| January 07, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Yesterday I learned that Robert "Bucky" Isaacson, a pioneer in financial innovation and a foundational figure in the managed futures industry, passed away on January 5. Starting in 1969, he helped develop one of the first computerized trading systems and co-founded an early commodity fund with Keith Campbell and Chet Conrad. A leader in the U.S. and Asia, Bucky also served on the boards of the National Futures Association and the National Introducing Brokers Association. Known for his mentorship and generosity, he co-created the CTA EXPO/Emerging Manager Forum with Frank Pusateri, championing smaller hedge funds and commodity trading advisors through numerous industry events.
In perhaps one of his last acts as CFTC chairman, Rostin Behnam will deliver remarks and join a fireside chat titled "Commodity Derivatives Regulation: Where Do We Go From Here?" at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. ET in the Falk Auditorium, Washington, DC.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reported record-breaking trading volumes in 2024, with annual average daily volume (ADV) rising 24% year-over-year (y/y) and notable growth across commodities, energy, and interest rate derivatives. In energy markets, WTI crude oil futures achieved a record open interest (OI) of 883,000 lots on Dec. 13, with ADV increasing 40% y/y. TTF gas futures set a record OI of 2.2 million lots on Dec. 30, with ADV up 30% y/y, while Asia gas futures reached a record OI of 137,000 lots on Dec. 11, with ADV surging 48% y/y. In interest rates, SONIA futures posted a record OI of 2.9 million lots on Dec. 16, with annual ADV climbing 61% y/y. Environmental markets also saw strong performance, with ADV increasing 37% y/y, driven by rising demand for sustainable risk management solutions. Gasoil futures recorded a 24% y/y increase in ADV, while ICE's NYSE Cash Equities and Equity Options also posted robust growth, with ADVs up 9% and 19% y/y, respectively.
Cboe reported its annual volumes and that it achieved record-breaking trading volumes in 2024, marking its fifth consecutive year of growth in U.S. options with 3.8 billion contracts traded and an average daily volume (ADV) of 14.95 million contracts. Highlights included proprietary index options trading 1.03 billion contracts (ADV 4.1 million), with S&P 500 Index (SPX) options reaching 784.2 million contracts (ADV 3.1 million) and Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) options trading 209.2 million contracts (ADV 830,000). Mini-SPX (XSP) options also set a record with 17.6 million contracts (ADV 69,000). In Q4, zero days to expiry SPX options accounted for 51% of SPX volumes. Additionally, Cboe's Global FX segment set a new annual record with a spot average daily notional volume (ADNV) of $45.4 billion, surpassing the previous year's $43.6 billion.
Eurex achieved a key milestone by receiving CFTC approval to trade its EURO STOXX 50 Index Dividend Options and EURO STOXX Banks Index Dividend Options directly in the U.S. starting on January 6, 2025. This approval allows U.S. market participants to efficiently manage their exposure to European equity markets, expanding Eurex's global reach. Robbert Booij, CEO of Eurex Frankfurt AG, highlighted the importance of removing access barriers, stating, "U.S. investors have another efficient tool to manage their exposure to the European market." Eurex's dividend derivatives segment continues to grow, with a record-breaking 2024 that saw over 21 million contracts traded, a 14% year-on-year increase in dividend options. Open interest in the segment reached 8.9 million contracts with a capital value of EUR 63 billion.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) achieved its fourth-highest annual average daily volume (ADV) on record in 2024, reaching 664,698 lots, an 18.2% increase from 2023. LME Nickel led the growth with a 58.8% year-on-year (y/y) rise, while LME Tin grew 25.9% y/y. Ferrous contracts saw exceptional gains, including a 186.1% surge in Steel HRC FOB China (Argus) and a 48.4% increase in Steel Scrap CFR Turkey (Platts). LME CEO Matthew Chamberlain attributed the progress to increased market activity, noting that nickel volumes rebounded to 2021 levels and ferrous products gained traction as firms sought to manage risk exposures effectively.
John Lothian News received two contributions to the MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe Campaign supporting our efforts to preserve industry history with our various video projects, including The Open Outcry Traders History Project. Both contributions are from people who have previously given at least once. The first of the contributors is an FIA Hall of Fame member, musician and CME Clearing legend and the subject of a John Lothian Profiles interview, Stephen Staszak. The second contributor is a consultant, author and all-around good guy, Robert Khoury. Rob is the author of the books on how to have a successful internship and related subjects that you see advertised in this newsletter every day. The campaign total is now $79,627 raised, with 226 donations raised via the GoFundMe.com site.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: LME volumes up 18% in 2024 as nickel continues rebound, ECC appoints new risk chief to manage margin transition, Cboe reports fifth consecutive annual trading volume record and Sucden Financial opens first European office to offer base metals.
Picture this: Bloomberg reports that Getty Images Holdings Inc. agreed to acquire rival stock-photo provider Shutterstock Inc. in a deal that would create a combined company worth about $3.7 billion including debt.
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:
- OCC Annual 2024 and December 2024 Volume from OCC.
- Regime Shift in Equity Vol? Downside Risks Re-Emerge from Cboe.
- Margin breaches skyrocket at JSCC amid market volatility from Risk.net ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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NSE's Sriram Krishnan Highlights India's Financial Evolution Amid Opportunities and Challenges
JohnLothianNews.com
From expanding market access and managing retail speculation to combating cybersecurity threats, Krishnan outlines the National Stock Exchange's strategy to harness India's rapid economic growth and evolving trading ecosystem.
Watch the video »
Joe Corona - Matrix Executions
Watch Video »
John Shay - American Financial Exchange
Watch Video »
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The US stock market has never been more concentrated. Does it matter? World's biggest game of Jenga
Robin Wigglesworth - Financial Times
Bond market liquidity was so 2010s. Nowadays, stock market concentration is the new trendy bugbear of finance. Worries are understandable. After all, it's hard not to feel at least a little bit uneasy about the phenomenon, which is remarkable across three dimensions: size (big is better than small); industry (tech uber alles) and geography (America First). There are a multitude of ways to show these interlocking facets of concentration. The most popular one is simply to calculate how much of the S&P 500 index the top 10 members account for. At the moment that stands at a modern-day record of 37.3 per cent.
