Apple Inc (AAPL)

[dhellman]

re: "@ $150/barrel, the problem will take care of itself"

Solving Pricey Oil

By Vincent Farrell Jr.
6/19/2008 3:42 PM EDT
http://www.thestreet.com/p/rmoney/marketcommentary/10422189.html $$$

snip ...

China surprised the markets with a move to raise the subsidized price of energy. It's a surprise because the Olympics are almost upon us, and I would have thought they wouldn't risk domestic discontent with higher prices. They have a budget surplus so they could afford to wait, but move they did, and the price of oil is down a bit more than $4 a barrel. I would guess that the concern over inflation forced their hand, but we'll get more in the next day or so.

...snip ...

There is more evidence of "demand destruction." Americans drove 30 billion fewer miles from November 2007 through April 2008 than they did in the same period a year earlier, the biggest drop since the Iran revolution in 1979-1980 (USA Today). The number of miles driven is off only 1%, but since the number of people driving and the number of cars on the road goes up every year, Americans are driving the same number of miles as in 2005, when there were 8 million fewer people. Higher price contains the solution for higher prices in demand destruction.