The Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring expansion of cybersecurity rules to include third-party service providers, such as market makers and brokerages not registered with the SEC, Chair Gary Gensler said. Heightened supervision in these areas "could help ensure important investor protections are not lost and key services are not disrupted as financial-sector registrants increasingly rely on outsourced services," Gensler said.

The Biden administration is working on an executive order that sets out a strategy for dealing with digital assets, with a goal of presenting the order to the president in coming weeks, sources say. The order reportedly requires regulators to examine aspects of digital assets and their systemic impact.

The volume of US credit derivatives shot up Monday, sending the cost of insuring the debt against default up 2.4 basis points to 60.85, a level not seen since November 2020. Data indicates that the CDX High Yield index price fell 0.56 cents to 106.72 as the market anticipates a Fed interest rate increase in March.

In a move that caught the markets by surprise, the Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened its monetary policy to blunt inflationary pressures. The action came one day after new data showed that Singapore's inflation rate surged in December at the fastest pace in almost eight years.

The Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield Bond Index is down 1.23% so far in 2022 as BB-rated bonds have fallen by 1.7%. This is the poorest performance for January in the past six years.

Issuance of collateralized loan obligations in the US and Europe climbed to record levels last year, and credit quality improved, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency has given CLOs a neutral performance outlook, based on portfolio credit quality and a favorable market environment.

Traders are holding onto call options for oil, with hedge funds and other waiting for oil prices to rise and the option fall below market price. Brent crude hit a seven-year high last week.

JPMorgan Asset Management has formed a team specializing in sustainable investment within the company's private equity business. The team caters to privately held growth-stage companies working on resource efficiency and climate adaptation.

Bank of America strategists expect use of stablecoins to grow and the US to issue a central bank digital currency between 2025 and 2030. "We expect stablecoin adoption and use for payments to increase significantly over the next several years as financial institutions explore digital asset custody and trading solutions and as payments companies incorporate blockchain technology into their platforms," according to a report from the strategists.

Activist groups and individuals are calling on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to raise pressure on major banks to uphold their net-zero emissions pledges and focus more on climate-related risks.

Cerulli Associates's 2021 report on high-net-worth markets finds US advisors may be called upon to help transfer an estimated $84.4 trillion in wealth to beneficiaries in the years through 2045, the bulk of it coming from baby boomer estates. With an estimated $72.6 trillion of the total going to heirs, Cerulli notes that financial advisors who offer complex wealth planning strategies that include tax advice should benefit.