CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) has announced its results for the first quarter of 2017, indicating a 15% dropoff in Revenues from Q4's record levels. Revenues for Q1 at Plus500 came in at $77.5 million, versus a record $91.3 million last quarter (Q4-2016) and $85.2 million in Q1 last year. Nevertheless, above-average EBITDA margins of…
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Belgium financial regulator FSMA has issued a statement regarding the €550,000 settlement it reached with FCA and CySEC regulated CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS), reported earlier today by LeapRate. The statement sheds some light on the reasons the settlement was reached. Full text of the statement reads as follows: 25-04-2017 Agreed settlement - Plus500 The…
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CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) has announced that it has reached a settlement with Belgium financial regulator FSMA, in which it will pay the regulator €550,000. The settlement came after several months of discussions between Plus500 and the FSMA. Belgium authorities claimed that Plus500 had contravened its ban on offering leveraged trading products in the…
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UK financial regulator The FCA issued today its 2017 Mission Statement and Business Plan, plus its Sector Views which highlight the issues and developments the FCA sees in the sectors it regulates. While there seems to be a lot new now at the FCA - including a quietly unveiled new-look website and logo (see at…
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LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned via regulatory filings made in Norway and the UK that Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, has increased its position in UK online Forex and CFDs broker CMC Markets Plc (LON:CMCX) to 4%, making Norges one of CMC's largest shareholders. The Norges Bank stake in CMC consists of 11.73 million shares, worth about…
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LeapRate Exclusive… Some of the world's leading institutional investors continue to make big bets on a turnaround in shares of leading UK online brokers, which were hit hard late last year after the FCA proposed new strict rules governing Forex and CFD trading. LeapRate has learned via regulatory filings that BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has increased…
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Given the large response, the FCA will take more time than expected in finalizing the new rules.
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LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned via regulatory filings that global investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has increased its stake in CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) to 7.82%, up from 6.5% in mid February and 2.4% as at the end of last year. Plus500 shares, and those of other leading UK online brokers including IG Group…
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Online gaming and financial trading systems giant Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC) has announced its results for 2016, which showed significant improvement across the board in Revenues (up 12% over 2015), EBITDA (up 20%) and Net Profit (up a tidy 42%). The second half of 2016 also saw a nice turnaround, or at least a stabilization, at…
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LeapRate Exclusive... LeapRate has learned via regulatory filings that BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has upped its position in UK online broker IG Group Holdings plc (LON:IGG) to over 9%. New York based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with more than $5 trillion in assets under management. IG Group is the UK's largest online broker,…
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