First Read
Gail Osten: Remembrances
In Friday’s newsletter we reported the passing of CBOE communications director and 40-year industry veteran Gail Osten. Since then we have received countless notes of remembrance from readers – colleagues and former colleagues, journalists and more. We are collecting these comments and remembrances and publishing them on JohnLothianNews.com HERE
If you would like to contribute, please send to jimkharouf@johnlothian.com
If you missed Friday’s obituary by Jim Kharouf, here it is again:
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Think Positive: Gail Osten Leaves Fond Memories
Jim Kharouf – JLN
There are some people who just get it.
Gail Osten was one of those people who just got it. Got what? You name it, work, personal issues, a joke – life. As a professional, her career spanned more than four decades starting in marketing at the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange and ending as director of corporate communications at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. She was also a mother of two boys, Dan and Jon, and wife to Joe Osten, all of whom she spoke about regularly.
jlne.ws/1FR6FSe
** A celebration of Gail Osten’s life will be held on March 29th, from noon to 5 p.m. at The Snuggery, 122 S. York Road, in Elmhurst, IL. Friends and colleagues are welcome.
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Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s Founding Father, Dies at 91; As prime minister, he transformed city-state into a global trade powerhouse
By Chun Han Wong and P.R. Venkat, WSJ
Lee Kuan Yew, who dominated Singapore politics for more than half a century and transformed the former British outpost into a global trade and finance powerhouse, setting a template for emerging markets around the world, died Monday. He was 91 years old.
jlne.ws/1GKKkEC
***** Condolences to our friends in Singapore.
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SGX Statement on the Passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, founding Prime Minister of Singapore
SGX
It is with a heavy heart that we mark the passing of Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Lee was a man of great foresight and conviction. He saw way ahead into the future, assembled a solid team and together with them lifted Singapore against great odds to First World status.
jlne.ws/1GKRhp4
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MarketsWiki Hits 60 Million Page Views
While we were in Boca Raton two weeks ago, MarketsWiki went over the 60 million page view mark. In fact, this morning we are at 60,263,792. At the end of 2014, we were just over 57 million page views. MarketsReformWiki has about 8.59 million page views to date.
www.marketswiki.com
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Young Financier’s Insurance Empire Collapses; Investments of insurance companies owned by Southport Lane Management were swapped for unusual and sometimes worthless assets
By Mark Maremont and Leslie Scism, WSJ
Alexander Chatfield Burns cut a dashing figure in young New York financial circles.
Still in his mid-20s, he controlled a private-equity firm that owned several insurance companies. He called late-night meetings at a penthouse cigar club and donated the wine for a Guggenheim museum event from a vineyard he later bought. Then one day about a year ago, Mr. Burns checked into a mental-health ward at New York’s Bellevue Hospital, leaving behind an affidavit describing an unusual series of asset transfers. Soon after, he resigned from his company, Southport Lane Management LLC.
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***** At least he had a good time before he checked into the mental ward at Bellevue.
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MarketsWiki
MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Gail Osten
MarketsWiki Recent Updates
People
Gail Osten; Patricia Campbell?; Donald E. Roberts; Hüseyin Zafer; John H. Conolly
Companies, Organizations and Groups
Aequitas Innovations Inc.; Borsa Istanbul; LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd.?; DTCC Deriv/SERV LLC
Products
Complete clearing
Miscellaneous
London Bullion Market Association?; ICE Benchmark Administration
Statistics
60,263,792 pages viewed, 8,158 articles, 190,672 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
Lead Stories
CME and ICE to go head to head with new cocoa contracts
Emiko Terazono, FT
Market players say Big Chocolate will ultimately decide
Let the cocoa wars begin. On March 30, rival exchanges — the CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange — will go head to head in the cocoa futures market as they both launch their new euro denominated contracts.
jlne.ws/1C4gJ86
**JK: There is a race to get Koko the Gorilla to endorse the product.
*****JJL: A Cocoa competition, just in time for Easter.
Global fund managers warn of a bond bubble
David Oakley, FT
A growing number of professional investors are warning that bonds are overvalued as fears grow that a fixed income bubble will collapse in a disorderly sell-off.
jlne.ws/1N0q4mh
No Risk Too Big as Bond Traders Plot Escape From Negative Yields
by Anchalee Worrachate, Bloomberg
In the negative-yield vortex that is the European bond market, investors are discovering just what lengths they’re willing to go to generate returns.
