Sam Boughedda
LeapRate Analyst
Plus500 office
August 18, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

Plus500 Announces New $90 Million Share Buyback Programme

The company said the move underscores its “disciplined capital allocation framework” and confidence in delivering sustained shareholder returns. The fresh buyback is said to form part of the $165 million shareholder returns unveiled in its half-year results earlier this month, which also included dividends of $75 million.  The programme, managed by Panmure Liberum, will run…

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August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

YLG Futures is Now Available On TradingView

Part of the Bangkok-headquartered YLG Bullion Group, the firm has been active in the precious-metals market for more than three decades and has held a licence from Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission since 2009.  TradingView noted in its release that YLG Futures also maintains a presence in Singapore and has won multiple industry accolades, including…

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August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

RayNeo and Ant Group Launch Hands-Free AR Glasses Payments

The RayNeo X3 Pro AR glasses are the first to support transactions through both Alipay QR codes and Alipay Tap! merchant terminals in China.  Users can link their glasses to their Alipay account, enable voice verification, and complete purchases by issuing a simple spoken command, with transactions confirmed by voice and authenticated through Alipay’s multidimensional…

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FINRA's 2018 volume tops 2017 activity by 87%
August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

PFS Investments to Repay $710,000 Over Mutual Fund Fee Failures

FINRA explained that between August 2019 and July 2024, customers entitled to cost reductions through “rights of reinstatement,” a benefit allowing investors to reinvest in certain funds without incurring front-end sales charges or to reclaim deferred sales charges, were charged excess fees.  The shortfall is attributed to the firm’s reliance on manual processes, which left…

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FINRA building
August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

Stifel Fined $175,000 Over Inaccurate Order Routing Disclosures

According to FINRA, between January 2020 and December 2023, Stifel released 16 quarterly reports under Rule 606(a) of Regulation NMS that misstated key information, including payments for order flow, profit-sharing arrangements, transaction fees and rebates.  In some cases, the firm is said to have incorrectly reported these amounts as zero, despite having received or paid…

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August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

CME's Interest Rate Futures Open Interest Hits a New Record

The same day, open interest in U.S. Treasury futures and options hit 31,615,333 contracts, while SOFR futures open interest reached 13,738,220 contracts, both all-time highs.  CME also recorded 3,526 large open interest holders in interest rate futures, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s 29 July Commitment of Traders report. “New open interest records…

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Texas
August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

Q2 Holdings Announces NYSE Texas Dual Listing

The company will maintain its primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange and continue trading under the symbol QTWO on both exchanges. The NYSE Texas listing becomes effective today, 15 August 2025. “Texas has always been home for Q2,” said Matt Flake, chairman and chief executive of Q2. “Our dual listing on NYSE Texas…

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August 15, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

Coinbase Completes Deribit Acquisition

Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange by volume and open interest, reported about $60 billion in current open interest and more than $1 trillion traded in 2024.  The platform experienced its strongest month on record in July 2025, with trading volumes exceeding $185 billion amid a surge in institutional activity. Coinbase said Deribit’s “fast,…

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LME proposes requirements for the responsible sourcing of metal in listed brands
August 14, 2025 BY Sam Boughedda

London Metal Exchange: Optiver Approved as a Category 4 Member

Founded in Amsterdam, Optiver is a global market maker that provides liquidity to financial markets using its own capital to trade a range of products, including listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign currencies. In addition to its membership, Optiver management has taken on two roles within LME governance.  John Rothstein, the company’s chief…

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