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Does Too Much Sugar Turn Children Into Violent Criminals?

Author: Global Childrens Fund

Parents: A strict warning--you'd better withhold that bowl of fruity pebbles from your child, because if you don't, they might grow up to be a violent criminal. Or at least, that's the nonsense that some out there would have you believe.

A recent (2009) study from Cardiff University in the U.K. found that children who ate more sugary foods were more likely to commit violent crimes as adults. Sixty-nine percent of violent offenders were daily sugar eaters, they say, compared with 42% of non-violent people. Therefore, sugar must be turning our kids into future delinquents.

But before you rush to rid your home of the devilish powder, we thought we'd shed a little light on the subject, because it annoys us when people misuse science to create fantastic headlines in order to gain media attention that will mislead the public while scaring them about a whole lot of nonsense. Phew...that was a long sentence.

We start with the first rule of research: correlation does not equal causation. Just because two things can be linked together does not mean one causes the other. This is all the more true when something has no established mechanism for the outcome. That is to say, there is no credible evidence indicating how slightly elevated levels of sucrose in a child's body would alter brainwaves in order to change their behavior and lead to violence.

Claiming sugar causes violent crime is a bold statement. So does sugar really have such powerful effects? Unlikely. Let's talk about the more rational causes for such a correlation:

A) Those with higher daily sugar habits are also those who are likely to exhibit less self-control. Less self-control is an established link to violent crime and delinquency, and it is the lower inhibitions that lead both to increases in crime and increases in sugar intake.

For example, the famous marshmallow experiment at Stanford University provides the perfect analogy. Researchers put children into a room with nothing but their own devices to entertain them. A marshmallow was placed on the table in front of them, and the preschoolers were told that if they waited until the researcher came back into the room to eat it, they would be given a second marshmallow. About a third of the kids managed to hold out the full 15 minutes, a third ate the marshmallow right away, and around a third broke down somewhere in-between.

Years later, a follow up study was done when the kids were young adults. (2) It found that those in the most impulsive group scored significantly higher on delinquency rates and significantly lower on general life measures. Those kids who as preschoolers had waited the 15 minutes to earn a second marshmallow had significantly higher marks in education and everyday life skills. So does this mean eating marshmallows causes future delinquency? No. It means that a lack of self-control in childhood, as evidenced by the marshmallow test (or impulsive sugar intake) is a predictor of future delinquency.

B) Those parents who largely fail to monitor a child's diet when young are likely to also be parents who are less-competent and caring in general. Less competent parenting is a proven link to crime, and low parental caring is a proven link to antisocial behavior. So those who were able to eat candy for breakfast would tend to be those with more irresponsible and less involved parents.

C) Low socioeconomic status (SES) is a proven link to crime; and there is also an established link between low SES and poor, higher-fat, higher sugar diets; simply because junk food tends to be cheaper and more readily available than healthy food.

The idea that sugar alters behavior in kids is a widely held myth. At least a dozen large-scale trials analyzing what children eat have been unable to detect any differences in behavior between the children who ate sugary foods and those who hadn't. Even studies that singled out children who were labeled as having "sensitivity" towards sugar found no behavioral differences between a high-sugar and sugar-free diet. If a child was an obnoxious twerp before downing a bag of skittles, they'll be one afterward too. And if they were calm and in-control before ice cream, they won't suddenly grow devil-horns afterward.

No doubt there are parents out there convinced that sugar makes their kids hyper, and they are no doubt gritting their teeth reading this. Such parents have been the subject of study too. In one example, researchers divided children and their parents into two groups. In one group, parents were told their children were being given a drink that was full of sugar. The other was told their children's drinks were sugar free. In truth, both groups received sugar-free drinks. The parents were then asked to grade their children's behavior. Naturally, parents who thought their children had received a sugar-boost graded them as more hyperactive than the other. (6) Our beliefs shape our perspectives, and create an altered version of reality. We find evidence for what we expect to find, while ignoring evidence to the contrary.

Of course, too much sugar does do many unhealthy things. It rots your child's teeth, leads to obesity, and is generally the sign of a poor diet, because too much of sugary foods generally means not enough of the other, healthier variety. But turn children into budding psychopaths it does not. Moderation and self-control are the keys. In fact, I'd wager that the kid whose overprotective parent never allows them any sugary treats is more likely to go insane and become an ax-murderer than those reasonable parents who allow sugary treats in healthy moderation.

