Jim: You said that oil will go to $100/barrel before it hits$25/barrel. I'm not so sure.

The reason I'm confident that the Dow Jones industrial average will top 10,000 before it hits 6,000 is that stocks are a leading indicator. They anticipate recoveries, typically turning upward 6-9 months before the economy as a whole. We are already one year into the recession, so I'm guessing we are getting close to the point where stocks will turn the corner. When you add in the fact that valuations and yields are the most attractive I've seen in my adult investing life, the outlook for equities is quite good.

Oil, on the other hand, reflects mostly immediate, near-term supply and demand. If the economy gets worse before it gets better, stocks might see the light at the end of the tunnel, but oil won't. It can't. Prices will keep falling as demand deteriorates in