Saudi Arabia Breaks 45-Year Taboo With Veiled Threat to Use Oil as a Weapon

First Read

Hits & Takes
JLN Staff

Welcome to all our readers and friends who have descended upon Chicago for the FIA’s EXPO. We look forward to saying hello and catching up.~JJL

CME Group is holding a press lunch today in Chicago for FIA EXPO. Cboe is holding a press event this evening, and ICE is holding one Wednesday evening. The ICE event is just one of two events all year where their senior leadership is all together to meet the press.~JJL

Check out CQG’s landing page for FIA, which features new solutions from the long-time fintech provider.~JJL

JLN is sharing the Cinnober booth in the FIA EXPO exhibit hall. Cinnober is featuring its Minium subsidiary, a key brand they are promoting at EXPO 2018 in Chicago from 16-18 October. Look for stand 314 to find out more about how Minium is “applying real-time technology to transform risk and post-trade processing.”~JJL

RCM Alternatives is presenting an event called “Crypto Currency & ICOs: Trading Access & Market Structure” on Wednesday, Oct. 24 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm CDT. The keynote speaker will be Eric Gravengaard of Athena Bitcoin. The event is free. For more information you can go here. ~SR

Last weeks’ A Leg To Stand On charity event raised almost $160,000, a record for Chicago’s Rocktoberfest. Next up is Rocktoberfest in New York on October 25. Thanks to all who supported the Chicago event.~JK

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LaSalle Street stares down major changes as big banks exit; A century after the Central Loop thoroughfare was established as Chicago’s financial district, three of its largest financial tenants are planning to leave, forcing landlords to reinvent several grand but outdated buildings.
Danny Ecker – Crain’s Chicago Business
LaSalle Street is facing an identity crisis. A century after the Central Loop thoroughfare was established as Chicago’s financial district, three of its largest financial tenants are planning to leave, punctuating a shift from its image as a hub of traders and banking giants and forcing landlords to reinvent several grand but outdated buildings.
/jlne.ws/2NM42ZE

****** The location is still great, but the buildings are old and times change.~JJL

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ErisX Announces Expansion of Leadership to Pioneer Regulated Digital Asset Platform
ErisX
ErisX, a regulated, transparent and secure venue for the digital asset market, today announced the addition of three key hires to the firm; Kelly Brown as Chief Commercial Officer, Liz James as Head of Clearing and Michael Piracci as Senior Counsel.
/jlne.ws/2NGsBaw

***** Kelly Brown has landed!~JJL

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The Big Blockchain Lie
Nouriel Roubini – Project-Syndicate.org
Now that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have plummeted from last year’s absurdly high valuations, the techno-utopian mystique of so-called distributed-ledger technologies should be next. The promise to cure the world’s ills through “decentralization” was just a ruse to separate retail investors from their hard-earned real money.
/jlne.ws/2Op3MoK

****** Nouriel Roubini is on a roll since he testified to the Senate Banking Committee.~JJL

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Paul Allen, software pioneer, 1953-2018; Microsoft co-founder who helped set the world of ubiquitous personal computing in motion
Richard Waters in San Francisco – FT
If history gives you only one shot at making a real difference, then Paul Allen seized his with both hands.
/jlne.ws/2NJPqdw

****** No word on whether he saw a blue screen before he passed.~JJL

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Monday’s Top Three
Our top read story on Monday was about Adena Friedman in The Washington Post’s Nasdaq CEO is on a mission — for the little guy, about bringing smaller companies onto exchanges. Second was Bloomberg’s Why Crypto Traders Are So Worried About Tether. And third was Bloomberg’s U.S. Alleges Futures-Spoofing by Three Commodities Traders

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MarketsWiki Stats
133,777,817 pages viewed; 23,294 pages; 215,242 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

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Lead Stories

Saudi Arabia Breaks 45-Year Taboo With Veiled Threat to Use Oil as a Weapon
Javier Blas – Bloomberg
Riyadh vows to retaliate to any measures using economic clout; Market is skeptical Saudis would actually use oil as weapon
For 45 years, it’s been considered out of bounds for Saudi Arabia. But all of a sudden, Riyadh made what many read as a veiled threat to use the kingdom’s oil wealth as a political weapon — something unheard of since the 1973 Arab embargo that triggered the first oil crisis.
/jlne.ws/2NKb696

