| May 13, 2025 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
In his keynote at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins emphasized the transformative potential of migrating securities from traditional databases to blockchain-based systems, comparing the shift to the music industry's move from analog to digital formats. He argued that tokenization and on-chain securities could revolutionize capital markets by enabling new methods of issuing, trading, and owning assets, such as using smart contracts for transparent dividend distribution and increasing liquidity for previously illiquid assets. Atkins stressed the need for the SEC to modernize its regulatory approach, moving away from ad hoc enforcement and toward clear, fit-for-purpose rules that foster innovation while protecting investors from fraud
Atkins outlined three priorities for crypto asset policy: issuance, custody, and trading. He called for updated guidance and exemptions to make it easier for crypto asset issuers to comply with disclosure requirements, greater flexibility and clarity for custodians and self-custody solutions, and modernization of trading regulations to accommodate new products and platforms. He criticized past SEC approaches as either passive or overly punitive and committed to coordinated, transparent policymaking through the newly established Crypto Task Force. Atkins concluded by expressing his intent to work with the administration and Congress to make the U.S. a global leader in crypto asset markets.
The World Federation of Exchanges' new paper, "Climate Risk Premium: Evidence from Commodity Options," finds that climate risks are positively priced into commodity options, meaning investors demand higher returns for holding assets exposed to climate-related risks. Using a novel methodology and proprietary data on "brown" and "green" iron ore options traded on the Singapore Exchange, the study documents that options tied to higher-emission ("brown") assets carry greater risk premiums than those linked to more sustainable ("green") assets, confirming the existence of a climate risk premium in commodity derivatives markets.
The research also reveals that climate policy uncertainty has a nonlinear effect on these premiums: moderate uncertainty increases climate risk premiums by unsettling market expectations, while extreme uncertainty causes traders and producers to adopt a "wait and see" approach, reducing premiums. These findings highlight the importance of transparent and predictable climate policies for stabilizing markets and demonstrate that climate-focused commodity options are valuable tools for managing exposure to climate risk, the WFE said.
Paul Hastings Partner Renato Mariotti wrote on LinkedIn about a recent executive order issued by President Trump titled "Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations." In his commentary, Mariotti said President Trump's executive order discourages criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses, directing agencies to focus prosecutions only on individuals who knowingly violated regulations and caused or risked significant public harm. The order states that strict liability offenses - those not requiring proof of criminal intent - are generally disfavored, and urges agencies to consider civil or administrative actions instead, in line with due process and the right to a jury trial, referencing the Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Jarkesy v. SEC. While federal criminal prosecution for strict liability offenses is rare, the order requires agencies to publicly list all criminal regulatory offenses and update these lists annually, with enforcement discouraged for offenses not publicly posted. This policy is expected to be cited in various legal contexts, especially in white collar cases where defendants may not have known about the regulation, or where no harm occurred, potentially broadening its impact beyond its immediate scope.
Dr. Richard Sandor will deliver the keynote address at the AFM Tech Day in Chicago on November 14, 2025, an event sponsored in collaboration with Connamara Technologies. For more details, go HERE.
The NYSE Exchanges would like to remind you that in observance of Memorial Day, the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE National, NYSE Texas, NYSE American Options, NYSE Arca Options, and NYSE Bonds markets will be closed on Monday, May 26, 2025.
CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham is participating in the 50th Annual Meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), held from May 12 to 14, 2025, at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel in Doha, Qatar.
Here are the headlines from in front of FOW's paywall from some recent stories: Baton Systems connects DTCC to Core-Collateral network for Treasury clearing, SEC chair hails 'new day' for crypto rules, Singapore Exchange volumes up 24% in April on tariff-boosted trading, ANALYSIS: Europe ready to build out crypto ecosystem - Cboe Clear Europe, ANALYSIS: LCH marks entry into crypto with GFO-X launch and Euronext lists single stock mini-options, region dominates light week for launches.
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:
- Options Market is 'Fantastic Spot' for Buy Side from MarketsMedia.
- How student finance clubs seized control of the path to Wall Street from Business Insider.
- CME Group Inc. Announces Preliminary Results from its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders from CME Group. ~JB
Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it's free).
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| Sponsored Content |
Russell 2000 Index quarterly chartbook - April 2025
How did the Russell 2000 Index perform in Q1 2025? The Russell 2000 Index brings data-rich detail to the investable small cap market segment. Dive into market performance from every angle, explore sectors and their reflection in the market and more! Learn more: Russell 2000 Index Quarterly Chartbook - April 2025 | LSEG
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 BMLL's Big Data Dream: Turning Market Noise Into Market Insight, One Packet at a Time JohnLothianNews.com For Paul Humphrey, the CEO of BMLL Technologies, every blip, cancel, and order on an exchange tells a story - if you can wrangle the data. "We specialize in Level 3 data; market by order data, every packet, every message," Humphrey explained. "It's a huge amount of data." Known initially for deep dives into equities, BMLL now includes seamless futures coverage and, as Humphrey noted with pride, "full coverage of CME, ICE and Eurex, across all asset classes." Watch the Paul Humphrey Video »
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CFTC Undermines Public Comment Process, Lets Coinbase Launch 24/7 Trading Without Review
Better Markets
Cantrell Dumas, Director of Derivatives Policy at Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) failure to pause Coinbase Derivatives, LLC's launch of 24/7 futures trading: "It's deeply troubling that the CFTC allowed Coinbase to proceed with launching 24/7 futures trading while an active Request for Comment on this exact issue remains open. This premature action undermines the public comment process and signals that meaningful input from market participants, consumer advocates, and the public may be ignored when powerful financial firms are involved.
/jlne.ws/3S3rsNY
***** Evidently, the CFTC heard all they needed to hear about 24/7 futures for Coinbase, and the answer would be yes, no matter what the comments said. ~JJL
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Trump Has Already Ruined Christmas; Even if the president were to call off the tariffs tomorrow, he's unleashed a series of supply chain shocks that will cause consumers pain beyond store shelves.
Amanda Mull - Bloomberg
The afternoons are getting warmer, the cherry blossoms have bloomed, the sun is setting a little bit later-obviously, now is the time to be thinking about Christmas. Or, at least, it might be time to think about Christmas shopping. The holidays aren't exactly around the corner, but it's starting to seem inevitable that President Donald Trump's ever-changing tariffs-launched in early April, delayed for imports from most countries until July, repeatedly escalated for Chinese imports, and threatened for even more things like movies and pharmaceuticals throughout the spring-will kneecap the year's busiest shopping season. The administration's placeholder policy of a 145% duty on most Chinese goods and 10% on most other imports-dropped yesterday to 30% for 90 days-hasn't emptied shelves or spiked prices quite yet, but your shopping experience is a lagging indicator when it comes to tumult in the global supply chain.
/jlne.ws/4deocZT
****** And there you have the real "War on Christmas"! Happy Holidays! ~JJL
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The US Is on Track to Lose $12 Billion in Travel Revenue in 2025; The United States is the only nation projected to feel an international tourism slump this year.
Nikki Ekstein - Bloomberg
The US is on track for a very bad tourism year. According to new data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), shared exclusively with Bloomberg, the country is set to lose $12.5 billion in travel revenue in 2025, with visitor spending estimated to fall under $169 billion by year's end. The numbers represent a decline of around 7% in visitor spending year-over-year, and a decline of 22% since tourism reached its peak in the US in 2019. This puts the US in a league of its own. Out of 184 global economies analyzed by WTTC in conjunction with Oxford Economics, it's the only one projected to lose tourism dollars this year. "Other countries are really rolling out the welcome mat, and it feels like the US is putting up a 'we are closed' sign at their doorway," says WTTC President and Chief Executive Officer Julia Simpson.
