Special Report Energy Fix, March 19, 2009: 10:57 AM ET

OPEC cuts and a pullback in investments are beginning to raise prices, but $147 is a long way off while the world’s economy remains in the doldrums.

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Crude closed at $33.87 a barrel earlier this winter, and that’s likely the lowest we’ll see for some time.

Oil prices crossed the $50 a barrel mark Thursday, the first time since early January. Thursday’s uptick is largely due to the falling dollar, but the underlying fundamentals in the oil market indicate low prices are behind us.

While demand remains abysmal, production cuts from OPEC and scaled-back investments from oil companies are beginning to curtail supplies.

That, say analysts, means crude prices won’t likely trade below the $40 range they’ve been locked in for the last three weeks.

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CNNMoney – SPECIAL REPORT AMERICA’S MONEY CRISIS, October 10, 2008: 1:46 PM ET

With experts predicting a global economic slowdown, oil prices could fall to $60 a barrel, or lower – with gas prices soon to follow.

courtesy of Denver Post by Mike Keefe

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As the world loses confidence in the foundations of its economic system, the silver lining may be that oil prices are about to get a whole lot cheaper.

In a new report Friday, Deutsche Bank uses a number of interesting yard sticks to suggest crude is currently way too expensive and may fall to the $60 a barrel range as the economy worsens.

And the bank does expect the economy to worsen, painting a bleak picture – caused be the current financial turmoil – but stopping just short of predicting a multi-year recession.

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FORTUNE – Last Updated: August 13, 2008: 10:56 AM EDT

These three minis manage to combine maximum gas mileage with just enough zoom.

By Sue Zesiger Callaway, columnist

(Fortune) — Attention, horsepower-hungry: Fear not the exploding array of environmentally friendly alternative vehicles. They are a hopeful signal of the potentially mind-blowing stuff to come.

Ferrari is exploring adding electric motors, which deliver peak torque from takeoff to top speed, to each wheel to capture regenerative braking energy to boost acceleration. Audi just won Le Mans for the second year in a row with a diesel racecar. The last time the automotive world saw this level of innovation was at the turn of the last century. Steam, anyone?

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BUSINESSWEEK – Market Snapshot August 8, 2008, 5:21PM EST

Major U.S. stock staged a huge rally Friday to cap a wild week of trading. Traders ignored a larger than expected loss from mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae (FNM), focusing instead on a fresh plunge in crude oil prices and a big move higher for the U.S. dollar.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 302.89 points, or 2.65%, to 11,734.32. The broader S&P 500 index added 30.25 points, or 2.39%, to 1,296.31. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 58.37 points, or 2.48%, to 2,414.10.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 24 stocks gained in price for every seven that fell. The ratio on the Nasdaq was 19-8 positive. Trading was slow.

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FORTUNE – Last Updated: August 4, 2008: 3:04 PM EDT

Lower prices mean less pain at the pump – but tougher times ahead for the economy.

By Colin Barr, senior writer

NEW YORK (Fortune) — Oil prices are falling sharply, and that’s good news. But not nearly as good as you might think.

No doubt the drop, down to $120 by mid-day Monday, gives strapped consumers relief at the gas pump. Prices have dropped below $4 a gallon and could be headed toward $3.50, going by trading in wholesale futures markets. Any decline will be welcomed by Americans struggling under the burden of falling house prices, rising layoffs and stagnant wages.

But falling oil prices also suggest that the recession the U.S. has so far avoided is well on its way, as consumers pull back from the spending spree that drove economic growth earlier this decade. A weakening economy will mean more layoffs, further pressuring already reduced spending.

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BUSINESSWEEK – News & Features August 3, 2008, 1:45AM EST

Only 15 cars for sale in the U.S. get combined gas mileage of 30 mpg or better. We tell you what they are

by Jim Henry

At the end of 2007, sales of the Chevy Cobalt (BusinessWeek.com, 8/7/07) were down 5.1% for the year, to 200,620. The bland little compact, made at General Motors’ (GM) Lordstown plant in Ohio, was the successor to the Cavalier, and its weak performance raised the possibility that it—and the Lordstown plant—could be victims if GM were forced to shut down more production.

What a difference a year makes. Sales of the Cobalt are up more than 18% in the first half of 2008, and Lordstown cannot make them fast enough to keep up with demand. Job growth in the area is high, and despite a stagnant real estate market in most of Ohio, the area around Lordstown is enjoying enviable strength. What is the reason for this dramatic turnaround? Did GM radically overhaul the Cobalt? Did dealers offer an irresistible discount? None of the above. The tame little Cobalt has a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine that gets an EPA-estimated 24 mpg city/33 mpg highway, making it one of the most fuel-efficient cars for sale in the U.S. And, with a base sticker of $15,010, it’s one of the cheapest too.

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BUSINESSWEEK – Market Snapshot July 28, 2008, 4:50PM EST

Financial stocks gave up recent gains as a rise in oil prices and word of a record U.S. budget gap weighed on the market Monday

by Ben Steverman

Major U.S. stock indexes skidded Monday as a recent rebound for financial stocks faltered, oil prices rose and a report said the U.S. budget deficit could swell to a record. Traders also weighed news that private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. plans to go public.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 239.61 points, or 2.11%, to 11,131.08. The broader S&P 500 fell 23.39 points, or 1.86%, to 1,234.37. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 46.31 points, or 2%, at 2,264.22.

S&P’s diversified financial services index plunged 5.44% Monday, and the market’s worst performers included insurer AIG (AIG), down 12.3%; brokerage house Merrill Lynch (MER), off 12%; and investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEH), down 10.4%.

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