All Posts Tagged With: "gas prices"
Oil companies have to be doing something bad: Shell is cutting thousands of jobs
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Fri, Oct 30 2009 | 0 Comments
Royal Dutch Shell plc, or as many of us know it as, just Shell announced yesterday that it will have to eliminate 5,000 jobs due to the 62% drop in 3rd quarter net income.
It reported a net income of $3.3 billion or 53 cents per share, but that is less than half of the net income that it reported last year of $8.5 billion. Since the drop, the company has to do something, so like most companies the first place it cuts is its workforce. The cuts represent about 10 percent of the total number of employees for the company.
CEO of the company, Peter Voser, said in a statement, “Our third quarter results were affected by the weak global economy. We see some indications that energy demand and pricing are improving, but the outlook remains very uncertain, and we are not expecting a quick recovery.”
The company did not disclose where the cuts would be coming from, just that they would be coming.
It is quite annoying when a company starts to expect the kind of money they were making when things were outrageously overpriced. Of course the company make $8.5 billion in the third quarter last year, that is when gas prices were outrageous (and not to mention oil was at nearly $150 a barrel). With oil at half the price it was a year ago, it only makes sense that the company’s profits would be taking a tumble. I mean, we’re paying $2.50 at the gas station when we used to be paying $4.00, or more in some cases.
It is also irritating when the first thing a company resorts to as a cost cutting measure is to get rid of jobs. Could the executives not put their minds together to get a better idea than to cut jobs? This is 10 percent of the company’s workforce that they are talking about.
I suppose, though, in the near future that gas prices will be ridiculous again and that the economy will be on the right track once more. Until then, everyone can expect stories such as this one to come out about how jobs are being lost and profits are falling.
Source
Jobs that make six figures: These may surprise you.
Tags: royal dutch shell, profits, net income
All good things come to an end as Southwest starts charging fees for early boarding
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Sep 03 2009 | 2 Comments
Southwest Airlines has made a spectacle of itself by proudly boasting that it would not be charging fees for what “the other guys” charge for; such as first checked bag with their “bags fly free” ad campaign. Those days might be over for the company though, as it is has had a money losing year and will have to start charging fees to help make up for some of the losses.
Soon, those who want to bard the airplane first or get a head start on boarding, called EarlyBird Check In, will have to pay an extra $10 for the convenience. While this isn’t something that all passengers will have to pay for, it was something that used to be free for everyone.
The fee will go into effect today and the move appears to be a desperate way for the airline to make up lost revenues. I don’t think that the company is having dire problems, it is just looking to make up some of the money it lost over the past year while people weren’t flying as much and during last summer while gas prices were so high.
EarlyBird Check-in means that you don’t have to wait and watch the time or set an alarm to make sure that you’re one of the first people to be able to board the plane according to marketing chief for Southwest, Kevin Krone.
Southwest has yet to do things like US Airways, who announced that it would, once again, be increasing baggage fees for the first and second checked bag to $20 and $35 when you pay for your baggage fees online. These types of fees are not only frustrating but can be misleading when you go to pay for your plane tickets on the internet. One of the worst parts, in my opinion, when it comes to paying for your checked baggage online is that you can only pay for it 24 hours before your scheduled flight is going to take off. That means that you have to be able to be at a computer and print your boarding pass sometime the day before you are scheduled to take off.
I don’t know if I would pay extra to be able to board an airplane first or close to first. However, since you are unable to pick your seat on Southwest, I may be willing to pay the extra $10 to be able to sit wherever I want and be able to sit there first.
Related posts:Southwest wants to test a new environmentally friendly plane
The airlines have decided to gouge you during the holidays this year.
Tags: company, head start, gas prices
Today’s Ebook – How Goldman Sachs Pumped and Dumped the U.S. Economy
Chris McClelland | RSS | Tue, Jul 07 2009 | 0 CommentsToday’s featured e-book download is How Goldman Sachs Pumped and Dumped the U.S. Economy (499 KB, 27 pg) – From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major manipulation since the Great Depression – and even worse they’re about to do it again.
What you can learn from this booklet
The bank’s unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump-and-dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere – high gas prices, rising consumer-credit rates, half eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts. All that money that you’re losing, it’s going somewhere, and in both a literal and a figurative sense, Goldman Sachs is where it’s going: The bank is a huge, highly sophisticated engine for converting the useful, deployed wealth of society into the least useful, most wasteful and insoluble substance on Earth – pure profit for rich individuals.
