The REST of the Story

[Fla._Deadheader]

 [http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/WhyExxonWontProduceMore.aspx?page=1/]

 Well, THAT didn't work 



 Click Here

   

[Fla._Deadheader]

 Well, That only took a ½ hour 

[Dan_Shade]

We're proud of ya, Harold 

[zopi]

Well, duh...if ya gottem by the short and curlies, you don't give stuff away...there is a good reason i own oil
stocks...

didja know that an Arleigh Burke class destroyer burns about $30,000 dollars worth of DFM every day of operation?

[olyman]

oil co's---noooooo time for them--seems they and the politicians could give two hoots about you and me--pay for the fuel--do they care??

[Dan_Shade]

well, it's not only the oil companys that do that sort of thing.

gas is expensive, but the last time I was on the DC beltway, it was still heavy traffic without people carpooling...

[PineNut]

oil co's---noooooo time for them--seems they and the politicians could give two hoots about you and me--pay for the fuel--do they care??

You better believe they care. They smile all the way to the bank.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 The only reason I endured the hardships of getting that link to work, is, I just don't get, how the govt. can let the economy be affected so much, that poor folks have to suffer, so the big companies can reap such obscene profits

  I know, life ain't fair, but, Geeze, come on. 

[zopi]

I can. but the answer involves roundly abusing the upper echelons of our government, thus starting a
political discussion that would likely get me banninated...<GRIN>

the much touted law against price gouging at the pump seems pretty ineffective, eh?

[beenthere]

If "we" didn't keep on buying it, the price would drop..

Who volunteers to go first..??   

Big Gov't can't take care of all our needs...IMO.

[zopi]

if I could slide out the door and catch a train to work, you can bet I would...

[Fla._Deadheader]

 I was thinking, if they stopped the price fixing, gas wars would bring things within reason. It USED to work 

  Don't even THINK I'm wanting the govt to try to FIX the problem, but, there are people hubbin it to just survive right now

[Don P]

I read that as a 4% tightening of the supply causing a 300% price increase at retail . it is supply and demand. I think about 20% of corn diverted to ethanol and what, doubled the bushel price  , I'm not sure what that has done to the retail price.

It seems like alternatives could win back the 4% and at least remove that demand pressure. Although I guess if the price isn't high the alternative doesn't seem as appealing.

The automobile and the paving of roads in rural areas means that stores are farther away than they used to be. I drive past a number of old ones on the way to town. I wonder if obscene fuel prices will open those back up?

[Ron Wenrich]

Yes, it is supply and demand at work.  The problem is that the supply is in too few hands.  Let's hear it again for allowing all those mergers that supposedly saves consumers lots of money.

There are a lot of lobbyists and politicians that are in bed together.  It all revolves around money and how Exxon can keep the lion's share.  Read that as tax breaks.  Get rid of the current tax system, and you get rid of the lobbyist. 

Its not so much that corn is being used for ethanol, but that it has diverted acreage from other grains to corn, which raises grocery prices.  Is there a tax incentive to make ethanol?  See comment above.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 I've also got access to an article, where, 300 million gallons of Biodiesel, is sent to Europe, out of 450 million gallons produced in the states, last year. Better market over there, as, diesel is around $7.50-$8.00 gallon, US.  The USA better wake up.

[Handy Andy]

  Exxon needs the money to pay for its losses in Venezuela.  Hugo nationalized their operation there. 

[HOOF-ER]

I was just reading this link. Two things I have been pondering. How much taxes are on a gallon of gas? If the state/government is at ,say, just 6% tax . Back when gas was $1/ gallon . The revenue has just tripled at $3/gal.  (6 cent to 18cents). What incentive does government have to reduce gas prices?
Oil  and/or grain are commodities and are traded in contracts. Speculators are not required to own the product to trade it. For a very small percentage of the dollars involved you or I could control a contract of say corn. Which I believe is traded in 5,000 bu contracts. What if you had to take delivery of a commodity to speculate on it? Bad for the seller ,good for the buyer/end user /consumer. Possibly not. The investors would not/could not put money in these markets. I cannot believe that our market place is totally a supply demand thing. I believe it is fund managers moving massive amounts of investment capital into the commodities markets. Just my thoughts sorry to ramble.Some of this bugs me

[Ron Wenrich]

Speculators offer liquidity in the market place.  There is a buyer and a seller.  Its pretty much a zero sum game.  $3 trillion a day are traded on the currency speculation markets.  Of course, everyone has money, but they don't have the amounts that are being traded.  Its all leveraged.

For commodities, the underlying contract has a due date.  These things don't run on forever, like a stock.  They also have the market value underlying that commodity.  Most commodities will be priced at market value plus a percentage to cover interest.  The farther the market is to expiration, the more expensive it becomes.  Those prices erode over time.

In a fast moving market where demand outstrips supply, the closer markets will be higher than those farther out.  It has nothing to do with the speculators, but the underlying market value.  Steel does not have a commodity listing, yet the prices are high.

Yes, there are massive amounts of money going into the commodity markets.  That's due to the poor returns in the stock market.  Its also due to poor interest rates.  In order for investors to maintain their return, they have to go to every market they can. 

Commodity markets are good ways for companies to hedge on prices or guarantee a price at harvest.  Its how trucking companies can keep some stability in their fuel prices and how the local oil man can guarantee a certain price to their home heating customers.  You can do the same thing by playing the options market where you don't even trade in the commodity contract. 

As for the road taxes, they are levied at a certain price per gallon.  The more people drive, the more they collect in taxes.  Buy a  fuel efficient car and you'll pay less in taxes. 

The cause for high fuel prices is caused by a lot of things.  But, excessive demand is at work here.  The dollar lost 10% this year so far.  Does that impact the price of gas?

[Warren]

Folks,

I spent the past hour trying to constructively express my frustration with this matter, with no success.  Let's just say I will be changing my long time voting preferences in November...

I am not certain what I am changing to. But the folks that are in power now need to understand that the current situation is unacceptable...

Warren

[ely]

i aggree with warren,

and another thing thats not entirely different,
here we have a company called cheasapeake energy, something something whatever. that corporation is now buying up ranches all over the place and getting into the cattle business. i know of about 5 ranches that they have purchased with the smallest about 4500 acres.
imo, you now have oil and gas tax break money being used to venture into the cattle industry. what happens to the small ranchers when they flood the market with beef.
i know in the past here, when the drought comes on and cattle times get tough alot of the small timers had to get out. if everyone sells out all the brood stock it will cause a shortage of young cattle, then they lift the import restrictions on beef cattle and we all get to deal with a whole new set of problems,like disease and parisites that are new to this area.

bottom line imo is oil and gas money should be used in the expansion of that industry not allowed to be used to disrupt the livelyhoods of others.
the working class pays the brunt of the taxes in this country, while big wheels just find more ways to beat the goverment out of more taxes still yet, and thats on top of what our politicians are already giving those yahoos in the form of tax breaks. but heck i can't talk all day about this, i have to run out and pump 225 dollars into my boat so i can fish this saturday.