Select Page NYSE Trading Floor Reopens as Lockdowns Loosen Further; Market ‘distress’ over virus sparked emergency Wall St measures May 26, 2020
Hits & Takes By John Lothian & JLN Staff
On Friday, John Lothian News published a video about a new book from a first time author and longtime industry executive, Margaret Wiermanski.She has penned a murder mystery and financial crime thriller set in Chicago’s derivatives markets.It is fiction, but some of the characters will seem very familiar.I could not put the book down and finished it several weeks ago at 11 PM.I really enjoyed the way Wiermanski went into detail about each of the characters.
The book, “Silent Partners” is self published on Amazon and available for download for your Kindle or Kindle app.
The proceeds from the book go to the Greenwood Project, a not-for-profit that helps inner city youths find jobs in Chicago’s financial markets.I heartily recommend the book and can’t wait for the next two books Wiermanski has planned as part of a trilogy with this first strong effort.
Riva Gold, Editor at LinkedIn, has published an aggregation of stories about the reopening of the NYSE trading floor.~ JJL
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According to a couple of professors , when the NYSE floor opens again on Tuesday, the return to floor trading may be accompanied by a deterioration in the quality of the daily end of day auctions for NYSE-listed stocks.
Edwin Hu (NYU) and Dermot Murphy (U of I – Chicago) found that, once the floor traders’ information privileges were eliminated in the all-electronic trading environment that has existed since mid March, price and volume indications about the closing auction improved.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the NYSE disputes the findings.~ Thom Thompson
Nasdaq Chief Economist Phil Mackintosh’s latest blog post is entitled “NMS II: Shifting Stocks Toward a Dealer Model” and is about the SEC’s new NMS II proposals.The deadline for filing comments on these proposals is today.~ SR
NYSE’s floor opens again today , but with only a quarter of the usual population of traders, who must wear masks, avoid taking public transportation and follow social-distancing rules, Seeking Alpha reports.The exchange has also put up Plexiglas barriers, and traders must sign liability waivers.More about this and other reopenings in our Lead story below.~ SR
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JohnLothianNews.com
Margaret Wiermanski is a longtime derivatives industry back office executive turned author.Silent Partners is a murder and financial crime mystery, and the first of three books she intends to write.
The book is set in Chicago’s derivatives markets and involves former floor traders and brokers and their lives after trading floors closed.
While this is fiction, some of the characters will seem real to those who work in the Chicago markets.
It is a fun thriller and its sales support the Greenwood Project, a Chicago-based charity to introduce minority students to the financial industry.
Why failing to reopen Purdue University this fall would be an unacceptable breach of duty Mitch Daniels – President of Purdue University and a former governor of Indiana On Feb.1, watching the outbreak of a new virus in China, our university suspended travel to that country.On Feb.26, we extended that ban to visiting other countries reporting the infection.On March 10, we decided to close the Purdue University campus for the spring semester and move to remote instruction.
On March 17, we canceled our traditional commencement.
I am not worried too much about the college students getting and surviving the virus, but I am concerned about the older faculty members.~ JJL
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Scared Americans Desperate to Travel Are Buying Up ‘Covid Campers’; Recreational vehicle dealers report a tide of customers desperate to get away, but wary of cities, crowds and the coronavirus.Jeff Green – Bloomberg Floor traffic at Mike Regan’s two RV dealerships outside Austin, Texas, is up 30% compared with last May.And the reason is fear.
Cooped-up Americans desperate to get out after months of lockdowns are dreaming of doing something—anything—that resembles a vacation.But a majority of them worry a second wave of the coronavirus is coming, and think politicians have pushed too fast to reopen.Unsurprisingly, when it comes to getting out of Dodge, the close-quarters of an airline cabin are a no-go.
My wife and I were looking at campers before this all happened.In fact, the last large event we went to was a show in February before all the virus news became a thing.~ JJL
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Friday’s Top Three Our top story Friday was Ronin expanded rapidly before flaming out, accounts show , from Risk.net.Second was It Plays Better with Reverb: Thoughts on a New Model of Data Sharing , Trading Technologies’ blog post about its new Echo Chamber alternate data feed.Third was Politico’s Plagued by stock trades, Loeffler vows she won’t drop out about Senator Kelly Loeffler’s battle to keep her seat amid questions about her stock portfolio.
