First, I found it interesting, if not to say indicative of anything, that the site is entirely in English without any Arabic. Certainly much effort has been put into a confident presentation nearly up to established firms standards. I can not say I am impressed by the news feed � it smells of PR and pure boosterism � but in the proper context could be useful (i.e. if you realise it is not new but spin). In the context of the deluded idiots on the ill informed twits of Iraq small time currency speculators� site, I am afraid it�s somewhat disturbing. But that is not the brokerage�s fault.

Drilling through I see the backer is an Iraqi who lived in Great Britain and returned to found this firm and a consulting house. There is some typical vagueness about client base, which is not surprising in this context.

I suppose something sets my radar off in regards to the complete lack of Arabic � it tells me that the site is aimed at foreigners and is perhaps something of a Potemkin village. That is not necessarily bad � but I would definitely want to do my due diligence on the backer�s background, history and record before running any serious money through the brokerage. In a lawless environment, an ounce of caution is worth its weight in gold.

I have to say there is something about the all English presentation in the context of my Middle Eastern experience that some how rubs me wrong, but I can�t quite put my finger on it. That is not to say that merely have an English dominated site is wrong � as investment officer for one of the most successful (but I make no claim on the original investment decision) regional online services group backed by private equity, I recall that they regularly reported Arab world traffic for their services skewed heavily towards the English language rather than Arabic language services. On the other hand, this was skewed by Dubai, which overweighted their market significantly. Regional data suggested non-Dubai online traffic was weighted towards Arabic.

Trivia � I am thinking out loud as it were about what the absence of Arabic tells me. In the end I have to say it merely tells me that their online presence has nothing to do with their domestic market operations, and one should look into what they are really doing. The Potemkin Village marketing that is the website might be merely early brand building in a bid to be �the� site for any foreign portfolio flows that may arrive, or it may suggest some more problematic things.