The first leap towards an organized derivatives market came in 1848, when the Chicago Board of Trade, the largest derivative exchange in the world, was established. Today, equity and commodity derivative markets are rapidly gaining in size in India. In terms of popularity too, these markets are catching on like a forest fire.
The desperation in countries like the United States is turning into forlornness. History says that whenever the West gets desperate enough over any festering issue, they find a solution. The discovery of penicillin is the product of such desperation. With this level of hopelessness, it will not be surprising if the world is seeing the last days of the lordship of the almighty crude oil.
OPEC expects an additional daily average output growth of 1.2 million barrels or a daily average oil output of 87 million barrels in 2008. The OPEC output quota this year will be less than 32 million bpd and non-OPEC output would be about 50.3 million bpd, according to a report . OPEC's actual production will be higher than the quota but that will not be sufficient to coverup the demand-supply imbalance in the international market.
Wheat is among the planet's most important food crops, but it has a natural enemy that can turn the crop into a black tangle of broken stems. Cornell University hopes a new $26.8 million grant can help them combat the emergence of deadly new strains of rust disease and help avert a pandemic that could produce catastrophic wheat crop losses worldwide.
The only element of demand for gold likely to be affected by a recession is investment demand, "but that in turn will depend on the 'type' of recession,". Recessions can be bad for commodity prices, as consumer and business confidence falls, demand for goods and services is cut, weighing on demand for raw materials and depressing prices.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development stopped short of an explicit global action plan, but highlighted several options that leaders throughout the public and private might consider in an effort to assure affordable food is produced in a sustainable manner. The report said agricultural knowledge, science and technology alone cannot solve problems "caused by complex political and social dynamics"
In a significant development, India's National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited on Thursday launched its futures contract for Certified Emission Reduction. Forward Markets Commission, chairman, B. C. Khatua inaugurated the launch at NCDEX Exchange Platform. The CER contract of NCDEX will be traded in multiples of one lot of 500 CERs each.
Even as experts were debating pros and cons of the waiver, came the first-ever announcement in the history of commodity markets anywhere in the world the introduction of Commodity Transaction Tax and this, coupled with service tax imposed on commodity exchanges, was a blow to the nascent commodity Futures industry in the country.
The food processing sector in the country with its vast potential has emerged as one of the major driver of economic growth. It is encouraging to note that while the country's GDP growth rate had increase from 3.5 per cent in 2002-03 to 9 percent in 2006-07, the food processing sector has grown from 7 per cent to 13.1 per cent during the same period. India is a country of over 1.10 billion consumers, there is a large untapped domestic market of 1,000 million consumers.
The UT has already issued requisite directives to all the officers to start preparations for achieving the 'Solar City' target within the stipulated time frame. The administration said people should accept that they are in the middle of climate change and the frequency of natural disasters is increasing at an alarming pace.
In a research note, Standard Chartered Bank said continuing concerns over exportable surpluses should keep rice prices above $20 per quintal for most of the year. Among the concerns are export restrictions that could potentially increase inflationary pressures in importing countries that have few substitutes for rice. When the new crop arrives from Thailand it will exert downward pressure on prices.
While Indian IT majors are still far away from waking up to the looming threat of global warming, Dell is seriously converting to green power. Moreover, several India firms are still to make a serious effort to tackle the e-waste whereas Dell is now powering 100 per cent of its 2.1 million sq ft global headquarters campus, home to more than 10,000 employees, with green power.
Today's smartest investors are asking about India, not China. India has seven times more impact on the US than China! Smart investors know that Indian companies' return on equity is 21 per cent compared with 10 per cent for China.
According to news article posted on the World Gold Council web site, gold nanoparticles ten thousand times smaller than a human hair could be used to break down chemicals in drinking water and reduce pollution. It said the particles, which mix gold and palladium, are the creation of engineer Michael Wong from Rice University in Houston, Texas.
The consumer price index was estimated as being up 3.5 per cent in March from a year ago, the biggest increase in 15 years. On June 6, 2007, the European Central Bank raised its key interest rate from 3.75 pe cent to 4.00 per cent, the highest level in almost four years. In terms of economic freedom, old Europe still lags behind. The Heritage Foundation has the three largest economies, Germany, France, and Italy, ranked 19th, 45th, and 60th respectively in the world.
With Europe focusing still on price stability (i.e. inflation), the weaker economies of Europe are taking the strain as the Euro rises on the currency markets. Stronger nations like Germany are doing well internationally, so they are affected far less by a strong Euro than weaker states such as Spain, Greece and Ireland. This was reflected in the 9 per cent growth in Japanese exports last month, which saw 15 per cent growth in trade with China alone.
The short-term recommendations include improvements to regulatory coordination and oversight that regulators can make quickly. The blueprint recommends creating a new federal commission for mortgage origination to protect consumers better. The report also recommends modernizing the President's Working Group on Financial Markets and clarifying the Federal Reserve's liquidity provisioning.
As per financial astrology, bulls may now show their strength in stock, commodity market. Upward movement is expected to begin with Asian market followed by European and US stock markets. Therefore, investors are advised to invest in A grade stocks: metal, ifrastructure, oil and gas, telecommunications, automobile, FNGC, power. For heavy engineering, apex financial institutions, they should have 30 days' investment view.
Generally, it has been seen that commodity prices are driven higher by surging demand throughout the world. But the irony is that the latest surge comes amid concerns about a weaker global economy. At present, commodities prices are rising because the U.S. interest rates are falling below the rate of inflation.
Monsanto has envisaged the transfer of a gene from a blue flower to the cotton plant to produce blue cotton. Monsanto's current Blue Cotton programme is aimed at the jeans market ($10 bn in the US and 800 mn in the UK) and involves the transfer of a gene from a blue flower to the cotton plant. Coloured cotton is also being produced not only by conventional genetic selection but also by direct DNA engineering. Naturally coloured cotton is a new way to preserve the eco system.
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