Gas Prices

[denslexusgx470]

I was filling up at around $3.89 for unleaded only. Damn California prices have to be higher! <_<

[Blayd]

gas just went down to about 3.55 for regular in Augusta

[nc211]

FYI: Some of the victims of high gas prices....

1. Ann Taylor is closing 117 stores nationwide.

2.Eddie Bauer to close more stores.The company has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.

3.Cache is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.

4.Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherines are closing 150 stores nationwide.

5.Talbots, and J. Jill are closing all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 underperforming stores. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J.Jill.

6.Gap Inc. will be closing 85 stores.

7.Foot Locker to close 140 stores.

8.Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores.

9.Levitz, the furniture retailer, is going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December.

10.Zales, Piercing Pagoda plans to close 82 stores by July 31. It has also announced that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores.

11.The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney, in a news release, said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S.

12.Home Depot has 15 store closings.

13.CompUSA clarifies details on its store closings. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions.

14.Macy's is closing 9stores.

15.Movie Gallery is closing 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit. They plan to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.

16.Pacific Sunwear is closing 153 Demostores.

17.Pep Boys is closing 33 stores.

18.Sprint Nextel is closing 125 retail locations.

19.J. C. Penney, Lowe's, and OfficeDepot are scaling back.

20.Ethan Allen Interiors announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.

21.Wilsons the Leather Experts is closing 158 stores.

22.Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing.

23.Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores.

24.KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United Statesas part of its bankruptcy reorganization.

25.Dillard's plans to close morestores.

26.Steve and Barry’s Clothing, whichhas 240 stores filed for bankruptcy.

27.Starbucks is in the process ofclosing 600 stores.

[Blayd]

What r we all gunna do if starbucks goes out of business? :o

[jcrome04]

forget starbucks!

Steve & Barry's!!!! Noooooo! I need clothing for $8.98! :D

[Blayd]

Never heard of 'em.

[jcrome04]

They have great clothes for the price.

[Blayd]

Maybe they arent round here a lot. Like we didnt have Rue 21 till a little while back. Not many of them anyway.

[nc211]

Goldman Sachs is far from being alone in its trials and tribulations with the potential to go under. Lehman Brothers could fall through the cracks just as easily. Even ol' warhorse Merrill Lynch isn't assured of getting through this with only a few broken bones and a heavily-bruised ego....

Closer to home, Wachovia won't go belly-up but how the mighty have fallen. 'Course, it's not really Wachovia anymore - it's First Union. If the real Wachovia folks had been left in charge after the merger, Wachovia would be far better off today. Ken Thompson got exactly what he deserved a couple of months ago....

Serves 'em all right as far as I'm concerned....

I absolutely agree! Wachovia "walk-all-over-ya'" certainly has some significant cracks right now. My gut says more than is being reported. But doubt they'll go under either. However, I do know they've practically disappeared from the big real estate lending game at the moment. So much "B & C" paper on their books, the required "reserves for loss" rules are locking up their capital. That, matched to the utter disappearance of wall street money for real estate, has them "and several others" pinned down at the moment. Funny enough though, credit unions are doing a-ok. And they can thank the american bankers association for it, as they've blocked the credit union's desire to increase their exposure to the commercial real estate world for several years. Credit Unions have been capped at 12% of their asset base exposure to commercial real estate since the 90's. They've been trying for the past several years to get congress to lift it to 20%, but the ABA has argued "unfair practices", since Credit Unions are non-profits..aka..no tax liability..aka..savings passed along in better rates. In our neighborhood, CFCU is the only one that makes commercial loans in the $10m-$20m window"Legacy in Winston does too, but much smaller $500k". However, interesting to note: State Employees Credit Union is the second largest in the nation! And they don't offer commercial anything, and just serve the population base of NC, yet they're #2 by a large margin. Only Navy Federal is bigger...by a large margin as well.

The pink elephant in the room is Freddie/Fannie... Those two horses are in deep trouble. If they go down, then all bets are off in the economy and we've got huge problems. Mortgage rates will skyrocket, which will slaughter home prices across the entire country. We could go from "recession" to full on "depression" overnight, literally. It's scary man, real scary. I know several uber-players are starting to wiggle into positions to somewhat ease the blow, if it happens.

