| August 30, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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John Lothian News | |
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Celebrating 25 Years of the John Lothian Newsletter - A Leap of Faith in 1999
JohnLothianNews.com
Twenty-five years ago, in August 1999, I began producing this daily newsletter as a marketing and networking tool to promote my electronic trading brokerage services, Commodity Trading Advisor offerings, and my personal brand.
I was competing with large discount commodity firms that were transitioning to electronic trading, and I needed to market myself and my firm and find a way to stand out, but I didn't have many monetary resources to do so. Therefore, I had to think outside the box.
My specific goals at the time were to increase the number of my brokerage clients at The Price Futures Group, to raise funds for Defender Capital Management and Hargrave Financial Group, two CTAs I represented, and to elevate my profile amid industry changes that I felt could undermine my career path.
Read more »
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham is stepping up her leadership and calls for proactive industry action to deal with the changing market structure and innovation. She is advocating for increased public engagement by the CFTC to address the evolving trends and innovations. Her statement follows the CFTC's approval of Kalshi Klear LLC as a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). Emphasizing the need for a proactive regulatory approach, Pham highlighted that, "There's no doubt that we are seeing a renaissance in markets, ushered in by new technology that enables direct access and continuous all-to-all trading." She urged the CFTC to organize a staff roundtable with input from industry leaders, market participants, and public interest groups to better understand these market shifts. Pham believes this would help establish clear, forward-looking rules that promote responsible innovation and maintain the resilience and vibrancy of U.S. markets.
Cboe Global Markets has agreed to acquire a 14.8% minority equity ownership stake in Japannext Co., Ltd., a provider of financial services and market solutions, by purchasing shares from SBI Holdings Inc. This acquisition will enhance Cboe's involvement in the alternative market space, with the transaction subject to regulatory approval.
Trabue Bland joined ICE's new 'Markets Storylines' podcast hosted by Michael Reinking, senior market strategist at the NYSE for an episode titled "Late-Cycle Tech Earnings, ICE's Trabue Bland on Natural Gas Markets". Trabue joined the podcast at the 3:55 minute mark to talk about natural gas markets, giving some updates over the last week. Here is a summary of his comments: EU natural gas storage facilities are currently 90% full, which is significant given Norway's ongoing scheduled pipeline maintenance. Global natural gas futures have reached a record open interest, surpassing 22 million contracts on August 26, indicating strong interest from firms and traders in the natural gas markets. Additionally, the first 2033 TTF (Title Transfer Facility) trade took place this week, suggesting that European gas traders are anticipating long-term stability and are increasingly focusing on TTF as a key benchmark for natural gas, aligning with trends in the U.S. market.
Specifically, global natural gas futures reached a record open interest of over 22.4 million contracts on August 26, surpassing the previous high set in late June this year. TTF futures also saw a series of open interest records in August, with the latest peak at 2.14 million contracts on August 23, representing a 50% increase year-over-year. Additionally, TTF options open interest has risen by 80% compared to the same time last year, reflecting growing market engagement and confidence in these instruments.
Here are excerpts from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Liquidnet has identified derivatives as an important part of its recently launched multi-asset offering, highlighting that futures and options are among the primary asset classes that vendors are adopting in the shift towards multi-asset trading. Euronext is prioritizing its commodities strategy by leveraging in-house clearing to offer new product flexibility, as evidenced by recent product launches. Meanwhile, the CFTC fined Nasdaq Futures $22 million for failing to adequately manage an incentive program. In the UK, the EMIR Refit regulation is posing unique challenges compared to its European counterpart, according to DTCC. In the Nordic power market, EEX is defending its focus and commitment despite Euronext's criticisms about the lack of traction for EEX's Nordic power futures, while Euronext claims traders are seeking a 'Nordic solution' to better cater to the market. Additionally, OSTTRA achieved a record compression of Mexican peso swaps at CME Group, facilitating a transition to a new currency reference rate. Lastly, DTCC is considering amendments to its new US Treasury clearing mandate in response to competitiveness concerns.
The second annual TT Connect will be held in London on September 12, featuring Amazon Web Services, Cboe Global Markets, CME Group, and SGX Group as sponsors. The event will cover topics like AI's impact on capital markets, using AI for research, building data platforms, transaction cost analysis, and regulatory technology. Attendance is limited to 120 participants, primarily targeting traders and brokers. Registrants from other organization types may be waitlisted due to capacity constraints. Find out more and register HERE.
The Business Conduct Committee of the CME Group has announced disciplinary actions effective Thursday, August 29, 2024, against several individuals and entities. Benson Hill Inc. and Amelia Fitzgerald are listed under Chicago Board of Trade cases 22-1612-BC-1 and 22-1612-BC-2, respectively. Under the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, disciplinary actions have been issued against Sumanth Devarakonda (CME 23-1670-BC-1), Rishikesh Potdar (CME 23-1670-BC-2), and ARB Trading Group LP (CME 23-1670-BC-3). Additional actions include cases against Sergey Vinnik (CME 23-1668-BC) and Nicklas Volbi (CME 23-1659-BC).
Today is the last working day for Gary DeWaal, who officially retires from the financial services industry today. We caught up with Gary for an interview last Friday when he was attending his last conference, the Risk Management & Trading Conference produced by the RiskMathics Financial Institute in Mexico. You can watch that interview HERE.
Meanwhile, R.J. O'Brien celebrated the retirement of Carol Fernandez after 31 years of service. Carol, who began her career on the CBOT floor in the early '90s, became a key figure at the Help Desk. Her long-standing commitment highlights the importance of building lasting relationships within the company and with clients. RJO Chairman and CEO Gerry Corcoran said, "Carol's career is a testament to the power of long-term relationships in business," reflecting her impact on RJO's success and growth through the years.
Also in people news, Jim Esposito starts today as the new president of Citadel Securities
Thank you to Bill and Joan Brodsky for donating to the LaSalle Street Move Scouts Forward Fundraiser. Their generosity is greatly appreciated.
The fall camping season is about to begin and The Wall Street Journal is ready with its story "REI's Labor Day Sale Is Here, and These Are the Products We Recommend." The subheadline is "Stock up on outdoor gear and apparel with these quality deals."
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:
- Chicago Options Entrepreneurs Net Millions in IG Stock Sale from Bloomberg.
- Optimism with a Dash of Resignation: Derivatives Markets in Europe from BornTec.
