| April 11, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
CME Group Chairman and CEO and newly minted FIA Hall of Fame member Terry Duffy is the latest to give to the IDX Gala 2025/Kilt Challenge, Mission (Im)possible that supports Futures For Kids. Terry gave $5000 in support of ICE's Chris Edmonds and Goldman Sachs' Alicia Crighton's Kilt Challenge campaign, which will see them don kilts and tartans in support of Futures for Kids. After generous $25,000 donations from Goldman Sachs and ICE, the total for the campaign is £45,864. Besides the $5,000 donation from CME Group's chairman, the firm has also committed to buying two tables for the gala event. Also, thank you to FIA Hall of Fame member Steve Staszak for a donation to the Kilt Challenge. Thank you, Terry and CME, for your support of the Kilt Challenge and the IDX Gala in support of Futures For Kids.
Congratulations to David Griffiths on being named president of Markets Media Group (MMG) and Julia Schieffer being named chief operating officer. The growing global financial media group yesterday announced a management restructuring that also saw Markets Media co-founder and CEO Mohan Virdee take on the title of chairman of MMG. Also, Ian Rycott, currently director and publisher at Markets Media Europe, will become chief operating officer of the division; Scott Galvin, director and commercial manager, will take over as publisher of Global Trading magazine; and Adrian Northey, head of fixed income markets, will step into the role of publisher for The DESK, the group's fixed income-focused publication.
MMG operates five editorial platforms covering trading and technology in global capital markets: Markets Media, Traders Magazine, Global Trading, The DESK, and DerivSource. MMG also hosts a series of annual industry awards events, including the flagship Global Markets Choice Awards, and Women in Finance Awards in New York, London, Hong Kong/Singapore, and Mexico City.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center located in Skokie, IL is closing temporarily to upgrade its facilities and while doing so it has opened a satellite facility in the previous home of the Museum of Broadcast Communication at 360 N. State Street in the River North district of Chicago. The satellite will open in July of 2025, and remain open for one year. The museum will close all exhibitions on June 2, 2025, but will remain open for public programs and training, by reservation only, through the end of June. The museum will fully close on July 1, 2025. It will partially reopen on January 2, 2026, with limited content, details TBD and announced at a later date. The Museum will fully reopen in the late summer of 2026 with a grand reopening to be announced.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Spain's BME plans May push in single stock options, Margin madness - how fragmented markets are driving up trading costs (free), TARIFFS: FMX Futures volumes slump as traders revert to CME (free), TARIFFS: ICE hits daily trading volume record in commodities, Tradition moving London office up the road to 110 Bishopsgate and Euronext plans fast start in European rates futures. The (free) after the story indicates the story is not behind a paywall.
On Wednesday I was interviewed by the Chicago media veteran Joan Esposito on her radio show on WCPT, 820 AM, which bills itself as "Live, Local & Progressive." She did not know when she booked me that President Trump would be blinking and implementing a 90-day moratorium on retaliatory tariffs and the markets would rally sharply. Here is a link for the show, with a bookmark for my interview.
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:
- Behind Stocks' Big Bounce: Sudden Short Covering, Low Liquidity from Bloomberg.
- Volatility ETFs halted as VIX sees biggest drop on record after Trump's tariff pause from MarketWatch.
- SEC Approves Ethereum ETFs for Options Trading on Nasdaq and NYSE from The Crypto Basic. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 Risk, Reward, and Micro Contracts: A Discussion With Derek Sammann at FIA Boca JohnLothianNews.com BOCA RATON, FL-(JLN)-April 11, 2025-In the world of commodities trading, uncertainty is a constant companion. But for Derek Sammann, senior managing director and global head of commodities markets at CME Group, uncertainty is not a challenge-it's an opportunity. Speaking at the FIA Boca50 conference, Sammann offered insights into the evolving landscape of risk management, the rise of micro contracts, and the global appetite for tools to navigate volatility. Watch the Derek Sammann Video »
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US 30-Year Bond Auction Abates Worst Fears of a Buyers' Strike
Ye Xie and Carter Johnson - Bloomberg
Investors in the $29 trillion Treasury market got a welcome dose of stability after an auction of 30-year bonds was met with strong demand. Longer-dated Treasuries pared their earlier losses after investors snapped up $22 billion of US government debt sold on Thursday, with 30-year yields lingering near 4.83%. Shorter-term notes, meanwhile, kept up a rally spurred by evidence that underlying US inflation ebbed last month.
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**** As the headline says, my fears have been "abated." However, as Bloomberg reports, "US Bonds Have Never Lost Out This Much to German Bunds in a Rout." ~JJL
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Trump Administration Wants to Install Federal Oversight of Columbia University; Government is aiming to legally bind the school to changes as they negotiate over federal funding
Liz Essley Whyte and Douglas Belkin - The Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration is planning to pursue a legal arrangement that would put Columbia University into a consent decree, according to people familiar with the matter, an extraordinary step that could significantly escalate the pressure on the school as it battles for federal funding. A consent decree, which can last for years, would give a federal judge responsibility for ensuring Columbia changes its practices along lines laid out by the federal government. If such a decree is in place, Columbia would have to comply with it. If a judge determines the school is out of compliance, it could be held in contempt of court, punishable by penalties including fines.
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***** This is a severe step and an unnecessary one, but it is more about sending a message to other academic institutions and putting the "fear of the government" into them.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our most clicked story on Thursday was The Telegraph's Trump administration accused of insider trading after stocks soar. Second was How Trump changed his mind on tariffs, from NBC News. Third was From 'Be Cool!' to 'Getting Yippy': Inside Trump's Reversal on Tariffs, from The New York Times.
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| Lead Stories | Market Rout Shatters Long-Held Beliefs on Investing; Tariffs are testing the habit of staying invested no matter how rocky markets get
Gunjan Banerji and Jack Pitcher - The Wall Street Journal
President Trump's tariff mania is rewriting the investing playbook. Everyday Americans and Wall Street pros alike have long been accustomed to a steady ascent in U.S. stocks. Wading in to buy declines always seemed to pay off, often almost immediately. Moments of crises were met with a vigorous response from the U.S. government, ready to unleash stimulus and step in to calm markets. Now, the Trump administration's tariffs are challenging the assumptions everyday Americans have clung to for the past two decades, testing their tendency to stay invested no matter how rocky markets get. By one measure, it has been the worst year for the "buy the dip" strategy in almost a century. Investors who have stepped in to buy shares on sale have instead been stuck with bigger losses. The S&P 500 has dropped 1.3% on average this year in the week after a one-day loss of at least 1%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That would be the biggest such decline on record, in data going back to the 1920s.
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Markets Media Group Announces Management Restructuring
Markets Media Group
Markets Media Group, the premier publishing firm for the global securities industry, is pleased to announce a management restructuring that will facilitate the next phase of the company's growth. Julia Schieffer will become Chief Operating Officer of Markets Media Group. Schieffer is Founder and Editor of MMG-owned DerivSource, a leading online information source for OTC and post-trade professionals, and she has been Director, Operations Strategy at MMG. "Julia has excelled in strategy, operations and marketing for the group," said Mohan Virdee, CEO and newly named Chairman of Markets Media Group. "The COO role is a natural evolution of what she has been doing and I am very pleased for her to take this role." Ian Rycott, Director and Publisher at Markets Media Europe, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer of Markets Media Europe, with dual reporting lines into Schieffer and Markets Media Europe CEO Dan Barnes.
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The U.S. and China Are Going to Economic War-and Everyone Will Suffer; Untangling the two economies has profound implications for businesses and consumers in both countries, as well as the rest of the world
Jason Douglas, Konrad Putzier, Ruth Simon and Raffaele Huang - The Wall Street Journal
The gloves are off. The next chapter of U.S.-China decoupling has begun. The pain will be felt everywhere. In jacking up his tariffs on China-and pausing steep duties on dozens of other nations-President Trump is pushing the world's two biggest economic powers into a battle that will leave neither unscathed and risks tanking the global economy. The total tariffs imposed on China in Trump's second term now add up to 145%, the White House said Thursday, while China's blanket tariff on American goods will rise to 125% on Saturday after the latest round of retaliation.
