Article: Seeking fortunes in futures trading

A favorite story around the shop goes back to the 1970s and a time when the soybean pit at the Chicago Board of Trade was the site of the hottest trading in the world. Somebody at the Chicago Sun-Times heard that one of the biggest commodities speculators on the Board of Trade had gone bankrupt when the market went against him.

A call was placed to the big swinger and the question put to him. Was it true that he had filed as a bankrupt?

The gentleman was outraged. It was a silly rumor. "Why," he said, "I only lost $7.5 million."

That's the way things can go around the Chicago futures (and options) markets, where the risks are great and the rewards can cover a loss of $7.5 million.

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