- Pre-market trades blamed for record Vix surge from Risk.net ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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LaSalle Street Move Scouts Forward Fundraiser
www.tinyurl.com/LaSalle4Scouts
On September 25, the Pathway to Adventure Council of the Boy Scouts of America is hosting the LaSalle Street Move Scouts Forward event at the Chicago Board of Trade Building. This annual tradition, dating back to 1971, brings together professionals from LaSalle Street to support Scouting in our community. The highlight of the evening will be a pinewood derby race. You'll have the opportunity to build your own car or lease one at the event. It's a fantastic way to tap into your competitive spirit while enjoying cocktails and delicious food with colleagues and friends. Your participation will directly benefit Scouting programs that help develop leadership skills and character in our youth. There are various sponsorship levels available to suit your preferences. The event will be held at Ceres, with plans to move outdoors if weather permits. It's a perfect opportunity to network, have fun, and make a difference.
Click Here to Register »
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Misinformed about misinformation; Are ordinary citizens really helpless to distinguish truth from lies, and is misinformation as prevalent as we have been led to believe?
Tim Harford - Financial Times (opinion)
After a spasm of concern about the role of misinformation in fuelling racist riots in England, don't expect things to calm down: the US election is approaching, and with it a crescendo of anxiety about online lies. The received wisdom now seems to be that misinformation - or perhaps Russian disinformation - is everywhere, that ordinary citizens are helpless to distinguish truth from lies, and furthermore that they do not want to. This was a narrative that began in 2016, the year in which the UK voted for Brexit after a campaign dominated by a lie on the side of a bus, in which Donald Trump, a serial fabulist, won the US presidency and in which "post-truth" entered the discourse. But there is a problem with this story of ubiquitous online misinformation. In fact, there are three.
/jlne.ws/4g8S1My
*****Misinformation is not as bad as we think? This seems fishy.~JJL
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How to stay happy when you have lost a fortune; John Foley, co-founder of Peloton, is remarkably unshaken by his Icarus-like fall from being a billionaire
John Gapper - Financial Times
For a man who lost nearly $2bn, at least on paper, John Foley sounds remarkably cheerful. The co-founder of the home fitness company Peloton told the New York Post this week that "I've lost all my money. I've had to sell almost everything in my life." Undaunted, he concluded that "potentially, the best days of John Foley are ahead of me". I worry about people who speak of themselves in the third person, but that is not the most striking thing about his attitude. Foley appears to be unnaturally calm about having plunged Icarus-like from billionaire status to being forced to sell multimillion homes in the Hamptons and New York City. He fought to stay solvent while Peloton's value fell to less than 4 per cent of its pandemic peak.
/jlne.ws/4fYXghL
****** Many people would love to know the answer to this question, but first, they would need to have made or inherited the fortune.~JJL
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Australian bank weighs ban on office-hours drinking after trader misbehaviour; ANZ seeks to call time on drunk workers as part of review of culture
Nic Fildes - Financial Times
One of Australia's largest banks is reviewing whether it should ban its staff from drinking alcohol during work hours following incidents of bad behaviour on its Sydney trading floor. ANZ has launched a review of its trading activities as it continues to deal with the fallout of a series of issues related to its culture and trading methods that it says has damaged its reputation. The bank said three traders had left the bank in recent months, with another issued a formal warning, after being drunk in the office.
/jlne.ws/479hYYf
****** Welcome to the London of the 1980s, where afternoon drinking was the norm.~JJL
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Thursday's Top Three
Our top story Thursday was Bloomberg's Chicago Options Entrepreneurs Net Millions in IG Stock Sale. Second was The Wall Street Journal's Feuding Founders of Two Sigma Hedge Fund Stepping Down. Third was Aeron MeetUp - Spring Roadshow 2024 - New York Highlights, an Aeron video on YouTube.
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| Lead Stories | Secretive Trader 'Hector' Seen as Global Kingpin for Iranian Oil; How the son of an adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei is said to have become a major player in international energy markets.
Ben Bartenstein, Jack Wittels, and Archie Hunter - Bloomberg
When Milavous Group Ltd. rented an upper floor in a swanky Dubai corporate tower two years ago, few had heard of the firm. Yet within months it won outsized influence in global energy markets - said to be steered by a businessman whom traders describe as one of the most powerful kingpins distributing Iranian oil worldwide. From its perch in Dubai, Milavous has raked in billions of dollars in sales from commodities originating out of Iran, Russia and elsewhere, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity discussing confidential business dealings. At its highest levels sits Hossein Shamkhani, the soft-spoken son of a former Iranian security chief who remains a prominent adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
/jlne.ws/3XnBc95
How Japan Ignored Climate Critics and Built a Global Natural Gas Empire; Japan's championing of gas minted it a $14 billion profit last year, while entrenching dependence on a fossil fuel as experts urge a faster shift to renewables.
Stephen Stapczynski, Spe Chen, Jin Wu - Bloomberg
Every six hours, somewhere in the world, a shipment of liquefied natural gas controlled by a Japanese company leaves a port. The vessels - giant, floating thermoses that keep the fuel super-chilled - cross the globe, destined for pipelines in energy-hungry countries in every hemisphere. These tankers, which handle a quarter of all LNG shipments, are only the tip of Japan's increasingly dominant gas empire. With the enthusiastic backing of the government, corporate Japan now offers a complete package for countries looking to replace aging, and near-unfinanceable, coal power stations with gas: Its engineering firms will provide technology and parts, its utilities some fuel, and the banks will offer financing.
/jlne.ws/3WZ2kcY
Markets should beware the normalisation of threats; Seeing multiple shocks as usual could end in disaster
Gillian Tett - Financial Times
Next month Wilbur Ross, 86, the private equity luminary and former commerce secretary under Donald Trump, will publish a memoir, Risks and Returns. Investors should pay attention. For tucked into the saga of Ross's striking business career - and conversion from left to right-wing politics - there is a startling episode involving Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chair. Back in 2018, as Ross tells the tale, the president became so furious with Powell's decision to raise interest rates that he told Ross to "please call this idiot, and explain to him that I will repudiate" his job unless Powell changed tack.
/jlne.ws/4g1GfmR
China's squeeze on the aspiring classes will have an economic cost; Beijing needs to adopt more ambitious measures to improve consumption
Diana Choyleva - Financial Times (opinion)
My friend Wang seems to have it all. A finance professional in shiny Shanghai, Wang has earned his success. He was the first of his farming family to go to college; then the first to go abroad to study and work in the UK. China kept calling - his parents were broody for grandchildren - so Wang headed home to a lucrative job in the country's sprawling financial sector. He married his college sweetheart and this summer showed me their second child, a beautiful, bawling infant who makes Wang's parents happy and his government too. The couple can expect subsidies and cheaper childcare as the authorities hustle to reverse the population collapse accelerated by China's former "one-child" policy.
