Saxo Bank Scoops 4 Awards at the Social Forex Awards 2011

SINGAPORE–(Marketwire -02/27/12)- Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, has won no less than four Awards at the inaugural Social Forex Awards 2011.
Saxo Bank ranked number one in the following categories:

• Most Social Bank (through the use of Social Media tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter
• Best Social Campaign
• Best Social Initiative/Innovation
• Best Social Research

The Bank ranked second in a further three categories: Best iPhone/iPad app, Best Online Content and Most Social Website. Of 8 categories Saxo Bank was ranked in all but one.
The awards recognise the outstanding players in the industry and were presented by LetstalkFX and Social-Markets.net, in conjunction with e-Forex magazine and were sponsored by The Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The votes were cast by members of the letstalkFX.com community and marketing was undertaken by the Bank using LinkedIn and Facebook.
Disclaimer:Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd. (“Saxo Capital Markets”) is licensed as a Capital Market Services provider and an Exempt Financial Advisor, and is supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
You should carefully consider whether trading in leveraged products is appropriate for you in the light of your financial circumstances. You should be aware that dealing in products that are highly leveraged carry significantly greater risk than non-geared investments such as share trading. As such, you could both gain and lose large amounts of money. You may sustain losses in excess of the moneys you initially deposit and also in excess of the margin required to establish and maintain any positions in leveraged products.
For further information, please see:
http://sg.saxomarkets.com/about-us/general-disclaimer
About Saxo Capital Markets
Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S, the Copenhagen-headquartered online trading and investment specialist. It serves as the Asia Pacific headquarters and holds a Capital Markets Services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Saxo Capital Markets also holds a Commodity Broker licence from The International Enterprise Singapore.
Clients can trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, its leading multi-asset online trading platforms.
SaxoTrader is available directly through Saxo Capital Markets or through one of its institutional clients. White labelling is a significant business area for Saxo Capital Markets, and involves customising and branding of its online trading platform for other financial institutions and brokers.
About Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. A fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables private investors and institutional clients to trade FX, CFDs, ETFs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms: the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application available in over 20 languages. Saxo Bank also offers professional portfolio and fund management through Saxo Asset Management who accommodates high-net-worth private clients and institutional investors and provides banking services and advice to retail clients through Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.
http://tourism9.com/    http://vkins.com/

Banks to grab share of ECB’s €500bn loans

The European Central Bank is set to flood banking markets with €500bn (£424bn) of cheap loans this week, taking its financial support of the European Union to €1trn in just three months.

On Wednesday, the ECB will hold its second allotment of three-year loans to private banks and other institutions, known as the longer-term refinancing operations (LTRO). Analysts are expecting banks to apply for between €200bn and €750bn in total, with most forecasts around the €500bn mark.
In December, 523 banks borrowed €489bn from the first LTRO. The loans carried an interest rate of around 1 per cent a year. The new loans will be just as cheap, but the collateral requirements have been loosened. Banks will be able to pledge corporate and consumer loans, rather than just government bonds, in return for the borrowing.
The new LTRO will be conducted through national central banks, not the ECB, so governments will take the losses should their banks be unable to repay the loans.
The first unprecedented provision of liquidity has been credited by the ECB president, Mario Draghi, with helping Europe to avoid a banking crisis this year. Some banks had found it increasingly difficult to borrow in the second half of last year. These institutions used the ECB’s cheap funds to meet their liabilities.
The liquidity injection also seems to have helped bring down the borrowing costs of some distressed eurozone states, as banks, particularly in Spain and Italy, have used the money to invest in bonds issued by their governments. Italian 10-year yields have come down from above 7 per cent to 5.5 per cent. Spanish 10-year yields have fallen from 5.7 to 5 per cent.
Sony Kapoor of the Re-Define think tank said: “The bigger the LTRO next week, the more the short-term relief for the banking sector, but at the cost of making a sustainable exit from life-support even harder.”
Jens Larsen of RBC Capital Markets, argued that the LTRO would be beneficial as long as banks restructure. “If the euro banks spend the time wisely by reducing their balance sheets and raising the necessary capital that’s not so bad,” he said. “But if they’re not doing that, it’s dangerous.”

