One Hundred Thirty Eight Dollar Oil

Oil finished today at $138.54, a record high close. Oil was up $10.75 for the day, also a record single day rise, and has risen more than $15 over the past two days.

Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate shot up 1/2 percent in May to 5.5 percent, the biggest single monthly rise in 22 years. Not surprisingly, the U.S. stock market buckled under the bad news. The Dow Jones Industrial average gave up almost 400 points, or more than 3 percent.

Copyright (C) 2008 James Michael Brennan, All Rights Reserved