A Week of Firsts

Last week saw a series of exciting firsts for the London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”) training courses.

  • The FIRST Asian time zone course covering the loco London market attracted attendees from Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
  • There was frisson of excitement at the FIRST in-person course since the pandemic and all enjoyed the ease of face-to-face engagement.
  • The FIRST course covering the LBMA’s responsible sourcing programme sold out prompting the addition of a second session in the afternoon.

The next loco London courses will take place on 17 & 18 November, and a date for responsible sourcing will be finalised shortly.  Follow this link to secure your place.

Right time, right course

Last week saw the return of Euromoney Learning’s Commodity Derivatives course after a two-year hiatus.  The marked increase in commodity price volatility due to Covid, supply chain disruptions and the Ukraine-Russia situation makes this a timely topic to revisit.

The course has been redesigned to combine the best aspects of classroom and virtual delivery.  Last week, half the attendees were in classroom and the remainder joined remotely.  The hybrid delivery had the advantage of one attendee being able to continue to attend the course virtually when too unwell to be there in person.

“Enjoyed the interaction between the class room and the virtual team”

“Very good instructor with wide info, flexible and fully aware of the subject area”

This course is next scheduled for 21-23 November and you can secure your place here.

Are there any questions?

This week’s London Metal Exchange / Euromoney Learning courses were attended by a range of participants from all parts of the supply chain and with varying degrees of existing knowledge of the LME.  The courses assume no prior knowledge and seek to build confidence in those new to the market, as well as challenging and extending the range of the more experienced participants.

There certainly was no shortage of questions throughout.  One advantage of virtual delivery is that a shy, less confident attendee can pass questions directly to the trainer via a private chat, so their queries do not get drowned out by the more dominant participants.

“The speech and presentation were very inspiring”

“Great course, it exceeded my expectations”

“No one felt they had to hold back from asking questions”

The next courses will take place during LME Week (25-27 October) and will see a welcome return to the classroom.  Virtual 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.

The show must go on

Thank goodness for virtual delivery.  Last week’s London Metal Exchange’s “Introduction to Cash-settled Futures” was able to go ahead despite the trainer testing positive for Covid.  This 3-hour course is specifically designed for those keen to learn more about the cash-settled contracts offered by the LME, but it also an excellent brief introduction for anyone interested in learning how to apply futures contracts to manage metal price risk.

Why not set aside time in your diary to join the next session on 10th November 2022?
 

Together or separate?

The LBMA’s introductory courses on the loco London market are designed as two independent modules, which can be taken consecutively or independently. Last week’s courses saw over half of the attendees on the first module continue straight to the second module. The remaining attendees on the “How to use loco London” course had all previously attended the “Introduction to loco London”. It was wonderful to see so many returning for more training. It is a clear indication that the courses are fulfilling a need.

It is absolutely not a prerequisite to complete the first module in order to join the second. So, what suits you best? A two-day deep dive, or one day followed by a refresher and more advanced material a few months later?

“The course was exactly what I needed in terms of content and duration.”

“Excellent mix of lecturing and workshop activities, with enough breaks to allow me to follow for a full day”

“Expertly delivered – pitched at an appropriate level and very engaging”

“Understanding was possible at all levels of English”

The next run of the first module is timed to cater for the Asian time zone and will run over two consecutive afternoons (Singapore time) on 26 & 27 September. It is anticipated that the second module will run again towards the end of the year.

Follow this link to secure your place.

Going, going, …. not gone

Attendees on last week’s London Metal Exchange / Euromoney Learning courses were taking bets on whether or not the presenter’s voice would last until the end of the day, let alone until the end of the third day.  Trial and error with various medications quickly established the ones that worked.  At least the virtual delivery protected all participants from contracting the same cold. 

“Excellent course. Could not fault it.”

“Good mix of theory and practice (through examples, quiz, discussion, ….), in an interactive environment. At last, also good fun!”

“I really appreciated being able to ask questions along the way”

With several more attendees with an interest in steel than usual, there were lots of extra discussions comparing the physical market conventions for base metals to those in steel, and contrasting the financial products offered by the exchange to service the respective sectors.
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.

Can you bake muffins?

Last week’s London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”) training course did not turn into the Great British Bake Off, but one participant said that explanations on the course made understanding the loco London market and applying derivatives “as easy as following a muffin recipe”.

“The interactive graphics, examples, drawings, workshops certainly helped to explain the more complex points of the course and also kept the course engaging.”

 “Overall, this was an excellently structured and delivered course.”

 “Easy to understand (even for non-native speakers).”

 “Very satisfied that I took this course and would recommend it to someone else.”

Being a virtual course, of course there were no muffins, or even coffee, supplied during the coffee breaks.  What was clear by the end of the course, was that participants felt ready to try out the “recipes” for loco London and derivatives back at the office.

If you would like to improve your skills, “An Introduction to Loco London” and “How to Use Loco London” are next scheduled to run on 9th and 10th June 2022 respectively.  Follow this link to secure your place.

Is there a question?

Attendees on last week’s London Metal Exchange / Euromoney Learning courses took full advantage of the interactive nature of these sessions to ask all sorts of questions about the LME.  Any time there was a pause, there was always someone there with a question. At the end of the course, one of the quieter participants note how much more they had learned from the extra explanations.  If you have any questions about the LME and it’s products, why not attend a course and get the answers.

“I sincerely recommend to attend this course to all the users that are approaching the LME world.”

“Was really impressed with the trainer and the format of the course. Even though it was online you still felt like you were in a room of people.”

“Even on a virtual environment there has been a successful capacity to handle moment of tiredness with fun and education.”

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.

Seeking knowledge or inspiration?

On the London Metal Exchange (“LME”) courses you never know who will be on the course with you.  This week’s “Introduction to LME Cash-settled futures” had excellent representation across geographies (Africa, Europe and the US), across metals (steel, lithium and base metals) and across industry sectors (recyclers, refiners, traders and construction).  A surprise attendee was a US based artist who uses metals in their sculptures.  Discussions around the main topics were full of helpful insights particularly from the price reporting agencies.  All too quickly, time was up and the trainer had to call time when it looked like several side deals might be concluded there and then.

And the verdict?

  • 100% found the level of the course was just right
  • 100% will use what they learned immediately

And we look forward to seeing the artwork inspired by the day.

Whatever your motivation, why not set aside time in your diary to join the next session on 17th June 2022?

Cash is king

This week’s London Metal Exchange (“LME”) / Euromoney Learning  webinar took a look at cash-settled futures which use price reporting agencies to determine the final cash settlement amount.  It included an in-depth look at the front-month contract and explains why the front-month quote can differ from spot prices in the physical market.

“It is so helpful to be able to go back to basics and remind myself of the underlying principles in what can be an incredibly complicated and jargon-filled topic.”

“All very clearly explained!”

If you missed it, links to all the webinars in this series are here.  To learn more about these contacts, why not join the half-day course on 9th February 2022.