/jlne.ws/3yUhBUH
China Steps Into Bond Market as Angst Grows About One-Way Bets
Bloomberg
China has stepped into the nation's government bond market, ending months of speculation that officials would act to rein in a dangerously sharp bond rally. The People's Bank of China sold long-dated bonds and bought short-maturity securities in a move that resulted in a net purchase of 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) of debt in August, according to a statement on its website. The trades may help curtail aggressive gains in the nation's bonds that have pushed benchmark yields to a record low as investors bet the central bank will ease monetary policy to support growth.
/jlne.ws/4e5iGaY
Merrill Lynch to triple number of active ETFs on its platforms; The wirehouse is considering ETF versions of mutual funds already on its platforms, as well as new strategies
Brian Ponte and Alyson Velati, Ignites - Financial Times
Merrill Lynch plans to triple the number of active exchange traded funds it features on its platforms, including ETF versions of mutual funds that already exist, according to a senior executive. Stephen Patrickakos, head of traditional investments for Merrill, told Ignites the wirehouse's full-coverage platform houses 100 active ETFs and aims to hit 300 over the next three to five years. Merrill intends to select ETFs for its platforms by evaluating their size and performance, Patrickakos said.
/jlne.ws/4cMgxzO
Connamara's EP3 Platform Powers the Launch of New Predictions Exchange, ForecastEx
A-Team Insight
ForecastEx, the new exchange focused on predictions markets for US economic indicators and global climate events, has successfully launched, utilising Connamara Technologies' EP3 exchange and clearing platform. Related: Meet Connamara at Buy AND Build Summit: The Future of Capital Markets Technology, London 2024!The exchange allows trading on a range of US economic metrics, such as Unemployment Claims, Consumer Price Index, Retail Sales, Fed Funds rates, and Housing Starts. Additionally, global climate-related contracts include forecasts on temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels.
/jlne.ws/3XrHW4P
How open trade saved us from a global food crisis; Fears of an international hunger emergency after the Ukraine invasion proved unfounded
Alan Beattie - Financial Times (opinion)
It's hard to get through the day at the moment without someone leaping out at you with the latest warning about one international food crisis or other and the fragility of globalisation. On top of the widespread perception in the US that grocery prices are too high and this is Joe Biden's fault - causing his aspirant successor Kamala Harris to launch a firmly vague campaign against price gouging - there are well-publicised problems in the supply chains for tea, coffee, chocolate and olive oil. Now, no one can deny that climate change poses a serious medium-term threat to agricultural production and yields, and that governments are doing a miserably bad job at combating it. But overall, global markets for basic food commodities have performed astonishingly well in recent years, overcoming the shock of the Ukraine invasion.
/jlne.ws/3yWQyIk
Why we can't afford to ignore charities; The voluntary sector offers a cost-effective path to public service reform
Stephen Bubb - Financial Times
Britain has a long and proud history of charitable giving dating back over 1,600 years. The King's School, Canterbury, thought to be the oldest surviving charity still operating today, can trace its history back to 597AD. It marks the beginning of a strong philanthropic tradition that has endured over centuries. Yet while we support charities, we hardly ever consider their immense potential as drivers of economic growth, social cohesion and catalysts for public service reform.
/jlne.ws/3X3Xs6B
Central Bank of Eswatini > SEC; Could do better. C-
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
Fighting financial fraud is like the world's biggest game of whack-a-mole. Bang one scammer over the head and three more pop up. That's natural, because there's a virtually unlimited supply of greedy dumb people and greedy unscrupulous people to take advantage of them. Regulators therefore have a hard, often thankless job trying to protect us from ourselves.
/jlne.ws/4g6OjCT
Nvidia's Future Relies on Chips That Push Technology's Limits; As the company pushes the chip-making envelope, manufacturing hurdles are causing delays and higher costs
Asa Fitch - The Wall Street Journal
To keep its lead in AI chips, Nvidia is banking on the idea that bigger is better. Bigger is also turning out to be more difficult. The digital brains of the company's newest artificial-intelligence chips, roughly the size of four Scrabble tiles arranged in a square, are about twice as big as the ones whose sales propelled an explosion in Nvidia's business since early last year. The new chips, dubbed Blackwell, boast an even bigger increase in performance-they house 2.6 times the number of transistors-and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has said demand is red hot.
/jlne.ws/3MqVyYL
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Exclusive: Top Ukrainian pilot killed when US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed
Daria Tarasova-Markina and Ivana Kottasova - CNN
A top Ukrainian pilot was killed when a US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, just weeks after the long-awaited planes arrived in the country, a Ukrainian military source told CNN. The Ukrainian Defense Forces do not believe pilot error was behind the incident, the source added. Pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as "Moonfish," was killed in the crash while "repelling the biggest ever aerial attack" by Russia against Ukraine, said the source, adding that the pilot was buried on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/4g7H4uo
Exclusive: Russia grapples with China payment hurdles; Chinese banks cautious of Russian Exclusive-Russia payment hurdles with China partners intensified in August, sources say
Reuters
Some Russian companies are facing growing delays and rising costs on payments with trading partners in China, leaving transactions worth tens of billions of yuan in limbo, Russian sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters. Russian companies and officials for a few months have pointed to delays in transactions after Chinese banks tightened compliance following Western threats of secondary sanctions for dealing with Russia. The sources said the problem has intensified this month.
/jlne.ws/4cJrtyh
'Who blinks first?' Why Putin still hasn't driven Ukraine out of Russia
Erin McLaughlin and Matthew Bodner and Yuliya Talmazan and Dan De Luce - NBC News
It's been more than three weeks since foreign troops swept into Russia for the first time since World War II, yet there is little sign that Ukrainian forces are about to be driven back across the border. The Ukrainian advance may have stalled since the daring Aug. 6 assault, but Kyiv claims it controls nearly 500 square miles of Russian territory and has taken hundreds of prisoners of war.
/jlne.ws/4e6WA8f
Russia Is About to Try Using Crypto to Get Around Sanctions
Camomile Shumba, Amitoj Singh - CoinDesk
Russia will begin trialing cross-border crypto payments next week in an effort to circumvent international sanctions - but this effort may not work, several policy and legal experts told CoinDesk. Legislation passed at the end of July and swiftly signed into law by President Vladimir Putin does not lift an existing ban on using cryptocurrencies as legal tender for regular payments within Russia, but instead allows cross-border payments with crypto.
