First Read

Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff

The major outage at CyrusOne’s data center in Aurora, Illinois, that disrupted global trading for more than 10 hours occurred after staff failed to follow standard cold-weather procedures, the company confirmed, according to Bloomberg. The error stemmed from improper draining of cooling towers ahead of freezing temperatures, which overloaded the facility’s cooling system, forcing markets run by CME Group to go offline on November 28. CyrusOne said it has updated its cold-weather protocols, boosted on-site engineering staff, and strengthened its infrastructure to prevent future incidents.

Euronext has launched a new Auction Volume Discovery (AVD) order type for equities designed to enhance liquidity opportunities during opening and closing auctions across its markets in Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo, and Paris. The AVD allows market participants to place non-displayed orders throughout the trading day that execute at the official auction price without affecting price formation, offering access to “unmatched” liquidity and block trading potential. With auctions representing more than a quarter of Euronext’s lit volumes and over EUR200 million in average daily auction imbalances in 2024, the new feature aims to help clients better capitalize on these strategic liquidity events.

Things are looking up at MIAX this year. The IPO is finally done. MIAX Exchange Group set a year-to-date (YTD) market share record of 17.1% through November 2025, a 14.0% increase from the same period in 2024. The group also reached a YTD average daily volume (ADV) record of 9.6 million contracts through November 2025, a 45.0% increase from the same period in 2024. And MIAX Futures reached a record YTD ADV of 13,772 contracts through November 2025, a 6.4% increase from the same period in 2024.

Dagens Industri has recognized the Swedish fintech company Vermiculus with a Di Gasell Award for its rapid and sustained growth. The company’s expansion and profitability stem from its delivery of advanced technology to global financial markets. CEO Taraneh Derayati credited the achievement to the team’s expertise, innovative products, and the support of customers and partners.

President Donald Trump said he plans to sign an executive order this week to impose a single national standard for artificial intelligence regulation, effectively curbing state-level rules he argues hinder innovation, Hadriana Lowenkron and Skylar Woodhouse of Bloomberg reported. The measure, described as a “ONE RULE” directive, would empower the Justice Department to challenge state AI policies deemed unconstitutional and potentially withhold federal funds from states with overly restrictive laws. The order reflects Trump’s push to consolidate AI oversight under federal authority as part of a broader effort to keep the U.S. ahead of China in the technology race. Supporters in the tech industry have long criticized the patchwork of state regulations as burdensome, while some Republican governors, including Ron DeSantis and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, oppose the move as federal overreach likely to spark legal battles.

The Trump administration is set to unveil a $12 billion bailout for U.S. farmers as the agriculture sector struggles with the economic fallout from the president’s tariff policies, Brian Schwartz, Natalie Andrews and Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal reported. The relief plan, expected to be announced during a White House roundtable with farmers, will include $11 billion in one-time payments through the Farmer Bridge Assistance program and another $1 billion for commodities not covered under that plan. The aid aims to support soybean producers hit hardest by declining exports to China, whose purchases plummeted earlier this year amid trade tensions. While a recent deal with Beijing promised renewed soybean imports, market prices have since fallen and many farmers remain anxious about future commitments. The sector’s challenges have been compounded by years of low crop prices, rising production costs, and a surge in farm bankruptcies, underscoring the mounting financial pressures across rural America.

It was a great weekend to be an Indiana Hoosier (i.e. Walt Lukken), and a terrible weekend to be a Purdue Boilermaker (i.e. yours truly) or a Notre Dame Fighting Irish (i.e. pick one from the numerous across the industry). The Indiana Hoosier football team surged to a number one ranking in college football after defeating former number one, Ohio State, in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday. Meanwhile, also on Saturday, the number one-ranked Iowa State defeated the Purdue Boilermaker basketball team on Purdue’s home court, Mackey Arena. Also, Notre Dame was left out of the 12-team NCAA College Football Championship Tournament after being ranked in the top 10 all season long, until it dropped to number 11 during this last week.

In Japan, you can now buy insurance against a bear attack – not the bear raid in the stock market, but attacks by actual bears. A record 230 people have been killed or injured by bears since April, prompting the government to boost funding for “bear countermeasures” and insurers to roll out new policies, Alice French of Bloomberg reported. Thirteen people have died, and 217 have been injured so far this year, surpassing the previous record of 219 casualties for the entire 2023-24 fiscal year. Most attacks occurred in the rural Tohoku region as bears wander into towns from shrinking mountain habitats in search of food. The environment ministry is spending 3.4 billion Yen ($22 million) to deploy armed hunters, fund traps, and monitor bear movements by drone, while shares of bear spray maker Tiemco Ltd. and rifle producer Miroku Corp. have surged along with the rise in sightings – nearly 37,000 nationwide between April and October.

Circle President Heath Tarbert, a former chairman of the CFTC, has been recognized by Scouting America with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA), Blockchain.news reported.

Here are the headlines from in front of FOW’s paywall from some recent stories:

• Eventus, IC360 partner to provide prediction market support
• India mulls position limits for equity derivatives segment
• Robinhood sets stage to enter Indonesia in Southeast Asia push
• India and Taiwan regulators ink deal to support fintech information exchange
• Euronext sees 14% decline in November derivatives trading
• CME goes live with new event contracts as end of year listings spike
• HKEX to rollout cash collateral changes at OTC Clear from 2026
• Miami International Holdings’ derivatives trading volume sees slight drop in November
• ANALYSIS: SGX’s 2026 opportunities lie in equities, bonds and crypto futures
• India’s NSE floats pilot to validate risk-return metrics
• Abaxx expands weather-indexed futures offering with UK contracts

Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality, and justice.~JJL

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Our most-read stories from our previous edition of JLN Options were:
Millennium suffered big losses in one of the $81 billion hedge fund’s favorite strategies last month from Business Insider.
Polymarket Recruiting for In-House Team That Trades With Customers from Bloomberg.
Mystery Trader Mints $1.2 Overnight Million in Warner Bros. Options Bet from Bloomberg. ~JB

Subscribe to the JLN Options Newsletter HERE (it’s free).

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Exclusive | Trump Tasks Top Advisers With Finding Way to Lower Soaring Beef Prices
Patrick Thomas – The Wall Street Journal
A group of President Trump’s top advisers have convened to tackle soaring beef prices, according to people familiar with the discussions, showing how the administration is escalating efforts to wrangle food inflation. Steak and ground beef have hit record highs this year, sending everyone including meatpackers, supermarkets and restaurants looking for ways to ease the pain. The problem: There is no easy way to bring down prices, which have climbed steadily since 2021.
/jlne.ws/48Dgo1M

***** There is a very easy way to bring high prices down. Leave the market alone and let the magic of high market prices work.~JJL

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Donald Trump drives historic shift of power from investors to boardrooms; Moves to curb proxy advisers and passive investment giants chip away at foundations of shareholder capitalism
Alexandra White – Financial Times
The Trump administration is accelerating a shift in power from the investor to the boardroom, leading some to predict that it is fostering the end of the era of shareholder capitalism in the US. Boosted by some Republican states, Donald Trump is quickly chipping away at the long-standing structures and institutions underpinning the influence of shareholders, from proxy advisers and large passive asset managers to bedrock securities and corporation law. The US president is weighing curbs on the voting influence of BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, whose index funds typically own 20-30 per cent of most public companies. It is also taking aim at proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis, whose recommendations can sway the votes of other large mutual funds at annual meetings.
/jlne.ws/3KOqMvJ

****** So let me get this right, I own stock in the company, but don’t have any say in how it is run? Meanwhile, the executives and board get to run amok?~JJL

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Apollo buys stake in Wrexham football club; Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has risen rapidly through English football leagues
Georgina Quach – Financial Times
Apollo Global Management has bought a minority stake in Wrexham AFC, the Welsh football club owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. In a statement on Monday, Wrexham said the investment aligned with its “long-term growth strategy and Premier League aspirations”, and that McElhenney and Reynolds would remain as controlling shareholders.
/jlne.ws/4ppgMIr

****** The owner of the Chicago Board of Trade Building invests in a football team.~JJL

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CNN Partners With a Gambling App That Lets You Wager on Starvation in Gaza
Adam Johnson – Truthout
Consistent with the United States’ continued slide into an economy powered almost entirely by LLM slop, financialization, and ever-pervasive exploitative gambling, “prediction market app” Kalshi “entered into an official partnership” with CNN this week to bring their “data to CNN’s journalism across its television, digital and social channels.” Soon, CNN will run live odds on world events where its viewers can gamble on them in real time on their smartphones. The “data” (see: betting markets) will, according to Axios, “be featured on CNN’s air through a real-time data ticker and can be referenced across CNN’s platforms when journalists discuss news predictions. The partnership will include prediction market content related to politics, news, culture and weather. The integration will be championed by CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten, who will tap into real-time insights from Kalshi in his reporting on air, both via linear TV and CNN’s new streaming subscription service.”
/jlne.ws/48HAxny

****** Oh, God, help us!~JJL

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Friday’s Top Three
Our top story on Friday was Polymarket Hiring In-House Team to Trade Against Customers – Here’s Why It’s a Risk, from CoinDesk. Second was Polymarket CEO says his prediction market is “the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now.”, a “60 Minutes” television segment via YouTube. Third was Three Year-End Strategies That Can Cut Your 2025 Tax Bill, from The Wall Street Journal.