U.K. Cyber Security Center Says Most Attacks Are From Hostile States
Kitty Donaldson – Bloomberg
Report reveals how operational code names are computer-made; Companies need to stop hanging up on ‘prankster’ NCSC agents
The U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre blamed hostile foreign states for the majority of the 1,167 attacks it has handled in the two years it’s been running, equivalent to 10 assaults a week.
/jlne.ws/2NElNKx

Trading Technologies Introduces TT® OMS, a Full-Service Order Management System for FCMs and Brokers
TT
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global provider of high-performance professional trading software, today announced the launch of its new full-service order management system, TT OMS. TT OMS is a unique end-to-end solution that seamlessly integrates sophisticated order management capabilities with best-of-breed execution tools. It will be deployed via software-as-a-service (SaaS) through TT’s global, high-speed network on an open platform designed with redundancy, failover and disaster recovery.
bit.ly/2PyuKXv

DTCC Announces Study Results Demonstrating That Distributed Ledger Technology Can Support Trading Volumes In The Us Equity Markets
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced the results of a benchmark study which demonstrated for the first time ever that distributed ledger technology (DLT) is capable of supporting average daily trading volumes in the US equity market of more than 100 million trades per day.
bit.ly/2PJuUv2

Fidelity launches trade execution and custody for cryptocurrencies
Kate Rooney – CNBC
Financial services giant Fidelity is taking a huge step into cryptocurrency.
The 72-year-old firm announced the launch of a separate company, Fidelity Digital Asset Services, on Monday that will handle cryptocurrency custody and trade execution for institutional investors.
/cnb.cx/2CKxIFr

Blockchain isn’t about democracy and decentralisation – it’s about greed; Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin result in the concentration of wealth, not greater equality
Nouriel Roubini – The Guardian
With the value of bitcoin having fallen by about 70% since its peak late last year, the mother of all bubbles has now gone bust. More generally, cryptocurrencies have entered a not-so-cryptic apocalypse. The value of leading coins such as Ether, EOS, Litecoin and XRP have all fallen by over 80%, thousands of other digital currencies have plummeted by 90%-99%, and the rest have been exposed as outright frauds. No one should be surprised by this: four out of five initial coin offerings (ICOs) were scams to begin with.
/jlne.ws/2Orl3h2

Fidelity, the $2.5 trillion Wall Street giant, is launching a brand new institutional brokerage and custody business for crypto
Frank Chaparro – The Block Crypto
The Block sat down with Jessop to get the inside look before the announcement.
Fidelity, the $2.5 trillion asset manager, is diving into the world of crypto with a brand new digital assets business.
/jlne.ws/2NJCjcj

Insider Trading Isn’t So Simple; Also Sears, Deciem, Teslaquila, bond market liquidity and an art blockchain.
Matt Levine – Bloomberg
Insider trading. I have quoted it before, but the Justice Department’s brief asking the Supreme Court to review the Newman insider trading decision is really one of the most interesting documents in insider trading law. Here is how it describes the work of stock analysts:
/jlne.ws/2NKhRb7

Most Tokens From ICOs Are Securities, Former CFTC Head Says
Dave Liedtka – Bloomberg
Gary Gensler, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said that most cryptocurrencies sold through initial coin offerings should be considered securities.
/jlne.ws/2NIloqn

QuantHouse adds Quantitative Brokers best ex algos to API initiative; Quantitative Brokers’ best execution algorithms for US cash treasury markets and global futures will be available via QuantHouse’s API ecosystem.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Quantitative Brokers’ (QB) best execution algorithms for futures and fixed income is set to become available to QuantHouse clients via its API Ecosystem.
/jlne.ws/2NJVFxY

