Futures contracts availability

The above examples have focused on the use of the Euro-Bund future as a vehicle for achieving a particular bond portfolio exposure. As indicated earlier, there are several other futures contracts available in the European arena and these could be used in the same way as described above. The futures contracts could also be used to alter the maturity characteristics of the portfolio by using, for example, futures contracts constructed around shorter or longer dated instruments than those currently held in the portfolio. The fact that the contracts can be bought or sold on margin, that the major contracts are liquid and span the European markets, and their flexibility of use make them essential financial market instruments. 

In certain circumstances a specific issue will go tight in the repo market, meaning that it is difficult to borrow the stock for delivery into short sales. This is typically reflected in the stock going special in the repo market. On rare occasions the stock may become undeliverable, leading to failed transactions and also failure to deliver into the equivalent gilt futures contract. When this happens the DMO may make the stock available for borrowing, out of official portfolios, or issue a small amount of the stock into the market. 

What futures contracts are available in the European arena and how are the contracts specified ... 

Eurex offers three principal bond option contracts, all of these being options on the futures contracts traded on the same exchange. The contracts available are ... 

As an example, in March 2003 bond options expiring in April, May, June, and September were all available. The first three were exercisable into the June futures contracts, while the last one was exercisable into the September futures contract. Although all four expiry dates were theoretically available, only those options exercisable into the front futures contract (the next one to mature) were liquid. On 7 March 2003, the front contract was the June 2003 future, and over 99% of all futures trades and 99.9% of bond options trades involved this contract. Exhibit 17.7 provides a breakdown of these figures, showing the total number of contracts traded on that day. 

To provide an idea of which of the EURIBOR contracts are liquid. Exhibit 17.12 shows the trading volumes on 7 March 2003 for the 10 expiry months available on that date. As with the bond options discussed earlier, the March 2003 options are exercisable into the March 2003 futures contract, the April through June 2003 options are exercisable into the June 2003 future, and the remaining options are exercisable into the future expiring in the same month. 

Traded options were introduced by the LME in May 1987. They are now available against the underlying futures contracts for six LME metals (but not aluminium alloys), denominated in all major currencies, and registered with the ICCH. These options are traded (and have all the essential characteristics of a commodity) because they can be freely bought and sold until expiry. While both the strike price and prompt date are fixed, the premium can vary ... 

The amount of retained earnings shown on a balance sheet should not be taken as a measure of the amount of future dividends that the company is hkely to pay. A contract may exist that specifies a minimum balance of retained earnings, which is then not available for dividends until bonds issued by the company have been retired. 

Water. Costs are available from the supplier s invoices but where the operator has reservoirs and/or licenses for extraction from canals or rivers the annual fees and penalties, which are sometimes taxable, should not be forgotten. Projections of future demands will need to be carefully considered where this type of arrangement is made, since such contracts are often available only on long-term bases. Water-treatment plant will produce its own range of costs across the whole field of depreciation, materials, electricity, labor, etc. and these will need to be apportioned to the steam cost departments before final allocation to the user departments. 

Because of instances of fraud, the FDA has instituted procedures for the debarment of individuals. An NDA needs to contain a certification that the applicant has not and will not use the services of any debarred individual in any capacity (14). Notices of the debarment of individuals are published in the Federal Register. The current debarment list is available from the FDA internet site or from the Division of Compliance Policy. Note that the certification includes the statement that the applicant will not use any debarred person in the future. Thus, it is recommended that the list be checked periodically, especially before letting any contracts. The FDA has been interpreting the phrase in any capacity to include jobs that are not involved with drug development, such as landscaper or accountant. 

Qualifications of personnel Services available Offered procedures Capability to complete project Quality controls program Quality assurance program Review and approve contracts Future compliance audits Database management Validation/verification needs Contract laboratories Procedures Facilities/equipment Personnel qualification Training Methodology... 

In the United States, most safflower seed is grown by farmers who have agreed to a contract of sale with an oil mill or grain dealer before planting the crop. Because there is no daily market for safflower seed posted in the newspaper and there are no quotations available from the commodity futures markets, most banks or other financing agencies encourage farmers to contract their crop in advance. There is no other way for the bank to protect any funds that have been loaned with the crop as collateral. 

In principle, one can classify the phosphoproteins into two groups (1) functional, whose phosphorylation is correlated with contraction, and (2) structural, whose phosphate content remains rather steady during the contraction cycle. Structural phosphoproteins could make contact with other proteins to form a specific protein network. Alternatively, they may bind divalent metals, Ca + or Mg2+. The common experience of the slow turnover of phosphate in these proteins also suggests that the covalently bound phosphate is not free and, therefore, not readily available for protein kinases and phosphatases. Future investigation should provide information about the role of the structural phosphoproteins in smooth muscle. 

Substantial modifications were made in the writing of this new edition, including the loss or contraction of four chapters formd towards the end of the first edition. To preserve this material for future use, the following four chapters from the first edition are available for download from the book s website at www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/clayden2e/ ... 

It is clear that all suppliers who gave information want it be seen as very preliminary and of the nature of an estimate only and that the final costs will be dependent on the location of a future plant, contract type, available infrastructures, etc. 

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