Please Don’t Tease Me

Yesterday, I attended another industry function (PLS's Denver Dealmakers), and, as is the case in virtually every other industry event of the last few months, the discussions centered on commodity prices.  As I listened to speakers and random conversations, I kept refreshing the commodities prices page on Bloomberg.com.

And yesterday was much the same as the last few days.  Prices continued to rise.  Past $52.50; past $53; above $53.50; perilously close to $54.  This is great, right?  Weren't we at or near $43 just a few days ago.  Rather than being contemplative and cautious, shouldn't we be cheering?

Or is this only a tease – or, worse, a taunt.  At the same time I was noting the (even slight) rise in prices, I also read of hundreds of layoffs at Noble; the layoffs story de jure as it were.  As we've discussed here previously, commodity prices have real impacts, on real people, with real families and real careers.