We make no allusions to intimately knowing the intricacies of the global oil production system and the resultant pricing flim-flam, but recent pricing has given us pause. The price of a barrel of oil closed below $34 yesterday, which strikes us as odd since in the late 1990's, such prices correlated to per-gallon prices at the pump between $1.25 and $1.50.

When we fueled up yesterday, prices for regular unleaded where between $1.89 and $2.00 — depending on what state we were in. Now, we aren't saying there's some kind of grand conspiracy to bilk the consumer by desensitizing them to high prices and then leaving prices at artificially high levels once oil prices fall, but the historical record makes it hard to not be suspicious. [Graph courtesy pf SeekingAlpha]