| June 30, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
CFTC Commission Dawn Stump did it. She used the title "Back to the Future" in a speech, utilizing the words that have become trite headline fodder. The speech was prepared to be delivered to the ISDA Derivatives Trading Forum -- CFTC
The Washington Post has a story about how ADM sold some land in South Carolina that had processing and grain storage facilities to a company owned by then soon-to-be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. The land sold for $250,000, but it was assessed at as much as 12 times higher in value. The story indicates that ADM was trying to curry favor with Perdue before he became ag secretary because it had some issues before the Department of Agriculture. The deal was not previously disclosed by the former Georgia Governor.
-- Washington Post
Northern Trust was hit with an almost $1 million fine by the NFA for an issue with the swap dealer operation. "The Complaint alleged that Northern Trust failed to establish adequate written procedures reasonably designed to ensure the firm executed written swap trading relationship documentation with counterparties prior to or contemporaneously with entering into a swap transaction." The fine was $999,000. -- NFA
There is an issue with JohnLothianNews.com this morning. We are looking into it.
There were no new donations to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign yesterday.
Today we published an interview with John Walls of ADMIS about his career and the development of technology to help enhance the trading floor that transitioned to electronic trading. It is part of The Path to Electronic Trading series.
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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Mexico's Supreme Court essentially legalized individual cannabis use in that country on Monday, declaring the General Health Law that prohibits recreational cannabis use by adults unconstitutional. However, adults who want to smoke marijuana or grow cannabis for their own use still need a government permit until further legislation is enacted. The high court's ruling follows the Mexican Senate's failure to meet a court-imposed deadline of April 30 to pass a cannabis law bill. More details on the significance of the action are in Harris Bricken's Canna Law Blog here. ~SC
ISDA's latest monthly podcast, "Resilience by Margin," focuses on the initial margin rule for non-cleared derivatives. Greg O'Donahue, of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and Jerome Blais, of BNP Paribas Securities Services, weigh in on its impact here. ~SC
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John Walls - The Path to Electronic Trading
JohnLothianNews.com
John Walls is an executive with ADM Investor Services, but he started in the industry like many others of his generation as a trading floor messenger or runner. As a runner on the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange trading floor working for Shatkin Trading, Walls took advantage of nearly every opportunity he was presented with to learn all the different aspects of the markets and futures industry.
Watch the video »
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BSO Founder & CEO Michael Ourabah Talks Pandemic Telecom Experience and Rebranding the Firm
JohnLothianNews.com
Michael Ourabah is the founder and CEO of BSO, a technology infrastructure provider specializing in connectivity for finance and capital market users. BSO recently embarked on a rebranding after being more of an engineering focused company that was "bad at marketing." John Lothian News interviewed Ourabah over Zoom about BSO's rebranding, telecoms in the age of the pandemic, cybersecurity, business as the world reopens, virtual reality and what comes next in technology.
Watch the video »
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Growing Gaps in U.S. Vaccination Rates Show Regions at Risk; Analysis of data shows a split in U.S. inoculations, with the bottom fifth of counties falling far behind
Andre Tartar, Kristen V Brown and Tom Randall - Bloomberg
The gap between the most vaccinated and least vaccinated places in the U.S. has exploded in the past three months, and continues to widen despite efforts to convince more Americans to get a Covid shot. On a national level, the news appears good. About 300,000 new people are getting a Covid vaccine every day in the U.S., and 54% of the full U.S population has at least one dose. The country's vaccine campaign is among the most successful in the world, states have lifted restrictions on business and socializing, and hospitalizations have plunged.
/bloom.bg/3hnYPrM
*****Look at the map and try to avoid the areas with fewer vaccinations to protect yourself.~JJL
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The Family Behind the Covid Bleach Cure Was Making a Fortune; When Donald Trump suggested injecting bleach, the Genesis II Church had just the "sacrament"—until Operation Quack Hack landed four elders in jail.
Thomas Buckley - Bloomberg Businessweek
Mark Grenon jolted awake in a sweat, his heart pounding. He'd been shaken by a nightmare that his family was about to be captured by armed forces who wanted to put him behind bars for life. In a rare feat for a false prophet, Grenon's vision essentially came true. At the break of dawn the next morning, July 8, 2020, as police helicopters circled overhead, a SWAT team appeared in armored vehicles and raided the headquarters of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing in Bradenton, Fla., which doubled as the family home. Two of Grenon's sons, Jordan and Jonathan, were arrested.
/bloom.bg/361bjQO
******When you see something really stupid in the news, there is a backstory somewhere. Here is the backstory for the "church" that was promoting drinking bleach to cure Covid-19.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our most-read story Tuesday was the obituary for Audrey Dolores "Dea" Durrer Hansen, who was the manager of the visitor's gallery at the Chicago Board of Trade for many years, from Tribute Archive/The Cremation Society of Illinois. Second was the RJO press release R.J. O'Brien Promotes Staniford to President, about the new role for Daniel Staniford. Third was CNN's With the more contagious Delta variant, some officials are issuing new mask guidance.
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MarketsWiki Stats
26,434 pages; 234,032 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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| Lead Stories | N.J. attorney general is appointed director of enforcement at the S.E.C.
Matthew Goldstein - NY Times
Gary Gensler is turning to a longtime state and federal prosecutor to lead the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Gensler, the S.E.C. chairman, announced on Tuesday that he had picked Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey's attorney general since 2018, to run the all-important division at the nation's top securities regulator. Mr. Grewal previously served as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and New Jersey, and was the chief prosecutor for Bergen County, one of New Jersey's most populous counties.
/nyti.ms/3w439Sp
Refinitiv deal loses some of its lustre for LSE as challenges mount; Melding two businesses with contrasting cultures will take work, the question is how much
Philip Stafford and Alex Barker - FT
For thousands of traders, fund managers and analysts, the message that Eikon is down has in recent months become a wearily familiar one. With its orange and black trading screens, Refinitiv's flagship product has for the past three decades been locked in battle with Bloomberg's terminals to be the top provider of data and market-moving news across the world's financial capitals.
/on.ft.com/3hbXfL3
Banks turn to blockchains to reform costly bond market; Putting new debt on modern technology could lead to substantial savings, bankers say
Tommy Stubbington - FT
A growing number of banks are experimenting with issuing bonds on blockchains, in a shift they say could eventually revolutionise an asset class that has lagged behind in adoption of new technologies.
/on.ft.com/364wZfc
Deutsche Börse and TP ICAP join rush to entice crypto investors; Moves to supervise the market have fuelled rather than damped the appetite of established companies
Eva Szalay and Joshua Oliver - FT
The rush to profit from crypto assets has swept along two more big names in traditional financial markets, indicating that efforts from regulators to bring the nascent industry under tighter supervision has done little to damp large investors' interest.
/on.ft.com/3h6PMwB
High-Frequency Trader Hudson River to Execute Retail Stock Trades; Firm plans to enter the retail wholesaler business by early 2022, taking on Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial
Alexander Osipovich - WSJ
Hudson River Trading LLC, one of the biggest high-frequency trading firms, is planning to enter the business of executing stock trades for individual investors. The firm—which handles around 8% of daily U.S. stock-trading volume—has been building out a so-called retail wholesaler business. It aims to launch later this year or in early 2022, an executive at the firm told The Wall Street Journal.
