blame the Democraps!! Fuels prices didn't start spiking till THEY took over congress! It's all BS really, they learned their lesson's well in the 70's! Jack it up HIGH and we'll be GLAD to pay $3.00 again..HOW SAD! The Republicannots are any help either! We need to take our government back..by revolution if necessary!
The real cost of oil would be over $11 dollars a gallon if you made the Oil Companies pay for military aid in hostile countries and also made them pay for environmental impacts in the US!
@Rockynurse Yes, and if we gave the producing countries the ability to fairly tax what is rightfully theirs: their own natural resources. In a decade you would see us switch substantially to wind, solar, tide and geothermal power.
Now oil has gone way down. Is this a conspiracy of speculation as well? What puzzles me is that oil prices don't seem to match what news stories seem to indicate the price should be doing.
The fact that US soldiers in Iraq guard the very pipeline that pumps a huge percentage of US consumed crude confirms complicity between the saudi royals & the US gov/oil companies. They're on the same team. They're the shirts & the american people are the skins & they rigged the game. Remember that press conference where Bush pretended he didn't know gas was $4 a gallon? What's worse, having a hand in corruption or being The US president & not being aware of the highest gas prices in history?
sure n don't forget Jesse Ventura sad fact is the Tea party movemment is highjacked by the riht n their darling is now claiming to be their official spokeperson/leader discusting her of all ppl to claim this
I wish I knew. I saw a couple of his clips. Without proof, who knows? It would be nice if some aggressive investigative reporters did a thorough report on the supply chain - the prices and companies involved along the way. Who raises prices first? Why can't some clever group undercut the rest and grab all the business? Are new players locked out by monopoly distribution schemes? Why is gas so cheap in some South American countries? Can't we buy from them at a discount? I don't know!
But no one is speaking either way about this and that's more than just strange.
Once we get info, we need to do something with it.
This woman's info is also something we should be yelling about.
In the 60's ther would have been massive demonstrations. I think we have seen not just attitudes about our participation change, but fear of speaking out individually and collectively as well
oil is traded in usa dollars, so when the fed prints more money it increases the supply of the usa dollar which decreases the value, when the value of the dollar decreases the oil commodity goes up in order to offset the profit loss from the decreasing value of the dollar
I think the oil is about to run out in a few months, maybe a few years. And that is why these companies are rinsing us for every penny we've got before they're "job-less".
I wonder if there is an "expert" out there who has anything to say about what effect creating money out of thin air has on prices of commodities?
If that is not a problem, then all we have to do is have the government print twice as much and give it out to everybody. Then we'll have more money to pay the higher prices so it won't matter. :-/
Isn't that how money supply affects prices? How come none of the experts are smart enough to advocate this strategy? Problem solved! : )
I think you speak with tongue in cheek.You do recall what happened to Germany after WWI? The result of printing too much money is inflation. Too many dollars chasing too few gooods. I wish it were that easy.
Yes, I was being sarcastic. The point is they almost never talk about it. Actually, if you double the money supply by doubling EVERYONE'S supply simultaneously, there is no difference. The numbers are arbitrary in themselves.
But in real life, whoever gets the inflated money first (banks, gov't contractors, etc)steals value from the rest. Savers lose. The poor ALWAYS lose since wages and gov't benefits are the last prices to rise.
That will solve nothing the reason for inflation is because the dollar is not valued as a dollar. U can pringnt all the money u want but that will only increase the inflation
Yes I know. I was joking. See my response below. These replies don't show up where they ought to and/or it takes some time for the system to catch up.
the america peoples to feel the pain before he get out of the office so the peoples can write to there senator to unlift the band on offshore drilling, don't be fool over which oil company bidding on who get to dip 1st, wake up america on bush playing u again,
WHY is it Bush this, Bush that, you will see that the other President, THEY are gonna be bad-mouthing him... AGAIN, and AGAIN. EVERY President, was bad mouthed before EVEN JFK.
This looks ALOT like Rome, REALLY alot like it, since the other world, civilized or not, bad mouthed it to no evail.
I can't wait until this country gets into chaos soon. Then we'll teach these fuckers what invasion for oil means. It is time to invade these fuckers and take their oil for good and teach them a fucking lesson. It is coming.
well if you are talking about saudi arabia then you should be happy because they still giving you their natural resource.its us who are not drilling because we want to save it till the whole world go out of oil.any way put oil to the side,how about food prices,houseing,jobs,economy,every thing is fucked up by republicans,fighting some 1s elses war,but it dont effect them because at the end of the day their kids go to harvard,and put millions of dollars in their pockets,it effect me and you.
The oil companies and the market speculators for the blame. And the government for doing nothing. Looks like the only country doing something to lower price is Saudi Arabia.
Gas is about 4.00 a gallon breaking that down 143 dollars for a barrel of oil means that the raw product per gallon is 3.40 there are 42 gallons in a barrel the US federal tax is about 30 cents. 3.70 your state tax is about .20 cents on average so that leaves .10 cents in profit per gallon now the gas station probably gets .05 cents of that. so you figure that oil companies are making a nickel on a gallon of gas. They just sell a lot of gallons of gas. The crude oil is the major part
Maybe now in America we'll organize our trips better, do quite a bit more car-pooling or bike riding or whatever it takes to get to work. And stay home and plant a garden with your kids. Dump the SUV's, get smaller cars and recycle your desert, river and ocean polluting toys. Grow up America!
The skyrocketing cost of oil is nothing more than financial terrorism. So many reasons are given for the incredulous rise...but the truth is the TRUTH: there are people amassing great sums of money from this blatant form of profiterring.
Update June 26: Just for the record, future prices are now virtually flat through Jan 2009. You pays your money, and you can take delivery whenever you please. Longer term contracts are still in backwardation. Contracts for delivery in 2011 are for oil at about five bucks a barrel cheaper than oil for immediate delivery.
For those not familiar with how futures contracts work, when I said, "You pays your money," that wasn't exactly right. What you do is enter into a binding contract either to buy or to sell the crude at a specific price and time.
How are oil companies blamed if they have to buy the oil themselves to sell it? If they could fix prices, they'll probably fix them so high that they'll be out of business. Fat chance.
