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All About The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
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The Commmodity Futures Trading Commission is a US government sponsored independent body that is tasked to monitor and record futures contracts trading activities that occur on futures exchanges in the United States. It was formed by the US Congress in 1974, and has the power to suspend, fine and impose legal sanctions on an individual or a firm in the event of fraud, misconduct or other cases of rule violations.
The agency is also responsible for publishing weekly updates on the holdings of the over twenty market segments in existence today.
These reports, called the 'commitments of traders report' or the COTR are handed out at the end of each week, usually every Friday. They contain information on open interest splits by non-reportable and reportable open interest and non-commercial and commercial open interest.
To make things short, the aim of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is to protect the public and market participants from abusive and manipulative practices related to the sale of financial futures, options and commodities, and to make sure that all transactions are conducted in a transparent, financially viable and competitive manner.
During its inception, the CFTC was merely tasked to regulated options and commodity futures markets in the US. However, with the introduction of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, or CFMA, the CFTC's duties have been expanded.
Via effective oversight, the agency makes sure that the futures market is able to provide market participants a means toward offsetting pricing risks and price discovery.
The CFTC has five commissioners, each of whom is appointed the president and serve in five-year intervals. One of the five commissioners is named chairman, with the approval of the senate, with rules stipulating that not more than three commissioners should be sourced from the same political party, to provide fairness.
The agency is headquartered in Washington, but it also holds offices in key cities that have futures exchanges, like Chicago, New York, Minneapolis and Kansas.
The CFTC has six key operating units: The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight, the Division of Market Oversight, the Division of Enforcement, the Office of Chief Economist, the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of the Executive Director.
Each unit has a specific function, all of which sharing the goal of making sure that all transactions conducted under it satisfy regulations and are in the best interests of market participants.
There is a wealth of information about how to properly trade futures in the CFTC website, which can be found at www.cftc.gov. Check the site for further details.
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CFTC chief: Agency is reviewing JPMorgan's trading - BusinessWeek
 Bloomberg | CFTC chief: Agency is reviewing JPMorgan's trading BusinessWeek By MARCY GORDON The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission says the agency has begun an investigation into JPMorgan Chase's ill-timed bet on complex financial instruments that led to more than $2 billion in trading losses. CFTC to Release Clearing Proposal for Index Swaps, Gensler Says CFTC investigating JP Morgan's trades CFTC Confirms Investigation Into JP Morgan |
Silver's Rally Will Look to Continue in 2012 as China Begins Trading Silver ... - MarketWatch (press release)
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Europe Stock Futures, Metals Gain on Stimulus Signs; Euro Slides - San Francisco Chronicle
 CNBC.com | Europe Stock Futures, Metals Gain on Stimulus Signs; Euro Slides San Francisco Chronicle May 22 (Bloomberg) -- European equity futures advanced for a second day and commodities rose on speculation Europe will join China in stepping up efforts to bolster economic growth. The euro weakened. Euro Stoxx 50 Index futures climbed 0.8 percent as ... Japan Stock Futures Rise as China Comments Spark Global Rebound Global Markets Overview - 05/22/2012 |
Oil futures extend gains in electronic trading - MarketWatch
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US futures head higher; economists see some growth - BusinessWeek
 The Herald | HeraldOnline.com | US futures head higher; economists see some growth BusinessWeek Stock futures rose Monday with a new survey suggesting that economists are a bit more optimistic about housing and employment. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 51 points at 12386. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 5.2 points to 1296. U.S. futures head higher; economists see some growth US stock futures rise as latest NABE report suggests modest growth for jobs ... |