| January 13, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Kalshi, a prediction-market startup that lets users place bets on future events like elections and economic data releases, has appointed Donald Trump Jr. as a strategic adviser, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trump Jr., who has expressed his support for prediction markets, joins the company as it seeks to expand its business, particularly after a successful prediction during the 2024 U.S. election. Kalshi plans to leverage his expertise in forging new partnerships and reaching a broader audience. Despite regulatory challenges, such as restrictions on election betting, Kalshi has been gaining traction, especially after a court ruling allowed it to offer election contracts. The company faces competition from rivals like Polymarket, which operates with fewer regulatory restrictions. Kalshi's expansion comes amid growing interest in prediction markets, which have been integrated into mainstream platforms like Robinhood and Interactive Brokers.
Of course, Kalshi is also home to the gambling event contracts on The Big Game, aka The Super Bowl. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how I felt about gambling and my suggestions for it in a commentary titled Gambling, Murder and Mayhem: Welcome to the New Futures Markets of Today.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that Ian McGinley, director of the Division of Enforcement, will leave the agency on January 17, 2025. McGinley, who has led the division since February 2023, oversaw significant achievements, including pioneering enforcement actions in both traditional and emerging markets, and the establishment of two new task forces: Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology, and Environmental Fraud. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam praised McGinley for raising the division's performance to historic levels, strengthening its ability to detect misconduct, and prioritizing victim compensation. McGinley, in turn, reflected on the division's success in securing judgments far exceeding the CFTC's budget, noting the hard work of its staff. Before joining the CFTC, McGinley was a partner at a law firm and served for over a decade as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York.
In the latest edition of the Inside the ICE House podcast, Episode 453, Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy discusses the transformative impact of AI on business, highlighting its role in driving efficiency, automating tasks, and uncovering new opportunities. He explains how Snowflake is at the forefront of using AI to revolutionize data utilization, enabling smarter, faster decision-making. Ramaswamy also shares his belief that 2025 will be a critical "adapt or die" moment for businesses, positioning Snowflake for long-term success in an AI-driven future. Listen HERE on Apple Podcasts, HERE on Spotify, or watch HERE on YouTube.
MIAX Exchange Group is hiring a new Trading Floor Official Analyst at the MIAX Sapphire Options Exchange in Miami, Florida.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Abaxx reports first trade in new nickel sulphate futures contract, CFTC enforcement chief latest senior US regulator to step down, CME non-US volume up in 2024 to nearly a third of total, ANALYSIS: LME cites financials adoption amid volumes recovery, HKEX completes Swap Connect collateral expansion after approval and China needs a global commodities hub. How can Hong Kong step up?
In today's entry from "The Front Runner," Mike Harris is briefed by Danny Lombardo on his trading strategy in the chaotic environment of the CBOT trading floor. Lombardo stresses the importance of following strict guidelines: only trading ten contracts at a time, maintaining consistency with bid and offer announcements, and standing firm even when facing intimidation from other traders. Mike is eager but unsure about the stress and intensity of the pit.
As Mike enters the 30-year bond options trading pit, he struggles to navigate the chaotic crowd of shouting, aggressive traders. The frenzied atmosphere, with traders yelling and shoving each other, tests his resolve. Amid the chaos, Mike is physically bumped aside by Richie Armstrong, a seasoned and intimidating trader. Mike fights to stay grounded, realizing the high-stakes, high-pressure environment he's stepped into.
See today's complete entry of Auditions HERE and the complete script to date HERE. There are only two more episodes left of "The Front Runner" and then we are introducing "The Floor" from Daniel Sullivan and other contributors.
Thank you to all who supported Sarah and Scott and their family, the sister-in-law and brother-in-law of Patrick Lothian, who lost their home in the fires in Los Angeles. The Rebuild Hope for Sarah and Scott's Family GoFundMe campaign now exceeds $35,000 and includes some familiar names from this newsletter and some readers I did not know. You are the most blessed and precious people, thank you.
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:
- A 2025 Outlook, What Options Pricing May be Indicating? from Cboe.
- ANALYSIS: Cboe looks to new products after volatile year from FOW.
- Optiver, XTX Markets among consortium to back launch of Brazilian derivatives exchange A5X from The Trade. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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 Trading Technologies Expands Multi-Asset Offerings and Innovations JohnLothianNews.com Trading Technologies (TT) is set to expand its global reach and multi-asset capabilities, fueled by partnerships and innovations, executives Keith Todd and Alun Green revealed in an interview with John Lothian News at FIA EXPO. The firm plans to introduce access to Cboe's complex index options by early 2025, addressing growing demand from international clients, particularly in Asia. Watch the video »
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Don't Bank on Your Banking Job Outlasting AI; Artificial intelligence will create more and better jobs, but not without immense disruption.
Aaron Brown - Bloomberg
Over the past few months, I've had occasion to speak at a number of conferences concerned with the impact of artificial intelligence on financial jobs. My audience's interests vary. Some are students and young professionals concerned about job prospects. Some are bank executives and investors interested in employee cost projections. Some are customers and regulators who want to know how AI will change client experiences and protections. And in some cases, they are interested in learning how to exploit opportunities to sell to established financial institutions or to compete with them.
/jlne.ws/4gX4aUD
***** People last, jobs don't. People evolve and change with the times. That is one of the reasons why you are reading this newsletter, so you can adapt and change.~JJL
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The utterly plausible case that climate change makes London much colder; For some climate scientists, global warming threatens Britain with a more unexpected scenario
Henry Mance - Financial Times
It's a winter's day late this century and London is engulfed in a December blizzard, its third of the season. The air is sharp with ice. Oxford Street is deserted. For nearly two days, Heathrow's runways - all four of them - have stood empty. Visibility on the roads is near zero. In the following months, many English football pitches will lie idle, the groundsmen having given up trying to protect the surfaces from the elements. Bookmakers no longer take bets on a white Christmas: the probabilities have shifted too far.
/jlne.ws/4gOWaVB
****** This could bring new meaning to the term Brexit.~JJL
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Justice Department says there are 'credible reports' law enforcement took part in 1921 Tulsa massacre
Jasper Ward - Reuters
Some law enforcement members participated in arson and murders that occurred during the 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report released Friday. The report, which was released in the final days of President Joe Biden's administration, follows decades of advocacy efforts from massacre survivors, descendants and civil rights groups.
/jlne.ws/3E3M9Fq
***** The youngest victims of this massacre are 115 years old. We should be ashamed it took this long to produce such a report.~JJL
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How to Help People Affected by the LA Fires
Nisa Khan - KQED
At least four separate wildfires are continuing to rage across Los Angeles County - with fears that the blazes will expand even more due to increasing wind speeds. This is now the most destructive wildfire event in Los Angeles' history, with the combined Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Sunset fires claiming at least five lives and destroying an estimated 5,300 homes, buildings and landmarks. According to the L.A. County Sheriff, about 180,000 people in the area have been ordered to evacuate or told to prepare to evacuate. It could also become the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history.
/jlne.ws/426HcWA
*******The wildfires currently raging in Los Angeles are devastating in scale, surpassing the size of major historical fires like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the London Fire of 1666, and the San Francisco Fire of 1906. The Great Chicago Fire, which burned about 3 square miles (2,000 acres), was catastrophic in terms of its destruction but relatively small compared to today's wildfire blazes. The London Fire, while destructive, only consumed about 1 square mile of the city. The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 covered about 4.5 square miles (3,000 acres). In contrast, the recent Los Angeles fires have burned tens of thousands of acres-far outstripping these historical fires in terms of land affected, highlighting the growing intensity and scale of wildfires in California and the western U.S. as climate change and urban sprawl continue to exacerbate fire risks. Please support those affected.~JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top clicked item on Friday was the GoFundMe page "Rebuild Hope for Sarah and Scott's Family," a fundraiser organized by Amanda McCune and Jodi Butler on behalf of Sarah Rahn, Patrick Lothian's wife's sister, and her family. They lost their home and a lifetime of belongings in the LA Palisades Fire. Second was Among tens of thousands of displaced Angelenos, celebrities face the same devastating losses, from the Los Angeles Times. Third was How weather is impacting the spread of the Southern California wildfires, from CBS News.