I will concur that there's price fixing going on, not through markets but through, my guess, the Federal Reserve and inflation.
My guess is it's confusing to try to read markets and speculation and focus on something preventable like government spending and inflation.
Did she say Marathon is conspiring to raise oil prices? Hahahaha. Marathon is a refiner. When crude oil prices are high, refiners take it in the shorts. That's probably why their stock has dropped 17% since the first of the year. That woman is pig ignorant. If Marathon is manipulating oil prices, they are not doing a very good job of it. Their profit margin has dropped to 4%.
Marathon has the ability to sit on oil because it is a refiner. The independent gas station owners (who many incorrectly blame for increased gas prices) can't sit on supply, and many are being squeezed by their suppliers. Marathon dipped by about 15% because of a mini tender offer that the market did not like in January.
Why should they "sit on oil" when the futures market is in backwardation? They can't be that stupid. They can just enter into futures contracts with the "evil speculators" at less than it costs to buy it now. They not only do not incur the cost of storing it, but they make interest on the money that they don't tie up. (Cost of carry.) I am not making this stuff up. The numbers are all available on the NYMEX web site.
I might add that the backwardation is abating, at least in near months. The last time I checked, a couple of days ago, the near month contract was a little higher than spot. Distant month futures were still cheaper than spot, but the curve is flattening. That may imply some relief in near term supply tightness.
Dont blame investors, dont blame china / India. The US is responsible for most of the world oil consumption, far exceeding China + India. People need to walk cycle were possible, uses buses and trains and vechiles with smaller more efficient engines.
Prices are determined at the margins by the big players. A slight increase in demand when supply is not sufficient to meet demand can lead to big increases in price. I do not "blame" China and India. I'm a free market kind of guy. Check my videos. But the increased demand from the emerging economies is more than offsetting demand destruction in the west.
I understand the inelastic nature of the market. My point is that China and India are not using oil in volumes close to the US so to hold them 'guilty' is silly. It would be better if the US was more like parts of Europe were people generally have smaller cars and often cycle / walk or take public transport.
Let the price rise. That'll cut down on consumption and turn people away from using oil. If the buyers, speculators, are pushing the price up, great, let them shoot it up as high as it can go.
Russians, Indians & Chinese all driving cars thanks to "free trade" is the reason for price hikes. And it aint gonna get better, sweetheart, even if we expand drilling because the demand is EXPONENTIAL.
interst, speculation and gambling are main pillars of westren capitalism and that is the recipy of sucking blood of billion for some capatilist going richer and richer. Islamic economics that is free of all these ghosts is the solution.
Speculators can't move spot prices, certainly not for seven straight years! The futures market has been in backwardation for almost a year - the opposite of "oil tomorrow worth more than oil today."
Oil company profit margins are not high. The most profitable companies are making 11%. Oil is traded on free markets, just like stocks. No one can set the price.
Price is determined by supply and demand. Low supplies and high demand for oil. Huge supplies of Federal Reserve Notes.
I agree with you, however the general population doesnt understand what futures are so explaining the concept of backwardation/ contango is difficult. They prefer to just blame those horrible speculators.
What is terrifying is that politicians who are totally ignorant of what the futures market is, much less what functions it performs, are busy writing legislation to hog tie it. They have no idea what kind of economic blowback could result! It's not only that the commercials would have fewer "insurance men" to hedge with. The action could simply move to unregulated markets overseas that are not bound to trade in dollars. The consequences of that could be utterly catastrophic.
You've got part of it, sugarpuddin88. Throw in a decade on exponentially increasing demand in developing economies like China and India. Throw in declining production in all major oil fields since 2005. No major new discoveries developed for 30 years. What new discoveries there are, are not light sweet crude near the surface, but sulfurous, nasty stuff deep under water and so forth. The oil age is coming to an end.
All true and contributing factors, but also slow changing. The price has spiked very quickly. Supply and demand have to be tight to set the right conditions, but what tipped the balance to a bubble has to be currency and speculative issues.
There is no bubble. Bubbles are characterized by over-supply in conjunction with high prices. A year or so ago, supplies became very tight. The crude oil futures market went into backwardation. (Google it.) Excessive (long) speculation leads to excessive contango, the opposite of backwardation. Tight supplies cause backwardation. The woman has it exactly backwards.
We are getting bent over by our politicians, the FED, The big banks, OPEC, AIPAC you name em, they're screwing you good america. 9/11 was the warning shot, expect more problems all produced by the global elite, corporations & politicians you continue to empower. You wanted change, you're gonna get it!
Who's to blame? THe jews of course. Using trillions of dollars of funds in the shadow banking system, they are inflating the price of oil like they inflated the real estate market just prior. These speculators must be stopped, they are running around exploiting the prices of food, oil, and every other valuable commodity. I predict next they are going to take over the "clean energy" market.
You have to figure that it is a certain group of people robbing anyone who uses oil or gas by controlling the prices. Probably someone who has access to the White House.
OPEC is not to blame for high oil prices (especially in the USA). If you want to drop the price of fuel in the USA support the Affordable Gas Act(HR 2415).
Inflation is the PRIMARY factor. To the degree that speculators are playing a role, it is because people are moving out of worthless paper money and buying something that has intrinsic value for wealth storage. Accounting for inflation, most people who are heavy in stocks are down 30% over the last 10 years. The price of gas has fluctuated very little over the last 30 YEARS IF PRICED IN GOLD.
you know that Israel actually owns u! you'll figure it out when you destroy yourself from the inside out. after your done blowing israeli AIPAC each and every night kneeling to your masters. good luck kid.
The "speculators" are being blamed but ask, why do they think the price of oil will continue to go up?
The answer is simple: Lower oil prices will only come with a stronger USD. If the Fed wants to support the USD they need to raise interest rates...which will burst the housing bubble fully, etc. So, they HAVE to drive the USD down, hence oil HAS to go up. People know that the USD will continue to be driven down by Bernanke to prop up this unsustainable bubble. Speculation..or smart investment?
