Author: mysterytrader@traderplanet.com

Sold any $1,000 gold futures? Or $110 crude oil? Or $15 soybeans? Or $13 what? Or $20 silver? Me either. Seems like we ought to be with prices at these levels, but who can take the chance? You certainly can’t anticipate...

Everyone’s excited about wheat these days. And with good reason. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the wheat carryover at the end of this season will be the lowest in 60 years, and wheat is battling with corn,...

We’re not saying that soybean futures peaked Tuesday, and we don’t know what fundamental sent them to a new record high of 13.73 a bushel, March contract (other than panic buying in wheat, primarily the Minneapolis...

Amid a volatile week in a number of markets and more talk about recession and bear markets, it may be hard to remember that there’s a war going on – not a shooting war as in Iraq or Afghanistan but a war over planted...

Can the Fed and other central banks shape economic conditions and induce stock market rallies? Lots of people seem to think they can, believing the surprise 75-point cuts in the Fed funds (from 4.25% to 3%) and discount rates...

Another one bites the dust – another record high, that is. It’s become almost a daily occurrence. The $100 record for a barrel of crude oil – and lots of bets on $200 crude – and the move in gold above...

If you trade the grains or soybeans, Friday is a big day for you, even if you seldom look at fundamentals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release a series of reports Friday morning that generally simply tweak estimates...

Well, the votes are in. We’re not talking Obama or Clinton or McCain or any of the dozen others running for president in 2008 but the stock market. Market lore is that as the first five trading days of January go, so goes...

Everybody seems to be talking or going “green”. They even announced another new exchange in New York to trade carbon emissions Wednesday, appropriately named the Green Exchange (see www.greenfutures.com for more...

Anyone who thinks old-line stocks don’t carry a lot of risk should look at the performance of Sears Holdings this week. We’ve been watching the retail sector because this is supposed to be a make-or-break period for...