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FUTURES FILE: Greek drama plagues Euro

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

The euro currency continued sinking this week, falling to the lowest price since 2010. This price decline came as investors grew increasingly concerned that Greece will abandon the euro currency in order to gain increased financial flexibility.

FUTURES FILE: Euro currency waterlogged

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Greece, a small debt–ridden nation bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, continues to sink the currency of Europe. A May 6 election failed to produce a sufficient majority to move forward with recent austerity measures demanded by the European Cen…

Gold loses its glitter

By Walt Breitinger Times Columnist

Gold, known as the premier hedge against inflation, briefly dipped into negative territory on the year, as prospects for inflation across the world continue to appear to wane. The $787 billion economic stimulus package that was approved by Co…

24-hour markets on the way

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Twenty years ago, U.S. commodity markets were open for only a few short, albeit hectic, hours a day. Traders, shouting and flashing elaborate hand signals, crowded around "pits" located in exchanges in major cities like New York and Chicago.

FUTURES FILE: Mad dash lower for cattle

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

The cattle market was rocked this week by an announcement that the Department of Agriculture had discovered a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease.

FUTURES FILE: Gasoline reverses course

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Drivers may begin feeling some reprieve at the pump, as gasoline futures prices have begun slipping lower. Prices dropped nearly 20 cents per gallon this week, reaching the lowest price in more than two months.

FUTURES FILE: Orange juice prices sour

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Orange juice sank to the lowest price in more than 18 months on Wednesday, squeezed lower by a supply overhang and lack of investor interest in the commodity.

FUTURES FILE: Cocoa melts lower

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Cocoa prices fell sharply this week, plunging to a three-month low Wednesday, just in time for the Easter Bunny's visit. Favorable rains in the Ivory Coast, home to 30 percent of the world's cocoa production, increased prospects that an abund…

FUTURES FILE: Sugar surges from Brazil concerns

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Sugar prices rushed higher this week, fueled by concerns Brazil's crop would fall short of expectations. Sugar is produced around the world, but almost half of the world's exports come from Brazil, making it the sweet spot of the market.

FUTURES FILE: Interest rates move higher

By Walt Breitinger

Bond-market investors streamed to the exits as the country's most powerful bankers upgraded their prediction for U.S. economic growth from "modest" to "moderate." The Federal Open Market Committee, founded in 1933, is responsible for the Fed'…

FUTURES FILE: Soybeans 'hang tough'

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

After having seen a robust three-month rally in the soybean market, many U.S. farmers wondered if a critical Department of Agriculture report, released Friday morning, would dash their hopes for even higher prices.

FUTURES FILE: A gory week for gold

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified Wednesday before Congress, many investors expected he would announce a new round of stimulus, a measure that many would have interpreted as "giving the green light" to inflation. Instead, Mr.…

FUTURES FILE: Gasoline hits new high on Iranian nuclear fears

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

The market for unleaded gasoline responded to the drama in oil-rich Iran, reaching its highest level in more than six months.

FUTURES FILE: Midwest welcomes Chinese vice president

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited the United States this week, stopping in Iowa, one of the United States' top corn, soybean and hog producing states.

Warm winter cools natural gas

By Walt Breitinger Times Columnist

A report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed January was the fourth-warmest on record for the lower 48 states. Warm temperatures have sapped heating demand for natural gas, causing headaches for alre…

FUTURES FILE: Coffee market in withdrawal

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

In early May, coffee prices reached their highest levels since 1997. Weather problems in Colombia and predictions for uncomfortably tight supplies in 2012 caused futures prices to rise above $3 per pound.

FUTURES FILE: Near–zero interest rates through 2014

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve surprised markets Wednesday morning with a renewed commitment to keep interest rates near zero until late 2014. This policy, which began in 2008, is intended to create jobs by stimulating the economy.

FUTURES FILE: Cattle selling for record prices

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

Many Americans take for granted that the supply of cattle — and therefore beef — will remain uninterrupted and prices will stay low.

FUTURES FILE: Orange juice squeezes higher

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

In a plot reminiscent of the 1983 box office smash "Trading Places," a number of spectacular reversals of fortune were seen in the orange juice market this week.

FUTURES FILE: Crude rockets past $103

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist

On Monday, the Iranian military concluded its latest round of military exercises in the Persian Gulf by test–firing what it called "long–range" missiles.

Turbulent 2011 sets records

By Walt Breitinger Times Columnist

This past year was one of the most turbulent trading periods since 1980, with many markets setting new record highs. Corn, cattle, hogs, gold, silver, copper and cotton all made record high prices this year, driven by myriad crises.