NFA Blasting Florida based firms

NFA permanently bars True Vector Trading Group LLC and its principal

September 22, Chicago - National Futures Association (NFA) has permanently barred from NFA membership True Vector Trading Group LLC http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Details.aspx?entityid=0383441 (True Vector), an Introducing Broker formerly located in Delray Beach, Florida, and its principal James Douglas http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Details.aspx?entityid=0320266 of Galveston, Texas. The Decision, issued by NFA's Business Conduct Committee, is based on an NFA Complaint filed in June 2009.

The Committee found that True Vector and Douglas made misleading sales solicitations to customers and had the customers sign blank account opening documents which Douglas completed with inaccurate information. The Committee also found that True Vector and Douglas failed to adequately implement an anti-money laundering program and failed to supervise True Vector's employees in the conduct of their commodity futures activities.

http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/newsRel.asp?ArticleID=2357

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:
Karen Wuertz (312) 781-1335, kwuertz@nfa.futures.org

NFA permanently bars Florida firm GlobeFX Club Inc.

September 21, Chicago - National Futures Association (NFA) has permanently barred GlobeFX Club Inc. (GlobeFX Club) from NFA membership. GlobeFX Club is a Commodity Pool Operator located in Homestead, Florida. The Decision, issued by NFA's Business Conduct Committee, is based on an NFA Complaint filed in June 2009.

The Committee found that GlobeFX Club provided false and misleading information to NFA and failed to cooperate in NFA's investigation of the firm's operations. In addition, the Committee found that GlobeFX Club failed to supervise the firm's forex activities.

In March 2009, NFA took an emergency enforcement action that suspended GlobeFX Club because NFA was unable to determine the nature of GlobeFX's business operations, the identities of its customers and the treatment of its customer funds. See previous press release.

The complete text of the Complaint and Decision can be found on NFA's website (http://www.nfa.futures.org).

NFA is the premier independent provider of innovative and efficient regulatory programs that safeguard the integrity of the futures markets.

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:
Karen Wuertz (312) 781-1335, kwuertz@nfa.futures.org

NFA permanently bars Florida commodity trading advisor Capital Blu Management LLC

September 18, Chicago - National Futures Association (NFA) has permanently barred from NFA membership Capital Blu Management LLC (Capital Blu), a Commodity Trading Advisor located in Melbourne, Florida. The Decision, issued by NFA's Business Conduct Committee, is based on an NFA Complaint filed in June 2009.

The Committee found that Capital Blu failed to cooperate fully and promptly with NFA in its investigation of the firm's operations.

The Decision is one of a series of actions taken against Capital Blu. In September 2008, NFA issued a Member Responsibility Action (MRA) prompted by NFA's investigation which was based upon customer allegations that Capital Blu had provided false statements to customers and participants in the CBM FX Fund LP and possibly other pools. See previous press release.

Additionally in April 2009, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an action in federal court in Florida charging Capital Blu along with other defendants with depositing customer funds into multiple Capital Blu bank accounts, which were commingled and misappropriated for personal use. The Court entered a temporary restraining order freezing their assets and prohibiting Capital Blu from destroying books and records. See narrative of the CFTC Action.

The complete text of the Complaint and Decision can be found on NFA's website (http://www.nfa.futures.org)

NFA is the premier independent provider of innovative and efficient regulatory programs that safeguard the integrity of the futures markets.

Too Much Mathematics in Trading

By Thomas R. Keene and Shannon D. Harrington

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Financial markets have grown too dependent on mathematicians who use models to anticipate price moves and need to start injecting "common sense" into the equation, said Paul Wilmott, a London-based author and quantitative finance instructor.

Wilmott has warned that so-called quants who use mathematics to forecast how markets will behave can overlook errors in the models, leading to flawed predictions. In a New York Times column July 28, Wilmott also said so-called high- frequency trading, where hedge funds and other firms use advanced computers to buy and sell thousands of shares a second, threatens to destabilize the market.

"There is too much mathematics in this business," Wilmott, author of "Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance," said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. "I just want people to stop and think for once. People just rush into these things without any thought for what the consequences might be."

Wilmott is the co-founder of the Certificate in Quantitative Finance, a six-month program founded in 2003 that stresses the "practical" application of math in finance and admitted 195 students in January.

"We explain to people how to think for themselves," said Wilmott, who also founded the Diploma in Mathematical Finance at Oxford University, according to his Web site. "People don't really question those assumptions enough. If the assumptions are wrong, then obviously the models and what follows can be wrong as well."

Reliance on computer models and trading using algorithmic formulas also has led to a shift in the types of people hired by Wall Street, he said.

