Swaps, spreads and safety nets

摘要

Last year took the world's financial markets to the brink. Trillions of dollars of real estate transactions, OTC credit swaps and other derivatives couldn't be valued; managers didn't know what their portfolios were worth, or how to exit their positions. Grain merchandisers had it easy by comparison. Deep, liquid futures markets let you quickly and easily lay off price and spread risk. Everything is marked to market daily for complete transparency. Hedges are exchange-cleared, where the CME ClearingCorporation becomes your counterparty and adjusts your account daily for gains or losses. With global finance swirling into chaos, agriculture largely conducted business as usual.