WorldOil

The new energy crisis

The year 2007 surged ahead on a number of levels and set many new records. The Dow blasted through 13,000 and drove on to 14,000. Natural gas remained more or less flat relative to its volatility in 2006, but crude continued to remain historically high with recent trade orders in the high $90s/bbl. Oil may or may not hit $100, but the Bulls who forecast anything close to this picture still get a gold star. Here’s the question: who wants to bet their paycheck on where it goes in 2008 and beyond? There doesn’t appear to be much slack in the world economy at this point, but demand is still leading supply. Will this lead to a pullback, recession, higher prices, or a combination of those? The cost of finding, producing and delivering energy increases every quarter, but when translated into higher prices at the pump, expect accusations of price gouging...