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Lead Stories

America’s economy is at the mercy of crony capitalism; The Trump administration’s approach to ethics could eventually cost investors in US assets
Rana Foroohar – Financial Times
There’s a large body of empirical evidence to show that countries with high levels of corruption also have weaker growth and share price returns, as well as higher levels of economic and market volatility. So, what to make of the fact that crony capitalism is now becoming a feature of the US market? From targeted regulatory enforcement to tariff carve-outs, contracts awarded to friends and family, and other forms of horse-trading going on between the Trump administration and countries and companies around the world, it’s hard to argue that American oligopoly isn’t on the rise.
/jlne.ws/48EXpDR

CME Data Center Outage Caused By Human Error, CyrusOne Says
Isis Almeida and Scott Carpenter – Bloomberg
An outage that took down markets operated by CME Group Inc. for more than 10 hours at the end of last week was caused by human error at a data center owned by CyrusOne. Onsite staff and contractors at the facility in Aurora, Illinois, failed to follow standard procedures for draining cooling towers ahead of freezing temperatures, a spokesperson for CyrusOne, a company owned by KKR & Co. and Global Infrastructure Partners, said in a statement to Bloomberg News on Saturday. That resulted in the cooling system being overloaded and rising temperatures.
/jlne.ws/4rEI533

UK Watchdog Shakes Up Retail Rules to Boost British Investing
Meg Short – Bloomberg
The Financial Conduct Authority is planning to change a swathe of rules to make it easier for Britons to invest their own money in markets. Investment firms will no longer need to produce key information documents for retail products, but will instead publish simpler “product summaries,” the FCA confirmed in a statement on Monday. The regulator also set out plans to draw “a brighter line” between retail and professional investors. Individuals with £10 million or above and those with investing experience can opt out of retail classification, enabling them to invest in riskier products while removing protections such as the FCA’s two-year-old consumer duty.
/jlne.ws/4iLNqkT

The power crunch threatening America’s AI ambitions; A lack of electricity for new data centres could deflate the AI ‘bubble’
Rafe Rosner-Uddin, Nassos Stylianou, Dan Clark and Caroline Nevitt and Jamie Smyth – Financial Times
In cutting-edge Microsoft data centres, racks of chips used to train AI models sit idle. “The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it’s power,” said Microsoft’s chief executive Satya Nadella during a recent podcast interview. The topic has been top of mind in a year when big tech “hyperscalers” – Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft – have set out plans to spend more than $400bn in capital expenditure. That outlay, mainly on data centres, has triggered market fears of an AI-fuelled bubble. Big tech groups have been undeterred, arguing that demand outstrips supply.
/jlne.ws/4aB5Jak

FCA to replace ‘unengaging’ EU disclosure rules for investors; UK regulator plans changes to avoid ‘information overload’ and boost investment
Martin Arnold – Financial Times
Investment companies will have more freedom in how they present disclosures to customers to avoid “information overload” as part of new measures by the UK financial regulator to boost investment. The Financial Conduct Authority has also announced proposals to change how it is determined who is classed as a professional investor.
/jlne.ws/4pZYc9Q

From 2,600% Gain to 86% Wipeout, Crypto’s Hottest Trade Crumpled
Monique Mulima – Bloomberg
What began the year as one of the best trades in the stock market has, in a matter of months, turned into one of the worst. An array of public companies thought they had found a sort of perpetual motion machine: Use your corporate cash to buy up Bitcoin or other digital tokens and presto, your share price shot up even more than the value of the tokens you bought. It was a playbook invented by Michael Saylor, who transformed his company, Strategy Inc., into a publicly traded Bitcoin holding vehicle. And through the first half of 2025 it worked for more than a hundred other companies that followed Saylor’s lead.
/jlne.ws/3MKHkVW

Trump to issue executive order for single federal rule on AI regulation;
Zehra Munir – Financial Times
Donald Trump said he will this week announce an executive order that establishes a single federal rule for regulating artificial intelligence, as the president seeks to maintain US dominance in the technology. “I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week,” the president said in a Truth Social post about AI, published Monday morning. “We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 states, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS.”
/jlne.ws/48qkjQL

Berkshire Hathaway Shuffles Top Ranks in Runup to Warren Buffett’s Retirement
Gareth Vipers – The Wall Street Journal
Berkshire Hathaway’s top ranks are changing hands as it prepares for the imminent retirement of its founder Warren Buffett. One of Buffett’s top lieutenants, Todd Combs, Berkshire’s investment manager and chief executive of its Geico insurance unit, is stepping down to join JPMorgan Chase to head up the bank’s recently launched security and resiliency initiative. JPMorgan on Monday said Combs will lead the initiative’s $10 billion strategic-investment group and act as a special adviser to Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.
/jlne.ws/3KDtiF4

Wall Street Hedged Big Crypto Bet in $500 Million Ripple Deal
Ryan Weeks – Bloomberg
Ripple’s $500 million share sale in November drew some of Wall Street’s biggest names and marked a milestone in crypto’s evolution from fringe asset class to mainstream finance. Investors including Citadel Securities LLC and Fortress Investment Group backed the firm at a $40 billion valuation, a record for a privately held digital-asset company. But the structure of the deal also highlights the careful approach some institutional investors are taking as they wade deeper into the volatile sector. It included crucial protections: the right to sell shares back to Ripple at a guaranteed return and preferential treatment should a major event like a bankruptcy or sale occur.
/jlne.ws/49Zef2R

This Fed Rate-Cut Cycle Is Unusual, With Potentially Worrying Parallels
Chris Anstey – Bloomberg
Unusual Cycle When the Fed lowers interest rates by a whole lot, usually it’s because the economy or the financial system – or both – are in trouble. Already in its current cycle, the Fed has brought down its benchmark by some 1.5 percentage points over the space of little more than a year. But the cuts haven’t been aimed at countering a recession, or some ruction in finance. By Deutsche Bank’s tally, the Fed has slashed rates at the fastest pace outside of a recession since the 1980s. In one sense, it’s simply a reflection of normalizing policy after the most aggressive tightening cycle since the 1980s. But, as President Donald Trump prepares to name a new Fed chair and pushes monetary policy makers to add to their rate cuts, the unusual nature of this cycle bears some contemplation.
/jlne.ws/3MplZkP

Hedge fund ordered to pay bonus to trader who made 97% of its revenues; Evolution Capital Management must pay Robert Gagliardi $5.4mn plus interest after High Court judgment
Euan Healy – Financial Times
A hedge fund that was sued by a trader for refusing to pay a performance-related bonus, despite him making 97 per cent of its revenue, has been ordered to pay him $5.4mn plus interest by the High Court in London. Robert Gagliardi sued his former employer, Evolution Capital Management, in London, alleging that it acted in bad faith by denying him a $7.5mn discretionary bonus after he had generated more than $60mn for the firm between April 2021 and March 2022.
/jlne.ws/48EWxPB

Retail investors help drive gold and US stocks to bubble territory, BIS warns; ‘Explosive’ price gains show similarities with previous asset price bubbles, report says
Leslie Hook and Martin Arnold – Financial Times
Retail investors are helping drive gold and US stocks towards “bubble” territory, raising the risk of a disorderly reversal, the Bank for International Settlements has warned. In its latest quarterly review published on Monday, the BIS said that gold and US stocks showed the hallmarks of a bubble, including retail investor “exuberance”, surging valuations and media hype.
/jlne.ws/44iLBWO

The lone bread maker: Europe’s half-baked single market in services; EU countries remain reluctant to recognise qualifications from elsewhere in the bloc, causing one of many barriers to growth
Barbara Moens, Olaf Storbeck and Jonathan Vincent – Financial Times
After sending more than 20 letters to German and French authorities over an 18-month period, Ludovic Gerboin just gave up. His attempts to get his French master baker certificate recognised in Germany had hit a wall. Back in 2004, the boulanger from Laval had met the love of his life in Bavaria and wanted to open a bakery there. He eventually bit the bullet and took Germany’s Backermeister exam. The rules seemed arbitrary, the 47-year-old told the Financial Times: “It was so frustrating.”
/jlne.ws/4iGQaQu

AI poses a new antitrust problem; Washington cheered on the consolidation of the social web in the 2010s – it must not make the same mistake today
Shaoul Sussman – Financial Times
I joined the Federal Trade Commission in the summer of 2021, just weeks after a federal judge dismissed the agency’s antitrust complaint against Facebook. It was a frantic, all-hands-on-deck moment. I was thrown into a room with lawyers and economists and tasked with keeping the case alive. We rewrote the complaint, which challenged Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Even then we were well aware of how late it was. If the FTC eventually won at trial (which, spoiler, it did not), the appeals process and complexity of unwinding these companies meant that a remedy might not arrive until 2029 – 17 years after the first acquisition.
/jlne.ws/48WhnLH

AI’s Next Challenge: Take the CEO’s Job
Tim Higgins – The Wall Street Journal
The message out of Big Tech these days is that even the CEO’s job is at risk with the rise of artificial intelligence. We’re accustomed to all of the talk about superintelligent AI vacuuming up office jobs and robots replacing workers on factory floors. But now the corner office appears to be in trouble, too. “What a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things … for an AI to do,” Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent Alphabet, told a reporter recently. It can feel, at times, that Big Tech is just trying to one-up each other-predicting all of the innumerable ways that AI will remake the world. And it turns out, increasingly, that an AI worker isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? An AI CEO is cool.
/jlne.ws/3Mu3Ylm

Five Reasons Investors Are Feeling Good About Stocks Again
Sam Goldfarb – The Wall Street Journal
Anxiety has given way to hope on Wall Street. Stocks are back near records, recovering from a slump spurred by fears that the excitement about the artificial-intelligence boom has outstripped the potential profits. Optimism about AI has proved durable. But other important factors are also powering gains. Here’s a look at some of the reasons investors expect that the rally could go further from here: Stock valuations could be worse Stocks currently look very expensive by some measures, such as traditional price-to-earnings ratios. Still, even those ratios remain below their peaks reached in the 1990s dot-com boom. And stock valuations look less stretched in other ways.
/jlne.ws/3KOkmwy

Middle East Conflict

Trump Set to Unveil $12 Billion Aid for Farmers Hit by Trade War
Skylar Woodhouse and Gerson Freitas Jr – Bloomberg
The Trump administration on Monday plans to unveil a long-awaited farm aid package, according to a White House official, offering $12 billion in assistance to a key base of support hit hard by low crop prices and the impact of the president’s tariff policies. The aid will include up to $11 billion in one-time payments to crop farmers under the Department of Agriculture’s newly designed Farmer Bridge Assistance program, while the remaining is reserved for crops not covered under the FBA, according to the official, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
/jlne.ws/48qaAdd

US, India Seek to Reset Ties as Trade Deal Remains Elusive
Shruti Srivastava and Sudhi Ranjan Sen – Bloomberg
Two separate US delegations are in New Delhi this week to hold talks with their India counterparts, seeking to repair bilateral ties even as a trade deal remains elusive. Allison Hooker, under secretary of state for political affairs, will meet senior Indian officials including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during her visit from Dec. 7-11, the US embassy announced on the weekend. She’ll be followed by a delegation led by Rick Switzer, deputy US trade representative.
/jlne.ws/44fEWfV