/jlne.ws/43sHJlU
****** This is a pretty good sentiment indicator. ~JJL
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Monday's Top Three
Our top story Monday was Business Insider's How student finance clubs seized control of the path to Wall Street. Second was The Wall Street Journal's opinion piece, The Trump Family Crypto Business, subtitled "The Administration will regulate the tokens the Trumps are selling." And third was Steve Bannon: 'President Trump will serve a third term', an interview from the Financial Times.
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| Lead Stories | Wall Street's Favorite Charity Is Preparing for a Future Without Its Founder
Amanda L Gordon - Bloomberg
For years, Ken Tropin would watch Paul Tudor Jones yuck it up at the Robin Hood benefit and worry what would happen when his pal was no longer leading the charge. Monday night, he'll watch knowing there's a plan for that eventuality. The poverty-fighting organization has been taking steps to address Jones' irreplaceability. The legendary trader - still going strong at age 70 - has been the Robin Hood Foundation's largest donor since he helped found it in 1988, and the one who asks the biggest contributors for a check every year.
/jlne.ws/3GRp6PO
Can Europe finally fix its capital markets? Stung by its lack of competitiveness, the EU is making a new push to create a deep financial market. Some investors believe this time could be different
Paola Tamma - Financial Times
Markus Villig knows all about Europe's aversion to investment risk. The chief executive of Estonian ride-hailing app Bolt "met almost every venture capitalist" on the continent before securing most of Bolt's $1bn-plus in funding from US investors. "The reason we lost out wasn't [because rival apps] had a better product. It's because they had access to more money," Villig tells the Financial Times. "[US investors] were willing to take the risk, even on an Estonian legal entity. European VCs just couldn't commit at that level."
/jlne.ws/3S1d60o
Singapore seeks to rival London and New York with new gold contract; Start-up backed by BlackRock and CBOE says structure of global bullion market 'dysfunctional'
Leslie Hook and Owen Walker - Financial Times
Singapore-based start-up Abaxx Exchange is seeking to challenge the dominance of London and New York in the global bullion market with the launch of a new physical gold contract, following a blistering price rally this year. The bourse, which has raised more than $100mn from investors including BlackRock and CBOE Global Markets, plans to offer a physical one kilo gold contract next month, denominated in US dollars and deliverable in Singapore.
/jlne.ws/4jTzEN5
Coinbase to Join S&P 500 Next Week in Crypto-Market Milestone
Isabelle Lee and Emily Graffeo - Bloomberg
Coinbase Global Inc., the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, will be added to the S&P 500 Index in the latest milestone for the booming digital-asset industry. The company will replace Discover Financial Services in the index prior to the start of trading on May 19, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a press release. Shares of Coinbase were up 13% in after-hours trading. The inclusion of Coinbase is viewed as a vindication by crypto faithfuls who helped President Donald Trump win the election in November. "It's a sign of the times," said Dan Dolev, senior payments analyst at Mizuho. "It's the welcoming of crypto stocks to mainstream."
/jlne.ws/4djdMIn
US SEC chair says agency plans to create new rules for crypto tokens
Hannah Lang - Reuters
Paul Atkins, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, laid out his vision for overhauling the agency's cryptocurrency policies on Monday, saying he plans to establish guidelines for distributions of crypto tokens that are securities and consider whether additional exemptions are necessary. In remarks made at the outset of a public meeting of the SEC's crypto task force, Atkins also indicated that the SEC may consider tweaking its rules so that registered broker-dealers with an alternative trading system - or ATS - can also facilitate trading in non-securities, such as bitcoin or ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies.
/jlne.ws/4jROLGy
GFO-X Launches Regulated Digital Asset Trading Venue; First Institutional Trade Successfully Executed; The New UK Trading Venue Brings Institutional-Grade Market Infrastructure, Central Clearing, and Deep Liquidity to Digital Asset Derivatives
GFO-X
GFO-X today announced the successful launch of its UK FCA regulated trading venue for centrally cleared digital asset derivatives. The venue is designed to meet the increasing institutional demand for secure, transparent, and compliant digital asset futures and options. GFO-X brings together best-in-class market infrastructure, deep liquidity, and central clearing to solve for credit and significantly reduce counterparty risk.
/jlne.ws/44C7pxt
Tariffs are a bet on the free market rather than free trade; Innovation has stalled in a globalised era dominated by state-sponsored national champions
Oren Cass - Financial Times
A notable feature of the latest US-China trade détente is the Trump administration's apparent commitment to the 10 per cent global tariff as a permanent baseline. The common but peculiar objection to the president's ongoing tariffs is that the burdens they place on so-called intermediate goods are self-defeating. Put a tariff on steel and the domestic steelmaker might benefit, but the many more manufacturers that use steel will suffer. More broadly, tariffs on inputs reduce the "competitiveness" of outputs in the global marketplace. Tariff the iPhone, if you must, but not its chips and screws and screen.
/jlne.ws/3F7efAD
Saudi Arabia Launches New AI Firm Ahead of Trump's Visit
Omar El Chmouri - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia has launched a new firm to invest across the artificial intelligence value chain, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump, where the technology is expected to feature prominently on the agenda. HUMAIN, owned by the kingdom's $925 billion Public Investment Fund, will provide data centers, AI infrastructure and cloud capabilities, as well as Arabic large language models, according to a statement from the Saudi Press Agency.
/jlne.ws/4kahMwW
Is Murder Securities Fraud? Also retail private equity and secondaries, Trump Media accounting, chatbot insurance, pope bets and tax snails
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
Is being murdered securities fraud?
My rule of thumb is that every bad thing that a public company does, or that happens to a public company, is also securities fraud. This is not literally true - really it's only securities fraud if the company is lying to investors about the bad thing1 - but it is a useful rule of thumb. If you find a bad thing that has happened to a public company, I will find you a securities fraud case, even if it doesn't seem like anyone is lying. For instance: If an executive of a company is murdered, is that securities fraud? Brian Thompson, an executive at UnitedHealth Group Inc., was shot and killed outside an investor meeting in Manhattan last year by a gunman who seems to have objected to UnitedHealth's business practices. The stock was down about 5% the next day. Is that securities fraud?2 Not in the traditional sense, or even in most of the "everything is securities fraud" senses. It's not like UnitedHealth kept the murder secret from its shareholders: It was national news from pretty much the minute it happened. And it would be hard to make a case like "UnitedHealth should have warned shareholders that its executives might get shot, which would be bad for the stock price, but it didn't disclose that risk so shareholders were misled." That could happen to any company; seems like a weird thing to put in the risk factors.
/jlne.ws/43dev9c
Tether's $150 Billion CIO Proved Himself Getting Cantor Backing
Ryan Weeks - Bloomberg
For years, crypto's most-influential players have tended to be idiosyncratic and outspoken founders: Changpeng Zhao, the Binance Holdings Ltd. billionaire who pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering violations. Bitcoin mega-accumulator Michael Saylor. The Winklevoss twins, the vocal Donald Trump supporters behind Gemini. Then there's Richard Heathcote, a 41-year-old Brit based in the Bahamas who oversees an almost $150 billion portfolio of assets as chief investment officer of stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings SA.
/jlne.ws/4mfE2aG
Big EU Bank Deals Hampered by Governments Despite Calls to Grow
Steven Arons - Bloomberg
The European Union has long decried the small size of its banks. But the national governments of its member states are again emerging as the main stumbling block to some of the region's most ambitious deals. Spain is considering whether to intervene in the takeover of Banco Sabadell SA by BBVA SA, while the Italian government is seeking to obstruct the purchase of Banco BPM SpA by UniCredit SpA. In Berlin, the new administration - like the old one before it - wants Commerzbank AG to remain independent and German, rather than be bought by UniCredit.
