World food security needs collaboration

It is interesting to see how the current financial crisis is changing the way that we think about the world. This point was driven home for me when I had the opportunity to attend a symposium last week in Berkeley, Calif. entitled “Causes and Consequences of the Food Price Crisis.” Sponsored by the Giannini Foundation,

Governments must be ready when free markets free fall

There has been a determined effort to move away from the governmental regulations, not only in the financial and agricultural sectors, but in other sectors as well. Is extremism in the name of free markets a virtue or a vice? As we write this column, it appears that congressional and administration leaders have come to


Changes sought to CBOT wheat contract

Big global grain buyers have told U. S. regulators that the Chicago Board of Trade needs to improve on a plan to narrow a gap between wheat futures and cash prices that has hurt their ability to hedge big price swings. Major grain companies that questioned the CBOT plan included Cargill Inc. and Bunge Ltd.

V-Tops cap rallies

V-Tops are one of the most difficult chart patterns to analyze because of the suddenness in which they form. A V-Top indicates a trend reversal, with dynamic and substantial price drops often occurring with the formation of this pattern. V-Tops have three essential components: 1) Prices must be in an uptrend, with a near vertical