Follow the Money !
Exxon profit tops $10 billion, capping record year
Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:34 AM ET
By Deepa Babington
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Monday reported a quarterly profit of $10.7 billion, capping a year of record earnings dominated by surging oil and gas prices.
The results pushed up Exxon's profit for the year to a staggering $36.13 billion -- bigger than the economies of 125 of the 184 countries ranked by the World Bank. Profit rose 42 percent from 2004.
source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-01-30T163413Z_01_WAA000163_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-EXXON-EARNS.xml&rpc=23
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Companies Backing Republicans With Donations Outperform S&P 500
Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- One of the best indicators of superior returns on U.S. stocks during President George W. Bush's first term was contributions to Republican candidates.
The 50 companies that most favored Republicans with their political donations delivered an average 44 percent return on investment over the last four years, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 4.1 percent, assuming dividends were reinvested.
The companies, including railroad Union Pacific Corp., insurer Cigna Corp. and communications equipment maker Harris Corp., push an agenda that in many areas parallels Bush's: pared- down regulations, favorable tax codes, and a curb on lawsuits.
``This is stunning proof of how the biggest political donors don't just buy access, they buy corporate profits,'' said Kevin Phillips, 64, a political adviser to former President Richard M. Nixon and author of the 1969 book ``The Emerging Republican Majority,'' which predicted the party would come to dominate presidential politics. ``It just gives other companies further incentives for comparable donations.''
Union Pacific, which has returned 29 percent since the end of 2000, benefited when the Republican-controlled Congress eliminated a 4.3 cent a gallon tax on diesel fuel in October. That will help the biggest U.S. railroad save $60 million a year. Cigna, the fourth-biggest U.S. health insurer, has posted a 45 percent gain since Bush signed the Medicare bill last year that created a $410 billion drug benefit administered by insurers. Since 2000 the company is down 35 percent.
More Than $100,000
In the 2004 election, 102 companies donated more than $100,000 through their political action committees -- known as PACs -- and gave at least 70 percent of their money to Republicans. Including dividends, the group has returned an average 19 percent this year, compared with gains of less than 9 percent in the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 indexes. Political action committees pool donations from company executives and managers, redistributing that money to federal candidates.
Thirty-seven of the top 50 corporate donors to Republicans in the 2000 and 2004 cycles, including Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co., Stamford, Connecticut-based International Paper Co. and Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp., are manufacturers, agribusinesses, utilities, transportation or natural resource extractors.
source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000176&sid=as7352FoeMnw&refer=us_elections
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Political donations info:
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