SickoRicko'sCrap...: 2/13/22

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Capitalism pretty much sucks people dry.

Take, for instance, this headline I saw on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning...

Frackers Hold Back Production as Oil Nears $100 a Barrel

Prices are the highest since 2014, but top shale companies like Devon and Pioneer are choosing to grow slowly rather than drill more

America’s largest frackers are reporting huge profits but plan to keep oil production in low gear this year, adhering to an agreement with Wall Street, even as prices approach the $100-a-barrel mark for the first time since 2014.

Three of the largest shale companies, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. , Devon Energy Corp. and Continental Resources Inc., this week reported their highest annual profits in more than a decade for 2021. The companies said they collected record amounts of extra cash by hanging on to the money they earn selling oil and natural gas and reinvesting only what they needed to keep output roughly flat. All three said they would continue to limit production growth this year.

(Unfortunately, the link requires a subscription, which I am loath to do.)

What the hell is this "agreement with Wall Street"?? Well, to keep prices artificially high, of course, so hedge funds and investors can rake in the money we slobs at the bottom of the pyramid have to pay.

"Inflation" my ass. (Oh, there's inflation, alright, but not all of it is naturally-occurring.)