The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

XOM factoid:

You know these are tough times for energy companies when their chemical divisions are the big stars on earnings day. With its other businesses struggling, Exxon Mobil ’s [chemicals] unit delivered more than half of the company’s profits in the first six months of 2016. Two years earlier, during better times, chemicals accounted for less than a 10th of profits.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/exxons-tank-still-fuller-than-peers-1469816968