Not one of them called the real reason for rising oil prices: the fall in the value of the USD. OPEC themselves released a report a couple of weeks ago showing that there is more than sufficient supply to meet demand, and that for every 1% drop in the USD, the price of oil rises $4. With M3 aggregate money supply (independently reconstructed, because it was so bad the government stopped publishing the number) running at 17% at present, EVERYTHING traded internationally in USD increases in price.
Exactly... thank God there are people out there who see what is truly going on, and don't just believe the BS and propaganda coming from mainstream news.
There is no way these "experts" cannot see what is happening to the USD. The fog of lies is simply maddening.
I like to joke that since we're blaming oil companies and speculators, we should blame egg & milk producers, energy companies, and speculators for high grocery and electricity bills!
I don't know, but it seems like the U.S. is in a tight spot b/c of our transport infrastructure.
If we dropped oil subsidies to drive the price up (and people into public/alt transport, etc), it would only work out well for urban & urb/suburban folks. The further suburbs & rural areas would go broke under fuel prices & be unable to buy the more expensive food.
We don't have the rail to move food well enough, or to compete w/ airlines (which CANNOT operate out of the red w/ much higher prices)
crock703... I think some of you say has merit however a little overly complicated...
The transport system of which you speak wasn't designed to carry out the demands the American consumer gives it. This is truely the result of the American consumer having to compete with a global economy.
American's need to get off the tit and grow up and feel the pain the rest of the world has been feeling.
In essense, Americans need to learn to control their consumption once and for all.
point was that we're designed for cars now. Throw the price of gas up $2 and a huge chunk of people would be living in absolute poverty (b/c of food prices). If rail could take the burden off trucking people could cope w/ the food price increases.
The govt should announce a plan w/ fuel efficiency mandates, rain investment, & education about cutting back on personal energy use - at the same time tinkering w/ fuel subsidies and fillin the strategic reserve to keep prices undesirable.
You mean up to the price that much of the rest of the world is already paying?
US citizens are paying less for their oil than they should be, relative to what everyone else is paying. EVERYBODY is paying for Nixon's folly of taking the US off the gold standard, and letting the Fed run rampant, creating trillions of dollars out of thin air.
The US Federal Reserve Bank only knows how to fix economic bubbles with more bubbles. After the Tech Bubble there should have been a recession in order to remove access dollars from the economy. But no we pumped the economy with low interest rates and digital dollars to create the Housing Bubble, and what is Ben Bernanke doing now? He is creating another bubble by keeping interest rates low and flood the market with excessive amounts of aggregate money supply or M3.
@M3minusGrowth Nothing, nothing, nothing will change until we kick out Wall Street's 2 parties. Both have the same basic positions on all major foreign policy, trade & tax policy issues. None would be willing to challenge the Fed, Military Expansionism or Corporate Welfare. The genuine conservatives need to get behind people like Ron Paul and the anti-imperialist Libertarians. The genuine progressives need to get behind people like Nader, Sanders, the Greens & the various Socialist parties.
The US Federal Reserve Bank and other Central Banks world-wide are creating excessive aggregate money supply with very little economic growth. The price of goods are not going UP your purchasing power of you dollar is going down. It is caused by too many dollars in circulation and with very little economic growth. We are going to see stagflation in 2009 and most likely a depression in 2010 if Bernarke does not slow down aggregate money supply or M3 and equal it with economic growth.
First thing to do to lower the price of oil is to create a deflationary economy. At the moment our Corporate Central Bank (FED) is creating a inflationary economy by flooding the economy with aggregate money supply (M3) with our economic growth is at recessionary lows near 2%. M3 is above 15% growth and the economy is at a 2% growth. 15-2=13% INFLATION. Using the Rule of 72, 72/13=5.5 years before consumer goods double in price unless the economy starts growing at a 13% to match M3 growth
I'm an economist and Ron Paul does have some excellent qualities by far better than any other candidate for President. The Libertarians are not the most environmentally friendly group of people on the planet. Ron Paul has never said anything about Global Warming or anything environmental. I'm writing in my own name for President after I look very closely to who RP endorses for president. I will not waste my vote on a Libtard or Neo-Nazi-Con.
Your knowledge of the fiat monetary system must lend to suspicion and distrust of the federal government and their complicity in rampant over-spending on both the foreign and domestic sides.
It does for me, and knowing that the U.N.'s IPCC has created a man-made global warming industry is enough to arouse that same distrust in anything a quasi-world government body advocates. I'm no climate scientist, but I believe the man-made assertion is fabricated.
That said, do you necessarily take exception to Ron Paul's stance that private property law should be the avenue to stop polluters? (for things outside of CO2)
I initially thought (mostly just assumed!) him to be "weak" on both environment, and abortion, but when I really looked into his positions, his arguments convinced me that it was *I* that had been wrong. My view of his environment and abortion positions now is that they are actually quite correct. It's just they are both relatively sophisticated views, that require a bit of thought to "get". This is the interview that convinced me re: his environmental views:
Part 2: We need seven chart's showing the comparative costs in 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, and today of oil at each of the stages of production. Comparing the differences against inflation will tell us who is responsible: the ground pumpers, the refiners, the speculators, the wholesale sellers, or the retail sellers.
What we the consumers need are comparison charts by year showing the different stages in the price of oil from the ground to the gas tank. We need to see a chart showing the wholesale price per barrel when it is pumped out of the ground, price at the last stage of refining after the oil is turned into the end product of gasoline (petrol), jet fuel, motor oil, heating oil,etc., and the prices through the various middle men , then the price at the gas pump when we put it into the auto's tank.
What type of criminal manipulation, what is the evidence, and, if this is truly criminal manipulation, what enforcement would best alleviate the situation?
The massive influx of fiat-money by countries to soften the blow of the credit crunch caused by a similar misuse of fiat-money, has rapidly devalued any money held as funds. This forces pension and insurance funds to speculate in oil and food as a money substitute, and to be compliant with government regulation about maximising ROI. Thus, to accuse them of criminal activity is bizarre. Quit driving Humners around town. Walk or cycle instead. No one has a RIGHT to cheap oil in a free society.
the lenders have no right to take tax dollars to offset their losses (incurred by their own short-term interested poor investments) - they just 'owned' the bank right? (not talking about the Fed - that they claim the econ will tank if they do)
Lenders have government complicity on two counts: Government uses the bank system to raise money via bonds, et., to raise money in lieu of taxes. The bonds are repaid to the customer by further tax and/or liens on their property over time. Dig your own grave. To increase credit, government turns a blind eye to the money multiplier created by banks lending money from the Irregular Demand Deposit (non savings, etc), on a 10% fractional reserve. Rights need the law upheld.
