Wow I never really though it was that bad, but now that I see it effecting people it sucks. It seems the worse the economy gets the more people turn towards my work. (liquor store)

I'd also have to agree that this is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to be buying stocks in Solid companies. Every spare dollar I get is going into investments right now. It's just a waiting game

I hate to say it since so many people are involved with oil and gas but I have a hard time feeling sorry for that industry. It wasn't that long ago when $40 a barrel was causing people to jump up and down for joy and my sympathy ends when we're still paying 80cents/litre for fuel. Exxon mobil posted record setting profits this last year.

As for us, peoples horses still need shoes so we're still busy. We've just discovered that it's a little riskier to accept cheques these days :neutral:

IMO it's how shallow the media reporting is on the situation that gives people that impression. The problems that brought this mess on are 3 1/2 years old but most people couldn't understand what the impact of it would be. The smart money went to hedge funds and the rest of us sat there wondering why commodity prices were rising so fast. We should all remember that little warning sign for next time.

I think if the media really did a good job of getting the story out there into the minds of the average person there the guys that came up with these mortgage back derivatives would be up against a wall asking for a last cigarette. Provided the bond raters were next to them I'd support the idea.

We'll and i hate to sound harsh..But because that industry has made some much money in the last few years that we the people who are working our tails off are what???
That we should just suck it up and get laid off? That we are any less worthey of employment than you?That because these companies pulled in billions of dollars that we are all loaded?We'll i am hating to bring it to everyone but I am just like every other working person out there. I went to University, i have student loans and mortgage payments. I have kids to raise. And i literally work my ass off up here but yet this province seems to have the mentality that "all those guys up north make to much money"
We'll i hate to purpose this but what is ALBERTA gonna do if the oil stops? What do we have going for us? We'll its not farming,or forestry and the coal was gone long ago. So what is it here? If you don't have the oil this province is a bust.
Yes don't get me wrong they can clean up some of the damage they are doing. But if it isn't for the oil companies keeping this province rolling jobs would be even far and fewer between than what they are now.

Not saying you're less worthy of employment then anybody else, I feel bad for anybody who's been laid off or who's job is on the line. I've been there and it sucks.

What I have trouble with though, is the oil and gas industry in general screaming about how tough they have it when a few years ago they would've been thrilled with the money per barrel they're getting now. Especially when the cost to fuel up my truck hasn't gone down with the price of oil. Oil and Gas spent the last few years running roughshod over the province not giving a rats ass about the people who's land and lives they were rolling over and now they expect us to feel badly for them when the price of oil drops to more realistic levels.

I'm not so naive to believe that we can do without oil anytime soon, but I'm not going to say I'm sorry to see it slow down a little. And I do mean that with the utmost sympathy for anybody who loses a job over it.

There is a difference between the oil companies and those that work for them.

Sure, I live a decent lifestyle becuase I work in oil and gas and it keeps a roof over my head and food in the bellies of my family.. but trust me.. I am not living in a $5,000,000 house, nor am I driving a Ferrari.

Only those on the very top of the majors make the "big money"

The oil companies profits are huge for sure when you look at it, but when you look at the total revenue of many of the companies, the profit margin for some is only around 10%, its not a cheap business to be in.

Q: Why is oil selling for ~ $30.00 / barrel and I am paying $0.94 / litre?
A: Cash grab by the oil companies and their distributors.

Shameful. Nothing improves an economy quicker than cheap gas, why are we not being passed the savings by the oil companies?

Don't you just get sick and tired of the oil companies. They close a refinery putting people out of work. Then the next day they increase the price of gas due to production shortages caused by the closed refinery. If it isn't the oil companies its the oil speculators.

Tom R

If you don't like how the oil business is run, put up a few million of your own bucks and start one. Then you'll get it.

I don't make a living off the business and I don't feel sorry for them, but they are in it with us. Their costs have risen dramatically over the last few years, service companies want their piece of the pie too. Now the oil companies are cutting back and everyone is complaining. Once the service companies cut back their prices they'll go back to work. It's a cycle it's happened before and it WILL happen again.

I do feel for everyone who has lost their job. I do hope it will be short lived. You never know maybe your next job will be the one that makes you want to go to work, instead of just have to go to work.

Remember not all of that goes to the oil companies.

6.75¢ per litre BCTFA
12¢ per litre Translink
1.75¢ per litre Provincial Gasoline

Total: 20.50 cents per liter in taxes, not including the carbon tax or GST.

Take away the taxes, and we are not paying much more then some areas of the US.





