Mako

Easy: Commodities traders, Energy based Mutual Funds, and Hedge Funds, have all driven the price of oil up to stratospheric levels over the past six months, profiting all the way. Petroleum companies have a fair bit of margin built in to $2.00 gas, let alone $3.00 gas, obviously they're going to have record profits as this continues.

Very similar to the gold runup, which also has nothing to do with supply/demand, but instead is based purely on speculation by traders (and a safe pay against a weak dollar, which we're experiencing now).

The media has also been a useful tool to the traders, doom-and-glooming oil from the get-go, leading to an almost feeding frenzy by investors smart enough to bet on oil.

To all you Iraq conspiracy experts, anti-Bushites, Opec haters, Green party members, etc, I'd like you to ask yourselves a very simple question:

Why is it that when the price of oil FALLS during a trading day, as it has the past four straight days (down more than 15%, or $8 from last week), it's reported on the back page, barely registers on the nightly tv news broadcasts by the big three networks, and isn't really focused on even in the financial section. However, when the price of oil RISES during a trading day, even by just one dollar, it's the lead-in piece on every major news network (even Fox, conspiracists), makes the front page in spectacular fashion, and is followed up with dozens of cute quips and quotes from supposed "experts" saying how it's going to "keep going up indefinitely" etc etc?

Could it be because the media gets more eyeballs to pay attention to their content when it's doom and gloomed to the max? Noooooo, no way.

Don't believe everything you read, or everything you see on the nightly news. Far better research avenues for you to take advantage of.

PS - Hi to all the people six weeks ago who lectured GFY about how "oil was going to $100" because their local empty head news anchor "told them so".

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