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| Lead Stories | Nickel Sulphate Futures Debut in Singapore to Tap Growing Demand
Annie Lee - Bloomberg
A nickel sulphate futures contract has been launched by Abaxx Exchange in Singapore to meet growing demand for battery ingredients and address price divergence between types of the metal. Nickel sulphate is used to make batteries for electric vehicles, while the refined nickel that's deliverable against London Metal Exchange contracts is mainly used for steelmaking. There have been calls from the industry for new pricing systems that could serve as an alternative to the LME ever since a massive short squeeze on the bourse in early 2022. The nickel sulphate contracts "meet the growing demand for reliable price benchmarks in a rapidly transforming market," Abaxx Technologies Inc., which majority owns the exchange, said in a statement on Friday. "Nickel sulphate markets are evolving rapidly, and market participants need tools that reflect the realities of physical trading," Nancy Seah, chief executive officer of Abaxx Exchange, said in the statement.
/jlne.ws/4h85CTM
Asia's Oldest Stock Bourse Seeks Ways to Dent Rival's Dominance; Bourse looking to diversify revenue streams, expand colocation; BSE's cash equities market share has stayed sub-10% for long
Santosh Nair and Chiranjivi Chakraborty - Bloomberg
When Sundararaman Ramamurthy took charge as chief executive officer at BSE Ltd. in January 2023, few expected him to revitalize Asia's oldest equity exchange. Fast forward two years, and the market value of the 150-year-old exchange has increased nine-fold, revenues have nearly tripled, and its once dormant derivatives segment has gained ground on its larger rival, the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., the world's largest derivatives bourse. Despite this turnaround, the BSE's key challenge remains: growing its meager 7%-8% share of India's daily $11 billion cash equities trading, an area long dominated by the NSE. Tackling this issue is the main focus of the 62-year old leader's strategy.
/jlne.ws/4jf1EKX
Prediction-Markets Venue Kalshi Appoints Donald Trump Jr. as Adviser; A market for yes-or-no bets on elections, news and pop culture is getting a MAGA stamp of approval
Gunjan Banerji and Alexander Osipovich - The Wall Street Journal
Donald Trump Jr. is joining prediction-market startup Kalshi as a strategic adviser, a hire that could help the company expand its betting business. Kalshi lets users bet on the outcome of future events, from U.S. elections to news to economic-data releases. The platform burst into the spotlight during the recent election, when many traders turned to its yes-or-no contracts to wager on whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump would win the contest.
/jlne.ws/4acktKN
Big Banks Poised for Trading Windfalls From Election Volatility
Katherine Doherty and Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
The US elections in November stirred up more than just political anxiety: Volatility fueled by the vote, combined with global geopolitical upheaval, probably generated near-record trading revenue for Wall Street's biggest banks. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. are expected to round out 2024 with a combined 15% increase in trading revenue to $24.5 billion, the highest fourth quarter in at least five years. Their equities teams are expected to have had a particularly good quarter, as investors placed bets on how the election would affect stock prices.
/jlne.ws/405Yvo4
Big US banks set for $31bn quarterly profit as Wall Street business booms; Trading activity boosted in final quarter of 2024 by Donald Trump's election win
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
America's biggest banks are set to post a jump in profits to $31bn for the final three months of 2024 as Donald Trump's election victory sparked a jolt of trading activity on Wall Street and dealmaking activity picked up. Earnings of the biggest six US banks by assets - JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - are forecast to have increased 16 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier, after excluding nearly $10bn in payments lenders made to the federal deposit insurance fund at the end of 2023 to cover the costs of that year's regional bank failures, according to data from Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/3C7dTZm
Gensler Cautions Against Weakening Guardrails for Retail Traders
Lydia Beyoud and Nicola M. White - Bloomberg
Outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler has a word of caution for the next administration: be careful about messing with the guardrails that protect mom-and-pop traders. Going too far in rolling back disclosure requirements or broadening the definition of who qualifies as an "accredited investor" could harm the public, Gensler said in an interview Friday.
/jlne.ws/4h5nJdH
Europe Threatens to Trigger a Global Scramble for Natural Gas
Anna Shiryaevskaya, Priscila Azevedo Rocha, Stephen Stapczynski and Ruth Liao - Bloomberg
The world is bracing for a fight for natural gas supplies this year, prolonging the pain of higher bills for consumers and factories in energy-hungry Europe and putting poorer emerging countries from Asia to South America at risk of getting priced out of the market. For the first time since the energy crisis was turbocharged by Russia's war in Ukraine, Europe risks failing to meet its storage targets for next winter, setting the stage for one last scramble for supplies before new liquefied natural gas capacity starts to ease the situation next year.
/jlne.ws/3WiKn9T
Biden's consumer watchdog is taking a big last-minute risk; While some federal agencies paused rulemaking after the election, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been on a blitz.
Jordan Weissmann - Yahoo Finance
With the Biden administration winding down, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director has continued to roll out splashy and controversial new regulations, shrugging off angry warnings from Congressional Republicans. In December, the watchdog agency finalized rules drastically limiting overdraft fees on bank accounts, eliciting furious protests and an immediate lawsuit from the financial industry; it followed this week by finishing a regulation that bars medical bills from being included on consumer credit reports, much to the chagrin of banks, debt collectors, and many hospitals.
/jlne.ws/3DOGwed
Wall Street regulation needs a rethink under Donald Trump; The US banking system is burdened by a convoluted regulatory architecture that leads to inefficiencies and arbitrage
Amit Seru - Financial Times
The US banking system is burdened by a convoluted regulatory architecture, where multiple agencies - federal and state - oversee financial institutions with overlapping jurisdictions and, at times, competing interests. This fragmented structure, originally intended to enhance oversight, often creates inefficiencies, delays and inconsistencies in enforcement. Donald Trump's incoming administration now has an opportunity to address some of these flaws. The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank, where regulators shifted blame and acted too late, reveal a system that is reactive rather than proactive. It is time to question more whether this multi-regulator framework truly fosters stability or instead stifles innovation, responsiveness, and accountability.
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Bessent to Sell Hedge Fund Stake If Confirmed to Lead Treasury; Trump's Treasury pick lists assets worth at least $521 million; Hedge fund manager will divest dozens of assets if confirmed
Bill Allison - Bloomberg
Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the US Treasury Department, will resign from Key Square Group and sell his share of the partnership to avoid conflicts of interest if confirmed by the Senate. The resignation would immediately follow his confirmation as Treasury secretary, according to a document released by the US Office of Government Ethics. He'd sell his interest in Key Square Group, the macro hedge fund he founded and led, within 90 days after winning Senate approval. High-ranking government officials are required to disclose their holdings and plans to divest those that could pose conflicts prior to confirmation by the Senate, which will hold a hearing for Bessent on Thursday. The hedge fund manager disclosed assets worth at least $521 million in his personal financial disclosure, also made public Saturday by OGE, though his portfolio is almost certainly worth much more. Nominees list the value of their assets within broad ranges, topped at "over $50,000,000."
/jlne.ws/3Whc4zP
Bond Selloff Exposes 'Vulnerability' in Markets, El-Erian Says
Ye Xie - Bloomberg
A resilient labor market signals the US is leading the global economy, and high US bond yields put pressure on others like the UK, according to Mohamed El-Erian. US Treasuries sold off across the curve, sending 10-year yields to the highest since 2023, after the job report showed the employment in December advanced by the most in nine months. "It confirms, one, the economy remains solid, and two, the US continues to meaningfully outperform other advanced economies," El-Erian, president of Queens' College Cambridge, said on Bloomberg Television following the job report. "That theme of dispersion is going to become really important as we go forward."
/jlne.ws/4fTIJT8
Fighting Fires-and the Rumor Mill-as L.A. Burns; 'The worst I've ever seen.' Skyrocketing misinformation is forcing public officials to adopt a new playbook when tragedies hit their communities
Scott Calvert and Joshua Chaffin - The Wall Street Journal
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott has one of the most intense jobs in the nation right now: trying to distribute accurate public information during a historically destructive urban fire in America. On Thursday, a new unexpected foe cropped up: Alex Jones, among the world's most notorious conspiracy theorists, was posting on X that L.A. firefighters were battling the blazes using ladies' handbags as buckets because officials had donated equipment to Ukraine. The post has been viewed 29 million times.
