Last year I wrote a story in support of Exxon's massive profits, arguing that they were not extraordinary given the company's size and that many other companies, large and small, had much higher profit margins. I could have re-posted the same story this year since Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) reported similar results and the same short-sighted folks whined about it in the same knee-jerk reaction. The stock closed last Friday at $85.37 per share, up about 13% in a year, not including the 1.7% yield.

In last year's article I even commented on the difficulty XOM faced in dealing with Mr. Putin and Mr. Chavez, and I guess my words rang all too true given the current mess in Venezuela. In order to play on the world stage, you have to be big and this is particularly evident in the oil business.

So I'm on record that I do not mind Exxon's size or profits. Let me go further and state clearly that I also support its lawsuit to freeze Venezuelan assets until XOM is compensated for the theft of its investment. If it were not for Exxon's investment and technological know-how, the government and people of Venezuela would be a lot poorer.

Continue reading Big profits (XOM) and free trade are essential

Big profits (XOM) and free trade are essential originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.