++++ CryptoMarketsWiki , our archive of the cryptocurrency and blockchain world, is going strong and keeping pace as this area of finance grows and evolves.Recently Updated Pages
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NYSE Trading Floor Reopens as Lockdowns Loosen Further; Floor trading set to resume Tuesday; crowds hit beaches in Florida and Italy; and the NBA looks to a July restart in Florida John Lyons and Sune Rasmussen – WSJ The New York Stock Exchange is set to resume floor trading Tuesday as reopenings accelerate in the U.S.and around the world.
Declining coronavirus cases and slowing death rates are fueling hopes that the worst of the pandemic is over—despite concerns about possible new waves of infection.
Market ‘distress’ over virus sparked emergency Wall St measures; Banks needed two weekend meetings to clear backlogs of failed trades Laura Noonan in New York and Philip Stafford – FT More than 270 of Wall Street’s key trading staff were summoned for emergency weekend duty to clear a massive backlog of failed trades in March and April, highlighting the stress that built up in the financial system when the coronavirus crisis tore into markets.
The Fed’s Rescue of Risk-Takers Creates Dangers for the Future; What can the central bank do to stop executives from loading up their balance sheets with debt again? Brian Chappatta – Bloomberg When the coronavirus pandemic reached America’s shores, bond traders knew exactly what to sell first.mIn the span of four and a half weeks, from Feb.19 to March 23, the gap between rates on U.S.Treasuries and corporate bonds rated double-B, or just below investment-grade, spiked to 8.65 percentage points from 1.9 percentage points—a sign investors were demanding higher premiums to take the extra risk.That kind of punitive interest rate, unseen in more than a decade, froze the market for new debt for all but the bravest borrowers at a critical time.
Europe Is Opening for Business But Isn’t on Sale; The region’s companies are becoming more attractive takeover targets, but sealing the deal is getting more difficult Rochelle Toplensky – WSJ Don’t be fooled by the knockdown prices; corporate Europe isn’t on sale.European companies are cheap relative to U.S.rivals, which have strong dollars and higher-valued shares to spend.But new hurdles are also forming that will make it harder for outsiders to pursue acquisitions in the region.
Big Short in U.S.Stocks Needs Watching, Says One Market Veteran Adam Haigh – Bloomberg A large bearish position in U.S.
equities that’s been amassed by trend-following funds may prove vital to the next move for stocks, according to a strategist who’s been analyzing markets since the early 1990s.The S&P 500 Index is now trading within 50 points of its 200-day moving average, a metric that’s proved important when breached in the past for changes in positioning by commodity-trading advisers, known as CTAs, according to an analysis from James McCormick at NatWest Markets Plc.
CFTC Issues COVID-19 Customer Advisory on Commodity ETPs and Funds CFTC The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued a Customer Advisory informing the public about the unique risks associated with certain trading vehicles that use futures contracts or other commodity interests as they make investment decisions during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
This is the third Customer Advisory the CFTC has issued in response to the pandemic and is a joint product of the Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) and the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO).
U.S.Moves to Audit Chinese Firms.Market Frets Over What Comes Next; Investors worry proposed legislation will further inflame tensions between Beijing and Washington Dave Michaels and Akane Otani – WSJ For more than a decade, Chinese companies raised billions by listing their shares on American stock exchanges while avoiding the accounting-quality checks that other public firms endure.
Market ‘distress’ over virus sparked emergency Wall St measures; Banks needed two weekend meetings to clear backlogs of failed trades Laura Noonan in New York and Philip Stafford – Ft More than 270 of Wall Street’s key trading staff were summoned for emergency weekend duty to clear a massive backlog of failed trades in March and April, highlighting the stress that built up in the financial system when the coronavirus crisis tore into markets.
US shale industry braces for wave of bankruptcies; Seventeen producers have filed for Chapter 11 so far this year but many more are close Myles McCormick – FT The biggest independent shale oil groups in the US reported a record combined loss of $26bn in the first quarter as the sector braces itself for a wave of bankruptcies over the next two years.
The Bond Market Thinks It Knows What’s Coming Next From the Fed Liz McCormick and Craig Torres – Bloomberg Yield-curve control seen as tool to adopt in next crisis phase; Fed would peg Treasury rates, likely on maturity of 2-3 years The Federal Reserve has already unleashed a barrage of new policies to keep the economy out of depression.Investors reckon it’s lining up another one.The Fed’s version of the strategy known as yield-curve control is expected to involve capping yields on government bonds of a chosen maturity –– by buying however much it takes.For central banks that already cut short-term interest rates to zero, it’s a way to signal that they’ll stay low for an extended period, while helping pin down longer-term borrowing costs too.
