Francesc's Weblog

FM: Interbank FX and Luis Rivas sued for allegedly defrauding clients

2012-05-15T13:32:07.000Z

Interbank FX and Luis Rivas sued for allegedly defrauding clients
by Michael Greenberg at Forex Magnates
In a case submitted to the United States district court for the eastern district of Tennessee the group of 12 Plaintiffs claims that it was defrauded by IBFX (now subsidiary of TradeStation) and a money manager named Luis H. Rivas for about $25 million.
The Plaintiffs claim two things – that IBFX used deceptive marketing tactics and that Luis Rivas lost most of their money in what turned out to be a ponzi scheme. IBFX’s role in this suit however is not very clear as traders who were lured by Rivas weren’t direct traders but deposited their funds with Rivas who then lost most of them. Nonetheless Plaintiffs name IBFX as a Defendant in this case.

Leaprate: FX News and Info market heats up

2012-05-15T12:05:47.000Z

FX News and Info market heats up 
by Gerald Segal at Leaprate
FX brokerage firms have increased their spending lately on FX news, analysis and data feeds, the competition to provide value-added information into the market has been heating up. The latest salvo fired in this ongoing competition has been made by Thomson Reuters, which is introducing intraday FX analysis and commentary to its Reuters FX Buzz service.
As FX trading volumes have waned due (mainly) to low volatility among the main currency pairs the past few months -- leading clients to lose interest in trading -- Forex firms have actively been adding new products as well as new services in order to bring clients back, and to encourage trading. One increasingly popular service being added is social networking, either in-house or via third-party FX social media platforms such as Currensee, Tradeo and FX Junction. Another area in which FX brokerages have been active is adding more quality news and commentary feeds, giving their clients more insight into the goings-on in currency related news -- and more incentive to make informed trading decisions (and to pull the trigger on trades).

CFTC Orders ACI Capital Group and Alexandre P. Guimaraes to Pay $850,000 in Restitution and Penalty to Settle Forex Fraud Charges

2012-05-15T06:52:15.000Z

CFTC Orders ACI Capital Group, L.L.C. and Alexandre P. Guimaraes to Pay Approximately $850,000 in Restitution and Penalty to Settle Forex Fraud Charges
Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed and simultaneously settled charges against Alexandre P. Guimaraes and his company, ACI Capital Group, L.L.C. (ACI), both of Irvine, Calif., for fraudulently soliciting customers to trade off-exchange foreign currency contracts (forex), issuing hundreds of false monthly account statements to customers to conceal trading losses, and misappropriating a portion of customer funds. Guimaraes also was charged with acting as an unregistered commodity trading advisor (CTA).
The CFTC order requires Guimaraes and ACI jointly and severally to pay $428,046.31 in restitution and a $420,000 civil monetary penalty. The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the respondents.

Crown Forex S.A Was Illiquid by 14M Swiss Francs

2012-05-14T10:00:00.000Z

Cook insider admits fraud, implicates former pals 
by DAN BROWNING , Star Tribune 
An heir to the Kroger fortune testified about three ex-associates in the Ponzi scheme.
Plymouth securities broker Christopher Pettengill connected the dots this week in the prosecution's case against three former business associates who are standing trial in Minneapolis on federal charges related to Trevor Cook's $194 million Ponzi scheme.
Pettengill, 55, an heir to the Kroger grocery store fortune, pleaded guilty last year to charges of securities fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and faces up to nearly 20 years in prison. He said he hopes to get a break in exchange for his cooperation and the three days he spent testifying against his former friends and associates.
...
He said he and his associates hatched a plan to take over Crown Forex at a meeting in Las Vegas in late January 2008. They had a Swiss consultant named Felix Tschopp review the company's books. Tschopp said in an e-mail dated Feb. 27, 2008, that Crown Forex was "illiquid" and was in the red by 14 million Swiss francs.

After reading that, Pettengill said, "I knew it was a fraud."

