***C-SPAN interview on Oil commodity trading, this is an OUTRAGE!!!***

[thoughtcrime1984]

Michael Greenberger is the former Dir. of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1997-99), and had some very enlightening things to say about the ever-rising cost of oil. He is concerned that investment banks, hedge funds, and wealthy investors are "gerry-rigging" the futures market, and that the commodities markets are largely unregulated. He states that no matter how much oil is produced, that these speculators will continue to use corrupt markets to drive up oil prices to artificial highs. Also, that the banks are hording heating oil, crude oil, and gasoline, because they are appreciating commodities, much like gold. Of course the Bush administration is looking the other way on this, I wonder why? :sarcasm:

Greenberger goes on to state that if the DoJ were to look into the corruption of the market, that the futures on oil would sharply decrease. He believes Congress is slowly catching on to this, but we need them to move with more urgency. As long as the commodities markets are corrupt, any type of energy, including biofuels, will be subject to hording and speculation driving the prices up well beyond what they should be. There is not an oil shortage, but rather a PERCEPTION of a shortage, supply and demand is not the driving force in the recent run-up of oil costs. Commodity trading MUST be regulated fully, or this upward spiral of energy futures will continue unabated, even though it isn't warranted by actual supply.

Go to: http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp?Cat=Series&Code=WJE&ShowVidNum=6&Rot_Cat_CD=WJ&Rot_HT=205&Rot_WD to find the video of this 28 minute interview.



What are the candidates' stances on reeling in the commodities markets? Do they see this as a problem? They damn well should! The DoJ must get involved, or prices stand to go much higher...


Edited for more incendiary title! :grr:

[Parche]

1. Enron All over Again, This time With oil

Cheney's energy plan is working


:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :hi:

[thoughtcrime1984]

2. Yes, just like Enron

Greenberger mentions former Enron traders involved in the current trading as well!

[Better Believe It]

3. K&R

[thoughtcrime1984]

4. Anybody care about the REAL reason oil is going up sharply??

Obviously, we still need to find alternate sources of energy, but this is a very valid short-term problem that needs to be rectified, but has no hope of being addressed until our next President takes office.

[anigbrowl]

5. One thing to bear in mind

You can't just regulate commodities markets and expect the problems to go away. The US only has the power to regulate markets in the US. While that accounts for a fair chunk o the global market and will be carefully studied by other regulators and traders themseves, the reality of commodities trading is that it is global and regulating markets here doesn't prevent the trading and speculation taking place on other markets.

While companies are listed on a particular market like the NYSE, commodities, being fungible goods, are traded on multiple markets. I'm not arguing against regulation, I'm just saying that it's not a magic wand that solves problems over the short term as you seem to think. And while some of the market activity is purely speculative, there are underlying factors behind these price signals.

You also need to bear in mind that the price of oil is not going up as much for everyone else. The fact of a falling dollar makes the rise in prices seem steeper than it actually is on a global level.

[panAmerican]

6. Michael Greenberger is a great advocate and educator on this subject.

This racket is one of the most outlandish on Wall Street, and yet one of the least understood outside Wall Street.

Here is a great NPR interview he did on NPR not too long ago: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=89338743&m=89338809

[Marie26]

7. Hillary Clinton has come out strongly against oil traders.

From the campaign website -


"Take Immediate Action to Crack Down on Speculation and Market Manipulation in Oil and Gasoline Markets - Oil and gasoline markets contain loopholes for traders, and the markets are inadequately policed by regulators under current law. As a result, there is considerable concern that current market prices reflect the influence of speculators and other forces beyond supply and demand. In early April, an Exxon Mobil executive testified under oath before a House committee that the price of oil should be $50 to $55 per barrel based on supply and demand fundamentals. Marathon Oil’s CEO stated last October that: "$100 oil isn't justified by the physical demand in the market - it has to be speculation on the futures market that is fueling this." Hillary would take action to reduce the influence of speculators, crack down on market manipulation in oil markets, and outlaw price gouging by:

Closing the Enron Loophole - Hillary supports closing the "Enron loophole," which exempts electronic trading of energy commodities by large traders from U.S. government regulation. The loophole has helped lead to the dramatic growth of trading on unregulated electronic energy exchanges, and has made the U.S. energy markets vulnerable to price manipulation and excessive speculation. ...

Protect the consumer market from price gouging for petroleum products -- Hillary will make it unlawful for any supplier -- wholesaler or retailer -- to sell crude oil or gasoline at an unconscionably excessive price. Price gougers would face new fines and criminal penalties of up to $1 million and five years in prison and civil penalties could be assessed from $500,000 up to $5 million. Today, there are no federal laws prohibiting price gouging in the oil and gas industry, leaving some states to prohibit these actions. ...

Call on the Federal Trade Commission to Take Action Against Market Manipulation in Wholesale Oil Prices - The energy bill passed last year included new provisions to provide greater transparency and prevent manipulation in wholesale oil markets, and to empower the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and pursue violations. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has chosen not to use this new authority. To ensure that oil companies and traders are not ripping off consumers, Hillary is calling on the FTC to begin investigations using these new powers. In addition, Hillary is calling on the FTC to propose regulations under the new law within 60 days to prevent market manipulation in oil markets. Recent cases show that market manipulation is a concern in oil markets. In 2007, Marathon Oil paid a $1 million fine to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to settle charges that a subsidiary had tried to manipulate crude oil prices in 2003. Action by the FTC to investigate the current oil market and to develop and enforce new prohibitions on market manipulation would help to minimize foul play in oil and gasoline markets.



http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=7354

[truedelphi]

8. Greenberger doesn't think that the stockbrokers for the Congress critters

Are helping the Congress critters go into denial abt the total corruption of the trading process.
What incentive would any Senator have to lose out on his fortunes? There is not a Senator that is serving right now that is not a millionaire. The surplus cash is usually in stocks. And what better investment right now than the oil investments?

Bush would not have stayed in so long if his Administration's corruption had not made so many people
so rich. And if we audited the Senate and the Congress, we would find that they have all benefited from the rise in oil prices.

Otherwise the price fixing regulations set under RICO would have already been spelled out for the Big Oil Boys and Girls.

[quiet.american]

9. Hate to say it, but by the time the "gubment" does anything, it will be to bail out these bums.

These greedy, greedy bums are causing suffering on a massive scale for millions in this country, but nothing concrete will be done until their bubble bursts, then our tax dollars will go towards bailing them out. Rinse, repeat. (I'd love to be wrong.)