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Old 05-10-2011, 02:15 PM  
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Crude Oil Rises to Four-Day High

Crude Oil Rises to Four-Day High on Mississippi Floods, Rally in Equities - Bloomberg

Crude Oil Rises to Four-Day High on Mississippi Floods, Rally in Equities



Quote:
Crude oil rose to a four-day high as concern increased that flooding of the Mississippi River will disrupt fuel output and as equities climbed.
Futures advanced 1.3 percent as the flood moved south from Memphis, threatening refineries and shipping traffic before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico in about two weeks. Stocks strengthened as companies raised earnings forecasts, sending the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index up for a third day.
?The flood is impacting supply and will continue to put upward pressure on prices,? said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago.
Crude oil for June delivery rose $1.33 to $103.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since May 4. The contact is up 35 percent from a year ago.
Futures climbed 5.5 percent to $102.55 yesterday, the biggest gain since Feb. 22. Last week oil dropped the most since December 2008.
Prices dropped as much as 2.4 percent earlier when the CME Group Inc. increased the amount of money traders must hold as collateral for crude, gasoline and heating oil transactions.
CME Group, the Nymex owner, increased margins for crude trading to $8,438 per contract from $6,750, effective after the close of business today. Heating-oil margins will rise to $8,438 from $6,413, and gasoline will climb to $9,450 from $7,763.
?The market shook off the margin rate hikes and once again is concentrating on the economic recovery,? said Carl Larry, director of energy derivatives and research at Blue Ocean Brokerage LLC in New York. ?People are thinking that $100 is the new $80 and a bottom.?

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Old 05-10-2011, 08:23 PM  
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Don't seem to be stemming the flow of drivers on the road. Been seeing lots of RVs pulling boats. Somebody got money! I'm babying the throttle on my little Toyota truck. About to buy a motorcycle or something better on fuel. $70 to fill my tank today. OUCH! Heard the speculators are driving it up more on account of the flooding Missippi river. Thanks guys a bunch. Here's to your big fat retirement funds at our expenses!
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Old 05-10-2011, 08:39 PM  
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Oh yeah, I'm in one of my funkymoods, but it will pass, I promise. Besides, I blocked most of it out.
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Old 05-12-2011, 10:36 AM  
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WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats vigorously challenged leading oil industry executives Thursday to justify generous tax breaks at a time when people are paying $4 a gallon for gas.

With the CEOs of the five largest oil companies sitting before the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon played a video of a 2005 congressional hearing in which oil company executives said they didn't need generous tax breaks because oil was selling at $55 a barrel. As the hearing commenced, the price per barrel hovered just below $100.

""You all said you didn't need them in 2005," Wyden said."You seem to be telling a different story today."

Chevron Corp. chairman and CEO John Watson said the companies don't want special tax benefits — just the benefits that other industries get.

But what the oil company chiefs had to say was not the goal for majority Democrats eager to demonstrate before the 2012 election that they stand with consumers against oil companies recording large profits with the help of billions of dollars in tax breaks.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, didn't mince words on his opinion of televised hearing that majority Democrats organized, displaying a large portrait of a dog sitting on a pony.

"All this hearing is about is providing a justification for tax increases," Hatch said.

"For the president and some of my colleagues," he said, "the answer is alway raise taxes. Government spends too much? Raise some taxes. Health care too expensive? Raise some taxes. Gas prices too expensive? I've got it . . . Let's raise some taxes."

Democrats shot back that allowing a hugely profitable industry to continue taking billions of dollars in tax breaks is as credible as the notion of a unicorn galloping into the hearing room.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the author of a bill that would repeal the tax breaks for the companies testifying Thursday, demanded an apology from ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva for a press release from the company that said in the headline that the tax cut proposals were "un-American."

Mulva refused, saying that no personal offense was intended.

"Our industry and company are already taxed heavily compared to other industries in the United States," Mulva said.

Flog-the-CEO is a favored tactic of whichever party is in charge on Capitol Hill during a crisis — a reality well known to the powerful chiefs of Big Tobacco, automakers and Wall Street.

But Big Oil seems a particularly inviting target for Democrats seeking to defend their Senate majority in next year's elections.

Thursday's marquee hearing featured the CEOs of Shell Oil Co., ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP America and Chevron Corp., five companies that booked profits totaling $36 billion during the first quarter. The Democrats say that with profits that high, the big oil companies wouldn't miss tax breaks that average $2 billion a year.

"My guess is you will be able to protect yourselves. ...You're used to prevailing," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. Oil companies, he added, are "deeply and profoundly committed to sharing nothing."

Gasoline prices are above $4 a gallon in much of the country. The national average is about $3.96 a gallon for regular unleaded, up from $2.90 a gallon a year ago, according to AAA.

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service concluded that eliminating the tax breaks would be unlikely to result in higher gasoline prices, which are influenced by a host of factors. The report, released Wednesday, said eliminating the tax breaks would raise about $1.2 billion in 2012. By comparison, the five oil companies had combined revenues of $1.5 trillion, and profits of more than $76 billion, in 2010, the report said.

Menendez' bill would prohibit the five oil companies from taking a tax deduction originally aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing. The bill would also eliminate a tax break that allows oil companies to reduce their American taxes by deducting royalties paid to foreign governments.

Republicans, who now control the House and have enough votes to block legislation in the Senate, oppose tax increases. They are joined on this issue by a handful of Democrats, mainly from oil-producing states. Seven Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat a tax proposal similar to Obama's in February.

On Wednesday, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana called on fellow Democrats to "stop introducing gimmicks like this that might get you a few political points in the short run, but it is not leading us in the right direction."

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Old 05-12-2011, 03:29 PM  
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I just swapped a new motor into my YJ (That's a Jeep, for the Jeep-challenged). I decided to go with another 2.5L 4-cylinder, even though my heart was pulling me to a Chevy V8, or at least a 4.0L I6....

Thank you gas prices!
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Old 05-12-2011, 03:37 PM  
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i feel your pain. 75$ to fill my 4runner up. >.< ill be soooo glad to live closer to work. i might even start making money! haha
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Old 05-12-2011, 08:10 PM  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake7 View Post
I just swapped a new motor into my YJ (That's a Jeep, for the Jeep-challenged). I decided to go with another 2.5L 4-cylinder, even though my heart was pulling me to a Chevy V8, or at least a 4.0L I6....

Thank you gas prices!
Gosh darn it, I really actually like the 4 cyl engines. You should drop a little 4 or 6 cyl diesel in that Jake. Now that would be so cool!
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Old 05-12-2011, 11:42 PM  
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Oh man, my friend, the minute I find a total'ed diesel around here, or just a diesel around here period -- I'm definitely picking it up! Problem is those aren't very common

I saw a diesel Jeep last month, but the guy had just rotated to Hawaii from England. He's got my number whenever he decides to sell it!
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