| Comment Number: | 535819-00112 |
| Received: | 6/10/2008 12:54:49 AM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Jeff Carlson |
| State: | AZ |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Prohibitions On Market Manipulation and False Information in Subtitle B of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
June 9, 2008 To whom it may concern: On May 20, 2008 The Senate heard testimony from Michael Masters, a hedge fund manager. Masters provided a very convincing presentation showing that much of the run up in oil and commodity prices have been caused by the unregulated commodities market and the acceleration of speculators such as Insititutional Investors, government pensions, Sovereign Wealth Funds, and University Endowments. These investors/speculators only absorb supply forcing prices higher and higher by rolling their futures contracts month over month. First, Sovereign funds need to be investigated. What kind of impact are they having and should they even be allowed to invest in our commodities markets? Before any drilling starts, there needs to be more evidence that there is a supply issue. Right now I am not convinced there is. I believe that the FTC should consider Master's evidence for all commodity price manipulation not just oil and gas. Sincerely, Jeff Carlson References: Soverign Funds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_fund). Masters Testiony http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/052008Masters.pdf