This last week, the second major institutional merger and accusation this year within the FX sector took place with Deutsche Borse buying 360T for 725 million euros. The other major M & A took place in the beginning of 2015 when KCG unloaded their Hotspot ECN platform to BATS Global Markets. The 360T deal is worth twice as much however at roughly $800m USD compared to Hotspot, which sold for $365m USD.
Furthermore this week, we also saw innovative platform companies in Spotware and Fortex further entrench themselves within the Chinese mainland FX market. Fortex opening an office in Shanghai and Spotware for the first time offering their full suite of software to Chinese brokers in mandarin.
In the broker space, IG Group reported rising annual revenues while hitting record a high valuation with a rally in their shares before the report was released. Meanwhile, FXCM is hanging onto exchange it’s membership on the NYSE by introducing a 1 for 10 reverse stock split to lift company shares out of penny stock territory.
It should be noted that FXCM has reported solid volumes since the January 15th Swiss Franc crash which decimated it’s stock price and pushed the company to the brink and have been successful in selling “non-core” assets plus has already started paying back it’s emergency lifeline financing from Leucadia. The effects of the Swiss National Bank’s move on January 15th is still causing ripples more than 6 months later.
After much rumor make sure to stay tuned to LeapRate this week as Plus500 shareholders will vote to approve the acquisition of brokerage AvaTrade on Tuesday, July 28th.
Be sure to check out last week’s featured stories as well as a complete run down of the week below:
– IG Group sees annual revenues rise 8% to £400.2 million ($622.3m)
– FXDD goes live with Tradency’s algorithmic hedge fund solution
– FXCM announces 1-for-10 reverse stock split
– FXSpotStream experiences 24% increase in volumes in June; launches new GUI
– Fortex opens office in Shanghai to expand across China’s institutional FX industry
– One trading system from one company, or a component system from multiple vendors?
– ETX Capital reports over 6,000 new clients and $30m in funds from Alpari UK deal
– Deutsche Borse buys 360T for 725 million euros
Forex Industry Rundown for the Week of July 20th, 2015
June Volumes
– Alpari sees 0.8% MoM drop in Russia and CIS trading volumes in June 2015
Interviews/Features
– Visualization is the way forward in FX! – Exclusive TV interview
Warnings/Fines/Fraud Watch
– Russia’s CRFIN blacklists Protraders Ltd
– Scammers try to defraud former clients of Forex MMCIS again
– FCA warns of GGM Forex, clone of Ayondo Markets
– ASIC issues ban on ex-GTL Tradeup Pty Ltd director
– What’s in a name? FCA warns regarding unregulated firm Citigroup Investments
– Japan’s FSA warns of unauthorized broker Binary777
Legal
– FSCS expects to make further payments to Alpari UK clients in the next weeks
– ESMA extends Greece short selling ban until July 27 despite EU agreement
– Russia’s Forex organizations CRFIN and KROUFR seal partnership
– Bank of England Director of Markets calls for tough FX trading guidelines to avoid a return to poor ethics
– FCA regulated firms to have more time to handle customer complaints
– TrustForex joins Russia’s Forex organization CRFIN
– Court appoints liquidators at Forex broker BlackfortFX (Arena Capital)
Financial
– IG Group shares hit all-time high, valuation tops $4.5 billion
– British technology the darling of VC investors as Revolut raises $2.3 million for mobile FX solution
– Interactive Brokers swings back to profit in Q2 2015
– SafeCharge forecasts strong metrics for H1 2015
– If the UK left the EU, would London’s dominance of Forex decline?
– Markets revolt against FXCM reverse split sending shares down 12% to all-time low
– Tradition reports revenues of CHF 426.6 million in H1 2015
– Playtech to receive £75 million ($116.6m) under agreement with Ladbrokes
– GMO Click forecasts quarterly dividend of ¥6.38 per share
– Deutsche Börse’s official statement on 360T acquisition
Executive Moves
– George Popescu appointed chairman of advisory board for HK-based Bitcoin exchange Gatecoin
– CEO of IG Group Tim Howkins announces retirement
– Saxo UK Chairman and Senior Analyst Nick Beecroft departs – LeapRate Exclusive
– Former FXCM senior executive Michael Higgins appointed Global Head of Sales at X Markets Trading
– Former FXCM executive Mark Davison appointed Director of Business Development at X Markets Trading
– FCA appoints HSBC UK CEO Anthony Simoes as Chair of Practitioner Panel
Retail Offerings/Services
– TRADOLOGIC increases its gaming presence by partnering with Europe-Bet
– cTrader takes full solution to China
– MarketsPulse cracks the big hitters as DMM FX launches DMMOption.com
– Alliance News feed now available across MetaTrader platforms
– Interactive Brokers releases new build of TWS platform
Broker Updates
– HotForex rolls out renewed Traders’ Board
– Royal Forex Trading opens office in Sydney, Australia
– myAlpari is now available for mobile devices
– RoboForex limits leverage for Polish customers due to new regulations
– Countdowns go live at CMC Markets as fixed-odds gambling product
– IG Group teams up with BlackRock to introduce ETF portfolios
– FxPro changes margin requirements for shares trading
– Admiral Markets launches Market Heat Map to provide real time data to traders
– RoboForex releases new version of WebTrader platform
Institutional Offerings/Services
– DGCX to waive off trade fees for Mini INR contracts
– Eikon embraces visualization as Thomson Reuters looks to the future of FX industry data
– Holland Clearing House renamed ICE Clear Netherlands
– CME Group, Multi Commodity Exchange of India seal Memorandum of Understanding
– FXCM selects Netwrix Auditor software for new compliance solution
– Menaсorp starts offering trading on DGCX via MetaTrader 5
– Azul Systems joins Canonical’s Charm Partner Programme
– British prime brokerage Linear Investments acquires the assets of AQX Securities agency execution business
– Indian Rupee contract still on top at DGCX with increased volumes of 15% in H1 2015
– Moscow Exchange to release new version of FX system ASTS
– China Financial Futures Exchange signs MoU with Moscow Exchange
– Futures giant R.J. O’Brien becomes clearing member of London Metal Exchange
– Tradeweb awarded European Central Bank electronic trading platform contract
Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency
– Bitcoin exchange itBit introduces ‘Global OTC Agency Trading Desk’
– Australian regulator issues stop order for Bitcoin Group’s IPO
– One to one with Gatecoin: CEO Aurélien Menant talks to Leaprate about Asia in the digital currency age
– US prosecutors charge Coin.mx executives for operating illegal Bitcoin exchange