October 22, 2008 – 2:30 p.m. Here’s a challenge: grab the data from the downward sliding ag commodity markets and separate out the strands. Try to separate: 1) the traditional harvest slump in crop prices; 2) the influence of other commodities that are seeing demand slump, such as copper; 3) the overflow of “the October […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Another Belgrano?
October 22, 2008: 8:47 a.m. If you think your RRSPs look bad these days, consider the situation of Argentinians. There are growing signs that the government of Argentina, which never seems to get far from financial crisis, is about to default on its international loans. It has announced plans to seize control of private sector […] Read more
Pain in the VIX
A few years ago I did a bit of research for a column looking at the idea of buying far-out-of-the-money options in the hopes of some time, perhaps not for many years, capturing a huge, unexpected rally in something. I thought that most years you’d lose your money, but perhaps once in 10 or 20 […] Read more
No bathroom breaks
Friday, October 17, 1:00 p.m. The markets are so volatile these days that casual traders risk getting killed by huge swings in the markets, and full time professional traders are glued to their seats so they don’t caught out by the next massive move. A broker I was talking to this morning said that there’s […] Read more
Whiplash, decoupling and fundamentals
Friday, October 17, 8:55 a.m.; Anyone watching the ups and downs in the North American stock markets yesterday probably has whiplash today, because it was another day of huge, jerking swings up and down. Americans are probably a little happier today than yesterday, because their markets actually ended up in a big way, but our […] Read more
Another crazy day
Noon – Thursday October 16 It’s another down day for most ag commodities, and another crazy and wild and wobbly day for the stock markets. The Chicago markets are generally down a bit for most crops and livestock, but have also been bouncing around. Canola in Winnipeg has had a nice gain so far today. […] Read more
Stock market curse
Wow. What a difference a couple of hours makes. When I left the office mid-Wednesday morning to drive out to farm country, the ag commodity markets didn’t look good, but they didn’t look terrible either. While I was out driving the gravel roads of rural Manitoba, the stock market crashed again, with its biggest decline […] Read more
Wheat offers glimmer of hope
As the stock market plunged again early Oct. 10, most crop prices followed. Corn and soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade both locked limit-down, meaning trading was stopped and prices were not allowed to go any lower. But wheat, while tumbling, did not go limit-down. That could be a big deal, said Chicago-based […] Read more
Credit crunch steers clear of mainstream crops
Some international prairie pulse deals are being broken because of a double whammy of plunging prices and collapsing credit. Sellers of other grains and oilseeds are watching to see if the credit crisis spreads to them. Special crops industry analyst Brian Clancey said he has spoken to brokers who are seeing sales fall apart. One […] Read more
Market adviser upbeat on canola
A huge canola crop and collapsing markets for commodities and stocks are driving many to throw in the towel on hopes for better canola prices. But one brave farm marketing adviser is getting bullish again, and has begun moving back into canola. “Canola has been trashed enough,” said Errol Anderson of Pro Market Communications. “The […] Read more