Only a Few Hedge Funds Made Money in March and April.
Here’s How David Ramli, Bei Hu and Nishant Kumar – Bloomberg Vigilance, diversity helped in two wildly different months; Focus on industry leaders in China also paid dividends Father-of-six Nicolas Bryon didn’t get much sleep in March but it wasn’t family duties keeping him up.
As global markets crashed, the Sydney-based hedge-fund manager rose every hour to check on his positions and execute trades.
When the C.E.O., Already Facing a Crisis, Gets the Coronavirus; Business cratered at Booking Holdings, the online travel giant.Then its chief executive found out he was sick, too.Erin Griffith – NY Times Glenn Fogel was in crisis mode.It was late February, and the coronavirus was spreading.Mr.Fogel, the chief executive of Booking Holdings, the online travel giant that owns brands like Priceline.com, OpenTable and Kayak, was spending nearly every waking moment at his computer as a tsunami of travel cancellations poured in.He quickly paused marketing, halted stock buybacks, froze hiring and raised $4 billion in debt.
BlackRock Is About to Find Skeletons in $45 Billion Bond Market Love Liman, Anton Wilen, and Leo Laikola – Bloomberg As BlackRock starts to kick the tires of Sweden’s credit market at the behest of the Riksbank, a world of trouble is about to reveal itself.
“This market seems completely dead,” said Hakan Karlsson, chief executive of MaxFastigheter i Sverige AB, a property firm with an unrated bond maturing in September.“If we want to retain the possibility of raising money through bonds, some kind of support is needed for it to function.”
U.S.Labor Department to End Economic-Data Lockups Permanently Scott Lanman – Bloomberg Government had suspended briefings because of virus pandemic; Releases without lockups have gone smoothly, department says The U.S.Labor Department said Tuesday it will permanently end the practice of giving news media early looks at market-moving economic data, after suspending the pre-briefings during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Is Getting Crushed in the Recovery Trade Sarah Ponczek – Bloomberg Gap between the Dow and Nasdaq is over 20 percentage points; Famous index excludes stay-at-home winners, elevates losers This week marks a milestone for the Dow Jones Industrial Average: its 124th birthday.
Not that anyone watching markets needs a reminder it’s getting old.Wrinkles show in the gaping divide between the venerable gauge and its younger brethren.Like many grandparents, it’s struggling to keep up with tech.Plunges in Boeing Co.— its biggest member at the start of February —were very costly, and some wonder if the benchmark represents the 21st century economy at all, especially in the coronavirus age.
California Will Get So Hot That Mountain Streams Could Kill Brian K Sullivan – Bloomberg Year’s first heat wave will sear much of California by Tuesday; Temperatures will push to 100 degrees or higher in region It’s going to get so hot in California that people swimming in mountain streams could freeze to death.
Much of California, parts of Nevada and Arizona, will be getting their first extreme heat of the year and by Tuesday temperatures will reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in many places and stay there through Thursday.Car interiors will become death traps for children and pets left alone, outside work will be difficult, and the elderly will be at risk, the National Weather Service said.
Banks, Defense Firms Rush to Nab Newly Unemployed Workers; Some employers are hiring people laid off elsewhere or taking advantage of the stability of being an essential industry Doug Cameron – WSJ Pockets of hiring have emerged beyond online retailing and grocery delivery, even amid the coronavirus-induced surge in job cuts, as employers adapt to new working practices and changing consumer behavior.
China’s ‘Bat Woman’ Warns Coronavirus Is Just Tip of the Iceberg Bloomberg News Shi Zhengli, a virologist renowned for her work on coronavirus in bats, said in an interview on Chinese state television that viruses being discovered now are “just the tip of the iceberg” and called for international cooperation in the fight against epidemics.Known as China’s “bat woman,” the deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology said research into viruses needs scientists and governments to be transparent and cooperative, and that it is “very regrettable” when science is politicized.
