Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from November 2006

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from November 2006

Cracked wheat?(EDITOR'S NOTE)
November 1, 2006... Rumors were flying around the industry about the huge wheat rally that left Chicago Board of Trade locals battered and bloodied, a la stock traders after Oct. 19, 1987. The reason was largely an old-but-new trading method that takes advantage...

Killing fields? October surprise.
November 1, 2006... There are credible fundamental reasons why wheat rallied in early October: tight supplies and an Australian drought wiping out 50% of its estimated crop. And given the rally and tight supplies in the old crop, you could see how a bull spread...

Paper anniversary: Rogers' Refco recovery.(Trendlines)
November 1, 2006... It now has been a year since Phillip Bennett, Refco Inc. CEO, was discovered hiding more than half a billion dollars in bad debt, crashing the giant brokerage firm into scandal and landing it in bankruptcy court. And while many customers and...

Future exchange? ICAP Express is rolling.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... If London-based interdealer broker ICAP can't buy a regulated exchange (it was Liffe's largest shareholder before the formation of Euronext.LIFFE and recently called off talks to buy the London Stock Exchange), they sure look ready to mutate...

A right to privacy: CBOT makes good.(Trendlines)
November 1, 2006... Anonymity is one of the frequently cited advantages of electronic trading, so when Christopher Hehmeyer, cochairman of Goldenberg Hehmeyer & Co., discovered that it didn't exist at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the CBOT, he made it...

Faster faster: CME goes direct.(Trendlines)
November 1, 2006... The CME will offer customer firms the opportunity to connect their co-located trading servers to the CME through high-speed fiber optic connections before year-end. These redundant server connections are expected to decrease network latency...

Chartview: wheat spreads explode.(Trendlines)
November 1, 2006... Bullish fundamentals caught wheat spreaders on the wrong the side in October. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Source: eSignal

Buy in bulk: blocks R us.(Trendlines)
November 1, 2006... Regulation NMS has opened up the stock trading arena to greater competition by basically requiring orders be matched to the best electronic price posted, similar to what has occurred in the equity options industry. This has led the...

Premature litigation?(International News)(Chicago Board Options Exchange)(Chicago Board of Trade)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), in its efforts to convert to a shareholder-owned company from a member-controlled organization, has asked that a lawsuit filed by the CBOT be dismissed. The purpose of CBOT's lawsuit, filed in...

Check is in the mail.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... It's a free ride that you've already paid for... or the trading fee rebate you forgot to cash in. That's the lament of at least three, and probably many more, major futures commission merchants that admit to leaving more than $500,000 on...

Deal or no deal?(International News)
November 1, 2006... After news was released that the Korea Exchange (KRX) was interested in acquiring stakes in Asian counterparts such as the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Singapore Exchange (SGX), the SGX was quick to state it was not in direct discussions...

Clarke steps up to lead Man.(Trading Places)(appointment of Peter Clarke as chief executive at Man Group PLC)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Peter Clarke will be group chief executive for Man Group plc effective April 1, 2007. He joined Man Group in 1993 and served in many capacities, most recently as deputy CEO. "I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the group's continued...

Chicago Board Options Exchange.(Trading Places)
November 1, 2006... The Chicago Board Options Exchange's board extended Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky's contract two years through December 2009.

Dow Jones Indexes.(Trading Places)
November 1, 2006... Jamie Farmer has recently been named senior director of operations for Dow Jones Indexes. Previously he was at Susquehanna International.

FXMarketSpace.(Trading Places)
November 1, 2006... Rick Sears is now president and chief sales officer for FXMarketSpace, a joint venture between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Reuters. FXMarketSpace also named former Goldenberg, Hehmeyer & Co. chief operating officer Debra Rabichow...

CME.(Trading Places)
November 1, 2006... Derek Sammann is now managing director of foreign exchange products at the CME. Previously he led FX options and structured FX products for Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank.

Block Interest Discovery Service.(Trading Places)
November 1, 2006... Timothy Mahoney was named CEO of recently formed alternative trading system (ATS), Block Interest Discovery Service (BIDS).

Deconstructing Amaranth.(Amaranth Advisors LLC)(Statistical data)
November 1, 2006... With all the stories attempting to deconstruct the Amaranth Advisors LLC hedge fund blow up, it is hard to know exactly what truly happened; besides, of course, that it lost approximately 65% or $6 billion in a week's time. One thing is for...

