| May 08, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
On Friday, the World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 more than three years after its original declaration, Reuters reported. However, the next crisis that will keep people from traveling to the U.S. is emerging.
While the world was focused on the coronation of King Charles III in the U.K., the U.S. was dealing with another mass shooting and news that now seven countries have issued travel advisories for the United States. The list of countries telling their citizens to be diligent about risks, including mass shootings, are New Zealand, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Venezuela and Uruguay. There have now been more mass shootings in the U.S. than days in 2023. I don't mean to make too much of this, as it is only seven countries, but five of them are key U.S. allies.
On the positive side, the number of people back in the office in Chicago has hit another high, Crain's Chicago Business reported.
But this is not the biggest threat we face - the debt ceiling standoff is. According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, there are no good alternatives to Congress lifting the debt ceiling, and the use of the 14th Amendment by President Biden would create a constitutional crisis, Bloomberg reports.
Former presidential advisor Laurence H. Tribe has an essay in The New York Times that addresses the debt ceiling issue, and maybe gives us an out, titled "Why I Changed My Mind on the Debt Limit."
I am sorry for not having learned how to whistle better during my childhood. Evidently it can pay off big time. The SEC has paid a whistleblower a record $279 million in the largest-ever award, it said on Friday. That is more than double the previous record.
In other news, according to a Wall Street Journal story, "Male Stock Analysts With 'Dominant' Faces Get More Information-and Have Better Forecasts." The subheadline is "Women analysts with perceived dominant faces, however, are at a competitive disadvantage, a study suggests." Why do I suspect we will have a whole bunch of hiring based on this?
How do you top The Most Interesting Man in the World in the Kilt Challenge? You get a bunch of ABN AMRO clients and employees to join you in a 265 mile bike ride from Amsterdam to London, that is how. Robbert Booij, the CEO of ABN AMRO Clearing Europe is heading off on June 4th for London on a trek to raise money for Futures For Kids and the Kilt Challenge he accepted from Pat Kenny. Join me in supporting Robert in his ride and the challenge.
Newt Minnow, the former head of the FCC during the Kennedy Administration, who called television a "vast wasteland" in a speech and was a prominent attorney with the law firm Sidley Austin, died at the age of 97, Crain's Chicago Business reported.
John Davidson signed off to a 43 year career, including as CEO of the OCC, with lyrics from a song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "So goodbye yellow brick road, Where the dogs of society howl, You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plough. Back to the howling old owl in the woods, Hunting the horny back toad, Oh, I've finally decided my future lies, Beyond the yellow brick road."
Congratulations to JLN staffer Alex Teng, who graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago this weekend. He wrote a note on LinkedIn about his journey and what is next. It has been an honor and a privilege to have Alex work for JLN. He has done incredible work on Options Discovery.
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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Tallarium Ready to Grow with XTX and Reciprocal Investment
JohnLothianNews.com
John Lothian News interviewed Stanislav Ermilov of Tallarium about a March 2023 fundraising round that saw it raise funds from XTX Markets and venture capital firm Reciprocal. We talked to Ermilov about Tallarium's plans for the funds. Tallarium aimed at the listed exchange energy business; this investment helps the company improve its technology and scale its business, Ermilov said. He wants to make a substantial investment in product development to grow the company across a range of markets, he said. Tallarium will expand across the energy complex with this investment, he said.
Watch the video »
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ChatGPT AI can pick better stocks than fund manager
Anna Cooban - CTV News
A basket of stocks selected by ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), has far outperformed some of the most popular investment funds in the United Kingdom. Between March 6 and April 28, a dummy portfolio of 38 stocks gained 4.9 per cent while 10 leading investment funds clocked an average loss of 0.8 per cent, according to an experiment conducted by financial comparison site finder.com. It wouldn't "be long until large numbers of consumers try to use [ChatGPT] for financial gain," Jon Ostler, Finder's CEO, said in a statement earlier this week.
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****** Even a broken clock can be right twice a day. What is ChatGPT AI's long term record?~JJL
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Bluesky tries a new answer to the social network question; If you want to know what the app is like, imagine Twitter but smaller, weirder and without Elon Musk's shenanigans
Elaine Moore - Financial Times
Instagram is for posers, Twitter is full of trolls and Facebook is old. Surely no one has room in their lives for more social media? Yet here comes Bluesky, a shiny new Twitter-lookalike so popular that invitations to join are in high demand. For those of us who spend too much time online, Bluesky invite codes carry bragging rights. Like a private party, the strict guest list has created a queue of people who want to get in. On eBay, Bluesky invitations are on sale for hundreds of dollars.
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****** I am awaiting my invitation to join.~JJL
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AI needs superintelligent regulation; Effective brakes can help the industry move faster
The editorial board - Financial Times
Powerful artificial intelligence systems can be of enormous benefit to society and help us tackle some of the world's biggest problems. Machine learning models are already playing a significant role in diagnosing diseases, accelerating scientific research, boosting economic productivity and cutting energy usage by optimising electricity flows on power grids, for example.
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*****Now we just need to find the rainbow colored unicorn that is superintelligent regulation.~JJL
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'Over My Dead Body': Backlash Builds Against $3 Trillion Clean-Energy Push; Ballooning size of wind and solar projects draws local ire as they march closer to populated areas
Jennifer Hiller - The Wall Street Journal
The federal government has ignited a green-energy investment spree that's expected to reach as high as $3 trillion over the next decade. The road to spending that money, though, is increasingly hitting speed bumps from the likes of Gerry Coffman. About an hour southwest of Kansas City, she turned down a wind lease last year on a farm that has been in her family since 1866. Someone knocked on her door a few months later, paperwork in hand, and offered $6,000 to hang a wind-power transmission line across her land. If she agreed to store construction equipment, she stood to make an additional $4,000. Ms. Coffman said no.
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****** How much money would you have to be offered to give up your peace and quiet? ~JJL
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U.S. Exchanges List More Than a Dozen Cryptos the SEC Says Are Illegal to Sell; Number of tokens regulator has labeled as securities almost tripled in 2022
Peter Santilli, Caitlin Ostroff and Dave Michaels - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been waging a campaign to regulate cryptocurrencies since 2017, arguing it has the authority to oversee many digital coins and the platforms that trade them. The SEC can only regulate digital coins that are classified as securities, a category that includes assets such as stocks and bonds. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said most crypto tokens fall within that category. That means many were distributed illegally, because securities can only be sold to the public if they are registered with the SEC and the issuers provide financial and risk disclosures.
/jlne.ws/3M7RjlK
****** How can so many people get this wrong? Classic case of pioneering. You can tell the crypto pioneers, they are the ones with the SEC arrows in their backs.~]JJL
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Friday's Top Three
Our top story Friday was Coinbase Tries Novel Defense in SEC Fight, from The Wall Street Journal. Second was John Lothian News' video interview, CQG's Moroney and Kenny Talk to John Lothian News About New Broadridge Partnership and New Products and Technology. Third was a tie between Bloomberg's Coinbase Is Facing an 'Existential Risk' as SEC Reins In Crypto and The Telegraph's Brace yourselves, the banking crisis is just getting started, about Jamie Dimon.