Your Holiday Gift Contains a Lump of Tariffs
Matthew A. Winkler – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick say the tariffs imposed on imports to the US aren’t a tax on American consumers. Never mind that any credible economist says the opposite. The nonprofit Tax Foundation figures the duties equate to an average tax increase of $1,000 per household this year, rising to $1,400 in 2026.
/jlne.ws/4rQUAbV

US Tariff Shock Drove Global FX Trading to Record, BIS Says
Anya Andrianova – Bloomberg
Global foreign-exchange trading surged to an all-time high this year, averaging $9.5 trillion per day in April after US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs roiled markets, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The impact of the tariffs was “substantial,” driving an unexpected drop in the US dollar and accounting for more than $1.5 trillion of the average daily over-the-counter transactions in April, the BIS said in its quarterly review Monday citing data from its triennial survey.
/jlne.ws/3MpMwhU

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine Invasion

Pokrovsk: The city that changed the war in Ukraine
Memphis Barker – The Telegraph
Coming in the other direction, the soldiers looked exactly like the Ukrainian unit walking out of Pokrovsk after a 15-day deployment. They wore the same blue armbands and carried the same equipment. One of the four men said “hello”. But minutes later, a warning came over the radio: “Be careful, there is a group of Russian infiltrators in your area.”
/jlne.ws/48XUJTa

Will the EU’s bid to use frozen Russian assets hit the euro? Some fund managers see potential fallout affecting the currency’s global status from controversial plan
Ian Smith, Olaf Storbeck, Henry Foy and Sam Fleming – Financial Times
Brussels’ contentious plan to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to backstop up to EUR210bn in loans to Ukraine is testing the EU’s political and legal framework to the limit. But it could also have big consequences for the bloc’s financial markets.
/jlne.ws/3KH4FqS

Ukraine-Russia war latest: No deal with Trump on ceding territory, says Zelensky
Lilia Sebouai – The Telegraph
Volodymyr Zelensky said there is no agreement with Donald Trump on land swaps between Ukraine and Russia as part of a peace deal. The Ukrainian president, who has arrived at Downing Street to meet with Sir Keir Starmer, said that further discussion is required on who will have the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, along with a number of “sensitive” elements of the plan.
/jlne.ws/4pt1jHp

Trump Voices Disappointment in Zelenskiy as Peace Talks Drag
Hadriana Lowenkron – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump said he’s disappointed in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s handling of a US proposal to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion. Trump’s tone on Ukraine contrasted with comments in recent days about President Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the proposal. The US said Friday its negotiators had agreed with Kyiv on a “framework of security arrangements” and discussed what deterrence capabilities were needed as part of a deal to end the war with Russia. However, there was little indication of a major breakthrough.
/jlne.ws/4axJSkc

Kremlin says new US security strategy accords largely with Russia’s view
Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly – Reuters
The Kremlin on Sunday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy and said it largely accorded with Russia’s own perceptions, the first time that Moscow has so fulsomely praised such a document from its former Cold War foe. The U.S. National Security Strategy described Trump’s vision as one of “flexible realism” and argued that the U.S. should revive the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere to be Washington’s zone of influence.
/jlne.ws/3YbkwBg

France shielding EUR18bn Russian asset pot from EU ‘reparations loan’ push; Paris guarded names of private banks holding world’s second biggest accumulation of immobilised Russian state funds
Sarah White – Financial Times
France is under mounting pressure to help finance Ukraine by using EUR18bn of Russian sovereign assets largely immobilised at private banks whose identities Paris has kept under wraps for more than two years. To the irritation of some other European capitals, France has withheld any details on the institutions holding the Russian state funds and how any interest accrued is used, claiming it is an issue of client confidentiality.
/jlne.ws/4rKjLws

Other Conflicts

China Fighter Jet Locks Radar on Japan Planes in Row Over Taiwan
Kanoko Matsuyama – Bloomberg
Chinese and Japanese ties, already frayed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan, came under further strain this weekend after a Chinese fighter aircraft trained fire-control radar on Japanese military jets for the first time. The incident is set to further fuel tensions between the two nations sparked by the Japanese premier’s comments last month suggesting that Tokyo could deploy its military with other nations should China attack Taiwan.
/jlne.ws/3YkC51H

Thailand launches airstrikes at Cambodia as border tensions reignite
Panarat Thepgumpanat – Reuters
Thailand said it launched airstrikes into Cambodia on Monday as fighting broke out in multiple areas along their disputed border, after both countries accused the other of breaching a ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. At least one Thai soldier had been killed and eight were wounded in the fresh clashes that intensified around 5:00 a.m. local time (2200 GMT), a Thai army spokesperson said, adding that air support was called in to hit Cambodian military targets.
/jlne.ws/4rKgNbu

Exchanges, OTC and Clearing

CME data center shutdown attributable to human error – report
Jason Ma – Data Center Dynamics
The data center shutdown experienced by CME Group in late November has been attributed to human error, according to a report. A spokesperson told Bloomberg that onsite staff and contractors at the CH1 data center operated by CyrusOne had failed to follow standard procedure for draining cooling towers ahead of freezing temperatures.
/jlne.ws/49Zeg6V

LME Copper Hits Record on Global Supply Concerns
The Wall Street Journal
Copper prices extend last week’s gains, surging to fresh record highs on fears of global supply shortages. Futures on the London Metal Exchange rise 0.1% to $11,672.50 a metric ton, after reaching $11,771 a ton earlier in the trading session. “Supply shortages continue to spark panic buying,” ANZ Research analysts say. A series of unplanned disruptions at major mines this year have strained the market.
/jlne.ws/4a4OZIA

Clearstream Launches Next Data Solutions to Accelerate Proactive Decision-making
Deutsche Borse Group
Clearstream, the leading provider of post-trade services and part of Deutsche Borse Group, launches Next Data Solutions, a new generation of data solutions providing market participants with greater transparency across the post-trade value chain. The suite brings together four products-SettlementNext, LendingNext, CollateralNext and LiquidityNext-under a single data and analytics framework. Each product is designed to help financial institutions move from retrospective reporting toward proactive decision-making, anticipating settlement challenges, optimizing collateral allocation, and managing liquidity in real time.
/jlne.ws/4pVxnDB

Euronext unlocks new liquidity opportunities for equities with the launch of Auction Volume Discovery (AVD)
Euronext
Euronext today announced the launch of its new Auction Volume Discovery (AVD) order type for equities, enhancing Euronext’s offering around opening and closing auctions. Through a seamless and integrated workflow, this new service addresses growing client demand for innovative ways to interact with liquidity during auctions.
/jlne.ws/44gWGYp

Euronext’s AVD order type for equities goes live
Natasha Cocksedge – The TRADE
Euronext has launched its Auction Volume Discovery (AVD) order type for equities, as part of the firm’s effort to unlock additional liquidity for clients during auction periods. The new offering, first announced in May this year, will allow participants using the AVD to make use of the auction imbalance and access unique trading opportunities around opening and closing auctions.
/jlne.ws/4rKHJIa

ICE Mortgage Monitor: Mortgage Refinance Retention Hits Multi-Year High as Falling Rates Spur Activity Among Recently Originated Loans
ICE
ICE Mortgage Technology, neutral provider of a robust end-to-end mortgage platform and part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), today released its December 2025 ICE Mortgage Monitor Report. The latest analysis reveals servicer refinance retention rose to a 3.5-year high in Q3 2025 as falling interest rates expose homeowner eagerness to reduce monthly payments for lower returns than in past cycles.
/jlne.ws/48DbD8q

ASX can’t even get its own revenue numbers right
Hannah Wootton – Australian Financial Review
There would be few people in corporate circles keener for Christmas to roll around than ASX chair David Clarke and chief executive Helen Lofthouse. The year started badly enough after a major outage on the exchange last December crippled the settlement of trades, and it didn’t improve from there. There have been investigations into that outage and an ongoing review into the exchange’s governance, a court case from the corporate watchdog alleging the ASX misled investors, and a finding by the Reserve Bank that it wasn’t meeting operational risk standards.
/jlne.ws/4q0tyNv

FTSE SET Index Series December 2025 semi-annual review
LSEG
FTSE Russell announces that there will be one addition to the constituents of the FTSE SET Large-Cap Index, following the December 2025 semi-annual review. The index series is reviewed semi-annually in accordance with the index ground rules.
/jlne.ws/4pvqfhl

Miami International Holdings Reports Trading Results for November 2025
MIAX via prnewswire
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIAX) (NYSE: MIAX), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today reported November 2025 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries – MIAX, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Emerald and MIAX Sapphire (collectively, the MIAX Exchange Group), and MIAX Futures. November 2025 and Year-to-Date Highlights MIAX Exchange Group set a year-to-date (YTD) market share record of 17.1% through November 2025, a 14.0% increase from the same period in 2024. MIAX Exchange Group reached a YTD average daily volume (ADV) record of 9.6 million contracts through November 2025, a 45.0% increase from the same period in 2024. MIAX Futures reached a record YTD ADV of 13,772 contracts through November 2025, a 6.4% increase from the same period in 2024.
/jlne.ws/3KF05JT

NGX unveils commercial paper listings
MSN
Nigerian Exchange Limited has introduced Commercial Paper listings, following approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a statement from the NGX on Wednesday, the new market offering will deepen Nigeria’s short-term debt market.
/jlne.ws/44f5AFO

Research Hub of SIX Swiss Exchange Empowers Retail Investors
SIX
Retail investors are increasingly influential in equity capital markets. According to a report published by the strategic consultancy firm INDEFI , by 2030, retail investors are predicted to represent approximately 61% of the USD 175 trillion global assets under management (AUM), a leap from 52% of the USD 96 trillion AUM recorded in 2021.
/jlne.ws/4iKYxL4

