Indiana Grain Company, LLC

CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that January 2012 volume averaged 11.6 million contracts per day, down 5 percent from January 2011, but up 21 percent from December 2011. Total volume for January was 232 million contracts, of which 82 percent

On Thursday, Indiana Grain President and CEO Thomas Grisafi will lead two sessions at the annual Top Producer Seminar in Chicago.

Grisafi will speak on the art of speculation trading before an audience of agricultural professionals and many of the biggest names in U.S. agriculture today.

In th

What will corn do on Tuesday? That's a big question a lot of traders are asking in an environment where little direction seems to be taking shape.

Just as much mystery surrounds Newt Gingrich. If he loses Tuesday in Florida's primary, Newt Gingrich will spend the next month trying to prove the an

CME Group has announced a record in daily trading volume for its benchmark Henry Hub Natural Gas futures contract. These contracts are listed by and subject to the rules of NYMEX.

Henry Hub Natural Gas trading volumes surged yesterday to 824,316 contracts, a 48 percent increase over the previous

CME Group today announced it has expanded its centrally cleared, over-the-counter (OTC) agricultural swap offering through the introduction of eight new grain and oilseed swaps. The new swaps will be available for clearing on February 13, pending regulatory review. Among the offering are five new bu

CME Group and Mysteel, China‘s leading provider of ferrous price and indexing services, today announced they have signed an agreement to develop risk management products for the ferrous industry based on Mysteel’s market-leading price data services. The products will be listed by NYMEX and clear

The CME Group and National Futures Association (NFA) today announced, in conjunction with theInterContinental Exchange (ICE), the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBOT) and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), the formation of a joint committee to review how self-regulatory organizations can strengthe

Following a brutal beat down in commodities late last week on a surprisingly bearish USDA report, hopes have returned for a rebound in grain prices as China looks to lock in good prices for the commodities they need more of.

As Bloomberg reported Tuesday, commodities rose the most in two weeks am

CME Group announced it had reached five consecutive daily open interest records for its benchmark Henry Hub Natural Gas futures contract. These contracts are listed by and subject to the rules of NYMEX.

Thurs., Jan. 12: 1,115,469 contracts

Wed., Jan. 11: 1,112,288 contracts

Tues., Ja

Corn got beat up pretty badly on Thursday, but you probably know that already, especially if you were long heading into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s final report on the 2011 harvest.

A larger-than-expected figure for surplus stocks sent corn prices down their 40 cents per bushel limit t

Today at 7:30 eastern time, the USDA will release the much anticipated crop data.

And it could be the busiest trading day of this new year as a result.

According to Dan Cekander from New Age, "markets came under a little pressure Wednesday due to wetter than expected weather in South America o

CME Group released the following statement on Walt Lukken being named the new president of the Futures Industry Association (FIA):

"We congratulate Walt Lukken on his appointment to head the Futures Industry Association. CME Group has had a long history of working closely with Walt during his ten

If Iran were to close the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude would surge to between $150 and $200 a barrel, says an oil analyst with Societe Generale.

“We believe it would be relatively easy for Iran to shut down the Straits of Hormuz,” wrote Michael Wittner, in a report to clients.

“A credib

It could be a big up day for the Dow.

Or a really bad day if expectations aren't met.

“ number should be pretty good,” said Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton, who tells CNBC that job advertising and other indicators show an improved hiring picture.

Weekly jobless claims,

CME Group today announced that 2011 volume averaged a record 13.4 million contracts per day, up 10 percent from 2010. Highlights for the year included record annual average daily volume for foreign exchange (FX), agricultural commodities, energy and metals, as well as double-digit average daily vol

Traders are closely watching the returns in Iowa tonight.

With so many economic and market related matters hinging on the 2012 presidential election, investors want to know who the GOP candidate will be.

On Tuesday, however, Iowa pointed to further confusion in the top ranks of the Republican

To end the final week of trading for 2011, corn traders were bullish for a fifth consecutive week on speculation that dry weather in South America is damaging crops.

