EU

• ESMA publishes data for quarterly bond liquidity assessment and the systematic internaliser calculations
  The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today published the new quarterly liquidity assessment of bonds, the data for the quarterly systematic internaliser calculations for equity, equity-like instruments, bonds and for other non-equity instruments under MiFID II and MiFIR.
• Bonds quarterly liquidity assessment
  ESMA has published the latest quarterly liquidity assessment for bonds available for trading on EU trading venues.
• ESMA’s liquidity assessment for bonds is based on a quarterly assessment of quantitative liquidity criteria, which includes the daily average trading activity (trades and notional amount) and the percentage of days traded per quarter.
• ESMA also publishes two completeness indicators related to bond liquidity data.

• Our understanding of AI technologies is largely shaped by where we encounter them, from facial recognition tools and chatbots to photo editing software and self-driving cars.
• Less visible are the world’s governments, which are shaping the landscape of rules in which AI systems will operate.
• Since 2016, tech-savvy regions and nations across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America have been establishing regulations targeting AI technologies.

Ramping up AI regulations

• AI regulation efforts began to accelerate in April 2021, when the EU proposed an initial framework for regulations called the AI Act.
• These rules aim to set obligations for providers and users, based on various risks associated with different AI technologies.
• As the EU AI Act was pending, China moved forward with proposing its own AI regulations.

A ‘wake-up call’

• In April, influential lawmaker Chuck Shumer said his country should “not permit China to lead on innovation or write the rules of the road” for AI.
• On October 30 2023, the White House issued an executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy AI.
• The order attempts to address broader issues of equity and civil rights, while also concentrating on specific applications of technology.

Shared vision

• The EU’s AI Act, China’s AI regulations, and the White House executive order show shared interests between the nations involved.
• Countries or regions see AI as a contributor to their economic development, national security, and international leadership.
• Numbers like these, and talk of perceived benefits from tech companies, national governments, and consultancy firms, tend to dominate media coverage of AI.

Competing interests

• At the UK’s AI safety summit, international tensions were apparent.
• While China agreed with the Bletchley declaration made on the summit’s first day, it was excluded from public events on the second day.

The limitations of current rules

• For instance, there is no clear, common set of definitions of different kinds of AI technology in current regulations across jurisdictions.
• Current legal definitions of AI tend to be very broad, raising concern over how practical they are.
• However, defining AI technologies narrowly, as China has done, poses a risk that companies will find ways to work around the rules.

Moving forward

• The existing AI governance frameworks from the UK, the US, the EU, and – to a limited extent – China are likely to be seen as guidance.
• Global collaboration will be underpinned by both ethical consensus and more importantly national and geopolitical interests.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• But the numbers tell only half the story; equally significant was the way the votes fell.
• Those voting against the resolution included the United States and four members of the European Union.
• Meanwhile, about 45 members abstained – including 15 members of the EU, plus the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan.
• But they have been joined by the leaders of Brazil, South Africa and other Global South nations in taking a firm stand.
• While the U.S. has used the word genocide in relation to Russia’s action in Ukraine, the Biden administration has pointedly said the term doesn’t apply to current events in Gaza.

The Global South’s coming of age

• The growing influence of China and the fallout of the war in Ukraine – in which many Global South countries have remained neutral – has upended international relations.
• And 2023 has been the year that has seen the coming of age of this more assertive Global South.

• In August, Johannesburg hosted a summit of the BRICS group – a bloc that consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – during which 21 countries from across the Global South applied to join.
• In contrast, the Group of Seven leading economies, or G7, represents less than 10% of the world’s population and 30% of the global economy.
• The question is, can the BRICS+ – and more generally the Global South – do likewise given that it includes an array of countries with very different political and economic systems?

Latin America’s pushback

• Historically, many African and Asian nations have tended to support the Palestinian cause – Indonesia does not even recognize the state of Israel.
• But perhaps more surprising has been the strong reaction in Latin America to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Western denialism

• The voting patterns of Western representatives at the U.N. suggest the answer is “no.” In turn, this only adds to the general discontent across the developing world with the current structure of the U.N. Security Council and its lack of representativeness.
• The fact that no country from Africa or Latin America is among the permanent members that enjoy veto power – compared with Western Europe, which is represented by both France and the U.K. – has long been a source of irritation in the Global South.
• Western commentators and analysts from think tanks in London and Washington even contend that the very term “Global South” should not be used – with much of the criticism against the term directed at its alleged imprecision, but also because it would contribute to greater international polarization.
• And no amount of Western denialism will be able to block it.

Jorge Heine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• PETACH TIKVA, Israel, Nov. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PolyPid Ltd. (Nasdaq: PYPD) (“PolyPid” or the “Company”), a late-stage biopharma company aiming to improve surgical outcomes, today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023.
• Presented the results of the SHIELD I Phase 3 trial for the first time at a medical meeting, the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2023.
• Financial results for nine months ended September 30, 2023
  R&D expenses, net for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, were $11.6 million, compared to $23.3 million for the same nine-month period of 2022.
• PolyPid expects that this cash balance will be sufficient to fund operations into late first quarter of 2024.