Category Archives: Training

Something beginning with “S”

Last week’s London Metal Exchange (“LME”) / Euromoney Learning courses were well attended with great representation across the value chain.  The “S” theme came from the attendees being based in Sweden and South Africa, from smelters, scrap recyclers and specialist steels, and Stephanie being the willing volunteer in many of the examples.

“I’m very glad I did this training. It was well worth the money and for a virtual course, it was very well explained and very interactive.”

“There were enough examples and recaps to really understand what was going on … and lots of room to ask questions.”

“I recommend it to all those who want to start trading and hedging.”

Check out Upcoming Courses for links to register for the final session in 2021 (7-9 December, EDT) or the brand-new half-day course on cash-settled futures (30 November, GMT).  2022 dates are being finalised and will be posted shortly.

 

Split session

This month’s London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”) “An Introduction to loco London”  training course trialled a new format.  Instead of delivering the course in a single day, there were two sessions on consecutive London afternoons.  The idea was to make the course more accessible to those “across the pond”, but interestingly this sold-out course had more attendees from Asia than the US and Canada.  Which format suits you better – all on one day or split over two? 

“It has been a great opportunity for me to understand the bullion market in a short time” 

“The presenter was able to explain theoretical points and match them with practical examples.” 

This course and the follow-on module, “How to Use Loco London”, return to the single day format on 2 & 3 December respectively. Check out Upcoming Courses for links to more details.

 

More than you bargain for

Attendees on this week’s London Metal Exchange  / Euromoney Learning introductory courses definitely got more than they bargained for.

An integral part of these courses are the side discussions that develop from questions raised by attendees.  This week there was a tremendous willingness to share real-life experiences.  When a consumer, new to hedging, was querying how to manage their US Midwest aluminium premium exposure, a physical trader shared their practical approach to premium risk in Europe.  On the options day, discussions included applying options to manage escalation clauses in concentrate agreements.  These bonus topics always make the few days more enriching and enjoyable.

I was able to understand more about what our clients do in terms of hedging and LME contracts.

The trainer was patient and explained the concepts precisely.

It was a pleasure to learn from someone who has lots of experience and knowledge about how LME works practically and theoretically.

Courses are scheduled to coincide with the business day in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.  Check out Upcoming Courses to find a date and time zone that works for you.

Back to basics

This week’s London Metal Exchange (“LME”) / Euromoney Learning  webinar refreshed the very first webinar in this series.  The original webinar enjoyed strong registrations, and has easily been the most popular over the last two years.  There is clearly appetite for more as there was a record number of registrations, download figures are ticking up already and questions poured into the final Q&A.

The next session on 14th September will take a look at the forward curve, and will explore why contango and backwardation arise.  You can register for this webinar and find all previous webinars here.

 

Tokyo to Texas

This month’s London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”) loco London training courses attracted participants from all over the world, from Tokyo to Texas, including Liverpool and Lugano.

The two modules, “An Introduction to loco London”  and “How to use Loco London”,  are designed as stand-alone courses and can be attended separately.  Several attendees opted for a deep dive and took the two courses on consecutive days.  Others preferred to split the courses over a few months, either due to busy schedules or a natural preference for consolidating new knowledge before moving onto the next level.  Those who have a basic knowledge of the market can jump straight into the “How to use” session.

The combination of a core group that attended both days plus the influx of new faces on the second day, made for lively Q&A sessions and interesting shared insights during the group workshops.

“Fantastic course, very informative, enjoyable and really interesting insight to the bullion market. I really got a lot out of it.”

“Competent speaker, good atmosphere, Nice mixed group from a lot of branches of the industry”

The next Introduction to Loco London course will be split over two London afternoons (15-16 September) to accommodate both European and US based attendees. Further course dates are being firmed up and will be confirmed shortly. Keep an eye on Upcoming Courses for dates and links to register.

 

The breeze in Belize

WFH or TFH, Training From Home, was taken to a whole new level during last week’s London Metal Exchange  / Euromoney Learning introductory courses.  The courses were run in the New York time zone to cater to the Americas and one attendee was on holiday in Belize.  We were envious when we realised that the palm trees outside were not a virtual background.  Be it a holiday home, or makeshift home office, physical location is much less of an impediment to developing professional skills and networking across the industry than we might have feared at the start of the pandemic.

“Very good, very happy with my learnings, I highly recommend!”

“It definitely broadened my understanding of key LME market concepts and gave me the necessary knowledge to start experimenting in these markets.”

“The trainer managed to explain complex concepts in a simple way while maintaining everyone engaged”

Courses are scheduled to coincide with the business day in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.  Check out Upcoming Courses to find a date and time zone that works for you.

 

Let’s get physical

This week’s London Metal Exchange (“LME”) / Euromoney Learning  webinar examined the warehousing network and delivery mechanics that underpin the physically settled base metals contracts.   
If you want to better understand what warrants are, how they are created, transferred and cancelled, or find data sources for stocks in LME warehouses, you can access recordings of this and all previous webinars here.

The next session on 6th July will refresh the most popular session in the series to date: The Fundamentals of Hedging on the LME.  Why not put a date in your diary to have your questions answered during the Q&A?

What a difference a year makes

Think back to April 2020.  Day-to-day life had been turned upside down across the world. The talk was of “a new normal”, Zoom, R-numbers and acronyms such as WFH.  Open outcry trading was suspended at the London Metal Exchange  and LME / Euromoney Learning introductory courses went virtual.

Fast forward a year.  How well we can adapt when we must.  The training courses now incorporate best practice in virtual delivery and networking alongside the personal touch of an experienced live trainer.  The verdict is in.  Course numbers are back up to pre-pandemic in-classroom levels.  Virtual definitely delivers.

“This was an eye opener to the world of commodity hedging for me”

“This course was an excellent combination of some basics as well as practical examples to get to grips with what actually happens in real life”

“I feel I will be able to work with my suppliers better”

Courses are scheduled to coincide with the business day in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.  Check out Upcoming Courses to find a date and time zone that works for you.

East or West?

A striking feature of the London Metal Exchange / Euromoney Learning introductory courses is that the geographical spread of attendees has increased since the courses moved to virtual delivery.  Last week’s courses were nominally in Dubai, but attendees were actually in locations as far apart as Mongolia and Canada.  One person was even in the back seat of a car while on a business trip.

“Great to access the course without waiting for it to be in a location near me”

“Enjoyed the chance to network in the break-time area”

“Clear delivery and plenty of time for questions – very useful”

Courses are scheduled to coincide with the business day in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.  Check out Upcoming Courses to find a date and time zone that works for you.