Price Gouging? No shit.

[dfacto]

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aVwSNoPGWWb0&refer=news_index

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's biggest oil company, said first-quarter net income climbed to $8.4 billion from $7.86 billion as increasing global energy demand lifted prices.

Per-share profit rose to $1.37 from $1.22 a year earlier, Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil said today in an e-mailed statement. The company was expected to earn $1.47 a share, the average estimate from 20 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Oil and natural-gas prices rose amid concern over supply disruptions in Nigeria, Russia and Venezuela. Lingering damage from last year's hurricanes to production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S.'s biggest domestic source of oil and gas, reduced supplies.

``Energy prices have been a lot stronger than many people expected, and they should continue to rise through the end of this year and next,'' Robert Sweet, who helps manage $100 million at Horizon Investment Services LLC in Hammond, Indiana, said in an April 13 interview.

Lovely how they can just stare you in the face and take you for a ride while telling you it's about international "concerns". I would understand if they were charging extra and making the same amount in terms of profits, but they're charing more and making more. There's nothing wrong with the oil supply, they're just fuckers.
:needle:

[BlueMech]

There's nothing wrong with price gouging, the oil companies are... companies. The ultimate goal of a compnay is to make money, and if you have a product that is in high demand, or even better, nigh irreplaceable, you raise the price. It sucks for everyone not making money, but it's how things worse. If I was an oil compnay I'd do the same, and if/when the american government tries to intervene, I'd go elsewhere. China will buy my oil.

The lying is "wrong", but it sounds alot better than "we're just trying to make money".

[Blue]

Simply economics...oil is a non-elastic product, so a jump in the price won't cause a drop in sales just because there is no alternative product. I agree though... it does suck. But, to expect otherwise would mean you believe these large corporations have souls.. ;)

edit: damnit, i was doing so good with not posting in the lounge too. *sigh*

[Xpose]

I don't understand why we aren't using ethanol. Brazil has been doing it for some time now and they have enough to power their country and actually export it to other countries. Ethanol also produces less pollution that gasoline and sure hydrogen burns clean but the pollution caused to make it exceeds gasoline burning massively. If the gov't worked properly we would have switched over a long time ago.

[staylor]

I don't understand why we aren't using ethanol. Brazil has been doing it for some time now and they have enough to power their country and actually export it to other countries. Ethanol also produces less pollution that gasoline and sure hydrogen burns clean but the pollution caused to make it exceeds gasoline burning massively. If the gov't worked properly we would have switched over a long time ago.

Brazil does have an advantage in that they can grow sugar to use as ethanol, which is a much more efficient source than corn, the U.S. doesn't have as much of the type of land needed for sugar. Still though, our dependence on oil is much more than it needs to be.

It would be so nice if the government actually did pry itself away from the oil companies for once. :\

[magicgoo]

Up to 650 between fill ups (http://www.toyota.com/prius/)

[Ilaekae]

Every time an oil company spokesperson is interviewed on TV, just turn the sound off and imagine they're saying...


"Trust me. I'm sterile."



It puts things in perspective...