| July 10, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
On July 9, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced an advisory from its Division of Enforcement (DOE) outlining a new framework for addressing criminally liable regulatory offenses, per Executive Order 14294, which aims to combat overcriminalization in federal regulations. This advisory provides guidance to the DOE when considering whether to refer potential regulatory offenses to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The advisory specifies several factors that DOE staff should evaluate when determining referrals, including: the harm or risk of harm caused by the alleged offense, the potential benefits to the defendant, specialized knowledge or licensing relevant to the violation, awareness of the unlawful conduct, any history of recidivism or misconduct, and the overall impact of DOJ involvement on protecting participants in the derivatives markets. This guidance was issued without the requirement for publication in the Federal Register, as it was not supported by a majority vote from the commission for such publication.
The Index Industry Association (IIA) has launched a free, CFP Board-approved continuing education program titled "The Important Role of Indexes to Financial Markets and Investing," designed for both financial professionals and the broader public. This 40-minute on-demand webinar, led by experts from S&P Dow Jones Indices, Cboe Global Markets, and Morningstar Indexes, provides an accessible overview of index fundamentals, construction methodologies, and practical applications for improving investor outcomes. Participants-including CFPs, investors, and policymakers-can earn CE credit by completing a brief self-test. The course emphasizes the crucial role that indexes play in measuring performance, identifying trends, and informing investment decisions, while also highlighting the complexity behind index development and management. The initiative reflects the IIA's commitment to transparency, education, and fostering informed dialogue across the financial ecosystem.
Here is a story from WGN-TV about the opening of the Chicago Board of Trade Museum. It is interesting to note that the interview with former CBOT Chairman Patrick Arbor by WGN-TV reporter Erin McElroy did not make the cut. I was sitting next to Arbor as he was interviewed.
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH) reported record trading results for June 2025 across its U.S. exchange subsidiaries: MIAX, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Emerald, MIAX Sapphire, and MIAX Futures. The MIAX Exchange Group achieved a total multi-listed options volume of 164.4 million contracts in June, marking a 42.9% year-over-year increase and bringing year-to-date volume to a record 1.1 billion contracts. June market share reached 16.2%, up 18.4% YoY, and the group set quarterly records in Q2 2025 with 543.6 million contracts and 16.7% market share. MIAX Sapphire posted monthly and quarterly records, while MIAX Options saw a 42.7% YoY volume increase. MIAX Emerald also set new highs despite a slight market share dip. MIAX Pearl Options experienced declines in both volume and share. In equities, MIAX Pearl Equities traded 3.7 billion shares (up 23.6% YoY), while MIAX Futures recorded a 36% YoY increase in contracts, reaching a record 2.2 million year-to-date.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: US futures regulator clarifies factors to decide criminal referrals, CME reports record quarterly trading from non-US firms, ANALYSIS: Commodity exchanges report trading records on stellar first half, European regulator calls for funding overhaul amid shifting role, Singapore Exchange reports monthly futures up, options down and ASX on track for record volume year due to tariff uncertainty.
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:
- India's markets regulator says no proposal to link options leverage limits to cash positions from Reuters.
- 'Sinister scheme': India ban threatens Jane Street's money machine from the Financial Times.
- ICE Sets New H1 Record With 1.2 Billion Contracts Traded from Intercontinental Exchange. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 Eurex CEO Robbert Booij Discusses EMIR, Restructuring, and Innovation at FIA IDX JohnLothianNews.com In an interview with John Lothian News at FIA IDX, Eurex CEO Robbert Booij outlined the exchange's response to new EMIR requirements, recent organizational changes, and ongoing innovation in product development and digital assets. Watch the Robbert Booij Video »
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One early winner of the stablecoin craze is Alexander Hamilton's 241-year-old bank
David Hollerith - Yahoo Finance
A financial institution founded 241 years ago by Alexander Hamilton is emerging as one of the big early winners of Wall Street's new stablecoin craze. The latest sign came Tuesday when major crypto firm Ripple announced that Bank of New York Mellon (BK), also known as BNY, would become the primary custodian for the reserve assets of its $500 million stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD). The New York bank that can trace its roots back to 1784 and one of the country's founding fathers will manage the mix of US Treasury bills and other notes owned by Ripple while also offering Ripple technology and other transaction banking services to underpin its stablecoin operations.
/jlne.ws/3U8JTl2
****** This is an abomination. Luckily I write such things in the knowledge I don't have dueling pistols.~JJL
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50% Tariffs Are About Punishment, Not Trade; As if coffee didn't already cost enough, squeezing Brazil means Americans will pay even more.
John Authers - Bloomberg Opinion
The 50% Tariff Club
The global copper industry saw President Donald Trump's proposed 50% tariffs from a mile away. As early as February, he mooted the idea on national security grounds. That day of reckoning is fast approaching, barring a TACO U-turn, and the way the copper market is dealing with the issue - including a bizarre race to make deliveries to Hawaii and Puerto Rico to beat levies - has pointers for Brazil, hit with only a 10% overall levy three months ago, but now singled out for 50%:
/jlne.ws/44BERT8
****** There are a couple of commodities for which higher prices are sure to induce economic stagnation: coffee and copper. Coffee to keep us awake and copper for us to build our AI (and everything else) future.
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Saylor's latest strategy for Strategy: selling new shares to pay dividends; Isn't there a word for that?
Craig Coben - Financial Times
Michael Saylor's company Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, doesn't just believe in bitcoin - it has staked its entire future on it. Since pivoting from enterprise software to crypto back in August 2020, it has transformed into a bitcoin investment vehicle, with its shares surging more than 25-fold. But beneath the euphoria lies a capital structure that's becoming increasingly self-referential.
/jlne.ws/4loWpcq
****** Can anyone say ponzi?~JJL
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US lawmakers write to Canada to complain that its wildfire smoke is spoiling summer
Ali Abbas Ahmadi - BBC News
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is drifting south and making it difficult for Americans to enjoy summer, six members of Congress have said in a letter to Canada's embassy. "We write to you today on behalf of our constituents who have had to deal with suffocating Canadian wildfire smoke filling the air to begin the summer," they wrote to Ambassador Kirsten Hillman.
/jlne.ws/3GG0Ikh
******* The congressmen should just stay indoors like the rest of us, away from the smoke.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top clicked item Wednesday was the picture of Gary Stolz from R2 at the Chicago Board of Trade Building Museum opening yesterday in the hallway outside Ceres. Second was the picture of John Lothian, Leo Melamed, Pat Arbor, Bill Brodsky and Steven Mendes at the opening ceremony. And third was the picture of a planning and development staffer from the City of Chicago at the opening.
