Are the financial structures beginning to change? Yes...

Before the crisis, I was one, of only a handful of people that I knew about, who focused on the role of speculation in driving up commodity prices.

While that is still unconventional, I am pleased to see this morning that one major global financial institution, Deutsche Bank, stopped issuing "oil notes", which let speculators bet on oil prices. This is the first product in exchange-traded commodities to be abolished in anticipation of the regulatory crackdown on energy speculation


This could be seen as only a tiny step in the reform of the financial system - and, in a sense, it is. But it is a giant step for Deutsche Bank, and I salute it this morning for having eventually done the right thing.

Many more financial institutions need to follow. And regulation does indeed need to kick in to eliminate other still-legal but unhelpful practices.

I should say that I am not a great believer in regulation, except in sofar as it creates a level and reliable field for playing the right sorts of financial games.

What are the right sorts of financial games? Those that help create genuine human welfare - and therefore genuine wealth. Sphere: Related Content