Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Welcome to the John Lothian News daily update podcast for September 16, 2024. I am your host, John Lothian. This podcast is brought to you by John Lothian News, the home of markets wiki and Marketswiki education. Thank you for joining us. Here are the hits and takes comments from today's JLN there is big news from IEX this morning as it announced plans to launch an options exchange after stockpiling options industry talent in recent months. Brian Harkins, John Palmer and Ivan Brown are among the executives IEX has added in recent months as it geared up for this announcement that new exchange is pending regulatory approval. Howard Lutnick appeared on Fox Business last Wednesday, 911 in a video he shared on LinkedIn discussing 911, Cantor Fitzgeralds response to the tragedy and the results of their most recent fundraising efforts. On 911 2024. Cantor raised a record $12 million, bringing the total raise since 2001 to just under $370 million. Originally, the funds supported the families affected by the tragedy, but now they benefit 150 charities worldwide, Lutnik said. He also expressed strong views about the need to eliminate jihad globally. After acknowledging the groups supporting the fundraiser and backing of clients, Lupnik reflected on the worst day and stated, they need to get rid of jihad in this earth. We can't ever have people suffer the way our family suffered.
[00:02:08] While I deeply empathize with Lutnick's underlying motivation, eliminating jihad is not any easier than eliminating hate itself. Merriam Webster defines jihad as a holy war waged on behalf of Islam, as a religious duty, and also as a personal struggle in devotion to Islam, especially involving a spiritual discipline.
[00:02:36] A secondary meeting listed is a crusade for a principle or belief.
[00:02:42] However, these definitions are superficial. Lutnik continued, stating, we want to make the point and Liz, I greatly appreciate you having me on. We want to make the point.
[00:02:56] We have got to get rid of jihad.
[00:03:01] He then jumped into a political analysis of the two presidential candidates sharing his views on where they stand on jihad and offered his views on the recent debate and the related issues.
[00:03:15] While I am no islamic scholar, another source of information on jihad comes from the interpretations of islamic teachings in the Quran and the hadith sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad and classical islamic scholarship. Scholars across various schools of thought in Islam, including Sunni and Shia traditions, distinguish between two primary forms, internal or greater jihad and the external or lesser jihad. Greater jihad refers to a Muslims personal internal struggle to live a righteous life, resist sin, and strive for spiritual growth. It focuses on self improvement and adhering to islamic principles. Lesser jihad refers to the physical struggle or defense of the muslim community, which may include warfare in specific contexts. However, islamic teachings stress that it must be conducted ethically, under defined conditions, and only in defense. Jihad is often misunderstood as it is frequently associated solely with violence. However, in its broader sense, it encompasses a spiritual and moral struggle aimed at upholding justice and goodness. I can see how the nuance of that definition is hard to swallow for those who have been harmed by people wielding it as a weapon. The Southern Poverty Law Center's learning for justice book, what is the truth about Muslims? Explains much of the contemporary misuse of the term jihad can be traced to the soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when stateless actors began to claim the right to declare jihad in islamic tradition. There is no theological or political basis for this claim. Radical and extremist groups appropriate and misuse the term jihad to give a religious veneer to their violent political movements and tactics.
[00:05:32] Mister Lutnik has done incredible work over the past 23 years, raising nearly $370 million to support the family's cantor Fitzgerald, lost on 911, and benefiting 150 charities worldwide. That is remarkable work. It's an act of love. If there's one thing that can counter hate, it's spreading more love. However, calling for those in power to get rid of jihad in or on this earth, when jihad is a central tenet of the islamic faith that has been misappropriated by extremists does not contribute to the love side of the equation. It is understandable. Mister Lutniks precision on the definition of jihad is numbed by the barbarism of 911 2001. What we all seek to eliminate is ignorance, which leads to hate and radicalism and extremism.
[00:06:31] Mister Lutnick and the Cantor Fitzgerald community will always have my empathy and love for the suffering they endured. Regardless of our faith background, let us work together to eliminate hate and ignorance, strive to better understand one another, and show a little bit more love to our neighbors each day.