[RX in NC]

I keep our largest chunk of cash (about $275,000 right now but the balance fluctuates depending upon what I decide to do in the options market from month to month) in a State Employees Credit Union money market account that we've had for nearly 20 years. I don't worry about that account one bit - it's probably the safest money in our total portfolio. SECU is a stodgy old-fashioned organization that remains extremely slow in migrating to new technology, but it's as well-run a financial operation as you're going to find these days and has been for decades. Even if I doubled or tripled the balance of our money market account there, I wouldn't worry one bit about the account's safety and security....

And yep, if Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae go under, the U.S. does indeed slide from recession into depression. I am greatly concerned about this issue and am following it very closely because I know it will affect my entire options game that I've been steadily building during the past five years. But I must say that I would be much more frightened if I still worked in the now very shaky corporate America - at least I will still maintain much more control over our future than those who continue to work in the corporate sector and will consequently suffer from the most massive wave of layoffs and business failures that this country will have experienced since the early 1930s....

[eatingupblacktop]

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Actually, I do think they're incorrect, mostly "I can see you rolling your eyes at me!". I agree someday we'll run out of oil. We'll also run out of food, space, wood, Polar Bears, etc.. To say "we better stop or we're going to run out of supply", is a pretty broad basis for theory. I don't disagree with them, or anyone, that says we'll run out. But, those three examples you cite, honestly, don't really sell me. T Boone Pickens is an investor by nature. He won't do anything that doesn't have a double-digit return on cost. There isn't a bone in my body that thinks his "plan" is to save the country, before lining his pockets with cash. I don't disagree with what he wants to do, but I don't put a lot of weight on his theories simply for the fact of his own personal interest in it.

For Hubbert's calculations to be accurate, he must know the total supply of oil in the world and demand cycles. That's just not possible to know. It can be speculated, but it can't be confirmed, especially in a scientific model of accuracy. Furthermore, as the article mentioned, it has not been accepted by all as fact.

. . . . snip

No eye rolling here. Even regarding "know one can know how much oil there is yet to be discovered" ... as my link shows. Consider also that Hubbert died some years ago, so he wasn't able to comment on the subsequent "facts". Not speculation, peak oil facts. 3 parts. A, B, & C. Check it out, and tell me it isn't sobering:

http://www.chrismartenson.com/peak_oil

Bottom line, the national or world price for power will continue, now and then (after major runups), to drop a half a buck or euro dollar per gallon or litre now and then. That's not the point. It's what's ahead, and how far off we are, with our date with destiny, and how subtle or quicik it hits.

BTW, our So. Cal. home's 7.9KKW Photo panel system will be completed in less than 2 weeks. I predict that the 'premium' we're paying for this power will pay for itself in less than 5 years. It's all about how long ago production peaked ... not how many more pools we hope to find. ;)

[eatingupblacktop]

Here's a quote from the following link:

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/489182

"Taking into account the fundamentals of supply and demand, oil prices should be between US$100 and US$115 per barrel over the next year and a half, Burleton said. But heightened speculation amongst commodity traders has made it all but impossible to nail down what oil prices will actually do.

"Just as the upward trend in prices became unglued from fundamentals, of course it raises the risk that the same may occur on the downside," Burleton said.

"In other words, investors may continue to bail out from oil and that could push prices below any kind of reasonable fundamental price."

[nc211]

SEGMN: Like I've said in the past, I don't disagree with you on the limited supply issues, it's just the natural course of life, nothing is forever, including "us". Your point of installing solar panels on your home is exactly what I'm talking about when I say technology will create a slower drain on the supply, by infusing new methods into the grid to supplement. The point here, is the price at the pump of today, not 5 years from now. You're a science guy, I'm a numbers investor guy. I think it's safe to say that you give my theories about 20% support, and I about the same to yours. Which, ain't bad, at all!

