New Cyprus FX brokerage FXNet receives CySEC license LeapRate

November 05, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

New Cyprus FX brokerage FXNet receives CySEC license

FXNet set up by former XEMarkets (TradingPoint) execs. Cyprus' securities regulator CySEC announced that it has granted a CIF (Cyprus Investment Firm) license to FXNet, an about-to-be-launched retail FX firm. FXNet is being formed by (among others) executives from XEMarkets, including Costas Kappai, formerly senior dealer at XEMarkets. [Editor's note -- see company comment below].…

November 05, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

CME Group's October FX volumes lowest since 2009

First indication that October was slow in the FX trading world. CME Group, which runs the world's largest derivatives marketplace, announced that FX contract volumes (mainly Eurodollar futures contracts) in its system were down by 32% in October from September to an average of 702,000 contracts daily. October's volumes were also 23% below last year's…

November 02, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

Saxo Bank develops its own trading keypad

Rare (and interesting) hardware innovation for high-end FX traders. Saxo Bank, a member of LeapRate's Approved List of global FX firms, has introduced a new trading keypad which will be available only to its high end clients. We have recently seen a technology war taking place among leading FX brokers -- mainly to the benefit…

November 02, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

Gain Capital (Forex.com) reports Q3 – not bad, all things considered

Retail volumes continue to fall, but institutional volumes strong After a two-day delay due to Hurricane Sandy, Gain Capital (Forex.com) announced its Q3 results after markets closed yesterday, showing an overall profit (albeit a small one) of $3.6 million on revenues of $40 million for the quarter. Both numbers were well below Q3 figures last…

November 01, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

FX Club targeting beginner traders with new StartFX 2 platform

Competition increases for new novice traders. Moscow-based FX Club, which recently exited the US retail FX market and was assessed a $300,000 fine by the U.S. regulator NFA, today introduced a new trading platform called StartFX 2 targeted specifically at novice traders, having little previous trading experience. The StartFX 2 platform will have basic trading functionality,…

October 30, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

Gain Capital postponed Q3 report to Thursday

Hurricane Sandy causing all sorts of capital markets problems... As we wrote earlier was likely to happen, Gain Capital (Forex.com) formally announced that it will not be releasing its Q3 results today (Tues Oct 30), but rather will come out with Q3 numbers after close of the markets on Thursday (Nov 1). Gain Capital, at…

October 30, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

Hurricane Sandy fallout in the FX world

FXCM lines down; will Gain report Q3? NYSE still closed.... First of all, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish our best to all those in Sandy's path, in the US northeast and in Canada. Hope you are staying safe. While limited geographically, the storm is having worldwide implications given (especially) the New York…

October 24, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

UK's FSA fines Plus500 £205,000

Plus500 failed to provide accurate transaction reports to the FSA. CFD broker Plus500 was fined £205,128 for failing to provide accurate and timely transaction reports to the FSA in respect of all the reportable transactions they carried out, in the 2010-11 time period. The fine was actually reduced by 30%, from nearly £300,000, as Plus500…

October 24, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

Is the failure of the 'carry trade' responsible for falling FX volumes?

Has global fiscal stimulus killed the 'carry trade'? Interesting article posted on Bloomberg (with thanks to CMAP's commentary section for bringing it to our attention), positing that central banks' stimulus has effectively killed the 'carry trade' in FX, whereby lower yielding currencies are borrowed to invest in higher yielding ones -- which normally leading to…

October 24, 2012 BY Gerald Segal

CFTC demands direct electronic access to bank accounts

CFTC unveils details of new customer protection rules. As we reported was likely to happen back in July, U.S. financial regulator CFTC has published its detailed suggestions for enhancing customer protections at Futures Commission Merchants ("FCMs"), which include FX brokerage firms in the U.S. such as FXCM. Among the CFTC's proposals are included: daily reporting of…