by Phil Streible
On March 10, 2010 the USDA released its monthly crop production report indicating that carryout for this year’s soybean crop would be at 190 million bushels, down from last months estimate of 210 million bushels. Analysts were widely expecting a range of 194 to 196 million bushels. The USDA also cut production figures [...]

by Phil Streible
New clients often think they have options figured out, but can’t figure out why they aren’t profitable. They throw an unbelievable sum of money at a particular option, and even though the market moves in their direction, their option wastes away. Gaining an understanding of some the mathematical variables that influence options [...]

Futures Forecast for December: Holiday Sales, Profit-Taking Could Tame Bulls in December
by Jeff Friedman
The end of the year is looking a lot brighter for investors than it did at the start, with gains in stock indexes as well as most commodities accelerating in the second half. As we come to the end of the year, [...]

Limiting Risk When Trading Futures
by Phil Streible and David Juarez
Futures trading can provide many benefits to a wide array of investors, including hedging, diversifying a portfolio, or simply taking advantage of the opportunities presented in the commodities markets. Many new traders wonder how they can limit their risk/exposure while still being able to capitalize on [...]

Inflation, Interest Rates and Commodities
by Matt Krupski
Inflation, or the anticipation of it, has been on people’s minds after the actions taken by global policymakers to shore up the financial system over the past two years. I will discuss the relationship between inflation, the U.S. dollar, interest rates and commodities, and discuss how you might use [...]

Long-Term Prospects Good for Gold Bugs
by Dan Pavilonis
Gold has rallied above $1,000 an ounce this month, and I think prospects look good for the bulls. The market could be forming a short-term top, however, and I see a correction likely to give investors an opportunity to purchase at lower levels. Heading into 2010, I think [...]

Treasury Trend Bearish Despite Bernanke Bounce
by Tim Evans
Treasury prices have seen some rallies in June and July and are up in the wake of this morning’s Congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, but overall, I see the trend as bearish as investors regain confidence in riskier assets. Look to sell Treasury bond futures [...]

Leverage: A Double-Edged Sword
by Tom Power
One of the reasons so many people are attracted to trading commodity futures and options over other financial instruments such as stocks is that you can get much higher leverage. While many investors have heard of the word leverage, few have a clue about what leverage really is, how [...]

The worse-than-expected June employment report is dampening pre-holiday spirit  in stocks and commodities before the 4th of July holiday.  Lind Plus Senior Market Strategist Richard Ilczyszyn said when there is a holiday on a Friday, the Labor Department often delays the employment report release until the following week. But this time, the report was released [...]

Crude oil has now ticked above $71 a barrel, a seven-month high, after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its demand outlook for 2009, and a report late Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute (API)  showed oil supplies fell 5.96 million barrels to 357.9 million last week, the lowest level since March. The EIA releases [...]