fighting in 100 days. But details on how this will be achieved remain scant. Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed this is because speaking openly about his plans would undermine his negotiating position. His detractors, however, say this is a cover for a lack of plan.
/jlne.ws/3WDLUr4
Zelensky's Former Spokesperson: Ukraine Needs a Cease-Fire Now
Iuliia Mendel - TIME Magazine
Mendel was the spokesperson for President Zelensky from 2019 to 2021 is the author of The Fight of Our Lives: My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Battle for Democracy, and What It Means for the World.
The prospect of a quick peace agreement in Ukraine has become one of the most polarizing issues since Donald Trump's election as President of the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that such a deal can be hard to reach, emphasizing the importance of a just peace over a swift one. Justice, of course, is difficult to argue against. Yet, in conversations with my fellow citizens, another sobering truth emerges: this war is draining us to the core.
/jlne.ws/412SXfX
Ukraine Says It Hit Second Major Russian Oil Refinery in a Week; Drone attacks targeted nine Russian regions overnight; Attack caused fire at Lukoil's Norsi refinery, Ukraine says
Bloomberg News
Ukraine launched one of the largest drone attacks across nine Russian regions overnight, hitting the second major oil refinery in a week. Kyiv's forces attacked Lukoil PJSC's Norsi refinery in Kstovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, causing a fire at the facility, Ukraine's General Staff said in a post on Facebook. The refinery supplies the Russian military with fuel, according to the statement.
/jlne.ws/40zBH0k
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| Middle East Conflict | | News about the current conflict in the Middle East that began with the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. | Trump team avoids Middle East escalation in first weekend in office
Barak Ravid - Axios
President Trump's new foreign policy team managed to stabilize two fragile ceasefire agreements and prevent Middle East escalation on its first weekend in office. Why it matters: Maintaining the ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon and implementing the deal to release hostages held by Hamas are the main foreign policy priorities for the Trump administration in the Middle East right now.
/jlne.ws/3PWmKAi
Middle East becomes fastest-growing renewables market outside China; UAE's Masdar and Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power lead build out of huge solar farms
Malcolm Moore - Financial Times
Until this month, the oil-rich United Arab Emirates had modest ambitions when it came to renewable energy: to install roughly as many solar panels each year as the UK. But then Masdar, the country's state-owned renewable energy company, decided to make a splash at a huge trade fair in Abu Dhabi.
/jlne.ws/4gkik19
He Survived 15 Months of War in Gaza, Then Died as Cease-Fire Neared; Fighting claimed lives until the final moments before the truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. For some, an unexpected delay of a few hours proved deadly.
Bilal Shbair and Erika Solomon - The New York Times
After more than a year of Israeli bombardment in Gaza, there were few blessings left for Talal and Samar al-Najjar to count by the time a cease-fire deal was agreed to this month. Their home was in ruins, they and their children were displaced, and they were staving off hunger. Yet they counted themselves lucky: Their family of seven was intact, something to feel grateful for in the war between Israel and Hamas, which has killed tens of thousands. Many more are likely to be unearthed from the rubble.
/jlne.ws/3CuMXmE
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Trading the curve: opportunities in fixed income F&O
Eurex
In the run-up to Eurex's Derivatives Forum in Frankfurt on 26 and 27 February, we talked with Thilo Rossberg, Head of Traded Markets at LBBW and a panelist at the event, to get his take on the current state of fixed income markets and what we can expect from 2025. How do you expect government bond markets to behave in 2025?
/jlne.ws/4gkdLUz
The evolution of FX markets: A hybrid world of opportunity
Eurex
The foreign exchange (FX) market has undergone significant changes over the past decade as regulatory mandates, technological advancements, and new entrants have reshaped market structures, execution protocols, and workflows. Eurex has been at the forefront of these developments through the promotion and development of FX futures, cooperation with request-for-quote (RFQ) platforms, and the launch of trading protocols and methodologies designed to offer investors choice in a hybrid market. In this article, Eurex's Jens Quiram, Global Head of FIC Derivatives & Repo Sales, and Tobias Rank, Head of FX Product Sales, discuss the recent evolution of the FX market and the role Eurex is playing in enhancing market efficiency and choice.
/jlne.ws/3EfKpt2
Enterprise and ONEOK Extend Terminal Transfer Fee Waiver for ICE Midland WTI (HOU) Crude Deliveries to the End of 2028
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) and ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) have extended their fee waiver arrangement between the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) and ONEOK East Houston (MEH) terminals to transfer crude oil delivered through ICE's Midland WTI futures contract (ICE: HOU) until December 31, 2028.
/jlne.ws/40toCWc
4Sight Moves from AltX to JSE Main Board Following Market Segmentation Success
JSE
4Sight, a multinational diversified technology group today becomes the first Altx company to transfer its listing to the Main Board General Segment.