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******The only thing I like this concentrated is my orange juice. ~JJL
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The gambling industry's sly new way to suck money from desperate Americans
Rob Price - Business Insider
Narrativa is among a crop of startups seizing on the artificial intelligence boom to enthusiastically automate writing tasks that would once have fallen to humans. From penning regulatory documentation for Pfizer to zhuzhing up marketing copy for insurance and e-commerce firms and helping generate breaking news articles for The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles-based Narrativa boasts roughly 50 clients in various industries. But one of its core focus areas, comprising a quarter of its business, is a little more polarizing than the rest: gambling. Working with major industry players like 888 and Betway, Narrativa uses large language models to pump out everything from automated summaries of sports games to SEO-friendly reviews of online casino games and promotional social media posts. With no humans required, the 20-person company's AI tools produce 10 million words a month for gambling clients - the effective output of 170-odd full-time writers producing a grueling 3,000 words a day. It's all in service of enticing gamblers to place more bets.
/jlne.ws/3DUq8sC
****** Just read the last line of this paragraph: "...the 20-person company's AI tools produce 10 million words a month for gambling clients - the effective output of 170-odd full-time writers producing a grueling 3,000 words a day. It's all in service of enticing gamblers to place more bets." Pretty amazing and scary. ~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our most-read story Monday was The Wall Street Journal's Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse Ran Deeper Than Was Known, Hidden Files Reveal. Second was New WFE Research quantifies the impact of stock exchanges on economic growth, from the World Federation of Exchanges. Third was Eurex wins CFTC approval to offer dividend options to US traders, from FOW.
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| Lead Stories | US regulator warns of oversight 'gap' on cryptocurrencies; CFTC chair Rostin Behnam will step down on day of president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration
Stefania Palma - Financial Times
The top US derivatives watchdog has warned against a regulatory "gap" for cryptocurrencies and called for more scrutiny of political betting markets. Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told the Financial Times he would step down on January 20, the day of president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Behnam led the CFTC for four years as it finalised the first federal guidelines for carbon offsets and deepened scrutiny of crypto and so-called event contracts, including those allowing bets on elections. He oversaw the watchdog's 2023 lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance, which led to a $4.3bn settlement with US authorities.
/jlne.ws/4gIWXYe
Winklevoss Twins' Gemini to Pay $5 Million to End CFTC Case
Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg
The Winklevoss twins' Gemini Trust Co. cryptocurrency exchange agreed to pay $5 million to end a Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit claiming it misled the derivatives regulator in a bid to launch the first US-regulated Bitcoin futures contract. The deal was disclosed Monday in a filing signed by both parties, avoiding a trial set to begin Jan. 21, the day after Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second term as US president. Gemini, which was founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, settled without admitting or denying liability in the case.
/jlne.ws/3Pu1a5S
Bond Market in Europe Sees More Issuers Than Ever in Single Day
Ronan Martin - Bloomberg
A record number of borrowers are selling bonds in Europe on Tuesday, returning from the holidays to take advantage of spreads that are near the tightest in three years. There are 28 issuers looking to raise at least EUR30.4 billion ($31.7 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg, though that amount is likely to grow throughout the day. That's the most borrowers ever in a single day, according to the data, which goes back a decade.
/jlne.ws/40l4Gpw
Currency Options Trading Is Skyrocketing as Politics Upend Bets; Hedge funds are unwinding euro-dollar parity and below trades; Some investors using dollar-yuan weakness to buy call options
David Finnerty and Ruth Carson - Bloomberg
Monday started quietly in the $300 billion-plus currency options market until political headlines triggered the most hectic trading day in nearly two months - a taste of what may lie in store for 2025. Volumes surged to $108 billion by the close of trade, surpassing even the activity seen on the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan monetary policy announcement days last month, according to data from Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. Two of the drivers for the spike-up in trading: headlines on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation and potential US tariffs.
/jlne.ws/4fMM7iv
Fed's top Wall Street regulator to step down after Trump's advisers pushed to demote him; Key Senate Republicans also urged the president-elect to try to demote the Fed's Michael Barr, who announced he is stepping down from the leadership role in February.
Andrew Ackerman - The Washington Post
A top Federal Reserve official who is the government's most influential banking regulator stepped down from his leadership role after advisers of President-elect Donald Trump seriously weighed demoting him. Trump advisers had been considering the unprecedented step of trying to strip Michael Barr of his leadership role as the Fed's vice chairman for banking supervision, according to people familiar with their thinking. The move was likely to kick off a legal battle, with ramifications for the Federal Reserve's independence from the White House.
/jlne.ws/4h5emdn
Yuan Short Sellers Squeezed by Soaring Hong Kong Funding Costs; PBOC may deploy liquidity tools to support the yuan, OCBC says; Overnight offshore yuan rate jumps to highest since 2021
Bloomberg News
Yuan funding costs in Hong Kong surged to levels unseen in years, signaling concern that Beijing's efforts to stabilize the currency may lead to tighter liquidity in the offshore market. The offshore yuan's overnight interbank interest rate in Hong Kong rose to 8.1% on Tuesday, the highest since June 2021. The 1-month rate also climbed to highest since April. Tighter cash conditions make it more expensive for traders to short the currency, effectively damping bearish bets.
/jlne.ws/4a6Q8gt
UK long-term borrowing costs hit highest level since 1998; Investors worry economy faces increasing risk of stagflation
Ian Smith and Sam Fleming - Financial Times
The UK's long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest level since 1998 as investor worries over the threat of stagflation mount. The yield on the 30-year gilt touched 5.22 per cent on Tuesday, pushing past a previous peak touched in October 2023 and eclipsing levels reached during the height of the market fallout from Liz Truss's ill-fated "mini" Budget the previous year. The new high came after the Treasury paid its steepest 30-year borrowing cost this century, as it sold £2.25bn of new debt at a yield of 5.20 per cent.
/jlne.ws/4h75T9J
US adds Tencent and CATL to blacklist of companies working with China's military
Steff Chavez - Financial Times
Tech group Tencent and the world's dominant battery maker CATL are among a swath of Chinese companies that have been designated by the Pentagon as having alleged military links, in a move that sent the industry giants' shares tumbling. Tencent's US-listed shares closed down 7.8 per cent following the news and were down the same amount in Hong Kong trading on Tuesday. The company is China's largest by market capitalisation.
