During the passing week we have reported many stories from the online trading world but a few made more impact than the others. Among the most important articles last week, two were exclusive interviews from top figures, one long established and one new to the industry.
Brand New Energy
On Sunday we brought you an exclusive interview with Simon Kukes, the oil man who bought 12.5% of trading brokerage technology provider Leverate.
Dr. Kukes is one of the most well-known figures in the Russian petroleum industry having served as Chief Executive of Yukos from 2003 to June 2004. He offered our readers a look at how he sees the online trading market.
Trust the Hoff
In one of more lighthearted stories of the week, we reported that in a new campaign, Baywatch legend David Hasselhoff is promoting ADS Prime’s comprehensive Trading Platform .
Click the link to see the very funny commercial which includes a segment where a panicked salesman says: “We’re drowning out there,” to which Hasselhoff responds: “Oh I don’t know, you just get to learn how to ride the wave.” Then, the world famous "life guard" shows his colleagues how to trade with ADS.
One on One with Drew Niv
On Tuesday FXCM CEO Drew Niv shared his thoughts on a few topics in a lengthy interview with Finance Magnates, among them why retail Forex traders are able to source optimal pricing.
Niv explained that there is this misconception in the market that institutional customers are priced better than retail traders, stating “retail trader chatter believes they are getting lousy pricing, and this is a common misconception.” Niv added that among industry professionals, everyone knows that retail pricing is superior.
Voluntary Suspension
On Wednesday Australian regulators confirmed that the owner of FXTG requested ASIC to suspend its licence in order to focus on restructuring the brand.
The day before this announcement, the current owner of FXTG Stavro D’Amore commented to Finance Magnates: “...the company has been mine since 4 November 2015 and ASIC records show this. I have taken control and am looking to offset certain parts of the business including restructuring and changing the brand. I have requested ASIC to voluntarily suspend my licence so I can restructure the brand without affecting clients and service.”
Yen Volatility Explods
On Thursday we reported that brokers and traders of the Japanese yen have been hit massively by a violent decline in the USD/JPY and the rest of the JPY crosses.
The co-founder of DARWINEX Juan Colon stated to Finance Magnates: “For a broker, volatility is a double-edged sword. On the negative side, leveraged customers are margined-out of positions and high mortality ensues. On the plus side, trading volumes increase and our best DARWINs (trader based ETFs) are making a killing.”
The CEO of Divisa Capital Mushegh Tovmasyan commented: “These bursts of volatility have translated into more volumes across the board dominated by oil and gold. We are also starting to notice counterparty risk becoming a hot topic as banks around the world feel the pressures of the stock market rout against financials.”
American Market Hits All Time Lows
After years of consolidation of the foreign exchange market sector of the U.S. retail brokerage industry, the tough regulatory stance adopted by national regulators has this week yielded the disappointing results many have expected.
The latest CFTC data for client assets held at U.S. Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers (RFEDs) shows that American client assets have hit a new low. The final month of 2015 shows a broad industry decline amid tough choices that traders have to make when choosing an FX broker in the U.S.
