Photo Gallery The Attack on Prosperity
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange: The massive gambles being taken by new financial investors have allowed the commodities futures exchanges, especially in Chicago and New York, to funtion like a perfect casino.
French fisherman protesting against fuel costs in La Mede, southern France: Rising gas prices consume an ever-increasing slice of their income.
Rice is rationed in Bangladesh: Rice, once a niche product on commodities futures exchanges that attracted little notice, recently caught the attention of speculators. Before long, figures were being circulated and the speculators realized that rice is the main staple food for more than half of mankind, especially in Asia and West Africa.
Demonstrators in Manila protest against the unabated increase of gasoline prices: Oil is the lubricant of our economy. As it keeps getting more expensive, the engine of the economy begins to stall.
An oil refinery in Texas: "The traders use every excuse in the book to drive up prices."
The New York Stock Exchange on Black Monday, Oct. 29, 1929. Speculators -- and speculation bubbles -- have always existed, as a look back in history shows. What is new is the sheer volume of speculation, numbering in the billions, in recent years.
