DiNapoli D-Levels™

Are you a trader with solid Fibonacci analysis experience? GFT now offers a comprehensive collection of Fibonacci-based indicators, called DiNapoli D-Levels™, for experienced traders who want to apply advanced analysis to their trading strategy. These indicators were created by Joe DiNapoli, a professional trader and the world’s leading expert on the application of Fibonacci ratios to forex trading.

Six of the indicators are available as a standard component of GFT’s DealBook® 360 trading platform. Traders who subscribe to DiNapoli D-Levels™ obtain access to four additional indicators in the collection: the DiNapoli Oscillator, DiNapoli MACD, DiNapoli Retracement Tool, and DiNapoli Expansion Tool.

Features of DiNapoli D-Levels™:

·                          The system of indicators is modular. They can be used together or selectively.

·                          The complete collection incorporates both leading and lagging indicators.

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·                          Application. The theory of Fibonacci is connected directly to trading opportunities, making it easier for traders to use the tools in their trading.

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For $80 USD per month traders can add this expansion package to the existing indicators already on the DealBook® 360 trading platform. Click on the subscribe button to include this sophisticated tool to your analysis today.

If you are not a GFT account holder and would like to be, click here to get the award-winning trading platform now.

 

new definition of rich

The government's new definition of rich

President Obama's tax plan won't help balance the budget, and it may hurt the upper middle class.

 (Fortune Magazine) -- Are you rich? If you make $250,000 a year, President Obama and Gov. David Paterson of New York think you are. The SEC disagrees. It tells financial firms that a high-net-worth individual is someone with at least $750,000 parked at a particular institution or someone the firm "reasonably believes" to have a net worth exceeding $1.5 million.

The reason this debate matters is that federal and state governments are looking at the worst deficits ever seen. In their desperate search for funds, they are going to tax some subset of the wealthy. Let's hope they train their cross hairs where they do the least damage.

When President Obama said he would raise taxes on the wealthy, he set the increases to start at an income of about $250,000. Gov. Paterson recently worked out a rise in New York's state income tax that takes effect at the same level. If all that those politicians mean by "rich" is the small portion of the population at the top of the economic heap, then households making over $250,000 is a fair definition: Only about 5% of U.S. households have annual incomes over $200,000.

The flaw in that definition of rich is that plenty of families making $250,000 a year don't feel rich. They probably see themselves as upper middle class, especially if they live in blue-state coastal cities and suburbs. An income of $250,000 is a lot richer in Abilene, Texas, than in New York's Nassau County, where it takes $430,000 to enjoy a similar quality of life, according to bankrate.com. So let's call them the "working rich."

What's troubling about raising the tax burden on the working rich is that this group already pays proportionately more tax than the super-rich. In addition, the working rich aren't as adept at sheltering their wealth from the tax man through deferred-compensation schemes or other loopholes.

In 2006, the most recent year for which information is available, the average tax rate for the working rich was 22.8% - that is, after all was said and done, they ended up paying 22.8% of their adjusted gross income in income tax. The floor for being in the top 1% was an income of $388,806. That same year the average tax rate paid by the super-rich - the 400 filers with the highest incomes - was only 17.2%.

What is possibly more galling than the easier ride of the super-rich is that raising taxes probably won't accomplish much when it comes to getting us out of these troubled times. Consider a couple of harsh realities:

Soaking the rich doesn't stimulate the economy. It only changes who is doing the spending - the government or private citizens.

Soaking the rich doesn't even seem to increase tax revenues. The top marginal tax rate has fluctuated wildly over the past 50 years, from 91% to 28%; it's now 35%. But individual tax revenue as a percent of GDP hasn't varied much at all - it hovers at about 8% - and its variations don't correlate with the top tax rate. The reasons are many, but the bottom line is that as government deficits soar to unimagined levels, taxing the rich isn't likely to yield nearly as much as governments are hoping for, and it may not yield anything when the numbers are all totaled.