References:
1. Discover Magazine, 'The Bad News,' December 2009, p. 16

2. Y. Shoda, W. Mischel & P.K. Peake, "Predicting adolescent cognitive and social competence from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions." Developmental Psychology, 26, pp. 978-986, 1990

3. M. Kinsbourne, "Sugar and the hyperactive child," New England Journal of Medicine, 330(5): 355-56, 1994

4. D.A. Krummel, F.H. Seligson"& H. Guthrie, "Hyperactivity: is candy causal?" Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 36, (1-2): 31-47, 1996

5. M.L. Woolraich et al., "Effects of diets high in sucrose or aspartame on the behavior and cognitive performance of children." New England Journal of Medicine, 330(5): 301-07

6. D.W. Hoover & R. Milich, "Effects of sugar ingestion expectancies on mother-child interactions." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22(4): 501-15, 1994


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Global Children's Fund is a Non-Profit organization dedicated to improving the overall welfare of children.  Our focus in overall child safety issues, as well as  abuse prevention. We specialize in the education of parents and caregivers, as well as children, by providing learning materials for adult and child alike.  The materials are designed to improve communication between the child and caregiver, in a fun and relaxed manner.

Margin Requirements in Futures Trading

Author: kelly price

The term ‘margin' is used very frequently in futures trading. It refers to the amount the holder of the financial instruments deposits with the counterparty, usually an exchange or a broker, to cover the credit risk. The risk normally arises when the holder either entered into a derivative contract or borrowed money to purchase financial instruments from the above mentioned counterparty or sold financial instruments short.

Margin amount serves as collateral in futures trading and usually is in the form of cash or securities and deposited in a ‘margin account'. The percentage of margin rate is fixed by the futures exchanges and in some cases, brokerage firms add up further premium over and above the minimum rate to reduce their risk exposure. Ex: A contract of sugar futures is worth $20,000 and usually the margin rate range from 5-15%. Hence, to buy the above contract, you are required to have a margin of minimum $1,000 (20,000 * 5%).

Types of margin requirements:

•  Initial Futures Margin – The obligatory minimum amount to open a buy or sell position on a futures contract.

•  Maintenance Margin – The amount required to keep an open position and entails adjustment to the initial margin in the form of daily payment of profits and losses. The prevailing price of futures is compared to the previous day's price, usually known as ‘marked-to-market'.

Profit is earned for the day, if the current price is higher and the profit amount is paid to your margin account, thereby resulting in increment in your margin amount. However, loss is incurred if the price falls below the previous day's closing; the loss amount is debited to your margin account, resulting in fall in margin amount.

•  Additional Margin – Such margin is meant to cover any expected drop in the value of your position on the next trading day.

•  Margin Call – A Margin call is issued by your broker or the exchange, in the event of amount in your margin account drops below the maintenance margin. In such a case, you can either raise your amount to the initial margin level or close your position. 
To ensure smooth flow of your futures trading, keep track of the margin requirements.

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You can check with commodity brokers on margin requirements and proper understanding and monitoring of your margin account aids in futures trading

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U.S. food giant Yupo sugar sugar import quota of containing up

Author: aoao
The rainy season in India and Brazil, ethanol fuel is changing the American appetite, which is directly affected by the U.S. Food giants.
    As a major sugar importer of the United States, India and Brazil this year due to weather and other reasons, sugar crop yields declined. To this end, the United States began tightening sugar supplies, records show that U.S. sugar stocks at the lowest level in 34 years.
    History of low storage capacity of the international sugar prices led to a substantial jump up. Suffer Kraft, General Mills, Hershey and Mars and other food giant has several joint letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom? Tom Vilsack, said that if the Government refused to relax sugar import policy, the United States a "sugar shortage. "
    The company also issued a "threat", at present, they made chocolate bars, breakfast cereals, cookies, gum and other food products have been faced with thousands of daily sugar shortage, the Ministry of Agriculture does not allow them to import more if the zero-tariff sugar They will raise prices and layoffs, consumers will carry higher prices, food manufacturing jobs would not be secure, trade patterns will be distorted.
    Over the years, the United States than in Mexico from outside the market to set strict import tariff quotas of sugar, sugar used to take care of the northern plains and southern vegetable farmers sell sugar farmers, but the move within the United States artificially high sugar prices. Data showed that U.S. food companies to buy the domestic sugar prices paid nearly twice the level of the international market.
    But there are different voices. American Sugar Alliance believes that the sugar shortage fears are exaggerated, the U.S. food industry advocate real reason for a shortage of sugar, sugar is to eliminate federal barriers to trade. The alliance issued a notice on its Web site also provides chief economic analyst of the Union Jack? Contact Ronnie and said, "Every U.S. sugar producers have to sell sugar, U.S. Sugar Alliance can provide a number of suppliers contact. "
    This year, the U.S. sugar futures price has risen nearly doubled, recently hit a new high of 28 years.
    Sugar prices rising for many reasons. The important factor is Brazil, the world's largest sugar cane is super majority for the manufacture of ethanol fuel; world's second largest sugar-producing countries, India sugarcane this year the rainy season causing the precipitation was lower than in previous years, this original estimate production will occur resumption of growth is also expected to become a bubble. At the same time, growing global sugar consumption also makes the further increase of the international sugar production and marketing.
    With the price of sugar in the U.S. and global markets soaring, all of the sugar price rise may lead to different views on the crisis there. "I think in the near future, U.S. food manufacturers will not face a serious shortage of sugar." Standard & Poor's food industry analyst Tom? Graves said that although prices, sugar supply tension than in previous years, But the U.S. is far encountered sugar crisis. Sugar shortage warning food companies to be more consideration is the sugar quota policy, rather than sugar prices up or down.
    Hershey, Kraft and other food giant has not released its own demand on the sugar quota, price and product supply issues, but said in unison, only to raise sugar import quota, the local sugar prices down in order to increase their supply and reduce the prices of their products.
    U.S. sugar producers said that sugar import quotas to expand their sugar may lead to the sale price is below cost of production would lead to their bankruptcy, and more importantly, the government should avoid any attempt to change the rules of behavior. Some experts pointed out that the expansion of import quotas may not pass the benefits to consumers, but the U.S. production of sugar for every 1 cent price reduction would mean that the U.S. sugar farmers lost 160 million U.S. dollars.
    The parties to the dispute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Justin? Deqiong said the government would "continue to review the market environment to ensure that growers receive appropriate protection network and a stable supply environment."

