Energy

Assembly speaker receives $4 million donation from state party

November 17, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>A spokeswoman for one watchdog group questioned whether the arrangement was legal, since the source of the funds could be companies or individuals that already contributed the maximum allowable amount to Nunez. "It's money laundering and they are contributions the speaker should return," said Carmen Balber of the nonprofit Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which has disagreed with Nunez over fundraising issues in the past.</p>

Gas prices drifting back up after a nice slide;

November 13, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Bay Area drivers see up to 5-cent increase; critics suspicious of pre-election declines</h3><p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>The timing strikes many oil industry critics as suspicious. For months, they have argued that this autumn's dramatic price drop was a political ploy designed to help oil-friendly Republicans in the midterm elections. They predicted that prices would rise once the ballots were counted. "Let's just say we're not surprised," said Judy Dugan, research director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Highway funding shortchanged — Loophole enhances ‘hot fuel’ profits

November 12, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<h3>IRS measuring rule allows oil industry to manipulate gasoline and diesel taxes.</h3><p class="source">The Kansas City Star</p> <p>Hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel taxes paid by American drivers aren't going to the government, but instead into the pockets of gas and diesel retailers. The practice, dubbed "hot fuel," was exposed by The Kansas City Star in August. The newspaper reported that fuel was often sold at temperatures much hotter than the standard 60 degrees -- a standard agreed to nearly a century ago by the industry and regulators, but virtually unknown to the average consumer.</p>

Gas prices creep up after election – may have bottomed

November 10, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Sacramento Bee (California)</p> <p>The high prices earlier this year generated a combined $31.6 billion in third-quarter profits for five of the world's largest oil companies: ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and Royal Dutch Shell. "There was a political motive to keep gasoline prices low," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. "Now that the election's over, we're going to see prices going up. Oil companies are going to go back to artificially shorting the market."</p>

Lower pump prices fuel political conspiracy theories;

November 6, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Many Americans think the recent drop is tied to the Bush administration and GOP election hopes.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, is one of the believers. "The public doesn't know the details, but they instinctively understand that the sudden swing in gas prices is connected to the election," said Court, whose Santa Monica group is a frequent oil industry critic. "Gas prices just don't go down that far as fast as they did. It's totally aberrant behavior for the industry."</p>

Buckle up! Pump prices set to take off

November 4, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune (California)</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica said a study it had commissioned found a pattern of oil refiners cutting profits before three national elections, including this year. Judy Dugan, the foundation's research director, said the lack of access to oil company operations records made charges of election-period price rigging hard to prove conclusively, but she added that companies can't disprove the charge without opening their books.</p>

Potential ballot-box profits raise concern

November 3, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Yusef Robb, a spokesman for Yes on 87, calls such arguments "a lot of smoke thrown up by oil companies" to scare voters. "All the dollars will be given out through a competitive, public process," he said. The panel would meet in public, he said, and funding would be monitored by independent auditors, the state controller's office and an oversight committee.</p>

Speculation in the Oil Market & The U.S. Midterm Elections

November 1, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<h3><a href="http://priceofoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Speculation%20in%20the%20Oil%20Market%20and%20the%20U.S.%20Midterm%20Elections.pdf">Click here to view the report</a>.</h3><p class="source">Price of Oil.org</p>

Comparing Retail Gas Pump & Crude Oil Prices in Election Years

October 30, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

October Gas Pump Price Profit Indicator In Election Years

October 30, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

October Gas Pump Prices in Election Years

October 30, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

Chevron earnings surge to a record;

October 28, 2006 · Consumer Watchdog

<h3>The oil company posts a profit of $5 billion, boosted by strong sales at the gasoline pump.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>During the summer's gasoline-price surge, California motorists paid as much as 50 cents more than the national per-gallon average, a difference that the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights dubbed the "Chevron tax." The Santa Monica-based consumer group estimated that the company was amassing as much as $5 million extra a day in California because of the state's higher fuel prices.</p>