Oil price speculation
IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE) (86.40 +1.29) NYSE Euronext (NYX) (40.65 -0.36)
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--The top executive of Nymex Holdings Inc. (NMX) said Tuesday there is now a "100% probability" that Congress will pass new legislation aimed at limiting speculation in the energy markets. Nymex Chief Executive Jim Newsome told a meeting of the main U.S. futures regulator that the probability of action had increased to a near certainty over the past two weeks. Newsome, addressing a meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, called on the industry to "gather round" what he viewed as positive legislation. An array of more than two dozen bills has been proposed to both houses of Congress aimed at improving futures market transparency and, in some cases, curbing trades. Some lawmakers blame speculation for the surge in crude-oil prices, despite evidence from the CFTC and others that supply and demand is the principal driver. "There's an awful lot out there that we can't live with," said Newsome of some proposed bills (Dow Jones Newswires 02:50 PM ET 07/15/2008)
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