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https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Broker: AFX Address: Arch. Kyprianou 2 & Ayiou Andreou, G.Pavlides Building, 3rd Floor, 3036, Limassol, Cyprus Visited by: WikiFX team Background of the visit: AFX Group is a retail forex broker licensed by the FCA(UK) and CySEC(Cyprus). In July last year, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission(CySEC) suspended the license of forex broker AFX Capital Marekets for 10 days, because the broker violated customer funds protection regulations and caused negative impact on the orderly and stable development of the market. Later, the British Financial Market Conduct Authority(FCA) also suspended the company's license. In order to protect investors' assets safety, WikiFX team visited AFX Group in Cyprus. Geographical location: Limassol is located on the southern coast of Cyprus and is the second largest city in Cyprus. In recent years, because of a regulation more relaxed than that in Europe and America, Cyprus has attracted many forex brokers to register here. On-the-spot investigation According to the regulatory address, WikiFX team came to the center of the old town of Limassol and found an weathered multi-storey building. we entered the office building and found a company sign. According to the directory, level 3 to level 5 of this office building belong to AFX. We then took the elevator directly to Room 301 on the third floor, and found AFX’s logo at the door. But no one answered when we rang the doorbell or when we went upstairs and knocked on the door. We waited for nearly an hour at the entrance, but saw no one entering or leaving. Conclusion: Per investigation, we found that although AFX’s office was indeed in Cyprus, the broker didn’t seem to be in business. According to WikiFX App, AFX is rated at 3.32, and its MM license from CySEC(Cyprus) and appointed representative license from FCA(UK) have both been canceled by the issuing authorities, while the broker’s investment consultation license from FCA isn’t authorized for forex brokerage business. Investors need to be aware of the risks with this broker. Up till now, WikiFX has archived profiles of over 15,000 forex brokers. Investors can type in the name of the broker to easily look up its full profile and detailed visit report on WikiFX App.

https://jump.wikifx.com/83348CF26389B46D Near the end of the year, many renowned brokers on the forex market are starting to release their financial statements. According to the latest 6-month data recently released by the Bank for International Settlements, the nominal value of forex derivatives totaled US$99 trillion by the end of June, 2019. Overall, nominal value of OTC derivatives reached US$ 640 trillion, up 17.6% from the US$ 544 trillion at the end of 2018. but amid the generally growing trend of the forex market, not every broker’s financial statement reveals good news. The renowned forex broker FOREX.com recently released its financial statement for October. After falling to a lowest point in several months, the broker’s forex trading volume rebounded slightly in October. Statistics showed that the company’s forex trading volume reached US$171.9 billion in October, up 13% from US$151.5 billion in September and down 25% from US$231 billion in October 2018; figures in other categories, although slightly better than September’s, have all declined year-on-year in various degrees. As the trading volume is unlikely to experience significant volatility near the end of the year, it seems this largest forex broker in the US have failed to carry on its success in 2018. Polish forex broker XTB also released its Q3 financial data, which suggests a robust performance of the broker. Though the product intervention measures from European Securities and Markets Authority(ESMA) earlier on had hit XTB significantly, latest figures indicate the broker has been recovering. 10,042 new clients were added to XTB in Q3, 2019, up 105.6% year-on-year; trading revenue of CFD totaled 59.93 million Polish złoty, up 26.76% compared with 2018, while other sectors all witnessed different degrees of growth. Like the financial statements of listed companies, brokers’ financial statements also tell much about their operation abilities and business strength, providing a good reference for investors. Getting timely market updates is crucial for investors, and WikiFX will continue to update more forex dynamics for investors, so you can conveniently access all information you need to know from your fingertip.

https://www.wikifx.com/cn_en/ Having said goodbye to 2019, the forex market soon entered the first trading day in 2020. Due to the long holiday, the market has not been very liquid at the start of a new year. USD may be largely affected by political factors, while the move of other currencies this week has been signaling further trend. Let’s take a look on the forex market in the first week of 2020. EUR/USD With little doubt, USD remains the most followed currency on the market. 2020 is the election year in the US and whether President Trump will remain in office will largely affect the market. From rewriting the North America free-trade agreement to starting a trade war and imposing high tariffs on other countries, Trump’s economic policies during his presidency have significantly reshaped the global economy, and to certain extent are responsible for its slowdown. Trump has been the third US president in history that faces an impeachment, and market views the impeachment result to be a determining factor for his re-election. As for the election, historical data suggests the dollar usually fares well in the election year, falling only twice in all election years during the past 40 years, while what seemed to be a sell-of in 2012 turned out different than it appeared to be. Though history does not always repeat itself, past experience suggests 2020 may be a good year for the dollar. USD/JPY In analysis at the end of 2019, we mentioned that the sluggish US economic indicators could mean the dollar may experience a down period before the economy rallies in 2020, and this has been proved by the decline of USD/JPY in the past week. Since the beginning of trading session in the new year, USD/JPY has been jittering down-slope, and on January 2nd (EST) the pair further dropped to breach the previous low-point support, suggesting that a even worse situation is imminent. It’s estimated that the exchange rate can be moving toward the low-point during October and early November last year. AUD/USD AUD/USD stayed bullish near the end of 2019, closing at its highest level since July on Boxing Day, and again climbed 90 basis points at the end of the year, pushing the rate of AUD against USD above 70 cents. Much in line with previous estimation, the Australian dollar is a first choice for profit-taking. For the first week in 2020, AUD has breached the previous doji low, which signals a reverse of the trend. But the market is still looking for evidence that a low-point higher than the previous one has formed, expecting for another bullish trend. This can be a very psychologically challenging process. As the new year starts with a fresh outlook, knowing the market trend will help you gain greater advantage in forex trading. Stay tuned as WikiFX brings you more forex updates.

