Oil Has Yet to Hit Problematic Height

The oil price turmoil spilled over into the stock market. The Dow Jones industrial average, up more than 100 points earlier Wednesday, finished down 21 points at 10,594 amid growing concern oil could reach $70 a barrel. At some point, high oil prices have to matter,” says David Briggs, head of global equity trading at Federated Investors. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Economy.com, lists several reasons U.S. growth is above average, even with the oil pressure. The price surge is due to strong global demand, rather than supply disruptions, as in the past. Inflation expectations are low, and consumers have tapped home equity to keep spending. While some economic models show $75-a-barrel oil could have a big impact, Zandi says the price would probably have to go higher to really hurt. But if housing and other sources of growth fade, the oil pinch will get more acute

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