e-Forex talks with Michelle Neal, Global Head of electronic markets at The Royal Bank of Scotland about the consolidation of the banks' electronic platforms and the continuing development of its best of breed FX e-commerce solutions and e-trading tools.

With the passing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) in December 2000, the Commodities and Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) became officially responsible for regulating the retail FX market, thereby legitimizing the existence of the burgeoning retail market. Today, the retail FX market is booming with strong adoption across all major financial centers.

Mark Biezup, FX product Manager - SunGard Sierra, outlines why recent and projected regulatory changes along with a focus on risk management will have significant implications for FX brokers.

What will be the next wave of FX algorithms? Nicholas Pratt charts the development efforts of the leading algo providers to examine how execution strategies in FX can be taken to another level.

Increasing numbers of banks, asset managers, pension funds, hedge funds, and corporates are looking to ramp up their use of currency derivatives, both for hedging purposes as well as a component of their fund and investment management strategies. Although great strides have been made in automating much of the processing and workflow associated with Over The Counter derivatives, much still remains to be done, particularly with regard to cost savings and risk management.

Faced with a need for more effective risk management of their Retail FX customer positions, banks and brokerage firms in the FX space are being challenged by ballooning small ticket items, varying customer credit limits, risk mitigation issues as well strains on their back office processing capabilities. Roger Aitken talks to leading industry players to explore the key issues involved.

Service, innovation and security are the three key areas for winning the hearts and minds of retail traders. But what do these smaller traders really want from their platform providers? Heather McLean sets out to explore what brokers are doing to improve the FX experience for the armies of retail traders spilling out of the woodwork across the globe.

360^o Consulting is a consultancy based in Limassol, Cyprus (EU), which provides a variety of consulting services to the Retail Forex / CFD /Commodity investment services sector. Costas Constantinides, Director and Chief Consultant of the firm, highlights some of the key areas where the consultancy is assisting Retail FX market participants to develop their establishments and improve their business practices.

The global financial crisis has revived the discussion on a financial transaction tax as a means of discouraging international currency speculation, help shrink 'a swollen financial sector' and perhaps simply to raise funds as an international (or national) source of revenue.