| October 09, 2024 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
Publisher
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
FIA has announced the selection of 10 startups for the 2024 Innovators Pavilion, which will be part of its annual Futures and Options Expo in Chicago from November 18-20. This showcase highlights fintech innovations relevant to derivatives trading and clearing. FIA President Walt Lukken emphasized the importance of innovation in the cleared derivatives markets, expressing enthusiasm for the startups' pitches and the potential for partnerships. The selected startups, chosen by an independent committee for their innovative products and services relevant to the global futures, options, and swaps markets, include Abaxx (a commodity futures exchange), AnthologyAI (consumer data analytics), ClearToken (an independent clearinghouse for digital assets), Grao Direto (a trading platform for grains), IMX Health (futures based on healthcare claims data), Membrane Labs (software for crypto lending and derivatives), Percent (access to the private credit market), Theia Analytics (quantitative governance and regulatory risk analytics), Tradewell Technologies (trading technology for corporate bonds), and Vorticity (a Value at Risk calculation engine).
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero will be honored with the Pioneer Award by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) of Washington, D.C. during its Annual Gala on October 15, 2024, at 6:00 PM EDT. The event will take place at the Intercontinental D.C. at the Wharf, located at 801 Wharf Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024.
I have an account with Treasury Direct. I have only invested, not tried to take money or securities out. The Wall Street Journal has a story about getting securities out titled "The Yearlong Wait to Transfer Bonds Out of TreasuryDirect" with the subheadline "Demand surges on Treasury Department's clunky website for buying government debt, leading to backlog of customer requests."
The story says investors attempting to transfer holdings from TreasuryDirect to brokerage accounts may face waits of up to a year due to a surge in demand and an outdated customer service system. Over $134 billion in marketable securities have been purchased through TreasuryDirect this year, with its user base growing from 656,000 in 2019 to over four million last year, driven by interest in high-yield inflation-adjusted savings bonds. The manual processing requirements, including notarized signatures, contribute to significant backlogs, leading to processing times ranging from six weeks to over 12 months.
Frustrated customers like David Janus highlight that these delays undermine the ease of trading that Treasurys typically offer. While inflation-adjusted bonds are not subject to these delays, they cannot be traded. Financial advisors suggest using TreasuryDirect primarily for specific purchases, such as savings bonds, as brokers typically allow immediate selling of newly purchased Treasurys. Despite its limitations, TreasuryDirect offers a low minimum order size of $100, making it accessible, but the Treasury Department recognizes the need for modernization to enhance customer experience.
The FMX Futures Exchange has seen increased volume in recent days, although yesterday it dipped to 66 contracts. Open interest now stands at 1177 contracts of SOFR 3 month futures. Yesterday, the FMX Futures Exchange volume was 836 contracts of SOFR. You can only see the previous day's volume on the site; there is no volume archive I can see. So you must go every day to the Daily Trade Report page on the FMX website to retrieve the volume report.
The Wall Street Journal wants you to know that "When Cell Service Is Down, You Can Send iPhone Texts via Satellite." The subheadline of the story is "Hurricane Milton could disrupt phone and Wi-Fi networks. How to stay connected." The bad news is you need IOS 18, which means you need an iPhone 14 or later. I guess it is time for me to update.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Marex cuts fourth deal in four weeks, for FX broker; Validus unveils complex ISDA terms monitoring and management tool; Eurex to extend trading hours for credit futures this month; ICE welcomes completion of Euribor methodology reforms; SGX latest to report strong month with 35% volume hike; ANALYSIS: Tradeweb eyes new markets to boost Asia swaps flows; ANALYSIS: DTCC has edge in US Treasury clearing - Baton Systems.
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:
- Traders Are Piling Into Stock-Market Insurance from The Wall Street Journal.
- FIA announces 10 startups selected for 2024 Innovators Pavilion from FIA.
- FCA: 'Shift from reactive to proactive regulation needed' from FT Adviser. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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HBO Documentary Suggests Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Is Developer Peter Todd; The Bitcoin developer is just one of many people suspected; Anonymous creator of Bitcoin hasn't been heard from for years
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
A new HBO documentary about the origins of Bitcoin suggests that Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the original cryptocurrency, is likely Canadian software developer Peter Todd. Called "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," the 100-minute film on Tuesday features interviews with a handful of people who'd been involved with Bitcoin from early on, including long-time Satoshi candidate Adam Back, investor Roger Ver, Bitcoin marketer Samson Mow and Todd.
/jlne.ws/3YeK9SB
****** I thought I was Satoshi Nakamoto! No, I am Spartacus!~JJL
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Generac Runs Low on Portable Generators After Storms; Many of company's products sold out after Helene, CEO says; Company warns some products might not hit shelves on time
Mark Chediak - Bloomberg
Generac Holdings Inc. is running low on portable backup generators after Hurricane Helene and other recent storms knocked out power for millions of Americans. Many of the company's portable products sold out after Helene tore through the US Southeast, Generac Chief Executive Officer Aaron Jagdfeld said. "The more outages that are occurring and the more they are happening, then the more interest grows in our product," Jagdfeld said during an interview.
/jlne.ws/4dDB8XJ
****** At the Home Depot near me in Sarasota, there was a wall of portable generators lined up as you came into the store on Sunday, next to a pile of gas cans. I went there on Monday to buy a gas can and both piles were gone. In Elmhurst, I put in a natural gas run generator when I built my new house in 2015 after experiencing my fourth 100-year flood in the last 15 years. Demand for generators is only going to go up.~JJL
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Florida braced for Hurricane Milton to make landfall; US agencies warn of possible threat to life as second storm in as many weeks barrels towards southern state's coast
Madison Darbyshire and Alexandra White - Financial Times
Hurricane Milton has weakened slightly from a category 5 storm to a category 4 as it heads across the Gulf of Mexico, but the US National Hurricane Center warned that it still "poses an extremely serious threat to Florida". In its latest update on the weather system, which is about 585 miles south west of the city of Tampa, the NHC said winds were reaching 155 miles per hour and that it was likely to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3UpUWar
****** How many people were kicked in the teeth by Helene, depleting reserves and evacuation funds? This hurricane could see a worse human toll than Helene despite the mass evacuation.~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our top story Tuesday was The 172 Best Sales During Prime Big Deal Days from The Wall Street Journal's "Buy Side." Second was European Capital Markets Face Structural Challenges, FIA EPTA Says, the video interview with Piebe Teeboom that JLN released on October 1. Third was More rich people are using 'secret' trusts and LLCs to hide money from their spouses, from Fortune.
