El invierno ya espanta a los americanos...

Si en el verano el barril de petróleo pasó los 60 dólares, imaginénse en Enero... El New York Times (acceso gratis con registro previo) reporta:

"Near Chicago, a health care administrator expects her natural gas bill to double and has cut back on her cable TV subscription. A school district in Maine will lower the thermostats in classrooms. And the treasurer of the Union Church of Proctor, a small community near Rutland, Vt., faces a $10,000 shortage this winter because of soaring fuel oil costs.

"You can turn the heat down a little and wear an extra sweater," said Gary Fay, the church treasurer, "but in the end you really need to heat yourself."

With energy costs rising substantially for a second year, and reaching another record on oil markets yesterday, how consumers and businesses respond this winter - whether they curb their energy consumption or not, whether they keep spending on other goods or not - will be critical as higher energy prices slowly ripple through the $11.7 trillion American economy..."

Y ésto apenas comienza...