First Read
Hits & Takes
JLN Staff
Jim Kharouf has written a terrific piece for FIA’s MarketVoice titled “The Sun Finally Shines on Carbon Markets.”~JJL
NFA has brought a complaint against Lee Stern‘s LBS Limited Partnership, an introducing broker, regarding deficiencies in their anti-money-laundering program.~JJL
Women in Derivatives are holding an event in Washington, DC today from 5 to 8 PM, “Transforming Finance: The Impact of Emerging Technologies.” The keynote address is by CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo.~JJL
Register for the LME’s free forum in New York on 25 June and join panellists from Triland Metals Limited, Ferrometrics Partners LLC, Hartree Partners and Crunch Risk who will share insights on tools to help the steel industry manage their price exposure.~JJL
Tabb Group and Hitachi Vantara are holding a free webinar on June 20, 2018 at 10 am EST called Innovative Strategies for the Data Management Dilemma.~JK
Have you signed up your interns for our Chicago or New York MarketsWiki Education World of Opportunity series events yet? More details are available on www.marketswikieducation.com.~JJL
We are still looking for a few more participants for a discussion about cannabis as a potential market. We are putting together an anonymous discussion about the state of the cannabis market and how it will develop. If you are interested in participating, please contact me.~JJL
++++
Five Ways to Become a Wall Street Billionaire in 2018
Tom Metcalf – Bloomberg
The Bloomberg Wealth team has uncovered six hidden billionaires in finance this year. They’ve reached the apex of capitalism in very different ways, from the banker who spent decades advising on the biggest mergers and acquisitions to a millennial duo who left Wall Street to set up their own fintech startup.
/bloom.bg/2MfmJWa
***** Using a time travel machine is not even on the list.~JJL
++++
Inside the world’s biggest all-cash merger: How JPMorgan moved $57 billion in 6 hours so Bayer could pay for Monsanto
Dakin Campbell – Business Insider
The day had finally arrived.
Almost two years after Bayer first made an offer to acquire Monsanto, and almost 18 months after the German drugmaker finally secured a $66 billion deal to buy the agrochemical company, it was time last week to close the transaction. And when it came to paying for the largest all-cash acquisition in history, Bayer turned to JPMorgan, a bank that had been conflicted out of advising on the original deal.
/read.bi/2MjYTsz
****I wonder if they get a three day hold on deposits like I do when I cash my $10 birthday check from grandma?~JB
++++
Hiding My Depression Almost Destroyed My Job; Help end the stigma: Let’s talk about mental health.
Joe Nocera – Bloomberg
If you spent any time on social media this past weekend, you no doubt saw hundreds — nay, thousands — of people reflecting on the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Some wondered what could have motivated these two wildly successful people to take their own lives. Others noted that we can never know someone else’s pain — and that, in any case, just because someone leads a seemingly blessed life doesn’t mean she or he can’t suffer from depression.
/jlne.ws/2JOZMdW
***** There is a lot of help out there. Reach out and find it.~JJL
++++
Friday’s Top Three
Yesterday’s top read story was the profile of Cargill in Bloomberg’s piece America’s Largest Private Company Reboots a 153-Year-Old Strategy. Second was the now famous picture from the G7 meeting Trump vs. the whole world is perfectly captured by this photo of world leaders. Third was the Trading Places Newsletter piece Reactions to the CME NEX Acquisition at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit
++++
MarketsWiki Stats
127,804,506 pages viewed; 23,158 pages; 213,374 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
++++
Lead Stories
Two big UK banks shift some euro clearing from London to Frankfurt; Shift gives Germany’s Deutsche Börse larger foothold in the euro clearing market
Philip Stafford – FT
Two British banks are among the biggest swaps traders sending their euro interest rate swaps for clearing at Deutsche Börse, helping the German exchanges operator establish a toehold in a market that has become hotly-contested after the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.
/jlne.ws/2JLDrOx
SEC Chairman: Most of Dodd-Frank Is Here to Stay; Rule changes will be around the edges, Jay Clayton says, singling out clearinghouses as one area of concern
Gabriel T. Rubin – WSJ
Postcrisis rules have created new challenges for Trump-appointed regulators as they look at recalibrating the financial rule book, but the vast majority of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act isn’t going anywhere, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton said Monday.
