Last week, retail Forex broker Plus500, whom went public less then two years ago in July of 2013 has already been acquired. Plus500 announced last week the acquisition by Teddy Sagi’s Playtech was approved at the Special General Meeting of Plus500 shareholders by an overwhelming majority of 93.4% of the votes. Remember, later this month on July 28th we are to see Playtech shareholders approve the firm’s second biggest target of the month in globally regulated broker AvaTrade. It is quite a holding company Playtech is becoming within the internet financial sector.
Going public in July of 2013 for 1.20GBP, the shares hit a high of 7.70GBP in April of 2015. Plus500 is now set to be officially swallowed up by Playtech Plc (LON: PTEC)
Last week we also witnessed FXCM continue to hold it’s own for FX volume metrics, increasing MoM totals 10% in line with the well performing month across the industry reported thus far in June. The question is… will FX volumes continue to hold up for the rest of the month? It may be that the boost in volumes will tail off with the tentative Greek deal in place that will attempt re-structure the country’s debt and save it’s place in the Eurozone. While we aren’t concerned with the politics of the situation, the uncertainty that surrounded the Euro did cause great volatility and record volumes within the last month and a half for intraday traders.
The Euro closed last week below the 1.09 handle, and could have it’s eyes set again on a re-test of the 1.05 level. Or will it see 1.10 again as traders and investors digest the whole of the macroeconomic landscape? EUR/USD couldn’t catch a break last week, falling in 4/5 days (see chart below, courtesy of cTrader).
Be sure to check out last week’s featured stories as well as a complete run down of the week below:
– Which side are you? The Forex Industry Talk Show
– Bitcoin traders on Coinsetter now can lever up to 5x
– EXNESS streamlines withdrawals with Visa and MasterCard debit cards
– Why is Gain Capital stock tanking if it just reported record Retail volumes?
– Malta updates policies for Forex brokers
– Interview: ICM Capital’s co-founder on the firm’s institutional ECN offering ‘ICM Direct’
– Saxo Bank focuses on trading account experience, introduces dedicated Account Portal
– Plus500 shareholders vote unanimously in favor of Playtech acquisition – LeapRate Exclusive
Weekly Forex Industry Rundown for July 13th – July 20th
June Volumes
– Japanese retail Forex volumes rise 25% MoM in June 2015
– FXCM reports 10% MoM increase in retail volume in June
Interviews/Features
– Why Greece caved to the Eurozone – Guest Editorial
– Op Ed: Should I pay or should I go?
– Virtual reality, watches and trading via headsets for the new generation: The Forex Industry Talk Show
– Cows have last laugh as Kiwi Dollar crushed by dairy price – Guest Editorial
Warnings/Fines/Fraud Watch
– FCA warns of Forex clone firm Augustine FX
– Three FX fraudsters jailed for Crown Currency collapse, owner tops himself during trial
– 4 out of 5 EMEA firms say online fraud is biggest threat
– FCA fined firms and individuals over £1bn for market integrity breaches in 2014
– France’s regulator blacklists 74 unauthorized Forex brokers
– Cypriot regulator suspends license of investment firm 1 TCR Corp
– San Diego man’s Ponzi scheme busted by SEC
– CEO of belly-up company FX World has been director of seven failed firms
– British Columbia’s regulator warns of unauthorized firm Bulls & Bears Traders
– OSC warns regarding Forex HYIP scheme promising $20,000 return for $100 investment
Legal
– Forex broker BlackfortFX should be liquidated: Administrators
– FCA warns of Forex clone firm Augustine FX
– Brazil names 30 traders at major international banks in ‘cartel’ and ‘mafia’ investigation
– CySEC tells binary options brokers to publish prospectuses in Belgium
– ISDA publishes EMIR classification letter
– Research by Pragma uncovers predictable trading patterns around WM/Reuters FX rate fix
– Deutsche Bank in regulatory hot water over money laundering in Russia
– FSCS estimates Alpari UK compensation costs at £27.6 million ($43.1m)
Financial
– KVB Kunlun expects sixfold rise in profit in H1 2015, shares go up
– GMO Click’s operating revenues decline 9% MoM in June 2015
– Scotiabank to acquire Citigroup’s banking units in Panama and Costa Rica
– iTech Capital invests $3 million in TradingView
– GMO Click registers 95% rise in net income in Q1 FY2016
Executive Moves
– Meir Velenski resigns as CEO of First Index – LeapRate Exclusive
– Sucden Financial appoints former Jefferies Bache executive Gary Herbert to expand coffee business
– Martin Wheatley to step down as CEO of FCA in September
Retail Offerings/Services
– Newborn Forex Trend set to emerge in August
– Autochartist launches Delkos Research trading analysis solution for futures industry
– RoboOption adds One Touch, Ladder binary options to offering
– UK becomes first country outside US to go live with Apple Pay
– MetaQuotes releases upgrade to MT4: Build 840
– Leverate launches retooled BX8 binary options platform
– VertexFX introduces binary options trading
– Alfa Trade UK ceases trading with immediate effect – LeapRate Exclusive
– Orbex launches new affiliate dashboard
– OANDA to stop offering onshore Chinese yuan
– ChartIQ’s Technician app is now available for Android devices
Institutional Offerings/Services
– Thomson Reuters SEF completes certification testing with LCH.Clearnet’s ForexClear
– Taiwan Futures Exchange sets RMB futures launch date for July 20th
– Finansinvest enhances operations with SunGard’s Front Arena for trading and risk management
– Jon Vollemaere’s new R5FX emerging marketplace enters Beta test phase
– R5FX selects smartTrade Technologies for Emerging Markets FX platform
– Russia’s central securities depository starts using SWIFT’s KYC Registry
– Xero now integrates with FX payment firm TransferWise
– CHAPS adds BNP Paribas as direct participant for same-day payments
– Barchart joins FinTech Sandbox as a market data provider
Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency
– Putin’s comments spark speculation he supports Bitcoin