Buyer's Market?

Common sense might have you reasoning that when the price of oil goes up, interest in alternative energies goes up. But the recent spike in crude oil prices was met by falling alt-energy stocks?

http://www.247wallst.com/2008/09/alternative-ene.html

Why?

Maybe it has something to do with the uncertainty around tax credits - or the lack of them - for alternative energy-related projects. Tax incentives for the construction of energy-efficient housing and for the construction of wind and solar power plants runs out at the end of the year and, so far, they haven't been renewed.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122211753163964501.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Democrats want to rescind the multi-billion dollar corporate tax breaks for oil companies. Republicans, with filibuster power in hand, have been holding up passage of this year's energy bill insisting that the subsidies for big oil must be be extended as well.

Looks like the financial crisis on Wall Street has knocked the energy bill completely off the agenda before the October recess. So with no guarantee of tax credits, even at current levels, many projects are in a state of paralysis.

There will be a new energy bill at some time, but just exactly what that will be remains to be seen, and it hinges dramatically on who's elected - as president and in Congress.

Go out and vote.