
July 26, 2005
Lead Stories
OneChicago Volume Breaks 1 Million Open Interest Milestone
OneChicago broke the one million contract open interest level for the first time as of yesterday’s close of trade. Open interest stood at 1,017,617 contracts this morning on volume yesterday of 45,953 security futures contracts. OneChicago is the first exchange started since the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 to break the 1 million contract open interest mark. OneChicago saw its first trade in OneChicago Select Indices yesterday as 500 contracts traded. This is a new custom designed narrow based index contract created by a OneChicago customer. OneChicago has now set 12 daily open interest records during the month of July.
CME profits skyrocket on record volumes
By Jeremy Grant in
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday underscored the increasing importance of futures trading to banks, hedge funds...
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/c47befb8-fdd4-11d9-a289-00000e2511c8.html
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc., which operates the nation's largest futures exchange, on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit soared 44 percent from last year but failed to meet Wall Street projections.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050726/earns_chicago_merc.html?.v=1
Declares Quarterly Dividend of 46 Cents Per Share
http://www.cme.com/about/press/cn/05-992Q05Financials14489.html
Hitting Up the Merc
As I write this in the pre-market, I'm wondering what sort of day we will see in the trading of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings (NYSE: CME). Growth is still torrid, yes, but the company slightly missed the earnings estimate, and revenue per contract continued to slide.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05072606.htm
Merc widens lead as most valuable financial market
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange widened its lead over Deutsche Boerse as the world's most valuable financial market after the exchange's shares surged on speculation it will buy the Chicago Board of Trade.
Shares of the Merc, the nation's largest futures exchange, were valued at $10.5 billion at the end of last week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The stock closed Monday at $297.00, down $6.31 on the New York Stock Exchange. Deutsche Boerse,
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0507260123jul26,1,7276495.story?coll=chi-business-hed
SHANGHAI, July 26 (Reuters) -
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050725/3/24jjq.html
Currency Markets Draw Speculation, Fraud
Day Traders Find New Outlet In Foreign-Exchange Wagers; 'A Lot of George Soros Wannabes'
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112233048975295402,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
*** Online WSJ subscription required.
Scammers Operating on Periphery Of CFTC's Domain Lure Little Guy With Fantastic Promises of Profits
By PETER A. MCKAY
Of the $35,000 that civil engineer Richard Croy lost investing with the currency-trading firm First Lexington Group LLC, he parted with the biggest chunk of that money -- $20,000 -- in a March 2003 wire transfer.
http://online.wsj.com/search#SB112233850336095645
*** Online WSJ subscription required.
Former Names of Wall Street Get New Lives
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112233502306495533,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
*** Online WSJ subscription required.
Merger costs trim Archipelago Q2 earnings
NYSE merger expenses total US$8.4 million
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=29786&IdSection=15&cat=15
Archipelago Announces Second Quarter 2005 Results
http://investor.archipelago.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=140290&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=734453&highlight=
ISE Initiates Trading In ISE 50, 100 Indexes
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176358&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=734376&highlight=
Gov't slaps 3-month ban on broker for low-margin forex trading
_ The Kanto Local Finance Bureau said Tuesday it has ordered
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050726/kyodo/d8bj3h980.html
It's curtains for coffee futures exchange — Shareholders approve winding up of operations by July 31
THE Coffee Futures Exchange Of India (COFEI) is being wound up as all efforts to revive the exchange seem to have failed. Shareholders of COFEI, which has been inactive for over two years now, approved a resolution at Monday's AGM seeking closure of operations.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/26/stories/2005072603141200.htm
Archipelago chief cleared in lawsuit; merger cuts profit
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0507260132jul26,1,7342031.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Archipelago head wins appeal in county court
A
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-arch26.html
SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) , Southeast Asia's largest bourse, is expected to post a 15 percent dip in quarterly earnings on Thursday, mainly due to a drop in derivatives trading volumes.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050726/3/24k67.html
CBOT Reparat Sonitem
BLACKSTONE GROUP: Firm raises billions for takeover fund
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0507260113jul26,1,6817742.story?coll=chi-business-hed
CBOT seat sets record
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0507260120jul26,1,6096844.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Full CBOT seat sells for record $2.2 million
A full Chicago Board of Trade membership with stock sold Monday for a record high price of $2.225 million. The previous peak was established July 1 when a full seat with CBOT stock sold for $2.075 million.
http://www.dailyherald.com/business/businessstory.asp?id=77077
Check the latest bid, offer, and last sale prices for combinations of the various series of Class B memberships in the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and restricted Class A Common Stock of CBOT Holdings. For more information on CBOT memberships, please refer to http://www.cbot.com.
