Energy & Oil

It’s the unions, stupid

Friday, August 1st, 2008

News is rippling through economic circles today that General Motors lost $15.5 billion in 2nd Qtr 2008. While losses were expected, perhaps no one expected such heavy losses.
GM said that $9.1 billion of the losses were from one-time charges and writedowns . . . still leaving them more than $6 billion in the red.
To put [...]

Speculation theory ain’t fickle

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Apart from the new liberal (and OPEC) mantra that it is speculators — not supply & demand or other factors — that are responsible for driving up the cost of oil, there is a much more right-minded faction who believe that if the U.S. were to announce an aggressive energy policy, that alone could drive [...]

GOP: ‘Find more, use less’

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Senate Republicans today unveiled “Find more, use less” legislation aimed at lowering gas prices.
The GOP appears to be united on the legislation — with 44 co-sponsors — which would aim at both increased oil exploration and alternatives to gasoline-powered cars.
Senate Republican Conference chairman Lamar Alexander called on the Senate’s Democratic leadership to take up debate [...]

Lollygagging Congress leaves gas costs unaddressed

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Members of Congress will head home tomorrow for a week-long 4th of July holiday, leaving the high costs of gasoline unaddressed as Americans prepare to hit the road for the extended holiday weekend.
It’s been over 1 month since the national cost of a gallon of gasoline topped $4, and Congress has yet to take action, [...]

Oil producers, consumers clash over record prices

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman confronted OPEC today at an emergency oil summit held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With NYMEX crude oil futures at $135 per barrel, Bodman urged suppliers to increase output in order to combat record high prices. OPEC countered that oil speculators and a weak dollar, not supply shortages, were to [...]

More good news for McCain on drilling

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

I commented last week that, despite his criticism for failing to support opening the ANWR to exploration, energy might well turn out to be John McCain’s defining difference in the race against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
I pointed out that a recent Gallup poll found 57% of Americas in favor of offshore oil exploration, and [...]

Energy: McCain’s defining difference?

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

If you have yet to see the differences between John McCain and Barack Obama, you probably aren’t looking hard enough. From the war in Iraq to their respective tax plans to their stance on social issues, the two men couldn’t be further apart. Yet, many pundits have criticized McCain for not developing an energy [...]