Posts Tagged “Boston”
A Porter Cluster is not just a bunch of beers, it’s when in industry or a kind of business gains traction in a particular place and seemingly competitive businesses thrive side-by-side due to the concentration of talent, investment capital, customers, and just the sheer entrepreneurial buzz of all that innovation in one place. It’s pretty exciting, and even more exciting, the Boston Business Journal just declared a cluster for alternative investing right here in Boston, and Currensee is right in the middle of it.
In the February 22-28 edition of the Boston Business Journal, Kyle Alspach writes,
A number of Boston-based tech startups are working to provide easier access to two niche areas of investing — foreign-exchange trading and quantitative stock trading — that have gained a higher profile in recent years.
The startups say they are capitalizing on interest from investors who’d like to reap more benefits from those alternative investments, but may not want to devote their lives to becoming experts themselves.
Alspach interviewed our own CEO Dave Lemont, and also checked in with Quantopian, a quantitative trading startup, and BuysideFX, a currency management system. As the article says, investors are looking for viable alternatives and ways to invest smarter and more efficiently. Here’s to more investing innovation in Boston!
UPDATE: Just as I finished writing this, we’re in another BBJ article that includes nine financial startups in Boston!
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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Posted by Michelle Heath in Weekly News Roundup, tags: Boston, economy, eurozone, gas prices, greece, hedge funds, HFRX, Memorial Day, Silicon Valley Bank, summer
Our Two Cents – Week of 5/21/12
Even though the unofficial start of summer kicks off this Memorial Day weekend in Boston, flip flops and sunscreen were out in full force last weekend. What was the temperature of financial markets from the past week? Read on to find out.
In the U.S., the economy was picking up after an early spring slump. Data showed growth in the April-June quarter is off to a good start, thanks to falling gas prices and solid hiring gains. Manufacturing and housing continued to show signs of economic expansion as factory bookings for long-lasting goods rose 0.3 percent last month, according to a May 24 Commerce Department report. Other numbers showed purchases of existing and new houses also increased. In the business sector, about 72 percent of startup CEOs reported thoughts of economic optimism this year in a study conducted by Silicon Valley Bank.
For the eurozone, unfortunately, there haven’t been too many signs of economic confidence after fiscal turmoil continues in Greece. The country is facing a possible exit from the eurozone that could cost the region hundreds of billions of euros. Greece’s financial minister said he expects the financial disorder to last about 12-24 months, allowing time for Greece to decide if it wants to stay in the single eurozone currency. As Greece struggles with itself, European leaders have prepared crisis-fighting plans for discussion at an informal EU Summit this week. According to the European Central Bank, officials said the eurozone needs growth and austerity.
In April, hedge funds upped 0.12 percent, according to the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, which puts their year-to-date gain at 3.27 percent.
- Euro zone needs growth and austerity: ECB’s Asmussen, Reuters, May 21, 2012
- Manufacturing, Housing Probably Improved: U.S. Economy Preview, Bloomberg, May 20, 2012
- Euro zone market turmoil to last 12-24 months: German finance minister, Reuters, May 18, 2012
- Time for Europe to step up, Forex Crunch, May 17, 2012
- Looking For Optimism About the Economy? Ask a Startup [INFOGRAPHIC], Mashable, May 17, 2012
- US economy picks up after early spring slump, Associated Press, May 17, 2012
- Hedge Funds Up 0.12% In April, FINalternatives, May 16, 2012
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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Posted by Michelle Heath in Weekly News Roundup, tags: Boston, Celtics, Currency, drachma, eurozone, germany, GlobeOp Capital Movement Index, greece, hedge funds, jobless claims
Our Two Cents – Week of 5/14/12
Rain, rain, go away. While Boston has been under rain showers for the past week, and recovering from the Celtics loss May 14, we drizzled some of the top headlines from the financial markets into this week’s roundup.
In the U.S. the economy continues to show signs of improvement. Jobless claims now stand at 367,000—1,000 less than last week, and job openings in March are the highest in almost four years, as employers advertised 3.74 million job openings. Additionally, economic confidence remains steady at -18, up slightly from the previous week and slightly better than the -20 average for the month of April.
