Focus to be on assisted and automated trading for retail clients. Australia's financial regulator ASIC has granted a license to newly-formed FX and CFDs brokerage Intelligent Financial Markets (or "IFM"). IFM is beginning operations this month as an ECN / STP broker, with a focus on assisted trading and expert-driven automated trading, all using its own…
Read moreFor the year, FXCM retail FX volumes down 5% from 2011. Leading retail FX firm FXCM, the world's largest online FX broker, announced its December trading activity levels, with retail volumes down 16% from November coming in at $257 billion for the month, and institutional volumes down 11% to $80 billion. For the full 2012 year, FXCM saw retail…
Read moreIG Group first half results down, but doing much better than others in a quiet market. UK-based spreadbetting company IG Group released more details of its first half 2013 results (for the six months ended Nov 30, 2012), with not many surprises over what they had already reported in an interim report several weeks ago.…
Read moreSaxo Bank launches mobile version of the main commercial website. Saxo Bank, one of the world's largest retail FX firms (and a member of LeapRate's Approved List of global FX brokerages), has just released a new mobile-optimized version of its main website, m.saxobank.com. Saxo Bank reports that about 10% of visitors to its website now…
Read moreMove is likely meant to repair / improve ICAP and EBS's relationship with key FX liquidity banks. As we have written before, ICAP and its Forex ECN unit EBS have taken steps to repair relations with large global banks that provide FX liquidity at EBS, after complaints by such banks that high frequency traders had…
Read moreDr. Viral Tolat co-founded Integral 20 years ago and was with Integral since. EBS management is taking some serious steps to try and keep up with rising rival FXall, and its parent company Thomson Reuters, in the Forex ECN business. ICAP's EBS unit has announced that is has hired Dr. Viral Tolat as its new CTO.…
Read moreOanda's new CMO comes from outside the FX industry. Oanda, one of the world's leading online FX firms, announced the addition of two new outside hires to its senior management team. Oanda has been rebuilding its management ranks since K Duker took over as CEO last May from Oanda founder Michael Stumm. Oanda also saw…
Read moreIs CME Group lobbying responsible for the NFA's new anti-spot FX rule? As reported by leading MT4 bridge provider CMAP LLC, a recently implemented NFA rule change forces U.S.-regulated FCMs (Futures Commission Merchants) to maintain equity capital of at least $20 million if they offer spot FX. The NFA's previous rules stated that only FCMs / RFEDs which…
Read moreMore mobile trading has somewhat reversed trend of move to desktop traders. While desktop traders still dominate the FX trading landscape, the fact that traders are more and more using mobile devices -- both smartphones and tablets -- has re-increased the importance of web traders to the typical retail FX trader. (And has also resulted…
Read moreFXCM to offer Tradency's Mirror Trader to its entire client base. FXCM, the world's largest retail FX brokerage (and a member of LeapRate's Approved List of global FX firms), announced that it has expanded its existing agreement with Tradency, the developer and originator of Mirror Trading technology, to provide access to Mirror Trader to FXCM's entire client base. …
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