/jlne.ws/3Zdsk6q
Trading Technologies' TT Strategy Studio Introduced Broadly to Meet Algorithmic Trading Needs of Sophisticated Professional Trading Firms, Hedge Funds; Comprehensive offering includes framework for developing, testing and deploying multi-asset automated trading strategies while protecting clients' IP
Trading Technologies
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets technology platform services provider, today announced the broad introduction of its TT Strategy Studio multi-asset algorithmic trading offering for institutional trading firms, including the largest and most sophisticated professional trading organizations, quantitative firms, energy companies and hedge funds. The company made the announcement coinciding with TradeTech Europe 2025, the buy-side equity trading conference in Paris.
/jlne.ws/3GRcKat
Egg Prices Fall to $5 a Dozen in the US From Record Highs
Ilena Peng and Gerson Freitas Jr - Bloomberg
Egg prices pulled back 18% from a record high last month, offering some relief as supplies recovered from bird flu shock. Shoppers paid $5.122 per dozen for large eggs on average in April, falling from two straight months of record highs that brought prices above $6, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. The monthly drop in a broader index for eggs was the biggest since 1984, helping to drive a softer-than-forecast increase in US consumer prices in April.
/jlne.ws/3YEkdQb
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| Trade War and Tariffs | | A roundup of today's trade war and tariff news and the global economic ripple effects shaping markets, industries, and investment strategies. | China Called Trump's Bluff
Jonathan Chait - The Atlantic
When President Donald Trump launched his trade war on the world, he issued a stern warning: "Do not retaliate and you will be rewarded." China ignored the warning. It was rewarded anyway. This morning, Trump largely suspended his trade war in return for nothing but promises of ongoing discussions. There is a lesson here for everybody Trump threatens, whether countries or businesses or universities. The unveiling of the Trump global tariff regime was accompanied by a distinct form of dominance theater. The president and his gang assured his targets that if they submitted to his tariffs, he would repay their compliance. Any country that dared defy him would suffer terribly.
/jlne.ws/3SF5ssJ
The Great Trump Tariff Rollback; The President started a trade war with Adam Smith. He lost.
The Editorial Board - The Wall Street Journal
Rarely has an economic policy been repudiated as soundly, and as quickly, as President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs-and by Mr. Trump's own hand. Witness the agreement Monday morning to scale back his punitive tariffs on China-his second major retreat in less than a week. This is a win for economic reality, and for American prosperity.
/jlne.ws/3YHhcP0
EU Plagued by 'Collective Action Problem' on Trade, Bessent Says
Jordan Fabian - Bloomberg
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the European Union suffers from a "collective action problem" that's hampering trade negotiations, downplaying the possibility of a quick agreement with the US's largest trading relationship. "I think the US and Europe may be a bit slower," Bessent said when asked at a Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh about progress on tariff talks.
/jlne.ws/4mfOQWg
US court to weigh small business bid to block Trump tariffs
Dietrich Knauth - Reuters
Five American small businesses will ask a U.S. court on Tuesday to halt President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, arguing the president overstepped his authority by declaring a national emergency to impose across-the-board taxes on imports from nations that sell more to the U.S. than they buy. Tuesday's hearing before a panel of three judges at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade will be the first major legal test of Trump's tariffs.
/jlne.ws/43fwdJu
Can You Build a Great Wine Cellar Using Only American Bottles?; Bloomberg's wine critic takes the question posed by Donald Trump's tariffs to their extreme conclusion.
Elin McCoy - Bloomberg
A seductive taste of earth and ethereal red fruit makes Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's Romanee-Conti one of the most collectible pinot noirs in the world. As its satiny texture and complex flavors unroll across your tongue, you realize just how profound a wine can be. It comes from a tiny 1.8-hectare (4.5 acre) grand cru vineyard on a limestone slope in Burgundy, with the name incised in the stone wall. Many wine lovers call the spot hallowed ground. Me too.
/jlne.ws/3EQESKf
China says fentanyl issue is responsibility of the United States
Reuters
The responsibility of tackling the fentanyl issue in the United States lies within the U.S. itself, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, rejecting the punitive tariffs Washington imposed on Beijing for not stemming the inflow. China has repeatedly said fentanyl is a U.S. issue and the tariffs imposed on China because of that are unreasonable, said Lin Jian, a ministry spokesperson, when asked at a regular news conference if fentanyl would be discussed in future trade talks.
/jlne.ws/3GQfbtL
Who blinked first? How the US and China broke their trade deadlock; Secret meeting in IMF basement paved way for tariff deal seen on both sides as a victory
Demetri Sevastopulo, Joe Leahy and Peter Foster - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4dlUQc6
Trump's Disruptive Trade Agenda Is Giving Way to Scaled-Back Deals
Tarini Parti, Meridith McGraw and Natalie Andrews - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/4j287Yr
CEOs Rush to Get Their Shipments From China While Trade Truce Lasts; Business leaders welcome 90-day reprieve but call for longer-term trade deal
Suzanne Kapner, Ruth Simon and John Keilman - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/42VsRw7
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| World Conflicts | | News about various conflicts and their military, economic, political and humanitarian impact. | Ukraine Invasion
Some Ukrainian soldiers say Russians must withdraw before any peace talks
Alina Smutko and Herbert Villarraga - Reuters
After fending off attacks during a three-day weekend ceasefire declared by Russia, some Ukrainian soldiers fighting near the front line had advice for their president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy: don't talk to Moscow until Russian troops withdraw. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine just over an hour after his ceasefire ended, something Zelenskiy said was possible, but only after Moscow agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire from Monday.
/jlne.ws/4dfRg37
Russia is on pace to run out of financial reserves by this fall, which would cripple war efforts, economist says
Jennifer Sor - Business Insider
Russia is facing a critical challenge to its war effort in 2025: The nation is quickly running out of cash, with financial reserves potentially running out before the end of the year, one European economist estimates. Anders Ã...slund, a Swedish economist who's a former fellow at the Atlantic Council, has said liquid reserves in Russia's National Wealth Fund could be depleted by the fall of this year.
/jlne.ws/4jNaYFK
Ukraine's Zelenskiy insists on face-to-face talks with Putin in Istanbul
Pavel Polityuk and Anton Kolodyazhnyy - Reuters
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will only attend talks on Ukraine this week if Russia's Vladimir Putin is also there, an aide to the Ukrainian leader said on Tuesday, challenging the Kremlin to show it is genuine about seeking peace. U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to attend Thursday's proposed meeting in Istanbul, which has become the focus of his attempts to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
/jlne.ws/44wbgMz
Putin skipping talks would signal Moscow not seeking peace: Kyiv
Stanislav Doshchitsyn - AFP
Ukraine said Tuesday that if Vladimir Putin skips talks in Turkey it would be a "clear sign" to the world the Russian leader is not serious about peace, and the West should reply with boosted military support to Kyiv. The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow's invasion in 2022.
/jlne.ws/3Ze2xuQ
Zelenskyy invites Pope Leo to Ukraine as pontiff urges journalists to report truth
Angela Giuffrida - The Guardian
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine as the new pontiff urged journalists to end a polarising "war on words". In a post on Telegram on Monday, the Ukrainian president revealed he had spoken to Leo, the first North American leader of the Roman Catholic church, as the new pontiff was finishing a speech to thousands of journalists in the Vatican.