/jlne.ws/4hSJhu3
MCX to remain open on Budget Day, 1st February 2025
MCX
Mumbai, January 29, 2025: The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), India's leading Exchange in the Commodity Derivatives Market segment, shall be conducting a special live trading session on Saturday, February 1, 2025, to make available the trading platform for market participants on account of presentation of the Union Budget, supporting their real-time risk management and hedging requirements. The exchange will remain open for normal trade from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
/jlne.ws/42wCrFW
Nasdaq Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results; A Year of Strong Financial Performance and Strategic Execution
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.
/jlne.ws/3PSN2nh
Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 Per Share
Nasdaq
The Board of Directors of Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share on the company's outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on March 28, 2025 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 14, 2025. Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
/jlne.ws/42zHpBH
Changes in the SIX Executive Board
SIX
Executive Board members Javier Hernani, Head Business Unit Securities Services, and Jochen Durr, Chief Risk Officer, will leave SIX with effect from 1 February 2025. Both have contributed significantly to the further development and international growth of SIX. Javier Hernani was CEO of BME for many years until November 2024 and since the takeover of BME by SIX, has also headed the Business Unit Securities Services (Post Trading). In this role, he has successfully expanded the international post trading business and developed the business unit into one of the most important commercial pillars of SIX. Jose Manuel Ortiz, Head Clearing and Repo Operations, will take over the business unit on an interim basis from 1 February 2025 on until Javier Hernani's successor has been appointed.
/jlne.ws/4ayJQXr
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Apex Group transforms global structure with key strategic hire
Apex Group
Apex Group Ltd. ("the Group"), the leading global financial services provider, has appointed a new Global Head of Transformation. Don Yeisley will lead the delivery and improvement team - focusing on client-driven technology and business process initiatives and improvements. Based in New York, this key strategic role marks yet another milestone in Apex Group's mission to transform the financial services industry by driving growth with technology and people at its core. Before joining Apex Group, Don Yeisley spent 30 plus years in the financial services industry, having the privilege of assisting leading firms, such as UBS, HSBC and Bank Leumi, design and execute transformational roadmaps. These initiatives focused on structural re-engineering and enhancing technology efficiencies while strengthening controls and streamlining daily production across operations, service and sales.
/jlne.ws/4hyMA9r
Trump Media launches FinTech services brand
Reuters
Truth Social parent Trump Media and Technology Group said on Wednesday its board of directors has approved the launch of a financial services and FinTech brand Truth.Fi, sending shares of the firm up over 15% in premarket trading. The company board has also authorized an investment of up to $250 million through Charles Schwab as it looks to diversify its cash holdings, which exceeded $700 million at the close of the previous year.
/jlne.ws/3WCEoNt
Formance raises $21M to build the AWS for fintech infrastructure
Romain Dillet - TechCrunch
If you talk to a fintech entrepreneur about their business, chances are they'll end up talking about ledger issues at some point. A ledger is a record of money movements that serves as the source of truth for financial assets, but when a company starts having multiple bank accounts, payment processors and funds spread across discrete services, it can become a headache to manage. Most companies end up dedicating engineering resources to build their own ledgers to solve that.
/jlne.ws/4jCM7oE
DeepSeek 'Started a Revolution' for AI and Investors; Blue Whale Manager Stephen Yiu joins Merryn Talks Money to discuss the Big Tech selloff, his outlook for AI and where he's investing now.
Sommer Saadi and Merryn Somerset Webb - Bloomberg podcast
The artificial intelligence landscape appears to have changed. Nvidia's dominance has been disrupted by Chinese startup DeepSeek, whose surge in popularity is raising questions about the valuations of US tech giants. That this new rival to ChatGPT comes at a fraction of the latter's cost has poked holes in the justification for massive AI budgets. "They have started a revolution," says Stephen Yiu, chief investment officer of Blue Whale Growth Fund, who joins this week's Merryn Talks Money. Now anyone "can start to work on some AI application."
/jlne.ws/40zWdha
OpenAI employee 'terrified' of AI pace quits ChatGPT creator; 'I can't help but wonder: Will humanity even make it to that point?' Steven Adler says
Anthony Cuthbertson - The Independent
An AI researcher and safety officer at ChatGPT creator OpenAI has quit the company, saying he is "pretty terrified" by the current pace of artificial intelligence. Steven Adler, who has worked at the California-based company since March 2022 - eight months before the launch of ChatGPT - revealed that he was stepping down amid concerns about the trajectory of AI development. "Honestly I'm pretty terrified by the pace of AI development these days," he said. "When I think about where I'll raise a future family, or how much to save for retirement, I can't help but wonder: Will humanity even make it to that point?"
