News Centre

Binance, Coinbase Platforms Crash After Bitcoin Breaks USD20,000

Date 16/12/2020

Commenting on today's Bitcoin trading Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex said :

"Bitcoin soaring past $20,000 has pushed some leading platforms in the space to the limit, We need to show just how far the digital token space has come and deliver the sort of impeccable service expected in incumbent capital markets. Exchanges can ill-afford unscheduled downtime or outages as volumes climb. Let's all be on top of our game and our tech.”

Bitcoin Breaks $20,000 Barrier To Hit All-Time High - Comment From Ziglu

Date 16/12/2020

As Bitcoin hits record $20,000, please find a comment from Ziglu's Chief Growth Officer, Yang Li - 

"Bitcoin has shown market resilience time and time again. Breaking through $20K was only a matter of time.  In a period where bonds are yielding negative rates, big banks having the audacity to pay negligible interest and charge for even basic bank accounts it is no wonder more and more people are looking to store some of their money in cryptocurrencies."

Statement At Open Meeting On Disclosure Of Payments By Resource Extraction Issuers, SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, Dec. 16, 2020

Date 16/12/2020

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Betsy [Murphy], Elliott [Staffin], and S.P. [Kothari].  Resource extraction rulemaking is somewhat of a holiday tradition at the SEC; the Commission voted on its first proposal ten years ago almost to the day on December 15, 2010.  Last December, I likened our experience with this rulemaking to the classic Dickens novel “A Christmas Carol.”  Having spent two consecutive holiday seasons immersed in the nuances of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, I think the more apt comparison is Tim Burton’s contemporary story: “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” a movie that I would prefer not to watch, let alone play a part in. 

Gas Tariffs Reports: ACER Recommends The Bulgarian Regulator To Communicate In A Transparent And Predictable Way With Stakeholders And The Agency

Date 16/12/2020

​In its Report on the Bulgarian tariff consultation published today​, ACER recommends the Bulgarian Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) to apply transparency when communicating with stakeholders and ACER.

Statement At Open Meeting On Disclosure Of Payments By Resource Extraction Issuers, SEC Commissioner Elad L. Roisman, Dec. 16, 2020

Date 16/12/2020

Before commenting on the rule, I want to offer my thanks and appreciation to the staff in the Division of Corporation Finance, the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, and the Office of General Counsel.  To say writing this rule required threading the needle does not begin to express the challenge you faced.  The Commission’s first attempt at writing this rule was struck down by the D.C. Circuit Court in 2013.[1]  Its second attempt was disapproved by a joint resolution of Congress under the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) in 2017.[2]  Meanwhile, the statutory mandate to issue this rule has remained in effect.  To make fulfilling this mandate an even more difficult task, there is little case law or other guidance on how to proceed with a new rule in a situation like this.  Considering all of this context, it seems more apt to describe this challenge as threading a needle where only one half of the needle’s eye is visible.  Thank you for all of your very hard work on what was a considerable challenge.

Sneak Peek: ACER's Findings On How Member States Are Doing On The 70% Target For Electricity Cross-Zonal Trading

Date 16/12/2020

Europe’s Clean Energy Package has set a binding minimum 70% target for electricity interconnector capacity for cross-zonal trading.

BME: MARF Registers A New 55 Million-Euro Bond Issue From Greenalia

Date 16/12/2020

• With this transaction, the company will replace its previous issues on the Luxembourg MTF and a loan to finance wind farms, and will fund new green projects

Statement On Rules Governing The Disclosure Of Payments By Resource Extraction Issuers, SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, Dec. 16, 2020

Date 16/12/2020

The statutory mandate under which we act today is fundamentally about transparency. Enhancing transparency to promote accountability and fight corruption. Under Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress tasked us with crafting rules that would require issuers in the extractive industries to disclose their payments to foreign governments so those governments can be held accountable for the money flowing in.[1] In other words, empowering citizens through information. That goal is in keeping with the United States’ long history as a leader in international efforts to combat corruption. And it is in keeping with the SEC’s role in anti-corruption efforts: enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering rules, and participating in the important work of the Financial Action Task Force, a global effort to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. There is nothing new or unusual about the SEC’s role in this space, and Congress treads familiar ground with this mandate.

ESMA Supports IFRS Foundation’s Efforts On International Standardisation In Sustainability Reporting

Date 16/12/2020

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has today published its response to the IFRS Foundation’s consultation on sustainability reporting. ESMA recommends establishing high-quality international standards while also catering for the needs of jurisdictions that are at different stages in their sustainability efforts.

The EBA Continues To Call On Banks To Apply A Conservative Approach On Dividends And Other Distributions In Light Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

Date 16/12/2020

In its 12 March statement, the EBA urged banks to follow conservative distribution policies and use capital for ensuring the continuous financing of the economy. Banks in the European Union have been able to continue supporting businesses and mostly remained with strong levels of capitalisation. However, given that the COVID-19 crisis and the uncertainty on its impact on the economy are likely to continue, with possible further deterioration of asset quality metrics over the next quarters, the EBA urges banks to refrain from distributing capital outside the banking system when deciding on dividends and other distribution policies, including share buybacks, unless extreme caution is applied.