Record Profits For Exxon 10.7 B

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher



I was at Hy's steakhouse downtown a few weeks ago, and our waiter was from Nova Scotia...and was recruited specifically for the job.

I'm not shocked at all-- and a waiter at Hy's probably does very well. Calgarians seem to tip pretty well and the restaurant business is booming.

I was at Wendy's the other day and with my food I got a leaflet mentioning job opportunities.

If you drive down macleod TRail most of the restaurants aren't advertising food on their billboards, they are offering jobs !!!

I saw that the City of Calgary is estimating that we will need about 80,000 more skilled tradespeople within 10 years. In a city of about a million that's pretty amazing

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Flubber
And not many people thought the dotcom rush would burst either-- thats the nature of a bubble-- you get a herd mentality where stock prices get pushed up-- People rush to invest in things that have gained already so that their rush pushes up the stock price regardless of fundamentals. But eventually fundamentals reassert themselves

Most dotcoms didn't make money through operations. That isn't the case here. The energy companies will make plenty of money going forward.

Actually it does make sense. Assume there are energy sources whuch are viable at $45 a barrell. No one would invest in those when oil was at 30 but now long term projections are getting where people might. Enough of such projects would bring oil to somewhere above 45 but far less than 70. Of course if prices stayed in the 60s we would call those folks profiteers too but if prices went into the 40s we wouldn't hear much at all while they took their lumps

No. There's a difference between a price maker and a price taker. There will never be enough cheap alternatives to affect price. Imagine that a mom and pop store opens up next to Wal Mart. Wal Mart could care less what prices the small store charges, because they could never sell enough to have any impact on Wal Mart. If there are that many cheap alternatives for oil investors would have already taken advantage of the situation.

Who said anything about being extraordinary? I just think it takes balls to be the techie guy that decides where a $100 million well is located.

I didn't think there was any backpatting at all-- particularly since I was not involved . . .

No. You just have to not be a complete idiot. No one calls you Superman because you can make an easy buck, except yourself, and you are patting yourself on the back because you do the same thing.

So as a resident of Alberta and Canada-- we win !!!!

I think we were talking about all consumers, not just you.

[QUOTE]

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I think I would sell if I were holding your position.

There's more downside than upside in my mind right now.

Ditto.

[Flubber]

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Kidicious


Most dotcoms didn't make money through operations. That isn't the case here. The energy companies will make plenty of money going forward.


But if they are making less than this year you will probably see a retraction in their stock price. I know you have studied enough to understand this.

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Kidicious



If there are that many cheap alternatives for oil investors would have already taken advantage of the situation.

I agree that investors would have already invested in CHEAP alternatives-- what I am instead talking about are investments that are only worthwhile if oil is at say 35-40 dollars in the LONG RUN. This has not been the case until very recently so alternative energy projects are just starting to get through regulatory approvals/ start up. You don't go presto and here's a wind farm or tidal station or a hydro plant. It takes time.

So my understanding is that there are many viable energy sources . .. It will just take some time to establish them--- heck even a lot of oil projects require a longterm stable price. I believe that oilsands projects lose a ton of money at prices in the 20s and its only once the price hits the high 30s that they become "economic"



[QUOTE] Originally posted by Kidicious


No. There's a difference between a price maker and a price taker. There will never be enough cheap alternatives to affect price. Imagine that a mom and pop store opens up next to Wal Mart. Wal Mart could care less what prices the small store charges, because they could never sell enough to have any impact on Wal Mart. .


True Wal mart won't care much about a single mom and pop shop but they would care if there were 10 of them next to every Walmart and a cheaper Zellers across the way.

Energy is very much a world market and I reject the idea that oil companies are price maker's . If they were, the oil busts, of which there have been several, would not occurr

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Kidicious


No. You just have to not be a complete idiot. No one calls you Superman because you can make an easy buck, except yourself, and you are patting yourself on the back because you do the same thing.


I still don't see the back patting-- Energy stocks were good to me. . . period. I will now largely divest since I think you live in fantasyland if you think things have to stay fabulous for the oil companies indefinitely-- They might but I can't see the growth continuing


[QUOTE] Originally posted by Kidicious




I think we were talking about all consumers, not just you.

I was talking about my community and my country . . . Overall the impact of high oil prices has been a positive IMHO and the workers have been very well compensated, ( I am a worker btw)-- If my entire country benefits why should I cry "ohh its so bad"

[Joseph]

Originally posted by Asher

Part of it goes to employee profit sharing.
Part of it goes to performance bonuses for employees.
Part of it goes to funding new developments (Tens of billions of dollars at a time are going into Alberta Oilsands developments).
The rest of it goes into rainy day funds.

Yes and the Board and the CEO will need rain protected clothing.

[Flubber]

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Kidicious


Most dotcoms didn't make
No. You just have to not be a complete idiot. No one calls you Superman because you can make an easy buck, except yourself, and you are patting yourself on the back because you do the same thing.

