Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) is the largest oil company in the United States. With upstream and downstream operations around the world ranging from exploration and drilling to sale at the pump by the roadside, the company is capitalized at around $350 billion, double that of Chevron Corporaton (CVX).

Howard Marks is Chairman of Oaktree Capital, which he founded in 1995. Since then he has built his institutional investment firm into a $76 billion investment company in high-yield bonds, distressed debt, and private equity. Recently, he hasn’t taken a particular view on markets other than to say that:

To identify utility companies that could be targets for a leveraged buyout, two useful criteria are a free cash flow yield sufficient to cover the LBO equity and debt returns

Larry RobbinsFirst of all, in Larry’s defense, th is is not a completely fair exercise. After all, it was in 2008 that our present woes