/on.wsj.com/363D9fy
The Binance stand-off shows bitcoin's limits; Without easy links to the banking system, crypto platforms lack mainstream appeal
Brooke Masters - FT
What's the point of making a killing in bitcoin if you can't spend the loot? Customers of Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, are confronting that question after their accounts were suddenly cut off from one of the UK's main payments systems.
/on.ft.com/3w1HtXf
SEC Appoints New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal as Director of Enforcement
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Gurbir S. Grewal has been appointed Director of the Division of Enforcement, effective July 26, 2021. Grewal currently serves as Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, a role he has held since January 2018, when he was confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate after being nominated by Governor Phil Murphy.
/bit.ly/3w7EPPI
CEOs Welcome! U.K. Says Some Foreign Businesspeople Can Leave Quarantine; Executives must show that leaving self-isolation could serve to preserve or create more than 500 local jobs
Benjamin Katz - WSJ
The U.K. will allow foreign senior executives to leave a 10-day quarantine required of overseas travelers, so long as they can show their business visit is of "significant economic benefit." The move is one of the more novel attempts by governments at loosening pandemic-era travel restrictions, as large-scale vaccinations in the U.S. and Europe start to boost economies. It also comes as Covid-19 cases in the U.K. are climbing again, thanks to the so-called Delta variant first identified in India.
/on.wsj.com/3wdbL9C
England opens up a narrow quarantine exemption for business travelers.
Eshe Nelson - NY Times
The British government introduced a new exemption to its quarantine rules on Tuesday for business travelers "bringing significant economic benefit" to England, but the move is unlikely to quell frustrations that certain travel routes in and out of Britain remain effectively shut.
/nyti.ms/2Ueadi0
Why Can't Americans Go to Canada? Many travelers are wondering why they still can't visit their neighbor to the north. Here's why the border remains closed.
Elaine Glusac - NY Times
Americans can now vacation in France, where the one-dose vaccination rate is 49 percent, according to the nonprofit Our World in Data; they can also go to Spain, where the rate is 51 percent, and Greece, 45 percent. But, with very limited exceptions, they still cannot travel to Canada, which, according to one source — the University of Oxford — is leading all countries globally in single-dose vaccination rates.
/nyti.ms/3h4Nw96
Big oil and gas kept a dirty secret for decades. Now they may pay the price; Communities are now demanding the oil conglomerates pay damages and take urgent action to reduce further harm from burning fossil fuels.
Chris McGreal - The Guardian
After a century of wielding extraordinary economic and political power, America's petroleum giants face a reckoning for driving the greatest existential threat of our lifetimes. An unprecedented wave of lawsuits, filed by cities and states across the US, aim to hold the oil and gas industry to account for the environmental devastation caused by fossil fuels - and covering up what they knew along the way.
/bit.ly/3qBF9F1
SEC Charges JPMorgan Unit Neovest for Operating as Unregistered Broker-Dealer; The electronic-trading platform agrees to pay $2.75 million fine for failing to register as broker-dealer
Dave Sebastian - WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has charged Neovest Inc., a JPMorgan Chase JPM -0.12% & Co. unit that provides an electronic-trading platform, for operating as an unregistered broker-dealer. The commission on Tuesday said this is the first such charge against a provider of an order and execution management system. It said Neovest agreed to pay $2.75 million in penalty, though the company didn't admit or deny the SEC's findings.
/on.wsj.com/3x9ugwL
The Heat Dome Boiling Northwest U.S. Already Has Clear Climate Link; When hot air expands under extreme summertime temperatures, it can become a mountain of heat that just won't move.
Eric Roston and Leslie Kaufman - Bloomberg
It looked like a mistake several days ago when weather models began forecasting temperatures of approximately 115° Fahrenheit heat in Portland, Oregon. Then it happened. The National Weather Service has now recorded 116°F (46.7°C) at the Portland International Airport.
/bloom.bg/3x6WsAh
Episode 11: Resilience by Margin
ISDA
The requirement to post initial margin for non-cleared derivatives was one of the main post-financial crisis reforms. As the industry prepares for the final two phases of implementation, Greg O'Donahue of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Jérôme Blais of BNP Paribas Securities Services reflect on the impact and challenges of the requirements.
/bit.ly/3ym9cn9
Jobs Are Hard to Fill, and Ideology Makes It Hard to Understand Why; There are millions of U.S. vacancies as the pandemic eases, but the reasons are more complicated than what those with a partisan agenda on the left or right claim
Justin Lahart - WSJ
Telling one story about why employers are struggling to hire workers doesn't come close to explaining what is going on with the job market. Economists expect Friday's employment report to show that the economy added 706,000 jobs in June, a step up from May's 559,000 and what would in normal times be a big number. These aren't normal times, though. The U.S. is still 7.6 million jobs short of what it had before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and earlier this year there were hopes that, as more Americans got vaccinated, the job market would be closing that gap far more quickly than it has.
/on.wsj.com/361IYKj
JP Morgan OEMS Neovest to pay $2.75 million for operating as unregistered broker-dealer; Neovest operated its OEMS as a broker-dealer despite withdrawing its registration after its acquisition by JP Morgan completed.
Hayley McDowell - The Trade
The order and execution management system (OEMS) owned by JP Morgan will pay $2.75 million after failing to register as a broker-dealer in the first case of its kind in the US.
/bit.ly/3w8PZDA
FX market's uptake in algo trading here to stay, report finds; A Coalition Greenwich report has found that the uptake in algo trading in FX during the pandemic could be here to stay permanently.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The increasing uptake of algo trading in FX during the pandemic could become a permanent fixture in the market, research by Coalition Greenwich has found.
/bit.ly/3wamFN4
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Heath and Wellness Information | Moderna's Covid Shot Produces Antibodies Against Delta Variant
Robert Langreth - Bloomberg
Levels of protective antibodies for variants modestly reduced; Delta variant has been spreading throughout U.S. and globally
Moderna Inc. said its vaccine produced protective antibodies against the Delta variant spreading in the U.S. and many other parts of the world.
/bloom.bg/3duggGa
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine shows promise against Delta variant in lab study
Reuters
Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine showed promise against the Delta variant first identified in India in a lab study, with a modest decrease in response compared to the original strain, the drugmaker said on Tuesday.
/reut.rs/3xa819X
U.S. Warns Against Travel to UAE, Citing High Virus Cases
Abbas Al Lawati - Bloomberg
Alert comes as Dubai prepares to host Expo 2020 trade fair; One-third of the cases in the UAE are of the delta strain
The U.S. on Monday raised its travel warning for the United Arab Emirates to its highest level, citing a "very high level" of coronavirus in the Gulf nation.
/bloom.bg/3jsY03z
Should We Be Forced to Get Covid Vaccines? It's Complicated; Yes, there is a moral and legal case for mandating inoculation, but social psychology suggests that may not always be wise.
Andreas Kluth - Bloomberg
The dilemma is almost as old as vaccines: Can the state coerce citizens to get jabbed in the interests of public health? What about other institutions, such as schools, universities or employers? And if they can mandate shots, should they?
/bloom.bg/3ydjN3D
Philly Learned the Hard Way to Pick Its Vaccine Distributors Carefully; During the worst of last winter's Covid surge, the city briefly put a 22-year-old in charge of inoculating hundreds of thousands of citizens. If you can believe it, that went poorly.
