Speculators raise net sugar longs in sudden reversal

UPDATE 2-Speculators raise net sugar longs in sudden reversal - CFTC | Reuters

March 23 (Reuters) - Speculators piled into raw sugar futures and 

options on ICE Futures U.S. in the week ended March 20, betting 

on higher prices amid talk that crops from Brazil may fall short 

of expectations, traders said. In contrast to sugar, speculators 

were betting on weaker markets in other soft commodities, raising 

their net short positions in coffee and cotton to three-year highs. 

But the sugar strategy, a sudden about-face after a massive drop 

in the prior week, may not pay off, traders said, warning that 

this week's rally to  three-week highs was overdone and the market 

was due a correction. 

The Greek Economy Explained

Nigel Farage - The Greek Economy Explained (March 22, 2012) - YouTube



Let's empathize with these poor people in Greece. We (the EU) are driving them into something that is truly appalling. We saw two weeks ago those television pictures of buildings in Athens burning and 80,000 people outside the Greek Parliament, literally storming the Parliament trying to get in.

Cheap natural gas - burning it up

Cheap natural gas has these stocks burning it up - InvestmentNews

“We expect the spread between the price of crude oil and the price of natural gas to be sizable for the next three to five years, and I'm going to be playing that spread,” he said.  While the price of the two commodities historically have moved in tandem, the separation that began to take shape in early 2009 continues to widen.

'Storm Cloud' Headed for Corzine, Berenzweig Says

'Storm Cloud' Headed for Corzine, Berenzweig Says - YouTube

Bloomberg News reporter Phil Mattingly and Seth Berenzweig, managing partner at Berenzweig Leonard, talk about a Bloomberg News report that Jon Corzine, MF Global's CEO, gave "direct instructions" to transfer $200 million from a customer fund account to meet an overdraft in one of the brokerage's JPMorgan Chase accounts in London, according to an e-mail sent by a firm executive

Currency Intervention and the Leap-Year Gold Massacre

Currency Intervention and the Leap-Year Gold Massacre - DailyFinance

Although Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would like for you to think otherwise, gold is immutably money.  Central banks hold it within strategic currency reserves, and are busily acquiring more. Observing the unsustainable deficit-spending that continues to plague U.S. fiscal policy, and the unprecedented campaigns of intervention conducted by the relevant central banks in response to the global debt crisis, one can hardly feign surprise at the resurgent role of gold as a counterweight to the impaired condition of the world's major paper currencies.

March 20, 2012 Current Commitments of Traders Charts

Current Commitments of Traders Charts

Based on CFTC weekly report.
(Weekly as of October 2000.)
22 Mar 11 - 20 Mar 12

Trader Sues JPMorgan: A $3 Million Decimal Point Typo

JPMorgan Sued by Trader Over $3 Million Decimal Point - Bloomberg

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is being sued by a trader who says he accepted a contract from the investment bank because a typographical error made him believe he would be paid 10 times what was actually offered.  Kai Herbert, a Switzerland-based currency trader, is suing JPMorgan for about 580,000 pounds ($920,000), his lawyers said at a trial in London this week. The original contract said Herbert’s annual pay would be 24 million rand ($3.1 million). JPMorgan blamed the mistake on a typographical error and said the figure should have been 2.4 million rand, according to court documents.

Harmonize this - CFTC Changes to Rule 4.5

Harmonize this

 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in February issued a final rule regarding changes to the Commission’s regulations concerning registration and compliance for commodity pool operators (CPO) and commodity trading advisors (CTA). Additionally, it released a proposed rule offering amendments to its recently changed rule 4.5.  Changes to rule 4.5 will force certain investment companies registered as 40 Act funds to register as CPOs. The problem is some of its rules are in conflict with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules. The Commission has received many comments pointing out that their new rules create “duplicative, inconsistent, and possibly conflicting disclosure and reporting requirements” on such funds. The amendments attempt to facilitate compliance by offering some relief in its reporting processes according to the CFTC.

MFGI's O'Brien to be let go

MFGI's O'Brien to be let go

Edith O’Brien, the assistant treasurer for MF Global Inc. who was subpoenaed earlier this week by the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the House's Financial Services Committee is expected to be out of a job at the end of this month.  Kent Jarrell, spokesman for the MFGI trustee, noted in an e-mail that O’Brien’s  temporary assignment with the trustee overseeing the liquidation of MFGI will be coming to an end at the end of March as the Chicago office will be closed and all the Chicago based former MFGI employees will be terminated. Jarrell says that by mid-April the trustee will be down to less than 40 former MF Global employees on temporary assignment.

Treasuries look strong

Treasuries look strong

The June S&P 500 contract (SPM) remains slightly negative as it holds below internal trend line and has the 1378.50/1380 area as initial target. SPX will be slightly negative early below 1398.50 to start the day with 1385.50 as initial support. DJ Transports broke a short term trend line at 5300 and adds to negative theme a bit.

Ten-year Treasury note yield is lower and holding below closing key pivot point, nearing its 200-day moveing average of 2.23%. The five-year note (FVM) has 122-05 area as upside initial pivot point and 122-13 as target resistance. Treasury bonds (USM)  held first key support yesterday and is likely to firm further to test 138-05 first major resistance. The Bund is firm again today and gaining after holding above its key 200-day moving average, 137.61 is its .618 retracement and is testing that level this morning on chatter of U.S. Bank sell programs out of UK. XLF is slightly negative as it is unable to settle above its .786 retracement of 15.86. The TY/SP is testing its closing pivot in premarket trade. DAX has 6939 as its 21-day moving average, which we will use as initial pivot. Nikkei is lower but holding above its 200 week moving average of 9875*. April Gold is positive for now after holding its key .618 retracement support perfectly yesterday. GFI 200 day is 13.51*.

Crude Spikes After Iranian Exports Report

OIL FUTURES: Crude Spikes After Iranian Exports Report - WSJ.com

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Oil futures spiked Friday to their highest level in three weeks following a report that Iranian oil exports were expected to drop 300,000 barrels a day this month.  Prices pared their most extreme gains but remained firmly higher, with the benchmark light sweet crude contract for June delivery recently trading $1.30, or 1.2%, higher at $106.65 a barrel.  The contract briefly shot as high as $108.25 a barrel, its highest level since March 2, following a report from Reuters that Iranian exports had fallen 300,000 barrels a day, or 14%, citing industry sources.

Natural gas drops again

Natural Gas, Coffee Drop as Corn Gains: Commodities at Close - Bloomberg

Natural gas futures declined in New York after a government report showed the earliest seasonal gain in U.S. inventories since 2007.  Gas dropped 3.9 percent after the Energy Department said U.S. stockpiles expanded by 11 billion cubic feet last week to 2.38 trillion. The five-year average change for the week is a drop of 17 billion cubic feet.  Gas for April delivery fell 9.1 cents to settle at $2.269 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures, down 24 percent this year, fell to $2.204 per million Btu on March 13, the lowest intraday price since February 2002.