Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Welcome to the John Lothian News daily Update podcast for March 7, 2024. I am your host, John Lothian. This podcast is brought to you by John Lothian News, the home of markets wiki and markets wiki education. Thank you for joining us. Here are the hits and takes comments from today's JLN the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC has been actively engaged in addressing various issues surrounding climate exchange disclosure, order execution quality, and the standardization of climate related disclosures for investors. Chair Gary Gensler has been at the forefront hosting office hours with Gary Gensler, climate risk disclosure and issuing statements on final rules regarding order execution quality and mandatory climate risk disclosures. Commissioners Hester M. Pierce, Carolyn A. Crenshaw, Mark T. Iuda and Jaime Lazarga have also contributed with their statements on rule adoption amendments and dissenting opinions regarding order execution reporting and climate related disclosures. The statements and video include office hours with Gary Gensler, Climate risk Disclosure Statement on final rules regarding order Execution Quality Chair Gary Gensler keeping up with the Markets statement on rule 605 adoption Commissioner Hester M. Pierce Statement on adoption of amendments to rule 605 disclosure of order Execution Information Commissioner Carolyn A. Crenshaw Statement on rule amendments regarding disclosure of Order Execution Information Commissioner Mark T. Ayuda and Enhancing order Execution reporting for the benefit of investors, Commissioner Jaime Lazarga also statement on final rules regarding mandatory climate risk disclosures Chair Gary Gensler Green Regs and Spam Statement on the Enhancement and standardization of climate related disclosures for investors Commissioner Hester M. Pierce a risk by any other name statement on the enhancement and standardization of climate related disclosures Commissioner Carolyn A. Crenshaw Climate regulation under the commission's Seal dissenting statement on the enhancement and standardization of climate related disclosures for investors, Commissioner Mark T. Ayura and finally, enhancing and standardizing climate related disclosures for investors, Commissioner Jaime Lazarga don't miss the upcoming FIA webinar titled the SEC's new Treasury Clearing Rule, hosted by Alison Lurton. Scheduled for March 21 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, this webinar, part of the Law and Compliance Division series, promises an insightful exploration into the implications of the SEC's latest regulatory move. Joining the discussion are esteemed panelists Deborah North, Brandon Hammer, Lauren Semrad and Wankin Wang, all from Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton. Together, they will review the final rule and its potential impacts on future commission merchants, FCMS and derivatives lawyers. This event offers a valuable opportunity to navigate the complexities of the SEC's regulatory landscape and gain crucial insights into compliance strategies and best practices. You can register with a link in today's newsletter. Our friends at Conomera are sponsoring the pickleball tournament at FIA Boca 2024, and it made me wonder where the name Pickleball originated from. Did you know that Pickleball is named after the family dog of one of its founders, Joel Pritchard? In 1965, Pritchard, along with his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCullum, created the game to entertain their families during a summer gathering. The name Pickleball reportedly originated from the Pritchard family's dog, Pickles, who would chase away stray balls during the game. As the sport gained popularity, the name stuck, eventually becoming known as pickleball. Had I created the game as an adult, it might have been called Snickers Ball, bella Ball, or indie ball. Of course, Indy's real name is Indiana Jones, so it would have been Indiana Jones Ball. If I had invented it as a kid, it would have been fritzy Ball or ladyball. Now, Fritzi was a girl and you could not name a girl dachshund a boy's name. So her real name was Snoopy Fritzette. How about that for a game? Snoopy Fritzette Ball on March 6, 2024, the securities and Exchange Commission adopted long awaited rules to enhance and standardize climate related disclosures for investors. In a Bloomberg podcast, SEC chairman Gary Gensler responded to criticism that California's rules and Europe's rules are significantly stricter than the SEC's, saying those entities have a different goal, that of managing the environment, Gensler said. The SEC is a securities regulator, and we stay within our chalk lines on LinkedIn ESG. Professional networks were buzing with the comments about the scope of the rules related to greenhouse gas emissions. Hannah Heineken, attorney for Client Earth, posted. Critics are rightly disappointed with the SEC's final decision to exclude mandatory disclosure of a company's upstream and downstream scope three, GHD emissions, which typically make up the largest proportion of their carbon footprint, and the other, mandated disclosures on direct scope one, emissions and energy usage scope two are still subject to a materiality test. But let's remember that materiality is fundamentally about what is important to a reasonable investor. This is well established in case law. As climate risks mount, a reasonable investor will want and need more information on how public companies are addressing climate risk. This rule is only the beginning. Hours after the rules were released, ten republican led states sued to challenge them, according to a Reuter story. The SEC action came amidst a political and cultural retreat in the United States against the environment social and governance ESG financial framework, which helps stakeholders understand how an organization manages risks and opportunities related to sustainability. View the press release download a fact sheet and peruse the 800 pages of rule details with a link in today's newsletter our most read stories from our previous edition of Jalen options were SEC pushes back decisions on BlackRock, Fidelity's ether ETF applications coindesk via Yahoo Finance FIA announces 2024 President's award winners from FIA and Vix from Sibo.
