JackEllis

4 Comments

    • Goldman and Morgan as Bank Holding Companies [view article]
      I'm not sure I agree that more consolidation is better. The only advantages are economies of scale and less competition. the overwhelming disadvantage is that it increases the number of institutions that are "too big to fail" and concurrently increases the risk to taxpayers. Sorry but in this particular instance, my instincts as a taxpayer trump my instincts as an investor. Sep 22 12:33 PM
    • Natural Gas & Wind Power - The Pickens Plan [view article]
      Mr. Pickens has not done his homework on this topic. Natural gas is used for power generation mostly during the daytime periods, which is precisely when wind output is at its lowest levels. Instead of displacing natural gas, those 4,000 MW of wind turbines will displace mostly coal-fired generation. See www.ercot.com/meetings....

      As for matching renewable energy sources with demand in time and space, it's possible now, but it is not cheap. Storage facilities, if you can find places to put them that will not run into fierce public opposition, cost significantly more than wind turbines.

      I'm all for reducing our addiction to imported oil and I believe market solutions are the only way to accomplish this goal, but there's no silver bullet and I think the public has to feel a bit more pain before public opposition to some very sensible alternatives finally abates.       Aug 14 10:14 AM
    • What's Really Wrong With The Airline Industry - And Can It Be Fixed? [view article]
      The traveling public is getting the service they asked for. So long as airline customers insist on getting the lowest possible price without regard to service, airlines are forced to keep prices low to survive.

      One phenomenon the article does not discuss is the dramatic rise in private flying. It's pretty expensive compared with mass airline travel, but professionally flown private aircraft are taking a bigger and bigger bite out of the premium customers the airlines used to depend on for a lot of their revenue (and the majors are striking back by trying to increase the cost burden on these flights). Companies like Dayjet, FlightOptions and Berkshire Hathaway's Netjets offer point-to-point flights to many more airports without the hassles of long lines, surly fellow passengers, no food, and all the other unpleasant hassles of modern mass air transit.

      We're going to see more capacity cuts and pretty soon, we're going to see sharp fare increases. As a consumer I'm happy to fly from California to Florida for less than I paid in 1978 but as a business person, know that's not sustainable at current fuel prices.

      Traffic will fall but so long as profitability rises, investors should cheer. If profitability also leads to better service, the best customers will stick around, too.       May 27 10:52 AM
    • Warning to Airlines: Flight Instructor Shortage Could Create Long-Term Problems [view article]
      It goes beyond flight instructors. In the US, primary flight training is paid for by the pilot rather than by the airlines. Attempts to impose user fees on small airplanes and to otherwise limit where and how they can fly is discouraging new pilot starts, and those new pilots form the pool from which flight instructors and future airline pilots are drawn.

      In the case of user fees, the airlines are largely trying to make travel by private jet less competitive with airline travel and thereby get back some of the premium fare travelers that have put long security lines and crowded planes and airports behind them. In the process, they are killing off their farm team.

      A private pilot may spend as much as $100,000 to get the experience they need to apply for an airline job. If the airlines ever have to start taking on the job of training primary flight candidates, these cost will fall squarely on them.       Apr 02 09:30 AM
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