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Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Under pressure to bring down the high price of gas, President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder will outline a proposal Tuesday to increase federal supervision of the oil markets in an effort to clip the wings of speculators who are profiting off the volatility of the oil market.

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Wall Street greed fueling high gas pricesupdated: Tue Feb 28 2012 13:05:00

Gas prices approaching $4 a gallon on average are causing severe economic pain for millions of Americans. Pump prices spiked 5% in the past month alone. Crude oil prices stood at $108 on Friday, up from only double digits at the beginning of the month.

CNNMoney: Wall Street fights rule limiting oil speculationupdated: Mon Feb 27 2012 17:43:00

Wall Street is pushing to stop a new rule that would crack down on speculation in the energy markets, which many blame for contributing to the spike in gas prices.

CNNMoney: Broken budget process hurts Wall Street reformupdated: Fri Feb 10 2012 05:08:00

President Obama is likely to propose a substantial funding increase for Wall Street regulators in his forthcoming budget.

CNNMoney: Wall Street pays big to influence Washingtonupdated: Tue Jan 31 2012 14:19:00

Financial industry spending to influence Washington topped $150 million for the second year in a row, with emphasis shifting to regulators of the Dodd-Frank reform law, according to watchdog groups.

Year-end bets against euro hit recordupdated: Mon Jan 02 2012 19:01:00

Hedge funds increased their bets against the euro to a record level in the last week of 2011, increasing pressure on the embattled European common currency as it enters the most testing year of its history.

How do you print a new currency?updated: Mon Jan 02 2012 19:01:00

With the Euro in deep crisis, CNN investigates what goes into creating a new currency, and how notes are printed.

CNNMoney: MF Global fought proposed limits on foreign debt betsupdated: Thu Dec 22 2011 10:25:00

More than a year ago, federal regulators tried to put new limits on the types of risky bets on foreign sovereign debt that brought down Wall Street firm MF Global this week.

CNNMoney: $600 million missing at MF Globalupdated: Thu Dec 22 2011 10:08:00

A government regulator said in court Wednesday that roughly $600 million is missing from the books of bankrupt brokerage MF Global. The firm, headed by former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday following a panic from investors over its holdings of risky European debt. (MF Global: Sorting through the debacle.)

CNNMoney: $600 million evaporates in MF Global's final daysupdated: Thu Dec 22 2011 09:54:00

The $633 million that allegedly disappeared from customers' accounts at MF Global seems to have vanished just days before the company folded, according to the operator of the nation's major commodities and futures exchanges.

CNNMoney: FBI investigating missing money at MF Globalupdated: Thu Dec 22 2011 09:49:00

The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating how some $600 million of MF Global customers' money has gone missing, CNN learned Tuesday from sources close to the probe.

CNNMoney: Congress faces funding deadline. Again.updated: Wed Nov 16 2011 13:40:00

Facing another deadline to fund the government, Congress is once again coming down to the wire.

CNNMoney: Oil speculators charged with price manipulationupdated: Tue May 24 2011 16:18:00

Federal regulators charged five oil speculators Tuesday with manipulating the price of crude and making a $50 million profit from the scheme.

CNNMoney: Regulators: Wall Street reform at riskupdated: Tue Mar 01 2011 09:16:00

Congressional Republicans intent on big spending cuts are on a collision course with Wall Street's top regulators over a plan to slash millions from agency budgets.

CNNMoney: Hey, Congress: We need more money!updated: Wed Feb 02 2011 05:28:00

Want Congress to freeze government spending? Well, it already has.

CNNMoney: Regulator sues foreign currency dealersupdated: Wed Jan 26 2011 19:31:00

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit Wednesday against 14 foreign exchange dealers it alleges were engaged in illegal currency trading.

CNNMoney: Purported trader arrested for government threatsupdated: Fri Jan 14 2011 16:39:00

A man identified as a former commodities trader has been arrested on charges that he issued online threats to kill government officials, the FBI and federal prosecutors said Friday.

CNNMoney: Trading program sparked May 'flash crash'updated: Fri Oct 01 2010 14:56:00

A large investor using an automated trading software to sell futures contracts sparked the brief-but-historic stock market "flash crash" on May 6, according to a report by federal regulators released Friday.

'Takers' steals from the bestupdated: Fri Aug 27 2010 12:53:00

In June, for the first time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a request to trade futures and option contracts against opening weekend box-office returns, and though it's sheer coincidence, "Takers" proves a weirdly appropriate title for this dubious milestone.

CNNMoney: Wall Street's next move: Betting on Hollywoodupdated: Mon May 24 2010 11:08:00

Could predicting the next box office flop make you rich? Not if Hollywood has its way.

