Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Any comments on today's big corporate profits news?

Conspiracy? Anyone? Anyone?
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5 comments:

Scooter said...

From today's Houston Chronicle (at
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/3624134.html):

"But Exxon Mobil, which focuses intensely on efficiency, is a better performing company than the typical oil outfit.
For 2005, the company made 9.7 cents on the dollar, which an industry lobbying group pointed out was better than some big names but not as good as others. According to the American Petroleum Institute, Pepsi made 3.4 cents on every dollar. And GE made 7.5 cents per dollar. But those with higher profit margins include Big Mac-purveyor McDonald's, which made 11.6 cents on the dollar; Viagra-maker Pfizer, which made 20.1 cents on every the dollar; and Internet giant Yahoo, which made 45.5 cents on every dollar."

Pass Windfall Taxes on Yahoo!

January 31, 2006 at 12:39:00 PM CST
love johnson said...

I assume the "conspiracy..anyone.."
line is directed to me. Do I believe that "big corporate profits" (i.e. ExxonMobil)is some type of conspiracy - no. However, I defy anyone to explain in a manner that the common man can understand (1) how gas prices are determined and (2) who sets them.

And as an aside. I met with a recruiter last week (while I like the concept of not working, I do miss the $$)and he asked me if I would have a problem working for an oil & gas company. I told him no, I don't have a problem with the industry...but I WOULD NOT EVER go back to EM. The only reason I still buy their gas is because for some reason, I'm still getting the 10% employee discount.

January 31, 2006 at 1:14:00 PM CST
Scooter said...

Nobody "sets them." The higher the demand or the lower the supply(Texas post Rita), the more people are willing to pay and the prices rise. Lower the demand or increase the supply...several weeks after Rita/Katrina...prices drop. Easy.

January 31, 2006 at 1:48:00 PM CST
Michael said...

LJ - With EM stock prices the way they are, I'm suprised you have to work at all.

January 31, 2006 at 4:12:00 PM CST
Scooter said...

And best o' luck with the recruiter, btw.

Took me almost a year to land this gig...thought I would go nuts (and have to move to a real city).

February 1, 2006 at 11:43:00 AM CST

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