Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) articles from September 2004

Futures (Cedar Falls, IA) archives from September 2004

Crouching dollar, floating yuan?(EDITOR'S NOTE)
September 1, 2004... It's well timed that the Fed raised the Fed funds rate by 25 more basis points on the eve of when we ship to the printer our September issue--that features a fading U.S. dollar on the cover--only because what typically is good news for the U.S....

Hey, 'it' happens.(Sound Off!)
September 1, 2004... A recent letter from Senators Diane Feinstein and Maria Cantwell to [former Commodity Futures Trading Commission] Chairman James Newsome about the California energy crisis contains the following conclusion: "It appears that the CFTC either...

Track this!(Sound Off!)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... I was surprised when looking through the list of products and suppliers in the new 2004 special issue "Guide To Computerized Trading," to find that 2GK's and Medved's QuoteTracker (www.quotetracker.com) program was not listed. I use...

Back to the future.(Sound Off!)
September 1, 2004... I am a relatively new subscriber to Futures. I read with interest an article by Jack Broz in the current issue of Futures. The article referred to an earlier article in April 2004 called "Trading with Order flow," also by Jack Broz. I...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2004... In the July issue Futures 101, "Bearish options," an editing mistake resulted in two sentences being inadvertently and incorrectly spliced together. The example about bear call spread payoffs should have read: "If XYZ rises to or above 60...

The final electronic frontier: U.S. exchanges moving options to screens.(Trendlines)
September 1, 2004... Nick Harrison is not happy with the call-around telephone market for options that thrives in Europe. The OTC-style market where participants shop option trades over the telephone and just cross them on the exchange has grown out of the...

Ponzi put to bed: case closed in Princeton Global saga.(Trendlines)(Princeton Global Management)
September 1, 2004... The CFTC has ordered $14 million in restitution and fines to be paid by Ponzi scheme participants, William Rogers and Maria Toczlyowski, putting the finishing touches on a closely followed case that broke in 1999. Rogers and Toczlyowski,...

Quip and quote.
September 1, 2004... "One of the best things about electronic trading is you don't have to be in Chicago in February." --Larry Schulman of Cheiron Trading LLC speaking at a recent forum on expanding opportunities in global electronic futures trading.

Chartview: love/hate triangle.(Trendlines)(Chicago Mercantile Exchange sued Chicago Board Options Exchange and McGraw-Hill Inc.)
September 1, 2004... When the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in March sued the Chicago Board Options Exchange and its affiliate CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) claiming that its Volatility index (Vix) and variance futures contracts violated the CME's exclusive license to...

Unplugging energy scam.(International News)(United States. Commodity Futures Trading Commission)(Coral Energy L.P.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The CFTC in July settled three more actions charging alleged energy market manipulation and filed an additional case in what seems like a never ending investigation into false price reporting by energy market firms. Coral Energy Resources...

Second city targets big apple.(International News)(Board of Trade of the City of Chicago)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The CBOT announced on Aug. 11 plans to launch full-sized gold and silver futures contracts on Oct. 6. The contracts with identical specifications to those traded at the Comex division of Nymex will trade on the e-CBOT electronic platform from...

The Kospi is coming!(International News)(Korean Futures Exchange)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Korean Futures Exchange has filed an application with the CFTC seeking no action relief for its Kospi 200 index futures. The move would let U.S. customers freely trade the Kospi, technically the most actively traded equity index futures...

Japanese index goes prime time.(International News)(stock price indexes)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE), Russell Investment Group and Nomura Securities Co. are in a cooperative effort to list futures based on the Russell/Nomura Prime Index, a newly developed index co-developed by Russell/Nomura. "The...

Liquidity walk out.(International News)(International Petroleum Exchange of London Ltd.)
September 1, 2004... More than 100 International Petroleum Exchange locals walked off the London trading floor on July 21 to protest the exchange's plans to expand electronic trading of petroleum futures. The "strike" came on the day of an IPE shareholder meeting...

30 years ago in Futures ...(Trendlines)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Traders and markets come and go, but Futures has thrived for three decades by providing unbiased trading tips, news, profiles, advice and current market analysis. Starting in this issue, we'll spotlight some events Futures covered during its 32...

