As everyone knows, China is the largest importer of oil in the world, and the country is naturally looking at ways to have access to a larger market. To that end, China has decided to establish a new oil and gas trade exchange known as the Greater Bay Area International Energy Transaction Center.

The exchange is an expansive one and is going to connect a wide range of buyers and sellers irrespective of the scales of the trades concerned. Additionally, the market participants will be able to trade in a wide range of products starting from crude oil, energy derivatives, and electricity, ethane, and carbon credits.

China is also setting up hubs powered by cloud-based blockchain technology in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The smaller businesses in China do not have the wherewithal to use advanced technology for their businesses’ needs. That results in the business lagging behind its larger rivals.

The exchange seeks to change that. Chairman of exchange, Gong Jialong, said,

Small businesses do not know where to look. But if you are an exchange member, you have access to all the Chinese counterparts. Ninety percent of small businesses cannot connect with each other, but this exchange is for that purpose.

The Chinese economy may have slowed this year, but there is no doubt that it is going to resume its growth soon. Hence, the demand for oil, gas, and chemicals is only going to rise. The exchange of this nature allows companies in China to get their products directly from the producers in the US. Oil prices are the lowest in the US, and this allows the Chinese participants to get their products at a lower price.

The exchange brings all participants of the market into one platform and allows them to get a better price than usual. For instance, natural gas is frozen and then sent to China from the US. The price of natural gas goes up threefold to ship to China.

The exchange gives China access to a larger market and allows oil sellers to serve a huge market. Russia, one of the biggest oil producers in the world, is looking for new markets to ship to, and Canada is exploring options in Asia after having lost some of the US markets. The Greater Bay Area could well prove to be the best solution to those problems.

There are as many as 70 million people in the area and also includes the lucrative market of Hong Kong. President of The National Center for Sustainable Development, Eric Fang, stated that he believes that the exchange will eventually become highly influential once the trade war with the US ends. He said,

We believe this exchange could rise to be a major center for the future. Once we stop the trade war, you will see a lot of energy supply going to China.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico, announced today that the government had rejected a US lawmakers’ plan to inspectors into the country’s factories. As part of the US-Mexico trade deal, Democratic lawmakers had proposed that inspectors should be allowed to inspect Mexican factories for labor law violations.

Mexico has stated that it wants a new North American trade accord with the US as soon as possible so that no complications can arise due to the elections next year.

However, Democratic lawmakers are worried that the absence of labor unions has led to low wages in Mexico and hence, resulted in the flight of US manufacturing jobs.

President Obrador stated that the Mexican government had passed the necessary reforms that would lead to free and fair labor union elections. He added that the government has also approved a budget for monitoring those elections.

The rise in the prices of US crude and gasoline stocks marked a sharp fall in prices of oil. The data published on Wednesday showed a fall in the price of Brent Crude oil by 19%, which is $63.87 a barrel by 0854 GMT, having dropped by 0.3%. Whereas, West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 33%, which is to $57.78 a barrel, after the loss of 0.5% in the previous session. Following this, US President Donald Trump had signed a petition supporting the protestors in Hong King against this fall in price.

To this, the Chinese government has warned the US that it would be taking “firm countermeasures” against the US for supporting the protestors in Hong Kong. The trade war between the United States and China began soon after President Donald Trump took over the reins and it has continued since then. This fall in the oil prices somewhat irked the war between the two nations. The chief market strategist at FXTM, Hussain Sayed, remarked,

“The approval of the Hong Kong legislation backing protesters is likely to put the trade agreement into question as China has reiterated its threat of retaliation. If investors suspect that the trade agreement is under real danger, expect to see a sharp sell-off in December. For now, investors are taking a wait-and-see approach.”

The investors have begun showing their concern regarding the depression in the economic growth, and as of now, they are looking forward to a meeting with OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that includes Russia, which is scheduled to be held next week. Speculations are on the high that at the meet with OPEC, Russia may exclude condensate, which is a high-premium light oil, that is mainly extracted during the production of gas from crude oil production. However, the news is not confirmed by the Russian Ministry yet, and they are looking forward to opening discussions before taking any such measures.

Recently, Michigan’s Municipal Employees Retirement System invests a sum of $319,000 and buys shares of First Defiance Financial during the third quarter in a recent 13F filing with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

According to the reports, the company purchases 11,000 saving shares and loans the company’s stocks worth $319,000. Now, Michigan’s Municipal Retirement System possessed 0.06% of the First Defiance Financial.

Many large investors have also invested in the shares of Defiance Finance like Nuveen Asset Management LLC owns $2,490,000 shares, Panagora Asset Management owns $1,907,000 shares, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owns $4,292,000 shares and many more.

