Search Results for: Amaranth

FERC Presents Natural Gas Market Manipulation Claims Against Amaranth

4 Comments / Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson As noted here yesterday, FERC is taking action against Amaranth and its erstwhile energy trading star Brian Hunter for allegedly manipulating energy markets. FERC issued a show cause order, detailing the evidence collected and inviting Amaranth entities to explain why they should not be found in violation of Part 1c of the Commission’s …

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Amaranth Autopsy: The Views of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Excessive Speculation in the Natural Gas Market

2 Comments / Economics, Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson “I think there are a significant amount of people who call themselves hedge-fund managers who have been very lucky because they were able to ride the market wave.” — Daniel A. Strachman, author of The Fundamentals of Hedge Fund Management In mid-2006, that lucky group included a number of employees of Amaranth Advisors …

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Would Granting Futures Exchanges CopyRight Protection for Prices Deter Some Market Manipulation?

Economics, Law / By

Michael Giberson In New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. v. IntercontinentalExchange Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit denied NYMEX copyright protection for its settlement prices. The decision turned on application of the merger doctrine in copyright law, which governs cases in which the expression of an idea is so completely linked to the idea itself …

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Useful Perspective on Speculation in Oil Markets

Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Geoffrey Styles offers some perspective on the Vitol S.A. affair. (Vitol was indirectly revealed to have had a rather large position in NYMEX’s oil contracts when the CFTC reclassified a single trader from “commercial” to “non-commercial.” The CFTC did not name Vitol, but enough information was available that industry insiders were able to …

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News Story Blames Inadequate Regulation for Excess Commodity Speculation, Trading Losses, Higher Energy Bills

13 Comments / Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson The Sunday Washington Post carried a front page story on the “slight oversight” of energy trading. Here’s the lede: One year ago, a 32-year-old trader at a giant hedge fund named Amaranth held huge sway over the price the country paid for natural gas. Trading on unregulated commodity exchanges, he made risky bets …

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CFTC Holds Hearings on Oversight of Energy Trading

Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson Yesterday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission held a hearing to discuss whether it should increase oversight of energy trading on currently exempt commercial markets. Interest in the topic was heightened by disclosures related to the Amaranth Advisors LLC blow up last year, when it was determined that Amaranth sought to manipulate the price …

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Natural Gas Futures Trader Files Complaint Against Energy Transfer Partners

Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Energy Transfer Partners, the Texas-based company already the target of FERC and CFTC action for allegedly manipulating natural gas markets, is now the target of a private lawsuit for damages asserted to have resulted from ETP’s former trading practices. According to Platts: [The] suit, filed with the US District Court for the Southern …

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Another CFTC Energy Market Manipulation Charge – Marathon Oil Agrees to Pay $1 Million

1 Comment / Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Tom Fowler, at the Houston Chronicle‘s NewsWatch: Energy blog, reports on the latest CFTC energy market manipulation case: The alleged manipulation occured during the so-called “Platts window,” a 30 minute interval at the end of the trading day when the energy publishing firm Platts pulls data used to set prices for other foreign …

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CFTC Files Suit: “Defendents Intended to Create Artificial Natural Gas Prices…”

Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Earlier this week, the CFTC filed suit against Brian Hunter and Amaranth Advisors charging the company and its chief energy trader with attempted market manipulation and making false statements to the NYMEX. The CFTC has issued a press release, the complaint, and a two-page summary of the complaint. Skip the summary, all of …

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Senate Considers Expanding Regulatory Power to Counter ‘excessive Speculation’ in Gas Market

Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson Proposals to increase government oversight of the energy markets, particularly over-the-counter trading, are unlikely to reduce volatility in those markets, some market analysts predict. So begins a Dow Jones Newswire story on the reaction to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report on “excessive speculation” in natural gas markets. (I discussed the report …

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