Ever notice every few years we get some government body or another criticizing and investigating oil prices?
Ever notice nothing ever gets done about it?
"Investigators suspect oil price manipulation" by Stanley Reed | New York Times, May 17, 2013
NEW YORK — When a BP rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Richard Fry, a top executive at a trucking company, said he noticed something strange about the oil market. Prices spiked quickly, he recalled, and they took much longer to drop.
“It is too coincidental that companies’ prices all go up the same and all come down very, very slowly,” said Fry, who buys large amounts of fuel for his company, Framptons Transport Services.
European authorities are also worried about the forces behind the market.
On Wednesday, the European Commission ramped up its inquiry into the potential manipulation of oil and biofuel prices, as investigators continued to question BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Statoil about their trading activities, according to people with knowledge of the meetings. Regulators, in part, are focused on a pricing system operated by Platts, a unit of the McGraw-Hill Cos.
BP and Royal Dutch Shell said they were cooperating with the investigation. Statoil did not return calls for comment.
Authorities face a daunting task. Much of the global oil trade occurs away from regulated financial exchanges, as firms and traders buy and sell billions of dollars of crude oil each day and ship it around the world....
Consumers and companies are heavily reliant on the market, which affects the price at the pump, as well as the cost of airfares and supermarket bills....
Meanwhile, BP is seeking to stop paying millions of dollars in what it calls spurious compensation claims stemming from the 2010 oil spill.
Related: Trying Times at BP
The company warned Thursday that the excessive claims are jeopardizing its financial prospects.
Related: May Day: Big Boost in BP Profit
Yeah, they look like they are in real jeopardy.
It has sought an injunction in US courts, arguing that Gulf coast businesses are pursuing multi-million dollar claims for “nonexistent, artificially calculated” losses.
The disaster caused extensive damage to the fishing and tourism industries. The company earlier agreed to pay billions of dollars in compensation but now seeks to halt what it feels are unjustified claims.
Is there really any need to comment anymore on this slick and slimy corporations anymore?
This after all the public relations television commercials telling us how they have repaired, rebuilt, and repaid in the Gulf.
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I'm so sick of shallow shit corporate journalism.
Apparently you are too, readers, because my hits have been skyrocketing since Boston. Set a record yesterday.
