XM, a globally renowned broker with over 15 million clients worldwide, has officially obtained a category 5 license from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) of the United Arab Emirates, marking another key milestone in its continued global expansion. The approval by the SCA reflects XM’s dedication to operating under robust regulatory standards while continuing to provide a secure, transparent and client-first trading environment. “The UAE has established itself as a world-class financial hub, and receiving authorization from the SCA underscores our commitment to long-term growth and trust in the region,” said Menelaos Menelaou, co-Chief Executive Officer, XM. “We are proud to now offer UAE clients the same award-winning services and high standards of transparency that define XM globally.”The new license strengthens XM’s regional presence and enables the company to directly serve traders in Dubai and across the Emirates, bringing local clients closer to XM’s established global ecosystem of products, educational resources and support. The new authorization allows XM to offer its full range of trading services and trusted products across the UAE through its new website, www.xm.ae. The site is currently available in Arabic and English. Clients who register with XM enjoy seamless onboarding and access to superior trading conditions, a wide range of products and trading tools, free education, and award-winning support.#SCALicenseXMAbout XMXM is an internationally established trading and investment firm, with over 15 million clients, from over 190 countries. Armed with multiple international licenses, XM offers competitive services for retail traders, investors, and affiliates. With over 15 years of serving clients, XM has proven to be fair, trustworthy, and dependable. Traders can access over 1,400 instruments on more than 10 platforms, including the XM App. The award-winning broker is known for its wide range of products, excellent support, and outstanding live education. Risk Warning: Our services involve significant risks and may result in the loss of your invested capital. T&Cs apply. This article was written by IL Contributors at investinglive.com.

FTMO (https://ftmo.com/en/faq/), a global leader in modern prop trading, has completed the acquisition of OANDA Global Corporation (“OANDA”), one of the world's leading online trading groups. The transaction has been in process since the beginning of this year, when FTMO signed a purchase agreement with the previous owner, CVC Asia Fund IV (“CVC”), subject to customary regulatory approvals. In November, FTMO secured the last necessary regulatory approval, and on December 1, successfully finalized the deal. According to FTMO founders Otakar Šuffner and Marek Vašíček, this marks a key milestone in their journey to build a global trading powerhouse covering modern prop trading, brokerage and other relevant services.OANDA is a leading global digital platform for active traders, offering multi-asset trading, currency data, and analytics to retail and corporate clients. Since its founding in 1996, OANDA has established regulated entities and leadership teams in many of the world's most active financial markets, including New York, Toronto, London, Warsaw, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney. The group had been owned by the investment fund CVC since 2018. For FTMO, a leading technology company focused on education and proprietary trading support, this represents another in a series of successful strategic acquisitions.The successful closing of the transaction was subject to securing approvals from a total of five regulators, a comprehensive process that took approximately eight months. FTMO obtained the final necessary approval in November, and on December 1, FTMO successfully closed the acquisition. The parties do not disclose the value of the transaction. FTMO plans to maintain the OANDA group as a fully standalone business.“We will continue to focus on our core business – a modern prop trading platform where we rank among the leaders. The long-term plan is to build a trading powerhouse, which will service traders on all levels – modern prop trading, brokerage with the relevant tools. OANDA, a broker with licenses in eight key markets across the world, is the perfect fit to this vision,” explains Otakar Šuffner, co-founder and CEO of FTMO, regarding the motivation behind the acquisition.“We are excited to work with OANDA’s team, given their impressive track record in complex regulated markets, strong approach to risk management and customer-centric philosophy. We believe that our connection will be beneficial for the whole market including our customers. Together, we form a unique group of companies with extensive expertise that has not existed on the market up until now,” adds Marek Vašíček, fellow co-founder and CTO of FTMO.Gavin Bambury, CEO of OANDA, commented: “Today, we mark a pivotal moment as OANDA officially joins the FTMO ecosystem. OANDA’s strength has always been rooted in our commitment to operating as a client-focused, trusted, regulated global group. This acquisition enables us to significantly accelerate our growth, and to deliver even more innovative, integrated and smarter trading experiences for our clients.”In connection with the transaction, Milbank LLP (Hong Kong) acted as its legal advisor to CVC, while Nomura and Santander served as its joint financial advisors. FTMO retained J.P. Morgan as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP as legal advisors.About FTMO | press kitFTMO is a leading global provider of educational and training services, offering its clients the opportunity to test and develop their trading skills and risk management. FTMO delivers its services in more than 140 countries worldwide. Since its founding in 2015, the company has won the Deloitte Fast 50 award for the fastest-growing tech companies in Central Europe five times. Its founders were named EY Technology Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022 in the Czech Republic and have received several other awards as well.About OANDA | factsheetFounded in 1996, OANDA is one of the world's leading online trading groups, offering multi-asset trading, currency data, and analytics to retail and corporate clients around the globe. From its roots providing free exchange rate data on the Internet to launching a FX trading platform that helped pioneer web-based currency trading, OANDA remains dedicated to building smarter trading experiences.With regulated entities in many of the world's most active financial markets, including New York, Toronto, London, Warsaw, Singapore, Tokyo, the British Virgin Islands and Sydney, OANDA enables retail clients to trade in a variety of asset classes on an award-winning trading platform. Depending on geographical location, these may include derivatives of FX, equity indices, shares, commodities, treasuries, precious metals, and digital currencies.About CVC CVC is a leading global private markets manager with a network of 30 office locations throughout EMEA, the Americas, and Asia, with approximately €200 billion of assets under management. CVC has seven complementary strategies across private equity, secondaries, credit and infrastructure, for which CVC funds have secured commitments of approximately €243 billion from some of the world’s leading pension funds and other institutional investors. Funds managed or advised by CVC’s private equity strategy are invested in approximately 150+ companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of over €165 billion and employ over 600,000 people.CVC has one of the largest and longest-established pan-regional office networks of any private equity business in Asia and has been active in the region since 1999. CVC’s Asia private equity strategy is focused on control, co- control and structured minority investments in high quality businesses in core consumer and services sectors across Asia. Typical enterprise values are between $250 million and $1.5 billion. This article was written by IL Contributors at investinglive.com.