/jlne.ws/3WDLUay
Microsoft Probing If DeepSeek-Linked Group Improperly Obtained OpenAI Data; Microsoft notified OpenAI of activity that may violate terms; Individuals were observed exfiltrating data using OpenAI API
Dina Bass and Shirin Ghaffary - Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI's technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, according to people familiar with the matter. Microsoft's security researchers in the fall observed individuals they believe may be linked to DeepSeek exfiltrating a large amount of data using the OpenAI application programming interface, or API, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Software developers can pay for a license to use the API to integrate OpenAI's proprietary artificial intelligence models into their own applications.
/jlne.ws/3Ehodif
DeepSeek Is Coming for Sam Altman's Other Company Too; Oklo's prospects depend on AI's insatiable need for electricity fueling demand for carbon-free electricity and expensive nuclear projects.
Liam Denning - Bloomberg
If OpenAI LLC were a listed company, Monday would have been a very bad day for the stock. But Chief Executive Sam Altman also happens to be chairman of another, less well-known company that is listed, a developer of nuclear small modular reactors, or SMRs, called Oklo Inc. Monday was a very bad day for that stock. Even if the market's knee-jerk reactions often lend themselves to overinterpretation, Oklo's 26% sell-off on news of a Chinese competitor to chatbots such as ChatGPT is a useful reminder of nuclear power's big vulnerability.
/jlne.ws/4hc77AY
Is Elon Musk a good person? His Grok AI says no
Chris Morris - Fortune
/jlne.ws/3CvPHjA
OpenAI says it has evidence China's DeepSeek used its model to train competitor; White House AI tsar David Sacks raises possibility of alleged intellectual property theft
Cristina Criddle and Eleanor Olcott - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3PSsBH1
*****A related story from The Wall Street Journal is titled "OpenAI Is Probing Whether DeepSeek Used Its Models to Train New Chatbot."~JJL
Broadridge Appoints Quentin Limouzi As Global Head Of Post-trade
Broadridge via Financial IT
/jlne.ws/40Tejfq
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Chinese and Iranian Hackers Are Using U.S. AI Products to Bolster Cyberattacks; Researchers outline malicious uses of AI after China-built AI platform DeepSeek upends international assumptions about Beijing's capabilities
Dustin Volz and Robert McMillan - The Wall Street Journal
Hackers linked to China, Iran and other foreign governments are using new AI technology to bolster their cyberattacks against U.S. and global targets, according to U.S. officials and new security research. In the past year, dozens of hacking groups in more than 20 countries turned to Google's Gemini chatbot to assist with malicious code writing, hunts for publicly known cyber vulnerabilities and research into organizations to target for attack, among other tasks, Google's cyber-threat experts said.
/jlne.ws/4jtFy7P
Italian startup Exein to supply cybersecurity for chips to MediaTek
Reuters
Italian tech startup Exein has agreed with Taiwan's MediaTek to provide cybersecurity systems to be embedded on the chipmaker's Genio platform, Exein said on Wednesday. The deal will provide security features to billions of chips using the system worldwide in industries including mobile, home, automotive and healthcare, Exein said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/3Ee0kbg
OpenAI announces more secure ChatGPT for government workers, Trump administration; The news comes a week into the new presidency, as Big Tech leaders including Sam Altman have been eager to work with Trump.
Jessica Bursztynsky - Fast Company
OpenAI on Tuesday announced a new ChatGPT system for U.S. government workers that it calls more secure than its Enterprise offering. ChatGPT Gov will allow for government agencies to feed nonpublic, sensitive data into the platform while operating in their own hosting environments. OpenAI said that self-hosting enables agencies to manage their own security, privacy, and compliance requirements.
/jlne.ws/40BazxN
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Crypto Enters the Debanking Debate With a Weak Case; Banks need to be able to protect themselves from clients who pose risks that outweigh the value of their custom.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg
"Debanking" is about to get a lot of airtime in US politics, but be warned: This debate is a chimera. Crypto enthusiasts, culture warriors and banks all have dogs in the hunt, with each leaning on the others' interests and narratives to advance their own. At heart, the issue is about the bureaucracy built to prevent terrorist financing and money laundering versus the costs of getting it wrong - for banks that get fined billions for failings and for victims when terrible things happen. National security is the bright red line here, not political conspiracies about liberals seeking to hobble conservatives with secret sanctions.
/jlne.ws/4hgt2a4
Trump Memecoin Likely Generated at Least $11 Million in Fees, Analysis Shows
Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
Donald Trump's namesake memecoin has likely generated at least $11.4 million in fees for entities linked to the president since its launch just before his second inauguration, according to an analysis by the crypto risk modeling firm Gauntlet. The crypto world was caught by surprise when the "official" Trump memecoin was released late on Jan. 17 by the former crypto skeptic turned supporter. The ensuing exuberance swelled the market value of the token to more than $14 billion, spurring speculation that it could potentially earn billions for Trump, while also raising concern about conflicts of interest.
