LeapRate Interview: Jake Amar, CEO and Co-Founder of Mercer FX takes the long-term view on running a brokerage LeapRate

April 14, 2014 BY Andrew Saks-McLeod

LeapRate Interview: Jake Amar, CEO and Co-Founder of Mercer FX takes the long-term view on running a brokerage

Following the recent implementation of new rulings by the New Zealand FMA, the gateway to the Asia Pacific region has widened further. Jake Amar, CEO and Co-founder of Mercer FX talks best execution, investment in bespoke solutions, client loyalty and the future of retail FX brokers as bona fide financial institutions The long and often…

April 14, 2014 BY Andrew Saks-McLeod

Exchange-traded binary options on the up as NADEX reports 49.8% rise in Q1 2014

America's mandatory exchange-traded binary options business made substantial progress in the inaugural months of 2014 as NADEX releases quarterly results The North American Derivatives Exchange (NADEX) announced late last week that its 2014 first quarter (Q1 2014) exchange volume of binary options and spread contracts traded increased 49.8% quarter-over-quarter from the same period in 2013.…

April 14, 2014 BY Andrew Saks-McLeod

Hollywood executives look to buy MtGox out of bankruptcy as bitcoin price falls below $400

Uncertainty has followed last year's soaring values and unprecedented demand in the aftermath of MtGox demise, with BTC values falling below $400 for the first time since last November. Would reviving MtGox be a very risky business? It is common practice in most industry sectors for large, stable companies which operate within a particular business segment…

April 11, 2014 BY Gerald Segal

Plus500 shares hit £7, valuation hits $1.35 billion, JP Morgan ups stake to 7%

On a day equity markets were down big, CFD broker Plus500 sets another all-time high. FCA regulated CFD broker Plus500 (LON:PLUS) continues to be a darling of the London Stock Exchange. Plus500 shares traded up 3.6% on Thursday, briefly crossing the £7.00 mark for the first time before settling to close at £6.98. At its current share…

April 10, 2014 BY Gerald Segal

Saxo Bank is the first retail broker in Europe to offer access to IEX

The broker will offer DMA to IEX on its award-winning online trading platform, SaxoTrader Saxo Bank is the first retail broker in Europe to offer access to IEX, an alternative trading system (ATS) which focuses on investor protection and performance by resisting high frequency trading. Access to IEX on Saxo Bank's platform went live on…

April 10, 2014 BY Andrew Saks-McLeod

KCG issues 2013 annual report - Hotspot FX loss reduced substantially

Could KCG be taking the long term view by hanging onto its ECN despite another year in the red? US electronic trading conglomerate KCG today released its 2013 annual report, which shareholders will likely find to be pleasant reading and a testimony to the company's remarkable steps toward recovery from its catastrophic algorithmic trading error…

April 10, 2014 BY Gerald Segal

Gain Capital retail volumes increase 31% YOY - Institutional biz remains steady

Volume is looking quite healthy for GAIN Capital... Gain Capital has issued their March monthly metrics today in a press release with jumps in m/m and y/y data, you can view the numbers below: Retail metrics Retail OTC trading volume of $184.6 billion, an increase of 9.0% from February 2014 and an increase of 31.1%…

April 10, 2014 BY Gerald Segal

EMIR Authorisation of Polish clearing house KDPW_CCP. Third thus far in Europe!

The approval of the Polish clearing house triggers the authorization of currency products in regulated markets and repo products, neither of which has been approved previously KDPW_CCP, in a press release states that it has met all requirements for such institutions under EU Regulation EMIR. EMIR requires companies to comply with the obligation of reporting…

April 10, 2014 BY Gerald Segal

The average daily value submitted to CLS was US$5.35 trillion, up 3.9%

Volumes remain strong with slight uptick across the board Forex settlement firm CLS held strong again during March this year, with its value of trades having remained in excess of $5 trillion, congruent with its performance during the two months of the year. For March, average daily value submitted to CLS was US$5.35 trillion, up…

April 10, 2014 BY Andrew Saks-McLeod

The drive toward on-exchange FX strengthens as TradeStation facilitates trading on IEX

TradeStation yesterday enabled retail FX clients to execute trades via recently-launched venue IEX, bolstering the drive toward on-exchange FX trading Interest directed toward the support of the new and innovative IEX platform is growing among some of the world's prominent names in the FX industry, as MONEX Group's North American subsidiary TradeStation announced yesterday that…