United States
Enforcement
Bill Hwang of Archegos sentenced to 18 years in prison for multibillion-dollar securities fraud, wire fraud, and market manipulation
UPS will pay $45m for improperly valuing its freight business.
SEC charges BIT Mining with FCPA violations for attempting to bribe Japanese officials to open casino.
Regulation
SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga both plan to step down from the agency in January.
Bitcoin ETFs start trading on the Nasdaq, allowing traders to bet on the digital asset’s volatility.
Cybersecurity
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, appealed to the incoming US President to “push harder against nation-state cyber attacks” (subscription) and suggested that America “should not tolerate the level of attacks that we are seeing today.”
HR
This longer essay critiquing the stilted state of meritocracy in America (subscription) makes for thought-provoking reading, but also contains some very interesting observations on working culture and hiring including the importance of noncognitive skills in the work place as well as the huge significance of the sense of meaning and the commitment to action stemming from this when it comes to both productivity and life satisfaction.
Canada
Climate activist group Investors for Paris Compliance have filed a complaint with financial regulators in Ontario and Quebec alleging misleading climate-related claims and disclosures (subscription) by Canada’s major banks including RBC, TD Bank, Bank of Montreat, Bank of Nova Scotia and CIBC.
China
China’s technology groups are expanding their presence in California (subscription) in order to harness skills and talent for AI-related projects.
EU
Northvolt, which was until very recently touted as one of the world’s most valuable battery start-ups in Sweden, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It’s CEO and co-founder also stepped down suggesting that the firm needed more than $1bn to continue operating.
ESMA plans to shorten trade settlement times, in line with the UK’s plans.
International
IOSCO has published a series of consultation reports connected with trading covering:
- Pre-hedging – these are used to manage the risk of anticipated client orders in securities and dervatives across a range of asset classes, but lead to potential conduct and market integrity issues (comments due 21 February 2025)
- Digital engagement practices – these include gamification and notifications and have potential positive and negative impact on retail investors (comments due 20 January 2025)
- Online imitative trading strategies – these include copy trading, mirror trading and social trading and can expose retail investors to significant risks (comments due 20 January 2025)
- Finfluencers – whose increasing prominece is introducing new risks for retail investors (comments due 20 January 2025)
The COP29 draft negotiating texts were issued. The draft versions have caused an outcry over the lack of reference to a transition away from fossil fuels, which, alongside the strange beaurocratese in which they are written underscores the absurd nature of these jamborees.
Switzerland
FINMA has issued its Risk Monitor 2024 highlighting key financial and non-financial risks that may have an impact on finance firms. Geopolitical risks, sanctions and cyberattacks are singled out.