/jlne.ws/3FeZKL7
Zelensky Asks Trump to Join Ukraine Peace Talks; The Ukrainian leader's move appears designed to ramp up pressure on Vladimir Putin
Ian Lovett - The Wall Street Journal
/jlne.ws/42URQQd
Other Conflicts
Pakistan says committed to truce with India, vows to respond to aggression
Asif Shahzad, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Shivam Patel - Reuters
Pakistan said on Tuesday that it remains committed to the truce with India, agreed after four days of intense military fighting last week, but vowed to respond to any future aggression by New Delhi with full resolve. The comments from Islamabad came in response to an address to the nation by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, in which he warned Pakistan that New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" across the border again if there were new attacks on India, without being deterred by "nuclear blackmail".
/jlne.ws/3ZiRlx1
India has only 'paused' military action against Pakistan, Modi says
Hannah Ellis-Petersen - The Guardian
Narendra Modi has said India has only "paused" its military action against Pakistan and would "retaliate on its own terms" to any attacks, after a ceasefire brought escalating hostilities between the two countries to a standstill at the weekend. In his first address since attacks began between India and Pakistan - culminating in both sides launching missiles at each other's key military bases and airfields on Saturday - the Indian prime minister said he was "monitoring every step of Pakistan".
/jlne.ws/44vaWxA
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Abaxx to Launch Singapore Gold Kilobar Futures and Physically-Allocated Gold Pool on June 12, 2025
Abaxx
Abaxx Technologies Inc. (CBOE:ABXX)(OTCQX:ABXXF) ("Abaxx" or the "Company"), a financial software and market infrastructure company, indirect majority shareholder of Abaxx Singapore Pte Ltd. ("Abaxx Singapore"), the owner of Abaxx Commodity Exchange and Clearinghouse (individually, "Abaxx Exchange" and "Abaxx Clearing"), and producer of the SmarterMarketsâ„¢ Podcast, today announced that it will be expanding its product suite to include precious metals with the launch of Gold kilobar futures on June 12, 2025.
/jlne.ws/43c2bGt
Nodal Clear Announces Clearing Support for 24x7 Trading on Coinbase Derivatives Exchange
EEX Group
Nodal Clear announced that starting today it will offer clearing support for 24x7 (24 hours by 7 days) trading of select cryptocurrency futures contracts on Coinbase Derivatives Exchange (CDE). The new structure enables round-the-clock trading, for a subset of contracts including:
/jlne.ws/3YGkVwh
LCH DigitalAssetClear now live
LSEG
LSEG today announces that LCH SA has launched its new LCH DigitalAssetClear service. LCH DigitalAssetClear will provide market participants with access to the clearing of digital asset derivatives traded on GFO-X, the UK's first FCA-regulated, centrally-cleared multilateral trading facility (MTF) dedicated to digital asset futures and options. The launch of the service illustrates LCH SA's diversification into new asset classes and demonstrates the continued expansion of LSEG's post trade ecosystem. ABN AMRO Clearing Bank, Nomura International Plc and Standard Chartered Bank are the first clearing members offering clearing services to trading participants and market makers on LCH DigitalAssetClear.
/jlne.ws/4mfQozy
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Expands Strategic Partnership with Nasdaq to Modernize Capital Market Ecosystem; SET to Advance Capital Market Infrastructure with Nasdaq's Risk and Surveillance Technology
Nasdaq
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced an expanded strategic technology partnership aimed at modernizing Thailand's capital markets. The collaboration focuses on strengthening market resilience and integrity while aligning with global standards and leveraging Nasdaq's AI capabilities.
/jlne.ws/4keqHxg
SGX Group's April volumes powered by five-year-high stock market activity, record FX volumes amid global flight to quality
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) today released its market statistics for April. In a month of tariff-driven volatility, global investors leaned on SGX Group's trusted and liquid marketplace to tap opportunities and risk-manage across asset classes, fueling multiple records. Securities daily average value (SDAV) rose 59% year-on-year (y-o-y) to S$1.9 billion - the highest since March 2020 - lifting total securities market turnover value to S$40.6 billion. Derivatives traded volume increased 24% y-o-y to 29.9 million contracts on record foreign exchange (FX) futures activity, as derivatives daily average volume (DAV) gained 24% y-o-y to 1.5 million contracts.
/jlne.ws/4j4uYmj
Wood's Greek Retreat 2025: Record Participation by Greek Companies
ATHEX Group
The Athens Exchange Group is pleased to participate in and sponsor Wood's Greek Retreat 2025, reaffirming its commitment to promoting Greek businesses within the international investment community. This year's event, held on May 15-16 in Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso Hotel in Athens, features a record participation of 32 Greek listed companies from key sectors of the economy. Through a full agenda of one-on-one meetings and networking sessions, the conference will highlight Greece's strong economic momentum and the investment opportunities it offers.
/jlne.ws/43e8gls
Approved Application for Spot Call Butter, Spot Call Dry Whey, and Spot Call Nonfat Dry Milk Regularity
CME Group
The Exchange has approved the application of Americold Logistics, LLC located in Connell, WA at 720 West Juniper Street to be designated as an Approved Warehouse for delivery of Spot Call Butter, Spot Call Dry Whey, and Spot Call Nonfat Dry Milk.
/jlne.ws/4m4XTcq
LME Clear Haircut Circular May 2025
LME
LME Clear Members are advised that new margin collateral haircuts have been set.
/jlne.ws/4dkkPk2
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Optiver relies on BMLL market data for quant strategy; The market-maker has built its trading business on top of BMLL's Level 3 data. But the collaboration is young, and the pair have grand plans to make options the next quant frontier.
Rebecca Natale - Waters Technology
When firms weigh whether to buy or build a product, market data-especially of the real-time variety-often falls automatically into the "buy" bucket. But historical data is a different beast, and the work often falls on firms' in-house teams to source such data from the various exchanges on which they transact. It is a large lift, and it's often not scalable due to each exchange's own quirks, says Edward Monrad, head of corporate strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Optiver.
/jlne.ws/44AzlSy
TikTok, Meta Endure Tougher Asia Crackdown as US Efforts Stall
Newley Purnell - Bloomberg
Some of the toughest new laws attempting to rein in TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat aren't coming from Washington or Brussels. They're emerging from capitals such as Canberra, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Governments across the Asia-Pacific region are leading the global charge to protect children from online harms, presenting an unprecedented challenge to the likes of ByteDance Ltd., Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc. in markets with some of their largest and most youthful user bases.
/jlne.ws/4khDgrV
Google Facing at Least EUR12 Billion in Civil Claims Across Europe; The tech giant was hit with a EUR2.4 billion fine in the EU over its shopping search service. Suits from alleged victims could add billions more.
Karin Matussek - Bloomberg
Alphabet Inc.'s Google is facing at least EUR12 billion ($13.3 billion) in damage claims from dozens of price comparison websites across the European Union which allege that the search and advertising giant stole their customers, according to a Bloomberg News review. The civil suits are linked to a 2017 decision by the European Commission to fine Google EUR2.4 billion for illegally leveraging its search dominance to give its own shopping service an edge.
/jlne.ws/439ppgb
House GOP eyes moratorium on state AI laws
Analysis by Will Oremus, with research by Andrea Jimenez - The Washington Post
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing a legislative package that would roll back state AI laws throughout the country and prohibit states from passing new ones for the next decade. The AI provisions, which would make the federal government the sole regulator for U.S. tech firms in a booming industry, are part of a broader reconciliation bill that includes top Republican priorities on issues ranging from health care to energy and the environment. The bill, whose text was released Sunday by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky), will be debated in a markup that begins Tuesday afternoon and could stretch into Wednesday or beyond.
