Blaming Workers, Hiding Profits in Primetime Inflation Coverage

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1. Shell reports record $9.1 billion profit as oil prices soar in first-quarter

LONDON — Energy giant Shell reported record first-quarter earnings after a surge in oil prices, fueling calls for the British government to impose a tax on energy companies’ windfall earnings to help consumers struggling with the soaring cost of living.

London-based Shell said adjusted earnings – which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories – rose to $9.1 billion from $3.2 billion in the same period last year. That beat analyst expectations of $8.2 billion.

High oil and gas prices, partly due to uncertainty about supplies from Russia, are boosting the profits of major energy companies and feeding inflation around the world. In Britain, where households face the biggest drop in living standards on record, that has triggered demands for a special tax on energy company earnings to help consumers.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/05/07/shell-record-proft-oil-prices-soar/9686569002/