One way navigation? TT smart routing too savvy: CBOT.(Trendlines)(Trading Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... When Trading Technologies introduced its Navigator smart-routing technology in June, it was good news for European exchanges attempting to take a bite out of Chicago's marketshare in interest rate futures. The smart routing technology allows...

CFTC acting chairman named.(Trading Places: appointments)(Commodity Futures Trading Commission)(Bear, Stearns International Ltd)(COESfx)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska will promote the market integrity of energy markets as acting chairman of the CFTC. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "While $40 oil is record breaking in absolute terms, we...

SEC pulls trigger on registration.(Managed Money Review)
September 1, 2004... One day after the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose a requirement that hedge fund managers must register with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Senate Banking Committee held hearings in which a compromise...

Is it time to buy yet?(Hot Commodities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Cotton, along with other markets, faced a reversal of fortune in 2004 as China closed its checkbook just as analysts were declaring a golden age for bulls. In the case of cotton, China canceled purchase agreements that where in place...

Reversal of fortune.(Hot Commodities)(S & P 500)
September 1, 2004... The early August breakdown in the S & P 500 broached several significant technical levels, turning the overall sentiment bearish. "Technically, it looks abysmal," says Mike Cavanaugh, index analyst at My Futures Online. Cavanaugh points to...

Where is the top?(Hot Commodities)(Crude oil futures)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Crude oil futures for the first time in their history surpassed $45 this August and could reach $50 by the time you see this. Analysts have blamed the spike in crude oil prices on legal troubles of Russian oil giant Yukos, continuing violence...

A kinder, gentler cattle market.(Market Strategy)
September 1, 2004... The cattle markets are no longer the stalwart, reliable, low-margin, relatively low-stress instruments that they once were. With BSE ("mad cow disease") threats and rumors ever lurking in and around the market, and the recent expansion from...

Dollar at a crossroads: interest rate jitters, the presidential election and job growth potential are major factors impacting the greenback. If U.S. dollar uncertainty isn't enough, currency traders also must contend with another unknown--China. While it has become a waiting game, experts do have guidance for the interim.(MARKETS)(Cover Story)
September 1, 2004... The dollar rallied in mid-July after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's upbeat Congressional testimony stated that June's slowdown was temporary and that a more aggressive interest rate hike is in the near term. But are gains part of the...

Classic tools for trading forex: the classic tools of trading are valuable as indicators in their own right, but also are important to study because they can spark ingenuity that can give you a unique edge.(FOREX TRADER)
September 1, 2004... When the word "classics" is mentioned, what comes to mind are the well-recognized works in fields that have endured the test of time: Plato's Republic, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, etc....

A hands on approach to volatility trading: volatility can make or break a trader. Learning how to read this important market statistic can give you a real edge. Here's how to incorporate the Volatility Index, or Vix, into your trading approach.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
September 1, 2004... The Volatility Index (Vix) is a useful tool in accurately reflecting upcoming changes in the intermediate trend. Unfortunately, most traders do not understand how to implement this tool successfully. This article takes a common sense approach...

Sting like a butterfly: few things are as annoying as getting stopped out of a trade that subsequently goes in your direction, registering what would have been considerable profits for your position. Here's how you can avoid this scenario.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
September 1, 2004... A major problem for the position trader in futures is the risk of getting shaken out of what becomes an ultimately successful trade. Even in a trending market with good underlying fundamentals and a good technical setup to back up the trade,...

A new look at the old Efficient Frontier: commodity traders understand the benefits of trading futures along with more mainstream investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds. But if you don't tackle commodity diversification correctly, you may as well not tackle it at all.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
September 1, 2004... While there are an unlimited number of publications covering the advantages of portfolio diversification, few of them explore the advantages of trading commodities along with typical stock, bond and real estate investments. It is even more rare...

Spreads for the fall: spreads offer unique trading opportunities that aren't readily apparent unless you know where to look. Here, we take a glance at the markets that offer the most brilliant spread trades in autumn.(TRADING TECHNIQUES)
September 1, 2004... Spreads are regarded as a less risky way to trade, and perhaps the least risky are those that exhibit recurring seasonal trends. Such spreads tend to work because of relationships they have with the time of the year as well as the types of...

