Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Oil Companies, Refiners Investigated For Possible Market Manipulation

This would help to explain those high gas prices.

Late Monday, federal regulators announced an investigation into whether oil companies and refiners have manipulated markets, raising oil prices to their benefit, according to a letter released by the Federal Trade Commission to the Senate yesterday and cited by The Hill.

The Federal Trade Commission plans to investigate why some oil refineries were shut down for maintenance, which can lead to higher oil prices, according to The Wall Street Journal. It is also investigating whether refiners engaged in other anti-competitive practices or provided misleading information to federal officials, the FTC letter said.

The FTC has authorized the use of compulsory process to demand records from oil refineries, according to McClatchy Newspapers. Under law, the FTC can impose penalties on companies that manipulate the price of oil, The Washington Post reported yesterday.

The news comes at a time of great prosperity for oil refiners. Profit margins of U.S. refiners have nearly doubled since the beginning of 2011, even though refiners have been using only 81.7 percent of their capacity: a seven percent reduction from the same period in 2010, according to yesterday's FTC letter.

Market manipulation, if real, would be making a bad situation only worse for consumers. U.S. oil prices have risen to nearly $115 per barrel this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. That's a 47 percent increase from oil prices last year, as the oil price in June of last year hovered around $78 per barrel, according to CNN.

Full Article
Source: Hiffington 

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