In the European session, the main highlight is the Eurozone Flash CPI. The headline CPI Y/Y is expected at 2.1% vs 2.1% prior, while the Core CPI Y/Y is seen at 2.4% vs 2.4% prior. The data won't change anything for the ECB at this point as they are just monitoring the economic developments. In the American session, we don't have anything on the agenda other than a couple of central bank speakers. This week is more of a placeholder as we await the FOMC decision next week and then the NFP and CPI reports. Central bank speakers:13:00 GMT/08:00 ET - ECB's Dolenc (neutral - voter)15:30 GMT/10:30 ET - BoE's Dhingra (dove - voter)22:00 GMT/17:00 ET - RBA Governor Bullock (neutral - voter) This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.

German DAX futures +0.1%UK FTSE futures -0.1%This follows the more sluggish showing yesterday, with Wall Street also having posted modest declines although tech shares did bounce back decently in US trading. Still, it all points to a more cautious start to the new month as we slowly get into the final stretch of the year. This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

The ECB should keep powder dry and be able to react if neededThis is what we've been hearing from ECB members over and over again. They won't respond to small or short-term deviations from their 2% target. This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.

Prior +0.3%; revised to +0.2%UK house prices continue to pick up on a monthly basis, with the average house price now seen at £272,998. On an annual basis though, prices are softening slightly to 1.8% year-on-year but overall conditions remain fairly steady in the housing market. Nationwide notes that:“November saw a slight softening in the rate of annual house price growth to 1.8%, from 2.4% in October. However, prices increased by 0.3% month on month, after taking account of seasonal effects. “The housing market has remained fairly stable in recent months, with house prices rising at a modest pace and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase maintained at similar levels to those prevailing before the pandemic. “Against a backdrop of subdued consumer confidence and signs of weakening in the labour market, this performance indicates resilience, especially since mortgage rates are more than double the level they were before Covid struck and house prices are close to all-time highs. This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

There are just a couple to take note of on the day, as highlighted in bold below.They are for USD/JPY at the 155.00 and 156.00 levels. So, that sort of puts a pairs of bookends on price action. But amid the rebound today after the daily close held above 155.00 yesterday, buyers are hoping to try and reclaim back some near-term control. The 156.00 level will be of interest with the 100-hour moving average now sitting nearby at 156.01 before the 200-hour moving average at 156.42. As such, the expiries above adds another layer that needs to be chewed through on any further upside extension in the session ahead.For more information on how to use this data, you may refer to this post here.Head on over to investingLive (formerly ForexLive) to get in on the know! This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

