8 March
2011
From: Stephen M. Apatow
Director of Research & Development
Humanitarian Resource Institute
Phone: (203) 668-0282
Email: s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net
International Disaster Information Network
Url: www.humanitarian.net/idin
I would like to thank everyone that has participated in the emergency contingency
discussions to address the global oil/food crisis and humanitarian emergency.
On 8 March 2011, CNBC's Erin Burnett (Street Signs) addressed the topic
of speculative trading in the commodities market. The analysis encompassed
a projection of $50/barrel oil and $1.50/gallon gasoline being attributed
to speculative trading, investment funds and retirement accounts, supported
by the emergence of exchange-traded funds (ETF's). Earlier in the day,
guest investor Wilbur Ross noted the failure of central bank policy to address
the crisis on the grassroots level, with emergency actions only benefiting
the recovery of the stock and commodities markets.
OPEC has continued to emphasize that the world has a sufficient supply of
oil and that today's market prices are directly tied to speculative trading.
Please note: Iran, currently under sanctions by the United
States and UN Security Council is providing the leadership for OPEC, thus
expanding the scope of contingency discussions associated with the use of
oil as a weapon of mass destruction.
In the United States, oil storage facilities are filled to capacity in Cushing,
Oklahoma (EIA: Stocks of Crude Oil and Petroleum Product), presenting a need
for increased storage capacity and transport for use of reserves available
here in North America.
It is clear that the price of speculative trading of infrastructure
critical commodities for profit, has further deepened the scope of the international
economic emergency that began in 2008, with the oil/food crisis causing widespread
poverty, famine, and riots and destabilization of economies across the globe.
The UN
expert on food rights on Tuesday urged regulation of agriculture commodities
trading to stop a speculative bubble that is artificially helping to drive
up food prices. -- UN food rights expert urges trading regulation: AFP,
8 March 2011.
One again,
I emphasize the importance of the emergency actions outlined in 7 March 2011
emergency dialogue (Oil/Food Inflation - Two Causes - Humanitarian Emergency
Appeals) on the Oil/Food crisis.
Stephen M. Apatow
Founder, Director of Research & Development
Humanitarian Resource Institute
Humanitarian University Consortium Graduate Studies
Center for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine & Law
Phone: 203-668-0282
Email: s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net
Internet: www.humanitarian.net
---------------------------------------
7 March 2011
Subject: Oil/Food Inflation - Two Causes - Humanitarian Emergency
Appeals
The following overview has been compiled to assist policy discussions and
research by investigative journalists who would like to help the public
understand these critical discussions.
SPECULATIVE TRADING OF INFRASTRUCTURE CRITICAL COMMODITIES
Paper trading of commodity futures, non delivery (or does
not require physical delivery of product upon purchase of the contract).
This variable is the direct mechanism of speculative trading or gambling
of infrastructure critical commodities ($35/ Barrel: Supply/Demand vs $100+/
Barrel: Speculative) facilitated by the Commodities Futures Modernization
Act.
Humanitarian Emergency Appeal 1: A request for world leaders to
permanently stop the trading of all infrastructure critical commodity futures,
without physical delivery of product.
INVESTMENT BANK ACCESS TO THE RESERVE BANK WINDOW
During the Great Depression (1929-33), before the Banking Act of 1933 (Chapter
9, Title 11 Bankruptcy for Municipalities, Glass-Steagall), investment banks
exploited access to emergency central bank loans for speculative trading.
For 70 years, the international community was protected (by Glass-Steagall)
from one of the most significant variables that caused the Great Depression.
In 1999, before the massive global central bank infusion for Y2K,
Glass-Steagall was repealed, a move that was directly responsible for devastation
of the global markets, that continues today.
In 2008, this was the one variable that was omitted from emergency actions
by world leaders and central banks, providing Zero interest rate emergency
loans to the investment banks. This variable is viewed as intricately
linked with the speculative trading of infrastructure critical commodities
(paper trading, non-delivery of product), and our current global humanitarian
crisis.
Humanitarian Emergency Appeal 2: A request to world leaders to
permanently stop all access to emergency central bank funds by investment
banks.
BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION TO ADDRESS UNREGULATED CRISIS
The direct result of the two variables outlined above, are viewed as a
direct cause of the deficit crisis impacting UN member countries, states
and municipalities. As an emergency measure to address the market
distortions, the Banking Act of 1933 (Chapter 9, Title 11 Bankruptcy for
Municipalities) was established to provide a pathway for restructure.
Humanitarian Emergency Appeal 3: A request to world leaders to
formulate a legal mechanism for organized restructure and debt relief proportional
to damage directly associated with (1) paper trading (non-delivery)
of commodity futures and (2) speculative trading of central bank emergency
funds by investment banks.
Ref: Year 2000 Conversion Global Infrastructure Analysis
& Contingency Planning: International Disaster Information Network. Url:
http://www.humanitarian.net/contingency.html
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