...and the gouging continues

[Don Ferrette]

This just posted on-line that will appear in print tomorrow in the Washington Post. :angry:

Gigantic oil companies generally do not enjoy the best PR.

Pick your poison: Oil companies have caused tanker spills, proposed drilling into the Arctic wildlife ranges, crafted ties to shady nations and meddled in the affairs of others, and produced products that pollute.

Now, even as high gasoline prices continue to anger motorists and aggravate financial problems at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the oil companies have begun to report record quarterly profit. Yesterday, British energy giant BP PLC reported a $6.53 billion third-quarter profit, up from $4.87 billion in the same period last year. And tomorrow, analysts expect Exxon Mobil Corp. to show that it earned nearly $9 billion over the past three months -- the largest corporate quarterly profit ever.

Grumbling already has begun on Capitol Hill: Last month, one senator proposed a windfall-profit tax on oil conglomerates, and yesterday, House Republicans warned energy companies against price gouging.

To deflect the damage, the energy industry is relying on an ad campaign that was escalating even before hurricanes Katrina and Rita blitzed Gulf Coast petroleum refineries. The print and television ads are designed to educate consumers and lawmakers with a "we're all in this together" tone.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5102501655.html

We're all in this together????

What a load of B.S.!!!!!!

 

[piper_chuck]

This is what we're dealing with around here: http://www.wral.com/news/5078520/detail.html

RALEIGH, N.C. -- State Attorney General Roy Cooper is taking on a gas distributor who he accused of illegally conspiring to fix prices and trying to force at least one gas station to raise its prices.

Cooper filed suit on Friday against fuel distributors McLeod Oil Company, Inc. and Home Oil, Inc., of Mebane, and their manager Wesley C. Mehring, of Burlington, alleging that the defendants fixed the price of gas sold in Durham County and sought to coerce a local gas station to raise its prices.

Cooper is asking the court to block the companies' illegal practices, to fine the defendants $5,000 for each violation and to require the companies to give up any illegal profits.

"I won't stand for a gas supplier leaning on a local station to hike prices," Cooper said. "Consumers and businesses are already paying more than ever before for gas. They don't need gas prices hiked even more by somebody trying to make a fast buck."

According to the complaint, McLeod Oil Company and its affiliate, Home Oil, Inc., have an agreement to supply gas to A&P Mini Mart located on Glenn School Road in Durham.

Under their agreement, with each shipment of gas, McLeod provides Steven M. Grover, who runs the Mini Mart, with a range of suggested prices and what the gas station's share of the revenue would be at each price level. Grover typically selects the lowest price listed.

According to Grover's affidavit, representatives from McLeod came to his store on Sept. 28 and demanded that he immediately raise gas prices by 40 cents a gallon. McLeod told Grover that competing gas stations also supplied by McLeod were angry with A&P Mini Mart's low prices, and that Grover needed to be "in the ballpark" of the other stations' prices.

Grover refused to hike his prices. He later found out from a Mini Mart employee that McLeod had padlocked the gas pumps.

The next week, as explained in the affidavit, another representative from McLeod's came by the A&P Mini Mart and asked if the store was ready to "get with the program and raise your prices." Two days later, McLeod removed all of the gas from the underground tanks at A&P Mini Mart.

After Cooper's office filed suit on Friday, the defendants agreed to remove the padlocks at A&P Mini Mart by noon Monday and supply the station with gas.

Cooper said he asked the Federal Trade Commission in Washington D.C. for help investigating at the oil company level. He is also working with 40 other attorneys general to investigate illegal activity.

North Carolina is one of 10 states with the most gouging complaints. The others include Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan and South Carolina.

Anyone who can prove a gas station is gouging prices in North Carolina should call 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.

 

[Don Ferrette]

....... and CNN just reported the Exxon-Mobil record profit was actually closer to 10 BILLION for the last 3 months!!! That's 10 billion dollars of PURE BOTTOM LINE PROFIT in 90 days!!

