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Commodity trading advisers (CTAs) - funds that try to profit by buying or selling when there is a clear direction in markets - slumped 4.3% in the three days to Monday, according to analysis from UBS. "We have seen certainly on (last) Friday and Monday capitulation trades from hedge funds, so all hedge funds have been short duration positioned and we have heard a lot of desks needed to shut down their risk," said Kaspar Hense, a senior portfolio manager at BlueBay Asset Management. Hedge funds felt this "brutally" in Japanese markets, Hense said, where positioning from hedge funds and CTAs had been particularly "one sided" in anticipation of an end to the Bank of Japan's yield curve control policy. British macro hedge fund manager Crispin Odey's main fund posted a minus 4.7% February performance and is down 3% so far this year, said a note from his hedge fund to clients. Very few macro economic funds tracked by bank research seen by Reuters have reported March numbers.

☆ Philippines, US kick off joint drills amid China concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Adrian Portugal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Lisa Marie DavidFORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines March 13 (Reuters) - The Philippines and United States launched army-to-army exercises on Monday, with a focus on enhancing the Southeast Asian nation's ability to protect and defend its territory from external threats. "The scenarios would involve the defence of the Philippine archipelago from potential foreign aggressors," Philippines Army Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner told reporters following the opening ceremony. "Since this is an army-to-army exercise, we will focus on defence operations such as air defence and also our defence from the shorelines," he added. Under the agreement, the United States can use the bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not to maintain a permanent presence. China has slammed the expanded agreement, calling it "part of U.S. efforts to encircle and contain China through its military alliance with this country".

☆ Glencore Profits Handsomely at the Fulcrum of Energy Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For Glencore, coal remains a comfortable cushion until the copper supercycle kicks off in earnest. Coal gave Glencore —one of its last major allies—a lot to be grateful for in 2022. This year, its fortunes will depend more on a metal powering the other end of the global energy transition: copper. The mining and commodities-trading company posted another year of blockbuster earnings Wednesday. Glencore’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 60% to a record $34.1 billion, including $17.9 billion from coal mining.

☆ After nearly 2 decades in service, the F-22 has its first air-to-air kills — neither against the jets it was designed to fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The F-22, the top US air superiority fighter jet, finally has it's first air-to-air kills. In a week, this jet downed a Chinese spy balloon and an unidentified "object" in two separate engagements. Neither kill was a jet that the F-22 was designed to fight. A US Air Force F-22 prepares for aerial refueling over the Nevada Test and Training Range on March 2, 2011. Despite having operational experience in Syria in the 2010s targeting Islamic State assets, the advanced fighter has never recorded a confirmed air-to-air kill, but now it has two.

☆ Djokovic beats Tsitsipas for 10th Australian Open, 22nd Slam
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Serbia's Novak Djokovic is presented with the trophy by former player Ken Rosewall after winning his final match against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic stretched his unbeaten streak in Melbourne to 28 matches, the longest run there in the Open era, which dates to 1968. Djokovic was participating in his 33rd major final, Tsitsipas in his second — and the 24-year-old from Greece's other one also ended in a loss to Djokovic, at the 2021 French Open. Little doubt this is of no solace to Tsitsipas, but there is no shame in failing to defeat Djokovic in Melbourne. Still, Srdjan Djokovic did not attend his son's semifinal or the final.

☆ A top investment chief explains why bonds offer an attractive hedge for a mild and brief recession in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I'm senior reporter Phil Rosen, and below I'm sharing my conversation with Northwestern Mutual's chief investment officer, Brent Schutte. He sees the bond market as this year's best recession hedge. Phil Rosen: You said you're expecting a mild and brief recession this year. Brent Schutte: The good news is that the bond market has repriced, and the bond market is a hedge against that recession. BC: I do think earnings will come down this year, and cheaper equities give a margin of safety against that.

☆ The S&P 500 and the VIX are near key thresholds, which could test the market’s mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

This is the daily notebook of Mike Santoli, CNBC's senior markets commentator, with ideas about trends, stocks and market statistics. On balance, the result for stocks is a hesitation right near a fulcrum point for the S & P 500 – its 200-day moving average and the downtrend line from the January 2022 peak. In the very short term (like on a five-day rate-of-change scale) the S & P as of Wednesday's close was getting slightly stretched. -In the '90s, the Fed thought unemployment anywhere below around 5% to 6% would cause inflation to accelerate, but that proved wrong. For all of 2022, it has been smart to sell into rallies in the S & P at or above the 200-day average and when the VIX has dropped to or below 20.

☆ Stocks are approaching a key bear market level heading into Thursday's inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

This is the daily notebook of Mike Santoli, CNBC's senior markets commentator, with ideas about trends, stocks and market statistics. The market continues to migrate back toward riskier assets, with the consensus entering 2023 in a defensive posture and ill-prepared for a benign tilt toward inflation data or reassuring signals on corporate results. Media and busted hypergrowth stocks abound on the year-to-date winners list, and this is probably why. It's the market's job to look ahead to handicap a potential inflection point no matter what the Fed is saying. VIX pretty subdued near 21, not exactly clenched up in fear ahead of key data, though probably will drain lower after CPI and ahead of a three-day weekend.