Dayna Evans - Bloomberg
By the look of things, Andrei Doroshin, the 22-year-old grad student given the keys to Philadelphia's vaccination program, really believed his own baloney. In the lobby of his apartment building in the gentrified neighborhood of Fishtown, Doroshin had called a press conference to address the failure of his nonprofit, Philly Fighting Covid Inc., to make much progress. Absent a strong, coordinated effort, the grad student's team had fallen well behind the vaccination rates of New York City and others, but Doroshin seemed to think that was somebody else's fault. "The city chose us because we were the only ones who had a plan," he said, audibly seething. "I am here, forced to defend myself against another example of Philadelphia's dirty power politics." When a reporter asked for clarification on that, Doroshin—arms crossed—interrupted her: "I still also don't understand."
/bloom.bg/3dsUvqm
Fauci warns there may soon be 'two Americas' as divide widens between vaccinated and unvaccinated areas
Aya Elamroussi - CNN
With the Delta variant accounting for more than a quarter of Covid-19 cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns there could soon be "two Americas" -- one where most people are vaccinated and another where low vaccination rates could lead to spikes in cases.
/cnn.it/3h8d8SG
Explainer: Are Chinese COVID-19 shots effective against the Delta variant?
Reuters
Many countries from China to Indonesia and Brazil rely heavily on Chinese vaccines to inoculate their people against COVID-19, but there are growing concerns about whether they provide enough protection against the Delta variant, first identified in India.
/reut.rs/3h5U0Vp
Oxygen prices leap in Indonesia's capital as COVID-19 cases surge
Agustinus Costa - Reuters
Oxygen prices in Indonesia's capital had more than doubled and some suppliers reported shortages on Tuesday after a surge in COVID-19 cases that prompted the Red Cross to warn of a coronavirus "catastrophe" in Southeast Asia's biggest country.
/reut.rs/3w4xGPV
Indonesia considers broader curbs as coronavirus crisis deepens
Agustinus Costa, Tabita Diela - Reuters
Indonesia is finalising emergency measures aimed at controlling Southeast Asia's worst coronavirus epidemic, its president said on Wednesday, as the country reported record COVID-19 cases for the second day this week.
/reut.rs/3x8QzCH
Covid-19 Vaccine Sites Start to Shut Down; Pharmacies scale back hours and space for shots as demand wanes, while mass-vaccination sites across U.S. close their doors
Sharon Terlep - WSJ
A CVS in suburban New York is selling summer toys and canned food in an aisle previously used for Covid-19 shots. Hundreds of Rite Aid Corp. stores will end extended Friday vaccine hours. Mass-inoculation sites set up to administer thousands of shots daily are shutting down across the country. America's rapid mobilization to vaccinate the masses against Covid-19 is entering a new phase.
/on.wsj.com/3qCkxwH
Delta Variant's Spread Outpaces Australia's Covid-19 Contact Tracers; The highly contagious coronavirus strain prompted authorities to put Sydney into a full lockdown for the first time in a year
Mike Cherney - WSJ
The exchange, captured by CCTV camera, lasted only seconds. A limousine driver, unknowingly infected with the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, and another man passed close to one another at an indoor mall near Sydney's Bondi Beach. Both stood near each other for a short time, and one of them appeared to move through the airspace the other had occupied. The brief interaction was enough for the second man to contract the coronavirus.
/on.wsj.com/3600a2H
More than 80 teens and staffers at an Illinois summer camp got Covid-19
Madeline Holcombe and Adrienne Broaddus - CNN
More than 80 teens and adult staffers from a Central Illinois summer camp tested positive for Covid-19 in an outbreak that has impacted people across three states, officials said. The Crossing Camp in Schuyler County held in mid-June did not check vaccination status for campers or staffers, and masks were not required indoors at the camp, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said in a news release.
/cnn.it/35YEMuW
Kim Jong Un Warns of Grave Covid-19 Situation in North Korea; Leader doesn't specify what has gone wrong, but blames top officials for missteps
Timothy W. Martin - WSJ
Kim Jong Un said North Korea's Covid-19 situation has become grave and admonished senior officials for lapses in the fight against the disease. Mr. Kim, speaking at a Politburo meeting, didn't specify what had gone wrong. North Korea has reported zero Covid-19 cases and tested more than 31,000 individuals, according to the World Health Organization's latest figures.
/on.wsj.com/2Uc5Y6T
Delta variant leaves southern Europe struggling to save summer tourism; Countries must balance welcoming foreign visitors against risk of variant's rapid spread
Martin Arnold and Daniel Dombey - FT
Southern European countries are in the unenviable position of having to restrict foreign tourism or risk the rapid spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, as economists warn of another disappointing season either way.
/on.ft.com/361JcRB
Australia locks down again as coronavirus cases surge; Latest outbreak draws attention to country's sluggish vaccination rollout
George Russell - FT
Australian authorities were battling to contain multiple coronavirus outbreaks on Wednesday, with half the nation's population and four big cities under lockdown.
/on.ft.com/2SCvEsJ
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | ICE Announces that ICE Trade Vault is Approved by the SEC as a Security-Based Swap Data Repository
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced that ICE Trade Vault, ICE's Trade Repository located in the United States, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission as a security-based swap data repository (SDR) and securities information processor (SIC).
/bit.ly/3w1Law5
Climate Transition Capital Acquisition 1 lists on Euronext Amsterdam; Successfully raising EUR190 million; 10th SPAC listing on Euronext's markets in 2021
Euronext
Euronext today congratulates Climate Transition Capital Acquisition 1, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) with a strong focus on climate transition, with its listing on Euronext Amsterdam (ticker code: CTCA1). It is the 10th SPAC listing on Euronext markets year to date.
/bit.ly/3juZWsu
Moscow Exchange Expands Opportunities for Money Market Participants
Moex
Since June 28, 2021, the Moscow Exchange has provided participants with new opportunities for conducting transactions in the money market. Participants can deposit precious metals (gold and silver) as collateral for repo transactions with KSU in a separately created property pool "KSU GC Metal". The inclusion of precious metals will expand the list of assets accepted as collateral and used for repo transactions with GCC, which will allow participants to more efficiently manage liquidity. In addition to the new property pool, four more types of pools are available to participants for formation: all bonds (GC Bonds), stocks (GC Shares), government bonds (GC OFZ), as well as all securities available for repo with a CCP (GC Expanded).
/bit.ly/363pXqQ
July 5, 2021 - non-trading day for US securities
Moex
The Moscow Exchange will not hold main trading on July 5, 2021, due to the non-trading day in the United States.
/bit.ly/2U8Ehf4
A new version of the Methodology for calculating currency fixings of the Moscow Exchange comes into force
Moex
From 01.07.2021, a new version of the Methodology for calculating currency fixings of the Moscow Exchange will come into force. The new version of the Methodology establishes that information on the values ??of fixings calculated for the previous trading day is disclosed on the exchange website on the Internet every trading day no later than 12:00 Moscow time. Information about the values ??of fixings can additionally also be disseminated in other ways and with a different frequency in accordance with the conditions established by the exchange.
/bit.ly/35YHTmC
Appointment of HKEX Risk Management Committee (Statutory) Members
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) welcomes the Government's appointments of Miranda Kwok and Sun Yu to its Risk Management Committee (Statutory) (RMC). The appointments were in accordance with the Securities and Futures Ordinance. They are for a term of two years with effect from 1 July 2021.
