Wall Street, Not Supply/Demand Behind Massive 2008 Oil Price Spike

July 30, 2009
They must not think we're angry enough yet. Here's a piece in Raw Story today about how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is poised to admit publicly that it was speculation in oil markets by Wall Street and NOT the fabled forces of supply and ...

They must not think we're angry enough yet. Here's a piece in Raw Story today about how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is poised to admit publicly that it was speculation in oil markets by Wall Street and NOT the fabled forces of supply and demand were behind last year's massive oil price spike.

Operative paragraph:

The CFTC's admission highlights the often dangerous role that Wall Street speculators play in Main Street's economic health. Many policymakers are now beginning to wake up to the reality that speculation in commodities markets can cause massive damage to the pocketbooks of ordinary citizens.

Main Street was affected in more ways than one as other sectors of the economy were drastically impacted by Wall Street's speculative shenanigans. For instance, think about how quickly the marketable product mix, as well as the numbers overall, shifted for the global auto industry? How many people lost jobs because of this? Not to mention, how much extra did I personally pay at the pump?

Looks like the first round of vindication for Matt Tabibi, who took a lot of heat for bursting Goldman Sachs' bubble in a must-read article earlier this year.

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