The Big Oil Quiz

1. ExxonMobil produces 2 million barrels of oil per day of worldwide.  In addition to its own production, Exxon also purchases crude oil at the market rate for its global refining network.  How much oil does Exxon buy every day at the prevailing market rate?
a. 500,000 barrels
b. 1 million barrels
c. 3 million barrels
d. 5 million barrels

2. Local, state and federal gasoline taxes average roughly 49 cents per gallon nationally, and are as high as 67 cents per gallon in California and New York.  What amount of profit does ExxonMobil earn per gallon of gasoline sold? 
a. 65 cents per gallon
b. 45 cents per gallon
c. 25 cents per gallon
d. 8 cents per gallon 

3. More than 75% of ExxonMobil’s operating earnings come from outside the United States. What percent of ExxonMobil's workforce is based in the United States?

a.  20%

b. 40%

c. 60%

d. 80% 

4. ExxonMobil is the world’s largest publicly traded oil company. What percent of the world’s oil reserves does it actually control?
a. Less than 1 percent
b. 2 percent
c. 5 percent
d. 10 percent 

5. What percent of the world's oil reserves do America's "Big Oil" companies control?
a. 3 percent
b. 6 percent
c. 12 percent
d. 18 percent 

6. In the first half of 2011, ExxonMobil paid $6.7 billion in tax expenses in the U.S. What were ExxonMobil's operating earnings for that period? 
a. $20 billion
b. $7 billion
c. $5.5 billion
d. $3.5 billion

Find the answers here.

The Grouch's bonus question:  Who gouges their customers more and reaps windfall profits, Exxon-Mobil or Apple Computer?

HT: Carpe Diem

A Painful Truth

Quote of the Day: Warren Meyer

If the very rich got that way through special access to government power, then why is the solution to tax them more, and not just to reduce government power?

And if the very rich got that way through hard work and innovation, then why the hell are we proposing to take resources out of these people’s hands?

~ Warren Meyer

Several Interviews with William Bernstein

Take Risks in Stocks, Not Bonds


What Looks Cheap Right Now


Precious Metals: Time for Fear, Not Greed


William Bernstein, author of several classic investment books The Four Pillars of Investing, The Investor’s Manifesto, is interviewed by Christine Benz of Morningstar about a variety of timely investment topics.

Peter Schiff vs OWS

USA, Inc.: Where We Are, How We Got Here, What May Be Next

There's a lot of info packed into the long presentation. May only be suitable viewing for hardcore policy wonks.

Phantom Water

PHANTOM WATER EDIT from Chris Bryan on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day: ABC News

At a million-dollar San Francisco fundraiser today, President Obama warned his recession-battered supporters that if he loses the 2012 election it could herald a new, painful era of self-reliance in America.

“The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don’t work even harder than we did in 2008, then we’re going to have a government that tells the American people, ‘you are on your own,’” Obama told a crowd of 200 donors over lunch at the W Hotel.

“If you get sick, you’re on your own. If you can’t afford college, you’re on your own. If you don’t like that some corporation is polluting your air or the air that your child breathes, then you’re on your own,” he said. “That’s not the America I believe in. It’s not the America you believe in.”

ABC News, from Obama: If We Lose in 2012, Government Will Tell People ‘You’re on Your Own’

Grouch: All I can say is thank goodness the country wasn't founded on self-reliance and individual responsibility. Who cares about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as long as Big Brother is there to take care of us. That's all that counts...... (Side note: Kind of ironic Obama is at the "W" hotel soliciting money.....)