https://jump.wikifx.com/83348CF26389B46D Recently, WikiFX released the list of top 20 largest ad-spending brokers in November, 2019. Let’s take a look. First of all, let’s look at the largest ad-spenders among compliant brokers. XM (WikiFX rating 9.25) and FXTM (WikiFX rating 8.56) ranked first and second on the list respectively. XM, the No.1 ad-spender for many months in a row, has won countless honors during a decade of business operation. As a world-renowned trading platform, the company allows investors to trade a wide range of commodities including forex, CFD, stock indices, oil and gold. Earlier this year, WikiFX team had also visited XM’s headquarter in Cyprus and confirmed that the company’s office address matches that from the regulatory information. Investors may safely choose this reputable broker. Meanwhile, several other brokers have seen their rankings go up, including Alpari, EightCap, HYCM,FP Markets, FOREX.com, Tickmill and WeTrade, suggesting the efforts these brokers have put into advertising. Advertisement campaign is a generally effective strategy commonly adapted by businesses to increase their brand awareness. However, illegal brokers like BTCC Global are also trying to lure more investors into their traps by increasing spending on misleading advertisement campaign. Investors need to watch out for these brokers and be extremely careful when making investment. Meanwhile, rankings of illegal brokers like FBS, IC Markets and 8BX.COM have all declined compared with last month. These brokers have a series of problems such as holding suspected-cloned licenses, operating without valid license or receiving heavy complaints from investors, and even the large advertisement spending they’ve made can’t cover up their illicit practices or change their non-compliant status. Conclusion As a leading forex media, WikiFX has recorded information of over 14,000 forex brokers. Should you have any questions or doubts about any broker, you may conveniently look it up on WikiFX App to get detailed information about the broker. If you have suffered financial losses from broker scams, you may contact WikiFX customer service and we will try our best to help you recover the lost funds.

https://jump.wikifx.com/83348CF26389B46D Japan’s machine tool orders, a leading indicator of the Japanese economy, is facing . According to data released by Japan Machinery Tool Builders’ Association (JMTBA) on November 12th , orders in October dropped to 87.4 billion yen, a 37.4% decrease year-on-year. The orders have been lower than the previous year for 13 consecutive months and fell below 100-billion-yen (commonly seen as a crucial mark between flourishing economy and recession) for three straight months. October’s orders fell below 90 billion yen, the last time being six years ago. This is lower than the reading of 88.4 billion yen in August. In more specific terms, domestic orders dropped by 42% to 33.4 billion yen, seeing negative growth for 11 consecutive months. Foreign orders decreased by 34.1% to 54 billion yen, declining for the 13th month in a row. In addition to the orders for electrical and precision machinery that have been declining since last fall due to global trade frictions, orders for auto vehicles and other machinery and equipment have also slowed down. Investors may follow the currency pair of AUD/JPY and seek the right trading opportunity. AUD/JPY daily pivot points 74.58---74.72 S1: 74.37 R1: 74.79 S2: 74.23 R2: 75.07

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Broker: Megagrowth (Indonesia) Visited on: December 5th, 2019 Conclusion: the broker truly exists Before the visit As an emerging power on the global financial market, Indonesian brokers are gaining greater visibility on the international stage in recent years and have attracted growing attentions from investors. Indonesia, the most populous of Southeastern countries, has been home to hundreds of forex brokers so far. Today, WikiFX is visiting the broker Megagrowth. On-the-spot investigation According to regulatory information, the forex broker Megagrowth’s licensed branch in Indonesia is located at Gedung Menara Kuningan Lt. 28 Jl. H. R. Rasuna Said Blok X 7 Kav. 5Setiabudi, Jakarta Selatan 12940. We drove to Gedung Menara Kuningan, a building with a striking logo outside. We entered and took the elevator to level 28. Floor directory showed that about 5 brokers have offices set up here, including Megagrowth that we planned to visit, and we followed the direction to its office. The company has a bright and spacious reception with a notable logo. We looked at the office and counted about 25 cubicles. Through this visit, we confirm the licensed branch of Megagrowth really exists. About Megagrowth Megagrowth is a compliant broker specialized in businesses involving forex, crude oil and stock indices. Holding a license on futures brokerage issued by BAPPEBTI, Megagrowth is also a regulated member of multiple Indonesian financial authorities including ICDX, JFX and KBI. Conclusion In fact, while many Indonesian brokers hold forex brokerage license issued by the local regulation authority BAPPEBTI, the strength and credibility of BAPPEBTI’s supervision remains unsatisfactory, which partly accounts for investor’s lack of confidence in Indonesian brokers. In short, the local regulation authorities still have a long way to go to improve reputation of Indonesian forex market. WikiFX App shows that Megagrowth is currently in valid regulation, and it’s 6.00 rating suggests acceptable reliability. To find out more about the broker, investors may check WikiFX App or visit our official website.

