What a world...

Just got back from a trip overseas. I was in Moscow, Rome and unexpectedly, in Copenhagen. It was a very interesting trip. Moscow is definitely a city of two distinct areas. There's the extremely luxurious areas that probably cater the the 100 or so billionaires in Russia; then there's the drab, gray, run-down areas that cater to everyone else. The place is pretty bleak. Unless you're hanging out where the rich Russians are, its very depressing. Go communism! On the upside, a trick I had heard about from a former CIA guy worked quite well: before drinking with Russians, eat a cube of butter to coat the stomach. I did and I think it helped me survive. The Russians are feisty drinkers...
Rome was wonderful. The Italians are thoroughly enjoying a weaker dollar and are buying up as much stuff as they can with the money they get from selling Italian wares around the world. Good visit, definitely a city I enjoy seeing.
Copenhagen was by far the most fun, but also probably because it involved very little business. I walked around the local pubs each night and had a generally good time. Now I'm back in the good ole' USA.
It's been a very good couple of weeks for airline stocks. AMR is up 116% since July 16! 116% in just 8 days! Someone's making a very good amount of money. It appears as though airline stocks are moving solely based on what happens in crude oil, but by a factor of 10. If this continues and oil were to drop to $80, AMR would go from $9/share to about $1200/share. Obviously, this won't continue, but it has been fun to watch.
Speaking of oil... Was able to see the most thorough analysis of the oil market to date and it seems as though in the short run, with supply and demand almost vertical, the price of oil could fluctuate between 75 and 300. These fluctuations could happen because of any number of reasons, from 10 hurricanes forming at once in the Atlantic to Saudi Arabia deciding to no longer produce oil. In the long term, however, it seems that the fair value of oil should be between $50 and $80. Wouldn't that be nice?...
I'm off to the coast of North Carolina for vacation tomorrow. Next week, I'll talk about 401(k), Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA. Until then!

A good time to be alive...

A couple of interesting charts, not for the pessimistic of heart...

http://bp1.blogger.com/_otfwl2zc6Qc/SG9tYI_UXmI/AAAAAAAAFEM/
18zc58Q82sw/s1600-h/tax.gif

http://bp3.blogger.com/_otfwl2zc6Qc/SHDPmNqd0bI/AAAAAAAAFE8/
bcJXrWqopQI/s1600-h/fed1.jpg

You might have to copy and paste the entire URL into your web browser.

Thanks to CD for the pointer.