Commodities have become an important component of many investors' portfolios and the focus of much political controversy over the past decade. This book utilizes structural models to provide a better understanding of how commodities' prices behave and what drives them. It exploits differences across commodities and examines a variety of predictions of the models to identify where they work and where they fail. The findings of the analysis are useful to scholars, traders and policy makers who want to better understand often puzzling - and extreme - movements in the prices of commodities from aluminium to oil to soybeans to zinc.

A rigorous but practical introduction to the economic, financial, and political principles underlying commodity markets. Commodities have become one of the fastest growing asset classes of the last decade and the object of increasing attention from investors, scholars, and policy makers. Yet existing treatments of the topic are either too theoretical, ignoring practical realities, or largely narrative and nonrigorous. This book bridges the gap, striking a balance between theory and practice. It offers a solid foundation in the economic, financial, and political principles underlying commodities markets. The book, which grows out of courses taught by the author at Columbia and Johns Hopkins, can be used by graduate students in economics, finance, and public policy, or as a conceptual reference for practitioners. After an introduction to basic concepts and a review of the various types of commodities-energy, metals, agricultural products-the book delves into the economic and financial dynamics of commodity markets, with a particular focus on energy. The text covers fundamental demand and supply for resources, the mechanics behind commodity financial markets, and how they motivate investment decisions around both physical and financial portfolio exposure to commodities, and the evolving political and regulatory landscape for commodity markets. Additional special topics include geopolitics, financial regulation, and electricity markets. The book is divided into thematic modules that progress in complexity. Text boxes offer additional, related material, and numerous charts and graphs provide further insight into important concepts.

Commodities have become an important component of many investors' portfolios and the focus of much political controversy over the past decade. This book utilizes structural models to provide a better understanding of how commodities' prices behave and what drives them. It exploits differences across commodities and examines a variety of predictions of the models to identify where they work and where they fail. The findings of the analysis are useful to scholars, traders and policy makers who want to better understand often puzzling - and extreme - movements in the prices of commodities from aluminium to oil to soybeans to zinc.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. Now in its 18th edition, Baldrige Award Winning Quality is still the most widely used and recognized book on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It provides readers with a simple, yet comprehensive resource, for understanding the most current criteria for this prestigious business performance award. The definitive resource for helping companies achieve world-class results, Baldrige Award Winning Quality - 18th Edition: How to Interpret the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence is the only book on the Baldrige criteria to detail, in simple and straightforward language, every category, examination item, and area to address. From understanding the scoring system to preparing for a site visit, it guides you through all stages in the process. Reflecting the new criteria (2013-2014) that address education and healthcare, this edition outlines a comprehensive plan that is suitable for any company in any industry. Offering detailed explanations of each of the 17 "Examination Items" and the 36 "Areas to Address" that compose the seven major categories, the book reveals exactly what examiners look for in each area and suggests what you need to include. It also discusses: Criteria of leadership and the role of senior management in the award process Importance of a long- and short-term strategic plan Where and how to satisfy the requirements for demonstrating effective "process" and "results" Lists of state award programs based on the Baldrige criteria Core values and themes that underlie the award How to weigh the importance of the 36 "Areas to Address" The significance of the Baldrige scoring scale, and its role in achieving performance excellence The book devotes a chapter to supplying a clear and concise explanation on how to prepare for a site visit from the board of examiners. It details each facet of the site visit, including its purpose, what a Baldrige examiner looks for, and the questions typically asked during the visit. Complete with rules for preparing graphics and charts, the book includes helpful tips to help you avoid common mistakes when completing the application.

Beginning 30 years ago American citizens were allowed to own and exchange gold in any form, something they had not been able to do for the previous 40 years. Restrictions on gold began with a series of actions intended to buttress the collapsing economy of the 1930s, including executive and legislative action forbidding the private ownership of and trading in gold and abrogating "gold clauses" in contracts--obligations payable in gold or in dollars measured by gold. All of these actions were subsequently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. They have profound implications for us today.

