It's cheaper for companies to buy production and reserves on Wall Street than go drill for it. It's instant gratification.

The only option for these companies is to merge and seek yet more job cuts and savings.

We're already seeing some companies yielding to pressure. But everybody is waiting for the big lady to sing, which is Exxon.

It's about instant gratification,

Instant gratification is the desire to choose the easy way out.

We live in a world of instant gratification, the world of the quick fix.