From Hunters to Hunted
Irish trading broker AvaTrade has reached a preliminary agreement with a group of investors for a capital injection into the company.
Reports from Israel suggest a local businessman is set to acquire about 50 per cent of the firm in a deal that would value it at roughly half a billion dollars.
Read more: AvaTrade Nears Capital Injection and Partial Sale Deal
When that is placed in the context of eToro’s $4.2 billion IPO valuation, J. Safra Sarasin Group paying €1.1 billion (approximately $1.2 billion) for a 70 per cent stake in Saxo Bank in March, and Plus500’s market cap of about $3.1 billion, it looks like decent value, especially if the new owners are able to capitalise on rising valuations in the retail trading space with a public offering.
iForex is another CFDs brand that is mulling a London IPO, but its efforts have been halted due to a compliance review by the BVI regulator.
The growth potential of the Middle East is another motivating factor behind the deal – just this week, AvaTrade’s CEO referred to its ‘growing base of investors across the GCC’.
There is also a sense that the firm has considerable room for growth in its CFD business and already has a robust platform that compares very favourably with those of its main competitors.
This and other recent acquisitions in the sector (CVC Asia Fund IV agreed to sell OANDA to FTMO in February, which industry insiders said was for a modest price by sector standards, while wealth manager Capital Group acquired just over 5 per cent of Plus500 earlier this month) also reflect the broader direction of M&A. The acquisition of OANDA by FTMO, however, is yet to be closed.
PwC’s mid-year outlook notes that deal values are 15 per cent higher in the first half of 2025 than in the same period last year. Companies with strong cash flow and sound prospects across all territories and sectors are still being bought and sold, especially those that are not exposed to trade tariffs.
Big deals are very much in vogue, with the number of transactions worth more than $1 billion up 19 per cent on the first six months of 2024, while those above $5 billion are up 16 per cent.
Gearing Up for Trouble
A sharp rise in margin debt on US brokerage accounts points to a growing willingness among retail investors to engage in riskier trades.
No one likes to be told that their stocks are leveraged to dangerous levels. Fortunately, the team at Leverage Trading has taken the flak by naming the seven most over-leveraged stocks in the market, using public indicators such as options-activity spikes, margin exposure, retail-ownership trends and volatility.
NYSE margin debt is starting to show a shift in trend after reaching extreme levels.
It’s not exactly a “sell” signal, but it’s interesting to watch as traders and investors begin to deleverage their positions. pic.twitter.com/QzcGmU87kk
— Guilherme Tavares (@i3_invest) June 10, 2025
Top of the pile is AMC Entertainment Holdings, owing to falling sales and a weak balance sheet, closely followed by GameStop, another meme-stock darling struggling with weak sales.
MicroStrategy Incorporated’s large punt on Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset leaves it vulnerable to the recent swings in cryptocurrency values, although Carvana is perhaps a surprising entry at number four, given its share price rose by more than 60 per cent in the first five months of the year.
Tesla comes next (and the reasons why that stock might be best avoided have been covered at length here and elsewhere), ahead of Coinbase, which shares some of the same risk factors as MicroStrategy Incorporated.
Read more: US Forex Deposits Crash 7% as Dollar Hits 3-Year Low
Even so, the crypto exchange received a lift this month by securing a Markets in Crypto-Assets licence – allowing it to offer crypto trading, custody, staking and payment services across the EU from a base in Luxembourg – and by the US Senate passing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act.
The last of the less-than-magnificent seven is Beyond Meat (BYND), and this one is hard to argue with. IG’s chief market analyst calls the Beyond Meat story an example of how emotional investing can lead to poor decision-making.
China Looks to Capitalise on Investor Interest
It has been an eventful few weeks for China’s capital market. One of the most notable developments has been the proposal to allow companies listed in Hong Kong to issue yuan-denominated A shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Separately, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced that it will open on-exchange ETF options trading to foreign investors from October for hedging purposes, expanding the range of assets available to qualified foreign investors and encouraging greater commitment to China’s A-share market.
You may also like: MetaTrader Blocked in China? Users Unable to See FX/CFD Broker Servers
Foreign investor access to domestic commodity futures, commodity options and ETF options has already been eased this year.
Meanwhile, the STAR Market has removed its prohibition on listings by unprofitable companies. It has also created a new category for science and technology firms and changed the refinancing and strategic investor rules, although the market will remain off-limits to retail investors.
One analyst recently suggested foreign investors have an increasingly positive view of China’s capital market, pointing to a higher willingness to allocate funds and stronger conviction in technology companies.
In a meeting with Morgan Stanley co-president Dan Simkowitz in Beijing at the end of last month, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng said an inflow of long-term capital from the US would aid the development of China’s capital market.
With US stocks nearing all-time highs and speculation surging, many have overlooked Chinese equities, despite their continued strong outperformance.
YTD ➡️ 25% 12 month ➡️ 40%$FXI vs. $SPX $NDX pic.twitter.com/qxxAeLAewP
— Greg Rieben (@gregrieben) June 24, 2025
The head of China’s securities regulator has also been talking up the appeal of Chinese assets during a period of considerable geopolitical tension, arguing that the US government’s tariff policy will drive long-term capital into the stock market.
At last week’s annual Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, several speakers highlighted the part the capital market plays in supporting economic growth in China and said it still has plenty of room to expand.
“We need to ensure stable market operation while advancing market functions,” said Qiu Yong, chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. “We also need to support listed firms in making full use of available monetary policy tools in the capital market.”
The CSRC has said it is committed to reform and liberalisation so that the market can ‘become an important platform for more foreign capital to invest and thrive’.