CNNMoney: SEC moves to expand stock circuit breakersupdated: Tue May 18 2010 18:52:00

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules Tuesday that would pause trading in certain stocks that experience extreme swings.

CNNMoney: Waddell & Reed responds to 'flash crash' reportsupdated: Fri May 14 2010 16:30:00

Investment firm Waddell & Reed responded Friday to a media report that it placed a large sell order for certain stock futures that regulators believe may have contributed to last week's brief-but-historic stock market crash.

CNNMoney: Morgan Stanley, UBS fined by U.S.updated: Fri Apr 30 2010 05:48:00

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission says it has levied a multimillion-dollar fine against a division of Morgan Stanley and a smaller fine against UBS for violating trading rules on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Money Magazine: Where you should (and shouldn't) keep your cashupdated: Thu Mar 25 2010 04:41:00

Question: My wife and I have $25,000 in a money market account earning almost nothing in interest. We would like to place $20,000 in some kind of an account that will give us a better return. This is our emergency money, so we'd like to invest it in something fairly safe. We also need to be able access the funds if necessary. I've had suggestions to invest in bonds, CDs and another money market account. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations? --Ted Graham, Grandville, MIchigan

Fortune: The wunderkind gas traderupdated: Tue Nov 24 2009 10:15:00

You could hear John Arnold trying to choose his words carefully. Seated at a conference table inside a drab government building in Washington, D.C., in August, Arnold hardly fit the stereotype of a swaggering, 35-year-old billionaire natural-gas trader.

CNNMoney: Oil speculators on the runupdated: Wed Sep 02 2009 13:07:00

Last year Andrew Hall, the head of Citigroup's energy trading unit, made over $100 million, making him one of the highest paid people on Wall Street.

Fortune: Curb oil speculation? Why that's folly!updated: Tue Jul 28 2009 16:04:00

Word is that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission is set to do an about-face on the role speculators play in setting oil prices. According to the Wall Street Journal, a CFTC study set to be released next month will find speculators to blame for last year's high prices. Presumably, the study will provide some intellectual justification for the Obama administration's plan to rein in oil speculators.

Fortune: Tim Geithner's latest headacheupdated: Tue Jul 14 2009 10:06:00

The Obama Administration has given itself two months to tell Congress what new legislation is needed to control over-the-counter derivatives, and testimony by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner late last week indicated how incredibly difficult the job of writing a law is going to be.

Fortune: Obama vs. the oil bubbleupdated: Wed Jun 17 2009 10:57:00

Can reinvigorated financial watchdogs take a bite out of surging oil prices?

CNNMoney: Avoiding the next big financial crisisupdated: Mon Jun 08 2009 05:56:00

The Obama administration plans to release updated details in the coming weeks to guide Congress on the best way to reshape the nation's financial regulatory system and prevent future collapses.

CNNMoney: Obama weighs new rules for banksupdated: Wed May 27 2009 21:50:00

The Obama administration is weighing a plan that would put the Federal Reserve in charge of monitoring systemic risk and give the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. authority to unwind insolvent bank holding companies, sources familiar with the proposal said on Wednesday.

CNNMoney: Obama names 3 financial watchdogsupdated: Thu Dec 18 2008 12:55:00

President-elect Obama on Thursday kept up his blistering pace of naming top officials by announcing three people he will nominate as financial regulators.

Commentary: Why we lost faith in Wall Street -- and what to doupdated: Tue Dec 02 2008 09:45:00

"Investing is an act of faith." That simple declarative sentence begins my 1999 book, "Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor."

CNNMoney: Oil posts biggest-ever 1-day gainupdated: Mon Sep 22 2008 17:40:00

Oil prices posted the biggest one-day dollar gain ever Monday as the dollar was punished by the government's $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan and big investors scrambled to fill obligations as the October contract expired.

Time.com: While the Regulators Fiddled ...updated: Wed Sep 17 2008 17:00:00

To trace the causes of the current meltdown, you have to go back to a series of regulatory missteps

Fortune: As oil falls, Valero should riseupdated: Wed Aug 06 2008 12:19:00

Looking for a way to profit from falling oil prices?

CNNMoney: Oil stages late-day rally amid Mideast tensionsupdated: Mon Jul 28 2008 15:26:00

Oil prices staged a late-day rally Monday, after dithering on either side of break-even for most of the session, as investors watched mounting geopolitical tensions in oil-rich countries.

Fortune: The oil speculator sideshowupdated: Mon Jul 28 2008 08:34:00

Watch out, speculators: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is getting tough on crime. But since, as the CFTC has said, speculation hasn't pushed up prices, the crackdown will benefit its image more than the economy.

