The large hedge fund run by Texas energy king T. Boone Pickens has lost $1 billion this year. He bet that oil would go up. Instead, it went down. That makes his push for wind power and the use of natural gas to run cars look a little silly.
According to The Wall Street Journal," the downturn in energy has blindsided the industry veteran, leaving one of his hedge funds that focuses on energy stocks down almost 30% through August." Pickens says that oil will move back up unless the global economy goes into a very deep recession.
The loss make Pickens look like a fool. He has been lobbying both in Congress and in public that high oil prices are killing the U.S. economy. The U.S., he says, needs to move its energy consumption to natural gas and wind energy. His big push is to cut America's dependence on foreign oil.
His plan relies on converting the auto industry's manufacturing process to one that builds cars that use natural gas. The industry is moving toward electric power. He also wants to set up windmill farms all over the U.S. How these will connect into the current electricity power grid still has to be worked out. In other words, it may not work at all.
If oil prices keep going down, oil may still be the least expensive way to power cars and industry. The huge cost of turning the nation's infrastructure to operating on other energy sources is simply too great. And Pickens is losing his credibility as an energy expert if he can't even forecast the price of crude.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 8)
9-26-2008 @ 8:25AM
brian said...
So the market changed and he lost some money. The man Pickens is an American hero, and is trying to save our way of life and standard of living. Thats one hell of alot more than George W. Bush has done for this nation. He has been busy robbing our future during the last 8 years.
9-26-2008 @ 8:29AM
Patti Green said...
My question is not about T. Boone Pickens at all...My question is ...Who is Douglas A. McIntyre that he believes he knows more? The fuel prices are ridiculous right now. Just because they dropped a nickel here and there doesn't excuse the jump n the past year! Alternative for the future is the only way to go!
9-26-2008 @ 8:30AM
Michael said...
An overly harsh assesment of Mr. Pickens. If financial markets pick up in 2 years, as many eceonomists are prediciting, then the price of oil will boom again. Who then the fool?
9-26-2008 @ 8:41AM
Marty said...
Obviously this PUTZ has never done any research on T.Boone or his plan. Boone states that his goal is a short term bridge to get us to where we need to be....OFF of foriegn dependency on oil.
This idiot would rather be a slave to the arabs and Chavez than to fight back and at least ry to cut our losses. Boone is not interested in your car...he is interested in the trucking industry switching first which uses more in one day than you will use in three months with your car. This guy must also advise Wall street when he is not writing crap like this!
9-26-2008 @ 8:47AM
JOAN said...
THE LEVEL OF STUPIDITY THIS AUTHOR EXHIBITS IS MIND BOGGLING...YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THIS MAN OR YOU WOULDN'T BE SPOUTING THIS GARBAGE. WHO APPROVED THIS ARTICLE? DO YOUR HOMEWORK...YOU LOOK THE FOOL AND A PATHETIC ONE AT THAT..UNINFORMED KNUCKLEHEADS WITH INTERNET ACCESS SCARE ME ALMOST AS MUCH AS THE TRANSFER OF WEALTH MR P IS WARNING US ABOUT. IT'S COMING PEOPLE, THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS CREATED BY GREED, THE ENERGY SITUATION CREATED BY GREED..YOU WON'T EVEN SEE IT COMING 'TIL IT BITES YOU IN THE BUTT, BUT THE FAT CATS ENGINEERING THESE THINGS AREN'T LOSING A PENNY...OR BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE.WE REALLY NEED TO START LOOKING OVER OUR SHOULDERS AND LISTENING TO PEOPLE LIKE MR PICKENS...
9-26-2008 @ 8:46AM
Armond said...
Douglas A. McIntyre's article clearly demonstrates his poor understanding that inherently impossible forecasting negates Pickens intelligent plan.
Too bad journalism students consistently demonstrate a lack of scientific knowledge and development of reasoning skills.
Perhaps Mr McIntyre could write articles about consistently accurate forecasters.
9-26-2008 @ 8:48AM
zeke said...
t.boone is exactly right. does any one think oil will go back to 25 dollars a barrel. oil will some day reach $200.00 and more. if t. boone would have started alt. energy 30-40 years ago we would be oil independent today. we cant keep putting it off. we cant keep sending money to people that want to kill us. russia,iran etc.
9-26-2008 @ 9:57AM
Mark said...
Obviously this author is an idiot on the oil companies payroll. The price of oil will continue to go up and finance the middle east terrorists. We must develop alternative energy to stop the middle east growing power and save the Us and the planet.
