Nearly.
Short selling is, er selling.

The plot was;

The crop forecast says whether there will be a lot of OJ, or not much OJ. If there's a lot, the price will fall. If there's a shortage, it will go up.

So, the *real* forecast said there would be a lot. They nicked it, and put one in that said there would be a shortage.

The Dukes, reading this, decided they would buy all the OJ futures, becuase then the forecast would come out, the price would go up and they could sell all their contracts at a profit.

The others guys, knowing the opposite were selling the futures (going short). They did not need to own anything, they could sell, then buy back later to make their position zero.

So, Dukes start buying, everyione sees this, start buying too. Market goes up. Eddie and Dan wait till market is high, then start selling. Then the crop report comes out, everyine sees it's a big crop. market tanks. Eddie and dan buy what they sold, much cheaper. Dukes sell what they bought, much cheaper. Dukes lose, E&D win.

By the way - why did they need to put their life savings into it? The futures exchange require you to put up a deposit, to cover any losses. Called an initial margin.

They also require something called a variation margin, if you burn through the initial margin. that's what they asked the Dukes for, and that's what they couldn't pay.

Simple, huh?
(username failed moderation, Fri 14 Oct 2011, 12:36, 1 reply)

I'll agree that it's simple,
if you'll agree that it makes absolutely no fucking sense, whatsoever.

Edit: seriously, though, why would the person buying from you not just buy it from the person that you're buying from, given that you haven't actually bought it yet?
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 14 Oct 2011, 12:43, closed)

Contracts...

You are buying / selling contracts to settle at the close of market at the agreed price. So you're kind of stuck with what you've agreed.

I think.

I have a habit of being wrong about most things - and I've probably misinterpreted your point
( Pooflake braces for an onslaught..., Fri 14 Oct 2011, 12:48, closed)

When you buy/sell
a futures contract, you ar obliged to deliver or take delivery of the goods when the contract expires.

So, if today you buy a December OJ contract, you are obliged to take delivery of xx tonnes (or whatever) of OJ, in December.

But, if tomorrow you sell an OJ contract, you are obliged to deliver the same to whoever bought it.

The exchange though, will nett out your position. You have bought one, and sold one, therefore your position is zero.

You can hold your long/short position until the contract expires. This can be many months ahead.

So the trick is, to buy low, and sell high, or sell high, then buy low. Unless you;re actually wanting a shitload of frozen orange juice, you always need to nett out your position before the contract expires.
(username failed moderation, Fri 14 Oct 2011, 13:10, closed)

piggies
I did hear of one futures trader in pork bellies who forgot to settle, and got a surprisingly large delivery of pigs one morning.
(Simian Typewriter Supplies Pty. Ltd. is house hunting in the neighborhood of infinity, Fri 14 Oct 2011, 14:06, closed)

There are a few stories like that.
We had a girl in the office who forget to close out a small position in sugar futures.

Conversation went something like;

"Here, I've got the excange on the phone, say we've got to take delivery of 50 tons of sugar"

"Who fucking did that??"

"Jackie did. What do I tell this bloke??"

"Tell him to take it round and dump it in her fucking garden"
(username failed moderation, Fri 14 Oct 2011, 14:15, closed)

When you're trading futures
you're not actually buying from or selling to any named party. Your contract is with the exchange.

When the contracts expire, the exchange will then match buyers and sellers.

If you have bought and sold the same number of contracts, you will not be required to receive or deliver anything.
(username failed moderation, Fri 14 Oct 2011, 13:12, closed)