First Defiance Financial Corp is a unitary thrift holding company that offers financial services to Northeast Indiana, Northeast Ohio, and Southeast Michigan. The firm provides various services, such as different types of accounts, deposits, real estate, and loans.

Recently, during the midday trading, the First Defiance Financial stock has been traded down $0.04, and now, it is hitting $30.40. The firm has a 1-year low of $ 22.78 and a 1-year high of $31.83. It has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. There is an average price of $30.19 for 50-day moving and $28.42 for 200-day moving. The market cap of the company is $598.78 million, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.98.

The last earnings results of First Defiance Financial were issued on October 21, 2019. The company showed a quarterly EPS of $0.68, which is defeating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.08. During the quarter, the revenue of the company was $40.73 million as compared to the expected revenue by the analysts, i.e., $40.15 million. The net margin of the company was 27.21%, with a return on equity of 12.03%. According to the selling analysts, First Defiance Financial will have 2.45 EPS in the current year.

• Tron price descends by 8% on a week-long run
• The improvement in the coin might stay this time

The bearish run in Tron seems to end their course. The coin is likely to move in a direction where traders could mark profit. The improvement in the TRX coin is quite impressive. The investment in Tron is anticipated to be fruitful. In the last 7-days, Tron price was spotted touching a high at $0.0171 and a low at $0.0131.

Tron Price Prediction:

Tron started the week at $0.0164. The intraday movement on November 21 brought 5.14% regression. The coin was spotted dropping as low as $0.0156.

On November 22, the currency slipped to $0.0143. The fall was marked as 8.37%. The intraday low registered on the same day was at $0.0138.

On the next day, the TRX coin experienced an uptrend. The price counters moved from $0.0143 to $0.0152 by 4.60%.

On November 24, the Tron price slipped to $0.0138 by 9.46%. Then, TRX price spotted recovery and closed with an intraday progression of 2.83%.

On November 26, the uptrend remained intact, and the price of Tron touched $0.0154.

Today, the coin is reflecting mixed movement. The current price of TRX coin is $0.0151.

Tron is speculated to improve in the coming days. The coin is spotted moving upward today. The current price of TRX coin is indicating that the intraday traders might register profit. The currency could move towards the immediate resistance level at $0.0159. Tron is recommended for short-term investment.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is yet again to set new timelines, and this time for the women empowerment in cross border trade. This move focusses on helping the member countries to understand the cross-border trade irrespective of gender biases. The new move also aims at conducting gender impact analysis and the implementation of gender-sensitive trade policies.

Women engaging in informal cross-trade are often succumbed to facing undesirable challenges that make them susceptible to harassment, violence, high fines and even confiscation of their merchandise if caught by border authorities. Due to the lack of information about trade and custom rules, businesses of women traders remain at the subsistence level, leaving them unable to make substantial profits from their businesses.

To overcome these challenges faced by the women traders, UNCTAD has come up with this new initiative under the name, “Borderline,” which will be implemented in 6 border districts across Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia. Under this program, a total of 150 women were scheduled to be trained by UNCTAD on how to conduct business in the desired way, abiding all the rules of trade. The program consisted of 2 sessions, the first one was the 1-day border training session and the other one was the 5-day border training session. The first workshop was held on November 11, at Nakonde/Tunduma border between Zambia and Tanzania and the next one took place at Kyela (Tanzania), Karonga (Malawi) and Chipata (Zambia). One of the traders from Zambia, in praise of the training session, commented,

This training is very helpful. We now know more about cross-border trade issues and will be crossing the border with courage and confidence.

The assistant commissioner at the Zambia Revenue Office, Davis Mwanza, said,

The workshops emphasized the importance of continuous dialogue between informal traders and border officials. Informal traders should look at us as partners.

In fact, if this program is supported, it will generate significant rural income and can ever catalyze value chain creation in rural areas. This will, in turn, lower rural unemployment and provide women empowerment in all sectors of cross border trade. By leveraging this informal cross border trade for women empowerment, this project is expected to overcome the greatest challenge that the world is facing right now.

Canadian software developer and application service provider Global Trade Corporation (GTC) announced today that it is in the process of developing the Trade Finance Exchange (TFX) Platform to simplify trade. As everyone knows, global trade can be made far more efficient if the basic functions are performed more speedily, and that is what the platform seeks to accomplish. The platform is going to help companies and financial institutions with price discovery. In addition to that, the platform will also provide its users with a fully digital marketplace meant for trade assets.

