Orange-Juice Futures Feel the Squeeze

Orange-Juice Futures Feel the Squeeze - WSJ.com

Orange-juice futures have soured, now that fungicide and freeze fears have cleared.  Prices of frozen concentrated orange-juice futures dropped to $1.5870 a pound Thursday, their lowest level in nearly six months, amid strong supplies and waning demand for the breakfast beverage. Commodities markets were closed for Good Friday.

JPMorgan's Risky Business Spurs Glass-Steagall Call

JPMorgan's Risky Business Spurs Glass-Steagall Call - Video - Bloomberg


April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker, Stephanie Ruhle and Sara Eisen report on comments from Aegis Capital chief investment officer Stanley Crouch calling for the revival of the Glass-Steagall Act in the wake of JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil's outsized bets in credit derivatives. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Inside Track." (Source: Bloomberg)

JPMorgan's $100 Billion Derivatives Bet

JPMorgan's $100 Billion Derivatives Bet - Video - Bloomberg


Richard Bove, an analyst at Rochdale Securities, talks about the proprietary trading. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)

U.S. Halted 30 Total Orange-Juice Shipments in Probe

 U.S. Halted 30 Total Orange-Juice Shipments in Probe - Bloomberg

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has detained 30 orange-juice shipments since January after samples tested positive for a banned fungicide.  The FDA made the announcement in a monthly update on April 5 on its website. The agency said it has tested 144 shipments. As of March 1, 27 shipments had been halted.

Colombia Triples Peru Coffee Buying on Harvest Decline

Colombia Triples Peru Coffee Buying on Harvest Decline - Bloomberg

Colombia, the second-largest producer of Arabica coffee beans, almost tripled purchases of Peruvian coffee to make up for a decline in harvests this year, according to the head of Peru’s main coffee-growing group.  Colombia bought 99,581 60-kilogram bags (132 pounds) through February, almost triple the 36,545 bags a year earlier, making it the second-largest buyer of Peruvian coffee after the U.S., said Eduardo Montauban, head of the nation’s Coffee Chamber. Colombia accounted for 22 percent of Peru’s coffee sales in the first two months, up from 8 percent last year, he said.

Hedge Funds Cut ICE Brent Crude Net-Longs by 11,809 Lots

Hedge Funds Cut ICE Brent Crude Net-Longs by 11,809 Lots - Bloomberg

Hedge funds and other money managers cut bullish bets on Brent crude by 11,809 contracts in the week ended April 3, data from ICE Futures Europe showed.  Speculative bets that prices will rise, in futures and options combined, outnumbered short positions by 139,074 lots, the London-based exchange said today in its weekly Commitment of Traders report. The figure marks a 7.8 percent decrease in speculators’ net-long positions from the previous week, according to ICE data.

CME Considering a London Futures Exchange

CME Considering a London Futures Exchange, Financial Times Says - Bloomberg

CME Group Inc. (CME) is considering whether to open a futures exchange in London, according to the Financial Times, which cited an interview with William Knottenbelt, the head of the company’s European operations.  The Chicago-based operator of three U.S. futures markets is among bidders for the London Metal Exchange, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News in February. CME’s European clearinghouse began in May 2011.

CME Considering a London Futures Exchange

CME Considering a London Futures Exchange, Financial Times Says - Bloomberg

CME Group Inc. (CME) is considering whether to open a futures exchange in London, according to the Financial Times, which cited an interview with William Knottenbelt, the head of the company’s European operations.  The Chicago-based operator of three U.S. futures markets is among bidders for the London Metal Exchange, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News in February. CME’s European clearinghouse began in May 2011.

Natural Gas Advances in New York, Reversing Drop to 10-Year Low

Natural Gas Advances in New York, Reversing Drop to 10-Year Low - Bloomberg

Natural gas futures rose in New York, reversing an earlier drop to a 10-year low.  Gas for May delivery rose 2 cents, or 1 percent, to $2.109 per million British thermal units at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling to $2.061, the lowest intraday price since February 2002.

Oil Falls to Seven-Week Low on Jobs, Iran

Oil Falls to Seven-Week Low on Jobs, Iran: Commodities at Close - Bloomberg

Crude Oil declined to a seven-week low as an employment report spurred speculation that U.S. fuel demand will ease, and Iran agreed to resume talks on its nuclear program.  The Labor Department said on April 6 that the U.S. created 120,000 jobs in March, below the median forecast of 205,000 in a Bloomberg survey. Negotiations between Iran and United Nations Security Council members, plus Germany, are scheduled to start April 14, adding to confidence that global supplies won’t be disrupted.

Lower U.S. Crop Reserves Raising Food Costs in Election Year

Lower U.S. Crop Reserves Raising Food Costs in Election Year - Bloomberg

U.S. corn stockpiles are poised to be the smallest in 16 years by August and soybean reserves will be lower than the government expected, potentially accelerating food-price inflation in an election year.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture may say tomorrow that corn inventories on Aug. 31 will be 37 percent lower than a year earlier at 715 million bushels (18.2 million metric tons), the average of 32 analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg show. That compares with a projection of 801 million bushels last month. Soybean stockpiles will be 242 million bushels, down from a March prediction of 275 million, the survey showed.

Hedge Funds Cut Commodity Bets on Fed’s Stimulus Signals

Hedge Funds Cut Commodity Bets on Fed’s Stimulus Signals - Bloomberg


Hedge funds reduced bullish bets on commodities for a second consecutive week as the Federal Reserve signaled it may refrain from more monetary stimulus, increasing concern that growth will slow and curb demand for raw materials.  Money managers lowered net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 2.8 percent to 1.1 million contracts in the week ended April 3, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. Bets on higher corn prices fell to the lowest since February, while those on hogs dropped by the most since May. Speculators cut wagers on costlier crude oil for a third week, and are now the least bullish in two months.

U.S. Set More Than 15,000 March Temperature Records, NOAA

U.S. Set More Than 15,000 March Temperature Records, NOAA - Bloomberg

More than 15,000 temperature records were broken in the U.S. last month and the country had its first $1 billion weather disaster of 2012, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The average temperature in the contiguous U.S. was 51.1 degrees Fahrenheit (10.6 Celsius), or 8.6 degrees, above the 20th century average and 0.5 degrees more than the previous all- time high set in 1910, according to NOAA.

VIX posts longest streak of gains since 2003 on economic concern

VIX posts longest streak of gains since 2003 on economic concern

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- The benchmark gauge for U.S. options prices rose for a seventh day, the longest streak since August 2003, as concern about employment growth and earnings spurred investors to guard against losses in stocks.