In the Fall of 2011, futures market participants were caught off-guard when MF Global filed for bankruptcy. Essentially, this episode educated industry participants that customer protections in the U.S. commodity futures markets had been more ambiguous than expected. That said, there are a...

This article covers the trading blowups at the hedge fund, Amaranth, and at the Futures Commission Merchant, MF Global. Although the lessons from the Amaranth blowup can best be understood in terms of market-risk principles, the lessons from the MF Global bankruptcy are best understood in terms...

Futures market participants were caught off-guard when MF Global, a commodity futures broker, filed for bankruptcy on October 31st, 2011. By now, bankruptcies of financial firms are not unusual, so why did this one cause such consternation? Essentially, this episode educated industry...