High Oil Prices: Blame Wall Street

Today's announcement by Goldman Sachs that oil could hit $105 per barrell effectively killed yesterday stock market rally, but the fact that Goldman is set to benefit from such an increase makes its statement today more odious then an oil spill on a baby seal infested beach.

According to a story on CBS Marketwatch, Goldman Sachs has a huge investment in oil futures. Isn't there a law about manipulating the market is such a blatant manner?

Analyst Kevin Kerr of Kerr Trading International said in the Marketwatch story, "the Goldman call was irresponsible and "clearly an attempt to talk up the market on nothing more than hot air. Goldman has huge speculative energy positions and they have no interest in watching it go down right now."

The SEC makes a big show when it nails corporatations who try to influence the markets (see Putnam, Qwest) but it has so far been quiet on Goldman's manuever.

Where was Goldman's disclosure that it would make money if oil increased? How much of today's current oil price craziness is due to Wall Street manipulation and not normal economic supply and demand?