| March 20, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
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John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Google has recently launched ten new Artificial Intelligence courses, all available for free, catering to both beginners and seasoned professionals aiming to enhance their AI skills in 2024. The curriculum includes an "Introduction to Large Language Models," focusing on their applications and optimization; "Introduction to Generative AI," distinguishing it from traditional machine learning; and "Generative AI Fundamentals," where learners can earn a skill badge by grasping basic concepts. There's also "Introduction to Responsible AI," highlighting ethical AI practices; "Encoder-Decoder Architecture," crucial for sequence-to-sequence machine learning tasks; and "Introduction to Image Generation," exploring diffusion models in image creation. The courses also cover "Transformer Models and BERT Model," offering insights into advanced AI architecture; "Attention Mechanism," teaching neural networks to focus on specific input parts; "Introduction to Generative AI Studio," on prototyping with Vertex AI's Generative AI Studio; and "Develop Models for Image Captioning," on using deep learning for image captioning. These courses are designed to equip learners with the latest AI knowledge and skills.
SGX's Rama Pillai is setting the bar high with his Kilt Challenge campaign of "Good Karma With Rama Kilt Challenge." He was raising money at FIA Boca 2024 while wearing his kilt and so far has raised 42,849 pounds. You can contribute by clicking HERE.
A Leg To Stand On, or ALTSO, has a new opportunity for you to spring into action for CoolKids. The #MoveForALTSO initiative highlights the significance of mobility in accessing opportunities and enhancing life quality, offering an engaging way for individuals and workplaces to contribute to this meaningful cause this May. The program presents two participation avenues: the first, "MOVE with Us," challenges participants from May 6th to May 10th to collectively cover 5,000 miles by engaging in various physical activities such as walking, running, biking, swimming, or rolling. Interested parties can sign up as teams, choosing their distance and the level of impact they wish to achieve. This segment is supported by Right To Run, On's social impact arm, with the top performer and fundraiser being awarded a shoe voucher. The second opportunity, "MOVE on the Court," invites participants to a Pickleball tournament at Court 16 in Manhattan on May 9th, offering a round-robin competition that mixes sport with philanthropy. The aim of these activities is to rally support to raise $50,000, aiming to transform the lives of 100 CoolKids, underlining the initiative's core message that mobility is a privilege that can, and should, be used to make a difference.
Sign up for MOVE for us HERE. Sign up for MOVE on the Court HERE.
CME Group is hiring for its U.S. intern program, which is one of the industry's best. Apply HERE.
SGX reported on LinkedIn that "Indonesia's recent presidential election has sparked a surge in demand for exposure to the country. This is evidenced by the SGX FTSE Indonesia Index Futures hitting a record in Open Interest (2,205 contracts or $42m), bolstered by a robust month-on-month growth in Daily Average Volume (1,235 contracts or $23m).
Acuiti.io, together with Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX), released a study examining the reasons behind the stagnation in growth of Europe's listed derivatives market in recent years. The research, named 'Optimising European Listed Derivatives Market Structure,' looks into the issues caused by market fragmentation and insufficient retail participation. It proposes actionable solutions aimed at stimulating market growth.
Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult was named to Crain's New York Business' list of 2024 Notable Leaders in Finance.
What does moving to T+1 settlement mean for the market is the question that Bloomberg's Larry Tabb and IEX's Ronan Ryan and John Ramsay discuss in the latest edition of the #BoxesAndLines podcast from IEX. They also talk about crypto, AI, access fees, tick increments, and what's really going on with sub-dollar trading.
BMLL announced on LinkedIn its inclusion in Harrington Starr's 'Most Influential Financial Technology Firms of 2024'. If they were really influential, they could get me opening day tickets for the Cubs.
The "Crypto Currently" webinar series by WilmerHale, set for April 4, 2024, will feature a comprehensive discussion on the latest developments and future directions in cryptocurrency policy. Led by WilmerHale partners Zachary Goldman and Tiffany J. Smith, co-chairs of the firm's Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Working Group, the session will include insights from partners Michael Held, Matthew Kulkin, and Jonathan Yarowsky, along with Public Policy Advisors Brian Skretny and Jeffrey Wieand, and Associate Nicholas D'Ambra. The panel will cover the legislative groundwork laid for cryptocurrency in 2023, the main legislative and regulatory priorities for 2024, and anticipated actions from key regulatory bodies such as the SEC, CFTC, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Attendees will also have the chance to ask questions and can earn CLE credit.
On 19 March 2024, disciplinary actions were taken by the CME Group against two non-members, Jatin Rasiklal Mansata and Mayank Ajay Pandya, for violating Rule 534, which prohibits wash trades. Both individuals were fined $50,000 each and received a five-year suspension from accessing any trading floor and from direct and indirect access to any market or facility owned or controlled by the CME Group, effective from the date of the ruling and extending five years after the full payment of the fines.
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:
- Research: Optimising European Listed Derivatives Market Structure from Cboe.
- Robinhood buys Marex FCM as futures entry takes shape from Risk.net.
- Average annual Wall Street bonus falls to $176,500, in second straight yearly decline from MarketWatch. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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FIA urges CFTC to fill gaps in customer protections before approving leveraged direct clearing
FIA
FIA has filed comments with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on its proposed rulemaking related to the protection of clearing member funds held by designated clearing organizations (DCOs). FIA's letter supports the proposed codification of segregation and additional protections for clearing member property, many of which are in place today at major clearinghouses. However, the letter cautions that the rulemaking is far from sound footing for the CFTC to approve new direct clearing models, such as the leveraged disintermediated clearing model first sought by FTX. "The Commission's action is a constructive first step to close the gap between the protections available to customer property and those available to clearing member property," FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken said in the letter. "But it is only a first step. Finalizing the [proposed rule] in a vacuum may give market participants - and, in particular, retail customers - the mistaken impression that when they commit funds to a [clearinghouse] clearing under the non-traditional models that the CFTC has begun to license, they will receive the same protections as customers of [futures commission merchants]."
/jlne.ws/3TIfmLE
***** It is not the first step that worries me, it is that darn last one.~JJL
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Sam Bankman-Fried Says 50-Year Sentence Only Suitable for a 'Super Villain'
Rachel Graf - Bloomberg
Sam Bankman-Fried said US prosecutors' proposal to put him in prison for as long as 50 years "distorts reality" and paints him as a "depraved super-villain." Prosecutors have argued that a sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years is necessary for the FTX co-founder's "historic" crime involving more than 1 million victims and losses of more than $10 billion in the collapse of his crypto empire.
/jlne.ws/3ToXBjc
***** Oh, am I going to have fun with this headline and the AI image generators.~JJL
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Finland Is Happiest Nation Again, But US Slides Down the Ranking
Kati Pohjanpalo - Bloomberg
Finland was crowned the world's happiest country for the seventh consecutive year in the global life-satisfaction rankings, but a drop in living standards among young Americans meant the world's biggest economy fell outside the top 20 for the first time. Denmark and Iceland remained second and third, respectively, in The World Happiness Report unveiled on Wednesday by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The US fell to 23rd from 15th, "driven by a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30," the report said.