/jlne.ws/3EgIcgT
French investigators open fraud probe against crypto platform Binance
Reuters
French investigators said on Tuesday they had opened a judicial probe into money laundering, tax fraud and other charges at Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, which said it denied the allegations. The economic and financial crime section of the Paris public prosecutor's office (JUNALCO) said in a statement that the probe includes money laundering in connection with drug trafficking.
/jlne.ws/4glaiFc
Billionaire Binance founder 'CZ' jumps back into crypto with $16 million investment in token airdrop service Sign
Catherine McGrath - Fortune
After wrapping up a four-month U.S. prison sentence in September, former Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has been busy transforming Binance's venture capital arm into a new entity known as YZi Labs. On Tuesday, YZi Labs announced its first investment: leading a $16 million funding round into a startup called Sign, a platform seeking to simplify token distribution and bring credential verification on-chain.
/jlne.ws/4hBFiSa
Czech central bank chief wants the country to buy billions of dollars in Bitcoin as he claims Trump 'guys' have created a bubble
Ryan Hogg - Fortune
The boss of the Czech Republic's central bank wants to pump billions of euros of the country's reserves into Bitcoin, a landmark move that would likely upset fellow European central bankers Czech National Bank (CNB) governor Aleš Michl floated the idea of his country becoming the first in Western Europe to hold some of its reserves in cryptocurrency, suggesting the CNB could hold up to 5% of its EUR140 billion ($145.6 billion) in reserves in Bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/3PUDHet
Czech Central Bank Chief Mulls Bitcoin as Possible Reserve Asset; Central bank to analyze whether to buy bitcoin, Michl Says; Governor says there is no imminent board decision on bitcoin
Peter Laca - Bloomberg
Czech monetary policymakers will assess whether to invest in bitcoin, Governor Ales Michl said, a move that could make the country one of the first to hold part of its foreign reserves in the crypto currency. Michl, who took over the monetary institution in 2022 with a goal to tame the worst inflation crisis in three decades, has also made diversifying the bank's investments one of his priorities. The plan, designed to make the bank profitable, includes boosting holdings of gold and stocks, especially in the US market.
/jlne.ws/40SpDIU
Analysis-Trump's digital dollar ban gives China and Europe's CBDCs free rein
Marc Jones - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3EhpVQH
Trump's Memecoin Can Now Be Used to Buy Watches and Sneakers; Trump announced the memecoin before his inauguration; Customers can also use the coin to buy Trump fragrances
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4aDMET5
Memecoin ETF filings spark concerns over 'casino-type' speculation; Proposed funds are among multiple cryptocurrency ETFs filed in wake of Trump's victory
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3Ediudf
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump makes moves to expand his power, sparking chaos and a possible constitutional crisis
Nicholas Riccardi - Associated Press
Just a little over a week into his second term, President Donald Trump is taking steps to maximize his power, sparking chaos and what critics contend is a constitutional crisis as he challenges the separation of powers that have defined American government for more than 200 years. The new administration's most provocative move came this week, as it announced it would temporarily halt federal payments to ensure they complied with Trump's orders barring diversity programs. The technical-sounding directive had enormous immediate impact before it was blocked by a federal judge, potentially pulling trillions of dollars from police departments, domestic violence shelters, nutrition services and disaster relief programs that rely on federal grants.
/jlne.ws/42yu9xf
Trump campaign manager, ex-senator join Coinbase advisory council
Reuters
Crypto exchange Coinbase on Wednesday added four high-profile members to its global advisory council, including former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Chris LaCivita, co-campaign manager for President Donald Trump's re-election. Drafting a framework for the growth of the crypto sector has been a top priority for the Trump administration after years of enforcement actions that the industry has criticized as regulatory overreach by U.S. agencies.
/jlne.ws/4aJV6QH
Trump Wants to 'Impound' Money That Congress Appropriated. Here's What It Means
Steven T. Dennis - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump says he has plenty of ways to shrink the federal government: get rid of the Department of Education; empower Elon Musk as head of a new Department of Government Efficiency; and slash the bureaucracy that regulates government. And one other idea: don't spend all the money Congress tells him to spend. After Trump telegraphed this last strategy during his 2024 campaign, his administration on Jan. 27 directed federal agencies to pause disbursements of various kinds of financial assistance, pending a review to determine whether they comply with the flurry of executive orders the president has issued since starting his second term.
/jlne.ws/4huQIHi
Trump's 9-Hour Economic War on Colombia Rattles Emerging Markets; Colombia peso has weakened since Trump's tariff threats; Central bank meets Friday with rates cut in question
Nicolle Yapur and Maria Elena Vizcaino - Bloomberg
For most of the time since Donald Trump won office, Colombia appeared safely out of his crosshairs. Preoccupied with the likes of Mexico and China, he barely uttered a word about the country, giving traders in Bogota the confidence to steadily bid up the peso and stock prices. The calm was shattered at 1:29 p.m. on Sunday, when Trump suddenly unleashed, via social-media, an economic war on Colombia - 25% tariffs, sanctions, extraordinary cargo inspections, travel restrictions - as retribution for its refusal to receive deportees.
/jlne.ws/40TkCQn
Democrats blame Trump for soaring egg prices - just like Trump blamed Biden. Can anyone actually fix the problem?
Andrew Romano - Yahoo News
Americans know that eggs are both incredible and edible. But now they're political too. As the average price of a dozen large, grade-A eggs continues to soar amid a raging bird-flu outbreak - hitting $4.13 in December 2024, up nearly 37% from a year earlier - Democrats in Congress are accusing newly inaugurated President Trump of backtracking on one of the key promises of his 2024 campaign: to "end inflation and make America affordable again," "starting on day one." Advertisement "I won on groceries," Trump told NBC last month. "When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that. We're going to bring those prices way down." Yet according to a group of congressional Democrats led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Trump has spent his first week back in office too focused on other priorities instead, such as "mass deportations and pardoning Jan. 6 attackers."
/jlne.ws/4hDcNnr
State Department Reverses Near-Full Stop of Foreign Aid; Marco Rubio's memo now exempts 'core life saving programs' but withholds assistance for diversity and abortions
Michael R. Gordon Follow and Alexander Ward - The Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration pulled back from its order to pause nearly all foreign aid, and will now exempt "core life saving programs" that involve medicine, medical services, food and shelter, according to a Tuesday memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A Jan. 24 State Department directive had called for a broad suspension of foreign assistance while the agency carried out a three-month review of aid programs.
/jlne.ws/3EsqGpS
Musk's Election Interference Is Rattling German Political Class; Trump advisor Musk causing outrage with his far-right support; But it's impossible to ignore Musk's electoral interventions
Arne Delfs, William Wilkes, Christina Kyriasoglou, and Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/40B6j1h
Denmark Orders Ships for Greenland After Trump Demands
Sanne Wass - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3CwCiYt
Russia Set to Test New Delhi's Nerve by Sending Sanctioned Oil and Tankers to India
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/42xNfn6
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | FINRA Publishes 2025 Regulatory Oversight Report; Report Highlights Third-Party Risk Landscape and Other New Topics; Includes Observations About Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Investment Fraud and Others
FINRA
FINRA published today the 2025 FINRA Regulatory Oversight Report - a vital information resource comprising observations from across FINRA's Member Supervision, Market Regulation and Enforcement programs that member firms can use throughout the year to strengthen their compliance programs. The report reflects FINRA's commitment to providing transparency to member firms and the investing public about its regulatory observations and activities.
/jlne.ws/3EcKfm9
SEC Publishes Annual Staff Report on Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Credit Ratings (OCR) today published its annual Staff Report on Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) summarizing the findings of the NRSRO examinations and discussing the state of competition, transparency, and conflicts of interest among NRSROs.
/jlne.ws/3E912q7
ART affirms ASIC decision to disqualify SMSF auditor for failing to comply with auditing standards
ASIC
The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) has upheld ASIC's decision to disqualify Mr MD Nazrul Islam from being an approved self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditor for failing to comply with auditing standards. Mr Islam, of Clayton South, Victoria, was originally disqualified from being an approved SMSF auditor in February 2024 (24-215MR). Mr Islam appealed the decision to the ART on 17 April 2024.
/jlne.ws/4hCgABp
FCA issues first fine for transaction reporting failures under MiFIR; Infinox Capital Limited (Infinox) has been fined £99,200 by the FCA for failing to submit 46,053 transaction reports which risked market abuse going undetected.
FCA
To monitor, detect and disrupt market abuse effectively, the FCA needs to receive complete, accurate and timely transaction reports. Between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023, Infinox failed to submit transaction reports for single-stock contracts for difference (CFD) trades executed through one of its corporate brokerage accounts. Trades executed through this corporate brokerage account accounted for the majority of this business line.
/jlne.ws/4he0TR3
The Japan-Switzerland Financial Dialogue
FSA
On January 28, 2025, the Japan-Switzerland Financial Dialogue was held in Bern by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Ministry of Finance (MOF), State Secretariat for International Finance, Federal Department of Finance (SIF), and Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA). In the dialogue, participants exchanged views on a wide range of topics such as macroeconomic outlook, regulatory and supervisory policy developments including Japan's "Policy Plan for Promoting Japan as a Leading Asset Management Center," digital finance and sustainable finance.
