Gold price (XAU/USD) continues with its struggle to gain any meaningful traction during the Asian session on Monday and remains confined in a familiar range held over the past week or so.
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US and Russia will not be in discussion this week but that doesn’t mean the political ball stops rolling. The US and Ukraine are set to engage in talks again, just less than two weeks after the whole debacle involving Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
Saudi Arabia previously hosted US-Russia talks last month in Riyadh but the meet up this week will take place in Jeddah instead. So, who will be involved?
Zelenskyy is slated to visit Saudi Arabia today and is likely to spearhead the Ukraine coalition. He will be accompanied by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, foreign minister Andriy Sybiha, and defense minister Rustem Umerov. Meanwhile, the US coalition will be led by secretary of state Marco Rubio
This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.
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The ongoing policy uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s administration threatens the US economy, as it could lead to a downturn. Conversely, Germany’s shift from austerity to spending benefits the euro. Let’s discuss these topics and make a trading plan for the EURUSD pair. Major Takeaways The euro has posted its strongest performance since 2009. Speculators have reduced their short positions in the US dollar for the seventh consecutive week. The Fed is maintaining a pause in the current monetary expansion cycle. Short trades can be maintained as long as the EURUSD pair remains below 1.085. Weekly US Dollar Fundamental Forecast While… Read full author’s opinion and review in blog of #LiteFinance
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B2BROKER has recently released a massive update to B2TRADER, expanding its capabilities beyond CRYPTO SPOT to include Forex and CFDs. The B2TRADER platform has become a game-changer in trading solutions for brokers, offering unmatched flexibility, scalability, and advanced functionality.
Vladimir Moshkov, Product Manager at B2TRADER, shared unique perspectives on the product, addressing everything from the platform’s development challenges to its adaptability for emerging markets and institutional clients.
There are various solutions available for brokers in the market, each addressing specific challenges. What particular problem were you aiming to solve with B2TRADER?
When developing B2TRADER, we identified a significant gap in the market: most trading platforms offered brokers similar core functionalities with only minor UI differences. However, these platforms often lacked the flexibility and customisation needed to accommodate diverse brokerage models and asset classes. Our goal was to address these limitations by creating a highly adaptable platform that enables brokers to seamlessly integrate and manage multiple asset classes within a single account.
B2TRADER allows brokers to facilitate both SPOT and CFD transactions on the same account, a feature not commonly found in traditional platforms. This integration simplifies operations and enhances efficiency.
Furthermore, we designed B2TRADER with customisation at its core, making it suitable for a wide range of brokerage models—whether a classic Forex broker, a crypto broker, an exchange dealing with exotic assets, or a hybrid of these. Brokers can configure the platform to align with their unique business needs.
Another key differentiator is B2TRADER’s support for using any asset as collateral, giving brokers greater flexibility in managing risk and capital. Additionally, we prioritised ease of integration, ensuring an out-of-the-box connectivity setup that simplifies linking with liquidity providers and essential services. This minimises technical delays, allowing brokers to launch operations quickly and efficiently.
Building B2TRADER from the ground up presented several technical challenges, particularly in ensuring speed, reliability, and scalability. Since every action on the platform has financial implications, fault tolerance and data integrity were paramount. The platform needed to handle extreme loads while guaranteeing data preservation, even in rare failure scenarios with probabilities as low as one in a billion.
One of the most complex challenges was maintaining data integrity and fault recovery under heavy concurrent activity. B2TRADER operates at an immense scale—supporting 3,000 instruments, 10 price changes per second, and 100,000 accounts with 100 assets each, resulting in up to 300 billion account-related actions per second during peak times. To prevent data loss or corruption, we separated the trading service from the history server, creating a highly distributed architecture. We implemented a unique execution model with multiple levels of metadata, ensuring full traceability and real-time auditing of transactions.
Achieving high availability, ultra-fast execution, and fault tolerance required a multi-layered approach, with continuous performance optimisation at every level. The challenge of handling such a vast transaction volume while maintaining speed and reliability was immense—but solving it was our most rewarding achievement in building B2TRADER.
How do you think the brokerage services market will develop, and how does your product adapt to existing challenges?
The brokerage services market is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by several key factors, most notably the emergence of a new generation of traders—Zoomers—who are shaping how financial markets are accessed and interacted with.
This new wave of traders is highly mobile-centric, preferring to trade directly from their smartphones. Our research indicates that over 70% of trading volumes are now conducted through mobile devices, highlighting a clear trend toward mobile-first experiences.