This book provides a full and thoughtful consideration of all these issues, including the economic and legal history of the events of the 1930s, the effects of those events on government and private practices since that time, the economics of gold clauses and other indexing devices, and the anticipated impact of the legalization of gold ownership. It includes chapters by James M. Buchanan and T. Nicolaus Tideman, Milton Friedman, Harry G. Johnson, Ralph K. Winter, and Gerald T. Dunne, as well as discussions by Allan Meltzer, Karl Brunner, Armen Alchian, Lester Chandler, and David Meiselman among others.

The diverse points of view represented make this book valuable to a broad spectrum of people concerned with the relationship between legal and economic policy; with the role of money in times of depression or inflation; and with the importance of gold itself in international and domestic economic systems. It will be important to economists concerned with international trade, macroeconomics, monetary economics; legal scholars concerned with problems of constitutional law, international trade, and the theory of contracts; and to that large group of people who are interested in precious metal that has long been central to human affairs.

"Henry G. Manne" is dean and university professor emeritus at George Mason University. He has published many books and articles and is an Honorary Life Member of the American Law and Economics Association. He is considered an expert in insider trading, legal education, law and economics.

"Roger LeRoy Miller" is associated with the Institute for University Studies in Arlington, Texas. Some of his most recent books include "Money, Banking and Financial Markets" (with David D. VanHoose), "Business Law Today: The Essentials" (with Gaylord A. Jentz) and "Economics Today."

The classic book that introduced the investment industry to the concept of trading psychology. With rare insight based on his firsthand commodity trading experience, author Mark Douglas demonstrates how the mental matters that allow us function effectively in society are often psychological barriers in trading. After examining how we develop losing attitudes, this book prepares you for a thorough "mental housecleaning" of deeply rooted thought processes. And then it shows the reader how to develop and apply attitudes and behaviors that transcend psychological obstacles and lead to success. The Disciplined Trader helps you join the elite few who have learned how to control their trading behavior (the few traders who consistently take the greatest percentage of profits out of the market) by developing a systematic, step-by-step approach to winning week after week, month after month. The book is divided into three parts: * An overview of the psychological requirements of the trading environment * A definition of the problems and challenges of becoming a successful trader * Basic insights into what behavior may need to be changed, and how to build a framework for accomplishing this goal * How to develop specific trading skills based on a clear, objective perspective on market action "A groundbreaking work published in 1990 examining as to why most traders cannot raise their equity on a consistent basis, bringing the reader to practical conclusions to go about changing any limiting mindset."-Larry Pesavento, TradingTutor.com

They say John Maynard Keynes called gold a "barbarous relic."
They say there isn’t enough gold to support finance and commerce.
They say the gold supply can’t increase fast enough to support world growth.

They’re wrong!

In this bold manifesto, bestselling author and eco­nomic commentator James Rickards steps forward to defend gold—as both an irreplaceable store of wealth and a standard for currency.

Global political instability and market volatility are on the rise. Gold, always a prudent asset to own, has become the single most important wealth preserva­tion tool for banks and individuals alike. Rickards draws on historical case studies, monetary theory, and personal experience as an investor to argue that:

• The next financial collapse will be exponentially bigger than the panic of 2008.
• The time will come, sooner rather than later, when there will be panic buying and only central banks, hedge funds, and other big players will be able to buy any gold at all.
• It’s not too late to prepare ourselves as a nation: there’s always enough gold for a gold standard if we specify a stable, nondeflationary price.

Providing clear instructions on how much gold to buy and where to store it, the short, provocative argu­ment in this book will change the way you look at this “barbarous relic”

Discover the best ways to build, protect, and sustain family and business wealth across generations! Wealth is the world's most valuable guide to wealth management for individuals, families, business owners, and the "upwardly affluent." In the six years since Stuart Lucas first wrote this book, however, the financial world has changed dramatically. Throughout the financial crisis and beyond, Lucas has led the University of Chicago's Private Wealth Management program, teaching more than 500 members of the world's wealthiest families. Now, he brings together extraordinary insights and constructs informed by this experience. Wealth, Updated and Revised Edition retains its core advice, which has been tested and proven by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. However, Lucas has updated his exclusive Strategic Wealth Management Framework to help even more individuals, families, and entrepreneurs aspiring to wealth or seeking to protect it. Lucas highlights key value drivers - family purpose, the economic engine, and leakage management - that mark the difference between family enterprises that succeed for generations and those that fail. He offers updated, sage advice on making financial decisions, evaluating "expert" advice, running a family business office, tax/estate planning, philanthropy, wealth preservation, and more. Since developing a family's human capital is the best antidote to Wall Street excess, this edition adds even more robust and actionable guidance for building a culture of Entrepreneurial Stewardship: one that enables and encourages all family members to flourish, and improves the odds that families can sustain wealth. This book is for all successful business owners and anyone who possesses (or aspires to own) substantial financial assets, whether earned or inherited. It will also be of keen interest to investment advisors, business consultants, business brokers, wealth industry practitioners, lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, and others who counsel the wealthy (and upwardly affluent) about wealth management.

