Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from August 2006

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from August 2006

Out of this world.(commodity industry)(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... Of course, the recent explosion of volatility across the trading world easily can be blamed on the increased volatility in the Middle East. This week's Israel/Lebanon rocket hits, the horrific mass executions in Iraq and the terrorist train...

Corcoran joins Promontory.(Trading Places)(Promontory Financial Group appointed Andrea Corcoran)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Andrea Corcoran has joined Promontory Financial Group LLC as managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. Corcoran most recently established and was director of the CFTC's Office of International Affairs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Managed Funds Association.(Trading Places)
August 1, 2006... Lisa S. McGreevy was named vice president and chief operating officer of the Managed Funds Association. McGreevy was formerly president of the government affairs council at the Financial Services Roundtable and served at the U.S. Treasury.

LCH.Clearnet.(Trading Places)
August 1, 2006... David Hardy has resigned his position as CEO of LCH.Clearnet after 19 years with the group. Chris Tupker, outgoing chairman of Euroclear, was named a director and chairman of LCH.Clearnet.

ISE Stock Exchange LLC.(Trading Places)
August 1, 2006... The ISE Stock Exchange LLC has named Andrew F. Brenner managing director.

SunGard's GMI.(Trading Places)
August 1, 2006... Richard Hulit Jr. has been named president of SunGard's GMI business unit. He held senior management positions at Prudential Financial and Merrill Lynch.

Mercantile Exchange Inc.(Trading Places)
August 1, 2006... The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has named Janet L. Troyke director and associate general counsel. Benjamin Chesir is now head of new product development at the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc.

"Outrageous": Refco FX to Gain Capital?(Trendlines)
August 1, 2006... Refco retail forex customers still do not have their money and the most recent deal on the table appears worse for them than the one that would have made them whole, which was rejected nearly six months ago by the Refco Creditors Committee,...

If it ain't broke ... Exchanges to shop regs?(Trendlines)
August 1, 2006... Any U.S.-based investor who has placed trades on overseas exchanges was able to do so because the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had issued a so-called "no action" letter recognizing the regulatory regime in which that exchange...

SRO best practices? More independence.(Trendlines)
August 1, 2006... The conclusion of the CFTC's multi-year examination of self-regulatory organizations (SROs) resulted in the publication of acceptable practices for U.S. designated contract markets (DCMs) that, if approved, could dramatically change the makeup...

Marc joins in: CME makes acquisition.(Trendlines)
August 1, 2006... Since going public in 2002 and setting as a goal participation in the expected industry consolidation, the CME has been a rumored acquirer of every exchange thought to be on the market, and some that weren't. So far the CME has not made...

Chartview: is the end near?(Trendlines)
August 1, 2006... On June 15 both the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the CME set electronic options volume records in their interest rate complexes. The CME reported 493,232 electronic Eurodollar options traded and the CBOT's 10-year note options surpassed...

Margin relief: alas, portfolio margining.(Trendlines)
August 1, 2006... Fimat appears to be the first mover in what should be a torrent of brokers taking advantage of futures style portfolio margining for broad-based index options and related exchange traded fund options. Douglas Engmann, managing director of...

India's Sensex Index approved.(International News)(Bombay Stock Exchange )(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Traders looking to grab some Indian volatility can finally do so with futures on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex), thanks to a CFTC "no action" letter issued in June. The BSE, located in Mumbai (the English name Bombay...

Futures on floating yuan.(International News)
August 1, 2006... The CME will launch three currency-cross futures on the Chinese yuan (also known as the renminbi) on Aug. 27. The crosses will be yuan/dollar, yuan/euro, and yuan/yen.

Dubai builds pitless floor.(International News)(Dubai Mercantile Exchange)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has broken ground on its 500 square-meter "trading floor" within the financial free zone known as the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The floor will not have open outcry pits but hubs for cash...

Bond index futures gets go.(International News)
August 1, 2006... Looking to trade futures on a basket of corporate debt? The SEC and CFTC have given the go-ahead, provided the underlying cash bonds are deep and liquid enough to prevent manipulation. Under final rules issued July 10, the agencies agreed...

SEC hedge fund rule struck down.(Managed Money Review)
August 1, 2006... It didn't take long for Congress to try to prop up the defunct Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) hedge fund registration rule. Less than one week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's ruling June 23...

Fear factors in.(Hot Commodities)(crude oil)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... In July front month crude oil passed $76 per barrel for the first time ever. And with multiple conflicts brewing in the Middle East, $76 may soon look cheap. Peter A. Thomas, a senior broker at RJO Futures, says with the Middle East moving...

Flight to safety.(Hot Commodities)(gold)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... In early July gold had already recovered some of its losses when increasing geopolitical instability pushed it up $80 per ounce in two weeks. With Iran refusing to abandon its nuclear aspirations, North Korea test firing intercontinental...

Hot beef.(Hot Commodities)
August 1, 2006... Live cattle futures rode a pork shortage and pleasant grilling season to highs near 90 cents per pound in late June, but drifted lower in July. The end of summer and fewer feeders heading to lots, however, should help prices rebound,...

Volatility takes center stage; Are rising interest rates, inflation fears, high oil prices and the twin deficits finally just too much for the market to take? Or will a traditional seasonal trend play out with a fourth-quarter rally saving the day? While analysts' forecasts differ, they agree on what traders should prepare for: volatility and more volatility.(MARKETS)(Cover story)
August 1, 2006... In this midterm presidential election year, one thing rings loud and clear for the stock market: The Federal Reserve is in the driver's seat. In early May the stock market was humming along, but by midmonth the market lost almost all of its...

