Market Contracts Last Quarter; Big Oil Expands

The third quarter was the best of times for Big Oil and the worst of times for the lowly consumer. Only government spending kept the Gross Domestic Product from dropping more than 2 percent last quarter. Meanwhile Exxon raked in obscene net profits close to $15 billion, shattering its previous record. Between those two extremes are the banks which teetered on failing and got bailed out by the government.