On Tuesday Wang spent part of the day reading the restaurant reviews of some of New York's world-class steak houses. (We won't list the restaurants' names in this space: they would represent free plugs, and each has a business strong enough to pay for an advertisement.)
Almost reservation time
Wang reviewed the steakhouses' menus because he is likely to win a wager with yours truly, involving the price of oil. I argued that the price of oil would never drop below $40 per barrel again. Wang argued it would, and would also remain below $80. The wager calls for the loser to buy the winner a dinner in every year the price of oil drops below $40 or rises above $80.
Now back in May the wager looked like an 'easy win' for me: oil was sitting pretty, with a price above $110 and arcing ever higher. It looked like economist Wang would be buying dinners for many years in a row.
But then the U.S. housing bubble burst, hundreds of thousands of problematic mortgages went bad, and the financial crisis ensued, pushing both the U.S. and global economies into a recession. And oil's growth-fed and leverage-exaggerated price, deflated, as well, to $42.85 per barrel as of Tuesday afternoon.
What's more, if oil drops below $40 in late December and trades under $40 in January 2009, Wang will quickly qualify for a second, free dinner as the new year begins.
"Try to see the bright side in losing the bet," Wang said. "At least a portion of New York's restaurant sector will be happy with the added business."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-09-2008 @ 6:35PM
Sheldon L said...
Here's the bright side Joe...
If Wang wins you have the extra cash to make good on the bet because of the lower oil price...
but if you win he will have to pay for your dinner after shelling out a lot more money for gas...
I like your position better...
and furthermore if he is right, he is more astute than 99% of us so he is worth spending time with.
Happy Holidays
12-10-2008 @ 1:27AM
Larry88 said...
That explains why he so happy with Obamas economic plan " He is a Communist "
12-10-2008 @ 7:56AM
EMIL J KOVACH JR said...
"I argued that the price of oil would never drop below $40 per barrel again"
--Never Say Never--Boone Pickens--Is DOWN 2 Billion This Year.
EMIL J KOVACH JR