The Vega Factor: Oil Volatility and the Next Global Crisis

On the basis of his expertise as an oil and gas consultant, Moors, a professor at Duquesne University, warns that we may be on the verge of another financial crisis even more serious than the real estate bubble. He explains that we are in the midst of a new round of speculation based on the manipulation of energy markets. According to Moors, the cause of this is not related to events in the Middle East or a putative shortage in oil. He shows that the price of oil and oil products in commodity markets has little to do with oil as a commodity. Given oil%E2%80%99s massive function in the world economy, the result of this structural flaw could potentially be much more devastating than that of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Oil futures contracts have become financial assets in their own right, and no longer serve the primary function as a means for oil producers dealing with short term fluctuations in demand. Moor offers original research on the relationship between pricing of crude oil and gasoline products in the US. He is deeply concerned that governments will not be able to solve the problems he believes are looming, but nevertheless purposes solutions of his own. (May)