May

19

C@rgill, from Jeff Watson

May 19, 2008 |

C@rgill is a class outfit, with a willingness to make a market in any commodity, anywhere and any time, as long as they have an edge. I've always speculated that there was a Faustian bargain somewhere in that outfit's past. C@rgill (founded 1865) is still part of the old grain business that is very family oriented, with the Staley's, MacMillans, Peaveys, Bensons and Quinns grooming the next generation to trade the world's food supply. 

I've been on the other side of many a C@rgill trade, and usually lost money in the process.

Vin Humbert adds:

As a newly transplanted Minnesota resident, I can tell you it is equally difficult to get employed by them. Most of the postings I've been reviewing require fluency in a LatAm region language. Rarely do I see peers demanding the same (esp. Portuguese).


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5 Comments so far

  1. Anatoly Veltman on May 20, 2008 9:10 am

    Jeff: Of course, as you know, Paul Tudor Jones's funds have enjoyed decades of clearing relationship there. It's more than likely this is who you've faded on those trades. Given their record (not to be confused with Cargill's), your predicament is understandable.

  2. manuel bravochico on May 20, 2008 1:10 pm

    There's usually a Cargill employee on the LAX-Santiago-Buenos Aires flight that I chat with on that long flight.

  3. Mark Bates on May 20, 2008 3:34 pm

    I had a couple of interviews with Cargill in Chicago years ago. It went really well but alas, I didn't speak Japanese or Spanish and that sank my chances. Cargill is stronger than Ben Gump.mb

  4. Jeff Watson on May 20, 2008 6:05 pm

    Anatoly,

    Paul Tudor Jones cleared through Cargill Investors Service, who has a broker in the pit, filling customer orders. Cargill Inc. has another member in the pit trading their account. It was the Cargill house broker that cost me money, not the CIS guy. Cargill is a master at pushing spreads in whatever direction they want, and I seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when I was on the other side. Incidentally, Cargill would take the other side of of every grain merchant on the planet at the same time including biggies like Bunge, Dreyfus, and Continental…and make money. Cargill has always had the ability to stuff the market with as much wheat as necessary to meet their objectives. Their organization, from the elevator to the finished product, is unparalleled.

    If it was Jones who faded me, I’ll tip my hat to him and say “Good Job.”

    Jeff

  5. manuel bravochico on May 21, 2008 10:04 pm

    A;
    Oh no, here he goes again with the pit shpiel…

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