Most Watched Webinar Recording of The Week April 30th to May 6th 2012: Boris Schlossberg joins the podium

2012-05-11T14:46:05.000Z

Most Watched Forex Recordings for the week of April 30 - May 06

 #1 Sam Seiden - Live Trading and Analysis

 #2 Chris Capre - Price Action Trading: Analysis and setups on any time frame

 #3 Boris Schlossberg - How to use RSI to Day Trade the Currency Market

DIF Broker to White Label FXCM’s MT4 Platform Offering

2012-05-10T17:35:46.000Z

DIF Broker to White Label FXCM’s MT4 Platform Offering
Lisbon and New York, May 10, 2012—FXCM Inc. (NYSE: FXCM), a leading online provider of foreign exchange trading and related services worldwide and DIF Broker, a leading independent online financial broker, announced that DIF Broker will white label FXCM's MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform starting this May. Citing a commitment to ensure that its clients have, in their opinion, the best solutions available in the market, DIF Broker partnered with FXCM due to FXCM’s integration of its No Dealing Desk forex execution and the fact that MT4 is one of the most popular platforms used. DIF Broker will offer the MT4 solution under the brand “DIF FX.”

“FXCM’s newest MT4 offering, has taken the next step in providing, what we believe to be, the best MT4 trading experience in the marketplace,” said Brandon Mulvihill, managing director of FXCM UK. “Especially with the rise in popularity of automated trading, this white label partnership seems like a great complement to the DIF Broker offering.”

DIF Broker will offer a wider opportunity to its clients throughout Western Europe with FXCM’s established product by providing a different kind of trading in the DIF FX platform.

´Today, investors want compelling trading products that make a great experience,'' said Paulo Pinto, chief operating officer of DIF Broker. ''DIF Broker will allow its clients to combine the great services already offered on the DIF Freedom platform and the ability to execute on a new platform, DIF FX, with the strength of a leading forex broker offering a total contingency plan for leverage instruments to our clients.''

About DIF Broker

DIF Broker is registered across multiple jurisdictions throughout Western Europe, including the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority. DIF Broker has received numerous awards from the investment community, including Best Western European online broker from World Finance and Global Banking & Finance Review.

About FXCM Inc.

FXCM Inc. (NYSE: FXCM) is a global online provider of foreign exchange (forex) trading and related services to retail and institutional customers worldwide.

At the heart of FXCM's client offering is No Dealing Desk forex trading. Clients benefit from FXCM's large network of forex liquidity providers, enabling FXCM to offer competitive spreads on major currency pairs. Clients have the advantage of mobile trading, one-click order execution and trading from real-time charts. FXCM's UK subsidiary, Forex Capital Markets Limited, also offers CFD products with no re-quote trading and allows clients to trade forex, oil, gold, silver and stock indices on one platform. In addition, FXCM offers educational courses on forex trading and provides free news and market research through DailyFX.com.

Trading foreign exchange and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all.

Introducing ITC 2012 Speakers: Meet Walter Peters and Ed Ponsi

2012-05-10T11:31:55.000Z

We asked the guest speakers of the 5th International Traders Conference organized by FXstreet.com in  June 2012 to tell us who they are, what you will learn from them at the conference and why they believe it's an event worth attending. Here is what  Walter Peters, PhD and author of the book "Naked Forex", and  Ed Ponsi, President from FXEducator and author of the book "Selling America Short", has to say!