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The U.S. Came Close to Financial Disaster This Week-and Could Come Close Again
Matt Peterson - Barron's
"The bond market is very tricky," President Donald Trump said in the wake of his announcement that he would pause some tariffs for 90 days. "I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it's beautiful." That beautiful market, which suffered distress as yields were whipsawed earlier in the week, may still be in trouble, along with the president's continuing tariff plans. The bond market's reaction to the tariffs has alarmed investors and sparked fears of an incipient financial crisis as the tariffs went into effect. The immediate crisis may have eased, but with long-term Treasury yields still elevated, the problems that forced the administration to alter its plans on Wednesday could easily recur if the White House keeps moving forward with tariffs.
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Negative Rates Are Back. In Switzerland, Anyway.
Chelsey Dulaney - The Wall Street Journal
The market upheaval caused by President Trump's trade policy has resurrected a financial-market oddity: negative-yielding debt. Yields on the Swiss government's one- and two-year bonds were on track to end the day below zero for the first time since 2022, according to Tradeweb data. Yields fall as prices rise, and investors have been pouring into Swiss assets this week in search of safety from the market turmoil. When yields turn negative, investors are essentially paying to own the bond.
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Investors Flock to Gold and Swiss Franc as Safe Havens
Ronnie Harui - The Wall Street Journal
Concerns about the Trump administration's tariff policies are hurting the dollar and leading investors to perceived safe havens. One Swiss franc is now buying about $1.22, up from $1.10 two months ago, while gold has risen by more than $500 an ounce since the beginning of the year.
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30-Year Treasury Auction Showed Strong Demand. What It Means for the Bond Market.
Karishma Vanjani - Barron's
An auction of $22 billion in 30-year Treasury bonds saw solid demand on Thursday. The auction, along with a strong sale of 10-year bonds the prior day, should allay some fears about buyers running away from U.S. assets. The debt sold at a yield of 4.813%, or 2.7 basis points lower than the yield seen before the bidding in the auction. When the U.S. government sells its bonds at lower yields, it indicates strong demand as investors aren't asking for a yield premium over the market.
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Ten trading days that shook financial markets
Tom Westbrook and Dhara Ranasinghe - Reuters
The pain, said Shuntaro Takeuchi, was 10 out of 10. Not in the portfolio of Japanese stocks he runs out of Palo Alto, California, but in his appendix. It would have to come out, just as his colleagues at Matthews Asia were on a phone call to chart the $7 billion asset manager's path through a deepening market rout. "I was on a conference call two minutes before the surgery," said Takeuchi. "The nurse was like: 'Do you really have to attend this?'"
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Trades Before Trump Tariff Post Draw Scrutiny
Alexander Osipovich and Krystal Hur - The Wall Street Journal
Market watchers have been scrutinizing some extremely well-timed options trades just ahead of President Trump's rally-sparking tariff announcement on Wednesday. Shortly after 1 pm ET on Wednesday, volume spiked in bullish call options on State Street's popular SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, the index-tracking fund better known by its ticker SPY. The surge in activity took place in options that would pay off if SPY's price rose above $509 that day. At 1:06 pm, for instance, an unknown buyer spent about $21,000 to purchase 101 of the contracts, according to derivatives-data firm SpotGamma. At 1:10 p.m., SPY was trading at about $501-so it would have taken a jump of more than 1.5% for those options contracts to deliver a payday. The trades were in so-called zero-day-to-expiry options, meaning they would have expired worthless within a few hours if markets had dropped.
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US Bonds Have Never Lost Out This Much to German Bunds in a Rout
Alice Atkins and Alice Gledhill - Bloomberg
US Treasuries are on track for their worst weekly selloff in decades compared with German bunds, illustrating the extent to which President Donald Trump's tariff policies have undermined faith in the market's safest asset. Investors flocked to bunds to shelter from the broader turmoil, leaving German yields largely unchanged in the week, while the rate on the US 10-year debt surged more than 40 basis points. Though traders must still navigate US data releases and further tariff headlines on Friday, that's the biggest underperformance since at least 1989 according to available data.
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Susman Godfrey's Statement in Response to Administration's Executive Order
Susman Godfrey
In response to the executive order filed by the administration on April 9th, 2025, Susman Godfrey has issued the following statement: "Anyone who knows Susman Godfrey knows we believe in the rule of law, and we take seriously our duty to uphold it. This principle guides us now. There is no question that we will fight this unconstitutional order."
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OPEC output hikes, trade wars have US oil producers wary of 'drill baby drill'
Arathy Somasekhar - Reuters
President Donald Trump moved on his first day in office to increase U.S. oil and gas production, but the country's oil industry is actually starting to think about cutting output and jobs due to a double whammy of higher crude output from OPEC and on-again, off-again tariffs that have dented demand. The U.S. is the world's largest oil producer, pumping some 13.55 million barrels per day, employing millions of workers and generating trillions of dollars annually. Trump campaigned on the motto of "drill baby drill," and the national energy emergency he declared on his first day of office was designed to make it easier for companies to increase production, while he instructed officials to do everything they could to bolster the industry.
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Donald Trump meets an opponent he can't face down: the bond market; On the day US borrowing costs rose above those of Greece, the president agreed to pause tariffs on everyone bar China but uncertainty is here to stay
Mehreen Khan, Economics Editor - The Times of London
The bond vigilantes have claimed another scalp. President Trump has been cowed by the steepest fall in US government bond prices in 40 years and paused his sweeping tariffs on the rest of the world, barring China. The president's standoff with financial markets took a dangerous turn in the last 48 hours, as Wall Street traders dumped US government debt, raising 30-year borrowing costs to 5 per cent - a two-year high. Yields have surged by the largest amount since 1982 this week, propelling the US government's 30-year borrowing costs above formerly stricken Greece.
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Sam Bankman-Fried sent to 'notoriously hard' prison in California
Ben Weiss - Fortune
The Federal Bureau of Prisons transferred Sam Bankman-Fried to a prison in California as of Wednesday, according to the BOP's inmate database. The disgraced founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX was previously in Oklahoma for about two weeks from late March through April at a federal transit center for prisoners. Before then, he resided in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. Now, he is at one of two federal, medium-security prisons for men in Victorville, a small city east of Los Angeles.
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Trump's Tariffs Leave Economists Fixated on One Word: Stagflation; Americans should brace for a toxic combination of weak growth and high prices.
Tom Orlik - Bloomberg
In Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon's sprawling World War II epic, a rocket engineer testing his latest design stands at the exact point it would land if everything worked perfectly. His reasoning: The complexities and uncertainties in the new technology are so great that a bull's-eye is the least likely outcome. Economists attempting to forecast the impact of President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs might arrive at a similar conclusion. There's policy uncertainty-who knows if tariffs will be kept in place or negotiated away? Economic uncertainty-who knows whether producers or consumers will bear a larger share of the cost? And modeling uncertainty-who can estimate the impact of massive tariffs when there's no recent experience as a guide?
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JPMorgan Stock Traders Notch Record Revenue on Market Chaos
Hannah Levitt - Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s stock traders took in a record haul in the first quarter, boosted by chaotic market moves set off by President Donald Trump's policy announcements after he took office in January.
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Trump Puts Wall Street Leaders in Tight Spot; Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan flagged "potential negatives" to tariffs as his and other big banks revealed their latest earnings.
Rob Copeland - The New York Times
Wall Street's biggest firms on Friday attempted the tricky two-step of revealing the toll of President Trump's whiplash tariff policy without outright criticizing a man who has repeatedly lashed out at the financial world for slights both real and imagined. "The economy is facing considerable turbulence," Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase's chief executive, said in a statement.