The best alternative is to rein in spending. If we are going to create record deficits, it would have been better to do it by cutting taxes than by jacking up spending, but that battle is over. Now let's be sure not to increase the stimulus, as Obama has suggested we might, and not let taxes rise in 2011 as they're scheduled to do. Most important, the Federal Reserve needs to keep interest rates low, which research shows is the main factor that ends recessions.

There is one thing that soaking the rich will do effectively, and that's redistribute wealth. Obama's new budget would increase federal payments to low- and some middle-income Americans through increases in the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and other programs. Candidate Obama was quite clear that he intended to do that, so he can rightly claim that the voters gave him a mandate for it. Let's just understand that reslicing the pie to give the rich a smaller piece doesn't make the pie any bigger - and won't get us out of the recession any faster.

 

flip-flop

Stocks flip-flop in early trade

Wall Street uncertain in early trading after previous day's big run. Bernanke comments on tap.

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were mixed Tuesday as investors were cautious after the previous session's big run and ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added a few points in the early going. The S&P 500 (SPX) index was barely changed. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 6 points, or 0.4%.

U.S. stocks climbed Monday, buoyed by optimism about the economic recovery. The Nasdaq rose to a six-month peak while the Dow and S&P 500 reached their highest levels in almost four months.

"It's going to take a powerful catalyst to [continue to] move us forward," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co.

Economy: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to give his outlook on the economy to the Joint Economic Committee.

A reading on the services sector of the economy from the Institute for Supply Management, a purchasing managers' group, is also due out.

Banks: The financial sector will remain in focus as investors await the release of the results of the U.S. government'sstress tests on banks, which are due out Thursday.

At least 10 of the 19 big banks under review -- including Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) -- may need to boost their capital, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The number of reported banks that may need to boost their capital requirements has been fluctuating in the runup to the release of the results.

Companies: Swiss bank UBS (UBS) reported a $1.76 billion quarterly loss and said it remains cautious about the outlook because the global economy has continued to worsen.

Dow component Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates. But revenue fell as the stronger U.S. dollar hurt sales overseas. Kraft shares rallied 6% Tuesday morning.

Fellow Dow component Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) was expected to release results after the closing bell.

0:00 /00:51Manufacturing's decline slows

World markets: Stocks in Asia finished the session higher. Japanese and South Korean markets were closed for holidays. In European trading, shares in London were higher, while stocks in Paris and Frankfurt fell.

Oil and money: Oil fell 14 cents a barrel to $54.33. The dollar rose against the euro and the yen, but slipped versus the British pound. 

Check futures and world markets

Bank stress test: How will the 19 do?

Stocks: Rally under stress 

Chrysler files for bankruptcy

Reviewing Obama: How he's done so far

Just-in-case prep for swine flu at work

Buffett's looking for a deal

 

NYSE

NYSE Trader

Four and Five Character Symbol Trading (Update)

01 May 2009

As a clarification to the earlier Trader Update regarding 4 and 5 character symbol trading on the NYSE, the VALE.P symbol will appear as follows in the following NYSE inputs and outputs:

CCG: VALE P
CTS and CQS High Speed Lines: VALE/P
Slow Speed Ticker: VALE.P
Post Trade Output: VALEP

 

Four and Five Character Symbol Trading

01 May 2009

On December 2, 2008, the NYSE announced that in accord with the November 2008 SEC decision to have uniform symbology across exchanges, the NYSE would offer firms the ability to test four and five-character symbols at the NYSE (see the December 2, 2008 Trader Update below). Effective Monday May 4, 2009, four symbols will trade on the NYSE as 4-character root symbols. Participants should ensure that their systems are prepared to handle these symbols.

more »

 

NYSE Amex Equity Transaction Price Reduction

02 Apr 2009

Effective April 1, 2009 the transaction fee applicable to NYSE floor brokers taking liquidity in NYSE Amex listed securities when routing via the hand held or BBSS will be $0.0020 per share.

The Exchange is modifying the 2009 NYSE Amex Price List to clarify that floor brokers are NOT charged a fee in connection with all agency cross trades.

