Speculation Drove Wheat Prices Up While Supply Expanded

[criticalviewer1959]

Thanks for this interview with the important subject.

Awareness raising is very important.

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT!

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point however is, to change it." (Karl Marx, 1818 - 1883)

[petersz98]

USA is evil.

[donnyforte2]

Great interview. Thank you.

[GohanMH1]

world population needs to decrease

[zubairalihussain]

@GohanMH1 we have more than enough resources to support double the population we currently have in the world. Problem is that its not as profitable to use renewable resources, or give necessities to people who have no money in 3rd world countries

[LazarusCato]

@GohanMH1 good news is - apparently it's set to peak at 9.1 billion in 2040 (providing current trends continue) and may even start to decline after that (as the baby boomer generation begins to die)

[thetimman00]

So manipulating price discovery mechanisms is worldwide criminal activity by bankster gangbanking against all little people. If paper transactions were somehow made unprofitable, maybe the price would be the correct price.

[LazarusCato]

@thetimman00 gangbanking lol, I'm stealing that term.

[thetimman00]

@LazarusCato I got that from Chris Greene, so thieve away.

[d34dincid3]

Less talk, MORE ACTION.

[TripleSpeak]

You could watch lamestream 24/7 for a year & not get as much info as from 10 minutes with Jay. Jayati Ghosh was superb.

Thanks much from a US supporter of RNN ;o)

[tangent272]

Old style speculation, ie' hoarding, is actually a good thing, it's what regulates resources and helps the system work.

To expand the rice example given:

Mr rice merchant is hoarding becuase he expects prices will go up in a few months. Why will prices go up? Becuase at that time of the year there's less rice around, which means people are paying more for rice. So the rice merchant sells his rice, when prices are up, becuase that's when it's needed the most. Famine averted.

[LazarusCato]

@tangent272 why shouldn't rice (or any other resource, especially that of essentials) have scientifically determined set values to that prices are the same year round, ensuring all parties are equitably treated? Why should one capitalise on someone elses suffering?

[tangent272]

@LazarusCato

An answer in two parts. Yes, it is immoral to profit from someone elses misfortune but unfortunately that's the core around which capitalism is built, capitalism is an imoral system. However, for the moment it's still the system that the majority of humanity seems at least content to live under so until we can convince them otherwise we need to do the best we can with what we've got.

Secondly, the solution you suggest is one of planned economy, which works in theory..

[kolomgorov]

A lot of the comments suggest the federal reserve is to blame.  I'm willing to accept this, but there seems to be holes in the theory. First, the video suggests the price of wheat is increasing globally, with respect to each currency. Secondly if inflation is to blame you should see all prices increase uniformly, not say, wheat double in price over six months while the prices of other commodities and consumer goods increase by five percent (or whatever it is).

[LazarusCato]

@kolomgorov scarcity is the problem, scarcity is increasing from a number of factors ~ if you'll remember last year Russia had those massive fires, and as a result decided not to export wheat. Another is a growing population and dwindling arable land (as a result of soil depletion, climate-change, mineral exploration etc) - and then there is things like Corporations dumping tonnes of grain into the ocean to keep prices artificially high. Everything is interconnected.

[GohanMH1]

@LazarusCato

bro do you have any data source regarding the arable soil depletion, I would be curious to see that trend

[LazarusCato]

@GohanMH1 I've just seen it on a couple of documentries but if you google "soil depletion" a bunch of stuff will come up - to my understanding it seems to be a result of the intensive farming methods we use, we spray petrochemical based fertilisers on crops, rather than replacing nutrients in the top soil in a holistic kinda way. There is some interesting correlations between a depletion of nutrients and minerals in soil (absorbed up by generations of plantlife) and a downward trend in (tbc)

[LazarusCato]

@GohanMH1 nutritional content of fruits and vegetables etc. For example apples a 100 years ago had WAY more Iron in them then they do today etc.

Like I said, I'm no expert - but if you're interested in this kinda stuff (you might of heard already) of "Biodynamic Agriculture" - It's like more scientific and holistic way of Organic Agriculture - but yeah.

[tarossi400]

So this woman doesn't see inflating the money supply as an issue? With the amount of money being printed around the world I'd think that this is the prime factor in rising prices. Yet, she doesn't even mention it.

It disappoints me how often the "experts" TRNN interviews only see one factor at a time and then build a whole argument presenting this factor as the cause of a problem and then either propose or hint that more government regulation is the solution. So goes the downward spiral.

[LazarusCato]

@tarossi400 without a stable population, inflation is necessary (under this bullshit capitalist system) - either that or a cap placed on the amount of wealth one can accrue (but even then, if population levels grow to a certain point inflation would be necessary) - can you understand why?

My previous comment talks more about other reasons for this also.

