china energy

And you thought we were dependent on foreign oil. China's nearly double-digit growth has become the envy of the world's mature economies, but all that expansion requires fuel. As a result, China is now a net importer not only of oil, but of coal as well. And the trends in Chinese energy consumption don't appear to be turning around anytime soon.

The U.S. has never had $3 gas at Christmastime because the price typically gets lower as the days grow shorter. This year may be quite different, thanks to events from Canada to China. And some analysts think prices will really heat up in spring.

In Asia Thursday, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3,321. In Hong Kong and Tokyo, the major indexes fell with the Hang Seng shedding 0.9% to close at 22,643 and the Nikkei losing 1.3% to end the day at 9,549. In China, shares in energy producers surged as the country plowed itself out...