Futures exchanges have created product development positions –just like Ford, Nestlé or Mars.

Wall Street Journal

In 2000, Washington loosened regulations and gave exchanges new leeway to sell futures based on more esoteric concepts — such as events – as the big Wall Street financial firms already were doing. Mr. Labuszewski’s Merc team rolled out event-triggered weather contracts involving snowfall, frost and hurricanes. Through a joint venture, the Merc also tackled derivatives on economic events including changes in the consumer-price index, U.S. nonfarm payrolls, retail-sales figures and jobless claims. But none were as successful as bets on the weather. (The economic-event derivatives were discontinued last week after the partnership dissolved over time.)