Think about this....

[adamnp]

...The next time you buy Gas.

 

 

http://www.break.com/index/did-you-know-dubai-and-our-gas.html

 

Whats your thoughts?

[JasonF]

Dubai is one of the few Arab countries that realize that oil revenue will dry up one day so they are trying to turn their country into a tourist haven. You can't blame them for turning a local resource and reinvesting back into their country for the future.

 

I have read a lot of articles that say the current oil supply is more than enough for demand but since oil is traded as a commodity, it is being artificially inflated due to global worries (possible conflict with Iran, etc). I am also sure there are some people that are just investing in oil to get in on the cash cow and inflating the price even more.

 

*edited - forgot to mention that this inflation in gas prices is only accelerating the death of gas engine so I hope oil companies enjoy it while it lasts.

[HGN-Daniel]

Good for them. If people are willing to pay for gas at that price then more power to them. Also, why do you think they're investing in non-oil stuff? They know it's not going to last forever so they're already transitioning to a tourism based economy. We could have turned New York into an amusement park with all of the money spent in Iraq.

 

That video was pretty cheesy though.. whats with that music..? And the creator of that video failed for not tying any numbers to the values listed at the end. Did they build all that with like $60? Or was that in billions? WHAT IF IT WAS IN KAZILLIONS OMG THEY R GREEDY!!!1

[JasonF]

You put an electric car on the market that can get me back and forth to work (110 miles) I would buy it regardless of how ugly it was.

[swish]

110 Miles a day....shesh....time for a location change lol.

[JasonF]

110 Miles a day....shesh....time for a location change lol.

 

I got a job in the city I live after graduation. After 2 yrs, I left there because the owners refused to pay me according the industry standard because they said "When we got out of school we made $x/year so you are going to make it."

 

Most veterinarians sign non-compete clauses and can not work within a certain radius of the clinic you are leaving for 2-3 yrs. I found a job roughly 50 miles away paying twice what I was making so the drive is worth it. I live in a small town with little to no traffic and have grown to like it. Can't see myself moving into a big city anymore and dealing with the headaches.

 

Been at my current job for 4 yrs and like it.

[jbiloh]

Depends on the source of the data, some reports show demand 2M barrels a day above production, others the opposite.

 

Commodity trading (speculation) is certainly having an effect though.

 

Despite the current “pain” at the pump (relative compared to the rest of the world, ie: Britain and $10 / gallon gas) at least its driving the economy into smart energy solutions. That my friends, will only benefit all of us both in the long and short term.

[adamnp]

Unfortunately, We are 10 years behind in that. This is something that should have been looked at after 9/11 , when we knew what we would be doing overseas. Unfortunately we all have to deal with it now globally, the issue is which economies can handle this pressure and which class of people will be able to suck up the fulsome without ending up on the streets, or 100k in creditcard debt.

 

Wise time for all these non voting youngsters to get in the mix of things and realize we need to make change! Lets go! Hop on the party bus!

[JasonF]

Unfortunately, We are 10 years behind in that. This is something that should have been looked at after 9/11 , when we knew what we would be doing overseas.

 

It should have been done with the gas crunch of the 80's. Only Brazil was smart enough to start to ween themselves from petroleum based energy and vehicles after that episode.

[Derek]

That was pretty neat to watch though

[HIS-MOTHER]

Saw a BIO on that 3 or 4 years ago on Modern Marvels Discovery Channel I think. Good Stuff. I'd book a room there for sure.

 

 

I take a commuter train (Metra) to the City and I use public transportation(EL). Cheap as it can get here in Chicago.

[JasonF]

Here is a good article on the commodity portion of oil prices

 

But with tempers rising along with food and fuel prices, some market scholars are concerned that speculation, the legal pursuit of market profits, is becoming a synonym for manipulation - secret and collusive trading activity aimed at deliberately moving prices to produce illegal profits.

 

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/12/business/speculate.php

[adamnp]

Decent article. Curious, do other states have 'zoned pricing' on gas? or is this something only Connecticut has? Basically here, the gas is all purchased from NewHaven/Groton harbors, and is then trucked throughout the state. The major suppliers use a 'zoned pricing structure' that 'nobody' seems to know how it works, but is speculated to be based on how far from the distro facility the trucks are traveling....But looking at maps of the pricing structures, seems it is based on the 'weath' of the towns... Curious how the distro of this rediculous commodity is across the country...Same, or something fuzzier?

[JasonF]

I always thought the price was determined by location from a refinery. Basically how far they have to truck it to the location. I am sure there are other variables they won't disclose in that pricing like the cost of living in that area.

