Eric Holder To Fraud Squad: Oil Price Plunge Should Benefit Consumers

[tridim]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a memo to the federal agencies involved in the president's new Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group on Friday, urging them to take close look at the recent plunge in oil prices. The crude oil market fell 10 percent Thursday in a record sell-off.

The sharp drop came amid concerns from several experts that excessive speculation in commodities markets was driving up gas prices for consumers. As Bart Chilton, a top regulator at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has repeatedly noted, the number of speculative bets on oil and food are at record levels.

The CFTC and Justice Department have had authority to monitor fraud and manipulation in the oil markets for decades. But President Barack Obama created the new oil market fraud squad in April to provide enhanced regulatory scrutiny of potential fraud and manipulation in the oil futures and derivatives markets.

Holder's Friday memo was not concerned with the causes for the oil market decline, only that no illegal activity prevents resulting lower prices being passed onto consumers.

Snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/06/holder-oil-price-plunge-obama-fraud_n_858749.html

This thread is not about MMJ, so don't bother posting about it. Thanks.

[elleng]

1. Good. Looking for this.

Price at one of my neighborhood pumps down 4cents today from yesterday, and good to hear I'm not the only one looking at this.

[Pab Sungenis]

2. Only four cents?

To stay commensurate with the drop in the price of crude, it should have dropped about 20 cents.

You're still being gouged, but now feel good about it because it looks like you're benefiting.

[elleng]

3. Don't be foolish; I'm not.

4 cents in one day. I'm looking for trends, and finding them will take more than one day, you know.

[jpak]

4. Good - throw 'em in jail with massive fines and clawbacks of ill-gotten gains

yup

[bhikkhu]

5. On the theory that demand will drop below supply -

speculators bet on a decrease in the price of oil. Note that economic projections inclined to the negative, so the bet is now on a decline in demand. If the world economy showed signs if vigor, the same players looking at the same equation bet on an increase in demand, and the price goes up.

Not to say its just or not how that works, but I think getting off the ride (as much as is possible) is a better approach, especially if you look at all the existing problems - the Carter Doctrine, the Patriot Act mandate for preemption even for economic causes, 30 years of unimaginably expensive and destructive involvement in the middle east, and so forth. Dependence has had a high price.

[napoleon_in_rags]

6. Ding Ding! We have a winner:

You are right on. We have to be honest with ourselves about this whole thing - these oil prices (unfairly) effect the presidents poll ratings, so there is this political incentive to "feel our pain and anger" and look for someone to punish, or at least look like they are doing that. But the smart voice is yours: we've been in this game long enough now, we know the connection between the recession and energy costs. The second employment goes up, the economy starts thriving, oil prices will jump back up, until the economy goes down again, they will decrease again. We are in an energy crunch, and its long term. REAL solutions mean moving to a more sustainable society and decreasing dependence, and to me, REAL leadership means leading us in that direction. It was good to see Obama backing alternative energy today, but this is in so many ways THE issue of our time...I hope to see MUCH more in coming months and years.

And also more out of we the people. Its really OUR fight this time.

PEace