Hi
I can see from the statements below (from todays news) that the poor
maligned oil companies are being hit as hard as the consumers.
How do the forces of simple supply and demand create a 75% increase in
corporate profits?
Somebody is being scammed here, and I don't think it is the oil companies.
Wait till you get your heating bills this winter-- Or maybe the income from
your oil stocks will make up the difference.
Personally, I see a culture of unchecked corporate greed being marketed as
"Family Values".
"Henry Hubble, Exxon's vice president of investor relations, did note on a
conference call the company's record profit, which rose 75 percent in the
quarter to $9.92 billion from $5.68 billion a year ago. He said the gains
"reflect the strong commodity prices and our fundamental business model
that is disciplined, straightforward and focused on generating value while
managing risk."
"At Shell, third-quarter net income grew 68 percent to $9.03 billion from
$5.37 billion a year earlier. Revenue at the London-based company, which
has extensive operations in the United States, rose 8 percent to $76.44
billion. "We are capturing the benefits of high oil and gas prices and
refining margins," Shell Chief Financial Officer Peter Voser said,
referring to the profit margin on each barrel of crude that is refined into
gasoline, diesel and jet fuel."
"Also on Thursday, Marathon said third-quarter profit more than tripled to
$770 million, up from $222 million a year earlier. Most of the profit came
from its oil and natural-gas production unit. However, the results fell
short of Wall Street's aggressive estimates and Marathon's stock slumped
$3.80, or 6.2 percent, to $57.28 on the NYSE."
Dan Wright
Greed is all right, by the way . . . I think greed is healthy. You can be
greedy and still feel good about yourself.
Ivan F. Boesky --U.S. financier
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