Futures Trading News as of 7/7/08
The CFTC Deadline . . . Wavers
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)’s Concept Release on the Appropriate Regulatory Treatment of Event Contracts says, “Comments must be received by July 7, 2008.” What deadline does that impose? I played it safe, and assumed that I had to send mine in before midnight, this morning. Today, I learned from Bruce Fekrat, Special Counsel to the Office of the Director of the CFTC, that in fact I had up until this coming midnight to email my comments. Any lawyer worth his or her salt…
Futures Traders Raise Bets on Australian Dollar Gain Vs Dollar (Bloomberg.com)
July 7 (Bloomberg) — Futures traders increased their bets that the Australian dollar will gain against the U.S. dollar, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show.
Maybe We Don’t Need Paulson’s Blueprint: The SEC and Fed Agree to Get Along
Agencies that want to formalize their cooperation with one another don’t conclude treaties, and they don’t pass regs. They sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). MOUs don’t require all that pesky process and reflect an increasingly interconnected regulatory enterprise. What’s more, the SEC likes them. It has concluded MOUs with many foreign security regulators, and now the agency is on a domestic tear. It just did a deal with the Fed. Not the fanciest deal, to be sure: Under the MOU betw
Economists’ Statement on John McCain’s Jobs for America Economic Plan
ECONOMISTS’ STATEMENT ON JOHN MCCAIN’S JOBS FOR AMERICA ECONOMIC PLAN OVER 300 ECONOMISTS SIGN STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF JOHN MCCAIN’S ECONOMIC PLAN ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign today released a statement signed by over 300 professional economists in support of John McCain’s Jobs for America economic plan. The list includes Nobel Prize winners, business economists with experience in the private sector, policy economists with experience in government and…
Much is still being made of futures trading in oil as being a major culprit in the rising cost of oil. Now Congress seems to be trying to respond to these concerns with legislation.Facing complaints from price-pinched consumers, U.S. lawmakers are targeting lax futures trading rules that some critics say have given rise to a speculative bubble in oil and other commodities.So what is it the lawmakers want to do? Well, pander to the conspiracy theorists, apparently. Several bills have been int
McCain Press Release: Economists’ Statement On John McCain’s Jobs For America Plan
[McCain Campaign Press Release from July 7, 2008] ECONOMISTS’ STATEMENT ON JOHN MCCAIN’S JOBS FOR AMERICA ECONOMIC PLAN OVER 300 ECONOMISTS SIGN STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF JOHN MCCAIN’S ECONOMIC PLAN ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign today released a statement signed by over 300 professional economists in support of John McCain’s Jobs for America economic plan. The list includes Nobel Prize winners, business economists with experience in the private sector, pol
Five Years On By William Bowles
by William Bowles featured writer Dandelion Salad williambowles.info Monday, July 7, 2008 It’s over five years since I started publishing InI (and not coincidentally, since the illegal and disastrous invasion of Iraq) and it’s been a struggle to keep it going not only because of the cost of maintaining it but because I’ve kept it going single-handed throughout this entire period. Not that I’m complaining but it does wear one down especially as the situation goes from plain bloody awful (M
A guide to commodity loopholes (Market Watch)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Commodities futures trading in the U.S. is supposed to be subject to regulations that limit the size of positions that can be taken and require disclosure of positions held.
McConnell Sees Smooth Sailing Ahead in Re-election Bid
Sarah Lueck reports on Congress. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressed confidence Monday that he will win his race for re-election this fall against wealthy Democrat Bruce Lunsford. “I’m going to be re-elected. What do you mean?” McConnell said when asked about his race at a briefing with reporters. He added that he had “heard rumors” that Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who is leading Democrats’ Senate campaign effort, “would like for me to lose.” “I’m ahead,…
As oil keeps rising, Congress tackles regulation loopholes (Market Watch)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Facing complaints from price-pinched consumers, U.S. lawmakers are targeting lax futures trading rules that some critics say have given rise to a speculative bubble in oil and other commodities.
Part 1–send to certain Congressmen–”What Onions Teach Us About Oil Prices”. They teach us that 1) even in a market in which futures trading is prohibited by statute, price can rise (and fall) astonishingly fast, and 2) “The volatility has been so extreme that the son of one of the original onion growers who lobbied Congress for the trading ban now thinks the onion market would operate more smoothly if a futures contract were in place.” Part 2–send to certain candidates for…
Congress scrutinizes oil futures trading on commodity market (The Kansas City Star)
WASHINGTON | When Congress returns to Washington on Monday after a weeklong breather, the collective grumbling of millions of American motorists will compel lawmakers to prove they’re doing something — anything — to fight rising gas prices.
