>Well, thank you for the explanation, which makes
>sense, but apparently oil co's aren't the only ones,
>here's the first page of a google for "record
>profits":
Well, "record profits" aren't that unusual, since the trend in most economic variables is up up up. Profitability - measured as a percentage of assets, or as a percentage of GDP - does bob around a lot, and it looks like it's peaked for this cycle.
Doug