/jlne.ws/4a21jWW
****** Stories like this just make me so unhappy.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was SFC warns public of suspicious websites for impersonation and suspected virtual asset-related fraud, from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, warning the public about suspicious websites operating under the name of "KKR Global." Second was Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co.,Ltd. Joins as a Broker to Provide Connection to CONNEQTOR, a press release from the Japan Exchange Group. Third was Lennar Mortgage Moves Servicing Operations to ICE Mortgage Technology for Seamless Systems Integration, a press release from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
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| Lead Stories | Hong Kong Faces Battle to Shore Up Its Role as Financial Hub After Security Law
Rebecca Choong Wilkins and Siuming Ho - Bloomberg
Hong Kong just passed its local security law at record speed, placating Beijing and antagonizing Western governments. It now has the challenging task of bolstering the city's position as an international finance center. The city's leader John Lee has repeatedly said a pressing need to focus on economic development was one of the reasons behind expediting the legislation. Since coming to power in 2022, Lee has prioritized national security, even at the cost of Hong Kong's reputation as a freewheeling hub. While his administration has taken steps to boost overseas investment and stimulate spending, the city's financial markets are in the doldrums and the economy is struggling.
/jlne.ws/3TJaWEk
Borse Dubai Plans to Sell $1.6 Billion of Its Nasdaq Stake
Katherine Doherty and Amy Or - Bloomberg
Nasdaq Inc.'s biggest shareholder, Borse Dubai, is selling roughly one third of its stake - or 27 million shares - in the exchange operator at $59 each, which would raise as much as $1.6 billion. Borse Dubai would still own more than 10% of Nasdaq's stock and plans to agree to an 18-month lockup of the shares, according to a statement Tuesday. Underwriters will also have a 30-day option to buy as many as 4 million additional Nasdaq shares. The offering is expected to close on March 22, Nasdaq said in a separate statement on the pricing.
/jlne.ws/3Tquvjx
US judge criticizes SEC for "gross abuse" of power in dispute with blockchain firm
Reuters
A U.S. federal judge said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had engaged in "gross abuse of the power entrusted to it by Congress" in its dispute with blockchain technology firm Digital Licensing, which does business as DEBT Box. The regulator had sued the blockchain company in July last year, accusing it of defrauding investors of nearly $50 million. Chief District Judge Robert Shelby said on Monday the SEC acted in "bad faith" and was "deliberately perpetuating falsehoods" in its efforts to obtain an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order against the company.
/jlne.ws/3TKN3fM
The AI Assembly Line Ends With Microsoft, Google and Meta; The surprise takeover of promising AI startup Inflection shows how quickly innovation is being captured by a handful of tech players.
Parmy Olson - Bloomberg
It's almost impossible for an artificial-intelligence startup to build anything as good as ChatGPT, but Inflection was getting there. Last year the Palo Alto, California-based firm raised $1.3 billion in a single fundraising round to turn its chatbot Pi into a personal assistant for everything. It built up a phenomenal cache of computing power, gaining access to thousands of coveted graphics-processing unit chips from Nvidia Corp. and was on track to surpass OpenAI's free version of ChatGPT with a model it had built, remarkably, from scratch. Compared to most startups, Inflection's path to success looked smooth. So it came as a shock to the industry on Tuesday when Inflection announced that its co-founders Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan, along with most of its employees, were joining investor Microsoft Corp. as employees, and that Suleyman would lead the software giant's consumer AI business.
/jlne.ws/43ss2JU
Who's going to win the next financial plumbing test? The US, of course; Asset managers will struggle to adjust to the T+1 slashing of settlement time
Katie Martin - Financial Times
Financial markets are about to embark on a global stress test, essentially imposed by the superpower that is the US. Lots of institutions, particularly those outside the US, will fail it. From late May, in North America, the trading process for assets including stocks, corporate bonds and exchange traded funds, will speed up. Right now, it takes two days from the point where an investor hits the button to buy or sell, and the point when the related money exits one account and lands in another, a process known as settlement. In between lies a gap for confirming trades, double checking them, fixing errors, making sure assets are in the right place, calling them back in if they have been lent out, and sorting out any currency exchange transactions.
/jlne.ws/43svXGC
US asset managers plan to boost ETF sales teams; T Rowe Price and Victory Capital are among those expecting to add to sales roles
Alyson Velati - Financial Times
The recent boom in exchange traded fund product development is prompting some asset managers to increase the number of ETF specialists on their sales and distribution teams. Victory Capital, for example, plans to roll out more ETFs this year and, as a result, beef up its sales force, David Brown, chair and chief executive officer, said during an earnings call with analysts last month.
/jlne.ws/4ameHFm
A new, Blackrock-backed commodities exchange raises cash
Derek Decloet - Bloomberg via Crain's Chicago Business
Abaxx Technologies Inc., a financial technology startup founded by a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. commodity strategist, is raising fresh equity as it prepares to launch trading in commodities futures. The Canadian company, which says it's on the cusp of opening a new exchange and clearinghouse based in Singapore, will use the money to fund operations and growth. The firm expects to handle its first trades in the next few weeks, Chief Executive Officer Josh Crumb said.
/jlne.ws/3Tnp98z
World on 'red alert' after heat records smashed in 2023, UN agency says; World Meteorological Organization report highlights rising food insecurity and costs of failing to curb global warming
Attracta Mooney - Financial Times
The World Meteorological Organization sounded a "red alert" on the climate change behind record surface and ocean temperatures, glacial retreat and rising seas during the warmest 10-year period on record, with twice as many people going hungry in the years since the pandemic. The UN agency's report, which brings together data from member countries and partner agencies, affirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record. The average global surface temperature was 1.45C above pre-industrial levels, it concluded, with a margin of uncertainty of 0.12C.
/jlne.ws/4ahU5xR
Bakkt Replaces CEO as NYSE Threatens to Delist Crypto Exchange; Board member Andy Main succeeds Gavin Michael on March 26; Main says 'going concern' issues are being addressed
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
Bakkt Holdings Inc. named a new chief executive officer and president as the crypto trading and custody platform faces being dropped from the New York Stock Exchange for failing to maintain listing requirements. Andy Main, who has served on Bakkt's board of directors since its public listing in 2021, will succeed Gavin Michael in the two roles on March 26. Michael, who is stepping down to focus on other opportunities, will serve in an advisory role through March 2025.
/jlne.ws/43reNZL
LME plans to list Saudi port as a copper and zinc delivery point
Reuters
The London Metal Exchange (LME) plans to list Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian Red Sea port city, as a new delivery point for copper and zinc subject to consultation on a technical change to the LME's warehouse location framework, it said on Tuesday. The warehouses, registered with the LME, the world's largest and oldest metals trading venue, are usually located in areas of net metals consumption or top transit hubs such as Rotterdam.
/jlne.ws/3TGP3Fz
BlackRock Files With SEC to Offer Fund With Tokenization Firm Securitize
Muyao Shen - Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc. is preparing to offer a fund through a partnership with digital-asset specialist Securitize, making it the latest Wall Street behemoth to experiment with putting money on blockchains. The world's largest asset manager said it plans to launch "BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund Ltd." with Securitize, a digital-asset firm specializing in tokenization, according to a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission dated on March 14 that was listed on the agency's website Monday.