https://jump.wikifx.com/83348CF26389B46D Although the US bond yields went up markedly due to the Fed’s holding of interest rate in November, overseas capital remains enthusiastic about stepping up holding of RMB bonds. In November 2019, overseas institutional investors’ net bond purchase in the interbank bond market amounted 98.8 billion yuan. This means that overseas institutions cumulatively bought more than 970 billion yuan of bonds in the first 11 months of this year, and the figure will most certainly break the trillion mark before 2019 ends. Overseas institutions continued to significantly increase Renminbi bond-holding in November partly because they believe that the recovery in US bond yields is only temporary. As the Fed is expected to resume rate slash in the first half of 2020, the Renminbi’s spread advantage will become even more obvious, so right now is a great time for bottom-fishing. On the other hand, many overseas institutions find that the proportion of RMB bonds they’re holding is far below the ideal level, so they take full advantage of policy bonus, such as cancellation of investment quota limits for QFII/RQFII and rules allowing non-transacting transfer of bonds under the same overseas entity QFII/RQFII and direct entry channels, to increase their holding of Renminbi bonds. The surge in overseas institutions’ purchase of RMB bonds suggests their trading strategies have become more diversified. In the past, overseas institutions mainly profit from buying at a low price and selling when the price goes up. Now they are holding bonds through Bond Connect while buying financial derivatives overseas to carry out hedging or arbitrage. Overseas institutions are willing to step up holding of RMB bonds in November possibly because the want to be more prepared for Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut in the first half of 2020.

https://jump.wikifx.com/83348CF26389B46D In speaking of investment, broker scams in forex trading seem to be a recurring theme. As with many industries, the fast growing forex industry also has plenty of predators, who look to take advantage of newcomers. The following story is shared by a Korean investor who sought WikiFX’s help after being defrauded by Robinhood. He reported the illegal broker to warn other investors against it. Victim: anonymous Account balance: 3 million KRW Illegal broker: Robinhood IB information: NAVER blog name: 이동민 전문 개인투자자 (Investment Expert Lee Dong-min) KakaoTalk ID: dm8068 Tel: 010-2353-8068 I got acquainted to a blogger named Lee Dong-min by chance on NAVER, the largest web portal in South Korea, and I was drawn to the content of his financial planning posts. Through chatting online, I learned that he was a professional investment adviser and led a wealthy life. Lee Dong-min chatted with me every day around 12pm, teaching me how to invest and promised that he could help me get rich. Eventually, I was coaxed into investing on a forex platform called Robinhood, which was recommended by Lee Dong-min. He suggested me to invest 3 million KRW at the beginning for 15 days to 24 days. As I knew little about forex investment, I followed his instructions step by step and deposited 3 million KRW to my account successfully, with the hope of making great profits. But within a month after I made the investment, my account became unavailable, while Lee Dong-min's blog also disappeared coincidentally. I tried to contact him by phone, but his phone was turned off all the time. Only then did I realized it was totally a scam! Investors should watch out for this illegal broker and beware of its tricks. According to WikiFX App, Robinhood is unregulated at the moment and is rated at only 1.31. If you feel you are being scammed, contact us at wikifx@wikifx.com for assistance to recover your money. You can also download “WikiFX App”, a broker inquiry app, at Google play or apple store to conveniently check regulatory status of brokers worldwide and better protect your asset safety.