jlne.ws/1N0swsI
Alleged ‘Spoofing’ Trader Faces New Accusations; Suit Claims Igor Oystacher Tried to Silence Ex-Partner
By Bradley Hope, WSJ
A prominent Chicago trader under investigation by regulators for allegedly manipulative trading is now accused of trying to silence a former partner, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week.
jlne.ws/1CKiYzb
CME Is Said to Mull Rule Change as Basel Pressure Hampers Banks
by Matthew Leising, Silla Brush, Bloomberg
New rules meant to make banks safer are prompting the world’s largest derivatives exchange to consider changing how it backs trades in one of the biggest shifts since futures were created in 1865.
jlne.ws/1IkaMWP
Volcker Outlines Plan for Overhauling Financial Regulation
By Ryan Tracy, WSJ
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker outlined a new plan for revamping the way the U.S. government oversees the financial system, adding his voice to an idea that is broadly supported – even if Congress can never muster enough votes to pass it.
jlne.ws/1FR9UJu
Shanghai Stock Link Change Draws Doubts; Hong Kong exchange looks to overcome big obstacle to trading, but banks are skeptical
By Gregor Stuart Hunter, WSJ
As inflows into Shanghai’s stock market through its Hong Kong trading link continue to languish, some banks say a new effort by Hong Kong’s exchange to overcome one of the major obstacles to trading activity appears unlikely to entice more investors in.
jlne.ws/1bnQYad
How to Pick a Stock Picker; It’s tough to predict which active manager will beat the market. Here’s one way to improve the odds: Look for low fees.
By Liam Pleven
Fancy restaurants and luxury-car makers cater to customers who are willing to pay extra for a product they consider superior.
jlne.ws/1OqJl1J
Exchanges and clearers miss out on market changes
Philip Stafford, FT
Some fascinating points came out of the annual Oliver Wyman/Morgan Stanley survey of the wholesale and investment banking industry this week.
jlne.ws/1FtD7LP
Trafigura says European trading rules have ‘little justification’
Neil Hume and Philip Stafford in London, FT
Commodity trading houses and energy companies are making a final attempt to win exemptions from European regulations that are set to subject them to the same capital requirements as banks.
jlne.ws/1HrX9r0
Regulatory
Australian Regulator Tracing Currency Trades Before RBA Decision
by Adam Haigh, Michael Heath, Bloomberg
Australia’s securities regulator is tracking transactions that caused a sudden jump in the local currency ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest-rate decision and is looking at potential sources for any leak of the information as part of its investigation.
jlne.ws/19KL4PJ
FCA guilty of ‘dereliction of duty’ in media blunder
Investment Week
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to be heavily criticised over its decision to leak details of an upcoming insurance probe to a national newspaper, inadvertently causing shares in several major life companies to plummet, according to reports.
jlne.ws/1bnTKw5
Hardline New York regulator Lawsky targets Deutsche Bank over Libor
Gina Chon in Washington and Tom Braithwaite in New York, FT
Benjamin Lawsky, the New York regulator known for taking a hard line against overseas banks, has shouldered his way into the long-running Libor scandal, investigating Deutsche Bank for alleged manipulation of the benchmark borrowing rate, according to people familiar with the matter.
jlne.ws/1CKiwkw
Currency wars rebound on the Fed
Gavyn Davies, FT
When the Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega complained that the Federal Reserve was waging a currency war against his country in September 2010, his comments led to a wave of sympathy and concern. The Fed’s aggressive monetary easing was causing a capital flight from the US into the apparently unstoppable emerging markets.
jlne.ws/1DO75tq
FINRA Issues Notice on Background Checks for Registration Applicants
By James D. Van De Graaff and Paul C. Huddle, The National Law Review
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released Regulatory Notice 15-05 to remind member firms of the new consolidated rules on mandatory background checks for individual registration. As first reported in the January 9 edition of the Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved FINRA Rule 3110(e), which requires member firms to conduct independent background checks on candidates applying for registration with the member firm. FINRA Rule 3110(e) also requires member firms to adopt written supervisory procedures designed to verify the accuracy and completeness of a candidate’s Form U4.
jlne.ws/19KDogz
CFTC issues exemption to the HKSFC permitting US customers to deal directly with HK brokers
Hedgeweek
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an order to Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) permitting US customers to deal directly with HKSFC-licensed brokers.
jlne.ws/1FR3lXn
Ruling the regulatory kitchen
The Raffles Conversation
Whether making food or rules, Tim Massad, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has an uncompromising belief that the final product must serve its intended purpose well.