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I am a professional writer from Cheap On Sales, which contains a great deal of information about noni juice health benefits , aromatherapy blending, welcome to visit!

What Rising Commodity Prices Mean for Investors

Author: Sara Nunnally

On the last trading day in 2010, gold prices traded up $15.50 to more than $1,421 an ounce and oil prices ended above $91 a barrel. Indeed, gasoline prices are back above $3 a gallon, up more than 44 cents from last year!

But these hard assets aren't the only things climbing… look at the prices of these other commodities. Coffee futures have jumped more than 60% in 2010, and sugar has nearly doubled in the past six months alone.

Wheat prices are up more than 46% in the past six months despite seesawing through much of the third and fourth quarters. Corn's up nearly 57%, and soybeans are up better than 51%.

I could go on and on…

What's behind these moves in commodity prices, and what does this mean for your investment portfolio?

In past Smart Investing Daily issues, we've made the connection between the U.S. dollar's performance against other currencies and the rise and fall of commodity prices.

This link is simple: Every commodity priced in dollars is subject to price fluctuations based on the value of that dollar. That's why some commodities make great hedges against a falling dollar.

What's Behind Commodity Price Gains?

But is the U.S. dollar behind these major commodity price gains?

Yes, of course… But that's only half the story. Here's a six-month futures chart of the U.S. Dollar Index, which compares the greenback to a basket of major currencies:

US-dollar-index-icefi

You can see the index has fallen nearly 7% in the past six months. A move like this is pretty big in the currency world, and it certainly results in sizable swings in commodity prices.

But another reason commodity prices are rising could just be the fledgling recovery.

Consider this: In the past month, crude oil inventories have fallen by 20.3 million barrels. And while it is winter, and we expect declining stocks, this data is significant. Crude oil production in the U.S. is higher than it was a year ago, as are imports.

That means demand is on the rise.

Same with gold. When the official statistics come out, the World Gold Council expects jewelry demand for 2010 to outpace 2009, particularly due to a recovery in India and increased Chinese demand.

There's also demand from central banks. Russia, for example, increased its gold holdings by 7% in the third quarter of 2010.

And gold is even making a comeback in industrial uses. In every region of the world, gold industrial demand has climbed in the first half of 2010 compared to 2009.

Climbing demand is found in agricultural commodities as well. The U.S. exported $108.7 billion worth of agricultural products in the fiscal year of 2010 -- up 13% from 2009. Everything from cotton to sugar to dairy products jumped in value… and many experienced sharply higher shipments. Soybean exports climbed 20%!

And imports climbed, too: 8% compared to 2009.

Rising Commodities Mean a Sign of Recovery

This is a good sign that the recovery is gaining ground. It also means that commodities could be more than just a hedge in your portfolio in 2011.

Here's a captured image of the top 10 ETF gainers for the last day of 2010.

10-etf-gainers-2010

Eight out of 10 of these ETFs are commodity-based. And look at some of the three-month gains…

  • SGG up 45%
  • DAG up over 32%
  • UCO up over 23%

With these kinds of gains, what will 2011 bring?