http://tourism9.com/    http://vkins.com/

Saxo Capital Markets Launches Australian Retail Operations

SYDNEY, January 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –
Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd (‘SCM Australia‘) , the online trading and investment specialist, today announced the launch of its retail operations in Australia, offering investors the opportunity to trade thousands of asset classes across award-winning online platforms.
Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S. It holds an Australian Financial Services Licence 280372 and is regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
The move extends Saxo Bank Group’s reach in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific, and is consistent with its goal of being the premier multi-asset online trading platform in the world.
SCM Australia offers local traders sophisticated trading platforms such as SaxoTrader and SaxoWebTrader, permitting the trading of foreign exchange, CFDs and stocks with live streaming prices and lightning-fast stock trades. SCM Australia provides clients with access to over 160 foreign exchange crosses, more than 13,000 stocks from 25 major exchanges and over 140 Futures contracts on live market prices from over 19 exchanges. SCM Australia’s CEO Anthony Griffin said the company believed it had the services and competitive offering to transform the online trading market in Australia.
Mr Griffin states, “In Australia, we will be adopting the standard Saxo business model that has been successfully implemented in over 20 countries and bringing our award-winning platforms to the market.”
Further, he states, “it was critical to ensure that investors were educated as much as possible on the asset classes they were trading in and the risks involved. As a result, SCM has a number of online educational tools available to ensure investors are informed.”
SCM Australia recently completed the acquisition of Logos Commodities Pty Ltd, the holding company of Commodity Broking Services Pty Ltd, bringing with it an excellent client base and broadening its suite of services.
Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, co-founders and CEOs of Saxo Bank, said in a joint statement:
“While opening an office in Sydney is a strategic decision to support our Asia-Pacific expansion and growth strategy, it has always been a priority for Saxo Bank. The acquisition has brought with it both tremendous staff as well as a great range of clients. That has given us the critical mass for doing business here. This is a good time for us to prove our commitment to the Australian market.”
Saxo Bank was founded in 1992. Saxo Bank’s trading platforms have defined the company’s success in the online trading space for over a decade. Since introducing the SaxoTrader in 1998, Saxo Bank has enhanced and improved its platforms to meet the evolving needs of traders and investors in a continuously changing industry. The Group has expanded overseas since 2006 and now has operations in more than 20 countries including major financial centres such as Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Zurich, Dubai, and Paris.
Disclaimer:
Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S, the Copenhagen-headquartered online trading and investment specialist. It holds an Australian Financial Services Licence 280372 and is regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.  Leveraged investments in foreign exchange or derivatives carry a high degree of risk and may result in significant gains or losses. You should carefully consider your financial situation and consult your independent financial advisors as to the suitability of your situation prior to making any investments. For further information, please see: http://au.saxomarkets.com/about-us/general-disclaimer
About Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd
Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S, the Copenhagen-headquartered online trading and investment specialist. It holds an Australian Financial Services Licence and is regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.  Clients can trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, its leading multi-asset online trading platforms. SaxoTrader is available directly through Saxo Capital Markets or through one of its institutional clients. White labelling is a significant business area for Saxo Capital Markets, and involves customising and branding of its online trading platform for other financial institutions and brokers.
For more information, please visit http://www.saxomarkets.com.au/
http://tourism9.com/    http://vkins.com/

Prospect Capital and Other Shareholders Enter Into Definitive Agreement to Sell NRG, With Prospect Expected to Receive …

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire -01/23/12)- Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: PSEC – News) (“Prospect”) announced today that Prospect and other third-party shareholders have executed a stock purchase agreement to sell their ownership interests in NRG Manufacturing Inc. (“NRG”), a leading manufacturer of oilfield equipment.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close within the next 30 days. Such closing would also result in full repayment of Prospect’s loan to NRG.
Prospect expects to collect approximately $100 million in cash in the March 2012 quarter related to the sale of NRG. This $100 million would consist of approximately $30 million of investment income in the form of prepayment premium and structuring fee, with the remaining approximately $70 million related to debt repayment and equity proceeds. Additional amounts are expected to be escrowed for potential collection in future periods, resulting in potential incremental post-closing proceeds to Prospect of approximately $14 million. As a result, Prospect would receive a total of up to $114 million from the sale of NRG.
Prospect initially invested approximately $12 million of debt and equity in September 2006 to help finance the acquisition of NRG. Including all cash flows over the life of the investment, but not including escrowed amounts, Prospect expects to realize at closing on its combined debt and equity investment a 59% annualized internal rate of return.
With the expected sale of NRG, Prospect estimates it will have generated cumulative net investment income in excess of cumulative distributions to shareholders for both the current August 2012 tax year as well as since Prospect’s inception.
“Coming on the heels of the sale of Gas Solutions by our Energy Solutions portfolio company, Prospect’s sale of NRG adds another valuable realization to the Prospect Capital track record,” said M. Grier Eliasek, President of Prospect. “Our team is hard at work to invest our substantial liquidity. With our more than $1 billion of new originations in calendar year 2011, we have significant capability to invest such liquidity.”
“We applaud the managers of NRG, who have built the company into a premier supplier of mission-critical oilfield equipment,” said Bart J. deBie, a Managing Director of Prospect Capital Management. “Prospect is actively seeking new control and non-control investments across all industries.”
RBC Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to NRG for the sale.
Separately, Prospect has provided $18.3 million of secured second-lien financing to a financial services processing company purchased by a leading private equity sponsor. Prospect has also invested $34.4 million in Class D senior secured notes and Class E subordinated notes for CIFC Funding 2011-I, Ltd., with third party first loss capital underneath Prospect’s position.
ABOUT PROSPECT CAPITAL CORPORATION
Prospect Capital Corporation (www.prospectstreet.com) is a closed-end investment company that lends to and invests in private and microcap public businesses. Our investment objective is to generate both current income and long-term capital appreciation through debt and equity investments.
We have elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”). We are required to comply with a series of regulatory requirements under the 1940 Act as well as applicable NASDAQ, federal and state rules and regulations. We have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Failure to comply with any of the laws and regulations that apply to us could have an adverse effect on us and our shareholders.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, whose safe harbor for forward-looking statements does not apply to business development companies. Any such statements, other than statements of historical fact, are highly likely to be affected by other unknowable future events and conditions, including elements of the future that are or are not under our control, and that we may or may not have considered; accordingly, such statements cannot be guarantees or assurances of any aspect of future performance. Actual developments and results are highly likely to vary materially from these estimates and projections of the future. Such statements speak only as of the time when made, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statement now or in the future.
http://tourism9.cm/    http://vkins.com/

