Exxon earned $45.2 billion in 2008, beating the record it set in 2007 for most profitable corporation, at $40.6 billion. That came despite a fourth quarter in which income fell 33 percent, owing to the steepest drop ever in oil prices, as the economy went into a tailspin.

After riding a tide of swelling earnings in recent years, the once high-flying oil sector is scrambling to adjust to a sharp downturn. Oil consumption is falling in all major developed nations as economies shrink and consumers cut back on spending.

As a result, oil prices have dropped more than 70 percent since peaking above $145 a barrel in July. On Friday, they traded at about $42 a barrel.

So think about that for a minute. Exxon’s profits fell in the fourth quarter last year and they still managed to record a ridiculous $4.5 billion increase over the previous year’s profits. Ha! I bet all of those people who are out of work that had a job last year could report that while they are unemployed, they’re still bringing in a good amount of money. Wouldn’t that be nice?!

I’ve never really thought that a windfall profits tax was a great idea, but when a company that sells a product which is vital to the continuity of the world economy is making money hand over fist, you have to wonder if there isn’t something that should be done to maintain the integrity of the prices that the consumers are being charged. I don’t know – it’s a tricky situation. However, I’m just about done listening to these guys report crazy amounts of profits for the previous year each January and then talk about how they’re making half a penny per gallon of gasoline each June. Come on folks, we can’t be that gullible, can we?

Mr. Townley is even more skeptical now, predicting a flat to slightly down year for small bicycle stores. Declining gas prices are one reason. He also cited major price increases in bicycles and accessories resulting from the rising cost of materials and shipping — 98 percent of bicycles are manufactured overseas — which cut into profits. He said data showed that wholesale sales of new bicycles to shops for the first nine months of the year were down by more than 4 percent.

As our national economy begins a real shift to become more “green” and sustainable, there is a good chance that other businesses which help to create the “sustainable” economy will become the focus of business writers. The thing to remember, though, is that even though going green is the rage among television shows and big businesses right now – it will still take some time to catch on among the general public.

Great strides are being made, however, and I don’t believe that articles like this one will serve to hurt the change in our economy.

What the hell is wrong with our government that it takes 18 months to approve the merger of two extremely small companies? Sad, really…

And it’s funny how politics makes strange bedfellows. The biggest personality on satellite radio is Howard Stern – someone who has been critical of the Republican administration for quite some time now. Who cast the deciding vote to allow the merger? A Republican. The Democrats on the FCC were looking to bog down the merger with such a massive amount of needed extras that it would have looked unappealing for any company.

In the end, as a consumer of satellite radio I’m happy. I’ve been thinking of giving up the service since Howard Stern is one of the main reasons that I even have Sirius XM and he’s only on a small fraction of the time due to a ridiculous vacation schedule. But now that the two companies have been allowed to merge – I’ll probably stick around for a little bit longer!

…you won’t find a plastic straw or cup in any of Ted’s Montana Grills’ 55 casual dining restaurants. The straws are made from biodegradable paper. The menus are printed on 100% recycled paper. Even the cups are cornstarch.

Cornstarch cups and paper straws? I’m not sold on those ideas just yet.

Anyway, if you get the opportunity try to read this entire article. There are some interesting tidbits in there about the cost of energy for restaurants and the cost of wasted energy for the entire restaurant business. Also, the article talks about some other eco-friendly moves that some food servicers are undertaking. I thought it was an interesting read – I think you will, too.

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I thought that this post would be most beneficial to share with everyone as this is essentially what I’ve done with Usable Web Solutions, LLC. I created Usable Web Solutions, LLC for a bunch of reasons – one of which was to generate some extra income. Now, with the company at about two and a half years old, I have an additional yet modest stream of income coming my way each quarter. Is it enough for me to break out of the rat race? Not a chance. Is it enough to provide me with some comfort in a bad economy and with a variety of worst case scenarios possible at any time? Yes.

In any event, I just thought that you all would like to read about what other people have done to transform their hobbies into profitable businesses. After reading Roth’s post I thought up an idea for a new company…one that focuses on writing! I might put that one on the sidelines, though, as I’ve been thinking more and more about writing a book lately. So, we’ll see what happens!