As Covid-19 Cases Wane, A New York Hospital Prepares For A Second Wave; ‘To some extent, we’ve accepted that there will always be Covid patients,’ Lenox Hill Hospital doctor says Melanie Grayce West | Photographs by Sarah Blesener – The Wall Street Journal Nazish Ilyas is just now starting to process the last two months of the new coronavirus pandemic.The 35-year-old doctor staffed the hospital’s first unit of Covid-19 patients and oversaw the care of hundreds of other patients with the illness at Lenox Hill, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.She held the hands of dying patients, carrying out prayers for family members.She treated older married couples and people her age who required ventilators.She got sick with the virus, too.
Lumber Prices Rebound From Coronavirus Decline; Futures are soaring on signs that the home-building season might be salvaged Will Horner and Ryan Dezember – WSJ Lumber futures have soared since the start of April, driven by cutbacks at mills, signs that the home-building season might be salvaged and brisk business at home-improvement stores.
Will lockdown permanently change the way we shop? Clicking a few buttons and seeing items appear on your doorstep quickly becomes a hard habit to break Elaine Moore – FT The pandemic-driven rise in online shopping feels like the sort of trend that is going to outlast this crisis.
It is not a coincidence that Facebook, Shopify and the founder of Stitch Fix have all launched new shopping platforms over the past few weeks.
Some Americans fear their jobs will be lost forever; Concerns grow that labour market recovery will mean fewer positions with lower wages James Politi and Demetri Sevastopulo Joe Rennison and Patti Waldmeir – FT When the pandemic hit San Francisco in March, Berta Lopez, 47, was earning $1,000 a week doing a mix of cleaning and child care from 8am to 6pm for a couple employed in the tech sector.
Corporate events get creative to beat lockdown doldrums; Planners move beyond video conferences to entertain clients without meeting in person Kiran Stacey and Siobhan Riding – FT Every week, the investment manager Neuberger Berman hosts a networking event where more than 100 people climb on to their bicycles and race each other through a range of picturesque locations.
Can New York avoid a coronavirus exodus? As it prepares to reopen, the city will have to reinvent itself to keep talented people Joshua Chaffin – FT Just over a year ago, before the modern plague descended, Manhattan’s Hudson Yards threw a launch party that was Versailles-like in its overabundance of champagne, oysters, top chefs, beautiful people and other trappings of a great city.
Global Leaders Call on UN, Governments to Thwart Health-Care Hackers Alyza Sebenius – Bloomberg Diplomats, tech leaders cite peril of attacks during Covid-19; Cyberattacks have been aimed at hospitals, medical researchers Dozens of global leaders — ranging from former heads of state to private sector executives and Nobel laureates — signed onto a a letter calling on international governments and the United Nations to help prevent the cyberattacks that have plagued health care and research facilities during the coronavirus crisis.
German New Coronavirus Cases Decline as Infection Rate Drops Andrew Blackman – Bloomberg Germany recorded a decline in the number of new coronavirus cases and the infection rate dropped further below the key threshold of 1.0.
Project leader: Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine trial has 50% chance of success – Telegraph Reuters The University of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine trial has only a 50% chance of success as the coronavirus seems to be fading rapidly in Britain, the professor co-leading the development of the vaccine told the Telegraph newspaper
Covid-19 Patients Not Infectious After 11 Days: Singapore Study Yoolim Lee – Bloomberg Latest findings may have implications on discharge policy; Pre-school staff are among the city-state’s new virus cases Covid-19 patients are no longer infectious after 11 days of getting sick even though some may still test positive, according to a new study by infectious disease experts in Singapore.
Virus Vaccine Maker’s Bubble Bursts After Stock Crashes Bloomberg News CanSino falls as much as 28% despite upbeat report on product; Market value has fallen $1.9 billion in days after huge gain No amount of good news could stop CanSino Biologics Inc.shares from falling on Monday.The Chinese vaccine maker tumbled as much as 28% to HK$160 in Hong Kong as a vertiginous rally gave way.The stock had rallied more than 300% this year until Thursday, when cracks first appeared as CanSino slumped 13%.Analysts cited profit-taking as the most likely cause for the drop.
The Pandemic Is Exposing the Limits of Science; The financial crisis tarnished the field of economics.
Will the coronavirus do the same for medicine? Ferdinando Giugliano – Bloomberg The 2008 financial crisis led the public to discover the limits of economics.The Covid-19 pandemic risks having the same effect on scientists and medical doctors.