CNNMoney: Traders manipulated oil prices - U.S.updated: Fri Jul 25 2008 10:27:00

The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices in the first complaint to be announced since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in the energy markets.

CNNMoney: Democrats: Crackdown on oil speculatorsupdated: Tue Jul 22 2008 12:34:00

Legislation meant to crack down on oil speculators passed a key test vote in the Senate on Tuesday.

CNNMoney: House panel debates speculation curbsupdated: Wed Jul 09 2008 17:48:00

Some of the Democratic lawmakers leading the campaign to crack down on oil traders appeared Wednesday before the House Committee on Agriculture to explain their proposals.

Fortune: Oil speculation: Why we don't have answersupdated: Tue Jul 08 2008 11:39:00

The debate over whether oil prices are being driven by speculators in the futures market or by the fundamentals of supply and demand for the physical product slides right on by a central point. The question Congress and regulators should be focusing on isn't who is driving prices, but how prices are being driven.

Fortune: What onions teach us about oil pricesupdated: Mon Jun 30 2008 11:48:00

Before the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission starts scrutinizing the role that speculators may have played in driving up fuel and food prices, investigators may want to take a look at price swings in a commodity not in today's news: onions.

CNNMoney: Oil bills: Congress gets little doneupdated: Fri Jun 27 2008 15:27:00

As Americans clamor for action on record oil and fuel prices, Democratic leaders in the House had promised to address energy issues this week, but they ended up without much to show for it.

CNNMoney: Oil speculation: What Congress wantsupdated: Tue Jun 24 2008 13:34:00

Close loopholes on foreign oil trading. Limit hedge funds from pouring money into the market. End oil speculation altogether.

CNNMoney: Congress takes aim at oil speculatorsupdated: Tue Jun 17 2008 14:29:00

Fed up with soaring oil prices and a chorus of people blaming Wall Street speculators, Congress is considering a host of rules aimed at limiting the inflow of investor money into oil contracts.

CNNMoney: Costly oil could mean recession - Sorosupdated: Tue Jun 03 2008 14:22:00

High oil prices, driven by decreasing crude supplies and increasing demand could drive the U.S. economy into a recession, George Soros, the fund manager and commodities investor, told lawmakers Tuesday.

Nigeria gas pricesupdated: Mon Jun 02 2008 07:00:00

Nigeria exports about 2 million barrels of oil a day, but cannot refine enough for its own needs. CNN's Christian Purefoy explains.

CNNMoney: Oil trading probe may uncover manipulationupdated: Sat May 31 2008 10:28:00

Amid soaring oil prices that some say are caused by nothing more than rampant speculation, the government Thursday announced a wide ranging probe into oil price manipulation and said it would get more information on the effect investors are having on the market.

Ex-official: Enron probably a focus of oil inquiryupdated: Fri May 30 2008 20:37:00

Federal regulators investigating possible price manipulation of crude oil are probably looking at what role collapsed energy giant Enron may have played, a former government official said Friday.

CNNMoney: Oil prices take a slideupdated: Thu May 29 2008 17:43:00

Oil prices fell over $4 Thursday, a day of wild price swings on the back of plummeting crude supplies, signs of a strong economy, and news the government is six months into an oil trading investigation.

CNNMoney: Senate takes on oil, food speculatorsupdated: Tue May 20 2008 16:47:00

Speculation in the commodity markets took much of the blame for skyrocketing energy and food prices at a Senate hearing Tuesday

Fortune: US regulator: Your bank deposits are safeupdated: Mon Mar 24 2008 04:43:00

Sheila Bair became Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in June 2006 - just in time for the end of a real estate and credit bubble that has made her job one of the toughest in the regulatory world. She was one of the first members of the Bush Administration to say that it was the job of lenders and big banks to help mortgage holders in distress; and she has fought to uphold strict banking standards and create more lending laws.

CNNMoney: Rush of investors to oil costly for allupdated: Tue Mar 04 2008 09:41:00

The economy is stumbling, energy supplies are rising, yet oil prices are hitting new records. What's going on here?

CNNMoney: Oil settles near $72updated: Mon Aug 27 2007 03:29:00

Oil prices rose Monday as refinery outages in the United States stoked supply concerns again as the end of the summer driving season approaches.

CNNMoney: Sentinel's request to block redemptions deniedupdated: Tue Aug 14 2007 04:14:00

Sentinel Management Group Inc., which oversees about $1.6 billion in assets, will not receive help from a commodities regulator to stop clients from pulling out their money, a move that could lead to big losses.

