First Read
JLN Heads to London
JLN Staff
Jim Kharouf is off to London today, and John Lothian, Doug Ashburn and intern Colin Ashburn head there on Saturday night.
This is gearing up to be a great conference. Much of the industry conversation has moved to Europe, as evidenced by today’s newsletter. Big changes at NLX, an overhaul of all things regulatory as the industry prepares for MiFID II, and the lingering cross-border disputes are but a few of the stories making headlines today and on the docket for IDX
We will see if John’s newly partially replaced right shoulder can handle the flight and trip, schlepping his luggage around the airport and London.
We will be conducting video interviews at IDX, with Colin Ashburn and Alison Fay manning the cameras. We also will be shooting some video for a John Lothian Productions contract. Since the production work requires the schlepping of extra gear – multiple cameras, lights and such, at least one staffer suggested the shoulder surgery was a hoax meant to exempt John from portage duty.
The next edition of JLN will be coming to you from London. See you then.
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Comment: Time for trading technology to grow up
Veronica Augustsson, FT
About 18 months ago I was talking with the head of trading at a large bank in New York. She mentioned that in 2013, they had recorded 300 separate instances where technology glitches stopped her team from executing trades on one of the dozens of exchanges and venues around the world. They were literally out of business for a few, very expensive minutes. In some cases they were unable to trade for a few hours.
jlne.ws/1ARCLxJ
***** When Veronica Augustsson talks, I listen.
***DA: A theme she expanded upon in her contribution to our intern series in London last fall.
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BATS Reports Continued Strong Market Share in May; Second-Best Month for U.S. Options; EDGX Options Scheduled to Launch November 2nd, Pending SEC Approval
BATS
BATS Global Markets today reported volume, market share, and monthly highlights for its U.S. options business, including its second-best month on record with 9.7% market share, up from 3.8% one year ago. The monthly market share record is 9.9%, set in April 2015.
jlne.ws/1EZzhV3
***** The Royals are not the only hot BATS in Kansas City.
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SEC Freezes Profits From Scheme to Manipulate Avon Stock
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an emergency asset freeze of two U.S. brokerage accounts connected to schemes to manipulate Avon and other stocks, thwarting any ability to cash in on ill-gotten proceeds.
jlne.ws/1cBHsQC
***** The SEC went door to door in this investigation.
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Chris Evans joins Rostron Parry Ltd to extend consultancy and communications services
Rostron Parry Ltd.
Rostron Parry is pleased to announce Chris Evans is joining as Associate Director to expand the company’s range of PR, marketing and business consultancy services and to underline and develop its presence in the OTC and exchange-traded derivatives market and within the natural resources and industrial sectors.
Mr Evans, former Head of Business Development at the London Metal Exchange, worked with Simon Rostron, MD of Rostron Parry Ltd on the sale of the LME to HKEx in 2012.
jlne.ws/1GoxMHk
***** For the record, this is not the Chris Evans who plays the role of Captain America. With the LME background, he is more Ironman.
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Apple Is the New Pimco, and Tim Cook Is the New King of Bonds
by Nabila Ahmed and Mary Childs, Bloomberg
There’s a new whale in the corporate-bond market. Apple Inc., Oracle Corp. and the other tech giants hoarding half a trillion dollars in cash have joined the ranks of the biggest buyers of the debt, often snapping up as much as half of some bond issues, according to five people with knowledge of the transactions.
jlne.ws/1dRN9LW
***** iBonds???
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Why America’s Youngest Workers Will Have No Trouble Finding a Job in the Future
Bloomberg Business
Teen unemployment remains sky-high. It was 17.1 percent in April. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the May numbers on Friday, and they probably won’t be much better. But today’s teens have something very big on their side: There aren’t very many of them.
jlne.ws/1dRNyhv
***** I have three teenagers in my house. Don’t tell me there are not very many of them.
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John Noyce, ‘Must Read’ Goldman Currency Analyst, Dies at 36
Bloomberg Business
John Noyce, a technical analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s London currency trading desk whose weekly report “The Charts That Matter Next Week” was widely followed, has died. He was 36. He died on June 4 after a long battle with cancer, Goldman Sachs wrote in an internal memo signed by Isabelle Ealet, Pablo Salame and Ashok Varadhan, co-heads of its securities unit.
jlne.ws/1dRNMoA
***** Condolences.
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NFA Board Update—May 2015 Meeting
NFA
NFA President and CEO Dan Roth joins Chairman Chris Hehmeyer to review rulemakings and other issues discussed at NFA’s May Board of Directors meeting.
