Commodity markets
US Wrap: Gas and gold in reverse convertibles
Barclays Bank has issued a reverse convertible note offering exposure to the US Natural Gas Fund, which tracks the movements of natural gas prices. The note lasts one year and pays an annualised coupon of 20%. It will convert into stock if the fund slips…
OTC Global Holdings pushes into agricultural products
Interdealer broker OTC Global Holdings (OTCGH) has announced the acquisition of two Chicago-based firms, Futures International and T&J Shuff Enterprises, specialising in agricultural futures and options contracts in corn, wheat, soybeans, soybean meal…
Commerzbank launches commodity index ETF
Commerzbank has launched a new exchange-traded fund which tracks its newly-launched proprietary commodity index on the Xetra platform of Deutsche Börse. The index, launched on May 11 2009, incorporates the 16 most liquid commodities from precious metals,…
Bridging the gap
Asia's regional commodity exchanges are expanding but the emergence of an Asian exchange champion to challenge Western platforms looks a long way off. Georgina Lee reports
Majors' contango play set to fade
Oil companies that profited from storing oil amid falling prices are unlikely to to see similar returns as the longer-term economic picture begins to brighten. Pauline McCallion reports
Sheikh Yamani: Saudi Arabia unlikely to embrace oil futures
In an interview this week, former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Yamani told Energy Risk that futures trading on exchanges had turned the global crude oil market into a "casino".
Platts price assessment proposals face scrutiny
Questions have been raised in the energy trading sector about Platts' decision to align its US fixed price and differential crude oil and products assessments at 3.15pm eastern time (ET).
Squeezing more out of P&L explain
Commodity traders are increasingly aware of the need to squeeze greater profits from existing business activities. One oft overlooked tool for doing this is the P&L 'explain', write Akhil Sehgal and Anup Singh
A downward spiral?
Markets
Exchange-traded transparency
Cover Story
CFTC prepares for carbon role
The CFTC expects to oversee derivatives products associated with carbon dioxide allowances under US federal cap-and-trade scheme
Exchange-traded commodity investments dominate structured products
Exchange-traded products (ETPs) continued to dominate structured products as the premier choice for commodity investment in Q1 2009, new research by Barclays Capital has shown. The assets under management (AUM) of ETPs, which includes both listed…
BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman and MS launch European ETP initiative
Source, an open architecture exchange traded product (ETP) platform created by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, has launched 13 ETFs and 22 ETCs (Source T-ETCs) for European investors. The platform has been created with…
Vanguard shuns US equity in small-cap ETF
Vanguard has listed a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Arca platform of the New York Stock Exchange linked to international small-cap equities. The fund tracks the performance of the FTSE All World Ex-US Small Cap Index.
Sovereign hedging lessons
Oil-hedging losses at Sri Lankan state-owned refinery Ceylon Petroleum Corporation are a lesson in the proper use of derivatives. By Joe Marsh
Q&A - Galena Asset Management - Ready to launch
Backed by commodity trading giant Trafigura, Galena Asset Management is launching an oil-focused energy derivatives fund to add to its existing metals and special situations funds. Roderick Bruce meets fund manager Claude Lixi to find out more
Marc Mourre
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Energy Risk is talking with industry veterans who have been instrumental in shaping today's energy markets. This month Marc Mourre, managing director and vice-chairman of commodities at Morgan Stanley, talks with Stella…
Measure for measure
Claims that the WTI price benchmark has become ineffective have led some in the oil industry to call for a new US marker for sour crude. Roderick Bruce measures industry reaction and the potential for a global sour crude benchmark