by Wendell Cayton

For the last week of summer I thought I would pass along a few observations and factoids that you might find useful to stimulate conversations as you finish off the hamburgers on the grill. So, let’s start with housing.

A sure sign the housing market is in a bubble … our river raft guide on the Colorado River spent 10 minutes trying to convince me that I could buy anything in Vail, Colorado, get rich, and retire on my gains. At least that was his own plan!

Who do you believe? … An analyst for the oil industry at Morgan Stanley is predicting oil prices will crash as global growth slows … while competitor Goldman Sachs is predicting a spike in prices to $100 a barrel, according to Worth Magazine.

Just in case you were wondering if we were getting down to our last drop … A Rand® Corp. study reported in The Denver Post® says oil-shale fields in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming could eventually produce 1.1 trillion barrels of oil, but it would take 30 years before commercial-scale production would produce enough oil to make a bump in supplies. That’s assuming those folks who live out there are willing to make the necessary environmental concessions.

If you are thinking of moving to a more wealth-friendly (read: lower taxes) state, the Bloomberg Wealth Manager® suggests Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada, Alabama, and Washington. You might want to make extra effort to avoid Rhode Island, Nebraska, Idaho, Wisconsin, and New York, where taxes are highest.

The Wall Street Journal® reports that wealthy Americans are borrowing more on margin, against their homes and businesses, to buy stocks. Their source was a report from the Spectrem® Group. Maybe they see something that a lot of others don’t in the stock market!

And from The New York Times® comes this tidbit: more than 9,000 American homes employ a private cook. We have one at our home … me … and I can report that my wife pays next to nothing for the service!

Climbing a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado should be challenge enough; however, now you will be trespassing on private property at the top of Colorado’s Mt. Lincoln. A fellow out there began buying up old mining claims, including one that extended to the top of the mountain. One day a lawyer hiked by and casually mentioned that there was a liability issue with people crossing his property. So he put up no-trespassing signs!

The latest energy conservation plan being batted around Congress and a few states would start taxing drivers on how far they drive, where they go, and when. Shades of 1984 … the plan would force all drivers to install surveillance devices in their vehicles. Oregon is testing a system that would relay information from the odometer and GPS device to the gas pump. Stop and think for a minute what it would mean for the government to know when and where you drive every minute! Believe me, I was joking when I said I would like something like that for my soon-to-be teenage daughter!

Finally, our hearts and prayers go out to the folks whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I have a great deal of faith in the American spirit and our ability to take setbacks like this and recover, to the betterment of all.

To borrow a line from a favorite Clint Eastwood movie, “We will adapt, adjust, and overcome.”