I'll just watch this thread for awhile. It's fascinating to me, as someone who still holds a securities license, to watch people who dont, talk about the markets when they have misperceptions about how it works, and strange ideas of how it works (THAT was a run on sentence!)

Actually the entire world watched as the Markets do not work.

Unless of course you call scamming working.

Your license gives you a free pass to be a criminal and that is wrong.

Hopefully Obama puts real regulation in place to watch you and your buds every move and stop the crimes.

the guys with the licenses are the ones we cannot trust

"You" ruined the system with your unmitigated greed

Perhaps you don't really understand how it is supposed to work

So enlighten me then. How should commodoties be priced? And if you can be more specific than "Something other than how it is now".

You hit the nail on the head. Oil/Gas should not be under the category of a "commodity".

Electric should not have been "deregulated"

Natural Gas should not have been "deregulated".

Obama has the power and should re-regulate them as well as Oil/Gas.

Will he remains to be seen.

First of all, I would love an in depth intelligent conversation about this, as long as its based on fact. So that said,

The POTUS does NOT have the authority to set regulation. So your idea is fantasy.

Why shouldnt oil be a commodity? And how should it be priced? Here's a definition of commodity:

Main Entry: com·mod·i·ty
Pronunciation: \kə-ˈmä-də-tē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural com·mod·i·ties
Etymology: Middle English commoditee, from Anglo-French commoditee, from Latin commoditat-, commoditas, from commodus
Date: 15th century
1: an economic good: as a: a product of agriculture or mining b: an article of commerce especially when delivered for shipment <commodities futures> c: a mass-produced unspecialized product <commodity chemicals> <commodity memory chips>
2 a: something useful or valued <that valuable commodity patience> ; also : thing , entity b: convenience , advantage
3obsolete : quantity , lot
4: a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price
5: one that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market <stars as individuals and as commodities of the film industry — Film Quarterly>

So based on definition of number 1, it IS a commodity by definition (a). If you remove oil as a commodity, why not remove corn, oats, rough rice, soybeans, wheat, cocoa, coffee, cotton, sugar, cattle, ethanol, natural gas, heating oil, gasoline, propane, uranium, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminum, alloy, nickle, recycled steel, platinum, pallidium, rubber, palm oil, wool, and polypropylene?

4: a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price
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The reason is in your own definition post.

"wide availabilty"

When that "wide availabilty" is artificially manipulated it is no longer "widely available" therefore your definition no longer applies.

You owned yourself.

Try again.

Huh? Oil *is* widely available....ANYONE can buy it. YOU try again.

Can you explain, in your opinion, how oil SHOULD be priced? Ive asked you 3 times for an alternative since you think the commodities market is, erm, corrupt...can you provide an alternative?

Yes, an operating budget can be set for exploration, drilling, processing and distribution like any other product.

Cushing Oklahoma facility about to overflow again.

Last year they had a spill because they were overfull so don't know why this article says record 37 million barrels since they have already topped the facility.

1-23-2009 Oil falls to near $42 with OPEC cuts in question

Oil falls to near $42 as supplies grow and OPEC cuts come into question

Oil prices dropped Friday on signs that OPEC will fall well short of huge production cuts announced last year meant to stem a free-fall in crude markets.

Crude inventories in the U.S. continue to grow, rising by 14 million barrels in just the last week, according to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration.

The EIA reported crude stocks were up 217,000 barrels in Cushing, Oklahoma, to a new record high of 33.2 million barrels. Cushing stocks are closing in on the maximum operational capacity of around 37 million barrels by industry estimates, which "could further pressure WTI prices," said JBC Energy's in a research note.

Gasoline inventories rose by 6.5 million barrels, three times more than what was expected by analysts, underscoring the collapse in demand as U.S. drivers cut back on trips.
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Don't forget refiners have stopped making gaslone so they'll be a huge shortgae when it comes to that "summer blend" crap.