Thursday - November 10, 2005

Counterattack

Big Oil got in its licks at the Senate’s hearings yesterday as Chevron’s CEO cut loose on Congress with both barrels (at $65 per). Senators were surprised to learn that natural gas customers in Florida have their gas shipped across the Atlantic from Angola, which supposedly makes more sense than drilling into natural gas reserves off the coast of .... Florida. Huh?

Chevron CEO Attacks Energy Policy
WASHINGTON (Reuters)

U.S. energy policy’s focus on the environment and new fuel specifications historically has hurt efforts to increase the nation’s refining capacity, Chevron Corp.’s (CVX) chief executive said on Wednesday. “From a U.S. energy policy perspective, the focus has been on environmental and fuels investments, not on investments that add to production capacity,” Chevron CEO Dave O’Reilly said before a Senate hearing on energy prices.

O’Reilly also said U.S. energy policies had hurt the development of domestic energy resources. A maze of regulatory and administrative barriers at the federal level, for example, prevented Chevron from developing a natural gas field off the Florida coast, O’Reilly said.

As a result, consumers in Florida receive gas from Angola that is shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, he said.

“This is clearly not an efficient and economic use of resources for the United States, or the rest of the world for that matter,” O’Reilly said. “Yet it is the direct result of our historical energy policies.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/10/2005 at 04:41 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Environment • Politics •  
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   Thursday - October 27, 2005

GREED!

Exxon Mobil Posts New Record for Profit
IRVING, Texas (AP)

Exxon Mobil Corp. had a quarter for the record books. The world’s largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday high oil and natural-gas prices helped its third-quarter profit surge almost 75 percent to $9.92 billion, the largest quarterly profit for a U.S. company ever, and it was the first to ring up more than $100 billion in quarterly sales.

Net income ballooned to $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, from $5.68 billion, or 88 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding certain items, earnings were $8.3 billion, or $1.32 per share, versus $6.23 billion, or 96 cents per share, in the 2004 quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, predicted earnings excluding items of $1.38 per share. Revenue grew to $100.72 billion from $76.38 billion in the prior-year period.

Howard Silverblatt, equity analyst at Standard & Poor’s, said both the net income and sales figures are all-time records for publicly traded U.S. companies. The hurricanes slashed Exxon Mobil’s U.S. production volumes by 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down nearly 5 percent year-over-year, costing the company $45 million before taxes. The company said total daily production slipped to 2.45 million barrels of oil equivalent from 2.51 million barrels.

“Following the hurricanes, Exxon Mobil maximized gasoline production from all of our refineries which were operating in the U.S., and increased imports from overseas affiliates to meet U.S. demand,” said Chairman Lee R. Raymond. Earnings from U.S. upstream operations increased by $498 million to $1.67 billion, while U.S. downstream earnings jumped $548 million to $1.11 billion. In the U.S. and abroad, income from the company’s chemicals segment declined by $537 million to $472 million, as raw materials costs squeezed margins.

The company cautioned that reduced volumes and higher costs will also hurt the fourth quarter. Shares of Irving-based Exxon Mobil rose 56 cents, or 1 percent, to $56.76 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range between $48.25 and $65.96.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/27/2005 at 03:37 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Economics • Outrageous •  
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   Monday - October 24, 2005

A New Face At The Fed

Damn, it seems like Alan Greenspan has been chairman of the Federal Reserve since before I was born. Anyway, the old boy is being put out to pasture after all these years and there is a new face to get used to if you worry about money ....

Bush Selects White House Economist Bernanke to Replace Greenspan
(WASHINGTON POST)

President Bush today nominated his chief economic adviser, Ben S. Bernanke, to replace Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve when Greenspan’s term expires Jan. 31. In making the announcement at the White House, Bush hailed Bernanke’s “reputation for intellectual rigor and integrity” and said he “commands deep respect in the global financial community.”