Oh and I know you typically resort to namecalling or restating opinion into things that are nowhere near what I said, but please please can you try to refrain anytime someone points out that your version of fantasyland is nowhere near the reality.

[Flubber]

I wonder does anyone have a solution with respect to the world price of oil. Obviously a country can regulate the price of gasoline at its pumps or whatever but I am talking oil.

What really can a net importer like the U.S. do ?? I guess they could try to SET a price -- say 35 bucks a barrell but I think they would quickly find themselves with shortages. Canadian oil would flow elsewhere and some production would be uneconomic and shut in. The U.S. ecomony would likely start to be crippled which could eventually bring down the price.

Or a net exporter like Canada?? Why would we ever want to just lower the price when a higher price is readily available. The governments are usually taking between 15-30% of the gross revenue as royalty and then there are taxes on all income generated and a VAT on all that consumption.

I am not saying a lower price is bad . . . In fact I think a price i the 50s is probably sustainable-- I'm just struggling to see what artificial means could be used to impose a price restriction

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Flubber


Oh and I know you typically resort to namecalling or restating opinion into things that are nowhere near what I said, but please please can you try to refrain anytime someone points out that your version of fantasyland is nowhere near the reality.

Sorry, but lots of jobs take guts. Being an MBA isn't one of them. You just apply your skills. Nothing special. If it makes you feel better, it sometimes pays well, as you know.

[Imran Siddiqui]

You forget Flubber, to Kid anyone that makes decent money can't have anything virtuous, and nothing close to 'balls'

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kidicious


Sorry, but lots of jobs take guts. Being an MBA isn't one of them. You just apply your skills. Nothing special. If it makes you feel better, it sometimes pays well, as you know.

I'm not an MBA nor are the tech folks that I cited. Generally they were geophysicists who actually had to make a pitch to a bunch of folks why thats the spot to drill at a cost of $100 million. AS I said at least twice before -- IT WASN'T ME

You know one of those work moments where you can be a hero or a goat. Well in that case EVERBODY in the business unit notices plus your well results make the media-- So ya to me that takes a certain amount of guts for someone to be able to give those pitches and say ya I want a hundred million dollars to do this

Its not heroic or superman or anything but to me its is gutsy

Clear enough now??

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
You forget Flubber, to Kid anyone that makes decent money can't have anything virtuous, and nothing close to 'balls'

'



I know I know because my work ain't labour etc etc ect . . . the fact that I happen to invest a few bucks here and there transforms me into a nasty capitalist or some such

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Flubber


I'm not an MBA nor are the tech folks that I cited. Generally they were geophysicists who actually had to make a pitch to a bunch of folks why thats the spot to drill at a cost of $100 million. AS I said at least twice before -- IT WASN'T ME

You know one of those work moments where you can be a hero or a goat. Well in that case EVERBODY in the business unit notices plus your well results make the media-- So ya to me that takes a certain amount of guts for someone to be able to give those pitches and say ya I want a hundred million dollars to do this

Its not heroic or superman or anything but to me its is gutsy

Clear enough now??

What does that have to do with paying 3 bucks a gallon at the pump? People are pissed here because Exxon is making 30 billion a year or something like that and you are going on as usual, praising the free market. To me, when I here this usual praise of the free market it really means, "bend over and take it because that's how it works." You don't really care that there is an obvious problem, and that is that some *******s are making obscene profit while everyone else gets screwed.

[KrazyHorse]

Clicking on the link to view that post reminded me why you're on my ignore list, kiddy.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Flubber
I wonder does anyone have a solution with respect to the world price of oil. Obviously a country can regulate the price of gasoline at its pumps or whatever but I am talking oil.

What really can a net importer like the U.S. do ?? I guess they could try to SET a price -- say 35 bucks a barrell but I think they would quickly find themselves with shortages. Canadian oil would flow elsewhere and some production would be uneconomic and shut in. The U.S. ecomony would likely start to be crippled which could eventually bring down the price.

Or a net exporter like Canada?? Why would we ever want to just lower the price when a higher price is readily available. The governments are usually taking between 15-30% of the gross revenue as royalty and then there are taxes on all income generated and a VAT on all that consumption.

I am not saying a lower price is bad . . . In fact I think a price i the 50s is probably sustainable-- I'm just struggling to see what artificial means could be used to impose a price restriction

The net importers could band together and set a price ceiling, but that would be against the free market and the world order. The powers that rule don't want that because they collect all this profit.

[KrazyHorse]

I did it again. Damnit, when will I learn?

The net importers could band together and set a price ceiling, but that would be against the free market and the world order. The powers that rule don't want that because they collect all this profit.

How idiotic is this? THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SUPPLY AT A LOWER PRICE TO FILL DEMAND AT THAT PRICE. Oil producers will stop drilling for oil which costs them more to extract than they can sell it for. This will mean a gap between available supply and demand, leading to a SHORTAGE.