There are many places that Warren Buffett may choose to invest Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A / BRK.B) capital. At the same time you can be sure there are places he will not set foot. It is not likely he will invest anywhere that does not have a vibrant, well-established stock market with a stable government. So, Mr. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela will not likely see any capital deployed from the likes of "my pal Warren" any time soon.

As a matter of fact, I would put the chances at slim of any South American country, besides Brazil, getting a look at all. Brazil is just too big and too vibrant to ignore. I would rule out Africa entirely except for indirect investments in oil and minerals through large conglomerates. The closest thing in the region would be Israel, at the furthest western reaches of Asia. He has already invested there and there is a high probability he would again. Investors from most of Europe and Asia have done the same, although many would rather not discuss it.

He has also invested in China, Great Britain, South Korea, and Switzerland. I would expect more money to be plowed into all of them again without reservation if the right deal materialized.

It's a volatile market out there, but investors shouldn't take that as a sign that they should run for the hills. The bottom line is that volatility can cut both ways -- and while most traders are more concerned with the downside risks, that shouldn't overshadow the potential for quick and substantial gains with a well-timed swing trade.

In my book, one of the best short-term buys you can make right now is a well-timed in and out in small cap tech stock Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM). Shares cost about as much as a fountain soda from the corner store, but have the potential to add a sugar rush to your portfolio very quickly.

It's no secret that China's phenomenal growth has been driving the global recovery. China's first-quarter GDP grew at an 11.9% annual pace despite three significant increases to reserve requirements that were designed to cool lending and growth. That's why in much of 2009 and early 2010 I was bullish on China and overweighted my global portfolios in favor of this country.

But all good things must come to an end and right now it's time to get selective about which China stocks you buy. That's why I recommend investors cut back their China holdings and look for new opportunities in emerging markets.

Oil prices dropped a bit today, as investors weigh news that consumer confidence took a hit in September.

Today's move was not a sizable one, but further evidence that investors are concerned over just how strong the current economic recovery really is. News came out today that consumer confidence is down in September as more Americans are concerned over the weak job market.

The oil industry has been working hard to find new oil reserves, and so far this year the efforts have been paying off.

It has been a year with some major discoveries that have put the oil industry in a good position to make it the year with the highest level of new discoveries since 2000.

A big reason for the increase in discoveries is improvements in technology that has allowed oil hunters to drill deeper and break through tougher rocks than they were previously able to do.

As violence continues to hammer the Gaza Strip, Muslim groups are calling for a boycott of goods produced by The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), and other U.S. companies. The boycott is meant to protest the alliance between Israel and the U.S., and it comes as the U.S. embassy in Malaysia is being swarmed with thousands of angry protesters.

"We urge Muslim consumers internationally to unite so that we can teach a lesson to Israel and its allies," said Ma'amor Osman, an official with the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia. "This is to object to the arrogance and cruelty of Israel and its allies towards the Palestinians."

Additionally, the group is urging the Malaysian government to cease its contract agreements with U.S.-based firms. Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad is also jumping on the bandwagon, calling for Muslims to stop using the U.S. dollar. "If enough of us do this, then [the dollar's] value will fall, just like what they did to us in 1997," he asserted.

The oil market breathed a minor sigh of relief Thursday after Saudi Arabia said there would be no replay of 1973-74 regarding the current Middle East crisis.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said oil "isn't a weapon" to end the conflict between Hamas and Israel, Bloomberg News reported. Prince al-Faisal said oil can't reverse the conflict, countering a call by OPEC-hawk Iran that Arab states stop producing oil as a way to pressure countries supporting Israel.

Oil continued its recent downward trek Thursday morning on the news, falling $1.58 to $41.05 per barrel. Oil hit an all-time of $147.27 per barrel in the summer of 2008.

In 1973, the Arab members of OPEC implemented an oil embargo against the United States in response to the U.S.'s decision to re-supply Israel's military during the Yom Kippur War, which Israel won. The price of oil subsequently quintupled from about $20 per barrel to about $100 per barrel in 2009 dollars (or from about $3 per barrel to $13 per barrel in 1974 dollars), creating the world's first oil shock, and triggering a U.S. recession.

The other major energy commodities also declined early Thursday. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.54 per gallon, unleaded gasoline decreased 3 cents to $1.07 cents per gallon, and natural gas dipped 5 cents to $5.92 per million BTUs.

Oil surged 12% to $42.20 per barrel early Monday, before easing some to $40.24, as Israeli jets continued to knock out Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Energy Trader Jim Dietz said the raids, aimed at destroying rockets fired by Hamas into Israel and eliminating other Hamas strongholds, have the capacity to change the oil market's dynamic, if a cease-fire cannot be reached or if the conflict escalates.

"It certainly can be a game-changer regarding the oil market. We're likely to move higher obviously on geopolitical tension, but at this stage it's too soon to tell if there will be a unified response from oil producing nations in the Middle East or other ramifications," Dietz said.

The other major energy commodities also jumped on the Israel / Hamas conflict early Monday. Heating oil rose 7 cents to $1.32 per gallon, unleaded gasoline increased 6 cents to 91 cents per gallon, and natural gas gained 17 cents to $6.00 per million BTUs.

Yesterday, I was pleased to pay $1.66 for mid-grade gasoline and I was wondering whether it would drop further or rise. But now I have an answer -- Israeli attacks in Gaza Strip are enriching the oil-producing countries that surround it. More specifically, oil prices have increased $3 a barrel to more than $40, while the price of gold is up 2% to $881.85 -- a 30% rise above its 13-month low two months ago.

