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☆ More transparency needed for 'non banks' after gilts turmoil, says Bank of England
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It shone a light on the sprawling and less regulated 'non-bank' financial sector which is made up of pension funds, insurers and different types of investment funds, and spans borders. The onus for building resilience in the non-bank system sits first and foremost with the firms themselves," Breeden added. "Beyond improving transparency, regulators will need to consider how best to ensure leverage is well managed. Banks and non-banks also need to improve stress-testing for risks, she added. Reporting by Huw Jones Editing by Gareth Jones and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ More transparency in 'non banks' a first step after gilts turmoil, says Bank of England
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Improving transparency of 'non-banks' such as pension funds is a first step in applying lessons from recent turmoil in Britain's government bond market, Bank of England executive director Sarah Breeden said on Monday. It shone a light on the sprawling and less regulated 'non-bank' financial sector made up of pension funds, insurers and different types of investment funds. Breeden said the LDI issues were a reminder of the "systemic risks" posed by poorly-managed leverage in the non-bank financial system where there is "all too often" excessive risk taking alongside improper liquidity risk management. "Transparency is an important first step. Reporting by Huw Jones Editing by Gareth Jones and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK bond turmoil leaves smaller pension schemes with longer-term costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Carolyn Cohn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As pension funds scrambled for cash to meet margin calls, the Bank of England intervened to stabilise the market and avoid the collapse of some LDI-exposed funds. But pension schemes that could not meet margin calls in time - many of them smaller schemes - had their positions liquidated by LDI fund managers. Larger schemes in segregated funds were more likely to have retained their hedges, industry sources said. Large schemes in segregated funds pay lower fees for more volume - a benefit small schemes cannot enjoy. LDI fund managers BlackRock (BLK.N) and Insight Investment did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ Buffett's Berkshire loses money as stocks, Hurricane Ian offset rising demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a $2.69 billion third-quarter loss as rising inflation, falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of the conglomerate's businesses. Berkshire also bought back more of its own stock but was cautious, repurchasing $1.05 billion, similar to the second quarter. Berkshire also said rising costs from fuel and accidents hurt respective results at two of its best-known businesses, the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer. Results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments other than Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell. Results improved despite a $2.7 billion after-tax loss from Ian, a strong Category 4 hurricane that slammed into Florida on Sept. 28.

☆ Buffett's Berkshire loses money as stocks, Hurricane Ian offset higher demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a $2.69 billion third-quarter loss as rising inflation, falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of the conglomerate's businesses. It also bought back more of its own stock but was cautious, repurchasing $1.05 billion, similar to the second quarter. It also said rising costs hurt results at two of its best-known businesses, the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer. That helped offset a $2.7 billion after-tax loss from Ian, a strong Category 4 hurricane that slammed into Florida on Sept. 28. Net results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments other than Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway posts quarterly loss as stocks, Hurricane Ian weigh
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a third-quarter loss, as falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of its industrial businesses. Berkshire posted a quarterly net loss of $2.69 billion, or $1,832 per Class A share, compared with a profit of $10.34 billion, or $6,882 per share, a year earlier. Geico, meanwhile, suffered its fifth straight quarterly underwriting loss, reflecting "significant cost inflation" from damages claims, used car prices and shortages of car parts. Net results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments fell. This causes large quarterly swings in results that Buffett says are usually meaningless.