Prior 35.8The trend (as seen below) continues to show improvement in consumer sentiment, which is a positive takeaway for the BOJ. The detailed breakdown shows that:Overall livelihood: 36.2 (up 1.9 from the previous month) Income growth: 41.0 (up 1.0 from the previous month) Employment: 41.7 (up 1.6 from the previous month) Willingness to buy durable goods: 30.9 (up 2.0 from the previous month) This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

The more hawkish rhetoric put out by BOJ governor, Kazuo Ueda, helped to give the Japanese yen a bit of a lift to start the week/month. The pair briefly fell below the 155.00 level overnight before buyers stepped in to keep a daily close above the figure level. Before yesterday, market players seem convinced that the BOJ would not hike rates again in December. But following Ueda's remarks, there is now a wildcard possibility of a rate hike being on the table later this month.The market odds are showing ~35% probability of a rate hike priced in currently. So, we're definitely caught somewhere in between having been sure that the BOJ won't move in December to now coming around to the idea that they possibly might. That will keep the yen in a more interesting spot over the next few weeks as traders look to decipher what the BOJ might end up doing.As for USD/JPY currently, sellers continue to hold near-term control at the very least. Price action continues to rest below the key hourly moving averages, reaffirming a more bearish near-term bias. However, the failure to secure a daily close below 155.00 means that buyers are still very much in the game.The debate is basically now about striking a balance between the next BOJ rate hike and the government's fiscal plans, with Takaichi unleashing big stimulus as being the fiscal dove she is.I would argue that the central bank might not have much left in the tank apart from one more rate hike, be it in December or just before March next year. In other words, there might be just one more hawkish repricing at best before traders settle into the idea that there will not be any more rate hikes in 2026 after.In that lieu, downside risks to USD/JPY might be more capped so long as the dollar side of the equation holds. The Fed outlook is going to be key in that regard but all else being equal, I would argue that USD/JPY looks more poised for a test of 160.00 again next rather than a push back towards 150.00 going into the year ahead.For the time being though, sellers will at least have something to work with before we get to the BOJ policy decision on 19 December. So, expect BOJ communication in the coming two weeks to be a key driver of trading sentiment in the run up to the main event. This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

Australian posts largest current account deficit since 2016Australian October building approvals -6.4% vs +4.5% expectedUK BRC shop price index +0.6% y/y vs 1.0% priorNew Zealand Q3 terms of trade Q/Q -2.1% vs +0.5% expectedUS to lower tariffs on South Korean autos to 15% effective Nov 1RBNZ Gov Breman: Key focus is to stay laser focused on core mandateFed's Powell doesn't comment on the economy in prepared remarksMarkets:Gold down $16 to $4216US 10-year yields down 0.8 bps to 4.088%WTI crude up 11 cents to $59.43Nikkei up 0.2%S&P 500 futures flatAUD leads, JPY lagsThere was some ebb and flow in Asian trading on Tuesday as USD/JPY perked up to 155.77 at the highs before giving some back. The commentary out of Japan's MOF highlighted that the BOJ will be setting monetary policy, which was a pushback on intervention chatter.In terms of economic data, the Australian dollar added some downside risks to tomorrow's GDP number but that didn't hurt AUD, which is slightly stronger so far.Gold was volatile as the failure at new highs in US trading led to a round of profit taking in Asia. Bids at $4200 held the line though and we've bounced $20. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

