[Cabrone]

If you like chocolate looks like one greedy pig wants you to pay more for it in the near future.

Ain't unbridled capitalism wonderful.

Mystery trader buys all Europe's cocoa

Telegraph

and there's more here......

British financier Anthony Ward behind £658m cocoa trade

Telegraph

Mr Ward, who is worth around £36 million, holds so much of the market he could force manufacturers to raise the price of Britain's favourite chocolate bars.

(*actually it would alter the price of the world's chocolate bars)

Mr Ward, who has an annual director's salary of £3.4 million, lives in Mayfair in London.

In 2002 Mr Ward made £40 million in two months after making a similar deal. He bought 204,000 tones of cocoa when West Africa was experiencing poor harvests and political instability in the equatorial area.

So the pig is down to his last £36 million and needs to steal from the rest of us to fund his parasitical life........

[Pretorian]

Needs to steal from you? In case you don't know, there is a life beyond cocoa and its products. It is scientifically proven that a body of Homo sapiens can function without an intake of your daily chocolate bars. So if your flabby parts crave for it so bad you might as well pay for it more so other, less addicted individuals will consume less of this forest-killing, negro-breeding commodity.

[americandream]

You are so intent on staring at the negro in the headlights, you are entirely missing this chaps point about greed and capitalism. To be expected from a cardboard curtout of an apology for rage.

Needs to steal from you? In case you don't know, there is a life beyond cocoa and its products. It is scientifically proven that a body of Homo sapiens can function without an intake of your daily chocolate bars. So if your flabby parts crave for it so bad you might as well pay for it more so other, less addicted individuals will consume less of this forest-killing, negro-breeding commodity.

[Quinny]

Different point, but I've got quite a bit of cocoa / chocolate in my stash. Just think that if TSHTF even in a minor way (eg reduced ability to import food from abroad), it might become quite valuable.

Even is it doesn't, I'm pretty sure it won't go to waste.

[dolanbaker]

Maybe the other traders (legitimate ones) can just co-operate and make him an offer at less than what he paid, take it or leave it.

[Pops]

A perfect example of why speculators should be barred from commodities - just make him take delivery and see where the price goes.

[Pretorian]

You are so intent on staring at the negro in the headlights, you are entirely missing this chaps point about greed and capitalism.

Needs to steal from you? In case you don't know, there is a life beyond cocoa and its products. It is scientifically proven that a body of Homo sapiens can function without an intake of your daily chocolate bars. So if your flabby parts crave for it so bad you might as well pay for it more so other, less addicted individuals will consume less of this forest-killing, negro-breeding commodity.

Greed, whose greed? Mr Ward's or that chap's who doesnt want to pay an extra penny for his favorite bun filler? As for Capitalism, well you have your point there if it wasnt for Capitalism he wouldnt be able to afford a chocolate bar in the first place.

[Pretorian]

A perfect example of why speculators should be barred from commodities - just make him take delivery and see where the price goes.

I remember you were happy with those meat prices you enjoyed so much recently. Mind me asking if you'll be interested in donating the part of your proceeds that you " earned" due to speculations on the market to " Save Thee Consumer" charity fund that will be bearish on the meat market?

[Pops]

I remember you were happy with those meat prices you enjoyed so much recently.

I'd be more than happy with a less volatile market, I doubt I made a profit the last 2 years. Beef prices affect Holstein prices some but dairy steers are a by-product of the dairy business so price is probably more influenced by supply than demand.

Calf prices are up because the availability of calves is down because dairymen are selling their herds, in part because of high feed prices (read: corn ethanol) and in part because of volatile milk prices:

And Joel Greeno, who farms in the Monroe County town of Kenall, attributed the increased fluctuation in dairy prices in recent years almost entirely to the Chicago exchange, which he called a "highly leveraged, thinly traded market with few players."

"It went from fairly stable ups and downs to looking like a heart monitor," Greeno said of prices over the last 60 years. "And it can't look like a heart attack."

Baldwin said she has been taken aback by the "human toll" of the industry's volatility, saying that farmers who've been in the business for generations are having difficulty paying bills or getting credit to expand or even keep their farms.

http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=201210

[eXpat]

That´s the illuminati stocking up their vaults!!! Wait till they buy the entire stock of popcorn in the USA!

[Pretorian]

I remember you were happy with those meat prices you enjoyed so much recently.

I'd be more than happy with a less volatile market, I doubt I made a profit the last 2 years.

well then why bother? There are way too much food out there already, that is choking small farmers and helping world population grow.

[americandream]

The hand of dialectic materialism beats to its own rhythm and consequently, it IS NOT a given that capitalism equals the end of history. However, it is a given that capitalism makes its own rope by which to hang itself and here we have a very good example. Consequently, I would venture that capitalism is not the last word on satisfaction.

You are so intent on staring at the negro in the headlights, you are entirely missing this chaps point about greed and capitalism.

Needs to steal from you? In case you don't know, there is a life beyond cocoa and its products. It is scientifically proven that a body of Homo sapiens can function without an intake of your daily chocolate bars. So if your flabby parts crave for it so bad you might as well pay for it more so other, less addicted individuals will consume less of this forest-killing, negro-breeding commodity.

Greed, whose greed? Mr Ward's or that chap's who doesnt want to pay an extra penny for his favorite bun filler? As for Capitalism, well you have your point there if it wasnt for Capitalism he wouldnt be able to afford a chocolate bar in the first place.

[Sixstrings]

Wow, that's some old school bare knuckles robber baron capitalism. Buy up a resource and jack up the price just because you can.

[Outcast_Searcher]

1. Wouldn't this be an ideal example of where having some sort of moderate position limits for speculators (vs traditional hedgers (i.e. producers or industries who utilize the commodity)) would be an effective compromise?

Sure, we could have plenty of reasonable discussion about what the limit size should be, but this would seem (to me) to balance free markets and the role of speculators in the markets with preventing a monopoly or oligopoly type of position screwing up the market.

And surely recent economic events have convinced even the far right that completely unbridled capitalism has its downsides in our less than perfect world comprised of less than perfect people?

2). Sorry - I suppport free speech rights, but I just don't see how stupid racist comments contribute anything to a discussion like this. (All they do is inflame redstributionist / big government types who want to correct all wrongs).

[Pretorian]

Consequently, I would venture that capitalism is not the last word on satisfaction.

Yeah, masturbating on a 100 yo, wrinkled and illegal picture of a Hershey bar in the distant communist picture will probably be it.

[Pretorian]

stupid racist comments

Sorry, what was that? Where did you see racism or stupidity in this thread? Me calling cacao a "negro-breeding commodity"? You are obviously dont know jackshit about cacao, its historical and current trade. Or may be a "Negro" is a racist word now? Anyways if you will point me at one of your posts that is smarter, oh, well, less stupid than my first one in this thread I would be delighted to read it.