Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from March 2005

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from March 2005

Oh but for the ides.(Editorial)
March 1, 2005... Whenever people I meet find out the kind of business I'm in, and what our magazine is about, the question always is: "So, do you trade futures?" And my answer throughout the ages has been, "No, but if I did, I would put my money with the pros."...

Patent what?(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... I just finished ["Patent this!" January 2005]. I couldn't help but laught out loud and then slowly begin to get angry. The depth-of-market display shows that the order book works as a linear potentiometer. Basically, a linear strip (the...

Gold isn't money.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... As director of the American Monetary Institute, I've appreciated receiving Futures the past 14 years for the concise news and market analysis, including articles written by Elliott Wave theorist Robert Prechter. However, Mr. Prechter must be...

All gassed up: CFTC energy crackdown continues.(Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
March 1, 2005... The crackdown on energy traders by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has kept the industry on edge. The CFTC won a final judgment against American Electric Power Company Inc. (AEP) and a subsidiary, requiring it to pay a $30...

Citibank EU Bond investigations heat up.(Trendlines)
March 1, 2005... Citibank has been in hot water with European regulators and market participants since August, when one of its trading desks "flipped" the cash bond market by selling [euro]12 billion ($15.44 million) worth of government bonds on various cash...

Out on a technicality? Firm claims loophole in TT patents.(Spooz Inc. says its software works around Trading Technologies's solution)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... When Paul Strickland, the CEO of the trading software firm Spooz Inc., asked someone to broker a deal between Spooz and Trading Technologies, he was told that "you don't tug on superman's cape." The reference was apt because Spooz is offering...

Let it ride; LSE: the race is on!(possible acquisition of London Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... After months of false starts and jostling for position, the three-way race for control of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) that everyone ultimately expected has finally begun in earnest. In mid-February, Paris-based Euronext and...

Chartview: spiders options have many webs.(Standard and Poor's Depository Receipts)
March 1, 2005... Index creator Standard and Poor's has created a valuable brand and has carved licensing agreements with various exchanges to list derivatives on its indexes in multiple forms. The growth in types of derivatives has created some legal confusion...

Parked and fined: Griffin repayment on horizon.(Roger S. Griffin and Farrel J. Griffin )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A new settlement in an old case brings a nearly $4.7 million judgment against Farrel J. Griffin and Roger S. Griffin of futures commission merchant and commodity broker Griffin Trading Co. Inc. A judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court...

33 years of Futures ...(Trendlines)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Futures has thrived for more than three decades by providing unbiased tips, news, profiles, advice and current market analysis. Here, we spotlight some events Futures has covered during its 33 years. This flashback includes some articles from...

From RIO to Chicago.(International News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in January approved specifications for its much-anticipated South American soybean contract and announced the launch of its Denali Project, which promises greater speed and efficiency in the electronic order...

IPO futures trend.(initial public offerings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Following the trend of futures industry IPOs, online brokerage optionsXpress went public Jan. 27 and dual-listed on the electronic Archipelago Exchange (ArcaEx) and Nasdaq. Shares of optionsXpress Holdings Inc. rose 23% on the IPO. ArcaEx...

Safer futures in China.(International News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... China regulators will allow the launch of joint ventures on the mainland by qualified overseas financial institutions and let domestic enterprises trade futures overseas for arbitrage under sound risk control. Also, a futures investor...

Merger realized.(International News)
March 1, 2005... Korea Exchange (KRX), the integrated bourse that resulted from the merger of three exchanges (the Korea Stock Exchange, the Korea Futures Exchange and the Kosdaq Stock Market) opened Jan. 27. Total volume at the KRX in January was 8.3 billion...

MFA making lemonade.(Managed Funds Association working with Securities and Exchange Commission for preparing managers for registration )
March 1, 2005... After fighting the good fight in opposing the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) quest to register hedge funds, the Managed Funds Association ((MFA) has changed course and is now working with the SEC to make sure managers are prepared...

Amex names acting CEO.(Trading Places)
March 1, 2005... The American Stock Exchange (Amex) has named Neal Wolkoff, former chief operating officer of the New York Mercantile Exchange, acting CEO. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wolkoff worked for Nymex for seven years and is credited with...

Beans in the dust.(Hot Commodities)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... It was less than a year ago when we asked the cyclical question, "Will we see beans in the teens?" It doesn't look like we will be asking that question any time soon, though. But with the volatility agricultural commodities have had the last...

Hi ho, silver!(analysis of the commodities market)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Precious metals have been nearly 100% negatively correlated to the dollar in recent years, but that has not always been the case. Garrett Jones, market analyst for commodity trading advisor Global Financial Trading Group, says we could be...

Euro currency at tipping point.(Hot Commodities)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... One week into February, the euro currency hit the 50% retracement level from the rally started in the second quarter of 2004. The euro rebounded after making new lows on a raft of positive news for the U.S. economy, indicating profit taking...

A transparently uncertain FED.(Federal Reserve banks, market watch)
March 1, 2005... In this era of "transparency," there is a lot of Federal Reserve commentary. But transparency does not necessarily yield certainty or predictability. Fed officials have made clear they want to return the federal funds rate to "neutral,"...

Stock outlook: is the glass half empty or half full? It takes two sides to make a market. This year is no different for U.S. stock markets. We talked to traders and analysts on both sides of the aisle. Here are the arguments for higher and lower prices in 2005.(MARKETS)
March 1, 2005... The laundry list of items weighing on this year's stock market runs long, according to the bears: High oil prices, the war in Iraq, a declining dollar, huge trade and budget deficits and rising interest rates. Bulls say regardless of a down...