/jlne.ws/3PxYsMQ
Global Bond Tantrum Is a Wrenching and Worrisome Start to New Year; The US Treasury market is leading a reset higher in borrowing costs, with potentially wide-ranging consequences.
Michael Mackenzie and Ye Xie - Bloomberg
For those unsettled by the relentless rise in government bond yields in the US and across much of the world lately, the message from markets is getting clearer by the day: Get used to it. The world's biggest bond market and global bellwether is leading a reset higher in borrowing costs, with the prospect of a prolonged period of elevated rates carrying consequences for economies and assets everywhere.
/jlne.ws/4fYjcIt
US Reliance on Saudi Oil Is Nearing Its Endgame; The energy market is no longer a constraint on American foreign policy in the Middle East.
Javier Blas - Bloomberg
For decades, one of Saudi Arabia's most strategic overseas outposts was a little-known office in New York City that coordinated its oil sales to American clients. An anonymous suite in Madison Avenue was the invisible hand gluing the petrostate to the US. Until it wasn't.
/jlne.ws/428px0z
OpenAI Emphasizes China Competition in Pitch to a New Washington; The startup's top execs plan to host gatherings in DC and at least two key swing states to bolster support for AI investment.
Shirin Ghaffary - Bloomberg
OpenAI's top executives are planning to host events in Washington DC and two key swing states to bolster support for investment in artificial intelligence as the company adapts to the biggest change in the US political landscape since ChatGPT launched. Later this month, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and others at OpenAI will host a gathering for policymakers in Washington to discuss a new "economic blueprint" for AI, the company said. The sweeping policy proposals, released Monday, call for the public and private sectors to work together in areas such as energy and infrastructure to keep the US ahead of China - a pitch likely to appeal to the incoming Trump administration.
/jlne.ws/3DRZGzX
Bill Ackman aims to create 'modern-day Berkshire Hathaway' with Howard Hughes deal; Investor has big ambitions for Texas-based property holding company
Antoine Gara and Zehra Munir - Financial Times
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has offered to buy the shares it does not already own in real estate developer Howard Hughes Holdings, in a move the billionaire investor suggested could turn the Texas-based holding company into "a modern-day Berkshire Hathaway". Ackman believes that Howard Hughes, which owns property in Las Vegas, Texas and Hawaii, is on the verge of generating the cash flow from its real estate to begin making acquisitions of other companies or property operations.
/jlne.ws/42cBNx3
BofA's CEO on Trump, King Charles and keeping the brakes on risk; Wall Street's quiet man Brian Moynihan says lender will benefit from pushback against regulation
Matthew Garrahan - Financial Times
Brian Moynihan talks quietly and quickly. So quickly it is almost impossible to keep up with him; I imagine playing the interview recording back at half speed to make sure I don't miss anything. "I talk fast," he acknowledges. "That's part of being one of eight kids." Moynihan was the sixth child, growing up in Ohio in a family of scientists, his father working for the chemicals group, DuPont. He opted for a different path, training as a lawyer and eventually choosing a career that would take him to the summit of Wall Street - and a friendship with King Charles - as the chief executive of Bank of America.
/jlne.ws/4jp0nBg
US activist Boaz Weinstein wants to be 'white knight' of UK stock market; Saba Capital founder says aim of his firm's campaign against seven investment trusts is a new strategy to help small investors
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
US hedge fund boss Boaz Weinstein has said he wants to be a "white knight" for UK investors and the London stock market by buying into the £266bn investment trust sector. The founder of New York-based Saba Capital is campaigning to take over seven UK investment trusts. Weinstein told the Financial Times that if he was successful, he would combine their assets and sell holdings in expensive US stocks to buy shares in UK companies and other UK investment trusts.
/jlne.ws/4gUtDya
Class of 2025? The IPO hopefuls that could revive London; After disappointment in 2024, financial services, industrials and consumer names could debut this year
Nikou Asgari, Akila Quinio and Ivan Levingston - Financial Times
This year is a crunch year for the London market. Nearly four years after Lord Hill's review of UK listing rules kick-started reform efforts, the stock market remains in the doldrums. New companies listing in London raised the least amount of money on record in 2024, at just £737mn according to Dealogic data, underscoring the challenges in revitalising the market. Fewer than 20 companies listed in the UK capital last year, the lowest number of additions to its stock market since the financial crisis in 2009.
/jlne.ws/3DQy9Ps
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine Captures North Koreans Fighting in Kursk, Zelenskiy Says; Security service says one appears to have a fake Russian ID; Pair are being held by Ukrainian security services in Kyiv
Olesia Safronova - Bloomberg
Ukraine is interrogating two North Korean soldiers captured while they were fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The pair, "though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said in a post on X that included photos of the alleged soldiers. Zelenskiy said he'd instructed Ukraine's security service to grant journalists access to the prisoners. "The world needs to know the truth about what is happening," Zelenskiy said.
/jlne.ws/4gOEREk
Zelenskiy Seeks to Exchange North Korean Soldiers for Ukrainians
Soo-Hyang Choi - Bloomberg
Ukraine is ready to return captured North Korean soldiers if leader Kim Jong Un can facilitate an exchange for Ukrainian soldiers being held in Russia, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukraine has said it captured two North Koreans fighting for Russia in the Kursk region. Zelenskiy said this is likely just the beginning, as Ukrainian forces are expected to capture more over time.
/jlne.ws/4ha2ln2
Donald Trump to urge Zelenskyy to lower Ukraine's conscription age to 18; Incoming US president plans to speak with Russia's Vladimir Putin within weeks, says new national security adviser
Isobel Koshiw - Financial Times
US president-elect Donald Trump intends to push Ukraine to lower its age of conscription in an effort to stabilise the country's front lines ahead of direct negotiations with Russia. Speaking to US network ABC News on Sunday, Mike Waltz, Trump's national security pick, gave the clearest picture yet of the new administration's plan to end the war.
/jlne.ws/4fZulsq
Gazprom considers record job cuts as Ukraine war ravages finances; Russian energy group hit by plummet in European gas sales and oil sanctions, putting 1,600 jobs on line
Anastasia Stognei - Financial Times
Russian energy group Gazprom is considering plans to axe 1,600 jobs - a record number - as the company struggles with plummeting gas sales in Europe and sanctions against its oil arm in the wake of the Ukraine war. Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller was notified in a letter about plans to make cuts at the central office workforce in St Petersburg, from 4,100 to 2,500, about 40 per cent, according to Russian Telegram channels and later confirmed by an official company representative.
/jlne.ws/4fVvph7
EU shipyards are fixing Russia's Arctic LNG tankers; Repairs and dry-docking enable Moscow to maintain market access for gas plant through the winter
Alice Hancock and Chris Cook - Financial Times
EU shipyards are repairing Russian ice-class tankers and offering them dry dock facilities, enabling Moscow to continue moving gas through the Arctic despite western sanctions on its energy sector. Without the maintenance work - provided by Damen shipyard in Brest, France, and Fayard A/S in Denmark - Russia's Yamal LNG plant would struggle to access crucial markets through winter when northern hemisphere gas prices are at their highest.
/jlne.ws/3Ci6I0p
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Gaza Ceasefire Talks Advance Ahead of Trump's Inauguration; Israeli envoys and Hamas officials hold indirect negotiations; The aim is to agree to a framework by time Trump returns
Ethan Bronner - Bloomberg
Talks between Israeli and Hamas envoys to pause the 15-month war in Gaza are making progress, with negotiations underway to release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and deliver a boost to humanitarian aid. Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say they've presented a detailed outline to Hamas in a second day of indirect discussions in the Qatari capital of Doha and are awaiting approval for final talks. A Hamas official outside Gaza, who asked not to be identified, agreed that a deal is closer than ever.
/jlne.ws/4gT2DPq
Hamas Has Another Sinwar. And He's Rebuilding; Under Yahya Sinwar's younger brother, Hamas recruits fighters in Gaza, drawing Israel into war of attrition
Summer Said, Anat Peled and Rory Jones - The Wall Street Journal
Hamas suffered a severe blow last fall when Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the group's leader and strategist behind the Oct. 7 attacks. But now the U.S.-designated terrorist group has another Sinwar in charge, Yahya's younger brother Mohammed, and he is working to build the militant group back up. Israel's 15-month campaign has reduced Hamas's Gaza Strip redoubt to rubble, killed thousands of its fighters and much of its leadership, and cut off the border crossings it might use to rearm. The well-trained and well-armed cadres who surged into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, are badly weakened.
