Oil, speculators and the issue, Still an issue.

Amazing how quickly the global crises of fuel had left the main topic of talk when the same forces who provoked the sharp increases in oil last year and the year prior are still verymuch in play and are just lying low... the ones who contributed to this economic mess in part. Folks think that merely because oil has gone down all is well and if there is another fuel crises we'll just "use the 2% of the worlds unused oil from Alaska to feed our 25% global consumption habit". Billions these pricks got away with.

Forget Madoff, these speculators are something else...





The problem arises within the commodity markets where a new breed of investor has invaded the market. Approximatly 60-70% of the oil contracts are now held by speculative entities, not by the companies that need oil, not by the airlines but by speculative investors who are looking to use their new contracts in conjunction with others to exaggerate the fuel prices and make millions in turn.

The steps to eliminating these guys from the floor was met by resistance some how or another however in these years prior. Republicans didnt want any action taken on these guys because they wanted oil limitations to be lifted in Alaska. Now in common sense one would assume that if the speculators are among the core of the issue, the ones who are pushing the prices to be high in cooperation with one another to make an extra mill or more, when this issue partly arises from exaggerated fuel pricing, it would matter what more oil you produced, the same speculation would be going on.

Seriously 2% of the worlds oil in Alaska and yet folks assume thats going to feed a 25% habit and "end the speculators from going about their corruptive immoral practices?

The Senate voted Wednesday to move forward on a bill meant to crack down on oil speculators.

Democrats say speculation in oil futures is a significant reason why oil prices have risen this year. But Republicans vowed to block the Senate from taking up any other measure until the Democratic leadership agrees to vote on other energy-related issues.

Republicans want to offer up to 28 amendments to the bill on a wide range of energy topics, including increasing domestic oil production.
The Democrats want to limit them to two amendments

Experts have said lifting bans on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore would not affect the oil market for several years, but Republicans have argued that the psychological effect of opening more areas for oil exploration would bring prices down.

The bill in the Senate would provide more resources and authority to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to detect and punish speculation.

www.cnn.com...

Yea damn straight... pritty sure the speculators know plenty about psychology and the rest of the world when it comes to oil. Thats why theyv been exploiting it, regardless of what little oil pool you open up. And you know what the Dems were damn WEAK and were not doing their jobs.

A Senate panel grilled a key government energy expert Tuesday over why the Bush administration plans to continue adding to the nation's oil reserve as the price of crude spikes near $100 a barrel. It appears though this oil mess began in late 2004 and has been spiking ever since. Investigations led to no cooperation by the administration and many in government in late 2006 early 2007...

Lawmakers also accused the administration of turning a blind eye to the role that oil speculators are playing in driving up prices.

The Department of Energy is planning to spend nearly $1 billion in 2008 to boost the amount of oil the nation holds in its 750 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

money.cnn.com...

Seriously I look to the free marketers here and just shake my head. Im sorry but certain markets need to be regulated. If we dont learn from history the same thing will continue to happen over and over again and denial will happen over and over again at the expense of hard working folks.... even those who have fooled themselves into believe this system of a near lawless system actually benefits them.

The crises occured in part due to fears of low oil which in opinion were real but were exploited at that fact as well. Whats more things began to go downwards when speculators began to take that issue to a whole new level and in turn oil spiked up for all of us. Sooner or later we will run out of fuel substance and Im sorry drilling in Alaska aint ganna solve our 25% consumption needs. Its beyond me how folks completely ignore more focus on alternative energy when its and inevitibility... or maybe its this fear of looking like greenys? Well the last time I looked nation first ideological shows come second.

Its time we put complete focus, look into cheaper hybrid, alternative fuels research, because we will continue to be exploited and lied to in part due to oil. The sooner we latch off this commodity, the harder we make it for those speculators, war mongerers and what not from exploiting us.

[edit on 16-3-2009 by Southern Guardian]

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[edit on 24 Mar 09 by Gools]

reply to post by Southern Guardian

The problem arises within the commodity markets where a new breed of investor has invaded the market. Approximatly 60-70% of the oil contracts are now held by speculative entities

I have trouble understanding how speculators are the problem. Speculators are not "a new breed of investors". Most of the contracts in the commodities markets are never delivered. Why? Because they were purchased as a speculative instrument. Even if you are purchasing a contract as a hedge you are still speculating. More regulation only results in more control and more manipulation. The free market is a beautiful thing!

speculators are not the ones you should be looking at.


their money supply is the problem, if they invested only their own cash, this type of explosive bubble nonsense wouldn't have been possible in any market, resources included.

all the money in the bubbles came into existence (was 'printed') to facilitate control over an ever greater share of the world. you might ask how inflation could be curbed in this scenario, but the thread itself is the answer, if you use super expensive petroleum, housing and consumer goods to diminish purchasing power, you can effectively transfer wealth from everyone else into the financial system.

at this point (once it's gobbled up by the industrial/banking/military/political/whathaveyou complex), it's very hard to tell who's really calling the shots and how these vast assets are really used, but i suspect the same people who are always pushing for some agenda are the front end of the machine. either that or voluntary useful idiots (*shudder*). think about global warming, peak oil and this year's latest and greatest deadly pandemic disease™....

of course some issues are real, others only imagined but good lies always contain a shred of truth and it's the answers that are always destructive and working against us. biofuels cause famine, soil depletion and require nearly as much energy in the shape of fertilizer as they eventually yield. all in the guise of good intentions - and fighting the weather, of course. an exercise in masochistic futility but folks will dig it given enough advertising.

[edit on 2009.3.24 by Long Lance]