Category Archives: Options

Resins Futures – A Better Idea

Posted on September 23, 2011 by

[This article is also posted on Plastics Today.] Last time, I reported on the death of CME‘s resins futures contracts. After several months, the contracts have zero trading volume and open interest, rendering them illiquid and useless for effective risk … Continue reading →

Posted in crude oil, customers, Futures, hedging instruments, natural gas, Options, profit margin

Options Give You Options

Posted on August 9, 2011 by

Learn and apply this powerful tool for controlling costs, increasing sales, and improving margins — and outperform and outlast your competitors. Really [This article is also posted on Plastics Today.] Options give you ‘options’ (choices) – lots of them. They open up … Continue reading →

Posted in competitors, crude oil, customers, hedging instruments, Options, OTC, pricing choices, Strategies, valuation

Pricing Choices by Resins Suppliers

Posted on August 2, 2011 by

Profits, Sales, and Happy Processors [This article is also posted on Plastics Today.] “Your focus has been on processors. What about resins suppliers? Can we use hedging tools to offer pricing choices to our customers [processors]?” Anonymous Supplier Response: Yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in crude oil, customers, Energy prices, ETFs, ethylene, Exxon, Futures, hedging instruments, natural gas, Options, pricing choices, profit margin, Strategies

Hedging Tools

Posted on June 27, 2011 by

Must-Haves for Resins Buyers & Sellers [This article is also posted on Plastics Today.] As discussed in Hedging Rules, rules (i.e. a risk management policy) should be established before any hedging takes place. The rules get decision-makers (and second-guessers among them) … Continue reading →

Posted in crude oil, Energy prices, ETFs, ethylene, Futures, hedging, hedging instruments, margin risk, Options, rules

It’s All About Margin – I

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

[This article is also posted on Plastics Today.] Ask different risk managers the primary purpose of hedging and you will get different responses depending on portfolios and company objectives – cost control, budget and forecast certainty, job and business security, … Continue reading →

Posted in hedging instruments, Options, plastics manufacturers, profit margin, Strategies

Oil Drives Resins Prices — more evidence

Posted on April 28, 2011 by

[This article also appears on Plastics Today.] As previously discussed, price transparency and price fairness are concerns among resins buyers. How do you know the OTC market offer is fair and reasonable if you don’t have an unbiased price gauge to compare it … Continue reading →

Posted in crude oil, Energy prices, ETFs, Futures, hedging instruments, Options

Resins and Energy Prices

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

[This article also appears on Plastics Today.] The transparency and, therefore, fairness of resins prices in physical (i.e. cash) markets is a top concern among plastics manufacturers. Most other commodity markets are far more transparent than resins. Finding current prices for … Continue reading →

Posted in crude oil, Energy prices, ETFs, Futures, hedging instruments, natural gas, Options | Tagged , , ,