Indiana Grain Company, LLC

We at Indiana Grain love a bull market in grains.

And that's exactly what we saw in corn on Wednesday, as the grain rallied in tandem with wheat and quickly prompted a flurry of short-covering.

Sep. corn closed up 13 1/2 cents to $3.76 1/4, while Dec. corn finished up 13 3/4 cents to $3.90 3/4

Motorola has slammed Apple with a full page ad in the New York Times mocking Steve Jobs, who pointed the finger at Apple's smartphone competitors during the Apple "antennagate" press conference held on July 16.

Motorola fired back on Wednesday but doesn't mention Apple CEO Jobs' claim that there

Chicago wheat rebounded Tuesday on rekindled concerns that adverse weather in Europe and Russia would reduce crop potential and curb wheat output.

Soybean and corn continued to slip, pressured by bearish outside markets and improving weather condition in U.S. Midwest.

September wheat was up 5

As the battle over toughened financial restrictions moves to a new front, the regulatory agencies that will create hundreds of new rules for the nation’s banks will face a lobbying blitz from companies intent on softening the blow. And many of the lobbyists the regulators hear from will be their f

Senate leaders recognize they don't have the votes to pass climate change legislation with a carbon cap or renewable electricity standard before the August recess, and so the hope of passing a comprehensive energy bill this summer is gone. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid does intend to act on

Atlas Commodity Markets has announced another strategic hire for the grain market swap leader: John Harangody, most recently the Director of Commodity Products for CME Group, will head up Atlas's agriculture business.

"Having contributed to the development of CME Group's Cleared-Only OTC Ag strat

Tony Hayward, the public face of BP's unfortunate efforts to contain the Gulf oil spill, "will step down as chief executive in October and be offered a job with the company's joint venture in Russia," a source told the AP on Monday.

BP has had a problem with it's public image since the April 20th

Look out below.

Grains have fallen to kick off a fresh week of trading as the month of July winds to a close.

As reported by Bloomberg, corn touched its lowest price in more than three weeks, as soybeans and wheat similarly declined "on speculation that rain is reviving U.S. crops that were th

We at Indiana Grain love corn.

But apparently not as much as the Chinese do.

In a new report out today from Bloomberg, China may import as much as 15 million tons of corn by 2015 as demand outstrips local supply and the country enters a “new era” of buying from overseas, the U.S. Grains Co

Green Exchange got its approval from federal futures regulators this week to launch a trading platform that will list contracts tied to credits and allowances for greenhouses gases.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday it had approved the exchange's application Thursday. The annou

Paulson & Company, the hedge fund linked to civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, will begin a new fund that will be open to retail investors, The Financial Times reported.

The fund will be introduced later this year in conjunction with Deutsche Bank, the newspaper said, citing people famili

A cool and moist late spring may have posed problems for some Washington crops, but it could be a boon to dryland wheat farmers.

Yields of Washington winter wheat are predicted this year to reach about 65 bushels per acre, up from 59 bushels in 2009, while the spring wheat harvest is projected at

On Friday, Apple confirmed that the manufacturing difficulties long reported with the white version of its updated smartphone have prompted the company the break down and admit that it simply won't be available until later this year. "White models of Apple's new iPhone 4 have continued to be more ch

High-stakes poker players can forget about plastic chips and use real gold, silver and platinum coins. The United States Gold Bureau has unveiled a line of "High Roller" poker sets that use real American Eagle coins from the U.S. Mint instead of traditional plastic or clay poker chips.

According

AT&T's second quarter earnings are a full 26% higher (year over year) with total earnings of $4 billion (compared to only $3.2 billion in the same quarter in 2009). On the heels of a strong fiscal year to date, AT&T raised its outlook for the rest of the year.

According to the exclusive US iPhon

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said she is unsure if any hedge funds present “systemic risks” to the global economy.

Speaking to a House Financial Services subcommittee yesterday, Chairman Mary Schapiro said “it’s really not clear” what risk, if any, the hedge fund i

CME Group issued the following statement on signage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law by President Obama:

"We applaud the hard work and dedication of the Administration and Congress in crafting this historic piece of legislation to strengthen U.S. financial

Almost all the wheat produced this year in the Panhandle is in, and it looks like a banner harvest.

