The day of £5 per gallon petrol beckons. Airlines unable to cope with unprecedented fuel costs are falling out of the sky at the rate of nearly one a week. Wholesale gas prices – which are linked to oil – have jumped by more than 50 per cent since January, leading energy companies to pass on the extra cost to their customers. The £1,200 annual household fuel bill is not far off.

Oil companies, meanwhile, are raking in record profits. It is easy to demonise them. After all, during the first three months of this year, BP made an astonishing $73m (£37m) a day. Shell did better still, pocketing a cool $86m per diem. They are truly shocking numbers. ... Read full article