But, to stay on target for today's oil situation: Did anyone notice oil dropped over $4 bucks while hurricane Gustav was going through the oil fields? Even when those platforms were shut down completely, along with the refineries, it still tanked! Can you imagine what would of happened if this were just 8 weeks ago? The bubble has popped, and will continue it's downward spiral towards the election. People have a clearer view now of where this country is going to go "McCain or Obama". Both have viable options to address this. I for one, am at the point of not caring who wins anymore, I just want it over and get this nasty uncertainty in the air out of here. Uncertainty creates stagnation, and brings in the vultures. As we get closer to election day, I'm still predicting prices will continue to fall. I'll make a prediction, and I won't come back an edit it later if I'm wrong....

I predict oil is in the range of $65 - $75 a barrell by March 09', and gas prices are in the mid to low $2 range. I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me elsewise. Foriegn investors are all saying the US is positioning itself for one hell of a market recovery... Gee...imagine that...forcasting a "recovery" after the election... Wow, my $30k education sure doesn't compete with those $200k+ Harvards.

As for the "subprime" mess...well, it's only a mess when the mortgages arent' paid....things settle down, and we could very easily see the housing pressures ease up quite a bit!

[RX in NC]

I truly hope that your predictions for oil and gasoline prices come March 2009 are spot-on. But I actually believe that you're dead wrong. Only time will tell....

P.S. - Think McCain is privately begging for a do-over on his VP pick? What a bonehead. I'm no Obama supporter either, but the very last thing this country needs is Dumb following Dumber in the White House....

[nc211]

Haha...RX, ain't nobody gonna mistake you for a Dubbya' fan, ever!

Gas Prices: If you look at all the seperate ingredients, a perfectly brewed recovery is in the making. Here's why:

1: price drops of oil these days are being driven by "supply and demand" characteristics alone, mostly. Fears of dropping demand are now world wide, including the emerging markets. Some dollar strengthening is helping, but only about 10%.

2: Iraq is quickly winding down!! And, it's not being done by us, but rather by them! THEY are ready for us to pull back and come home. Now, that's the true "Mission Accomplished".

3: China is poised for the Olympic Syndrome. Kind of like the day after Christmas for kids.

4: Dubia, one hell of an overly built monster, with beautiful structures, about 70% complete, and practically no infrastructer to support it, keeping vacancies of all that newly built real estate quite high. That's going to get quite costly, and could put them in a very desperate position that transfers the price points of buyers of oil, to the buyers, not the sellers. There are more and more studies coming out weekly now about the dangers of Dubia's big gamble.

5: No...more...Bush! The world wants him gone! They've been wanting him gone for some time...well, now they're going to get their wish!

6: The dollar: well, when you're at the bottom, there is only one way to go. If "demand" has pushed oil prices down to sub $100's, Bush leaves office, the world regains confidence in us, parties are held for Iraq's success...the dollar starts a strong rally back, oil will fall even further! The key here, is where the price of oil is at the start of the dollar's return. If it were at the $147 like a few weeks ago, then it'd probably be where it is today, $105. But, if oil gets to about $95, then the dollar makes it's move, it could easily eat up that $30 premium....and put it right at $65....or where OPEC's been saying is the actual cost of the last barrell of the day to produce.

Just my theories...

[ArmyofOne]

Haha...RX, ain't nobody gonna mistake you for a Dubbya' fan, ever!

Gas Prices: If you look at all the seperate ingredients, a perfectly brewed recovery is in the making. Here's why:

1: price drops of oil these days are being driven by "supply and demand" characteristics alone, mostly. Fears of dropping demand are now world wide, including the emerging markets. Some dollar strengthening is helping, but only about 10%.

2: Iraq is quickly winding down!! And, it's not being done by us, but rather by them! THEY are ready for us to pull back and come home. Now, that's the true "Mission Accomplished".

3: China is poised for the Olympic Syndrome. Kind of like the day after Christmas for kids.

4: Dubia, one hell of an overly built monster, with beautiful structures, about 70% complete, and practically no infrastructer to support it, keeping vacancies of all that newly built real estate quite high. That's going to get quite costly, and could put them in a very desperate position that transfers the price points of buyers of oil, to the buyers, not the sellers. There are more and more studies coming out weekly now about the dangers of Dubia's big gamble.

5: No...more...Bush! The world wants him gone! They've been wanting him gone for some time...well, now they're going to get their wish!

