November 08, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | John Lothian Publisher John Lothian News | |
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$54,406/$300,000 (18.1%) Trading Technologies ++++ FIA Expo Panel Explores the Future of Crypto Market Structure Sarah Rudolph - John Lothian News The last panel of the day on the last day of Expo was surprisingly well attended - perhaps because it was about cryptocurrency, a topic that sprang up on many of the other Expo panels that were not even supposed to be discussing cryptocurrency. An earlier panel had talked about crypto regulation; this last one, titled, "Crypto - Market Structure" explored market structure issues that affect the crypto world, such as hyperfragmentation, the immaturity of the market relative to traditional financial products, and the absence of prime brokers. The rapid innovation in crypto has brought new ways of offering leverage to retail participants in the markets. Leverage used to be reserved more for institutions, and there was a "big untapped ball of customers out there" who had trouble gaining access to that feature of trading, said Luke Hoersten, the CEO of Bitnomial. To read the rest of this story, go HERE. ++++ Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Intercontinental Exchange plans to launch four new index futures contracts based on the MSCI Climate Paris Aligned Indices, subject to regulatory approval, in January 2022 on ICE Futures U.S. -- ICE Also, Intercontinental Exchange announced that ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) has launched its U.S. dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate® for use as a benchmark in financial contracts and financial instruments by licensees. -- ICE The Security Traders Association is accepting nominations for the 2021 STA Women in Finance Awards: the STA Women in Finance Ken Heath Award and the STA Women in Finance Mentor of the Year Award. The deadline for nominations is Friday, November 19, 2021. -- STA Eris Swap Futures are setting open interest records. Open interest in Eris Swaps ended October at 422,550, up 100% year-to-date. Front-month open interest has grown more than 400% YTD, ending October at a record level of 148,772 contracts. Murphy & McGonigle was named "Law Firm of the Year" for securities regulation for the second year in a row in the 2022 edition of U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms." In 2021 the firm welcomed Stephen Gannon to its new banking & financial services practice group in April and saw the transition of Elizabeth Lan Davis to chair. The FT has a Special Report titled "FTfm: Fixed Income." The stories include: -- Q&A: Where next for bonds, central banks and interest rates? The FT's Tommy Stubbington and Kate Duguid answer your questions -- Inflation-linked bond funds see their stock rise; Concerns over steeply rising prices are fuelling flows into ETFs that can offer protection -- Investors warned that crypto 'yield' products are not bonds; Loans offered via decentralised finance networks have been compared to fixed income securities -- Pandemic's digital push shows future of bond trading; More accurate price data and more fixed income tracker funds have moved markets forward five years -- In charts: Bond funds — where the money flowed 2020-2021; Data on inflows and outflows show the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and changing economic forecasts -- Emerging market bonds fall victim to fickle sentiment; In the topsy-turvy world of developing world debt issuance, good times never seem to last Copper.co, a provider of institutional digital asset custody and trading solutions, today announced the launch of its inaugural TV advertising campaign exclusively on Bloomberg Television, starring the actress Rebecca Ferguson. Trading Technologies made a match of contributions to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign. Thank you to TT and all who have given and all who have yet to give. Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL ***** Chuck Mackie provides his own take on FIA Expo's well-attended last day in "Back to the Futures: FIA Expo 2021 Day 2," available on Medium here. ~SR ++++ Winning Horse Appears to Blow Cover of Trader Hiding in Florida Christian Berthelsen - Bloomberg Reza Zarrab helped U.S. convict a Turkish banker in 2017; Turkish media says he's now running a Florida horse farm A gold trader who disappeared after testifying about a U.S. sanctions-evasion scheme he masterminded has apparently had his assumed identity blown by a horse. In late August, a photo appeared in PS Dressage magazine as part of an article about Sonata MF, a horse who had just become a national champion in the equestrian sport. The since-removed picture showed "Aaron Goldsmith," the smiling owner of the facility near Palm Beach, Florida, where the horse trained. ***** He would have been better off with a slow horse.~JJL ++++ COP26: Fossil fuel industry has largest delegation at climate summit Matt McGrath - BBC Campaigners led by Global Witness assessed the participant list published by the UN at the start of this meeting. They found that 503 people with links to fossil fuel interests had been accredited for the climate summit. /bbc.in/3mRVg1a ***** And the fossil fuel industry was blowing a lot of gas there too.~JJL ++++ Art Is Among the Hottest Markets on Earth; Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips get ready to sell off at least $1.6 billion worth of art, including works that could sell for 15 times their asking prices Kelly Crow - WSJ Collectors know exactly what they want from art: more. A lot more. Starting Tuesday, the world's chief auction houses—Sotheby's, Christie's and boutique house Phillips—will seek to sell at least $1.6 billion worth of art during a two-week series of sales, setting an expectation they haven't met in the past three years. The houses estimate at least 15 pieces will sell for over $20 million, including examples by Alberto Giacometti, Mark Rothko and Vincent van Gogh. Recent discoveries such as Reggie Burrows Hodges are also poised to fly to records. How to tell? Last month in London, Mr. Hodges's auction debut, "For the Greater Good," sold for $606,685—nearly 15 times its estimate. /on.wsj.com/3kh4eDz ***** Does this art come with an NFT? If not, then I am not bidding.~JJL ++++ Friday's Top Three Our top story Friday was the CME press release CME Group Signs 10-Year Partnership with Google Cloud to Transform Global Derivatives Markets Through Cloud Adoption. Second was a press release from the London Stock Exchange Group, The London Stock Exchange is developing a new market solution for the voluntary carbon markets. Third was Bitcoin Bulls See 'Trillions' of Inflows When Spot ETF Wins Approval, about the "Holy Grail" of a physically-backed crypto ETF. ++++ MarketsWiki Stats 26,644 pages; 236,177 edits MarketsWiki Statistics ++++