/jlne.ws/4cKGYGo
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Israeli air strike on Gaza aid convoy kills five Palestinians; Fourth attack on aid workers this week follows shooting of armoured car for the World Food Programme
Mehul Srivastava in London and Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv - Financial Times
At least five people were killed in an Israeli air strike on an aid convoy carrying fuel and medicine to a hospital in southern Gaza, a day after a food convoy was shot at near an Israeli checkpoint. The five Palestinian men killed were in the lead vehicle of a convoy for the Washington-based American Near East Refugee Aid agency, whose movements had been co-ordinated with the Israeli military, the agency and two other people familiar with the issue said.
/jlne.ws/3z3qknt
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Tokyo Commodity Exchange Welcomes MUFG Bank, Ltd. as a Broker Member for Participating in TOCOM Electricity Futures Trading
TOCOM
Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (TOCOM) has today approved MUFG Bank, Ltd. as a TOCOM Broker Member. MUFG Bank has also been approved by Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) for an Energy Futures Clearing Qualification on the same date. MUFG Bank will be the 10th Broker Member of TOCOM and the 11th Energy Futures Clearing Member starting from the scheduled Membership acquisition date of September 6, 2024, and will become able to offer services from brokerage to clearing of TOCOM's Electricity (Power) Futures to both local and global market participants.
/jlne.ws/4cK7Gif
Resetting of Price Limits for Lean Hog Futures and Pork Cutout Futures
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3Z1YtP1
Approved Application for Increase in Wheat Regularity
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3ANNI9e
Amendments to Rules XXXL01.E. ("Termination of Trading"), XXXL02.A. ("Cash Settlement"), and XXXL03. ("Disclaimer") of the U.S. Dollar/Offshore Chinese Renminbi (USD/RMB) Futures and the Micro U.S. Dollar/Offshore Chinese Renminbi (USD/RMB) Futures Contracts Commencing with the October 2024 Contract Month and Beyond
CME Group
/jlne.ws/3XpgplG
CME STP Notices: August 29, 2024
CME Group
/jlne.ws/4cLoXYk
HKEX Welcomes Lubna Olayan and Marty Flanagan to International Advisory Council
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Friday) pleased to announce the appointment of Lubna Olayan, Chair of the Executive Committee of Olayan Financing Company and Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), and Marty Flanagan, Chairman Emeritus of Invesco Ltd. (Invesco), to HKEX's International Advisory Council (Council) with effect from 1 September 2024.
/jlne.ws/4e41TVE
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Intel Weighs Options Including Foundry Split to Stem Losses
Dinesh Nair, Ian King and Ryan Gould - Bloomberg
Intel Corp. is working with investment bankers to help navigate the most difficult period in its 56-year history, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is discussing various scenarios, including a split of its product-design and manufacturing businesses, as well as which factory projects might potentially be scrapped, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
/jlne.ws/4e0H9yc
Nvidia faces looming test on use of chips; When AI models go into widespread use in applications for consumers and businesses, demand may change
Richard Waters - Financial Times
Rivals of Nvidia, which dominates the market for AI chips, have long hoped that an inflection point would help them make up lost ground. That point may be at hand. So far, however, there is little sign of Nvidia ceding its lead - though it is still an open question as to whether the AI market will develop in ways that eventually erode its dominance.
/jlne.ws/4g1AAND
Ask Claude? Amazon turns to Anthropic's AI for Alexa revamp
Greg Bensinger - Reuters
Amazon's revamped Alexa due for release in October ahead of the U.S. holiday season will be powered primarily by Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence models, rather than its own AI, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Amazon plans to charge $5 to $10 a month for its new "Remarkable" version of Alexa as it will use powerful generative AI to answer complex queries, while still offering the "Classic" voice assistant for free, Reuters reported in June.
/jlne.ws/4dIhhaI
Google considering large data centre in Vietnam, source says, in nation's first by US big tech
Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio - Reuters
Alphabet's Google is considering building a large data centre in Vietnam, a person briefed on the plans said, in what would be the first such investment by a big U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation. Google is weighing setting up a "hyperscale" data centre close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, the source said, declining to be named because the information was not public.
/jlne.ws/4e0zobA
Telegram's financial future in doubt as chief faces criminal inquiry; French authorities' action against Pavel Durov hits IPO plans and leaves bondholders nursing steep losses
Hannah Murphy and Robert Smith - Financial Times
Telegram's hopes for a lucrative IPO within two years have been hit by the criminal charges brought against the messaging app's chief executive, as the company's bondholders suffer steep losses over the events of the last few days. Pavel Durov told the Financial Times in March he was pushing forward with IPO plans, after rebuffing approaches from potential investors who he said gave the Dubai-based company "$30bn-plus valuations".
/jlne.ws/3MosUHI
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Challenges and victories women see in cybersecurity
Jordyn Alger - Security Magazine
"Celebrating women in cyber is an important way to recognize the invaluable contributions women make to the cybersecurity industry," says Lynn Dohm, Executive Director of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS). "We've made tremendous progress in training and mentoring women in cybersecurity. Now, the industry must work to create inclusive environments that enable women to succeed and advance in cybersecurity roles."
/jlne.ws/3z0UhVm
US firms see spike in cybersecurity services as data breaches increase: ISG
Saumya Jain - Reinsurance News
Recent analysis by Information Services Group (ISG), a global technology research and advisory firm, suggests that US enterprises are investing strategically in cybersecurity services as data breaches continue to rise. The firm's 2024 ISG Provider Lens Cybersecurity - Solutions and Services report discloses that the most affected industries are healthcare and financial services.
/jlne.ws/3zbpOUm
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | El Salvador's bitcoin holdings surpass $340 million
Sabrina Toppa - The Street
The Central American country of El Salvador, the first country in the world to declare bitcoin legal tender, now has more than $340 million in bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence. The country has been gradually accumulating new bitcoin at a rate of approximately one bitcoin a day since March, indicating the country may scoop up over 100 bitcoins by the close of 2024.
/jlne.ws/3AGtYUW
Bitcoin Whales Viewed as Potential Sellers Unnerve the Crypto Market
Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Bitcoin trails traditional assets in August as the month draws to a close, hampered by ebbing liquidity and lingering worries that governments may sell from their stockpiles of the cryptocurrency. The US, China, UK and Ukraine are potential sources of such disposals, as are creditors receiving tokens from the collapsed Mt. Gox digital-asset exchange, research company Kaiko wrote in a note. That's part of a possible $33 billion overhang of Bitcoin supply, according to the analysis.
