Over $4 gallon gas in two weeks

[I Am He]

If and I say if, they get anymore flooding out of this next storm it would set back some of the gains they made so far. I'm sure it would interrupt the oil flow that they got up also. Some of the little oil companies that came through in halfway decent shape might not do so good this time. Almost all of the people are gone so that's big a relief, but I doubt that the temporary damns will fair so well though.

[Candy]

Watch Astor Asset Management's Portfolio Manager, Rob Stein, on the ABC News Channel this Friday

Rob will be a featured guest on the show "20/20" airing Friday, September 23rd at 10:00 pm Eastern time (9:00 pm Central and 7:00 pm
Pacific).

Did anyone watch 20/20 last night? I briefly dated Rob before moving to Chicago. What a small freaking World! I got this email from him. I saw the show before the email, though.

The show was discussing the fuel prices. The prices are cheaper now than they were before the storm. The bottom line about the show appeared to be someone is manipulating the fuel prices and it's not the stock market. No one could seem to determine who sets the gasoline prices. :?

[Superluminal]

There is some secret organization called They. I bought gas the other day. When I went in to pay, the clerk told me I was just in time. They had just called and told her to raise the .10 a gallon and she hadn't had time to raise it yet.

[Мастер]

Did anyone watch 20/20 last night?

I think I watched it once about 15 years ago. I might be mistaken though.

The show was discussing the fuel prices. The prices are cheaper now than they were before the storm. The bottom line about the show appeared to be someone is manipulating the fuel prices and it's not the stock market.

That's correct, it would be the market for gasoline, not stocks.

No one could seem to determine who sets the gasoline prices. :?

Well, the people selling it set the prices, but they take things like demand for their product at a particular price level into account when setting their prices.

If they were talking about oil prices rather than gasoline prices, well then, there's a lot more than just current supply and current demand going on there. There are futures markets, where people can speculate on futures changes in price (or hedge against them, if they are already exposed to that risk), and their activities affect the current price. There is also a secret organization that only people at GLP know about (it's called OPEC) whose members agree to keep production low in order to keep prices high. However, events since the 1970s have unfolded exactly the way the OPEC economics minister said they would at that time; they would be able to drive the price of oil through the roof and make tons of money for a while, but this would set off a wave of both conservation and exploration efforts, with the result that the percentage of the world's energy coming from OPEC sources would decline, and they would lose much of their ability to control oil prices.

I don't know much about the particular firm this guy works for, but not too many people on Wall Street make a living by saying unglamorous things like prices are set by supply and demand. They're selling a product just like anyone else, and I don't see any reason to take everything they say at face value anymore than we should take everything the aluminum siding sales guy says at face value. Some things are matters of opinion, surely, but I routinely see asset managers and the like say things that are horrificly illogical and often objectively false.

I didn't see the show, but it is possible, for example, that there has been a lot of buying or selling in the futures markets (without going into detail, the amount of buying the futures markets is by definition equal to the amount of selling), and they aren't really sure who is doing it. Maybe he is referring to something like that.

[Candy]

Astor Asset Management

Competitive Positioning: Unlike many other investment managers, Astor’s management style focuses on the overall markets and the economy rather than individual stocks and bonds. It is Astor’s belief that buy-and-hold managers are always in the market buying their asset class, regardless of economic fundamentals or conditions. Furthermore, these managers compare their results in down markets to benchmarks that are negative, while we believe that through active management, positive returns can be realized in any market, regardless of its direction. For these reasons, Astor believes that by investing in the market through the broader averages (such as mutual funds that replicate a long or short position in the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, or the bond market), we can more efficiently take advantage of economic conditions and flows of capital. In addition, this investment style allows us to establish, add to, or exit a market position in a single trade. This has the added benefits of reducing execution costs, while allowing portfolios to be held at any brokerage firm.

Rob Stein

[Мастер]

OK, they sound like market timers then.

[neocracker]

Just hit $3.31 in Savannah, GA - guaranteed to go up another 15 cents on October 1 (state gas tax comes back).

Thank god I don't have an SUV.

[Мастер]

Thank god I don't have an SUV.

I think it would be more appropriate to thank yourself for that...

[neocracker]

Thank god I don't have an SUV.

I think it would be more appropriate to thank yourself for that...

I was smart enough to dispose of my 88 Mercedes 300SE when I had the chance - mid-range to high test gas and only 17 to 20 mpg.

Between the M/C and truck (Nissan), my average mpg is 34.

[Мастер]

Between the M/C and truck (Nissan), my average mpg is 34.

I think I am probably below 20, but I do short-haul driving almost exclusively these days. My attitude is, if it is important, they'll build a train station next to it...

[Puma]

Diesel hit $3.05 this morning in S. Texas.

[Puma]

Diesel now at $3.39. 30 cent increase in one day.

[Мастер]

Haven't checked in a while, since I only fill up about every two weeks or so. But even at $2.50 or so, I think the value of the gasoline is probably greater than the value of my car.

[ToSeek]

I filled up on Sunday in an advantageous corner of the county at about $2.85/gal. It's crept up to about $3.15/gal. here during the course of the week, though, but still much less than it was over Labor Day weekend.

[neocracker]

There's a wide split in prices - low of $2.859 to a high of $3.419 - that's within a few miles drive.

Savannah prices are weird.

[Puma]

FYI: by Fed law retailers, distributors and suppliers can raise thier prices only once every 24 hours...

[Мастер]

I filled up on Sunday in an advantageous corner of the county at about $2.85/gal. It's crept up to about $3.15/gal. here during the course of the week, though, but still much less than it was over Labor Day weekend.

Special rate for spongy hyperions.

[neocracker]

FYI: by Fed law retailers, distributors and suppliers can raise thier prices only once every 24 hours...

I don't believe there is a federal law against this but New Jersey has a state law (the only state that does).

The civil action makes New Jersey the first state to take legal action in response to the growing anxiety over suddenly and steeply rising gasoline prices. According to oil industry and public policy analysts, New Jersey is the only state to have a law barring multiple price increases on gasoline in a 24-hour period.

Gas Stations Violated Pricing Law, New Jersey Says

[Мастер]

So there is a law in New Jersey prohibiting multiple price increases in one day? I can only imagine what problem is being solved in the minds of legislators when they vote for this one...

[Puma]

Like I said: 24 hrs later a new price...diesel at $3.43 now.

[neocracker]

Like I said: 24 hrs later a new price...diesel at $3.43 now.

It's fluctuating here in Savannah - between $3.09 and $3.19 for 87 octane.