I'm John Batchler. I welcome back from the road. Gene Marks, a small business columnist for the Guardian

newspaper, UK and U.S. edition, and other distinguished publications, including our hometown

newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gene is back from the road. He has been traveling

America these last weeks, a measure of the economy in the war time, in the anxiety over the price of gasoline,

in the opening of springtime in the northern hemisphere, we go to Dallas and the petroleum

equipment manufacturers. Nothing could be more relevant right now than anything to do with

the oil patch. Gene, a very good evening to you.

I'm going to guess the mood of all oil patch men and women is we're doing well and then

there's anxiety in their face.

How did you find them?

I think it's the former rather than the latter.

They're doing well and they're pretty excited.

This is an industry that

makes equipment for manufacturing, I mean, they manufacture equipment for, you know, the energy industry.

And all sorts of equipment, valves and gaskets and, you know, machines and all sorts of things.

You know, you can imagine the amount of work that goes into a refinery.

It is a, you know, it's boom times for these guys.

I mean, obviously we know oil prices because of the war or skyrocketing,

despite, you know, what the oil companies want to admit,

it does mean more profits for them.

And the oil companies, you know, are constantly in need of buying new equipment and

refurbishing equipment and whatnot.

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