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

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.

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.*

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.

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.

It seems as though the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, has finally gotten exactly what they want. The price of a barrel of oil reached six month highs the other day and now there is a looming meeting of the countries to discuss whether or not to cut production.

At this point in time it appears as though a production cut is not going to happen, and the only reason that anyone can come up with is that OPEC was finally able to get exactly what it wanted. Meaning, the price of oil went up and their wallets started getting fat again.

The price of oil isn’t growing on actual demand for the commodity; the price is rising because stock markets all over the world are rising. Usually the price of oil rises with the markets and the markets usually begin to gain in the months prior to growth in industrial production and a reduction in unemployment.

It is nice to think that the recession could be coming to a close soon. When you look at the price of oil, however, it peaked seven months into the current recession (after all, the recession, according to reports, started in December of 2007).

Now, when the majority of your income depends on the price of commodities, not necessarily oil, it is important for the economy to pick back up. Then again, it is important to everyone for the economy to pick up.

Whether you’re income is tied to commodities, you’re a new graduate who really needs a job to start paying back some of those outrageous student loans, or you’re a home owner who is trying to sell your house to move to a place where you can find a job, the health of the economy is so important.

Hopefully the treasury secretary and Ben Bernanke were right when they said that the recession would be ending by the end of the year. It will be nice to see some economic growth, even if it means higher gas prices. At least when the economy starts picking up, many of us who don’t have jobs right now will have them later, and we can actually afford the gas.

What do your summer plans include?

Question:

Well, summer is upon us. Yesterday was Memorial Day, the unofficial kick off of Summer 2009. Considering gas prices are on the rise and we’re still facing some pretty heavy duty unemployment numbers, what do your summer plans include?

Answer:

Personally, my summer plans include finishing up school then working to find a job. At this point, any job may be just fine for me.

Gas prices are on the rise, so going away for a week or so may be out of the question for some (and I am even thinking twice about a trip to Florida at the end of the summer).

I think this may be another one of those “staycation” years. Like last year when gas was $4 a gallon, many families opted to stay home rather than go far away to vacation. That may happen again this year.

The agency said that the monthly average will likely peak around $2.30 a gallon, much less than last year’s $3.81 a gallon.

Part of the reason for the decline is last year U.S. crude production declined by 110,000 barrels a day. This year they’re expecting the first increase in domestic production since 1991 by producing an extra 440,000 barrels a day.

The report also states that crude oil prices will average $53 a barrel this year and about $63 next year.

Why are gas prices so high when the price of oil is low?

Question:

Oil was trading around the $35-$45 a barrel mark for over a month (February – March). Why was the price of gas per gallon going up without a significant jump in oil prices?

Answer:

At the time gas was going up and oil was trading around the same price and sometimes lower, inventories were changing at refineries. Refineries were switching from winter to summer operations. This matters because the type of gasoline is different for the seasons no matter if you live in Colorado (where winter lasts until April) or Florida (where it’s summer all year).

Also, the price of oil we all see trading on the NYSE is West Texas sweet crude. It is typically the most expensive type of oil, but at the time it was trading lower than the usually cheaper Middle Eastern and other OPEC oils. This caused the price of gas to be higher than what it appeared it should have been.

In February the CPI increased back up to 0.4% for the month. The increase in the percentage came on the heels of an increase in the price of oil, which has been fluctuating between $40 and $47 a barrel for the last month and a half.

The price of oil is such a part of consumerism that it directly affects the cost of any goods or services we use or bring into our homes. So, even though hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs every month, because a group of oil tycoons across the world have made decisions to make themselves wealthier, everyone suffers.

The answer has been no for awhile but now the new Honda Insight has a NEW price point.

Under $20,000 for a Honda Insight?

The 2010 Honda Insight is scheduled to hit dealerships on March 24th and will be priced under $20,000 to entice buyers as well as skeptics.

The price point is to compete directly with the Toyota Prius (the price for a Prius starts at $22,000 and goes up from there).

