Exxon passes GE to be No. 1 in size (world's biggest company)

[Newsjock]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002184644_exxonbiggest19.html

By Danielle Sessa
Bloomberg News

ExxonMobil overtook General Electric as the world's biggest company by market value, underscoring the emergence of energy stocks as leaders amid surging oil prices.

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded oil producer, was valued at $383.3 billion as of yesterday's close. The figure surpassed the $379.3 billion value of GE, whose 11 units include financial services, health care and the NBC television network.

... The change in leadership took place after ExxonMobil's shares rallied 15 percent this month, compared with GE's 0.7 percent decline. GE led in market value by $49 billion at the end of January.

... Energy shares are the Standard & Poor's 500 index's best performers for the second straight year as crude-oil futures approach $50 a barrel in New York. Their industry index has gained 16 percent in 2005 after rallying 29 percent in 2004, when oil climbed to a record $55.67 on Oct. 25.

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[teryang]

1. Some are trying to suggest that this is an "energy bubble"

That what goes up must come down. I've seen some other analysis suggesting that the uptrend in "resource" prices could last at least another eight years.

Will there be a self limiting impact as higher energy prices cause an economic slowdown?

[truthisfreedom]

2. exactly which service stations does EXXON sell to?

i'm curious.

[starroute]

3. Have you seen Exxonsecrets.org?

http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/listorganizations.php

Exxon is funding every anti-environmental organization there is -- which means a whole lot of money going to general right-wing perniciousness as well. The list at the above link includes:

- fake seniors groups like 60 Plus

- the late Reed Irvine's Accuracy in Media

- right-wing warhorses like AEI, the Cato Institute, and the Heritage Foundation

- GOPUSA's friends at the Frontiers of Freedom Institute

- Brent Bozell's Media Research Center

- the direct-mail scam artists at the National Center for Public Policy Research

- Buckhead's pals at the Southeastern Legal Foundation

In short, as long as Exxon has anything to say about it, we will never get the sort of world we need and deserve.

[NEOBuckeye]

4. Peak Oil will be their Downfall

Let Exxon keep thinking that this party of theirs will go on forever. But there is, after all, only so much cheap oil left in the planet.

Actually, not very much more by current indications.

When it runs out, the clock also runs out on their vile, delusional chokehold on the American people, humanity and the Earth itself. May their entire regime collapse upon itself as a tower of unsecured stones, and may all their ill-gotten riches buy them a one-way trip to total ruin. And if none of these things should come to pass on their own, may the good people of the world give them a helping hand along the road to justice.

You'd best deal with reality, or reality will deal with you.

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. I wish I could agree with you . .

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But I'll bet you that Exxon and the like have all the patents and info they need to dominate alternative energy sources when needed.

They'll buy up, or bankrupt all the fledging alternative energy companies, and continue with monopolizing the energy field.

A story to consider.

Delco-Remy was a small electronics company that made alternators, starters, etc for different Automotive manufacturers, as well as farm equipment and heavy duty stuff.

General Motors kept increasing it's orders, until it finally gave Delco-Remy a humongous order, that would require Delco to retool, and abandon it's other customers.

Delco-Remy, not wanting to lose such a valuable customer/contract, did just that - went for the GM line exclusively.

Well, at the end of the contract, GM offered to buy Delco, Delco refused to sell.

Make a long story short -

GM wouldn't renew the contract, Delco wasn't tooled up for the other manufacturers anymore, And GM bought Delco for a song . . .

300+ Billion can bankrupt alot of little guys . . .

Therein lies the evil of Kapitalism

(sigh)

[NEOBuckeye]

7. It's still going to take energy to make those things

And we're rapidly running out of the cheap energy that makes it possible to maintain our post-modern society at its' current level. If Exxon really wanted to have any shot of surviving well into the future, they should have started advocating and supporting alternative energy and methods of transport 25 years ago, when cheap oil was still fairly plentiful. It still takes energy to create and distribute fuel cells, windmills and solar panels, and oil is going to become very expensive in the next few years. Even all of the money in the world won't help you extract more Oil when the Earth simply has nothing left worth extracting.

Exxon, like the fools that they are, opted instead to keep their Oil addiction going. But short of finding another 2 or 3 Ghwar-sized oil fields, they likely won't survive as a corporation more than 10 years beyond the global peak. And quite frankly, I couldn't be happier to see them choke and perish on the byproducts of their own greed and arrogance. The entire Oil industry can eat shit and die as far as I'm concerned. The long-term survival of the Earth and humanity is far more important than a handful of individuals and their shortsighted conquests for profits and power.

[ConcernedCanuk]

10. Oh oh - look out Iceland and Greenland

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Wonder if Exxon and the like have their beady eyes set on them -

They have VAST resources of Geothermal energy - and are harnessing less than 10% of the KNOWN capacity to date

Get this:

"Hot water and natural steam are extensively used for the heating of buildings and greenhouses. About 85% of all houses are heated with geothermal energy." (source)

"Iceland gets 72 percent of its needs from geo-thermal energy and hydro-electricity. " source

And with cheap electricity, one can make hydrogen economically, a CLEAN fuel to boot!

