Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from February 2002

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from February 2002

Pearls of wisdom. (Editor's Note).(history of Futures periodical)
February 1, 2002... Thirty years is a long time in trader years, and it's an especially long time in trader publication years. This month marks Futures magazine's 30th year in print -- the oldest (and we believe best) magazine covering derivatives trading and the...

Sound off!(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2002... Don't blame the traders I've been a subscriber to Futures for a little more than seven years and have generally liked what I have read. I have to say, though, that your [January 2002 Editor's Note] on the demise of the "big E" could not have...

BrokerTec out of the gates. (Rebates or Kickbacks?).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The moment the floor staff of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) (CME) has been dreading for years is now here: BrokerTec's futures trading platform kicked in at the end of November, along with a Reuters report that the consortium expects to...

HSBC settles Republic suit. (It's History).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... HSBC USA Inc.'s 1999 purchase of Republic New York Corp. came with some heavy baggage, which was dealt with when Republic pleaded guilty in New York District Court to commodities fraud stemming from the actions of its now dormant subsidiary,...

Chartview: Exchange releases sentiment tool. (Trendlines).(Deutsche Borse)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... First, the CBOT effectively starts constructing trades with its X-funds (short-term spread positions compiled by CBOT-employed "fund administrators"), and now the Deutsche Borse is getting into the indicator business. On Jan. 10, the German...

Third suit in P-Tech mess. (Court Call).(Pacific Stock Exchange Technology)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Like a bad penny, the scandal involving manipulation of option settlement prices on the New York Futures Exchange's (Nyfe) now delisted Pacific Stock Exchange Technology index (P-Tech), which bankrupted broker and member firm Klein & Co., just...

NFA regs curb some equity futures advertising. (Post No Bills).(National Futures Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Since the Dec. 21, 2000, passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) that overturned the Shad-Johnson accord, allowing the trade of single stock futures and narrow-based indexes, the industry has faced numerous hurdles in getting...

Euro clearing scene in focus. (Lines in the Sand).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Europe's long-simmering clearing and settlement turf war has always lacked something very basic: battle lines. As of January, it has them -- and they're clearly drawn between German/Luxembourg settlement house Clearstream, which draws most of...

CBOEdirect to drive OneChicago. (A Matched Set?).(Chicago Board Options Exchange )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... OneChicago, the Joint venture of Chicago's three derivatives exchanges that will trade individual equity futures, ended months of speculation in January by selecting CBOEdirect, the screen-based trading system of the Chicago Board Options...

Give it up for. (Americas).(processing give-ups)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Give it up for... In a move with more shock value than actual significance, the Board of Trade Clearing Corp. (BOTOC) and Nasdaq/Liffe Markets (NQLX) signed an agreement on processing give-ups. The BOTOC will provide brokerage fee collection...

No tears here. (Americas).(Argentina's economy)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... No tears here Argentina's formal default on its $132 billion of public debt had at least one positive effect: It turned the gray state of the nation's debt into blazing red, which means there's no disputing the status of the estimated $10-$15...

Down and out. (Pacific Rim).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Down and out Merrill Lynch expects to cut 70% of its retail brokerage presence in Japan. Closing 20 of its 28 offices and axing approximately 1,200 positions by June, according to a company source, will help ease the slipping profits of the...

5,4,3,2. (Pacific Rim).(Korea Futures Exchange volume and trading activity up)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... 5, 4, 3, 2... Still a relatively young three-years old, the Korea Futures Exchange (Kofex) has quadrupled its 2000 figures of contract volume and nominal trading activity, now at more than 1,000 trillion won ($750 billion). Annual volume...

Swiss bliss. (Europe).(members vote for demutualization)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Swiss bliss You might not know its name, but you know its subsidiaries: Eurex, Virt-x and the European Energy Exchange are all partially owned by the tiny Swiss Stock Exchange, a little venture launched as a member-owned exchange in 1993. ...

Exchange bound. (Europe).(standardizing European markets makes more products available; Hungary)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Exchange bound Europe's OTC derivatives markets are standardizing more rapidly than expected, which opens the door for more exchange-traded products. Hungary has joined the OTC derivatives mainstream, according to the International Swaps and...