Broker: AGRODANA (Indonesia) Visited on: August 23rd, 2019 Conclusion: the broker really exists On-the-spot investigation Regulatory information suggests AGRODANA’s licensed branch in Indonesia is at Menara Batavia Lantai 3A, Jl. KH. Mas Mansyur Kav. 126, Jakarta Pusat, and WikiFX recently visited the broker at the site. Menara Batavia is a magnificent office building. We took the elevator to the 3rd floor and found AGRODANA’s sign. Following the direction, we soon arrived at AGRODANA’s office. Information on the two posters at the entrance corresponds to that of the company’s website. The office looks bright and spacious with about 30 office cubicles. After a brief communication with the staff members, we concluded that AGRODANA’s Indonesian office truly exists. Analysis SE Asia has become an emerging forex market in recent years, and the forex industry in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia continues to thrive. Amidst the proliferation of forex brokers, investors remain unfamiliar and skeptical about brokers from this region due to slack regulation policy and authorites’ relatively weak enforcement of rules. Therefore, WikiFX is visiting brokers in Indonesia and other SE Asian countries to bring investors more reliable details about them. According to AGRODANA’s official site, it’s a licensed Indonesian futures brokerage company established in May, 2000, with headquarter in Jakarta and branches in Bandung, Surabaya and Lampung. Focused on forex, commodities, and stock indices in Asia and around the world, the company is well-versed in finance and has acquired licenses and membership from financial institutions including BAPPEBTI (Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency), ICDX (Indonesia Commodity & Derivatives Exchange), The Business Information & Communication Centre and JFX (Jakarta Futures Exchange). Regulatory information from BAPPEBTI shows AGRODANA holds retail forex license and is authorized for conducting retail forex brokerage. Conclusion Per checking the WikiFX App, AGRODANA is under Indonesian regulation and holds BAPPEBTI’s license for retail forex brokerage. It uses main-label MT4 trading software and has a WikiFX rating of 6.25, suggesting moderate credibility. However, since AGRODANA has been in business for less than a year, the overall qualification of the broker remains to be tested and investors should be cautious during investment to ensure the asset safety.

[Previous visit recap] In our last visit, WikiFX confirmed that the licensed branch of forex broker XGLOBAL in Cyprus really exists and is in regular business. As the “eyes” and “ears” of global investors, we pay random visits to forex brokers around the world and make comprehensive assessments of brokers base on the results. With these information and assessments, we can better serve investors by helping them to identify reliable brokers and stay away from illegal ones, and we remain committed to this mission despite all difficulties. This time we’re visiting AL-HIDAYAH Broker’s Profile Name: AL-HIDAYAH Location: Malaysia Regulatory status: suspected clone-licensed Status: doesn’t exist at the address Website: alhidayahbank.com Address: level 14(b)&14(C) main office tower, financial park complex, jalan merdeka, 87000 labuan F.T. According to the address from regulatory information, we arrived at Financial Park, the office building where AL-HIDAYAH is supposed to be located. Local Labuan residents told us that this business complex is the tallest in the area, hosting many local banks as well as branches of foreign banks such as Deutsche Bank, Citibank and UOB. Because we didn’t have a reservation, we had to fill out a visitor registration from at the building’s reception and left our ID/business card. After we got to level 14 by elevator, we didn’t find AL-HIDAYAH on the floor directory, but a management firm named Regus instead. The staff members from Regus told us AL-HIDAYAH had moved away, while its former office is also empty with no one working there. We confirm after the visit that AL-HIDAYAH’s licensed branch in Malaysia is not at the address from its regulatory information. Per checking the WikiFX App, AL-HIDAYAH is rated at 1.19 and its MM license from Labuan Financial Service Authority (LFSA) is suspected to be cloned. The broker bears substantial risks and investors should stay away from it. To check out detail information of more forex brokers, you can download the WikiFX App. WikiFX will continue to present you latest market trends and forex information. Stay tuned as we bring you more forex updates.

More info at https://jump.wikifx.com/83348CF26389B46D Although Mr. Trump wants a weaker dollar, as well as a major shift in Fed policy from increasing to lowering interest rates, the dollar remains strong. These factors that strongly favors short positions only prolongs the dollar’s price adjustment period, and the price that jitters uphill indicates a typical bullish trend. Looking at chart of a longer time-span the rebound in 2014-2015 made the US dollar index break through the long-term downtrend line and this trend line functioned as support in 3 circumstances. Of these 3 cases, the most recent scenario in 2018 is particularly worth noting. The dollar index rebounded after hitting the bottom in 2018, and the side-way trend that lasted for about a year is perhaps just an early break before the upcoming sharp rise; if not even the US Federal Reserve and the US president is able to keep the dollar in a weaker position, it is conceivable how powerful the bullish trend is. When the dollar just began to rally in the early 1980s and 1995, it was also the beginning of gold’s significant decline that lasted for decades. Given that the gold price has gone through several years of horizontal trend, it’s more likely that the market will see a situation similar to that in 1995, when the gold price went over its peak in February and continuously dropped, and it wasn’t until after the price had bottomed out that a new round of strong rally began. As gold surged in the past few months, it’s likely that investors will be blinded by the rising momentum and the spreading market optimism, just like those people who bought gold at a high position in early 1995.

