A wary Wal-Mart
No. 1 retailer blames higher gas prices for soft second-quarter sales, worries about outlook
Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – While Wal-Mart Stores blamed higher gas prices for cutting into its sales in the second quarter, CEO Lee Scott said Tuesday he’s concerned that the worst may be yet to come.
“I do feel good about the economy, but I worry about the effect of higher oil prices,” Scott said during the pre-recorded call that was monitored by telephone in New York. “Wal-Mart will continue to face a challenge as the year progresses.
…Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart’s chief financial officer, chimed in during the call, adding that Wal-Mart was hit with a double-whammy because of the escalating price of fuel.
On one hand, higher gas prices will continue to cut into the pocketbooks of Wal-Mart’s predominantly low-to-mid-income customers.
“That will impact our operating income,” Schoewe said.
Wal-Mart maintains that it averages about 100 million customers a week to its stores, making the retailer a good barometer of the mood of the consumer.
At the same time, Schoewe said more expensive fuel was costing Wal-Mart more on the back end of the business, primarily to use its vast trucking fleet to move freight around the country to its stores.
(16 August 2005)
As gasoline prices rise, businesses get creative
Firms offer telecommuting, van pools, and more to help workers spend less
Ron Scherer and Adam Karlin, Christian Science Monitor
NEW YORK – As gasoline breaks the $2.50 a gallon barrier, creative energy-saving ideas are beginning to flow from US business that could help Americans spend less at the pump.
…Yes, Americans, even with their long love affair with the SUV, are also starting to look for ways to cut down on gasoline expenses that are hitting as high as $500 a month.
“We are on the cusp of change,” says Mark Routt, a senior consultant at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Mass. “Looking back over the last year, Americans have had a taste of higher oil prices that have only gone up, and now they are starting to dial in lifestyle changes.”
(16 August 2005)
Gas prices pump up carpools
Commuters flock to shared rides
Patrick Hoge, SF Chronicle
Bay Area commuters are turning to carpooling just as fast as gas prices are rising, regional transportation officials said Monday — and the stampede was evident with long lines of casual carpoolers.
In downtown San Francisco, where regular gasoline was selling for $2.83 a gallon on Monday, people waiting for rides home from work were lined up around the block.
(16 August 2005)
Gas Prices: Up, Up and Away
18-Cent Weekly Hike Sets 15-Year Record
Lon Anderson, Washington Post (transcript of Q-and-A session
Lots of concern being expressed by AAA members and motorists generally about the unprecedented skyrocketing prices. On Friday we reported self-serve regular prices in the DC metro area were $2.42. By Monday we were reporting average prices of $2.54–a 12 cent jump in one business day–the largest we have seen since AAA began tracking gas prices during the Arab fuel embargo in 1974. We are in a whole new world of fuel pricing currrently.
…If members of Congress and the White House hear from tens of thousands or millions of their constituents about these outrageous fuel prices there are certainly pressures they could bring to bear on OPEC and world crude prices.
Lon Anderson is Director of Public and Government Affairs, AAA Mid-Atlantic
(16 August 2005)
Lots of anger directed at OPEC and the oil companies; nary a word about Peak Oil.
Fuel Rule Change for Big S.U.V.’s Seen as Unlikely
Danny Hakim, NY Times
The Bush administration is expected to abandon a proposal to extend fuel economy regulations to include Hummer H2’s and other huge sport utility vehicles, auto industry and other officials say.
…Because cars, S.U.V.’s and other light-duty vehicles account for 40 percent of the nation’s oil use, changes in the regulatory system are always watched closely, more so in an era of increased concern over foreign oil imports, rising fuel prices and debate on the effects of global warming.
The broad outline of the Bush plan is almost certain to meet objections from environmentalists and those hoping for an aggressive approach to curbing dependence on foreign oil. But domestic automakers are likely to see it as a victory, since the new plan will decrease advantages that some foreign automakers, like Honda, have in the current system because they do not make the heaviest trucks and S.U.V.’s.
(15 August 2005)
The Onion’s article seems appropriate here: Bush vows to eliminate US dependence on oil by 4920.
Citizen Journalist: Pinched at the pump
Multiple authors, MSNBC
Your assignment: With gas prices at an all-time high, MSNBC is asking its readers to discuss ways in which they’ve changed their lives because of fuel costs.
(16 August 2005)
Recommended by Ianqui at The Oil Drum. He writes:
In the comments of an earlier post, Lem head points us to a “Citizen Journalist” piece on MSNBC about ways in which people have changed their lives because of fuel costs. There are actually 5 internet pages of responses. Looks like folks are finally getting hot and bothered. Most people are doing the obvious: running multiple errands at once and tacking them onto the end of the work day, not using the A/C to its fullest extent, driving slower….