/jlne.ws/3YHozWP
US to Boost Saudi AI Chip Access Even as China Issues Linger
Mackenzie Hawkins, Annmarie Hordern, and Matthew Martin - Bloomberg
The Trump administration is preparing to announce a deal granting Saudi Arabia more access to advanced semiconductors, paving the way for increased data center capacity in the Gulf nation despite concerns from some US officials about its ties to China, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/44C325I
AI Startup Perplexity's Valuation Surges to $14 Billion in New Funding Round; Artificial-intelligence search company is raising $500 million
Berber Jin - The Wall Street Journal
Perplexity is in talks for a $500 million funding round led by Accel, valuing the AI search firm at $14 billion. Perplexity plans to launch its own web browser, Comet, to challenge Google Chrome and Apple's Safari. Apple is considering adding AI search features from Perplexity, OpenAI and Anthropic onto Safari. Perplexity is in advanced talks for a new funding round that would value it at $14 billion, a more than 50% increase from late last year, according to people familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/4j0xtpo
Teachers Using AI to Grade Their Students' Work Sends a Clear Message: They Don't Matter, and Will Soon Be Obsolete
Joe Wilkins - Yahoo News
/jlne.ws/3F3ksxG
Intel Certifies Shell Lubricant for Cooling AI Data Centers
Mitchell Ferman - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/43BxAT1
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Leidos' $2.4 Billion Cybersecurity Award Canceled, US Says (2)
Daniel Seiden - Bloomberg Law
The US Department of Homeland Security terminated for convenience Leidos Inc.'s $2.4 billion cybersecurity services contract issued under the Agile Cybersecurity Technical Security solicitation, a government status report says. The termination follows Nightwing Intelligence Solutions LLC's protest of the seven-year contract award, alleging Leidos won the contract with "insider information" provided by a former DHS employee. The department determined that its IT and cybersecurity needs "significantly changed in light of organizational changes and changes in priorities, unrelated to the protest, that have occurred since the ACTS solicitation was issued," the US Department of Justice told the US Court of Federal Claims. Nightwing's protest is therefore moot, the government told Judge Zachary N. Somers in a May 9 status report.
/jlne.ws/3YGtx65
72% of cyber leaders say risks are rising. Here's how states and businesses are responding
Fredrik Heiding - World Economic Forum
As global reliance on digital infrastructure deepens, the world's cybersecurity is under unprecedented strain. Modern attacks continue to increase in scale, sophistication and strategic intent. This is exhibited in recent operations by threat actor Salt Typhoon, which infiltrated US critical infrastructure, and the cybercrime group Lazarus, which stole $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency. We see an increased use of cyberattacks as policy levers in a geopolitically volatile era, alongside evolving tactics like living off the land malware.
/jlne.ws/44vglom
Spain investigates cyber weaknesses in blackout probe; Madrid says 'everything remains on the table' as it seeks to identify the cause of massive April 28 outage
Barney Jopson - Financial Times
Spain is demanding information from small electricity generators on their cyber defences as investigators probing last month's blackout seek to determine whether they were a weak link exploited by bad actors to bring down the country's power grid. The questions from Spain's National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) will intensify the debate about whether the country's dependence on renewable energy was to blame for the power outage, a contention dismissed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a champion of decarbonisation.
/jlne.ws/4khPssH
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | The Trump family's crypto company is going public
Michael Barclay - Quartz
American Bitcoin, a new crypto mining operation started by Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and data-center operator Hut 8, is merging with Gryphon Digital Mining in a stock-for-stock transaction, placing it in a position to go public on the Nasdaq by the third quarter of 2025. "By taking American Bitcoin public," said Hut 8 (HUT) CEO Asher Genoot in a press release, "we expect to unlock direct access to dedicated growth capital independent of Hut 8's balance sheet."
/jlne.ws/3SwHmAm
Robinhood woos Canadian crypto users with nearly $180 million WonderFi purchase
Reuters
Robinhood said on Tuesday it will buy Canadian crypto firm WonderFi for C$250 million ($178.98 million), as the popular commission-free brokerage looks to expand its international footprint. The all-cash deal values WonderFi at 36 Canadian cents per share, a 41% premium to its previous close. The crypto industry, which is staging a comeback under U.S. President Donald Trump, has seen a flurry of tie-ups in 2025, including Coinbase's $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit and Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of prime brokerage firm Hidden Road.
/jlne.ws/4miKw8Q
Metaplanet Overtakes El Salvador With $126M Bitcoin Purchase
Shaurya Malwa - CoinDesk
Tokyo-listed investment firm Metaplanet has added another 1,241 bitcoin (BTC) to its treasury, spending 18.4 billion yen (or $126 million at currency exchange rates) in its latest purchase, per a Monday disclosure. The acquisition brings Metaplanet's total holdings to 6,796 BTC, worth over $706 million at current market prices. That has sent it above bitcoin-stacking nation El Salvador's stash of 6,174 BTC, data from the country's Bitcoin Office shows.
/jlne.ws/3SyGknv
Trump Memecoin Issuer Launches Loyalty Program, Reward Points
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
President Donald Trump's memecoin issuer is launching a loyalty program, according to its website and social media account. Users are encouraged to connect their self-custodied wallets to the site to join a leaderboard and earn Trump Reward Points and badges. "Join the Trump Community! Have FUN!" the Website said. Specifics of the program weren't provided.
/jlne.ws/44BUpb9
Some Bidders in Trump's Contest Sold All Their Digital Coins but Still Won; Because of a quirk in the rules, some participants vying to dine with the president benefited from dumping the Trump family's memecoins rather than accumulating them.
Eric Lipton, Dylan Freedman and David Yaffe-Bellany - The New York Times
President Trump and his business partners promoted it as the world's most "EXCLUSIVE INVITATION" - a dinner with the president of the United States for the cryptocurrency investors who bought the most of his family's memecoin, called $TRUMP. But as the unusual contest came to a close on Monday, at least 17 of the 220 winning bidders had figured out a way to effectively outsmart the sponsors of the contest.
/jlne.ws/4jZkhTk
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | Donald Trump's gargantuan self-dealing; Federal ethics rules now seem little more than decoration
Edward Luce - Financial Times
What can you give a person who already has everything? The usual remedy is something of sentimental value. In Donald Trump's case, Qatar has found the perfect blend - a $400mn jumbo jet for which he has indicated nostalgia in advance. Trump inspected the plane at Palm Beach airport a few weeks after he was sworn in. Long after he covers the aircraft's fixtures in gold plating, he will associate his next Air Force One with Qatar's ruling family. Or so they must hope.
/jlne.ws/4mjKE80
Republican tax cut plan would gut US clean energy; Congressional committee publishes draft law scrapping subsidies for renewables and electric vehicles
Myles McCormick, Alex Rogers and Martha Muir - Financial Times
Republicans have outlined far-reaching plans to gut government support for clean energy as part of a series of legislative proposals to fund sweeping tax cuts promised by US President Donald Trump. Congressional lawmakers on the powerful House ways and means committee, which is responsible for writing tax law, on Monday released draft legislation that would end renewable energy subsidies and scrap tax breaks for electric vehicle purchases.
/jlne.ws/4meEo16
GOP Tax Plan Tilts to Trump Populism But Still Aids the Rich
Nancy Cook - Bloomberg
Republicans injected some populist elements to their latest draft plan for Donald Trump's tax cuts, while stopping short of embracing a progressive move the president recently endorsed and failing to silence critics that it ultimately puts the rich ahead. The House Ways and Means Committee released its draft measures ahead of a planned debate on the tax-writing panel Tuesday. It does much more than just extend Trump's 2017 reductions, many of which expire at year-end. Benefits for middle- and lower-income workers including an end to taxes on overtime work and on tips. There's also a benefit for car buyers, and one for senior citizens.
/jlne.ws/4k9HYrE
As Foreign Tourists Stay Away, U.S. Could Lose $12.5 Billion This Year, Tourism Group Says; Border detentions and confusion over visas are deterring international visitors, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, and the price tag for their hesitancy could be steep.
Ceylan Yeginsu - The New York Times
The U.S. welcome mat is rolling up - at least that's how some international travelers see it, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, a global organization representing the travel and tourism industry. And the cost for that hospitality lapse will be high. The United States is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending this year, falling to less than $169 billion from $181 billion in 2024, according to the latest Economic Impact Research, published by the W.T.T.C. on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3SDApNW
Trump's Plan to Accept Luxury Jet From Qatar Strains Bounds of Propriety; The second Trump administration is blowing through limits on the mixing of public office and personal benefits.
Charlie Savage - The New York Times
During President Trump's first term, the idea that special interests and governments were buying meals and booking rooms at his hotels set off legal and ethical alarms about the potential for corruption. Mr. Trump's second term is making those concerns look trivial. The administration's plan to accept a $400 million luxury jet from the Qatari royal family is only the latest example of an increasingly no-holds-barred atmosphere in Washington under Trump 2.0. Not only would the famously transactional chief executive be able to use the plane while in office, but he is also expected to transfer it to his presidential foundation once he leaves the White House.
/jlne.ws/3Ff2YOJ
Harvard, Yale Face Major Increase to Endowment Tax in House Plan
Amanda Albright and Janet Lorin - Bloomberg
Republican lawmakers proposed to significantly increase taxes on the richest US universities, broadening a fight between the Trump administration and elite higher education. Private colleges and universities with at least 500 students and endowments exceeding $2 million per student would pay a rate of 21% on net investment income under a bill released Monday as part of the House's plan to extend the 2017 tax cuts. That's up from the current tax of 1.4%. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford have endowments that would meet this threshold, according to data from the 2024 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments.
/jlne.ws/43e73KW
Germany bans 'Kingdom of Germany' far-right group and arrests leaders
Reuters
/jlne.ws/4mdVTyH
Berlin bans far-right group 'Kingdom of Germany'; German interior minister orders raids amid debate over whether to outlaw far-right party Alternative for Germany
Anne-Sylvaine Chassany - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4kaRuL2
EU readies capital controls and tariffs to safeguard Russia sanctions; Alternative legal options explored to circumvent Hungarian veto
Paola Tamma, Henry Foy and Alice Hancock - Financial Times
/jlne.ws/4iZhxny
Poland orders the Russian Consulate in Krakow closed after Moscow was blamed for a 2024 arson attack
Vanessa Gera - Associated Press
/jlne.ws/43oFHTP
NATO's Former Head Says Allies Must Counter Russia's Arctic Rise
Sanne Wass - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4jTmlMk
Hong Kong Rushes Security Law Changes, Cementing Beijing's Grip
Alan Wong - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3GTEKtU
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Global banking regulators agree to prioritise climate risk work
Virginia Furness - Reuters
Global banking regulators on Monday agreed to intensify efforts to better understand the financial risks posed by climate change amid pushback from the United States. The oversight body of the world's forum for banking regulators met on Monday to take stock of the committee's work on climate-related financial risks and agreed to prioritise efforts to understand financial risk implications of extreme weather events, the Bank for International Settlements said in a statement.
/jlne.ws/45bpJ0D
Banks, Fintechs Face Repeat of Data-Sharing Fight With CFPB Move
Paige Smith and Evan Weinberger - Bloomberg
A US consumer watchdog looks poised to tear up a controversial rule on customer financial data sharing and start all over again - but with a depleted staff, a potentially drained budget and all of the same thorny issues. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to scratch and rework its open-banking rule, which requires banks to share their customers' deposit account and credit card information when they request it with fintech firms for free. While such a move is ostensibly a win for large banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., which lobbied against the measure, it could re-open the fight and risk expanding its scope at a time when the CFPB's fate is in doubt.
/jlne.ws/4ketpD1
Keynote Address at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Tokenization
Paul S. Atkins, Chairman - SEC
Thank you and good afternoon. I am delighted to speak to this distinguished group at today's roundtable on tokenization.[1] Thank you to the panelists for participating today. The topic of this afternoon's discussion is timely as securities are increasingly migrating from traditional (or "off-chain") databases to blockchain-based (or "on-chain") ledger systems.
/jlne.ws/455ncVK
Tokenization: Our Field of Dreams? Remarks at the Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Tokenization
Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw - SEC
Today's topic is very broad, perhaps the broadest tackled so far in these Crypto Task Force roundtables: tokenization. I understand that much of the discussion will focus on potential regulatory efforts to facilitate tokenization. This idea brings to mind a famous line from the movie Field of Dreams - "if you build it, they will come."[1] As you may remember, this is a movie starring Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella, a farmer who is inspired by a mysterious voice to plow under his corn field and build a baseball diamond, taking it on faith that great things will follow.
/jlne.ws/3YHYQ0t
Getting Smart - Tokenization and the Creation of Networks for Smart Assets: Opening Remarks for Tokenization Roundtable
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce - SEC
Thank you, Chairman Atkins, Commissioner Uyeda, and Commissioner Crenshaw, and thank you all for joining us in person or online for the Crypto Task Force's fourth roundtable. Thank you especially to our moderators, Jeff Dinwoodie and Tiffany Smith, and today's panelists for helping us to get smart on tokenization. Tokenization is rooted in the internet, which revolutionized our lives by enabling the creation of a range of networks. At the base of these networks are software protocols-a set of rules defining how computers and other devices communicate with each other. Protocols built on top of TCP/IP[1]-the protocol that governs the internet-enable applications that facilitate communication and easy access to information.[2]
/jlne.ws/44Donvy
ASIC cancels AFS Licence of Thistle Financial Group Pty Ltd
ASIC
ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Queensland-based financial services provider Thistle Financial Group Pty Ltd ACN 610 316 053 (Thistle Financial Group) effective from 7 May 2025. The AFS Licence was cancelled after ASIC became aware that Thistle Financial Group had ceased to carry on a financial services business. ASIC may suspend or cancel an AFS Licence if the licensee ceases to carry on a financial services business under section 915B of the Corporations Act.
/jlne.ws/43d76qB
Former bankrupt coconut water CEO sentenced after using company money to pay personal expenses
ASIC
Tim Xenos, a former coconut water CEO who used more than $100,000 worth of company funds to pay for his personal legal and bankruptcy expenses, has been sentenced in the Downing Centre Local Court at Sydney to a term of imprisonment for 18 months to be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO). Mr Xenos, also known as Efthymios Xenos, was the former CEO and director of FAL Healthy Beverages Pty Ltd, which sold coconut water beverages under the brand name Coco Joy.
/jlne.ws/4j15OVt
SFC and Canada's Ontario Securities Commission deepen cooperation on cross-border investment management supervision
SFC
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) of Ontario, Canada, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation on the supervision of investment managers of collective investment schemes operating in either jurisdiction. Both sides entered into the MoU on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions in Doha, Qatar, earlier today.
/jlne.ws/4mey4qo
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | These Investors Cashed In by Holding Firm When Markets Slumped; Some of the biggest winners of the market's wild ride this year are those stock investors who stood their ground
Imani Moise and Hannah Erin Lang - The Wall Street Journal
When the trade war tanked the market last month and left even seasoned Wall Street pros scrambling, Andrew Skillman kept his cool. Skillman, a Santa Fe, N.M., resident whose portfolio is split between stocks and bonds, stood pat throughout the market gyrations of early 2025. "I never panicked," the 60-year-old investor said. "Timing the market is fruitless. No one has a crystal ball." He and other investors with an equally steely resolve are being rewarded in a big way. President Trump's easing of his harsh tariff policies has stoked a comeback in stocks, with major indexes recovering their losses since he rolled out his plans on April 2. Monday's gains came after news that the U.S. and China had slashed tariffs amid fresh trade negotiations.
