Trading CFDs, or contracts for difference, is a well-established industry with mature regulatory frameworks and security protocols. Yet, alongside legitimate brokers, there exists a shadowy area in this field built on malpractices, manipulation, and dishonesty. The arsenal of questionable brokers includes a range of sophisticated tricks to defraud or disadvantage their clients. Among the most exposed to risks are retail traders who lack the experience or technical awareness to detect shady practices.

To provide fair trading for clients, Octa broker always offers full transparency, reflecting all its fees and charges in the terms and conditions. The broker also aims to maintain a fast and efficient withdrawal procedure and keep segregated client accounts to ensure traders’ deposits are secure and easily accessible. Octa’s trustworthiness is evidenced by its long and successful track record and thousands of positive online reviews.

Some less experienced traders may think that brokers are all alike, and the only differentiating factors are spreads, bonuses, and promotions. However, not all industry players play by the same rules.

Price manipulation
One of the most ubiquitous tactics used by shady brokers is price manipulation. Instead of providing genuine market prices in real time, such brokers offer clients distorted or delayed quotes. This trick allows them to trigger stop-loss orders, delay take-profit orders, and execute trades at price levels that never existed in the broader market.

When these situations arise, traders may be completely unaware of the manipulations. On the contrary, they may be certain their positions were closed due to market volatility or initiated at unfavourable prices due to a lack of liquidity. In fact, the price movements could have been artificially manufactured by the broker.

This type of malpractice occurs particularly often when a broker acts as the counterparty to their clients’ trades and profits when traders lose—a fundamental conflict of interest that incentivises this kind of manipulation.

Slippage abuse
Another widespread type of manipulation on the broker’s part is the abuse of slippage. Price slippage in trading refers to the difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual price at which the trade is executed. It occurs due to rapid market fluctuations or low liquidity, causing the instrument price to change between the placement and the filling of the order.

In highly dynamic markets, slippage is inevitable, but some brokers abuse this phenomenon to their advantage by executing trades at worse prices when it benefits them. At the same time, they ignore favorable slippage when the market moves in the client’s favor. With time, this unscrupulous approach on the part of the broker can cause significant profit erosion for traders, especially if their strategy relies on tight execution margins.

Execution delays
When a trader tries to enter or exit a trade, particularly in volatile markets, the broker may intentionally delay the execution. Instead of confirming the order, the platform responds with a requote—offering a less favourable price. These delays are especially damaging for scalpers, killing their profits and making their strategies useless. In more extreme cases, brokers refuse to execute profitable trades altogether or mysteriously disable the trading platform at the ‘right’ moment.

Many shady brokers’ tactics are rooted in a fundamental lack of transparency and accountability. In a regulated trading environment, brokers are required to segregate client funds, follow best industry practices, and provide full transparency of their conditions and fees. On the other hand, brokers that use shady tactics thrive in obscurity—they muddle the waters by offering vague wordings and unrealistic promises while avoiding straightforward communication with clients. To find a trustworthy broker, traders must scrutinise their terms and conditions, look into their regulatory status, and peruse online reviews.

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Disclaimer: This press release does not contain or constitute investment advice or recommendations and does not consider your investment objectives, financial situation, or needs. Any actions taken based on this content are at your sole discretion and risk—Octa does not accept any liability for any resulting losses or consequences.
Hashtag: #Octa

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Octa

Octa is an international CFD broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and various services used by clients from 180 countries who have opened more than 52 million trading accounts. To help its clients reach their investment goals, Octa offers free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools.

As the third-largest global producer of natural diamonds and one of the most promising in terms of future deposit discoveries, Angola continues to strengthen its position as a responsible and influential player in the global diamond industry. This move reinforces the country’s commitment to transparency, sustainability, and consumer education on the unique value of natural diamonds.

The natural diamond sector remains a vital pillar of Angola’s socioeconomic development, supporting employment, infrastructure, education, and healthcare in producing regions.

“With Angola’s diamond industry on the rise, promoting the values and socioeconomic contributions of natural diamonds is a national priority,” stated Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas. “By joining the Natural Diamond Council, Endiama and Sodiam are formalizing our dedication to a global strategy that highlights the unmatched benefits of natural diamonds to new generations of consumers.”

