What is pre-market before the stock exchange opens
Pre-market runs from 4:00 New York time, but the volume only arrives in the last hour and a half before the open. How trading before the bell works and where the traps are.
Editorial Team
Member since January 2013
The editorial team at FX Comparator brings together enthusiasts of financial markets, stocks and cryptocurrencies. Articles published under this profile are written by in-house editors and external contributors who provide an independent perspective on the world of investing.
German stock exchange: XETRA, Frankfurt (FWB)
The Frankfurt exchange and the XETRA system: history, the DAX, MDAX and TecDAX indices and the seven largest German listings by market capitalisation.
What is a pip in forex and how to calculate it
A pip is the fourth decimal, the second on yen pairs — the fifth your platform shows is already a pipette. How to work out pip value for your lot size and account currency.
Free forex and crypto signals: how they work
A signal provider's stats never match your account, and that is no accident. How signals are delivered, what they cost and what to check before you pay.
Weekend trading: what's open and what isn't
Crypto runs through the weekend without a break, index CFDs get their own weekend window, and forex and the exchanges are shut. What you can trade and where the traps are.
Oil price history since 1970
A nominal record of $147.27 in July 2008 and a negative price of -$37.63 in April 2020. Spare capacity, not consumption, sets the oil price.
Cheapest China ETFs: expense ratios compared
HSBC MSCI China carries a 0.28% TER, KWEB 0.69% and iShares China Large Cap 0.74%. With ETFs you nearly always pay for a narrower remit.
Cheapest UCITS ETFs by TER in Europe
Cheapest UCITS ETFs on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, European shares, bonds and gold, with ISINs, TERs and what a 0.50% fee costs over 30 years.
How tick volume works and how it differs from volume
Tick volume does not count the amount traded, but the number of price changes. How it differs from real volume and how to use it on forex.
Bottom line vs. top line in stocks: explained
The top line is revenue at the start of the income statement, the bottom line net profit at its end. What sits between them and why they diverge.
Interest on uninvested cash at brokers
XTB pays 2.50 % on euros and 3.40 % on dollars for the first 90 days, eToro 2.75 % to 3.55 % by balance. How the other brokers compare.
Neuralink shares: why you cannot buy them
Neuralink shares are not listed on any exchange. Here is why retail investors cannot buy them, what the company has raised and which rivals are listed.
How to check a broker's licence in the register
A licence certificate sent by email proves nothing. Here is how to check a broker's licence yourself in the FCA, CySEC and ESMA registers — and how to read what the record actually says.
World ETFs Without US Shares Explained
World ETFs without US shares: MSCI World ex USA and FTSE All-World ex US funds compared on fees, size and holdings, plus why the US versions are off limits.
Retail investor: what the FCA category means
A retail investor is a legal category, not a personality type. How the FCA defines it, what protection it brings and what falls away if you opt up.
Currency pair and commodity correlations
Currency pair and commodity correlations have two sources. How they are worked out, why the number shifts with the window and why crises break them.
Dividend stocks: how the highest yields work
How dividend stocks work, why a high yield is often a warning and what the tax takes. Aristocrats paying the biggest dividends and the W-8BEN form.
What is a funded account and how it works
What a funded account is, how the two-phase evaluation works, what the challenge fee costs and how profit is split with a prop firm.
XTB H1 2026 profit up 150% to PLN 1.03bn
XTB posted preliminary H1 2026 net profit of PLN 1,027.2m, up 150.5% — while CFD lot volume fell 1.8% and commodities drove 75.3% of gross profit.
Epic Games IPO: why the shares are not listed
Epic Games has not filed for an IPO and its shares trade nowhere public. How the valuation fell from 31.5bn to 14.3bn and what would have to come first.