Sikich Investment leads recapitalization of FiberLink

Article updated: 1/18/2012 12:34 AM
By Marketwire

CHICAGO — Sikich Investment Banking said it completed a recapitalization of FiberLink LLC, an owner of regional fiber optic routes between Chicago and Denver and Chicago and New Orleans.
Sikich served as the exclusive placement agent to FiberLink, securing financing from Silicon Valley-based Bridge Bank. The proceeds were used to recapitalize the company.
Advertisement
Sikich Investment Banking’s Capital Markets team specializes in approaching capital markets from a comprehensive and strategic perspective, and designing customized financing structures to help fulfill growth strategies for clients at acceptable levels of risk. The team, led by Mark Solovy, head of the Capital Markets group, worked closely with FiberLink’s management to structure the transaction, prepare offering materials, conduct the financing process, assist with investor due diligence, and ultimately negotiate the terms of the final transaction.
“Mark and his Sikich colleagues have a very broad network of investor relationships, as well as financing expertise with emerging growth companies,” said Kenneth D. Anderson, chairman of FiberLink. “The team clearly understands the unique characteristics and challenges of emerging growth technology companies in accessing the ever-changing competitive capital markets, and was able to structure a transaction with terms which were advantageous for FiberLink.”
http://tourism9.com/    http://vkins.com/

HFF Expands Presence with Opening of Denver Office and Hiring of Three Production Specialists

DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)– HFF announced today that it will expand its presence by opening a full-service office in Denver with an immediate focus on debt placement, equity placement, loan sales and investment sales.
Day-to-day operations of the Denver office will be led by Eric Tupler, who joins HFF as a senior managing director. Joining Tupler will be managing director Mark Fallon, who has worked out of HFF’s Chicago office since November 2010 and specializes in loan sale advisory transactions. Executive managing director Jody Thornton, a member of HFF’s Executive Committee, is overseeing the Denver office expansion from HFF’s Dallas office.
Tupler, a former vice chairman at CBRE Capital Markets, has originated, structured, underwritten, placed and closed more than $6 billion of debt and equity real estate investments during his career. Tupler was the firm’s top Denver sales professional and the leader of the Denver Capital Markets group prior to his departure from CBRE. He was the recipient of many significant accomplishments during his 15-year tenure; he was the company’s number one national producer in debt and equity finance in 2004, awarded the Manager Innovation Award for Capital Markets in 2007, a six time Coldwell Colbert Circle Award recipient, which recognizes the top three percent of commissioned CB Richard Ellis salespeople worldwide, and a top 200 sales professional eight times. Tupler obtained his Masters of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University and his Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from the University of Maryland.
“I am extremely excited to begin the next chapter in my career by leading the new Denver office of HFF,” said Tupler. “The HFF platform is a truly a unique culture and fully integrated platform that will add tremendous value for our clients.”
Also joining Tupler at HFF are directors Brock Cannon and Josh Simon, both former vice presidents at CBRE Capital Markets. Cannon will work as part of HFF’s national loan sale advisory group alongside Mark Fallon. Cannon began his career in Houston, Texas working in the CBRE Capital Markets headquarters and his experience includes debt and equity originations, loan servicing and loan sales. Cannon has closed over $3 billion in transactions throughout his career. Simon specializes in debt and equity placement of all property types and has closed more than $3 billion in transactions during his career. Simon brings extensive experience in the placement, underwriting, and structuring of multi-housing financing and is a licensed real estate broker in Colorado.
“Although HFF has consummated a number of high-profile debt and investment sales assignments in the Denver MSA, HFF has waited for the best people to open an office and expand into the Denver market. We are excited about the opportunity to better serve our existing and future clients in the Rocky Mountain region with the team of Tupler, Cannon, Simon and Fallon as well as the numerous opportunities they will create with their presence in Denver,” said Thornton. “As with our recently opened offices in Austin and Tampa, HFF’s goal is to strategically build-out the full platform of services and product specializations in our new Denver office by hiring and retaining associates who have the highest ethical standards and the best reputation in the industry.”
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP (“HFF”) and HFF Securities LP (“HFFS”) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF – News). HFF operates out of 20 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, advisory services, structured finance, private equity, loan sales, and commercial loan servicing. http://www.hfflp.com/

