Exxon-Mobil strategy: Eric Devericks, 5.6.2003 (Seattle Times) (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/editorial/cartoon/2003/050603.html)

Is Big Oil Pumping Gas Prices? (Business Week) (http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2003/nf20030522_1351_db039.htm) Consumers packing up the family minivan for a getaway this Memorial Day will get a bit of a break when they fill up their tanks. Gasoline prices are down about 13% from their March highs, to a national average of $1.50 a gallon for regular unleaded as of May 21. But are gas prices as low as they could be? Crude oil has fallen 30% in the past two months, more than twice the drop that retail gasoline prices have witnessed in the same period.

Consumer advocates and gas-station owners say industry giants such as ExxonMobil ( XOM ) and ChevronTexaco ( CVX ) are playing games on pricing. Franchisees allege that they're forced to buy gas from major oil companies at inflated prices, and they say they're being pushed out of business by sky-high rent increases on company-owned lots. The BW article goes on to note the "rocket and feather" phenomenon, describing the odd relationship between crude oil and retail gasoline prices. The head of an association of gas station owners notes the functional difficulty he faces:DeCota says he makes just a tenth of a cent profit on each gallon of regular unleaded he sells, and yet those rival stations sell gas at prices that are consistently 8 cents or more cheaper per gallon than his. Says DeCota: "I make my money on Twinkies." And Exxon-Mobil has already taken a hit in the growing row:Last year, for example, ExxonMobil lost its appeal of a $2.2 million verdict handed down in favor of 51 Texas franchisees who claimed they were being overcharged.

Premlata Nair, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil, says the company was "deeply disappointed" by the verdict. "We believe that our pricing practices are fair and take into account the company's differing levels of investment and services provided," she says. - Exxon-Mobil Profits Triple (Daily Trust/allAfrica) (http://allafrica.com/stories/200305060448.html)

Interestingly, this article hit the web the same day as Devericks' cartoon. Of course, that makes sense. It would appear to be the same story.

- First-quarter Profits Are Rosy, But Crystal Ball is Clouded (AFP/MENAFN) (http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CpRX5qeientG1nKzPCNn0Cxv HCNrLCLbYBW) Rising oil and natural gas prices assured exceptional profits for number-one ExxonMobil, which tripled its earnings and number-two ChevronTexaco, whose earnings doubled in the first quarter. It would seem to be a pretty good year for the whole industry. Of course, crisis can "rocket" the prices upward, and the flow of American-secured Iraqi oil can push crude prices down while retail prices "feather" downward. And what, with the actions of the Bush administration (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=8&theme=&usrsess=1&id=13856), we might just see a part of that cycle over and over again; the only trick is to not bleed the rest of the American economy dry for the sake of the petrol industry, but it seems a little late for that note. And if cutting ties with Tehran wasn't enough, Lieberman (http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2003/5/25/121839) checks in to the delight or disgust of those seeking something else to drag Jewish conspiracies into .... At least he was "polite" about it: "I think it would be in the interest of the world and, most particularly, of the Iranian people to have a regime change in Iran," the top Democrat urged.

Lieberman quickly cautioned, however, "I'm not suggesting military action by us." Instead, he said that the U.S. should take a proactive role in toppling the government of Iran by backing pro-American elements in Tehran.

"There's no nation in the world where the government is more anti-American and the people are more pro-American then Iran," he told FNS host Tony Snow. "And that's the equation we have to flip." (NewsMax)You know, I can think of any number of nations that could stand to benefit from regime change, but that's just an hilarious gaffe by Lieberman.

When I first got my driver's license at 17, gasoline was US$0.98/gallon (1990). Shortly thereafter, it crossed the dollar mark, and I don't think it ever went back down except for the occasional radio-station promotion. And let's not pretend that a showdown with Iran won't further inflate retail petrol prices.

But pick an issue ... Satan has petrol stocks in his portfolio, to be sure.

