| April 07, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Remember those back to back storms I reported about earlier in the week? Well The Washington Post is reporting that tornado deaths in 2023 are already double last year's total and that most of the April to June tornado period lies ahead.
How many tornadoes has the U.S. had? Before the March 31 tornado-fest, there were 311 tornadoes through March 29, the third busiest start to the year since records began, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Then throw in the 104 tornadoes from the preliminary data of the March 31 outbreak and you have 415 tornadoes for the first quarter, the most to start a year on record, USA Today reports.
Increased tornadoes are not the only result of climate change. Another is more home runs in baseball, at least that is according to research by Dartmouth researchers, Bloomberg reports.
I grew up taking shelter in the hallways of my grade school or under my desk. That may have been for tornadoes, or for a nuclear attack. Now The Hill is reporting that Americans fear a cyber attack more than a nuclear attack. The thing is, I am not sure where to hide from a cyber attack.
Veteran lawyer Scott Early is the latest FIA Futures Hall of Fame member to be highlighted on LinkedIn by the FIA with the presentation of the full length video interview of Early.
Speaking of staying safe, for you iPhone users, did you know there were seven ways the iPhone can save your life? According to a story in MacWorld titled "7 ways your iPhone could literally save your life" that is the case.
The John Lothian News team will be at the Options Conference at the end of this month in Nashville, TN. I will be in attendance as will Alex Teng, our intern who produces the Options Discovery video series for The Spread. Robby Lothian will be our one-man video crew for the event, aided (?) by his father.
If you have some news you are making during the conference, or before, and want to schedule an interview with JLN, please contact me at johnlothian@johnlothian.com
JLN wishes everyone a good Good Friday, a chag sameach or happy festival for Passover and Ramadan Mubarak or Happy Ramadan.
Have a great weekend and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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Rob Hocking of Cboe Global Markets talks with John Lothian News about Cboe Labs' idea-sharing culture, and what's exciting and growing fast.
JohnLothianNews.com
Rob Hocking, senior vice president, global head of product Innovation at Cboe Global Markets, talked with John Lothian News at the FIA International Futures Conference in Boca Raton, FL., about Cboe's new team-centered approach to launching new ideas, Cboe Labs. He discussed the idea-sharing culture of Cboe Labs and said one exciting development at Cboe is SEC approval for margin offset for XSP versus the underlying ETF. Same-day trading is growing fast, and Cboe is planning to expand products off SPX. Hocking is excited about the partnership with S&P to build a dispersion product. Is the controversy around zero-day expiration contracts "Volmageddon"? Cboe doesn't see it that way, he said.
Watch the video »
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Options Discovery Episode 15: Intro to Technical Analysis; Allstarcharts.com Chief Options Strategist, Sean McLaughlin, Breaks Down Technical Analysis for Options With JLN's Alex Teng
JohnLothianNews.com
In this episode of Options Discovery, Alex Teng introduces the concept of technical analysis for options before speaking with expert trader and the chief options strategist at Allstarcharts.com, Sean McLaughlin. Sean dives deep into his trading background, how he approaches technical analysis, and the technical analysis offerings at Allstarcharts.com. All Star Charts is a technical analysis publication for hedge funds, mutual funds, financial advisors, family offices and individual investors. Visit: https://get.allstarcharts.com/ to learn more.
Watch the video »
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Over 200 Russian journalists, activists demand release of WSJ reporter
Andrew Jeong - The Washington Post
Some 200 Russian journalists and activists have signed an open letter demanding the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained by Moscow last week. Russia has accused Gershkovich without evidence of spying for the U.S. government. In the letter, dated Tuesday, the signatories expressed deep skepticism about the charges against Gershkovich, an American working for the Journal's Moscow bureau, who was arrested while on a reporting trip near the Ural Mountains. A court ordered his detention until late May. Gershkovich has filed an appeal.
/jlne.ws/3KIBYr6
***** Let Evan Go!~JJL
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The Dark Side Of Technology: Navigating The Threat Of Digital Impersonation
Bernard Marr - Forbes
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that impersonation attacks have caused global losses of over $5.3 billion. With so much of our lives happening online, we all need to cultivate strong digital threat awareness skills, which include understanding digital impersonation and knowing its warning signs. Using this tactic, a cybercriminal can create a profile on a social media platform by stealing and using personally identifiable information (including your name, image, location, and background details). Scammers can impersonate individuals or organizations on social media, and you could be interacting with these fake accounts online.
/jlne.ws/43hdsEs
***** Hi, how are you, can you talk?
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Robert F Kennedy Jr. Slams CBDC, Claims It Will Lead To Banning, Seizing Of Bitcoin
Nica Osorio - IBTimes.com
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to ratchet up his concerns about central bank digital currency (CBDC), noting that in the long term, it would just lead to the government seizing and banning cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin (BTC). The government's plans for the creation of a CBDC greases "the slippery slope to financial slavery and political tyranny," the scion of one of the most famous American political families said in a tweet Wednesday after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for president in 2024 as a Democrat.
