The "crime" in speculation is this...

[SoCalDem]

WE cannot speculate too..

Who among us with a few bucks, would not LOVE the chance to "lock in" $1.50 gas, 99cents a pound tomatoes, 50cents a pound peaches, 49cents a pound grapes, $1 a gallon milk..

We cannot do that though, because those commodities are perishable, and we have no way to store them..so we must buy them in small amounts, as we need them, at whatever price their "owners" demand..or we do without..

Many may remember the drubbing that John Denver took, when he installed a huge fuel storage tank during an uptick in gasoline costs.. He was called greedy, a hoarder, unpatriotic..you name it.. But in reality, he was being frugal, and taking advantage of the fact that he DID have the money and the capability to take possession of cheap fuel, to save it for "later".. He did dismantle the tank, because of the pressure, if I recall..

These days the hedgefund twits on wall street are idolized by their peers, and these people do not even plan to "take possession"...they just play Monopoly with real dollars and real oil...just to make more money, and to escalate the price for the end-game consumers..

[bemildred]

1. The point is that it's gambling.

If you want an economy based on gambling and Ponzi schemes, it's great, otherwise not

[SoCalDem]

2. Bingo..

It's LasVegas on Wall Street.. It has little to do with the actual day-to-day running of actual companies.. If I remember my high school economics classes, stocks & bonds were originated as ways for companies to grow their companies,do research & development, and create products....

Investors expected a "return" on their investments, but not like these days..:grr: