First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Yesterday my six foot six inch tall son Robby was diagnosed with a partially collapsed lung, or spontaneous pneumothorax, which is common in tall, thin youth. As a result, I had to miss the Ken Heath Awards presentation where Leo Melamed was one of the winners of the award. I also missed the open house for the new offices of Gate39 Media. Robby is doing well, though he is in a pediatric ICU unit. He is more used to visiting me sitting in a hospital bed than the other way around.~JJL

ICE has a new podcast offering branded as the ICE House. It is produced by Josh King and the most recent edition is the interview that Jeff Sprecher conducted as part of the ICE Energy Breakfast at the FIA International Conference in Boca Raton, FL last week. Sprecher interviews journalist Michael Casey about blockchain. Casey is a “former Wall Street Journal journalist covering global economics and finance, Casey’s written five books and is now a special advisor at the MIT Media Lab, where he works on applications of the decentralizing technology behind bitcoin and other digital currencies.”

It is well worth the listen. King also interviewed me down in Boca for a future podcast. He was intrigued by my story after reading the book “Zero Sum Game.”~JJL

If you want to follow the Langer lawsuit against the CME Group, there is a website named, of all things, CMELAWSUIT.COM~JJL

HKEX had a full house at HKEX Connect Hall for their first Biotech Summit. Via Twitter.~JJL

A conversation last evening brought up the name Quandl, which now features 25 million data sets for capital markets. It sees alternative data as a major driver of investment performance in the coming years.~JK

TT’s Elise Fleischaker‘s take on Boca is titled “Report from FIA Boca 2018: Blockchain, Brexit, Bitcoin and More“~JJL

The TABB Group recently interviewed 60 buy-side firms in the US to assess their existing workflows and levels of process integration. You can read more from analyst @dayle_scher and access a free copy of Active Management 2.0 – The Automation Imperative HERE.~JJL

KiteEdge has named a new advisory board including Bill Templer. Bill is also a member of the advisory committee of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc.~JJL

++++

Myths and Misconceptions Surrounding Artificial Intelligence

JohnLothianNews.com

“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” -Alan Turing in 1950’s seminal “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”

While it feels like only recently that company after company, in industry after industry, has started deploying some variety of “machine learning” or “deep learning” or “artificial intelligence” in their marketing materials and new initiatives, technologists and academics have been talking about the field for decades.

But with this recent proliferation of use cases comes the unavoidable confusion over what the terms actually mean in practice. Is there a black box with a bunch of wires coming out of it? Is the answer to everything 42? JLN spoke with Interdeep Singh of CME Group, Brian Peterson of DV Trading, Matt Dixon of IIT and Morgan Slade of CloudQuant about the subject to get some clarity on the nebulous terms.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

++++

FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken on the Financial Services Committee Passing Legislation to Support Clearing of Derivatives
FIA
FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken today made the following statement after the House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 4659 to properly calibrate the capital charges contained in the Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR) for clearing services:
/goo.gl/5oiKbH

**** He had me at “properly calibrate.”~JJL

++++

Euronext announces appointments in Euronext London and its US activities
Euronext
Today, Euronext, announced the following appointments: Paul Humphrey, Head of Fixed Income, Rates and FX (FICC), is appointed in addition to his current position and subject to regulatory approvals, interim CEO of Euronext London, interim Head of Global Sales, and interim member of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V., in replacement of Lee Hodgkinson who is leaving on 30 March 2018. Euronext is in the process of actively searching for Lee Hodgkinson’s permanent replacement.
/goo.gl/TF4jVe

***** Replacing Lee Hodgkinson is not an easy task.~JJL

++++

Scientists discover the origins of gold in space; A collision in an obscure galaxy, recorded last year, has revealed its violent birth
Clive Cookson – FT
On August 17 last year, the world’s telescopes were mobilised on an unprecedented scale and with a unique urgency. For the first time scientists had detected a burst of gravitational waves, tiny ripples in the fabric of space, from what they believed was an ultra-powerful collision between two neutron stars. Now, they needed colleagues to observe any light or radiation coming from this cataclysmic explosion.
/goo.gl/fhJimh

***** A gold mass was created the size of Earth!!!!!~JJL

++++

Wednesday’s Top Three
Our top read stories from Wednesday were led by the announcement of EverMarkets, a futures exchange and clearing house built on blockchain technology. Second was Meet the ‘Flash Boys’ of cryptocurrency looking to shakeup bitcoin futures trading from Business Insider. Third was the New York Times’ article Fox News Analyst Quits, Calling Network a ‘Propaganda Machine’

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,400,828 pages viewed; 23,045 pages; 212,092 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

CME pursuit of Nex reflects shift in US money markets; Deal would strengthen Chicago exchange’s hegemony of US dollar-denominated trading assets
Philip Stafford – FT
CME Group’s potential purchase of the UK’s Nex Group looks like a contrary move.
/goo.gl/CFShT6

SEC fine of radio presenter puts watchdog on the line; The right of in-house judges to punish advisers is under legal threat
Bruce Love – FT
On April 23, the US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments about whether the Securities and Exchange Commission’s cadre of in-house judges exists in violation of the constitution.
/goo.gl/pGM9Lb

Bloomberg and Reuters see market share in data slip; The two dominant providers grew more slowly than the overall market in 2017, survey finds
Hannah Murphy – FT
Bloomberg and Reuters lost market share to smaller financial data providers in 2017, underlining the global finance industry’s gradual shift away from the costly desktop terminals that have long enjoyed a grip on the market.
/goo.gl/11PZ23

Oliver Hemsley in talks over Nex Exchange investment; Entrepreneur among several parties considering injection of funds to rejuvenate exchange
Kate Burgess and Philip Stafford – FT
Oliver Hemsley, the retired founder of Numis Securities, is in advanced talks to take on Nex Exchange and turn it into a credible rival to London’s Alternative Investment Market.
/goo.gl/jLWMwD

Spencer says he would be willing to stay with Nex in CME deal
Philip Stafford – FT
Michael Spencer has told staff at Nex Group he would be willing to stay on in a senior role even if his financial technology company is bought by CME Group.
/goo.gl/8duVFs

Dark pool trading halved, LIS activity stagnant as MiFID II DVCs take effect; Statistics from Thomson Reuters show early effect of MiFID II DVCs as dark pool trading plummets, periodic auctions surge but LIS activity declines.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Trading in dark pools halved and large-in-scale (LIS) activity dropped slightly across Europe during the first week MiFID II’s of double volume caps (DVCs), according to new data from Thomson Reuters.
/goo.gl/3CuuPU

Fed hikes rates and raises GDP forecast again
Jeff Cox – CNBC
The Federal Reserve raises rates for the sixth time since the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee began raising rates off near-zero in December 2015.
cnb.cx/2FRlVqN

Lawsuit Funding, Long Hidden in the Shadows, Faces Calls for More Sunlight; Courts have continued to divide over whether to order disclosure
Jacob Gershman – WSJ
Investors placing bets on commercial lawsuits have long operated under a veil of secrecy. But as litigation funding in the U.S. has spread to more courthouses and transformed into a billion-dollar business, plaintiffs and their faceless financiers are confronting calls for more transparency.
/goo.gl/HLPRX9

SEC Proposes Equity Market Study: Beginning of the End for the Maker-Taker Model?
Annette L. Nazareth, Lanny A. Schwartz, Zachary J. Zweihorn, Meghan E. King & Nancy Lee – Davis Polk
In the first major trading and markets initiative under SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, on March 14, 2018, the SEC proposed to establish a transaction fee pilot program to study the effects of maker-taker fee structures. A pilot study was initially recommended by the SEC’s Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee in 2016, and the Treasury Department also expressed support for such an initiative in last year’s report on capital markets regulation (see our previous blog post). The outcome of this study could lead to further regulation or even elimination of these fee arrangements.
/goo.gl/CBgiMQ

China’s oil futures: frazzle or dazzle for foreign traders?
Josephine Mason, Meng Meng – Reuters
China’s crude oil futures, to be launched on Monday, will be a major step in Beijing’s years-long push to win greater sway over oil pricing, but for western traders it will likely bring frustration as well as opportunity.
/goo.gl/5r9FDg

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Alfen celebrates IPO on Euronext
Euronext
Alfen (ticker symbol: ALFEN), a specialist in energy solutions for the future, began trading today on Euronext Amsterdam. The listing follows the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO), with a total offering of EUR 85 million.
/goo.gl/fvpZRR

Euronext endorses the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD); Increased transparency to seize opportunities and mitigate risks related to the transition to a low carbon economy
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, today endorsed the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Recommendations and committed to further support transparency on climate-related risks and opportunities on financial markets.
/goo.gl/e5ptkc

Investment Barometer: More confidence despite trade dispute; Real estate and gold remain popular investments
Deutsche Boerse Group
The Germans are currently more confident about the financial markets than a year ago. Almost every third person assesses the situation as stable. By comparison, a year ago, this was only 23 percent. At the same time, Germans are not very impressed by US President Donald Trump’s trade policy: only about one in ten worries about his private assets in view of the threat of trade restrictions between the United States and the European Union. However, the most popular investments continue to be real estate and gold. These are the findings of Deutsche Bˆrse Commodities’ latest investment barometer, which is based on a representative Emnid survey.
/goo.gl/re73KZ

Notice of Revision to Earnings Forecast and Dividend Forecast
JPX
/goo.gl/WUsPtp

Hong Kong Exchange’s Bet on China Is Suddenly Under Threat
Benjamin Robertson, Jeanny You – Bloomberg
Shanghai bourse official says IPO link is legally impossible; More mainland connects are key part of Charles Li’s strategy
Hong Kong’s stock exchange may have to dial back its ambition to become the indispensable conduit between China’s capital markets and the rest of the world.
/goo.gl/uW6MtS

Deutsche Boerse could be fined for not updating market on CEO search
Reuters Staff
Germany’s financial markets watchdog is investigating whether Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) should have provided more information to investors during its search for a new chief executive, with a ruling against the company potentially leading to a fine.
/goo.gl/vEZpDQ

CME Group Inc. Announces First-Quarter 2018 Earnings Release, Conference Call
CME Group
CME Group Inc. will announce earnings for the first quarter of 2018 before the markets open on Thursday, April 26, 2018. Slides and written highlights for the quarter will be posted on its website at 6:30 a.m. Central Time, the same time it provides its earnings press release. The company will hold an investor conference call that day at 7:30 a.m. Central Time, at which time company executives will take analysts’ questions.
/goo.gl/WFDMz9

Cboe Global Markets’ Exchanges Trading Schedule for Good Friday and Easter Holidays
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today announced the following trading schedule for the company’s options, futures, equities and FX trading venues in observance of the Good Friday and Easter holidays.
/goo.gl/Hxcuch

Fintech

Predata Uses Alternative Data to Predict Geopolitical Events
AlleyWatch
Data has been traditionally an accurate reflection of the past but no matter how much research you do to predict the future, political events, economic events, and natural disasters will likely disrupt your original predictions and have a large impact. In the volatile world we live in, you need a way to predict how these events will pan out and when they will happen. Predata is doing this work for you. Its platform monitors digital conversations across open source social and collaborative media, providing signals and alerts on upcoming geopolitical volatility and can be customized to specific needs and use cases.
/goo.gl/V9zDAZ

Cryptocurrencies

Eddie Murphy-Inspired Fintech Firm Signs With Winklevoss Crypto Exchange
Bloomberg
Beeks Financial Cloud Group Plc — whose name is a reference to the 1983 film ‘Trading Places’ starring Murphy and Dan Aykroyd — signed a pact with Gemini Exchange, the crypto trading platform run by the billionaire Winklevoss twins. The agreement will allow Beeks clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum through Gemini, according to a statement Wednesday.
/bloom.bg/2pvP80l

Economists promote low-volatility cryptocurrency backed by dollars; Described as academic’s asset, specie designed to negate worst aspects of digital coin
Martin Arnold, Banking Editor – FT
Some of the world’s best-known economists will on Thursday announce plans to create what could be described as the academic’s cryptocurrency.
/goo.gl/JbHHRN

Bitcoin Falls on Fears of Regulatory Trouble for Big Crypto Exchange
Yuki Hagiwara, Yuji Nakamura – Bloomberg
Bitcoin fell after one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was said to face a government rebuke for operating without a license in Japan, heightening concern that increased regulatory scrutiny will curb demand for digital assets.
/goo.gl/piWuKq

R3 CEO Says Blockchain Is a Once in a Generation Opportunity for Financial Markets
Bloomberg Markets
David Rutter, founder and chief executive officer at R3, discusses building blockchain for financial markets. He speaks with Matt Miller and Guy Johnson on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”
/goo.gl/UHxDtj

Cryptocurrency issuers clean up, shun U.S. investors as SEC gets tough
Anna Irrera, Michelle Price – Reuters
Tech start-ups that issue digital tokens to raise funds are falling in line with U.S. securities laws or seeking legal ways to skirt them after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it planned to regulate the market.
/goo.gl/zCQg87

Blockchain Growing Pains Show There’s No Ledger to Rule Them All
Olga Kharif – Bloomberg
Kik Interactive to begin using Stellar as well as Ethereum; Ethereum blockchain has experienced rising fees, slower speed
Messaging app developer Kik Interactive, which raised about $100 million last year to launch services on the Ethereum blockchain, discovered that the ledger technology isn’t ready for prime time.
/goo.gl/Mp7JRU

Huawei Is in Talks to Build a Blockchain-Ready Smartphone
Camila Russo, Yuan Gao – Bloomberg
Huawei Technologies Ltd., the world’s third-biggest handset maker, is considering developing a mobile phone that will be able to run blockchain-based applications, according to two people familiar with the plans.
/goo.gl/PGBsRg

Google Is Working on Its Own Blockchain-Related Technology
Olga Kharif, Mark Bergen – Bloomberg
Alphabet division developing a distributed digital ledger; Company insiders say cloud is natural home for the technology
Google is working on blockchain-related technology to support its cloud business and head off competition from emerging startups that use the heavily-hyped technology to operate online in new ways, according to people familiar with the situation.
/goo.gl/7M2eNA

Pablo Escobar’s Brother Launches New Cryptocurrency
Julia Pimentel – Complex.com
Ever since Bitcoin soared in value, becoming more valuable than things such as Disney or McDonald’s, cryptocurrencies have started to gain serious popularity. (It should be noted that Bitcoin’s value has since taken a sizable dip.)
/goo.gl/5Ha1QC

Aspiring Crypto Bank Crypterium Appoints James Davies as CFO
CrowdFundInsider
Crypterium, the “crypto bank for everyone”, has hired James Davies as their Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Davies will oversee the payment partner and exchange integration and the all of the company’s finance functions.
/goo.gl/hdoX48

Jack Dorsey believes bitcoin will be the world’s sole currency within 10 years
Taylor Hatmaker – TechCrunch
We knew Jack Dorsey was bullish on bitcoin, but some new quotes reveal that he’s really really bullish.
/goo.gl/1YoQXL

Bitcoin mania puts cryptos in sight of world finance chiefs
Bloomberg
This time last year, finance chiefs from the world’s biggest economies were barely thinking about the niche industry of bitcoin when they met in Germany. Now, they’re loudly warning cryptos could destabilise financial markets.
/goo.gl/TzLXGz

Politics

Trump Hacked the Media Right Before Our Eyes
Ross Douthat – NY Times
Let’s get one thing straight: I am not a fan of Facebook. I’m confident that social media is a cancer on our private lives and a source of derangement in our politics. I take it for granted that the tech barons are acquiring the power to tilt elections, and that they’ll be happy to play handmaidens to tyrants soft and hard so long as they can monetize our data. I take a certain mordant pleasure in watching Mark Zuckerberg and his minions scapegoated for the political failures of late-Obama-era liberalism.
/goo.gl/u7s88B

Ex-Chief of C.I.A. Suggests Putin May Have Compromising Information on Trump
Matthew Rosenberg – NY Times
John O. Brennan, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said Wednesday that he thought Russia may have some kind of compromising information on President Trump, setting off furious speculation about whether the former spy chief was basing that assertion on inside information.
/goo.gl/SX6XYE

Regulation

House panel passes bill handing Federal Reserve control over ‘Volcker Rule’
Reuters
A committee in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to name the Federal Reserve as the primary regulator for the “Volcker Rule,” which bars banks from speculative trading.
reut.rs/2pwLP9r

ESMA publishes responses to its Consultation on draft RTS under the new Prospectus Regulation
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the responses received to its Consultation on draft RTS under the new Prospectus Regulation.
/goo.gl/QVS2DR

ESMA publishes translations for Guidelines on stress tests scenarios under Article 28 of the MMF Regulation
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued today the official translations of its Guidelines on stress tests scenarios under Article 28 of the MMF Regulation.
/goo.gl/SuPznm

ESMA clarifies treatment of packages under MiFIR’s trading obligation for derivatives
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued today an opinion providing further guidance on the treatment of packages under the trading obligation for derivatives which the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) introduced on 3 January 2018.
/goo.gl/aqPzCo

SEC Charges UK Broker, Others With Manipulation
T. Gorman – SEC Actions
Since a priority for the Commission’s Enforcement Program is retail investors, a key area of focus is microcap fraud. Recently the agency filed two related microcap fraud actions centered on an FBI sting operation. SEC v. Beaufort Securities Litd., Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-01317 (E.D.N.Y. Filed March 2, 2018); SEC v. Mancino, Civil Action No 3:18-cv-01316 (E.D.N.Y. Filed March 2, 2018).
/goo.gl/kUsdBU

Online Payment Platform Owners Charged With Money Laundering; Money-service business received multiple cease-and-desist letters, yet allegedly continued its activity
By Samuel Rubenfeld – WSJ
Two Canadian brothers and their money-service business allegedly processed $250 million in transactions without a license on behalf of customers, including Ponzi schemers and a child pornography website, according to U.S. prosecutors.
/goo.gl/1XnHmh

Sebi mulls overhaul of algo trading rules
Economic Times
Capital markets regulator Sebi is looking at a number of measures to strengthen alg o trading framework, including by mandating the exchanges to offer share d co-location facilities and providing some services for free.
/goo.gl/VeVfNE

UBS in $230 million settlement of New York mortgage securities probe
Jonathan Stempel, Karen Freifeld – Reuters
UBS AG (UBSG.S) has reached a $230 million settlement to resolve charges brought by New York state that it misled and hurt investors by selling subprime mortgage securities that contributed to the 2008 global financial crisis.
/goo.gl/pQ44uo

Investing and Trading

Powell’s Fed Debut Shows Shift Away From Theory, Models
Craig Torres, Christopher Condon – Bloomberg
Fed forecasts show mild response to labor market overshoot; Powell willing to let labor market show him when slack is gone
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell showed he will be guided by the U.S. economy’s performance rather than the theories and models relied upon by his predecessors to set monetary policy for the past three decades.
/goo.gl/F3d4VM

Has the Global Economy Reached ‘Peak’ Peak?
Morgan Stanley
In 2017, the global economy rode a wave of synchronous growth, low inflation and low volatility. But Investment Management Chief Global Strategist Ruchir Sharma says five trends could make 2018 a very different environment.
mgstn.ly/2FVcPK0

How Two Wells in Wyoming Explain the Natural-Gas Glut; Demand is growing, but so are the troves of gas being unearthed by prospectors
Ryan Dezember and Stephanie Yang – WSJ
Natural-gas producers should be delighted: A cold winter has furnaces blazing into late March, domestic demand is up, and record volumes are being sold abroad. Yet fuel prices are depressed. A pair of wells in southwest Wyoming helps explain why.
/goo.gl/PqZYtB

Financial advisers unsure on robo-advice role in their practices; Advice businesses are cautious about new technology
Bradley Saacks – FT
No one wants to believe their job can be done as well or even better by a machine ó financial advisers included.
/goo.gl/9FfPQT

Economics failed us before the global crisis; Analysis of macroeconomic theory suggests substantial ignorance of how economies work
Martin Wolf – FT
Economics is, like medicine (and unlike, say, cosmology), a practical discipline. Its goal is to make the world a better place. This is particularly true of macroeconomics, which was invented by John Maynard Keynes in response to the Great Depression. The tests of this discipline are whether its adepts understand what might go wrong in the economy and how to put it right. When the financial crisis that hit in 2007 caught the profession almost completely unawares, it failed the first of these tests. It did better on the second. Nevertheless, it needs rebuilding.
/goo.gl/iWzg7k

Uber’s $1.5 Billion Debt Deal Touches a Nerve on Wall Street
Sally Bakewell, Lisa Lee – Bloomberg
Banks left out of deal as they await new lending guidelines; Morgan Stanley draws attention by snagging adviser role
For the select group of Wall Street bankers who specialize in doling out leveraged corporate loans, these are exciting, and anxious, times.
/goo.gl/7ufRpd

Institutions

Deutsche Bank sees $550 million first-quarter impact from strong euro, funding costs
Reuters
A strong euro and higher funding costs would have a 450 million euro ($553 million) impact on Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) in the first quarter of the year, the German lender’s finance chief warned on Wednesday.
reut.rs/2FTapeO

For the First Time, Goldman’s Not Among the Top Commodity Banks
Jack Farchy – Bloomberg
Goldman fell out of top 3 banks ranked by Coalition for 2017; Big banks’ net revenues in commodities plunged 42% last year
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., for decades Wall Street’s dominant commodities trader, has lost its place among the top three banks in the sector for the first time, according to research group Coalition Development Ltd.
/goo.gl/ykPnsj

JPM Chief Executive Dimon Pay Ratio Among the Highest of Big U.S. Banks; CEO earned 364 times as much as median bank employee
Emily Glazer – WSJ
JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in 2017 Chief Executive James Dimon earned 364 times as much as the median bank employee, according to the largest U.S. bank by asset’s annual proxy filing.
/goo.gl/xqFSDk

How much you can earn in your first year at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and other big investment banks
Will Martin – Business Insider
Banking is renowned for its high levels of compensation. In return for long hours and often punishing work, bankers tend to be very generously remunerated.
/goo.gl/gvMxND

Regions

What Next for Pakistan After a Second Currency Devaluation?
Faseeh Mangi, Kamran Haider and Ismail Dilawar – Bloomberg
A rate hike, amnesty scheme expected before elections; Political fallout expected if Islamabad goes to the IMF again
Pakistan has allowed the rupee to weaken twice in a space of four months as it attempts to mend its deteriorating finances before elections due in July.
/bloom.bg/2FVpZq0

As Commodities Roar, Africa Wants Bigger Slice of Mining Pie
Thomas Biesheuvel, Thomas Wilson – Bloomberg
Zambia hits Canada copper producer with $7.9 billion tax bill; Congo, Tanzania and Mali already seeking more lucrative deals
One by one, the biggest names in African mining are getting squeezed. The tactics might be blunt, but the message is clear: the countries where they operate want a bigger share of the proceeds.
/goo.gl/CasW4w

Volatile Volatility Leaves Europe Investment Banks Whipsawed
Jan-Henrik Foerster, Steven Arons, Nicholas Comfort – Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse slump after executive comments; Credit Suisse CEO says ‘March is a bit all over the place’
Europe’s investment banks were upbeat after a spike in volatility at the start of the year promised to revive their battered trading units. By Wednesday, their exuberance had disappeared as quickly as it came.
/goo.gl/9YSyN5

China Default Risks Flare on Scrutiny of Company Accounting
Bloomberg News
NDRC move to scrutinize bond issuance more seen crimping sales; Local financing vehicles could see credit events: Tianfeng
As China’s President Xi Jinping steps up efforts to rein in excessive borrowing, the nation’s corporate bond market faces rising default risks as weaker firms and local borrowers struggle to roll over obligations.
/goo.gl/u8MZk8

Brexit

EU leaders accused of not protecting citizens’ rights in Brexit deal; Campaigners say withdrawal agreement leaves millions of Europeans facing a bleak future
Lisa O’Carroll – The Guardian
Campaigners for the rights of British nationals and EU citizens after Brexit have criticised Donald Tusk and said the deal about to be signed in Brussels leaves them with a bleak future.
/goo.gl/v8MYmw

The post CME pursuit of Nex reflects shift in US money markets; SEC fine of radio presenter puts watchdog on the line; Bloomberg and Reuters see market share in data slip appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Congressional CFTC Budget Decision Lacks Vision and Reason
John Lothian – JLN

A reasonable person could see that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission needs an increase in its budget to address the growing responsibility it has acquired over US markets in recent years and the dramatic development and investment in fintech and cryptomarkets.

A reasonable person, Democrat or Republican, would vote for the modest increase the CFTC requested unless they suffer from a chronic case of market myopia.

But alas, the budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives cuts the CFTC’s funding by $1 million to $249 million, and reason was not what ruled the day. The adjective that comes to my mind to describe this is shortsighted.

For the rest of the column, click HERE

++++

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

When Josh King joined InterContinental Exchange, Kelly Loeffler told him one of the first things he should do is read the book “Zero Sum Game” about the ICE’s attempt to wrestle the CBOT away from the CME. I am listed in the book beginning on page two and my newsletter comments are used as part of the narrative of the book. King was fascinated, so he interviewed me down in Boca Raton at the FIA International Conference for his ICE House podcast series. HERE is the podcast.~JJL

According to PitchBook, U.S. venture capital investments in artificial intelligence amounted to some $6 billion in 2017. If you missed our video on artificial intelligence yesterday, you can find that here. ~SD

The crypto ventures keep getting curiouser and curiouser. Here’s a new one: Cryptocurrency Backed by Habanero Peppers Is a Thing in Mexico. And it isn’t even the first vegetable-related blockchain enterprise!~SR

The FIA published comments yesterday on CFTC definition of “actual delivery” with virtual currencies.~JJL

A top trending story on Yahoo is “Purdue engineering students make arm brace for Isaac Haas so he can play in Sweet 16.” You have to love Purdue students’ dedication and ingenuity.~JJL

Congratulations to RBC’s George Gero on being named to the FT’s list of top 400 financial advisors.~JJL

Olga Kharif of Bloomberg has been doing some very good reporting. For some reason Jim Kharouf wants to meet Olga Kharif. Might be a long lost cousin, who knows? Meanwhile, Michael Forrester and Spencer Doar are wishing they could merge and be Michael Spencer.~JJL

++++

How Nasdaq C.E.O. Adena Friedman Beat the Odds on Wall Street; She grew up hanging around the trading floor with her father. Now she’s running a major stock exchange. How? She spoke up, and she got stuff done.
David Gelles – WSJ
It can be notoriously difficult for women to thrive on Wall Street. Adena Friedman says that hasn’t been the case for her. Ms. Friedman, the chief executive of Nasdaq, grew up around finance, and knew from an early age that she wanted to work in the industry. Joining Nasdaq in 1993, Ms. Friedman rose through the ranks, serving as head of corporate strategy and ultimately taking over as chief financial officer in 2009. She left to become the C.F.O. of the Carlyle Group, a major private equity firm, but returned to Nasdaq, becoming chief executive last year.
/goo.gl/LuDCMW

***** We are blessed with the most likeable group of exchange leaders I can remember and Adena Friedman is a great example of that.~JJL

++++

++++

A 15-year-old hacked the secure Ledger crypto wallet
John Biggs – TechCrunch
A 15-year-old programmer named Saleem Rashid discovered a flaw in the popular Ledger hardware wallet that allowed hackers to grab secret PINs before or after the device was shipped. The holes, which Rashid described on his blog, allowed for both a “supply chain attack” – meaning a hack that could compromise the device before it was shipped to the customer – and another attack that could allow a hacker to steal private keys after the device was initialized.
/goo.gl/NKXW5f

***** I don’t know what is the bigger story, the hack or the 15-year-old who found it.~JJL

++++

Thursday’s Top Three
Our top read item yesterday was about the Class B shareholders at CME Group, who have brought a lawsuit forward in Langer v. CME Group, Inc.: Class Action Lawsuit. Second went to the other CME story, FT’s CME pursuit of Nex reflects shift in US money markets. Third was TT’s Report from FIA Boca 2018: Blockchain, Brexit, Bitcoin and More

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,432,229 pages viewed; 23,046 pages; 212,108 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

Top Regulator Worries That Crypto Markets Could Be Full of Manipulation
Annie Massa – Bloomberg
SEC official wonders who watches for spoofing, front running; Warding off manipulative behavior a top concern, Redfearn says
Add a top U.S. financial regulator to the list of people concerned that lightly policed cryptocurrency markets make easy targets for manipulators.
/goo.gl/9aCY41

****Reuters – Stock market principles needed in crypto world: SEC official

CFTC ‘astounded’ as Congress prepares to cut budget
Pete Schroeder – Reuters
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has pushed for a budget increase to fund its job of overseeing the multitrillion-dollar derivatives market, said on Thursday it was “absolutely astounded” that the U.S. Congress is preparing to cut its funding.
/goo.gl/oKLL24

Crypto-Focused Hedge Funds on SEC’s Radar; Regulator to examine up to 100 hedge funds starting in the next few months
Dave Michaels – WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to examine as many as 100 hedge funds focused on cryptocurrencies, according to a person familiar with the matter.
/goo.gl/vWLg49

Paris unit of LCH to overtake London in some euro clearing after Brexit
Huw Jones – Reuters
Paris will overtake London as a center for LCH’s clearing of a core euro-denominated market after Brexit, the UK-based firm said as it seeks to head off French political demands for Britain to be frozen out.
reut.rs/2G5pZQz

Is Your Blockchain Business Doomed?; Europe’s new data protection regulation could spell trouble for companies.
By Olga Kharif – Bloomberg
Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin and Ether, can securely record transactions, store huge amounts of data forever, and offer transparency by letting anyone view the information it contains. That makes it ideal for virtual currencies and some applications in insurance, health care, and other industriesóand a thorny problem for a new European law on privacy.
/goo.gl/pn7WZR

Bank regulators to revise capital rules for trading risk
Huw Jones – Reuters
Global regulators plan to revise rules determining the minimum amount of capital banks must set aside to cover risk from trading stocks, bonds, derivatives and currencies.
reut.rs/2IL78f9

A top SEC regulator just ripped crypto exchanges for being amateurish
Frank Chaparro – Business Insider
When Brett Redfearn joined the Securities and Exchange Commission six months ago, he had no idea how much time he was going to have to spend thinking about bitcoin, the JPMorgan alumnus told a crowd at a fintech conference in New York City.
/goo.gl/Kf1UXi

Goldman Sachs no longer one of top three commodities banks
Reuters
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) lost its place among the top three earners of commodities-related revenue in 2017, falling below rivals JPMorgan (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Citibank (C.N) for the first time, data from analytics firm Coalition showed.
reut.rs/2ILyn9y

Saga token: Nobel winner Myron Scholes on team launching low-volatility cryptocurrency
Eshe Nelson and Joon Ian Wong – Quartz
Last year, when the price of bitcoin rose 1,000%, you might have regretted not buying in. Now that it has fallen almost 40% so this year, perhaps you don’t have as many regrets. The murky trading and wrenching volatility of cryptocurrencies threaten their place as a fundamental plank of the future financial system, as proponents are pushing. Now, a group of famed economists and financial innovators have a plan to address those challenges by creating “the first non-anonymous blockchain-based digital currency,” called Saga (SGA).
/goo.gl/izqb7S

****FT – Economists’ cryptocurrency aims to avoid pitfalls of bitcoin

Goldman Sachs CEO calls reports of pending retirement ‘wishful’
Tim McLaughlin – Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said on Thursday a recent media report speculating about his possible retirement this year was wishful thinking, but conceded it would be difficult to decide when to leave his job.
reut.rs/2ucbLM5

Moving towards the light
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
One of the fundamental objectives of MiFID II is to increase transparency and move trading activity onto lit venues, but weeks into the regime record block trading and periodic auction volumes have dominated regulatory headlines. Large-in-scale (LIS) venues were widely tipped to be beneficiaries of new requirements which saw the closure of broker crossing networks (BCNs) and the rise of systematic internalisers (SIs).
bit.ly/2IJC7bN

Inside the Secret Plot to Reverse Brexit; For the first time, a group of rebels is going public with its plan to derail Britain’s decision to leave the EU.
Tim Ross, Kitty Donaldson – Bloomberg
Early every Wednesday morning, 15 people leave their homes and travel separately to a secret location in central London, where, over cups of Indian-style filter coffee and plates of cookies, they plot to stop Brexit. Those who gather, bleary-eyed, in the meeting room are a mix of women and men, old and young. They include politicians and activists, both professional and little-known, though their identities haven’t been formally released. The one thing that unites them is opposition to Theresa May’s plan for Britain to make a clean break from the European Union.
/goo.gl/RuZy7e

Want to Be a High-Frequency Trader? Here’s Your Chance; Crowdsourcing startup aims to bring high-speed trading to ordinary investors
Alexander Osipovich – WSJ
Luke Merrick, a senior at the University of Virginia, sings in the glee club and recently spent a summer in Japan. His latest hobby? High-frequency trading.
/goo.gl/E2GCyh

Trump Closes Era of Constructive Economic Engagement With China
Drew Mayeda – Bloomberg
Tariffs on Chinese goods signal U.S. frustration with talks; China says it doesn’t want trade war but won’t back down
The U.S.’s era of constructive engagement with China on economic matters is over. That was the message as President Donald Trump ordered tariffs on Chinese imports worth $50 billion and investment curbs on Chinese companies. After nearly half a century of trying to woo China into the club of major market-based economies, Trump made clear his administration plans to brandish sticks, not carrots, to achieve U.S. trade goals with Beijing.
/goo.gl/DxC8JP

Eight sets of indirect clearing terms published
FIA
FIA recently published eight sets of contractual indirect clearing terms to help clearing firms document indirect clearing arrangements under MiFIR and EMIR. Developed by FIA with Clifford Chance and member firms,the FIA Indirect Clearing Terms supplement contractual terms based on either the 2011 Professional Client Agreement or the soon-to-be-launched 2018 Terms of Business.
/goo.gl/S8Rjno

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

TMX’s Shorcan Announces Cryptocurrency Initiatives; Shorcan DCN to team up with Paycase Financial to provide cryptocurrency brokerage services and create global data products
TMX
MX Group today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shorcan Digital Currency Network (Shorcan DCN) has entered into an agreement with Paycase Financial (Paycase), a Toronto-based, value network and trustware provider for decentralized financial services, most widely known for their mobile-first remittance platform, to launch a new cryptocurrency brokerage service focused on Bitcoin and Ether. BMO Financial Group will provide Shorcan DCN with banking services as part of the payment and settlement infrastructure.
/goo.gl/Hgmbfb

CME Group Announces University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Wins 15th Annual Trading Challenge
PRnewswire
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the winners of its 15th annual CME Group Trading Challenge, including the first-place winners from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV).
prn.to/2ucLBc1

B&S Group celebrates first day of trading on Euronext
Euronext
B&S Group (ticker symbol: BSGR), a global distribution partner for consumer goods, began trading on Euronext Amsterdam today. The listing follows the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO), with a total offering of EUR 358 million.
/goo.gl/gMYhtS

Media Lab get listed on Euronext ACCESS; Euronext welcomes its newest addition to its European Tech SME initiative with the listing of the Italian company, Media Lab.
Euronext
Euronext today announced the listing of the dental technology company, Media Lab, on Euronext ACCESS.
/goo.gl/XfLxy4

Introducing a new client type: Eurex “Specified Client”
Eurex
Within our capital asset protection options, Eurex Clearing offer customers a variety of client types to accommodate risk appetite and individual capital requirements. Clients, here a client of a Clearing Member, can be either undisclosed or disclosed (i.e. known) to Eurex Clearing. Depending on the client type, varying levels of position segregation and asset protection can be achieved. In response to client demand, Eurex Clearing has introduced a new, simpler, client type. This new setup will significantly shorten onboarding timelines and ease the operational burden of onboarding clients to Eurex Clearing.
/goo.gl/Qinbcg

Amendments to the Clearing Conditions and the Price List of Eurex Clearing AG; Consultation on amendments to Special Provisions
Eurex
This circular contains information with respect to Eurex Clearing’s service offering and corresponding amendments to the Clearing Conditions of Eurex Clearing AG (Clearing Conditions) and the Price List of Eurex Clearing AG (Price List) regarding the following topics:
/goo.gl/f8UXGz

DWS Group listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange today; Asset manager listed in the Prime Standard / First Price: 32.55 euros
Eurex
DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000DWS1007 ) is listed in the Prime Standard on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange today. The shares of the asset manager listed at the start of trading at 32.55 euros. The issue price was 32.50 euros.
/goo.gl/Bd3LZF

ELITE Club Deal supports eToro in raising $100 million
London Stock Exchange Group
ELITE Club Deal, London Stock Exchange Group’s private placement platform for ELITE companies and professional investors, today announces the completion of its first equity transaction. Supported by ELITE Club Deal, with Rothschild acting as the exclusive financial adviser, social trading and investment platform, eToro, secured $100 million of additional investment. The investment was led by China Minsheng Financial and participated in by SBI Group, Korea Investment Partners, World Wide Investment Company Limited and other investors. The funding will support eToro’s expansion into new markets, as well as its continued research into and development of blockchain technology and the digitisation of assets.
/goo.gl/jxEKHA

HKEX to Reduce Multipliers of 10 Stock Futures Contracts
Products
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will reduce the multipliers of 10 of its stock futures contracts in two batches next month (April 2018) to align the contract sizes of the stock futures and the corresponding stock options.
/goo.gl/fxrnSM

Fintech

ION Investment Group completes acquisition of Openlink
Openlink Financial LLC
ION Investment Group announced today that it completed its acquisition of Openlink Financial, a global provider of trading and risk management solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
/goo.gl/7Ls7xx

Duco Launches Big Data Platform for Analytics
BusinessWire
Duco, the data engineering technology company, today announced the launch of the Duco Cube Data Platform. This extension of Duco Cube, the cloud-based normalization and reconciliation system, enables users to access up to ten years’ worth of results and exception data via a Hadoop-based big data infrastructure. Clients can easily connect in-house or third-party tools, such as Tableau, Power BI and QlikView, for monitoring, trend analysis, reporting and analytics. Three customers are already live on the platform.
bit.ly/2IJ9KKD

MiFID II: Illuminating the Dark
Denver Currie, Product Manager – Vela
MiFID II is already more than two months old, but while Systematic Internalisers (SIs) and Approved Publication Arrangements (APAs) create a framework to improve transparency, firms need the right technology to navigate the post January 3rd marketplace.
bit.ly/2IJWHsr

Sterling Trading Tech Names Andrew Actman New Director of Business Development
PRNewswire
Sterling Trading Tech (STT) is pleased to announce the appointment of new Director of Business Development, Andrew Actman. Mr. Actman joins the STT team to lead STT’s products and services growth initiatives throughout the industry.
prn.to/2ubvfQZ

Liquidnet adds best ex analytics to Virtual High Touch suite; Liquidnet ‘Best Ex Replay’ tool allows traders to replay market conditions at time of execution to help meet MiFID II best execution requirements.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Liquidnet has launched a best execution analytics tool to its Virtual High Touch (VHT) suite allowing traders to recall market conditions at the time of execution.
/goo.gl/pM5ygv

HSBC joins major banks with Visible Alpha investment; HSBC becomes latest financial backer for investment research platform alongside Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas Exane and Wells Fargo.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Research platform provider Visible Alpha has added HSBC to its list of investors following a $38 million funding round in January.
/goo.gl/2ojsw2

Opinion: Financial data should be as free to transfer as your mobile phone number; Give bank customers ownership of their own financial records
Kathryn Petralia – MarketWatch
As fintech companies expand access to online financial services and innovative offerings, their activities are generating an increasingly rich stream of data about Americans’ financial lives.
/goo.gl/k2BtoZ

Cryptocurrencies

JPMorgan working on potential spin-off of main blockchain project
Martin Arnold and Ben McLannahan – FT
JPMorgan Chase is working on a potential spin-off of its main blockchain technology project after the biggest US bank by assets decided it was more likely to achieve widespread adoption as an independent operation.
/goo.gl/CixqyX

Inside the bizarre upside-down bankruptcy of Mt. Gox
Adrianne Jeffries – The Verge
Every six months for the past four years, some number of former customers of the defunct Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange have gathered in a small room in a Tokyo courthouse to hear an update from Nobuaki Kobayashi, the stoic Japanese attorney appointed as the trustee for the case.
/goo.gl/Mivuvn

Crypto Finds a Friendly EU Island in the Sun
Yuji Nakamura – Bloomberg
Binance to announce banking partnership in Malta: Zhao; Move to Europe comes after crackdowns in Japan, China
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by traded value, is seeking a fresh start in the Mediterranean.
/goo.gl/A6gfyk

Enough About Cryptocurrency. Let’s Talk About Virtual Cats
Eric Newcomer – Bloomberg
We spend way too much time talking about digital currencies and not nearly enough time on digital cats.
/goo.gl/ZqEQqa

Former Google employee wants to apply blockchain to pigs and hotel bookings; Taiwan wants to ensure it isn’t left behind as companies from US to China race to unlock the potential of blockchain technology
Cindy Wang – The Independent Online
A Taiwanese startup led by a former Google employee intends to employ the same technology that underpins bitcoin and ethereum to shake up animal husbandry and travel.
/goo.gl/9JKHTU

Politics

Trump has been summoned in a lawsuit alleging that he’s violating the Constitution
Allan Smith – Business Insider
President Donald Trump was issued a summons in a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general for both Maryland and Washington, DC, alleging he is violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
/goo.gl/pUUxVP

Blankfein Says He Appreciates How Trump Skirts the Media on Twitter
Max Abelson, Dakin Campbell – Bloomberg
One of Lloyd Blankfein’s inspirations for joining Twitter: Donald Trump. “It’s on ly with some great trepidation I’d say anything positive about the president in this crowd, or any crowd,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s chief executive officer said at an event in Boston. “But I would say that one of the things I admire is the way he disintermediated the press. I mean, really, you have to say it.”
/goo.gl/WKAYK5

Trump’s Lies Will Keep Failing in Court; His voter fraud shtick just blew up. Are immigration claims next?
Francis Wilkinson – Bloomberg
The truth still matters somewhere. In November 2016, after Donald Trump had issued his feeble lie that millions of illegal ballots cost him the popular vote, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach came to the aid of the president-elect’s damaged pride. Trump, said Kobach, was “absolutely correct” about the existence of these phantom voters.
/goo.gl/ZV66E3

Exclusive: Democrats plan crackdown on booming stock buybacks
Matt Egan – CNN
Democrats in Congress want to rain on Wall Street’s buyback parade.
Senator Tammy Baldwin plans to introduce a bill on Thursday that would prohibit companies from repurchasing their shares on the open market, Baldwin told CNNMoney.
/goo.gl/kD49yv

The Investor Visa Program Should Be Scrapped; It’s widely misused and failing to work as intended.
Editorial Board – Bloomberg
The omnibus spending bill currently before Congress includes a small but ill-conceived program that deserves to be noticed, then deleted. The EB-5 Regional Center program that gives visas to investors invites abuse and is failing to do what it’s meant to.
/goo.gl/sKrmoi

Congress Passes Mammoth Spending Bill, Averts Shutdown; The $1.3 trillion budget bill now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature
Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes – WSJ
The Senate passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill early Friday, acting to avert a government shutdown with less than 24 hours to spare and bringing to a close a messy negotiating process over the sprawling measure.
/goo.gl/TW6hnm

Trump Fundraiser Offered to Help Lift Sanctions on Russian Firms
Zachary Mider, david Voreacos – Bloomberg
Elliott Broidy proposed work for clients of Moscow lawyer; Pre-inauguration discussions didn’t lead to Broidy’s hiring
Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, offered last year to help a Moscow-based lawyer get Russian companies removed from a U.S. sanctions list.
/goo.gl/r1Wj8M

Regulation

Commissioner Behnam Statement on the CFTC Budget Cut
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Rostin Behnam issued the following statement on the congressional budget proposal that reflects a decrease in the CFTC’s funding level:
/goo.gl/MS7DuM

UK Fintech Sector Strategy Launched At International Fintech Conference
Mondovisione
A new cryptoassets task force, the next steps in ‘robo-regulation’ and a UK-Australia ‘fintech bridge’ are in the government’s first Fintech Sector Strategy.
bit.ly/2G4PAJc

Top UK bank executive dubbed regulatory official ‘little lady’, FCA says; Watchdog reveals anecdote as it pledges to boost gender equality in finance
Caroline Binham – FT
A top executive at one of the UK’s biggest banks called a regulatory official “little lady” during a recent supervisory visit, the Financial Conduct Authority revealed.
/goo.gl/Fg5Meu

British and Australian regulators strengthen cooperation on fintech through Enhanced Cooperation Agreement
ASIC
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) and ASIC have signed an Enhanced Cooperation Agreement between their Innovation Hubs to extend their existing agreement of cooperation and coordination on fintech innovation. This agreement forms part of the broader Fintech Bridge signed by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Australian Treasurer.
/goo.gl/mK5Nfm

ESMA updates MiFID/MiFIR investor protection Q&As
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has included 7 new or updated items in its Questions and Answers (Q&A) document on the implementation of investor protection topics under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/ MiFIR).
/goo.gl/4wTnjy

ESMA updates the CSDR Q&As
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today updated its Questions and Answers (Q&As) regarding the implementation of the Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR).
/goo.gl/ZjHZvr

ESMA updates its market abuse Q&As
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today updated its Questions and Answers (Q&As) on the implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The purpose of the Q&A document is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of MAR and its implementing measures.
/goo.gl/Jyw4ik

Podcast: CFTC Talks EP035: PWC Julien Corbe
CFTC
This week on CFTC Talks, we bring on PwC’s Julien Corbe, who leads their US Financial Services Advisory…
/goo.gl/Qh6USM

Australia’s big banks broke laws and failed public, inquiry reveals
Paulina Duran – Reuters
Australia’s top banks routinely and repeatedly breached laws when issuing home loans, credit cards and other consumer loans, according to a scathing summary of the first round of hearings at the country’s inquiry into financial misconduct.
/goo.gl/cQbNkq

Investing and Trading

Money Markets Are Messed Up, With Real Consequences; Banks are paying more to borrow money now than during the 2012 euro crisis, a sign of trouble ahead
James Mackintosh – WSJ
The Federal Reserve raised rates just 0.25 percentage point this week, but distortions in the money markets mean many borrowers are seeing their interest rates rise far faster.
/goo.gl/mmA2xe

Volatility Swings Reach New Milestone; Cboe Volatility Index rose as much as 27% Thursday
Asjylyn Loder – WSJ
Wall Street’s fear gauge has hit a record-breaking bout of turbulence. The Cboe Volatility Index, a measure that investors use to track the speed and severity of market moves, rose as much as 27% Thursday as U.S. stocks fell for a second consecutive day.
/goo.gl/zJHFJj

Commodity traders eye digital disruption and consolidation; Highlights from the seventh annual Financial Times Commodities Global Summit
Neil Hume, Anjli Raval and Emiko Terazono – FT
Digital disruption, decarbonisation and consolidation were the key themes to emerge as the world’s most powerful commodity traders and miners gathered in Lausanne for the seventh annual Financial Times Commodities Global Summit.
/goo.gl/MVfz32

Noncompete Agreements Take a Toll on the Economy; States are starting to wise up and restrict them. It worked out well for California.
Noah Smith – Bloomberg
Despite sky-high housing prices, Silicon Valley remains the vital center of the U.S. tech industry. Once an industry takes root in a particular place, it’s very hard to pull it away. Which makes it all the more important to understand: Why did Silicon Valley become Silicon Valley in the first place?
/goo.gl/JKQ4M3

Institutions

Deutsche Bank’s DWS puts IPO price at EUR32.50 a share
Olaf Storbeck – Financial Times
Deutsche Bank has priced the initial public offering of its asset management arm DWS at EUR32.50 a share, slightly below the mid-point of its target range of EUR30 to EUR36 a share, Germany’s largest lender said in a statement on Thursday evening.
on.ft.com/2IHDyY0

Deutsche Bank floats asset management arm despite shaky markets
Olaf Storbeck in Frankfurt – FT
Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm has listed in Frankfurt despite fragile market conditions.
/goo.gl/Q2wsW5

Goldman Sachs CEO says sovereign balance sheets look risky
Tim McLaughlin – Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said on Thursday sovereign country balance sheets look risky to him as deficits become a larger percentage of their gross domestic product.
/goo.gl/nNoM36

Citigroup Sets Restrictions on Gun Sales by Business Partners
Tiffany Hsu – NY Times
Citigroup is setting restrictions on the sale of firearms by its business customers, making it the first Wall Street bank to take a stance in the divisive nationwide gun control debate.
nyti.ms/2ILgPdy

Biggest Three Banks Gobble Up $2.4 Trillion in New Deposits Since Crisis; Now that many transactions are done online or through smartphones, customers are increasingly choosing national banks
Rachel Louise Ensign – WSJ
Americans are parking more money with the biggest banks than ever before, cementing the firms’ dominance of the financial industry less than a decade after the 2008 crisis.
/goo.gl/tLgwa8

Fallen-Angel ETF Takes the Hunt for Downgraded Bonds Global
Yakob Petersell – Bloomberg
Global version of fund targeting downgraded debt lists today; U.S. version has outperformed junk and high-grade markets
One of the best-performing exchange-traded bond funds in the U.S., which hunts for corporate credits newly downgraded to junk, is shaking off its domestic focus and going global.
/goo.gl/zJUvEh

Blankfein Says His Goldman Departure Must Come Before He’s Ready
Dakin Campbell – Bloomberg
Lloyd Blankfein said a lack of clear options for a second career means he’ll need the resolve to relinquish his post atop Goldman Sachs Group Inc. before he has something else lined up.
/goo.gl/2zW5TF

Credit Suisse boosts management pay under revamped plan; Top staff to receive 5.5% increase despite $1bn loss
Laura Noonan in London – FT
Credit Suisse is planning to award its top executive team about SFr115m in 2018 under a revamped incentive plan that would pay them more than proposals that last year met with sharp resistance from shareholders.
/goo.gl/k7Vc8F

Regions

Insider-Trading Paradise: Where No One Worries About Jail Time
Michelle Davis – Bloomberg
Mexico has made insider-trading fines public only since 2008; Only Colombia has a worse enforcement record in Latin America
A stock plunges just before bad news hits, or soars ahead of a bullish headline. On Wall Street, that sounds like it could be insider trading. In Mexico, it’s more like business as usual.
/bloom.bg/2IMqJfe

Nobody Knows Anything About China
James Palmer – Foreign Policy
As a foreigner in China, you get used to hearing the retort “You don’t know China!” spat at you by locals. It’s usually a knee-jerk reaction to some uncomfortable modern issue or in defense of one of the many historical myths children in the mainland are taught as unshakeable facts about the world. But it’s also true. We don’t know China. Nor, however, do the Chinese ó not even the government.
/goo.gl/Z7LrXf

From Boeing to Soybeans, China Has a Long Retaliation List
Bloomberg News
Donald Trump plans tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods; China announces tariffs on $3 billion of U.S. exports
China’s $3 billion counter punch to Donald Trump’s tariffs is just the first move from the world’s second-largest economy. History suggests it won’t be the last.
/goo.gl/2N8qwD

Investor Who Won Big Betting on Housing Collapse Falters With China Bets; Kyle Bass says ‘the subprime market was similar to what is happening in China today’
Chelsey Dulaney – WSJ
A decade after the financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal has checked in on dozens of the bankers, government officials, chief executives, hedge-fund managers and others who left a mark on that period to find out what they are doing now. Today, we spotlight former Treasury Department administrator Neel Kashkari and hedge-fund manager Kyle Bass.
/goo.gl/jzfoiZ

Brexit

Morgan Stanley Said to Relocate 80 Jobs to Paris After Brexit
Gavin Finch – Bloomberg
Bank will add jobs in various EU cities, with hub in Frankfurt; About 300 roles in total will be moved out of London
Morgan Stanley plans to relocate as many as 80 U.K.-based roles to Paris in the years after Brexit, according to a person with knowledge of the bank’s contingency arrangements.
/goo.gl/9TgSxQ

EU leaders agree to Brexit transition; Guidelines for negotiating future relationship adopted in matter of minutes
George Parker, Mehreen Khan and Jim Brunsden – FT
European leaders on Friday agreed to extend Britain’s de facto EU membership until the end of 2020, backing a transition deal to smooth the implementation of Brexit.
/goo.gl/2y6W3u

The post Top Regulator Worries About Crypto Market Manipulation; CFTC ‘astounded’ as Congress prepares to cut budget appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Robby Lothian is home from the hospital and doing well. Thank you for the notes and prayers.~JJL

My three nephews collaborated on a music video in support of the March For Our Lives movement. Here is Andrew Lothian’s “Good Guy with a Gun” music video.~JJL

Our first video from the FIA International Conference in Boca Raton, FL is with Garry Jones, the former CEO of NYSE LIFFE and the LME. Jones is now done with his garden leave and looking for his next challenges. We picked his brain about Brexit, bitcoin and China. See below.~JJL

Tom Flake, founder & chief marketing officer of Bcause LLC, recorded an episode of Futures Radio Show with Anthony Crudele in Boca.~JJL

JPX has added an “s” to their website address. They are migrating to HTTPS and their website address is now https://www.jpx.co.jp/english.~JJL

The March For Our Lives crowd in Washington, DC was bigger than that at Trump’s inauguration.~JJL

++++

Brexit, Bitcoin and Benchmarks – Garry Jones

JohnLothianNews.com

Former Liffe and LME CEO Garry Jones kicks off JLN’s annual series of interviews with industry leaders at FIA Boca. In this year’s series of some 20 videos, executives from exchanges, fintech companies and service providers give their outlook on the coming year and state of the industry.

Jones, no longer under his LME non-compete, talks about the challenge of Brexit, the hurdles facing cryptocurrency trading in Europe and the potential effects of new Chinese product launches on global benchmarks.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Howey; ICOs; Virtual Currencies; Actual Delivery
Gary DeWaal – Bridging the Week
The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission opposed a motion to dismiss filed by a defendant named in a criminal indictment, charging him with offering and selling two types of digital tokens issued in initial coin offerings that the DoJ had alleged were securities without required registration. The defendant had argued that the digital tokens were not securities because they were currencies – albeit cryptocurrencies – , and in any case, were not investment contracts, as charged, under applicable law. Separately, over 95 comments were submitted in response to proposed guidance by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as to what constitutes actual delivery of a virtual currency to a retail client in a leveraged or financed transaction.
bit.ly/2ITzYu2

++++

The Spread – Week of 3/19 to 3/23

JohnLothianNews.com

The JLN team is back in Chicago to bring you a more conventional episode of The Spread. Thank heavens our teleprompter was back in action – ad libbing a poolside chat was wicked difficult.

You are likely up to date on the potential Biden v. Trump title fight that was in the headlines this week, but are you up to date on the week’s happenings in options?
Watch the video here »

++++

March Madness is driving down work productivity: study
Gregory Bresiger – NY Post
Put away that report your boss wants and focus instead on your team’s last-minute comeback.
/goo.gl/1AnbEz

***** Productivity in my office will improve now that Purdue has been eliminated, but the Loyola of Chicago story is special.~JJL

++++

++++

Friday’s Top Three
Our top read story Friday was John Lothian’s column, Congressional CFTC Budget Decision Lacks Vision and Reason. Second was the link to the CME Lawsuit Langer v. CME Group, Inc.. Third was The New York Times’ How Nasdaq C.E.O. Adena Friedman Beat the Odds on Wall Street

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,537,253 pages viewed; 23,047 pages; 212,127 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Bank of America ‘systematically’ misled clients about stock trades
Matt Egan – CNN Money
Bank of America Merrill Lynch doctored paperwork on 16 million orders to fool institutional clients into thinking stock trades were taking place in-house when they were not, according to New York’s Attorney General.
/cnnmon.ie/2IMXMzH

China seeks to extend oil market clout with new contract; Beijing eyes bigger role for currency through renminbi-based benchmark
Anjli Raval – FT
China is set to launch its long-awaited renminbi-denominated oil futures contract on Monday, as the world’s largest crude importer seeks to extend its influence over the pricing of barrels sold into Asia. The Shanghai International Energy Exchange has set the opening price for the front-month of its crude futures contract at Rmb416 a barrel, about $66.
/goo.gl/ZuWGZy

Global Trading Giants Dip Toes in China Oil Futures on Debut Day
Bloomberg News
Nation’s first-ever crude futures end day at 429.9 yuan/barrel; Glencore and Trafigura are among foreign participants in debut
Two of the world’s biggest oil traders gave China’s crude futures contract a go on its long-anticipated trading debut.
/goo.gl/Nx9gfY

Big banks develop new platform for bond issuances; Financial institutions hope to cut costs by streamlining disjointed debt process
Eric Platt in New York and Robin Wigglesworth in Oslo – FT
JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are developing a new platform to overhaul the disjointed bond issuance process, hoping to solidify their control of the lucrative underwriting business that last year generated billions of dollars in fees for investment banks.
/goo.gl/hZy1H2

An exchange giant lays out its defense of a bitcoin product that could transform the cryptocurrency
Frank Chaparro – Business Insider
The exchange behind one of the two markets for bitcoin futures in the US is trying to mollify regulators’ concerns about an exchange-traded product tied to the cryptocurrency.
/goo.gl/VRSBK6

China aims to challenge Brent, WTI oil with crude futures launch
Meng Meng and Tom Daly – Reuters
The launch of China’s yuan-denominated oil futures will mark the culmination of a decade-long push by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) aimed at giving the world’s largest energy consumer more power in pricing crude sold to Asia.
/reut.rs/2IMzYf7

The Growing Influence of Asia in Derivatives Trading
Christopher Fix – CME Group OpenMarkets
Asian markets have become increasingly important not only for investors from the continent, but also those from around the world. The need for seamless round-the-clock trading has come into sharper focus as global event risks occur with their impact on markets reverberating almost instantaneously throughout our increasingly interconnected world. With futures as a compelling hedging instrument, we have continued to see trading volumes growing in Asia, and more significantly, during Asia trading hours from not just Asia-based but also global participants.
/goo.gl/frN1Fh

BAML fined $42 million for ‘masking’ electronic order routing; BAML made agreements with HFT firms including Citadel Securities and Two Sigma to secretly route client orders.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has been fined $42 million after it admitted to New York authorities that it sent orders electronically to certain liquidity providers secretly as part of a ‘masking’ scheme.
/goo.gl/utsCQ1

America’s Libor Replacement Is Ready for Its Debut
Alex Harris – Bloomberg
Regulators around the globe began work on replacements for Libor, the London interbank offered rate, well before the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority set to put the beleaguered interest-rate benchmark out of its misery. In the U.S., enter the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, a new reference rate being introduced next week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in cooperation with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research. The debut of SOFR is a critical step in a quest to wean more than $350 trillion of securities off Libor.
/goo.gl/VfxdpJ

IMF’s Lagarde Urges Euro Powers to Build Unified Capital Market
Francine Lacqua, Rainer Buergin – Bloomberg
Says Brexit heightens urgency for Germany, France to step up; Fund’s managing director comments in Bloomberg interview
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde called on Germany and France to spur further euro-area integration, saying Brexit makes a capital-markets union on the continent more urgent.
/goo.gl/1XGPD7

The world’s biggest IPO might be limited to its 25th-largest stock exchange
Eshe Nelson – Quartz
For the past two years, there’s has been a behind-the-scenes battle rumbling between New York, London, and Hong Kong to secure the public listing of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. In what promises to be a blockbuster IPO, the company would fetch a valuation as high as $2 trillion. (Apple, which is currently the world’s largest listed company, has a market cap of around $840 billion.) In addition to the prestige that would come from listing the world’s largest public company, Aramco’s IPO would generate a gusher of fees for banks, advisers, and one lucky exchange operator.
/goo.gl/t4UsSR

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

TMX to launch cryptocurrency platform focusing on Bitcoin, Ether; TMX Group announced that its subsidiary, Shorcan Digital Currency Network, has entered into an agreement with Paycase Financial.
The Canadian Press
The TMX Group Ltd. says it’s launching a cryptocurrency brokerage service through the launch of its Shorcan Digital Currency Network subsidiary.
/goo.gl/ChLWDB

Brazilian B3 exchange sets its sights on Asia
Louisa Chender – Global Investor Group
Brazilian exchange B3 is setting its sights on Asia to expand its network of foreign investors looking to trade in emerging markets.
According to Sergio Gullo, B3’s chief representative for EMEA & APAC, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and Singapore have been identified as initial targets, with the latter three already proving successful.
bit.ly/2IPubFU

Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Core Index Launches
JPX
The Tokyo Stock Exchange today announced the launch of a new REIT index called “Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Core Index” to satisfy the diverse needs for stock price indices in the market.
/goo.gl/16ExmD

Fintech

Banks deploy ID software for client verification; But customer authentication tools face a challenge from EU data protection rules
Aliya Ram – FT
The historic failures of big banks including BNP Paribas and HSBC to comply with international sanctions and anti-money laundering rules ushered in a tougher regulatory regime on customer identification. The fallout from those cases has extended beyond financial penalties: watchdogs have increased pressure on banks to spot malpractice through background checks and monitoring transactions.
/goo.gl/BXYHsu

Cryptocurrencies

This New Blockchain Platform Aims to Give Gold a Digital Edge
Kristine Owram – Bloomberg
Goldcorp, Royal Canadian Mint also part of new U.S. venture; ‘Most important thing’ to hit gold market in decades: Sprott
Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain were thought by some to replace gold as the ultimate haven against financial calamity. Now the gold market is using blockchain to kick back at crypto and bring precious metals into the digital age.
/goo.gl/NVRDSf

China leads blockchain patent applications; Rush to protect technological ideas leads to patent applications trebling in 2017
Laura Noonan in Dublin – FT
China was the most active filer of blockchain patent applications last year as the country’s technology and financial services groups rushed to claim exclusivity on the “mutual distributed ledger” that could revolutionise finance and other supply chains.
/goo.gl/rRySG6

Big Banks Could Eventually Warm Up To Bitcoin And Ripple
Panos Mourdoukoutas – Forbes
Big banks want to crush Ripple and Bitcoin. At least, that’s the impression one gets by listening to speeches of high profile bankers, attacking the very premise and the valuation of Bitcoin.
/goo.gl/jgoiDh

Crypto projects that raised hundreds of millions of dollars are being ‘intentionally non-transparent’
Oscar Williams-Grut – Business Insider
Startups that raised hundreds of millions of dollars last year issuing their own digital coins are being “intentionally non-transparent” with their investors, according to a new report.
/goo.gl/4kwgBX

This Startup Is Using Blockchain to Fight Art Forgers
Vivianne Rodrigues, Rob Urban – Bloomberg
Registry would create image-based records of artworks; Blockchain seen bringing trust to anemic online art market
Contemporary artist Philip Colbert, whose colorful, high-spirited art is finding buyers around the world, had been toying with the idea of creating his own catalog system to prove the authenticity of his expanding body of work.
/goo.gl/6WoAgH

Enough About Cryptocurrency. Let’s Talk About Virtual Cats
Eric Newcomer – Bloomberg
We spend way too much time talking about digital currencies and not nearly enough time on digital cats.
/goo.gl/ZqEQqa

Telegram On Track to Push Its Cryptocurrency Sale to $1.7 Billion
Ilya Khrennikov, Nour Al Ali – Bloomberg
Token price triples in second funding round, people say; Investor demand said to be less after Bitcoin led market lower
Messaging service Telegram Group Inc., which smashed the world record for selling a new cryptocurrency in February, is on track to raise another $850 million as its initial coin offering extends toward a third month, according to three people familiar with the matter.
/goo.gl/KLPKsT

Politics

Dow dreamers show Trump’s war on elites is pure fantasy
Thomas Frank – The Guardian
Observers of the thousand-man wrecking crew now smashing up America’s executive branch often grouse about the many ways in which it violates the “norms” of our country’s politics. What impresses me as I observe the unfolding Trumptacular is the opposite: how familiar it sometimes is.
/goo.gl/4zBhRj

Wall Street wonders how long Kudlow will last in Trump’s White House
John Aidan Byrne – NY Post
Even though Larry Kudlow has not officially started as the director of the National Economic Council at the White House, Wall Street is already wondering when he will hear, “You’re fired.”
/goo.gl/LpVJnJ

Trump Veers Into Uncharted Trade Territory as China Waits
Andrew Mayeda – Bloomberg
Investors await details of China tariffs and levies on steel; Analyst sees a ‘huge amount of uncertainty’ over next steps
The Trump administration is under growing pressure to explain the details of its trade policies after fears of a tit-for-tat economic conflict between the U.S. and China sent stocks tumbling last week.
/goo.gl/epbr1Y

What Should Worry Americans Most About Trump; His tweets on the FBI, the law and the press show a singular disrespect for U.S. institutions.
Cass R. Sunstein – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump has shown little or no respect for the independence of the nation’s institutions. That lack of respect is what distinguishes him from his recent predecessors, both Republican and Democratic, and above all it is what demonstrates an authoritarian disposition.
/goo.gl/LgeA4F

Regulation

TRACE Ratings Source
FINRA
Beginning Tuesday, April 3, 2018, FINRA will update the way it sources rating information for TRACE-eligible securities. This update will occur as part of FINRA’s regular maintenance for the analysis of the TRACE Grade (Investment Grade or High-Yield) it places on these securities.
/goo.gl/jhH9EZ

Holiday Reminder Regarding TRACE Market Data
FINRA
In observance of Good Friday, the TRACE system will be closed on Friday, March 30, 2018. As stated in the data feed interface specifications, FINRA may send out unmarked test data via its data feeds on market holidays. Direct data feed subscribers, including recipients of TRACE data via the Bond Trading Dissemination Service (BTDS), Agency Trading Dissemination Service (ATDS), Structured Products Dissemination Services (SPDS) and/or 144A Trade Dissemination Services (144A) feed(s) should take the necessary precautions to prevent data corruption. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please contact FINRA Operations at (866) 776-0800 if you have any questions.
/goo.gl/2kNFjk

Holiday Reminder Regarding ORF Market Data
FINRA
In observance of Good Friday, the ORF System will be closed on Friday, March 30, 2018. As stated in the data feed interface specifications, FINRA may send out unmarked test data via its data feeds on market holidays. Direct data feed subscribers, including recipients of the Trade Data Dissemination Service 2.0 (TDDS 2.0) and Bulletin Board Dissemination Service (BBDS) feed(s) should take the necessary precautions to prevent data corruption. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please contact FINRA Operations at (866) 776-0800 if you have any questions.
/goo.gl/xELbNa

SEC Stops Ponzi-Schemer Targeting Retail Investors and Obtains Preliminary Injunction SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges and a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against Niket Shah, a New Jersey resident who stole more than $250,000 in a Ponzi scheme in which his friends and coworkers invested.
/goo.gl/8K2jE2

Mifid’s calm start belies research ‘devils in detail’; Institutions are grappling with rules around carve-outs and inducements
Hannah Murphy – FT
The January launch of Mifid II — the sprawling European legislation that runs to 1.7m paragraphs and touches banks and brokerages, as well as institutional investors and exchanges — passed without the financial Armageddon that some had predicted.
/goo.gl/7uYwF2

Regulators Split Over How to Keep Banks Out of Trouble; Ten years after the financial crisis, Washington’s bank regulators don’t agree on best way to examine financial firms
Ryan Tracy – WSJ
Should bank examiners work every day inside the offices of banks they oversee, or not? Two federal banking regulators have opposite answers, showing how 10 years after the 2008 bailouts, regulators are still trying to figure out the best way to stop bankers at Wells Fargo WFC -2.95% & Co. and other firms from causing trouble.
/goo.gl/uMEFR4

Sebi plans new buyback rules, maximum limit likely to be capped at 25%; Under the proposal, the maximum limit of any buyback would be 25 per cent or less of the aggregate of paid up capital and free reserves of the company
Press Trust of India
Markets regulator Sebi is considering to come out with new norms on share buyback programme, under which maximum limit for share repurchase will be 25 per cent of the company’s paid-up capital and other reserves.
/goo.gl/1M2Tw7

Japanese regulator warns major cryptocurrency exchange for operating without a license, bitcoin falls
Evelyn Cheng – CNBC
Japan’s Financial Services Agency issued a warning Friday to major cryptocurrency exchange Binance for operating without registration in the country.
/goo.gl/cgCwxz

Investing and Trading

The Big Interview: Jonathan Clark; Former global head of trading at BlackRock and CEO at Luminex Trading & Analytics, Jonathan Clark, discusses block trading trends, his time on the buy-side and the decision to add conditional orders to Luminex’s platform.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Hayley McDowell: What is driving block trading in the US and how has it evolved in recent years?
/goo.gl/5Pk54g

Bond Traders Face Gut-Check in Record $300 Billion U.S. Auctions
Brian Chappatta – Bloomberg
Short-term Treasury yields had rare drop last week after Fed; But largest 2-year sale since 2014 brings supply back in focus
Bond bulls who enjoyed a rare rally in short-term Treasuries last week might not want to get too comfortable: The world’s biggest debt market is about to be inundated with an unprecedented wave of issuance.
/goo.gl/AQid3J

Oil Trader Vitol to Post 25% Profit Drop as Market Shifts
Andy Hoffman, Javier Blas – Bloomberg
Income from asset sales fails to offset weaker trading; Vitol Chairman Taylor has said oil trading is ‘bloody tough’
Vitol Group, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, suffered a 25 percent drop in annual profit as income from assets sales failed to offset weaker trading results.
/goo.gl/vk5bQP

The World’s Most Controversial Interest Rate Is Haunting Us Again
Tracy Alloway, Joe Weisenthal – Bloomberg
Remember LIBOR? The London Interbank Offered Rate measures the cost of money when banks borrow from each other. It famously blew out during the financial crisis, but for a long time since then it’s been dormant. Only lately it’s started to creep higher again. On this week’s Odd Lots podcast, we talk to Scott Peng, the founder, CEO and CIO of Advocate Capital Management, who warned in early 2008 that there was something fishy about the way the measure was being priced. In the post-crisis period, it was discovered that the rate — which helps price trillions of dollars worth of other assets — was being gamed or manipulated by traders. Peng walks us through the history of the rate, what it’s telling us now, and what may ultimately replace it.
/goo.gl/fC3HnM

Wall Street’s beloved FANG stock quartet may be breaking up
Noel Randewich – Reuters
The quartet of technology stocks that has driven Wall Street indices to record highs in recent years may be breaking up, possibly undermining one of the best growth stories in a nine-year bull market.
/goo.gl/QaLU7m

Could the Libor Mystery Be All about Taxes?; The U.S. tax bill has penalized U.S. branches of foreign banks for borrowing cash from their headquarters, which could explain the money market’s strange behavior
Jon Sindreu – WSJ
Investors are scratching their heads about why a key measure of distress in financial markets is at its highest level since the financial crisis in 2009, even though there isn’t any panic about banks’ health.
/goo.gl/Aa6PKx

Sliding Silver Sends Scary Signal; Gold is priced 82 times higher than silver, the highest such discrepancy in two years and seen as a negative economic indicator
Amrith Ramkumar – WSJ
Investors have soured on silver to start 2018, after prices rose over the last two years—a possible warning signal to the broader market.
/goo.gl/bqN32t

Institutions

What’s wrong with AQR – Part II
RCM Alternatives
We went into depth about a year ago on what was wrong with AQR’s behemoth of a mutual fund: the AQR Managed Futures Strategy Fund (AQMIX), when their trailing 1yr returns as of last April were down about -10% and the NAV sitting around $9 years after starting out at $10 (although that doesn’t include dividends paid out). We spoke of their size, of their skew towards financials, and of the overall poor environment for their type of strategy perhaps meaning nothing was really wrong – it was just doing what it does. And, as it turned out, all those were on point – with our contrarian headline powers a little early, but still, spot on as AQMIX rallied about +11% a few months after we wrote about it.
bit.ly/2IMjS5n

Hardworking Hedge Funds Might Have the Upper Hand; Funds that accessed Edgar filings performed better than ones that didn’t, but the data isn’t so clear-cut.
Matt Levine
Public companies in the U.S. have to make public filings — annual and quarterly reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q, announcements of material events on Form 8-K, descriptions of trading by insiders and big shareholders, etc. — on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Edgar website. Should you read them? For amateur investors that is perhaps a difficult question: There is an obvious conventional wisdom that you should read them so you can be informed about the companies you invest in, but there is also an argument that reading SEC filings gives casual retail investors merely the illusion of competence. After all these filings are publicly available and you are competing with professionals whose only job it is to analyze stocks; surely those professionals are also reading the filings and then also doing a lot of other research that you just can’t do.
/goo.gl/QaJyUj

JPMorgan Brings Amazon’s Alexa to Wall Street Trading Floors
Hugh Son, Katherine Chiglinsky – Bloomberg
Voice-activated assistant can now send reports from analysts; Other firms such as New York Life using it to help employees
“Alexa, ask JPMorgan what the price target for Apple is.” It’s a request that JPMorgan Chase & Co. institutional clients can now get quickly answered through Amazon.com Inc.’s ubiquitous voice-activated assistant. The bank and the e-commerce giant have partnered to provide JPMorgan’s Wall Street users with another way to access its research. Alexa is able to send analysts’ reports and related queries, and the bank is testing other features, like providing prices on bonds or swaps, according to David Hudson, global head of markets execution for the New York-based bank.
/goo.gl/uCi9S3

JPMorgan Sees Market Overcoming Stock Rout, But Beware Trade War
Joanna Ossinger – Bloomberg
Asset allocation stays geared toward growth in second quarter; A risk premium for ‘bad policies’ to threaten global trade
Despite a harrowing week for U.S. stocks, market conditions are looking favorable heading into the second quarter, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
/goo.gl/VXJoh7

Regions

China’s Oil Futures Soar on Debut; Beijing takes on global oil markets with launch of yuan-denominated futures
WSJ
China’s yuan-denominated crude-oil futures surged on their long-awaited debut Monday, indicating positive initial sentiment toward the new market, which Beijing hopes will eventually give the country an oil benchmark to rival those in the U.S. and Europe.
/goo.gl/nKtrnM

Turning Sour on China’s Oil Benchmark; Shanghai futures are off to a good start, but they’re at the mercy of an illiquid currency.
David Fickling – Bloomberg
How serious is China about setting up its new Shanghai crude oil futures as a challenger to Brent and West Texas Intermediate?
/goo.gl/cKjwCA

China steps up effort to avert US trade war; Beijing set to ease foreign investment rules and buy more American semiconductors
Tom Mitchell in Beijing and Sam Fleming in Washington – FT
Chinese officials are rushing to finalise new regulations by May that will allow foreign financial groups to take majority stakes in securities companies as they seek to avert a looming trade war with the US.
/goo.gl/NKCjow

China to Join Major Global Bond Index for First Time; Chinese bonds will represent 5.49% of the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index
Saumya Vaishampayan and Shen Hong – WSJ
Bloomberg LP said Friday it will add Chinese bonds to its Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index next year, the first such major global benchmark to include debt from the world’s second-largest economy.
/goo.gl/BHc9TM

Brexit

Brexit ‘Leave’ Camp May Have Broken Spending Rules, Observer Says
Viren Vaghela – Bloomberg
Directing how funds are spent flouts rules, whistleblower says; Foreign secretary Johnson calls story ‘utterly ludicrous’
The main group that campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union, which included Boris Johnson among its advocates, may have broken campaign spending laws, according to the Observer newspaper, which cited comments by a whistle-blower.
/goo.gl/3Bw9rA

Brexit delivers longer blow to bank sentiment than global crisis – survey
Emma Rumney – Reuters
The prospect of quitting the EU has hurt sentiment in Britain’s finance industry for longer than the global financial crisis that plunged economies into recession and destroyed some of the world’s biggest banks, a survey found on Monday.
/goo.gl/NnkwJt

The post Bank of America ‘systematically’ misled clients about stock trades appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

A young man from my church is going to graduate from college in May and is looking to embark on the beginning of his career in finance. He eventually wants to work in the hedge fund area. I told him there are many paths to get there. He is an outstanding young man, an Eagle Scout from a good family and already dresses like he could be a London banker. He is the founder and president of his college’s investment club and finance director for a consulting company and his college fraternity. If any reader might be interest in assisting him in his search, or bringing him in for an interview, please contact me.~JJL

Chicago’s Best Places to Work finalists in 2018 from Crain’s Chicago Business includes Trading Technologies, Objective Paradigm, West Monroe Partners and Topstep Trader.~JJL

Deutsche Boerse is delving into the blockchain space with an announced MOU with HQLA^X, to create a securities lending collateral management system using distributed ledger technology.~JK

NFA will conduct its fourth annual Town Hall webinar on Monday, April 9, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. CT/2:00 p.m. ET. During the webinar, NFA Public Director Ronald Filler, President and CEO Thomas Sexton, and NFA’s officers will provide a short update on NFA’s initiatives and respond to questions submitted by members.~JJL

Check out the virtual tour of ABN AMRO Clearing’s new offices in Chicago.~JJL

The Lothian boys sure can get political. First I write about Congress being shortsighted and lacking vision in their decision to cut the CFTC’s funding, then about how Andrew, Patrick and Ryan Lothian collaborate on a protest song and video about the impact of guns on American society. Maybe we should go back to reporting about the weather – after all, these are Stormy times.~JJL

++++

2017’s Low Volatility Was Not a Problem – Julie Winkler, CME

JohnLothianNews.com

The industry will remember 2017 for the lack of volatility in markets despite global geopolitical uncertainty. But as the CME Group’s many new volume records show, that low vol regime didn’t seem to hurt the demand for risk mitigation on its platforms.

In this second video of JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, CME Chief Commercial Officer Julie Winkler talks about the successful return of the Russell 2000 suite of products (CME’s largest sales campaign to date), the launch of bitcoin futures, the upcoming launch of the exchange’s Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures and the continuing issues with the leverage ratio.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

10 Years After The Crisis.
Cezary Podkul – WSJ
The financial crisis and the massive federal response reshaped the world we live in. Though the economy is in one of its longest expansions and stock indexes have hit new highs, many people across the political spectrum complain that the recovery is uneven and the markets’ gains aren’t fairly distributed. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at some of the most eventful aspects of the response and how we got to where we are today.
/goo.gl/XgAX4B

***** Ten years after the crisis I have aged 20 years.~JJL

++++

NYSE’s Top Female Leaders: Working to Attract More Women to the Field
Tracy Byrnes and Julie Iannuzzi – The Street
“We are here to make Americans have confidence in the country, says Hope Jarkowski, Co-head of Government Relations at the the New York Stock Exchange
/goo.gl/5mc3my

***** There is Hope.~JJL

++++

Monday’s Top Three
Monday’s top read stories were led by CNN Money’s piece, Bank of America ‘systematically’ misled clients about stock trades. Second went to Business Insider’s article, An exchange giant lays out its defense of a bitcoin product that could transform the cryptocurrency. Third went to The Trade’s BAML fined $42 million for ‘masking’ electronic order routing

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,580,796 pages viewed; 23,049 pages; 212,147 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

What the World’s Governments Are Saying About Cryptocurrencies
Bloomberg News
Regulations for exchanges, ICOs vary wildly across countries; Much of the crypto industry operates in a legal gray area. Getting your head around cryptocurrencies was hard enough before governments got involved. But now that policy makers around the world are drawing up fresh regulations on everything from exchanges to initial coin offerings, keeping track of what’s legal has become just as daunting as figuring out which newfangled token might turn in to the next Bitcoin.
/goo.gl/NDmfpG

Euronext completes Irish Stock Exchange acquisition; Completed acquisition of The Irish Stock Exchange will see entity rebranded as Euronext Dublin.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Euronext has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) following regulatory approval.
/goo.gl/FjcM3c

Deutsche Bank Lynch Mob Goes After the Wrong Man; If this about protecting the investment bank, then chairman Achleitner is on shaky ground.
Edward Evans – Bloomberg
There’s dysfunctional, and then there’s Deutsche Bank AG. The German lender wants to replace CEO John Cryan as tensions between him and chairman Paul Achleitner boil over, according to The Times of London.
/goo.gl/Y84sMB

How a Tiny Latvian Bank Became a Haven for the World’s Dirty Money; ABLV Bank allowed entities from Russia, Ukraine and North Korea to funnel illicit funds, U.S. officials say.
Drew Hinshaw, Patricia Kowsmann and Ian Talley – WSJ
A few years ago, U.S. Treasury officials noticed a troubling undertow in the world’s financial currents. Shell companies were shifting billions of dollars through a little-known bank in Latvia, a former Soviet state of two million people.
/goo.gl/fTcz9D

The ridiculous size of the ‘average’ Wall Street bonus in 2017? Three times what most US households made all year
Washington Post via SCMP
Wall Street bonuses are climbing toward record highs again, according to government data released Monday showing that in 2017, the average bonus payout reached US$184,220. That is an 17 per cent increase compared to the previous year and the closest Wall Street has come in more than a decade to its all-time high of US$191,360, according to the New York State Comptroller. That follows an 15 per cent increase in 2016, when the average bonus was about $157,660.
/goo.gl/6uJ8Lp

****WSJ here

If Stock Auctions Are So Great (and They Are), Let’s Do Them All Day Long
Don Ross – PDQ Enterprises via TABB Forum
Stock auctions are front-page news – for good reason, says PDQ CEO Don Ross: Computerized auctions have the potential to improve the efficiency and integrity of global stock markets.
/goo.gl/Dq6Lxy

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Euronext completes the acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange
Euronext
Today, Euronext announces the completion of the acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights of The Irish Stock Exchange plc, after receiving regulatory approvals.
/goo.gl/QE2U8z

The new version of the Methodology for calculating the fixes of the Moscow Stock Exchange
MOEX
Since April 2, 2018, the new edition of the Methodology for calculating currency fixings of the Moscow Stock Exchange comes into effect. The new version of the Methodology specifies the procedure for determining reserve values ??of fixings and informing participants in case of non-conduct of exchange currency trading during the calculation period of indicators (12: 25-12: 30 MSK).
/goo.gl/1umFhY

Nasdaq Announces Mid-Month Open Short Interest Positions in Nasdaq Stocks as of Settlement Date March 15, 2018
GlobeNewswire
At the end of the settlement date of March 15, 2018, short interest in 2,331 Nasdaq Global Market securities totaled 7,230,277,603 shares compared with 7,052,302,122 shares in 2,345 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of February 28, 2018. The mid-March short interest represents 3.96 days average daily Nasdaq Global Market share volume for the reporting period, compared with 3.72 days for the prior reporting period.
/goo.gl/PPAfWU

The GEM Listing Committee censures or criticises a number of its current and former directors of Changhong Jiahua Holdings Limited for breaching the GEM Listing Rules and the Director’s Undertaking
HKEX
/jlne.ws/2usUzSW

Summary of HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li’s Speech at the 2018 China (Shenzhen) IT Summit
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) Chief Executive Charles Li delivered a keynote speech in Chinese on 25 March at the 2018 China (Shenzhen) IT Summit. For your reference, below is a brief English summary of his address.
/jlne.ws/2usVq66

Deutsche Börse Group and HQLAX develop joint securities lending solution on the R3 Corda Blockchain platform
Deutsche Börse Group
Deutsche Börse Group and HQLA X have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a strategic partnership to develop an innovative securities lending solution using the R3 Corda Blockchain platform.
/goo.gl/UVcMDB

Cboe Europe Signs Saxo Bank as New Indices Customer
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today announced that Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, has signed a licence agreement to utilise 15 Cboe European national benchmark indices, including its FR 40, DE 30 and CH 20 indices. Saxo Bank plans to utilise the Indices for benchmarking against European markets and the creation of original products. Cboe’s indices are also expected to be available in real-time and with historical charts to clients via the online Saxo Trader platform.
/goo.gl/Dwgbpe

Cboe Global Markets Announces Date of First-Quarter 2018 Earnings Release and Conference Call
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today said it will announce its financial results for the first quarter of 2018 before the market opens on Friday, May 4, 2018. A conference call with remarks by the company’s senior management will begin at 7:30 a.m. Central Time (CT), 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).
/goo.gl/nFR8C8

DTCC posts cybersecurity white paper
Finextra
As cyber-threats against the financial sector become more frequent, complex and sophisticated, cross-industry coordination around response and recovery mechanisms are essential to mitigating the systemic consequences of a large-scale attack, according to a white paper published today by The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, and Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm.
/goo.gl/k6YzVs

OCC Continues To Clear The Path For The Exchange-Listed Options Industry In 2017
OCC
OCC achieved a number of key milestones that position our company for continued resiliency, innovation and growth while providing our exchange partners, clearing firms, and market participants with open access and reliable central counterparty services with operational excellence.
/goo.gl/P7ep2E

Deutsche Börse cautious on Bitcoin and big mergers, but ready for new ventures
Handlesblatt
Blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine-learning are all part of the stock exchange’s growth strategy, a top manager says.
/goo.gl/fdYHav

Fintech

CQG Announces Release of its 2018 Version of the Year; New Benefits Include Algorithmic Strategies and Analytics, Fixed Income Enhancements, and MiFID II Compliance Updates
PRNewswire
CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance trading, market data, and technical analysis tools, announced today the release of its Version of the Year software upgrade. The Version of the Year marks the firm’s annual required upgrade and offers the benefits of many new features to CQG’s entire customer base.
/goo.gl/QeiE55

Governments must intervene to build trust in data use; Obsessively secretive technology companies need regulation to force transparency
Robert Hannigan – FT
Beyond the pure grubbiness, there is a strategic conclusion to be drawn from the allegations that Cambridge Analytica misused data from 50m Facebook users.
/goo.gl/xP6KgJ

QuantHouse Reports Double-Digit Revenue Growth Since S&P Buyback
Finance Magnates
The company’s impressive revenues performance can be attributed to various initiatives it promoted during 2017.
/goo.gl/ApY5Ls

E*TRADE Brings New Technology to Futures Traders with Launch of Mobile Ladder; Once reserved for the desktop, a futures ladder can now be accessed in the palm of your hand
Business Wire
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) today announced a significant addition to its suite of mobile tools. Through the OptionsHouse Mobile iOS app, futures traders can now:
/goo.gl/GR8nW6

FlexTrade Integrates Kensho Actionable Intelligence into FlexTRADER EMS; Combines Artificial Intelligence and Analytics to Enhance Best Execution Capabilities
FlexTrade
FlexTrade Systems, a global leader in multi-asset execution and order management systems, today announced the integration of Kensho Technologies pre-trade analytics solution into the FlexTRADER EMS, which provides a detailed, real-time event feed to assist a trader’s decision-making process when executing a trade.
/goo.gl/icdWVY

Cryptocurrencies

Students are using their loan money to buy cryptocurrency: Study
Fastmoney
Student loans aren’t just for buying textbooks, No. 2 pencils, and apples for bribing teachers anymore. According to a recent survey, as many as one in five college kids may be using their student loans to cash in on the cryptocurrency craze.
/goo.gl/wTSwH4

Twitter to ban cryptocurrency ads from Tuesday as online crackdown widens
Tommy Wilkes, Fanny Potkin – Reuters
Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) will start banning cryptocurrency advertising from Tuesday, joining Facebook and Google in a clampdown that seeks to avoid giving publicity to potential fraud or large investor losses.
/goo.gl/5YWjMH

Crypto Exchange Coinbase Adds Support for Ethereum-Based Tokens
Camila Russo – Bloomberg
Coinbase Inc., which owns one of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency trading platforms, is opening the door to offering digital tokens based on the Ethereum network.
/goo.gl/aYc9n3

Tradewind Launches Digital Gold Market; Platform is the first of its kind to utilize blockchain technology to manage the trading, settlement and ownership of precious metals
Business Wire
Tradewind, a financial technology company, announced today that it has launched a new digital gold platform that combines world-class exchange technology with VaultChain a tailored blockchain application expected to revolutionize the trading, settlement, and ownership of physical gold. The first gold registered on the Tradewind platform will be vaulted by the Royal Canadian Mint, a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada.
/goo.gl/Gh9t1R

Solid Gold Casts of Nelson Mandela’s Hands Sell for $10 Million in Bitcoin
Danielle Bochove – Bloomberg
Canadian cryptocurrency firm plans world tour of Mandela art; Owner struggled to find buyer amid ‘Mandela Art’ stigma
It’s one of the more unusual deals in the art world. After more than a decade, an Alberta businessman has finally found a buyer for his prized collection of gold castings of Nelson Mandela’s hand. The final price? Ten million dollars — in bitcoin.
/goo.gl/HF7amq

Politics

Arrival of Final Bank Regulator Could Speed Up Easing of Rules; Senate confirmation of FDIC nominee will establish a trio of Trump appointees at key banking agencies
Lalita Clozel – WSJ
Banks can expect to see a surge in relief from postcrisis rules in 2018 after the final Trump-appointed leader is seated at the nation’s banking regulators later this spring.
/goo.gl/QLFgq7

Citi Says Kushner Cos. Loan Was ‘Completely Appropriate’; In a letter to lawmakers, the bank said its CEO was unaware of the mortgage loan when he met Jared Kushner last year
Telis Demos and Erica Orden – WSJ
Citigroup Inc. said in a letter sent Tuesday to lawmakers that a loan made to Kushner Cos. shortly after the bank’s chief executive met with Jared Kushner last year was “completely appropriate.”
/goo.gl/qWmp5G

McConnell Wants Hemp Removed From Controlled Substance List
WSJ
The U.S. Senate’s top leader said Monday he wants to bring hemp production back into the mainstream by removing it from the controlled substances list that now associates the crop with its cousin — marijuana.
/goo.gl/2DV5wD

Regulation

IG Group voices disappointment with severe CFD leverage restrictions outlined by ESMA
Finance Feeds
IG expects that its revenue in FY19 will be lower than that expected in FY18, mainly because of the impact of the regulatory changes in the UK and EU.
/goo.gl/YCbsUu

FCA statement on ESMA’s temporary product intervention measures applied to retail CFD and binary option products
UK FCA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has agreed a range of product intervention measures (link is external) to prohibit the provision of binary options and to restrict the provision of Contracts for Difference (CFDs) in order to protect retail investors.
/goo.gl/ggZ2S4

2018 Town Hall Webinar
NFA
To provide Members with an opportunity to ask questions of NFA’s leadership, NFA will conduct its fourth annual Town Hall webinar on Monday, April 9, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. CT/2:00 p.m. ET.
/goo.gl/LUtuZz

ESMA harmonises position calculation for trade repositories
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today published guidelines on how trade repositories (TRs) should calculate derivative positions under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
/goo.gl/KB2Hac

ESMA updates its Q&A on MiFID II commodity derivatives topics
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today updated its Questions and Answers (Q&As) on the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR) regarding commodity derivatives topics.
/goo.gl/Ld3s3M

ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has agreed on measures on the provision of contracts for differences (CFDs) and binary options to retail investors in the European Union (EU).
/goo.gl/yrBVjb

ESMA moves forward with SI tick size regime amendment; ESMA to enforce SI tick size regime and intends to address escalating market data costs imposed by exchanges highlighted by market participants.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The EU financial regulator has decided it will enforce the tick size regime on systematic internalisers (SIs) under MiFID II, despite much controversy around the subject.
/goo.gl/wBgxMr

SEBI Plans To Give Bourses More Firepower To Deal With Non-Compliance
Bloomberg
Markets regulator SEBI is planning to give exchanges the power to freeze promoter shareholdings and even delist shares of defaulting companies that failed to comply with the regulator’s listing conditions.
/goo.gl/9dZohD

Investing and Trading

Someone Somewhere Is Pushing a Big ‘Buy’ Button: Taking Stock
Arie Shapira – Bloomberg
Stock futures are seeing follow-through from yesterday’s rally, when the benchmark indices soared around three percent. The VIX is pulling back to ~20 after hitting 26 on Friday, while Facebook shares are up another ~1% after yesterday’s impressive recovery (more on this below).
/goo.gl/a2W2M7

EDF to invest EUR8bn to bolster electricity storage in renewable push
David Keohane – FT
France’s state-backed energy group EDF is planning to invest EUR8bn by 2035 to become a European market leader in electricity storage.
/goo.gl/ce96GA

UK block trading continues to rise after record trading week; Turquoise Plato and Liquidnet led major block trading venues in record week of activity in the UK.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The UK saw a record number of block trades and value traded last week with Turquoise Plato and Liquidnet leading the way, according to the latest statistics from Fidessa.
/goo.gl/vQh1ok

Institutions

Women at Credit Suisse paid 29% less than men
Pan Kwan Yuk – FT
Credit Suisse has become the latest big bank to reveal the gender pay gap at its UK operations.
/goo.gl/RAV7nG

BofA Pays U.K. Female Staff 28.7% Less Than Male Employees
Gavin Finch, David Hellier – Bloomberg
Gap widens to 57.9% for bonuses, according to pay report; That compares with a national average gender gap of 18%
Bank of America Corp. pays female staff in Britain 28.7 percent less on average than male employees, according to a report released Tuesday.
/goo.gl/wQBJRe

Deutsche Bank seeks to replace CEO with Goldman executive -report
Reuters Staff
Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) is seeking to replace Chief Executive John Cryan amid an intensified boardroom row over the bank’s future and alarm at its performance, the Times newspaper reported on Monday.
/goo.gl/uDNFU1

Oil’s Seven Sisters Enter a ‘Golden Age’, Goldman Sachs Says
Kelly Gilblom – Bloomberg
Big Oil’s weight in equity indices to rise from 50-year low; Cost cuts, recovering oil prices put companies in a sweet spot
The world’s largest oil companies have survived a life-changing crisis, and are now poised to reap the rewards, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
/goo.gl/HBYZ1k

Regions

City of London to set up ‘green’ finance centre to help build Xi’s dream city
South China Morning Post
The City of London has set up a “green finance centre” with a Chinese partner to fund sustainable development projects, and the first beneficiary may be Xiongan, a district earmarked by President Xi Jinping as the site for a massive new city in northern China. The move comes as London’s financial district tries to increase its business links with China and expand overseas markets ahead of Britain leaving the European Union. The centre will work with the China Green Finance…
/goo.gl/TocA6G

Brexit

Brexit Referendum Campaign Accused of Breaking Spending Rules
Robert Hutton, Hugo Miller – Bloomberg
Campaigners for Brexit may have conspired to break spending limits in the U.K.’s 2016 referendum on European Union membership, according to allegations by a whistle-blower who worked for one of the Leave groups.
/goo.gl/pPdz1H

The post What the World’s Governments Are Saying About Cryptocurrencies appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Chris White and Viable Markets have invited me to participate in their Crypto Evolved – The Innovator’s Conference. The conference will look at “As Wall Street Meets Silicon Valley, Who Will Dominate the New Crypto Currency Frontier?” The conference will be held on June 27 at the New York Athletic Club.~JJL

Kelly Loeffler is leaving her role as head of communications for ICE – did you know she is co-owner of Atlanta’s WNBA team, the Dream? ~SD

A big thank you to Kelly Loeffler for her service to ICE and the industry. I have known her since 2002 and have always been impressed with the way she handled herself and her job. She is in the model of the FIA’s Mary Ann Burns, someone who will need to be replaced by three or more people. Thank you, Kelly!~JJL

Cinnober has promoted Hans Sjöberg, as chief technology officer (CTO) and Taraneh Derayati as head of sales. Sjöberg succeeds one of Cinnober’s founders Peter Lenti and Derayati succeeds Ulf Axman. Veronica Augustsson continues to transform her team and the company.~JK

The STA is holding a symposium in conjunction with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business called “Equity Market Structure: At the heart of our nation’s economy.” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton is the headliner. Other featured guests include Cboe’s Chris Concannon, Virtu’s Doug Cifu, and Robert Cook, president of FINRA. You can register for the April 10 event here.~SD

Have you signed up for FinTech Chicago 2018 yet. You can save $100 if you register now.~JJL

++++

Bringing Crypto To The In(stitutional) Crowd – Rick Lane, Trading Technologies

JohnLothianNews.com

Rick Lane, CEO of Trading Technologies, hits the nail on the head when he says that you can’t walk the halls of a conference like FIA Boca and not hear murmurs of “crypto” just about everywhere you go.

