Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from April 2009

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from April 2009

fX-rated.(EDITOR'S NOTE)(Conference notes)
April 1, 2009... Last fall, on the day that Lehman Brothers fell, I was on a flight to Florida for a CME Group financial conference. The plane was filled with industry people and everyone was abuzz about Lehman's failure and possible market fallout. But what...

ICE cracks CDS finish line.(IN THE CLEAR)
April 1, 2009... ICE US Trust, the clearinghouse of The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), began clearing credit default swaps (CDS) on March 9, following the closing of ICE's acquisition of The Clearing Corporation (TCC) on March 6 and regulatory approval by the...

Chartview: crisis bought but not paid for.(Trendlines: News, trends and insights for traders)
April 1, 2009... In March a report entitled "Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America" was issued by the Essential Information and Consumer Education Foundation. In it they claim that $5 billion in political contributions from 1998-2008 was...

No safe (tax)haven.(OFFSHORE ONSHORE YOU PAY)
April 1, 2009... Senator Carl Levin, (D-Mich.) is sponsoring a bill (S. 506, Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act) which, according to Levin, "targets offshore tax abuses that rob the U.S. Treasury of an estimated $100 billion each year, rewards tax dodgers using offshore...

Market consolidation.(ASEAN EXCHANGE LINK)
April 1, 2009... Only five of the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have viable stock exchanges, and exchanges from all five countries in February signed a memorandum of understanding to form a multilateral trading...

Tax proposal backlash.(BILL BRAWL)
April 1, 2009... When the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 1068, they ignited fierce opposition from traders who opposed its proposed tax on securities. The bill, called the "Let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street's Bailout Act of 2009," calls for a 0.25%...

Rolet appointed CEO of London Stock Exchange.(Trading Places)
April 1, 2009... Xavier Rolet was named chief executive of the London Stock Exchange. Previously he was a senior executive at Lehman Brothers in Europe. "London Stock Exchange Group['s] strategic position is unique, and its business prospects are excellent. I...

Correction.(Managed Money Review)(Correction notice)
April 1, 2009... In the March Top Traders of 2008 feature, Roger Pegorsch's CTA was misidentified. The name of the CTA is Commodity Futures Services. Futures regrets the error.

Beans on the run.(Hot Commodities)
April 1, 2009... Soybeans have been making a pretty consistent retreat ever since the commodity bull market came to a crashing halt last summer. A worldwide recession will do that, and Allendale Vice President Joe Victor says the poor global economy is the key...

The Fed's entangling alliance.(Market Watch)
April 1, 2009... As the economy sinks further into recession and fear grips investors, Federal Reserve policymakers find themselves in close partnership with former New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner, now Treasury Secretary. ...

Options strategy.
April 1, 2009... Question: How do you improve your odds in a bear spread position? Answer: Add a naked leg to reduce your initial cost Due to the explosion of volatility, normal position trading strategies using any type of standard risk management have...

Tracking risk appetite.(Forex Trader)
April 1, 2009... The conventional wisdom about trading is that there are two dimensions traders work within to shape their trades: fundamentals and technicals. Fundamental analysis looks at the economic conditions that influence price movements, while technical...

Dollar recovery real or illusionary? The U.S. dollar rally has been remarkable considering the persistently anemic fundamentals of the U.S. economy. Analysts, however, are still debating whether the dollar recovery, nearly a year old, is real or just a function of global deleveraging. While fundamentals are still weak, the dollar could continue this rally simply by default.(MARKETS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With the U.S. dollar index trading in the low 70s through much of 2008, the Bush administration's so called 'strong dollar' policy had become a running joke. But the weak U.S. dollar served an important function,...

Exploiting stock market cycles: cycle analysis in the stock market is not new. However, this fluid technique is difficult to quantify. Here, we look at one core indicator designed and tested with fixed parameters, which eliminates the daunting and often non-scientific task of input optimization and the curve fitting that often results.(EQUITY: TRADING TECHNIQUES)
April 1, 2009... Al-Khwarizmi was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and geographer whose contributions in these areas provided the foundation for later innovations in algebra and trigonometry. He is considered by many the inventor of algebra. ...

Multi-tasking eurodollar futures: the relationship between the yields on five-year eurodollar futures and five-year interest rate swaps helps put into context the multitasking abilities of eurodollar futures, particularly in light of the late 2008 plunge in interest rates.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
April 1, 2009... The eurodollar futures market is impressive in its ability to perform several tasks simultaneously. Eurodollar futures quarterly interest rates must create a separate yield curve that matches the yield curve of U.S. Treasury securities (see...

Trading forex extremes: you don't have to be a physicist to make money trading forex. You need only a simple, straightforward approach that identifies short-term trends and keeps you in for the ride. Here, we look at a basic strategy that combines two well-known and accessible indicators.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
April 1, 2009... Not only are the forex majors among today's most liquid and widely traded markets, but historically they also have been excellent trending markets. Frequently, most trading profits booked by many of today's top trend-following firms are...

Profiting from temporary market anomalies: the world is in the second year of a financial meltdown. Volatility is high. Market timing has taken on a new importance. While it is generally best to long the strongest stocks and indexes in a rally and short the weakest in a break, there are circumstances when it may be profitable to run with a follower.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
April 1, 2009... When the stock market is volatile, stocks can rally or break unevenly. They can move at different speeds at different times. This unevenness creates opportunities for a market timer. In a rally or break, some stocks will lead their sector...

Financial crisis drives gold, currency link: as the markets churn, struggle and evolve to cope during the current financial storm, gold has become more prominent. The yellow metal is settling into a familiar role--a measure of intrinsic value. Fundamentally this affects currencies as well, and understanding changes in this relationship is vital for traders.(TECHNOLOGY & TRADING)
April 1, 2009... Two decades ago, the world was quite different. The U.S. dollar was the uncontested standard of value. The euro did not exist. If small traders wanted exposure to currencies, they traded currency futures. Only big banks and million-dollar...

Getting started in forex: more strict requirements from NFA and CFTC have changed the playing field in forex. Here's a look at the changes and how to get started in currency markets.(FUTURES 101)
April 1, 2009... U.S. regulatory agencies have noted for years that an inordinate number of their fraud cases U have been centered around over-the-counter forex markets. Those agencies finally dropped the hammer on forex firms in 2008. The Commodity Futures...

Traders view of the world: is there a bright side? Futures exchanges have experienced their first significant drop in volume since the advent of electronic trading, but the global trading apparatus is more diverse and responsive than ever.(TRADE TRENDS)
April 1, 2009... The economy may be shrinking, but that hasn't stopped futures exchanges around the world from expanding their global connections. Alex Lamb, senior vice president in charge of development and marketing at RTS, says he's scrambling to keep...

Watch out for those fat tails: how could so many so-called diverse trading strategies do so poorly? It was a terrible year for investors in 2008 and many alternatives did not deliver absolute returns. Managed futures did. Here's why.(MANAGED MONEY)
April 1, 2009... The world of investments is an odd one. Various studies have shown that a monkey throwing darts can outperform most active equity managers, yet mutual funds are still widely distributed and the work of highly respected mathematicians is cited...