Understanding the precious in metals: gold and silver prices are always in the news, and the futures markets provide the best vehicle for speculating in these markets. Here's what you need to know to get started.(FUTURES 101)
September 1, 2004... The precious metals--gold, silver, platinum and palladium, although all have industrial uses--have publicly traded, standardized and liquid futures contracts. These contracts are used for both hedging and speculating. Futures contracts may...

Instant tips with instant messaging.(Online Trading)(PageTrader)
September 1, 2004... Often traders, knowing that human emotion can keep them from maximum profits, look to subscription services run by other traders who don't mind sharing (and in most cases selling) their own techniques, systems or methodologies. This way, a...

The cost of trading: trading commissions, the bane of futures traders, are a mystery to many. Every link of the chain that makes up the end-user's final cost--exchanges, futures commission merchants and introducing brokers--claim they are being squeezed by higher costs and lower fees.(MANAGED MONEY)
September 1, 2004... Competition has forced rates down, but there are still traders willing to pay higher commissions for better service. While the large wire houses have to a great extent eliminated retail business and those competing for the introducing broker...

Trading Europe: here, there and everywhere; Europe's two electronic trading powerhouses, Eurex and Euronext, have finally set up shop in the United States, but the real Battle of the Exchanges is happening in Europe, where both European and American exchanges are scrambling for global liquidity.(TRADE TRENDS)
September 1, 2004... To hear some people in Chicago talk, you'd think Eurex and Euronext. Liffe had come into existence simply to fight over Chicago liquidity--especially with Eurex's anti-climactic entry into the Chicago market and Euronext.Liffe's launch of...

EDX and ICAP: when worlds collide; As the Clearing Corp.'s recent agreement to purchase technology provider OnExchange shows, technology is blurring long-established boundary lines. Here's how two European companies are hoping to benefit from this shift.(EDX London)
September 1, 2004... Sweden's innovative Options Market (later OM Group, and today part of OMHex) is one of the world's great near misses. Among the ideas it pioneered is the clearing and settlement of over-the-counter derivatives transactions--an idea far ahead of...

The Triumph of Contrarian Investing.(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... The Triumph of Contrarian Investing By Ned Davis McGraw-Hill New York (2004) $21.95, 177 pages A respected and well-known market historian, Ned Davis has spent decades studying, refining and using market measurements and...

FXtrek's IntelliChart.(Services)(CMC Group partnered with FXtrek)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Online forex firm CMC Group has partnered with FXtrek, a financial technology provider that offers forex charting, to provide its customers more analysis tools for forex trading. New CMC customers are being offered FXtrek's IntelliChart package...

BrokerTalk.(new information service launched)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... BrokerTalk, a new information service that will focus on key trading activities in the financial markets known as "the flow," has been launched by a group of senior investment bankers, fixed-income traders and asset managers. According to...

Tree3s Traders Advanced Forecast.(Services)(www.tree3strader.com)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new market forecasting Web site at www.tree3strader.com has been launched. The Tree3s Traders Advanced Forecast on the site attempts to tell one day in advance where the market (any commodity or index) will trade the next day. It is the...

AceTrader.(website redesigned)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... AceTrader has redesigned its Web site at www.acetrader.com. The site provides detailed track records of its intraday and daily recommendations. Also available is information about the company and the services it provides. AceTrader has more...

www.fxstreet.com.(Internet)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new forex Web site is available at www.fxstreet.com. The site offers information about the forex market such as real-time quotes including exotic currencies and cross rates, real-time charts, news, market reports including strategies,...

www.advfn.com.(Internet)(Futures and Options price data)(New York Mercantile Exchange and Comex )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Investors can now view Futures and Options price data from the New York Mercantile Exchange and Comex free at www.advfn.com. The data include ranges from commodities such as electricity and propane and Comex's metals: gold, silver, copper and...

Contract dates.(Dateline)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... 1 FND: BM & F Crystal sugar F, Alcohol F, Conillon coffee F, Nybot FCOJ F, Nymex Palladium F, Platinum F. LTD: BM & F Alcohol OF, Euronext-Liffe White sugar OF. 2 FND: BM & F Oct Cotton F, Arabica coffee F. 3 LTD: CME Australian dollar...

Events coming up.(Securities industry)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... Call the numbers listed for more information. For other seminars, see the classifieds on pages 80-85. SFOA Annual General Meeting. SEPT. 9-12. Burgenstock. www.sfoa.org/events. +41 (22) 860 2103. E-mail: info@sfoa.org. Futures and...

