Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from October 2007

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from October 2007

Wake up call.(EDITOR'S NOTE)(Editorial)
October 1, 2007... With all the current volatility, huge losses and uncertainty in the markets, a friend recommended reading "A Short History of Financial Eurphoria" by John Kenneth Galbraith. So I picked it up and read through the history of euphoric moments in...

One big cluster ... Sentinel fails.(Trendlines)
October 1, 2007... In an industry that is often regarded as high risk, involving complex investment strategies and flamboyant traders, the custodial cash management business is usually viewed as the mousy librarian at the party. This is not a sexy investment...

Street corner shell game: Refco trustee brings suits.(Trendlines)
October 1, 2007... Though more than two years old, the Refco bankruptcy still has players fighting over blame and cash. In a lawsuit seeking more than $2 billion in damages and penalties from Refco auditor Grant Thornton LLP (GT), law firm Mayer Brown LLP (MB)...

Chartview: high-priced free speech.(Trendlines)
October 1, 2007... One way of measuring the increasing clout of the derivatives markets might be the amount of money the exchanges spend reaching out to our elected officials, and spending has clearly accelerated compared to last year. In 2006, the Chicago...

Forex is hot: more options in FX.(Trendlines)
October 1, 2007... Forex is a big topic and while the market expands into an array of OTC products, many exchanges are offering products on their exchanges that offer traders more security. CME Group, which is a regulated marketplace for foreign exchange...

ICE closes deal.(International News)
October 1, 2007... ICE expects to integrate its newly acquired Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) with its own electronic platform in the fourth quarter of 2007. ICE completed its purchase of WCE, which trades mainly canola futures, in August for C$50 million...

Dubal hubs roll.(International News)
October 1, 2007... German futures platform Eurex has become the latest futures exchange to announce the opening of a trading hub in Dubai--following the CME and Euronext.Liffe. All three hubs will be located in the Dubai International Financial Center, which...

Synergies equal Benefits.(International News)(Peregrine Financial Group)(American National Trading Corporation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Peregrine Financial Group Inc. (PFG) announced it reached an agreement with Los Angeles-based futures commission merchant American National Trading Corporation (ANTC) to purchase all of its assets. "PFG and ANTC are joining forces to better...

Ethiopia to open exchange.(International News)
October 1, 2007... The Ethiopian Commodities Exchange Project looks set to deliver results in December, project leader Eleni Gabre-Medhin told a gathering of emerging market exchange leaders in Geneva, Switzerland. The ECEX will electronically connect 10...

Indian weather sunny.(International News)(Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Futures on the Key Indian food commodities of tur, urad, wheat and rice remain suspended, but weather derivatives are going strong and helping farmers across the continent share risk, according to Lamon Rutten, joint managing director of the...

South Africa leads in SSF.(International News)
October 1, 2007... Almost unnoticed, South Africa's Johannesberg Stock Exchange has eclipsed the National Stock Exchange (NSX) of India to become the world's largest platform for single-stock futures. The volume for the first six months hit nearly 90 million,...

Russia just got sweeter.(International News)
October 1, 2007... The Russian Trading System Stock Exchange will launch its first sugar futures contract on Sept. 19. Russia, the world's largest raw sugar importer, refined 30% more sugar than in the preceding crop year, enough to cover more than half of its...

Cfets to clear CME.(International News)
October 1, 2007... The CFTC has proposed to allow the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and National Interbank Funding Center (CFETS) to clear for customers residing in China and conducting foreign currency and interest futures transactions at the CME.

Gordon promoted to chairman of RCG.(Trading Places)(Scott Gordon has been promoted to Chairman of Rosenthal Collins Group L.P.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Scott Gordon has been promoted to chairman of Rosenthal Collins Group (RCG) and will continue as CEO of RCG. Gordon served as chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from 1998 to 2002. He was president and chief operating officer of Tokyo...

Maureen Downs has been promoted to president of RCG.(Trading Places)
October 1, 2007... Also, Maureen Downs has been promoted to president of RCG. Previously she was executive vice president and formerly was as director of corporate development at Sara Lee.