For this week’s global financial market, big events are likely to cause some ups and downs on the currency market dominated by US dollar. On Wednesday, October 9th, US Federal Reserve released minute of the monetary policy meeting on September 17th -18th . The record showed major division within the Fed, and decision for a further rate cut is unlikely to be made on October’s meeting. The released documents showed that though most members agreed on the necessity of cutting interest rate, the opinions are still sharply divided in terms of future policy. “The minute is generally neutral, but you can clearly see the division between the Doves and Hawks”, US economist Esparaza said. “They share the same view about US economic growth, but have different opinions about the future path.” Fed policy-makers are worrying that weak business investment, trade and manufacturing sector may weigh down on consumer spending, which has been the major driver for US economic growth in recent years. The minute shows that between the meetings in late July and mid September, there’s clearly a sluggish trend in investment, manufacturing and export, which echos the global economic slowdown and uncertainties in trade policies. Meanwhile, China’s Vice Premiere and top trade negotiator Liu He led the Chinese delegation to Washington on October 10th ~ 11th for a new round of high-level trade negotiation with US trade chief Robert Emmet Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “The market is waiting to see how the trade talks go on Thursday, and a negative outcome is likely to inspire strong risk-aversion.” Analyst from Phillip Futures Benjamin Liu observed. Other analysts also noted that good news from the trade talks can boost the market’s risk appetite and weigh on the safe-haven asset Japanese Yen; but if the negotiation isn’t smooth, risk aversion will continue to prop up the Yen. As US President Trump earlier said that US will raise tariff against China on 15th of October if no progress is achieved in the negotiation, the market is particularly sensitive to how the trade talk evolves. Timely and transparent information is particularly important on a fast-changing forex market. WikiFX will continue to updates on major market events and forex news in order to offer investors more reliable and helpful information.

https://www.wikifx.com/cn_en/ Australian dollar’s exchange rate against the US dollar further approaches the “fair value” , making it the most promising one among the G10 currencies in the upcoming few weeks. Short-term bond yield breaks through resistance and continues to climb, while Australia’s employment report in November was robust, adding to the domestic optimism towards economy. Technically, AUD against USD looks quite positive and has broken through resistance level. Against the backdrop of thawing international trade and easing monetary policies of global central banks, investors’ risk-aversion is cooling; major stock indices in Europe and US, as well as most major indices on the Asia Pacific market, have gone up. All these factors have provided strong support for the Australian dollar. AUD/USD daily pivot points 0.6895---0.6899 S1 0.6887 R2 0.6911 S2 0.6873 R2 0.6921

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ EUR/CHF continued to drop in the last week, with the exchange rate hitting the lowest point since mid-April, 2018. But now may not be a perfect time to sell EUR/CHF. As we expect the Swiss franc to decline in the future, the current situation is a good opportunity for establishing long positions on the long run. Investors are not advised to chase the CHF higher, particularly if they think Swiss National Bank(SNB) has used up their monetary policy ammunition. As the widening gap between ECB and SNB policy failed to stabilize the EUR/CHF cross, it may be too early to expect less prudence in SNB, particularly since exchange rate will remain a crucial driver of SNB’s policy decisions. The use of euro for funding carry may have complicated the cross's typical pattern by lowering the franc's sensitivity to improving global risk sentiment It’s estimated that the situation will change in the following quarters. The SNB will take all measures necessary to keep the interest rate down, and will do so longer than ECB and other central banks. EUR/CHF’s target at the end of the year is estimated to be at 1.1500, so now may be a good opportunity to open long position on the long run.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ The Bank of Japan will announce its interest rate decision on January 21. At present, it is generally expected that the Bank of Japan will maintain the policy balance interest rate at - 0.1%. We expect the BoJ to commit to keep interest rates at their current low level or even cut them until the inflation target of 2% is reached. With Japan's economy still under pressure from trade tension and consumption tax hikes in October, bank governor Kuroda Tohiko may express his determination to maintain ultra loose monetary policy. At that time, the central bank will also release economic growth and inflation forecasts, which may raise the economic outlook for the new fiscal year. Bank of Japan governor Kuroda tohiko previously said that if necessary, short-term and long-term interest rates are expected to remain at current or lower levels for a long time. Moody's also expects major global central banks, including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, to maintain loose monetary policy. With economic data falling, the BoJ will ultimately need to act. We believe that the moderate inflation forecast will strengthen the market's expectation that the Bank of Japan will maintain ultra loose monetary policy. The BoJ will further relax its policy by deepening its guidance on negative interest rate policy, and may cut interest rates by 10 basis points to - 0.2% later in the first quarter of 2020. USD/JPY daily pivot point: 110.16 S1: 110.04 R1: 110.28 S2: 109.92 R2: 110.40

