Filed under: Energy , Exxon Mobil , Books ExxonMobil ( XOM ) is an easy company to hate. As the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, it’s hard not to blame it for the pain we experience at the pump — particularly when you consider how much money it makes. If it were a country, its 2011 revenues of $486 billion would have placed it 20th in terms of GDP, ahead of Poland, Sweden, and Argentina, just to name a few

Filed under: Energy , Economy When gasoline prices began to spike earlier this year, the popular opinion was that oil prices would continue to climb into the peak summer travel season. So much for popular opinion.

Filed under: Energy SINGAPORE (AP) – Oil prices rose slightly to near $106 a barrel Friday in Asia after the U.S. denied reports it and Britain plan to release some their strategic crude reserves.

Filed under: Energy , Family Money With less than one week until winter is officially over, Americans are celebrating the end of the season with an extra “spring” in their steps. What’s got them feeling so happy? Two words: fatter wallets.

Filed under: Energy , Economy Make no mistake about it: the American economy is in the throes of the longest, most protracted recovery since the Great Depression. But there is an industry offering a beacon of hope, and it could soon serve as the tipping point that gets America back to work: natural gas. With the onset of new technologies to get to natural gas, this once-underappreciated commodity is now viewed as the key to weaning the U.S.