Oil Shocks

The United States financial system had a serious scare, the Europeans meandered through a dismal series of economic reports and oil closed almost $20 lower. For all the cross currents this week it was the collapse in oil prices that holds the most promise for the American economy and the dollar. The epicenter of this oil shock was not the Persian Gulf but Washington D.C. and in response the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.6%, its strongest weekly rise in five years.
Political events gave oil traders and stock short sellers every reason to take profits. President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling on Monday and by Friday crude prices had completed their sharpest fall in percentage terms since late 2004....