Independent.ie The former chief executive of collapsed spread betting firm WorldSpreads, Conor Foley, presented what the London High Court described as "astonishing" pleas as he unsuccessfully battled an effort by the firm to secure the repayment of £309,000 (€390,000).

AIM-listed Worldspreads spectacularly imploded in 2012, after the firm revealed a €12m shortfall in its accounts. That put the assets of about 15,000 retail customers at risk.

It was placed in administration by the UK's Financial Services Authority.

The court heard that between 2008 and 2012, Mr Foley, who had founded and controlled 17pc of WorldSpreads, had "adopted the habit" of requesting employees of UK-registered WorldSpreads who worked in the accounts department to make payments to him or for his benefit.

There were 81 requests in total, the court heard, amounting to just over £540,000 (€682,000).

Mr Foley also made £231,000 in repayments to WorldSpreads. The company - which was originally founded in Dublin in 2000 - wanted him to pay back the remainder with interest.

The executive had contended that the money was due to him from WorldSpreads by way of remuneration or expenses, a claim that the court said was "simply unfounded".

The court was told by the judge that an amended defence put forward by his legal team seemed to display "considerable ingenuity" as to why Mr Foley shouldn't have to repay the money.

The judge said those arguments were "totally devoid of merit or common sense".

The judge hearing the case in London said that Mr Foley had put forward arguments that were "intellectually challenging" and "wildly improbable".

A number of arguments put forward by his counsel on his behalf during the trial were later abandoned.

The court also said that he had put forward pleas that were "frankly unreal", including a claim by Mr Foley that WorldSpreads had benefited from "unjust enrichment" through Mr Foley's employment as he had not been adequately remunerated. The court ruled in favour of WorldSpreads.

Mr Foley resigned from WordSpreads just days before financial irregularities emerged at the firm, but he insisted at the time that he had not known of those irregularities before he left the company and that his decision to step down had been "completely unrelated".

UK spread betting and CFD provider CMC Markets has announced upgrades to its iOS and Android mobile applications.

Enhancements include a new menu navigation, greater chart functionality, and a new design closer to that of CMC's desktop platform. 

The company has also introduced Morningstar Quantitative Equity Research Reports across the majority of CFD (contract for difference) and spread bet share offerings, as well as daily updates providing clients with access to the latest data and quantitative analysis.

CMC said that  some 75 per cent of its clients use the trader's mobile platform, with the firm achieving 1m mobile trades for the first time earlier this year in March, with further growth forecast. 

Cruddas, CEO and founder of CMC Markets, said: "Changes in social behaviour now dictate how most companies interact with customers. The number of clients choosing to use smartphones or tablets over desktop computers is one of the fastest changes I've seen in the industry. 

"This is why we're so committed to developing and supporting the most intuitive and advanced mobile apps we can." 

CMC Markets' co-head of product development Craig Inglis saidthat approximately 40 per cent of the company's total global business was transacted via mobile platforms and 20 per cent of clients trade exclusively through a mobile app. 

"When planning our latest upgrade, we spoke directly to active traders to ensure we focused on the right areas and identified how the general usability experience could be optimised," said Inglis. "We also learnt that there was a clear appetite for an expansion of our equity analysis and research offering which has led to the introduction of the Morningstar Quantitative Equity Research Reports on both our mobile apps and desktop platform. 

"Overall, the changes will give users a much more powerful and intuitive trading experience."

IG Group Holdings Plc (IGG), the U.K. spread-betting firm, is set to start operations in Geneva today, close to the private banks it hopes to win as customers.
The London-based company chose Geneva partly because many institutional customers it wants to do business with are located in the city, said Fouad Bajjali, chief executive officer of IG Bank SA, IG's Swiss-licensed banking unit. The company also plans to target independent asset managers, family offices and retail clients.
"Time will tell whether" Swiss private banks "will have to open up to new products, to new revenue streams, or not," Bajjali said. "Initial conversations are promising."
IG Group says it's the world's biggest provider of contracts for difference, financial instruments that allow clients to bet on future movements of a security without owning it. It's opening in Switzerland as foreign banks depart the Alpine nation amid increasing compliance burdens.
Bajjali said IG Bank is aiming to reach 13 million pounds ($21 million) to 16 million pounds in annual revenue over the next four to five years. IG Group posted 414 million pounds in revenue during its last fiscal year, ended May 31.
Individuals using IG's trading products should provide as much as 70 percent of the firm's revenue in Switzerland, with the rest coming from institutions, Bajjali said. IG Group already has about 2,000 customers in Switzerland who trade using the company's operations in other countries, he said.
"We are probably not expecting to open as many accounts here as we do in other European countries," Bajjali said. "But we do expect those accounts to be of higher value."
'Barbarically Competitive'
IG group also aims to win customers in Switzerland by charging less than its local competitors, which include Saxo Bank A/S, Swissquote Group Holding SA and Dukascopy Bank SA, Bajjali said.
"Our commission structures are very competitive for European rates already," Bajjali said. "So in Switzerland, we are barbarically competitive."
Last year, 10 foreign institutions ceased operations in the country, leaving about 120 remaining, according to the annual report of the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland released in May.