/jlne.ws/4gQk9nu
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Traxys and HNK Alpha Execute First Nickel Sulphate Futures Block Trade on Abaxx Commodity Futures Exchange and Clearinghouse
Abaxx
Abaxx Technologies Inc. (CBOE CA:ABXX)(OTCQX:ABXXF) ("Abaxx" or the "Company"), a financial software and market infrastructure company, majority shareholder of Abaxx Singapore Pte Ltd., the owner of Abaxx Commodity Exchange and Clearinghouse (individually, "Abaxx Exchange" and "Abaxx Clearing"), and producer of the SmarterMarkets™ Podcast, today announced the execution of the first nickel sulphate futures block trade, traded between Traxys and HNK Alpha on January 10, 2025. Traxys and HNK Alpha traded 5 lots of April 2025 Abaxx Nickel Sulphate Singapore futures contracts at USD $14,600/tonne nickel contained. The trade was brokered by StoneX Financial Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNEX).
/jlne.ws/40uHk0I
CME Group International Average Daily Volume Reaches Record 7.8 Million Contracts in 2024, Up 14% from 2023
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its international average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 7.8 million contracts in 2024, up 14% from 2023. Reflecting all trading reported outside the United States, this was driven by record growth in Energy up 31%, Metals up 27%, Agricultural up 25%, Interest Rate up 12% and Foreign Exchange products up 10% compared to the same period in 2023.
/jlne.ws/3WeU49n
Euronext's leading board portal software iBabs joins G-Cloud 14 framework to enhance governance in the UK public sector
Euronext
Euronext today announced that leading provider of board portal and meeting management solutions iBabs, a Euronext company, has been accepted into the United Kingdom's G-Cloud 14 framework. The G-Cloud is a part of the UK Government's Digital Marketplace, managed by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). It enables public sector organisations to buy cloud services from pre-approved suppliers without the need for a lengthy tendering or competitive procurement process. This approval allows public sector organisations across the UK to access iBabs' governance software directly via the Digital Marketplace, streamlining the process of adopting trusted, reliable tools for effective governance in the UK.
/jlne.ws/3C7adXy
OTC Clear to Accept China Government and Policy Bank Bonds as Collateral for All Derivatives
HKEX
Authority (HKMA) and the People's Bank of China to allow China Government Bonds (CGB) and Policy Bank Bonds held by international investors through Bond Connect as margin collateral for all OTC derivative transactions cleared by OTC Clear, HKEX's clearing subsidiary. OTC Clear, which began accepting these instruments as margin collateral for Northbound Swap Connect from today, will also be accepting them as margin collateral for other derivative transactions by the end of the first quarter of 2025. OTC Clear will work closely with the SFC and the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) of the HKMA to prepare for this arrangement. More details will be announced in due course.
/jlne.ws/4ailukE
Matching Rules Relating to Chronologic Leg Ordering of Carry Trades
LME
This notice reminds Members of the Matching Rules in relation to the chronological leg ordering of carry trades entered into LMEsmart, and sets out a number of steps to ensure compliance with these Rules. As part of this, Fixed Penalties will start applying to Carry trade submissions with incorrect chronological leg ordering as from 3 March 2025.
/jlne.ws/40gJTlK
Nasdaq Announces End-of-Month Open Short Interest Positions in Nasdaq Stocks as of Settlement Date December 31, 2024
Nasdaq
At the end of the settlement date of December 31, 2024, short interest in 3,085 Nasdaq Global MarketSM securities totaled 12,137,206,474 shares compared with 11,912,589,852 shares in 3,063 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of December 13, 2024. The end-of-December short interest represents 2.50 days compared with 2.65 days for the prior reporting period. Short interest in 1,643 securities on The Nasdaq Capital MarketSM totaled 2,331,105,942 shares at the end of the settlement date of December 31, 2024, compared with 2,179,343,976 shares in 1,672 securities for the previous reporting period. This represents a 1.00 day average daily volume; the previous reporting period's figure was 1.00.
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Delisting of Securities of BIMI International Medical Inc.; The Dixie Group, Inc.; Clover Leaf Capital Corp.; Focus Impact BH3 Acquisition Company; Forza X1, Inc.; Vertex Energy, Inc; Slam Corp.; and HHG Capital Corporation from The Nasdaq Stock Market
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market announced today that it will delist the common stock of BIMI International Medical Inc. BIMI International Medical Inc.'s stock was suspended on August 22, 2024 and has not traded on Nasdaq since that time. Nasdaq also announced today that it will delist the Class A ordinary shares, unit, warrant of Slam Corp. Slam Corp.'s stock was suspended on August 27, 2024 and has not traded on Nasdaq since that time.
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Tradeweb Announces Date for Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, will release financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024 on Thursday, February 6, 2025 at approximately 7:00 AM EST. In addition, Tradeweb will host a conference call for investors.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | How Journalism Will Adapt in the Age of AI; The news business is facing its next enormous challenge. Here are eight reasons to be both optimistic and paranoid.
John Micklethwait - Bloomberg
We journalists are by nature a pretty paranoid lot. Permanently worried that somebody somewhere - governments, lawyers, our colleagues, the IT department - is about to do something terrible to us, or our copy. So far the 21st century has only fed that paranoia. Back in 2006, one of my first covers as editor of The Economist was entitled "Who Killed the Newspaper?" At the time the internet was wrecking the cozy business model of most big city papers that relied on their monopoly of classified advertising.
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AI set to fuel surge in new US gas power plants; Climate targets in peril as Big Tech turns to fossil fuels to feed energy demand
Amanda Chu and Jamie Smyth - Financial Times
The US is on the cusp of a natural gas power plant construction boom, as Big Tech turns to fossil fuels to meet the huge electricity needs of the artificial intelligence revolution - putting climate targets in peril. As many as 80 new gas-fired power plants will be built in the US by 2030, said energy consultancy Enverus, adding 46 gigawatts of capacity - the size of the electricity system in Norway and nearly 20 per cent more than was added in the past five years. The capacity surge is expected to unfold during the second term of Donald Trump, who has vowed to keep fossil fuels at the centre of the US economy, and signals a reversal of earlier forecasts for natural gas capacity to fall in the next five years.
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Britain doesn't need to walk a US or EU path on AI; Going our own way will unleash national renewal
Keir Starmer - Financial Times
Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation. It's not a technology that is coming. It is already here, materially changing lives. It's preventing illness in our NHS. It's creating exciting new companies in our economy. It's pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery in our universities. And it is turbocharging this government's plan to transform the country.
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*****The writer is the UK prime minister.~JJL
UK companies plan to invest in AI instead of hiring staff as costs rise; A new poll says 51% of business leaders aim to redirect investment this year
Marianna Giusti and Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu - Financial Times
Half of UK businesses plan to prioritise investment in artificial intelligence over hiring because of chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to increase employers' tax bills, according to a new poll. A total of 51 per cent of UK business leaders said they planned to "redirect investment from staff to AI" as a result of an increase in employers' national insurance contributions announced in the October Budget, according to a survey commissioned by Boston Consulting Group shared with the Financial Times.
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Why 'Cost Avoidance' Became an AI Buzzword for Holding Down Headcount; The term helps business technology leaders justify the high cost of artificial intelligence
Belle Lin - The Wall Street Journal
Businesses are starting to link their artificial intelligence initiatives with paring back hiring plans, or so-called cost avoidance, in an effort to justify investing in the technology. Questions have loomed over whether AI can generate returns for businesses, leading corporate technology leaders to search for ways to show its value. Sixty-eight percent of business leaders said investor pressure to demonstrate returns on generative AI investments was "important" or "very important," according to a December survey by global audit and consulting firm KPMG.
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Biden Administration Adopts Rules to Guide A.I.'s Global Spread; New rules aim to keep advanced technology out of China and to ensure that cutting-edge artificial intelligence is developed by the United States and its allies.
