Overall, the drop in oil prices is a favourable development for the universe of stocks we follow and recommend. It will cut into the earnings of our oil stock recommendations, of course. But for all other stocks we follow, and their customers, it will act like a major tax cut. Note, too, that lower oil prices will cut into the cash flow of the top international troublemakers—Russia, Iran, and Venezuela—in three key parts of the world. A steep plunge like this inevitably sparks predictions of an even bigger drop ahead. It pays to be skeptical of predictions like these, just as it pays to be skeptical of bullish predictions that follow a big rise in the price of a stock or a commodity. Most are extrapolations on the rise or fall that has already taken place. Nobody has ever consistently predicted the rise and fall of the oil market. If you could do that, you could acquire a measurable proportion of all the…