"This is the book on porcelain we have been waiting for. . . . A remarkable achievement."-Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with Amber Eyes A sweeping cultural and economic history of porcelain, from the eighteenth century to the present Porcelain was invented in medieval China-but its secret recipe was first reproduced in Europe by an alchemist in the employ of the Saxon king Augustus the Strong. Saxony's revered Meissen factory could not keep porcelain's ingredients secret for long, however, and scores of Holy Roman princes quickly founded their own mercantile manufactories, soon to be rivaled by private entrepreneurs, eager to make not art but profits. As porcelain's uses multiplied and its price plummeted, it lost much of its identity as aristocratic ornament, instead taking on a vast number of banal, yet even more culturally significant, roles. By the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it became essential to bourgeois dining, and also acquired new functions in insulator tubes, shell casings, and teeth. Weaving together the experiences of entrepreneurs and artisans, state bureaucrats and female consumers, chemists and peddlers, Porcelain traces the remarkable story of "white gold" from its origins as a princely luxury item to its fate in Germany's cataclysmic twentieth century. For three hundred years, porcelain firms have come and gone, but the industry itself, at least until very recently, has endured. After Augustus, porcelain became a quintessentially German commodity, integral to provincial pride, artisanal industrial production, and a familial sense of home. Telling the story of porcelain's transformation from coveted luxury to household necessity and flea market staple, Porcelain offers a fascinating alternative history of art, business, taste, and consumption in Central Europe.

The development and extent of future trading and a detailed description of the organization, facilities, and methods of operation of future markets, particularly practices of the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Cotton Exchange.

This is the new edition of the leading work on the law and practice of auctions. The book looks at every aspect of auction practice from the economics of auction sales and restrictions on trading to criminal and other liabilities of the auctioneer. There is also a chapter on VAT. There have been important recent developments in the field of consumer protection and the book has been substantially revised to reflect these. In addition to general updating the new edition considers the practice of online auctions for the first time. There is also a section on looted art . The book continues to draw on case law from other common law jurisdictions.

W.D. Gann is considered to be the greatest trader of all time. This book reveals how to make profits on the commodities exchanges. It combines theory and practice, and through its straightforward, logical approach, Gann presents an excellent case for making money in commodities.

The book to which Mr. Gann claimed he gave the best years of his experience, How to Make Profits In Commodities is the favorite of among Gann-fan commodity traders and stock traders worldwide

The early 21st century has seen a prolonged price boom in non-fuel commodities, coupled with a volatile performance in fuel prices. This new collection presents the latest research on commodity prices and economic development in the context of this changing globalized economy. Global Commodity Markets and Development Economics brings together analyses from a number of perspectives in order to explore commodity price developments. Chapters explore long term commodity trends, the evolution of relative price developments, the relationship of the domestic commodity sector with global supply chains, agri-food prices, and the role of oil markets in the global economy. Through considering a diverse range of countries including China, Russia and the United States, the authors examine key fuel and non-fuel commodity markets and offer a window into important trends and developments. This book will be relevant to those with an interest in development economics, international economics and energy markets.

Commodity Derivatives In the newly revised Second Edition of Commodity Derivatives: Markets and Applications, expert trading educator and author Neil Schofield delivers a comprehensive overview of a wide variety of commodities and derivatives. Beginning with discussions of commodity markets generally before moving on to derivative valuation and risk management, the author then dives into individual commodity markets, like gold, base metals, crude oil, natural gas, electricity, and more. Schofield relies on his extensive experience at Barclays Investment Bank to offer readers detailed examinations of commodity finance and the use of commodities within a wider investment portfolio. The second edition includes discussions of critical new topics like dual curve swap valuation, option valuation within a negative price environment using the Bachelier model, volatility skews, smiles, smirks, term structures for major commodities, and more. You'll find case studies on corporate failures linked to improper commodity risk management, as well as explorations of issues like the impact of growing interest in electric vehicles on commodity markets. The text of the original edition has been updated and expanded and new example transactions are included to help the reader understand the concepts discussed within. Each chapter follows a uniform structure, with typical demand and supply patterns following a non--technical description of the commodity at issue. Discussions of the physical markets in each commodity and the main exchange-traded and over-the-counter products conclude each chapter. Perfect for commodity and derivatives traders, analysts, and risk managers, the Second Edition of Commodity Derivatives: Markets and Applications will also earn a place in the libraries of students and academics studying finance and the graduate intake in financial institutions. A one-stop resource for the main commodity markets and their associated derivatives Finance professionals seeking a single volume that fully describes the major commodity markets and their derivatives will find everything they need in the latest edition of Commodity Derivatives: Markets and Applications. Former Global Head of Financial Markets Training at Barclays Investment Bank Neil Schofield delivers a rigorous and authoritative reference on a crucial, but often overlooked, subject. Completely revised and greatly expanded, the Second Edition of this essential text offers finance professionals and students coverage on every major class of commodities, including gold, steel, ethanol, crude oil, and more. You'll also find discussions of derivative valuation, risk management, commodity finance, and the use of commodities within an investment portfolio. Non-technical descriptions of major commodity classes ensure the material is accessible to everyone while still in-depth and rigorous enough to deliver key information on an area central to global finance. Ideal for students and academics in finance, Commodity Derivatives is an indispensable guide for commodity and derivatives traders, analysts, and risk managers who seek a one-volume resource on foundational and advanced topics in commodity markets and their associated derivatives.

This book describes the history of gold as a financial instrument and discusses gold exchanges in the major markets. It also describes the history of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society (CGSE), its current organizational structure and membership registration system. The book also includes the development and growth of the gold market in Hong Kong and the role played by CGSE in the growth of the Chinese gold market. It includes a brief description of the CGSE in the twenty-first century - its current role and what it may play in the future. The book explains factors that influence gold price and the mechanism of price formulation. It also describes the historic trends in the demand and supply of gold and the global inventory of gold, trends of the demand for investment holdings, jewelry manufacturing and industrial usage. The book also compares the movements in gold price with inflation and analyzes the data on how gold provides a hedge against inflation. It also examines and explains the relationship between gold and the US dollar (USD) and the correlation between dollar index (value of dollar against 16 major currencies) and gold price. It explores in depth on the relationship between gold price, output and inventories and major economic indices. This is a good reference for those interested in the comprehensive view of gold and its importance in the world economies.

First published in 1972, this book provides an important critical review on the theory of futures trading. B. A. Goss looks at the work and ideas of Keynes and Hicks on futures, and considers how these have also been developed by Kaldor. He discusses the evolution of the concept of hedging in the context of buying forward into the markets, and considers theories of market and individual equilibrium. Goss draws on the work of other economists in this field, including Stein, Telser, Peston and L. L. Johnson, in order to illustrate the development of theory in futures trading. The book includes fifteen figures that illustrate diagrammatically the concepts involved, and the concluding section contains a series of problems for examination by the student.

The last few years have been a watershed for the commodities, cash and derivatives industry. New regulations and products have led to an explosion in the commodities markets, creating a new asset for investors that includes hedge funds as well as University endowments, and has resulted in a spectacular growth in spot and derivative trading.

This book covers hard and soft commodities (energy, agriculture and metals) and analyses: Economic and geopolitical issues in commodities marketsCommodity price and volume riskStochastic modelling of commodity spot prices and forward curvesReal options valuation and hedging of physical assets in the energy industry

It is required reading for energy companies and utilities practitioners, commodity cash and derivatives traders in investment banks, the Agrifood business, Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) and Hedge Funds.

