[pE71J5Sw]

See that's scary $116.6 Trillion dollars in revenue in one quarter! That's greater that the entire world GDP, that's when things are getting out of hand

How can one company have profits larger than world's GDP?

[HenriRow]

How can one company have profits larger than world's GDP?

Wow you missed the joke completely!

[pE71J5Sw]

apparently [surrender]

[fgjhfgjh]

I kind of see both sides to the whole thing. My dad is a geologist for shell and I ask him about environmental questions and why gas companies get ridiculously high profits and a lot of it makes sense, but of course, there is always fat to be cut.

A lot of the money goes to research and development because it cost a TON of money to run a oil rig and especially drilling oil in deeper and deeper oceans. A lot of the prices are Dependant on OPEC too.

It's easier to point fingers but while some of it may be justified, there is usually a larger picture in the problem

But when these are profits, wouldn't these be the numbers after they pay employee's? pay to run rigs, pay for the research, fuel their own engines, feed their employee's, travel expenses, ect. ect? Then with this current money they just end up giving their CEO's $100 million bonus and further invest in their company.


Though, I don't get why people get their gas still at Exxon? They are having all the large profits, they charge the most for fuel, and are not even investing their money in alternatives. They are going to be staying strictly petroleum.
This is why I like to give my money to places like BP. They are investing their money in alternatives, and I feel better to know that my money is going to places that don't want to kill me so much.



Food prices aren't just based on the price of fuel though. Their are things called droughts, and bad crops which is really effecting Asia pretty hard right now. Countries are actually stopping or limiting their amount of exports on staple foods. Then with bad sources like corn being made for ethanol, it bumps the prices up even more.
But the change in price of energy is way way higher then the price change of food. Plus with food, you can grow that stuff in your yard, porch or in the house. So you can't really complain when you can cut huge costs by growing your own food. With gas, you can't really do that. You can with diesel, but in the US, who has a diesel?


Also, Publix is making money because people are investing in them right now as they are expanding pretty big. Thus the profits. They have just opened up their first store in this area, are in the process of a 2nd store and it is only going to be growing.
Winn-Dixie not too long ago completely pulled out of the state of Tennessee and two other states I believe because they weren't making any money. Actually shut down some 300+ stores.

[ferelrossi]

The only way to lower our prices is drill for oil here in the US and get the gov't filthy hands out of our pockets. The government is making WAY more on oil than the oil companies. Reduce our imported oil and open our wells here. Did you know; that in Texas alone there is an oil supply that could support this country, full tilt, for more than a century??? Did you also know that in the 80's, big oil companies bought smaller ones and capped their wells, with no intentions to use that oil? I see wells here in Ohio that are setting idle; Its a huge money grab for both the government and the oil companies. There is a difference in reasonable profit versus, greedy profit.

We don't need gas tax suspended for the summer, we need it cancelled altogether. Your looking at a government that did nothing for this product anyways; they didn't find the oil, they didn't drill it, they don't distribute it; yet they are making a killing off of it. When will it end? Whats next on their agenda?

Why is China allowed to drill off of our coasts and our oil companies are not?

[Grenader]

Did you know; that in Texas alone there is an oil supply that could support this country, full tilt, for more than a century???

http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/fun...nsumption.html

21 bn Barrels, 20m per day consumed so roughly 1000 days or 3 years


2007 reserve numbers, still 21:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves

[ferelrossi]

http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/fun...nsumption.html

21 bn Barrels, 20m per day consumed so roughly 1000 days or 3 years


2007 reserve numbers, still 21:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves

As far as I am concerned; that data was meant to be accepted by the general public. In no way do I believe it to be valid; be honest with yourself, do you actually believe that?

[Grenader]

As far as I am concerned; that data was meant to be accepted by the general public. In no way do I believe it to be valid; be honest with yourself, do you actually believe that?

I see it as a upper limit because reserves usually get overstated because the reserves determine the allowed production in the OPEC

[unsamiSlini]

nope. government. FTW LOL they prey on the feeble minded

It might be a bit different if Obama wins, but I am not sure the old system will allow us the chance to find out. When Ms Clinton said he needs "a few more years of experience," my heart sank, because to me, what she really means is he needs a few more years to be corrupted and become a cog of the system like the her and the majority of American politicians.

