CBOT Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, is a leading futures and options exchange. More than 3,600 CBOT members buy and sell 50 different futures and options products through the open outcry and electronic trading system of the Exchange. In 2003, the turnover of this exchange reached a record 454 million contracts.
In the early days of the exchange, CBOT only traded agricultural products, such as corn, wheat, oats and soybeans. After years of development and evolution, the futures contracts of the exchange now include non-fresh agricultural products and non-agricultural products, such as gold and silver. The first financial futures contract of CBOT was launched in June 1975 and June 10. The contract is based on the mortgage-backed securities futures contract of the government's National Mortgage Association. With the introduction of the first financial futures contract, futures trading is gradually introduced into various financial instruments, including US Treasury bonds, stock indexes and interest rate swaps. 1982 introduced another financial innovation-futures option.
In the past 150 years, the main trading mode of CBOT is open outcry trading, that is, traders buy and sell futures contracts face to face in the trading hall. However, in order to meet the demand of global economic growth, CBOT successfully launched the first electronic trading system on 1994. In recent ten years, with the increasing popularity of electronic trading, the exchange has upgraded the electronic trading system several times. Recently, on June 5438+1October, 2004, CBOT started another project led by LIFFE CONNECT? A new electronic trading system supported by trading technology.
While CBOT introduced the new trading system, the exchange also completed the conversion of clearing business. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) began to provide clearing and related business services for all CBOT products in June 2004. CME/CBOT*** combines two dominant financial institutions with the clearing network, which improves the efficiency of business, margin and capital, and benefits the commission merchants and the end users of futures products.
Whether it is electronic transaction or public bidding, the main function of CBOT is to provide customers with a transparent and liquid contract market for price discovery, risk management and investment. Farmers, companies, small business owners, financial service providers, international trade institutions and other individuals or institutions can manage price, interest rate and exchange rate risks through a process called hedging. Hedging is an operation to hedge the inherent price risk of spot market positions by holding equal but opposite positions in the futures market. Hedgers use CBOT futures market to protect their business, so as to avoid the adverse impact that adverse price changes may have on their earnings.
The futures market also allows speculators around the world to determine the transaction price and whether to enter the market as investors by interpreting and using economic data, news and other information. Speculators fill the gap between the hedgers' buying price and selling price, thus making the market more liquid and cost-effective. All kinds of market participants have different views and contacts on different market information, and the transactions of market participants lead to price discovery and the provision of benchmark prices.
CBOT is a self-managing, self-monitoring, non-profit and unlisted Delaware company providing services to members and individuals. CBOT has several different memberships, and members with different memberships can participate in all or part of the market listed on the exchange. Among the 3600 members of CBOT, 1400 is a full member, and full members can participate in the trading of all contracts of the exchange.
The management system of the exchange includes general manager, CEO, chairman, vice chairman and other 15 directors.
Although CBOT's board of directors has submitted a registration statement on the reorganization of Form S-4 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the application has not yet taken effect, that is, the application has not been finally approved. When the application is finally approved and the above materials are distributed to members, CBOT advises members to read the registration statement of the final S-4 form reorganization, including the final power of attorney and prospectus, and other documents that CBOT has submitted or will submit to the SEC, which already contain or will contain important investment decision-making information. When the Exchange obtains these documents, members can get a copy of the final prospectus for free, and other materials submitted by CBOT can be obtained on the SEC website in www.sec.gov. This information does not constitute buying and selling advice, nor does it constitute selling securities advice in some States, which stipulate that it is illegal to provide buying and selling advice before registration and qualification examination. According to chapter 10 of the Securities Law as amended by 1933 (section 10 of the Securities Law), securities may not be bought or sold at will except through the prospectus.