/jlne.ws/3ZKnBGJ
***** They are never going to get my bitcoin. They will never find it. I don't have any.~JJL
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The UK business that shipped $1.2bn of electronics to Russia; Company registered to terraced house in London sent goods including semiconductors, according to customs data
Miles Johnson and Chris Cook, and Anastasia Stognei - Financial Times
A British business registered to a terraced house in a north London suburb appears to have arranged the sale of about $1.2bn of electronics into Russia since Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine at the start of 2022. Mykines Corporation LLP, a company based in the London borough of Enfield, is listed in Russian records as having sent shipments including semiconductors, servers, laptops, computer components, telecoms network equipment and consumer electronics. The records list brands ranging from Huawei and H3C to Intel, AMD, Apple and Samsung.
/jlne.ws/3Mv8AG5
***** Stupid is as stupid does.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top clicked story Thursday was Bloomberg's Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital Was Spiraling, and Then Came FTX. Second was 15 of the best Stanford University courses you can take online for free, from Mashable. And third was Nodal Exchange sets new records and achieves second highest quarterly power trading ever in Q1 2023, from Nodal Exchange.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | Four Financial Questions for Passover; This year's exercise looks at the bounce-back in stocks despite the banking crisis, the Fed's rate cut predictions, corporate earnings and greed, and the staying power of gold.
John Authers - Bloomberg
A Good Friday to Reflect
This is a Holy juncture. Passover started on Wednesday night; the world's Jews come together to have a highly stylized feast known as a seder to commemorate the exodus from Egypt. Jesus's Last Supper was a seder, and so it's no coincidence that the first two nights of Passover are now to be followed by Good Friday, when Christians honor his sacrifice, to be followed by a celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Meanwhile, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan continues throughout. So it's a good time to stand back.
/jlne.ws/3mnQ9Iq
King Dollar Still Looks Safe From the Yuan; Weaponizing the dollar creates incentives for change. But as an alternative, the yuan still has serious limitations.
Jacky Wong - The Wall Street Journal
The dollar's dominance isn't going away anytime soon. While the Chinese yuan could grow in importance, it's also very unlikely to replace the greenback as the global reserve currency-barring some truly radical changes to China's economic model. Predictions of the demise of King Dollar resurface from time to time-often in the wake of sanctions like the ones currently punishing Russia's economy. But so far the dollar's role as the global trade and reserve currency still looks quite secure. The share of U.S. dollars in foreign-exchange reserves of global central banks has slipped in recent years, but it still accounts for nearly 60% of the total, more than all other currencies combined, according to the International Monetary Fund.
/jlne.ws/3UkedJ5
DeFi Needs to Comply With Anti-Money Laundering Rules, US Treasury Says; Treasury gives guidance on transactions like virtual currency; Companies told to take 'clear steps' in line with regulations
Daniel Flatley - Bloomberg
Decentralized financial transactions, including those done with virtual currencies, need to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, the US Treasury Department said in a new report. The 39-page report, which was commissioned by the Biden administration, concludes there are several risks associated with DeFi technology, which has no exact definition but includes self-executing transactions between two or more people based on the same blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies.
/jlne.ws/3zXMaG1
Robinhood to Pay Up to $10.2 Million to Settle Outage Probe; State regulators cite due diligence, reporting of complaints; New Jersey, California, Texas among states in the settlement
Austin Weinstein and Steve Dickson - Bloomberg
Robinhood Markets Inc. will pay as much as $10.2 million in penalties to settle allegations stemming from a multistate probe into outages that left customers unable to trade during market volatility fueled by the pandemic in March 2020. The investigation, conducted by state securities regulators, found that the Menlo Park, California-based brokerage, which pioneered free stock trades for retail customers, had deficiencies in many parts of its operations.
/jlne.ws/3ZQvuL1
Crypto's Future Is at Stake in a Dispute Over Commercial Law's Definition of Money
Carla L. Reyes and Andrea Tosato - Barron's
A quiet corner of commercial law has been thrust into the political spotlight. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem have recently intervened in routine updates to the Uniform Commercial Code, expressing concerns over federal overreach, perceived threats to individual economic liberties, and the potential emergence of a U.S. central bank digital currency. This development is worrisome. The UCC, while unfamiliar to many Americans, serves a vital function within our economic framework.
/jlne.ws/3Km65Ty
UBS Joins a Rising Tide of Global Layoffs Beyond Big Tech; Massive cuts at tech giants like Meta and Microsoft dominate headlines, but don't tell the whole story. Here's a full picture of job cuts around the world.
Mathieu Benhamou, Jennah Haque, Phil Kuntz and Jo Constantz - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG's reported plan to lay off as many as 36,000 workers would make it the company with the largest job cuts globally in the past six months. The cuts, which were reported by Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung on Sunday, could reduce the combined workforce by as much as 30% as part of UBS's takeover of long-time rival Credit Suisse Group AG. Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann apologized at the bank's annual shareholder meeting for failing to save the 167-year-old lender. UBS hasn't commented on the layoffs.