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| Lead Stories | The $100 Million Election Bet Is Here
Gunjan Banerji - The Wall Street Journal
The election betting market is heating up. Institutional traders can now place election wagers of as large as $100 million on Kalshi, the trading startup that offers yes-or-no contracts on a range of political and other events, the company said Wednesday. Kalshi started offering election trades for the first time this month, thanks to a recent U.S. court ruling that legalized election betting. Hedge funds and big corporations looking to protect against election risks have expressed interest in such trades, said Tarek Mansour, the firm's co-founder.
/jlne.ws/3Nj2YOb
A Godfather of AI Just Won a Nobel. He Has Been Warning the Machines Could Take Over the World; Geoffrey Hinton hopes the prize will add credibility to his claims about the dangers of AI technology he pioneered
Miles Kruppa and Deepa Seetharaman - The Wall Street Journal
The newly minted Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton has a message about the artificial-intelligence systems he helped create: get more serious about safety or they could endanger humanity. "I think we're at a kind of bifurcation point in history where, in the next few years, we need to figure out if there's a way to deal with that threat," Hinton said in an interview Tuesday with a Nobel Prize official that mixed pride in his life's work with warnings about the growing danger it poses.
/jlne.ws/3ZWGDh2
Marex agrees terms to acquire UK FX specialist Hamilton Court Group
Marex Group plc
Marex Group plc ('Marex' or the 'Group'; NASDAQ: MRX), the diversified global financial services platform, today announces that it has agreed terms to acquire Hamilton Court Group which will expand the foreign exchange (FX) services it offers clients, consistent with its strategy to bring new clients and new capabilities onto its platform and diversify its earnings. Headquartered in London, Hamilton Court Group offers a full suite of FX products, ranging from bespoke complex FX options and derivative structures to more 'vanilla' products such as forwards, spots and swaps. Its clients are primarily mid-sized UK and European corporates and it has about 170 employees located in London, Milan, Madrid and Toronto.
/jlne.ws/3NpIyTz
Internet Hype in the '90s Stoked a Power-Generation Bubble. Could It Happen Again With AI? The current electricity boom has echoes of-but also important differences from-an earlier boom-bust cycle
Jinjoo Lee - The Wall Street Journal
The last time independent power producers were this excited about an electricity-boom cycle was in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when demand-growth expectations were fueled in part by the growth of Silicon Valley. It didn't end well. In a piece published on Forbes.com in 1999, Peter Huber and Mark Mills wrote: "Southern California Edison, meet Amazon.com. Somewhere in America, a lump of coal is burned every time a book is ordered online." The two authors, who co-wrote books about energy, including "The Bottomless Well," estimated that one billion PCs on the Web would represent electrical demand equal to the total power capacity of the U.S. at that time. The piece drew much attention and pushback, including from scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who said the authors were overstating the impact.
/jlne.ws/48400a2
Wall Street Salaries Decline Further From Pandemic Heights; Average salary was $471,370, a 5.2% drop on prior year; Bonuses set to swell on bump in first-half profits: DiNapoli
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
Salaries in New York City's securities industry fell for a second consecutive year in 2023 as profits retreated from highs reached during the pandemic. The average salary was $471,370 including bonuses, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's annual report. The 5.2% drop on the prior year was starker when adjusted for inflation, which translated to an 8.7% decline. Still, the average salary remained the third highest on record.
/jlne.ws/3XWFGTm
US Weighs Google Breakup in Historic Big Tech Antitrust Case; Antitrust officials also mull making Google share search data; Justice Department proposes multiple options in historic case
Leah Nylen - Bloomberg
The US Justice Department is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell off parts of its business in what would be a historic breakup of one of the world's biggest tech companies. Antitrust enforcers are weighing a breakup to mitigate the Alphabet Inc. business's dominance in search, the agency said in a court filing on Tuesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Judge Amit Mehta could also order Google to provide access to the underlying data it uses to build its search results and artificial intelligence products, it said.
/jlne.ws/3TYkhry
***** Here is the Financial Times version of this story.~JJL
TikTok Sued by Multiple States for Allegedly Harming Young People; The app has been sued by a number of attorneys general who cite the popular but dangerous challenges it serves up to young users
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
TikTok faces lawsuits from more than a dozen U.S. states that allege the popular video platform, which has attracted attention for the sometimes risky challenges it hosts, has helped put young people in danger and harmed their mental health. A bipartisan coalition of 14 attorneys general on Tuesday announced the filing of legal actions against TikTok in their own state courts. "TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true," said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who leads the coalition along with California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
/jlne.ws/3BDtlMb
EU Tests Bankers' Support for Continent-Wide Securitization Debt; Bloc-wide platform touted as possible tool to boost the market; Proposals seek to unlock much-needed investments for EU
Lyubov Pronina and Esteban Duarte - Bloomberg
The European Union is moving ahead with plans to boost its asset-backed securities market by gathering financial industry feedback for a wide range of potential measures, including a continent-wide securitization platform. One option would involve the use of public guarantees both at national and EU levels to scale up the market and create a new common "safe asset" across the 27-country bloc, the European Commission said in a 37-page consultation released Wednesday. An alternative idea would focus on pooling of resources and information to reduce issuance costs.
/jlne.ws/3NE53EN
Small Business Administration Will Soon Exhaust Disaster Loan Funds; The agency has less than $100 million for new loans, according to officials, while Hurricane Milton is headed toward Florida and after Hurricane Helene devastated much of the Southeast.
Madeleine Ngo - The New York Times
Small Business Administration officials warned on Tuesday that the agency would "very soon" exhaust its funding for new disaster loans for homeowners and businesses in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The agency has less than $100 million for new disaster loans, according to the officials, and will continue to process incoming loan applications after the money runs out, but Congress will have to approve additional funding for it to make new loan offers and cut checks.