/jlne.ws/2JOOmHh
Citi issues stark warning on automation of bank jobs; Investment banking leaders eye future in which machines take over ‘lower-value tasks’
Laura Noonan, Investment Banking Correspondent – FT
Citigroup’s investment bank has suggested that it will shed up to half of its 20,000 technology and operations staff in the next five years, as machines supplant humans at a faster pace.
/jlne.ws/2JRi8vb
Officials Arrest Dozens in Email Scam Aimed at U.S. Businesses; Over 70 people in the U.S. and Nigeria have been arrested in scam that cost companies hundred of millions
Aruna Viswanatha – WSJ
More than 70 people have been arrested in the U.S. and Nigeria in recent months and accused of participating in a sophisticated email scam that has targeted American businesses and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone, authorities said on Monday.
/jlne.ws/2JOW2JE
Aquis gears up for £12m float on London Stock Exchange
Sebastian McCarthy – City AM
The pan-European cash equities exchange, which is aiming to be valued at £73m with a share price at around 269p, is planning to list on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim).
/jlne.ws/2JMN6nR
Is It Better to Have a Team or a Single Manager Overseeing Your Fund?
Cameron Crise – Bloomberg
What’s the ideal number of portfolio managers for an investment fund? Whether you’re a proponent of a single-manager model or prefer shared responsibility, there’s a saying to support your view: “Two heads are better than one.” “Too many cooks spoil the broth.”
/bloom.bg/2JuakQD
Investment banking: stronger franchises emerge 10 years after crisis; The biggest banks are even more profitable now than they were in the mid-2000s, but shareholders still face low returns on equity
Laura Noonan in London – FT
When Lehman Brothers imploded almost 10 years ago, few Wall Street banks were worse placed to withstand the fallout than Citigroup. While most of its rivals had delivered bumper profits in 2007, Citi had already seen its earnings collapse to $3.6bn from $21.5bn after its subprime bets went badly wrong.
/jlne.ws/2JRLb1k
Boum! The Rebirth of Paris Has London Rattled; Office construction and foreign investor sentiment are edging ahead in the French capital.
Lionel Laurent – Bloomberg
Perception isn’t reality, but it matters. A new EY survey has ranked Paris above London as the most attractive destination for foreign investment, for the first time since the accounting firm started doing yearly reports on the subject.
/jlne.ws/2JJFtyz
Meet the man who’s floating the Spotify of stock exchanges
Lucy White – City AM
Alasdair Haynes says he is a passionate supporter of subscription (Source: Acquis)
The City has changed since Alasdair Haynes took his initial steps in as a young trader. Whereas Haynes may have been able to win his first position at a trading firm by proving he could still stand after drinking a bottle of white port, these days the glass-fronted office blocks are filled with driven youngsters with multiple degrees under their belts.
/jlne.ws/2JKigwl
Cognito Deepens Integrated Offering with Appointment of Four Directors
Business Wire
Cognito, the specialist integrated communications and marketing firm for the financial services industry, has appointed four new directors to deepen its brand, content strategy and digital marketing capabilities.
/jlne.ws/2JNJRN3
Exchanges, OTC and Clearing
Explosive Growth: Exchanges Report Record $30.7 Billion Revenue in 2017
David Kimberley – Finance Magnates
Global revenues for exchanges reached record highs in 2017 according to a new report by Burton-Taylor International Consulting. The firm, which is owned by TP ICAP, claims that exchanges made over $30 billion in revenue last year.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of NYSE Euronext, was the largest exchange in the world last year. The firm made $4.6 billion in revenue in 2017, a 4.6 percent increase on 2016. This also meant it made 15 percent of the total $30.7 billion in revenue made by exchanges across the globe last year.
bit.ly/2t3bkQo
ICE retains top global exchange spot; Burton-Taylor global exchange report showed industry revenues reached more than $30 billion in 2017, with ICE claiming the top spot.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has retained its position as the leading global exchange, accounting for just over 15% of total industry revenues last year.