[00:07:54] Subscribe to the free JLN Options newsletter with a link in today's newsletter. Here are more stories from the first read section of today's JLN. Here's a story from the Wall Street Journal Bitcoin bulls cite a simple rule for its rally not enough coin what makes the cryptocurrency different from just about any other commodity is its tightly constrained supply. Why did bitcoin soar to a record this week? Fans of the world's largest cryptocurrency say it's due to old fashioned laws of supply and demand. Like the price of any commodity, whether it be gold, oil or soybeans, bitcoin price is sensitive to fluctuations in demand, and demand for bitcoin surged after the January launch of US exchange traded funds, known as spot bitcoin etfs that directly holds units of the digital currency. Since then, investors have poured billions of dollars into those etfs. Those inflows prompted the funds to buy bitcoin to meet the demand, bidding up the price. My comment I honestly and humbly say this. Thank you to Alexander Ospovich for writing this story, which mirrored my comments from last week about bitcoin and the supply and demand issues. He did a much better job with this without all my opinions dripping from it. Here's another story, this one from Reuters. The headline senior russian officer warned Ukraine conflict could escalate into full scale war in Europe a senior russian military officer has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full scale war in Europe, and said that the probability of Moscow's forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing significantly. Colonel General Vladimir Tsarudnitsky, head of the russian army's military academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for military thought, a defense ministry publication, the state RIA news agency, reported on Thursday. My comment? Yes, that is the risk and why Ukraine has friends. Here's another story, this one from axios. The headline? The Satoshi mystery, bitcoin's anonymous creator and a $70 billion fortune. A trial unfolding this week in the UK centers on the biggest open question in the cryptocurrency world. Who is bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto? Why it matters almost no one believes the man currently in court claiming to be Satoshi really is bitcoin's anonymous founder. But there are some compelling theories for who Satoshi really is and who might control the $1.1 million bitcoin in known Satoshi wallets. My comment this story says Satoshi is an individual, not a group. Here's my question. If Satoshi has $70 billion made in the Genesis block of crypto he reportedly owns, then what would a Mrs. Nakamoto have to say? Here are the top three stories from Wednesday's JLN our top story Wednesday was hedge fund startups on the rise, with giant firms under scrutiny from Bloomberg. Second was Simon Rostren's LinkedIn post about the LBMA London gold price scaling new heights. Third was tap real estate CEO warns 500 or more banks will either fail or be consolidated over the next two years from Fortune here are the top three stories from the lead section of today's JLN. Here's the first one from Bloomberg. The headline CEO of options powerhouse Cboe swats down talk of a takeover Frederick Tomzek has slowed m a focused on organic growth exchange has made it very expensive for potential acquirers Sibo Global Markets Inc. Is aiming to grow too large for potential acquirers to swallow up. After years of speculation about takeover possibilities, the exchange operator's new chief executive officer says it's unlikely a suitor will make an offer that works. Quote, we're 100% focused on making it very expensive if anybody wants to acquire us, and we'd be very suspect of what would actually get done, unquote, Frederick Thomas said in his first media interview since taking over in September. Quote, if you walk through the logic, it's not obvious to us that anybody would be allowed or able to do it, unquote. Here's another story, this one from the Associated Press. The headline SEC approves rule requiring some companies to report greenhouse gas emissions legal challenges loom the US securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved a rule that will require some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks after last minute revisions that weakened the directive in the face of strong pushback from companies. The rules was one of the most anticipated in recent years from the nation's top financial regulator, drawing more than 24,000 comments from companies, auditors, legislators and trade groups over a two year process. It brings the US closer to the European Union and California which moved ahead earlier with corporate climate disclosure rules.
[00:13:47] Here's a comment from Sally Duros here's a story from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and National Public Radio and POlItIcO. There are links for each in today's newsletter. Here's another story, this one from traders Exchange 24 Exchange aims to launch national us equities Exchange 24 Exchange, a multiasset class trading platform, has recently submitted an updated form, one application to the US securities and Exchange Commission SEC for a license to create a new national securities exchange. If approved, this new US equities Exchange 24 x national exchange will be the first fully electronic exchange in the US that allows around the clock trading of securities.
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