/jlne.ws/4iYEVTr
US corporate bankruptcies hit 14-year high as interest rates take toll; Consumer companies such as Party City hit by persistent inflation and weak spending
Will Schmitt in New York - Financial Times
US corporate bankruptcies have hit their highest level since the aftermath of the global financial crisis as elevated interest rates and weakened consumer demand punish struggling groups. At least 686 US companies filed for bankruptcy in 2024, up about 8 per cent from 2023 and higher than any year since the 828 filings in 2010, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
/jlne.ws/3DLiv85
December central bank rate cuts take 2024 easing push to historic level
Karin Strohecker and Sumanta Sen - Reuters
Major central banks in December delivered their biggest policy easing push since the spring 2020 COVID rate-cutting frenzy, with the latest moves making the annual 2024 easing effort the biggest in 15 years as policymakers brace for unsteady times. Among central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies, five of the nine that held meetings in December cut interest rates. Central banks in Switzerland and Canada shaved off 50 basis points (bps) each, while the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and Sweden's Riksbank trimmed benchmarks by 25 bps each.
/jlne.ws/3Wbjdl9
JPMorgan becomes latest U.S. lender to quit Net-Zero Banking Alliance
Simon Jessop - Reuters
JPMorgan said on Tuesday it was leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the latest U.S. lender to quit the sector's biggest climate coalition amid rising U.S. political pressure. The move means the six biggest banks in the world's largest economy - Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and now JPMorgan - have all left the group in the space of a month.
/jlne.ws/42aEijo
Sucden Financial Opens European Office in Germany
Sucden Financial
Sucden Financial, the multi-asset execution, clearing and liquidity provider, is pleased to announce that it has opened a European office to meet the growing demand for its services. Sucden Financial Hamburg GmbH, a subsidiary of Sucden Financial Limited, is licensed by Germany's integrated financial regulatory authority, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and is a Category 4 Member of the LME. The Sucden Financial Hamburg team is headed by Christoph Domisch and Barry Gershon and also includes Christoph Chopin as an LME Metals Broker. The team will build on Sucden Financial's strong market presence with industrial metals customers by Initially offering clients in Germany and across the EU access to LME contracts. In the future, Sucden Financial Hamburg could also provide European clients access to additional commodity derivatives and foreign exchange markets.
/jlne.ws/421XTCs
Your Fancy, New ETF Might Be a Little Too Fancy; Exchange-traded funds have mostly been great investments, but they are getting too complex for their own good
Jon Sindreu - The Wall Street Journal
History teaches that financial complexity always creeps upward. Lately that trend has reached investor-friendly exchange-traded funds. Last year, U.S.-based ETFs broke a record, surpassing $1 trillion in total inflows. They are cheap, liquid and, crucially, far more tax-efficient than traditional mutual funds. If you want to hold stocks and bonds, the flagship trackers from industry giants BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors already do the trick for very low fees. It is tough, and not especially rewarding, to compete with those industry behemoths head-on.
/jlne.ws/3PLkDiZ
Can DOGE 'Delete' a Federal Agency? The Legal Hurdles Ahead; Donald Trump's next administration is limited in the ways it can slash federal spending
Jan Wolfe and Jess Bravin - The Wall Street Journal
Donald Trump has unveiled ambitious plans in his new administration to cut $2 trillion from federal spending, engineered at least in part by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency. The wealthy entrepreneurs have already proposed ideas such as suspending a swath of regulations, reducing the federal workforce and removing government agencies outright.
/jlne.ws/3W9Hh8h
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Ukraine's drone jammers are proving decisive amid a new push on Russian soil, pro-Kremlin milbloggers say
Matthew Loh - Business Insider
Ukraine launched a renewed offensive in Russia's Kursk region on Sunday, where Russian pro-war bloggers say Kyiv's drone jammers have been working exceptionally well. The "Operation Z" channel, a collection of dispatches from Russian war correspondents, wrote that the attack had focused on the Bolshesoldatsky district, to the northeast of the Ukrainian-held pocket in Kursk. "In order to break through, the Ukrainian Armed Forces covered the area with powerful electronic warfare systems, making it difficult for our UAVs to operate," wrote the Telegram channel, which has over 1.6 million subscribers.
/jlne.ws/3DFDitI
Ukraine risks losing the war. A Trump-imposed bad deal would be worse.; A settlement that dismembers Ukraine and rewards Putin will undermine U.S. credibility.
Editorial Board - The Washington Post
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearing the end of its third bloody year, has reached an inflection point. Ukraine is losing territory, troops and time. The next few weeks will determine whether Ukraine can continue to exist as a sovereign state within its preinvasion borders, or close to them, with full security guarantees for its citizens - or whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will be rewarded and emboldened in his war of territorial expansion.
/jlne.ws/3WbEVWq
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| Israel/Hamas Conflict | | News about the recent (October, 2023) conflict between Israel and Hamas | Hamas and Israel are negotiating the release of 34 hostages from Gaza
Daniel Estrin, Abu Bakr Bashir - NPR
Hamas has named 34 Israeli hostages in Gaza - including two dual U.S. citizens - it is willing to release in a ceasefire deal under negotiation with Israel. After more than half a year of sporadic ceasefire talks, the offer is the most serious sign of progress toward a pause in the devastating 15-month Gaza war that was sparked by the Hamas-led ambush on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
/jlne.ws/3BZdUhR
Exclusive: UAE discusses post-war Gaza government with US and Israel
Alexander Cornwell - Reuters
The United Arab Emirates has discussed with Israel and the United States participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge, according to people familiar with the talks.
/jlne.ws/4gPbMsf
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Cboe Global Markets Reports Trading Volume for December and Full Year 2024
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today reported December and full year 2024 trading volume statistics across its global business lines and provided guidance for selected revenue per contract/net revenue capture metrics for the fourth quarter of 2024. The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain December and full year 2024 trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines.
/jlne.ws/3Prmaum
CME Group Inc. Announces Fourth-Quarter and Year-End 2024 Earnings Release, Conference Call
CME Group
CME Group Inc. will announce earnings for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 before the markets open on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Written highlights for the quarter will be posted on the company's website at 6:00 a.m. Central Time, the same time it provides its earnings press release. The company will also hold an investor conference call that day at 7:30 a.m. Central Time, at which time company executives will take analysts' questions.