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Exchanges & Trading Facilities
CBOE Holdings Announces Date of First-Quarter 2015 Earnings Release and Conference Call
CBOE
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) will announce its financial results for the first quarter of 2015 before the market opens on Friday, May 1, 2015. A conference call with remarks by CBOE Holdings, Inc. senior management will begin at 7:30 a.m. Central Time (CT).
jlne.ws/1HsdFXP
ICE Benchmark Administration Launches LBMA Gold Price; Transitions Gold Price to Transparent, Electronic Auction Process
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), the leading global network of exchanges and clearing houses, today announced that ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) successfully launched the LBMA Gold Price on Friday March 20, 2015, replacing the London Gold Fix established in 1919. IBA has transitioned the gold price to a new, independently administered, transparent and electronic auction process.
jlne.ws/19f2CCv
SGX reports 3Q results on 22 April 2015
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is reporting third-quarter results for Financial Year 2015 (FY2015) after the market closes on 22 April 2015
jlne.ws/1GKW7Tf
Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) Rulemaking and National Market System (NMS) Plans
SEC
BATS: Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 2, and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 Thereto, to BATS Rules 20.3 and 20.6 (Release No. 34-74556; File No. SR-BATS-2014-067; March 20, 2015)
CBOE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Solicitation Auction Mechanism (Release No. 34-74560; File No. SR-CBOE-2015- 031; March 20, 2015)
MIAX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Amend Its Fee Schedule (Release No. 34-74555; File No. SR-MIAX-2015-20; March 20, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
NASDAQ: Notice of Proposed Rule Change to Amend and Restate Certain Nasdaq Rules that Govern the Nasdaq Market Center (Release No. 34-74558; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2015-024; March 20, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
MIAX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Amend Its Fee Schedule (Release No. 34-74554; File No. SR-MIAX-2015-21; March 20, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
NYSE Arca: Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action on Proceedings to Determine Whether to Approve or Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1 Thereto, Relating to Listing and Trading of Shares of the SPDR SSgA Global Managed Volatility ETF under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (Release No. 34-74559; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2014-100; March 20, 2015)
NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the LBMA Gold Price as a Replacement for the London Gold Fix for Certain Gold Related Exchange Traded Products (Release No. 34-74544; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2015-19; March 19, 2015)
NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending its Rules Governing the Short Term Option Series Program to Extend Current $0.50 Strike Price Intervals in Non-Index Options to Short Term Options with Strike Prices Less than $100 (Release No. 34-74541; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2015-16; March 19, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
NYSE Arca: Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action on Proposed Rule Change Amending NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3), Commentary .02 Relating to Listing of Investment Company Units Based on Municipal Bond Indexes (Release No. 34-74534; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2015-01; March 19, 2015)
NYSEMKT: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending its Rules Governing the Short Term Option Series Program to Extend Current $0.50 Strike Price Intervals in Non-Index Options to Short Term Options with Strike Prices Less than $100 (Release No. 34-74540; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-16; March 19, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
NYSEMKT: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending Rule 900.3NY(w) and Rule 980NY(d)(1) to Delete the PNP Plus Designation for Electronic Complex Orders From Its Rules (Release No. 34-74535; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-18; March 19, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
OCC: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment 1 Thereto, to Expand the Officers Who May Declare That a Clearing Member is Summarily Suspended (Release No. 34-74537; File No. SR-OCC-2015-04; March 19, 2015)
OCC: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to Enhance the Measurement Used to Establish Minimum Capital Requirements for Banks Approved to Issue Letters of Credit (Release No. 34-74536; File No. SR-OCC-2015-007; March 19, 2015)
Phlx: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Surveillance Agreements (Release No. 34-74553; File No. SR-Phlx-2015-27; March 20, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
Phlx: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Updating to Certain Phlx Rules (Release No. 34-74533; File No. SR-Phlx-2015-023; March 19, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
Phlx: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Pricing Schedule’s Preface and Sections I, II and IV (Release No. 34-74531; File No. SR-Phlx-2015-25; March 19, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
jlne.ws/1eCTnOv
Hedge Funds & Managed Futures
For Clintons, a Hedge Fund in the Family
By MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN and STEVE EDER, NY Times
Since marrying Chelsea Clinton five years ago, Marc Mezvinsky, a money manager, appears to have settled into his life as Bill and Hillary Clinton’s son-in-law. He has regularly appeared at charitable events, once introducing the former president at the Clinton Foundation’s celebrity poker tournament by dryly saying, “You may have heard of my father-in-law.” And at the recent N.B.A. All-Star Game, Mr. Mezvinsky took a seat next to Mr. Clinton and his partner in charitable endeavors, Dikembe Mutombo, the former basketball star.
