Business

Blame Wall Street for all your bad gas pains

You might want to go to the nearest gas station and fill up your tank.

And do it soon. The price of gas is about to go up — way up.

I know, you’re thinking that it already has. Well, I’m talking a lot higher and a lot sooner than you have been led to believe.

That’s probably all the information you really want to know. But I’ll fill in the details anyway in case you get into an argument tonight with the uninformed — those in politics and in the media would be included — who think there isn’t a real reason for the price increases we’ve experienced lately.

The bottom line: the price of gas could rise by another 20 cents a gallon in the next couple of days.

There will be rationalizations, there always are.

Some people will tell you that spring driving season is approaching. Or these know-nothings might argue that some little skirmish in the Middle East could disrupt oil supplies.

But the truth is that Wall Street controls the price of gasoline. It has for a long time and, until someone does something about it, the financial community will continue to determine how much of your hard-earned money is burned in your car.

Wall Street has this control because it trades gasoline futures contracts, which are basically nothing more than a bet on where gas prices will be headed in the weeks and months ahead.

The gasoline futures contract that expired yesterday was pricing fuel about 18 cents to 20 cents lower than the new April contract that begins trading today.

And unless there’s some miracle — or government intervention — the price at the pump should quickly climb that extra 18 to 20 cents. (I would happily be wrong on this, but I did fill up this morning.)

There is plenty of oil and gas around. And more energy-efficient cars — not to mention the recession — have reduced demand worldwide.

If Washington ever gave the go-ahead on domestic energy projects, we’d be in even better shape.

The latest refrain in Washington is that nobody can do anything about rising gas prices. That’s crap!

Wall Street’s trading in futures contracts can be restricted or made more expensive. We are paying more because traders are allowed to gamble on vital resources.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified at length before Congress yesterday.

Among the many things Bernanke said was that while the job market is “far from normal” (no kiddin’, Ben), inflation will remain subdued.

I can’t quibble with the Great Professor’s understatement about the job market, but from where I sit in what is called The Real World, inflation looks to be quite a problem.

Bernanke also said the Fed doesn’t see any financial bubbles these days. (Remember, the central bank didn’t see the housing bubble either.)

Well, I think the bond market is the Bubble of All Bubbles — and if I’m right, interest rates will be soaring someday.

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The office of the Brooklyn District Attorney and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have arrested about 24 people over the past couple of weeks for selling untaxed cigarettes in the city.

We broke the story in Tuesday’s paper when we noted that an Orthodox rabbi was in cahoots with two Serbian Muslims in part of the operation.

But the story behind this story is even better.

I’m told that Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes and the ATF took the rabbi case after the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance refused to get involved. The state, I’m told, was concerned about fallout.

That isn’t surprising since Albany is already fearful of offending Native Americans, who are legally permitted to produce and sell their own brand of cigarettes. But they aren’t allowed to sell untaxed name brands, like Marlboro, to outsiders.

I’m also told that the state tax department didn’t even know that there was a sting operation occurring in Brooklyn until The Post starting asking questions.

The sale of cigarettes without tax stamps or those with counterfeit stamps is costing New York many millions of dollars a year. And because the penalties are so light, it has become a better business for groups looking to line their own pockets and, on the side, tithe a little to things like terrorist organizations.

These illegal sales are also causing experts on society to draw some false conclusions, like the one about people smoking less in New York. It’s not necessarily that they are smoking less; they are just smoking fewer legal, taxed cigarettes.

Perhaps it’s time for Albany to join the party.

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You probably already knew this without being told by the Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller survey, but housing prices are still terrible.

No matter how enthused you want to get about any random real estate statistic, this one fact stands out: the Case Shiller index shows prices fell 4 percent last year.

To which I again suggest: change the rules on personal retirement plans so people can invest directly in real estate.

If the rules aren’t changed, you’ll be turning over depreciated real estate to your kids in your will.

john.crudele@nypost.com