Tectonic Plates of the Financial World Start Shifting

Over the past week we have seen a couple of events that, while their immediate effect is limited, signal the beginning of major shifts in the global economy. Contrasting with that, developments in the online trading industry have been progressing at a rapid pace.

Not too late?

On Monday we offered a look at what the Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term trading industry really thinks about the MetaQuotes’ MetaTrader 4 WebTrader, which was finally released this year. The big question on everyone's mind is whether such an offering is still even needed by MT4 brokers.

Finance Magnates canvassed multiple brokers and technology providers for their view on the webtrader and how it compares with existing, more costly alternatives that are already on the market. Join the debate and add your perspective in the comments.

IBKR goes long

On Tuesday Interactive Brokers Group reported its monthly performance metrics for November 2015, with shares of the global electronic multi-asset broker rising close to all-time highs following the announcement.

The performance figures remained buoyant despite the relatively slow trading month of November, with the company continuing to onboard clients at a decent pace.

Not a big deal?

On Wednesday we offered an analysis of the possible effects on retail forex trading of the inclusion of the Chinese yuan in the IMF's SDR. The article tries to figure out if it will mean a change in the habits of traders, and if brokers need to start paving the way for the rise of RMB pairs trading.

When the news of the change broke a couple of days earlier, we placed it in the wider context of the internationalization process of the Chinese currency and the effects on the global economy and cross border trade, regardless of the possible impact on trading.

Careless whisper

On Thursday, a burst of extreme volatility caused a ruckus in the markets after a sloppy tweet by the Financial Times. About 10 minutes before the scheduled time for the release of the ECB statement regarding interest rates the Twitter account belonging to the newspaper wrongly proclaimed that there won’t be a cut in rates.

At 12:45 GMT, the official statement read that the Governing Council of the monetary policy setting body of the Eurozone had actually decided to cut rates further into negative territory.

Not Out of the Woods yet

On Friday we exclusively reported that despite recently issuing an unprecedented string of fines, the financial watchdog of Cyprus is just getting started. According to our sources, the regulator has already added the names of a number of locally regulated companies to its list for further penalties.

This came after the announcement of multiple fines failed to stop the opinion page of the Financial Times from outright mocking CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term and some of the operators on the island with an opinion piece entitled “Behold! A regulatory clampdown in Cyprus."