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☆ Tel Aviv bourse says no unusual trading ahead of Oct 7 Hamas attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange said on Tuesday that a report by U.S. researchers suggesting there were investors in Israel who may have profited from prior knowledge of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack was inaccurate and its publication irresponsible. "There was nothing unusual in short positions in the stock exchange in the two months before the attack." "The ISA's examinations found, inter-alia, that the average short balances for shares traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange declined during the period preceding October 7th," the regulator said in a statement. Their report said "short interest in the MSCI Israel Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) suddenly, and significantly, spiked" on Oct. 2, based on data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He also said the short position in Leumi was taken by an unidentified Israeli bank known to the TASE.

Persons: Robert Jackson Jr, Joshua Mitts, Yaniv Pagot, Pagot, Mitts, Steven Scheer, Mark Potter, Leslie Adler Organizations: Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, U.S, New York University, Columbia University, Hamas, Reuters, Israel Securities Authority, Tel, Aviv Stock Exchange, ISA, Leumi, MSCI Israel, Fund, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Thomson Locations: Israel, Leumi, Israel's, agorot, MSCI

☆ Israeli regulators are looking into unusual trading prior to October 7 attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Regulators in Israel are aware of and reviewing research that suggests some unknown traders may have had advance knowledge of the October 7th Hamas attacks. “This subject is known and is being thoroughly checked,” Sivan Carmon, a spokesperson for the Israel Securities Authority, told CNN in a statement on Tuesday. The ISA, the Israeli equivalent of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is charged with fighting securities fraud, insider trading and other market abuse. Experts urged regulators to investigate the matter, including by looking at nonpublic market data that researchers did not have access to. “Of course, that’s quite different from trading based on inside knowledge of terrorist attacks,” Whitehead said.

Persons: ” Sivan Carmon, hasn’t, Yaniv Pagot, ” Pagot, ” Charles Whitehead, Whitehead, ” Whitehead, ” – CNN’s Gayle Harrington Organizations: CNN, Regulators, Israel Securities Authority, Columbia University, New York University, ISA, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Industry Regulatory Authority, Israel, Fund, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Bank Leumi, Cornell Law School Locations: Israel, Gaza, San Francisco

☆ Walmart and Target borrowing ideas from each other shows we're in a new economic landscape
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In today's big story, we're looking at the rising similarities between Target and Walmart. Dominick Reuter/Business InsiderIf imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Walmart and Target are embarking on some serious tributes to each other. AdvertisementTwo of the country's largest retailers are taking pages from each other's playbooks as they adjust to a changing economic landscape. And Walmart founder Sam Walton openly admitted he stole borrowed plenty of ideas from Sol Price, the originator of the wholesale club model. That's led Walmart to see an increase in higher-income clientele, a trend they're leaning into.

Persons: —, Dominick Reuter, Insider's Dominick Reuter, Dominick, Christina Hennington, it's, Sam Walton, Sol Price, That's, Charlie Flanagan, Management's Bryan Kelly, Li Deng, Mike Schuster, Sam Altman Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Daniel Ek, Slaven Vlasic, Rebecca Zisser, Elon, Zers, Xochitl Gomez, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Mraz, Charity Lawson, Ariana Madix, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Target, Walmart, AQR, Investments, AQR Capital Management, Vatic Investments, Sigma, Investment, Barclays, ING, MSCI Israel, Tel, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Israel Securities Authority, Reuters, Broadcom, VMware, The New York Times, Inc, Adobe, ABC, Major, Baseball, MLB Network Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Nvidia is the stock of the year. Can it last?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York CNN —It would be an understatement to say that it’s been a good year for Nvidia. The California-based chipmaking giant has seen its shares soar about 220% this year, making it the top performing S&P 500 stock in 2023. What’s happening: Just before Thanksgiving, Nvidia crushed doubts that its star was fading by reporting gangbuster third quarter earnings. By Sosnick’s count, Nvidia executives mentioned AI at least 70 times on their most recent earnings call. Historically, Nvidia has had hard falls after missteps — between 2021 and 2022, shares of the stock fell by 66%.

Persons: Hannah de Wolf, Colette Kress, There’s, ”, Steve Sosnick, we’ve, Nvidia …, Dan Ives, Goldman Sachs, Piper Sandler, Harsh Kumar, Sarat Sethi, DCLA, Sethi, it’s, missteps, hasn’t, Matt Egan, Robert Jackson Jr, Joshua Mitts, “, Mitts, it’s “, ” Mitts, Jackson, Catherine Cortez Masto, Biden, Cortez Masto, “ I’m, Todd Young, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Bill Hagerty, Marsha Blackburn ,, Joe Manchin, Roger Marshall, Katie Britt Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nvidia, Revenue, Nvidia can’t, Washington Service, Interactive, CNBC, Columbia University, New York University, Israel, Fund, SEC, NYU, …, CNN, US, EU, Indiana Locations: New York, California, China, Wedbush, Israel, Gaza, Columbia, Nevada, American, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn , West Virginia, Joe Manchin , Kansas, Alaska

☆ Israel investigates possible trading knowledge ahead of Oct 7 Hamas attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows vehicles on fire as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJERUSALEM, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Israeli authorities are investigating claims by U.S. researchers that some investors may have known in advance of a Hamas plan to attack Israel on Oct. 7 and used that information to profit from Israeli securities. "And just before the attack, short selling of Israeli securities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) increased dramatically," they wrote in their 66-page report. In response, the TASE referred Reuters to the Israel Securities Authority, which said: "The matter is known to the authority and is under investigation by all the relevant parties." The professors referred to patterns in early April when it was reported that Hamas was initially planning its attack on Israel.

