Got Gas? U.S. Economy to Worsen as Gas Prices Skyrocket

[OutHouse]

Oil jumps as high as $110.55 in after-hours trading on report of Saudi pipeline explosion

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120301-714330.html

 

[dmcowen674]

Oil jumps as high as $110.55 in after-hours trading on report of Saudi pipeline explosion

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120301-714330.html

How convenient

 

[dmcowen674]

Hey Whippersnapper

This Yahoo guy Dan Gross says you are all wrong

3-1-2012

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dani...pains-why-u-better-able-handle-153416885.html

Why the U.S. is Better Able to Handle Higher Gas Prices



As the price of gasoline continues to rise — yesterday, I paid a painful $4.25 per gallon — concerns are rising over the potential impact of expensive fuel on the overall economy. But, as Aaron Task and I discuss in the accompanying video, the U.S. economy is better situated to handle higher gas prices than it was last year, four years ago, or ten years ago.

First, compared with 2007 and 2008, corporate and personal balance sheets are in much better shape, and hence better able to absorb rising costs.

Americans simply drive less, and use less gas, than they used to

In the last few years, the corporate sector got religion about efficiency. Walmart has steadily increased the fuel efficiency of its vast trucking fleet. Through the use of smart logistics and route planning, UPS has shown it can significantly increase the number of packages it delivers even as its trucks drive fewer miles. Businesses that have to spend the most money on gas have the biggest incentive work on efficiency. And so they're investing in alternative fuels and new technologies. The other day in New York, I saw several electric DHL trucks, part of its fleet of 30 battery-powered vans and 50 hybrid trucks. About 30 percent of the taxis in New York City today are hybrids. Bus fleets around the country run on compressed natural gas, as the website CNGNow.com documents.

The Ford Focus gets 40 miles per gallon, and the company announced earlier this week that sales in February were likely to surpass 20,000, double the amount from February 2011. Chrysler boasts that it has 13 cars in its portfolio that get more than 25 miles per gallon on the highway. Cars sold in 2011 got an average of 33.9 miles per gallon compared with 31.2 in 2007 and 29 in 2002.

About Daniel Gross


Daniel Gross joined Yahoo! Finance in the fall of 2010 as columnist, economics editor, and a co-host of The Daily Ticker. The best-selling author of six books, including Forbes Greatest Business Stories and Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation, Gross has been covering politics, business, and economics for two decades. The longtime “Moneybox” columnist for Slate, he was a staff writer and columnist for Newsweek and a contributor to the “Economic View” column in the New York Times.


====================================
Dan is an idiot

 

[fskimospy]

High gas prices cause pain. Using high gas prices to wean people off of oil when there is not currently an economically viable alternate is using pain to wean people off of oil. This is true even if you don't actually say it. Words mean things, but they don't change reality.

They are not trying to use gas prices to wean people off oil, the statement was that they are investing resources that could be used to bring down gas prices in other forms of energy for a longer term solution. Words most definitely mean things. Electing to invest your money differently for long term outcomes does not equal electing to make people feel pain in order to change habits.

 

[werepossum]

They are not trying to use gas prices to wean people off oil, the statement was that they are investing resources that could be used to bring down gas prices in other forms of energy for a longer term solution. Words most definitely mean things. Electing to invest your money differently for long term outcomes does not equal electing to make people feel pain in order to change habits.

Both Obama and Chu have repeatedly said we need higher gas prices. That isn't investing resources differently, it's using pain to affect change.

I agree completely with them about investing money into alternate energy, although I prefer basic research rather than subsidizing otherwise nonviable businesses. I don't even fundamentally disagree with them about raising gas prices (gradually, as Obama said he wished to do) to cause pain and move people in the direction of more efficient automobiles and homes. But in the midst of what is by far the weakest and slowest recovery within my lifetime, I very much don't agree with raising gas prices; there's too much pain already, and high petroleum prices (especially combined with a weak dollar) may well send us into a double dip recession even worse than our previous one.

That''s mostly academic though, since I said that Obama and Chu want higher gas prices, NOT that they are causing higher gas prices. Given their quite plain statements when not in an election cycle and the absence of any meaningful attempts to drop gas prices, I don't think the former can be questioned. Given the President's lack of directly raising gas prices (infringing current drilling and/or refining and significantly raising taxes and fees come to mind as things we could have done to raise gas prices but didn't), I don't think the latter can be questioned either. Therefore my opinion - that Obama likes high gas prices, but isn't causing them. And therefore his behavior - instead of attempting to to lower gas prices, he's trying to blame Republicans and "evil corporations". If he succeeds in shifting public opinion he can eat his cake and have it too. If he fails, he still have plenty of time before the election to do the mostly symbolic things Presidents can do to lower oil and gas prices. In fact, he is probably smarter to wait anyway, since the affect of, say, tapping the SPR is likely to be small and short-lived.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Is McOwned on vacation today? Where's the daily price gouger post?