/jlne.ws/3YgFoI7
FEMA Scrambles to Confront Two Storms-and Misinformation; As the South still digs out from Hurricane Helene, the government agency is fighting falsehoods to save lives from Hurricane Milton
Michelle Hackman - The Wall Street Journal
The Federal Emergency Management Agency faces a herculean task to prepare millions of residents for the catastrophic wind gusts and flooding expected from Hurricane Milton. Evacuation orders in communities near the Florida coastline are so broad that people are caught in hourslong traffic jams trying to escape the impending storm. And FEMA officials are simultaneously working to help thousands of residents across several states dig out from Hurricane Helene. But FEMA's biggest concern isn't a lack of money or personnel to address both storms.
/jlne.ws/3BDupja
FBI Arrests Afghan Man It Says Planned Election Day Attack; Plot allegedly targeted large crowds in the U.S., Justice Department says, as law-enforcement agencies fear lone-wolf attacks
Sadie Gurman - The Wall Street Journal
The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials said was inspired by Islamic State to plan an Election Day attack on large crowds in the U.S. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27 years old, of Oklahoma City, had been taking steps to carry out the terrorist attack, buying rifles, selling his home and working to resettle his family in Afghanistan, the Justice Department said.
/jlne.ws/481y6vc
Trading at the frontier; Annabel Smith sits down with the London-based trading team at emerging and frontier markets trading specialist Ninety One to get the inside track on how the desk fits into the global asset manager's remit, along with discussing market themes, and the team's technology wish list.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
The London-based trading team at Ninety One has a very particular set of skills. The active investment manager specialises in emerging and frontier markets trading across fixed income, credit and specialist equities. And sitting on its global trading desks are a pod of traders known for their ability to interact with some of the most inaccessible financial markets around the world.
/jlne.ws/3XT7zLU
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine weighs lifting arms export ban to scale up drone industry; Country's manufacturers could generate up to $20bn from sales abroad and boost domestic production for army
Isobel Koshiw - Financial Times
Ukraine is moving towards lifting a wartime ban on drone exports, as officials and industry participants say it is imperative to scale up in order to match Russia's capabilities on the battlefield. Ukrainian forces are in desperate need of more aerial surveillance, cover and long-range attack drones. But with limited state resources available to pay for military supplies, drone companies are looking abroad to sell their excess production and generate the kind of revenue needed to manufacture more for the army.
/jlne.ws/3ZYk23r
For a second day, Ukrainian hackers hit Russian institutions; Hackers attacked Russia's digital state media hub and courts websites over two days, bringing both down.
Robyn Dixon - The Washington Post
Russia suffered major digital outages for a second day Tuesday after hackers targeted Russia's court information system, taking down court websites and claiming to have wiped court documents and decisions in the system's database. The hackers, who called themselves the "BO Team," posted a message with an obscenity declaring that the attack was made to mark President Vladimir Putin's 72nd birthday Monday, the same day a massive attack on Russia's online state media channels occurred.
/jlne.ws/3ByQ4sG
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Inside one family's journey through the Israel-Hamas war; More than 2mn people live in Gaza. Now almost all of them are seeking refuge
Heba Saleh and Lucy Rodgers, Peter Andringa, Irene de la Torre Arenas, Chris Campbell, Steven Bernard, Aditi Bhandari and Sam Joiner - Financial Times
Before Hamas militants broke out of Gaza and launched their bloody rampage in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Ramy al-Sakany, 35, a maths teacher, was living what he describes as a happy life. He, his wife and four daughters lived in a flat in a building owned by his father; his parents and younger brother lived above them, and a married brother above that. On Fridays the family often gathered for a barbecue on the roof of their building in the middle-class Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City.
/jlne.ws/4h0YREi
U.S. Frustrated by Israel's Reluctance to Share Iran Retaliation Plans; The Biden administration hopes to avoid a repeat of surprise attacks, such as the killing of Hezbollah's leader
Nancy A. Youssef - The Wall Street Journal
Israel has so far refused to divulge to the Biden administration details of its plans to retaliate against Tehran, U.S. officials said, even as the White House is urging its closest Middle East ally not to hit Iran's oil facilities or nuclear sites amid fears of a widening regional war. U.S. officials are frustrated that they have been repeatedly caught off guard by Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, and are seeking to head off further escalation. Some had hoped the U.S. would learn more about what Israel was contemplating during a planned meeting Wednesday between Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, but Gallant postponed his trip, the Pentagon said.
/jlne.ws/4eSgwvM
Violent 'Megalomaniac' Sinwar Takes Hamas on Even More Radical Path; Architect of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel has revived the practice of suicide bombings to achieve the group's goals
Summer Said and Rory Jones - The Wall Street Journal
After Yahya Sinwar, the man responsible for launching the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, took full control of Hamas over the summer, Arab intelligence officials say he sent a directive to a senior operative: Now is the time to revive suicide bombings. A few days later, a bespectacled Palestinian entered Tel Aviv with a blue backpack loaded with explosives. Although the bomb exploded before the man reached his target, killing only him, the attack sent an unmistakable message.
/jlne.ws/4h0CqyM
Hezbollah Launches Barrage of Rockets Into Northern Israel, Hitting City Suburbs; Israel expands ground offensive in Lebanon by adding more troops and signaling an impending maritime operation
Omar Abdel-Baqui in Dubai, DovLieber in Tel Aviv and Jared Malsin in Beirut - The Wall Street Journal
Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday, hitting a suburb of Haifa, as Israel expanded its military offensive into Lebanon by adding more troops and signaling an impending maritime operation. Hezbollah said the missile attack aimed at Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, was in response to what it said was Israel's targeting of civilians in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli military said that it is targeting Hezbollah in accordance with international law and seeks to mitigate civilian harm. Israel has launched waves of airstrikes on southern Beirut in recent weeks that have driven most civilians to flee the area.
/jlne.ws/3NpCfPT
Hezbollah officials drop Gaza truce as condition for Lebanon ceasefire
Reuters
Hezbollah officials are no longer demanding a truce in Gaza as a condition for reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon, rowing back from an oft-repeated promise to keep fighting until Israel halts its offensive against Hezbollah's Iran-backed ally Hamas. Ever since Hezbollah began launching missiles across Lebanon's border a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel, Hezbollah officials have consistently said they would not stop until Israel ended the war in Gaza.