It's bee a lively start to the month for gold.It rose as high as $4262 in US trading on Monday and that was the best level since the Oct 21 rout. It also looked like it could be a break above the mid-November interim high and on the way to a retest of the October record highs.But the party didn't last long for the gold bugs as it was quickly sucked back to finish about flat. Asia took the cue from the lack of a breakout and that led to a quick round of selling. The low was $4200 in a sign that buyers were willing to buy at the figure. When it couldn't break, we got a bounce to $4221, which is where we currently stand.Overall, I would say the picture is constructive but the potential for a double top here is a risk. Also notable is that the seasonals run hot through January. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Powell was scheduled to speak in an hour but the comments are out and they're not about monetary policy or the economy....as you were. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Prior was +12.0%Private house approvals -2.1% vs +4.0% priorApprovals y/y +5.6% vs +12.4% priorThe yearly number offers a bit more of a true view as the monthly numbers (as shown) are really bouncing around. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Prior was -13.7B (revised to -16.15B)Net exports contribution -0.% vs -0.1% expectedGoods and Services Balance: +$2.49bn vs +$2.78bn priorNet Primary Income: -$18.69bn vs -$18.99bn prior.Terms of Trade: +0.3% q/q.This is the worst reading since 2016. The ABS notes that the fall was led by the net secondary income deficit widening, though this was partially cushioned by an improvement in net primary income.For traders eyeing tomorrow's Q3 GDP print, the key takeaway here is the net export contribution. The balance on goods and services is expected to detract 0.1 percentage points from the headline growth figure. It’s not a massive drag, but it's a headwind nonetheless for the Australian economy. The consensus tomorrow is +0.7% q/q and +2.2% y/y. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

American Black Friday sales numbers were released from the usual suspects earlier on Monday.Mastercard SpendingPulse estimated that Black Friday retail sales ex-autos were +4.1% y/y, accelerating from the prior year's +3.4% y/y growth.Adobe sees sales through Cyber Monday up 6.3% on a year-over-year basisSalesforce said Canadian online sales for the weekend were up 9% y/y, highlighting continued Canadian consumer spending strength this year (something that bucks worries about tariffs/Trump)For the USA, average selling prices were up 7% y/y, while order volumes were down 1% y/y.Overall, the consumer looks fairly healthy and it won't hurt to get another rate cut this month. Pricing is at 85% for a cut on Dec 10. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Major US stock indices snap their 5-day win streakRBNZ Gov Breman: Key focus is to stay laser focused on core mandateCrude oil futures settle at $59.32ECB's Kocher: ECB should keep enough powder dry to be able to react quickly if necessaryWhite House: Trump to hold meeting with National Security Team on VenezualaCostco reportedly joins group of companies that will sue if Trump tariffs are struck downBitcoin is down -$5333 or -5.91% at $85,024. Strategy (MSTR) is a headwind.European indices closed mostly lower. German DAX falls over 1%Atlanta Fed GDPNow growth estimate for Q3 unchanged at 3.9%November US ISM manufacturing index 48.2 vs 49.0 expectedUS S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for November Final 52.2 vs 51.9 last monthUSTR confirms reports that there is an agreement on pharma pricing between US/UKCanada S&P Global manufacturing PMI 48.4 versus 49.6 last monthThe USD is lower to kickstart the day, new week and new month in the NA sessioninvestingLive European markets wrap: Yen gains further, risk sentiment on the rocksMarkets:S&P -0.53% Nasdaq -0.38%. First decline after 5 days higher2 year yield 3.534% +4.3 basis points10 year yield 4.088% +6.9 basis pointsOil up $1 at $59.55Gold up $12.50 at $4231.25SIlver up $1.58 at $57.95The S&P Global PMI came in a bit higher than expectations at 52.2 vs 51.9 last month, but the more followed ISM manufacturing index stayed below the 50 level for the 10th month in a row and was also lower than expectations at 48.2 vs 49.0 Some common themes from the respondents:Tariffs are the dominant drag, raising costs, reducing demand, shrinking margins, and forcing firms to rethink sourcing, staffing, and investment plans.Economic and policy uncertainty is high, with companies citing government shutdown effects, inconsistent messaging from Washington, and volatile market conditions.Supply chain challenges persist, including longer lead times, transit delays, reduced supplier availability, and logistical complications in international trade.Demand remains soft, with customers ordering cautiously, avoiding inventory builds, and showing limited confidence in future conditions.Companies are restructuring, including staff reductions, divestitures, offshore manufacturing development, and tighter purchasing strategies.Pricing pressures are volatile, driven by tariffs and unstable markets, forcing firms to adjust sourcing and pricing models.Forecasting is difficult, with unpredictable trade conditions and unreliable data (including agricultural data disruptions and early-stage/poor-quality AI information)The USDJPY is the big mover today as the BOJ's Ueda hinted of rate hikes to come. That helped push the USDJPY lower into the US session and below the 61.8% of the move up from the November low at 154.74. The low reached 154.65. However, as yields moved higher, so too did the USD. The pair moved up passed a swing level near 155.04 and though the 50% of the same November range at 155.34.The GBPUSD had a volatile up and down session with the price moving from a low near 1.3200 to a high of 1.3274 before moving all the way back down to 1.3207 toward the end of day.The EURUSD moved higher and above the 100 day MA at 1.1642, but could not sustain upside momentum above a swing area up to 1.1659. The price fell back down and closed back below the high from last week at 1.16126 (at 1.1608). This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

