First Read
Pounds for Kids and £aughs For Kim
The sold out Futures For Kids annual IDX Gala Dinner raised over £120,000 on Wednesday evening, with this year’s “man in a skirt” Simon Puleston Jones topping £5,000. The event also featured an auction of a Toblerone chocolate bar for Kim Taylor, and her charity of choice, The Lisa Fund. What emerged in that lively auction was a battle between two Goldman Sachs tables, won by none other than Mike Dawley for £5,000.
Well done folks. A great night for some great causes.
The Ins and Outs of Trading at Settlement
CME Group Topics: Agriculture
Watch this video to learn the ins and outs of Trading at Settlement (TAS), a flexible and efficient new order type that can help you manage settlement price uncertainty. TAS allows a market participant to buy or sell futures contracts during the trading day equal to the yet-to-be-determined settlement price, or at a price up to four ticks above or below that price.
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**JK – John Lothian Productions created this video for CME Group – a basic primer on Trading At Settlement.
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Over 1,500 professionals at the International Derivatives Expo (IDX) in London
Eurex
Over 1,500 professionals from around the globe joined the two-day program at the FIA/FIA Europe International Derivatives Expo (IDX) 2015. The conference brings together the diverse perspectives from exchange and clearing house leaders, regulators, traders and the buy and sell side on a range of issues impacting the derivatives industry worldwide.
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***** There were a few unprofessionals there too, but no amateurs.
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Zimbabwe finally ditches ‘worthless’ currency for the US dollar
Patrick McGee and Phakamisa Ndzamela, FT
One of the few central banks to make 1920s Germany look like a period of monetary prudence and stability is finally ditching its national currency.
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**JB: It’s a bargain at 35,000,000,000,000,000 old dollars for $1. Surprisingly that isn’t a record. Hungary managed an exchange rate of 400 octillion in 1946 with a peak inflation rate in one month of 41.9 quadrillion percent.
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Twitter chief executive Costolo quits
Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco, FT
Dick Costolo is quitting as Twitter chief executive after failing to transform the messaging platform into a product used by a billion users.
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**JK – His new book, “How to resign in under 140 characters” should be coming up shortly.
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These Are Wall Street’s Must-Read Books of the Summer
Bloomberg
As things slow down a bit on Wall Street during the summer months, many of its best and brightest will find more time in their schedules to read. We asked a few of them what books were on their lists, and here are some of those must-reads. Participants were asked to give one recent book that they enjoyed as well as an all-time favorite, although some of them had so many recommendations that they couldn’t narrow it down to just two.
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***** I am reading Byron.
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Join us for the Boy Scout Golf Classic – click link below
pathwaytoadventure.doubleknot.com/event/1708936
***** My friends at the Pathway to Adventure Council of Boy Scouts of America would like you to come out for their Boy Scout Golf Classic at Kemper Lakes Golf Club.
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How to Use Instagram to Invest in Art
Bloomberg
As he looked through Instagram at home in Copenhagen, Peter Ibsen noticed paintings by French artist Baptiste Caccia that were bound for an art fair in Brussels. “I wrote something like ‘very nice’ on the feed, and 10 minutes later his gallery called me,” Ibsen said. Thirty minutes later, he bought the painting.
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***** Doc Sandor, this is for you.
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Coding Boot Camp Enrollment Soars as Students Seek Tech Jobs
Bloomberg
Graduates of computer coding schools will more than double this year, a signal of heightened interest in high-paid technology jobs. More than 16,000 students will graduate from programming boot camps, up from 6,740 in 2014, according to data from Course Report, a website that allows students to rate the schools. The intensive training programs teach students how to create websites and mobile apps in two to six months and cost as much as $21,000.
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***** We had code when I was young too, but it was different.
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Take One: Data and Fintech Rocking The Free World
By Jim Kharouf, John Lothian News
Over the past two years, market participants have bemoaned the monetization of data by the largest exchanges.
But an interesting thing is now happening in the data world. It is being given away for free in various new and interesting ways.
