"For the most part, firms purchase futures contracts to stabilize their input costs at future times"

- that type of futures deal is part of legitimate corporate activity, and is a good use of the futures market...unfortunately, most of the oil futures contracts purchased during the recent 200% increase in the price of oil was by corporate paper entities that never see or use a drop of the oil they're speculating on...THAT is the pure speculation that needs to be regulated to stop those parasites from screwing the rest of us (including the firms that buy futures to stabilize their oil costs)