
3 Misconceptions That Need to Die - ph0rque
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/10/25/3-misconceptions-that-need-to-die.aspx
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winestock
From the article: _Fact: Just 9.2% of oil consumed in the U.S. comes from the
Middle East._

That number is small comfort. Petroleum is fungible. Thanks to the arbitrage
guys, a barrel of oil sells for one price worldwide. That means that a severe
shortage in one oil-exporting country can have large effects on the price of
oil everywhere else.

I don't have enough expertise to argue with the other claims, but if the
author misses an important point like the fungibility of commodities, then I
will be agnostic about the rest of the article.

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anamax
> That number is small comfort. Petroleum is fungible.

Oil is fungible because of US govt policy.

The US govt could decide that oil doesn't leave the Western Hemisphere. A lot
of folks would be upset by such a policy but they lack the means to change it.

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gregw100
Thanks for that. It was a real eye-opener. I knew that China's debt stake was
less than everybody complains about, but I didn't know the exact numbers.
Sometimes we need a little dose of perspective.