See the full presentation in Sway here
**In case you missed it. Worth a read and a look.
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MarketsWiki
MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
MarketsWiki Recent Updates
People
Meredith Whitney; Vikram S. Pandit; Ross McEwan; Philip Hampton; Howard Davies; Jack Clegg; Jay Feuerstein; Lisa Jones
Companies, Organizations and Groups
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc; London Stock Exchange Group plc
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63,965,460 pages viewed, 8,197 articles, 192,235 edits
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Lead Stories
Mary Schapiro to Join London Stock Exchange Board
NYTimes.com
The London Stock Exchange Group said on Thursday that Mary L. Schapiro, the former chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, would join its board as it continued to expand its business in the United States.
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Deutsche Börse launches Venture Network to fund young growth companies
Eurex
Programme designed to connect growth companies and professional investors/27 growth companies and 42 investors already active on the platform
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You Can’t Keep the Panic Out of Stocks Forever, VIX Traders Say
Bloomberg
While the turmoil that rocked bond and currency markets in past weeks has been mostly absent from equities, it won’t be forever, options traders speculate.
They’re building hedges against equity swings to levels not seen in eight months, according to contracts tied to the benchmark gauge for U.S. stock volatility. Judging by the most popular options, many of them are bracing for disturbances in the next six days.
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Credit Suisse Thinks Waning U.S. Stock Volatility Points Towards a Bubble
Bloomberg
Relative calm in U.S. stock trading is an indication that the current bull market may end with a bubble, according to Andrew Garthwaite, a global equity strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG.
The attached chart displays a comparison that Garthwaite cited yesterday in a report: between the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index for stocks, known as the VIX, and the Merrill Option Volatility Estimate, which tracks bonds and goes by the acronym MOVE. Both gauges are based on option prices.
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The 4,200% Rally That’s Bringing Tech Stocks Back to China
Bloomberg
Hugo Shong, the man behind the highest-flying stock in China, says he knew that Beijing Baofeng Technology Co. was destined for big returns.
He just didn’t realize how quickly they’d come. In the 55 trading days since Shong took Baofeng public on the Shenzhen stock exchange, the developer of online video players has jumped 4,208 percent. The rally, equivalent to 11 years of gains in Apple Inc., has given Baofeng a price-to-earnings ratio 13 times higher than that of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
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Morgan Stanley Sees $400 Billion China Inflows Over Five Years
Bloomberg
Yuan liberalization and the opening up of China’s capital account are likely to attract $400 billion of overseas funds to the nation’s stocks and bonds over the next five years, Morgan Stanley estimates.
In the most optimistic scenario, inflows could exceed $1.2 trillion if its markets are fully open, analysts led by Serena Tang wrote in a June 11 research note. A loosening of restrictions could also lead to almost $6 billion of annual outflows as domestic investors diversify their holdings, while funds moving in and out of the country may increase yuan volatility, they said.
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Bank of England acts to encourage whistleblowers
FT.com
Whistleblowers, who report dodgy dealing, or criminal behaviour, in a market have been around since at least 1610.
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Bank of England governor Mark Carney to extend market abuse rules
Caroline Binham and Martin Arnold in London, FT
Punitive new rules for senior bankers will be extended to cover thousands of asset managers, hedge funds and even the Bank of England itself.
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SEC Judge Declines to Submit Affidavit of No Bias
By JEAN EAGLESHAM, WSJ
A Securities and Exchange Commission judge who has never ruled against the agency declined a request from the SEC to make a formal statement on whether he has ever felt under any pressure to favor the SEC in his rulings. “I respectfully decline to submit the affidavit requested,” Cameron Elliot, one of five SEC administrative law judges, told the agency in a single-sentence email dated June 9, according to a copy of the message reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
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Uber Investor Sacca Predicts ‘Pain’ for Some Tech Startups
Bloomberg
Chris Sacca, an investor in companies including Twitter Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., said too much money is flowing to technology startups that will fail in a coming industry slowdown.
Sacca, who invests through his fund Lowercase Capital LLC, said he often passes on opportunities to back entrepreneurs who later find financing at rates he thinks are unreasonable.
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Wells Fargo, TD Explore Bids for GE U.S. Lending Assets
Bloomberg
Wells Fargo & Co. and Toronto-Dominion Bank are exploring offers for a batch of U.S. commercial-lending businesses General Electric Co. is selling as whittles down its finance arm.