Prices |
||||
Class |
Bid |
Ask |
Last |
Date |
B-1 (Full) With ERP With Stock |
2,050,000 |
2,500,000 |
2,225,000 |
7/25/2005 |
B-1 (Full) Without ERP With Stock |
0 |
0 |
NA |
6/20/2005 |
B-2 (Associate) With Stock |
750,000 |
840,000 |
760,000 |
7/25/2005 |
B-3 (GIM) With Stock |
277,000 |
405,500 |
360,000 |
7/5/2005 |
B-4 (IDEM) With Stock |
74,000 |
79,000 |
75,000 |
7/25/2005 |
B-5 (COM) With Stock |
169,000 |
225,000 |
185,000 |
7/25/2005 |
Environmental Trading News
HK,
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Asia's first cross-border emissions trading program, between Hong Kong and the Chinese
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050726/5/24kof.html
Demand for ethanol revs up in
Proponents of ethanol are crowing that since
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/12225655.htm
NCGA Hails Energy Conference for Setting Renewable Fuels Standard at 7.5 Billion Gallons
The National Corn Growers Association President Leon Corzine today called the House-Senate energy conference committee inclusion of a 7.5-billion-gallon Renewable Fuels Standard in its final report the most significant step yet in securing the use of domestically produced fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050726/cgtu052.html?.v=17
Exchange & ECN News
Notice Reaffirming Position Limits in Treasury Futures
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1027+29555,00.html
CBOT Trader Newsletter: July 25, 2005
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1027+29535,00.html
CBOT Strike Price Notice July 26, 2005
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1032+29557,00.html
CBOT Trading Position Change Meal July 15, 2005
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1032+29556,00.html
Week 11 Average Pricing System Testing Cycles
http://www.cme.com/clearing/clr/clradv/14488.html
NYSE Seat Sells for $2,600,000
http://www.nyse.com/press/1122288099637.html
BOX Begins Trading in 25 New Names
BOX expanded its market coverage with the introduction of twenty-five newly listed BOX options classes. Currently BOX lists 466 options classes, with plans of reaching 500 classes by the end of summer
http://www.bostonoptions.com/pdf/ListedClasses.pdf
PHLX to Begin Trading One New Option on July 27
http://www.phlx.com/news/pr2005/05pr072605.htm
Amex Lists Morgan Stanley Strategic Total Return Securities Exchangeable for a cash Amount Based on the CBOE Dow Jones Industrial Average Buy Write Index
http://www.amex.com/atamex/news/press/sn_DBZ_072505.htm
OneChicago To List Futures On Liberty Media Corp. (L1C) July 26
Pacific Exchange To Trade Five New Options
http://www.pacificex.com/news/press/press-2005/press_05_five_7.html
Clearstream Extends Daytime Processing and Increases Interoperability
Nasdaq developing service for small ETF trades
Regulatory News
The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/dig072505.txt
First International Commodity Group, Inc. to be added to the list of firms disciplined for sales practice fraud
On August 8, 2005, First International Commodity Group, Inc. ("FICG") will be added to NFA's list of firms that have been disciplined by NFA or the CFTC for sales practice fraud as a result of the firm's settlement of an NFA Complaint against FICG alleging, among other allegations, sales practice fraud. Members should be aware that all former associated persons ("APs") of FICG are considered to have been employed by a disciplined firm.
http://www.nfa.futures.org/compliance/FICGI.asp
CFTC Charges
CFTC Alleges Lovett Cheated Fellow Church Member; Federal Court Issues Order Freezing Defendant’s Assets
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the filing of an enforcement action on July 13, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Brett E. Lovett, individually and doing business as Northwest Asset Fund of Oxnard, California. The CFTC's action charges Lovett with fraudulently soliciting at least $175,000 from one member of his church, purportedly to trade commodity futures through an account in his own name, and with misappropriating a portion of those funds and creating false statements to conceal the fraud. (CFTC v. Brett E. Lovett, C.D. Cal, Case No. CV05-5074 GHK (MANx).)
