Tag Archives: oil

Could the US cut retail investors out of commodities?

By Martin Fluck | Published: October 4, 2012
How a Wall Street elite contrived to turn the physical commodities market into a casino, and trigger damaging “spikes” in everything from oil to foodstuffs was beautifully reported on by Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone Magazine in 2008. But the food riots last year may be spurring politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to take action. Retail investors, the "long only" bettors who have for years forced prices upward, are part of the problem. So the Democrats are proposing rule changes that would force small investors in the US to divest themselves of the $50 billion they have tied up in commodity derivatives - if Obama wins the election.
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Commodities Gone Wild

By Martin Fluck | Published: May 31, 2011
Prices in commodity markets now seem divorced from the forces of supply and demand; set instead by extreme speculation and financing activities. As awareness of this market failure mounts, the whole sector is setting itself up for a massive fall. For once global regulators react - as they must do eventually – retail 'investors' who have helped to fund the over-investment though products like index trackers are going to discover just how risky being a speculator can be.
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EU To Follow US Lead on Commodity Speculation

By Martin Fluck | Published: August 31, 2010
More bad news for commodity ETFs. The E.U. could follow U.S plans to tame speculative activity, which has been blamed for record food and energy prices in 2008, if France’s call for common action to regulate volatile commodities markets are adopted
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