Capital One Financial Corp. and U.S. Bancorp are also weighing bids for the businesses that together have about $40 billion in loans, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private.
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Bill aimed at ‘patent trolls’ advances in U.S. House
BY ANDREW CHUNG, Reuters
A U.S. congressional panel on Thursday approved a bill aimed at deterring frivolous patent lawsuits, but which some critics say undermines the ability to protect new innovations.
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Goldman Gets Serious About High-Speed Trading
Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which called for reform of high-speed stock trading before Michael Lewis’s “Flash Boys” spurred an outcry last year, is diving back in.
The bank’s electronic equity-execution unit is hiring executives including Keith Casuccio from Morgan Stanley and investing in software, trading infrastructure and its dark pool, according to people with knowledge of the plan.
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What Could Cause the Next Financial Crisis?
by Juliet Samuel, WSJ
If you’re following the latest twitches by central bankers and obsessing over the frenetic, day-to-day market moves, are you missing the bigger picture, which according to some has never looked worse?
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Regulatory
Statement Regarding the Need to Modernize the Commission’s Transfer Agent Rules, by Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar and Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher
SEC
jlne.ws/1HyL9DJ
Statement of Support for the Need to Modernize the Commission’s Transfer Agent Rules, by Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar and Commissioner Kara M. Stein
SEC
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FINRA Foundation and D2D Fund Launch Interactive Strategy Game to Fight Investment Fraud
FINRA
The FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) in collaboration with Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund today launched an exciting new educational tool in the form of an interactive game that helps investors spot the psychological persuasion tactics used by con artists. The game—available for play on desktop or by downloading the phone or tablet mobile application—is designed to help investors outsmart investment fraud criminals.
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Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) Rulemaking and National Market System (NMS) Plans
SEC
C2: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Automated Improvement Mechanism Order Allocations (Release No. 34-75143; File No. SR-C2-2015-013; June 10, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
EDGA: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Related to Fees for Use of EDGA Exchange, Inc. (Release No. 34-75147; File No. SR-EDGA-2015-24); see also Exhibit 5
EDGA: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Related to Fees for Use of EDGA Exchange, Inc. (Release No. 34-75146; File No. SR-EDGA-2015-23); see also Exhibit 5
EDGX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Related to Fees for Use of EDGX Exchange, Inc. (Release No. 34-75149; File No. SR-EDGX-2015-26); see also Exhibit 5
FINRA: Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change to Provide a Web-based Delivery Method for Completing the Regulatory Element of the Continuing Education Requirements (Release No. 34-75154; File No. SR-FINRA-2015-015); see also Exhibit 5
NASDAQ: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Amend Chapter VI, Section 18 of the Exchanges Options Rules (Release No. 34-75141; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2015-060; June 10, 2015)
NASDAQ OMX BX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Fee Schedule under Exchange Rule 7018 with Respect to Transactions in Securities Priced at $1 or More per Share and the Exchanges Retail Price Improvement Program (Release No. 34-75145; File No. SR-BX-2015-033); see also Exhibit 5
NYSE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending the Price List to Revise Fees and Credits for Mid-Point Passive Liquidity Orders and Non Displayed Reserve Orders and to Revise Credits Applicable to Certain Transactions at the Open, Certain Designated Market Maker transactions, and Certain Supplemental Liquidity Provider Transactions (Release No. 34-75139; File No. SR-NYSE-2015-28; June 10, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Revising the Schedule for Implementing the Exchanges Recently Approved Rule to Provide a Price Protection for Market Maker Quotes Pursuant to Rule 6.61 (Release No. 34-75156; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2015-45); see also Exhibit 5
NYSE Arca: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change to Amend NYSE Arca Rules 3.1 and 3.3 and Section 4.01(a) of the Exchanges Bylaws to Establish a Regulatory Oversight Committee as a Committee of the Board of Directors of the Exchange (Release No. 34-75155; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2015-29)
NYSEMKT: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Revising the Schedule for Implementing the Exchanges Recently Approved Rule to Provide a Price Protection for Market Maker Quotes pursuant to Rule 967.1NY (Release No. 34-75151; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-42); see also Exhibit 5
NYSEMKT: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Sixth Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of the Exchange (Release No. 34-75148; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-27)
Phlx: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Exchanges Pricing Schedule under Section VIII with Respect to Execution and Routing of Orders in Securities Priced at $1 or More Per Share (Release No. 34-75142; File No. SR-Phlx-2015-48; June 10, 2015); see also Exhibit 5
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Keynote Address At Deacons 7th Annual Investment Products And Regulatory Forum – Ashley Alder, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission
MondoVisione
Mr Ashley Alder, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), delivered the keynote address at the Deacons 7th Annual Investment Products and Regulatory Forum on 21 May.
