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Obama's grandmother targeted by thieves
Kenyan police have increased security in Alego-Kogello village, home of US presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother, after a break-in at her home.
The robbery occured on Wednesday night, when four men broke down the kitchen door. The police believe the thieves were trying to steal a solar panel from Sarah Hussein Obama's tin roof.
"I only realised that something had gone wrong when I went to make breakfast in the morning. I did not hear anything in the night as it was raining,” Kenya's Daily Nation quotes Mrs Obama, 86, as saying. "These are just people from around who think that Obama has been sending me a lot of money."
Mr Obama has never lived in Kenya and he has visited the country just three times, but nevertheless, the Illinois senator is a local hero in his father's homeland, where even a local beer has been named after him. Kenyan police have increased security in Alego-Kogello village, home of US presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother, aft... more -
Record-setting thief steals 2,396 bikes ... for the apocalypse?
So what does one do with thousands of bicycles? Igor Kenk’s record-setting collection have sparked myriad theories, ranging from the obvious: that he was planning to resell them all eventually in his used bicycle shop, to the eccentric: that he was saving them to melt them down during the next spike in scrap metal prices or was hoarding them for the eventual energy apocalypse. So what does one do with thousands of bicycles? Igor Kenk’s record-setting collection have sparked myriad theories, ranging from the o... more
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Exxon Mobil at $11.68B has biggest profit ever
HOUSTON - Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results fell well short of Wall Street expectations and shares fell in premarket trading.
The world's largest publicly traded oil company said its net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
Excluding an aftertax charge of $290 million related to an Exxon Valdez court settlement, earnings amounted to $11.97 billion, or $2.27 per share.
Analyst on average expected Exxon Mobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Exxon shares fell more than 2 percent, or $1.88, to $82.50 in premarket trading HOUSTON - Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corpo... more -
Exxon posts record $11.68 billion profit
World's largest publicly traded oil firm makes $11.68 billion in the quarter, but misses forecasts.
Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.
That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.
Excluding money set aside for a recent damage award related to the Valdez tanker spill back in 1989, Exxon made $11.97 billion in the quarter. World's largest publicly traded oil firm makes $11.68 billion in the quarter, but misses forecasts. ... more -
Exxon Mobil posts biggest profit ever: $11.68B
HOUSTON (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results were well short of Wall Street expectations and its shares fell.
The world's largest publicly traded oil company said net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
Excluding an after-tax charge of $290 million related to an Exxon Valdez court settlement, earnings amounted to $11.97 billion, or $2.27 per share.
Analysts on average expected Exxon Mobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.
The record-setting results were largely expected, given that crude prices in the second quarter were nearly double what they were a year ago. Natural gas prices were significantly higher too.
But investors expected even bigger profits Thursday, especially after Europe's Royal Dutch Shell reported a 33 percent jump in second-quarter earnings to $11.6 billion, which fell just shy of Exxon's own record earnings from 2007.
Exxon Mobil shares fell $2.24, or 2.6 percent, to $82,14 in morning trading.
Setting U.S. profit records has become commonplace for Irving-based Exxon Mobil. The $11.68 billion topped its own U.S. record of $11.66 billion, posted in the fourth quarter of last year. Right behind that was the $10.9 billion it reported to start 2008.
Exxon Mobil owns the record for at least the top six most-profitable quarters for a U.S. company, as well as the largest annual profit. HOUSTON (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by an... more -
EXXON MADE BIGGEST QUARTERLY PROFIT IN US HISTORY
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results were well short of Wall Street expectations and its shares fell.
The world's largest publicly traded oil company said net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
Excluding an after-tax charge of $290 million related to an Exxon Valdez court settlement, earnings amounted to $11.97 billion, or $2.27 per share.
Analysts on average expected Exxon Mobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.
The record-setting results were largely expected, given that crude prices in the second quarter were nearly double what they were a year ago. Natural gas prices were significantly higher too.