/jlne.ws/3vb2ogb
The daring raid on Barings that has shaken $1.7tn private credit market; More than 20 senior executives have defected to a brand new business set up by an Australian property executive
Euan Healy and Will Louch and Eric Platt - Financial Times
In September last year real estate veteran Paul Weightman started hiring for a new fund manager designed, in the 62-year-old's own words, to "redefine the private credit landscape". For months the goal looked like a tall order: early this year the company's personnel listed on its website only included Weightman and another executive.
/jlne.ws/3Pu9d3o
Wall Street is letting Orwellian doublethink kill climate action; Why on earth are investors falling for it?
Pilita Clark - Financial Times
Only a fool would say the people running the world's top financial companies are fools. But when historians look back at Wall Street's response to climate change in the third decade of the 21st century, they will see much that looks deeply unwise. Exhibit one: the growing number of financial giants pulling back from climate action in the face of specious campaigns against so-called "woke capitalism". In the past five weeks, JPMorgan, State Street, Pimco and Invesco have all quit Climate Action 100+, an international investor coalition that pushes big companies to address global warming.
/jlne.ws/3vn20Lx
Coinbase CEO Says Exchange Infrastructure Needs Upgrades After Recent Outages
Allyson Versprille and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Coinbase Global Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said the company will need to pump more money into improving its trading infrastructure after users experienced problems buying and selling as the price of Bitcoin began surging at the end of February. Armstrong, in a Bloomberg TV interview Tuesday, said the outages were caused by a larger-than-anticipated surge in trading - the company had last year prepared and tested for increases as high as 10 times the normal volume following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. "What's incredible is that as Bitcoin touched and surpassed the previous all-time highs in the span of about an hour we saw more than a 10x surge of traffic come in," he said. "It exceeded even our models of the amount of interest that could come in in a short period of time."
/jlne.ws/3xc4GvO
Amid crypto crises, this exchange is winning trust from finance's elite; Coinbase is one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in blockchain, crypto, metaverse, and Web3.
David Lidsky - Fast Company
Amid a fraught year for crypto exchanges that included former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial and conviction and Binance's guilty plea and $4.3 billion fine for a variety of federal financial crimes, Coinbase stood out in a good way. In August 2023, the company released Base, its blockchain built atop Ethereum, to facilitate third-party applications. Coinbase is the first exchange to operate its own blockchain, which opens up revenue opportunities while fostering a new wave of crypto innovation that isn't wholly reliant on market speculation. Coinbase launched Base with high-profile projects such as a Coca-Cola digital art drop, attracting one million wallets and $500 million in assets in its first quarter of operation.
/jlne.ws/4cnCN46
Why the Plastic Problem Needs a Legally Binding Global Treaty; Even some of the biggest corporate consumers of plastic are calling for an international framework to tackle the growing environmental menace.
Akshat Rathi - Bloomberg
If all goes right, there will be a legally binding treaty to address plastic pollution by the end of 2024, marking the end of a relatively speedy process for global environmental deal-making. The treaty negotiations, which 175 nations agreed to put on a fast-track at a United Nations meeting in 2022, has taken on urgency because of the increasingly unignorable signs of plastic pollution. Tiny plastic particles have now been found in almost every corner of the planet, the deepest part of the ocean and in all parts of the human body, including the placenta that connects the baby to its mother.
/jlne.ws/495qDu3
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | With unsold grain piled high, a Polish farmer faces an uncertain future as war in Ukraine grinds on
Vanessa Gera - Associated Press
Piotr Korycki picks up a handful of wheat and watches as the yellow grains run through his fingers. All around him, grain is piled high in a warehouse on his farm north of the Polish capital: hundreds of tons of wheat, rye and corn left over from last year's harvest that he is unable to sell for a profit. With a new harvest on the horizon, he feels pressure to sell what he has to prevent it from going bad.
/jlne.ws/3Vk35OO
Ukraine's Drone Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries Mark New Phase in War; Attacks on refineries have both symbolic and strategic goals; Kyiv plans to send ever-increasing swarm of drones into Russia
Bloomberg News
Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion has entered a new phase, pitting homegrown drone technology against a 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) swathe of largely Soviet-era oil facilities. At least nine major refineries have been successfully attacked this year, currently taking offline 11% of the country's total capacity by some estimates. As the conflict at the front lines has shifted in Moscow's favor, the drone campaign is becoming a key plank of Ukraine's defense - both in its symbolism and its strategic aims.
/jlne.ws/3TK3V68
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israel Has Killed a Top Hamas Commander in Gaza. It Took Five Months.; Airstrike killing Marwan Issa, the No. 3 official in the enclave, isn't seen as a decisive blow
Dion Nissenbaum and Summer Said - The Wall Street Journal
In years of battle with Israel, Marwan Issa earned the nickname "Shadow Man" for his behind-the-scenes orchestration of Hamas operations as he evaded repeated attempts on his life. As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan was about to begin in March, Israel finally got its man. An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed Issa, the No. 3 official in Hamas's Gaza hierarchy, the White House said.
/jlne.ws/3wUogg3
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Cboe Global Markets Launches Options on Three New MSCI Indices; Cboe MSCI World Index Options (MXWLD), Cboe MSCI ACWI Index Options (MXACW), and Cboe MSCI USA Index Options (MXUSA) are available for trading; MXWLD and MXUSA options are based on 1/100th of index value; Launch is part of broader initiative to expand Cboe's MSCI tradable product suite
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, announced it has launched for trading Cboe MSCI World Index Options (MXWLD), Cboe MSCI ACWI Index Options (MXACW), and Cboe MSCI USA Index Options (MXUSA). The launch is part of Cboe's deepening relationship with MSCI Inc. (MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. The three new MSCI index options are designed to provide a range of investors exposure to international, developed and emerging markets and U.S. equity market performance. The new Cboe MSCI index options can provide pension funds, insurance companies, and other institutional investors more efficient ways to hedge their global equity exposure, while minimizing potential tracking error and currency risk. Additionally, each of MXWLD and MXUSA is based on a fraction (1/100th) of the value of its underlying index, making these options more accessible for retail investors.
/jlne.ws/4a0uM3z
BME admits a 750 million euro issue of Andalusian sustainable bonds to trading
BME
BME's fixed income market, AIAF, today admitted to trading a EUR 750 million issue of sustainable bonds by the Andalusian regional government at a nominal interest rate of 3.4%. The issue, with a ten-year maturity, is the fifth of its kind by this issuer, for a total amount of 3.35 billion euros. The placement banks were Banco Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Credit Agricole, HSBC and ING. The issue was oversubscribed by more than three times (EUR 2,500 million) by more than 80 institutional investors of 12 nationalities. In addition to Spain, the main investors were Germany, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and the Middle East.
/jlne.ws/4ach1i2
Nasdaq Announces Pricing of Secondary Offering of Nasdaq Common Stock by Borse Dubai
Nasdaq
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ or Nasdaq) today announced the pricing of the previously announced secondary offering by Borse Dubai of 26,956,522 shares of Nasdaq's common stock at $59.00 per share. Borse Dubai has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 4,043,478 additional shares of Nasdaq's common stock. The offering is expected to close on March 22, 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.
