An affiliate of FCStone Group, Inc., a commodity risk management firm (NASDAQ:FCSX), recently was named the electronic market maker for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ethanol futures contract. FCStone Trading, LLC (?FCStone?), will provide liquidity and continuous two-sided markets for the ethanol futures trading on the CBOT's electronic trading platform.

?FCStone brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the CBOT's ethanol complex which has become the benchmark for domestic ethanol prices,? said CBOT Senior Vice President of Business Development Robert D. Ray. ?Our ethanol processors and investors have already noted the improved liquidity that FCStone has brought to our market. We are committed to working with FCStone and the rest of the biofuels industry to create new and innovative trading opportunities for market participants.?

According to FCStone Trading Senior Vice President Eric Bowles, ?The decision to become a market maker is driven by our commitment to support the continued growth of the global renewable fuels industry. Increased liquidity in the ethanol futures contract provides a transparent pricing benchmark for managing production and marketing risks.?

?FCStone is committed to providing the best possible solutions for our customers' commodity risk management needs,? said FCStone Group CEO Pete Anderson. ?We are exemplifying our customer commitment by establishing the market with the CBOT ethanol contract, and by supporting over-the-counter (OTC) Ethanol Calendar Swaps.?

Ray pointed out that FCStone was instrumental in initiating the CBOT Ethanol Calendar Swap. FCStone's recent offering of two products?forward and previous month calendar swaps based on the price of CBOT Ethanol futures contracts?are the first exchange-cleared OTC products to be specifically tailored for use in the ethanol industry. The on-exchange clearing of OTC contracts has been ongoing in other industries and is now available to serve customers in the ethanol industry. The daily mark to market and credit risk/counterparty mitigation have been strong points in favor of using the Ethanol OTC Calendar Swaps.

?The mission of the companies making up FCStone Group is and has always been to add to the bottom line of our customers. The addition of these commodity risk management instruments at the CBOT gives our customers additional tools from which to manage their ethanol price risk in the most effective and efficient way possible,? said Anderson.

ABOUT FCSTONE GROUP, INC.

FCStone Group, Inc., along with its affiliates, is an integrated commodity risk management company providing risk management consulting and transaction execution services to commercial commodity intermediaries, end-users and producers. The firm assists primarily middle market customers in optimizing their profit margins and mitigating exposure to commodity price risk. In addition to risk management consulting services, FCStone, LLC, operates one of the leading independent clearing and execution platforms for exchange-traded futures and options contracts. FCStone Group, Inc., serves more than 7,500 customers and in the 12 months ended November 30, 2006, executed 50.2 million derivative contracts in the exchange-traded and over-the-counter markets. In addition to renewable fuels, the FCStone Group companies work in all the major commodity areas including agriculture, energy, foods, forestry, and currency exchange. Headquartered in the Midwest, it has offices located throughout the world and is a clearing member of all major North American Futures exchanges. FCStone Group, Inc., trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ?FCSX.?