Algeria to See Up to Three More IPOs in 2026, Regulator Says
Salah Slimani – Bloomberg
Algeria’s stock exchange will see two or three initial public offerings next year, including Ayrade, an IT company that’s seeking to finance data centers, according to the local regulator. Other possibilities are INSAG Education Group and a pharmaceutical laboratory, the head of the financial market authority, Youcef Bouzenada, said in an interview in Algiers on Sunday. He declined to name the latter company. Algeria, an OPEC member home to some of Africa’s largest oil and gas reserves, is trying to grow its small and illiquid bourse and diversify the economy.
/jlne.ws/3Yj4ncU

Fintech

IC360 and Eventus Announce Strategic Partnership to Establish Industry-Wide Standards for Prediction Market Surveillance and Integrity
Eventus
Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), a global technology and advisory platform for integrity and regulatory solutions in sports, sports betting, and iGaming, and Eventus, a leading global provider of comprehensive multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk technology, today announced a strategic partnership to enhance security and uphold integrity across the rapidly expanding prediction market industry. Both organizations recognize the significance of integrity monitoring and trade surveillance in supporting the rapid maturation of the prediction market vertical. One of the core initiatives of this partnership will be the development of best practices, compliance standards, and regulatory frameworks for prediction market operators. Additionally, both IC360 and Eventus will collaborate to deliver innovative and comprehensive integrity- and surveillance-focused products to the ecosystem.
/jlne.ws/3Ybfyo6

Exclusive | IBM Nears Roughly $11 Billion Deal for Confluent; Deal for data-infrastructure company could come as soon as Monday
Lauren Thomas – The Wall Street Journal
International Business Machines is in advanced talks to acquire data-infrastructure company Confluent for around $11 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be announced as soon as Monday, the people said, cautioning that the talks could still fall apart. Confluent had a market value of around $8 billion as of Friday, while IBM’s was around $290 billion.
/jlne.ws/44HDZx6

Bernstein unveils ETF execution algorithm; The new product launch, developed in close collaboration with Societe Generale, comes off the back of the recent surge in ETFs across the industry.
Natasha Cocksedge – The TRADE
Bernstein has launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) execution algorithm – ETF Fair Point – as part of an effort to enhance liquidity access to equity ETFs. The product was developed in close collaboration with Societe Generale and aims to provide institutional investors with ETF execution solutions through a combination of Bernstein’s agency-only trading platform and smart order routing, and Societe Generale’s ETF liquidity and market-making capabilities.
/jlne.ws/4rxO7Cr

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI Goes From Stock Market Savior to Burden as AI Risks Mount
Ryan Vlastelica – Bloomberg
Wall Street’s sentiment toward companies associated with artificial intelligence is shifting, and it’s all about two companies: OpenAI is down, and Alphabet Inc. is up. The maker of ChatGPT is no longer seen as being on the cutting edge of AI technology and is facing questions about its lack of profitability and the need to grow rapidly to pay for its massive spending commitments. Meanwhile, Google’s parent is emerging as a deep-pocketed competitor with tentacles in every part of the AI trade.
/jlne.ws/44VgzUZ

OpenAI Finds AI Saves Workers Nearly an Hour a Day on Average
Shirin Ghaffary – Bloomberg
OpenAI’s artificial intelligence products are saving workers an average of about 40 to 60 minutes a day on professional tasks, according to a large survey conducted by the ChatGPT maker amid lingering skepticism of the economic benefits of AI. Employees in industries such as data science, engineering and communications, as well as certain roles like accounting, reported some of the most time saved from using AI, according to OpenAI’s survey of 9,000 workers across 100 companies. Three quarters of employees said that using AI at work has improved either the speed or quality of their output, the survey found.
/jlne.ws/4pZ42bq

Putin Wanted AI Supremacy. Now Russia Is Struggling to Stay in the Race; Moscow finds itself even more dependent on China as war and sanctions curb artificial-intelligence efforts
Georgi Kantchev – The Wall Street Journal
President Vladimir Putin has often proclaimed that Russia must lead the world in artificial intelligence. In reality, the country is stuck on the sidelines as others pull ahead. As the U.S. and China race to dominate AI models and applications and countries in Europe and the Middle East pour resources into building computing infrastructure, the Ukraine war has derailed Russia’s once lofty ambitions. On the Russian-language version of LM Arena where users rate AI models, the top-performing Russian model ranks 25th, trailing behind even older iterations of ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. According to Stanford University’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool, which was released in November and measures the strength of countries’ AI ecosystems, Russia ranks 28th out of 36 countries.
/jlne.ws/4iEXTys

AI Browsers Aren’t Smart Enough Yet to Take Over the Internet; A crop of under-baked new products is splitting the internet into two lanes, forcing website developers to rethink who their pages are for.
Natalie Lung – Bloomberg
When OpenAI unveiled an artificial intelligence-based browser in October, Alphabet Inc. investors expressed concern about what it would mean for Google Chrome, the ubiquitous gateway to the internet used by billions globally. And yet, current versions of AI browsers are far from making legacy products like Chrome obsolete: New offerings from companies such as OpenAI and Perplexity AI Inc. present occasional bugs and trip over some seemingly straightforward requests, Bloomberg News found after testing them for a month.
/jlne.ws/4oFAvSO

AI Job Losses Are Coming, Tech Execs Say. The Question: Who’s Most at Risk?
Chip Cutter – The Wall Street Journal
DOHA, Qatar-It is one of the biggest, unresolved economic debates: Just how many white-collar professionals will lose their jobs because of artificial intelligence? At The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live Qatar event this week, the question came up on stage, over meals and in conversations alongside the conference. Even the most optimistic technology executives said the labor market should brace for at least some disruptions in the months ahead. Exactly how much pain workers endure-and which roles face the greatest likelihood of being overtaken by AI-brought conflicting views. Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, said he felt confident that big-name musicians, athletes and live performers would be immune from AI’s growing influence on entertainment. But he worried for those appearing in the background of movies.
/jlne.ws/44AItpt

Microprocessors

Google’s ‘TPU’ chip puts OpenAI on alert and shakes Nvidia investors; AI advances made through group’s custom processor hits Nvidia’s stock and prompts ChatGPT maker to declare ‘code red’
Tim Bradshaw – Financial Times
Google’s secret weapon in the artificial intelligence race is a chip that has helped the search group’s models leap ahead of OpenAI, prompting tech investors to reassess a new threat to Nvidia’s dominance. The Big Tech group’s “tensor processing unit” has been central to efforts to boost the performance of Google’s new Gemini 3 AI models, which have outperformed OpenAI’s GPT-5 in independent benchmarking tests.
/jlne.ws/4a4tnvM

Blockchain

Wall Street will be dragged to blockchain ‘kicking and screaming,’ Fidelity CEO says
Pedro Solimano – Yahoo Finance
The CEO of a $15 trillion Wall Street giant just called traditional finance “really kind of scary.” Abigail Johnson, who runs Fidelity, says the current financial system is the most complicated web of basically reconciliation processes built on “primitive technology” – and that blockchain will eventually replace it. But it won’t be an easy path. “It’s got to be an evolutionary process and it’ll be some combination of competitive forces and regulatory standards that will kind of push it kicking and screaming along,” Johnson said at an A16Z crypto event on December 4.
/jlne.ws/4oFEA9O

Tokenization

Why Tokenized Assets Can’t Flourish Without Liquidity: Securitize CEO
Andre Beganski – decrypt
Tokenization could make it easier for someone overseas to own a slice of Manhattan, but their ability to sell it may be overlooked, according to Securitize co-founder and CEO Carlos Domingo. When people started experimenting with digital representations of real-world assets years ago, they eventually came to realize that the technology has little bearing on the ability to sell investments quickly, with minimal loss in value, he told Decrypt in an interview.
/jlne.ws/4rYb2Ho

Connectivity/Data Centers

Google and NextEra to Develop Data Centers With Power Plants
Josh Saul and Natalie Lung – Bloomberg
Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud and NextEra Energy Inc. reached an agreement to develop data centers paired with electric plants in the latest example of how intertwined the tech and power sectors have become. The companies are developing three campuses and working to identify additional locations according to a statement Monday. In October, they announced an agreement to restart a NextEra nuclear plant in Iowa to power Google data centers.
/jlne.ws/4aDnKoz

Cybersecurity

Dad, 67, loses $400K after fake federal agents claimed his identity was stolen, son says. Here’s how the scam worked
Rebecca Payne – Moneywise
It’s a nightmare that adult children hope will never come true: your senior parent is scammed out of their life savings. That nightmare became reality for James Yancy, who says his 67-year-old father revealed to him that he had given his life savings – about $400,000 – to scammers posing as federal agents who claimed his identity had been stolen.
/jlne.ws/4plGflT

Amnesty says India’s review of location-tracking plan ‘deeply concerning’
Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra – Reuters
Amnesty International has said India’s review of a telecom industry proposal to mandate always-on satellite location tracking on phones for better lawful surveillance was “deeply concerning” and puts data of human rights defenders at risk. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has long pushed telecoms companies to give more precise locations of individuals under investigation.
/jlne.ws/4j2YlXP

Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase starts onboarding users again in India, plans for fiat on-ramp next year
Ivan Mehta – TechCrunch
After a pause of more than two years, crypto exchange Coinbase has opened its app for registration in India. At the moment, users are able to make crypto-to-crypto trades – but speaking at India Blockchain Week (IBW), Coinbase’s APAC director John O’Loghlen said the company will open up a fiat on-ramp in 2026, allowing users in India to load money and buy crypto.
/jlne.ws/49YotjZ

Crypto Has Reinvented and Replatformed the Middle Man
Sunny Lu – CoinDesk
Today is a pivotal and dangerous moment for crypto. In my twelve years in this space, I have never seen the conditions we’re experiencing now, even in our most bearish cycles. Individually, these signals would be disconcerting. Together, they are signs of a major potential crisis. Whatever happened to calls for utility or onboarding the next billion?
/jlne.ws/4a39KEu

Crypto Exchange Binance Gains Regulatory Win in Abu Dhabi
Alex Dooler – Bloomberg
Binance Holdings Ltd. has won three separate licenses from Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator, giving the crypto exchange giant one of its most comprehensive regulatory footholds yet. The approvals, issued during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, cover Binance’s regulated exchange, clearing infrastructure and broker-dealer arm. Together, they permit the firm to run a trading venue, handle custody and settlement and offer off-exchange services from Abu Dhabi.
/jlne.ws/4aC844V

