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When a Bank Owns 100 Oil Tankers, It Can Mess With the Price of Gas
via truthdig:
A two-year Senate investigation of the financial sector has found that banks can meddle with the economy in new and frightening ways.
The investigation was led by Carl Levin, D-Mich., and looked specifically at the impact of investments on the prices of certain commodities—things like oil and uranium.
Deregulation made it possible for firms such as Goldman Sachs to outright buy commodities and commodity suppliers. For instance, Goldman owns a coal mine in Colombia. And that fleet of 100 oil tankers? It belonged at one time to Morgan Stanley, which also held 55 million barrels of oil storage. JPMorgan Chase, according to The New York Times, once owned 31 power plants.
These are some of the same institutions that profit from your credit card debt when the price of oil goes up. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/when_a_bank_owns_100_oil_tankers_it_can_mess_with_the_price_of_gas_20141119