jlne.ws/19KHNjA
Easy money thrills the financial markets – but widens the wealth gap; Along with a share boom, and a more muted property boom, comes a dreadful toll for equality
Hamish McRae, The Independent
Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England, says UK interest rates are as likely to go down as up. US financial markets are confident that the Federal Reserve will be very cautious about the pace at which it increases US rates. And in Europe, with the start of the European Central Bank’s plan for quantitative easing, a lot of interest rates are actually negative.
jlne.ws/1BIhqAj
Investors Embrace ETFs That Hedge Against a Strong Dollar; As the dollar has risen, investors have pumped billions into foreign-stock funds that shelter their returns from currency swings
By Carolyn Cui, WSJ
Exchange-traded funds that protect against currency swings are attracting U.S. investors concerned that the strong dollar will erode their gains.
jlne.ws/1N0s0Li
Euro money funds turn red
Steve Johnson, FT
Yields on virtually all euro-denominated money market funds aimed at institutional investors are likely to turn negative in the next two weeks, according to the industry’s trade body.
The yields on funds that specialise in holding eurozone government debt have already turned negative as returns on sovereign debt issued by countries such as Germany, France, Finland, the Netherlands and Ireland have fallen below zero.
jlne.ws/1B8uGiy
Banks & Brokers
Citigroup Says Court Order Will Let It Pay Argentine Bond Interest
By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON, NY Times
There is a new twist in the fight between Argentina and a group of hedge funds that has been playing out in New York courts.
jlne.ws/19f10bW
Goldman, UBS join ex-“fixing” banks for new LBMA gold price
By Jan Harvey, Reuters
LBMA benchmark replaces the London gold fix
ICE Benchmark Administration operating new process (Adds background, comment)
The new London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price went live for the first time on Friday, with Goldman Sachs and UBS joining the four members of the now defunct gold “fix” in setting its electronic replacement.
jlne.ws/1Ikbrrh
Clearing & Settlement
LCH reshuffles ahead of FX options clearing
Futures & Options World
LCH.Clearnet has appointed heads of its foreign exchange and credit derivatives units as the European clearing house gears up to launch later this year foreign exchange options clearing. LCH said Gavin Wells, the global head of LCH’s ForexClear and CDSClear businesses, will focus exclusively on ForexClear from July and Frank Soussan will be promoted to global head of CDSClear.
jlne.ws/1xUkdWO
Most Investors Sanguine About Central Clearing Mandates
AllAboutAlpha
A new report by Greenwich Associates looks at the pros and cons of central clearing from the point of view of participants in the interest-rate derivatives markets. The report is the result of a two-round survey. First, in 2014, GA interviewed 4,036 global fixed-income investors about their dealer relationships and use of various fixed-income products including interest-rate derivatives. Separately, GA conducted another 72 more in-depth interviews about market participant “views on systemic risk, the impacts of central clearing and … expectations for the interest-rate derivatives market going forward.”
jlne.ws/1xUkuJl
FIA Releases SEF Tracker Report for January
FIA
FIA today published the latest issue of FIA SEF Tracker, a periodic report on trading activity taking place on swap execution facilities. This issue of FIA SEF Tracker includes data from January 2015…
jlne.ws/1xcPmcM
Indexes & Products
Small-Cap Indexing: Popularity Can Be A Pain
Seeking Alpha
The Russell 2000 Index is the most popular benchmark for active small-cap managers to measure themselves against. But here is an industry secret: Active managers pick that index because it is easy to beat. If you’re going with a passive strategy, you don’t have to limit yourself to that index.