Sears comes home to keep growing forex. (Trading Places).(Rick Sears, executive)
February 1, 2002... Rick Sears, who grew up in Chicago, must have missed his home town quite a bit to move back from sunny California just as winter started getting a foothold. "I was ready to come back for the right opportunity," Sears says. That...

Long (Boston) beans/short O.J. (Managed Money Review).(John W. Henry & Co. leader focusing more on baseball)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Long-time trend-following money manager John W. Henry is switching leagues -- and regions. Henry led the group of investors whose offer, reportedly $660 million, to purchase the Boston Red Sox baseball team was accepted by the outgoing...

Comparing Index Returns.(for November 2001)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Comparing index returns November YTD S&P 500 Total Return Index +7.67% -12.65% Lehman Brothers Treasury Index -4.99% +6.77% Lipper Balanced Fund Index +3.98% -3.93%...

November's top CTAs.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... November's top CTAs November YTD Commercial Markets Index -0.60% +5.92% Barclay CTA Index -4.44% +0.05% Barclay Sub-Indexes: Agricultural Traders ...

Futures public funds summary.(for December 2001)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Futures public funds summary December 2001 Number reporting: 127 Average performance for the month: 0.59% Funds up: 59 Down: 68 Unchanged: 0 Top performers in December Fund Trading...

Hog wild. (Lean Hogs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Hog wild Lean hogs have experienced a bumpy ride in the fourth quarter of 2001 but could get a one-way ticket higher if the few cases of mad cow disease in Japan spread into an epidemic. Japan imports more pork than any other of the United...

Range bound. (Euro Dollar).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Range bound After climbing to the top of the fixed-income world (volume wise) the eurodollar contract has earned a rest and probably will get it. With a record 11 Fed rate cuts in 2001, the March eurodollar contract has consolidated into a...

Sugar high. (Sugar).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Sugar high When we last looked at sugar, it was wallowing around 6.5cents following the events of Sept. 11. At the time, Liberty Trading Group President James Cordier expected sugar to reach between 7.5cents and 8cents by year's end. Cordier...

Avoiding mistakes in forex trading. (Forex Trader).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A difficult challenge facing a trader, and particularly those trading e-forex, is finding perspective. Achieving that in markets with regular hours is hard enough, but with forex, where prices are moving 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it is...

Warm weather, cool economy, cool energy prices.(Cover Story)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... This year's combination of circumstances has turned the energy outlook around as Opec tries to defend the lower end of its price band with production cuts. But energy price prospects are tied directly to economic recovery -- and traders know...

Dollar to gain with neutral Fed. (Market Strategy).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Much has been said about the emergence of a new paradigm as far as the impact last year's interest rate cuts had on currencies. Last year was a clear example of how currency markets shifted emphasis away from interest rate differentials toward...

Success is relative. (Equity Trading Techniques).
February 1, 2002... With new asset classes often come new opportunities for analysis. Futures on individual equities are no different and will allow traders to put their creativity to work in designing clever new trading systems and strategies specifically for...

Trading with Fibonacci retracements: Fibonacci retracement analysis is one of the more straightforward tools of trading. However, even this approach can be streamlined and simplified to give you more confidence in your conclusions. (Trading Techniques).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Several years ago, Tom Bierovic of Synergy Trading Group shared a method for setting up and executing a trade using Fibonacci retracements. Bierovic began his calculations by finding the turning points in two trends and then using prices at...

Trading options with finesse. (Trading Techniques).
February 1, 2002... Long-term trading profits are affected by the seemingly little things, such as order entry skills, nearly as much as your larger trading plan. This is even more important in the options market, where execution costs can be substantial. Assuming...

One continent, one market: Europe has come together as an economic entity and this is being reflected in the relative popularity of pan-European stock indexes and other trading vehicles. (Trading Techniques).
February 1, 2002... The presence of equity indexes largely is taken for granted, as if they should be there. In reality, the grandfather of them all, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is only 106 years old in 2002, and the S&P indexes arose in the 1920s. The...

The seasons of trading. (Technology & Trading).(seasonal trading)
February 1, 2002... While blind seasonal trading is a sure road to ruin, this area of analysis should not be discarded outright. By trading only logical seasonal relationships and using them as bias indicators, not stand-alone trading systems, this approach can...

PowerOptionsPlus. (Software Review).
February 1, 2002... Power Financial Group Inc. 5205 W. Woodmill Dr., Suite 33L Wilmington, Del. 19808 (877) 922-7971 www.poweroptionsplus.com Complexity level: Intermediate Overall rating: *** Price: PowerOptionsPlus, $39.95 per...