/bit.ly/3x2bIOZ
SET appoints two new EVPs for continued driving business with sustainable growth
SET
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has promoted Ratvalee Anantananont as executive vice president (EVP), Head of Sustainable Development Group, Sustainable Market Development Division; and Putthipong Skonthawat as EVP, Head of IT Solutions Business Group, Information Technology Division, effective July 1, 2021.
/bit.ly/3xbh0rE
Statement on FMA General Obligations Review
NZX
NZX notes the release today from the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of the 2020 NZX General Obligations Review. NZX Chief Executive, Mark Peterson, said it was pleasing to see acknowledgement of the improvements made to NZX's regulatory arrangements and monitoring under the new NZ RegCo operating and governance model.
/bit.ly/3xdyfbS
The Bermuda Stock Exchange To Join The Pyth Network - BSX To Provide Equity Market Data From The MIAX Pearl Equities Exchange
Bermuda Stock Exchange
The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) today announced that it is joining the Pyth Network, a decentralized financial market data distribution platform. BSX has subscribed to and will receive real time market data from the MIAX Pearl Equities Exchange and plans to provide market data to the Pyth network in mid-July. The Pyth Network, announced by Jump Trading Group in April 2021, is an Oracle network designed to provide high fidelity financial market data to the blockchain industry using a blockchain protocol on the Solana network.
/bit.ly/3h4qqPL
EURO STOXX® 50 tick size reduction: improving price discovery and the implicit spread
Eurex
As markets evolve, so too must their constituent parts and tick sizes are no exception. Setting the right tick size in any contract is a balancing act between enabling liquidity at each price point and risking creating artificially wide spreads in which the bid and the ask cannot be narrowed. Set the tick size to large and end users will face artificially high execution costs, set it too low and liquidity at each price point will dissipate.
/bit.ly/3x97dlB
Portfolio compression: Extension of fee holiday for portfolio compressors
Eurex
The Executive Board of Eurex Frankfurt AG decided to extend the fee holiday for portfolio compressors according to the Price List to the Connection Agreement, Provider Connection Agreement and STPIP and QTPIP Connection Agreement of Eurex Frankfurt AG
/bit.ly/3x72EZ3
Eurex EnLight: Fixed Income ETD product scope extension
Eurex
As of 2 August 2021, 23 Eurex Fixed Income ETD products from various product groups already available for trading in the Eurex order book and on the Eurex T7 Entry Services will also become available for trading on Eurex EnLight. Please refer to the attachment for an overview of the products.
/bit.ly/2SBgrbl
Member Section: Announcement of Member Section Release 2.3
Eurex
On 1 February 2021, Eurex introduced its redesigned "Member Section" client portal. With a new look and the intention to offer new features and a continuously enhancing user experience, a "release version" strategy is now introduced. This will provide more transparency on improvements.
/bit.ly/3h67Ir0
Order Routing System (ORS): Details for usage
Eurex
With this circular, we would like to inform you in detail about the Order Routing System (ORS) usage, as defined in § 60 of the Exchange Rules of Eurex Deutschland, and provided with Eurex Readiness Newsflash as of 9 June 2021.
/bit.ly/362ndtP
Deutsche Börse offers up-to-date data on the A7 analytics platform; New functionality developed based on customer feedback; Up-to-date data enables market participants to react quickly to developments
Deutsche Börse
Deutsche Börse has introduced daily market data on its online analytics platform A7. The cloud-based platform offers access to highly granular order-by-order market data from Eurex and Xetra.
/bit.ly/2SDENBt
Eurex introduces futures on ESG Fixed Income Indexes in cooperation with Bloomberg; Futures to be launched on both the Euro Corporate SRI Index and the Global Green Bond Index; New futures offer a range of possible use cases including liquidity and cash management, portfolio overlay strategies and hedging
Deutsche Börse
Eurex has announced that on 27 September it will launch futures on the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Green Bond SRI and Euro Corporate SRI indexes. This launch further underlines Eurex's position as the global venue for EUR fixed income derivatives and its pioneering stance in the growing ESG segment.
/bit.ly/3w59RYw
DZ BANK, BayernLB and Deutsche Börse demonstrate the functionality of digital smart derivative contracts
Deutsche Börse
For the first time, DZ BANK and BayernLB successfully traded an over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivative in the form of a digital smart derivative contract (SDC) and processed the resulting settlement payments on a daily basis via Deutsche Börse. They then fully automated the entire life cycle of this OTC derivative over several days and processed it in a legally binding manner. The institutes thus demonstrate that such a transaction can be carried out completely digitally.
/bit.ly/363FHu4
Cherry AG new in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Deutsche Börse
Cherry AG (ISIN: DE000A3CRRN9 ) has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since today . The initial price of the share was EUR 32.00 and the issue price was EUR 32.00.
/bit.ly/2SAo41K
Initial Listing of the Adjusted Interest Rate Russell 2000® Total Return Index Futures, Adjusted Interest Rate Russell 1000® Total Return Index Futures, Adjusted Interest Rate Nasdaq-100 Total Return Index® Futures, and Adjusted Interest Rate Dow Jones Industrial AverageTM Total Return Index Futures Contracts
CME Group
/bit.ly/3x98wRx
Variable Storage Rate (VSR) Results for Wheat and KC HRW Wheat Premium (Storage) Rates
CME Group
/bit.ly/2SAp4mu
Reduction of Basis Trade at Index Close ("BTIC") Block Trade Minimum Quantity Threshold for the Adjusted Interest Rate S&P 500 Total Return Index Futures, S&P 500 Total Return Index Futures, Nasdaq-100 Total Return Index Futures and Dow Jones Industrial Average Total Return Index Futures Contracts
CME Group
/bit.ly/3qIrkVt
Performance Bond Requirements: Energy - Effective June 30, 2021
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.
/bit.ly/3h6aigG
REVISED: Change in Terminology of Interest Rate Benchmark for USD Cash Balances
CME Group
REVISED: Interest on Excess Reserves (IOER) Rate being replaced with Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) Rate as benchmark for interest paid on USD PB cash.
/bit.ly/360cbp9
Product Modification Summary: Delisting of Four (4) Coal Futures and Options Contracts - Effective June 28, 2021
CME Group
Delisting of Four (4) Coal Futures and Options Contracts.
/bit.ly/3w1LV8p
Product Modification Summary: Daily and Final Settlement of the Dutch TTF Natural Gas Calendar Month Futures Contract
CME Group
Daily and Final Settlement of the Dutch TTF Natural Gas Calendar Month Futures Contract
/bit.ly/3hc2eeJ
Expansion of the Basis Trade at Cash Open ("TACO") Trading Session on CME Globex for the E-mini S&P 500 Futures, E-mini Nasdaq-100 Futures, E-mini Russell 2000 Index Futures and Basis Trade at Index Close ("BTIC") Trading Session on CME Globex for Yen Denominated Nikkei Stock Average Futures and USD Denominated Nikkei Stock Average Futures Contracts
CME Group
/bit.ly/3h6aw7w
SGX and Platts partner to provide commodities data and content
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today announced that SGX has added S&P Global Platts (Platts) market-leading benchmark assessments and news to its Titan OTC platform (Titan OTC), a one-stop, full-service over-the-counter (OTC) platform that supports block trade registration, order management, content and analytics across multiple asset classes and trading instruments.
