Oil speculators charged with price manipulation, $50 million profit from the scheme

Oil speculators charged with price manipulation

New YORK (CNNMoney) -- Federal regulators charged five oil speculators Tuesday with manipulating the price of crude and making a $50 million profit from the scheme.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleges the speculators bought enormous amounts of actual crude oil for sale in Cushing, Okla, during the early months of 2008.

The speculators then bet the price of oil would fall by selling so-called "short" contracts to other investors. When the speculators sold their actual oil holdings in Cushing en mass, the price of oil did fall, netting the group a hefty profit.

The alleged scheme took place between January and April 2008, a time when oil prices were gradually climbing toward their all-time record of $147 a barrel set in the summer of 2008.


http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/24/markets/oil_price_speculation/index.htm

Let's see some heads rolling down our crumbling highway infrastructure for once, eh?

Whats that, about 5 minutes work for Goldman Sachs?

And they're greasing the wheels to get those prices back UP UP UP as we speak.

Anyone care to tell me why we bailed these pricks out?

kind of talk. He might move elsewhere if we offend his delicate, capitalistic sensibilities. :sarcasm:

Instead the GOP wants to cut the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) budget by 15%. The CFTC is the watchdog that oversees trading in energy futures. Even the CEO of Exxon and Goldman Sachs say the current price spike is not a reflection of supply and demand but speculation. These fuckers are costing me $50-4100 extra a month living in the LA Metro area where I have to drive a lot in my business.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/24/oil-speculation-gop-budget/

Maybe some senators and Representatives who are involved?

The people being charged with manipulation were caught temporarily driving the price down.

Don't give us some examples, stop the manipulation entirely.

K&R.