/jlne.ws/3vjvppO
Abaxx Announces Upsize of Bought Deal Financing to C$16.25 Million
Abaxx
Abaxx Technologies Inc. (CBOE CA: ABXX) ("Abaxx" or the "Company"), a financial software and market infrastructure company, majority shareholder of Abaxx Singapore Pte Ltd., the owner of Abaxx Commodity Exchange and Clearinghouse (individually, "Abaxx Exchange" and "Abaxx Clearing"), and producer of the SmarterMarkets™ Podcast, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to increase the size of its previously announced bought deal financing with Canaccord Genuity Corp. and BMO Capital Markets, (the "Co-Lead Underwriters"). The Co-Lead Underwriters have agreed on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the "Underwriters"), to purchase, on a bought deal basis, an aggregate 1,250,000 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a price of C$13.00 per Common Share (the "Issue Price") for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of C$16,250,000 (the "Offering").
/jlne.ws/4crK4zV
JSE announces winners of the 22nd Annual Spire Awards
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
South Africa's leading capital market participants were celebrated for their client and solutions-focused service at the prestigious 22nd Annual JSE Spire Awards ceremony that was held last night in Johannesburg. Recognised as the benchmark of excellence within South Africa's financial market landscape, the JSE Spire Awards, now celebrating their 22nd year, are dedicated to acknowledging the outstanding achievements of market participants who excel in client service, innovative solutions and overall market contribution. The event brought together the luminaries of the finance industry, and was attended by traders, analysts, banks and senior financial market professionals.
/jlne.ws/492A8Kk
ICE Launches Mortgage Insurance Center for Encompass Digital Lending Platform with Integrations to All Major MI Providers
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced the launch of the Encompass Mortgage Insurance (MI) Center, now available to users of ICE's end-to-end digital lending platform. MI services from third-party providers Arch MI, Enact, Essent, MGIC, National MI and Radian are available. Available on both desktop and web versions of Encompass®, MI Center features improved order management functionality, enhanced rate quote comparison capabilities and direct navigation to ordering via Encompass Partner Connect (EPC), to create a much more intuitive and comprehensive mortgage insurance workflow experience for lenders.
/jlne.ws/3Vmp6fX
Euronext Annual Conference 2024; Driving the future of capital markets
Euronext
The 12th edition of the Euronext Annual Conference, bringing together business leaders, entrepreneurs, advisors, market operators, supervisors and international investors, successfully brought together more than a thousand participants in Paris. Since 2011, the Euronext Annual Conference has been a leading event for players in the French and European capital markets. Stephane Boujnah, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of Euronext, declared: "For its twelfth edition, the Euronext Annual Conference brought together the European financial ecosystem, and encouraged particularly rich exchanges between the different players in the financial markets. capital. Over the years, Euronext has forged links between European markets, stimulated innovation and performance to finance the real economy and built the backbone of the Capital Markets Union in Europe. This year 2024 marks an important milestone in our history with the tenth anniversary of the Euronext IPO. We proudly celebrate the progress made over the past 10 years. And we are preparing the path we will take for the coming years, to participate in the European integration of capital markets, to support the growth of European companies and to contribute to Europe's strategic autonomy. »
/jlne.ws/3vil9OK
LME proposes new warehouse location in Jeddah
LME
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is pleased to announce its intention to list Jeddah as a new delivery point for copper and zinc, subject to a short consultation on one technical change to the LME's warehouse location framework. Matthew Chamberlain, LME CEO, commented: "We are committed to evolving the LME warehouse network to ensure we provide maximum global connectivity for the metals community. Saudi Arabia is an increasingly important global metals hub, and Jeddah fully meets with the operational and logistical criteria for new warehouse locations - such as being an important area of net consumption and having an effective transport network."
/jlne.ws/493f6vl
Proposed Amendment To The Policy On The Approval Of Locations As Delivery Points
London Metal Exchange
Introduction. 1. The London Metal Exchange (the "LME") seeks the views of Members, warehouse companies and their London Agents and other interested parties in relation to a proposed amendment to the Policy on the Approval of Locations as Delivery Points (the "Policy").
/jlne.ws/3vimcfa
Joint Press Release on revised list of designated Qualified Stock Brokers (QSBs)
Multi Commodity Exchange of India
Certain stock brokers, due to various factors like their size, trading volumes and amount of clients' funds handled by them, occupy a significant position in the Indian securities market, leading to concentration of activity among few stock brokers. In order to further strengthen the compliance and monitoring requirements relating to such stock brokers and to ensure efficient functioning of securities market, SEBI videCircular no.SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD-PoD1/P/CIR/2023/24 dated February 06, 2023, on "Enhanced obligations and responsibilities on Qualified Stock Brokers (QSBs)" enumerated the following four parameters for designating certain stock brokers, as QSBs.
/jlne.ws/3TGKprg
Nasdaq and Borse Dubai Announce Launch of Secondary Offering of Nasdaq Common Stock
Nasdaq
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ or Nasdaq) and Borse Dubai Limited (Borse Dubai) today announced the commencement of a secondary offering by Borse Dubai of 26,956,522 shares of Nasdaq's common stock. Borse Dubai also expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 4,043,478 additional shares of Nasdaq's common stock. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed.
/jlne.ws/43mqCAJ
SIX Invests in BITA and Expands Indexing and Technology Partnership
SIX via EIN Presswire
SIX, the global financial information provider, and BITA, a leading provider of indexing technology and services, today announced that SIX has made a strategic investment in BITA to strengthen a series of existing joint projects and accelerate the expansion of SIX's global benchmark platform. Existing BITA shareholders, ETFS Capital, Volta Ventures and Pamica NV also invested in the round alongside SIX.
/jlne.ws/3VqhaKn
SGX Securities welcomes the listing of Phillip-China Universal MSCI China A 50 Connect ETF under SSE-SGX ETF Link
SGX Group
SGX Securities today welcomed the listing of Phillip-China Universal MSCI China A 50 Connect ETF with assets under management (AUM) of S$69 million. The new product builds on the growing suite of China-focused equity funds offered through the ETF link between SGX Group and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). The Phillip-China Universal MSCI China A 50 Connect ETF provides investors exposure to 50 large and mid-cap stocks across various key industries listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
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Remarks by Loh Boon Chye, CEO, SGX Group at the listing ceremony of Phillip-China Universal MSCI China A50 Connect ETF
SGX
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Remarks by Loh Boon Chye, CEO, SGX Group at the listing ceremony of Phillip-China Universal MSCI China A50 Connect ETF
SGX Group
1. Mr. Kee Rui Xiong, Executive Director, Head, Corporate Finance and Disclosures Department, Monetary Authority of Singapore. Mr. Cai Jianchun, President, Shanghai Stock Exchange; Mr. Lim Hua Min, Executive Chairman, PhillipCapital Group; Mr. Linus Lim, Chief Executive Officer, Phillip Capital Management; Dr. Li Wen, Chairman, China Universal Asset Management; Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. 2. On behalf of SGX Group, a warm welcome to our guests, both local and overseas. Thank you for joining us this morning. Today marks a significant milestone, for Phillip Capital Management, China Universal Asset Management, Shanghai Stock Exchange and for us as well. 3. With this listing today, we now have three ETFs under the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Singapore Exchange ETF product link. I am encouraged by the progress.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Fifth Third Bank Moving to ICE's End-to-End Mortgage Ecosystem to Improve Customer Experience; Integrated data, comprehensive technology, and consumer-facing digital tools streamline, accelerate housing finance cycle and improve long-term customer relationship
Fifth Third Bank
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced that Fifth Third Bank will move its origination and servicing operations to the end-to-end mortgage technology ecosystem from ICE. Using the Encompass® and MSP® loan origination and servicing platforms gives the bank a seamlessly integrated system to handle both first lien and home equity products across all lending and servicing channels, from customer engagement and loan production through the long-term servicing of the mortgage. Fifth Third will also incorporate multiple ICE data and analytics solutions to help mitigate risk, identify opportunities, and gain crucial insights to support data-driven decision making.
