I already have a Rolox Watch, says so right on the dial and it only cost me 50$ in Mexico. What do you think I'm stupid? 100$??? Nobody pays that much!!
MCG, I hate to burst your bubble, but the largest "Big Oil" mergers in the history of the world happened during the Clinton administration. The mergers between Exxon/Mobil, Chevron/Texaco and BP/Amoco were reviewed and approved by President Clintons Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. Therefore, I would suggest that one could argue - with some fairly material factual evidence - that the Clinton administration has done much more to create and advance the interests of "Big Oil" than has the Bush administration. Without question as it relates to "mergers and possible resultant price fixing." No? Terry
Notable US oil mergers of the last ten years 1997 Ashland Oil combines most assets with Marathon Oil 1998 British Petroleum (BP) acquires Amoco 1998 Pennzoil merges with Quaker State Oil 1999 Exxon and Mobil join to form ExxonMobil 2000 British Petroleum (BP) acquires ARCO (Atlantic Richfield) 2001 Chevron acquires Texaco to form ChevronTexaco 2002 Conoco merges with Phillips 2002 Royal Dutch Shell acquires Pennzoil-Quaker State Yes both presidencys presided over mega mergers but if it needs to be corrected by divestiture then it needs to be. One of the first antitrust actions in the U.S. involved Standard Oil in 1911. It can be done.
British Petroleum, Phillips, and Royal Dutch Shell are not American companies... $3.15 and spiraling down slowly at Upland, CA. There are reports of $2.99 gas in some isolated spots around SoCal as speculators are beginning to bet the other way...
Yes but what about Conoco and Quaker State-PennzOil....the companies they merged with? I would say Chevron-Texaco was one hell of a merger between American oil companies. Regardless of when mergers occurred and obviously some very big ones happened under both Clinton and Bush my view is that these mega mergers could serve to reduce price competition and promote price collusion. Congress needs to step in and examine this with a fine toothed comb. That is why we even have anti-trust laws.
They merged, because they weren't making any money. The easy money that Chevron had made in SoCal and Texaco in Texas was long gone. Getting the new oil that was miles down on the ocean floor required mega-billions of investment. Each one of those rigs is bigger than the Empire State Building and costs billions to maintain. The arithmetic is very simple: no mergers, no American oil. BTW President Bush doesn't make any money from oil investments, but do you know who does? Sen. Edward Kennedy makes $30 million per year from his part ownership of an oil company. But don't look for them to drill off the coast of Massachusetts; no matter how badly we need the oil. Senator Kennedy already stopped that. Oil rigs block the view from Hyannisport... 8)
I went over before the large amount of campaign contributions to W's 2000 presidential run. Do people in the know deny that Bush, Cheney and Rice have no Big Oil friends? They are truly on the outside of Big Oil and have no particular connection? What...all their old cronies are dead? I think it goes without saying that monopolistic economic environments invite price gouging.
Money and Poliitics. I would be happy if a couple of things went down. 1. No Congressman or Senator could accept one dime from any business or corporation, not a free lunch not a free "fact finding" trip. Wouldn't matter if it were a small business like me or a giant corp. 2. No Individual could donate more than say 2,000$ 3. No Non-Profit Organization could donate any money. Say such as Move-0n .Org or even the SPCA. 4. Neither the DNC or the RNC could fund candidates elections. 5. Take away Congressional Franking privys....I never get anything from my congressman or senator that is worthwhile and it never comes except right at election time. 6. Tongue in Cheek...You have to prove to the election commission that you know nobody in any corporation that does business in the US before you can run for office. IF it is later found out that your next door neighbor is an accountant for Exxon or US Steel or any corporation and that you attended his backyard BBQ. You are immediately removed/disqualified/impeached etc. You can't know anybody.
In fairness MCG, the Chevron/Texaco deal was announced in 2000 and the majority of the staff work on the part of the FTC and DOJ was done and completed during the Clinton administration. The transaction was approved and finalized early in the Bush administration and it's approval was contingent upon the completion of material divestitures in areas where the combined companies had overlapping operations. I can tell you from personal experience under several administrations that the DOJ and FTC take their responsibilities in reviewing merger applications quite seriously and apply tests for anti-competitive effects quite rigorously and will not approve merger applications without requiring divestitures to bring relevant industry competitive structure tests to within established guidelines. Terry
OK BT, obviously you have an extensive background as you say and exemplify in this arena. They may have passed these rigorous tests initially but that doesn't mean that things could have evolved differently as we see it today. It certainly bears some intense scrutiny and investigation if need be. What's the harm in laying out all industry pricing secrets for congress to see and approve? What's to hide?
MCG, the topic has been investigated to death. The conclusions simply have not agreed with your personal views. Perhaps it will prove helpful to your understanding to gain some appreciation of how extensive, scientific and fact-based the analysis has been.......here's the latest. http://www.ftc.gov/reports/060518PublicGasolinePricesInvestigationReportFinal.pdf Terry
phew...I thought I'd have to fly to Detroit and take you to a strip club to get your mind set straight!