/jlne.ws/2JPE1L9
Exchange Adds Members to its Biotech Advisory Panel
HKEX
Two new Panel members; Now 15 members on Panel; Exchange will continue to look to add Panel members as appropriate
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), today (Tuesday) announced that it has added two members to its Biotech Advisory Panel (the Panel).
/jlne.ws/2JOSvea
Chinese regulator approves launch of corn, cotton options: exchanges
Reuters
China has approved the launch of corn and cotton options, two of the country’s commodity exchanges said, as it expands the range of tools available to hedge against price-swings in agricultural markets.
China launched soymeal and sugar options earlier this year, the first agricultural derivatives products in the world’s biggest commodity market.
/reut.rs/2LLaQq1
Euronext Dublin Statistics May 2018
MondoVisione
Note – On 27 March 2018, The Irish Stock Exchange plc was acquired by Euronext, the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, spanning Belgium, France, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal and the UK and began trading as Euronext Dublin.
/jlne.ws/2JOZLH8
City heavyweights back Aquis Exchange IPO; Fund managers and an electronic trading firm are among the investors
By Samuel Agini – Financial News
One of the world’s biggest electronic trading firms and several high-profile fund managers have backed the initial public offering of a City-based venue looking to challenge the dominance of leading players in Europe.
/jlne.ws/2JMQO0L
IEX CEO Says Exchanges Must Be Referees of Fundamentals, Speed
Bloomberg Daybreak
Brad Katsuyama, chief executive officer at IEX, discusses concerns about speed and machines in global markets, the benefits of being an independent exchange, and the firm’s new home at 3 World Trade Center.
/jlne.ws/2JIy0Qm
Fintech
How to fix business schools’ fintech problem; Breaking down academic silos can overcome clash of cultures and the lack of expertise
Co-Pierre Georg – FT
“Bitcoin is a bubble!” “But how about the endless possibilities of the blockchain? “Nothing but pixie dust!” I found myself in the middle of such discussions when teaching finance MBA students at HEC Paris. The idea was to discuss challenges in regulating fintech companies, but the debate quickly turned to the technical aspects of blockchain, decentralised applications and token economies.
/jlne.ws/2JKTITU
From ‘Mad Men’ to ‘math men’, will data kill advertising?; As the industry moves to digital ‘solutions’, traditional advertisers may be in jeopardy
John Gapper – FT
Life moves pretty fast in advertising. “Seventy two and still robust, Martin Sorrell was unlikely to step down anytime soon,” Ken Auletta declares of the former chief executive of WPP at the end of Frenemies. A fair assumption when written but already wrong — Sir Martin resigned in April from the company that he founded and which grew into the world’s biggest advertising holding group.
/jlne.ws/2JP3xjy
Improbable technology is transforming the gaming industry; The computer games sector is experimenting with a different way of creating products
John Thornhill – FT
It may seem like heresy to some, or lunacy to others, but more and more of the world’s products are likely to be sketchily designed, prematurely launched, and never finished.
/jlne.ws/2JM3bu4
Former Bloomberg Tradebook CEO joins Dash Financial Technologies; Industry veteran Glenn Lesko handed responsibility for global growth strategy of Dash Financial Technologies following management buy-out in March.
John Brazier – The Trade
The former chief executive of Bloomberg Tradebook Glenn Lesko has been appointed chief growth officer at Dash Financial Technologies.
/jlne.ws/2JMMIWr
IHS Markit Launches Comprehensive Vendor Management Workflow Service; New Vendor Management Portal puts risk tiering and oversight front and center in KY3P
Business Wire
IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today announced the launch of the Vendor Management Portal (VMP), a comprehensive solution for vendor risk tiering and vendor management workflow. In combining VMP with its KY3P due diligence service, IHS Markit now offers firms a comprehensive system to centralize the management of third-party relationships, assess and monitor third-party risk and perform vendor due diligence.
/jlne.ws/2JOf3M0
Pico Launches Direct Connectivity To The Warsaw Stock Exchange
MondoVisione
Pico, a leading financial infrastructure services provider, recently launched direct connectivity to the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) colocation facility in Warsaw, Poland.