/bit.ly/3qDa4B1
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Sucden Financial Research now on Refinitiv Eikon
Sucden
Sucden Financial, the global multi-asset execution, clearing and liquidity provider, has partnered with Refinitiv to distribute market insights and premium in-depth investment research via their Eikon platform.
/bit.ly/2UHDTEv
Symphony Partners With AI-Powered Fintech Saphyre To Offer Integrated Pre- and Post-Trade Solution
Symphony
Symphony, the leading financial markets' infrastructure and technology platform, has established a strategic partnership with fintech firm Saphyre, Inc. to integrate patented AI technology into pre- and post-trade workflows for front, middle and back-office teams. The integrated solutions are available through Symphony's platform.
/bit.ly/2SCslSl
When commission-free trading apps make over $100m in commission a month; eToro's commission fees increased by 141% in Q1. Not bad for a firm that just wants to "empower people to grow their knowledge and wealth".
Jemima Kelly - FT
If you are someone who spends any time watching videos on YouTube, the chances are that you will have seen one of eToro's ads. Probably one of the ones in which they tell you how easy it is to trade stocks on their platform, commission-free.
/on.ft.com/2SDCz55
APAC shows explosive growth in demand for fintech apps
Jamilah Lim - TechWire Asia
Fintech apps are rapidly gaining popularity in the Asia Pacific (APAC), dominating other regions, says a new report by marketing consultancy Appsflyer.
The State of Finance App Marketing tracked data on finance app usage across the globe, across five categories of apps. They include digital banks, traditional banks, financial services, loans, and investments.
/bit.ly/3ydhGwL
Fintech backed by NBA's Curry aims to help consumers build credit
Miriam Cross - American Banker
A newly launched fintech called Kikoff aims to help consumers build or rebuild credit by offering a $500 line of credit that can only be applied to purchases of financial education products and services at its online store.
The San Francisco-based startup, which launched to the public Wednesday after a six-month pilot, has raised $42.5 million in funding. Its backers include the NBA star Stephen Curry; Melissa Smith, CEO of the payments company Wex; and Teresa Ressel, former chief financial officer of the U.S. Treasury Department.
/bit.ly/3hi60St
Crypto Business World has launched a Job board for Fintech Industry
Press Release
Crypto Business World (CBW) is pleased to announce the launch of its transformative and user-friendly job board for the Fintech Industry. Crypto Business World has created a one-of-its-kind job portal focused on the fintech industry that allows prospective candidates to connect with their desired employers.
The website is designed to allow companies to quickly post jobs, connect with potential candidates, review and manage proficient job seekers all in one place. Employers have access to a database of talent with a growing list of qualified candidates. Candidates can upload and fill out their resumes in minutes, and the CBW job portal can provide candidates great exposure to fintech companies.
/prn.to/3y6otIq
SimCorp expands investment management platform with SIX data access; The partnership with SIX for reference, pricing and regulatory data is part of SimCorp's open platform drive for its SimCorp Dimension investment management platform.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
SimCorp has deepened its partnership with SIX to bring global reference, pricing and regulatory data to buy-side users of its investment management platform SimCorp Dimension.
/bit.ly/3w24M2V
BMO GAM deploys NICE's Teams cloud compliance recording to support remote working; The solution will help BMO Global Asset Management EMEA employees working remotely on Microsoft Teams meet regulatory requirements.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
BMO Global Asset Management has deployed the cloud compliance recording solution for Microsoft Teams from communications compliance specialist NICE for its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
/bit.ly/3x91NqP
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Russian Hackers Mounted Cyber Attack on German Banks, Bild Says
Patrick Donahue and Jake Rudnitsky - Bloomberg
State hacker group 'Fancy Bear' said to be behind the assault; German BSI cyber authority says has no knowledge of attack
A hacker group linked to the Russian state known as "Fancy Bear" conducted a cyber attack on critical German infrastructure and the country's banking system in the past few days, Bild newspaper reported, citing unidentified Western intelligence sources.
/bloom.bg/3hjY0jU
The Fall Of The Billionaire Gucci Master; Authorities say Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, perfected a simple internet scam and laundered millions of dollars. His past says a lot about digital swagger, and the kinds of stories that get told online.
Evan Ratliff - Bloomberg
For Ramon Abbas, the Instagram influencer popularly known as Ray Hushpuppi, @hushpuppi, Hush, or the Billionaire Gucci Master, birthdays were always a time for reflection. Reflection and extravagance—but then, extravagance was Hushpuppi's brand, a 365-days-a-year affair, a way of being. On Oct. 11, 2019, the day he turned 37, he was living in a penthouse apartment at the Palazzo Versace Dubai, with a private pool and hot tub on his lanai. A typical @hushpuppi post on Instagram, where he had more than 2 million followers, featured Abbas smiling in front of one of his Ferraris or Rolls-Royces, kicking back in his seat on a private jet, or exiting a designer store with a passel of rope-handled bags—#Hermes, #Fendi, #LouisVuitton. His look was always flawless: never the same outfit twice, #Gucci more often than not. You don't become the Billionaire Gucci Master any other way.
/bloom.bg/3jz43UB
What It Will Take to Protect Cities Against Cyber Threats; Local governments are increasingly targeted by hackers, but limited resources and sprawling computer systems make cyberattacks difficult to combat.
Linda Poon - Bloomberg
When Gary Brantley stepped into the role of Atlanta's chief information officer in October 2018, he inherited a system still reeling from a crippling cyberattack that forced employees to revert to pen and paper. It didn't take him long to see just how inviting the city's operations were to hackers.
/bloom.bg/3Ank6Ld
White House Sees Electric Grid as Blueprint for Post-Colonial Pipeline Cyber Push
David Uberti - The Wall Street Journal
Electric utilities serving about 56 million U.S. customers have either installed tools to better spot cyberattacks or have pledged to do so, a White House official said Tuesday, providing a blueprint for the gradual securing of other privately-owned infrastructure after the Colonial Pipeline Co. hack.
/on.wsj.com/3Acyo0U
Americans lost $29.8B to phone scams over past year, tripled from 2019
Will Feuer - NY Post
Americans lost a record $29.8 billion to phone scams over the past 12 months, nearly threefold the estimated loss in 2019, according to a new report. Nearly one in four Americans reported losing money to a phone scam over the past year, the survey published by Truecaller said, while the size of each victim's loss rose to $502 on average, up from about $350 a year prior.
/bit.ly/3x91Anx
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Monetary sovereignty at risk in push for digital euro - French central banker
Reuters
Europe's sovereign control over its money is at risk if it does not push ahead with plans for a digital euro and a European payments system, France's central bank head said on Wednesday.
/yhoo.it/2SCFPxz
The New Silk Road: A Special Report
Alexander Zaitchik, Jeanhee Kim, Kelly Le and Angie Lau - Forkast News/Yahoo Finance
When the first caravans carrying Chinese silks arrived in ancient Rome, it set off a female fashion craze. The wives of senators and generals had never felt or seen anything so lustrous. Like the Chinese elite, they adopted the material as a symbol of wealth and status, embroidered silk robes with gold and wore them to the grave.
/yhoo.it/3x6qS5K
NatWest caps transfers to crypto exchanges, including Binance, over fraud concerns
Tom Wilson - Reuters
Britain's Natwest Group has capped the daily amount customers can send to cryptocurrency exchanges, including major platform Binance, because of concerns over investment scams and fraud, a spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.