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| Lead Stories | Hedge funds should face limits on leverage, global regulator recommends
Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Valentina Za - Reuters
Regulators should consider limits on leverage used by non-bank financial firms such as hedge funds as well as measures to curb their size, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said on Wednesday in a series of recommendations to make "shadow banking" safer. Non-bank financial institutions, including hedge funds, private credit providers and insurers accounted for $218 trillion, or just under half, of the world's financial assets in 2022, according to the G20's FSB, a group comprising the world's biggest financial regulators and authorities.
/jlne.ws/44nFGjy
Trump's Cuts Are Making Federal Data Disappear; Online tools that professionals use for everything from diagnosing diseases to calculating insurance payouts are going dark.
Molly Smith - Bloomberg
Doctors are struggling to treat patients with complex sexually transmitted infections as certain types of health data are being purged from public websites. Insurers have lost access to a frequently consulted database of climate and weather disasters. School districts are left to work with a scaled-down version of the nation's report card, which is critical for setting benchmarks for student achievement and allocating resources.
/jlne.ws/4lLDxnt
@CME, PAY UP; Understanding #Langer vs. #CME: What This Case Is Really About
@MrTopStep posted on X/Twitter
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) was originally founded to furnish a convenient meeting place where members might buy and sell commodities: promote uniformity in the customs and usages of the trade: gather and impart general information useful to members: facilitate the speedy adjustments of any business disputes that might arise among members: and to secure the full benefit of cooperation in the furtherance of members' legitimate pursuits. For decades, this mutual structure served the membership well.
/jlne.ws/46CvXaz
Goldman Wants Quarterly Loyalty Updates; Also a gold treasury company, spot-fixing, anti-woke funds and a Buffett bet.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
In most jobs, the way your employer finds out that you have accepted a new job is that you come to them and say "I quit, I'm starting a new job in two weeks." Investment banking analysts are unusual in that they traditionally accept their next job (in private equity) two years before it starts, and then spend those two years working away at their investment bank. So if the bank wants to find out whether or not they have accepted a new job, it has to ask them periodically. The banks have not always wanted to find out, but now Goldman does:
/jlne.ws/40wVJcH
Australia takes another step toward a central bank digital currency
Reuters
Australia's central bank said on Thursday it was taking another major step toward a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) with a range of industry partners pursuing projects using real money and assets for the first time. The Reserve Bank of Australia said its "Project Acacia" initiative would test 19 pilot cases involving money and assets, along with five proof-of-concept use cases involving simulated transactions.
/jlne.ws/4eCDmbO
Index Industry Launches Continuing Education Program with CFP Board Approved Course
Index Industry Association
The Index Industry Association (IIA), serving as the global voice of independent index providers, today announced the introduction of a Continuing Education (CE) program with the launch of "The Important Role of Indexes to Financial Markets and Investing." While the course offers CE credit to financial professionals, the content is designed to be accessible for all audiences. "Indexes play an important role in the global financial ecosystem, and yet we find that many audiences - including investors - would benefit from a richer understanding of how indexes are created and used across global financial markets," said Kirsten Wegner, IIA CEO. "The IIA's CE program is designed not only with financial professionals in mind, but for investors, consumers and policymakers alike, reflecting our ongoing commitment to transparency, education and informed dialogue across the financial ecosystem."
/jlne.ws/44lZu6X
Inside the Wall Street Recruitment Wars Pitting Banks Against Buyout Firms; Recent graduates who haven't started their gigs at big banks are being recruited for jobs that don't start for another couple of years
AnnaMaria Andriotis, Ben Glickman and Alexander Saeedy - The Wall Street Journal
Speed-dating-style interviews that can drag on until 3 a.m. Job offers that require a response within a day. A fear that your current boss might find out what you're doing. All for positions that don't even start for two to three years. Welcome to the frenzied world of private-equity recruiting, where recent college graduates who have barely started their first gigs as analysts at big banks vie to secure coveted positions at buyout firms. The tactics reached a fever pitch in recent years, kicking off earlier and earlier, prompting a crackdown this summer at big banks fed up with the poaching of their young employees. Morgan Stanley implemented a formal policy in May that requires analysts to promptly disclose if they have secured future employment elsewhere, according to a person familiar with the matter. Analysts who are found to be in violation of the rule are at risk of disciplinary action, including being fired.
/jlne.ws/3GzvkUH
The Wall Street Machine for Financing Rooftop Solar Is Seizing Up; Some bonds tied to GoodLeap, a fintech lender that Michael Dell invested in, have stopped paying interest
Matt Wirz - Financial Times
Surging defaults on loans used to buy residential solar panels are cascading through Wall Street, catching bond investors and private-credit funds in their wake. Some bonds tied to GoodLeap, a financial-technology firm that lends money for solar installations, have stopped paying interest, people familiar with the matter said. The payments stopped because far more homeowners are defaulting on the loans than initially forecast, they said.
/jlne.ws/409Mwqo
Digital Apes Are Out, Memecoins Are In as NFT Volume Sinks 45%
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Out: million-dollar monkey portraits. In: memecoin trading - and fast. As the market for nonfungible tokens - once dominated by pricey digital collectibles like cartoon apes - continues to plunge, the platforms that powered the boom are pivoting. OpenSea, the Miami-based marketplace that helped turn NFTs into a pop-culture phenomenon, now lets users trade cryptocurrencies directly on its platform. Magic Eden, one of its top competitors, says as much as 75% of its daily volume these days comes from users exchanging tokens like Bitcoin or Solana-linked memecoins. The idea is simple: if users still want to trade, meet them where they are.
/jlne.ws/4liq0nD
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| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | Trump Says 50% Levy on Copper Imports to Take Effect Aug. 1
Joe Deaux and Martin Ritchie - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump said the US would begin levying a 50% tariff on copper imports from Aug. 1, confirming a move that will hurt American producers of everything from automobiles to appliances. The higher-than-expected levy was signaled by Trump in comments to reporters on Tuesday, but the president took to Truth Social late Wednesday to confirm the start date - and blamed previous administrations for the decline of America's copper clout.
/jlne.ws/4eE1Q4y
Trump's copper tariffs won't lift US output, will boost costs
Clyde Russell - Reuters (commentary)
The planned 50% tariff on copper imports may turn out to be the biggest own goal of U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war with the rest of the world. Trump announced the tariff on Wednesday, saying it would become effective on August 1. While Trump seemed quite definitive in his statement, there is a lack of detail of what products will be included in the definition of copper, and whether there is scope for exemptions or lower rates for some major suppliers to the United States, such as Chile and Canada. But even if some concessions are made before the implementation date, the end result is likely to be that copper imports are slugged with a considerably higher tariff than what prevailed prior to Trump's return to power in January.