/jlne.ws/3SAlCDM
Russian Oil Exports' Value Crimped Again by Latest Price Slide; Earnings from crude shipments remain near two-year low despite uptick in flows
Julian Lee - Bloomberg
Russia's oil prices fell for a fifth week, leaving the value of the nation's shipments close to a two-year low and largely negating the impact of a gain in crude sales. Total flows in the four weeks to May 11 were worth about $4.09 billion, edging up from the period to May 4 but still the second-lowest since April 2023. Export prices for key grades shipped from the Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific regions all registered further declines.
/jlne.ws/4iZKAXW
US corporate profits are crumbling from the bottom up; Big Tech put a gloss on earnings season, but things don't look great below the surface
Bryce Elder - Financial Times
CY '25 Consensus Gross Margins by Size (Last 1Y) Citi Research, Bloomberg
It shows the average expected profit margin edging higher for US large companies and collapsing for US small- and mid-cap companies. First-quarter earnings season has dramatically reset expectations for moderate-sized businesses while leaving the megacaps unscathed. Citi uses the S&P 1000 small- and mid-cap index, which includes stocks with a market value of between $1bn and about $20bn. Average expected 2025 EPS growth from its constituents has sunk to just 1 per cent, from 5 per cent at the start of the year.
/jlne.ws/4jVer5l
BlackRock's Fink sees trillions of dollars idle as volatility persists
Reuters
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says tens of trillions of dollars of financial firepower is sitting idle in cash amid trade war worries and uncertainty over the United States economy, whose deficits are beginning to spook investors. "There is 12 trillion euros sitting in bank accounts in Europe. In the United States, there's $11 trillion sitting in money markets funds. When there is uncertainty, you are going to keep more and more money in cash and that is what we witnessed," Fink told delegates at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/44APyHb
Philip Diehl on the Booming Business of Gold Coins; Why people crave physical gold.
Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal - Bloomberg (podcast)
Gold prices have been booming and are near record highs. And seeing the line go up - especially during a period of so much uncertainty - makes people want to buy more. That includes acquiring actual gold coins. But where do gold coins come from? Why do people want coins, as opposed to just bullion? And who is buying them? On this episode, we speak with Philip Diehl, the president of gold vendor US Money Reserve. Earlier in his career, he was the 35th director of the US Mint, where he was instrumental in such endeavors as the 50 States quarter project, the Sacagawea dollar coin, and also the language that allows for the creation of the trillion-dollar platinum coin. We talk all about the business and supply chain of coinage, and who's buying these coins today.
/jlne.ws/43mwnyO
US egg prices fall for the first time in months but remain near record highs
Dee-Ann Durbin - Associated Press Finance
U.S. retail egg prices fell in April from the record-high prices they hit earlier this year, according to government data released Tuesday. The average price for a dozen Grade A eggs dropped 12.7% to $5.12 in April, according to the Consumer Price Index. It was the first month-to-month decline in egg prices since October 2024.
/jlne.ws/459Gb1o
UBS's Lo Says Investors Diversifying From US to Gold, China
Denise Wee and Cathy Chan - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/43oKuEN
De Beers Secretly Sells Discounted Diamonds to Selected Traders
Thomas Biesheuvel - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/3S537at
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Policy Experts Fear Laxer Climate Rules Could Leave U.S. Markets Open to Greater Volatility; The Basel Committee's decision to take a voluntary approach to climate rules and focus only on extreme weather will weaken a key task force, advocates believe.
Aman Azhar - Inside Climate News
Experts and advocates reacted with concern and disappointment after the world's top financial regulators agreed on Monday to shift the climate focus of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision toward voluntary disclosures and a narrower focus on extreme weather-a move seen as a step back from earlier momentum toward mandatory global standards. The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), which oversees the Basel Committee, endorsed the changes at its regular meeting in Basel, Switzerland.
/jlne.ws/3YHjn5h
Sinopec Seeks $994 Million Via Bonds Exchangeable Into Stock
Julia Fioretti - Bloomberg
Sinopec, China's biggest crude oil processor, is seeking to raise HK$7.75 billion ($994 million) from the sale of exchangeable bonds to refinance existing offshore debt. A unit of China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, is offering the bonds that will be exchangeable into shares of Hong Kong-listed subsidiary China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News show. The bonds will carry a coupon of 0% to 0.99% and the exchange price has been set at HK$6 a share, or 47% above the stock's close on Tuesday, the terms show.
/jlne.ws/42WTZuS
Where Are Shell's Animal Spirits for a BP Deal? There aren't always first-mover advantages in the merger market.
Chris Hughes - Bloomberg
After you. No, after you. Please, you go, I insist. Shell Plc is evaluating a potential acquisition of BP Plc, Bloomberg News reported on May 3. But it's waiting to see if BP's share price falls further or another suitor emerges. Whatever happened to animal spirits? BP is vulnerable following a fall in its market value since early 2023 and recent stake-building by activist Elliott Investment Management. Shell is but one obvious possible acquirer. Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., TotalEnergies SE and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have also run the numbers, the Financial Times reported Friday. Maybe all the oil majors' CEOs are thinking the same way: I'm not sure this makes sense, but I need to be ready.
/jlne.ws/439A2zB
Investors Face ESG Correction as Risk Mispriced, Study Shows
Natasha White - Bloomberg
Investors lack financial incentives to chase sustainable targets, leaving them more exposed to losses once sentiment shifts, according to a study by academics at the University of Cambridge. Despite years devoted to trying to make environmental and social investing financially appealing, there still aren't enough structures to encourage banks and asset managers to allocate capital in ways that will ultimately protect the planet and its inhabitants, scholars at the Centre for Sustainable Finance at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) wrote in a study published on Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3Fg5hky
A Clean Energy Boom Was Just Starting. Now, a Republican Bill Aims to End It.; The party's signature tax plan would kill most Biden-era incentives, but there's a sticking point: G.O.P. districts have the most to lose.
Brad Plumer and Harry Stevens - The New York Times
Sprawling wind farms in Wyoming. A huge solar factory expansion in Georgia. Lithium mines in Nevada. Vacuums that suck carbon from the air in Louisiana. Over the past three years, companies have made plans to invest more than $843 billion across the United States in projects aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions, driven by lucrative tax credits for clean energy provided by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
/jlne.ws/3ZgpMV0
NRG Buys 18 Natural-Gas Power Plants in Bet on Soaring Energy Demand; The $12 billion acquisition would double company's generation capacity to about 25 gigawatts
Dean Seal and Jennifer Hiller - The Wall Street Journal
NRG Energy agreed to acquire LS Power's portfolio of natural-gas power plants in a deal valued at roughly $12 billion, including debt, that would expand its footprint in Texas and along the East Coast. The power producer said the acquisition would give it 18 more natural-gas-fired facilities in nine states, doubling its generation capacity to about 25 gigawatts. Shares of NRG NRG 0.69%increase; green up pointing triangle, which also reported a jump in first-quarter earnings and revenue, surged 26%.
/jlne.ws/3GNZiEl
Starch-based bioplastic may be as toxic as petroleum-based plastic, study finds; Bioplastics, heralded for supposedly breaking down more quickly, can cause similar health problems to other plastics
Tom Perkins - The Guardian
/jlne.ws/3RYXoTB
Trump's Spending Cuts Force Clean Techs to Explore US Exit
Frances Schwartzkopff - Bloomberg
/jlne.ws/4jSWUL1
Texas Oil and Gas Companies Drill With River Water During Extreme Drought; Oil and gas companies have used billions of gallons of Rio Grande and Pecos River water for drilling in the past four years, according to an exclusive Inside Climate News analysis.
