Crisis???

     

       So there's a cost of living crisis and EVERYBODY suffers, well not exactly. Petrol prices have rocketed, and it is all put down to those nasty Russians, no mention of the astronomical profits being made by the oil producing and refining companies. This section of the capitalist system, far from suffering due to this war in Ukraine have used it to shove profits through the roof. They are all making unimaginable profits and in private praying at the altar greed, that the war continues. They've never had it so good.
        This is just one example of how this system enjoys wars as they always benefit the rich and powerful. The same applies throughout the capitalist system. Emergencies, wars, famine and shortages are all a means to increase profits, a system based on exploitation of the many for profit for the few. This greed based system, this billionaires gambling casino, this insanity called capitalism will only end when wee the ordinary people decide we have had enough and organise to bring the whole stinking edifice crashing down. A better world is possible, just think of how you would like to see the world, a fairer world, a world based on compassion, humanity and justice, then make it happen. We have the numbers, we have the imagination, we have the skills, where is the will?

The following from Zero Hedge: 

 

 

         Amid soaring gasoline prices in the second quarter, the eight biggest independent U.S. refiners are set to report later this month a huge 652% sequential jump in their average earnings per share (EPS), according to estimates from investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co cited by The Wall Street Journal.
        All refiners and all integrated oil and gas companies are set for a windfall of profits for the second quarter as U.S. gasoline prices soared to the highest ever on record of over $5 per gallon in early June.
        The biggest refiners are also expected to generate billions of cash flow from operations as refining margins are at their highest in many years.
        “We’re seeing margins twice as high as the golden age,” Charles Kemp, a vice president at energy consulting firm Baker & O’Brien Inc, told the Journal. Kemp was referring to the 2004-2007 period, when refiners booked massive profits, too.
        The largest international majors are also set for exceptional earnings at their refining businesses, thanks to high refining margins and fuel demand in the second quarter. Some of the largest international oil majors have already announced expectations of blockbuster earnings from their refining divisions when they report Q2 profits later this month.
          France’s supermajor TotalEnergies said last week that “Refining & Chemicals results are expected to be exceptional given the very high levels of distillate and gasoline cracks.” ExxonMobil said in an SEC filing in early July that the rise in industry margins is set to add between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion to its Q2 results. At Shell, the refining margin nearly tripled in Q2 compared to Q1 and is expected to add between $800 million and $1.2 billion to the second quarter results of Shell’s Products division, compared to the first quarter 2022.
         Yet, the second quarter could have been the peak refining profits for some time as gasoline demand in the United States has weakened in recent weeks in response to high prices at the pump. Crude oil prices have also dropped from the recent highs of $120 a barrel as markets fear a recession is coming. 

 

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