/jlne.ws/4nGbkjL
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Russia seizes $50 billion in assets as economy shifts during war in Ukraine, research shows
Guy Faulconbridge - Reuters
Russian authorities have confiscated assets worth some $50 billion over the past three years, underscoring the scale of the transformation into a "fortress Russia" economic model during the war in Ukraine, research showed on Wednesday. The conflict has been accompanied by a significant transfer of assets as many Western companies fled the Russian market, others' assets were expropriated and the assets of some major Russian businesses were seized by the state.
/jlne.ws/4nFKTed
Trump denies he was unaware of Ukraine weapons pause day after admitting he didn't know who ordered it
Holly Bishop - The Independent
Donald Trump has said that he "would be the first to know" if a big decision such as the Ukraine weapons pause was authorised by the government, despite earlier saying he did not know who ordered it. Responding to a question from a reporter about the decision being made without his consent on Wednesday (9 July), the US president said: "I would know, if a decision is made I would be the first to know in fact most likely i'd give the order but I haven't done that yet." The Pentagon announced on June 30 that it would hold back some weapons pledged to Kyiv because of concerns that American stockpiles were running short on supply. Asked by a reporter on Tuesday (8 July) on who authorised the pause, he appeared annoyed and replied: "I don't know, you tell me."
/jlne.ws/4kz7xC1
Russian missiles and drones pound Ukraine's capital ahead of Rome summit; Attack lasting nearly 10 hours comes as Kyiv's allies prepare to meet in Italy on Thursday to discuss funding reconstruction
Christopher Miller - Financial Times
Russian drones and missiles pummelled Ukraine overnight into Thursday, intensifying a brutal campaign aimed at overwhelming the country's stretched air defences and destroying critical infrastructure. The attack lasted nearly 10 hours and involved about 400 attack drones and 18 missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The main target of the attack was Kyiv and the surrounding region, he said. Elsewhere in the country the regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad and Kharkiv were also struck.
/jlne.ws/4nGxDG4
Middle East Conflict
US accuses Houthis of 'kidnapping' crew members from sunk vessel; Yemeni rebels have scaled up assaults on commercial shipping this week
Charles Clover, Robert Wright and Raya Jalabi - Financial Times
The US said Yemeni Houthi militants had kidnapped several crew members from a commercial vessel it attacked this week in the Red Sea, killing at least four people. The assault on the Liberia-flagged Eternity C cargo ship on Monday was the most lethal attack in the Iran-backed militants' campaign against vessels in the strategic waterway.
/jlne.ws/4nKZBAM
Israel's Agonizing Choice Over Which Hostages to Save; The current deal on the table would see 10 men released out of 20 believed to be alive.
Anat Peled - The Wall Street Journal
Only 20 of the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza are believed to be alive. A cease-fire deal being negotiated is expected to bring an agonizing choice over who to free. Israel can only pick 10. "It's Schindler's list," said Anat Angrest, the mother of captive soldier Matan Angrest, 22, who said her son was injured. "I don't understand how the state can choose who should stay in hell."
/jlne.ws/44DQGYP
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | ICE to Expand NYSE Index Family With Launch of U.S. Tech Index and Broader Range of NYSE-Listed Indices
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced it will be expanding the NYSE family of indices with the launch of a next generation U.S. technology index and additional indices providing exposure to NYSE-listed companies, showcasing the performance of the NYSE Community. With the coming launch of the NYSE Elite Tech 100 Index planned for later this month, ICE leverages its deep background innovating in the thematic index space to launch a new tech-focused index that is designed to offer a more precise solution to complement investors' need for a purer technology leaders benchmark. The new index will include companies listed on all U.S. exchanges including leaders at the NYSE, update its composition more dynamically including with quicker inclusion of IPOs, and include only highly liquid and investable constituents.
/jlne.ws/3Imgd1g
CME Group International Average Daily Volume Hits Record 9.2 Million Contracts in Q2 2025, Up 18% Year over Year
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its quarterly international average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 9.2 million contracts in Q2 2025, up 18% year over year. Reflecting all trading reported outside the United States, this growth was driven by record quarterly ADV in EMEA and APAC. Quarterly international records were achieved in Interest Rate, Equity Index, Energy, Agricultural and Metals products up 14%, 38%, 23%, 3% and 14% respectively.
/jlne.ws/4lOW2Yl
Product Modification Summary: Expansion of TAS Eligibility for the Micro Gold Futures Contract - Effective July 28, 2025
CME Group
Expansion of TAS Eligibility for the Micro Gold Futures Contract
/jlne.ws/3GzKwRE
Deutsche Borse Group Plans to Use Improved European Regulatory Environment to Reduce Regulatory Complexity
Deutsche Borse Group
Following recent regulatory developments, Deutsche Borse Group currently evaluates and prepares steps to reduce regulatory complexity and increase efficiency. This concerns specifically the re-evaluation of the banking licenses of Eurex Clearing AG and Clearstream Banking AG. Therefore, Deutsche Börse Group welcomes the related announcement by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) on 30 April 2025 to remove the discretionary activation for Central Counterparty (CCP) access to overnight credit under the Target guideline.
/jlne.ws/4kBgye7
Nodal Exchange achieves strong performance in power, gas and environmental futures in the first half of 2025
EEX Group
Nodal Exchange today announced strong performance in power, environmental, and natural gas futures as of the end of June 2025. Nodal achieved 1.481 billion MWh of open interest as of June 2025 up 7.6% from 1.377 billion MWh at the end of June 2024. This represents $149.9 billion of notional value based on both sides. Nodal Exchange remains the leading power futures exchange in North America with 57% U.S. power futures open interest. Nodal achieved half year power volume for the first half of 2025 with 1.61 billion MWh traded compared to 1.64 billion MWh traded in the first half of 2024. In June 2025, power futures volume was 164 million MWh up 6.4% from the same period in 2024.
/jlne.ws/3ImAG6f
2025 Global Markets Choice Awards: The Winners
IEX
Markets Media Group's inaugural Global Markets Choice Awards was held Thursday, June 5, at Central Park Boathouse in New York City. Congratulations to the winners!
/jlne.ws/4eH5afp
JSE Warns Public About Deep Fake Investment Scam Videos Circulating on Social Media
JSE
The videos falsely feature the JSE's Group CEO, Leila Fourie and Director: Information Services, Mark Randall, promoting fraudulent investment schemes. These videos are scams and are spreading dangerous misinformation aimed at defrauding members of the public. The JSE is actively working with relevant platforms to remove the videos. It is important to note that no JSE employee, including JSE executives or board members will provide investment advice. The JSE will also never request personal information or financial contributions via social media platforms. These groups and types of groups are not authorised by the JSE and the investments referred to are not authorised or endorsed by the JSE. The only way to invest on the JSE is through an authorised JSE Member or Broker. For a verified list of authorised JSE stockbrokers you may visit the 'Find a Broker' section on the official JSE website on www.jse.co.za.