Robinhood Arrives in Indonesia, Where Gen Z Arise as Tech-Savvy Investors
Oihyun Kim – BeInCrypto
Robinhood Markets has announced plans to acquire Indonesian brokerage PT Buana Capital Sekuritas and licensed digital asset trader PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, signaling its entry into Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing crypto market. The acquisitions position Robinhood to serve more than 19 million capital market investors and 17 million crypto traders in Indonesia. These deals are subject to approval by Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, with completion expected in the first half of 2026.
/jlne.ws/4pqAzr2

Korea to Treat Crypto Exchanges Like Banks After Upbit Hack
Anas Hassan – Cryptonews via Yahoo Finance
South Korea is moving to impose bank-level liability standards on crypto exchanges following a $30.1 million hack at Upbit last month, shifting toward treating major platforms with the same regulatory rigor as traditional financial institutions. According to The Korea Times, the Financial Services Commission is reviewing provisions that would require crypto exchanges to compensate users for losses caused by hacking or system failures, regardless of fault, mirroring rules currently applied only to banks and electronic payment firms under the country’s electronic financial transactions law.
/jlne.ws/4iG0tnY

[[Bitcoin]]

Famed Economist Slams Bitcoin As Asset With ‘Zero Value,’ Joins Growing Chorus of Criticism
Kurt Robson – CCN
Long-time Bitcoin skeptics renewed their criticism this week as crypto rebounded above the $90,000 mark. However, for all of the criticism, bullish optimism remained from major industry players. Economist Steve Hanke recently reiterated his long-held view that Bitcoin has “zero fundamental value,” calling it a purely speculative asset. Hanke, who has been a frequent critic of cryptocurrencies for years, said his position has been unchanged “since day one.”
/jlne.ws/4pUM0Xx

Strategy’s stock slide leaves bitcoin’s biggest booster with dwindling options; Michael Saylor’s financial engineering inspired dozens of imitators but is now close to unravelling
Jill R Shah – Financial Times
Two weeks after posting an AI-generated picture of himself fleeing a sinking ship, Michael Saylor last Monday floated a once unthinkable idea: that his company Strategy might soon sell some of its 650,000 bitcoins. The prospect of one of bitcoin’s most outspoken evangelists offloading the tokens shows how gravely the recent digital asset slump threatens the crypto-financial machine that Saylor has built.
/jlne.ws/48HGQHE

Strive Urges MSCI to Scrap Proposal Excluding Major BTC Holders
Amin Ayan – Cryptonews via Yahoo Finance
Strive, a Nasdaq-listed firm and the 14th-largest public holder of Bitcoin, is pushing back against MSCI’s plan to remove companies with significant digital-asset exposure from its global indexes. Key Takeaways: Strive says MSCI’s plan to exclude crypto-heavy firms would shut investors out of key growth sectors. JPMorgan warns Strategy could face up to $2.8B in losses under the proposal. Strive argues BTC-focused firms are vital to AI infrastructure and structured finance, making the cutoff unfair. In a letter addressed to MSCI chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez, the company warned that the proposal, which would exclude firms whose crypto holdings exceed 50% of total assets, risks shutting passive investors out of fast-growing corners of the market.
/jlne.ws/48t1cFO

Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Playbook Backfires on 100+ Companies
Anas Hassan – Cryptonews via Yahoo Finance
Digital asset treasury companies that rushed to copy Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin strategy are now hemorrhaging shareholder value, with median stock prices down 43% year to date, even as the broader market climbs higher, as per Bloomberg. Source: Bloomberg More than 100 publicly traded companies transformed themselves into cryptocurrency-holding vehicles in the first half of 2025, borrowing billions to buy digital tokens while their stock prices initially soared past the value of the underlying assets they purchased. The strategy seemed unstoppable until market reality delivered a harsh correction.
/jlne.ws/3MmAPbP

Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin Pushes Gas Futures Idea for Ethereum
Oluwapelumi Adejumo – BeinCrypto via Yahoo Finance
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is promoting a new mechanism to mitigate sudden spikes in transaction costs on the network. His latest proposal outlines a trustless, on-chain prediction market designed to help users secure future gas prices and manage volatility rather than react to it. Buterin Backs Ethereum Gas Pricing Market On December 6, Buterin argued that Ethereum needs a market-based signal for future demand for block space. The structure would trade exposure to the network’s Base Fee by letting participants buy or sell gas commitments tied to a future window.
/jlne.ws/3YkOFhr

Stablecoins

How Stablecoins Can Help Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions
Aaron Krolik – The New York Times
Smugglers, money launderers and people facing sanctions once relied on diamonds, gold and artwork to store illicit fortunes. The luxury goods could help hide wealth but were cumbersome to move and hard to spend. Now, criminals have a far more practical alternative: stablecoins, a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar that exists largely beyond traditional financial oversight. These digital tokens can be bought with a local currency and moved across borders almost instantly. Or they can be returned to the traditional banking system – including by converting funds into debit cards – often without detection, a New York Times review of corporate filings, online forum messages and blockchain data shows.
/jlne.ws/4pZW2XM

Stablecoin Adoption Is ‘Exploding’ – Here’s Why Wall Street Is Going All-In
Will Canny – CoinDesk via Yahoo Finance
For the past few years, stablecoins have been defined by a narrow reality: essentially a two-horse race between Tether’s USDT and Circle‘s (CRCL) USDC, with most activity concentrated on crypto-native exchanges. What comes next looks materially different, Alchemy co-founder and President Joe Lau told CoinDesk in an interview. The near-term trajectory for stablecoins has lots of directions, Lau said, but one theme dominates: stablecoin adoption is “exploding.” The reason, he argued, is that stablecoins deliver tangible advantages that traditional payments and banking systems struggle to match, most notably 24/7 settlement and digital-native money movement.
/jlne.ws/3MpHL87

Politics

Trump fired this regulator. She’s fighting him to the Supreme Court; Thrust into the spotlight, former Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter has taken on a new high-profile role: one of the primary opponents of Trump’s war on federal workers.
Justin Jouvenal – The Washington Post
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter was a powerful – but low-profile – bureaucrat when a New York Times news alert popped up on her phone blasting to the world her firing by President Donald Trump. The Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission had found out only minutes earlier. Her phone began blowing up as she stood outside her daughter’s school during a rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” Slaughter, who mostly avoided the media, was soon participating in an impromptu news conference on her phone as the musical carried on inside.
/jlne.ws/4iMhTzm

Fate of Fed’s Cook Tied to Supreme Court Case on Trump Firings
Greg Stohr – Bloomberg
A US Supreme Court argument Monday is likely to provide clues about the fate of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, whom President Donald Trump has tried to fire in his push for more control over the central bank. The clash over Trump’s attempted ouster of Democrat Rebecca Kelly Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission will be a prelude to Jan. 21 arguments over his bid to fire Cook. The two cases will test the carveout the Supreme Court seemed to create for the Fed in May to protect central bank governors from being fired at a president’s whim.
/jlne.ws/4a2H2Dz

Trump’s national security strategy skips Bitcoin and blockchain
Arjun Parashar – TheStreet via Yahoo Finance
The Trump administration’s newly released 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) mentions all the emerging technologies, but fails to menton Bitcoin or blockchain. For a president who campaigned on becoming the “crypto president” and floated a strategic national Bitcoin reserve, that omission is hard to miss. The National Security Strategy (NSS) is one of the most important policy documents produced by the White House. It lays out how a U.S. president views global threats and opportunities, and what tools (military, economic, technological, diplomatic) America will use to protect its interests.
/jlne.ws/48GWmDB

Trump Says He’ll Sign Executive Order Curbing State AI Rules
Hadriana Lowenkron and Skylar Woodhouse – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump said he would approve an executive order this week establishing “ONE RULE” on artificial intelligence aimed at limiting state-level policies regulating the technology. “I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week. You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something,” Trump posted Monday on social media.
/jlne.ws/3MmcPpj

Trump’s America and a clash of civilisations with Europe; The White House sees mass immigration as a bigger threat than Russia – and it is pressuring Europe to agree
Gideon Rachman – Financial Times
The Trump administration’s new national security strategy has got lousy reviews in Europe. Nonetheless, it is a genuinely interesting document. It attempts to do something very ambitious – which is to redefine national security in civilisational terms. Conventional takes on national security centre on military and economic imperatives. The new NSS trudges dutifully through these issues. But one senses that the author’s heart is not in it. A passage on the critical issue of Taiwan asserts flatly: “Deterring a conflict over Taiwan . . . is a priority. We will also maintain our longstanding declaratory policy on Taiwan.” That is the very definition of a holding statement.
/jlne.ws/3MoQasv

U.S. Administration

Bessent Says He Divested From Soybean Farms After Ethics Office Warning
Alan Rappeport – The New York Times
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he divested from his holdings of thousands of acres of North Dakota soybean farmland last week to comply with his federal ethics agreement. The move will separate Mr. Bessent from properties that posed potential conflicts of interest as he leads President Trump’s trade negotiations with China, including Beijing’s commitment to buying American soybeans. The divestment took place nearly eight months after Mr. Bessent was originally supposed to shed the assets. Federal officials are required to sell assets and investments that they could influence through their work for the U.S. government. The Treasury secretary, who has referred to himself as a “soybean farmer,” drew criticism from ethics watchdogs earlier this year for being slow to sell the properties.
/jlne.ws/3Yffjs8

United Kingdom

Farage’s £9 Million Crypto Donor Sparks Political Funding Fears in UK; The record-biggest single donation comes as some in Westminster seek a cap on political spending.
Lucy White and Emily Nicolle – Bloomberg
Reform UK broke records after it emerged this week that it had received a single £9 million ($12 million) donation from a cryptocurrency investor. While the size captured headlines, its significance went well beyond the amount of money involved. Some in the UK saw it as another attempt to import tactics that have helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency in the US, and a signal of just how much donors may be willing to spend to influence an upstart party creating policy from scratch.
/jlne.ws/4oRlCNG

Nigel Farage Is Trying to Keep His Wealthy Backers Sweet
Martin Ivens – Bloomberg
Fans of Millwall, an English soccer club once better known for its hooligans than its football skills, used to chant “No one likes us, we don’t care.” Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK’s populists, often adopts a similarly defiant pose. Twenty years of condescension from the Tories, his rivals for the right-wing vote, and a prickly relationship with the mainstream media have eaten into Farage’s soul. A man who traded on his irreverent tough cheerfulness has become prone to cross outbursts, claiming that he’s unfairly targeted in the press and alleging BBC bias.
/jlne.ws/48Y21q4

The UK must do more than go on muddling through
Martin Wolf – Financial Times
In 2024, UK GDP per head at constant prices was 30 per cent below what it would have been if the trend rate of growth between 1980 and 2007 had continued. This dire performance tells us almost everything we need to know about what has been driving the country’s politics and society. For people long used to economic growth, its disappearance is inevitably traumatic. Their perspective becomes zero-sum: more for someone else is seen as less for them, and so they become defensive, pessimistic and angry.
/jlne.ws/4pP3BAe

European Union

Europe Faces Most Difficult Moment in Bid to Avoid Split With US
Alex Wickham and Alberto Nardelli – Bloomberg
The message couldn’t have been clearer. In a 33-page National Security Strategy signed by President Donald Trump, the White House said Europe risked being wiped away unless it changed its culture and politics. For Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, the timing of their key ally’s latest broadside – much in the vein of Vice President JD Vance’s infamous Munich address in February – was telling. It came just as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters a potentially decisive phase.
/jlne.ws/4pohWDU

India

India’s Once Unshakeable Ties With Russia Are Fraying
Mihir Sharma – Bloomberg Opinion
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi last week was his first since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Bilateral summits used to be held annually, but until now the Indian side has seemed to find reasons to avoid them. This time, however, the Russian president was greeted with ostentatious bonhomie. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him as he landed, and the two leaders hugged. The readout afterward praised the two countries’ “special and privileged strategic partnership.”
/jlne.ws/4iPwWIK

Others

Qatar Sets Up National AI Firm, Following Wealthy Gulf Neighbors
Fiona MacDonald – Bloomberg
Qatar is establishing a new company to develop and invest in artificial intelligence, joining larger Gulf nations in plowing national resources into the technology. The new entity, called Qai, will operate as a subsidiary of the nation’s $524 billion sovereign wealth, Qatar Investment Authority, the firm said in a statement on Monday. Qai will invest in AI infrastructure in Qatar and globally, as well as provide “high-performance computing and a connected suite of tools,” according to the statement.
/jlne.ws/4rKj7PH

Regulation

A Financial Watchdog’s Fate Is in Limbo. Idled Employees Are Still Being Paid; Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wait while the Trump administration’s mass layoffs at the agency are challenged in court
Dylan Tokar – The Wall Street Journal
John Thompson had been working at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for over a decade when he and his colleagues were abruptly ordered to halt work. It was February, and the Trump administration was back in charge. In the days that followed, the president’s pick to temporarily lead the federal government’s consumer financial watchdog, Russell Vought, quickly moved to shut the agency’s offices and dramatically slash its staff. At home, Thompson, 48 years old, soon found himself in a state of forced inactivity, despite continuing to draw a paycheck.
/jlne.ws/44aQf9k

Trump Orders Probe of Food Industries for Possible Price Fixing
Vincent Lee – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the US food supply chain for potential price fixing and other anti-competitive behavior to drive up costs of goods such as meat, seeds and fertilizer, especially by foreign companies. Trump, in an executive order published Saturday, said he ordered the department and the FTC to establish a task force dedicated to investigating any anti-competitive behavior and whether control of food-related industries by foreign entities pose a national security threat.
/jlne.ws/44VgFvP

Argentina’s SAB121-Central Bank Close to Lifting TradFi Crypto Ban
James Morales – CCN
When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) axed a contentious crypto accounting rule in January, it helped catalyze a wave of institutional crypto adoption in the U.S. Now, as Argentina’s central bank considers a similar change, the Latin American nation is on the cusp of its own SAB121 moment.
/jlne.ws/4pWnkya

Whistleblowing in the UK, Ep. 1: The cost of speaking up; Two whistleblowers explain why they spoke up, and what it cost them.
Podcast – Behind the Money – Financial Times
For years, corporate whistleblowers in the UK have found themselves in an unenviable predicament. They’re encouraged to report wrongdoing, but at the same time they often feel like they’ve risked everything: their careers and livelihoods in exchange for little. In this special two-part series, we explore why critics think this system is failing whistleblowers and what the UK can do to change things. In part one: We hear from two whistleblowers who share why they blew the whistle and what went wrong after. Plus, the FT’s financial regulation editor Martin Arnold and Mary Inman, the attorney who represented well-known whistleblowers such as Frances Haugen of Meta and Tyler Shultz of Theranos, discuss the systemic issues whistleblowers have faced in the UK.
/jlne.ws/3XGTOQM

SEC Announces Departure of OIEA Director Lori J. Schock
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Lori J. Schock, who has served as the Director of the Office of Investor Education and Assistance (OIEA) since 2009, will retire from the agency at the end of December. “I have known Lori for decades, when I was a Commissioner and now as Chairman, and I have witnessed firsthand her unwavering commitment to provide America’s investors with invaluable information to help them make better informed investing decisions,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “She has a unique ability to make a deep connection with everyday investors explaining the most complex investing terms in a way they can understand. Her dedication to educating investors has been a touchstone for the agency. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
/jlne.ws/4iGg7ja

SEC to Host Webinar for Transfer Agents on Regulation S-P
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced it will hold the second in its series of compliance outreach events regarding the 2024 adoption of amendments to Regulation S-P. The event, for transfer agents, is a webinar scheduled for December 17 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET. The third event in the series, for small firms, will be announced at a later date. The Regulation S-P compliance outreach events are tailored for each registrant type and scheduled according to the compliance deadlines published in the Regulation S-P rule amendments. Staff from the Divisions of Examinations and Trading and Markets will cover the new Regulation S-P compliance obligations, discuss what to expect when interacting with an exam team during an examination, and answer any remaining compliance questions.
/jlne.ws/48vRaCg

SEC Announces Agenda and Panelists for Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force has announced the agenda and panelists for its rescheduled Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy. “New technologies give us a fresh opportunity to recalibrate financial surveillance measures to ensure the protection of our nation and the liberties that make America unique,” said Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, head of the Crypto Task Force. “I look forward to this chance for the SEC, other federal regulators, and the public to learn from the roundtable participants about how these new tools work.”
/jlne.ws/3MkBdaV

Statement on the Global Research Analyst Settlement
Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda – SEC
Today, the Commission took an important step toward eliminating outdated and costly requirements on firms and improving the availability of equity research in our markets by agreeing to amend the Global Research Analyst Settlement (the “Global Research Settlement”).[1] The history behind the Global Research Settlement dates back to the dot-com bubble of the late-1990s that eventually burst. During that time, concerns were raised about the role played by sell-side investment research. Specifically, investment bankers were alleged to have influenced research analysts, biasing their work product to attract investment banking business based on favorable company reports. The SEC, the then-NASD (now FINRA), the NYSE, the North American Securities Administrators Association, and the New York State Attorney General settled with 12 major broker-dealer firms for failing to manage conflicts of interest between their research analysts and investment bankers.
/jlne.ws/48EnMd7

SEC Consents to Termination of Undertakings in Global Research Analyst Settlement
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today consented to modifications to the October 2003 and September 2004 final judgments against settling firms still covered by the Global Research Analyst Settlement, a global settlement of SEC and other enforcement actions against twelve investment banks and two individuals. The modifications are subject to court approval.
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SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Principals of Subprime Automobile Finance Company Charged with Fraud
SEC
On December 3, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgment against James R. Collins and Robert F. DiMeo, two former executives of a subprime automobile finance company, whom the SEC previously charged with misleading investors about the subprime automobile loans that backed the company’s $100 million securities offering.
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SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Three Allianz Portfolio Managers
SEC
On November 26, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained final judgments against three former senior portfolio managers at Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (AGI US). The SEC previously charged Gregoire P. Tournant (Tournant), Trevor L. Taylor (Taylor), and Stephen G. Bond-Nelson (Bond-Nelson) with a massive fraudulent scheme that concealed the significant downside risks of a complex options trading strategy called “Structured Alpha.”
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SEC Charges New York Man with Defrauding Clients by Posing as a Professional Money Manager
SEC
On December 5, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Shahin Ahmed, the personal driver of a hedge fund manager for posing as an investment professional to convince three investors to let him manage their money, resulting in their combined losses of over $1 million.
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ASIC issues DDO stop order against FXCM for TMD deficiencies | ASIC
ASIC
ASIC has made an interim stop order preventing Stratos Trading Pty Limited (trading as FXCM) from issuing contracts for difference (CFDs) to retail clients because of deficiencies in its target market determination (TMD). ASIC acted because it was concerned that the TMD inappropriately included investors with a medium risk appetite in the target market for FXCM’s CFDs.
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FCA sets out landmark package to boost UK investment culture
FCA
The FCA has set out a suite of measures to empower retail investment, reinforce wholesale markets and maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading financial centre.
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Investing and Trading

