When the Indian government implemented a ban on sugar futures last May, BC Khatua let it happen without a fight.
That seemed out of character for Khatua, who heads India’s Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and has long criticized the 2007 decision to ban futures on three staple food products (rice, tur, which is a type of pea, and urad, which is a type of black bean), so we asked him about this at the 31st annual Burgenstock Meeting here in Interlaken. (more…)
With regulatory reform set to rock the trading universe, what’s happening in Washington is never far from the minds of investors. Political uncertainty can equal skittish markets these days. However, this phenomenon is nothing new. According to this MarketWatch story, the stock market historically has performed much better when Congress is out of session than when it’s in session (between 1897 and 2004, the Dow had annualized return of 5.3% when Congress was out of session vs. just 0.4% when it was in session). Congress is set to go on its summer recess at the end of this week, so, if history is any indication, the market could be in for a lift. (more…)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ’s (CFTC) new kid on the block, Commissioner Bart Chilton, wants the agency to “get down to brass tacks.” Chilton set some lofty goals (well, lofty for the slow-moving CFTC, anyway) this morning at the Futures Industry Association’s (FIA) annual expo. But other members of the panel want to see a lot less talk and a lot more action from the CFTC.
Commissioner Chilton, who was sworn in last August, took a firm stance on fixing the CFTC’s actions –or rather inactions – of late. “We have the responsibility to look at what we’re not doing right…they’re not huge issues. We just need to get down to brass tacks and finalize these things,” Chilton said.