/jlne.ws/2JGC3wL
Shenzhen Stock Exchange: Samples Adjusted To SZSE Component Index, SME Index, ChiNext Index And SZSE 100 Index
MondoVisione
According to the index compiling rules, Shenzhen Stock Exchange (“SZSE”) and Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd. have announced regular adjustment made to the sample stocks of SZSE series indexes including SZSE Component Index, SZSE 100 Index, SZSE SME Index and SZSE ChiNext Index. The adjustment will be effective as from the first trading day of July 2018.
/jlne.ws/2JP0hoy
Minium and Exactpro team up for software testing
Finextra
Minium and Exactpro Systems Limited (Exactpro) today announced that they have entered into a partnership under which Exactpro will provide independent software testing of Minium’s Risk Management and Post-Trade processing systems.
/jlne.ws/2JMvBUF
Cryptocurrencies
Wells Fargo Bans Cryptocurrency Purchases on Its Credit Cards
Hannah Levitt and Jennifer Surane – Bloomberg
Wells Fargo & Co. customers hoping to use their credit cards to buy Bitcoin will have to look elsewhere.
/jlne.ws/2JM1GvW
Proof that bitcoin still can’t be trusted
John Crudele – NY Post
Recently, Bloomberg News reported that the Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into the possibility that traders are manipulating the price of bitcoin and other digital currencies.
/jlne.ws/2JM4HfK
Let’s not try make ‘crypto chicks’ a thing
Jemima Kelly – FT
Life is macho in the Divine Brodom of Cryptoland. Citizens live on meat-only diets, official conference after-parties are held in strip clubs, enthusiasts are encouraged to find worthless tokens on mountain-tops (even though such pursuits can be deadly), and the ultimate goal in life is making enough money to buy a ” Lambo”.
/jlne.ws/2JIrIQK
London Stock Exchange Plans to List First Cryptocurrency Firm, Argo Blockchain
Deepan Datta – Crypto News
The cryptocurrency sector, which was earlier seen as a separate ecosystem from the financial sector, is steadily gaining confidence and acceptance from the mainstream. London Stock Exchange, one of the oldest stock exchange in the world has approved the listing of stocks of Argo Blockchain and going to be the first crypto company to get listed in the exchange.
bit.ly/2LMnSng
This Japanese Exchange Will Borrow Your Bitcoin for a Yearly Fee
Shaurya Malwa – Yahoo Finance
In an apparent step to increase liquidity and attract users, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank has announced a bitcoin burrowing program
/jlne.ws/2JM0CIE
Cryptocurrency Looks More Legit Now Backed by Institutional Money, ICE, Goldman; Top market makers ICE and Goldman Sachs are now getting into the cryptocurrency trading and futures space. But what’s next and how does that impact your crypto investments?
Jordan French – The Street
Cryptocurrency Regulation Is a Must for Long-Term Sustainability, Expert Says
Decentralization and a lack of clear regulations have played a significant role in the ups and downs of cryptocurrency. While this has certainly contributed to the surge in crypto’s global popularity, it has also largely kept institutional investors away
/jlne.ws/2JQ9Y6g
Crypto Boost for U.S. Firms Loses Luster After South Korea Hack
Sam Unsted – Bloomberg
Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum Lost About $42 Billion Over Weekend; Drop comes as London set for its first crypto mining listing
A wave of U.S. stocks reaped rewards from exposure to cryptocurrencies when enthusiasm was at a fever pitch. But after a dismal 2018 for digital currencies so far, their gains are looking far less impressive.
/jlne.ws/2JK88n7
Crypto Giant Binance to Offer Euro Trading Pairs This Year
Cindy Wang and Benjamin Robertson – Bloomberg
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by traded value, will soon allow customers to convert digital tokens into fiat currencies such as the euro, according to Chief Executive Officer Zhao Changpeng.
/jlne.ws/2JRhca9
Blockchain consortium R3 CEO blasts rumours of financial woes; R3 chief David Rutter hits back at ‘false rumours’ of financial troubles spread by two former employees.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
The chief executive of blockchain consortium R3 has come out fighting against rumours that the company is facing financial difficulty.