/yhoo.it/3x8YDn8
BNY Mellon Embraces Crypto, But One of Its Units Isn't So Sure
Ranjeetha Pakiam - Bloomberg
Insight Investment says price swings, low liquidity are risks; Bitcoin can be harder to evaluate than gold: FX solutions head
BNY Mellon says it's the first global bank to allow clients to hold, transfer and issue digital currencies. But one of its own asset management units isn't so sure about Bitcoin.
/bloom.bg/3x9QkHs
South Africa Moves to Tighten Crypto Regulation After Scams
Roxanne Henderson and Prinesha Naidoo - Bloomberg
South Africa is moving with more urgency to stiffen oversight of cryptocurrency assets after a proliferation of scams. A new regulatory timeline foresees finalizing a framework in three to six months, after the publication of proposals earlier in June that requires public comment before approval, according to Kuben Naidoo, chief executive officer of South Africa's banking regulator known as the Prudential Authority.
/bloom.bg/3w7Ksxk
After Crypto Scams, Regulatory Clock Ticking in South Africa
Roxanne Henderson and Prinesha Naidoo - Bloomberg
South Africa is moving with more urgency to stiffen oversight of cryptocurrency assets after a proliferation of scams.
A new regulatory timeline foresees finalizing a framework in three to six months, after the publication of proposals earlier in June that requires public comment before approval, according to Kuben Naidoo, chief executive officer of South Africa's banking regulator known as the Prudential Authority.
/bloom.bg/3y8mun4
Bitcoin, BTC News: Bank BNY Mellon Embraces Crypto, But Its Unit Isn't Sure
Ranjeetha Pakiam - Bloomberg
BNY Mellon says it's the first global bank to allow clients to hold, transfer and issue digital currencies. But one of its own asset management units isn't so sure about Bitcoin.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, may not be suitable for most institutional investors because of high volatility, low liquidity, governance challenges and ESG risks, according to Insight Investment, which manages about $1 trillion. Slow and expensive transactions may also hinder widespread adoption, according to Francesca Fornasari, head of currency solutions.
/bloom.bg/3hpfIm7
Businesses And Crypto: Finding The Value And Managing The Big Risks
Erik Sherman - Forbes
The good news for crypto currency is that El Salvador decided to adopt it as legal tender and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a proposal to let banks handle digital assets like Bitcoin.
The bad news for corporations? Multiple. When something is legal tender, you must have a way to handle it the banking proposal shows how unpredictable the values of cryptocurrencies are, a major crypto exchange is getting hit hard by countries refusing to allow it entry, and, as Tesla may well show in several days, when a company holds crypto and the price drops, it can mean a balance sheet hit, even if coin rises in value again.
/bit.ly/3dsIHnZ
CrowdStrike co-founder: Ransomware attacks can be addressed without crypto ban
Pia Singh - CNBC
The recent uptick in ransomware attacks can be addressed without outright bans on cryptocurrency, CrowdStrike co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Dmitri Alperovitch told CNBC on Tuesday.
"I agree that crypto is a huge part of the problem because of the ability to receive payments anonymously, but I don't think we should ban it," Alperovitch said on "Power Lunch." "I mean, if we banned computers we would also solve the problem, but no one is suggesting that."
/cnb.cx/3dtSY39
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Hong Kong Ramps Up Security, Warns Against July 1 Protests
Chloe Lo - Bloomberg
Hong Kong ramped up security and warned activists against holding any demonstrations as the Asian financial center prepares to mark a particularly sensitive anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.
/bloom.bg/3duKZCP
UK and Singapore agree post-Brexit deal for financial services
Reuters Staff
Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed a partnership for financial services with Singapore as part of its push for post-Brexit trade and investment deals.
/reut.rs/2SHNcUw
New York's Vote-Counting Fiasco Turns Mayoral Race Upside Down
Gregory Korte and Henry Goldman - Bloomberg
Election board botched release by counting "dummy ballots"; Candidates urge patience among voters until official July call
New York City election officials thrust the race for the next mayor into turmoil Tuesday after erroneously counting test ballots alongside election night results, producing about 135,000 "dummy ballots" that skewed results of the city's first major test of a new ranked-choice voting system.
/bloom.bg/2SCzNNr
'The point is taxation without representation' Some remote workers say they're being unfairly taxed — and they're suing to stop it
Andrew Keshner - MarketWatch
For Dusty Rhodes, the pandemic is putting a new spin on the classic "taxation without representation" complaint. Rhodes lives in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio and commutes to the city around three times a week. He pays a municipal income tax as a result of making an earning inside city limits.
/on.mktw.net/3qy8znG
Congress Faces Renewed Pressure to 'Modernize Our Antitrust Laws'; After a federal judge threw out state and federal competition cases against Facebook, calls grew for lawmakers to quickly change century-old monopoly laws.
David McCabe and Steve Lohr - NY Times
When the nation's antitrust laws were created more than a century ago, they were aimed at taking on industries such as Big Oil. But technology giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple, which dominate e-commerce, social networks, online advertising and search, have risen in ways unforeseen by the laws. In recent decades, the courts have also interpreted the rules more narrowly.
/nyti.ms/3qz1pQ6
The land was worth millions. A Big Ag corporation sold it to Sonny Perdue's company for $250,000.
Desmond Butler - Washington Post
It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal. In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue's company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America.
/wapo.st/3606BTx
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | CFTC Staff Issues Interpretation to Swap Dealers Regarding Calculating Capital Requirements
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Market Participants Division today issued an interpretation concerning capital and financial reporting obligations for swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs) that compute minimum capital requirements based on the respective firm's tangible net worth.
/bit.ly/3w2qvrz
Supreme Court Rules New Jersey Can't Block Natural-Gas Pipeline; Court says pipeline developer can invoke federal eminent domain power to acquire state property
Brent Kendall and Timothy Puko - WSJ
The Supreme Court on Tuesday removed a hurdle to the construction of a natural-gas pipeline through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, ruling the pipeline developer could invoke the power of the federal government to take state property needed for the project.
/on.wsj.com/2UfVjaZ
SEC Charges Self-Proclaimed Real Estate "Dealmaker" With Multiple Offering Frauds and Misappropriation of Investor Funds
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Matthew J. Skinner of Santa Clarita, California, and five entities he owns and controls - Empire West Equity Inc., Bayside Equity LP, Longacre Estates LP, Freedom Equity Fund LLC, and Simple Growth LLC - for conducting four unregistered and fraudulent real estate investment offerings between 2015 and 2020, through which he raised more than $9 million from over 100 investors.
/bit.ly/3xbhk9F
FMA publishes NZX Obligations annual review
FMA
NZX met its statutory obligations as a licensed market operator for the period 1 January to 31 December 2019, according to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA)'s annual review. The NZX General Obligations Review, published by the FMA today, found that NZX complied with its market operator obligations during the review period. The FMA will continue to engage with NZX on areas where it considers improvements should be made
/bit.ly/365yY2C
SFC publishes Annual Report 2020-21
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today published its Annual Report 2020-21 setting out its priorities for maintaining Hong Kong's status as a leading international financial centre and preserving the overall integrity and stability of the financial system. Amidst the unprecedented challenges arising from COVID, the SFC has doubled down on its front-loaded regulatory approach to tackle corporate fraud and intermediary misconduct. It is also working with the Hong Kong Police to combat online scams such as "ramp and dump" schemes and raise public awareness about them (Note 1).