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Trump's legal attacks threaten the very basis of sound investment; American businesses need to stand up to the president's assault on the rule of law
John Coates - Financial Times
American business is under attack. Headlines focus on the immediate pain of tariffs, but over the past few weeks, President Donald Trump has launched another assault on a foundation of capitalism: the rule of law. If allowed to go unchecked, and if corporate leaders continue to stand by in silence, Trump's efforts will scar business long past the next presidential election.
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Donald Trump has added a political risk premium to US assets; Parking money in America is no longer the routine, fuss-free, neutral option
Katie Martin - Financial Times
This week, we witnessed "the greatest economic master strategy from an American President in history", according to Stephen Miller, adviser to Donald Trump. The US president's U-turn from most of his aggressive trade tariffs was "brilliantly executed", billionaire backer Bill Ackman opined. "Textbook, Art of the Deal." Someone should tell investors about this astounding act of genius, as they do not appear to have got the memo. US stocks screamed higher in the immediate aftermath of Trump's big blink, chalking up one of the biggest jumps on record. But the next day, the picture was not a pretty one for Team Maga: a sweep higher in markets from Asia to Europe, but a big drop in the US. The US dollar, which failed to attract its usual safety-seeking buyers during Trump's mini crisis, fell further once the president took a step back on tariffs, and further still when US stocks resumed their slide.
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The optimal way to bail out breaking Treasury basis trades; A new Fed facility?
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
A few weeks ago, an interesting paper was presented at a Brookings conference. We didn't get around to writing about it then, but it turns out that it was both fascinating and SUPER timely. Here is the abstract of Treasury Market Dysfunction and the Role of the Central Bank: We build a simple model that shows how the incentives and constraints facing three key types of market players - broker-dealers, hedge funds, and asset managers - interact to create a heightened level of fragility in the Treasury market, and how this fragility can become more pronounced as the supply of Treasury securities increases. After validating a number of the model's empirical premises and implications, we ask what it can tell us about how the Federal Reserve might best address future episodes of market dysfunction. In so doing, we take as given that an important priority for any Fed response to Treasury-market dysfunction is that it be clearly separated from anything having to do with monetary policy.
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| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | US, India finalise framework for first phase of trade deal, says India trade official
Shivangi Acharya and Manoj Kumar - Reuters
India and the U.S. have finalised terms of reference for talks over the first segment of a bilateral trade deal, a trade official said on Friday, adding that there was a possibility of a "win-win shape and form" to the deal in the next 90 days. The U.S. is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade between the countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023-24.
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China Raises Tariffs on U.S. to 125% in Latest Salvo; Dollar Falls; Gold prices power higher; stock futures rise in volatile trading
The Wall Street Journal
The trade war between the world's largest economies spiraled further Friday, with China lifting tariffs on the U.S. to 125% and scoffing that further American levies would be seen around the globe as a "joke." Contracts tied to the Dow industrials, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 were mixed in volatile trading. The Stoxx Europe 600 edged lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 3% to close the week. The dollar extended its weeklong decline.
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The Trade Deficit Is a Sign of Wealth; The best way to keep America great is to ensure it remains the world's most important economy.
Larry Harris - The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. trade deficit is easily understood without any reference to international finance. We have a trade deficit because foreigners send us more goods and services than we send them. Foreigners work hard to produce the goods and services they send us, and, of course, we work hard to produce those we send them. Our trade deficit simply means that foreigners are working more to serve us than we are working to serve them.
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Bank of England halts £600m auction of UK government bonds; Uncertainty surrounding President Trump's tariffs led the central bank to put plans to sell gilts on hold
Jack Barnett, Economics Correspondent - The Times of London
The Bank of England has halted an auction on long-dated government bonds, making it the first central bank to respond to market jitters caused by President Trump's erratic tariff policy decisions. In a statement on Thursday, the Bank of England said that "in light of recent market volatility" it had postponed a sale of 30-year UK sovereign bonds that was due to take place on April 14. Instead, the Bank will offload £750 million of short-dated bonds rather than £600 million of long-dated bonds.
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Tariff Reprieves Won't Repair Trust In America; Too much damage has been done to return to square one.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
The bond market spoke; Donald Trump blinked. The lettuce theory of Liz Truss holds true: No leader, not even one who has shrugged off assassination attempts and a fraud trial, can remain steadfast in the face of a policy-induced meltdown that punishes voters it aims to protect. The question is: What now?
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Some CEOs are abandoning the sacred tradition of predicting quarterly profits for Wall Street
Geoff Colvin - Fortune
Tariff tumult is forcing companies to confront an uncomfortable new reality: They have no earthly idea what their profits will be in this quarter or the next. In response, some CEOs are abandoning the sacred tradition of predicting quarterly profits for investors and Wall Street analysts to obsess over. Those CEOs may soon wish they had made the change long ago.
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How This Trade War Is Different From All Other Trade Wars; By acting on his own, President Trump has broken with more than 200 years of U.S. history in which Congress set the direction of trade policy.
Jeff Sommer - The New York Times
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv allies agree £18.2bn military support package ahead of Trump envoy's 'Putin talks'; Top US diplomat Steve Witkoff has travelled to Russia for a meeting with Vladimir Putin, according to reports
Barney Davis - The Independent
Ukraine's Western allies have agreed a record £18 billion (EUR21bn) of military support for Kyiv, Britain has announced. The UK's defence secretary, John Healey, opened the meeting the the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) in Brussels with a plea to his fellow defence ministers to "step up our support for Ukraine in the fight". Mr Healey added: "2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine, and this is the critical moment."
/jlne.ws/4cxM4XY
Europeans discuss Ukraine peace force but big questions still open
Andrew Gray and Benoit Van Overstraeten - Reuters
Defence ministers from some 30 countries met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a "reassurance force" for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in the war with Russia but key questions about its mission and any U.S. support remained unanswered. The gathering at NATO headquarters was the latest in a series of meetings of the "coalition of the willing" of mainly European nations, led by Britain and France, on how they could cement peace if the United States brokers a halt to the fighting.
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Trump Envoy Witkoff Arrives in Russia as U.S. Pushes for Peace in Ukraine; Visit comes after Trump expressed frustration with Moscow for delaying peace talks
Georgi Kantchev - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Russia as the Trump administration makes a push to advance peace talks over the Ukraine war that have stalled in recent weeks. Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday where Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with the Russian navy. Witkoff has previously traveled to Russia twice this year to meet with Putin. The Kremlin didn't confirm whether the two would meet but Witkoff met with a Russian negotiator.
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Ukraine set to extend martial law again, pushing back prospect of elections
Olena Harmash - Reuters
Ukrainian lawmakers are almost certain to extend martial law again before it expires on May 9, the parliamentary speaker has said, determined to uphold democracy even as the United States and Russia pressure Kyiv to hold a new vote. Speaking at the heavily guarded parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk underlined the practical and legal implausibility of holding free and fair elections in a country that is part-occupied and still under constant attack, three years after Russia's full-scale invasion.
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Ukraine Accuses Russia of Systematically Recruiting Soldiers From China; Kyiv says presence of Chinese citizens in Russia's army undermines Beijing's claim to be neutral
Isabel Coles - The Wall Street Journal
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Cboe Hires Derivatives Market Intelligence Director in Asia Push
Cecile Vannucci - Bloomberg
Cboe Global Markets Inc. has hired a director to expand its research and analysis unit in Asia Pacific. Wei Liao will be based in Hong Kong and lead the launch of Cboe's Derivatives Market Intelligence arm in the region, according to a statement from the US exchange. Prior to this role, she was a portfolio manager at CQS Asset Management and founded derivatives-focused hedge fund Watercourse Macro Fund.
