Maybe it’s the time of year that has led to my ongoing reflection of markets, analysis, and life in general. Does it have something to do with the new year [...]

"Just heard Mica died from a heart attack." That was the message my older brother sent out late Monday night. Mica Schnoeblen was a prominent figure back in my hometown [...]

I had a long conversation with my friend in the brokerage industry last week. As we went through the commodity complex market by market, I found myself saying, “I don’t [...]

As I sit down to write this week’s Column, it is Sunday, November 30, the last day of meteorological fall. This tells us, unequivocally, winter is coming. Mondays are what [...]

My friend in the cattle industry called Monday afternoon to give me more information about the situation between the US administration and US beef packers, most notably Tyson. The stage [...]

When next week comes to an end (Sunday, November 30), the curtain will come down on the fall season. Fall, or autumn, means something different to most everyone. To some, [...]

I was recently asked if I would use some form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write my commentary and/or analysis. The question came during a discussion of the various pieces [...]

Back in the day when I worked in the newsroom, part of my job was to visit with Chicago floor reporter Gary Wilhelmi. Gary had been around markets for decades [...]

It was just after midnight (CT), Monday November 2, 2015, when my wife woke me and broke the news, the Kansas City Royals had just won the World Series. I [...]

The chess player has been playing the game for about 40 years. And while he is far from being a Grand Master, he believes himself to be an adequate player, [...]

It was October 1987. I had just graduated from Fort Hays State University[i] (Hays, Kansas) the May prior with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. At the time, [...]

I’ve talked a lot lately about the meteoric rise in Metals[i]. Since the close of business on Wednesday, January 31, the cash indexes for gold and silver have gained 34% [...]

It’s mid-July 2008. I had flown into La Guardia airport in Queens, New York[i] earlier in the day and somehow found a cab that took me to Lower Manhattan, in [...]

I had the opportunity to do a number of interviews last week, many with friends I’ve had in the industry for a number of years, if not decades. Naturally, there [...]

By definition, a conundrum is a difficult and complicated problem, one admitting of no satisfactory solution. It is also defined as “a riddle in which a fanciful question is answered [...]

My friend in the brokerage business sent me a message last week that asked, “When is the 2025 edition of The Gamblers’ Secret going to be posted?” I have to [...]

For the second consecutive week (at least), I’m going to address some of the questions that have come in of late. Where last week focused on the difficult question in [...]

The most frequently asked question these days has to do with the cattle markets, US boxed beef in particular. It comes in a variety of ways, but to summarize them [...]

This will be a different kind of Weekly Column, the reason why revealing itself as we go along. There is plenty I could say about the markets, but sometimes we [...]

A number of years ago I wrote a Weekly Column discussing a possible tipping point in corn[i], a discussion that included the economic concept of equilibrium[ii] and Newton’s First Law [...]

It’s a thought as old as trade itself, something I like to call the Right vs. Wrong Truism, “It doesn’t pay to be right when the market is wrong.” This [...]

This past week, a friend in the brokerage industry called to update me on some of the chatter going around the company office. It seems the sujet du jour (subject [...]

I write this piece early Sunday morning, June 22, before global markets open yet after the supposed bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities by US B-2 stealth bombers. As is always [...]

There is an unwritten rule when it comes to analysis and commentary of agricultural commodities that says, “Everything is always bullish”. Continued low cattle numbers decreasing feed demand for corn? [...]

As mentioned in Monday’s (June 2, 2025) Morning Commentary, the meteorological calendar turned from spring to summer this past weekend. The word “summer” brings to mind a number of mental [...]