Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from January 2004

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from January 2004

Monkey business.(economic aspects)(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... As China is everywhere in the news and our lives today, I thought it would be timely to do a reading of The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes to get a handle on the new year. The book says the Year of the Monkey, which begins Jan. 22, is a year...

Beginner's luck not lucky.(Sound Off!)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... The article "Diary of a Wannabe Day-Trader" in the October 2003 issue is very interesting as it clearly explains the mentality and the emotional turbulence faced by the starting trader. If the market punishes the trader who is not having...

Risk capital just that.(Sound Off!)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... In the article "Cycles and Gann" in the September issue, the author based on Gann's philosophy states that you should trade with your own capital. It would also be more advisable to set aside enough risk capital required for trading, and...

Heavy hand of China.(Sound Off!)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... I liked ["Where are 2004's Hot Market Surprises"] in the December issue. Especially the talk about China. Traders and investors who are ignoring the role that China plays in today's macroeconomy are fooling themselves. When China sneezes,...

Corrections.(Sound Off!)(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2004... The Future's Top 50 Brokers chart on pages 66 and 67 of the December 2003 issue should have indicated that Fimat is a member of the Amsterdam Exchanges, the InterContinental Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NQLX and the Tokyo...

Block trading critics finding new ammo.(Chipping Away)
January 1, 2004... Gary Sagui, managing partner of Templar Securities, was so impressed with the comment letters to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and of congressional testimony of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange...

Chartview: wooden nickel ... inside the numbers.(Trendlines)
January 1, 2004... The CFTC has been necking down on forex fraud since the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. November's Operation Wooden Nickel represented a broader prosecution of this type of fraud involving an undercover operation...

BTEX suspends operations.(Out With The New)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... As Eurex prepares to take on Chicago, another high profile contender suspended trading operations this November after failing to garner significant market share from the CBOT in its two years of existence. Brokertec, the all-electronic...

Eurex to comp TT fees.(Two-Way Street)(Trading Technologies Inc.)
January 1, 2004... In another move to garner initial liquidity in its upcoming challenge to the CBOT's dominance in U.S. Treasury futures, Eurex announced in December that it entered into a non-exclusive agreement with software powerhouse Trading Technologies...

Quip and quote.(Kevin Collins)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... "None of our customers has an allegiance to an exchange. They have an allegiance to liquidity and cost effectiveness, so If Eurex has a better model for providing that liquidity thee they will win, if they don't then the Board of Trade will...

NQLX cuts 29.(Americas)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Just following its one year anniversary, security futures exchange NQLX said it was suspending trade in 29 listed single stock futures. Many will be delisted as soon as the December expiration; others with outstanding open interest will be...

Wheeling and dealing in London.(Europe)
January 1, 2004... The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and London Clearing House (LCH) have patched up their differences mad slashed fees--but only after some muscle-flexing from London banks and a bit of coquetry from a French clearinghouse. When the LCH...

Northern lights.(Europe)(OMHEX, Norex Alliance of Nordic Exchanges)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Northern Europe has long been one of the more disappointing features on the European exchange landscape, at least from a consolidation standpoint. That began to change last summer, when Sweden's OM and Finland's Hex announced they were merging...

Moller out at Euronext.(Europe)(George Moller)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Euronext dropped a bombshell along with its quarterly results in December, when it revealed that chief operating officer George Moller would be leaving the exchange's management board on March 31 instead of taking over for chief executive...

MOU means more.(Pacific Rim)(Memorandum of Understanding, Dalian Commodity Exchange, CBOT)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The CBOT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) in Dalian, China. The CBOT's recent agreement follows an August MOU with the Taiwan Futures Exchange (Taifex). The CBOT and the DCE will share...

Gary takes helm at Future Dynamics.(Trading Places)(Jim Gary)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... After working for 18 months at Future Dynamics Inc. as a consultant to its U.S. expansion, Jim Gary found himself named chairman of the board in November. He expects to still focus on Future Dynamics' expansion, as well as oversee strategic...

Managing manager capital.(Managed Money Review)
January 1, 2004... Talk to investment professionals and they will say it is essential to have your money work for you. To that end, traders and retail customers alike use interest bearing Treasury bills as margin collateral and futures commission merchants...