If that's the case, demand for U.S. supplies of the golden grain could push corn higher than we've seen in recent months.

As Blo

Have the bears come for the gold to wind down 2011?

As Bloomberg reported late Thursday, Gold has now posted the longest slump since March 2009 as gains in the dollar eviscerated demand for precious metals as alternative assets.

The dollar climbed as much as 0.6 percent today against the euro

The impressive market rally seen in recent days among commodities was almost totally missed by many of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street.

As Bloomberg reported Monday, hedge funds reduced bets on higher commodity prices to the lowest level since 2009 just as raw materials headed for their bi

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities spiked 2.4 percent to close at 634.48 in New York yesterday, led by cocoa, gasoline and crude oil.

The increase was the biggest since Oct. 27, Bloomberg reported.

Crude oil also rose the most since October. Futures for January delivery gain

On Monday, AT&T officially relinquished its one-time bid to acquire carrier T-Mobile.

The Wall Street Journal was first to confirm that AT&T is abandoning its plan as result of insurmountable opposition from federal regulators.

Consequently, AT&T will pay $3 billion in cash and turn over some

On Friday, the CME Group commended the State Legislatures' efforts to address the corporate tax disparity in Illinois.

"We are pleased that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and the State Legislature have addressed the inequitable distribution of corporate taxes currently levied on CME Group," said CME

Javelin Capital Markets, a swaps trading platform, and the CME, a swaps clearing house, today announced that they had executed and cleared over $4.1 Billion of interest rates swap trades in an average time of under 2 seconds--a market first.

Working with several dealers and the buyside, Javelin e

Corn dipped slightly early Thursday after falling to a nine-month low in the previous session, while the benchmark wheat similarly hovered at contract lows as concerns over Europe's worsening debt crisis continued to hamper the global markets.

"Grains and oilseeds are not in a Christmas moo

The Board of Directors of Corn Products International, Inc. today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share on the Company's common stock.

This represents an increase of $0.04 per share, or 25% compared to the previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This also marks the second time the Com

CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy appeared Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, to discuss the MF Global bankruptcy.

"MF Global put market users in a tragic position," said Duffy in an advance statement. "In the days leading up to MF Global's ban

CME Group Inc. Monday launched a new Brent crude futures and options contract in a bid to challenge IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s (ICE) dominance in the market, Dow Jones Newswire reported.

The first tradable month on CME's Brent 25-day contract will be Feb 2012, while the first month for ICE's

It would appear as though hedge funds are scaling back their bullish bets on commodities and waiting for more information and market price direction before getting long or short a variety of commodities as we approach 2012.

According to a report Sunday from Bloomberg, hedge funds cut bullish bets

CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture on Thursday to discuss the MF Global bankruptcy.

"MF Global put market users in a tragic position," said Duffy in an advance statement. "In the days leading up to MF Global's bankruptcy, daily reviews

NYSE Euronext (NYX) today announced trading volumes for its global derivatives and cash equities exchanges for November 2011. Global derivatives average daily volume (“ADV”) of 8.3 million contracts in November 2011 increased 0.7% versus the prior year with U.S. equity options increasing 10

Investors and traders are closely watching U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on his European exploits this week.

Geithner is scheduled to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today "to press for decisive steps towards resolving Europe's deepening debt crisis as the region's leade

CME Group announced Monday that it set new monthly records for clearing interest rate swaps (IRS) and credit default swaps (CDS). For the month of November, the company cleared $61.9 billion in combined OTC IRS and CDS volume, a 36 percent increase over the previous record monthly total of $45.5 bil

It's a like a Jennifer Lopez marriage... on again... off again.

The latest buzz in the financial world is that the CME is moving to Indiana.

According to the Indianapolis Star on Tuesday, Indiana could gain hundreds of high-paying jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue if the Chic

Markets will be all about Europe as we enter a new week of trading with renewed optimism on the world stage.

