Is the cost of anything not going up?

[Maurice Mcmurry]

The Ag. economy is followed closely in our area. This article appeared today.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/tech/sc...d-b9d7f66e2c83

[Patty Hann]

Careful - you'll run afoul of the ban on politics.

Just reminding folks to check out the SOURCE of the stats being cited; could be Red, Blue, Purple (even Magenta or Lavender )
Just check the source.

[Lee DeRaud]

Careful - you'll run afoul of the ban on politics.

Heh. I've long had the impression that the overlap between economics and politics is nearly 100% for a largish percentage of the population.
(Of course, the same is true for politics and religion, so a Venn diagram of all three is kind of boring.)

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I stopped to air up a tire and they wanted $2.00 for air. AIR!!! $2.00 !!!! I’m done.

[Jim Becker]

I stopped to air up a tire and they wanted $2.00 for air. AIR!!! $2.00 !!!! I’m done.

The air was free. Use of the machine, well...

[Pat Germain]

The air was free. Use of the machine, well...

And dollars to doughnuts you put your $2.00 into the machine only to find out it's broken and you still don't get any air.

[Patty Hann]

I stopped to air up a tire and they wanted $2.00 for air. AIR!!! $2.00 !!!! I’m done.

QT has free air (at least in metro Phoenix)

[Jim Becker]

QT has free air (at least in metro Phoenix)

Costco has free nitrogen...

[Brian Elfert]

Holiday gas stations have typically had free air, but newly built or rebuilt stations seemed to have switch to the pay model. A number of gas stations say they give the proceeds from the air machine to charity. Loves started charging $5 or $10 for using the RV dump station maybe a decade ago. They give that money to Children's Miracle Network, at least in September every year. They even offer to let you fill out one of the hearts to hang on the wall if you pay for the dump station.

[Don Corbeil]

There is a lot of sub types for inflation to make it appear not apparent, for example ShirnkFlation where packaging is getting smaller but the price stays the same. Companies sure love to use hidden ways to mask inflation

[Malcolm McLeod]

The quote you posted ended with "fossil fuel policies". That's the very definition of corporate greed. I get it. The whole planet has a petroleum based economy. Everyone depends on petroleum. But it's a reality that the people who produce petroleum are motivated by corporate greed. On the one hand, that motivates companies to produce said petroleum. On the other hand, it motivates companies to keep the prices as high as possible. The only reason prices aren't higher than they are now is because petroleum companies know the higher the prices go, the more motivation there is to switch to alternative energy sources. And that would get in the way of their corporate greed.

My take-away from the quoted article is that "policies" are not dictated by corporations, but rather by... uhm... well... ... by policy makers. I'll leave it at that. We mustn't anger Mr. Moderator.

On supply and demand side of things, please keep in mind that for every major O&G company there are dozens, if not hundreds, of small independent producers. If a given 'major' wants to cut production to drive prices up, there are 50 companies who will gleefully crank a well or 20 open, or drill a new well, to make up the difference - in a commodity market where no one 'controls' their own prices. (Take a look at who controls the price of a Tesla or iPhone.) And let's not forget the impact on world energy markets of that little survival dance in Ukraine.

Also curious what defines "Corporate Greed"? IMO the media largely lives and dies on click-bait reports of the oil & gas 'major's' profits. But O&G industry net profit margins are reportedly ~2.8% (via investopedia). Other large companies: GOOG=24.01%; AAPL=26.16%; AMZN=5.29%; Ford=2.47% (via macrotrends). Mentioned here: Costco=2.43%. Or maybe some cereal(?): General Mills=12.06% (macrotrends again). If O&G industry gets down to 2.5% are they still greedy?

Would XOM or Chevron be less greedy is they produced lithium? What if they were already providing carbon capture & sequestration services? Or CO2 direct air capture R&D? Maybe.

A little research goes a long way. And improves GOOG profit margins!

[Don Corbeil]

My take-away from the quoted article is that "policies" are not dictated by corporations, but rather by... uhm... well... ... by policy makers. I'll leave it at that. We mustn't anger Mr. Moderator.

On supply and demand side of things, please keep in mind that for every major O&G company there are dozens, if not hundreds, of small independent producers. If a given 'major' wants to cut production to drive prices up, there are 50 companies who will gleefully crank a well or 20 open, or drill a new well, to make up the difference - in a commodity market where no one 'controls' their own prices. (Take a look at who controls the price of a Tesla or iPhone.) And let's not forget the impact on world energy markets of that little survival dance in Ukraine.

Also curious what defines "Corporate Greed"? IMO the media largely lives and dies on click-bait reports of the oil & gas 'major's' profits. But O&G industry net profit margins are reportedly ~2.8% (via investopedia). Other large companies: GOOG=24.01%; AAPL=26.16%; AMZN=5.29%; Ford=2.47% (via macrotrends). Mentioned here: Costco=2.43%. Or maybe some cereal(?): General Mills=12.06% (macrotrends again). If O&G industry gets down to 2.5% are they still greedy?

Would XOM or Chevron be less greedy is they produced lithium? What if they were already providing carbon capture & sequestration services? Or CO2 direct air capture R&D? Maybe.

A little research goes a long way. And improves GOOG profit margins!

While corporations play a significant role in the petroleum industry, policy decisions also exert substantial impact. Regarding "corporate greed," it's a subjective term influenced by perceptions of profit margins and corporate behavior. Comparing net profit margins across industries provides valuable context, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of corporate motivations. Exploring alternative energy initiatives like lithium production or carbon capture showcases potential avenues for mitigating environmental concerns while addressing corporate interests.

[Doug Garson]

mmmm according to Investopedia "The average net profit margin for oil and gas production was 4.7% in 2021 and 31.3% in Q4 2021.

For oil and gas exploration and production stocks included in the S&P 500 index, the aggregate operating profit margin was 19.6% in Q4 2021, according to Yardeni Research"


So it looks like the spike in O&G profit margins kinda happened just before inflation rose dramatically, maybe it was one of the drivers?
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/ans...ing-sector.asp

[Bill Howatt]

Oil profits are highly dependent on price per barrel and this is not totally governed by the usual market pressures - it is highly influenced by cartels like OPEC+ who decide to increase or decrease supply. I think the industry also suffers from lean years so the profit surge is seen as something to average out the low years. Yes, higher oil prices are inflationary.

[Warren Lake]

I know they struggle, past seen the dirt farmers with 50 Ferraris.