In response, we’ve ensured that B2TRADER is fully optimised for mobile trading, offering a robust mobile application for both iOS and Android.
The app was developed with an advanced user experience in mind, considering the best practices for mobile design and ensuring that users can execute transactions, monitor their portfolios, and analyse market data seamlessly from their phones, anywhere, at any time.
However, while mobile trading is on the rise, there is still a significant portion of the trading community that prefers the more traditional desktop environment, especially professional traders who require detailed analytics and advanced charting tools.
We recognise this need for flexibility, which is why B2TRADER offers a highly customisable desktop interface. Our platform comes with pre-configured dashboards and a flexible UI, allowing traders to tailor workspaces to their personal preferences.
Whether you’re a novice trader or an experienced professional, you can design a unique trading environment with over 15 available widgets, dozens of analytical indicators, and features like real-time notifications and detailed transaction history.
For brokers, this level of flexibility extends even further—if they have the technical expertise, they can customise the platform’s dashboards for their clients, offering a tailored experience that enhances client satisfaction and loyalty.
As the market continues to evolve, brokers will need to adapt quickly to these changing demands. B2TRADER is built to help them do just that!
Brokerage services are provided worldwide, including in emerging markets. Are there any solutions that would allow brokers from these markets to launch their products without problems?
B2TRADER is specifically designed to empower brokers in emerging markets by offering a comprehensive multi-asset and multi-market solution that allows them to launch and scale their businesses with minimal hassle.
Our platform supports the use of any asset, whether fiat currency or even cryptocurrency, as collateral for margin trading, providing greater security and liquidity for margin trades.
This is crucial when broker companies are willing to create a business and attract local traders by using some local currency as collateral.
On the multi-market side, B2TRADER facilitates establishing trading operations with virtually any financial instrument, from traditional assets like Forex and commodities to more innovative products, such as cryptocurrencies or local market-specific instruments.
Brokers can even create custom instruments using local currencies as quote assets, ensuring they can tailor offerings to their region’s specific needs. This level of customisation enables brokers to provide a wide range of trading opportunities, including unique combinations of major and minor assets and creating entirely new categories and asset groups to suit their client base.
The functionality described above is implemented using a smart tree of cross-rates that is automatically rebuilt based on available instruments, market conditions, and platform administrator actions. The shortest path for calculation is used while switching to backup paths occurs instantly and unnoticeably.
The platform’s architecture is designed to support any broker, anywhere, and can be deployed in any AWS region, ensuring global reach and scalability. Additionally, we recommend hosting servers near liquidity provider servers to minimise latency, which is crucial for high-frequency and real-time trading environments.
This powerful combination of flexibility, customisation, and global scalability ensures that brokers in emerging markets can launch their products efficiently and without the barriers that typically exist in the financial services industry.
What solutions are suitable for institutional clients and large businesses within your product?
B2TRADER offers a range of tailored solutions for institutional clients and large businesses, ensuring they can operate efficiently and scale with ease.
One of the key features is that our platform can act as a Prime broker for retail brokers & clients as well, providing a highly flexible and scalable infrastructure that supports a wide range of institutional needs.
B2TRADER allows brokers to integrate multiple liquidity provider (LP) connections simultaneously, giving institutions the flexibility to choose the best liquidity sources and optimise spreads and execution costs.
The platform is designed to handle an infinite number of clients, supporting up to 5,000 instruments, making it suitable for large businesses dealing with a wide variety of assets.
It also offers the ability to configure custom liquidity streams, apply markups, and implement a flexible routing model, allowing institutions to control and optimise how trades are executed across different providers.
This customisation is further enhanced by our flexible commission module, which allows the creation of special rules, exclusions, and other unique configurations to meet the specific needs of institutional clients.
B2TRADER is built with high scalability in mind, supporting an extremely high rate of transactions per second while maintaining low latency for fast execution. This is critical for institutional clients dealing with large volumes and requiring real-time trading.
Whether institutions are looking for sophisticated risk management, high-frequency trading capabilities, or advanced execution features, B2TRADER can accommodate these demands seamlessly.
Overall, our platform is designed to provide institutional clients and large businesses with a robust, highly customisable solution that offers flexibility in liquidity management, trade execution, client management, and commission structures.
The high customisation level empowers brokers to meet the unique needs of their clients and maintain competitive advantages in today’s fast-paced financial markets.