Fatigue trumps fear.(Hot Commodities)(rise in oil prices)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Neither hurricanes nor war with Iran nor other supply disruptions have materialized, thus dissipating the fear premium in the face of large crude oil stocks and a seasonal decline in gasoline demand. "We have a complacent market," says...

Dow hits new top.(Dow Jones Industrial Average)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high of 12006 on Oct. 12, with earnings season just around the corner. "Earning should come in good compared with last year when Katrina hit," says Scott Hoffman, senior broker at...

Yen under pressure.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Even before reports of North Korea's nuclear test, the Japanese yen was weak against the dollar due to strong U.S. employment numbers, a series of disappointing Japanese economic releases throughout the summer and the carry trade. "A lot of...

Midterm election trade.(Market Strategy)
November 1, 2006... Recent political drama has created interesting potential trades for investors utilizing options. The outlook for control of the House of Representatives after the November elections has become less certain, as evidenced by the Tradesports.com...

Deflating all asset classes.
November 1, 2006... In mid 2006 there was a puzzling tailspin in a slew of disparate financial markets. Various pundits ascribe the drops to inconsistent communication from the Federal Reserve, economic confusion and/or an all-time high in uncertainty. But an...

What will move grains in 2007? Traders cannot deny it. Energy demand impinges on today's grain markets. But more familiar drivers like China, weather and production costs also weigh on the minds of commodity traders. Analysts must sort through the new and the well-established grain factors to determine where the markets are headed.(MARKETS)(Cover story)
November 1, 2006... Name the grain; corn, soybeans, and even wheat, and analysts and traders can rarely provide an outlook without discussing energy demand. Traders joke that if they had a dollar for every time they have said "ethanol" throughout the last year...

Tech talk: indicator analysis.(MARKETS)
November 1, 2006... The different ways markets react in a sideways versus trend environment can be dramatic and should affect how you enter trades and how you react to technical signals. So how can you identify conditions when you need to be more or less...

Forex misconceptions.(Forex Trader)
November 1, 2006... The difference between an experienced trader and a novice is that the experienced trader knows what he needs to know. While each trader learns at his own pace, the experience of wins and losses is the best teacher. However, this process is...

Understanding the downside: losses are a reality of trading. Rather than trying to ignore them, traders need to learn everything they can about bad trades so they can avoid them and maybe even turn some to their advantage.
November 1, 2006... There is an abundance of educational material on succeeding at trading. Most of it covers taking profits and what to do with them. This treatment often gets new traders excited about trading and pulls them into the game. However, it is...

A component approach to trading systems: by breaking down a trading system into its components, we can isolate each area to make sure it meshes with our risk/reward tolerances and goals and is more likely to be accurately implemented.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
November 1, 2006... There are several different ways to approach trading-system development. Although each trader needs to find what works for him, one concept that has nearly universal appeal is a component model of trading system design. In this design, the...

Opportunity found: trading successfully often depends on trading carefully. By combining a number of indicators, each tuned into separate market conditions, you can better assure your likelihood of success.
November 1, 2006... Technical analysis and the theories behind the study of price are the bases for many trading indicators. Indicators often lead to the development of trading systems or strategies, through the combining of a trader's selected tools and the...

The variable TED spread: information on relationships between Eurodollar futures, interest-rate swaps and Treasury yields can help with hedging and trading in the highly-structured market. It is possible to simulate Eurodollar yields and rates based on their predictable association with U.S. Treasury-yields.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
November 1, 2006... A series of flat U.S. Treasury yield curves during 2006 has permitted an especially clear view of the structure of Eurodollar futures market rates and yields. As shown on "Rates and yields" (right), Eurodollar futures' quarterly market rates...

Profiting with pivots: in today's computerized world, the simple things are often overlooked. However, it's often the simple techniques that stand the test of time. Here is one such tool that works in any market and on any time frame, provided there is an established trend.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
November 1, 2006... While many modern traders prefer high-tech solutions, some of us have found simplicity to be the answer to profitable trading. So-called "sophisticated" technicians with their multi-screened computers, crammed with all the latest software often...

Arcades are here to stay.(Online Trading)(Trading arcades and proprietary trading)
November 1, 2006... As more exchanges rush to get all of their products on the screen, making them available to U.S and international traders, the deepest pools of liquidity anywhere in the financial futures universe are now available on the screen. Trading...