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Lead Stories | Investors are sick of paying for private equity's private jets; Already frustrated by the industry's "two and 20" fee structure, investors take aim at opaque costs Chris Flood - FT A $2.7bn private equity manager, named after the Monomoy lighthouse in the Nantucket Sound, was forced to return almost $2m to its investors after US regulators decided last year that it had failed to provide "full and fair disclosure" about costs that were ultimately paid by clients. Monomoy Capital pledges to help its clients navigate "rough waters" but numerous similar examples of private equity managers exploiting opaque fees and expenses to boost their own profits are making investors feel queasy. /on.ft.com/3GXY198 Wall Street Pushes Back as SEC Targets Business Practice That Generates Billions; Virtu and Robinhood are among firms that say payment for order flow allows for commission-free trading Paul Kiernan - WSJ Wall Street is fighting back as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler considers policy changes that threaten to upend a lucrative business model. Trading firms and brokers have ramped up their lobbying efforts and campaign donations to Republicans seeking to win control of Congress in next year's midterm elections. They've become especially vocal about Mr. Gensler's scrutiny of payment for order flow, whereby some brokerages sell their clients' stock and option orders to high-speed trading firms that execute the trades. /on.wsj.com/3H430VZ Rich Millennials to Financial Advisers: Thanks For the Golf Invite, But You Can't Invest My Money; Wealthy young investors don't see much use for the wealth-management firms their parents rely on. They would rather pick their own stocks or plow their money into crypto. Rachel Louise Ensign and Peter Rudegeair - WSJ Michael Martocci, a 26-year-old startup founder, ignores the golf invitations and other solicitations from the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. financial adviser trying to land him as a client. Eighteen holes isn't particularly appealing to the Miami-based Mr. Martocci, and neither is paying for financial advice. Instead, he oversees his hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments himself. He funnels 90% of his money into cryptocurrency. To check his stocks, he pulls up Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD -0.16% on his phone. /on.wsj.com/3H0hCWc Elon Musk Insults Tesla Shareholders' Intelligence; Musk has good reason to dump some Tesla shares and every right to do so without resorting to theatrics Spencer Jakab - WSJ The world's richest man says he will abide by the will of the masses. Rather than flipping a coin or consulting a Magic 8-Ball, the fate of 10% of Elon Musk's $210 billion stake in Tesla TSLA -0.64% was decided this weekend by a nearly-as-random Twitter poll. How many of the 3.5 million people who "voted" are actually Tesla investors, and in what proportion, will never be known. We do know that mutual fund giant Vanguard Group wasn't invited to click "yes" or "no" 198,000 times to reflect the size of its stake and in keeping with the word "equity." /on.wsj.com/3EQ7cGE The $35 Trillion Sustainable Finance Market Gets Greater Clarity Alice Huang - Bloomberg A push to bring greater standardization to the global sustainable finance market worth more than $35 trillion by two of the world's biggest economies is fueling expectations for further growth in the rapidly expanding sector. /yhoo.it/3woziWN Credit Suisse to recommend its hedge fund clients join BNP Paribas; Rivals circle Swiss bank's shrinking prime brokerage business following collapse of Archegos Capital Sarah White and Owen Walker - FT Credit Suisse has signed a deal to recommend its hedge fund clients move over to BNP Paribas, which is hoping to capitalise on the Swiss bank's withdrawal from prime broking services in the wake of the Archegos scandal. /on.ft.com/3kjb5we Wall St banks make push into Europe's private capital markets; Goldman and JPMorgan expand private placements businesses as companies rush to raise funds Nicholas Megaw - FT Wall Street banks are making a big push to help private companies in Europe raise cash in order to beat local rivals and increase their chances of securing lucrative mandates for a fresh wave of blockbuster public offerings. /on.ft.com/3ESdx4D SEC Names Nicole Creola Kelly as Whistleblower Program Chief; Ms. Kelly, a senior special counsel at the regulator, takes over from Emily Pasquinelli, who has been the program's acting chief since April Mengqi Sun - WSJ The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Nicole Creola Kelly, a senior special counsel in the regulator's general counsel office, as its new whistleblower program chief. Ms. Kelly, who goes by Cree, has more than 20 years of experience with the SEC, the agency said Friday. She previously worked at the whistleblower office and served in other roles at the SEC, including as counsel to then-Chairman Mary Jo White and to then-Commissioner Kara Stein, as well as in the enforcement division's complex financial instruments unit, the regulator said. /on.wsj.com/31IolE7 Saudi Stock Exchange to See December Trading Debut, CEO Says Reema Alothman and Matthew Martin - Bloomberg Saudi Arabia's stock exchange is due to make its trading debut next month after starting the process to sell a 30% stake in an initial public offering, according to its chief executive officer. "We target to list the company in the first week of December," Khalid Al Hussan said in an interview on Sunday. "The IPO is a continuation of our transformation," he said, adding that the offering should give it a "better exposure and access to investors." /yhoo.it/3khuxt5 Trading in meme stocks tested the resiliency and capacity of markets, SEC report concludes; The SEC's investigation into the market volatility caused by trading in GameStop stock back in January, raises questions about the market efficiency of short selling and the possible effects of acute margin calls on thinly-capitalized broker-dealers. Anita Hawser - The Trade On the 27 January 2021, a David and Goliath battle played out on Wall Street, which captivated the markets' and regulators' attention. A bunch of day traders on Reddit and other social media networks threw down the gauntlet to hedge funds that had been short selling the stock of gaming company GameStop, buying the 'meme stock' up in such significant numbers that its share price inflated by 12,500%, which resulted in some retail brokerages temporarily prohibiting certain trading activity. Some funds also incurred significant losses as they were forced to close out their short positions in meme stocks. /bit.ly/3CV0RJK Goldman's top banker says many Chinese IPO clients considering shift to Hong Kong from US exchanges Chad Bray - South China Morning Post More than half of Goldman Sachs's pipeline of Chinese companies pursuing initial public offerings in the US are considering shifting their listings to Hong Kong, amplifying a trend of firms seeking to raise funds closer to home, according to one of its top bankers in Asia. /yhoo.it/3BPfPQ0 COP Braces for All-Nighters as Carbon Markets Take Center Stage; This week ministers get down to thrashing out rules on markets, timelines and money Jess Shankleman - Bloomberg COP climate talks are about to get messier with negotiators bracing for all-night sessions. Top of their list to pin down: how to create a global carbon market and who will pay for the ravages of rising temperatures. /bloom.bg/3bOZgcv COP and Carbon Trading: Can This Time Be Different? Negotiators are trying to nail down a deal they've been chasing for six years. Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg COP President Alok Sharma says climate talks in Glasgow are about to get tough. That's because negotiators are trying to nail down a deal they've spent six years of their lives chasing. Clinching an agreement on international carbon-market trading is a key benchmark of success at COP26, and would be a major win as the issue has been pending ever since the Paris accord was signed in 2015. /bloom.bg/3mWMajP Crypto World Hits $3 Trillion Market Cap as Ether, Bitcoin Gain Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg Binance Coin, Solana have advanced more than 20% in seven days; Value of crypto universe has about quadrupled in 2021 The cryptocurrency market is now worth more than $3 trillion. As of 7:38 a.m. in London, the overall market cap of cryptocurrencies hit $3.01 trillion, according to CoinGecko pricing. The third- and fourth-biggest tokens, Binance Coin and Solana, have added more than 20% in the past seven days; all of the seven biggest coins are up over the last week. /bloom.bg/2YpfiXi China crypto ban slashes revenues and spurs Huobi to 'go global'; The exchange is cutting off Chinese users and will lose a third of revenues from next year, co-founder tells FT Eva Szalay - FT China's ban on private digital assets will wipe out almost a third of revenues for Huobi Global, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, and force it to look elsewhere for growth, the co-founder said. /on.ft.com/3EZwwub
