ARLINGTON, Va., April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FBR Capital Markets Corporation (FBR Capital Markets) announced that today Kevin Book, a Senior Vice President and Senior Research Analyst, Energy Policy, Oil & Alternative Energy, testified before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in a hearing to examine the effects of non-commercial, institutional investments on global oil markets.
In his testimony, Mr. Book urged lawmakers to respond with caution to high energy prices. "An optimal policy response should not ignore the historical tendency of the law of supply and demand to govern long-term oil market outcomes," Mr. Book suggested.
During today's hearing, led by Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Ranking Member Pete Domenici (R-NM), Mr. Book noted, "investors of all stripes may be diversifying into commodities markets, but they are not all buying." He encouraged lawmakers to avoid protectionism or prejudgment in considering whether the influence of sovereign and hedge fund investments might affect oil prices and to rely instead on transparency and accountability. Mr. Book also highlighted the need for responsible domestic production of oil in tandem with conservation. "Meeting demand will require 'and', not 'or'," he noted.
Mr. Book's testimony is available at the Committee's website http://energy.senate.gov/.
FBR Capital Markets Corporation, a majority-owned subsidiary of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc., provides investment banking*, merger and acquisition advisory services*, institutional brokerage*, research*, asset management and private wealth services. FBR Capital Markets focuses capital and financial expertise on eight industry sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy & natural resources, financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, real estate, and technology, media & telecom. FBR Capital Markets is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with offices in Arlington, VA; Boston; Dallas; Houston; Irvine; New York; San Francisco; London, England; and Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit http://www.fbrcapitalmarkets.com/.
*Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc.
