Should Oil be Cheap?

Interesting article at Spiegel online today: it deals with the economic repercussions of expensive oil, with a refreshing emphasis on the upsides. (Part/page 1 should have a link to part/page 2, but here's both links in case) Economics is not really a zero-sum game, but it's often easy to forget that one person's problem is another person's opportunity. This piece is not trying to make the situation look rosy, but it does highlight some real positives and some real opportunities arising out of the current mess. One idea from my intro econ sequence that is re-emphasized for me is that the market doesn't necessarily dislike rising prices. What it really hates is uncertain prices. The article points out that with "expert estimates" (my quote marks) ranging from $75 to$200 per barrel over the next season or two, investments that would be a good deal at $100 per barrel are going unfunded.

Der Spiegel is roughly the German equivalent of the US's NYT. I signed up for their newsletter about a week and a half ago, and I've been pretty pleased. They tend to have one major story or theme they focus on each day, but they hit it from a variety of perspectives. One I really liked was a set on nuclear power. Germany under current law is required to go nuke-free over the next few years; as you might imagine, the energy price spike has a lot of people questioning that, but a lot of people adamant. Today's theme is Obama's speech. I haven't read those articles yet, but the headlines range from, He's clearly #44, to somewhat disparaging and dismissive. It's an interesting approach to reporting.

Here's their front page online. As I've said before, I like e-mail newsletters. You can sign up for theirs here.