/bit.ly/3h4fbXG
NFA orders Chicago, Ill. swap dealer The Northern Trust Company to pay a $999,000 fine
NFA
NFA has ordered Chicago, Ill. swap dealer (SD) The Northern Trust Company (Northern Trust) to pay a $999,000 fine.
/bit.ly/3qFA1Qj
PRA and FCA publish policy statement on bilateral margin requirements for uncleared derivatives
Uk FCA
The Prudential Regulation Authority and FCA have published a joint policy statement relating to margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives.
/bit.ly/3w6s0oL
CA urges victims to come forward after Court orders compensation for victims of illegal investment scheme
UK FCA
Following a hearing before His Honour Judge Hehir in Southwark Crown Court, the FCA has secured asset confiscation orders against 6 individuals who had been convicted of criminal charges in relation to an illegal investment scheme.
/bit.ly/364qx7G
FCA review finds weaknesses in some 'host' Authorised Fund Management firms' governance and operations
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has called for so-called 'host' Authorised Managers (AFMs) to improve their standards following a review of firms published today.
/bit.ly/3624QoX
IOSCO Consults On Sustainability-Related Regulatory And Supervisory Expectations In Asset Management
Mondovisione
The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is requesting feedback on proposed recommendations about sustainability-related regulatory and supervisory expectations in asset management.
/bit.ly/3604e3h
OSC Publishes 2021-2022 Statement of Priorities
Cision
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today published its 2021-2022 Statement of Priorities, which outlines 20 priority areas on which the OSC will focus resources and actions over the coming fiscal year, as well as the expected outcomes.
/yhoo.it/3qAU7eA
Second Former Deutsche Bank Commodities Trader Sentenced to Prison for Fraud Scheme
U.S. Department of Justice
A former commodities trader was sentenced Monday to 12 months and a day in prison for a scheme to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Cedric Chanu, 42, of France and the United Arab Emirates, was convicted by a federal jury on Sept. 25, 2020. Based on the evidence presented at trial, Chanu, who was employed as a precious metals trader at Deutsche Bank in Singapore and, later in London, engaged in a scheme to defraud other traders on the Commodity Exchange Inc., which was a public exchange. The defendant, together with James Vorley and other Deutsche Bank traders, defrauded other market participants through a deceptive trading practice known as "spoofing." Specifically, Chanu placed fraudulent orders that he did not intend to execute in order to create the false appearance of supply and demand and to induce other traders to transact at prices, quantities, and times that they otherwise would not have traded. Vorley was sentenced on June 21, also to 12 months and a day in prison.
/bit.ly/362CAT8
Keynote Address of Commissioner Dawn D. Stump: Back to the Future - The Year 1999; Remarks as Prepared for Delivery at the ISDA Derivatives Trading Forum
NFRA
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with the oft-cited saying that change is the only constant in life.[1] This idea seems particularly pertinent to our financial markets—which probably explains why I have been asked to speak today about how regulators adapt to changing market structure. Before I begin, though, please allow me to remind you that the views I express today in these remarks are my own and do not represent the views of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) or my fellow Commissioners.
/bit.ly/2SDzHFl
ASIC consults on amendments to Market Integrity Rules
ASIC
ASIC has today released Consultation Paper 342 Proposed amendments to the ASIC market integrity rules and other ASIC-made rules (CP 342). The proposed amendments are designed to reduce the regulatory burden on participants, streamline rules across rule books and remove ambiguity in existing drafting. Some changes have been made necessary by recent changes to the Corporations Act.
/bit.ly/363NlEQ
ASIC consults on crypto-asset based ETPs and other investment products
ASIC
ASIC has today released Consultation Paper 343 Crypto-assets as underlying assets for ETPs and other investment products (CP 343), seeking feedback on proposals about exchange-traded products (ETPs) and other investment products that provide retail investors with exposure to crypto-assets.
/bit.ly/2UbdOxp
SEC Charges Electronic Trading Platform for Operating As An Unregistered Broker-Dealer
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Neovest Inc., a provider of an order and execution management system (OEMS) that facilitates electronic trading, has agreed to pay a $2.75 million penalty for its failure to register as a broker-dealer in violation of the federal securities laws. This is the SEC's first case charging an OEMS provider for operating as an unregistered broker-dealer.
/bit.ly/2SCN20B
PODCAST: FINRA's Financial Intelligence Unit: Connecting the Dots
FINRA
Intelligence means different things to different people. But for FINRA, at its most basic, it is the actionable information that allows employees, from an organization's senior executives to its examiners or investigators, to make informed decisions.
/bit.ly/3qzd0i6
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Treasury Yields Signal Investors' Waning Economic Exuberance; Yield on 10-year note fell roughly a quarter-percentage point in second quarter as traders scaled back expectations for fiscal and monetary stimulus
Sam Goldfarb - WSJ
The recent drop in U.S. Treasury yields reveals some investors' doubts about how strong the economy will be in the coming years, even as inflation pushes to its highest level in more than a decade. Yields, which fall when bond prices rise, have surprised many by sliding in the second quarter of the year. That marks a reversal from the sharp rise of the year's first three months, when markets generally rode a wave of optimism that stimulus and reopenings would spur a roaring '20s type of acceleration.
/on.wsj.com/3x7gcEb
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Markets Need to Better Prepare for Climate Risk: Catalyst Update
Laura Millan Lombrana and Agnieszka de Sousa - Bloomberg
Gro Intelligence is working with finance companies to make climate an asset class as markets need to be better prepared to manage risks arising from global warming, Chief Executive Officer and founder Sara Menker said Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst virtual event.
/bloom.bg/3dqStac
How Serious Is JPMorgan's $2.5 Trillion Green Ambition? The bank has pledged a vast sum to advance climate objectives over the next decade. But the true test will be what it does with its own balance sheet.
Anjani Trivedi - Bloomberg
One of the world's largest financiers of fossil fuels just bought a company that oversees 1.7 million acres of forest in the U.S., Chile and New Zealand. Is that enough to make it green? The rest of Wall Street may hope so, but the reality is uncertain.
/bloom.bg/3y2kIng
Europe CO2 Prices May Rise More Than 50% by 2030, EU Draft Shows
Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg
European Commission is designing reform of EU carbon market; Higher emission prices would make fuels more expensive
The price of polluting in the European Union may rise to as much as 85 euros a metric ton by the end of the decade as the bloc tightens its carbon market and forces a swifter shift to clean energy, according to a draft analysis by the EU's executive arm.
/bloom.bg/2UHGka7
Big Oil Attacks the SEC Over Mandatory ESG Disclosure; Fossil fuel companies say the voluntary system of revealing financial risk is more than enough for shareholders.
Tim Quinson - Bloomberg
When it comes to being upfront with shareholders about the risk climate change poses to its survival, the oil industry—whose products are the key driver of global warming—is deeply divided.
/bloom.bg/3duhSzI
'Decisive' Decade in Climate Change Fight Needs Lending Surge
Anthony Di Paola - Bloomberg
Annual call on private funding rising to $3.2 trillion: Irena; UN climate adviser says market favors solar, wind as oil peaks
A surge in private lending for renewable energy projects this decade is key to meeting global targets to limit the rise of temperatures worldwide, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
/bloom.bg/3jphoyB
Increasing ESG Disclosure Not Enough
Shanny Basar - MarketsMedia
Steve Waygood, chief responsible investment officer at Aviva Investors, said a focus on environment, society and governance data and reporting is a positive move but more needs to be done to change the structure of international finance in order to meet the climate targets of the Paris agreement.
