Back from Vacation

I just got back from vacation yesterday. I haven't had time to look and see what the market has done but I do have a couple of quick observations.

First I need to describe my vacation. Myself, my three brother, my mother and all of our kids (13) rented a house on the beach. The vacation is easily driven to (about 4 hours away for any family) and is in a popular resort community.

On one of the evening's while walking the entire crowd back after an ice cream run, a small crowd gathered at the corner gas station. A worker was at the price board, adjusting the sign. Good natured banter between the crowd and the employee about whether the price is "going up or down" ensued. What was really interesting was that two kids, about 11-13 years old rolled up on their skate boards. One yelled "is the price going up or down". The employee yelled "Down" and a big cheer came from the kids and one yelled "More gas for my skateboard". I found it quite interesting that first a crowd (OK a small crowd) gathered to discuss the price with the employee and that the kids were so involved with what was going on with gas prices. I know that the conversation in my car quite frequently revolved around the price of gas at this station as apposed to the one we just passed. I can only assume that crude prices are lower based on what gas prices have done during the past two weeks, but more needs to be done and quickly. Even at $3.65 a gallon (at my local station) we are over $1.00 a gallon higher then last year, and heating season is approaching. People can and will live without Air Conditioning, but they need heat. Also landlords provide heat whether you want it or not (unlike AC's which you can keep turned off) so the cost is there and will be passed along.

The U.S. consumer will spend money, hopefully it is not on heating their homes alone.

I sure hope things are getting better. There was traffic on the roads. Amusement parks were crowded and restaurants/bars seemed full. I am still concerned about the cost of crude and continue to feel that getting this one commodity lower is the key to getting the U.S. economy back on track.

Good Luck and Good Currency Trading.