July 4th Weekend

Dear Wealth Daily reader:

We hosted another 4th of July cookout this year.

But this time we hosted my wife’s side of the family. The Ng’s. The Chinese.

So I kept my "Chinese energy ambitions" to myself.

We had the works. I started off with tuna, salmon and chicken kabobs.

After the kabobs, it was onto the Johnsonville Brats, which I had been soaking in beer for 16 hours.

From there, ribs.

It was too much food… too much beer… and not enough fireworks.

But a great time, regardless.

Still, the energy issue wasn’t far from my mind.

Call it a case of energy paranoia, but all I could think about over the long weekend was the price of oil and gas.

Heck, as I was cooking on the grill, I tried to calculate how much propane I was burning. Then I started to convince myself that a charcoal grill might be in order.

Who knows?

But my paranoia isn’t groundless.

Here’s how this year’s July 4th stacks up against the previous 3:

Year – Price of Oil

2005: $59 a barrel
2004: $39 a barrel
2003: $30 a barrel
2002: $27 a barrel

You’re reading that correctly. Last year the price of oil was $20 less than it is today.

But I think the energy issue is about to get worse. You see, while enjoying my Brats and beer, I read a report about China cornering the energy market, especially here in North America.

It seems China isn’t satisfied controlling Canadian oil. It wants Canada’s uranium too.

What to do?

Buy Canadian uranium stocks and learn how to speak Chinese.

My first phrase to you is pronounced "Le-ho." It means "Hi, how are you." The Canadians have been saying it a lot lately.

-Brian Hicks