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MarketsWiki Stats
27,316 pages; 244,745 edits
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| Lead Stories | The fast-growing kingdom of Jamie Dimon; The question now is whether JPMorgan is too big for its own good
Patrick Jenkins - Financial Times
His ears are smaller. And there is no crown. But on Wall Street, at least, Jamie Dimon is America's answer to King Charles III - adulated by some, resented by others, but incontrovertibly powerful. Days before the British monarch's coronation, Dimon cemented his royal status in finance with another landmark deal for JPMorgan Chase, the bank he has led since 2005. With the state-orchestrated takeover of the failing First Republic, JPMorgan has swelled to three times its size before the 2008 financial crisis, and now commands an asset base of nearly $4tn.
/jlne.ws/3VEG9bd
The ChatGPT market shock; An attempt to quantify the impact of the generative AI frenzy
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
People love to debate the impact of AI, debate the debate about AI, and debate the debate about the debate about AI. But let's take a look at what actually matters: the impact on financial markets. A couple of weeks ago we wrote about how JPMorgan had estimated that generative AI hype had already generated about $1.4tn of market cap this year, mostly by using the 2022 market value added by generative-AI-adjacent stocks like Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia.
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Dubai's Growing Commodities Hub Is Now Enticing London Traders; Sanctions attracted traders of Russian commodities to Dubai; The growing hub, low tax is now drawing other merchants there
Archie Hunter, Devika Krishna Kumar and Rachel Morison - Bloomberg
London's commodities merchants are following some of their Swiss peers to Dubai, as the emirate moves from being an outpost focused on crude to a major energy trading hub. Dubai has long tried to attract more commodities companies, investing in banking infrastructure and developing exchange-traded futures.
/jlne.ws/3pmapv7
UK competition watchdog launches review of AI market; CMA chief Sarah Cardell says the regulator will examine technology behind software such as ChatGPT
Kate Beioley and Madhumita Murgia - Financial Times
The UK competition watchdog is launching a review of the artificial intelligence market, including the models behind popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, as the industry comes increasingly into global regulators' crosshairs. Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the UK Competition and Markets Authority, said the watchdog would examine so-called foundation models - such as the software underlying ChatGPT - and "how the markets around those models are developing".
/jlne.ws/41etBIH
Eventus cuts staff numbers amid 'challenging funding environment'; The firm told The TRADE the cuts would allow it to continue to grow "prudently" without having to raise external funds.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Trade surveillance technology provider Eventus has made significant cuts to its global workforce, according to sources familiar with the matter. Around a third of staff globally are believed to have been let go, sources told The TRADE, predominantly from the firm's sales and business development divisions. Among those to leave the firm are global head of business development, Eric Einfalt and director of business development for EMEA, Iain Donald, The TRADE understands.
/jlne.ws/3NRmuTp
Policing of EU market rules drops under von der Leyen's commission; Business groups and member states warn weak enforcement threatens single market project
Ian Johnston - Financial Times
Brussels' action against breaking of single-market rules has plummeted under Ursula von der Leyen, with business groups and member states warning that laissez-faire enforcement is placing the 30-year-old project at risk. Financial Times analysis shows European Commission action against internal market infringements by member states fell 80 per cent from 2020 to 2022, the first three years of von der Leyen's term as president, when compared with the corresponding period under her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker.
/jlne.ws/3HOrFzC
World Markets Face 'Minsky Moment' Danger, Allianz Says
Craig Stirling and Anna Edwards - Bloomberg
Investors should brace for months of market readjustments overshadowed by the threat of a new "financial accident," according to Allianz chief economist Ludovic Subran. "We have all the ingredients of a so-called Minsky moment," he told Bloomberg Television on Monday, referring to economist Hyman Minsky's description of a precipitous drop in asset prices after a build-up of debt. "You see that everywhere, these liquidity pools or liquidity crunches are starting to be visible."
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SEC pays whistleblower $279mn in largest-ever award; Payment is more than double the previous record granted by the US securities regulator
Patrick Temple-West - Financial Times
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has paid out its largest-ever award to a whistleblower, almost $279mn, the regulator announced on Friday. The award is more than double the previous record amount of $114mn, which was announced in October 2020. In a heavily redacted SEC order dated May 5, the agency did not name the person who was paid the reward, nor did it say which enforcement actions resulted in the payment, a policy designed to protect whistleblowers who want to remain anonymous. "The whistleblower's sustained assistance including multiple interviews and written submissions was critical to the success of these actions," said Nicole Creola Kelly, head of the SEC's whistleblower office. "While the whistleblower's information did not prompt the opening of the SEC's investigation, their information expanded the scope of misconduct charged."
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New ETF platform aims at institutions and hedge funds; Tema ETFs to focus on risk management-optimised active vehicles and helping hedge funds create ETFs
Steve Johnson - Financial Times
A host of big-name finance industry figures are backing a new exchange traded fund platform, Tema ETFs, that aims to help hedge fund managers create ETF versions of their vehicles. Tema, which also received funding from three venture capital groups, also plans to launch an in-house range of "institutional grade" actively managed thematic ETFs.
/jlne.ws/42A9OEM
Binance Restarts Withdrawals of Bitcoin After Second Halt
Suvashree Ghosh and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Binance restarted withdrawals of Bitcoin after citing congestion on the token's blockchain for two halts in less than 12 hours, suspensions that weighed on cryptocurrency markets. The company said higher fees have been applied to pending transactions so they get picked up by Bitcoin miners - the computer rigs that operate the network. Withdrawals had been down for over two hours on Monday in Asia. "To prevent a similar recurrence in the future, our fees have been adjusted," it said. "We will continue to monitor on-chain activity and adjust accordingly if needed."
/jlne.ws/3HO02Xw
Big Oil Has $150 Billion in Cash and Investors Want a Share; Companies boost shareholder returns and keep funds for when the boom goes bust
David Uberti - The Wall Street Journal
Oil-and-gas companies have built up a mountain of cash with few precedents in recent history. Wall Street has a few ideas on how to spend it-and new drilling isn't near the top of the list. Many companies are cutting costs and raining cash on stock pickers like Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, who believe the world's thirst for oil will continue for years, if not decades, to come. The promise of money returned to shareholders helped turn energy shares into some of the few bright spots in a dark moment for markets last year, fueled by commodity prices that skyrocketed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
/jlne.ws/3VOkKMQ
Carbon Markets Get Boost From Wall Street; State Street will offer back-office services needed for carbon-credit exchange-traded funds
Amrith Ramkumar - The Wall Street Journal
The booming market for carbon credits could go mainstream under a plan to make it easier for financial firms to create products such as exchange-traded funds. State Street will begin providing its back-office services to clients that want to invest in carbon credits. The giant custody bank and fund administrator says the move will make it easier for big investors to trade the products, a key step toward making them a mainstream investment accessible to individuals.
