Experts Keep Close Eye on Energy Prices

Energy bills are straining Kamal Ziadat’s budget. As he shells out more for gas, he tries to cut back elsewhere. He doesn’t think he’ll take a vacation this year or buy a better car as he once hoped.

“You want to buy something but you think you need money for a necessity,” says Ziadat, a 54-year-old real estate investor who lives in Howard Beach, N.Y., and spends about $35 to fill up his car’s gas tank.

The extent to which high energy prices force Ziadat and millions of other consumers to tighten their belts is being watched by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other economists.
Tallahassee Democrat