“We are thrilled to welcome ENDIAMA and SODIAM to the NDC at such a pivotal time for the industry,” said David Kellie, CEO of Natural Diamond Council. “Their membership will significantly enrich our collective voice in sharing the powerful story of natural diamonds rooted in positive impact, rarity, and authenticity.”

ENDIAMA and SODIAM will commence their commitment to global category marketing through the NDC with a contribution of $8M dedicated to the second half of 2025, supporting the most critical commercial season for the industry.

Current NDC member, De Beers, concurrently announced it will commit additional contribution to the NDC by matching ENDIAMA and SODIAM commitment of $8M for 2025.

De Beers Group remains committed to its sustainable initiative, “Building Forever,” ensuring that every natural diamond discovered has a lasting, positive impact on the local communities and environments from which they are sourced. This additional funding highlights De Beers Group’s belief that the sustainable development and marketing of natural diamonds should be a shared responsibility across the entire industry, rather than the sole burden of one company, further solidifying De Beers Group’s leadership within the sector.

As members of the Natural Diamond Council increase their investments to support the natural diamond industry, the Council will continue to enhance public awareness of the core values associated with these precious stones. Its goal is to provide a thorough understanding of the rarity, authenticity, and uniqueness of natural diamonds, helping consumers recognize the essential role the industry plays in global socio-economic development and ecological conservation.

ENDIAMA and SODIAM now join current NDC members: De Beers, Okavango Diamond Company, Petra Diamonds, Rio Tinto, and Murowa.Hashtag: #NDC #Endiama #Sodiam #DeBeersGroup #NaturalDiamonds

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ABOUT ENDIAMA

Founded on January 15, 1981, ENDIAMA E.P. is Angola’s national diamond company, responsible for managing the State’s interests in the diamond sub-sector. While maintaining its focus on core mining operations, ENDIAMA is actively expanding across the diamond value chain through partnerships with internationally recognized companies in cutting, polishing, and jewellery.

The company’s strategy is guided not by revenue alone, but by a commitment to local development, social impact, and alignment with global ESG standards. ENDIAMA seeks to transform Angola’s natural resources into sustainable value for the country and its people, especially in producing regions.

As part of its diversification efforts, ENDIAMA is expanding into gold refining as a catalyst for developing a national jewellery industry, further strengthening Angola’s position in the global luxury and value-added market.

ABOUT SODIAM

SODIAM E.P. (Empresa Nacional de Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola) is the Angolan public company responsible for the marketing and sale of rough diamonds. Acting as a trusted interface between producers and international buyers, SODIAM ensures transparency, traceability, and fair value for Angola’s natural resources. The company also leads strategic initiatives to promote beneficiation and local value addition in the diamond value chain.

ABOUT NATURAL DIAMOND COUNCIL (NDC)

The Natural Diamond Council is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the integrity of the natural diamond industry worldwide. Rebranded in 2020, the NDC serves as the authoritative voice of natural diamonds, inspiring and educating consumers through compelling stories of their rarity, positive impact, and emotional value. The NDC supports the livelihoods of over 10 million people across the diamond supply chain.

ABOUT DE BEERS GROUP

Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining, marketing and retailing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of De Beers Group’s strategy as it develops a portfolio of offers that span the diamond value chain, including its jewellery houses, De Beers London and Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives Tracr and GemFair. De Beers Group also provides leading services and technology to the diamond industry in the form of education and laboratory services and a wide range of diamond sorting, detection and classification technology services. De Beers Group is committed to ‘Building Forever‘, a holistic and integrated approach to sustainability that underpins our efforts to create meaningful impact for the people and places where our diamonds are discovered. Building Forever focuses on three key areas where, through collaborations and partnerships around the globe, we have an enhanced ability to drive positive impact; Livelihoods, Climate and Nature. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

Organised by CoolThink@JC, a project initiated and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, this year’s competition attracted more than 120 team entries, with 40 teams advancing to the finals. Among them, eight outstanding teams progressed to the grand final to compete for top honours. Today, the shortlisted teams set up booths to present their app designs and ideas to the public and a judging panel comprising professionals from the education, information technology and business sectors.

