Stickman,
this is not just a matter of making some money on the stock-exchange.

This is about government wasting billions and billions of dollars building a highway infrastructure and town plan based on cheap oil, when we are only a few years away from REALLY seeing the final oil crisis play out across the world economy.

Our very food depends on oil and gas energy to the ratio of about 10 calories of oil and gas to every 1 calorie of food.

There are other ways of growing food, doing transport (electric trains, trams, and trolley buses all running on green energy), and planning our cities — but I just don't know that we have the time.

If you want a real thrill, google "Export Land Model". Think of it as peak exports. The UK went from its maximum exports to being a net oil importer in just 6 years because of the rising domestic demand but shrinking production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_land_model

Put it this way, if you want to fly on some overseas holiday, do it soon. If you want to hire a 4 wheel drive and do that round-Australia trip... do it soon. If you want to read about the coming Great Depression to make a decision about getting out of the big cities and building your own survivalist bunker, do it soon. I hope we don't go down that path myself, but government neglect of this issue is really starting to BUG me!

Fuel Watch the best thing since sliced bread I have been using fuel watch for six years and I receive a daily e-mail from the West Australian Government that tells me on a Daily basis the cheapest Diesel close to my Suburb. It is often six cents lower than those Companies that always rip you off and I can still use my shopper docket to go to the Service Station of my choice. I save at least ten cents a litre weekly I always fill up on a Saturday because I even get it 2 cent cheaper again when I buy a paper. Website http://fuelwatch.wa.gov.au.
and e-mail fuelwatch@docep.wa.gov.au
I have to admit Brendan Nelson is wrong to suggest 5 cents off a litre is the way to go. If that did happen the Petrol Multi Nationals would only increase the price of fuel by 5 cents which would go into their pockets once again. I purchased 96 dollars of Diesel last Saturday and with my Store card I got 10 cents off a litre do you know what the reduction was on my fuel bill ? A measly $5.50 what a joke 5% of a hundred dollars please please Brendan and Malcolm please refrain from making fools of yourselves it is embarrasing.

Five dollars off a hundred dollars chicken feed I must admit since I have had gas fitted alongside my diesel I do receive far greater distance on a litre of fuel.

The FuelWatch scheme is probably about all you can do from the end-consumer's viewpoint. It maximises transparency, maybe it does so at the cost of getting cheaper discount specials. Its important because of the public's perception that the prices are all a result of gouging by the refiners & petrol station owners. It can't do anything about the base price of fuel though.

The current "debate" over cutting excise or GST is populism at its worst. Its evident that both parties are thinking only of votes at the next election, not of the long term good of the country. They want to be able to claim "vote for us for the cheapest petrol", nevermind that the savings are equivalent to that provided by shopping dockets. They don't care that it will encourage more driving not less, hence more fuel used, more demand and higher prices.

Debating the reasons why prices are high is really a waste of time and energy, which is why I find William's ill-informed rant so irritating. At the risk of repeating myself, what we need to do is start weaning ourselves off our reliance on petrol and cars.

commuter>"Debating the reasons why prices are high is really a waste of time and energy, "

Don't you think OLO in general is a waste of time and energy? That's a ridiculous statement.

Derivative market values at hundreds of trillions of dollars at present.CDO is an example, its value is based on complicated mathematic model, and tied again and again. Oil as a real commodity is hedge against the dollar. Its "limited", political and economic sensitive characteristic abstracts trillions of dollars to speculate on it. Oil has more financial characteristic than its commodity nature nowadays.

Long or short oil ? only a few institutions such as Goldman Sachs will know, because inventory data, Fed reserve(US dollar), even the US president at their side.(real democracy? no such thing !)

One thing is sure that the greed of hedge fund hurts the real economy. Of course, wealth is relocated within different people and different countries.

Fundamental problem of the speculative bubble in oil is that American over consumed and becomes deep debtor to rest of the world ( and US and some billionaires want to rob the rest of the world smartly and peacefully).