Waygood spoke on a panel at a webinar hosted by the London Stock Exchange Group and PRI, Shifting the trillions: what data is needed?, part of a series related to the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November.
/bit.ly/3w676WR
How Last Century's Oil Wells Are Messing With Texas Right Now; Ranchers and regulators are contending with uncontrolled leaks from thousands of abandoned oil and gas sites that could render some land "functionally uninhabitable."
Sergio Chapa - Bloomberg
Ashley Watt is nothing if not a friend of fracking. She's invested in mines that supply the sand frackers blast into the ground. Her family owns a ranch larger than Manhattan that's home to hundreds of oil and natural gas wells. Her Twitter handle is "Frac Sand Baroness."
/bloom.bg/3qATcuA
New EU Carbon Market to Have Shields From Price Spikes
Ewa Krukowska - Bloomberg
Stability tool planned for new heating, fuel emissions system; Europe plans to unveil reform of carbon trading on July 14
The European Union is designing a mechanism to protect its planned emissions market for heating and road transport fuels from excessive price swings. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm, is set to propose the creation of a new pollution trading system for buildings and vehicles as part of an overhaul to align the economy to a stricter 2030 climate goal. The new program will run adjacent to the existing EU Emissions Trading System, which currently covers factories, utilities and aviation and is poised to expand into shipping.
/bloom.bg/3xbmrqn
Equity investors warned of 20% shock from carbon tax; Asset manager Kempen outlines worst-case scenario for global stock market prices
Attracta Mooney - FT
Global equity markets could fall by as much as 20 per cent if companies around the world were suddenly hit by a $75 a tonne carbon price, according to new analysis that argues investors are failing to account for climate risks in equity valuations.
/on.ft.com/3qC68R0
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Credit Suisse Weighs Overhaul of Wealth Management Business
Patrick Winters, Ambereen Choudhury, and Marion Halftermeyer - Bloomberg
Swiss bank considers consolidation of separate businesses; Credit Suisse weighing options as part of broader review
Credit Suisse Group AG is weighing an overhaul of its wealth management business, consolidating several private banking units to save costs and centralize control as the sprawling global bank seeks to move past recent scandals.
/bloom.bg/3AgmS4u
EXCLUSIVE Scandal-hit Credit Suisse considers creating single private bank -sources
Oliver Hirt, Pamela Barbaglia - Reuters
Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) is considering centralising the management of its bankers to the world's wealthy, replacing a regional structure, three sources said, as part of efforts to fast-track an overhaul after a series of scandals.
/reut.rs/3h61KGT
Jamie Dimon in Paris Shows London's City Limits; After Brexit and Covid-19, the U.K. capital's network effects have taken a hit, allowing multiple continental hubs to coexist.
Lionel Laurent - Bloomberg
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is under no illusions as to the reasons behind Jamie Dimon's latest push into Paris, where JPMorgan Chase & Co. has just cut the ribbon on the new headquarters for its continental trading hub. While citing President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to support financial services in France, Le Maire's most emphatic praise was for the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union five years ago: "Thank you...Brexit."
/bloom.bg/2TkKzYY
UBS in Talks to Settle Belgian Probe Over Client Tax Dodging
Hugo Miller and Aoife White - Bloomberg
L'Echo reports bank reached $60 million deal to avoid a trial; Belgian allegations against UBS date back more than 15 years
UBS AG is in talks with Belgian authorities to resolve an investigation into allegations it helped wealthy clients dodge taxes, local prosecutors said Wednesday. Confirmation of the talks comes after newspaper L'Echo reported that the lender has agreed to pay almost 50 million euros ($60 million) to settle the case and avoid a public trial, citing sources it didn't name.
/bloom.bg/3AfDYQg
Barclays Moves Traders to London HQ in Office Shake-Up
Stefania Spezzati - Bloomberg
British lender will have one site in Canary Wharf after 2022; Banks across Europe are rethinking office needs after Covid
Barclays Plc is moving investment bankers and traders to its headquarters in Canary Wharf and leaving its other office in east London's financial district. The bank plans to vacate its office in 5 North Colonnade, a few steps from its headquarters, by the end of 2022, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. The lender will continue "to honor its obligations under the existing lease" and also renovate its remaining site at One Churchill Place, including creating a new trading floor.
/bloom.bg/3qCs8vd
Deutsche Bank Hong Kong IPO licence to expire after staffing error; Lapse means lender cannot sponsor listings in city as it tries to relaunch equities business
Nicolle Liu, Tabby Kinder and Hudson Lockett - FT
Deutsche Bank will be unable to sponsor initial public offerings in Hong Kong from July after the German lender failed to replace two regulated staff on time, disrupting the company's plans to relaunch its Asia equities business.
/on.ft.com/2SBdtnd
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Caribbean Financial Sector at Risk From G-20 Corporate Tax Plan
Jim Wyss - Bloomberg
Regional economies were already hit by collapse of tourism; GDP per capita won't fully recover until 2025, IMF forecasts
The Caribbean will take years to recover from the global pandemic that wiped out tourism, its prime economic engine. Now a new storm threatens its offshore financial sector.
/bloom.bg/3hjk0v5
Switzerland to Investigate Possible Link to Ecuador Bribery Case
Hugo Miller - Bloombeerg
Probe will determine if any crimes committed in Switzerland; Former Gunvor oil trader admitted in April to paying bribes
Swiss prosecutors opened a criminal probe to search for possible links to a $22 million bribery scheme orchestrated by an ex-Gunvor Group trader targeting Ecuadorean public officials. Federal prosecutors decided to start the investigation against "persons unknown" earlier this month after court documents in an existing U.S. criminal probe came to light, Swiss authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.
/bloom.bg/3ydliyN
Hong Kong's CSOP chases Ark success with China ETF launches; The manager aims to build a suite of funds around technology themes such as smart, green and healthy living
Selena Li - FT
CSOP Asset Management, one of Hong Kong's fastest-growing exchange traded fund issuers, has embarked on a product-launching spree to capture the rising demand for thematic exposure to technology companies.
/on.ft.com/2UcdYVt
EU bond sales run by four banks previously suspended for antitrust; Shortlived ban that threatened new source of fees ends after evidence of 'remedial measures'
Tommy Stubbington - FT
Four of the banks previously suspended from running bond sales for the EU were selected to manage the bloc's latest transaction on Tuesday, as Brussels sold new 5- and 30-year debt.
/on.ft.com/3h63srR
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Harvard's Money Manager Has a Plan to Turn Short Sellers Against Emitters
Janet Lorin and Akshat Rathi - Bloomberg
Richard Slocum oversees investments at Harvard Management Co., the U.S.'s largest college endowment, with almost $42 billion of assets as of June 2020 (1) . By the time he took over the job in March 2017, he'd managed institutional money for more than 20 years, and before that had worked at some of the top banks in New York helping companies access institutional private markets.
But even in spite of all that experience, he's starting from square one when it comes to zeroing out the Harvard endowment's greenhouse gas emissions, which the university pledged last year that it would do by 2050. There is as yet no industry standard for what a net-zero portfolio even means, leaving investors and portfolio managers largely in the dark as to how they should try to get there.
/bloom.bg/3duenJw
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