Ted,
A sincere thanks for your efforts. They are much appreciated and I will certainly "vote with my remote" and be tuned in for your interview with Bill O'Neill today.
FYI, you might want to ask him his thoughts about the NYMEX recently raising their margin requirements for palladium to 180% of the underlying contract's value.
This looks like nothing more than a way to stabilize short-sellers who are now getting killed in the metals complex...let's put it into a stocks frame...imagine, if you will, that you were short the equities markets, foresaw a coming rise in the markets, and as such, hedged your (short) portfolio with SPX and NDX futures. Lo-and-behold, when the market started going nuts, the futures exchanges boosted the margin requirements on SPX and NDX contracts to 180% of their underlying value, basically declaring a "force majeure," leaving you holding the bag, even though you had made the correct call.
For anyone who wonders if the shorts aren't getting creamed in palladium futures, take a gander at the chart...it makes CSCO look lame:
tfc-charts.w2d.com
From BridgeNews on the Palladium margin reqs -
Many players linked the thin trading volumes to NYMEX's hike of margin requirements this week. The dramatic increases in margins have discouraged market players from trading palladium, they contend. "NYMEX is trying to retire the contract, or only encourage commercial use," contended one frustrated trader. "But even commercials would find it difficult to justify these margins." A NYMEX spokeswoman Tuesday would not offer an explanation as to why margins were changed, which is standard response from the exchange. She said such moves are made "to support the contract and ensure its reliability as a financial tool." |
