cbsnews.com — (CBS) About the only economic break most Americans have gotten in the last six months has been the drastic drop in the price of oil, which has fallen even more precipitously than it rose. In a year's time, a commodity that was theoretically priced according to supply and demand doubled from $69 a barrel to nearly $150,...
Jan 12, 2009 View in Crawl 4
refisawankerJan 12, 2009
Hey dumbasses, If they really had control over the price of oil, it would still be high. Fact is, in the U.S. alone, 1 billion less miles were driven last year. There has also been huge demand destruction all over the globe.It is price/demand. Some of the demand is actual use, and some of that demand is speculation.It both drives it up quickly and drives it down quickly. Even though the price is low now, countries that were flooding with cash have less money. Some will produce even more oil to make up for the lower prices. The results in even LOWER prices.There is not big mystery. Supply/Demand.
dikkyJan 13, 2009
i want to buy a truck, after all I am an Albertan but I won't be able to afford to run it if gas goes back up to 100 + dollars a barrel. Also I won't be able to sell the truck itself if gas hits that price.
relay2005Jan 13, 2009
That's what they want you to think.....so that we panic again.....funny the same people that started the up trend are also the ones that cause its decline....thank enron for this stinking mess...
nsresponderJan 13, 2009
When those alternatives are actually needed, they'll be cheaper than gasoline. We're not there yet.-jcr
scottyyycJan 13, 2009
How do you think open markets fundamentally work to being with - it's all wheeling and dealing speculation. It's all about perceived value. The swings in oil have just never been so violent. But this happens every single day, news announcements, whether significant or not, can cause stocks or commodities to sway one way or the other, not necessarily having anything to do with real world supply or demand.Interesting piece, but nothing really new or groundbreaking here.
cowsgonemadd3Jan 14, 2009
How long can you live on yellow number 6 and red number 5? Myself I would go after preserved meats and well other food options.
berkanaJan 14, 2009
I beg to differ. Their assertions about financial instruments and derivatives may be a bit exaggerated, but it is indeed true. Consider Paul Grignon's sequel to Money as Debt:<a class="user" href="http://tinyurl.com/moneyasdebtII">http://tinyurl.com/moneyasdebtII</a>The problem is that much of the money that is being shuttled around in our financial markets is borrowed into existence for the purpose of magnifying the rewards of investing. (This practice is known as leveraging.) All this debt money in the system has basically caused a sort of localized inflation, where money is worth very little, and shifts hands often. All of this is not real wealth; the quantity of money exchanging hands is completely divorced from the quantities of real goods and services being exchanged. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I urge you to look into this more. The financial derivatives market is largely responsible for the mortgage crisis, but it has the potential to do far more damage.
nsresponderJan 25, 2009
"Isn't that exactly what they are doing now?"Yes. That's why we can expect this depression to last for many years to come.-jcr
odessa009Jun 27, 2009
Saudi Arabia alone can take care of shortage they always did.
odessa009Jun 27, 2009
Saudi Arabia alone can take care of shortage they always did.