| Commodity Futures Contracts - Grains, Livestock, Energy & Metals | Learn about the different type of commodity futures contracts such as grains, livestock, energy, metals, foods, and fibers. |
| Commodity Pool Operators (CPO) Role & Responsibilities | Commodity pool operators is the general partner responsible for overseeing a commodity pool. |
| Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) - Registered Professional | A commodity trading advisor (CTA) is a trading professional that manages futures and or options accounts for investors. The CTA is required to register with the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission. |
| E-Mini Futures Contract Pros & Cons | An E-mini futures contract provides a trader the ability to buy the major indicies on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for a fraction of the cost of a full contract. |
| Forward Contracts Definition & Comparison to Futures Contracts | A forward contract is an agreement for the future delivery of an asset at a predetermined price and date. |
| Futures Clearinghouse Management Responsibilities | A futures clearinghouse allows one to close out positions in the futures market without having a real buyer or seller on the other side. |
| Futures Contract Definition & Margin Requirements | Understand what a futures contract is and learn about the key components of trading a futures contract. |
| Futures Hand Signals Definition and Images | Futures hand signals make the futures pit much more efficient in the midst of the chaos in the pits. |
| Futures Trading Pit - Participants & Trading Methods | The futures trading pit is where futures contracts are traded using the open outcry system for buying and selling contracts. |
| Index Futures Trading & Contract Months | Index futures are created to replicate the performance of the underlying index that the futures contract represents. Index futures exists for many global stock markets such as the S&P500, DOW Jones Industrial Average, Russell 2000, German DAX, London's FTSE, French CAC40, and other established world markets |
| Interest Rate Futures Contracts Explained | An interest rate futures contract allows the buyer of the contract to lock in a future investment rate. |
| Introduction to Futures Trading | A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a contract sometime in the future. Futures contracts have been around in tradable markets for hundreds of years and can date back as far as rice grain futures in Japan. |
| Limit Down Definition & How It Affects Margin | Limit down is the maximum amount a futures contract can move in one trading day. Limit downs have been put in place to prevent markets from collapsing on themselves. Many markets will halt trading in a contract or slow down the flow of orders until the price backs away from the limit down level. |
| Managed Futures Account - Alternative Investment | A managed futures account (MFA) is an alternative investment strategy where an investor allows a professional money manager known as a commodity trading advisors (CTA) to invest funds in the global futures markets. |
| Margin Requirement Impact on Commodity Price | The margin requirement impact on commodity price is in discussion quite a bit these days with the increase of gas prices. However, the government's attempt at controlling the number of speculators may have little affect. |
| National Futures Association - Regulation Agency | The National Futures Association (NFA) is responsible for regulating and monitoring all futures activity within the United States of America. |
| Open Outcry | Learn about the open outcry system used in the trading pits to call out orders. |
| Spot Price | The spot price or spot rate is the actual price of a security at an exact moment in time. Unlike futures which estimate the value of a security "x" days in the future, traders use this value to gauge the current supply and demand of a security |
| U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Definition and History | The Commodities Futures Trading Commission was founded in 1975 and is empowered by the U.S. government to monitor and regulate trading of futures contracts. |
