Futures Trading Market Analysis for January 16, 2012
As the web's leading location for insightful futures information we are proud to present some of the industry's leading thinkers. Analysts from all over the world are invited to share their unique perspective of what's happening in their niche.
Each day you can find real-world analysis of currency futures, energy futures, financial futures, grain futures, stock futures, cattle, pork & meat futures, metal futures and softs (cocoa, coffee, cotton, frozen concentrated orange juice and sugar).
This Eastern Asian currency is one of the most widely traded currencies in the foreign exchange market, second only to the US Dollar and Euro, according to trading surveys. The official national currency of Japan, the name yen means "round object". The following contract specifications will refer to the Japanese Yen/US Dollar contract from the foreign exchange futures listings from the CME Group.
Find out contract sizes, trading hours, exchanges and a historical view of the Japanese Yen by reading more in this article. - Read More
Named in 1995, and introduced in 1999, the euro is the official currency of more than half of the member countries of the European Union. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the euro zone may represent the second largest economy in the world, a likely driving force behind the apparent interest in the exchange of this currency. The following contract specifications will refer to the Euro/US Dollar contract from the foreign exchange futures listings from the CME Group. - Read More
Have you noticed recently that every Futures Trading Firm seems to be marketing their Managed Futures services? Claims of unique and alternative investment opportunities, diversification, CTA rankings. You name it, and there is marketing material around it. So what are Managed Futures Accounts?
The idea of managed futures is very much what it sounds like… You’re allowing someone else to manage your trading account. That someone is referred to as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA), and that trading account is made up of futures and futures options – much like a mutual fund would be. The difference in the managed futures fund would be that it’s made up of commodities, interest rate contracts, equity contracts and currencies. - Read More
We are asked quite a bit about where futures contracts are traded. Rather than only coming up with a bulleted list of exchanges, we thought a good place to start would be to give you a quick historical context.
Dating back to the ancient Greeks, a philosopher named Thales realized he could put to use his knowledge of mathematics and forecasting when considering the fall olive harvest. He drew up an agreement with the olive press owners with which he would give his money to them in exchange for using them, hedging on the price of the autumn harvest. It turned out that the presses were high in demand in the fall due to a bumper crop. He sold his future use of his contracts for his benefit. The futures contract was born. - Read More
In this era of 24/7 news that permeates our culture, it is no surprise that the futures markets are extremely volatile and liquid. Have you tried obtaining a mortgage lately? Or maybe tried to refinance your existing mortgage, trying to lock into a piece of the recent record-low interest rates? If so, you have likely experienced the daily ups and downs of the markets, and the indicators that affect them.
Many of the key indicators are released on a monthly basis, early in the morning shortly after the opening bell. We have a listing below with brief details on each, including approximate announcement dates. In addition, we've compiled a list of some of the ongoing weekly reports from sources such as the USDA and DOE. - Read More