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ASX Group Monthly Activity Report - December 2024
ASX
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SPAN 2 Framework Energy Model Parameter Changes - Effective January 07, 2025
CME Clearing
As per normal review, CME Clearing has undertaken a review of the hypothetical stressed scenarios parameter used in the SPAN 2 framework's Natural Gas pod. In particular, within the SPAN 2 framework, the hypothetical stressed scenarios parameter is incorporated in the stress value-at-risk sub-component of the market risk component. Following this review, CME Clearing has determined it will introduce hypothetical stressed scenarios parameter changes to align with current volatility across the term structure for natural gas. While the impact to production portfolios will vary depending upon the risk profile for each individual portfolio, CME Clearing expects an increase in margin requirements for outright natural gas contracts and the total margin for futures and options products to increase by under 1%. The associated changes will be effective after the close of business on January 07, 2025.
/jlne.ws/40lXEkh
Full year and December 2024 figures at Eurex
Eurex
Eurex, Europe's leading derivatives exchange, recorded a total of 2,080.5 million contracts in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of 9 percent compared to the previous year. Interest rate derivatives saw the largest growth with an increase of 26 percent, followed by equity derivatives with an increase of 16 percent for the full year. On a monthly basis, the Eurex volume in December amounted to 166.1 million contracts compared with 165.8 in the same month of the previous year. Equity derivatives rose by 13 percent in December year-on-year, followed by interest rate derivatives with an increase of 10 percent.
/jlne.ws/4h3ANjg
JPX Monthly Headlines - December 2024
JPX
JPX group companies undertake various initiatives and disseminate information with the aim of providing the most attractive markets to all users. Every month, we showcase the highlights of these efforts in short and concise summaries just for you.
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25 004 Policy Relating to Position Management Arrangements Update to Accountability Levels
LME
This notice informs Members and other market participants of updates to the "Single Prompt Accountability Level" and the "All Prompt Accountability Level" for Nickel from 4,000 lots to 5,000 lots, pursuant to paragraph 58 of the Policy Relating to Position Management Arrangements (the "Policy").
/jlne.ws/4iYJ1eh
Circular on Releasing the Revised Clearing Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange and Other Implementing Rules
SHFE
The revised Clearing Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange and the revised Enforcement Rules of the Shanghai Futures Exchange have been reviewed and adopted by the Board of Directors Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), and reported to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. These rules are hereby released and shall take effect from January 7, 2025.
/jlne.ws/423d26H
B1G Numbers 2024: Key Figures from SIX Swiss Exchange
SIX
A look back on 2024 from a SIX Swiss Exchange perspective features many highlights, from one of the biggest IPOs in Europe to increased trading activity as well as various new records being established in the product segments.
/jlne.ws/4iXYL0W
TMX Group Consolidated Trading Statistics - December 2024
TMX Group
TMX Group Limited today announced December 2024 trading statistics for its marketplaces - Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange (Alpha), including Alpha-X & Alpha DRK, and Montréal Exchange (MX).
/jlne.ws/4077o0B
Tradeweb Reports December 2024 Total Trading Volume of $48.2 Trillion and Average Daily Volume of $2.18 Trillion
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today reported total trading volume for the month of December 2024 of $48.2 trillion (tn)[2]. Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was $2.18tn, an increase of 48.9 percent (%) year-over-year (YoY). For the fourth quarter of 2024, total trading volume was $151.7tn and ADV was $2.29tn, an increase of 36.7% YoY, with preliminary average variable fees per million dollars of volume traded of $2.28[3]. Excluding the impact of the ICD acquisition, which closed on August 1, 2024, total ADV for the month of December was up 29.5% YoY, total ADV for the fourth quarter of 2024 was up 20.0% YoY and total ADV for the full year 2024 was up 36.6% YoY.
/jlne.ws/4h6bJIc
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | AI Startup Funding Hit a Record $97 Billion in 2024; VC investors piled into AI megarounds in the US last year.
Sarah McBride - Bloomberg
Venture capitalists put $97 billion into artificial intelligence startups in the US last year - a new record in a year of multibillion-dollar megarounds for companies like Elon Musk's xAI, OpenAI and Anthropic. The AI-focused deals represent an increasing share of all startup investment, according to new PitchBook data released Tuesday. Almost half of the total $209 billion raised by US startups last year went to AI companies, the research firm said, the highest portion on record.
/jlne.ws/4j9Mnv5
Nvidia chief calls robots 'multitrillion-dollar' opportunity; Jensen Huang unveils AI models for humanoids and self-driving car partnership with Toyota at CES keynote
Michael Acton in Las Vegas - Financial Times
Nvidia is on the cusp of revolutionising robotics through artificial intelligence, chief executive Jensen Huang said on Monday, as he outlined his vision for the next stage of the company's staggering growth and predicted a "multitrillion-dollar" opportunity. Huang announced a range of new products and partnerships in the "physical AI" space, including AI models for humanoid robots and a major deal with Toyota to use Nvidia's self-driving car technology, during his keynote speech at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
/jlne.ws/4j2aewz
Nvidia debuts GB10 superchip, AI systems for humanoid robots, self-driving trucks at CES 2025
Daniel Howley - Yahoo Finance
Nvidia (NVDA) is looking to keep its hot streak rolling from 2024 and into 2025 with a number of AI-centric announcements at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. CEO Jensen Huang took the stage during the company's keynote, laying out his vision for everything from AI software that will power robots and self-driving cars to a new AI supercomputer that fits on your desk.
/jlne.ws/3W7U7Uv
AMD announces new AI PC, gaming chips at CES 2025
Daniel Howley - Yahoo Finance
AMD (AMD) is showing off its latest AI PC and graphics chips at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. The company on Monday announced its new Ryzen AI Max, additional Ryzen AI 300, and Ryzen AI 200 central processing units (CPUs) for AI PCs, as well as high-powered chips for gaming desktops and laptops and handheld gaming systems.
/jlne.ws/4a987CX
US cloud services firm Akamai to cease CDN operations in China by June 2026
South China Morning Post
US cloud computing and cybersecurity firm Akamai Technologies' content delivery network (CDN) services in mainland China will cease from the second half of next year, the company said in a recent letter to customers, becoming the latest foreign tech firm to scale back operations in the country amid geopolitical headwinds. "Effective June 30, 2026, all China CDN services will reach their decommission date," the Akamai letter said. "After this date, any remaining content requests will be automatically served from neighbouring countries, unless a country-specific partner solution is activated."
