Texas on Friday became the latest state to sueBP, Halliburton (HAL) and others tied to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, alleging the parties "engaged in willful and wanton misconduct." The Texas lawsuit asks for money for various reasons including sales and hotel occupancy taxes the state says it didn't receive because visitors didn't go to its Gulf Coast communities due to the spill. [View news story]
Texas? The great state of Texas? The state at the heart of the oil and gas boom? Not getting enough from the offshore producers already? The lawsuit is so vague it doesn't even have a claim amount. Does Perry need another donation to his election funds?
What Berkshire Sees In Chicago Bridge & Iron [View article]
I don't think what's going on in energy is cyclical at this point. The shale revolution, the ability to drill for the source rock, shale and below, presalt deposits in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico,(Brazil thinks they have 100 years of oil in the presalt, 200 billion barrels), offshore west (and east) Africa, huge deposits. Look what happened in the US in both NG and oil production. Now we have the ability to ship NG in the form of LNG so it is no longer stranded and more countries can get and use NG. Witness the Australian LNG byusniess now.The infrastructure requirements for all of this are gigantic. In the US we have so many new chemical, fractionation, export etc. facilities planned it's hard to count them allo. 20 LNG export facilities trying to get permits, LNG fueling plants all over the place, CBI, PRIM, PWR, MTRX will have more business than they know what to do with it all, KBR, FWLT, FLR, Bechtel etc. Subsalt, deep water construction companies already getting record order intake; FTI, CAM, OII, HLX. Deep water rig count to rise 80% in the next 9-10 years. Huge developments in the energy industry, not just cyclical recovery. Brought about by new drilling technology on land and in deep waters. This is big, you should own all of these stocks.
The Fed hasn't lowered "real" interest rates enough, says Minneapolis Fed chief Kocherlakota, not disappointing his new fans. Somewhat hawkish until a near-religious conversion last year, Kocherlakota is now the most dovish on the FOMC (though not a voter this year) and fond of making statements like that. [View news story]
Truffle you're dead right. That's why the US economy is looking better than the rest of the developed nations.
It's Official: Gold Is Now The Most Hated Asset Class [View article]
When something gets way over owned, it takes a long time to work it off, regardless of fundamentals. AAPL is an example. Need to see Paulson etc. to give it up.
If we keep moving up like this, stocks could go "parabolic," says Art Cashin. The stocks that have the heaviest short positions have already raced ahead of the indices, and they are going to crumble if we keep going. (Video). [View news story]
pple has a huge short position and isn't exactly a hot stock....NFLX. shorts got it wrong, again.
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
The Benghazi dust up in Washington is a waste of time, and money. It has no purpose other than politics. There are numerous attacks on embassies every year, not just ours. It would be better if we spent the time and money on figuring out how to protect our people and tracking down the perpetrators of the Libyan attack and dealing with them. By the way, the election was over a long time ago and Obama can't run again.
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
Interesting. I recently sold my 12 gauge because I realized it had sat in the closet for over thirty years. Sold to a friend who collects and shoots target. A well regulated militia is a concept for another time, or another country. Militias won't be allowed in the US or any developed nations. And the second amendment reads "A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state" Clearly written to protect the government. Benghazi was an organized attack on a US foreign mission. Not the first or the last. What's being covered up? AP phone records looked at by the DOJ while investigating a leak? The LAPD does this routinely, and they have a licence plate recognition and recording system so they can know where you have been. Get over it. Your privacy is gone along with your militia.
Moody's predicts "historically low" natural gas prices will remain for some time because North America's shale-drilling revolution is "deeply entrenched." If right, that's bad news for the likes of Encana (ECA) and other natural gas producers but more encouraging for Agrium (AGU) and other ammonia and methanol producers that will enjoy "lower natural gas input costs." [View news story]
17 year low in the number of rigs drilling for gas, it's not that entrenched.