[HIS-MOTHER]

I am sure there are other variables

 

 

Yeah, like if the CEO and board members wives need new Fur coats and cadilacs..

[alex]

This is a bubble, as with all bubbles, they burst.

 

People keep saying oil will only go higher. To me, it sounds a lot like tech stocks in 1999. "They are only going higher", all the analysts said. Guess what, there is a peak. I'm not saying that we're close to that peak, but there certainly will be one.

 

No one is saying oil will last forever, but there is certainly enough left in the world to last for 50 years of projected consumption. That my friends, is 50 years worth of trading on the exchanges. Theres plenty of time for speculative gains, and massive losses.

[adamnp]

85% of the oil companies are owned by stockholders, definately a time for money to be made. Unfortunately many will falter in this wake aswell. It's extremely sad seeing families choose between gas, food, and rent. Personally everything is well, but I know many across this country are in dire need of some help, hopefully we handle it correctly.

[HGN-Daniel]

The oil companies do bring alot of wealth to it's stock holders in the US, however, I don't think the wealth is being spread out evenly. It usually only goes to the people who are already filthy rich in the first place.

 

I think it's we've spent enough time in Iraq. I would hate to leave something unfinished, but I think our own country should have priority before a war that the majority of the world doesn't support. The billions of dollars spent in Iraq could have been used more efficiently in the US to improve the infrastructure and to better train it's citizens to adapt to the global economy. We've been in the war for 5 or 6 years and have spent a crap load of money and don't have much to show for it

[JasonF]

I agree that a lot of money has been spent on Iraq that could have been better used at home, but I have to think that having two Arab democracies in that region will start a change. Up until we attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, there were zero Arab democracies.

 

Also, don't forget our attack on Iraq caused Libya to come clean with their nuclear plans so there is 1 less nation trying to pursue nuclear weapons.

 

*edited (ink on Libya story) - http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/19/libya.nuclear/index.html

[HGN-Daniel]

I agree, but if McCain wins in November and we stay in Iraq a war with Iran will be most likely inevitable, unfortunately.

[leetservers]

Don't worry about Iran, we won't put boots on the ground there. Few airstrikes and thats about it. Then Iran will hit Israel because they think they have a reason to and that will result in more airstrikes.

 

As far as oil goes, The libs blame Bush, however the uneducated libs fail to realize that the demand for oil is wayy up and the prices are LOW here in the USA compared to lets say France and the UK. We need to drill here asap and start looking at alternate fuels, and NOT fuel from the friggin food supply aka corn. If we drilled like we should and with the oil from mexico and canada, we can tell opec to get F***ed.

 

=bobby

 

=Bobby

[Monk]

Give every country in the middle east about a dozen or so nuclear weapons (titans) and let them nuke it out. Let's face it. We have a better chance of finding an ATM machine in a coal mine than the middle east actually having regional stability.

 

But then again, religon is the primary cause of all the wars over there anyways.

[JasonF]

Israel will bomb Iran before we ever step foot in there. If there is war with Iran, it will be a multi-nation event because no president wants to repeat the go-it-alone war like Iraq.

 

Every election I vote for a president who will cut spending and slow down the growth of government. Personally I like keeping the money I earn and not giving it to others because some politician thinks it would be better served. Redistribution of wealth is nothing more than watered down communism.

[JasonF]

Back on the oil topic. This has to reinforce the fact the a good majority of the elevated price is speculation, the weak U.S. dollar and no true supply issues.

 

Yesterday Saudi announced it would pump out 500,000 more barrels per day. Today the price of oil goes up because:

 

Oil surged to a new record high on Monday of nearly $140 a barrel, propelled by weakness in the U.S. dollar which offset the bearish impact of plans by Saudi Arabia to boost output.

 

Prices leapt as the dollar fell after publication of data from the New York Federal Reserve that showed manufacturing in the state of New York contracted in June for the fourth time in five months.

 

"Prices rose sharply in three minutes. U.S. manufacturing data was weak, so it is pressuring the dollar down," said Mike Wittner, energy analyst at Societe General.

 

The weak U.S. dollar and investment inflows have contributed to oil's advance to a record of nearly $140 a barrel this month.

 

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080616/markets_oil.html?.v=2

[alex]

I consider buying foreign oil to be an investment.

 

While we dry up the reserves of Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq, and Iran, we're not drying up the reserves of the great wilderness that is Alaska.

 

When the wells dry up, that land we purchased from Russia for 2 cents an acre will be the greatest investment in the history of earth as oil prices go beyond $200 a barrel, and the world is forced to purchased oil from the United States.

 

The industrialization of India, China and Eastern Europe guarantee increasing demand for oil.

 

Though unfortunately thats many years off.