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Wellness Exchange | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | 'Too many people remain unvaccinated for us to get out of this pandemic': Business groups give their verdict on employee vaccine mandate; Some business groups say the vaccine mandate for employers, which takes effect Jan. 4, is poorly timed, will be costly and will aggravate the labor shortages that have emerged during the coronavirus pandemic Elisabeth Buchwald - MarketWatch President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses that employ 100 or more employees is getting mixed reviews. Some business advocacy groups see it as a necessary step in ensuring workers' safety on the job, while others see it as overly burdensome, especially as some businesses are struggling to find workers in the run-up to the holiday season. /on.mktw.net/3EKff86 HSBC instructs all 30,000 staff in Hong Kong to get vaccinated against coronavirus as city pushes to reopen China border Chad Bray - South China Morning Post HSBC, the biggest of Hong Kong's three currency-issuing lenders, has asked all of its staff in the city to ensure they are vaccinated against the coronavirus after regulators asked financial institutions to "proactively encourage" their employees to take the vaccine in the latest push to increase inoculation rates in the financial centre. /yhoo.it/3wqzJj9 Moderna Finds That Inventing a Covid Vaccine Was the Easy Part Robert Langreth and Angelica LaVito - Bloomberg Biotech beset by logistical problems in international markets; Company lacks global factory networks like rival Pfizer Moderna Inc. has some of the highest-flying science in the biotech business. It brought its messenger RNA vaccine to the market in less than a year, faster than almost anyone thought possible. But more than 10 months after U.S. regulators first authorized its potent shot, Moderna is finding that inventing a Covid-19 vaccine was actually a relatively straightforward task compared with what would come next: ramping up vial-filling operations on multiple continents and distributing the vaccine to countries around the world in the middle of a devastating pandemic. /yhoo.it/3BTdPWP Child Vaccine Demand Underscores Deep Divisions in U.S. Anna Edney - Bloomberg Biden expects delivery of 15 million doses in first week; Pockets of strong hesitancy mirror adult vaccine reluctance Finally, it's the kids' turn. After months of home schooling and school quarantines, children are getting their Covid-19 vaccines. And early indications are the rollout is mirroring what grownups have just experienced: The children's vaccine is in high demand in urban coastal areas for the most part, it has been met with deep skepticism in many segments of society and is difficult to get in rural areas off the beaten track. /jlne.ws/303xXbS China Says It Will Continue Covid Curbs Amid Overseas Outbreaks Bloomberg News China said it will continue with stringent curbs to disrupt the coronavirus's domestic transmission, suggesting the nation won't break away from its Covid-Zero strategy anytime soon. The country won't change tack since "the outbreaks in China's neighbors and around the world remain elevated, creating a complicated and grave challenge for this winter and next spring," Wu Liangyou, an official with China's National Health Commission, said at a briefing in Beijing on Saturday. /jlne.ws/300xnLW Vaccination Mandates Head to Court, Testing Biden; Lawsuits are raising age-old questions about federal authority, states' rights and the independence of businesses and individuals. Governments big and small should make sure the common good prevails. Timothy L. O'Brien - Bloomberg Covid-19 vaccination mandates continue to test the balance among federal, state and corporate powers — and the rights of individuals — during an emergency. They're also testing, inevitably, how communities and the country define "emergencies" — a more subjective standard legislatures will have to do a better job of clarifying before the next public health crisis because courts alone won't provide a long-term solution. /bloom.bg/3wyyYVu Regeneron Antibody Prevents Covid Infections for 8 Months Elaine Chen - Bloomberg New results could pave the way for broader use of drug; Drug could help some who aren't fully protected by vaccination Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s antibody cocktail cut the risk of contracting Covid-19 by 82% for up to eight months, according to a company-sponsored study that could pave the way for its broader use. /bloom.bg/3CXHf7N How Covid Raised the Stakes of the War Between Faith and Science Tish Harrison Warren - NY Times I have never had much interest in faith versus science debates. They simply did not resonate with me. I believe God created the world, but I never felt the need to nail down the details or method of creation. I went to a fairly conservative evangelical seminary (founded by Billy Graham himself), and even there, I was taught that Genesis 1 was more like a hymn or a poem than a science textbook. I have long been influenced by early church theologians like Augustine of Hippo, who understood the biblical creation account as primarily making theological claims instead of offering a precise explanation of cosmological origins. /nyti.ms/3kj0Vvn
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Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Trayport And IncubEx To Launch The Voluntary Climate Marketplace and an Electronic Platform For Trading Voluntary Carbon Offsets Trayport Trayport Limited (Trayport), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group, and IncubEx, Inc. (IncubEx), a Chicago-based privately held company that designs and develops new financial products in global environmental, climate risk, and related commodity markets, today announced the forthcoming launch of a new global voluntary carbon marketplace. The Voluntary Climate Marketplace (TVCM) operated by IncubEx, will offer best-in-class market access to trade voluntary carbon offsets to the growing base of stakeholders looking to achieve net-zero commitments around the world. Abu Dhabi stock exchange launches derivatives market Reuters Abu Dhabi's stock exchange, the Gulf's best performer this year, launched a derivatives market on Thursday which allows trading in single equity futures of some of the bourse's companies. /jlne.ws/3EPZT1I Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures Surpass 5 Million Contracts Traded CME Group CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that Micro WTI Crude Oil futures volume surpassed 5 million contracts on Thursday, November 4, 2021. On the same day, Micro WTI Crude Oil futures reached a record 151,131 contracts traded, breaking its previous single day volume total of 100,725 contracts set on Wednesday, November 3, 2021. /jlne.ws/3o41ytM ICE Benchmark Administration Launches U.S. Dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate® for Use as a Benchmark Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced that ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) has launched its U.S. dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate® for use as a benchmark in financial contracts and financial instruments by licensees. The launch of the U.S. dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate benchmark follows the successful publication of U.S. dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate settings on an indicative, 'Beta' basis since October 1, 2021. /bit.ly/3BWm7xt ICE Plans to Launch Four MSCI Climate Paris Aligned Index Futures Contracts Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced the planned launch of four new index futures contracts based on the MSCI Climate Paris Aligned Indices. Subject to regulatory approval, the contracts are expected to launch in January 2022 on