In a new piece for the Wall Street Journal, legendary activist investor and Icahn Enterprises LP IEP 3.38% CEO Carl Icahn discussed the rampant “manipulation, speculation, and fraud” going on within the U.S. oil refining industry. Icahn claims that the 2005 Renewable Fuels Standard legislation has created an unintended financial market in Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) that is threatening the U.S. economy.

RINs are electronic credits created when oil companies blend renewable fuels, such as ethanol, with gasoline and diesel fuel. These credits were intended to incentivize the use of alternative fuels.

Artificial Inflation And Subsequent Fall Out Potential

Icahn said participants in this market have artificially inflated the price of RINs from $0.01 in 2012 to nearly $1. As a result, smaller merchant oil refiners, which have no choice but to purchase RINs to adhere to fuel standards, are getting bled dry.

“If merchant refiners go under, the Big Oil oligopolies will be strengthened…

Click here to continue reading

Want to learn more about how to profit off the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!