FXCM, Gain Capital and IG Group shares set all-time or multi-year highs, while the overall stock market stalls in Q2. Q2 was not very kind to Gold prices (down 23%) or equity markets (basically flat), or even bond prices, but it was very kind to publicly traded Forex brokers. But Q2 brought with it increased…
Read moreThe Cyprus EU crisis and bailout seems a distant memory as Forex brokers continue to flock to the country. It was less than four months ago that people in the forex industry (including us) were wondering whether or not the sector would survive at all in Cyprus, which until then had been one of the…
Read moreMt Gox's receipt of an MSB license is a major step to operating freely in the U.S. Leading Bitcoin Exchange company Mt Gox has applied for, and received, a U.S. Money Services Business MSB license from FinCen, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Mt Gox's MSB license means that Mt Gox…
Read moreRegulator's clear message to brokerage CEOs – you are ultimately responsible for customer funds. The CFTC, in one of its strongest worded statements we've seen, has brought a civil action against former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine, as well as former Assistant Treasurer Edith O'Brien for the $1 billion in client funds which were missing when…
Read moreX Financial drops the '3' from X3 to just become X Open Hub, adds four new forex technology partners. The arms race among leading Forex platform providers seems to be centered on opening the platform to third party best-of-breed forex technology developers. Just a week after we reported that Leverate was opening an appstore for…
Read moreXM.com is the second two-letter domain name purchase this month by a major online broker. Cyprus-based online trading group Trading Point, whose brands include forex broker XEMarkets and affiliates and IB partner program PipAffiliates.com, has announced that they have acquired the two-letter domain name XM.com. And, based on a quick visit to the XEMarkets.com website,…
Read moreStill unclear what exactly will happen to Knight Capital Forex ECN unit Hotspot FX. Equity market makers Knight Capital and Getco have announced that shareholders of both entities have overwhelmingly approved the merger of the two companies at separate votes held today -- the last formal hurdle to closing the transaction. Unless something strange happens,…
Read moreVPS is becoming popular among leading brokers, to bring requisite low latency and always-up service to automated MT4 traders. Leading forex industry broker FxPro has announced that it is partnering with BeeksFX VPS to offer a new VPS for MT4 service. VPS (see explanation below) is essential for forex traders who prefer to use automated…
Read moreThis is the first time NYMEX Brent volumes surpassed 65,000 contracts at the CME. CME Group, which runs the world's largest derivatives marketplace, announced it has reached record volumes in NYMEX Brent trading, with 65,065 contracts trading hands this past Monday (June 24). This is the first time NYMEX Brent has surpassed 65,000 contracts, and shattered the…
Read moreVarlesi's Gold Coast Futures and Forex used just $220,000 of the $1.7M he accepted from clients to actually trade. The CFTC has obtained a federal court order against Christopher Varlesi of Chicago and his company Gold Coast Futures and Forex, requiring Varlesi to pay $1.3 million -- $638,000 to defrauded investors plus a $700,000 penalty. The…
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