Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Meanwhile, the Dow just closed over 100 points over it's previous high close.< I am getting ready to move some funds in 401K as a correction is a comin' -- just like in housing where 2006 will be the first year since the depression to show a YTY decrease in home prices they skyrocketed way too fast, especaillyon the coasts, and now it's time to settle down.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>In spite of a few spikes in oil company revenues, that's not the case.<< Spikes? Prices have been at least 2X what they were two years ago. When was the last time the national average was below $2 a gallon? Its been well over a year IIRC. And nobody is expecting the prices to drop down much more than they are now. But you are right about ROI. Big oil has no reason to increase capacity if it means that there could be periods of surplus inventory.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>"Meanwhile, the Dow just closed over 100 points over it's previous high close."<< And meanwhile at my place of employment me and 100,000 co-workers have been told to keep our pay raise expectations tiny, in spite of record profits.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 ^^^^^^^^^ better than being told your job is being off shored to a low cost country as many others are.... as we both know, profits only affect very high level executive pay, not anyone else...
Originally Posted By mrichmondj So, the Dow is 100 points over where it was 6 years ago. Not much to celebrate if you suffered through the losses of 2000 and 2001. We've broken even now -- what a booming economy!
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <Spikes? Prices have been at least 2X what they were two years ago.> Two years ago the average price of gas was about $2. It rose during the summer of 2005, then peaked at just above $3 right after Hurrican Katrina. It dropped down to almost $2 last year in November (even though it wasn't an election year), and now is dropping down again. There's no mystery there, and there's certainly no collusion between the oil companies to lower prices to help Republicans. Gas prices go up in the summer when people tend to drive a lot, and down in the fall. Next, the free market works. If oil was a guaranteed high-profit business, there'd be more people going into it. The fact that there's not tells you that it's not a guaranteed high-profit business. It's got risks and rewards, just like everything else.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <Not much to celebrate if you suffered through the losses of 2000 and 2001.> At least you acknowledge that there were losses in 2000. It seems a lot of Democrats want to pretend the economy started going south in January of 2001.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >> If oil was a guaranteed high-profit business, there'd be more people going into it. << I'm not saying that there aren't market forces involved. Obviously if we could all cut our consumption by 50% prices would collapse. But we can't do that. Even if all new cars sold were hybrids or diesels it would take years for total consumption to drop. Maybe in 10 years we culd get there. And there is no argument that if crude doubles in price then the price of gasoline will also rise. But big oil can restrict gasoline supplies and keep prices up. We are being told in Colorado that our prices haven't come down as much as elsewhere due to supply issues and lack of local refinery capacity. Which is great for big oil. All they have to do is sit on their hands and prices will stay high.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>better than being told your job is being off shored to a low cost country as many others are....<< I know. We are the "lucky ones" (here's your 1% raise). Heaven help us when the economy stops "sizzling".
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <I know. We are the "lucky ones" (here's your 1% raise). > unfortunately it's how I 'sell' them also -- for those well informed on what's going on in the job market however, they do understand
