Profits were up 34% this quarter... go figure!

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/051025/earns...n_bp.html?.v=2

 

You know, when Southern Bell was positing those kind of profits they made them split (hence AT&T).

You think they will come down on BP? Doubt It

 

No, there is plenty of competition in the oil business, unlike the phone industry at that point.

 

I am glad to see those kind of profits, that means they will have the money to further advance research into viable alternatives to oil. Not to mention of course the oil reserves that have as of yet been too costly to exploit.

I don't like paying those high prices either, but it takes money and lots of it in order to do research and develop new techniques.

BP is NOT a monopoly like Ma Bell was, that comparison will not hold water.

 

Lary do you really think that the oil co. are really looking for an alternative to petroleum??? why would they want to get rid of the 'Golden Egg' that 'ole W dropped in their lap??? Just doesn't make sense. My .02 worth.

Jim

 

And you think they are doing that???

Ma Bell was not a monopoly, anyone could have come in and done excatly what she did....start a phone company. Even still there are what, 4 or 5 actual Oil Companies like BP? There were 12 phone companies across the US when the FEDs broke up Bell.

 

I KNOW they are working in many different directions, any good business man knows the importance of diversification.

 

I know they are, research is very important to the oil companies.



Oil is a commodity and NOT a utility, you can own a piece of the pie yourself if you invest in oil You guys all complain that a publicly traded company makes a profit, yet how much did you cry when so many of the oil companies went belly up in the 80's?

 

What research needs to be done? Bio-diesel works, is cheaper to produce and we can handle it right here in the good ole USA.

They are out to make a buck and that is it.


You don't think so? The PSC regulates oil here. Just not fuel for cars. The FEDs have deemed some oil as a utility (heat).


I don't think I have complained.

I will say this, regulations need to be put into place. Not for the profits posted but for....oh wait.....there are laws on the books (price fixing, anti-competitive)....never mind.

 

OF course they are! Why? Because out there somewhere there is a new golden egg, and they all want to be the first one to discover it, find it or invent it. Why? Because naturally its something that can increase profit. As much as many people despise companies for making money, it IS what makes the world go around, and without those companies making a profit, we all lose.

Do I agree that prices are too high? Of course I do. I'm not saying that. I think they should be much lower, but people who give this kind of argument are just ... well.... angry because someone out there is doing well and somone out there is becoming wealthy. That is what our country was founded on, the right to pursue happiness however you want to. Why be angry because some people do it better than others? Instead of being angry and negative, go pursue your own wealthy, and smile like the others!

Oh yes, and of course we all know that George Bush IS the root of all evil!

 

Any smart business reinvests its profits into making itself more productive, efficient, or innovative.

Microsoft didn't get to be king by resting on its laurels from Windows 3.1 dominance. They didn't just laugh as the money rolled in. They took that money and invested in their next operating system. And Win 95 fueled the development of 98, and ultimately to the XP that so many run now. The point being that XP might not exist were it not for the sales of the preceding systems.

A better example is a pharmaceutical company. The process of developing and marketing a drug is VERY expensive and can take 15 years. Yet, some will look at those big companies like Pfizer, Glaxo Smith Kline, Bristol Myers Squibb, etc and point out their record profits or complain about how prohibitively expensive some prescription medicines are. But where would we be if the drug companies hadn't been allowed to profit, and then direct that capital at new medicines? Think of all the medicines we have now-- Viagra, Cialis, Zocor, Lipitor, Crestor, Celebrex, Wellbutrin, Paxil, Levitra, Prevacid, Procrit, Nexium, Propecia, Plavix, etc etc........

Oil companies aren't just oil companies: they are ENERGY companies. Since they are in the business of selling energy to oil-based economies, they must do two things: 1) Research ways to get more oil, more efficiently, expand proven reserves, find new ones,etc and 2) explore alternatives to oil if there's reason to believe that oil will run out.

Remember, if we run out of oil, the oil companies go broke. So they have a STRONG incentive to keep up oil production (and ensure that oil is available, if possible), or find and implement reasonable alternatives to oil.

No company puts all its eggs in one basket. If an oil company is NOT spending a lot of money on reasearching new technology and alternative fuels, you can bet they won't be around for long!!

 

They are out to make a buck just like every other business. If you don't want them to make money don't buy their products.

Thanks TOP for saying what I wanted to say.

 

Good post, Hohn. You said it better than I did. That is exactly right.

 

I completely disagree I don't care to live in a country where every single thing is regulated by the Govt. NOBODY can tell me what to charge for any of my products, and they should NOT be able to tell the Oil Companies either.

Free enterprise, that is what this country is founded upon. Every business man has the right to charge the price he feels fit to charge for his products, the decision is yours as to whether or not to pay that price.

Frankly if they can't make a profit, the product you desire soon disappears from the market. Yeah I know it hurts to pay these prices, I feel it too......But trying to control the market with Govt intervention is a SURE fire way to see prices double over what they already are.

Every time the Govt gets involved, you take away competition and that is what drives the prices lower. Have you ever seen the Govt get involved in anything that didn't end up costing you more money?

 

Larry, I agree and disagree with what you have to say.

If the Government shouldn't be involved with Oil they shouldn't be involved with almost everything else they are involved with. But they are involved but for some reason leave oil to regulate it's self. We don't NEED Microsoft but how often do they go afterthem? I aint sayin they should go after the oil companies unless of course they are goin after the Microsofts....fair is fair.

I don't want to live in a country that regulates everything either but they already do they just put a blind eye to oil.

If Microsoft and Apple, Gateway and Dell (the biggies) got together and said this is how much a PC is going to cost and quit competing how fast would the Feds be on them?

It can not cost every station and every oil refiner the exact same cost to put gas on the streets. We have Cowboy convience stores here in Cartersville. There are 4 within a 2 mile radius of where we live. Each has matched the price of the competitors across the streer. The Cowboy's prices have about a 20 cent per gallon difference between their stores.

Is that price fixing? If the Feds are going to leave the oil companies alone GREAT, but leave the rest of us alone also.

I guess that is what pisses me off.