/jlne.ws/2JJIRth
Bitcoin futures growth could prompt bank ratings downgrades; Fitch, S&P, Moody’s contemplate impact of bitcoin futures on credit ratings
Dan DeFrancesco – Risk.net
Rating agencies are considering downgrading banks that clear bitcoin futures – and potentially even those just exposed to the contracts through their central counterparties – should volumes continue to increase on the new, volatile contracts.
/jlne.ws/2JMtZKB
Politics
Trump, Kim Sign Historic Pledge Toward Peace
Jennifer Jacobs, Toluse Olorunnipa, and Kanga Kong – Bloomberg
U.S., North Korea summit leaves path to disarmament undefined; U.S. to keep sanctions on North Korea after summit, Trump Says
The U.S. and North Korea agreed to seek complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula following a historic summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, yet the accord set no deadline and left the path to disarmament undefined.
/jlne.ws/2JRLOYK
Canada parliament condemns U.S. attack on Trudeau, country simmers
Reuters Staff
Canada’s House of Commons on Monday unanimously condemned the personal attacks on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by U.S. President Donald Trump and his surrogates as the famously polite nation simmered over the weekend broadsides by its U.S. ally.
/jlne.ws/2JK8ied
‘An Unprecedented Scandal’: How Newspapers Around the World Reacted to Trump’s Behavior at the G-7 Summit
Ciara Nugent – Time
As President Donald Trump departed early from the G-7 summit in Quebec on Saturday, America’s closest allies were left reeling. Trump abruptly refused to sign the joint statement the seven leaders had agreed on a range of topics including trade and the environment, announcing his decision in a pair of tweets from Air Force One. Even before this, the other countries—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K.—had struggled to find common ground with the American president, who had called for Russia to rejoin the bloc, from which it was suspended in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea, and labeled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “weak and dishonest.” Here’s how media in the G-7 countries reacted to the president’s performance.
/jlne.ws/2JIolJL
Macron resolute on trade as Trump bromance cools; Merkel backs French president in standing firm on EU position over tariffs
Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in Paris and Tobias Buck in Berlin – FT
This time, there was no kissing, hugging or planting trees. Less than two months after Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron displayed mutual affection in Washington, their encounter at the G7 meeting in Canada during the weekend was marked by angry rhetoric on US trade tariffs and a white thumbprint left on Mr Trump’s hand by a firm squeeze from the French leader.
/jlne.ws/2JNtMXH
Kudlow Is ‘Doing Well’ After Mild Heart Attack, White House Says
Alex Wayne – Bloomberg
National Economic Council director was at G-7 with president; Trump made announcement right before Kim summit in Singapore
President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, was “doing well” on Monday night after suffering a “very mild heart attack,” a White House spokeswoman said.
/jlne.ws/2JMjG9C
The $1.4 Trillion U.S. ‘Surplus’ That Trump’s Not Talking About
Bloomberg News
Deutsche Bank calculates impact of U.S. companies’ sales; Focus on trade balance is ‘misleading,’ economist Zhang writes
The U.S. has a surplus of $20 billion with China and $1.4 trillion with the rest of the world.
/jlne.ws/2JLZlRS
Regulation
SEC official: Clamp down on officials who cash in on stock buybacks
Jeff Cox – CNBC
Corporate executives are using tax cuts and share buybacks to boost their own compensation, a top regulator said Monday.
Companies have announced a record-breaking level of share buybacks since Congress passed the Republican-backed tax reduction in December. Critics of the $1.5 trillion measure had worried that it would lead to big rewards for shareholders and only limited benefit to the broader economy.
/cnb.cx/2JrFBnb
Buy-side bearish on unbundling post-MiFID II; Global survey of fund managers suggests the buy-side is now feeling the consequences of MiFID II unbundling rules.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Asset managers are generally negative about the effects of unbundling requirements under MiFID II, according to a new survey from RSRCHXchange.
/jlne.ws/2JOeEJu
ASIC implements financial benchmark regulatory regime
ASIC
ASIC has today finalised and published benchmarks rules, a significant benchmarks declaration, and a regulatory guide in a further series of measures towards establishing a comprehensive regulatory regime for financial benchmarks. This follows the establishment of a robust licensing regime for financial benchmarks through the recent passage of legislation through the Parliament.