Source

Being in the pipe business, we have seen our costs double from $900/Tonne to over $1800/tonne. These costs of course get passed on to the oil compaines putting the steel in the ground. So perhaps the price of a barrel of oil has dropped by $100, the cost to drill the wells is still the same as it was when oil was $147.

If you think about it:

Calgary gasoline is ~$0.83/Litre
Coffee at Tim Hortons ~$5.00/Litre

My two cents :p

Calgary gasoline is ~$0.83/Litre
Coffee at Tim Hortons ~$5.00/Litre


The real canadian black gold

It doesn't jump start our economy but it gets my little business going in the morning. LOL

Kevin

I own 30% of a small manufacturing company (kitchen cabinets). We compete with approx. 120 small companies making the same products in our immediate area and 100,000's more world wide. We sell in Canada, Japan and the USA and can be competitive in each market with other manufacturers selling in that area. We all buy the same raw materials and use the same basic methods of construction. Yet none of us charge the same for our products. We have all used our expertise to modify and mechanize our production thus giving us a different efficiency and final cost.

Yet it never ceases to amaze me the oil companies can all produce their products within a 10th of a cent the same in an entire province. (can you say price fixing) oh no that would be illegal.

Tom R

How many investigations have been launched by government into price fixing by the oil companies? None have ever been able to conclude there is price fixing or collusion.
If joe charges 78.9 and pete across the street is charging 79.9 obviously joe is going to get the business. Pete looks across the street at the sign sees 78.9 and realizes why his station is slow. Drops price to 78.9 business picks up. Pretty easy to match prices when they are displayed on the sign in numbers that are 18" tall.

Now lets all go make our tinfoil hats.

It is astounding that Coke and Pepsi can have a difference in their selling price at the same store and in different stores in the same block. The oil companies can not even justify 1/10 of a cent for better service, cleaner newer facilities or even a better product. I am not sure is one product better than another. They would like you to believe they are by their advertising. Does one actually give you better bang for the buck (kilometers to the liter)?

Tom R

Ps

I usually make a point of staying out of these types of discussions as they have nothing to do with the Canreef ideal. I must have nothing better to do. Oh well J&L and OA will be opening in an hour or so. This winter is getting to me.

I do feel for all of our Canreef Friends who have been adversely effected by the resent down turn in our economy. I also Hope that no one within our Reefing community will have give up the hobby as a result of the current economic down turn.

Tom R

This in theory is how it should work but in BC is does not. I have lived in a few Canadian provinces and have seen firsthand what is outlined in the above post play out.

In NS or ON gas station Pete would undercut his competitor by $0.04 cents/litre in response gas station Joe slashes his price by $0.06 cents and you get a good old "Gas War". The radio stations jump on the bandwagon and everyone flocks to that neighborhood to fill up.

Not so in BC. EVERY gas station within it's particular tax zone(metro, rural) is within $0.01 cents of each other and they all change their price together at the same time. It stinks of price fixing but the government is unable or unwilling to catch them at it.

The economy is in a bad way. IMO the blue collar people and the lower-level white collar workers are getting screwed. At the same time as they get laid off, their investment portfolio drops by 50% and the house they thought was worth half a million is dropping in value month by month.

I know a lot of friends/relatives who have been living beyond their means on credit, big mortgages, big credit card debt, and lots of fancy toys. If anything good comes out of this depression maybe people will learn to be more responsible with their saving and spending.

Anyway the stock market will turn around in 3 to 4 years, I wouldn't count on it happening anytime before that.

As far as the price of oil it is a delayed reaction. Big oil companies are slashing their capital expenditures. This will decrease the amount of oil produced a few years down the road. In a few years there will be an oil price spike due to lack of supply when the economy rebounds. In the near-term future there is still an excess of supply and as OPEC members can be trusted not to stick to their production quotas I see the oil price plunging further. There will be a time to buy oil stocks in a year or two, not just yet though.

Well i know nothing about the oil side of life, but here in our little world the loggers are finding it very "tuff".

Our biggest sawmill is down for 6 weeks, and on top of that all the other mills in the area are going down one week per month (or more).

It doesnt effect me directly, but when you think of the trickle effect, i may have more time on my hands than i know what to do with. (I'm a bodyman, thanks ICBC for paying 99% of my salary!)

Also on on the lighter side of things, i would guesstimate that about 50% of this town is pulling ina gov't cheque (school, hospital, native bands a plenty, cops...) So that does help out.

Ya West Fraser is going to a 3 day work week in all their mills, and they are planning a shutdown in the near future here. It really sux fro people who like to spend $$$ like me LOL.