They have done it again. For the second straight quarter, Exxon Mobil has reported record quarterly earnings of $10.9 billion dollars or 17%. This is the second largest US quarterly corporate ever, the first being Exxon's quarterly earnings for the last three months of 2007.
They announced that they were "slightly disappointed" in the less than expected earnings due to crude prices rising faster than the prices at the gas pumps.
Are they living on Mars? What kind of audacity does it take for someone to boast these profits when the US economy is crumbling? I'm not against companies making a profit, but have some sensitivity for goodness sake.
They are not alone. As I blogged yesterday, bp reported a 63% gain from last year earning $7.billion, while Shell and Conoco Phillips reported $9.08 billion and $4.14 billion respectively. Cheveron reports on Friday.
All of this in the mists of news that unemployment rose from 35,000 two weeks ago to 380,000 last week. Consumer spending is up, but only because of higher food and energy costs. More layoffs are expected from GM and retailers including Home Depot, which is reporting that they will be closing at least 15 stores due to lower construction spending.
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