ICE Futures U.S. /bit.ly/3bQI2v9 MaaT Pharma lists on Euronext Paris Euronext EUR31.5 million raised; Market capitalisation of EUR128.4 million; 6th listing of a biotech on Euronext Paris in 2021; 175th listing on Euronext in 2021 Euronext today congratulates MaaT Pharma, a company specialized in the research and development of microbiota biotherapies, on its listing on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (ticker code: MAAT). /bit.ly/2ZZJYyQ T7 Release 10.0: Important information for production start Eurex Deutsche Börse Group will launch Release 10.0 of the T7 trading system on 22 November 2021. The support window for T7 Release 10.0 will take place on Saturday, 20 November 2021, between 15:00 and 17:00 CET. Connectivity testing during the support window is strongly recommended for all participants and Multi-Member Providers. /bit.ly/3BWW3Cj Updated guidelines for the treatment of dividends on derivatives contracts Eurex The European Corporate Actions Committee (ECAC) defined guidelines for the treatment of corporate actions for derivative contracts when the payment of dividends were postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Member Exchanges of ECAC are: Borsa Italiana, Eurex Deutschland, Euronext, ICE Futures Europe, MEFF (BME Group) and Nasdaq Stockholm. /bit.ly/3CR6qZz October 2021 monthly figures at Eurex; Eurex traded volumes up 5 percent in October year-on-year; Notional outstanding in long-dated interest rate swaps grew 30 percent year-on-year Eurex Overall volumes of traded financial derivatives at Eurex were up 5 percent in October 2021 - from 126 million to 131.8 million - compared to the same month last year. Notwithstanding a contraction for European equity index derivatives, all other derivatives trading segments at Eurex continued to grow in October. European interest rate derivatives grew by 30 percent from 40.1 million traded contracts in October 2020 to 52.2 million in the same month this year. Across the same period, European equity derivates grew by 14 percent from 19.8 million to 22.5 million traded contracts. /bit.ly/3wsrUK3 SGX welcomes China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Futures Limited as Derivatives Trading Member SGX Singapore Exchange (SGX) today welcomed China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Futures Limited (CICC HKF) as a Trading Member of its derivatives market. /bit.ly/302y0Fe The European exchanges clarify the treatment of dividends in Derivatives Contracts BME-X ECAC, of which MEFF, the Spanish derivatives market, is a member, issues new guidelines on dividends postponed or cancelled due to Covid-19; The European Corporate Actions Committee (ECAC), of which MEFF, the Spanish derivatives exchange, is a member, has added further clarity to the existing guidelines for the treatment of corporate actions on derivative contracts when dividend payments are postponed or cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to MEFF, ECAC members include Borsa Italiana, Eurex Deutschland, Euronext, ICE Futures Europe and Nasdaq Stockholm. /bit.ly/3kj6LwN JPX Monthly Headlines - October 2021 JPX JPX group companies undertake various initiatives and disseminate information with the aim of providing the most attractive markets to all users. Every month, we showcase the highlights of these efforts in short and concise summaries just for you. /bit.ly/3o8vfdj [J-Quants]Proof of Concept Project to Provide a Learning Environment for Trading Utilizing IT and Data Analysis - Announcement of Data Analysis Educational Content - JPX Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) launched "J-Quants", a Proof of Concept (PoC) Project* in January 2021 to provide a learning platform for trading using IT and data analysis, and is now releasing an educational tool for the Stock Analysis Tutorial (*1), which is provided as part of the PoC, to SIGNATE Quest (*2). /bit.ly/3ESriAj -- 2021 Thanksgiving Holiday Arrangements for Energy Products Referencing Price Reporting Agency Data and Related Suspension of Trading of Certain Daily Contracts -- CME -- Performance Bond Requirements: Energy & Interest Rate Margins - Effective November 08, 2021 -- CME -- Notification of Brand No Longer Produced -- CME -- Withdrawal of Regularity in Ethanol -- CME -- Product Modification Summary: Increase of Minimum Price Fluctuation Limit of the Ether Futures Contract - December 06, 2021 -- CME -- Amendments to Rule 646102.E. ("Termination of Trading") of the Lithium Hydroxide CIF CJK (Fastmarkets) Futures Contract and Temporary Suspension of Trading and Clearing of the Contract -- CME
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Fintech | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Dropbox founder: We are gearing up for the metaverse Brian Sozzi. - Yahoo Finance Bring on the metaverse, says Dropbox founder and CEO Drew Houston. "We are building towards a metaverse. I am really excited about the vision," said Houston on Yahoo Finance Live. "Where Dropbox fits in if you are working in that kind of environment or in the metaverse, you need stuff. So for your digital content, Dropbox could help and that is what we are building towards. It is very early. It is a long journey, but it is exciting." /yhoo.it/3GWZrRq Robinhood-Inspired App Wants to Disrupt Latin America Market Oscar Medina - Bloomberg A Colombian startup is offering cheap, easy stock trades in a bid to "democratize" access to Latin American stock markets, taking a cue from the U.S. trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc. /yhoo.it/3keXuGe A silent revolution is underway in Hong Kong's fintech industry, helping city catch up to Greater Bay Area neighbours Chad Bray, Georgina Lee and Enoch Yiu - South China Morning Post As an international financial centre, Hong Kong has been surprisingly traditional when it comes to the local economy. Shopkeepers, crammed into wardrobe-size stores filled with ceiling-high stacks of clothing, hardware or toys, track their accounts in notebooks, often putting price stickers next to their sales records. Handwritten invoices are common, and cash remains king in Asia's second-largest financial market. /jlne.ws/3qfjgxg SGX partners with DataBP to launch SGX Data Direct; DataBP provides a comprehensive platform to facilitate a streamlined market data administration process SGX DataBP, the market data administration platform and service provider for exchanges, index and data providers, today announced its partnership with Singapore Exchange (SGX). SGX joins a community of exchanges that are leveraging DataBP's platform and managed services to modernize and streamline the administration of market data. Tapping on DataBP's platform and market data commercial expertise, SGX has rolled out SGX Data Direct, an SGX-branded online portal for data licensing and usage reporting powered by DataBP, marking it the first exchange in Asia to offer such a service as a direct channel for data client engagement. /bit.ly/2ZXVPxo CloudMargin and Margin Tonic Introduce New AANA Service Initiative Combines CloudMargin Technology with Margin Tonic Regulatory Consultancy Services to Help Firms Address UMR Compliance CloudMargin CloudMargin, creator of the world's first and only collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud, and Margin Tonic, an industry-leading service provider specialising in the collateral and post-trade domains, announced today that the two firms have partnered to launch a global Average Aggregated Notional Amount (AANA) calculation service for the latter phases of the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR), combining CloudMargin's award-winning technology with Margin Tonic's expertise-led regulatory consultancy services. /prn.to/3qjQImi Zillow's flip-flop shows limits for Big Data in property; Company unable to parlay insights from American obsession with real estate listings into profits from speculation Pan Kwan Yuk - FT During the pandemic, a national obsession among Americans of