Tech talk: S & P requires patience.(MARKETS)(Standard & Poor's Corp.)
August 1, 2006... Analysts are split over the long-term direction of stocks. While we see a definite downturn in the cards for late 2006 and early 2007, near term it may be a good time to unplug the computer and head to the beach. This chart shows the price...

Summer forex fireworks!(Forex Trader)
August 1, 2006... As we approach the height of the summer season. forex traders take time away from the day-to-day rigors of trading. It's challenging to take time off from trading forex because it's a market that never really stops. Currency flows do not take...

Calendar trades in equities that work: you don't need sophisticated indicators and proprietary formulas to trade the stock market successfully. Perhaps all you need has been hanging on your office wall all of this time.(EQUITY TRADING TECHNIQUES)(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... More than any other financial arena, the stock market is psychologically driven. The entire world participates and all sectors within it are affected. There are the high-powered program traders who move giant blocks of orders around in...

The trading system development process: discipline is the hallmark of trading success, whether you're a highly technical systems trader or a seat-of-the-pants gunslinger. Regardless of your approach, here is one process you can follow to help instill discipline in your method.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
August 1, 2006... Having a complete, robust and profitable trading system or suite of trading systems is the foundation of any successful trading business. Even if you are a discretionary trader, you still need rules that guide your trading decisions and help...

Sound money management is key: money management is about protecting your capital and leveraging your winning trades. Here's how to get started.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
August 1, 2006... What is the most important part of successful futures trading? Identifying the right trading opportunity, entering a position properly, having the latest trading tools or having a defined exit strategy would all get votes but not one of those...

Using neural nets the right way: after discussing the history of neural networks and some of the hard lessons learned from using these tools, in this final installment in the series we will apply these lessons in a case study.(TECHNOLOGY & TRADING)
August 1, 2006... To use a neural network successfully in a trading application, it is necessary to start with a solid system that is viable without any advanced technologies. It doesn't have to be a world-beater, but it has to work. Then, a neural network can...

Going for the gold--automatically: after explaining in the last issue how technology can now build trading systems for you, we will demonstrate how this works by building and detailing a trading system for gold futures using this automated process.(TECHNOLOGY & TRADING)
August 1, 2006... As computers have increased in speed and functionality, more steps of the trading process have become automated. Now, advances in software design are pushing those limits even further, so much so that even the process of building a trading...

Automatic Pattern Search V 4.9.(Software Review)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2006... Automatic Pattern Search V 4.9 1133 Broadway, Suite 706 New York, NY 10010 (212) 656-1467; fax: (212) 656-1467 E-mail: sales@tradingpatterns.com Tradingpatterns.com OVERALL RATING: Good LEVEL: Advanced. ...

Financial settlement vs. physical delivery: less than 1% of futures contracts go to physical delivery, but there are still differences between physically settled and cash settled contracts and those differences can affect traders.(FUTURES 101)
August 1, 2006... Back in March, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) announced that Nymex energy contracts would soon trade electronically on the CME Globex trading platform. Depending on who you were talking with,...

Inside the numbers: CTA performance data; Commodity trading advisors provide a wealth of information for investors and traders through their performance data. The key is knowing how to read between the lines.(MANAGED MONEY)
August 1, 2006... Keep in mind that commodity trading advisors (CTAs) are generally trend followers and they need markets to move to generate returns, in other words they are long volatility. If the markets are flat, there will be no trends. By contrast, if the...

2006 public funds returns (through June).(Funds Review)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... Unit Starting value Change Trading Date unit through for Name of fund advisor(s) ...

Carbon trading: turn and face the strange! Carbon trading has evolved from abstract theory to concrete reality in a few very short years, but how can traders reap the harvest of unproven seeds, fuzzy governmental decrees and disagreement on basic standards?(TRADE TRENDS)
August 1, 2006... In May. Laurent Segalen declared. "We have a market!" Segalen is investment manager for the European Carbon Fund. His declaration came after the price of carbon allowances trading under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on...

Is the commodity bull market overheated? Perhaps it is because so many people were burned when the equity bull market of the 1980s and 1990s ended with the bursting of the tech bubble, but predicting the next bubble is becoming the new game for financial analysts and the media.(TRADE TRENDS)
August 1, 2006... Since the dot-com bubble popped we have seen a series of stories touting a hedge fund bubble, a housing bubble and now a commodity bubble. Hedge fund guru Jim Rogers, whose 2004 book "Hot Commodities" trumpeted the commodity bull market,...

Wake up! The COT report is under attack!(My Position)(Commitments of Traders)
August 1, 2006... The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) publishes a weekly tell-all report that discloses the aggregate futures and options holdings of large traders. It now is asking for public comment on a series of proposals that includes halting...

Contract dates.(Dateline)(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... 1 LTD: BM & F Alcohol OF, iBrX 50 F. [TABLE OMITTED] 2 LTD: CME Jul Weather F. 3 LTD: CME Jul Milk F,OF, Jul Mid-sized milk OF, Safex Bonds and Govi F. 4 LTD: CME Pork bellies, frozen OF, Live cattle OF, Peso OF, Yen OF, Euro...

Events coming up.
August 1, 2006... Call the numbers listed for more information. For other seminars, see the classifieds on pages 69-73. Burgenstock Annual Meeting. SEPT. 7-10. Burgenstock, Switzerland. www.futuresindustry.org. (202) 466-5460. The Forex Trading Expo....

LaSalle's Paul Kim: the ideal trade.(Trader Profile)
August 1, 2006... For Paul Kim. president and managing member of Chicago-based LaSalle Asset Management, it's all about making the ideal trade. "It's about seeing something early, calculating the risk, having the discipline to wait until the right time to...