The price of oil promises to go astronomical with the coming showdown with both Iran and Venezuela........

Last update - 07:36 14/02/2006

Venezuela ready to receive Hamas visit 'with pleasure'

By The Associated Press

Venezuela said Monday it would welcome leaders from the Hamas movement "with pleasure" if they visit the country as part of a South American tour following victory in Palestinian elections.

Asked if the Venezuelan government will receive the Islamic militant group, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel told reporters, "Of course we will. What is the problem?"

"If they come, with pleasure," Rangel said. "They've just won an election."

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The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have insisted they would not deal with a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid unless the group recognizes Israel and renounces violence.

Hamas, responsible for scores of deadly attacks against Israelis, has refused to renounce its calls for Israel's destruction or give up its weapons.

The United States and Europe consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

President Hugo Chavez, however, frequently criticizes what he calls U.S. imperialist dominance in world affairs, and has often expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause.

The leftist leader has said his government will be one of the first to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Rangel said earlier this month that Hamas was expected to visit Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela as part of a regional tour to celebrate its electoral victory. On Monday, he said he didn't know when Hamas would arrive because the visit was not yet confirmed.

Moscow offered to meet this month with Hamas leaders.

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Plugged in: Ready for $262/barrel oil? - Jan. 27, 2006

DAVOS, Switzerland (FORTUNE) - Be afraid. Be very afraid.

That's the message from two of the world's most successful investors on the topic of high oil prices. One of them, Hermitage Capital's Bill Browder, has outlined six scenarios that could take oil up to a downright terrifying $262 a barrel......

Doomsdays 1 through 6

To come up with some likely scenarios in the event of an international crisis, his team performed what's known as a regression analysis, extrapolating the numbers from past oil shocks and then using them to calculate what might happen when the supply from an oil-producing country was cut off in six different situations.

1. The fall of the House of Saud seems the most far-fetched of the six possibilities, and it's the one that generates that $262 a barrel.

More realistic -- and therefore more chilling -- would be the scenario where:

2) Iran declares an oil embargo a la OPEC in 1973, which Browder thinks could cause oil to double to $131 a barrel.

Other outcomes include:

3) an embargo by Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez ($111 a barrel),

4) civil war in Nigeria ($98 a barrel),

5) unrest and violence in Algeria ($79 a barrel) and

6) major attacks on infrastructure by the insurgency in Iraq ($88 a barrel).

Regressions analysis may be mathematical but it's an art, not a science. And some of these scenarios are quite dubious, like Venezuela shutting the spigot. (For more on Chavez and Venezuela, click here.)

Lets do the math:

Scenario 2) (war with Iran) $131/barrel

Scenario 3) (Venezuela) $111/barrel

Scenario 6) (Iraq) $88/barrel

Total Price of Oil $330/barrel

Current price of oil (estimate) $65/barrel

$330/65 = 5 fold increase in price of gas

So whatever you are currently spending to fill your tank, heat/cool your home, etc., multiply it by 5 to get an estimate of what impact these VERY likely scenarios in the NEAR future will have on YOUR life! If you are spending $50 to fill your tank.....imagine spending $250 to fill it. Better dust off those bikes and get them in for a tune-up before the rush! Needless to say our economy will be tanked......baring some miracle.

Maranatha!
Deborah
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