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September 5, 2008 6:34:37 AM CDT

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Stories related to: speculators

Stories

6 Stories

  • August 2008

    • Small Cadre of Speculators Control Oil

      Washington Post  |  Aug 21, 08 10:48 AM CDT

      Small Cadre of Speculators Control Oil

      (Newser) - A surprisingly small group of investors and oil traders control the vast majority of the world’s oil contracts, and they are exerting tremendous influence over the market, reports the Washington Post. Regulators have found that a few financial firms speculating for themselves or their clients hold 81% of the oil contracts on NYMEX—a far bigger share than had been previously reported. A single Swiss firm was found to hold as much as 11% of the contracts in July. More »

      Tags

      oil  • oil prices  • John Dingell  • speculators  • NYMEX

  • July 2008

    • US Smacked by the Invisible Hand

      Los Angeles Times  |  Jul 16, 08 2:12 PM CDT

      US Smacked by the Invisible Hand

      (Newser) - Are we losing confidence in market mechanisms? Years of unfettered free markets contributed to the current gloomy economic situation, and even the market-championing White House has lurched into government regulation of the financial world, the Los Angeles Times reports. With housing prices falling and oil prices rising, “the message that Americans are getting is that something went wrong with the markets and you got hurt," said one economist. More »

      Tags

      oil price  • housing market  • economy  • oil prices  • regulation  • bank regulation  • speculators  • free markets

    • Where's Oil Money Going? Maybe to Your Pension

      Washington Post  |  Jul 7, 08 2:12 PM CDT

      Where's Oil Money Going? Maybe to Your Pension

      (Newser) - Wall Street brokers and energy speculators aren’t the only ones lining their pockets thanks to skyrocketing oil prices, the Washington Post reports. Many pension funds have pushed heavily into commodities, bringing big returns in a time of economic strife. “Our commodity investment has really helped,” said the executive director of the Fairfax County, Va., pension fund, which has seen a 61% return. More »

      Tags

      oil price  • commodities  • pensions  • speculators  • pension funds

    • Speculators Didn't Do It

      The Weekly Standard  |  Jul 5, 08 7:21 PM CDT

      Speculators Didn't Do It

      (Newser) - Politicians are blaming high oil prices on an old scapegoat: speculators, writes Dean Barnett in the Weekly Standard . But if speculators were hoarding oil, it would be stockpiled, and inventories would soar. Instead, inventories remain constant. This is obvious "to anyone who took an introductory economics class," Barnett writes. "Demand is relatively high. That means higher prices." More »

      Tags

      oil price  • commodities  • New York Mercantile Exchange  • speculation  • speculators

  • June 2008

6 Stories

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