Commodities Regulator Under Fire

With oil at more than $140 a barrel, the real fireworks in Washington resume this week on one of the hottest issues in the global economy: whether speculation is contributing to the past year's doubling of crude-oil prices and should be curbed.

The House Agriculture Committee will host hearings examining whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has a strong-enough grip on the fast-growing, $5 trillion futures market for oil and other commodities or needs other tools. It also will examine how that market is affected by the $9 trillion "over-the-counter" market that has mushroomed outside CFTC regulation.

The committee has ...