Martha Pskowski - Inside Cllimate News
/jlne.ws/4mfrIaf
UK's Thames Water says fines need to be deferred to avoid state rescue
Reuters
/jlne.ws/44CMZ7w
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Instinet expands bilateral liquidity offering as part of BlockMatch venue rebrand; Newly rebranded BlockMatch Select will offer connectivity via Instinet's execution platform using a modular workflow, with the option to target tailored liquidity.
Annabel Smith - The Trade
Instinet has moved to expand the liquidity aggregation capabilities on its BlockMatch venue as it looks to meet buy-side client demand for greater access to bilateral flow. The expansion comes as part of a strategic rebrand of its RFQ venue which will now be known as BlockMatch Select. Instinet's BlockMatch venue will now include its Dark order book, Select RFQ order book and BlockMatch NT. BlockMatch Select will offer connectivity via Instinet's execution platform using modular workflow, with the option to target tailored liquidity on a regulated MTF platform.
/jlne.ws/3Fa4D8j
BNP Paribas Investors Back New Term for CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafe
Claudia Cohen - Bloomberg
BNP Paribas SA shareholders confirmed Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe for another three-year term as director, clearing the way for him to become one of Europe's longest-serving bank CEOs. Shareholders at the bank's annual general meeting in Paris on Tuesday also voted to raise the age limit for the CEO role to 68 years, from 65 currently. The change was needed to allow the 63-year-old to stay on in his role until 2028.
/jlne.ws/42TcobQ
BNY names new Americas head of equities trading and execution; Individual brings extensive electronic equities trading experience, and previously worked at Elwood Technologies, IEX Exchange and JP Morgan.
Natasha Cocksedge - The Trade
Daniel Ciment has joined BNY as the new Americas head of equities trading and execution, effective 12 May 2025. The new role will see Ciment working out of New York, where he will help to drive forward BNY's next phase of growth for its equities franchise and expand its execution capabilities. He will report to Rob Lynch, head of fixed income and equities at BNY.
/jlne.ws/4jRbjXU
Citi Agrees to Sell Wealth Alternatives Platform to iCapital
Steve Dickson - Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. agreed to sell a unit that advises its global alternative investment fund platform, which represents more than 180 funds, to technology provider iCapital. Terms of iCapital's deal to buy the Citi Global Alternatives business weren't disclosed, according to a statement Tuesday. ICapital will manage and operate the fund platform, while Citi remains the distributor, offering guidance to its clients on the role of alternative investments.
/jlne.ws/3SnhK9n
Citadel's Griffin Says Going to Cash May Have Been Best in Tariff Turmoil
Sonali Basak and Dasha Afanasieva - Bloomberg
As markets soared on a truce in the trade war between the US and China, Citadel founder Ken Griffin reflected on the past month, suggesting it would have been better to sit on the sidelines in cash. "It's been a really difficult time for fundamental investors because so much of the value of the companies that we invest in is being dictated by very quickly changing policies from Washington," Griffin, 56, said in an interview late Monday for an upcoming series for Bloomberg Originals, Bullish.
/jlne.ws/4j6p8Rf
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | 6 Digital Tools Creative Entrepreneurs Are Using in 2025
New Wave
Whether you're managing a design studio, running an online gallery, or curating digital content, the right tools can streamline your process and boost collaboration. If you've ever wished for more hours in the day or better ways to manage projects, here are a few solutions to make your creative business thrive while keeping stress at bay.
/jlne.ws/4jSh1c3
Norway Wealth Fund's AI Use Sparks Hiring Freeze, CEO Says
Heidi Taksdal Skjeseth - Bloomberg
Artificial intelligence will allow Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, to stop hiring more humans for now in an early indication of the disruption the emerging technology may bring to the workforce. "We do not foresee the number of employees increasing any further" in the near future, Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen told lawmakers in Oslo on Tuesday. Instead, the $1.8 trillion fund, will now "focus on better efficiency through more use of technology," he said.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | UnitedHealth announces surprise CEO exit, pulls annual forecast
Reuters
UnitedHealth Group announced the surprise exit of CEO Andrew Witty on Tuesday and suspended its 2025 forecast due to surging medical costs, sending its shares down more than 10% premarket. Former CEO Stephen Hemsley, who has been with the healthcare conglomerate for 28 years, is returning to the top role. Witty was leaving for personal reasons, the company said, without elaborating. Under Witty, UnitedHealth has met with a series of challenges in the past year - including the murder of its top health insurance executive, Brian Thompson, last December.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Trump Faces $2 Trillion Hurdle to Win Money From Saudi Prince
Matthew Martin and Zainab Fattah - Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump's hopes of securing as much as $1 trillion in investment commitments from Saudi Arabia might clash with another costly ambition - transforming the kingdom's own economy. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to diversify the oil-dependent country are likely to cost close to $2 trillion, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. The sheer scale of domestic commitments - calculated by Bloomberg based on interviews with people familiar with the plans, US government projections, Saudi estimates and data from the researcher MEED - are transforming the kingdom's role in the global economy.
/jlne.ws/437OcBj
Foreigners snap up $57bn in Japan assets in 'liberation day' rush; Investors buy a record amount of Japanese equities and bonds during April
Leo Lewis - Financial Times
Foreign investors bought a record amount of Japanese equities and bonds in April, as the chaotic aftermath of Donald Trump's "liberation day" tariffs made Tokyo a global haven for the "de-dollarisation" trade. Figures released this week by the ministry of finance showed that last month, as extreme volatility gripped markets and the US dollar faltered, overseas investors were net buyers of Y8.2tn ($57bn) of Japanese securities.
/jlne.ws/3ZiZKR5
How should Norway spend its cash? Solve global problems, says citizen panel
Gwladys Fouche - Reuters
Norway's $1.8 trillion wealth fund, the world's largest, should invest more money in sectors addressing global challenges such as climate change and health and accept it may get lower returns on these investments, a citizens' panel said on Tuesday.
The initiative, a nationwide consultation on what the country should do with its wealth, was the brainchild of seven non-governmental organisations who wanted to bring into the public debate voices from society that are not usually heard.
/jlne.ws/3YE3b4M
Ghana's Mahama Fine Tuning Regime to Accelerate Crude Extraction
Jennifer Zabasajja, Kamailoudini Tagba, and Ekow Dontoh - Bloomberg
Ghana is encouraging investors to get the country's crude out of the ground to avoid the assets from getting stranded amid a global decarbonization push. The government is ready to roll out the "red carpet" to any investor prepared to drill and pump crude, President John Mahama said at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial capital, on Tuesday. "Oil is in transition and so anybody who has any assets should be pumping like there's no tomorrow," he said.
/jlne.ws/4mezi4U
Brazil central bank to sign currency swap deal with China's PBOC
Reuters
Brazil's central bank said Monday it will sign a currency swap agreement with the People's Bank of China, with a maximum outstanding value of 157 billion reais ($27.69 billion) and a five-year term. The agreement, to be signed on Tuesday in Beijing during Brazilian central bank governor Gabriel Galipolo's visit to China, aims to provide liquidity to support financial markets in times of stress, the bank said.
/jlne.ws/4dezQ6V
US farmers say Brazil still has edge in China's soybean market despite trade truce
Tom Polansek - Reuters
A surprising tariff pause between Beijing and Washington will not help U.S. farmers gain soy sales in China without additional concessions, producers said, because top-supplier Brazil still has a competitive price advantage. Under the truce announced on Monday, the U.S. will cut extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145% for the next three months, while Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125%. Soybean export premiums fell in Brazil on the de-escalation, reflecting expectations that China could buy more from the U.S.
/jlne.ws/4iW3e2Z
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