Futures Magazine February 01, 2009
Cover Story
What’s next on the energy roller coaster?
But a steadier global economy will dictate prospects for oil demand growth, the primary price driver for petroleum markets the past six months in comparison to the first half of 2008 when supply side
Trading Techniques
-
Two timing the market
Multiple timeframe analysis is well known to many discretionary day-traders as a golden principle of long-term trading success. However, it’s rare to come across solid, well-tested information on how
-
Calibrating profit and loss strategies
Mini stock index futures electronic contracts, because of their liquidity, leverage, tax advantages and supporting electronic infrastructure, attract speculators interested in a low-risk and
-
Long the strongest, short the weakest
Intellectually your answer is probably: “I would long the strongest, of course.” However, for most of us, when we face real price action and the possibility of losing, our intellect may undergo a
-
Playing both sides
The long the strongest, short the weakest concept not only applies to outright positions, but also can be an effective guide for spread trading. Indeed, spread trading is a relatively economical and
Technology & Trading
-
It’s the Boomers’ fault
One contributing factor to the long-term positive stock-market performance that made the passive buy-and-hold argument so easy to accept was the Baby Boom that followed the Great Depression and World
-
Buy and hold, R.I.P: 1900-2007
Classic financial planning says that investments in both the stock market and real estate are the keys to building long-term wealth. The implication is that both these assets outperform inflation and
Forex Trader
-
Trading in a zero interest rate and growth world
The credit crises, housing bust and commodity collapse helped wipe out $50 trillion in market valuations in 2008. Global market returns also saw the worst of times in 2008: -34% for the Dow Jones
Futures 101
-
Getting started in trading
The National Futures Association says the way you participate in trading depends on four factors: your knowledge and previous experience in trading, how much time you are able to devote to trading,
Industry Trends
-
Tops & Bottoms of 2008
Equity markets experienced a historic downturn in January 2008, which never really relented. Most hedge fund strategies ended the year in the red and even the long commodity bull market reversed
-
Failure is not an option
With the global equity and commodity markets in turmoil, U.S. government securities have offered a safe haven for capital, drawing in more and more domestic and non-U.S. buyers, who have pushed
Markets
-
Tech talk: Crude markets
The front-month crude contract could trade as low as $24.94 per barrel, which is likely to hold. A test of that level would violate the $32.48 low hit on the January contract on Dec. 19 (“Crude:
Editor's Note
-
What were they thinking?
The Bernard Madoff mess kind of makes me chuckle. Of course, I wouldn’t be laughing if I had invested with him, and many very wealthy people, and sadly some charitable organizations, are out billions
Book Reviews
-
The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy
In his 2005 tome, "The World Is Flat," Thomas Friedman made the case that globalization has leveled the international playing field. But Smick contends the free flow of capital has actually rendered
-
India's Financial Markets, An Insider's Guide to How the Markets Work
India is growing a middle class that will eventually exceed a half-billion people. To both create this middle class and support these people financially, the Indian economy is rapidly moving from a
Market Analysis
-
Euro-pound at tipping point
The euro enjoyed a huge run up against the British pound, approaching parity in late December based on weak British fundamentals, including weak job and housing markets, slowing growth and huge
-
Exports buoy soybeans
Joe Victor, vice president of Allendale Research, says price action in soybeans this time of year is based on U.S. export demand and South American production levels. And estimates of first quarter
-
Two-year Treasury notes trend higher
U.S. Treasury bond prices took a hit around New Year’s, but two-year Treasury note prices continue to trend higher. “The two-year addresses the security issues that people have,” explains Richard
Managed Money
-
Madoff fools many, including SEC
That Bernard L. Madoff was running a massive Ponzi scheme wasn’t news to many industry professionals who were skeptical of his amazingly consistent returns during inconsistent markets. But what is
-
Crude in deep contango-will it change?
As crude oil rallied to unprecedented levels, experts set a moving new floor for crude. First it was $40, then $50, then $60 and eventually $80. Once the correction in crude turned violent, the price
-
CTAs: Getting respect in Asia?
Doing business in the United States is a lot different from doing business in Asia,” says Hong Kong native Chris Tam, co-founder of Future Gate Consultants Limited, a three-year-old Hong-Kong-based
Options Strategy
-
Options strategies for an overshot market
The exponential rise in Treasuries at the end of the year foretold a correction, possibly as violent as the move up (as of press time, U.S. Treasury bond futures corrected nine handles from their
New For Traders
-
New for Traders
CME Group now lists hardwood pulp index futures and options on futures on CME Globex. Average price options on the Singapore fuel oil 180 cst swap Singapore gasoil calendar swap, Singapore jet
News
-
International news
The FSA announced in January that it will not renew its emergency ban on short selling financial stocks. The controversial measure was introduced in mid-September in conjunction with the SEC in an
Profiles in Options
-
Option selling: Not for dummies
A properly planned and executed option selling strategy can provide steady gains in all kinds of market conditions. There are a variety of approaches with various degrees of complexity and risk; the
-
My position: Carrying the burden of the credit crisis
There has been an abundance of commentators, analysts and even government officials explaining the causes of our financial meltdown and, to be sure, there are many. But the one that bears the
-
Kosoris: Getting a kick out of options
Barry Kosoris went from owning a soccer arena to scoring stellar profits in his own options trading business. “My early career had nothing to do with trading,” he says. Early on, he worked for Texas
Profiles in Forex
-
Wayne McDonell: Following the money
“As a venture capitalist, I looked at business plans for market opportunities. A multi-million dollar market would be worth investing into. One day, I was reading something that said forex was worth
-
Aligning fundamentals and technicals
Currency trading is fundamentally an issue of supply and demand. This will be a familiar concept to any experienced futures trader. For example, with the global economy contracting, there is less
Breaking News
-
ERP fight near end
The objections have been aired and before you read this, a Delaware Chancellor could approve a $300 million settlement between former Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) members and the Chicago Board
-
CME clears CDS hurdle
CME Group cleared two regulatory hurdles on Dec. 23 in its goal to clear credit default swaps (CDSs). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York granted
-
IDCG starts clearinghouse
Credit default swaps (CDSs) became the “it” product on the clearing landscape in the wake of the credit crisis, but the International Derivatives Clearing Group (IDCG) decided to focus its efforts on
People
-
Schapiro nominated to head SEC
Mary L. Schapiro was nominated as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. She is currently CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and served as chairman of the Commodity
Trader Profiles
-
Xenon: Adjusting on the fly
When Jay Feuerstein, chief investment officer of 2100 Xenon Group, was working on his MBA from the University of Chicago, he took a couple of courses in “Decision Theory,” which sparked in him a
