The world according to Riff

Oil fluctuates as dollar, stocks rise By JOHN WILEN, AP Business Writer 20 minutes ago NEW YORK

- Oil futures traded in a narrow range Monday, pressured as the dollar gained strength against the euro but supported by prospects that JP Morgan Chase & Co. will boost its offer for Bear Stearns Cos. Many investors view commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation and a falling dollar. Also, a weaker dollar makes oil less expensive to overseas investors. The effect tends to reverse when the greenback strengthens, as it did Monday.However, oil prices rose from earlier lows near $100 a barrel, following the stock market higher on reports that JP Morgan is talking to Bear Stearns about sweetening its offer for the investment bank to $10 a share from $2. Energy investors often view stocks as a proxy of the economy's health.Last week, oil prices dipped in part on concerns that Bear's collapse was a sign of significant economic problems.Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 45 cents to $101.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Other energy futures were mixed Monday. April gasoline futures rose 1.82 cents to $2.6233 a gallon on the Nymex, and April heating oil futures rose 2.03 cents to $2.9975 a gallon.April natural gas futures rose 8.3 cents to $9.148 per 1,000 cubic feet.In London, May Brent crude fell 9 cents to $100.29 barrel on the ICE Futures exchange

what I get from all this is a smoke screen....What I see is ....The price of gas has gone up so much the public is cutting back, and they cant squeeze any more blood out of us without getting into deep poo poo......soooooo the prices will "by a miracle" go down...but the general public doesn't stay awake for long, drop the prices a little, get them complacent, lull them into a false state of relief, then come up with some more bull shit to jack us again.....while they pull in record profits....riff