Rights - you mean to property ownership, & protection from unfair taxation?
Laws that allow oversight & regulation of lenders, to protect investors & borrowers? Am I getting this right?
Govt is complicit in turning a blind eye to irresponsible lending (b/c it created the appearance of a prospering econ?) ...
In the end though, the lenders weren't restricted by regulation or oversight & milked borrowers & investors, then asked for a taxpayer handout to cover the losses - right?
Who is making out? (Are they really making out, or just maintaining wealth against a falling dollar also)
The wealthy & bankers who locked borrowers deeper in debt & milked them while they could, bled investors, & now the taxpayers? Also, govt officials who benefited in the short-term by using hollow econ growth to 'quell' dissent, (and to keep investment in 'war companies')?
A couterview to this is that banks can only offer credit, but clients do not have to take it. Banks cannot force people to take credit. That said, banks can make credit available in ways which suit their policies. For example, many small businesses have to use expensive credit card credit to buy stock and pay bills. But no one is forced to start a business.
Rights as in the right to life, the right to own and dispose of property and the right to its capital value. In the context of banks, banks lend out money which is deposited for immediate spending (IRD) and has not been set aside for that purpose by the customer. 90% of your paycheck, for example. This is illegal because the bank has no contract with the depositor to lend their money or pay interest. This aids the availability of credit and makes the Economy appear much better than it is.
Good point. We need to cut consumption to what we need and gradually on what we want. Two wars, military bases all over the world, a larger spend happy government, a housing bubble with speculated home prices and a credit crunch indicate we're living beyond our means. Our "wealth" was fake with ridiculous low interest rates initiating lax and predatory loaning practices and trying to achieve the American dream too quickly with little, not enough savings or none.
rape and pillage your country. but you wont get cheaper fuel. not today and not in 50 years! I know I am in the oil industry. its unfortunate that your president and his oil buddies have you blind sided as usual! but its ok you go ahead and blame others if it makes you feel better.
The only good thing about high oil prices is that the burden is increasingly promoting more and more people to look towards alternative renewable fuels, which ultimately we must do.
Very true. The price for anything on the market is determined by the availability of substitutes as well as supply and demand. In the case of wind turbines, for example, care needs to taken because they are only constructed if the construction is subsidised by the taxpayer, since the ROI is abysmal, and they all have to be replaced after 5 years as the Germans are discovering: Rotor failure, gearbox failure, bearing failure, foundation cracking, and an 18 month wait for spares.
this man cant even read.
tshapour 1 year ago
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adminjohn 2 years ago
blame the Democraps!! Fuels prices didn't start spiking till THEY took over congress! It's all BS really, they learned their lesson's well in the 70's! Jack it up HIGH and we'll be GLAD to pay $3.00 again..HOW SAD! The Republicannots are any help either! We need to take our government back..by revolution if necessary!
endtimer09 3 years ago
The real cost of oil would be over $11 dollars a gallon if you made the Oil Companies pay for military aid in hostile countries and also made them pay for environmental impacts in the US!
Rockynurse 2 years ago 2
@Rockynurse Yes, and if we gave the producing countries the ability to fairly tax what is rightfully theirs: their own natural resources. In a decade you would see us switch substantially to wind, solar, tide and geothermal power.
musicalidea 10 months ago
Now oil has gone way down. Is this a conspiracy of speculation as well? What puzzles me is that oil prices don't seem to match what news stories seem to indicate the price should be doing.
redletterchurch 3 years ago
The fact that US soldiers in Iraq guard the very pipeline that pumps a huge percentage of US consumed crude confirms complicity between the saudi royals & the US gov/oil companies. They're on the same team. They're the shirts & the american people are the skins & they rigged the game. Remember that press conference where Bush pretended he didn't know gas was $4 a gallon? What's worse, having a hand in corruption or being The US president & not being aware of the highest gas prices in history?
misterdix 3 years ago
Our politicians just Suck...all of them!!!
thebigleone 3 years ago
Ron Paul for example doesn't suck! There still are some good ones around. Be fair.
Elinitsam 3 years ago
sure n don't forget Jesse Ventura sad fact is the Tea party movemment is highjacked by the riht n their darling is now claiming to be their official spokeperson/leader discusting her of all ppl to claim this
polygamous1 2 years ago
And what about what Lindsey Williams said in his book and lecture (posted on you tube)?
Where the manipulation is done by some very powerful men, the World Bank and the other set...?
Anybody know anything on the other side of that guy's information?
Ba101 3 years ago
I wish I knew. I saw a couple of his clips. Without proof, who knows? It would be nice if some aggressive investigative reporters did a thorough report on the supply chain - the prices and companies involved along the way. Who raises prices first? Why can't some clever group undercut the rest and grab all the business? Are new players locked out by monopoly distribution schemes? Why is gas so cheap in some South American countries? Can't we buy from them at a discount? I don't know!
MillionthUsername 3 years ago
He names names and give places and dates etc.
I wouldn't call that "without proof".
But no one is speaking either way about this and that's more than just strange.
Once we get info, we need to do something with it.
This woman's info is also something we should be yelling about.
In the 60's ther would have been massive demonstrations. I think we have seen not just attitudes about our participation change, but fear of speaking out individually and collectively as well
Ba101 3 years ago
oil is traded in usa dollars, so when the fed prints more money it increases the supply of the usa dollar which decreases the value, when the value of the dollar decreases the oil commodity goes up in order to offset the profit loss from the decreasing value of the dollar
mattgeb84 3 years ago
I think the oil is about to run out in a few months, maybe a few years. And that is why these companies are rinsing us for every penny we've got before they're "job-less".
joby866 3 years ago
I wonder if there is an "expert" out there who has anything to say about what effect creating money out of thin air has on prices of commodities?