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World food prices rise for first time in a year, UN food agency says
Reuters
The United Nations food agency's world price index rose in April for the first time in a year, but is still some 20% down on a record high hit in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 127.2 points last month against 126.5 for March, the agency said on Friday. The March reading was originally given as 126.9.
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'Worse Than 2008'-Bitcoin And Crypto Now Braced For $540 Billion Crisis, Ethereum Cofounder Warns After Price Boom
Billy Bambrough - Forbes
Bitcoin, ethereum and cryptocurrencies have been catapulted back into the limelight this year by the U.S. regional banking crisis that could be just getting started. The bitcoin price has almost doubled since falling to lows of around $15,000 per bitcoin late last year, with ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, climbing along with it-despite cofounder Vitalik Buterin issuing a serious bull run warning.
/jlne.ws/3LGPISj
ISS advises Shell shareholders to vote against climate activist resolution
Reuters
Shell (SHEL.L) shareholders should vote against a climate activist resolution seeking faster emissions cuts, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said on Saturday, while acknowledging the merits of the proposal. Shell investors will vote at an annual general meeting on May 23 on a resolution filed by the Follow This activist shareholder group which asks the energy giant to align with the 2015 Paris climate deal.
/jlne.ws/3HSB2OP
Crypto giant Binance is reportedly facing US probe for violating Russian sanctions
Mariella Moon - Engadget
Binance is reportedly facing yet another investigation by the US Justice Department, and this time, it's over possible violations against sanctions imposed against Russia. According to Bloomberg, the agency is looking into whether the cryptocurrency exchange allowed Russian customers to move money as a way to go around US sanctions on the country's financial institutions.
/jlne.ws/3LzOesQ
China Takes the Yuan Global in Bid to Repel a Weaponized Dollar; A string of new deals promote the Chinese currency as geopolitical risk spills into international finance
George Lei, Tania Chen and Jacob Gu - Bloomberg
China is putting the yuan front and center in its fight back against the US's unique influence over global money. President Xi Jinping's government has been busy striking deals over the past year to expand the ways in which the currency is used, with new agreements linked to the renminbi stretching from Russia and Saudi Arabia to Brazil and even France.
/jlne.ws/3pjU3n1
Clients Return to Danske as Bank Moves Past Laundering Scandal
Love Liman - Bloomberg
Customers are coming back to Danske Bank A/S as Denmark's largest lender is putting past scandals behind it. Danske's retail customers are growing for the first time in 10 years in its home country, according to a Voxmeter poll of the Nordic nation's 20 largest banks, cited by local media, including Finans. The lender attracted a net inflow of 14,061 clients from the beginning of last year through the end of April this year, the media said.
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Shipments from Ukraine slowing as Black Sea grain deal deadline nears
Jonathan Saul - Reuters
The pace of shipments from Ukraine under a U.N.-backed initiative has slowed as concerns grow over ships getting stuck if a deal is not renewed later this month, according to sources and data. Russia, which is one of the key parties involved, said it will keep talking although Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18, which has created more uncertainty for traders and shipping companies trying to plan ahead.
/jlne.ws/3M2vPGO
Ukraine says it used US-made Patriot system to intercept Russian hypersonic missile
Maria Kostenko and Nick Paton Walsh - CNN
Ukraine says it has for the first time used a US-made Patriot air defense system to intercept a Russian hypersonic missile. Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said on Telegram Saturday: "Yes, we have intercepted the 'unmatched' Kinzhal,'" adding an emoji of the Ukrainian flag. Oleshchuk said the interception happened during a night attack on May 4 in the sky over Kyiv.
/jlne.ws/42ANeM0
Russia launches barrage of drones at Kyiv as counteroffensive looms; About 35 drones intercepted in escalating Russian campaign of air attacks
Roman Olearchyk - Financial Times
Russian forces launched a barrage of air strikes on Kyiv ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, in what the city's mayor said was the largest drone attack on the capital since Moscow's full-scale invasion last year. Ukrainian forces said they had shot down 30 "kamikaze" drones in the Kyiv area in the early hours of Monday, while missiles also struck other parts of the country as Russia continued escalating air attacks in the run-up to its celebration of the anniversary of victory in the second world war.
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Four Possibilities for the Kremlin Attack; Moscow claims Ukraine struck the Kremlin. The truth is likely worse.
Tom Nichols - The Atlantic
Two drones struck inside the Kremlin complex early this morning. We don't know exactly what happened, but the Russian claims of a Ukrainian attack are doubtful. Russia may now have a domestic-terrorist problem-but it's more likely that Vladimir Putin's regime is preparing an excuse for a new escalation. Here's what we know: Early this morning, two drones struck inside the Kremlin (which is actually a walled complex that surrounds several government buildings and ancient churches and palaces).
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Ukraine has trained an army of 10,000 drone pilots ahead of anticipated counteroffensive, minister says
Alia Shoaib - Insider
Ukraine said it had trained 10,000 drone pilots and raised hundreds of millions of dollars for drones ahead of the long-anticipated spring counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister and minister for innovation, said on Thursday that the pilots had been trained as part of the Army of Drones project, which is part of the fundraising platform Unite d24.
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Wagner group signals it will stay in Bakhmut after Prigozhin threatened to pull forces
Reuters
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U.S. and Allies Look at Potential China Role in Ending Ukraine War
Bojan Pancevski, Laurence NormanFollow and Vivian Salama - The Wall Street Journal
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Brussels plans sanctions on Chinese companies aiding Russia's war machine; Penalties under review by Brussels likely to raise tensions with Beijing
Andy Bounds - Financial Times
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U.S. Again Extends Sanctions Carve-Out for Russia Energy Sales; A Treasury notice clears financial institutions to continue processing certain Russian energy-related transactions until November
Richard Vanderford - The Wall Street Journal
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Russia's energy sector hit as Kremlin forced to increase tax; Putin raises levies on oil and gas groups after G7 imposes price cap on Russian crude
James Politi, Anastasia Stognei and Derek Brower - Financial Times
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | ICE Clear Credit Expands European Participation With the Addition of Intesa Sanpaolo as a Clearing Participant
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, today announced that Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., Italy's leading banking group, has become a clearing participant at ICE Clear Credit, the leading global clearinghouse for credit default swaps. ICE Clear Credit provides a comprehensive product offering, robust mark-to-market services and state-of-the-art risk management approach. As a clearing participant, Intesa Sanpaolo will have access to industry-leading solutions for clearing Single Name and Index CDS instruments, as well CDS Index Option instruments referencing the major North American and European corporate indices.
/jlne.ws/3M2VY8q
EEX Press Release - EEX includes new region for natural gas index, launches new products and expiries across key markets
EEX
Please find below the EEX Press Release - EEX includes new region for natural gas index, launches new products and expiries across key markets.
/jlne.ws/413n6YZ
Unscheduled changes to MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX
Deutsche Boerse Group
STOXX Ltd., the global index provider of Qontigo, has announced unscheduled changes in the MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX indices. The changes result from the violation of basic criteria (listing in the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange), according to Chapter 5.1.2 in the " Guide to the DAX Equity Indices ".