 

[dmcowen674]

Is McOwned on vacation today? Where's the daily price gouger post?

Must not disappoint my fans especially my biggest one:

LA up another dime to $5.89

http://www.losangelesgasprices.com/

Chevron 811 W Olympic Blvd & Figueroa St



Los Angeles Aflie

9 hours ago

$5 gas becoming the norm in Long Island New York

http://longislandgasprices.com/

update Mobil 819 W Jericho Tpke & Plymouth Blvd



Smithtown LuckyD43

3 hours ago
update Mobil 450 Larkfield Rd & Clay Pitts Rd(Cash Price)


East Northport lekanv

7 hours ago
update Gulf 31 Northern Blvd & Nassau Rd



Great Neck whatsdafus21

13 hours ago
update Mobil 2033 Middle Country Rd & Mark Tree Rd



Centereach yankeesrule99

17 hours ago

 

[chucky2]

Both Obama and Chu have repeatedly said we need higher gas prices. That isn't investing resources differently, it's using pain to affect change. snip

If they really wanted to ease the pain on the common man, they'd commit the EPA to matching the EU's emission regs for Clean Diesel for passenger cars and light trucks for say, the next 15 years; this would mean states wanting to go their own way, such as CA, would have to be told too F'ing bad, our regs superceed yours. This would allow auto manufacturers to almost immediately bring over the same exact engines and emissions systems that EU is already using, bringing us true high mpg options w/o expensive batteries.

In the meantime, if they were really about long term planning, they'd be pushing for Gen III/III+/IV nuke plants like no ones business. So, when battery tech matures to the point of practicality in 20 years, we've got the infrastructure to support everyone having an electric car.

Neither of these have happened. Draw your own conclusions...

Chuck

 

[werepossum]

Hey Whippersnapper

This Yahoo guy Dan Gross says you are all wrong

3-1-2012

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dani...pains-why-u-better-able-handle-153416885.html

Why the U.S. is Better Able to Handle Higher Gas Prices



As the price of gasoline continues to rise — yesterday, I paid a painful $4.25 per gallon — concerns are rising over the potential impact of expensive fuel on the overall economy. But, as Aaron Task and I discuss in the accompanying video, the U.S. economy is better situated to handle higher gas prices than it was last year, four years ago, or ten years ago.

First, compared with 2007 and 2008, corporate and personal balance sheets are in much better shape, and hence better able to absorb rising costs.

Americans simply drive less, and use less gas, than they used to

In the last few years, the corporate sector got religion about efficiency. Walmart has steadily increased the fuel efficiency of its vast trucking fleet. Through the use of smart logistics and route planning, UPS has shown it can significantly increase the number of packages it delivers even as its trucks drive fewer miles. Businesses that have to spend the most money on gas have the biggest incentive work on efficiency. And so they're investing in alternative fuels and new technologies. The other day in New York, I saw several electric DHL trucks, part of its fleet of 30 battery-powered vans and 50 hybrid trucks. About 30 percent of the taxis in New York City today are hybrids. Bus fleets around the country run on compressed natural gas, as the website CNGNow.com documents.

The Ford Focus gets 40 miles per gallon, and the company announced earlier this week that sales in February were likely to surpass 20,000, double the amount from February 2011. Chrysler boasts that it has 13 cars in its portfolio that get more than 25 miles per gallon on the highway. Cars sold in 2011 got an average of 33.9 miles per gallon compared with 31.2 in 2007 and 29 in 2002.

About Daniel Gross


Daniel Gross joined Yahoo! Finance in the fall of 2010 as columnist, economics editor, and a co-host of The Daily Ticker. The best-selling author of six books, including Forbes Greatest Business Stories and Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation, Gross has been covering politics, business, and economics for two decades. The longtime “Moneybox” columnist for Slate, he was a staff writer and columnist for Newsweek and a contributor to the “Economic View” column in the New York Times.


====================================
Dan is an idiot

The man has a point. The same gas guzzlers, poorly insulated buildings, and poorly developed mass transit systems that make Americans uniquely sensitive to high gas prices also give us the most room for improvement. If you're a European with a tiny car getting 25 km/liter, you can't really erase high fuel prices with a more efficient automobile. If you're an American with a shiny new Ford Excess getting 6 km/liter, you can significantly cut your fuel expenses with your next automobile purchase.