Lately it seems that her catering her every speech to promise everyone she meets exactly what they want, no matter how unlikely/impossible that is, might just work (yet again) with "Bubba" America and give her wish.

With Obama, things might just roll on as before, because the vested interests will fight him at every turn, and its not certain he can overcome that if elected: With Clinton and McCain, things will certainly roll on as before and we will keep right on having these old familiar "conversations on the titanic" while the ship slowly goes down.

As usual, I will watch and shake my head, slowly.

[Wsjltrhe]

It might be a bit different if Obama wins, but I am not sure the old system will allow us the chance to find out. When Ms Clinton said he needs "a few more years of experience," my heart sank, because to me, what she really means is he needs a few more years to be corrupted and become a cog of the system like the her and the majority of American politicians.

Lately it seems that her catering her every speech to promise everyone she meets exactly what they want, no matter how unlikely/impossible that is, might just work (yet again) with "Bubba" America and give her wish.

With Obama, things might just roll on as before, because the vested interests will fight him at every turn, and its not certain he can overcome that if elected: With Clinton and McCain, things will certainly roll on as before and we will keep right on having these old familiar "conversations on the titanic" while the ship slowly goes down.

As usual, I will watch and shake my head, slowly.

Yea I find it a little sad that the more desperate Clinton gets for those votes the more things she will promise, the more negative complete crap she puts on TV... its pathetic, but there are idiots in this country that eat it up and that is why we will fail.

[Darnisg]

and why not?

Food prices are going up and people can't buy rice and milk now, but Publix is still posting a 6% profit for the quarter. Are you telling me they shouldn't be making this kind of money too? Target made 5.5% profit. Shell Oil made a 7.1%. Since when in this country does making 10% profit in a quarter make you a criminal? Last time I checked consumers had a choice in what gas they bought. If you don't like Exxon go somewhere else, or better yet change your lifestyle so that oil companies don't make this much money.

Yeah, $4 gas sucks, but its here to stay so deal with it. I'm moving in 3 weeks to be 2 blocks from work so I can walk to work and not have to keep filling up with 93 every week and a half. TBH, $4 gas is exactly what this country needs if we're going to curb the retarded habits of a culture which doesn't care about the amount of energy they use and loves the SUV as a means of transporting their 1 kid to soccer practice.

Oh, your right, its here to stay....its not exon's fault...deal with it peasants...

Fascist.

[hrthwhr]

Oh, your right, its here to stay....its not exon's fault...deal with it peasants...

Fascist.

4 dollar gas is not exxon's fault, it is the devalued dollars fault. If the dollar was strong as it should be, gas would be ing the $1.80-$2.20 range. You can whine and complain all you want about exxon, but it is the Fed's fault that gas is so high.

[Darnisg]

4 dollar gas is not exxon's fault, it is the devalued dollars fault. If the dollar was strong as it should be, gas would be ing the $1.80-$2.20 range. You can whine and complain all you want about exxon, but it is the Fed's fault that gas is so high.

Im going to exit the thread, sorry if I insulted anyone, I regret what I said.

[mirzaterak]

We don't need gas tax suspended for the summer, we need it cancelled altogether.

Yeah! Let's rob Peter to pay Paul. You know the oil companies are praying for the tax to be suspended? Instead of letting actual market forces control demand we can drop the tax stop spending on unimportant things like oh you know, infrastructure and instead keep up demand and keep pouring money into the pockets of big oil.

[mirzaterak]

4 dollar gas is not exxon's fault, it is the devalued dollars fault. If the dollar was strong as it should be, gas would be ing the $1.80-$2.20 range. You can whine and complain all you want about exxon, but it is the Fed's fault that gas is so high.

To an extent the dollars weakness has impacted oil prices no doubt. That said though the Dollar has lost about a 1/3rd of it's value in the same period that oil has quadrupled in price. Commodities are in a secular bull market and have been for several years there are a multitude of reasons for that and whenever people try and isolate and blame one aspect alone they are failing to understand the breadth of the issue. Though Fed are a bunch of c****.

