7.1 Billion for Bird Flu Epidemic

[momof2inPA]

I don't think it is spreading all over the world. So far, there is no transmission between humans. People are picking this stuff up from their chickens in areas where farming standards are not healthy. Yes, there are cases popping up, but they are not "spreading". The "spreading" is occurring between chicken farms.

It is mostly a chicken to chicken transfer, but there have been more cases in the past year of fowl to mammal transfer and possibly mammal to mammal transfer. It is kind of scary, but I don't know how a quarrantine of humans will help when birds are migratory.

I guess I'm glad they're doing something.

 

[Cindyluwho]

I just want to share a story with you. My Grandma Amelia is 94 years old. She's very healthy, both mentally & physically. She has told me all about the flu epidemic. There were seven kids in her family and momma & daddy. Two weeks later Momma and three of the kids were gone. It was that quick. Some folks came down sick and woke up two days later with their entire family gone. I'm not saying this particular bird flu is going to be the one but there will be another epidemic, it's happened 3 times in the last 100 years. I think this is one threat that we should take seriously.

 

[Christine]

Christine, I see your point, but the results are the same regardless of the causes. High prices are irritating, and a fact of life. So I still think there is some "sucking it up" to be done. It is merely my opinion.

But there is a difference. I agree that high prices make everyone panicky, but when you say prices are high and Exxon reports record profits, that's a little more irritating than saying prices are high but the money is going to community/country improvements. I can feel a little bit better about that. But maybe that's just me.

 

[momof2inPA]

As for gas prices, we are just now beginning to pay what many other countries have alsways dealt with. We were merely spoiled up until now. It is time to just suck it up, as they say.

The oil companies used a natural disaster to rob us blind, and we are supposed to suck that up? No, thanks.

 

[McDISer]

The oil companies used a natural disaster to rob us blind, and we are supposed to suck that up? No, thanks.

You just made my blood pressure rise. Now I am scared ****less with the flu epidemic coming and my ears are pounding from my blood pressure.

 

[momof2inPA]

You just made my blood pressure rise. Now I am scared ****less with the flu epidemic coming and my ears are pounding from my blood pressure.

DISsing and heart attacks shouldn't go hand in hand. Go read the Trip Reports for awhile.

 

[Puffy2]

Just to put some of this into perspective:

the "plan" calls for enough vaccines for 20 million people.

There are almost 300 million people in the US.

Those vaccines will be marked for first responders, the military and whomever they decide are "most vunerable".

 

[tobias sampson]

The oil companies used a natural disaster to rob us blind, and we are supposed to suck that up? No, thanks.

OK, then complain all you want. It does no good. But if it makes you feel better, have at it!

 

[Geoff_M]

The oil companies used a natural disaster to rob us blind, and we are supposed to suck that up? No, thanks.

If the oil companies controlled the global oil commodities market, you might have a point. But lost in all of the heavy breathing over the "record profits" are a few points worth noting:

Record Profits, But What Margin?
Posted by David Masten

The big news today is Exxon Mobile’s recent SEC filing reporting 3Q earnings. “RECORD OIL PROFITS” says the Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Va.(dead tree only). Politicians are complaining and suggesting additional taxes. But wait a minute, total dollar profit is meaningless without understanding capitalization and revenues. I’m too lazy to look up all the other important financial data for a bunch of companies, but I’d like to point out Fortune’s Global 500. More specifically the global 100 since I seem to need a Fortune subscription to get the other 400.

Exxon Mobile posted a profit of $9.92 billion on revenues of $100.717 billion for a margin of 9.85%. This is a respectable number by all accounts, but it is hardly anything earth-shattering, and the margin has not increased noticeably from past financial periods. From the Fortune Global 500 data, financial services company Bank of America is getting margins of 22.3%, General Electric had 11%, and Proctor & Gamble comes in with 12.61%. Big Pharma does quite well with Pfizer at 21.5%.

If Big Oil is somehow unfairly profiting from recent disasters, we would expect that margins would increase considerably, but this is not the case. Instead what we see is that Exxon Mobile has increased costs and capital expenditures that offset any additional profit. There are things that Exxon Mobile and other Big Oil companies can be criticized for, windfall profits isn’t one of them.

Link

If your gouging claims were true, you'd see the oil companies holding their cost of goods lower and then jacking up the margin. We don't see this. Also, If you look at the Global 100 data, BP's margin (they were hit pretty hard by the hurricanes) was only 5.39%. That's not the stuff that outrages are made of. As their costs to bring product to market have increased, they have done what almost any company would do... they passed the increases on while preserving their margins. I'm not aware of many companies that would respond to increased costs by holding their prices stable. The only major exception I can think to this are our airlines... and I don't think that's a very healthy way to run a business as their mass bankruptcies have demonstrated.