Bush said Bernanke, if confirmed by the Senate, “will replace a legend” in Greenspan, who he said has steadily “shepherded our economy through its highs and its lows” and “has dominated his age like no central banker in history.” In brief remarks after Bush’s introduction, Bernanke said, “If I am confirmed by the Senate, I will do everything in my power, in collaboration with my Fed colleagues, to help to ensure the continued prosperity and stability of the American economy.”

He pledged that his first priority would be to “maintain continuity” with the policies and strategies of Greenspan’s 18 years at the helm of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke, 51, a Republican, served as a member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System for three years before being named chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in June. He previously was an economics professor at Princeton University and served as chairman of the university’s economics department from 1996 to 2002.

Bernanke, who holds a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a fiscal philosophy similar to that of Greenspan, who was named Fed chairman by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and renominated for four-year terms by three other presidents. However, Bernanke and Greenspan differ on whether the Fed should set targets for inflation. Bernanke believes the Fed should set such targets, while Greenspan does not.

Flanked by Bernanke and Greenspan as he made the announcement in the Oval Office, Bush praised the “steady chairmanship” of Greenspan, who he said has “kept inflation low” during his stewardship of U.S. monetary policy. “Ben Bernanke is the right man to build on the record Alan Greenspan has established,” Bush said. Greenspan, 79, who stood to the president’s right during the ceremony, did not speak, and the three men left without taking any questions from reporters.

In introducing Bernanke, Bush said the Federal Reserve “is the symbol of the integrity and the reliability of our financial system.” He said the institution “affects the lives and livelihoods of all Americans.” The Fed chairman “must be a person of impeccable credentials, sound policy judgment and character,” Bush said. He said Bernanke “has done path-breaking work in the field of monetary policy, taught advanced economics at some of our top universities and served with distinction on the Fed’s Board of Governors.”

Bernanke has “built a record of excellence as both an academic and policymaker,” Bush said. “He is the author of several scholarly books and is one of the most cited economists in the world. As Fed governor, Ben advocated greater transparency in communication with the public and markets. His speeches were widely admired for their keen insight and clear, simple language.” Bush urged the Senate to “act promptly to confirm Ben Bernanke as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve.”

Go Read The Rest At The WAPO

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/24/2005 at 02:49 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Wednesday - October 12, 2005

Hard-Candy Christmas

Yes Virginia, there is still a Santa Claus but this year he is on a tight budget after hurricanes, high gas prices and frivolous lawsuits. The elves are demanding a better medical plan and a 10% increase in wages. The American Federation of Elves (AFE) is threatening a strike if their demands are not met. Santa is also under attack by PETA for alleged animal abuse for driving the reindeer so hard to get presents to all the world’s children overnight and the ACLU has filed a lawsuit over Santa’s connection to Christianity. Hang in there, kids. It will be a hard-candy Christmas this year ...

Parents Plan Christmas Cut Backs
NEW YORK (CNN)

Francie Todd’s two boys may not notice it, but there’ll be fewer toys under the tree this Christmas. Amid higher gasoline prices and other effects of Hurricane Katrina, Todd plans to cut her toy spending in half. “You look at the economic climate overall, and this is not a good time to run up the credit cards,” said Todd, of East Lansing, Michigan, who will spend about $100 on toys for each child, down from $200 last year.

The human suffering from Katrina has also made Todd re-evaluate her budget for toys. “We want to be more about the experience of giving, and less about the getting,” she said. Those sentiments, likely to be shared by millions of parents this holiday season, are a depressing turn for the $20 billion toy industry. If parents buy only one or two fewer toys each, the collective frugality could give the industry its third straight year of falling holiday sales.

Toy retailers, preparing for a difficult season, plan big discounts and other promotions. “It’s going to be extremely competitive to draw customers to their stores,” said Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of Toy Wishes, a trade publication. Price wars are already under way. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. began by slashing prices up to 30 percent on toys including the latest version of Hasbro Inc.’s electronic pet Furby, and Fisher-Price’s “Shout” Dancing Elmo. Toys R Us Inc. responded by lowering its prices.