/jlne.ws/4nEqXZ6
LME Clear Margin Parameters July 25 v1
LME
LME Clear Members are advised that new SPAN1 margin parameters have been set.
/jlne.ws/40ddnSx
Miami International Holdings Reports Trading Results for June
2025; Market Share and Volume Records Reached Across
Multiple Options and Futures Exchanges; MIAX Exchange Group Reaches Record 16.7% Options Market Share in Q2 2025
Miami International Holdings, Inc.
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), a technology-driven
leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today reported June 2025 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries-MIAX, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Emerald® and MIAX Sapphire (collectively, the MIAX Exchange Group), and MIAX Futures.
/jlne.ws/44FYHws
The Regulatory Division Participant Scorecard
TMX
The Regulatory Division (the "Division") is pleased to issue the Regulatory Division Participant Scorecard (the "Scorecard") for the period of January 1 to June 30, 2025. The Scorecard is a way for the Division to share its observations with Approved Participants and Foreign Approved Participants (collectively, the "Participants") for informational purposes only. Some Participants will not receive a Scorecard, as it may not be customized to their business model or activities.
/jlne.ws/44FAczs
TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - June 2025
TMX
TMX Group today announced its financing activity on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for June 2025. TSX welcomed 25 new issuers in June 2025, compared with 25 in the previous month and 12 in June 2024. The new listings were 25 exchange traded funds. Total financings raised in June 2025 increased 326% compared to the previous month, and were up 6% compared to June 2024. The total number of financings in June 2025 was 55, compared with 41 the previous month and 56 in June 2024.
/jlne.ws/44DPS6f
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Private market fintech iCapital valued at over $7.5 billion in latest fundraise
Reuters
Alternative investments fintech iCapital was valued at more than $7.5 billion in its latest external funding round, where it raised more than $820 million, the company said on Thursday, highlighting increasing investor interest in platforms that expand access to private-market strategies. Asset managers are pursuing individual investors and smaller wealth-management clients for private market investments, which have traditionally been limited to institutional investors such as pension funds and university endowments.
/jlne.ws/3TwYp61
Artificial Intelligence
The evolution of stupid; AI is the latest in a sequence of inventions that have made humanity dumber
Simon Kuper - Financial Times
A class of schoolchildren here in Paris was sitting a test when a pupil dropped his phone. The kids had handed in their phones on entering the classroom, but this boy had a second one. It is claimed the supervisors let him pick it up and continue using ChatGPT to answer questions. French rules say he should have been banned from taking the baccalauréat, the final school exams. The school fears that if it did that, it would have to bar half the class. This is education in the age of artificial intelligence. I sympathise with the child. School might be the last time he isn't allowed to let AI do his work. Handing over to the machine will stunt his knowledge and intelligence. But then, his generation may not need much of either. Those qualities could die out painlessly as sword fighting or blacksmithery did.
/jlne.ws/3Tx59Rl
Exclusive: OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome
Kenrick Cai, Krystal Hu and Anna Tong - Reuters
OpenAI is close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The browser is slated to launch in the coming weeks, three of the people said, and aims to use artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how consumers browse the web. It will give OpenAI more direct access to a cornerstone of Google's success: user data. If adopted by the 500 million weekly active users of ChatGPT, OpenAI's browser could put pressure on a key component of rival Google's ad-money spigot. Chrome is an important pillar of Alphabet's ad business, which makes up nearly three-quarters of its revenue, as Chrome provides user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably, and also gives Google a way to route search traffic to its own engine by default.
/jlne.ws/3GzB2G7
Humans must remain at the heart of the AI story; Innovation transforms the nature of work - our job is to guide that transition by mapping existing skills on to new roles
Marc Benioff - Financial Times
The techno-atheists like to tell a joke. They imagine the moment AI fully awakens and is asked, "Is there a God?" To which the AI replies: "There is now." The joke is more than just a punchline. It's a warning that reveals something deeper: the fear that as AI begins to match human intelligence, it will no longer be a tool for humanity but our replacement. AI is the most transformative technology in our lifetime, and we face a choice. Will it replace us, or will it amplify us? Is our future going to be scripted by autonomous algorithms in the ether, or by humans?
/jlne.ws/44G9neD
Amazon weighs further investment in Anthropic to deepen AI alliance; The tech groups are increasingly tied to each other and act as a bulwark to Microsoft-OpenAI partnership
Rafe Uddin and Cristina Criddle, George Hammond - Financial Times
Amazon is weighing another multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic to deepen a strategic alliance that the tech companies believe will provide an edge in the global competition to profit from artificial intelligence. The Seattle-based cloud and ecommerce group has discussed plans to extend beyond the $8bn it has already ploughed into the San Francisco-based AI model builder, according to multiple people with knowledge of the talks.
/jlne.ws/40NS1LB
Microprocessors
Australia's Central Bank to Explore Developing Wholesale Tokenized Asset Markets
Jamie Crawley - CoinDesk
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will explore the development of wholesale tokenized asset markets alongside an array of industry participants. "Project Acacia" will use stablecoins, pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) and bank deposit tokens in 24 use cases of tokenizing a range of asset classes, such as fixed income and private markets.
/jlne.ws/4lEPs6C
Payments
Dubai's Emirates Airline Explores Cryptocurrency Payments With Crypto.com Partnership
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
Dubai-based Emirates Airline unveiled plans to introduce cryptocurrency payments for its customers as part of a preliminary deal with digital asset exchange Crypto.com, the companies said Wednesday. The parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore integrating Crypto.com Pay into Emirates' payment systems, with plans to roll out the feature sometime next year. If completed, it would make Emirates one of the first major global carriers to support crypto as a payment option.
/jlne.ws/4632xSS
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Israeli cybersecurity funding doubles in 2024, outperforms global markets, non-profit finds; Startup Nation Central's 2025 Cybersecurity Spotlight examined why Israeli cybersecurity firms are performing so well, highlighting various strengths that differentiate them from global competitors.
Jerusalem Post
Israel's cybersecurity sector's private funding in 2024 nearly doubled from 2023, reaching a level equivalent to 40% of the total US cybersecurity funding market, at the same time as European and Asian markets shrank, according to the non-profit Startup Nation Central's 2025 Cybersecurity Spotlight report on Thursday. This "underscores unwavering investor confidence in Israel's unique innovation model," despite geopolitical challenges such as the Israel-Hamas War, according to the non-profit.