It is a highly ambitious project, but at the same time, it should be noted that GTC has been in this line of work for many years now. The company’s popular GlobalTrade Multi-bank Trade Finance Management Platform, used for payment instruments management by global corporations since 2004, is going to be integrated into the platform. Also, it is important to keep in mind that GTC is going to collaborate with some of the biggest names in the global business including, Baker Hughes, Siemens AG, and Lindner Group, and banking giants like HSBC, CA CIB, and Standard Chartered to build the TFX Platform.

The company has decided to go for this initiative since its clients have asked for such a platform, according to the Founder and Chairman of GTC Jacob Katsman. He went on to say that the kernel of the idea had been in place for many years, and it had been back in 2002 when a company had first come up with such a marketplace meant for trade finance instruments. Since then, many such marketplaces have emerged, but Katsman asserted that the TFX platform is going to be different. He said,

In recent years, several trade finance marketplaces emerged with a similar idea. The problem for corporates using these marketplaces is that they are stand alone and are not integrated with a trade finance management system. This is where the GTC solution will be different.

The involvement of Siemens AG in the whole project is certainly making a lot of sense because the company has worked extensively on the intricacies of RFQ (Request for Quotation). Gerhard Heubeck, Head of Trade Finance Advisory at Siemens AG, stated that the coming together of a range of companies is essential to the success of such a platform. It should be noted that three large banks and other companies are going to be participants in this project. Heubeck said, “At its core, of course, an RFQ platform must be driven by corporations with a large volume of transactions and should contribute to internal and external process optimizations, as well as provide a system-integrated audit trail.”

On the other hand, Head of Group Treasury at Lindner Group, Sven Matzelsberger, also spoke about the fact that a solution of this nature for the trade finance space had been in demand for quite some time. He went on to state that a platform of this nature is going to enhance transparency and also lead to far greater levels of efficiency in the business. Vinay Mendoca, MD & Global Head Product, Propositions & Structuring, Trade, and Receivables Finance at HSBC spoke about the project as well. He said,

We are firm believers in the simplification and digitisation of trade and anticipate that initiatives such as TFX will improve the transparency and efficiency of the trade finance eco system.

It is an ambitious project from GTC for sure, but it could have far-reaching ramifications in the years to come.

The right choice, when it comes to choosing the right trading platform, is highly crucial. A slightly wrong choice can have a tangential effect towards losses. Choosing a wrong trading platform, or a wrong broker can cost you your entire investment. So, the need for the right choice can’t be emphasized enough.

Luckily, we have GigaFX, which offers great stability, security, and feature-packed trading platform. This online broker was founded in 2018 and is based on the Dominic Republic. The company has made a big name in such a short period based on its thorough professionalism which offers its customers absolute clarity, transparent transactions, user-friendly deposits and withdrawals, speedy processes, high levels of security and so on. Based on the quality of the services, the company has made an impression on the global stage in the trading world.

With fantastic services offered in over sixty countries, the company, with its strong experience in the trading field offers great insights to its users. This platform suits both the beginner as well as the experienced alike. In this article, we will look at the features and the reasons why we are all praises about the trading platform.

The all-in-one platform-

Giga FX is truly an all-in-one platform given the number of excellent services it offers. In this section of the article, let us look at its features-

• Trading instruments- GigaFX boasts of offering more than 2k financial trading instruments. This gives the users immense freedom to explore trading and have a versatile trading portfolio. Here, at this platform, you can purchase CFDs (Contracts for Difference) for a good range of assets.
• Currencies supported- As of now, the platform supports only two currencies, namely- Euro and Pound. It doesn’t mean you can’t use other currencies. You absolutely can use any currency, but it will be converted into either of the two mentioned currencies and therefore, with a little conversation charge, you can use any currency for the trading purposes.
• Natural Resources- Yes, you can choose to trade in these categories- gold, silver, oil, natural gas, and so on. Given they are not too volatile markets, therefore, the user can get good levels of leverage, and make use of versatile spreads and prices. The user also gets the freedom to choose the trading platform of his or her choice.
• Stocks- Trading in stocks market with Giga FX is like having your best friend with you all the time. The platform is a highly-responsive one that offers you its service on a 24/7 basis. Moreover, Giga FX offers a great variety of stocks to choose from, with competitive rates, and favorable trading positions that make it a highly profitable platform.
• Forex- The user enjoys a great variety of trading pairs at GigaFX. In addition, with quick executions and high leverage, forex marketing becomes very efficient. In order to support its users, the platform offers educational tools as well as analysis tools for supporting them as they grow.
• Cryptocurrency- GigaFX offers all that a crypto trader ever dreams of. It offers services such as an exhaustive variety of cryptocurrencies, which includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and so on. Further, it offers a secure, crypto wallet to trade these cryptos easily. The users can enjoy high leverage, amazingly competitive rates, and overall a tight security that can be relied upon easily. Cryptocurrency trading is in high demand, and therefore, the platform has left no stone unturned to bring the best services to its users.
• Indices- Here at GigaFX, the user gets access to the trending indices, with a backing of great index tools and high leverage. These services are available during the day time.