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April 2023 figures at Eurex
Deutsche Boerse Group
Eurex, Europe's leading derivatives exchange, reports a 15 percent decrease in total trading volume to 115.7 million contracts in April from 136.8 million contracts in the same month last year. Interest rate derivatives decreased by 16 percent year-on-year in April from 49.2 million to 41.5 million traded contracts. Index derivatives decreased by 13 percent, from 58.2 million to 50.8 million contracts traded. Equity derivatives trading declined 20 percent from April 2022 to 23.4 million contracts.
/jlne.ws/3piyrHE
Know-how on the go: Get our report on Option Volatility Strategies
Eurex
In support of our Option Volatility Strategies (OVS) offering for trading equity index and fixed income products, we prepared a report providing useful information on these strategies' benefits. The report also details how delta-neutral products enhance sell-side firms' risk management practices and provides investors with a valuable investment tool when seeking delta-neutral alternatives.
/jlne.ws/3NPeZfN
Changes on the Position Limits for Securities Options
JPX
OSE sets the position limits , large position reporting threshold on Securities Options and Maximum Number of Decimal Digits for Strike Price (Flexible Options),which will be applied from May 12, 2023. OSE has set the position limits on Securities Options, which will be applied from May 12, 2023.
/jlne.ws/44Hjhfl
Listing Of Special High Grade Zinc Brand QL SHG
LME
MEMBER NOTICE 05 May 2023 23/076 Further to notice 22/288, the Exchange has approved the listing of Special High Grade Zinc brand QL SHG, which constitutes good delivery against the LME's Zinc contract with immediate effect.
/jlne.ws/3vimcfa
The number of private clients on the Moscow Exchange exceeded 25 million
MOEX
The number of individuals with brokerage accounts on the Moscow Exchange ( MOEX ) in April 2023 reached 25.1 million (+548.3 thousand people in April 2023), they opened 42.4 million accounts (+978 thousand people). April accounts). The number of private clients making transactions on the Moscow Exchange amounted to 2.6 million people. The share of individuals in the volume of trades in shares was 81.5%, in the volume of trades in bonds - 35.6%, on the spot currency market - 18.4%, on the derivatives market - 69%.
/jlne.ws/3VJqx69
SGX Group welcomes Mirae Asset Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. as Securities Trading Member
SGX
SGX Group is pleased to welcome Mirae Asset Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. to its securities market as a trading member. Mirae Asset Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. is the Singapore subsidiary of Mirae Asset Securities Co. Ltd, the largest investment banking and stock brokerage company by market capitalisation in South Korea. Incorporated in 2011, Mirae Asset Securities (Singapore) offers brokerage services in equity and fixed income, as well as investment banking, structured finance, and other capital market services.
/jlne.ws/3B56mGd
TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - April 2023
TMX Group
TMX Group today announced its financing activity on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for April 2023. TSX welcomed nine new issuers in April 2023, compared with two in the previous month and six in April 2022. The new listings were all exchange traded funds. Total financings raised in April 2023 decreased 51% compared to the previous month, and were down 59% compared to April 2022. The total number of financings in April 2023 was 21, compared with 30 the previous month and 36 in April 2022.
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | OpenAI Is Losing a Flabbergasting Amount of Money on ChatGPT
Noor Al-Sibai - Futurism
OpenAI, the Elon Musk-founded research firm behind ChatGPT, is apparently hemorrhaging money on the game-changing chatbot that put it on the map. People familiar with the company's losses confirmed to The Information that OpenAI spent upwards of $540 million last year while developing its widely-used chatbot - including funds it used to poach talent from the likes of Google.
/jlne.ws/3NLR7cO
Alibaba Says 'Open Sesame' to Web3
Rosie Perper - CoinDesk
This week, major Web2 institutions launched new tools to help bring Web3 to the masses. China's tech behemoth Alibaba announced a metaverse launchpad for brands called Cloudverse built on the Avalanche blockchain, while Sports Illustrated released a non-fungible token ticketing platform on the Polygon network.
/jlne.ws/42taKdQ
Twitter admits to 'security incident' involving Circles tweets
Alex Hern - The Guardian
A privacy breach at Twitter published tweets that were never supposed to be seen by anyone but the poster's closest friends to the site at large, the company has admitted after weeks of stonewalling reports. The site's Circles feature allows users to set an exclusive list of friends and post tweets that only they can read.
/jlne.ws/41gZNLk
Bluesky says no 'heads of state' allowed on its Twitter-like platform for now
Kylie Robison
Bluesky, the buzzy social media platform that's emerging as a Twitter competitor, said on Friday that it will not allow "heads of state" on the service yet, as the fledgling company seeks to control its growth during its beta testing phase. In a post on Bluesky's official account Friday afternoon, the company said that its "current policy is that we cannot accommodate heads of state to join us in our beta yet."
/jlne.ws/3HM8EOc
Microsoft Working With AMD on Expansion Into AI Processors; Software maker will help boost AMD's supply of in-demand parts; Companies need AI processing power amid ChatGPT-fueled boom
Dina Bass and Ian King - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/44HbAFZ
Zimbabwe to launch gold-backed digital token as currency concerns mount; Move comes amid drop in value of local dollar and persistent inflationary pressures
Joseph Cotterill - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3phnDJJ
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | ChatGPT and the new AI are wreaking havoc on cybersecurity in exciting and frightening ways
Dan Patterson - ZDNET
Generative artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity, aiding both attackers and defenders. Cybercriminals are harnessing AI to launch sophisticated and novel attacks at large scale. And defenders are using the same technology to protect critical infrastructure, government organizations, and corporate networks, said Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of threat intelligence platform Recorded Future.
/jlne.ws/3nEEPsi
The Hidden Costs Of Cybersecurity
Austin Gadient - Forbes
Given the rising risks and stakes surrounding cybercrime, it's a no-brainer that businesses want to safeguard their operations. According to a 2022 report by cybersecurity firm eSentire, damages from cybercrime are predicted to grow to $10.5 trillion in 2025. A cyberattack can financially devastate a business; for instance, a study from IBM and the Ponemon Institute found that the average total cost of a data breach is $4.35 million, and the average cost of a critical infrastructure data breach comes in at $4.82 million.
/jlne.ws/41bG4Nb
Dallas cyberattack highlights ransomware's risks to public safety, health
Tim Starks - The Washington Post
Investigators weren't able to get information on the history of police calls to the home of a mass killing suspect due to a ransomware attack that knocked Dallas government computers down, law enforcement officials told Rebecca Lopez of news channel WFAA in a story this weekend.
/jlne.ws/41fy0uP
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Binance Moved $4.4 Billion of Bitcoin Across its Wallets, Data Indicate
Sidhartha Shukla and Suvashree Ghosh - Bloomberg
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, moved about $4.4 billion worth of Bitcoin across its digital-asset wallets on Sunday based on an analysis from research company CryptoQuant.
