8 min read

177 Exchange Invest Weekly Podcast January 21st, 2023

FTX debt for the bankrupt exchange business is selling in the liquidation market at 87% off thus FTX debt for the bankrupt entity

Transcript:

This week in the parish of bourses and market structure:

Xpansiv completes its acquisition of Evolution Markets

FCA says no to LME

Vale Nick Carew Hunt

As IBKR interest rises

Over in Bitcarnage, it’s curious to report that an asset that is 1/8 bid on the dollar is being perceived as bombed out, but it’s actually a better return than buying Coinbase stock at the highs

My name is Patrick L. Young

Welcome to the bourse business weekly digest

It’s the Exchange Invest Weekly Podcast Episode 177.

Good day ladies and gentlemen, this is a very brief reduction of highlights amongst the key headlines from the week in market structure. All the analysis of the many events and happenings from the past 7 days can be found in Exchange Invest’s daily subscriber newsletter, the unique guide to the bourse business sent daily to your inbox.

More details at ExchangeInvest.com.

We begin on a sad note, there is a hole in the parish of exchanges this week, and equally one in the world of real tennis. Sadly, Nick Carew Hunt, the long-time Market Secretary of LIFFE has passed away after a relatively short period of illness.

Nick arrived at the nascent LIFFE as part of the build team and never looked back, moving from his background as a time planner. A larger than life character, Nick was definitively one of those who acted as a management glue holding together the LIFFE exchange from conception to fruition and through the Royal Exchange floor creation, the Cannon bridge move, and finally to electronic markets and beyond via Euronext ownership then the NYSE interregnum into the ICE age. Along with John Foyle, they forged a magnificently creative team at the heart of the exchange.

The members’ stand will not be the same at Lords nor will the Oval this test season.

All the news on bitcarnage can be found every day in Exchange Invest’s daily subscriber newsletter but here’s a fascinating thought for the week before the recent Bitcoin rally and the data 950-person headcount reduction, raised the stock price at Coinbase. The shares were down over 90% from the highs. FTX debt for the bankrupt exchange business is selling in the liquidation market at 87% off thus FTX debt for the bankrupt entity actually has been more valuable of late than Coinbase’s ongoing concern stock.

The LME will be deciding their nickel reforms by the end of Q1. They also got a harsh shock this month when the FCA turned around and said they cannot expand their nickel trading back into Asian hours. That’s also presaged the standing down we know of the chairman Gay Huey Evans and most recently this week also, it was the job of the LME’s general counsel to follow into his retirement, as we now see the head of the clearing house, the chairman, and the general counsel all being people who have left the exchange.

Over at Hong Kong Exchanges HQ, they’re expecting the economic reopening and the outlook for stock markets to be remarkably good in Hong Kong, thanks to China’s post-COVID policy.

Thomson Reuters and the London Stock Exchange Group have expanded their partnership.

Essentially Reuters is getting their wish (well, one might call us a “death”) wish to place their content behind a paywall, which we will therefore all read for free via Yahoo Finance, NASDAQ, and others who licence and repackage the content without charge to end users. As the apotheosis of media stupid goes, this is pretty much as good as it gets but hey, it’s Reuters, where the news is great and the management bloated, incompetent and yet still in situ…just like LSEG-Refinitiv, some might say.

Amsterdam-based CBOE Clear Europe has received permanent recognition as a non-UK central counterparty.

Indian stock market is on target to shift to its shorter trading cycle of T+1 on January 27th.

Another media announcement this week, Robinhood have announced what they’re going to call Sherwood Media LLC presumably a forest of information is going to come therefrom. It’s an interesting move as Robinhood muscles into the stock-picking news-related space.

Not such a busy week for results in the parish but one highlight.

IBKR announced their 4th Quarter 2022 results on therefore their annual numbers. And the most exciting thing was well, it’s back – that once the almost mythical notion of interest income for brokers has arisen from the QE dead as is evidenced by IBKR’s latest results.

New markets this week, Euronext is confirming the expansion of your next clearing to derivatives markets for Q3 2024. That’s going to be fueled by their clearing house in Milan, and possibly the most shamefaced bare-faced pumped yet bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows’s execs aim to start a fresh platform to trade distressed crypto debt.

So 3AC which crashed and burned just recently is now going to relaunch with a venture backed by apparently $25 million in seed funding if they can get it and then offer the USP that they can bring some distressed assets to the party (their own). Well, that’s an intriguing one isn’t it? Sizing that market at $20 billion sounds like also 3AC has deployed one of the more finer inflationary crypto token valuation models?

Deal news this week, Xpansiv as I said at the top of the show, they’ve completed its acquisition of Evolution Markets Inc. They also closed the capital raise with new Investors Bank of America and Goldman Sachs until raising $125 million dollars in one hit.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for some reading during winter, whether you’re on the ski slopes or somewhere else in the world, don’t forget to pick up a copy of my book “Victory or Death” Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and the FinTech World, published by Derivatives Vision (DV) Books, and available via Amazon and bookstores worldwide, distributed by Ingram publishing.

Crypto land, just one story, another exchange death, NetCents is shuttering its crypto exchange to focus on its merchant processing business.

In product news, the Indian market regulator has approved futures contracts on corporate bond indices. That’s a good move forward in the expansion of Indian debt markets.

CME Group will be launching Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 futures weekly options. They’re going to be coming out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from February 13th.

Borsa Istanbul launched futures contracts based on the BIST Sustainability 25 Index and Derivatives Market (VIOP).

Finally in a new product this week, Euronex launched the CAC SBT 1.5° Index, a new climate-focused version of the CAC 40 in line with a 1.5° goal of the Paris Agreement.