Ana Swanson - The New York Times
The Biden administration issued sweeping rules on Monday governing how A.I. chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, in an attempt to set up a global framework that will guide how artificial intelligence spreads around the world in the years to come. With the power of A.I. rapidly growing, the Biden administration said the rules were necessary to keep a transformational technology under the control of the United States and its allies, and out of the hands of adversaries that could use it to augment their militaries, carry out cyberattacks and otherwise threaten the United States.
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UK Will Explore Nuclear Power for New AI Data Center Plan
Yazhou Sun - Bloomberg
The UK is planning special districts for constructing data centers and will explore dedicating nuclear energy to the sites as part of a Labour government project to boost technology growth and the ecosystem for artificial intelligence. These "AI Growth Zones" will include enhanced access to electricity and easier planning approvals for data centers, the government said on Sunday. It said the first such zone will be in Culham, home of the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
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Uranium prices hit record as thirsty AI data centres add to market squeeze; Industry pressured to build new conversion facilities to cover end of US import waiver and impact of Ukraine war
Camilla Hodgson - Financial Times
The price of fuel for nuclear reactors has surged to a record high as demand from artificial intelligence data centres exacerbates a squeeze on the market following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prices for enriched uranium have hit $190 per separative work unit - the standard measure of the effort required to separate isotopes of uranium - compared with $56 three years ago, according to data provider UxC.
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | As China hacking threat builds, Biden to order tougher cybersecurity standards
A.J. Vicens - Reuters
President Joe Biden is calling for tighter cybersecurity standards for federal agencies and contractors in a new executive order due to be published in the coming days, pushing reforms designed to address repeated Chinese-linked cyber operations and cybercriminal operations, according to a draft of the order seen by Reuters. The order is set to land in the waning days of Biden's presidency, during which several high-profile, Chinese-linked hacks occurred, according to the U.S. government and cybersecurity research groups. The alleged activity targeted critical infrastructure, government emails, major telecom firms and, most recently, the U.S. Treasury Department. Beijing has rejected the allegations.
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How To Spot Malicious Apps: 16 Key Factors For Safe Downloads
Alex Vakulov - Forbes
Imagine downloading an app, excited for what it promises, only to find out later it is secretly mining your data, spying on you, or draining your bank account. Today, apps are gateways to our personal worlds, so the rising tide of malicious apps on major platforms is something nobody can afford to ignore. This guide offers tips to outsmart malicious apps and keep your tech experience secure. Spot the dangers before they find you! 1) App Description: Red Flags of Malicious Apps Apps promising extraordinary features-like spying on others or free premium services-are often scams. Claims like "Unlimited Free Netflix" are an immediate red flag. Malicious apps often have clickbait, vague, or poorly written descriptions. Authentic developers always provide professional, polished descriptions. While security certifications add legitimacy, some malicious apps fake these badges. They can bypass scrutiny by forging security seals.
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | MicroStrategy Buys $243 Million of Bitcoin After Share Sales; It is the 10th consecutive week the firm has bought Bitcoin; The latest purchases were funded with share sales proceeds
Monique Mulima - Bloomberg
MicroStrategy Inc. bought $243 million of Bitcoin, the 10th consecutive weekly purchase by the enterprise software company turned leveraged Bitcoin proxy. The Tysons Corner, Virgina-based firm now owns over 2% of all the Bitcoin that will ever exist as co-founder and Chairman Michael Saylor ramps up purchases as part of a buy and hold strategy he began in 2020. MicroStrategy owns around $41 billion of the original cryptocurrency.
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | What If Trump Were to Rule Like Putin? His focus on Canada, Greenland and Panama looks a lot like Russia's approach to its "near abroad."
Marc Champion - Bloomberg
Donald Trump has refused to rule out using force to acquire Greenland from Denmark or the Panama Canal from Panama. Don't rule out that he might just mean it. The mere thought that America would extort or go to war with a close NATO ally to illegally change their sovereign borders seems ridiculous. Presumably, it is. Yet the threats also sound familiar. As the president-elect and some of his team members warm up for the White House, they're speaking and behaving more like President Vladimir Putin's Russia by the day.
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SALT Deduction Cap Talk With Trump 'Positive,' Lawmakers Say; President-elect 'willing to engage in a solution,' LaLota says; Expiring Trump tax cuts cap SALT write-off at $10,000
Nacha Cattan and Billy House - Bloomberg
House Republicans from New York, California and New Jersey unhappy with a cap on state and local tax deductions cast talks on the issue with Donald Trump as "positive" but described no firm commitments from the president-elect. "He really communicated that he feels for how unaffordable the taxes are for our constituents," Representative Nick LaLota of New York, who attended the gathering of about 16 House Republicans with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said in an interview late Saturday. Trump "is willing to engage in a solution."
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Trump risks turning the US into a rogue state; Territorial expansionism and threats to neighbours and allies should set off alarm bells across the world
Gideon Rachman - Financial Times
"I think the president-elect is having a bit of fun". That was how the Canadian ambassador to Washington reacted to Donald Trump's first suggestion that her country should become the 51st American state. The menacing "joke" is one of Trump's preferred methods of communication. But the incoming president has now spoken at such length about his ambition to incorporate Canada into the US that Canadian politicians are having to take his ambitions seriously, and reject them in public.
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Trump Organization's Ethics Plan Loosens Curbs on Foreign Deals; The new plan is a break from the pledge made in his first term; Quinn Emanuel partner William Burck is named as ethics adviser
Annie Massa - Bloomberg
The Trump Organization submitted an ethics plan for Donald J. Trump's second presidential term that doesn't rule out striking new deals with foreign companies - a break with its approach to managing conflicts of interest when he first took office. The plan, released Friday, lacks any restriction on pursuing new business transactions with private foreign companies, though entering deals with foreign governments is prohibited. The development comes against the backdrop of recent Trump Organization tie-ups in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and India.
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If Trump goes big on tariffs, lawsuits are likely to follow; The declaration of an economic emergency to impose a series of universal tariffs could quickly attract legal challenges, meaning more uncertainty for importers.
Ben Werschkul - Yahoo Finance
The next administration's tariff plans could quickly become a focus of lawsuits that are sure to mean more uncertainty for businesses trying to weigh the effects of a second round of Trump trade policies in the coming months. The legal questions are expected to mount quickly if the president-elect and his team try to move quickly and dramatically on tariffs in the early days of his administration. New signals sent this week suggest that is their intention.
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Dozens of Congress members outperformed the stock market in 2024. Here's who gained the most - and why
Richard Hall and Eric Garcia - The Independent
The stock market had a record-breaking run last year, but members of Congress still managed to outperform it with their portfolios making staggering gains in industries where they wield legislative power and influence, such as tech and energy. More than 20 members made almost double the S&P500 average gain of 24.9 percent last year. The top five performers - Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Roger Williams (R-TX), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY) - increased the value of their portfolio value by more than 100 percent, according to a new report.
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OpenAI urges US to prioritize AI funding, regulation to stay ahead of China
Reuters
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Jack Smith, special counsel who oversaw Trump investigations, resigns from Justice Department
Robert Legare - CBS News
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German Far-Right Aligns With Trump on Takedown of Wind Energy; Party chair Weidel slams 'windmills of shame' at AfD event; BDEW energy association calls such outbursts 'devastating'
Petra Sorge - Bloomberg
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC, Shift4 Payments Reach Disclosure-Violation Settlement; Settlement resolves allegations that the payments-technology company failed to make required disclosures in several of its filings
Connor Hart - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission reached a $750,000 settlement with Shift4 Payments, resolving allegations that the payments-technology company failed to make required disclosures in several of its filings. The SEC said Friday that Shift4 failed to state in its annual filing and proxy statement for 2020 that the sibling of an executive officer, who was also a child of a director, received about $1.1 million in compensation as a non-executive employee of the company.
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Liquidnet to Pay $5 Million to Settle Market-Access, Data-Protection Allegations
Dean Seal - The Wall Street Journal
The electronic trading network Liquidnet has agreed to pay a $5 million regulatory fine to resolve allegations that it failed to protect confidential trading information and had faulty controls around market access.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that the broker-dealer, which is a U.S. subsidiary of the London financial services firm TP ICAP, violated the agency's market-access rule for a number of years by setting inappropriate credit thresholds, including having a default set at $1 billion.