Your business is your trading network. (Online Trading).
February 1, 2002... Markets of all types have become more organized and technological. The Internet and related networks are proving to be the next giant leap forward for world markets. Unless you're equipped to trade in these markets of the future, you won't be...

Direct access vs. online trading. (Futures 101).(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Direct access, the relatively new computerized connection method for trading, is quickly becoming a buzzword in the industry, but only a few really understand what it actually entails. An explanation will help clarify the differences between it...

Open but not quite equal markets. (Managed Money).(increasing number of US contracts available to US money managers)
February 1, 2002... Industry regulators are doing a good job of increasing the number of non-U.S. contracts available to U.S. money managers. However, tax authorities have not done their part in ensuring the products receive the same favorable tax treatment as...

Funds Review.(2001 public funds returns)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... 2001 public funds returns (through December) U.S. Closed Name of fund (*) Trading advisor(s) (**) Alternative Asset Growth LP Multiple managers Balanced Opportunity Fund LP RXR...

Euro bond market taking shape. (Trade Trends).
February 1, 2002... Now that a common currency blankets most of the continent, Europe is closer than ever to realizing a pan-European bond market. Leading the charge is the electronic cash market MTS, which some contend will give the established exchanges a good...

Tops Bottoms 2001. (Trade Trends).(review of 2001 events)
February 1, 2002... It's possible 2001 may have been one of the most significant years ever. We saw tremendous tops and unthinkable bottoms. Out of our worst tragedy, hope has sprung up and out of our highest expectations, doubt has crept in. Here is a sometimes...

Enron demise showed early signs. (My Position).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Since Enron Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, pundits have stated incessantly that this filing was a complete surprise. During the weekend of Dec. 22 and 23, there was an extensive spate of such pronouncements in the media....

Contract. (New for Traders).
February 1, 2002... Invesdex Ltd. (www.invesdex.com) offers a futures-linked OTC derivative, MarketPlus. The limited liability contract is traded via a Web-based system and is available to accredited investors who either cannot or choose not to trade futures....

Expanded its trading software. (Software).(Analytic Trading FX Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Analytic Trading FX Inc. has expanded its trading software to allow individual traders the same access to data and markets as firms and introducing brokers. Now a full-service currency brokerage firm, Analytic Trading also offers managed...

H-Trader. (Software).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The hand-held trading device, H-Trader, from patsystems (www.patsystems.com) made its debut at the Futures Industry Association expo in Chicago. The hardware communicates via a wireless local-area network (LAN), mobile phone or hardwired LAN to...

OCC TIMS. (Software).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Options Clearing Corp. has released its OCC TIMS margin methodology system for brokerages, firms, banks, and other institutions. The software program, a variation of the OCC's own back-office margin system, verifies traders' margin...

Educational. (New for Traders).
February 1, 2002... The Institute for Financial Markets, formerly the Futures Industry Institute, has added three security futures educational materials to its offerings. The booklet, Introduction to Security Futures, includes descriptions, explanations, rules and...

www.investment-tools.com. (Internet).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Investors can find weekly updates of futures and stock options ratings at www.investment-tools.com. The site contains information about stocks and options from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 100, 400 and 500. Data are...

"Options Basics,". (Internet).
February 1, 2002... A new options course, "Options Basics," has been added to the courses offered by the Options Industry Council (www.888options.com). The course introduces options covering terminology, purchasing vs. writing, settlement, risk and contract terms...

www.vista-research.com. (Internet).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Samuel Tennis, author and founder of Vista Research, has launched a new site at www.vista-research.com. The site offers products for and help with EasyLanguage programming for the TradeStation and SuperCharts packages. Features include software...

www.protraktrading.com. (Internet).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Day-traders and short-term traders can gain some trading insight at www.protraktrading.com. The site compiles the 15 common mistakes made by day-traders and short-term traders. The site's creator, Greg Peterson, describes his 13 essentials of...

Al Mitchell: Trading from the inside out. (Trader Profile).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Conoco natural gas trader Al Mitchell, who is based in Houston, recently got a phone call from a dentist friend of his. "He wanted to know if he should buy some natural gas contracts," he says. "I asked him if I should go fill a tooth."...