/jlne.ws/3NhS3UP
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | FTSE Russell announces results of September 2024 semi-annual country classification review for equities and fixed income
LSEG
FTSE Russell, the global index provider, has published the results of its annual country classification review for countries monitored by its global equity and fixed income indices.
/jlne.ws/4dGmfDS
SGX securities turnover value jumps 75% in September; volume up 5%; Easing monetary policies and China's stimulus measures lift securities trading activity
Chong Xin Wei - The Business Times
Total securities market turnover value on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) increased 75 per cent year on year (yoy) to S$30.38 billion in September, according to the bourse's monthly market statistics report released on Wednesday (Oct 9). This is a 5.6 per cent increase from August's S$28.76 billion. Total market turnover volume inched up 5 per cent yoy, and 9.6 per cent month on month, to 25.63 billion shares in September.
/jlne.ws/4gXLIM0
TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - September 2024
TMX
TSX welcomed 13 new issuers in September 2024, compared with 17 in the previous month and 10 in September 2023. The new listings were 12 exchange traded funds and one utilities & pipelines company. Total financings raised in September 2024 decreased 64% compared to the previous month, and were down 90% compared to September 2023. The total number of financings in September 2024 was 31, compared with 44 the previous month and 29 in September 2023.
/jlne.ws/481GGu3
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Google DeepMind duo share Nobel chemistry prize with US biochemist; Award for Sir Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker recognises advances in unlocking proteins' secrets
Michael Peel and Madhumita Murgia - Bloomberg
US biochemist David Baker and Google DeepMind scientists Sir Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have won the chemistry Nobel Prize jointly for their work to unlock the biological secrets of proteins that underpin life and health. Baker took one half of the SKr11mn ($1.06mn) award for his research on computational protein design and the DeepMind duo received the other for protein structure prediction, the Nobel Assembly in Stockholm said on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3Npx16J
Validus Launches ISDA Ops To Streamline Management and Monitoring of Complex ISDA Terms - Solution Streamlines Management And Monitoring Of Complex ISDA ATE And CSA Terms Through Flagship Horizon Platform
Validus
Validus Risk Management ('Validus'), a leading independent financial risk advisory and technology firm, has introduced ISDA Ops, a groundbreaking solution aimed at automating the calculation and monitoring of complex ISDA Additional Termination Events (ATEs) and Credit Support Annexes (CSA) Thresholds. The solution provides an intelligent and scalable approach to constructing ATE and CSA Threshold conditions. The new platform significantly enhances efficiency by simplifying the management of ISDA and CSA terms, offering a streamlined approach for handling counterparty and liquidity risks.
/jlne.ws/3U1KHsG
China's AI start-ups race to crack US market; MiniMax, ByteDance and 01.ai launch apps overseas to boost revenue growth
Eleanor Olcott - Financial Times
Chinese artificial intelligence start-ups are trying to crack the US market to drive rapid revenue growth, in an effort to emulate TikTok's success abroad amid a sluggish domestic industry. MiniMax, ByteDance and 01.ai are among a group of Chinese AI companies that have launched AI products overseas, particularly targeting the US, which has a larger pool of high-spending users than in their home market. Shanghai-based MiniMax, which is backed by HongShan, Alibaba and Tencent, has made inroads over the past year. The three-year-old unicorn has told investors it will net about $70mn in sales this year, a lofty projection by the standards of AI start-ups that have struggled to monetise their technology.
/jlne.ws/40g9zAT
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, hopes to join Singapore 'thriving AI ecosystem' with new office
Lionel Lim - Fortune
Singapore is set to become a hub for OpenAI as the ChatGPT developer eyes a regional expansion. The Southeast Asian country has "emerged as a leader in artificial intelligence," CEO Sam Altman said in a statement, according to CNA. The AI developer hopes to partner with Singapore's "thriving AI ecosystem," he added.
/jlne.ws/3NlaKXK
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Some of the Web's Sketchiest Sites Share an Address in Iceland; A Reykjavik building that houses a penis museum and an H&M is also the virtual home to an array of perpetrators of identity theft, ransomware and disinformation.
Steven Lee Myers and Tiffany Hsu - The New York Times
The modern office building near the harbor in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, is best known as the home of the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which displays 320 specimens of mammal penises. To those who track cyber mischief, however, the building also has a reputation as a virtual offshore haven for some of the world's worst perpetrators of identity theft, ransomware, disinformation, fraud and other wrongdoing.
/jlne.ws/4eWQWFX
Fla. pol targeted in elaborate AI 'car crash' scam - which almost fooled his dad into forking over $35K
Michael Lee Simpson - SWNS via NY Post
An attorney has issued a warning over an elaborate AI voice-cloning scam which fooled his own dad into nearly handing over $35,000. Scammers impersonated Jay Shooster, 34, and called his dad Frank, 70, convincing him his son had been in a serious car accident, was arrested and needed bail money. Terrified Frank, a retired attorney, said he was convinced it was his "hysterical" son and has been deeply traumatized by the scam.
/jlne.ws/4eX2NUI
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | FTX Creditors Emerge as Possible Fillip for Ailing Crypto Market; K33, Galaxy say some FTX payouts may be put back into tokens; Bitcoin recently has struggled to break out of a trading range
Suvashree Ghosh and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Crypto exchange FTX's creditors are set to receive more than $12 billion in coming months in a court-approved payout plan, raising the prospect that some of the cash could be plowed back into digital assets. The bankrupt platform in June had $12.6 billion to return to customers, a figure that may reach $16.5 billion after all its assets are found and sold. Initial distributions of about $1.1 billion are relatively small but are set to support Bitcoin, Galaxy Digital Holdings Research Head Alex Thorn wrote in a note.
/jlne.ws/3BCKrda
Bitnomial Exchange deploys Eventus platform for trade surveillance amid rapid growth
Eventus, Bitnomial
Eventus, a leading provider of comprehensive, at-scale trade surveillance and financial risk solutions, and Bitnomial, Inc. a digital asset derivatives exchange company that operates CFTC regulated exchange, clearinghouse and settlement businesses, today announced that Bitnomial Exchange has selected the Eventus Validus platform for all of its trade surveillance needs. Bitnomial sought a comprehensive, scalable trade surveillance solution as the firm has grown extensively and expanded into new products and business lines.
/jlne.ws/3zQE5X3
Can a crypto ETF die of apathy?
