First Read
Birthday Bits
By John J. Lothian
Today is my birthday. Number 54. In honor of my birthday and the many gifts I have received over the years I renewed my membership in the 100 Club, the civilian organization that provides for the families of first responders who have lost their lives in the line of duty in Chicago. My friend and mentor Thomas J. Cashman is chairman of the organization.
I am ever in debt to Tom for helping me launch my career in this great industry. I am also greatly in debt to him, and to my parents, for setting a great example of giving back to the community. Tom was and still is always involved in the community, giving his time, talents and treasure. The list of his contributions is too long to list.
It was a powerful lesson to learn while working for Tom and knowing him these many years.
One of the reasons I started this newsletter was that I wanted Tom and other exchange members and industry personnel to see the powerful megatrend, electronic trading, that was going to change their lives and livelihoods.
With the impending closing of the futures pits, a chapter will be ending on that megatrend.
One of the lessons I learned from Tom was helping people — helping them come into the industry, stay in the industry and just helping them in general. It was a lesson Tom learned from his uncles, especially the quietly generous Gene Cashman.
Our MarketsWiki Education effort comes from the spirit that Tom gave me to help young people come into this industry and prosper.
I have been given many gifts over the years, tangible and intangible. I shall be ever grateful for the lessons and gifts of education, wisdom and integrity that I received from Tom Cashman.
++++
Fewer Women Run Big Companies Than Men Named John
Justin Wolfers, NY Times
Fewer large companies are run by women than by men named John, a sure indicator that the glass ceiling remains firmly in place in corporate America.
jlne.ws/1FO6Wn0
****** Sarah Rudolph shared this story with me. I am going to let her run the company today.
++++
Playing for Zero; The iPhone app Robinhood lets you trade stocks for free. What could possibly go wrong?
by Anthony Effinger, Bloomberg
The pitchman for Robinhood, the no-fee stock brokerage, looks a little like actor Seth Rogen: bearded, chubby, and, to some viewers, possibly stoned. In the company’s 80-second online ads, he takes aim at millennials, assuring them that they don’t need much cash to triumph in the stock market. Using Robinhood, he says, you don’t even have to pay the industry standard trading commissions that can erode profits on the small trades newbies tend to make. All you’ll need is Robinhood’s sleek iPhone app. (Android and Web versions are in the works.)
jlne.ws/1M6GLMq
***** Exactly, what could possibly go wrong?
++++
Fidessa appoints Peter Holmgren as Regional Sales Manager for Europe; Responsible for sell-side new business sales within the region
Fidessa Group plc
Fidessa group plc (LSE: FDSA) has today announced that Peter Holmgren has joined the company to head up new business sales for its sell-side trading systems in Europe. Holmgren is based in Fidessa’s London office and will be responsible for sales across all asset classes to the European broker community.
jlne.ws/1wULV5a
****** Nice to see the former Green Bay Packer coach get a new job. Wait, that was Mike Holmgren?
++++
Alcohol makes you look more attractive, scientists claim; One glass of wine can make you appear more beautiful – but don’t reach for a second
By Leah Hyslop
If you worry about the effect your daily glass of wine is having on your looks, it’s time to relax – because scientists have revealed that alcohol makes you beautiful.
jlne.ws/1wHSaPe
***** After a few beers, I am absolutely gorgeous!!
++++
Inside the Powerful Lobby Fighting for Your Right to Eat Pizza; Other corners of the fast-food industry have folded against public pressure for healthier choices. Not pizza.
by Andrew Martin, Bloomberg
There are 11,781 registered lobbyists in Washington, more than enough to represent even the most arcane special interests. The American Racing Pigeon Union has a lobbying firm to work on its behalf. So do the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, the Owners of Ivory Miniatures, and the International Natural Sausage Casing Association. Within corporate America, food industry lobbyists represent particularly specific interests: Groups advocate for restaurants and frozen foods, franchise associations, and chains. Beef, dairy, corn, potatoes, and apples all have their champions.
