Energy Politics

Oil dropped $4 a barrel today due to economic worries, including concerns that Bear Stearns buyout at a basement price of $2 per share could be the early warning signs that last year’s subprime crisis has set us up for another recession.

After hitting a record $111 today, prices jumped back, but it remains to be seen if this is just a short backlash from the negative publicity to be followed with increasing prices again, or the first sign of a slowing economy. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how to take this.

Oil prices have been rising ever since I started working here. For you to tell me that they’re going backwards… you might as well convince me that the moon is made of cheese. It just doesn’t computer! It’s an affront to my reality! Call the police!

Okay, I’ve calmed down now. Still, having only been a toddler during the last price crunch, I can only wonder how this will affect things now, in the 21st century economy. Will reduced prices cause all-the-time attention whores like Hugo Chavez to calm down? Who knows.

One thing though, it’s now been 7 years since Bush has been in office, and one has to wonder: the delayed seven-year rule for how governmental policies affect the economy should be coming into play now. Would the recession be on Bush’s head?

–Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; spayne@hartenergy.com

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.