401(k)s Are Minting a Generation of ‘Moderate Millionaires’; Many Americans are peeking at their retirement accounts and cheering higher balances
Gunjan Banerji – The Wall Street Journal
The 401(k) millionaire club is growing. Steady saving by many Americans and a third consecutive year of big gains for U.S. stocks have swollen account balances. As 2025 comes to a close, many individual investors are finding holiday cheer in statements showing they have crossed the $1 million milestone. As of the third quarter, there were 654,000 401(k) millionaires at the brokerage Fidelity, the highest level in records going back to the early 2000s. Around 3.2% of more than three million accounts tracked by benefits provider Alight had balances above $1 million as of the third quarter, double the figure at the end of 2022. At T. Rowe Price, roughly 2.6% of participants had balances above $1 million, up from 1.3% at the end of 2022.
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Mystery Trader Mints $1.2 Overnight Million in Warner Bros. Options Bet
Bernard Goyder – Bloomberg
A trader made more than a million dollars in profit betting on a rise in Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. shares, cashing in the position after Netflix Inc. emerged as the winner from a bidding war for the entertainment company. The trader spent almost $3 million in premium Thursday afternoon on call spreads, wagering that Warner Bros. shares would be above $23.50 in two weeks’ time, with gains capped above $27. Early Friday, the same trader cashed in the position for $4.1 million, minting a $1.15 million profit, according to Susquehanna Market Intelligence, part of Susquehanna International Group.
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Bond Traders Defy the Fed and Spark Heated Debate on Wall Street
Ye Xie and Michael MacKenzie – Bloomberg
The bond market’s reaction to the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cuts has been highly unusual. By some measures, a disconnect like this, with Treasury yields climbing as the central bank lowers rates, hasn’t been seen since the 1990s. What the divergence indicates is a matter of heated debate. Opinions are all over the place, from the bullish (a sign of confidence that recession will be averted) to the more neutral (a return to pre-2008 market norms) to the favorite culprit of the so-called bond vigilantes (investors are losing confidence the US will ever rein in the constantly swelling national debt).
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Goldman’s $2 Billion ETF Deal Exposes Shareholder Blind Spots
Aaron Brown – Bloomberg Opinion
Every so often a story comes along that encapsulates all the reasons to be ashamed I work in finance. Don’t misunderstand. Overall, I’m moderately proud of my career and think the world might be slightly better for it. But like most careers, finance requires co-existing with some unseemly practices. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s recently announced $2 billion deal to acquire Innovator Capital Management lays bare a few aspects that I find frustrating in the world of exchange-traded funds. Innovator manages $28 billion in 150 “defined-outcome” ETFs.
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Gold Surge Sees Shift to Speculative Asset From Haven, BIS Says
Bastian Benrath-Wright – Bloomberg
Retail investors drove the recent gold price surge, pushing bullion out of its traditional safe haven pattern to a more speculative asset, according to the Bank for International Settlements. While the rally may have been stoked by institutional traders seeking safe haven exposure amid growing doubts about stretched equity valuations, there’s evidence that it was amplified by retail investors trying to take advantage. That prompted a shift away from usual patterns, the Basel-based institution said Monday in its quarterly report on market developments.
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Central bank body BIS raises concerns of gold and stocks double bubble
Marc Jones – Reuters
The combination of gold and share prices soaring in unison is a phenomenon not seen in at least half a century and raises questions of a potential bubble in both, global central bank umbrella body, the Bank for International Settlements, says. While equity markets continue to be driven by AI and tech gains, gold’s 60% surge this year is set to be its biggest since 1979, fuelling debate about whether its traditional role as a safe-haven asset has changed.
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Inflation, inflation, inflation – the main risk ahead for investors; Diversification to cushion impact of rising prices is needed
Karen Ward – Financial Times
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The Clock Is Ticking for IRA Inheritors to Take Distributions
Ashlea Ebeling – The Wall Street Journal
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Lower Your Taxes With These Five Often-Missed Credits
Lori Ioannou – The Wall Street Journal
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Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance

What Scientists Found When a Deep Sea Mining Company Invited Them In
Sachi Kitajima Mulkey – The New York Times
Industrial mining of the seabed could reduce the abundance and diversity of tiny animals living in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, a new study found. The study, published Friday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, was funded by The Metals Company, which is vying to become the first company to conduct commercial mining on the ocean floor.
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Dodging Icebergs and Storms on the Hunt for an Ocean Tipping Point
Raymond Zhong – The New York Times
From the deck of a ship off eastern Greenland, the most majestic presence isn’t the whales, the icebergs or even the towering, glacier-wrapped mountains. It’s the parade of frigid, midnight-blue water, 75 miles wide, that streams down the coast from the Arctic Ocean. Farther south, these currents mingle with tropical water swinging up through the Gulf Stream, and together they set ocean temperatures throughout the North Atlantic, like hot and cold taps on a giant bath.
/jlne.ws/4pTgmtB

More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters
Oliver Milman – The Guardian
A coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a national moratorium on new datacenters in the US, the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming artificial intelligence industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis. The green groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch and dozens of local organizations, have urged members of Congress to halt the proliferation of energy-hungry datacenters, accusing them of causing planet-heating emissions, sucking up vast amounts of water and for exacerbating electricity bill increases that have hit Americans this year.
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Carney Defector Says ‘No Way’ Canada Can Meet Climate Goals Now
Akshat Rathi and Danielle Bochove – Bloomberg
Canada is unlikely to reach its net-zero goal due to recent policy changes, said Liberal Party politician Steven Guilbeault, who resigned last week from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet on account of the shift. The country was already struggling to bend its emissions curve enough to meet targets over the next decade, Guilbeault told Akshat Rathi in an interview for Bloomberg’s podcast Zero. But a deal between the federal government and the oil-rich province of Alberta jeopardizes the country’s legally binding 2050 net-zero commitment, he said.
/jlne.ws/4aB4Qi0

India Weighs Power Plan Shift to Expand Coal Through 2047
Rajesh Kumar Singh – Bloomberg
India is considering an unprecedented increase in coal power capacity, potentially building new plants until at least 2047, according to people familiar with the development. The proposal, currently under discussion between the power ministry and the government’s policy making agency NITI Aayog, marks a major shift from current projections that see net additions peaking by 2035, said the people, who asked not to be named. Industry leaders will be informed as soon as the numbers are finalized, the people added.
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Qatar Says AI Demand, Underinvestment May Drive LNG Shortage
Fiona MacDonald and Biz Carson – Bloomberg
Qatar’s energy minister said he’s “really worried” a lack of investment and a surge in energy use from AI will create a shortage of LNG and natural gas supplies beyond 2035. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said global demand for liquefied natural gas will increase between 600 million tons to 700 million tons annually in ten years time – compared to the latest yearly production level of 400 million tons – with much of it driven by growth in energy-intensive AI.
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Energy Impact Partners Shops for Clean Tech Buyouts Amid AI Boom
Coco Liu – Bloomberg
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Greek-US LNG Deals Reshape Europe’s Energy Map, Deputy PM Says
Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas – Bloomberg
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NextEra to Acquire Symmetry Energy to Expand in Natural Gas
Isis Almeida and Ryan Gould – Bloomberg
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Institutions

Nomura completes Macquarie acquisition in $1.8 billion deal; The transaction is expected to expand Nomura’s global asset management footprint, and will see the acquired assets combining with the firm’s private markets and high yield businesses to form an international branch of Nomura Asset Management.
Natasha Cocksedge – The TRADE
Nomura has successfully completed its acquisition of Macquarie’s US and European public asset management business, in a deal valued at a purchase price of $1.8 billion. The deal, which was initially announced in April 2025, brings together approximately $166 billion client assets spanning equities, fixed income and multi-asset strategies under the Nomura Asset Management umbrella. The move supports the Nomura’s vision to expand its global asset management business, and as part of the deal the firm will combine the acquired assets with its private markets business, Nomura Capital Management, and its high yield business, Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management, to form Nomura Asset Management International, as part of Nomura Asset Management.
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America Gets Retirement Wrong. Can Vanguard Fix That?
Allison Schrager – Bloomberg
I’ve been a retirement economist for my entire adult life, and yet I am continually amazed at how America continues to get retirement saving so wrong. Now, finally, the world’s largest issuer of mutual funds is showing signs that it recognizes a major flaw in the system. Vanguard announced last week that next year it plans to offer target-date mutual funds that allow customers to buy annuities. This may address one of the failings of the US retirement system, which is that it does not offer any good answers for what people should do with their money once they retire.
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State Street promotes from within for new global head of FX sales and trading
Claudia Preece – The TRADE
Chris Pizzotti has been named global head of FX sales and trading at State Street. He had most recently served as head of FX voice trading at the firm for seven years. In the new role, he will be responsible for the strategic direction and execution of State Street Markets’ FX sales and trading offering. Specifically, Boston-based Pizzotti will oversee all of the trading functions and client engagement.
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Robinhood to enter Indonesia with brokerage, crypto trader acquisition
Reuters
Robinhood Markets will acquire Indonesian brokerage firm Buana Capital Sekuritas and licensed digital asset trader Pedagang Aset Kripto, marking the retail trading platform’s entry into one of Southeast Asia’s major crypto hubs, the company said in a blog post on Sunday. Indonesia is among the world’s leading adopters of cryptocurrency, backed by supportive regulation and a tech-savvy young population, making it a prime target for U.S. firms seeking growth in Asia.
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Robinhood Set to Enter Indonesia Market as Retail Investors Boom
Prima Wirayani – Bloomberg
Robinhood Markets Inc. is set to enter the Indonesian market after signing deals to acquire two local brokerages, underscoring the appeal of the Southeast Asian country’s growing ranks of retail investors. The US firm entered into agreements to buy Indonesian brokerage PT Buana Capital Sekuritas and licensed digital asset trader PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, according to a statement by Robinhood on Monday. No financial details were disclosed.
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Banks Love Significant Risk Transfers – and That Has Regulators Worried
Esteban Duarte – Bloomberg
Banks have been in a bind. They want to make more loans so they can better compete against non-banking lenders and boost profits, but they have been hindered by tighter rules imposed after the 2008 financial crisis that require them to hold aside extra money to cover potential losses on the loans they have already made. This leaves less fresh capital available to pursue new lending or expand the company.
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Stifel to follow through on UK equities trading exit
Natasha Cocksedge – The TRADE
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JPMorgan Taps Todd Combs to Lead Security Investments Group
Katherine Chiglinsky and Tom Metcalf – Bloomberg
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Hedge Funds

Hedge Fund Titan Howard Helps Abu Dhabi Morph Into a Global Hub
Nishant Kumar – Bloomberg
Alan Howard planted a flag in Abu Dhabi in 2023, the opening act of his eponymous hedge fund’s campaign to win over the emirate’s deep-pocketed investors. When he talked up the city months later, that outpost was well on its way to becoming his firm’s biggest risk-taking center. A couple years ago, “I thought it would be the third leg or one of the three legs with New York and London,” Howard said at the city’s annual finance confab on Monday. “I think it’s fully on its way to already be there.”
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Hedge-Fund Trader Wins $5.4 Million UK Fight Over Denied Bonus
Jonathan Browning – Bloomberg
A London hedge-fund trader who was dragged into a market-abuse probe that rattled Wall Street won his legal fight for a multi-million dollar bonus withheld by his former firm Evolution Capital Management. Robert Gagliardi claimed he was responsible for nearly all of the firm’s revenue but was wrongfully denied his performance bonus after it emerged he was caught up in a sprawling block-trading investigation by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Private Markets