In this third video of JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Lane talks more about TT’s work with GDAX in the cryptocurrency space and the necessity for industry service providers to harness the copious amounts of data they love to talk about.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Goldman computer model warns bear market is near but the firm’s analysts don’t believe it
Fred Imbert – CNBC
Goldman Sachs’ bull/bear indicator is sitting above 70 percent.That level is “normally associated with high risks for equity investors,” Goldman strategists say.
However, the strategists are telling investors not to worry. They note that the indicator’s high level is mainly due to the low unemployment rate and strong economic growth momentum rather than rising rates or strong core inflation.
/goo.gl/P7xoDb

****Definitely worthy of The Onion. This would be good fodder for a @GSElevator tweet (if that account were still as active as it used to be…).~SD

++++

Tuesday’s Top Three
Our top read stories from Tuesday were led by Crain’s annual survey Chicago’s Best Places to Work finalists in 2018 which included Trading Technologies, TopstepTrader and Belvedere Trading. Second went to JLN’s interview with Julie Winkler, in 2017’s Low Volatility Was Not a Problem – Julie Winkler, CME. And yes, everyone wants to know what the neighbor’s home looks like inside. Taking the number three spot was ABN AMRO Clearing Offices – Chicago

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,609,477 pages viewed; 23,053 pages; 212,176 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Marketing and Communications Leadership as Kelly Loeffler Prepares to Depart at the End of 2018
ICE Press Release
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., announced today that Kelly Loeffler, the company’s longtime head of communications, marketing and investor relations, will depart at the end of 2018, concluding 16 years with the company. In preparation, ICE has added three senior executives, Warren Gardiner, Josh King and Russ Rubino, to lead the company’s investor relations, communications and marketing functions.
/goo.gl/M7wfS7

Chicago’s CME eyes pole position in biggest bond market; Deal for UK’s Nex Group would bring together cash and futures trading in US sovereign debt
Philip Stafford – FT
Shake-ups are rare in the world’s largest government bond market. But a successful bid from Chicago’s CME for London’s Nex Group could herald the biggest change in the trading of US government debt in a decade.
/goo.gl/omXGjp

Stu Taylor is out as CEO of the bond-trading startup Algomi
Matt Turner – Business Insider
Stu Taylor, the CEO of the hyped bond-trading startup Algomi, has left the firm.
The firm runs the Honeycomb Network, a platform that lets investors see which dealer is best placed to make corporate bond trades happen. The firm told Business Insider last year it had 250 buy-side firms on the platform, along with 20 banks.
/read.bi/2GjiSDZ

Libor’s Rise Accelerates, Squeezing Short-Term Borrowers
Ben Eisen and Chelsey Dulaney – WSJ
Companies are paying the most in nearly a decade for some types of short-term borrowing, the latest threat to a long-running U.S. economic expansion and increasingly volatile markets.
The three-month London interbank offered rate climbed to 2.29% in the U.S. on Monday, its highest since November 2008. Libor measures the cost for banks to lend to one another and is used to set interest rates on roughly $200 trillion in dollar-based financial contracts globally, from corporate loans to home mortgages.
/on.wsj.com/2E1YHZl

Brussels to propose EUR56bn raid on ECB profits
Mehreen Khan and Jim Brunsden – Financial Times
Brussels is considering a EUR56bn raid on European Central Bank profits to plug a hole in the EU’s long-term budget after Brexit.
The European Commission will discuss the plan at its weekly meeting on Wednesday, where it is due to consider a range of new revenue sources as it tries to maintain its financial firepower once the EU’s second-biggest net budget contributor leaves the bloc in 2019.
/on.ft.com/2DZGbks

City investment banks reveal gender pay gap data
Laura Noonan – Financial Times
Four of the City’s top investment banks on Tuesday revealed that they pay women median salaries of 28.9 per cent to 35.2 per cent less than their male colleagues, while women’s median bonuses are between 55.6 per cent and 67.1 per cent lower. The disclosures by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse complete the reports by the top 10 investment banks under a requirement for UK companies with more than 250 staff to publish the data.
/on.ft.com/2E1eGXT

****From Reuters – Thomson Reuters reports UK gender pay gap of 16.95 percent, big bonus gap

US Futures Self-Regulator Reminds Members to Report Crypto Activities
Wolfie Zhao – Coindesk
A U.S. futures industry self-regulatory organization (SRO) said Tuesday that members working with cryptocurrencies or related derivatives products need to register that activity.
The U.S. National Futures Association (NFA) issued the reminder to commodity pool operators (CPOs), commodity trading advisors (CTAs) and introducing brokers (IBs) after sending twin notices on the subject late last year. Those notices came as several companies in the U.S. moved to launch bitcoin futures trading in December.
/goo.gl/N9yj33

Fed’s Bostic sympathetic to adopting price-level targeting
Ann Saphir – Reuters
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, waded into a potentially contentious debate at the U.S. central bank on Tuesday over whether to replace its 2 percent inflation target, saying he favors a new and nearly untested monetary policy strategy known as price-level targeting.
/goo.gl/EWhS1V

IG Group lashes out at ‘disproportionate’ new rules while shares sink
Hannah Murphy – Financial Times
Shares in IG Group, have taken a heavy blow after Europe’s largest online derivatives trading platform downgraded its outlook on the back of tough new European restrictions on the sector.
The European Securities and Markets Authority laid out new rules on Tuesday to limit the extent to which retail punters can pump up their bets on financial markets using so-called “contracts for difference” products.
/on.ft.com/2E2hvrl

Whistle-Blower Says Brexit Vote Could Have Gone Other Way
Nate Lanxon – Bloomberg
Whistle-blower Christopher Wylie told lawmakers that the Brexit referendum could have gone the other way if rules hadn’t been broken during the campaign.
“I think it is completely reasonable to say that there could’ve been a different outcome in the referendum if there hadn’t been, in my view, cheating,” said Wylie, a former contractor at Cambridge Analytica who is now at the heart of the Facebook scandal.
/bloom.bg/2E1O9tg

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Fixed Income Highlights – March 2018 edition
Eurex
It has been a relatively robust period for European fixed income markets and the wider markets in general. Eurex has seen a pickup in volatility across the board and volumes in our benchmark products remain strong, together with good performance in our Italian BTP futures and options. There have been further dislocations in correlation across rates, commodities, FX and equities, which have helped to underpin momentum in volumes.
/goo.gl/4ZVcfC

Editorial changes in the rulebooks of Eurex Deutschland, effective 2 April 2018
Eurex
In agreement with the Swiss supervisory authority FINMA, Eurex Zürich AG will discontinue the operation of its derivatives trading venue Eurex Zürich by 31 March 2018. Trading at Eurex Deutschland will continue unchanged according to the existing rulebook. It will have no effect on the admission of Trading Participants at Eurex Deutschland.
/goo.gl/w6oxun

STOXX launches new multi-dimensional product offering; State-of-the-art technology for white label indices for the broader market
Deutsche Boerse Group
STOXX Ltd., operator of the index business of Deutsche Börse Group and global provider of innovative and tradable index concepts, launches a new multi-dimensional product offering for high-speed solutions. First, the proven index calculation service will be opened to the wider market to meet growing demand. In addition, the new index brand Omnient – www.omnient.com – offers tailor-made indices based on the existing index universe.
/goo.gl/BEiLuh

Adjustment of PICC P&C Structured Products, Futures and Options
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has announced the arrangements for the adjustment to PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (PICC P&C) structured products, futures and options to account for PICC P&C’s proposed capitalisation issue.
/goo.gl/KrKBWu

Nasdaq Announces 16% Increase in Quarterly Dividend to $0.44 Per Share
GlobeNewswire
The Board of Directors of Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share on the company’s outstanding common stock, an increase of 16% from the $0.38 per share quarterly dividend.
/goo.gl/GDTaii

SGX consults public on proposed safeguards for dual class share listings
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is seeking market feedback on proposed safeguards to address expropriation and entrenchment risks of dual class shares (DCS) following broad support for the structure in an earlier public consultation.
/goo.gl/qubFAe

SGX welcomes Sasseur REIT to Mainboard
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today welcomed Sasseur REIT to its Mainboard under the stock code “CRPU”.
/goo.gl/4AgnCu

Exchanges to introduce shared co-location facilities to reduce cost: Tyagi
Business Standard
Sebi to reduce additional expenses charged on mutual funds; Sebi plans to amend takeover regulations, permit additional time for entities to increase open offer price
/goo.gl/UhZbaq

Fintech

Wall Street rethinks blockchain projects as euphoria meets reality
Anna Irrera, John McCrank – Reuters
Wall Street has been much more excited about the system underpinning bitcoin than the cryptocurrency itself, but the global financial industry has not yet been able to do much with the technology known as blockchain.
/reut.rs/2IXCteT

Redline Trading Solutions Enables Low-Latency FX Trading on Cboe FX and Cboe SEF
PRWeb
Redline Trading Solutions, the premier provider of high-performance market data and order execution systems for automated trading, today announced support for outright deliverable foreign exchange (FX) forwards traded on Cboe FX Markets and non-deliverable FX forwards (NDFs) executed on Cboe SEF, the foreign exchange venues owned and operated by Cboe Global Markets.
/goo.gl/d756hQ

INDATA to Offer Post-trade Capabilities with ULLINK
ITIVITI
Embedded ULLINK technology will optimise post-trade workflows for INDATA iPM OMS clients.
ULLINK, a global provider of electronic trading and connectivity solutions to the financial community, and INDATA, a leading provider software technology and services for buy-side firms including trade order management, compliance and portfolio accounting software and front-to-back office services, today announced the extension of their partnership to cover post-trade services for INDATA’s clients.
/goo.gl/hhZBCj

Options Offers Real-Time Multicast Gap Detection For All US Market Data Feeds
Options
Options, the leading provider of global market data and colocation services for trading firms, has today announced the deployment of real-time multicast gap detection as part of its Managed Colocation offering.
bit.ly/2Ggiuds

Trading software threatens to become next Mifid II cost battle; Now that research costs have been unbundled from trading commissions, some are warily eyeing trading software as the next potential inducement to be regulated
By Samuel Agini – Financial News
After driving a sea change in how brokers charge for their investment research, the next target for regulators seeking to stamp out potential inducements could be the sophisticated technology that powers fund managers’ share trading desks.
/goo.gl/nqd1ce

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency Market Falls Below $300 Billion, as Bitcoin Declines
CCN
Over the past week, the cryptocurrency market and bitcoin have consistently been volatile in the $300 billion region, moving up and down within the range of $280 billion and $350 billion. The market has operated within this boundary throughout March.
bit.ly/2E1jI6J

This 11-year-old knows way more about cryptocurrency than you
Aaron Hankin – MarketWatch
Call him the crypto kid. George Weiksner, an 11-year-old, just launched his own ICO, in between doing his homework, regular kid stuff and bedtime.
An ICO, or initial coin offering, is a method of fundraising that seeks to garner capital by selling tokens, or virtual coins, in exchange for a particular cryptocurrency.
/on.mktw.net/2E261UJ

Hyperledger Tech Heats Up Ahead of Blockchain Software Debuts
Coindesk
Just six minutes.
That’s how long Hyperledger executive director Brian Behlendorf had to get former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet up to speed on blockchain. Spurred by a special request from the nation’s lawmakers, Behlendorf was one of multiple blockchain experts called to the country to talk about the merits of the technology and the ways in which it could modernize the copper-rich nation’s mining supply chain.
bit.ly/2GeyvRk

Blockchain Tops 2017 Fintech Enquiries, Says Swiss Finance Regulator
Coindesk
In its annual report for 2017, published Tuesday, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said that, out of the 453 fintech enquiries it received last year, 60 percent of them (271 cases) were focused on blockchain, cryptocurrency, ICOs and smart contract applications.
bit.ly/2GfEDZH

Companies clamp down on crypto ads as regulators play catch-up
Tommy Wilkes, Fanny Potkin – Reuters
A growing number of internet companies are banning cryptocurrency advertising, fearing reputational damage if their users are duped or left penniless, even as regulators struggle to get to grips with the fast-emerging industry.
/goo.gl/ShMCrZ

Blockchain Funding Center Scrapped Over China Regulation Concerns
Coindesk
The Investment Association of China (IAC) has scrapped a previously reported plan to launch a funding center to boost blockchain development in the country. In an announcement Tuesday, the IAC, a government-led social organization that facilities major domestic investment projects, explained that the administrative structure of the new initiative may be in conflict with code currently enforced by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.
bit.ly/2GcfO0u

Politics

Trump’s Tariffs Trigger Global Chain Reaction to Halt Imports
Ana Swanson, Alan Rappeport and Ian Austen – NY Times
The Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs are provoking a chain reaction around the globe, as governments from Europe to Canada prepare to erect barriers to prevent cheap metal once bound for the United States from entering their markets.
/nyti.ms/2J1ffEK

Russia and the west’s moral bankruptcy; Vladimir Putin’s wealth extraction machine could not operate without our connivance
Edward Luce – FT
It is often said that Russia is a competitor to western democracy. But that is misleading. The country is run for the benefit of Vladimir Putin and his oligarchic circle. Its regime is a model only to other budding kleptocrats.
/goo.gl/Gu3qSG

Regulation

SEC Charges Recidivist Broker-Dealer In Employee’s Long-Running Pump-And-Dump Fraud
Mondovisione
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Wedbush Securities Inc. for failing to supervise employee Timary Delorme after the broker-dealer ignored numerous red flags indicating that Delorme was involved in a long-running pump-and-dump scheme targeting retail investors. Delorme agreed to settle fraud charges stemming from the same scheme. This is the second SEC action against Wedbush this year and the third since 2014.
/goo.gl/5yJdD9

Chinese ex-fund manager must face U.S. SEC’s insider trading claims: judge
Brendan Pierson – Reuters
A former Chinese investment fund manager has lost a bid to dismiss charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he made $36 million from insider trading after being tipped about DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc’s acquisition by Comcast Corp and Lattice Semiconductor Corp’s planned acquisition by a private equity fund.
/goo.gl/ggmxNG

India markets regulator to take steps to make algo trading cheaper
Zeba Siddiqui, Abhirup Roy – Reuters
India’s market regulator said on Wednesday it will take steps to make algorithmic trading cheaper for investors, even as it called for stricter monitoring of such trades amid concern about fair access to markets.
/goo.gl/bkQqAF

Europe regulators back tough rules for spread-betters
Hannah Murphy – Financial Times
Europe’s markets watchdog has firmed up tough new rules to restrict online trading platforms that offer risky speculative products to retail investors. The rules come despite frantic lobbying from the industry, in a blow that is set to knock its profitability.
/on.ft.com/2DZdLa5

FCA examines whether Aviva shares plan broke market abuse rules; Insurer dropped scheme to cancel £450m of preference shares after outcry from investors
Oliver Ralph, Insurance Correspondent – FT
The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into whether Aviva’s controversial plan to cancel £450m of preference shares broke market abuse rules.
/goo.gl/sQvgGo

ESMA finalises guidelines on how to report internalised settlement
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published today its final guidelines on how to report internalised settlement under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR).
/goo.gl/2BdTMt

ESMA adds new Q&A on profit forecasts
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today updated its Questions and Answers document on prospectus related issues to include a new Q&A on profit forecasts.
/goo.gl/DRDPmQ

ESMA updates its MiFID II Q&As on market structures and transparency topics
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today updated its Questions and Answers regarding transparency and market structures issues under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR).
/goo.gl/gNrA65

Don’t Get Fooled by Fraud This April Fool’s Day
FINRA STAFF
What’s your favorite April Fool’s Day prank? Sneaking a whoopie cushion on someone’s seat? Dropping a fake spider on your co-worker’s sandwich? With Easter and Passover in the mix this year, perhaps engaging in some sort of holiday hijinks?
/goo.gl/ZfNrjG

Reminder to update annual questionnaire regarding virtual currencies
NFA
On December 14, 2017, NFA issued Notices I-17-28 and I-17-29 requiring commodity pool operators (CPO) and commodity trading advisors (CTA) that execute transactions involving virtual currencies or virtual currency derivatives and introducing brokers (IB) that solicit or accept orders in virtual currency derivatives to immediately notify NFA by amending the firm-level section of the annual questionnaire. NFA reminds CPOs, CTAs and IBs that this is an ongoing obligation.
/goo.gl/1HBscv

Investing and Trading

FANG Stocks Tumble 6% in Unprecedented Selloff
Lu Wang and Sarah Ponczek – Bloomberg
About $180 billion erased from combined market value; Slew of bad news hit stocks whose gain looked like bubble
The market’s darlings just suffered their worst day in at least three years.
/bloom.bg/2IXyz5K

We All Love Wind Power, Unless You Want to Make Money; Why are turbine manufacturers doing so badly?
Chris Bryant – Bloomberg
Climate change will have some very unpleasant consequences, unless we cut our dependence on fossil power. Generating electricity from the wind is clean and increasingly cheap. So it’s ascent looks assured, whatever ornithologists and President Donald Trump might think.
/goo.gl/Uxd9pU

An Opaque $3.5 Billion Business Gives Wall Street a Hangover
Donal Griffin – Bloomberg
Banks scrutinize equity derivatives units after surprise loss; ‘Equity financing is not a riskless business,’ says one banker
The implosion of a company with ties to South Africa’s wine country has caused a hangover for one of Wall Street’s most opaque businesses.
/goo.gl/zdFJU4

Libor’s Ascent Is New Culprit for Hedged Treasury Yields Near 0%
Brian Chappatta – Bloomberg
For euro-, yen-based buyers, cost to shield FX swings rises; But one big change: the cross-currency basis is not to blame
A phenomenon rippling through global funding markets is poised to keep overseas investors wary of Treasuries just as the U.S. needs them most.
/goo.gl/89LXw8

What Actively Managed Funds Can Learn From Vacuum Cleaners; Janus Henderson Group Co-Chief Executive Andrew Formica, with blue tie in the front
Mike Cherney – WSJ
As investors increasingly turn to low-fee, so-called passive funds that track an index, one leader of a global fund company says actively managed funds should learn from a company that makes vacuum cleaners.
/goo.gl/kM7Wgr

MiFID II tick size regime sees increase in certain transaction costs; The French financial regulator has found MiFID II’s tick size regime has widened the spread on certain transactions and impacted HFT market makers.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The cost of small transactions on some of the most liquid securities has slightly increased following the implementation of MiFID II’s tick size regime, according the French financial regulator.
/goo.gl/WkArXT

Major banks and Goldman Sachs Asset Management adopt MiFID II compliance engine; GSAM, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and UBS among firms to adopt regulatory digitisation platform.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Six major global banks have signed up to a digitised MiFID II trade compliance engine alongside Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), the platform’s first buy-side user.
/goo.gl/bZN8jw

Institutions

The Disarray at the Top of Deutsche Bank
Steven Arons – Bloomberg
The silence all day spoke volumes about the disarray at the top of Deutsche Bank AG, say insiders and shareholders.
No one at the bank — from spokespeople to the highest-ranking executives — commented publicly on a string of media reports and investor speculation on Tuesday that either Chairman Paul Achleitner or Chief Executive Officer John Cryan, or both, was on his way out.
/bloom.bg/2E2m98O

Deutsche Bank, in search of new CEO, asked Goldman’s Gnodde
CNBC
Deutsche Bank approached Goldman Sachs international chief Richard Gnodde to ask if he would be interested in taking the helm of the German lender, but the executive turned it down, according to a source close to him.
/cnb.cx/2GfniA2

Free Brokerage Robinhood Is Now Available On The Web
Karl Kaufman – Forbes
Robinhood, one of my top investing apps for 2018, has gotten even better.
The formerly mobile-only trading platform has now expanded, opening Robinhood Web to the public after first announcing it in November.
The web interface adds more robust statistics and research than the mobile app, but is still skimpy compared to traditional online discount brokerages like e*Trade or Fidelity. The price to make a trade, however, hasn’t budged — commission-free trades remain in place.
bit.ly/2IWy9N3

Cyberattacks Hit Debt-Market Pricing at the Biggest Nordic Bank
Frances Schwatzkopff – Bloomberg
Nordea is designing corporate products to reflect cyber risks; Development comes as data protection dominates world headlines
Nordea Bank AB will start pricing debt products to reflect threats to data as the scandal engulfing Facebook Inc. redefines corporate risk.
/goo.gl/yKtUET

Regions

Investors in Japan need pinpoint accuracy
Geoffrey Post – Financial Times
Japan was one of the standout performers of 2017, ending the year up by nearly a fifth. This surprised many investors, some of whom have avoided the country for years, thinking it something of a basket case.
Today, though, particularly in the light of global market volatility, many wonder whether this impressive run was a one-off or sustainable in the medium to long term.
/on.ft.com/2E2k90i

Goldman hikes yuan exchange rate forecasts, cites U.S. trade ties
Reuters Staff
Goldman Sachs has upped its 12-month yuan/dollar exchange rate forecast to 6.20 yuan from 6.45 previously, predicting that trade relations with the United States would limit China’s ability to weaken its currency.
/goo.gl/YxgAT2

Governance concerns mount over exchange plans to win listings
Emma Dunkley – Financial Times
Governance experts are raising concerns over the quality of companies poised to list in Asia as stock exchanges push ahead with major reforms to attract blockbuster listings and boost their businesses.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and mainland China’s Shenzhen and Shanghai exchanges are pursuing efforts to entice a wider array of companies, such as technology and biotech firms, to list on their markets.
/on.ft.com/2E2kIY6

EU Plans Fairer Currency Conversions for Consumers
Alexander Weber – Bloomberg
The European Commission proposes to bring down costs for cross-border euro payments within the EU and to make currency conversions fairer for consumers.
/goo.gl/znpDVA

Kazakhstan’s central bank launches securities trading app
Reuters
Kazakhstan’s central bank has launched a blockchain-based mobile securities trading application which it hopes will allow locals to become more involved in the capital markets by simplifying access to it.
/goo.gl/kGEByh

China Says Anbang’s Founder Defrauded Investors of $10 Billion
Sui-Lee Wee – NY Times
China accused the deal maker who bought the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York of bilking investors of more than $10 billion, prompting him to issue a rare denial of guilt on Wednesday in a country where the courts almost always convict.
/goo.gl/fLvNjM

Brexit

Portrait of Brexit Britain: A Divided Nation; Makes a Journey Into the Unknown
Bloomberg
A year before Britain is supposed to formally break away from its nearest neighbors in continental Europe, divisions have only hardened over going it alone.
/goo.gl/SXqpae

Frankfurt Is the Big Winner in Battle for Brexit Bankers
Gavin Finch, Hayley Warren and Tim Coulter – Bloomberg
Frankfurt has emerged as the biggest winner in the fight for thousands of London-based jobs that will have to be relocated to new hubs inside the European Union after Brexit.
/goo.gl/KkPE2F

Brexit Transition Means Business as Usual for Banks, BOE Says
Silla Brush – Bloomberg
U.K. authorization only needed by end of transition: regulator; BOE statement follows EU summit agreement on 21-month bridge
The Bank of England sought to reassure banks and insurers that they can rely on a transition period to ease their adjustment to Brexit, even though the 21-month bridge deal with the European Union isn’t final.
/goo.gl/kZQTHv

The post Intercontinental Exchange Announces Marketing and Communications Leadership as Kelly Loeffler Prepares to Depart appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

The MarketsWiki Education World of Opportunity series dates are set for Chicago and New York. This is the 6th year of the series that began in 2013 in Chicago.

The New York events will again be held at Nasdaq at the Marketsite in Times Square. Nasdaq will again be an event sponsor.

The Chicago series will be held on July 30, 31 and August 2. The first two days will be at the Stuart School of Business at Illinois Tech. The last day will be in the offices of Trading Technologies. Both IT and TT will again be event sponsors for the series.

We are beginning work on signing up speakers for the events. Suggestions or volunteers are welcome. Email me at johnlothian@johnlothian.com

We are working on plans for London events in early October, though no date has been set.

Sign up for the Chicago and New York events will open up on June 1, 2018.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the events or series, please contact me.~JJL

The FIA has published a fantastic summary and review of the FIA Boca 2018 International Futures Industry Conference.~JJL

Epsilon Economics announced the expansion of their financial markets expertise with the addition of Managing Director David Marshall, formerly of the Chicago Fed.~JJL

ESMA’s website is down today for service.~JJL

PwC has issued “A primer on the regulation of the trading in cryptocurrencies and the asset management related to cryptocurrencies in Switzerland.”~JJL

HKEX’s USD/CNH Futures contract set a new record last night during the after-hours session, with volume reaching 6,049 contracts (US$605 million in notional value) on 28 March. Total average daily volume in day and night sessions combined is up 78% in Q1 compared to Q1 2017. HKEX via Twitter.~JJL

Gary DeWaal shared this video on LinkedIn with the line “Finally, a simple explanation of Bitcoin.” Funny, but with some rude language about the attempt to make the first gold based transaction.~JJL

It has been eight years since Pat Kenny was traded from Patsystems to CQG for a case of Dos Equis. Congratulations to the Most Interesting Man in the World on his CQG anniversary.~JJL

++++

So You Have A Token, Now What? OpenFinance Network Aims To Offer Trading, Clearing And Settlement All On the Blockchain
Jim Kharouf – JLN
For those who believe that blockchain for markets is years away, there are some examples that are here and now.
OpenFinance Network launched a blockchain-based clearing and settlement platform this month aimed at token-based securities in the alternative investment space. What OFN is aiming for is to improve the trading, clearing and settlement for alternative assets that are clunky, fragmented, opaque and frustratingly slow for transactions.
/goo.gl/NH7gMU

++++

CME Group to Acquire NEX Group plc, Bringing Together Cash, Futures and OTC Marketplaces
CME Group
CME Group Inc. and NEX Group plc today announced that they have reached an agreement in which CME Group will acquire NEX in a transaction valued at £10 per share, consisting of 500 pence in cash and 0.0444 CME Group shares. The proposed transaction has been approved unanimously by the board of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second half of 2018.
/goo.gl/6gS8bn

**** The good news for the CME Group.~JJL

++++

CME plans hundreds of job cuts after £3.8bn NEX takeover
Samuel Agini – Financial News
City veteran Michael Spencer will join the board of CME Group after agreeing to sell NEX Group, his financial trading company, to the US derivatives giant — but hundreds of jobs will be cut if the deal goes through.
/goo.gl/PJztMK

***** The bad news for the NEX employees.~JJL

++++

Stability Down Under – Peter Hiom, ASX

JohnLothianNews.com

While Peter Hiom, deputy CEO of ASX, describes his markets and the region in general as relatively stable, that does not mean that ASX has been idle.

In this fourth video of JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Hiom talks about ASX’s successful launch of its new futures trading platform, the slowing winds of regulatory change, the hope for a real yield curve, and the exchange’s progress in developing a blockchain reconciliation platform to ease the administrative burdens on clients.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

The Big Interview: Larry Tabb; TABB Group founder and research chairman, Larry Tabb, gives his view on the future of the buy-side, how MiFID III could come about and the rise of cryptocurrencies.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Hayley McDowell: What will be the impact of MiFID II market structure rules?
/goo.gl/fKQsKc

***** We did a “BIG” video interview with Larry Tabb back in 2011.

++++

Hackers who stole EUR1 billion allegedly laundered the profits with crypto
John Detrixhe – Quartz
Government watchdogs are wary of bitcoin being used for illicit purposes, and now they have an example that seems ready for a Hollywood script: According to Europol, a cyber gang that stole more than EUR1 billion ($1.2 billion) from more than 100 financial institutions in 40 countries used crypto assets to cover their tracks.
/goo.gl/yV2uXZ

***** I predict this is just the tip of the iceberg for stories like this.~JJL

++++

Wednesday’s Top Three
Our top two pieces yesterday were led by Kelly Loeffler in Marketswiki and the ICE announcement Intercontinental Exchange Announces Marketing and Communications Leadership as Kelly Loeffler Prepares to Depart at the End of 2018. Third went to the Financial Times’ Chicago’s CME eyes pole position in biggest bond market

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,638,929 pages viewed; 23,055 pages; 212,203 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

CME Group Seals Deal to Buy U.K.’s NEX for $5.4 Billion; Agreement puts Chicago exchange firm in a powerful position in the U.S. debt market
Alexander Osipovich – WSJ
CME has agreed to buy U.K. financial-technology company NEX Group NXG -0.10% PLC for about $5.4 billion, a deal that would put the Chicago futures-exchange giant in a commanding position in the vast market for U.S. government debt.
/goo.gl/v7c4Le

‘Cryptodad’ Regulator Catches Some Twitter Heat; CFTC chief J. Christopher Giancarlo, beloved by the crypto crowd, is learning the pitfalls of Twitter fame.
Robert Schmidt, Benjamin Bain – Bloomberg
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has blown up on Twitter recently, gaining tens of thousands of followers almost overnight after enthusiastically testifying in February to Congress about digital currencies. The balding, bespectacled 58-year-old regulator now has 49,000 Twitter followers and is regularly lauded in memes that call him “Bitcoin Jesus” and “one of us! one of us!” He’s even embraced the slightly dorky hashtag given to him by the Bitcoin masses: #cryptodad.
/goo.gl/1Z3KPJ

Amazon Loses $53 Billion in Market Value, Becoming FAANG’s Biggest Loser
Elena Popina, Kamaron Leach – Bloomberg
Amazon sinks after report that Trump is ‘obsessed’ with firm; Facebook had underperformed the FAANG companies for weeks. Move over, Facebook. U.S. investors have a new punching bag among the FAANGs: Amazon.com, Inc.
/goo.gl/Tn1rxa

How a Billionaire Crypto King Built the No. 1 Exchange in Just 8 Months
Justina Lee, Yuji Nakamur, Benjamin Robertson – Bloomberg
Zhao Changpeng turned Binance into the largest crypto exchange; Global regulators are now cracking down on the industry. Even in a cryptocurrency industry teeming with overnight success stories, Zhao Changpeng stands out.
/goo.gl/cFRvoP

Exclusive: OPEC, Russia consider 10- to 20-year oil alliance
Richard Mably, Yara Bayoumy – Reuters
Saudi Arabia and Russia are working on a historic long-term pact that could extend controls over world crude supplies by major exporters for many years.
/reut.rs/2uxJpfk

****Missed this yesterday.

Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan Says He Is ‘Absolutely Committed’ to Serving Bank
Jenny Strasburg – WSJ
Deutsche Bank AG’s chief executive, John Cryan, told employees Wednesday he is “absolutely committed” to serving the bank, in a memo posted to the lender’s public website a day after reports that its chairman has sounded out potential CEO candidates from outside the bank.
/goo.gl/8JJmDJ

The IRS Is Auditing a Lot Fewer Americans; Percentage of individual tax audits falls to lowest level since 2002
Laura Saunders – WSJ
The percentage of individuals receiving tax audits declined for the sixth consecutive year in 2017 to reach the lowest level since 2002, further showing the effect of budget cuts at the Internal Revenue Service.
/goo.gl/Vc1gtD

5 Questions with Denise Shull, MA
Brian Mehta – Trading Technologies
I had a chance to hear Denise Shull on an episode of Futures Radio Show and was fascinated by her story and her job working with traders. So we decided to get with her one-on-one.
As a decision coach and performance architect, Denise leverages her training in psychological science to solve the challenges of mental mistakes, confidence crises and slumps in Olympic athletes and Wall Street traders. Denise is known for her uncanny effectiveness in coaching, training and assessing for the X factor of human performance under pressure.
/goo.gl/X9qj6u

How to make a carbon pricing system work; Compensation for those who lose out and sanctions on non-compliance are needed
Martin Wolf – FT
Carbon pricing is a good idea whose time has not yet come. But it has to do so. The world committed itself to keeping average temperatures at less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels and ideally to less than 1.5°C at the Paris climate conference in December 2015. If it is to achieve this goal, it will find the price mechanism the most powerful weapon in its arsenal.
/goo.gl/7JJdFB

Regulators step up efforts to safeguard City of London’s status; Move offers passporting rights to EU firms during Brexit transition period
Caroline Binham in London – FT
UK authorities have intensified their efforts to maintain London’s status as a global financial centre by saying European investment banks can continue to operate much as they currently do until the end of the Brexit transition period.
/goo.gl/7s6qdC

Straits Financial brokers the inaugural trade in China’s INE Crude Oil Futures
Straits Financial
Shanghai International Energy Exchange (“INE”) today launched Crude Oil Futures contract opening up access to international participants. The INE enables Chinese buyers to lock in oil prices and to pay for it in Renminbi.
/goo.gl/YG2cGr

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Turner to replace MacGregor at LME amid more departures
Louisa Chender – Global Investor Group
Andrew Dodsworth and Helen Davies exit the exchange in the latest of LME’s senior moves
bit.ly/2IYsfea

CME and NEX Group agree £3.9 billion acquisition; CME and NEX Group reach agreement on acquisition which is expected to close in the second half of this year.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
US futures exchange operator CME and UK FinTech powerhouse NEX Group have reached an agreement which will see CME acquire NEX for £3.9 billion.
/goo.gl/pFJNTk

CME to shake up bond and forex markets after buying Nex Group; Chief executive Michael Spencer to net £670m from the sale
Philip Stafford in London – FT
CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, has agreed to buy Michael Spencer’s Nex Group for £3.9bn in a deal that heralds a shake-up in the world’s bond and foreign exchange markets.
/goo.gl/Ahz4FY

CME to Buy Spencer’s NEX to Create Trading Venue Behemoth
Will Hadfield, Viren Vaghela – Bloomberg
Deal values NEX at $5.5 billion with 50 percent cash component; Door still open for higher bids to come in: Liberum Capital. CME Group Inc. agreed to buy Michael Spencer’s NEX Group Plc in a transatlantic deal that creates a trading venues giant spanning futures to Treasuries and foreign exchange.
/goo.gl/roNTqV

Exchange operator CME Group to buy Britain’s NEX for $5.5 billion
Noor Zainab Hussain, Sinead Cruise – Reuters
U.S. exchange operator CME Group has made a $5.5 billion offer to buy NEX Group to create a cross-border powerhouse for investors trading in the multi-trillion dollar foreign exchange and government debt markets.
/goo.gl/Ysysn1

The Electronic Warehouse Receipts System for the Commodities Markets of Tomorrow
Hirander Misra, GMEX – TABB Forum
Commodities markets have always presented market operators with a unique set of challenges. One of these is how to build an effective electronic warehouse receipts system (eWRS). Many large operators have historically taken a ‘top-down’ approach to commodity market development, starting by implementing a state-of-the-art trading platform and then adding warehousing, eWRS and trade finance almost as an afterthought. But that’s a seriously flawed approach.
/goo.gl/MDsbyD

NZX Limited Employee Share Plan – Team And Results
MondoVisione
NZX Limited (NZX) advises of the conversion and subsequent quotation of 214,625 NZX employee restricted shares into NZX fully paid ordinary shares pursuant to the terms of the NZX Limited Employee Share Plan – Team and Results.
/goo.gl/PBv1aU

HKFE Announces Revised Margins For Futures Contracts
Mondovisione
Please be advised that pursuant to Exchange Rule 617(d) and HKCC Rule 402, the Exchange and the Clearing House have determined that with effect from the commencement of trading on Tuesday, 3 April 2018, the margin levels of the following Futures Contracts shall be as follows
/goo.gl/qLtHxH

Talks on trading link with Singapore Exchange focusing on infrastructure : Bursa Malaysia
The Sun Daily
Talks are ongoing for the establishment of a trading link between Bursa Malaysia Bhd and Singapore Exchange (SGX), with a focus on infrastructure.
/goo.gl/8uven4

European Commodity Clearing Granted Recognised Clearing House Status By Monetary Authority Of Singapore
MondoVisione
The European Commodity Clearing (ECC) has been given Recognised Clearing House (RCH) status by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This will be ECC’s first regulatory license outside of Europe, representing a key milestone for ECC and CLTX, as part of EEX Group, in their shared global growth ambitions.
/goo.gl/bhDfFE

Shanghai Stock Exchange’s 1st Social Responsibility Report Released Today
Mondovisione
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) releases its 1st social responsibility report today to make public its social responsibility strategy and practice. It is a positive practice of corresponding to the green finance action plan of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative.
/goo.gl/YeKJyU

OTC Markets Group Launches New Stock Promotion Flag; Latest Data Points Provide Increased Market Transparency and Disclosure
OTC Markets Group Inc.
OTC Markets Group Inc., operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today released a new stock promotion flag that will enable investors to easily identify securities that are the subject of current promotional activity. This new flag, which is shaped like a megaphone, will appear on the promoted company’s quote page on otcmarkets.com.
/goo.gl/D4Qgur

Argentine stock exchange and S&P sign deal to launch local indices
Daniela Sirtori-Cortina – CityWireAmercas.com
S&P Dow Jones Indices has partnered with the Argentine Stock Exchange to launch new co-branded indices for the local market, a move in line with the country’s effort to open up and deepen its financial industry.
/goo.gl/J2yJjs

Intercontinental Exchange Releases 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, today released its annual Corporate Responsibility Report. The report is a comprehensive, 59-page overview of the company’s efforts to support the communities in which it operates, invest in its people, promote principles of good governance, and uphold its commitment to environmental sustainability.
/goo.gl/2tkyWH

Fintech

FXCM Joins FastMatch’s Consolidated Central Tape for Forex Market
Finance Magnates
FXCM Group on Tuesday joined the FX Tape streaming service operated by FastMatch, the Euronext-owned foreign exchange trading venue, which offers a market data product that aims to increase transparency and help traders evaluate best execution performance.
/goo.gl/xDHMmN

Kx technology helps support research infrastructure at Citadel
Bob’s Guide
Kx Systems, a subsidiary of First Derivatives plc (FD), announces that Citadel, a global investment firm, has expanded its use of Kx technology to help support its investment research process.
/goo.gl/gBW9s7

INDATA to Offer Post-trade Capabilities with ULLINK; Embedded ULLINK technology will optimise post-trade workflows for INDATA iPM OMS clients.
Itiviti
ULLINK, a global provider of electronic trading and connectivity solutions to the financial community, and INDATA, a leading provider software technology and services for buy-side firms including trade order management, compliance and portfolio accounting software and front-to-back office services, today announced the extension of their partnership to cover post-trade services for INDATA’s clients.
/goo.gl/Ecd7GR

Cryptocurrencies

The Good and Bad of Blockchain
Rose Jacobs, Chicago Booth Review – TABB Forum
The digital ledger behind Bitcoin may be more sustainable than the cryptocurrency. But blockchains have the potential to increase collusion, according to researchers.
bit.ly/2J22hXl

Reddit Disables Bitcoin Payments
Camila Russo – Bloomberg
Early Bitcoin adopter Reddit stopped accepting payments with the largest digital currency.
/goo.gl/J8x6et

UpToken Now Available on Bittrex; Largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. adds new crypto asset to its offerings
Globe Newswire
Coinme, a venture-backed crypto financial services and blockchain technology company, today announced that UpToken is available for purchase on Bittrex, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange for traders who demand lightning fast trade execution, stable wallets and industry-best security practices. UpToken is a crypto asset that is offered as a reward to users of the Coinme crypto ATM network.
/goo.gl/KK71mh

Startup Ripple donated $29 million of its own digital currency XRP to fund public schools.
Kate Rooney – CNBC
Cryptocurrency startup Ripple donated $29 million of its own digital currency XRP to support U.S. public schools, the company announced Wednesday.
/goo.gl/d6WpwZ

Canadian Pot and Crypto Stocks Are Among Promoters Flagged by OTC
Danielle Bochove – Bloomberg
A blockchain company, a battery-metal explorer and a pot grower are among 13 Canadian companies being flagged by OTC Markets Group under a new system to warn investors about stock promotions.
/goo.gl/px15yF

Politics

Robert Mercer’s Secret Adventure as a New Mexico Cop; Why was the fabulously wealthy Trump donor wearing a badge and a gun in a tiny desert town? To obtain something that’s impossible to buy.
Zachary Mider – Bloomberg
Robert Mercer probably would have flown into Roswell. From there—1,800 miles from home—he would’ve traveled south through the high desert plains of southeast New Mexico, flat as a tortilla, past abandoned homesteads and irrigation machines moving in slow circles.
/goo.gl/SNxxJX

A Math Whiz Has Become a Crucial Political Figure in France
Helene Fouquet, Marie Mawad – Bloomberg
Villani set to unveil France’s AI strategy on Thursday; Fields Medal winner is charged with pushing math education
To hear Cedric Villani tell it, the French are better than everyone else at love, wine — and math.
/goo.gl/K2AR4Z

Regulation

FRTB – Revisions to market risk capital requirements
Amir Khwaja – Clarus FT Blog
The BCBS published a Consultative document in March 2018 with the title ‘Revisions to the minimum capital requirements for market risk” and in this article I look at the details.
/goo.gl/da63w3

FCA shuns Brussels rules in tackling money launderers; Regulator achieves bigger fines by bringing civil cases rather than criminal prosecutions
Caroline Binham in London – FT
The UK financial regulator has yet to press criminal charges against a bank for breaches of EU anti-money laundering rules that took effect 11 years ago, statistics show.
/goo.gl/o3KdxM

Broker-Dealer Admits It Failed to File SARs
SEC
Aegis Capital Corporation, a New York-based brokerage firm, has admitted that it failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) on numerous suspicious transactions.
/goo.gl/YGedst

FINRA Cautions Members Regarding Recommending and Entering Unpriced Customer Orders at and Around the Opening on the First Day of Trading of a Direct Listing
FINRA
FINRA advises firms to exercise caution in recommending and entering unpriced customer orders at and around the opening on the first day of trading of a direct listing of a security. FINRA is concerned that, without the use of a limit price, customers may receive executions at prices that are not in line with their expectations and ultimate investment decision. FINRA encourages firms to consider the appropriateness of using and recommending (and discussing with customers the benefits of using) priced, limit orders at and around the opening on the first day of trading of a direct listing.
/goo.gl/eC5tXU

FINRA Fines Aegis Capital Corp. $550,000 for Anti-Money Laundering and Supervision Rule Violations
FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Aegis Capital Corp. $550,000 for failing to have adequate supervisory and anti-money laundering (AML) programs tailored to detect “red flags” or suspicious activity connected to its sale of low-priced securities.
/goo.gl/Brn8jZ

EU withdrawal: transition and financial regulation
UK FCA
Speech by Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Wholesale Financial Services Annual Dinner.
/goo.gl/5TjMyg

FCA statement on EU withdrawal following the March European Council
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) welcomes the agreement reached on the terms of an implementation period that will apply following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.
/goo.gl/Td8zJU

German tax office examining ADM over legacy trading earnings
Hugh Bronstein, Jonathan Saul – Reuters
Hamburg’s tax office is examining the German activities of U.S. agricultural merchant Archer Daniels Midland over a five-year period in what the company called a routine audit, although sources said ADM could face unforeseen liabilities.
/reut.rs/2J0p71u

Across Generations, Women Trail Men in Financial Knowledge – but the Gap May Be Closing
FINRA
Women consistently lag behind men on financial and investor literacy scores across generations of boomers, gen Xers and millennials, according to a multi-year study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
/goo.gl/u7pez7

European Union bans binary options, strictly regulates CFDs
Times of Israel
Vise tightens around Israeli online scammers; Israeli banks close forex companies’ accounts, and Twitter follows Google and Facebook in banning cryptocurrency ads
/goo.gl/EsL7Lh

Regulator says Facebook breached New Zealand privacy act; Privacy commissioner deletes own account in protest and suggests others follow suit
Jamie Smyth in Sydney – FT
New Zealand’s privacy commissioner says Facebook breached the country’s privacy laws by refusing to release personal information upon a complainant’s request, the latest blow to the social media giant that is facing global inquiries over the alleged improper handling of user data.
/goo.gl/5e7yh7

SEC Charges Wedbush in ‘Pump-and-Dump’ Scheme; Regulator says firm failed to properly supervise an employee allegedly involved in scheme aimed at retail investors
Austen Hufford – WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said broker-dealer Wedbush Securities Inc. failed to properly supervise an employee who was allegedly involved in a long-running “pump-and-dump” scheme aimed at retail investors.
/goo.gl/qBJLxe

MiFID II: Impact of the New Tick Size Regime
AMF
The AMF publishes an initial analysis of the impact of the new tick size regime on the French market. Market depth, transaction cost, order lifespan, order-to-trade ratio: the Autorité des marchés financiers has reviewed the initial effects of the European harmonised tick size regime, resulting from the new MiFID II framework for markets in financial instruments. This very first set of readings indicates an overall improvement in market quality.
/goo.gl/keEJNY

Investing and Trading

Will a Sino-U.S. Trade War Impact Grain, Meat Markets?
Erik Norland – CME Group
With China threatening to retaliate against U.S. agricultural producers after the White House announced $50 billion in tariffs, it’s a good time to evaluate how China influences agricultural prices – both directly and vicariously. In a direct sense, China is primarily a buyer of U.S. soybeans – imports it could replace with supplies from Argentina and Brazil. It is also an importer of U.S. wheat, which it could find in Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. in no longer a big exporter of corn to China but it does export a great deal of pork and, increasingly, beef.
/goo.gl/3GSc3S

Robo-Adviser Startups Are Now Going After Wealthy Clientele
Julie Verhage – Bloomberg
Robo-advisers were built on the promise of offering wealth management expertise to the masses. Now those startups are turning their attention to a different — and much wealthier — customer.
/bloom.bg/2IYOUH8

Exotic ETF Trading Is Surging Once Again
Dani Burger – Bloomberg
Exchange-traded products see volume surge amid choppy trading; High turnover concentrated among inverse leveraged tech funds
The prime suspects in last month’s global rout may be at it again.
/goo.gl/WP8yiA

Quant Style Slump That Strategists Foretold Finally Arrives
Dani Burger – Bloomberg
Momentum sees biggest two-day loss since November 2016; From technology stocks to drugmakers, market leaders slump
If you’ve been cursing at technology stocks for the past two days, there’s another corner of the market that’s perhaps just as deserving of your anger.
/goo.gl/73WpfP

Institutions

UBS begins global wealth management shift by merging teams
Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi – Reuters
UBS has begun adopting a unified global wealth management structure by merging teams responsible for its private banking products.
/reut.rs/2up4Lfa

FANG stocks’ bite has U.S. fund managers looking for alternatives
David Randall – Reuters
Fund managers have begun to ditch so-called FANG stocks that powered the U.S. stock market to record highs in January and are slowly rotating into commodity-related shares and other value stocks which typically outperform in late-cycle recoveries.
/goo.gl/68qayt

Deutsche Bank Is Considering More Cuts at Investment Bank
Steven Arons, Stephon Morris, Elisa Martinuzzi – Bloomberg
‘Project Colombo’ is looking at lender’s underperforming units; CEO Cryan says he’s “absolutely committed” to serving bank
Deutsche Bank AG is conducting a fresh review of its trading businesses, according to people familiar with the discussions, an overhaul that Chief Executive Officer John Cryan is pursuing to help restore profitability amid reports that the bank is seeking to replace him.
/goo.gl/uwunc2

Morgan Stanley Knew of a Star’s Alleged Abuse. He Still Works There; A top Morgan Stanley broker was repeatedly accused of violence against
ex-wives and girlfriends. Bank managers were told. But he kept his job.
Emily Flitter – NY Times
Over 15 years, four women in Lake Oswego, Ore., a wealthy Portland suburb, sought police protection against the same man, court filings show.
/goo.gl/7i1pdR

Saxo Bank Welcomes ESMA’s Measures In Relation To Margin Trading
MondoVisione
Saxo Bank, the leading fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investing, strongly welcomes ESMA’s recently announced measures in relation to the provision of CFDs to retail clients. The measures include caps on leverage which Saxo Bank considers fair and proportionate. Saxo Bank expects these measures to be positive for clients and result in a more level playing field among EU providers offering margin trading, which will in turn move the competitive focus away from leverage and towards the quality of platform, price, product and service.
/goo.gl/y1NFrj

Regions

Malaysia’s central bank says foiled attempts at unauthorized fund transfers
Reuters Staff
Malaysia’s central bank said on Thursday it had detected and foiled an attempted cyber attack and efforts to transfer funds without authorization using falsified SWIFT messages.
/goo.gl/74skqY

Bank Negara says it foiled cyber heist attempt
The Star
Bank Negara said on Thursday that it had detected and foiled a cybersecurity incident involving attempted unauthorised fund transfers using falsified SWIFT messages.
/goo.gl/rCJXVb

Moscow: ‘Difficult to judge’ whether UK will restrict Russian bonds
Adam Samson in London and Kathrin Hille in Moscow – FT
Moscow says it is unclear whether the UK is considering a clampdown on the issuance of Russian government debt from London.
/goo.gl/iFw2SP

Brexit

Brexit and the City – Tracking the fortunes of London’s financial districts
Andrew MacAskill – Reuters
Is London’s position as the largest international centre of finance slipping as a result of Brexit?
/reut.rs/2J4kkw4

There’s Much to Fear As Brexit Nears; With one year left until the U.K. exits the European Union, unease about what a final deal will look like is still reflected in markets
Richard Barley – WSJ
There is one year left until Brexit. Investors seem to have adjusted to the reality of the U.K. leaving the European Union. But a key barometer used to measure the stress of Brexit isn’t telling the whole story.
/goo.gl/XiV8CJ

Miscellaneous

Reflections on money, trust and the pursuit of self-interest; The extensive division of labour presents a practical problem: we depend on the assistance and cooperation of a multitude of strangers, writes Philip Goodchild
London School of Economics and Political Science
‘People are naturally selfish’. The contemporary evidence seems overwhelming. And yet, even today, most people devote some of their lives to others as parents and carers, and many also as volunteers. Prior to the modern world, people frequently led lives governed by custom, duty, compassion, or faith, in societies where there was limited scope for the pursuit of self-interest. So is the overriding pursuit of self-interest a modern phenomenon, or is it rooted in human nature?
/goo.gl/iuTfNm

The post CME Group Seals Deal to Buy U.K.’s NEX for $5.4 Billion appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

For those of our readers who celebrate Easter, I hope this Easter holiday brings your family health, happiness, and lots of love.~JJL

Easter is the only time when you can put all your eggs in one basket and get away with it.~JJL

We included a link to a WSJ infographic earlier in the week titled “10 Years After the Crisis.” It contained info regarding what has changed in the time since the financial crisis. Apparently, since it was published, a senior WSJ editor tried to take it offline because it contained facts that were not “politically palatable.” It was taken off the front page and links to it were deleted. You can read the complaint from WSJ reporters – WSJ reporters complain about attempts to take graphic offline – and decide for yourself.~SD

The Center for Financial Services at DePaul University is hosting “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency: Promise or Peril?” on Monday May 7 from 1:30pm to 5:30pm CDT at the University Club of Chicago, 76 East Monroe Street, Madison Room. You can go here to read more about it and register for the event, which is free.~SR

Singapore’s government is launching a Blockchain Challenge to produce “minimal viable products” or proof of concepts that solve industry problems. Prizes are $50,000 and $100,000.~JK

Automated Trader magazine has closed its doors.~SD

++++

The Spread – Week of 3/26 to 3/29

JohnLothianNews.com

Heyo! Markets in 2018 = not boring. This week in The Spread we cover gyrating indices, a gigantic deal, the resurgence of “exotic” ETPs, the Easter holiday, the start of the MLB season and a few sour notes in the financial media space.