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

CME Group Achieves Asia Pacific Average Daily Volume of 726,000 Contracts in Q3 2018, Up 4 Percent from Q3 2017
CME Group
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that it achieved Asia Pacific quarterly average daily volume (ADV) of 726,000 contracts in the third quarter of the year, up 4 percent from the corresponding period last year. This was driven largely by a strong performance in Equity and FX products, up 41 percent and 36 percent respectively.
/jlne.ws/2NJ9w7n

DTCC to Launch MF Info Xchange to Transform Communications for Mutual Fund Industry
DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced it will launch a new, on demand, real time, centralized communications service for the mutual fund industry by the end of 2018, the first service of its kind from DTCC’s Wealth Management Services (WMS) division.
/goo.gl/hLdTLQ

B3 Announces New Cash Equities Market Maker Program
B3
Starting today, B3’s Cash Equities market will feature new market makers to help boost liquidity and asset performance. The program will comprise 54 stocks and 2 ETFs.
/goo.gl/vZAnVy

Shurgard Self Storage makes debut on Euronext Brussels; Pioneer of self-storage in Europe raises EUR575 million, making it the second largest newly-listed company to join Euronext Brussels over the last decade
Euronext
Shurgard Self Storage SA (“Shurgard”, ticker symbol: SHUR) today began trading on Euronext Brussels (Compartment A) with an initial market capitalisation of EUR2.04 billion.
/jlne.ws/2OqTKDn

Extension of trading hours and enhanced risk functionality – further information
Eurex
As announced in Eurex circular 023/18, Eurex Deutschland will extend its trading hours for selected equity index futures, including all MSCI futures, and selected fixed income futures into the Asian time zone.
/jlne.ws/2NInwyn

ASX mFund service surpasses 200 funds
ASX
The ASX mFund Settlement Service continues to grow, with more than 200 funds now available to investors and financial advisers.
/jlne.ws/2NIo9bd

MIAX Options Exchange Gets Green Light on New Volatility Product; MIAX Options to List and Trade Options on SPIKES Index, Emerging as New Competitor in Volatility Market
MIAX Options
MIAX Options® today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade cash-settled options on the SPIKES Index (Ticker: SPIKE), transforming the competitive landscape of the volatility trading market dominated by a single player for the last 15 years.
/jlne.ws/2NHzs3n

The Unique Market Model of The New York Stock Exchange: Enduring stability during times of stress in the markets
John Tuttle – Chief Operating Officer at NYSE
The U.S. equity market has been riding a bull since March 2009, rising more than 300 percent over that period without experiencing a decline of 20 percent. With yields on 10-year Treasuries rising above 3 percent, their highest level since 2011, the S&P 500 slipped 3.3 percent on Wednesday, its biggest decline since February.
/jlne.ws/2NJYrTF

Fintech

The World Federation Of Exchanges Responds To Global Financial Network (GFIN) Consultation
Press Release
The World Federation of Exchanges (“WFE”), the global industry group for exchanges and CCPs, has today responded to the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) Consultation Document. On 7 August 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced the internationalisation of its regulatory sandbox via the GFIN – a collaboration with 11 financial regulators and related organisations.
bit.ly/2PCVyFY

Quantitative Brokers’ best execution algorithms for futures and fixed income now available to the QuantHouse community; Addressing quantitative traders’ need for access to high quality algo execution solutions
QuantHouse
QuantHouse, the leading independent global provider of end-to-end systematic trading solutions including innovative market data services, algo trading platform and infrastructure solutions, today announced access to Quantitative Brokers’ (“QB”) best execution algorithms for futures and fixed income.
/jlne.ws/2NM2E9o

Rival Systems to offer fully-hosted solution for enterprise trading and risk management on European exchanges
Rival Systems
Rival Systems (Rival) today announced it is expanding its infrastructure to offer a fully-hosted solution for enterprise trading and risk management on European exchanges. The expansion provides clients across the globe with a single cost-effective and latency-sensitive ecosystem of software, hardware, and connectivity to trade across the U.S. and Europe.
bit.ly/2NJNamz