Ninety-seven percent of the crop has been brought in from the fields, and while the cash price still isn't as high as producers would like, it has been a great year when it comes to yield.

The P

Warren Buffett's two largest common stock investments in the commercial banking sector both reported strong results.

U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo both reported second-quarter earnings this morning that topped analyst expectations. Both stocks were up 2 percent or more in early-morning trading.

As reported by the AP, record trading activity during a volatile quarter "helped lift TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter net income by 5 percent to beat expectations."

On Tuesday, the online brokerage said that during the quarter, which included the historic May 6 "flash crash," a

Apple surprised us again today as the company reported 3rd quarter revenue on Tuesday after the close of trading on Wall Street. Blowing consensus estimates out of the water, Apple beat the street by posting earnings totaling $15.74 billion.

Even Apple's guidance is worth noting with Q4 Revenue g

Goldman Sachs' profit fell a substantial 82% in the latest quarter, the company revealed Tuesday, a reality aided in part by last week's settlement of fraud charges with the SEC.

The legendary Wall Street firm also noted that its second-quarter results "were hurt by a tax assessed on its U.K.-bas

U.S. asparagus farmers are a step closer to obtaining federal money to compensate for their losses resulting from the importation of South American asparagus during the 2004-07 crop years.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the implementation of the new Asparagus Revenue Mark

When we at Indiana Grain turn to chocolate... it's usually for a snack.

Perhaps we should be more observant of the big boy commodity traders who now do much more than just eat the sweet product.

The Financial Times of London is reporting that more traders than ever are dabbling in coco. Some,

We at Indiana Grain were tuned in and trading Sunday evening and looking ahead to Asian stock markets as they fell for Monday's session on weak U.S. consumer confidence and corporate results that were less than stellar.

As we all recall, Wall Street similarly fell apart on Friday, with all major

While news on the BP capping operation has been mostly good over the weekend, the latest reports have raised concern about a possible worst case scenario. A federal official told the Associated Press that seepage had been detected coming from the sea floor near the capped well. Officials are conce

The recent spell of warm weather has advanced crop development rapidly to a point that all crops are near average in their maturity rate, according to the latest weekly Crop, Livestock and Weather Report from the USDA's National Ag Statistics Service (NASS).

The service noted that as of July 4 po

One of Europe's top financial analysts and fund managers, Joe Foster of Van Eck Associates, has forecast the price of an ounce of gold could rise to $2000, $3000 or even higher within the next few years.

Foster manages the Falcon Gold Equity fund for Falcon Private Bank in Switzerland, which has

Steve Jobs took the stage at Apple's press conference this morning from the company's campus in Cupertino and promised to answer questions about the iPhone 4's antenna dilemma.

"You know, we're not perfect. We know that, you know that. And phones aren't perfect either," Jobs said, first noting th

We at Indiana Grain have ready that the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index posted negative June returns, down 0.84% for the month

Oliver Schupp, President of Credit Suisse Index Co., Inc., said, "The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index fell 0.84% in June, with five out of ten sectors

After three months of nearly unimpeded flow of crude oil into the Gulf, BP’s Deepwater Horizon well has at last been capped. This comes as good news to Gulf residents who have suffered the devastation of their beaches and local economy since the offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20.

BP PL

Bloomberg is reporting that fleet capacity of vessels able to carry commodities shipped in bulk, such as iron ore and coal, will grow 16 percent this year.

That information comes from Clarkson Plc, the world's biggest shipbroker.

"Imports of iron ore by China, the world's biggest user of the

We at Indiana Grain are contending with a bullish grain market today.

Corn prices have popped yet again and soybean futures hit a two-month high on talk of a summertime heat wave pounding and damaging crops in the U.S..

