icandoitdon

The Proposal to Limit Commodity Positions Will Hurt Free Markets and Economic Growth

'But an active market with heavy interest on both the buying and selling side will by definition lead to efficient prices given the information that is available at the time."

like other nice sounding platitudes there is just enough truth in this one to sound appealing. while this statement might be true in the context of normal supply/demand based trading, it is utter rubbish when you add a significant financial speculation component that is indifferent to supply/demand factors. further, to believe this statement one must also deny the existence of speculative-induced bubbles and collapse, for such events are characterized by exploding trading volumes. last year's oil markets are the modern day poster child for this phenomenon. anyone who doesn't acknowledge that $140 oil was not an efficient price but a bubble.....and there were no shortage of these true believers as it was occurring...are members in or candidates for a doomsday cult.

as for hurting "markets and growth," how ludicrous can you get. the economy functioned just find prior to the advent of futures trading. it sure as hell doesn't need financial speculators in oil and gas futures to do so today.