Watch the video and see the stories referenced here »

++++

The Ancient History of Bitcoin; Cryptocurrencies may seem brand-new and disruptive, but look to the past and it’s clear they can be regulated.
Peter Coy – Bloomberg
In the 1920s a Florida citrus grower named William Howey hit on a way to raise money from investors. He would sell them strips of land in his groves and tend the trees on their behalf, giving them a share of the profit after the harvest. The transaction was presented as an ordinary sale of real estate, but for practical purposes the buyers had become shareholders in his farm. After Howey died in 1938, the then-new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sought an injunction against his company to stop the sales. In 1946 the Supreme Court ruled that Howey’s contracts should have been registered with the SEC as securities—essentially, shares of stock.
/goo.gl/q3L1VE

***** What is a security?~JJL

++++

Kremlin queries legality of decision to take RT TV channel off air in Washington
Reuters Staff
The Kremlin said on Friday it was studying a move by cable and digital TV providers in the United States to take Russia’s RT TV channel off the air in Washington, saying the move looked illegal and discriminatory.
/goo.gl/Z2xsB9

***** Maybe this is an issue that Bart Chilton’s RT show can address.~JJL

++++

Thursday’s Top Three
Call it three for CME on Thursday. Our top three items were all about the CME’s deal to buy NEX Group for $5.4 billion. The top read piece was the Financial News’ article CME plans hundreds of job cuts after £3.8bn NEX takeover. Second was the CME press release CME Group to Acquire NEX Group plc, Bringing Together Cash, Futures and OTC Marketplaces. Third was the Wall Street Journal’s take on it in CME Group Seals Deal to Buy U.K.’s NEX for $5.4 Billion. Have a great CME weekend everyone.

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,671,173 pages viewed; 23,056 pages; 212,230 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

NYSE in Talks to Buy Chicago Stock Exchange; Discussions come after collapse of Chinese-led group’s bid for the Midwestern market; $70 million possible price
Dave Michaels and Alexander Osipovich – WSJ
The New York Stock Exchange is in talks to buy the tiny Chicago Stock Exchange, after the recent collapse of a two-year acquisition effort by a Chinese-led investor group, people familiar with the situation said.
/goo.gl/vZxsSd

King of the (Bond) World: Terry Duffy Makes His Biggest Trade
Annie Massa and Liz McCormick – Bloomberg
It’s a Terry Duffy classic. After years of expanding CME Group Inc.’s empire through deal-making, the CEO of the world’s largest derivatives market is at it again. In a major merger with Michael Spencer’s NEX Group Plc, Duffy has cemented his place at the very center of the global bond market.
/jlne.ws/2uvn5Dr

In Hong Kong’s IPO Frenzy, Stocks Go From Boom to Bust in Days
Fox Hu, Moxy Ying, Bloomberg
You don’t have to be a genius of late to make a killing in newly minted Hong Kong stocks. Just close your eyes and buy.
/goo.gl/DTfsgx

HSBC to pay $100 million to end Libor rigging lawsuit in U.S.
Jonathan Stempel – Reuters
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) has agreed to pay $100 million to end private U.S. litigation accusing it of conspiring to manipulate the Libor benchmark interest rate, becoming the fourth major bank to settle.
/goo.gl/jYarAe

Barclays to Pay $2 Billion to Resolve Mortgage-Securities Claims; Settlement removes a major uncertainty that has hung over the bank’s stock valuation for months
Jenny Strasburg – WSJ
Barclays BCS 0.51% PLC agreed to pay $2 billion in civil penalties to resolve U.S. Justice Department claims that the U.K. lender fraudulently sold mortgage securities that helped fuel the financial crisis, causing investors “enormous losses,” the government said Thursday.
/goo.gl/JgkrHt

APEX to launch new customized clearing system provided by Cinnober
Cinnober
Asia Pacific Exchange Pte (APEX), confirms today that it will launch a new and customized clearing system delivered by Cinnober. Based on TRADExpress RealTime Clearing, a comprehensive real-time clearing system for OTC and exchange-traded markets, APEX and their new derivatives marketplace will provide a complete end-to-end solution for the post-trade value chain.
/goo.gl/vQ2wAK

NYSE’s lapses lead to first enforcement under ‘Reg SCI’ continuity rule
Julie DiMauro – Reuters
In the first case involving a rule aimed at ensuring the stability of financial market operations, three NYSE exchanges have agreed to pay a fine of $14 million to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that due to a variety of lapses from 2008 through 2016 they failed to comply with laws and regulations governing registered securities exchanges.
/reut.rs/2GfLOkm

Saudi to join FTSE emerging index from next March, attract billions
Andrew Torchia and David French – Reuters
The Saudi Arabian stock market will join FTSE Russell’s emerging market index starting in March next year, the company said on Wednesday, a move expected to draw billions of dollars of fresh foreign portfolio investment to the kingdom.
/reut.rs/2uvR7GX

The risk culture in financial institutions needs fixing, but how?; Goals are ambiguously defined, so finding the best way to reach them is not an easy task, writes Tommaso Palermo
London School of Economics and Political Science
canary_wharf_skylineCanary Wharf Skyline, by David Iliff, under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence
In the aftermath of the financial crisis and other large scale corporate scandals, a large number of public inquires and documents written by regulators, consulting firms and professional associations drew attention to something that needs fixing: the risk culture of financial sector organisations (see, for example, publications by the International institute of Finance, the Financial Stability Board, the Institute of Risk Management, and very recently, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority).
/goo.gl/7YHNeu

Compliance Officers Targeted in SEC Action Against Broker-Dealer
Samuel Rubenfeld – WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission took aim at two compliance officers at a broker-dealer, alleging that they aided and abetted the brokerage’s failure to file reports on suspicious transactions.
/goo.gl/CvjyyT

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

NYSE in talks to acquire Chicago Stock Exchange: WSJ
Reuters Staff
Intercontinental Exchange Inc’s (ICE.N) New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is in talks to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, a month-and-a-half after U.S. regulators blocked the sale of CHX to China-based investors.
/goo.gl/HcwuYq

Notice Regarding Sequential Sales of Shares Japan Exchange Group Owns
JPX
Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) announces that it has made a decision regarding the sequential sales of the shares of Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) that JPX owns as follows.
/goo.gl/sLTw9y

Holiday Hours for ICE Markets, Administrators and Clearing Houses
ICE
The tables below provide a list of holiday trading hours across all ICE markets, administrators and clearing houses. For some markets, holiday trading hours for specific contracts or benchmarks are announced close to the holiday itself. When those announcements are made, a notification is posted to the Notices/Circulars page for each respective market or the ICE Benchmark Administration holiday page.
/goo.gl/uqZoRS

Should the London Stock Exchange gatecrash the CME’s party?
Lucy Burton, financial services editor – Telegraph
This week’s £3.9bn deal between Michael Spencer’s electronic trading business and the world’s largest futures exchange has come at an awkward time for the London Stock Exchange.
/goo.gl/jo9mPj

Tokyo Commodity Exchange: Revised Component Weight Percentage Of Nikkei-TOCOM Commodity Index
MondoVisione
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (“TOCOM” or the “Exchange”) today announced revised weightings of the Nikkei-TOCOM Commodity Index components, effective June 1, 2018, as indicated below.
/goo.gl/tQdyjp

TMX Group Statement on the Passing of Peter Munk
Newswire.ca
Lou Eccleston, TMX Group Chief Executive Officer said:
“Mr. Munk was the true embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit: a bold visionary, a committed risk-taker, and a fearless leader. A proud and fiercely loyal Canadian, Mr. Munk leaves behind an impressive list of business accomplishments, rivaled only in stature by his remarkable philanthropic efforts. Today we pay tribute to a formidable, game-changing force in this country’s business landscape. Mr. Munk set an impressive standard with his contributions to Canadian society and we look back with immense gratitude. TMX offers our deepest sympathies to Mr. Munk’s family, friends and former colleagues and to all those whose lives he touched through his humanitarian work.”
/goo.gl/ZxRESk

Fintech

Japan’s Nomura invests in fintech firm in push for younger clients
Reuters
Nomura Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, would hold a majority stake in 8 Securities, which provides robo-advisory services through mobile apps using exchange-traded funds, Nomura said in a statement.
/reut.rs/2IiyZCB

TradingScreen Bolsters Offerings through Strategic Partnership with Liquidnet; Liquidnet integration with TradeSmart® OEMS to Further Benefit Buy-Side Customers
TradingScreen
TradingScreen Inc. (TS) today announced a partnership with Liquidnet, a global institutional trading network, to further benefit buy-side customers’ order access and execution capabilities. The partnership allows for integration with TS’ order and execution management system, TradeSmart®, enabling users to access Liquidnet’s global pool of institutional liquidity and advanced trading strategies.
/goo.gl/myA77f

IHS Markit Turns to Natural Language Processing
Rob Daly – MarketsMedia
Valuation provider IHS Markit is delving into natural language processing to improve the content of its event catalogs across all of the vendor’s vertical offerings.
/goo.gl/98FWCK

Microsoft Reorganizes to Fuel Cloud and A.I. Businesses
Steve Lohr – NY Times
The Windows era at Microsoft, long in eclipse, is officially history.
Microsoft said on Tuesday that it was splitting up its Windows engineering team and that the leader of its Windows business was leaving.
/jlne.ws/2uB5Q3E

European Banking Authority Publishes FinTech Roadmap
Shearman & Sterling LLP – JDSupra
The European Banking Authority has published a Roadmap setting out its conclusions following responses to its August 2017 discussion paper on its approach to financial technology. The EBA adopts the definition of FinTech that is used by international standard-setting bodies, namely, “technologically enabled financial innovation that could result in new business models, applications, processes or products with an associated material effect on financial markets and institutions and the provision of financial services”.
/goo.gl/k6btNP

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin Drops From $7,900 to $6,600 as Crypto Market Takes a Beating
Joseph Young – CCN
The valuation of the entire cryptocurrency market has declined to $253 billion, down $100 billion over the past week. The price of most major cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash dropped by more than 13 percent throughout March 30.
bit.ly/2E75aSS

Everything You Need to Know About Cryptocurrency Regulations
Shaurya Malwa – BTCManager
Cryptocurrencies were a tough pill to digest even before the governments got involved. Now, the policymakers all over the world are trying to take control of the digital currency. Right from exchanges to ICOs, keeping track of what’s legal has become just as daunting as figuring out which new-fangled token might turn into next big thing.
Owing to the lack of global coordination among authorities, the rules vary wildly. There’s a possibility of that changing after finance chiefs discuss digital assets at the upcoming G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. Until then, there’s a wide range of opinions on how to best regulate this space.
bit.ly/2E71MaK

Email Service MailChimp to Block ICO, Crypto Marketing
Coindesk.com
Email distribution company MailChimp will bar marketing campaigns for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings starting next month.
/goo.gl/Xy5D43

An Explanation For The Rise Of ‘Stable Coins’ As A Low-Volatility Cryptocurrency
Rachel Wolfson – Forbes
While cryptocurrencies have great potential to excel, the volatile nature and constant price fluctuations are some of the greatest criticisms directed towards the crypto market. After all, a useful currency should provide a store of value and unit of account, both of which require balance. As a result, there is a growing desire to bring stability to the cryptocurrency market, which is now being done through the implementation of “stable coins.”
bit.ly/2E7dfXH

Seven Questions To Ask Before Investing In Cryptocurrency
Forbes
The popularity of cryptocurrency is steadily on the rise, despite the market’s volatility in terms of costs and regulations. With the price of bitcoin consistently over $8,000 in recent weeks, cryptocurrency makes quite an appealing, albeit risky, investment. So, how do you know if this is the right investment for you?
bit.ly/2E758dI

What happened to India’s white-hot bitcoin and cryptocurrency market? — Quartz
Nupur Anand – Quartz
A chill has set into the cryptocurrency market, especially in India.
Tightening regulation and policy ambiguity have sucked the life out of trading in the past few months, though industry insiders say the phase may be temporary.
“The market is very, very dull,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, a bitcoin exchange.
bit.ly/2E713X4

Polish bank begins using a blockchain-based document management system
John Biggs – TechCrunch
A blockchain company called Coinfirm has announced a partnership with PKO BP, a major Polish bank, to provide blockchain-based document verification using a tool called Trudatum. The project is a an actual implementation of one of the primary benefits of blockchain-based tools, namely its ability to permanently and immutably store data. This announcement brings blockchain implementations out of the realm of proof-of-concept and into the real world.
/goo.gl/S6hx4M

China central bank will launch crackdown on virtual currencies
Reuters Staff
China’s central bank will launch a crackdown on all types of virtual currencies this year, a vice governor of the central bank said on Thursday.
/goo.gl/1A5xg8

South Korean Insurer Denies Hacked Cryptocurrency Exchange’s Claim; Youbit filed $2.8 million claim after devastating December heist
Eun-Young Jeong – WSJ
A major South Korean insurance company denied a claim by a cryptocurrency exchange that suffered a devastating cyberattack in December, the exchange operator said Thursday.
/goo.gl/DQR3z8

Thailand to Regulate Digital Coins From April to Guard Investors
Anuchit Nguyen – Bloomberg
Rules will require disclosures and warnings to clarify risks; But Thai SEC doesn’t want to drive ICOs underground or abroad
Thailand will impose rules on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings from April to bolster investor protection, the military-run nation’s Securities and Exchange Commission said.
/goo.gl/MG3Y6N

Almost Half of Fund Allocators Don’t Know What to Make of Crypto
Katia Porzecanski – Bloomberg
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have been around for almost a decade. Apparently, that’s not enough time to form an opinion.
/goo.gl/LMf8qN

Other News Sources
*Bittrex Launches Next-Generation Website Beta – Cryptoslate.com
*Binance Preparing to Capture Coinbase Market Share, Coinbase Ready For Battle~Cryptovest.com
*China is Still Planning to Launch its Own National Cryptocurrency~News BTC

Politics

Amazon Severs Ties With Top Lobbying Firms in Washington
Ben Brody, Spencer Soper, Jennifer Jacobs – Bloomberg
Akin Gump and Patton Boggs said to have been fired last week; New Amazon hires in Washington include Brathwaite and Holly
Amazon.com Inc. cut ties with Washington’s biggest lobbying firm and brought on new advisers following passage of the tax overhaul bill last year and in the face of new challenges in the age of President Donald Trump.
/goo.gl/JuxHd9

Regulation

RegAT likely to move forward in 2018 – MMI chief
Jack Ball – Global Investor Group
The controversial regulation has been beset with delays since it was proposed in November 2015
bit.ly/2uw9Guv

Podcast: CFTC Talks EP036: USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue
CFTC
This week on CFTC Talks, we bring on special guest USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. We cover his background, his priorities and strategic goals for the USDA and Ag prices…
/goo.gl/t7uzJi

FINRA Helps Consumers Assess Risks of Using Data Aggregators to Organize Personal Finances; Sharing Sensitive Information Can Pose Potential Privacy and Security Risks
FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued an Investor Alert to help consumers consider the risks of sharing personal financial account information and other sensitive information with data aggregators.
/goo.gl/mffDqV

Know Before You Share: Be Mindful of Data Aggregation Risks
FiNRA
If putting all your financial information online and in one place sounds like a good idea, there are many companies—often called data aggregators—ready to help you organize your financial life. However, before you share your account information and other sensitive financial details with data aggregators, it pays to know how these services operate, and how to protect yourself from potential privacy and security risks.
/goo.gl/E7sYAt

Test Broadcast IP Multicast Channels
FINRA
Beginning Monday, July 9, 2018, FINRA will introduce dedicated test broadcast IP multicast channels to be used for evening format testing for all its data feeds—BTDS, ATDS, 144A, SPDS, SPDS-144A, TDDS 2.0 and BBDS. FINRA will discontinue disseminating test data content via the production data feed channels once the dedicated test broadcast IP multicast channels are implemented. This initiative will protect data feed recipients against the possibility of the comingling of test data with live market activity.
/goo.gl/ZGf7VF

Barclays agrees $2bn fine in US for mortgage misselling
Hannah Boland – Telegraph
Barclays has agreed to pay $2bn (£1.4bn) to settle a lawsuit over mortgage-backed securities sold in the run-up to the financial crisis, marking a significant victory for the lender which had rejected an earlier, much-larger settlement deal.
/goo.gl/gVc2RC

Investing and Trading

Why a Bigger Dose of Market Panic Could Help
Jeff Sommer – NY Times
The most surprising thing about the wobbly stock market of 2018 is that investors haven’t panicked — or at least that they haven’t panicked much.
/goo.gl/x4txhF

As bitcoin goes bust, one classic market signal is pointing to more pain
Phillip Streible – CNBC
Bitcoin futures have entered into a contango market, suggesting further agony for the cryptocurrency.
/cnb.cx/2Gm5KC4

Has the market been de-Fanged?; Business model of social media groups is under threat from the scandal around Facebook
John Authers – FT
Has the market been de-Fanged? The Fang stocks (an acronym for Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google that now includes other big internet names) have led the market in a remarkable way. Before its reversal, NYSE’s Fang+ index had beaten the S&P 500 by 100 per cent since its 2014 inception.
/goo.gl/6Cg7Ns

As U.S. Soy and Corn Areas Shrink, Other Crops Are Expanding
Alan Bjerga, Kevin Varley – Bloomberg
USDA data shows surprise drop in most popular American crops; Acreages for spring wheat, cotton, sorghum are set to increase
Diversity is making a comeback in U.S. cropland. The declining popularity of corn and soybeans, predicted Thursday by the U.S. government, may mean wheat, cotton and other commodities literally regain ground they’ve lost in recent years.
/goo.gl/o8kUqo

Stocks Are About to Get a $400 Billion Dividend Boost
Cormac Mullen – Bloomberg
April tends to be strong month for equities: Morgan Stanley; Wave of dividend payments could provide ‘temporary relief’
Here’s a fresh reason to celebrate the end of a lousy quarter in global equities: the new one kicks off with the potential adrenaline boost of as much as $400 billion in dividends.
/goo.gl/YP3D6y

LIBOR/OIS move seen adding $16 billion to business, family debt expenses: JPMorgan
Reuters Staff
The recent widening of the spread between the three-month London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) and three-month overnight index swap rate (OIS) would add a total of $16 billion in borrowing costs for businesses and families, J.P. Morgan analysts said on Thursday.
/goo.gl/b6gtPZ

VIX Up 81% Shows Extent of Stock Market Pain in Jarring Quarter
Elena Popina, Sarah Ponczek, Lu Wang – Bloomberg
Volatility almost doubles for the quarter as concerns mount; The S&P 500 posts the first three-month decline since 2015
Are we having fun yet? For two years traders bemoaned the tranquility in global equity markets. That era just ended in a fit of turbulence, as stocks plunged into the first correction since early 2016 and volatility almost doubled from historically low levels over the past three months. Dip buying no longer worked, and holding tight on the S&P 500 Index delivered the first quarterly loss in 2 1/2 years.
/goo.gl/z1UNfH

Institutions

Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain Slated to Join Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board; Ex-UBS, ex-Morgan Stanley executives are also nominated to German lender’s board
Jenny Strasburg – WSJ
John Thain, former chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange and crisis-era leader of Merrill Lynch & Co., is expected to join Deutsche Bank AG’s supervisory board in May, according to a person familiar with the board’s plans.
/goo.gl/AATvvG

Deutsche Bank chief and chairman face testing times; Pressure mounts on John Cryan as it emerges that the bank is informally sounding out successors
Olaf Storbeck in Frankfurt and Martin Arnold in London – FT
John Cryan’s appointment as chief executive of Deutsche Bank in 2015 was expected to herald a fresh start for the German lender after years of lacklustre returns, a battered share price and a legacy of legal cases.
/goo.gl/3G7A4y

R.J. O’Brien Wins 2018 CTA Intelligence US Services Award For Best FCM – Client Service For Second Consecutive Year
Mondovisione
Chicago-based R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, announced that for the second consecutive year, the firm won the award for “Best FCM – Client Service” at the CTA Intelligence U.S. Services Awards 2018.
/goo.gl/6MEyN5

Regions

China’s New Cyber Rules Add to Cost of Doing Business There; Under new rules, businesses can use only government-approved virtual private networks to bypass the country’s internet restrictions
By Liza Lin in Shanghai and Yoko Kubota in Beijing – WSJ
China’s campaign against virtual private networks used to bypass its internet restrictions adds to the extra expenses—and headaches—for foreign companies doing business in the country.
/goo.gl/Tajuqz

World Gold Council And International Islamic Financial Market Collaborate To Improve Access To Gold Market For Islamic Investors
MondoVisione
On 28 March, the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and World Gold Council led the IIFM-WGC Industry Consultative Meeting on Gold Documentation and Products Standardisation in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting was hosted by Borsa Istanbul and organized by the Islamic Finance Directorate.
/goo.gl/tqmkir

Brexit

UK companies and residents will be stripped of .EU domains after Brexit
By James Vincent – The Verge
The latest casualty in the UK’s impending departure from the European Union? Domain names ending with .eu.
/goo.gl/LxEaNL

Opportunity will still knock for London after Brexit; The UK capital has had a good run but now it needs to reimagine itself
Richard Sennett – FT
On March 29 2019, London will cease to be the de facto capital of Europe. This is the date on which Britain formally leaves the EU. Financially, London’s position as the command-and-control centre of the European economy will be under threat. Culturally, the city will gradually lose its status as a glamorous trendsetter. And socially, it will find itself increasingly at odds with the rest of the country. But rather than drown in regret, London should seize this opportunity to reimagine itself.
/goo.gl/W852g3

Tony Blair: It is not too late to stop Brexit
BBC
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said it is not too late to stop Brexit, as the UK reaches one year to go until it leaves the European Union.
/goo.gl/zpvmvf

The post NYSE in Talks to Buy Chicago Stock Exchange appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Compliance And Regulatory Liaison, from Trading Technologies, available April 1, 2018
TT.~JJL

If you missed our early edition of The Spread – our options-related news recap – last week, check it out here. Baseball, volatility milestones, Oprah – there’s a bit of everything in this one.~SD

At Boca I recommended a great April Fool’s Day press release. I recommended an exchange put out a press release saying they were listing a futures contract on vibranium. Evidently, they could not figure out how to make clearing and delivery work for a fictional metal.~JJL

See the best of the Trump themed Easter cartoons via Google.~JJL

Bitcoin’s software will be upgraded for the 17th time in the next year or so, according to today’s Coinbase article on a payment upgrade.~JK

++++

Ready to Follow Through – Chris Concannon, Cboe
JohnLothianNews.com

CBOE and Bats officially became Cboe Global Markets in 2017, which meant much of the year was spent laying the foundations for further integration. Of course, there was also the under-the-radar launch of a crypto futures product, too.

In this video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Chris Concannon, Cboe’s President and COO, talks about complex order book functionality, the future of a crypto ecosystem at Cboe, how Cboe prepared for more technology migrations on its exchanges and more.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Bridging the Week: March 26 to 30 and April 2, 2018 – AML; Red Flags; Pump and Dump; Bitcoin ETFs
Gary DeWaal – Bridging the Week
Two broker-dealers’ purported failure to act on red flags – both involving customer trading – resulted in separate Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions against the firms. In connection with one action, two former anti-money laundering compliance officers were also sued for their roles in their firm’s alleged failure, as was the firm’s chief executive officer. Unrelatedly, the SEC asked for public comment on NYSE Arca, Inc.’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of exchange-traded funds based on bitcoin futures contracts.
/goo.gl/FqyKzn

++++

CME aims for overseas stronghold with NEX deal
Lynne Marek – Crain’s Chicago Business
CME Group wasn’t able to build a foothold in Europe, so it plans to buy one.
The Chicago futures exchange operator, the biggest in the world, said today that it agreed to buy NEX Group in a transaction that, if approved by regulators, would create a giant transatlantic trading venue spanning futures, fixed-income and foreign exchange markets. The deal, which values London-based NEX at $5.5 billion, also would bulk up CME’s sales muscle in Europe and Asia through that financial capital.
/goo.gl/7viMts

**** We missed this story last week. Sorry Lynne!~JJL

++++

Friday’s Top Three
Friday’s top read stories were led by the Wall Street Journal’s NYSE in Talks to Buy Chicago Stock Exchange. Second went to Bloomberg’s King of the (Bond) World: Terry Duffy Makes His Biggest Trade. And third went to the Talking Biz News item WSJ reporters complain about attempts to take graphic offline

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,760,838 pages viewed; 23,056 pages; 212,237 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

CME rules out asset sales after Nex deal; Terry Duffy’s exchange is confident it can satisfy antitrust regulators
Philip Stafford – FT
CME Group does not expect to sell any assets after its £3.9bn purchase of the UK’s Nex Group to satisfy antitrust regulators or meet cost savings targets, according to chief executive Terry Duffy.
/goo.gl/5QBcDx

Euronext eyes post-Brexit opportunities; Acquisition of Irish stock exchange taken with view to company relocations from London
David Keohane in Paris- FT
Euronext’s acquisition of the Irish stock exchange last week is part of a wider plan to attract companies that might rethink their London listings in the wake of Brexit, according to its chief executive.
/goo.gl/UmSWBS

No Rent, Cheap Flights, $100 Art: How One Hedge Fund Keeps Costs Low; Devet Capital’s model has helped the small fund survive in a sector where fund closures have outnumbered new launches for the past three years
Laurence Fletcher – WSJ
Italian financier Leonardo Marroni runs a $115 million hedge fund from the spare room downstairs in a house in the leafy London suburb of Wimbledon.
/goo.gl/8tDBnZ

China hammers U.S. goods with tariffs as ‘sparks’ of trade war fly
Ben Blanchard, Tony Munroe – Reuters
China has increased tariffs by up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts, escalating a spat between the world’s biggest economies in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel.
/goo.gl/Qqwrzj

US Treasury plans talks on more debt transparency; Power in bond market could shift from banks to tech-savvy market makers
Joe Rennison – FT
The US Treasury is planning to hold closed-door meetings with high-speed traders this month to discuss options for increasing transparency in a government bond market long dominated by large banks and brokers.
/goo.gl/ubeZ8o

Merrill Lynch Ex-CEO Turns to Uber as His Next Fix-It Project; John Thain has a history for helping struggling businesses through trying times
Michael Wursthorn – WSJ
A decade after the financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal has checked in on dozens of the bankers, government officials, chief executives, hedge-fund managers and others who left a mark on that period to find out what they are doing now. Today, we spotlight former CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain, and former CEO of Northern Rock, Adam Applegarth.
/goo.gl/shWF4m

U.S. judge certifies Goldman Sachs gender bias class action
Jonathan Stempel – Reuters
A federal judge ruled that women accusing Goldman Sachs Group Inc of discriminating against them in pay, promotions and performance reviews may pursue their claims as a group in a class-action lawsuit.
/goo.gl/GQ7aTp

Wall Street experiments with marijuana investments; Former Bear Stearns broker sets up legal cannabis industry networking business
Gregory Meyer – FT
The fine wines flowing in a Manhattan banquet hall on a recent evening lubricated talk of another intoxicant: pot.
/goo.gl/mtWKuz

The One Word Giving Money Managers Headaches in 2018: Liquidity; New SEC rules require mutual-fund managers to give the regulator regular snapshots of their funds’ buckets, but determining liquidity is a complicated task
Justin Baer – WSJ
U.S. regulators are willing to spare money managers from telling shareholders more details about their holdings in hard-to-sell assets. But they still want to see that information for themselves.
/goo.gl/pYmjsb

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Libor not going away after 2021, ICE exec says
Smartbrief
The London Interbank Offered Rate will exist after a 2021 target date to shift to alternatives, says Hester Serafini, president of ICE Clear US. “The very strong feedback we’re getting from market participants is that they really want Libor to continue and that they want Libor to continue to exist post-2021,” she says.
/goo.gl/jR3Ymb

BSE to auction investment limits for govt bonds worth Rs 110 bn; The auction will be conducted on BSE’s ebidxchange platform from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm,
Business Standard
Leading stock exchange BSE will auction investment limits for foreign investors to purchase government bonds worth over Rs 110 billion tomorrow.
/goo.gl/PQTF2e

Trading Overview in FY2017 & March 2018
JPX
Japan Exchange Group released the trading overview (preliminary estimates) for FY2017 & March 2018.
Cash Equity Market – In FY2017, daily average trading value for the TSE 1st Section (domestic common stocks) reached JPY 2.957 trillion, an all-time high.
Derivatives Market – In FY2017, total derivatives trading volume was 353,597,076 contracts, the third highest on record, and exceeding 300 million contracts for the five consecutive years.
/goo.gl/3pyBr5

TSE Now Accepting Applications for ETF Market Makers
JPX
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) plans to introduce an ETF market making incentive scheme in July 2018 to improve liquidity in the ETF market and, as of today, has started accepting applications for ETF Market Makers. The first applicant was Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., which has now been designated as ETF Market Maker.
/goo.gl/TMuW8y

Number of delisted companies on the rise; bourses may see more exits; The NSE delisted 100-odd companies in the past one year
Business Standard
Despite a record line-up of debuts on the bourses this year, India’s listed universe is shrinking, and shrinking fast.
/goo.gl/PaoUJG

Fintech

Investment in capital market fintech falls by more than half; BCG report says that venture capital firms are pulling back
Laura Noonan – FT
Capital markets fintech ventures attracted less than half as much equity funding last year as they did in 2015 and 2016, according to a study from the Boston Consulting Group.
/goo.gl/8oNW9M

Goldman Sachs joins Atlanta’s Engage Ventures fund
www.myajc.com
The Engage Ventures program announced that Goldman Sachs will be the 11th corporate member of its board, agreeing to provide funding, resources and time to help new companies progress from the creation stage to where they’re making money.
/goo.gl/SWZvVJ

Alexa! Move Over. Smart Turret Tech Understands Trading
Tom Groenfeldt – Forbes
Traders working in fast-paced markets with negotiation, like fixed income, are accustomed to talking through their turrets to counterparties. Now with combined technology from IPC and GreenKey Technologies, they can talk to their turret, and the turret will capture their voice and fill in forms.
/goo.gl/nQgCKL

Dear London, where’s our Google? Time to move past fintech and take on Silicon Valley
City A.M.
More than seven years ago, David Cameron outlined his vision of a Silicon City, one rooted in the east of London and spawning ideas that can take on the world.
Cameron’s speech aimed for London to compete with San Francisco, “the leading place in the world for hi-tech growth and innovation”. Despite some positive steps and many interesting companies, we could be doing far more. We are yet to produce a single defining, behemothic tech business. – Where is London’s Google? Amazon? Snapchat?
/goo.gl/a8sa6Y

A big chunk of Israel’s tech scene is actually based in New York
The Seattle Times
More than 350 startups with Israeli founders have set up shop in New York, up from 60 five years ago, says Guy Franklin, who runs a local tech hub for his countrymen and has cataloged the phenomenon.
/goo.gl/LkkyaB

TD Bank Considers Public Blockchain for Asset Tracking
Coindesk
One of Canada’s largest banks may be considering the use of a public blockchain to digitally track assets.
In a patent application published Thursday, TD Bank outlined how it could use a public distributed ledger to help point-of-sale computers track transactions.
/goo.gl/gZtDXt

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin’s First-Quarter Play: Falling Back to Earth; The digital currency posted its second-worst quarter ever, part of a broader selloff in the cryptocurrency market
Paul Vigna – WSJ
The first quarter was a prime example of why investors shouldn’t get too excited about bitcoin.
/goo.gl/jTSdnH

Bitcoin Is Close to Cutting Fees with Better Coin Selection
Coinbase
One of the technical mechanisms that has helped earn bitcoin comparisons to cash is on the verge of a major update. Called “coin selection,” the term refers to the algorithm that today decides which bits of data come together to create a user’s transaction. Essentially, the coin selection code replicates the process of giving, say, a $10 bill to a cashier for a $7 item and the consumer receiving $3 in change.
/goo.gl/P4mAsG

Study on 100 ICOs Identifies Social Reach, No. Of Advisors and a Raise of $10M as Key Factors for Success
The-blockchain.com
Washington DC-based crypto firm RAD Lending last week announced the results of its study which analyzed 100 successful initial coin offerings (ICOs) from the past 6 months, checking 20+ variables to see what factors are likely to make a token sale a success, looking at medians and statistical correlations. The study found that USD 9,275,000 was the median amount of contribution for success, and a wide social reach was key ó the median number of followers is 4,203 for Twitter, 5,471 for Facebook and 2,982 for Telegram. Advisors also played a big part, their number strongly correlated with money raised.
/goo.gl/TA51bj

Politics

Cambridge Analytica’s Real Business Isn’t Data; The firm is part of a secretive political consulting industry that helps make fake elections look legitimate.
Leonid Bershidsky – Bloomberg
As the Cambridge Analytica scandal unfolds, the Western world is meeting a little-known part of its political industry, the one that has operated in developing nations since at least the 1990s. CA’s methods as revealed by the U.K.’s Channel 4 News, whose reporter posed as a potential Sri Lankan client, may be a bit extreme — but for the most part, the consultancy has been one of many firms that have brought Western-style electioneering to lawless environments in which it has been blatantly abused.
/goo.gl/hp4Pdu

Brussels plans crackdown on ‘fake news’ in social media; Cambridge Analytica scandal heightens concerns about European elections
Mehreen Khan and Michael Peel – FT
Brussels is preparing to crack down on social media companies who have been accused of spreading “fake news”, issuing a stark warning that scandals such as the Facebook data leak threaten to “subvert our democratic systems”.
/goo.gl/mDKw5R

Amazon Stock Resilience May Be Tested After Another Trump Rant
Ros Krasny, Justin Sink – Bloomberg
President weighs in again over the weekend about USPS, taxes; Bezos’ Washington Post is also frequent target of Trump wrath
Amazon.com Inc.’s shares, resilient in recent days through President Donald Trump’s tweets, could be tested again Monday after a fresh round of critical comments over the weekend about the e-commerce giant.
/goo.gl/uon9vV

The Real Reason Jeff Bezos Grinds Trump’s Gears; He’s the opposite of Trump in nearly every dimension.
Virginia Postrel – Bloomberg
As if he weren’t in enough trouble already, President Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to attack America’s most trusted brand: “Amazon is doing great damage to tax paying retailers. Towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt – many jobs being lost!”
/goo.gl/7yKCdK

Corruption, Not Russia, Is Trump’s Greatest Political Liability
Jonathan Chait – New York Magazine
“My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy,” declared Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. “I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy. But now I want to be greedy for the United States.” To the extent that Trump’s candidacy offered any positive appeal, as opposed to simple loathing for his opponent, this was it. He was a brilliant businessman, or at least starred in a television show as one, and he would set aside his lifelong pursuit of wealth to selflessly serve the greater good. This was the promise that pried just enough Obama voters away from Hillary Clinton in just enough upper-Midwest states to clinch the Electoral College.
/goo.gl/ufB6aa

Regulation

Judge axes key SEC claims that New Jersey hedge fund firm inflated assets
Jonathan Stempel – Reuters
A federal judge has dismissed the central claims of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing a New Jersey hedge fund firm of “grossly” exaggerating the value of its investments to boost fees during the global financial crisis.
/goo.gl/26jChj

SEC Charges Prominent Pastor, Financial Planner in Scheme to Defraud Elderly Investors
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged the pastor of one of the largest Protestant churches in the country and a self-described financial planner in a scheme to defraud elderly investors by selling them interests in defunct, pre-Revolutionary Chinese bonds.
/goo.gl/XubHNK

Investing and Trading

Oracles of the investment industry are blind to performance; Investment consultants must demonstrate they provide a service worth paying for
Attracta Mooney – FT
The word “expert” now has a strange taint. Michael Gove, the British politician, summed this up at the time of the UK Brexit vote in 2016 by suggesting the “people in this country have had enough of experts”.
/goo.gl/mF52ci

Return of volatility is a healthy resetting of markets; Probability is that more normal conditions are returning but risks must be monitored
Mohamed El-Erian – FT
As they enter the second quarter, policymakers and financial market participants would be well advised to think of the first three months of 2018 not as a temporary and reversible aberration but, instead, as an ongoing transition to more normal conditions. Larger two-way price movements in asset prices were long in coming but inevitable, especially after the unusual calm of 2017.
/goo.gl/YiSw9E

Safe Haven Assets Are Moving Strangely: Why That Should Worry Investors; Turbulent markets roil gold, U.S. Treasurys alongside stocks
Ira Iosebashvili, Amrith Ramkumar and Daniel Kruger – WSJ
Investments that typically serve as havens in times of stress are moving in strange ways, highlighting the unsettled condition of financial markets as they head into the second quarter.
/goo.gl/tMcvgb

The US stock market has totally lost its chill
Eshe Nelson – Quartz
2017 was the markets’ least volatile year in decades. They remained eerily calm through natural disasters, political instability, and even the possibility of a nuclear crisis. But the lower the Cboe volatility (VIX) indexówhich acts as the market’s “fear gauge”ófell, the more investors worried that a nasty correction was looming.
/goo.gl/beHrEL

University of Michigan Changes Conflict Rules for Investments
Mary Romano – Bloomberg
Midwest university will discontinue separate CIO fund; CIO fund will now use the money for need-based scholarships
The University of Michigan changed how its endowment’s advisory committee handles potential conflicts of interest and discontinued a fund that helped pay the salaries of the chief investment officer and his staff.
/goo.gl/NYKocn

Institutions

Bill Gross struggles to attract investors at Janus Henderson; Former bond king manages just a fraction of the assets he had at his height
Attracta Mooney – FT
Bill Gross has struggled to attract new investors since he dramatically quit Pimco for Janus, with the man once known as “the bond king” managing less than 1 per cent of the assets he ran in 2014.
/goo.gl/HbEXZB

Morgan Stanley fired broker for using drugs years before joining company: suit
Kevin Dugan – NY Post
Apparently one thing that can get you fired from Morgan Stanley is cleaning up your act.
/goo.gl/Tfw6r5

Deutsche Bank Plans Board Shifts as Chiefs’ Future Is Questioned
Nicholas Comfort, Steven Amos – Bloomberg
Thain is among nominees expected to fill positions this year; German lender struggles despite multiple strategy resets
Deutsche Bank AG is preparing to reshuffle its supervisory board as the future of Chief Executive Officer John Cryan and Chairman Paul Achleitner is called into question.
/goo.gl/kzbDQb

HSBC is investigated over £134m ‘tax evasion’ scheme
Billy Kenber, Investigations Reporter – The Times
HSBC has been embroiled in a criminal investigation into a £134 million suspected tax evasion scheme created by the bank, The Times can reveal
/goo.gl/Bgk4iz

Regions

Latin American nations compete for capital in surge of oil auctions
Marianna Parraga – Reuters
For decades, many Latin America’s oil-producing nations have often shunned investment from foreign firms, instead keeping their vast reserves under the tight control of governments and state-run oil companies.
/goo.gl/kYQk42

India’s cenbank allows banks to spread bond trading losses
Reuters Staff
The Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to spread their bond trading losses incurred in December 2017 and March 2018 quarters equally over up to four quarters.
/goo.gl/ywBTaS

Bahrain’s Biggest Oil Find Since 1932 Dwarfs Reserves
Mohammed Sergie – Bloomberg
Kingdom currently has two fields, one shared with Saudi Arabia; New undersea deposit lies off Gulf nation’s western coast
Bahrain, the smallest energy producer in the Persian Gulf, discovered its biggest oil field since it started producing crude in 1932, according to the country’s official news agency.
/goo.gl/NBZah6

Market Shake-Up Deepens in Kuwait in Bid to Draw Stock Investors
Filipe Pacheco, Annie Massa – Bloomberg
Market to have new indexes as part of changes effective Sunday; Biggest companies to provide English filings, briefings
Kuwait’s stock exchange on Sunday will implement the latest set of changes aimed at attracting investors and increasing the number of initial public offerings.
/goo.gl/D4BEJB

Brexit

Swiss bankers’ hopes for EU access dashed by Brexit; Technical talks on cross-border business have become ‘very political’
Ralph Atkins and Laura Noonan – FT
Swiss bankers’ hopes of securing improved access to EU markets have been dashed by Britain’s plans to quit the bloc, the head of Switzerland’s banking association has said.
/goo.gl/Mb2tyi

EDF, IBM Warn U.K. of Shortages, Risks After Brexit, Mail Says
Nate Lanxon – Bloomberg
Companies warn of headquarter moves, drug supply limitations; Fears published following U.K. government consultation
Electricite de France SA is among companies warning the U.K. government about significant threats to their businesses after Britain leaves the European Union, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday, citing confidential documents.
/goo.gl/8xWJKG

Add Data Privacy to List of Brexit Bumps for EU, UK
Giles Turner – Bloomberg
The smooth transfer of personal data between the European Union and the U.K. ó from bank details to your Uber bill ó is vital for almost every British business. The U.K. is intent on maintaining that relationship following Brexit. The EU isn’t making any promises.
/goo.gl/P14sQc

Miscellaneous

Innovations are rarely (if ever) the product of a single individual; Instead, they’re a product of our collective brains, people sharing thoughts and learning from each other, write Katie Dowbiggin and Michael Muthukrishna
London School of Economics and Political Science
We grow up learning about great inventions and scientific discoveries in history. Chances are, it won’t take you more than a few seconds to name the discoverer of penicillin, the formulator of the theory of evolution by natural selection, or the inventor of the telephone. These “lone geniuses” changed history through their individual brilliance, creativity, and tenacity. Right?
/goo.gl/5kL8AD

A good professional reputation is in the eye of the beholder; Reputation is audience-specific, write Gokhan Ertug, Tamar Yogev, Yonghoon Lee and Peter Hedstrˆm
London School of Economics and Political Science
Build a good reputation. This is an adage-like career advice in the business world. And, of course, being known for being good at something surely helps. Reputations will get your foot in the door in the uncertainty-laden fields of careers and businesses. When we make a judgment about someone, we are quick to look for what they have achieved before. As trite as it might appear, it makes sense to “build a good reputation”. The advice has face value.
/goo.gl/7DLMXL

The post CME rules out asset sales after Nex deal; Euronext eyes post-Brexit opportunities appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Dr. Richard Sandor, chairman and CEO of AFX, will discuss his personal journey of innovation throughout the capital markets during a keynote presentation at Fintech Exchange 2018 in Chicago on April 26.~JJL

Speaking of the AFX, they set a volume record in March.~JJL

CME Group put out a couple of pieces about Asia recently. In case you missed it, March 22 had The Growing Influence of Asia In Derivatives Trading and on March 29 CME published Asia’s Growing Role in Energy Trading. Sensing a theme yet?~SD

According to their 2017 Corporate Citizenship Report, the CME Group gave away $10 million in charitable donations, employees volunteered 3000 hours of time and they had 200 employees involved in sustainability.~JJL

And just for fun, the CME Group reported that their first quarter average daily volume for 2018 was the highest quarter ever at 22.2 million, up 30% from the first quarter of 2017.~JJL

News slipped yesterday that in a few years there will no longer be Intel inside Mac computers. Time to revisit the marketing campaign? Then again, Macs didn’t have those Intel stickers like darn near every PC…~SD

There was an April Fool’s story on IcoExaminer.com that purported to tell who the real Satoshi Nakamoto was based on new information from Edward Snowden. The story included the words “Dia de los inocentes” near the end of the story.~JJL

Would you like a copy of Nasdaq’s “FINTECH TRENDS 2018 – How Technology Is Rewriting The Capital Markets” report? Go HERE and fill out the form to get it.~JJL

ISDA has an updated, comprehensive compliance calendar for OTC derivatives if you’re looking for a one-stop reference document.~SD

Jim Falvey appears in a video about a regulation crowdfunding project with which he is involved. See him at the 3:10 mark in “What is the Eazl Digital Degree Project?‘~JJL

++++

New Roots, More Growth – Nils-Robert Persson, Cinnober
JohnLothianNews.com

Last year was notable for Cinnober as the company pivoted from organic growth to outside investment to aid its expansion. The now 20-year-old real-time risk and clearing technology provider raised some $20 million from a share offering to fuel the development of Minium – a new Cinnober subsidiary focused on client clearing.

In this sixth video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Cinnober Executive Chairman Nils-Robert Persson details the company’s strategy for 2018 and it’s investment activities in 2017, including the acquisition of Ancoa, now rebranded Irisium.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Markets That Climbed the Trump Bump Are Tumbling Down From It
Matt Phillips – NY Times
In the first year of Donald J. Trump’s presidency, ebullient investors propelled stock markets to one record high after another. And Mr. Trump was the bull in chief, celebrating the record-breaking march as validation of his economic policies. Those days are done.
/goo.gl/j8W2aW

****What’s the rhyming phrase for this decline then? The Trump dump?~SD

++++

Monday’s Top Three
Our top read stories on Tuesday were led by Crain’s piece CME to buy NEX in $5.5 billion deal. Second also went to the CME-NEX deal with the FT’s CME rules out asset sales after Nex deal. Third went to TT’s newest surveillance drone product C.A.R.L. April Fools? Or just great new technology from TT?

