Money manager capitalism - characterized by highly leveraged funds seeking maximum returns in an environment that systematically underprices risk - has resulted in a series of boom-and-bust cycles in equities, real estate, and commodities. Because subsequent cycles have been increasingly...

Expectations about future economic conditions are important determinants of commodity prices. This paper presents a relatively simple model that makes futures prices for corn a function of expected production and inventories and of variables that account for demand shifts. The intent is to...

Well established and efficient agricultural commodity futures markets, are expected to perform the role of price discovery and risk management more effectively. The results of the Johansen's cointegration tests have shown that the spot and futures markets for the 12 agricultural commodities are...

In well-established and matured agricultural commodity futures market, like U.S., the futures markets are expected to serve as a central exchange for both domestic and international information and thus function as a primary mechanism for price discovery and reduce price variability through...

Even though there were numerous plausible explanations for the oil-price rally that culminated in July of 2008, there remains much uncertainty on how much to ascribe this rally to speculation, given the lack of transparency in the global oil markets. Was there excessive speculation in the oil...

This paper provides an introduction to U.S. commodity futures markets, which is especially relevant for individuals in developing markets who are newly embracing market solutions to financial uncertainty. The paper specifically covers the following topics: (1) the beginning, transformation, and...