Coronavirus Seen Doubling Need for Food Aid in East Africa Eric Ombok – Bloomberg Up to 43 million people face acute shortages, according to WFP; Massive locust plague, extensive flooding compound situation The number of acutely food insecure people in East Africa and the Horn of Africa is likely to increase to between 34 million and 43 million from May through July due to the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the World Food Programme.
NYSE to reopen trading floor closed by coronavirus John McCrank – Reuters The New York Stock Exchange will partially reopen the trading floors at its iconic 11 Wall Street building on Tuesday for the first time since March 20 when the bourse was forced to go all-electronic due to the coronavirus pandemic.
JPX response to spread of novel coronavirus JPX In regard to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Japan Exchange Group (JPX) understands the need to fulfil its duty as public infrastructure by ensuring continued smooth operation of the market.For this reason, JPX has responded by establishing a BCP (Business Continuity Plan) Emergency Headquarters headed by Group CEO Kiyota Akira and implementing the following measures.
English translation of Practical Handbook for ESG Disclosure JPX On March 31, 2020, JPX and TSE released the Practical Handbook for ESG Disclosure, a reference guide for listed companies who are choosing to begin or improve their ESG-related information disclosure.This Handbook has now been translated into English for the benefit of overseas investors and other interested parties.The full Handbook and a summary are available to download from the link below.
SGX and ESS launch essay competition on capital markets of the future SGX Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Economic Society of Singapore (ESS) have partnered to launch the SGX-ESS Essay Competition that encourages participants to analyse and debate on how the networks and mechanisms of price formation are likely to evolve in the future.Markets are collections of individual sellers and buyers determining the prices of goods and services to enable transactions.This price formation and discovery is a key function of any benchmark market and has typically been centralised for millennia.
EXASOL AG new in the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange; First IPO of the year / First price: 14.00 euros Deutsche Börse Group EXASOL AG (ISIN: DE000A0LR9G9) is listed in the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange today .
At the start of trading, the shares of the technology company from Nuremberg were listed at EUR 14.00, the issue price was EUR 9.50.
Webinar: Risk Management in times of COVID-19; Start:27 May 2020 04:00 PM Eurex Margins, collateral, liquidity – It’s anything but marginal Market turmoil reminds everyone that margin optimization, margin methodologies, counterparty risk, and funding are essential elements in the total risk/reward profile of a portfolio.
Withdrawal of admission of Single Stock Futures and Single Stock Dividend Futures due to corporate actions Eurex Due to corporate actions, the Management Board of Eurex Deutschland took the following decisions with effect from 1 June 2020:
BME: The Medcap Forum To Gather Over 200 Investors For Its 16th.Edition, Starting Tomorrow Mondovisione To be held virtually due to the Covid-19 crisis; Javier Hernani, CEO of BME, Fernando Ruiz, Chairman of Deloitte, and Antonio Garamendi, Chairman of CEOE, will open the event; José Carlos García de Quevedo, Chairman of ICO, and Juan Carlos Ureta, Chairman of Renta 4, to participate in Wednesday’s session; 52% of the investors that will be attending the conference come from outside Spain; Over the three-day event more than 1,200 one-on-one meetings will be held Tomorrow marks the start of the 16th edition of the Medcap Forum, which will be held from 26th to 28th May, this year in virtual format due to the Covid-19 crisis.This event has consolidated itself as the must-attend event for small and medium-sized companies, since it will become a meeting point for over 100 companies and 200 investors through more than 1,200 one-one-one meetings over three days.
Transition to EURSTR Price Alignment and Discounting for Euro OTC IRS – Effective July 24, 2020 From CME Clearing In order to support the market transition from EONIA to EURSTR, and consistent with the wider industry initiative to switch to EURSTR discounting in line with the recommendations of the ECB Working Group, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.(“CME” or “CME Clearing”), pending CFTC approval, proposes to update the PA/discounting protocol for CME cleared EUR interest rate swap products from EONIA to EURSTR (the “Transition”).
In accordance with the recommendation of the ECB Working Group and with broader industry initiatives, the Transition will follow a “single day” approach and will take effect on July 24, 2020 (the “Transition Date”), from which date all existing and new positions in such products will be subject to EURSTR PA/discounting.
Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Energy, Equity, Metals & Interest Rates Margins – Effective May 26, 2020 From CME Clearing As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., Clearing House Risk Management staff approved the performance bond requirements for the following products listed in the advisory at the link below.
