There's no future(s) in onions

Literally.

While I think speculator's may be pushing up an oil bubble a bit, I also think the level of invective directed at futures markets is, to say the least, excessive. In case you haven't been paying attention, multiple sources are calling for a dramatic increase in regulation of or even an outright ban on futures markets in oil. Even overlooking the difficulties of a single nation doing that, I found the article on the lack of a futures market in onions interesting:

The bulbous root is the only commodity for which futures trading is banned. Back in 1958, onion growers convinced themselves that futures traders (and not the new farms sprouting up in Wisconsin) were responsible for falling onion prices, so they lobbied an up-and-coming Michigan Congressman named Gerald Ford to push through a law banning all futures trading in onions. The law still stands.

And yet even with no traders to blame, the volatility in onion prices makes the swings in oil and corn look tame, reinforcing academics' belief that futures trading diminishes extreme price swings. Since 2006, oil prices have risen 100%, and corn is up 300%. But onion prices soared 400% between October 2006 and April 2007, when weather reduced crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only to crash 96% by March 2008 on overproduction and then rebound 300% by this past April.

Did you note those price swings? Up 400% over 6 months, then a 96% drop over about a year, followed by a threefold increase the next month. Yeah I know onions ain't oil, but remember that futures markets exist for a reason. Though speculators seem to be playing a larger role today, I'm not convinced getting rid of futures would stabilize oil prices.

Or maybe that's just my contrarian nature.

Oh, by the way, I picked up a new book to review yesterday. It's supposedly all the rage in Europe, but it's not being released here until September. Any of you international readers know anything about it? I'm not much of a "modern thriller" reader, but so far I like it. There seems to be an actual story, with character development, rather than just a bunch of technical detail with chase scenes and the obligatory unlikely romance. I agree with some UK readers, though, that the translation seems a bit awkward at times. I mean c'mon, who (other than crossword nuts) uses the word "anon" these days? I'll let you know more when I finish it. So far, though, the story strikes me as a goth/punk girl version of Philip Marlowe.