Follow the fundamentals: fundamental research can be overwhelming and many traders will tell you not to make decisions on fundamentals alone but understanding the fundamental drivers of markets is essential in trading--even if you ultimately trade technically.(FUTURES 101)
November 1, 2006... Fundamental analysis encompasses a lot. While technical analysts follow the concept that the historical performance of markets can indicate future performance, fundamental analysis is based on the theory that the price of a commodity at any...

Carter: out of the pit ...(Off the Floor)(Jack Carter)(Brief biography)
November 1, 2006... Jack Carter, eldest son of President Jimmy Carter, has taken a long route to entering the family business: one that went through the financial futures trading pits of Chicago, several interbank trading rooms and an offshore hedge fund center....

CQG Version 7.3883.(Software Review)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2006... CQG Version 7.3883 311 S. Wacker Suite 3810 Chicago, IL 60606 Tel: 800-525-7082 E-mail: websales@cqg.com OVERALL RATING: Good/Excellent LEVEL: Intermediate PRICE: $545.00 per month for base package, which...

Long opportunities: money benchmarked to long-only commodity index funds continues to expand--even in the face of a couple of serious corrections. Will these funds continue to grow unimpeded? What risks and opportunities do they provide traders?(MANAGED MONEY)
November 1, 2006... Commodity indexes have been around for a long time but it has only been the last few years that they have become the benchmark for a significant amount of passive investment dollars. Index funds gained favor in the latter part of the equity...

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

Entries and Exits: Visits to Sixteen Trading Rooms.(Book review)
November 1, 2006... Entries and Exits: Visits to Sixteen Trading Rooms By Alexander Elder John Wiley & Sons Inc. 112 pages, $40 It's an occupational hazard: traders can't get away from their work. Dr. Alexander Elder was climbing the walls after...

The TRENDadvisor Guide to Breakthrough Profits.(Book review)
November 1, 2006... The TRENDadvisor Guide to Breakthrough Profits By Chuck Dukas & T. Parker Gallagher John Wiley & Sons Inc. 198 pages, $60 To succeed in the stock market, investors need a logical trading methodology with specific rules that...

Going for profit: it's been five years since Deutsche Borse went public, and four years since the Chicago Mercantile Exchange followed suit--providing a jolt to shareholders of both exchanges. Now for-profit is the new market model. What does it mean for the trader?(TRADE TRENDS)
November 1, 2006... When Olof Stenhammar launched Sweden's Options Market (OM) in 1984, it was the platypus of the derivatives industry: a privately-owned, for-profit options exchange with no trading floor and no liquidity pool. A few years later, OM opened the...

CFTC: still in limbo; Congress has kept reauthorization of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission on hold since late last year. When will the sun shine on the agency again?(TRADE TRENDS)
November 1, 2006... The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), which authorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is a "sunset" act, which means it needs the reauthorization of Congress, usually every five years, to continue. Its current mandate ran out on...

Ben Stein on the markets: while he's most famous for his role as a teacher in the comedy "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and for his game show "Win Ben Stein's Money," Ben Stein has had many professions and has always followed the markets. Here are his insights on trading and investing.(FUTURES INTERVIEW)(Interview)
November 1, 2006... Ben Stein is a lot of things. He was a lawyer in New Haven, Conn., and Washington, D.C. before becoming a trial lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission. He began his political career as a speechwriter and lawyer for President Richard M. Nixon,...

Contract dates.(Dateline)(Calendar)
November 1, 2006... 1 LTD: BM & F Alcohol OF, Euronext-Liffe Dec White sugar OF. [TABLE OMITTED] 2 LTD: CME Oct Milk F,OF, Oct Weather F, Safex Bonds F. 3 LTD: CME Mexican Peso OF, Rand OF, Euronext-Liffe Corn F, Nybot Currencies OF, Dollar index OF,...

Events coming up.(Calendar)
November 1, 2006... Call the numbers listed for more information. For other seminars, see the classifieds on pages 81-85. Traders Expo. NOV. 16-19. Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas. www.intershow.com. (800) 970-4355. FIA 22nd Annual Futures &...

Schindler: learning to control risk.(Trader Profile)
November 1, 2006... Few commodity trading advisors (CTA) have an advanced degree in particle physics, years of experience as an actuary in reinsurance and can claim to have designed trading systems for Monroe Trout. But Aaron E. Schindler, founder and head trader...