Exxon record profits again

dmccarty · Aug 4, 2006

ADM, aka Archer-Daniels-Midland has a Bioproducts company whose sales have fueled, pun intended, a proft surge at the company.

The year previous quarter they Bioproducts buisiness had a profit of $25.2 million while this last quarter it was $174 million. ADM says that ethanol might take about 10% of gasoline market.

From looking at their annual report from 8/1, the ADM Bioproducts business looks to have a profit margin of 39%. They don't come out and have it as a line item you have to read the report and do the math. Hopefully I got it right.

Is ADM gauging? Look at that profit increase. Look at that profit margin..

Later,
Dan

slowrev · Aug 4, 2006

Coud be on the ADM gouging. Remember they got nailed on price fixing a few years ago.....

SkyPup · Aug 4, 2006

ADM paid the largest fine ever levied against a corporation for price fixing.

The price of a gallon of ethanol is higher than a gallon of refined gasoline, just another reason the price of gas with ethanol in it is so high.

Garrabo · Aug 5, 2006

SkyPup said:
Simple, anyone and everyone willing to pay for their products.

Now guess whose pockets their dividends are all going into?

Do we have a choice?

Doc_Bob · Aug 5, 2006

sneaky_pete said:
The end of the world must be near - an oil price/profit thread on TBN that hasn't degenerated into name calling, threats, and general foaming at the mouth! ;^) I had given up all hope of ever having a civil discussion; you guys have restored my faith in TBN.

What? I must have read the thread way too quickly. Or I am getting so insensitve in my old age that I just ignore some stuff. I missed the negative vibes.
Bob

cowpie1 · Aug 5, 2006

Simple free market economics makes most "price gouging" a myth. If I gouge you at the pump, brand X will come in and undercut me and still make money causing me to lower my price to sell more product.

Most of the prices are jacked up by speculators in the market. The same would be true if grain was a valuable commodity. I wonder if everyone would have a fit if Corn went up to $5/bushel or soybeans went to $15/bushel. Now the farmer's profit margins would increase and would we be looking to hang them out to dry like the oil companies and say the farmers were "gouging"?

Doc_Bob · Aug 6, 2006

cowpie1 said:
Simple free market economics makes most "price gouging" a myth. If I gouge you at the pump, brand X will come in and undercut me and still make money causing me to lower my price to sell more product.

Why do some people never understand this simple fact?
Thanks for posting it. Maybe someone will hear what you are saying.
Bob

SkyPup · Aug 7, 2006

Garrabo said:
Do we have a choice?

Yes you have a real choice.

You can either purchase the stock and receive dividends and equity or not purchase the stock and not receive dividends or equity.

SkyPup · Aug 7, 2006

cowpie1 said:
Simple free market economics makes most "price gouging" a myth. If I gouge you at the pump, brand X will come in and undercut me and still make money causing me to lower my price to sell more product.

Most of the prices are jacked up by speculators in the market. The same would be true if grain was a valuable commodity. I wonder if everyone would have a fit if Corn went up to $5/bushel or soybeans went to $15/bushel. Now the farmer's profit margins would increase and would we be looking to hang them out to dry like the oil companies and say the farmers were "gouging"?

"To date, ADM has set aside $ 279 million to cover fines, settlements and litigation expenses stemming from antitrust investigations in lysine and citric acid, according to the company's March 1998 quarterly report. Despite the disruptions created by the investigation and private lawsuits, ADM has attained worldwide market leadership in lysine, one of its most profitable products."

"It was almost the perfect crime. There was little risk of law enforcement detection, a low probability that even the victims would know they were being ripped off, and hundreds of millions to gain."

"The perpetrators divided up the world market and gave each member a slice. Penny-by-penny, they stole from customers for three years. They met under the ruse of a trade association, setting prices and negotiating their share of the take. They kept tabs on each other through monthly reports, and designed a buy-back system in case anyone cheated. The conspirators stole in a market big enough to be profitable, but small enough to attract little public attention. They got caught."

"Their illegal gains came to an end when one of their own gave up the cartel and captured their conversations on tape for the FBI. Convicted, the conspirators are held up as examples for what could happen to those who participate in "antitrust conspiracies that rob Americans of their hard-earned dollars," says Joel I. Klein head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division."