jlne.ws/17Q8BgP
***** Fighting for your rights to get indigestion from the pepperoni.
++++
Lord Rothschild: ‘Investors face a geopolitical situation as dangerous as any since WW2′; Chairman of the popular RIT Capital Partners investment trust warns savers of ‘chaos, extremism and aggression’ around the world, with ‘horrendous’ problems in Europe
By Richard Dyson, The Telegraph
Jacob Rothschild, the 78 year-old banker and chairman of RIT Capital Partners, has delivered savers in the £2.3bn trust a stark warning about global instability and the fragility of future returns.
jlne.ws/1BH8rEk
****** Here we go again.
++++
FIA Special Report: Energy Companies Discuss Position Limits
FIA Americas
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission continues to receive additional comments on the controversial topic of speculative position limits. On Feb. 26, the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee held a public meeting to give commercial end-users and other participants in the energy markets an opportunity to comment on the CFTC’s position limits proposal. The meeting was organized by CFTC Commissioner Chris Giancarlo, who is the sponsor of this advisory committee and recently reconstituted the committee with new members.
jlne.ws/1EfUBLg
***** Is there no limit to their discussions?
++++
MarketsWiki
MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Guy Scott
MarketsWiki Recent Updates
People
Guy Scott; Mary Ann Burns; Ros Krasny; Frank Bednarz; Michael O’Connell; Peter J. Layton; Eric Frait; R. Scott Morris; Blair Hull; Elise Fleischaker; Candice Adam; Alyce Andres-Frantz
Companies, Organizations and Groups
McKay Brothers LLC; Hull Trading Company; Allston Trading, LLC
Statistics
59,409,124 pages viewed, 8,157 articles, 190,109 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
Lead Stories
LCH.Clearnet to launch interest rate portfolio margining capability
LCH.Clearnet
Margin offsets to be available for listed and OTC interest rate derivatives portfolios
Members and their clients offered significant opportunity for portfolio margin optimisation
Service will be provided on an open access basis via regulated venues that list suitable interest rate derivatives
LCH.Clearnet Limited (“LCH.Clearnet”), the global clearing house, today announced that its SwapClear service will be launching new interest rate portfolio margining capabilities for its members and their clients around the world. Under the new offering, market participants using SwapClear, the largest interest rate derivatives liquidity pool, and LCH.Clearnet’s listed rates service will be able to maximise their margin offsets between OTC and listed interest rate derivatives, allowing them to more efficiently manage their collateral obligations.
jlne.ws/1EMXDpk
U.K. Wins Court Case With ECB on Euro Clearing; ECB policy requiring U.K. companies managing trades in euros to relocate to the eurozone will be annulled
By Viktoria Dendrinoum, WSJ
A European Central Bank policy requiring British companies managing trades in euros to relocate to the eurozone will be annulled, Europe’s second-highest court ruled Wednesday, marking a victory for the U.K. government which had argued such a move was against European law and would push business away from London’s financial center.
jlne.ws/1EMPelO
Trading Technologies to Provide Access to GMEX Exchange for Its Customers
MarketWatch
Global Markets Exchange Group Limited, which operates GMEX Exchange, and Trading Technologies International, Inc., a global provider of high-performance professional trading software, are pleased to announce that Trading Technologies will provide its customers with access to GMEX when the exchange launches in Q2 2015. Connectivity through X_TRADER® will be available on day one of trading, while access through the next-generation TT platform will commence in Q3 2015.
jlne.ws/1M5bnvD
UK retreat from investment banking gathers pace
Martin Arnold, Banking Editor, FT
Britain’s retreat from investment banking is set to accelerate as Royal Bank of Scotland aims to slash as many as 14,000 jobs in the sector and Barclays’ chief executive says he has limited patience with the business.
jlne.ws/18J2xYv
Tullett to use windfall for acquisitions
Philip Stafford, FT
Tullett Prebon’s new chief plans to use the near $130m windfall the UK interdealer broker received from a legal settlement to invest in new ventures, rather than return it to shareholders.
jlne.ws/1w2ycxZ
Thomas A. Kloet Elected to Nasdaq’s Board of Directors; Thirty-Year Industry Veteran Brings Exchange Leadership to Board
Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that Thomas A. Kloet, former Chief Executive Officer of TMX Group Limited, the Toronto-based stock exchange owner and operator, was elected to Nasdaq’s Board of Directors as a non-executive director. Mr Kloet was CEO of TMX from 2008 until his retirement in October 2014.