If that is not a problem, then all we have to do is have the government print twice as much and give it out to everybody. Then we'll have more money to pay the higher prices so it won't matter. :-/
Isn't that how money supply affects prices? How come none of the experts are smart enough to advocate this strategy? Problem solved! : )
MillionthUsername 3 years ago
I think you speak with tongue in cheek.You do recall what happened to Germany after WWI? The result of printing too much money is inflation. Too many dollars chasing too few gooods. I wish it were that easy.
mwhi859716 3 years ago
Yes, I was being sarcastic. The point is they almost never talk about it. Actually, if you double the money supply by doubling EVERYONE'S supply simultaneously, there is no difference. The numbers are arbitrary in themselves.
But in real life, whoever gets the inflated money first (banks, gov't contractors, etc)steals value from the rest. Savers lose. The poor ALWAYS lose since wages and gov't benefits are the last prices to rise.
Inflation is nothing but theft.
MillionthUsername 3 years ago
That will solve nothing the reason for inflation is because the dollar is not valued as a dollar. U can pringnt all the money u want but that will only increase the inflation
mega2012 3 years ago
Yes I know. I was joking. See my response below. These replies don't show up where they ought to and/or it takes some time for the system to catch up.
MillionthUsername 3 years ago
the america peoples to feel the pain before he get out of the office so the peoples can write to there senator to unlift the band on offshore drilling, don't be fool over which oil company bidding on who get to dip 1st, wake up america on bush playing u again,
DJmeanMachine 3 years ago
WHY is it Bush this, Bush that, you will see that the other President, THEY are gonna be bad-mouthing him... AGAIN, and AGAIN. EVERY President, was bad mouthed before EVEN JFK.
This looks ALOT like Rome, REALLY alot like it, since the other world, civilized or not, bad mouthed it to no evail.
Zeinland 3 years ago
I can't wait until this country gets into chaos soon. Then we'll teach these fuckers what invasion for oil means. It is time to invade these fuckers and take their oil for good and teach them a fucking lesson. It is coming.
jmwd 3 years ago
well if you are talking about saudi arabia then you should be happy because they still giving you their natural resource.its us who are not drilling because we want to save it till the whole world go out of oil.any way put oil to the side,how about food prices,houseing,jobs,economy,every thing is fucked up by republicans,fighting some 1s elses war,but it dont effect them because at the end of the day their kids go to harvard,and put millions of dollars in their pockets,it effect me and you.
mkg00179504 3 years ago
They could always stop the oil and then you could fuck yourself and die. It`s theirs not yours.
WillMChelseaFC 3 years ago
The oil companies and the market speculators for the blame. And the government for doing nothing. Looks like the only country doing something to lower price is Saudi Arabia.
WillMChelseaFC 3 years ago
Gas is about 4.00 a gallon breaking that down 143 dollars for a barrel of oil means that the raw product per gallon is 3.40 there are 42 gallons in a barrel the US federal tax is about 30 cents. 3.70 your state tax is about .20 cents on average so that leaves .10 cents in profit per gallon now the gas station probably gets .05 cents of that. so you figure that oil companies are making a nickel on a gallon of gas. They just sell a lot of gallons of gas. The crude oil is the major part
mega2012 3 years ago
Maybe now in America we'll organize our trips better, do quite a bit more car-pooling or bike riding or whatever it takes to get to work. And stay home and plant a garden with your kids. Dump the SUV's, get smaller cars and recycle your desert, river and ocean polluting toys. Grow up America!
Maysey1 3 years ago
lindsey williams "energy non-crisis" what a video
kingnek 3 years ago
its saudi arbia it is the demcrats who wont let us drill
hist0ryman 3 years ago
The skyrocketing cost of oil is nothing more than financial terrorism. So many reasons are given for the incredulous rise...but the truth is the TRUTH: there are people amassing great sums of money from this blatant form of profiterring.
GREATWHITE2 3 years ago
Update June 26: Just for the record, future prices are now virtually flat through Jan 2009. You pays your money, and you can take delivery whenever you please. Longer term contracts are still in backwardation. Contracts for delivery in 2011 are for oil at about five bucks a barrel cheaper than oil for immediate delivery.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
For those not familiar with how futures contracts work, when I said, "You pays your money," that wasn't exactly right. What you do is enter into a binding contract either to buy or to sell the crude at a specific price and time.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
How are oil companies blamed if they have to buy the oil themselves to sell it? If they could fix prices, they'll probably fix them so high that they'll be out of business. Fat chance.
I will concur that there's price fixing going on, not through markets but through, my guess, the Federal Reserve and inflation.
My guess is it's confusing to try to read markets and speculation and focus on something preventable like government spending and inflation.
jtguevara6357 3 years ago
why the hell arabs wear bed sheets??
ferrariModenas 3 years ago
Different clothes in other parts of the world. It's a long white cotton coat and has buttons.
WillMChelseaFC 3 years ago
Time to start using hydrogen from water and drift away from dependance on oil.
PulsarFusion 3 years ago
Did she say Marathon is conspiring to raise oil prices? Hahahaha. Marathon is a refiner. When crude oil prices are high, refiners take it in the shorts. That's probably why their stock has dropped 17% since the first of the year. That woman is pig ignorant. If Marathon is manipulating oil prices, they are not doing a very good job of it. Their profit margin has dropped to 4%.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
Marathon has the ability to sit on oil because it is a refiner. The independent gas station owners (who many incorrectly blame for increased gas prices) can't sit on supply, and many are being squeezed by their suppliers. Marathon dipped by about 15% because of a mini tender offer that the market did not like in January.
dsmoya31410 3 years ago
Why should they "sit on oil" when the futures market is in backwardation? They can't be that stupid. They can just enter into futures contracts with the "evil speculators" at less than it costs to buy it now. They not only do not incur the cost of storing it, but they make interest on the money that they don't tie up. (Cost of carry.) I am not making this stuff up. The numbers are all available on the NYMEX web site.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
I might add that the backwardation is abating, at least in near months. The last time I checked, a couple of days ago, the near month contract was a little higher than spot. Distant month futures were still cheaper than spot, but the curve is flattening. That may imply some relief in near term supply tightness.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
... or not. I just checked the tickers, and spot crude oil has hit another all time high.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
and what started this speculation..... the iraq war.... in the end everyone gets what they deserve....