looking at real estate listings was suddenly turbocharged. For many, scrolling through listings of beachfront bungalows or idyllic farm houses until the wee hours of the night provided a form of escapism from the confines of lockdown life. /on.ft.com/30buOHh FINBOURNE's LUSID platform selected by Baillie Gifford to improve investment data management; LUSID's cloud-native open platform will provide one source of real-time aggregated investment data to support performance, risk and business intelligence. Wesley Bray - The Trade FINBOURNE Technology's investment data management platform, LUSID, has been selected by Baillie Gifford as the Investment Book of Record (IBOR) for its global investment operations. As part of its aim to achieve a simplified cloud infrastructure, LUSID will deliver a consolidated source of real-time investment data across Baillie Gifford's equity, fixed income and multi-asset portfolios. /bit.ly/3BWwzVJ Data Sharing Network Glimpse Markets' no fee data sharing platform continues to attract buy-side interest; NN Investment Partners is the latest asset manager to join the network over the last few months. Wesley Bray - The Trade NN Investment Partners joins other recent buy-side recruits to the data-sharing network, Glimpse Markets, which includes Invesco, Columbia Threadneedle, Carmignac and Quoniam who joined in the last few months. Several other firms have also voiced their support for the network including PGGM, Allianz Global Investors, Bluebay Asset Management, Cowen, Exoé, Federated Hermes, and Natixis TradEx Solutions, among others. /bit.ly/3BVdl2F
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Cybersecurity | Top stories for cybersecurity | Hackers have breached organizations in defense and other sensitive sectors, security firm says Sean Lyngaas - CNN Suspected foreign hackers have breached nine organizations in the defense, energy, health care, technology and education sectors -- and at least one of those organizations is in the US, according to findings that security firm Palo Alto Networks shared exclusively with CNN. With the help of the National Security Agency, cybersecurity researchers are exposing an ongoing effort by these unidentified hackers to steal key data from US defense contractors and other sensitive targets. /cnn.it/3qnboKl Cybersecurity firms provide threat intel for Clop ransomware group arrests Charlie Osborne - ZDNet Further details have been revealed concerning a 30-month investigation designed to disrupt the operations of the Clop ransomware group. In June, Ukrainian police arrested six suspects in 20 raids across Kyiv and other towns, seizing computers, technology, cars, and roughly $185,000. /zd.net/3079Fhn Inertia is the enemy of cybersecurity Steve Weber - TheHill Human beings are creatures of habit, and digital systems have "humans in the loop" who inherently want to do things the way they always have. It's a rate-limiting step for digital transformation, and a massive and under-appreciated barrier to improving cybersecurity. It's the simple human preference for doing tomorrow what you did yesterday that leads users to repeat passwords, delay installing patches, and stick with old software because they're comfortable with it. Cyber-attackers know this behavioral inertia is often the weakest link, so they exploit it. Phishing attacks work because an email seems to come from a familiar friend or business, and fake web pages that host malware fool people because users recognize the look and feel and just click through or enter data without thinking. /bit.ly/3kgqCNi Cybersecurity firm uncovers defense hacking of defense in "spy" campaign Rebecca Falconer - Axios Foreign hackers are suspected of compromising organizations in the technology, defense, healthcare, energy and education industries in the U.S. and other countries, cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks said late Sunday. Why it matters: The National Security Agency contributed to Palo Alto Networks' report amid ongoing efforts to crack down on hackers who've been trying to steal critical data from targets including U.S. defense contractors, notes CNN, which first reported the breach. /bit.ly/3o1MrB2 Hackers breach nine global organizations in ongoing espionage campaign Maggie Miller - The Hill A hacking group with potential ties to China has breached nine global organizations as part of an ongoing espionage effort particularly targeting the defense sector, findings made public Sunday revealed. According to a report from cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks, the hackers targeted at least 370 organizations running potentially vulnerable Zoho servers in the U.S. alone, successfully compromising at least one, as part of a wider global campaign. /bit.ly/3ETCZXf
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Cryptocurrencies | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin (BTC) mining booms as miners flock to the USA and Kazakhstan Sam Cooling - Coin Rivet The Bitcoin mining hash rate has returned to its highest levels since May 19 amid an impressive network recovery for China's Bitcoin mining ban. The BTC hash rate - now sat at a steadfast 160.1 TH/s - is a measure of how many miners are actively searching for a hash on the SHA256 Bitcoin (BTC) network. /yhoo.it/2YpbJQV Treasury Report Says Stablecoins Threaten Market Integrity and Investor Protection Emma Newbery - The Motley Fool Treasury Report Says Stablecoins Threaten Market Integrity and Investor Protection In a long-awaited report, the Treasury urges Congress to take immediate action to address the risks presented by stablecoins. It sets out some of the biggest dangers stablecoins present and how they might be addressed. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to a different asset, such as gold or, more commonly, the U.S. dollar. /yhoo.it/3bN5ee0 Bakkt will allow customers to trade ether on its platform in the 'next few weeks' Isabelle Lee - Business Insider Users of digital asset platform Bakkt Holdings will be able to buy, hold, and sell ether directly through its app by the end of the year, a spokesperson told Insider. "We have received all required approvals and have already built the necessary technology to begin offering ethereum on the Bakkt platform. These capabilities will be live on the platform in the next few weeks," the spokesperson said via email. /yhoo.it/3CWT8e4 FTX US Adds TRM Labs to Compliance Tech Stack; Anti-financial crime suite from TRM Labs provides FTX US with increased capabilities to monitor crypto transactions FTX US FTX US ("the Company"), a leading US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, today announced it has implemented a full suite of anti-financial crime compliance and risk management tools developed by TRM Labs ("TRM"), a blockchain intelligence provider. FTX US has integrated TRM's Transaction Monitoring and Forensics tools to monitor transactions on the platform for indicators of financial crime risk and investigate suspicious activity through integrated case management. /jlne.ws/3q8CtR4 All big banks will seriously consider starting crypto trading soon, says former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit Harry Robertson - Business Insider All major banks will soon be seriously considering plunging into the world of cryptocurrency trading and selling, according to the former boss of banking giant Citigroup. Vikram Pandit said that in "one to three years, every large bank and, or securities firm is going to actively think about 'shouldn't I also be trading and selling cryptocurrency assets'," according to a report from Bloomberg, whose reporter Haslinda Amin interviewed the executive at the Singapore Fintech Festival. /yhoo.it/3mW7JRA China Crypto Giant Moves Spot-Trading Operations to Gibraltar Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg Huobi is working on 'compliant growth,' founder Du Jun says; Move comes amid crackdown on crypto by Chinese government Huobi Group, a cryptocurrency-technology company founded in 2013, is moving its spot-trading operation to Gibraltar as it takes steps to leave China, where authorities are cracking down on the industry. /bloom.bg/3mV23ad Nigerians cautious over Africa's first digital currency; Government says eNaira will spur economic growth but sceptics question benefits Neil Munshi - FT Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have opened digital wallets to hold the eNaira, Africa's first digital currency, but sceptics warn that broad mistrust of the government could hurt its adoption. /on.ft.com/3khoSTI