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Exposed broker: XM Regulatory Status: under valid regulation Complainant: Mr. Sadon from Saudi Arabia Cause of complaint: losses due to irregularities on the trading platform WikiFX is scheduling an exposition this year in Dubai, the financial capital of the UAE, and as the initial preparations proceed recently, we received a complaint against broker XM from Mr. Sadon, an investor from Saudi Arabia. He shared his experience of suffering unjustified losses when trading on XM, in order to warn other investors against the broker. Event Recap (Mr. Sadon’s narration) Today, I’d like to ring an alarm for investors trading on XM and to other investors as well, especially those who are new to the forex circle. Hopefully my experience can prevent more fellow investors from falling victim to this scam. The broker XM swindled me US$300 by manipulating the price on the platform and changing my stop-loss setting. Without my authorization, the platform replenished my margin account 3 times for US$100 each time, until my balance was used up.It was during the last of such irregular operations that I found out something was wrong, because surprisingly enough, when I made the same transaction in another demo account, I achieved the goal and made profits, yet on the XM platform it was in the situation of a stop loss!! In another occasion, I noticed that the transactions in both accounts were profitable when I logged on the platform. But suddenly, the balance on the XM platform became negative, and the broker later informed me that my account was at a stop loss. I immediately took a screenshot of my trading records and contacted the company about the issue. They asked for my account number and phone number, saying that they would look into the matter and call me back. I waited for several days, yet the account manager (his name was Krikor) didn't even call me, so I reached out again, this time through email. In the following week, I contacted the broker’s agents again and again, but they never answered my requests. About XM WikiFX App shows that XM is currently under valid regulation, holding MM licenses from ASIC(Australia) and CySEC(Cyprus), while subject to offshore regulation from IFSC and FSA. Having been in business for more than 5 years, the broker’s score is 9.26, boasting a fairly high reputation in the forex industry. Conclusion From this case we can see that XM, despite its good compliance record, is not completely risk free as investor still suffered from irregularities. Should you notice any similar problems when trading on this platform, keep the evidence and contact the broker immediately. If you are having difficulties reaching the broker, you can seek WikiFX’s help by providing the key evidences, and we’ll do our best to help you recover your funds.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ According to the data recently released by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the country’s annual inflation rate in 2019 dropped to 1.4%, lower than the 1.9% of 2018 and 1.8% in 2017. Statistics suggest Germany’s inflation in December, 2019 sat at 1.5%, and the monthly inflation figure excluding energy price was 1.8%. Food price rose 2.1% year-on-year, with a significant increase in the price of meat and meat products. The European Central Bank set the inflation target range at slightly lower than 2%, but ever since 2019, even Germany,the largest economy of the Eurozone, had failed to meet the 2% inflation target except in April, 2019. An inflation constantly under target level will affect business investment and private consumption, thus stunting economic growth. In order to tackle risks of deflation and boost economic recovery of the Eurozone, the ECB continues to ease monetary policies. But the latest inflation data in Germany shows that the ECB’s easing policies haven’t been very efficient in boosting inflation. German Council of Economic Experts previously estimated that Germany’s inflation in 2020 will be around 1.6%.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Exposed broker: PTFX Regulatory status: unregulated illegal broker Complainant: Anonymous Cause of complaint: investor couldn’t withdraw Although PTFX has already become a notorious scam broker in the forex circle, but the company still hasn’t give up the chance to lure more unwary victims into its trap with its high publicity. Recently, WikiFX received complaint from another investor who fell victim to PTFX. Event recap This victim first signed up and made deposit at PTFX in early 2019. Although there were already many negative comments about PTFX online back then, the investor, lured by the "high profits" slogan from the broker’s advertisements, still decided to "test the water". In March, 2019, the investor applied for a withdrawal for the first time; the money wasn’t immediately received, but arrived in investor’s account after a week. Since then, negative news about PTFX has almost never stopped, but the investor was “lucky”enough not to encounter any trading irregularities. By early October, the investor submitted a withdrawal request again, but this time he no longer had such luck: the withdrawal was delayed, while the broker’s customer service offered no explanation or solution other than excuses, and he was even kicked out of the chat group. Later, when the investor logged on to the platform website again, his original withdrawal application records had been erased. Until now, the victim have not been able to withdraw funds from his account. About PTFX PTFX has already become a notorious broker with some of the worst reputations in the forex circle. WikiFX has exposed it for many times in hope of warning investors against this illegal broker, yet many gullible investors who are eager to make profits have still fallen into PTFX’s trap. According to WikiFX App, PTFX is without valid regulation, while under heavy complaints from investors who accuse the broker for blocking their withdrawals. WikiFX has labeled the broker as illegal to warn investors to stay away. Conclusion Though the desire for fortune is more or less a human nature, any expectation or attempt to generate huge profits without making any proportional effort are both unrealistic and dangerous. While forex market is well-known for its lucrativeness, investors should never ignore the accompanying high risks. To find out more about any forex broker, please log on WikiFX website or App where you can easily access comprehensive information about brokers and the forex market.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Yesterday, EUR/CHF exchange rate fell to 1.0732, the lowest level since April, 2017. Prior to this, the U.S. government had again put Switzerland to its currency manipulator watch-list. Economic growth and inflation data may still prompt the SNB to increase foreign exchange to curb appreciation of Swiss franc. Data of Swiss National Bank(SNB) last August showed that the bank injected billions of Swiss francs into the market and bought foreign currencies in order to curb the surge of the Swiss franc. A stronger Swiss franc will make it more difficult for Swiss companies to export products. Since the SNB removed the cap on Swiss franc and introduced a negative interest rate 5 years ago, the strength of the Swiss franc means that it is almost impossible to end the negative interest rate in the short term. on Monday, traders have braced themselves for fluctuations of CHF in the coming weeks. The one-month implied volatility of the euro against the Swiss franc rose 11 basis points to 4.27% on Wednesday, the highest level in nearly two months. If the EUR/ CHF fall below 1.10, it may trigger the central bank’s intervention, making the SNB active again. A strong Swiss franc could be a more serious challenge for the SNB. The central bank is now under the market’s test of whether it can curb further appreciation of the currency. As the US economy slows down, market demand for safe-haven currencies seems to increase. The Japanese yen and Swiss francs should be the main choices for capitals seeking to hedge risks.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ The US stocks soaring above historical record seem to suggest that the conflict between US and Iran has been over, yet situation in the Middle-east remains tense. Looking ahead, Middle-east faces emerging geopolitical risks that are underestimated by the market, and arranging safe-haven assets such as gold and Japanese yen can be an important way of hedging such risks. After the US launched an air strike on January 2nd that killed Iranian senior government official Qasem Soleimani, Iran quickly took revenge 5 days later by attacking several US military bases in Iraq, leading to further escalation of the tension between the two countries. The market plummeted upon the breaking of the news, while oil price surged as the Wall Street worried about whether Iran will target areas with rich oil reserve. Because market volatility and oil price’s surge may affect decisions on diplomatic policies, Iran’s continuous retaliation may lead to severe consequences. If the conflict further escalates within the US election year, leading to serious market volatility and pulling allies away from the US, President Trump is more likely to seek a resolution similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA). Escalation of the conflict before the election, though the market has not yet release any assessment regarding major upcoming risks. Daily Pivot points for gold: 1552-1554 S1: 1548 R1: 1560 S2: 1541 R2: 1565

