tyb
London to Resume Trading Swiss Shares After Losing EU Billions
The City of London can tout a rare benefit of Brexit this week, when Swiss shares such as Novartis AG and Nestle SA are expected to be readmitted to trading in London. The return comes after an 18-month hiatus triggered by Switzerland protecting its markets in a stand-off with the European Union. The U.K. is looking to embrace other partners after jettisoning ties with the world’s biggest trading bloc.
The swift reintroduction reflects political and economic imperatives, with the U.K. government under pressure to show tangible benefits of a departure that’s been dominated by a steady flow of news around the gradual diminution of the City of London as a financial center. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak met with his Swiss counterpart last week to hasten the deepening of financial services ties in the wake of Brexit. “This will be an interesting development,” said Robert Barnes, head of LSE’s Turquoise venue. “The extraordinarily quick move towards equivalence between Switzerland and U.K. sends a positive message to the world, promoting the growth of capital markets.”
London Stock Exchange Group Plc, Cboe Europe and Nomura Holdings Inc. are among the companies planning to restart Swiss trading in the U.K. capital.
Still, it’s hardly a like-for-like swap. Before Switzerland lost equivalence from the EU, London averaged 1.3 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in Swiss share trades per day. This compares with 6.3 billion euros of EU share trading that left London overnight after Jan. 1. In 2018, U.K. financial services exports to Switzerland, excluding the insurance and pension fund industry, was 2.5 billion pounds, compared to 21.2 billion pounds to the EU, according to the Office for National Statistics.
“It’s a little bit of a pyrrhic victory,” given what London has lost, said Niki Beattie, founder at Market Structure Partners. Allying with Switzerland may also risk further alienating the EU. It underlines the U.K.’s divergence from the bloc, a shift unlikely to boost the City of London’s bid to be granted untrammeled market access for financial services. The Swiss experience highlights the fraught nature of equivalence negotiations with Europe.
Switzerland is no further along the road to winning Brussels’ seal of approval 18 months after the EU withdrew its equivalence stamp. Switzerland retaliated by banning trading in about 200 Swiss shares on venues inside the 27-nation bloc. If the EU were to grant the U.K. equivalence, one condition might be the U.K. rescinding its Swiss decision, according to Beattie. For now, the return of Swiss trading is an emblem of the trade-offs inherent to Brexit.
“Whereas the loss of EU share trading was an own goal for the U.K. this is more of a free kick, definitely not a goal,” said Alasdair Haynes, chief executive officer at Aquis Exchange.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/london-to-resume-trading-swiss-shares-after-losing-eu-billions-1.1557785
NYSE's biggest decliners are led by GameStop, AMC and Express
The stocks leading the NYSE's biggest losers list early Tuesday were those heavily shorted ones that were pulling back from their recent rocket rides. Shares of GameStop Corp. GME, -51.02% were the biggest decliners, shedding 49.3% in morning trading, after sliding 30.8% on Monday. The stock has now lost 67.1% since closing at a record $347.51 on Jan. 27, but has still rocketed 961.4% over the past three months. The second and third biggest NYSE losers were shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC, -40.90%, down 39.5%, and Express Inc. EXPR, -32.16%, down 32.3%. On the Nasdaq exchange, the biggest decliner was Koss Corp.'s stock KOSS, -42.57%, which tumbled 43.7%. The pullbacks in these stocks comes in the face of a broader market rally, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 1.60% surging 351 points, or 1.2%.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nyses-biggest-decliners-are-led-by-gamestop-amc-and-express-2021-02-02
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EDJI
https://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html
>can I laugh nao?
kek
Amazon to pay $61.7 million to settle FTC charges that it didn't pay Flex drivers all their tips
Amazon Inc. AMZN, 1.66% agreed to pay more than $61.7 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission, which alleges the ecommerce giant failed to pay Amazon Flex drivers the full amount of tips received over a 2 1/2-year period. The FTC said Amazon only stopped its behavior after the company became aware of an investigation in 2019. "Rather than passing along 100% of customers' tips to drivers, as it had promised to do, Amazon used the money itself," said Daniel Kaufman, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Our action today returns to drivers the tens of millions of dollars in tips that Amazon misappropriated, and requires Amazon to get drivers' permission before changing its treatment of tips in the future." Amazon's stock rose 1.7% in morning trading, while the S&P 500 SPX, 1.41% gained 1.6%.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-to-pay-617-million-to-settle-ftc-charges-that-it-didnt-pay-flex-drivers-all-their-tips-2021-02-02
Clearing Broker has halted buys of AMC and Nokia
The clearing broker who processes our trades, Axos, has temporarily halted Cash App’s ability to complete purchases of AMC Entertainment ($AMC) and Nokia ($NOK). This was not Cash App’s decision. This halt only applies to buy trades of these stocks; sell trades remain available.
Cash App currently works with a carrying broker dealer, DriveWealth, and a clearing broker dealer, Axos, to process trades on our customers’ behalf and we are entirely subject to our brokers’ ability to support our trades.