6: The dollar: well, when you're at the bottom, there is only one way to go. If "demand" has pushed oil prices down to sub $100's, Bush leaves office, the world regains confidence in us, parties are held for Iraq's success...the dollar starts a strong rally back, oil will fall even further! The key here, is where the price of oil is at the start of the dollar's return. If it were at the $147 like a few weeks ago, then it'd probably be where it is today, $105. But, if oil gets to about $95, then the dollar makes it's move, it could easily eat up that $30 premium....and put it right at $65....or where OPEC's been saying is the actual cost of the last barrell of the day to produce.

Just my theories...

do you think fuel will ever hit $2.50 a gallon again NC? I would love to get a truck. i need one (do alot of hauling)...but dont want to stomach the price of $4.00 a gallon...

[RX in NC]

I do not expect a return to $2.50 a gallon gas. But keep in mind, I'm no prognosticator - I make my judgments based on what economic indicators are telling me....

If you need a truck, do not let gas prices keep you from acquiring one. I do a number of major home and landscape projects when I lose the periodic battles with my HGTV-addicted wife, and without a full-size pickup there's no way to haul the materials required for the various jobs. The key is to be smart about acquiring and using your truck. Don't buy new, stick with the Big Three domestic trucks (cheaper to insure, easier and much cheaper to repair, and they are all built for the long-term), keep it well-maintained since there are times you will push its limits, and have a smaller, more fuel-efficient car in your household to use when you don't need to be driving your truck....

Most households with DIY folks need a truck. Perhaps you can get by with a smaller version such as an S-10, a Ranger, or a Dakota, but be forewarned that the little guys are not built to the standards and specifications of their big brothers. In the long run, you're better off finding a full-size pickup, being smart about using it, and having a more fuel-efficient car as your primary vehicle when you're not hauling. Keep in mind that you'll probably keep your truck for 10 or 15 years (assuming gasoline-powered vehicles remain viable that long) so its economic impact on your household will be amortized over a long period of time. My Dodge Ram will be 10 years old next February and I hope to keep it until it is 15 or 20....

Now is actually a great time to find a relatively late-model, well-maintained truck. Tons of guys in their child-raising years who purchased their trucks new are now struggling with higher mortgage payments, higher gas prices, higher food prices, potential job losses, and pressure from their spouses to get rid of their trucks as a first step towards getting through the recession relatively intact. These guys are proud of their trucks and most have kept them well-maintained. Many have never had more than a bag of dog food and a big box of Pampers in their beds, much less towed a boat. You are poised to take advantage of someone else's hardship - sounds cruel I know, but he needs to sell his nice truck and you can help by taking it off his hands, probably for quite a bit less than it is actually worth. Just be businesslike in making your decision and keep your emotions out of play....

Take your time finding the right truck. You'll have it a long time if you take care of it because it will take care of your needs. It is a tool, not an ego-driven toy. Treat it like that and you'll wonder how you managed without a truck for as long as you did....

Good luck to you....

[ArmyofOne]

I do not expect a return to $2.50 a gallon gas. But keep in mind, I'm no prognosticator - I make my judgments based on what economic indicators are telling me....

If you need a truck, do not let gas prices keep you from acquiring one. I do a number of major home and landscape projects when I lose the periodic battles with my HGTV-addicted wife, and without a full-size pickup there's no way to haul the materials required for the various jobs. The key is to be smart about acquiring and using your truck. Don't buy new, stick with the Big Three domestic trucks (cheaper to insure, easier and much cheaper to repair, and they are all built for the long-term), keep it well-maintained since there are times you will push its limits, and have a smaller, more fuel-efficient car in your household to use when you don't need to be driving your truck....

Most households with DIY folks need a truck. Perhaps you can get by with a smaller version such as an S-10, a Ranger, or a Dakota, but be forewarned that the little guys are not built to the standards and specifications of their big brothers. In the long run, you're better off finding a full-size pickup, being smart about using it, and having a more fuel-efficient car as your primary vehicle when you're not hauling. Keep in mind that you'll probably keep your truck for 10 or 15 years (assuming gasoline-powered vehicles remain viable that long) so its economic impact on your household will be amortized over a long period of time. My Dodge Ram will be 10 years old next February and I hope to keep it until it is 15 or 20....

