Woeful Wednesday

[altivo]

It was a lovely summer day, not too hot, no rain, a blue sky with little clouds floating by... And I had to go to a consortial meeting and then work late. Ugh. Wednesday is always a hateful day unless I don't have to go to work.

What's going on with fuel prices again? We had started to drop back down, though not all the way to a reasonable level, and then overnight they jumped it back up by as much as 15%. Now at a high for the year, it was $2.07 in late January and is now at $3.49. Last week it was $3.03. So what's the excuse this time? "Congress issues subpoenas on Bush administration staffers, so gasoline prices skyrocket." As if Bush and cronies were producing oil from their behinds and the threat of Congressional investigation made them suddenly clamp down?

Comments

[atomicat.livejournal.com]

"As if Bush and cronies were producing oil from their behinds and the threat of Congressional investigation made them suddenly clamp down?"

You sir, are composed of one hundred percent nasty genius.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hardly that. Just calling it as I see it.

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

The flooding in Kansas has shut down a refinery that serves the Midwest. It's suposed to peak in another week to 10 days.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how the oil companies can increase their profits by shutting down their refineries. Something is very wrong with the economics of this.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Skimming money off to pay Scooter Libby's fine. Plus Dubya is probably saving some for the rest of his cabinet for when they get indicted.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Hurricanes' a comin'!

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Canada is invading!

[deffox]

They've been keeping me in the dark on that. Worried I might tip people off. :-P

It's $1.06 a litre here. Something like $3.85 US/gal.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Oh no, they're going to invade, take away George W. Bush and institute a national health care system!

Um...so, about that invasion..how's Friday?

Petrol = $2.90/gallon = .73/liter
Exhange rate= US $1.00 = $.90 Canadian
US Government=Morally bankrupt.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Can't come fast enough for me. I want the scandals to blow those assholes out of Washington before the election even gets here.

[dragon-punk.livejournal.com]

Gas was around $2.70 here and then it jumped to $2.90 ish by the end of the day.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Time to spin the "big wheel 'o gas price hike excuses"....Hurricanes...terrorists...locusts...pirates...>.

[dragon-punk.livejournal.com]

Or mudkipz. Can't forget them. 8D

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

Flooding closed the Coffeyville Resources refinery in Kansas, which accounts for about 1/7th of the refining capacity in the Great Plains. BP also closed a refinery in Whiting, Indiana for maintanence and Valero was having problems with their Ardmore, Oklahoma refinery.

Meanwhile, Chevron (CVX) is up 5.12% and ConocoPhillips (COP) is up 6.16% for the week.

91 octane was selling for $3.40 to $3.60 a gallon in Omaha.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

As I said to Jay, it is amazing how the oil companies can increase their profits by reducing their output. We've seen this time and time again. There is something very wrong with the economics of that situation.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I like the way you included "clamp down", and "producing oil from their behinds" in the same sentence. That conjures up the most unpleasant mental image since Bill Hicks did his Ronald Regan/Rush Limbaugh sketch. :D

If gas prices get TOO high, you can always do what my housemate does sometimes (illegally in the UK). Get a diesel car and fill it up with used cooking oil.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I may have to start riding my horse to work.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

At least you know what it's like in Australia and to a lesser extent Europe.

Hmmm even the original cause of the war hasn't helped prices at all I see.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

As I've said before, I know US prices for fuel have generally been lower than the rest of the world. However, having them double in a less than a year's time is disastrous. There is no evidence that this is anything other than manipulation by the big oil companies. They are reporting record-breaking profits again, their stocks are inflating, and you know that's only what they can't hide. There is very real evidence now that the rising gasoline prices are having a serious impact on everything else in the marketplace, though. It's going to cause a recession at least, or more likely I'm afraid, a currency deflation that will only serve as positive feedback to the whole thing.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

So uh...which petrol company is doing the best? *gets out his little notebook* Just out of interest you understand, I'm not considering taking advantage of the pending downturn in the American economy and the strong resources boom in Australia to make a killing in the futures market...

ahem..I've done it again

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Check out captpackrat's journal. He's been doing something like that and talks about it a fair amount. My own rigid anti-capitalist standards don't permit me to do such things. ;p

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I've noticed a few horses tend to lean against capitalism :)
Must be all that hay ;)

I must buy shares in the Acme mouse company, they've come out with a great new range of sugar mice which are going to be big in the feline market :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Capitalism on a fairly small scale is a good thing. I don't question that.

When it gets to multinational levels, though, it is just a case of people who are already obscenely wealthy taking advantage of people who are poor and robbing them of everything they have. Greed and corruption are the operative concepts, and I don't like it at all.