http://www.cftc.gov/opa/enf05/opa5101-05.htm
NASD, NYSE Regulation and
http://www.nasd.com/web/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=5&ssSourceNodeId=5
New fee paying installment plan shows successful start as over 1,600 firms sign-up
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2005/083.shtml
Cox pledges vigorous enforcement
WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - Rep. Christopher Cox, the White House’s pick to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said on Tuesday his “top priority will be vigorous enforcement of our securities laws.”
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/4a6c9428-fde5-11d9-a289-00000e2511c8.html
Donaldson: The exit interview
''I came with a mission,'' William Donaldson said the other day, reflecting on his tenure as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In retrospect, that was the big surprise. Donaldson, who stepped down late last month after two and a half tumultuous years, was never supposed to be a man with a plan.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/26/yourmoney/web.0726mjoe.php
Senate Agriculture Committee CFTC Reauthorization Hearing
The Senate Agriculture Committee held a "mark-up" hearing on Thursday, July 21 for the legislation reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill was redrafted late on Wednesday, July 20 to limit the scope of the more controversial provisions of the bill. In the new draft, the fraud provision was limited to forex markets, although the Senate is still considering widening the provision to all commodities. At the hearing, Senate Agriculture Chairman Saxby Chambliss indicated that the bill is a “placeholder” and that the industry, CFTC, President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and the Senate Banking Committee should continue to work on the language. The
Senate Bill | » PWG Letter | » Joint Trade Association Letter
http://www.futuresindustry.org/downloads/regulatory/CEAreauthorization.pdf
http://www.futuresindustry.org/downloads/regulatory/7-20-05-PWG.pdf
http://www.futuresindustry.org/downloads/regulatory/7-20-05-Letter.pdf
SEC considers formal action against Fidelity in gifts probe
http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_936158.html
FSA chief bemoans City's IT burden
26 July 2005 The head of the
http://www.infoconomy.com/pages/news-and-gossip/group108664.adp
FSA faces tough hunt for terror cash
SEC nominee Cox backs implementing options rule
Rep. Christopher Cox, the White House's choice to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said on Tuesday that if confirmed by the Senate he would ensure implementation of a new rule that requires companies to treat stock options as a business expense.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050726/pl_nm/financial_sec_stockoptions_dc_1
NASD, NYSE Create International Securities Exam
The NASD, New York Stock Exchange and the Securities & Investment Institute announced a three-way agreement to create a common qualifications test for capital markets professionals.
http://www.compliancereporter.com/default.asp?page=1&SID=537641&ISS=17887&pressbox=1
Managed Futures - Managed Funds
Lothian At Advantage During Troubled Period
"Tough times lie ahead," said Geik Drever, head of investment and pensions at the GBP2 billion Lothian Pension Fund.
http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/default.asp?page=1&SID=530657&ISS=17383&type=15
*** I just liked this headline.
Hedge fund shines in tough market
Despite a tough year for the mutual funds and hedge funds industries, Boston-based Vinik Asset Management can count itself among the winners, with gains of about 20 percent this year, according to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal.
http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2005/07/25/funds/vinik_hedgefund/index.htm?section=money_latest
DTCC's Alternative Investment Advisory Committee Gaining Momentum - Almost Doubles in Size since April
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's recently formed Alternative Investment Products Advisory Committee has grown from an original group of 15 fund and broker/dealer firms to 27 firms, including several service providers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050726/265691.html?.v=1
Reports
Bond Talk Today's Events
http://www.bondtalk.com/global.cfm?S=todaysevents
USDA Today
http://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/TODAY.HTM
Miscellaneous News
Never mind the price, gold still dazzles
Tech's "Dearth of Innovation"
That's due to "near-monopolists" in many areas, says futurist Mark Anderson, whose newsletter is read by the likes of Gates and Dell
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2005/tc20050726_3758.htm
The Yuan and You
What effect will
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jul2005/pi20050726_3708_pi015.htm
Selling by insiders up sharply
Corporate profits may “soon peak”, BCA Research says
BCA Research warns that insider selling is growing, particularly in the financials. This trend suggests that
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=29791&IdSection=137&cat=137
The Goddess of Derivatives Talks
Goldman's new recruit, Cheril Lee, explains why warrants are big business in HK.