/jlne.ws/3mi8NBu
Jes Staley fights back against 'slanderous' Epstein claims; JPMorgan also subpoenas asset manager where its former executive once worked in connection with the litigation
Joe Miller - Financial Times
Jes Staley's lawyer has described "slanderous" allegations that he aided and abetted Jeffrey Epstein's crimes as "baseless but serious", after the former executive was sued by JPMorgan Chase, his erstwhile employer. Brendan Sullivan, who is representing Staley, asked a federal judge in New York for more time to review tens of thousands of documents relating to the case, which was brought after JPMorgan was sued by an alleged Epstein victim and the US Virgin Islands, where the disgraced financier had a home.
/jlne.ws/3Go1LSC
Why the Government Is Good at Helping Banks but Not People; State capacity is downstream of ideological commitments: When we have political consensus, we have state capacity, and when we don't, we don't.
Jerusalem Demsas - The Atlantic
We are really very good at helping banks. Last month, in no time at all, the federal government calmed a crisis that began at just a few institutions but threatened to spread throughout the financial system. According to CNBC, within four days, banks had borrowed roughly $12 billion from a fund set up to give financial institutions access to favorable loans. Through more traditional borrowing routes, banks were able to acquire more than $300 billion. All this without endless political hemming and hawing from Congress, without the president's signature, without action by state legislatures or governors, and without need for city councils or mayors to weigh in.
/jlne.ws/3MkEmFz
It's Big vs Small as Banks Square Off to Avoid New Rules After Failures
Laura Davison, Tatyana Monnay and Bill Allison - Bloomberg
US banks are pitted against each other as regulators move to strengthen oversight after a series of failures undermined confidence in the financial system. In particular, regional banks, which are more likely to face new rules, are trying to convince regulators to increase oversight of larger ones - which may have to cover a larger portion of the costs of bailouts. Meanwhile, members of Congress facing public anger over wealthy depositors being made whole are less amenable than ever to lobbying pitches for weaker regulation.
/jlne.ws/3KkEx0O
Schwab Reveals $53 Billion in New Client Assets in March, Seeking to Calm Investors; Firm took in $53 billion in net new client assets in March; Shares fell 37% in the first quarter as turmoil roiled banks
Annie Massa - Bloomberg
Charles Schwab Corp.'s top executives said core net new client assets hit $53 billion in March, a month that rocked the company as turmoil engulfed the broader banking sector. The March flows were the second-highest for that month in the firm's history, its founder and namesake Charles Schwab and Chief Executive Officer Walt Bettinger said in a statement Thursday. They've been seeking to assuage concerns about Schwab's outlook, after investor attention turned to ballooning unrealized losses in its financial statements.
/jlne.ws/3UjV1uT
How 'fabulous Fab' and 2008 still haunt markets; New SEC rulemaking efforts rehash crisis-era issues
Jennifer Hughes - Financial Times
Mention "fabulous Fab" in markets circles these days, and you'll show your age. Probably only those on the far side of their mid-30s recall the Goldman Sachs banker whose jokey email came to epitomise Wall Street's poor behaviour in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.
/jlne.ws/3nWsuPH
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Bank of America cuts short conference after outrage at comments on Ukraine war
Jonathan Wheatley - Financial Times
Bank of America cut short an online client conference on geopolitics and apologised to attendees after some balked at what they saw as pro-Russian comments about the war in Ukraine, according to three people who attended the event. The conference was designed as a two-day event beginning on Tuesday, but BofA Securities cancelled three sessions addressing US sanctions on Russia and Russia-US relations
/jlne.ws/3GnfYPC
Ukraine says coveted F-16s 'four or five times' better than its Soviet jets
Max Hunder - Reuters
A top Ukrainian air commander said Ukraine was in dire need of F-16 fighter jets, which he described on Thursday as "four or five times" more effective than the Soviet-era planes currently used by Ukraine. Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in the Air Force, said that while donations of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets by allies were an "important step," the planes did not fully meet Ukraine's battlefield requirements.
/jlne.ws/43bipPg
Microsoft to Pay $3 Million Over Russia Sanctions, Export Controls Violations
Dylan Tokar - The Wall Street Journal
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to pay more than $3 million in fines for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions on Russia and other countries after its software and services ended up in the hands of blacklisted companies and persons in the Crimea region of Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments on Thursday said they had reached a joint settlement with Microsoft over the apparent violations of U.S. sanctions and export controls rules, which the software giant voluntarily disclosed.
/jlne.ws/3zHfvnG
Ukraine War Plans Leak Prompts Pentagon Investigation; Classified documents detailing secret American and NATO plans have appeared on Twitter and Telegram.
Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt - The New York Times
Classified war documents detailing secret American and NATO plans for building up the Ukrainian military ahead of a planned offensive against Russia were posted this week on social media channels, senior Biden administration officials said. The Pentagon is investigating who may have been behind the leak of the documents, which appeared on Twitter and on Telegram, a platform with more than half a billion users that is widely available in Russia.
/jlne.ws/40Pl0wI
Ukraine Latest: Lavrov Warns Russia May Let Grain Deal Lapse
Bloomberg News
Ukraine's credit score was cut on Friday by S&P Global Ratings after the government unveiled a plan to restructure its external debt before mid-2024. The war-torn nation was lowered to CCC from CCC+, with a negative outlook.
/jlne.ws/3ZO25AT
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Binance Australia License Cancelled by ASIC at Exchange's Request; Binance Australia Derivatives was operated by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd. The exchange is facing a CFTC lawsuit and regulatory warnings worldwide.
Damian Chmiel - Finance Magnates
The Australian markets regulator, ASIC, informed on Thursday that it canceled a financial markets license held by Binance Australia Derivatives, operated by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd. Although at first glance, it may seem that the regulatory hurdles of the renowned crypto exchange seem to have no end, this time, the decision to withdraw the license was made by Binance itself.
/jlne.ws/3m7Ngf2
Hong Kong Securities And Futures Commission: Suspected Core Member Of Syndicate Charged In Ramp-And-Dump Case
Mondovisione
An additional suspected core member of a large-scale and sophisticated syndicate suspected of operating "ramp-and-dump" market manipulation was charged today after six suspects had been charged earlier with various criminal offences (Note 1). Mr Chow Chi Man appeared at the Eastern Magistracy today and he was charged with the offences of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to employ a scheme with intent to defraud or deceive in transactions involving securities under common law, section 300 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance and section 159A and 159C of the Crimes Ordinance.
/jlne.ws/3UjsVjd
Circular on Releasing the Revised Bleached Softwood Kraft Pulp Factory Delivery Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Trial)
Shanghai Futures Exchange
The revised Bleached Softwood Kraft Pulp Factory Delivery Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Trial) have been reviewed and adopted by the Board of Directors Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), and reported to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. These rules are hereby released and shall take effect from April 1, 2024.
/jlne.ws/3KGfmao
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | The bitcoin whitepaper is probably on your Mac; Here's the story of how it got there and how to find it.
Nate DiCamillo - Quartz
The bitcoin whitepaper has been discreetly included in every Mac operating system since 2017-and Apple won't say why. The whitepaper was written by the pseudnonymous creator of the bitcoin blockchain, Satoshi Nakamoto. It describes a peer-to-peer electronic payment system that is decentralized and enables financial transfers without a bank.
/jlne.ws/3mhFv60
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Leaders Say TikTok Is Potential Cybersecurity Risk to U.S. > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News
David Vergun - US Department of Defense
TikTok is a social media, video-hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on cyber, information technologies and innovation heard testimony from Plumb and Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service.
/jlne.ws/3zCsDL1
OPM putting final touches on cyber workforce dashboards
Drew Friedman - Federal News Network
The Office of Personnel Management is getting close to the finish line on another way to try to help agencies mitigate challenges in the federal cybersecurity workforce. OPM will soon launch a pair of cyber workforce dashboards, aiming to give agencies more details on gaps in their cyber workforce, while also trying to attract more job candidates to open cyber positions.
/jlne.ws/3MpW7mR
10 Cybersecurity Companies Making Moves: March 2023
Kyle Alspach - CRN
While a few more cybersecurity companies announced layoffs last month amid continued macroeconomic wobbles, including Zscaler, many more security vendors had other types of news to announce in March. In particular, the pace of cybersecurity product launches seemed to accelerate during the month, as at least 20 companies we follow released major product announcements. That appeared to be an uptick from the prior two months of 2023, based on our tracking of hundreds of product vendors in the cybersecurity industry. Other cybersecurity moves during the month included announcements of notable acquisitions, the launches of new channel partner programs and important executive hires.
/jlne.ws/43inlBN
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Why Crypto Is Watching Ethereum's 'Shanghai' Upgrade
David Pan and Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
The Ethereum network is set to undergo a technical revamp on April 12 that will allow users to withdraw tens of billions of dollars of its native token, Ether. Known as the "Shanghai" upgrade, it's a necessary step after the world's most commercially important crypto platform shifted to a less power-hungry process for ordering transactions. Investors burned by recent turmoil in crypto markets will be wondering if, presented with their first opportunity to withdraw their tokens, some Ether holders will run for the hills.
/jlne.ws/3KgNQil
Mt. Gox To Commence Repayment Of 142K BTC As Deadline Passes; Bitcoin Price In Danger? Concerns surrounding Bitcoin's price escalate as the deadline for Mt. Gox creditors finally passes, thereby opening the window for repayments.
Pratik Bhuyan - Coingape.com
The deadline for entering repayment information for the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has finally passed, thereby opening the window for repayments to its creditors. The Tokyo-based crypto firm filed for bankruptcy nearly a decade ago in February of 2014, making it one of the first crypto exchanges to go bust.
