A hands-on guide to navigating the new fuel markets Fuel Hedging and Risk Management: Strategies for Airlines, Shippers and Other Consumers provides a clear and practical understanding of commodity price dynamics, key fuel hedging techniques, and risk management strategies for the corporate fuel consumer. It covers the commodity markets and derivative instruments in a manner accessible to corporate treasurers, financial officers, risk managers, commodity traders, structurers, as well as quantitative professionals dealing in the energy markets. The book includes a wide variety of key topics related to commodities and derivatives markets, financial risk analysis of commodity consumers, hedge program design and implementation, vanilla derivatives and exotic hedging products. The book is unique in providing intuitive guidance on understanding the dynamics of forward curves and volatility term structure for commodities, fuel derivatives valuation and counterparty risk concepts such as CVA, DVA and FVA. Fully up-to-date and relevant, this book includes comprehensive case studies that illustrate the hedging process from conception to execution and monitoring of hedges in diverse situations. This practical guide will help the reader: * Gain expert insight into all aspects of fuel hedging, price and volatility drivers and dynamics. * Develop a framework for financial risk analysis and hedge programs. * Navigate volatile energy markets by employing effective risk management techniques. * Manage unwanted risks associated with commodity derivatives by understanding liquidity and credit risk calculations, exposure optimization techniques, credit charges such as CVA, DVA, FVA, etc. Praise for Fuel Hedging and Risk Management "Risk Management is an art, not a science, but it certainly helps to know a lot of science. In this book, the authors provide an excellent overview of both qualitative and quantitative aspects of risk management and how to design and implement effective win-win fuel oil hedging strategies that will achieve the desired objectives under normal and extreme market conditions. In addition to discussing key foundational issues, the book also discusses a framework to understand and manage hugely important second-order effects, such as credit risk or margin calls or asset-liability mismatches, which have the potential to turn a good idea into a bad outcome. A must read for anyone in the finance department of a corporate, trade house, or financial firm involved in fuel oil hedging." Diego Parrilla, Former Global Head of Commodity Solutions and Head of Commodities, Bank of America "This book provides highly useful insights into hedging and risk management methodologies, as well as theory, for the users of energy products. Dafir provides intuition stemming from not just top-tier commodity structuring expertise, but also broader insight from his earlier experience as a credit derivatives and exotics trader." Mitch Matharu, former Head of Structuring, Merrill Lynch "An Absolute Must Read. From the fundamentals of oil markets to the key points in negotiating a credit agreement and minimizing hedging costs, passing by the subtleties of implied volatility surface construction and its implications in derivatives pricing, this book offers you the indispensable practitioner's toolbox, useful whether you are a novice or a seasoned fuel trader." Frederic Cogny, Global Head of Commodities Structured Products Trading, Standard Chartered Bank "In this book, Dafir blends his deep knowledge of the commodity markets and the vagaries of the financial market with his incredible mathematical ability to explore fuel hedging in a manner accessible to Fuel Procurement Departments, CFOs and board members." Mark Long, Former Head and Managing Director of Merrill Lynch Commodities Asia "...This book is a hands-on guide for anyone interested in "Fuel Hedging and Risk Management", including lawyers involved in the execution of commodities hedging transactions and related ISDA and CSA negotiations." Justin Boyd, Former Head of Financial Markets Legal, Standard Chartered Bank

From the award-winning author of "Diamond" A blazing exploration of the human love affair with gold that "combines the engaging style of a travel narrative with sharp-eyed journalistic expose" ("Publishers Weekly," starred review).
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the price of gold skyrocketed--in three years more than doubling from $800 an ounce to $1900. This massive spike drove an unprecedented global gold-mining and exploration boom, much bigger than the gold rush of the 1800s. In "Gold," acclaimed author Matthew Hart takes you on an unforgettable journey around the world and through history to tell the extraordinary story of how gold became the world's most precious commodity.
Beginning with a page-turning report from the crime-ridden inferno of the world's deepest mine, Hart traveled around the world to the sites of the hottest action in gold today, from the biggest new mine in China, to the highly secretive London gold exchange, and the lair of the world's most powerful gold trader in Geneva, Switzerland. He profiles the leaders of the gold market today, the nature of the current boom, and the likely prospects for the future. From the earliest civilizations, when gold was an icon of sacred and kingly power, Hart tracks its evolution, through conquest, murder, and international mayhem, into the speculative casino-chip that the metal has become. He ends by telling the story of the massive flows of gold that have occurred in the wake of the financial crisis and what the world's leading experts are saying about the profound changes underway in the gold market and the prospects for the future.
"Compelling, stylish, and impressively researched" ("The Boston Globe"), "Gold" is a wonderful historical odyssey with important implications for today's global economy.

This book offers practical knowledge, analysis, trading techniques and methodologies required for the management of key international commodities. The author explores each aspect of commodity trading in detail and helps the reader to implement effective techniques to build a strong portfolio. Early chapters set the current scene of commodity trading markets before going on to discuss the fundamental instruments and tools used in navigating commodity markets. The author provides detailed, empirical case studies of traded natural resources in order to explicate the financial instruments that enable professionals both to invest and to trade them successfully. Later chapters investigate the psychology and behavioural influences behind optimal market trading, in which the author encourages the reader to understand and combat the obstacles that prevent them from reaching their full trading potential.

