Word: petroleum
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...covered by the Economic Stabilization Act. Last week's decision means that workers in most industries would be able to hold onto any wage increase that they can wring out of an employer without being overruled by the Cost of Living Council. Controls will continue on two industries: petroleum, where prices have been soaring because of the energy crisis; and health care, where costs will encounter considerable upward pressure if Congress passes the Administration's proposed national healthcare program (see MEDICINE), which would add $5.9 billion a year to federal spending. Probably the most important feature...
Next day nine Egyptian Cabinet ministers arrived on a morale-building mission. They wandered among Third Army soldiers at random, embracing and kissing them and introducing themselves ("I am Ahmed Hilal, Minister of Petroleum Affairs"). The troops swarmed around them, eager to tell stories. One soldier with an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) antitank missile launcher slung over his shoulder almost wept when he met Mashhour Ahmed Mashhour, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority...
Despite their rich profits last year, the oilmen contend that their earnings have been modest over a longer period. "In seven of the last ten years," says Texaco Senior Vice President Annon Card, "the rate of return on investment in the petroleum industry was below that of all manufacturing companies." In 1972, Card notes, the oil companies' rate of return on investment was only 10.8%, compared with a 12.1% average for all manufacturing concerns. But if the profits are computed as a proportion of sales, the oil industry ranks far above the average for all U.S. manufacturing industries...
Have the oil companies been profiteering from the energy crisis? Based on the evidence to date, the answer is no. Despite the suspicions, no convincing proof has been presented that the petroleum shortage is phony or that the companies conspired to contrive it to raise prices and profits. In a time of high demand, they have been charging as much for their products as the law allows -but no more. Their behavior in attempting to maximize their profits is absolutely consistent with the purpose of corporations in a capitalist society: to make money for shareholders, millions of whom are middle...
Indonesia's strongest card is its rapidly developing petroleum industry. The oil crisis has enabled Suharto to boost the price of the daily output of 1.4 million bbl. from $4 to $10.80 per bbl. in the past year. The oilfields are owned by the state oil company, Pertamina, which estimates that it will have a daily output of 2 million bbl. by 1975. The problem is that the nation's new-found oil riches have contributed to the conspicuous consumption of the Indonesian rich (who make up only 3% of the population) but have hardly touched the lives...