Oil passes $120 for first time, gas prices slip more than a cent

Don't worry, one member of the forum says they are only getting a 10 percent profit off their gross receipts and it is fair.

 

We do have a weak dollar and uncle sam is to blame. All that easy money over the past few years with the artificially low interest rates plus the housing debacle and the resulting financial crisis Bear Stearns... And guess what - they're cutting rates again - so bend over it ain't gonna get any cheaper. So what good does rasing production do when your money is worthless? I spent almost $10 for a "meal" in a Taco Bell the other day and was still a little hungry afterwards. Real inflation is running about 11% right now. It's like Jimmy Carter all over again.

 

I heard OPEC said they don't have control over those prices. That was from the Glenn Beck show on the Headline News network.

What I saw is WAR...WAR...WAR. You can't sell it to us right we can come over and take it. But that's just my opinion. I think that it will come to that anyway, if not for oil then for food. From what climatologists have said that most of the "bread basket" will become dry if the climate does what is expected over the next 100 years or so. A 100 years isn't that long when we are talking about world starvation.

 

You don't really believe they have a clue what the weather will do anywhere a hundred years from now do you? Please... They can't even get it right the next day...

 

Here's a look at why I'm defending oil companies



There is a lot of concern right now about job losses and rising unemployment. Companies that are facing tough times have been forced to layoff thousands of workers. But the energy sector has been largely immune to the problems in other industries.
I looked at the annual reports for the largest 25 energy companies in the S&P 500 and found that 20 of these firms had more employees at the end of last year than they did at the end of 2006. So the oil boom is creating jobs.
According to the most recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average weekly wages for nonsupervisory workers in the natural resources and mining industry (which includes oil and gas extraction workers) were nearly 70% higher than the national average.
In addition, weekly wages rose nearly 8% from a year ago compared to a 4.6% increase overall.
Gushing stock prices and dividends
Instead of bemoaning the amount of profits that oil companies make, people might have been better off investing in more energy firms.
Exxon Mobil's stock is up 15% in the past year. Shares of oil services giant Schlumberger have soared 36%. And deepwater oil driller Transocean's stock has skyrocketed nearly 80%.
The oil companies have also been rewarding shareholders with more than strong stock price gains. Of the 36 energy companies in the S&P 500, only five don't pay a dividend. And of the 31 companies that do pay dividends, only three have failed to increase their payouts in the past few years. Chevron and ConocoPhillips both pay dividends that yield over 2%.
Could these companies afford to pay higher dividends? Probably. But the oil companies also do need to make sure they don't dedicate too much cash to give back to shareholders...which brings me to my next point.
Oil companies aren't as profitable as you think
I sometimes get the impression that people think oil executives hold clandestine meetings where they unilaterally decide to set the price of oil and gas in order to maximize their profits. After maniacally laughing about how they are gouging the American public, they then go swimming in pools of gold ala Scrooge McDuck.
But there's a problem with that theory. Even though many oil companies are reporting record profits, many people forget just how expensive it is for energy companies to engage in the oil business.
The average net profit margin for the S&P Energy sector, according to figures from Thomson Baseline, is 9.7%. The average for the S&P 500 is 8.5%. So yes, energy companies are more profitable than many others...but not by an inordinate amount.
Google, for example, reported a net profit margin of 25% in its most recent quarter. Should we have an online advertising windfall profit tax?

Remember free markets?
At the end of the day, we shouldn't emulate Venezuela of all places and slap higher taxes on oil companies just because crude is around $120 a barrel. In free markets, there are times when many companies do well and others will not.
And just as I firmly believe that the Federal Reserve may have set a dangerous precedent in "rescuing" Bear Stearns from bankruptcy, I also think the government shouldn't step in and punish energy companies when they are doing well.
Hopefully, the Fed will take a tougher stance on inflation in the next few months in order to strengthen the dollar and remove much of the speculative froth that has pumped up oil prices. That, more than increased taxation on energy companies, is what will get the economy out of the oil slick it's now in.



http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/29/markets/thebuzz/index.htm?section=money_latest

 

Good info and some of us have been along for the ride. Wheat, Rice - all these staples are trending the same way. Investing isn't hard to do. Just about any bank can get you started with some mutual funds. Takes a little effort on your part to do a little researching once in a while though. There's a great magazine called Kiplinger's Finance cost like 12$ for 12 issues annually. Would suggest to others toss "trucker news" with whiney letters to the editor in the garbage and reading Kiplingers instead.