"Don White" wrote in message
...
RG wrote:
snip

Are you aware of the cosmic joke that has managed to locate most of the
world's oil in countries run by crazy-assed lunatics?

Are you referring to Texas of the 1980s & '90s?

Now that's a funny retort.

"RG" wrote in message
. ..
Until we have a "hard" solution, I have an idea. Get futures traders the
phuque out of the oil business. They serve no useful purpose.

Actually they do. If your business profits are significantly influenced by
the price of oil, futures contracts pay a very important role in the
stabilization and predictability of those profits. It's called hedging.
But I suspect you knew that.

The product is too important to be left up to the whims of a bunch of suits.
And, whims is exactly what they are. Did you notice that when that Saudi
refinery was attacked a month or two ago, the price hiccup was nothing
compared to the current one, which is based on absolutely nothing?

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Bryan" wrote in message
m...

" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
m...

Regardless, I do not agree with or want folks to feel better about the
way the oil companies are raping us. I have posted facts supporting that
position, including posting of the billion dollar profits of Exxon and
the million dollar payoff given to the retiring CEO of the same company.


As much as I'd like to blame bush, aren't these oil prices less related to
bush tactics and more related to increasing world demand and static or
decreasing world supplies.


You'd think, except for one thing: The price swings are too fast to reflect
world demand. How quickly did we just go from $2.50 to $3.00? Three weeks?
Demand most certainly did NOT increase by the same proportion. This is
nothing but a game. Until we have a "hard" solution, I have an idea. Get
futures traders the phuque out of the oil business. They serve no useful
purpose. "Oil prices rose due to fears of this that or the other thing....".
Bull****.


Exactly...
astronomical profits for a few... misery for the masses.

Found this link in another NG.

Still digesting it.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

RCE

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"RG" wrote in message
. ..
Until we have a "hard" solution, I have an idea. Get futures traders the
phuque out of the oil business. They serve no useful purpose.

Actually they do. If your business profits are significantly influenced
by the price of oil, futures contracts pay a very important role in the
stabilization and predictability of those profits. It's called hedging.
But I suspect you knew that.

The product is too important to be left up to the whims of a bunch of
suits. And, whims is exactly what they are. Did you notice that when that
Saudi refinery was attacked a month or two ago, the price hiccup was
nothing compared to the current one, which is based on absolutely nothing?

Yes, I noticed. It may seem like the current market move is based on
absolutely nothing, but I think that is a mischaracterization. The basis
for a market movement may not be obvious, tangible, or even logical but it's
there. The market wouldn't move without it. However, you are on the right
track about whims. Markets tend to be very psychological and emotional, and
often not immediately rational. How is the recent movement in oil prices
any different than a 200 point swing up or down of the Dow on any given day?
Was there really a commensurate shift in the fundamental value of those
thirty companies during that six and a half hours of trading? Not likely.
The reason for all short-term market movements can usually be traced to the
basic motivators of fear and greed. And there is no shortage of suits that
wish they had the power to move oil prices up or down by merely wishing it
so. But it just doesn't work that way. Collective fear and greed for the
future make those short-term movements happen.

As to the event of the Saudi refinery attack, if the attack had been
successful, you would have seen a much different market reaction. As it
was, what you witnessed was a sigh of relief after a major bullet was
dodged.

"RCE" wrote in message
...
Found this link in another NG.

Still digesting it.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

RCE

Unfortunately, I believe this is the real deal. If so, $3 per gallon gas
will be looked back on as a fond memory. Scary stuff.

"RCE" wrote in message
...
Found this link in another NG.

Still digesting it.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

RCE

Very sobering piece.....

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 13:37:44 -0400, "RCE" wrote:

Found this link in another NG.

Still digesting it.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

RCE


From page 2:

"Reallocate your financial assets so that you are as best
positioned to handle these issues as you can realistically
hope to be."

Where would that be?

It *is* a pretty scary damn article!
--
'Til next time,

John H

******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

From page 2:

"Reallocate your financial assets so that you are as best
positioned to handle these issues as you can realistically
hope to be."

Where would that be?


Under a mild version of the scenario, cash would be king. Under a more
extreme version, even cash would be useless, as would any financial asset.
At that point it comes down to food, water, shelter, and weaponry.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
RG wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
RG wrote:
From page 2:

"Reallocate your financial assets so that you are as best
positioned to handle these issues as you can realistically
hope to be."

Where would that be?

Under a mild version of the scenario, cash would be king. Under a more
extreme version, even cash would be useless, as would any financial
asset. At that point it comes down to food, water, shelter, and
weaponry.
Gold.

Nonsense. That's a myth. Leading up to the crisis, gold will indeed
shine. There is no reason for it, but it will happen. But once the ****
really hits the fan, it will be of little real value. Tell me how you
eat or drink gold. Tell me how it shelters you from the cold. It can
make an effective weapon at extremely close range. It's heavy as hell
and a bar could easily smash an opponent's skull, but there are better
choices for that.

Gold is one of the world's most strange assets. Unlike industrial
metals, gold has almost no intrinsic value as it relates to global
economic production. And yet it has always been a prized possession.
The vast majority of the world's gold production is consumed by the
jewelry industry. Another very small percentage is used by the
electronics and technology industries. But if life comes down to food,
gas, and bullets, bling will have very little value on the street in a
barter-based economy. Gold in any meaningful quantity is extremely
cumbersome and will only slow you down in your quest for survival.

Gold has been highly valued for thousands of years. Gold coins *are*
attractive in a barter-based economy.

Only by conventional tradition, I suspect. I don't understand these things,
but I think I agree with RG. In the upcoming world crisis I can't see gold
as being valuable for anything. Platinum, maybe, but not gold.

I am going to hold onto the 500 gals of diesel fuel currently stored in my
boat and sell it off, quart by quart when I need cash.

RCE