My gut tells me that many commodities will see at least a small pullback in price. These gains are far too good for many investors to leave on the table, and we could see a lot of profit taking. I think this would be good for the commodity market as a whole, and it would consolidate some of the sharp price increases we've seen in the charts.

Any pullback would be an interesting opportunity for investors to start dabbling in commodities -- either through an ETF or through futures… or even options on those futures.

Aside from gold, which should be a staple in any investors portfolio if only for its hedging qualities, I'd take a look at agricultural commodities. Three of the eight commodity-based ETFs in the top-10 chart above are focused on agricultural commodities.

But take a moment to see what happens in the first week or two of trading in 2011. We'll be back to higher volume trading, and we'll be able to get a better sense of how the market will view the major gains some of these ETFs have made heading into the new year.

Smart Investing Daily will follow up on this idea in subsequent issues, but as always, feel free to send us your ideas and comments.

 

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About the Author

Sara is Co-Editor of Smart Investing Daily. As Senior Research Director and global correspondent, Sara Nunnally's diverse resume includes studies in art history, computer science and financial research. She has appeared on news media such as Forbes on Fox, Fox News Live, and CNBC's Squawk Box, as well as numerous radio shows around the country.

Where To Put Your Money In These Uncertain Times?

Author: Randy Robertson

With all the uncertainty in the financial markets, people are wondering where they should invest?
\"Should I just keep my money in the bank earning 1/2% interest?\"
\"Should I put my money in safer US Treasury Bonds?\"
\"Should I buy gold, because I hear it\'s a \"Safe Haven?\"
\"Should I Just keep my money in my mattress and wait until the financial Armageddon is over?\"

Seriously, its a question that many people have been wondering. There is not a simple answer.
It really depends are your current financial situation,income,net assets, risk tolerance, ect.

I would recommend to have a balanced investment portfolio with all asset classes, stocks,bonds,cash, and commodities.
Commodities? you ask. \"Aren\'t commodities very risky? Yes they can be, but
Adding commodities to a diversified investment portfolio, via professional money managers or commodity trading advisors (CTAs) may decrease portfolio volatility risk.

 What are Managed Futures?

 Many individual and institutional investors search for alternative investment opportunities when there is a lackluster outlook for U.S. equity markets. As investors seek to diversify into different asset classes, most notably hedge funds, many are turning to managed futures as a solution.

 Defining Managed Futures.

The term \"Managed Futures\" refers to a 30-year-old industry made up of professional money managers who are known as \"Commodity Trading Advisors\" (CTAs). CTAs are required to register with the U.S.government\'s Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before they can offer themselves to the public as money managers. CTAs are also required to go through an FBI deep background check, and provide rigorous disclosure documents (and independent audits of financial statements every year), which are reviewed by the National Futures Association (NFA), a self-regulatory watchdog organization.

CTAs generally manage their clients\' assets using a proprietary trading system, or a discretionary method, that may involve going long or short in futures contracts in areas such as metals (gold, silver), grains (soybeans, corn, wheat), equity indexes (S&P futures, Dow futures, NASDAQ 100 futures), soft commodities (cotton, cocoa, coffee, sugar) as well as foreign currency and U.S government bond futures. In the past several years, money invested in managed futures has more than doubled and is estimated to continue to grow in the coming years if hedge fund returns flatten and stocks underperform.

 Benefits of Managed Futures
1. Reduced Portfolio Volatility Risk - The primary benefit of adding a managed futures component to a diversified investment portfolio is that it may decrease portfolio volatility risk. This risk-reduction contribution to the portfolio is possible because of the low to slightly negative correlation of managed futures with equities and bonds. One of the key tenets of Modern Portfolio Theory, as developed by the Nobel Prize economist Dr. Harry M. Markowitz, is that more efficient investment portfolios can be created by diversifying among asset categories with low to negative correlations.
2. Potential for Enhanced Portfolio Returns - While managed futures can decrease portfolio volatility risk, they can also simultaneously enhance overall portfolio performance. Adding managed futures to a traditional portfolio can help to improve overall investment quality. This is substantiated by an extensive bank of academic research, beginning with the landmark study of Dr. John Lintner of Harvard University, in which he wrote that \"The combined portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) after including judicious investments...in leveraged managed futures accounts show substantially less risk at every possible level of expected return than portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) alone.\" (Lintner, John, \"The Potential Role of Managed Commodity Financial Futures Accounts (and/or Funds) in Portfolios of Stocks and Bonds,\" Annual Conference of Financial Analysts Federation, May 1983)
3. Ability to Take Advantage of Any Economic Environment - Managed futures trading advisors can take advantage of price trends. They can buy futures positions in anticipation of a rising market or sell futures positions if they anticipate a falling market. For example, during periods of hyperinflation, hard commodities such as gold, silver, oil, grains, and livestock tend to do well, as do the major world currencies. During deflationary times, futures provide an opportunity to profit by selling into a declining market with the expectation of buying, or closing out the position, at a lower price. Trading advisors can even use strategies employing options on futures contracts that allow for profit potential in flat or neutral markets. However, profits are not guaranteed, and there is risk of substantial loss.
4. Ease of Global Diversification - The establishment of global futures exchanges and the accompanying increase in actively traded contract offerings has allowed trading advisors to diversify their portfolios by geography as well as by product. For example, managed futures accounts can participate in at least 150 different markets worldwide, including stock indexes, financial instruments, agricultural products, precious and nonferrous metals, currencies, and energy products. Trading advisors thus have ample opportunity for profit potential and risk reduction among a broad array of non-correlated markets