More information about the ITC 2012 at:

 http://www.forexstreet.net/page/international-traders-conference-2012  

Also, meet Steve Ward and Richard Olsen here:

   Introducing ITC 2012 Speakers: Meet Steve Ward and Richard Olsen

Francesc

CFTC Charges Madison Dean, Inc. and its Principals with Forex Fraud

2012-05-10T10:43:47.000Z

 CFTC Charges New York Firm Madison Dean, Inc., and its Principals, George Athanasatos and Laurence Dodge, with Forex Fraud 
Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Madison Dean, Inc. (Madison Dean), of Wantagh, N.Y., and its principals, George Athanasatos, also of Wantagh, and Laurence Dodge of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., with fraudulently soliciting approximately 19 persons to invest approximately $415,000 in managed trading accounts to trade off-exchange foreign currency (forex) contracts on a leverage or margined basis. None of the defendants has ever been registered with the CFTC.
The CFTC complaint, filed on May 8, 2012, alleges that from approximately December 2008 through approximately July 2010, defendants Madison Dean, Athanasatos, and Dodge, through an Internet website, written solicitation materials, and other actions, misrepresented and omitted material facts about Madison Dean, including the background and qualifications of Madison Dean employees and the firm’s performance record, to create a false impression that it was a well-established and successful company.

CFTC Obtains Default Judgment against JE Machado and Invers Forex LLC with Forex Fraud

2012-05-09T07:30:58.000Z

CFTC Obtains Default Judgment against Former Florida Resident Juvenal E. Machado and His Company, Invers Forex, LLC, for Off-Exchange Forex Scam
Court orders defendants to pay more than $4 million in customer restitution and penalty and permanently bars them from the commodities industry
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge Marcia G. Cook, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entered an order of default judgment and permanent injunction against Juvenal Eduardo Machado (Machado) (aka Juvenal Eduardo Machado Bogadi, Edward Kaufman, and Eduardo Machado), whose last known address in the United States is Miami, Fla., and his company, Invers Forex, LLC. Neither defendant has ever been registered with the CFTC.
The order stems from a CFTC enforcement action filed on June 23, 2011, that charged the defendants with defrauding customers in an off-exchange foreign currency (forex) scam and with misappropriating customer funds (see CFTC Press Release 6057-11).
The order requires Machado and Invers Forex jointly and severally to pay a $3.92 million civil monetary penalty and restitution of $201,613. The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants and prohibits them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

Crown Forex Case: Bo Beckman's bid to ownership in Wild didn't pass NHL scrutiny

2012-05-08T16:18:03.000Z

lies, greed, lies, greed and lies again... read it twice and I still do not get it.

Francesc 

Bo Beckman's bid to ownership in Wild didn't pass NHL scrutiny 
By John Welbes at Twincities
Jason "Bo" Beckman appeared to be on the road to an ownership stake in the Minnesota Wild NHL franchise back in 2008.
But then he ran into Joel Barth, a New York City-based accountant and a Wharton School graduate who the NHL hires to dig into potential owners to see if they can actually afford the investment.
Barth testified Monday, May 7, in Beckman's criminal trial in federal court in Minneapolis. Beckman is accused of helping run a $194 million Ponzi scheme, which has already put Trevor Cook behind bars for 25 years.
Beckman is a former high school and college hockey player. The indictment in the case claims he used investor funds to try to trick the NHL into allowing him to buy a portion of the Wild.
A financial statement that Barth received in February 2009 showed that Beckman and his wife, Hollie, had a net worth of $21.7 million. The largest chunk of that was a $20.8 million investment in the Oxford Group, an investment firm that Beckman ran out of the Van Dusen mansion in Minneapolis. But when Barth asked for account statements for the various accounts on the net worth statement, his suspicions were raised.
On one statement, the address for a firm called Crown Forex, in Switzerland, had an address of "123 Main" in Zurich. Beckman claimed he had $3.6 million invested with the firm. The account statement didn't say what the assets were; it just listed a total. Barth thought the statement looked fishy, and when he did a Google search of "Crown

Crown Forex Case: Clerical goof adds hassle to victims of Cook fraud

2012-05-08T14:27:43.000Z

Clerical goof adds hassle to victims of Cook fraud 
by DAN BROWNING , Star Tribune
More than 90 victims of Trevor Cook's fraud scheme have been victimized again, this time by a handful of fellow investors in his $194 million Ponzi scheme, according to the court-appointed receiver who's been recovering assets in the case.
The problems started in the U.S. District Court clerk's office, which has been helping the receiver by sending out periodic "distribution" checks to the 723 defrauded investors. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis ordered the clerk's office to help so the receiver wouldn't have to hire someone to administer the checks at the expense of the victims.
That worked well until someone in the clerk's office apparently goofed when preparing a third set of distribution checks at the end of March. As a result, 92 investors got underpayments and 91 got overpayments.

