Last week, things continued to evolve in the tech side of forex as MetaQuotes officially combated 3rd party providers by releasing their version of MetaTrader for the web to operate in the cloud, something that will be interesting to see in the future – if it becomes widely adopted or not. Furthermore, Saxo Bank looks to delve the innovative side of the industry as they have opened up their technology infrastructure through OpenAPI, what kind of new tools will developers think of at the Copenhagen based brokerage?
Also last week, FXCM continued to make headway in paying back its massive bailout loan from Ludcadia Corp. with another $33 million in additional funds paid back after the company completed its FXCM Asia deal with Rakuten Securities (part of it’s plan to sell off non-core assets).
LeapRate also featured a widely discussed guest post from Advanced Markets, which posed the question, “Is it really Prime of Prime?” Check out what Anya Aratovskaya, VP of Institutional Sales at Advanced Markets had to say on the matter.
We also saw USA retail forex broker assets rise across FCMs from the July data release, have we now seen the bottom, and will we ever see a new brokerage challenge within the U.S, market? In an interesting digital currency case, it is also now known the CFTC views bitcoin as any other commodity and that is how it will be regulated as of now.
Be sure to check out last week’s featured stories as well as a complete run down of the week below:
Forex Industry Rundown for the Week of September 14th, 2015
Features
Is it really Prime of Prime? Keys to Understanding
AxiSelect funds another aspiring full-time forex trader – LeapRate Exclusive
Broker Updates
Japan’s Invast Securities to launch theme investment, ETF services
FXCM Asia is now officially powered by Rakuten Securities
New build of Interactive Brokers’ TWS platform to make order entry easier
FXTM introduces FXTM Pro accounts for professional traders
RoboForex updates WebTrader platform
Nissan Century Securities announces availability of “Click 365” and “Click Kabu 365” of TFX via CQG Platform
ADS Securities takes forex and multi-asset trading platform to Hong Kong
CySEC registers binary options broker Eurotrader as Cyprus Investment Firm
IG Group publishes Annual Report 2015, sets eyes on China
Saxo Bank uses Interoute’s network for multi-asset trading platform
Alfa Forex gets registered as Cyprus Investment Firm
Updated cTrader platform is now available to FxPro clients
TRADOLOGIC adds a simplified web-based Forex platform to its lineup
INVAST Australia redesigns website to focus on Institutional and HNW clients
Yahoo’s YJFX set to introduce Range binary options
Saxo Bank unveils OpenAPI, opens access to its infrastructure
Global Prime Partners obtains Hong Kong license
Saxo Bank expands institutional business with launch of Saxo Markets
Gaitame Online to offer FX trading via Click 365 from October
FXTM keeps courting Asian markets with launch of Vietnamese website
Service Provider/Vendor News
Thomson Reuters boasts more than 20,000 companies using Eikon Messenger compliance services
Thomson Reuters starts offering Elektron Managed Services in SGX data centre
Pragma Securities selects smartTrade for FX liquidity aggregation platform
Hello Android Pay, Goodbye Google Wallet
Thomson Reuters sets up innovation and data lab in Waterloo
SafeCharge confirms move to Guernsey on October 30, shares to be replaced
New MT4 Android app enhances market analysis capabilities, beefs up security
Tradermade launches FXQuest historical currency rate data tool
Beeks Financial Cloud buys VDIware for undisclosed seven-figure sum
First version of MT4 web platform is officially released
Institutional Offerings/Services
CFH Clearing switches to BNP Paribas as FX Prime Broker
Moscow Exchange experiences further tech issues – this time with RTS index
Financials
FXCM set to repay additional $33M to Leucadia after FXCM Asia deal completion
GFI Group commences consent solicitation with respect to 8.375% Senior Notes due 2018
US retail Forex assets rise 6.4% in July as FCMs show increases across the board
Invast Securities declares interim dividend of JPY 40 per share
SafeCharge registers 44% jump in revenues in H1 2015
Fidessa’s Chairman John Hamer hikes stake in company
TechFinancials stays downbeat on FY 2015 prospects, as OptionFair weighs on results
Slater Investments raises stake in First Derivatives above 4%
Fidessa’s CEO Chris Aspinwall builds stake in company
Payment technology firm Worldpay plans to float on London Stock Exchange
XTB management clarifies: XTB Group profitable and successful, XTB Limited (UK) is just part of the Group
Volumes
Japanese OTC Forex volumes rise 2.5% MoM in August 2015
SET sees 8% MoM increase in derivatives trading volumes in August 2015
KCG sees market making volumes jump 24% MoM in August 2015
Forex volumes decline further at Alpari in August 2015
FXCM August retail volumes rise 4% MoM to $329 billion; institutional volumes retstated
Warnings/Fines/Fraud Watch
Ukrainian CFD insider trading defendants agree to $30M settlement with the SEC – is more coming?
Japan’s regulator warns of unauthorized binary options broker JET Option
CySEC warns regarding binary options broker Bloombex
Legal
UAE securities regulator bolsters anti-money laundering mechanisms
Forex traders see tighter regulation as a top issue – Wall Street Journal
Forex brokers can operate without license in Russia until end of 2015
Playtech says regulatory decisions on Plus500 deal take longer than expected
Macroeconomic/Market News
Central banks of Belarus, China start implementing currency swap agreement
Bank of Russia starts publishing data from Thomson Reuters on currency exchange rates
IMF for first time to show Forex reserve breakdown together with a list of participating countries
Monex Global Survey: Investors are skeptical about Chinese economic growth
Fed stands pat on interest rates, Euro soars 1%
Executive Moves
SGX appoints Gautam Banerjee as Chairman of Listings Advisory Committee
Bank of Russia’s Viktor Chistyukhin joins Board of Directors of Alliance for Financial Inclusion
INTL FCStone President Scott Branch resigns
Thomson Reuters adds Ed Clark, Barry Salzberg to Board of Directors
Sucden Financial appoints Gavin Parker as Chief Operating Officer
Intercontinental Exchange appoints William Hague to Board of Directors
Hong Kong’s SFC names Maureen Garrett Interim Head of Enforcement
Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency News
Company offering “green” Bitcoins draws attention of Hong Kong regulator
Bitcoin firm BTCS registers 39.5M shares for resale by shareholders
Global banks form partnership to apply cryptocurrency technology to financial markets
CFTC takes first action against a Bitcoin Options platform, Coinflip / Derivabit
Hello Markets signs second Bitcoin PSP partnership, this time with Coinify
Qiwi plans to introduce new crypto currency Bitrubles