Apache Corporation (APA) announced last week that it plans to acquire Mariner Energy Inc. (ME) in a $4 billion transaction. Typically when we see one company announce that it is going to acquire another company, the stock price of the company doing the acquiring goes down in the short term. But in the long term, this acquisition may help Apache's stock price break out.

Apache has been stuck in a consolidation range for a few months now. The stock price keeps bouncing back and forth between a slightly down-trending resistance level and an up-trending support level.

Free markets are essential and they have many benefits, but they are not perfect. Many economists, including economist Peter Dawson, agree. The global financial crisis, along with those infamous, Frankenstein-like, mortgage-backed securities and the massive, publicly-funded bailouts for failed free market institutions demonstrate this.

Another example, according to Dawson: the free market and oil. The mantra is, it's best to let the market determine the price of oil. Economist Dawson is doubtful, because oil price swings create economic havoc.

Consider the predicament airline, delivery, and related executives who manage businesses that have a major fuel cost face: you know that this year the price of oil is going to be somewhere between . . . $30 and $110. "Now that clarifies things," Dawson laughs. "Piece of cake."

Also, consider what oil industry executives face: try making and managing a 5-year or 10-year exploration budget. What's the price of oil going to be in three years? $20? $50? $75? $150? "Nobody knows, and it's creating havoc in exploration circles," Dawson said.