| August 25, 2021 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | | | John Lothian
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John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
Yesterday JLN Deputy Managing Editor Suzanne Cosgrove and I interviewed the founders of Options Solutions: Bill Brodsky, Michael Brodsky and Steve Sears. These early-stage entrepreneurs are offering services to high-net-worth individuals interested in using options to enhance their holdings' performance. I will have some excerpts from the interview in "John's Take" in this week's The Spread option video podcast. We hope to have the full interview sometime next week.
Trading Technologies International, Inc. and Mysteel Singapore Pte ltd (known as Mysteel Commodity Services) announced they've partnered to launch an electronic liquidity pool to facilitate the matching of block futures for commodities products. Mysteel will operate the venue, which will go live in the fourth quarter of 2021 using a private matching solution developed by TT. Now if TT could only use this matching engine they developed to find themselves a match. -- Trading Technologies
Jeff Carter's Points and Figures blog has a post titled "The Last Investment" about the last seed fund West Loop Ventures started in 2016. -- Points and Figures
Johnson and Johnson does not want to be left out of the COVID-19 booster shot story and came out today with a report that says, "Covid-19 Booster Shots After Eight Months Supported by Data; Booster recipients showed ninefold increase in antibody levels compared with one month after first dose, researchers find." -- WSJ
I received a call from someone at an early-stage equity exchange who wondered whether I was interested in investing in their latest offering round. I explained that as a journalist covering the derivatives and capital markets it would be unethical for me to invest in companies I cover in my work and therefore I don't invest in them at any stage. The only financial services company I have invested in, which I have disclosed here before, is the commercial bank I use for my business, U.S. Bank. I do have investments in technology firms in the margins of the markets, I own 1 share of Amazon (because I am a good customer and for amusement) and several hundred of AT&T. My other individual equity holdings are in General Motors, General Electric, American Airlines, Canadian Goose Holdings Inc., Duluth Trading Co. (a clothing company), Levi Strauss & Co., and Sonos, Inc. I also hold some QQQ, IWM and Regional Banking ETF. I recently took profits on a SPY trade when the S&P 500 made new highs this week.
There were no new donations to the JLN MarketsWiki Education GoFundMe campaign yesterday, though I am "hooked on this feeling" one is coming soon. -- Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
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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Although many companies are talking about scaling back their office space, the Chicago-based cryptocurrency ATM operator CoinFlip is doubling down. On Tuesday, the company staged a press conference with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other local dignitaries to announce it signed a 12-year lease for a new 44,000-square-foot headquarters in the Old Post Office downtown and pledged a $17 million capital investment in the space. Part of the motivation was likely its qualification for Illinois tax credits (the Chicago Tribune reported CoinFlip's totaled nearly $1.7 million) to businesses for companies that commit to large-scale capital investments and long-term job creation in the state. More details are here. ~SC
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Micro Treasury Yield Futures Surpass 30,000 Contracts Traded
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that Micro Treasury Yield futures traded 32,247 contracts during the first week and open interest reached 3,296 contracts. "We're pleased with the early support we've seen from clients and market participants for our new Micro Treasury Yield futures contracts during their first week of trading," said Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products. "Micro Yield futures complement our robust suite of U.S. Treasury futures and options, and are our first contracts to reference the yield of on-the-run Treasury securities. This means that market participants of all sizes who want to gain exposure to, or more precisely hedge against, U.S. Treasury auction issuance, now have a tool with growing liquidity to help them achieve those objectives."
/prn.to/2WmBboY
****** All these micro contracts make me want to get back into the CTA money management business. There is a lot you can do with these contracts.~JJL
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Mysteel Singapore Contracts with Trading Technologies to Launch Interdealer Broker Trading Venue for Metals Futures
Trading Technologies International, Inc.
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global provider of high-performance professional trading software, infrastructure and data solutions, and Mysteel Singapore Pte ltd (known as Mysteel Commodity Services), a leading commodities broker with a major focus on China, today announced they've partnered to launch an electronic liquidity pool to facilitate the matching of block futures for commodities products. Mysteel will operate the venue, which will go live in Q4 2021 using a private matching solution developed by TT. This agreement also provides Mysteel's clients, located both in China and internationally, with access to the TT® platform and use of TT's suite of tools, including Autospreader®, ADL®, mobile trading, options and charting.
/bwnews.pr/3Df4ACr
****** Look out, Tinder - TT is getting into the matching business.~JJL
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Covid-19 Surge Scrambles Advisor Conferences, Return to Office Plans
Andrew Welsch - Barron's
A surge of coronavirus cases is upending advisors' business plans—again. Conferences and in-person events are being cancelled in rapid succession and firms are delaying employees' return to the office. It's a stark reminder of how the pandemic continues to pose risks to advisors, wealth management firms, and others. On Aug. 24, the Financial Planning Association cancelled its annual conference to be held Sept. 22 to 24 in Columbus, Ohio. On the same day, the Money Management Institute decided to transform its in-person conference to a strictly virtual format. MMI's conference was supposed to be held Oct. 20 to 22 in Denver.