/jlne.ws/40ls869
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Chinese Hackers Target Philippine President and Steal Military Data; Some stolen documents related to dispute over South China Sea
Jamie Tarabay - Bloomberg
Chinese-state sponsored hackers penetrated the executive branch of the Philippines government and stole sensitive data as part of a yearslong campaign, according to three people familiar with the matter. Cybersecurity experts discovered an infiltration of the executive branch and reported it to Philippine officials in 2023, and the same breach was flagged again in August of last year, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. The president's office wrote one of the experts in May asking for details of the hack, according to emails reviewed by Bloomberg News.
/jlne.ws/421UXFW
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin miners stockpile coins to ride out profit squeeze; US-listed groups tap investors for cash as competition for resources intensifies
Niamh Rowe in New York - Financial Times
US bitcoin miners are accumulating war chests of the cryptocurrency to help them withstand tightening margins as competition for resources intensifies. Companies including Mara Holdings, Riot Platforms and CleanSpark have used the soaring price of bitcoin, which hit $100,000 last month, to raise more than $3.7bn from investors since November, which they have then used to fund the purchases of the coins. They have often raised the funds through zero - or near zero - coupon convertible notes.
/jlne.ws/3W5gOZi
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Nippon Steel Says There's No Plan B to Blocked US Steel Deal
Shoko Oda - Bloomberg
Nippon Steel Corp. is not weighing any alternatives to its thwarted $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp., its chairman and CEO said on Tuesday, shortly after both companies filed US lawsuits to rescue the acquisition. The Japanese firm's planned purchase of its US rival was blocked last week by President Joe Biden after a year of diplomatic tension, political debate and lobbying efforts from the companies and unions. Biden, who had previously said he opposed the tie-up, cited national-security risks, despite Japan being a close ally.
/jlne.ws/3WctygL
Trump promised swift action on LNG exports, but advisers preaching patience
Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner - Reuters
Advisers to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are urging him to take a patient approach to restarting approvals for liquefied natural gas export licenses, fearing rapid approvals will only get overturned in court, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The recommendations offer a preview of the challenges Trump will face as his bold campaign promises to slash regulation and unfetter industry crash into the reality of governing an unwieldy bureaucracy.
/jlne.ws/3W4IDRB
Donald Trump reiterates ambition to buy Greenland as son prepares to visit; US president-elect's renewed interest poses a challenge to Danish government
Richard Milne, Nordic and Baltic Correspondent - Financial Times
Donald Trump has reiterated his ambition to buy Greenland, putting pressure on the Danish government as the US president-elect's son prepares to visit the Arctic island. Trump promised to "make Greenland great again" after news of his son Donald Jr's "private visit" to the world's largest island emerged late on Monday. "Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World," the president-elect wrote on Truth Social.
/jlne.ws/3PripoM
Musk's war on America's allies
Edward Luce - Financial Times (opinion)
America did not elect Elon Musk. Yet he is acting as Donald Trump's de facto co-president. Musk's self-appointed remit includes gunning for regime change in allied democracies. He has repeatedly said only the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) can save Germany in next month's election. He is calling for an end to Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government in the UK. And he has asked his 211mn X followers if "America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government". The consensus seems to be yes.
/jlne.ws/4aaohMI
Elon Musk Is Roiling European Politics; Trump ally has flooded X with posts criticizing European politicians, causing diplomatic conundrum for continent's leaders
Max Colchester and Bertrand Benoit - The Wall Street Journal
Elon Musk is throwing grenades into Europe's political mainstream over issues ranging from immigration to free speech, creating a dilemma for governments as they try to respond to the tech billionaire and key adviser to the incoming Trump administration. In recent days and weeks, Musk has weighed in with a series of incendiary social-media posts on European politics, including supporting a far-right party ahead of an election in Germany, accusing the British prime minister of being complicit in rape, denouncing judges in Italy and slamming the European Commission.
/jlne.ws/4j8eZ7G
UK Parties Unite in Urging Trump to Rethink Musk's Meddling
Alex Wickham - Bloomberg
Senior politicians in three of Britain's biggest parties have privately urged Donald Trump's allies to reconsider his relationship with Elon Musk, after the billionaire Tesla boss made a series of increasingly inflammatory remarks about UK politics, including endorsing a figure on the far right. In a barrage of posts on his social media platform X over the past week, Musk has called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be imprisoned, urged the release from jail of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson, and - perhaps most surprising of all - called for the replacement of one-time ally and Trump friend Nigel Farage as leader of the Reform UK party. On Monday, he pinned a post to his profile polling whether "America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government."
/jlne.ws/4gKCpOZ
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right politician, 1928-2025; National Front founder led the movement for decades before passing the baton to his daughter Marine
Anne-Sylvaine Chassany - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4h6XnHQ
Putin plus Trump spell trouble for European security; German rearmament is crucial to shoring up Europe's defences
Gideon Rachman - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/40nRDUo
Live news: Arrest warrant extended for impeached South Korean president
Edited by Oliver Ralph, Maxine Kelly, Josephine Cumbo, William Sandlund and George Russell - Financial Times
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Capital Group Is the Affected Party in India Front-Running Case; The $2.7 trillion fund manager says it worked with SEBI; Ketan Parekh was banned by India's regulators last week
Abhishek Vishnoi - Bloomberg
Capital Group said it was the money manager affected by a front-running case that led India's market regulator to once again ban Ketan Parekh, a former stock broker who shook the nation's market at the turn of the century with one of the worst scandals in its history. The US-based firm has worked closely with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in its investigation "and can confirm we had no knowledge of the unauthorized use of our order information," a spokesperson for the asset manager, which oversees more than $2.7 trillion, said by email in response to a query by Bloomberg.
/jlne.ws/4098rgm
UK financial regulator failed to uphold rules for handling FOI requests, review finds; Report calls for Financial Conduct Authority staff to be retrained and adds to mounting criticism of watchdog
Ellesheva Kissin and Martin Arnold - Financial Times
The UK's financial watchdog failed to uphold rules for handling requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, according to an internal review commissioned after an employee blew the whistle on "unlawful" conduct. The Financial Conduct Authority "inappropriately" delayed responding to all but one of 18 requests for information it received between July and December 2020, according to the review seen by the Financial Times.
/jlne.ws/4fQsSER
CFPB Bans Medical Bills From Credit Reports
Dylan Tokar - The Wall Street Journal
Credit-reporting companies will be banned from including medical debt on credit reports, under a rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rule isn't slated to go into effect until March, after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. The bureau had proposed the ban in June, saying it would help prevent debt collectors from using inaccurate or false medical bills to coerce payments from consumers.