If they really wanted to ease the pain on the common man, they'd commit the EPA to matching the EU's emission regs for Clean Diesel for passenger cars and light trucks for say, the next 15 years; this would mean states wanting to go their own way, such as CA, would have to be told too F'ing bad, our regs superceed yours. This would allow auto manufacturers to almost immediately bring over the same exact engines and emissions systems that EU is already using, bringing us true high mpg options w/o expensive batteries.

In the meantime, if they were really about long term planning, they'd be pushing for Gen III/III+/IV nuke plants like no ones business. So, when battery tech matures to the point of practicality in 20 years, we've got the infrastructure to support everyone having an electric car.

Neither of these have happened. Draw your own conclusions...

Chuck

I'm not sure if I'm for or against adopting European diesel standards; I tend to favor it, but I haven't really done my homework on the differences. I do think there's a lot to be said for a very small turbo diesel instead of a hybrid for passenger cars though, especially for those who drive mostly highway miles. Most of my miles are city, so I'd benefit from a hybrid because of the regenrative breaking.

I completely agree about the nuclear plants. I'd like to see a lot more small, sealed, self-cooling nuclear plants, as the big centralized nuclear plants require a LOT of cooling water and really change the aquatic environment. There are two things that make it unlikely we'll see this from a progressive like Obama though. First, progressives have an irrational hate for nuclear energy, in any flavor. That would cost him support among his base, and politicians tend to not have moral compulsions to help the common man at their own expense. Second, progressives tend to hate any new energy. As Obama said in my sig quote, they think Americans use too much energy per capita and need to concentrate on conservation. And there's a lot of room left in conservation, much of it with minimal pain.

Neither party really has a coherent energy policy. The Republicans concentrate only on providing more oil, but we all know oil WILL run out. We need to be working hard on replacements now. The Democrats concentrate on moving us away from oil without caring that currently there are no viable replacements, they just want to punish using oil and subsidize alternative energy products that aren't ready fro prime time. If we could somehow combine those two outlooks and look farther forward, we'd probably have a workable energy policy. (Also pigs would fly, which would mean we'd all need to carry very heavy umbrellas even on sunny days.)

 

[Doppel]

$5 gas becoming the norm in Long Island New York

http://longislandgasprices.com/

You continue to exhibit symptoms of clinical retardation. The link you posted says long island average is $3.99 and in fact there is not even a single station at this point at $5, so "the norm" is actually $4, not $5. You need to see a medical professional. You came close to being banned a few weeks ago for this kind of behavior.

 

[The-Noid]

When all else fails, blame peak oil.

In the 15 years I have followed oil markets, it was always the year of peak oil.

As the articles above show, the idea of peak oil over the long-term seems far fetched. Even from the shock of 2008 consumer habits have changed and we have found new sources of supply. The world however continues to be at the same crossroads it was at 4 years ago. 90MM BPD supply, 88MM BPD demand. The north sea oil is harder to come by and is thinning and with any kind of hits to either increased demand or a large portion knocked off we go to into deficit.

Maybe there is something to this whole peak oil argument? It is interesting from a US standpoint demand and supply look great. Worldwide the picture it so different.

http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.co...-oil-use-becomes-net-exporter.html?LS=Twitter

If only it was like the old days where we priced oil only based on this country.

 

[dmcowen674]

You continue to exhibit symptoms of clinical retardation. The link you posted says long island average is $3.99 and in fact there is not even a single station at this point at $5, so "the norm" is actually $4, not $5. You need to see a medical professional. You came close to being banned a few weeks ago for this kind of behavior.

Your crap is quoted and bolded once again.

I said nothing about average, that is your bullshit.

You should be banned for posting bullshit every time you type.

You should be banned for personal attacking.

Did I call you clinically retarded?

There are at least 6 stations all at $4.99

Learn to read or stop posting on the Internets.

I am clicking on report post and will every time you post this shit until they ban your ass.

 

[OCGuy]

Mcidiot is mad that $4 gas means he can no longer afford to fill up his early 90s Integra.

The more people off the road, the better.

 

[dmcowen674]

Mcidiot is mad that $4 gas means he can no longer afford to fill up his early 90s Integra.

The more people off the road, the better.

Quoted insult

I drive a car that gets 35mpg since 2005

Try getting facts straight before posting bullshit.

 

[OCGuy]

Quoted insult

I drive a car that gets 35mpg since 2005

Try getting facts straight before posting bullshit.

This whole thread is a troll thread that unfortuantely seems to work on the room temperature IQs of the P&N masses.


I really expected more of the moderators as far as ending this useless drivel, but instead we are having weekly votes on hurting people's feelings, not cleaning up the obvious trolls like yourself.

 

[dmcowen674]

This whole thread is a troll thread that unfortuantely seems to work on the room temperature IQs of the P&N masses.

