"Calif Bill" wrote in message
k.net...

"DSK" wrote in message
...
Chuck Gould wrote:

Driving back to the office, I could swear I just heard the radio
newsdude say that Exxon made about $10 billion in net profits during
the last 90 days.

If that's the case, then I have to agree with the apologists that the
outrageous cost to fuel my boat is all based upon "supply and
demand"......

as in "We monopolize the supply, and we hereby demand....." :-)


It *is* all about supply & demand. If the prices were high enough that
people would buy less of it, then they wouldn't be making record profits,
would they?

Right now the oil companies are experimenting to see just how high they
can push the prices before sales go down. After all, they know they won't
be in this business forever even if some right-wingnuts think so.

Shucks, prices aren't even high enough that people drive a little slower.
Just a short while ago I was doing 75 in a 55 zone and getting run down
by a steady stream of SUVs with one person in them. Every single one of
those drivers, if asked, would probably complain heartily about the price
of gas... but they're not *doing* anything about it.

DSK


So, was not just SUV's speeding. How many in your speeding vehicle? Oil
makes about 16% profit. Citigroup about 34%. You want to make money,
build a refinery and acquire crude and sell it for less money than the
competitors. You will be rolling in the moola, as you will have most of
the energy business. But to get the crude, you have to rent a deep water
drilling rig for $400k a day. Big bets, should get a good profit on
wins.

Per the latest quarter for Exxon their profit percentage as measured by
dividing Profit by Income was 10.8% not 16%.

The oil industry profit "percentages" are lower than other industries like
banks, pharma/biotech, household/personal products, real estate. (2005
data).

$10B in quarterly profits is a whole bunch of money but percent wise, as I
believe it should be viewed, it's not out of line.