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CFTC Announces Departure of Enforcement Director Ian McGinley
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that Division of Enforcement Director Ian McGinley will depart the agency on Jan. 17, 2025. Mr. McGinley has served as Director of Enforcement since February 2023. "Ian led the Division of Enforcement to two groundbreaking years, raising the bar to historical heights, which I am confident will deter future misconduct and continue to prioritize victim compensation," said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. "Under Ian's leadership, the division has brought first of their kind cases in both traditional and emerging markets, published cutting-edge guidance, and reorganized and consolidated our analytical units to strengthen the agency's ability to detect misconduct. On behalf of the entire CFTC, I thank Ian for returning to public service and leading the division during this critical time."
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CFTC Staff Issues Advisory Regarding the Compliance Date for Certain DCO Reporting Requirements
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Clearing and Risk announced today it issued a staff advisory regarding the compliance date for certain daily reporting requirements for registered derivatives clearing organizations. The requirements were amended in August 2023. [See 88 Federal Register 53664 (Aug. 8, 2023).] The compliance date for the amended requirements is February 10, 2025.
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Vince McMahon, Former CEO of WWE, Charged for Failure to Disclose to WWE Two Settlement Agreements He Executed on Behalf of WWE
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Vince McMahon, the former Executive Chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., for signing two settlement agreements, one in 2019 and one in 2022, on behalf of himself and WWE without disclosing the agreements to WWE's Board of Directors, legal department, accountants, financial reporting personnel, or auditor. Doing so circumvented WWE's system of internal accounting controls and caused material misstatements in WWE's 2018 and 2021 financial statements.
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Alternative Trading Systems Operator Liquidnet Charged with Violations of Market Access Rule and for Failing to Protect Confidential Subscriber Trading Information
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against broker-dealer Liquidnet Inc., an operator of multiple alternative trading systems (ATSs), for failing to have necessary controls and procedures regarding market access, for failing to protect confidential subscriber trading information, and for related disclosure failures. Liquidnet agreed to pay a $5 million civil penalty to resolve the SEC's charges.
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ASIC consults on relief for business introduction services
ASIC
ASIC invites feedback on whether the relief under ASIC Corporations (Business Introduction Services) Instrument 2022/805 (the Instrument), due to expire on 1 April 2025, should: be extended for a further period in relation to managed investment schemes, and reinstate previous relief from Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act) in relation to securities, other than debentures. If you consider that this relief should be reinstated, your submission should explain the reasons for, and benefits of, reinstating the relief and why the crowd-sourced funding (CSF) regime in Part 6D.3A of the Act does not adequately accommodate small- to medium-scale capital raisings.
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Joint Statement by Commercial Affairs Department, Singapore Police Force (CAD) & Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
MAS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a civil penalty of S$350,000 on Mr Gui Boon Sui @ Goi Chon Yan (Mr Gui) for falsely trading in the shares of Hiap Hoe Limited (HHL) and Hotel Grand Central Limited (HGC), and trading using the accounts of other persons without the authorisation of the brokerage firms.
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SFC welcomes expanding use of onshore RMB bonds as margin collateral in OTC Clearing Hong Kong Limited
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is pleased to note that OTC Clearing Hong Kong Limited (OTC Clear) today started accepting the Ministry of Finance and Mainland policy banks onshore bonds held under Northbound Bond Connect (CGBs) by offshore investors as margin collateral for Northbound Swap Connect transactions (Note 1). Building upon the arrangement, the SFC, together with the People's Bank of China (PBoC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), have reached a consensus that offshore investors will be able to use CGBs as margin collateral for all other eligible derivative transactions cleared in OTC Clear.
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SEBI and NISM Host 'Samvad' - A Symposium on Securities Market
SEBI
The Securities and Exchange Board of India and National Institute of Securities Markets in collaboration with NSE, BSE, NSDL and CDSL hosted Samvad - A Symposiumon Securities Market on the theme -'Capital for Growth' during 10-11 January, 2025 at NSE in Mumbai. The event was streamed live by NISM, NSE, BSE, NSDL and CDSL.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | A Bond Selloff Is Rocking the World. You Might Want to Take the Other Side.; A rare 'bear steepening' trade is pressuring governments and worrying investors
Jon Sindreu - The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street is really worried about bonds. It might be time to buy some. On Friday, a jobs report that blew past expectations pushed yields on 10-year Treasurys to 4.772%, the highest close since Nov. 1, 2023, and those on 30-year paper to 4.962%. What is spooking markets, however, is that much of the recent rise in yields doesn't appear to reflect expectations of stronger economic growth. Rather, it might be the result of investors applying a higher discount or "term premium" to hold long-term bonds, estimates by the Federal Reserve suggest. Some analysts attribute this to the possibility of Donald Trump's promised tariffs derailing the global economy and leading to a jump in inflation, while his tax cuts bloat budget deficits further.
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US Stock Market Faces Reality Check in High-Bar Earning Season; Strong economy, bull run has elevated profit expectations; Investors eye margins, outlook as Trump returns to Washington
Jess Menton - Bloomberg
The US stock market's strongest two-year rally since the dot-com bubble is heading into its next big test as companies start releasing quarterly earnings, providing a major gut check on whether valuations have outrun the underlying reality. On Friday, the S&P 500 Index slid 1.5% - its worst drop since mid-December - as an unexpected surge in hiring solidified speculation that the Federal Reserve won't cut interest rates again until the second half of the year.
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Heard on the Street's Stock-Picking Series; See which Heard columnists have picked the best-performing stocks
Spencer Jakab - The Wall Street Journal
The waning days of summer are a period of optimism for what has become America's favorite sport. Oh, we don't mean football-the stock market is where the action can be found these days. And, even though fund managers returned to their offices after what was a summer of surprisingly hard knocks for many, Heard on the Street's stock pickers returned for our eighth annual stock picking series with an undefeated record to start the season.
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Create a stock investing strategy in 3 steps
Catherine Brock - Yahoo Personal Finance
An investing strategy aims to guide confident, effective trading decisions. Without a strategy in place, investors are more likely to overtrade, let emotions take over, or inadvertently change their risk profiles. Any of those outcomes can limit long-term growth potential. Whether your objective is generating gains or income, having a defined approach provides the best chance of success in the stock market. Fortunately, you do not have to be an investing whiz to create a strategy that works for you.
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Los Angeles Utility's Municipal Bonds Drop Amid Destructive Wildfires
Amanda Albright - Bloomberg
Power revenue bonds sold by Los Angeles's municipal utility dropped on Friday amid the devastating wildfires in Southern California. Prices on municipal debt issued by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have declined this week. The average spread on debt due in 2045 widened to 112 basis points on Friday, up from as little as 95 basis points in December.
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Higher egg prices may extend far into 2025, and egg producers like Cal-Maine could benefit
Brooke DiPalma - Yahoo Finance
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US Farm Recovery Not Expected Until 2026 as Crop Prices Stay Low
Michael Hirtzer - Bloomberg
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Mercuria's Top Duo Shared $1 Billion Payday Amid Energy Crisis
Jack Farchy and Archie Hunter - Bloomberg
The two top executives at trading house Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. shared over $1 billion in dividends in 2023, marking one of the biggest paydays for any individual commodity traders in history. The vast haul for Chief Executive Officer Marco Dunand and President Daniel Jaeggi cements the pair's status as some of the biggest beneficiaries of the energy crisis of 2021-2023 that delivered a bonanza to the world's commodity traders - most of which, like Mercuria, are privately owned. The dividend was included in the company's audited financial accounts for the period, which haven't been previously reported.
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American Airlines' focus on ESG in 401(k) plan is illegal, US judge rules
Daniel Wiessner - Reuters
A federal judge in Texas on Friday said American Airlines violated federal law by basing investment decisions for its employee retirement plan on environmental, social and other non-financial factors. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor appeared to be the first of its kind amid growing backlash by conservatives to an uptick in socially-conscious investing.
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Exclusive-Barclays sustainability chief exits in latest bank reshuffle
Virginia Furness - Reuters
Barclays' group head of sustainability Laura Barlow has stepped down to pursue other opportunities, a spokesperson told Reuters, the latest senior reshuffle among Britain's top banks as the sector faces increased scrutiny over its climate efforts. In November, the sustainability chief at rival HSBC departed after her role was dropped from the bank's executive committee, which sparked concerns that the lender could water down some of its climate commitments. Banks' climate efforts have come increasingly under the spotlight after several Wall Street lenders recently exited a U.N.-convened climate alliance.