Hope has seemingly reached a new high over European leaders' capabilities to make the tough decisions necessary to resolve their sovereign debt crisis.

"I think the only thing that's re

CME Group announced over the weekend that it will include offshore Chinese Renminbi (CNH) in the range of instruments to meet performance bond requirements on all exchange futures products cleared through CME Clearing, effective January 2012. The company also announced with HSBC Global Banking and M

November's employment report is expected to show improvement over last month.

A better than expected number, some analysts say, could send stocks soaring even higher to end the week.

The opposite of a positive report, however, could send stocks sinking back toward last week's levels.

CNBC r

Corn has certainly bounced in recent days.

But lets not forget the sustained free fall of the last few weeks.

So has corn finally found its footing as we enter the last month of the year?

Corn settled Wednesday up 2.4 cents per bushel at $6 for December delivery and up 1.4 cents per bushel

On Wednesday, the CME Group released a statement to the trading community with regard to the latest information surrounding the MF Global debacle. The letter reads as follows:

To Our CME Group Trading Community,

Yesterday, the MF Global Trustee filed a motion with the Bankruptcy Court seeking

It appears the prospect of CME leaving Illinois and moving next door is rapidly diminishing.

The latest proposal to serve up tax breaks for CME Group and other major local employers is expected to make it to the House floor Tuesday.

"The House Revenue and Finance Committee voted 6-0 to endorse

Lots of commodity traders are leaving the business.

And not just those who were long all of last week.

According to an eye-opening report from Bloomberg on Sunday, the world’s biggest investment banks have greater staff turnover in commodities than in fixed-income and currencies because of t

Last week was ugly for stocks. Last week was ugly for commodities. Last week was ugly for everything... especially turkeys.

But a glimmer of hope returned to markets overnight as soybeans recovered from a 13-month low, while corn and wheat gained more than 1 percent on hopes that Europe's lingeri

This close to Thanksgiving, a lot of traders can already smell the turkey.

But some can also smell the biodiesel.

As it turns out, CME Group has listed the first-ever US biodiesel swap future (subject to the rules and regulations of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)) based on Houston bi

CME Group has announced the launch of NYMEX Brent 25-Day (Platts) futures and options contracts to begin trading December 12 with February 2012 being the first listed month. These contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of NYMEX.

"Our new NYMEX Brent 25-Day contracts

What will traders have to be "thankful" for this holiday week?

According to some market watchers, if the price of corn gets any lowers, corn bulls will probably be thankful for some Chinese buying.

Fears of contagion in Europe's debt crisis and decision day for a panel on slashing the U.S. bu

On Wednesday, the CME Group released the following statement on the Enterprise Products Partners L.P. and Enbridge Inc. reversal of the Seaway pipeline:

"We're pleased to congratulate Enterprise and Enbridge on the reversal of the Seaway crude oil pipeline," said Bryan Durkin, chief operating off

Goldman Sachs is keeping its overweight recommendation for commodities over the next year.

"Confidence in this view has been reinforced by the recent shift in policy in China towards a looser stance, which will likely help support economic growth and, in turn, commodity demand," Goldman announced

Indiana Grain Company CEO Thomas Grisafi appeared on U.S. Farm Report over the weekend.

Grisafi, a 20 year veteran trader and member of the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, and MGEX, joined Mark Gold for an in-depth discussion on grain markets, foreign demand for US agricultural products, and the fallou

Corn prices have traded in a sideways pattern for close to a month, but are now in the lower end of that range.

Similarly, soybean prices have also trended lower since early October, with January futures now approaching the October lows.

Corn prices haven't been bolstered by last week’s US

The following is a letter CME Group released to the trading community on Monday:

To Our CME Group Trading Community,

On Friday afternoon, CME Group took two very important steps to further protect CME Group customers from the failure of MF Global:

· First, CME Group has offered a $2

In early Asian trading Monday, crude oil futures were on the rise, adding to the previous week's gains on expectations of continued demand growth.