/jlne.ws/4dFnDaX
Elon Musk, Tesla win dismissal of lawsuit claiming they rigged dogecoin
The Business Times
Elon Musk and his electric vehicle company Tesla won the dismissal of a federal lawsuit accusing them of defrauding investors by hyping the cryptocurrency dogecoin and conducting insider trading, causing billions of dollars of losses. The decision was issued on Thursday night by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan.n Investors accused Musk of using Twitter posts, a 2021 appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live and other publicity stunts to trade profitably at their expense through several dogecoin wallets that he or Tesla controlled.
/jlne.ws/4e2iBVD
Australia Leads the World in Crypto ATM Growth as Kiosks Pour in; Number of ATMs has jumped 16-fold over the past two years Officials globally fret that kiosks are popular with criminals
Richard Henderson and Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Bitcoin automatic-teller machines are streaming into Australia, making the country the fastest-growing market for the kiosks and stirring questions about the source of demand for the contentious service. Users of such ATMs can feed in cash to receive crypto in digital wallets or obtain physical notes from token sales. The US accounts for the vast bulk of the market with about 32,000 machines, followed by the roughly 3,000 in Canada, according to data collated by Coin ATM Radar.
/jlne.ws/4g52ici
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump would axe Biden clean power rules, speed power plant approvals, campaign says
Timothy Gardner - Reuters
Donald Trump would rescind many of President Joe Biden's clean energy rules while also speeding approvals of power plants to meet the nation's rising electricity demands, the Republican's presidential campaign said on Thursday. Should he win the Nov. 5 election, Trump would axe clean energy regulations of Biden and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, on both power plants and on emissions from vehicles. Those rules are aimed at slashing carbon emissions from the power industry while also pushing the auto industry to transition to electric cars to cut tailpipe pollution.
/jlne.ws/3XprhQc
Silicon Valley's elite rattled by prospect of tax on unrealised gains; Democratic proposal faces long odds but has nevertheless alarmed ultra-wealthy venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investors
Tabby Kinder - Financial Times
A novel proposal to tax the unrealised gains of wealthy Americans has incited fury from Silicon Valley's richest investors. US vice-president Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election, rolled out a tax plan last week aimed at raising nearly $5tn over a decade. It included support for the controversial tax proposal, which was also part of President Joe Biden's federal budget plan for 2025. Under the plan, people with more than $100mn in wealth would pay taxes of at least 25 per cent on a combination of their income and their unrealised capital gains - the value of the appreciation in the assets they own, which include stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets such as investments in start-up companies.
/jlne.ws/3z22nNo
JD Vance urges billionaire Peter Thiel to help bankroll Trump campaign; Republican vice-presidential nominee also says Google ought to be broken up in FT interview
Alex Rogers - Financial Times
Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance has urged tech billionaire Peter Thiel to "get off the sidelines" and help bankroll the Republicans' White House bid, as the party tries to build a war chest to defeat Kamala Harris. Vance's plea to Thiel, his former Silicon Valley boss, came in an interview with the Financial Times in Wisconsin, one of the swing states that could decide November's presidential election, where he also called for the break-up of one of Big Tech's most powerful companies, Google.
/jlne.ws/3AEhbSI
California's divisive AI safety bill sets up tough decision for governor Gavin Newsom; State's attempt to impose a regulatory framework on the fast-emerging technology has split opinion in Silicon Valley
Tabby Kinder - Financial Times
California governor Gavin Newsom will consider whether to sign into law or veto a controversial artificial intelligence bill proposing to enforce strict regulations on technology companies after it cleared its final hurdle in the state legislature on Thursday. Newsom, a Democrat, has until September 30 to issue his decision on the bill, which has divided Silicon Valley. It would force tech groups and start-ups developing AI models in the state to adhere to a strict safety framework. All of the largest AI start-ups, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Cohere, as well as Big Tech companies with AI models, would fall under its remit.
/jlne.ws/3MtOavP
Farage Plots Path to Power With Trump-Style Takeover of Britain's Tories; The UK's anti-immigration disruptor wants to become the leader of the country's opposition. First, he has to get elected.
Jack Ryan and Alex Wickham - Bloomberg
Nigel Farage is in his element. With Eminem's Without Me blasting and pyrotechnics flaring, the engineer of Brexit, friend of Donald Trump and now key protagonist in Britain's election is welcomed like a hero. As he walks into a packed auditorium in Clacton, a deprived town on England's east coast where polls suggest he will become its member of the UK Parliament next week, the 60-year-old disruptor is greeted by cheers and hoots. He regales them with gags about his fondness for beer and naked appearance on a TV reality show, all while mocking his opponents.
/jlne.ws/3X7Q8qx
CrowdStrike VP Set to Testify to Congress on IT Outage; House Committee had previously invited CEO George Kurtz; Flawed update in July disrupted flights, manufacturing
Jamie Tarabay - Bloomberg
A senior member of CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.'s operations team is scheduled to appear before Congress to answer questions on the company's global IT outage in July that disrupted industries around the world. In an advisory set to publish Friday, the House Homeland Security Committee said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of counter adversary operations, is set to testify in a subcommittee hearing on September 24. The committee in July had invited CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz. It wasn't immediately clear why Kurtz isn't scheduled to testify at the hearing.
/jlne.ws/4dZFFEm
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | New US rules try to make it harder for criminals to launder money by paying cash for homes
Fatima Hussein - Associated Press
The Treasury Department has issued regulations aimed at making it harder for criminals to launder money by paying cash for residential real estate. Under rules finalized Wednesday, investment advisers and real estate professionals will be required to report cash sales of residential real estate sold to legal entities, trusts and shell companies. The requirements won't apply to sales to individuals or purchases involving mortgages or other financing.
/jlne.ws/3z3gOkf
Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham on Innovation and Market Structure
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Caroline D. Pham is renewing calls for open public engagement by the CFTC on evolving trends and innovation in market structure. Her statement comes as the CFTC approved Kalshi Klear LLC's registration as a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). "There's no doubt that we are seeing a renaissance in markets, ushered in by new technology that enables direct access and continuous all-to-all trading. What and how participants can buy, sell or trade-and with who-is changing rapidly. These new products and markets present new opportunities that are more accessible to more people, as well as risks. As U.S. regulators, we must recognize the trends in democratization of markets or we will be left behind. It is time for the Commission to take a forward-looking approach to prepare for the future by developing a robust administrative record with studies, data, expert reports, and public input.
/jlne.ws/3Z8mq7p
CFTC Awards Over $4 Million to Insider Whistleblower
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it awarded over $4 million to an insider whistleblower who provided information that led the Division of Enforcement (DOE) to open an investigation into ongoing misconduct. The whistleblower shared knowledge about the complex products and transactions involved in the misconduct.