[00:06:51] Evidently, former President Donald Trump does not understand the SEC's limit up limit down rule. Trump criticized Nasdaq for halting trading in shares of his social media company Truth social twice in one day, CNN reported. Trump suggested Nasdaq was taking orders from the SEC, which he accused of delaying the merger of Trump Media and technology group for political reasons. The trading halts were triggered by a 25% spike in the company stock after Trump announced he would not sell his shares, which led to automatic five minute pauses as part of routine SEC regulations designed to prevent excessive market volatility. Trump threatened to move his companys listing to the New York Stock Exchange, though experts pointed out that both exchanges follow the same SEC rules, making such a move ineffective. He just needs to find an exchange to list DJT that is willing to not follow the rules. In the September 14 edition of the New York Times deal book, Sarah Kessler, writing about should betting on elections be legal? Cited Angelo Lizboa, a managing director at JPMorgan Chase, who wrote a who the CFTC in favor of Kalshee's filing to list political event contracts. The example presented was a green energy startup company using the Kalshee political event contracts to hedge a reversal of President Biden's climate policy if former President Trump were elected in November. I understand this scenario, but here are my questions. The green energy startup could be facing anhe existential threat based on the potential policies of a new Trump administration. Would a green startup company really be able to hedge its exposure in the calci market? Would this be the best use of its capital?
[00:08:53] And if it could, would it do so in a new market without a track record of liquidity and performance?
[00:09:01] Now let's assume Trump won and the firm had used all available capital to hedgehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe even though it earned a return on that capital, the firm would likely go out of business due to the election outcome and new policy directions. Is that really a hedge or just a gamble?
[00:09:19] If I'm a startup founder, I'm going to be more focused on innovation and zigging and zagging than digging in and defending an entrenched position. When I was a broker, I loved new contracts, and I still do. But a company wagering its future on the outcome of an election is not the type of economic risk any clients or potential clients would be looking to hedge.
[00:09:43] On September 20, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will lead a financial stability oversight council meeting focused on executive session topics. The agenda includes updates on treasury market surveillance, the Climate related financial risk committee, a vote on new members for the Climate Risk Advisory committee, the 2024 annual report, and the 2025 budget.
[00:10:10] Here are excerpts from in front of Fows paywall from some recent stories IEX group is launching a us options market to capitalize on record trading volumes. The London Metal Exchange has appointed Robert Arbuthnot, former Credit Suisse chief accountant, as its chief financial and administrative officer. Yorx has extended direct market access to us, introducing brokers following approval from us regulators. Moody's views the US Basel endgame reproposal as positive for regional bank credit ratings.
[00:10:51] Jamie Heller is joining Business Insider as editor in chief after more than 20 years at the Wall Street Journal. At the Journal. She led global business and tech coverage, overseeing reporting on inflation, labor shortages and pressures on the white collar workforce during the pandemic, as well as the rise of AI and tech giants.
[00:11:13] Our most read stories from our previous edition of Jalen options were Lotus Markets CEO Brian King talks about creating liquidity in a new real estate and alternative assets marketplace. From John Low the news hedge funds add bets on yen rally as currency rises 1%, again from Bloomberg and the nickels and Dimes concepts of options a strategy for building steady returns from LinkedIn. Subscribe to the free JLN Options newsletter with the link in todays JLN. Here are more stories from the first read section of todays JlN. Heres a video from our IDX cover FIA survey reveals European markets optimism and challenges A new industry report reveals that market participants in Europe, including the UK, EU and Nordic countries, are optimistic about growth potential and innovation in the region. The report, created in partnership with acuity and FIA, indicates resilience to shocks, but highlights a growing sentiment that firms see more wealth potential outside Europe, with the US and India emerging as key markets of interest. Regulatory hurdles remain a significant challenge, with firms calling for reduced barriers to unlock further growth. You can watch the video on johnlothiannews.com.
[00:12:40] heres a commentary on Niba by Renato Mariotti and Maggie Depoi a powerful new challenge to exchange enforcement actions self regulatory organizations, including futures exchanges, could face aggressive challenges in the wake of the SEC versus Jarksey decision, which provides a new avenue to challenge regulatory enforcement matters. Its reach may extend beyond the SEC and other federal agencies to reach the NFA and even exchanges like CME and ICE that use administrative proceedings to police market participants.
[00:13:22] Self regulation and non judicial enforcement have a long history of court challenges dating back to the earliest years of the Chicago border trade. Lets see what cases prevail and how they are applied. Heres a story from the Washington Post.
[00:13:39] US says russian state media outlet runs intelligence operations the State Department accuses RT, the russian media outlet, of running intelligence operations and procuring weapons for the war in Ukraine.
[00:13:54] Secretary of State Antony Blinken said russian state media company RT is being deployed by the Kremlin to conduct cyber intelligence and covert influence operations across the globe, as well as to help procure weapons for Russias war against Ukraine. State Department officials warned Friday that the newly exposed covert russian disinformation operation to influence public opinion in the United States represents only a small fraction of Moscows efforts to undermine democracies globally through its state propaganda arm, RT. My comment I am not sure what the r is for, but I get the impression t is for turdenne.
