As some of you probably saw via our Twitter account rename, the name “FirstradeNEXT” is slowly being phased out and changed back to Firstrade. The reason is that development of the new system is nearing completion, and the “next” will soon be the present.

The goal of FirstradeNEXT will still remain the same despite the name change. We’ll still be using the Facebook and Twitter account to notify everyone of new changes, as well as collect feedback on what we can do better.

No this is not our “social media strategy”, simply another way for customers to get their thoughts and ideas to us.

When we first launched the Firstrade Mobile last year, some people might have thought that we were out of touch with the mobile world. While our web based, mobile optimized website was certainly very popular and flexible, and our Chinese version was likely the first (and only?) one in the industry, it was nowhere as flashy as some of the native applications that are all the rage these days.

Firstrade fully understand the importance and convenience of apps, and yes, they’re coming.

If you look at the mobile devices that the Firstrade employees carries, it’s actually a pretty accurate reflection of the overall smartphone market today. You have 3 groups of users, iPhone, Android, Blackberry.

Firstrade Mobile (the Web Based version) was created out of necessity. Our new site is so advanced that most mobile browsers simply could not render the website properly. It was also the first customer facing system to utilize the backend technology that powers the new Firstrade system. Many of the technologies developed for Firstrade Mobile will go forward to power our native applications.

Starting with the iPhone. Stay tuned.

I am pretty sure that you all have already received several notices about our clearing firm conversion. We just sent out an email yesterday about what to expect during the conversion this weekend (6/26-6/27). We are all very excited about this final stage and believe that after the transition is completed, we will be able to provide you with more exciting tools and services.

If you didn’t read the email or accidentally deleted it (oops!), here’s what to expect:

1. You will not be able to place, cancel or edit any order between 6/25 4:00 PM ET and 6/28 8:00 AM ET; no after-hours trading on 6/25; and order status will not be available, too.
2. If you have GT90 orders which will expire after 6/27, they will be canceled and reinstated under the new clearing firm’s name (Penson Financial) by 6/28 8:00 AM ET; if you have GT90 orders which will expire on 6/26 or 6/27, they will be canceled on 6/25 after the market close.
3. You will receive 2 statements at the end of this month: 1 from our previous clearing firm Ridge Clearing and 1 from the new clearing firm, Penson Financial.
4. Enjoy our professional services like you did before!

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We will be more than happy to answer your questions!

I believe that most of you have received an official letter about us switching clearing firm to Penson. We are all very excited about this move since the scale and structure of Penson will enable us to provide more exciting tools and better services to you.  If you would like to know more about this transition, please leave a comment here, tweet about @firstrade on Twitter, write on FirstradeNext’s wall on Facebook or simply give us a call, we will be happy to answer your questions and concerns!

After the Dow was down over 300 points last Friday, the market still doesn’t look so optimistic now. All the major indices, including the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all went down a bit when the market opened and then stayed down at that level.

It was said that several recent events in China, such as the Foxconn suicides and the Honda affiliate strike, are all pointing to the same conclusion: manufacturing in China is going to get more costly. It was also mentioned in NY Times that such a phenomenon might be the prelude to a rise in global prices.

The Gulf oil leak has also been causing turbulence in the utility sector. Investors should be wary. It seems that the crisis in Europe, Chinese labor issues, and the oil leak could all be intertwined and the total impact is not necessarily a positive one. Does anyone have any investment strategies to share with the rest of us? Please let us know your thoughts and let’s try and prosper together.



We want to remind you that you can also find us on Twitter! Just search “Firstrade” and you can easily find us. We’ll answer questions, start discussions or simply make some friends there.  Follow us and let us know what you thinking about the markets, economy or anything else. We’re anxious to find out about investor’s differing ideas!  See u on Twitter!

After weeks of steady growth in the stock market, people are jubilantly looking forward to the rebound of the economy. It was said in the news that retail sales increased by almost 10% in March as compared to the same time last year.

Europe took action in rescuing Greece (although that’s an ongoing story); Apple sold over 300,000 iPads on the first day of launch of the product; and firms like Citigroup finally announced profits. These all happened in the past few weeks. Although the Goldman Sachs fraud impacted the stock market a bit, we still saw a rebound the next week.

We should all start being more optimistic. Investors get ready for positive earnings; businesses get ready for profits; and job seekers get ready for some job openings!

Anyone pickup an iPad yet?

I took a look at the Firstrade server logs today, and it showed that a trickle of iPad users have arrived at the Firstrade.com website. Right now the % of visitors using the iPad still trails that of iPods and other cell phone operation systems, but we are quite sure that it’ll move up the chart quickly.

I’ll be picking up an iPad when the 3G version hits the market later this month, by then I’ll probably be using it to access FirstradeNEXT.

While on the Apple subject, any guesses on what’ll arrive tomorrow with the iPhone OS 4.0 announcement? Chime in!

This week we sent out an email to our customers, informing that the preview of our brand new website and trading platform FirstradeNEXT will be released in mid April.

If you are a Firstrade account holder already, please check your email and find out more exciting elements about FirstradeNEXT. If you’re not, why don’t you take a few minutes to join us now? We’re confident that you’ll like what we are building.

Remember all the controversy about Google, Chinese hackers, and uncensored search results in China back in January? The announcement on the Google blog that sent shockwaves through not just the tech industry, but international politics.

What has happened since? Most people have no idea! The aftermath has been anticlimactic to say the least.

As Baidu, one of the biggest beneficiary of Google’s proposed withdraw from China, was downgraded this week by UBS. I decided to do a few quick searches to get an update. Apparently Google reverted its search engine in China to censored results days after the megaton announcement, a move that definitely pleased the Chinese officials, but received little coverage from Western media. The discussion between Google and China is still ongoing, and delays to Google’s official withdrawal only means Baidu cannot reap the benefits, yet……

Was Google all smoke and mirrors, or has the situation grown beyond their original expectations? Only time will tell.