Goldman Sachs recently hired Cheril Lee as executive director, responsible for developing the firm's warrants business in
http://www.financeasia.com/articles/2EA7BCB7-9027-7E17-4BF11216C697E15F.cfm
Refco files for 25 mln share IPO
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Derivatives broker Refco Inc. may offer to raise up to 25 million shares for between $19 and $21 a share in an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
The lead underwriters for the offering are Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Banc of America Securities LLC, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Associations And Corporation Of
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/news_story.cfm?id=54161
Reuters sees share price slump despite halting revenue slide
British media giant Reuters reported quarterly growth in underlying revenue for the first time since 2001, and said it would return 1.0 billion pounds (1.45 billion euros, 1.74 billion dollars) to shareholders over the next two years.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050726/wl_uk_afp/britainmediacompany_050726122758
Reuters Unveils More Restructuring Plans
Reuters Group PLC unveiled further restructuring plans meant to drive growth in markets such as
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050726/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_britain_reuters_1
John's Comments
Futures Magazine Preview
Futures Magazine features in its August issue: its stock market outlook for the remainder of 2005, Eurex US' currency play, Euronext's purchase of MTS, Refco's acquisition of CIS, techniques for trading off of economic sentiment and inflation, a look at security issues and tips to defend against hackers attempting to access account information in the age of online trading. For a complete list of articles, and links to some of those listed here, go to:http://www.futuresmag.com/library/contents.html
********
John Lothian Newsletter Now Features a Blog Format
I am pleased to announce today the John Lothian Newsletter now features a Blog format. The Blog is accessible from the www.johnlothian.com web site. Participants on the Blog must register and provide a working email address. Sign up for the Blog will be free until September 1, 2005, and then only paid subscribers to the John Lothian Newsletter will be added to the Blog user list.
I will be posting the newsletter each day to the Blog. Users may create their own topics for discussion, or comment on those already created. Anyone can read the Blog, but you must be a registered user to participate in the discussion and post to the site.
I ask that the comments and discussion be civil and polite. Check it out. www.johnlothian.com.
*******
Brent Crude Watch
IPE Brent Volume: 109,639
NYMEX Brent Crude Volume: 2749
NYMEX Percent of Total Volume: 2.45%
********
Percent Electronic
CBOT: 56.78%
CME: 69.02%
CME Eurodollars: 78.30%
CME Live Cattle: .82%
CME Currency Products: 87.06%
CBOT Soybeans: 4.67%
CBOT Options: 3.94%
CME Options: 6.60%
Volume
OneChicago Volume: 45,953
Eurex
Euronext.liffe Eurodollar Volume: 5318
CBOE Futures Exchange Volume: 316
Market Share
CBOT 100 oz. Gold Volume: 2516
NYMEX 100 oz. Gold Volume: 106,589
CBOT Share: 2.31%
CBOT 5000 oz. Silver Volume: 54
NYMEX 5000 oz. Silver Volume: 7802
CBOT Share: .69%
CBOT Mini Gold Volume: 806
CBOT Mini Silver Volume: 201
CME Emini Russell 1000 (100X) Volume: 2049
Eurex
NYBOT Mini Russell 1000 (50X) Volume: 232
CFE Mini Russell 1000 (100X) Volume: 1
CME Emini Russell 2000 Volume: 98,911
Eurex
CFE Mini Russell 2000 Volume: 48
Notes: The CBOT’s Dow Jones-AIG futures traded 154 contracts yesterday.
Liffe Eurodollar Over-Under
Liffe/Globex: 1.12%
Liffe/CME: .88%
Regards,
John J. Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian Newsletter
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Disclaimer: The John Lothian Newsletter is a product of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. The opinions expressed are strictly the opinion of John Lothian, and not necessarily those of his employer, The Price Group and its management, and is intended solely for informative purposes and is not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted. Security futures are not suitable for all customers.
Futures and options trading involve risk. Past results are no indication of future performance.
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