/jlne.ws/2JMzWaA
Proposed Rule Change to Extend the Implementation of FINRA Rule 4240 (Margin Requirements for Credit Default Swaps)
FINRA
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) a proposed rule change to extend to July 18, 2019 the implementation of FINRA Rule 4240. FINRA Rule 4240 implements an interim pilot program with respect to margin requirements for certain transactions in credit default swaps that are security-based swaps.
/jlne.ws/2JIDgDJ
Notice of Special Meeting of Large Firms and Proxy
FINRA
FINRA will conduct a Special Meeting of large firms on Thursday, June 28, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. EDT in the FINRA Visitors Center at 1735 K Street, NW, in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the meeting is to elect one individual to fill a Large Firm Governor seat on the FINRA Board of Governors (Board).
/jlne.ws/2JKWzMC
NC Investors Learn Important Investing Tips at Event with Rep. McHenry
FINRA STAFF
In May, FINRA hosted a free Investor Education Forum in Gastonia, N.C., to provide unbiased financial information to consumers to help them make informed investing decisions and to protect against financial fraud and cybercrime.
/jlne.ws/2JRRGBg
FCA statement on thematic review into fair treatment of longstanding customers in the life insurance sector
UK FCA
On 3 March 2016 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced investigations into six firms as a result of its thematic review into the fair treatment of longstanding customers.
/jlne.ws/2JLHJW9
Investing and Trading
Trump’s ill-advised tweet could have crushed the stock market
John Crudele – NY Post
You probably already heard that the president tipped people off ahead of time about the last employment numbers. That’s a very big no-no. It gives traders who can respond quickly a very big edge. But in case the president does it again in the future, know this: Anyone following his lead could have gotten absolutely annihilated. More than an hour before the May jobs report was released on June 1, Trump tweeted “looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.”
/jlne.ws/2JLjVSq
Dairy Farms Find a Lifeline: Beer
Joshua M. Bernstein – NY Times
Every day since 1938, farmhands at the 1,000-acre Carter & Stevens Farm, in central Massachusetts, have milked cows in the morning and afternoon. The same family has overseen operations for five generations. A sixth seemed uncertain.
/jlne.ws/2JM2Bg4
E-Commerce Might Help Solve the Mystery of Low Inflation
Patricia Cohen and Jim Tankersley – NY Times
Unemployment is sinking and businesses are churning out more goods and services. Yet even with the economy standing on tippy toes, prices and wages are climbing a lot more slowly than anyone has expected.
/jlne.ws/2JGz3R1
Demand for US 30-year bonds reflects comfort over inflation risk; Investors do not see Fed losing control of price pressures over the coming decades
Joe Rennison in London – FT
As investors await updated economic forecasts from the Federal Reserve, a crucial area of the bond market will probably affirm an important message about US inflation expectations when $14bn of 30-year Treasury debt is sold.
/jlne.ws/2JK9tu9
Knives out for US pork in tariffs war; Prospects dim for industry as foreign markets retaliate against Trump trade policies
Gregory Meyer in New York – FT
The US pork industry is squealing after its two biggest foreign markets imposed steep tariffs in retaliation for steel and aluminium duties from the Trump administration.
/jlne.ws/2JQaRM8
How to weather — and potentially cash in on — the upcoming market crash
Shawn Langlois – MarketWatch
The end of the bull market is upon us. Or maybe it’s really close. Getting closer? Nobody really has a clue on the timing, of course. The only thing we do know for sure is that the fun has to end eventually.
/jlne.ws/2JMwVXO
Heirs of Heirs of Heirs of Heirs Love Dynasty Trusts
Ben Steverman – Bloomberg
Everyone dies eventually, but if you’re wealthy enough, your money might live forever. Dynasty trusts are a tool to make that possible. Thanks to the tax overhaul signed by President Donald Trump in December, these trusts are getting new attention from ultra-wealthy Americans looking to provide for the financial needs of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond.
/jlne.ws/2JLInCT
Making a Killing in Virtual Real Estate; Digital 1,100-square-foot plots in Genesis City are selling for as much as $200,000.
