Amid the gloom, there are a few positive signs. First, the stock market historically has bottomed out months before the economy troughs. While the major averages are at multiyear lows, market breadth has improved markedly--45 percent of the stocks in the S&P 500 are trading higher than they were in late November, as are 40 percent of the stocks in the S&P 500 Energy Index. Read More

Traders continue to focus on oil demand rather than supply. As I pointed out in the last issue of TES, this is likely to continue until there’s some sign of at least stabilization in oil demand in the developed world. Yesterday’s move was a classic buy the rumor/sell the news reaction--traders had already priced in a 2 million bbl/d cut, and once that news was released the focus shifted immediately back to the demand side of the equation. Read More

Sell the MacroShares $100 Oil Down (AMEX: DOY, $31.95) exchange traded note for a profit of about 29 percent from my original recommendation. Read More

The vicious selloff in the broader market since the beginning of October has spared few sectors and industries. The energy sector is no exception: The S&P 500 Energy Index is off more than 31 percent since the beginning of October against a 27 percent decline in the S&P 500. Read More

On Friday, legendary investor Warren Buffett penned an op-ed piece for The New York Times entitled "Buy American. I Am." For those interested in reading the full text of that piece, I posted a link to the article on the blog At These Levels (www.attheselevels.com). Read More

Whether you believe the proposed financial "bailout" plan was an appropriate response or an unnecessary government intrusion, it's clear the market wasn’t pleased by the failure of the bill to pass the House of Representatives. After all, politicians have just spent the past week telling us the dire economic consequences of a "no" vote, so it's hardly surprising the market got spooked. Yesterday's selloff was the largest percentage drop for the broader averages since the 1987 stock market crash. Read More

The events of the past week will undoubtedly be remembered among the most dramatic in financial history. Early in the week, we learned of the demise or forced fire-sale of some of the largest, most respected companies in the world including American International Group, Merrill Lynch and, of course, Lehman Brothers. Read More

Over the past three issues of The Energy Strategist and on the blog At These Levels, I’ve explained both my long-term strategic view of the energy markets and my shorter-term tactical take. Read More

Tropical Storm Gustav is currently located near Jamaica and has maximum sustained winds of about 70 mph, just shy of the 74 mph required to become a Category 1 hurricane. Gustav’s current projected path puts it right into the heart of key Gulf of Mexico (GoM) energy infrastructure, including offshore platforms, rigs and key pipeline hubs. Read More

The energy commodity markets have become oddly bipolar. It seems most pundits are either projecting a collapse in oil prices to $80 per barrel or a super spike to $200 per barrel. Read More