Oil Investor's Business May 1st

Marathon Oil's first-quarter net income increased 2% to $731 million which exceeded analysts' views.
Exxon Mobil came out with earnings this morning, their earnings announcement said profits rose to $10.89 billion, or $2.03 a share (thats 17% increase), with great help from oil being over $100 a barrel for the better part of this first quarter of 2008.
from Marketwatch, "Exxon remains the largest corporation in the world by market cap and yearly profit." As of late, ConocoPhillips earnings rose 17%; Royal Dutch Shell rose about 25% and BP's profit climbed more than 60%..

Morning data from unemployment report:
U.S. initial jobless claims surge 35,000 to 380,000, a 4 year high.

As I depart to go read the wall street journal before I take on the challenge of this final, I will succeed, but I leave you with some market information:
Crude is $113.10 and Gold is near $860 per troy ounce; major indexes are flat, while the Transports are up 5 and bonds are green (yields, which are inversely related to prices, are red), CRB (commodities) Index and the dollar are both down this morning.
MPM