Tag Archives: Business News

The Smoking Gun of Higher Oil Prices

By RayLearsy | Published September 16, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: There, in plain sight for all to read, the highly influential New York Times, in an article about the manipulative speculation in ethanol markets and the obscure but phenomenally profitable ethanol credits (having skyrocketed more than 20 times in the last six months) and in turn its impact on the price for gasoline…
Read More

Also tagged Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Congress, Ethanol, Financial Crisis, Gas & Oil, Jpmorgan, Morgan Stanley, The Fed, The New York Times | Tagged Business News, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Congress, Ethanol, Financial Crisis, Gas & Oil, Jpmorgan, Morgan Stanley, The Fed, The New York Times | Leave a comment

Syria as Russia’s Oil Price Tool

By RayLearsy | Published September 9, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: The opening paragraph in the Financial Times‘ May 31, 2013 review of Thane Gustafson’s history of the Russian oil industry, Wheel of Fortune: The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia, says it all: In no other big economy do oil and gas play such a vital role as in Russia. They account…
Read More

Also tagged Bashar Assad, Egypt Protests, International Energy Agency, Iran, Middle East, Oil And Gas, Russia, Sarin Gas, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Syria, United Nations, United States, Vladimir Putin, World News | Tagged Bashar Assad, Business News, Egypt Protests, International Energy Agency, Iran, Middle East, Oil And Gas, Russia, Sarin Gas, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Syria, United Nations, United States, Vladimir Putin, World News | Leave a comment

Blatant Distortion and Manipulation of Oil Prices Laid Bare

By RayLearsy | Published August 26, 2013

Friday was a red letter day for the oil producers. In the space of three hours, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange leapt from $104.30/barrel to $106.94/bbl., finally closing the day at $106.42/bbl. A staggering range for a commodity…
Read More

Also tagged CNBC, Commodity Exchanges, Commodity Prices, Department Of Justice, Energy Department, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Gas & Oil, Pdvsa, Saudi Aramco, Strategic Petroleum Reserve | Tagged Business News, CNBC, Commodity Exchanges, Commodity Prices, Department Of Justice, Energy Department, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Gas & Oil, Pdvsa, Saudi Aramco, Strategic Petroleum Reserve | Leave a comment

JPMorgan Chase’s Culture as Economic Parasite

By RayLearsy | Published August 22, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: The culture of what we expect from banks is not overly complex. They are institutions meant to safeguard our deposits and are meant to anchor and enhance our economy by lending to viable businesses, finance trade and receivables, finance business expansion, help people purchase their homes, and where their…
Read More

Also tagged Barack Obama, Commodity Prices, Financial Crisis, Gas & Oil, JPMorgan Chase, Justice Department, Proprietary Trading, RBS Sempra Commodities, Senator Elizabeth Warren | Tagged Barack Obama, Business News, Commodity Prices, Financial Crisis, Gas & Oil, JPMorgan Chase, Justice Department, Proprietary Trading, RBS Sempra Commodities, Senator Elizabeth Warren | Leave a comment

Banker Lies and Misrepresentation — The Present and Lessons From the Past

By RayLearsy | Published August 15, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: Yesterday U.S. prosecutors accused two low-level JPMorgan executives with criminal charges of wire fraud and falsifying regulatory filings of risky and complex credit derivatives that led to the bank’s massive loses in the ‘London Whale’ scandal. JPMorgan, as do all banks, had the obligation to honestly report its assets…
Read More

Also tagged Bank Of The United States, Financial Crisis, Jamie Dimon, Jpmorgan, London Whale, politics, Preet Bharara U.S. Attorney Southern District Of New York, President Andrew Jackson | Tagged Bank Of The United States, Business News, Financial Crisis, Jamie Dimon, Jpmorgan, London Whale, politics, Preet Bharara U.S. Attorney Southern District Of New York, President Andrew Jackson | Leave a comment

The Cost of Nearly Everything Is Rigged, Enriching the Bank Fixers

By RayLearsy | Published August 12, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: That banks are able to manipulate became clear as a bell with the findings of the Libor interest rate fixing scandal (“Everything is Rigged: The Biggest Price Fixing Scandal Ever” Rolling Stone 04.25.13) whereby some sixteen too big to fail banks were accused of colluding to manipulate interest rates…
Read More

Also tagged Bart Chilton, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Congress, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Financial Crisis, Gas & Oil, Goldman Sachs, Jpmorgan, Justice Department, Libor, Libor Rate-Rigging Scandal, London Whale, Senate Banking Committee, The Fed, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown | Tagged Bart Chilton, Business News, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Congress, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Financial Crisis, Gas & Oil, Goldman Sachs, Jpmorgan, Justice Department, Libor, Libor Rate-Rigging Scandal, London Whale, Senate Banking Committee, The Fed, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown | Leave a comment

The Price of Oil Is Rigged

By RayLearsy | Published August 5, 2013

As posted on The Huffington Post: The U.S. oil market is well supplied, with U.S. commercial crude oil inventories near all time highs, with production of U.S. oil increasing by some million barrels/day from a year ago, with weekly inventory of gasoline jumping by 800,00bbls equivalent last week alone, while Chinese demand is flat to…
Read More

Also tagged Barack Obama, Brent Crude, Congress, Department Of Energy, European Commission, Gas & Oil, Justice Department, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Unctad, WTI | Tagged Barack Obama, Brent Crude, Business News, Congress, Department Of Energy, European Commission, Gas & Oil, Justice Department, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Unctad, WTI | Leave a comment

JPMorgan Exits Physical Commodity Trading

By RayLearsy | Published July 29, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: Quite dramatically, being the biggest bull in the China shop, JPMorgan Chase made the striking announcement this past week that it would quit trading in physical commodities. This in a week during which a Senate panel held hearings on whether banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are manipulating commodity/material…
Read More

Also tagged Bart Chilton, Gas & Oil, Glencore, Goldmansachs, Huffingtonpost, Jamie Dimon, Jpmorgan, Jpmorgan Commodities, JPMorgan Commodities Trading, JPMorgan Physical Commodity, London Metal Exchange, Motiva-Oil-Refinery, Proprietary Trading, Saudi, Sen. Sherwood Brown, Senate Banking Subcommittee Ferc, The Fed, Vitol, Volcker Rule, WTI | Tagged Bart Chilton, Business News, Gas & Oil, Glencore, Goldmansachs, Huffingtonpost, Jamie Dimon, Jpmorgan, Jpmorgan Commodities, JPMorgan Commodities Trading, JPMorgan Physical Commodity, London Metal Exchange, Motiva-Oil-Refinery, Proprietary Trading, Saudi, Sen. Sherwood Brown, Senate Banking Subcommittee Ferc, The Fed, Vitol, Volcker Rule, WTI | Leave a comment

After Costing Americans Billions, Federal Reserve Reexamines Banks’ Commodity Speculation

By RayLearsy | Published July 24, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: “The Fed regularly monitors the commodity activities of supervised firms and is reviewing the 2003 determination that certain commodity activities are complimentary to financial activities and thus permissible to bank holding companies” comments from Fed spokeswoman and reported by Bloomberg (“Fed Reviews Rule On Big Banks’ Commodity Trading after…
Read More

Also tagged Bart Chilton, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Fdic, Federal Reserve Bank, Gas & Oil, Goldman Sachs, Jpmorgan, Morgan Stanley, Nytimes, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Speculative-Price Nexus, Too Big To Fail, Wall St. | Tagged Bart Chilton, Business News, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Fdic, Federal Reserve Bank, Gas & Oil, Goldman Sachs, Jpmorgan, Morgan Stanley, Nytimes, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Speculative-Price Nexus, Too Big To Fail, Wall St. | Leave a comment

JP Morgan Accused of Rigging Energy Markets. A Feather Duster Anyone?

By RayLearsy | Published July 18, 2013

As featured on The Huffington Post: There they go again. First there was Enron rigging energy markets. Now the sights are set on JP Morgan Chase, where the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, “JP Morgan, Energy Regulator Near Record Settlement.” Record settlement, really? The number bandied about is $1 billion, or one sixth of the…
Read More

Also tagged Barack Obama, Blythe Masters, energy, Energy Markets, Enron, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Gas & Oil, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Oil Gas, RBS Sempra, The Fed, Volcker Rule | Tagged Barack Obama, Blythe Masters, Business News, energy, Energy Markets, Enron, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Gas & Oil, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Oil Gas, RBS Sempra, The Fed, Volcker Rule | Leave a comment