Gross Customer Net Option Value Aggregation Implementation – Effective June 01, 202 From CME Clearing Starting on Monday, June 01, 2020, CME Clearing will begin phasing out of Net Option Value (NOV) net end customer aggregation and move to gross aggregation at the end client level for all clearing members with client accounts.
Valuation Model Change for Four Natural Gas Option Products – Effective May 26, 2020 From CME Clearing CME Clearing is switching the pricing model used for valuation of four options products on NYMEX European Natural Gas Futures to the Bachelier model, effective with trade date Tuesday, May 26, 2020.(Note that Monday, May 25, is Memorial Day, an exchange holiday, and hence trades executed on CME Globex beginning on the evening of Sunday May 24 will be for trade date Tuesday May 26.)
Nasdaq CSD Iceland Merges With Nasdaq CSD SE – Nasdaq Consolidates Its Central Securities Depository Business In Europe Mondovisione Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the merger of Nasdaq CSD Iceland with Nasdaq CSD SE (Nasdaq CSD).The combined company, Nasdaq CSD SE, will operate in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Iceland.Subsequently to the merger, the Icelandic branch will be positioned to leverage the full potential of Nasdaq CSD’s securities settlement platform and links to create new opportunities for domestic and international clients.Migration of the securities settlement platform in Icelandic markets is scheduled to be fully implemented on 15 June.
DTCC: Future of Settlement Revamp Depends on Industry Appetite; Client feedback and priorities will drive the next phase of the market structure firm’s project to modernize settlement.Josephine Gallagher – Waters Technology Despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) hopes to engage with some of clients, market participants, and regulators to determine whether a new settlement service would be valuable to the financial industry, and whether to move forward with developing it.
The Future Of Fintech: The New Normal After The Covid-19 Crisis Ron Shevlin – Forbes The “new normal” in banking and fintech is best understood by starting with a look back at what the “old normal” was.The Old Normal: Fintech Fetishism.The Oxford dictionary defines fetishism as “worship of an inanimate object for its supposed magical powers.” That’s a good term for how many people have thought—and still think—of fintech.
UBS to launch fintech venture fund Finextra UBS is building a fintech venture fund to invest hundreds of million of dollars in startups and later-stage firms capable of deepening client engagement, providing alternative financing platforms and improving the underlying operations of the bank.
India tops China in fintech funding in first quarter as pandemic, US trade war prolong ‘capital winter’ Yujie Xue – South China Morning Post India has overtaken China as Asia’s top destination for venture capital investment in fintech although the lead may not last, according to analysts.
The change at the top comes amid a diminished investment appetite in fintech start-ups due to the economic crisis brought about by Covid-19, with China being particularly hard hit as it was the first market to be affected by the pandemic.
Fintech Companies: How Financial Advisors Can Win The Data Race Morey Stettner – Investor’s Business Daily Since 2016, new fintech companies that support financial advisors have vied for recognition in an annual contest.Each year, fledgling software companies showcase their technology and how it helps advisors succeed.The XY Planning Network, a national membership association that provides resources for fee-only advisors, organizes the competition.
In 2019, nearly 30 companies too part.Their products ranged from a client survey tool to a digital custodial service.
JPMorgan Says Central Bank Digital FX a Danger to U.S.Power Joanna Ossinger – Bloomberg The primary issue is U.S.dollar hegemony, report says; m Firm sees trade settlement, SWIFT messaging system as key As the idea of central bank digital currencies starts to gain traction, the U.S.
in particular needs to pay attention or risk losing a major aspect of its geopolitical power, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.“There is no country with more to lose from the disruptive potential of digital currency than the United States,” analysts including Josh Younger, head of U.S.interest-rate derivatives strategy and Michael Feroli, chief U.S.economist, wrote in a report.
“This revolves primarily around U.S.dollar hegemony.Issuing the global reserve currency and the medium of exchange for international trade in commodities, goods, and services conveys immense advantages.”
Tether stablecoin settled $212 billion worth of value in 2019 Yogita Khatri – The Block Around $212 billion worth of money was transferred or settled via Tether (USDT) stablecoin in 2019, according to research conducted by The Block’s John Dantoni.