/jlne.ws/3ZJGMAJ
Bitcoin, Crypto Billionaires Lost $110 Billion In Past Year
John Hyatt - Forbes
Some of the biggest losers of all, these billionaires lost over 75% of their wealth in just 12 months. Why it could get even worse as U.S. regulators and prosecutors take aim. It's been a tough year to be a cryptocurrency billionaire. Fraud allegations, government lawsuits and investigations, internecine squabbling and slumping asset valuations combined to bruise a fragile industry. Its billionaire promoters have lost a combined $110 billion in the last year, according to Forbes' 2023 World's Billionaires List, an annual compilation of ten-figure fortunes.
/jlne.ws/3KijeNx
How Cryptocurrency Is Transforming The Gaming Industry
Content Curator - Grey Journal
The gaming industry has undergone significant changes in recent years, and one of the most significant drivers of this transformation has been the rise of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency has the potential to revolutionize the way that players interact with virtual assets, the way that games are monetized, and the way that developers create new revenue streams. In this article, we will explore ten ways in which cryptocurrency is transforming the gaming industry.
/jlne.ws/3KHK4jJ
The Metaverse Is Still the Next Big Thing, Meta Insists; 'We're going to stick with it,' social media executive says; Meta, Disney and Microsoft recently cut metaverse-focused jobs
Anna Edgerton and Alex Barinka - Bloomberg
Nick Clegg, head of global affairs for Meta Platforms Inc., took to the metaverse on Wednesday to insist that the future of computing will take place on that still not-quite-yet-defined virtual world. The metaverse in this case was a virtual space in Meta's Horizon Workrooms, where Clegg, logged in from London, spoke with a handful of reporters who were wearing borrowed Meta Quest headsets in Washington.
/jlne.ws/418nC8
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Clarence Thomas faces new impeachment calls over luxury trip gifts from GOP megadonor
Alex Woodward - Independent
Members of Congress are demanding investigations into long-running allegations of corruption surrounding US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is once again the subject of intense scrutiny after a bombshell investigation found him accepting luxury vacations from a Republican megadonor for more than 20 years.
/jlne.ws/3nUquYv
I.R.S. Unveils $80 Billion Plan to Overhaul Tax Collection; The 10-year strategy document outlines a focus on improving customer service and cracking down on tax evasion by corporations and the wealthy.
Alan Rappeport - The New York Times
The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday unveiled an $80 billion plan to transform itself into a "digital first" tax collector focused on customer service and cracking down on wealthy tax evaders. The move lays the groundwork for an ambitious 10-year overhaul of one of the most scrutinized arms of the federal government.
/jlne.ws/3GoU1zK
IRS overhaul aims for tenfold increase in audits of the wealthy
Jacob Bogage - The Washington Post
The IRS hopes to increase tax audits on the wealthiest taxpayers tenfold under the Biden administration's plan for the agency, according to a senior administration official and the IRS's new strategic operating plan. IRS and Treasury Department officials said Thursday that they will use $80 billion in new funding for the tax service to claw back unpaid balances from high-income earners and complex businesses - restoring audits on those taxpayers to higher rates from more than a decade ago - and boost customer service resources for middle- and low-income tax filers.
/jlne.ws/3mb1USK
Macron counting on China's Xi 'to reason' with Russia over Ukraine war
Simone McCarthy, Jake Kwon and Pauline Lockwood - CNN
French President Emmanuel Macron told Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping he was counting on him to "reason" with Russia and help end the war in Ukraine. In his opening remarks at talks in Beijing on Thursday, Macron said Russia had "put an end to decades of peace in Europe" and that finding a "lasting peace" that respected internationally recognized borders was "an important issue for China, as much as it is for France and for Europe."
/jlne.ws/3GpCVSr
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Registration Opens for the SEC's 42nd Annual Small Business Forum to Impact Capital Raising Policy
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has opened registration for the SEC's 42nd Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation, which will take place April 24-27. The virtual forum will run each day from 1-2:30 p.m. ET and will feature speakers, including SEC Commissioners, with in-depth knowledge of the issues facing small businesses and their investors. Sessions will focus on the following topics.
/jlne.ws/40ZINd0
Staff Statement on the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
SEC
In December 2022, Congress amended the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act ("HFCAA") to shorten the timeframe before certain issuers face a trading prohibition from three to two consecutive years, and to clarify that any foreign authority impeding Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") inspections or investigations can trigger the provisions of the Act.
/jlne.ws/41aO2Xu
Three individuals convicted and sentenced to a combined 24 and a half years for 'all-or-nothing' investment fraud
Financial Conduct Authority
A fourth defendant was convicted for trading without FCA authorisation. On 3 April 2023, following an 8-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Cameron Vickers (27 years old), Raheel Mirza (38 years old) and Opeyemi Solaja (33 years old) were convicted of conspiracy to defraud through a fake, London-based company called Bespoke Markets Group (BMG).
/jlne.ws/3KFC9mV
Binance Australia Derivatives - AFS licence cancelled
ASIC
ASIC has today cancelled the Australian financial services licence held by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd trading as Binance Australia Derivatives (Binance). The licence cancellation was effected today in response to a request to cancel received from Binance yesterday.
/jlne.ws/3zYo6CV
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Money Fund Assets Hit New Record High, Although Inflows Slow; Total assets reached unprecedented $5.25 trillion: ICI data; Pace of weekly inflow into money funds slows to $49.1 billion
Benjamin Purvis and Liz McCormick - Bloomberg
The amount of cash parked at money-market funds climbed to a fresh record in the past week, although the pace of inflows has slowed from the recent breakneck speed. Money-market funds have been scooping up cash recently, fueled in large part by depositors pulling their money away from US banks. Initially much of that flow was driven by more attractive rates, but concern about the steadiness of some smaller lenders helped turbocharge that within the past month.
/jlne.ws/3MlgdPf
Options Investors Face Challenges in a Volatile, but Flat, Stock Market
Simon Constable - The Wall Street Journal
The past six months or so have been rough for buyers of stock options. While the market has been volatile, it made no sustained move up or down, which is an especially tricky scenario for novice options buyers. If they want to make a nice profit, options investors can't wait patiently while the market trades sideways. That's because options give the owner the right but not the obligation to buy or sell a security-a stock or exchange-traded fund-at a predetermined price for a limited time.
/jlne.ws/3Kk6s0U
Concerns Grow as Tighter Lending Threatens Commercial Real Estate
Ephrat Livni - The New York Times
The turmoil that drove Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank out of business last month, rocking the wider banking sector, has analysts bracing for the next possible crisis: the $20 trillion commercial real estate market. The bank failures brought new scrutiny to other regional banks, which provide the bulk of commercial real estate loans.
/jlne.ws/3nVs901
When To Sell Stocks Amid Insider Trading: The Case of Schwab, Palantir And SEC Rules
Vidya Ramakrishnan - IBD
Insider trading can give some critical information for investors. But you do not need to perform an exhaustive analysis of such trades in order to decide when a stock should get sold. Using both daily and weekly charts will help you discover a true change in the character of a stock, then make the best decision on when to exit.
/jlne.ws/3zGfKj6
Bonds Aren't Boring, They're Scary! And More Opinions in Video; This week's Bloomberg Opinion videos are here to help you navigate the world of business, economics, technology and more.
Ale Lampietti - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3zFHT9O
Man Group Is Skeptical of Stocks Right Now; Mark Jones, deputy CEO of the hedge-fund manager, warns the "risk-reward in equities is very, very tough."
Michael P. Regan and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/40QxAvJ
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Climate crisis causing more home runs in baseball, study suggests; Data from 100,000 US Major League games reveals higher temperatures lead to more balls hit out of park
Tom Dart - The Guardian
Steroids once gave many of baseball's sluggers a power boost. Now research suggests that today's home run hitters are seeing their shots turbocharged by the climate crisis. A study by researchers at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire used data from 100,000 Major League Baseball games and 220,000 individually hit balls to show that higher temperatures increase the number of balls hit out of the park. They found that between 2010 and 2019, global heating led on average to an extra 58 home runs a year.
/jlne.ws/3KjgX4P
Plastics touching our food may be making us gain weight; Hormone-disrupting chemicals are entering our bodies. We eat 44lbs of plastic in our lifetimes
Adrienne Matei - The Guardian
When it comes to keeping off extra pounds, watching what we eat may not be enough - we have to keep an eye on our food's packaging, too. Rates of obesity among US adults have increased from 14% in 1980 to 42% today, and half the world is expected to be overweight or obese by 2035, with children and teens facing the sharpest increase in obesity and its consequences. Because data doesn't support the idea that overeating and lack of exercise are squarely to blame, the scientific community is exploring other factors that may contribute - including metabolic disruption caused by eating products packaged in plastic.
/jlne.ws/3mfIBHP
ESG downgrades show complicated nature of sustainability ratings; MSCI announced an adjustment that will lower its ESG scores on about 31,000 funds.
Emile Hallez - Investment News
MSCI's pending downgrades to the ESG ratings on thousands of funds is the latest quirk highlighting the murkiness of sustainable investing - but they're also part of a global trend toward tighter standards in what is and isn't green. Last week, the ratings firm announced that it would be nixing an "adjustment factor" in its assessment of ESG. That adjustment, which considered a fund's exposure to companies with improving ESG ratings, gave a boost to the scores on nearly two-thirds of the mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that MSCI covers. As a result, nearly all of the 20% of funds with the highest AAA ESG rating will lose that grade, falling to AA or lower. Currently, about a third of funds have an AA rating, and that proportion will drop to just over 22% when the new standard is applied.
/jlne.ws/3KiyqKG
Cop28 president: world needs business mindset to tackle climate crisis; Exclusive: Sultan Al Jaber aims to use UN talks to set out how private sector can limit greenhouse gas emissions
Fiona Harvey - The Guardian
The world needs a "business mindset" to tackle the climate crisis, the president of the next UN climate summit has said. Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of the Cop28 summit to be hosted in the United Arab Emirates later this year, said he aimed to use the UN talks to set out how the private sector can limit greenhouse gas emissions and give businesses and governments a clear set of tasks and targets.