Bryce Elder - Financial Times
Monday's new activity of...zero!....gives the combined ether spot ETF complex a $6.7bn net asset value - though the important word there is "net". The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) zombie fund accounts for slightly more than $4bn of the total, having converted from a trust to an ETP in July. Five spot ether ETF issuers have introductory offers that waive fees, which are typically about 0.25 per cent a year. Grayscale charges its legacy clients 2.5 per cent. Any punter that volunteers to pay that rate may be seeking to avoid tax (or other government functions), or could be stuck with the wreckage of arbitrage trades gone bad. Whatever the excuse, this $4bn now looks like dead money.
/jlne.ws/3XWOTuU
I am not Bitcoin inventor, says man named in HBO film
Joe Tidy - BBC
A new documentary claims to have solved the greatest mystery in cryptocurrency: the true identity of the inventor of Bitcoin. The question has captivated the internet since the digital currency was launched by an unknown person or persons calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Now the makers of an HBO film say they finally have the answer: Canadian crypto expert Peter Todd. The only problem with the theory - Mr Todd has dismissed it as "ludicrous." In Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, Peter Todd is confronted by film-maker Cullen Hoback Mr Hoback shows him his evidence and asks him if he was behind the now trillion dollar invention - a suggestion Mr Todd laughs off. "I am not Satoshi Nakamoto", he has since posted on X.
/jlne.ws/3BM1xoN
HBO filmmaker believes he found bitcoin's creator, whose identity has been unknown
Landon Mion - Fox Business via the New York Post
The identity of bitcoin's inventor has been a mystery, but the creator of a new HBO documentary believes he may have uncovered the person's identity. Cullen Hoback believes he may have uncovered "Satoshi Nakamoto," the alias that bitcoin's inventor used online. Bitcoin's inventor could personally control a cryptocurrency stash worth tens of billions of dollars, according to The Washington Post. His documentary, "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery," premiered Tuesday on HBO.
/jlne.ws/3XWpj97
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Trump's trade policies would hurt the world; His new suggestions would have a far bigger impact than the relatively modest 'starter protectionism' of his first term
Martin Wolf - Financial Times
Donald Trump believes that tariffs have magical properties. He even claimed in his speech at the Economic Club of New York last month that "I stopped wars with the threat of tariffs". He added: "I stopped wars with two countries that mattered a lot." So great is his faith in tariffs that he has proposed raising them to 60 per cent on imports from China and up to 20 per cent on imports from the rest of the world. He has even suggested a 100 per cent tariff on imports from countries threatening to move away from the dollar as their global currency of choice.
/jlne.ws/4gZ4wdN
Traders Hear the Tariff Threats But Question What Will Be Real; Deere, Caterpillar stocks hold up despite Trump's 200% warning; 'Tariff that never happened' can't hurt share prices: Bahnsen
Esha Dey - Bloomberg
Deere & Co. is used to being a political symbol, with its iconic yellow and green tractors and lawn-mowers serving as powerful emblems of America's heartland and how the country likes to see itself. But it's not accustomed to having this role in a campaign. Two weeks ago, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump slammed Deere for its plans to move a portion of its production to Mexico to reduce costs, and he threatened to pile hefty tariffs on some of its goods if it follows through.
/jlne.ws/3XYRMv1
Trump Holds Up Transition Process, Skirting Ethics and Fund-Raising Rules; Donald J. Trump has so far opted out of the official planning for a government handover, a move that allows him to avoid disclosing his donors to his transition effort.
Ken Bensinger - The New York Times
Less than a month before Election Day, Donald J. Trump's campaign has not yet participated in the government's official presidential transition process, a significant break from past practice that could threaten the seamless transfer of power should the Republican nominee win election. Mr. Trump's team has missed two key deadlines to sign agreements with the administration that are set by federal law and has also failed to sign an ethics plan that is required to jump-start the process of planning for a new administration. Mr. Trump's representatives did attend a meeting at the White House last month, but they otherwise have had little communication with the Biden administration about the handoff and have skipped the opportunity to receive national security briefings.
/jlne.ws/3YfXXfu
The European Union Needs a Much Bigger Budget; The bloc's fiscal firepower is woefully inadequate for the challenges it faces.
The Editorial Board - Bloomberg
The leaders of the European Union have a lot to accomplish in the next five years: Restore economic dynamism, slash carbon emissions, transform energy and digital infrastructure, establish a credible defense capability, and fend off whatever unexpected shocks come along. To have any chance of success, the EU will need a budget commensurate to the task.
/jlne.ws/4dDyqBx
Kremlin Says Trump Sent Putin Covid Tests While President; Kremlin denies phone calls took place after Trump left office; Trump campaign pushed back on claims in Bob Woodward's book
Bloomberg News
The Kremlin confirmed that former US President Donald Trump while in office sent Russian President Vladimir Putin Covid-19 testing devices during the height of the pandemic, as recounted in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the tests had been sent, but denied the book's claim that the two leaders had spoken by phone several times since Trump left office.
/jlne.ws/3XSVXbM
New Book Reveals Trump's Putin Calls and Russian Nuclear Threats; Journalist Bob Woodward's 'War' sheds new light on global leaders and high-stakes conflicts
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Isabella Simonetti and Robert Barba - The Wall Street Journal
President Biden described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "son of a bitch." There was a real threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine. Former President Donald Trump had as many as seven phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Trump left the White House.
/jlne.ws/4dC79PP
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | India Warns Shadow Banks of Action If They Fail to Curtail Risks; Banks, NBFCs told to assess credit standing of retail borrower; Target driven compensation leads to poor work culture, service
Preeti Singh - Bloomberg
India's central bank warned shadow banks to put in place robust risk mitigating systems like assessing credit worthiness of individual borrowers in a more comprehensive manner, failing which it might have to step in and take regulatory action. Describing most of the lenders as healthy, Governor Shaktikanta Das, said some of them were "outliers" and urged these firms to assess their exposures so that there is no build up of stress especially in the unsecured loans business. He also called for a review of the compensation structures in some of these finance companies, which he said could lead to an adverse work culture and poor customer service.
