Speculation helps, rather than hurts, energy markets, a top investor tells regulators

October 6th, 2009 Ahead of the Bell: House hearing on overhaulWASHINGTON — House lawmakers crafting legislation to overhaul the system of financial regulation are focusing on the key elements of investor protection and bringing investment funds under government supervision as they hear the views of regulators, industry officials and investor advocates. The House Financial Services Committee was scheduled to begin a hearing Tuesday at 10 a.m.

August 17th, 2009 CF Industries names Terrell Huch directorDEERFIELD, Ill. — Fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc.

August 12th, 2009 Amaranth settles energy manipulation complaintNEW YORK — Collapsed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC will pay $7.5 million to settle a federal complaint that at least one of its traders tried to manipulate natural gas prices. Not included in the settlement was Brian Hunter, once the head of trading at Amaranth, which folded after losing some $6 billion on bad bets in the natural gas markets in 2006.

August 4th, 2009 Big oil speculator defends practice in WashingtonNEW YORK — John Hyland's funds control billions of dollars that flow in and out of energy markets, making him one of the biggest oil speculators in the world and also one of the biggest potential targets for federal regulators. The 50-year-old Californian has been asked to appear before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday, where he will say that he isn't the boogie man everyone's looking for.

July 30th, 2009 Oil surges above $66 a barrel in volatile weekNEW YORK — Oil prices surged above $66 a barrel Thursday, rising in lockstep with major global indexes in what has become a very volatile week for energy markets. With regulators meeting in Washington to consider new limits on speculators that some blame for wild swings in oil and gas prices, crude fell 6 percent Wednesday only to rebound by almost that much Thursday.

July 29th, 2009 Firms make case against new trading limitsWASHINGTON — Financial firms that play a dominant role in the energy futures market brought their case to federal regulators Wednesday against new limits on speculative trading that would apply to them in their role as market middlemen. Speculative trading has been blamed by some market watchers for widening the oil price swings that have punished industries and consumers.

July 28th, 2009 Gov't considers limits on energy tradingWASHINGTON — Marking a potential shift for the government, federal regulators may be moving toward setting limits on speculative energy trading, blamed by some for widening the oil price swings that have punished industries and consumers. The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is weighing new restraints, on Tuesday faulted "excessive" speculation but also underscored the role of financial investors in helping to set fair prices that can benefit consumers.

July 27th, 2009 Obama: US, China interested in clean energyWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the U.S. and China have a shared interest in creating clean and secure energy sources.

July 27th, 2009 To ease price swings, US may limit energy tradingWASHINGTON — Federal regulators are hearing from from consumers, businesses, traders and financial firms as they consider imposing limits on speculative trading of energy futures contracts — a move that would mark a major shift for the government. The futures contracts are supposed to lessen price volatility.

July 24th, 2009 New York Fed announces investor advisory groupWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Friday announced the creation of an investor advisory group, part of its ongoing efforts to closely monitor economic and financial conditions. The 13-member Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets won't have any formal policymaking responsibilities, but will "serve as a forum for informal discussions on financial, economic and public policy issues," the New York Fed said.

July 7th, 2009 CFTC may impose limits on energy futuresWASHINGTON — Federal regulators will examine whether the government should impose limits on the number of futures contracts in oil and other energy commodities held by speculative traders, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday. The agency will hold a public hearing later this month to gather views from consumers, businesses and market participants on the idea of new limits for energy futures contracts, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement.

June 11th, 2009 Constellation appeals Md. decision on EdFBALTIMORE — Power company Constellation Energy has appealed a ruling by Maryland regulators that they have the right to approve its proposed $4.5 billion sale of half its nuclear power business to French nuclear company EdF.

June 11th, 2009 Md. regulators say they must OK nuclear power dealCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Maryland regulators ruled Thursday that they have the right to sign off on French nuclear power company EdF's plan to buy half of Constellation Energy's nuclear power business for $4.5 billion, rejecting the companies' arguments that approval by the regulators was not necessary. Constellation Energy immediately appealed the decision.

April 24th, 2009 Reports: Huiyuan, Coca-Cola renew talksMILWAUKEE — Chinese fruit juice maker Huiyuan Juice Group and Coca-Cola Corp. both declined to comment directly Friday on reports they were in renewed talks, this time for Coca-Cola to buy a minority stake in the company.

January 8th, 2009 MUMBAI - Indian equities markets ended in the red Friday as investor mood turned negative, with a key index closing almost 2.05 percent lower than its previous close Wednesday. The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) shut shop down 2.05 percent or 196.75 points to 9,390.13 points (provisional), after opening lower than the last close of 9,586.88 points.