e-Forex Magazine January 2019

Industry Report - Key trends shaping e-FX in 2019
The FX Global code - Engaging with the buy side
Swift - The newly enriched FX data service
Regional Spotlight - FX automation in Australasia

Dollar bears enter 2019 in the driver’s seat

Currency Clips

Widening interest rate differentials between the United States and other major economies ensured king Dollar reigned supreme in currency markets last year. ...show more

Investors pushing in both directions, however, Euro could drop in Q1 2019

Released in December, the Eurozone GDP Year on Year figure came out lower than the previous result. The actual figure was announced at 1.6% growth, following the 2.2% growth figure of the previous period. ...show more

Tax hike and global slowdown threaten Japan’s economy in 2019

Currency Clips

Next October, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed a raise in consumption tax from 8 to 10 %. The last consumption tax increase, in 2014, sparked a recession, is there a chance that Abe might postpone the hike once again if economic indicators show a similar scenario? To offset any negative impact to the economy, the government is set to implement fiscal measures and policies, includes free pre-school education, tax breaks for car and home owners, and tax reduction on certain foods and beverages, to alleviate the burden on households....show more

Aussie Dollar playing on ‘Defence’

Currency Clips

To use a sporting analogy, the Australian Dollar (AUD) has been playing on ‘defence’ to start 2019. In fact, the currency has kicked off the new year on the same weaker footing with which it ended 2018, with conditions in the global trading environment being less-than-conducive for higher-risk currencies such as the AUD....show more

Ethereum’s upcoming hard fork to further fuel wider cryptocurrency rally

Currency Clips

Ethereum’s price will “continue to soar” throughout 2019 – and a main driver of the continued rally will be this week’s hard fork. The comments from influential tech expert Ian McLeod of Thomas Crown Art, the world’s leading art-tech agency, come as the second largest cryptocurrency has secured an impressive rally over the last month....show more

The FX Global Code - An overview of progress to date

Regulations & Compliance

In September 2018, the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) launched a new survey that measured awareness and adoption of the FX Global Code (the Code) among market participants. We asked Roger Rutherford, COO of ParFX and a member of the ACI FX Committee who has been involved in the establishment of the Code from the outset, to tell us more about this initiative and to provide an update on the working groups the GFXC has created to focus on four priority areas: “cover and deal” trading activity, disclosures, buy-side outreach, and integration of the Code in the FX market. ...show more

Encouraging fairness and transparency: How the FX Global Code will help asset managers win business

Regulations & Compliance

The FX Global Code aims to create fair, liquid and open FX markets by encouraging better governance, sounder risk management, higher standards of operational safety and fuller knowledge of execution practices for all market participants. So what efforts are being made to promote the Code to the buy-side and why is this so important?...show more

The FX trading technology landscape - key trends and forces at play

e-FX Industry Report

FX technology is at an interesting juncture. The FX market is going through structural and secular shifts and absorbing regulatory and capital changes that have shifted trading volumes. Technology demands are increasing as the market fragments and digests regulatory change. ...show more

The Once and Future FX Market

Market Commentary

The Christmas and New Year break provides an essential opportunity for compulsive hoarders, among whose number I must include myself, to review and dispose of old journals and press clippings cut in years long gone by. Progress is slow in my clean-up. I am distracted by articles that make me think – “oh, that became so true” and occasionally by articles that were the opposite. I need to be careful of chronological snobbery – “It was so obvious!”, I declare with crystal clear hindsight– well it certainly wasn’t back then....show more

FXSpotStream - Operating a business model that’s simple, clear and compelling

e-Forex Interview

FXSpotStream, a subsidiary of LiquidityMatch, is the bank owned consortium operating as a market utility which was formed in 2011. e-Forex talks to their Co-founder & CEO Alan F. Schwarz, about the reasons for the extraordinary popularity of his service and future plans....show more

Who cares about cryptocurrencies?