/jlne.ws/4i8JKYr
Cboe Expands Derivatives Market Intelligence Franchise into Asia Pacific with Strategic New Hire
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced the continued expansion of its Derivatives Market Intelligence team with the hiring of Wei Liao as Director, Derivatives Market Intelligence. Based in Hong Kong, Ms. Liao will lead the buildout of Cboe's derivatives market intelligence and content franchise in Asia Pacific (APAC), with a focus on delivering high-impact, data-driven insights to clients in the region. This initiative furthers Cboe's international expansion of its Global Derivatives business, strengthening its presence and client engagement across the U.S., Europe and APAC to meet growing demand.
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Abaxx Announces Closing of C$10,065,000 Second Tranche of C$32,915,000 Convertible Debenture Offering
Abaxx
Abaxx Technologies Inc. (CBOE:ABXX)(OTCQX:ABXXF) ("Abaxx" or the "Company"), a financial software and market infrastructure company, indirect 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, today announces that it has closed the second and final tranche (the "Second Tranche") of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of secured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") for aggregate gross proceeds of C$10,065,000.
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CME Group International Average Daily Volume Hits Record 8.8 Million Contracts in Q1 2025, Up 19% Year over Year
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its quarterly international average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 8.8 million contracts in Q1 2025, up 19% year on year. Reflecting all trading reported outside the United States, this quarterly record was driven by growth across all asset classes, as well as record quarterly ADV in EMEA, APAC and Canada. Quarterly international records were achieved in Energy, Agricultural and Foreign Exchange products up 29%, 29% and 14% respectively.
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25 years of ETFs in Europe: Comprehensive set of measures to promote ETF trading on Xetra
Deutsche Borse
Deutsche Borse is celebrating the 25th anniversary of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Europe today. On 11 April 2000, Deutsche Börse became the first stock exchange in Europe to introduce trading in ETFs, thus setting a milestone in the financial industry. Since the start of trading of the first two products in Europe, two ETFs on European stock indices of the STOXX index family, the market for ETFs has developed rapidly. Today, investors can choose from over 2,400 ETFs on Xetra, the largest range of listed ETFs in Europe. At the start of the anniversary year, Deutsche Börse's ETF segment recorded the strongest quarter in its history. With an average monthly trading volume of EUR28.5 billion in the first three months of the year, turnover was 61.3 per cent above the monthly average of the previous year (EUR17.7 billion). This means that Xetra remains the leading stock exchange trading venue for ETFs in Europe.
/jlne.ws/4jsAZth
Deutsche Borse reduces settlement fees for centrally cleared ETF transactions on Xetra
Maria Nikolova - FX Newsgroup
To increase post-trade efficiency, Deutsche Börse has implemented a significant reduction in settlement fees for centrally cleared ETF transactions on Xetra together with Clearstream, Deutsche Börse Group's post-trade service provider. As a result, trading participants will benefit from significant cost advantages in the settlement of their ETF transactions from 1 May 2025. The aim of this measure is to further strengthen on-exchange ETF trading along the entire value chain.
/jlne.ws/3XUAHDw
NGX Group Approves N4.4bn Dividend for Shareholders
Marketforces Africa
Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) on Wednesday approved payment of N4.4 billion to the company's shareholders for the year 2024. Dr Umaru Kwairanga, Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group, disclosed this during the company's 64th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos. Kwairanga said, "These results mark a pivotal moment in NGX Group's post-demutualisation journey, reinforcing investor confidence in our long-term vision. "The approval of a record N4.4 billion dividend, translating to N2 per share, is the highest dividend payout in the Group's history.
/jlne.ws/43JlokF
NGX Group Announces NNPC, Dangote Refinery Listings In View
Kelechukwu Mgboji - New Telegraph
In a defining moment for Nigeria's capital markets, the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) Plc has announced plans to list economic giants such as the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) on the local bourse before end of 2025.
/jlne.ws/448kL4v
Change of Registry Address
ASX
In accordance with ASX Listing Rule 3.15.1, ASX gives notice that with effect from 14 April 2025, the Sydney office of our registry, MUFG Corporate Markets (AU) Limited (MUFG), is moving to:
MUFG Corporate Markets (AU) Limited
Liberty Place
Level 41
161 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000
/jlne.ws/3RLIVdo
The Global Association of Central Counterparties (CCP Global) Executive Committee and Officer Changes
CCP Global
On March 20th 2025, Tim Cuddihy (DTCC) became the Chair of CCP Global. Tim Cuddihy has served the Association as Treasurer since December 2021. Lee Betsill has served as Chair of CCP Global for the second time, and we thank him for his years of contributions to the Association and the industry.
/jlne.ws/4coofSc
Performance Bond Requirements: Interest Rate Margins - Effective April 11, 2025
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below.
/jlne.ws/4j9Npqo
Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Energy, Equity, FX, Interest Rate and Metal Margins - Effective April 11, 2025
CME Group
As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below.
/jlne.ws/4j9Npqo
NYSE American to Commence Delisting Proceedings Against Palatin Technologies, Inc. (PTN)
ICE
NYSE American LLC ("NYSE American" or the "Exchange") announced today that the staff of NYSE Regulation has determined to commence proceedings to delist the common stock of Palatin Technologies, Inc. (the "Company") - ticker symbol PTN - from NYSE American. NYSE Regulation has determined that the Company is no longer suitable for listing pursuant to Section 1009(a) of the NYSE American Company Guide (the "Company Guide") as the Company was unable to demonstrate that it had regained compliance with Sections 1003(a)(i), (ii) and (iii) of the Company Guide by the end of the maximum 18-month compliance plan period, which expired on April 10, 2025.
/jlne.ws/3YsR8a9
LME Clear Haircut Circular April Ad hoc 2025
LME
LME Clear Members are advised that new margin collateral haircuts have been set.
/jlne.ws/4jm3Wam
NSE crosses 22 crore (220 million) total investor accounts
NSE
The National Stock Exchange of India marked another milestone in April 2025, with the total
number of investor accounts i.e., Unique Client Codes (UCCs) surpassing 22 crore (220 million), a sharp increase within just six months of crossing the 20-crore mark (200 million) in October 2024. Separately, the number of unique registered investors stands at 11.3 crore (As of March 31st, 2025), having crossed the 11 crore (110 million) mark on January 20th, 2025.
/jlne.ws/42rRqiI
OCC Congratulates Paul Atkins on Confirmation as SEC Chairman
OCC
OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, today congratulated Paul Atkins on his Senate confirmation as Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "On behalf of our Board of Directors, we congratulate Paul Atkins on his confirmation as SEC Chairman," said Craig Donohue, Chairman of OCC's Board of Directors. "He brings extensive knowledge and experience in financial regulation and market infrastructure with a principled approach to oversight. Market participants will benefit from having him return to the SEC as chairman."
/jlne.ws/3RL3hDy
Notice on Self-Regulation Information in March 2025
SHFE
Shanghai Futures Exchange (hereinafter referred to as "the Exchange") has been on continuous efforts in conducting self-regulation, so as to strengthen the risk management of the futures market, regulate the futures trading activities and protect the legitimate rights and interests of futures market participants. The self-regulation information in March 2025 is listed as follows: In the aspect of administration of abnormal trading behaviors, the Exchange has dealt with 36 cases, among which 20 cases were self-trades, 15 cases were frequent order cancellations，1 case was exceeding the limit of placing and cancellation of large-amount orders. The Exchange has separately notified the relevant clients by phone through the members and placed 3 clients on the Exchange's watchlist，notified 3 abnormal trading behaviors to all the members.
/jlne.ws/44nynbY
Circular of Shanghai International Energy Exchange on Adjusting the Trading Margin Rates and Price Limits of TSR 20 Future Contracts
SHFE
Shanghai International Energy Exchange has released its Circular on Adjusting the Trading Margin Rates and Price Limits of TSR 20 Futures Contracts as follows:
/jlne.ws/3E4KQH3
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | TransFICC Secures $25 million Series B Investment Led by Citadel Securities. BlackFin Tech is also participating
TransFICC
TransFICC, the specialist provider of low-latency connectivity and workflow services for Fixed Income and Derivatives markets, today announced a $25 million Series B investment led by Citadel Securities. BlackFin Tech and existing investors also participated. TransFICC has now raised $50 million to date from investors AlbionVC, BlackFin Tech, Citadel Securities, Citi, HSBC, Illuminate Financial, ING, and neosfer (the early-stage investor and innovation unit of Commerzbank Group).
