This money is the extra cost to your shopping basket every
week…..
Big Banks Made £2.2bn from Food Price Speculation
Five major banks made an estimated £2.2 billion over two years from betting on the price of food including wheat, maize and soy, which has sparked accusations that they have been profiting off a global hunger crisis.
Anti-poverty campaigners have also accused the UK government of seeking to undermine efforts by EU officials, who will meet on Wednesday, to thrash out new rules on speculating over food and commodity prices.
Investment banks Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley made this haul through betting on the global commodity markets, with a £640 million from speculating on food in 2012 alone, according to anti-poverty group the World Development Movement.
Campaigners fear that the banks' financial speculation fuels price spikes and can send food prices soaring.
Nick Dearden, director of the World Development Movement, said: “Our figures show that despite the efforts of some banks to distance themselves from this unethical practice, the big players continue to make vast returns from food speculation.
"Much-needed regulation to curb food speculation is on the table – but is at risk of being dangerously weakened by opposition from the UK government.”
Huffington Post
Big Banks Made £2.2bn from Food Price Speculation
Five major banks made an estimated £2.2 billion over two years from betting on the price of food including wheat, maize and soy, which has sparked accusations that they have been profiting off a global hunger crisis.
Anti-poverty campaigners have also accused the UK government of seeking to undermine efforts by EU officials, who will meet on Wednesday, to thrash out new rules on speculating over food and commodity prices.
Investment banks Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley made this haul through betting on the global commodity markets, with a £640 million from speculating on food in 2012 alone, according to anti-poverty group the World Development Movement.
Campaigners fear that the banks' financial speculation fuels price spikes and can send food prices soaring.
Nick Dearden, director of the World Development Movement, said: “Our figures show that despite the efforts of some banks to distance themselves from this unethical practice, the big players continue to make vast returns from food speculation.
"Much-needed regulation to curb food speculation is on the table – but is at risk of being dangerously weakened by opposition from the UK government.”
Huffington Post
Tories in threat to water down tougher rules on food price 'betting' by banks
Laws to curb banks gambling on food prices could be watered down by the Tory-led Coalition, it was claimed yesterday.
Campaigners say bankers speculating on staples such as wheat and soy drove up prices and have pushed millions into food poverty.
The EU will debate legislation tomorrow but the World Development Movement said: “It is at risk of being dangerously weakened by opposition from the UK.”
Barclays, accused by the WDM of making £445million between 2010 and 2012 by speculating on food prices, said the figure had been exaggerated.
It added that it “no longer participates in speculative agricultural commodities trading”.
Mirror