Dantoni examined the aggregate value of transactions conducted in Tether in the last year and found that the most substantial quarterly increase was from Q1 2019 to Q2 2019, when Tether’s settlement value increased 220%, from $17.4 billion to $55.7 billion.
Thailand Turns to Blockchain to Boost Renewable Energy Push Sebastian Sinclair – Coindesk Thailand is teaming up with a blockchain firm to encourage peer-to-peer trading of renewable energy.Announced on Monday, Thai Digital Energy Development (TDED) – a public-private joint venture – has inked a deal with blockchain energy startup Power Ledger to develop a blockchain-based digital energy business.The deal, also in collaboration with energy suppliers in Thailand, seeks to develop solutions for peer-to-peer energy trading and environmental commodity trading, Australia-based Power Ledger said in a press release.
Binance CEO Says Steem Too Centralized but Exchange Must Support Controversial Hard Fork Daniel Palmer – Coindesk Binance is forced to “technically” support last week’s hard fork of the Steem blockchain, according to the crypto exchange’s CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.In a statement on the company’s official blog Sunday, CZ said that, while the exchange is “very much against zeroing other people’s assets on the blockchain,” to not support it would mean that Binance users would not be able to withdraw their steem tokens.
Lies, damn lies and perjury: new motion against Craig Wright asks for case-terminating sanctions Stephen Palley – The Block It’s hard to keep up with all of the ins and outs of the Kleiman v.
Wright lawsuit in Florida, a good deal of which has revolved around whether or not Craig Wright is a liar instead of the substantive merits of the case.There’s also a strong likelihood that the case will end up resolving based on the Court’s assessment of Wright’s conduct, as opposed to who is right or wrong.
China’s Crypto Is All About Tracing — and Power; Beijing will come out of the coronavirus crisis with a big first-mover advantage in official digital currency.Andy Mukherjee – Bloomberg The coronavirus has disrupted the world in very large ways.
While that battle has been waged, however, another event has almost been missed: the birth of a new kind of fiat currency, which could forever reshape the relationship between money, economic power and geopolitical clout.
China’s central bank governor says there is no timetable for digital currency launch Yogita Khatri – The Block People’s Bank of China (PBOC) governor Yi Gang has said that the central bank doesn’t yet have a timetable for the official launch of digital yuan.
BitMEX may be faulty, but traders still prefer it Aakash Athawasya – AMB Crypto BitMEX is the kid in high school who keeps mucking about and bunking classes, but still ends up with good grades.The Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, known for its highly leveraged Bitcoin derivatives platform, in the past two months has had a number of trading halts, yet by the looks of things, it still is the most liquid exchange in the market.
Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital invest $2.5 million in Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX Yogita Khatri – The Block Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has raised more funds, just two months after its Series A round.The new $2.5 million investment is led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures.CoinDCX said this is Coinbase Ventures’“first investment in an Indian blockchain company,” but the venture firm is already an investor in Mumbai-based Matic Network.
Zcash’s First Halving May Solve Its Inflation Problem Omkar Godbole – Coindesk Mining reward halvings are a hot topic in the crypto markets, as they alter a cryptocurrency’s supply and often have a significant impact on prices.Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market value, underwent its third halving on May 11, which reduced the reward per block mined to 6.25 bitcoin from 12.5.
Bitcoin offshoots bitcoin cash and bitcoin SV also witnessed halvings in April.
Telegram Quits Court Fight With SEC Over TON Blockchain Project Anna Baydakova – Coindesk Telegram has thrown in the towel in its court battle against the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will no longer be fighting the ban on its blockchain token project.In a filing on Friday (see bottom), the messaging app provider said it was withdrawing its appeal over a previous court decision that backed the SEC in prohibiting the issuance of “gram” tokens to investors both in and out of the U.S.
A member of China’s parliament suggests setting up national blockchain development fund Yogita Khatri – The Block Tan Jieqing, a member of China’s parliament, or National People’s Congress, has recommended setting up a national, government-backed blockchain development fund.Jieqing believes that blockchain technology has huge economic potential and can generate employment opportunities, Beijing News reported on Saturday.The current number and scale of blockchain firms in China are small and that needs to be strengthened, according to Jieqing.
