Ain't no good news on the energy price front. OPEC has increased production a bit, but many members are already producing at capacity. The Saudis are the only ones who could increase output significantly, and they're telling the industrialized world that our taxes on gasoline should be lowered. (Keep in mind that US taxes on gas are nothing compared to those in Europe, where prices typically are triple those in the U.S., but the Crown Prince still chided President Clinton when they met recently.) The Saudis are also unhappy about the pressure we're putting on the Palestinians in the Mideast peace talks.

U.S. refineries are at capacity, and no one wants a new refinery in their backyard. Ditto power plants, faced with soaring demand from computer users.

The good news is that autos and newer buildings are much more fuel efficient than they were back in the early '70's oil crisis era. And energy is a significantly smaller portion of GDP than it used to be. Nice statistics, but they don't mention that our economy is much bigger now. I looked carefully at the information sent by the two natural gas utilities I deal with. They are allowed to pass cost increases straight through to consumers. The concensus among experts is that our home heating bills may well go up 15-40% this winter. Let's hope that your friendly local utility managed to lock in some low prices for this winter.