No Dealing Desk Broker - MBT / EFX - Software Question

[dpaterso]

Hi,

In my never ending quest to be a successful trader I have had a look at the MBT / EFX Trading Platform and would like to know IN LAYMANS TERMS what the Level II window is showing me i.e. I am led to believe that that is showing me exactly what buyers and sellers and prices and lots are available etc. etc. as it is coming from the banks. Is that correct - and if so - or if not - please explain.

I have also noticed that the spread changes sometimes which I am not used to i.e. GCI has fixed spreads. What am I to understand from this?

Regards,

Dale.

[mugen]

Hello,

The level II window shows you a list of the different bid/ask prices, and the volume at that level. Because the forex market is decentralized, these quotes will only show you the potential orders for other clients with mbtrading/efx. That information is far less valuable then level II quotes for stocks where there is a central exchange. EFX/Mbtrading is also not a true ECN. MBtrading is the counterparty for all transactions.

The spreads change to reflect what various banks are quoting at depending on liquidity. The more liquid the currency pair is, the lower your spread will be. During news times, between sessions, etc, is when you will see a higher spread because there is not a large enough number of buyers and sellers.

[TheRumpledOne]

Level II shows you the current bid/ask and size.

This is in REAL TIME.

[JimmyMac]

Originally Posted by mugen

EFX/Mbtrading is also not a true ECN. MBtrading is the counterparty for all transactions.

How'd you arrive at that assumption then?

A firm either routes an order directly into the stream where it can be hit by other customers/banks/firms or it doesn't. There's no grey area's.

If a firm is trunking as an ECN then it's not acting as a counterparty - period.

So, where'd you get the information regards your above comments from?

I'm sure the authorities will be very interested in viewing the proofs of your findings.