Capital Crux joins Itiviti’s Global Alliance Programme
Itiviti
Itiviti, the leading global provider of multi-asset trading technology and financial infrastructure, today announced a new partnership with Capital Crux, a Hong Kong based digital consulting firm with its headquarter in Shanghai. Capital Crux has joined the Itiviti Global Alliance Programme (GAP) as a Business Introducing Partner (BIP), supporting Itiviti’s business development efforts in mainland China.
bit.ly/2NKzsj0

Refinitiv and Microsoft team up for market data deal; Refinitiv market data will be integrated with Microsoft products including Excel, MSN Money and Bing.
Hayley McDowell – The Trade
Refinitiv, the recently rebranded Financial & Risk business of Thomson Reuters, has teamed up with Microsoft to integrate its financial and markets data.
/jlne.ws/2NGOhTL

M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed by $1 Billion
Steve Lohr – NY Times
Every major university is wrestling with how to adapt to the technology wave of artificial intelligence — how to prepare students not only to harness the powerful tools of A.I., but also to thoughtfully weigh its ethical and social implications. A.I. courses, conferences and joint majors have proliferated in the last few years.
/jlne.ws/2OpSiRP

Schwarzman Gives $350 Million for MIT College of Computing
Amanda L Gordon – Bloomberg
It’s the largest personal gift made by Blackstone CEO; School to be named after him set for 2022 completion
Stephen Schwarzman, head of Blackstone Group LP, has given $350 million — his largest personal gift — to help establish a college of computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
/jlne.ws/2NKNCAH

“Monitoring of Fast-Paced Markets” – some thoughts from the BIS paper
James Sinclair – Market Factory
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a new paper “Monitoring of fast-paced electronic markets” in September 2018. Whilst oriented to central banks’ own needs, it contains fascinating nuggets for us all. Among them are some of their observations on the role of “primary venues”, principally EBS and Thomson Reuters Matching (now a service of Refinitiv), and on fragmentation.
/jlne.ws/2OplVTx

Cryptocurrencies

One Key Point Goes Overlooked Following Roubini’s Contentious Senate Testimony
Steven Ehrlich – Forbes
In a rancorous U.S. Senate hearing last week on crypto regulation that was akin to the verbal sparring typically found in a press conference preceding a boxing match, noted NYU professor Nouriel Roubini, famous for predicting the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, faced off with Coin Center’s director of research Peter Van Valkenburgh.
/jlne.ws/2NJSjLk

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase sets up Brexit contingency plan; US digital start-up to scale up EU operations with new Dublin branch
Hannah Murphy in London – FT
Coinbase, the US cryptocurrency exchange, is opening an office in Dublin as part of its contingency planning before the UK leaves the EU next year.
/jlne.ws/2NKbwfG

Cryptocurrency A Coinbase Veteran Is Changing Teams
Shawn Tully – Fortune
A prime architect of America’s largest trading platform for digital currencies is changing teams. Adam White, who helped build Coinbase into a crypto-colossus with 25 million customers, is joining Bakkt, the venture launched in August by a consortium led by Intercontinental Exchange (market cap: $42 billion), parent of the New York Stock Exchange, as chief operating officer.
/for.tn/2IXkB48

Our team, launch and advocacy; Expanding Bakkt’s founding team with Adam White
Kelly Loeffler -via Medium
Building a talented team at Bakkt is central to delivering on our vision to create a transformational digital asset ecosystem. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce that we will welcome Adam White as Chief Operating Officer in November.
/jlne.ws/2OuT9AH

Hong Kong’s securities regulator mulling over new rules for city’s cryptocurrency exchanges; Outgoing chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing says Hong Kong is leading the world is developing measures required to keep the fast-growing sector in check
Enoch Yiu, Georgina Lee – South China Morning Post
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is exploring ways to regulate the various cryptocurrency trading platforms already operating in the city and thus tighten investor protection, says its outgoing chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing.
/jlne.ws/2NJDuZh

LINE’s Crypto Exchange Is Now Listing Its Own Token Against Bitcoin, Ether
Wolfie Zhao – Coindesk
Bitbox, the cryptocurrency exchange launched by Japanese messaging giant LINE, has announced it is now listing its own token for trading against several major crypto assets.
/jlne.ws/2NJPvhk

