Synchronicity. Carl Jung wrote about it. The Police sang about it. The Anglo-American geo-strategic interests live it: past, present, and future.

Following WWI in April 1920, the Allied Supreme Council met in San Remo, Italy to decide how the petroleum resources of the Middle East would be carved up. Interestingly, this meeting occurred without American involvement, and the agreement ceded 25% of all petroleum extracted in Mesopotamia (Iraq) to France. This interest had been the Deutsche Bank share of the Turkish Petroleum Gesellschaft acquired in the Versailles Treaty. The remaining 75% would fall to the British government controlled Anglo-Persian & Royal Dutch Shell companies. Under this agreement, France granted British oil companies the right to run an oil pipeline through French Syria including tax exemption.

In March 1921, Winston Churchill (as Sec. of State of Colonial Affairs), held a meeting in Cairo of top British experts on the Middle East/Near

Energy stocks have struggled mightily so far in 2012, as soft demand for petroleum products and progress toward alternative sources of energy have weighed on this sector. Despite the recent challenges, allocations to energy stocks remain a key component of many investing strategies, and this sector is well represented in the portfolios of both buy-and-hold investors and more active tactical traders [see Energy Bull ETFdb Portfolio].

For those seeking to overweight energy stocks, there are a number of ETFs that offer exposure to this sector. The Energy Equities ETFdb Category consists of nearly 30 exchange-traded products, including domestic and international funds, as well as products targeting narrow segments of this market such as exploration and production, natural gas, and coal.

Cheapest Energy Equity ETFs

There is a wide range of expenses in this ETFdb Category; some funds charge as little as 18 basis points while others have expense ratios over

Euphoria has spread across Wall Street as encouraging developments in the eurozone coupled with positive economic data releases from the home front have helped lift the cloud of uncertainty looming over financial markets. With bullish momentum already on a roll, many are wondering how to favorably position their portfolios as the global recovery picks up steam. The energy sector in particular has been steaming with activity lately as signs of economic growth and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have sparked a flurry of interest among traders and investors alike.

Energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) recently took an in-depth look at how shifting demographics and advances in technology will impact the global energy market going forward. In the Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040, Exxon Mobil covers a wide array of fundamental factors that will have an impact on our economic landscape. In this report, several noteworthy trends are