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<tr><td><b>Comment Number: </b></td><td>538416-00005</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Received: </b></td><td>8/29/2008 11:02:08 AM</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Organization: </b></td><td>Dept. of Economics, University of California at San Diego</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Commenter: </b></td><td>James Hamilton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>State: </b></td><td>CA</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Agency: </b></td><td>Federal Trade Commission</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rule: </b></td><td>Prohibitions On Market Manipulation and False Information in Subtitle B of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007

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<tr><td><b>Attachments:</b></td><td><a href='538416-00005.pdf'>538416-00005.pdf</a>&nbsp<a href='http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html' target = _blank >Download Adobe Reader</a><br></td></tr></Table>

<hr><P><b>Comments:</b></p>The attached research paper, Understanding Crude Oil Prices, offers a general framework for identifying the causes of changes in oil prices that may be helpful for the proposed rulemaking.

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