Infopirate.org

Gasoline prices are spiking on the U.S. Gulf Coast as Hurricane Ike nears shore. The Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), a market research firm, reported on Sept. 11 that gasoline trading on the Gulf Coast is "absolutely frantic," with wholesale prices nearing $5 a gallon. That's twice what gasoline futures were trading for on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Retail gasoline prices edged higher as Hurricane Ike gained strength, according to AAA. Wholesale gas prices spike as fear mounts that Ike will shutter refineries.

Despite their higher price, many models pay off after only a year.

Gas/electric hybrid vehicles present a conundrum for many car shoppers. They typically deliver the best fuel economy in their class, but they're also priced higher than similar conventional cars. So it has been difficult to know whether a hybrid will save money overall.

Not anymore. With gas prices soaring, our latest analysis of owner costs shows that you can save more than $4,000 over five years by choosing a hybrid over a similar gasoline-powered vehicle.

The U.S. Congress is considering legislation that would require 70 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be released to the open market in an effort to drive down gas prices.

We've all read that speculators are driving oil prices artificially high — a claim that gets more interesting in light of oil's recent fall below $115. But maybe we're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Suppose that major suppliers in the oil industry are these manipulative speculators.
Is it possible that oil prices are rigged? You bet. Here's how: