Readings: Hawala in oil futures, Trading performance, Riding RCOM

Economic Times: The hawala route to global oil futures . . . some of the seasoned investors and commodity traders are betting on global crude oil futures, by routing their transactions through the hawala route. They are taking positions in international commodity exchanges by paying the margin money in the unofficial foreign exchange market. Some international brokerages, with a domestic presence, are facilitating these transactions smoothly, where investors deposit the margin amount equivalent in rupee with their Indian subsidiary. The trade is done through the broker’s office in some other location — mostly Dubai, given that Hawala trades are most rampant in the Middle East. Officially, investors are permitted and allowed to invest up to $200,000 in overseas markets such as shares in the US, the UK or Japan. But, last year,... [read full story]