Thursday, June 30, 2005

Stephen Leeb on Bloomberg 06-27-05.

Stephen Leeb of Leeb Capital Management was on Bloomberg radio on June 27, 2005.

His comments, as close as my notes get them:

- There is nothing to stop the price from rising, there is too little oil, and too much demand.
- $60 is not high enough to kill demand, with China, India and US demand continuing to grow.
- 80% year over year price increase tends to kill demand, so say $75, but for China and India, even this may not kill demand.
- $100 is well within reach.
- Since 1998, oil prices have risen nearly 30% a year, this may continue for a long time to come.
- Refining capacity is tight, and the producers with the possibilities of
expanding are Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, so we remain very, very vulnerable both upstream and downstream.
- Currently, there is no rapid development of alternatives, but we have been complacent for too long, and it is imperative that we spend massive amounts over the next 5-10 years on alternatives including wind, nuclear, coal gasification, etc.
- He believes at some point there will be a dramatic turn towards alternatives, but he is not sure when.