why are we so gullible?

[brokenflipflop]

blah blah blah blah and chocolate blah blah blah

When ? Why ? and how do you know and is it just milk chocolate or dark chocolate ?

 

[vernon]

Nooooooo, stop. It's a diesel. You'll bugger it up if you put petrol in it.

Phew! I'd never be forgiven even if I offered a lifetime's worth of optimal bin positioning as part of the compensation package.

Thanks for the warning.

 

[buddha]

How much is down to 'supply and demand'? And how much is down to commodity speculation? IIRC there was something in the news last week about how Barclays 'made' a killing out of trading food commodities, with many third-world countries having to pay even more as a result.

I was taught that prices have to increase if there is a 'perceived' increase in demand, in order to control consumption. Can the economists please explain this to the I-don't-have-an-investment-portfolio-pensioner/unemployed, who will have to decide between keeping warm and eating this winter?

These are man-made rules that only benefit the well off. Or as someone said earlier "greedy b@$t@£*ds"

As an aside, I've been collecting chip/fryer fat for the last 10 years (I'm not talking about the belly bulge BTW). The problem is, I don't drive or have a car. I was going to get an oil heater, but the ducting would be too much hassle. Thankfully the council now take waste cooking oil at the recycling centre, so I can finally get rid of the stuff. Although, there's a drowned/preserved family of mice that met their end one of the containers

 

[ASC1951]

How much is down to 'supply and demand'? And how much is down to commodity speculation?

It depends on the timescale. In a highly developed global economy you can only sustain artificial (i.e not subject to supply and demand) prices for a relatively short period; and the more sources there are for any commodity, the shorter that period. To sustain artificial prices for year after year you need to be a government, or backed up by a government, which believes (wrongly, IMO) that tariff barriers are good for its citizens.

A lot of what the press calls speculation is no such thing. Where forward supplies of any commodity are substantially pre-sold, small trades in the remainder have large effects on the price of the remaining supply; but only on that marginal supply. Sensible large scale users of commodities use a variety of futures and hedging techniques to make sure their costs are predictable and that is in fact the opposite of speculation.

 

[buddha]

... Sensible large scale users of commodities use a variety of futures and hedging techniques to make sure their costs are predictable and that is in fact the opposite of speculation.

Okay. I'm off to my local Barclays branch to buy a bag of porridge oats

 

[snailracer]

Okay. I'm off to my local Barclays branch to buy a bag of porridge oats

What? Not pork bellies?

 

[snailracer]

I remember in the 70's the price of sugar went through the roof. It was going up practically daily. The excuse was that there was such a demand for it that it created a shortage. then, all of a sudden, the price stabilised and remained so for a quite a while.
Can you see the similarity today with energy and fuel prices?
Somebody somewhere decides that prices will go as far as they can to make more money so hey presto, tell the whole world that there is a shortage and prices have to go up to meet demand.
It seems to work every time and people just accept it, including politicians.
The world is controlled by a small minority of people who make us jump when they feel like it.
There is no shortage of fuel or anything else, just greed by big companies.
Apparently the next thing ready to go up and up is coffee and chocolate, be warned!!

Prices of agricultural products are very volatile because harvests are unpredictable.

 

[Archie_tect]