Purely subjective, but would like to hear thoughts: very simply, is the run-up in world food prices more supply-driven or demand-driven? Interested in some opinions (I've heard good arguments for both sides).Thanks!

ok great thanks for the info Martinghoul

<t>Hello,Was wondering if anyone had any feel for the size or liquidity of the inflation derivatives market. It seems as though the swaps is now a huge market, but is there much activity in the option market yet? Does anyone have any recent papers regarding inflation derivatives? I have a few but th...

interactivebrokers.com is supposed to be quite good.

<t>There has already apparently been a ton of industry overhaul regarding the standardization of CDS contracts as of recently, but the possibility of CDS contracts moving to an exchange (ICE maybe?) is still looming. What do you guys think about volumes for sovereign and single-name CDS going forwar...

Hello all,Does anyone have any research and/or opinions about the future of the US domestic electricity market, in terms of projected volumes for the next couple years? How vibrant/robust/liquid is the market right now?Thanks!BigRed

Hello all,Looking for the best how-to book on Microsoft Excel. I've been using it for years, but never had a formal introduction to it, so I would like some of the basics to be covered, but also want to (re-)learn macros, pivot tables, etc. Any good ideas??Thanks!BigRed

OK, now I'm seeing two things:1) the vol finally begins to come down when you get to ridiculous strikes (namely, 37.00)2) Didn't realize this, but the IV is the same for calls and puts. This must relate to the idea of call-put parity right?

<t>I'm very new to this, and have a couple questions regarding vol smiles. I'm looking at USDMXN. I wanted to see if, with one year expiry, there was a smile across the strikes. So, I input strikes 6 through 22 in my pricer (FENICS), and it popped out what certainly is not a smile. This little exper...

OK yea, that makes sense, thanks Dave

Why is it than in Exotic currency options, prices are quoted in percentage price, and not vol, like in vanillas? Thanks!

<t>I've read "Foreign Exchange and Money Markets" by Riehl and Rodriguez, which I was told, and would agree, to be a solid text, but I was wondering what people consider the best FX text out there these days, as the Riehl/Rodriguez text is a bit outdated, having been published in 1983, I believe.Any...

QuoteOriginally posted by: Cuchulainn"speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men", King Charles V.My favorite

Yea I was thinking either one of those. Interesting, thanks.

<t>I'm going to try and teach myself a third language, with English and Spanish already covered, English as a native tongue, and Spanish learned in University. For finance, what would be the best language to learn, regardless of difficulty (time is a non-factor; expiry is death)? Anybody recommend a...