jlne.ws/18jVmVn
The Price of Oil Is About to Blow a Hole in Corporate Accounting
by Asjylyn Loder, Bloomberg
There’s one place in the world where oil is still $95 a barrel. On paper. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires drillers to calculate the value of their oil reserves every year using average prices from the first trading days in each of the previous 12 months. Because oil didn’t start its freefall to about $45 till after the OPEC meeting in late November, companies in their latest regulatory filings used $95 a barrel to figure out how much oil they could profitably produce and what it’s worth. Of the 12 days that went into the fourth-quarter average, crude was above $90 a barrel on 10 of them.
jlne.ws/18OjCjR
Wall Street Has Its Eyes on Millennials’ $30 Trillion Inheritance; Look at all the ways Wall Street is trying to get its hands on that cash.
by Michael P Regan, Bloomberg
There have been any number of pieces written about how the millennial generation is consciously refusing to do things that preceding generations thought were perfectly reasonable, such as playing golf or investing in the stock market or even doing a SINGLE NICE THING for someone else!
jlne.ws/1wHQ8P3
U.S. Companies Are Stashing $2.1 Trillion Overseas to Avoid Taxes
by Richard Rubin, Bloomberg
Eight of the biggest U.S. technology companies added a combined $69 billion to their stockpiled offshore profits over the past year, even as some corporations in other industries felt pressure to bring cash back home.
jlne.ws/1FVRwwP
Regulatory
Denmark Intervenes in Currency Market in a Big Way; Central bank moves to protect the krone’s peg against the euro
By Brian Blackstone And Emese Bartha, WSJ
Denmark’s central bank bought a record amount of foreign currency last month in a bid to protect the krone’s peg to the euro, underscoring the fallout from the European Central Bank’s efforts to boost economic growth.
jlne.ws/1M6IelI
Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) Rulemaking and National Market System (NMS) Plans
SEC
BATS: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Amend Rule 11.22 to Update the Names of Certain Market Data Products (Release No. 34-74403; File No. SR-BATS-2015-15; March 2, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
BYX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Amend Rule 11.22 to Update the Names of Certain Market Data Products (Release No. 34-74402; File No. SR-BYX-2015-12; March 2, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
FICC: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Rules of the Government Securities Division and the Mortgage-Backed Securities Division Regarding the Default of Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (Release No. 34-74411; File No. SR-FICC-2014-09; March 2, 2015)
ICC: Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule Change to Formalize the ICC Operational Risk Management Framework (Release No. 34-74399; File No. SR-ICC-2014-19; March 2, 2015)
ICEEU: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to ICE Clear Europe Clearing Fees (Release No. 34-74400; File No. SR-ICEEU-2015-001; March 2, 2015)
NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Specifying in Exchange Rules the Exchange’s Use of Certain Data Feeds for Order Handling and Execution, Order Routing, and Regulatory Compliance (Release No. 34-74409; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2015-11; March 2, 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, to List and Trade Shares of Eight PIMCO Exchange-Traded Funds (Release No. 34-74407; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2014-89; March 2, 2015)
NYSEMKT: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Specifying in Exchange Rules the Exchange’s Use of Certain Data Feeds for Order Handling and Execution, Order Routing, and Regulatory Compliance (Release No. 34-74408; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-11; March 2, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
OCC: Order Instituting Proceedings to Determine Whether to Approve or Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change in Order to Permit OCC to Adjust the Size of its Clearing Fund on an Intra-Month Basis (Release No. 34-74406; File No. SR-OCC-2014-21; March 2, 2015)
jlne.ws/1eCTnOv
In the Matter of ORDER CONTINUING STAY STEVEN A. COHEN
SEC
jlne.ws/1BGZTxl
FCA statement on non-executive director, David Harker
UK FCA
It is with deep sadness that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has learned that non-executive director, David Harker, passed away yesterday.
jlne.ws/1BSsQrJ
CFTC Staff to Hold Roundtable on Cybersecurity and System Safeguards Testing
CFTC
Staff of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public roundtable on Cybersecurity and System Safeguards Testing on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at CFTC’s Washington, DC, Headquarters at 1155 21st St. NW. Specifically, the roundtable will review system safeguards testing requirements, including potential enhancements to further strengthen the resilience of futures exchanges, clearing organizations, and swap data repositories. The CFTC is also considering how best to leverage enhanced system safeguards testing requirements, including independent testing, to satisfy regulatory requirements for these entities.