Persons: Ilan Rosenberg, Robert Jackson Jr, Joshua Mitts, Steven Scheer, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Research, New York University, Columbia University, MSCI Israel, Fund, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Reuters, Israel Securities Authority, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Ashkelon, Israel, MSCI, Israel's

☆ Unknown traders appear to have anticipated October 7 Hamas attack, research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Short selling is a way to bet against the value of a security. “Our findings suggest that traders informed about the coming attacks profited from these tragic events,” the authors wrote. The research found that on October 2, just five days before the Hamas attack, “nearly 100% of the off-exchange trading volume in the MSCI Israel ETF … consisted of short selling.”“Days before the attack, traders appeared to anticipate the events to come,” the professors wrote. In the days before the attack, bets against Israeli securities traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange “increased dramatically,” the paper said. “Taken together, our evidence is consistent with informed traders anticipating and profiting from the Hamas attack,” the authors wrote.

Persons: hasn’t, Jonathan Macey, ”, Robert Jackson Jr, Joshua Mitts, “, Mitts, it’s “, ” Mitts, Jackson, Bill Bagley, Charles Whitehead, Whitehead, – Organizations: New, New York CNN, Columbia University, New York University, Israel, Fund, Yale Law School, CNN, “ Regulators, SEC, NYU, …, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Israeli Securities Authority, Reuters, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Bank, Cornell Law School Locations: New York, Israel, Gaza, Columbia, Bank Leumi

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from U.S. equity funds tracking Saudi Arabia in October as the Middle East's worst violence in decades shook the region's business-friendly narrative. The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF saw record net outflows in October of more than $200 million, LSEG data shows, cutting 20% from what it held at the beginning of the month. "Capital flight can be quite indiscriminate," said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal analyst for the Middle East and North Africa with Verisk Maplecroft. The iShares MSCI Qatar ETF (QAT.O) lost $7.7 million in funds in October, while the iShares MSCI UAE ETF (UAE.O) suffered outflows of $2.75 million. Nearly all the region's main economies are strong enough to weather some turmoil, investors say.

Persons: Torbjorn Soltvedt, Verisk, Natalia Gurushina, Israel, Gurushina, Bonds, Sergey Dergachev, Maplecroft, Dergachev, Libby George, Alexander Smith Organizations: Saudi Arabia ETF, . Exchange, Exchange, ARK Israel Innovative Technology, BlueStar, BlueStar Israel Technology, Hamas, Union Investment, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Israel, East, North Africa, BlueStar Israel, outflows, Saudi, London, Bengaluru

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Israeli stocks accelerated in the last two weeks, tracking a sharp slide in share prices as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas widens to other fronts. The iShares MSCI Israel ETF posted net outflows of $2.5 million between Oct. 9 and Oct. 20, leaving it with assets of $111.62 million, according to Lipper data. "The market doesn't like uncertainties," said Sammy Suzuki, head of emerging market equities at AllianceBernstein. Israel ETFs were underperforming most of their peers prior to Hamas' attack, said Steven Schoenfeld, CEO of Market Vector Indexes, who created the index behind the $78.4 million BlueStar Israel Technology . ETFs tracking Israeli technology stocks such as the BlueStar Israel Technology ETF and the $75.4 million ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF recorded net outflows of $1.9 million and $7.2 million, respectively, in the last two weeks.

Persons: Sammy Suzuki, Steven Schoenfeld, Israel's shekel, Bansari Mayur, Mark Potter Organizations: Health, Israel Technology, Israel Innovative Technology, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Bengaluru

☆ Premarket stocks: What the Israel-Hamas war means for US markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Growing unrest in the Middle East has cast a shadow on global financial markets. Israeli stocks listed in New York and Tel Aviv have sunk to recent lows, underscoring the growing economic uncertainties in the war-torn region and leaving investors unsure of where markets go from here. Funds in the US hold more than $43 billion in Israeli stocks and bonds, according to a Bloomberg tracker. Big names, big exposure: As the war continues, businesses with headquarters, factories and inventory in Israel appear increasingly at risk to geopolitical turmoil. “If the war remains confined between Israel and Palestinians, it’s likely that the markets will forget about it after a few days,” he wrote.