As the the biggest producer and exporter of corn, weather can be a big fac

Speaking truth to power is never easy. But, last year, one intrepid iPhone 4 engineer told Apple chief Steve Jobs that the design of the iPhone 4 was ripe for antenna and reception problems. Shortly before the June 2010 launch of the updated Apple smartphone, executives were warned once again of t

The mood among consumers remains cautious, as a burst in activity at the nation's retailers earlier in the year has given way to uncertainty. Retail sales in June fell 0.5%, the second-consecutive monthly decline, while ex-autos, sales fell 0.1%.

There has been a lack of meaningful job creation,

CME Group warned on Wednesday against stricter rules for the rapid-fire computerized traders fueling volume at the company’s derivatives exchanges.

The company’s chief operating officer, Bryan Durkin, said high-speed traders improve the way futures markets function and urged the Commodity Fut

We at Indiana Grain love a good grain rally.

Commodities prices were in play today and elevated as investors bought riskier assets following "reassuring signs of economic growth" as the AP report put it.

"Many metal, grain and energy contracts climbed following better-than-expected earnings re

The Dow Jones may have a tough time escaping the chart patterns from the Great Depression. It has been evident since August of 2009, that the Dow has been almost mimicking the movements seen in the early 1930s. More recently, CNBC has recognized the chart similarities. A huge head and shoulders topp

Tom Sargeant, director of international product development at Tudor Europe, the London arm of US hedge fund firm founded by legendary trader Paul Tudor Jones, has quit.

He will join Sankaty Advisers, a $20 billion credit affiliate of private equity group Bain Capital, as head of European investo

The projection for 2010/11 corn production was decreased 1 percent from last month as a result of decreased plantings.

Producers decreased plantings 926,000 acres from their March intentions to 87.9 million acres. Plantings are up from 86.5 million in 2009. Forecast harvested area is decreased 7

Hot, dry conditions were placing stress on the major field crops until scattered showers arrived late in the week, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Irrigation systems were running early in the week in some northern counties as the topsoil

Tonight on Futures Line I noted in my 6:30 commentary that shares of BP have been steadily on the rise since the U.K. oil juggernaut said a new system to contain the Gulf of Mexico spill was proceeding as planned.

Since then, we at Indiana Grain have been observing the mesmerizing underwater vide

In order to contribute to the fast-expanding global carbon market, on Thursday, IntercontinentalExchange Inc. completed the acquisition of UK-based Climate Exchange worth approximately $597 million.

The deal was announced on April 30, wherein it was decided that Climate Exchange shareholders wil

Jefferies today announced the launch of the Jefferies Asset Management Commodity Strategy Allocation Fund (the “Fund”), an open-end mutual fund offering investors comprehensive access to global commodity and commodity-equity markets with additional inflation hedging potential through investments

Kansas farmers are harvesting a bigger wheat crop than was estimated in June.

July 1 estimates for the 2010 harvest totals according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture are up 5 percent more than the June estimates. It’s estimated that Kansas farmers will bring in 369 million bushels of winte

Lawmakers come back to work Monday facing a tough decision: Whether it's more important to spend money to keep the economic recovery going or to watch their pennies.

One camp, made up mostly of Democrats, is arguing that Congress must spend to help cash-strapped states and people who are hurting

Commodity prices may have had a good run last week, but that improved tone may not last with news that China's imports of some key commodities fell sharply in June.

Copper and iron ore shipments were down noticeably in the monthly trade figures released over the weekend.

Oil imports rose stro

USDA looks for smaller stocks by the close of this year and into 2011, spelling higher price projections for both corn and soybeans.

In its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report, USDA increased its corn price range for the 2010/2o11 marketing year from $3.30 to $3.90 per b

A Gretna company intends to test its corn-pellet fuel at Omaha Public Power District's north Omaha plant.

Next Step Biofuels, Inc., says 2,200 tons of its PowerPellets will replace up to 5% of the coal burned in 1 of the plant's boilers for a month.

The fuel is made from corn stover, that is,

We at Indiana Grain took notice of word across the Bloomberg news wire that Corn crops in China’s Inner Mongolia and Jilin province have been affected by drought.