"On Sept. 17, a Chicago jury found three former top Archer Daniels Midland Co. executives -- Michael D. Andreas, Mark E. Whitacre and Terrance S. Wilson -- guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by fixing the price and allocating the volume of lysine, a corn-based feed additive. "

slowrev · Aug 7, 2006

Free market did not keep seem to keep ADM from price fixing.

Sully2 · Aug 7, 2006

cowpie1 said:
Simple free market economics makes most "price gouging" a myth. If I gouge you at the pump, brand X will come in and undercut me and still make money causing me to lower my price to sell more product.

Most of the prices are jacked up by speculators in the market. The same would be true if grain was a valuable commodity. I wonder if everyone would have a fit if Corn went up to $5/bushel or soybeans went to $15/bushel. Now the farmer's profit margins would increase and would we be looking to hang them out to dry like the oil companies and say the farmers were "gouging"?

Amen to that!!!

beagdog · Aug 7, 2006

Going to be real interesting to see what the effect of shutting down Prudhoe Bay will be on supply and demand pricing. Here's comes $4 a gallon.

http://ap.cjonline.com/pstories/20060807/78427512.shtml

SkyPup · Aug 7, 2006

$4 Plus a gallon after the next Gulf hurricane, if you can find any to purchase.....

Doc_Bob · Aug 8, 2006

beagdog said:
Going to be real interesting to see what the effect of shutting down Prudhoe Bay will be on supply and demand pricing. Here's comes $4 a gallon.

http://ap.cjonline.com/pstories/20060807/78427512.shtml

If we had only started to drill in ANWR!
Bob

slowrev · Aug 8, 2006

ANWR would take a while. Have to build a new pipeline and all. The other pipeline has lived longer than it's engineered lifetime. Hmm poor planning I suppose letting it corrode away while there is still oil to be piped.

Doc_Bob · Aug 8, 2006

slowrev said:
ANWR would take a while. Have to build a new pipeline and all. The other pipeline has lived longer than it's engineered lifetime. Hmm poor planning I suppose letting it corrode away while there is still oil to be piped.

Yes, ANWR would take time. But since it has been (2??) years since the DEMS said no to ANWR, we are now 2 years farther behind at this time. Better a Caribou get a break than a fellow getting to work in his vehicle.

Soap box off.
Bob

monkeymonk · Aug 9, 2006

Doc_Bob said:
Yes, ANWR would take time. But since it has been (2??) years since the DEMS said no to ANWR, we are now 2 years farther behind at this time. Better a Caribou get a break than a fellow getting to work in his vehicle.

Soap box off.
Bob

If you think really really hard you can see just WHO is really behind the times??it's really not hard

could it be multinational corporations? Consumers? Big Money? Demand? Peolpe,change?

Untill people get off their Duff's than Exxon and all the big money corps will fleece the people and have them running in circles blaming each other for the madness. Oil dependency is like alcoholism and you can charge any price for alcohol.

Don't even know why I'm responding to this it must be the Blame factor and the short term ANWR answer.........?

The fellow going to work can Buy an electric car/truck and plug it into his solar aray........ if he chooses to.Untill I do I don't mind paying $4 a gallon even $5.

Cowpie1 said it pretty well

Good luck!

slowrev · Aug 9, 2006

Doc_Bob said:
Yes, ANWR would take time. But since it has been (2??) years since the DEMS said no to ANWR, we are now 2 years farther behind at this time. Better a Caribou get a break than a fellow getting to work in his vehicle.

Soap box off.
Bob

And how long has BP known about the pipeline corrosion problem ? On a pipeline that has already outlived it's engineered lifetime.

dmccarty · Aug 9, 2006

And how long has BP known about the pipeline corrosion problem ? On a pipeline that has already outlived it's engineered lifetime.

And what do you do about the corrosion if you do know? Shut down the whole thing to rebuild? Or just run to failure and rebuild.

And why was the pipeline designed to last as long as it did? Did they find more oil which kept the pipeline going?

Did they plan for a second pipeline and it did not get built for a variety of reasons?

I have not seen a article asking those questions much less providing the answers. Does anyone know?

Last week I paid 2.99 for a gallon of diesel. Last night the price was not up on the sign. This morning the price was at 3.05.

The WSJ had an article awhile back on the Colonial pipeline that was shutdown by Katrina. The region served by the pipeline, which is a good chunk of the eastern US, was within 24-48 hours of having NO fuel. They literally got the pipeline running with only a day or so of fuel supplies left in storage... How much would a gallon be worth then?...

I really don't want to know the answer to THAT question.

Later,
Dan