:m:,
Tiassa :cool:

Oil is the crux of the world economy, no way you slice it the Middle East has the cards on this one. With the PNAC and US threatening 89 billion barrels of oil , otherwise known as Iran. The US has virtual control of about 112 billion in Iraq plus the Kuwaiti lacky's which account of approx 96.5 billion. The US consumes 19 million a day! A quarter of all oil goes to the US. This thirst for oil will not go away until the Hydrogen fuel cell comes along. The Quest for oil will not end.

I'm still amazed that americans can complain about the cost of petrol. Do you realise how much most Europeans have to pay for fuel?. The tax on fuel here is enormous, how we wish we had your petrol price problems.

Aren't most countries in Europe the size of a single American state or smaller? While I admit we've got a weird relationship with petrol on our side of the pond, we also have empty stretches of land to cross that are the size of small nations. No, I can't explain the Los Angelean habit of driving your car to the store or your friend's house a block away. I'm told it has something to do with the heat and, ironically, the air pollution. But our economy is so structured that if energy costs much more than it does around here, things will go to hell really fast.

For instance, in Seattle we have a couple of interesting economic situations that might make some sense: On the one hand, Seattle saw massive cohabitation in the 1990s when the gay issue pushed marriage and cohabitation issues to the fore. There is actually a reason for this. Some police officers and most schoolteachers in Seattle cannot afford to live in the city in which they work. Yes, I'm sure that $8.00/hr is a great wage if you're a Somali or an Afghani waiting for the next UN relief. (Baristas, when I moved back to Seattle in 1996, were being offered $7.50/hr; I'm pretty sure it's gone up a little, at least.) But our 18-30 crowd in Seattle is scattered across the economic strata, and voters generally tend to forget about the parking attendants, baristas, and bartenders who make their cosmopolitan lives tolerable. Seattle saw massive cohabitation not out of any social statement but out of economic necessity.

But as our mass transit scheme remains in various stages of limbo, people in this area do a lot of driving of their cars. The local economy will collapse if energy prices get out of hand relative to economic necessity.

Think about the day when your county bus system is stressed to the breaking point, your light-rail is years away, and the political establishment is doing everything it can to overturn voter demands for monorail and other mass transit. Think about the baristas, bartenders, hairstylists, retail clerks, schoolteachers, police officers, &c., ad nauseam, who won't be getting to work on time because they can't afford petrol and the bus is running late because of overcrowding? Seriously, I know it sounds absurd, but that's what our economy looks like. And the "rocket and feather" idea is merely the petrol companies trying to milk the economy without breaking it.

The same folks in the business-executive community who complain that higher taxes equal higher consumer prices are actually taxing the consumers themselves for higher profits. Our economic and therefore social, spiritual, and intellecutal growth are being held back for simple greed. It's a delicate balance, and if they can work it out to the penny, they'll spend too much figuring out how, and then charge the consumers even more to pay for the research.

Quite literally, we balance our economy delicately. It's underlying principle is maximization of profits, and its only salvation is the recognition that consumers need to be somewhat solvent in order to spend at all.

So let me apologize to my European neighbors for bitching about petrol companies. I'm sorry. It's just that I know damn well what happens to the world when the American economy goes south. If the numbers falter worldwide, we're lucky. If it gets bad enough, we start blowing things up.

So in deference to my European planetmates and their petrol prices, I'll stop worrying about the manipulation of the American economy by energy concerns at a time when the American political establishment is seeking any excuse to blow things up.

As one who does not drive a motor vehicle, I can honestly say that it has little to do with the cost of petrol itself, but what that cost implies for economy and society.

Think about how many places in the US that it's illegal to cut down a tree, chop it up, put it in your hearth, and set it on fire.

Energy costs can break an economy.

They also build economies. As you note, petrol is comparatively cheap here. Of course, we have a ridiculously excessive standard of living. For instance, I'm going to go smoke some really good dope now.

:m:,
Tiassa :cool:

Think about the day when your county bus system is stressed to the breaking point, your light-rail is years away, and the political establishment is doing everything it can to overturn voter demands for monorail and other mass transit

so you have to the UK then?:)