"You go back 20 years, and people running finance, they were maybe history graduates," Wilmott said. Now, much of the industry is run by mathematicians, he said. "A lot of mathematicians do not have that common sense that the old guard had," he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas R. Keene in New York tkeene@bloomberg.net; Shannon D. Harrington in New York at sharrington6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 21, 2009 15:39 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aD4y2TBuy4gQ

EES Releases Dollar Index Custom Indicator, featured on MQL4.com and EESFX.com

http://eesfx.com/dollarindex/ Direct Download

http://eesfx.com/eesfx/index.php/forum/15-custom-indicators/35-dollar-index-for-meta-trader-4.html EES FX Forum Thread USDX

http://codebase.mql4.com/6018 MQL4 page

FXstreet-992009

FXstreet-992009, originally uploaded by eliteeservices.

EES approved as contributor to FX Street, featured on Homepage for Education

EES FX Street Page http://www.fxstreet.com/search/contributors/contributor.aspx?Id=aafebf80-bc58-4248-94a7-b565a655c382

EES reaches 10,000 downloads from MQL4.com

http://codebase.mql4.com/en/author/eliteeservices

Original eFibo trader: 6240

EES Hedger: 2025

V Speed Indicator: 674

New NFA Rule - Forex only managers do not need to register

Account Managers
Generally, a person exercising trading authority over a customer's futures or
options account must register as a commodity trading advisor (CTA). The
Advisory states, however, that a person that manages the funds of
customers held by an authorized counterparty solely to trade forex is not
required to register as a CTA but may do so voluntarily. Obviously, if the
person also exercises trading authority over a customer's account for
exchange-traded futures or options contracts, the person must register as a
CTA.
A person exercising trading authority over a customer's account may not
receive or hold the customer's funds. Those funds must be held by an
authorized counterparty.

Nfa Forex Regulatory Guide

Jim Rogers: Assets being taken from the competent and allocated to the incompetent

Introduction to Regulation of Hedge Funds in Germany

hedge funds companies -

SEC Staff Clarifies that Cash Solicitation Rule
Does Not Apply to Investment Pool Referrals
http://www.dechert.com/library/FS_09_10_08.pdf

China US Trade war begins

Mr. Obama's Trade War

If President Obama thought he could pander to his domestic political base without any consequences abroad, he needs to think again. Beijing's response to the tire tariffs Mr. Obama announced late Friday evening is a warning that America's trading partners won't take protectionism lying down.

China's Ministry of Commerce announced Sunday that it will launch antidumping investigations against imported U.S. auto parts and chickens. The move is being interpreted as retaliation for Mr. Obama's imposition of a 35% tariff on cheap Chinese tires imported into the U.S. (Beijing denies a link.) Apparently Beijing wasn't mollified by the fact the tariff is less than the 55% domestic lobbies in the U.S. had sought. The Commerce Ministry also put out a strongly worded statement denouncing the tire tariffs and not-so-gently reminding Mr. Obama of the Group of 20 statements he has endorsed about the importance of resisting protectionism amid a world-wide slowdown.

On their own these measures won't mark dramatic protectionism. Many imports of U.S. poultry already face stiff limits stemming from a pre-existing trade dispute over a U.S. ban on some Chinese chickens. Beijing had already slapped duties on car parts during an earlier trade dispute, too.

Rather, the Chinese government may want to send a signal to discourage Mr. Obama from future protectionism. They have reason to worry. Unlike in normal antidumping cases, Mr. Obama can't plead that his tire decision was simply made by career bureaucrats following a standard rule book. The trade law he applied, Section 421, gives the President full discretion, and Mr. Obama signaled he's willing to use his discretion to pay back domestic political supporters like the United Steelworkers union that filed the tire case. And because Mr. Obama's decision sets a precedent for similar cases, Beijing has to worry it will face more protectionism in short order if it doesn't nip this trend in the bud now.

This kind of Chinese response was predictable, if the Obama Administration had cared to read the signs. As a political matter, Beijing can't afford to do nothing. The China Rubber Industry Association, a trade group, puts the potential cost to the Chinese economy of the U.S. tariffs at $1 billion and 100,000 lost Chinese jobs. The Commerce Ministry said yesterday it wants to discuss the issue with the U.S. at the World Trade Organization, but a formal WTO challenge would face an uphill climb. Section 421 was specifically allowed as part of China's agreement to join the WTO in 2001.

Plus, China has its own protectionist lobbies at home. "Chinese poultry companies have been struggling over the past couple of years amid bird flu and a flood of imports, and the financial crisis is making that worse," Ma Chuang of the China Animal Agriculture Association, told Bloomberg over the weekend. Tire tariffs from the world's traditional free-trade leader makes it harder for governments like China's to stand up to such pressure from their own domestic interests.

