"I have to be seen to be believed.'

Paddington Bear pays emotional tribute to the Queen, moving fans to tears.

Queen Elizabeth II, whose reign took Britain from the age of steam to the era of the smartphone, and who oversaw the largely peaceful breakup of an empire that once spanned the globe has died at the age of 96. Read her full obituary here. Her death marks the start of a tumultuous 10 days for the UK that will see a nation – and the rest of the world – mourn its longest-reigning monarch. Within hours, Charles, the eldest of Elizabeth’s four children, will be formally proclaimed King Charles III in a ceremony dating back hundreds of years. Having lived most of her life in the public eye, the Queen leaves behind an unparalleled photographic record. Here, in pictures: the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Non-fungible Treasuries and financial risk

Bank of America strategist Ralph Axel is out with a piece Wednesday arguing that the potential for liquidity problems in the $23tn Treasury market – which has relatively standardized securities – is “the single largest systemic financial risk today.” (Financial Times | Sep 8)

Fed on path for another 0.75-point interest-rate lift after Powell's inflation pledge

The Federal Reserve appears to be on a path to raise interest rates by another 0.75 percentage point this month in the wake of Chair Jerome Powell’s public pledge to reduce inflation even if it increases unemployment. Fed officials have done little to push back against market expectations of a third consecutive 0.75-point rate rise in recent public statements and interviews ahead of their Sept. 20-21 policy meeting. (The Wall Street Journal | Sep 7)

Zero-based budgeting gains clout as a way for companies to find savings

Many finance chiefs scouting for efficiencies are relying on zero-based budgeting, a tool that gained attention during the pandemic, to identify potential savings as they prepare for a possible economic downturn. Zero-based budgeting requires finance executives to question and justify each line item in every new budget period. More traditional budgeting techniques, in contrast, involve adjusting the previous year’s spending, taking into account economic forecasts and other factors. (The Wall Street Journal | Sep 6)

Dollar gains, euro slips further from parity

The dollar marched higher on Tuesday after a report on the US services industry in August reinforced the view that the US was not in recession, while the euro and rate-sensitive Japanese yen tumbled further against the greenback. The dollar index rose 0.547% after the Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing PMI edged up to a reading of 56.9 from 56.7 in July, the second straight monthly increase after three months of declines. (Reuters | Sep 6)

A 'canary in the credit coal mine'

Financial pain is spreading in the junk-loan market, showing how interest-rate increases are hurting debt-laden companies and worrying investors that a credit crunch looms as the economy slows. Defaults on so-called leveraged loans hit $6 billion in August, the highest monthly total since October 2020, when pandemic shutdowns hobbled the U.S. economy, according to Fitch Ratings. The figure represents a fraction of the sprawling loan market, which doubled over the past decade to about $1.5 trillion. But more defaults are coming, analysts say. (The Wall Street Journal | Sep 6)

Get ready for incident reporting rules

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will launch 11 consultations with critical-infrastructure operators over the coming weeks to flesh out cybersecurity reporting rules that Congress passed earlier this year. What we know so far is that Circia gives critical-infrastructure operators 72 hours to report serious incidents, and ransom payments must be disclosed within 24 hours.

— The Wall Street Journal

#StopRansomware: Vice Society

CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), #StopRansomware: Vice Society, to disseminate tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with Vice Society actors identified through FBI investigations as recently as September 2022. Vice Society uses ransomware attacks against the education sector to gain access to, and threaten exposure of, sensitive personal information regarding students and staff for financial gain. 

— Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency

Where financial institutions must shore up their cybersecurity

Cyberattacks on the financial sector continue to increase. Financial institutions (FIs) experienced a 238% increase in cyberattacks in the first six months of 2020 alone, according to VMware, and that trend has continued in 2021 and 2022, with FIs being hit by everything from ransomware and phishing to social engineering and denial of service attacks.

— Insurance Business

Illustration: Oleg Borodin | WSJ

What the #@$%! happened to our manners at work?

You’re cursing more and handshaking less, quitting on shorter notice and waiting longer to answer emails and texts. At least, that’s how it feels to the self-appointed etiquette police among your co-workers and business associates. Because of pandemic rust, a generational shift or something else, the working world is getting ruder, many say.

— The Wall Street Journal

Classic car experts on what to expect from the market this fall

If you want an affordable old Chevy or mid-level Jaguar you may be in luck — they haven’t been selling. In August alone, overall sell-through rates were 16.3% lower than in August 2021, according to data from Classic.com.

— Bloomberg Pursuits | Collecting

Virtual countries aim to replace the nation state

Digital nomads have rejected the office and now want to replace the nation state. But there is a darker side to this quest for global freedom. A ‘network state’ is ideologically aligned but geographically decentralized. The people are spread around the world in clusters of varying size, but their hearts are in one place.

— The Conversation