| Details Emerge in French Bank Fraud Case
Head of the Financial Section of the Paris court, Jean-Michel Aldebert, left, walks after he addressed reporters outside the Financial Police headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008 in Paris. The French trader accused of one of the biggest bank frauds ever surfaced Saturday in the custody of police, who were questioning him about bad bets that cost France's No. 2 bank billions of euros in a season of jittery markets. Financial police in Paris were questioning Jerome Kerviel in a probe into Societe Generale's allegation against the 31-year-old trader, judicial officials said. They were speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. (AP Photo/Michael Sawyer) (Michael Sawyer - AP) .
Soybeans Dragged Lower By A Nickel As Wheat Prices Reverse And Plunge
Chicago Board of Trade soybeans fell on Tuesday, following the sell-off in wheat, traders said. Also weighing on the soy market was call option selling. "We followed wheat up and now we're following it back down. As far as fundamental inputs, there's not much new to go on," one CBOT trader said. March soybeans dipped to their 10-day moving average of $13.06-3/4 per bushel before closing 5 cents lower at $13.21. The deferreds ended 3 to 14 cents weaker. Traders noted that MF Global sold 1,500 July soybean $16 calls. Chicago wheat markets dived as the combination of expanded trading limits and higher futures margins broke the deadlock in the limit-up moves that occurred last week and caused all U.S. wheat markets to lock which halted trading.
Go with the grain when shares fall
My second pick is connected to the soft commodities boom. One of its downsides is that the high price of food across the world is bumping up inflation numbers already being hit by rising wage demands and energy costs. You can protect yourself against inflation to a degree by buying gold, but also by getting into the government bond market and in particular index-linked gilts, the return on which is linked to the Retail Prices Index. You used to be able to buy these pretty simply via the Post Office, but money-laundering regulations have now made doing so a tedious, administration-heavy task. Luckily the exchange-traded fund business has once again come to the rescue with the iShares £ Index Linked Gilt ETF (INGX) which tracks the returns from the index-linked market.
The Media 50: Newsmakers of 2007
The channel stood its ground during rows over its undercover investigation of Islamic extremism and its use of photography from the scene of the death of the Princess of Wales. It largely won the argument on both. But by the end of the year it was rapped by Ofcom again, with a 1.5m fine over phone-in fakery on Richard & Judy. Duncan meanwhile pressed ahead with plans to transform C4 into a multi-platform offering. 22. FRU HAZLITT Queen of the airwaves Having been in charge of SMG radio (which gave her control of a roster of stations that included Virgin Radio) for less than two years, the high-energy Hazlitt was poached as the new managing director of GCap London, giving her the tough task of sorting out the ailing Capital Radio, as well as having responsibility for the black station Choice FM.
Pressure mounts for new controls on oil futures speculators
Sean Cota runs a family-owned fuel oil business in Bellows Falls, Vt., and has been active in the futures markets for 20 years, locking in prices to protect both himself and his customers. But over the past five years, he has watched in amazement -- and growing anger -- as speculators flooded into the market. It has created tremendous volatility and, he believes, driven up prices for crude oil, heating oil and a host of other commodities. As prices hover near record levels this year, his customers are bearing the brunt -- turning down their thermostats, taking longer to pay their bills and even using credit cards to pay for home heating. "All of these things are having a huge impact on people for something that is just not justified by supply and demand," Cota said.
Tranportation woes delay Indian sugar exports
MUMBAI (Reuters) -India's sugar exports are getting delayed due to a shortage of trucks and rail wagons for transportation to ports, resulting from a surge in exports of various commodities, industry officials said. There is robust demand for agricultural commodities, especially for cotton, soymeal and sugar, from overseas markets, and exports are set to rise in the crop year to September 2008. India aims to export around 3 million tonnes of sugar in the crop year to September 2008, from 1.7 million tonnes a year ago. "The only problem we are encountering is that arrival of sugar from the hinterland is not in the order. Though we have the ship alongside the berth, the cargo doesn't come from the hinterland," a senior official at Mumbai port said.
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