Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : JDS Uniphase (JDSU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brian K Crawford who wrote (12719)	9/20/2000 8:35:01 PM
From: t2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24042

things are a little different this time. Inflation under much better control, Fed ahead of the game, not behind. Agree 100%. In addition, techonologies are being developed that will reduce our reliance on oil and that is OPEC's worst fear. It is cited by many as one of the biggest reasons for OPEC wanting to keep oil prices lower. Ballard Power's (for example) plans to keep developing an alternative will only accelerate and the economic analysis for developing the new technologies yields more and more favorable scenarios---leading to more investments in developments and more deals with automakers and others. I am just waiting for the next introduction by a major automaker of an alternative fuel powered vehicle. I think OPEC should send thank you notes to the American government for not taxing fuel like the Europeans. Otherwise, the American cars would have been looking more like those British mini's. Of course this would have meant much lower consumption and more widespread use of public transport and less pollution. I bet we would have seen the end to the big cars and probably never seen the start of the SUV craze. Bottom line as far as I am concerned is that OPEC wants as much oil out of the ground ASAP around the 25 dollar price. They want to continue depleting their resources while they can at reasonable prices. Surely they don't want to be stuck with lots of oil in the ground, while alternative energy sources become serious competition to oil. That will cause oil prices to tank. The alternative fuel sources are the future and everyone knows it. They are clean fuels as well and that is obviously what the world needs. Technology has obviously progressed by leaps and bounds over the last 2 decades. I would think that through technological advancements, the development process also gets easier. I think the energy alternatives 20 years ago were not considered serious threats to the oil producing nations. --------------------------------------------------------- Another note: Just consider scenarios like this developing. I did not even comment on how anti-pollution activists can get a boost for this cause. Enough people might be ticked off, that they will pressure Euro (and maybe even USA) governments to start subsidizing clean fuel usage OR the companies that develop the technologies. This is just one scenario. Of course world governments don't want to be held hostage by OPEC and would be willing to take steps to ensure this does not happen in the future---and one course one of those steps is to help development of oil alternatives.

To: Brian K Crawford who wrote (12719)	9/21/2000 12:20:17 AM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24042

AH HA! So there are some old timers on this thread. You gave yourself away. :) I was fishing and I hooked you. Many of the thread posters (I bet all of the TMs) are young folks who think 20% annual return is pretty shitty. <VBG> Yep, you're right. I remember getting 14% return on my CDs back then. WOW! Also, we had a whole lot of other stuff going one besides Volcker and oil, there was stagflation, the soon to reach a fever pitch S&L crisis, and the gov't printing money for the arms race. All those things, made for a pretty bleak market. So I agree with you, that this oil shock may not hurt us too bad if those OPEC folks will get with the program and contain the damage they've already done.