Week InReview
Friday | Sep 20, 2019
Finfluencers
"Think of memes as inside jokes on a massive scale. For instance, an image of a surprised cartoon character called Pikachu  stands in for someone who is shocked but shouldn’t be. Or Kermit the Frog  drinking tea with a superior grin  while claiming that something is not his business. Users add text to the meme to make it relevant to their own interests.

"Finmemes are memes that are highly specific to finance. And on Instagram, they’re growing more popular by the day — the modern equivalent of cocaine and liar’s poker games on 1980s trading floors. 

"Your analyst might be posting one now. Or maybe you’re that analyst."

in case you missed it...
Stories about the internal workings of the financial system aren't all that sexy. This story is about the lengths the Federal Reserve will go to help banks maintain their business operations; including pumping $203 billion into the repo market. This kind of thing happened at the outset of the financial crisis... and we all know how that turned out. (Reuters | Sep 18)

Six exchange-traded funds backed by four firms are ceasing trading. They bring the number of ETFs shut down this year to 95. (ETF | Sep 18)

Banking agencies moved to ease a postcrisis rule that could free up nearly $40 billion for big global banks, the latest regulatory victory for Wall Street. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved a proposal that would reduce the amount of cash large lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., must post to cover the risk of trades going bad in the swaps market. (The Wall Street Journal | Sep 17)

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission reiterated its stance on the margin treatment of separately managed accounts and has given asset managers and futures clearing merchants a year to comply despite industry requests for clarification. "We will not be extending this timeline at any point," the CFTC said in a statement. (Risk | Sep 17)

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is using two phases to determine which rules might need to be adapted to align with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation Best Interest, FINRA CEO Robert Cook said adding that the first phase involves eliminating "any perceived or actual obstacles to implementation." (ThinkAdvisor | Sep 11)
the cyber cafe
Hackers pretend to be executives for website certificates
Threat actors are masquerading as business executives to obtain security certificates for their exploits, this analysis notes. Once they set up a website with a security certificate, cyberattackers are perceived as a trusted party on the web.
—  ZDNet

Cyber Peace Institute to help fight cyberattacks
Microsoft and the Hewlett Foundation are developing a nonprofit known as the Cyber Peace Institute. It will investigate large-scale cyberattacks and give individuals and organizations resources for preventing and mitigating future attacks. Facebook, Mastercard and the Ford Foundation have invested in the project.
—  CyberScoop

Global forum suspends China's Huawei
A multinational cybersecurity group has reportedly barred Huawei Technologies from its meetings where members address security breaches and exchange information about dealing with network vulnerabilities. But The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, composed of government and corporate officials as well as experts, is said to be working with the US government to reinstate the Chinese vendor.
binge reading disorder
Drones got ready to deliver packages for FedEx and Walgreen's
A drone delivery pilot program that is a partnership between Wing (which is part of Alphabet), FedEx and Walgreen's is set to lift off this fall. The drones will deliver over-the-counter drugs and other wellness items to customers in Christiansburg, Va.
—  Engadget

Amazon changed search algorithm in ways that boost its own products
According to people who worked on the project, late last year, Amazon optimized the secret algorithm that ranks listings so that instead of showing customers mainly the most-relevant and best-selling listings when they search — as it had for more than a decade — the site also gives a boost to items that are more profitable for the company.

The Anthropocene: Why investors should pay attention to this geological discussion
Geology defines the Anthropocene, the proposed name for the next geological age, in terms of technical stratigraphy. Lots of the name’s boosters are hoping that, if they can reveal the destructive practices of modern civilization as so significant that they’ve triggered a geological designation requirement, people may begin to take the crises of climate and resource degradation seriously.
—  Worth
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