For the second year running, Royal Forex Trading SAL has been recognised for the firm’s outstanding work within online brokerage, offering some of the industry’s best products over recent times. This comes as numerous FX brokerage firms are being established worldwide every month and competition is increasing in emerging markets such as in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Based in Beirut, Lebanon and regulated by the Central Bank of Lebanon, one of the strictest financial regulatory bodies in the world, RFXT has come to know the meaning of success. As one of the first brokerage firms operating in Lebanon, the firm began by carving a significant chunk of the local market before looking outwards to the rest of the region and the world. In little under three years, RFXT has grown to service thousands of clients worldwide with premium brokerage services that include products across the financial spectrum. Trading growth in MENA This success didn’t come easy though, especially in a region not known for its large trader demographics at the time. However, over the last few years online trading, primarily in FX, CFDs and to a lesser degree futures and equities, has grown exponentially, especially in the Gulf. The region now hosts international firms offering the same products and services, and in an already overly saturated sector, one main quality is increasingly becoming critical to traders: client services. This extends from the typical realm of 24-hour trading services and support to ease of operational transactions and […]

Credit ratings agency Egan-Jones and the firm’s founder Sean Egan are expected to face charges for allegedly making material and intentional misstatements in its application to US securities regulators. The charge refers to information in rating sovereign debt and asset-backed securities in 2008. The civil action filed by the SEC concerns Egan-Jones’ conflict of interest policy issues, as well as misleading the regulator over its finances, internal proceedings, its rating and the adequacy of its records and book-keeping. Egan-Jones said it plans to vigorously defend itself against the SEC claims.

The Japanese government late on Tuesday said it will add an estimated $60bn of funding to the IMF to help bolster its firewall, its finance minister Jun Azumi said. Japan believes the injection will prevent the European sovereign debt crisis from dragging down other economies across the globe and shield it from a deepening crisis. The Swedish government followed suit and promised an additional $10bn, while Denmark pledged an extra $7bn to the cause, bringing the total combined funds to $77bn from the three countries. The IMF is seeking an added $600bn to uphold global economic stability but has so far only received $200bn.

Software giant Oracle commenced its high stakes trial over smartphone technology against internet concern Google in a California court. The case represents the first big court challenge for Android technology and at an estimated $1bn claim it is expected to become one of the largest ever technology trials. Oracle first accused Google’s Android team of patent and copyright infringement in August 2010 saying that Google used its Java programming language without authorisation to help develop Android software. It is believed that the trial may result in Oracle offering a user license to Google. Testimony is expected to be given by the companies’ CEOs, Larry Page and Larry Ellison, in which Google is expected to say that Oracle cannot copyright certain parts of Java. The case will be split into three parts to deal with patent claims, copyright liability and damages separately.

Kunlun Energy, the China-based gas supplier which is a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroChina, on Tuesday raised $1.35bn through a top-up share placement to help fund expansion of its LNG business. The gas supplier hopes to tap into equity markets to assist in developing its liquefied natural gas arm and fund possible acquisitions. The plan is to steer away from oil and coal and switch to LNG. The group plans to construct 15 LNG plants to become the country’s largest onshore supplier. Kunlar Energy priced its 800 million shares at HK$13.10, which was 7.62 percent below Monday’s closing price of HK$14.18. “The company tends to use the net proceeds of the subscription for working capital to further develop its LNG business through the implementation of its gas in substitution of oil strategy,” the company said in a statement.