In "Commodities and Commodity Derivatives," Helyette Geman shows her powerful command of the subject by combining a rigorous development of its mathematical modelling with a compact institutional presentation of the arcane characteristics of commodities that makes the complex analysis of commodities derivative securities accessible to both the academic and practitioner who wants a deep foundation and a breadth of different market applications. It is destined to be a "must have" on the subject."
--Robert Merton, Professor, Harvard Business School

"A marvelously comprehensive book of interest to academics and practitioners alike, by one of the world's foremost experts in the field."
--Oldrich Vasicek, founder, KMV

Oil price volatility has been highly criticized on many fronts, from the top-level official to the average consumer. Authorities for both producing and consuming nations have called for mechanisms to restore order to a chaotic market.The author traces the development of petroleum commodity markets, then examines the quest by producers and consumers for stability in world oil markets. He finds that modest producer and consumer gains can be realized through negotiations that achieve removal of barriers to trade, elimination of hurdles to foreign investment, and strengthening of financial institutions.Verleger reviews previous attempts to stabilize price fluctuations of other commodities and finds that these efforts have invariably failed. He argues that the very size of the oil market makes it unlikely that an effort to stabilize oil prices would succeed. Moreover, he shows that an oil price stabilization agreement would impose large costs on consumers.

What affects the supply of oil? How important is the weather in determining grain prices? Why has the price of copper skyrocketed? Following recent hikes in oil, gas, coppper and wheat prices, commodities have once again become a key issue for the investment community. In order to explain the issues that underpin this volatile market, Commodity Trade and Finance analyses the economics of key commodity groups, including energy, agriculture and metals. It examines the supply/demand fundamentals of several major and minor commodities, physical characteristics, production and consumption patterns, trade flows and pricing mechanisms. It also covers the main tools used to hedge price risk, such as futures, options and swaps.

Offering economic analysis and a wealth of information on a broad range of commodities including oil, oil products, gas, coal, iron and steel, aluminium, copper, grains, coffee, sugar, cocoa, forest products and rubber, this book is an indispensable reference text for both students of the subject and those working in the commodity business.

Starting in the early 1990s many emerging and developing economies (EDEs) liberalized their capital accounts, allowing greater freedom for international lenders and investors to enter their markets as well as for their residents to borrow and invest in international financial markets. Despite recurrent crises, liberalization has continued and in fact accelerated in the new millennium. Integration has been greatly facilitated by progressively looser monetary policy in the United States, notably the policies that culminated in debt crises in the United States and Europe and the ultra-easy monetary policy adopted in response. Not only have their traditional cross-border linkages been deepened and external balance sheets expanded rapidly, but also foreign presence in their domestic financial markets and the presence of their nationals in foreign markets have reached unprecedented levels. As a result new channels have emerged for the transmission of financial shocks from global boom-bust cycles. Almost all EDEs are now vulnerable irrespective of their balance-of-payments, external debt, net foreign assets and international reserve positions although these play an important role in the way such shocks could impinge on them. This is a matter for concern since the multilateral system still lacks mechanisms for orderly resolution of financial crises with international dimensions. Playing with Fire provides an empirical account of deeper integration of EDEs into the global financial system and discusses its implications for stability and growth, focusing on the role of policies in the new millennium in both EDEs and the United States and Europe.

Das Buch widmet sich dem deutschen Strommarkt und der Herausforderung, ein ideales Gleichgewicht zwischen den anteilig abnehmenden konventionellen Kraftwerken und den zunehmenden erneuerbaren Erzeugungsanlagen zu erreichen. Durch die meteorologisch abhangige Einspeisung regenerativer Energien bildet das Thema der Gewahrleistung von Versorgungssicherheit im zukunftigen Energiesystem den Mittelpunkt kontroverser Diskussionen. Ein Kapazitatsmechanismus als erganzendes Absicherungsinstrument zum Strommarkt stellt eine Moeglichkeit dar, mit der der Versorgungssicherheitsdebatte begegnet werden kann. Um einen fur Deutschland adaquaten Ansatz zu ermitteln, betrachtet die Autorin internationale Modelle (Schweden/USA), die auf Basis eines Kriterien-Vergleichs ein geeignetes Instrument abbilden koennten.