Will the meeting in Rome result in action against food speculation?

[Chris_]

Will the meeting in Rome result in action against food speculation?

Momentum is building to get some really tough action on the speculation pushing up food prices. At a conference today in London organised by the UK Food Group, Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, warned that a food crisis is inevitable unless we tighten up regulations on markets.

"The problem with the current system is when there is one [bit of] bad news, such as wildfires in Russia... speculators bet on higher prices, which leads those holding the food stocks not to sell in the hope of prices going up. This leads states to impose export bans, this leads buyers of commodities to buy as soon as possible in the fear of prices climbing and this leads to a chain reaction on the markets, which is dictated by panic rather than by the fundamentals and by the realities of stocks. That will continue happening until we better regulate the activity of financial investors on those markets for derivatives and agricultural commodities," he told the Guardian this afternoon.

UK Guardian

I know nothing about commodities.  I'd be interested in hearing some opinions from someone who has some knowledge on the subject.  I came across an article a while ago that had a similar complaint about oil speculation and the current prices.

Analyst: Oil Should Be Around $10 A Barrel

[thundley4]

UK Guardian

I know nothing about commodities.  I'd be interested in hearing some opinions from someone who has some knowledge on the subject.  I came across an article a while ago that had a similar complaint about oil speculation and the current prices.

Analyst: Oil Should Be Around $10 A Barrel

It sounds to me like they want some form of price controls.  I don't know, but price controls usually lead to shortages, then black markets and higher prices, still.

[Allentownjake]

Every nation in the world besides the Swiss are in a rush to devalue their currency.  Food prices aren't spiking, fiat currencies are declining in value so each unit of a Euro, Yen, $ etc buys less food.  At the same-time other assets are declining in value.  Housing, computers, things there is a large inventory overhang on.

What you are seeing is not speculation, what you are seeing is people who have wealth and do not what the wealth tied up in bonds that have significant inflation risk (Ben Bernake is printing money and pay 1.5% on a 10 year bond means you are going to lose on the transaction) and view the Stock Market as a significant risk fleeing to things they feel safe in.  One of those things is food.

The Central Bankers of the world are trying to stop the public from coming to a realization they are in the middle of destroying their currencies and their purchasing power.