were higher between 2007 and 2008 primarily due to a greater proportion of income earned in tax jurisdictions with higher income tax rates. In addition, the 2007 period included a relatively low effective tax rate on the sale of the company’s investment in Dynegy common stock and the sale of downstream assets in Europe. Rates were lower in 2007 compared with 2006 due mainly to the impact of nonrecurring items in 2007 mentioned above and the absence of 2006 charges related to a tax-law change that increased tax rates on upstream operations in the U.K. North Sea and the settlement of a tax claim in Venezuela. Refer also to the discussion of income taxes in Note 16 beginning on page FS-45.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities Total balances were $9.6 billion and $8.1 billion at December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Cash provided by operating activities in 2008 was $29.6 billion, compared with $25.0 billion in 2007 and $24.3 billion in 2006.

     Cash provided by operating activities was net of contributions to employee pension plans of approximately $800 million, $300 million and $400 million in 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Cash provided by investing activities included proceeds from asset sales of $1.5 billion in 2008, $3.3 billion in 2007 and $1.0 billion in 2006.

     At December 31, 2008, restricted cash of $367 million associated with capital-investment projects at the company’s Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery and Angola liquefied natural gas project was invested in short-term marketable securities and reclassified from cash equivalents to a long-term asset on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

     Dividends The company paid dividends of approximately $5.2 billion in 2008, $4.8 billion in 2007 and $4.4 billion in 2006. In April 2008, the company increased its quarterly common stock dividend by 12.1 percent to $0.65 per share.

     Debt, capital lease and minority interest obligations Total debt and capital lease balances were $8.9 billion at December 31, 2008, up from $7.2 billion at year-end 2007. The company also had minority interest obligations of $469 million and $204 million at December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

     The $1.7 billion increase in total debt and capital lease obligations during 2008 included the net effect of an approximate $2.7 billion increase in commercial paper and $749 million of Chevron Canada Funding Company bonds that matured. The company’s debt and capital lease obligations due within one year, consisting primarily of commercial paper and the current portion of long-term debt, totaled $7.8 billion at December 31, 2008, up from $5.5 billion at year-end 2007. Of these amounts, $5.0 billion and $4.4 billion were reclassified to long-term at the end of each period, respectively. At year-end 2008, settlement of these obligations was not expected to require the use of working capital within one year, as the company had the intent and the ability, as evidenced by committed credit facilities, to refinance them on a long-term basis.

     At year-end 2008, the company had $5 billion in committed credit facilities with various major banks, which permit