You may have heard about commodities trading, but you may not be familiar with how the strategy works—or why it’s used by so many people as a staple of their investment portfolio. On the surface, ...

Learn about futures trading, along with how contracts work, key market factors, risks, and potential benefits, and how investors use futures to hedge or speculate.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission Web site (http://www.cftc.gov) has a range of information, including scam warnings and a glossary. See, for example, "What ...