Binance Adds ETH and XRP Options Contracts Arnab Shome – Finance Magnates Crypto exchange giant Binance announced on Monday the addition of Ethereum and XRP options trading facility.This addition came only a month after the exchange jumped into options trading with Bitcoin contracts.The platform now supports options trading with three digital currencies./bit.ly/3gkBZ34 Politics
Trump Threatens to Pull Republican Convention From North Carolina; President calls on governor to guarantee event can be held at full capacity, without coronavirus-related restrictions Andrew Restuccia – WSJ President Trump threatened to move the Republican National Convention out of North Carolina if the state’s governor can’t guarantee that the event will take place at full capacity.
In a series of Monday tweets, Mr.Trump called on North Carolina Gov.Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to reassure Republican officials that the event can continue without coronavirus-related restrictions on the number of attendees.
Beijing seeks to reassure business over Hong Kong security law; But investors fret about threat to city’s autonomy from law that has sparked new pro-democracy protests Hudson Lockett, Daniel Shane and Sue-Lin Wong – FT China has sought to reassure international investors that a proposed national security law that critics say gravely threatens Hong Kong’s autonomy would instead improve the business environment in the Asian financial hub.
The G7 must stand up for Hong Kong’s freedom; Britain should lead the way as the territory protests over the national security law Chris Patten – FT China’s assault on Hong Kong’s freedom and its outrageous breach of its treaty obligations to this great city are matters of global concern.More than 200 politicians and senior policymakers from 23 countries from every side of politics have already signed a statement denouncing Beijing’s action.
The UK must ensure that China’s efforts to impose a new national security law on the territory are on the agenda for the G7 meeting next month.
Li Ka-Shing’s Son Hopes Security Law Will Help Revive Hong Kong Shirley Zhao – Bloomberg City clouded by political turmoil, uncertainties: Victor Li; China has proposed a sweeping security law to crush protests Victor Li, the elder son of legendary Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, is hoping that a security law proposed by Beijing would help the semi-autonomous Chinese city bounce back from months of social unrest.“Hong Kong is now in an atmosphere of political turmoil and business uncertainties,” the 55-year-old, who seldom comments on politics, said in an email sent Tuesday through representatives of his property flagship CK Asset Holdings Ltd.“I hope the related draft can stabilize Hong Kong and help its society and economy return to normal.”
Trump’s Firing of Watchdogs Must Be Checked; Congress should investigate the removal of inspectors general, and that means Republicans as well as Democrats.Michael R.Bloomberg – Bloomberg When Donald Trump’s supporters in 2016 imagined him bringing his television catchphrase — “You’re fired!” — to Washington, they probably didn’t think he meant ethics officers and government watchdogs charged with rooting out illegal activity.The president’s removal of such officials has become so brazen that even a few of his allies in Congress are expressing concern.
How Democrats Became the Party of the Upper Middle Class; Democrats may find it impossible to reclaim their historical identity.
Ramesh Ponnuru – Bloomberg When House Democrats introduced what they call the Heroes Act this month, they described it as “a bold and comprehensive coronavirus response bill that will meet the challenge this pandemic poses to our nation.” Among its provisions: restoring the full deductibility of state and local taxes, which the Republican tax legislation of 2017 had limited.
Why Delisting Chinese Firms Has Gained Traction in Washington Naoreen Chowdhury, Sarah Babbage, Benjamin Bain, and Michael Smallberg – Bloomberg The widening economic tussle between the U.S.and China now involves audits of public companies.
A bill that easily passed in the U.S.Senate, and is now under consideration in the House, could force major Chinese companies to stop trading their shares on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.The bill advanced with speed and unanimity not normally seen in Washington, underscoring the depth of conviction in both parties about confronting China.
China Strongly Condemns U.S.Blacklisting Dozens of Its Firms Bloomberg News China condemned the U.S.
adding 33 Chinese entities to a trade blacklist, a move that risks potential retaliation from Beijing as tensions between the world’s two-biggest economies deteriorate further.
Feeding America Should Become a Federal Priority; The Sept.11 attacks inspired a department of homeland security.Should Covid-19 do the same for food security? Amanda Little – Bloomberg It was mid-April when Rosa DeLauro, a Democratic Representative from Connecticut, realized that the U.S.had entered the early stages of a food crisis.
Thousands of minimum-wage food workers were contracting Covid-19.Major meat-processing plants were shutting down.Livestock producers were euthanizing their animals by the tens of thousands.Vegetable growers were plowing unsold produce back into the soil.
Millions of jobless, hungry Americans were signing up for food relief..