On Friday, preliminary data showing that U.S. consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five months in November similarly contributed to stronge

CME Group today provided an update regarding the process it announced November 4, 2011 to verify customer collateral transferred to receiving firms through the MF Global bulk transfer process, as authorized by the Trustee.

The following is a statement released by the CME Group.

"CME Group is c

Crop prices closed higher Tuesday before a government report that is expected to show tighter corn supplies next year.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is set to release its monthly survey of global grain and bean supplies. It’s the first government report since farmers harveste

Traders around the world are gearing up for what could be another busy day of monitoring Italian bonds.

The Italian 10-year yield reached a euro-era high of 6.7 percent Monday, as investors closely followed headlines about Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The world's third largest debtor nat

Grains analyst Mike Zuzola of Global Commodity Analytics in Lafayette, Indiana, said investors would closely scrutinise demand data in the USDA report, as exports of U.S. soybeans sales had lagged in recent weeks.

* Analysts polled by Reuters expect the USDA to peg the U.S. corn yield at 147.7 bu

Our friends at the CME Group have put out another statement with regard to MF Global and court approval to transfer MF Global accounts.

The statement reads as follows:

Throughout this week, CME Group has worked diligently with the CFTC and the MF Global bankruptcy trustee to facilitate the tra

Corn may not move much in either direction until a November crop report from the USDA.

Until then, uncertainty looms large over markets.

U.S. corn futures were flat in early Asian trading on Thursday as uncertainty over the size of the U.S. corn harvest, now drawing to a close, continued to u

Even Lindsay Lohan is having a better week than the folks at MF Global.

CME Group Inc, the main exchange regulator of bankrupt brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd, said it appears that any transfer by the broker of its customer segregated funds happened after a CME audit last week, and may have been

CME Group today announced October volume averaged 12.4 million contracts per day, up 9 percent from October 2010. Total volume for October was 261 million contracts, of which 85 percent was traded electronically.

In October 2011, CME Group interest rate volume averaged 4.8 million contracts per

It was a monumental day on Wall Street.

MF Global Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Monday morning.

It was a move that came after the iconic firm tried unsuccessfully to sell itself to Interactive Brokers Group.

MF Global had a tentative deal to sell assets

Ahead of the CME Group’s announcement of its third quarter earnings on Tuesday, Wall Street analysts have grown exceptionally more bullish as expectations have improved since early October (from $4.53 per share to $4.64 per share currently).

The Wall Street consensus is now 26.8% higher than it

According to a report from Reuters late Thursday, BlackRock Inc. says that it expects "a swift recovery in demand for commodities in China once Beijing loosens its reins on borrowing."

"As China takes its foot off the brake in the near future, we should see a recovery in demand from the world's l

2012 may be the world year for corn yields in close to a decade.

That's assuming a new report making this projection proves accurate.

"The U.S. corn harvest will be about 1.4 percent smaller than the government’s forecast, while average nationwide yields are heading for an eight-year low fol

First it was Little Al... Now it's Dennis Gartman... again.

Does it sound like Dennis Gartman has a new position in gold? That's what the commodities guru said himself today, admitting that he "is prepared to buy back the gold he sold when he cut his holdings in half last week, adding prices woul

CME Group today released the following statement on the confirmation of Mark P. Wetjen to serve as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner:

"We congratulate Mr. Wetjen on his appointment to CFTC commissioner. Mr. Wetjen's depth of experience and knowledge make him well qualifie

CME Group announced that it has begun clearing Euro-denominated interest rate swaps (IRS). The company also announced that it set a new daily record for IRS clearing on October 18, 2011, with $8 billion in U. S. customer volume cleared.

The new CME Group Euro-denominated clearing offering expan

CME Group today released the following statement regarding the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s rule making on position limits:

"CME Group commends the Commission and staff of the CFTC for their efforts to respond to the more than 13,000 comment letters filed on the CFTC's position l

On Tuesday, a divided Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved new rules limiting trading in the commodities market, seeking to curb excessive speculation and potential manipulation.

