Contact your lawmakers to stop the oil speculation.....

[BigDiesel]

As a rule I am a Republican, free market, greedy capitalist businessman.... 8)

But this oil speculation has gotten out of hand. Below are three legislative bills that will put a stop to this Enron-esq issue. So contact your Senators and Representatives to pass these bills.


The U.S. Congress is now considering important legislation to curb this speculation and close these loopholes. The following bills were recently introduced in the House and Senate:

H.R. 6330: Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2008

To provide for regulation of certain transactions involving energy commodities, to strengthen the enforcement authorities of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Natural Gas Act and the Federal Power Act, and for other purposes.

S 3122: Policing United States Oil Commodities Markets Act of 2008

A bill to amend the Commodity Exchange Act to provide for the regulation of oil commodities markets, and for other purposes

S 3183:

A bill to amend the Commodity Exchange Act to provide oil and gas price relief by requiring the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to take action to end excessive speculation, and for other purposes.

[ironeagle_2006]

Trust me I am in total favor of those bills also Big Diesel however another issue comes up if they are enacted. The Speculaters will simply take it to another market like London or Dubai were the law does not apply. What would hold more teeth is simple called let us DRILL DRILL and build more refinerys and then devolp cellulose base Ethanol and alage based Biodiesel which are both in the pipelines of devolpment and maybe 5 years away. Also get the Hedge funds out of the Commidates markets.

[Rawlco]

I gotta agree with Ironeagle on this one BigD. Trading of oil futures will simply move to Dubai. You are forgetting the basic conservative premise: Regulating stuff simply drives those activities elsewhere.

[Roadhog]

I have to wonder why the price of oil has doubled in the last year?
If it’s supply and demand, (which I doubt) then I can understand the increase in price. But if it’s manipulation by Big Oil (Chevron, BP, Exxon) and Wall Street’s hedge funds fixing the market (Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and their traders) …why doesn’t Congress and the Commodities Future Trading Commission step in?

Traders move the price of oil…when they want to move the price of oil. Large banks and hedge funds control 80 percent of oil contract trading, and are responsible for at least 35% increase in the price of crude. Speculators sell oil contracts back-and-forth to each other simply to inflate the price and reap windfalls.

I doubt there’s a shortage of oil. I don’t see lines of cars at the pumps, heating oil and diesel fuel seem plentiful, some United Arab Emirates countries are increasing production, Iraq’s huge spigot is open again, Brazil announced a monumental discovery and world demand appears to be declining. So why did the price of oil double in the last 12 months then zoom $16 in less than 24 hours?

We have traders at firms who refuse to abide by trading limits, and will argue they are in the business of making money, not policy. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission created by Congress to “protect against fraud, manipulation and abusive trading practices,” is a sham. Its five commissioners are appointed by lobbyists and approved by the Senate to whom they owe their cushy sinecures.

Now in the first week of June, these CFTC toadies announced a series of measures to “bring greater sunshine” and “improve oversight to the energy futures market.”
Ha Ha Ha Ha…too little too late…But it’s common knowledge that we have the best congressional appointees that money can buy.

Look at ExxonMobile alone... they own 29 billion barrels of proven reserves at an average cost of less than $5.50 a barrel. And at today’s price of $144+ a barrel, their combined oil patches are worth a cool $4.2 trillion.
America’s failure to recognize that many in Congress have been enriched by those trillions exposes our gullibility.

[gordoUSA]

Well, you can also thank the greedy capitalist Wall Street bankers and mortgage loan companies for the rise in oil prices also.

When the Fed Reserve began lowering the interest rates last year to bail out the mortgage loan companies and Wall street brokerage houses from the over leveraged worhless paper they were trading, the action of lowering the interest rate IMMEDIATELY made the American dollar worth less. The American dollar was worth less in relation to other foriegn currencies.
REMEMBER... the price of crude oil is based on the American dollar. Lower the value of the dollar and oil IMMEDIATELY costs more. Your pay check is also worth less!! A double "whammy". Basically, last year, counting all inflation from other sources, decline in real estate values, gas guzzlers, this and that, your family after it was all said and done, took a 20% pay cut!!!
Since there is no longer any "value" in holding bonds or treasuries, since the fed lowered the rates for the bailout, the investors moved to a "safe haven" although risky area of commodities. If there is a coming collapse of the banking system and Wall Street, which is still very possible. What will then be worth something? Something tangible. Like corn, wheat, lumber, gold, silver and OIL!!
You are absolutely correct about Dubai. It is attemting to be the Hong Kong of the Mid-east. And in my opinion a very corrupt country, where anything goes. No regulations. A very safe haven to transact any multitude of business tranactions. No way will they stop the money pouring into their banks and brokerage houses anymore than American banks and brokerage houses have. The entire financial and commodities system is basically under attack from the very capitalists that scream "free markets" and "no regulations."
The reason we have to enact regulations is that sooner or later a greedy industry will, many times with the help of corrupt politicians, so circumvate the financial system through various means of fraud, and schemes that regulations are needed to protect the public and the small investor.
Make sense now?

[ben45750]

Someone spends to much listening to their CB?

The US Dollar has fallen mainly because of our trade deficit, which is simply exports minus imports. Another big weight on the dollar is the large U.S. budget deficit. The price of oil has increased because the demand has increased and the production has decreased. It's pretty simple and it isn't rocket science. I could go on and post graphs and quotes but it really isn't worth spending to much time on this.

Oil trading isn't going to stop.

[Mr. Ford95]

Heard this morning on the radio that "experts" are saying that within 5 years we will be paying $6+ for regular gasoline.

[Roadhog]

Heard this morning on the radio that "experts" are saying that within 5 years we will be paying $6+ for regular gasoline.

It's considered "good news" we haven't reached $5.00/gal for regular gas already.

....wow...."good news" these days, isn't like it used to be. :?

Makes you wonder what "good news" will be like in 5 years.

[ironeagle_2006]

If Obama wins we will be paying 10 a gallon before he leaves office.

[golfhobo]

It's considered "good news" we haven't reached $5.00/gal for regular gas already.

I've been thinking about this alot lately. With the Oil companies claiming that part of the expense is all the different formulations and "refinements" involved...... why do we even HAVE 3 types of gas anymore?? No one really believes that premium is NECESSARY do they? Why can't Detroit standardize this?

I know there's a bunch of stuff about formulations to meet EPA requirement in certain areas of the country.... but what's up with the octane crap?? I think ALL these restrictions could be lifted for the near term, at least, and octane levels standardized, and just MAYBE they could refine MORE gas.... more quickly.... and cheaper!

Just a thought.

[gordoUSA]

ben45750[/b]

You are correct about the trade and budget deficits being a major factor in the decline of the dollar, the Fed's action just added more downward pressure on the dollar.
But nowhere in the world do you see lines of people waiitng to buy gas. The only country where you see waiting lines sometimes is in Iraq. Is there increased demand, yes, is there a shortage? No. Here in Texas, and I believe it will should hold true nationally as well, there is very little change in the rig count numbers. One would think with the prices around $140.00 a barrell someone would at least unplug the 1100 wells just here in Texas. But they don't. Why? I also have a friend of a friend with the mineral rights to 200 acres in the Permian Basin. Surrounded on 4 sides by producing wells. The right holders have had a lease agreement for 2 years now, and the company has yet to scrach the dirt. Why?
When G. Bush was governor here in TX, he gave 3 additional tax breaks to his oil buddies, worth BILLIONS of dollars, and still no drilling?
All very confusing.