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That's right, 2100 individuals are causing the rising gas prices, through market manipulation and insider trading. CBS (finally, two weeks after the congressional hearing) has the story...
(CBS) As gas prices skyrocket, attention
has turned to public "pits," where brokers trade "oil futures" - the
right to buy or sell crude oil at a specific price, on a future date.
But far away from the hue and cry, hundreds of millions of barrels
of oil futures contracts are traded electronically every day, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.
More than 30 percent, experts say, exchanged in so-called "dark markets," the exact size and scope unknown to U.S. regulators.
"If you can trade out of the sight of U.S. regulators, you can
manipulate these markets," said Michael Greenberger, a former top
staffer at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, which
regulates the trading of commodities like oil in this country.
He recently told Congress that speculation is placing a huge premium on the price of oil.
"How much per barrel?" Keteyian asked.
"Well, there have been various estimates - anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent," Greenberger said.
"People can actually corner the market and drive up the price,"
said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. "When there is no policeman on the
beat, you know that crime can go up."
More and more fingers are pointing at one of the least-known but
most powerful foreign exchanges - the InterContinental Exchange, or
ICE.
By the end of 2007, the all-electronic exchange accounted for
nearly a 50 percent market share of all global oil futures contracts, a
total of 138.5 million contracts - up 49 percent from 2006.
Today it boasts more than 2,100 individual traders representing
virtually all of the major players in oil - banks, hedge funds, energy
companies, investment giants.
And according to a securities filing, two of those giants, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, were founding partners of ICE
"The fact that they started this shows the intent of where they wanted
to go," Greenberger said. "Which was to trade crude oil and energy
products without any police in the United States supervising it."
That's because it's considered a foreign exchange. Taking advantage
of a loophole created by the CFTC, the company says its "energy futures
business" is conducted in London, it is not subject to U.S. laws. Over
strong criticism, the CFTC agreed.
All this despite the fact ICE headquarters are on the fifth floor
of a building in Atlanta, it's primary data center in Chicago, and
nearly all its trades settled in U.S. dollars ...(more)
Hmmm, market manipulation and fraud, anyone remember Enron? Now do you see why McCain's idea of opening up drilling of off-shore oil (which he has flip-flopped on at least 5 times in 8 years) wouldn't help us, but would mean great profits for the 2100 discussed in the story? And try not to forget, McCain's chief financial adviser wrote the legislation that let Enron happen and is connected to the housing crisis, and that McCain is now against the farm bill (which contains a provision that would close the "Enron Loop-hole".
Here is a few more McCain flip-flops that you will find funny and interesting..
Gas prices are scary. Everything is going up. I remember as a kid when Carter was President and going with my parents gas shopping because the stations were running out of gas. Scary times then too.
PS I thought only YOU were responsible for the gas prices!!!