/jlne.ws/40FTLGD
Seizing AI's Trillion Dollar Cyber Opportunity
Cybercrime Magazine
Perhaps the biggest near-term AI opportunity is reducing cybercrime costs, according to think tank Cato Institute. With serious attacks unfolding almost daily, digital insecurity's economic weight has truly grown out of control. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates annual cybercrime costs will hit $10.5 trillion in 2025, a showstopping 9 percent of global GDP, making it the world's third-largest economy. This is truly an unrivaled crisis, and opportunity.
/jlne.ws/4lrw2me
Advancing systemic defence: What cyber leaders say about fighting phishing and fraud
Giulia Moschetta - World Economic Forum
As cybercrime rapidly evolves, phishing and scams driven by artificial intelligence are now costing the global economy over $1 trillion annually - a staggering figure that underscores the need for a more systemic and coordinated response. The World Economic Forum's Partnership against Cybercrime, in collaboration with the Institute for Security and Technology (IST), is advancing the "Systemic Defence" project, exploring how a multi-stakeholder, systemic approach can shift responsibility upstream and better defend against phishing and cyber-enabled fraud.
/jlne.ws/407uhBZ
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | The Evolution of Crypto Trading: From Wild West to Regulated Innovation
Patrick Murphy - Bloomberg
The journey of cryptocurrency trading constantly evolves and has been nothing short of revolutionary. Right from the start, the cryptocurrency landscape has been referred to as the "wild west" due to its nature of decentralisation and minimal oversight. However, now the space consists of increasingly sophisticated and regulated financial products and the transformation has been profound. The shift in perception has been a critical development in driving the need for robust frameworks that foster institutional adoption and, crucially, boost investor confidence.
/jlne.ws/4lr82Qa
Stablecoins
Crypto Exchange Bullish Teams Up With Solana for Institutional Stablecoin Push
Margaux Nijkerk - CoinDesk
Crypto exchange Bullish has teamed up with the Solana Foundation, aiming to make Solana-native stablecoins the backbone of its trading and clearing operations.Under the collaboration, the two will work on institutional-grade financial infrastructure with stablecoins built on Solana to serve as the primary rails for custody, payments, and settlements across Bullish's ecosystem, the companies announced Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/44z9Or6
China industry body warns against illegal fundraising risks involving stablecoins
Reuters
An industry body in China warned against illegal fundraising risks involving stablecoins amid a market frenzy over cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The Beijing Internet Finance Association said in a statement late on Wednesday that some unscrupulous institutions and individuals have been luring investors into stablecoin and other crypto schemes that promise high returns under the guise of financial innovation.
/jlne.ws/4kBFhPn
Jack Ma-Backed Ant to Add Circle's Stablecoin to Global Net
Lulu Yilun Chen and Emily Mason - Bloomberg
Jack Ma-backed Ant Group Co. is working with Circle Internet Group Inc. to adopt its stablecoin on the Chinese fintech company's blockchain platform, according to people familiar with the matter. Ant International, the company's global unit, is planning to incorporate Circle's USDC coin on its blockchain platform after the asset becomes compliant in the US, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. The exact timeline has yet to be determined, the people added.
/jlne.ws/40NKM6n
America's oldest bank will now custody Ripple's stablecoin
Anushka Basu - The Street
Ripple has selected Bank of New York (BNY) as the primary custodian for the reserves supporting its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD. Both companies announced on July 9 the ongoing integration of traditional finance with digital assets to bring regulatory compliance and institutional legitimacy to them.
/jlne.ws/44TRIRT
NFTs
NFT Market Falls Fifth-Straight Quarter, Trading Volumes Plummet
Kirk Ogunrinde - Bloomberg
Nonfungible tokens, once a burgeoning scene for crypto traders and enthusiasts, seem to have lost much of their allure as trading volumes in the once-hot sector have now declined for the fifth straight quarter. Trading in the digital assets - best known for their collectible cartoon avatars and viral memes - declined to $823 million in the second quarter, down from $4 billion during the prior-year period, according to data compiled by DappRadar. A 19% decrease in total trading volume made 2024 the worst year ever for NFT traders, but this year's data suggest the downturn is far from over.
/jlne.ws/3IiUtDD
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | U.S. Administration
Trump Fuels Fear, Rage and Hope in California's Central Valley; The fertile valley feeds the world. President Trump has thrown farmers and farmworkers there into turmoil, but recently offered them a glimmer of hope.
Elisabeth Bumiller - The New York Times
The farmers in California's Central Valley like to say they feed the world, and it is not hyperbole. The valley stretches for 450 fertile miles from Bakersfield in the south to Redding in the north, yields an estimated 40 percent of the fruit, vegetables and tree nuts grown in the United States, and exports half of that bounty overseas. California agriculture overall is a $60 billion annual business. It is also one that President Trump has thrown into turmoil. Only in recent weeks has he offered vague glimmers of hope.
/jlne.ws/46x1qLd
Other U.S. Politics
ICE dragnet strikes terror in US immigrant communities; The enforcement agency has been empowered by Donald Trump's push to deport undocumented migrants
Steff Chavez and Christopher Grimes - Financial Times
Ahisary moved from her home in Mexico in 1993 to South Central Los Angeles, where she worked multiple jobs and raised three children. In all her years in LA as an undocumented migrant, she has never experienced anything like the fear of the past few weeks. Masked officers from the country's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) have descended on the city, rounding up undocumented migrants like her in parks, workplaces, retail store parking lots and courthouses.
/jlne.ws/4lJ8998
Can the Fed stay independent under Trump? The US president has stepped up his criticism of the central bank's chair, prompting some to question how long it can remain above politics
Claire Jones - Financial Times
At the European Central Bank president's annual forum last month, Christine Lagarde took a moment to lavish praise upon a central banker from outside Europe's borders. Jay Powell, she said, epitomised the "standard of a courageous central banker", leading to a rousing ovation for the Federal Reserve chair, who sat at the top table with head bowed. The tribute from the central banking elite stood in stark contrast to the treatment Powell had received just hours before from the world's most powerful man.
/jlne.ws/40IAJiZ
European Union
More European countries want to send their prisoners to other countries; The idea of renting prisons may be catching on
The Economist
Europe's justice ministries have a problem. Courts are locking up more criminals, but figuring out where to put them is proving tricky. In a growing number of countries, prisons are packed to the rafters. Occupancy levels now average close to 95% in the European Union; they exceed 100% in nearly half the bloc, mainly in western Europe. Beyond the EU, the trend is similar. Even in Switzerland and Iceland, which boast some of the lowest crime rates in the world, jails look uncomfortably full, thanks to lengthier sentences. Britain's are bursting. Building new prisons is expensive, slow and provokes resistance from the nimby crowd.
/jlne.ws/4ljFzeK
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, June 17-18, 2025
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that was held on June 17-18, 2025. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee are generally published three weeks after the day of the policy decision. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes are based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.
/jlne.ws/4ktHaNS
CFTC Issues Advisory on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Enforcement today issued an advisory to provide guidance describing its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses in accordance with Executive Order 14294, Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations. The advisory announces the framework to be followed when DOE, as the CFTC division responsible for making referrals to the Department of Justice, considers whether to refer potential violations of criminal regulatory offenses to DOJ.
/jlne.ws/3GHK0Rw
CFTC Staff Issues No-Action Letter Extension Regarding Counterparties Clearing Swaps through Relief DCOs
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight (DMO) today issued a no-action letter extending the no-action position in CFTC Staff Letter No. 22-18 concerning certain swap reporting requirements of Part 45 of the CFTC's regulations.
/jlne.ws/46yqWQb
FINRA Publishes 2025 Industry Snapshot
FINRA published today the 2025 FINRA Industry Snapshot, the annual statistical report on registered representatives, brokerage firms and market activity that FINRA oversees. The 2025 FINRA Industry Snapshot provides a high-level overview of FINRA membership, ranging from the number of FINRA-registered individuals to the overall revenues of firms, and from trading activity to how firms market their products and services.
/jlne.ws/4kGncjm
Enchanting, but Not Magical: A Statement on the Tokenization of Securities
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce - SEC
Blockchain technology has unlocked novel models for distributing and trading securities in a "tokenized" format. Tokenization may facilitate capital formation and enhance investors' ability to use their assets as collateral. Enchanted by these possibilities, new entrants and many traditional firms are embracing onchain products. As powerful as blockchain technology is, it does not have magical abilities to transform the nature of the underlying asset. Tokenized securities are still securities. Accordingly, market participants must consider-and adhere to-the federal securities laws when transacting in these instruments.
/jlne.ws/4ktdYXq
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Former Harvard Football Player Nicholas Palazzo and his Corporate Entities for Orchestrating Two Fraudulent Schemes
SEC
On June 30, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered final judgment against defendants Nicholas A. Palazzo and his corporate entities, 4TA Sports, Inc., NP Ventures Holdings, LLC, and Play Caller Sports Gaming LLC, whom the SEC previously charged with stealing more than $2 million from investors, including Palazzo's former Harvard football teammates, a professional athlete, and others, through two securities fraud schemes.
/jlne.ws/3Tx1u6g
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Former Investment Adviser Representative in Cherry-Picking Scheme
SEC
On July 2, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Eric Cobb, a former South Carolina-based investment adviser representative, who the SEC alleged engaged in a long-running fraudulent trade allocation scheme, commonly referred to as "cherry-picking." The judgment enjoins Cobb from violating certain provisions of the federal securities laws and orders Cobb to pay more than $160,000.
/jlne.ws/3Tx9vYJ
Project Acacia: RBA and DFCRC announce chosen industry participants and ASIC provides regulatory relief for tokenised asset settlement research project
ASIC
Project Acacia has today reached a significant milestone with a number of industry participants (see below) selected to explore how innovations in digital money and existing settlement infrastructure might support the development of Australian wholesale tokenised asset markets. Project Acacia is a joint initiative between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). This work is also supported by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and the Australian Treasury. This project is one of the initiatives highlighted in the Government's March 2025 Statement on Developing an Innovative Australian Digital Asset Industry.
/jlne.ws/4llad7D
ASIC successfully defends Cigno Australia and BSF Solutions' Full Federal Court appeal
ASIC
The Full Federal Court today unanimously dismissed an appeal by Cigno Australia Pty Ltd and BSF Solutions Pty Ltd and their respective directors. The Full Court has upheld the Federal Court's judgment of 24 May 2024 that found Cigno Australia and BSF Solutions engaged in credit activity without an Australian Credit Licence and charged consumers prohibited fees. The Court also found that Cigno Australia director Mark Swanepoel and BSF Solutions director Brenton Harrison were involved in those contraventions.
/jlne.ws/3GsdnHF
FMA welcomes New Zealand Anti-Scam Alliance
FMA
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko - welcomes the formation of the joint operational partnership to tackle scams, the New Zealand Anti-Scam Alliance. FMA Executive Director, Licensing and Conduct Supervision Clare Bolingford, said: "Collaboration is a vital factor in the fight against scams. We look forward to playing our part in the Alliance." Disrupting scam activity is one of the FMA's regulatory priorities, in order to maintain confidence in New Zealand's financial markets sector, she said.
/jlne.ws/4lIiUbR
FCA to modernise rules to unlock investment
FCA
The FCA is planning to review its client categorisation rules to unlock more opportunities for wealthy investors and support capital markets, driving economic growth. The reform will build on 10 initiatives the FCA has already delivered since January to support growth, with around 50 to be completed by the end of the year.
/jlne.ws/40cAxZc
FCA closes 1,600 websites as it fights financial crime
FCA
The FCA's annual report sets out how it has used data and technology to crack down on harm in financial services. Over 1,600 websites suspected of promoting financial services without permission were suspended, removed or blocked in 2024 because of FCA action, as part of its fight against financial crime. The regulator also collaborated with big tech platforms, resulting in over 50 apps being removed from Google Play and the App Store. This has helped the regulator in its work to block fraud at source.
/jlne.ws/4kBnrvZ
MAS issues Prohibition Order against Mr Jonathan Toh Hong Sen
MAS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a 5-year prohibition order (PO) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA) against Mr Jonathan Toh Hong Sen, a former representative of Great Eastern Financial Advisers Private Limited (GEFA) and AXA Insurance Pte Ltd (AXA)[1].
/jlne.ws/4kwlReH
Market manipulators sentenced to community service for up to 240 hours
SFC
The Eastern Magistrates' Courts has sentenced Mr Lin Tai Fung and his brother-in-law, Mr Or Chun Nin, to 240 hours and 160 hours of community service respectively following their conviction in a criminal prosecution brought by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (Notes 1 & 2). Lin and Or had pleaded guilty to the offences of conspiracy to commit false trading in the shares of Pa Shun International Holdings Limited (Pa Shun) from 9 April 2017 to 7 March 2018. Lin had also pleaded guilty to the offence of failing to notify The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited about changes in his interest in Pa Shun shares on eight occasions between 2 June 2017 and 14 March 2018.
/jlne.ws/4eRTdDB
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Trump's 'intelligent' copper tariffs will 'wake people up', says mining billionaire; Ivanhoe Mines founder Robert Friedland welcomes 50% import levy and says domestic production is 'fundamental' to US security
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
Billionaire mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland welcomed US President Donald Trump's vow to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, arguing that domestic production of the metal was "fundamental to America's national security". Analysts and other executives have questioned the logic of imposing such a high levy when the US remained so dependent on imports of the metal, but the founder of Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines said the move was needed to "wake people up" to America's vulnerability.
