The stock of (CNQ) pushed substantially higher this winter, clearing major psychological resistance at $50, before pulling back in healthy-correction fashion.

Further, given the better than 50% gain, if you bought Canadian Natural Resources when first discussed here at the split-adjusted price of $31.80 on May 24, 2010, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table with CNQ.

When the CEO of Walmart says that inflation is coming, we best be on the lookout. As head of America's largest retailer, Bill Simon is in a unique place to see inflation traveling all the way through the supply chain.

Walmart's (WMT) advanced computer systems are the some of the largest and most advanced computer systems in the world -- on par with computers the U.S. military uses. Every product and purchase is tracked to get stores resupplied as quickly as possible, usually just in time. As a retailer, Walmart is going to be keeping track of costs and profit margins very closely. Managers all across the company are carefully watching the reports.

BP's (BP) headache continues over its planned share swap with Russian-owned Rosneft. According to a report from Sky News, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced its concerns over the impact of the swap. ABI reportedly controls 10% to 15% of the U.K. stock market.

ABI's reservations also include a Swedish court's decision to block BP's planned venture with Rosneft in the Arctic. Perhaps most concerning of all -- and not just to ABI -- is Wednesday's report announcing that U.S. prosecutors are considering manslaughter charges against BP for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Eleven oil workers were killed as a result of the spill.

Recently Anadarko (APC) has agreed to buy BP's 93% interest in the Wattenberg Plant, located in the northeastern part of Colorado, for about $575 million. Anadarko already owns the remaining interest in the plant.

Anadarko is the largest producer of natural gas in the Wattenberg field and the deal will provide Anadarko with 100% ownership of the plant. The company relies heavily on natural gas, which we estimate accounts for nearly 40% of its stock value. It vies for business with established oil and gas producers like Exxon Mobil, (XOM) ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron (CVX), BP (BP) and Duke (DUK).

With several major developments occurring around the world, many investors may wonder how they could affect their portfolios or their lives. Here are two of the current, newsworthy events and how investors may interpret them.

Libya

The oil from Libya totaled about 2 million barrels a day before the revolution, half of which was exported. About 1 million barrels a day are no longer available to the world. That isn't enough to really affect the price of oil for a long period of time. Plenty of other countries can supply that amount without straining their capacity. But they're unlikely to step in to fill the gap when oil prices are above $100 a barrel. That price should recede once the conflict finishes and a more stable government is in place.

ConocoPhillips (COP) is likely to gain in the short-term from political tensions in Libya and other Middle Eastern regions due to a rise in crude oil prices globally. However the recent news in Japan following fears of a nuclear crisis gives us some concern. ConocoPhillips and competitors like Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), BP (BP) and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) and Chevron Corporation (CVX) are sensitive to changes in oil prices.

While we expect ConocoPhillips's price of crude oil and LNGs (per barrel) will increase to around $83 by the end of the Trefis forecast period, Trefis members forecast the price rising to $102, implying an upside of 5% to our price estimate for COP stock.

The Financial Times has seen a U.S. diplomatic cable from WikiLeaks that states that Iran has bought significant amounts of gold. The word is that Tehran holds 300 tons of gold, up from 169 tons in 1996.

Gold, oil and the U.S. dollar: The oil-rich Middle East sells oil throughout the world. Oil is priced in dollars. The U.S. dollar is the reserve currency for oil. That means that Mideast countries are loaded with U.S. dollars.

• WTI crude was up $3.67 per barrel to $101.67. Brent crude rose $2.10 per barrel to $110.62.
• In the grain market, June wheat futures rose 48-2 cents per bushel to $7.10 per bushel.
• Corn futures were up the 30 cent limit to $6.46 per bushel.

Except for the safe haven of U.S. treasuries and the U.S. dollar, most other commodities are getting slaughtered in the wake of the Japanese crisis.

Here are some prices of nearby contracts compared to five days ago:

• WTI crude is trading at $97.68 per barrel, down from $105.
• Wheat is at $6.89 per bushel, down for $7.89.

The turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has put pressure on the Obama Administration to resume issuing permits for deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Noble Energy (NBL) was the first to obtain a permit since the BP (BP) disaster.

Noble is an international oil and gas exploration company that operates in the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S. it has operations on the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, mid continent and the Gulf of Mexico. Its international operations are located in the Middle East, South American and West Africa.

Gas prices are rising and show no signs of coming back down. In fact the predictions are for higher prices to come. At the moment, gasoline averages $3.542 per gallon, according the the AAA motorist group, as reported by CNNMoney.

The highest recorded nationwide price was $4.114 on July 17, 2008. Forecasters are looking for the $4.00 per gallon marker to be hit by this summer.

The Chinese government released trade data that portrays a $7.3 billion deficit. Is that believable or just convenient amid the international pressure to raise the value of their currency? We can hardly believe what comes out of Washington, so data coming out of China has to be quite suspect.

I'm sure they retained qualified independent auditors to ascertain the validity of the figures -- yeah right ...

Chevron Corporation (CVX) is one of the largest energy companies in the world, engaging in a variety of businesses like exploration & production of oil and natural gas as well as refining, transportation and trading. The company competes with other established oil producers like ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), BP (BP) and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC).

Our price estimate for Chevron stands at $104, which is in line with market price.