[tarossi400]

@LazarusCato Really, so there has been something like a 30% increase in the population in the last few years?

Inflation is NOT a function of capitalism. It's a function of a centrally controlled economy like you seem to be advocating.Without inflation your money would become worth more as the amount of goods in circulation increases? Can you understand why?

[LazarusCato]

@tarossi400 I see you chose to ignore my other point, inflation is necessary (under this bullshit capitalist system) because otherwise there would be no money in circulation otherwise - without inflation all money would eventually be vacuumed up by the banks, corporations & billionaires. So for the current economic system (capitalism) to continue to function without inflation you would need a cap on the amount of wealth an individual/organisation can accrue AND a stable population level.

[tarossi400]

@LazarusCato Your understanding of money is seriously lacking and the comment just too ignorant to warrant any further discussion.

Good luck with your Marxist ideology.

[LazarusCato]

@tarossi400 do you even know what inflation and deflation is? or are you just using buzzwords you picked up from some right-tard message board?

[GohanMH1]

@tarossi400

The central bank prints money to induce the wealth effect, the fact that it is used for commodity speculation is not entirely their fault.

[mjbarrowful]

@tarossi400 I was thinking the same thing. I doubt that speculation alone is driving such increases in prices. Food, gold, silver, energy, and clothes are all becoming more expensive. If this is really a bubble, then at some point it will bust and prices will collapse. I don't see that happening with Bernanke behaving the way he has for the past few years

[horlacsd]

INFLATION --- USD IS COLLAPSING. VALUE OF COMMODOTIES SAME -- > DOLLAR GOING DOWN.

[mattyelle1]

PRINTING USDs = INFLATION

[mattyelle1]

wow, i though for sure somebody on here would have nailed it: its barely speculation...its real inflation due to federal reserve doubling the money in circulation by running the printing press in over drive...its called quantitative easing.

[AirelonTrading]

Hey Paul ... how about you present BOTH sides of the story here? This woman is factually incorrect on so many matters ... its frightening to the point of disinformation

[AirelonTrading]

Really Real News? This noise AGAIN?

Speculators who trade wheat futures aren't even TOUCHING the actual wheat bushel itself. They are actually helping KEEP WHEAT PRICES DOWN by helping commercial food hedgers

playlist?list=PLA28FB01F291142­84

[dangerouslytalented]

@AirelonTrading They are keeping the farmgate price down, but raising the price of wheat to food producers. This way they can skim off more profit.

[AirelonTrading]

@dangerouslytalented That doesnt even make sense. They could make just as much profit by shorting wheat, since the price is more extended. Actually ... since the price is more extended, there would be MORE profit in shorting wheat ... if that was there motive at all

[dangerouslytalented]

@AirelonTrading The farmers need to sell the wheat. And they can only do this to the big traders. Since they are the only game in town, the traders can set the price.

[AirelonTrading]

@dangerouslytalented That's factually incorrect. The farmers sell the wheat to the commercial hedgers. General Mills. Coca-Cola. McDonalds. At no time, anywhere, ever, has one farmer EVER dealt with a trader.

[AirelonTrading]

@AirelonTrading The traders deal with the exchange, which deals with the contracts in the future. The commercial hedgers deal with both the farmers, and the exchange.

[dangerouslytalented]

@AirelonTrading well then where are these traders getting their hands on the wheat then?

[AirelonTrading]

@dangerouslytalented That's what I'm telling you. They don't. They never, ever have, and never do. Traders trade contracts for future delivery. They never touch the actual wheat itself.

playlist?list=PLA28FB01F291142­­84

[dangerouslytalented]

@AirelonTrading ... and thus they jack up the price of the wheat or whatever it is. Because they are not interested in either growing or using it, only in making a profit.

[bfq3000]

@dangerouslytalented or jack it down to lower levels... but you don't hear people complaining when that happens, do you?

[AirelonTrading]

@dangerouslytalented Ok, you explain this to me then. How is it that when I trade wheat futures, on the delivery contract, and not on the wheat itself, how that jacks the price of wheat up on the spot market.

Because I'd love to hear how that happens. The two markets aren't even connected

[dangerouslytalented]

@AirelonTrading So where does the profit comes from? It would not be worth trading the futures contracts if there was no profit to be made...

[AirelonTrading]

@dangerouslytalented The difference in the worth of the delivery contract rising and falling.

Profit does not equal evil. It's just the difference in the worth of a contract of delivery is where traders profits come from. Traders provide liquidity to commercial interests (Coca-Cola, Hershey, General MIlls) who hedge opposite of what they need, and thus keep prices on consumer products lower than they'd otherwise be

[worldismorphing]

@AirelonTrading

["Profit does not equal evil."]