/jlne.ws/4cOnzV0
CFTC Orders Nasdaq Futures, Inc. to Pay $22 Million for Core Principle Violations, Failing to Fully Disclose Incentives, Providing False and Misleading Information
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and settling charges against Nasdaq Futures, Inc., formerly a designated contract market (DCM). The order finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. failed to properly establish, monitor, or enforce rules related to an incentive program Nasdaq Futures, Inc. offered to certain traders on its DCM. The order also finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. did not fully disclose this incentive program's details to the CFTC or the public consistent with the requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commission Regulations. In addition, the order finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. made false and misleading statements to the CFTC regarding the incentive program. The order requires Nasdaq Futures, Inc. to pay a $22 million civil monetary penalty.
/jlne.ws/4dGssAx
CFTC Staff Extends Brexit-Related No-Action Positions
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Market Participants Division (MPD) announced today they are extending temporary no-action positions in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU), known as Brexit.
/jlne.ws/3MsC8mu
Federal Court Orders Operator of Commodity Trading Fund to Pay Restitution and Penalties for Defrauding Fund Participants and Commingling Pool Funds
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a consent order finding Harris Bruce Landgarten, a resident of Old Brookville, New York, defrauded pool participants. He also commingled pool funds with his own funds in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
/jlne.ws/3MnGZW1
CFTC Grants Kalshi Klear LLC DCO Registration
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today it has issued Kalshi Klear LLC (Kalshi) an Order of Registration as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
/jlne.ws/3X9eO1O
SEC Obtains Default Judgment and More than $250 Million in Monetary Relief Against Tingo Mobile Founder and Three U.S. Companies Charged with Massive Fraud
SEC
On August 28, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye a/k/a Dozy Mmobuosi and three affiliated U.S.-based entities of which he was the CEO, in connection with a multi-year scheme to inflate the financial performance metrics of his companies and key operating subsidiaries to defraud investors worldwide.
/jlne.ws/3yXkoMS
ASIC prosecutes 78 individuals for failing to assist registered liquidators
ASIC
ASIC has prosecuted 78 individuals for failing to assist registered liquidators over the six months from 1 January to 30 June 2024. These enforcement actions followed the failure of company officers and other individuals to provide registered liquidators with access to company books and submit a report on company activities and property (ROCAP).
/jlne.ws/3Moh6VU
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Money-Market Funds Attract 2024's Biggest Monthly Cash Inflow; Total assets rose to record $6.26 trillion as of Aug. 28: ICI Investors are locking in higher yields before Fed cuts begin
Alex Harris - Bloomberg
The US money-market fund industry lured roughly $127 billion of fresh cash in August, marking the biggest month of inflows this year as investors lock in lofty yields before the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates. Some $21.1 billion was added to the funds in the week ending Aug. 28, according to the latest Investment Company Institute data. The inflows put total assets at an all-time high of $6.26 trillion, up from a previous record of $6.24 trillion in the week prior.
/jlne.ws/3Moph4y
Leveraged Nvidia ETF issuers saw trading surge in bearish products ahead of earnings
Suzanne McGee - Reuters
Interest in leveraged exchange-traded funds that allow investors to profit when shares of Nvidia fall grew steadily ahead of the chipmaker's quarterly results, according to data from some of the companies that issued the products. Nvidia, which in June eclipsed Microsoft as the world's most valuable company, dominates the major stock indexes, making its quarterly results an increasingly high-stakes market event.
/jlne.ws/4e1KU6D
Full amount trading picks up as dealers improve pricing; As much as 70% of volumes at some FX venues are now traded as full amounts rather than in slices
Cole Lipsky - Risk.net
A growing portion of spot foreign exchange trades is being executed through so-called full amount streams following a major effort by liquidity providers and trading venues to improve the way these flows are priced and hedged. "What we're seeing is a broad swath of clients increasingly moving to full amount trading," says Benedict Carter, global head of FX e-trading and FX spot at Deutsche Bank.
/jlne.ws/3ADejFF
Treasuries Set for Longest Run of Gains Since 2021 as PCE Awaits; US government bonds poised to complete fourth monthly gain; Inflation and labor market data are key to the winning streak
Ye Xie - Bloomberg
Treasuries are poised for their longest monthly winning streak in three years as traders look past US data on personal income and expenditure due Friday and prepare for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates. US government bonds returned 1.5% in August through Thursday, set for a fourth month of gains that would be the longest run since July 2021, according to the Bloomberg US Treasury Total Return Index. The gauge has been rallying since the end of April, extending this year's gain to almost 3%, as investors have grown more confident in the case for lower US borrowing costs.
/jlne.ws/3MpL8IP
It is time to tilt portfolios more into bonds; We are entering a new regime where bonds offer greater value than equities
Jumana Saleheen - Financial Times (opinion)
The writer is chief economist and head of investment strategy group at Vanguard Europe Almost everyone in markets appears to believe that interest rates are close to moving off recent peaks. Central banks are expected to lower rates as they gain confidence that inflation is on track back to target. Some, like the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, have already started. The most important central bank, the US Federal Reserve, is likely to start cutting its benchmark rate next month from the current range of 5.25 to 5.5 per cent.
/jlne.ws/4g4WLT4
Short Seller Interest in Sweden's Fortnox Surges After CEO Exit; Shares out on loan have almost doubled since CEO resignation; Fortnox shares have only buy and sell ratings, with no holds
Isolde MacDonogh and Celine Imensek - Bloomberg
Short sellers are zeroing in on Swedish accounting software company Fortnox AB after the sudden resignation of the chief executive who oversaw a huge rally in its shares. The percentage of Fortnox shares out on loan - a common indicator of short interest - has almost doubled since Aug. 13, when the departure of CEO Tommy Eklund was announced. As of Wednesday, shares out on loan represented about 8.7% of Fortnox's free float, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence show.
/jlne.ws/47eZzJy
Swap Bonds for Commodities in 60/40 Funds, BofA Strategists Say
Sagarika Jaisinghani - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4cLe5dc
Wealthy families see value in drafting agreements to stop inheritance feuds; Advisers are encouraging use of charters and pre-nuptials to bring clarity on division of assets
Emma Boyde - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4e4iOI0
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Musk's xAI operating gas turbines without permits at data center, environmental group says
Reuters
Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, is facing criticism from environmental and health advocates for allegedly contributing to pollution in Memphis, Tennessee, by using natural gas-burning turbines at its data center without obtaining necessary permits. The Southern Environmental Law Center sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and the health department in Shelby County where the data center is located.
