The run-up in oil prices since 2004 coincided with growing investment in commodity markets and increased price comovement among different commodities. We assess whether speculation in the oil market played a role in driving this salient empirical pattern. We identify oil shocks from a large...

Futures positions of commercial hedgers in wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton fluctuate much more than expected output. Hedgers' short positions are positively correlated with price changes. Together, these observations raise doubt about the common practice of categorically classifying trading by...

This article sketches an ethics of (financial) speculation in futures markets. (1) It identifies an intentionalistic fallacy prevalent in moral criticisms of speculation in general and of financial speculation in particular. (2) It scrutinizes the degree to which the recent debate on financial...

Futures positions of commercial hedgers in wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton fluctuate much more than expected output. Hedgers' short positions are positively correlated with price changes. Together, these observations raise doubt about the common practice of categorically classifying trading by...

Manipulation : some history -- Market manipulation and the New Deal legislation -- Postwar manipulation and speculation -- Manipulation of commodity prices in a time of inflation -- Manipulation setbacks under the federal securities laws -- The battle over OTC derivatives -- The Dodd-Frank Act...