The LSE could offer private firms special listings in bid to attract tech startups: Private companies could begin publicly trading their shares on limited days on a special market the London Stock Exchange is proposing, according to the Wall Street Journal. Firms trading on the market would be required to put out “cleansing statements” containing material information to level the playing field before each trading window, but wouldn’t be subject to the same degree of regulatory oversight as a fully listed company. The proposal, which follows reports that US regulators want to force private firms to disclose more information on their funding, aims to attract fast-growing tech firms as the UK looks to reshape its financial markets post-Brexit. Startups have in recent years largely turned to US and Asian markets, or US-listed SPACs, to raise capital.

JPMorgan sacrifices profitability in quest to rival fintechs: After clocking record earnings in 2021, JPMorgan Chase is planning an 8% increase in expenses in 2022 as it chases top talent and tech — meaning it will likely miss key earnings targets both this year and next. The bank is allocating a whopping USD 12 bn to tech alone this year in a bid to fortify its competitive position, leaving shareholders worried about the impact on its bottom line as last year’s dealmaking surge peters out, the Financial Times reports.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.5% yesterday on turnover of EGP 556 mn (53.4% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net buyers. The index is down 1.0% YTD.

In the green: MM Group (+2.3%), AMOC (+1.5%) and EFG Hermes (+0.2%).

In the red: Rameda (-4.9%), Fawry (-4.9%) and Raya Holding (-3.7%).

Asian markets are mixed this morning, with the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Seoul’s Kospi in the red and other major benchmarks comfortably in the green. Shares in Shanghai rose at the same time as Beijing reported China’s economy grew 8% last year. European shares closed in the red on Friday and look set for a mixed open on the first day of the week. Across the ocean, the Dow posted its second losing week of 2022 last week — and futures suggest it, the S&P and the Nasdaq will all face selling pressure at the opening bell later today.