Camila Russo – Bloomberg
Last month, Ryan Kunzmann went to a bar in New York to see his 58,000 square feet of property. No, it’s not the world’s biggest bar—his holdings are virtual.
/jlne.ws/2JJFen9
Is the Federal Reserve set to retire its low-rates guidance?; Surging US growth and tumbling unemployment point to another quarter-point rate rise
Sam Fleming in Washington – FT
Accelerating growth and blockbuster hiring numbers will keep the US Federal Reserve on a steady path towards tighter monetary policy this week, despite global risks including the threat of a Donald Trump-induced trade war and emerging-market strains.
/jlne.ws/2JMuXqo
Institutions
Quant Funds Are Selling Stocks With Hidden Volatility Building
Dani Burger – Bloomberg
Funds tracked by Credit Suisse reduce equity exposure by 10%; Cross-sector disruptions spur swings in factor returns
A record spike in equity volatility couldn’t get the quants to sell, but bubbling market stress below the surface has finally spurred them to offload.
/jlne.ws/2JNtCj3
BlackRock Woos Wealth Managers With Risk ‘X-Ray’ Tool
Annie Massa – Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley, UBS wealth units among those who’ve signed on; Top pension funds, insurers, rivals already use the software
Almost three decades ago, BlackRock Inc. created software to obsessively monitor the then-fledgling firm’s financial risks. Now, after turning it into an essential tool on Wall Street, the firm is zeroing in another kind of client: financial advisers.
/jlne.ws/2JMvicE
UBS Eyes Family-Office Growth From Asia’s Ultra-Rich Clans
Patrick Winters and Devon Pendleton – Bloomberg
The fortunes of China’s richest people increased 65% last year; Swiss bank considers adding to its global team of about 100
UBS Group AG expects most new family-office clients to come from Asia as global banking rivals compete to manage funds and broker deals for the world’s wealthiest clans.
/jlne.ws/2JMvgl2
JPMorgan Mexico boss served with arrest warrant; Claim based on crisis-era $87m loan to real estate developer dismissed by bank as ‘baseless’
Jude Webber in Mexico City – FT
Eduardo Cepeda, the head of JPMorgan Chase Mexico operations, has been served with an arrest warrant for fraud over a decade-old $87m loan taken out by Elías Sacal, a Mexican real estate developer, but the bank dismissed the case as “baseless” and said it had full confidence in him.
/jlne.ws/2JRqvXD
Regions
China’s Bond-Market Mystery: Why Aren’t There More Defaults?; Beijing is working to maintain stability, even as it tries to tackle its key economic problem, analysts say
Shen Hong – WSJ
Beijing’s determination to tame China’s soaring debt levels has won plaudits from bullish observers who believe the government is finally tackling its key economic problem.
/jlne.ws/2JGyaYH
Brazil murder rate takes its toll on economy; Report finds that crime has worsened and lays out the cost over two decades
Andres Schipani and Joe Leahy in São Paulo – FT
Record homicide levels have cost Brazil R$450bn ($120bn) in lost productivity over two decades — a sum almost equal to the Marshall Plan, the US second world war aid package for Europe, a government study revealed on Monday.
/jlne.ws/2JGxy5l
Looking for a Haven in Emerging-Market Turmoil? Try India
Selcuk Gokoluk – Bloomberg
WisdomTree says stock investors should allocate 20% to India; ‘Domestic consumption insulates nation from external shocks’
As the threat of a trade war grows and emerging-market central banks sacrifice growth to protect their currencies, equity investors have their backs to the wall. But in their search for a haven, one name keeps cropping up: India.
/jlne.ws/2JMlpM8
Wall Street Will Struggle to Manage China Money; Rules around foreign ventures are changing but obstacles remain.
Nisha Gopalan – Bloomberg
As fund managers globally struggle with lower fees and the rise of passive investing, China has emerged as the industry’s next holy grail. But while the opportunities are immense, foreigners won’t find it easy.
/jlne.ws/2JMkQ4Y
The post Two big UK banks shift some euro clearing from London to Frankfurt appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).