/jlne.ws/4jtzXOR
Administrative Action against AEON Bank, Ltd.
FSA
The Financial Services Agency (hereinafter, "FSA") issued a business improvement order as follows to AEON Bank, Ltd. (corporate number: 1010601032497; hereinafter, the "Bank"), pursuant to the provisions of Article 26 (1) of the Banking Act, today.
/jlne.ws/40QQp46
Securities Regulator in Hong Kong Identifies 33 Suspicious HashKey-Related Sites
CoinMarketCap
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has identified 33 additional suspicious websites impersonating HashKey, a licensed crypto trading platform. This brings the total number of flagged impersonators to 45. HashKey, which in November 2022 became the second exchange to receive a crypto license from the SFC, reported these fraudulent links, stating that they slightly altered official website addresses to mislead users.
/jlne.ws/42xV3VV
Convicted Hedge Fund Trader Wins Cut in Prison Term in Tax Scandal Case; Danish appeals court almost halves Klar's six year sentence; Klar was the first trader jailed over Cum-Ex in Denmark
Sanne Wass - Bloomberg
A hedge fund trader convicted of fraud over sham Cum-Ex trades in a massive scandal that cost Denmark's treasury a total of 12.7 billion kroner ($1.8 billion) had his prison sentence reduced by a Danish appeals court. Guenther Klar, who was originally handed six years in prison had his Danish sentence reduced to three-and-a-half years, according to a statement by the court. It was shortened because a Belgian court sentenced him to four years over similar crimes. Klar will serve the Belgian sentence after the Danish.
/jlne.ws/4hAy1lS
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Triple-Levered Nvidia Traders Are Gutpunched by 52% One-Day Loss
Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
As levered-up US investors sustained eye-popping losses in tech stocks and related ETFs on Monday, they could take some comfort from the fact that another batch of speculative traders across the Atlantic had it even worse. Amid a bruising global rout sparked by anxiety over the rise of China's DeepSeek AI model, the London-listed Leverage Shares 3x NVIDIA ETP slumped 52%, wiping out more than half of its $172 million in assets before trading was halted on Monday. That eclipsed even twice-levered US single-stock funds like GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF (ticker NVDL), which was on course to drop a record 36% as of Monday afternoon.
/jlne.ws/4hy2TmX
MSCI's fourth-quarter profit declines on higher expenses
Reuters
MSCI reported a 24.3% fall in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by higher costs and tougher comparisons to a year earlier, when the index provider had recorded a $143 million one-time gain. MSCI's results often reflect sentiment in the broader market, as clients use the company's stock indexes and other tools to help them evaluate their investments.
/jlne.ws/3WEoi5R
Human traders are valuable, actually! Well, maybe at least?
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
The trading pits of yore are mostly dead. A few years ago even the CME announced that it would permanently close most of its remaining open-outcry trading venues in Chicago. It felt like the end of an era. Does it matter though? After all, equity trading is overwhelmingly electronic, and Alphaville's assumption has long been that everything will eventually migrate to entirely algorithmic platforms. Our cynical view is that the New York Stock Exchange's floor is even now mostly a very elaborate TV set for CNBC.
/jlne.ws/3ChZBp1
Dissecting initial margin forecasts: models, limitations and backtesting
Vladimir Chorniy and Sergii Arkhypov - Risk.net
Initial margin (IM) has a significant impact on counterparty exposure, pricing, capital and limits. This makes the modeling of future IM a critical element of counterparty risk management and pricing. All the current approaches, which we review in this paper, consider IM as value-at-risk (VaR) and therefore develop methods for forecasting forward VaR, and some approaches have then further proposed backtesting of VaR forecasts for model verification. We show that such approaches are limited and have also biased the industry regarding the use of backtesting and model verification.
/jlne.ws/3PV9RXe
More Americans are going into debt to gamble on sports-and many see it as investment
Alicia Adamczyk - Fortune
Sports bettors reported spending $3,284, on average, in the past 12 months. LEOPATRIZI As sports betting becomes legalized in more and more states, people are gambling away thousands of dollars a year-all while believing they are investing for the future. This is a trend that has been underway for some time, but it has accelerated dramatically in the past year, according to a new report.
/jlne.ws/3EcOIVX
Listen to the Bond Market, Because It's Flashing a Warning
Rebecca Patterson - The New York Times
If you earned about 5 percent every year loaning money to the United States government for a decade, that sounds like a pretty good deal, right? It's near the highest return you could have received since 2008, and for now, at least, would be widely considered risk-free. I'm sorry to tell you there are plenty of reasons this may be too good to be true. The bond market is telling us something about the dawn of the second Trump presidency, and it's not pretty.
