Back in March 1999 “The Economist” magazine carried a cover photo of two men drenched in oil as they attempted to close a faulty valve that was spraying a huge stream of crude skyward. Over the photo was the headline: “Drowning in oil.” At the time it really did seem as if the world were drowning in oil. The previous December crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange touched $10.72 per barrel . That month U.S. gasoline prices averaged 95 cents per gallon . “The Economist” opined that oil might go down to $5 per barrel . But, of course, in retrospect the magazine’s cover proved to be the perfect contrarian indicator, for oil had already begun its historic ascent toward $147 per barrel. The 2008 price spike was the culmination of a 10-year bull market […]