Trading without greed.(Trader Profile)(MKW Futures)
September 1, 2004... John Wallace, founder of MKW Futures, a trading firm based in Dublin, Ireland, says his system follows trends without being too risky or too greedy. He says the program has achieved low double-digit growth for this year with modest drawdowns....

The evolution of retail forex: foreign exchange trading, once only for big players, has become more mainstream, attracting retail traders from around the world. Firms offering forex are playing their part by meeting the needs of these less-experienced newcomers.
September 15, 2004... Forex firms agree that retail clients in the foreign exchange market are increasing at a rapid rate and will only continue to do so. Firms are trying to be attentive to the needs of these new traders, hoping to capture some of those prospective...

Risks, rights and obligations of forex.(FOREX TRENDS)
September 15, 2004... Although every investment involves some risk, traders should be aware that the risk of loss in trading off-exchange forex contracts can be substantial. Some of the more significant risks are: * Forex traders could lose their entire...

The dollar, the Fed and foreign inflows: understanding how these key fundamentals affect dollar-based exchange rates can prime you for potential trades and keep you flat when shocks could move the market against you.(FOREX STRATEGIES)
September 15, 2004... As we head into the last three months of the year, currency traders remain at pains in predicting the course of the U.S. dollar to year's end. With the uncertainty of U.S. elections adding to the lack of visibility regarding the sustainability...

Trading the King's Crown: successful trading does not have to be complex--this is proven again and again in the markets. The key is to learn a distinct pattern for success and then to follow it in accordance with strict risk control. Here is one such pattern.(FOREX STRATEGIES)
September 15, 2004... Championship performance is achieved by educating yourself to identify the opportunity at hand. The results that come from proper education--focus, discipline, patience, self control, confidence, the management of risk, stress and emotion--can...

How to forecast long-term trends: if you are just getting acquainted to forex markets, you can't expect to trade short-term fluctuations with much chance of success. Focus on the long-term, however, and profits are there for the taking.(FOREX STRATEGIES)
September 15, 2004... Foreign currency markets are predictable. Unfortunately, they are only so part of the time. Predicting forex trends on an ongoing basis, repeatedly and successfully, is simply not doable without fallbacks. However, the great advantage of...

Putting sunlight on day-trading forex: trading the short-term fluctuations in forex is an alluring undertaking, but one that many traders embark upon with little preparation and often too much leverage. Here are some guidelines for day-trading forex.(FOREX STRATEGIES)
September 15, 2004... Until recent years, the opportunity to put on a trade was governed by the cycle of day and night. But a unique characteristic of forex trading is its 'round-the-clock sequence of trading. Starting Sunday when the sun rises in Asia until Friday...

Profits beyond the dollar: some traders see forex as a one-track market--the U.S. dollar vs. everything else. However, the best trades often are found in the so-called crossrates or cross-currency trading, relationships between currencies that don't involve the dollar.(FOREX STRATEGIES)(Cover Story)
September 15, 2004... Most coverage of the currency market is usually along the lines of "The U.S. dollar rose/fell against the euro/yen/pound/etc." This myopic view ignores significant market developments and opportunities in cross-currency trading, essentially...

A beginner's guide to forex: to trade forex, you need to understand the language of forex. Here's a primer on the key terms and phrases you'll need to know when you are active in forex trading.(FOREX 101)
September 15, 2004... A person new to forex trading may seem bewildered by the terms involved and what questions to ask when getting started. Here, we'll try to better equip the novice currency traders with the knowledge they need to start off right. ...

Trading money the old-fashioned way: interbank or futures? It's a question every forex trading money manager must answer. In an ever-changing world of fees, regulations and access routes, the correct answer yesterday might not fly today. Here's an update.
September 15, 2004... In the early to mid-1990s many commodity trading advisors (CTA) began trading currencies in the cash interbank markets as opposed to on the International Monetary Market at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). As CTAs grew, the cash market...

Four more years of dollar weakness?(Foreign Exchange trends)
September 15, 2004... Most describe the foreign exchange markets as macro driven. Few events are more "macro" than the once-every-four-years U.S. presidential election. Currency moves following the presidential election tend to follow through for months, even...