SFC reprimands and fines MIS Services Limited $3 million for regulatory breaches LeapRate

January 03, 2017 BY Valentina Kirilova

SFC reprimands and fines MIS Services Limited $3 million for regulatory breaches

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined MIS Services Limited (formerly known as Standard Chartered Investment Services Limited) (SCIS) $3 million for its failure to comply with regulatory requirements under the SFC Code on MPF Products (MPF Code) and Fund Manager Code of Conduct. An SFC investigation found that SCIS failed to…

January 03, 2017 BY LeapRate Staff

Publicly traded forex brokers lose $2.4 billion of market value in 2016

LeapRate Exclusive... 2016 was not a good year for shareholders of publicly traded Forex and CFD brokers. LeapRate analysis (see table below) has calculated that more than $2.4 billion was erased from the market value of online trading brokerages during 2016. On average each brokerage lost more than one-third, or 37%, of its market cap…

ANZ ends its $3 billion share buy-back program

January 03, 2017 BY Valentina Kirilova

ANZ sells its 20% stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank

Commercial banking company Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, commonly called ANZ (ASX:ANZ), today announced it had reached agreement to sell its 20% stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB) to China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited and Shanghai SinoPoland Enterprise Management Development Corporation Limited. The agreement will see COSCO and Sino-Poland Enterprise each acquire…

January 03, 2017 BY Valentina Kirilova

Forex sports sponsorship: Colombia midfielder James Rodríguez signs as brand ambassador for FXClub’s Libertex platform

James Rodríguez, a Colombian soccer player, an offensive midfielder for the Colombia national soccer team, has become the brand ambassador for Libertex, a financial markets trading platform. Libertex is a trade and investment terminal, created by Russian Forex broker Forex Club. The image of James Rodriguez, one of the most successful and dynamic soccer players…

January 03, 2017 BY LeapRate Staff

Israel Knesset committee meets in first step to drafting Binary Options legislation

After several months of discussion, a meeting of Israel's Knesset State Control Committee met yesterday to discuss the issue of unregulated binary options brokers operating from the country. Israel outlawed the marketing or trading of binary options to its own residents earlier this year. However many unlicensed brokers remain based in the country which market to…

January 03, 2017 BY LeapRate Staff

Bitcoin price above $1,000: Why does it keep rising?

Although most of the financial world was fairly quiet during the past two weeks over the holiday season, one financial instrument continued its volatile climb upwards: Bitcoin. Sitting at just under $800 on December 20, Bitcoin prices continued their yearlong ascent even as traders were unwrapping their presents, sitting on beaches and toasting the new year. From…

January 03, 2017 BY Valentina Kirilova

Euronext makes unchangeable cash offer to acquire LCH.Clearnet SA

Euronext, the pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, has signed a binding offer and been granted exclusivity to acquire 100% of the share capital and voting rights of Clearnet. Clearnet is a multi-asset, Eurozone-based Central Counterparty (CCP) serving Euronext’s markets, pan-European electronic trading platforms and OTC markets, with gross income of €137m and profit after tax…

January 03, 2017 BY Valentina Kirilova

Bats ETF Marketplace welcomes nine new products from Elkhorn Investments

Bats Global Markets, Inc. (Bats: BATS) welcomed nine new midcap sector ETFs from Elkhorn Investments. All of the issues begin trading today on the Bats ETF Marketplace. Since Elkhorn’s initial listing on Bats in 2015, they’ve been a strong partner and the launch of this first-of-its-kind midcap offering is evidence of their innovative mindset,” said…

January 03, 2017 BY LeapRate Staff

Hotspot FX December volumes $24.4 billion ADV, 20% below November

Following a very strong November, trading volumes at Forex ECN Hotspot FX cooled somewhat in December. Hotspot FX, a unit of Bats Global Markets Inc (BATS:BATS), saw volumes decline 20% MoM during the last month of 2016, to average $24.4 billion ADV. We view Hotspot FX's December volume results as actually fairly strong. December is always…

January 03, 2017 BY LeapRate Staff

FastMatch December Forex volumes down 19% MoM to $13.8 billion ADV

Forex ECN FastMatch is reporting that volumes in its system decreased by 19% MoM from November, to average $13.8 billion ADV for the month of December. We would remind LeapRate readers that November was FastMatch’s best ever month for FX trading volumes at $17.1 billion average daily volume, driven by volatility around the US election. November included FastMatch's second…