$30 crude no longer shocks.(Hot Commodities)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Higher Asian demand and continued weakness in the dollar have crude oil above $30, and no one seems to mind. Alaron Energy Analyst Phil Flynn says that the old paradigm that $30 pills crude prices lead to demand destruction is no longer...

Copper dollar, dollar copper.(Hot Commodities)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... As is the case in many commodities, copper is being buttressed by demand from China. Copper has rallied to levels not seen in six years. Friedberg Mercantile group senior analyst Shalom Sanik says that means copper is flee to go higher without...

Dollar down, Euro up.(Hot Commodities)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The euro currency has been the largest beneficiary of continued weakness in the dollar, rising to record levels in 2003. Some analysts believe that thin trend will continue through 2004. Craig Russell, Alaron senior foreign exchange dealer,...

Trading the economic rebound: follow it or fade it? Strong economic numbers in late 2003, an election year, stimulative monetary and fiscal policies--analysts see a hot combination that could force the Fed to begin raising rates again by mid-year.(Markets)
January 1, 2004... "What everyone knows may not be worth knowing" is an adage that experienced traders know well. That's where the U.S. economy is as it enters 2004: Everyone seems to be Bullish about growth after seeing recent economic numbers and realizing...

'Considerable period' grows shorter.(Market Watch)
January 1, 2004... Not everyone will agree, but Federal Reserve policymakers took a major step down the road toward eventual interest rate hikes at their Dec. 9 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. True, the FOMC's closely read rate announcement...

Sudden spike syndrome: trading news.(Forex Trader)
January 1, 2004... In this volatile era, even small traders need to scan the markets for potential and actual conditions that threaten the price patterns in place. Surprise is the enemy of the unprepared, whether it's the business of government or trading. Now,...

Why SSFs on ETFs might be a nice fit: single stock futures on exchange-traded funds are attractive products, particularly for retail investors who find it difficult to borrow modest lots of ETF shares to take short positions. Arbitrage among related index-linked instruments keeps spreads tight.(Equity Trading Techniques)(single stock futures)(exchange-traded funds)
January 1, 2004... The single stock futures (SSF) contract on Russell 2000 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been the most successful SSF contract introduced since these instruments began trading in late 2002. Although trading volume of the contract on the...

Eur's on first: with a new year upon us, it's time to review the 2003 performance of our favorite analysis tool, the oats/notes spread, and introduce even more measures into our collection of spuriously correlated indicators.(Trading Techniques)
January 1, 2004... IF ABBOTT & COSTELLO RETURNED AS FUTURES TRADERS... Abbott: Let's see, here in Chicago, we have Eurex on first, Euronext. Liffe on second and the Merc on third. Costello: What do they trade? Abbott: Euros. Costello: Euro...

Protecting your trades with volatility stops: once you decide what to compute for volatility, you have a way to set trailing stops using a technical indicator while at the same time providing a method for following a trend.(Trading Techniques)
January 1, 2004... It has been said that 80% of traders are on the right side of a trade when they enter. Then why is it that 90% of those traders end up in a losing trade? Could it be that they simply don't know where to place their stops? The idea of...

Trading with three-line price break charts: charts that focus only on price eliminate much of the market "noise' and identify trends more clearly. Combined with candle signals, they can be the basis of an effective trading strategy.(Trading Techniques)
January 1, 2004... A method of charting that hash t received a lot of attention can help you define trends in a manner not found using algorithmic indicators. Known as the three-line price break (3pb), the method's sole purpose is to convey the true message of...

Why cycles point to higher interest rates: after a series of lows and lower highs for more than three years, a higher high in the current 40-week cycle suggest yields bottomed last June and have shifted into an upward phase.(Trading Techniques)
January 1, 2004... Investors and students of the bond market are well aware that long-term interest rates have been falling for several years, posting a multi-decade low last June. The decreasing rates sparked euphoria for many. Consumers took advantage of...

IT solutions redefined.(information technology)
January 1, 2004... You may be a master of your market--whatever it is you trade, but what do you do when there s a technical problem if you don t understand the technology behind online trading? If you are a techie you can fix it yourself, but you just may not...

Finding candlesticks inside the E-mini S&P: candlestick charting can be complex, turning traders away from using it at all, but there are advantages to being familiar with at least a few continuation and reversal patterns--and it doesn't have to get too complicated.(Futures 101)
January 1, 2004... The candlestick techniques traders are familiar with today originated as a technical charting method used by the Japanese more than 100 years before the development of the price bar or point-and-figure techniques. According to Shaun...