/jlne.ws/43MHEKz
Bluesky's Quest to Build Nontoxic Social Media; X and Facebook are governed by the policies of mercurial billionaires. Bluesky's C.E.O., Jay Graber, says that she wants to give power back to the user.
Kyle Chayka - The New Yorker
Jay Graber, the C.E.O. of the upstart social-media platform Bluesky, arrived in San Francisco the Sunday after Donald Trump's reëlection and holed up in a hotel room. She'd spent the previous days road-tripping down the West Coast from her home, in Seattle, stopping at beaches and redwood groves along the way, and in San Francisco she'd hoped to remain half in vacation mode. But now Bluesky was seeing a surge in new users, and it was looking as if she'd need all hands on deck. "There was momentum," Graber recalled recently, adding, "It was just picking up day by day."
/jlne.ws/43R2AjC
OpenAI slashes AI model safety testing time; Testers have raised concerns that its technology is being rushed out without sufficient safeguards
Cristina Criddle - Financial Times
OpenAI has slashed the time and resources it spends on testing the safety of its powerful artificial intelligence models, raising concerns that its technology is being rushed out without sufficient safeguards. Staff and third-party groups have recently been given just days to conduct "evaluations", the term given to tests for assessing models' risks and performance, on OpenAI's latest large language models, compared to several months previously.
/jlne.ws/42EBuee
How TikTok's Parent, ByteDance, Became an A.I. Powerhouse; A set of popular apps helped China's ByteDance develop a key component of advanced artificial intelligence: information on how a billion people use the internet.
Meaghan Tobin - The New York Times
The Chinese internet giant ByteDance has made some of the world's most popular apps: TikTok and, in China, Douyin and Toutiao. In the United States, TikTok claims 170 million users. But in China, about 700 million use the domestic version, Douyin, and 300 million scroll the headlines on Toutiao, a news app. Every video that ByteDance's users watch or post gives the company another data point about how people use the internet. For years, ByteDance has applied that wealth of information to make its apps more appealing, improving its ability to recommend content to keep users hooked.
/jlne.ws/3YqHjJO
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Cybersecurity industry falls silent as Trump turns ire on SentinelOne
Raphael Satter and A.J. Vicens - Reuters
The cybersecurity industry has gone mostly quiet after President Donald Trump took action against one of its prominent members. Trump on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of security clearances of SentinelOne executives and employees, part of a campaign to use the might of the U.S. government to crush his political opponents. SentinelOne's offense was hiring former Trump appointee Chris Krebs as chief intelligence and public policy officer. Krebs served as the first director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. civilian cyber defense agency, but he enraged Trump in November 2020 by refusing to endorse the bogus claim that Democrat Joe Biden stole the presidential election. The move led to Trump firing him over Twitter.
/jlne.ws/4cp5NZE
In Secret Meeting, China Acknowledged Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks; A senior Chinese official linked intrusions to escalating U.S. support for Taiwan
Dustin Volz - The Wall Street Journal
Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting that Beijing was behind a widespread series of alarming cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring how hostilities between the two superpowers are continuing to escalate. The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan, the people, who declined to be named, said.
/jlne.ws/4jvDL1e
Japan Brokerage Body Weighs Tougher Moves to Fight Phishing Scams
Takashi Nakamichi - Bloomberg
An association representing Japan's brokerages is considering tightening security guidelines for member firms, as a surge in phishing scams hits retail broking at Nomura Holdings Inc. and other houses, people familiar with the matter said. A working group of Japan Securities Dealers Association is discussing a revision to the current set of recommendations in order to prevent fraud in online transactions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn't public. The body will likely go through matters including the need to more strongly urge members to adopt a thorough client verification procedure known as multi-factor authentication, they said.
/jlne.ws/42ouwsC
TD Anti-Money Laundering Ex-Staffer Pleads Guilty to Data Theft
Patricia Hurtado - Bloomberg
A former Toronto-Dominion Bank employee who worked in its anti-money laundering department pleaded guilty to stealing customer data information and distributing it on a Telegram channel, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. Daria Sewell, 33, who worked at the bank from 2023 until May 2024 and had access to personal customer information, admitted Thursday to a charge of second-degree possession of personal identification, a Class E felony.
/jlne.ws/43ORKKN
U.S. cyber defenders shaken by Trump's attack on their former boss; "Every day feels somehow more bizarre than the last. It is incredibly difficult to focus on our mission," one current Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency employee said.
Kevin Collier - NBC News
/jlne.ws/3G2QKJb
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Trump Signs Bill Blocking IRS Crypto Tax Rule Biden Pushed
Stephanie Lai - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump signed legislation to block an Internal Revenue Service rule that would have forced some cryptocurrency brokers to provide tax information on transactions conducted on their platforms, delivering another victory to the digital asset industry he has vowed to champion in office. The IRS reporting rule - not yet in force - was due to take effect in 2026, but it had already sparked furious opposition from the crypto industry. The regulation required certain decentralized exchanges to report their customers' gross sales of digital assets to the IRS.
/jlne.ws/4jug1KN
Beyond The Crypto Casino: The Bitcoin Humanitarian Alliance
Boaz Sobrado, Contributor - Forbes
At London's Frontline Club, a venue once hosting Julian Assange while on bail, a dozen humanitarian and human rights organizations gathered today to announce the formation of the Bitcoin Humanitarian Alliance. As Bitcoin dominates headlines for hovering near $80,000 after touching a high of $107,000 in January, this coalition focuses on something entirely different: using cryptocurrency as vital infrastructure for those excluded from financial systems worldwide.
/jlne.ws/3Yvhdp5
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump seeks to revoke immigrants' Social Security numbers
Ted Hesson and Daniel Trotta - Reuters
The Trump administration aims to convince some immigrants without legal status to self-deport by adding them to a database of dead people, thus rendering their Social Security numbers inoperable, an administration official told Reuters. Immigrants who were legally admitted to the U.S. under the Biden administration but have since had their temporary status revoked would be added to the Social Security Administration's "death master list," which is normally used to identify dead people who should no longer receive Social Security benefits, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.
/jlne.ws/4j2zeDj
Trump called a cabinet meeting after walking back his tariff plans. It might as well have been held in Moscow
Richard Hall - The Independent
Donald Trump has made no secret of his affinity for Russian president Vladimir Putin's leadership style, and he got to experience it first-hand Thursday in a cabinet meeting that has been described as "Kremlin-esque." Just a day after President Trump backtracked on a disastrous tariff policy that sent global markets into turmoil, cabinet members lined up to massage the president's ego with sycophantic language that would make North Korean newsreaders blush. "I think that what you have assembled in your vision is a turning point and an inflection point in American history. And so just being a part of that is the greatest honor," Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, said, after calling the president "family."
/jlne.ws/4jt4Hi3
Social Security walks back cuts to phone services, announces 'anti-fraud check'
Lauren Irwin - The Hill
The Social Security Administration (SSA) reiterated its plans to walk back proposed cuts to its phone services, saying it would be implementing an "anti-fraud check." "Beginning on April 14, #SocialSecurity will perform an anti-fraud check on all claims filed over the telephone and flag claims that have fraud risk indicators," SSA posted Tuesday evening on social platform X.
/jlne.ws/4lrlx2B
Trump is Already Undermining the Next Election; And the one after that, and the one after that.
