The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

Shell reported a so-so 1Q14 that sent the share price soaring because expectations were so low; RDS-A and RDS-B are trading near their post-2008 highs (although RDS-A has not increased as much as RDS-B and the gap between the two classes of shares is at an all-time high):

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303678404579532903525442252

Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday that its first-quarter profit fell 44% from a year earlier on a $2.86 billion asset-impairment charge largely for refineries in Asia and Europe. However, revenue and profit declines in its energy production and refining businesses were smaller than some investors expected, sending its shares higher following the earnings announcement.

…Excluding one-time items, including the refining write-downs, quarterly profit was $7.33 billion, down 3% from a year earlier.

From Reuters:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-not-entering-russia-investments-102132916.html

At its exploration and development arm, production fell by 9 percent to 3.25 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent for an array of reasons: fields in decline, operations shut for maintenance, a cap on gas production in the Netherlands, and the closure of much of Shell's onshore capacity in Nigeria due to security concerns. [CFO] Simon said the fall didn't hurt earnings much because most of the lost barrels were among its least profitable.