 

 

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DISCLAIMER:The risk of loss in trading commodity futures and options can be substantial. Before trading, you should carefully consider your financial position to determine if futures trading is appropriate. When trading futures and/or options, it is possible to lose more than the full value of your account. All funds committed should be risk capital. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. If you access and use this website, you accept and agree to be bound by, and comply with, the legal terms of use that must be accessed and read by clicking on the link \"Disclaimer\". You should access and read the Disclaimer before using this website. Changes may be made to the Disclaimer at any time without notice. Accordingly, you also agree to review the Disclaimer regularly and your continued access or use of the website means that you agree to any changes to the Disclaimer.

 

 

 

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About the Author
Randall Robertson. In the early 90's Randall Robertson began his financial education and training as an assistant broker on The Pacific Options Exchange. He went on to work for Morgan Stanley Online, where he developed the successful Private Client Services Group. After Morgan Stanley’s Online Division was purchased by Harris Direct, Mr. Robertson forecasted the beginning of a commodities boom, and went on to work as a commodity trading advisor, for American National Trading Corp, a 20 year Futures Commission Merchant. In 2007 American National Trading was purchased by PFG BEST, and after 5 years, of being one of the top Commodity Trading Advisors in the firm, Randall desired to create something new, and opened a Guaranteed Introducing Brokerage firm (GIB) in Beverley Hills California. RR Global Capital 433 N. Camden Dr. Suite 600 Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Phone: 310.887.1388 Fax: 310.279.5101 Email: randy@rrglobalcapital.com www.rrglobalcapital.com

Commodity Trading and Commodity Futures benefits in Two Words

Author: Ted Gregory

Commodity trading definitions

Commodities are simply consumable goods, so commodities trading is a way investing into material entities.  Yet it's quite alike trading stocks. The core deviation is that commodities are just tangible in theory.

Eventually, trading commodities and commodity futures trading are as common in mind as trading real goods.

Advantages of commodity trading

Just admit that at least once in your life you've thought about buying gold? Exactly, you think that gold is limited in core like real estate etc.  But having such assets involve a bunch of problems like security, delivery, insurance. A much better way to invest in gold is to buy it's commodity futures.

Basic tips for commodity futures trading

Commodity futures trading differs from stock futures by volatility and cost. You can buy commodities futures cheaper than stocks, but otherwise commodity ranges are much lower.

Broker services are also affordable, still to .12% commission.

For well-informed hardcore traders commodity futures trading can become a sweet asset opportunity.

Accounting is amusingly savvy, benefits are only on your fortune size. All you need is to keep chart monitoring over suppliers and relative demands very carefully.  Visit commodity trading exchanges - MCX and NCDEX - to discover  whole range of products being traded, study the key indicators and techniques. Then choose a commodity broker out of a wide range, I suggest just to learn some key advices of how to make it right.

The Commodity Trading Exchange

Contracts contain spot prices, futures and options on futures contracts. Rather sophisticated products may care environmental tools, interest rates, swaps or ocean freight contracts and so on. The  commodities exchange represents vast commodities and derivatives trade opportunities. The top commodity markets operate for example agricultural and other commodities like coffee, cocoa, wheat, sugar, barley, cotton corn, dairy products, pork bellies, metals, oil… These trades are contract-based.

Commodity trading can include a participation in some greater transaction conducted on commodities exchange. Commodity trading functionality, basic terms and conditions are still very familiar to stock exchanging. This type of exchanges directly deal with commodities. The amount of commodity traders is unlimited by exchanges policy. So traders are free to conduct any exchanges in free quantities.

Commodity trading is based on the straight statement between supply and demand of a definite commodity. In general concept of stock trading, commodity trading also contains a range of risks. Investors or traders shourd carefully observe the supply and demand balance. I also have to notice the importance of collecting the history of price indexes and trend . But here's a good news: according to some robust researches, trading commodities is one of the most consistent investments. Good Luck!

