Commentary White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently reiterated a point the Biden White House has been making for the past year: that inflation remains high not because of the Biden $6 trillion spending spree but because “high profit margins” captured during the COVID-19 pandemic drive up consumer prices. We then were told that the…

Nike Inc. was affected by higher costs worldwide and had lower-than-expected profits in its fourth quarter results released last week, leading to a decline in its share price. Although the company’s sales were stable, its profits were hit by inflation, leading to a 3 percent decrease in its share price, Yahoo Finance reported. Gross margins…

British energy giant Shell has published its first-quarter profits, reporting adjusted earnings of $9.6 billion. The company achieved the results despite an “unfavourable” tax climate and “lower realised oil and gas prices.” Shell announced on May 4 that its numbers are $500 million higher than the same period last year. The company’s adjusted earnings for…

Top oil companies continue to see massive earnings, according to published earnings reports for the first quarter of 2023 this week. Energy prices have been soaring following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and due to persistent global demand. TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Shell reported a combined record profit of $153.5 billion in 2022…

Top oil companies continue to see massive earnings, according to published earnings reports for the first quarter of 2023 this week. Energy prices have been soaring following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and due to persistent global demand. TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Shell reported a combined record profit of $153.5 billion in 2022…

JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted a 52 percent jump in its first-quarter profits, helped by higher interest rates, which allowed the bank to charge customers more for loans. The bank saw deposits grow noticeably, as business and customers flocked to the banking titan after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month….

Tesla posted record profits and revenues for 2022, despite slashing prices on a number of its electric vehicles in a bid to bolster sales as the auto industry faces waning demand. The electric vehicle maker posted (pdf) $24.32 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up 37 percent year-over-year from $17.7 billion in the same…

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his plan Dec. 5 to consider placing mandatory limits on oil refinery profits in California and add industry regulations and oversight as a way to clamp down on high gas prices. Oil industry experts say the regulations would result in higher gas prices for consumers and could push more refineries to…

Revenue for Australia’s largest pharmacy franchise, Chemist Warehouse, surged past A$3 billion (US$1.8 billion) for the first time, making it one of the most profitable private companies in the country. The record haul comes amid a surge of online shopping during the pandemic lockdowns, as well as a shift towards customers shopping online. “The group…

American small-business owners are pessimistic about future economic conditions as inflation weighs down on their operations, according to the latest survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The proportion of owners expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months fell two points, to a net negative 44 percent, an Oct. 11…