We're blogging live from Wall Street today to get a better idea of what the hell is going on down here. Impressed? Hopefully these cops with the machine guns won't hassle us on our mission.

One of the biggest things you'll notice outside the stock exchange today is that the large American flag adorning this historic building's columns has been replaced with a giant 'Ecopetrol' ad. Judging from the company's logo, I can only assume the petrol is made from crushed iguanas.

Ecopetrol, the National Colombian Oil company, is also the largest company in Colombia and became only the second Colombian company on the New York Stock exchange. 

The minister of energy in Colombia and the president of Ecopetrol, along with a metaphorical 'cartel' of accompanying guests rang the opening bell on the exchange today. 

But what's with the Secret Service style black Chevy trucks sitting outside? Doesn't seem very 'eco'-anything to me. 

Nonetheless we tried to talk to these slick Colombian Ecopetrol guys when they came outside to do their victory lap after the opening bell. Didn't go very well. After asking one guy how it felt to ring the opening bell, he looked back at me with a puzzled look and walked off. To be fair he may not have spoke English or could have just thought I was a jerk. Either way, he has the makings of an excellent oilman. (more photos after the jump):

Hey guys, remember when we used to talk about oil and gas prices all the time?!

Those were the good old days back before we got all hot and bothered about the world's financial solvency being in dire jeopardy.

Seems like this latest graph based on information from the US Energy Information Administration spells it out pretty clearly. That's not a lot of yellow.

Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan climate change awareness group explains the info:

"Oil production from drilling offshore in the outer continental shelf wouldn't begin until around the year 2017. Once begun, it wouldn't reach peak production until about 2030 when it would produce only 200,000 barrels of oil per day (in yellow above). This would supply a meager 1.2% of total US annual oil consumption (just 0.6% of total US energy consumption). And, the offshore oil would be sold back to the US at the international rate, which today is $106 a barrel. So, the oil produced by offshore drilling would not only be a "drop in the bucket", it would be expensive, which translates to "no relief at the pump"."

Let us know what you think in the comments section.

Architecture 2030: Drill Here, Drill Now: A Pipe Dream

I watched a bunch of the Hurricane Gustav coverage today on all of the cable and business news channels.

The big story was, of course, about how the price of crude oil continued to fall upon news that the hit to the refineries and rigs around New Orleans was not going to be severe. That's a big relief for consumers and residents, but I'm sure there are plenty of oil traders out there that gambled wrong on the weather reports.

Besides Geraldo Rivera's live over-the-top coverage of a guy heroically 'rescuing' a loose propane tank on Fox News, Fox Business Channel was one of the few out-of-area stations with reporters live on the scene. One of our favorite senior biz babes, Alexis Glick, was on scene getting all wet and wild in the French Quarter. (More photos after the jump):

Despite earning a higher profit than any U.S. corporation in any industry has ever made before ($11.68 billion), shareholders were still expecting more from Exxon Mobil's quarterly announcement today.

As a result, the stock slipped by 4.9% before the day's end of trading.

Of course, no one is really that surprised that one of the world's largest oil companies was the one to record the biggest profit ever. I believe I recall reading something in almost every newspaper and watching on every TV channel a report on how record high gas prices are making candy not taste as good anymore or something, etc.

You can blame pretty much everything on high gas prices nowadays. But the one time you can't blame them is when an oil company doesn't reach its profit expectations. Who knew?

Ryanair is the Irish airline that brings new meaning to the term 'discount travel'. The low fares you get with these guys would even give JetBlue blue balls (whatever that means?). But even these notorious price slasher are experiencing the decline in consumer air travel and the rise in fuel costs.

Ryanair may only charge you 20 bucks for a flight from Dublin to Paris, but you'll certainly pay for it. For one, there is no assigned seating, so be prepared to make a mad dash across the airport tarmac for a decent seat once the gate is opened. Secondly, don't even mention the word complimentary. No snacks, no pillows, no blankets. But the system works.

Especially in Europe, where traveling between nations is as carefree and frequent as American interstate highway travel, this airline is embraced by all. It looks like they even cut the frills out of their website, which looks like it was designed by a 12-year-old with ADD.

Despite announcing a potential 60 million euro ($94.41 million) loss this week, the company refuses to institute oil surcharges or cutback on any flight routes. Shares of Ryanair stock also dropped 22% upon the announcement.

Laughing in the face of all the Ryanair positive spin, one analyst has told the company to basically 'get real.' According to a BBC News report:

Continue Reading...

Wilbur Ross has made his fortunes making ballsy contrarian investment choices.

Back in the day, he bought a steel company in the US when no one else would and eventually sold it for twice his purchase price. He bought a Japanese bank in the year 2000 after it had some problems and sold it for a profit. And recently he's been buying up some major financial organization in the US, while they are reeling from the credit crisis and sub-prime loan meltdown.

Ben Bernanke was cornered into admitting some unpleasant truths today.

In Washington at the Senate Banking Committee, our bearded Federal Reserve Chairdude said the economy will continue to 'weaken' and things will stay sluggish for consumers.

Most notably, Bernanke seemed to address the recent airlines bid to blame oil speculators for the rising costs. The 12 CEOs of the country's major airlines banded together last week and wrote this stern letter.

The 'Nanke was having none of it. According to a New York Times report on his speech, it's a simple supply problem:

In his testimony, he was especially pessimistic about any easing of energy prices, dismissing suggestions that they were being driven by speculation in futures markets. Instead, he said high energy costs reflected the markets’ recognition that demand was outstripping supplies.