/jlne.ws/4fHulxa
CFPB Sues Berkshire-Owned Lender Over 'Unaffordable' Loans
Paige Smith - Bloomberg
A lender owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. knowingly issued "unaffordable" home mortgages by ignoring the insufficient income or assets of some borrowers, a top financial regulator alleged in a lawsuit Monday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance Inc. in US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, claiming the firm's lending process "ignored clear and obvious red flags that certain consumers would not be able to repay their loans according to their terms," according to the complaint.
/jlne.ws/40lIBHn
UK to Open Two Digital Market Probes Under Expanded Tech Powers
Upmanyu Trivedi - Bloomberg
The UK's antitrust watchdog will start two investigations this month into some of the largest tech companies using its expanded powers to curb dominance in digital markets, the regulator said without naming the firms that could come under the net. The Competition and Markets Authority will open the probes into activities of firms designated as having "Strategic Market Status" in relation to two areas of digital activity in January, the watchdog said. The new rules came into effect this month after being first trailed almost four and a half years ago.
/jlne.ws/3PpViec
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Former Pfizer Statistician Amit Dagar and His Friend and Business Partner Atul Bhiwapurkar Who Both Traded Ahead of COVID-19 Treatment Announcement
SEC
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Amit Dagar of Hillsborough, New Jersey, and Atul Bhiwapurkar of Milpitas, California. As alleged in the SEC's complaint filed on June 29, 2023, Dagar, a former Pfizer Inc. employee, and his close friend and business partner, Bhiwapurkar, traded in advance of the company's November 5, 2021, announcement that a randomized, double-blind study of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was successful. Following that announcement in which Pfizer's CEO referred to the news as a "game-changer" in the global efforts to "halt the devastation" of the pandemic, the company's stock price increased by nearly 11 percent, the largest single-day price move in the stock since 2009. The complaint alleges that on the day before the Paxlovid announcement, Dagar learned material, nonpublic information about the success of the trial. The complaint alleges that Dagar's and Bhiwapurkar's trading generated approximately $214,395 and $60,300 respectively in illicit profits.
/jlne.ws/4h4ZHPj
Written reply to Parliamentary Question on credit card fraud
MAS
Question: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how many cases of credit card fraud have been reported over the past three years; (b) what is the quantum of losses; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider a framework similar to that of the Shared Responsibility Framework to set out the responsibilities of banks in credit card fraud, especially in clarifying what constitutes an act of gross negligence by the cardholder and the reasonable timeframe for notification of credit card fraud.
/jlne.ws/3DNBuif
Written reply to Parliamentary Question on closure of joint account upon death of account holder
MAS
Question: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Monetary Authority of Singapore has any directives or regulatory requirements that compel banks to close joint accounts upon being notified of the death of a joint account holder; and (b) if not, whether it can consider allowing banks to let surviving joint account holders, especially the elderly, retain bank account numbers after the death of a joint account holder.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Western investors 'stupid' to shun arms industry, says Nato official; Rob Bauer calls on banks, pension funds and rating agencies to change outdated policies in face of rising threats
Henry Foy - Financial Times
Western rating agencies, banks and pension funds are being "stupid" in shunning defence investments, one of Nato's most senior officials has warned, as he called on financial institutions to adapt to rising security threats. Admiral Rob Bauer, chair of the alliance's military committee, told the Financial Times that a failure by investors to understand their role in "collective defence" meant they risked missing out on significant government funding in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
/jlne.ws/3PnBhF5
Why the Euro Is Closing In on US Dollar Parity Again
Alice Atkins - Bloomberg
Since the euro came into existence in 1999, the currency has traded at equal value to the US dollar only a handful of times. The last instance was in 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine sparked an energy crisis in Europe and provoked fears of a recession, plunging the currency pair to a 1:1 ratio. Now, market watchers see a chance it will happen again.
/jlne.ws/40r9gms
Markets Better Get Used to Trump's Manic Mondays; Separating the signals from the noise will be difficult. But not as hopeless as the mess Trudeau is leaving Canada.
John Authers - Bloomberg (opinion)
Signals, Noise and Guardrails
We must get used to this. Capital markets' first day back in earnest after the holiday season saw a series of whipsaws that owed more to politics than anything else. Donald Trump's confirmation as the next president was barely more than background noise, largely because as far as the markets are concerned his presidency has already begun. Noise, and the occasional signal, is blocking out everything else.
/jlne.ws/40oB5vB
Indian investors rush into highly valued defence stocks; Asset managers have launched specialist funds as push for domestic armaments sends share prices soaring
Krishn Kaushik in New Delhi - Financial Times
Retail investors in India are pouring money into defence stocks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for domestic arms manufacturing drove the sector index up nearly 56 per cent in a year. At least four large asset managers have launched sector-specific funds as experts forecast India's defence production will grow by as much as 20 per cent a year until the end of the decade.
/jlne.ws/4098SYp
Smithfield Foods first to publicly file in 2025 for big US IPO
Reuters
Smithfield Foods on Monday made public its paperwork for its New York initial public offering as the maker of Farmland bacon and Farmer John sausages prepares for its U.S. stock market return after more than a decade. Hong Kong-based WH Group, the world's largest pork producer that took Smithfield private in 2013 for $4.7 billion, will sell some of its shares in the Virginia-based company in the offering, alongside the company.
/jlne.ws/40nXFo0
Paychex Strikes $4.1 Billion Deal for Rival Payroll Firm Paycor
Liana Baker - Bloomberg
Paychex Inc. agreed to acquire rival payroll processor Paycor HCM Inc. for about $4.1 billion in cash, including debt. The company is paying $22.50 per share for Cincinnati-based Paycor, according to a statement Tuesday. That's 21% higher than the price on Friday, before Bloomberg News reported on Sunday that talks were underway.
/jlne.ws/4gIco2L
Spinoffs Outperforming the S&P 500 Boost the Case for Breakups; New entities beat original firms in first 400 trading days; Industrials, tech hardware among most active spinoff sectors
Natalia Kniazhevich - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4fOYLxJ
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | JPMorgan becomes latest U.S. lender to quit Net-Zero Banking Alliance
Simon Jessop - Reuters
JPMorgan said on Tuesday it was leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the latest U.S. lender to quit the sector's biggest climate coalition amid rising U.S. political pressure. The move means the six biggest banks in the world's largest economy - Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and now JPMorgan - have all left the group in the space of a month.