Colleges Are Baffled by Bitcoin Donations; A crypto entrepreneur had to teach his alma mater how to accept his $10,000 gift.
Janet Lorin – Bloomberg
The University of Puget Sound got an offer it wasn’t sure how to accept. A recent graduate had hit the jackpot and wanted to make a donation to the school. In Bitcoin.
/jlne.ws/2NGNB0V

Fidelity launches company to facilitate crypto trading; Finance industry establishment splits between lovers and haters of digital currencies
Robin Wigglesworth, US markets editor – FT
Fidelity has launched a company to facilitate cryptocurrency trading for hedge funds, endowments and family offices, underscoring how some establishment players in the finance industry are attempting to profit from the wild west frontier of digital assets.
/jlne.ws/2NKPQA3

Politics

Decline of rural US businesses contrasts with prospering cities; Research reveals geographic divide in economy that has become major force in politics
Sam Fleming in Washington – FT
A stark geographic divide in the US economy has been revealed by research that shows four-fifths of rural counties in the US have fewer businesses than they did before the financial crisis, even as big cities prosper.
/jlne.ws/2NITAlS

US budget deficit hits $779bn in Trump’s first full fiscal year; New OMB data show $113bn increase after tax cuts and spending measures
Sam Fleming in Washington – FT
The US budget deficit widened to a six-year high of $779bn during Donald Trump’s first full fiscal year in the White House as borrowing swelled despite surging economic growth.
/jlne.ws/2NJqsuA

China’s Bitcoin Dominance Is Worrying Trump’s White House — And Pushing It Toward Ripple
Billy Bambrough – Forbes
China is, by some distance, the undisputed world leader in bitcoin mining — with Chinese mining pools controlling more than 70% of the bitcoin network’s collective hash rate (a higher hash rate is better when mining cryptocurrencies as it increases your chance of finding the next block on the chain and receiving the bitcoin reward)
/jlne.ws/2NHGyF6

Yellen Says Trump’s Criticism of Fed Policy Is Damaging and Unwise
Sarah Foster – Bloomberg
Former Fed chair says ‘terrific’ U.S. growth hard to sustain; Says Fed should raise rates to neutral to prevent overheating
Janet Yellen cautioned that Donald Trump’s criticism of Federal Reserve policy threatens the institution she ran for four years, adding that it’s “not a desirable thing for a president to comment so explicitly on Fed policy.”
/jlne.ws/2NIlqP1

Exclusive: Facebook to ban misinformation on voting in upcoming U.S. elections
Joseph Menn – Reuters
Facebook Inc (FB.O) will ban false information about voting requirements and fake reports of violence or long lines at polling stations in the run-up to and during next month’s U.S. midterm elections, company executives told Reuters, the latest effort to reduce voter manipulation on its service.
/reut.rs/2J0xri3

The Fed’s 1 Million Lost Jobs; The Federal Reserve’s insistence on raising interest rates is preventing more Americans from working.
Karl W. Smith – Bloomberg
Over the past two and half years, the Federal Reserve has consistently underestimated how low unemployment could fall before sparking an increase in inflation. As a result, the Fed began raising interest rates sooner than was necessary — leading to slower economic growth and fewer jobs.
/jlne.ws/2OubP3J

Regulation

Federal Court in New York Orders Kevin Antonovich to Pay $554,375 Judgment for Commodity Pool Fraud
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that Judge I. Leo Glasser of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a Consent Order on October 3, 2018, against Kevin Scott Antonovich, a resident of Cherry Grove, New York, requiring him to pay $554,375 in restitution and a civil monetary penalty for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations. The Order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans on Antonovich, among other injunctive relief.
/jlne.ws/2Os7WfE

Monthly Disciplinary Actions October 2018
FINRA
/jlne.ws/2NGQG0Z

Beware of Stock Fraud in the Wake of Hurricane Michael
FINRA Staff
It may not be possible to predict when the next natural disaster will take place. What you can count on is that when it happens, scammers will try to take advantage of the situation. The tips below will help you protect yourself at any time.
/jlne.ws/2NKkbil