Thomas J. Hammond was appointed president and chief operating officer of ICE Clear U.S. Inc.(Trading Places)
October 1, 2007... Thomas J. Hammond was appointed president and chief operating officer of ICE Clear U.S. Inc. Previously he was director at the Chicago Board of Trade and executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Board of Trade Clearing Corp.

William E. Hill was named president and chief operating officer at the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE).(Trading Places)
October 1, 2007... William E. Hill was named president and chief operating officer at the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE). Most recently, he was senior vice president of long-term marketing development and a board member at the WCE.

Jill E. Sommers and Bart Chilton have been sworn in as commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.(Trading Places)
October 1, 2007... Jill E. Sommers and Bart Chilton have been sworn in as commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Previously Sommers was the policy director and head of government affairs at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association....

Donald L. Horwitz was named managing director and general counsel for OneChicago.(Trading Places)
October 1, 2007... Donald L. Horwitz was named managing director and general counsel for OneChicago. Prior he was executive director and senior counsel at UBS.

Patrick Birley is now chief executive of the European Climate Exchange.(Trading Places)
October 1, 2007... Patrick Birley is now chief executive of the European Climate Exchange. Prior he was chief executive of LCH.Clearnet Ltd.

Finding managers.(Managed Money Review)(Man Global Strategies)(Statistical table)
October 1, 2007... Man Global Strategies (MGS) launched a seeding and incubation platform for U.S-based hedge fund managers this summer that could provide start-up managers with a boost as they develop their programs. According to MGS, the Founders Program...

Options strategy.
October 1, 2007... Question: Is there a way to participate in the full upside of a stock without facing the same downside risk? Answer: Yes, with the Stock Replacement Strategy. Most stock investors firmly believe that options are high-risk investments,...

Gas at uncomfortable levels.(Hot Commodities)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... As we head into October, hurricane season has been a nonevent from a supply standpoint and natural gas inventories are 10% higher than the five-year average. As a result, prices have collapsed since mid August. And we can still look forward to...

Wheat shouting higher.(Hot Commodities)
October 1, 2007... Wheat supplies are tight and getting tighter, driving prices to all-time highs, and yet non-U.S. buying continues. "Countries that passed at $6 and $7 dollars are now buying at $8. It has gone parabolic," says Stephen Davis, senior market...

Flight to safety.(Hot Commodities)(Citigroup Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... With the uncertainty in the stock market and with mortgage based securities in shambles, 10-year Treasury notes have been a logical destination for those on a flight to safety, and since June, the 10-year has rallied to 111-00 from 103-16. "The...

Energy markets getting grizzly? In recent weeks, crude oil was approaching all-time record highs, even as gasoline prices declined. Will these trends continue? With the summer driving season over and winter approaching, our analysts will answer these questions and provide a fundamental outlook for crude oil.(MARKETS)
October 1, 2007... In many ways, the 2007 energy market looks very much like it did last year. Tensions are high in the Middle East; and in the United States, where less than 5% of the world's population continues to consume almost a quarter of the world's crude...

Tech talk: is oil due for a major correction?(Markets)(Wichita Technology Institute)
October 1, 2007... The technical side of the crude oil market coupled with weak equity markets is taking center stage as geopolitics have gone a bit quiet while the fundamentals of oil have become a drag on the uptrend. But will the above two drivers be enough to...

The forex flu.(Forex Trader)
October 1, 2007... It was clear that the yen patterns, influenced by the titanic volume of the carry trade (estimated to be above $1 trillion), were getting ready to breakdown this summer. The monthly chart of the key GBP/JPY pair showed an ominous parabolic...

Using trend dynamics for day-trading profits: markets tend to close on or near their intraday extremes. This tendency can be exploited for great profit if you develop the discipline to wait for and ride these frequent one-day trends.(EQUITY TRADING TECHNIQUES)
October 1, 2007... Take this unscientific personality test: 1. Do you get more satisfaction from fighting a market and being right or from flowing with a market and being right? 2. Is it easy for you to stay in cash when you do not see a good trade? 3. Is it easy...