 

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Making simple lay notes about trading in essence, trading software and particullary automated trading platforms. For more info - visit my profile website.

Commodity Tips Free Trial On Your Mobile By Yahoo Messenger

Author: Free Mcx tips Trial

Yesterday, the domestic commodity markets were closed with a mixed trend. At MCX future, 3 out of 4 indexes closed with a downward trend. In the MCX future, MCXCOMDEX closed at 3,318.35 after opening at 3,317.39, MCXMETAL closed at 4,234.26 after opening at 4,237.81 and MCXENERGY closed at 2,994.95 after opening at 2,992.44 while MCXAGRI closed at 2,797.02 after opening at 2795.78.

At NCDEX, the Dhaanya, an agri commodity benchmark index, is closed at 1,107.33, up by 0.42%.

On the domestic front, Mentha Oil prices increased further in future trade yesterday as traders created fresh positions, driven by pick up in spot demand due to seasonal demand. At MCX future, Mentha Oil for January contract traded at Rs 1,176.00, up by 1.13 per cent, Mentha Oil for February contract traded at Rs 1,174.30, up by 1.29 per cent and Mentha Oil for March contract traded at Rs 1,173.00, up by 1.16 per cent.

Sugar traded higher in future trade yesterday as speculators covered-up their short positions even as government put on hold export of the sweetener. At MCX future, Sugar MKOL for April contract traded at Rs 2,975, up by 1.64 per cent, Sugar MDEL for February contract traded at Rs 3,023, up by 1.55 per cent and Sugar MDEL for January contract traded at Rs 2,980, up by 1.50 per cent.

Yesterday, at MCX, the top gainers were Chana DEL for February contract (2.17%), Sugar MKOL for April contract (1.64%), Sugar MDEL for February contract (1.55%), Sugar MDEL for January contract (1.50%) and Mentha Oil for March contract (1.29%)

The top losers at MCX were Potato TRWR for April contract (-1.46%), Nickel for January contract (-1.21%), Potato for May contract (-1.20%), Natural Gas for January contract (-1.18%) and Nickel for March contract (-1.13%)

Yesterday, at NCDEX, the top gainers were Coriander for January contract (4.0%), Coriander for February contract (4.0%), Coriander for March contract (4.0%), Castor Seed for January contract (2.5%) and Coriander for April contract (2.5%)

The top losers at NCDEX were Barley for April contract (-4.0%), Barley for May contract (-4.0%), Steel Long for May contract (-2.0%), Maize Feed/Industrial Grade for February contract (-1.4%) and Maize Feed/Industrial Grade for March contract (-1.4%)

Yesterday, at MCX, the top traded commodities in terms of quantity were Crude Oil for January contract with 1,38,366 lots, Silver M for February contract with 1,05,476 lots, Copper for February contract with 1,01,132 lots, Silver for March contract with 88,808 lots and Nickel for January contract with 76,958 lots.

On the domestic arena, at MCX, Crude Oil for January contract traded at Rs 4,150.00. Gold for February contract traded at Rs 20,440.00. Gold M for February contract traded at Rs 20,438.00. Silver for March contract traded at Rs 44,630.00. Natural Gas for January contract traded at Rs 200.40.
In the international market, Crude oil declined for a second day in New York on speculation that demand may be slow to rebound in the U.S., the world's biggest crude-consuming nation. The February contract declined as much as 52 cents, or by 0.6 per cent, to USD 90.88 a barrel, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at USD 90.93 at 1:03 p.m. Sydney time. Yesterday, it dropped 46 cents to USD 91.40.

On the domestic front, the rise in the prices of natural rubber is slowly affecting its consumption. Substitution of natural rubber by synthetic rubber and the new trends in the transportation sector could be the reasons for this change. Consumption of natural rubber by all user industries dropped by 3 per cent in November 2010 while provisional figures show that in December it fell by 1.3 per cent.

Food inflation, based on the annual Wholesale Price Index, eased marginally after having surged for five straight weeks. The food price index increased 16.91 per cent for the week ended January 1st 2011, lower than the previous week''s annual rise of 18.32 per cent. According to an official data released by the government on Thursday, the fuel price index increased 11.53 per cent, marginally lower than the 11.63 per cent reported in the previous week.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, has directed agricultural marketing and civil supplies departments to step up market intervention scheme and purchases from other States to bring down prices of essential commodities.

Maharashtra cooperative sugar factories have asked the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the regulator for commodity markets, and the two exchanges, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), to organize statewide workshops on sugar futures.