Tech talk: MACD makes the difference.(MARKETS)(moving average convergence divergence)
March 1, 2005... It's prudent for all traders, no matter what their trading timeframe, to examine longer-term price charts on markets in which they are interested, to gain that important bigger-picture price perspective. It's important to know the longer term...

Stepping in as Bank of Japan stays out.(Market Strategy)
March 1, 2005... Last year may have been known as the year of the euro, but 2005 might be the year of the yen, or at least the beginning of the yen's long awaited bull run. Japanese authorities cannot afford stacking their $700 billion plus chest of U.S....

Misbehavior of forex markets.(Forex Trader)
March 1, 2005... In 1951. a hydrologist named Hurst needed to solve the mystery of why the Nile river shifted from a predictable flow to drastic floods. A result of his equations was the correct height of the Aswan dam. More important for our purposes, it...

How best to evaluate system performance: an easy-to-use measure will allow you to quickly and reliably evaluate the efficiency that your trading system achieves. Static evaluation ignores sequence and distribution of trades over time, but a new dynamic risk-monitoring indicator helps take account of large consecutive strings of losses properly.(EQUITY TRADING TECHNIQUES)
March 1, 2005... Learning how to judge and compare trading systems is at least as important as actually building them. One problem is a choice of an appropriate performance measurement. Using the right criteria is an important cornerstone not only in an...

Option selling: getting defensive; All trading methods are dangerous if you don't keep a close eye on the downside. Option selling is no different. Here, we look at ways to protect yourself if the market moves against you.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
March 1, 2005... Inexperienced traders are often leery of selling options, but usually for the wrong reasons. Many new traders seem to believe that the risk of selling options somehow exceeds that of trading futures--and that the risk should be managed via use...

The euro and the logic of money: careful analysis of where the dollar/euro has been may give us some clues to where it might go.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
March 1, 2005... It has been 15 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. One memorable image of that era was the reopening of a bridge between Romania and the largely ethnically Romanian Soviet Republic of...

You can trade clearly now with ODI: one problem with traditional indicators is they can work great in some markets, but are terrible in others. However, if you manipulate the data before you apply your analysis tools, you can get a clearer picture.(trading techniques)
March 1, 2005... As times change, so do terms and definitions. And markets, which are projections of human behaviors, evolve along with their changing environments. To stay surfing on the tide, the trader must evolve as well, changing his ideas and tools...

Trading around an idealized model: it is fairly easy to take advantage of some of the assumptions built into trading system development software and generate incredible returns. However, such systems have little use in the real world. Or, do they?(trading techniques)
March 1, 2005... There have been hours of lectures and reams of printed works proclaiming the futility of spontaneous trading. As one whose sole success comes from the mechanical side, I've been very clear about my alignment with that position. Most people...

Myths and facts of trading: whether you're a new trader or an expert, there are many myths that exist in trading, and not knowing what's false can hinder your ability to be successful.(futures 101)
March 1, 2005... Like any new trader, you may hear certain "truisms." While some myths are exactly that, some are actually true. Here are a few of the most talked about myths (and facts). A common perception among the newest participants in the commodity...

A better-educated trader lasts longer.(Online Trading)
March 1, 2005... For a trader with a computer and a connection to the Internet, trading and market education is never far from reach. Teachmefutures.com is the latest Web site in the fast growing market of online educational resources for futures traders,...

Top traders of 2004: it was a roller coaster year for many trend followers, while more agile discretionary, agricultural and countertrend traders fared better. Most encouraging was money under management continued to grow despite the rough patch indicating that investors are seeing the diversification value of managed futures and not just placing hot money.(managed money)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2005... A strong fourth quarter was necessary for most diversified systematic traders to post positive numbers in 2004, a tough year for trend followers. Most managers were up early on as existing trends from 2003 led to a positive first quarter, but...

Harris Brumfield makes an offer; Harris Brumfield has been a maverick since arriving in Chicago and quickly becoming one of the largest market makers on the Chicago Board of Trade. He made a remarkable transition from floor to screen, but that may not be as difficult as his current project: making an ISV consistently profitable.(Q & A)(Interview)
March 1, 2005... Since being awarded two patents for its MD Trader depth of market software in August, Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Trading Technologies (TT) has taken a strategic approach to defending its intellectual property. TT has a patent...

Not your father's trading technology: a new wave of trading front ends promises to deliver professional-style analytical tools cheaply via the Internet while connectivity providers scramble to differentiate themselves in transactions measured in nanoseconds. Here is a peek at just a few of the technologies driving the trading revolution and what they have in store tomorrow.(trade trends)
March 1, 2005... When Trading Technologies boss Harris Brumfield made his now infamous offer to swap TT's technology for a cut of round-turn commissions (see "Harris Brumfield makes an offer," page 68), he sent a message echoed by technology providers across...

Contract dates.(Dateline)(Calendar)
March 1, 2005... 1 FND:D: BM & F Conillion coffee F, Corn F, Cotton F, Nybot Feb Ethanol F, Orange juice F, Sugar #11 F. LND: Nybot Feb Ethanol F, Sugar #11 F. LTD: BM & F Alcohol OF. [TABLE OMITTED] 2 FND: BM & F Alcohol F, Arabica coffee F. LTD: CME...

Events coming up.(Calendar)
March 1, 2005... Call the numbers listed for more information. For other seminars, see the classifieds on pages 80-85. 21st Annual Risk Management Conference. MAR. 6-9. Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale Arizona. (202) 466-5460....

Caine: managing premium, managing risk.(Trader Profile, Anthony Caine)(Biography)
March 1, 2005... Anthony Caine, a successful businessman and entrepreneur, wasn't looking for a new line of work when he befriended a group of traders on his daily commute to downtown Chicago in the early 1980s, but his natural curiosity about derivatives...