/bit.ly/3zghuOc
*****Fall finance-related conferences are being canceled or transformed to online only.~JJL
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COVID vaccine protection wanes within six months - UK researchers
William Schomberg and Ludwig Burger - Reuters
Within 5-6 mths, effectiveness of Pfizer shot fell to 74%-study; Effectiveness of AstraZeneca shot fell to 67% after 4-5 mths
Protection against COVID-19 offered by two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines begins to fade within six months, underscoring the need for booster shots, according to researchers in Britain.
/reut.rs/3jeiFrG
*****My Pfizer shots are timed perfectly to wane this fall during conference season. I need a booster. ~JJL
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Tuesday's Top Three
Our most-clicked story Tuesday was again ION Group's The structured, the nimble, and the delegator; A tale of data from the BrokerTec migration to CME, it's third time in our top three. Second was CFTC Commissioner Stump Decries 'Oversimplification' That Crypto Is Either a Security or Commodity, from Yahoo Finance. And third was the Statement of Commissioner Dawn D. Stump on the CFTC's Regulatory Authority Applicable to Digital Assets.
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MarketsWiki Stats
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| Lead Stories | Wall Street During the Pandemic: The Impossible Is Now Commonplace; One lesson from the market's relentless climb is that sometimes the rules don't matter.
Michael P. Regan, Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
Despite the seemingly endless supply of brainpower and cutting-edge technology that's put to work in financial markets, at times it feels as if nobody knows anything. That's perhaps the hardest-to-digest lesson learned—or at least reinforced—from the past year and a half, during which the U.S. stock market doubled at the fastest pace since 1932: The accrued wisdom of Wall Street can be a swiftly depreciating asset.
/bloom.bg/3mvGXQ1
Regulators Scrutinize a Robinhood Marketing Ploy: Free Shares; Online broker faces backlash from companies, scrutiny from regulators over cost of delivering proxy materials to millions of new shareholders
Paul Kiernan - WSJ
Robinhood Markets Inc. has for years given customers a free share of stock for opening an account or referring friends. The practice could soon cost the online brokerage a lot more money. Brokerages like Robinhood are required to deliver proxy materials to a public company's shareholders ahead of annual meetings. They are then reimbursed by the public company for the cost of distribution.
/on.wsj.com/38dQiUo
UK's FCA says it is 'not capable' of supervising crypto exchange Binance; Company's UK affiliate 'refused' to respond to basic questions, says British regulator
Adam Samson, Philip Stafford and Eva Szalay - FT
The UK financial regulator has conceded it is "not capable" of properly supervising Binance despite the "significant risk" posed by the cryptocurrency exchange's products, which allow consumers to take supercharged bets.
/on.ft.com/3D9J55Q
SEC to Demand All China Firms Say More About Investor Risks
Ben Bain and Robert Schmidt - Bloomberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission will demand that the more than 250 Chinese companies trading in U.S. markets better inform investors about political and regulatory risks, expanding a dictate that it recently imposed for firms seeking initial public offerings.
/yhoo.it/3Djckn1
Wall Street, China to Revive Talks in Hunt for Common Ground
Sridhar Natarajan and Lulu Yilun Chen - Bloomberg
China-U.S. Financial Roundtable meetings were upended by virus; With tensions as high as ever, emissaries plan to gather anew
A contingent of Wall Street veterans and high-level Chinese government officials are seeking to open up talks again, as business leaders work outside of the Biden administration for greater access to the world's most populous country.
/bloom.bg/3DeQiS9
How Fidelity is playing 'Moneyball' in asset management
Christine Idzelis - MarketWatch
Fidelity Investments is turning to its internal massive data and behavioral science to drive a competitive edge, as the asset management giant lays the groundwork for systematic funds. The firm's head of quantitative research and investments Neil Constable told MarketWatch in an interview that he hired Gilbert Haddad, who previously worked at Steven Cohen's Point72, to lead Fidelity's investment decision science team. Haddad started at Fidelity last week, according to Constable, formerly head of global equity at Jeremy Grantham's GMO.
/on.mktw.net/2XQ33SV
U.S.-China group seeking to bolster financial ties to meet in autumn - source
Norihiko Shirouzu - Reuters
A group of Wall Street figures and Chinese officials aiming to strengthen financial sector ties and bolster bilateral relations plans to hold a virtual meeting for the first time in a year, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
/yhoo.it/3klobIl
Libor Should Die With a Whimper, Not a Bang; Sterling markets have been the quickest to abandon the discredited interest-rate benchmarks. Regulators elsewhere should pay heed.
Mark Gilbert - Bloomberg
The deadline for the finance industry to stop using Libor is fast approaching, but markets remain wedded to the discredited and soon-to-be discontinued suite of interest rates. Regulators may need to become fiercer in overcoming the institutional apathy toward new benchmarks, or risk troublesome market dislocations.
