During the past 40 years - Futures marks its 40th birthday this month, which we plan on celebrating with special articles all year long - the industry has gone through dramatic changes. The days of using these markets only to hedge grains and livestock are long gone, and along the way, currencies, bonds and stocks - traded by hedgers and speculators alike - joined the commodities trading club. Options and ETFs also would join, and soon the entire world got into the business. Exchanges popped up in Europe and South America, Asia futures trading expanded beyond Japan. And the Germans launched an electronic exchange, pushing the floor-centric U.S. exchanges to jump on board. Today trading is a 24/7 business. Derivatives are traded by all levels of speculators, fund managers, investment banks and corporations. Even OPEC uses the market, as do central banks.
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