That information was released by the National Grain & Oil Trade Center on its website.

"Over 70 percent of Inner Mongolia is exp

Our friends at the CME Group have announced that June volume averaged 12.2 million contracts per day, up 8% from June 2009.

Total volume was 268 million contracts for June, of which 84% was traded electronically.

During the second quarter, CME Group interest rate volume averaged 6.1 million c

It's been rumored on he drawing board for quite some time.

Now its official.

Monsanto and BASF are aiming to develop genetically modified wheat.

On Wednesday, a "joint venture" was announced that will focus heavily on the commodity and its potential for the future. Earlier plans for biotec

According to Hoosier Ag Today, dry weather returned to the state after several weeks of severe storms and rain.

The news comes from the Indiana Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Many fields with standing water had an opportunity to dry out. Some fields that ha

Despite the large loses in stocks and mutual funds in recent years, few investors have pulled their money out of the stock market. Recent polls show that people are more bullish on the stock market now than during the highs of a few years ago.

Investors, say many analysts, are wise to consider ri

Credit Suisse aims to expand its commodities business across Asia to capitalize on demand growth in the face of volatile markets and tightening regulations in the West, a senior bank executive said.

"Credit Suisse has a strong position through its fixed income and equities businesses in Asia," Al

Much of the economic data out recently has suggested that the economy has hit an air pocket, but the calendar of releases for this holiday-shortened week will be very light, though one piece of data on Tuesday could confirm how much turbulence has bufeted the recovery.

Manufacturing has been roar

The 2010 corn growing season is shaping up nicely for most of Minnesota and North Dakota, but that hasn't necessarily been the case across the rest of the Corn Belt.

A weather market could develop if some regions of the U.S. remain too wet for good corn root development and pollination. The commo

Manufacturing has been among the few bright spots in an otherwise dull economic recovery, but the torrid pace of expansion among manufacturers is moderating, according to the latest data from the Institute for Supply Management.

The ISM Manufacturing Index fell 3.5 points in June to 56.2, well sh

We at Indiana Grain have been keeping close watch of meats. And we find it difficult to argue with analysts who are predicting a busy summer of trading for locals and major firms alike in the meats.

The Dow Jones Newswire ran with a piece today about cattle prices being poised for a potential rec

On Thursday, Toyota officials said that they are considering “some kind of measure” on Toyota and Lexus vehicles that have engine stalling while driving issues. An official recall has yet to be announced for the 270,000 cars that would be involved, but Toyota announced that no accidents or injur

Triple Point Technology announced today general availability of Commodity XL for European Gas 8.0. Commodity XL 8.0 leverages European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) standards to provide expanded and integrated functionality across deal capture, pricing, position management, valuation, scheduli

We at Indiana Grain live for days like today.

Corn futures went limit up Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade on news that farmers will plant 1 million fewer acres than had been forecast earlier.

It's the official start to a busy summer.

December corn, which prices this year’s crop, we

We at Indiana Grain are gearing up for what could be an interesting trading session in the grains today.

This morning, the USDA announced that US farmers planted in excess of 87.0 million acres of corn and 78.0 million acres of soybeans in 2010.

The corn estimate, however, is seen as bullish

As our old friend Gordon Linn of the Linn Group is fond of saying this time of year, weather trumps all.

And, for that reason, some are looking past today's crop report and ahead to the next weather forecast.

Many traders anticipate confirmation in Wednesday morning's USDA crop report of what

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have set their regulatory sights on the dairy industry, which both agencies say is consolidating more production and influence among fewer milk producers.

The two federal agencies held a joint meeting Friday in Madison, Wis., to dis

An iPhone for Verizon Wireless, the no. 1 U.S. carrier, will be introduced next January, according to a Bloomberg report citing "two people familiar with the plans."

If true, this is good news for Verizon and Apple, which will be set to sell a LOT of iPhones. And it'll be bad news for AT&T, whic

We at Indiana Grain are trading amidst falling markets, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index set its sixth decline in seven days.

