Posted on 07/09/2008 9:57:29 PM PDT by Niteflyr
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hundreds of grounded planes. Thousands of lost jobs. Nearly two dozen price hikes. Record oil prices have battered the airline industry, and Wednesday the airlines called on Congress to act. In an open letter to all airline customers, CEOs from 12 of the nation's airlines said lawmakers must curb excessive speculation to scale back record fuel costs. "Normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation," the letter said. "The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem." The airline industry said that Congress' previously established regulations to control excessive market speculation have largely been weakened or removed in the past two decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Don’t blame the speculators (There is no oil bubble)
07/09/2008 8:35:21 PM PDT · by curiosity · 17 replies · 423+ views
The Economist ^ | Jul 3, 2008 | Economist
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043248/posts
Think what you will....it will all come out very soon....
Read my comments on the linked thread before assigning a position to me.
Read the article before linking me to another thead....
thread that is...:o)
Thank you...and good point (if you are referring to your post #10).
Thanks
I say to hell with the airlines, who screw us at every step. Charge more for your flights then...don’t think the Federal government should step in and remake the market for you. How about using some of that extra money your making by charging us for baggage and buy some gas.
But no; now they're asking Congress to destroy the oil futures market altogether, so nobody can hedge. These losers deserve to go out of business.
Hands off the markets! If the so-called "speculators" are betting against the fundamentals of supply and demand, they'll get their comeuppance soon enough. There is nothing the government can do in this situation but screw things up worse than ever.
-ccm
But no; now they're asking Congress to destroy the oil futures market altogether, so nobody can hedge. These losers deserve to go out of business.
Hands off the markets! If the so-called "speculators" are betting against the fundamentals of supply and demand, they'll get their comeuppance soon enough. There is nothing the government can do in this situation but screw things up worse than ever.
-ccm
Congress is also blaming speculators to deflect criticism from itself. Congress has obstructed domestic oil production, obstructed construction of new nuclear power plants, and obstructed the building of refineries.
So the airlines are sucking up to Congress by agreeing with its theory of speculator conspiracy.
We are all speculators, every day, so long as we have freedom and capitalism. But speculation is not the key element behind current prices.
The price of oil is driven by the fact that worldwide demand exceeds production.
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