Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com

Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com

Upside down and backwards again. The strike against Royal Dutch in Amsterdam may cause fuel prices to soar and crude prices to drop!

Today's sharp drop in crude may have related to the the strike but then again the airlines did so well that it appears that jet fuel is coming down as much as crude.

Perhaps even more telling is that Eurpean nations are currently willing to take a strike to bring down labor costs. German, French and English strikers have been met with strong management resistance in recent months. Coal mines have been shuttered, the French have accepted longer work weeks and Germany has elected a more conservative government.

America may enjoy the availabilty of the Amsterdam crude that may be reoffered on the world market. The decline in foreign currency reserves suggest that the decline in oil prices is not over.

Today was a great day for CAL, AMR and LCC and a rough day in the oil patch. The answer to the question, which sector will be hitting peak earnings 5 years from now seems obvious. One should buy stocks based on projected future earnings not based on current earnings.