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Unregulated brokers who block withdrawals can count as one of the worst nightmares of forex investors. Bear in mind that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Don’t be fooled by empty promises of scammers and focus only on profits, because when you indulge yourself in the illusion of becoming rich, you can easily neglect the huge risks and potential losses that hide behind. Recently, an investor from China reported the illegal broker AGX on WikiFX exposure forum. Victim: Mr. Shen Illegal broker: AGX Cause of complaint: unable to withdraw money Mr. Shen’s case review: Last April, I met a “signal provider” in a stock discussion group. I followed his advice to open an account on AGX to make deposits, and since then I had been trading on the platform according to the "signals" he provided. But after trading for a week, I lost more than 10,000 US dollars rather than making any profits. Realizing this broker was extremely suspicious, I immediately submitted a withdrawal request on the AGX platform, but they kept on postponing my withdrawal. Neither could I reach the signal provider. But I didn’t want to give up, as I still had a large balance in my account unable to be withdrawn. Finally, I decided to put pressure on AGX by exposing it on the WikiFX forum. According to Mr. Shen, after he took the measure, AGX finally contacted him and asked him to post a clarification note on WikiFX exposure platform, promising that they would return his money; however, after Mr. Shen did so, AGX again disappeared, and the so-called "refund" became no more than an empty promise. Many investors may have such questions: since there are all kinds of forex scams, how can I identify illegal brokers? What are their common tricks? How can I protect myself from such scams? Firstly, what types of FX brokers that we should avoid? -Any FX broker who has received a warning from regulator. -Any FX broker who keep on nagging you to make deposits. -Any FX broker holding a cloned license. -Any FX broker who claims to be regulated while it’s actually not. -Any FX broker that makes you pay fees that aren’t even in any term or condition. -Any FX broker that doesn’t allow withdrawals and blocks you as soon as you ask for a withdrawal. Secondly, the following methods are commonly used by illegal brokers to defraud investors: -Inducing account opening; -Giving wrong trading signals deliberately; -Trading on the investor’s behalf; -Causing severe slippage; -Causing negative balance through manipulation; -Blocking withdrawal; -Suspending investor’s account. Finally, how to protect ourselves from forex scam? In fact, for investors, the best way to avoid being cheated is to learn more about how to trade correctly. It takes a lot of time, education, patience and wisdom to gain profit in forex trading. Another very simple method is to check the broker’s regulation. When dealing with forex brokers or IB agents, don't believe in their empty promises such as "small investment, big return" or "no risks". Instead, the first step you need to take is to check their company’s regulatory information and background. WikiFX App not only presents the regulatory information of more than 15,000 brokers, but also releases a large number of exposure cases for the reference of investors.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee is expected to vote 6 to 3 to hold benchmark interest rate at 0.75% unchanged this month. Post-election survey data proves the economy is recovering with the elimination of uncertainties, but the recovery may be rather modest, as Britain still faces the challenging trade negotiation with European Union. The pound remains at a price ideal for dip-buying. Currently, the impact of market expectation on January’s 0.12% rate cut is fading, as well as uncertainties about Brexit, so additional stimulus will facilitate a steady recovery of the economy, leading to a rebound of the pound. Meanwhile, the wildfire raging through Australia is expected to have more far-reaching effect on the economy than flood or other natural disasters, while the extreme drought weighing on many regions and especially agricultural sector has further added to the troubling situation. Therefore, as GBP rises and AUD weakens, investors can pay more attention to the pair and seek opportunity as GBP/AUD shows potential to breach upwards. GBP/AUD daily pivot points: 1.8824-1.8842 S1: 1.8783 R1: 1.8901 S2: 1.8715 R2: 1.8951