Presenting awards at the grand final were Tony Wong, Commissioner for Digital Policy of the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau of the HKSAR Government; and Winnie Ying, Head of Charities (Youth Development & Poverty Alleviation; and Talent & Sector Development) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Speaking at the grand final, Winnie Ying said it was a great honour to witness the innovative ideas presented at the ninth edition of the CoolThink@JC Competition, particularly seeing creativity and innovation in today’s student work such as promoting fitness in sport, learning Chinese through oracle bone script, and creating AI comics to learn financial literacy. The event stands as a testament to the Club’s collective efforts in fostering computational thinking and creativity among Hong Kong’s upper primary school students, she added. Since its launch in 2016, CoolThink@JC has reached over 100,000 students and trained more than 2,000 teachers. The Education Bureau adopted and adapted CoolThink@JC materials, mainstreaming them into all publicly funded primary schools in 2023. It reflects the Trust’s vision to bridge the digital divide, foster digital inclusiveness for all and nurture STEM talents. Together with other Trust-funded STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education projects such as the CUHK Jockey Club AI for the Future Project, the Club aims to equip students with essential skills required for a 21st-century workforce. It seeks to enhance digital competency among youngsters, aligning with the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Policy Address to promote digital education.

Beyond the competition, students will have the opportunity to participate in exchange activities with Mainland schools this summer through the project’s sister school partnerships. This is aimed at fostering collaboration in computational thinking and artificial intelligence education between the Mainland and Hong Kong, promoting cultural understanding and innovative ideas.

Last month, a Memorandum of Understanding titled “CoolThink@JC × Cambodia Sharing and Exchange Programme” was signed with Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, which plans to adopt and adapt the CoolThink@JC curriculum in Cambodian primary schools. This partnership aims to ensure equitable access to quality computational thinking education, nurturing future-ready talent in both Hong Kong and Cambodia.

CoolThink@JC is created and funded by the Club’s Charities Trust, co-created by The Education University of Hong Kong, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and City University of Hong Kong. Launched in 2016, the project aims to empower upper primary students with problem-solving and creative skills for the digital age, enabling them to become creators of technology. It has garnered three prestigious international accolades, including the Silver Award in the Engineering & Technology category and the Bronze Award in the Teaching & Learning category at the QS Reimagine Education Awards 2021, as well as an international accreditation from the International Society for Technology in Education—attesting to its significant impact and excellence. It has also reached all publicly-funded primary schools in Hong Kong in 2023, demonstrating the project’s efforts to bridge the digital divide and ensure all students have equal access to essential digital literacy. The Education Bureau has adopted and adapted the project’s learning materials for its curriculum modules on innovation and technology education. For more details, please visit: http://www.coolthink.hk/.

The Club’s support for CoolThink@JC, like all its charity and community donations, is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and responsible sports wagering generate substantial tax contributions, charity support and employment opportunities for Hong Kong.

Hashtag: #CoolThink@JC

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CoolThink@JC Competition supplementary information:

The grand judging panel comprised esteemed leaders from the education, IT and business sectors, including Tony Wong, Commissioner for Digital Policy, Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau of the HKSAR Government; Edith Tse, Principal Assistant Secretary (Curriculum Support), Education Bureau of the HKSAR Government; Professor Chetwyn Chan, Vice President (Research and Development), The Education University of Hong Kong; Professor Matthew Lee, Chair Professor, Information Systems & E-Commerce, City University of Hong Kong; and Ricky Choi, Director of Smart Living, Cyberport Hong Kong.

Held at City University of Hong Kong, the finals and grand final were also streamed live online, offering greater accessibility to the event. The competition featured team presentations and booth exhibitions, providing participants and judges with opportunities to explore innovative applications of emerging technologies, including programming, artificial intelligence (AI), and STEM. This interactive platform fostered creative exchanges, showcasing how computational thinking and technological innovation can address real-life challenges.