/jlne.ws/4747HMN
Vanguard backed no environmental or social measures in 2024 proxy season; Support on votes has been dwindling among big money managers after reaching record levels just a few years ago
Brooke Masters and Patrick Temple-West - Financial Times
Vanguard supported none of the 400 environmental or social shareholder proposals that it considered in the 2024 US proxy season, saying they were "overly prescriptive", unnecessary or did not relate to material financial risks. The $9.3tn money manager's support for these kinds of proposals at company annual meetings has been falling sharply for three years, after peaking at more than 46 per cent support in 2021. Last year it voted in favour of 2 per cent of such proposals.
/jlne.ws/3MvxZxO
An Oil Giant Is Spending $100 Million to Preserve U.S. Forests; TotalEnergies of France makes what is likely the largest-ever purchase of carbon offsets from U.S. timberlands
Ryan Dezember - The Wall Street Journal
A French oil giant is paying $100 million to keep American trees standing. TotalEnergies is purchasing carbon credits that cover timberland in 10 states ranging from the Louisiana lowlands to the Lake States, the Adirondack Mountains in New York and the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Kentucky. The outlay is likely the largest ever in the opaque market designed to forestall tree harvesting in the U.S.
/jlne.ws/3yWOwrG
Countries still far apart on COP29 finance goal
Kate Abnett - Reuters
With less than three months until this year's COP29 UN climate negotiations, countries remain far from agreement on the summit's biggest task: to agree a new funding target to help developing countries cope with climate change. A negotiations document published by the U.N. climate body on Thursday set out the splits between nations, ahead of a meeting in Baku next month, where negotiators will attempt to inch forward some of the stickiest issues.
/jlne.ws/3YZl3bc
US regulator finds banks have work to do on climate risk, sources say
Isla Binnie and Nupur Anand - Reuters
A top U.S. banking regulator has found that major lenders are in the early stages of assessing and managing the risks climate change poses to their businesses, and that significant work is needed in some areas, three people familiar with the matter said. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conducted a review last year including 22 large banks to see how they account for the impact of climate change on their loan books and businesses.
/jlne.ws/479ph1T
Climate-Friendly Meat? Regulators Tighten Scrutiny of Label Buzzwords.; The new guidelines from the Agriculture Department encourage third-party assessments of environment-related claims, which have come under fire.
Somini Sengupta - The New York Times
/jlne.ws/3Zc7mpc
Biden Administration Backs Plastic as Coal Replacement to Make Steel. One Critic Asks: 'Have They Lost Their Minds?' ; After a Pennsylvania business scored $182.6 million in loan guarantees with promises the project would fight climate change, environmentalists called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to change course.
James Bruggers - Inside Climate News
/jlne.ws/3AG0pCG
Anti-DEI Outcry Online Spurs Flurry of Big-Name Firms to Retreat; Ford joins handful of companies rolling back DEI initiatives; Pressure on firms to end DEI led by right-wing influencer
Simone Foxman - Bloomberg
At the end of July 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged and unprecedented supply-chain challenges distorted markets, then-Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Jim Hackett started the company's earnings call not with financials or strategy but with a message on racial justice and the murder of George Floyd. "Ford is committed to leading from the front, with action to enable social mobility and economic success in the African American community," Hackett said. Floyd's death is "much more than a moment in time that will fade, but rather we must make it a turning point for our society."
/jlne.ws/3XoucIX
Climate Change Means Coffee's Future May Depend on Niche Growers
Agnieszka de Sousa - Bloomberg
Sipping coffee from Cuba, Rwanda and other less common origins is a delight for many caffeine lovers in search of diverse flavors and aromas. But it also matters for the industry's future. Some 40 countries grow coffee, but more than half of global production has long come from just two: Brazil and Vietnam. So when bad weather hits both - an increasing risk in a destabilized climate - supplies get threatened and prices soar.
/jlne.ws/4e6soK7
India's Reliance says new energy to be as profitable as oil to chemicals in 5-7 years
Sethuraman N R and Nidhi Verma - Reuters
/jlne.ws/4dL0K5Y
Bankrupt Solar Firm SunPower Gets Nod to Sell Assets to Rival
Dorothy Ma and Steven Church - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3Z4mIfz
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Big banks are taking heat for paying low rates on idle cash
David Hollerith - Yahoo Finance
The scrutiny of how banks and brokerages treated their customers during an era of high interest rates is heating up just as that era draws to a close. Raymond James (RJF) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were hit with lawsuits in recent days by customers alleging they were shortchanged on the interest due from idle cash.
/jlne.ws/3yQ9DMm
Goldman Pushes Back Against Jen's Yuan 'Avalanche' Warning
Bloomberg
Some investors are overestimating the stockpile of Chinese money that could be converted back into yuan, as firms may not yet be ready to abandon dollar holdings, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. US assets remain attractive to Chinese firms, given the still-large interest rate differentials between the two countries and weak domestic sentiment, analysts including Xinquan Chen wrote in a note Friday. The team calculated that around $400 billion has been hoarded by exporters from mid-2022, a figure below some market estimates.
/jlne.ws/3Z5g3lj
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Mining Billionaire Who Banned Work From Home Targets Coffee Runs
Chris Bourke - Bloomberg
Staff at billionaire Chris Ellison's mining company have already been banned from working from home. Stepping outside for a coffee could well be the next endangered perk. "I want to hold them captive all day long," Ellison, chief executive officer of Mineral Resources Ltd. said on Thursday. "I don't want them leaving the building. So I don't want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee. We kind of figured out a few years ago how much that costs."
/jlne.ws/4dZToeo
Nvidia's billionaire boss: 'I used to clean bathrooms, and now I'm the CEO'
Chloe Berger - Fortune
If the rags-to-riches story feels a little, well, tattered, Nvidia's CEO hasn't noticed. One of the richest people in the world, Jensen Huang is not afraid to touch on his origins when speaking about his ascent in the tech world. "I had all kinds of jobs and we went to a school that included a lot of chores," Huang said last spring in fireside chat with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. His parents "'weren't wealthy," Huang noted, and both their influence alongside his Kentucky boarding school instilled in him the value of hard work.
/jlne.ws/4dHHwy1
Shell to cut 20% of workers in oil and gas exploration units; Chief executive Wael Sawan's cost-cutting drive has reached the oil major's core upstream business; Shell had $40bn of operating expenses in 2023
Malcolm Moore - Financial Times
Shell is planning to cut a fifth of its workforce in two oil and gas exploration divisions, as a cost-cutting drive by chief executive Wael Sawan reaches its core upstream business. Around 20 per cent of jobs will go in units responsible for Shell's exploration strategy and for developing its oil and gas finds, according to a person familiar with the plans. "These are the technical professionals who originate and mature oil and gas opportunities," the person said, pointing to Shell's geologists, geophysicists, and oil and gas well designers.