☆ Coinbase jumps after Wall Street cheers cost-cutting measures, active user numbers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Active user jump Where analysts see the potential for optimism in Coinbase's report is in its reported active monthly users. While active monthly users dipped in the quarter to 8.5 million from 9 million, the company handily beat Wall Street's expectations of 7.84 million monthly active users. Budish also lowered his price target after management's guidance but maintained his equal weight rating on the Coinbase. The result was that lower trading volume drove Coinbase trading revenue to the lowest level since becoming a public company." Cowen has an outperform rating on shares of Coinbase and a $75 price target, albeit down from an earlier $85.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Roblox, WeWork, Krispy Kreme, Boeing, Coinbase & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Bank of America reiterates Roblox as buy Bank of America said it's standing by shares of the stock heading into earnings next week. JPMorgan downgrades Funko to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the pop culture toy company, noting it sees too much uncertainty. " Piper Sandler downgrades Atlassian to neutral from overweight Piper said it sees a slowdown in subscription billings for the software developer. " Bank of America reiterates Krispy Kreme as buy Bank of America said "brand health is strong but FX, UK, promos weigh," heading into Krispy Kreme earnings Nov. 15. Jefferies reiterates Topgolf Callaway Brands as buy Jefferies said it sees 200% upside in shares of the golf company. "

☆ Euronext Italian arm to become group-wide clearer from end 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Pan-European stock exchange Euronext (ENX.PA) said on Thursday that customers will be able to clear all share trades at its Italian arm from the end of 2023, a move that ends reliance on a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) unit in Paris. "This is the first milestone in the transformation of Euronext Clearing to create the Euronext clearing house of choice for its cash equity markets," Euronext said in a third quarter trading statement. Clearing in Euronext credit derivatives will follow in 2024. As many are likely to shift stock and derivatives trading to Italy given efficiencies from using one location. Earlier this week, Deutsche Boerse's Eurex Clearing offered payments to buy-side customers who relocate derivatives clearing from London in 2023 in anticipation of the EU legislation.

☆ Cryptocurrencies posted strong gains in October. Here’s why investors are optimistic on the rest of the year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Things are looking up for crypto after bitcoin and ether finally climbed enough to post gains for October. Prices were unusually flat for most of the month, but several investors have interpreted that as stability and resilience. Still, investors say that while it may be too early to call a bottom, recovery is in sight. McClurg also a highlighted a recent move of $940 million in bitcoin investors removed from exchanges, calling it a typically bullish signal and an indicator that people are saving their bitcoin rather than selling it. While the central bank continues to dominate investors' attention, the case for bitcoin continues develop for other market participants.

☆ BNP Paribas profit tops forecast despite higher costs, debt markdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), the euro zone's biggest lender, posted a higher than expected net profit in the third quarter, with trading revenues helping offset rising costs and markdowns on some leverage financing deals. Net income in the three months to end September rose by 10.3% from a year earlier to 2.76 billion euros ($2.73 billion), compared with an average of 2.36 billion euros expected in a Refinitiv poll of analysts. Revenues were up 8% at 12.3 billion euros. Rising interest rates and market turbulence have forced big lenders to hold debt on their books for longer than they would have liked, and incur losses on some financing packages. However French lenders traditionally take longer than their continental peers to reap the benefits of rising interest rates.

The pre-tax loss of around $900 million in its LNG trading offers rare insight into its trading operations that can also sharply boost the group's earnings. Shell's LNG trading performance contrasts with rivals BP and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) which both reported strong earnings from their trading divisions in the quarter, without providing details. The rally in European prices far outpaced Asian prices , leading to a collapse in the spread between the two benchmarks. Gorman added that for the first three quarters of 2022, LNG trading results were higher than the same period a year earlier. Asian prices have been weakened by muted Chinese demand since the start of the year due to covid and slow economic growth.

☆ Hong Kong's stock market halts trade when a typhoon warning is issued – the CEO says that may change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Hong Kong Observatory has issued a Signal 8 or higher a total of six times in 2022, twice in 2021, and four times in 2020. What we're focusing on is the resiliency of Hong Kong – Hong Kong has proven time and time again that it can come back. Shortly following the interview, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspended trade after the H.K. "What we're focusing on is the resiliency of Hong Kong – Hong Kong has proven time and time again that it can come back. Companies would need to reach a valuation of $250 million Hong Kong dollars, lower than the current requirement of HK$500 million.