[00:14:41] Here's another story from the Washington Post. The headline opinion sports betting is bad for America's financial health. New data shows it lower credit scores. More bankruptcies come from our online betting obsession. The new National Football League season will see plenty of records set on the field, and it's expected to hit new heights off the field, too. Specifically, the American Gaming association projects that legal wagers on games will reach 35 billion, a 30% increase over last year. Most of that betting will involve online betting apps. In part, the growth reflects the fact that three new states, Maine, North Carolina and Vermont, have legalized sports betting, raising the total to 38 states and the district.
[00:15:37] And partly the projected growth reflects new incentives. Sportsbooks are offering gamblers in app live streaming of games, platform upgrades to allow faster in play betting, digital wallets, and the ability to make multiple bets simultaneously. X is awash with sites offering tips and techniques for increasing the odds. My comment the mainstreaming of sports betting, with its constant media presence, is ruining sports for me. I guess it is ruining more than my enjoyment. America's financial health here's another story, this one from Fortune. The headline protecting a billionaire CEO costs millions. Here's how the world's biggest companies measure up. The biggest tech companies in the world are shelling out millions of dollars every year to protect their CEO's. But some pay more than others, and for good reason. Among the generous perks awarded to top executives, security costs can be among the priciest, especially when it comes to high profile business leaders. These security costs include everything from home monitoring to personal bodyguards and security consulting, which come at a big cost to companies depending on the executive. My comment JJL Co. Protects its CEO with two black dogs that sit outside my office guarding it from mailmen, Amazon delivery men and children walking to school. Here are the top three stories from Fridays JLN our top story Friday was America loses its crown as home of the worlds best burger from the Telegraph. Second was chairman Benham to speak at Georgetown University's Saro center for Financial markets and Policy Markets quality 2024 from the CFTC. Third was FINRA announces results of board of Governors elections. From FInRa, here are the top three stories from the lead section of today's JLN. Here's the press release from IEX Group Inc. IEX enters options market with top talent and innovative solutions IEX Group takes next step in growth journey with announcement of its first options exchange. IEX Group Inc. Or IEX, today announced that it will launch a us options exchange to partner with liquidity partners to uniquely tackle risk management challenge experienced in the options market. Pending regulatory approvals, this new options exchange will bring IEXs suite of order protection innovations to better address the needs of market makers. IEX President Brian Harkins commented on the planned we are focused on understanding the challenges of our members and having discussions with market participants to guide our entry in the options market. IEXS experience and expertise in understanding the needs of liquidity providers provides a great foundation as we begin to offer options market makers a set of tools designed to drive performance.
[00:18:51] Here's another story, this one from the New York Times. The headline should betting on elections be legal? Election wagers have long been banned in the United States, but for a brief period on Thursday, a regulated prediction market was permitted to offer them to Americans. As pundits were sharing sometimes wildly different takes on how Kamala Harris and Donald Trump performed in Tuesdays presidential debate, traders were putting money on which candidate would win the election. Those bets also told a story about the debate on both predict it and polymarket, two so called prediction markets. The odds were swinging towards Harris. Screenshots of the markets were seemingly everywhere across social media, embedded in news stories and cited by television anchors. And then finally, here's one more story, this one from Bloomberg. The headline Singapore ready to make bold changes to revive stock market task force to target removing outdated rules, Xi says group considers ways to encourage pipeline of quality listings Singapore is prepared to make bold changes to regulatory structures in an attempt to revive its languishing stock market, according to its second minister for finance, Chi Hong tat, who is chairing a task force looking at ways to strengthen the equities market, said the group aims to remove outdated rules, encourage a pipeline of quality listings and boost liquidity measures, which may include cutting listing costs and expanding the pool of equity. Derivatives will be implemented in phases before the end of a twelve month review period, he said. We're grateful for your attentive listening to the John Lothian News Daily Update. Please spread the word about our podcast among your friends. We would greatly appreciate it if you could spare a moment to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever platform upon which you access this podcast. Your reviews play a crucial role in introducing our content to new listeners. Also, if you haven't subscribed to the Daily John Lothian newsletter, email yet you can enjoy a complimentary 90 day trial by visiting johnlotheannews.com trial. Thank you for your valued support. Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated with respect, equality and justice. This has been John Lothian. Goodbye. This podcast has been produced by Andrew Lothian.