Persons: ”, Steven Schoenfeld, Jamie Dimon, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Raffi Boyadjian, Sam Stovall, Nathaniel Meyersohn, drugstores, David Silverman, Bill Ford, Vanessa Yurkevich, Ford, Jim Farley, Shawn Fain Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nasdaq, Funds, Bloomberg, Hamas, Bank of Israel, JPMorgan, Israel Innovative Technology, Mobileye, Tower Semiconductor, Teva Pharmaceutical, XM, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Fitch, Ford Motor Company, United Auto Workers, Big Three, UAW, Monday, Ford Locations: New York, Tel Aviv, New Jersey, Israel, United States, Canada, China, Ukraine, Kippur, Kuwait, Kansas City, drugstores, Rouge, Dearborn , Michigan

☆ Israel and Hamas at war: Latest News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza; Israel says it has identified 97 of them. [1/6]Israeli soldiers patrol following a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, in southern Israel, October 11, 2023. * The war falls under a complex international system of justice that has emerged since World War Two. * International airlines have suspended hundreds of flights to and from Tel Aviv following the attack by Hamas militants on Israel. * Israel has raised $200 million in diaspora bonds since the war with Hamas began, Israel Bonds said.

Persons: Israel, Antony Blinken, Kan, Mahmoud Abbas, Wafa, Donald Trump, Netanyahu, Tayyip Erdogan, Violeta Santos Moura, Wang Yi, Mohammed Deif, upends, Kazuo Ueda, Frida, Israel Bonds, Kristalina Georgieva, Georgieva, Stephen Farrell Organizations: United Nations, Food, Palestinian, El Al Airlines, Britain, Royal Navy, U.S, REUTERS, Bank of Japan, * Airlines, Carriers, Dutch KLM, Air France, U.S . State Department, Cyprus Airways, Hamas, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Washington, Israel, Egypt, Sinai, United States, Asia, Israeli, Palestinian, Sderot, Paris, Jerusalem, Saudi, Europe, Larnaca, Tel Aviv

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. But late in the afternoon, a senior Hamas official said the group is open to discussions over a possible truce with Israel. A recent surge in U.S. Treasury yields had pressured equities. Shares of the airlines, also hurt by rising oil prices, putting pressure on the S&P 500 Passenger Airlines index (.SPLRCALI). Exchange-traded funds exposed to Israel were selling off, with iShares MSCI Israel ETF falling along with the ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF .

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Joe Biden, John Augustine, Augustine, Big advancers, iShares, Sinéad Carew, Shashwat Chauhan, Ankika Biswas, Arun Koyyur, Shounak Dasgupta, Richard Chang Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Hamas, U.S, Federal, Huntington National Bank, Columbus, Peoples, Treasury, Fund, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Airlines, Defense, Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, Exchange, ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Columbus , Ohio, Tel Aviv, New York, Bengaluru

Energy (.SPNY) was the top S&P 500 sector gainer, jumping 3.6% and on track for its best single-day performance in six months. The airlines' shares were down around 5% each, dragging the S&P 500 Passenger Airlines index (.SPLRCALI) down 4.5% to its lowest in a year. The broader S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense index (.SPLRCAERO) jumped 4.9%. Exchange-traded funds exposed to Israel including iShares MSCI Israel ETF and the ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF slid 7.8% and 4.6%, respectively. The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and 18 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 236 new lows.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tesla, Israel, Lloyd Austin, It's, Peter Andersen, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, iShares, decliners, advancers, Shashwat Chauhan, Ankika Biswas, Arun Koyyur, Shounak Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia, Big Tech, U.S, Israel, Dow, Nasdaq, Hamas, U.S . Defense, Dow Jones, Treasury, Columbus Day, Apple, Microsoft, U.S ., Andersen Capital Management, Boston . Energy, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Airlines, Defense, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Aerospace, . Exchange, ARK Israel Innovative Technology, Federal, NYSE, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Israel, Palestinian, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, Boston, Tel Aviv, Bengaluru

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Shares in U.S. and European-listed companies with business exposure to Israel fell on Monday on worries that an escalation in conflict with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas would impact their operations. Wall Street opened lower, while European stocks dipped as surging oil prices fanned inflation worries and investors fled to the safety of government bonds and the dollar. U.S. shares of Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor fell 5.2%, while Intel (INTC.O) dipped 1.1% and Nvidia (NVDA.O) 2.1%, dragging the chip sector lower. U.S.-listed shares of Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA.TA), the world's largest generic drugmaker, fell 3.3%, while those in fertilizer group ICL Group (ICL.TA) dipped 1.4%. U.S. exchange-traded funds exposed to Israel such as the iShares MSCI Israel ETF and the ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF fell 6.6% and 4.4%, respectively.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Raffi Boyadjian, Energean, Adani Ports, Danilo Masoni, Sruthi Shankar, Amanda Cooper, Deborah Kyvrikosaios, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Palestinian, Semiconductor, Intel, Nvidia, Energy, Tel Aviv ., U.S, Cruise Line Holdings, Royal Caribbean Group, XM, Israel's, ICL, ARK Israel Innovative Technology, Adani, Thomson Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, London, India, Adani, Haifa Port, Northern Israel

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