January 24, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

Saxo Bank opens office in Istanbul

Continues Saxo Bank's aggressive international expansion, at the same time that it is cutting costs. Saxo Bank, one of the world's largest retail FX firms (and a member of LeapRate's Approved List of global FX brokerages), has announced the opening of a new office in Istanbul, Turkey. Over the past year, Saxo Bank has added offices in…

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January 24, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

NFA looks to ban Credit Card or PayPal deposits

The NFA (and those lobbying it) clearly looking to kill the Retail FX sector in the US. LeapRate Exclusive -- LeapRate has learned that the NFA (the self-regulatory body of the U.S. futures industry) has sent a Request-for-Comments letter to various industry members regarding its plan to ban the use of credit cards or "alternative…

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January 23, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

LeapRate Retail FX Volume Index down 5% in December

However volume decrease was less than usual "December effect" drop. LeapRate's Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, was down 5% in December to $170 billion per day. However December volumes are usually significantly slower -- down typically 15-20% from a regular month -- due to the annual holiday season, so the 5% drop makes December 2012…

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January 22, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

Dow Jones launches FX Select news app on tradable's app store

Dow Jones is re-doing the way it distributes news feeds. Tradable, the new online trading app platform, announced today a major win as Dow Jones will develop a news app based on its leading FX Select news service, exclusively for the tradable platform. Tradable's vision, of having traders access information and tools such as charting,…

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January 17, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

Oanda builds its Board as its IPO march continues

Microsoft's former CMO Mich Mathews joins Oanda's Board of Directors. Oanda has announced that former Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Mich Mathews has joined its Board of Directors. She had spent 22 years at Microsoft before retiring last year. Other Oanda board members include: representatives of Oanda's outside investors, Kittu Kolluri (Chairman) from VC firm NEA and Danny Rimer…

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January 17, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

BetVictor enters FX and CFDs with London Capital Group white label

Online betting company BetVictor adds financial trading. BetVictor (formerly known as "Victor Chandler" and "VC Bet"), a leading Gibraltar-based and UK-focused sports betting company, is expanding its portfolio with the launch of online financial trading website BetVictor Financials. BetVictor is licensing a white label spreadbetting and CFD trading solution from London Capital Group. Despite hitting…

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January 17, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

NetDania launches new charting app on tradable's app store

NetDania brings its popular Apple app store charting and trading app to tradable. NetDania, one of the world's leading chart providers, has announced the launch of a new app on tradable's App Store. The app will offer traders a unique way to visually place orders in the market, by trading from the charts.  NetDania is one…

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January 16, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

Saxo Bank enters the Prime Brokerage business

Saxo Prime will offer institutions direct market access to liquidity providers. Saxo Bank, one of the world's largest retail FX firms (and a member of LeapRate's Approved List of global FX brokerages), has announced its entry into the institutional FX Prime Brokerage business, with the launch of Saxo Prime. Saxo Bank has outsourced software from MarketFactory, specifically MarketFactory's…

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January 16, 2013 BY Gerald Segal

The NFA, FXDD, GFT and "excess capital" – the real story

A no-warnings, overnight interpretation decision by the NFA led to some scrambling by otherwise well-capitalized FX brokers. As several other blogs noted over the past two days, the CFTC's monthly data for November on the capitalization of regulated U.S. retail FX dealers showed negative "Excess Net Capital" for two FX brokers, FXDD (minus $3.7 million) and…

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