TRACE trade reporting issues
FINRA
On Monday, October 15, 2018, FINRA clients experienced intermittent problems attempting to report TRACE transactions via CTCI, FIX, and the TRAQS website. While most issues have been resolved, a limited set of clients continue to experieince problems with TRACE for Treasuries trade reporting. Clients impacted by the Treasuries issue will be contacted individually with instructions on how to proceed.
/jlne.ws/2NKkAkR

FCA confirms greater access for SMEs to the Financial Ombudsman Service
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today confirmed plans to extend access to the Financial Ombudsman Service (‘the ombudsman service’) to more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
/jlne.ws/2NJYKhs

Investing and Trading

Why to avoid alpha, and how – part 1
Harold de Boer – Transtrend
The only source of (positive) returns is beta. Harder-to-capture types of beta require more skill than easily-captured types of beta.
Calculated alpha is no more than the outcome of a linear regression. Most of this alpha can be attributed to model misspecification.
The only true alpha is a negative one. It results from inefficiencies in capturing beta.
/goo.gl/y2uJhM

It’s Not Just You. The Stock Market Really Is Crashing More Often
Ben Levisohn – Barron’s
Last week’s selloff didn’t come out of nowhere—technicals were already suggesting a potential pullback, as was Barron’s Randall W. Forsyth—but the speed and scope took all but the most pessimistic by surprise.
/jlne.ws/2NGIiON

Don’t Blame the Fed for Jittery Markets; Monetary policy in Europe remains easy, yet European stocks have suffered more than U.S.
Jon Sindreu – WSJ
Investors shouldn’t blame the Federal Reserve too much for this month’s equity rout. In time, they may even feel grateful for the new pattern of monetary policy.
/jlne.ws/2NJphLG

Investors Flee Largest Financials ETF as Bank Earnings Kick In
Vildana Hajric and Carolina Wilson – Bloomberg
SPDR’s XLF had $1.1 billion pulled Friday, most in a decade; Rising rates, loan growth among concerns for finance firms
Bank bears are back. Investors yanked more than $1 billion from the $29 billion Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund, ticker XLF, on Friday, the largest outflow in more than a decade. In addition, trading in the fund hit $3.6 billion, more than double its average daily volume for the past year, after reaching $4.8 billion on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/2NKsieC

Institutions

Robinhood Gets Almost Half Its Revenue in Controversial Bargain With High-Speed Traders
Simone Foxman, Julie Verhage and Suzanne Woolley – Bloomberg
Robinhood Markets Inc. has built a reputation on its origins in finance counterculture and a steal-from-the-rich ethos. But the firm, which offers no-fee stock trading, is making almost half its revenue from one of the most controversial practices on Wall Street.
/bloom.bg/2IXLmWf

HSBC, Credit Suisse CEOs Follow Dimon and Ditch Saudi Conference
Donal Griffin and Jan-Henrik Foerster – Bloomberg
Flint, Thiam and StanChart’s Winters all withdraw from event; HSBC and Credit Suisse are strategic partners of conference; Saudi Debates Khashoggi Narrative as Pompeo Visits
The chief executive officers of HSBC Holdings Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG became the latest top bankers to abandon an investment conference in Saudi Arabia as pressure grows on the kingdom amid allegations it killed a dissident journalist.
xhttps://jlne.ws/2NKODJ1

This Bank Halved Clients While Doubling Assets Under Management
Stephan Kahl – Bloomberg
Germany’s DZ Privatbank shifts focus to much larger mandates; Cooperative lender is struggling to turn its Swiss unit around
Less is sometimes more. The private banking arm of Germany’s cooperative lenders, a group of around 900 local banks with total assets of 891 billion euros ($1 trillion), has almost halved the number of customers while also nearly doubling assets under management within a few years. DZ Privatbank now takes care of more than 18 billion euros for the first time ever, CEO Stefan Schwab told Bloomberg in an interview.
/jlne.ws/2NKimC1