jlne.ws/1M6Fk0o
***** The CFTC is still trying to figure out how their fax machines got a virus.
The General Court annuls the Eurosystem Oversight Policy Framework published by the ECB, which requires central counterparties to be located in the Eurozone
General Court of the European Union
The ECB does not have the competence necessary to impose such a requirement on central
counterparties involved in the clearing of securities
jlne.ws/1DU8w6T
Too big to fail rules continue to look at asset managers
The Trade News
The International Organization of Securities Commissions and the Financial Stability Board have laid out its methodology for identifying non-bank non-insurer global systemically important financial institutions
jlne.ws/1JnbI0T
Exchanges & Trading Facilities
Nasdaq NLX signs up for LCH’s new margin service
Futures & Options WorldNasdaq NLX has become one of the first exchanges to sign up to use the new portfolio margining service unveiled on Tuesday by its clearing house LCH.Clearnet, an announcement that could boost NLX. Charlotte Crosswell, the NLX chief who was one of the first to welcome the LCH.Clearnet statement on Tuesday, said on Wednesday: “We have signed Heads of Terms to participate in the LCH interest rates portfolio margining service and are looking forward to finalising these.”
jlne.ws/1M5baZy
Ex-CME Engineer Gets 4 Years Probation for Trade-Secret Theft
By Andrew Harris, Bloomberg
A former CME Group Inc. software engineer who admitted stealing computer code from the Chicago-based futures exchange operator was sentenced to four years of probation.
(NO LINK)
Stock exchanges team up in Asia to lift volumes
The Australian
EXCHANGES in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan are exploring new connections in an effort to drive up volumes, a few months after the coupling of the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges claimed the top spot as Asia’s biggest single market.
jlne.ws/1w2QejK
Euronext announces monthly trading volumes for February 2015
Euronext
Euronext, the leading exchange in the Eurozone, today announced trading volumes for February 2015.
jlne.ws/1GjQRch
LME mulls expanding electronic Sword system after Qingdao fraud
By Josephine Mason and Luc Cohen, Reuters
The London Metal Exchange is considering whether its electronic LMESword system could be used to oversee metal stored outside the exchange, an executive said on Tuesday, the latest sign that a financing fraud in China was still roiling banks and trading.
jlne.ws/17QkKST
Hedge Funds & Managed Futures
El-Erian Warns of QE Market Distortion as Italy’s Bonds Advance
by Lucy Meakin, Bloomberg
Italy’s government bonds halted a two-day decline as Allianz SE chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian said the European Central Bank’s planned debt-buying program is causing market distortions.
jlne.ws/1Cvqr6c
Speeding asset prices meet oncoming savings juggernaut
By Mike Dolan, Reuters
If global population aging is the real mega-trend steering modern financial markets, don’t get too used to super-low interest rates or the anomalies cheap money has wrought elsewhere.
jlne.ws/1GjBlNC
U.S. mutual funds cut expenses by shifting billions to trusts
By Tim McLaughlin, Reuters
Mutual fund companies, including No. 2 Fidelity Investments, have slashed fees on their most popular funds by shifting billions of dollars into collective trusts not regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
jlne.ws/1B6kVnb
Vanguard and BlackRock Plan to Get More Assertive With Their Investments; The giant asset managers aim to push harder on the companies in which their index funds invest
By Kirsten Grind and Joann S. Lublin, WSJ
Vanguard Group and BlackRock Inc., giant fund managers once known for quiet relationships with the companies in which they invest, say they are getting more assertive.
jlne.ws/1B6kyZQ
Banks & Brokers
Barclays boss says he will not be ‘patient’ with poor returns as it sets aside £750m for FX fines; Bank’s pre-tax profits fall 21pc due to heavy foreign exchange provisions and big drop in performance at investment bank
By James Titcomb, The Telegraph
The chief executive of Barclays has said he will not be “patient” with underperforming parts of the company, potentially raising the prospect of further cuts at its struggling investment bank.