FM: New Zealand gets taste of Forex Fraud

2012-05-07T14:09:26.000Z

New Zealand gets taste of Forex Fraud
by Forex Magnates
New Zealand has positioned itself as an alternative destination for Forex brokers looking to market themselves as regulated brokers. A new report has shown that a local foreign exchange trader has been charged with fraud for allegedly causing 59 investors to lose around $1.5 million.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged Christopher John Collecutt, 57, with theft by person in special relationship, obtaining by deception or causing loss by deception, and false statement by promoter.
Collecutt traded foreign exchange on behalf of 73 investors, located both in New Zealand and overseas, the SFO said today in a statement.

FXstreet.com Brokers Listing Criteria... Time to Change?

2012-05-07T11:01:41.000Z

Hi everyone

In April 2007 I wrote in my former blog about something that back then was already a headache for FXstreet.com: the selection criteria to admit brokerage firms into our Brokers list.

FXstreet.com must admit EU passport brokers in its leading brokers list?

As you probably already know, the brokers list has been critical to explain FXstreet’s performance since it was created at the end of 1999. Its success has generated an excellent revenue stream that has allowed us to go from one employee to over 60 at this time.

The list’s goal has always been to offer a wide range of leading FX firms in order to offer the best players to our visitors. Of course the brokers list is a paid service, but it has not been open to anyone willing to pay, as listed firms had to meet several conditions, the two most important were:

1. To be regulated in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, Germany or Nordic Countries.

2. To have an overall positive review in FX forums. We know that we can’t trust all what we read in Forums, but to have a positive balance between good comments and bad comments is critical to be in the list.

For years, we have received many requests from EU based brokerage firms to enter the list. They all meet the Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) approved by the European Parliament, so they have authorization to take clients from the EU. However the main responsible of the supervision of company’s good behavior in Europe are regulators with poor experience/credibility in the FX arena and soft regulation and poor capital requirements.

My position has always been not to accept those firms unless they were regulated by a trusted and known regulator body such as FSA in the UK or NFA in the US… but, the Forex market has quickly evolved and now we find that:

1. many of those firms popping up in Cyprus, Malta or other non-core European countries are long established players with a track record as good as their peers in the US or UK

2. tighter regulation and capital requirements in the US has dramatically reduced the number of firms providing brokerage services in FX. Thighter UK regulation is a wall too stopping many to enter. More or less, the same is happening in the other main countries.

3. FXstreet's audience is gearing from mostly US based (over 25% of our audience 3 years ago and now around 15%), to Asian and European visitors.

4. Tighter regulation has forbidden brokers to display ads in countries where they are not entitled to do business in.

So... does it make sense to keep our policy and not to let anyone geo-target its audience to just those countries the firm is authorized to perform business in? I mean... shouldn't we have to go for a geo-targeted list that would change upon the country our visitors come from?

We have initiated once more an internal debate... so far all debates have ended in a wait-and-see mode... this time could be different?

