Contrast. Too much and it doesn't look right. Too little and everything looks gray and uninteresting. In the case of Exxon Mobil and GM, it just doesn't look right. I'm not implying any illicit activity, I'm just saying it doesn't look right.

The biggest car maker on the planet, GM, lost $8.6 billion for 2005, while Exxon Mobil posted a profit of $10 billion in the last quarter alone!

I bring it up because the two companies are so closely related. GM needs gasoline to power the cars and Exxon Mobil needs cars to eat its gasoline. If GM started selling nothing but, oh I don't know, solar powered cars, Exxon Mobil would immediately feel the impact. If Exxon Mobil closed up shop, GM, likewise, would feel the impact (heck, everyone would).

How can one company be so successful while another be in such dire straights? I don't have an answer, do you?