Copper prices are considered by many analysts to be a key measure of economic strength. Growing economies require a lot of copper; it is used in construction, electronics, power transmission and many other applications too… Read More
The Bitcoin Effect: Gold Options Look Dirt Cheap
Is gold dead? It sure acts like it. The “barbarous relic,” once counted on as the “hedge of last resort,” has done nothing but move sideways during the first half of 2017, despite the political… Read More
Managed Futures: If Not Now, When?
We write this on Bastille Day, which commemorates the storming and seizing of the infamous French fortress by revolutionaries. They were determined to make the 1 percent pay for the injustices they believed were heaped… Read More
Managed Futures 101 (Part B)
In Part A of our “Managed Futures 101” blog post we tried to shed light on this little-known asset class by comparing it to more well-known investments like mutual funds and ETFs. In Part B… Read More
US Dollar Making New Lows for the Year
Last Friday’s close in the US Dollar Index was the third consecutive weekly close below its 3-year old uptrend line. This puts a continued dollar rally in doubt. What fascinates us most about the chart… Read More
El Niño and Chinese Demand Could Give Coffee a Wake-up Call
The stimulating power of coffee has made it the 2nd most traded commodity on the planet after crude oil. The allure of a tasty pick-me-up is universal. Europe is the biggest consumer, accounting for the… Read More
Sideways Corn Setting Up for Potential “Big Move” This Summer
Spring has barely sprung and March is living up to its reputation by going “out like a lamb” – at least where commodities are concerned. Nearly the entire sector – including grains, precious metals and… Read More
Managed Futures 101 (Part A)
Managed futures are one of the fastest-growing asset classes. Money under management by the Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) who direct the trading for this asset class has increased nearly 60% in the past 7 years…. Read More
Beaten-Down Cocoa Signals Potential Bottom
Who doesn’t like chocolate? While some may not be susceptible to its seductive charms, global demand for chocolate and its raw material, cocoa, has exploded. Western consumers eat 286 chocolate bars per person, per year…. Read More
Short Covering Rally in Cotton is Opportunity to Exit March 75-cent Calls
It’s been a long wait. RMB BMTA Alerts originally suggested buying March 2017 75-cent cotton calls back in July of 2015 as part of a multi-strategy play on the then-developing El Niño. While we didn’t… Read More