That doesn't make Beijing's apparent retaliation right, of course. Beijing could best claim the global economic leadership role it craves by resisting tit-for-tat protectionism and instead further reducing its own subsidies, trade protections and limits on foreign investment. That might be wishful thinking, but at a minimum it would be wise to drop these antidumping cases as soon as attention has shifted elsewhere.

The bigger lesson here is for Mr. Obama, though. He appears to have thought he could both appease his far-left antitrade supporters in the U.S. and paper over the resulting disagreements with America's trading partners. No such luck. Instead he ceded America's historical leadership on trade when he imposed the tire tariffs. Now China's weekend moves are offering a first sign of where this will end up if he doesn't rediscover the virtues of free trade soon.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203917304574411810671806286.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#printMode

Is this a looming trade war between the US and the world's largest holder of US debt? Or is it saber-rattling setting up the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/economy-watch/2009/09/looming_trade_war_with_china_o.html?hpid=topnews

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090914-702705.html
European stock markets traded lower Monday, weighed down by fears of protectionism and a possible US/China trade war.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-gives-up-early-gains-after-trade-war-fears-2009-09-14
By marketwatch The US dollar slides against major rivals in late morning, giving up a small lift amid rising US-China trade tensions

New Merk funds offers currencies for all

BOSTON (Reuters) - Money manager Axel Merk has a proposition for average investors: play the currency markets like a hedge fund for a mere $2,500.

Normally the world's foreign exchange markets -- where dollars, euros and yen exchange hands at lightning speed and in enormous sums -- are off limits to people who are saving a few hundred dollars a week for retirement or college tuition.

But on Wednesday, Merk -- a computer scientist turned asset manager with a growing reputation for bringing currencies to Main Street investors -- will launch his third fund that will be stocked with the world's biggest and most liquid currencies.

The Merk Absolute Return Currency Fund will join the four-year-old Merk Hard Currency Fund and the one-year-old Merk Asian Currency Fund as part of the Merk Mutual Funds' lineup.

"This fund will allow the public to have access to the forex markets," Merk said in a telephone interview.

"The main goal is to offer true diversification with a mix of currencies that can go long or short," Merk said, describing the portfolio as something for investors who want to own more than stocks and bonds.

Investors will be able to access the fund through the Internet, brokerages such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab (SCHW.O), and through financial advisors.

The new fund will share characteristics of the two existing funds: it will never use leverage or borrowed money to make returns grow faster and it will make long-term allocations, not minute by minute calls, Merk said. 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5880NQ20090909

Reuters Hedge Funds Blog

http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub/

New Merk funds offer currency for all – Reuters

Barclays Capital launches enhanced FX Algorithmic Trading

http://www.automatedtrader.net/news/algorithmic-trading-news/15924/barclays-capital-launches-enhanced-fx-algorithmic-trading
Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC, has announced the launch of PowerFill+, a suite of online foreign exchange tools providing clients with order management and access to deeper liquidity. This new functionality on BARX, the firm's electronic trading platform, is free to use, providing execution capability without brokerage fees.

The main feature of PowerFill+ is that it allows clients to anonymously work bids and offers. The best bid/offer forms part of the price that users see, which is intended to enable BARX to provide all clients with tighter spreads and deeper liquidity.

"Traditionally, platforms offering this level of order functionality charge their clients fees, but PowerFill+ is brokerage free," said Tim Cartledge, Head of BARX FX Trading at Barclays Capital. "Zero brokerage plus Barclays Capital's certainty and depth of liquidity, coupled with the extra liquidity resulting from our clients' own orders, means we are providing clients with an optimal trading environment."

"PowerFill+ demonstrates Barclays Capital's commitment to providing clients with outstanding service and reinforces our position as a leader in market innovation," said Nick Howard, Head of Foreign Exchange and Emerging Markets Distribution at Barclays Capital. "This is a great addition to our BARX platform which is recognised globally for its reliability and stability with a proven track record during times of market volatility."

New NFA Forex Regulatory Guide

http://www.nfa.futures.org/NFA-compliance/publication-library/forex-regulatory-guide.pdf
Forex Transactions

Treasuring Thrift: 'In Cheap We Trust'

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112557219
Journalist Lauren Weber knows a little something about being cheap. When she was growing up, her father refused to set the heat above 50 degrees during the winter in New England.

He turned out the lights, even if someone had left a room for just a moment. And for a little while he even tried to ration the family's use of toilet paper. Seriously.

Rather than traumatize Weber, all that — and more — made her the perfect person to explore the roots of frugality in the United States.