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RONALD C. SPURGA is a Certified Financial Planner and a Vice President of ABN AMRO Bank. He has also worked as an investment banker and financial analyst on Wall Street. Spurga graduated from the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. He has an MBA in finance and has taught finance courses at Rutgers University, Fordham University, and New York University. In his spare time, Spurga writes poetry, which has appeared in Penumbra, the literary magazine of California State University, and in Cimarron Review, the literary magazine of Oklahoma State University.

De la contraportada

Profitable commodities trading is now within reach of virtually every market-savvy investor. Why the recent change?

Erratic supplies of oil and other essential commodities, coupled with skyrocketing demand from China, India, and other rapidly developing countries and economies, have laid the groundwork for a long-term uptrend in the global commodities market. At the same time, the collapse of historic trading barriers has made it more possible than ever for traders of every size and style to reap regular profits from the accessible and untapped commodity trading market.

Commodity Fundamentals provides you with the knowledge and information you need to make consistent commodities trading a profitable, integral component of your overall trading activities. Written by Ronald Spurga, a Vice President of ABN AMRO Bank, bestselling finance author, and longtime veteran of the investment banking wars, this straightforward, step-by-step guidebook features:

• Supply/demand information for nearly two-dozen physical commodities in the precious metals, energy, grains, meats, and tropical commodity markets
• Detailed overviews and trading strategies for everything from gold and palladium to crude oil, natural gas, coffee, cattle, and other trader favorites
• Trading techniques that have proven uniquely powerful when applied to the commodities markets, including spread trades, cash and carry trades, and others
• In-depth chapters that describe the diversification, risks, and rewards possible through increasingly popular commodity funds
• Addresses, release dates, costs (where applicable), and more for updated and essential reports covering every important commodity

What is a futures contract? What are the major commodity exchanges, and where are they located? What are the differences between hedging and speculating? Commodity Fundamentals answers these questions and dozens more, all in a concise, no-nonsense style that is short on fluff and long on the actionable advice you need to compete and win in the global commodities marketplace.

Do you have what it takes to become a risk-conscious yet aggressive commodity speculator? As equities markets flounder and fixed income markets struggle to outpace inflation, the profit potential available in trading precious metals, energy, grains, and tropical commodities is becoming impossible to ignore. Let Commodity Fundamentals arm you with the up-to-the-minute information you need to trade in the historically profitable commodity marketplace?whether you are a trading veteran, a relative newcomer, or anywhere in between.

De la solapa interior

Profitable commodities trading is now within reach of virtually every market-savvy investor. Why the recent change?

Erratic supplies of oil and other essential commodities, coupled with skyrocketing demand from China, India, and other rapidly developing countries and economies, have laid the groundwork for a long-term uptrend in the global commodities market. At the same time, the collapse of historic trading barriers has made it more possible than ever for traders of every size and style to reap regular profits from the accessible and untapped commodity trading market.

Commodity Fundamentals provides you with the knowledge and information you need to make consistent commodities trading a profitable, integral component of your overall trading activities. Written by Ronald Spurga, a Vice President of ABN AMRO Bank, bestselling finance author, and longtime veteran of the investment banking wars, this straightforward, step-by-step guidebook features:

• Supply/demand information for nearly two-dozen physical commodities in the precious metals, energy, grains, meats, and tropical commodity markets
• Detailed overviews and trading strategies for everything from gold and palladium to crude oil, natural gas, coffee, cattle, and other trader favorites
• Trading techniques that have proven uniquely powerful when applied to the commodities markets, including spread trades, cash and carry trades, and others
• In-depth chapters that describe the diversification, risks, and rewards possible through increasingly popular commodity funds
• Addresses, release dates, costs (where applicable), and more for updated and essential reports covering every important commodity

What is a futures contract? What are the major commodity exchanges, and where are they located? What are the differences between hedging and speculating? Commodity Fundamentals answers these questions and dozens more, all in a concise, no-nonsense style that is short on fluff and long on the actionable advice you need to compete and win in the global commodities marketplace.

Do you have what it takes to become a risk-conscious yet aggressive commodity speculator? As equities markets flounder and fixed income markets struggle to outpace inflation, the profit potential available in trading precious metals, energy, grains, and tropical commodities is becoming impossible to ignore. Let Commodity Fundamentals arm you with the up-to-the-minute information you need to trade in the historically profitable commodity marketplace--whether you are a trading veteran, a relative newcomer, or anywhere in between.

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Commodity Fundamentals

John Wiley & Sons

Chapter One

During the first day of class, a student of mine said he was confused by the array of financial investments available to him. He knew that a Treasury bill had a minimum investment of $1,000 and would yield him approximately 3 percent, whereas certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, and commercial paper would yield somewhat more, reflecting their high risk. His question to me was this: "If I can get 3 percent by investing in a government obligation, why should I concern myself with other investments?"

"There's a simple reason-because the inflation rate is 5 percent," I replied.

We then got into a discussion of equities-common stocks-and we both agreed that the autos, airlines, public utilities, farm equipment manufacturers, and domestic steel manufacturers were slumping badly and that this was a reflection of lagging productivity and increased energy costs in our economy in general. If productivity did not increase and oil prices decline, equities would continue to be unattractive.

Were there other investment media? The answer is yes, the commodities markets.

This text is designed to outline the operation of those commodities markets and to provide a sensible approach to investing in them. Organizationally, the text will deal with the mechanics of futures trading in commodities and, building on this base, guide the careful investor to potential investment opportunities.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Commodity Fundamentalsby Ronald C. Spurga Copyright © 2006 by Ronald C. Spurga. Excerpted by permission.
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