PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Future	Volume	Factor*	ETF	Volume	Futures Liquidity Multiple
S&P 500	ES	1,704,267	500	SPY	172,257,104	4.9
NASDAQ 100	NQ	353,211	800	QQQQ	151,399,008	1.9
Russell 2000	ER2	187,949	1000	IWM	97,843,696	1.9
Gold	GC	102,685	1000	GLD	14,071,800	7.3
Silver	SI	31,696	10000	SLV	8,968,300	35.3
Crude Oil	CL	403,811	1000	USO	10,115,800	39.9

* Factor - the number of ETF shares that are approximately equivalent in notional value to the notional value of one futures contract

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Electronic Volume	Pit Volume	Percent Electronic of Total Volume
Crude Oil	403,811	36,386	92%
Natural Gas	133,680	15,860	89%
Corn	131,261	30,187	81%
Soybeans	85,889	7,484	92%
Wheat	74,821	9,800	88%
Live Cattle	7,272	19,932	27%
Lean Hogs	6,803	8,662	44%
COMEX Gold	102,685	10,245	91%
COMEX Silver	31,696	5,104	86%
COMEX Copper	14,088	3,215	81%

Thursday night, a group of dissident members of the New York Mercantile Exchange put an end to two weeks of wrangling and threats against the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which has offered $8 billion to buy its rival. more>>

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), will start derivatives trading next year in an effort to keep pace with rival bourses competing for a greater share of regional capital, an official said. more>>

Ukraine anticipates one of its biggest crops in 10 years. Domestic prices are decreasing, and the government is trying to boost the price of wheat by purchasing stocks for the state reserve. While July grains export numbers are high, traders slowed purchases based on expectations that prices will continue to decrease. more>>

Fears that slowing economic growth was hurting global demand sent commodity prices across the board tumbling on Friday, with gold plunging below $800/oz, the biggest weekly decline in more than 25 years. more>>

EVENT: Oil is trading today (Aug. 14) at approximately $117 (U.S.) a barrel, $30 below its peak last month.

SIGNIFICANCE: Saudi oil policy is key to what OPEC may or may not do to influence price trends in a world of highly volatile oil prices. Official silence has led to great uncertainty over its current nature.

ANALYSIS: more>>

Gold may fall for a sixth straight week, the longest slide in four years, as a strengthening US dollar erodes the precious metal's appeal as an alternative investment. more>>

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Future	Volume	Factor*	ETF	Volume	Futures Liquidity Multiple
S&P 500	ES	1,477,040	500	SPY	181,005,408	4.1
NASDAQ 100	NQ	346,484	800	QQQQ	123,116,000	2.3
Russell 2000	ER2	193,119	1000	IWM	98,174,800	2.0
Gold	GC	151,621	1000	GLD	29,755,900	5.1
Silver	SI	74,417	10000	SLV	20,581,900	36.2
Crude Oil	CL	472,021	1000	USO	14,136,200	33.4

* Factor - the number of ETF shares that are approximately equivalent in notional value to the notional value of one futures contract

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Electronic Volume	Pit Volume	Percent Electronic of Total Volume
Crude Oil	472,021	51,267	90%
Natural Gas	126,963	14,815	90%
Corn	149,789	28,029	84%
Soybeans	81,794	10,648	88%
Wheat	81,219	13,560	86%
Live Cattle	9,253	21,393	30%
Lean Hogs	11,577	12,299	48%
COMEX Gold	151,621	15,687	91%
COMEX Silver	74,417	8,245	90%
COMEX Copper	13,052	2,085	86%

Six short-term deals between the Iraqi government and international oil companies are likely to be abandoned after the US embassy said talks had broken down yesterday. more>>

Analysts suggest that rising oil prices will sharply reduce international trade. This article argues to the contrary, noting that transport costs constitute a limited share of trade costs. Moreover, evidence from the first wave of globalisation suggests that higher shipping costs are unlikely to significantly dampen international commerce – only protectionism would seriously threaten trade. more>>

Imagine if the U.S. and Russia had been fighting a proxy war in the state of Georgia two months ago? What would the price of oil have hit? Now no one seems to care…  more>>

Once upon a time in the late twentieth century, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange traded cattle ‘on the floor.’ And that was the problem. The floor was open only part of the day and that day was measured by a clock set to Central Standard Time. more>>

CME Group Inc. and NYMEX Holdings, Inc. today announced that the closing date of their merger is anticipated to be August 22, 2008, assuming stockholder and member approval on Monday, August 18, 2008. In the merger, NYMEX Holdings will merge with and into CMEG NY Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CME Group. more>>

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Future	Volume	Factor*	ETF	Volume	Futures Liquidity Multiple
S&P 500	ES	1,887,441	500	SPY	239,556,096	3.9
NASDAQ 100	NQ	440,750	800	QQQQ	158,069,104	2.2
Russell 2000	ER2	220,842	1000	IWM	118,194,704	1.9
Gold	GC	160,929	1000	GLD	15,542,600	10.4
Silver	SI	46,985	10000	SLV	6,392,700	73.5
Crude Oil	CL	466,431	1000	USO	9,892,200	47.2

* Factor - the number of ETF shares that are approximately equivalent in notional value to the notional value of one futures contract

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Electronic Volume	Pit Volume	Percent Electronic of Total Volume
Crude Oil	466,431	47,174	91%
Natural Gas	174,873	31,962	85%
Corn	281,658	46,229	86%
Soybeans	111,293	12,269	90%
Wheat	151,526	16,134	90%
Live Cattle	5,416	13,033	29%
Lean Hogs	7,340	9,710	43%
COMEX Gold	160,929	12,090	93%
COMEX Silver	46,985	6,165	88%
COMEX Copper	20,956	2,818	88%

The Federal Trade Commission proposed U.S. government rules on Wednesday to fight manipulation in the oil market, where prices hit a record $147 a barrel last month. more>>

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Future	Volume	Factor*	ETF	Volume	Futures Liquidity Multiple
S&P 500	ES	2,187,763	500	SPY	256,467,200	4.3
NASDAQ 100	NQ	444,535	800	QQQQ	169,664,496	2.1
Russell 2000	ER2	241,852	1000	IWM	151,013,200	1.6
Gold	GC	155,763	1000	GLD	17,018,200	9.2
Silver	SI	42,299	10000	SLV	7,374,300	57.4
Crude Oil	CL	584,309	1000	USO	16,512,800	35.4

* Factor - the number of ETF shares that are approximately equivalent in notional value to the notional value of one futures contract

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Product	Electronic Volume	Pit Volume	Percent Electronic of Total Volume
Crude Oil	584,309	71,527	89%
Natural Gas	218,001	28,613	88%
Corn	227,068	28,980	89%
Soybeans	87,745	13,298	87%
Wheat	114,374	9,151	93%
Live Cattle	10,597	15,148	41%
Lean Hogs	11,948	17,682	40%
COMEX Gold	155,763	23,145	87%
COMEX Silver	42,299	10,411	80%
COMEX Copper	29,094	6,226	82%