Honestly, I'm worried that things will not work out so well as you hope.
I am kinda expecting the price of oil to do something similar to what happened in 2008 as we head into summer. Everyone talks about bank deregulation, and globalized economic issues... but "peak oil" was a factor in the crash in 2008. Well, more accurately, speculation on the impending reality of peak oil. But I think it's going to get less speculative now. With a US embargo on iranian oil, and a less serious european embargo as well, I forsee peak oil rearing it's ugly head again as we head into higher consumption months this year.
The 2008 recession nuked consumption of oil, which really staved off peak oil for a little while. But it's not an issue that will go away. Even with reduced consumption, and increased govt. approval of things like frakking and offshore drilling in previously disallowed areas, the rate of global oil production is still slipping downward, towards it's meeting point with the rate of consumption.
It's not an issue of running out of oil, that's a good 50 years off still... But, bear in mind that in 50 years, that last gallon of gas will cost a million dollars. The thing with peak oil, is to see a situation where the max capacity of global oil production, falls to a point below the level of global oil consumption. When (not 'if') that happens, the market will shift from a buyers market for oil, to a sellers market for oil, as consumers must leverage their wealth against other consumers' wealth to get the oil they want.
Imagine a room with 100 people selling a snowcone, and 99 people buying a snowcone... snowcones are fairly cheap, because nobody wants to be the one seller who doesn't close the deal. Now imagine a room with 99 people selling a snowcone, and 100 people buying snowcones... the whole dynamic is turned inside out. Of course people don't NEED a snowcone, and nobody NEEDS to sell a snowcone that badly... but if selling some oil is vital to one nation's economy, and buying some oil is vital to another nation's economy... then in a buyer's market, the competition to sell the oil is fierce. But in a sellers market, the competition to buy the oil will be fierce instead. It's gonna do really bad things to the price of petrol energy, and really soon. I would think that without Iran issues, it might not hit till 2013, but with the embargo (which basically changes the shape of the room where snowcones are sold), oil supply is gonna get really close to oil demand, and may fall below it.
So... yeah. I'd buy oil as a hedge. Or just buy oil flat out. If the price of oil spikes, all the other markets will take a noticeable dip (except for recession-loving items, like gold, walmart, ramen noodles, etc). I could be wrong about it getting 'severe' this summer. but i'm sure there will be at least some swell in oil prices, the northern hemisphere simply burns more oil in summer, and oil prices are already kinda 'bling' right now, when consumption is lower.
But I've been really focused on just gold, oil, and money markets. black & yellow gold have been my bread & butter, and the money markets are really just kind of a sliding reference to truly quantify how my bread & butter are doing
I haven't followed other aspects of the market that closely. I seem to do really well moving money around in those particular markets though.