Will these oppressive energy prices ever calm down? It’s a thought on the mind of every stock investor these days as prices for oil, gasoline and natural gas (the real “screamer” of the three) flirt with all-time highs.

Will we ever forget 2005, the year of the monster storms? As if the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina wasn’t enough, now we’ve got another whirlwind bearing down on us. According to the latest projections, Hurricane Rita should strike the Texas coast, home to the nation’s largest oil-refining installations, Saturday morning.