jlne.ws/1F8XFWC
`Wolf of Wall Street’ in Decline for Some Time: Lane
Bloomberg
Lane Generational Managing Director Fred Lane discusses the investment banking industry. He speaks on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”
jlne.ws/1FVOVD2
Barclays CEO Tested by Investment Bank’s Lagging Performance
by Stephen Morris, Richard Partington, Bloomberg
Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Antony Jenkins’s patience is being tested by the investment bank.
jlne.ws/1EkjKCX
J.P. Morgan Treasurer to Step Down; Delany was named head of Chief Investment Office after ‘London whale’ episode
By Emily Glazer, WSJ
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s treasurer is planning to leave the bank but will stay on until a successor is on board, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the matter.
jlne.ws/1DU04of
Citigroup Deal Shrinks the Bank’s Umbrella; Move is emblematic of a postcrisis mind-set in which banks refocus operations and slim down
By AnnaMaria Andriotis And Mike Spector, WSJ
banking is moving to the shadows. Citigroup Inc., the nation’s third-largest bank by assets, confirmed Tuesday that it would sell its large U.S. subprime-lending business, OneMain Financial, to Springleaf Holdings Inc., a nontraditional lender majority-owned by private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC.
jlne.ws/1EMOTQ5
Standard Chartered chief Peter Sands forgoes bonus as profits slide
Martin Arnoldm, FT
Standard Chartered has beefed up its restructuring plans to strengthen its balance sheet after reporting a 37 per cent drop in net profits due to what Peter Sands, the bank’s outgoing chief executive, described as “a perfect storm”.
jlne.ws/1M6Hfly
Goldman Sachs to debut new social networking service
By Kevin Dugan, NY Post
Call it Goldman Apps. A Goldman Sachs-backed messaging and social networking service is planning to roll out broadly to Wall Street by July, complete with its own app store for add-ons, The Post has learned.
jlne.ws/1B0kXye
What Do New Guidelines on European Bank Bonuses Mean?
By Giles Turner, WSJ
The European Banking Authority, a pan-European banking regulator, on Wednesday published a new set of guidelines, and launched three month consultation, on banker pay packages.
jlne.ws/1AIaL8A
Clearing & Settlement
U.K. Defeats ECB in Clash Over City of London Clearinghouses
Bloomberg Business
Britain scored a rare victory in its bid to challenge European Union powers over the City of London as EU judges sided with the U.K. in a clash with the European Central Bank on clearinghouses. The EU General Court in Luxembourg ruled Wednesday that the ECB lacks legal powers to dictate the location of the clearing of euro-denominated trades. It said the central bank would require a change in EU law to win those rights.
jlne.ws/1M5aX8x
Victory for UK over eurozone clearing houses
Alex Barker in Brussels and Philip Stafford in London, FT
Britain has won a landmark legal battle over the place of the City of London in Europe’s single market, forcing the European Central Bank to scrap a policy requiring big clearing houses to decamp to the eurozone.
jlne.ws/1DNb3NE
Nasdaq hopeful on European FX clearing
Financial News
A senior Nasdaq executive has expressed hopes that the European Securities and Markets Authority may reverse its decision not to mandate clearing of certain types of foreign exchange derivatives, following the US exchange operator’s approval to clear such instruments.
jlne.ws/1M5b3wU
SEPA: A Springboard To Real-Time Payments
Insurance News
With SEPA migration projects mostly completed, it is time for treasurers to start thinking about the next steps in regulatory compliance and process automation.
jlne.ws/1M5bDed
Indexes & Products
Pension Funds Trail Individuals in Embracing Index Funds
NYTimes.com
More individuals are pouring money into so-called passive investing or index funds, which aim to match the performance of the main stock and bond markets, but larger institutions like pension funds and endowments have been slower to follow suit, despite the potential for higher returns and lower fees.
jlne.ws/1M5cbkg
Should 401(k) plans include index funds only?
