With memories of long gasoline lines still fresh, the earnings reported by many od companies last week could hardly be expected to be greeted by cheers. All told, the industry had its best second quarter ever. Profits of the 23 biggest U.S. firms totaled $5.47 billion, a rise of 66% over the same period last year. Among the five large international companies, Texaco's earnings leaped by 132% to $365 million. Earnings of the others: Exxon, up 20% to $830 million; Mobil, up 38% to $404 million; Socal, up 61% to $412 million; and...
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