Raymond J. Learsy

Raymond J. Learsy is the author of several books, the most recent, Ruminations on the Distortion of Oil Prices and Crony Capitalism, is available at Amazon.com. A graduate of the Wharton School, he made his life in the fast-paced, risk-filled world of commodities trading, beginning in 1959. In 1963, he started his own firm and over twenty years expanded from the U.S. into Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, trading in an array of bulk raw materials and commodities including oil and gas, shipping to customers worldwide. In the 1980s, he became a private investor, and from 1982 to 1988, served as a Reagan appointee to the National Endowment for the Arts. Learsy's analysis of the international oil trade, OPEC, and its impact on the American and world economies has been featured in the National Review Online, the New York Times, the Pipeline and Gas Journal the Huffington Post and on CNBC. Also by Raymond J. Learsy Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption 2006-2010 , Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption Continues 2010-2012 , and the updated version of Over a Barrel: Breaking Oils Grip on Our Future .He currently resides in Connecticut and can be reached at triduane@aol.com or visit his website at www.raymondlearsy.com Author photo: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders