sex and petroleum

Cayuga MBA Fund LLC, a market-neutral hedge fund run by students at The Johnson School, Cornell University’s business school, has announced that it posted a 2.56% return in the first quarter of 2008., a quarter that saw a loss of 4.79% for the HFRX Equity Hedge Index, and a loss of 9.44% for the S&P 500.

Sounds like a good report card. But this also sounds like Risky Business for a class project. Do they dance around in their underwear,like Tom Cruise? He went into the pimping trade, if I recall the movie. Whereas the young men and women (I'm guessing mostly men) involved in Cayuga tell us that one of their best-performing last quarter was in Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) an oil and gas exploration concern that benefited from the rise in the price of natural gas in recent months.

Devon benefited, as well, from a move into the Canadian oil sands. These sands yield a heavier type of oil, now economical due to the rising price of crude.

So I've just arbitrarily conjoined the sex and petroleum industries. Well, it's a lazy Sunday, and I'll letting my stream of consciousness flow freely.

There was a television comedy show, early in the "W" Presidency, called "That's My Bush." In one episode, there's a great deal of talk about two points (a) a White House aide is having an affair, and (b) the administration is considering a plan to increase domestic petroleum production.

At the end, one of the characters explains the connection to another -- and to us.

"Oil is a lot like sex. Its too messy to produce domestically for long, so its better for everyone if you just go out for it."

That's good, too, for the entrepreneurs who invest in both of those markets wisely. Yeah, Cornell!