Forex Figures

In only 2 months since its launch, MahiFX has shown a considerable desire to respond directly to the needs of its traders and potential traders. In addition to a full homepage redesign which makes the company’s information significantly easier to access, the Forex brokerage has just launched a collection of charting tools and indicators which is integrated directly into the company’s proprietary trading platform. The new Forex charting tools are fully customizable and enable traders to follow many common indicators including MACD, WMA and others. Traders can also zoom, draw on the charts and trade directly from the charts if they so desire.

From our perspective, the integration of charting tools was a necessary addition, one that could not come soon enough in order to make MahiFX an even more impressive broker. The redesign of the company’s homepage however, came a surprise, as the shock value of the previous incarnation was undeniable, even if the usability was poor. To be sure, our team of expert traders and reviewers is significantly more impressed with the current design than the former version. Not only is the charting feature a central aspect of the new design, but so are the spreads offered by the broker, which are variable, but clearly competitive with other brokers.

Regulated by ASIC and founded by David and Susan Cooney, a husband and wife team with diverse experience in the financial sector, MahiFX is a Forex brokerage worth watching.

Considering that Kim Kardashian elected to end her highly publicized (and ridiculously expensive) marriage after only 72 days and that Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman’s blessed union lasted under 300 hours, it shouldn’t be entirely surprising that the previously idyllic European Union is now being called into question, with strong rumblings of a Greek exit from the union (already dubbed a ‘Grexit’ by media outlets worldwide). The EU is only around 12 years old, significantly longer than most celebrity marriages, but still in its infancy as far as political unions are concerned. Although nothing has been confirmed yet, analysts can’t help but wonder what a Grexit would mean, both for European countries and for global markets. The true ramifications of such a divorce may not really be known until a Grexit is confirmed, but there are some certainties that we can expect in advance of such an event.

How a Grexit Would Effect Greece

One of the first things that Greece would be required to do if the country withdraws from the EU is to create a new currency with which it can pay public expenses, public sector salaries and social security obligations. The problems with this requirement are multiple, including the fact that such a currency will undoubtedly be worth a fraction of the value of the Euro, the nation’s current currency. According to the IMF, a new Greek currency could be valued at up to 20% less than the Euro’s face value.

This is, of course, to say nothing of the logistical nightmare of having to print and distribute a new currency and to create a new set of laws governing how the new money would work. By some estimates, printing new money takes around 4 months, which poses all sorts of other conundrums that analysts are petrified to consider. It also doesn’t speak of the fact that a new currency would wreak havoc on business growth and loan procurement for new businesses, which would stifle the already ravaged economy in devastating ways. Likewise, there would be a need to reissue all of the country’s mortgages and loans and to prevent Greek citizens from attempting to withdraw all of their funds in Euros before a new, devalued Greek currency is issued. Looking at these issues, it seems impossible or ridiculous to even consider a Grexit…but unfortunately, such an event may be a requirement rather than a choice if the country cannot commit to the austerity demands imposed by the other member nations.

A Shakeup for the Whole EU

A Greek exit from the EMU would also have dramatic effects on Greek’s lenders, all of whom would be holding debt that is essentially worthless. For this reason alone, many EU leaders are fighting to keep Greece in the union, despite the difficulties. Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg and the current president of the EU’s finance ministers mentioned this week that “… nobody was mentioning an exit of Greece from the euro area. I am strongly against. We are 17 member-states being co-owners of our common currency. I don’t envisage, not even for one second, Greece leaving the euro area. This is nonsense, this is propaganda. We have to respect Greek democracy.” Still, Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, had a different comment, saying that “If a member of a club does not respect the rules, its better that it leaves the club—and this is true for any organization or institution or any project.”

Unless Greek President Karolos Papaoulias can build a government (which looks unlikely at this moment) before the scheduled bailout payment next month, it seems that the possibility of a Grexit remains within the scope of reality. In other words, we can expect to see continued selloffs and decreased confidence levels before we can identify the light at the end of the tunnel.

Saxo Bank, a leading Forex broker headquartered in Denmark, has recently announced its expansion into the Turkish Forex market. The brokerage itself won’t be regulated in Turkey, but it has acquired nearly 90% of a regulated Turkish broker, Deger Menkul Degerler, which will now be called Saxo Capital Markets Menkul Degerler A.S.

Saxo Bank joins only a handful of brokers that are legally allowed to operate in Turkey, including Integral Securities (formerly Ulukartal Forex), XTB, Gedik Securities and Finans Invest Securities (an offshoot of finansbank). The Turkish Forex industry made headlines recently when the decision was passed in August 2011 by the Turkish regulatory body CMB that Turkish brokers must be regulated, but no regulation was immediately available. Some firms were able to continue serving traders with a temporary license, but most brokers in the region were forced to halt their services and to scramble for regulation application. Since then, brokers have been slowly re-entering the market, and Saxo Bank is the latest to achieve this goal.

