The year 2008 was for the global equity markets the worst in history. Capital outflow reached record 14 trillion dollars. The crisis of the financial system and the worst recession since 1970, froze investor confidence. MSCI index of global shares in the year fell by a record 44%.br /br /One of the worst performance posted stock market in Russia. Benchmark RTS Index closed the year 72% lower. The second worst result in the world has seen China's stock index, the SSE Composite lost a record 65% after the boom in 2006 and 2007 brought the growth of over 300%.br /br /In the U.S., the Dow Jones index ended the last trading day a profit of 2.2% over the year but lost 34% of which was the worst loss since the Great Depression in 1931. Only two titles, retailers Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Mc Donalds (MCD), closed the ...

Crude oil prices will likely remain low in the short term. Supply cuts will not keep pace with demand destruction in the near future. And that could send gas prices below $1 a gallon by Easter, says David Fessler. He gives two ways investors can turn their savings at the pump into big profits.

This from Investment U:

When I started driving, gasoline still contained lead and regular was selling for 29 cents a gallon. My father remembers 10 cents a gallon.

While it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see those prices again, you could see gasoline below $1 a gallon, and it just might hit $0.75 a gallon. It might not be in time for Christmas, but the Easter Bunny might leave it in your Easter Basket.

That’s not just wishful thinking on my part: The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) most recent monthly forecast (released just yesterday) indicates year-over-year global oil

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Global Oil Demand: Are You Ready for Gasoline Under a Buck a Gallon?

by David Fessler, Advisory Panelist, Investment U Friday, December 12, 2008: Issue #900

When I started driving, gasoline still contained lead and regular was selling for 29 cents a gallon. My father remembers 10 cents a gallon.

While it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see those prices again, you could see gasoline below $1 a gallon, and it just might hit $0.75 a gallon. It might not be in time for Christmas, but the Easter Bunny might leave it in your Easter Basket.

That’s not just wishful thinking on my part: The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) most recent monthly forecast (released just yesterday) indicates year-over-year global oil demand will shrink in 2008 for the first time in the last 25 years.

Why? Developed nations are skidding into recession and emerging nations have hit the brake pedal on economic growth. And when the United

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Government mulls mortgage price-control plan… who needs the free market anyway? Dan Denning on the true meaning behind the recent bull market in bonds. Stocks rally on Beige Book release… did the Fed send us the wrong copy? Bill Gross on stock evaluation for the Brave New World of tomorrow. Byron King with anecdotal evidence that oil is well oversold.

The vomit approach continues at the Treasury. This time their throwing up historically low mortgages on the wall… just to see if they stick. The U.S. Treasury is considering a proposal to offer new mortgages at 4.5% through Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE). That’s a point and a half lower than the silly “free market” says it should be.

Should this mortgage plan come

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Stratos Renewables Corporation is a California based company that is quickly developing ways to help countries achieve energy self-sufficiency through the use of sugarcane ethanol created from excess plant material.

Sugarcane ethanol was an alternative used by the United States 30 years ago when our country had an oil crisis. Sugarcane ethanol is a more attractive option than its corn-based counterpart for a variety of reasons. Simply put, sugarcane ethanol created from sugar is less expensive to produce than its corn-based ethanol, burns more cleanly, and ultimately creates more energy per equivalent unit. Sugarcane, which is the primary source of our sugarcane ethanol fuel, contains the highest starch content of any plant stock, enabling sugarcane ethanol yields nearly three times that of U.S. corn.

Besides financial benefits, sugarcane ethanol is also easier to produce than its counterpart. Sugarcane can be grown

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Now that crude has lost 50% (and counting) since July, Andrew Gordon says the political will to develop alternative energy sources may be waning. But election favourite Barack Obama is fully behind clean energy. Andrew says this makes strong companies with new technology in biofuels, alternative energy and clean coal a good speculative buy. Another options is this Global Alternative Energy ETF (NYSE:GEX).

This from Investor’s Daily Edge:

John McCain is a practical guy. He subscribes to the “let’s try anything that works” theory. He’s willing to go with anything that weans the U.S. from Mideast oil. Nuclear, biofuels, ethanol, sun and wind, the traditional oil and gas hydrocarbons, tried and true coal and super-clean thermal and hydro energy – they’re all on table.

Throwing up a dozen tar balls and seeing what sticks isn’t much of a policy. But I see nuclear

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Hedge Fund DiscussionHedge Fund Discussion PieceI can't tell if Mr. Berko is for or against hedge funds, I will leave it up to you to decide....Dear Mr. Berko: There's big trouble in the $3 trillion hedge fund industry. Many have lost massive amounts of money because the market has gone against them and thousands of hedge fund employees are losing their jobs. The Hedge Fund Sector is a very vital sector of our economy and I've not heard a word from the Department of Treasury or the Federal Reserve about helping the hedge fund industry in this economic crisis. In 2000, then Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan rescued Long Term Capital Management and saved it from complete collapse. Many hedge-fund investors can't get their investments back because the hedge funds can't get the credit they need to finance their ...

Brazilian stocks have been pummeled in October’s global market rout. But Martin Hutchinson says this has created a great opportunity for profits. South America’s largest economy still has a robust growth outlook and moderate inflation. He says these six “bargain basement” stocks are now well worth a look.

More from Money Morning:

Like most other markets, Brazil has been battered by the credit crisis – the BOVESPA index is currently down 28% in October alone and no less than 52% from its peak as recently as May. It now appears to represent excellent value, with a historic Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio of only7.0.

But are Brazil’s prospects good enough to justify investing there?

Brazil was included in the “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group of rapidly emerging markets that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) created in 2003. At that time the country didn’t deserve the distinction. Long-term growth since

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Bailout fever is spreading. China is now considering a bailout of exporters. According to China Daily, Chinese exporters are suffering mightily as the global economy weakens. This is a clear indicator that the Chinese economy could be heading for trouble, says Irwin Greenstein, writing for Contrarian Profits.

Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index (VIX), also called the fear index, crosses above 40 today. The last time the index reached this level when S&P 500 double bottomed on October 2002 and February 2003.Peaks in the VIX are usually associated with market bottoms because climaxes of fear are times when everyone who's ever going to sell has sold — and when all the sellers are out of the way, the buyers have the field all to themselves. Take a look at the peaks in the VIX — the crash of October 1987, the oil crisis before the Gulf War in 1990, the global financial crises of October 1997 and October 1998, and the panic following the terrorist attacks of September 2001. All these were excellent buying opportunities. And now we are approaching another one....