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/27/news/fortu...dex.htm?cnn=yes

All in this together my a$$! :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

[tracerbob]

I read the reports yesterday. One company, Conoco/phillips reported their profits are up 89%! That folks, really pisses me off. It's price goughing from the Top! IMHO, these companies are more dangerious to America than the islamic extremists our government has focused on. It's crap like this that caused the Russian revolution in 1917. Don't they know our economy is petrolium based or do they care? The fat cats get richer and the common man goes down the tubes! George Bush doesn't seem to care either or is he lining his pockets at our expense too? The sad part is there is very little or nothing we can do. :angry:

 

[Preston_Hall]

I saw some of the reports. Crazy!

I guess the demand that drove gas to where was ($3.00) has dropped over 15% in the past weeks which is reflected in the price. Yeah, right. :angry:

Just to make things right I am going to go get IDIOT, FOOL, DUMBA$$, or something of the similar tatooed on my forehead. Or maybe just walk around holding my ankles to make things easier for the gas companies.

 

[Slideblues]

Yup, people are trading off mid or full size SUV's round here, I sold my mid size for a little convertable. But its not just gasoline. Natural gas company is saying they could go as high as a 75 percent increase this winter, So lots of people switched over to all electric, Then the electric company says they are rasing rates 25 percent!!!!

Just sick of it all,

Gener B)

 

[anthony_marquart]

Don't you guys know thatthe Bush family is in the oil biz..

 

[Don Ferrette]

Don't you guys know thatthe Bush family is in the oil biz..

I have said this before & I'll say it again. It doesn't matter who's a$$ is sittin' in the big chair as the oil barons have controlled both sides of the political fence for YEARS! So all you people who want to blame Bush need to look no further than your own elected state representatives............ <_<

 

[dave roach]

If the people in the US. would'nt drive for one day this would put a hurt on the price goughing.

My .002 cents

 

[Don Ferrette]

If the people in the US. would'nt drive for one day this would put a hurt on the price goughing.

My .002 cents

Very true. But unfortunately there are better odds of me hitting the $128 million Virginia Mega Millions lottery than this country giving up one day of driving.

 

[Mike Hughes]

If the people in the US. would'nt drive for one day this would put a hurt on the price goughing.

My .002 cents

Very true. But unfortunately there are better odds of me hitting the $128 million Virginia Mega Millions lottery than this country giving up one day of driving.

They have 10 billion sitting in the bank from the last 3 months. Who knows how much from all the previous quarters. They will be able to ride out one day. It would have to go on a lot longer than that and we all know that ain't going to happen.

Mike

 

[ALLAN YUEN]

If the people in the US. would'nt drive for one day this would put a hurt on the price goughing.

My .002 cents

Very true. But unfortunately there are better odds of me hitting the $128 million Virginia Mega Millions lottery than this country giving up one day of driving.

They have 10 billion sitting in the bank from the last 3 months. Who knows how much from all the previous quarters. They will be able to ride out one day. It would have to go on a lot longer than that and we all know that ain't going to happen.

Mike

:huh: :blink: Baware warning: Natural gas will come high increase expensive than oil barrel company down price during Winter in the north american will be victim big buck $$$ Bill

 

[Propjockey]

They will be able to ride out one day. It would have to go on a lot longer than that and we all know that ain't going to happen.

How about everyone boycotting a single company? Don't stop driving, just stop buying gas from a particular company. If the American public could organize their fuel buying, the targeted company would be forced to play ball or go under. Once that company is back in line, ask "Who's next?"

I say start with the company that has the biggest profit margin. :angry:

 

[Don Ferrette]

Get this..... in this morning's Wall Street Journal they are talking about the public backlash from these earnings statements. They go one to say how Exxon-Mobil's almost 10 billion dollar quarterly profit amounts to a bottom line earning of ..... are ya ready .......... $74,879.23 A MINUTE for that 90 day period! In the time it took you to open & read this post they just made another $150K of pure profit. :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

[Dan_Cousin]

I saw some of the reports. Crazy!

I guess the demand that drove gas to where was ($3.00) has dropped over 15% in the past weeks which is reflected in the price. Yeah, right. :angry:

Just to make things right I am going to go get IDIOT, FOOL, DUMBA$$, or something of the similar tatooed on my forehead. Or maybe just walk around holding my ankles to make things easier for the gas companies.

I wouldn't recommend that around San Francisco. :lol:

You might be making another political statement... Watchout!!!