/bloom.bg/3DfxPF6
Yale names Matthew Mendelsohn to run $31bn endowment; Appointment highlights rising importance of private investments to managers of large pools of capital
Robin Wigglesworth and Chris Flood - FT
Yale University has appointed Matthew Mendelsohn to succeed David Swensen as the head of its influential $31bn endowment, underscoring the rising importance of private capital to big investors.
/on.ft.com/2Wna4dH
Bloomberg completes rebrand of fixed income indices; The rebrand marks the end of the five-year transition period following Bloomberg's acquisition of Barclays Risk Analytics and Index Solutions.
Wesley Bray - The Trade
The Bloomberg Barclays fixed income benchmark indices have been rebranded as Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices, ending a five-year transition period since the suite was acquired. Barclays Risk Analytics and Index Solutions (BRAIS) was originally acquired by Bloomberg in August 2016, with the agreement that the assets would be co-branded for five years.
/bit.ly/3mB4LC3
Cboe launches Ameribor futures as Libor transition continues; Cboe Futures Exchange will launch futures on the Ameribor Term-30 interest rate benchmark in September, subject to regulatory approval.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Cboe Global Markets has expanded its alternative benchmark offering with the launch of Ameribor futures as the market continues to move away from Libor. The futures will be cash settled and based on the Ameribor Term-30 interest rate benchmark. They are expected to launch on 13 September, pending regulatory review.
/bit.ly/2Wssj1f
Nasdaq Reveals Valkyrie Bitcoin Futures ETF Application
Danny Nelson - Coindesk
The race to launch a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) for U.S. investors now has a (procedural) front-runner: Valkyrie Investments.
/yhoo.it/3mLfquf
World Bank Freezes Aid to Afghanistan; Questions over legitimacy of Taliban rule led to decision
Josh Zumbrun - WSJ
The World Bank suspended funding for dozens of projects in Afghanistan Tuesday, citing questions over the legitimacy of Taliban rule. The Washington-based institution has committed around $5.3 billion for reconstruction and development projects in Afghanistan since 2002 through its International Development Association that helps the world's poorest countries.
/on.wsj.com/3Bh5Q6
Joint Public Statement by Board Members Rebekah Goshorn Jurata and Megan Zietsman
PCAOB
We have individually notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) of our respective intentions to resign from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on the earlier of October 1, 2021, or the date of the appointment of new Board members. While it has been an honor to serve as Board Members of the PCAOB and a privilege to work alongside our dedicated staff to advance our important mission, neither of us applied to be considered by the Commission for the Board seats that we currently hold.
/bit.ly/3DjkbAY
CFTC reminds SEC "We regulate derivatives not digital assets"
Sam Cooling - Coin Rivet
The Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) has clarified its role on cryptocurrency regulation following a recent public spat with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). CFTC Commissioner Dawn DeBerry Stump sought to provide clarification on the nature of the regulatory agency's work and how this will relate to the regulation of digital assets in the United States.
/yhoo.it/3kqxJ4S
Riding the 'hydrogen wave': A new fuel source for a shipping industry seeking lower emissions
Austin Pierce, John Michael, and Kelly Rondinelli of Vinson & Elkins
Shipping keeps the world moving; but what moves the ships? As part of the increasing global push to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, significant attention has been paid to the energy and power sectors. However, pressure is also mounting to address emissions from various "hard-to-decarbonize" sectors, such as shipping. This pressure comes from a variety of sources. For example, in 2018, the International Maritime Organization ("IMO") adopted a goal of reducing greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions 50% below 2008 levels by 2050. Commensurate with the IMO's goal, several financial institutions launched the Poseidon Principles, committing to reduce the emissions from their shipping finance portfolios.
/bit.ly/3Bh7h4J
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Japan Expands Virus Emergency to 80% of Population on Covid Surge
Jon Herskovitz - Bloomberg
Suga adds eight more areas to state of emergency declaration; Measure to cover areas that make up Nearly 80% of economy
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will expand a state of emergency to eight more areas and cover about 70% of the population as a delta-variant fueled surge sends cases to records and puts strains on the medical system.
/bloom.bg/2WnyW52
Greece to Impose New Restrictions on the Unvaccinated
Elena Becatoros - AP
Greece's health minister announced plans on Tuesday to impose new testing requirements and attendance restrictions on people who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19. The measures include requiring weekly or twice-weekly testing for unvaccinated workers, and allowing access to certain indoor venues only to those who are vaccinated or have a certificate verifying they have recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months.
/bloom.bg/3DiUoss
J&J Says Covid-19 Booster Shot Triggered an Antibody Surge
Riley Griffin - Bloomberg
Early data show a second injection led to a ninefold increase; Company to discuss booster time frame with health officials
Johnson & Johnson said a booster of its Covid-19 vaccine provided a rapid and strong increase in antibodies, supporting use of a second shot among people who previously received its single-dose immunization.
/bloom.bg/3B7Xs8Y
J&J Says Covid-19 Booster Shots After Eight Months Supported by Data; Booster recipients showed ninefold increase in antibody levels compared with one month after first dose, researchers find
Felicia Schwartz - WSJ
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that a second dose of its Covid-19 vaccine was found in a study to generate a strong immune response, justifying a booster shot after eight months.