From Hunters to Hunted
Irish trading broker AvaTrade has reached a preliminary agreement with a group of investors for a capital injection into the company.
Reports from Israel suggest a local businessman is set to acquire about 50 per cent of the firm in a deal that would value it at roughly half a billion dollars.
Read more: AvaTrade Nears Capital Injection and Partial Sale Deal
When that is placed in the context of eToro’s $4.2 billion IPO valuation, J. Safra Sarasin Group paying €1.1 billion (approximately $1.2 billion) for a 70 per cent stake in Saxo Bank in March, and Plus500’s market cap of about $3.1 billion, it looks like decent value, especially if the new owners are able to capitalise on rising valuations in the retail trading space with a public offering.
iForex is another CFDs brand that is mulling a London IPO, but its efforts have been halted due to a compliance review by the BVI regulator.
The growth potential of the Middle East is another motivating factor behind the deal – just this week, AvaTrade’s CEO referred to its ‘growing base of investors across the GCC’.
There is also a sense that the firm has considerable room for growth in its CFD business and already has a robust platform that compares very favourably with those of its main competitors.
This and other recent acquisitions in the sector (CVC Asia Fund IV agreed to sell OANDA to FTMO in February, which industry insiders said was for a modest price by sector standards, while wealth manager Capital Group acquired just over 5 per cent of Plus500 earlier this month) also reflect the broader direction of M&A. The acquisition of OANDA by FTMO, however, is yet to be closed.
PwC’s mid-year outlook notes that deal values are 15 per cent higher in the first half of 2025 than in the same period last year. Companies with strong cash flow and sound prospects across all territories and sectors are still being bought and sold, especially those that are not exposed to trade tariffs.
Big deals are very much in vogue, with the number of transactions worth more than $1 billion up 19 per cent on the first six months of 2024, while those above $5 billion are up 16 per cent.
Gearing Up for Trouble
A sharp rise in margin debt on US brokerage accounts points to a growing willingness among retail investors to engage in riskier trades.
No one likes to be told that their stocks are leveraged to dangerous levels. Fortunately, the team at Leverage Trading has taken the flak by naming the seven most over-leveraged stocks in the market, using public indicators such as options-activity spikes, margin exposure, retail-ownership trends and volatility.
NYSE margin debt is starting to show a shift in trend after reaching extreme levels.
It’s not exactly a “sell” signal, but it’s interesting to watch as traders and investors begin to deleverage their positions. pic.twitter.com/QzcGmU87kk
— Guilherme Tavares (@i3_invest) June 10, 2025
Top of the pile is AMC Entertainment Holdings, owing to falling sales and a weak balance sheet, closely followed by GameStop, another meme-stock darling struggling with weak sales.
MicroStrategy Incorporated’s large punt on Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset leaves it vulnerable to the recent swings in cryptocurrency values, although Carvana is perhaps a surprising entry at number four, given its share price rose by more than 60 per cent in the first five months of the year.
Tesla comes next (and the reasons why that stock might be best avoided have been covered at length here and elsewhere), ahead of Coinbase, which shares some of the same risk factors as MicroStrategy Incorporated.
Read more: US Forex Deposits Crash 7% as Dollar Hits 3-Year Low
Even so, the crypto exchange received a lift this month by securing a Markets in Crypto-Assets licence – allowing it to offer crypto trading, custody, staking and payment services across the EU from a base in Luxembourg – and by the US Senate passing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act.
The last of the less-than-magnificent seven is Beyond Meat (BYND), and this one is hard to argue with. IG’s chief market analyst calls the Beyond Meat story an example of how emotional investing can lead to poor decision-making.
China Looks to Capitalise on Investor Interest
It has been an eventful few weeks for China’s capital market. One of the most notable developments has been the proposal to allow companies listed in Hong Kong to issue yuan-denominated A shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Separately, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced that it will open on-exchange ETF options trading to foreign investors from October for hedging purposes, expanding the range of assets available to qualified foreign investors and encouraging greater commitment to China’s A-share market.
You may also like: MetaTrader Blocked in China? Users Unable to See FX/CFD Broker Servers
Foreign investor access to domestic commodity futures, commodity options and ETF options has already been eased this year.
Meanwhile, the STAR Market has removed its prohibition on listings by unprofitable companies. It has also created a new category for science and technology firms and changed the refinancing and strategic investor rules, although the market will remain off-limits to retail investors.
One analyst recently suggested foreign investors have an increasingly positive view of China’s capital market, pointing to a higher willingness to allocate funds and stronger conviction in technology companies.
In a meeting with Morgan Stanley co-president Dan Simkowitz in Beijing at the end of last month, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng said an inflow of long-term capital from the US would aid the development of China’s capital market.
With US stocks nearing all-time highs and speculation surging, many have overlooked Chinese equities, despite their continued strong outperformance.
YTD ➡️ 25% 12 month ➡️ 40%$FXI vs. $SPX $NDX pic.twitter.com/qxxAeLAewP
— Greg Rieben (@gregrieben) June 24, 2025
The head of China’s securities regulator has also been talking up the appeal of Chinese assets during a period of considerable geopolitical tension, arguing that the US government’s tariff policy will drive long-term capital into the stock market.
At last week’s annual Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, several speakers highlighted the part the capital market plays in supporting economic growth in China and said it still has plenty of room to expand.
“We need to ensure stable market operation while advancing market functions,” said Qiu Yong, chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. “We also need to support listed firms in making full use of available monetary policy tools in the capital market.”
The CSRC has said it is committed to reform and liberalisation so that the market can ‘become an important platform for more foreign capital to invest and thrive’.
