Argh, I hate arriving in these types of threads after two full pages have passed.
What those of you arguing against cheap money (or money supply expansion) and speculation continue to ignore when you post your "well, why didn't it happen back in the 80s and 90s" sillyness is the passing of the GrammâLeachâBliley Act, which effectively repealled Glass-Steagall. This was done by three Republican co-sponsors, approved by the house and senate, then signed into law by Clinton, and effectively unleashed the big banks. Also, the advent of so many hedge funds and sov wealth funds added to the fray.
Comparing the market pre-2000 to post 2000 is pointless and irrelevant.
Speculation in all major commodities is as a hedge against a weakening dollar, which is nothing more than poor monetary policy (cheap money and M3 expansion). Blaming the speculators for protecting against a falling dollar is a typical uneducated, ignorant argument.