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,789,784 pages viewed; 23,056 pages; 212,271 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

SEC charges founders of $32m celebrity-backed crypto offering with fraud
Alice Woodhouse in Hong Kong – FT
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the two co-founders of a celebrity-endorsed initial coin offering which raised more than $32m with “orchestrating a fraudulent initial coin offering”.
/goo.gl/qBh3Qh

*****Here are the NY Times and WSJ versions of the story and the SEC release.~JJL

New York Fed to launch U.S. Libor contender, slow takeup seen
Karen Brettell – Reuters
The New York Federal Reserve will launch a benchmark U.S. rate on Tuesday to potentially replace Libor, and market participants hope it will prove more reliable after a long and complex switchover.
/goo.gl/oXNYga

The U.K. Finance Gender Pay Gap Isn’t Bad. It’s Worse; Comparing the median and mean pay gaps reveals a new problem.
Elaine He – Bloomberg
It’s probably worse than it looks. Government-mandated gender pay gap reports are rolling in before Thursday’s deadline. The inequality is stark for U.K. finance companies — data last month from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. showed a median gender pay gap of 36.4 percent — in other words, women earn 64 pence for every pound that men earn.
/goo.gl/PTkkSa

Credit Suisse Equities Trading Chief Plots Return to World Top 5
Jan-Henrik Foerster – Bloomberg
UBS veteran Mike Stewart says management revamp is complete; Focus on hedge fund business, derivatives, trading systems
While wealth management may be the business Credit Suisse Group AG favors growing these days, the Wall Street veteran who took over the bank’s equity trading unit has no intention of taking a back seat.
/goo.gl/YS75Et

OTC crypto market flourishes, powered by Skype
Anna Irrera, Jemima Kelly – Reuters
Trading firms are negotiating buying, selling and lending digital currencies like bitcoin and ether over Skype, catering to big investors looking to avoid rocking already volatile online exchanges.
/jlne.ws/2uLPchK

Blockchain executive Amber Baldet to leave JPMorgan
Anna Irrera – Reuters
Amber Baldet, a blockchain program lead at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), is leaving the bank to launch her own venture, JPMorgan said on Monday.
/goo.gl/6RjBTy

BSE launches arbitrage rate index in a S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture
Business Standard
Asia Index, a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE, has launched arbitrage rate index. The S&P BSE Arbitrage Rate Index will equally weigh long positions in the Sensex and equivalent short positions in the futures contracts, Asia Index CEO Alka Banerjee said in a statement. It will provide market participants with a transparent benchmark to compare the performance of similar arbitrage strategies.
/goo.gl/gZVqfH

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

CME Group Reaches Highest-Ever Quarterly Average Daily Volume of 22.2 Million Contracts for First-Quarter 2018
CME Group
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it reached an all-time high quarterly average daily volume (ADV) of 22.2 million contracts during first-quarter 2018, up 30 percent from first-quarter 2017. CME Group first-quarter 2018 saw record options volume, averaging 4.9 million contracts per day, up 31 percent versus first-quarter 2017, with electronic options averaging a record 3.1 million contracts per day, up 45 percent over the same period last year.
/goo.gl/CBs8xx

OCC Cleared Contract Volume Up 15 Percent in March
OCC
OCC, the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization, announced today that total cleared contract volume in March reached 442,945,572 contracts, a 15 percent increase from March 2017. OCC’s year-to-date volume is up 32 percent with 1,400,345,396 cleared contracts in the first quarter of 2018, compared to 1,058,670,212 contracts in the first quarter of 2017.
/jlne.ws/2GJUrmT

Yuan-denominated oil futures mark a significant move
Editorial Board – South China Morning Post
The launch of the Shanghai Futures Exchange’s first commodity derivative that is open to foreign investors suits the needs and demands of the region, especially for those countries that are taking part in President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road Initiative”
/jlne.ws/2GPmlhh

Cboe Global Markets to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of Cboe Volatility Index Throughout April
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc., one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today kicked off a month-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX Index), which Cboe began publishing in April 1993.
/goo.gl/KMhTy3

Cboe FX (Hotspot) March trading cools down 14% to $38.1 billion ADV
LeapRate
After setting two consecutive trading volume records in January and February, data from institutional Forex ECN Cboe FX Markets – formerly known as Hotspot FX – indicates that the company saw a marked decline in activity during March.
/jlne.ws/2GHNgvx

NYSE sets Spotify reference price at $132
Reuters Staff
The New York Stock Exchange on Monday set the reference price for shares of music streaming service Spotify Technology SA at $132.
/goo.gl/VD48n5

NEO Dark Book
Mondovisione
Five years ago, Aequitas brought its vision for the Canadian capital markets forward. Founded by a diverse ownership group of investors, dealers and companies, all focused on the founding vision of making markets better.
/jlne.ws/2GrD3UG

Nasdaq To Hold First Quarter 2018 Investor Conference Call
Mondovisione
Senior management will be available for questions from the investment community following prepared remarks via the following telephone numbers using conference ID 9877537:
/jlne.ws/2GrDDlk

Nasdaq partners with Arctic15 Scale-Up Summit May 31
Maarit Bystedt – Linkedin
Arctic15 is a matchmaking startup event in the Nordics and Baltics in Helsinki, Finland on 30-31 May 2018. The 2-day event is organized by ArcticStartup, a leading startup media covering Nordics and Baltics. Nasdaq is proud to be part of Arctic15 Scale-Up Summit on May 31. Nasdaq will host an Opening Bell Ceremony and participate in a panel discussion. @Nasdaq Arctic15 2018
/goo.gl/T1c2Ke

Opening Remarks by HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li at Legislative Council Panel on Financial Affairs
HKEX
HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li made the following opening statement when he attended a meeting of the Legislative Council’s Panel on Financial Affairs in relation to the “Report on Consultation on a Listing Regime for Companies from Emerging and Innovative Sectors” today (3 April 2018).
/goo.gl/YyHABf

Listing Nominating Committee Extends Application Period for Listing Committee Candidates
HKEX
The Listing Nominating Committee of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), has extended the application period for nominations to the Listing Committee to 18 April 2018 from 2 April 2018 to provide more time for applications from potential candidates. The Listing Nominating Committee is seeking applications from individuals interested in serving on the Listing Committee and the GEM Listing Committee1. Appointments will be for a term of approximately 12 months commencing in June or July 2018.
/goo.gl/rQoBHf

OneChicago Announces Trading Volume For March 2018
OneChicago
OneChicago, LLC (ONE), a securities finance exchange, today announced its March 2018 volume of 696,700, a decrease of 53% year-over-year. OneChicago is a CFTC and SEC regulated exchange offering Single Stock Futures (SSF), a Delta One product, on approximately 1,800 equities, including ADRs and ETFs.
/goo.gl/7jtNLK

The Listing Committee censures Mr. Fu Ji Wen, a former executive director of Huarong International Financial Holdings Limited (stock code: 993), for breaching the Director’s Undertaking.
HKEX
/jlne.ws/2H7kyC2

Fintech

Thomson Reuters adds MSCI RiskMetrics to Eikon
Hedgeweek
Thomson Reuters has enhanced its investment portfolio risk management solutions on its financial flagship desktop product, Eikon, with the addition of MSCI RiskMetrics.
/jlne.ws/2GKg2eX

DTN acquires agritech sensor startup Spensa Technologies to provide a more comprehensive solution to its customers
TechStartups
After weeks of speculations, DTN finally put the rumors to rest with the news of its acquisition of Spensa Technologies. In a company release, the Minneapolis-based DTN announced that it has agreed to acquire Spensa, a Purdue University spinout that operates from West Lafayette, IN. The financial terms of the deal which still needs approval from Spensa shareholders, were not disclosed.
/goo.gl/MXYyBW

Fintech Firm GreenSky Files Confidentially for IPO; Atlanta company could seek to raise $1 billion at a valuation of roughly $5 billion in public offering
Peter Rudegeair and Maureen Farrell – WSJ
Financial-technology firm GreenSky LLC has confidentially filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a sizable initial public offering that could come as soon as this summer, according to people familiar with the matter.
/goo.gl/HJhMof

Cryptocurrencies

The Crypto Hedge-Fund Bubble Is Starting to Deflate
Olga Kharif – Bloomberg
The reckoning is starting for crypto hedge funds.
Demand and profits are drying up at many of the more than 150 funds that popped during last year’s spectacular surge in Bitcoin — which brought cryptocurrencies to the attention of scores of institutional and individual investors. This year’s 50 percent plunge in the value of Bitcoin has many investors thinking twice. At about $7,000, the currency is at its lowest since November.
/jlne.ws/2GpUcxM

Asia’s cryptocurrency arbitrage boom fizzles, but profits persist
Winni Zhou, Andrew Galbraith – Reuters
When China closed its local cryptocurrency exchanges late last year, an underground ecosystem of bitcoin “mules” and peer-to-peer platforms sprung up to allow bitcoin trading to thrive, away from regulators’ watchful eyes.
/goo.gl/e9yXxk

DoubleLine’s Gundlach says bitcoin leads stock market movements
Jennifer Ablan – Reuters
Bitcoin, the highly volatile digital currency, is proving to be the new stock market indicator, influential investor Jeffrey Gundlach said on Monday, adding that this is hardly just a “gut feeling” given the recent price movements.
/jlne.ws/2Gw4Hji

Alibaba files trademark lawsuit against Dubai firm behind ‘Alibabacoin’
Jonathan Stempel – Reuters
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) on Monday sued a Dubai-based firm it said has caused confusion by using its trademarked name to raise more than $3.5 million in cryptocurrency known as “Alibabacoins.”
/goo.gl/aJUApp

Google Just Made It Harder to Mine Cryptocurrency with Chrome
Fortune
Google has had enough of Chrome browser extensions that mine cryptocurrency using the processing power of users’ computers. The company had already been taking down extensions that mine cryptocurrency without informing the extensions’ usersóa practice known as cryptojacking. But now it’s targeting any extension that runs similar code, whatever the intentions of the people behind the plugin.
/goo.gl/E81mya

Bitcoin Network Researchers See ‘Substantial’ Overvaluation
Janine Wolf – Bloomberg
Given Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in 2017, and persistent slump this year, it’s easy to wonder just how much the digital currency is really worth.
/goo.gl/7KFYMU

Three Minutes With Bcause’s Sean Ristau; Crypto vs. Cash
Jessica Darmoni – Hehmeyer
“The fact that banks don’t want to engage with cryptocurrencies is a challenge,” said Sean Ristau, Director of Exchange Integration and Education at Bcause LLC. “However, crypto was not created to circumvent banks, it is a byproduct of what happened. It is a faster method of moving money and a different way to store it. Banks serve a purpose but like everything, they need competition.”
/goo.gl/61ZjPf

Politics

Trump’s Amazon Tweets Dent His Stock Market Bragging Rights
Jeremy Herron – Bloomberg
Donald Trump has long bragged how his presidency has been a boon to the stock market. His recent attacks on Amazon.com Inc. are undermining that position.
/jlne.ws/2GrnRXm

Regulation

New York high-speed firm Tower must face Korean ‘spoofing’ claims: U.S. court
Jonathan Stempel – Reuters
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday revived a lawsuit by five Korean traders accusing the New York high-frequency trading firm Tower Research Capital LLC and its founder Mark Gorton of conducting illegal “spoofing” trades at their expense.
/jlne.ws/2GQubXV

****Missed this at end of last week.

NFA not to change announcement about action against FXCM
Maria Nikolova – FinanceFeeds
The United States National Futures Association (NFA) has won a dismissal of a defamation lawsuit brought against it by Effex Capital, the firm embroiled in the exit of FXCM from the US retail FX market.
/jlne.ws/2GrZQiZ

SEBI mulls ‘concentration margin’ in derivatives
Ashish Rukhaiyar – The Hindu
Traders with a very high or significant exposure to commodity and equity derivatives market may soon have to pay a higher margin compared with other traders as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning to create a structured framework for levying a ‘concentration margin,’ according to a person familiar with the development.
/jlne.ws/2GNONzT

Asset managers set for MiFID II research price ‘shock’; According to co-founder of Electronic Research Interchange
Mike Sheen – Investmentweek
Chris Turnbull, co-founder of independent research provider Electronic Research Interchange (ERIC), has warned asset managers will face a “shock” at the end of Q1, when they “discover they owe more for research than they anticipated”, following the introduction of MiFID II at the start of 2018.
/goo.gl/Yps3TT

Treasury Meets With Banks, Trading Firms As It Weighs Releasing More Market Data; The debate over making the data public divides the financial-services industry
Andrew Ackerman and Daniel Kruger – WSJ
U.S. policy makers are meeting with banks and trading firms about whether to release to the public data on the $14 trillion U.S. Treasury market that the government has been collecting since last summer.
/goo.gl/T6HYrv

Washington insider’s ‘secret sauce’ fueled NY hedge fund, U.S. says at trial
Jonathan Stempel, Brendan Pierson – Reuters
A federal prosecutor said a political consultant used his Washington contacts as his “secret sauce” to uncover market-moving tips about policy decisions from a U.S. healthcare agency, enabling a big New York hedge fund firm to conduct insider trading.
/goo.gl/WB16vs

SEBI may soon allow fund houses to invest in gold futures
The Hindu Business Line
The capital and commodity market regulator SEBI will soon allow mutual funds to invest in gold futures by letting them amend the investment objective of existing gold schemes to have an exposure to commodity futures markets.
/jlne.ws/2GNXIBu

ESMA continues to focus on convergence in enforcement of IFRS across the EU
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today publishes its 2017 annual report on the enforcement and regulatory activities of accounting enforcers within the European Union (EU).
/goo.gl/CaQDsC

Mozido Founder Accused of Stealing Millions to Fund Luxurious Lifestyle
Peter Rudegeair and Rob Copeland – WSJ
Like so many startups, the financial-technology firm Mozido Inc. hyped its prospects in grand terms. Mozido founder Michael Liberty in 2010 claimed that new products would generate billions of dollars of revenue and two years later said the company was worth over $100 billion, according to regulators. That year, regulators say, his partner also told investors “there is no risk,” and that committing more money was the “biggest no brainer in the history of the universe.”
/goo.gl/vTebsr

CFTC Chairman Giancarlo to Give the Jacobson Lecture at Concordia College
CFTC
/goo.gl/Z9GWKK

CFTC Chairman Giancarlo to Give the 2018 Sims Lecture at Vanderbilt Law School
CFTC
/goo.gl/Axu3w5

Investing and Trading

Be Terrified
The Reformed Broker
You are going to run into people who are so certain of what higher volatility means for the markets that it’s as if they are reciting their own name and phone number. Be terrified of their indefatigability about a topic like this. Imagine the sheer arrogance and borderline mental illness required for a person to assume that they can accurately foretell the actions of a hundred million investors around the world.
/jlne.ws/2Gs2rJP

Rational Markets Theory Keeps Running Into Irrational Humans; In theory, the smart money weeds out foolish speculators. The reality is different.
Noah Smith – Bloomberg
To many young people, the idea of efficient financial markets — the idea that, in the words of economist Eugene Fama, “At any point in time, the actual price of a security will be a good estimate of its intrinsic value” — probably seems like a joke. The financial crisis of 2008, the bursting of the housing bubble, and gyrations in markets from gold to Bitcoin to Chinese stocks have put paid, at least for now, to the idea that prices are guided by the steady hand of rationality. The theory won Fama an economics Nobel Prize in 2013, but he shared it with Robert Shiller, whose research poked significant holes in the idea decades ago.
/goo.gl/oeWMJJ

Podcast: The History of High-Frequency-Trading with Babulak and Sadowski (Wes)
Alpha Architect
/goo.gl/wVAxqu

Family Office Networks Launches FON Search
Family Office Networks
Family Office Networks announced today the launch of FON Search, an affiliate of The Quest Organization, as a new division dedicated to identifying and recruiting top tier talent for family offices.
/goo.gl/HGxzYK

Institutions

Deutsche Bank’s troubles are more than personal
Financial Times
“There is no difference of opinion here,” John Cryan, Deutsche Bank’s chief executive, insisted in a message to staff last week following reports of the tension between him and the chairman, Paul Achleitner. He was stretching the truth: Germany’s leading private sector bank has been full of differences for a long time.
/jlne.ws/2GMrE0N

UBS nominates two new board members at upcoming AGM
Reuters Staff
UBS (UBSG.S) said it is nominating Jeremy Anderson and Fred Hu for election to its Board of Directors at its annual general meeting in May.
/goo.gl/jvPSo7

Deutsche Bank Plans Board Shifts as Chiefs’ Future Is Questioned
Nicholas Comfort, Steven Amos – Bloomberg
Thain is among nominees expected to fill positions this year; German lender is struggling despite multiple strategy resets
Deutsche Bank AG is preparing to reshuffle its supervisory board as the future of Chief Executive Officer John Cryan and Chairman Paul Achleitner is called into question.
/goo.gl/iMTbzY

JPMorgan Accused of Wrongful Death by Estate of Star Broker
Christian Berthelsen – Bloomberg
Lorig committed suicide after he was forced to retire; Bear Stearns futures department co-founder ran marathons
The estate of a deceased broker filed a wrongful death lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., saying he took his life after becoming despondent because he was forced to retire.
/goo.gl/wkSFcA

Regions

Swedes Voice Data Fears After Facebook Scandal, Targeting Banks
Frances Schwartzkopff – Bloomberg
Swedish consumer group wants stricter data protection bank law; Sweden’s status as world’s most cashless society raises fears
In one of the world’s most digitally advanced corners, consumer groups are now demanding much better data protections against the financial industry.
/goo.gl/9LzQya

Latin America Under Tightening Global Liquidity Conditions: Emerging Markets In A Changing Global Environment
Fernando J. Losada – International Banker
Emerging-market (EM) assets enjoyed significant support from investors during 2017. An environment of economic-growth recovery with moderate inflation across developed markets combined with solid commodity prices and abundant liquidity searching for yieldóall contributed to remarkable interest from international investors in EM securities. More than US$75 billion worth of inflows into dedicated EM funds was observed last year, which resulted in significant increases in local stock markets and compression of sovereign yields.
/goo.gl/Nnu2LZ

China’s Big Banks Are Turning to Short-Term Financing
Bloomberg News
Top five banks boost certificates of deposit sales to record; Largest lenders’ reliance on NCDs will grow: Citic Securities
China’s biggest lenders are increasingly using short-term financing to meet demand for loans, in a development that could push up money-market rates.
/goo.gl/k8VBFr

Brexit

City’s Brexit transition deal is nothing to be cheered; Pledge to ‘underpin’ EU companies operating via passporting may not work in practice
Patrick Jenkins – FT
There was a lot of backslapping last week in the corridors of the British financial establishment, following the political agreement on a Brexit transition deal. So has a post-Brexit disaster scenario for the City of London been averted?
/goo.gl/zC3UWd

Miscellaneous

The Next Big Thing in Agriculture: Smart Collars for Cows
Mike Cherney – WSJ
The fences that crisscross the vast ranches of the U.S. and Australian Outback seem like an unlikely candidate for tech disruption.
But several startups are betting that high-tech collars for cattle, goats and other livestock could render the fences obsolete, enabling farmers to round up animals more easily than they do now with workers, dogs and even helicopters.
/goo.gl/6LSyAn

The post SEC charges ICO backers with fraud; Libor alternative; UK gender pay gaps appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Yesterday I |announced some promotions for John Lothian News staff members. Managing Editor Sarah Rudolph added the title head of editorial operations, and Spencer Doar was promoted to editor from associate editor. Jeff Bergstrom was given responsibility for cryptomarkets news, Mike Forrester was promoted to producer from video editor, and Jim Kharouf was named contributing global markets editor.~JJL

While updating the titles for these JLN team members, we did a major overhaul of the MarketsWiki page for John J. Lothian & Company, Inc.~JJL

Institutional Investor has published its annual Trading Tech 40 list of the most influential folks in the trading technology sector. Chris Isaacson – Chief Information Officer, Cboe Global Markets & Raj Mahajan – Global Co-head of Securities Systematic Solutions, Goldman Sachs Group tied for first place.~JJL

ICE reported record average daily trading volume for the first quarter of 2018.~JJL

The quiet feel good story at OneChicago continues. The single stock futures exchange reported volume of 14.9 million in 2017, up 20.5 percent from a year earlier. In 2010, its annual volume was 4.9 million, according to the FIA annual volume survey.~JK

As a reminder, the STA is holding a symposium on April 10 in conjunction with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business called “Equity Market Structure: At the heart of our nation’s economy.” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton is the headliner. Other featured guests include Cboe’s Chris Concannon, Virtu’s Doug Cifu, and Robert Cook, president of FINRA. You can register for the event here.~SD

Wouldn’t it be cool if the new New York Fed president was also the Oscar Winner who composed the “Star Wars” scores (and many notable others)? Then again, he’s also an older white guy, so it certainly wouldn’t shelve the diversity debate…~SD

You may want to watch a replay of CoinDesk’s webinar on the future of Bitcoin futures, featuring CME Group and Bitstamp.~JJL

In today’s “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you” news, the AP reports that the US suspects listening devices in Washington.~SD

++++

Riding the Regtech Wave with Voice Tech – Nader Shwayhat, GreenKey Technologies
JohnLothianNews.com

There are a number of angles playing into the evolution of GreenKey Technologies’ voice recognition business over the past year. The consumer sector saw the continued rise of voice assistants – who doesn’t know Alexa? Advancements in machine learning allowed GreenKey to develop its technology in ways impossible four years ago. Regulatory edicts forced companies to continue to up their compliance game and the big data boom continued to push firms to unlock information already contained in-house. Moreover, Greenkey’s relationships with IPC and OpenFin show the company’s willingness to collaborate to expand its reach.

In this seventh video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Greenkey CEO Nader Shwayhat details developments in voice technology and the company’s efforts moving ahead.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

SEC Promotes Investor Awareness During National Financial Capability Month
SEC
As part of National Financial Capability Month, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is encouraging investors to go to Investor.gov to learn about the importance of saving and investing early, and to check out their investment professional before investing.Investor.gov also provides investors with free financial planning tools such as a compound interest calculator, information on investment products, risks and fees, as well as alerts on recent investment scams and bulletins on various securities topics.
/goo.gl/AuG93C

**** Now you are aware. Before I was just alert.~JJL

++++

Spotify Is Greeted by Wall Street With a Swiss Flag, Even Though It’s From Sweden
Ben Sisario – NY Times
Wall Street was prepared for Spotify’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange this morning. Analysts were ready with their reports. The tech media was closely watching Spotify’s unusual direct listing. Gene Simmons of Kiss appeared on CNBC, representing the skeptical artist position on the streaming economy.
/goo.gl/G9i5bz

*****Oops! I can see where there is confusion, one flag is red and white and the other is blue and yellow. And both countries’ people are incredibly polite.~JJL
***The error was remedied, but it went viral, prompting NYSE to tweet “We hope everyone enjoyed our momentary ode to our neutral role in the process of price discovery this morning.”~SD

++++

Gensler Says Crypto Exchanges are a ‘Mess’
Eugene Grygo – FtFNews
The former head of the CFTC suggests that regulators may have to lean in and guide the growth of the crypto currency phenomenon.
/goo.gl/syfXhy

*****Gary Gensler knows a mess when he sees one.~JJL

++++

Tuesday’s Top Three
Tuesday’s top read items were led by the FT’s story SEC charges founders of $32m celebrity-backed crypto offering with fraud. Second was The Growing Influence of Asia In Derivatives Trading from the CME’s Open Markets. And third was Reuters’ piece on New York high-speed firm Tower must face Korean ‘spoofing’ claims: U.S. court

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,824,737 pages viewed; 23,054 pages; 212,384 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

Bidding war erupts over Fidessa acquisition; Fidessa confirms it has received interest from two separate companies with higher bids than what Temenos first offered in February.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Fidessa confirmed it has been approached by two separate companies looking to acquire it with a higher bid than the £1.4 billion deal first offered by software vendor Temenos in February.
/goo.gl/CygGTE

Spotify’s Splashy Debut Pressures Banks; Shares of the music-streaming service start with a flourish then steadily wear down, but they still finished above their trading price in the private markets
Maureen Farrell, Alexander Osipovich and Anne Steele- WSJ
Spotify Technology roared onto the public market Tuesday, cutting a new path to public ownership that could alter the way companies think about the listing process and pose a new threat to a core business on Wall Street.
/goo.gl/26yYR4

China retaliates, slaps duties on U.S. soybeans, planes; markets skid
Michael Martina, David Lawder – Reuters
China hit back quickly on Wednesday against the Trump administration’s plans to slap tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods, retaliating with a list of similar duties on key U.S. imports including soybeans, planes, cars, beef and chemicals.
/goo.gl/Go27PZ

****More angles on the spat from Reuters – China tariff on U.S. soybeans ‘regrettable’, says U.S. industry body; U.S.-China trade tariff tensions ‘very worrisome’ – OECD; Boeing, Ford lead list of casualties in China-U.S. trade spat; Currency markets keep wary eye on trade troubles and Ross says U.S., China trade actions likely to be negotiated – CNBC. A few other stories on the matter can be found in our “Politics” section.

Investors nurse $10m losses on LongFin index mistake; BlackRock among funds affected after fintech group was wrongfully added to Russell benchmarks
Peter Smith in London – FT
FTSE Russell’s mistaken decision to include Nasdaq-listed trade finance company LongFin in the Russell 2000 and 3000 indices has left investors nursing losses of more than $10m, according to Financial Times calculations based on publicly available data.
/goo.gl/YzTvgg

Nasdaq Options Trading Patents Challenged by Rival MIAX Exchange
Susan Decker, Annie Massa – Bloomberg
Patents cover routing security orders, financial price quotes; Nasdaq is embroiled in patent lawsuits with MIAX and IEX
Nasdaq Inc. is trying to claim that it invented the concept of options trading, rival Miami International Holdings Inc. said in a series of petitions seeking to have seven of Nasdaq’s patents canceled.
/goo.gl/V3stoC

Trading Technologies Extends TT Platform into Tokyo
Trading Technologies
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), announced today the availability of execution and client connectivity services in Tokyo via its TT platform. This move strengthens TT’s presence in the Asia/Pacific region, providing users there with increased accessibility to low-latency execution through TT’s worldwide network of colocated data centers.
/jlne.ws/2GufaM1

The World’s Most Important Number
Barry Ritholtz – Bloomberg
How is it possible that a few clerks at a handful of London banks determine what some call the world’s most important number? This is the topic examined with this week’s Master in Business guest, journalist David Enrich of the New York Times, and author of the new book, “The Spider Network: How a Math Genius and a Gang of Scheming Bankers Pulled Off One of the Greatest Scams in History.”
/jlne.ws/2uIOlOV

Equity volatility: To hedge or not to hedge?
Sarfraz Thind – The Trade
After a freakishly calm year with volatility levels tethered to record depths the VIX, the de facto gauge for volatility, exploded on 2 February as the market was jolted by a surprisingly high US inflation number and investors rushed to hedge positions in the options markets as a result.
/goo.gl/K4c8At

Bet Against Volatility? You Lost. Bet On It? You Lost Too!; Crisis hedge funds’ lackluster performance showcases the limits of protection against volatility
Laurence Fletcher and Jon Sindreu – WSJ
One group of hedge funds has long pitched to investors the idea they can protect investors and even prosper when markets fall sharply. But when volatility returned to markets recently, these funds failed to capitalize. Their woes showcase the pitfalls of volatility-related trading, which can simultaneously foil those betting in favor and those betting against it.
/goo.gl/CbaAo4

How to Push Back Against Fake Economics; Economists must do a better job explaining the difference between a robust theory and a stab in the dark.
Ferdinando Giugliano – Bloomberg
“Fake News” is a charge that U.S. President Donald Trump routinely levels at mainstream news outlets reporting truths he prefers not to hear. So when economists cry foul — complaining about blasphemy and quackery among would-be practitioners — our first instinct should be a little skepticism about the charge of Fake Economics. Isn’t this just a famously insular and recently maligned profession simply closing ranks?
/goo.gl/k5XVGV

Libor Keeps Rattling U.S. Stocks Even After Debut of Its Replacement
Luke Kawa – Bloomberg
Companies with large share of floating-rate debt hit hardest; Goldman Sachs makes case for stocks with strong balance sheets
The London interbank offered rate is wreaking havoc on U.S. equity markets, refusing to go quietly into retirement.
/goo.gl/TpB2Xj

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Clearing will “mostly likely” move to US – UK government
Louisa Chender Contact Author – Global Investor Group
The UK government has said clearing activity will mostly likely go to the US if it is forced to move as a result of Brexit.
In its response to the House of Lords European Union Committee Report ‘Brexit: The Future of Financial Regulation and Supervision’, the UK government said that in the event of an EU location policy, it is unlikely that the UK clearing industry would move to the continent.
/jlne.ws/2uJhpph

Intercontinental Exchange Reports March and First Quarter 2018 Statistics, Including Record Futures Average Daily Volume and Open Interest
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, today reported March and first quarter 2018 trading volume and related revenue statistics, which can be viewed on the company’s investor relations website at http://ir.theice.com/ir-resources/supplemental-information in the Monthly Statistics Tracking spreadsheet.
/goo.gl/VWr9L9

The Great Fragmenter
Themis Trading Blog
When we first heard the news of the recent collapse of the acquisition of the Chicago Stock Exchange by a Chinese-led investor group, we started thinking about who might make a bid for the CHX. Our first thought was Nasdaq since they currently own “only” three stock exchanges (Nasdaq, BX and PSX) compared to the Cboe and NYSE who each own four stock exchanges. But according to the WSJ, our guess would have been incorrect. The Journal is reporting that NYSE is in talks to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange for $70 million which is $50 million more that the Chinese group was going to pay for the CHX. If they acquire CHX, NYSE will own five stock exchanges (NYSE, Arca, American, National and CHX) which means five colocation center fees, five proprietary data feeds, five sets of ports and five shares of tape revenue. Even if CHX market share flounders, NYSE still stands to collect millions in data related fees.
/jlne.ws/2uIVMp3

Launching a Futures Contract is Hard
RCM Alternatives Blog
While just about everyone was paying attention to wild up and downs of the market last week, those in the commodity world were taking note of China launching a crude oil futures contract. The contract, based in the Yuan, has the potential to shift where and when crude oil hedges and speculation are traded around the world, as well as shift the need for US dollar reserves to enter into such trades. Japan and Singapore have attempted their own crude contracts in the past with little to no success, but this feels like it may be different for China?
/jlne.ws/2Gw1n7R

Japanese online brokerage Monex mulls takeover of crypto exchange Coincheck
Minami Funakoshi, Thomas Wilson- Reuters
Japanese online brokerage firm Monex Group Inc said on Tuesday it was considering buying Coincheck Inc, the cryptocurrency exchange hit by a high-profile $530 million theft of digital money earlier this year.
/jlne.ws/2GQuwtC

Boerse Stuttgart Records Turnover In Excess Of EUR 6.4 Billion In March trading; Volume Of Leverage Products Up Year On Year
MondoVisione
According to its order book statistics, Boerse Stuttgart generated turnover in excess of EUR 6.4 billion in March 2018.
/goo.gl/KTk7KQ

Vienna Stock Exchange: Rally In Equity Turnover Continued In Q1 2018 With Volumes Shooting Up 15%
MondoVisione
Vienna Stock Exchange recorded an equity trading volume of EUR 19.13 billion in the first quarter of 2018, up by 15% yoy (Q1 2017: EUR 16.62 billion). The average monthly trading volume was around EUR 6.38 billion. Apart from continuous trading, auction trading was also dynamic in the first quarter with more than every third order executed in auction trading. The expansion of the global market segment has created the largest selection of stocks ever for domestic investors on the Vienna Stock Exchange. With more than 570 tradable equities, more shares (and equity-linked certificates) are tradable in Vienna than ever before.
/goo.gl/4jCGNh

LME Asia Week is May 17, 2018 in Hong Kong
HKEX
Every year industry leaders and key market players from the metals and financial communities attend LME Asia Week in Hong Kong to discuss the Asian commodities industry and network with peers and clients.
/goo.gl/NcuGch

SGX enhances its Fixed Income business with new leadership and post trade role
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today announced the appointment of Mark Leahy as Head of Fixed Income. In this role, Mark will be responsible for executing the strategy for SGX’s bond trading business, SGX Bond Pro, including driving institutional participation. He will also continue to strengthen SGX’s Asia leadership in bond listings, maintaining the growth momentum with SGX on track to exceed its FY2017 listings record.
/goo.gl/fNWkvE

SGX RegCo launches SGX Fast Track programme for companies with good corporate governance standing
SGX
Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) today launched the SGX Fast Track programme to recognise listed companies that have a good corporate governance standing and compliance track record.
/goo.gl/MU4xAu

Cash markets will turnover 165.1 billion euros in March; Trading volume in the first quarter 33 percent higher than in the previous year
Deutsche Boerse
Deutsche Boerse’s cash markets generated sales of EUR 165.1 billion in March (previous year: EUR 135.7 billion). In the first quarter of 2018, the trading volume was thus 480.1 billion euros – an increase of around 33 percent over the previous year. In 2017, EUR 361.5 billion was still transacted in the first three months.
/goo.gl/h1epXV

SGX appoints bond veteran as head of fixed income; Mark Leahy has held senior roles in fixed income at major institutions including Deutsche Bank, UBS and Nomura.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Singapore Exchange (SGX) has hired industry veteran Mark Leahy as head of fixed income to oversee the exchange operator’s bond trading business SGX Bond Pro.
/goo.gl/rZkcH

HKEX clears path for China biotech challenge to New York; Rules allowing pre-revenue companies to list seen to boost fledgling sector
Emma Dunkley and Tom Hancock – FT
As major tech stocks come under fire, there is growing excitement about a sector that also makes grand promises about changing the world: Chinese biotech.
/goo.gl/e7t3mb

Nasdaq Hosted 2nd Nasdaq International Designation Virtual Investor Conference
Mondovisione
Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) announced the conclusion of its Nasdaq International Designation Virtual Investor Conference on March 21, 2018. In collaboration with BNY Mellon Depositary Receipts, Nasdaq welcomed select BNY Mellon Level I ADR Issuers from Australia and New Zealand to present their current state of business to a broad audience, including potential investors. The Conference also provided individual and institutional investors an opportunity to engage with CEOs, CFOs, and IROs from a wide range of sectors globally.
/goo.gl/4pzAEa

MOEX confirms its compliance with IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks
MOEX
Moscow Exchange announces that it has successfully completed an annual assurance review of MOEX indices’ compliance with the Principles for Financial Benchmarks published by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (“IOSCO”).
/goo.gl/1PCdMQ

Article: The Electronic Warehouse Receipts System for the Commodities Markets of Tomorrow (part 4 of 4)
Hirander Misra, Chairman and CEO of GMEX Group
Commodities markets have always presented market operators with a unique set of challenges. One of these is how to build an effective electronic warehouse receipts system (eWRS) for physical commodities linked to trusted warehousing and financing for trade finance. Many large operators have historically taken a “top-down” approach to commodity market development, starting by implementing a state-of-the-art trading platform and then adding warehousing, eWRS and trade finance almost as an afterthought. In our experience, that’s a seriously flawed approach.
/goo.gl/DmpSc9

****ICYMI.

Intercontinental Exchange Sets May 3rd for First Quarter 2018 Earnings Announcement
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, will announce first quarter 2018 financial results on Thursday, May 3, 2018. An earnings press release will be issued prior to the earnings conference call, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET.
/goo.gl/MVtZ3d

Fintech

MarketAxess CEO Rick McVey: Building an $8.5bn fintech juggernaut; The former JPMorgan bond guru evangelises for technology’s ability to head off the next market crisis
Samuel Agini – Financial News
MarketAxess chairman and chief executive Rick McVey appears to have it too good. Volatility is back, the electronic bond trading venue he founded 18 years ago is valued at $8.5bn, and he recently became engaged to Lara Spencer, the American co-anchor of the national breakfast television program Good Morning America. Everything would be going swimmingly, if it were not for things like Brexit.
/goo.gl/Vg78DN

TradingScreen links up to Liquidnet’s liquidity pool; TradingScreen’s OEMS users will gain access to Liquidnet’s global liquidity and trading services.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
TradingScreen has connected its order and execution management system (OEMS) to Liquidnet’s institutional liquidity and trading strategies under a new agreement.
/goo.gl/Aeudiz

Temenos takeover target Fidessa gets two new potential offers
Reuters Staff
British software firm Fidessa, which has been in takeover talks with Swiss banking software supplier Temenos, said on Tuesday it was approached by two separate undisclosed buyers.
/goo.gl/1wGyT8

Small firms could thrive if big brother was made to pay his debts quickly
James Ashton – The Times
The turn of the financial year is supposed to signal a new beginning for businesses of all sizes. Yet small firms spend as much time looking back on work done as looking at future opportunities. That is because chasing late payment is a job in itself for entrepreneurs.
/goo.gl/v6S28u

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency Hedge Funds Witness Poor Performance and Shutterings
Bitcoin.com
The violent crypto bear trend of 2018 has proved too much for many cryptocurrency hedge funds. The average performance of crypto funds has been a loss of over 20% so far this year, with at least nine crypto hedge funds having been reported to have ceased operations.
/jlne.ws/2GQ5pr1

Two Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Shut down Amid Coincheck Hack Fallout: Report
CCN
The increased scrutiny by Japan’s financial regulator following Coincheck’s infamous $530 million NEM theft will reportedly see two cryptocurrency exchange operators shutter and exit the industry.
/goo.gl/dg27cQ

Cryptocurrencies are getting smoked as investors move to ‘risk off’
Oscar Williams-Grut – Business Insider
Cryptocurrencies are falling just before lunchtime on Wednesday. Major digital currencies began the day in London on the back-foot, with cryptos down between 1% and 3%. The slump has worsened as the morning has progressed.
/goo.gl/nHE62Z

Stablecoins: Scam or Cryptocurrency Volatility Safehaven?
Nick Chong – Bitcoinist
Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to external values outside of the cryptocurrency market, have been all the talk lately, especially in the recent market pullback. Tether, the biggest stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, has recently come under fire due to a lack of transparency.
/jlne.ws/2GYpD1A

Google will no longer accept Chrome extensions that mine cryptocurrency; Putting a stop to cryptojacking
Thuy Ong – The Verge
Starting today, Google’s Chrome Web Store will no longer accept extensions that mine cryptocurrency. The company says there had been a rise in “malicious extensions” over the past few months which appear to be useful, but are actually embedding hidden cryptocurrency mining scripts that run in the background without consent, consuming valuable computing resources. Google says existing extensions will be delisted from the Chrome Web Store in late June, though extensions with blockchain-related purposes “other than mining” will still be permitted.
/goo.gl/SLWqLp

Coinbase snags a former New York Stock Exchange exec to push crypto to Wall Street
Frank Chaparro – Business Insider
Coinbase, the cryptocurrency trading platform, has snagged another former New York Stock Exchange executive as it tries to lure more business from Wall Street.
/goo.gl/3oRSH3

Crypto Rating Sites Are Already Calling Venezuela’s Petro a Scam
Patricia Laya – Bloomberg
Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, center, speaks during the Petro cryptocurrency launch event in Caracas on Feb. 20, 2018. Photographer: Wil Riera/Bloomberg
Two weeks after Venezuela’s cryptocurrency scheduled sale date, many aspects of the Petro remain a mystery and initial coin offering rating sites are already calling it a fraud.
/goo.gl/bmvcsD

John McAfee Charges $105,000 Per Tweet For Promoting Cryptocurrency Projects
Ana Alexandre – Cointelegraph
John McAfee, computer programmer and founder of the eponymous antivirus software, who drew his focus toward digital currency over recent years, disclosed that he charges $105,000 per tweet to promote cryptocurrency projects and products.
/jlne.ws/2GV7H8g

Other News Sources
*Report: Cryptocurrency Trading Platforms Charge 10x More to List Tokens Compared to Traditional Exchanges – via LiveBitcoinNews.com

Politics

Why Elizabeth Warren’s Effort to Hold Bank Executives Accountable May Fall Short
Peter J. Henning – NY Times
A persistent complaint about the government’s response to the financial crisis has been that the executives who helped push the economy to the brink were not charged with crimes.
/goo.gl/xW2BaL

Trump, Xi Wait to See Who Blinks First as Trade Fight Heats Up
Bloomberg News
Both sides look to impose political costs with tariff threats; Each leader thinks he can win ‘game of chicken’: analyst
The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies are waiting to see who backs down after firing the opening shots in a trade war.
/goo.gl/Kpwgcg

Donald Trump’s grudge against Amazon and Jeff Bezos; The US needs antitrust enforcement, it is getting a political vendetta
FT
Even Donald Trump’s worst excesses contain a spark of political insight; if this were not true he would not be president. So it is with his attack on Amazon and its boss, Jeff Bezos.
/goo.gl/NFjuf3

Donald Trump lays out tariff plans for Chinese industrial goods; Duties of 25% planned for products ranging from robots and trains to snowblowers
Shawn Donnan – FT
The Trump administration revealed plans for a 25 per cent tariff on 1,333 Chinese products ranging from industrial robots to locomotives in retaliation for what it said had been decades of state-backed intellectual property theft by Beijing.
/goo.gl/pwhvmJ

The Fuel Powering Corporate America: $2.4 Trillion in Private Fundraising; The boom is transforming how companies grow, concentrating investing in fewer hands and raising concerns about oversight
Jean Eaglesham and Coulter Jones – WSJ
When the messaging app Telegram set out to raise billions of dollars this year for a project to launch a cryptocurrency, it shunned the stock market and instead invited a select group of firms to invest in its virtual coins.
/goo.gl/d1mCGx

Iowa’s Hog Farmers Are Facing Losses Thanks to Trump’s Trade War
Shruti Singh – Bloomberg
China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pork pressure prices; Iowa is largest U.S. producer, serves as industry barometer
The U.S.-China trade war President Donald Trump unleashed may punish the Midwest heartland that helped put him in office.
/goo.gl/8qomei

Regulation

New York Fed Names John Williams President, Bucking Calls for Diversity
Ben Casselman – NY Times
John C. Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, has been chosen to lead the New York Fed. He will bring academic expertise, which is in short supply among the Fed’s senior leaders. Credit Andrew Mangum for The New York Times
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Tuesday named John C. Williams as its next president, choosing a longtime insider for what is widely regarded as one of the Fed’s most influential positions.
/goo.gl/4bj5kD

The Fourth Meeting Of The Working Group On Corporate Disclosure Of The Financial System Council
FSA Japan
The Working Group on Corporate Disclosure of the Financial System Council will hold its fourth meeting on April 9, 2018 as follows.
/goo.gl/LV5p2B

Exchange of Letters for Cooperation Framework on FinTech with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority(FINMA)
FSA Japan
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) exchanged the Letters for Cooperation Framework on FinTech with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) on April 4, 2018.
/goo.gl/CEnbjh

ESMA finds high degree of asset concentration in EU alternative fund industry
ESMA
The EU Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) industry is highly concentrated around a few large participants and asset classes, a recent report by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) shows.
/goo.gl/4dWwEM

Investing and Trading

The Risk Contribution of Stocks: Parts One & Two Part One
Ajay Dravid – Equinox
Most investors tend to believe that stocks are a goodóperhaps even the bestóinvestment in the long run. However, the reason for expecting good performance from stocks is perhaps not always clearly articulated: Quite simply, it is because they are risky.
/goo.gl/Ai3oJA

Stunned Investors Reap 95% Gains on Defaulted Puerto Rico Bonds
Michelle Kaske – Bloomberg
Debt once worth 21 cents on the dollar now trades for 41 cents; Some have doubts: ‘The numbers are still pretty ugly.’
Of all the wild, head-scratching moves in financial markets this year, there are few that have surprised investors quite as much as the rally in defaulted Puerto Rico bonds. “It just blows my mind,” says Matt Dalton, chief executive officer of Belle Haven Investments.
/goo.gl/KN8mhm

Market Paradigms Have Quickly Shifted on Investors; There has been a strong expectation that the extremely low level of volatility experienced last year would persist.
Dean Curnutt – Bloomberg
Two months after the melt down of poorly designed exchange-traded volatility products became front page news, the broader environment for market risk is in transition. Corporate profits and economic growth are strong, but there is unease about the future path of Federal Reserve interest-rate increases, the impact of rising fiscal debt and deficits and the potential for trade wars. Realized volatility in the S&P 500 Index was 20 percent last quarter, up from just 6 percent in the fourth quarter. That is a tremendous increase.
/goo.gl/g2JzNZ

Institutions

Two major investors criticize Deutsche Bank chairman over CEO search
Oliver Hirt, Tom Sims – Reuters
Two major Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) investors on Tuesday criticized Chairman Paul Achleitner over the bank’s performance and his handling of a search for a new chief executive.
/jlne.ws/2uM6yec

Senior equity trading veteran at Candriam retires; Christian Somers contributed to major transformation initiatives during his time at Candriam Investors Group.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
A senior equity trader at Candriam Investors Group has retired as the asset manager continues to renew its trading desk workflow for MiFID II.
/goo.gl/w29c1V

Morgan Stanley Fires Broker With History of Abuse Claims
Emily Flitter – NY Times
Morgan Stanley said Tuesday that it had fired a star financial adviser who has been accused by multiple former wives and girlfriends of physical abuse and stalking.
/goo.gl/jRTemy

Goldman’s Latest Push: Managing Cash for Big Companies; Firm hires JPMorgan managing director in bid for corporate deposits
Liz Hoffman – WSJ
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS 1.31% is quietly plotting a move into commercial banking, hiring a senior JPMorgan Chase & Co. engineer to build a suite of cash management tools, deposit accounts and other products for big companies, according to people familiar with the plans.
/goo.gl/G4Uusg

For Deutsche Bank, Two Johns Could Be Better Than One; The board sorely needs an outsider, even one with a mixed track record.
Lionel Laurent – Bloomberg
Are two Johns better than one? Yes, according to Deutsche Bank AG. According to Bloomberg News, the firm is poised to add John Thain, famous for selling Merrill Lynch to Bank of America at the height of the financial crisis, to its supervisory board.
/goo.gl/o8giAY

Steven Cohen wins dismissal of $8 billion Fairfax short-selling lawsuit
Jonathan Stempel – Reuters
The billionaire Steven A. Cohen has won the dismissal of an $8 billion lawsuit accusing him and his former firm SAC Capital Advisors LP of conspiring with other hedge funds to spread false rumors about Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, hoping to “crush” or “kill” the insurer.
/goo.gl/h219Py

Regions

China Hits Soybeans, Aircraft in Counter-Punch to Trump Tariffs
Bloomberg News
Beijing responds to U.S. tariffs aimed at recouping IP losses; Two sides can still avoid applying tariffs, minister says
China said it would levy an additional 25 percent tariff on imports of 106 U.S. products including soybeans, automobiles, chemicals and aircraft, in response to proposed American duties on its high-tech goods
/goo.gl/245e2Z

Building an entrepreneurial Europe and creating jobs; Europe should support the creation of new start-ups, which need to hire in order to grow
Terence Tse, Mark Esposito and Danny Goh – London School of Economics
An important question that a few people want to ask: what kind of future will the next generations face? According to a recent study, for the first time in human history, younger people are now enjoying a lower standard of living than their parents in advanced economies. On top of that, their job prospects are changing dramatically.
/goo.gl/qhxsWd

Brexit

Threat to fintech industry as young coders shun London over Brexit; Sector to open new offices in the EU to help pursue and keep talent
Martin Arnold – Financial Times
British financial technology companies are worried that Brexit is causing a shortage of software engineers and pushing up salaries in the sector, prompting some of them to open offices elsewhere in the EU.
/goo.gl/iCKuNB

Brexit: UK should not rule out free trade deal with Europe, say MPs Cross-party committee divided over recommendation to remain in EEA or join Efta
The Guardian
The influential Commons Brexit committee has urged the government to consider negotiating continued membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) or joining the European Free Trade Association (Efta) after the UK leaves the European Union.
/goo.gl/L4juZF

Miscellaneous

Stephen Schwarzman blocked from renaming his old high school
Carleton English – NY Post
Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman can buy just about anything he wants ó except the right to rename his old high school.
/goo.gl/91iZQx

Column: Loop’s Citadel Center getting $100 million-plus upgrade
Ryan Ori – Chicago Tribune
The Citadel Center in the Loop is getting a $100 million-plus upgrade, a sign that even Chicago’s most prestigious office buildings must adapt to the fast-changing preferences of tenants
/goo.gl/aij7N9

The post Bidding war erupts over Fidessa acquisition; Spotify debut; China retaliates appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Euronext celebrated the 40th anniversary of its options exchange in Amsterdam yesterday. In conjunction, they also celebrated Drumming Day, a centuries old tradition commemorating the bravery of an orphaned boy who saved Amsterdam’s stock exchange from the Spanish during the Eighty Years’ War.~JJL

It’s not surprising that once volatility returns, the media starts to cover options markets more. As such, yesterday’s JLN Options newsletter was chock full of content, including background on the Greek general Thucydides, an IP spat, convexity, unprepared traders and a dig at David Einhorn’s confusion over why his fund lost money.~SD

Billed as a “funny version of Black Mirror,” a show of short comedy sketches called Buy the Dip (some strong language) has not been released yet but you can see the trailer taking some pokes at cryptocurrencies. Based on this I’d watch it.~JB

If CFTC commissioners ever get too heated from conducting so many fireside chats, they should go on Intercontinental Exchange’s Inside the ICE House podcast. The most recent episode featured Jeff Sprecher talking about ICE’s evolution.~SD

If you dig podcasts and cryptocurrencies then maybe some of these seven podcasts discussing cryptocurrency are for you.~JB

You can now see the work of two pages we have worked on CryptoMarketsWiki on the front page.~JJL

CME Group says based on extensive customer input, monthly and quarterly futures contracts on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) will launch on May 7, pending regulatory review. if you want to learn more about SOFR, read the CME’s white paper on the subject.~JJL

When Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated 50 years ago, Robert Kennedy spoke in Indianapolis, Indiana and told the crowd the terrible news. His speech helped Indianapolis be calm and riot-free in the aftermath. The speech remains special to this day.~JJL

The current weather map for the U.S. looks like it is from the movie “The Day After Tomorrow.”~JJL

Thank goodness that since April Fool’s day is over everything on the internet can be trusted again.~JJL

++++

Staying the (New) Course – Matt Chamberlain, LME
JohnLothianNews.com

London Metal Exchange CEO Matt Chamberlain welcomed a baby into his household in the days before LME Week – one of the bourse’s busiest times of year – but that was far from the only thing keeping the exchange leader occupied in 2017.