But investors expected even bigger profits Thursday, especially after Europe's Royal Dutch Shell reported a 33 percent jump in second-quarter earnings to $11.6 billion, which fell just shy of Exxon's own record earnings from 2007.
Exxon Mobil shares fell $2.24, or 2.6 percent, to $82,14 in morning trading.
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Setting U.S. profit records has become commonplace for Irving-based Exxon Mobil. The $11.68 billion topped its own U.S. record of $11.66 billion, posted in the fourth quarter of last year. Right behind that was the $10.9 billion it reported to start 2008.
Exxon Mobil owns the record for at least the top six most-profitable quarters for a U.S. company, as well as the largest annual profit.
The company, which produces 3 percent of the world's oil, got its biggest boost from its exploration and production arm, where earnings rose 68 percent to $10.01 billion from $5.95 billion a year ago. The main driver was record crude prices, partially offset by lower sales volumes and higher operating costs.
Once again, Exxon Mobil's results revealed a troubling trend at the heart of its business.
Production on an oil-equivalent basis fell 8 percent from a year ago _ a significant blow for a company that generates more than two-thirds of its earnings from oil and gas production. That follows an opening quarter of 2008 when the company said overall production fell 5.6 percent from a year ago.
Excluding last year's loss of its Venezuelan assets, a labor strike in Nigeria and lower volumes because of production-sharing contracts, Exxon said production was down about 3 percent in the most-recent quarter.
Like its competitors, Exxon Mobil said it took a beating from lower global refining margins. Earnings from refining and marketing fell 54 percent in the quarter to $1.55 billion.
For the first six months of 2008, Exxon Mobil said it earned $22.57 billion, or $4.25 a share, from $19.54 billion, or $3.45 a share, in the first half of 2007. Revenue rose to $254.9 billion from $185.5 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporati... more -
ExxonMobil CEO defends high profits
ExxonMobil CEO and chairman Rex Tillerson defended his company's staggering $11.7 billion in profits for the second quarter, saying that the company's earnings reflected the magnitude of its business operation.
"I saw someone characterize our profits the other day in terms of $1,400 in profit per second. Well, they also need to understand we paid $4,000 a second in taxes, and we spent $15,000 a second in cost," Tillerson told ABC News' Charles Gibson. "We spend $1 billion a day just running our business. So this is a business where large numbers are just characteristic of it."
ExxonMobil earned the best quarterly profit ever for a corporation, up 14 percent from last year but still below investors' expectations. While Wall Street was slightly disappointed by Exxon's earnings, some Americans were outraged by what they saw as big oil profiting at their expense. Tillerson recognized that consumers are angry about the escalating price of gas.
"I can understand why people are very upset and why they're very worried and concerned about their ability to deal with these high prices," Tillerson said. "It does bother me that much of that is directed at us. Our job is to provide energy, to provide it in a means that is reliable. And we hope we can provide it in a means that's convenient as well to the consumer."
When asked whether he agreed with Phil Gramm, Sen. John McCain's former economic adviser, who labeled America as a "nation of whiners," Tillerson said he empathizes with American consumers.
"I don't think there's any question that if these prices -- $3.50, $4 a gallon for gasoline -- and the follow-through effects on the cost of electricity [are] causing a lot of problems for a lot of Americans. ... Their budgets just are very difficult for them to accommodate this."
Supply and Demand
But Tillerson also said that the combination of new technology on the supply side and energy efficiency on the demand side will make gas more affordable for the average American.
"What we can do is add new supply and to provide means for people to use the energy more efficiently, which will help reduce demand," Tillerson said. "And that's what we're spending a lot of our effort doing, is working on both sides of the demand equation and the supply equation."
Tillerson's suggestions for energy efficiency echoed recommendations by presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, who called for tire-inflation and proper car tuneups to provide relief to distressed voters.
"Things like providing lighter weight tires, tires that retain their pressure more efficiently, lighter weight plastics to go into vehicles to reduce vehicle weight" will help consumers use gas more efficiently, according to Tillerson.
Energy has been center stage on the campaign trail, with both Democrat and Republican sides attacking one another's proposals and calling for energy independence.
