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Hi Rono. Can't help you much. No pure energy plays here. Added to a commodities fund (QRAAX) and a natural resource fund (PRNEX) several weeks back. Play money. Haven't gotten rich on the positions yet. ... But agree with your sentiment.
Interesting vibes about Greenspan liking gold now. That's too risky for my tastes. But, I would guess that if we could talk to the old buzzard, he'd say the same for raw materials in general.
My thinking: Gold has little real value other than what we humans attach to it as an "alternative" or "fiat" currency or as insurance against the unthinkable. Not saying it's a bad investment - just that it's much harder to understand and value than oil. Crude, on the other hand, adds value to our everyday lives. We heat homes and schools with it. Power cruise ships and 747s with the stuff. Build toys and computers out of the plastics it provides. Pave our highways with the stuff and cover our roofs with it. So, there's inherent value there.
It's pretty obvious there's a price war going on among major producers. The "crazies" are in charge at this point in an effort to drive out higher cost producers. (I'm sure this is nothing you don't already know.) So, it could be years yet before the turn comes. However, the ride back up should be a lot of fun.
Not oil per se but I have increased my holdings in the midstream energy space via MLP's (i.e. the pipelines) which move the stuff from point A to point B. While most of them have no direct exposure to oil, the commodity, they tend to suffer price depreciation in sympathy with the oil majors offering me early Christmas presents.
Comments
Interesting vibes about Greenspan liking gold now. That's too risky for my tastes. But, I would guess that if we could talk to the old buzzard, he'd say the same for raw materials in general.
My thinking: Gold has little real value other than what we humans attach to it as an "alternative" or "fiat" currency or as insurance against the unthinkable. Not saying it's a bad investment - just that it's much harder to understand and value than oil. Crude, on the other hand, adds value to our everyday lives. We heat homes and schools with it. Power cruise ships and 747s with the stuff. Build toys and computers out of the plastics it provides. Pave our highways with the stuff and cover our roofs with it. So, there's inherent value there.
It's pretty obvious there's a price war going on among major producers. The "crazies" are in charge at this point in an effort to drive out higher cost producers. (I'm sure this is nothing you don't already know.) So, it could be years yet before the turn comes. However, the ride back up should be a lot of fun.
Regards
I like oil, but it seems to be in cross-fires last few months.
I''ll want to see some level of support before jumping back in.
Maybe we are close...$80 has been a kind of trigger point for a while.