As from last week, under new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, investors will have much more information on which to base their investment decisions. Business Week reports that the changes, the first in 25 years, are intended to reflect improvements in the technology used by companies to determine their proven reserves. It also requires that petroleum companies’ assessments of their reserves be independently audited.
For a complete list of the new revisions see the full article here – http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95CJU0O1.htm – but, overall, these changes should provide better protection for the investor in terms of allowing him or her to make informed decisions.
Tags: Investing, Oil Companies, Oil Reserves, Rules, SEC, Securities & Exchange Commission
September 6, 2009 at 3:54 pm |
Moves by the CFTC to try and regulate the oil trading market and prevent the kind of speculation which has seen crude oil prices rise from $30 per barrel back towards $70+ this year took an interesting twist yesterday when it was announced that the weekly COT data would now include new details on the aggregate holdings of the big Wall Street dealers, hedge funds and other financial participants. COT data is a useful market sentiment tool but as many of the market participants both hedge and speculate it has become increasingly difficult to analyse. According to the CFTC the new format will be making its debut next Friday.