Apollo CEO Isn’t Fully Right About Private Credit
Bloomberg (video)
Apollo CEO Marc Rowan recently said everyone had “lost their minds” about private credit losses. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies explains why that’s not entirely right, according to the data. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Invesco Teams Up With LGT on Private Equity and Credit for Retail
Silla Brush – Bloomberg
Invesco Ltd. is taking another step to expand its presence in private markets, teaming up with LGT Capital Partners on portfolios of alternative assets for US retail and retirement investors. The plan will cover private equity, credit and infrastructure assets as well investments in the market for secondary stakes, the firms said Monday in a statement. It’s at least the second partnership Invesco has struck since late April, when the Atlanta-based firm that manages $2.1 trillion of client assets joined with Barings on private credit funds.
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Private Equity

Bain Is Said to Weigh Options for Asian Data Center Firm Bridge
Dong Cao and Manuel Baigorri – Bloomberg
Bain Capital is considering options including bringing in fresh backers for Singapore-based Bridge Data Centres to help it to raise cash and expand, according to people familiar with the situation. The US private equity firm is holding early talks with advisers about a review that may lead to a stake sale, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. One of the options could include setting up a continuation fund, a move that would enable Bain to retain a holding in the business while bringing in new investors to turbocharge growth, the people said.
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Work & Management

Working while collecting Social Security: The ‘slow fade’ to retirement more people are choosing
Kerry Hannon – Yahoo Finance
Claiming Social Security while still working isn’t an outlier these days. It’s pretty common, according to a recent report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, which found that 2 in 5 people combine work and benefits for at least some period of time. Count among them Sharon Smith, who started her Social Security benefit at 67, even though she wasn’t retiring.
/jlne.ws/4pMRLGI

Bank of England Plans Staffing Cuts Because of Budget Pressures
Tom Rees – Bloomberg
The Bank of England is planning to reduce head count as its finances become strained by the cost of implementing the modernizations recommended by Ben Bernanke. The UK central bank has invited employees to volunteer for potential layoffs, according to two people familiar with the matter. It will run “a mutually agreed, time-limited scheme for staff to choose to apply to leave,” it confirmed in a statement, adding that it had struck a deal for a 3% pay increase next year.
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The endless importance of good manners in the office; Rude colleagues hurt themselves as much as those condemned to work with them
Pilita Clark – Financial Times
Of all that was said about Tom Stoppard after last week’s news of the playwright’s death, it was striking to see how many times people mentioned his manners. They were “famously good”, said fellow dramatist, Patrick Marber, and “even courtly”, added theatre critic, Nick Curtis. Actors remembered a man who was “very kind” (Tom Hollander), and “clever and kind” (Harriet Walter), while the writer, Harry Mount, devoted an entire article to “the extraordinary manners of the late Tom Stoppard”.
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Wellness Exchange

CDC Panel’s Hepatitis B Vaccine Vote Undid Decades of Progress
Lisa Jarvis – Bloomberg Opinion
In a stunning decision that defies all expert advice and scientific evidence, the influential group that shapes US vaccine policy will no longer recommend that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccination shortly after birth. It’s a dangerous change that will cause real harm, made by a panel – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) – tasked with protecting public health. Equally alarming as the decision itself was the process by which it was made – a process that demonstrates how this committee, handpicked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could use its authority to undermine access to and confidence in other routine shots.
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Bill Gates Says World Near Ending Polio as Funding Gap Narrows
Ashleigh Furlong – Bloomberg
The world is moving closer to ending polio, Bill Gates says, with new pledges announced in Abu Dhabi pushing the global campaign to within about $440 million of the funding needed to finish the job by 2029. Gates, whose foundation is the biggest private backer of the effort, said momentum is finally aligning after years of setbacks. “We’re with a reasonable chance of success, not a guarantee, but we’re reasonably close to the end,” he said in an interview. “So the next four years of funding make a big difference.”
/jlne.ws/3KGHDQZ

You might be fooling yourself about peanut butter, plus 5 other protein mistakes
Anahad O’Connor and Geoff Edgers – The Washington Post
Optimizing your protein intake can be tricky. It’s not just how much protein you eat that matters, but when you eat it and the foods that you get it from. You may even have higher protein needs than you think depending on your overall health, your age, your activity levels and other factors. Protein makes up our muscles, vital organs and skin cells, and it influences our metabolism, appetite and immune system. While our bodies can make some amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, others we can get only from eating certain foods.
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Global leaders commit $1.9 billion to eradicate polio amid funding cuts
Reuters
Global leaders pledged $1.9 billion to advance polio eradication on Monday, accelerating efforts to protect 370 million children from polio each year amid significant funding cuts. The budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership that includes the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, is expected to take a 30% cut in 2026 and has a funding gap of $1.7 billion up to 2029.
/jlne.ws/3KjPmod

Do You Know What Hepatitis Is?
Simar Bajaj – The New York Times
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel recommended against routinely providing the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. It’s a move that public health experts worry will put more infants at risk of infection. It is also the latest mixed message by the Trump administration on the issue of hepatitis, or liver inflammation. While the Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new initiative to increase hepatitis B screening, and revived a yearslong effort to eliminate hepatitis C, it has also closed the nation’s viral hepatitis laboratory. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, has sown doubt about the safety of hepatitis B vaccines.
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Regions

Investors to Double Down on Frontier Markets After Banner Year
Malavika Kaur Makol and Matthew Burgess – Bloomberg
Frontier markets will likely extend their impressive rally into next year, thanks to investor optimism about economic recovery and reduced risks of sovereign defaults. Asia Frontier Capital Ltd., a Hong Kong-based fund manager focused on the region’s high-growth economies, is buying stocks in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Aberdeen Group Plc sees potential for bond gains in Argentina, Ghana and Ecuador next year, while Federated Hermes Inc. has increased exposure to frontier bonds and favors debt from Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Ecuador.
/jlne.ws/4a3WeAm

The Trillion-Dollar Machine Powering Abu Dhabi’s Global Ambitions
Priyanjana Bengani, Nicolas Parasie, Alex Dooler, Dinesh Nair, and Demetrios Pogkas – Bloomberg
Deep pools of wealth have given Abu Dhabi unprecedented sway over global finance, energy, and AI. To pull it off, the emirate’s three sovereign wealth funds – ADIA, Mubadala and ADQ – have done hundreds of deals in recent years as they’ve sought to deploy their slice of the United Arab Emirates’ trillions and wean its economy off oil, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of thousands of news reports, regulatory filings and press releases. Alongside Abu Dhabi’s other investment vehicles, these funds have grown to become some of the most prolific investors on the planet.
/jlne.ws/4iFXCv8

China’s Steel Surplus Is Not Easy to Tackle, Says Association
Katharine Gemmell and Sabela Ojea – Bloomberg
China’s stubborn steel overcapacity won’t be easy to fix because the industry is so deeply intertwined with the country’s broader economy, according to the head of the World Steel Association. “Just closing a steel company has a big knock-on effect in the rest of the domestic economy,” said Edwin Basson, director general of the organization that represents steelmakers worldwide. “There’s no short-term practical solution,” he told Bloomberg News.
/jlne.ws/48mF7sk

China’s PBOC Extends Gold-Buying Streak as Metal’s Rally Cools
Yihui Xie – Bloomberg
China’s central bank added to its gold reserves for a 13th straight month, according to data released on Sunday. Bullion held by the People’s Bank of China rose by 30,000 troy ounces last month, bringing the total to around 74.12 million troy ounces. The current buying cycle began in November 2024.
/jlne.ws/4pohDce

Mars Wins Unconditional EU Nod for $36 Billion Kellanova Deal
Samuel Stolton – Bloomberg
Mars Inc.’s $36 billion bid for cereals and Pringles chips maker Kellanova won European Union approval after regulators backtracked on earlier concerns over the largest packaged-food deal in almost a decade. The European Commission, the bloc’s merger watchdog, confirmed Monday that regulators ditched earlier concerns about how Mars could leverage its increasing portfolio power in discussions with retailers after the purchase.
/jlne.ws/48XaMRk

A land fight pits a sacred Apache tradition against a copper mine
Dana Hedgpeth and Erin Patrick O’Connor – The Washington Post
The girl danced for hours in the knee-deep water as slanting rain pelted her slight frame weighed down by a sodden buckskin dress. Each step brought her closer to the end of a ritual that also signified a beginning. The Washington Post was allowed to record parts of the Sunrise Dance ceremony without audio, to preserve its spiritual power. Several days earlier, Lozen Brown-Lopez had arrived at the top of Oak Flat. She was 11 years old, from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and about to endure a grueling four-day ceremony that has been practiced by Apaches for centuries. Surrounded by a hundred family and fellow tribal members, dancers, singers and medicine men, she would perform the Sunrise Dance, reenacting part of the Apache creation story. At the end, after she had been daubed in clay to represent the mythological mother of all Apaches and ritually cleansed, Lozen would emerge as a young woman.
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Copper Trades Near Record as US Stockpiling Spurs Supply Crunch
Bloomberg
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Miscellaneous

The ‘6-7’ TikTok Meme Has Been 120 Years in the Making
Stephen Mihm – Bloomberg
As any parent of today’s teenagers knows, listening to your progeny often feels like you’re eavesdropping on some secret society that has its own language. The words and phrases – “no cap,” “skibidi,” and the most recent and perplexing of all, “6-7” – sound like thieves’ cant. Coverage of this linguistic inventiveness has been predictable, with most summing up these trends as a common part of adolescence – the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.
/jlne.ws/48piMdB

Japan’s Bear-Related Casualties Hit Record on Escalating Attacks
Alice French – Bloomberg
A record 230 were killed or injured by bears in Japan since April, putting more pressure on the government to intervene as the animals push deeper into areas where people live. Thirteen have died and 217 were injured as a result of bear attacks in the eight months through end-November, according to data released Friday by the environment ministry. The total already exceeds the previous record of 219 for the fiscal year through March 2024. Roughly two-thirds of casualties occurred in the sparsely-populated northern Tohoku region.
/jlne.ws/4iM1iMf