Twopecshaker 3 years ago
Dont blame investors, dont blame china / India. The US is responsible for most of the world oil consumption, far exceeding China + India. People need to walk cycle were possible, uses buses and trains and vechiles with smaller more efficient engines.
kermanparts 3 years ago
Prices are determined at the margins by the big players. A slight increase in demand when supply is not sufficient to meet demand can lead to big increases in price. I do not "blame" China and India. I'm a free market kind of guy. Check my videos. But the increased demand from the emerging economies is more than offsetting demand destruction in the west.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
I understand the inelastic nature of the market. My point is that China and India are not using oil in volumes close to the US so to hold them 'guilty' is silly. It would be better if the US was more like parts of Europe were people generally have smaller cars and often cycle / walk or take public transport.
kermanparts 3 years ago
Let the price rise. That'll cut down on consumption and turn people away from using oil. If the buyers, speculators, are pushing the price up, great, let them shoot it up as high as it can go.
warterra 3 years ago
Russians, Indians & Chinese all driving cars thanks to "free trade" is the reason for price hikes. And it aint gonna get better, sweetheart, even if we expand drilling because the demand is EXPONENTIAL.
Come on. . . it aint rocket surgery.
gumpydoood 3 years ago
realnews is the best news. only news I trust
VoteYourConsience 3 years ago 2
The cause is the Federal Reserve resulting in the devaluation of the US$. Duhh!
jonahtrainer 3 years ago
interst, speculation and gambling are main pillars of westren capitalism and that is the recipy of sucking blood of billion for some capatilist going richer and richer. Islamic economics that is free of all these ghosts is the solution.
franzxxxx 3 years ago
Speculators can't move spot prices, certainly not for seven straight years! The futures market has been in backwardation for almost a year - the opposite of "oil tomorrow worth more than oil today."
Oil company profit margins are not high. The most profitable companies are making 11%. Oil is traded on free markets, just like stocks. No one can set the price.
Price is determined by supply and demand. Low supplies and high demand for oil. Huge supplies of Federal Reserve Notes.
Get used to it.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
I agree with you, however the general population doesnt understand what futures are so explaining the concept of backwardation/ contango is difficult. They prefer to just blame those horrible speculators.
kermanparts 3 years ago
What is terrifying is that politicians who are totally ignorant of what the futures market is, much less what functions it performs, are busy writing legislation to hog tie it. They have no idea what kind of economic blowback could result! It's not only that the commercials would have fewer "insurance men" to hedge with. The action could simply move to unregulated markets overseas that are not bound to trade in dollars. The consequences of that could be utterly catastrophic.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
The factors:
1. Maverick futures speculators on Wall Street.
2. The dollar is not worth as much as it used to be.
3. The oil refiners making record profits.
4. The US Republican politicians who ARE oil and oil-war profiteers - Cheney, Bush, McCain, etc.
SatwaMan 3 years ago
is maverick futures speculators on Wall Street driving up the price, not the oil producers.
SatwaMan 3 years ago
1) Before our invasion $20 barrel - As soon as we invaded, we turned OFF most the oil production in Iraq (supply down - price up)
2) The private bankers who own the FED reserve bank have been allowed to print so many dollars, the US dollar isn't worth the paper it's written on
sugarpuddin88 3 years ago
You've got part of it, sugarpuddin88. Throw in a decade on exponentially increasing demand in developing economies like China and India. Throw in declining production in all major oil fields since 2005. No major new discoveries developed for 30 years. What new discoveries there are, are not light sweet crude near the surface, but sulfurous, nasty stuff deep under water and so forth. The oil age is coming to an end.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
All true and contributing factors, but also slow changing. The price has spiked very quickly. Supply and demand have to be tight to set the right conditions, but what tipped the balance to a bubble has to be currency and speculative issues.
GrownupPhan 3 years ago
There is no bubble. Bubbles are characterized by over-supply in conjunction with high prices. A year or so ago, supplies became very tight. The crude oil futures market went into backwardation. (Google it.) Excessive (long) speculation leads to excessive contango, the opposite of backwardation. Tight supplies cause backwardation. The woman has it exactly backwards.
JiveDadson 3 years ago
Venezuela sits on 5 times more oil than Saudi; a new Russian oil discovery is estimated at same size
I still want to know why the Government bought up all electric cars in the 90's; then proceeded to crush them all!
sugarpuddin88 3 years ago 8
If the dollar & Euro drop. The price of oil will rise.
Thats what happens when you have a fractional reserve banking system...
dtaijo174 3 years ago
We are getting bent over by our politicians, the FED, The big banks, OPEC, AIPAC you name em, they're screwing you good america. 9/11 was the warning shot, expect more problems all produced by the global elite, corporations & politicians you continue to empower. You wanted change, you're gonna get it!
eekdog2005 3 years ago
Who's to blame? THe jews of course. Using trillions of dollars of funds in the shadow banking system, they are inflating the price of oil like they inflated the real estate market just prior. These speculators must be stopped, they are running around exploiting the prices of food, oil, and every other valuable commodity. I predict next they are going to take over the "clean energy" market.
MuslimGhost 3 years ago
Price of oil is due to speculation and the falling dollar.
I don't see $4/gallon in the US as a bargain because European countries are socialists and their money is worth more than the declining US dollar.
Using an online calculator:
The euro is worth 50% more than the dollar and the British pound is 100%.
Plus China has been growing double digits economically for 20yrs and that hasn't had much affect before nor would it amount to what is happening now.
There has to be something nefarious.