The newly established laws of the land substantially restrict the number of commodity contracts that any inve

On Tuesday, Apple announced quarterly earnings for its 2011 fiscal fourth quarter, which ended September 25th. Incredibly, Apple fell short of analyst estimates. Analysts had predicted that Apple would report earnings of $7.39 per share on revenue on $29.69 billion. Instead, Apple earnings came in a

CME Group today announced it reached an open interest record for its power contracts. At the close of trading Friday, open interest in CME Group power contracts reached 1,001,362,363 Megawatt hours (MWh), breaking the billion MWh threshold for the first time ever. CME Group power contracts are liste

China's economy appears to have grown by 9.3 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier and consumer inflation will gradually fall to 4.6 percent in December, a Tsinghua University report shows Monday.

According to coverage provided by CNBC Sunday evening, the official China Securities Jour

According to a report today from Reuters, JPMorgan has trimmed its commodities trading risk in the third quarter while upping its risk in currencies and bonds, as heightened volatility across markets reduced the attractiveness of riskier assets like raw materials.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the first m

An interesting point was raised in the Wall Street Journal today.

China, the world's biggest consumer of key commodities, "is on a diet."

According to data and a compelling argument made by the WSJ, the latest trade data shows imports holding up in September, with the volume of major commodity

Corn will trade with a 60 cent limit range today.

The potential for even greater volatility comes following Tuesday's market spectacular where corn, soybean and wheat futures posted their biggest gains in more than a year on signs that a plunge in prices last month is increasing demand for suppli

White sugar’s premium over raw sweetener may fall as much as 39 percent by the end of the year as European, Indian, Thai and Central American production surges, according to Swiss Sugar Brokers.

This was reported Tuesday from Bloomberg.

White, or refined, sugar for March delivery on NYSE Lif

CME Group announced today it has appointed William Knottenbelt to lead its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions, effective in mid-November 2011.

Robert Ray, who previously led the company's international offices, will transition to a new role managing key strategic initiatives for CME Gr

Some investors are now starting to worry about a "hard landing" for the high-flying economic giant that is China, CNBC reports Friday morning.

And the fear isn't unjustified in the least.

"I've rarely seen such a quick shift in market sentiment as I am seeing towards China. There was a near-to

According to an interesting report from our friends at Ethanol Producer Magazine, more corn may soon be directed to ethanol production.

From the report:

A coalition of seven ethanol and agricultural organizations responded swiftly in opposition to a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Represe

We are saddened to learn that legendary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died.

The iconic creator of all things Apple - the iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes - passed away in California today at the age of 56.

Fewer than six weeks ago, Jobs resigned as CEO of the company he co-founded in 1976

CME Group today announced September volume averaged 14.0 million contracts per day, up 16 percent from September 2010. Total volume for September was 294 million contracts, of which 85 percent was traded electronically.

In September 2011, CME Group interest rate volume averaged 5.3 million contr

MGEX today announced calendar year to date volume increased by 22 percent over the same period a year ago. Through September, total Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) trading volume reached 1,506,617 contracts, a 22 percent increase over the same period a year ago.

HRSW futures volume year to date was

On Monday, CME Group announced its decision to raise margin requirements for trading copper and platinum futures contracts.

As the metals have grown a more volatile trade, pressure has mounted on the CME to keep some of that volatility in check with increased margin requirement.

The changes,

With Monday's trading limit for corn set at 60 cents, it could be a day for some big up or down moves in a market that is still reeling from Friday's limit down sell off.

U.S. corn futures plunged more than 6 percent on Friday, falling for the fifth week in a row after a government report showed

The New York Stock Exchange, a subsidiary of NYSE Euronext (NYX), today released its weekly program-trading data compiled from member firms’ executed volume from NYSE’s orders database. The report includes trading on the NYSE for Sept. 19-23.

