Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Commodity prices surged to a 24-year high, extending a rally that began in late 2001, on signs of growing global demand for everything from energy to metals to crops.

The Reuters-CRB index rose as much as 4.54, or 1.5 percent, to 304.77, the highest for the index since February 1981. The index of 17 commodities, including oil, corn, sugar and hogs, has risen 8.4 percent this year after jumping 11 percent last year, 8.9 percent in 2003 and 23 percent in 2002.

Book review by Ernie Yap -

This is a book about coffee (view image) and how it became traded and valued as one of the most popular drinks in the world. Newsrooms, classrooms, boardrooms, hospitals, office complexes, and whole governments today would be a lot drowsier and more slow-moving without it. It is almost apt to describe this strong-coloured and smelling brew to be the fuel of today’s world economy.

Indeed it is hard to imagine this ubiquitous wonder brew was once a humble, unwanted commodity, considered eccentric and low-class. Liss, the author of the remarkable A Conspiracy of Paper, spins an interesting yarn on how it all came about, in the year 1659 in Amsterdam, Holland; the world’s first Commodities Exchange.

BM&F’s Board of Governors approved on February, 16th the implementation of the spot dollar pit at the Exchange’s trading floor. The model that was accepted by the Board of Governors is a negotiation system linked directly to BM&F’s Foreign Exchange Clearinghouse.

This initiative complements the product offers related to foreign exchange at BM&F – the derivatives products (futures, options, swaps and FRAs) and the FX Clearinghouse, launched on the 22nd of April, 2002.

A specific pit will be created for this new market. The pit’s access will be exclusive to member brokerage houses which, simultaneously, are authorized to mediate FX transactions according to the terms of the Brazilian foreign exchange legislation. However, the Board of Governors has established rules to allow non-member brokerage houses, which have been trading in this market, to participate in the spot dollar pit.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreign exchange trading through Internet-based or electronic systems is expected to grow sharply by 2007, according to a study released on Wednesday by research firm Celent Communications.

Electronic currency trading is split between the dealer-to-client segment, where banks trade with institutional customers, and the interbank market, where banks trade with each other.

The dealer-to-client sector has two types of participant -- multi-bank platforms, which offer prices from a variety of dealers, and single-bank sites, which allow clients to view prices and trade with only one financial institution.

By Finfacts Team -

Gold prices may rise for a third week on expectations a drop in the dollar will prompt inflation, boosting demand for the precious metal as a hedge, a survey conducted by Bloomberg revealed today.

The survey of 48 people included traders, investors and analysts.

By Julianne Johnston -

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today congratulated the farmer-owners of Mid-Missouri Energy, Inc. (MME) for beginning production at their ethanol plant near Malta Bend, Missouri.

“The farmer-owners of Mid-Missouri Energy can be proud to join the fastest growing energy industry in America,” said Bob Dinneen, RFA president. “This ethanol plant will power more than cars and trucks. It will power the economy for miles around Malta Bend – increasing farm income, creating jobs, and boosting all sectors of the economy.”

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - World copper prices jumped more than two percent on Friday to reach a new 16-year peak and inch towards a record high of $3,280 a tonne set in 1989.
"We have not seen the top of this market yet," Bache Financial minerals analyst Angus MacMillan said of a price surge inspired by cash-rich investment funds pouring money into a red-hot London market.

Three months copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME), the world's largest non-ferrous market, was at one point up $73 at $3,230, its highest since January 1989, before closing at $3,225.

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the world's second-largest energy and metals futures market, said it may get U.S. government approval by the end of March to sell its products in that country, boosting sales.

The U.S. may account for the biggest portion of trade by overseas customers, surpassing the U.K. and Australia, Chairman Masaaki Nangaku said in an interview at the exchange. The Washington-based Commodities Futures Trading Commission is assessing whether Tocom, as the exchange is known, meets its standards, he said.

Can money be called a "commodity"? What do Islamic scholars say about this idea?

Before we get to these questions, let us briefly go over some important points regarding how Islamic banks differ from conventional banks the whole focus of our ongoing discussion through this column over the past few weeks.

An Islamic bank deploys funds from a common pool (obtained from depositors on a Mudaraba basis). It credits profits as well as debits and losses to the same pool.

Charge was conducting trades that helped falsify the company's books

A former Duke Energy Corp. trader pleaded guilty to federal charges that he conducted trades that helped falsify the company's books in November 2001, prosecutors said Monday.

