4./ It may be a coincidence but a total loss of confidence in the CME is exactly what the US FED would want to get the price of commodities down short term. Lower input prices will put a damper on inflation and should give a boost to the US economy and if not it will at least give them some room to bring in another stimulus program as they can point to deflation as making it necessary.

If confidence is truly lost then either we move to a spot market only, or some other exchange with tougher controls will take over the CME's business. With electronic trading, that exchange doesn't even have to be in the USA. If I were a player in this market I'd be screaming blue murder right now because the longer nothing is done, the greater the risk of major clients going somewhere else to layoff their risk.

The other aspect to lost confidence is that speculators will just look for some other market to trade, so the volatility won't be eliminated, it will just move elsewhere - oil would be my first guess.

ebear