*****This quarterly video summary was edited and produced by John Lothian Productions.
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Lead Stories
Banks prepare to sell down stakes in data provider Markit
Philip Stafford, FT
Many of the large banks that were early investors in Markit are using the end of a lock-up period following the UK data provider’s stock market listing to sell down large portions of their shareholdings.
jlne.ws/1Kez7Qx
Nasdaq NLX pays off founding members
Futures & Options World
Nasdaq NLX has paid off all of its founding members and scrapped their founding member agreements in a bid to reposition the European exchange for growth after a period of slow trading. The total payment to the founding group of 15 firms is unclear but individual payments to some firms disclosed to FOW suggest the exchange has paid its founders something in the region of low single digit millions.
jlne.ws/1Fy5Evo
Guy Who Did Avon Hoax Was Terrible at Hoaxes
By Matt Levine, Bloomberg
Here is the story of Nedko Nedev, a Bulgarian living in Sofia, as told in Thursday’s Securities and Exchange Commission complaint against him.
jlne.ws/1Fy26JF
SEC sues Bulgarian trader over bogus Avon bid
Gina Chon in Washington, FT
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued PTG Capital, the possibly fake company that made a bogus bid for Avon in May, causing an almost 20 per cent surge in the cosmetics company’s share price.
jlne.ws/1KQmTin
SEC Probes Activist Funds Over Whether They Secretly Acted in Concert; Federal securities rules require shareholder activists to disclose joint campaigns
By LIZ HOFFMAN, ARUNA VISWANATHA and DAVID BENOIT, WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether some activist investors teamed up to target companies without disclosing their alliances, potentially in violation of federal securities rules, according to people familiar with the matter.
jlne.ws/1IhrqHd
European pension funds win 2-year derivatives exemption
Philip Stafford, FT.com
Pension funds in Europe will be granted a further two-year exemption from the mandatory clearing of derivatives, giving the industry more time to adapt to comprehensive new trading rules. The pushback extends a deadline that was due to come into effect this summer.
jlne.ws/1dRLciu
Amid US derivatives talks, EU weighs more open assessments of foreign rules
MLex
The European Commission is considering ways to be more open in how it assesses other countries’ financial rules, a senior official has said, as talks continue to resolve trans-Atlantic discord over derivatives requirements.
jlne.ws/1KOPS69
***DA: Typical EU response – let’s pour resources into studying the process by which the EU works with foreign jurisdictions to make it more open and transparent. Another idea would be to put resources into fixing the current problem first.
British Bankers’ Association Officials Received Warnings About Libor in 2007, Court Hears; Banking lobby heard complaints that benchmark was unreliable, according to emails
By DAVID ENRICH, WSJ
The group responsible for running a key interest-rate benchmark was warned in 2007 that banks were manipulating the figure to benefit their trading positions, a London court heard Friday.
jlne.ws/1BOco6O
Lawmakers Push for Review of Waiver Requests From Banks in Forex Probe; U.S. lawmakers concerned that big banks aren’t being adequately punished by authorities
By JOHN LETZING, WSJ
Citing the “criminal behavior” of some of the world’s biggest banks, a group of Democratic lawmakers is asking the Obama administration to take a closer look at the lenders’ actions before granting waivers they are seeking.
jlne.ws/1H83Spt
Regulatory
SEC Staff Provides Additional Analysis Related to Proposed Pay Ratio Disclosure Rules
SEC.gov
The analysis is posted on the SEC’s website as part of the comment file for rules proposed by the Commission in September 2013 that would require the disclosure of the median of the annual total compensation of all employees of the issuer; the annual total compensation of the chief executive officer of the issuer; and the ratio of the median of the annual total compensation of all employees of the issuer to the annual total compensation of the chief executive officer of the issuer.