In this video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Chamberlain talks about the LME’s efforts in 2017 to engage with market participants and investors regarding the most appropriate path forward (an unusual, almost philosophical chance to ponder best practices), the iterative process of adding new technological features, and initiatives planned for 2018, including the exchange’s plan to get in on the booming electric car battery metals scene. However, Chamberlain admits that with all of the burdens placed on LME members in 2017, 2018 represents a chance to provide a bit of a reprieve for market participants so they can focus on what they do best – trading metals.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Intercontinental Exchange Agrees to Acquire Chicago Stock Exchange
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), a full-service stock exchange, including trading, data and corporate listings services. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the financial impact will not be material to ICE or impact capital return plans.
/goo.gl/vUAHvs

*****Jeff Sprecher finally bought a historic Chicago exchange and did not even need to slip the offer under a hotel room door.~JJL

++++

Cboe Global Markets Appoints Executive Vice Presidents in Newly Formed Markets Division; Andy Lowenthal and Bryan Harkins will co-lead Markets Division as business partners; New Markets Division to unify product, sales and business development teams
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today announced the appointments of Andy Lowenthal and Bryan Harkins as Executive Vice Presidents and co-heads of the firm’s newly formed Markets Division.
/goo.gl/G1aF2o

***** The Cboe found a way to keep both of these talented and well liked executives and team them up.~JJL

++++

SEC Warns of Government Impersonators
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today issued an Investor Alert warning investors of fraudsters claiming to be SEC employees in an attempt to trick investors into sending money or revealing sensitive account information. The alert makes clear that the SEC does not contact investors to confirm trades, set up trading accounts, or record the details of trades. The alert also notes that federal government agencies, including the SEC, do not endorse or sponsor any particular securities, issuers, products, services, professional credentials, firms, or individuals.
/goo.gl/oBEALh

***** Here are some other scams according to the FTC, assuming this is really the FTC.~JJL

++++

Wednesday’s Top Three
Yesterday’s top read story by a long shot was The Trade News’ piece Bidding war erupts over Fidessa acquisition. Second went to Bloomberg’s piece on Libor in The World’s Most Important Number. Third went to Institutional Investor’s The 2018 Trading Tech 40 which included: Raj Mahajan, global co-head of securities systematic solutions at Goldman Sachs Group, ranked first, and
Chris Isaacson, chief information officer at Cboe Global Markets, ranked second. Other notables were Bryan Durkin – president, CME Group in seventh; Sunil Hirani and Don Wilson – co-founders, Digital Asset Holdings at 13, Peter Maragos – CEO, Dash Financial Technologies at 28, Veronica Augustsson – CEO, Cinnober Financial Technology at 30; Don Ross III – CEO, PDQ Enterprises at 34; and Jennifer Nayar – CEO, Vela at 35. A list of varied technologies with just three women.

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,869,991 pages viewed; 23,056 pages; 212,405 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Wall Street’s Big Banks Are Waging an All-Out Technological Arms Race; Dimon, Blankfein, Gorman: Three great rivals are battling to control the $58 billion-a-year equities industry.
Hugh Son, Dakin Campbell – Bloomberg
Sunlight bounced off Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s glass-and-steel Manhattan headquarters on a warm August morning in 2013. Eyes locked on their screens, traders and engineers shifted in their seats as exchanges prepared to open.
/goo.gl/bVgKD7

South Korea Detains Cryptocurrency Executives on Embezzlement Allegations
Eun-Young Jeong – WSJ
South Korean prosecutors detained the heads of two cryptocurrency exchanges, including one of the country’s largest exchanges, for allegedly embezzling customers’ assets, the latest in a string of enforcement actions tied to suspected malfeasance in the country’s bitcoin market.
/goo.gl/pF5kVK

***** We call this a “Pulling a Wasendorf.”~JJL

Fidessa names rival acquisition bidders; Fidessa confirms rival bidders ION Investment Group and SS&C Technologies without their consent.
Joe Parsons – The Trade
Fidessa has announced the two companies that made last-minute bids to acquire it were ION Investment Group and SS&C Technologies.
/goo.gl/1KwLhW

****More sources in Fintech

SS&C Technologies’ stock drops after commencing public stock offering
Marketwatch.com
The company said it plans to use the proceeds to financing its pending acquisition of DST Systems Inc. DST, -0.08% for more than $5 billion, announced in January.
/jlne.ws/2IuiR0K

NYSE parent ICE to acquire Chicago Stock Exchange
Ciara Linnane – MarketWatch
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, said Thursday it has reached agreement to acquire the Chicago Stock Exchange without disclosing terms. The news comes after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the NYSE was in talks on such a deal and was offering about $70 million. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter and will not be material to ICE or its capital return plans. ICE shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 20.7% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.16% has gained 12.4%.
/goo.gl/qkA2zy

Living in the Laboratory: Understanding the SEC’s Transaction Fee Pilot
George Bollenbacher, Capital Markets Advisors – TABB Forum
What has become clear is that almost nothing is clear about how fees and rebates impact both execution decision-making and execution quality, so the SEC’s social experiment is a worthwhile effort. We just need to make sure that it yields the most reliable results possible. In that regard, we should understand the many risks and difficulties involved in scientific experiments, particularly experiments in the social sciences.
/jlne.ws/2GybGrV

Bitcoin Brouhaha: Cryptocurrency Exchange OKEx Denies Price Tampering; The exchange accused others, after sudden price swings, of manipulating a futures contract
Steven Russolillo – WSJ
A large cryptocurrency exchange denied accusations from some customers it manipulated prices of bitcoin futures after sudden price swings on its trading platform last week.
/goo.gl/RW4ZxA

The striking similarities between mortgage-backed securities and the 17th century financial system; The 2008 financial crisis echoed the Stuart dynasty economic fallout
Moshe A. Milevsky – MarketWatch
It’s been exactly a decade since the collapse of Bear Stearns that prefaced the banking crisis of 2008. So you would think that by now investors might have absorbed and learned their lessons from financial history, namely that purchasing debt backed by questionable cash flows can backfire.
/goo.gl/59HJFf

FCA pursues annual ‘value for money’ assessment from buy-side; FCA enforces annual assessment despite concerns around sensitive information and the time frame having been raised.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Asset managers in the UK will be forced to provide annual assessments with regards to costs and value for money of funds, despite claims the requirement is misguided.
/goo.gl/9g5eS5

FCA reveals strict new rules for asset managers; Industry told to act in investors’ interests and move them to cheap versions of funds
Attracta Mooney, Owen Walker and Jennifer Thompson – FT
Asset managers have been warned to act in investors’ best interests as the UK financial watchdog announced stringent new rules to stamp out bad behaviour and restore savers’ trust in the £8.1tn British fund industry.
/goo.gl/k1Fjnq

LIBOR OIS – March 2018 Update
Chris Barnes – Clarus Financial Technology
Our previous blog on Libor-OIS was very popular. Therefore, let’s check out what the USD 1 year Libor-OIS spread did during March 2018.
/jlne.ws/2JjzLAz

Sebi is at it again. NSE, BSE investors can’t ignore regulatory risks; It’s high time the government imposed a requirement of impact assessment on Sebi
Mobis Philipose – Livemint
Last month, this column pointed out that National Stock Exchange Ltd’s valuation has risen 2.5 times in less than two years. Among other things, investors were enthused about the double-digit growth at the company, despite its high base.
/goo.gl/rr265A

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

NYSE Parent Company Agrees to Purchase Chicago Stock Exchange
Steve Dickson – Bloomberg
The New York Stock Exchange’s parent company agreed to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange, adding the smaller venue after its sale to a Chinese buyer collapsed.
/goo.gl/y7YpA5

CME Group and GCSA Capital Collaborate to Deliver the Prefunded Treasury Facility Collateral Program for Meeting Performance Bond Requirements
CME
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and GCSA Capital, a leading provider of collateral and risk transfer solutions for central counterparties and OTC cleared and uncleared derivatives counterparties, today announced they have collaborated to develop the Prefunded Treasury Facility (“PTF”) as a permitted form of collateral at the clearing house division of CME (CME Clearing) for performance bond (initial margin) requirements for clearing members’ proprietary (House) positions in futures and options contracts.
/jlne.ws/2Gx4SLb

Cboe Global Markets Announces Planned Migration Date of Cboe Options Exchange to Bats Technology Platform
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today announced that it plans to migrate Cboe Options Exchange to the company’s proprietary Bats technology on October 7, 2019. The planned migration of Cboe Options Exchange to Bats technology follows similar migrations for Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) and C2 Options Exchange.
/goo.gl/WdAQtf

Rise in Russian grain exports spurs trading in new wheat contract
Emiko Terazono and Gregory Meyer – Financial Times
The rise of the Black Sea region as a leading grain exporter has boosted traders’ interest in a new wheat futures contract ó one of the few agricultural commodities derivatives to gain traction on the international markets of late
/jlne.ws/2GwD1dW

What is the big switch underpinning the euro-clearing battle? As politicians wrangle over Brexit, there are already signs the market is expecting significant swap liquidity to shift to the continent
Peter Rippon – Financial News
Holding onto the EUR700bn-a-day euro-swap clearing market is one of the City’s biggest Brexit battles. But as the politicians continue to posture, there are already signs the market expects significant liquidity could shift to the continent.
/goo.gl/wxdjHV

NYSE Announces B & C Tape Fees
MarketsMedia
In a Trader Update posted April 2, the New York Stock Exchange announced trading fees for Tape B and C securities.
The bourse also added that the next phase of NYSE Pillar will be the expansion of NYSE electronic and floor trading to all Reg NMS securities beginning on April 9, 2018.
/jlne.ws/2GycNrL

ASX Monthly Activity Report – March 2018
ASX
/goo.gl/UgVtTY

SGX RegCo reviews Noble Group Limited’s Restructuring Support Agreement
SGX
Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) notes the Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) entered into between Noble Group Limited (Noble Group) and certain senior creditors.
/goo.gl/nL2g1E

TMX Group Consolidated Trading Statistics – March 2018
TMX
TMX Group Limited today announced March 2018 trading statistics for its marketplaces – Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange (Alpha) and MontrÈal Exchange (MX).
/goo.gl/oQuxhK

A. Single Stock Futures: Introduction of four SSFs; B. Single Stock Dividend Futures:
Introduction of one SSDF; C. Equity options: Introduction of two equity options
Eurex
The Management Board of Eurex Deutschland took the following decisions with effect from 11 April 2018:
/goo.gl/XmAkSt

Record Activity in Eurex Clearing’s Partnership Program
Eurex
In March, Eurex Clearing’s OTC Interest Rate Derivatives (IRD) segment saw record activity under the new Partnership Program. Volumes increased around elevenfold compared to March 2017 with a total of EUR 1.7 trillion notional cleared. The total notional outstanding reached EUR 4.7 trillion compared to EUR 1.2 trillion in March 2017.
/goo.gl/XBi279

Vente-unique.com lists on Euronext Growth
Euronext
Euronext today welcomed the listing of online furniture retailer Vente-unique.com on Euronext Growth.
/goo.gl/vYbrEt

Cboe Global Markets Reports March 2018 Trading Volume
Cboe
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today reported March monthly trading volume and average revenue per contract (RPC)/net revenue capture data at www.cboe.com/monthlyvolrpc.
/goo.gl/cK8Yky

Cross Currency Haircuts: Adjustments as of the end-of-day batch run on 11 April 2018
Eurex
Please find attached a specification of Eurex Clearing’s Cross Currency Haircuts effective with the end-of-day batch run on 11 April 2018.
/goo.gl/EG6GFc

Spotify’s Trading Slump Raises Questions About Listing Process; Music-streaming company’s stock has mostly been on slow grind lower since Tuesday’s splashy market debut
Maureen Farrell and Chelsey Dulaney – WSJ
Spotify Technology SA SPOT -3.21% shares slumped Wednesday, raising questions about the potential costs of its unorthodox listing process a day after its splashy market debut.
/goo.gl/M9kvyb

Fewer Spotify Shares Sold Than Expected in Unusual Listing
Alex Barinka – Bloomberg
Initial share supply shortage seen as driving up price briefly; Music-streaming company’s trading volume below big tech IPOs
Fewer Spotify Technology SA holders sold shares in the company’s direct listing Tuesday than expected by advisers, potentially contributing to an initial shortage that drove the price up, people familiar with the matter said.
/goo.gl/RYV2rR

Cboe Global Markets Appoints Executive Vice Presidents in Newly Formed Markets Division
MarketsMedia
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today announced the appointments of Andy Lowenthal and Bryan Harkins as Executive Vice Presidents and co-heads of the firm’s newly formed Markets Division.
/goo.gl/Jn5bGd

Fintech

Fidessa confirms mystery bidders as Ion Trading and SS&C
Cat Rutter Pooley – FT
Fidessa on Thursday confirmed the identities of the two mystery potential bidders who had gatecrashed its takeover by Swiss group Temenos, which had been due to be signed-off by shareholders today, as the trading software provider Ion Trading and US-based financial services technology group SS&C.
/goo.gl/3YtxgD

****Reuters here.Quantitative Brokers Partners with CQG to Offer Best

Execution Algorithms for Futures; QB’s suite of execution strategies to be offered on CQG’s leading platform
Business Wire
Quantitative Brokers (QB), an independent provider of advanced algorithms and data-driven analytics to clients in the Futures and US Cash Treasury markets, today announced a partnership with CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance trading, market data, and advanced technical analysis tools, to offer QB’s suite of premium execution algorithms on CQG’s platform.
/goo.gl/Ab7NYk

Quantitative Brokers forms partnership with CQG
Finextra
Quantitative Brokers (QB), an independent provider of advanced algorithms and data-driven analytics to clients in the Futures and US Cash Treasury markets, today announced a partnership with CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance trading, market data, and advanced technical analysis tools, to offer QB’s suite of premium execution algorithms on CQG’s platform.
/goo.gl/LRz4UT

NetXpress Partners With Level Trading Field to Provide Cryptocurrency Exchange Feed
NetXpress
Global connectivity provider NetXpress is announcing its partnership with Level Trading Field, LLC, a highly interactive, cloud-based quantitative and analytics technology platform for traders and financial professionals.
/goo.gl/X8yF5W

Duco appoints COO
Hedgeweek
Duco, a data engineering technology company, has appointed Mireille Dyrberg as Chief Operating Officer (COO), with responsibility for customer success, all administrative functions, finance and legal.
/jlne.ws/2GBEgbK

IPC Names Robert A. Santella as Chief Executive Officer
PRNewswire
IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the financial markets community, announced today the appointment of Robert (Bob) A. Santella as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective April 16, 2018. Mr. Santella succeeds Neil Barua, who will leave the Company to pursue other opportunities.
/jlne.ws/2GzSXfK

Cryptocurrencies

Lendingblock appoints new CTO
Finextra
Lendingblock, the open exchange for cryptocurrency loans, today announces the appointment of Luca Sbardella as Chief Technology Officer. Luca is an experienced software engineer and quant developer, having worked as a CTO, lead software engineer and senior quant developer at BAML, BMLL Technologies and Citigroup. During this time, he had extensive experience as a senior quantitative developer on trading desks working closely on interest rate options and exotics.
/jlne.ws/2Jfo2Tr

South Korean prosecutors detain executives at crypto exchanges; Enforcement officials allege traders’ funds were moved to personal accounts of operators
Song Jung-a – FT
South Korean prosecutors have detained top executives of two South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges for alleged embezzlement and fraud as authorities crack down on virtual currency trading in one of the world’s most exuberant bitcoin markets.
/goo.gl/ss7fkq

Ripple Has Tried to Buy Its Way Onto Major Exchanges for Cryptocurrency
Annie Massa, Lily Katz, Matthew Leising – Bloomberg
Startup asked Gemini, Coinbase if money would persuade them; XRP has surged on speculation it may list on big U.S. exchange
Ripple has a problem. The startup controls the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency, XRP. Banks have signed onto its network and bought equity stakes in its business, which wants to rewire how money moves around the world. And yet when it comes to obtaining a coveted listing for XRP on two of the top U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges, Ripple hasn’t been able to close the deal.
/goo.gl/goaqg3

Cryptojacking is becoming a real menace
Stan Schroeder – Mashable
Cryptojacking ó the malicious practice of hijacking one’s computer resources to mine cryptocurrencies ó has taken off in a big way near the end of last year. According to a report by Symantec, published on Wednesday, cryptojacking has surged by 8,500% last year, especially since September ó which is roughly the time when the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum really hit the stratosphere.
/goo.gl/TfBEp4

Foxconn, Sirin Labs to make first blockchain smartphone; Foxconn, will manufacture its Finney blockchain smartphone, which is designed to securely store and use digital currencies such as bitcoin in fee-less transactions
Rama Venkat – Livemint
Swiss-Israeli technology firm Sirin Labs said that FIH Mobile Ltd, a subsidiary of world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn, will manufacture its Finney blockchain smartphone, which is designed to securely store and use digital currencies such as bitcoin in fee-less transactions.
/goo.gl/Pk88PY

Nvidia: This Bitmain Thing Has Morgan Stanley Worried
Tiernan Ray – Barron’s
The news yesterday that startup Bitmain Technologies has unveiled a custom chip for “mining” cryptocurrencies continues to worry some analysts covering chip giant Nvidia (NVDA).
/goo.gl/1nh6Nd

Chinese Crypto Mining Company Poses a Threat to AMD and Nvidia
Lily Katz – Bloomberg
Beijing-based Bitmain selling new hardware for Ethereum mining; Competition may hurt demand for chipmakers’ GPUs, analysts say
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Nvidia Corp. are feeling the heat from a Chinese adversary that they never imagined would become a competitor.
/goo.gl/gT4L5g

Politics

Dimon Sees Risk to Global Economy in U.S. Trade War With China
Hugh Son – Bloomberg
JPMorgan CEO agrees there are ‘legitimate complaints’; In annual letter, he also says Fed may raise rates quickly
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the U.S. has legitimate grievances with China on trade, but that “anything that starts to resemble a trade war” will pour risk and uncertainty into the global economic system.
/goo.gl/SjZDn8

Ex-Trump aide Bannon: ‘To hell with Wall Street’ view on trade moves
Reuters Staff
Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist and 2016 campaign CEO, had a fiery response on Wednesday to Wall Street’s dim view of Trump’s trade actions against China.
/goo.gl/nno2EE

Trump isn’t tweeting nearly enough, these Amazon stock investors say; Buyers of the stock don’t see the tweets as a threat, and are using the decline to add to positions
Ryan Vlastelica – MarketWatch
Over the past week, President Donald Trump has engaged in something of a one-man attack against the online retail giant Amazon.com Inc., repeatedly criticizing it and Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder, over a variety of issues. Bezos also owns the Washington Post, a publication Trump has criticized, and which he has repeatedly referred to as the “Amazon Washington Post.”
/goo.gl/e73ALQ

Regulation

Swaps data: a Mifid-shaped hole
Amir Khwaja, Clarus Financial Technology – Risk.net (NO PAYWALL)
As the first quarter of 2018 ends with the US Federal Reserve still on a rate-hiking path, it’s a good time to take stock of global US dollar swaps volumes.
/goo.gl/T6yFDp

FCA sets out next steps to improve competition in the UK’s asset management industry
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published the latest step in its response to the concerns identified through its asset management market study. This is part of a package of remedies to ensure fund managers compete on the value they deliver, and act in the interests of the millions who entrust them with their savings.
/goo.gl/kcdVxc

Canada and South Africa continue to meet requirements for endorsement
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today issued an update stating that the legal and supervisory frameworks of Canada and South Africa will continue to meet the requirements for endorsement under CRA Regulation (CRAR) from June 2018.
/goo.gl/chdZSH

South Korean Crypto Exchange Executives Detained in Fraud Probe
Jihye Lee – Bloomberg
Chief of Coinnest among those detained: prosecutors’ office; The Asian nation has been cracking down on crypto activity
South Korean prosecutors detained four executives from two cryptocurrency exchanges on allegations of embezzlement and fraud as regulators crack down on virtual currency trading in one of the world’s busiest bitcoin markets.
/goo.gl/4ogavb

U.K. Money Managers Under Pressure Over Fees
Silla Brush – Bloomberg
U.K. Financial Conduct Authority wants more disclosure; Regulator says extra information would help retail investors
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority wants asset managers to disclose more information about how they measure their performance, ramping up pressure on active funds to justify their charges.
/goo.gl/WNfJTB

Investing and Trading

Q1 sees twice as many IPOs as the first quarter of 2017
John Filar Atwood – Jim Hamilton’s World of Securities Regulation:
The IPO market finished the first quarter, which began with a record-breaking January, with 55 new issues, nearly twice the Q1 2017 total of 28. Seventeen of the deals were completed in March, a slight improvement over February’s 16 offerings. The last week of March saw seven companies go public, including four that are headquartered in China. Nine of the year’s new issuers operate out of China.
/jlne.ws/2JirooN

Crash Course in Market Timing Shows Cost of Being Wrong at Tops
Lu Wang, Sarah Ponczek – Bloomberg
Final year historically makes up one fifth of bull market gain; Conflicting psychology more pronounced as volatility picks up
It’s the eternal debate. Stocks are teetering. Volatility’s back. Do you ride it out, or take the money and run?
/goo.gl/PhuKjb

For Bond Market, Trade-War Armageddon Looks Far From Imminent
Liz McCormick – Bloomberg
The U.S. Treasury market has yet to buy fully into the fear that’s sending equities sliding — that the world is on the precipice of a trade war.
/goo.gl/b28CDv

Three Things to Keep in Mind for Friday’s Employment Report
Erik Norland – CME Group
The February jobs report was a killer: 313,000 new jobs were created, with an additional 54,000 in upward revisions. Average hourly earnings growth, however, was much less impressive, growing only 2.6% YoY and just 0.4% after factoring for inflation. So, despite the unemployment rate holding at 4.1%, companies are hiring briskly but wage growth is mysteriously absent.
/jlne.ws/2Jin8pl

Institutions

JPMorgan Chief James Dimon Likes the Bank’s Growth Prospects, Despite Risks; Worries include cybersecurity, interest-rate policy, growth of ETFs
Emily Glazer – WSJ
JPMorgan JPM 1.52% Chase & Co. chief James Dimon shared an optimistic view of the bank’s growth prospects in his annual shareholder letter published Thursday.
/goo.gl/dMqh1M

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Faces Wave of Investor Redemptions; Future of activist investor’s firm may not include a private hedge fund after losing bets on Valeant and Herbalife
David Benoit – WSJ
William Ackman, the famed shareholder activist, is losing investors at a rapid pace and facing a future that would no longer include managing a private hedge fund.
/goo.gl/LqCSbp

The Man Who Spent $100K To Remove A Lie From Google
Aarti Shahani – NPR
In Europe, if there’s a webpage with information about you that you don’t like ó because it’s either inaccurate or just too personal ó you can make Google hide it from search results. Google has done exactly that with more than 1 million pages in Europe. It’s part of a growing legal movement in Europe that grants people “a right to be forgotten” on the Internet.
/goo.gl/XWhm8Z

Barclays’s Rating Cut by Moody’s to Lowest Investment Grade
Stephen Morris, Emma Orr – Bloomberg
Moody’s highlights key risks at volatile capital markets unit; Investors shrug off the news, bank’s shares are up about 1%
Barclays Plc’s ratings were cut by Moody’s Investors Service, citing concerns about earnings at the investment bank after the British lender split its riskier trading activities from its retail operations.
/goo.gl/dYSCXm

Exclusive: Yellen gets post-Fed payday in private meetings with Wall St. elite
Jonathan Spicer, Ann Saphir – Reuters
Janet Yellen visited Wall Street for a paid appearance two months after stepping down as Fed chair, discussing the economy and interest rates at an event hosted by investment bank Jefferies that included a sit-down dinner for forty.
/goo.gl/x54ESg

Regions

Britain Aims to Close Gender Pay Gap With Transparency and Shame
Liz Alderman – NY Times
The gender pay gaps detailed by British companies in recent months surprised almost no one ó men are paid more than women, often by a wide margin, at the vast majority of businesses.
/goo.gl/ivuN4T

Banks Rush to Turn Japan Cashless
Gareth Allan, Yuki Hagiwara – Bloomberg
Spurred by law change, lenders are working on digital payments; Open banking will change the financial industry, analysts say
Japanese banks, long content to foster the nation’s love for cash, are now diving into digital payments thanks to a regulatory change that threatens to usher in new rivals.
/goo.gl/nhKVqf

Banks get one more year to adopt Indian accounting standards; RBI deputy governor N.S. Vishwanathan says that banks are still not prepared to move to Ind AS and therefore they have decided to defer its implementation by a year
PTI
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday deferred the implementation of the Indian accounting standards (Ind AS) by one year as many banks are not prepared to migrate to the new accounting system.
/goo.gl/ciMxWc

Miscellaneous

Cyberattack Shows Vulnerability of Gas Pipeline Network
Clifford Krauss – NY Times
A cyberattack on a shared data network forced four of the nation’s natural-gas pipeline operators to temporarily shut down computer communications with their customers over the last week.
/goo.gl/vB7YFE

The post Big bank tech arms race; South Korea Detains Crypto Execs; Rival Fidessa acquisition bidders ION and SS&C appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Intercontinental Exchange Group’s market cap was $42.2 billion yesterday. Last August, it was $38.8 billion. In 2005, after its IPO, it was $2 billion.~JK

Yesterday marked the 228th birthday of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX). The following comes from Daniel Carrigan, president of Nasdaq Futures, Inc.: “PHLX was formed to support a fledgling U.S. government which borrowed $77 million from citizens to wage freedom from Britain. The first private debt offering was listed for trading in 1795 for The Penn and Lancaster Turnpike. The certificate contained the first picture imprint on a certificate (a picture of a turnpike). What is a turnpike? It is a gate with a wooden pole with a metal pike on top. Traffic was directed by whichever way the pike was “turned” at the gate. There are no records how much capital was raised, but the turnpike bond interest rate in 1795 was 5% per annum.”~SD

The latest edition of the FIA’s MarketVoice is online now.~JJL

Took a moment to go through recent CME disciplinary actions – there were four that came through the pipeline on April 2. The two actions against individuals – NYMEX related one here and COMEX related one here – were both for spoofing. The two NYMEX actions against companies were for a non-bona fide “Exchange for Risk” transaction and for a violation of position limits in nat gas.~SD

Regardless of CHX’s model – maker taker, taker maker, whatever – the theory is that had it been sold to the previously interested consortium, it would be structured as a tinker, tailor, soldier, spy exchange.~SD

If you want to nominate someone for Global Investor Group’s 2018 Awards and review the categories, go here.~SD

++++

Cryptocurrency derivatives; FCA statement on the requirement for firms offering cryptocurrency derivatives to be authorised.
UK FCA
We are aware of a growing number of UK firms offering so-called cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related assets. As indicated in our Feedback Statement on DLT, cryptocurrencies are not currently regulated by the FCA provided they are not part of other regulated products or services. Cryptocurrency derivatives are, however, capable of being financial instruments under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MIFID II), although we do not consider cryptocurrencies to be currencies or commodities for regulatory purposes under MiFID II. Firms conducting regulated activities in cryptocurrency derivatives must, therefore, comply with all applicable rules in the FCA’s Handbook and any relevant provisions in directly applicable European Union regulations.
/goo.gl/2MVsFC

***** Play by our rules or face the consequences.~JJL

++++

CME Is World’s Most Valuable Exchange Brand
MondoVisione
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) remains the world’s most valuable exchange brand despite its brand value dropping 1% to US$1.3 billion, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy. This achievement comes on the back of their huge business volumes, with steady growth delivering the highest revenues amongst global asset exchanges.
/goo.gl/dLK3XM

**Cboe Global Markets cracked the top 10, up 52% as the world’s fastest growing exchange brand.~JK

++++

U.S. tax liabilities for crypto currencies in 2017 seen at $25 billion, to pressure bitcoin: Fundstrat
Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss – Reuters
Soaring crypto-currency prices last year are estimated to result in U.S. tax liabilities of $25 billion, adding further selling pressure to these assets in the short term, according to a research note by Fundstrat Global Advisers on Thursday.
/goo.gl/Pt5ZsG

***** Remember the nephew at Christmas who told you to get into bitcoin? He has a big tax bill and less crypto asset value to pay it.~JJL

++++

Boots on the Ground – Michael Syn, SGX

JohnLothianNews.com

SGX’s EVP and Head of Derivatives Michael Syn knows the emerging markets ropes. In this video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Syn talks about the role SGX plays in the global exchange economy, the effects of macroeconomic trends and the need for more personnel on the ground overseas.
Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Thursday’s Top Three
Yesterday’s top read story was The Trade’s Fidessa names rival acquisition bidders. That would be ION and SS&C Technologies. Second went to a story that affects us all, the crummy weather! Mashable’s forecast Record-setting April cold, snow to sweep across Midwest, Eastern U.S. sent several traders back inside for six more weeks. The third item was the movie trailer for Buy the Dip about two friends who meet a homeless man called Nick who offers them some life changing investment advice involving cryptocurrencies.

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
122,912,320 pages viewed; 23,058 pages; 212,464 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Regulators World-Wide Are Cracking Down on Cryptocurrencies. India’s Next.; The country will prevent banks and financial institutions from engaging in digital currencies
Steven Russolillo and Gregor Stuart Hunter – WSJ
The regulatory clampdown on cryptocurrencies is gaining momentum around the world, adding pressure to asset values as governments intensify efforts to rein in speculative trading and criminal activity.
/goo.gl/ocushP

CME Group takes heat over large, private grain trades
Tom Polansek – Reuters
Global grain merchant Bunge Ltd and U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives hit exchange-operator CME Group Inc with complaints at a regulatory advisory committee meeting on Thursday over private transactions which critics say reduce transparency in agricultural markets.
/goo.gl/cJMXdu

Corporate America Will Bring Next Wave of Pain, Money Managers Warn
John Gittelsohn – Bloomberg
Asset managers are dialing back holdings on rising rate fears; Proportion of highly leveraged global companies has crept up
Corporate America will beget the next wave of financial pain, or even recession, a growing choir of the world’s biggest money managers is warning.
/goo.gl/SDDkcq

Fintech Could Flop Without Big Banks; An amazing product is nothing without access to money.
Matt Levine – Bloomberg
What is this Bloomberg Markets story about? The headline is “Wall Street’s Big Banks Are Waging an All-Out Technological Arms Race,” and part of the thesis is that, especially in equities, banks are no longer in the business of using their balance sheets to profitably intermediate trades for clients, but are instead in the business of providing technology platforms to those clients to do the trades automatically:
/goo.gl/54EcmD

UK watchdog says license needed to trade cryptocurrencies
Simon Jessop, Emma Rumney – Reuters
Britain’s financial watchdog said on Friday that firms offering services linked to cryptocurrency derivatives must meet all relevant rules in the regulator’s handbook or could face sanctions.
/goo.gl/tcuwos

$60 Billion Manager Considers Selling All U.S. Assets
Matthew Burgess – Bloomberg
Nader Naemi of AMP says political risk is becoming too much; Investor suggests shorting Boeing, going long Airbus
Nader Naeimi, a money manager at the $145 billion AMP Capital Investors Ltd., is so frustrated by the tariff fight with China that he’s considering dumping all his American holdings.
/goo.gl/bGSypS

Crypto-Tracing Software Firm Expands to Cover More Currencies
Olga Kharif – Bloomberg
Chainalysis will track Bitcoin Cash, trace other coins soon; Company raised $16 million in Benchmark-led funding round
Chainalysis Inc., a maker of anti-money-laundering software, is widening the reach of its products that monitor cryptocurrency trading amid heightened demand for secure transactions.
/goo.gl/9gzqfr

Rosenblatt Securities Expands International Partnerships (and Analysts)
Sanford Bragg – Integrity Research
Rosenblatt Securities, a New York institutional brokerage, has been quietly adding reciprocal arrangements with emerging and frontier market brokerage firms to increase its trading relationships and research coverage. Rosenblatt currently has arrangements with fifteen brokers, surpassing Jefferies but still far short of Auerbach Grayson’s network. The firm also hired two tech analysts as it expands its proprietary research offering.
/goo.gl/UbHgkb

Monex buys cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck for •3.6bn; Japanese financial services company plans IPO for its acquisition
Leo Lewis in Tokyo and Alice Woodhouse – FT
Shares in Monex Group closed near a 10-year high on Friday after the Japanese online brokerage said it would pay •3.6bn ($33.5m) for cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck and prepare its troubled acquisition for an IPO.
/goo.gl/jMJxhH

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Record activity in Eurex Clearing’s partnership program
Deutsche Bˆrse Group
For the month of March, the off-exchange rate derivatives segment of Eurex Clearing under the new partnership program recorded record activity. Compared to the same month last year, the cleared nominal volume increased by a factor of eleven to EUR 1.7 trillion. The outstanding volume was thus EUR 4.7 trillion after EUR 1.2 trillion in March 2017.
/goo.gl/6ViwCS

LSEG Technology successfully implements the OCG Participant Gateway for HKEX
London Stock Exchange Group
LSEG Technology today announced the go-live rollout of the HKEX Orion Central Gateway (OCG). Working with HKEX, LSEG Technology’s MillenniumIT has successfully delivered and integrated the OCG technology with the Orion Trading Platform enabling all users to electronically connect to HKEX’s securities trading systems. The upgraded direct order gateway will increase capacity and allow HKEX to offer a more robust, low-latency technology service.
/goo.gl/Hx3Y46

Dividend season: positive growth in dividend derivatives
Eurex
During these times of historically low interest rates, investors around the world seek safety, growth and yield. That is why dividend strategies remain an attractive alternative to low risk / low return fixed interest investments. With dividend season starting, it is a good time to take a closer look at Eurex Exchange’s dividend derivatives and the benefits they provide for investors.
/goo.gl/vzxwr1

Euronext announces volumes for March 2018
Euronext
Euronext, the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, today announced trading volumes for March 2018.
/goo.gl/uRH8mU

Cboe announces leadership for new Markets Division; Firm also outlines plans to migrate Cboe Options Exchange onto Bats proprietary technology.
By John Brazier – The Trade
Cboe has appointed Andy Lowenthal and Bryan Harkins as the co-heads and executive vice presidents of its newly-established Markets Division.
/goo.gl/nscfoo

Adjustment of Li & Fung Structured Products, Futures and Options
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has announced the arrangements for the adjustment to Li & Fung Limited (Li & Fung) structured products, futures and options to account for Li & Fung’s special dividend
/goo.gl/gGkBgX

Chicago Stock Exchange agrees sale to ICE; Move follows collapse of deal with consortium including Chinese investors
Nicole Bullock and Eric Platt in New York YESTERDAY – FT
The Chicago Stock Exchange has agreed a sale to Intercontinental Exchange, after the collapse of a deal to sell to a consortium that included Chinese investors.
/goo.gl/42B4Wa

Exchange of the Year 2018: The Nominees
SIX News
SIX Swiss Exchange AG is proud to be on the shortlist in the category “Exchange Group of the Year” for the FN Trading and Technology Awards 2018.
/goo.gl/RTtM3M

Post-Trade Industry Leaders To Gather For The WFE’s 35TH IOMA Clearing & Derivatives Conference
Mondovisione
Industry leaders will gather in Chicago, USA, next week for The World Federation of Exchanges’ (“The WFE”) 35th IOMA Clearing & Derivatives Conference which kicks off on 11 April through to 13 April 2018.
/jlne.ws/2GzI79f

SGX reports market statistics for March 2018
SGX
New bond listings in March see FY2018 to-date beating the FY2017 record of 819 (S$384.7 billion), Another record month for SGX USD/CNH futures volumes as Renminbi internationalisation continues to drive demand for CNH hedging tools
/goo.gl/FeJiCP

Fintech

CLS and NEX Extending triReduce Compression Service to Third Parties
Jeff Patterson – Finance Magnates
CLS and NEX have jointly extended the triReduce CLS FX service to third parties, greatly enhancing participation. The joint effort reflects an ongoing bid to expand participation for third parties amidst a strong demand for compression of FX forwards and swaps.
/jlne.ws/2Jjr3SG

Hey Alexa, Can You Help Amazon Get Into the Payments Business?; Firm looks to make voice commands the next wave of commerce, pushing it in direct rivalry with Venmo
By AnnaMaria Andriotis and Laura Stevens – WSJ
Amazon.com Inc . AMZN 2.92% is considering whether to use its Alexa virtual assistant to start a person-to-person payments feature, a move that would push the retailing giant into new competition with PayPal Holdings Inc.’s PYPL 2.90% Venmo and big banks’ payments efforts, according to people familiar with its strategy.
/goo.gl/BTFZhF

Russia files lawsuit to block Telegram messaging app
Reuters Staff
Russia’s state communications watchdog said on Friday it had filed a lawsuit to limit access to the Telegram messaging app after the company refused to give Russian state security services access to its users’ secret messages.
/goo.gl/EdW3yE

Scottish Fintech Investment Reaches £37 Million According to Government
digit.fyi
Scotland’s rapidly evolving Fintech ecosystem, which brings together start-ups, global corporations, universities and the public sector, has attracted nearly £37 million investment over the last 10 years according to new Scottish Government figures.
/jlne.ws/2uQTaFU

Fidessa pushes vote on Temenos deal to latest possible date
Cat Rutter Pooley in London – FT
Fidessa, the UK financial technology business that had its plans for a tie-up with Swiss group Temenos knocked off course earlier this week after two other suitors came forward with offers, has rescheduled the shareholder vote designed to rubber stamp the Temenos deal to the last possible moment.
/goo.gl/2Wm9eC

Cryptocurrencies

CoinList Raises $9.2 Million in First Round as ICOs Boom
By Camila Russo – Bloomberg
CoinList, a digital coin sales platform, raised $9.2 million in an initial round of funding, the company said in a statement.
/goo.gl/YZ16tE

Former Mt. Gox CEO Is No Longer a Bitcoin Believer
By Olga Kharif – Bloomberg
In Reddit chat with users, Karpeles talked about jail, fraud; He said he wants to reimburse users from any funds he gets
The former chief executive officer of the once-largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, said he no longer is a Bitcoin believer, and sounded pessimistic about cryptocurrencies in general.
/goo.gl/jKXkN1

Hacked Crypto Exchange Sold for $34 Million
By Fuji Nakamura, Hikeki Sagiike – Bloomberg
Japanese retail brokerage agrees to acquire Coincheck; Monex’s Katsuya to run the exchange, replacing CEO Wada
Coincheck Inc., the cryptocurrency exchange that lost about $500 million of customer deposits to hackers in January, was acquired by Monex Group Inc. in a deal that sent shares of the Japanese retail brokerage soaring to a five-year high.
/goo.gl/yMLUJo

Japan explores ways to formally regulate cryptocurrency ICOs
Aaron Hankin – MarketWatch
As U.S. government watchdogs increase scrutiny of initial coin offerings, or ICOs, Japan is exploring ways to formally regulate the form of venture-capital fundraising.
/goo.gl/E5JRuC

RBI bans Bitcoins, other virtual currencies, prohibits any dealing with banks
By Saloni Shukla, ET
In February this year Finance Minister Arun Jaitley outlawed the use of cryptocurrencies in India while presenting the Union Budget 2018.
/goo.gl/yUfYke

A ‘seismic shift’ is taking place in the cryptocurrency sector, analyst says
Aaron Hankin – MarketWatch
The days of overnight bitcoin millionaires are fading fast. As the price of the No. 1 digital currency continues to fall ó declining more than 40% in the first quarter ó the crypto hall of fame is fast becoming a hall of shame.
/jlne.ws/2H4eTin

India’s central bank issues cryptocurrency ban
www.finextra.com
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has banned regulated banks and its account holders from dealing in cryptocurrencies. The growing bubble around bitcoin and other virtual currencies has unnerved a number of central banks in recent months but the RBI’s blanket ban is the furthest measure so far taken by a major regulator.
/jlne.ws/2uNcSCl

A 200-Year-Old Idea Offers a New Way to Trace Stolen Bitcoins
Andy Greenberg – WIRED
Bitcoin’s blockchain provides inalterable evidence, stored on thousands of computers, of every Bitcoin transaction that’s ever taken place. Many of the transactions recorded on that distributed ledger are crimes: Billions of dollars in stolen funds, contraband deals, and paid ransoms sitting in plain sight, yet obscured by unidentifiable Bitcoin addresses and, in many cases, tangles of money laundering. But a group of Cambridge cybersecurity researchers now argues that one can still distinguish those contraband coins from the legitimate ones that surround them, not with any new technical or forensic technique, but simply by looking at the blockchain differently – specifically, looking at it more like an early 19th century English judge.
/jlne.ws/2EnrKqt

A New Way to Invest in Cryptocurrency
Avi Salzman – Barron’s
Matt Hougan was a pioneer in the world of exchange-traded funds at a time when most institutions shunned them. He served as chief executive of ETF.com, a ratings and analytics firm, and Inside ETFs, an educational company.
In February, Hougan joined another nascent industry, the world of cryptocurrencies. He is now global head of research at Bitwise Asset Management, which recently started a privately traded cryptocurrency index fund called the Bitwise HOLD 10 that invests in the 10 largest digital coins by market cap. (It’s available only to accredited investors, those with $1 million in investible assets or annual income of $200,000 or more.)
/jlne.ws/2EobO7k

Initial Coin Offerings: The Future of the Future of Finance
Sviatoslav Rosov – CFA Institute Blog
The question of whether the blockchain will end up as nothing or everything continues to be asked with no definitive answer as of yet. With the price of Bitcoin bouncing around US$10,000, and the mass media moving on from breathlessly covering the issue, it may not be obvious to readers whether the revolution may have stalled. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a good lens through which we can view the issues challenging regulators and market participants.
/jlne.ws/2GzypUl

Chinese bitcoin miner eyes IPO, prefers to list outside mainland
The Star
China’s Canaan Creative, one of the world’s largest crypto-currency mining equipment makers, said it was considering an IPO outside the mainland, although it did not provide details on a possible time frame or how much the company expects to raise.
/goo.gl/rWcJf8

Have you ever meta crypto joke you didn’t like?
Jemima Kelly – FT
Vitalik Buterin, the 24-year-old wunkerkind creator of Ethereum, took to developers’ forum GitHub on Sunday to propose capping the total supply of ether at just over 120m – twice the amount of the digital tokens originally released:
/goo.gl/wkLos9

Director of firm involved in bitcoin scam held
Press Trust of India
The director of an online multi-level marketing company and his brother have been arrested from Delhi today in connection with an alleged multi-crore bitcoin ponzi scheme, a senior Pune police officer said.
/goo.gl/VKrF2T

Crypto Selloff Driven by $25 Billion Capital Gain Hit, Tom Lee Says
By Joanna Ossinger – Bloomberg
Fundstrat sees selling pressure easing after tax day; U.S. households may see record realized capital gains in 2017
Selling pressure in cryptocurrencies could ease after tax day.
/goo.gl/XFGtnQ

Politics

China signals tough trade stance as U.S. officials push negotiations
Michael Martina, Susan Heavey – Reuters
China would win any trade war with the United States, the country’s state media said on Thursday, as U.S. officials sought to ease market jitters over escalating tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
/jlne.ws/2Jn1aBF

Trump Says He’ll Take ‘Very Serious Look’ at Amazon’s Business
By Jennifer Epstein – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump said he will take a “very serious look” at Amazon.com Inc. and what he said is an “uneven playing field” the retailer enjoys against competitors.
/goo.gl/FpvARB

Trump tariff move ‘seriously violates’ international trade rules: Xinhua
Alice Woodhouse and Yuan Yang – FT
China’s state news agency said on Friday that Donald Trump’s latest threats to introduce an additional $100bn in tariffs on imports from China “seriously violates” international trade rules.
/goo.gl/np8nTx

Regulation

SEC Awards More Than $2.2 Million to Whistleblower Who First Reported Information to Another Federal Agency Before SEC
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a whistleblower award of more than $2.2 million to a former company insider whose tips helped the agency open an investigation that led to an enforcement action. The whistleblower first reported the information to another federal agency and later provided the same information to the SEC.
/goo.gl/XK1nW3

FCA warns fund sector executives of ‘personal’ responsibility; Watchdog says senior officials will be required to act in investors’ best interests
Attracta Mooney and Jennifer Thompson – FT
Senior executives in the fund industry will be personally on the hook for ensuring investors are getting value for money, the man behind the UK financial watchdog’s far-reaching investigation into the sector has warned.
/goo.gl/RqVPUm

Regulatory requirements reminder for CPO, CTA, FCM, FDM and IB Members
NFA
NFA is committed to providing its Members with the resources they need to meet their regulatory obligations as efficiently as possible. This Notice to Members serves as a reminder that Members can access information on certain annual and ongoing requirements from the Members section of NFA’s website.
/goo.gl/UkyxTR

Insurers breach FCA rules on renewal premiums for customers; Study finds that motorists are wasting millions each year in ‘loyalty tax’
Lucy Warwick-Ching – FT
Motorists are paying over the odds for insurance and breakdown cover despite new rules designed to put an end to expensive renewals.
/goo.gl/4HzY5U

New York Attorney General Schneiderman Releases New Report On Mutual Fund Fees, Announces Agreement By 13 Major Firms To Make New And Enhanced Disclosures To Retail Investors Following Industry-Wide Investigation
MondoVisione
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that after an industry-wide investigation into mutual fund disclosures and fees, 13 major mutual fund firmsóincluding those run by some of the largest players in the mutual fund industryóhave agreed to voluntarily publish important information about their mutual funds to all retail investors. Under the agreements announced today, the firms will disclose new information that can help retail investors determine whether a higher-cost, actively managed mutual fund fits their investment goals better than another, lower-cost alternative.
/goo.gl/6UBiCd

Statement of Commissioner Rostin Behnam before the Agricultural Advisory Committee Meeting
CFTC
/goo.gl/hs8Vpy

Statement of Commissioner Brian Quintenz before the CFTC Agricultural Advisory Committee
CFTC
/goo.gl/mAu4hH

Remarks for Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo at the 2018 Agricultural Commodity Futures Conference, Overland, Kansas
CFTC
/goo.gl/9Cbef7

Investing and Trading

BlackRock Plans to Exclude Gun Makers, Sellers From Some Funds
Sabrina Willmer and Polly Mosendz – Bloomberg
BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, plans to start two exchange-traded funds that will exclude civilian firearm makers and large sellers in the wake of the Florida high school shooting.
/jlne.ws/2EmDsBK

Investors find themselves part of the China-US trade fight; Beijing seeks to strengthen political hand by targeting specific industries
Chloe Cornish and Joe Rennison – FT
The swings in US stocks over the past 48 hours undermine the notion that investors know what a trade war would mean for markets.
/goo.gl/X4wY9v

Institutions

European Banking Authority Updated Risk Dashboard Shows Significant Improvements Across EU Banks But Elevated NPLs Are Still The Main Challenge For Their Profitability
EBA
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the regular update of its Risk Dashboard summarising the main risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector for Q4 2017. The progress is positive for European banks, but risks remain heightened on sustainable profitability. Following the ESRB recommendation on commercial real estate markets, the EBA’s Risk Dashboard has an additional page showing the aggregated real estate exposures referred to real estate activities and the construction sector.
/goo.gl/m2C3mm

Some Colleges Bail from TIAA, Objecting to Increase in Fund Fees; Groups in Wisconsin, Virginia combine members’ retirement assets to gain scale after TIAA raised fees
Gretchen Morgenson – WSJ
More than a dozen small colleges have joined to yank the management of their employee retirement accounts from TIAA, the largest provider of retirement-plan services to nonprofit organizations, after it raised the fees on some of its most popular funds.
/goo.gl/JaQfZT

BlackRock to offer funds that exclude gun makers, sellers; Asset manager is one of biggest shareholders of the three largest US manufacturers
Chris Flood – FT
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is to launch a range of new funds that exclude firearms manufacturers and retailers following a deadly school shooting in Florida in February.
/goo.gl/w1aB92

JPMorgan readies bond desk to catch Mifid II trades
Samuel Agini – Financial News
JPMorgan is preparing to launch a bond execution and reporting desk for fund managers, in an early sign of how the world’s biggest banks are adjusting to Europe’s new trading landscape.
/goo.gl/wrXNWd

Deutsche Bank Trading Boss Ritchie Is Said to Weigh Leaving
Donal Griffin – Bloomberg
Ritchie weighing all his options amid contract talks: source; South African native a two-decade veteran of Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG’s Garth Ritchie, co-head of the investment bank, is considering leaving the firm as soon as this year, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
/goo.gl/FpW9Jj

New Goldman Office Dumps Dress Code for Kombucha on Tap
Dakin Campbell – Bloomberg
Former Uber executive Jeff Winner takes on Marcus recruiting; Silicon Valley engineers sought for digital consumer bank
There’s no sign on the door, no dress code, and kombucha flows freely from a tap in the break room.
/goo.gl/QwyyUV

Some Tiger Management-related hedge funds boast gains in turbulent 2018
Svea Herbst-Bayliss – Reuters
Several hedge funds who trace their ancestry to billionaire investor Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management are boasting positive returns for the year even as tumbling markets have left many rivals with losses.
/goo.gl/o69sf1

AQR Capital launches its first quantitative bond fund
Jennifer Ablan – Reuters
AQR Capital Management, LLC, led by widely regarded hedge fund manager Clifford Asness, announced the launch on Thursday of its first quantitative bond fund, with the aim of capturing different sources of returns.
/goo.gl/atYjfD

Regions

U.S. to Consider Additional $100 Billion in China Tariffs; Trump cited China’s ‘unfair retaliation’ as a reason for additional potential levies
Bob Davis – WSJ
President Donald Trump threatened a major escalation in trade tensions with Beijing on Thursday, saying he was considering imposing tariffs on an additional $100 billion in imports from China.
/goo.gl/K1pX2H

China ‘not afraid’ of trade war with Trump; Beijing condemns new US tariff threat and warns of ‘comprehensive countermeasures’
Yuan Yang, Emily Feng and Alice Woodhouse – FT
Beijing has condemned Donald Trump’s threat of an additional $100bn in tariffs on imports from China, as Chinese experts warned the US it stood more to lose politically from a worsening tit-for-tat trade dispute that has unnerved global markets.
/goo.gl/MxWd8M

The post Regulatory Crypto Crackdown; CME grain pushback appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

JLN Contributing Global Markets Editor Jim Kharouf will be in Washington, DC representing us at the IFM “Smart Financial Regulation Roundtable: Implications of Cryptocurrencies” event on April 11.