In the eurozone, the German economy grew by 0.5 percent in Q1 2012 after it contracted 0.2 percent in Q4 2011. Economists predicted a growth rate of 0.1 percent, and some experts speculated Germany—the economic backbone of Europe—could help save the eurozone from recession. Macroscopically for the eurozone, economists predicted an economic growth of 1 percent for 2013, with the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn saying “a recovery is in sight” for the area. After Greece entered its second week without a government, the European Commission hoped the country would remain part of the eurozone, not withdrawing from the region and returning to its drachma form of currency.
For hedge funds, they saw an inflows increase of 1.24 percent so far in May, according to the GlobeOp Capital Movement Index.
- German Economy Grows Fast in Q1 2012 – 0.5%, Forex Crunch, May 15, 2012
- EU Commission wants Greece to stay in euro zone, Reuters, May 14, 2012
- Hedge Funds See Inflows Of 1.24% In May, FINalternatives, May 11, 2012
- Eurozone economy to shrink by 0.3%, EU Commission says, BBC, May 11, 2012
- US Jobless Claims Remain Low, Forex Crunch, May 10, 2012
- March job openings were the highest in almost four years, USA Today, May 8, 2012
- U.S. Economic Confidence Steady at Relatively Improved Level, Gallup, March 8, 2012
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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Posted by Michelle Heath in Announcement, Currency Culture, Currensee, tags: AUM, Boston, Currensee, engineering, financial services, Hiring, integration tester, investing, jobs, marketing, North End, software, Startup, summer, technology, web design, web developer, work
What better way to start the summer than coming to work in Boston’s North End for a hot startup? The greenway is a perfect place for lunch and “sight-seeing”, al fresco dining can be had all over the neighborhood, and you can do some really cool work as part of the Currensee team.
Our 30-person company started back in 2008 with a handful of dollars and some good ideas. Fast-forward to today and we’re growing our team of stellar employees. If you don’t know much about who we are, we’re a well-funded, high-energy startup that combines financial services and software development to provide a unique alternative investment service for our clients. Our mission has always been to create trust and transparency in the world of foreign exchange and our $30M in assets under management in just over a year and a half proves it.
Since then, we have steadily grown to a 30+ person company that operates in the heart of Boston’s beautiful North End. The people that currently keep us moving forward, known as the Currensee “Pips,” are truly the ones who make being here everyday an absolute pleasure. This group of innovative and hard working professionals comprised of engineers, sales people, product developers, marketers and many more have all contributed to building Currensee into what it is today.
The best part about our company is our ability to strike a perfect balance between corporate and casual. The professionalism within our spacious building is channeled into running and developing the business, while the general milieu of the environment remains relatively laid back. In one conference room, you’ll find all necessary technology for a fully functioning webinar or international conference call, while in another, you’ll see a couple of plush beanbag chairs available for anyone’s relaxation pleasure. And if you ever do find yourself hungry, (which is highly unlikely given the densely populated scene of Italian cuisine and bevy of food trucks right in our backyard) you will be pleased to find a fully stocked, in-house kitchen.
Though our positions are constantly changing, a few that we are currently looking to fill are: Channel Marketing Manager, PT Web Designer/Developer, VP of Engineering, Web Developer, and Integration Tester. So, if immersing yourself each day in an environment that is both challenging and fulfilling where you are always learning is something that intrigues you, please send your resume to hotjobs@currensee.com. Hope to meet you!
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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Our Two Cents – Week of 3/12/12
We certainly felt spring-like temperatures in Massachusetts last week, and the weather is only going to improve this week. Let’s hope the currency markets faired just as well as Boston’s March warm-up.
In the U.S., the economy added 227,000 net jobs in February, the third consecutive month of gains more than 200,000. It’s another sign of the country’s strengthening economic recovery, which many Americans say they’re starting to see. According to a new Associated Press survey, there is more optimism about U.S. jobs and the economy. Findings show that the economy is moving faster than economists predicted, with anticipated unemployment rates dropping to 7.4 percent (down from the earlier estimated 7.8 percent) by the end of 2013.
For Europe, developments in the eurozone continue to receive much of the headlines. Finance ministers will sign off Greece’s second bailout package after the country swapped privately bonds, which slashed more than $100 billion euros from its debt. The swap enabled eurozone officials to OK the 130-billion-euro package to finance Athens until 2014. Finance ministers will next turn their attention to Spain because the country missed its 2011 budget deficit target.
In alternative investments, more hedge funds managers are tapping exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Financial officials say one of the reasons for this trend is because ETFs allow hedge funds to protect their trades or preserve anonymity while investing. For hedge funds, investments are off to their best start since 2000, up 4.07 percent on the year after bouncing back from a depressed performance in 2011. In February, hedge funds rose 1.31 percent, according to the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Index.