[hrthwhr]

To an extent the dollars weakness has impacted oil prices no doubt. That said though the Dollar has lost about a 1/3rd of it's value in the same period that oil has quadrupled in price. Commodities are in a secular bull market and have been for several years there are a multitude of reasons for that and whenever people try and isolate and blame one aspect alone they are failing to understand the breadth of the issue. Though Fed are a bunch of c****.

again, i am not saying oil would be $20 a barrel, but it would be in the 60's, effectively cutting exxons profits in half and giving us gas prices in the range of $1.80-$2.20.

Also, the dollar has lost more than 1/3 of its value (at least against the Euro), as i think it is trading $1.52-1

[orgagsUpsepsy]

The oil companies profits are on the high side, but it isn't like they have completely gone off the map for %. The profit line just isn't enough to cover this huge price increase.

I am going with weak dollar, and how oil futures are bought an sold. The supply and demand balance is thrown out of whack with speculation and stocks on what is an necessity.

Cutting gas tax or tax holidays won't fix it, if anything futher imbalance supply and demand. Much of the demand is inelastic, but there is a little elasticity in that you can see the reduction in demand with the higher prices.

The issue I have is that the actual supply of oil is now quite regulated by OPEC where formally it was too loose to control much of anything, combined with the weakness of the dollar and an increase in speculation of oil futures creating an artificial price run up.

We have an economy mostly driven by capiltalism and supply and demand. We are not set up well to do things which fall outside...the health care system and oil regulation and energy R&D are two examples. There has to be a financial incentive in the private sector before the kind of R&D to look for alternatives comes to fruition. We can't get to universal healthcare under how our economy is structured either.

Both of these point to glaring weaknesses in a completely capitialistic economy and a government that works with that base. There are actually times when the government should break the rank and put the R&D needed to fund forward thinking initiatives, there is a time to realize that the capitalistic profit driven areas of legal, medicine and insurance have created an entire industry of profiteering at the expense of everyone's health.

[ferelrossi]

Yeah! Let's rob Peter to pay Paul. You know the oil companies are praying for the tax to be suspended? Instead of letting actual market forces control demand we can drop the tax stop spending on unimportant things like oh you know, infrastructure and instead keep up demand and keep pouring money into the pockets of big oil.

No my point being; the gov't shouldn't tax us on most things; unless of course we were participating in a fair tax versus income tax. Why does the gov't make more per barrel of oil than the oil companies?? I have family that lived in Midland Texas for many years....they watched oil companies get bought then their wells get capped; why is that? Sure big oil is gaining profit, is it reasonable? No, but the goverment is making more than big oil is on this. When you get rid of tax; it is not robbing peter to pay paul! Me paying higher taxes to support the lazy is robbing peter to pay paul. I say, tell the tree huggers we are drilling here in America whether they like it or not, import limited amounts of oil from Canada. Next thing we could do is stop buying ANY new vehicles for the next 2 years, forcing the auto industry to release a non-petro solution; either all electric or water/hydro!!! Start charging the middle east the same amount per bushel as they charge the world per barrel of oil....Last I looked, there's no corn or wheat fields in the desert.
TBH, I don't think involving the gov't in anyway will fix the oil price issue; only we can do that. But we need to stop buying big trucks, new vehicles and PLEASE, would all the frigen independant truckers go on strike already! They did in the 70's, why not now? Anyways thats just my bead on things.

[loikrso]

The problem is that investors are looking for a safe place to put their money after the burst of the housing bubble and they've turned towards investment in comodities and are hedging against a dollar thats losing value fast.

[Grenader]

Next thing we could do is stop buying ANY new vehicles for the next 2 years, forcing the auto industry to release a non-petro solution; either all electric or water/hydro!!!

But we need to stop buying big trucks.

Califonria had a law that forced the Car Manufacturers to make electric vehicles, but abandoned it (Right now, GM is pimping their Volt plug-in hybrid coming 2010 when the chinese are going to sell a full electric car in 2009).

Right now, the US finally stopped to buy big trucks if you look at the sales figures.