Oil: Liquid gold or troublesome irritant?

RISING OIL PRICES

Given my generally optimistic stance on things coming into 2012 and what has transpired so far, I spent more time last week wondering what may go wrong. Given the ongoing impressive trend in US weekly job claims, March 2nd US payroll data is shaping up to be even more of a "biggie" than usual.

S&P futures are hovering close to 1370, 2-year notes are threatening a break up, and the $/Yen relationship is threatening to finally reverse significantly. If that produces another drop in unemployment, then we might be really off to the races. In the meantime, on top of the never-ending nonsense about Greece, something else that could go wrong might include a continued rise in crude oil prices. When I reflect back on why the world economy suddenly had more issues last year than I had expected, I think the rise in food and energy prices probably had the biggest role to play than virtual...