That the arrival of $4 per gallon gasoline has already propelled changes in consumer and corporate behavior would not be a revelation to most investors / readers.

Still, a prudent tack for investors -- or heads of households/husbands/wives, for that matter -- is to look beyond the short-term conditions and try to gauge longer-term trends -- trends that may uncover investment opportunities.
Short-term, oil is likely to correct, many economists agree. Oil at one-hundred-twenty-five bucks per barrel is well above what many economists and analysts believe is a price capable of sustaining adequate U.S. and global economic growth. Speculators have pushed oil higher than what it should sell for based on fundamentals, and a pull-back is likely in the quarters ahead. That will take some pressure off gasoline, diesel and heating oil prices.

But what about long-term? Short-term, gasoline prices should moderate, but is $4 gasoline a high point? Probably not, if current global oil consumption trends continue. What's more likely? Additional, steady rises in gasoline, diesel and heating oil prices in the years ahead, particularly if the U.S. economy shows signs of a recovery later in 2008.

In the April 23, Wall Street Journal, Senator Sherrod Brown, (D) Ohio, made a realistic assessment of current government trade policy and how it is diluting the strength of our country. I think that Senator Brown was just a bit gentle with his words, and understandably so when given his position. Suffice it to say that I agree with him for the most part, but he should have just cut to the chase. The American working class has been sold out. He also failed to make one critical point about NAFTA. It was his party and the guidance of Bill Clinton that navigated that document into law.

Partisan politics aside, I believe that current American trade standards are something we need to be ashamed of. As a free market capitalist, I have nothing against the survival of the fittest in the worlds of manufacturing and business. However, we're beholden to good sense to provide a level playing field and to maintain benchmark standards. In that regard, American workers have been shorted. Our trade deficit is a testament to the decline of the American Dream. It's a dream, while not referred to by that name, that resides in the hearts of workers the world over. Every parent wants their children to have a greater degree of opportunity and safety than they had.

Ahh, just in time for the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections, word surfaces that the standard of living in Britain is now higher than in the U.S. For a country that has prided itself on McMansions, luxury cars and overpaid jobs, the U.S. has been knocked down by those across the pond. Feeling sad, Americans?

Researchers at the Oxford Economics consultancy are now stating that variables such as free health care and increasing incomes are making Britons better off than their American counterparts. When it comes to health care, this is no surprise.

47 million Americans don't have health insurance and health care insurance premiums continue to be abhorrently high. While those that continue arguing about taking health care insurance public instead of private, about a sixth of those living in the U.S. live every day without that type of insurance. From this standpoint, those in the U.S. that do pay health insurance costs continually see price increases. Result: less money to spend elsewhere.

Those Oxford researchers also state the GDP per citizen figures are higher among Britons than Americans, and Britain's continued financial market success has created a soaring housing market at the same time America is feeling a housing bust and a mortgage crisis created by greedy loan providers and ignorant homeowners. The researchers did state that British citizens may not feel more rich due to Americans having access to much cheaper goods. So, while Americans may make less, they can buy more.

While there are plenty of fast-talking late-night gurus out there who want to give you the information you need to get rich (all for the three easy payments of $29.95, but wait there's more...), the New York Times's Damon Darlin has some of the best personal finance advice that graduates don't want to hear:

• Save 10% of your income right off the top.
• Buy stuff used.
• Enroll in a 401(k).
• Don't borrow money to buy depreciating assets.
• Make your own coffee.

He offers two compelling reasons to start saving early. First, there's the most obvious one. Starting the cycle of compound interest early means your money will grow more. But then there's another one that I hadn't really thought about. Living below your means conditions you to be comfortable with a less expensive standard of living, which will also save you money in your retirement years.

There's another important thing to remember, and it's probably the best reason of all for being wise in your money management. I first realized this paradox when I was talking to my friend "Jim," who, after years of poor spending habits, has run up a huge amount of credit card debt, and lies awake at night worrying about money. He used to make fun of me for my Scrooge-like spending habits and obsession with saving as much money as possible. The other day, we sat down to discuss his problem.