With fears rampant that growth in China is grinding to a halt, the vicious stock selling and volatility of old have returned to pay traders and investors a visit.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop report that the heavy rains of last weekend, which exceeded ten inches in northwest Iowa, are “taking a toll” on Iowa’s crops.

The USDA said that 66 percent of Iowa’s soybean crop is rated good to excellent, down from 72 percent l

West Virginia Democrat, Senator Robert Byrd, passed away last night at the age of 92. Byrd was the longest serving member of the Congress, taking his first oath of office on January 3, 1959, and remaining a public servant until his death on June 28, 2010.

Fellow West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefel

Tesla Motors has always wanted a high profile.

It will be mission accomplished as of Tuesday, that's when many will be watching NASDAQ to see how well the tech savvy company is received by the public in their Initial Public Offering.

Tesla Motors is banking on investors and visionaries buyin

While the ethanol industry receives national and international attention through such events as the recently held Iowa Corn Indy 250 race in central Iowa (the only Indy race that is running on 100% corn-based ethanol) there are still plenty of challenges for the corn-based renewable fuel.

Don Els

Goldman Sachs has been ordered to pay 20.6 million dollars to the creditors of the collapsed hedge fund Bayou Group for, as the AP reported, "ignoring signs of fraud."

FINRA approved the claimant's assertion that Goldman Sachs allowed the trades made by Bayou before it collapsed in 2005, and all

The spot price of gold rose $13.58 on June 25, closing at $1255.70 per ounce, according to the United States Gold Bureau.

With the news media drawing so much attention on the soaring price of gold, many investors are wondering if the end of the current bull market may be approaching. Even as pri

China, the world's second-largest corn consumer, bought six cargoes from the U.S. in the past two weeks, or 360,000 metric tons, bringing purchases to 16 cargoes, or almost 1 million tons, two executives familiar with the transactions said.

State-owned Cofco Ltd. bought three shipments to sell t

It's iPhone mania this morning as long lines form across the US for Apple's new, must-have product.

According to AT&T, demand for the iPhone 4 has outpaced demand for the iPhone 3GS at a rate of ten to one. Indeed, the iPhone 4 has arrived with incredible buyer momentum. Already, there are report

With the ethanol industry still howling about yet another delay by EPA to lower the blend wall, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack brushed aside those concerns in a Tuesday media briefing, “I am confident the EPA will give us an increase in the blend rate, and I think the EPA announcement indica

The Fed kept the target on its key interest rate at zero to 0.25%, as had been universally expected, but conceded that headwinds to the recovery have picked up.

Policymakers at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) tacitly acknowledged the debt crisis brewing in Europe, noting, "Financial cond

In a significant setback in efforts to stem the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has had to removed the containment cap that has been capturing some the the oil. BP removed the cap after a undersea robot accidentally bumped a vent and shut it off on June 23, 2010, according to CNN.

The contain

Corn Products International, Inc., a provider of ingredient solutions for diversified industries, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire National Starch, LLC, a supplier of specialty starches for the food industry, from Akzo Nobel N.V. Corn Products and National Starch are based in the U

There's an old saying that warns against going through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back every now and then.

When it comes to remembering lessons learned and passing them forward, it's impossible not to fondly recall my old friend Dave Glancy of

Tuesday, General Stanley McChrystal has been called to the White House to meet with President Obama Wednesday; he also apologized Tuesday for his Rolling Stone interview and the controversial comments made by himself and his staff about Obama’s administration. General McChrystal is currently the t

Salaries have tumbled at the London branch of the hedge fund run by Paul Tudor Jones, the billionaire trader who earned cult status by predicting 1987’s Black Monday crash.

Tudor Jones, who is worth an estimated $3.2 billion after three decades at the top of one of the world’s most successful

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned today in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. may be running out of time when it comes to reining in massive federal deficits.

Greenspan, who led the Fed between 1987 and 2006, said, "Inflation and long-term interest rates, th

The Japanese government is proposing to merge the country's major exchanges to make the bourses more competitive in Asia.