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 lagged all major European indices on Thursday, as concern that Britain and the United States will soon tighten monetary policy pulled down mining and energy stocks, as well as companies exposed to the UK property market.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in oil major BP and global mining company BHP Billiton were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, as oil and copper prices fell on expectations U.S. monetary policy will tighten at a time of sluggish demand from emerging markets.

Dollar-priced commodities have been hit by a surge in the U.S. currency, now at a four-year high against a basket of major currencies. Investors are positioning for the end of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programme next month, which some feel may pave the way for future interest rate hikes.

Shares in basic materials and energy companies knocked a combined 25 points off the FTSE 100, which was down 25.23 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,681.04 points at 1312 GMT.

"The FTSE's weighting is so tilted towards oil and mining that it skews the performance significantly," said Shai Heffetz, managing director of spreadbetting firm InterTrader. "The UK economy, however, is doing well, so I'd go for a discrete selection of stocks and sectors rather than the FTSE as a whole."

He cited British supermarkets as an example of a sector due for a recovery after its recent selloff, which has seen shares in market leader Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) halve in price over one year.

Britain's biggest sporting goods retailer, Sports Direct, is also betting that shares in Tesco, down 0.7 percent at 1312 GMT, will stop falling. The firm said on Thursday it has written a put option on a small stake in the embattled supermarket chain.

BOE RATE HIKE GETTING NEARER

The FTSE 100 slightly extended losses in the afternoon after Governor Mark Carney said the Bank of England was getting nearer to raising interest rates.

The comment hit shares in real estate companies such as Hammerson (Other OTC: HMSNF - news) and builder Persimmon (Other OTC: PSMMF - news) , which stand to lose if higher borrowing costs puncture demand for UK property.

Securequity sales trader Jawaid Afsar expected the FTSE to fall further before rebounding to hit a record high of 7,000 points by the end of 2014.

"Given that this is a traditionally weak period in equity markets, I would not want to chase this market higher and would be happy to buy in the low 6,600 points area," Afsar said. "However, I still favour a move to 7,000 by year-end," he said.

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes in Syria left Asian stock markets jaded on Wednesday, setting the stage for another soft session for European shares.

The dollar was kept in check after U.S. yields fell on geopolitical concerns and dovish statements by a Federal Reserve official.

Spreadbetters saw European equities starting lower, forecasting London's FTSE (.FTSE) to open down as much as 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) and France's CAX (.FCHI) down 0.2 percent each.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS initially fell to a four-month low after Wall Street's overnight slide, but managed to steady thanks to gains in Chinese shares.

The CSI300 (.CSI300) of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings climbed 0.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index (.SSEC) was up 0.8 percent.

Space and defense stocks surged, with the industries enjoying support on hopes they would benefit from deepening reforms in state firms and from more government investment in defence.

On the other hand, Tokyo's Nikkei (.N225) shed 0.3 percent and Australian shares (.AXJO) lost 1.1 percent.

The United States and its Arab allies bombed militant groups in Syria for the first time on Tuesday, opening a new front amid shifting Middle East alliances and sapping demand for risk.

"If geopolitical concerns deepen, you can't expect Japanese markets alone to survive. The market could fall up to 10-15 percent at most," said Akiko Miyazaki, director of stocks at Barclays in Tokyo.

The air strikes in Syria also garnered demand for safe-haven government debt and pushed U.S. Treasury yields lower, in turn helping arrest the dollar's recent bull run.

The dollar was down 0.3 percent at 108.58 yen JPY=, after going as low as 108.25 yen overnight.

The greenback has been on the back foot after scaling a six-year high of 109.46 on Friday, receiving an additional knock after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced concern about the economic impact from the currency's recent weakness.

The euro was little changed at $1.2851 EUR=, limping away from the 14-month low of $1.2816 hit Monday.

