Lowest rated blog ever....

Automan21k

Shared on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 09:47

I don’t’ know why I’m posting this, it will make no difference, I have been ignored or even insulted every time I mention this….Gas prices ARE NOT THAT BAD….there, give me tons of thumbs downs…now, let me defend my position for the 3 of you who have not skipped to the bottom to make sure there were no boob pictures accidentally posted (there aren’t).

1 in Europe, they have been paying the equivalent to $6 per gallon for years.
2 economists are still predicting gas prices could break the $10 mark.
3 yes the oil companies are reporting record profits, but it has a lot to do with mergers and selling off less profitable subsidiaries...and a big reason to be mentioned later (most likely in bold capital letters)
4 Oil prices and gas prices really don’t have that much to do with each other. Just because one goes up and the other goes down does not mean that it’s a conspiracy.
 
Now, I will expand on #4 a bit. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the concept of “Investing in Futures” for this, a person would contact Merrill Lynch (well not anymore you wouldn’t) or a company like it. and request a buy-in of oil futures where you would spend slightly more that the current rate of oil to lock in a price for oil that was currently still in the ground. You can hold on to that for as long as you want(provided an expiration wasn’t written into the agreement) now you wait until oil prices rise above the amount you spent for it, then you sell. If prices are down, nobody is selling, people are buying more, so the actual amount of oil on the market drops, gas supply drops, PRICES GO UP.
Now, because the supply of oil is low, prices rise, people sell their futures, supply goes up, the quantity of gas produced rises, the price of gas drops. Because everyone is selling their futures, there is now too much oil on the market, the value drops, people stop selling, the price of gas goes back up.
This is a constant cycle, 2 wavy lines across a graph trying to catch each other and cancel each other out. As time passes, those waves even out, futures become almost irrelevant since the price of oil tomorrow will be the same as it is today, so people start to invest in corn, beats, coal…something else. Then something like a hurricane happens (or maybe the news comes on and they start screaming recession). This is like dropping a stone in a pool of water, the waves start off large, if the topic that’s under attack is the gas companies or refineries the wave starts by punching up the price of gas, everyone tries to sell what they are holding to meet an increase in demand and oil prices drop. Or if the attack is against an oil field, the price of oil skyrockets, everyone sells, and gas prices drop shortly after.
NOW….why are the Oil companies making record profits? Because 1 they hold the most oil futures out of anyone…and 2, IT”S THEIR JOB AS PUBLICLY HELD COMPANIES TO MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY CAN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO INVEST IN THEM!!!!
 
There that’s my rant, if you don’t like it, call the government and demand they switch to communism, or move to Cuba, because this is the way it is under our current style of government, no candidate is going to fix it, all they can do is hope to keep the number of stones thrown into the pond to a minimum.
 
And now that I just got my finger smashed by an electric stapler(no really, I didnt' know these things had a battery backup.)….I’m done blogging for the day.

Comments

Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 10:55
that's why I like the Yahoo CEO approach, their top directors only get $1 a year salary, everythin gthe make is dependant 100% on their persormance (and most of that gets reinvested into the company anyway.)
rumbagod's picture
Submitted by rumbagod on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 11:05
hell i gave ya a thumbs u simply for the passion in your post. but you're right, it's their job to make their stock holders money, i know a guy that has so much exxon stock he can wipe his ass with a few thousand papers of it and still have enuff leftover to buy his own island and he still bitches about the price of gas.....
Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 11:26
Oh, good point rumba! not only are they trying to make the profit, but they have to be careful since their stockholders are customers!! that may be the one point that has held back the next dollar jump in pricing.
char's picture
Submitted by char on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 11:27
+1 for being brave!
hudsmack's picture
Submitted by hudsmack on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 12:17
Maybe do some reading next time: http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/042902gasreport.htm http://www.howstuffworks.com/gas-price.htm I understand that you are a conservative and all, but gas prices don't care about your party affiliation. It is the job of a public company to make money for its shareholders, but oil is a commodity. The way oil is traded is by definition a violation of the Commodities Exchange Act of 1936, but so many of those in Washington are wet with oil, nothing will ever get done about it. They can do what they want with oil, I will be investing in an alternative fuel vehicle as soon as they are available.
Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 12:33
the Commodities Exchange Act of 1936 was always found to be ineffective, that's why they created the CFTC to replace it and to try to regulate abuse of commodity trading, and prevent people running up the prices of such commodities. prices on oil have since been primarily dictated by those who have the supply (OPEC) pricing within the regons of the US, while based on several formulas are still based on supply and demand since it is not a government regulated pricing structure. All of the prices/breakdowns listed in that Senate report were based on averages in order to determine whether or not the gas companies were gouging prices. As to Politician being wet with oil...ofcourse they are, Politics is expensive, and the oil companies have the money.
ReBIRTH's picture
Submitted by ReBIRTH on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 13:14
I like milk and cookies. :0) Keep those prices down and I'm a happy camper. Besides, I use a company gas card. :0) the milk and cookies are on me.
Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 13:19
Don't get me started with the PA Milk Marketing Board Pricing regulations!!!!! JK. I vote Chocolate chip!!!
TANK's picture
Submitted by TANK on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 10:15
The European gas price argument is totally irrelevant. Most of the cost of their gas is taxes which go to pay for among other things, universal health care. here, it just goes into politician and oil company CEO's pocket books.
Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 10:23
and the American investor. there is no exclusive club to invest in the oil market, anyone can profit from it...I dont' because it's a bit too high risk and hands on for my taste. But the people who make money at it cannot come forward with the mechanics of the process because they would be hung allong with the CEOs. and I would argue that teh european market can be brought into the arguement reguardless of what the money if going to. the money is still comming out of their pocekets...are you willing to pay that extra $3-4 for gas so you can wait in line for a month or more to see a doctor for free?
Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 10:30
And dont' we also get benifits for the taxes we pay on our gas? if it's better roads, or payments into the superfund, its money that gets spent for the benifit of all.
CrypticCat's picture
Submitted by CrypticCat on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 10:51
Tank is only partially right. Overhere, each time an arab burps the oil-price skyrockets and get calculated against the people. When the price lowers, it takes a while for the price in the streets to lower too, if at all. Usually the companies wait the lower-price out until an arab burps again. Cue yet higher prices. Oil-taxes are not put forward to for instituonal purposes at all. The taxes aim to get the people out of their cars and in public transport, where most of the taxes end up anyway. Irony of it is that public transport companies don't have the money to keep their fleets in order, yet their top-people earn upwards of a million Euro quarterly. No why did we pay taxes again?

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