/on.wsj.com/3sTuLKc
Many Older Americans Still Aren't Vaccinated, Making the Delta Wave Deadlier; Compared with other highly vaccinated countries, large parts of the United States have many vulnerable seniors, helping spur hospitalization and death.
Josh Holder and Amy Schoenfeld Walker - NY Times
The United States has a far higher share of seniors without full vaccine protection than many other wealthy countries, a key risk factor driving serious Covid-19 illness and death, a Times analysis shows.
/nyti.ms/2Y0p0z3
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | NSE, BSE caution against unregulated derivatives trading
SocialNews.XYZ
Key domestic stock exchanges on Monday advised against trading in unregulated derivative products. Both the BSE and the NSE said they have noticed unregulated platforms offering trading in certain products called 'Contracts for Difference' (CFD) or 'Binary Options'.
/bit.ly/3zha6lv
Japanese rice trader to shut up shop after almost 300 years
Steven Moore - Farmweek
After close to 300 years trading in rice futures, Japan's Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange is to end that aspect of the business. Since 1730 the world's oldest rice futures exchange has been active but will come to an end in June next year when all outstanding rice contracts expire.
/bit.ly/3sMHGxh
Cboe Futures Exchange to list AMERIBOR Term-30 Futures on 13 September
Hedgeweek
Cboe Global Markets, a provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, is to launch futures on the AMERIBOR (American Interbank Offered Rate) Term-30 interest rate benchmark. The new futures are expected to be available for trading on Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) on business date Monday, 13 September, 2021, subject to regulatory review.
/bit.ly/3sJoq3Q
Money Market Futures: Introduction of 3M SARON® Futures with a new naming convention
Eurex
The Management Board of Eurex Deutschland took the following decisions with effect from 27 September 2021: Introduction of 3M SARON® Futures (FSR3) with a new contract naming convention
/bit.ly/3gsKPxm
Future administrative practice for the publication of decisions according to Section 50a para. 3 of the German Stock Exchange Act (new)
Eurex
On 1 July 2021, the German Financial Market Integrity Strengthening Act (Finanzmarktintegritätsstärkungsgesetz, FISG) and, in the course of this, Section 50a para. 3 of the German Stock Exchange Act (Börsengesetz) (hereafter: Stock Exchange Act) entered into force. Accordingly, the Management Board of an Exchange is obligated to decide whether and under which circumstances decisions on measures and sanctions pursuant to Section 22 para. 2 sentence 1 of the Stock Exchange Act against Trading Participants shall be published on the website of the Exchange.
/bit.ly/3DgM8sU
Clearstream achieves full CSDR approval for its CSDs
Deutsche Börse Group
Banking license for German central securities depositories is the last CSDR license for Clearstream; CSDR is an important step on the way to a harmonized European post-trade environment
Clearstream, the post-trade service provider of Deutsche Börse Group, has received the CSDR license for banking services for Clearstream Banking AG, the German central securities depository (CSD). The license was granted by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in accordance with Art. 54 CSDR (banking services). Admission is valid from August 24, 2021.
/bit.ly/3gyTFKa
F10 launches new FinTech Accelerator in Madrid - Seven promising Startups selected from the WealthTech and RegTech space
BME-X
F10 Spain announces seven growth-stage WealthTech and RegTech startups selected from over 150 national and international applications, joining the first cohort of its newly designed Acceleration Programs. The goal of this 3-month program is to accelerate post-revenue startups and to enable them to build successful collaborations with our strategic partners, BME and Renta 4 Banco in Spain, and with the support of our innovation partners, R3 and Julius Baer.
/bit.ly/3mxzlwk
Futures exchange pays e-CNY for warehousing fees
Forkast.news
Dalian Commodity Exchange paid storage fees to a delivery warehouse in the form of e-CNY, the first time applying central bank digital currency (CBDC) in futures trading.
/bit.ly/2WswzOh
BOX Options: Change To Facilitation And Solicitation Auction Response Time
Mondovisione
Effective August 30, 2021, BOX Options Market LLC ("BOX") is amending the time period allowed for Participant Responses in the Facilitation and Solicitation auction mechanisms. The Response time will be reduced from 1 second to 100 milliseconds.
/bit.ly/3DrAhIS
NGX, NGCL Engage Trading License Holders on Derivatives Trading
Mondovisione
As Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited inches closer to the launch of Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETDs) in the Nigerian capital market, it continues to engage with the capital market ecosystem. In collaboration with NG Clearing (NGCL), NGX hosted an engagement session with Trading License Holders (TLHs) on Tuesday, 24 August 2021.