jlne.ws/1cAfGEa
Banks’ Billions in Overdraft Fees Seen Dodging Tough U.S. Rules
Bloomberg Business
U.S. banks are poised to score a victory in their fight to keep regulators from pinching the billions of dollars in fees they charge consumers who overdraw their accounts. After studying overdraft fees for more than three years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is leaning against subjecting banks to tough new rules that would cap the size of charges or limit how frequently they can be imposed on consumers, said two people briefed on the agency’s work.
jlne.ws/1dRN3UG
Singapore outlines new OTC derivatives rules
Global Investor Magazine
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched a consultation paper outlining new rules aimed at intermediaries dealing in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.
Under the framework OTC intermediaries, including trading platforms, will have to meet a set of capital and business conduct requirements, including risk management policies and controls to safeguard customers’ assets.
jlne.ws/1dRLi9P
Temporary prohibition of short selling: Saipem
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) notifies that it temporarily prohibits short selling in the following instrument under Articles 23 (1) and 26 (4) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012. This follows a decision made by another EU Competent Authority.
jlne.ws/1FxXIue
FCA appoints new Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight and Director of Risk
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority today announced the appointments of two key executive roles, with Mark Steward becoming the new Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight and Barbara Frohn the new Director of Risk and Compliance Oversight.
jlne.ws/1eT4ofT
Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) Rulemaking and National Market System (NMS) Plans
SEC
ISE: Notice of Designation of Longer Period for Commission Action on Proceedings to Determine Whether to Approve or Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change to Modify the Opening Process (Release No. 34-75104; File No. SR-ISE-2014-24)
jlne.ws/1KIKcaz
SEC Gets Statistical In Search For Median Employee’s Pay
By EMILY CHASAN, WSJ
U.S. securities regulators on Thursday sought public comment on the impact of excluding certain groups of employees from a ratio of executive to average worker pay required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law. The disclosure rule, which the Securities and Exchange Commission was required to write by Section 953 of the law, is intended to expose the income disparity between a company’s top financial executives and average worker – specifically the median annual total compensation of a company’s employees.
jlne.ws/1BOcN9o
Ontario Securities Commission Requests Members For Market Structure Advisory Committee
Mondovisione
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is inviting applications for membership on its Market Structure Advisory Committee (MSAC).
jlne.ws/1djgVrX
Exchanges & Trading Facilities
FIA Releases SEF Tracker Report for March
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 presents the data in a new format and shows volume trends from January 2014 to March 2015 for interest rate, credit default and foreign exchange products. This issue also includes a spreadsheet containing weekly data going back to January 2014.
jlne.ws/1HPuQ14
For first time, a China company may swap Nasdaq for Shenzhen listing
MarketWatch
A large digital advertising company is about to relist on a stock exchange in Shenzhen through a deal that valued it at twice the amount investors paid to take it off the Nasdaq two years ago.
jlne.ws/1ARBmXQ
CME Group Clearing Notices
CME Group
Performance Bond Requirements: Electricity, FX, Metals, Natural Gas, and NGLs Outrights; Agriculture, Crude Oil, Metals, and Refined Products Intra-Commodity Spread Charges; Agriculture, Refined Products, and Electricity Inter-Commodity Spread Credits – June 5, 2015
USD and EUR Interest Rate Swap Future – Delivery Process, June 2015
CME Clearing Notice: Week of Monday, June 1, 2015
jlne.ws/1R9iqZG
Euronext announces quarterly review results of the AEX, AMX and AScX
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the quarterly review for the AEX, the AMX and the AScX. The changes due to the review will be effective from Monday 22 June 2015.
jlne.ws/1FZghKa
Euronext Announces Quarterly Review Results of the BEL 20, BEL MID, AND BEL SMALL
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the quarterly review for the BEL 20, BEL Mid, and BEL Small. The changes due to the review will be effective from Monday 22 June 2015.
jlne.ws/1EZyvHy
No changes to Straits Times Index after quarterly review
SGX
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Singapore Exchange (SGX) and FTSE Russell announce today that constituents of the Straits Times Index (STI) will remain unchanged following the conclusion of its quarterly review.