Paul Rosenzweig - The Atlantic
An unfortunate reality now confronts Americans who value the rule of law: The court system has limited capability to act as a guardrail against Trumpist authoritarianism. And so elections matter-vitally. The final and most powerful check on Donald Trump has always been, and will always be, the ballot box. The president knows this, and that is why he has now turned his attention to the election system. His recent executive order on election "integrity" is nothing less than an attempt to disenfranchise his opponents and forestall electoral defeat.
/jlne.ws/4jqCaJR
Trump floats plan for undocumented farm and hotel workers to work legally in the U.S.
Suzanne Gamboa - NBC News
President Donald Trump suggested at a Cabinet meeting Thursday that undocumented people working on farms and in hotels would be allowed to leave the country and return as legal workers if their employers vouched for them. Trump said at the meeting with reporters present that "we have to take care of our farmers, the hotels and, you know, the various places where they tend to, where they tend to need people."
/jlne.ws/4csR6oH
The SAVE Act Could Make It Harder for Married Women to Vote
Andrea Gonzalez-Ramírez - The Cut
Far-right conservatives may not have gotten their wish of ending women's right to vote just yet, but Congress inched closer to that pipe dream when it passed a bill on Thursday that could make it considerably harder for married women and millions of other Americans to vote.
/jlne.ws/4cz9gVW
ICE Pledges to Stop Illegal 'ideas' From Entering U.S. - Then Deletes the Post; Immigration and Customs Enforcement claims the post was sent without proper approval, and should have read "intellectual property"
Nikki McCann Ramirez - Rolling Stone
https://jlne.ws/3GgsmDS
Musk's 'Propaganda Machine' Conspiracy Isn't Rooted in Reality; The DOGE leader says Social Security and Medicaid are being used to draw immigrants to the US. That's just not how it works.
Justin Fox - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4j012s9
Czech Leaders Urge US Congress to Keep Funding Radio Free Europe
Krystof Chamonikolas - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3YuIxUn
Switzerland seeks closer EU ties in response to Trump shock; Swiss president to attend informal EU finance ministers' meeting for the first time, alongside British chancellor
Mercedes Ruehl - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3EkjAEr
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Newly Confirmed SEC Chair Paul Atkins Will Endanger Investors, Markets, and the Economy, As He Did Before the 2008 Crash
Better Markets
Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and CEO, issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed Paul Atkins to be Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): "As the U.S. financial markets experience extreme stress and volatility due to erratic policy announcements by the President, the American people need an independent SEC Chair who will be vigilant in supervising and policing those markets to protect investors and prevent crashes. Unfortunately, the newly confirmed SEC Chair Paul Atkins will likely do the opposite and at the worst possible time. "Atkins can be expected to take orders from the White House, politicize the SEC, mindlessly cut key staff, deregulate the industry, gut the enforcement professionals, side with management over investors, and generally undermine the mission and mandate of the SEC. As happened when he was an SEC Commissioner from 2002-2008, Wall Street's megafirms and politically favored companies will be protected while investors will be left to protect themselves.
/jlne.ws/42hhVqY
Judge allows requirement that everyone in the US illegally must register to move forward
Rebecca Santana - Associated Press
A federal judge on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with a requirement that everyone in the U.S. illegally must register with the federal government and carry documentation, in a move that could have far-reaching repercussions for immigrants across the country.
/jlne.ws/4i8BSGn
Trump Broke New York Criminal Law Again. Alvin Bragg Should Indict Again.
Jonathan Zasloff - Slate
Donald Trump's attacks on law firms have taken a toll, with several already having caved to executive orders meant to decimate their businesses in retaliation for what Trump perceived as adverse advocacy. What Trump is doing to these firms-first Perkins Coie; then Paul, Weiss; then Covington & Burling; then Jenner & Block; then WilmerHale-has for the most part been treated as a political scandal and a threat to the First Amendment, which it is. But there's a legal term for what Trump is doing: extortion. He is threatening to kneecap businesses not because they are doing anything illegal, but rather just the opposite: because they are using legal channels to resist him. Trump's message is straightforward enough: Nice law firm you got here; would be too bad if something were to happen to it. This is an extortion racket run straight out of the Oval Office.
/jlne.ws/3EiMlRN
Trump's Triple-Dog Supreme Court Dare; Will the justices be comfortable with the president's wholesale regulatory changes?
Kimberley A. Strassel - The Wall Street Journal (opinion)
Largely unnoticed amid this week's tariff imbroglio, President Trump dropped another huge challenge on the Supreme Court's steps. The president is hyperembracing recent high-court doctrine, and daring the court to match his enthusiasm. It's a nervy gamble. Mr. Trump on Wednesday went all-in on a project he set in motion in mid-February, when he ordered departments to review every regulation on the federal books with an eye to identifying any that are unconstitutional, conflict with Supreme Court rulings, or impose costs on private parties that aren't outweighed by public benefits. With that 60-day review nearing an end, Mr. Trump this week ordered the next step: nuke the offending regs immediately.
/jlne.ws/3Eiyk6E
Acting Chairman Pham Statement on Confirmation of SEC Chairman Paul Atkins
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham today issued the following statement: "Congratulations to Paul Atkins on his confirmation as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. I have known and worked together with Paul and his team for over a decade. His outstanding leadership is inspiring. I look forward to continuing to work together on smart regulation that drives U.S. economic growth and greater opportunity for the American people."
/jlne.ws/4ihKBX5
Let's Talk Disclosure: Division of Corporation Finance's Statement on Offerings and Registration of Securities in the Crypto Asset Markets
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce - SEC
Today, in furtherance of our investor protection mission, the Division of Corporation Finance clarified how the federal securities laws apply to certain offerings and registrations of securities in the crypto asset markets.[1] The Division's statement does not address whether something is or is not a security but provides guidance for issuers of securities. Offerings and registrations for which this statement may be relevant involve equity or debt securities of issuers whose operations relate to networks, applications, or crypto assets. Other offerings and registrations for which this statement may be relevant involve crypto assets offered as part of or subject to an investment contract. Registration or qualification is not required in connection with an offering of a crypto asset if the crypto asset is not a security and not part of or subject to an investment contract. The statement reflects the Division's observations regarding disclosures provided in response to existing requirements and takes into account crypto-related disclosure questions the Division has received.
/jlne.ws/4jgNzw0
Offerings and Registrations of Securities in the Crypto Asset Markets
Division of Corporation Finance - SEC
As part of an effort to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets,[1] the Division of Corporation Finance is providing its views[2] about the application of certain disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws to offerings and registrations of securities in the crypto asset markets. These offerings and registrations may involve equity or debt securities of issuers whose operations relate to networks, applications, and/or crypto assets. These offerings and registrations also may relate to crypto assets offered as part of or subject to an investment contract (such a crypto asset, a "subject crypto asset").[3] The Division recognizes that Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda formed the Crypto Task Force to help the Commission develop a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets, including addressing applicable registration and disclosure requirements.[4] The Division is issuing this statement to provide its views during the pendency of these deliberations.
/jlne.ws/4lrTSOU
ASIC sues Hollard Insurance alleging serious claim handling failures
ASIC
An insurance claim that Hollard Insurance took nearly three and a half years to resolve is at the centre of a new Federal Court proceeding brought by ASIC. ASIC alleges Hollard Insurance breached its duty of utmost good faith in its handling of a home building and contents insurance claim made by a couple from regional Victoria.
/jlne.ws/3G0pNpF
Scam Alert: Scammers impersonating ASIC Connect
ASIC
ASIC has been made aware that its ASIC Connect websites have been impersonated on a number of occasions. The legitimate ASIC Connect websites are asicconnect.asic.gov.au and connectonline.asic.gov.au. Scammers are using fake websites to trick consumers into disclosing sensitive information (including personal information, passwords, contact details, and payment information) by registering web addresses that look similar to legitimate ASIC websites.
/jlne.ws/43OjjUH
FMA files criminal charge against former financial adviser
FMA
The Financial Markets Authority - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko - has filed a criminal charge against Auckland-based former financial adviser Prem Gounder for dishonestly using a document under section 228 of the Crimes Act 1961. The FMA alleges that Mr Gounder, while acting as a licensed financial adviser, submitted a false document, namely a gifting certificate, in support of a home loan application made on behalf of a client.
/jlne.ws/4jytMIx
The FCA shines light on trading apps and consumer behaviour
FCA
The publication aims to support new firms and traditional investment brokers seeking to offer these services, to help them understand their existing obligations. The review assessed the business models, product offerings and services of 12 trading app firms, identifying both positive practices and areas needing improvement.
/jlne.ws/3EerVJO
International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators published the Report about use of technology in audits
FSA
The Technology Task Force (TTF), a Task Force of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), published on Tuesday 27 March "Use of technology in audit-observations, risks and further evolution 2025", a report on the current aspects and future prospects for the use of AI and other teconology tools in the area of audit. The Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board has participated in TTF and will continue to contribute to improve global audit quality.
/jlne.ws/3G6y0sn
FSA Weekly Review No.632
FSA
/jlne.ws/43LhXdj
Publication of the Research Report, "Study on Global Investors' Focus Areas Regarding Human Capital Disclosure and Corporate Case Studies"
FSA
The FSA commissioned Boston Consulting Group, Inc. to conduct a "Study on Global Investors' Focus Areas Regarding Human Capital Disclosure and Corporate Case Studies", in light of the growing interest both in Japan and overseas on human capital disclosures. The research analyzed the overseas investors' viewpoints on human capital disclosures when making investment decisions, through interviews with investors. The research also analyzed human capital disclosure practice of overseas companies and existing standards/frameworks on human capital disclosures.
/jlne.ws/42vBdJr
Caution to public against Fraudulent / Manipulative activities on Social Media Platforms (SMPs) related to securities market
SEBI
SEBI has noticed anincrease in frauds related to securities market on various Social Media Platforms (SMPs) such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (previously Twitter), WhatsApp, Telegram, Google Play Store, Apple Store etc.
/jlne.ws/3RaMb1R
New Zealand Financial Markets Authority Files Criminal Charge Against Former Financial Adviser
Mondovisione
The Financial Markets Authority - Te Mana Tatai Hokohoko - has filed a criminal charge against Auckland-based former financial adviser Prem Gounder for dishonestly using a document under section 228 of the Crimes Act 1961. The FMA alleges that Mr Gounder, while acting as a licensed financial adviser, submitted a false document, namely a gifting certificate, in support of a home loan application made on behalf of a client.
/jlne.ws/4cx34h1
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Investors grapple with tariff-driven economic threat as market swings persist
Lewis Krauskopf - Reuters
Investors hoping for an end to wild market swings were reminded on Thursday that fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting tariff plans remains a threat to earnings and the economy, and could deal yet more punishment to equities. Relief over Trump's move on Wednesday to pull back on some of his heftiest global tariffs proved somewhat short-lived. Investors were unsettled by the escalating trade battle with China, the second-biggest provider of U.S. imports, while the president's 90-day pause on hefty levies elsewhere meant the tariff cloud was not going away anytime soon.
/jlne.ws/42adrnx
Inside the bond market's $800 billion 'murder mystery.' Here's why the basis trade could be a time bomb-and what the Fed can do to stop it
Greg McKenna - Fortune
Investors are looking to pick up the pieces after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause to the sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" that sent stocks plunging, but many on Wall Street suspect chaos in the bond market truly forced the administration's hand. A confounding spike in yields sparked fears of a liquidity crisis, and the collapse of the so-called "basis trade" may have been one of the main culprits. In normal times, hedge funds borrow heavily to take advantage of tiny price discrepancies between Treasuries and futures linked to those bonds. They profit handsomely and, in turn, help keep money markets humming. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent trade policy upheaval have shown what can happen when the $800 billion trade unwinds, however, and some experts think the Federal Reserve needs to be better equipped to handle the next potential crisis in, say, three months or so.
/jlne.ws/43R2xUY
The Stock 'Wealth Effect' That Boosted the Economy Could Also Drag It Down; Market jitters over trade could damage more than your retirement fund balance. When investors feel less wealthy, they may also choose to spend less.
Isabelle Lee - Bloomberg
Income is a paycheck, but wealth is at least partially a vibe. One day a portfolio of stocks is worth $100,000, and the next it might be worth $98,000 or $102,000, depending on the mood of the traders. When fluctuations in paper values are enough to make consumers feel richer or poorer and change their spending habits, it's known as the wealth effect. It's often said that Wall Street is different from Main Street, but the wealth effect is a link between the two. That connection is on a lot of people's minds now as fears about President Donald Trump's sweeping but ever-changing tariff plans roil stock markets around the world. This month the S&P 500 has touched bear-market territory-a sharp comedown after two straight years of gains above 20%. Investors' faith in the so-called Trump put, the widely held notion that this president will always change course to avoid the pain of a falling market, is being tested. Implicitly, many traders had assumed that Trump himself was a big believer in the wealth effect.
/jlne.ws/4jssIFO
Treasuries Are Trading Like Risky Assets in Warning to Trump
Ye Xie, Liz Capo McCormick and Michael Mackenzie - Bloomberg
Billed on Wall Street as so rock-solid safe they're risk-free, US Treasury bonds have long served as first port of call for investors during times of panic. They rallied during the global financial crisis, on 9/11 and even when America's own credit rating was cut. But now, as President Donald Trump unleashes an all-out assault on global trade, their status as the world's safe haven is increasingly coming into question.
/jlne.ws/4i9k1PT
How to Play the Biotech Meltdown in the Age of RFK Jr. and Tariffs; Political pressure and high interest rates have some wondering if industry's model is broken
David Wainer - The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. biotech sector had already been through a brutal few years before the latest market crash. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shake-up of the nation's health agencies and persistently high interest rates are prompting it to sink even faster than the broader market, despite so far avoiding the worst of the tariff fallout. More investors are even wondering if the whole model-risky science, costly funding, political uncertainty and long waits for payoffs-is simply broken. For many of the nearly 200 companies trading below their cash value, it probably is. That illustrates the pitfalls of passively investing in an index for this sector.
/jlne.ws/3G4Kcd6
How America's Wealthy Are Positioning Themselves During the Market Turmoil; Trump's tariff moves are casting doubts over historically popular U.S. investments
Juliet Chung - The Wall Street Journal
In Warwick, R.I., Chris Ciunci sold more than 800 shares of Nike. In Wichita, Kan., Ken Wagnon bought on the dips. Outside Denver, Doug Johnson checked his portfolio, then went back to researching family-vacation options. President Trump's sweeping tariff plans, their sudden pause and his escalating trade war with China have turned the market into a rollercoaster. During the past several days, U.S. stock markets lost a stunning $7.7 trillion, then climbed sharply before retreating again Thursday. A steep selloff of long-term Treasurys especially alarmed analysts and investors, because the government bonds have traditionally provided an investing haven in times of upheaval.
/jlne.ws/43KfOOY
Four Questions You Should Ask to Combat the Market Chaos; It isn't the time to 'buy the dip' or dump your stocks. Instead, consider your reasons for investing.
Jason Zweig - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/426Rndl
Opinion: The United States is now an emerging market. Invest accordingly.; You might say the U.S. is now an emerging market that sells for about 50% more than developed markets
Brett Arends - MarketWatch
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'The Humble Investor' and 'How Not to Invest': Money Matters; Betting against others' overconfidence is key to beating the market. So is knowing when to tune out the financial pundits.
