Commodity futures trading topic of program

Contact: Sammy McDavid

A member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission speaks Dec. 2 at Mississippi State University.

David D. Spears, chair of the commission's Financial Products Advisory Committee, will discuss commodity futures trading and the duties of his organization in its regulation. The public program begins at 12:30 p.m. in 10 Lloyd-Ricks Hall.

Commodity futures include major agricultural products like soybeans, cattle and cotton, along with other high-demand trade items ranging from gold to heating oil.

The agricultural economics department is sponsoring Spears' campus visit.

A Kansas native, Spears was appointed by President Clinton to a four-year term last year. Prior to that, he held several senior staff assignments with Bob Dole, the long-serving U.S. senator from Kansas who rose to become Senate majority leader.

Spears, an agricultural economics graduate of Kansas State University, also has experience in the banking industry, specifically in agribusiness financing.

For additional information on his campus visit, telephone (601) 325-2516.