The pricing of the Insight has something to do with car makers also having a hard time getting cars off the lot, and with gas prices under $2 a gallon, it can be hard to get people excited about hybrids. With a price under $20K it can be a bit easier.

2008 marked the fifth year in a row where ridership of public transportation was up. However, this year, with unemployment so high and gas prices much lower than they were a year ago (or even two years ago) numbers are expected to fall.

I am currently working with a local public transit system and every month (even now) numbers for ridership have been increasing. Some months are higher than others, but usually they are increasing at a fairly steady rate.

Usually gas supplies start to decline from February to May because refiners begin maintenance operations on their facilities and switch from making winter grade gasoline to summer grade gasoline to boost supplies for summer fuel.

Also, refiners are just not producing at the capacity they once were.

The source article says to watch the RBOB gasoline futures traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange rather than crude oil prices as they are a much better way to tell what you’ll be paying at the pump.

Source

So, why have gas prices steadily risen for the last few weeks. When oil was at $35 a barrel right before Christmas I was paying $1.49 a gallon, now I’m paying $1.79…with prices just updating in the last day or two.

Even the average gas price is rising, so it’s not just local. However, my area is typically (being in Mississippi) lower than the average by about $0.10, but now is only lower by $0.01.

From CNBC.com:

“I was turning down Priuses in March and Japan was sending them to other countries. I was taking Cadillac Escalades in trade on Priuses by July and now, today I can’t give away a Prius,” Jackson said.

“Sales are down 50 percent all because the price of gasoline is on a roller coaster. I mean when are we going to have energy policy and a gas tax that puts a floor under the price of gasoline so that we can cease whipsawing the American consumer back and forth on this issue of fuel efficiency which for industries for lead times of two, three, four years, it’s an impossible situation.”

There is still a part of me that wants a Prius only because I know one day that gas prices will rise again, but also because I had a chance to actually see the inside of one and I really liked the features it had. A lot of the reason people aren’t buying cars right now is because 1) the cars they have are fine and 2) financing is hard to come by.

Source

The source I’m using for this entry says that the cheapest gas in the country is in Utah at $1.45, but obviously they aren’t polling areas around Memphis, TN, where gas is less than $1.45 a gallon.  Regular unleaded was under $1.45 last week right before Christmas there.

Gas has fallen from record highs to 5 year lows in a matter of months.

Source

Now, the price of scrap metal and other recyclables has fallen dramatically. Most metals have fallen equally (sometimes more) with the price of oil. The drop in prices has caused recycling facilities to cut jobs just because they can’t get the same revenue as they used to. Some people aren’t recycling as much either. Several cities that have started curbside recycling are scaling back.

The real loser in the price drop is the environment. When prices were up, people were more inclined to recycle because of the money they could get. Also, at the time recyclable materials prices were up, gas prices were up and consumers were becoming more environmentally conscious…now, with gas prices and other commodity prices down, awareness has also taken a hit.

Chris and I stopped for gas just outside Memphis for $1.83 a gallon. I never thought that I would see gas below $2.00 a gallon again.

Now, however, oil is dropping lower almost everyday and demand and worries about the recession aren’t going to be bringing them up.

I am excited about oil prices going down because that means I will actually be able to take trips for the holidays.

At the same time, gas prices have hit a 3 year low…$2.26 a gallon for regular unleaded.

However, when OPEC cuts production, all they do is hurt the rest of the world’s economy. I can’t wait for the day when we no longer run on oil and OPEC’s profits will diminish, and eventually disappear.

This is good news for those workers, but I’m afraid that Ford will be disappointed by truck sales, as it has been with sales of other vehicles. The report had little information about how the F-150 differed from previous models, but I would assume that it has better fuel efficiency than past models. Otherwise, Ford would be in the same boat it is in now…low demand for trucks with the cost of oil going up. I know right now that oil is far below what it was this summer, but summer always brings higher gas prices, and next summer is not likely to be an exception.

I suppose that those analyzing oil prices were wrong…for now anyway.