Wal-Mart, hurt last year when it didn’t offer enough discounts, is expected to mark down more aggressively this year. Toys R Us, meanwhile, is offering more exclusive toys than it did last year, and other retailers are also ready for a battle to get customers into the store. For the holidays, the toy industry has high hopes for a series of children-friendly versions of adult gadgets, including VCamNow, a $79.99 video camera for 8-year-olds and ChatNow, a $74.99 pair of two-way radio communicators, both from Hasbro.

Toy companies are also coming out with educational toys that are more fun to play with, like LeapFrog’s $99.99 L-Max Learning system, which plugs into a television; and VTech Holdings Ltd.’s $89.99 V.Smile Pocket, a handheld version of the original V.Smile learning system. There are also more advanced high-tech dolls such as Amazing Amanda from Playmates Toys Inc., a doll that can recognize her “mommy’s” voice and respond after hearing it just a few times.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/12/2005 at 06:44 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Friday - September 16, 2005

Gas Wars

There is a gas war going on in Britain even as I speak. British motorists are staging protests with convoys in Wales so Britain’s two largest petrol dealers cut their prices. Now Brits should be happy, right? Well, using my handy-dandy Barking Moonbat Calculator/Currency Converter, I crunched the numbers and it appears that 89.9p per litre works out to approximately $6.13 per gallon. Down from 92.9p ($6.36 per gallon). Yeah, that’d make me happy. How about you ....?

Asda and Tesco Cut Petrol Prices
(BBC NEWS)

Predictions that UK petrol prices are on their way down proved correct after two fuel retailers promised to cut prices at the pump. Both Asda and Tesco are cutting up to four pence off a litre of petrol. Prices are coming down as global oil and petrol prices retreat from post-Hurricane Katrina highs. On Thursday, oil prices reversed early gains with US light crude down 34 cents to $64.75, while London Brent fell 21 cents to settle at $63.91 a barrel.

Asda and Tesco are dropping their prices from Friday. The cuts come after muted demonstrations by fuel protesters, who are also planning a major go-slow along the M4 motorway during rush hour. Friday is the last of three days of protests by the Fuel Lobby, which is calling on the government to cut fuel tax. UK petrol prices are among the highest in Europe, with 67% of the total cost going on tax.

Retailers said this week’s protests have had little impact and said petrol stations should be back to normal by the weekend after a spate of panic-buying by motorists earlier this week. “Next week, when things have calmed down against, we’ll see prices fall due to falling wholesale prices,” said the Petrol Retailers’ Association said earlier this week.

Asda said it would cut the cost of petrol to a maximum of 89.9p a litre at its 158 petrol stations and diesel to 92.9p a litre. “Drivers have been ripped-off in the past 10 days as drivers rushed to fill up,” said Tony Page, general merchandise director at Asda. Meanwhile, Tesco said it was cutting prices from 0600 BST on Friday at all its 380 petrol stations by up to 4p a litre. “The price of petrol has fallen and we are passing those savings back to shoppers as soon as we can,” a Tesco spokeswoman said.

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/16/2005 at 05:49 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Tuesday - August 30, 2005

Unimaginable

Sorry for the light posting today crew, but it seems like Allan and I are both snowed under, bogged down and up to our collective necks in work.  Plus, it’s hard to do much else but watch with unending horror as the water continues to rise in the Big Easy.

Michelle Malkin has been doing yeoman’s work keeping up with the links.  Even Steven DenBeste (one of the deepest thinkers to grace the blogosphere) is commenting with his usual clarity (scroll down).

I don’t have a TV (well, I have a TV, but no signal, only videos), so I have been watching coverage from WDSU out of New Orleans.  It’s the hometown station and it’s personal.  The crew moved out of their station (which is now under water) and took up residence in the studios of a sister station in Jackson, MS.  Most of them have no home to return to, and you can see and hear the anguish in their reports as they try and convey the enormity of the damage to their city.

