Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) lost a court battle in London in its legal battle with Venezuela.

A British Judge ruled against Exxon Mobil in the company's battle against Venezuela's national oil company PDVSA by lifting a freeze on $12 billion worth of PDVSA's assets and ordering Exxon to pay legal fees.

The ruling was based on the judge accepting PDVSA's argument that the company didn't have any business interests in the U.K., thus the court had no jurisdiction.

Exxon shares rallied along with the market on 3-18, but have been trading near the 200-day moving average, and have failed to make new highs along with the price of oil of late.

When big oil stocks don't match the general trend of price of oil, it is often a prelude to a pullback in the commodity. With crude prices showing increasing volatility, this legal setback for Exxon may be another negative in the overall scheme of things for the company.

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He is the author of four books: "Futures And Options For Dummies," "Successful Energy Sector Investing," "Successful Biotech Investing" and co-author of "After-Hours Trading Made Easy."

In early 2001 Dr. Duarte in "Successful Energy Sector Investing," correctly predicted that Venezuela's political problems could lead to an energy crisis in the United States.

In 2003, also Dr. Duarte was among the first to widely publicize the long-term friendship between French President Jacques Chirac and Saddam Hussein.

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