en-us http://www.indianagrain.com/blog Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:03:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/cbot-corn-comes-alive 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. Most traders concur that wheat was a major catalyst for the big upside move in corn. As we covered here yesterday, there are lingering issues with the wheat crop in Europe and traders foresee a reduction in available feed-quality wheat, which, naturally, is a competitor for corn. While wheat has put on a great show in recent days, corn clearly usurped its thunder. Next on the radar, of course, is the weather for soybeans. Should any factors emerge that ultimately drive beans higher, corn may get further support from that possible development. And if you're an ethanol watcher, ethanol futures rose in lockstep with corn, a move we may continue to see as summer rolls along. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:02:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/motorola-publicly-embarrasses-apple 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 are antenna issues on many smartphones, including Motorola, RIM and HTC. Instead, Motorola cleverly advertised their Droid X in a full page ad that clearly states: No Jacket Required in large type. A nice dig at the death grip antenna issues many complained about with the new iPhone 4, as well as Apple's solution of a free case to fix the problem. Below the bold heading of the ad states: "At Motorola, we believe a customer shouldn't have to dress up their phone for it work properly. That's why the Droid X comes with a dual antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone anyway you like to make crystal clear calls without a bulky phone jacket." Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:43:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/wheat-futures-bounce-back-on-weather-woes 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 5.5 cents, or 1.0 percent, to 5.95 U.S. dollars per bushel. December corn was down 1.0 cents, or 0.3 percent, to 3.77 dollars per bushel. November soybean retreated 0. 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 9.655 dollars per bushel. The U.S. consumer confidence index dropped in July to its lowest point since February, according to a report from the Conference Board, posing a risk for consumer spending which accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economy. The slumping consumer confidence heavily weighed on U.S equities and commodities markets on Tuesday. Gold plunged more than 2 percent, crude oil prices also softened after the data released, and a modest rally in the dollar all contributed to keep a lid on grain futures on Tuesday. "Weather forecasts expected additional rain over the next two weeks with warmer temperature in U.S. Midwest, which is generally beneficial for the crop here, it should help maintain a very good corn and soybean yield potential," said Dan Cekander, a grain market analyst at brokerage Newedge USA. "Corn is well ahead of normal and maturity. The hot weather has pushed the corn maturity so we're going to have corn harvest about one month ahead of normal, instead of May corn harvest in mid- October, we're going to have May corn harvest at mid-September. Anticipation of corn harvest kept a lid on the market," said Cekander. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:42:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/former-financial-regulators-gear-up-for-lobbying 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 former colleagues, The New York Times’s Eric Lichtblau reports from Washington. Nearly 150 lobbyists registered since last year used to work in the executive branch at financial agencies, from lawyers for the Securities and Exchange Commission to Federal Reserve bankers, according to data analyzed for The New York Times by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group. In addition, dozens of ex-government lawyers, who are not registered as lobbyists, are now scouring the financial regulations on behalf of corporate clients. “The headhunters are out in force” to recruit former government regulators as lawyers and lobbyists, said Lawrence Kaplan, who was a senior lawyer at the government’s Office of Thrift Supervision and now works on banking regulation at the Washington law firm Paul Hastings. “I get calls practically every day,” he said. “You want people who know what they’re doing, and the government background builds your bona fides. It’s a credential that you flaunt.” Lobbying and law firms here have always turned to former regulators to navigate the bureaucracies of Washington. But the financial regulations passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama has left most of the real decision-making to the S.E.C. and other agencies, making these agencies more powerful than ever. On a scale that analysts say they have never seen, government regulatory agencies will spend the coming years enacting rules on everything from the definition of a “systemically important” mega-bank to limits on debit card fees. Federal agencies will decide the details of at least 243 financial rules and conduct 67 studies, according to an assessment by the law firm of Davis Polk. The S.E.C. alone is responsible for developing 95 rules on topics like the trading of derivatives, standards for credit rating agencies and disclosure of executive bonuses. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission must develop 61 rules, the Federal Reserve has 54, and two brand new agencies just created by Congress (the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Stability Oversight Council) have 80 rules between them. Source: New York Times Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:41:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/ethanol-to-get-another-look-by-the-feds 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 energy. The items likely to find their way into the new bipartisan, energy-only measure will be popular ones supported by Senators on both sides of the aisle. Those items would include ways to address the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and relatively non-contentious energy initiatives, such as promotion of home energy efficiency and vehicles powered by natural gas. Reid says this isn’t the only energy legislation the Senate will do, but is what they can do now. He notes lawmakers are running out of time. Senate Democrats hope to find GOP support for the bill and pass it in the next two weeks. President Obama says he will intensify efforts to find votes for climate legislation. But several Democrats (including Mark Pryor of Arkansas) note that past energy bills typically consumed three to six weeks of floor time. He says that kind of time just doesn’t exist this year. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis is hopeful the Senate takes this opportunity to add measures to reduce the nation’s addiction to foreign oil. He says Growth Energy urges the Leader and his fellow Senators to include measures to build out the infrastructure for greater use of home-grown ethanol. He notes ethanol is America’s fuel - grown by America’s farmers and produced by American workers - it is the only viable alternative we have today to imported oil. Source: Hoosier Ag Today Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:39:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/atlas-commodity-markets-acquires-chicago-legend 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 strategy, John's expert perspective will be invaluable in driving the innovation and market leadership for which Atlas is known," says Bob Shults, Atlas. With more than 30 years in the financial futures and commodity exchange businesses, Harangody has been present at the design, creation and implementation stages of new markets, new exchanges, and new products. That collective experience has strengthened his ability to identify and implement the critical conditions that are necessary to build and sustain successful markets. Harangody was responsible for defining the overall product strategy and tactics for CME Group's agricultural commodity products, as well as aggressively marketing those products to current and prospective CME Group customers. Prior to joining CME Group, Harangody served as Manager, Risk Management Services, for Conagra Trade Group in Omaha, Neb. He has also held senior management positions at: Rand Financial Services; Geldermann, Inc.; and Drexel Burnham Lambert. He also has been a member, firm floor manager and floor trader of options on futures at the Chicago Board of Trade, and he has lectured at Northwestern University. Harangody holds a bachelor's degree in management and marketing from Purdue University and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago. "This is an exciting time to come aboard at Atlas," says Harangody. "Atlas Commodity Markets has been the largest contributor to the development of the exchange-cleared OTC bio-fuel market in North America. Their success can be attributed to the highly motivated and talented team they have assembled. They have a reputation for listening, for understanding the needs and wants of their customers, and for doing everything possible to provide not only the best service but also the best markets. I am really looking forward to this next stage of my career." Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:58:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/bp-ceo-hayward-to-step-down 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 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon. A lot of it has been placed on BP's CEO Tony Hayward. In late June, BP said Hayward would stay on as Chief, but now conflicting reports say a decision ha been made to replace him with American Bob Dudley. Hayward has been under fire since the beginning of this disaster. First was the slow increment of estimated oil leak. First it was reported to be 1,000 gallons a day, but latest government estimates were as high as 80,000 gallons each day. A senior U.S. government official said Sunday that Hayward is on his way out but didn't know who would be his successor. The official was briefed on the decision last week and spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not been made. BP said this morning that "no final decision" had been made about management changes. The oil company said its board would meet Monday evening, a day before it announces earnings for the second quarter. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:22:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/grains-decline-to-start-the-week 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 threatened by dry weather earlier this month." Weekend rain is attributed to increased soil moisture in "previously dry areas of the Midwest and South." That information comes from Drew Lerner president of World Weather Inc. “Weather conditions are improving,” said Greg Grow, the director of agribusiness for Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago. “Farmers are going to be active sellers because they are more confident in raising a big crop.” Corn futures for December delivery fell 6 cents to $3.785 a bushel at 10 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after touching $3.78, the lowest level for a most-active contract since July 1, reports Bloomberg. Source: Bloomberg Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:53:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/15-million-tons-of-corn-going-to-china- 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 Council said. That assessment was gleaned from info directly from Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. From the Bloomberg report: "Imports may total 1.7 million tons this year and 5.8 million tons next year, the council said, citing Shanghai JC Chairman Hanver Li. Even with normal weather, the second-largest corn consumer won’t be able produce enough to meet demand as incomes rise, the council said on its website, citing Li." China’s emergence as a net corn buyer may help to drive global prices higher. "Imports of 5.8 million tons would surpass China’s previous record purchases, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Corn is used to make animal feed, with demand rising as consumers buy more meat and dairy products," Bloomberg noted. “The natural market to supply China in the corn space is certainly the U.S.,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said, referring to the top producer and exporter. “China buying is certainly something that’s going to be supportive for global grain prices.” Corn has risen 8.4 percent since April 27, a day before the USDA reported the first corn sales to China by U.S. exporters of at least 100,000 tons since 2001. Source: Bloomberg Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:49:00 CDT http://www.indianagrain.com/blog/cftc-gives-green-light-to-green-exchange 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 announcement of its approval comes just one day after U.S. Senate Democrats decided to table a climate-change bill. That bill would have helped spur a much larger derivatives market to help companies offset their carbon emissions. Green Exchange was introduced in 2007 under the New York Mercantile Exchange and a group of banks and brokerages. Its products have been listed at Nymex, which is now owned by CME Group. The CFTC said those products will now be listed on Green Exchange, which will become a stand-alone entity. A spokesman for Green Exchange couldn't be immediately reached for comment. "We think the Green Exchange has all the right elements to really compete in the marketplace, and achieving the milestone of this approval one of those elements," said Evan Ard, managing director of Evolution Markets, a founding member of the venture. "But there's still a lot of work to be done to effectively compete in the marketplace." The CFTC's approval of the Green Exchange now sets the stage for competition between CME and its major rival IntercontinentalExchange Inc., which this year acquired the Climate Exchange PLC (CLE.LN) in a $597 million deal. Source: Market Watch