Michael Santoli had a great one liner in his StreetWise column.

THE OUTSIZED FOCUS LAST WEEK ON THE DOW’S REACHING “official” bear-market status with a 20% decline from a recent high is a bit like fixating on the moment that storm winds go from 73 to 74 miles per hour to formally become a hurricane.

He also mentioned that oil was up 25% since May 1. I hadn’t thought of it in those terms but anyone’s perception of fundamentals notwithstanding, 25% in two months creates a meaningful headwind for further price rises in the near term.

In an environment like this that headwind could be overcome to be sure but with energy now 16% of the S&P 500 an equalweight position takes on a little more risk for downside volatility than some folks may realize.

Last 5 posts by Roger Nusbaum

• The Big Picture for the Week of November 15, 2009 - November 14th, 2009
• Process Drilldown - October 23rd, 2009
• Sunday Morning Coffee 10-18-09 - October 18th, 2009
• A Little Followup From This Morning - October 8th, 2009
• Wednesday Roundup - October 7th, 2009