Chevron 4Q profit below 3Q results

Chevron 4Q profit below 3Q results

SAN RAMON, Calif.

Chevron Corp. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit will be “significantly” lower than the third-quarter results, partly because of weaker profit margins on refining and marketing.

The oil giant said Wednesday that its usually profitable refining and marketing business will roughly break even. Refinery volumes were weak, the company said.

Chevron expects its exploration and production unit to post a profit similar to the third quarter.

The shares fell $1.29 to close at $107.77 before the update. In after-hours trading, they fell another $2.11, or 2 percent, to $105.63.

In the third quarter, Chevron’s profit more than doubled from a year earlier despite declining production, thanks to rising prices for oil, gasoline and other fuels. The company earned net income of $7.83 billion, or $3.92 per share, on revenue of $61.3 billion.

Buffett offers to match GOP gifts

OMAHA, Neb.

Billionaire Warren Buffett said Wednesday he’s willing to match any contributions that Republican members of Congress make to help reduce the national debt.

Buffett told Time magazine about his offer in a conversation about why he’s optimistic about the nation’s future.

Buffett, who is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, was criticized by Republicans last year for his suggestion that Congress increase taxes on the “mega-rich” like himself.

Several Republicans, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, suggested Buffett just donate money to help the nation balance its books instead of asking to pay higher taxes.

“It restores my faith in human nature to think that there are people who have been around Washington all this time and are not yet so cynical as to think that (the deficit) can’t be solved by voluntary contributions,” Buffett said to the magazine.

Military to cut 234 civilian jobs at base

DAYTON

A net total of 234 civilian jobs will be cut at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in southwest Ohio this year in a restructuring of the Air Force’s civilian workforce.

Base spokesman Daryl Mayer says the Air Force announced Wednesday that it would eliminate 598 positions at the base. But Mayer says that number would be partly offset by the addition of 364 civilian jobs announced for Wright- Patterson in November.

The Air Force said in a release Wednesday that it is trying to avoid layoffs as much as possible by encouraging voluntary separations and retirements through the use of incentive pay and early retirement programs.

Associated Press