jlne.ws/1HPymsr
ICE to add Italian physical gas futures in September
Futures & Options World The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said ICE Endex will in September introduce physically delivered Italian natural gas futures contracts on the Italian Punto de Scambio Virtuale (PSV) hub, as it continues to build its European natural gas offering. Set to launch on September 14, the new contracts are being launched in cooperation with Gestore dei Mercati Energetici (GME) – the Italian exchange for electricity and natural gas spot trading – and Snam – the Italian transmission systems operator – said ICE.
jlne.ws/1dRSVxd
Euronext options hit by “critical” tech issue
Futures & Options World
Trading in AEX options on Euronext’s derivatives market was halted Thursday afternoon, less than a week after the exchange was hit by the latest in a series of technical problems. A spokesperson for the Paris-based exchange Euronext confirmed the details of the outage Thursday which saw trading in the AEX index halted due to a “technical issue.”
jlne.ws/1dPnK5D
BATS Exchange Welcomes the iShares Convertible Bond ETF
Business Wire
The underlying index for the iShares Convertible Bond ETF is a subset of the Barclays U.S. Convertibles: Cash Pay Bonds Index, which is one of four classes of the Barclays U.S. Convertibles Index and measures the performance of the U.S. dollar-denominated convertibles market. The underlying index is market capitalization-weighted and consists of only cash pay convertible bonds. More information is available on the iShares website.
jlne.ws/1dRThUl
BOX Price Improvement Activity for May
Boston, June 4, 2015: In the month of May, price improved contracts on BOX Options Exchange (“BOX”) averaged 207,930 per day. Price improvement versus the prevailing NBBO for contracts submitted via BOX’s price improvement auction, PIP, averaged $341,729 per day, while total savings to investors in May was $6.83M. With this, BOX has saved investors over $631M since its inception in 2004. Overall average daily trading volume on BOX in the month of May was 341,010 contracts.
jlne.ws/1FZiEN5
Nasdaq May 2015 Volumes
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today reported monthly volumes for May 2015, on its investor relations website.
jlne.ws/1eT8V1V
Hedge Funds & Managed Futures
Gross Says Bond Rout Scary as Hell Even Without Bear Market
Bloomberg Business
Treasury prices are falling enough to spook even market veteran Bill Gross. The turmoil has sent U.S. government securities maturing in 10 years and longer down 7.4 percent since the end of March, heading for the biggest quarterly loss since 2010, based on Bloomberg World Bond Indexes. The decline is part of a global selloff, led by German bunds and fueled by what traders say is a lack of liquidity.
jlne.ws/1dRMVEr
High time for greed to yield to fear
Henny Sender, FT
There have been many false alarms in the past two years regarding the end of quantitative easing and the timing of the first Federal Reserve rate rises.
jlne.ws/1Qw86aX
This Is What’s Happening Amid a Wild Week for World Bond Markets
Bloomberg Business
There have been some big swings in the global bond market this week. Here’s what’s been moving — and what hasn’t. It all started with German government bonds. Yields on 10-year bunds, which move inversely to price, jumped as much as 51 basis points over the week to touch the highest in more than eight months on Thursday as investors reacted to signs of inflation in the eurozone.
jlne.ws/1dRNDl8
400 Billion Reasons Why Ebbing Currency Reserves Threaten Bonds
by Simon Kennedy, Bloomberg
There’s a $400 billion reason to worry if you’re a bond investor. That’s how much global currency reserves have shrunk since reaching a record $12 trillion last August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
jlne.ws/1KeBVNy
Pimco outflows, leadership changes critical to firm’s future -Morningstar
BY JENNIFER ABLAN, Reuters
Morningstar analysts said on Thursday that they have a “cautiously optimistic outlook” for Pimco’s future but that money exiting the firm’s flagship fund and its new leadership team remain huge concerns.
jlne.ws/1T0D6Uz
Banks & Brokers
Credit Suisse expands Canadian energy team as asset demand grows
Reuters
Credit Suisse is building a specialized team in Canada to take advantage of an increase in interest from big energy and financial players in oil and gas assets that have been put on the block by companies weakened by lower oil prices.
