The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is an international marketplace enabling institutions and businesses to manage their financial risks and allocate their assets. On its trading floors, buyers and sellers meet to trade futures contracts and options on futures through the process of open outcry. The Merc's diverse product line consists of futures and options on futures within four general categories: agricultural commodities, foreign currencies, interest rates and stock indexes.

Members of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange include the world's largest banks and investment houses, as well as independent traders and brokers. All over the world, pension fund and investment advisers, portfolio managers, corporate treasurers and commercial banks trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as an integral part of their financial management strategy. In fact, when business, industry and commerce make effective use of futures markets, they help reduce the risks that are part of doing business — which means lower prices for consumers.

overview reprinted from the official site for the MERC-- www.cme.com