Wes, while I'm sure that XON will be sure it's internal systems are Y2K compliant, how about the utility companies that their facilities depend on and etc.? No company is an island. Eveyone is dependent on utility, transportation, communications systems controlled by other organizations. Every company depends also on it's suppliers of goods and services and, most importantly, on it's customers. The modern economy is an inter-connected and mutually dependent web of systems. In Exxon's case, the situation is complicated even further by the fact that Exxon is a worldwide company that makes a majority of their sales and earns a majority of their profits overseas. So they are dependent upon utility, transportation, communications, financial webs and suppliers and customers in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, Japan, and to a lesser extent almost every other part of the world. From what I read, the U.S. is way ahead of everyone else in addressing this problem.
I hope the Y2K problem is vastly overstated. But if it isn't, I think we shouldn't assume that any particular company is "safe" because it's own inhouse systems are compliant.
Having posted the above, I will tell you that I also have a good chunk of IRA money in XON and frankly, I'm currently just crossing my fingers and hopiong for the best but have some nagging worries. Any ideas on protecting one's positions? Sometimes I wonder about the prudence of using gold as a hedge. |