jlne.ws/1dRSQtf
Niche bank drawn into global Fifa scandal
Gina Chon in Washington, FT
Delta National Bank and Trust Company was used by Traffic International, the sports media company through which Brazilian businessman José Hawilla allegedly paid at least $60m in bribes to Fifa officials in exchange for sponsorships and TV rights to football games, according to a US indictment.
jlne.ws/1JvQZpl
Clearing & Settlement
ICE TRADE VAULT EUROPE APPROVED BY ESMA AS TRADE REPOSITORY FOR FX DERIVATIVES
ICE
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), the leading global network of exchanges and clearing houses, announced today that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) approved ICE Trade Vault Europe Limited (ICE Trade Vault Europe) to extend its Trade Repository registration for the reporting of foreign-exchange (FX) derivatives trade data. The approval meets requirements of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). ICE Trade Vault Europe will assume the collection of FX derivatives data, which includes futures, options and forwards, with immediate effect.
jlne.ws/1FZgJbp
NASDAQ TO PROVIDE CLEARING CHOICE IN NORDIC CASH EQUITY MARKETS
NASDAQ
Nasdaq today announces it will provide a choice of CCP providers in Nordic cash equities for its members on Nasdaq exchanges in Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen.
jlne.ws/1ARFFm2
Germany’s debt office set for derivatives clearing
Joe Rennison, FT.com
Managers of German’s government debt issuance are set to follow the call from global regulators for stronger derivatives standards. The Finanzagentur, Germany’s debt management office, which uses interest rate derivatives to manage risk in the course of its sales, plans to push these trades into a centralised clearing house — a key feature of post-financial crisis reform.
jlne.ws/1dRLqpO
DTCC selects Risk Focus’ Validate.Trade solution
Automated Trader
Risk Focus has announced that The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp (DTCC) will leverage the Validate.Trade engine internally to enhance its pre-UAT testing for its Global Trade Repository (GTR) service, leading up to the October 2015 implementation of the ESMA Level 2 rules.
jlne.ws/1dRKSAk
SIX to to add EuroCCP as clearing counterparty and expand into Nordics
Finextra
SIX will admit European Central Counterparty N.V.(EuroCCP) to the Swiss market to become the third Central Counterparty (CCP) on SIX Swiss Exchange.
jlne.ws/1dRL16O
Indexes & Products
MSCI could catch global investors off guard if it adds China
Reuters
U.S. index provider MSCI could catch many global investors unprepared if it decides next week to add Chinese-listed yuan-denominated shares to one of its key benchmarks. For funds with little experience investing in China’s volatile $9 trillion stock market such a move could be disruptive and costly, as they may become vulnerable to liquidity squeezes leading to a rise in tracking error and underperformance, investment experts said.
jlne.ws/1dROSki
S&P 500 Benchmarked Assets Reach $7.8 Trillion; $3.05 Trillion Invested in Products Indexed to S&P DJI Indices
Press release
S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), one of the world’s leading index providers, announced today that is has published its annual survey of indexed assets. According to the survey, approximately $7.8 trillion is now benchmarked to the iconic S&P 500® with $2.16 trillion of that figure directly indexed via exchange traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and other investment product structures.
jlne.ws/1M7RrsZ
FTSE Russell and Research Affiliates develop high income smart beta index series
ETF Strategy
FTSE Russell, a global index provider, and Research Affiliates, a pioneer in smart beta strategies, have announced the launch of the FTSE RAFI Equity Income Index Series. The indices are designed to track the performance of high yielding, high quality stocks by screening companies on dividend payments and financial health. A fundamental based weighting scheme is also used which offers an alternative constituent exposure versus traditional capitalisation-weighted indices.
jlne.ws/1dROYZo
S&P rebalance sees Domino’s take a slice of ASX 100 Index
Proactiveinvestors (AU)
S&P Dow Jones Indices quarterly re-balance is in, with movement quite moderate with only three changes to the S&P/ASX 200 Index. At the blue chip end of town, South32 has been removed from the S&P/ASX 20 Index.
