On Monday, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) launched 40 new over-the-counter (OTC) energy contracts for North American natural gas, power, natural gas liquids and global oil products. Trading of the above contracts is scheduled to begin on Dec 7, 2009.  The new cleared oil contracts include a differential calendar swap contract and a differential trade-month swap contract based on the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI). The two ASCI swap contracts will be available from Nov 13.  These contracts will provide a set of complementary risk-management tools to the marketplace. Including these new products, the company now offers a total of 280 cleared OTC energy contracts, including nearly 190 new OTC contracts since the launch of ICE Clear Europe in Nov 2008. The transatlantic exchange, which operates in over 50 countries, is headquartered in Atlanta , with offices in New York , London , Chicago , Winnipeg , ...

As one of the states with the largest manufacturing industries in the country, it is no mystery as to why Georgia ranks as one of the top consumers of energy. Some interesting facts on what is the world 28th largest economy follow:1. The travel industry contributes around $20 billion a year to the state economy.2. Georgia’s bioscience industry generates 15,000 jobs.3. Over 250 bioscience companies are headquartered in the state.4. The Georgia paper industry is second only to Alabama, and it employs 26,000 workers.5. The state has the largest commercial forest in the country, which produce over $19 billion in revenue and employ more than 150,000 people.6. The food processing industry generates more than 70,000 jobs, and produces sales receipt of over $16 billion a year.7. The largest manufacturing employer is the textile-carpet industry which employs over ...

The commodity correction continues. And it's getting more painful by the minute as big trading houses like Lehman and Merrill Lynch go belly up or are forced into mergers. I think we're seeing a margin call on a global scale. The good news is it should bring incredible opportunities for long-term investors. The bad news is we could see a lot more pain before this is over. A "margin call" is when an investment, bought with borrowed money, decreases in value past a certain point, and an investor either has to put up more money or sell the investment. And we're seeing margin calls as Lehman and others liquidate their trading books. What's more, we're seeing margin calls in oil. Speculators pushing prices down Now, here's where I eat ...