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ViewTrade Launches NextGen Platform, Enabling Financial Firms Around the World to Expand Offerings to Retail Customers
ViewTrade Holding Corporation
ViewTrade Holding Corporation ("ViewTrade"), the force that fuels digital finance, today announced through its technology subsidiary the official launch of NextGen, the B2B2C retail trading platform that enables financial institutions around the world to deliver differentiated investing experiences while complementing their existing offerings. ViewTrade also unveiled details for its 2024 product roadmap, which includes increased support across all asset classes, including more robust offerings for fixed income and options, and expansion into additional global markets to offer a full and flexible suite of solutions for retail brokers and investors worldwide.
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Intel wins $19.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding as 'historic' semiconductor spending spree heats up
Dylan Sloan - Fortune
The Commerce Department is taking its biggest step yet toward onshoring semiconductor manufacturing with a historic $19.5 billion funding deal with Intel, which the Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor giant plans to use for four new production facilities across the country.
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OpenAI Sprinting to Keep Up With Startups on AI-Generated Video; Software that can create convincing video from text prompts is progressing fast, raising questions about disinformation as well as the economics of AI.
Rachel Metz - Bloomberg
The video circulating online of a trio of giant tusked beasts bounding through glistening white snow on a crisp day looked like something from a National Geographic documentary-except that woolly mammoths went extinct thousands of years before the invention of the video camera. OpenAI released the 10-second clip in February to introduce Sora, its new artificial intelligence software that can turn written prompts into strikingly realistic-looking videos up to about a minute in length. The new feature, and the instant buzz around it, felt like a flashback to late 2022 when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, upending the tech landscape overnight and pushing AI into the public consciousness.
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Microsoft bets on start-ups to extend AI lead with hiring of Inflection chief; Satya Nadella's appointment of Mustafa Suleyman continues strategy of developing ties with fledging AI companies
Camilla Hodgson - Financial Times
Microsoft chief Satya Nadella's bet on ChatGPT maker OpenAI gave the tech giant early ascendancy in the race to commercialise generative artificial intelligence. He has looked again at a a start-up to extend that advantage. On Tuesday, Nadella announced the surprise hiring of Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of AI start-up Inflection and co-founder of DeepMind, to lead a new Microsoft division focused on pushing further into the market for consumer-facing AI applications.
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Nvidia Is Now Competing Mostly With Itself-and AI Fatigue; New superchips will help the company keep its competitive lead, though worries about AI's traction will linger
Dan Gallagher - The Wall Street Journal
Nvidia has a very big crowd to please these days. It managed to pull it off this time. The chip maker that is now the world's third most valuable company unveiled its latest artificial intelligence systems during the kickoff of its annual developers conference on Monday. The event, known as GTC, had been held virtually since 2020, when Nvidia was generating about $11 billion in annual revenue mostly from the sale of graphics processors for videogaming PCs.
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Goldman Sachs AM set to leverage BNY Mellon's buy-side trading solution; Specifically, the agreement concerns global trade execution services in EMEA, the US and APAC markets across fixed income, FX, derivatives and ETFs.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
BNY Mellon is set to offer its buy-side trading solution to Goldman Sachs Asset Management as the firm continues to expand the reach of its outsourced trading offering across the market. The new buy-side trading relationship specifically concerns a division of Goldman Sachs Asset Management's EMEA business, The TRADE understands.
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Meritsoft launches AI-enabled settlement offering; The trade monitoring and exception resolution tool is aimed at improving settlement efficiency rates.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
Meritsoft, a Cognizant company, has unveiled its Trade Tracking and Exception Manager (TTEM) solution, aimed at improving settlement efficiency rates for financial institutions. Daniel Carpenter, chief executive of Meritsoft, said: "Market participants across the globe face a growing list of challenges when it comes to their trade settlement operations, from shorter settlement cycles to heightened operational costs and resource limitations.
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Sigma Broking extends partnership with ION to allow customers to route orders to the LME
20 March 2024
ION
ION, a global leader in trading, analytics, treasury, and risk management solutions for capital markets, commodities, and treasury management, announces the extension of its partnership with Sigma Broking (Sigma). Sigma is an international, privately-owned brokerage company servicing institutional customers and deploys ION's post-trade solutions to automate its middle- and back-office operations. Under the new agreement, Sigma will now also leverage the XTP Execution (XTP-E) suite to offer customers the capability to trade listed derivatives on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
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Rival nations seek to poach top UK and European AI start-ups; Canada and UAE lobby companies as global competition over developing cutting-edge technology heats up
Cristina Criddle and Chloe Cornish - Financial Times
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | US Warns of Cyberattacks Against Water Systems Throughout Nation; Letter cites threats from hackers linked to Iran, China; EPA is lead federal agency to ensure water sector's resilience
Ari Natter - Bloomberg
The Biden administration is warning states to be on guard for cyberattacks against water systems, citing ongoing threats from hackers linked to the governments of Iran and China. "Disabling cyberattacks are striking water and wastewater systems throughout the United States," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wrote in a letter to governors made public Tuesday. "These attacks have the potential to disrupt the critical lifeline of clean and safe drinking water, as well as impose significant costs on affected communities."
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Cyber Chiefs Are Wary of Vendor Security; Corporate security executives beef up supplier oversight following extensive supply-chain attacks
James Rundle - The Wall Street Journal
Companies are ramping up oversight of suppliers after major supply-chain cyberattacks have affected thousands of businesses and breached data on millions of customers. Previously content with periodic questionnaires about supplier controls, corporate security chiefs are demanding stricter contractual terms around when and how their suppliers must notify them that they have experienced a cyberattack. Many now require third-party providers to adhere more closely to best practices from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology, and others.
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Regulatory measures boost cybersecurity industry
Help Net Security
According to the UAE Cybersecurity Council, in 2023, the UAE repelled over 50,000 cyberattacks daily. These findings, highlighted in a report from Frost & Sullivan (F&S), show the exponential growth of the region's cybersecurity landscape - and serve as a sobering reminder of the rising threats that accompany it.
