Grain traders had to move faster today after the USDA report, given the expanded trading hours; some did fine, some not so much. Big funds in and focused on Europe are dumping assets and positions denominated in the euro, given the uncertainty spreading through the eurozone. CFTC’s Gary Gensler points out that trading firms are not prohibited by regulation from making bad market calls. The news channels are thick with stories from the eurozone today on the state of both the currency and the union; and for those with less of a European focus, there’s plenty of news about JPMorgan, the size of the recent loss, and more importantly the size of the risk that was being taken.

From Futures for Kids:

London’s futures and options industry joined forces with the foreign exchange community last Friday in the 2nd annual35 mile plus Walk to Work on 4 routes to the City for 4 children’s charities raising in the process almost £60k.

The Futures For Kids Walk to Work 2012 raised funds for four children’s charities with a mix of local, regional and international coverage – Demelza House, Hope HIV, Everychild and Variety.

The inaugural 2011 Walk consisted of a single route but this year the event was greatly expanded with walkers starting out on 4 routes from Tunbridge Wells, Guildford, Tring and Billericay.

Almost 100 Futures for Kids supporters joined the effort including executives from brokerage houses, banks, proprietary trading firms and software vendors. They were boosted by a very strong contingent of senior management from London-based derivatives and stock exchanges, trade associations and specialist publications. Exchanges represented included Turquoise, Deutsche Boerse, Eurex, NYSE Liffe, Nasdaq OMX, Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange and Singapore Exchange.

Watch Six Billion Dollar Bet on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

From PBS Frontline:

Jon Corzine, former head of Goldman Sachs and political power broker, took over MF Global in the spring of 2010 with oversize ambition and a passion for risk. But after a massive bet on European debt turned sour, the firm lay in ruins, with more than a billion dollars of customer funds missing. Six Billion Dollar Bet, our latest addition to Money, Power and Wall Street, examines how Corzine’s traders went around MF Global’s risk officers and how he swayed regulators in Washington to allow risky practices to continue.

The clearinghouse operations for CME Group and IntercontinentalExchange are now said to be “systemically important” by regulators, bringing them closer to increased Dodd-Frank supervision.  Oslo Bors takes action against quote stuffers, and announces penalties for placing too many orders without enough accompanying dealmaking. Eurozone leaders fail to conclusively identify a useful salvation plan in recent meetings, rekindling fears of a messy and painful resolution to the region’s financial woes.