The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly overrode President Bush’s veto of the Farm Bill last week, voting 82-13 to approve the bill that also aims to close a legal loophole championed by Enron, which allows energy commodities to inflate gas and diesel prices.
Any closing of the “Enron” loophole could have a profound effect on trucking. Energy industry insiders have estimated as much as a third of the per-barrel cost of crude oil is driven by investment speculation.
The bill would close a loophole in market trading regs that currently allows for “over-the-counter” trading of energy futures – essentially allowing investors to gamble and reap large rewards on the escalation of oil prices.
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
