The economic benefits of speculation The service provided by speculators to a market is primarily that by risking their own capital in the hope of profit, they add liquidity to the market and make it easier for others to offset risk, including those who may be classified as hedgers and arbitrageurs. For example, if a certain market - say in pork bellies - had no speculators, only producers (pig farmers) and consumers (butchers etc) would participate in that market. With fewer players in the market, there would be a larger spread between the current bid and ask price of pork bellies. Any new entrant in the market who wants to either buy or sell pork bellies will be forced to accept an illiquid market and market prices that have a large bid-ask spread, or might even find it difficult to find a co-party to buy or sell to. A speculator (e.g. a pork dealer) may exploit the difference in the spread and, in competition with other speculators, reduce the spread thus creating a more efficient market.
Humans are an extinction level event, but the animal rights people are making damned sure that the extinction occurs.
You may be right. Our own people make sure we do not make it to the stars. All over the galaxy, when the society reaches our level of maturity for the bipeds, they destroy themselves....that may be why, we have not seen anyone from outside....Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
