Not that I enjoy saying bad things about my hometown of Seattle, Wa. but when it comes to politics, most residents of the city are just plain nuts. It’s no wonder that the largest city in a state that was once dubbed, ” the 47 states and the Soviet of Washington,” is so far off to left that even great news, can be spun into catastrophe. That’s exactly what happened in yesterday’s Seattle-PI. In a very telling headline the question is asked, “The Money Squeeze: Is cheaper gas bad news?”

Huh?

What a stupid question. Of course it’s good news, if consumers can save 30% of their gas bill, can you explain to me why that’s bad?  I know it’s bad for environmentalists, and all those who drink the Al Gore Kool-Aid. After all it just goes to show that crude-oil is king, and alternative energy sources like  wind, solar, fully pumped tires, are all prohibitively expensive and fall by the wayside as crude prices fall. What happened to the whole alternative energy craze?  Funny what $65/barrel oil can do!

According to the PI article: ” When prices at the pump surged this summer, maintenance technician Taylor Morgan decided to change the way he got to the downtown Seattle office building where he works. He started taking a bus from his South Seattle home a couple of days a week. And he told his wife that the bimonthly trips to see family in British Columbia had to be cut to once or twice a year. On Friday, Morgan said he was happy to be driving his Honda Accord to work every day again. He stood pumping gasoline at a 15th Avenue West Chevron station, where the price for regular had dropped to $2.99 per gallon.

“Things are getting back to normal,” he said. “But with the crazy price changes, you can’t really be sure. It’s really confusing.”

Morgan and other baffled consumers are far from alone. With markets exceptionally volatile, even the region’s top economists can’t say whether gas prices will continue to fall or rocket again.”

Excuse me. What’s confusing about gas prices dropping rapidly? Why is it an issue if economists can’t predict the future? I don’t hear anyone crying over the fact that 6 months ago most ‘economists’ where predicting $5 per gallon. Nice call!

Heck, maybe just maybe the cheaper oil will mean salvation for the near bankrupt US car industry. Instead of another government bailout, maybe cheaper prices at the pump will help jump-start new sales.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Share with others:

With the Democratic National Convention in full swing, expect much attention focused on alternative energy, Cleantech and environmental issues. After all, House Speaker Pelosi has mentioned that her goal is to save the planet and Al Gore will show up and do his usual speech on how global warming will destroy the planet if we don’t do anything ASAP. I don’t want my cynicism to show through but have the DNC and Obama’s organizers taken any measures to ensure that this convention is environmentally friendly? How much energy is being used to run the event? Just asking.

Anyway, a great article out in the Jpost today about how Israel is on the way to being a world leader in Cleantech. While Shai Agassi’s electric car initiative has gained many headlines around the world, Israel is also very quietly making strong inroads, in solar and water technologies. The article focuses on how Israel is developing the technology for the purpose of letting larger nations do the implementation. Much like the current technological revolution, Israel has been behind many of the advances that have powered us forward. The view is that Cleantech will be Israel’s next boom industry as technologies will be developed that power a move away from crude oil towards alternative energy sources.

The article quotes Isaac Berzin, an expert in using algae to curb greenhouse gases: “Israel should be a world leader - creating the solutions the world is looking for. Investments are coming to Israel [as a result] and lots of jobs are created. Let’s say you develop a major solar technology, which is cost effective etc. What’s the demand for electricity in Israel? A small fraction of world demand. If your only output is Israel then you are in trouble. Hi-tech was great for Israel. Where were the markets? Out there, which is absolutely fine.”

It’s interesting that the one thing Israel lacks is natural resources. The one thing Israel has loads of is brainpower, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Isn’t it ironic that Israel is using its’ main resource to try and level the economic playing field by developing technology that will greatly lessen the need for natural resources.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Share with others: