BusinessWeek - CFTC headed for reregulation at last

[JackDodge]

Changes, they are a comin' for the commodites markets that have been pushing up gasoline prices. According to BusinessWeek:

"Critics say such changes are long overdue. 'The CFTC has been deregulating itself out of existence,' says Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland and former head of the CFTC's Div. of Trading & Markets. 'The only way to permanently deflate the [commodities] market is to ensure more aggressive oversight.' If the CFTC took the next step of requiring all U.S. crude trades to be subject to CFTC regulation and trading limits, oil prices would drop by 25% 'overnight,' says Greenberger."

Also,

"Several changes over the past decade have relaxed the agency's oversight of futures markets. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) allowed energy commodities for the first time to be traded on deregulated "exempt commercial markets," meaning exchanges exempt from CFTC or any other U.S. government oversight. This law was a departure from the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, which had confined all futures trading activity to CFTC-regulated exchanges."

"As a result, investment in index funds tied to commodities, such as the Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (GSCI), rose from $13 billion in 2002 to $260 billion in 2007."

[EJFB1029]

Seems like when you turn the lights on, the roaches scatter.

[MarinJohn]

Originally Posted by EJFB1029

Seems like when you turn the lights on, the roaches scatter.

Like all things deregulated, it's those in the forefront who profit the most. Deregulate and those at the top of that particular industry make out well with their vastly inflated bank accounts. Sensible people point out the problems deregulation causes like quickly rising prices, and call for reregulation. Those at the top don't care any more about regulations, as they have now raked it in and are sitting pretty for generations to come. It's the new economics. Me, myself and mine first at any future cost to the country and it's citizens. As long as I get mine then screw the rest of you paupers who were too stupid not to be first in line.