Oil Price Direction: Watch the Polar Bear Decision

If you want a good indicator of whether oil could reach $200 per barrel soon, just watch the decision from the Interior Department (ordered by a judge to come by May 15) as to whether the polar bear should be put on the "threatened" list. If so, economist Kevin Hassett says that we better watch out because any new drilling or power plant could be challenged by environmental groups as a danger to global warming, and thereby a danger to the polar bear. Never mind that most people can't even agree on whether the polar bear population is increasing or decreasing - or that "global warming" is on "hiatus" for the next decade.

Let's hope that common sense prevails here.