Profiting with commodity ETFs: with the combined benefits of commodity ETFs and an option strategy that involves buying deep-in-the-money call options, you can benefit from price appreciation in the energies with relatively little downside risk.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
October 1, 2007... If you're interested in energy market exposure without paying full price for energy stocks or having the unlimited risk that's associated with buying or selling energy futures, then consider a little-used options-trading strategy. It allows you...

Trading while the pit bulls sleep: if you're prepared to learn the nuances of overnight markets, they can provide a wealth of opportunities that most U.S. traders only dream about.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
October 1, 2007... An American in Paris sits at an ornate wooden desk in front of a hotel window overlooking the Place de la Concorde. He glances down at the pedestrians strolling along the Champs-Elysees, then refocuses on business. He studies his computer...

Price action fundamentals: although more complex strategies work for some, a proficiency in reading price action itself is sufficient to succeed in trading for most retail traders. Here, we define this concept and quantify some ways to profit from it.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
October 1, 2007... The term price action is vague and means different things to different people. The broadest definition refers to any representation on a chart of any aspect of price movement during the course of trading. This includes any financial instrument,...

Optimization: teaching an old dog new tricks.(TECHNOLOGY & TRADING)
October 1, 2007... No longer does optimization simply refer to the best parameters for a basket commodities. A dynamic approach to both trading systems and the markets they trade is an exciting new area of research that combines portfolio, system, optimization...

Tools for the advanced trader: institutional-based software firms and brokers are producing high level tools for advanced traders but retail traders are also benefitting from the myriad of high level trading tools being developed.(FUTURES 101)
October 1, 2007... In the first part of this two-part series we covered the basic offerings by trading softwares and platforms for retail traders. Of course, not everyone is a beginner and there are plenty of services and tools offered to the more advanced...

The science of cash management: with the failure of Sentinel Management Group, cash management, a relative backwater in terms of futures trading, was brought to the forefront. Here's one cash manager's view on what traders need to know about safely handling excess margin.(MANAGED MONEY)
October 1, 2007... "Things which hurt, instruct."--Benjamin Franklin It is a rare historical event when a credit-crunch induced financial market setback seeps its way into the conservative backwater of cash management. Yet that is exactly what has occurred...

Hot new CTAs: index programs excel; It has been another difficult year for CTAs, particularly trend followers and option writers but the return of equity market volatility has benefited short-term index traders; and the markets always provide opportunities for those managers who search diligently for it.(MANAGED MONEY)(commodity trading advisors)
October 1, 2007... This is the 18th year Futures has profiled emerging commodity trading advisors (CTA) and perhaps one of the more difficult years to make selections. Equity index programs that seemed on the wane in recent years made a comeback as the long bull...

Apples and options: retail derivatives trading exists around the world, but not all retail traders are serviced equally--and not all retail derivatives are futures, options or even ETFs. Here's an overview of how the other 90% of the world does its speculating.(TRADE TRENDS)
October 1, 2007... More than 1.000 private derivatives traders recently forked over a few thousand euros each to attend a two-day "Trading Expo" in Aschafffenberg, Germany--one of three trading-related conferences organized annually by independent trader Bruno...

Contract dates.(Dateline)(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... 1 LTD: BM & F Alcohol OF, iBrX 50 F, Euronext-Paris Nov Rapeseed Oil OF, Tocom Sep Crude Oil F. [TABLE OMITTED] 2 LTD: CME Sep Weather F, KRX 3 year Treasury bond OF. 3 LTD: CBOT Ethanol F. 4 LTD: CME Sep Milk F,OF. 5...

Events coming up.(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... Call the numbers listed for more information, For other seminars, see the classifieds on pages 69-73. MBF's Clearing Corp.'s The Logical trader 2007. OCT. 10-11. New York Mercantile Exchange, World Financial Center, New York, N.Y. (212)...

Kawaller: buying into a philosophy.(Trader Profile)
October 1, 2007... When Ira Kawaller worked for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as director of the New York office, he was precluded from trading, but as he marketed the relatively new options on futures products, an idea for a strategy occurred to him that would...