Last December, Credit Suisse Group AG (CS), closed two very popular ways of betting on oil to the public. Both were exchange-traded notes (ETNs) pegged to oil prices, and both had been multi-billion dollar plays that allowed regular people to profit from on swings in oil prices. But while there’s no public price listed anymore, financial institutions keep trading these “zombie” notes… And it’s massively distorting oil prices, as we saw with yesterday’s 5 percent drop in oil prices. These ETNs Used to Bring Profits to Regular Investors These ETNs were 3x “bull” and “bear” notes, respectively. That’s to say, the bullish one – VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil ETN (UWTI) – rises in value three times more than the New York benchmark for oil does, West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Meanwhile, the bearish one – VelocityShares 3x Inverse Crude Oil ETN (DWTI) – moves up three times as fast […]