With oil prices going stratospheric -- give or take a few "down" days -- head-scratching and pump frustration, not to mention extreme profit-taking for a select few, keeps intensifying. But with the debate over whether speculators or fundamentals are driving prices echoing through the halls of Congress, the floors of Wall Street, and down Main Street, it's time to get to the root of how trading works.

Without pondering that, the blame debate is a waste of time. The starting question, then, shouldn't be who is driving prices, but how prices are being driven. From there, solutions become apparent. So, let's talk how.

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