Take Part Live On Wednesday, November 17th, 2010. 11:00 EST/16:00 GMT.

Commodities market information and decision support leader Aspect Enterprise Solutions (AES) will deliver a live webcast on November 17 with a guest presenter from leading global publisher Platts. The webcast, which will be free of charge, will put ferrous metals and steel market practitioners in direct contact with recognized industry experts.

The international Webcast - which will be at 11:00EST/16:00GMT - is open to trading, brokerage, processing, mining, smelting and other companies involved in steel, ferrous, non-ferrous and base metals industries. Participants need simply complete an on-line application at http://www.aspectenterprise.com/events_and_news/events.php or email [email protected].

The webcast will be hosted by AES Global Sales Director for Metals Trading and Risk Management Rob Hamilton, and will include a steel market overview from Platts Director of Metals Market Reporting Francis Browne. The webcast will detail the challenges presently facing the industry and explain how timely market information and real-time analysis can help participants to better understand and manage exposures in order to formulate strategies commensurate with the risk profile set by senior management and board members. The webcast will also include an interactive question and answer session where participants will be free to ask questions of the hosts upon completion of the presentation.

The webcast comes at a time when global ferrous and steel metals markets driven by growing demand, largely from emerging economies like China and India, are undergoing a major transformation. Once characterized by long-term, fixed price contracts the market has of late become a highly volatile and fast changing place with the emergence of shorter term contracts priced from spot, index and average prices.

“As a consequence, the industry is moving towards short-term, variable price deals with suppliers, producers and shippers all looking to manage their risk and exposure,” says Hamilton. “In this first webcast we’ll be discussing the changes occurring in the industry, looking at the different challenges which are endemic in the markets and demonstrating how key market data together with easy-to-use analytics can help companies manage their business in this new environment.”

Among other topics, the webcast will cover:

•   Why market practitioners can no longer rely on traditional non-transparent pricing methods to make intelligent buy/sell decisions on physicals.
•   How real-time information such as Platts Heards and LME Steel Prices can help in a market that is moving deals from fixed price, long-term contracts to short-term contracts based on spot or index-based and average prices.
•   How the price and availability of raw materials from iron ore, coking coal and ferroalloys through scrap and freight impact downstream products’ pricing and profitability.
•   Where to find benchmark price assessments, analysis and breaking news for trading all metals and related products including iron ore, coal, ferroalloys, pig-iron, steel products, precious metals and base metals from a variety of sources including Platts, London Metal Exchange and Dow Jones.
•   The challenges that companies are exposed to today, how to understand, embrace and control them within accepted risk profiles.