To download this e-book, or any of our current e-books, please visit the ebook page where you may choose the e-book(s) you wish to download. *Download an e-book by clicking on it’s title.*
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Today’s Ebook – Phishing and Pharming: Helping Consumers Avoid Internet Fraud
Tags: stocks, gas prices, consumer credit
There are some upsides to the down economy
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Jul 01 2009 | 1 Comment
Whenever you look at the overall economy and get discouraged, remember that there are a few upsides to the economy being in the gutter.
First, as a while, we’re borrowing less and putting away more. I suppose that we’ve all been a bit burned by not living within our means. As the credit crunch collapsed the world of the credit markets, people began to actually save more money. Yes, there are still plenty of people out there that are having a hard time getting monthly bills paid due to the high credit card payments they have incurred, but overall savings are up for everyone.
Even with gas prices down, we are actually driving less. When gas prices hit record highs last summer, people took notice and curbed their driving habits. Some of it actually stuck and now that gas prices are just over half what they were a year ago, the roads are still a bit emptier and people are carpooling and finding other ways to get from place to place.
Consumers are actually wasting less when it comes to necessities. Everyone is squeezing the last bit of shampoo out of the bottle and wearing shoes that they would have likely thrown away a long time ago. Consumers are shopping at thrift stores more to save money too; so they’re also using up what someone else didn’t. Thrift stores like Goodwill or the Salvation Army are actually running out of items faster than items are donated.
Out of the new home construction, smaller homes are being built. This goes back to wasting less. With smaller homes, we use less electricity and other resources. We’re saving money with smaller homes and leaving a smaller footprint on the earth. The average size for a new home that was being constructed has decreased for the first time in 10 years by 11 percent or nearly 300 square feet. Smaller houses also means that we’re using less resources to actually build the houses; there is less wood, wiring, and piping.
Finally, people are actually eating healthier. Red meat sales are down while the sales of poultry, fruits, and vegetables are up. Consumers are shopping more at local farmers’ markets, where produce is not only fresher, but is also typically cheaper than stores like Wal-Mart. This is also a great way for local businesses to start picking up. When people purchase more at farmers’ markets, they are putting the money back into the local economy.
Related posts:Housing Prices See an Increase In the DC Area
More strange indicators of the economy
Tags: necessities, saving money, new home construction
Ways to save money on gas this summer (and all year!)
Lizzie Tyner | RSS | Sun, Jun 28 2009 | 0 Comments
There are many ways to cut your costs during the summer, especially if you plan on doing a lot (or any) driving. With gas prices going back up, traveling this summer may be looking more expensive than when you planned your trip. Well, there are ways to save a little bit of money on that road trip this year.
As always, what I will start calling the golden rule of frugality, SHOP AROUND!!! Comparison shopping means that you are going to get the best deal. At the same time, don’t drive 30 miles out of your way to save $.02 a gallon, that’s crazy and really not worth it. You can do price comparison on websites like GasBuddy.com and some GPS systems even have gas stations filtered by price. These websites do depend on users to enter in gas prices, so the prices you see may not be what they are for that day (or that week if you’re going to a small town).
Secondly, if you’re a cash carrying member of the population use it. Some gas stations have started trying to pass merchant fees off to gas buyers and have started charging more for gas if someone is paying with a debit or credit card. This is a legal way for the gas stations to help with how much they’re paying for credit card fees. The good news for you is that usually these gas stations that charge more for credit card transactions are usually cheaper than everyone else.
You should also perform regular maintenance on your car. Giving your car a tune up and getting the oil changed according to when the manufacturer says can lead to higher MPGs and more miles on your car. Keeping your tires inflated can also help improve your MPG’s by 3% over the course of a year, which could total to 20 gallons of gas! Air filters are another one of those little things that sometimes we forget about that can increase your fuel efficiency.
A little tip I picked up is that if you like stopping frequently for gas, don’t fill up your tank because the less full your tank is the less heavy your car is and the more miles per gallon you will average. I usually fill my car up to ½ a tank, and then refill at ¾ a tank. It is time consuming, but overall I’m getting better mileage out of it.
Lastly, if you really want to cut back on fuel consumption for your road trips, take it easy and try not drive too aggressively. The faster you accelerate the more gas you are burning.
Related posts:Save money this year in anticipation of the next
Save money on your moving costs and reduce fees from companies
Tags: gas prices, fuel efficiency, gas station