Clearing brokers must provide capital deposits to support trading. Yesterday, the central clearinghouse (DTC), significantly increased the capital requirements on Axos. As of this time, Axos has not provided the necessary additional capital and has restricted purchases of AMC and Nokia.
To provide our customers with full transparency, we’ve posted the exact email we received from DriveWealth regarding the buy trade halt. Cash App has not yet been provided with a clear path to fix this situation ourselves. We are monitoring the situation closely and are working to make these stocks available for purchase again as soon as possible.
https://cash.app/help/us/en-us/020221-NOK-AMC-halted
Shut it off again
129.98-95.02 (-42.23%) @1135am EST
GameStop Corp. (GME)
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GME
Exxon Mobil posts first annual loss in 40 years
Exxon cut up to 15% of its workforce and delayed oil and gas projects.
Top U.S. oil producer Exxon Mobil on Tuesday posted its first annual loss as a public company as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered energy prices and it reduced the value of its shale gas properties by more than $20 billion in the fourth quarter.
Exxon cut up to 15% of its workforce and delayed oil and gas projects after accepting oil prices could remain below $60 a barrel for years. It added $22 billion to its debt last year to cover its dividend and project spending. The company reported a net annual loss of $22.44 billion for 2020, compared with a full-year profit of $14.34 billion in 2019.
Exxon posted four straight quarters of losses in 2020 and is under fire from activist investors pushing for board changes and a better strategy for a global transition to cleaner fuels. On Tuesday it named former Petronas President Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin to its board of directors, and said it was in discussions with other candidates. Other oil majors are also under pressure as pandemic-related travel restrictions cloud fuel demand and spur cost-cutting at energy firms.
Rival BP plunged to its first annual loss in a decade on Tuesday while Chevron on Friday fell to the first annual loss since 2016. Royal Dutch Shell reports financial results Thursday and Total SA reports next week.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/exxon-mobil-posts-annual-loss-coronaviru
U.S. Mint Still Rationing Silver Coins Amid ‘Exceptional’ Demand
The Reddit-fueled run-up in silver prices might be stalling, but the U.S. Mint said it is still rationing its sales of silver coins because of “continued exceptional market demand,” as well as limited supplies and manufacturing capacity.
The Mint is also allocating gold and platinum coin sales to authorized purchasers, it said in a statement Tuesday. The policy will be in place “for the foreseeable future.”
The mint’s silver coin sales jumped 24% to 4.775 million ounces last month, marking the highest for a January since 2017. The Mint’s announcement comes after retail sites were overwhelmed with demand for bars and coins. Investors on Reddit ignited a buying frenzy that roiled precious-metals markets and squeezed physical supplies. Some dealers said over the weekend that they were unable to process orders until Asian markets opened because of record demand.
Throughout the past year, and in part due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the Mint was unable to meet demand due to precious metal blank availability and plant capacity issues.
The Mint also said it will have a limited production window to produce current design American Eagle gold and silver coins, as it’s scheduled to start production of redesigned coins in the summer of 2021, and coins for that program must be produced in advance of the launch date.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-mint-still-rationing-silver-coins-amid-exceptional-demand-1.1557983
distributors
The big bullion houses etc.
whomever they 'decide' is worthy to purchase in bulk basically
The United States Mint does not sell its bullion coins directly to the public. Instead, we distribute the coins through a network of official distributors called “Authorized Purchasers” who, in turn, create a two-way market buying and selling to wholesalers, financial institutions, and other secondary retailers.
https://www.usmint.gov/news/consumer-alerts/business-guidelines/authorized-purchaser-program
Oil jumps 2%, hits highest in a year as producers limit supply
Oil prices rose more than 2% on Tuesday, reaching their highest in 12 months after major producers showed they were reining in output roughly in line with their commitments. The global and U.S. crude benchmarks rallied as optimism about more U.S. economic stimulus added to market bullishness from supply cuts. The rally began as OPEC production increases were less than expected.
Crude output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose for a seventh month in January but the increase was smaller than expected, a Reuters survey found.
Voluntary cuts of 1 million barrels per day by OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, are set to be implemented from the beginning of February through March. Russian output increased in January but is in line with the OPEC+ supply pact, while in Kazakhstan oil volumes fell for the month. U.S. distillate fuel stockpiles, including heating oil, were forecast to have dropped 400,000 barrels last week, according to a Reuters poll. Crude stockpiles were expected to rise by 400,000 barrels. However, energy giant BP flagged a difficult start to 2021 amid declining product demand, noting that January retail volumes were down about 20% year-on-year, compared with a decline of 11% in the fourth quarter.
Oil demand is nevertheless expected to recover in 2021, BP said, with global inventories seen returning to their five-year average by the middle of the year.
https://www.reuters.com/article/global-oil/update-9-oil-jumps-2-hits-highest-in-a-year-as-producers-limit-supply-idUSL1N2K8082
https://www.macrotrends.net/2566/crude-oil-prices-today-live-chart
Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy to take over in Q3
Amazon announced on Tuesday that AWS CEO Andy Jassy will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO during the third quarter of this year. Bezos will transition to executive chair of Amazon’s board.
Fellow Amazonians:
I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.
This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, “What’s the internet?” Blessedly, I haven’t had to explain that in a long while.
Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.
How did that happen? Invention. Invention is the root of our success. We’ve done crazy things together, and then made them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more. If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.
I don’t know of another company with an invention track record as good as Amazon’s, and I believe we are at our most inventive right now. I hope you are as proud of our inventiveness as I am. I think you should be.
As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. In both cases, we staked out leadership positions and then asked others to come along with us. In both cases, it’s working. Other large companies are coming our way. I hope you’re proud of that as well.
I find my work meaningful and fun. I get to work with the smartest, most talented, most ingenious teammates. When times have been good, you’ve been humble. When times have been tough, you’ve been strong and supportive, and we’ve made each other laugh. It is a joy to work on this team.
As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else. As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.
Amazon couldn’t be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us to. We have things in the pipeline that will continue to astonish. We serve individuals and enterprises, and we’ve pioneered two complete industries and a whole new class of devices. We are leaders in areas as varied as machine learning and logistics, and if an Amazonian’s idea requires yet another new institutional skill, we’re flexible enough and patient enough to learn it.
Keep inventing, and don’t despair when at first the idea looks crazy. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1.
Jeff
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/jeff-bezos-to-step-down-as-amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-to-take-over-in-q3.html
August 04, 2015
Andy Jassy: Amazon's $6 Billion Man
Amazon has built its entire business around the idea of moving quickly. Andy Jassy, senior vice president of Amazon Web Services, has taken this philosophy to a whole new level.
Jassy, who founded Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2003 with a team of 57 people, has built a $6 billion-plus run-rate business with more than 1 million customers in 190 countries in less than a decade. That's even more impressive considering that Amazon itself was only a $5.26 billion business after nine years.
So just how fast is Jassy reshaping the computing landscape? Salesforce, often characterized as a cloud computing pioneer, took 16 years to reach the $6 billion run-rate mark. Deutsche Bank estimates that AWS is nearly 10 times the size of Microsoft Azure, its closest competitor, which launched five years ago. Jassy, who grew up in the New York suburbs and is a die-hard Big Apple sports fan, likes to think of AWS—which has legacy enterprise vendors scrambling to play catch-up—as the underdog equivalent of the New York Giants beating the favored New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, not once but twice.
In fact, Jassy sees similarities between the sneak attacks that both the Giants and AWS have executed on the competition. "I'm not sure that people would have guessed that AWS would have been the pioneer and the strong leader in the infrastructure technology space," Jassy told CRN in a recent interview at Amazon's Seattle headquarters. AWS was an underdog in the computing space when it launched a platform of compute, storage, database and application services in 2006 that customers could rent by the hour and access over the Internet. Legacy enterprise vendors had long talked about delivering these kinds of services, but AWS, under Jassy's leadership, beat them all to the punch.
These days, given AWS' marketplace momentum, it's getting harder to paint the fast-growing business unit as an underdog. AWS generated $1.57 billion in sales and $265 million in profit in its fiscal first quarter—the first in which Amazon broke out results for the unit.
AWS followed that up with an even better performance in its fiscal second quarter, with revenue growing 81 percent year over year to $1.82 billion, and profit of $391 million compared with $77 million in last year's quarter.
Some enterprise vendors, like IBM and VMware, have tried to dissuade their partners from working with AWS. But Jassy told CRN it's time for solution providers—some of whom have found it difficult to align with AWS—to get on board.
"I totally understand—it's a hard decision for companies who have been successful in a different model to decide to embrace a newer model. But once you realize that model is succeeding, it's important for your future to do so," he said. "But when there's a big shift going on, you can howl at the wind all you want, but if the shift is going to happen because it's good for customers, it is going to happen."
Amazon faced a similar dilemma in its retail business when it decided to let third-party vendors sell products in its online marketplace, Jassy said. Although doing so was a major strategy shift—and one that risked upsetting its existing business partners—it ended up working out. Today, he said, third-party products make up around one-third of the products listed on Amazon
"We did it both because we knew it was better for customers—because it gave them more selection and better choices on prices—but also because we realized you can't fight gravity," Jassy told CRN. "In any kind of big shift, you're better off embracing the change and trying to figure out how to be a part of shaping it than having it end up shaping you and having to chase it."
It's Jassy's job to monitor the market for near-term and long-term threats and to make sure AWS remains hungry despite its huge lead in the cloud market. As the public face for AWS, Jassy takes the stage at events to explain how new AWS products and services will benefit customers. As chief of the industry's most successful cloud vendor, Jassy is also a kind of ambassador for technology that, despite all its hype, is still in its early stages of industry adoption.
"What strikes me about Andy is his extreme focus," said Jeff Aden, executive vice president of marketing and strategic development at 2nd Watch, a Seattle-based AWS partner. "He's genuine, authentic and self-aware, and he's able to articulate the value of caring for the customer and being an advocate."
"We truly believe that cloud computing would be drastically different today without Andy Jassy's foresight, customer passion and ability to execute," said Garret Carlson, director of strategic alliances at Seattle-based AWS partner Slalom Consulting.
moar
https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/300077657/andy-jassy-amazons-6-billion-man.htm