jlne.ws/1dRP7fb
New E.T.F.s Appeal to Those With Bigger Appetites for Risk
By LANDON THOMAS Jr., NY Times
Imagine a fund that offers exposure to the strategies of the world’s sharpest hedge fund investors. Or one that tracks the steady dividends paid by companies like Apple, instead of their more volatile shares.
jlne.ws/1cBHXu4
Technology
In Places Where Banks Don’t Exist, the Mobile Phone Breaks New Ground
Bloomberg Business
Reaching the 78 million Filipinos who don’t yet use their mobiles for payments may yield about $2 billion in additional monthly transactions, according to Bloomberg estimates based on data from the central bank and telecom firms.
jlne.ws/1dRNSNc
Fraudsters Use Amazon’s Cloud to Create Fake Web Traffic
By JACK MARSHALL, WSJ
Amazon.com’s cloud computing service has become a popular conduit for fraudsters looking to create “bot” traffic and disseminate it over the Web, according to new research from advertising fraud detection firm Fraudlogix.
jlne.ws/1Fy0Hmz
Banks and fintech firms ‘can benefit each other’
AsiaOne Business News
FINANCIAL technology (fintech) start-ups may be a long way away from truly disrupting the highly regulated banking industry, but they have provoked bankers into thinking differently about client engagement and data analytics. UBS Wealth Management president Juerg Zeltner told The Straits Times that the “most natural outcome” is for banks to partner fintech firms.
jlne.ws/1dRPfLH
Deutsche Bank Set to Launch 3 ‘Innovation Labs’ to Accelerate Fin-Tech Startups
CoinTelegraph
German global banking and financial services company Deutsche Bank is set to launch three startup innovation labs in Silicon Valley, London and Berlin to accelerate fintech (financial technology services) companies, which could potentially help the bank’s clients in the financial sector.
jlne.ws/1dRPiY1
SunGard Files to Go Public After a Decade Owned by Private Equity
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED, NY Times
One of the last megadeals from the buyout boom is headed back to the public markets. SunGard, a financial software provider, filed on Thursday to go public, roughly a decade after being acquired by a consortium of investment firms in the early stages of a flush time for private equity.
jlne.ws/1MsugL1
Enforcement
U.S. oil price manipulation lawsuit settled for $16.5 mln
Reuters
Oil traders have reached a $16.5 million settlement of a U.S. class action lawsuit accusing Arcadia Petroleum Ltd, its Parnon Energy unit and two traders of illegally manipulating the price of crude oil in early 2008.
jlne.ws/1dRT7wg
Lloyds Banking Group fined £117m for failing to handle PPI complaints fairly
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its largest ever retail fine (£117m) to Lloyds Bank Plc, Bank of Scotland Plc and Black Horse Ltd (together Lloyds) for failing to treat their customers fairly when handling Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) complaints between March 2012 and May 2013.
jlne.ws/1dja4ir
ASIC bans New Zealand man from providing financial services
ASIC
ASIC has permanently banned Shaun Gregory Morgan from providing financial services as a result of a conviction for serious fraud.
jlne.ws/1GosThm
Environmental & Energy
US agency finds no widespread fracking impact on drinking water
Barney Jopson in Washington and Ed Crooks in New York, FT
The US environmental regulator has concluded there is no evidence that “fracking”, the technique used to produce shale oil and gas, has caused “widespread” pollution of the country’s drinking water.
jlne.ws/1FxYXcI
Fracking Study Undercuts Environmentalists’ Calls for Regulation
Bloomberg Business
It was always a longshot that the Obama administration or Congress would crack down on the golden goose of hydraulic fracturing. The chances shrunk further Thursday with the release of a landmark U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study that found the drilling method had no widespread impact on drinking water.
jlne.ws/1dRMWIL
Whatever OPEC Decides, Oil Supplies Are Rising From All Sides
Bloomberg Business
No matter what OPEC says Friday about its production target, the outcome is sure to be more oil. Iran, Iraq and Libya said this week they plan to add millions of barrels to the market this year. Saudi Arabia, the biggest member in the group, is already pumping the most in three decades.