jlne.ws/1xUlFIE
Leadership Change: MidCap & Small Cap U.S. Stocks Lead Large Caps in 2015 YTD, According to Russell Indexes
MarketWired
After U.S. large- and midcap stocks led other major U.S. equity cap tiers in 2014 with matching 13.2% returns as measured by the Russell Top 200 and Russell Midcap Index, respectively, midcaps have pulled away from large caps in 2015 with a 3.6% return year-to-date as of March 16th as measured by the Russell Midcap Index. U.S. small cap stocks, as reflected by the Russell 2000 Index, have also been strong in 2015, up 3.4% year-to-date as of March 17. U.S. large cap stocks as measured by the Russell Top 200 Index, which consists of the 200 largest U.S. stocks by market capitalization, have lagged relative to small and mid-caps thus far in 2015 with a 1% return.
jlne.ws/1xUlPQe
‘Just Index’ sets sights on market solution to inequality
FT.com
One easy macro forecast, says hedge fund titan Paul Tudor Jones, is that income inequality will not stay as high as it is today. “The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed,” he told the TED conference last week. “History always does it?.?.?.?either through revolution, higher taxes or wars – and none of those is on my bucket list.”
jlne.ws/1xUmiC1
Technology
Former Citi boss Vikram Pandit says a loss of trust in big banks means the time is right for fintech start-ups
Financial Review
Investment banking veteran Vikram Pandit, who famously took a salary of $1 a year at Citi after a bailout by US taxpayers, has re-emerged as an investor in financial technology start-ups, which he says are part of a radical transformation of the global banking landscape.
jlne.ws/1xUn95B
Startup Weekend to focus on FinTech industry
iTWire
The Startup Weekend FinTech event – supported by national sponsor and accounting software provider Intuit – will take place from 27 to 29 March in Melbourne and provide an educational space for entrepreneurs to learn more about launching startups within the fast-growing FinTech industry.
jlne.ws/1xUnjKl
Startupbootcamp FinTech heads for MaRS
Automated Trader
Startupbootcamp FinTech, an accelerator based in London, UK and Singapore, have announced that their FastTrack tour will be coming to MaRS in Toronto on May 28, 2015. The one-day event is open to innovative, early-stage, Toronto-based FinTech startups looking for expert advice and exposure. Part of the Startupbootcamp (SBC), SBC FinTech is a financial innovation accelerator dedicated to helping startups scale globally through direct access to an international network of mentors, partners and investors.
jlne.ws/1xUnqWc
Ireland could add 5,000 jobs in FinTech by 2020, says Deloitte
Irish Times
Some 5,000 jobs could be created in Ireland in the “fintech” industry over the next five years, according to an analysis by professional services firm Deloitte. This would represent a doubling in employment in this burgeoning part of the IFSC and would “predominantly be driven by the projected spend on IT services by financial services firms in Ireland”, Deloitte said.
jlne.ws/1xUnxRH
Tech Money Sends Funds on the Hunt for Unicorns
NYTimes.com
The retirement accounts of millions of Americans have long contained shares of stalwart companies like General Electric, Ford and Coca-Cola. Today, they are likely to include riskier private stocks from Silicon Valley start-ups like Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest.
jlne.ws/1xUnHIW
IBM to share technology with China in strategy shift: CEO
Reuters
IBM Corp will share technology with Chinese firms and will actively help build China’s industry, CEO Virginia Rometty said in Beijing as she set out a strategy for one of the foreign firms hardest hit by China’s shifting technology policies.
jlne.ws/1xUnMfI
Enforcement
Rabobank Trader Pleads Not Guilty to Libor-Fixing Charges; Anthony Allen the first defendant charged by Justice Department to waive extradition
By Lisa Beilfuss
The former global head of liquidity and finance for Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A., or Rabobank, waived extradition and appeared in U.S. federal court Friday for an arraignment on charges related to his alleged role in an interest-rate-manipulation scheme.
jlne.ws/1OqSCqy
A.I.G. to Pay Nearly $1 Billion to Settle Class-Action Suit Brought by Shareholders
NY Times
Shareholders of the insurance giant American International Group have won approval of a $970.5 million settlement resolving claims that they were misled about its subprime mortgage exposure, leading to a liquidity crisis and $182.3 billion in federal bailouts.
jlne.ws/1CgXqcT
Environmental & Energy
Welcome to the ‘Double El Niño’ — and more extreme weather
By Jared Goyette – Public Radio International
We’re about to experience a “double El Niño” — a rare weather phenomenon that climatologists had warned about several months ago.