Later in the week, Kharouf and other members of the JLN team will be at the “IOMA – The WFE’s Clearing & Derivatives Conference” in Chicago.~JJL

The CME Group’s market cap on Friday was $53.8 billion. NEX Group’s was $3.7 billion. ICE came in at $41 billion.~JK

Don’t forget you have a week (well, eight days) to get in your taxes, which are due April 17, 2018. Also, for all you cryptocurrency fans out there, don’t forget that Uncle Sam considers that taxable income too.~JB

Did you know there is a Bitcoin Misery Index? Neither did I.~JB

The Atlantic has a rather amusing slideshow out called Bitcoin: A Stock Photo Cryptocurrency Primer. Oddly, there seem to be quite a few pictures of people with fake bitcoin tokens in their mouths. ~SD

++++

Cool

When a Good Plan Comes Together – Lou Eccleston, TMX

JohnLothianNews.com

When Lou Eccleston became TMX Group CEO three and a half years ago, he needed to turn around declining organic revenue and profitability. Once that was achieved, eyes turned to growth. Eccleston and TMX were able to jumpstart that growth by acquiring the energy platform Trayport last year.

In this video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Eccleston talks about the changing ideology at TMX Group and how the group is positioning itself for international clientele.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

The dawn of the superstar lawyer; As top performers are offered pay equal to bankers and hedge fund managers, is the lockstep system under threat?
James Fontanella-Khan, Sujeet Indap and Barney Thompson – FT
Scott Barshay had just closed out the finest year of his career. The acclaimed corporate lawyer had advised on roughly $300bn worth of transactions in 2015, most notably AB InBev’s $103bn takeover of rival brewer SABMiller. In the process he generated about $100m in fees for his law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which ranks among the most prestigious in America.
/goo.gl/pp5nPw

**** Gary DeWaal is going to have to change his fishing vest for a spangled jumpsuit.~JJL

++++

Kospi 200; Irrevocability; Virtual Currencies; CFTC Jurisdiction
Gary DeWaal – Bridging the Week
A United States appeals court said that the Commodity Exchange Act’s prohibition against spoofing and other conduct could potentially apply in connection with a lawsuit against a US-based trading firm brought by five Korean residents related to transactions involving the Kospi 200 futures contract on the Korean Exchange’s night market. The Court held that, because KRX used CME Globex as its nighttime matching engine, Kospi 200 futures trades matched overnight could potentially be considered irrevocable in the United States, thus warranting application of the CEA. The court took this view even though such trades were KRX trades and not finalized until the following day when they were settled through the KRX Clearinghouse. Separately, most of the defendants in an anti-fraud enforcement action related to virtual currencies brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission objected to the Commission’s jurisdiction. Within a few days, however, some of the same defendants consented to the agency’s entry of a preliminary injunction without prejudice to their right to assert their jurisdictional claim in later arguments.
/jlne.ws/2qgRhgO

++++

The Spread – Week of 4/2 to 4/6

JohnLothianNews.com

Lawsuits and volatility and a birthday – oh my! As volatility ebbs and flows in a year proving quite different from the previous one, JLN presents another episode of The Spread, our weekly options-related news recap.

Watch the video and see the stories referenced here »

++++

Friday’s Top Three
Friday’s top read stories were led by Reuters’ story on the persistent problems with block trades (not blockchain). CME Group takes heat over large, private grain trades examines whether block trades are creating two markets in certain agriculture contracts. Second went to Wired’s interesting story A 200-Year-Old Idea Offers a New Way to Trace Stolen Bitcoins. And it is not often a disciplinary action on profits of $1,752 makes the top three, but CME Group’s Notice of Disciplinary Action against Chao T. Ho came in at number three with a $25k fine, return of profits and a four month suspension.

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
123,067,686 pages viewed; 23,064 pages; 212,618 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Deutsche Bank ousts John Cryan and names Christian Sewing as chief; German lender’s board agrees to promote retail head to avert leadership crisis
Olaf Storbeck in Frankfurt – FT
Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board has named Christian Sewing as the bank’s new chief executive, ousting John Cryan two years before his contract runs out after a spat with chairman Paul Achleitner that has thrown Germany’s largest lender into turmoil.
/goo.gl/ZnTLrP

****CNN here.

PayPal Makes a Move Toward Traditional Banking; Company partners with small banks to offer debit cards, direct deposit and other services
Peter Rudegeair – WSJ
PayPal Holdings Inc. is nudging its customers closer to mainstream banking services. The San Jose, Calif.-based payments company has been quietly reaching out to groups of customers in recent months with an offer to add basic banking features to their PayPal digital wallet. The features include Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance for their balances, a debit card that can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs and the ability to direct-deposit their paychecks.
/goo.gl/jp9GC2

****Fortune here.

FCA to scale back non-Brexit activities; City watchdog says it faces ‘particularly challenging year’
Nicholas Megaw – FT
The UK’s financial regulator said it will have to cut back on some of its regular responsibilities as it prepares for a “particularly challenging year” ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU in March 2019.
/goo.gl/5X4xBa

ESMA agrees position limits under MiFID II
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published today three opinions on position limits regarding commodity derivatives under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MIFIR).
/goo.gl/PAKDy1

FCA targets MiFID II compliance in latest business plan; MiFID II compliance with best execution, unbundling and payment for order flow are among the rules the FCA will be looking at this year.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has laid out plans for increased monitoring and assessment of compliance with MiFID II rules around conflicts of interest, according to its 2018/2019 business plan.
/goo.gl/xyh9T2

The Wall of Institutional Money Waiting to Flood Cryptocurrency Trading
Monica Summerville – TABB Forum
Institutional market share in cryptocurrency trading already exceeds retail market share, according to recent research by TABB Group. But significant sums of money still are sitting on the sidelines, just waiting for the right conditions to join in. One market participant described it as a ‘wall of money’ waiting to flood the market. TABB’s Monica Summerville examines the growing role of institutional players in the cryptocurrency trading markets, the execution platforms vying for their business, and the three key requirements to create a secure market for institutional participation.
/jlne.ws/2Eqxsru

Deutsche Bank Lifer Sewing Tapped to Steer Lender Through Chaos
Steven Arons, Nicholas Comfort – Bloomberg
Retail co-head Christian Sewing spent three decades at lender; Ascent marks return of a German national as sole CEO of bank
The era of investment bankers calling the shots at Deutsche Bank appears to be over. Christian Sewing — a three-decade veteran of the Frankfurt-based lender and retail banking executive — was named to succeed the Briton John Cryan after a meeting of the bank’s supervisory board late Sunday. The decision ended a dramatic few weeks of turmoil at Europe’s largest investment bank as Cryan fought for his position and Chairman Paul Achleitner quietly approached potential replacements.
/goo.gl/9rxU8S

First Euribor-rigging trial opens in London
Barney Thompson in London – FT
The latest instalment of the long-running investigation into the manipulation of interbank interest rates begins this week, when five people go on trial for allegedly rigging Euribor.
/goo.gl/Az5mnj

Barclays plans to split euro trading hub over Brexit; Shift highlights level of uncertainty in London’s position as dominant centre
Martin Arnold and Dan McCrum – FT
Barclays is preparing to split its euro rates trading team because of Brexit and plans to move part of the unit that trades eurozone government bonds and interest rate swaps away from its main trading floor in London.
/goo.gl/ccbBku

Panic! Don’t panic! Navigating the trade talk proves dicey
Megan Davies – Reuters
“Don’t overreact,” President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser told investors on Wednesday, when U.S. stocks were deep in the red over worries about the administration’s plan for $50 billion of import duties aimed at China.
/jlne.ws/2EpOhmJ

Eight defining moments from eight years of 3Points
3Points Communications – Medium
Yesterday marked the 8-year anniversary of 3Points Communications. I started 3Points on April 5th, 2010, working out of my apartment’s second bedroom, because I had built a good reputation in the trading industry as a comms pro and had benefited from mentorship at my previous job (and I had a lot more time on my hands, since it was before I became a dad!). It’s been quite the journey, from working as a team of one to today working with a team of eight dedicated and highly motivated professionals in our modern 9th floor office in the Loop.
/jlne.ws/2ErjWE6

Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Is Now a Private-Equity Firm Executive; At Warburg Pincus, Geithner works on strategy and meets with investors
Ryan Dezember – WSJ
A decade after the financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal has checked in on dozens of the bankers, government officials, chief executives, hedge-fund managers and others who left a mark on that period to find out what they are doing now. Today, we spotlight former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Attorney General Eric Holder.
/goo.gl/x29pMR

Attorney General During Financial Crisis Is Now a Confidant to Corporations; Eric Holder works at a Washington law firm and recently took on Uber’s case
Daniel Kruger – WSJ
A decade after the financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal has checked in on dozens of the bankers, government officials, chief executives, hedge-fund managers and others who left a mark on that period to find out what they are doing now. Today, we spotlight former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Attorney General Eric Holder.
/goo.gl/KeEe7g

Chairman of Alibaba Affiliate Ant Financial Steps Down; Lucy Peng is being replaced by Eric Jing, the company’s CEO
Chuin-Wei Yap and Julie Steinberg – WSJ
Lucy Peng, one of China’s richest businesswomen, is leaving the helm of one of the country’s most valuable private companies.
/goo.gl/mYvC4W

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

Ex-LSE boss Xavier Rolet to join Russian fertilizer giant
Henry Foy in Moscow – FT
Xavier Rolet, the former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, is set to join the board of Russian fertilizer giant Phosagro as an independent director.
/goo.gl/AKDojn

SET Market Report For March 2018
MondoVisione
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index at the end of March rose 1.3 percent from end-2017 but fell 2.9 percent from the previous month to 1,776.26 points, same downtrend direction as the overall regional markets. The average daily trading value of SET and Market for Alternative Investment (mai) in March was up 53.8 percent year-on-year to THB 66.4 billion (USD 2.08 billion).
/goo.gl/oFRjex

Shanghai Stock Exchange Launches Entity Investor Education Base
MondoVisione
The entity investor education base of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) was officially put into operation on March 30 and received the 1st group of visitors. As a basic project of investor education and right protection, the entity base will form an effective online-offline interaction with the SSE’s investor education website (edu.sse.com.cn) after its completion, thus constituting a “great platform” for investors to get “one-stop” investor education service and experience, obtain stock investment knowledge comprehensively, effectively and conveniently, and increase their rational investment concept and risk prevention awareness. And this is also another major measure of the SSE to adhere to the investor-oriented principle and increase investor’s sense of gain in the capital market in 2018.
/goo.gl/SQD3tm

Fintech

Seismic Foundry FinTech Fund Invests In Capital Markets Focused Chatbot
Mondovisione
The Seismic Foundry Capital Markets FinTech SEIS Fund 2017-18 is excited to announce its latest investment, in LodeStar Ecosystems, a state-of-the-art intelligent advisor platform for the Financial Services Industry. Lodestar’s ‘LodeBot’ application is a personalised Intelligent-Advisor targeted at Brokers, Traders and Asset Managers. The AI platform pulls together information on financial assets from a wide range of internal and external sources and helps users identify the key signals that inform buy and sell decisions that are most relevant to them and their customers.
/goo.gl/6Sgiwj

Seismic Foundry FinTech Fund Completes Investments For 2017-18 Tax Year
MondoVisione
Seismic Foundry Capital Markets FinTech Fund closed its final investment for the current tax year by acting as lead investor in RegTech start-up, Waymark Tech.
/goo.gl/XPL9xj

Cloud services help small Chinese banks go digital; Ping An subsidiary OneConnect supplies mobile banking and interbank trade technology
Don Weinland in Hong Kong – FT
Hundreds of small banks in China are launching mobile banking apps and blockchain-based interbank trading capabilities, with the backing of one of the country’s largest insurance conglomerates.
/goo.gl/uwkPnj

HSBC brings in AI to help spot money laundering; Bank is latest to harness tech as a cheaper and better way of tackling crime
Martin Arnold, Banking Editor – FT
HSBC is bringing in robots to help it spot money laundering, fraud and terrorist funding, as the latest bank to harness artificial intelligence to tackle financial crime more quickly and cheaply than with armies of compliance staff.
/goo.gl/BbrJAd

Facebook Scandal a ‘Game Changer’ in Data Privacy Regulation
Stephani Bodoni – Bloomberg
U.K. privacy chief speaks about new rules coming into force; ICO is leading the European probe into Cambridge Analytica
Revelations that data belonging to as many as 87 million Facebook Inc. users and their friends may have been misused became a game changer in the world of data protection as regulators seek to raise awareness about how to secure information.
/goo.gl/UY3GTW

Facebook should pay its 2bn users for their data; The big tech companies are evolving into digital kleptocracies
Brittany Kaiser – FT
The data wars began in earnest last month, with revelations that my former company Cambridge Analytica had access to the data of 87m Facebook users without their permission. This breach was far from exceptional: the social network’s policies have allowed thousands of companies, apps and data brokers to collect and use similar data for years.
/goo.gl/7Mkbpc

Listening In: cyber security in an insecure age, by Susan Landau; A definitive guide to cryptography in a world where hackers can track our every move
Kadhim Shubber – FT
In 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik shot 14 people in San Bernardino, California. At the time, the terrorist attack was the deadliest the US had suffered since 9/11. The tragedy was followed by a dramatic showdown between the FBI and Apple, the world’s most valuable public company, that highlighted the furious debate about security and privacy in the digital age.
/goo.gl/1ge7tk

Algomi’s CEO and co-founder Stu Taylor steps down; Stu Taylor leaves Algomi after founding the fixed income technology business in 2012.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The chief executive officer and co-founder of fixed income technology specialist Algomi has confirmed he has left the company.
/goo.gl/g9Sjjy

Cryptocurrencies

Singapore Plans Blockchain Push to Boost ASEAN Financial Inclusion
Wolfie Zhao – Coindesk
The Singapore government is looking to boost blockchain development in an effort to improve financial inclusion for Southeast Asian countries.
In opening remarks for a meeting with finance ministers from Southeast Asian countries on Friday, Heng Swee Keat, Singapore’s minister for finance, highlighted the government’s plans to foster innovations such as blockchain to improve access to finance in the region.
/jlne.ws/2qiYCfO

SEC Initiates Formal Proceedings on Coveted Bitcoin ETF
Sam Bourgi – Hacked
Efforts to list the first bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may not be dead after all. According to a recent document published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), formal proceedings on the matter are set to begin in the near future.
/jlne.ws/2Er8hVT

George Soros Prepares to Trade Cryptocurrencies
Alastair Marsh, Saijel Kishan and Katherine Burton – Bloomberg
George Soros called cryptocurrencies a bubble in January. Now his $26 billion family office is planning to trade digital assets.
/jlne.ws/2Er7PH6

Celebrities warned over risk of cryptocurrency endorsements; Possible legal trouble for famous names who have backed initial coin offerings
Joshua Oliver and Hannah Murphy – FT
Celebrity endorsers of cryptocurrency fundraisers are at risk of legal action from regulators and investors, legal experts have warned, following a US case that highlighted the involvement of famous promoters in a so-called initial coin offering that collapsed.
/goo.gl/ryGQj5

‘Cryptojackers’ steal computer power to mine digital coins; Boom in mass leaching of processing capacity prompts clampdown from big tech
Chloe Cornish and Hannah Kuchler – FT
Early this year a piece of malicious computer code burrowed its way into the website of Britain’s National Health Service. The script acted as a parasite, harnessing the computing power of unsuspecting visitors and using it to generate digital currency, in a practice known as “cryptojacking”.
/goo.gl/4tBeAX

Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future
Kai Stinchcombe via Medium
Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future. Its failure to achieve adoption to date is because systems built on trust, norms, and institutions inherently function better than the type of no-need-for-trusted-parties systems blockchain envisions. That’s permanent: no matter how much blockchain improves it is still headed in the wrong direction.
/goo.gl/56BHMu

Cryptomania: How the Changing IPO Market May Have Fueled ICOs
Richard Johnson – via LinkedIn
Last month retail investors jumped at the opportunity to own a piece of the hottest new tech stock, sending shares of Dropbox 35% higher from its IPO price. This kind of one-day price move is rarely seen in the stock market these days but has been fairly commonplace in the wild west of cryptocurrency markets. These two markets may seem unrelated, but in fact, there may be more of a link between IPOs and ICOs than you think.
/goo.gl/hXb723

Politics

Donald Trump trade threats lack credibility; US bluster has caused most of the world to rally to China’s side
Lawrence Summers – FT
As the possibility of a trade war between the US and China looms, threats and counterthreats are hurled back and forth and markets gyrate, economic logic and truth appear to be an early casualty. There are certain points of fact on which there should be no disagreement.
/goo.gl/ZZFnZX

Mnuchin Says There’s ‘Level of Risk’ of U.S.-China Trade War
Justin Sink – Bloomberg
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there is “a level of risk” that the tariff dispute between the U.S. and China will erupt into a full-scale trade war, though he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the world’s two largest economies will resolve differences through negotiations.
/jlne.ws/2EqAjB2

U.S. lawmakers skeptical of promises to shield farmers from trade dispute
Tom Polansek – Reuters
U.S. lawmakers and the farm industry were skeptical of the Trump administration’s promise to shield farmers from the rapidly escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, concerned about the lack of details in protecting the U.S. agricultural export sector now embroiled in the back-and-forth.
/jlne.ws/2EqPk5N

Soyabean wars: China tries to hit Donald Trump where it hurts; As the US and China threaten a trade war, the widely used crop has become one of the main areas of dispute
Patti Waldmeir and Tom Hancock – FT
“I look out across my bean field, and I know that every third row goes to China,” says Bill Wykes, who farms in a slim slice of the Illinois soyabean belt an hour and a half from Chicago, the city that grain built.
/goo.gl/Mq4zSi

NAFTA ministers meet again, no major breakthroughs made
David Lawder, David Ljunggren – Reuters
Top U.S., Mexican and Canadian trade officials need more time to work out how to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday after a top-level meeting in Washington.
/jlne.ws/2EpVovp

Food-Stamp Fight Imperils Farm Bill; GOP seeks to nudge people away from receiving federal benefits and incentivize them to work
Kristina Peterson – WSJ
House Speaker Paul Ryan’s long-sought goal of overhauling welfare programs will get a kick-start when Congress returns to Washington this week, as Republicans prepare to release a new, five-year farm bill that would impose tougher work requirements to get food stamps.
/goo.gl/3eXjDK

Wall St star approached to be Trump budget chief a year before loan to Kushner firm; Private equity executive Joshua Harris began financial disclosure process with support of Trump son-in-law before backing out, sources say. In 2017 his company loaned $184m to Kushner family business
Stephanie Kirchgaessner – The Guardian
A senior private equity executive was approached about taking the job of US budget director a year before his company agreed to loan Jared Kushner’s private family business tens of millions of dollars, according to two sources who spoke to the Guardian.
/goo.gl/D8A4hC

Regulation

SEC Obtains Emergency Freeze of $27 Million in Stock Sales of Purported Cryptocurrency Company Longfin
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a court order freezing more than $27 million in trading proceeds from allegedly illegal distributions and sales of restricted shares of Longfin Corp. stock involving the company, its CEO, and three other affiliated individuals.
/jlne.ws/2EnxtN7

Rival banks applauded U.S. watchdog on 2016 Wells Fargo settlement: emails
Michelle Price and Elizabeth Dilts – Reuters
Rival lenders privately congratulated the top U.S. consumer watchdog on its $100 million settlement with Wells Fargo over the bank’s phony accounts scandal, according to internal documents published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week.
/jlne.ws/2EnA6hX

FCA publishes its Business Plan for 2018/19
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published its Business Plan for 2018/19 which sets out the key priorities for the coming year.
/goo.gl/rwbyra

Picasso money laundering suspects still at large
Harry Wilson, Alex Ralph – The Times
A month after a London stockbroker was closed and several British nationals were charged over an alleged share fraud and money laundering scheme, the UK authorities have yet to make any arrests.
/goo.gl/Z4zczG

UK banks and brokers face Mifid II reckoning; Grace period over Europe’s new rules on investment research is coming to a close
Hannah Murphy and Laura Noonan – FT
UK banks and brokers are readying themselves for a second round of tense negotiations with fund managers over the cost of investment research, as a grace period following new European legislation comes to a close.
/goo.gl/43gFsi

Closet tracker funds face tougher regulatory scrutiny; Thirteen US managers to disclose how far their active funds deviate from benchmark
Owen Walker – FT
The global drive to weed out closet trackers entered a new phase this week as initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic promised more transparency over fund management charges and value for money.
/goo.gl/MCZzuq

Investing and Trading

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Livia Albeck-Ripka – WSJ
Climate change can be overwhelming. The science is complex, and when it comes to future impacts, there are still a lot of unknowns. While real solutions will require action on a global scale, there are choices you can make in your day-to-day life to lessen your personal impact on the environment. This guide will walk you through some of them.
/goo.gl/AWkcZv

Winning Trade Turns Money Loser; Corporate bonds were money makers when rates were low, but widening spreads and rising yields have caused losses and investors to flee
Richard Barley – WSJ
Corporate bonds have been the easiest way to eke out a higher gain in a yield-starved world. This year, though, they are doing the opposite. The corporate bond moneymaker has gone into reverse.
/goo.gl/uoqY4r

Asset managers face battle to regain investor trust; Sector plagued by fears over transparency, performance and conflicts of interest
Chris Flood – FT
Trust among investors in the financial services industry remains woefully low, even after a decade of strong gains for equity and bond markets following the 2007-08 financial crisis.
/goo.gl/VTpyJf

Cyberattack ‘Wake-Up Call’ Puts Pipeline Industry in Hot Seat
Naureen S Malik – Bloomberg
Companies weren’t required to report attack to regulator TSA; Congressman Latta sees ‘bad actors’ looking to weaken U.S.
A cyberattack that U.S. natural gas pipeline owners weren’t required to report has lawmakers taking a closer look at how the industry is handling such threats, raising the prospect of tighter regulation.
/goo.gl/FpXFPa

Bad Omen for Markets From First Signs of Yield Curve Inversion
Adam Haigh – Bloomberg
Forward curve for 1 month overnight indexed swap rate inverts; Fed policy mistake possibly being priced into market: JPMorgan
The forward curve of a closely watched proxy for the Federal Reserve’s policy rate has slightly inverted, signaling investors are either pricing in a mistake from central bankers or end-of-cycle dynamics, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
/goo.gl/B9oTGM

Institutions

Deutsche Bank replaces chief John Cryan; Long serving Deutsche Bank veteran Christian Sewing will replace John Cryan as chief executive officer.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Deutsche Bank has confirmed the impending departure of its chief executive officer, John Cryan, after less than three years in the role.
/goo.gl/7vHVBX

Compliance Costs Soaring for Financial Institutions; Condusiv Reports
John D’Antona – Traders News
Nine out of 10 financial services industry executives expect continued cost increases in their compliance departments over the next two years, according to a global survey by Accenture of 150 compliance officers at banking, insurance, and capital markets firms across 13 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.1
/jlne.ws/2EqHzN6

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman pay up 20 percent in 2017
Reuters
Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman’s overall pay rose 20 percent to $27 million in 2017, according to bank filings released on Friday.
/jlne.ws/2EraGjn

Deutsche Bank, With New CEO, Signals a Humbler Future; Christian Sewing succeeds John Cryan atop German bank; Marcus Schenck to leave lender
Jenny Strasburg – WSJ
Deutsche Bank AG DB -3.14% replaced its British chief executive, John Cryan, with the senior German head of its retail bank, a switch that signals a less ambitious future after years of grim financial results and sputtering attempts to regain a spot among global investment-banking powerhouses.
/goo.gl/5HfuyV

Deutsche Bank Solves One Crisis With New CEO. Now Onto the Next
Steven Arons, Nicholas Comfort – Bloomberg
Fate of board chairman Achleitner still up in the air; Investment bank strategy is most pressing issue for Sewing
The appointment of Christian Sewing as Deutsche Bank AG’s chief executive officer to replace an embattled John Cryan after less than three years — and three turnaround plans — answered just one of the questions hanging over the struggling institution.
/goo.gl/vZcrUW

Last commodities hedge funds go off beaten track; As profiting from fuels, crops and metals becomes harder, funds look to broader trends
Gregory Meyer in New York- FT
Being a commodities hedge fund manager is an increasingly lonely pursuit. Specialists in fuels, crops and metals have been exiting and few new arrivals are taking their place.
/goo.gl/drJWyk

Perella Weinberg brings in UK dealmakers; New hirings are an attempt to lift advisory firm’s British M&A performance
Arash Massoudi in London – FT
Perella Weinberg Partners is bringing in a trio of seasoned UK dealmakers to help lift the US corporate advisory group’s performance in Europe’s largest market for mergers and acquisitions.
/goo.gl/hppDPt

Goldman Leads Banks With Stock Auctions as a MiFID II Workaround
Will Hadfield, Viren Vaghela – Bloomberg
Regulators to ban more stocks from dark-pool trading on Monday; Auctions are now bigger than dark trading at Cboe Europe
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is taking on the exchanges to win the business of fund managers eager to keep their stock trades hidden in the era of MiFID II price transparency.
/goo.gl/gDGMzN

Lazy fund managers lead to lousy returns; Too many have a short-term outlook and fail to properly understand investments
Tom Brown – FT
Much has been said and written about the poor returns achieved by many active fund managers for their clients. Some critics focus on high expense ratios, but my experiences over the past 30 years as a director of seven quoted British companies suggest there is a deeper problem.
/goo.gl/hrJXyB

Regions

Russian stocks tumble 9% on US sanctions worries; Rouble drops 2.5% to 59.63 to the US dollar
Adam Samson – FT
Russia’s equities benchmark tumbled almost 9 per cent on Monday amid renewed worries over US sanctions against its business sector and after Donald Trump criticised the country’s support for the Syrian government.
/goo.gl/sXPYaa

Russia’s Rusal plunges 50% on US sanctions
Adam Samson and Henry Foy – FT
Rusal shed half of its value on Monday, with US sanctions against the Russian aluminium producer and its owner still reverberating.
/goo.gl/qQhU9Y

California proves to be hub for legal action over failed IPOs; A US Supreme Court ruling could open the door to more shareholders suing
Sujeet Indap – FT
Silicon Valley is the pre-eminent location for start-ups. But to the lament of the tech entrepreneurs there, Northern California is also a hub for another type of innovation: litigation against companies that have disappointing IPOs.
/goo.gl/SHqYUu

Indonesia Seeks to Regulate More Fuel Prices as Elections Loom
Eko Listiyorini – Bloomberg
Retailers to require government permit before raising rates; Government wants to guard consumers’ purchasing power: Tahar
Motor fuel retailers including PT Pertamina and Indonesian units of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA will soon need government approval before raising prices as Southeast Asia’s largest economy seeks to cap inflation ahead of elections.
/goo.gl/Cwzy58

China Is Studying Yuan Devaluation as a Tool in Trade Spat
Bloomberg News
Chinese leaders are weighing options as trade tensions rise; Trump bashed China’s currency policy on the campaign trail
China is evaluating the potential impact of a gradual yuan depreciation, people familiar with the matter said, as the country’s leaders weigh their options in a trade spat with U.S. President Donald Trump that has roiled financial markets worldwide.
/goo.gl/xrxtUV

Larry Fink identifies China as critical BlackRock priority; CEO outlines opportunities created by Beijing’s reforms in annual shareholder letter
Robin Wigglesworth- FT
Larry Fink said China was a top BlackRock priority after Beijing last year granted foreign asset management companies greater access to the world’s second-biggest economy, even as trade tension between China and the US are ratcheting up.
/goo.gl/e6Ajfx

AllianceBernstein to revamp European fund management fees; US manager plans performance-linked structure after moves by Fidelity and Allianz
Attracta Mooney – FT
AllianceBernstein, the $550bn fund manager, plans to roll out a new performance-linked fee structure in Europe in a sign of the pressure asset managers are coming under to justify their charges.
/goo.gl/pyi1Yx

Brexit

Britons Back Holding a Vote on May’s Brexit Deal
Alex Morales – Bloomberg
U.K.’s EU departure ‘not a done deal,’ says Labour peer Adonis; May heads to Sweden, Denmark; Corbyn starts election campaign
A majority of Britons support holding a vote on the final Brexit deal secured by Prime Minister Theresa May, according to a YouGov poll conducted for the pro-remain group Best for Britain.
/goo.gl/xDTBFa

Elected representatives will do the right thing on Brexit; MPs and MEPs should follow their conscience about whether to vote for any exit deal
Nick Clegg – FT
Like the suspense in an old-fashioned cowboy film before the final gunfight, tension in Westminster is already rising as MPs prepare for the “meaningful” vote on Brexit towards the end of this year. The upcoming debates in the House of Commons will be the political equivalent of scuffles in a saloon, harbingers of the real showdown to come.
/goo.gl/vM9B9Q

Miscellaneous

Goldman CEO’s deputy can’t stop, won’t stop spinning records
Jennifer Ablan – Reuters
David Solomon, soon to be the sole No. 2 to Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, still finds time to pursue a beloved hobby: spinning records at big-city nightclubs under the handle DJ D-Sol.
/goo.gl/fcxAbW

The post Deutsche Bank ousts John Cryan and names Christian Sewing as chief appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Readers, we have an industry colleague, Tony DiBenedetto, who needs our help. Tony is a 35-year industry veteran who spent his entire career at NYMEX. After leaving the NYMEX six years ago he has had trouble finding full-time work. His wife is battling cancer and he is facing foreclosure on their home. A Go-Fund-Me effort has been started to raise $25,000 to help him. So far $18,980 has been raised. Please consider helping Tony. Click HERE to go to his Go-Fund-Me page.~JJL

Additionally, a Go-Fund-Me page has been created for the family of Jim Burns, a former floor broker in the live cattle pit. Jim died suddenly at the age of 49. He leaves behind a wife, two special needs teenage boys, a four-year-old daughter and a wife pregnant and expected to deliver in August. You can help support the funeral costs and day-to-day expenses of the family HERE.~JJL

Large numbers of small donations go a long way. Please consider making a donation to one or both of these families.~JJL

It’s not only financial institutions getting on the blockchain bandwagon. In France you can scan your chicken at the grocery store and, thanks to blockchain technology, you can get its life history (so you can know if it roamed free and whatnot).~JB

The NFA announced that, due to maintenance, a number of systems will be unavailable from 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 15, 2018]].~JJL

RSM is a platinum sponsor for the SIFMA FMS Regional Conference in June in Chicago on June 13 to 15.~JJL

Barry White has joined INTL FCStone as a senior vice president in Singapore.~JJL

++++

NYSE Opens Doors to Stocks From Rival Exchanges, Ending Decades-Old Policy; The change that took effect Monday allows Nasdaq-listed securities and U.S. exchange-traded funds to be traded on the NYSE’s flagship exchange
Alexander Osipovich – WSJ
The New York Stock Exchange has ended a decades-old restriction that prevented stocks listed on rival exchanges from being bought and sold on its historic trading floor in lower Manhattan.
/goo.gl/hLYBVM

***** This “expands the number of securities that can potentially be traded at the Big Board to all 8,600 stocks and ETFs listed in the U.S.”~JJL

++++

Where Have All the Public Companies Gone?; Some businesses are staying private. Others are getting bigger. That’s not necessarily a problem.
Editorial Board – Bloomberg
The people who supervise the U.S. stock market are grappling with what they see as a troubling trend: One of the great innovations of Western capitalism — the public company — appears to be losing ground.
/goo.gl/CNejYN

***** They are hiding in private equity portfolios.~JJL

++++

Uncertainty Still Looming – Thomas Book, Eurex

JohnLothianNews.com

Europe can breathe only a bit easier with MiFID II preparation out of the way as there’s still much geopolitical uncertainty on the horizon with Brexit barrelling towards markets.

In this video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, Eurex CEO Thomas Book talks about shifting investor behavior, the growth of MSCI products, distributed ledger technology and more.
Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

Bitcoin, the Biggest Bubble in History, Is Popping
Janine Wolf – Bloomberg
The greatest bubble in history is popping, according to Bank of America Corp. The cryptocurrency is tracking the downfalls of the other massive asset-price bubbles in history less than one year out from its record, analysts lead by Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note Sunday.
/goo.gl/vtvQQP

***** Bitcoin may be bigger, but Tulipmania was prettier and smelled better.~JJL

++++

How the wrong bet on market volatility annihilated this mutual fund
Lynne Marek – Crain’s Chicago Business
Mutual fund manager LJM Partners was riding high in June when it won a big accolade: In front of 200 peers at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, a top LJM executive accepted a Pinnacle Award, one of the highest honors in the derivatives industry, for best options strategy.
/goo.gl/iTuqap

*****Apologies to Lynn Marek for missing this story.~JJL

++++

Monday’s Top Three
Our top read story of the day yesterday was about society’s favorite people, lawyers. The
Financial Times’ The dawn of the superstar lawyer covered several major moves in the legal industry that would make perfect sense in the financial industry. Second went to Tabb Forum’s The Wall of Institutional Money Waiting to Flood Cryptocurrency Trading. Third went to Wired’s A 200-Year-Old Idea Offers a New Way to Trace Stolen Bitcoins, which was our second most read piece from Friday. It’s worth a read, as it addresses that pesky problem of someone in North Korea stealing your bitcoin. Fourth, just one read off from a tie for third, was Kai Stinchcombe’s column Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
123,133,734 pages viewed; 23,066 pages; 212,638 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Wall Street Is About to Answer the Good/Bad Volatility Question
Jennifer Surane – Bloomberg
Careful what you wish for. After bemoaning quiet markets that crimped trading revenue throughout most of 2017, banks celebrated volatility spikes in late January and February that brought life back to the equities, foreign-exchange, Treasury and commodity markets. But not all volatility is created equal. Big movements in asset prices sometimes spook clients enough that they decide to simply wait out the fluctuations.
/goo.gl/TyUjJ2

ICE’s Chief Says Crypto Trading Is a ‘Trend We Can’t Ignore’
Bloomberg
Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the owner of New York Stock Exchange, on Monday refused to rule out starting futures contracts on digital currencies, following in the footsteps of two of its rivals. “There is a trend here we can’t ignore in my mind, so I don’t discount it,” Jeffrey Sprecher, ICE’s chief executive officer, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “People put more faith in a guy named Satoshi Nakamoto that no one has ever met than they do in the U.S. Fed,” he said, referring to the founder of bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/2HqZsOQ

Clearstream halts processing trades hit by Russian sanctions
Katie Martin in London and Henry Foy in Moscow – FT
Geopolitics have turned against Russian markets, prompting investors to head to the exits. Now the markets’ infrastructure is creaking too, making it harder for targeted entities to raise money.
/goo.gl/R5Qh83

FX Hedge Funds Trampled by Bad Volatility in Dreadful Start to 2018
By Lananh Nguyen – Bloomberg
After suffering unprecedented losses last year, currency-focused hedge funds were hoping a bit of market turbulence would help them get back on track in 2018. Things could hardly have gone worse.
/goo.gl/VpjkaX

Livestock and Grain Traders Navigate Murkier Market
Benjamin Parkin and Jacob Bunge – WSJ
A new way to trade agricultural futures in bulk is raising concerns that markets for the crops and livestock that feed the world are becoming less transparent.
CME Group Inc. CME 0.58% since January has allowed hedge funds, grain companies and others to privately trade “blocks” of futures and options for corn, cattle and other agricultural commodities. CME, the world’s largest exchange operator, says bulk deals make big transactions more efficient and facilitate trading in little-used markets.
/jlne.ws/2qmi1fZ

CDCC Launches Direct Clearing for Canadian Buy Side Firms
TMX
Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC), Canada’s national central clearing counterparty (CCP), today announced the launch of its new direct-clearing model for Canadian buy-side firms.
/goo.gl/mcGQXn

Russia Axes Bond Auction as Sanctions, Syria Risk Batter Ruble
Natasha Doff – Bloomberg
Ruble tumbles to weakest level versus dollar in more than year; Central Bank’s Nabiullina says no need for intervention
Russia’s currency plunged to the weakest level since December 2016 and the government canceled a bond auction as the toughest U.S. sanctions yet combined with an escalation in tensions over Syria to rattle investor sentiment.
/goo.gl/7Ywh4F

Kremlin-Cozy Firms Go From Bond Darlings to Ticking Bombs
Ksenia Galouchko – Bloomberg
Once, a company’s proximity to the Kremlin was a safety net of sorts for bond investors. No longer. The toughest U.S. sanctions to date mean it’s unclear how state banks could help United Co. Rusal and En+ Group Plc without being hit by penalties themselves. That could be a game changer for traders used to the Kremlin stepping in when companies have fallen on hard times in the past.
/goo.gl/12WBpY

Asset managers back U.S. plan to limit stock exchange rebates
John McCrank – Reuters
Financial firms representing more than $1 trillion in assets under management have endorsed a U.S. regulator’s plan to test limiting the rebates and other incentives that stock exchanges can pay to brokers, a practice critics say creates conflicts of interest.
/jlne.ws/2v7Cydd

Deutsche Bank promises ‘new era’ but same strategy
Olaf Storbeck – Financial Times
Deutsche Bank chairman Paul Achleitner is promising nothing less than a “new era” under the leadership of freshly appointed chief executive Christian Sewing but denies the lender needs a strategic rejig.
/jlne.ws/2IFoSb1

CFTC Orders Floor Broker Anuj C. Singhal to Pay $150,000 Penalty for Spoofing in Wheat Futures Market
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and settling charges against Anuj C. Singhal, a Dallas, Texas resident and registered floor broker, for engaging in the disruptive trading practice of “spoofing” (bidding or offering with the intent to cancel bids or offers before execution) through manual trading in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) wheat futures market between at least March and June 2016 (the Relevant Period).
/jlne.ws/2GLUzTs

Britain’s biggest broker launches starter service for investment newbies – but is it the best option?
Sam Brodbeck – Telegraph
Fund shop Hargreaves Lansdown has launched a new service aimed at people with no experience of investing. Britain’s largest broker is known for the quality of its website and tools, but is more expensive than many of its rivals.
/goo.gl/mw59V8

Spoofing-Case Stumbles by Prosecutors May Not Save Ex-UBS Trader
Christie Smythe – Bloomberg
Testimony begins April 16 in Andre Flotron’s conspiracy case; Flotron says his trading strategies were legitimate and legal
U.S. prosecutors stumbled in bringing a “spoofing” case against a former UBS Group AG precious metals trader, but in the end it might not matter.
/jlne.ws/2JxOuYT

Demand from institutional investors drives up bitcoin futures trading volumes on CME; CME Group says they have seen “tremendous interest” from Asian investors
South China Morning Post
Demand from global institutional investors has lifted trading volumes on the CME by more than 50 per cent since CME Group launched its first futures product in December, with Asian investors showing “tremendous interest” in the new asset class, according to a top executive. CME Group, the operator of the world’s largest futures exchange, launched its bitcoin futures product on December 18, 2017.
/goo.gl/B4ycZ2

Fingers crossed
Jeffrey Goldfarb – Breakingviews
A South Korean brokerage is redefining Wall Street’s notion of the fat-fingered trade. Samsung Securities meant to pay its staff a bonus of $2.6 million in dividends. Instead, it mistakenly issued them shares worth over $100 billion. Worse still, some cunning employees swiftly offloaded the stock. As clients leave the firm and regulators descend, the episode represents about as painful a way there is to erode confidence in financial services.
/goo.gl/n1ZFzf

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

NYSE Opens Doors to Stocks From Rival Exchanges, Ending Decades-Old Policy
Alexander Osipovich – WSJ
The New York Stock Exchange has ended a decades-old restriction that prevented stocks listed on rival exchanges from being bought and sold on its historic trading floor in lower Manhattan.
The change took effect on Monday as part of a long-awaited upgrade of the NYSE’s systems. Now, Nasdaq -listed securities such as Apple Inc. or Kraft-Heinz Co., as well as any U.S. exchange-traded fund, can be traded on the NYSE’s flagship exchange for the first time.
/jlne.ws/2Jy2NMW

Prague bourse counters declining trade by offering low-cost listing
Jason Hovet – Reuters
Faced with declining trade, the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE) is shaking up the classic initial share offering by giving smaller firms a new listing venue that bypasses expensive investment bank fees.
/jlne.ws/2IE4Xcr

NZX Consults On Policy & Commercial Initiatives To Improve
Mondovisione
NZX provides a further update on the policy and commercial initiatives it is undertaking to improve liquidity and increase price transparency in the secondary market.
/jlne.ws/2GKHXMu

Nasdaq March 2018 Volumes, 1Q18 Estimated Revenue Capture and Listings Statistics
GlobeNewswire
Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today reported monthly volumes for March 2018, as well as quarterly volumes, number of listings and estimated revenue capture for the quarter ending March 31, 2018 on its investor relations website.
/goo.gl/6Pj6VW

HKEX Welcomes its First ETF on Chinese Internet Companies
HKEX
Index for new ETF includes shares of Mainland enterprises listed in Hong Kong and US; HKEX now has 107 ETFs listed in its securities market
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) on Tuesday welcomed the listing of the CICC KraneShares CSI China Internet Index ETF, the first Hong Kong-listed Exchange Traded Fund, or ETF, focused on tracking Mainland Chinese Internet companies.
/goo.gl/RrXYqh

HKEX Marks Fifth Anniversary of After-Hours Derivatives Trading
HKEX
After-hours derivatives trading volume increased by nearly 12 times to more than 83,000 contracts in five years since its inception in 2013; The after-hours session has allowed investors to react to key events such as market-moving announcements; Eighty-five per cent of HKFE Participants now use the after-hours session
The After-hours Trading Session (T+1 Session), an additional derivatives trading session introduced by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) in April 2013, has proved to be effective and useful to market participants as it marks its fifth anniversary.
/goo.gl/mHCyuq

CME, DGCX, LME and Borsa Istanbul Discusss Role and Future of Global Exchanges at DMCC’s Dubai Precious Metals Conference
PR Web
At the DMCC hosted Dubai Precious Metals Conference, four of the world’s foremost Exchanges gathered for the first time in Dubai to discuss ‘The Role and Future of Global Exchanges’.
/goo.gl/SDhbXd

Fintech

Fidessa suitors handed final deadline for offers; The UK Takeover panel sets 20 April deadline for both SS&C Technologies and ION Investment Group to make firm offers for Fidessa.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Fidessa counterbidders SS&C Technologies and ION Investment Group have been given a 10 day deadline to make a firm offer for the trading technology vendor.
/goo.gl/76xUvD

J.P. Morgan invests in AccessFintech, commencing series A funding
AccessFintech joins the bank’s In-Residence program
AccessFintech
AccessFintech, the financial technology firm led by industry entrepreneurs Roy Saadon and Steve Fazio, announced today that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (J.P. Morgan) has become an investor in its series A round, leading the way for participation by additional market participants. The investment, financial terms of which were not disclosed, was made following an initial seed round that was privately funded.
/goo.gl/f5NWcG

**In case you missed it, here is JLN’s piece on AccessFintech On Your Radar: Roy Saadon’s Firm Aims To Provide A View On Risks Across The Board

