What do you call colletions of wealth that manipulates markets legally?

Question

I have been told that hedge funds don't have enough capital....and perhaps some don't. So what do you call the collections of wealth that do have that capital leverage to manipulate markets, with say.....moving the price of a barrel of oil between $137 +/- $5?

Gotta call these collections of wealth something? Is it all private funds? What are their legal limits to do this manipulation? What parameters of price swing, volume and frequency buying and selling are they limited to without prosecution?

Answer 1

Stock Market manipulation is illegal in the USA.

No matter what you call it.

But I think you mean price fixing, which is also illegal in the USA.

Price gouging is also illegal in the USA.

Answer 2

The problem is that so many agents in the market want to buy or sell oil. Spot is at $136, and there are about $2B in orders to buy at $135 and $4B in orders to sell at $137. To manipulate the market to the extent that you describe, you'd have to have probably 200 billion dollars, and you could probably prop up the price for a week. The market is way too powerful for anyone, even the sovereign wealth funds, to affect it. Only supply and demand determine the price. Its like trying to push up the price of rice at your local grocery store by buying a cup at a time - not gonna work.