Gas Prices

[nc211]

OPEC announced it will cut production by a whooping 2.2 million barrels a day, for a total of 4.2 million barrels cut since September. Yet, the price isn't moving! I'd have to say, although possibly a little premature, that the speculators have left the building. Can you imagine what would have happened if this announcement were made just 90 days ago! Oil would of been $400 a barrel in a matter of hours!

Edit: In fact, price is doing just the opposite now, and rapidly falling! It's heading into the $30's! Can you say $1.00 days again!

[jcrome04]

YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY

I'll buy everyone a cold one with my extra money

hahaha

[nc211]

Stocks are going up....oil is going down....

Now, that's what I call "the right path to follow!"

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Again, keep in mind WHY gas prices are down as much as they are. The world economy is continuing to spiral down, we're in the worst financial straights since the Great Depression, more than 500,000 American jobs disappeared last month with millions more set to go away over the next six months, and we're still stuck with an administration that belongs in prison....

Not really a reason to celebrate....

Actually, we're nowhere near the level of the 30's depression. Unemployment went as high 24.9% back then. Heck we're still under 8% so we'd have to increase severity by another 300% to get near that level. I still see the local migrant workers around here driving brand spanking new Silverados to go out & pick strawberries. I pray to God it doesn't get as bad as it was 70yrs ago ... but w/ debt load ratios so out of whack ... who knows.

[fairlady_z]

yay gas is hella cheap!!!

[jcrome04]

LOL..... hella??

I haven't heard that since high school! haha

[eatingupblacktop]

hella....hella....hella,hella,hella.....it does have a ring to it doesn't it? :P

[nc211]

This is a good sign!

Retail Sales Top Projections on Springtime Inventory (Update1)

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By Allison Abell Schwartz

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., TJX Cos. and Aeropostale Inc. reported better February sales than anticipated as spring merchandise drew bargain-hungry shoppers back to stores.

Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 5.1 percent at Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer said today. That outpaced its quarterly forecast of 1 percent to 3 percent growth. Aeropostale reported an 11 percent rise, higher than the 6.9 percent estimate in a survey by Retail Metrics Inc. Sales at TJX, which runs the TJ Maxx chain, were unchanged, better than an estimated 2.1 percent drop.

Retailers had less merchandise left over from the holidays, and offered new spring inventory in February, which brought more people out to shop than the previous month, according to Richard Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in New York. Warmer weather mid-month also helped lure customers, he said.

“With a late Easter this year, we believe retailers are exceptionally well-levered to benefit, should the warm weather return and, hopefully, fuel increased consumption,” Jaffe said. Easter falls on April 12 this year; it was March 23 in 2008.

Retail Metrics, the Swampscott, Massachusetts-based researcher, said U.S. comparable-store sales rose 0.7 percent in February, better than the 1.1 percent decline analysts had estimated and the first positive result since September. The outcome was helped mostly by Wal-Mart, said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics.

Cheaper gasoline has drawn more shoppers to Wal-Mart, where they’re buying food, TVs and other products for entertaining at home, said Eduardo Castro-Wright, the Bentonville, Arkansas- based retailer’s head of U.S. stores.

‘Financial Responsibility’

“You’ve got a trend toward financial responsibility,” Castro-Wright said in an interview Feb. 26. “It’s almost like a significant percentage of consumers realize that they might have been living beyond their real means.”

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, rose $2.30, or 4.7 percent, to $50.79 at 9:51 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Costco Wholesale Corp., the biggest U.S. warehouse club, said yesterday that February same-store sales in the U.S. rose 4 percent, excluding gasoline and currency conversions. Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club, the second-largest warehouse outlet, said sales excluding fuel increased 5.9 percent. No. 3 chain BJ’s Wholesale Inc. posted an 8.2 percent gain, leaving out gasoline.

U.S. consumer spending fell in six of the past seven months as unemployment reached its highest level in 16 years, according to the Commerce Department. March same-store sales may drop as much as 1 percent, Mike Niemira, chief economist at the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers, said today in an interview. The U.S. savings rate climbed to 5 percent, the highest in almost 14 years, the Commerce Department said.

Aeropostale, Limited

Aeropostale wasn’t the only clothing retailer to outpace predictions. Sales at Limited Brands Inc., owner of the Victoria’s Secret chain, dropped 7 percent, better than the 7.6 percent average decline estimated by analysts. Gap Inc., the largest U.S. apparel chain, said February sales slid 12 percent, beating the estimated 15.4 percent decline.

“Aeropostale is the value-price leader right now,” said Brian Sozzi, an analyst at research firm Wall Street Strategies in New York. “I would think they’re going to have continued strong sales heading into the spring.”

Sales suffered at department stores, which have had to slash prices on perfume, handbags, shoes and clothes to attract budget-conscious consumers. Department stores have a larger assortment of goods and generally have to discount more than specialty stores, according to Sozzi.

Macy’s Drops

Macy’s Inc.’s sales dropped 8.5 percent, more than the 7.8 percent estimated drop. Dillard’s Inc. posted a 13 percent decline after analysts predicted a 9.3 percent slide. Nordstrom Inc. retreated 15.4 percent, more than the 13.6 percent analysts expected.

Luxury department stores have also turned to discounting to clear inventory. Saks Inc. said sales plummeted 26 percent. Analysts estimated a 20.7 percent decrease. Neiman Marcus Group Inc.’s sales sank 21 percent. Results were weak in all regions and in all merchandise categories, the retailer said.

Confidence among U.S. consumers plunged to a new low last month, signaling spending will slump further. The Conference Board’s index declined more than forecast to 25 in February, the lowest level since the data began being reported in 1967. January’s reading was 37.4, the New York-based research group said Feb. 24.

Retailers continue to cut prices. Aeropostale is selling two $29.50 polo shirts for the price of one. American Eagle Outfitter Inc. is taking 15 percent off all items, and Talbots Inc. is offering as much as 70 percent off spring merchandise.

“There are still discounts, but the discounts are not as deep as they were in December and January,” said Hana Ben- Shabat, of the retail practice at consulting firm AT Kearney in New York.

[jcrome04]

Good news!! :)

[nc211]

....and yet GM is saying they'll go bust in a few days without another bail out, plus Citi stock, once the world's largest bank by market share, hit $.97 CENTS a share today.... Eehyaya, what a mess.

[SW03ES]

If its any consolation...the real estate market here has imoroved a lot since the first of the year...

[nc211]

If its any consolation...the real estate market here has imoroved a lot since the first of the year...

Our house in Carolina went under contract within 4 days of hitting the MLS, for what we asked for. I could possibly be one of the last few guys left to make a profit on a piece of residential real estate in the country! Especially considering we bought it in Oct. of 06' right at the tail end of the inflated price bubble. One word...Cul-de-sac!

[jcrome04]

Maybe if GM's cars weren't so ugly they'd be doing a little better! :D :D :D

[SW03ES]

If its any consolation...the real estate market here has imoroved a lot since the first of the year...

Our house in Carolina went under contract within 4 days of hitting the MLS, for what we asked for. I could possibly be one of the last few guys left to make a profit on a piece of residential real estate in the country! Especially considering we bought it in Oct. of 06' right at the tail end of the inflated price bubble. One word...Cul-de-sac!

Excellent!

[dcfish]

$1.91............Going Up ???

[jcrome04]

Back up to $2.38 here for premium. :( what happened to $1.8X?

[dcfish]

???

[jcrome04]

The lowest it got here was in the $1.80's...

[SW03ES]

It went up and is settling back down here...

[nc211]

WASHINGTON – Freddie Mac said Wednesday it will ask the government for nearly $31 billion in additional aid after posting a gargantuan loss of more than $50 billion last year as the U.S. housing market worsened.

The mortgage finance company posted a loss of $23.9 billion, or $7.37 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2008. That compares with a loss of $2.5 billion, or $3.97 a share, in the year-ago period.

The recent loss was driven by $13.2 billion in hedged trades, $7.2 billion in credit losses from the declining housing market conditions and $7.5 billion in writedowns of the value of its mortgage-backed securities. The company also took a charge of $8.3 billion for now-worthless tax credits.

Allow me to translate that last paragraph, specifically one specific part which relates to this thread and what I was saying last year when oil was going through the roof - my stance on speculators trying to manipulate it to recover losses from their housing investment, and what would happen if oil tanked before a viable investment alternative could be identified for all of that money to flock to, which didn't happen..... Can you see it? No? It's the "The recent loss was driven by $13.2 billion in hedged trades,"

The other categories translate to the "mark to market" accounting crap used to value an investment in "real time" dynamics, not in "holding time", which is why many home owners with lines of equity have seen those limits reduced over the past few months.

[nc211]

Known as the Sage of Omaha for his long history of successful investments, Buffett was caught out by the global financial crisis.

Berkshire's net worth tumbled $10.9 billion in the final quarter of 2008 and profits fell 96 percent, due mostly to losses on derivatives contracts tied to the stock market. Berkshire had $4.65 billion of net investment and derivative losses in 2008.

....and yet another one, a VERY WELL KNOWN one! You don't get losses like this on just the NYSE DOW tanking.... This cost Buffett his cherry "AAA" credit rating, which was cut to AA. If you ask me, if you were one these mega players with the financial horse power to manipulate the price of something, and you were "in" on the oil sham, then you deserve what you get! WE all lost a lot of money too, at $4.50 a gallon. Nice to see these guys didn't get to keep it either! I hope these kinds of massive losses and the results of them, will serve as the basis to the investment community to never, never, never try to manipulate the commodities sector again! You can try to screw over the other guys who understand what a p/e ratio is with your techie stocks and such. But if you try to hose the american public with the items on their kitchen table and in their garages, you'll lose every single freakin' flippin' time!

If you can't tell, even though these are very difficult times for all of us right now, I am enjoying seeing some of these people who "stole" from us last summer, start to take some hits.

[raymsixsix]

I'm glad to see that some of the old adage, "you reap what you sow" is falling upon them....

Different story:

Today a very strange thing happened to me when I was gassing up my LS. I pulled up to the pump as usual and put in my debit card to start the transaction, and noticed the computer system on the pump was running really slow. I didn't think much of it as about 10 of the 14 pumps were being used so I figured the system was overwhelemed. After about a minute it showed the written instructions to proceed with pumping gas, so I started filling my tank. I kept on pumping until the nozzle clicked, then I looked at the pump so I could "round up" the dollar amount and noticed that it was only at $0.20! I figured it was just the system running slow so I just put the nozzle in the slot and requested a receipt. It printed out that all I had purchased was $0.20 of gas! Mind you, when I pulled in to the station, the low fuel light had just turned on, so I figured I pumped around 20 gals of fuel. I was elated for a second, but my conscience kicked in and convinced me to go inside, tell them of the obvious malfunction and try to pay the difference. Well, after I talking to the clerk, then the supervisor, then a manager, she told me "the pump is busted and I can't tell how much gas you put in to know how much to charge you, so thanks and have a good day." Indeed, I did have a good day! I bought a couple of NY strips and some scotch.

Don't worry, I'll share :cheers:

Ray

[dcfish]

I'm glad to see that some of the old adage, "you reap what you sow" is falling upon them....

Different story:

Today a very strange thing happened to me when I was gassing up my LS. I pulled up to the pump as usual and put in my debit card to start the transaction, and noticed the computer system on the pump was running really slow. I didn't think much of it as about 10 of the 14 pumps were being used so I figured the system was overwhelemed. After about a minute it showed the written instructions to proceed with pumping gas, so I started filling my tank. I kept on pumping until the nozzle clicked, then I looked at the pump so I could "round up" the dollar amount and noticed that it was only at $0.20! I figured it was just the system running slow so I just put the nozzle in the slot and requested a receipt. It printed out that all I had purchased was $0.20 of gas! Mind you, when I pulled in to the station, the low fuel light had just turned on, so I figured I pumped around 20 gals of fuel. I was elated for a second, but my conscience kicked in and convinced me to go inside, tell them of the obvious malfunction and try to pay the difference. Well, after I talking to the clerk, then the supervisor, then a manager, she told me "the pump is busted and I can't tell how much gas you put in to know how much to charge you, so thanks and have a good day." Indeed, I did have a good day! I bought a couple of NY strips and some scotch.

Don't worry, I'll share :cheers:

Ray

MR Please

[raymsixsix]

I'm glad to see that some of the old adage, "you reap what you sow" is falling upon them....

Different story:

Today a very strange thing happened to me when I was gassing up my LS. I pulled up to the pump as usual and put in my debit card to start the transaction, and noticed the computer system on the pump was running really slow. I didn't think much of it as about 10 of the 14 pumps were being used so I figured the system was overwhelemed. After about a minute it showed the written instructions to proceed with pumping gas, so I started filling my tank. I kept on pumping until the nozzle clicked, then I looked at the pump so I could "round up" the dollar amount and noticed that it was only at $0.20! I figured it was just the system running slow so I just put the nozzle in the slot and requested a receipt. It printed out that all I had purchased was $0.20 of gas! Mind you, when I pulled in to the station, the low fuel light had just turned on, so I figured I pumped around 20 gals of fuel. I was elated for a second, but my conscience kicked in and convinced me to go inside, tell them of the obvious malfunction and try to pay the difference. Well, after I talking to the clerk, then the supervisor, then a manager, she told me "the pump is busted and I can't tell how much gas you put in to know how much to charge you, so thanks and have a good day." Indeed, I did have a good day! I bought a couple of NY strips and some scotch.

Don't worry, I'll share :cheers:

Ray

MR Please

You got it.... Thats how I made mine... Scotch, was on the rocks :D

[nc211]

I continue to post in this thread under the personal assumption that some of us are young guys/gals who are in the "coming up" stage of life.

To summarize this entire thread: It was born when gas was heading north of $3 a gallon. Some said it was supply and demand driven, some said it was scam.

I just spent an hour watching a show that I hold in HIGH regard...Frontline, on PBS. I TIVO'd it a few days ago. Frontline is simply perfect, period. Fair, straightforward, and balanced.

If you give two *BLEEP*s about the real mechanicals behind the system, then I suggest you grab a beer and watch this. It ain't no Micheal Moore crap. It's real reporting, and will show the basis behind my original theory when gas was out of control that "we're being scammed by a Texas Oily President". I promise you, you won't feel like you've wasted your time watching this. You'll be stunned, and smarter across the board of how things REALLY work in the world, period. Espeicially starting on 9/12/2001, but reaching back to 1986 and the Iran Contra mess of Ronald Reagan.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/blackmoney/

PS: The Clinton Era director of the FBI, is now the Johny Cochran of OPEC....if that doesn't intrigue you, then please pay your future $8 gallon price, sit down, shut up, and thank us.