/jlne.ws/3ANywZB
Why corporate top brass defy neat investment models; One reason why higher rates have not crushed investment
Soumaya Keynes - Financial Times
Economists like to model corporate executives as razor-sharp optimisers, using sophisticated analysis to pick investments. (No doubt this is also how some managers like to see themselves.) Potential projects must generate returns above a minimum "hurdle rate", which should depend on the company's cost of capital. If borrowing is cheaper, then more projects should seem worthwhile. And rising rates should make executives more discerning, holding back investment.
/jlne.ws/3yPwvLZ
For Two-Job Workers, There Aren't Enough Hours in a Day to Stay Afloat; The job market is softening, but more Americans are holding down multiple jobs. That speaks to both rising living costs and a bountiful market for gig-economy work.
Joe Barrett - The Wall Street Journal
Sam Lalevee was scraping by in his job at a call center in Raleigh, N.C., when his rent jumped to $1,000 a month from $800. So he got a second job doing light and sound at a comedy club, joining a growing number of people who need more than one job to make ends meet in the postpandemic economy. Lalevee works at home from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for his regular job. Then several nights a week, he will toss a Trader Joe's frozen dinner in the microwave, put on his all-black outfit and then walk about a mile to his second job from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. He works most weekends.
/jlne.ws/4751dxh
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Health and wellness programs: key to employee success
Arlene Gross - Business News
As another August comes to an end, so does National Wellness Month. And, as summer winds down, it's the perfect time for employers to take a closer look at health and wellness programs, which have mutual benefits for the C-suite and the workforce.
/jlne.ws/3AG457s
Wellness In Your Personal Life Unleashes Productivity At Work
Michael Mink - Investors Business Daily
Productivity and wellness rarely surface amid the "constant flood of distractions," said Jeff Karp. "There's the daily email and social media bombardment along with packed-like-sardines schedules." Karp is a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT. His lab's technologies have led to the formation of a dozen companies.
/jlne.ws/4cNBuKM
The Far-Reaching Ripple Effects of a Discredited Cancer Study; A flawed study attracted grants, investments and other researchers who based new work on the faulty findings
Nidhi Subbaraman - The Wall Street Journal
Four years ago, a team of researchers led by a heavyweight in the field of microbiology made a stunning claim: Cancers have unique microbial signatures that could one day allow tumors to be diagnosed with a blood test. The discovery captured the attention of the scientific community, as well as investors. A prestigious journal published the research. More than 600 papers cited the study. At least a dozen groups based new work on its data. And the microbiologists behind the claim launched a startup to capitalize on their findings.
/jlne.ws/3T9z5TW
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese central bank's $56bn debt purchase sparks talk of bond market intervention; Traders speculate the People's Bank of China will step in to manage sovereign debt yields
Cheng Leng and Arjun Neil Alim - Financial Times
China's central bank purchased Rmb400bn ($56bn) of long-dated sovereign bonds on Thursday, a move that traders interpreted as preparation to directly shore up bond yields in its booming debt markets. The People's Bank of China said it bought Rmb300bn worth of 10-year notes and Rmb100bn of 15-year notes from primary dealers. The notes had been sold by the Ministry of Finance just earlier in the day to roll over maturing bonds. Analysts said the move, which stops the bonds from being traded in the market, further fuelled speculation that China's central bank would soon intervene in the bond market to prevent an eventual snapback that could trigger Silicon Valley Bank-style losses in the financial system.
/jlne.ws/4cOvl18
Typhoon Shanshan drenches Japan, prompting landslide and flood alerts
Tim Kelly and Irene Wang - Reuters
Typhoon Shanshan soaked large swathes of Japan with torrential rain on Friday, prompting warnings for flooding and landslides hundreds of miles from the storm's centre, halting travel services and shutting production at major factories. At least four people have been killed and 99 injured in storm-related incidents in recent days, according to the disaster management agency. In the southwestern region of Kyushu, where the storm that authorities say could be one of the strongest ever to hit the region made landfall on Thursday, residents were surveying the damage after a night of heavy rain and severe winds.
/jlne.ws/4cK7QWT
Chinese yuan deposits in Hong Kong exceed 1 trillion, cementing city's offshore hub role
South China Morning Post
Deposits of Chinese yuan in Hong Kong reached 1.06 trillion yuan (US$149.5 billion) in July, further cementing the city's role as the largest offshore yuan hub as tailwinds gather for the currency's internationalisation. Yuan deposits in July exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the fourth month despite declining by 0.4 per cent, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's data published on Friday.
/jlne.ws/3MLP1s1
China Considers Allowing Refinancing on $5.4 Trillion in Mortgages
Bloomberg
China is considering allowing homeowners to refinance as much as $5.4 trillion of mortgages to lower borrowing costs for millions of families and boost consumption. Under the plan, homeowners would be able to renegotiate terms with their current lenders before January, when banks typically reprice mortgages, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. They would also be allowed to refinance with a different bank for the first time since the global financial crisis, the people said.
/jlne.ws/4g8nNcc
India to Discuss Surging Precious Metals Imports With UAE; Inbound shipments of silver, platinum have soared in 2024; Indian officials will meet their trade counterparts next month
Shruti Srivastava and Sybilla Gross - Bloomberg
India is seeking to renegotiate its trade deal with the United Arab Emirates after a surge in precious metals imports from the Middle Eastern nation that has sparked concerns some traders have been exploiting tax loopholes. Trade officials will likely meet their counterparts from the UAE next month to review the two countries' Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. Among other issues, they will examine the effectiveness of rules guaranteeing the geographical origin of platinum, silver and gold imports for tax purposes, the people added.
/jlne.ws/475n1bS
Chinese offices emptier than during Covid pandemic as slowdown hits
Chan Ho-him and Cheng Leng in Hong Kong and Wenjie Ding in Beijing - Financial Times
Offices in China's biggest cities are emptier than they were during stringent Covid-19 lockdowns in what analysts say is a sign of how the country's economic slowdown has hurt business confidence. At least a fifth of high-end office space was vacant in the tech hub of Shenzhen in June, according to data from three real estate agencies, while office vacancy rates in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai were also higher than in June 2022. Overall, rents are at least 10 per cent lower than they were two years ago.
/jlne.ws/3AHpj4R
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