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Cisco ready for "AI revolution" as it acquires Splunk in $28 billion deal
Julia Gomez - USA Today
The merger will "revolutionize the way our customers leverage data to connect and protect every aspect of their organization," said Chuck Robbins, Cisco's chair and CEO, in a statement.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Coinbase in multifront court battle with SEC
Crystal Kim - Axios Crypto
Coinbase is locked in a multifront battle with the SEC and ... the SEC. The big picture: In one courtroom, the U.S.'s biggest crypto exchange is defending against allegations that it violated securities rules. In another, it's arguing that it's the securities regulator that's run amok of the law. Between the lines: Coinbase is asking the court to instruct the country's top financial regulator to write rules for the digital asset industry after the SEC denied the company's earlier petition to do so.
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Grayscale bitcoin ETF saw record daily outflows as bitcoin tumbled
Suzanne McGee - Reuters
A selloff in bitcoin that continued on Tuesday has been accompanied by record outflows from Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, accelerating the asset losses the fund has experienced since it converted into an exchange traded fund earlier this year. Grayscale's ETF notched a daily record of $642.5 million in outflows on Monday, according to data from BitMEX Research, when bitcoin tumbled about 4%. The cryptocurrency was down another 2% by mid-afternoon Tuesday, bouncing off its lows. Data for Tuesday's flows will be available Wednesday morning.Investors have been unloading holdings in the Grayscale fund since it converted into an ETF January 10. Meanwhile, money has flowed into the nine new spot bitcoin ETFs approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the same date. Monday's outflows from the Grayscale ETF brought the total to roughly $12 billion since Jan. 10, though the 52% gain in bitcoin's price has helped counterbalance some of those losses. The fund's assets now stand at $27.2 billion, compared to $29 billion on the first day of trading in the new ETFs.
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Evaporating US Bitcoin ETF Demand Sends Token to a Two-Week Low
Sunil Jagtiani and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Bitcoin sank to a two-week low before paring losses as demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds dries up and investors question the Federal Reserve's scope to lower interest rates quickly. The digital asset has declined almost every day since hitting a record high just shy of $73,798 on March 14, stoking questions about whether the cryptocurrency has peaked for the time being. Bitcoin fell as much as 4.6% before trading little changed at around $63,350 on Wednesday.
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The Bitcoin 'halving' will change crypto-again. Here's everything you need to know
Niamh Rowe - Fortune
Every four years, Bitcoin undergoes a "halving," which cuts the daily supply of newly minted coins by 50%-an event that's historically caused prices to soar. As the next halving rapidly approaches, on or around April 19, investors are waiting to see whether this familiar pattern is repeated.
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Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Just the Beginning for Wall Street
Ryan Gorman - CoinDesk
For all the breathless coverage of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launching and the bitcoin futures ETFs before them, no one is talking about the elephant in the room. These funds help kick the can down the road while giving off the impression of being at the cutting edge of investing, when in reality they're an easy way to charge fees while also making it harder for you and I to own bitcoin {{BTC}} than ever before while Wall Street figures out how to address the growing threat posed by decentralized finance (DeFi).
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Bitcoin Halving Is a 'Show Me the Money' Moment for Miners
Aoyon Ashraf - CoinDesk
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | BlackRock Condemns Texas Fund's Divestment of $8.5 Billion; Texas education chair announces that schools fund will divest; Texas Permanent School Fund manages roughly $53 billion
Amanda Albright and Saijel Kishan - Bloomberg
Texas's decision on Tuesday to divest $8.5 billion from BlackRock Inc. - citing the investment company's fossil fuel policies - drew a sharp rebuke from the world's largest asset manager, which said it would hurt schools in the state financially. Aaron Kinsey, the Republican chairman of Texas State Board of Education, said that the $53 billion Texas Permanent School Fund had delivered an official notice to BlackRock "terminating its financial management of approximately $8.5 billion in Texas' assets."
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Texas School Fund Pulls $8.5 Billion Investment From BlackRock
Amanda Albright and Saijel Kishan - Bloomberg
Texas is divesting $8.5 billion from BlackRock Inc. due to the investment company's fossil fuel policies, according to a statement from the chairman of the State Board of Education. Aaron Kinsey, the Republican chairman of board, said that the $53 billion Texas Permanent School Fund on Tuesday delivered an official notice to BlackRock "terminating its financial management of approximately $8.5 billion in Texas' assets."
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Trump Rules Out Vivek Ramaswamy as Running Mate as He Eyes New Team
Jennifer Jacobs and Justin Sink - Bloomberg
Donald Trump has ruled out Vivek Ramaswamy as his running mate and is instead eyeing the entrepreneur for a Cabinet job, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Republican presidential nominee sizes up a possible administration. Trump personally told Ramaswamy he won't be his vice presidential pick, according to people briefed on the discussion, but is considering him for posts including Homeland Security secretary. Some Trump allies see Ramaswamy as ideal for the job because they say he excels at public speaking and, as an Indian-American son of an immigrant, could neutralize criticism of sweeping immigration restrictions.
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Why no one will lend to Trump; The Republican candidate's financial difficulties pose risks for America as well as for himself
Edward Luce - Financial Times
For Donald Trump, it would not be seven times a charm. His first six bankruptcies all took place before he went into politics. Most of these occurred in two phases: in the early 1990s after he had over-extended on a clutch of Atlantic City casinos, then on various properties before and after the 2008 crash. America's Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection got him out of trouble. Since then, Trump has largely made money by licensing his brand name. But there is no easy way out from the $454mn that he owes in damages to the New York legal system. Unlike banks, the law does not take haircuts.
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Billionaire John Paulson to hold megadonor fundraiser for Donald Trump; Robert Bigelow and Harold Hamm will join event despite previously backing ex-president's rivals
Alex Rogers - Financial Times
Billionaire investor John Paulson will host a Florida fundraiser for Donald Trump next month, as the former president tries to match Joe Biden's money operation and pay for a growing pile of legal bills and judgments. Joining Paulson to chair the event will be Robert Bigelow, the real estate investor who was the biggest donor to Florida governor Ron DeSantis's terminated presidential campaign, and shale oil baron Harold Hamm, who had called on Trump to ditch his run for the White House.
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Zambia's $13bn debt stand-off an 'indictment' of global system, says president; Hakainde Hichilema says 'long overdue' agreement with China and others given greater urgency by devastating drought
Joseph Cotterill and Alec Russell - Financial Times
Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has urged China and the bankrupt nation's other creditors to end the stand-off over its $13bn debt restructuring, calling the delay "an indictment" of the credibility of the global system. The southern African country has become a symbol of the failures of the G20-endorsed common framework meant to expedite solutions to debt crises in poor countries. The impasse has underlined how tensions between Beijing and Washington over a range of issues are complicating negotiations on sovereign debt restructuring.
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | FDIC Demands Three Companies Cease Making False or Misleading Representations about
Deposit Insurance
FDIC
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued letters demanding three companies and certain associated parties cease and desist from making false and misleading statements about FDIC deposit insurance. The FDIC is demanding that PrizePool, Inc. (PrizePool), AmeriStar, LLC (AmeriStar), and HighLine Gold, LLC (HighLine Gold) take immediate corrective action to address these false or misleading statements. In the case of AmeriStar and HighLine Gold, the FDIC has reason to believe these companies are related entities sharing several of the same principals and the same physical address, and therefore, issued a joint letter to them.
