As I remain bullish on oil’s long-term prospects, this week’s installment of Emerging Market Speculator features energy expert Elliott H. Gue’s take on key developments in the global oil market. Mr. Gue is the editor of The Energy Strategist and MLP Profits.

At this point, oil sands production of 3.2 million barrels a day by 2020 seems more inevitable than a United Nations-brokered agreement on climate change.

It’s wise to study the lessons Jesse Livermore left us--lessons that he used to make his fortunes, lessons that, had he followed them to the end, would have made “Jesse Livermore” a household name at the time of his death.

In a market where most income-oriented groups offer near record-low yields, investors are starving for income. All MLPs offer market-beating distributions, as well as attractive tax advantages, but fight the temptation to blindly reach for the highest yields.

In a market where most income-oriented groups offer near record-low yields, investors are starving for income. All MLPs offer market-beating distributions, as well as attractive tax advantages, but fight the temptation to blindly reach for the highest yields.

We’ve been overweight staples in Personal Finance all year, and our favorites have actually beaten the S&P 500 despite the perception that they’re boring and defensive.

During years when the February cattle futures contract is trading at a discount to the April contract in the early fall, the February contract gains on the April as we move from the end of one year into the beginning of the next.

Although natural gas prices recently hit a seven-year low on the spot market, the action in longer-dated futures and gas-related stocks suggests that a marked improvement is around the corner.

The end of easy oil remains arguably the most powerful driver in the sector, though the unprecedented drop-off in demand that occurred in the wake of the credit crisis and resultant economic dislocation has obscured this long-term trend. But with the global economy and credit markets now on the mend, this theme should come back with a vengeance over the next few quarters.

Do surging gold prices indicate inflation is making a comeback? We probably won’t be able to answer that one for a while. But one thing the yellow metal’s strength does indicate is the debasement of the US dollar after a year of unprecedented “quantitative easing” to head off depression, as well as the fact that the US is no longer the world’s only major market for raw materials.