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Investment banker to cooperate in insider trading case -court papers
BY NATE RAYMOND, Reuters
A managing director at a boutique investment bank has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors at an insider trading case involving a former Perella Weinberg Partners employee accused of passing stock tips to his father, according to court records.
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I.R.S. Adds New Safeguards to Thwart Identity Theft and Fraud
By PATRICIA COHEN, NY Times
Reeling from an online attack that allowed criminals to steal personal information and divert tax refunds from tens of thousands of taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced on Thursday a sweeping effort to step up protections against identity theft and fraud. The actions are expected to be completed by early next year, well before the April 15 filing deadline.
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Exchanges & Trading Facilities
TURENNE INVESTISSEMENT LISTS ON EURONEXT; Market capitalisation EUR20 million
Euronext
EnterNext, the Euronext subsidiary dedicated to promoting and growing the market for SMEs Small and medium-size companies, today congratulated private equity specialists Turenne Investissement on listing in Compartment C of the Euronext Paris regulated market.
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SGX apologises for human error in printing process for some statements
SGX
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today said it has taken remedial action to address erroneous Central Depository (CDP) account statements sent to some customers by mail.
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Fresh fears of biotech bubble as Axovant soars on NYSE debut
David Crow and Nicole Bullock in New York, FT
An eight-months-old company developing a single, unproved Alzheimer’s drug secured a more than $2bn valuation when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, prompting fresh fears of a bubble in the biotech sector .
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Hedge Funds & Managed Futures
Wealth Adviser: The Rise of the Virtual Adviser
by Patrick Graham, WSJ
In addition to robo advisers, a second front has opened in the war on traditional wealth management: virtual advisers, who are actual human beings. And unlike their machine counterparts, they offer personalized services.
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China’s Good, Bad and Ugly Drive Metals
By BIMAN MUKHERJI, WSJ
In metals markets long dominated by trends in China’s consumption, a weird new reality is sinking in: Good Chinese economic data is bad and bad actually good for prices.
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Litigation Bets Burn Hedge Funds; A legal victory for J.P. Morgan Chase stung Appaloosa Management and other hedge funds last week
By MATT JARZEMSKY, WSJ
A legal victory for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. stung Appaloosa Management LP and other hedge-fund firms last week, the latest in a streak of soured Wall Street bets on litigation outcomes.
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Banks & Brokers
Citigroup trader, 26, drowns on Mediterranean holiday
The Telegraph
London-based Marcin Kania found dead after he goes missing while swimming with friends off coast of Balearic island of Formentera
jlne.ws/1MOeL06
JPMorgan Shakes Up a Banking Team
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED, NY Times
JPMorgan Chase has shaken up its technology, media and telecommunications team, elevating several top bankers while giving the current head of the team a new senior deal maker role.
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Banker who worked on ABN Amro deal returns for RBS sell-off
Martin Arnold, FT
One of the bankers who worked on the 2007 takeover of ABN Amro, a deal which led to the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland, is poised for a return to advise RBS on its planned privatisation.
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Clearing & Settlement
Nasdaq claims clearing costs ‘half of CME’
Banking Technology
Clearing costs at Nasdaq’s new NFX futures venue will be half those on rival CME, the exchange claims. NFX is due to launch later this summer.
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Europe consults on uncleared swap margin
By Helen Bartholomew, IFR Asia
European regulators have begun a second consultation on new rules requiring initial and variation margin to be exchanged for over-the-counter swap transactions not cleared through central counterparties.
