Amine Bouchentouf

The major commodities exchanges trade specific commodities worldwide, and the main regulatory organizations provide information and enforce codes to protect commodities investors. When investing in commodities, use guidelines and advice from the experts to lower your risks.Matching commodities with commodity exchangesThe 20th century saw a proliferation of commodity exchanges around the world, with many based in the money centers of New York and Chicago.

If you're learning Arabic, you need the basics — questions, phrases for meeting and greeting and being polite, days of the week, and numbers. The following can help you practice some key terms and speak more like a native Arabic speaker.Useful questions in ArabicIf you’re lost, you need to know the time, or you’re just trying to communicate more clearly in Arabic, practice the pronunciation of the following essential Arabic phrases and questions: Greeting, meeting, and expressing yourself in ArabicWhether you’re dealing with business or pleasure, make sure you know how to greet and get acquainted with people.

If you're considering investing in commodities or commodities-backed instruments, you'll want to find out as much as you can about what you're investing in. Companies have to file quarterly and annual financial reports, and they provide a wealth of information that is very valuable to the investor. The premiere location for the trade of agricultural commodities is the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), and you'll want to become familiar with it.

Metallurgy has been essential to human development throughout history. Like societies that have survived and thrived through mastering metallurgy, investors who have incorporated metal commodities into their portfolios have been able to generate significant returns. Gold: Gold is perhaps the most coveted resource on the planet.

If crude oil is the king of commodities, natural gas is sometimes said to be the queen. Although crude oil accounts for about 40 percent of total energy consumed in the United States (the biggest energy market in the world), approximately 25 percent of energy consumption comes from natural gas. Natural gas is therefore an important source of energy both in the United States and around the world, and it can offer tremendous moneymaking opportunities.

There’s a big difference between futures and options. Often folks think of futures and options as being one and the same in the commodities markets — that’s understandable, because whenever you hear “futures,” “options” is never too far behind! However, futures and options are different financial instruments with singular structures and uses.

The commodities markets are broad and deep, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Investors are often overwhelmed simply by the number of commodities out there: more than 30 tradable commodities to choose from. How do you decide whether to trade crude oil or gold, sugar or palladium, natural gas or frozen concentrated orange juice, soybeans or aluminum?

Solar power currently accounts for only 1 percent of total renewable energy sources, but it’s one of the fastest-growing areas in the commodities arena. Governments around the world are in the process of announcing massive infrastructure spending programs dedicated to harnessing the sun’s power and turning it into electricity and other forms of energy.