Final Remarks
Vladimir Moshkov has provided valuable insight into how the platform is designed to tackle the challenges brokers face in today’s evolving market. By expanding its capabilities to include Forex, CFDs, and CRYPTO SPOT, B2TRADER offers brokers the flexibility to adapt to diverse client needs and market demands.
From simplifying day-to-day operations to catering to mobile-first traders and supporting large-scale institutional clients, B2TRADER delivers practical solutions that help brokers stay ahead.
Learn more about B2TRADER here!
This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.
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As conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs intensify and some companies scale back initiatives, the question of gender representation in historically male-dominated industries has come to the forefront. The brokerage sector, particularly in forex and multi-asset trading, has long been regarded as a space where men dominate leadership, decision-making, and market influence. But as some institutions rethink their commitment to diversity, Exness is doubling down—proving that inclusivity isn’t just a corporate checkbox but a driver of innovation, profitability, and progress.
Women are steadily gaining ground in the brokerage space, challenging stereotypes and reshaping the industry. Their growing presence across leadership, risk management, and trading technology highlights a shift toward a more inclusive and forward-thinking sector—one that thrives not by dismantling diversity efforts but by recognizing their value.
Breaking into leadership
Despite significant progress, men still dominate the sector, especially at the leadership level. A lack of representation in decision-making positions means that many firms are missing out on the benefits of diverse leadership. Studies consistently show that gender-diverse teams drive better innovation, improve risk management, and enhance overall performance.
“The more women we see taking key roles in our industry, the more it will evolve. And it’s not just about equal opportunities and inclusivity,” says Xenia Panteli, Exness Head of People Services in EMEA and LATAM. She is right: A McKinsey report highlights that companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability. This principle extends to the financial sector, where gender-balanced firms experience a 10-20% boost in profitability, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Reflecting on these developments, Panteli adds, “True progress comes from embracing our differences and recognizing the value that diversity brings to the table. The rise of women leaders isn’t just about equal representation; it’s about tapping into a wider range of perspectives and skills. Women leaders bring a nuanced perspective, particularly in problem-solving, collaboration, and identifying emerging opportunities.”
A shift in perception and culture
Fast-paced, high-pressure, and aggressive; these are qualities often associated with male-dominated environments. However, women working in brokerages are proving that leadership styles centered on collaboration, emotional intelligence, and resilience are just as powerful.
“This industry is no longer just a boy’s club,” Panteli expresses. “Women bring a nuanced perspective, particularly in problem-solving and risk assessment. They approach challenges with analytical depth, balancing risk and opportunity while fostering a culture of innovation.”
Beyond leadership, women play vital roles in risk management, trading technology, compliance, and client relations. Their contributions are shaping the industry’s more sustainable and inclusive future.
Leading by example
While progress is being made, challenges remain. Systemic barriers, unconscious biases, and the lack of mentorship opportunities can make it difficult for women to climb the ranks in brokerage firms. Many women still find themselves having to work harder to prove their expertise in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Exness has taken meaningful steps toward bridging this gap. With 36.9% of its workforce comprising women and significant representation in leadership roles, including C-level executives, Exness is setting a new benchmark for inclusivity in the industry.
As Panteli puts it, “Women in brokerage aren’t just breaking the glass ceiling—they’re redefining the industry, bringing fresh perspectives, and shaping a more inclusive trading world.”
The increasing presence of women in the industry isn’t just about checking a diversity box—it’s about strengthening the sector. Firms that embrace gender diversity benefit from increased innovation, stronger risk management, and a healthier company culture.
As some firms step away from DEI commitments, Exness proves that inclusion is not a passing trend but a business advantage. The future of brokerage is becoming more dynamic, inclusive, and forward-thinking, with women playing an essential role in guiding its direction.
While challenges remain, the progress is undeniable. By championing gender diversity and inclusion, firms like Exness are not only creating opportunities for women today but paving the way for the next generation of female brokerage leaders.
This article was written by FM Contributors at www.financemagnates.com.
