LIVESTOCK-Cattle futures gain on short-covering

* Short-covering buoys cattle futures * Feeders follow cattle higher * Hogs gain on strong cash markets By Sam Nelson CHICAGO, June 6 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday on technical short-covering and despite wholesale beef markets that eased again from recent record highs, traders and analysts said.

LIVESTOCK-Hog futures up on firm cash, Smithfield deal discussed

* Trade digesting market impact of Smithfield deal * Firm cash hog markets support hog futures * Strong wholesale beef supports cattle futures By Sam Nelson CHICAGO, May 29 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures rose on Wednesday on firm cash hog markets while traders digested news that a Chinese firm said



GRAINS-Soy, corn ease in light trade ahead of holiday weekend

* Spot soybeans edge lower after 6 sessions of gains * Corn, wheat decline in profit-taking setback * All three remain on pace for weekly gains * CBOT futures market closed on Monday for Memorial Day (Rewrites throughout, updates prices, changes byline, changes dateline from AMSTERDAM/SYDNEY) By Karl Plume CHICAGO, May 24 (Reuters) - U.S.






Price bubbles and commodity markets

Athoughtful new paper from researchers at the University of Illinois marks a significant step forward in research on how commodity futures prices are formed. Until recently, the academic and policy debate about futures price formation has been locked in an acrimonious and polarized standoff between market fundamentalists, who insist all price moves reflect supply-and-demand fundamentals,