/jlne.ws/4dF5Wak
ASIC bans financial adviser John Hazell for two years
ASIC
ASIC has banned financial adviser John Hazell from providing financial services for a period of two years. Mr Hazell was an authorised representative of Richmond Partners Pty Ltd from 1 March 2018 to 16 May 2024. Mr Hazell was registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) as a tax (financial) adviser on 15 June 2015 until his registration was terminated by the Board effective 8 March 2023 for ceasing to meet registration requirements.
/jlne.ws/3zGugep
ASIC cancels licence of Ferratum Australia Pty Ltd
ASIC
ASIC has cancelled the Australian credit licence (credit licence) of Ferratum Australia Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (Ferratum) following a payment of compensation by the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). On 30 April 2024, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) made a determination against Ferratum, which Ferratum failed to pay. Subsequently, on 18 September 2024, the CSLR paid $1,297.00 to a person for the AFCA determination and notified ASIC. As a result, on 4 October 2024, ASIC cancelled Ferratum's credit licence.
/jlne.ws/3Y2onQL
Delivering vibrant capital markets
FCA
Speech by Ashley Alder, our Chair, at the International Capital Markets Conference.
/jlne.ws/3A34mBr
SFC flags asset manager misconduct in managing private funds and discretionary accounts
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today issued a circular flagging various deficiencies and substandard conduct identified during its supervision of licensed corporations engaged in managing private funds and discretionary accounts (referred to as asset managers in the circular). The severity of misconduct in many of these cases has seriously jeopardised investor interests, thereby undermining confidence in Hong Kong's market integrity and status as an international asset management centre.
/jlne.ws/3BE50pw
SFC reprimands and fines CSC Futures (HK) Limited $4.95 million for regulatory breaches
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined CSC Futures (HK) Limited (CSC) $4.95 million for failures in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and other regulatory requirements between January 2017 and December 2018 (Note 1). The SFC's investigation found that CSC did not conduct any due diligence on the customer supplied systems (CSSs) used by 100 clients for placing orders during the material time. As a result, CSC was not in a position to properly assess and manage the money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) and other risks associated with the use of such CSSs by its clients (Notes 2 and 3).
/jlne.ws/3NpAlyJ
SFC reprimands and fines Xinhu International Futures (Hong Kong) Co., Limited $9 million and suspends its former responsible officer Ngai Wai for nine months
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined Xinhu International Futures (Hong Kong) Co., Limited (Xinhu) $9 million for failures in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) and other regulatory requirements between December 2016 and March 2019 (Note 1). The SFC has also suspended the licence of Mr Ngai Wai, Xinhu's former responsible officer and manager-in-charge (MIC) for overall management oversight, compliance, information technology and risk management for nine months from 8 October 2024 to 7 July 2025 (Note 2). This is because Xinhu's failures were attributable to Ngai's failure to discharge his duties as a responsible officer and a member of the senior management of Xinhu during the material time.
/jlne.ws/3Yik2tO
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Who and what is driving oil price volatility; Algos versus humans
George Steer - Financial Times
A "geopolitical risk premium" is a fuzzy concept, roughly equivalent in today's oil market to an extra $5 charged for each of the 6bn or so "virtual" barrels traded every day. That the planet consumes (just) 100mn real barrels every 24 hours shows how dominated by speculators the oil market has become. This in turn explains why, alongside the many other obvious catalysts, prices have been as volatile as they have over the past few weeks.
/jlne.ws/4dJht8G
Is the dollar's decline already over? Strong US jobs data is likely to add to other forces to keep the currency strong
Rebecca Patterson - Financial Times
After months of steady ascent, the dollar has been giving back gains in recent months. In the year to the end of July, the US currency climbed 5 per cent against a broad basket of peers tracked by the Federal Reserve. It then softened, largely thanks to increased expectations for lower interest rates that were confirmed with a half percentage point cut by the Fed in September. That made the dollar's prospects relatively less attractive. Today, though, such expectations are not likely to prove sufficient to keep the dollar on a downward trend, particularly after further evidence of strong job creation in the US last week.
/jlne.ws/3NjAZOh
'I'm Not Going to Wait': Young Chinese Jump Into Stock Frenzy; Despite the risks of investing at a volatile time, investors see the recent stock rally as a rare opportunity to make money when China's economy is sluggish.
Meaghan Tobin and John Liu - The New York Times
Young people in China have jumped into stock trading in the past two weeks since Beijing took its most aggressive steps yet to revive economic growth and persuade consumers to start spending. On one popular online stock trading app, new accounts surged among people under 30. An account manager at a brokerage firm in China's northeast was flooded with questions from first-time investors. University students spent their Golden Week holiday break last week reading up on investment advice.
/jlne.ws/4eDK7JK
Ambac Looks to Rebrand as It Sheds Bond-Insurance Business; After the deal with Oaktree closes in the coming months, the company also plans to further cut its ties to the 2008 financial crisis
Mark Maurer - The Wall Street Journal
Ambac Financial Group, an insurer hit hard by the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, is looking to rebrand and grow through acquisitions as it tries to put the crisis completely behind it. The New York-based company is months away from remaking itself. The sale of its bond-insurance business would leave Ambac with two business segments: property and casualty, and specialty underwriting. It also is planning for new acquisitions, in part funded by the sale, to boost the revenue and offerings of those businesses, and considering changing its name after the sale.
/jlne.ws/400Rian
General Atlantic chief says higher UK taxes will not harm investing; Bill Ford says his approach would not change if carried interest loophole is closed
Alexandra Heal, Antoine Gara and James Fontanella-Khan
General Atlantic's chief executive said higher taxation of capital gains in the UK would not affect his firm's approach to investing, and that dealmaking would improve next year regardless of who won the US election. Bill Ford, who heads the global private equity firm with $83bn in assets under management, added that companies with market capitalisations of more than $10bn would drive the initial public offering market going forward.
/jlne.ws/4h0ApT8
Family Offices Are Investing With Rosy Outlook
Geoff Nudelman - Barron's
Family offices are grappling with the most significant era of generational wealth transfer of any period in history, and it's influencing their investment strategies, according to a report by RBC and Campden Wealth. "The North America Family Office Report 2024," released in September, highlights survey responses from 360 single- and multi-family offices worldwide, representing an average assets under management, or AUM of US$1 billion and a collective wealth of US$268 billion.
