Business
Elections 2012: Obama to confront oil, gasoline market manipulation
Still, seeing a potential problem with speculators is not limited to Obama or Democrats or this election season. When gasoline hit US$3 a gallon in 2006, George W. Bush launched an investigation, declaring Americans “don’t want and will not accept … manipulation of the market. And neither will I.” Last year, as prices rose, Obama and Holder announced the creation of a task force to look into fraud in the energy markets.
Obama’s plan this time calls on Congress to:
— Increase six-fold the surveillance and enforcement staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to better deter oil market manipulation.
— Increase spending on technology to provide better oversight and surveillance of energy markets.
— Increase civil and criminal penalties against firms that engage in market manipulation from US$1 million to US$10 million.
— Give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority to increase the amount of money that a trader must put up to back a trading position. The administration officials said such authority could help limit disruptions in energy markets.
In addition, the Obama administration, on its own, will increase access to the commission’s data so the White House Council of Economic Advisers can examine and analyze trading information.