The data indicated that during Sept. 19-23, progra

Grain traders are eagerly awaiting the latest government data on U.S. corn inventories.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its quarterly report of grain in storage, both on-farm and off-farm, Friday at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

The report provides an estimate of inventories as of September 1

On Tuesday, Gold futures gained the most in seven weeks as commodities and equities rallied amid optimism that European leaders will take steps to resolve the region’s debt crisis.

Amid the second-largest gold sell-off since 1983, the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that investo

This week, the CME Group expanded its suite of agricultural offerings by adding weekly options on Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil and Live Cattle futures, which began trading September 26th.

Soybean Meal and Soybean Oil contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of CBOT. Live

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission looks all but certain to approve the CME Group's petition to increase grain position limits by as much as 85 percent in a final draft rule for controversial curbs on trading.

A vote on the rule is tentatively slated for Oct. 4. If passed, it could take eff

U.S. grain futures fell early Thursday, with wheat falling 1 percent to its lowest in six weeks and corn losing ground for a third straight session.

The sell-off was fueled substantially - if not entirely - by a warning from the U.S. Federal Reserve of significant risks to the economy.

"Tod

Apple could soon leave the NASDAQ stock exchange.

With shares of the Cupertino, California based company having traded $420 for the first time ever on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average now appears to be in Apple's future.

“It’s one of the biggest companies in the US, it seems like

Yes, there are even new milestones for Apple to reach.

Shares of Apple spiked 3 percent Monday to close at a new all-time high of $411.63, bolstering the company's lead over Exxon Mobile as the world’s most valuable company.

Apple’s previous record high came in July when the stock reached

Teucrium Trading, the first company to introduce a single agricultural commodity Exchange Traded Product ("ETP") in the United States, today announced the launch of three additional single commodity ETPs for the agricultural space --The Teucrium Soybean Fund ; The Teucrium Sugar Fund ; and The Teucr

Corn and soybeans may fall this week according to a new survey among traders by Bloomberg.

The fall could come on speculation that U.S. crop yields will increase, while commodity demand slows on global economic anxiety.

Sixteen of 31 traders and analysts surveyed from Tokyo to Chicago on Sept.

Sugar may be a sweet but volatile trade this week following last week's unwinding of the commodity.

Sugar prices plunged 6.7 percent Friday on expectations that Brazil's production may be bigger than expected this year.

As highlighted over the weekend by Bloomberg, a Brazilian sugarcane trade

US investment bank MF Global has said that it will lay off more than 30% of its staff in equities trading and research in Europe and Asia.

The cuts are part of a push by the company's chief executive, Jon Corzine to realign MF Global as a commodities-focused investment bank.

The firm, which em

At the Credit Suisse Chemicals & Ag Conference today, DuPont confirmed its seed business, Pioneer Hi-Bred, will deliver another year of positive financial performance, including North America share gains in corn and soybeans.

Based on USDA data, Pioneer added a solid 1 point share gain in North A

Food prices could rise in the coming months after the summer heat likely damaged much of the nation's corn crop.

Figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show the number of bushels harvested in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia is expected to be greater than last year; however, the agency e

U.S. agribusiness Cargill has warned its customers in North America to expect corn sweetener prices for calendar 2012 to rise by at least 30 percent, according to a letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

"The persistent increase in demand, which has significantly tightened capacity utilization

The nation's latest crop report predicts that Indiana's drought-stressed corn crop will see yields 20 bushels lower than in a normal year.

A report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that Indiana's average corn yield will be 145 bushels per acre this year, down 5 bush

CME Group is seriously considering a big move, that's according to its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

"I've visited several states on this particular topic," Jamie Parisi said at a conference hosted by Barclays. "We've being doing what we can to see how we can lower our rate."

Parisi

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking, through its US registered broker dealer, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., today announced that it has joined CME Group to clear Credit Default Swaps (CDS). The bank is also able to clear Futures and over-the-counter (OTC) Interest Rate Swaps.

As a CME cl