/jlne.ws/40OPEX3
Financing the future with Jessica Tan, Co-CEO of Ping An Group
UNEP Fi Podcast
Companies around the world are increasingly using non-financial information such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to inform their strategies and identify material risks and growth opportunities. In the first episode of UNEP FI's new podcast series Financing the future we speak to UNEP FI's Leadership Council member Ms. Jessica Tan, Co-CEO of Ping An Group, one the largest integrated financial groups in China. With her we discuss how innovation and technology can help scale up ESG integration across the financial system, the challenges and benefits of achieving ESG compliance for insurers and asset owners, and how financial institutions can engage with regulators to create real economy changes.
/jlne.ws/3ZOuqqW
Palm Oil Cultivation Is Destroying Forests. There's No Easy Fix; In this episode of Getting Warmer, Kal Penn explores the widespread use of the ingredient, efforts to minimize its damage and a possible replacement.
Sophia Chalmer - Bloomberg
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UN water conference needs to kickstart a revolution; CDP's director of water security Cate Lamb reflects on the historic inaction on water security and whether the recent UN summit can act as a launchpad for more than 20 years' of water-related action and stewardship.
edie
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How should we regulate ESG research?; Are the firms brokers? Raters? Or a secret third thing
Craig Coben - Financial Times
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Examining the G in ESG: The Role, Best Practices and Metrics for Corporate Governance
Curtis File - Sustainalytics
/jlne.ws/40PLNsy
How US anti-ESG laws raise borrowing costs for public finance
Daniel Garrett - PRI academic blogs
/jlne.ws/3mnkRBv
Banking turmoil dampens shine of ESG funds at end of strong Q1
Tommy Wilkes and Patturaja Murugaboopathy - Reuters
/jlne.ws/3Mtl2G6
ESG ratings are still our best option; Often criticised, ESG ratings have an important role to play in the ESG ecosystem, but we need regulation that will improve measurement.
Florian Berg, Jason Jay, Julian Kolbel and Roberto Rigobonmm - The Banker
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Private Equity is Made for ESG Investment, But Don't Leave Money on the Table
Chris Hagler - Triple Pundit
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Why Brokerage Accounts Are So Generous Right Now; Betterment, Wealthfront and others now offer higher returns and more protection than most bank accounts
Imani Moise - The Wall Street Journal
Some brokerages are beating traditional banks on returns and account protection, just as lots of people are wondering about the best place to keep their money. Robo adviser Betterment LLC has doubled the amount of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage it offers to customers to $2 million and rival Wealthfront also upped its coverage by $1 million to $3 million. Robinhood Markets Inc. said it could provide customers with up to $1.5 million in insured deposits. They are all also offering returns of at least 4% on certain accounts.
/jlne.ws/3md6Rdx
UBS CEO tells Credit Suisse staff to stay focused on clients and the business
Reuters
UBS (UBSG.S) Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti has told Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) staff it is "critical" to remain focused on clients and keeping the business running as the merger of the two banks proceeds, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. "We cannot let ourselves get overly distracted by the integration efforts," Ermotti said in the memo. "It's critical for us to remain focused on supporting our clients and maintaining operational excellence."
/jlne.ws/40Mkpfl
JPMorgan's dealmaking flurry being scrutinized by US regulator -FT
Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co is being scrutinized by U.S. regulators for the due diligence the bank conducted on a number of its past acquisitions, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the U.S. scheduled a specific audit of JPMorgan's deal making after the bank bought dozens of smaller companies in 2021 and 2022, the report said.
/jlne.ws/43bK6Ye
Blackstone's SVB Deal That Got Away Shows Private Equity Sidelined in Crisis
Gillian Tan, Dawn Lim and Allison McNeely - Bloomberg
Silicon Valley Bank had just collapsed and Blackstone Inc.'s dealmakers saw an opportunity. One problem: The firm didn't want to look like a vulture.
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BlackRock Can't Wait Forever to Sell Failed Banks' Assets; The amount of supply coming is formidable, analysts cautioned; Assets from failed lenders Signature, Silicon Valley Bank
Scott Carpenter - Bloomberg
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Top 10 colleges to attend if you want to make a lot of money-Harvard and Yale didn't make the list
Kamaron McNair - CNBC
Many factors determine how much money you'll earn after college. But where you go to school may also play an important role. If your goal after college is to earn the highest possible salary, California Institute of Technology may be the best choice, according to a new New York Times ranking tool. The tool allows you rank colleges based on your own priorities, whether that's post-grad earnings, net price, campus safety or more.
/jlne.ws/3Ufw186
I worked on Google's layoffs during the Great Financial Crisis. Here's what feels different about Big Tech redundancies in the new era of 'loud firing'
Dan Hynes - Fortune
Last week, employees at Google parent Alphabet Inc. called for better treatment of staff during the layoff process in an open letter to CEO Sundar Pichai, after the company announced it was cutting a further 12,000 jobs. The kinds of consideration workers asked for included freezing new hires, seeking voluntary redundancies before compulsory ones, giving priority to laid-off workers for job vacancies, and letting workers finish scheduled periods of paid time off, such as parental and bereavement leave.