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I welcome my fellow traders! I have made a price forecast for the USCrude, XAUUSD, and EURUSD using a combination of margin zones methodology and technical analysis. Based on the market analysis, I suggest entry signals for intraday traders. The oil price corrected on Friday, rising to resistance 68.20–67.91. Major Takeaways USCrude: Oil is testing the Gold Zone 66.54–66.24. XAUUSD: Gold is growing from support (В) 2862–2853. The second growth target is a level of 2956. EURUSD: The euro price is correcting downward. Oil Price Forecast for Today: USCrude Analysis The oil price corrected on Friday, rising to resistance 68.20–67.91. As… Read full author’s opinion and review in blog of #LiteFinance
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Swiss sight deposits nudged higher in the past week but nothing out of the ordinary as compared to the ranges in recent months. The overall trend continues to point downwards, with the likely explanation here.
This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.
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The week starts slowly with fewer scheduled economic events on Monday. Additionally, keep in mind the daylight saving time shift in the U.S. and Canada.
On Tuesday, Australia will release the Westpac consumer sentiment, Japan will report household spending y/y, and the U.S. will publish JOLTS job openings.
On Wednesday, the highlight will be the U.S. CPI data, while in Canada, the focus will be on the BoC monetary policy announcement. On Thursday, key U.S. data releases include the PPI m/m and unemployment claims.
Finally, on Friday, the U.K. will release GDP m/m, while in the U.S., the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment and inflation expectations reports will be published.
In the U.S., the consensus for JOLTS job openings is 7.71M compared to the previous 7.60M.
In the last part of 2024 labor demand showed signs of stabilization despite a 500K drop in job openings in December, as job openings increased in Q4 overall.
Analysts at Wells Fargo note that job turnover remains historically low, as the post-pandemic job-switching trend has faded away. That said hiring and quit rates have flattened rather than declining further in recent months, indicating a possible inflection point.
No major decline is expected in this week’s data, but economic policy uncertainty could put pressure on hiring and job-seeker activity, as firms and workers assess the impact of recent policy shifts before making decisions.
In the U.S., the consensus for core CPI m/m is 0.3% compared to the previous 0.4%. The CPI m/m is expected at 0.3% vs. the prior 0.5%, while CPI y/y is projected at 2.9%, slightly lower than the previous 3.0%.
U.S. inflation ran hot in January, though not as strong as during the same period last year. A few categories registered price surges, including prescription drugs, used cars, motor vehicle insurance and recreation services. However, some of these have subsequently eased in February.
One of the main drivers for February CPI were food prices, with weekly USDA data indicating no relief in egg prices. However, energy costs, especially gasoline rose less than their seasonal average and helped curb inflationary pressures, according to Wells Fargo.
While some core goods prices are expected to ease, early inflationary effects from new tariffs on Chinese imports implemented at the start of February could offset these declines. Concerns over tariffs are already influencing pricing decisions, keeping consumer price inflation on a firm trajectory.
In terms of monetary policy, the Fed is still expected to deliver another rate cut in June, but for now inflation remains above its desired target.
At this week’s meeting, the BoC is expected to deliver a 25 bps rate cut, but there’s also a strong possibility that it will keep rates on hold.
Analysts from Scotiabank emphasize that, given the rising risks to the Canadian economy from U.S.-imposed tariffs, the BoC is likely to strike a cautiously dovish tone and could delay future rate cuts until the full scope of the tariffs impact becomes clearer.
On the political front, former BoC and BoE governor Mark Carney won the Liberal Party’s leadership race and will replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister. There is a high possibility that Carney will call for early federal elections.
Arguments in favor of a rate cut pause include signs of early recovery in domestic demand in 2025, supported by stronger-than-expected Q4 GDP growth. While employment data indicates some weakness in trade-sensitive sectors, the unemployment rate remains below late-2024 levels, suggesting a narrowing output gap—a key driver of future inflation in the BoC’s policy framework. Inflation remains close to the 2% target, though this has been partially influenced by the federal sales tax holiday and would otherwise be higher.
The recently announced 25% U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico are already being rolled back, with USMCA-compliant trade exempted. While only 38% of Canadian exports utilized USMCA last year, this will likely increase and it should be possible to reach over 90% relatively quickly, RBC estimates. However, new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum are expected over the coming week, with broader reciprocal tariffs likely in April. The ongoing uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy remains high, posing challenges for Canadian business investment.
RBC analysts argue that the BoC must balance the need to support the economy with the risk of adding to inflationary pressures. With the Overnight Rate at 3%, near the top of the neutral range (2.25%-3.25%), further rate cuts could stimulate the economy. However, Governor Macklem has emphasized that monetary policy alone cannot counteract tariff shocks, and fiscal policy may provide more targeted support.
