Commodities

Commodities Market Hit Recovery Before Economy

May 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Last year, the oil and gasoline markets were in raging buying mode due to futures investors bidding the commodities markets to record highs throughout the board. The one that got the most attention were oil futures as people suffered at the pumps every time they filled their tanks up, though the other commodity futures markets were likewise as hot as hot can be. Aside from the gold and precious metals markets, every other commodity has had its own share of trouble in the recent months. Actually, most of them are down by over 50%, and oil is down by over 70% coming from its high set not... [Read the full story]

Futures 101

What are Futures Contracts?

May 18, 2010 · Leave a Comment

A lot of us who become interested in finance a bit late in life can be confused with some of the terminologies we encounter, and need a bit more info when it comes to particular transactions before we proceed and accept advice on a “sure thing”. Futures contracts are occasionally brought up in discussions and a few may say they know ways on how to get good returns on them. However, if you are virtually clueless or know nothing at all about them, it would be smart to continue reading before proceeding to any big investment decisions. Simply put, future contracts are for the... [Read the full story]

Hedging

Comparing Options & Futures When Hedging

May 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment

There are two main uses for future trading: Speculation and Hedging. It should be remembered that the real aim of future contracts is primarily for the use of hedging, even if a lot of retail traders get into futures trading for the reason of leveraged speculation. An approach a lot of professional money managers make use of is hedging with the use of futures, although there is one problem with this. The basis for the price that futures contracts use is a price drawn from the real price called the “settlement price” and not the real price of the underlying asset. The issue about the... [Read the full story]

Markets

Trading Soybean Futures

May 13, 2010 · Leave a Comment

The summer season for soybean futures can be very volatile. Many futures traders are aware of this. Weather patterns can have drastic effects on prices. How big the crops will be from American farmers during the months of summer towards the end of August and the beginning of September this year is the big unknown. To put it simply, how much impact the weather has on the overall production. Futures trading isn’t for everybody. Only risk capital must be used. Past performance does not determine future returns although it used to be a fairly secure play to start adding short August and... [Read the full story]

Options Trading

The Role of Volatility in Options Trading

May 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment

The three variables that are often basic considerations looked into during effective trading of options are 1) expected price direction 2) timing of the expected move, and 3) future volatility of the underlying stock. Volatility is the most commonly misunderstood among the three—in fact, in certain cases, the one that is totally ignored. A simple definition of volatility is that it is the annualized standard deviation of daily returns. One more simple definition of volatility is that it is the variation of the price of any given stock disregarding the course of that variation. A highly... [Read the full story]

Volatility

The Role of Volatility in Options Trading

May 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Futures 101

What are Futures Contracts?

A lot of us who become interested in finance a bit late in life can be confused...

Commodity Trading for Low Budget Investors

Commodity investing has been used as a means for the wealthy to raise their income...

Commodity investing has been used as a means for the wealthy to raise their income and to give a stable value in their asset portfolio. However, investing a few dollars in soybean futures or pork bellies just isn’t an option for the little guy. But if you are apprehensive about the future of Wall Street and the economy of America, here are... Read more of this article

Hidden Truths of Option Trading Seminars

If you are about to pay a huge amount of money for an option trading weekend seminar,...

If you are about to pay a huge amount of money for an option trading weekend seminar, I hope to help you make a smart decision here. I know someone who joined a pretty well-known two-day trading seminar which promised all the participants that they will be given sufficient knowledge to profit at any market condition and that they can make millions... Read more of this article

More Posts From Futures 101