Spring 2016 Archives

August 28, 2020 by

Interview with Professor Colin A. Carter, Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis; and Chair, J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities’ Research Council

Interview by Hilary Till, Contributing Editor, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

In the inaugural issue of the GCARD, the Contributing Editor interviews Dr. Colin A. Carter, who became the Chair of the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities’ Research Council in the Fall of 2015. Dr. Carter is also a Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis where he has been a researcher and educator for over 30 years. Professor Carter’s research covers the grain and livestock sectors in China as well as the economics of biotechnology, global agricultural commodity markets, and biofuels policy in the United States.

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August 28, 2020 by

MF Global Five Years On

By Richard Heckinger, Editorial Advisory Board member, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

The liquidation and settlement of claims stemming from the collapse in October 2011 of the futures commission merchant and broker–dealer entities of MF Global (MFG) Group took nearly four years to settle. Various investigative initiatives have revealed evidence that customer monies were probably used at times to fund the proprietary trading of the firm in violation of law and regulation in certain jurisdictions and contrary to international principles. This paper examines the conflicting business objectives of MFG overall, its proprietary trading strategies and its eventual collapse, with some lessons learned.

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August 28, 2020 by

Evolving Benchmarks in the New Oil Order

By Jan-Hein Jesse, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

This article describes the incumbent and new-entrant crude oil benchmarks at a time the oil markets are going through a period of great turbulence. The article starts with an introduction about the current state of the industry and market, including a description of benchmarks and the price discovery process in general. The next sections describe each benchmark – WTI, Brent, and Dubai in more detail. The article ends with the pending introduction of Shanghai crude oil futures contracts, which may create a new benchmark for Asian markets.

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August 28, 2020 by

Introduction

This issue’s “Editorial Advisory Board Commentaries” section of the GCARD includes articles from two accomplished members of the board. This issue’s authors are (1) Jan-Hein Jesse, Founder, JOSCO Energy Finance and Strategy Consultancy, Amsterdam, and an international expert for the International Energy Agency, Paris; and (2) Richard Heckinger, Associate Editor, Journal of Financial Market Infrastructures, and a member of the Working Group on Financial Markets for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

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August 28, 2020 by

Portfolio Rebalancing and Commodities: The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

By Robert Greer, Scholar in Residence, J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities, University of Colorado Denver Business School

This article advocates that investors take a practical and informed approach to understanding the rebalancing aspect of commodities allocations so as to be better positioned to harness the real returns of this critical (but sometimes difficult to evaluate) asset class.

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August 28, 2020 by

An In-Depth Exploration of the Commodity Markets is Essential for a Well-Rounded Business Education

By Andy Hecht, Chief Market Strategist, Carden Capital and Carden Futures; and Subject Matter Expert, “Foundations of Commodities” Professional Education Program, J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities, University of Colorado Denver Business School

Undergraduate and graduate degrees in business rarely offer an in-depth exploration of commodity markets. This article argues that a supplemental professional education in the commodity markets is not only needed, but is also imperative for a well-rounded business education.

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August 28, 2020 by

The Puzzle of Recent Grain Price Behavior

Summarized by Hilary Till, Contributing Editor, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

At the April 2015 J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities’ (JPMCC’s) Research Council meeting, Professor Brian Wright, University of California, Berkeley, discussed the puzzling behavior of grain prices during the last 10 years. Mr. Peter McCallum, Bunge Limited, moderated the session while Professor Colin Carter, University of California, Davis, and Ms. Nancy DeVore, DHF Team, LLC, discussed Wright’s research from both academic and practitioner perspectives, respectively.

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August 28, 2020 by

Inaugural Research Council Meetings of 2015

By Hilary Till, Contributing Editor, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

In early 2015, the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities (JPMCC) at the University of Colorado Denver Business School established a prestigious Research Council, which, in turn, consists of distinguished academics and accomplished practitioners across commodity segments. The JPMCC’s Research Council has thus far met in April and December 2015, and is chaired by Professor Colin Carter, University of California, Davis and co-chaired by Dr. Margaret Slade, Professor Emeritus, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia. In this issue of the GCARD, we cover the agricultural panel’s presentations from April 2015, which were delivered by distinguished academic and practitioner members of the Research Council. Future issues of the GCARD will cover academic panels on energy, metals-and-mining, and on renewable energy.

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August 28, 2020 by

Development of Commodity Exchange Markets as an Avenue to Foster Economic Development in Africa

By Sostine Ngabirano, Lecturer of Law, Uganda Christian University

As summarized by Hilary Till, Contributing Editor, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

In this article, the author questions to what extent a government should be “hands off” in the development of commodity exchanges. Given the scale of institutional development required for the establishment of a commodity exchange, the author is skeptical about limiting the government’s role. In the Chicago model, the government’s role is limited to providing the relevant legal framework and oversight functions. Instead, the author advocates an approach in which commodity exchanges are government-run. In making his case, the author compares the experience of two African countries.

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August 28, 2020 by

The Determinants of Convenience Yields

By Marcel Prokopczuk, Leibniz Universität Hannover (Germany) and ICMA Centre, University of Reading (UK), and Yingying Wu, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University (China)

As summarized by Hilary Till, Contributing Editor, Global Commodities Applied Research Digest

In this study, the authors examine what potentially drives convenience yields. Typically, convenience yields are regarded as the benefit that a holder of commodity inventories receives for being able to avoid the cost of potential stock-outs. The authors examine to what extent commodity-specific and broad macroeconomic variables can explain the variability of convenience yields for a set of commodities. Amongst the authors’ results are that convenience yields (in all cases but one commodity) “exhibit statistically significant positive relationships with” expected inflation and expected industrial production in the US. This is a helpful result for investors whom are interested in choosing futures strategies that provide exposure to key macroeconomic variables.

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