Opinion

Even if you follow the news only occasionally you’ve undoubtedly heard that large parts of America are experiencing exceptional heat and prolonged drought.  But did you know that large parts of Europe are facing the same problems?  While each of these developments is bad on its own, the combination makes things even worse.

Have you ever heard of peak oil?  If not, don’t feel bad, because you’ll learn a lot about it in the coming months.

If you think buying stocks for their dividends is boring, well, maybe sometimes it is – but certainly not always! The right ones can be surprisingly lucrative, and that’s pretty exciting.  And with a little luck, they can generate hefty and growing returns for many years.  

Europe is about to learn what the words “hot,” “cold,” and “energy dependence” really mean.  Very possibly, America will too.

School has just begun, and in this case the teacher is Gazprom, a Russian energy conglomerate that is the largest producer of natural gas in the world.  Estimates are that it supplies Europe with up to 40% of this resource. 

Over the last few weeks, some of the most respected voices on Wall Street have been warning that the US economy is headed for tough times – very tough.  

After so many oil embargos and price shocks, energy crises and shortages, you’d think we’d know better at this point, that we’d do everything possible to prepare if there’s another one down the road.  Unfortunately, we haven’t learned lessons from the painful experiences we’ve had in the past.  In fact, it’s almost as if we’re tempting fate, daring it to bring on another crisis.