/jlne.ws/3KILGcZ
AI-Proofing Your Career Starts in College; Students must take it on themselves to make their education more flexible, integrating practical skills with the critical-thinking abilities that will be more highly valued in the age of robots.
Allison Schrager - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3nWpG57
Corporate America Tries to Free Itself of Meeting Creep; Blocked-off days, the ability to opt out of anything and other ways managers are trying to reclaim time.
Alyson Krueger - The New York Times
At a recent meeting, Shannon Bender and Keith Martine tried something new: They stood the entire time. The two founders of Apostrophe, a New York City start-up that focuses on expanding access to art, knew their meetings had been running long. It didn't seem to matter whom they were talking to - artists, or investors, or employees - a lot of meetings took two hours. "Sometimes that is intentional because we are relationship-building, but other times that is not," Mr. Martine said. "We have one team member who definitely likes to talk a lot," Ms. Bender added, laughing. "Meetings with him are not efficient at all."
/jlne.ws/3KIkJpR
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Covid Is Still Deadlier for Patients Than Flu; Coronavirus was 60% more likely to kill than flu in VA study; Pandemic's mortality risk for hospital patients has fallen
Jason Gale - Bloomberg
Covid-19 isn't "just a flu," with a study of hospital patients finding that the virus was still 60% deadlier than influenza last winter. Greater immunity against the coronavirus, better treatments, and different virus variants lowered Covid's mortality risk to about 6% among adults hospitalized in the US last winter from 17-21% in 2020, researchers at the Clinical Epidemiology Center of the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri found. That was still much higher than the flu's death rate of 3.7%.
/jlne.ws/3mnhY3A
This Diet Change Could Slash Your Risk Of Heart And Stroke Conditions; Good news if you love potatoes (who doesn't?)
Sarah-Louise Kelly - Huffington Post
Do you have a soft spot for the Mediterranean diet? Great news - it could be prolonging your life and improving your heart health! New global research conducted by The BMJ has found that the southern European diet can lower the risk of hundreds of millions of people who are more likely to suffer with cardiovascular disease, strokes and heart attacks. Additionally, it can help with the management of type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
/jlne.ws/3ZR87B0
Column: America's decline in life expectancy speaks volumes about our problems
Michael Miltzik - LA Times
Years of widening economic inequality, compounded by the pandemic and political storm and stress, have given Americans the impression that the country is on the wrong track. Now there's empirical data to show just how far the country has run off the rails: Life expectancies have been falling.
/jlne.ws/3zDju4C
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China Expands Gold Reserves at Central Bank For Fifth Month; Holdings at People's Bank rise to more than 2,000 tons; Precious metal hit its highest in more than a year this week
Bloomberg News
China boosted its gold reserves for a fifth straight month, extending efforts by the world's central banks to boost their holdings of the precious metal. The People's Bank of China raised its holdings by about 18 tons in March, according to data on its website on Friday. Total stockpiles now sit at about 2,068 tons, after growing by about 102 tons in the four months before March.
/jlne.ws/3GpjIjV
China Traders Borrow Trillions to Juice Returns in Bond Market; Turnover of pledged repo trades surged past 8 trillion yuan; Increase comes after required reserve ratio cut last month
Bloomberg News
/jlne.ws/3Gu6e6j
Turkey Tightens FX Deposit Rules in New Move to Support Lira
Beril Akman - Bloomberg
Turkey's central bank on Friday tightened regulations deterring banks from holding foreign currency as the lira comes under pressure. The decisions strengthened pre-existing rules on holding more lira savings, one of the tools policy makers have been using to stabilize the local currency.
/jlne.ws/418ZzGF
'Everything is being stripped and stolen': South Africa's run-down city of gold; Wealthy residents flee Johannesburg as it descends into lawlessness and infrastructural collapse
Joseph Cotterill - Financial Times
When Roesdien Hendricks warns that his community in the heart of Johannesburg is about to explode because of illegal gold miners who scare away the police, strip power cables and divert water supplies, he is not exaggerating. As "Zama-zamas" blow up a historic gold reef that was at the core of nearly 140 years of exploitation that made the South African metropolis one of Africa's greatest cities, they are venturing so close to gas lines that they risk causing a fiery blast that would devastate the entire suburb of Riverlea.
/jlne.ws/3UpE1TZ
Brazil prosecutors seek $2.5 billion in damages from alleged orange juice cartel
Ricardo Brito - Reuters
Giants of the orange juice trade in Brazil have become defendants in a class-action lawsuit seeking billions in damages over an alleged price-fixing scheme that ran between 1999 and 2006, a prosecutor told Reuters. Federal Prosecutor Karen Kahn said the Sao Paulo Court of Justice will hear claims in a lawsuit filed against firms including Citrosuco, Cutrale and Louis Dreyfus Co (LDC), which account for most of the world's orange juice output.
/jlne.ws/40Sb1qy
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