Technology news, Multi Commodity Exchange of India has launched an online platform for arbitration.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in Bangkok has launched an overhaul of systems as trades increase.

LME data entry this week showed copper pricing down 77% in their latest glitch.

Crowdfunding news, LendingClub has cut 14% of the workforce to pare costs.

In regulation this week, well really at the same bicker fest. Lots of people are very very angry about the SEC, a few people are very angry about the CFTC, most everybody complaining but crypto regs, and a lot of people complaining about green regulation coming out of the SEC as well.

Career paths this week, Fredrik Voss has become COO of Puro Earth. Congratulations to the former OMX and NASDAQ veteran Fredrik Voss who’s joining Puro Earth COO, joining Puro Earth chairman and NASDAQ Stockholm President Fredrik Ekstrom.

As I mentioned previously, LME’s General Counsel Tom Hine standing down after 17 years of the exchange.

Over in HKEX, they made some management changes as well. New appointments effective 1st of February 2023, Bonnie Y Chan and Wilfred Yiu have been now under this Co-COO with Katherine Ng appointed as Head of Listing.

All the very very best to Assel Mukazhanova, he was appointed as acting CEO of the Astana International Futures Exchange. Assel is stepping up to fill the space left by Renat Bekturov who was appointed as Governor of the Astana International Futures Centre earlier this month.

Amongst the other exciting stories this week, one is in architecture news related to the parish. Apollo has taken control of the Chicago Board of Trade Building. They’re planning an overhaul for the 92-year-old office building, which is, of course, well-known for having CBOT’s trading floor.

The race it seems could yet be on. Who will build their condos first? Will it be the former AMEX building off Wall Street in New York? or in the Chicago Board of Trade?

However, the blockbuster piece of news that excited many’s columns mentioned pixel this week. China’s population fell in 2022 for the first time in 60 years. Mainland China’s population overall fell to 1.4118 billion last year.

In other words, the growth rate was negative 0.6 per 1000 people. That means India has overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation at 1.414 billion people. A fairly seismic shift, which many had been expecting might occur by mid-decade at the earliest.

And so ladies and gentlemen, while exhorting you, just in case you have time to rummage in the garage over the weekend, don’t forget to keep an eye out in case you find any of those Top Secret documents Joe Biden left behind when he was Vice President.

And on that mysterious and magnificent note, my name is Patrick L. Young. Thanks for listening to this podcast #177.

I wish you a great week in blockchain, life, and markets.

LINKS:

LME To Decide Nickel Reforms By End Of Q1
Euronews

HKEX-Owned London Metal Exchange Should Tighten Rules To Prevent Further Market Distortions
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong Stock Exchange Expects Boost From China Reopening, HKEX Chair Says
CNBC

Thomson Reuters Corp And London Stock Exchange Group Expand Partnership
Reuters

Amsterdam Based Cboe Clear Europe Receives Permanent Recognition As A Non-UK Central Counterparty
PR Newswire

Indian Stock Market To Shift To A Shorter Trading Cycle T+1 Settlement On Jan 27
Mint

Robinhood Announces Sherwood Media, LLC
Globenewswire

IBKR Announces 4Q2022 Results
Businesswire

IBKR Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha

Euronext Confirms The Expansion Of Euronext Clearing To Derivatives Markets For Q3 2024
Euronext

Euronext To Switch Derivatives Clearing To Italy In 2024
Financial Post

Three Arrows Execs Aim To Start Fresh Platform To Trade Distressed Crypto Debt
Financial News London

Xpansiv Completes Acquisition Of Evolution Markets, Closes Capital Raise With New Investors Bank Of America, And Goldman Sachs
Xpansiv

India Market Regulator Approves Futures Contracts On Corporate Bond Indices
Yahoo Sport UK

CME Group To Launch Micro E-Mini Nasdaq-100 And S&P 500 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday And Thursday Weekly Options On February 13
CME

Borsa İstanbul Launched Futures Contracts Based On BIST Sustainability 25 Index In Derivatives Market (VIOP)
Borsa Istanbul

Euronext Launches CAC SBT 1.5° Index
Euronext

Multi Commodity Exchange Of India Launches Online Platform For Arbitration
Business Standard

SET Launches Overhaul Of Systems As Trades Increase
Bangkok Post

LME Data-Entry Error Showed Copper Down 77% In Latest Glitch
Yahoo Finance

LendingClub Cuts 14% Workforce To Pare Costs
Reuters

Republican Congressmen Press SEC’s Gensler On Shareholder Proposal Guidance
Pensions & Investments

Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn.; Rep. Pete Sessions, R- Texas; And Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc. Sent A Letter To SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Criticizing Changes The Agency Has Made That Make It Easier For Shareholder Proposals With An Environmental Or Social Focus To Make It Onto Company Proxy Statements
Congressman John Rose

SEC Plans To Finalize Two Dozen Rules In 2023
Reuters

U.S. Securities Regulator Lists April For Climate Rule Action
Reuters

The SEC’s New Climate Demands Won’t Fix The Climate
New York Post

SEC’s Reform Plans For US Market Create More Questions Than Answers
The Armchair Trader

Fredrik Voss Is Starting A New Position As Puro.Earth COO
Fredrik Voss LinkedIn

LME Group General Counsel Tom Hine To Step Down
Reuters.

HKEX Management Changes
HKEX

Assel Mukazhanova Appointed As Acting CEO Of The Astana International Exchange
FEAS

Apollo Takes Control Of Chicago Board Of Trade Building, Plans Overhaul
The Real Deal

China’s Population Fell In 2022 For First Time In 60 Years, Deepening Crisis
South China Morning Post