/jlne.ws/4a4rX2p
Wind Britain's top electricity source in 2024
Susanna Twidale - Reuters
Wind power was Britain's largest source of electricity in 2024, topping gas-fired power plants for the first time, data showed on Tuesday. Britain has almost 15 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind power and aims to quadruple that to 60 GW by 2030 as part of plans to largely decarbonise its power sector by then.
/jlne.ws/40kYVs3
Russia Says It Cut Crude Oil Output Below OPEC+ Target in December; Energy Ministry data put crude production at 8.971 million b/d; OPEC+ has been pushing for better compliance with output cuts
Bloomberg News
Russia's own data show its crude production in December fell below its OPEC+ target, according to people familiar with figures from the country's Energy Ministry. The nation pumped 8.971 million barrels a day of crude last month, the people said on condition of anonymity because figures aren't public. That's 7,000 barrels a day below Moscow's pledge for December. The Energy Ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent during public holidays in Russia.
/jlne.ws/4jkmjxt
Alberta Looks to Spur New Pipelines by Guaranteeing Barrels
Robert Tuttle - Bloomberg
Alberta's government plans to directly dedicate barrels of oil for new pipeline projects in a bid to accelerate the expansion of production in the western Canadian province. To support the construction of new pipelines, the province may dedicate barrels of crude it acquires from producers in lieu of cash as royalty payments or use oil that the government aggregates from smaller producers, Premier Danielle Smith said at a press conference on Monday with Enbridge Inc. Chief Executive Officer Greg Ebel.
/jlne.ws/3DEkWsQ
Oil Tops Brazil Exports, Bolstering COP30 Host's Challenge
Mariana Durao and Beatriz Amat - Bloomberg
Oil has surpassed soybeans as Brazil's top export, an unprecedented performance that underscores the COP30 host's status as a fossil-fuel champion. The value of Brazilian crude exports rose 5% to $44.8 billion in 2024, the first time oil eclipsed all other foreign sales for Latin America's biggest economy, according to trade ministry data released Monday. The volume of oil shipments rose 10%. China was the primary destination for Brazilian barrels with roughly 44%, followed by the US, Spain and the Netherlands.
/jlne.ws/4fPOf9j
Europe Shouldn't Waste Chance to Wean Itself Off Russian Gas; The end of flows via Ukraine offers the region a fresh opportunity to bolster its energy security.
Priscila Azevedo Rocha - Bloomberg
Welcome to Energy Daily, our guide to the commodities markets powering the global economy. Today, reporter Priscila Azevedo Rocha looks at Europe's gas dependency on Russia. Europe's been served a golden opportunity to ditch its energy reliance on Moscow once and for all, with pipeline flows through Ukraine ending last week after five decades of transit. Buyers should resist looking for new ways to keep Russian molecules embedded in the region's markets.
/jlne.ws/40pNkrP
McDonald's Drops Diversity Targets for Employees, Suppliers
Heather Haddon - The Wall Street Journal
McDonald's said Monday that it is scrapping set diversity targets for its employees and suppliers, the latest large company to overhaul its strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion. The Chicago-based company also said it wouldn't issue new representation goals for its staff, but will continue to report numbers pertaining to diversity in its ranks. It will also discuss inclusion with suppliers in business reviews, McDonald's said.
/jlne.ws/3CajJJn
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | French Banks Face Crucial Year After Falling Behind Peers
Claudia Cohen - Bloomberg
After a couple of years to forget for French banking, the likes of BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA are hopeful their shares can narrow the gap to peers in 2025. On Monday, Finance Minister Eric Lombard told local radio he's planning to cut the interest rate the government forces banks to pay to consumers on a special kind of deposit known as Livret A. The move, which reflects slowing inflation, would give a lift to bank earnings. Lowering the rate by 0.5 percentage points could push up pretax profit at SocGen's French retail unit by 7% and by 5% for the corresponding division at BNP Paribas, Jefferies analysts estimated in a note in November.
/jlne.ws/4a6aFSo
Singapore fund Paragon opens Hong Kong office to reach more wealthy clients
South China Morning Post
Singapore-based asset management firm Paragon Capital Management opened its first overseas office in Hong Kong, joining a growing number of foreign money managers in tapping more wealthy clients in the financial hub. The firm, which manages S$1.2 billion (US$880 million) in assets, has received a license for activities from the Securities and Futures Commission, it said in a statement on Tuesday. That will allow Paragon to provide a comprehensive range of services to clients in the Greater China region.
/jlne.ws/4fNMgSI
Fidelity to convert $180mn bond index fund into ETF; The proposed move is thought to be the first conversion in the US of a passively managed index mutual fund to an ETF
Daniel Gil - Financial Times
Fidelity Investments will become the first asset manager to convert an index mutual fund into an ETF, according to industry analysts. The firm's $178mn Municipal Bond Index Fund board intends to refashion the product into an ETF in April, according to a regulatory filing.
/jlne.ws/3PmzqjQ
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | How much sick pay is too much sick pay? The contrasting cases of Germany and the UK are revealing about policy trade-offs
Sarah O'Connor - Financial Times (opinion)
During the pandemic, the UK's former prime minister Boris Johnson suggested that Brits should be more like Germans when it came to illness: "We have a habit of going back to work or going into work when we're not well," he complained. Exasperated experts were quick to point out why: the UK's sick pay policy was miserly by international standards while Germany's was one of the most generous in the world. A few years on, the two countries find themselves at an interesting juncture: the UK's new Labour government intends to increase the generosity of the country's sick pay policy, while Germany is beginning to worry that its policy is, in fact, too generous by half.
/jlne.ws/3C1Yiu3
Robots Fill Workforce Gap in Korea's Aging Society
Saritha Rai - Bloomberg
I visited South Korea last month for the AI Summit Seoul and witnessed the country's keen - nay, world-leading - embrace of robotics. Its factories now have 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees, a density of automatons more than six times the global average, according to the latest World Robotics Data by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The trend is accelerating and mechanical bots are increasingly visible, whether sweeping the sidewalks, serving tables at restaurants or cleaning airport walkways.