Many consumers have one eye on their wallets and the other on their portfolios and retirement investments. Oil prices falling could be the only good news coming out of Wall Street in the last couple of weeks.

Oil prices have dropped so much so fast that even OPEC is thinking about dropping production just to raise prices…however I don’t believe that would help at all. If OPEC drops production and prices go up, demand will just fall and prices will stabilize.

Bill Heard dealerships across the country shut down abruptly in the last couple of weeks. They have filed Chapter 11 in at least Alabama at this point. Customers who had their automobiles in the service department were locked out, those who had just purchased cars (were also not given any warning to the closing) are having to go through a lengthy process to obtain their tags.

The big 3 US automakers are even going through a process to borrow $50 billion from the government over 2 years.

Things aren’t looking great for car dealerships as people are holding on to what they have a little longer and opting for more fuel efficient cars when it is time to get a new car.

I, along with plenty of others, am calling this gouging. Not one of the gas stations was charged $4.75 a gallon for gas with their most recent supply, so why are they passing this OUTRAGEOUS price difference onto consumers? The answer: Because they are allowed to. Markup to wholesale prices can be up to $.60 on this most recent trade.

Our gas was $3.49 Thursday night at 8 pm. At 10 pm it was $3.55… Saturday morning $3.99. Wow. The best part? Oil traded UNDER $100 a barrel on Thursday.

Anyway, oil fell to below $115 a barrel yesterday, hitting a 3 month low. Of course, when oil falls, recently anyway, stock have rallied.

With demand falling and supplies increasing, oil has been falling. It was down 7.9% in the last week. Some are saying it’s the end of the bullish commodities market, I think it’s just the end of the summer. Oil and gas are always more expensive through this time of the year.

This is good news, but doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to get the car any quicker. I recently stopped by a Toyota dealer looking into buying a Prius. I was told (in July) I would *probably* be able to get one by the end of the year. Wow. I didn’t know there was a such thing as a waiting list for a car that was under $200,000. I mean I hear about lists for Rolls Royces and Bentleys or cars like that, but not a $23,000 hybrid. Perhaps I should go ahead and put my name on the list. I would like one in blue.

The demand for the Prius is obviously high, because they can’t even keep them in stock in Memphis, where they have at least 3 Toyota dealers. If I were to put my name on the list in my small town of about 20,000 people, there would be 8 people in line in front of me. So, if you have to put your name on a list for a car, is there still room for negotiation? I don’t really know about that either. I would still like to be able to haggle the cost of the car, but I don’t think they would.

Ah…the thing is, nothing will be done unless congress approves the lift also. So it’s just really a lot of talk now. Bush seems to think that, according to his exact words, "The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress." Nice.

I oppose offshore drilling, as it doesn’t alleviate our dependency on oil at all. Right now people are angry and looking to alternative means of energy. Once oil prices go down (which it is doubtful that offshore drilling would have a major impact on the price of oil) people would once again become complacent with the way things are and our environment suffers.

The ban was created to protect beaches and the money brought in by tourists. I doubt people would be as interested in the Gulf Coast if it ALL looked like Biloxi, MS. I know that Biloxi’s beach isn’t abysmal because of offshore drilling, it’s awful because it’s Biloxi. It smells funny, honestly.

In an article I read today about this, Nancy Pelosi had a really great quote about the whole thing, "Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil…The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas." She mirrors my opinion.

Here’s my take on this, people have to pay for groceries rather than gas. They take fewer trips and therefore, are not on the road as much. However, there are still plenty of awful drivers on the road. They will continue to use their cell phones, drive like there isn’t anyone else on the road and not pay any amount of attention as they make left hand turns.

On another note, I suppose accidents will be going down a bit more, because oil is trading at $147 a barrel today. lame. I would like to speculate for a moment, because it seems like every time I hear something about oil prices, it’s bad. I think there will be peace in the middle east starting tomorrow. Oil production will be through the roof, and prices will fall below $50 a barrel again. That is my speculation. Now…only if someone believed me, lol.