Fed officials could offer more catalysts for currency markets, after Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota said on Tuesday the central bank can keep stimulating the U.S. economy because inflation is posing little threat - comments the markets perceived as dovish.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester speaks later in the day.

"Fed officials will be in focus again today.. .if they do not give any hints that they are in a hurry to hike rates the dollar could lose more ground against the yen and present 109 as a ceiling," said Masafumi Yamamoto, market strategist for Praevidentia Strategy in Tokyo.

In commodities, Brent crude oil slid, with ample global supplies outweighing tensions in the Middle East for the moment. [O/R]

Brent LCOc1 was down 12 cents at $96.73 a barrel.

Gold clung to overnight gains on Wednesday as Asian shares retreated, but investors remained cautious amid a firmer dollar and upbeat U.S. manufacturing data that kept prices near their lowest since January. [GOL/]

Spot gold XAU= held steady at $1,223.40 an ounce.

Copper was stuck near three-year lows, weighed after miner Newmont raised its supply forecast and by signs of fragility in the global economy. [MET/L]

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 inched up 0.1 percent to $6,725.00 a tonne after slumping to the lowest in three months on Monday at $6,707.25 a tonne.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top shares fell on Tuesday, dragged down by healthcare shares as new U.S. tax rules dented the takeover appeal of companies such as Shire (SHP.L) and AstraZeneca (AZN.L).

Market sentiment was also depressed by surveys showing French business activity contracting again in September and Germany's manufacturing sector growing at its slowest pace since June 2013, casting a shadow over euro zone recovery prospects.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced new rules, effective immediately, which will reduce the tax benefits available to companies which strike tax "inversion" deals. Such deals allow firms to escape high U.S. taxes by reincorporating abroad.

Britain's more favourable tax regime has been a major factor fuelling U.S. takeover interest in London-listed companies, particularly in the healthcare sector.

"This is a big impact and certainly it will put a cap on a lot of M&A or takeover activity... If you look over the last few months a lot of what has been driving the FTSE has been this M&A activity," IG analyst Brenda Kelly said.

The FTSE 350 Healthcare sector index (.FTNMX4530) fell about 3 percent and has risen about 20 percent this year, outpacing all other sectors in the large-cap FTSE 350 index (.FTLC).

Drugmaker Shire, which is being acquired by AbbVie's (ABBV.N), tumbled 6.5 percent. AstraZeneca, which turned down a bid from Pfizer (PFE) this year, fell 5 percent and medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew Plc (SN.L), also tipped as a U.S. bid target, shed 3.8 percent.

The broader FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was down 99.16 points, or 1.5 percent, at 6,674.47 points by 1148 GMT (12:48 p.m. BST), extending its retreat from this month's 14-1/2 year high of 6,904.86.

Mid-cap sweetener maker Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) fell 16.3 percent after it said its annual profit would be hit by significant disruption to its supply chain and increased competition for its Splenda sucralose sweetener.

This marks the second high-profile profit warning in Britain this week, but analysts saw these as isolated events that had little broader market significance.

Supermarket retailer Tesco (TSCO.L) suffered its biggest one-day percentage drop since January 2012 on Monday -- down 11.6 percent -- as it cut its profit forecast for the third time in two months after finding a fault in its accounts.

"Tate with its sucralose market and Tesco with its accounting issues -- they are very, very stock specific and I don't think there's necessarily a big read-across to the performance of the UK corporate sector on the back of those two announcements," Exane BNP Paribas global head of equities strategy, Ian Richards, said.

In European Equity Markets  stocks fell the most in more than three weeks as  China's finance minister damped speculation his government will boost economic stimulus. Commodities producers dropped the most among 19 industry groups. Tesco Plc slumped to its lowest price since 2003 as it started an investigation into its accounting practices after overstating its guidance for first-half earnings by about 250 million pounds ($408 million). Cermaq ASA jumped the most since May 2013 after Mitsubishi Corp. offered to buy it. Merck KGaA rose 4.4 percent after agreeing to purchase Sigma-Aldrich Corp. National benchmark indexes slipped in 16 of the 18 western-European markets today. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index lost 0.9 percent, while  Germany's DAX Index fell 0.5 percent and  France's CAC 40 Index dropped 0.4 percent. Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 1.4 percent, the most among the 18 markets.