/jlne.ws/3PXcCYa
They Invested Billions. Then the A.I. Script Got Flipped; Venture capitalists plowed money into A.I. start-ups like OpenAI and Anthropic. But the rise of the Chinese A.I. start-up DeepSeek has called that funding frenzy into question.
Erin Griffith - The New York Times
/jlne.ws/4jCpMY7
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Shell dominates carbon credit market as clean energy spending scaled back; Oil and gas groups rely more heavily on offsets to reach climate targets than any other sector
Kenza Bryan - Financial Times
Shell dominated the $1.4bn global market for carbon credits last year as oil and gas companies scaled back their spending on clean energy and relied more heavily on offsets to reach their climate targets than any other sector. Credits represent a tonne of COâ‚‚ or other greenhouse gases reduced, removed or saved, and are used as a cheap way to progress towards climate promises made to investors.
/jlne.ws/4gzson7
ESG Funds Hit by Worst-Ever Redemptions as Backlash Deepens; Funds in US and Europe suffer outflows, Morningstar data show; 'Conventional equity strategies' did better in bull market
Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
ESG fund managers are facing one of the toughest moments in the strategy's history, as investment clients pull record amounts of money. Funds complying with the European Union's strictest ESG standards suffered record outflows last quarter, according to fresh data from Morningstar Inc. That follows an analysis by the market researcher showing ESG fund managers in the US just had their worst year ever. At the same time, a record number of funds has now scrapped ESG and related terms from their names, Morningstar data show.
/jlne.ws/4hddu6N
Inside Trump's Renewed Effort to Undo a Major Climate Rule; A rule known as the endangerment finding requires the E.P.A. to regulate greenhouse gases. It has proved resilient against earlier attacks.
Karen Zraick and Lisa Friedman - The New York Times
For years, the fossil fuel industry and its allies have tried to overturn one of the most important federal rulings in the history of climate policy: the one that requires the government to limit greenhouse gases. They lobbied. They sued. And so far they've failed.
/jlne.ws/4hBDMiW
Could Trump Use the 'God Squad' to Override Environmental Law?; The president wants to convene the rarely used panel, which has the power to carve out exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. Here's what to know.
Catrin Einhorn - The New York Times
In at least two executive orders since he took office last week, President Trump has invoked a panel with a telling nickname: the God Squad. The committee is made up of high-level officials who can override the landmark Endangered Species Act so that development or other projects can proceed even if they might result in an extinction. It's called the God Squad because its members "literally have the authority over the life and death of the species," said Patrick Parenteau, an emeritus professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School who, in the late 1970s, had a hand in writing the legislative language that created the God Squad provision.
/jlne.ws/4hBDIQe
Corporate 'Irritation' Over ESG Fueled by Significant Costs; Annoyance in strategy linked to growing regulatory pressure; EU is considering rollback of some ESG-related requirements
Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
As ESG rapidly morphs into one of the least-loved labels in global finance, those monitoring the development say it's not all down to ideology. Instead, annoyance with environmental, social and governance metrics has grown along with regulatory requirements around ESG data, according to Alex Tamlyn, partner at DLA Piper and chair of the law firm's boardroom counsel practice.
/jlne.ws/4ggH9uH
Climate Change Made LA 35% More Primed to Burn, Scientists Say; Global warming exacerbated fire conditions in the Los Angeles area, an analysis by the research group World Weather Attribution finds.
Eric Roston - Bloomberg
Climate change made Southern California's dangerous wildfire conditions in early January 35% more likely than they would have been before the industrial era, according to a new analysis by the scientific group World Weather Attribution. Greenhouse gas pollution raised temperatures, made drought more likely and extended the length of fire season, contributing to the most destructive fire disaster in US history, killing at least 28 people and destroying more than 16,000 structures. The fires were also 6% more intense because of climate change, the analysis found.
/jlne.ws/4goDUBj
UK Firm to Build New Zealand's Biggest Solar Farm; Site will continue to be a farm, providing shade for sheep; Harmony Energy expects site to be the first of 10 projects
Eamon Farhat - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3WEreiT
If Goldman Is the Future of Diversity, We Have a Problem; The bank gets credit for speaking out about its commitment to DEI. But the paucity of women in its top ranks speaks louder than words.
Beth Kowitt - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3CBAXj2
Hong Kong accounting body calls for more expertise in sustainability practices
South China Morning Post
/jlne.ws/4gkdFMH
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Interactive Brokers chooses Pirum's CoacsConnect to automate corporate actions; Pirum, a trusted technology partner for securities finance automation and collateral management, today announced that Interactive Brokers, an automated global electronic broker, has adopted CoacsConnect to automate corporate actions for its clients worldwide.
