Futures Magazine March 01, 2007
Trading Techniques
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Alpha/beta: Is it the dog or the tail?
This means the alpha and beta depend on which index we measure the variability of from the individual stock. In other words, alpha and beta for XOM will be different when measured against the two
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Predicting changes in Eurodollar futures contracts
The yields on Treasury note futures, Eurodollar futures and U.S. T-bonds and notes are tightly connected through processes of hedging and arbitrage. It should come as little surprise, then, that the
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Trading with ratio spreads
Spreads are highly effective means of trading. Vertical spreads, calendar spreads, diagonal spreads, butterfly spreads, condor spreads, etc., all have a unique purpose for particular market
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Measuring exit strategy performance
Although there are several measures that you can use to judge system performance, a single measure called “system value” captures system performance in several areas, such as profit (or loss) per
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Exit strategies: Know when to get out!
There is little question among seasoned speculators that exits are more important than entries. All of us have looked back on our trading history, or someone else’s experience, and rued the day when
Breaking News
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CBOT proposed acquisition resources
4/12/2007 CBOT Reschedules Special Meetings; BOD Review of ICE Proposal Continues - CBOT Holdings, Inc. today announced that the special meetings of CBOT Holdings stockholders and members to vote on
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Electronic softs = hot
For markets that were not even being considered for electronic trading one year ago, the New York Board of Trade’s (Nybot) softs complex have taken to electronic trading in a big way. The entire
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ICE proposal moves forward:
As the initial shock of the Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s (ICE) offer for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) subsides, the hard work of parsing through the proposal and comparing it to the signed
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New Refco indictments
Former Refco principal Tone N. Grant has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, to make material misstatements to auditors, to make false filings
Technology & Trading
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Housing contracts hitting the market
Economic reports show that housing prices and sales are falling for the first time in many years. Led by a large decline in the West, sales of U.S. existing homes fell 0.8% in December to a
Forex Trader
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Long term position trading
Many traders who have been on the wrong side of a trade have often observed that given a bit more time or more capital, a losing position would have become profitable. Is this the lament of every
Futures 101
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Options on futures: At the tipping point?
Back in the ‘90s, a confluence of factors made self-directed online trading possible. Driven by a booming economy and concerns about retirement, a contingent of baby boomers, armed with ever cheaper
Industry Trends
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Shopping for the right ETF
With the plethora of exchange traded funds (ETF), it’s hard to determine which one is right for you. Here is a break down of the various asset classes available to today’s trader and investor and the
Markets
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Tech Talk: A good year for schizophrenics?
The year 2007 may hold a meaningful high and a meaningful low. The stock market has gone up without as much as a 10% correction since March 2003 — which is a record. The implication is that a
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Things could get wild: 2007 equity outlook
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue through the rest of the year with images of death and destruction appearing nightly on television. The likelihood of the Iraq war spreading into a
Editor's Note
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Bears down?
Apparently, 2006 wasn’t a year for bears on the stock market or for that matter, the football field. Stock indexes were up for the year across the board Despite the continued violence in Iraq and
Market Analysis
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Steak and shake
In the live cattle market, February is not known for boisterous demand, according to Daniel L. Bluntzer, director of research at Frontier Risk Management LLC. But seven weeks of snow, ice and record
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Russell 2000 or T-1000?
Like the android assassin, the Russell 2000 appears to be unstoppable, marching from 675 in June, past 825 in mid January. “This market is making all-time highs over and over,” says Dave Toth,
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Should we talk about the weather?
Heating oil prices had taken a beating, falling from $1.90 per gallon in early December to less than $1.50 in mid January. But that was before the cold snap that has punished the Midwest with weeks
Managed Money
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Georgia firm charged with fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in January charged Renaissance Asset management, a Roswell, Georgia-based CTA and commodity pool operator, and its chief operation officer Anthony
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Is corn the new crude?
After last fall’s dramatic, 75% improvement in value, the corn market began 2007 under pressure about concerns of disinflation from sharply lower energy prices and fears of reallocation from index
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KMJ looking up
KMJ is a short-term fundamental discretionary currency trading advisor that also looks at technical inputs. Kenneth M. Jakubzak, principal of the Crystal Lake, IL, CTA, looks at numerous
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Weathering the storm: Top traders of 2006
Many experienced long-term trend followers were looking forward to 2006. They were hoping to see a return to market dislocations they could take advantage of after a couple of difficult years for
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Raithel: Writing profits
Raithel Investments Inc. has been successfully trading its Target Volatility option writing program for six years. The longevity is important because the recent environment for option writers has
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Carper: Spreading profits
Doug Carper, president of DEC Capital Inc, has had some volatile swings in performance since launching his discretionary CTA in 1994. But 2006 proved to be a perfect year for his style as his Futures
Options Strategy
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Question: You are up huge, you want more but you don't want to risk giving it all back. What do you
Watching the gains from a winning trade evaporate and turn into a loss is one the worst situations a trader can face. It sends them on an emotional roller coaster; with a sense of victory as the
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RealTick 8.5
Large retail and institutional traders need sophisticated charting and fast, versatile order execution. While both remain integral parts of trading, it is important that retail traders find a balance
New For Traders
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New for Traders
TradingScreen Inc. has integrated Credit Suisse’s Advanced Execution Services (AES) Algorithmic Trading Strategies with its suite of trading products, including TradingScreen FuturesHUB, which
News
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CME/CBOT pick teams
The period following a merger announcement and its closing is always a nervous one as decisions are made regarding what management positions will remain and who will leave as part of the efficiencies
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International News
The European Union’s second and third largest securities exchanges say they’re ready for MiFid, which kicks in on Nov. 1 and will give securities firms the right to execute securities transactions on
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CFTC makes law: kinda
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in February adopted final acceptable practices for minimizing conflicts of interest for designated contract markets (exchanges). The practices, which
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Carbon trading: Plenty of risk!
A slew of new reports bodes well for the future of carbon trading in the United States — beginning with last year’s volume figures on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and the Chicago Climate
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optionsXpressTrade?
In late January, optionsXpress Holdings Inc., owner of equity options brokerage firm optionsXpress, bought XpressTrade LLC, the futures and options brokerage, for $37 million. Shares of optionsXpress
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State Street buys fx firm
State Street, a Boston financial services company, will purchase independently-owned, New-York based online foreign exchange trading platform Currenex for approximately $564 million, which will be
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TSE gets several suitors
In late January, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) announced they would be working together on trading technology, product development, cross-marketing and
Trader Profiles
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Aref Karim: Allocating profits
London-based Quality Capital Management has a hybrid-trading strategy that can follow trends but also avoids the sharp reversals that often accompany them. Aref Karim, QCM managing director and CEO,