As always, your opinion will be very welcome

Francesc

Most Watched Forex Webinars April 2012: Sam Seiden Live Trading and Analysis Webinar Leads

2012-05-07T10:58:16.000Z

Most Watched Forex Webinar Recordings for April 2012

#1 Sam Seiden - Live Trading and Analysis and Trading and Analysis

#2 Steven Primo - My favorite Chart Pattern for Trading the Forex Markets

#3 Chris Capre - Price Action Trading: Analysis and setups on any time frame

and MONTHLY WEBINAR - Part I: Forex Price Action Trading - Patterns, Setups & Quantitative Data

#4 Walter Peters - Naked Trading Techniques

#5 Rob Helean - My Favorite Trade Setups

Swissquote sees substantial inflow of net new monies

2012-05-07T10:46:37.000Z

Swissquote sees substantial inflow of net new monies
Despite a slight increase in total net revenues versus the 4th quarter of 2011, Swissquote posted a 19.9 percent year-on-year decrease in revenues to CHF 29.2 million. Since operating expenses did not go down to the same extent (-6.8 percent), net profit was 40.9 percent lower at CHF 6.3 million. The number of accounts grew by 13.1 percent, passing the 200,000 mark for the first time. Total assets under custody rose by 1.1 percent to CHF 8.5 billion, and net new monies stood at CHF 536.6 million, up 83.0 percent on the year-back figure.

Introducing ITC 2012 Speakers: Meet Steve Ward and Richard Olsen

2012-05-07T10:30:00.000Z

We asked the guest speakers of the 5th International Traders Conference organized by FXstreet.com in June 2012 to tell us who they are, what you will learn from them at the conference and why they believe it's an event worht attending. Here is what Steve Ward from High Performance Global and OANDA's founder Richard Olsen have to say!

More information about the ITC 2012 at http://www.forexstreet.net/page/international-traders-conference-2012

Fed Court Orders Thomas Qualls and International Foreign Currency to Pay More than $4.6M with Forex Futures Fraud

2012-05-04T08:12:39.000Z

Federal Court in New York Orders Thomas Qualls and His Company, International Foreign Currency, to Pay More than $4.6 Million in Restitution and Penalties in Connection with Off-Exchange Forex Futures Fraud
Qualls was convicted on related fraud and obstruction of justice charges
Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that a federal court in New York ordered more than $4.6 million in restitution and a civil monetary penalty in a 2003 CFTC enforcement action against defendants Thomas Qualls and his company, International Foreign Currency, Inc. (IFC), which charged the defendants with misappropriation, fraudulent solicitation, and unlawfully offering off-exchange foreign currency (forex) futures contracts.
Judge Dora L. Irizarry, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entered an order granting the CFTC summary judgment, finding that the defendants had committed fraud as alleged in the CFTC’s complaint, and requiring the defendants to pay $814,733 in restitution and a $3.84 million civil monetary penalty for operating an illegal off-exchange forex futures fraud from November 2001 to July 2003.

Over 150 companies attending the Google @ iFXEXPO Forex B2B Expo

2012-05-03T15:24:21.000Z

iFXExpo update: a month ahead the iFXExpo, 1st B2B Forex Expo ever, will get started, they have over 150 companies attending and confirmed, over 35 companies exhibiting and CitiBank, SaxoBank and MigBank have joined as partners to the event that will take place the 30th and 31st of May 2012 in Cyprus.

No doubt, a big success... congratulations guys!

Of course, FXstreet.com will be attending the event

Francesc

The International Traders Conference's 5th edition to be held in June 2012. Do Not Miss It!

2012-05-03T14:59:50.000Z

The International Traders Conference's 5th edition to be held in June 2012
Fxstreet.com will host in June of this year its International Traders Conference (ITC), an educational event on the currencies market that gathers together world-class experts in Barcelona (Spain).
Barcelona — May 2nd, 2012 — FXstreet.com, the independent information website on the Foreign Exchange market, is this year again extremely proud to welcome six top forex experts for its trading conference, the ITC:
Richard Olsen, Coach &Technical Analyst at Olsen Ltd and Co-Founder of OANDA (Switzerland)
David Pegler, Coach &Technical Analyst at FxBootcamp (USA)
Walter Peters, PhD, Founder of FXJake (Australia)
Ed Ponsi, President of FXEducator LLC (USA)
Steve Ward, Owner and Director at High Performance Global Ltd (UK)
Ron William, Technical Strategist at MIG Bank (Switzerland)

Attendees will have the opportunity to TRADE LIVE the US and Europeans sessions side-by-side with
the guest experts and interact with them during 3 days. The conference is adapted to traders of all levels.