jlne.ws/1dRNv5l
World Bank Carbon-Market Push Facing Poorer-Nation Suspicion
By Mathew Carr – Bloomberg News
The World Bank is working to overcome poorer nations’ suspicions about putting a price on carbon emissions as it seeks to expand greenhouse-gas trading internationally, according to the lender’s special climate-change envoy.
jlne.ws/1Kd6jIf
EU set to offer polluters another 10 years of free carbon credits – document
By Barbara Lewis and Nina Chestney – Reuters
The European Union may have to offer its heaviest polluting industries another ten years of free carbon credits to prevent them from leaving the region to do business elsewhere, EU regulators have suggested in a report seen by Reuters.
jlne.ws/1H5uG9R
Asia-Pacific
The World’s Wildest Investors Are Shaking Up Hong Kong’s Stocks
Bloomberg Business
The manic trading that makes China the world’s most volatile stock market is seeping across the border into Hong Kong. Swings in the 10 Hong Kong shares most traded by mainland investors over the city’s exchange link more than tripled in April, increasing at almost twice the rate as the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
jlne.ws/1dRNxtI
Taiwan eyes stock-trading link with Hong Kong
Asia Asset Management – The Journal of Investments & Pensions
Taiwan’s asset management industry sees an equity-trading link between the island and Hong Kong as a natural move following the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect last year. Hopes are high that strengthening the links between three could help them pitch more regional opportunities to Western investors.
jlne.ws/1dRRoap
Here’s the Real Bubble We Should Be Worrying About
TIME
While people in Silicon Valley have been arguing over whether we’re seeing another tech bubble – a debate that has been burning for the past ten years – they may have missed the real stock bubble driven by tech mania: China’s red-hot stock exchanges.
jlne.ws/1dRRq23
Shanghai share market climbs above 5,000 points
Financial Review
The Shanghai Composite Index broke through 5,000 points for the first time in seven years, a milestone that came just days before a much-anticipated decision on whether Chinese domestic shares will be included in a key global markets index.
jlne.ws/1dRS2EN
Overview of major banks’ financial results as of March 31, 2015
Japan FSA
jlne.ws/1KeDwTy
FCA hires Hong Kong regulator to head enforcement
By Philip Georgiadis , Financial News
The Financial Conduct Authority has looked to Hong Kong to spearhead its crackdown on wrongdoing in the financial sector, hiring the head of enforcement at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
jlne.ws/1KIPNxK
Frontier Markets
Guest Post: Does Private Equity Really Work in Emerging Markets? (Part 1)
Emerging Frontiers
Every now and then we stumble upon another blog that tackles an important issue, and is written more effectively than we could hope to do ourselves. This week we are happy to introduce you to Justin Harlow of Emergo Partners, a New York-based private equity firm focused on smaller opportunities in emerging economies, that does just that.
jlne.ws/1dRRMFK
Africa’s Competitiveness Lags Behind
allAfrica.com:
An excerpt from the World Economic Forum’s Africa Competitiveness Report 2015.
jlne.ws/1dRRRcq
British Money Managers Anticipate Major Iran Stock Market
Desert Sun
Although the U.S. Administration’s eagerly sought-after finalization of a nuclear pact with Iran by July 1 is no sure bet, London-based money managers, Charlemagne Capital and First Frontier Capital, are preparing a major entry into the Tehran stock market, in anticipation that such a definitive agreement will finally be constituted.
jlne.ws/1dRRT46
SunGard Chases Frontier Business with Fourth Africa Office
Traders Magazine Online News
SunGard is increasingly looking to Africa as the next frontier for its business. The financial software firm is opening its fourth office on the continent – in Nairobi, Kenya – deemed the financial capital for East Africa. The goal is to tap this frontier market’s need for its financial services and eventual move away from manual trading to a more automated model.
jlne.ws/1dRRXAO
READ MORE: John Lothian Newsletter: Banks prepare to sell down stakes in data provider Markit; Nasdaq NLX pays off founding members; Guy Who Did Avon Hoax Was Terrible at Hoaxes.