Interactive Brokers via Finextra
Pirum's CoacsConnect offers a centralized solution for managing corporate actions, including income claims and voluntary corporate actions functionality. The solution caters to each client's individual requirements and tech stack and currently processes on average US$3.8bn of corporate actions daily. In selecting the CoacsConnect solution, Interactive Brokers set out to unlock efficiencies through strategic collaborations and mitigate risk in how the global firm processes corporate actions.
/jlne.ws/4hxovQi
LSEG global head of investment management and execution solutions joins Broadridge; Individual has previously served at: Redi, TradingScreen, HSBC Global Banking and Markets, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Quentin Limouzi joined Broadridge as global head of post-trade on 27 January following six years at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). In his new role, Limouzi is set to focus on supporting Broadridge's clients with global regulatory developments and future technological innovations. He most recently served as global head of investment management and execution solutions, and also previously headed up global buy-side trading for Refinitiv, among other roles.
/jlne.ws/42Ca3lN
US Bancorp President Gunjan Kedia to become its first female CEO
Pritam Biswas - Reuters
U.S. Bancorp announced on Tuesday that President Gunjan Kedia will become its chief executive, effective April 15, becoming the first woman in the bank's history to take up the role. Kedia joins only a handful of female CEOs in the finance sector, with Jane Fraser at the helm of Citigroup, one of the largest banks in the U.S. She will replace Andy Cecere, who served as the company's CEO since 2017 and as its chairman since 2018.
/jlne.ws/3Eh21Vk
Norway $1.8 Trillion Fund Returns 13% on Tech Stocks Gains; World's largest equity investor benefited from US tech boom; Sovereign wealth fund fell short of self-imposed target
Kari Lundgren - Bloomberg
Norway's sovereign wealth fund last year returned 13%, or $222 billion, but missed its self-imposed target for the second year in a row despite gains from the booming US technology sector. Norges Bank Investment Management - the official name of the $1.8 trillion fund - saw investments in equities gain 18% in 2024, it said in a statement on Wednesday. After the value of real estate holdings fell, the fund missed the benchmark it measures itself against by 45 basis points, it said.
/jlne.ws/3PV2ZJt
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Trump Offers Buyouts to Federal Employees Resisting In-Person Work; President forcing federal workers back to government offices; Email to federal employees warns of more workforce reductions
Skylar Woodhouse and Mackenzie Hawkins - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump is offering buyouts to agency employees who don't want to comply with his demands that they return to the office as he looks to reshape the federal workforce in his second term. The buyouts will run through Sept. 30 as long as the employees resign by Feb. 6. The Office of Personnel Management posted what it said was a copy of that email on a website page titled "Fork in the Road." The buyouts were offered in an email to federal employees that also warned that the administration was seeking a "more streamlined and flexible workforce."
/jlne.ws/42tTaK7
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | RFK Jr. Wants to Rethink the Measles Vaccine. Here's What the Science Shows.; MMR vaccines are safe and effective, but fewer children are getting them
Dominique Mosbergen and Kara Dapena - The Wall Street Journal
Measles and mumps are viral diseases so rare that fewer than one in 40,000 Americans catch either of them in a given year. Getting rubella is less likely than getting struck by lightning. But as recently as the 1960s, measles sickened half a million people in the U.S. annually and killed hundreds. Mumps was a leading cause of deafness in children and rubella sickened thousands of pregnant women, causing many to miscarry or to deliver infants with birth defects. Measles, mumps and rubella vaccines introduced in the 1960s slashed infection rates. All 50 states require children to receive a combined MMR vaccine before starting school.
/jlne.ws/40RTJfl
RFK Jr.'s plan to combat addiction: 'wellness farms'
Alec Schemmel - Fox News via AOL
While President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been scrutinized over his views on vaccines, farming, abortion and more, his perspective on treating one of the nation's foremost health crises has received far less attention. Before joining Trump's team, Kennedy campaigned for president on a plan to treat addiction by creating "wellness farms" funded by tax revenues from federally legalized marijuana sales. "I'm going to create these wellness farms where they can go and get off of illegal drugs, off of opiates, but also legal drugs," Kennedy said at a virtual event during his campaign, billed as a "Latino Town Hall."
/jlne.ws/40yjZtT
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | India's IPO Boom Is Defying the Stock Market's Historical Slump; Listing frenzy seen extending after 23 IPOs this month; India may see up to $30 billion of IPOs in 2025: JM Financial
Ashutosh Joshi and Dave Sebastian - Bloomberg
India's newest stocks are bucking a broader market selloff in the country, indicating there's room for initial public offerings to continue their bull run. The 23 stocks that debuted in India so far this year are up by an average of 15% from their offer prices, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with a more than 2% drop in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index this year.
/jlne.ws/3PUGRil
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