This was a little glimpse of the main services offered by the platform. Other services include Cannabis Stocks, eBooks, Video-based learning tools, in-depth educational tools, latest market news, detailed market analysis, and so on. Our say is simply that when you come across such a platform, you should not miss it at any cost. Just remember to stay wise, vigilant, and aware when it comes to trading.

For some traders understanding the CFDs’ trading charges is difficult as they vary according to the type of broker chosen and the market conditions. You can get CFDs for any financial asset; this offers a lot of variation to its traders.

While trading in CFDs, there are three ways how you are charged. First is ‘spread’ which is a difference between the ‘ask’ and ‘bid’ price. Spreads are not large, but when you are choosing a broker, you should pay attention to their spreads. Some brokers will claim to have no commission fee, but then they will have a wider spread to compensate. As a trader, it is important that you compare before deciding where to start your trading from. Some brokers use market made price with the spreads while there are other brokers, who will charge spreads according to the market movements.

Second is the commission charge, which may be about 0.1% of the value of the particular asset when you move in and out of the position. Some brokers even charge as high as 0.25% but even then trading in CFDs have lower commission then trading in actual stocks.

Additionally, all CFDs have overnight charges whenever a position is being held overnight. This interest rate is decided in advance. The charges vary with different assets, so make sure what interest rates your broker is charging for CFD trading. The charges are triggered when a trader passes the daily cut-off time. If a trader closes his positions before that time, no charges are levied to him.

One of the benefits of trading CFDs is that it doesn’t entitle the rights to the shareholders, but they get to enjoy the benefit when a share pays a dividend.  Thus most of the Brokers make a dividend adjustment to the traders’ account. It is a good thing for the traders who holds a long position on the underlying asset but for those taking a short position; this can be bad news as the account will be adjusted downwards.

Another cost that you will have is a charge for the trading platform, and this depends on the type of broker you are working with. This fee is normally monthly payments. Some brokers waive off this fees if you sustain a certain level of activity on your account.

Lastly, there can be ongoing costs of holding CFDs. CFDs value are updated in your account, and if the position is losing, the margin will be deducted from the balance in your account. If the position keeps on losing, you will get a margin call telling you to put money in your account on an urgent basis. The opposite is also true. If your position is making a profit, your account will be credited with the margin.

AAATrade.com, one of the established European based firms, offers an exhaustive list of CFDs products to trade with. The firm has a different account for the traders of different level. Spreads based account are for the beginners and Commission based accounts are best suitable for experienced traders.

Stock markets across the world showed a mixed response, while the Asian shares fell due to fears of a global slowdown due to weak economic data from Germany and South Korea. The oil prices also reduced slightly after it hit a 7 month high earlier this week. The Wall Street stocks rallied as the earnings reports from major tech companies rolled in.

In the market:

Stocks

The Asia Pacific shares broadest index, MSCI fell by 0.5% as the South Korean economic data showed the economy had reduced in the first quarter fueling worries of a slowdown.

The Wall Street swung and ended lower as many companies reported their earnings with some missing the estimates and other like Microsoft posting a surprise profit. It reached the $1 trillion value for the first time predominantly due to its cloud computing. Facebook also beat the estimates for the first quarter. Investors are waiting for other companies to report to know if the stocks will rally.

The Nikkei ended the day with a rise of 0.5%. The Bank of Japan announced that it was in discussion to introduce a facility to expand its monetary policies by lending the traded funds. The announcement did not help the Nikkei as there was no consensus among the traders about what the move meant was it to improve cash or liquidity of the stock market. Leading strategist at Mitsubishi said ‘This is one technical move I would assume aimed at lack of liquidity in the stock market. I wouldn’t consider it as a monetary policy’.

Currency

The yen ended a little higher as the Bank of Japan decided to reduce the interest rates to as low as possible until 2020. The dollar index against six major currencies was at 98.189 and was down by 0.15%. The euro was steady at $1.1157 and the pound was at $1.291 hitting a two-month low. The Canadian dollar was also reaching a 4 month low and was at C$1.3488 for a dollar as the Bank of Canada reduced the growth forecast.

Commodities

The Brent Crude futures were at $74.75 for a barrel a rise of .25% and the WTI crude futures remained at $65.93 for a barrel. The oil prices which reached a 6 month high earlier this week continues to remain in that range as there were reports that the US will stop waiver to all countries importing oil from Iran. Moreover, the OPEC has already cut supplies which have added to the price rise.