DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

But the wave of buying spread beyond crude to encompass U.S. gasoline (+11 million barrels), U.S. diesel (+8 million) and European gas oil (+7 million). Chartbook: Investor petroleum positionsThe net position across all six contracts climbed to 575 million barrels (47th percentile for all weeks since 2013), up from 343 million barrels (11th percentile) on Dec. 13. Hedge funds became more bullish about Brent than at any time since May 2019, before the pandemic erupted and upended the oil industry. In the oil market, investors are increasingly sure continued growth will cause supplies to tighten and send prices higher. Unenviable alternatives for 2023 (Reuters, Jan. 26)- Investors surge back into oil on rising economic optimism (Reuters, Jan. 23)- Bullish oil investors look beyond China's COVID wave (Reuters, Jan. 3)- Investors abandon bullish oil positions as recession nears (Reuters, Dec. 12)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

☆ With eyes on FTX bankruptcy, U.S. regulator seeks more due diligence authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A top official with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is pressing lawmakers to give regulators authority to dig into the books of any firm seeking to acquire significant interest in any registered market player. Without this, unregistered firms can buy their way into U.S.-regulated markets without meaningfully opening their books to regulators, she said. The Commission needs Congress to give the agency authority to conduct due diligence to protect customers and maintain market stability, she said. Questions have mounted over due diligence in crypto following a string of bankruptcies and the announcement in December of U.S. charges against FTX's founder and former head Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly committing fraud. Reuters has previously reported details of FTX's strategy of "acquisitions for regulatory purposes", including Ledger X, which gave the company three CFTC licenses in one swoop.

☆ Natural gas prices hit lowest since April 2021 and have crashed 70% from highs as demand weakens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US natural gas prices slumped 8% Thursday to hit the lowest level in nearly two years. At $2.80 per million British thermal units, the latest price represents a plunge of more than 70% from highs reached in August. Gas traded just below $2.81 per million British thermal units, the lowest level since April of 2021. The latest natural gas price represents a plunge of more than 70% from the high of $10.03 reached in August. Hedge funds have turned the most bearish on US natural gas in almost three years, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show, according to Bloomberg.

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is embracing the Pottery Barn rule: You break it, you pay for it. The original breach was one revelation in what makes Wall Street tick; Morgan Stanley’s response, or the idea that it’s an outlier, is another. What’s good for the pottery store sounds good for Wall Street too. Morgan Stanley was one of 11 banks fined by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in September 2022. At the time, the SEC noted that Morgan Stanley had financially penalized and terminated some staff for violating its policies.

☆ New York’s financial regulator takes aim at firms co-mingling crypto funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Concerns about the crossover between the two firms helped fuel a flurry of customer withdrawals in November, forcing the exchange to file for bankruptcy. New York requires firms to undergo examinations making sure they are in-line with state requirements and comply with know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and capital requirements. Most other states do not subject crypto firms to examinations. Crypto firms' compliance with anti-money laundering rules has also been "a big issue," she said, one she expects her office will continue focusing on in 2023. Earlier in the month, NYDFS announced a $100 million settlement with Coinbase Inc (COIN.O) over the firm's compliance with rules to prevent money laundering.

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan 22 (Reuters) - A key part of the U.S. yield curve is the most inverted in decades and for hedge funds, enough is enough. It is the smallest net short since December 2021, and considering that short position exceeded 1 million contracts in early September, it is virtually neutral. Funds also increased their one-month SOFR net long position to over 67,000 contracts, the largest long since August. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. Meanwhile, speculators increased their net short 10-year Treasuries futures position by 133,699 contracts, the biggest weekly shift since last October, to 545,000 contracts.

The CFTC already allows self-certification for exchanges to list contracts for other products, such as commodities. Lawmakers were considering a similar process as part of proposed crypto legislation being hammered out last year. But CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero said the process would open the door to "regulatory arbitrage" as some crypto assets are likely securities that need to be overseen by a different agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Federal prosecutors have brought charges against three of FTX's former top executives, accusing them defrauding investors and misappropriating customer funds. "Gatekeepers should have seriously questioned the operational environment at FTX in the lead-up to its meltdown,” she said.