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LA Wildfires Push California Insurance Market to Its Limit; As the fires rage on, the disaster threatens to upend the fragile balance between climate risk and home insurance in California.
Leslie Kaufman, Lauren Rosenthal, Michelle Ma and Alexandre Rajbhandari - Bloomberg
If you live in California, you're always bracing for the Big One. This week it arrived in the form of uncontrollable flames. Liability experts equipped with climate models had been uneasily eyeing such a scenario, realizing in recent years that wildfire now had similar system-crashing potential as a major earthquake to upend lives and destabilize California's $10 trillion residential property market. A group convened to examine worst-case scenarios determined that three specific areas in the state were particularly vulnerable and capable of causing far-reaching fallout. One was Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles neighborhood reduced to ashes this week by one of at least five fires burning across the city.
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California's Wildfires Are a $9 Billion Threat to Power Companies; A fund meant to limit electricity providers' financial risk may come up short.
Liam Denning - Bloomberg Opinion
It is a measure of California's range of natural dangers that the state's Wildfire Fund is administered by the California Earthquake Authority. The cost of making a state prone to drought, flood, fire and tremors not merely viable but desirable, and who pays, have been controversial constants all the way back to Los Angeles' so-called "water wars" a century ago. Today, as LA contends with fire, the question of liability is as potent as ever.
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Oil Traders Betting on More Volatility Win Big on US Sanctions
Mia Gindis and Devika Krishna Kumar - Bloomberg
Oil traders who bought options in a bet that crude oil would snap out of its doldrums are set to reap the rewards as prices surge on fresh sanctions against Russia. A gauge of implied volatility jumped by the most in two months as futures surged more than 3% after the US announced new sanctions on two major Russian energy companies. The move by the Biden administration threatens to curb exports from Russia, tightening a supply balance that had been expected to tip into surplus.
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Enbridge Preps Pipeline Buildout for Trump-Driven Drilling Boom
Kevin Orland - Bloomberg
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Once Unwanted, Constellation Energy Is One of the Hottest Stocks; The power producer agreed to buy Calpine this past week for $16.4 billion and has become an industry darling amid surging electricity demand
Jennifer Hiller - The Wall Street Journal
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Natural Gas Exporter Venture Global Seeks $2.3 Billion in IPO
Geoffrey Morgan - Bloomberg
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Winter Storm Hits US South, Halting More Than 3,000 Flights
Brian K. Sullivan - Bloomberg
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Why Britain is running out of gas
Jonathan Leake - The Telegraph
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | BMO Expands Private Credit Reach Via Deal With Alternative Asset Manager
Chunzi Xu - Bloomberg
BMO Financial Group has entered a partnership with alternative asset manager Canal Road Group in a deal that will enable the latter to invest up to $1 billion in direct lending, as the Canadian bank seeks to grow its presence in the booming private credit market. The deal is the latest in a string of alliances between banks and private credit managers as they navigate tighter regulations and finite pools of capital. Citigroup Inc. and Apollo Global Management Inc.'s $25 billion deal last year and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s deal with Mubadala Investment Co. are examples of these tie-ups.
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Goldman Sees Financing as the Future. It Is Rearranging Itself to Reflect That.; New group to capitalize on a surge in private credit and anticipated boom in private-equity deals
AnnaMaria Andriotis - The Wall Street Journal
Goldman Sachs has ambitions to be one of the biggest players in the increasingly competitive world of financing. Its new structure will make that clearer. The Wall Street giant plans to combine three key groups in its global banking and markets division that work on finding or facilitating various types of financing deals, according to people familiar with the matter. Goldman plans to call the new group the Capital Solutions Group and unveil plans for it Monday.
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Northern Trust Names Melanie Pickett to Lead Asset Servicing in the Americas
Northern Trust
Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) announced today that Melanie Pickett has been named Head of Asset Servicing, Americas, leading its business serving institutional, corporate and asset manager clients in the region, effective January 1, 2025. Pickett, who has been Head of Asset Owners Americas since 2022, will continue to oversee product and service delivery to asset owner clients, including pensions, foundations, endowments, insurance companies and corporations, and assume responsibility for the business unit's asset manager clients. She will continue to report to Teresa Parker, President of Asset Servicing.
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Wedbush Taps Jefferies Veteran for Gaming, Lodging and Leisure Dealmaking
Gillian Tan - Bloomberg
Wedbush Securities hired Jefferies Financial Group Inc. banker Michael Murrer as head of gaming, lodging and leisure investment banking. Murrer, who's based in New York, will report to Wedbush's head of investment banking and capital markets, Burke Dempsey. He was a managing director at Jefferies, where he worked since 2010, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records, and was at UBS Group AG before that.
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JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon 'likely' to become chairman once he quits as CEO
James Franey - NY Post
JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon said Sunday he would "likely" take over as chairman of the Wall Street giant when he eventually steps down as CEO. "That's likely to happen. Again, that is up to the board, not up to me. But if it makes sense, I may be chairing for a couple of years," the 68-year-old Dimon said during an interview with Lesley Stahl on "CBS News Sunday Morning."
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Lloyds to Weigh RTO Compliance in Top Banker Bonus Decisions
Jennifer Surane - Bloomberg
Lloyds Banking Group Plc will consider how well some of its bankers complied with return-to-office requirements as part of its bonus decisions this year. The move only applies to a limited number of senior staffers, according to a person familiar with the matter. For about 80% of employees, office attendance will not be considered, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.
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Mets Owner Steve Cohen Had an Even Better Year Off the Field; Hedge fund Point72 to return as much as $5 billion in profits to investors and raise fees
Peter Rudegeair - The Wall Street Journal
Steve Cohen's New York Mets lost to a playoff rival to end their 2024 baseball season. The billionaire's hedge fund, meanwhile, topped the competition. Cohen's Point72 Asset Management generated a return in 2024 of about 19% in its flagship fund, according to people familiar with the matter. It outperformed funds from Citadel, Millennium Management and other peers as well as indexes tracking the broader hedge-fund industry. In 2023, Point72 gained 10.6%.
/jlne.ws/42a2CSA
BlackRock Faces New Deadline from US Regulator Over Bank Stakes; Firm has fresh demand from FDIC over its stakes in banks;l Move comes after BlackRock failed to meet a January deadline
Katanga Johnson and Silla Brush - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4hegWhp
Clearwater Analytics picks up SaaS business Enfusion in $1.5 billion deal; The transaction is expected to complete in Q2 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
Claudia Preece - The Trade
/jlne.ws/40u2QCN
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Zuckerberg Says Most Companies Need More 'Masculine Energy'; Rogan interview is latest in sign of shift toward Trump; CEO says Biden staffers would 'scream' and 'curse' about Covid
Riley Griffin - Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg lamented the rise of "culturally neutered" companies that have sought to distance themselves from "masculine energy," adding that it's good if a culture "celebrates the aggression a bit more." "Masculine energy I think is good, and obviously society has plenty of that, but I think that corporate culture was really trying to get away from it," Zuckerberg said during a nearly three-hour-long conversation with podcaster Joe Rogan published on Friday. "It's like you want feminine energy, you want masculine energy," Zuckerberg said during the episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. "I think that that's all good. But I do think the corporate culture sort of had swung toward being this somewhat more neutered thing," he added, before discussing his passions for mixed martial arts and hunting invasive pigs in Hawaii.
/jlne.ws/3WfEb2z
Deutsche Bank's New Bonus Plan Rewarding Teamwork Won't Be Easy; New policy could mean changes to individual traders' pay; Lazard has also sought to emphasize collegial behavior
Matthew Boyle - Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG's new bonus structure to reward collaboration raises a question: How can teamwork be measured and managed, particularly inside a cut-throat Wall Street culture? The German bank changed how it's evaluating staff this bonus season, giving more weight to non-financial metrics such as teamwork and collegiality. Each employee will now get a score on a five-point scale, calculated from two components: One is more quantitative and aligned with specific targets, while the other, more qualitative measures of behavior. It's not the first time a Wall Street firm has stressed the importance of playing nicely with others. At Lazard Inc., where Chief Executive Officer Peter Orszag instructed staff in 2023 to work "as one cohesive, global team," bankers are now required to rate colleagues on their teamwork - and the ratings are incorporated into decisions about pay.