The plan was unveiled as part of the government's growth strategy, which the ruling Democratic party hopes will rescue Japan from chronic deflation and double the country's lo

Iowa's cornfields will have to become more crowded if they are to feed a crowded world.

A typical Iowa cornfield today has about 30,000 plants, each producing an ear that will have between 400 and 500 kernels. Monsanto is pushing the envelope with a test plot near Atlantic that has 48,000 plants,

Joe Victor, vice president of Allendale, Inc. is surprised by the June World Supply and Demand Estimates report.

The USDA's ending stocks for the 2009 crop are lowered 135 million bushels. The Department of Agriculture now thinks the U.S. will have 1.6 billion bushels of corn in storage ahead of

We at Indiana Grain discussed on Futures Line this evening that the decision to increase the allowable amount of ethanol in motor fuel above the currently approved 10% could see another delay.

A quick perusal of the news on your QT Platform or Reuters feed will find reports stating that the Depar

We at Indiana Grain have spent no shortage of time contemplating the many ways in which a big summer for grain markets will get industry professionals hopping once again.

As we at Indiana Grain reported Wednesday, China, the world’s second-largest corn consumer, may buy more than 1 million metr

We at Indiana Grain can't help but see it as an ugly day for jobless claims.

The number of individuals filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week, despite three consecutive previous declines.

What does this mean? The pace of layoffs has not slowed as fast as many had hoped.

Initi

Traders betting on a booming summer for corn will be pleased with a new report from BusinessWeek.

According to the publication and analysts cited in the report, China, the world’s second-largest corn consumer, may buy more than 1 million metric tons in the next 18 months, in addition to purchas

As part of National Hurricane Preparedness Week nearly a few weeks ago (May 23-29), the U.S. Department of Treasury, with information collected from Treasury research that says direct deposit is more reliable in the event of a disaster, strongly urged federal benefit check recipients living along th

We at Indiana Grain are beginning to understand what President Barack Obama meant when he said someone would have to "pay" for the BP oil spill.

At least politically, it turns out Obama is paying for the disaster himself, despite calls Tuesday night for unity and resolve in the face of the enviro

We at Indiana Grain remember a time when the average retail investor wouldn’t have thought of investing in commodities. These days, commodity investing is bigger and bolder than ever, thanks to the advent of commodity exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Before ETFs, investors and traders would almost

President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman said Monday that U.S. geologists have discovered vast mineral wealth in Afghanistan, possibly amounting to $1 trillion.

Waheed Omar told reporters the findings were made by the U.S. Geological Survey under contract to the Afghan government. "The result of the

In recent years, ETF assets have climbed towards $1 trillion and the number of products has surged past 1,000. Much of the growth in both products and assets has been attributable to commodity ETFs, as investors have embraced the exchange-traded structure as an efficient way to add the benefits of n

We at Indiana Grain know plenty of peso traders.

And Monday wasn't a good day for many of them.

Mexico's peso slipped from a near one-month high after a downgrade of Greece's debt curbed investor appetite for riskier assets like emerging market currencies.

As covered by Reuters, the peso br

We at Indiana Grain love a busy grain market.

And the conditions are ripe for lots of excitement this summer.

Today the government announced that China is back to buying US corn, with another "order" placed for 120,000 tons.

Opportunity exists for China to import a "huge" amount of U.S. cor

Over the medium term, Citigroup (NYSE:C) says silver prices could outperform gold prices, as industrial demand for silver continue to rise.

Citigroup analyst David Thurtell said this, "Gold is likely to encounter repeated resistance at the $1,250 mark over the coming month. The seasonal low perio

Warren Buffett, the revered investor and widely lauded financial guru, loves to use eBay.

Especially for a good cause.

A listing for lunch with Mr. Buffett closed on June 11 with a winning bid of $2.6 million.

The proceeds will benefit the Glide Foundation.

Glide is a non-profit organiz

Even as the world is busy gleefully looking at favorable prospects for major field crops in the US and elsewhere, weather conditions in the Prairies of Canada (the country's breadbasket region) have remained hostile for an extended period. As result, planting of wheat, barley canola (rapeseed) and p