Blockchain and CryptoCurrencies

William Essex explains that cryptocurrencies are an expression of the blockchain but wonders whether they are necessary....show more

Blockchain around the world

Blockchain and CryptoCurrencies

Blockchain around the world...show more

Blockchain plus

Blockchain and CryptoCurrencies

Adel is a technology incubator for blockchain innovation. Not unusual these days, but there’s a twist. Adel’s approach seems to be pulling in the FX industry. “A majority of registered users in our ecosystem are FX and crypto traders,” says Gabriel Dusil, general manager and co-founder, Adel. William Essex went to talk to him....show more

The newly enriched FX data service from SWIFT

Spotlight

The newly enriched FX data service from SWIFT uses real transactions to measure activity share and competitive position on an instrument-by-instrument basis. We spoke with Juliette Kennel, Head of Securities and FX Markets at SWIFT to learn more about it....show more

Jefferies - Quickly moving to become a pre-eminent FX service provider

Provider Profile

Jefferies Foreign Exchange offers clients the ability to trade using powerful and flexible e-commerce solutions or via traditional voice broking channels with its FX centers in New York, Singapore and London. The company has recently been ramping-up its FX capabilities. e-Forex asked Brad Bechtel, Global Head of Foreign Exchange at Jefferies, to tell us more about this and plans for growing the FX side of the business further....show more

Cryptocurrencies - Are they the future of money?

Expert Opinion

Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple XRP have truly caught the world’s attention in recent years. According to many cryptocurrency experts and analysts, digital currencies represent the biggest, most important shake-up in the global financial sector since the 2008 financial crash. Indeed, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was introduced following the financial crisis, as people across the globe were calling out for a decentralised currency....show more

Regional e-FX in Australasia - Engineering The Road Ahead

Regional eFX Perspective

Most large FX players in Australasia now use electronic foreign exchange trading. However, although there is room for volume growth what is really changing the landscape is the technical sophistication of trading and services now on offer in the regional market....show more

View From The Top: Stater Global Markets’ CEO, Ramy Soliman, talks about global growth

Eight demands traders have for their brokerages

FX Brokerage Operations

Devexperts build trading platforms for different brokerages servicing over six-million traders worldwide. Over the past fifteen years, we have gained insight into what traders look for in a broker’s platform. Here are eight of the demands traders have that brokerages should be listening to, and how to meet them....show more

Delivering more cost effective crypto trading infrastructures

Special Report

Joe Morgan investigates the cryptocurrency market and explores what key trading tools and infrastructure is going to be required for brokers and institutional firms who are looking to enter the space....show more

Market Trends for 2019

Tools For Brokers adds to offerings

Product Launch

Leading international technology company, Tools For Brokers provides software solutions to brokerage firms across the foreign exchange and cryptocurrency trading markets. The company has recently been making headlines with the launch of several new products including a powerful liquidity management platform. e-Forex talks with Tools For Brokers’ COO Albina Zhdanova to learn more about these developments and the plans the firm has for the future....show more

Future proofing your business needs - Why the cloud is set to play a more central role in FX

Networks, Hosting and Connectivity

Dan Barnes investigates how foreign exchange trading and infrastructure is being transformed through smart application of cloud services....show more

PLUGIT - Delivering technology solutions that help clients to maximise profits, minimize risks and optimize operations

Provider Profile

PLUGIT is a leading technology provider specialized in the FX industry with an international presence and professional services extending from consulting and training to solution development, implementation and support. e-Forex talked to Jalal Faour, CEO of the firm and asked him to tell us more about the key products and services that the company now offers....show more

Robo-Advisers - Welcome To The Future

Automated FX Trading

Capital markets are increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and the rise of robo-advisers. Viet Anh Pham provides an insight on the impacts of AI-driven trading solutions on the foreign exchange trading space....show more

GO Markets - Working to become the low cost FX provider of choice

Broker Profile

GO Markets has broken ground many times, being one of Australia’s most established FX brokers. Many on the current GO Markets team have been there almost since inception. The company is currently expanding in terms of its offerings and global reach. e-Forex’s Larry Levy recently caught up with Christopher Gore, GO Markets CEO, to find out more about the latest developments at the firm....show more