- Euro zone ministers to sign off Greek cash, grill Spain, Reuters, March 12, 2012
- Hennessee: Hedge Funds Off To Best Start Since 2000, FINalternatives, March 12, 2012
- U.S. Extends Its Run of Strong Job Growth Another Month, The New York Times, March 9, 2012
- Greece scores in extra time, Forex Crunch, March 9, 2012
- More Hedge Funds Tap ETFs, ETF Trends, March 8, 2012
- Labor market shows more signs of life, Reuters, March 7, 2012
- AP survey: More optimism about US jobs and economy, Associated Press, March 6, 2012
- Dow Jones Credit Suisse Index: Hedge Funds Gain 1.31% In February, FINalternatives, March 6, 2012
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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And the winner is … Well, we haven’t got that far yet but we are one of 15 finalists for the Mass Technology Leadership Council, Inc‘s Technology Leadership Awards. Last night, in a room full of fantastic CEO’s, accomplished private and public companies, and truly innovative CIO’s – we realized we have quite the competition in the Product/Service of the Year category. Luckily, we are in our CEO, Dave Lemont’s capable hands. On October 6th we’ll present alongside the other finalists – everyone is welcome to attend the Awards Gala, and your attendance is encouraged as the company/person with the most votes will be the winner in each category.
Check us out!
MassTLC names awards finalists – Mass High Tech Business News
Mass Technology Leadership Council Announces 2011 Awards Finalists – BostInnovation
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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Well, what can I say? When you’re hot you’re hot. For the second year in a row, we made the Lead411 list of the Hottest Boston Technology Companies. We are proud to be on the list of the top 75 companies in the Boston area chosen for this award and were hand-picked from a list of over 2100 companies. It’s pretty amazing to think about the thousands of companies here in town working on innovative ideas and developing cutting-edge products and services. Boston has always been a hub for emerging companies and it’s exciting to see such diversity of industries in this year’s list.
The Lead411 research team scours through at least 600 press releases and business articles including venture capital financings, company launches, office openings, new customer press releases, etc. This information has given insight to which are the fastest growing technology companies in U.S. Their “Hot List” awards have been created to recognize these fast growing companies. We’re in great company along with the other winners of this year’s award:
8D World, Inc, Acquia, Inc., Actifio, Apperian, Inc, AVG Technologies USA Inc, Axeda Systems, Aylus Networks, Inc., Azuki Systems, Bit9, Inc., Blackwave Inc, Blue Cod Technologies Inc, Brightcove Inc, Carbonite , Care.com Inc, CaseNET, Inc, Clovr Media, ConnectEDU Inc, Correlsense, Currensee Inc, DataXu, Inc., Demandware, Inc, Desktone, Inc, DynamicOps, Echo Nest Corporation, EveryScape, Inc, ExaGrid Systems Inc, Exit41, Extreme Reach, FleetMatics, Gazelle, GlassHouse Technologies, Inc, HubSpot, Inc, I Love Rewards, Imprivata , Jingle Networks, Inc, JumpTap, Inc, LifeImage, Marathon Technologies , Memento Inc, Mimecast, Movik Networks Inc, Mzinga, Nasuni Corporation, NetProspex Inc, Oneforty Inc., OnState Communications, OwnerIQ, PlumChoice Online PC Services, Pursway, RatePoint, Inc, Redline Trading Solutions, Inc., ROAM Data Inc, Sand 9, SCVNGR, Inc, Searchandise Commerce, SeeWhy Inc, SensAble Technologies, SensorLogic, SEPATON Inc, Sonian Inc, StreamBase Systems, Inc, Swap.com, Tatara Systems, TimeTrade Systems, Inc, Unidesk Corporation, uTest Inc, Veracode Inc, Viewfinity, Viridity Software , Virtify, Inc, Vivox, Viximo, VKernel Corporation, VoltDB, WordStream Inc.
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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As promised we have our next victim, meet Matt Arguin.
Ever have a question for an employee simply post it in the comments section. Stay tuned for next week’s employee dose.
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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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By now you’ve figured out that we have some pretty cool interns. They are smart and fun, and truly have made this summer a blast here at Currensee. As the days become a little shorter, the nights a little cooler, and before our interns head back to school I’d like to introduce you to our final 3; say hello to Andrew, Orli, and Lin.
