Kuat Bukti, Bank AS Dongkrak Harga [Strong Evidence US Banks Pushed Up Prices]

Abstract

An international report in the daily Kompas (from Reuters, AP, and AFP; code MON), with an illustration by Handining, on the hearing of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in Washington DC on 20 November 2014, which disclosed the findings of a two-year investigation that Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan had pushed up the prices of global commodities such as oil, aluminium, copper, and peas for their own profit since the 2008 crisis. Senator Carl Levin read out evidence that a warehouse complex owned by Goldman (Metro International Trade Services) had been used to stockpile aluminium so that supply became scarce and prices rose, as well as the complaint of MillerCoors, Morgan Stanley's planned gas facility in Freeport, Texas, and JPMorgan's sale of electricity in California. The report also notes Goldman's denial, the view of Craig Pirrong of the University of Houston, the investigation by the London Metal Exchange, and the plan of the US central bank to limit the commodity activities of the three banks so that they return to their core financial business.