The shuffling of resources around with no redeeming purpose other than gambling profit is. The intentions behind an action ultimately always matter. The price instability of the order reflected by the markets is in itself getting harder to justify as "market efficiency"...especially for poor countries.

[AirelonTrading]

@worldismorphing No resources have been shuffled by traders! NONE. No wheat. No oil. No oats.  None of it. All traders do, is shift DELIVERY CONTRACTS for liquidity to the hedgers.

Unless, we're saying that we dont want corporations to be able to hedge their input costs

[worldismorphing]

@AirelonTrading

Don't be coy.

You're pretending to an innocence you should not pretend to. In this case money\contracts was the resource...the effect is the same and it's a misallocation of profit.

Lots of intellectual masturbation veiled in the aura of mathematics to lend it legitimacy it doesn't have. Critical resources should be left out of the ruling of pure market forces. S o m e central planning will be required on a finite planet with finite resources...

[worldismorphing]

@AirelonTrading

How about you explain 1:45 to 2:50 ...

The "market liquidity" argument is getting pretty thin ...

[AirelonTrading]

@worldismorphing Oh REALLY? THIN? DO you remember 2008? Can you evendefine a liquidity crash? Were you not alive in 2008 and saw what happened to retirement plans, pensions and unemployment when liquidity disappeared?

This video is RIPE with misinformation.

RIPE

Are you saying that users (Coca-Cola, Hershey, General Mills, Procter & Gamble) should NOT be able to hedge off their input costs, so as to avoid passing rise in cost to customer? 19th century 150% inflation again?

[worldismorphing]

@AirelonTrading

Yeah...I remember 2008. The year the system crashed because Americans bloated their economy by selling each other houses for almost a decade and some wise ass saw it before the banks and decided to short mezzanine tranches of subprime mortgages backed CDO's. He was later joined by them...

How about you ....do you remember ENRON ?

[GohanMH1]

@AirelonTrading

How exactly? Thanks.

[RemoveYourChains]

Speculation is simply an extension of the market itself.

Apologists for market (rather than demand-based) economics crow about the market's ability to rationally evaluate prices. ABSOLUTE NONSENSE.

[dangerouslytalented]

@RemoveYourChains It can rationally evaluate prices, but unfortunately these people are not interested in actual wheat, they are interested in maximising profit. That is why a certain amount of good, well enforced and well thought out regulation is necessary

[dawoderpfeffer]

I was told by an economic teacher that something like that cannot happen in a free and open MARKET ;-p

[ahamatmabrahman]

I can't imagine how miserable these intentional price hikes must be impacting the poor people in India Genocide is the only word

[bfq3000]

@ahamatmabrahman Genocide??? You cheapen the meaning of the word. Shame on you.

[ahamatmabrahman]

@bfq3000 According to The Georgia Guide stones and agenda 21 You won't be on Schindler's list either If theres a better word than genocide for this plan then I'd like to know what it is

[Cookaloka]

This only confirms that the old belief that the market can somehow right itself or that the market is a force of good to be complete rubbish.

And we still use the market system? Really?

thereof had happened in State socialist Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union, right-wingers would be crowing about the "failure" of Socialism. When the markets fail, they come up with a billion excuses.

[VampyrMentality]

O_O

[slobomotion]

The markets are so illogical right now. I am a former registered rep. If we, a married couple, can observe mere press releases & make short-term investments & earn enough in a month to buy a new car here in Europe, this is an indication of the craziness, the mindlessness, the stampedes driving markets. Worthless penny stocks. I'm a former research analyst, too, been in pump & dump, also. (Uh, financial PR.) This does not bode well.

[arbide3]

"REAL NEWS" INDEED :)

[blackiron60]

There is no democracy when the actions of a handful of speculators half a world away can turn your life upside down overnight.

[orourkeda]

@blackiron60 But money will take precedence over democracy in a lot of circumstances, particularly where food supplies are involved.

[chocomalk]

One of the reasons why there is no one to take an opposite trade, is because the GSCI is a one way index, you cannot take a short position in the market only long ones. So although you can short in other aspects of the market, Goldman Sachs and anyone involved in the GSCI has a vested interest in upward price moves. And market makers make markets...

[tepstolog]

Only the FDR Glass-Steagall principle will separate commercial from speculative banking, thus freeing the nation from obligations to Wall St. and the City of London, and re-establishing a credit system for rebuilding the nation.

H.R. 1489, Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2011, is before the House of Representatives, which aims to revive the separation between commercial banking and the securities business, in the manner provided in the Banking Act of 1933, the so called 'Glass-Steagall Act

[choobie12]

If wall street wants to defend itself, this is the battle they need to address.

[Arkinight]

Monopolies rule over our lives.

[IChoseTheRedPill]

commodity trading is evil...

Kensho