MetalJacket01 3 years ago
Just give up your city cruiser and buy Guy Nègre's compresser air car for 3500 € per automobile.
teemuruskeepaa 3 years ago
You have to figure that it is a certain group of people robbing anyone who uses oil or gas by controlling the prices. Probably someone who has access to the White House.
hypnofan35 3 years ago
In that case Bush is the only candidate.
teemuruskeepaa 3 years ago
OBVIOUSLY!
anamarie8 3 years ago
OPEC is not to blame for high oil prices (especially in the USA). If you want to drop the price of fuel in the USA support the Affordable Gas Act(HR 2415).
peepnklown 3 years ago
Its been said by a few, but it deserves emphasis:
GAS PRICES ARE HIGH PRIMARILY DUE TO INFLATION
Inflation is the PRIMARY factor. To the degree that speculators are playing a role, it is because people are moving out of worthless paper money and buying something that has intrinsic value for wealth storage. Accounting for inflation, most people who are heavy in stocks are down 30% over the last 10 years. The price of gas has fluctuated very little over the last 30 YEARS IF PRICED IN GOLD.
immanent 3 years ago 2
WE ARE TO BLAME!
StarWarsMedia 3 years ago
you know that Israel actually owns u! you'll figure it out when you destroy yourself from the inside out. after your done blowing israeli AIPAC each and every night kneeling to your masters. good luck kid.
britishempire01 3 years ago
The "speculators" are being blamed but ask, why do they think the price of oil will continue to go up?
The answer is simple: Lower oil prices will only come with a stronger USD. If the Fed wants to support the USD they need to raise interest rates...which will burst the housing bubble fully, etc. So, they HAVE to drive the USD down, hence oil HAS to go up. People know that the USD will continue to be driven down by Bernanke to prop up this unsustainable bubble. Speculation..or smart investment?
lastnymleft 3 years ago 2
Not one of them called the real reason for rising oil prices: the fall in the value of the USD. OPEC themselves released a report a couple of weeks ago showing that there is more than sufficient supply to meet demand, and that for every 1% drop in the USD, the price of oil rises $4. With M3 aggregate money supply (independently reconstructed, because it was so bad the government stopped publishing the number) running at 17% at present, EVERYTHING traded internationally in USD increases in price.
lastnymleft 3 years ago
Exactly... thank God there are people out there who see what is truly going on, and don't just believe the BS and propaganda coming from mainstream news.
There is no way these "experts" cannot see what is happening to the USD. The fog of lies is simply maddening.
I like to joke that since we're blaming oil companies and speculators, we should blame egg & milk producers, energy companies, and speculators for high grocery and electricity bills!
immanent 3 years ago
"The oil companies are involved in manipulating oil price?"
Well no fucking shit sherlock.
I say...raise it to 5-6 dollars a Gal, people only get involved when it personally affects them.
Pleblian 3 years ago
I don't know, but it seems like the U.S. is in a tight spot b/c of our transport infrastructure.
If we dropped oil subsidies to drive the price up (and people into public/alt transport, etc), it would only work out well for urban & urb/suburban folks. The further suburbs & rural areas would go broke under fuel prices & be unable to buy the more expensive food.
We don't have the rail to move food well enough, or to compete w/ airlines (which CANNOT operate out of the red w/ much higher prices)
crock703 3 years ago
crock703... I think some of you say has merit however a little overly complicated...
The transport system of which you speak wasn't designed to carry out the demands the American consumer gives it. This is truely the result of the American consumer having to compete with a global economy.
American's need to get off the tit and grow up and feel the pain the rest of the world has been feeling.
In essense, Americans need to learn to control their consumption once and for all.
Pleblian 3 years ago
point was that we're designed for cars now. Throw the price of gas up $2 and a huge chunk of people would be living in absolute poverty (b/c of food prices). If rail could take the burden off trucking people could cope w/ the food price increases.
The govt should announce a plan w/ fuel efficiency mandates, rain investment, & education about cutting back on personal energy use - at the same time tinkering w/ fuel subsidies and fillin the strategic reserve to keep prices undesirable.
crock703 3 years ago
Plebian: "I say...raise it to 5-6 dollars a Gal"
You mean up to the price that much of the rest of the world is already paying?
US citizens are paying less for their oil than they should be, relative to what everyone else is paying. EVERYBODY is paying for Nixon's folly of taking the US off the gold standard, and letting the Fed run rampant, creating trillions of dollars out of thin air.
lastnymleft 3 years ago
The US Federal Reserve Bank only knows how to fix economic bubbles with more bubbles. After the Tech Bubble there should have been a recession in order to remove access dollars from the economy. But no we pumped the economy with low interest rates and digital dollars to create the Housing Bubble, and what is Ben Bernanke doing now? He is creating another bubble by keeping interest rates low and flood the market with excessive amounts of aggregate money supply or M3.
M3minusGrowth 3 years ago 5
@M3minusGrowth Nothing, nothing, nothing will change until we kick out Wall Street's 2 parties. Both have the same basic positions on all major foreign policy, trade & tax policy issues. None would be willing to challenge the Fed, Military Expansionism or Corporate Welfare. The genuine conservatives need to get behind people like Ron Paul and the anti-imperialist Libertarians. The genuine progressives need to get behind people like Nader, Sanders, the Greens & the various Socialist parties.
musicalidea 10 months ago
The US Federal Reserve Bank and other Central Banks world-wide are creating excessive aggregate money supply with very little economic growth. The price of goods are not going UP your purchasing power of you dollar is going down. It is caused by too many dollars in circulation and with very little economic growth. We are going to see stagflation in 2009 and most likely a depression in 2010 if Bernarke does not slow down aggregate money supply or M3 and equal it with economic growth.
M3minusGrowth 3 years ago
First thing to do to lower the price of oil is to create a deflationary economy. At the moment our Corporate Central Bank (FED) is creating a inflationary economy by flooding the economy with aggregate money supply (M3) with our economic growth is at recessionary lows near 2%. M3 is above 15% growth and the economy is at a 2% growth. 15-2=13% INFLATION. Using the Rule of 72, 72/13=5.5 years before consumer goods double in price unless the economy starts growing at a 13% to match M3 growth
M3minusGrowth 3 years ago
I notice no subscriptions related to Ron Paul in your profile. Believing as you do (correctly!), how can you not be a supporter?
lastnymleft 3 years ago
I'm an economist and Ron Paul does have some excellent qualities by far better than any other candidate for President. The Libertarians are not the most environmentally friendly group of people on the planet. Ron Paul has never said anything about Global Warming or anything environmental. I'm writing in my own name for President after I look very closely to who RP endorses for president. I will not waste my vote on a Libtard or Neo-Nazi-Con.