/bit.ly/3kqT6Tx
- Amendments to the Contract Specifications Regarding Price Limits and Trading Halts of the Yen Denominated Nikkei Stock Average Futures, USD Denominated Nikkei Stock Average Futures, E-mini Yen Denominated Nikkei Stock Average Index Futures and Yen Denominated TOPIX Index Futures Contracts -- CME
- Performance Bond Requirements - Energy Margin - Effective August 25, 2021 -- CME
- NOTICE OF SUMMARY ACTION - MEMBER: MORGAN STANLEY & CO. LLC, RULE VIOLATION: 536. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR PIT, GLOBEX AND NEGOTIATED TRADES -- CME
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Cambridge's pandemic-fuelled tech success has broader lessons; 'Silicon Fen' profits from being a safe place to do risky things, but the UK needs to act to protect it
Brooke Masters - FT
Cambridge is having a moment. Money is flooding into the tech scene in and around the university town, with a record £1bn raised in the past 12 months. Local robotics group CMR Surgical received the largest ever private financing for a medical technology company, and equity investment flowed into a UK-leading 62 university spinouts last year.
/on.ft.com/2XQ8Ckh
Explosion in electronic payments powers start-up boom in Nigeria; The country's economy may be struggling but its fintech groups have attracted more than $1bn in venture capital in the past two years
Neil Munshi - FT
Down an alley off Kukawa Street in Lagos Island, across from a building abandoned mid-construction, Paulo Communications does a brisk trade. On an average day, dozens of customers walk past fried food and fresh fruit stands to visit his street-side shop and top up their mobile phones or pay their monthly satellite TV bills.
/on.ft.com/2WgiMKV
Abel Noser completes acquisition of TCA provider Trade Informatics; The acquisition, confirmed by Abel Noser in May, will combine Trade Informatics analytics services with the agency broker's TCA platform.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
US agency broker Abel Noser has completed its acquisition of New York-based equities transaction cost analysis (TCA) platform provider Trade Informatics. The deal expands Abel Noser's data and brokerage services, adding the TAP Trade Analysis and START Systematic Trading systems from Trade Informatics to its TCA platform Trade Zoom.
/bit.ly/3mxJrO2
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | White House summons US chief executives for cyber security summit; Big Tech, energy, financial services and education companies to discuss threat with Joe Biden
Dave Lee - FT
Joe Biden will meet more than 20 chief executives from the technology, energy, banking, insurance and education sectors at the White House on Wednesday to discuss broad deficiencies in US cyber security.
/on.ft.com/3DhIj6T
Data and knowledge must be protected against cyber attack; Protection for critical infrastructure is too often awarded using outdated criteria
Marietje Schaake - FT
When two Amsterdam-based universities accepted funding for research on artificial intelligence and internet search from network technology group Huawei last year, the decision raised eyebrows. While the US government was pointing to security risks and pressing European allies to join its decoupling efforts, Chinese companies continued offering enticing research and development investment deals, seen as part of the country's soft power arsenal.
/on.ft.com/3kmDroj
Bahrain Activists' iPhones Hacked With NSO Group Spyware, Cyber Group Says
Alan Suderman - Bloomberg
Nine activists from Bahrain had their iPhones hacked by advanced spyware made by the Israeli company NSO Group, the world's most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, a cybersecurity watchdog reported on Tuesday. Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said NSO Group's Pegasus malware successfully hacked the phones between June 2020 and February 2021. Those reportedly hacked included members of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and two political dissidents living in exile. At least one of the activists lived in London when the hacking occurred, Citizen Lab said.
/bloom.bg/2XXB8kb
Hackers Release Data Trove From Belarus in Bid to Overthrow Lukashenko Regime
Ryan Gallagher - Bloomberg
Opponents of the Belarus government said they have pulled off an audacious hack that has compromised dozens of police and interior ministry databases as part of a broad effort to overthrow President Alexander Lukashenko's regime. The Belarusian Cyber Partisans, as the hackers call themselves, have in recent weeks released portions of a huge data trove they say includes some of the country's most secret police and government databases. The information contains lists of alleged police informants, personal information about top government officials and spies, video footage gathered from police drones and detention centers and secret recordings of phone calls from a government wiretapping system, according to interviews with the hackers and documents reviewed by Bloomberg News.
/bloom.bg/38d1Abi
UK's "largest" cybersecurity accelerator launches inclusive of its DNA
Daniel Kuhn - Illinois News Today
According to Saj Huq, Innovation Director at Plexal's Coworking Center, the cybersecurity sector may be "noisy" in terms of the number of players and solutions that attract attention, but there are gaps that need to be closed. Innovation is still needed. And last week Plexal Acting as both a coworking facility and an innovation hub-announced the launch of the UK's "largest" cyber accelerator. Called the Cyber ??Runway, this initiative aims to support 160 companies from now until April 2022.
/bit.ly/2UMttUx
Hacking and its Legal Consequences: How Do Cybercriminals Get Caught?
Today UK News
The dictionary definition of hacking is "the gaining of unauthorised access to data in a system or computer". Hacking seeks to compromise data or information that can be found on laptops, computers, mobile phones, tablets, or other electronic devices. Hacking is an unlawful activity that puts peoples' finances, identities, and livelihoods at risk. Those who do so may do it for financial gain, to gather information on people, or just for the sheer fun and glory of it. After all, the hacking community are reported to be quite the braggers.
