PublicWire | Emerging Market Stock News
  •  Home
  • Technology
  • Medical
  • Energy
  • Cannabis
  • Finance
  • Retail
  • General
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Services
  •  Home
  • Technology
  • Medical
  • Energy
  • Cannabis
  • Finance
  • Retail
  • General
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Services
No Result
View All Result
PublicWire
No Result
View All Result

Home » Finance » LME hit by $450mn lawsuit from Elliott Management over nickel market chaos

LME hit by $450mn lawsuit from Elliott Management over nickel market chaos

by PublicWire
June 6, 2022
in Finance
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

US hedge fund Elliott Management is suing the London Metal Exchange for more than $456mn over its decision to cancel nickel trades in March after an unprecedented surge in the price of the metal.

Elliott filed the suit through two vehicles against the LME and LME Clear, the exchange’s clearing house, on June 1 in England’s High Court of Justice, said LME’s owner Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on Monday.

The suit by the Florida-based group, which was founded by billionaire Paul Singer, alleged that the cancellation of nickel contract trades on March 8 was “unlawful on public law grounds and/or constituted a violation of the claimants’ human rights”.

LME will contest the claim “vigorously” and views it as “without merit”, HKEX said.

Elliott’s suit relates to the 145-year-old exchange’s decision to cancel a day’s worth of nickel trades and suspend trading for eight days in March.

“Elliott considers that when the LME cancelled nickel trades on 8th March 2022 it acted unlawfully in that it exceeded its powers when it cancelled those trades, or that it exercised the powers that it did have unreasonably and irrationally,” said the hedge fund.

It will add to the exchange’s woes as it battles to restore its reputation as the world’s leading venue for trading industrial metals including nickel, used to produce stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles.

The decision to suspend trading followed a 250 per cent surge in the price of nickel to a record $100,000 a tonne that was triggered by a short squeeze as banks and brokers rushed to close part of a large position amassed by Xiang Guangda, the billionaire founder of China’s leading stainless steel producer Tsingshan Holding Group.

Nickel is currently trading at more than $28,000 a tonne.

The LME’s decision to erase a day of trading because of the price surge — which it claimed pushed several smaller members of the exchange to the brink of failure — provoked uproar among some traders who saw their profits wiped out by the move.

AQR Capital Management, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, was exploring legal options in its dispute, people familiar with the matter said in March. The fund’s founder accused the LME of “reversing trades to save your favoured cronies and robbing your non-crony customers”.

LME has denied that parent company HKEX influenced its decision.

The move also prompted UK financial regulators in April to launch a review into the “disorderly market” in nickel contracts during the period.

LME chief executive Matthew Chamberlain backtracked on a decision to leave for digital assets start-up Komainu in April as the exchange struggled to rebuild its reputation. It has also launched a review into the nickel market chaos.

LME has said that one reason it did not react earlier to the nickel price squeeze was that it did not know just how much business was being done over-the-counter via derivatives.

Chamberlain is trying to push through a plan for more regular reporting of these positions in all of the LME’s physically delivered metals. However, members have resisted similar moves for greater transparency in the past.

The exchange also said in March that it would almost double the size of the fund that protects the market as a whole against a sudden collapse of one of its members.


This post was originally published on this site

Previous Post

Why rushing to document war crimes in Ukraine poses problems

Next Post

The power of more Curiously Human™ digital experiences in retail

PublicWire

At PublicWire, we know the vast majority of all investors conduct their due diligence and get their news online in a variety of ways including email, social media, financial websites, text messages, RSS feeds and audio/video podcasts. PublicWire’s financial communications program is uniquely positioned to reach these investors throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as on a global scale.

Related Posts

Finance

South Korea ‘reviewing various plans’ to stabilise the won

September 15, 2022
0
Finance

European shares edge higher as investors weigh up policy outlook

September 15, 2022
0
Finance

Ethereum ‘Merge’ concludes in key moment for crypto market

September 15, 2022
0
Finance

EU embargo to hit Russian oil output, IEA says

September 14, 2022
0
Finance

European stocks slide after sharp Wall Street sell-off overnight

September 14, 2022
0
Finance

Terry Smith to close emerging markets investment trust

September 14, 2022
0
Next Post

The unmissable retail impact of leveraging the right PropTech solution

Please login to join discussion

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Loading
Ad
PublicWire | Emerging Market Stock News 24/7 | Investor Relations US Stock Market

© Copyright 2022 publicwire.com

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Watch LIVE
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Services
  • Contributors

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • LIVE Investor News Channel
  • Cannabis
  • Energy
  • Finance
  • General
  • Medical
  • Podcasts
  • Retail
  • Technology
  • Videos

© Copyright 2022 publicwire.com

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.