Also, as the hysteria in the world oil market has seemed to ebb in recent weeks, gas prices have plummeted. It dropped an average of $.53 per gallon here last month. If the oil companies were as crafty as you think, I find it hard to believe that the higher prices would be evaporating that quickly.

 

[momof2inPA]

Geoff, is that a post from an oil company blog?

Anyway, this is an excerpt from a 10/27/05 NYTimes article:

"Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, said yesterday that its third-quarter net income jumped 75 percent, to $9.92 billion. Its profit in the first nine months of this year - $25.42 billion - already equals its full-year earnings for 2004. This year's sales, which topped $100 billion in the last quarter, are expected to exceed those of Wal-Mart.

Another oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 68 percent jump in profits yesterday, to $9.03 billion. Chevron is expected to post a profit of more than $4 billion today."

A net income increase of 75% and a 68% jump in profits from two oil companies. No, we weren't sucker punched because of Katrina, the oil companies somehow deserve that money. Yeah, Geoff, you work for big oil, but aren't they getting harder and harder to defend? I know I'm not buying it.

Next will be the post about how no one understands your industry...

 

[C.Ann]

Wait a minute! What happened to all of the people from last week who thought it was ridiculous to even give this bird flu a second thought?

 

[Free4Life11]

Where is that money coming from.

Deficit spending. All they have to do is print more money or sell t-bonds and things like that.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Geoff, is that a post from an oil company blog?

Anyway, this is an excerpt from a 10/27/05 NYTimes article:

"Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, said yesterday that its third-quarter net income jumped 75 percent, to $9.92 billion. Its profit in the first nine months of this year - $25.42 billion - already equals its full-year earnings for 2004. This year's sales, which topped $100 billion in the last quarter, are expected to exceed those of Wal-Mart.

Another oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 68 percent jump in profits yesterday, to $9.03 billion. Chevron is expected to post a profit of more than $4 billion today."

A net income increase of 75% and a 68% jump in profits from two oil companies. No, we weren't sucker punched because of Katrina, the oil companies somehow deserve that money. Yeah, Geoff, you work for big oil, but aren't they getting harder and harder to defend? I know I'm not buying it.

Next will be the post about how no one understands your industry...

And the reason for much of those record profits?

Yep, a 33% increase in sales. Oil companies must be really good, being able to force people to buy more gas.

 

[tobias sampson]

And the reason for much of those record profits?

Yep, a 33% increase in sales. Oil companies must be really good, being able to force people to buy more gas.

Darn, they're good!

I still can't understand why momof2 started talking about gas prices in the bird flu thread, but I guess that happens around here!

 

[DawnCt1]

And the reason for much of those record profits?

Yep, a 33% increase in sales. Oil companies must be really good, being able to force people to buy more gas.

You do tend to make more money when you sell more product!

 

[Bob Slydell]

You do tend to make more money when you sell more product!

Yep, even when your operating margin stays essentially the same.

 

[richiebaseball]

Geoff, is that a post from an oil company blog?

Anyway, this is an excerpt from a 10/27/05 NYTimes article:

"Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, said yesterday that its third-quarter net income jumped 75 percent, to $9.92 billion. Its profit in the first nine months of this year - $25.42 billion - already equals its full-year earnings for 2004. This year's sales, which topped $100 billion in the last quarter, are expected to exceed those of Wal-Mart.

Another oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 68 percent jump in profits yesterday, to $9.03 billion. Chevron is expected to post a profit of more than $4 billion today."

A net income increase of 75% and a 68% jump in profits from two oil companies. No, we weren't sucker punched because of Katrina, the oil companies somehow deserve that money. Yeah, Geoff, you work for big oil, but aren't they getting harder and harder to defend? I know I'm not buying it.

Next will be the post about how no one understands your industry...

There is a difference between profits and profit margin.

 

[punkin]

There is a difference between profits and profit margin.

No. Actually there isn't. Maybe you learned economics or accounting differently than I did. If so, please enlighten us.

 

[Bob Slydell]

No. Actually there isn't. Maybe you learned economics or accounting differently than I did. If so, please enlighten us.

Net profits = Actual dollars of profits
Profit margin = % of profit $ compared to net income

 

[momof2inPA]

There is a difference between profits and profit margin.

No kidding.

Connoco Phillips, the 3rd largest U.S. oil company's NET profits were basically double what they were last year, same quarter. I'll keep searching for the other companies. I remember reading that net profits were up for all the companies, but I'm having trouble finding the exact figures. Would the oil insiders care to contribute the numbers or is it a secret?