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I live in a 1930 Craftsman-style house and, like older houses, it comes complete with all the old-fashioned inconveniences (small closets, closed vs open spaces, lots of stairs). In character, renovation brings surprises, some that are fascinating and others…not so much ($$$). But once started, every builder invariably says, “They don’t build them like this anymore”. After nearly a century, it underscores the long-term importance of getting structure right. That’s equally

Plant engineers and commercial managers may think that put and call options are only for rocket-scientist traders. Nonetheless, they will be surprised to learn how much the unconscious granting and taking of options, particularly in a commodity price environment, affects their profitability. When such optionality is incorporated into their commercial agreements it’s not always easy to diagnose. And if they’re on the wrong side of it, in just one bad day it can bolt untet

How often we are told “We’re a conservative business. We don’t have metal price risk here.” But “conservative” does not equal “risk managed” and every metals-based company has price risk in one form or another, yet this is a common claim. The chain of buying and selling, when coupled with a conversion process in between, is especially complex. Hmmm…something smells. Frequent translation: “We don’t really know about our risk, and we don’t track it”. But this isn’t the only “

f you, a manager in an industrial metals company with metal cost and revenue responsibilities, are told that you have to understand how Futures Market Spreads work to do your job, you will probably think we are crazy. Not so. We can assure you that understanding spreads is just as important as understanding expansion coefficients, transportation rates, customer creditworthiness, or whatever else you need to know to do your job.