Government's Oil Investigation 6 Months Underway

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are six months into a wide-ranging investigation of U.S. oil markets, with a focus on possible price manipulation.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission says it started the probe in December and is taking the unusual step of publicizing it "because of today's unprecedented market conditions."

Crude prices have risen more than 42 percent since early December, when they hovered below $90 a barrel. Gasoline prices are nearing a national average of $4 a gallon, up from about $3.20 a year ago.

The agency said details of the investigation remain confidential.

Comments

[Amishguy]

the government is investigating oil prices?

isn't that like an arsonist working for the fire department?

[TimmySlagle]

After they're finished, they will open up the investigations of Area 51...

[Jason357]

They know all about the program trading and traders on the floor trading personal accounts the same time they are supposedly making unbiased trades for clients. It's no mystery how rigged all of the US financial markets are. What about Boone Pickens getting on CNBC and pushing th eprice higher, or Goldman Sacs, or....just maybe waging eternal war in the middle east. That could have something to do with it.

[HouseOfRoberts]

Anybody want to guess what the outcome of an investigation by "Bushie" federal deregulators will be?
At the best, it will result in a non-binding recommendation which will lower gas prices conveniently close to the election, to give the appearance of oversight.

[vippy]

What nonsense! Congress/Senate was briefed by Prof. Greenberger on Dec 14, 2007, on their
results of the Commodities Future's Modernization Act, which is directly responsible for the energy,
housing and banking collapse. And they decided to do nothing. Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram,
Ed Wallace, who has already been approached for writing this article and was told he did not know
what he is talking about. Remember, we are guided by the Fear Factor, Peak Oil, though it was
first told to us in 1929, again in 1952 and in 1970s. Why is congress refusing to reign in the
future's market laws, why did they deregulate everything? Why would they put a stop to it when they
are making money. That is like asking the oil companies to invest in alternatives!

[KillTheMessenger]

Yo! The more you repeat that there is no peak oil the more the reservoirs will fill up. Sounds like a plan to me. Let us know when the world is going to produce much more oil than it does right now.

[LaFilleEnRose]

Take your time why don't you?

[lunyboy]

LOL, boy how about credit card companies, car manufacturers, insurance companies, banks(commercial and otherwise), funeral homes, real estate brokerage firms, and oh yeah MEDIA COMPANIES!

What the hell happened to "Trust Busting?"

[darthdarcy]

If they would listen to Michael Greenberger or any of you go to C-span for the last few days it's all there Greenberger was the Commissioner of Commodities and Futures trading and he laid out the entire plot and Phil Gramm's part in all this and the Enron Loophole that all these crooks from Texistan put through..

Many of these speculators so called, more like ghouls if you ask me, are the very same slime that worked for Enron and who are trading this vital national asset up and up by their own devices..now for hedge funds and investment houses that went after them as hot commodities themselves who know how to trade Oil in these dark markets as Greenberger calls them shady dealing dirty deals done dirt cheap..!

The amount of money these corrupt Senators from Texistan took from Enron is a national disgrace all these Senators from Texas are a damn disgrace and McCain is in with all this up to his rear end..

50-61% of all the cost of gasoline right now or barrels of Oil are due to these sleazy criminal Speculators and crooks like Phil Gramm and Dick Armey too, who's wife was on the board of Enron..Enron Ken Lay's company that made G.W. Bush and who Gonzales once worked for until Lay told Bush to make him Texistan's Attorney General and then our worst Attorney General in U.S. history..

Go get these bastards..

[KillTheMessenger]

I can tell that somebody will be awfully disappointed.

[studlyguy]

STFU! you either are getting dividends from you're trust fund left to you from grandpa or grandma/mom ordad or/and you're parents are getting dividends or/and work for the oil companies in some compacity ,we are not at peak oil that is a myth to use people like you ,this is what it is price manipulation on steroids,plain and simple,GREED GONE MAD!

[KillTheMessenger]

Cool. I am sure that as the investigation progresses we will see million year old oil reservoirs that have been almost completely exhausted fill up with newly created oil. After all, when the US government investigates, geology replenishes finite resources just like that.

[coolkraft]

like what they do, if anything, will help...another joke of our government's laxity in helping the poor consumer