05-06-2011, 03:51 AM
mattkime wrote:
pretty filmsy concept. its entirely based on the rate of growth (numbers and not on any transaction pattern. a bubble isn't truly a bubble until it pops - otherwise its simply a sharp increase in the value of a particular good.
i think its a good idea to compare it to the housing bubble. speculation certainly fueled the housing bubble but those very same speculators (which includes many joe-average americans) ultimately lost big time.
housing prices are now cheaper than they were before the bubble. should we expect the same once the gas bubble bursts?
One "bubble" did burst this week, and oil prices are dramatically lower.
There's a pattern of these bubbles in the oil market going back at least a decade. I don't know if I'd call in "flimsy," massive amounts of money are made on this speculation. Who it's not so good for is average consumers, who have to ride the roller coaster with our budgets.