While most of the ASEAN nations have been dictatorships and or communist regimes for some time, they are starting to realize that they need to move into the world of the capitalist markets and are thus in the process of opening their stock markets and currency markets to the world.

Thus Cambodia for example just opened their very first stock exchange, which, as of this writing is trading a single stock (the Phnom Penh Water Authority). The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange was opened a few years earlier in the year 2000 and already sports more than 300 companies traded on the exchange. In Laos, the Laos Security Exchange is also a recent creation with just two stocks being traded on their market.

All Trying to Attract Foreign Investment

The key thing to remember however is that all of these countries along with the other ASEAN nations (and especially Singapore, which has always attracted foreign investment) are eager to attract foreign investment and are thus ripe investment opportunities for those who wish to take their chances in exchange for potentially large rewards.

How to Invest

One of the best ways to make investments in these countries is to look into working within their stock markets. Since almost all ASEAN nations now have a stock exchange (the exceptions are Brunei and Myanmar, though a Burma stock exchange is currently being planned and there are murmurs about creating a stock exchange in Brunei as well) it’s possible to simply purchase stocks in the various countries as an investment.

Be sure to track the various companies just as you would with more traditional investments in more established countries. It may also be a good idea to hold off on investments on the newest stock exchanges until they have matured somewhat, unless you can afford to lose the money on your bets.

Forex Markets

Most of these countries have limited Forex markets available for investing opportunities, though it is possible to purchase currencies in some of these countries as well. The Lao Kip is a good currency for going short since the currency has been steadily dropping in value versus the US dollar over the past few years. The Vietnamese Dong by comparison has been steadily rising in value when compared with the dollar. The Cambodian Riel has seen the most fluctuation of all of these currencies, with the price jumping up down against the dollar. In all cases remember that as currencies of emerging markets these are likely to be much more volatile than purchasing currencies from more established states.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that there are investment opportunities which are a off the beaten path that are worth looking into, especially if you have the stomach for slightly riskier investment opportunities and a good handle on the Forex world in general.

Thompson Reuters has long been respected as a leading news provider, a portal to which both financiers and lay people have turned to get the latest updates from across the globe. In addition to the free news and limited analysis that the news agency provides for free, it also offers a range of paid services aimed at providing higher level analyses to investors of all types to enhance the efficiency of their trading and to help sculpt their trading strategies.

To further contribute to their offerings, Reuters has launched FX Buzz, a new service that provides deeper insights and analysis into the Forex market. The service will be available via Reuters’s Eikon and 3000 extra services, both of which are counted among the company’s premium business services. Prices for these services are not available on the agency’s website, though demo accounts are available to allow traders and companies to test out the service before committing.

The specific goal of FX Buzz is to use the company’s top news reporting agency to track developing news stories that will impact the currency markets and to provide concise analyses of how these developments are likely to move the markets. The agency will focus on the major G1 currencies including USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD and more, as well as primary currencies in Asia, EMA and Latin America, such as SGD, INR, HUF, RUB, MXN, CLP and BRL. FX Buzz will combine both fundamental and technical analysis on these currencies and others from Reuters’s respected staff of analysts.

Learn more about FX Buzz here.

The launch of the MT4 platform on July 1, 2005 revolutionized the Forex world by providing a software solution that could be branded by Forex brokers to serve their specific needs. Since then, dozens of software companies have created complementary solutions, none of which could be fully integrated into the MT4 platform or branded completely by the broker. This is about to change, however, with the launch of Sirix by Leverate, a social Forex trading solution that will be available shortly and looks likely to take the Forex market by force.

As of this writing, there are few Forex brokers that offer full social trading solutions. With the exception of eToro, a brokerage whose entire premise is built upon the concept of social trading and idea sharing, and Currensee, whose social platform can be used by brokers but cannot be branded by the broker, there are few full social Forex trading options. Sirix, however, is a new technology whose primary function will be to allow Forex brokers to integrate social trading into their existing MT4 platforms in a fully branded and integrated way. Rumblings in the Forex world indicate that Markets.com, already a top Forex broker in its own right, will be the first to offer Sirix Trader social trading to its clients. The launch date for this venture has not yet been published. Still, we expect to see Sirix Trader being offered by dozens of Forex brokers by the start of 2013, if not sooner. After all, most Forex brokers are eager to provide services that will appeal to a wider range of traders, and social trading is certainly proving to be the wave of the future – and a very helpful way for new traders to continue making money in the Forex market.

Have you engaged in social trading? Where?

When choosing a Forex broker, many traders look for a brokerage that has not only good trading conditions, but a reputable staff of analysts who can provide regular support and explanation of market trends. Among those that have shot to fame are Kathy Lien, formerly of FXCM and now of GFT Forex, Bastian Rubben of SunbirdFX and Nour Eldeen Al-Hammoury from Amana Capital.