jlne.ws/1GJWJsn
Electric vehicles’ second-hand value ‘similar to diesels’
By Will Nichols – BusinessGreen
The value of second-hand electric cars is closing the gap on diesels and could overtake them as used-car retailers and buyers became more familiar with the technology.
jlne.ws/1FsXU2m
Climate change: China official warns of ‘huge impact’
BBC News
Climate change could have a “huge impact” on China, reducing crop yields and harming the environment, the country’s top weather scientist has warned, in a rare official admission.
jlne.ws/1Ij3OBf
Selling out of fossil fuels no solution for climate change
By Anne Stausboll – Financial Times (Op-Ed)
Institutional investors are under increasing pressure to divest their holdings in fossil fuel-related companies.
jlne.ws/1EIrRbz
Litigation Awaits New EPA Emissions Rules; Power plants and their backers allege agency didn’t consider the cost
By Brent Kendall and Amy Harder
The Obama administration’s initiatives to reduce air pollution have fared well in several hard-fought legal battles, but a new round of court challenges could determine whether the White House’s most ambitious efforts will survive.
jlne.ws/1N5VN3E
Asia-Pacific
Alibaba turnover figures show scale of Hong Kong’s loss
South China Morning Post
Mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba’s dual-share structure may be controversial, but its US trading figures show it hasn’t discouraged investors from buying it. While many fund managers have urged Hong Kong’s regulators not to change local listing rules to allow such structures, they haven’t stopped buying the stock.
jlne.ws/1OqTag9
China’s Internet Boom Starts to Fade
by Stephen E Stapczynski, Ye Xie, Bloomberg
Just as the Nasdaq Composite Index surges to the cusp of the record high set during the dot-com-era, the excitement about China’s Internet boom is fading.
jlne.ws/1ECiFmE
China’s start-up board surges as investors bet on transformation
Gabriel Wildau in Shanghai, FT
Chinese fund managers are piling in to the country’s nascent over-the-counter equity exchange, lured by the chance to invest in emerging industries such as technology and consumables that are under-represented on the country’s main bourses.
jlne.ws/1CgVWzk
China’s brokers march out on acquisition trail
Josh Noble in Hong Kong and Gabriel Wildau in Shanghai, FT
Flush with cash and with an eye on Beijing’s reform agenda, China’s brokers, insurers and asset managers are on the hunt for acquisitions overseas.
jlne.ws/1HpiOfM
Frontier Markets
Sebi relaxes debt-equity conversion norms for banks
Business Standard
This is because banks are facing a serious problem of non performing loans
jlne.ws/1FtKDX3
If everyone joins, NSEL crisis can be solved: Prashant Desai; Q&A with Managing Director, FTIL
Rajesh Bhayani, Business Standard
Financial Technologies (India) has proposed a settlement plan for the payments default in 2013 at its subsidiary, National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). Prashant Desai, managing director and chief executive officer of FTIL, explains the details to Rajesh Bhayani. Edited excerpts:
jlne.ws/1DOqlae
NSEL scam: Brokers decline responsibility for default
Business Standard
Investors’ fora press for quick action against FTIL, support govt’s merger and supersession proposals
In response to the settlement offer made in the National Spot Exchange (NSEL) payments default case by its parent entity, Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, wherein brokers are supposed to contribute Rs 500 crore to the investors, three broker associations jointly said they declined to go along.
jlne.ws/1Or1bSe
Miscellaneous
One Huge Table That Shows the Winners and Losers of Global Financial Markets; How everything is really doing.
by Julie Verhage, Bloomberg
Despite some rockiness recently, US stocks have gone on a nice run over the last year, as seen in this S&P 500 chart.
jlne.ws/1BnqU42
Two Guys, Two Bikes and One Money-Making Plan to a Better World
by Margaret Collins, Bloomberg
Adam Wolfensohn and Jason Scott hatched a plan to invest the money of wealthy families and tackle some of society’s most complex challenges as they biked the six miles together each day from their Brooklyn homes to offices in Manhattan.
jlne.ws/1B8zCUK
READ MORE: John Lothian Newsletter: CME and ICE to go head to head with new cocoa contracts; Global fund managers warn of a bond bubble; Alleged ‘Spoofing’ Trader Faces New Accusations.