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Politics | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Why this Republican senator wants to protect a controversial trading practice Ben Werschkul - Yahoo Finance Payment for order flow has helped companies like Robinhood (HOOD) change the world of retail investing. But this technical trading maneuver has become a problem for many in Washington: Congressional hearings have targeted the practice, as some have characterized it as a kickback for brokerages. Meanwhile, the SEC has said a ban of payment for order flow is very much "on the table." /jlne.ws/3GRENlB
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Regulation & Enforcement | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | The US is dragging its heels on critical stablecoin regulations Nate DiCamillo - Quartz A much-anticipated policy paper commissioned by former US president Donald Trump and finished on the watch of US president Joe Biden has punted the issue of stablecoin regulation to Congress—and several former regulators believe doing so amounts to a gift for the cryptocurrency industry. /bit.ly/3BVRPdZ The Squid Game "meme coin" debacle shows—again—why India badly needs crypto regulation Mimansa Verma - Quartz A suspected scam involving a meme coin based on the hit Netflix show Squid Game has left the global cryptocurrency ecosystem shocked. In India, it has, once again, highlighted the need for regulation. /bit.ly/3woNfUC Nigeria Penalizes Two Individuals, Firm for Trading Crypto Emele Onu and Anthony Osae-Brown - Bloomberg Nigeria's central bank ordered the nation's commercial lenders to close the accounts of two individuals and a company for allegedly trading cryptocurrencies, according to a memo dated Nov. 3. /bloom.bg/3bU5iZn French prosecutors investigate Sanjeev Gupta's business empire; UK metals magnate's operations probed over allegations of 'misuse of corporate assets' and 'money laundering' Anna Gross, Robert Smith and Sylvia Pfeifer - FT French authorities have opened an investigation into Sanjeev Gupta's business empire, deepening the challenge facing the UK metals magnate once hailed as the "saviour of steel". The Paris Prosecutor's Office told the Financial Times it was probing Gupta's French operations over allegations of "misuse of corporate assets" and "money laundering". /on.ft.com/3qiQT11 Regulators step up scrutiny over investment industry 'greenwashing'; Deluge of capital chasing sustainable investments has increased need for clear standards, watchdogs say Chris Flood - FT Financial watchdogs across the world are sharpening their scrutiny of potential "greenwashing" in the investment industry on rising concerns that capital is getting deployed based on misleading claims. /on.ft.com/3o5lJaZ Allbirds dropped 'sustainable' claim from IPO after SEC objection; Regulators are increasingly cracking down on companies' assertions about their ethical credentials Nicholas Megaw, Stefania Palma, Jyoti Mann - FT Allbirds, the sneaker brand that listed on Nasdaq last week, dropped its claims to be the first "sustainable" IPO after the Securities and Exchange Commission objected, according to the group's chief financial officer. /on.ft.com/3o7ujpy L.A. casino fined $500,000 for looking the other way when a gambler brought duffle bags stuffed with $100 million for marathon gambling sessions Lukas I. Alpert - MarketWatch These wagers were too rich for the Department of Justice's blood. A Los Angeles County casino was hit with a hefty fine for failing to properly alert financial regulators and the Internal Revenue Service when a "high roller" walked in with $100 million in cash to bet on games of baccarat. Federal prosecutors say the unnamed whale — who was described only as a Chinese national — made over 100 visits to the Bicycle Hotel & Casino over eight months in 2016, often arriving with duffle bags full of cash to bet on marathon sessions of the high-stakes card game. /on.mktw.net/3ki0666 SEC Approves PCAOB Rule to Establish A Framework for Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act SEC The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) Rule 6100, Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Rule 6100 will establish a framework for the PCAOB's determinations under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA) that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. /bit.ly/3EVMANr ESMA publishes latest edition of its newsletter ESMA The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, has today published its latest edition of its Spotlight on Markets Newsletter. /bit.ly/3EWLykd
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Investing & Trading | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Fertilizer Prices Climb to New North American Peak, Squeezing Crop Margins Elizabeth Elkin - Bloomberg A gauge of North American fertilizer prices touched a new record high, driving up costs for farmers who are already experiencing tight margins and threatening to make food even more expensive. /yhoo.it/3kdCgsa Buffett's Cash Pile Tops Record With $149.2 Billion On Hand Katherine Chiglinsky - Bloomberg Berkshire bought $7.6 billion of own stock in third quarter; BNSF railroad scored record profit despite supply chain issues Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. now has a record amount of money to put to work. Berkshire's cash pile hit new heights at $149.2 billion of funds in the third quarter, surpassing a record set in early 2020, the company said in its earnings report Saturday. The fresh high came even as Buffett poured more money into buying back its own stock with $7.6 billion of repurchases in the period -- the third-highest tally since the board changed its policy on buybacks in 2018. /jlne.ws/3bO5MA4 Fallen Angel ETFs Hit $10 Billion Assets as Risky Credits Boom Katie Greifeld - Bloomberg Investors rushing to bet on a revival in pandemic-hit companies are driving unprecedented demand for ETFs that track beaten-down bonds. /jlne.ws/2ZWiKce Son Personally Lost $1.3 Billion on SoftBank Stock Trading Gearoid Reidy - Bloomberg Masayoshi Son said he personally took a $1.3 billion hit on his firm's controversial stock and options investment program. The 150 billion yen loss for the founder of SoftBank Group Corp. came from his one-third stake in SB Northstar, SoftBank's vehicle for investing in what it termed "highly liquid listed stocks," including Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp. and Zoom Video Communications Inc. /bloom.bg/3wpsDLT Musk urged to sell 10% of Tesla stake after holding Twitter poll; Electric car company's chief promises to abide by platform users' decision affecting $20bn worth of shares Richard Waters - FT Elon Musk at the weekend asked Twitter users to decide whether he should sell more than $20bn worth of his Tesla shares and pay tax — and the online crowd responded with a resounding "yes". /on.ft.com/30a5fGn How investing in private equity is like 'walking into a jungle'; Plus, James Anderson's China mea culpa, a strong US earnings season and the greatest of all Romantic ballets Harriet Agnew - FT One deal to start: FTSE 100 asset manager Abrdn is finalising a deal to buy Interactive Investor, the UK's second-largest fund supermarket, for £1.5bn, in a bid to deepen its direct-to-consumer business. It would mark the most eye-catching move yet by Abrdn chief executive Stephen