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SGSS mandated by LCH. Clearnet for settlement services
FTSE Global Markets
Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) has been selected by LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH.Clearnet), the global clearing house, to provide settlement services for domestic equity securities within the Euroclear Settlement of Euronext-zone Securities (ESES).
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Regulators see slow progress on who pays for failed clearing house
By Huw Jones- Reuters
Global regulators have yet to agree on who would pay the trillions of dollars that would be needed to bail out any failed clearing house for derivatives, a senior European Commission official said on Friday.
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CME Group Clearing Notices
CME Group
New Product: Zinc Futures
Performance Bond Requirements: Electricity, Equity Index, FX, Metals, and Refined Products Outrights; Energy and Interest Rates Intra-Commodity Spread Charges; Coal and Electricity Inter-Commodity Spread Credits – June 12, 2015
?Test? product available on CME Globex
IMPORTANT – Asset Management and Settlement Users – SMART Click Migration Deadline – June 12, 2015
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Indexes & Products
Don’t Let MSCI’s Index Delay Scare You Away from Chinese Stocks
Gregg Greenberg – The Street
Investors in Chinese stocks may have been disappointed with MSCI’s decision this week to delay the inclusion of Chinese A-shares in its indexes. However, Chen Ding, CEO of CSOP Asset Management, said they should not be too distraught, because the sting won’t last long. “We are very, very close to getting China A-shares into MSCI’s index framework,” said Ding. “We observed that [London’s] FTSE already did it last month and I think it won’t be way too long.”
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The Smarter Investor
ETF Trends
Investors have spoken: There is a world outside of traditional indexing, and they want in.
“Smart beta” or factor indices bridge the gap between active and passive management by allowing investors to tilt toward specific investment attributes – for example, low volatility or high dividend yield. These indices use factors in a rules-based, transparent manner to determine index composition and/or weighting.
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New OMX Baltic Benchmark Portfolio Selected
MondoVisione
The semi-annual review of OMX Baltic Benchmark index constituents has been completed. The new composition will become effective with the market open on Wednesday, July 1, 2015.
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Technology
Uber nears 1m trips every day in China
Tim Bradshaw in San Francisco, FT
Uber drivers are making close to 1m trips every day in China, almost as many as on the entire ride-hailing service globally just six months ago, as it pours huge resources into one of its most challenging markets.
jlne.ws/1L4Ua9L
US to start shake-up of internet rules
David Crow in New York, FT
The US will start implementing a sweeping overhaul of internet regulation on Friday after an attempt by the telecoms industry to delay the introduction of tough new rules was dismissed by an appeals court.
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Senate Rejects Measure to Strengthen Cybersecurity
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER, ny Times
On the heels of a vast breach of the personal information of federal employees, the Senate failed Thursday to advance a cybersecurity measure, the third time in three years that a bipartisan effort to tackle the problem has fallen victim to procedural actions.
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Enforcement
Two Sydney men convicted of insider trading
ASiC
Two Sydney men, including a former analyst with ratings agency Moody’s, were today convicted of insider trading. In December 2014 Daniel Joffe, of Vaucluse, and Nathan Stromer, of Bondi, each pleaded guilty to two counts of insider trading.
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Environmental & Energy
‘Green’ Google in talks to back massive African wind project
Lawrence Delevingne – CNBC
Google gets lots of attention for expanding into novel technologies like driverless cars and artificial intelligence. But the technology giant also has put big bucks—more than $2 billion to date—into the next generation of energy production.
Now, the company is in discussions to back the largest wind power project in Africa, a fast-growing but power-starved continent, according to people familiar with the situation.
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Climate change progress ‘too slow’
Helen Briggs – BBC
Countries are working towards options to limit greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 in time for a crunch Paris summit.
The UN said progress had been made towards streamlining the text of a new agreement at talks in Bonn.
Environmental groups said ”difficult issues” such as finance and emissions cuts had yet to be addressed.
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California Court, Despite Drought, Questions Popular Water Pricing Tool
Circle of Blue WaterNews
It was not the sort of tremor that Californians prepare for with flashlights, evacuation plans, and Hollywood scripts. But a state appeals court ruling on April 20 hit the state’s water utilities with earth-shaking force.
