I hesitated in posting this article because of it requires considerable knowledge about investing that ordinary people do not have. Also, many of its references are in French. Nevertheless, one with some knowledge of investments can glean a lot of information on how large financial institutions can and do cause considerable social pain while serving the interests of the capitalist class in general. You will learn that...
...the commodities market is a narrow market. Institutional investors such as pension funds, need only allocate 2% of their assets to overwhelm the system.And:
The price of commodities on the futures market has immediate repercussions on the current prices of these goods.And Toussanit follows this with numerous examples.
By the way, for people who are less knowledgeable about the investment world, I highly recommend that you follow Pete Dolack's blog entitled Systemic Disorder. He is a journalist by training; but understands a lot of the more obscure investment concepts and market operations, and can explain them in language ordinary people can understand.