/jlne.ws/3VGLxud
India not against blockchain tech, but cryptocurrency should be monitored, says FM
Pradipta Mukherjee - Forkast
India is not against blockchain technology, but currencies have to be monitored by either the government or the central bank, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
/jlne.ws/3Bn4fOt
Controversy Rises as Bitcoin Transaction Fees Continue Climb to Historical Highs
Kyle Torpey - CoinMarketCap
Controversy Rises as Bitcoin Transaction Fees Continue Climb to Historical Highs
A recent phenomenon in the Bitcoin network has raised some concerns among users and observers. Some transactions are embedding images, texts, and other data into Bitcoin's blockchain using a technique called Ordinals Inscription. This process takes advantage of some updates to Bitcoin's code that allow for more flexibility and scalability, such as SegWit and Taproot.
/jlne.ws/3NO8n17
Coinbase Weighs UAE as Potential International Hub, CEO Says; Company won't leave the US despite ongoing SEC scrutiny; UAE serves as bridge between Asia and Europe, Coinbase says
Sidhartha Shukla, Manus Cranny and Yueqi Yang -Bloomberg
Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc., at loggerheads with regulators in the US, is considering the United Arab Emirates to be an international hub.
/jlne.ws/3NJ14rD
Binance resumes Bitcoin withdrawals after temporary closure
Yana Gaur - Reuters
Crypto exchange Binance said that it has resumed Bitcoin withdrawals after a brief closure due to a congestion issue. Binance had paused withdrawal of Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, for more than an hour. Binance did not provide any further details on the issue. The world's largest crypto exchange on March suspended deposits and withdrawals on its platform due to technical issues that affected spot trading.
/jlne.ws/3pfL6Lo
Central bank digital assets can legitimize risk in the crypto space, says Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick
Will Fee - Forecast
/jlne.ws/3NWhdtE
US court provides clarity on crypto rules with OpenSea verdict
Scott Chipolina - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3pknp4J
DeFi Powerhouse Curve Finance Deploys Decentralized Stablecoin on Ethereum
Nivesh Rustgi - Decrypt
/jlne.ws/3B1jM6a
Voyager Digital Plans to Liquidate Assets, Wind Down After Sale Dreams Crushed
Cheyenne Ligon - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3NNPMCf
Crypto Excise Taxes Are Bad Policy
Sean Stein Smith - Forbes
/jlne.ws/425NbrP
Chinese Users of the Binance and FTX Exchanges Show Holes in Beijing's Crypto Ban; More signs emerge of Chinese citizens trading cryptocurrency; FTX bankruptcy filings indicate 8% of its users were Chinese
Zheping Huang, Suvashree Ghosh and Alice Huang - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3IbAS5x
Bitcoin Perpetuals Seen Becoming an Even Bigger Driver of Prices; Bitcoin perps-to-spot-volume ratio is highest in about 2 years; Where volumes are, the more influence on price there is: Kaiko
Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3nCGXR8
Are Your NFTs Safe? How to Protect Digital Assets From Disaster
Mason Marcobello - Decrypt
/jlne.ws/42yx7i1
Forget FOMO-JOMO Effect NFT Project Aims to Boost Mental Health in Web3
Jason Nelson - Decrypt
/jlne.ws/44B62wD
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Rochelle Walensky to step down as CDC director
Peter Wells - Financial Times
Rochelle Walensky is stepping down as director of the top US public health agency, having led the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as it sought to steer the country through its exit from the Covid-19 pandemic. Walensky said she intended to step down as head of the CDC in June. President-elect Joe Biden appointed her as CDC director in December 2020, just before the first Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out in the US.
/jlne.ws/3M6vYZU
Chinese Firm's Bid for a Corn-Milling Plant Near Military Base Spurs New US Reviews; Cfius would review land sales around more military bases; The panel reviews whether transactions risk national security
Daniel Flatley - Bloomberg
The US will subject real estate transactions near eight domestic military bases to increased scrutiny following a controversy over a Chinese company's effort to purchase a wet-corn milling plant near an Air Force base in North Dakota. The Treasury Department is proposing that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US add the bases to its list of "sensitive facilities" over which it has jurisdiction, according to a person familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/3B1NrvU
Robert Kennedy Jr. to make campaign debut at bitcoin conference
Alex Seitz-Wald - NBC News
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s first appearance as a presidential candidate will be at a cryptocurrency conference in Miami this month as the iconoclastic Democrat embraces a controversial industry that environmentalists say is a major contributor to climate change. Kennedy, the vaccine-skeptic environmental lawyer whose uncle was President John Kennedy, has not held any public campaign events since he launched his Democratic primary bid against President Joe Biden last month in Boston, the homeland of his famous family.
/jlne.ws/3VIvPib
U.S. Justice Department Investigating Binance for Russia-Related Sanctions Violations: Bloomberg
Amitoj Singh - CoinDesk
The U.S. Department of Justice's national security division is conducting an inquiry into whether Binance allowed Russian customers to access the exchange in violation of U.S. sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a Bloomberg report that cites five people familiar with the matter. he Justice Department inquiry is another high-profile action against Binance after a 2021 joint investigation with the Internal Revenue Service against the global exchange.
/jlne.ws/3pdNqT7
Yellen Says No Good Alternative to Congress Lifting Debt Cap; Use of 14th amendment would provoke constitutional crisis; Says Biden can't avoid financial catastrophe without Congress
Christopher Condon - Bloomberg
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there are "simply no good options" for solving the debt limit stalemate in Washington other than Congress lifting the cap and cautioned that resorting to the 14th Amendment would provoke a constitutional crisis. "We should not get to the point where we need to consider whether the president can go on issuing debt" without Congress lifting the debt ceiling, Yellen said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
/jlne.ws/3VEkJeg
Janet Yellen warns of 'constitutional crisis' over US debt ceiling impasse; Treasury secretary says circumventing Congress with 14th amendment was 'among the not-good options'
Felicia Schwartz - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/44CMUyc
These countries have issued travel advisories for their citizens towards the United States
Martie Bowser - Miami Herald
/jlne.ws/3M4Pmq7
Consulates offer a superfast highway for investment in Scotland - and vice versa
Jeremy Grant - CoinDesk
/jlne.ws/3M2jkuO
Hong Kong experts urge city to stay vigilant as WHO declares end to Covid-19 global public health emergency
Fiona Sun - South China Morning Post
/jlne.ws/3B6dh1S
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | SEC Issues $279 Million Whistleblower Award, Its Largest Ever
Mengqi Sun - The Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has awarded nearly $279 million to a whistleblower who helped the regulator and other agencies bring enforcement actions, its largest award ever. The securities market regulator announced the award Friday but didn't name the case it is connected to or identify the tipster, in keeping with its policy of not divulging this information to the public.
/jlne.ws/42t44fG
U.S. bankers urge SEC to probe short sales, reduce 'abusive' trading
Andrea Shalal - Reuters
The American Bankers Association on Thursday urged federal regulators to investigate a spate of significant short sales of publicly traded banking equities that it said were "disconnected from the underlying financial realities." In a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, the lobby group said it had also observed "extensive social media engagement" about the health of various banks that was out of step with general industry conditions.