/jlne.ws/47YegB2
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Project Dearth Slows South Africa's $9.3 Billion Coal Exit Plan; Presidency to start a new funding platform to aid projects; Pact is between South Africa and the world's richest nations
Antony Sguazzin - Bloomberg
The implementation of a $9.3 billion climate-finance pact between South Africa and some of the world's richest nations has been slowed by an absence of investable projects, the African country's presidency said. The Just Energy Transition Partnership, a unit in the presidency, will unveil a platform to nurture projects later this month to help speed up progress, according to Joanne Yawitch, head of its project management unit.
/jlne.ws/3YjcGGN
Turkey to Resume Renewable Energy Auctions to Boost Investment
Firat Kozok and Patrick Sykes - Bloomberg
Turkey plans to offer at least 2,000MW of new renewable energy capacity each year until 2035 in a bid to accelerate investment in the sector, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. The Ministry of Energy will resume auctions next year for specially designated areas known by their Turkish acronym YEKA, the people said, requesting anonymity because the plans aren't yet public.
/jlne.ws/4h16I4r
Chevron in talks to sell Texas gas assets to Tokyo Gas for up to $1bn; Deal would bolster Japanese group's drive to secure supplies for home country, which relies on fossil fuel imports for energy
Myles McCormick, Jamie Smyth and James Fontanella-Khan - Financial Times
Chevron is in talks to sell its east Texas natural gas assets to Tokyo Gas, said three people familiar with the discussions, as the Japanese utility looks to expand its access to abundant US reserves of the fuel. The companies have been in negotiations for months about a potential deal for Chevron's portfolio in the Haynesville shale, a prolific gas-producing basin straddling Texas and Louisiana.
/jlne.ws/3Y0JEKn
The world's renewable energy potential is gridlocked; Transmission lines and energy storage solutions need to be deployed much faster
The editorial board - Financial Times
The world is adding renewable energy capacity at record speed. Solar farms are sprouting up in the deserts of Arizona, wind turbines are swirling along North Sea coastlines, and hydroelectric plants are being etched into European mountainsides. Billion-dollar green policy packages - including the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU's "REPowerEU" strategy - are propelling the boom. Global investment in renewable power last year surpassed $700bn, over double the amount in 2015. For all the progress, though, there is a major snag: too much of it is going to waste.
/jlne.ws/3Yed5dk
Costs of the green transition loom large for European companies; Business leaders say Europe's policymakers are ill prepared for just how expensive the shift is likely to be
Richard Milne - Financial Times
A Norwegian car dealership weighing selling petrol or diesel cars next year, a Swedish industrial start-up urgently needing fresh capital despite having raised an eyewatering $15bn already, the poor uptake for heat pumps across Europe this year. They may be three seemingly disparate news items, but together they offer signs of the struggles that some Europe business leaders report over the green transition of industry. They worry that Europe's policymakers are ill prepared for just how expensive the shift is likely to be for the continent, pointing to hundreds of billions of euros in investments and subsidies that are needed. Otherwise, the business leaders warn, competitors such as China and the US are ready to pounce.
/jlne.ws/4dGh6f2
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Biggest US Banks Face Revenue Pressure in New Era of Rate Cuts; JPMorgan, Wells Fargo kick off earnings with all eyes on NII; There's 'lingering' anxiety over revenue source, analyst says
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
Big bank investors parsing through the industry's third-quarter results this week will face something they haven't grappled with in nearly a half-decade: the impact of Federal Reserve rate cuts. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. kick off the first bank earnings season since the Federal Reserve's 50 basis point rate cut last month. All eyes will be on their forecasts for full-year net interest income - the difference between what a bank collects on loans and pays out to depositors and their biggest revenue source - and any hints of what that metric will deliver in 2025.
/jlne.ws/3XXKHLh
StanChart's India CEO Daruwala Set to Retire in April; Daruwala joined Standard Chartered as India CEO in 2016; The bank has lost key personnel in India in recent years
Saikat Das and Preeti Singh - Bloomberg
Standard Chartered Plc's chief executive officer for India and Southeast Asia, Zarin Daruwala, will retire April 1 after serving more than eight years in the role. Daruwala, who is one of the two female heads of large foreign banks in the country, joined the lender in 2016 as CEO for India. The bank said it would provide an update on her successor in due course. Bloomberg News first reported on Daruwala's planned departure earlier Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3zIb6oq
Blackstone Provides $600 Million Private Credit Loan to Acuity; Proceeds to refinance Acuity Knowledge Partners' existing debt; Private equity firm Permira acquired Acuity in January 2023
Manuel Baigorri, Megawati Wijaya, and Sharon Klyne - Bloomberg
Blackstone Inc. has provided a $600 million private credit loan to Acuity Knowledge Partners, a research and data company owned by Permira Holdings LLP., according to a person familiar with the matter. The loan refinances Acuity's existing debt and is structured as a unitranche, which is a blend of senior and junior debt, the person said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
/jlne.ws/4eEkuZs
****** This is not Acuiti.~JJL
Point72 to Move Tokyo Office as Its Japan Footprint Expands
Lisa Du - Bloomberg
Billionaire Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management is almost doubling its office space in Tokyo as it moves to a newer skyscraper in the capital's central financial district. The US hedge fund will move to Otemachi One Tower early next year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The new location, near the Imperial Palace, will be nearly twice the size of its current office, the person added.
/jlne.ws/3NE5ZZP
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Heartbreak leave can help employees recover from shattered relationships; A bill in the Philippines is trying to secure time off for workers after a break-up. Could it improve productivity elsewhere?
Minnie Advincula and Emma Jacobs - Financial Times
In recognition of the "negative emotional baggage" that can come after a relationship break-up, Ricardo Dublado, chief executive of Cebu Century Plaza Hotel in the Philippines, last year unveiled an unusual new staff policy: five paid days of heartbreak leave. The time off, which can be taken annually provided the break-up is with a different person each year, was inspired by Dublado's own experience. In the Philippines the idea is catching on: a parliamentary bill in February proposed that any worker going through a romantic break-up should be eligible for up to three days of unpaid leave. "Studies reveal the substantial toll break-ups take on individuals, affecting their emotional and mental wellbeing, leading to decreased productivity, absenteeism and higher healthcare costs," said Congressman Lordan Suan.