Will the violence in the Middle East continue? If so, for how long? My guess is that Israel is planning a ground war which will last for several weeks -- the timing of the move takes advantage of the transition of power between Bush and Obama and posturing before January's Israeli election.

In the meantime, the key question for investors is whether they should buy energy stocks -- they will almost certainly rise today and will continue to go up as long as the possibility remains of escalation -- in the form of an military or economic attack, such as an oil embargo, on Israel and Western interests from other Middle Eastern countries. If there is an escalation, we could see a big spike in oil prices which would help energy investors.

But that could cause an even deeper economic slowdown which would cause oil prices to collapse even more once the violence ends.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons From Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing, was published by Portfolio on December 26, 2008

U.S. stock market futures gained at the start of the last trading week of the year. The rally may be short-lived given that many traders have taken the week between Christmas and New Year's off. Stock markets in Europe and Asia advanced as well.

Oil prices are rising amidst growing worries about the clash between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In early trading today, oil topped $40 as the death toll in the clash reached 300. Whether the conflict will boost prices at the pump remains to be seen. Members of OPEC are expected to cut production further to boost prices, which are down more than 70 percent since July. Prices may fall further as the economic slowdown further erodes demand.

Meanwhile, faith in the global economy was further undermined by the decision Sunday of Kuwait's government to cancel a $17.4 billion joint venture with Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW). Shares of the Michigan-based company and Rohm & Haas Co. (NYSE: ROH), which Dow agreed to buy earlier this year for $15.4 billion, fell in pre-market action.

GMAC has given no word about whether bondholders approved a debt exchange program that would give the financing arm of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) with access to the $700 billion financial bailout program for financial institutions.

Since the middle of July we have been able to breathe a little sigh of relief as oil prices have been heading lower from the recent record highs. However, this morning oil prices are getting a slight boost as traders try to digest additional supply concerns.

Lately, it has been hard to discuss the state of oil prices without mentioning Iran and its controversial President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and that holds true again this morning. Over the weekend, the leader of the Islamic Republic caused even more tension over his country's nuclear program.

Iran has been claiming for the past couple of years that it has only peaceful intentions regarding its nuclear program, but of course the rest of the world, in particular Israel and the United States have voiced openly their distrust, and have claimed Iran has a more sinister intention ... nuclear weapons.

Oil rose more than $4 a barrel early Friday morning to a record $145.98 on concerns that Israel may be preparing to attack Iran and on supply concerns in Nigeria and Brazil.
[Update: Oil prices continued to climb, reaching a record of $147.03 a barrel, and this may not be the last update.]

Oil came within a whisker of $146 per barrel after Israeli fighter jets reportedly practiced over Iraq according to Iraqi and Iranian sources. This, however, was enough to increase speculation among traders that Israel is preparing to launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The United States and the European Union want Iran to end uranium enrichment, a technology that would give Iran the materials needed to produce a nuclear bomb. Iran says it wants the nuclear technology solely to produce electricity for civilian use. If one discounts oil sands, Iran has the world's second largest proved oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia.

Oil was also fanned higher by threats of additional Nigerian civil unrest and Brazilian oil union's plan to start a 5-day strike, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

The other major energy commodities, likewise, also jumped in early Friday morning trading. Heating oil surged 8 cents to $4.12 per gallon, unleaded gasoline rose 6 cents to $357 per gallon, and natural gas jumped 16 cents to $12.53 per million BTUs.

The past couple of trading days it started to look as though oil had finally run out of steam and was coming back to "reasonable" levels. Well, prices are moving higher once again today following news that Iran has test-launched 9 missiles today.

After heading up to $145 a barrel last week, oil had fallen nicely over the past two trading sessions, and as of last night prices were down at $136.04. Today, oil is moving up $1.63 a barrel as the market once again is facing the hard reality of an unpredictable future in the Middle East.

Iran has been all over the news over the past couple of years, and the main theme is the country's nuclear energy ambitions. The West, and Israel, have been claiming for a long time now that Iran has one goal in mind... nuclear weapons. But Iran has been defiant in its claims that it is only after nuclear energy and that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful means.

Oil prices rose above $142 on a lowered supply estimate and tension between Israel and Iran over Iran's nuclear program.

Oil rose $2.06 to $142.06 per barrel after the International Energy Agency predicted that spare capacity in OPEC will shrink by 2013, keeping the oil market "tight."

Oil bulls were also motivated to hit the buy button after ABC News reported that Israel may attack Iran's nuclear facilities if Iran acquires enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon, citing a Pentagon source who spoke on condition he not be identified.

The other major energy commodities also vaulted higher Tuesday at mid-day on the news. Heating oil rose 8 cents to $3.97 per gallon, unleaded gasoline increased about 5 cents to $3.54 per gallon, and natural gas added 20 cents to $13.55 per million BTUs.

Oil surged $4.27 to $136.20 per barrel Friday after the dollar fell and reports confirmed that Israel had conducted a military exercise that analysts say rehearsed a potential bombing attack on nuclear targets in Iran, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

The other major energy commodities also surged Friday on the news. Heating oil jumped 11 cents to $3.82 per gallon, unleaded gasoline gained 8 cents to $3.43 per gallon, and natural gas climbed 26 cents to $13.12 per million BTUs.

Short-circuited oil sell-off

Under most circumstances, oil rises when the dollar falls, as holders of oil, which is priced in dollars, raise their prices to compensate for the reduced purchasing power of the dollar. The dollar Friday was set to record 3-cent weekly declines against the euro and British pound.

Further, geopolitical events re-entered the oil stage. Israel undertook a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, The New York Times reported Friday.