I really expected more of the moderators as far as ending this useless drivel, but instead we are having weekly votes on hurting people's feelings, not cleaning up the obvious trolls like yourself.

Then your IQ must be of said " room temperature IQ" because you are posting in it.

Is someone holding a gun to your head to read and post in it?

Mods should not have to police your inability to look away.

Learn how to use the Internets or stop posting

 

[Doppel]

<angry lashing out>

You said $5 was becoming the norm. And then posted a link showing the average is $4 in long island. You clearly don't understand what the word norm means: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/norm Norm does not mean I just found a person selling a ferrari for $200k so the norm for cars is $200k.

So again stop exhibiting symptoms of clinical retardation. If anybody will be banned here it's you for calling people oil thugs just because they don't agree with your absurd perception of reality. You do absolutely need to see a medical health professional.

 

[dmcowen674]

You said $5 was becoming the norm. And then posted a link showing the average is $4 in long island. You clearly don't understand what the word norm means: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/norm Norm does not mean I just found a person selling a ferrari for $200k so the norm for cars is $200k.

So again stop exhibiting symptoms of clinical retardation.

If anybody will be banned here it's you for calling people oil thugs just because they don't agree with your absurd perception of reality. You do absolutely need to see a medical health professional.

Quoting insane personal attacking posts by Doppel yet again.

 

[dmcowen674]

Back to the topic

I thought thread derailing like Doppel is doing was banned as posted in recent threads stickied at the top?

I don't see any changes or actions done to worst offenders such as Doppel yet.

3-3-2012

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/recession-painful-cure-gas-prices-144000691.html

Recession: Painful cure for gas prices



One prominent economist, Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, says that lower-profile economic growth readings have slowed so much that a new recession later this year is inevitable.

With gas prices rising steadily and about 33 cents a gallon higher than they were a year ago, some other economists worry that high gas prices could be the tipping point that brings on a new downturn.

Americans used 134 billion gallons of gas last year, so paying an extra 33 cents a gallon is the equivalent of a $44 billion tax increase. Of course, that drag could grow if prices hit record levels, as many fear.


"I don't think for a minute consumer confidence levels can be sustained in the face of sustained high gas prices," said Bernard Baumohl, head of the Economic Outlook Group, a Princeton, N.J., research firm. "Real household earnings have been falling. It puts real pressure on household finances if gasoline prices keep going up."

Unfortunately, one of the surest cures for high gas prices is a new recession. Few things cut demand, and prices, more surely. People lose jobs and don't have to commute. Drops in wealth kill plans for vacations and other discretionary travel. And with the drop in demand comes lower prices.


The record high for gas prices came on July 17, 2008, when a gallon of regular rose just above $4.11, according to motorist group AAA.
A little more than five months -- and one financial meltdown -- later, prices ended 2008 at $1.62 a gallon. With the economy on the brink of a new depression, no one was getting too excited about cheap gas.

 

[soccerballtux]

dave you gotta stop posting so much its killing discussion

 

[Londo_Jowo]

You continue to exhibit symptoms of clinical retardation. The link you posted says long island average is $3.99 and in fact there is not even a single station at this point at $5, so "the norm" is actually $4, not $5. You need to see a medical professional. You came close to being banned a few weeks ago for this kind of behavior.

The funny thing is Dave doesn't understand he actually owns himself with these links to high gas prices as they show all gas stations in the area. In some cases the gas station with gas at $1.00/gal less is right across the street. With that being said why would anyone in there right mind pay $4.99/gal when they can buy it across the street for $3.95/gal?

 

[dmcowen674]

dave you gotta stop posting so much its killing discussion

What discussion?

Only thing apparent is personal attacks, harassment and lies from posters like Doppel and Londo

You call that discussion?

 

[shiner]

You said $5 was becoming the norm. And then posted a link showing the average is $4 in long island. You clearly don't understand what the word norm means: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/norm Norm does not mean I just found a person selling a ferrari for $200k so the norm for cars is $200k.

So again stop exhibiting symptoms of clinical retardation. If anybody will be banned here it's you for calling people oil thugs just because they don't agree with your absurd perception of reality. You do absolutely need to see a medical health professional.

How can you expect him to understand what norm means? He hasn't been in the neighborhood of norm in a decade or more.

 

[shiner]

What discussion?

Only thing apparent is personal attacks, harassment and lies from posters like Doppel and Londo

You call that discussion?

You're a proven liar and have been busted more times that Rhianna's lip when she was dating Chris Brown.

Seek help.

 

[Dude111]

let it go to ten dollars a gallon or more. that's what you obama and the eco-KOOKS want.

Exactly!!!!!

They want to keep WASTING $$$$$ (Like it was candy) and get the $$$ back thru HI TAXES,GAS,etc...........