The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled that the tiered water rates used by San Juan Capistrano, a mission town in Orange County, were illegal under California law because those residents using the most water were paying more than it cost the city for treatment and delivery. The court found that the pricing strategy violated Proposition 218, an initiative approved by voters in 1996 to limit government fees.
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Green Bonds: a new way to pay for clean, green projects
Steve Law – SustainableLife
Cleaning up pollution and cutting greenhouse gas emissions doesn’t come cheap.
To make it easier, the city of Portland is poised to adopt a new way to finance environmentally friendly projects.
It’s called Green Bonds.
On June 24, the City Council likely will ask city staff to develop guidelines to sell Green Bonds.
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US biofuel plan rattles ethanol credits
Gregory Meyer in New York, FT
New US biofuels targets have shaken markets from ethanol credits to Malaysian palm oil, underlining the far-reaching consequences of mandates to use foodstuffs for powering cars.
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Asia-Pacific
China Regulator to Allow Rollover of Margin Loans; The announcement comes a week after China’s securities regulator said it would step up controls
By SHEN HONG, WSJ
China’s securities regulator said Friday it will allow a “reasonable” rollover of loans investors get from brokerages to buy stocks, in an apparent move to ease growing concerns about risks associated with so-called “margin finance.”
jlne.ws/1L4Y1DG
Forward contracts in commodities find few takers
Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
Forward contracts in commodities launched in September 2014 to reduce speculative activity in the commodity market and draw genuine investors to the exchange platform have found few takers.
Market participants blame it on structural issues in the product as it does not offer full trade guarantee and zero counter-party default risk, two essentials for any product traded on the exchange platform.
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Frontier Markets
Former Nigerian Central Bank Head Joins Blackstone Africa Fund – Frontier Markets News – Emerging & Growth Markets
WSJ
Lamido Sanusi, Nigeria’s ousted central-bank governor, will head up Blackstone sub-Saharan Africa energy infrastructure fund, the giant private-equity firm has revealed.
Sanusi was considered an astute and charismatic central-bank governor for Africa’s biggest economy and oil producer, but he was suspended early last year after he raised concerns that the national petroleum company was either losing or stealing billions in oil revenue that should be ending up in state coffers. He remained suspended until his term ran out and the current central banker, Godwin Emefiele, replaced him in June 2014.
jlne.ws/1FcRNcE
Morgan-Stanley plan to upgrade Pakistan’s ranking
Pakistan Today
Citing “a number of positive developments over the course of the past 12 to 18 months,” MSCI said it would include Pakistan on its 2016 review list, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday.
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South Korea’s GS Caltex makes rare purchase of West African crude
Reuters
South Korea’s GS Caltex Corp is set to receive its first shipment of West African crude in almost a year as the country looks to diversify supply away from the Middle East.
The purchase will help soak up a glut of supply among West African producers, who have been hit as the U.S. shale oil boom curbs demand in what was once their main market and as OPEC Gulf states boost supply.
jlne.ws/1FcRU7Z
Saudi Arabia’s Plan to Open its Market to Foreigners
By Asa Fitch, WSJ
Saudi Arabia’s stock market is opening to direct foreign investment for the first time on Monday. The market is the largest in the Middle East by market capitalization, making its long-awaited opening a closely watched event by regional and international investors eager for exposure to the oil-rich country’s economy.
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Miscellaneous
Accounting firm McGladrey to rebrand as RSM
By CLAIRE BUSHEY, Crain’s Chicago Business
In four months, accounting firm McGladrey won’t be McGladrey anymore. RSM will become the new name of the Chicago-based firm on Oct. 26, after the name of the global network of independent accounting firms that McGladrey helped found in 1964, RSM International. The rebranding will convey to current U.S. clients with overseas business concerns that the accounting firm has the capability to serve them worldwide, Chief Marketing Officer Andy Bosman said…
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READ MORE: John Lothian: Mary Schapiro to Join London Stock Exchange Board; Deutsche Börse launches Venture Network to fund young growth companies; You Can’t Keep the Panic Out of Stocks Forever, VIX Traders Say.