The topics of the Key Note Speeches represent an interesting cocktail that combines Forex-related areas such as technical and fundamental analysis, market making processes, trading strategies and mental training:
Richard Olsen: "How to Trade: Insights From High Frequency Finance"
David Pegler: "Buy Low, Sell High... Really, how hard can it be?"
Walter Peters: "Going Naked: The Side Effects of Indicator-Free Trading"
Ed Ponsi: "The Future of the Dollar"
Steve Ward: "Trading With The Brain In Mind"
Ron William: "Market Timing using Candle Pattern Strategies in Volatile Markets"

The ITC's main asset is the opportunity to be in close contact with internationally-renowned experts, as the event is limited to 70 participants to guarantee a high quality experience for everyone. The ITC is set to be a professional and welcoming event, where traders can intensively network with and learn from other traders from many different backgrounds. Rob Booker, guest speaker of several editions of the conference and private trader and coach, believes "the ITC is a special event where traders become better,
and because it's a small, intimate setting, traders build friendships not only with each other but with the
master trader-instructors who speak at the event. It's the trading event of the year."
Media partners of this year's event are FX Trader Magazine, Stocks and Commodities, Currensee, Your Trading Edge, TRADERS', FX For a Living, Forex Duet and the Online Trading Academy.

Conference details:
Date: Wednesday June 20, 2010 until Friday October 22, 2012
Venue: Barceló Atenea Mar Hotel **** - Barcelona (Spain)
Fee: 800€ - More details at http://www.forexstreet.net/page/registration
Registration deadline: June 10, 2012 - Limited to 70 attendees. First come, first served basis.
For more information about the event, please visit the ITC website
http://www.forexstreet.net/page/schedule-international-traders-conference or contact Maud
Gilson at maudATfxstreet.com

Paella for everyone... And excellent indeed!

2012-05-03T13:51:52.000Z

Hi everyone

On Tuesday (labour day holiday in most of Europe) the village my family goes on weekends and summer vacations called l'Argilaga organized a walk on the countryside and a paella for all villagers.

L'Argilaga is a very small village of 4 streets located 10km from Tarragona or a 100km from Barcelona... it is so small, that children walk freely on the streets and have freedom to go around at their will and parents can relax and enjoy a great time.... The best place to be :)

The paella was just great... check by yourself

Francesc

MIG Bank Launches MIG Capital Europe Ltd in London and Gets FSA license

2012-05-03T13:30:00.000Z

excellent move guys... two thumbs up!

Francesc

MIG Bank Launches a Subsidiary in Europe, Bringing Greater Transparency and Security to the Forex Markets
LONDON, May 03, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- One of Switzerland's largest banks that specialises in online trading, MIG Bank SA, has received its Financial Services Authority (FSA) license enabling it to offer online Foreign Exchange (Forex), Gold, Silver and Contracts for Difference (CFDs) via its new London based subsidiary, MIG Capital (Europe) Ltd (www.migcapital.co.uk).
MIG Bank has embarked upon a growth strategy to capture a greater share of the global private and institutional FX markets. Having recently opened a representative office in Hong Kong to support Asian based clients, the opening of MIG Capital means the Group will also be better positioned to meet the needs of its European clients. This expansion, coupled with a focus to build on its existing loyal and experienced client base around the globe, will help it to achieve its goal of becoming the leading provider of online trading services.