But Tillerson added that energy independence is "not realistic for the United States or almost any other country."
"I'm not sure that it's even desirable for the United States to pursue that as a goal," he said. "Our country's economy is so interdependent with the rest of the world in so many areas of, not just commodities, but capital markets. ... So I'm not sure why we would view energy any differently than the way we view the rest of our economy."
The Next Generation
...there's more.... ExxonMobil CEO and chairman Rex Tillerson defended his company's staggering $11.7 billion in profits for the second quarter, sayi... more -
Exxon Sets Record with Nearly $12 Billion in 2Q
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results were well short of Wall Street expectations and its shares fell. Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporati... more
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Global Trail of an Online Crime Ring
As an international ring of thieves plundered the credit card numbers of millions of Americans, investigators struggled to figure out who was orchestrating the crimes in the United States. As an international ring of thieves plundered the credit card numbers of millions of Americans, investigators struggled to figure out ... more
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Cars working together to prevent thievery
Assistant Professor Sencun Zhu, of Penn State University, is working on technology called Sensor Vehicle Anti-Theft System. It prevents car theft by connect cars togehter via a sensor that wirelessly discovers cars within its range. If one of these cars doesn't respond correctly, the other cars contact a home base, informing it that a car has been stolen. Assistant Professor Sencun Zhu, of Penn State University, is working on technology called Sensor Vehicle Anti-Theft System. It prevent... more
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How easy is it to steal a bike?
After losing just about every part of their bikes to thieves the Neisat brothers decided to see just how easy it is to steal a bike in broad daylight in NYC. After losing just about every part of their bikes to thieves the Neisat brothers decided to see just how easy it is to steal a bike in... more
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ATM Thefts Are On The Rise
Police report an alarming rise in ATM thefts. Not thefts at ATMs —thefts of the entire machines themselves.
Houston police said there have been at least seven operation by a ring of smash-and-grab operators who steal large pickup trucks and crash them into storefronts to get at the ATM. They attach a chain to the back of the truck, wrap it around the ATM and yank the machine out of the store.
Other thieves, especially in rural areas dotted with construction sites, bring in a stolen forklift and just drive off with the ATM.
The whole operation can take less than five minutes, and if the ATM has been recently replenished, the thieves can get away with tens of thousands of dollars — assuming they can figure out how to crack open the vault.
And for a variety of reasons, police said, the crime is spiking in astonishing numbers this year. Police report an alarming rise in ATM thefts. Not thefts at ATMs —thefts of the entire machines themselves. ... more -
Kitchen grease hot target for thieves
Grease bandits are thieving used fry grease from restaurants, as well as from businesses that collect and purify it. With demand for biodiesel on the rise, the market value of the grease that's used to make it has risen, it's become precious. Grease bandits are thieving used fry grease from restaurants, as well as from businesses that collect and purify it. With demand for b... more
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New Crime Wave Fueled By High Gas Prices
Fuel costs are feeding a crime wave at the nation's gas stations, as thieves look for new ways to steal a commodity that keeps rising in value. Fuel costs are feeding a crime wave at the nation's gas stations, as thieves look for new ways to steal a commodity that keeps ri... more
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Anti-crime youth centre stolen
Plans for a new youth center had to be put on hold because it was stolen.
"The prepacked building was delivered in boxes to the Austrian village of Traismauer ready to be put up the next day but were stolen by the time workers arrived to erect it."
Way to stop progress! Plans for a new youth center had to be put on hold because it was stolen. ... more -
Creative Underclass: Hipster Thief Of Williamsburg Wants Only Apple Products
"True story. My apartment in 'prime Williamsburg' was broken into. The thieves searched out my [Apple] iPod and [Mac] PowerBook, but the didn't touch my roommate's Dell that was sitting out in plain sight on our kitchen table. PS: A kitchen table - suck it Manhattan." "True story. My apartment in 'prime Williamsburg' was broken into. The thieves searched out my [Apple] iPod and [Mac] P... more
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Thieves