Morgan Stanley Profit Rises 20%; Wall Street firm reports revenue gains across its major business units
Liz Hoffman – WSJ
Morgan Stanley MS 0.09% said Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose 20%, as the Wall Street firm started the final day of a big-bank earnings season that reflected the strength of the economy in the face of geopolitical turmoil.
/jlne.ws/2NKQiyf

Fixed income slump takes shine off strong Goldman earnings
Laura Noonan in New York – FT
The fixed income slump has resumed at Goldman Sachs with revenues falling 10 per cent year-on-year during the firm’s final quarter under the stewardship of Lloyd Blankfein.
/jlne.ws/2NJXtXM

Goldman Sachs profit rises 20.5 percent
Reuters
Goldman Sachs reported a 20.5 percent increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday as growth in its equities trading and underwriting businesses made up for a fall in fixed income trading.
/jlne.ws/2NJZu6e

Goldman Bankers Deliver Surprise Gain for Solomon
Sridhar Natarajan – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s dealmakers celebrated one of their own rising to the top of the firm by delivering an unexpected boost to his first month.
Wall Street’s top advisory franchise delivered in a quarter where most of its competitors were beset by a halt in the pace of completed merger transactions and underwhelming debt-underwriting activity. The investment-banking group posted a 10 percent gain last quarter, vaulting past analysts’ estimates for a drop.
/bloom.bg/2NKgrgE

Regions

Iran says to launch oil futures to offset U.S. sanctions
Xinhua
National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has announced to launch crude oil futures by Oct. 22, with 1 million barrels of crude oil offered to potential private sectors’ customers, Eghtesadonline news website reported on Saturday.
/goo.gl/ck9zpM

China May Have $5.8 Trillion in Hidden Debt With ‘Titanic’ Risks
Eric Lam – Bloomberg
Local governments relying on LGFVs to fund projects, S&P Says; Citigroup analysts agree markets right to worry over debt risk
China’s local governments may have accumulated 40 trillion yuan ($5.8 trillion) of off-balance sheet debt, or even more, suggesting further defaults are in store, according to S&P Global Ratings.
/jlne.ws/2NOqphm

The Permian Oil Boom Is Showing Signs of Overheating; Shortages of sand, pipelines, and manpower could jeopardize America’s future as an energy superpower.
Kevin Crowley – Bloomberg
At 10:30 p.m. on an 85F August night in Penwell, West Texas, a 69-year-old repairman is hammering away at the frame of an 18-wheeler in the forecourt of an abandoned truck stop. The song Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynrd blares from the radio. “I’m making more money than I ever did,” says Don Suggs, who spends nights inside a vacant, graffiti-covered shop nearby, where he sleeps in a hammock. Just six weeks earlier he was retired, living near Dallas. He’s here now, he says, “for one last hoo-rah.”
/jlne.ws/2NGLoSV

Brexit

Coinbase Opens Office in Dublin as Brexit Contingency Plan
Nour Al Ali – Bloomberg
London to remain European headquarters, U.K. CEO says; Crypto exchange seeks to fill positions in Dublin office
Coinbase Inc., one of the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange operators, is expanding its European presence with a Dublin office as Brexit uncertainty continues to push companies to create contingency plans.
/jlne.ws/2NJV2Ey

Wells Fargo applies for licence in France as part of Brexit strategy
David Keohane in Paris – FT
Wells Fargo has asked French regulators for an investment firm license, in the latest boost for Paris as it looks to become Europe’s pre-eminent banking centre after Brexit.
/jlne.ws/2NIpteb

Miscellaneous

Big brands crowdfund new products
Adrianne Pasquarelli – Ad Age
Executives at Lego had an idea for a product, but they weren’t sure it would resonate with customers. They were leery of spending a lot of money on the idea – toys aimed at adults – without testing it first in the market.
/goo.gl/5ACHnQ

The post Saudi Arabia Breaks 45-Year Taboo With Veiled Threat to Use Oil as a Weapon appeared first on John Lothian News (JLN).