☆ Coterra Energy's earnings beat, dividend raise reinforce the Club's investment case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Cash flow Cash flow is king for companies like Coterra. Adjusted discretionary cash flow (cash flow from operations excluding changes in assets and liabilities) was $1.52 billion, below estimates of $1.62 billion. Half of the company's third-quarter free cash flow is going toward the dividend, as was the case with second-quarter free cash flow. Adjusted discretionary cash flow (cash flow from operations excluding changes in assets and liabilities) was $1.52 billion, below estimates of $1.62 billion. Half of the company's third-quarter free cash flow is going toward the dividend, as was the case with second-quarter free cash flow.

☆ Traders Expect Higher Interest Rates to Stay for Foreseeable Future
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Eric Wallerstein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Most investors expect Federal Reserve officials to lift the benchmark federal-funds rate by 0.75 percentage point at the central bank’s November meeting. Traders are betting higher interest rates will linger for the foreseeable future. Ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next decision on Wednesday, derivatives markets show the federal-funds rate sitting at around 3.5% for the long run. That is a full percentage point higher than the central bank’s own latest forecast. Those wagers have crept higher throughout most of the year, and are now nearing levels not seen since the 2013 bond-market rout known as the “Taper Tantrum.”

Nov 1 (Reuters) - After months of tears and tantrums, bitcoin wants to split up with stock markets. The cryptocurrency, which has been closely correlated with tech stocks for much of its torrid 2022, is staging one of its strongest efforts yet to break away. For some crypto backers, any bitcoin break-up from Big Tech is a sign of strength. Bitcoin and crypto is one of those 'next' growth industries," said Santiago Portela, CEO of FITCHIN, a Web3 gaming ecosystem. Yet it's anyone's guess whether fickle bitcoin will begin to rally, or slide anew, or if it will swiftly rebound to the embrace of technology stocks.

☆ Frankfurt steps up efforts to shift euro clearing from London
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse's (DB1Gn.DE) derivatives division stepped up efforts on Tuesday to attract a bigger slice of multi-trillion euro derivatives clearing from London to its base in Frankfurt ahead of anticipated European Union legislation. More than 600 clearing members and buy-side clients have been signed up by Eurex Clearing for swaps clearing, but many of the accounts are inactive. LSEG has repeatedly said there has been no material shift in volumes from London to Frankfurt, and some 75% of euro interest rate swaps are traded among non-EU counterparts in any case. Banks say privately that mandating a shift in euro clearing would hit EU banks most as they benefit from LCH's multi-currency pool, while Eurex focuses on the euro. Global banks say they can also shift clearing to U.S. clearers which have open ended permission from Brussels to serve customers in the EU.

☆ The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by three-quarters of a point and then signal it could slow the pace
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point Wednesday and then signal that it could reduce the size of its rate hikes starting as soon as December. Markets are primed for the fourth 75-basis point hike in a row, and investors are anticipating the Fed will slow down its pace before winding down the rate-hiking cycle in March. Gapen said he expects Fed Chair Jerome Powell to indicate during his press briefing that the Fed discussed slowing the pace of rate hikes but did not commit to it. He expects the Fed would then raise interest rates by a half percentage point in December. The stock market has already rallied on expectations of a slowdown in rate hikes by the Fed, after a final 75 basis point hike Wednesday afternoon.

☆ Wall Street ends strong month on weaker note; focus on Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hopes the Fed may pull back from its aggressive interest rate hike policy have lifted equities in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 notching a gain of nearly 9% over the past two weeks. The Dow booked its biggest monthly percentage gain in decades and biggest October percentage gain since at least 1900. Comments from Fed officials after the policy decision as well as labor market data later this week will help shape market expectations for future hikes starting at the December meeting. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 28.55 points, or 0.73%, to end at 3,872.51 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 112.37 points, or 1.03%, to 10,990.08. Nearly all 11 S&P 500 sectors fell, with technology (.SPLRCT) and communication services (.SPLRCL) the worst performers with declines of more than 1%.

☆ U.S. throws out Libor-rigging charges against Hayes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: Tom Hayes, the first former trader convicted by a jury of manipulating Libor benchmark interest rates, poses for a picture, after being released from HM Prison Ford, in Arundel, Britain January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON (Reuters) - A New York judge has dismissed criminal charges against Tom Hayes, the British trader who became the face of the global Libor interest rate scandal. Hayes was released from prison in Britain in January 2021 after serving half an 11-year sentence. Hayes’ legal team is considering further legal options to clear his name, a representative for Hayes said in a statement. “The U.S. Department of Justice has seen fit to dismiss charges based on the same facts, evidence and case in law that the UK courts used to justify my 11-year prison sentence,” Hayes said.

☆ Debt ceiling fights aren’t new. The next one could unleash ‘Armageddon’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Fears are brewing that a showdown between Republicans and President Joe Biden over the debt ceiling in 2023 could present a similar moment of reckoning. “The debt ceiling is probably the biggest institutional quirk in the US that carries with it some global risk and risk to the Treasury market,” Setser said. While brinkmanship over the debt limit has become commonplace, the stakes could be higher now that financial markets are on edge. “If the US does not raise its debt ceiling and defaults on its debt, that is an Armageddon moment,” Day said. Yellen told CNN that it’s “utterly essential” that the debt ceiling is raised when necessary.

☆ The "ultimate buy-and-hold" investment fund that hasn't changed its strategy since 1935 is crushing 94% of competitors this year. Here are its top 10 holdings — and how it's beating the bear market.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Voya Corporate Leaders Trust Fund is the "ultimate buy and hold," says manager Christina Bargeron. The fund hasn't changed its strategy since 1935 — yet it's still outperforming 94% of competitors. Christina Bargeron may be the client portfolio manager of the Voya Corporate Leaders Trust Fund, but she won't take credit for its outrageous outperformance this year. So far this year, the Voya Corporate Leaders Trust Fund is down just 2%, compared to the average 9% decline among other funds in its category. The widespread Depression-induced distrust of banks also ensured that no financial firms made their way into the Voya Corporate Leaders Trust Fund.

☆ Credit Suisse's newly created investment bank lays out plans in memo
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Saeed Azhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Over time, CS First Boston’s structure will evolve to become an independent standalone investment bank, enabling it to attract third party capital and include employee ownership," Miller wrote. The move to become "an M&A boutique with capital markets expertise" will start immediately, he wrote. The Swiss investment banking and capital markets business will be moved to the company's Swiss Bank to offer services in its home market, according to the memo. The bank has traditionally allocated a bigger share of capital to investment banking than its global peers, according to the ratings agency. It will also work closely with Credit Suisse's wealth management business to offer share-backed lending and structured credit to clients in Asia.

☆ U.S. Exchange Stocks Lag Behind German Rival
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Surging interest rates are benefiting German exchange operator Deutsche Börse by boosting demand for derivatives tied to borrowing costs and making some of its post-trade services more lucrative. Deutsche Börse’s stock has beaten regional and U.S. competitors this year, generating a total return, including dividends, of almost 15%. The rise puts it among continental Europe’s best-performing large stocks. It compares with declines of more than 13% for Nasdaq Inc. and more than 30% for New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

☆ Libor demise and Brexit reshape derivatives market, says BIS
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The most significant factor contributing to the decline in turnover is the continuing shift away from Libor for major currencies," the BIS said in its latest triennial snapshot of the global OTC interest rate derivatives market. Banks and their clients use interest rate swaps to insure themselves against unexpected moves in borrowing costs. Replacing Libor shrank turnover in forward rate agreements or FRAs, a type of derivatives contract, with turnover in dollar FRAs tumbling by 98%. BIS OTC Derivatives Graphic 1Sales desks in Britain recorded the highest turnover of interest rate derivatives, at $2.6 trillion, or 46% of global 'net-gross' turnover, down from 51% in 2019. BIS OTC Derivatives Graphic 2Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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