/jlne.ws/3C3Y8m2
Don't Let the Data Fool You: The US Is Failing Working Women; The record labor force participation rate among prime-age females is a bit of a mirage.
Kathryn Anne Edwards - Bloomberg
The US economy notched a welcome, if puzzling, milestone in 2024 when the labor force participation rate among prime-age women - 25 to 54 - rose to a record 78.4%, increasing about five percentage points from a decade earlier. This is unambiguously good, as more workers equals a bigger economy. The reason it's perplexing is that many economists (including myself) warned at the end of 2023 that many women were about to drop out of the labor market as pandemic-era programs to support working mothers came to an end.
/jlne.ws/3PxGcmN
Has corporate purpose lost its purpose? Ambitions beyond profit are laudable, but don't always help to inspire staff
Stefan Stern - Financial Times
By mid-January some new year's resolutions will already have been broken. But bigger and more important motivational issues remain. Have people returned to work with enthusiasm and commitment? Are colleagues looking for opportunities elsewhere? Many have argued that if only businesses could be clearer about their purpose then employees would be encouraged, even inspired, to find meaning in their work. Companies have spent a lot of time and resource trying to describe their "purpose" internally and externally. But the return on that investment has been disappointing. It can be a concept that is hard to pin down. Perhaps purpose has lost its purpose.
/jlne.ws/4haj8GD
The truth about green business; Expecting companies to put climate change concerns ahead of profits is foolish
Pilita Clark - Financial Times
Imagine lazing by a pool on a warm summer's day and drifting off into a gentle sleep when suddenly, someone throws a bucket of iced water in your face. Then another. And another, until you are drenched, cold and very much awake. This captures how I felt over the New Year break as I read a newly translated book about a central question of our time: why is that, even as the dangers of a warming world grow ever more alarmingly visible and even though we have known what to do for decades, the response to the gathering climate threat continues to be so inadequate?
/jlne.ws/3WhrZyb
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Trump Says World Is Free-Riding on U.S. Health Spending. He Has a Point; The president-elect might bring back efforts to make other countries pay more for drugs, but there are pitfalls
David Wainer and Jon Sindreu - The Wall Street Journal
Pharmaceutical companies often invest billions to develop new drugs, with the U.S. market as a crucial target. The benefits extend globally. Consider the $11 billion acquisition of Pharmasset by Gilead Sciences more than a decade ago, which led to the development of Sovaldi, a groundbreaking hepatitis C treatment. When Sovaldi was launched in the U.S. at $84,000 for a 12-week regimen, it sparked widespread criticism for its high cost. Policymakers and patient groups slammed Gilead. Yet there was a clear beneficiary from America's willingness to pay sky-high prices: the rest of the world. Egypt, for example, which at the time had the world's highest hepatitis C prevalence, got a 99% discount on the drug at the time.
/jlne.ws/426vGun
Nvidia Unveils Tie-Ups With Illumina, Mayo Clinic in Health Push; Company envisions multiple ways AI will invigorate health care; Chipmaker points to drug discovery as a prime application
Ian King - Bloomberg
Nvidia Corp. announced tie-ups with Illumina Inc., the Mayo Clinic and other health-care organizations as part of its push to encourage the adoption of artificial intelligence by that industry. Illumina, a gene sequencing company, will adopt Nvidia's generative AI platform for chemistry and biology, the world's largest chipmaker said Monday in a statement. The Mayo Clinic is deploying Nvidia's latest hardware and some of its software to improve digital pathology, the company said.
/jlne.ws/3PB5z7n
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese regulators limit game playing time for kids to 15 hours a month during school break
South China Morning Post
Chinese children will be limited to a total video game playing time of about 15 hours during their month-long winter school holiday, under strict rules designed to prevent them becoming addicted to games. Tencent Holdings and NetEase, China's two biggest video-gaming companies, have signalled their adherence to existing regulations, which add up to no more than 16 hours during the school holiday period which begins mid-January.
/jlne.ws/4j9l9of
Option Trades in China ETFs Swing From Gain to $100 Million Loss
David Marino - Bloomberg
Traders who briefly had been sitting on more than $100 million in paper profits after buying call options in early December on a pair of tiny China-linked ETFs appear to have closed the positions Friday at almost as big of a loss. From Nov. 29 through the first week of December, traders picked up calls allowing the holder to buy 18 million shares of Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3x Shares (ticker YINN) by January 2026. And on Dec. 2, about 210,000 of the May $15 calls on the Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Shares Bull 2x Shares (ticker CHAU) were bought.
/jlne.ws/4h8Jrg9
Baltics Count Down the Days to Leaving Russian Energy Grid; A two-story clock in the Lithuanian capital is tracking the minutes until the countries switch to Europe's electricity system.
Milda Seputyte, Aaron Eglitis, and Ott Tammik - Bloomberg
On the bank of the river Neris across from Lithuania's old town of Vilnius, a two-story digital clock is counting down the minutes until the Baltic countries sever their remaining ties to Russia's energy infrastructure. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which share a 1,015-mile-long border with Russia and Belarus, have been among the most vocal countries in the European Union about the threat posed by Moscow. Following the invasion of Ukraine, they stopped importing Russian crude oil and natural gas. Now, they're taking the final step: disconnecting from Russia's electricity grid.
/jlne.ws/42b72Zv
India's Central Bank Said to Ease Rupee Drought With FX Swaps; RBI adds around $3 billion of rupee liquidity to local market; The move complicates RBI's efforts to fight slide in the rupee
Bhaskar Dutta - Bloomberg
India's central bank is using dollar-rupee swaps to ease a liquidity squeeze in the country's financial system, according to people familiar with the matter. The Reserve Bank of India used swaps to inject rupee liquidity worth around $3 billion on Friday, the people said, asking not to be named because they aren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The swaps had maturities of three, six and 12 months, they said. The RBI didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
/jlne.ws/42ct2mP
Saudi Miner Maaden, Bahrain's Alba End Aluminum Deal Talks
Kateryna Kadabashy - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabian Mining Co. called off talks to swap two units for shares in its Bahraini rival that would have created one of the world's biggest aluminum producers. Maaden, as the Saudi company is known, had said in September that it was planning to sell the entire share capital of Maaden Aluminium Co. and Maaden Bauxite and Alumina Co. to Aluminium Bahrain BSC, also called Alba. In exchange, Alba would issue new shares for allotment to Maaden.
/jlne.ws/4j6jwrz
Poland Doesn't Sell Out at First T-Bill Auction Since Covid
Konrad Krasuski and Agnieszka Barteczko - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4jdgRfy
IMF Publishes Grim Evaluation of Argentina's $44 Billion Deal
Patrick Gillespie - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4fSVqO2
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| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. |
INT. THE CBOT TRADING FLOOR. ONE MONTH LATER
We pan across the trading floor, taking in the various pits. Some are bustling with activity, while others have traders sitting on the steps, chatting casually. Our focus settles on Mike Harris and Danny Lombardo in a booth next to the 30 year bond options pit. Danny wears a casual shirt beneath his bright blue jacket, while Mike is sharply dressed in a pressed shirt and yellow tie. Danny leans in, giving Mike some last-minute instructions.
DANNY LOMBARDO
My boss agreed to back you, but you need to follow my instructions to the letter. If anything goes wrong, it falls on me. Mike, distracted, scans the floor and spots Lena a few booths away, working at her usual frenetic pace.
DANNY LOMBARDO (CONT'D)
You listening to me?
MIKE HARRIS
Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead.
See today's complete entry of Auditions HERE and the complete script to date HERE.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Americans Are Tipping Less Than They Have in Years; Frustration with rising menu prices and ubiquitous tip prompts lead to a six-year low
Heather Haddon - The Wall Street Journal
People are tipping less at restaurants than they have in at least six years, driven by fatigue over rising prices and growing prompts for tips at places where gratuities haven't historically been expected. The average tip at full-service restaurants dropped to 19.3% for the three months that ended Sept. 30 and hasn't budged much since, according to Toast, which operates restaurant payment systems. The decline highlights a bind restaurants find themselves in, as they face rising costs of ingredients and labor amid customer frustration over spiraling bills.
/jlne.ws/4hbTe59
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