Now is actually a great time to find a relatively late-model, well-maintained truck. Tons of guys in their child-raising years who purchased their trucks new are now struggling with higher mortgage payments, higher gas prices, higher food prices, potential job losses, and pressure from their spouses to get rid of their trucks as a first step towards getting through the recession. These guys are proud of their trucks and most have kept them well-maintained. Many have never had more than a bag of dog food and a big box of Pampers in their beds, much less towed a boat. You are poised to take advantage of someone else's hardship - sounds cruel I know, but he needs to sell his nice truck and you can help by taking it off his hands, probably for quite a bit less than it is actually worth. Just be businesslike in making your decision and keep your emotions out of play....

Take your time finding the right truck. You'll have it a long time if you take care of it because it will take care of your needs. It is a tool, not an ego-driven toy. Treat it like that and you'll wonder how you managed without a truck for as long as you did....

Good luck to you....

hmm...for me its an 04+F150 or a 02+Silverado...nothing less. and I wont be financing, I will be paying cash. Mileage isnt really an issue to me cause as you said, i already have 2 cars so wont need to drive it unless i HAVE to.

[JENunnez]

Well nc211 I bet you have a itchy typing finger.

I saw on the news last night how the government took over the two big ones and bailed them out. Something like 6 billion dollars to keep them afloat.

Could this be the start of a trend? I'm on the fence on this one, it's not to good for government to be taking over buisneses, but on the other hand it's the only way to save the economy.

So it's the lesser of two evils.

I hope all your predictions pan out for our sake.

[nc211]

Initially when I heard the news Friday night of the takeover, I thought the stuff had hit the fan. But as the weekend went on and I was able to spend some time tinkering and thinking in the garage, I changed my mind about this. Fannie & Freddie have always been a GSE "Government Sponsored Entity", a quasi-like arrangement. In the past, these two horses only played in the shadows of the market on the wholesale side, where they would simply buy mortgages from banks. But, as times changed, they took on a more "retail" position, especially in the commercial markets "apartments". There are many unkind feelings about that move, as many view it as unfair practice. For instance, our investments are funded with our own money, for our own clients. We play on a level playing field, and we're not backed by the government. Fannie & Freddie are, and in my opinion, took advantage of that. The government simply removed the "retail" aspect of the two operations and have pulled their cards closer to the vest. I think, for the time being, it's a good move. It's a far better one then trying to recover as "retail" players, which I doubt is possible. Plus, as I've said in the past, media perception plays a huge role in market confidence. With the government in the driver's seat now, and knowing how "secretive" they can be, it might be a good thing to shut down the media spin for a few months and get them off the front pages. It's very difficult to do anything when you're constantly under the microscope.

One thing to remember though, as some media guys don't seem to realize, is that the cost to the tax payers, are the losses sustained, not the entire 5 trillion dollars worth of both portfolios. True losses are those mortgages that have stopped paying. Book losses are the ones where perceived home values have fallen. For example: Take 100 homes, each mortgaged with $80k mortgages each, and appraised at $100k each. That's a portfolio value of $10,000,000 (100x100,000). Of that $10,000,000 value, $8,000,000 worth of loans are against it. The "book" loss, or somewhat phantom loss, is when the home's value drops 10% due to over-supply in it's neighborhood. When home builders drop their prices for new construction to compete with existing, well most folks will pick the new construction, because it "smells new". So, the existing 100 homes drop in value. That's a "book" loss, and in my opinion, is being super-over-emphasised in the market. That's the "cost to tax payers" that is being reported, but in all actuallity, that $8,000,000 worth of mortgages continue to perform at a 98% level, which is pretty damn good!

Banks are going under for several reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is due to "loss reserve" requirements that can't be met. This is due to that "book" loss. Many banks that over-stretched into the subprime and alt-a platforms, of 90%-95% LTV's, have now found that LTV ratio heading north of 100% "as values fall faster then the loan's amortized schedule". So, the fed requires them to set aside cash to their assets to compensate for that "book" loss. Which, in turn, kills thier ability to make money. Banks real money makers are those interest rates on their loans, but they've got to have the cash to lend. If it's all tied up in loss-reserves, they're screwed.

