How Did Brokers Execute a Commodity Trade Before the Internet? | Grain IQ
Finance
•
8m 2s
Long before the instantaneous internet, grain traders in Chicago made trades by hand. Literally.
In fact, traders basically came up with their own version of sign language for this highly-active job.
Mark Gold of Top Third Ag Marketing in Chicago described what his job looked like in the 1970s.
“In the pits, if you were a broker, the runners would bring the paper orders to you,” he said.
He said once the brokers got the orders, they would look for hand signals. Certain hand gestures signaled ‘I’m looking for a buyer’ and others meant ‘I’m looking for a seller.’ To really keep brokers on their toes, there were hand gestures for how many contracts you wanted to trade, too.
In this episode of Grain IQ, we go back in history to learn what it was like to trade commodities before computers were part of the picture.
Grain IQ is a production of the Nebraska Rural Radio Association, in cooperation and with support from the Nebraska Soybean Board.
Up Next in Finance
-
Is Ag Real Estate at a Peak? | Damian...
Farmland prices have been on fire the last couple years. But are those prices peaking? Beyond the huge sale numbers seen on social media, Ag property has been selling well but…there are signs of a cooling off. What can we expect moving forward? Will the institutional investors remain in Ag land? ...
-
October 13, 2023 | Market Journal
This week on Market Journal...
We take a trip into the fields near Tekamah, Nebraska to get our weekly update on crop conditions and harvest progress. Get some great advice when it comes to moving your herd from the pasture to the corral. Doug Simon of Tredas gives us our weekly market analysis a... -
Uncertainly is Bearish for the Cattle...
Wednesday brought a good market trade for cattle.
On this week's Cattle Call, Brad Kooima with Kooima, Kooima, Varilek, looks at if this market is oversold & what the immediate need is of the packer.