/bit.ly/3Be005I
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | Facebook Considers Building NFT Features Alongside Digital Wallet; Social network is 'definitely looking' at digital assets as part of push into financial products, executive says
Kurt Wagner - Bloomberg
Facebook Inc. is considering building products and features related to nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, the digital assets that have taken off with the rise of blockchain technology.
/bloom.bg/3gwQ5zX
Crypto Cummings is back; More blockchain bunkum from the bloke who brought us Brexit, BarnardCastleGate and (arguably) Boris.
Jemima Kelly - FT
When Dominic Cummings said back in May that he had the "only copy of a crucial historical document" and that he was going to auction it off as an NFT, we hoped that this was just going to be a fleeting flirtation with the world of blockchain. A way of showing off his tech bro credentials, perhaps, or even an attempt to push Brexit and Barnard Castle further down the suggestions list when you type "Dominic Cummings b" into Google.
/on.ft.com/3DjZlBc
Citi lays groundwork to launch Bitcoin futures trading; The proposed new Bitcoin futures contracts at Citi will be traded on CME Group, a source familiar with the matter has confirmed.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Citi is the latest major sell-side institution to enter the cryptocurrency space as it awaits regulatory approval to start trading Bitcoin futures for institutional clients. The Bitcoin futures will be traded on US-based derivatives exchange CME Group following the relevant regulatory approvals, a source familiar with the matter has said.
/bit.ly/3BdVLai
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | China Warns of Retaliation Ahead of U.S. Report on Virus Origins
Bloomberg News
China threatened retaliation against those questioning whether the coronavirus leaked from its labs, a warning that comes days before the U.S. releases findings from an intelligence investigation into the pandemic's origins.
/bloom.bg/3mwMRjV
Politicians Take Boosters as Most Indonesians Still Unvaccinated
Arys Aditya - Bloomberg
Political elites in Indonesia are admitting to getting a third dose of Covid-19 vaccines, defying calls from the health ministry as most of the country haven't received even their first shot.
/bloom.bg/2Wn5pIJ
'Bonkers' fight over product standards shows old Brexit battles persist; Government preoccupation with sovereignty seems to be impairing sensible decision making
Helen Thomas - FT
The splendid thing about sovereignty is that it's a non-wasting asset. Use it, don't use it: that's fine. It's still there! Someone should really tell the government.
/on.ft.com/3DgS4Cw
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | For more regulatory, visit MarketsReformWiki, our website focused on current market reform efforts. | Protecting the EU against fraud is a vital priority; The new public prosecutor's office is off to a good start but severe tests lie ahead
Tony Barber - FT
In the three months since it opened, the European Public Prosecutor's Office has processed more than 1,000 reports of possible fraud involving EU funds and projects. It is a speedy start to an audacious experiment in extending the EU's system of supranational governance deep into the judicial sphere. But a start is all it is. The hardest work lies ahead.
/on.ft.com/3Bg1OLr
Regulators reject suspicions of insider trading in Aston Martin and Daimler shares; BaFin and FCA find no evidence of wrongdoing after looking into dealing, including by Mercedes F1 boss
Samuel Agini and Joe Miller - FT
Financial regulators have looked into suspicions of insider trading in Daimler and Aston Martin shares, including the purchase of a stake in the UK luxury carmaker by Toto Wolff, Mercedes's Formula One boss.
/on.ft.com/3gxDmwX
The Divisions on Display in a New SEC Decision Will Have Lasting Consequences
Howard Fischer - Barron's
The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a starkly divided, partisan split, recently approved rule changes proposed by Nasdaq. The exchange will now be permitted to require companies listed thereon to disclose information related to the gender, racial, and LGBTQ+ characteristics of their board of directors. The commissioners' divergence reflects less than a simple disagreement regarding the technical listing requirements of securities exchanges. Instead, it is indicative of a much more fundamental disagreement about the role of the corporation in society, and whether it is appropriate for regulatory institutions to help define that role.
/bit.ly/2WogJno
ASIC consults on payment for order flow rule amendments
ASIC
ASIC has today released Consultation Paper 347 Proposed amendments to the prohibition on order incentives in the ASIC market integrity rules (CP 347). ASIC has identified that its rules do not deal with certain payment-for-order-flow scenarios such as arrangements between non-market participant intermediaries and proposes to close this regulatory gap.
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The 4Cs of risky business; Keynote address by ASIC Deputy Chair Karen Chester at Risk Australia 2021, Wednesday 25 August 2021.
ASIC
Thank you for inviting me to join you and speak today. Let me start by acknowledging that it is a very character-building time to be a risk professional, especially in the financial services industry. For most, you've been hit by a perfect storm of risk events.
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SEC Charges Healthcare Services Company and CFO for Failing to Accurately Report Loss Contingencies as part of Continuing EPS Initiative
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Pennsylvania-based Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges that the company engaged in accounting and disclosure violations that enabled the company to report inflated quarterly earnings per share (EPS) that met research analysts' consensus estimates for multiple quarters. This is the third action to result from the Division of Enforcement's ongoing EPS Initiative, which uses risk-based data analytics to uncover potential accounting and disclosure violations caused by, among other things, earnings management practices.
