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Chapter 13: Futures Contracts

  • Page ID
    79445
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    “There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate;

    when he can’t afford it and when he can.” – Mark Twain

    Learning Objectives

    In this chapter, you will

    By the end of this chapter, you should be able to

    So what did you think about options, eh? Ready to start gambling, oops!, I mean, speculating with stock options contracts? Well, Dear Students, as the saying goes, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" The amount of money that you can lose speculating with futures contracts is staggering. However, unlike options contracts, futures contracts actually do have a very important usage in the global financial system ... for large producers and consumers of commodities such as wheat, oil, and pork bellies. (The last one being used for comedic effect in the 1983 movie Trading Places. Pork bellies, Dear Students, are what they make bacon out of. You know, that tasty stuff that is responsible for colorectal cancer?) For the rest of us, we are best served by staying away from these "Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction." This is a phrase coined by famed investor Warren Buffett.

    Presentation file - Study guide

    "Wheat" by kewing is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
    "Oil well pump jacks" by Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
    "Coin Toss" by ICMA Photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

    • 13.1: Futures Contracts
      So what did you think about options, eh? Ready to start gambling, oops!, I mean, speculating with stock options contracts? Well, Dear Students, as the saying goes, “You ain't seen nothin’ yet!” The amount of money that you can lose speculating with futures contracts is staggering.
    • 13.S: Summary
      Congratulations ‒ You Have Finished Chapter 13 ‒ Futures Contracts


    This page titled Chapter 13: Futures Contracts is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Frank Paiano.

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