Regulation Looms for Prediction Markets (BusinessWeek)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is likely to become involved in regulating event futures—and it just may boost these markets
What happened in the oil and grains futures since middle of 2006 is a real shame for any one who understands how commodity futures and options of these futures work. Producers, intermediaries, commercials and the speculators trade futures.
Speculation, Swaps and the Price of Crude Oil
Lots of people, myself included, arguing that speculation — at least in the sense in which we understand that sort of thing — in commodities markets is playing only a minor role in the run-up in oil prices. That, of course, won’t stop this week’s House Agriculture Committee meeting on whether the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is doing its job. A more interesting discussion is the role of swaps, those off-exchange trades among large institutional investors, a class of commodi
Feeling Pain at the Pump ? Congress needs to pass the PUMP Act
Congresswoman Bachmann, Congressman Kline and Senator Norm Coleman, all seem to believe that by opening areas for drilling will reduce oil prices. That may be true, but how long and how much ? Guy Caruso of the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration said “Drilling in U.S. waters offshore would produce nothing for five or 10 years and even then only add a minimal amount of oil for the supplies. And so, in the year 2018, it would not knock more than a nickel off your gallon of g
Futures Trading – The Deadly Error That Brings Certain Doom
Most people don’t realize the huge mistake they make when beginning their trading career. There are several elements to the mental trap that people get caught in when they first start trading that sets them on the wrong course…
Dahlkemper Launches Energy Independence Proposal
Dahlkemper Launches Energy Independence Proposal Emma on Jul 5th 2008 July 2, 2008 For Immediate Release Contact: Tammy Roche (814) 392-5190 or media@kathydahlkemperforcongress.com Congressional Candidate Kathy Dahlkemper Launches Energy Independence Proposal to Help Reduce Cost for Families Erie, PA – Kathy Dahlkemper, Democratic candidate for Pennyslvania’s 3rd Congressional District, will declare Pennsylvania’s independence from energy speculators this fourth of July and propose a plan
Readings: Hawala in oil futures, Trading performance, Riding RCOM
Economic Times: The hawala route to global oil futures . . . some of the seasoned investors and commodity traders are betting on global crude oil futures, by routing their transactions through the hawala route. They are taking positions in international commodity exchanges by paying the margin money in the unofficial foreign exchange market. Some international brokerages, with a domestic presence, are facilitating these transactions smoothly, where investors deposit the margin amount equivale
What a Week. Buy for Silver, Sells for Natgas, Russell and Banks, Cash for NASDAQ 100
A crazy Commitments of Traders report this week suited to a crazy market. I can’t recall when I had so many new signals. Really, truly interesting stuff from this afternoon’s report on trader positioning in the major markets, as released by the kind souls at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Thanks, fellas. Check out my newly revamped signals table linked on this page for all the weird and wonderful details. Here are some highlights: – Natural gas is a sell! Wow. We had some good t
Congressman Murphy calls for increase in drilling, action against oil speculation
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to videotape Congressman Murphy’s presser today in New Britain (or Murphy’s presser on Wednesday in Danbury that was a stone throw away from David Cappiello’s house). That being the case, when it comes to the high price of gas, while I strongly agree with one portion of Murphy’s stance in his latest press release… “While energy traders on Wall Street artificially inflate the price of a barrel of oil, Connecticut families are paying the price at the…
Say YES to closing the Enron loophole, NO to increase in oil drilling
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to videotape Congressman Murphy’s presser today in New Britain. That being the case, when it comes to the high price of gas, while I strongly agree with one portion of Murphy’s stance in his latest press release… “While energy traders on Wall Street artificially inflate the price of a barrel of oil, Connecticut families are paying the price at the pump. Until we wean ourselves off of our addiction to oil, we’ve got to crack down on the market that is…
Investors making profit in futures trading (The Times of India)
While speculators are betting on futures trading of commodities, the basket is tracked by the Standard & Poor’s-Goldman Sachs Commodity Index, which shot up by 183% in less than five years.
Let’s Tell the CFTC Where to Go
Update: I’ve extended the deadline for signing up until 7 p.m. Pacific, Sunday, July 6. Also, I fixed a typo in paragraph 3, changing “denying” to “giving.” (Thanks, Gil!) The deadline looms for interested parties to respond to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s request for comments about regulating prediction markets (“event markets” in the CFTC’s usage). I may or may not get around to a detailed, point-by-point response to the CFTC’s many questions. In…
