CME closing for Thanksgiving holiday CHICAGO, Ill. — CME Group will close its trading floors on Nov. 27 in observance of Thanksgiving Day. On Nov. 26, the trading floors will cease trading at noon for Foreign Exchange and Interest Rates Products only.
On Nov. 28, Commodities, GSCI, Weather, Real Estate and Metals Products close at noon (CME commodity options only close at 12:02 p.m.), while Equity Products close at 12:15 p.m. Central Time.
For more schedule details for CME Group open outcry and electronic trading on CME Globex, see www.cme group.com/tools-information/holiday-calendar/ index.html
VeraSun reports losses in 3rd quarter 2008 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — VeraSun Energy Corp. announced its financial results for the three months ended Sept. 30. The company increased revenues by 389 percent over the third quarter of 2007 to $1.084 billion, and recorded a net loss of $476.1 million for the three-month period compared, to net income of $7.8 million for the 2007 comparable period.
The net loss for the third quarter reflects non-cash charges of $384.5 million, which includes $263.3 million arising from impairment of the company’s goodwill and $121.2 million arising from impairment of long-lived assets. The goodwill impairment charge resulted from the company’s evaluation of the value of goodwill that was recorded as a result of the acquisition of ASA OpCo Holdings, LLC and US BioEnergy Corp.
VeraSun recorded a gross loss of $218 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2008, from $23.4 million profit for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2007. The gross loss consists of a loss on derivatives of $118.6 million and a mark-to-market loss of $40.1 million.
The mark-to-market loss consists of an inventory valuation adjustment of $12.9 million and a loss on open forward corn purchase contracts of $27.2 million. The loss was partially offset by a $7.5 million gain related to the sale of corn inventory for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2008.
Faced with the constraints of tightening trade credit, the inability to raise capital and limited liquidity, the company and 24 of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on Oct. 31.
Information regarding the bankruptcy filings, including access to court documents and other general information about the bankruptcy cases, is available at www.verasun.com by following the link to “Reorganization Information” or at www.kccllc.net/verasun
Alltech receives FEMAS certification LEXINGTON, Ky. — Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech recently achieved Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS) certification at four of its plants, assuring that certain materials produced by the company at these sites satisfy the stringent controls applied to animal feed manufacture in regard to quality assurance, traceability and selection of raw materials.
Alltech’s Nicholasville, Ky., plant was awarded the certification based on evaluation of its range of silage inoculants. The plants in Springfield, Ky., and Alexandria, Ontario, received certification for their manufacture of Bioplex trace minerals. The Sao Pedro, Brazil, plant was graded on its manufacture of the following products: Bio-Mos, Mycosorb, Sel-Plex and NuPro.
FEMAS is a United Kingdom-based method to assure the quality of feed ingredients being imported into the UK and Ireland, and is recognized as being equivalent to the major EU quality schemes, such as Universal Feed Assurance Scheme (UFAS), Feed Additives and Pre-mixtures Quality System (FAMIQS) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP+).
The FEMAS scheme itself covers the sourcing and production of feed materials, tracking them back to the countries where they were grown. FEMAS-certified companies are a diverse group, ranging from food additive manufacturers to processors and brewers.
Triple Crown for Illinois ag, bio engineering URBANA, Ill. — The undergraduate program in agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Illinois has been ranked the best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The 2009 ranking by the prestigious weekly news magazine marks the third consecutive year the program has been recognized as the nation’s best.
“America’s Best Colleges” is published each year by U.S. News, and the 2009 edition placed Illinois in the top spot, followed by Cornell and Texas A & M. U.S. News ranks undergraduate programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty from participating colleges.
The magazine also asks for nominations of the best programs in specialty areas, such as agricultural engineering; those receiving the most mentions are ranked in the publication.
Starting this fall, the undergraduate program has a new name to reflect some of the changes that have taken place. The department has also taken steps to increase the number of students in the program. In 2007 it had 186 students in undergrad agricultural and biological engineering and technical systems management. Class enrollment this fall was 210.
In addition, several faculty members, including Dr. K.C. Ting and Dr. Yuanhui Zhang, have been recognized by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for outstanding contributions to their field.
Nester Ag brings AutoFarm GPS to Tri-States
FREMONT, Calif. — Nester Ag Management of Bryan, Ohio, has joined the AutoFarm Alliance Dealer Network to offer AutoFarm GPS Precision Steering Solutions for all types and makes of farm equipment in the Ohio, Indiana and Michigan Great Lakes region.
Nester will be offering the complete line of AutoFarm precision GPS products, ranging from visual guidance and assisted steering to AutoFarm RTK AutoSteer, its ultimate in sub-inch accurate steering with repeatability.
Nester brings 15 years of experience in precision ag management and helping growers make the right decisions about equipment purchases.
They are located at 01521 Ney-Williams Center Road in Bryan, Ohio. For more information, call 419-658-8866 or visit www.nesterag.com
CME expands emerging markets with lira
CHICAGO, Ill. — CME Group announced it will augment its portfolio of emerging markets currencies products with the introduction of Turkish lira futures contracts denominated in both U.S. dollars (TRY/USD) and in euros (TRY/EUR).
The new contracts will trade exclusively on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and are scheduled to begin trading in the first quarter of January 2009.
In the last 12 months, volumes in CME Group’s top four emerging markets currencies – the Russian ruble, Mexican peso, South African rand and Chinese renminbi – have grown an average of 152 percent. Individually, volumes in the renminbi rose 234 percent, the ruble 178 percent, the rand 141 percent and the peso 56 percent.
CME Group Turkish lira futures are designed to serve global customers by expanding liquidity in this growing currency. With a gross domestic product approaching $950 billion, forecast to grow at 5.4 percent this year, Turkey’s economy offers long-term potential for trading in the lira.
For more information on CME Group Turkish Lira Futures, visit www.cmegroup.com/try |