US Existing Home Sales Change (MoM)

Location: United States

Date: 22/09/2014

Time: 15:00

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 2.4%

Notes: The Existing Home Sales, released by the National Association of Realtors provide an estimated value of housing market conditions. As the housing market is considered as a sensitive factor to the US economy, it generates some

#END

US Existing Home Sales Change (MoM)

Location: United States

Date: 22/09/2014

Time: 15:00

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 2.4%

Notes: The Existing Home Sales, released by the National Association of Realtors provide an estimated value of housing market conditions. As the housing market is considered as a sensitive factor to the US economy, it generates some

#END

EMU ECB President Draghi's Speech

Location: European Monetary Union

Date: 22/09/2014

Time: 14:00

Strength: 3/3

Previous:

Notes: The European Central Bank's president Mario Draghi was born in 1947 in Rome, Italy. Graduated of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Draghi became the president of the European Central Bank in 2011. As part of his job in the Governing Council he gives press conferences in the back of how the ECB observes the current European economy. President's comments may determine positive or negative the Euro's trend in the short-term. Usually, if he shows a hawkish outlook, that is seen as positive (or bullish) for the EUR, while a dovish is seen as negative (or bearish).

#END

NZ Westpac consumer survey

Location: New Zealand

Date: 22/09/2014

Time: 0 - M

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 121.2

Notes: Confidence measure is an indicator of the mood of consumers or business, released by Westpac New Zealand. It is usually based on a survey during which respondents rate their opinion on different issues concerning current and future economic conditions.

#END

US CB Leading Indicator (MoM)

Location: United States

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 15:00

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 0.9% / Consensus: 0.4%

Notes: The Leading Indicators released by the Conference Board measures future trends of the overall economic activity including employment, average manufacturing workweek, initial claims, permits for new housing construction, stock prices and yield curve. It is considered as a measure for economic stability in United States. This event generates some

#END

US CB Leading Indicator (MoM)

Location: United States

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 15:00

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 0.9% / Consensus: 0.4%

Notes: The Leading Indicators released by the Conference Board measures future trends of the overall economic activity including employment, average manufacturing workweek, initial claims, permits for new housing construction, stock prices and yield curve. It is considered as a measure for economic stability in United States. This event generates some

#END

CA Bank of Canada Consumer Price Index Core (MoM)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous: -0.1% / Consensus: 0.2%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index Core is released by the Bank of Canada. â Coreâ CPI excludes fruits, vegetables, gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas, mortgage interest, intercity transportation, and tobacco products. These volatile core 8 are considered as the key indicator for inflation in Canada. Generally speaking, a high reading anticipates a hawkish attitude by the BoC, and that is said to be positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END

CA Consumer Price Index (YoY)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 2.1% / Consensus: 2.1%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Statistics Canada is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. The purchase power of CAD is dragged down by inflation. Bank of Canada ( http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/index.html ) aims at an inflation range (1%-3%). Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as anticipatory of a rate hike and is positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END

CA Consumer Price Index (MoM)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: -0.2% / Consensus: 0.0%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Statistics Canada is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. The purchase power of CAD is dragged down by inflation. Bank of Canada aims at an inflation range (1%-3%). Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as anticipatory of a rate hike and is positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END

CA Consumer Price Index (YoY)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 2.1% / Consensus: 2.1%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Statistics Canada is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. The purchase power of CAD is dragged down by inflation. Bank of Canada ( http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/index.html ) aims at an inflation range (1%-3%). Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as anticipatory of a rate hike and is positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END

CA Consumer Price Index (MoM)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: -0.2% / Consensus: 0.0%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Statistics Canada is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. The purchase power of CAD is dragged down by inflation. Bank of Canada aims at an inflation range (1%-3%). Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as anticipatory of a rate hike and is positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END

CA Bank of Canada Consumer Price Index Core (MoM)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous: -0.1% / Consensus: 0.2%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index Core is released by the Bank of Canada. ���Core��� CPI excludes fruits, vegetables, gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas, mortgage interest, intercity transportation, and tobacco products. These volatile core 8 are considered as the key indicator for inflation in Canada. Generally speaking, a high reading anticipates a hawkish attitude by the BoC, and that is said to be positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END

CA Bank of Canada Consumer Price Index Core (YoY)

Location: Canada

Date: 19/09/2014

Time: 13:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 1.7% / Consensus: 1.8%

Notes: Consumer Price Index Core is released by the Bank of Canada. ���Core��� CPI excludes fruits, vegetables, gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas, mortgage interest, intercity transportation, and tobacco products. These volatile core 8 are considered as the key indicator for inflation in Canada. Generally speaking, a high reading anticipates a hawkish attitude by the BoC, and that is said to be positive (or bullish) for the CAD.

#END