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The SEC's 'gross abuse of power' in crypto case is a new low for Chairman Gensler
Jeff John Roberts - Fortune
Here's something you don't see every day: a federal judge choosing to punish lawyers for lying to the court. Rarer still-so rare I can't recall another example-is a judge choosing to impose such a punishment, in the form of sanctions, on lawyers for a federal agency. Ordinarily, this would be shocking. But this isn't any federal agency, it's Gary Gensler's Securities and Exchange Commission, so perhaps we shouldn't even be surprised. The context here is a remarkable 80-page ruling issued on Monday by U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby in a case involving the SEC and a little-known Utah crypto company. The case was about the company's alleged sale of unregistered securities, but that is not what was at issue in Shelby's thunderbolt of a ruling. What the judge chose to address instead was the decision by the SEC's lawyers to lie repeatedly in order to obtain what's called an ex parte temporary restraining order.
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U.S. Bank and Oppenheimer Fined by CFTC Over Off-Channel Communication Violations;
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission requires U.S. Bank to pay a $6 million penalty and Oppenheimer to pay $1 million
David Smagalla - The Wall Street Journal
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has settled with U.S. Bank and Oppenheimer over their employees' use of personal text and messaging apps that violated record-keeping rules, in the latest case of regulators cracking down on off-channel communications. The derivatives regulator said Tuesday that U.S. Bank would pay a $6 million civil penalty over the violations and Oppenheimer would pay $1 million, and that the two firms admitted to the conduct detailed in the order.
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CFTC Orders U.S. Bank to Pay $6 Million and Oppenheimer to Pay $1 Million for Recordkeeping and Supervision Failures for Firm-Wide Use of Unapproved Communication Methods
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued two orders simultaneously filing and settling charges against U.S. Bank, N.A., a swap dealer, and against Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., an introducing broker, for failing to maintain and preserve records that were required to be kept under CFTC recordkeeping requirements and failing to diligently supervise matters related to their businesses as CFTC registrants.
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Remarks of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Before WFECLEAR: The World Federation of Exchanges' Clearing and Derivatives Conference 2024
CFTC
Good afternoon. Thank you to the World Federation of Exchanges ("WFE") for inviting me to participate in this year's WFEClear Conference, and thank you to the Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles for hosting all of us. I must first give my standard disclaimer: The views I share today are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government, my fellow commissioners, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), on which I am proud to serve. Throughout the programming over the next few days, the WFE organizers have highlighted a few themes that I would like to echo-clearing incentives, clearing structures, and market resilience-by offering my thoughts on certain current regulatory developments in the United States. I believe these developments risk undermining the post-financial crisis goals, carefully evaluated and laid out by the G-20 in 2009, of increasing the use of central clearing, strengthening the clearing system, and reducing systemic risk.[1]
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SEC, NASAA, and Georgia Secretary of State to Host Investor Roundtables at University of North Georgia and Dalton State College
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will join the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the Georgia Secretary of State, the University of North Georgia, and Dalton State College to host joint public roundtables and interactive sessions at both academic institutions on Wednesday, March 27, and Thursday, March 28, 2024, at 10 a.m. ET. Portions of the event will be webcast on the SEC website, and in-person public attendance is welcome.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | February Corporate and Municipal CUSIP Request Volumes Rise Sharply
CUSIP Global Services
CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for February 2024. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity over the next quarter, found a sharp monthly rise in request volume for new corporate and municipal identifiers.
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Cocoa Crunch Is Most Painful in Europe as New Rules Bite
Mumbi Gitau, Ilena Peng and Dayanne Sousa - Bloomberg
Surging cocoa prices are being felt most in Europe, the world's biggest chocolate consuming region, as new sustainability rules threaten to exacerbate a shortage of beans. Poor harvests in West Africa have sent global futures soaring to unprecedented highs. But fears are mounting that the European Union's incoming regulations - aimed at stopping products that destroy forests from being sold in shops - will make it even harder for the bloc's top chocolate makers to secure supplies as consumption holds up.
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Swiss Rate-Cut Curve Ball Can't Be Ignored as Banks Turn Against the Franc
Naomi Tajitsu and Bastian Benrath - Bloomberg
A handful of banks expect Switzerland's policymakers will go against forecasts and cut interest rates in their first decision of the year. Economists at Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., Julius Baer & Co Ltd. and others are among the few predicting the Swiss National Bank will deliver a reduction aimed at safeguarding the economy from potential currency strength. A surprise move, should it happen on Thursday, would come three months earlier than the majority envision.
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I was there for the dot-com bust. Here's why the AI boom isn't the same.
Allan Sloan - Yahoo Finance
The booming prices of artificial intelligence stocks have some obvious parallels with the dot-com bubble that inflated the stock market to outrageous highs in 1999 and 2000. Parallels that make some investors nervous today. According to a recent survey from Bank of America, 40% of fund managers think AI stocks are in a bubble (45% say no, and 15% don't know). But as someone for whom the dot-com bubble was current events rather than history, I can tell you that today's market isn't remotely like the dot-com bubble market was. How can I say such a thing?
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Seven Things to Know About Reddit's Unusual IPO
Priya Anand - Bloomberg
Reddit, one of the internet's oldest and most popular social media sites, plans to go public this week. Its IPO is a little different than most - which is fitting since the company and its user base are both rather unusual. Redditors, as the site's loyalists are known, have staged open revolts and blackouts to protest company policies; they've also posted personal attacks about company executives. And now those same users will carry some power over its public listing. Reddit set aside shares for the retail crowd to participate in the IPO alongside institutional investors, a risky move considering the havoc Redditors have wreaked on Wall Street. Here's everything you need to know about the company and its unique IPO.
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Bond Investors Are Clamoring for Niche Type of AT1-Like Debt; ASR Nederland sees almost five times demand in RT1 debt sale; Looming regulatory deadline sets stage for more offerings
Tasos Vossos - Bloomberg
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IBM Eyes First Record Since 2013 as AI Optimism Fuels 19% Rally; Stock has risen near a multi-year high, as has the multiple; IBM's most recent report featured a strong cash-flow forecast
Ryan Vlastelica - Bloomberg
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The Era of No-Brainer 5% Returns on Cash Is Ending; Cash has been a hot investment since the Fed started raising rates, but the landscape is changing as the central bank considers cutting
Oyin Adedoyin - The Wall Street Journal
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Accounting body says investors want climate data that U.S. rules exclude
Isla Binnie - Reuters
Investors will be asking companies for data on indirect greenhouse gas emissions that new U.S. financial disclosure rules exclude, the International Sustainability Standards Board's (ISSB) chair told Reuters. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month dropped a requirement for companies to disclose so-called Scope 3 emissions from rules it had drafted on climate change reporting. The decision deviated from voluntary standards developed by ISSB, which is part of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, the world's accounting standards setter.
