| Hedge funds scent a market turnaround amid turbulence
London: If hedge funds are, as is often claimed, the investment vanguard, their latest moves appear to be telling financial markets it is time to take a break from the trading patterns that have dominated since mid-2007. Investment banks have been poring over the latest data on hedge fund positioning from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and concluded that a number of speculative bets have been changed. Societe Generale, for example, says long positions on 10-year government bonds have been closed. That is to say, hedge funds are not expecting demand for such bonds to increase and drive yields lower. .
KCBT hits new total daily trade volume record
Kansas City Board of Trade hard red winter wheat futures established a new single day trading volume record Monday, February 11. This follows the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's decision to expand daily trading limits for wheat futures from $.30 to $.60. The KCBT, Chicago Board of Trade and Minneapolis Grain Exchange initially requested that limits be raised to $.40.
Total volume on Monday was 47,962 contracts, up 20.8% from the old record of 22,407 contracts set August 2, 2006. That includes a new all time top for electronic volume as well; that totaled 22,407 contracts, an increase of 37.9% from the previous top of 16,248 contracts set August 13, 2007.
Volume and interest at the three U.S. wheat exchanges has been up sharply for more than a year due to generally tight supplies and strong demand.
Movers: MBIA, Ambac, Amazon.com, Starbucks, Yahoo, Baker Hughes
Bond insurers MBIA (MBI) and Ambac Financial (ABK) fall sharply following statements from CNBC reporters that ratings downgrades may come today. Separately, S&P reiterates sell. Amazon.com (AMZN) reports fourth quarter EPS of 48 cents, vs. 23 cents a year ago, matching analysts' forecast. Revenue rose 42% from a year ago to $5.67 billion, beating analysts' forecast of $5.37 billion. Amazon issued stronger forecasts for first-quarter and full-year sales than Wall Street was expecting. It sees between $3.95 billion and $4.15 billion in sales for the current quarter, and full year revenue of $18.75 billion to $19.75 billion. The shares fell 8% to $68 in after-hours trading. Starbucks (SBUX) posted fiscal first quarter EPS of 28 cents, vs. 26 cents a year ago -- above 27 cents that analysts expected.
McCain and Romney spar over Michigan economy
I have always admired your family and the things they stood for. I was in college when that fatal day came and we no longer had our inspiration, your brother. I am disappointed in who you are endorsing. To think about all the times that the Clintons were here for you, and now you just put them aside. I think about it, and I thougt you were above the good old boys. Not so sure about that now. Hillary, a women. Maybe that just does not sit well with you Kennedys. I just don't understand. She is a great lady that certainly helped your party out by staying with Bill. The party owes her more than a senate seat. She should have all of you out there shouting her attributes. It was alright for Bill to be used to get votes for our new governor. He also has a short memory. I will have a hard time voting for either one of you because of this.
Traders Bracing For Slump Drive Up Platinum, Wheat, Coffee And Cocoa
Platinum and spring wheat hit record highs Thursday and arabica coffee and cocoa set new trading peaks as well, as investors in commodities pursued markets deemed less vulnerable to the slowing U.S. economy. Copper, an economically sensitive base metal, overcame jitters over U.S. growth by reacting to Wednesday's cut in interest rates. Traders said copper was also inspired by Thursday's rebound in Wall Street stocks and lingering production issues in China. But broad commodity futures indexes closed mixed, with the Reuters-Jefferies CRB and Dow Jones-AIG up and the S&P GSCI down. U.S. crude oil also fell, closing 58 cents lower at $91.75 a barrel on fears of slowing growth in the world's largest economy and the leading energy-consuming nation. Investors in energy were also sidelined ahead of an OPEC meeting on production quotas set for Friday.
Transit lines seeking smartest 'smart card'
As public transit authorities move from tokens and tickets to "contactless" cards, two possible futures await riders. One is a plastic version of the present, where each agency has its own fare card, usable only on its own system. The other future involves mutually acceptable cards, sort of an E-ZPass for transit riders. Smart cards typically have a computer chip and radio antenna that allow passengers to wave the card at a turnstile and be on their way. The fare is automatically deducted from a preloaded sum or from a bank account. With widespread interest in smart cards that can work in multiple cities, the fight now is over the best way to do it - bank cards or transit cards. That battle is shaping up to be the transit version of VHS vs. Betamax.
Globex: Upping the Ante in the Electronic Trading Wars
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's Globex electronic exchange recorded 1.33 billion deals last year, generating roughly $825 million in revenue, according to corporate statements. CME Group earns additional revenue by licensing use of Globex to the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Korea Exchange, an arrangement that likely will include the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. Free Report from Keynote Systems 2007 Trends and Observations of the Mobile and Connected World examines how technologies, from the Web to the mobile phone, are specifically impacting key vertical industries, from financial services to new media. Download yours here. .
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