FM: Boris Schlossberg and Kathy Lien leaving GFT to form their own managed forex fund

2012-05-03T10:45:54.000Z

Boris Schlossberg and Kathy Lien leaving GFT to form their own managed forex fund
by Michael Greenberg at Forex Magnates
As was already announced on our Linkedin Group two days ago Boris Schlossberg and Kathy Lien are leaving GFT to form their own fx fund.
Boris and Kathy are iconic figures in the forex analysis market. The fx power pair worked together at FXCM until they were poached by GFT where they worked in the past few years. Recently however the pair decided to leave GFT and start their own managed forex fund. BK Forex Advisors is providing forex signals in the past 4 years and now Boris and Kathy will run a fund based on those signals.

FXstreet.com and OzForex Ends Global Transfers Service

2012-05-02T09:20:18.000Z

Hi everyone

I'm terrible sad to say that FXstreet.com and OzForex agreed in April 2012 to end their joint venture FXstreet.com Global Transfers due the divergences between both partners about how the business had to develop in the near future.

FXstreet.com Global Transfers was a service of FXstreet.com in partnership with OzForex, a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank Limited, one of Australia’s leading financial organizations.

The decision was taken in consensus between both companies and we can not say nothing but excellent words about OzForex and the service provided to our firm.

Maybe our paths cross again in the future

Fed Orders Cyprus Trading Point to Pay $140k Fine For Acting as Unregistered Retail Forex Dealer

2012-05-02T08:11:47.000Z

Federal Court in Illinois Orders Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd. to Pay $140,000 Penalty for Acting as Unregistered Retail Forex Dealer
Trading Point also ordered to cease soliciting U.S. customers and to modify website
Action part of CFTC’s second nationwide sweep against forex firms for failure to register under the 2008 Farm Bill, the Dodd-Frank Act, and CFTC regulations
Washington DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a federal court consent order requiring Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd. (Trading Point), of Limassol, Cyprus, to pay a $140,000 civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges. The order finds that Trading Point unlawfully solicited U.S. customers to engage in foreign currency (forex) transactions and operated as a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) without being registered with the CFTC.

CFTC Charges Sidney J. Charles, Jr. and The Borrowing Station, LLC, in Forex Ponzi Scheme

2012-05-01T16:21:33.000Z

CFTC Charges Sidney J. Charles, Jr. and his Maryland-based Company, The Borrowing Station, LLC, in Forex Ponzi Scheme
Federal court in Maryland enters order freezing defendants’ assets and protecting books and records
Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a federal court action charging Sidney J. Charles, Jr., formerly of Bowie, Md., and his company, The Borrowing Station, LLC (Borrowing Station), of Bowie, Md., with fraud, misappropriation, and registration violations in connection with an off-exchange leveraged foreign currency (forex) Ponzi scheme.
On April 23, 2012, the same day the complaint was filed, Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland entered a restraining order freezing the defendants’ assets, prohibiting the destruction of books and records, and requiring Charles to appear before the court on May 4, 2012, for a preliminary injunction hearing.

International Traders Conference (ITC 2012): Welcome Dinner at Sal Café on the BEACH!

2012-04-30T17:23:35.000Z

Welcome Dinner at Sal Café on the BEACH!

On the first evening of the ITC, on Wednesday June 20th, we will do a Welcome dinner with all speakers and attendees so we all know each other and network from the very first day!

That will take place at the Sal Café, on the Barcelona Beach

I hope to see you there guys!

Francesc

http://www.forexstreet.net/page/schedule-international-traders-conference

CME Group Expands Multi-Asset Class OTC Offering with First Cleared FX Non-Deliverable Forward