It is important for RBNZ to have a strong global networkIdeally would want less substantial swings in house prices over timeWill discuss being more transparent around how members voteNothing groundbreaking here but NZD is a tad lower to start the day. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Prior was +4.1%Export volumes +3.4% vs -3.7% priorImport prices +0.5% vs +1.0% expectedExport prices -1.6% vs +0.9% expectedThat's good news on import prices as it will keep the pressure off the RBNZ, which is expected to remain sidelined until next Sept, when the market begins to see a chance of rate hikes. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Happy Tuesday as we kick off Asia-Pacific trading. Eamonn is away today and tomorrow so I will be sitting in. I was in London last week at the Finance Magnates London Summit and met up with loads of traders and had a great time. I also got to hear about a few new products that I'm looking forward to checking out.Thankfully, today's Asia-Pacific calendar will let me ease into it. New Zealand terms of trader data for Q3 are due at 2145 GMT and expected to rise 0.5% with import and export prices both perking up.Then at 0030 GMT, the focus flips to Australia for October building approvals and Q3 current account data. Neither is likely to be a market mover.In terms of central bank speakers, we're getting some RBNZ talk crossing at the moment but there is little else coming up. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

The 3 major US stock indices are closing lower on the day. The declines were led by the Dow 30 with a decline of 0.89% with Merck, Amgen and McDonalds all posting declines between 2% and 3%.A snapshot of the closing levels shows:Dow industrial average -427.06 or -0.9% at 47289.36.S&P -36.44 points or -0.53% at 6812.65.. NASDAQ index -89.76 points or -0.38% at 23275.92The small-cap Russell 2000 index was the worst performer with a decline -31.30 point or -1.25% at 2469.12. Some big losers today includes:Moderna (MRNA): 24.18, down 1.80 (-6.92%)Shopify (SHOP): 149.25, down 9.39 (-5.92%)Grayscale Bitcoin (GBTC): 66.92, down 4.09 (-5.76%)Trump Media & Tech (DJT): 10.96, down 0.58 (-5.03%)Northrop Grumman (NOC): 545.66, down 24.28 (-4.26%)ARK Genomic Revolution (ARKG): 29.87, down 1.33 (-4.25%)Broadcom (AVGO): 386.08, down 16.88 (-4.19%)Robinhood (HOOD): 123.24, down 5.25 (-4.09%)RTX Corp (RTX): 168.08, down 6.83 (-3.90%)Block (XYZ): 64.38, down 2.42 (-3.62%)First Solar (FSLR): 263.57, down 9.35 (-3.43%)Lockheed Martin (LMT): 439.29, down 15.09 (-3.32%)Strategy (MSTR): 171.42, down 5.76 (-3.25%)Some winners today include:Nebius NV (NBIS): 100.15 | +5.28 | +5.57%Synopsys (SNPS): 438.32 | +20.31 | +4.86%Alibaba ADR (BABA): 164.27 | +6.97 | +4.43%Celsius (CELH): 42.63 | +1.69 | +4.12%DoorDash (DASH): 205.73 | +7.36 | +3.71%Whirlpool (WHR): 79.48 | +2.13 | +2.75%ASML ADR (ASML): 1,087.99 | +27.99 | +2.64%Tapestry (TPR): 112.10 | +2.82 | +2.58%Walt Disney (DIS): 106.77 | +2.30 | +2.20%Macy’s Inc (M): 22.83 | +0.47 | +2.10%Nike (NKE): 65.45 | +1.23 | +1.92%NVIDIA (NVDA): 180.00 | +3.00 | +1.69%Micron (MU): 240.46 | +3.98 | +1.68% This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.