Chicago Tribune – Government attempts to revive the economy could decide what happens to trading volumes at CME Group Inc.

A $1 trillion federal deficit could flood the market with enough government bonds to stabilize volumes, while a Federal Reserve policy to spur borrowing by keeping interest rates near zero could slice further into volumes at the Chicago-based exchange operator.

U.S. Treasury bonds and other interest rate futures represent about 40 percent of the 7.63 million contracts traded daily this month at the CME Group’s Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade.

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North by Northwestern – By the start of his 9 a.m. class, Weinberg freshman Brian Levin has begun watching his investments.

When the markets open, he checks his models to try to predict what will happen in the markets, and then starts formulating investment positions. He calls other professionals and traders on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade to see what they’re doing that day, or if there are any rumors going around the trading community. He adjusts his investment positions throughout the day until 3 p.m. when the equity market closes.

Levin has been investing since he was 13 years old. Three years ago, he took on clients and founded the hedge fund BDL Capital Advisors, which he still runs today — when he’s not in class. Levin has over forty clients, an office in Vernon Hills, IL, and a snazzy website. Despite the current economic downturn, 2008 was BDL Capital Adviser’s best year yet financially.

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