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Through analysis of EUR/GBP’s latest trend, we found the pair will likely remain bullish in the upcoming months. News has been around that the British government plans to issue more government bonds and further implement expansionary fiscal policies in 2020. Therefore, the market is reassessing the possibility for the British government to cut interest rate and it’s estimated that a 0.25% rate cut will soon take place. The pound sterling will be navigating through domestic economy, central bank policies and most of all, the financial budget to be released this March, in the first half of 2020. Also, Brexit negotiation is only at its beginning and whether a free trade deal can be successfully concluded will be crucial. EUR/GBP daily pivot points: 0.8496---0.8502 S1: 0.8465 R1: 0.8527 S2: 0.8437 R2: 0.8561

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Recently, Mr. Lin, a Malaysian investor, reported to WikiFX how he was defrauded by the illegal forex broker Stone Lion. Complainant: Mr. Lin Complained broker: Stone Lion Cause of complaint: broker blocked withdrawal Account balance: over US$90,000 About 2 months ago, I submitted my withdrawal requests on Stone Lion but they remained unapproved. The customer service claimed I wasn’t their VIP client so I had to wait in line for my withdrawal. During this time all my withdrawals were either rejected by the system or shown complete without the money actually sent to my account. Trying my best to hold my frustration, I again contacted Stone Lion about my withdrawals. Yet the customer service told me that my account has been “frozen” due to “generating illegal profits” and I must “pay a US$12,000 margin to unfreeze the account.” Feeling shocked, I recalled the whole investment process from signing up and making deposit to trading, and was positive I never did anything illicit. This US$12,000 request of the broker is absolutely ridiculous, while it couldn’t explain why the US$30,000 withdrawal was approved but didn’t reach my account. So I continued to negotiate with the broker, hoping that they would at least send me the US$30,000 withdrawn first. But the customer service pulled up the excuse that “the withdrawal channel wasn’t working” and I had to wait. Tired of this endless delay, I called the company providing the third-party withdrawal channel, and learned through them that there wasn’t any issue with the withdrawal channel - what Stone Lion told me was simply a lie. Once again, I questioned the customer service and demanded for my funds. This time the customer service blamed me for “making harassing calls the third-party service provider” and the company “no longer support withdrawal through their channel”, while insisting I must pay US$12,000 in order for them to “rearrange another withdrawal channel”. This unscrupulous scammer not only blocked my withdrawals, but even tried to coax me into making more deposits. We learned that until now, Mr. Lin still has over US$90,000 in his account unable to be withdrawn, as he became more troubled by the incident every day. Stone Lion not only robbed Mr. Lin’s money, but also left him deeply perturbed. Mr. Lin’s case is a good example of how illegal brokers not only try to blame withdrawal failures and heavy losses on investors themselves through lame excuses or manipulation under the table, but also attempt to mislead investors into making further investment even after they’ve suffered losses. Per checking WikiFX App, Stone Lion has been listed as an illegal broker, and the NFA(US) license it claims to hold is suspected to be a cloned one. WikiFX has received over 14 complaints against this broker in the past 3 months, please stay away from this illegal broker! If you are experiencing withdrawal failures or unusually frequent investment losses at a broker, we strongly advise you stop trading. You may keep key evidences, such as records of your conversation with the broker and your trading records, and contact WikiFX for assistance to defend your legal rights.

https://www.wikifx.com/sg_en/ Latest statistics suggest German manufacturing order continue to slip 1.3%, contrary to the expectation of a 0.2% gain. This has been the greatest decline since July, 2019.Falling factory orders have largely been driven by the decline in commodity orders and overseas investment demands, among which demand for consumer goods stopped growing and orders fell 6.5% year-on-year. Another report suggests that weakening export has been a particularly hard blow on the automotive industry, which is a major cornerstone for German economy. According to data from the German Association of the Automotive Industry, automobile production is at its lowest in the recent 25 years.Deutsche Bundesbank said the country’s economy had been stagnant during the last quarter in 2019 and shows no signs of rallying, while the growth this year will likely still be under 1%. EUR/USD daily pivot points: 1.1115-1.1135 S1: 1.1082 R1: 1.1148 S2: 1.1059 R2: 1.1191