Although she is only 31, Kathy Lien has become an icon in the Forex world, making regular television appearances, authoring several Forex-related books and providing regular market analysis that is read by thousands of traders daily. For this reason, many traders were shocked when Lien announced that she is leaving GFT with her colleague Boris Schlossberg to open their own asset management firm.

Schlossberg and Lien have been working together for seven years, first at FXCM and then at GFT, and have been asked regularly to manage accounts, but could never do so because of various regulations and legal restrictions. On her website, Ms. Lien describes herself as a ‘trader first, analyst second’, so it is not entirely surprising that she would choose to pursue a venture that would allow her to spend more time trading, and (perhaps) less time analyzing on the front lines.

The good news for Forex traders is that there are many reliable Forex analysts that provide regular market updates, both via specific brokerages, or through content-based websites like DailyForex which provide quality analysis with no strings attached.

Which Forex analyst do you follow regularly?

ThinkForex may be a relatively new Forex broker, but they seem to be showing that they’ve learned from their predecessors and are ready to offer the latest, most useful services and competitive bonuses that will make almost any trader happy.

Among the offerings now available from ThinkForex:

• Free iPad3 for eligible traders, available through May 31, 2012. To claim your promotion, you must open a live account and email support@thinkforex.com with the promo code iPad Promo 52012. Then you must trade the required amount (which is not specified), in order to earn the iPad. Finally, you must contact the brokerage to claim your prize once you’ve met the eligibility requirements.
• ThinkForex is now also partnered with ZuluTrade, one of the most popular signals providers, which allows traders to choose the providers they want and to follow the trades directly in their MT4 platform.
• Finally, ThinkForex has recently implemented OneClick+, a system that simplifies the trading process and allows traders access to one click trading on their MetaTrader 4 platform, as well as real time tabular market data, both of which are available in easy to install plugins that can be used directly with the ThinkForex MT4 platform. Other OneClick+ features include default order entry, an active spread indicator, net position tracking and a close all order availability, highly useful features that aren’t generally included in the MT4 platform.

ThinkForex is an ECN Forex broker that launched in 2010 and is regulated by the FSC in New Zealand.

One of the most difficult aspects of Forex trading is the fact that there is no real course material used about to teach about the industry, as there are for many other aspects of business world such as accounting, banking and business economics. In fact, if you look at the courses offered by most business schools and universities throughout the world, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single course (let alone a set of courses) that focuses on trading the currency markets as a way to profit as an individual trader or as an advisor. Things may be changing, though, and FXCM, a leading global Forex broker, may be somewhat responsible.

In the spring semester of 2012, FXCM sponsored its first currency trading contest for students of Texas A&M University, West Texas A&M University and Baruch College. Participants in the contest were primarily students of business and economics, though anyone interested in the Forex market was eligible to enter. The contest took place over a 4 week span, during which the new Forex traders were able to study the international currency markets and to apply the technical and fundamental principles that they’d learned in class to the live market.

The contest’s winner, Bryce Moody, won a $10,000 tuition scholarship, courtesy of FXCM. The contest enabled the participants to get a sense of whether they would want to make Forex trading a part of their future trade plans or professional career, and it opened up opportunities that are never offered on the university level.

I think I can speak for the entire DailyForex team and for traders worldwide, when I say that it’s a wonder more universities haven’t yet incorporated classes about Forex trading into their syllabi, and that I hope we will see not only more trading contests in the future, but more accredited courses offered about these fascinating markets.

Do you think that Forex trading should be taught on the university level?

Binary options trading as an industry formed around 2009, and since then, literally hundreds of brokers have been sprouting up worldwide. Thus far, none have been regulated, as no regulatory body in the EU or elsewhere throughout the world has committed to overseeing or providing guidelines for the activities of binary options brokers. In other words, although many binary options brokers do operate quite professionally, there has been nothing stopping unscrupulous companies from swindling unsuspecting traders. This is about to change, however, as CySec, the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus, has just announced its intention to begin regulating binary options brokers.

The announcement comes after approximately two years of advocacy by MAP S. Platis, a consulting and advisory board that works closely with financial institutions in Cyprus, Russia and the European Union. According to MAP S. Platis, as of early May 2012, CySec has acknowledged that binary options trading activities should fall under the umbrella of MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, a directive which came into effect in November 2007 to promote competition and to protect consumer interests relating to financial services in the EU and several other countries. As a result of this ruling, CySec will now be regulating binary options activities.

The announcement coming from CySec regarding this new regulation instructs all binary options brokers to submit their intention to apply for regulation within 15 days. MAP S. Platis has noted that at least 3 binary options brokers have already applied for binary options regulation. It should be expected that more applications will be submitted in the coming days.