I've said it before, just keep an eye on your local bank parking lots for repo'd cars/boats/RV's, ATV's. When you start to see those showing up, you'll know we're in the briarpatch. People will let their toys go way before they'll let their shelter go. I have yet to see that happen, in any meaningful way.

Slow retail performance is being forecasted, and will probably hurt your local mall. As I mentioned earlier with the list of some retail outlets closing stores, people are tightening their budgets "for gas, food, etc". When the government tax rebate "stimulus" checks began to arrive, the government players said it would fix this. It didn't. But what I don't think they've realized is that many of us simply don't "want" anything at the moment. After 3 years of "buy buy buy" everything in sight, I think many of us are simply content with what we've got. How many of us have an HDTV now? How many of us have a computer that works just fine? How many of us have acquired many nice things over the past 3 years, and are now simply content with playing with them, instead of replacing them for even nicer? So many economists forget the "human element". If you put $5,000 cash in my hand and said "go spend it", my response would be "on what?" I think the "consumer" driven society is in a down-cycle at the moment, and won't come back until some of those things we've recently acquired need to be replaced. Or, the market place comes out with something that is just dang cool, we've gotta' have it! The last thing I've seen like that, are these LCD/Plasma TV's. And even then, prices have dropped so much that even Walmart sells them.

But at the end of the day, we have nearly 10,000,000 new homes sitting vacant. We over built the residential sector over the past 3 years, and fannie/freddie are big components to blame for this "they were buying EVERYTHING being thrown at it from originating banks, simply put = they put too much money into the markets". Those have to be cycled through the market before the sun will shine again. This country grows it's population base at about a 1.2% level each year, or approximately the size of Atlanta. So, it's only a matter of time. In the meantime, the only thing you and I can do, is take care of your stuff! Clean those gutters, wax that car, fix that rotten wood, and get on your Home Owners Association to monitor your neighborhood. If you start seeing more "rentals" showing up, make sure you hammer the owners so they know they must continue to maintain the property and not leave it to the tenant. I say this "and experiencing it a little in my neighborhood" because many owners are being pulled to the bargains of the new construction. And instead of selling their existing homes, are choosing to rent them instead, which I think is a fools game. One big-ticket item will wipe-out all profits "like a new roof, hvac, etc." You've got to fight the absentee landlord-ism right now. This environment is ripe for them too. Borrow a pressure washer and go clean up the entry signs into your neighborhood. Start a campaign to get folks to invest $5 bucks into a can of paint, and 30 minutes to put a fresh coat on their mailbox posts out front. That sort of stuff is the only way combat depreciation, and maintain your home's marketablity appeal. Especially if you're competing with new construction, like I am here in Raleigh. We're still building! Especially on the western edges between Raleigh and Chapel Hill/Durham. Thankfully though, I live in one of the only neighborhoods in my area where you can still get a nice sized house under the $325,000 level.

[JENunnez]

Wow nc thanks for clearing up a few things I didn't understand.

I see what your saying about spending , I'm on that boat also, not buying crap just because I have a few extra bucks. I already have pretty much what I need for the next couple of years.

Time to take more care of the old homestead.

[SW03ES]

As somebody who is out there, let me tell you this week just the past few days has been a whole nother world. Buyers getting off the fence, we've cleared a couple old listings, all of it due to increased buyer confidence due to the Fannie Freddie buyout.

I've made more money the past 3 days than in the past 3 months.

We'll see if it keeps up...

[eatingupblacktop]

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $3.08 to settle at $103.26 on the New York Mercantile Exchange

while gasoline prices dropped 11.15 cents to $2.6388 a gallon

- Toronto Star

So it seems that market forces work as they should in the US.

Up here not so much. Crude goes up ... gas goes up. Crude drops ... gas goes up. Just went up $.03 / litre same day as crude dropped over $3.00. Go figure?

[eatingupblacktop]

Speculators behind oil moves

Should any one be shocked at those results? But the question is how is it rectified?Is there really a muzzle that can be put on,an accounting track that places restrictions and guidelines? And would they really have teeth? Is that any different than traders yo-yo-ing stock markets with the same manipulative results? One can only hope that some control mechanism will come out of that study.

- TorontoStar

Here's the whole article:

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/496637

These are early days, but it seems we could be seeing $85 oil by early spring. Even Ike hasn't moved the chains.