Since the stock market bottomed out in March, the Nasdaq 100 index has led the way forward, with a 55% rally, with the Dow and S&P 500 not far behind.

With Exxon Mobil Corp.’s (XOM) new oil discovery off the coast of Brazil – the latest in a series of such offshore finds and potentially the largest Western Hemisphere discovery in three – the South American nation has taken another giant step in its quest to become a global energy superpower.