Energy

Big Oil cautious about clean-energy spending;

February 9, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Critics want more from firms earning billions</h3><p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>For BP and other oil companies reaping record profits, research on new energy sources is far from their biggest investment. BP's earnings hit $22 billion in 2006. The company spent $15.5 billion during the year buying back its own stock, almost twice what it may spend on renewable power and alternative fuels in a decade. Many renewable-energy advocates say that, for now, oil company commitment to alternative energy remains relatively small.</p>

Chevron reports record profit;

February 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>$17.14 billion for the San Ramon oil giant in 2006 helped by lower commodity prices</h3><p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Consumer advocates said the company's record year came at the expense of motorists in California, where Chevron is the state's largest refiner. Chevron "is not only forcing soccer moms and truckers to feel a lot of pain, but pinching the economy -- from restaurant owners who are paying more for deliveries to diners who pay more for food,'' said Jamie Court of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica.</p>

Gas prices lower, but predicted to increase;

February 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Changing of blends likely to cause spike</h3><p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, meanwhile, alleged that politics played a role in the lower gasoline prices seen since the latter part of last year. The foundation noted that refining profits fell sharply for Exxon Mobil and Chevron in the fourth quarter, saying that the companies sought to hold down prices to defuse high gasoline costs as an election issue.</p>

Chevron reports record earnings

February 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"Congress, and particularly the members from California, should be furious at this level of profiteering, even as Chevron and the rest of Big Oil resist Congress' attempt to recover royalties that the companies have been evading for years," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Chevron uneasy despite high profits: Oil producer expects production to fall in 2007 because of political situations in nations such as Venezuela, Kazakhstan

February 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Contra Costa Times (California)</p> <p>"These are world-record profits on top of world-record profits for Chevron," said Jamie Court, president of FTCR. "And California motorists are the ones paying for it disproportionately." Court was concerned that the 22 percent increase in annual profits was more than twice the 9 percent full-year increase in earnings reported this week by ExxonMobil Corp. Chevron's rate of gain in profits also topped those of other major oil companies.</p>

Tesoro purchases Southland refinery

January 30, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Jamie Court, a consumer advocate critical of the oil industry, isn't so sure. He's worried that competition could suffer with the sale of the USA stations -- the state's largest chain of independent outlets -- to Tesoro. "You could be trading one gorilla for another," said Court, president of Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "The question is, will this change the way the game is played, or will it just mean that the game's played the same but with fewer independent stations in independent hands?"</p>

State’s say of primary importance;

January 29, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Holding election in February instead of June could do more than give voters in California a greater voice</h3><p class="source">Contra Costa Times (California)</p> <p>Some watchdog groups see the early presidential primary as a backdoor way of pushing through self-serving legislation. "It seems like the presidential primary is a career preserver in disguise," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Term limits may well need to be adjusted. But it shouldn't be so people in office can keep taking paychecks and taxpayers are saddled with the cost."</p>

Another Special Election

January 25, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to mend his ways after the '05 extra election debacle. Didn't he want to tell the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/10/politics/main1037374.shtml">&...</a> </font>

Local gas prices drop slightly

January 19, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Erie Times-News (Pennsylvania)</p> <p>Judy Dugan, research director for the California-based consumer group Foundation of Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, agrees that retail gas stations are not the problem. "There is still a competitive situation at the retail level." Rather, Dugan blames an industry with so few refiners, suppliers and wholesalers left that there is "very minimal" competition. "How many refineries are refining gas for your region? Probably remarkably few," she said.</p>

Prices at pump likely to fall more;

January 16, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>But probably not as fast as oil prices</h3><p class="source">USA TODAY</p> <p>Judy Dugan of The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights calls the small drop in gasoline costs a "real scandal" and says oil companies are to blame. "We have no trust at all in the oil companies' excuses for gasoline pricing," she says.</p>

COPACABANA LAWMAKING IS SUSPECT

January 14, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Daily News of Los Angeles</p> <p>It's to be expected that every politician on the junket would deny that this amounted to a post-election vacation paid for by special interests or that any undue influence could stem from the unfettered access to them that the trip allowed lobbyists. Why, then, do they suppose the corporations pay for trips like this? "The average citizen will never be on an even playing field with powerful business interests that spend many thousands of dollars wining and dining and vacationing with government officials like this,'' notes Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Consumer Advocates Say Gas Companies Driving Up Prices in Calif.

January 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The NewStandard</p> <p>Judy Dugan, FTCR research director, argued in a statement last week that the pricing patterns suggest that corporations controlling the fuel supply are placing drivers across the country "at the mercy of a price roller-coaster for which the oil companies are running out of phony excuses."</p>