http://tourism9.com/

Canadian Financing Bulletin (CFB) Reports CDN $575.4m in Proposed and $794.9m Closed Financings for the Week of …

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire -12/06/11)- The Canadian Financing Bulletin has been a leader in tracking financing activities of Canadian capital markets in the mining, energy and technology sectors for over seven years. Our unparalleled service offers unique insight into small and micro cap stocks, as well as comprehensive comparative reports detailing the worldwide reach of Canadian companies in these sectors. With the listings of active proposed placements, investors and companies that might not otherwise receive analyst coverage are potentially brought together. As well, we offer coverage of activity in the bond market for users to be made aware of lower-risk opportunities.
In this week’s report, the CFB published term sheets for 56 new proposed placements from the mining, oil/gas (termed metals and energy in the report) and technology sectors. Of those, 57 were for mining stocks, 17 for oil/gas stocks, and two for technology stocks, with the total value of new proposals reaching over $545m. 19 of these placements were designated a ‘flow through’ issuance and there was one new debenture offering. The largest new public proposal was by Karnalyte Resources Inc. (KRN.TO), which launched a share offering consisting of 8.65m shares at a price of $13.30 for gross proceeds of over $115m in a placement led by BMO Capital Markets.
The CFB published term sheets for 82 placements that were closed during the week. Of these, 57 were for mining stocks, 20 for oil/gas, and five for technology stocks, with the total value of these closings being almost $795m. 27 of these placements were designated ‘flow through’ issuances and one debenture placement closed. The largest public closing was by Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET.TO) which issued 5.37m shares (including a 265,000 share overallotment) at a price of $49 in an offering led by BMO Capital Markets.
The CFB also tracked three amendments to placements and six overallotments, published at the end of the weekly report. To date, there have been 375 weekly reports created by CFB; backdated reports can be obtained by subscribers.
Click HERE to download the summary.
About the CFB and Blender Media:
The Canadian Financing Bulletin is produced and distributed by Blender Media, an integrated creative agency specializing in both online and print design, development and maintenance. Blender Media’s work includes extensive strategies for shareholder communication, intuitive design interfaces and the opportunity to be memorable in a sea of investment possibilities.
Blender Media has the support of over 450 satisfied clients and utilizes investor focused online exposure solutions that help clients stay in touch with their shareholders, including the CFB.
Since CFB began offering its weekly report over seven years ago, it has developed other more wide reaching reports that have now been published. Our quarterly and year-in-review reports provide charts, graphs and other comparative tables that exhibit sophisticated capital market intelligence. The data in these reports has been read by thousands of executives, investment advisors, fund managers, and investors from around the world. CFB has also recently begun offering specialized monthly reports, focusing on individual segments within the sectors CFB covers (i.e., gold, uranium, oil, etc.) To date, there have been 169 reports created by CFB; several of these reports are currently posted on the CFB website.
As one can see, CFB offers an important perspective into Canadian capital markets. These markets play a crucial role in the financing of companies active worldwide in various business sectors, specifically for natural resources exploration and development. Canada maintains a leadership role due to a number of factors:

--  A history of significant natural resources;
--  Efficient and transparent capital markets;
--  Strong backing from the investment community; and
--  Regional clusters of the world's most innovative, organized and
aggressive exploration and development personnel, in cities like
Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

Follow us on twitter

http://tourism9.com/