2012-04-30T16:24:23.000Z

CME Group Expands Multi-Asset Class OTC Offering with First Cleared FX Non-Deliverable Forward
CHICAGO, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, announced today that on April 27 the company cleared its first customer FX Over-the-Counter Non Deliverable Forward (NDF) trade, further expanding the company's market leading OTC solution across multiple asset classes. The currency cleared was the Brazilian Real. The company also offers NDF clearing for the Chinese Renminbi Yuan, Philippine Peso, Malaysian Ringgit, Indian Rupee, Korean Won, Taiwan Dollar, Chilean Peso, Colombian Peso, Peruvian Sol, Russian Ruble and Indonesian Rupiah.
"As the leader in cleared OTC U.S. customer volume, clearing our first customer FX NDF trade adds to our already robust, multi-asset class OTC clearing service," said Laurent Paulhac, CME Group Managing Director, OTC Products & Services. "Clients see a lot of value in leveraging the same risk, operational and legal infrastructure across interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and foreign exchange. We continue to work with buy-side, sell-side and clearing member firms to further develop our overall OTC offering and FX has become a key priority for clients in the last few months."
"We are delighted to be working with CME Group to expand our OTC clearing footprint into FX," said Martine Bond, Head of FX Prime Brokerage and Clearing at Morgan Stanley. "Our world class OTC Clearing and FX Prime Brokerage teams are at the forefront of innovation as well as market leaders providing solutions assisting our clients in this evolving market."
CME Group has been working with executing dealers, clearing members, clients and affirmation platforms to ensure the company's offering meets the needs of all market participants. Initial clearing members working toward an end-to-end fully automated clearing solution later this quarter include Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.
For additional information about the OTC FX offering, please visit: www.cmegroup.com/fxclearing

JP Morgan, ING and Fidelity Research Added to New Beta Interbank Talk News Feed

2012-04-30T09:52:45.000Z

Hi everyone

I'm proud to announce today that we have added research from JP Morgan, ING and Fidelity to the recently launched beta version of Interbank Talk, the new interbank's sentiment news feed integrated inside FXstreet's Market Talk section:

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/market-talk/

The purpose of this new news feed is to provide retail Forex traders with the view of the most important banks and trading firms of the Foreign Exchange Market. To grasp Forex interbank's sentiment is our goal along with conveying their market tips and technical analysis.

At this time we receive research from Commerzbank, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Danske Bank, BBH, BBVA, la Caixa, TD Securities Nomura, JP Morgan, ING, Fidelity among others.... and more to come soon.

Great news!

Francesc

Guardiola Leaves FC Barcelona.... See You Soon Pep!

2012-04-27T16:02:40.000Z

Goodbye Pep... and THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Francesc

Guardiola leaves Barcelona

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who led the club to unprecedented heights with a brand of football widely regarded as the closest to perfection the game has seen, will leave at the end of the season and be replaced by assistant Tito Vilanova.

Guardiola's decision to step aside to rest and recuperate brings to an end a four-year tenure during which he led the Catalans to 13 trophies, including two Champions League triumphs and three straight Spanish La Liga titles.

The announcement on Friday at an emotional news conference at the Nou Camp, with Guardiola flanked by president Sandro Rosell and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, came after months of speculation over the 41-year-old's future.

Catalonia and Balearic Islands Surrender Larger Annual Output Share Ever Seen

2012-04-27T09:34:44.000Z

Two thumbs up for the WSJ!!!!!

Finally someone that says the truth of the stealing we Catalans have been suffering for ages:

"each year since 1986, an average of 9% of Catalonia's GDP in net terms has left the region to be redistributed or spent by Madrid. In Spain, only the Balearic Islands surrender a larger share of their annual output. Nowhere else in Europe or North America do intra-national transfers of such size occur as a matter of course."

Two thumbs up!!

Francesc

Why Spain Won't Reform
Catalans know first-hand that in Spain, all roads—and high-speed rail—run through Madrid.
By RAYMOND ZHONG at The Wall Street Journal
Is Spain next to go on the Brussels dole? Not if the assurances coming out of Spanish officials lately are to be believed.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, addressing reporters in Poland this month: "Spain will not be rescued. The alarm is unjustified. . . . It's not possible to rescue Spain. There's no intention of it, and we don't need it."
Mr. Rajoy, at a conference of his People's Party in Madrid: "[Investors] lend to you if they are confident you will pay it back. . . . There are countries near to us that couldn't, and they are in the situation everyone knows about. This is not the case for Spain."