M3minusGrowth 3 years ago 2
Your knowledge of the fiat monetary system must lend to suspicion and distrust of the federal government and their complicity in rampant over-spending on both the foreign and domestic sides.
It does for me, and knowing that the U.N.'s IPCC has created a man-made global warming industry is enough to arouse that same distrust in anything a quasi-world government body advocates. I'm no climate scientist, but I believe the man-made assertion is fabricated.
immanent 3 years ago
That said, do you necessarily take exception to Ron Paul's stance that private property law should be the avenue to stop polluters? (for things outside of CO2)
immanent 3 years ago
I initially thought (mostly just assumed!) him to be "weak" on both environment, and abortion, but when I really looked into his positions, his arguments convinced me that it was *I* that had been wrong. My view of his environment and abortion positions now is that they are actually quite correct. It's just they are both relatively sophisticated views, that require a bit of thought to "get". This is the interview that convinced me re: his environmental views:
grist. org/feature/2007/10/16/paul/
lastnymleft 3 years ago
I voted for RP in the Michigan Primaries if you really need to know.
M3minusGrowth 3 years ago
The devalued Dollar is to blame!! DUH!!
AiresQX4 3 years ago
Part 2: We need seven chart's showing the comparative costs in 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, and today of oil at each of the stages of production. Comparing the differences against inflation will tell us who is responsible: the ground pumpers, the refiners, the speculators, the wholesale sellers, or the retail sellers.
DonkeyofHeaven 3 years ago
What we the consumers need are comparison charts by year showing the different stages in the price of oil from the ground to the gas tank. We need to see a chart showing the wholesale price per barrel when it is pumped out of the ground, price at the last stage of refining after the oil is turned into the end product of gasoline (petrol), jet fuel, motor oil, heating oil,etc., and the prices through the various middle men , then the price at the gas pump when we put it into the auto's tank.
DonkeyofHeaven 3 years ago
What type of criminal manipulation, what is the evidence, and, if this is truly criminal manipulation, what enforcement would best alleviate the situation?
givebirthathome 3 years ago
The massive influx of fiat-money by countries to soften the blow of the credit crunch caused by a similar misuse of fiat-money, has rapidly devalued any money held as funds. This forces pension and insurance funds to speculate in oil and food as a money substitute, and to be compliant with government regulation about maximising ROI. Thus, to accuse them of criminal activity is bizarre. Quit driving Humners around town. Walk or cycle instead. No one has a RIGHT to cheap oil in a free society.
charlessmyth 3 years ago
the lenders have no right to take tax dollars to offset their losses (incurred by their own short-term interested poor investments) - they just 'owned' the bank right? (not talking about the Fed - that they claim the econ will tank if they do)
crock703 3 years ago
Lenders have government complicity on two counts: Government uses the bank system to raise money via bonds, et., to raise money in lieu of taxes. The bonds are repaid to the customer by further tax and/or liens on their property over time. Dig your own grave. To increase credit, government turns a blind eye to the money multiplier created by banks lending money from the Irregular Demand Deposit (non savings, etc), on a 10% fractional reserve. Rights need the law upheld.
charlessmyth 3 years ago
Rights - you mean to property ownership, & protection from unfair taxation?
Laws that allow oversight & regulation of lenders, to protect investors & borrowers? Am I getting this right?
Govt is complicit in turning a blind eye to irresponsible lending (b/c it created the appearance of a prospering econ?) ...
In the end though, the lenders weren't restricted by regulation or oversight & milked borrowers & investors, then asked for a taxpayer handout to cover the losses - right?
crock703 3 years ago
Who is making out? (Are they really making out, or just maintaining wealth against a falling dollar also)
The wealthy & bankers who locked borrowers deeper in debt & milked them while they could, bled investors, & now the taxpayers? Also, govt officials who benefited in the short-term by using hollow econ growth to 'quell' dissent, (and to keep investment in 'war companies')?
crock703 3 years ago
A couterview to this is that banks can only offer credit, but clients do not have to take it. Banks cannot force people to take credit. That said, banks can make credit available in ways which suit their policies. For example, many small businesses have to use expensive credit card credit to buy stock and pay bills. But no one is forced to start a business.
charlessmyth 3 years ago
Rights as in the right to life, the right to own and dispose of property and the right to its capital value. In the context of banks, banks lend out money which is deposited for immediate spending (IRD) and has not been set aside for that purpose by the customer. 90% of your paycheck, for example. This is illegal because the bank has no contract with the depositor to lend their money or pay interest. This aids the availability of credit and makes the Economy appear much better than it is.
charlessmyth 3 years ago
Good point. We need to cut consumption to what we need and gradually on what we want. Two wars, military bases all over the world, a larger spend happy government, a housing bubble with speculated home prices and a credit crunch indicate we're living beyond our means. Our "wealth" was fake with ridiculous low interest rates initiating lax and predatory loaning practices and trying to achieve the American dream too quickly with little, not enough savings or none.
thomasst2 3 years ago
rape and pillage your country. but you wont get cheaper fuel. not today and not in 50 years! I know I am in the oil industry. its unfortunate that your president and his oil buddies have you blind sided as usual! but its ok you go ahead and blame others if it makes you feel better.
britishempire01 3 years ago 2
the american government is to blame for printing too many dollars
greenbean1984 3 years ago 3
speculators......thanks.....yeesh.
The only good thing about high oil prices is that the burden is increasingly promoting more and more people to look towards alternative renewable fuels, which ultimately we must do.
MikeFForever 3 years ago 3
Very true. The price for anything on the market is determined by the availability of substitutes as well as supply and demand. In the case of wind turbines, for example, care needs to taken because they are only constructed if the construction is subsidised by the taxpayer, since the ROI is abysmal, and they all have to be replaced after 5 years as the Germans are discovering: Rotor failure, gearbox failure, bearing failure, foundation cracking, and an 18 month wait for spares.
charlessmyth 3 years ago
ok but they're trying. If we had invested earlier this wouldn't be the problem.
lordblazer 3 years ago