Speculation has historically influenced the rise and fall of investments. In an imperfect capitalistic economy, there are certain powers aside from the market itself that dictate the fate of goods.
However, too much speculation may lead to bubbles that shouldn't've been there, until such time when the economy corrects itself, which is exactly what is happening at the moment.
When it comes to domaineering, the practice of buying and selling domain names, would you say that there is a lot of speculation involved?
Link: Domain name Ownership Speculation Or Wise Investment