4x4: Raw sugar at 4-mth high; Cocoa down 4%

SOFTS-Cocoa sinks 4 pct, raw sugar at 4-mth peak | Agricultural Commodities | Reuters

NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures tumbled to close down nearly 4 percent on Thursday as talk that more exporters will end their boycott of auctions in top grower Ivory Coast triggered selling that was extended by automatic sell orders.

ICE raw sugar futures settled at the highest level in nearly four months after a choppy session, with the front-month's premium increasing to more than 1 cent per lb over the second month, while the market expected a big delivery at expiry of the front-month contract on Feb. 29.

Gasoline Futures Hit A 6 Month High On Supply Data

Gasoline Futures Rally After Report Supplies Shrank Last Week - Bloomberg

Gasoline futures gained after the Energy Department report showed stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week and jobless claims held at a four-year low.  Futures advanced to a six-month high as the government said inventories of gasoline declined 649,000 barrels to 231.5 million in the seven days ended Feb. 17. The median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 250,000- barrel increase. Applications for jobless benefits were unchanged in the week ended Feb. 18 at 351,000, Labor Department figures showed.

News For Friday's Commodities Trades

Thursday's Commodity News To Trade On - Seeking Alpha

Markets yesterday were very mixed, and if not due to our diversification between stocks and actual commodities it may have been a rough day due to the weights of high beta stocks in our portfolios. We will continue to ride our horses until we cannot, and view yesterday's movement more as a breather rather than the beginning of a regression for those individual companies.

Windfall from Commerzbank bond swap | Reuters

Hedge funds eye windfall from Commerzbank bond swap | Reuters


LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Commerzbank AG's plan to swap debt into shares could be about to hand hedge funds one of their biggest windfalls of the year, after the German bank offered to buy back a slew of bonds at a far higher price than some managers paid for them.  Commerzbank said on Thursday it is offering to swap previously unloved subordinated debt and lower-ranking securities into shares, in an effort to boost its capital by 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) ahead of the European Banking Authority's deadline requiring banks hold core capital of 9 percent.

Bond Prices Rise On Strong 7 Year Auction Results

Strong seven-year auction lifts bond prices | Reuters

Treasuries reversed earlier losses following the debt sale, the last part of this week's $99 billion in coupon supply. The seven-year auction drew the highest demand from investors and direct bidders since the maturity was reintroduced three years ago.  "When you had such good demand, people sat up and took notice," said Brian Rehling, chief fixed-income strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis, Missouri.

G7 Currency Volatility Lowest Since 2008

Currency Volatility Falls to Lowest Since 2008 on Growth

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Volatility of currencies of Group of Seven nations fell to lowest level since August 2008 amid optimism the global economy is improving, giving investors more confidence to buy assets that appreciate in periods of growth. Implied volatility of three-month options on Group of Seven currencies as tracked by the JPMorgan G7 Volatility Index fell as low as 9.76 percent today, the least since Aug. 8, 2008, as options traders scale back risk of large exchange rate swings. Lower volatility makes investments in currencies with higher benchmark lending rates more attractive because the risk in such trades is that market moves will erase profits.

The Euro: A Liability for Years as Chanos Expects Exits

Fortress’ Novogratz Calls Euro Liability for Years as Chanos Expects Exits - Bloomberg


Michael Novogratz of Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) said the euro will decline this year, and Litespeed Management LLC’s Jamie Zimmerman and Kynikos Associates Ltd.’s Jim Chanos said Greece will exit the currency. “It’s a liability currency this year,” Novogratz said in an interview during “Titans at the Table,” which airs tonight at 9 p.m. New York time on Bloomberg Television. “It will be the entire year. It probably will be a liability currency for the next few years.”

D.E. Shaw fined $140,000 by CFTC

CFTC fines New York firm $140,000 for violating spec limits - Commodities - Futures Magazine

Washington, DC—The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing and simultaneous settlement of charges against commodity pool operator D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P., of New York. N.Y., for exceeding speculative position limits in soybean and corn futures contracts in trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The order requires D.E. Shaw to pay a $140,000 civil monetary penalty and cease and desist from further violations of section 4a(b) of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulation 150.2.

Iowa man ordered by CFTC to pay more than $1M for fraud

CFTC orders Iowa man to pay more than $1 million for fraud actions - Regulations - Futures Magazine

Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed and simultaneously settled charges against Jeffrey J. Kinseth of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and his Iowa-based company, Virtual Vision Inc., for fraudulently soliciting individuals to participate in a pooled investment vehicle, misappropriation of investor funds, and issuance of false statements to conceal trading losses and fraud. Kinseth is not registered with the CFTC. The CFTC’s order requires Kinseth and Virtual Vision jointly and severally to pay a $575,000 civil monetary penalty and restitution of $574,936. The order also permanently prohibits Kinseth and Virtual Vision from engaging in any commodity-related activity, including trading, and from registering or seeking exemption from registration with the CFTC.

Restructuring of Greek bonds set for Friday

Greece bond restructuring set for Friday | Reuters

LONDON, Feb 23 (IFR) - Private sector involvement (PSI) in the second Greek bailout is expected to get underway on Friday, according to sources, in an effort to write off EUR107bn of Greece's debt -- the biggest sovereign restructuring ever attempted.  The country's financial adviser is Lazard, but Deutsche Bank and HSBC are the dealer managers on the EUR206bn debt swap, which includes the controversial retroactive collective action clauses (CACs) approved by the Greek parliament.