http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/http://images.blogeasel.com/feedlogo.gifhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/en-usCopyright 2007 The Connors Group, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.TheMoneyBlogs http://www.TheMoneyBlogs.comhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/not-peak-oil-but-thug-oil.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/not-peak-oil-but-thug-oil.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/not-peak-oil-but-thug-oil.htmlOil has shown a lot of strength this year. The oil bulls were right, though a bit of luck was involved. The dollar sank, and the oil thug states produced even less oil than expected. So you have $80 oil. A year ago, I guessed $60 or less. Still, that is reality: The world’s oil reserves are dominated by countries fairly deep into thug or anarchy territory, and thuggism and productivity are not pals. You have Libya, or Iraq, or Iran, or maybe Nigeria, or Venezuela, and the House of Saud,Oil has shown a lot of strength this year. The oil bulls were right, though a bit of luck was involved. The dollar sank, and the oil thug states produced even less oil than expected. So you have $80 oil. A year ago, I guessed $60 or less. Still, that is reality: The world’s oil reserves are dominated by countries fairly deep into thug or anarchy territory, and thuggism and productivity are not pals. You have Libya, or Iraq, or Iran, or maybe Nigeria, or Venezuela, and the House of Saud,...Benjamin Cole2007-10-07 15:25:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/short-oil-then-go-long-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/short-oil-then-go-long-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/short-oil-then-go-long-.html We have been making money lately, selling call options at $90, when the market rises past $75. Our thinking is that oil probably won’t make $80, and then only in spikes. At more than $60 a barrel, demand is soft, probably flat. Things have to go wrong for oil to rise above that much. But now a surprise: It looks like a good time to sell put options, especially November options at $60. The NYMEX futures market is no longer trading on anything that resembles fundamentals. There is We have been making money lately, selling call options at $90, when the market rises past $75. Our thinking is that oil probably won’t make $80, and then only in spikes. At more than $60 a barrel, demand is soft, probably flat. Things have to go wrong for oil to rise above that much. But now a surprise: It looks like a good time to sell put options, especially November options at $60. The NYMEX futures market is no longer trading on anything that resembles fundamentals. There is ...Benjamin Cole2007-08-26 19:28:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/oil-bombs-we-make-money.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/oil-bombs-we-make-money.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/oil-bombs-we-make-money.html Once again, we were right! Crude oil tanked hard since we recommended selling call options, back August 3. Roughly speaking, those who followed my advice, and sold November call options at $90, pocketed $560 for every option. Those options are selling for less than half that and falling every day. That is called hitting the jackpot, without those expensive hotel rooms in Las Vegas. So what now? I t has been a wonderful week, with crude oil sinking like a stone in a sump. Hopefully, it w Once again, we were right! Crude oil tanked hard since we recommended selling call options, back August 3. Roughly speaking, those who followed my advice, and sold November call options at $90, pocketed $560 for every option. Those options are selling for less than half that and falling every day. That is called hitting the jackpot, without those expensive hotel rooms in Las Vegas. So what now? I t has been a wonderful week, with crude oil sinking like a stone in a sump. Hopefully, it w...Benjamin Cole2007-08-10 21:43:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/sell-nymex-oil--90.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/sell-nymex-oil--90.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/sell-nymex-oil--90.html It looks like a great time to sell November call options on the NYMEX, at strike price of $90. Anytime oil is over $70 a barrel is a decent time to consider selling call options. When it closes at more than $75, look to sell call options at $90 or above, out one or two months. Even on Friday, Aug.3, a bearish day for oil, you could have gotten $560 for those November options, which expire Oct. 16. Even ’experts’ are puzzled at what is levitating oil prices. Supplies are abundant, It looks like a great time to sell November call options on the NYMEX, at strike price of $90. Anytime oil is over $70 a barrel is a decent time to consider selling call options. When it closes at more than $75, look to sell call options at $90 or above, out one or two months. Even on Friday, Aug.3, a bearish day for oil, you could have gotten $560 for those November options, which expire Oct. 16. Even ’experts’ are puzzled at what is levitating oil prices. Supplies are abundant,...Benjamin Cole2007-08-03 18:11:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/why-this-may-be-the-best-week-in-a-year-to-sell-crude-oil-call-options.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/why-this-may-be-the-best-week-in-a-year-to-sell-crude-oil-call-options.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/why-this-may-be-the-best-week-in-a-year-to-sell-crude-oil-call-options.htmlFor those of your with cast-iron stomachs, this may be the best week in a year to sell crude oil call options on the NYMEX. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) again made a splash recently with its annual medium-term forecast, which projected tight oil markets through 2012. Traders and hedge funds were delirious at the news, and oil surged past $72 a barrel on the NYMEX. Though down from $78 last summer, it is a solid rally from lows in the $50s earlier this year. What the media ovFor those of your with cast-iron stomachs, this may be the best week in a year to sell crude oil call options on the NYMEX. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) again made a splash recently with its annual medium-term forecast, which projected tight oil markets through 2012. Traders and hedge funds were delirious at the news, and oil surged past $72 a barrel on the NYMEX. Though down from $78 last summer, it is a solid rally from lows in the $50s earlier this year. What the media ov...Benjamin Cole2007-07-13 10:16:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/iea-strategy-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/iea-strategy-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/iea-strategy-.html The oil markets were roiled a bit last week by the usual Nigerian turmoil, and by an International Energy Agency estimate that crude demand was rising at a 2 percent annual rate this 2007, about double last year’s rate. If the EIA estimate is correct, is does signal there may be a price floor on crude though the summer, and perhaps even rising crude prices. But the EIA seems to be in the business of making generous estimates of world oil demand. For example, in January of 2006, it pre The oil markets were roiled a bit last week by the usual Nigerian turmoil, and by an International Energy Agency estimate that crude demand was rising at a 2 percent annual rate this 2007, about double last year’s rate. If the EIA estimate is correct, is does signal there may be a price floor on crude though the summer, and perhaps even rising crude prices. But the EIA seems to be in the business of making generous estimates of world oil demand. For example, in January of 2006, it pre...Benjamin Cole2007-06-23 12:16:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/t-boone-pickens-and-horoscopes-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/t-boone-pickens-and-horoscopes-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/t-boone-pickens-and-horoscopes-.html You could read your horoscope for a clue to future crude oil prices, or you could listen to oilman T. Boone Pickens. In April 2006, Pickens predicted we would see $80 a barrel before we saw $60. He was wrong. We never saw $80 a barrel, and prices slid in the $50s thereafter, before perking up to the mid-$60s, where they have been trading lately. Boone Pickens also rhapsodized about $100 a barrel oil back then, painting it likely given supply disruptions. You might guess he is long on oi You could read your horoscope for a clue to future crude oil prices, or you could listen to oilman T. Boone Pickens. In April 2006, Pickens predicted we would see $80 a barrel before we saw $60. He was wrong. We never saw $80 a barrel, and prices slid in the $50s thereafter, before perking up to the mid-$60s, where they have been trading lately. Boone Pickens also rhapsodized about $100 a barrel oil back then, painting it likely given supply disruptions. You might guess he is long on oi...Benjamin Cole2007-06-18 06:21:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/kuwait-production-to-surge-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/kuwait-production-to-surge-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/kuwait-production-to-surge-.html Funny things can happen when you read the classifieds. Recently, the Kingdom of Kuwait began running ads for engineers, stating that the Mideastern nation wants to boost oil exports from 2.5 million barrels of crude a day to 4.0 million, or a 60 percent jump, in the next 13 years. If you listen to the Peak Oil scaremongers, the Kuwaiti oil fields are dying. I guess no one told the Kuwaitis. Meanwhile, Canada is on track to boost production by roughly the same amount, of course, relying on Funny things can happen when you read the classifieds. Recently, the Kingdom of Kuwait began running ads for engineers, stating that the Mideastern nation wants to boost oil exports from 2.5 million barrels of crude a day to 4.0 million, or a 60 percent jump, in the next 13 years. If you listen to the Peak Oil scaremongers, the Kuwaiti oil fields are dying. I guess no one told the Kuwaitis. Meanwhile, Canada is on track to boost production by roughly the same amount, of course, relying on ...Benjamin Cole2007-06-07 16:58:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/game-over-for-fossil-oil-boys.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/game-over-for-fossil-oil-boys.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/game-over-for-fossil-oil-boys.html Looking forward, five to 10 years, it is hard to see anything but a world fossil oil glut. Last summer, I advised selling oil short, when it rose towards $80 a barrel. That was the right call. The next calls are trickier, now that oil has complied and lost 20 percent of its value. The problem isn’t with geology but with geography – as in who controls the globe’s vast and overly abundant reserves of light and heavy oil. Read this roll call: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia Looking forward, five to 10 years, it is hard to see anything but a world fossil oil glut. Last summer, I advised selling oil short, when it rose towards $80 a barrel. That was the right call. The next calls are trickier, now that oil has complied and lost 20 percent of its value. The problem isn’t with geology but with geography – as in who controls the globe’s vast and overly abundant reserves of light and heavy oil. Read this roll call: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia...Benjamin Cole2007-06-01 16:27:00http://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/they-have-only-to-fear-the-lack-of-fear-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/they-have-only-to-fear-the-lack-of-fear-.htmlhttp://www.themoneyblogs.com/ridetheslide/my.blog/they-have-only-to-fear-the-lack-of-fear-.htmlAs a hack journalist of many years standing, let me say I have become skeptical about the floodtide of Peak Oil and other doomsday blogs, and scare headlines, just when the hedge community has placed gigantic bets -in the billions of dollars -that the crude oil price run-up is marching towards $100 a barrel. T. Boone Pickens, of course, is the most visible of this hedge crew, but he is just the tip of the iceberg. It walks like a PR campaign, it talks like a PR campaign, and it quackAs a hack journalist of many years standing, let me say I have become skeptical about the floodtide of Peak Oil and other doomsday blogs, and scare headlines, just when the hedge community has placed gigantic bets -in the billions of dollars -that the crude oil price run-up is marching towards $100 a barrel. T. Boone Pickens, of course, is the most visible of this hedge crew, but he is just the tip of the iceberg. It walks like a PR campaign, it talks like a PR campaign, and it quack...Benjamin Cole2007-05-23 11:23:00