Increased energy market supervision; CFTC regulation

There is an interesting story by Reuters about how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.K’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) have announced they will closely moniter energy markets. The story also details some of the CFTC’s plans to tighten commodity trading rules, including position limits in U.S. futures markets and sujecting more  over-the-counter derivatives subject to mandatory clearing. Under [...]

Recap of first CFTC hearing into speculation

Commodify Me! has been busy with the daily grind of life and would like to apologise for not posting this sooner. Anyway, as we all know, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission held the first of its three hearings last week looking at ways to curb excessive speculation in oil, gas and other engery markets. The [...]

Gary Gensler interview

The Los Angeles Times has done an interview with Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that’s worth a read: Gary Gensler once fought against tighter rules while serving in the Clinton administration. Now he’s urging strict rules for the contracts as head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. READ MORE

U.S. Senator takes aim at commodity index traders

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network has a brief story about U.S. Senator Susan Collins telling the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair Gary Gensler that index traders are distorting markets for wheat, oil and other commodities. Collins has introduced the Commodity Speculation Reform Act, which would limit the number of contracts that non-commercial investors could hold in [...]

CFTC considering restrictions on wheat trades

The Associated Press has a story about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) considering restrictions in the wheat futures market after a year-long investigation by the investigative panel of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee raised concerns that excessive speculation has artificially inflated prices, hampering risk management by farmers and grain processors. READ HERE

Brodsky calls for merger of CFTC and SEC

Reuters has a story about William Brodsky, CEO of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), saying in a written statement there’s a “compelling need” to merge the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Brodsky was scheduled to testify at a House of Representatives Financial Services Committee hearing on Friday about the [...]

Speculators accounted for 71% of oil contracts of the NYMEX

Reuters have obtained statistics from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) which shows that speculators accounted for 71% of the benchmark oil contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the world’s largest for energy trading, as of April 2008. The story also looks at what impact the proposed regulation by CFTC chairman Gary Gensler could [...]

Bernstein: CFTC’s plans won’t stop wild speculation

Richard Bernstein, the former Chief Investment Strategist and Head of the Investment Strategy Group at Merrill Lynch and CEO of Richard Bernstein Capital Management, believes plans by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate speculation on the exchange won’t work because it will merely push speculators to the non-regulated over-the-counter markets. Bernstein also argues that it was hedge [...]

CFTC hopeful of new regulation by late October

A follow up story by Reuters about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s process and plans for regulating excessive speculation in the commodity market. For those who have not been following this story, the CFTC’s moves are part of the Obama administration’s plans to tighten U.S. financial regulation and prevent another banking and market crisis.  Critics have  argued the global financial [...]

CFTC considers measures aimed at speculation

An interesting story from the Washington Post about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Gary Gensler considering implementing  policies that will reduce the price volatility caused by speculation on the commodity exchange. The CFTC also has plans to regulate derivatives (financial contracts whose prices are derived from the price of something else. CLICK HERE for more [...]