CNNMoney: Marathon to pay $1M oil price manipulation fineupdated: Wed Aug 01 2007 00:32:00

Marathon Oil Corp. agreed to pay a $1 million fine to settle charges that its Marathon Petroleum Company subsidiary attempted to manipulate crude oil prices in 2003, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Wednesday.

CNNMoney: Amaranth sued for price manipulationupdated: Wed Jul 25 2007 01:41:00

U.S. market regulators on Wednesday charged failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC and its former head trader, Brian Hunter, with trying to manipulate natural gas futures prices.

CNNMoney: Speculators drive oil over $74updated: Mon Jul 16 2007 07:05:00

Oil rose above $74 a barrel on Monday, driven towards an all-time high by an influx of speculative fund money and tightening crude supplies from the North Sea.

CNNMoney: Hedge fund hearing setupdated: Thu Jul 05 2007 04:51:00

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee said Thursday it will hold a July 11 hearing into systemic risks to the economy and the financial system posed by hedge funds.

CNNMoney: Senate report details Amaranth fallupdated: Mon Jun 25 2007 07:08:00

U.S. regulators were powerless to stop "excessive speculation" by Amaranth Advisors LLC because the giant hedge fund exploited an unregulated electronic exchange to "dominate" and "distort" natural gas markets in 2006, a U.S. Senate panel said in a report issued Sunday.

CNNMoney: Philadelphia firm accused of fraudupdated: Wed Jul 06 2005 10:59:00

A Philadelphia firm and its president have been charged by the government with fraud for fleecing investors in a commodity trading and hedge fund called Philadelphia Alternative Asset Management.

Fortune: Oil's Crude Awakening Wonder why oil prices keep hitting crazy highs? One answer lies surprisingly close to home.updated: Mon Sep 06 2004 00:01:00

Over the past few months, as oil prices raced toward $50 a barrel, most observers blamed a smorgasbord of international culprits, including the meltdown of Yukos, the gargantuan appetite of China, ...

CNNMoney: Natural gas traders said to be probedupdated: Sat Jan 10 2004 20:32:00

Telephone records of New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas floor traders have been subpoenaed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a probe of possible market manipulation, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report Sunday.

Money Magazine: Interest-Rate Futures For Dummiesupdated: Sat Jan 01 2000 00:01:00

So you think interest rates are going to rise again? Want to bet on it, but you're bamboozled by the futures market? Some University of Iowa professors can help you. Since late October, their priva...

Fortune: UNTANGLING THE DERIVATIVES MESS THEY DIDN'T MELT DOWN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM. BUT THESE RED-HOT INSTRUMENTS PROVED updated: Mon Mar 20 1995 00:01:00

It was the year of the derivative. From last spring on, as if a blockade of ice had suddenly given way, bad news about these exotic financial innovations started to flow, and victims, corporate and...

Money Magazine: FIGHTING FRAUD updated: Wed Nov 01 1989 00:01:00

Your August article ''You May Already Be a Victim of Fraud'' referred to difficulties encountered by one of your reporters in obtaining complaint information from the Commodity Futures Trading Comm...

Fortune: COMMODITIES STINGupdated: Mon Feb 13 1989 00:01:00

Don't expect a Wall Street-size scandal out of the Chicago sting, in which the FBI handed out subpoenas to surprised floor traders at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange....

Fortune: Market reform, cont'dupdated: Mon Feb 15 1988 00:01:00

Congressmen more familiar with yeas and nays than with puts and calls are getting a ''crash'' course in the arcana of Black Monday. Their primer: the President's Brady Commission report. Among othe...

Fortune: COVER STORY THE BATTLE OVER MARKET REFORM A profound change in investor psychology caused Black Monday. Increased regulation wonupdated: Mon Feb 01 1988 00:01:00

BID FAREWELL to 1987, the year of the stock market's boom and bust, but don't imagine that you've heard the last of Black Monday. Reverberations from the Brady Commission's recently released report...

Money Magazine: ''HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN A HOUSE TO CLAIM SQUATTER'S RIGHTS?''updated: Sat Nov 01 1986 00:01:00

Q. First Commodity Corp. of Boston persuaded me to invest $40,500 in sugar futures last February by telling me that I would double my money. So far I am out $16,500. The company was expelled from t...

Fortune: A LOUD NEW UPROAR IN THE COMMODITY PITS Proposals to stiffen capital requirements for brokers are so stringent that even Merrillupdated: Mon Jan 20 1986 00:01:00

COMMODITIES BROKERS, who deal in everything from pork bellies to Treasury bills and precious metals, emerged from their trading pits months ago to fight sweeping new regulations proposed by the Com...

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