/jlne.ws/44y0tiB
Your Evening Briefing: SEC Said to Probe First Republic Trading; Get caught up.
David Rovella - Bloomberg
So the question now is, if the Fed is in pause mode when it comes to changing interest rates, how long will that pause last? If Friday's data is any sign, it could be awhile, and certainly longer than hoped for by wishful thinkers on Wall Street who have been crossing their fingers for rate cuts. The unexpected rise in both US hiring and wages last month increase the chances the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates high for longer-and potentially keep the door open to an 11th straight hike in June.
/jlne.ws/3VIJWEm
FINRA Publishes 2023 Industry Snapshot
FINRA
FINRA today published the 2023 Industry Snapshot, the annual statistical report on registered representatives, brokerage firms, and market activity that FINRA oversees. This year's edition adds new data about options trading activity, and certain demographic changes of FINRA-registered representatives.
/jlne.ws/3VH05dj
SEC Issues Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the largest-ever award, nearly $279 million, to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions. This is the highest award in the SEC's whistleblower program's history, more than doubling the $114 million whistleblower award the SEC issued in October 2020.
/jlne.ws/3BamciN
SEC Charges Investment Adviser and Fund Trustees with Liquidity Rule Violation
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against investment adviser Pinnacle Advisors LLC for aiding and abetting Liquidity Rule violations by a mutual fund it advised and whose Liquidity Risk Management Program it administered. The SEC also charged the fund's two independent trustees, Mark Wadach and Lawton "Charlie" Williamson, and two officers of both Pinnacle Advisors and of the fund it advised, Robert Cuculich and Benjamin Quilty, with aiding and abetting Liquidity Rule violations by the fund.
/jlne.ws/3HJY5v1
"Public Service is a Noble Pursuit, a Higher Calling:" Commencement Address, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin
Commissioner Jaime Lizarraga - SEC
Friends and family, distinguished guests, Class of 2023: As a proud Class of 1990 graduate of this distinguished school, it is a great honor to be here today on this joyous occasion.[1] The power of higher education to expand opportunities for all is undeniable. Today's graduates have earned the advanced degrees that will serve them and our country well. You have much to be proud of.
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Prepared Remarks before the 10th Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation
Chair Gary Gensler - SEC
Good morning. It is a pleasure to welcome you to the second and final day of the 10th Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation. My thanks to the Center for Financial Services at Lehigh University, the Center for Financial Policy at the University of Maryland, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, and of course the staff of the SEC's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis.
/jlne.ws/42g73Zt
Joint Statement relating to In the Matter of Classic Asset Management, LLC
Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw and Commissioner Jaime Lizarraga - SEC
Yesterday the Commission announced a settled action in the matter of Classic Asset Management, LLC, et al.[1] This investment adviser and its representative violated their fiduciary duties of care to hundreds of clients with respect to investments made in complex products known as leveraged exchange-traded funds. Investors experienced substantial losses.
/jlne.ws/3HOUuvW
SEC Files Amended Fraud Charges Alleging a Multi-Million Dollar Scheme That Targeted Retirement Accounts
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently amended its complaint charging Safeguard Metals LLC and its owner Jeffrey Ikahn with engaging in a multi-million fraudulent scheme involving hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age. The amendment complaint reflects defendant Jeffrey S. Santulan's name change to "Jeffrey Ikahn."
/jlne.ws/3LIubJ5
SEC Receives Final Judgment Against Fund Manager Involved in Development of Distressed Areas
SEC
On May 1, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Joshua Burrell, enjoining him from violating certain antifraud provisions of the federal securities law and imposing other remedies.
/jlne.ws/3B2vCx5
SEC Charges San Diego-Based Investment Adviser for Conducting Fraudulent "Cherry-Picking" Scheme
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Matthew J. Werthe (dba HSR Wealth Management), a San Diego, California-based investment adviser, for defrauding his clients by conducting a cherry-picking scheme and making related false and misleading statements.
/jlne.ws/3nFlAi9
SEC Obtains Judgment Against Former CEO and General Counsel Who Raised Millions of Dollars from Investors Through False Statements
SEC
On May 3, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut entered a final judgment against former Connecticut resident Ronald D. Swanson ordering him to pay over $927,000 in disgorgement and penalties in a securities offering fraud action previously filed by the SEC in May 2020. The Court also ordered Swanson barred from serving as the officer or director of a publicly-traded company for a period of 10 years.
/jlne.ws/3NKPH2r
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | When Investors Do the Most Harm With Market Timing
Derek Horstmeyer - The Wall Street Journal
Last year was a disaster in the markets across all asset classes. Unfortunately, the average mutual-fund investor fared even worse than market indexes would have predicted. This phenomenon is known as the "return gap" or "investor gap." This gap captures the difference between the average return for a mutual fund and what an average investor in that fund actually earns.
/jlne.ws/418Vxxy
Macquarie commodities head's $39mn payout beats CEO's after record group profit
Nic Fildes - Financial Times
Macquarie's strength in global commodities trading has led to the business unit's head earning 75 per cent more than the Australian bank's chief executive after the division helped the company to a record annual profit in its financial year to the end of March. A 54 per cent rise in net profit for the commodities business - which trades oil, gas and electricity, predominantly in North America - to A$6bn ($4bn) meant its boss Nick O'Kane saw his share of the profit soar to A$58mn from A$36mn a year earlier.
/jlne.ws/44APvZB
Oil Crash Sends Speculators Fleeing at Fastest Pace in Six Weeks; Declining liquidity will likely drive more volatility; New York crude futures briefly hit lowest level since 2021
Devika Krishna Kumar - Bloomberg
Speculators are once again fleeing the oil market, setting the stage for more extreme price swings. Money managers dumped their net-bullish oil holdings by 19%, the biggest drop in six weeks. The positions are now at the lowest seasonal level in more than a decade. The exodus comes amid another crash for oil, driven by concerns over the economy.
/jlne.ws/42wultN
Bank Stocks Look Worse Than Banks Do; Also name confusion, Coinbase vs. SEC, and US vs. South Korea vs. Do Kwon.
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
One way to think about it is that the stock market is supposed to be efficient and the market for bank deposits is not. The point of the stock market is that a lot of well-informed hedge fund managers and hard-working analysts and Reddit-reading day traders are all competing with each other to find out information about each company and use that information to determine the fair value of its stock.
/jlne.ws/3nwQfhP
What Investors Should Know About Money-Market Funds and CDs
Lori Ioannou - The Wall Street Journal
Investors are rushing into cash, fearful of a recession later in the year. In addition to having emergency cash on hand, individual investors are pouring billions of dollars into cash-equivalent investments such as money-market funds and certificates of deposit that are yielding 5% or more-far more than a traditional low-yielding bank savings account.
