You can thank speculators for the ridiculous oil and gas prices

Oil prices top out; thank your local speculator

The recent run up in oil and gas prices has politicians and some misguided analysts blaming speculators for the higher price. Well, the truth is that speculators, by their active participation in the marketplace, actually kept prices lower. Despite the surge in hedge fund participation last week, oil prices seemed to have topped out short-term, and we saw the price pull back. You see, the reason oil prices did not go to $120 a barrel and gas to $4.00 a gallon is that speculators assumed the greatest risk to global oil supply since the absence of that sweet Libyan crude. We have had Europe embargo Iranian oil, and then Iran embargo them back. We have worried countries in Europe and Asia scrambling for real barrels of oil and hoarding it in case they get cut off if there is a war. The only thing that may slow that process is the higher price. The higher price starts to ration supply so that indeed if there is a cutoff in supply, there will be enough oil to go around. If prices stayed low then someone might try to buy a big chunk of supply and hold it off the market. This in turn could create shortages and tensions between the haves and have-nots.

The occupation has ended (in London at least)

Occupy's farewell message: 'Onwards and outwards'

Fences blocked areas immediately in front of and alongside the cathedral as authorities awaited cleaning crews and continued to guard the grounds. Police officers guarding the site said that clearing out the camp of tents took about four hours. Bailiffs arrived around midnight to remove tents after protesters’ challenge to an eviction order was rejected by a judge.

Grand Jury assembled for MF Global trial

Grand Jury Convened in MF Global Case

Federal prosecutors in Chicago convened a grand jury last year to investigate potential wrongdoing surrounding the collapse of MF Global and the disappearance of customer money from the commodities firm once run by Jon S. Corzine, according to a regulatory filing.

Euro falls against most of it's major counterparts

Euro Falls Versus Most Major Currencies on Irish Vote Decision

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The euro fell against most of its major counterparts after Ireland said it will hold a referendum to ratify the European fiscal compact, increasing concern the measure may face resistance. The 17-nation currency earlier rose against the dollar as the European Central Bank prepared to allot three-year loans tomorrow to improve the liquidity of the region’s banks. Higher- yielding currencies, led by Norway’s krone, advanced after a U.S. report showed consumer confidence in the world’s largest economy improved this month. The pound rose against the euro after an index of U.K. retail sales climbed.

"Tectonic shift" is the cause of oil becoming the dominate producer of wealth in Canada

Commodity index altered to reflect oil's rise

A tectonic shift is occurring in the Canadian economy that will see oil increasingly become the dominant driver of wealth in the country, says the Bank of Nova Scotia’s chief commodity analyst. Patricia Mohr, vice president economics & commodity market specialist at Scotiabank, says there have been dramatic shifts in the export of natural resources in the last few years, with oil and gas commodities the clear winners and lumber products suffering since the U.S. housing market crashed.

Gold prices rose $1,780 an ounce

US gold, copper futures gain with euro, oil drop

Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. gold and copper futures both firmed on Tuesday as the euro regained ground on the dollar and as further declines in oil prices increased the appetite for riskier assets.                         FUNDAMENTALS      * Gold prices rose towards $1,780 an ounce on Tuesday, benefiting from gains in the euro ahead of an expected injection of cheap money from the European Central Bank this week, which is lifting appetite for assets seen as higher risk.       * Spot gold was higher at $1,781.76 an ounce at 8:28 a.m. EST than $1,766.49 at the previous finish.      * U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up $7.90 cents an ounce at $1,782.80.        * Copper prices rallied to a two-week high, as the European Central Bank's upcoming cash boost for banks and a   retracement in crude oil prices renewed appetite for risky assets.       * Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange  traded at $8,645 a tonne up sharply from Monday's $8,536 a tonne close.         * Earlier, copper rose to its highest since Feb. 10 at $8,689. The five-month peak at $8,765 a tonne was reached  earlier in February. Copper has climbed around 13 percent so far this year.      * U.S. copper futures for May delivery was up 3.10 cents to $3.92 after durable goods orders were released.      

Copper rallies to a more than two week high

Copper hits two-week high on ECB injection

* LME copper stocks fall below 300,000 T     * Copper up 13 pct in year-to-date     * US durable goods orders fall in Jan by most in 3 yrs      By Melanie Burton and Harpreet Bhal      LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Copper prices rallied to a more than two-week high on Tuesday, boosted by anticipation of large-scale cheap funding for banks from the European Central Bank, but further gains were capped by uncertainty about the pace of recovery in the U.S. economy.      Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended at $8,600 a tonne, up from Monday's $8,536 a tonne close.       Copper earlier hit its highest since Feb. 10 at $8,689 and has climbed around 13 percent so far this year.      Banks are expected to snap up another half a trillion euros of cheap three-year loans offered by the ECB in a longer-term refinancing operation (LTRO) this week, according to a Reuters poll.        "The liquidity injection is playing a much bigger role in driving metals prices at the moment than the fundamentals," said Gianclaudio Torlizzi, a partner at T-Commodity.      "The underlying move from central banks such as the ECB, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan has been from a restrictive policy to an easing policy, and that has been bullish for metals."       The euro remained close to a three-month high against the dollar ahead of the ECB's liquidity injection, but retreated slightly after data showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell in January by the most in three years