The latest seems to be a call to perhaps evacuate the entire city.  Should it be rebuilt?  Should it be relocated?  At what cost?  Certainly there is an economic impact to the country, and a value that the city brings to the equation, but is it worth the multiple truckloads of money that it will take to rebuild it where it is (was)?

Posted by Drew458     on 08/30/2005 at 06:30 PM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • Economics •  
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   Monday - August 29, 2005

A Penny Saved Is …. Useless

One of our readers (Steve C.) sent this to let me know what his piggy bank looks like after a visit to the gas station this morning ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/29/2005 at 05:29 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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Saudis Vow To Take Up Slack

Under the heading of “Ain’t That Damned Nice Of Them”, we have a report that Saudi Arabia has vowed to increase production to make up for shortfalls in current US oil production due to Hurricane Katrina. I suppose we should thank them for all that extra $75 per barrel oil ....?

RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia said it was prepared to increase its oil production to make up for supply losses caused by Hurricane Katrina, the official news agency SPA reported. “Saudi Arabia is ready to increase its production to compensate for any lowering in supplies of crude on the international oil market,” said Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi, quoted by SPA.

Oil prices dived from a new high above 70 dollars a barrel on Monday after the US government said it could release strategic crude reserves in response to the hurricane. Traders said the reversal came after the US Department of Energy said it stood ready to act if requested to tackle supply shortages caused by the impact of Katrina on Gulf of Mexico rigs and Louisiana refineries.

In Asian electronic trade, the New York contract for light sweet crude for delivery in October had blazed to a new record high of 70.80 dollars. But by the end of trade in New York, the contract stood at 67.20 dollars.

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/29/2005 at 03:26 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics • International •  
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   Sunday - August 28, 2005

Resale Value

_{Steve Breen—The San Diego Union-Tribune}

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/28/2005 at 05:51 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Thursday - August 25, 2005

Unhappy Ending

_{Gary Brookins, Virginia—The Richmond Times-Dispatch}

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/25/2005 at 03:50 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Wednesday - August 17, 2005

The Good Ol’ Days

_{Steve Kelley, The New Orleans Times-Picayune}

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/17/2005 at 09:59 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Tuesday - August 16, 2005

Where’s The Gecko?

_{Cameron (Cam) Cardow - The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/16/2005 at 06:16 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Saturday - August 13, 2005

Up, Up And Away

A Chevron service station on Van Ness Avenue displays gas prices above $3 a gallon in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005. For the West, the average price of unleaded hit $2.62 a gallon, at least 20 cents higher than any other region in the country. Maintenance problems at U.S. and foreign refineries and the repeated threat of hurricanes along the oil-producing Gulf Coast helped push prices higher. Crude oil reached a record high price of $65 a barrel Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/13/2005 at 06:39 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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   Thursday - August 11, 2005

Outta Sight!

In Encinitas, Calif. a gallon of gas will cost you a three-dollar-bill. There’s a joke in there somewhere but I’m afraid the punchline involves Arabs, me and vaseline (or the lack thereof) ....

(LA TIMES)—Motorists got a barrelful of bad news Wednesday when oil prices soared to a new high, gasoline set another record in California and the Department of Energy warned that pump prices could remain above $2 a gallon through much of next year.

The latest round of woe was spurred by a spate of refinery problems in the U.S., increasing instability in the Middle East and a growing imbalance between demand for petroleum, which is rising rapidly, and production capacity, which isn’t.

After briefly touching $65 a barrel, the U.S. benchmark crude closed at a record $64.90, up $1.83, or almost 3% on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was up 46% from a year ago and boded ill for motorists already paying sky-high prices for gasoline — which also hit a new national record Wednesday.

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/11/2005 at 02:33 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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