Overheard at FedEx

"A drop in the pricing of oil
Should sweeten the fruit of our toil,
But since shipping has slowed
In the air and the road,
The fruit of our toil may spoil."

When should shippers not rejoice in the falling cost of fuel? When it indicates a slowing economy, according to the Wall Street Journal's Kelly Evans. Her Ahead of the Tape column points out that lower oil prices have coincided with weakness in the price of $FDX and the S&P 500 generally. Although cheaper fuel is clearly a benefit when looked at in isolation, it may be correlated with global economic activity, as is the shipping business.