COMMODITY TRADING: Vitol paid $75 million to buy out a former employee who was charged with conspiring to bribe government officials — and kept making the payments even after his landmark corruption trial, according to court documents. @jfarchy

COMMODITY TRADING: Alex Beard, the billionaire ex-head of oil at Glencore, pleaded not guilty to bribery and corruption at court in London, setting up a highly anticipated trial in 2027.

Commodity markets are saying everything you need to know. Even as rate hike expectations and Treasury yields rise, commodities continue push higher across the board. Inflation has now been above the Fed's 2% target for 65 consecutive months. And, the Fed's 2% target appears to be distant at best as oil prices near $100/barrel again. The reality is that the denominator of these assets, the US Dollar, is undergoing a historic loss of purchasing power. Prices are not just rising; the currency they are priced in is losing value. We have a long road ahead.

Commodity market guru Jeff Currie on the COMMODITY CHOKEPOINTS: "The Black Sea grain corridor, taken out. The Black Sea oil ports, taken out. Russian refineries, taken out. The Red Sea blocked. The Strait of Hormuz blocked… I've never seen it this bad."

Commodity markets are volatile in nature. Supply shocks can trigger sharp price swings with global consequences, Jean-Marc Natal writes in F&D magazine.

Commodity Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are essentially compliant products that package the business model of "holding commodities long-term and continuously generating rental income" and offer it to retail investors. Fund companies receive a share of the rental income earned by large investors who hold substantial amounts of commodities, lend related assets, and participate in derivatives market transactions, while also charging management fees. Fund companies are not simply optimistic about the market prospects of a particular commodity, but rather value its asset attribute of continuously generating "rent." Since May 13, 2016, the day BitMEX launched the world's first BTC perpetual contract, a funding rate mechanism has been implemented. From then on, long-term BTC holders could obtain rental income through hedging operations, marking its true transformation into a "rental asset." Before this, it existed merely as a speculative target for evangelistic beliefs; afterwards, it possessed a stable positive cash flow logic.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to automatically award successful whistleblowers 30% of any enforcement penalties collected if a tipster is due to receive $5 million or less, the agency said Friday