☆ Many Companies Are Shying Away From Carbon Credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Many companies are hesitant to buy carbon credits as the market faces criticism and coming standards remain unclear. Carbon credits are also expected to be discussed at this week’s World Economic Forum annual summit in Davos, Switzerland. As officials work to develop the market, sustainability chiefs must weigh the pros and cons of carbon credits in their climate plans. Carbon solutionsTo address concerns in the carbon market and scale up climate action, there is a movement toward better, widely accepted standards. The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market ended its public comment period in September on the 10 so-called Core Carbon Principles it proposed in July.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried Says Law Firm Worked Closely With FTX Before Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried said cryptocurrency exchange FTX had a closer relationship than previously disclosed with its bankruptcy law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, adding to questions about the law firm’s work for past FTX management. Mr. Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest at his parents’ California home as he faces federal fraud charges. Sullivan & Cromwell was one of two primary law firms FTX International used before the bankruptcy and it was FTX U.S.’s main law firm, Mr. Bankman-Fried wrote in a post Thursday on Substack, an online subscription-based newsletter platform. He added that FTX U.S.’s general counsel was a former member of the law firm without naming him. The new FTX CEO would also be in charge of the bankruptcy process that later picked the law firm as the bankruptcy counsel.

[1/4] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. Companies facing wide-ranging investigations often hire pool counsel for employees. The use of pool counsel suggests that federal prosecutors in Manhattan probing FTX's collapse may be interested in questioning a deep roster of employees. The use of pool counsel enables a single legal team to gain expertise in the case, making it more efficient than having each employee retain individual lawyers, Krissoff said. The arrangement does not mean Covington is representing FTX, which has turned to Sullivan & Cromwell, another law firm.

☆ House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The unregulated nature of the crypto industry emerged as a pressing concern late last year after the collapse in November of crypto exchange FTX. Hill has been an enthusiastic supporter of the crypto industry. Emmer described actions taken by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as "haphazard and unfocused." Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have already begun to prepare their own efforts to oversee the crypto industry and dictate enforcement actions. The commission charged crypto lender Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with the unregistered sale and offering of securities on Thursday, the same day that Hill announced the subcommittee.

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in the Manhattan federal court, New York, January 3, 2023. In a Thursday morning Substack post, FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried denied allegations that he stole billions in user funds and suggested that Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao conducted a monthslong effort to bring down FTX. It is Bankman-Fried's first significant response to federal allegations that he directed an $8 billion fraud that destroyed his $32 billion crypto conglomerate. In the beginning of 2022, for example, Bankman-Fried says he estimated Alameda's total net assets at $99 billion. By October, he believed that his hedge fund's net assets had fallen to $10 billion.

☆ Crypto firms Genesis and Gemini charged by SEC with selling unregistered securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged crypto firms Genesis and Gemini with allegedly selling unregistered securities in connection with a high-yield product offered to depositors. Gemini, a crypto exchange, and Genesis, a crypto lender, partnered in February 2021 on a Gemini product called Earn, which touted yields of up to 8% for customers. Genesis should have registered that product as a securities offering, SEC officials said. Gemini's Earn program, supported by Genesis' lending activities, met the SEC's definition by including both an investment contract and a note, SEC officials said. SEC officials said the possibility of a DCG or Genesis bankruptcy had no bearing on deciding whether to pursue a charge.

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Rallying oil prices ran out of steam just before the end of the year as investors turned cautious after two weeks of heavy petroleum buying. Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 12 million barrels in the six most important petroleum-related futures and options contracts over the seven days ending Jan. 3. Light selling emerged after funds had purchased 103 million barrels over the preceding two weeks, according to position records published by ICE Futures Europe and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But global distillate inventories remain severely depleted after an unprecedented drawdown between the middle of 2020 and the middle of 2022. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data show that speculators closed 2022 with one of the smallest three-month SOFR rate futures short positions of the year, a light short dollar position, and substantial short positions cross the U.S. Treasuries curve. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. chartFunds' U.S. interest rate expectations reached fever pitch around August and September last year when their net short position exceeded 1 million contracts. chartIn the 10-year space, funds ended 2022 with their third largest net short position of the year, at 383,602 contracts. But funds have retained their substantial net short position.

☆ Analysis: Bankman-Fried fraud charges sidestep debate over how U.S. law sees crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"It's a pretty simple deception," said Shane Stansbury, a professor at Duke University School of Law and former Manhattan federal prosecutor. The debate matters to cryptocurrency companies because it could determine which agency regulates the trading of digital assets. Both have pleaded not guilty and argued the charges should be dismissed because insider trading charges must involve securities or commodities. In bringing wire fraud charges in both cases, prosecutors avoided taking a position on how cryptocurrencies or NFTs should be classified. It is unlikely Bankman-Fried's lawyers will attempt a similar argument because the wire fraud charges are more straightforward, Kasten said.