CloudMargin Attracts New US$10 Million Round of Investment Led by Leucadia National Corporation, IHS Markit; Doubles Client Base; Secures Commitments from First Two Global Investment Banks; Achieves 250 Percent Annual Growth in Collateral Agreements on Platform; Expands Strategic Partnership with IHS Markit
CloudMargin via WSJ
CloudMargin, the award-winning creator of the world’s first and only collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud, announced today the completion of a new round of investment in the company totaling US$10 million to support the firm’s rapid growth. The new investors are LVC, the venture investing arm of Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK), the publicly traded investment holding company and parent of Jefferies, the global investment banking firm; and IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions. Existing investors, including Illuminate Financial Management, also participated in the round.
/goo.gl/zY6Tqq

Meet Aladdin, the computer “more powerful than traditional politics”
Will Dunn – The New Statesman
The winter of early 1993 was a cold one in New York; the beginning of February saw the mercury drop below -13°C. Each morning of that winter Jody Kochansky would arrive at 6.30am at the Manhattan offices of BlackRock, and begin going through the printouts.
/jlne.ws/2JsSQjH

Marcus by Goldman Sachs: A Bank + Fintech Model for the Future
Jim Marous – The Financial Brand
In 2016, Goldman Sachs started a consumer lending business focusing on clients looking to refinance credit-card debt. under the brand Marcus, named after founder Marcus Goldman. Previously known as a firm that catered only to the ultra-rich (minimum investment of $10 million for wealth management relationships), customers today can open a Marcus savings account with as little as $1.
/jlne.ws/2GKgjiT

Is this the best fintech firm to join right now? One trading veteran thinks so
Dan Butcher – efinancialcareers
Sabrina Gagliotta has just been hired as the senior vice president of sales at Thesys Technologies, a capital markets fintech firm previously known as Tradeworx. It rebranded in January after spinning out its trading business as Blueshift Asset Management, which is led by Mani Mahjouri, the former chief investment officer of Tradeworx.
/jlne.ws/2uZHkcr

UBS suspends access to research data for some external providers
Reuters Staff – Reuters
UBS has suspended research data feeds to data provider Bloomberg and other third-party platforms which are unable to ensure the data is only seen by the Swiss bank’s clients, a UBS memo to staff seen by Reuters showed.
/jlne.ws/2v2SVYi

JPMorgan pulled a move from the Google playbook
Matt Turner – Business Insider
The US banking giant has created a JPMorgan Chase API (application programming interface) store, allowing clients to plug into JPMorgan’s data. The API store was highlighted by JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon in his annual letter to shareholders as part of a discussion of the bank’s tech strategy.
/jlne.ws/2Jw6O4p

Itiviti and Ullink Begin Integration
Rob Daly – MarketsMedia
Integrating companies that have a total of 48 years of history in the financial market space brings challenges. But for Itiviti and Ullink, the process is to build a firm foundation and work out from there, according to the management of the new organization.
/jlne.ws/2JwRqVx

Miles Kumaresan: Better trading through technology
Sarfraz Thind – The Trade
Miles Kumaresan, head of trading and FinTech at Nordea Asset Management, has brought his technology expertise and experience to tackle the ongoing issue of sourcing liquidity in the bond space through equipping traders with the right tools for the job.
/jlne.ws/2Jvfat2

Fishing With Alternative Data
Daniel P. Collins – Modern Trader
Merriam-Webster defines data as, “Factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion or calculation.”
Traders use data in all forms to construct the basis for their trading decisions. In the past, this involved earnings reports and sales statistics for equity traders and perhaps weather reports and supply/demand calculations for commodity traders.
/jlne.ws/2JuCZRM

Fake News Adds to Cyber Risks for Business, U.K. Report Says
Kitty Donaldson – Bloomberg
Hijacking of crypto-currencies, cloud data breaches likely; CEO impersonators coerce victims into transferring funds
Fake news threatens U.K. businesses with reputational damage as well as falling sales and share prices, adding to the growing risk from cyber attacks facing companies from local Indian restaurants to multinationals.
/goo.gl/3KiMt1

Cryptocurrencies

A Sidelined Wall Street Legend Bets on Bitcoin
Gary Shteyngart – The New Yorker
Michael Novogratz is searching for redemption in cryptocurrencies.
/jlne.ws/2JwxW3f

Another Goldman exec dumps Wall Street for crypto world
Kate Rooney – CNBC
Early cryptocurrency investor Mike Novogratz has hired Goldman Sachs executive Richard Kim as the new chief operating officer for his merchant bank, Galaxy Digital, according to a person familiar with the matter.
/jlne.ws/2Jw1oXe

Why Bitcoin Behaves Like the Flu
Eric Lam – Bloomberg
Is the rise of Bitcoin analogous to the spread of an infectious disease? Analysts at Barclays Plc saw enough similarities to develop a pricing model for the cryptocurrency that takes its cues from the world of epidemiology. Their diagnosis: Bitcoin has probably peaked.
/goo.gl/vdaSqU

Credit Suisse Banker Known for Preaching Crypto Is Leaving
Sonali Basak – Bloomberg
Credit Suisse Group AG banker Brian Wirtz, known for proselytizing on Bitcoin and blockchain technology, is leaving after five years, according to people familiar with his departure.
/jlne.ws/2JxVBAz

****SD: Missed this around the weekend.

YouTube and Facebook Are Losing Creators to Blockchain-Powered Rivals
Some say privacy concerns, censorship, and a coming ban on cryptocurrency ads are driving them away from the big names.
Camila Russo – Bloomberg
Peter “Furious Pete” Czerwinski has close to 5 million YouTube followers, but they can’t see most of his new videos there. To get 46 of the 71 weightlifting and competitive-eating videos he’s posted in the past two months, fans have to use DTube.
/goo.gl/1VajDV

While the World Cracks Down, Japan Emerges as a Crypto Haven
Yuji Nakamura – Bloomberg
This week’s Decrypted podcast traces Japan’s crypto origins; Pro-crypto laws usher investments from tech, finance firms
Japan’s emergence as a global center for cryptocurrencies didn’t start with open-minded lawmakers or prescient investments by the country’s financial giants. Instead, it began with an American felon who arrived in the country looking for a fresh start.
/goo.gl/yDyufP

Cryptocurrency miners seek cheap energy in Norway and Sweden
Christoph Steitz, Stephen Jewkes – Reuters
Cryptocurrency miners are moving in to Norway and Sweden to take advantage of cheap hydro-electric energy and low temperatures to power and cool their servers.
/goo.gl/zXMYN1

Gemini to Roll Out Bitcoin and Ether Block Trading
David Floyd – Coindesk
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini said Monday that it will roll out block trading for bitcoin and ether starting later this week.
/goo.gl/8i4kxB

Politics

Kudlow only worsens Trump’s trade war
John Crudele – NY Post
Larry Kudlow is a shill. And once a shill, always a shill. Kudlow was a Wall Street prognosticator with a very flawed record. Then he went on to a TV career with cable station CNBC, and he completely missed the problems leading up to the Great Recession of 2008 because he was still telling Wall Street what it wanted to hear. As I said, he was shilling.
/goo.gl/rQY1A8

Trump’s Latest Foreign Policy Moves Have Been Great for U.S. Aluminum Makers
Joe Deaux – Bloomberg
Alcoa, Century surged as likely beneficiaries of U.S. measures; Rusal sends about 700,000 tons of aluminum to the U.S.: Harbor
The American aluminum industry is getting a double benefit from Donald Trump’s harder stance on trade and Russian oligarchs.
/goo.gl/x6mJg4

F.B.I. Raids Office of Trump’s Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen; Trump Calls It ‘Disgraceful’
Matt Apuzzo – NY Times
The F.B.I. raided the Rockefeller Center office and Park Avenue hotel room of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, on Monday morning, seizing business records, emails and documents related to several topics, including a payment to a pornographic film actress.
/goo.gl/QDx4na

Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations
Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger and Devlin Barrett – Washington Post
Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney of President Trump, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, according to three people with knowledge of the case.
/goo.gl/gW3i1s

‘No Direct Confrontation’: Investors Voice Relief at Xi’s Speech
Moxy Ying, Matthew Burgess, Nguyen Kieu Gian – Bloomberg
U.S. futures, Asian stocks jump as Xi backs free trade; Comments ‘leaned toward opening’ of China economy: IG Asia
For investors and analysts watching Chinese President Xi Jinping’s landmark economic speech Tuesday, the mood was one of relief.
/goo.gl/32ddkF

Xi Warns Against Returning to a ‘Cold War Mentality’
Bloomberg News
Chinese president cautions against ‘Cold War mentality’; Repeats vow to reduce foreign ownership limits on key sectors
Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated pledges to open sectors from banking to auto manufacturing in a speech that also warned against returning to a “Cold War mentality” amid trade disputes with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.
/goo.gl/KEPuxe

Regulation

Exclusive: U.S. watchdog seeks record fine against Wells Fargo for abuses
Patrick Rucker – Reuters
The top U.S. watchdog for consumer finance is seeking a record fine against Wells Fargo & Co that could exceed several hundred million dollars for auto insurance and mortgage lending abuses, according to three sources with knowledge of the plans.
/jlne.ws/2v1nRbh

Fund industry defends bond ETFs to U.S. regulators
Trevor Hunnicutt – Reuters
A fund industry trade group representative on Monday disputed the idea that bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) might fail to hold up under stress, telling U.S. securities regulators he knows of no convincing evidence to suggest such funds’ liquidity is a problem.
/jlne.ws/2v2GJqw

ESMA data shows EU exchange-traded-derivatives market volumes at EUR200tn
ESMA
The EU market for Exchange-Traded-Derivatives (ETDs) is worth approximately EUR200tn – with an average daily turnover of EUR1.3tn – a recent report by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) shows.
/goo.gl/HRPRSx

South Australian day trader sentenced for market manipulation
ASIC
Stefan Mark Boitcheff of South Australia, has been convicted and sentenced after pleading guilty to two market manipulation-related charges in the District Court of South Australia.
/goo.gl/UqEHap

Superannuation trustee and promoter penalised for false and misleading conduct
ASIC
Spaceship Financial Services Pty Ltd (Spaceship) and Tidswell Financial Services Pty Ltd (Tidswell) have each paid a $12,600 penalty for Infringement Notices issued by ASIC. ASIC’s concerns related to misleading claims about the ‘fundamental investment philosophy’ of the Spaceship Super Fund’s “GrowthX” portfolio (Spaceship Fund), made on the fund’s website (www.spaceship.com.au) during 2017.
/goo.gl/sQgPKq

Wells Fargo could face as much as $1 billion in fines
Kevin Dugan – NY Post
Wells Fargo is facing as much as $1 billion in fines over abuses in the beleaguered bank’s mortgage and auto loan financing divisions, according to a report.
/goo.gl/EXsKxq

‘Fear The Regulator’ Has Been a Winning Strategy for FAANG Traders
Cormac Mullen – Bloomberg
Basket of tech stocks under regulatory risk lagged for years; Underperformance intensified this year on data breaches
Investors discounted the threat of regulation in high-flying technology shares long before the recent data scandal at Facebook Inc. intensified calls for data protection.
/goo.gl/nP53to

Investing and Trading

Yield Curve Is Entering the Danger Zone
Liz McCormick – Bloomberg
When it comes to the Treasury yield curve, going inverted isn’t the “great move” that Tom Cruise boasted about pulling off when piloting his F-14 Tomcat jet in the cult classic movie Top Gun.
/jlne.ws/2GLsPyr

Dodging Fake Fraud Alerts
J. D. Biersdorfer – NY Times
Many financial institutions offer fraud alerts by text, but if you’re not sure the message is real, call the company directly or check your account online.
/goo.gl/uYfWxX

The Big Question for Markets: Is There a Kudlow or Powell ‘Put’?; Investors are looking for evidence that the White House economic adviser or Federal Reserve chairman can act as an insurance policy against a trade war.
Neil Irwin – WSJ
These are unsettled times in financial markets. Stock prices rose or fell by more than 1 percent in four of five days last week, and if anything those closing numbers masked even larger swings within each trading session. A common measure of expected stock market volatility is about to double its level from early January.
/goo.gl/d7LEck

Volatility Is Back. Scarred ETF Investors Aren’t; Exchange-traded products that profit from rising volatility have fallen out of favor, despite gains
Asjylyn Loder – WSJ
Exchange-traded products that enable investors to profit from wild price swings in stocks are enjoying big gains this year. But retail investors, who’ve been burned in the past by betting on volatility, are mostly steering clear of them.
/goo.gl/tD15vm

U.S. Deficit to Surpass $1 Trillion Two Years Ahead of Estimates, CBO Says
Erik Watson, Sarah McGregor – Bloomberg
Tax-cut, spending stimulus boosting interest rates, prices; CBO raises 2018 U.S. economic growth forecast to 3.3% vs 2%
The U.S. budget deficit will surpass $1 trillion by 2020, two years sooner than previously estimated, as tax cuts and spending increases signed by President Donald Trump do little to boost long-term economic growth, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
/goo.gl/jUj8Y1

Institutions

Deutsche Bank’s New CEO, a Risk Veteran, Warns of ‘Tough Decisions’; New chief faces difficult task of reviving Germany’s biggest bank and its struggling investment banking and trading units
Jenny Strasburg – WSJ
Christian Sewing, a career Deutsche Bank AG DB 1.01% employee little known outside Germany, learned with near-certainty Friday night that he should prepare to take the global stage running the country’s biggest lender.
/goo.gl/mzLxgs

Big Banks Find a Back Door to Finance Subprime Loans; Lending to nonbank financial firms surges to record as banks avoid direct exposure
Peter Rudegeair, Rachel Louise Ensign and Coulter Jones – WSJ
These days, Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are unlikely to make a $14,000 auto loan to a borrower with a subprime credit score. That is now the domain of direct lenders such as Exeter Finance LLC, based in Irving, Texas.
/goo.gl/y6aWk7

Former Barclays trader refuses to attend London trial
Barney Thompson in London – FT
A former star trader at Barclays who is due to stand trial over allegations he conspired to manipulate the Euribor lending rate has failed to turn up to court in London and will be tried in absentia.
/goo.gl/JvLBxB

Esposito Securities Provides Initial Seed Capital for Successful Launch of the Cboe Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF (KNG); Fund follows the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index with an options writing component; marks another successful launch for which Esposito provided key seed capital
BusinessWire
Esposito Securities, LLC (“Esposito”), a leading provider of ETF seed capital, and other key services to both the asset management industry and institutional investors, is celebrating the recent successful launch of the Cboe Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF (BATS: KNG), for which Esposito provided initial seed capital.
/goo.gl/9RQzWh

BNP Paribas Group to acquire the core banking operations of Raiffeisen Bank Polska and strengthen its subsidiary BGZ BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas Group and Raiffeisen Bank International (“RBI”) have reached an agreement for the acquisition of the core banking operations of Raiffeisen Bank Polska (the “Core Bank”), to be combined with the subsidiary of BNP Paribas in Poland, BGZ BNP Paribas.
/goo.gl/ewCdeT

Goldman fires male executive for threatening behaviour to women
Lucy McNulty – Financial News
Goldman Sachs has dismissed a senior male executive for “aggressive and intimidating” behaviour towards two female colleagues — including alleged threats made to his pregnant boss outside the US bank’s London headquarters.
/goo.gl/NnWYN3

Deutsche Bank Chairman Achleitner Says Cryan Was Too Slow to Execute
Geoffrey Smith – Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner said John Cryan had to leave as chief executive officer because the executive board was too slow in its decision-making, according to an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
/goo.gl/Bo5PBg

Regions

Jack Ma’s Ant Financial to Raise $9 Billion, Become World’s Biggest Unicorn; Latest funding round could value the financial technology firm at close to $150 billion
Julie Steinberg – WSJ
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s financial-technology business is about to vault into the ranks of the world’s most valuable companies.
/goo.gl/psVM5o

City paints old-fashioned value on silvered takeover tacticians; Boutique US bank PWP prepares to pay for lifetime’s knowledge of three M&A veterans
Kate Burgess – FT
The City may be guilty of many horrors — from downright sexism to all manner of offences to political correctness. But it puts an old-fashioned value on experience.
/goo.gl/1mMuyh

Saudi Bond Kicks Sand in Qatar’s Face; The kingdom is prepared to sacrifice its cost of funding to make a political point.
Marcus Ashworth – Bloomberg
It might be a total coincidence that Saudi Arabia has announced a monster bond issue right in front of Qatar, which is midway through a debt roadshow of its own — but it’s unlikely.
/goo.gl/YTvcg6

Norway Once Again Rejects Private Equity for $1 Trillion Fund
Michael Holter, Sveinung Sleire – Bloomberg
Norway’s government again declined to allow its $1 trillion wealth fund to invest in private equity, saying it would pose a challenge to its transparency and cost level.
/goo.gl/Fk32NG

Panicking Investors Wonder If U.S. Ire Dooms All Russian Stocks
Natasha Doff – Bloomberg
‘Unknowns’ around sanctions rattling market, Blackfriars says; All but one analyst recommended buying Rusal before sanctions
Investors caught up in the market carnage around two Russian companies struck by U.S. sanctions are asking if any stock is safe.
/goo.gl/iWx1jo

Russian Markets Slide After U.S. Ups Ante With the Worst Sanctions Yet
Ksenia Galouchko, Yuliya Fedorinova – Bloomberg
Shares in Rusal lead declines as oligarchs put on black list; Russia’s biggest banks seen unable to help because of risk
The most punitive U.S. sanctions yet to descend on Russian companies and oligarchs are battering the nation’s assets as the Kremlin scrambles to contain the damage.
/goo.gl/G6HmBf

Brexit

Financial watchdog cuts back operations to focus on Brexit; FCA says it will need to spend extra £16m over next 12 months
Nicholas Megaw in London – FT
The UK’s financial regulator said it has had to postpone several projects and cut back on some of its “non-critical” operations as it prepares for a “particularly challenging year” ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU.
/goo.gl/C4K6AE

Miscellaneous

KPMG bans plastic cups in push to reduce pollution; Environmental initiative taken in response to pressure from accountancy firm’s staff
Madison Marriage – FT
KPMG has become one of the first leading companies to remove plastic cups from its UK offices in response to pressure from staff to adopt a more proactive approach to protecting the environment.
/goo.gl/SYfFPF

Journalism School Backlash Against Media Giant Sinclair Grows; “In making the leap to disparage news media generally … Sinclair has diminished trust in the news media overall.”
Lydia O’Connor – Huffington Post
Fourteen journalism schools have now signed a letter denouncing Sinclair Broadcast Group for ordering local TV anchors to read controversial on-air scripts about “fake news.”
/goo.gl/m1mVCD

The post Wall Street Is About to Answer the Good/Bad Volatility Question appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Thank you to all who donated to the Gofundme campaigns mentioned in the newsletter yesterday. I could not be more proud of you all for your outpouring of support and generous response. The goal for Anthony Di Benedetto has nearly been reached and the goal for the Burns family has been exceeded even more.~JJL

As heart-pulling as the stories in JLN were, yesterday was a somber day for me as I attended a wake for a childhood friend who made the ultimate decision. His brother asked all of us in attendance to reach out to someone we have not talked to in a long time and just say hello and listen. It was a powerful suggestion and reminder to care for and stay connected to our friends and family. Small acts of kindness can make a big difference.~JJL

In light of yesterday’s mislinked photo – apologies to Eurex CEO Thomas Book for misrepresenting him as TMX Group CEO Lou Eccleston – rest assured that JLN has developed an image verification tool using cutting edge machine learning techniques. (Now, that’s not true, but we will maintain our vigilance.) ~SD (EDITOR’S NOTE: All employees have been issued a See ‘n Say with only pictures of Mr. Book and Mr. Eccleston on it, so that is a sort of machine learning isn’t it?)

So far in our annual series with industry leaders that we film at FIA Boca we have released videos of former Liffe and LME CEO Garry Jones; CME Chief Commercial Officer Julie Winkler; Trading Technologies CEO Rick Lane; ASX Deputy CEO Peter Hiom; Cboe President and COO Chris Concannon; Cinnober Executive Chairman Nils-Robert Persson; Greenkey CEO Nader Shwayhat; LME CEO Matt Chamberlain; SGX EVP and Head of Derivatives Michael Syn; TMX CEO Lou Eccleston and Eurex CEO Thomas Book. (And there are plenty more to come!)~SD

On June 7, FIA Operations Americas will host its Annual Angelo LaSpina Golf Outing in Staten Island. Proceeds go to the FIA Operations Americas Division Scholarship Program. Sign up here.~SD

++++

A Reg Wrap
Spencer Doar – JLN

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and SEC Director of the Division of Trading and Markets Brett Redfearn were in Chicago yesterday for an STA Equity Market Structure Symposium at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center. Here are some takeaways:

Perhaps biggest of all the endeavors on the SEC’s plate is the newly announced transaction fee pilot. While the agency has not established a quantitative measure to determine success or failure of the pilot, the hope is that the data gathered will finally shed light on the best way to revamp existing liquidity-related rebates and fees.

Clayton is very concerned about the Consolidated Audit Trail. Issues have arisen that were not considered in the (multi-year) planning period. He said the industry undoubtedly needs an audit trail and the firms charged with building it are more than capable. But that’s about it – questions about progress on the CAT were left hanging in the air. There was not a satisfactory answer or explanation for its delays or when it might be on track. He offered a rather glib response at one juncture, simply saying we’re at the stage where people know they have to mail a letter, but there’s no mailbox to put it in.

Clayton said during his tenure at the helm of the agency he has been shocked by the amount of fraud in ICOs and penny stocks.

It does seem like the SEC’s agenda for 2018 is one of the most ambitious in recent years. There will be three roundtables in 2018 to address some of the issues the SEC has prioritized. The first roundtable will deal with illiquid stocks. Does the industry need a one-size fits all market structure when 15 percent of listed equities account for less than one percent of daily volume? The second roundtable will deal with how to improve investment and development of the SIP. That will also serve as an opportunity to address market data in general. The third roundtable will address retail fraud.

++++

Rosenthal Collins Group Appoints Steve Ivey Chief Risk Officer
Rosenthal Collins Group
Rosenthal Collins Group LLC (RCG), a leading independent futures brokerage and clearing firm, announced today the appointment of Steve Ivey as Executive Vice President & Chief Risk Officer. Ivey brings more than two decades of risk management experience in trading, liquidity, credit, operational and market risk.
/goo.gl/7KMtfP

***** When the risk gets too much, I bet he climbs up the wall.~JJL

++++

Will the Rockefeller Collection be the First Art Auction to Top $1 Billion?
Kelly Crow – WSJ
A century ago, Standard Oil baron John D. Rockefeller became one of the world’s first billionaires at a time when the U.S. government’s annual budget hovered at around $700 million. This month, the vast art collection amassed by his grandson David Rockefeller could make history of its own by selling for as much as $1 billion at Christie’s in New York. No other estate auction has ever crossed that mark.
/goo.gl/o4JSTg

****Thinking of big name American families, FX’s new series “Trust” about the Getty family has been a great watch so far.~SD

++++

Can Humans Understand How Robots Invest?; A new ETF buys stocks picked by artificial intelligence. That requires a leap of faith.
Sarah Ponczek – Bloomberg
For a guy who built a robot he hopes will banish human emotion from the investing process, Chida Khatua spends a lot of time trying to figure out how it thinks.
/goo.gl/aBao32

***** Warning, Warning!!!~JJL

++++

Aaron Rodgers converts Dalai Lama to Green Bay Packers fan, which is nice
The Guardian
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers managed to recruit a new fan during a humanitarian mission to India this week – while perhaps taking a stride toward achieving total consciousness.
/goo.gl/No6a7d

*****The Dalai Lama is not to be confused with the Dawley Llama.~JJL

++++

Tuesday’s Top Three
Yesterday’s top three items were about tragedy and hope. The top read item was Crain’s story on LJM Partners in How the wrong bet on market volatility annihilated this mutual fund. Second and third were from the heart, two separate funding appeals for people in our industry. Sometimes reaching out can be a powerful thing. The first was a Gofundme appeal for the wife and family of James Burns, who died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 49. Next was the Gofundme appeal from former Nymex and Comex staff member Anthony Di Benedetto for medical and foreclosure expenses. It is at times like these when this community has stepped up to help those in need. These certainly are two of them.

++++

MarketsWiki Stats
123,228,079 pages viewed; 23,067 pages; 212,663 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

++++

Lead Stories

Widespread Fraud in ICOs and Penny Stocks Shocked SEC’s Jay Clayton
Nick Baker – Bloomberg
SEC chairman comments of first-year lessons in Chicago speech; Agency to weigh effectiveness of regulatory approaches, he says
The former Wall Street deals lawyer who leads the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said one of the biggest surprises of his first year heading the agency has been learning about the levels of fraud surrounding initial coin offerings and penny stocks.
/goo.gl/AwP8Ev

US sanctions heighten LME fears over Rusal exposure; Nervous investors are unwinding aluminium positions, even if it means a loss
Henry Sanderson – FT
As Matthew Chamberlain prepared to return from an annual copper conference in Chile on Tuesday, the youngest chief executive of the London Metal Exchange faced a dilemma.
/goo.gl/vjrDP6

China Adds Flesh to Bones of Plan for Big Bang Financial Opening
Bloomberg News
Quota for Mainland-Hong Kong stock connect will be quadrupled; Yi: Rate differential with the U.S. is in ‘comfortable range’
China’s plan for an historic opening of its financial sector came into sharper focus as the nation’s top central banker elaborated on pledges from President Xi Jinping that have buoyed global markets and eased trade tensions with the U.S.
/goo.gl/p1Bc6J

CME revokes approved status for Rusal’s aluminium
Reuters Staff
CME Group has revoked approved status for registration of Russian firm Rusal’s metal for delivery against its aluminium futures contracts, according to a notice on its website.
/goo.gl/9qRfYm

China Takes New Step Toward Opening Its Financial Markets to the World; Beijing pledges to launch stock trading link between Shanghai and London
Shen Hong – WSJ
China has pledged to launch a stock trading link between Shanghai and London by the end of this year, taking a fresh step towards opening up its financial markets and providing the U.K. with a vote of confidence ahead of Brexit.
/goo.gl/Rb3qLM

Britain’s FCA reviewing U.S. sanctions against Russian firms
Reuters Staff
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is reviewing the new U.S. sanctions against Russian individuals and entities to determine the impact on UK-listed firms, it said on Wednesday.
/goo.gl/Ft6mYx

Crypto hedge fund known for eye-popping early returns lost nearly 50 percent last month; Crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital saw the value of its Digital Asset Fund cut nearly in half in March, according to an investor letter published Tuesday.
Kate Rooney – CNBC
Pantera Capital, a hedge fund that gained attention for returning 25,000 percent over its lifetime through the end of last year, saw the value of its cryptocurrency fund cut nearly in half in March, according to an investor letter Tuesday.
/goo.gl/odFGyy

SGX plans June launch of new Indian equity derivatives products; New product launch follows news of major Indian stock exchanges deciding to terminate market data and indices licenses.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch new derivatives products for Indian equities in June to replace its existing Nifty futures.
/goo.gl/N3z3h2

5 Questions with Michael Creadon, Cryptocurrency Analyst and Trader
Brian Mehta – Trading Technologies’ Trade Talk Blog
Michael Creadon is CEO at 4Rev, an independent research and analysis firm that focuses on cryptocurrencies. He previously served as CEO of Traditum, a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm that specialized in yield curve trading on the CME Group.
/jlne.ws/2GNiulM

Fintech Sales Pioneer USAM Group Expands Its Unique Service in Europe — USAM Group
PRLog
Leanne Bassett joins USAM London as a Senior Sales Executive…
Alan Grigoletto joins as USAM’s first-ever Italy based Senior Sales Executive…
/jlne.ws/2IHCJxr

Eurekahedge reports second month of losses for hedge funds in 2018
Beverly Chandler – Hedgeweek
Eurekahedge reports that hedge funds registered their second consecutive month of losses since the start of 2018, with the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index declining 0.51 per cent in March, while still outperforming the MSCI World Index which ended the month down 2.21 per cent.
/jlne.ws/2GNk8Uk

Ant Financial’s Mysterious Valuation Inflation; Alibaba affiliate apparently worth $150 billion, even as shadows spread over its growth and profitability
Jacky Wong – WSJ
China’s Ant Financial is looking ever more like an elephant, but investors should be wary of getting squashed.
/goo.gl/GTK6oZ

IHS Markit Adds Cybersecurity Risk Ratings to Research Signals; Factor-based investment research service enhanced with BitSight Security Ratings
Business Wire
Business information provider IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) today announced that Research Signals, its quantitative equity research product, has enhanced its factor-based investment analyses with 35 cybersecurity risk factors on more than 3,000 public companies. The cybersecurity risk factors are based on security ratings from BitSight, a leading provider of actionable risk intelligence, and deliver investment risk indicators for institutional investors.
/goo.gl/Eury4U

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

CME stockpiles cash at Fed
Louie Woodall – Risk.net
The CME Group deposited more than $28 billion of its cash to the Federal Reserve over the course of 2017 while drawing down its deposits and reverse repo trades with commercial banks and offloading billions of dollars’ worth of securities.
/goo.gl/pKT8jx

SGX updates on India equity derivatives plans
SGX
SGX will list new India equity derivative products in June 2018, to provide market participants with continuity and the ability to seamlessly transition their current India risk management exposures. These products also add to the existing India Single Stock Futures offering, which has garnered active participation from global institutional clients since its launch, demonstrating the demand for access products.
/goo.gl/Jqaadi

Chinese Version of Guide to TSE Trading Methodology
JPX
For investors to understand the TSE trading methodology, TSE offers “Guide to TSE Trading Methodology”, a guide book explains how transactions on the TSE market works. JPX released the Chinese version of the guide. To download the PDF file, please click the following link.
/goo.gl/bDnroi

HKEX Comments On Stock Connect Daily Quota Expansion
HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has issued a Business Update following the joint announcement from the China Securities Regulatory Commission and Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission about the expansion of the existing daily quota under the Stock Connect. From 1 May 2018, the Northbound daily quota will be increased from RMB13 billion for each of the Shanghai Connect and the Shenzhen Connect to RMB52 billion and the Southbound daily quota will be increased from RMB10.5 billion for each of the Shanghai Connect and the Shenzhen Connect to RMB42 billion.
/goo.gl/ywuFjJ

Extension of trading hours for selected benchmark futures and MSCI futures to 21 hours
Eurex
Eurex Deutschland plans to extend its trading hours for selected equity index, fixed income, volatility and MSCI futures into the Asian time zone in December 2018.
/goo.gl/mMVTPB

Deutsche Boerse and the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs bring together sustainability initiatives in the financial center of Frankfurt; New Sustainable Finance Cluster brings together activities in the area of ??sustainable finance
Deutsche Boerse Group
Deutsche Boerse’s Accelerating Sustainable Finance Initiative and the Green Finance Cluster Frankfurt of the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs announced their merger on Wednesday. Under the name of Sustainable Finance Cluster, all activities of the two initiatives will continue together in the future. The aim is to make even more efficient use of financial market expertise in the field of sustainable finance on the basis of a broad dialogue, and above all to formulate and implement concrete approaches to the future viability of national and international financial market structures.
/goo.gl/6se5Wh

Retail Estates lists on Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext
Retail Estates (ticker symbol: RET), a leading real estate company specialised in out-of-town retail real estate, began trading on Euronext Amsterdam today.
/goo.gl/yz5rJH

UBS MTF lists more than 50 stocks suspended by MiFID II DVCs; Bans will be implemented over a six month period, effective from 13 April, but capped instruments remain available for trading under LIS waiver.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
UBS multilateral trading facility (MTF) has announced that 57 stocks will be suspended from trading after breaching MiFID II’s double volume caps (DVCs).
/goo.gl/HzATa9

MOEX awards best traders among Siberian University students
MOEX
On 10 April 2018, Alexander Afanasiev, CEO of Moscow Exchange, awarded winners of the Novosibirsk Region Governor’s Cup for On-exchange Financial Market. The contest was held among students of Siberian universities at the initiative of Moscow Exchange and with support from the Novosibirsk regional government. The awards ceremony took place today at the annual Exchange Forum in Moscow.
/goo.gl/fdqV5m

https://jlne.ws/2H8nqRB

China Futures Market Monitoring Center: 1st Full-Market Testing For International Business Of Iron Ore Futures Completed
MondoVisione
On March 31 and April 1, Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) organized China Futures Market Monitoring Center, futures-company members and information providers to carry out the 1st full-market testing for the business of ushering in overseas traders of iron ore futures. The testing aims to promote initial preparations for the international business of iron ore futures and guarantee the successful operation of relevant business.
/goo.gl/rDPdkv

Fintech

Matrix Executions Expands Offering with Cboe Silexx Integration
MarketWatch
Matrix Executions, LLC. (“Matrix”) now offers Cboe’s Silexx OEMS users an additional option for routing. Matrix Executions, a newly formed agency only broker-dealer, serves the needs of exchanges as well as institutional and retail professionals.
Silexx, an innovative multi-asset order and execution management system (OEMS) caters to institutional customers throughout the U.S. With the Silexx OEMS, users can efficiently trade multiple equities based asset classes using Matrix routing and algorithmic strategies from one platform.
jlne.ws/2IJRlfT

Temenos wins regulatory approval for Fidessa takeover; The UK’s FCA and antitrust authorities in the US have approved Temenos’ acquisition of Fidessa.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Temenos has gained approval of its £1.4 billion bid to acquire technology vendor Fidessa from regulatory authorities in the UK and the US.
/goo.gl/fnBpLo

UK takeover panel sets Fidessa counterbid deadline
Philip Stafford – FT
The UK Takeover Panel has sought to hurry along the battle for Fidessa by telling the two potential counterbidders they have 10 days in which to make a firm offer for the UK trading software company.
/goo.gl/VA3xDK

Quantitative Brokers appoints new tech chief from Bloomberg Tradebook; New chief technology officer at Quantitative Brokers previously oversaw Bloomberg Tradebook’s equities, options and FX algorithms.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Futures and US cash treasury algorithm and analytics provider Quantitative Brokers has appointed a new chief technology officer who has joined the firm from Bloomberg Tradebook.
/goo.gl/ZLG6xY

Cryptocurrencies

Digital Day 2018: EU countries to commit to doing more together on the digital front
European Commission
Tomorrow the Commission will bring ministers, representatives of EU countries, industry, academia and civil society representatives together to encourage cooperation in artificial intelligence, blockchain, eHealth and innovation.
/jlne.ws/2v4siSM

European countries join Blockchain Partnership
Digital Single Market
22 European countries signed today a Declaration on the establishment of a European Blockchain Partnership. The Partnership will be a vehicle for cooperation amongst Member States to exchange experience and expertise in technical and regulatory fields and prepare for the launch of EU-wide blockchain applications across the Digital Single Market for the benefit of the public and private sectors. This should ensure that Europe continues to play a leading role in the development and roll-out of blockchain technologies.
/jlne.ws/2v3ib0t

Japan: Self-Regulatory Group Study Reveals 3.5 Mln Active Crypto Investors
CoinTelegraph
Japan delivered new statistics about cryptocurrency use on Tuesday, April 10 as regulators and industry players push for greater transparency in the country’s market.
A report from Japan’s self-regulatory body the Japanese Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA) revealed at a meeting of a study group commissioned by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) analyzed various data from 17 major exchanges in 2017.
/jlne.ws/2GNRYIT

FCA to publish cryptocurrency review later this year; Confirmed firms offering crypto derivatives must be regulated
Jayna Rana – Investment Week
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced its intention to outline its views on cryptocurrencies later this year, as revealed in its business plan for 2018/19.
/goo.gl/syF4We

The World Is Cracking Down on Bitcoin—Except Japan; Even after a massive hack, the Japanese government is sticking to its crypto-friendly policies.
Yuji Nakamura, Aki Ito – Bloomberg
Over the last few months, governments around the world have cracked down on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But one country is sticking to its crypto-friendly policies: Japan. This week on Decrypted, Bloomberg Technology’s Yuji Nakamura and Aki Ito take you to Tokyo to meet the unlikely characters who helped turn Japan into the world’s premier bitcoin hub, including investor Roger Ver, a.k.a. Bitcoin Jesus.
/goo.gl/q8b5ZR

The @Bitcoin Account Is Back From Suspension and Tweeting Against Bitcoin
Camila Russo – Bloomberg
The @Bitcoin account is back up on Twitter after being suspended Sunday, and the verbal jabs are just as intense.
/goo.gl/oWTzxF

Lessons on Bubbles From Bitcoin; Until there is a way to bet against an asset, its price will be set by the most upbeat buyer.
Noah Smith – Bloomberg
The recent Bitcoin bubble wasn’t the first, and it might not be the last. Once in 2011 and twice in 2013, the price soared and then crashed:
/goo.gl/7yUQEc

A veteran Wall Streeter has left Credit Suisse for a crypto trading desk
Frank Chaparro – Business Insider
A Credit Suisse trader is the latest Wall Streeter to flee finance for crypto Nelson Minier, a Bronx-native, has joined the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken as a trader for its new over-the-counter trading operation, two people familiar with the situation told Business Insider. Over the course of nearly 20 years, Minier has worked for almost every major Wall Street firm, including Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and most recently Credit Suisse.
/goo.gl/8cMTCE

Bittrex Reopens New Customer Registrations; The company also unveils upgraded website for customers
Bittrex
Bittrex, the premier U.S.-based blockchain trading platform, today announced the resumption of new user registrations and the launch of its enhanced website. In addition, Bittrex is now supporting corporate accounts and accepting new corporate applications.
/goo.gl/kiEZLY

Politics

The Law Is Coming, Mr. Trump
The Editorial Board – NY Times
Why don’t we take a step back and contemplate what Americans, and the world, are witnessing?
/goo.gl/4ENUZJ

Zuckerberg Asks Congress to Be Friends
Kathleen Hunter – Bloomberg
It’s day two in the hot seat for Mark Zuckerberg. And if the Facebook chief was hoping his congressional appearance would help stave off a regulatory push, his Senate testimony yesterday will give him pause.
/goo.gl/5K8TBr

Regulation

Mark Carney Gets a New Right-Hand Man
Lucy Mean – Bloomberg
James Benford appointed governor’s private secretary; Previous holders including Alex Brazier, Andrew Bailey
Mark Carney has a new right-hand man in a position that’s previously been a stepping stone to the highest ranks at the Bank of England.
/goo.gl/9EEGUw

Incentivizing Post-trade Risk Reduction
International Swaps and Derivatives Association
Post-trade risk reduction has become increasingly common as a means to reduce risks in the derivatives market. Portfolio compression is a case in point: offsetting trades between multiple parties are torn up, which reduces the size of gross exposures, in turn reducing systemic risk. Over EUR1,000 trillion in derivatives exposures has been eliminated in this manner.
/jlne.ws/2JzHF8Z

****Above is the summary of the white paper – to go straight to the full white paper click here.

Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Establishment of a Second Trade Reporting Facility in Conjunction with Nasdaq, Inc.
FINRA
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) a proposed rule change to adopt rules relating to the establishment of a second Trade Reporting Facility or “TRF” to be operated in conjunction with Nasdaq, Inc. (“Nasdaq”). The second FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility (“FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago”) would provide FINRA members with another mechanism for reporting over-the-counter (“OTC”) trades in NMS stocks and complying with FINRA’s requirements with respect to back-up trade reporting arrangements.
/goo.gl/bta9GW

Retirement Isn’t Free—But Your 401(k) Match Is
FINRA Staff
Are you making the most of your company’s 401(k) match? Each year, Americans leave billions of dollars in 401(k) company matches on the table. Take steps today to make sure you aren’t one of them by making the most of your company’s 401(k) match.
/goo.gl/HmvhQa

ESMA updates its double volume cap register
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated today its public register regarding the double volume cap (DVC) mechanism under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
/goo.gl/pZqqji

ESMA asks Commission to clarify ancillary activity test under MiFID II
ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today written a letter to the European Commission regarding the exemption from authorisation as investment firm which non-financial entities are eligible for when their commodity derivative trading activity is ancillary to their main business as set out in Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments (MiFID II).
/goo.gl/9T3eAy

Investing and Trading

The 50 cent options trader who bets on market volatility says a financial ‘earthquake’ is coming
Sam Jacobs – Business Insider Australia
The market meltdown in early February — when US stocks had their biggest one-day fall in six years— proved to be more of a financial tremor, but the threat of an actual earthquake remains.
/goo.gl/cwE96J

Opinion: The surprising reason stock-market investors on higher floors take more risks; Scientists are just starting to understand how buildings that surround us can have a powerful impact on our decision
Sina Esteky – MarketWatch
Stocks have been on a bumpy ride lately as concerns over a trade war prompt investors to rethink their appetite for risk.
/goo.gl/QWA3aB

Institutions

Exposed: Lehman Brothers internal FX training manual – Want to know what Tier 1 banks teach their FX desks? Look no further
Andrew Saks-McLeod – FinanceFeeds
The Tier 1 banks dominate the FX industry from their Canary Wharf nerve centers. Last look, counterparty credit restriction and lack of accountability when things go awry remain moot points for liquidity takers. Here is what they teach their FX staff.
/jlne.ws/2IE8tDN

British Banks Will Have to Cut Ties to Sanctioned Oligarchs, U.S. Says
Ellen Barry – NY Times
The United States on Tuesday ratcheted up its efforts to block Kremlin-linked industrialists from doing business in the West, warning that British banks will have to sever their relationships with the tycoons if they want continued access to American financial institutions.
/goo.gl/c7FJFw

Fidelity Is Rethinking How It Charges You for Financial Advice; The changes mark the latest attempt by a large wealth manager to simplify its fees
Sarah Krouse – WSJ
Fidelity Investments is overhauling what it charges affluent clients for financial advice, one of the biggest-ever pricing shake-ups for a firm that oversees hundreds of billions in wealth held by American investors.
/goo.gl/fheBgz

Barclays to Shut $1.2 Billion of ETNs, But Do Investors Know?
Rachel Evans – Bloomberg
Holders remain in 50 notes that Barclays will close Thursday; The British bank is ‘streamlining’ platform and lowering fees
If you own an exchange-traded note sold by Barclays Plc, go check your mail. Now. The British bank is retiring or replacing roughly half of its U.S. offerings on Thursday, according to statements from the company. The plan affects 50 ETNs with about $1.2 billion in assets, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Yet, as of last week, assets stubbornly remained in the notes, meaning investors appear to be oblivious to a shake up that could strand them with hard-to-trade securities.
/goo.gl/HLnjZ1

Regions

Moscow urges calm as chill hits from new round of US sanctions
Kathrin Hille and Max Seddon – Financial Times
It was standing room only at Russia’s largest stock exchange on Tuesday as the country’s top economic policymakers faced an unenviable job: trying to persuade a crowd of skittish investors that the economy can weather the latest sanctions imposed by the US.
/jlne.ws/2IJprAu

US-China rivalry will shape the 21st century
Martin Wolf – Financial Times
China is an emerging superpower. The US is the incumbent. The potential for destructive clashes between the two giants seems potentially unbounded. Yet the two are also intimately intertwined. If they fail to maintain reasonably co-operative relationships they have the capacity to wreak havoc not only upon each other, but upon the entire world.
/jlne.ws/2IKfjrv

China accelerates opening to foreign financial groups; Majority stakes to be permitted in securities and fund management companies within months
Tom Mitchell and Hudson Lockett – FT
Foreign financial groups will be allowed to take majority stakes in securities, fund management, futures and life insurance companies “within a few months”, China’s central bank said on Wednesday.
/goo.gl/mHVMut

Hard questions for India’s private sector banks; Doubts over performance of non-state lenders ICICI and Axis after surge in bad loans
Simon Mundy – FT
A landmark moment for India’s male-dominated business sector came in the summer of 2009, when Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma took charge of its two largest private-sector banks by assets.
/goo.gl/66DLVr

Deripaska’s Two-Decade Wooing of U.S. Ends in Financial Meltdown
Stephanie Baker – Bloomberg
For two decades, Oleg Deripaska pursued one of the few things he couldn’t buy—American acceptance—with all the tenacity you’d expect from a man who built what was once the world’s ninth-largest fortune.
/goo.gl/W6jbBS

Russia Investors Offload Ruble as U.S. Sanctions Spook Market
Natasha Doff, Ksenia Galouchko – Bloomberg
Many funds were overweight Russian assets: AllianceBernstein; Emerging-Market ETF that holds Russian debt suffers outflow
Russia’s ruble extended its slump and credit risk climbed as foreign investors cut their holdings amid a wave of uncertainty created by the latest round of U.S. sanctions.
/goo.gl/jc1kK9

Hong Kong’s currency to remain pegged to the US dollar in the near future, IMF’s Lagarde says; The Hong Kong dollar, the biggest loser among a dozen Asian currencies against the euro last year, weakened to 7.8499 per US dollar on Wednesday, the weakest level since 1983
Eugene Tang, Karen Yeung – South China Morning Post
Hong Kong’s currency should remain pegged to the US dollar, said the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Christine Lagarde, even if it has weakened to the lowest level in 35 years, barely 0.01 cent from touching a red line that triggers an intervention by the city’s monetary authority.
/goo.gl/9RivrM

Brexit

UK businesses call for post-Brexit alignment with EU regulations; CBI presents report on 23 sectors of the UK economy
George Parker – FT
Large swaths of the economy will be damaged if the UK deviates too far from EU regulations after Brexit, according to a new report from the CBI business lobby.
/goo.gl/azsTQF

The post Widespread Fraud in ICOs and Penny Stocks Shocked SEC’s Jay Clayton appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

At yesterday’s IFM Smart Financial Regulation Roundtable: Implications of Cryptocurrencies in Washington DC, Rostin Behnam, commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was asked if he could change one thing about the crypto markets what would it be? He said it would be regulation of the cash crypto markets, although not necessarily by the CFTC.~JK

Also, Angela Walch, associate professor, St. Mary’s University School of Law made one of the more stunning comments about the crypto markets, which she said feature several powerful so-called miners, dispelling the notion that these markets are decentralized and uncontrolled by any one or by a few entities.~JK

@distledger brings their Distributed: Markets event to Navy Pier on Monday, April 23. Speakers include Julie Winkler from the @CMEGroup, https://twitter.com/coinlist?lang=en@Coinlist‘s @Andy_Bromberg, @MatthewRoszak from @Bloqinc, and @jgarzik from @MTNToken. Visit the site markets.distribtued.com for more information and to register.~JJL

Please join the Chicago Bar Association Futures and Derivatives Law Committee on Wednesday, April 18th at 12:00 pm at the CBA (321 S. Plymouth Ct.) to hear Simon Puleston Jones, Head of Europe at FIA, discuss the impact of a “no deal” Brexit on the cleared derivatives industry.~JJL

Yesterday was another chock full JLN Options newsletter.~SD

++++

Light at the End of the Tunnel – Pat Kenny and Ryan Moroney, CQG

JohnLothianNews.com

With MiFID II preparations in the rearview, CQG can now focus on expansion – its biggest push being into mainland China.

In this special two-for-one video from JLN’s annual series with industry leaders, CQG SVP of Client Relations Pat Kenny and President of CQG Europe and the Americas Ryan Moroney discuss CQG’s international plan, getting into the algo space and adapting to the needs of traders.

Watch the video and read the rest here »

++++

The share of American young adults living with their parents is the highest in 75 years
Dan Kopf – Quartz
Parents in the US cannot get rid of their kids. The share of young adults in their late 20s living with their parents is the highest it’s been in 75 years.
/goo.gl/Lw92Cu

*****Think affordable housing shortage.~JJL

++++

The Periodic Table
Steve Grob – Fidessa
I read with interest, and some dismay, Sam Agini’s great piece in Financial News yesterday about Marcus Ferber writing to ESMA be-moaning periodic auctions. Perhaps the most asinine comment attributed to Mr Ferber is that some such mechanisms are a “blatant attempt to undermine the Mifid II provisions aiming at having a larger share of trading in the light”. It is hard to know where to start in deconstructing this statement, but let me have a go anyway.
/goo.gl/MhQmw3

***** Steve Grob being Steve Grob.~JJL

++++