 NYSE Amex Rule Filing 2009-08

 

New Database (SDBK): Implementation Update

27 Mar 2009

To update the March 18, 2009 Trader Update post, in response to firms’ concerns regarding changes implemented in the initial pilot stock of the Super Display Book (SDBK) deployment, the NYSE will be implementing software changes to reinstate the Cancel Replace to reduce message type into the SDBK environment. The linked Trading Technology Information Memo details the implementation of the order type. This software enhancement will be available for firms to test in the User Acceptance Test (UAT) environment shortly. 

Subsequent notification will be issued detailing the deployment of this software to additional pilot stocks. 

 Trading Technology Information Memo (March 27, 2009)
 Current SDBK Securities Rollout List

 

New Database (SDBK): Implementation Update

18 Mar 2009

To update the March 11, 2009 Trader Update post, NYSE Euronext successfully deployed its new Super Display Book (SDBK) database in production on Monday, March 16, 2009 in the stock Par Technologies Corporation (NYSE Listed: PTC) and confirmed processing through the comparison, clearing and settlement systems.

 

Decommissioning of CMS Update

13 Mar 2009

As previously communicated in prior client notices, the NYSE has completed its transition of Cash Equity order flow from CMS to CCG. Additionally, with the successful migration of NYSE Amex Options to the NYSE Arca trading platform, CMS will no longer be used for Options order flow. Effective start of business Monday, March 23, 2009 all CMS connections currently enabled for order flow will be decommissioned. Firms should ensure that their job streams are updated to reflect these changes and that their systems are not impacted.

For any questions, please contact your RM or our Service Desk at 1.866.873.7422.

 

 

 

PRESS

GAIN Capital Group Named "Private Company of the Year"

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Bedminster, NJ - December 7, 2006 - GAIN Capital Group, LLC. a leading provider of foreign exchange trading and asset management services for institutional and individual investors, has been awarded 2006 "Private Company of the Year" by the New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC), a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to supporting and promoting technology companies within the state of New Jersey. 

The "Private Company of the Year" award falls into NJTC's Super Awards category. Key considerations include: being a market leader, unique product/service and strong financial performance. Past honorees include Vonage and MarketRx. This is GAIN's second award from the NJTC; in 2003, GAIN was honored as "Growth Company of the Year." 

"We are pleased to again be recognized by the NJTC," said Mark Galant, CEO and Founder of GAIN Capital Group, LLC. "For the past seven years, GAIN has been committed to providing unsurpassed technology and service to our institutional and retail forex trading clients." 

GAIN Capital has grown from a start up in 1999 into a global firm supporting clients in more than 140 countries, with monthly trade volume exceeding $100 Billion. In addition, GAIN leverages its proprietary trading platform by actively partnering with brokerage and technology firms around the globe. The firm's joint ventures with approximately a dozen third-party providers allow GAIN to offer 'best of breed' trading analytics & decision support tools along with its award-winning execution platform. To extend its distribution network, GAIN currently supports over 40 white label relationships with broker/dealers, Futures FCMs and other financial services firms in North America, Europe and Asia. These strategic white label partners now contribute approximately half of GAIN's annual revenue. 

As a result of the firm's singular focus on delivering a superior customer experience, GAIN Capital has achieved 70%+ annual revenue growth for five consecutive years (FY2000-2005) and is currently on track to achieve 90% annual revenue growth for 2006, its best financial performance since 2002. 

"GAIN's strong market position, proven business model and leading technology provide a substantial base for continued growth," continued Mr. Galant. "Moreover, our solid reputation as a principled and reliable partner within a highly competitive market is equally important to our ability to deliver cutting edge technological and product solutions." 

Earlier this year, GAIN Capital Group, LLC was named to the prestigious Deloitte 2006Technology Fast 50, Deloitte and Touche 500 and the 2006 INC 500 list of fastest growing, private companies in the United States. 

About GAIN Capital Group, LLC 

GAIN Capital Group, LLC is a leading provider of foreign exchange services, including direct-access trading and asset management. Founded in 1999 by Wall Street veterans, GAIN Capital Group is one of the largest, most respected firms in the online forex industry, servicing clients from more than 140 countries and supporting trade volume in excess of $100 billion per month. Headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey, the company operates sales & support offices in New York and Shanghai. 

The company operates two full service web portals. FOREX.com (www.forex.com) provides individual investors of all experience levels with a full-service trading platform, lower account minimums and extensive education and training. The company's flagship service, GAIN Capital (www.gaincapital.com) focuses on the needs of professional forex traders, including hedge funds and money managers. 

GAIN Capital Group and FOREX.com are registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as a Futures Commission Merchant (NFA ID #0339826). 

In August 2006, Deloitte & Touche LLP's prestigious Technology Fast 50 Program named GAIN Capital Group one of New Jersey's fastest-growing technology firms. In October of 2006, GAIN Capital was named to the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500 as one of the Fastest Growing Technology Firms in North America and to the INC 500 list of Fastest Growing, Privately-held firms in the nation. 

About The New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) 

The New Jersey Technology Council (www.njtc.org) provides business support, networking opportunities, information, advocacy and recognition of technology companies and their leaders. Founded in 1996, NJTC's more than 1,300 member companies work together to support their own enterprises while advancing New Jersey's status as a leading technology center in the United States. 

Currencies

Currencies: Daytraders' new thing?: Backers are calling it 'the fastest growing market in the world'
 

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Several days each week, Paul Lynch spends a few hours in front of his home computer, daytrading over the Internet. No, the 22-year old doesn't move in and out of volatile technology stocks like the notorious daytraders of the late 1990s did. Mr. Lynch, who lives in Guelph, Ont., and runs his own advertising firm, trades currencies.

"You're switching, say, U.S. dollars to euros for a number of hours. And then you're buying the U.S. dollars back again," he said. Since December, he has made a 50% gain on his original investment. Not bad, considering the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index is up just 8% this year.

Many other small investors are getting the same idea. Once the sole domain of institutional players and ultra-sophisticated investors, currency spot trading has become accessible to just about anyone with a computer and an Internet connection.

Businesses have begun offering courses and hand-holding services to retail investors who are not familiar with currency spot trading. For example, New Jersey-based GAIN Capital Group launched FOREX.com in January. Through the Web site, investors can open a "mini-account" for as little as US$250.

"We give away free demos to potential clients so that they can try out trading and see how it works," said Mark Galant, chief executive of GAIN Capital. "We're up to 1,000 demos a week now."

Similarly, New York-based Forex Capital Markets claims 35,000 retail clients and touts online currency trading as "the fastest growing market in the world."

Equity daytrading of the 1990s created similar hype, which fizzled out when the dot-com meltdown in 2000 left many investors facing ugly losses. Is currency daytrading doomed to the same boom-and-bust pattern?

By most estimates, more than US$1-trillion worth of currencies trades hands each day, making the world's foreign exchange market many times larger than the equity market.

The reason why this massive asset class has suddenly attracted the attention of retail investors has to do with the recent volatility of the world's major currencies.

In particular, the U.S. dollar has plummeted against the euro and Canadian dollar during the past 12 months. Daytraders love volatility because it gives them an opportunity to make big bucks in a short period of time.

"There is less volatility in the stock market now, and therefore less opportunity. In contrast, there has been much greater volatility in currencies," aid Dirk Morris, chief investment officer of currency at Putnam Investments.

"Our currency products aren't offered to retail clients. But I certainly see it when talking to retail brokers that there is a growing demand from the retail end of the business to get into currency trading."

Currency trading allows investors to trade with much more money than they actually bring to the table. Refco Canada, a brokerage firm, allows retail investors to trade up to 100-times their initial capital.

In other words, with just $1,000 of your own money, you can buy up to $100,000 worth of currencies on the spot market. This degree of leverage allows you to magnify your gains (and losses) 100-fold. For example, if the currency you're betting on rises 1% in a day, you can make $1,000 -- or 100% of your initial investment.

Of course, you can lose money just as fast if your bet is wrong. This is why the trend toward currency daytrading has some observers concerned that retail investors may be setting themselves up for a drubbing.