In conclusion, the BoC’s decision remains uncertain. Trade risks could weigh on the economic outlook, but strong fundamentals may justify keeping rates steady for now.
In the U.S., the consensus for the preliminary UoM consumer sentiment is 63.8, down from the previous 64.7. The prior reading for the preliminary UoM inflation expectations was 4.3%. These surveys are being closely watched by Fed policymakers as softening consumer sentiment fuels concerns about economic growth.
This article was written by Gina Constantin at www.forexlive.com.
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AUD/JPY pares its daily losses, hovering around 93.30 during European trading hours on Monday.
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Silver price (XAG/USD) remains subdued for the third successive day, trading around $32.40 during the European hours on Monday.
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![VanEck Gold miners ETF – GDX Elliott Wave technical analysis [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/mmfx.vvip-members.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/vaneck-gold-miners-etf-gdx-elliott-wave-technical-analysis-video.png?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Function: Major Trend (Primary Degree – Navy). Mode: Motive.
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Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) to pay $29.75
million for multiple regulatory violations, including anti-money laundering
(AML) failures and inadequate supervision of its trading systems during
critical market events, namely meme-stock frenzy from the COVID-19 era.
Robinhood Hit With $29.75
Million FINRA Penalty for Compliance Failures
The
settlement announced last week requires Robinhood Financial to pay $3.75
million in restitution to customers affected by its order “collaring”
practices, while both Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities will pay a
combined $26 million fine for widespread compliance deficiencies.
“Today’s
action reminds FINRA members that compliance with core regulatory obligations
remains critical to safeguarding and serving all investors,” said Bill St.
Louis, Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement at FINRA, noting that
innovative financial services must still adhere to fundamental regulatory
requirements.
It is worth noting that this is the second fine imposed by FINRA on Robinhood in the past four years related to the app’s actions in March 2020. During that time, trading outages occurred due to speculation on meme stocks such as GameStop, leaving retail investors unable to trade.
Late on Friday evening (timing not by accident), FINRA announced an agreement with Robinhood to end numerous regulatory probes for nearly $30 million. This is the second such agreement in less than 4 years. Back in 2021, Robinhood paid nearly $70 million to end various…
— August Iorio (@august_iorio) March 9, 2025
„FINRA had the opportunity to do the right thing and hold Robinhood accountable for all of its negligence that led to the trading restrictions that harmed so many people, but it took the easy way out, only holding Robinhood accountable for its clearing technology failures from that period,” commented on X (former Twitter) August Iorio, the securities arbitration attorney.
Moreover, the penalty
and settlement come at a time when another American institution, the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has
closed a year-long investigation into the company’s activities, signaling a
potentially significant shift in the country’s regulatory approach.
Multiple Violations Across
AML and Trading Systems
FINRA’s
investigation uncovered multiple serious violations across Robinhood’s
operations. The firms failed to establish adequate anti-money laundering
programs, missing red flags related to manipulative trading, suspicious money
movements, and account takeovers by hackers. Robinhood Financial also opened
thousands of accounts without properly verifying customer identities.
During the
meme stock trading frenzy of early 2021, Robinhood Securities failed to
adequately supervise its clearing technology system despite warning signs of
processing delays. The system ultimately experienced severe latency in January
2021 as trading volume surged, hampering the firm’s ability to meet regulatory
obligations.
“The
clearing system experienced severe latency due to a surge in trading volume and
volatility, which impacted Robinhood’s clearing operations,” FINRA stated
in its findings.
The
regulator also found that Robinhood Financial misled customers about its
practice of “collaring” market orders by converting them to limit
orders. This resulted in some orders being canceled, forcing customers to
resubmit trades that ultimately executed at worse prices. The $3.75 million
restitution will compensate these affected customers.
Additionally,
the online broker failed to properly supervise paid social media influencers
who promoted the platform with statements FINRA deemed “promissory or not
fair and balanced, and thus misleading to investors.”
Pattern of Regulatory
Issues Amid Financial Success
The
settlement comes just two months after
Robinhood paid $45 million to the SEC for violations of securities laws,
including failure to preserve electronic customer communications between 2020
and 2021.
Both
Robinhood entities consented to FINRA’s findings without admitting or denying
the charges and agreed to certify that they have remediated the issues
identified in the settlement.
The
regulatory action comes despite Robinhood’s record financial performance in
late 2024, when
it reported $916 million in net income on over $1 billion in revenue, with
crypto trading becoming an increasingly significant part of its business.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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