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Podcast: The Journey to the Cloud: Implications for the Securities Industry
FINRA
The Office of Financial Innovation is a conduit and a facilitator of information related to significant innovation in the financial services industry, working to provide expertise and support to groups within FINRA, as well as FINRA member firms.
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FCA warns insurance firms over product governance rules deadline
UK FCA
Insurance firms may not be ready to implement new product governance rules there to ensure insurance provides fair value, according to a review published today by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
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Securities Commission Malaysia's Audit Oversight Board Reprimands Auditor For Non-Compliance With International Standards On Auditing
MondoVisione
The Securities Commission Malaysia's Audit Oversight Board (AOB) has publicly reprimanded Sharinah binti Mohamed Iqbal, a partner of PKF, for breaching section 31Z(1)(b) of the Securities Commission Malaysia Act 1993 (SCMA) when she failed to comply with the International Standards on Auditing when auditing a public interest entity (PIE). Compliance with these auditing standards is a condition of registration for all AOB registrants.
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | SPACs Are Having Their Day—in Court; A wave of legal action targets blank-check companies whose deals have gone south or which may have violated investment regulations
Jean Eaglesham - WSJ
Blank-check companies are booming again—in the courts. Two law professors are aiming at high-profile targets, filing suits that question the legality of a specific type of special-purpose acquisition company. Among them are billionaire William Ackman's $4 billion Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd. PSTH 0.05% , Go Acquisition Corp , co-founded by veteran entrepreneur Noam Gottesman, and E.Merge Technology Acquisition Corp. ETAC 0.12%
/on.wsj.com/3sJPjoa
SPACs Were Red Hot. Why They Suddenly Slammed on the Brakes.
Luisa Beltran - Barron's
Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACS, had a red-hot start to the year, but recent accounting guidance from regulators helped cool things off in a hurry. After a torrid run in the second half of 2020 and early 2021, the number of SPAC stock listings in the second quarter plunged by nearly 79% from the first quarter, to 64 offerings, valued at $13.5 billion, Dealogic says. Mergers by SPACs also dropped by 23% from the first quarter, to 76 combinations, valued at $157.3 billion.
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Forget Pot, Crypto, and SPACs. Why Pros Say Retirement Savers Should Avoid Fads
Nick Fortuna - Barron's
Fear of missing out on a life-changing score can be a powerful motivator, but financial pros say retirement savers should resist the latest fad investment ideas like marijuana stocks, cryptocurrencies, and SPACs and stick to safer investments. Marijuana stocks tend to be overvalued, the future of cryptocurrencies is too unpredictable, and special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are simply too risky for the average investor, says Clark Kendall, CEO of Kendall Capital in Rockville, Md.
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Banks Are Bingeing on Bonds, but Not Because They Want To; Banks are awash in deposits, and their customers are taking out fewer loans. So they have little choice but to buy up government debt, even if it means skimpy profits.
Matt Phillips - NY Times
The economy is growing. Businesses are hiring. Stocks are soaring. And banks are sitting on big piles of cash. If only they had a better place to put it.
/nyti.ms/3gxNrKj
Interest Rate Derivatives Trading Activity in the EU, UK and US: June 2021
ISDA
ISDA has expanded its SwapsInfo analysis to include interest rate derivatives (IRD) trading activity reported in Europe. The analysis is based on transactions publicly reported by 30 European approved publication arrangements (APAs) and trading venues (TVs).
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | A Secret Bias Found in U.S. Mortgage-Approval Algorithms
Emanuel Martinez, Lauren Kirchner - AP
The new four-bedroom house in Charlotte, North Carolina, was Crystal Marie and Eskias McDaniels' personal American dream, the reason they had moved to this Southern town from pricey Los Angeles a few years ago. A lush, long lawn, 2,700 square feet of living space, a neighborhood pool and playground for their son, Nazret. All for $375,000. Prequalifying for the mortgage was a breeze. They said they had saved much more than they would need for the down payment, had very good credit — scores of 805 and 725 — and earned roughly six figures each, she in marketing at a utility company and Eskias representing a pharmaceutical company. The monthly mortgage payment was less than they'd paid for rent in Los Angeles for years.
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UK debt office urged to launch green gilts with 10-12 year maturity
Reuters
Investors and dealers recommended that Britain's debt office should put a 10-12 year maturity on its first green government bond sale next month with 2033 the preferred maturity year, the Debt Management Office said on Tuesday.
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Water funds attract $35 billion as drought drains reservoirs. A new report asks if they are worth it
Joy Wiltermuth - MarketWatch
As extreme drought and water shortages plague the U.S. West and beyond, water funds have attracted about $35 billion of assets under management, according to a new Morningstar report. The trend comes as much of California faces voluntary water rationing this summer as drought parches the land, forces some farmers to destroy crops and drains reservoirs. This month, the U.S. also declared the first-ever water shortage for the Colorado River, a key supplier of water and hydropower to households and farms in seven U.S. states and Mexico.