"To truly know your risk in something like this is a fairly complicated thing. The information one gets as a consumer today gives you no idea of what that risk is," said Ron Dembo, founding chairman of Algorithmics Inc., a Toronto-based risk management software firm.

Professional traders employed by big banks have been trading currencies successfully for many years. However, in most cases they are backed by colleagues stationed in offices around the world and have access to all the research tools they need.

"I've been doing it for 20 years and there are plenty of times when I lose money. And the amount of quantitative tools and research that we believe we need to consistently make money is enormous," said Mr. Morris.

Nonsense, argue retail investors and the companies that train them. They believe currency trading is simpler than trading equities. Instead of weighing the pros and cons of thousands of different stocks, investors need only look at six or so different currencies.

They also point out that the fees and commissions associated with currency transactions are much lower than with stocks. The market operates 24 hours a day and there is never any liquidity barrier to moving in and out of a particular currency because the market is so large.

Finally, they argue currency trading is safe. Since you can use stop-loss orders to automatically exit your position if the market is moving against you, your losses are limited.

The trick, they say, is to get the right education, which usually involves a brief course. "The more sophisticated professional investors tend to do better than the new clients, who have never tried this before. That's because there is a learning curve," said Mr. Galant.

Mr. Lynch learned about currency trading at a five-day seminar in Cancun. He then fine-tuned his knowledge last year with an online course (price:US$677) offered through Vancouver-based FOREX Academy.

"I'm pretty confident right now. The course teaches you to check a number of different indicators. When all those indicators are aligned and saying the same thing, that's the point when you enter the trade. About 60% of the time you get a positive trade," he said.

Will retail investors like Mr. Lynch profit from currency trading when the U.S. dollar grows less volatile or reverses direction and climbs against the euro? The pros are doubtful. The currency daytrading trend could just fade away

Bernanke

Bernanke: Economy to turn up in '09

Federal Reserve chairman says recovery will begin later this year, but there will be several more bumps in the road.

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By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Last Updated: May 5, 2009: 10:20 AM ET

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the U.S. economy is stabilizing and will begin to rebound later this year, but the recovery will be slow and cautious.

At a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Bernanke said consumer sentiment, the housing market and spending have begun to show signs of life.

But he expects the economy will continue to shed jobs and credit will remain tight for some time. He said the recent frugality trend will continue due to deflated household wealth, and business spending will be slow to bounce back as well.

"We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year," said Bernanke in prepared testimony. "Even after a recovery gets under way ... we expect that the recovery will only gradually gain momentum and that economic slack will diminish slowly."

0:00 /4:47Regulators ask for more power

The Fed chief said he was encouraged by the recent rally in bank stocks, led higher by some positive earnings in the first quarter, but "substantial concerns about the banking industry remain."

Bernanke said his economic forecast hinges on a "gradual repair" of the financial system: If banks and financial conditions relapse, the economic recovery could be even more drawn out.

But Bernanke and some members of the committee believe that the regulator's actions, combined with those of the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., have done much to help make an economic recovery possible.

"The Federal Reserve has taken an extraordinary series of measures to preserve financial stability and to restore the proper functioning of key credit markets," said the committee's chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., in prepared remarks. "How far we have come in restoring normal functioning to the financial system, and what remains to be done are key questions."

Despite trillions of dollars in credit easing and stimulus programs undertaken by the government since last September, Bernanke said he believes inflation will remain subdued for the time being. But Republican members of the panel said they were concerned that the huge increase in the Fed's balance sheet will create an untenable situation by the end of the year.

"Has the pendulum swung too far, Mr. Bernanke? When will the Fed admit the current fiscal costs are simply unsustainable?" asked Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas. "The Fed expanded its balance sheet by 127%. What's the Fed's exit strategy?"

Last week, the Fed said that it believes the U.S. economy continues to grow worse, but the pace of decline has slowed and the outlook has improved. At the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the rate-setting Federal Open Markets Committee noted that financial market conditions have improved "modestly," since last month. As a result, it kept its interest rate target in a range between 0% and 0.25%.