India will likely to allow domestic refiners to utilize the government''s emergency crude oil reserve facilities, the first of which will only be completed by January 2012, federal Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said Wednesday.

 

Mcxtips ||  Mcx Tips Free Trial

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Identify The Obstacles Associated With The Futures Trading And Forex Trading System

Author: Lan Turner

When it comes to the goals of achieving significant wealth, there are many obstacles an individual must overcome in order to achieve their financial objectives. In the traditional working environment, you are required to manage through the daily stresses those are related with business so as to gain recognition from supervisors and even managers, in the goal of seeking promotion and raises. These obstacles are often difficult to overcome as there is a daily struggle to receive this recognition and avoid any incidents that could spoil efforts which have been made over years of time. Obstacles also exist for people who are looking outside the traditional working environment and looking for possibilities which exist with the Futures trading and Forex trading system.

When possibilities like those in the financial industry appeal to your interests, its vital to identify potential obstacles so as to develop realistic ways to overcome them. Futures trading involve the buying and selling of commodities during various periods of time wherein an individual can discover the greatest amount of profit. While this market often offers the most simplistic avenue of opportunity as a result of seasonal trends, its not an easy task for any person to identify when all these trends might occur. The accumulation of years of data is required and insight into various patterns which may exist for a person to profit from. The time required along with the research needed to finding success with Futures trading is the major obstacles associated with this market.

Another opportunity people seek to take advantage of is with that of the Forex trading system. In this financial industry, a person is seeking to buy and sell various foreign exchange currencies, so as to generate a profit while the value of all these currencies increases or decreases. This often involves a significant investment of time as a person must regularly be familiar with the various economies those are related with the currencies you either own or are interested in making investments in.

Additionally, the identification of patterns associated with increase and decrease of currency value is vital in order to improve your best opportunities for discovering real financial profit. Every individual must overcome the significant obstacles that are represented so as to create profit from the Forex Trading System.

Rather than continuing the struggle associated with the Futures trading and Forex trading system, look towards opportunities that may exist with the utilization of software. With the help of the best software that is associated with the 3 financial industries, an individual will develop a unique resource that will aid them in the accumulation of required data, as well as the tracking of various resources in order to identify trends and opportunities to buy and sell.

Track 'n Trade revolutionized the way people learned how to trade the futures market and now continues to revolutionize the way people trade the futures, forex, and stock markets.  Someone new to trading can practice until he or she feels confident enough to invest personal capital. Track 'n Trade also introduced an interactive chart which gave the user the ability to place trades directly on the chart itself thus coining the phrase "The Ultimate Trading Machine for the Visual Investor". Visit the website to know more about futures trading.

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MANY INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

Author: Mark Soper

 

Managed Futures describes and industry that is made up of professional money mangers who trade in investments such as commodities, futures, and foreign currency in lieu of  traditional investment s  such as stocks and bonds. These money managers are called  Commodity Trading Advisors(CTAs)

 

 

Unlike commodity or stockbrokers who makes recommendations on individual commodities or stocks, Commodity Trading Advisors have a proven track record and trading style,and are under strict regulation with the NFA National Futures Association.

 

Whether the economy is in a recession, an economic boom or is stagnant…whether interest rates rise or fall…whether there is an economic crisis or stability…in virtually any economic environment, professionally managed futures, unlike stocks, can potentially prosper.

 

 

Defining Managed Futures

 

The term "managed futures" refers to a 30-year-old industry made up of professional money managers who are known as "commodity trading advisors" (CTAs). CTAs are required to register with the U.S. government's Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before they can offer themselves to the public as money managers. CTAs are also required to go through an FBI deep background check, and provide rigorous disclosure documents (and independent audits of financial statements every year), which are reviewed by the National Futures Association (NFA), a self-regulatory watchdog organization.

 

CTAs generally manage their clients' assets using a proprietary trading system, or a discretionary method, that may involve going long or short in futures contracts in areas such as metals (gold, silver), grains (soybeans, corn, wheat), equity indexes (S&P futures, Dow futures, NASDAQ 100 futures), soft commodities (cotton, cocoa, coffee, sugar) as well as foreign currency and U.S government bond futures. In the past several years, money invested in managed futures has more than doubled and is estimated to continue to grow in the coming years if hedge fund returns flatten and stocks underperform.

 

Benefits of Managed Futures

1. Reduced Portfolio Volatility Risk - The primary benefit of adding a managed futures component to a diversified investment portfolio is that it may decrease portfolio volatility risk. This risk-reduction contribution to the portfolio is possible because of the low to slightly negative correlation of managed futures with equities and bonds. One of the key tenets of Modern Portfolio Theory, as developed by the Nobel Prize economist Dr. Harry M. Markowitz, is that more efficient investment portfolios can be created by diversifying among asset categories with low to negative correlations.

 

2. Potential for Enhanced Portfolio Returns - While managed futures can decrease portfolio volatility risk, they can also simultaneously enhance overall portfolio performance. Adding managed futures to a traditional portfolio can help to improve overall investment quality. This is substantiated by an extensive bank of academic research, beginning with the landmark study of Dr. John Lintner of Harvard University, in which he wrote that “The combined portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) after including judicious investments…in leveraged managed futures accounts show substantially less risk at every possible level of expected return than portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) alone.” (Lintner, John, “The Potential Role of Managed Commodity Financial Futures Accounts (and/or Funds) in Portfolios of Stocks and Bonds,” Annual Conference of Financial Analysts Federation, May 1983)

 

3. Ability to Take Advantage of Any Economic Environment - Managed futures trading advisors can take advantage of price trends. They can buy futures positions in anticipation of a rising market or sell futures positions if they anticipate a falling market. For example, during periods of hyperinflation, hard commodities such as gold, silver, oil, grains, and livestock tend to do well, as do the major world currencies. During deflationary times, futures provide an opportunity to profit by selling into a declining market with the expectation of buying, or closing out the position, at a lower price. Trading advisors can even use strategies employing options on futures contracts that allow for profit potential in flat or neutral markets. However, profits are not guaranteed, and there is risk of substantial loss.

 

4. Ease of Global Diversification - The establishment of global futures exchanges and the accompanying increase in actively traded contract offerings has allowed trading advisors to diversify their portfolios by geography as well as by product. For example, managed futures accounts can participate in at least 150 different markets worldwide, including stock indexes, financial instruments, agricultural products, precious and nonferrous metals, currencies, and energy products. Trading advisors thus have ample opportunity for profit potential and risk reduction among a broad array of non-correlated markets.

 

Managing Risk

One of the major arguments for diversifying into managed futures is their potential to lower portfolio risk. Such an argument is supported by many academic studies of the effects of combining traditional asset classes with alternative investments such as managed futures. Dr John Lintner of Harvard University is perhaps the most cited for his research in this area.

 

Taken as an alternative investment class on its own, the managed-futures class has produced comparable returns in the decade before 2005. For example, between 1993 and 2002, managed futures had a compound average annual return of 6.9%, while for U.S. stocks (based on the S&P 500 total return index) the return was 9.3% and 9.5% for U.S. Treasury bonds (based on the Lehman Brothers long-term Treasury bond index). In terms of risk-adjusted returns, managed futures had the smaller drawdown (a term CTAs use to refer to the maximum peak-to-valley drop in an equities' performance history) among the three groups between Jan 1980 and May 2003. During this period managed futures had a -15.7% maximum drawdown while the Nasdaq Composite Index had one of -75% and the S&P 500 stock index had one of -44.7%.

 

An additional benefit of managed futures includes risk reduction through portfolio diversification by means of negative correlation between asset groups. As an asset class, managed futures programs are largely inversely correlated with stocks and bonds. For example, during periods of inflationary pressure, investing in managed futures programs that track the metals markets (like gold and silver) or foreign currency futures can provide a substantial hedge to the damage such an environment can have on equities and bonds. In other words, if stocks and bonds underperform due to rising inflation concerns, certain managed futures programs might outperform in these same market conditions. Hence, combining managed futures with these other asset groups may optimize your allocation of investment capital.

 

Evaluating CTAs

Before investing in any asset class or with an individual money manager you should make some important assessments, and much of the information you need to do so can be found in the CTA's disclosure document. Disclosure documents must be provided to you upon request even if you are still considering an investment with the CTA. The disclosure document will contain important information about the CTA's trading plan and fees (which can vary substantially between CTAs, but generally are 2% for management and 20% for performance incentive). In addition, most CTA's require large minimum investments, however investors can get around this buy going through a commodities brokerage firm that has an agreement with various CTA's and  acts as a liaison between the investor and the CTA.  Another benefit of working with a broker, is their ability to create a CTA diversified porfolio to match your goals and risk tollerence.

 

In Conclusion

Managed Futures can help:

 

1. Help improve portfolio performance

 

2. Reduce portfolio volatility risk

 

3. Non-correlated investment (to stocks & bonds)

 

4. Historically serve as a natural hedge against inflation.

 

5. Portfolios incorporating Managed Futures show

 

substantially less risk at every possible level of

 

expected return than portfolios of stocks (or stocks &

 

bonds) alone.*

 

* Chicago Board of Trade, “Managed Futures”, Publication (2003 edition).

 

Futures trading involves risk of loss and is not appropriate for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results

 

 

 

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