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Few Women Ascend Japan's Corporate Ladder. Is Change Finally Coming? Only 6 percent of board seats at Japanese companies are held by women. After years of unkept promises, these businesses are now facing pressure both at home and abroad to diversify.
Ben Dooley - NY Times
When Naomi Koshi was elected in June to the board of one of Japan's largest telecommunications companies, she became one of the few women in the country to reach the top of the corporate ladder. Now that she's there, she wants to pull others up with her.
/nyti.ms/2UOvtM8
BIS Innovation Hub And HKMA Investigate How Tokenized Green Bonds Can Improve Sustainable Investment
Mondovisione
In many countries, issuing and investing in bonds can be cumbersome and complex, involving many steps and parties, and typically requiring a considerable financial commitment from the investor. For those investing in environmentally friendly projects, there is uncertainty about whether the bond issuer is delivering the positive green impact it committed to at issuance. Also, there are typically no liquid and transparent secondary markets for retail investors.
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Top T Rowe Price fund manager David Giroux cuts stocks exposure; Investor known for market timing cools on equities after huge rally
Michael Mackenzie - FT
A top-rated active fund manager at T Rowe Price has substantially backed away from a "rich" US equity market, reflecting nerves among some investors about the lofty valuations that have become entrenched since markets rebounded forcefully from the pandemic lows of last year.
/on.ft.com/3mxuKKw
Banking on cannabis: the new network of lenders for a semi-legal industry; Still illegal at federal level, industry has to pay high fees for financial services from less well-known firms
Joshua Franklin - FT
When Scot Garrambone and his partners in California started selling weed in 2018, they had hoped to make a lot of money. They just did not expect to spend so much time counting it.
/on.ft.com/2Wn7Fjb
Goldman Sachs requires on-site workers and clients to be vaccinated; Employers including Deloitte issue mandates after US FDA grants full approval to BioNTech/Pfizer shot
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Imani Moise, Sara Germano and Peter Wells - FT
Goldman Sachs will require proof of vaccination from all staff and clients entering the bank's offices as vaccine mandates proliferate across the US after the BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 jab received full regulatory approval.
/on.ft.com/3B9XNYL
Capital Group Set to Launch Its First-Ever ETFs. Why It's a Big Deal.
Evie Liu - Barron's
A mutual-fund giant is finally joining the party of exchange-traded funds after steadfastly resisting it for more than a decade. Capital Group, one of the largest U.S. fund shops with more than $2 trillion under management, announced on Tuesday its plans to launch a slate of ETFs by the end of the first quarter of 2022. The Los Angeles-based firm, home of the American Funds mutual funds, is the last major asset manager to offer the low-cost, tax-efficient investment product to clients. It joins other mutual fund giants including American Century, Fidelity, JPMorgan, and T. Rowe Price with ETFs.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Swiss Private Equity Firm Sued by Woman Who Complained About Racist Slurs
Todd Gillespie - Bloomberg
U.K. and U.S. not right jurisdictions for case: Partners Group; 'Let's not create a paper trail,' HR executive said in email
A Black former employee at Partners Group Holding AG is suing the Swiss private equity firm for $10 million over claims she was forced out of the company after complaining about a senior colleague's alleged racist slurs.
/bloom.bg/3kkT2oE
Nasdaq Golden Dragon's Rebound Brings Hope for China Bulls
Akshay Chinchalkar - Bloomberg
Gauge has surged after plunge toward longer term thresholds; China regulatory crackdown may already be priced into outlook
An unprecedented plunge in the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index is opening up the possibility of a rebound for the bravest China bulls. China's regulatory crackdown sent the 98-member gauge down 46% in the past six months. The depth of the decline raises the possibility that bad news has been priced in, creating the potential for a turnaround.
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China's Municipal Yuan Debt Is Going Offshore For the First Time
Bloomberg News
Shenzhen, Guangdong seeking underwriters for offerings; Moves come as China seeks to boost yuan's international use
The so-called Dim Sum bond market is about to get a new kind of issuer: local Chinese governments. In a first for the $77 billion offshore yuan bond market, Shenzhen city government is seeking underwriters for an offering of up to 5 billion yuan ($771 million), according to a statement Tuesday. Guangdong province is also planning such a sale in Macau, without giving the size.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | Four Weddings and a Financial Funeral; Millennials have a front-row seat to the post-Covid wedding boom. Here's how to stay on top of your finances amid all those invites.
Erin Lowry - Bloomberg
Over the last decade, my husband and I have spent more money attending other people's weddings than we did buying a 2018 car in 2020 — $10,000 more. We're in the sweet spot of our early 30s, in which our friends and family members are caught in a constant cycle of having weddings and babies. Of course, these are joyous times, but they can also be stressful. The engagement party, bachelor(ette) parties, bridal showers, weddings, gender reveal parties and baby showers are starting to feel like a drain on our bank account.
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