Bird, and would override Interactive Investor's plans for an initial public offering. /on.ft.com/3EPWOPg Investors warned that crypto 'yield' products are not bonds; Loans offered via decentralised finance networks have been compared to fixed income securities Joshua Oliver - FT It's not often that an investment can be compared both to safe, bog-standard bonds and to risky venture capital holdings. But that is currently happening with certain crypto asset schemes — as new developments in digital finance continue to bend old definitions. /on.ft.com/30bvlZN New Trust to Offer Institutional Investors Greater Access to Diamond Market; Diamond Standard's new standardized investment trust eventually would trade over the counter and be a step toward more accessible diamond trading Amrith Ramkumar - WSJ The developer of the world's first standard diamond-investment product is launching a $50 million investment trust to make trading the precious stones more accessible to professional investors, the company said. Diamond Standard Co., a startup working to enable investors to hold diamonds in their portfolios, plans to create the Diamond Standard Trust in January. The investment firm Horizon Kinetics LLC is co-sponsoring the Diamond Standard Trust and will offer it to clients and other professional investors. Horizon has also invested in Diamond Standard. /on.wsj.com/3qqaMTU
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Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Green Trillions Face 'Acid Test' After Bankers Toast COP Pledges Tom Metcalf and Alastair Marsh - Bloomberg The City of London's top ambassador was in celebration mode Wednesday night. Speaking to the 150 climate-summit guests gathered for a nightcap on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Lord Mayor of London William Russell toasted the finance industry. Its commitment to fighting climate change, he said, had been confirmed that day. /yhoo.it/3kdqU7n Spreading the wealth: Black-owned investment firms tackle the racial finance gap Patrice Worthy - The Guardian Black investors have long been underrepresented in the stock market; only 33.5% of Black American households owned stocks in 2019, according to Federal Reserve data. But that's beginning to change. Across the country, a new generation of young Black wealth managers are launching firms that aim to make investing accessible within the Black community - and in the process, to help close the racial wealth gap across generations. /yhoo.it/3kcHrsx COP and Carbon Trading: Can This Time Be Different?; Negotiators are trying to nail down a deal they've been chasing for six years. Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg COP President Alok Sharma says climate talks in Glasgow are about to get tough. That's because negotiators are trying to nail down a deal they've spent six years of their lives chasing. Clinching an agreement on international carbon-market trading is a key benchmark of success at COP26, and would be a major win as the issue has been pending ever since the Paris accord was signed in 2015. /jlne.ws/3woefDN China's Deafening Silence Speaks Loudest at Global Climate Talks; The world's second-biggest economy stayed out of COP26 pacts to tackle methane and reduce funding for fossil fuel Bloomberg It's hard to make progress on climate change when the biggest polluter doesn't show up. Chinese President Xi Jinping wasn't among the dozens of world leaders there to open COP26, the ongoing climate talks organized by the United Nations in Glasgow, Scotland. China also sent a much smaller delegation than usual and was uncharacteristically quiet during the first week of meetings. In the few comments that officials did make, they mostly pushed back against calls to cut emissions more quickly. /jlne.ws/3BRQwwD COP Carbon-Market Talks Struggle as U.S. Lines Up Behind EU Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg Getting a deal on carbon trading is one of main summit goals It's a tough negotiation pitting rich countries vs poor Talks at COP26 on international carbon markets are running into difficulties, as the U.S. lines up behind the European Union with objections to a key demand from developing countries, according to people familiar with the situation. /jlne.ws/3mPsL40 Gen10 launches NetZero OS - a new digital solution for environmental markets CTRMCenter.com Gen10 have today announced their new NetZero OSTM, an ecosystem of digital apps designed to help global supply chains reach their ESG goals by better managing carbon and other environmental market assets. The new platform offers a range of digital tools for those looking to originate, trade or procure carbon credits. It means organisations can manage the lifecycle and due diligence of their carbon and other ESG assets, from upstream origination, to contracting, portfolio management, verification, sales and retirement. /jlne.ws/3qbaX5M Physical carbon credit ETF wins praise despite some misgivings; Steeply rising energy prices could have a negative consequences or prompt price intervention, experts say Emma Boyde - FT The launch last week of a carbon credit exchange traded fund has been broadly welcomed for its innovative approach, but some industry observers caution that if the concept proves too successful there could be "unintended consequences". /on.ft.com/3kgj5Oz
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Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Credit Suisse Faces U.S. Probe Into 2014 Tax Fraud Plea Deal David Voreacos - Bloomberg Bank pleaded guilty in 2014 and said it came clean to U.S.; Whistle-blower case interferes with 'ongoing' probe, U.S. says Credit Suisse Group AG faces a U.S. Justice Department investigation into whether it has complied with a 2014 guilty plea in which it paid $2.6 billion and admitted helping thousands of Americans evade taxes. /bloom.bg/3wohzyD MKP, Paloma Among Hedge Funds That Won During Bond Market Chaos Hema Parmar and Nishant Kumar -Bloomberg Most macro-focused hedge funds got burned by rates last month; But a few exceptions deftly navigated the bond-market upheaval While most macro economic traders lick their wounds from October's bond market surprise, a few exceptions are feasting on their success. Hedge funds MKP Capital Management, Paloma Partners and Forada Limited posted gains last month after deftly navigating the upheaval in global bond markets, according to people familiar with their performances. They bested rivals caught off guard after the yield curve rapidly and unexpectedly flattened in the last week of October amid bets central banks would need to act faster to tame inflation. /jlne.ws/3CRiYQt Barclays Subpoenaed by U.S. Virgin Islands Over Epstein Link Stefania Spezzati and Jim Wyss - Bloomberg Bank got New York papers in February, set for U.K. request; CEO Staley stepped down this week as Epstein fallout spreads Officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands are asking Barclays Plc to hand over information related to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and sex offender whose ties to Jes Staley led the latter to quit as chief executive officer of the bank this week. /jlne.ws/3bMWcNX Credit Suisse Closed Ai Weiwei Account Due to Missing Paperwork Hugo Miller - Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG closed Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei's account because of missing paperwork, the bank said Saturday, confirming a report by Tages-Anzeiger. "The bank's decision was made in spring 2021 because Mr Weiwei did not provide legally required information despite repeated requests," Credit Suisse said in an emailed statement. "The termination of the client relationship was justified by business reasons." /jlne.ws/3CTMDZp BNP Paribas Seeks to Capitalize on Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Exit Donal Griffin and Marion Halftermeyer - Bloomberg Swiss bank exiting hedge fund business after strategy review; BNP is also taking on Deutsche