Energy stocks are getting hammered today, thanks in no small part to renewed demand concerns following the Labor Department's gruesome nonfarm payrolls report. Natural-gas concern Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is blazing the path lower, with the shares hitting a new 5-year low of $9.86 earlier today.

In fact, CHK has been reeling since late November, when the commodity firm filed a shelf registration to issue $2 billion worth of shares in a bid to raise cash. The move sparked anxiety among investors about share dilution, and it also raised questions about Chesapeake's liquidity position. In response to the news, brokerage firm Calyon Securities on Wednesday slashed the stock's rating from Buy to Underperform, and cut its price target from $41 to $15.

Other analysts are concerned, too; Phil Weiss of Argus Research told Reuters today that "the stock could easily go to $2 a share on fear and panic." Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon asserted yesterday that his company is "in excellent position to weather the current difficult economic situation in the U.S.," but it remains to be seen whether this comment will be sufficient to soothe an increasingly emotional market.

Plus, CHK looks highly vulnerable to more downgrades in the near future. Zacks reports a staggering 16 Strong Buy ratings from analysts, along with one Buy, six Holds, and absolutely no Sells. Any further negative notes from brokerage firms could potentially smack the shares deeper into single-digit territory.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

Gasoline prices have risen for five straight weeks. Last week, they jumped 12.2 cents per gallon, pushing the average price up 17.4 cents higher than a year ago, according to USA Today. The days of cheap gasoline are gone forever.

Economically, gas may still be relatively inexpensive. Indeed, people in Europe have been paying through the nose for years. But that matters little to U.S. consumers, particularly amid uncertainties about the economy.

It doesn't take much of a change in prices for them to react. Everyone isn't going to buy hybrids tomorrow but people are going to change their behavior. Maybe they won't fill up their SUVs every time. Maybe they will take public transportation more often. Maybe they'll carpool. Maybe they'll care more about global warming.

Even Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) can't control the laws of supply and demand. Supplies are tight and demand is high and it's going to get even higher. Of course, as everybody who ever took Economics 101 knows, when that happens prices go up.

Oil prices are going to remain strong thanks to the tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which don't look like they are going to ease anytime soon.

Remember, we aren't even in the summer driving season yet. Lord knows what's going to happen then when vacationers hit the open road.

When my five-month-old son gets older, he'll never believe that gasoline was ever under $1 per gallon let alone $2. Many people are going to have a tough time accepting the new reality for some time to come.