The past 36 hours should have been a moment of unbridled celebration for cheerleaders of American capitalism, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average had two successive record-breaking closes, and Hugo Chávez died after a two-year illness.
The price of oil hovered above $82 a barrel Tuesday after touching an eight-month low near $81 earlier in the session amid concern Spain's bank bailout won't be enough to stem Europe's debt crisis and suggestions OPEC could boost production targets.
If you think you're paying a lot at the gas pump now, just wait until summer hits. Stronger demand could lead to record gas prices as an economic recovery takes hold and turmoil in the Middle East sends the price of oil upward. How high? $5 a gallon isn't out of the realm of the possible.
With U.S. gas prices near historic highs, Americans are anxious about the cost of filling up. But we still feel far less pain at the pump than drivers in many other developed nations. On the flip side, if you drive in the right world cities, you can still pay less than $1 a gallon.
Chavez cut off diplomatic relations with Colombia last week over claims by outgoing President Alvaro Uribe that Venezuela harbors Colombian rebels. Chavez says the U.S. is behind the allegations.
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, a master at dominating the news with his controversial views, is a new adopter to Twitter, but has caught on fast. He's bypassing the press to go directly to the people -- at least his 271,000 followers.
China will provide Venezuela with $20 billion in long-term financing, much of it to help the South American nation develop crude oil reserves. It's another example of how the People's Republic is soaking up energy supplies all around the globe.