CORN, SOY, WHEATCBOT corn, soybean and wheat futures declined notably on Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2023. Through Jan. 3, they cut about 3,500 contracts from their stance, resulting in a net short of 52,715 CBOT wheat futures and options contracts. Investors may have reduced CBOT corn length late last week with futures down 2.5% between Wednesday and Friday. Most-active CBOT soybean futures were unchanged over the last three sessions given the poor conditions in Argentina and possibly unfavorable weather in Brazil’s southernmost state offsetting U.S. demand concerns. They expect U.S. corn, soy and wheat ending stock estimates to rise along with Brazilian corn and soy crops, though a sizable decline is predicted for Argentina’s harvests.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's not-guilty plea keeps his options open, says a former federal prosecutor who explains what the criminal case means for investors-turned creditors of FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's lawsuit had alleged that both Ellison and Wang knowingly deceived the public under Bankman-Fried's direction. O'Brien, a former assistant US Attorney for the Department of Justice, specializes in white-collar criminal defense and commercial and securities litigation. "When you get indicted, your first appearance in court, you don't know what the charges are. You're presented with a piece of paper, an indictment, but you don't know what the evidence is." But Bankman-Fried's plea doesn't have much to do with what the outcome will be for investors who lost funds on the exchange, O'Brien noted.

☆ FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

They're currently scrutinizing former FTX engineer Nishad Singh, people familiar with the matter said. Singh first met Sam Bankman-Fried through the now-disgraced FTX founder's younger brother Gabe, who he was high school friends with. "[Former FTX chief technology officer] Gary [Wang] is scared, Nishad is ashamed and guilty," Bankman-Fried said. "It hit [Singh] hard. Read more: Everything we know about Nishad Singh, the 27-year-old former FTX exec who had an 8% stake in the crypto exchange

☆ Billionaire Mark Cuban warns the next crypto implosion could come from 'wash trades,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Billionaire Mark Cuban thinks the next crypto meltdown could stem from wash trades. Wash trades are a form of pump-and-dump scheme to artificially generate interest around a crypto token. "I think the next possible implosion is the discovery and removal of wash trades on central exchanges," he told The Street. Wash trades are a type of pump-and-dump scheme that involve creating artificial interest in a financial asset, in this case a cryptocurrency. The report also said that in 12 "tier-2 exchanges," wash trades accounted for nearly 80% of the total trade volume.

☆ U.S. securities regulator probes FTX investors' due diligence -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoNEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking details about FTX investors' due diligence, according to two sources familiar with the inquiry, as fallout from the crypto firm's collapse spreads. Reuters and others previously reported that U.S. authorities sent document requests to investors and potential investors in FTX, seeking details on their communications with FTX officials. Those inquiries predated last month's SEC charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly defrauding such investors. The SEC's inquiries to investors have continued after SEC filed those charges, and the agency has now shifted its focus to the firms' diligence, the sources said. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November amid what its new CEO later described as a "complete failure of corporate controls".

☆ U.S. authorities probe FTX engineer Singh -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are investigating the chief engineer of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Nishad Singh, ratcheting up pressure on founder Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also probing Singh, the report said, citing a source. A lawyer for Singh, Andrew D. Goldstein, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The SEC and CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in New York federal court Tuesday to eight charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research. The onetime crypto billionaire was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. Federal prosecutors also announced the launch of a new task force to recover victim assets as part of an ongoing investigation into Bankman-Fried and the collapse of FTX. Federal prosecutors built the indictment against Bankman-Fried with unusual speed, packaging together the criminal charges against the 30-year-old in a matter of weeks. The federal charges came alongside complaints from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty in the US government's criminal case over FTX crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried entered a plea of not guilty to the fraud and conspiracy charges against him, according to reports. If Bankman-Fried doesn't reach a deal with the government, the case would head to a trial. "Just because he enters a plea of not guilty, it doesn't mean he's not working with prosecutors." How those cases proceed would also depend on the course of the criminal case. A criminal trial, for instance, could help him put civil suits against him on hold.

The managed money meal net long of 129,989 contracts, up about 8,700 on the week, rivals May 2018’s high of 133,549. That is supported by a heavier managed money net long: 128,616 futures and options contracts now versus about 98,000 a year ago. Most-active CBOT soybean futures on Friday settled at $15.24 per bushel, their highest since June. CBOT soybean oil futures expanded 13.3% in 2022 after increasing by a third in 2021, though they declined 3.5% in the latest three sessions. Open interest in CBOT wheat futures and options had ended 2021 at the lowest point for the date since 2008.

Search resuls for: "Commodity Futures Trading"

25 mentions found