☆ Analysis: Will Netanyahu clip the wings of his new cabinet hawks?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Both are West Bank settlers averse to Palestinians' self-rule - let alone their hopes of statehood. Netanyahu's previous 15 years as premier saw him feathering the nests of the hawks in his cabinet - or clipping their wings - as he deemed necessary. But that may have to wait, as Ben-Gvir's portfolio does not grant major powers in the West Bank, which is under the overall control of the military. Arguably, Ben-Gvir, 46, and Smotrich, 42, can afford to shelve some of their agendas for this round with Netanyahu, 73. Smotrich's advocacy of Jewish claims on the West Bank is informed by a doctrinaire faith in Bible prophesy.

☆ A Ukrainian fighter pilot who took a blood-covered selfie after ejecting has been named a Hero of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( David Cenciotti | The Aviationist | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Maj. Vadym Voroshylov snapped a selfie after a night ejection from his MiG-29 Fulcrum. Voroshylov regularly posts photos and videos that provide a unique view of the air war in Ukraine. Recently, he snapped a selfie of his blood-covered face after ejecting over west-central Ukraine. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. —Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 15, 2022However, the wreckage of one of the destroyed UAVs caught the MiG-29 cockpit.

☆ ‘Irreverent’ Review: Mobster of the Cloth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Given that he’s about to impersonate a pastor in a spiritually needy backwater, Chicago mobster Paulo ( Colin Donnell ), the felonious fulcrum of “Irreverent,” may seem unworthy of our sympathy. Perhaps worst of all, he’s seated next to a real minister who has just been dumped by his wife. And won’t stop talking about it. There are worse things than crocodiles. Good natured and good enough, “Irreverent” is a 10-part series that has to rely on the charms of its cast—which are abundant—because the circumstances are both comedic and clichéd.

A former financier and associate of Jeffrey Epstein was sued Monday on allegations that he raped a woman in Epstein’s New York City mansion in spring 2002, according to court filings. The review, carried out by a New York law firm, declared that Black wasn’t involved in Epstein’s criminal activities. At the time, Epstein didn’t disclose Black’s name to Pierson, and she didn’t ask, according to the suit. Black then said ‘Black, my name is Leo Black,’” according to the filings. Another woman, Guzel Ganieva, sued Black last year, accusing him of rape and defamation, according to court filings.

☆ I help small businesses solve their cashflow issues quickly. Here are 3 things I'd warn anyone to do during a recession to save as much money as possible.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Lara Hodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lara Hodgson is the CEO of Now and works with thousands of small businesses in different sectors. She says small businesses should think through scenarios like what to do if items doubled in cost. As the CEO of Now®, a B2B payment acceleration and cashflow solution for small businesses, I work with thousands of small businesses in every industry and sector and sit at the point of commerce. Right now, small businesses need to build up a diverse toolkit of resources, as no one tool solves all your needs. Coming out of the pandemic, we've seen the formation of more small businesses than ever before in history.

☆ This little-known biotech stock can surge 60% on promising drug trials, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It may be time for investors to jump into little-known biotech stock Fulcrum Therapeutics , according to Goldman Sachs. "We believe p38α/β MAPK inhibitor losmapimod has the potential to be a novel first-in-class therapy in FSHD," Kumar said in a note to clients. He has assumed a 40% probability of success and 40% peak market share for the FSHD drug. About 5% of the world's population carries the trait for hemoglobin disorders like sickle cell disease, according to the World Health Organization . Kumar said its FTX-6058 experimental drug for sickle cell disease, which is called SCD in short, has been promising in early testing.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Walmart, Taiwan Semiconductor, Netflix, Carnival and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart — Shares of retailer Walmart jumped more than 7% after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations and raising its forward guidance. Retail stocks — Retail stocks rose following Walmart and Home Depot 's stronger-than-expected financial reports for the third quarter. Signature Bank — Shares of the crypto bank jumped more than 10% after Signature reported minimal exposure to FTX and any potential destruction that could come from its collapse. Sunnova Energy — Shares of solar company rose 7.5% after Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Sunnova Energy, First Solar and Enphase Energy with buy ratings. First Solar was up 3.2%, and Enphase Energy rose 2%.

☆ Twitter employees describe their recent workdays as a combination of chaos and 'no communication' as they wait to see who still has a job
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The NYT's Hard Fork podcast recently interviewed two current Twitter employees. Both Twitter employees also used pseudonyms for the interview. In the podcast, Mockingjay described the past few days as an interminable cycle of anxiety. Mockingjay told the hosts that employees at Twitter were falling into one of two camps. "I wouldn't get asked at work to completely revamp Twitter Blue by Friday.

☆ The GOP dealt conservative Georgia voters a dud with Herschel Walker
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Arick Wierson | Arick Wierson Is A Six-Time Emmy Award-Winning Television Producer | A Former Senior Aide To Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He Advises Political | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The bold way that the GOP — the pro-life party — continues to support Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who allegedly urged an ex-girlfriend to have an abortion and paid for the procedure, is eyebrow-raising to say the least. However, it’s not the first time Walker has been involved in a deal in which he has failed to live up to expectations. If you are an ardent Vikings fan, the Walker trade was a raw deal that still stings to this day. In this lopsided trade, it’s former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party attempting to present Walker as a Senate candidate with deeply held anti-abortion convictions to conservative Georgia voters. According to a Survey USA poll of likely voters, conducted Sept. 30 through Oct. 4, Warnock leads Walker 50% to 38%.

Insider asked 12 top VCs what ad and marketing tech companies excited them the most this year. Check out the 19 most promising adtech startups, and what they do that makes them unique. It hopes to raise a Series A funding round in the coming months. Emperia is currently raising its next funding round. Why it's on the list: Tech companies are being scrutinized for their wasting energy consumption, and the digital advertising industry is no exception.

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