/jlne.ws/42aFCTo
Even With an Office Glut, Firms Can't Find the Kind of Space They Want; Developers are planning new office projects to meet the demand for high-quality workspace
Peter Grant - The Wall Street Journal
The troubled U.S. office industry is starting the new year with a problem it hasn't contended with in years: Some business districts face a looming shortage of top-shelf workspace. Office vacancy overall remains near record levels in many cities, where a glut of unwanted and aging workspace is keeping a lid on rents and depressing office values. Decades of overbuilding made the U.S. office market vulnerable when the pandemic hit and remote work flourished. More recently, big firms in technology, finance, transportation and entertainment are telling their employees they need to be in the office more often, in some cases five days a week.
/jlne.ws/40yf11L
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Bird flu risk remains low after first US death, WHO says
Reuters
The risk to the general population from H5N1 bird flu remains low, a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday, following the first death of a patient from the virus in the United States. The patient, who was over 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalised with the virus in December after exposure to a combination of backyard chickens and wild birds, Louisiana health officials said.
/jlne.ws/421Uzas
What to Know About Bird Flu After the First US Death; There have been 66 reported cases in the US since the outbreak began, mostly farmworkers in close contact with dairy cows or poultry.
Gerry Smith, Ilena Peng, and Riley Griffin - Bloomberg
For influenza viruses, imperfection is a strength. They constantly mutate, producing new strains that challenge immune systems primed to fight earlier varieties. That's what makes flu a life-long threat to humans and the animal species - mainly birds - that are vulnerable to it. Since 2020, a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza called H5N1 has been decimating both wild and domestic birds. Now it's spreading among US dairy cows, and has infected dozens of people, mainly US farmworkers exposed to sick cattle and poultry. In January, a patient in Louisiana who tested positive for bird flu died, marking the first US fatality linked to the respiratory virus.
/jlne.ws/4a4sp0B
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Japan Warns on Speculative FX Moves After Yen Hits 6-Month Low
Erica Yokoyama - Bloomberg
Japan flagged its concern over sudden and one-sided moves in the currency market in its first warning to speculators in 2025 after the yen hit its lowest level since July. "We will take appropriate action if there are excessive movements in the currency market," Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters Tuesday, in a veiled threat of direct intervention. Kato said he is "deeply concerned" about recent moves, including those driven by speculators.
/jlne.ws/3WctQEn
Nickel Asia Aims to Sell Processing Plant Stake to Sumitomo; Philippine miner says to focus on upstream mining, renewables; Nickel Asia to keep minority stake in other major plant
Manolo Serapio Jr and Neil Jerome Morales - Bloomberg
Nickel Asia Corp. is in talks to unload its minority stake in a key processing plant to Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. as the Philippines' top producer of the metal focuses on upstream mining and renewable energy businesses. The Philippine miner, partly owned by Sumitomo, aims to sell its entire 15.625% stake in Coral Bay Nickel Corp. and will engage a third party to conduct a valuation of the Coral Bay shares, it said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3W8A9Ja
Hong Kong Eases Investment Thresholds to Attract Family Offices; Adjustment of investment entrant scheme will start on March 1; City will count assets of family members and private companies
Diana Li - Bloomberg
Hong Kong is easing the requirement of its capital investment entrant scheme, bolstering efforts to attract family offices and lift the city's status as a global wealth hub. Investments made through an eligible private company wholly owned by an applicant will be counted toward the program starting March 1, according to a government statement on Tuesday. Assets owned by family members and family-owned investment vehicles will be also valid, according to a government statement.
/jlne.ws/4fKNzSx
Zoomlion Accelerates Global Expansion with Localized Innovations in Saudi Arabia
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zoomlion", 1157.HK) successfully hosted a key account networking and technology launch event on December 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, unveiling 24 localized innovative products and several intelligent construction solutions. The event showcased Zoomlion's commitment to advancing its globalization strategy and strengthening partnerships in the Saudi market.
/jlne.ws/4gz9sFH
Aramco's Venture Arm Joins $30 Million Round for Saudi Startup
Nicolas Parasie - Bloomberg
Saudi Aramco's early-stage venture fund and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corp. are backing Saudi consumer electronics startup Zension Technologies, defying a drop in fund-raising across the Middle East. Riyadh-based Zension raised $30 million in a series A Round from Aramco's Wa'ed Ventures, Sumitomo and Dubai-based Global Ventures, according to a statement.
/jlne.ws/4gGPWY0
Kwacha Slips to Record Low as Drought Fuels New Risks for Zambia; Currency has weakened for 11 days in a row versus dollar; Country's Kariba Dam reliance makes power imports essential
Colleen Goko-Petzer - Bloomberg
Zambia's currency kwacha plunged to a record low as a severe drought increases power prices and risks hurting the African nation's economy. The currency weakened for an 11th consecutive day to trade at 28.1200 per dollar by 2:06 p.m. in London. Tuesday's 0.4% retreat was the biggest in three weeks. Zambia's reliance on the Kariba Dam for electricity generation has been a key factor in the currency's decline. Although the dam's water levels rose slightly, they were still only at 2.6% of usable storage, forcing mining companies of Africa's second largest copper producer to resort to costly electricity imports.
/jlne.ws/40nY8Xi
My Take: Beijing likely to fiercely defend yuan exchange rate in 2025, as lessons from 2015 have been learned; The economic and political costs of a weakened yuan far outweigh the possible benefits China could gain from boosting exports
Zhou Xin - South China Morning Post
/jlne.ws/3PnmZnX
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| Auditions | | Explore a space for creative trading stories where you can find and share unique works like screenplays, television scripts, poetry, and more, all inspired by the world of finance and trading. |
DANNY LOMBARDO
They don't f*ck around with security here. Keep that on.
They take the elevator to the same lobby as in the opening scene and pass another security guard at a turnstile, where Danny flashes his badge. They walk through to the hallway leading to the trading floor. The trading day is just starting and noise from the trading pits hits them before they reach the end of the hall. Mike stops in his tracks, overwhelmed, while Danny continues walking. After a moment, Danny looks back and notices Mike isn't with him, then walks back to him.
DANNY LOMBARDO (CONT'D)
You okay big guy?
Mike is mesmerized. He doesn't speak for a second.
MIKE HARRIS
This is f*cking awesome.
DANNY LOMBARDO
Yeah. Pretty cool huh?
See today's complete entry of Auditions HERE and the complete script to date HERE.
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