9-26-2008 @ 9:00AM
Tim said...
I like the idea of getting off oil. Time will tell, weather people get together and solve the problem or just set around and blame others. Get busy people and work on the solution long term. May be we could drill for a time but it wouldn't last for future generations. But who am I kidding, buy then maybe the whale population will be back and we can get our oil from them.
9-26-2008 @ 9:00AM
john said...
He also wants to set up windmill farms all over the U.S. How these will connect into the current electricity power grid still has to be worked out.
Still has to be worked out? This technology is in daily use. Wind farms do work. I've been paying an extra $5.00 a month for several years now so PECO Energy will generate a portion of my energy from clean wind power.
9-26-2008 @ 9:11AM
Mike said...
McIntyre is a moron! Just because oil took a small dip recently is no reason not to look to alternative energy sources for the long term future. What are McIntyre's ideas for the current oil and ecological crisis? Sounds like someone has a T-Bone to pick.
9-26-2008 @ 9:13AM
Guy Fox said...
The only "Fool" here is Douglas A. McIntyre (the author).
Talk about a biased and narrow minded piece of "journalism". It's unethical, at best.
His caveman mentality is sad. Gasoline is priced ridiculously high. Gas companies are making record profits. And we're polluting the earth. Every one of us can see that we need to take a different course.
9-26-2008 @ 9:22AM
eawahi said...
Douglas A. McIntyre should get out of the home more and see what the hell is going on out here and then he would know we need ideas like TBP has presented.Get us working for the U.S.A. not overseas.
9-26-2008 @ 9:26AM
AMERICAN ADVOCATE said...
THE AUTHOR WHO CALLED PICKENS A FOOL IS AN IGNORANT CLOWN. ANYONE
WHO HAS AMASSED SUCH A FORTUNE IS
CERTAINLY A GOOD MANAGER OF MONEY.
I HAVE SAID FOR MANY YEARS THAT WE
SHOULD DEVELOP CLEAN, RENEWABLE
SOURCES OF FUEL- SUCH AS NATURAL GAS, METHANE GAS FROM DECAYED VEGETATION, ALCOHOL, HYDROGEN AND
OTHER METHODS. THEN WE CAN TELL THE
ARABS TO DRINK THEIR OIL.----------------
____ THE AMERICAN ADVOCATE ______
9-26-2008 @ 9:32AM
kevin said...
pickens has a great plan and to call him "foolish"just shows the quality of the writer.
9-26-2008 @ 9:36AM
Lewis said...
I think Pickens is basically right. We need to utilise all sources of energy with the aim of getting off our dependence on oil eventually. However, his TV pitch is not all due to patriotism. I read that he has a large jnvestment in alternative energy. He's invested in wind farms as well as natural gas, among other things.
9-26-2008 @ 9:38AM
justpicky said...
#8.....you're right ........where the billionaires are clueless . They're so rich , they're clueless what's really going on in this world . They spend money like water . For once , why doesn't the rich become poor , for the next 40 yrs , then they might realize what "the real world's about ".
People better realize , it's not going to get any better . If you aren't laid off now , you soon will be . Because you've GREEDY CEO'S , making sure there bank accts / offshore banking .
Every Citizen should BOYCOTT companies , limit your spending so you don't make the rich get richer . I would love to see Oil Companies being Boycotted for the next 3 months .
Get wise and take charge because BILLIONAIRE love to see you miserable .
9-26-2008 @ 9:49AM
Heather said...
LOL Douggie must be in oil. Not one American would think oh yay... oil went down so lets concentrate on drilling for oil. Alternative fuel sources are our best bet. Breaks our dependency. But then again those in bed with oil dont want to break that dependency. God forbid they dont have record profits!!
9-26-2008 @ 9:55AM
Diane Molinari said...
IT'S ELECTION TIME LOL!! THERE'S ALL KINDS OF DRAMA!! REPUBLICANS ARE DESPERATE LOL!!
9-26-2008 @ 10:33AM
BOB said...
ONLY AN IGNORAMUS WOULD CALL A PERSON WHO HAS ACCUMULATED THE AMOUNT OF ASSETS PICKENS HAS GATHERED OVER THE YEARS. IF HE LOSES THE MONEY IT WAS CERTAINLY A BAD CALL, MAYBE A FOOLISH ONE, BUT HE IS NOT A FOOL.