I'm sure that the energy wizards are more than aware of this, and WHY should they spend a whack of money developing it, when others are doing it for them??

The Netherlands are championing in wind power, again, I'm sure that the oil magnates are watching closely - -

No, no my friend, Exxon and the like will not perish, as much as you, I, and millions of others may wish -

(sigh)

[NEOBuckeye]

12. We'll see.

Big Oil and its' backers are really pressing their luck as of late. Even if Americans themselves don't rise up to put the Oil Barons in their place, the rest of the world might just rally together and do them in for us.

Even now, China, India, Russia, Venezuela, Brazil and Iran are forming pacts and alliances with each other to secure their own oil reserves from a United States turned openly rogue empire. They are preparing to protect themselves from US neo-imperialism at any cost, even if it means forcibly weaning the US from Oil and forcing us into economic collapse and infrastructure failure. China has even said as much. Few countries are still too afraid of the US to consider opposing us anymore.

The next 10 years will be increasingly chaotic and desperate ones. If there's any fun to be had, it may come from watching US corporate executives squirm when China and India decide to cut them off from their outsourced cheap labor, once both countries realize the US no longer has the military might to support its corporate-driven conquests. Given all of the harm they've brought to the lives of millions of people, it would certainly serve them right.

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. Few countries are still too afraid of the US to consider opposing us ..

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"Few countries are still too afraid of the US to consider opposing us anymore."

Pretty close:

Even though many countries may still "fear" the US, they saw,

the US force Iraq to disarm,

starving their citizens in the meantime -

then BOMBING THE SHIT OUT OF THEM ANYWAYS

Other countries are waking up to the fact that the US wants TOTAL obedience to it's wishes, and unarmed countries are no deterrent to the US's War Machine's deadly radioactive bombs and bullets

Get that OIL boys 'n girls!

That War Machine will grind to a halt without it!

In the meantime

Thousands of nuclear warheads are discreetly re-targeting mainland USA, dormant for years until the US voters granted it's Warrior Boy King permission to continue his deadly reign.

AS just a young nation, I'll bet the USA looks just like an upstart teen-ager to the likes of China, Russia, and other nations that have been around for THOUSANDS of years.

Now the upstart is literally feckin' around in their own back-yard, and I suspect the USA is nearing getting a damm good SLAP as these countries unite to clean up their backyard

The phrase rings anew, - loud and clear

"Yankee Go Home"

But Junior ain't listening . . .

(sigh)

[phylny]

14. Who's addicted to oil?

Exxon or us?

Just something to think about.

[98geoduck]

11. Couldn't agree more. I wonder who's getting that 12billion for hydrogen

fuel cells.

[SomewhereOutThere424]

8. Excellent quote!

"You'd best deal with reality, or reality will deal with you."

I love that, especially good to throw in those 'reality' mongers' faces. I hope they fall before the fall of oil though, when it isn't people's ignorance that stops them but their willingness to fight back. Atleast they go without dignity then, they don't deserve it after all the suffering they've caused (in people AND animals and plants aswell)

[NEOBuckeye]

9. Thanks, but I can't take all the credit for it

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net

I just slightly modified it from the version Matt Savinar posts on his website. But the meaning is essentially the same.

[NNguyenMD]

5. wow oil is big now! gee whiz I sure didn't see that one coming

[Disturbed]

15. ExxonMobil a Graver Threat Than Terrorism

ExxonMobil a Graver Threat Than Terrorism
By David Swanson
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Thursday 08 April 2004

Global warming is a far bigger threat than global terrorism, according to Tony Blair's chief scientific advisor, David King. Global warming is likely to lead to economic catastrophe and wars over diminished resources according to a report commissioned by that group of flaming liberals, the U.S. Department of Defense.

The unelected president of the United States, following the lead of ExxonMobil, denies the danger of global warming - just as disgruntled insiders say he did with al Qaeda. The vast majority of Americans think corporations have too much influence in their government and that the environment should be a bigger priority. This issue is hot and not going away. Are you listening, Senator Kerry?

Those of us who want to slow global warming should have two goals right now. One is to pressure Kerry to make shifting toward renewable energies a prominent focus and to help Kerry get elected. Protecting the environment should not be presented in political discussion as a side benefit of reducing dependence on foreign oil or of an initiative to create new jobs and develop new technologies, though it can be both. Rather, the goal of ending global warming should be given the priority that, in retrospect, preventing an attack by al Qaeda should have had in the presidential election of 2000. This threat is far more serious and far better known, and the incumbent's position on it is clearly opposed to that of most Americans. And I see no reason why Kerry cannot make standing up to the agenda of ExxonMobil look sufficiently macho to fit the image his advisors believe he must maintain.

More here: http://truthout.org/docs_04/040804G.shtml