/jlne.ws/3B54rBE
Male Stock Analysts With 'Dominant' Faces Get More Information-and Have Better Forecasts
Daisy Maxey - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/42wPvrv
Chatroom trade: inside the online marketplace for US secrets
Mehul Srivastava and Felicia Schwartz - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/44EIbMl
With a liquidity crisis looming, investors must switch their thinking; A shorter-term mindset is needed to cope with market stress and seize opportunities to buy cheap assets
Lori Heinel - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3NIeQL8
Buffett's Ties to Bill Gates Put Berkshire Investors at Risk, Activists Say; Activist group says Buffett's views can alienate investors; Shareholders will vote on proposal during meeting Saturday
Bill Allison - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/41fWHas
Investors Flock to Safety Plays, but Stock 'FOMO' Lingers; Recession fears and potential Fed rate cuts muddle the stock market's outlook
Eric Wallerstein - The Wall Street Journal
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | The Green Revolution Is Here. Which Big Miners Are Prepared?
Megha Mandavia - The Wall Street Journal
A decade of underinvestment and a dense thicket of permits are challenges that the world's top miners need to tackle head on. That is, if they want to ride a probable surge in copper prices as the world finally gets its act together to tackle climate change-a task which will require vast quantities of the red metal. Over the last six months mining firms have begun jostling to acquire copper assets.
/jlne.ws/3M2gypo
Idle Oil Wells' Next Act? Becoming Batteries for Renewable Energy; There are a staggering number of defunct oil and gas wells across the US. Renewell Energy sees them as an untapped climate solution.
Coco Liu - Bloomberg
The fan club for abandoned oil and gas wells is an exceedingly small one, but Kemp Gregory might just be the president. Where others see an eyesore or a source of rogue methane emissions, Gregory sees opportunity. Standing next to a 4,000-foot-deep well on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California, he demonstrates why. A 3,000-pound weight is suspended on a cable deep below the surface.
/jlne.ws/3HPT8kF
Good News for Your Utility Bills: Gas Producers Keep Drilling; Continued flow of natural gas should ease electricity costs but is risky for companies
Benoît Morenne - The Wall Street Journal
When natural-gas prices plummeted this winter, the conventional wisdom held that producers would dial back on drilling to help tighten supplies. But they kept right on drilling. That trend is a potential boon for consumers, who could benefit from lower electricity bills heading into the hot summer months, but a risky gambit for gas companies.
/jlne.ws/3B54gX0
What is really driving ExxonMobil's clean energy commitments? The oil major says it is investing in low-carbon technologies. Pressure from shareholders has played a part - but so have tax incentives
Justin Jacobs - Financial Times
ExxonMobil's top executives went into the company's yearly shareholder's meeting in May 2021 confident it was set to win a proxy fight with activist investors over its approach to climate change. Then the votes started rolling in and it soon became clear that Exxon had a full-blown revolt on its hands.
/jlne.ws/3LJKF3n
Phasing Out Fossil Fuels Hasn't Worked. Europe Has a New Idea for COP28; Expecting resistance to emissions cuts in Dubai, some climate hawks have started focusing on a global goal for renewables.
John Ainger - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3VDXEZf
Biden's Plan to Cut Power Emissions Hinges on Little-Used Carbon Capture; The EPA will require many facilities to capture their planet-warming pollution, an approach welcomed by environmentalists that faces logistical and legal hurdles.
Jennifer A Dlouhy - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/42g2WN1
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | JPMorgan: the bank that never lets a crisis go to waste
Brooke Masters, James Fontanella-Khan, Joshua Franklin, Stephen Gandel, Sujeet Indap, James Politi and Colby Smith - Financial Times
When US officials announced they had found a buyer for First Republic, the second largest bank failure in American history, the successful bidder's identity was for many in finance a foregone conclusion. Though more than a dozen institutions looked at First Republic's assets, and four banks bid and rebid repeatedly last weekend, in the end the winner was JPMorgan Chase.
/jlne.ws/3HSzXqf
Hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon awarded $203mn in defamation feud; Decision comes in long-running case against former Bahamas neighbour and Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson - Financial Times
A New York judge has awarded billionaire hedge fund founder Louis Bacon more than $203mn in damages at the end of a bitter defamation case against his former Bahamas neighbour, the Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard. The award, a record for a defamation case in New York state, reflected the overwhelming and "truly stunning" nature of the evidence, wrote Layn Phillips, the former federal judge appointed by the state supreme court as a special referee in the case.
/jlne.ws/3pjbuEc
Bank Stocks Nearing a Crisis-Era Threshold Raises Warning Sign; S&P 500 financials threaten to push back below 2007 peak; 'You can't have a bull market if bank stocks are falling'
Jess Menton, Elena Popina and Breanna Bradham - Bloomberg
The selloff in US bank shares is threatening to push them below a technical threshold that could signal more pain ahead for the broader stock market. With the collapse of First Republic Bank worsening fears about the solvency of regional lenders, investors have pummeled financial stocks, leaving the S&P 500 financials index on the verge of falling back below its 2007 peak.
/jlne.ws/44CMxUk
Credit Suisse Demise Isn't Deterring Hedge Funds From European Bank Bonds; Man Group, Odey among those still buying European bank debt; Better regulation in Europe seen as key difference to US
Abhinav Ramnarayan and Neil Callanan - Bloomberg
Hedge funds are zeroing in on European banks' bonds, betting that the region's long-troubled lenders are now in good enough shape to withstand the ongoing US financial turmoil. A source of pain for investors for over a decade, European banks' recent relative calm compared with some US peers has been noted by money managers, including those from Man Group Plc and Brook Asset Management, an affiliate of Crispin Odey's hedge fund firm.
/jlne.ws/3LGtO1p
Banks Are in the Grips of Investor Crisis of Confidence; First Republic Bank's failure demonstrates why lenders are vulnerable to a loss of faith
Telis Demos - The Wall Street Journal
First Republic Bank's seizure and sale to JPMorgan Chase was supposed to be a cathartic moment for American banks, the denouement of the financial system's latest crisis of confidence. The relief lasted for barely a day. On Tuesday, shares of regional banks were plunging, with a handful of them dropping by double-digit percentages.
/jlne.ws/41dNaRo
The Bank Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves; The crisis in regional banking continues, though it's investors who are losing their heads, not bank patrons.
Brooke Sample - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3plZYaY
Buffett says bank runs would have been 'catastrophic' if not for deposit guarantee; Berkshire chief holds forth at annual gathering against backdrop of US banking turmoil
Eric Platt - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3LFDObf
Buffett: 'Catastrophic' to let SVB depositors lose their money
David Hollerith - Yahoo! Finance
/jlne.ws/3nEeNFA
Unscheduled component changes in MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX | Press Releases
Qontigo
/jlne.ws/41uTAvL
Fate of Silicon Valley Bank's Chinese venture hangs in balance
Lender in limbo tests communication between US and China regulators
Cheng Leng - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/3VFF82u
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Vice Media Nears Deal for $400 Million Sale Out of Bankruptcy
Alexander Saeedy and Jodi Xu Klein - The Wall Street Journal
Vice Media is nearing a deal for senior lenders including Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management to acquire the troubled media company out of bankruptcy at a valuation of around $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Nearly every Vice stockholder-including backers such as private-equity firm TPG Group, Sixth Street Partners and media mogul James Murdoch -would be wiped out under the proposed reorganization, the people familiar with the matter said.