Brian Lavielle, who worked in Duke's trading office in Houston, was instructed by his supervisor to split up round-trip trades, which artificially inflated trading volume, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston. Typically in a round-trip trade, companies swap equal amounts of a commodity to boost revenue.

67 WALL STREET, New York--February 14, 2005--The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Exploration and Production Issue, a report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives in the Energy Industry. This 84-page feature contains a roundtable forum, commentary from 2 research analysts and top management of 13 firms. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

By Peter Lavelle -

MOSCOW -- Russia's Natural Resources Ministry announced on Thursday that foreign companies would be banned from bidding for large strategic oil and metal deposits in 2005.

The ministry's decision mandates that bidders for deposits will have to be at least 51 percent Russian owned. This Kremlin-sanctioned move is another example of Russia asserting greater control over its natural resources, while defending the interests of domestic companies.

MOSCOW, February 9. (By Marina Pustilnik RIA Novosti commentator). Last week the Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced that it began targeting the ruble exchange rate against a euro-dollar basket. The bank said in a statement it had begun targeting a dual currency basket - made up of 90 U.S. cents and 10 euro cents - as of Feb. 1 and would gradually raise the weighting of euros. "Increases of the weighting of the euro in the twin currency basket, to a level appropriate for the task of exchange rate policy, will take place step-by-step as market players adapt," the statement said.

By Ron Plain -

According to USDA/NASS, there were 69,420 hog operations in the U.S. in 2004. That was 4,300 fewer than in 2003 and 591,130 fewer than in 1980, the last year in which the number of hog farms increased. The percentage decline in farm numbers from 2003 to 2004, 5.8%, was much smaller than the average for the previous decade, 10.2%.

Iowa not only has the most hogs, but also the most hog farms (9,200) followed by Minnesota (5,000), Ohio (4,000), Texas (3,900), and Illinois and Pennsylvania both with 3,400 hog operations.

London _ Oil prices fell last week on easing supply worries with the end of winter approaching in the northern hemisphere, Opec's move to maintain output and relatively smooth Iraqi elections.

But metals were led lower by gold amid speculation that the International Monetary Fund could sell gold reserves under pressure from Group of Seven (G7) nations.

The Commodities Research Bureau index (CBI) of 17 commodities fell to 281.35 points from 284.69 a week earlier.

By B. Venkatesh -

Commodity derivatives will enable banks and mutual funds gain exposure to alternative investments. Exposure to commodity-linked products will increase a portfolio's risk-adjusted returns.

THE Government is likely to allow banks to trade in commodity derivatives. The proposal may well extend to other institutions such as mutual funds and foreign institutional institutions. This is a welcome move. Commodity derivatives will enable banks and mutual funds gain exposure to alternative investments.

By Andrew Flynn -

TORONTO (CP) - Noranda Inc., a global miner of copper and nickel - and a major takeover target - says its fourth-quarter profit almost tripled to $158 million US amid rising world demand led by China.

Noranda also said Friday a deal for the sale of the company could be announced "within the next few months," even though talks between China Minmetals broke off in December.

LONDON (AFP) - Bank of England governor Mervyn King said that Europe, the US and Asia must acknowledge their interdependency on the foreign exchange front, instead of blaming each other for large forex movements.

Speaking at the Advancing Enterprise conference ahead of the G7 meeting, King said large countries "cannot ignore their interdependency" when it comes to exchange rates.

Two back-to-back trading days join top 10 highest days on record

CHICAGO, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and the Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that January 2005 set a new monthly volume record when 117,440,711 total options contracts traded, 2.66 percent higher than the previous record, set in January 2004.

During January, back-to-back trading days joined the list of top 10 highest total options volume days. The days started with the third-highest trading day on record on Jan. 20 when 8,138,228 contracts traded, followed by the second-highest day on record on Jan. 21 with 8,483,217.

Quarterly Dividend Increased by 77 Percent

CHICAGO, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CME - News) today reported record revenues and earnings for 2004, driven by strong volume growth, including a 71 percent increase in electronic trading. Net revenues climbed 37 percent to $733.8 million for 2004, compared with $536.0 million for 2003. Net income rose 80 percent to $219.6 million, versus $122.1 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share increased 77 percent to $6.38 from $3.60 per diluted share in 2003. Yesterday, the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of 46 cents per share, representing a 77 percent increase compared with the prior year, payable on March 28, 2005, to shareholders of record on March 10, 2005.