 Andrew hails from the University of Denver (obvi he’s a skier). He’s a Boston local here, living in Cambridge with his family. Currently he’s an international studies major but is considering a switch to journalism. Andrew has been working closely with the marketing department. One of his favorite projects this summer has been working on a bit of research for a new initiative Currensee is about to launch. Andrew is an Always Sunny in Philadelphia fan and is currently listening to “Hungry Like the Wolf” on his iPod. He’s a catch ladies and we can’t wait to see what great things are to come from him.
 Next is Orli. Orli comes to us with an undergrad in advertising and international business from Florida International University and she’s currently working towards her Masters from Emerson College. When Orli “grows up” she hopes to be a marketer for a financial instituation which is a big departure from her former dream of wanting to be a Disney Imagineer. Her favorite task this summer has been being our pulse on the Forex world (she works with the marketing department). She loves gathering articles and throwing ideas for the blog around. Orli’s favorite food is mofongo, which is an ubber crazy dish that goes great with octopus on top! Lucky for us, Orli is hanging around even after the summer months end – she’s a good one kids, and she’s ours!
 Lastly is Lin. Lin also works with the marketing department. Lin has been working closely on some new initiatives which involve translation into Chinese (stay tuned). She has also collected an amazing amount of research for the team which has helped us develop some awesome, new programs. Lin is quite the world traveler and has lived in some amazing places, but her favorite was Moscow. You may not know that Lin is a piano player, but she’s bummed that her apartment here in Boston doesn’t have a piano. She says she’s going to miss our “great marketing team” when she heads back to school – well, we’ll miss you too Lin.
That’s it for our intern round-up this summer. Like we said before our interns rock and if you are looking for a cool team to hang with come check us out, we’re always looking for new blood.
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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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To the week of August 8th, we bid you adieu and good riddance. It’s been a little hectic around Currensee World Headquarters. In fact, a few times certain people even got a little nutty under the stress. We’ve been working around the clock, and there’s some big (huge!) new developments coming soon to Currensee. We can’t pull the curtain just yet, but stay tuned. Exciting times are a’coming!
In the meantime, here’s some of our favorites bits of news and commentary from the Forex front:
- There’s been a whole lot of steam surrounding Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. While some are fuming it’s Obama’s personal crusade against Forex (look no further than Exhibit A and Exhibit B), others say it’s much to do about nothing. How are you sleeping at night, or not, traders?
- There so many to-do’s and no-no’s in Forex, it’s hard to keep track. Forget your brokerage account for two seconds and get back to basics: your good ol’ checking account. We recently read about what motivates financial decisions, and a couple of words stood out: survival, stability, fun. Don’t the same rules apply in the Forex game?
- To all you aspiring “Wall Street ballers”, you don’t want what you think you want. Raghee asks all the big questions: What do you want from your trading? What are you prepared to do to achieve this? Do you have the risk tolerance (or stomach) to really pursue it?
- Speaking of having a stomach for Forex, it was a recurring theme this week to talk about a condition we’ll name “Forexitis”. Disturbing dreams of being beaten by red candlesticks? Irritated eyes, or just generally irritable? Forex and hypochondria is never a good combination. Is Forex really that bad? Heck, we survive every day. Kind of.
- Casey Stubbs WANTS YOU (yes, you) to take his “follow the Forex rules” challenge for 10 days. Join in on the “Forex diet”, and then tell us if you came out a better trader or cracked under the pressure.
 Photo by Josh Mazgelis
- A couple of tidbits from DailyForex, the first one on treating your Forex trading plan as a business (because it is). The second is really a no-brainer – trade what you see, not what you want to see. Two solid, if not pretty obvious, pieces of advice. So why do so many traders fall short in these departments?
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Boston has an “Innovation District” (no surprise there), and it’s not in the North End? (Gasp!) I mean, Fort Point is a cool neighborhood (they have a pretty cool view of the Boston Tea Party ship), but we’re the Italian district of Boston! No competition. Hey Fort Point, we bet #NorthEnd can become a trending topic on Twitter faster than #FortPoint any day. #ChallengeAccepted!
Have a piece of news or blog you want to share, or write one of your very own? Share it! We’re all about collaboration – it’s kind of our thing – and sharing the Forex good vibes. So drop us a line – you know where to find us.
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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.
------- Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
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