Add BP and Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) to those whose offices are raided by European authorities as part of a probe into suspected anti-competitive agreements related to submission of prices to Platts (MHP), the world's leading oil pricing agency. Even small distortions of assessed prices may have a huge impact on prices of crude oil, refined products and biofuels, the European Commission says. (earlier) [View news story]
Brent price manipulation? Who would have thought. LOL
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
Bryce and Interesting. I can't withdraw Obama's apology because I'm not the president. That's up tp him. I have been audited by the IRS due to the suspicious actions of some co workers, double dipping essentially. The audit was appropriate, I wasn't participating in the scheme. I grew up in the 60's. Everyone was investigated, or so it seemed. Big deal. "A well regulated militia" from the 2nd amendment, well regulated...nowhere in the amendment is the concept that the well regulated militia should rise up against the government. The well regulated militia is what George Washington led to defend against the British and to ensure the survival of the free state. The amendment was written to provide the US with a military, which we didn't have until the 3rd Infantry was formed in 1784. What is a well regulated militia in the present day? As the Amendment specifies a well regulated militia, well regulated by whom?
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
It's reasonable for the IRS to target suspicious groups for audit. It's also not new. Al Capone? Bengazi; Was it terrorism? What's the point? The point is to find those responsible and deal with them. Whatever you call it. If the attack was organized or planned then it was terrorism by definition. So What? The second amendment; have you ever read it? Do we authorize miitias in the US? What is a well regulated militia? Is it the military? A well regulated militia is not a bunch of armed citizens doing what they deem should be done, it's well regulated....by the government.
U.S. jobs could return to pre-recession levels by 2014, according to some economists. The latest Wall Street Journal survey of economists, forecasters said they expect employers to add just under 180K jobs a month over the next 12 months, about the same pace as the past two years, but that should pick up as the economy continues to gather steam. For the full year, economists expect 2.4% growth - which is better than the past two years. [View news story]
If we can keep the GOP from wrecking our economy and Europe starts to recover this will probably work out. The big swan out there would be a European recovery. The hedge funds seem to be sensing something in Europe. Getting long the Continent.
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
The Fed isn't going to let anyone be taken by surprise, and whatever policy taken to withdraw will be gradual, if not glacial. The IRS. I agree with the policy. These tea party PACs are a very suspicious bunch. Particularly when they start funding each other and obscuring the source of the money. We never did find out who provided the money an Arizona based PAC threw into the California ballot campaign.
Texas on Friday became the latest state to sue BP, Halliburton (HAL) and others tied to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, alleging the parties "engaged in willful and wanton misconduct." The Texas lawsuit asks for money for various reasons including sales and hotel occupancy taxes the state says it didn't receive because visitors didn't go to its Gulf Coast communities due to the spill. [View news story]
What Berkshire Sees In Chicago Bridge & Iron [View article]
The Fed hasn't lowered "real" interest rates enough, says Minneapolis Fed chief Kocherlakota, not disappointing his new fans. Somewhat hawkish until a near-religious conversion last year, Kocherlakota is now the most dovish on the FOMC (though not a voter this year) and fond of making statements like that. [View news story]
It's Official: Gold Is Now The Most Hated Asset Class [View article]
If we keep moving up like this, stocks could go "parabolic," says Art Cashin. The stocks that have the heaviest short positions have already raced ahead of the indices, and they are going to crumble if we keep going. (Video). [View news story]
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
Moody's predicts "historically low" natural gas prices will remain for some time because North America's shale-drilling revolution is "deeply entrenched." If right, that's bad news for the likes of Encana (ECA) and other natural gas producers but more encouraging for Agrium (AGU) and other ammonia and methanol producers that will enjoy "lower natural gas input costs." [View news story]
Add BP and Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) to those whose offices are raided by European authorities as part of a probe into suspected anti-competitive agreements related to submission of prices to Platts (MHP), the world's leading oil pricing agency. Even small distortions of assessed prices may have a huge impact on prices of crude oil, refined products and biofuels, the European Commission says. (earlier) [View news story]
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
U.S. jobs could return to pre-recession levels by 2014, according to some economists. The latest Wall Street Journal survey of economists, forecasters said they expect employers to add just under 180K jobs a month over the next 12 months, about the same pace as the past two years, but that should pick up as the economy continues to gather steam. For the full year, economists expect 2.4% growth - which is better than the past two years. [View news story]
Implications Of Fed Tightening For Equities [View article]
4 Scary Charts Warning Of The Next Financial Crisis [View article]
This Time It's Different? [View article]