It's all notional: new rules for reporting: the use of notional funding along with regulations on how a manager must report performance has given both managers and regulators heartburn through the years. The industry is again trying to reform the system so that customers will be able to make an apples to apples comparison of trading advisors.(Managed Money)
January 1, 2004... In July the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) adopted a com principle approach to performance reporting that punted the responsibility of writing a more detailed rule to the National Futures Association (NFA). In November, the NFA...

One year in and the jury is still out: every new product suffers growing pains, and security futures products are no different--as the recent de-listing of 29 single-stock futures at NQLX illustrates. Perhaps a page needs to be taken from some European exchanges, which have traded these products longer and with more volume.(Trade Trends)
January 1, 2004... OneChicago Managing Director Peter Borish and NQLX boss Bob Fitzsimmons say they'll need more than the inaugural year to produce the volume that some had envisioned for security futures products (SFP). Boding well for SFPs is that similar...

Practical Speculation.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... By Victor Niederhoffer and Laurel Kenner John Wiley & Sons Inc. New Jersey (2003) 388 pages, $29.95 In 1997, Victor Niederhoffer had to liquidate his hedge fund due to the market plunge of Oct. 27 that wiped out the fund's equity because...

Fibonacci For the Active Trader.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... By Derrik S. Hobbs TradingMarkets Publishing Group (2003) 221 pages, $49.95 The book's preface begins with a disclaimer familiar to traders: "It should not be assumed that methods... presented in this book will be profitable or that they...

Trading Options to Win.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... By S.A. Johnston John Wiley & Sons, New York (2003) 306 pages, $49.95 First-time author S.A. Johnston has crafted a compelling book on how to trade options. The book is not for beginners or for the reader who does not have the time to...

Dateline.(Calendar)
January 1, 2004... CONTRACT DATES 2 FND: BM&F Alcohol F, Conillon coffee F, Euronext-Liffe Coffee F. LTD: BM&F Alcohol OF, CME Live cattle OF, Nybot Feb Cocoa OF. 5 LTD: Euronext-P Com F. 9 LTD: BM&F Feb Arabica coffee OF, Feb Crystal sugar OF, Feb...

Sticking with what you know.(Trader Profile)(George Hohas, First Southeastern Capital Management)
January 1, 2004... George Hohas, chairman, CEO and principal of commodity trading advisor First Southeastern Capital Management, watched his Diversified Financials and Currency 2X trading program take first place in Barclay's top CTAs for September with more than...

Categories of futures/options firms.(Source Book 2004)(Directory)
January 1, 2004... The firms listed in Futures' 2004 SourceBook are broken into four groups--brokers/advisors, information suppliers, electronic/computer services and professional services. Some categories are defined by the NFA or CFTC; some are...

Futures & options industry firms.(National Futures Association)(Directory)
January 1, 2004... The following is an alphabetical listing of U.S. firms serving the futures and options industry that responded to our requests to be listed in the Futures' 2004 SourceBook. The basic listing includes the firm name in boldface type followed...

Futures & options industry firms.(Directory)
January 1, 2004... M Constant A.J. Madon 116 Consumers Square, Suite 305, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. (518) 561-6457. E-mail: fleur64@charter.net. (CTA, PSR) Maize & Blue Group Inc. 1321 Seventh St., Suite 209, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310)...

Non-U.S. listings.(Futures & Options Industry Firms)(Directory)
January 1, 2004... AUSTRALIA AmeriCorp Capital Markets Associates Level 23, St. Martins Tower, Perth, WA 6000, Australia. E-mail: americorp@one.net.au. Web: www.americorpgroup.com. (CPO, B, IH, PSR) Commodity Hedging Co. PO Box 216, Caloundra, QLD...

Futures & options exchanges.(Source Book 2004)(Directory)
January 1, 2004... Here we list the world's futures and options exchanges. U.S. exchanges first, then overseas exchanges, alphabetically by country. Only U.S. contracts with a minimum average daily volume of one, are listed, while only non-U.S. contracts with a...

Industry regulators.(Source Book 2004; futures market)(Directory)
January 1, 2004... CHECKING ON YOUR BROKER Most of us will be involved with an industry regulator only when checking on the disciplinary history of brokers and trading advisors. The best way to check on U.S.-based firms is through the National Futures...