/jlne.ws/481BVRd
The importance of human connectivity - 'You don't gain culture from an algo'; With advancements in technology shifting the ways in which the buy- and sell-side interact, experts at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit discuss the importance of human connections, particularly in times of market stress.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
In the current tech-driven landscape, stemming from virtual interaction continuing post-pandemic, counterparty relationships are being bolstered again to increase collaboration and strengthen market resilience according to panellists at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit. Idea generation, market research and market colour are gained from sell-side institutions, which are then fed back into the buy-side, said one panellist, something which is less achievable virtually.
/jlne.ws/3BzOXJf
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Why the Deadly Marburg Virus Is an Increasing Threat in Africa
Jason Gale and Janice Kew - Bloomberg
Marburg virus had killed 12 people in Rwanda as of early October, touching off the nation's first confirmed outbreak of the highly virulent disease that can have a fatality rate of close to 90%. From the same family as the Ebola virus, Marburg caused occasional outbreaks and sporadic cases mostly in Central and Southern Africa until Guinea, in West Africa, confirmed a single, deadly case in August 2021. Then in the following years, it popped up for the first time in other countries on the continent. The latest cases show once again how a pathogen found in fruit bats can cross the species barrier to infect humans, and raise the risk of a wider outbreak.
/jlne.ws/47Y4ezE
Obesity drugs could cost US health insurance system $35bn, study finds; CBO analysis says savings from other health benefits would not offset the expense of weight-loss jabs
Oliver Barnes in New York - Financial Times
Covering weight-loss drugs for elderly Americans on the state-backed Medicare health insurance programme would cost the US government $35bn over the next nine years, a congressional analysis has found. Currently, Medicare, which provides prescription drugs to about 54mn over-65s in the US, only covers anti-obesity medications, such as Novo Nordisk's blockbuster Wegovy, for patients suffering from another comorbidity, such as stroke risk, heart disease or sleep apnoea.
/jlne.ws/3BCaXDv
TikTok sued for 'wreaking havoc' on teen mental health
Natalie Sherman - BBC News
More than a dozen states in the US have sued TikTok, accusing the social media platform of helping to drive a mental health crisis among teenagers. A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country allege that the company uses addictive features to hook children to the app and that it has intentionally misled the public about the safety of prolonged use. TikTok called the lawsuit "disappointing" and said it believed many of the claims were "inaccurate and misleading". The platform is already battling a law passed by Congress in April that would ban it from the US, unless Chinese parent company Bytedance agreed to a sale.
/jlne.ws/3ZWMoeE
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | China's Zijin Buys Ghana Gold Mine From Newmont for $1 Billion; Akyem's underground operations expected to begin from 2028; Prices of the precious metal have hit record levels this year
Bloomberg News
Zijin Mining Group Co. has bought the Akyem gold project in Ghana for as much as $1 billion in cash as the state-owned firm looks to add resources to meet its aggressive output targets. The purchase from US-based Newmont Corp. will allow China's largest listed metals producer to mine high-grade ore bodies from one of the world's major gold belts, Zijin said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3U3Y4s5
India's Addition to FTSE Russell Emerging Market Bond Index Boosts Sentiment
Chiranjivi Chakraborty - Bloomberg
Good morning, this is Ashutosh Joshi, an equities reporter in Mumbai. Asian stocks are broadly higher this morning and FTSE Russell overnight announced adding Indian bonds to its emerging-market bond index. Bharatiya Janata Party's surprise win in the Haryana polls is also boosting the positive mood. Should the central bank too surprise with a rate cut at its policy meeting later today, that would be the icing on the cake for stock market bulls.
/jlne.ws/3zZNGL5
South Korea Joins Major FTSE Russell Index After Bond Market Reforms; Seoul to join WGBI in 2025, drawing up to $56 billion of flows; India wins accession to emerging-market gauge from September
Matthew Burgess and Whanwoong Choi - Bloomberg
South Korea will join FTSE Russell's major global bond index next year, paving the way for tens of billions of dollars of inflows after an overhaul of the country's financial market infrastructure. The index provider is also adding India to its gauge of emerging market debt from 2025, citing the government's progress in improving market access. Vietnamese stocks, meantime, remained on a watch list for an upgrade to emerging market, while Greek equities were added to a list for a potential inclusion as a developed market.
/jlne.ws/4gRtrQB
Nigeria to Set Naira for Dangote Crude Sales Using Market Rate; It will use the central bank's Nafem to calculate the rate; Top Africa oil nation is selling crude to Nigerian billionaire
Nduka Orjinmo and Ruth Olurounbi - Bloomberg
Nigeria will settle crude sales to Africa's newest and biggest oil refinery using the local currency's rate in its foreign-exchange market, dousing concerns that it would fix below-market naira levels for the transactions. The mega oil refinery owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote will pay the local-currency equivalent of the prevailing international benchmark price of oil using the closing rate in the central bank's Nafem window, a foreign-exchange trading portal for investors, exporters and end-users, three people familiar with the negotiations said.
/jlne.ws/3Ngv2BM
Greek Stocks Eyeing Developed-Market Status by FTSE Russell; FTSE Russell to provide update as part of March 2025 review; Greek stock index has rallied 53% since start of 2023
Farah Elbahrawy and Sagarika Jaisinghani - Bloomberg
Greek stocks are one step closer to joining the developed markets universe once again as the country gradually returns to normalcy, leaving behind its decade long debt crisis. FTSE Russell added the country's equities to the watch list for possible reclassification from advanced emerging to developed-market status. It was initially downgraded to the developing nations category in 2013.
/jlne.ws/4eCBPSi
MBK Says It Won't Raise $13 Billion Korea Zinc Takeover Bid; A further hike in offer price would destroy value, suitor says; Watchdog plans to probe the "overheated" battle for control
Youkyung Lee and Heesu Lee - Bloomberg
MBK Partners won't raise its bid to gain control of Korea Zinc Co., the private equity group said on Wednesday, days before a tender offer for shares in the world's biggest zinc smelter comes to a close. In a statement, it said any further increase to the offer currently on the table would destroy value for Korea Zinc investors. It will also refrain from sweetening its bid for Young Poong Precision Corp., a key Korea Zinc shareholder with a nearly 2% stake.
/jlne.ws/4ffhH91
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