Futures Trading

Many people avoid investing or going into futures trading for fair of losing their money. This is simply not exactly true or correct. Futures trading is one of those safe investments if the investor is trained properly (with enough knowledge) and can only be as risky if you want it. Risks can be minimized or mitigated because an investor can opt out anytime by selling his contracts if the margins have become untenable for him. Trading in futures started as a simple concept to help farmers mitigate the effects of the weather and avoid future price fluctuations. End-users of agricultural commodities also benefit by way of predictable costing that helps greatly in long-term business planning, budgeting and forecasting. The additional benefits of futures trading is liquidity and elimination of risks.

Futures Trading

http://www.rb-trading.com/begin1.html
This site contains one of the best books on futures trading especially written for beginners. It arranged the topics logically and even contains a warning for those new to the game like the psychological pitfalls most traders tend to commit. A common tendency for neophyte traders is to hold unto losing positions for too long in the hope of recouping losses rather than taking a small short-term loss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_Futures_Trading_Commission
A site reference when looking for articles on the U.S. CFTC and its activities. This is the U.S. governmental agency tasked to regulate trade in commodity futures but has been largely powerless in the case of oil futures because the trades are conducted outside America. Pending legislation will try to close the loopholes.