Scott Nations - The Wall Street Journal
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US Firms Are Losing Their Appeal Among Europe's Credit Investors
Ronan Martin and Abhinav Ramnarayan - Bloomberg
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FX liquidity 'worse than Covid' amid tariff volatility, dealers say
Joe Parsons - Risk.net
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The wealthy are loading up on cash, gold and family trusts during market turmoil
Robert Frank - CNBC
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Climate First Bank and Banyan Infrastructure Launch New Partnership to Streamline and Modernize Renewable Energy Financing; New partnership will help automate transactions while saving time and capital for investors
Climate First Bank
Climate First Bank (www.climatefirstbank.com), the world's first FDIC-insured digital community bank founded to combat the climate crisis, and Banyan Infrastructure, a leading project finance software platform, today announced a new partnership to help streamline and modernize the financing process for renewable infrastructure projects - saving both time and capital for investors.
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Governors push back as Trump directs the Justice Department to go after state climate laws
Rachel Frazin - The Hill
Democrat governors are pushing back as President Trump directed his Justice Department to target state climate laws. "The federal government cannot unilaterally strip states' independent constitutional authority," said a joint statement from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Luján Grisham. "We are a nation of states - and laws - and we will not be deterred. We will keep advancing solutions to the climate crisis that safeguard Americans' fundamental right to clean air and water, create good-paying jobs, grow the clean energy economy, and make our future healthier and safer," they said.
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Paul Weiss, Assailed by Trump, Quietly Scrubs ESG From Website; Web pages for the ESG advisory practice and institute at the elite law firm, which agreed to a deal with the president, are now dark.
Ben Elgin - Bloomberg
Law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has long held itself up as a trailblazer on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. It launched one of the legal industry's early standalone ESG advisory practices in 2020 to guide clients on things like climate disclosures and labor practices. A year later, it created the ESG and Law Institute, a "thought leadership forum" that partnered with universities and convened conferences to further the industry's grasp of these topics.
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Nuclear Power Is Back. And This Time, AI Can Help Manage the Reactors; Argonne National Lab has an AI-based tool that can help design and operate nuclear reactors-at a time when AI itself is feeding a power frenzy.
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
A revival in nuclear power-partly fed by ravenous demand from data centers for artificial intelligence-is leading to greater interest in harnessing AI to make those nuclear plants more efficient. The Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory, based in Lemont, Ill. and known for its work on nuclear reactors, has developed an AI-based tool that can assist with reactor design and help operators run nuclear plants, according to Richard Vilim, a senior nuclear engineer within the lab's nuclear science and engineering division. Argonne's tool, called the Parameter-Free Reasoning Operator for Automated Identification and Diagnosis, or PRO-AID, marks a technological leap in a field that saw its heyday in the last quarter of the 20th century.
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Trump's Energy Secretary Says Fear Over Oil Prices Misplaced
Joe Ryan and Annmarie Hordern - Bloomberg
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the selloff in the oil market is overblown, and he expects American crude produces to keep increasing production. "You see a marketplace right now that is worried about economic growth," Wright said during an interview on Bloomberg Television on Friday. "I think that fear is misplaced."
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | JPMorgan's profit jumps on record stock trading as CEO Dimon sees economic turbulence
Reuters
JPMorgan Chase topped first-quarter profit estimates on Friday, driven by record equities trading and higher fees from debt underwriting and merger advisory. Shares of the biggest U.S. bank climbed about 3% before the open even as CEO Jamie Dimon remained circumspect on the economy as corporate America navigated the fallout of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
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JPMorgan logs Q1 profit of $14.6 billion as CEO warns of uncertainty over global trade, other events
Matt Ott - Associated Press Finance
JPMorgan's net income rose 9% to $14.6 billion in the first quarter and the New York bank beat Wall Street's profit and revenue targets, but it's chief executive warned of global economic uncertainties ahead due to President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war and other geopolitical tensions.
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Morgan Stanley's profit beats on strength in wealth, equity trading units
Noor Zainab Hussain and Tatiana Bautzer - Reuters
Morgan Stanley beat first-quarter profit estimates on strength in equity trading and wealth management, sending its shares up 1.9% before the bell on Friday. The bank on Friday posted a profit of $4.3 billion, or $2.60 per share, in the three months ended March 31. That compares with a profit $3.4 billion, or $2.02 per share, a year ago and $2.20, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
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UBS's Colm Kelleher slams 'extreme' plan for 50% more capital; Swiss government and watchdog propose higher requirements for lender that rescued Credit Suisse
Simon Foy - Financial Times
The chair of UBS has criticised proposed reforms to bank capital rules in Switzerland, calling the measures "extreme" and saying they would force the lender to hold 50 per cent more capital. Colm Kelleher said on Thursday that new rules being proposed by the Swiss government and financial regulators would significantly push up the lender's capital requirements and could damage its ability to compete internationally.
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JPMorgan Chase expands to become biggest tenant at Citadel Center - for now
Danny Ecker - Crain's Chicago Business
As JPMorgan Chase renovates its namesake Loop office tower, it's temporarily bulking up its workspace a block away. The New York-based financial giant has added more than 126,000 square feet in the Citadel Center at 131 S. Dearborn St., bringing its total footprint in the 37-story building to almost 321,000 square feet, according to sources familiar with the deal.
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Wells Fargo beats profit estimates but CEO warns tariffs could slow growth
Arasu Kannagi Basil and Saeed Azhar - Reuters
Wells Fargo's profit rose 6% in the first quarter as it collected more fees in wealth management and investment banking, but its CEO warned that U.S. tariffs risk slowing economic growth.
U.S. banks entered 2025 with a bullish outlook, backed by a resilient economy, resurgent dealmaking and business-friendly pronouncements from the new administration. The optimism, however, unraveled over the last week as President Donald Trump's fluctuating announcements on tariffs stoked concerns about inflation that could tip the U.S. economy into a recession.
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BNY's Profit Jumps 21%, Warns of 'Uncertain' Outlook Ahead
Sally Bakewell - Bloomberg
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State Street to Buy City of London Office in £333 Million Deal
Damian Shepherd - Bloomberg
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SocGen Nominates Connelly to Replace Chairman Bini Smaghi
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
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Hedge Fund Sculptor Joins Rush of Financial Firms in Abu Dhabi
Alex Dooler and Ben Bartenstein - Bloomberg
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Job applicants are using deepfake AI to trick recruiters-Here's how hiring managers can spot the next imposter
Brit Morse - Fortune
Vijay Balasubramaniyan knew there was a problem. The CEO of Pindrop, a 300-person information security company, says his hiring team came to him with a strange dilemma: they were hearing weird noises and tonal abnormalities while conducting remote interviews with job candidates. Balasubramaniyan immediately thought the issue might be interviewees using deepfake AI technology to mask their true identities. But unlike most other companies, Pindrop was in a unique position as a fraud-detecting organization to investigate the mystery itself.
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Brain drain? Trump cutbacks force scientists to seek jobs in Europe
Olivia Le Poidevin, Kate Abnett and Gloria Dickie - Reuters
David Die Dejean is passionate about studying tuna. Last year, he landed a dream job at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Miami to pursue his research. By January, he was settled in, had received a good review and loved working with his colleagues, he said. Then in mid-February he received an email to vacate the premises within 90 minutes.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | RFK Jr.: If you eat doughnuts or smoke, should society pay for your health care?; Kennedy went on to say that it is an American's choice to "eat donuts all day" or drink sodas, and he promised not to take those choices away.
Lauren Weber - The Washington Post
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked whether society should pay for the health care of Americans who eat doughnuts or smoke when they know those habits can contribute to poor health outcomes. "If you're smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, should you expect society to pay when you get sick?" the nation's top health official asked in an interview released Wednesday with CBS News chief medical correspondent, physician Jon LaPook.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Exclusive: Chinese exchanges restrict daily stock sales as trade war with US escalates, sources say
Reuters
Chinese bourses have set daily restrictions on net share sales by hedge funds and large retail investors, four sources said on Friday, as Beijing steps up support for its stock markets in an intensifying trade war with the United States. Two investor sources said a soft limit on daily net sales by individual hedge funds and big retail investors - implemented through verbal warnings from brokerages - had been set at 50 million yuan ($6.83 million).
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