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Texas schools fund pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock over ESG investing
Isla Binnie - Reuters
A Texas school fund told BlackRock (BLK.N) on Tuesday it was terminating its contract to manage around $8.5 billion of state money, accusing the investment giant of boycotting fossil fuel energy producers, who represent a large part of the state's industry. BlackRock has denied it is engaged in any boycott, saying the money pulled is a tiny sliver of the $10 trillion in assets that it manages. The move by the Texas Permanent School Fund, however, highlights how BlackRock and other asset managers continue to attract controversy in some Republican-run states over environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investing.
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A coal billionaire is building the world's biggest clean energy plant and it's five times the size of Paris
Diksha Madhok - CNN
Five times the size of Paris. Visible from space. The world's biggest energy plant. Enough electricity to power Switzerland. The scale of the project transforming swathes of barren salt desert on the edge of western India into one of the most important sources of clean energy anywhere on the planet is so overwhelming that the man in charge can't keep up.
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CERAWEEK-Occidental's direct-air carbon capture project is 70% complete, says CEO
Gary McWilliams - Reuters
Occidental Petroleum Corp's first direct-air, carbon capture project is 70% complete, CEO Vicki Hollub said on Tuesday. The first phase of the startup is expected in mid-2025. When complete, the Stratos project will be able to remove 500,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere per year, she said in remarks at the CERAWeek energy conference. The project has received a $550 million investment from BlackRock Inc and Occidental has signed deals to sell carbon removal credits from the plant to telecommunications giant AT&T, TD Bank and others.
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Oil mergers, clean fuels vie for attention at CERAWeek
Arathy Somasekhar - Reuters
Top oil executives and ministers descend on Houston this week for one of the world's biggest energy conferences emboldened by blockbuster mergers, stable oil prices and less pressure for a large-scale move to clean fuels. Global oil prices have remained in a range between $75 and $85 per barrel, a level fueling profits but not hurting economic growth, despite war in Eastern Europe and turmoil in the Middle East. Stock markets continue to spur deals, making Big Oil even bigger.
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Oil-Rich Corn Hits Milestone in Startup's Bid to Feed Renewables Demand
Gerson Freitas Jr. - Bloomberg
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Mining group Glencore records big rise in CO₂ emissions; Company cites expanded coal production and oil refinery restart but says it is on track to meet targeted reductions
Harry Dempsey - Financial Times
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Holcim and Danone swept up in rising tide of climate litigation
Terry Slavin - Reuters Sustainable Business Review
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Dubai's 'Sustainable City' Was Supposed to Start a Trend. It Hasn't Yet
Zainab Fattah - Bloomberg
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US solar factories need more government support to succeed, report says
Nichola Groom - Reuters
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Julius Baer Hits Reboot to Escape Swiss Banking's New Malaise; After a series of missteps, the private bank's management is pledging to rein in risk.
Myriam Balezou and Jan-Henrik Foerster - Bloomberg
A year ago, as UBS Group AG was dissecting the remains of Credit Suisse after its emergency takeover of the troubled lender, the executive team at another top Swiss private bank jumped to reassure clients of its stability. Philipp Rickenbacher, then the chief executive officer of Julius Baer Group Ltd., told his wealthy customers that the 133-year-old institution had "a laser focus" on getting through a historic upheaval for Swiss finance. The bank's balance sheet was "rock solid" and adhered "to the highest risk-management standards," he wrote in a letter to clients.
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Caprock buys Grey Street Capital, Chicago advisory firm for wealthy families
Mark Weinraub - Crain's Chicago Business
Privately held Caprock, an investment adviser for wealthy clients, said March 19 that it bought Chicago's Grey Street Capital, a financial advisory firm with $2.2 billion in client assets. Terms of the deal, Caprock's first acquisition, were not disclosed. "Caprock and Grey Street fit very well with each other as both firms are focused on providing sophisticated solutions to a select number of ultra-affluent families," Gregory Brown, Caprock's co-chief executive, said in a statement.
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | The Goldman economist who predicted the financial crash and soft landing says AI will be good for the U.S. economy but will 'destroy employment in some areas'
Paolo Confino - Fortune
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius issued a bullish proclamation recently about AI's effects on the U.S. economy. But Hatzius's optimistic prediction wasn't without its warnings, as he acknowledged that the rise of AI could devastate parts of the workforce who would see their jobs replaced.
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Why the CEO of Fannie Mae believes a company's mission and performance can-and should-go hand in hand
Fortune (podcast)
On this episode of Fortune's Leadership Next podcast, co-hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram talk to Priscilla Almodovar, CEO of Fannie Mae, about how the company has changed since she took over the top role a year ago, who her leadership mentors were, and how both homeowners and renters are faring in the U.S. today. They also discuss how Fannie Mae uses AI and why Almodovar remains surprised that most Americans don't understand what her company does.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | A new study cites the health risks of intermittent fasting. Could it lift Ozempic sales?
Charles Passy - MarketWatch
A new medical study is raising concerns over whether intermittent fasting, a weight-loss method that's gained attention in recent years, could pose heart-health risks. And in turn, that's raising the question of whether people who are looking to shed some pounds might instead opt for some of the increasingly popular fat-fighting drugs, such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy or Eli Lilly & Co.'s Mounjaro, as an alternative. The study, presented at an American Heart Association meeting earlier this week in Chicago, looked at a form of intermittent fasting referred to as time-restricted eating, which involves consuming food within a period of four to 12 hours and abstaining for the remaining time.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Why Mainland Chinese Flocked to Hong Kong's New Global Visa; The city created a visa to lure professionals from around the world. Most of the takers were Chinese seeking better jobs, better schools and greater freedom.
Joy Dong - The New York Times
To some foreign expatriates, Hong Kong has lost its appeal as an international city and no longer feels like home since Beijing took a heavier hand in its governance. But for many former mainland Chinese like Angelina Wang, it has become a more attractive place to live and work. Ms. Wang, in her early 30s, was feeling stuck in her job at a state-owned finance company in Shenzhen, a mainland city just across the border, when she read about a Hong Kong visa for professional workers. She quickly applied. As soon as she landed a job in Hong Kong - at higher pay - she told her boss that she was quitting and moved there.
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Venture Capital Inflows to African Startups Drop 31%; Flows decline to $4.5 billion as foreign investors flee; Number of deals drop 31% to 545, led by the finance sector
Emele Onu - Bloomberg
Venture capital inflows to African technology and start-up firms declined 31% in 2023 to $4.5 billion as economic headwinds including weak currencies and high inflation dissuaded investors, a survey showed. The number of deals, which flowed in as both equity and debt, dropped to 545 from a record 781 in 2022, with number of active investors in the region down by a third, London-based African Private Capital Association said in its report.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Crispin Odey Accused of Assaulting Woman Just Months After Acquittal
Jonathan Browning - Bloomberg
Hedge fund chief Crispin Odey allegedly assaulted one woman at a gathering just months after he was acquitted in 2021 of sexual assault, according to a string of new legal filings made public by a London court. Odey is accused of groping the woman at his mansion, where he had invited her along with others for a shooting party, according to the allegations. Odey said in defense papers that he touched the woman, saying that the pair were "tipsy," but insisted that all contact was entirely consensual.
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