Commodity Option Pricing: A Practitioner s Guide covers commodity option pricing for quantitative analysts, traders or structurers in banks, hedge funds and commodity trading companies. Based on the author s industry experience with commodity derivatives, this book provides a thorough and mathematical introduction to the various market conventions and models used in commodity option pricing. It introduces the various derivative products typically traded for commodities and describes how these models can be calibrated and used for pricing and risk management. The book has been developed with input from traders and examples using real world data, together with relevant up to date academic research. The book includes practical descriptions of market conventions and quote codes used in commodity markets alongside typical products seen in broker quotes and used in calibration. Also discussed are commodity models and their mathematical derivation and volatility surface modelling for traded commodity derivatives. Gold, silver and other precious metals are addressed, including gold forward and gold lease rates, as well as copper, aluminium and other base metals, crude oil and natural gas, refined energy and electricity. There are also sections on the products encountered in commodities such as crack spread and spark spread options and alternative commodities such as carbon emissions, weather derivatives, bandwidth and telecommunications trading, plastics and freight. Commodity Option Pricing is ideal for anyone working in commodities or aiming to make the transition into the area, as well as academics needing to familiarize themselves with the industry conventions of the commodity markets.

Step-by-step guidelines for making commodities a valuable component in any portfolio

As stock market investing becomes increasingly hard to squeeze profits from, savvy investors are finding commodities to be the perfect vehicle for maintaining portfolio performance. Commodities for Every Portfolio shows commodities newcomers how to ease into this straightforward market, which strategies are best (and which to steer clear of ) and much, much more. Investors and traders get easy-to-follow techniques, strategies, and methods, with individual chapters showing how to invest in commodities through stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and futures. High-performing companies and index-based funds are listed by name, with specific information on how and why they succeed; hard-to-find informational resources are also provided.

Praise for "Commodity Fundamentals"

"Commodity Fundamentals is THE book for investors looking to enter the commodity markets. This informative guide is a welcome addition on the subject and is a must-read for commodity investors."
--Jim Atkinson, President, Guinness Atkinson Funds

"Ronald Spurga's Commodity Fundamentals is an illuminating and very useful guide for the subject. A welcome addition to any business library."
--Robert F. Himmelberg, PhD, Dean, Fordham's Graduate School of Business Administration

"A straightforward introduction crafted for the individual on the mechanics of commodity trading. The author efficiently negotiates the often confusing yet very topical commodity trading world for the individual."
--Terence A. Mullervy, Finance Director, Glencore UK Ltd.

"Commodity Fundamentals" provides you with the in-depth insights needed to make commodities trading a profitable, integral component of your overall trading activities. Written by Ronald Spurga, a Vice President of ABN AMRO Bank and longtime veteran of the investment banking wars, this straightforward guide arms you with the information you need to succeed in the highly profitable commodity marketplace--whether you are a trading veteran, a relative newcomer, or anywhere in between.

The United States holds strategic stockpiles of nearly 100 industrial minerals, metals, and other commodities. These stockpiles have influenced the world commodity markets in many ways. This work brings together in one place, documentary and statistical evidence about the size and nature of the U.S. strategic stockpiles, and the ways in which this influence has been evidenced, in markets for the important industrial metals.

The landscape of commodity markets has drastically changed in recent years. Once a market of refineries and mines, it has become the market of investment funds and commodity trading advisors. Given this transformation, are commodity investments still as beneficial as 20 or 30 years ago? This book is an attempt to answer these questions.

A sensational and compelling insider's view that lifts the lid on the fast-paced and dazzling world of derivatives, now in a smaller, paperback format.

Traders Guns and Money is a wickedly comic expose of the culture, games and pure deceptions played out every day in trading rooms around the world. And played out with other people's money.

This sensational insider's view of the business of trading and marketing derivatives, explains the frighteningly central role that derivatives and financial products played in the global financial crisis.

This worldwide bestseller reveals the truth about derivatives: those financial tools memorably described by Warren Buffett as 'financial weapons of mass destruction'. Traders, Guns and Money will introduce you to the players and the practices and reveals how the real money is made and lost.

Commodity markets are integral to the global economy. Understanding what drives developments of these markets is critical to the design of policy frameworks that facilitate the economic objectives of sustainable growth, inflation stability, poverty reduction, food security, and the mitigation of climate change. This study is the first comprehensive analysis examining market and policy developments for all commodity groups, including energy, metals, and agriculture, over the past century. It finds that, while the quantity of commodities consumed has risen enormously, driven by population and income growth, the relative importance of commodities has shifted over time, as technological innovation created new uses for some materials and facilitated substitution among commodities. The study also shows that commodity markets are heterogeneous in terms of their drivers, price behavior, and macroeconomic impact on emerging markets and developing economies, and that the relationship between economic growth and commodity demand varies widely across countries, depending on their stage of economic development. Policy frameworks that enable countercyclical macroeconomic responses have become increasingly common-and beneficial. Other policy tools have had mixed outcomes.