/jlne.ws/3B1MALI
AI Researchers Worry the U.S. and China Will Leave Everyone Else Behind; Conference in Africa focuses on AI's promise and peril for less wealthy nations after ChatGPT sparked frenzy among big tech companies
Karen Hao - The Wall Street Journal
Amid growing talk of the promise and peril of artificial intelligence, more than 2,000 researchers and engineers from around the world gathered in Rwanda this week to debate contrasting visions for the technology's future. One vision is to build ever-more-powerful systems such as ChatGPT that aim to exceed human intelligence to boost worker productivity and economic growth.
/jlne.ws/3nwOm4J
Forget ChatGPT. These Are the Best AI-Powered Apps.; Chat features built into Duolingo, Expedia and others can be more useful than ask-me-anything bots
Nicole Nguyen - The Wall Street Journal
Type pretty much anything into ChatGPT and it'll spit out a confident, convincing response. The problem? Its answer can be full of errors. And during long conversations, it can veer into wild tangents. So I started testing apps that use OpenAI's GPT technology, but aren't ChatGPT. Language app Duolingo and learning platform Khan Academy now offer conversational, personalized tutoring with this technology.
/jlne.ws/42dcOXT
Data Science Is the Hot New Master's at B-Schools; The need to crunch data is driving the rapid growth of analytics degrees.
Robb Mandelbaum - Bloomberg
As her college graduation approached in the spring of 2022, Natalie Lobo wrestled with how to pursue a business career. A graduate business degree "would really set me up for success down the line," she says, but the University of Wisconsin senior couldn't imagine starting a career and then interrupting it to pursue an MBA. It was an internship the previous summer, helping to redesign the website of a medical device company in St. Paul, Minnesota, that led Lobo to settle on another plan.
/jlne.ws/41jOHFw
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | WHO declares end to COVID global health emergency
Jennifer Rigby and Bhanvi Satija - Reuters
The World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 on Friday more than three years after its original declaration, and said countries should now manage the virus that killed more than 6.9 million people along with other infectious diseases. The global health agency's Emergency Committee met on Thursday and recommended the UN organization declare an end to the coronavirus crisis as a "public health emergency of international concern" - its highest level of alert - which has been in place since Jan. 30, 2020.
/jlne.ws/41gqXlR
WHO declares end to Covid global health emergency
Helen Branswell - STAT
The World Health Organization ended the Covid-19 global health emergency on Friday, saying it was time for countries to transition from treating Covid as an emergency to dealing with it as a disease that is here to stay. The decision was made on the advice of a panel of independent experts, the so-called Covid-19 emergency committee, which met Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3NR8rx8
It's not 8 glasses a day anymore. Here's how much water you should drink each day
Rachel Reiff Ellis - Fortune
With brand-name bottle fads and gallon-a-day water challenges trending on TikTok, hydration is in, and that's good news for health. The average human body is more than 60% water. Water makes up almost two-thirds of your brain and heart, 83% of your lungs, 64% of your skin, and even 31% of your bones. It's involved in almost every process that keeps you alive. So if you've hopped on the water-drinking bandwagon, you're doing yourself a big solid.
/jlne.ws/44FnUqg
Stanford Was Conducting a Long COVID Study. Then the Staff Stopped Masking.
Simon Spichak - Daily Beast
A clinical trial run by Stanford Medicine to study the use of Paxlovid to fight long COVID was rocked last week, when it was revealed that staff stopped masking around them. Multiple patients took to social media to say they had left the study as a result. Masking is no longer mandated by the California Department of Public Health and Santa Clara County Public Health, where the trial was held.
/jlne.ws/3VEn0WT
Is Covid really over? WHO's announcement sounds more like surrender than victory
Robin McKie - The Guardian
The global public emergency caused by Covid-19 may be officially over but the pandemic will still be with us for many years. Nor is it clear that governments have learned sufficiently from the outbreak to be ready to fight off new emerging microbes that could trigger worse calamities. These are the stark conclusions of scientists reacting to last week's news that the World Health Organization (WHO) no longer considers Covid-19 - which has killed more than 7 million people over the past three years - to be a public health emergency of international concern.
/jlne.ws/3phckBt
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | An Oil Tanker Ablaze in the South China Sea Is a Global Problem; A vast dark fleet is carrying sanctioned oil around the globe; South China Sea is a vital artery for major economies
Alex Longley and Yongchang Chin - Bloomberg
Off the coast of Malaysia, in one of the world's busiest shipping channels, an explosion on board the aging oil tanker Pablo ripped off its deck like a sardine can and began a fire that sent dark plumes of smoke into the sky. It was a tragic accident that could have been a much larger catastrophe. The Gabon-registered ship, capable of carrying some 700,000 barrels of crude oil, was coming through the South China Sea after offloading a cargo in China - and so was nearly empty.
/jlne.ws/42BXsfl
Northern Vietnam Risks Power Dearth Amid Hot Season: VnExpress
Nguyen Xuan Quynh - Bloomberg
State utility Vietnam Electricity Group warned of electricity shortages in the northern part of the country at the same time that thermal power and supplies of coal and gas are squeezed, news website VnExpress reported. Northern Vietnam could be short by as much as 4,900 megawatts in May and June, according to the report, citing information from the ultility known as EVN.
/jlne.ws/3pdO5UB
China's Gold Splurge Reaches Sixth Month as Reserves Rise Again
Bloomberg
China added to its gold reserves for a sixth straight month, extending a flurry of purchases as central banks around the world expand their holdings of bullion amid escalating geopolitical and economic risks. China raised its gold holdings by about 8.09 tons in April, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Sunday.
/jlne.ws/42ddeNX
Russian oil ban costs Polish oil company PKN Orlen millions a day, says boss; State-controlled group still uses Russian oil piped through Druzhba network not covered by sanctions
Raphael Minder - Financial Times
The ban on Russian crude oil is costing Poland's state-controlled oil company millions of dollars a day as it struggles to find alternative supplies for its Czech refinery. Daniel Obajtek, chief executive of PKN Orlen, described losing Russian oil as a forfeit of about $27mn a day because of the price difference of about $30 per barrel between the cheaper Russian oil and alternative supplies.
/jlne.ws/3nJCyfd
A Novel Way to End an Energy Crisis: Let the Market Work; After extended blackouts, South Africa's government is giving people the freedom to break fossil-fuels' hold over the grid.
David Fickling - Bloomberg
If you want a model of a power system breaking down under the weight of its own contradictions, forget European gas networks and Texan power grids. Look at South Africa. The decline and fall of government-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is a sign of everything that can go wrong in an electricity grid. Eskom generated nearly three-quarters of Africa's electricity south of the Sahara in the late 1990s, but years of corruption, mismanagement and meddling have reduced it to a husk. Last year, South Africans faced blackouts on more than 200 days. This year has been even worse, with just a single day when there wasn't a managed power cut somewhere in the country.
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