BP and Shell among oil firms named in price-fixing lawsuit

BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Statoil are among firms accused in a lawsuit of manipulating the Brent oil market.

Four traders have filed a class action in a Manhattan court alleging that oil majors and trading houses have fixed prices since at least 2002.
Among others named in the lawsuit are investment bank Morgan Stanley and energy traders including Vitol Group.
In May, the European Commission launched an inquiry into suspected anti-competitive practices.
The four traders, from the Nymex commodities exchange in New York, claim that one method used to manipulate prices was "spoofing" - placing orders to move the oil price market with the intention of cancelling them later.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24843304