Volatility in Korean Capital Markets summarizes the Korean experience of volatile capital flows, analyzes the economic consequences, evaluates the policy measures adopted, and suggests new measures for the future.

Commodities represent today the fastest growing markets worldwide. Historically misunderstood, generally under- studied and under- valued, certainly under- represented in the literature, commodities are suddenly receiving the attention they deserve.

Bringing together some of the best authors in the field, this book focuses on the risk management issues associated with both soft and hard commodities: energy, weather, agriculturals, metals and shipping. Taking the reader through every part of the commodities markets, the authors discuss the intricacies of modelling spot and forward prices, as well as the design of new Futures markets. The book also looks at the use of options and other derivative contract forms for hedging purposes, as well as supply management in commodity markets. It looks at the implications for climate policy and climate research and analyzes the various freight derivatives markets and products used to manage shipping and freight risk in a global commodity world.

It is required reading for energy and mining companies, utilities' practitioners, commodity and cash derivatives traders in investment banks, CTA's and hedge funds

Deterrence of market manipulation is central to the entire regulatory and legal framework governing the operation of American commodity futures markets. However, despite all of the regulatory, scholarly, and legal scrutiny of market manipulation, the subject is widely misunderstood. Federal commodity and securities laws prohibit manipulation, but do not define it. Scholarly research has failed to analyze adequately the causes or effects of manipulation, and the relevant judicial decisions are confused, confusing, and contradictory. The aim of this book is to illuminate the process of market manipulation by presenting a rigorous economic analysis of this phenomenon, including the conditions that facilitate it and its effects on market users and others. The conclusions of this analysis are used to examine critically some legal and regulatory anti-manipulation policies. The Economics, Law and Public Policy of Market Power Manipulation concludes with a set of robust and realistic tests that regulators and jurists can apply to detect and deter manipulation.

""Commodities Rising," part memoir and part investment guide, provides a unique and practical perspective that is based on a rare combination of professional experiences."

-Donald F. Larson, Senior Economist, World Bank

"Jeffrey Christian brings twenty-five years of commodity market experience to his thoughtful and insightful new book. A keen analyst, Christian debunks many commodity market myths. There has been a substantial underinvestment in commodity research of late. His book is a 'must-read' for any investor wishing to avoid the pitfalls present in physical commodity investments."

-Terrence F. Martell, PhD, Saxe Distinguished Professor of Finance, Director, Weissman Center for International Business, Baruch College, CUNY;Public Governor, New York Board of Trade

"If you've read one of the recent 'commodity craze' books, you'll appreciate the more careful, thorough account Christian provides here. His anecdotes and analysis will convince you that this is truly an insider's assessment."

-Peter A. Biebel, Vice President, Director of Futures Research, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.

"In addition to its depth, Christian's book is extremely reader-friendly, presenting commodity issues from various angles. I strongly recommend to anyone interested in commodities that they read this book; and to those still unfamiliar with the subject, I recommend that they take a look. The rewards will be significant, intellectually and possibly financially."

-Takamasa Akiyama, Professor of Development Economics, Nihon University, Mishima, Japan, and Senior Advisor, Foundation for Advanced Studies onInternational Development (FASID), Tokyo, JapanAnalyze the current commodity environment and look out over the next few years to identify potential profit situations in Commodities Rising. You'll learn how commodities can be used to reduce risk and increase returns in a balanced investment portfolio. Author and commodities expert Jeffrey Christian debunks much of the misinformation currently circulating about commodities and provides a reasoned reality-check you can use to evaluate the claims and promises of various publications and brokerages in the commodity field. Specific issues addressed throughout this book include: the variety of commodity investments?exchange traded funds, stocks, futures, and options;commodities in the global economy;commodity trading/investing strategies.Filled with in-depth insights and engaging anecdotes gleaned from the author's 30 years in the commodity markets, this is an invaluable resource for the serious investor or trader.

Written for the general reader who has little financial background, this book analyzes the extended bull market of the 1980s and the subsequent stock market crash on October 19, 1987. To tell their story, the authors use a sample portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, savings, and warrants, tracing actual investments bought and sold from the early 1980s through the October 1987 crash. By following their hypothetical portfolio through the ups and downs of the 1980s market, the reader gains a practical understanding of the workings of the stock market and the pressures that led to its calamitous plunge in October 1987. Anyone seeking a practical and nontechnical yet thorough explanation of the events of October 19th will find "The Crash Put Simply" fascinating reading.

As their story unfolds, the authors explain each type of investment in detail, paying special attention to their advantages and risks. They trace the impact of specific events on the market, using the sample portfolio to illustrate typical investor expectations and reactions during the long bull market. This unique approach enables the reader to understand how events moved the market and how, in the week prior to October 19th, a panic of action and reaction finally brought the market crashing down.