/jlne.ws/4kyTEUF
TNS Extends 24—5 US Equities Trading With Market Data Access to Bruce ATS
Rick Steves - Finance Feeds
Transaction Network Services has added market data connectivity to Bruce ATS, which expands its 24—5 trading infrastructure to support demand for US equities outside traditional hours. The integration reinforces TNS' push to offer global clients low-latency access to emerging trading venues. The new service delivers Bruce ATS market data via TNS' secure global network, enabling firms, particularly in Asia, to trade US equities during overnight sessions. The addition is part of TNS' broader effort to extend its Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model to meet growing appetite for continuous access to U.S. market activity.
/jlne.ws/4kwsbTw
Ferrero Strikes Roughly $3 Billion Deal for Maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes; The acquisition of cereal maker WK Kellogg would bolster Ferrero's business in North America
Lauren Thomas and Ben Dummett - The Wall Street Journal
The Italian candy maker behind Ferrero Rocher and Nutella struck a roughly $3 billion deal to buy the breakfast-cereal conglomerate WK Kellogg in a bid to bolster its business in North America. Ferrero, a family-owned company, announced the deal for the iconic cereal company on Thursday, confirming an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal. WK Kellogg shareowners are set to receive $23 per share in cash, the companies said. That represents about a 40% premium to the stock's recent prices. The deal gives WK Kellogg a total enterprise value, including debt, of $3.1 billion.
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Trump calls wind, solar bad for power grid. Texas shows otherwise
Tim McLaughlin - Reuters
President Donald Trump claims that rapid adoption of solar and wind power has made U.S. electricity unstable and expensive, justifying his bid to end most subsidies for renewable energy. But reliability has improved dramatically in the U.S. grid with the most renewable energy - in Texas - and electricity prices there are below the national average, according to regulatory filings and price data reviewed by Reuters. At the same time, some grids that rely primarily on fossil fuel generation have experienced reliability issues and surging prices. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state's main grid operator, forecasts only a 0.30% chance of rolling blackouts during peak energy demand in August, according to its June 6 reliability assessment. That is a vast improvement from the 12% chance it predicted for August 2024.
/jlne.ws/3Uap5JX
How the Trump administration is already cutting off climate research; President Trump's efforts to freeze climate spending have sparked warnings of rippling consequences in years ahead. For many climate scientists, the consequences are already here.
Scott Dance - The Washington Post
A $15 million federal grant was supposed to help scientists better understand how the warming climate is harming plants and animals, setting many on paths toward extinction. But the Trump administration shelved it earlier this year, miring the research in a holding pattern. Jacquelyn Gill isn't sure there's a way out. The professor of paleoecology and plant ecology at the University of Maine spent hundreds of hours readying the grant proposal, and 13 years before that gathering knowledge about how past changes to Earth's climate echoed through ecosystems. But without federal funding, she finds herself at a loss for how to keep building on that work as more species disappear.
/jlne.ws/3Tx8Kil
US agriculture agency to end consideration of race, sex in many farm programs
Leah Douglas - Reuters
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday it would no longer consider a farmer's race or sex in many of its farm loan, commodity and conservation programs, ending a longstanding effort by the agency to address its history of discrimination. The move was made to align with the Trump administration's directives to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the federal government and because the USDA has adequately addressed past bias, the agency said in a final rule.
/jlne.ws/3GCXsGk
'E-power': the hybrid tech Nissan is counting on to conquer the US; Third generation of carmaker's hybrid system has improved fuel efficiency enough to justify American launch next year
Harry Dempsey and Kana Inagaki - Financial Times
Nissan is betting that a third-generation version of its unique hybrid technology will drive a breakthrough in the US, a critical market for new boss Ivan Espinosa as he tries to turn around the struggling Japanese carmaker. The company produces its "e-Power" hybrid system for the Qashqai model in its UK plant in Sunderland and for various models made in Japan but has shied away from launching it in the US because of poor fuel economy on highways.
/jlne.ws/4lwwJuc
Trafigura-owned biodiesel plant to close in new blow to UK industry; Plan to shut Greenergy unit follows recent collapse of oil refinery in the same area
Rachel Millard, Peter Foster and Susannah Savage - Financial Times
A biodiesel plant in northern England is set to close in the latest blow for UK industry following the collapse of an oil refinery in the same area last week. Greenergy, owned by global commodities trading giant Trafigura, said on Thursday that it planned to end biodiesel production in Immingham, in north-east Lincolnshire. The product is blended into normal diesel to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport.
/jlne.ws/3IisTq1
Why America Still Can't Get Disaster Alerts Right; Residents increasingly tune out phone messages about floods and fires-if the alerts make it to them at all
Drew FitzGerald, Josie Reich and Caitlin Ostroff - The Wall Street Journal
America's emergency-warning infrastructure still isn't getting enough people out of harm's way. Federal, state and local authorities share responsibility for alerting citizens that they are in danger. But despite continued technological advances, the country's patchwork of digital and physical emergency-alert tools is often a step behind Mother Nature, with deadly consequences. There were repeated flash flooding warnings in Kerr County, Texas, as rain moved in and the Guadalupe River surged at the start of the July 4 weekend. Those alerts never reached some of the campers and residents who lacked cellphone service, silenced notifications or didn't have phones with them, and outdoor sirens were considered but never built. More than 100 people died.
/jlne.ws/4lS8Tct
Why It's So Hard to Link Extreme Weather Events to Climate Change; Attribution science examines how global warming fuels extreme weather, but making the connection is challenging
Eric Niiler and Matthew Dalton - The Wall Street Journal
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | The Swiss solution looming into sight for UBS; Switzerland's pragmatic, slow-moving political system might benefit the bank in seeking compromise in debate over capital rules
Mercedes Ruehl - Financial Times
UBS may have been handed an early win in its battle to moderate stringent new capital requirements imposed by the Swiss government. Who to thank? The pragmatic and slow-moving Swiss political system. The fierce debate between the Swiss lender and the government over how much more money it should hold in reserve domestically for its overseas branches has been raging for months. By Swiss standards, it has all become quite emotional.
/jlne.ws/44mLB8x
Hedge Funds
News-powered hedge fund group Hunterbrook valued at $100mn; Novel investment firm that trades off its reporters' scoops raises fresh capital and moves into litigation
Daniel Thomas and Kate Duguid - Financial Times
Hunterbrook Global has been valued at $100mn after a recent fundraising, as the novel US newsroom-cum-hedge fund revealed to investors that it planned to move into litigation. The new capital, raised by the parent company that oversees the hedge fund Hunterbrook Capital and the news outlet Hunterbrook Media, has come from investors, including the Ford Foundation and venture capital firm Floating Point, according to a person familiar with the fundraise.
/jlne.ws/4lOVxxr
Hedge funds to blame for coffee price surge, says Lavazza boss; Italian company chair blames speculators for '80 per cent' of price rise that created 'unbelievable' volatility
Susannah Savage - Financial Times
Hedge funds and other financial speculators were to blame for "80 per cent" of the surge in coffee prices that created "unbelievable" volatility and uncertainty in the market, the head of the Lavazza coffee company said. Giuseppe Lavazza, chair of Lavazza Group, which owns the eponymous brand, hit out at the "big investment funds" that had driven prices to levels that were "totally unsustainable for the industry, totally unsustainable even for the consumer".
/jlne.ws/44mU1Nf
Central Banks Are Flying Blind on Hedge Fund Leverage; The risks of shadow banks trading in the government bond market are mounting.
Paul J. Davies - Bloomberg Opinion
Global central bankers have ducked a chance to push for tight borrowing constraints on the biggest hedge funds, whose importance to core government bond and other financial markets has grown enormously in the past decade. Such funds are at the center of so-called shadow banking, where the use of borrowed money and derivatives is a troubling source of instability that can hurt not only sophisticated investors, but also the pricing and supply of funding to all areas of the economy.
/jlne.ws/4eE2mj0
Jupiter to acquire CCLA Investment Management in £100 million deal; CCLA is the largest UK asset manager focused on non-profit organisations; Move is motivated by strategic, cultural and financial perspectives, according to Jupiter.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Jupiter is set to acquire the entirety of asset manager CCLA Investment Management for a consideration of £100 million. The deal will be funded entirely from existing balance sheet cash resources. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is currently expected to complete before the end of the calendar year. The move is motivated by strategic, cultural and financial perspectives and "delivering progress against multiple objectives," according to Jupiter.
/jlne.ws/4eHHvv3
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Always putting out fires at work? Here's how to interrupt the cycle; There's crisis management, and then there's crisis hunting. It's time to stop the causes of crises instead of managing the chaos.
Tony Martignetti - Fast Company
Dan Heath's problem-solving book Upstream opens with a vivid scene: Two friends keep hauling drowning swimmers out of a river, pulling person after person from the current. The catastrophe seems insurmountable-until one of them heads upstream to stop whoever's pushing them in. Organizations replay that drama daily. Executives sprint from burnout to data breaches to supply-chain snarls, applauded for their stamina even as the current churns faster. Imagine directing even a fraction of that adrenaline toward stopping the cause instead of managing the chaos.
/jlne.ws/3TsuXhA
Using Key Performance Indicators to Demonstrate Your Team's Value
Anne Llewellyn - WorkersCompensation.com
In last week's post, I shared eight Return-to-Work Strategies for Nurse Case Managers to use in helping the injured worker return to gainful employment. This week, I wanted to discuss metrics, independent nurse case managers, directors, managers, and supervisors can use to document their work and demonstrate the value they bring to employers and the organization they work for.
/jlne.ws/4eCRTEo
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Measles Cases Hit Highest Total Since U.S. Eliminated the Disease; Experts worry that if vaccination rates do not improve, deadly outbreaks will become the new normal.
Teddy Rosenbluth and Jonathan Corum - The New York Times
There have now been more measles cases in 2025 than in any other year since the contagious virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, according to new data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The grim milestone represents an alarming setback for the country's public health and heightens concerns that if childhood vaccination rates do not improve, deadly outbreaks of measles - once considered a disease of the past - will become the new normal.
/jlne.ws/4lokKz3
Just How Harmful Is Vaping? More Evidence Is Emerging.; A new study that found high levels of heavy metals in popular nicotine vapes adds to concerns about the products.
Dani Blum - The New York Times
When vapes started to become popular in the mid-2010s, the tiny cartridges carried big promises. They were presented as a healthier alternative to cigarettes and a path to quit smoking. Now, researchers are coming to understand the hazards of vapes themselves. In a study from last month, for example, a team of scientists analyzed the mist from popular vapes and found such high levels of heavy metals that one researcher thought their machine had malfunctioned. Other studies have suggested that vaping can affect the heart, lungs and brain.
/jlne.ws/4ldUuXY
The Mental-Health Stigma That Won't Go Away: Getting Paid Time Off to Heal; Workers struggling with mental illness are denied disability benefits more often than those with physical conditions, data show
Lauren Weber - The Wall Street Journal
Monika Gray-Payne, a self-employed esthetician, often worked seven days a week, providing cosmetic services. But in 2022, she found herself spiraling. Beset by panic attacks and crying spells, she struggled to leave the house, much less work. The next spring, after a diagnosis of PTSD and bipolar disorder, she filed a claim for disability pay. Her insurer, Ameritas Life Insurance, didn't see things the same way. A doctor it chose to evaluate her described her symptoms as "mild to moderate trauma." In its letter denying her claim, Ameritas agreed that Gray-Payne had PTSD from a trauma years earlier but that she had proved before that she could "put much of that behind" her and could work.
/jlne.ws/3ImXl29
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Japanese venture capital firm targets 'deep tech' unicorns; Jafco's largest-ever fund aims to foster domestic startups
Aya Onishi and Ami Yamada - Nikkei Asia
Japanese venture capital company Jafco Group will establish its largest-ever fund of about 100 billion yen ($684 million) by early 2026, Nikkei has learned. The fund will invest in domestic startups tackling social issues and those related to "deep tech." Deep tech refers to research areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), space, and nuclear fusion, where the need for capital is much greater.
/jlne.ws/3Gwd52w
Canada seeks pact with Southeast Asian countries to diversify trade
Danial Azhar - Reuters
Canada is seeking to finalise a free trade deal with Southeast Asian nations as part of a push to expand into new markets, its top diplomat said, responding to the hefty tariffs imposed on it by the United States, its neighbour and largest trade partner. Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada intends to continue a mutilateral trade relationship with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Canada believes the global economy will be driven by the Indo-Pacific region in the years ahead, she added.
/jlne.ws/44UaSqN
Richard Li's China insurance expansion talks stall amid backlash to father's port sale plan, Bloomberg News reports
Reuters
Billionaire Richard Li's efforts to expand his insurance business into mainland China have been put on hold after Beijing reacted with fury to his father Li Ka-shing's plan to sell a suite of global ports to BlackRock (BLK.N), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Richard, business tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son, was in advanced talks to secure an insurance license in China, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/4kwt7Ht
Chile, Mexico look to new markets ahead of Trump copper tariffs
Daina Beth Solomon, Fabian Cambero and Ana Isabel Martinez - Reuters
Top officials in Chile and Mexico said on Wednesday they could seek markets elsewhere to avoid tariffs from the Trump administration, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would soon announce a 50% tariff on the red metal. Mexico and Chile export the bulk of their copper to China.
/jlne.ws/452YWlJ
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