Greetings from Washington...

Dear Maurizio
 
Greetings from Washington....
 
President Barack Obama signed into law the sweeping financial regulatory reform bill known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Among the many issues addressed in the bill, the most important to the energy industry are new regulations impacting the trading of over-the-counter derivatives in energy and energy-related commodities such as oil, natural gas, electricity, greenhouse gas offset credits, emission allowances, and renewable energy and energy efficiency credits.
 
These transactions, which are commonly used by utilities and industrial firms to manage commercial risk, have until now gone largely unregulated under the Commodity Exchange Act.  Over the coming year, this situation will change dramatically as the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act take effect and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission begins to undertake the approximately eighty rulemakings and administrative actions required by Title VII of the new law.
 
Also this week, the Washington Post newspaper featured a unique series of front page articles on how private intelligence firms help to provide the US Government with unique news and information, strategic intelligence and analysis, and classified technology.  The three articles in the series ran Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and an online database at TopSecretAmerica.com depict the scope and complexity of the US Government's national security program through interactive maps and other graphics. 
 
The team behind this newsletter is one such private intelligence firm and with so many of our newsletter readers from around the world being involved within the nexus of international finance, global energy and the geopolitical spectrum of the military/government/intelligence communities, we will be offering our intelligence operational services for private clients now that the secret has been made public.
 
In August we will offer three sophisticated levels of service at three different pricing points specifically designed to offer individual, institutional and government clients direct access to our intelligence operations team.  More details will be sent your way the first week of August but in the meantime, whether you are the president of a country or the CEO of a company; a military commander or a hedge fund manager; an energy trader or policy maker, I invite you to read the intelligent analysis about intelligence analysis below by my colleague leading our Defense & Foreign Affairs team, Greg Copley.
 
There is something in there for everyone...
 
As always, follow us on Twitter @TheOSINTGroup or let us know how we can help you with other items of interest with a note to admin@oilprice.com.
 
Michael Bagley
Editor
Daily Intelligence Newsletter - OilPrice.com
Twitter:  @TheOSINTGroup