Employee Benefit News
Commentary: Is it a good idea to remove all of the actively managed funds from your 401(k) plan? Why would a plan sponsor do that? A number of large plan sponsors have dumped all of their actively managed funds
jlne.ws/1M5cawK
Why The Corporate Bond ETF Market Is Growing So Quickly
by Tom Lydon, ETF Trends
As the corporate-debt market becomes increasingly illiquid, institutional investors have piled into fund options, contributing to a rapid growth spurt in bond-related exchange traded funds.
jlne.ws/1DU23sT
IPOs Struggling, but IPO ETF Endures
ETF Trends
On Monday, Bespoke Investment Group posted a glance of the Bloomberg IPO Index, which due to being a cap-weighted index has an excessive weight to Alibaba and as such has been drubbed this year. But as Bespoke notes, Alibaba is far from the only offender in the Bloomberg IPO Index.
jlne.ws/1M5c6gm
Technology
Proposals on European net neutrality open ‘two-speed’ internet
Daniel Thomas and David Crow in Barcelona and Duncan Robinson in Brussels, FT
European internet providers would be allowed to profit from “two-speed” data services under proposals being considered in Brussels, opening a transatlantic divide on telecoms regulation after the US banned similar tactics last week.
jlne.ws/1Eke4J6
Cryptocurrency Technology Set to Shake Up Correspondent Banking
American Banker
If banks can’t beat cryptocurrencies, they might as well join them. That seemed to be the consensus at a Tuesday panel on correspondent banking sponsored by The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
jlne.ws/1M5cwDu
Technology helps banks engage clients beyond physical branch
Channel NewsAsia
Technology is helping to level the playing field between foreign and local banks in Singapore. Industry experts say the digital platform enables banks to engage their customers beyond the physical branch.
jlne.ws/1M5cz25
Volante Technologies supports SWIFT Standards Release 2015; Enabling support for enhanced sanctions screening in payments messages
Volante Technologies
Volante Technologies, a global leader in the provision of software for the integration, validation and processing of financial messages and data, today announced the release and support of the latest SWIFT Standards Release 2015 update. Volante has supported SWIFT standards for over a decade and is considered to be a trusted SWIFT messaging vendor.
jlne.ws/1EMW6iX
Australia’s first fintech hub set for launch in Sydney
ARN
Sydney is three steps closer to unveiling Australia’s first fintech hub to help foster and develop local startups after settling on the location, chair and coporate partners.
jlne.ws/1M5cqvQ
Enforcement
Former Group Treasurer and Head of Tax at Morrisons plc sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for insider dealing
UK FCA
Paul Coyle, the former Group Treasurer and Head of Tax at Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc, pleaded guilty to two counts of insider dealing and has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay £15,000 towards prosecution costs and a Confiscation Order in the sum of £203,234.
jlne.ws/1NfN7KV
CFTC Charges Michigan Resident Jerry Stauffer with Commodity Pool Fraud and Other Violations
CFTC
Federal Court Issues Emergency Order Freezing Stauffer’s Assets and Protecting Books and Records
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Chief Judge Paul L. Maloney, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan issued an emergency Order freezing and preserving the remaining pool participant assets under the control of Defendant Jerry Stauffer of Traverse City, Michigan. The Order, entered under seal on February 25, 2015, also prohibits Stauffer from destroying books and records and grants the CFTC immediate access to those records.
jlne.ws/1KhVW7Q
Federal Court in New York Imposes a $26 Million Civil Monetary Penalty against Mark Evan Bloom and his Company, North Hills Management, LLC, for Commodity Pool Fraud
CFTC
Bloom pleaded guilty in a parallel criminal proceeding and is currently awaiting sentencing
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a Supplemental Consent Order requiring Defendants Mark Evan Bloom of Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, and his firm North Hills Management, LLC (NHM) jointly to pay a $26 million civil monetary penalty for operating a fraudulent commodity pool called North Hills LP (North Hills) and misappropriating customer funds (see CFTC Press Release and Complaint 5622-09, February 25, 2009). The Supplemental Consent Order resolves the CFTC’s case in its entirety.
jlne.ws/1EkbnqX
Environmental & Energy
The riches and perils of the fossil-fuel age
Martin Wolf, FT
If nations could agree a carbon tax, it would help create a more efficient, less polluting future
Our ancestors lived in eras we call the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Ours is the “fossil-fuel age”. The energy we have extracted from the earth’s reserves of fossilised sunlight has spread (unequally shared) abundance across humanity. Will this continue? Can we manage its impact on our environment? The answers will shape the future of our complex global civilisation.
jlne.ws/1DTYBhT
Glencore’s Glasenberg forecasts ‘blowout’ year for oil trading
James Wilson and Neil Hume, FT
The oil trading operations of Glencore could “blow out the lights” with a strong performance if market trends continue this year, the head of the Swiss-based trading group has forecast.
jlne.ws/18OikVQ
Nineteen EU nations hand out 500 mln free 2015 CO2 permits
Reuters
Nineteen countries, including Germany, Britain and France, have so far handed out a total of around 500 million free European Union carbon permits to industry to cover their 2015 emissions, European Commission data showed on Tuesday.
jlne.ws/1DLACyM
Key markets ‘most exposed’ to natural hazards, study finds
By Will Nichols – BusinessGreen
Over half of global cities most exposed to natural hazards are in the strategic markets of the Philippines, China, Japan and Bangladesh, according to new analysis that outlines the growing threat to business supply chains.
jlne.ws/1EjdjQH
N.Y. walls off utilities from renewable generation assets
By Colin Sullivan – E&E
New York regulators last week published a major order meant to form the backbone of the state’s ambitious drive to reform its electricity grid to encourage growth of distributed, decentralized power resources.
jlne.ws/1B677cw
Asia-Pacific
Chinese Market Regulatory Reforms
Forex Magnates
The world’s second-largest economy is ready to compete with established participants in the world of banking and finance. The country’s leading equities trading venue, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), outlined key developments in relation to self-regulation in a recently issued paper. The developments signify China’s commitment to becoming a leader in financial industries.
jlne.ws/1w2PTxE
Asian direct investment in Seoul surges 65%
The Jakarta Post
According to Seoul Metropolitan Government, direct investment from Asian countries rose to about $2.6 billion last year, showing a 65.4 per cent increase on-year. This accounts for 47.3 per cent of the total direct investment in the capital.
jlne.ws/1w2Q388
Can Market Mechanisms Clear China’s Air?
ChinaFile
The Chinese government recently responded to rising public discontent over environmental degradation by introducing tougher rules for industrial emissions. Meanwhile, a non-governmental organization and a state-run newspaper are coordinating a parallel fight against industrial pollution based on market mechanisms.
jlne.ws/1w2Q8bP
SGX sees volume growth year-on-year in February
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) reported year-on-year growth in trading volumes and market activities for February. Volumes were down month-on-month as February 2015 had 18 trading days compared to 21 trading days in January 2105 and 20 days in February 2014.
jlne.ws/1zY1mLb
Frontier Markets
Ethiopia, Long Mired in Poverty, Rides an Economic Boom
NYTimes.com
The bulldozers, tractors and cranes are busy day and night, paving new roads, building tall glass buildings and constructing a new light rail system to stitch together the city’s ends. In less than five years, the city’s skyline has changed drastically.
jlne.ws/1w2QqPZ
Three leading brokers arrested in NSEL scam; Amit Rathi of Anand Rathi, Chintan Modi of IIFL and C P Krishnan of Geofin Comitrade have been taken into custody for mis-selling NSEL products as investment vehicles
Busines Standard
At least three leading brokers were arrested on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the scam surrounding the National Spot Exchange Ltd.
jlne.ws/1BH6WpT
Securities and Exchange Board of India Notices
SEBI
Interim Order in the matter of Green India Infra Projects Limited
Private placement data of corporate bonds -New
Data on transfers in Corporate Bonds at Depositories
jlne.ws/12kCz9E
Miscellaneous
Tradovate Top Trader Interview Series – Nick McDonald, CEO at Trade with Precision
Tradeovate
Throughout my career in the markets, I’ve met an incredible number of smart and engaging traders, and beginning today I’ll be holding Q&As with some of my favorites – thinking that you will find the discussions compelling and that you might even learn a thing or two about trading, the markets and what it takes to be successful.
jlne.ws/1aLlg6m
READ MORE: John Lothian Newsletter: LCH.Clearnet to launch interest rate portfolio margining capability; U.K. Wins Court Case With ECB on Euro Clearing; Trading Technologies to Provide Access to GMEX Exchange.