Bank's prime brokerage business BNP Paribas SA is again looking to profit from a European rival pulling back from the business of servicing hedge funds. Credit Suisse Group AG is referring prime brokerage clients to the French lender as part of an exit from the lucrative yet risky business, according to a statement on Monday. The Swiss bank is pulling back after losing billions in the Archegos Capital Management collapse. /bloom.bg/3bP6NYH UBS Settles Suit With Trader It Fired Over a $500,000 Loss Ellen Milligan - Bloomberg Credit trader filed lawsuit against UBS for breach of contract; UBS said loss was caused by short of 195 million euros UBS AG settled a lawsuit with one of its former credit traders after he was fired for gross misconduct for running a short position on 195 million euros ($225 million) in German government bonds. /bloom.bg/3bTk8zo US hedge fund makes $400m from natural gas price volatility; Statar Capital posts gains of almost 24% as it benefits from choppy commodity market Laurence Fletcher - FT Volatility in natural gas prices helped one US hedge fund bag profits of more than $400m in October alone. Miami-based Statar Capital, which manages about $2bn in assets and is headed by Ron Ozer, a former trader at Citadel and DE Shaw, made about 23.5 per cent last month, said multiple people familiar with the performance. /on.ft.com/3oqyOMj Citigroup to Spend More Than $1 Billion to Close Its South Korea Consumer Business; Move is part of plan to exit consumer banking in 13 countries to simplify the bank and boost profits David Benoit - WSJ Citigroup Inc. will spend between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion on personnel costs stemming from the shutdown of its consumer banking business in South Korea. In a regulatory filing Monday, the bank said the costs are related to termination and benefit expenses. Citigroup expects to recognize the charges throughout 2021 and 2022. /on.wsj.com/3EV7ufv Credit Suisse will refer prime services clients to BNP Paribas in major coup for French bank; BNP Paribas to benefit from Credit Suisse exit in prime services two years after taking on Deutsche Bank prime brokerage business. Jonathan Watkins - The Trade Credit Suisse has signed a referral agreement with BNP Paribas for its prime services and derivatives clearing customers following its exit from the business in a huge win for the French banking group. /bit.ly/3wxYtpN Columbia Threadneedle now a Top 10 UK asset manager by AUM following completion of acquisition of BMO's EMEA asset management business; The acquisition of BMO's EMEA arm increases Columbia Threadneedle's total AUM to $714 billion. Wesley Bray - The Trade Columbia Threadneedle Investments, part of Ameriprise Financial, has completed the acquisition of Bank of Montreal's (BMO) EMEA asset management business. The completion of the acquisition follows the announcement on 12 April that the two firms had agreed terms of a deal. /bit.ly/301f0GL
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Regions | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China lashes out at press freedom survey in Hong Kong Zen Soo - AP China on Friday criticized a press freedom survey from the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club that found nearly half its members were considering leaving the city. The survey said the members were concerned about a decline in press freedoms under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing following massive anti-government protests in 2019. /yhoo.it/3qbaPmH Bouygues prevails in auction for Engie's energy services business; Fraught bidding for a significant French employer prompted allegations that foreign investors were getting short shrift Sarah White and Leila Abboud - FT French state-backed group Engie has selected a EUR7.1bn bid from conglomerate Bouygues to buy its energy services division, after a fraught auction that took on a political edge six months ahead of presidential elections. /on.ft.com/3kclGcm Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman warns rapid switch from gas is 'irresponsible'; Billionaire to invest more in renewable energy but says transition will be 'very challenging process' Daniel Thomas - FT Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has warned that moving too fast from gas to renewable energy would be "dangerous and irresponsible", arguing that the recent energy crisis can be partly blamed on the industry being undervalued. Fridman said he would invest more in alternative energy to reduce the carbon impact of his oil and gas empire. /on.ft.com/3BVX1hT THG Founder Wishes He Had Never Listed in London Lucca De Paoli - Bloomberg The founder of THG, a retail and e-commerce firm that has seen its shares hammered in recent months, regrets the firm's London IPO and wishes it had listed in the U.S. instead, according to an interview with GQ. /bloom.bg/3EQeI4C Women Are Taking Over Top Nigerian Banks That Favor Male Clients Emele Onu - Bloomberg Almost one-third of Nigerian banks are now run by female heads; Women are more financially excluded in male-dominated economy Tomi Somefun still recalls the shock in 2015 when she was summoned to meet the board of Unity Bank Plc and offered the position of chief executive officer. /bloom.bg/3wE0fWF The Gordian knot of Europe's gas dependence; A clear commitment to blue hydrogen would help the EU achieve its ambitious climate goals Martin Sandbu - FT At the COP26 climate conference last week, activists awarded Norway their "Fossil of the Day" prize. It's an accolade Oslo's brand-new government could have done without at its first global outing. But it highlights the dilemma faced by Norway, as a big fossil fuel producer, and even more so by the EU, whose economy is deeply reliant on natural gas. /on.ft.com/3o5Nf8k Chinese Junk Bond Yields Top 25% as Property-Market Strains Intensify; Selloff in high-yield Chinese bonds shaves about a third of bondholders' wealth in six months Quentin Webb and Frances Yoon - WSJ The biggest selloff that China's international junk-bond market has ever seen has wiped out around a third of bondholders' wealth in just six months. The steep and rapid decline shows how regulatory curbs on borrowing, extremely dislocated credit markets, and slowing home sales have combined to pressure more Chinese property developers, which account for most of China's high-yield issuance. /on.wsj.com/3ke4F1q
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Miscellaneous | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Wall Street Party Animal Lists $17 Million Manhattan Townhouse Laura Euler - Dirt Hedge fund fat cat Larry Creel, a bon vivant partner and portfolio manager at Edgewood Management, who infamously made Business Insider's list of "Wall Street's Biggest Party Animals" back in 2011, is selling his and wife Dana Creel's swanky New York City townhouse for $17 million. That's almost double the $9 million the couple paid for the place in January 2015. The Creels brought in preeminent French interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot , who also designed their previous apartment, to do up the townhouse in collaboration with Kinlin Rutherfurd Architects. Jill Roosevelt at Brown Harris Stevens has the listing. /yhoo.it/3H2m3zJ Don't Be That Awkward Colleague: A Guide to Office Etiquette; As we head back to work, everything from face masks to greetings can be fraught Rachel Feintzeig - WSJ Well, this is awkward. We're back at the office, yet our social skills seem to have stayed home. Or maybe it's just that the rules and boundaries have changed. Before, it was automatic to reach for someone's hand when meeting, or grab a seat next to a co-worker in the conference room, says Dana Brownlee, founder of Professionalism Matters, a corporate-training company in Atlanta. Now, daily office interactions have the potential to seriously offend. "Like where's my 3 feet?" she says. /on.wsj.com/3o7v5CY
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