Replies to post #12826 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[OakesCS]

i'll make a bold 'analysis': oil and gas companies are preparing for an increasingly hostile operating environment in the US. think "windfall profits" tax circa 1979 with the more depressing feature that the responsible people are not on their way out the door but are just getting started.

[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