So, turnaround is done, but 2nd quarter should be impacted.
Going forward, it will be a big positive, especially if the export of west Texas crude (due to being less expensive than Brent Sea) drives up it's price vs Bakken and Canadian.
The Oracle on Helicopter Ben: Buffett has complete faith in Bernanke's ability to unwind QE but notes that when rates rise "it's likely to be the shot-heard round the world." Both Berkshire and the country as a whole have "benefited significantly from what the Fed has done [but] the unwind [will be] more difficult than [the] buying." In the mean time, Buffett is entertained: "This is like watching a good movie … I don't know how it will end." (NY Times, WSJ) [View news story]
Buffet has a folksy image, but the guy is one of the biggest croney capitalists around. He knows we no longer have free enterprise system, which is why his lips have been on Obama's derriere the last 4+ years.
How Much Will Elderly Austerity Affect Consumer Spending And The Economy [View article]
Socialism always works this way - politicians can always convince the majority it is "fair" or a good idea to take from others to give to you. From there it is very easy to make the group of recipients larger, as politicians are like others in positions of power - they cannot keep their hands off of any assets saved for a future generation.
Hence drug addicts, terrorists, etc. can receive government paid benefits, often for life. Bad behavior is rewarded, and savings and hard work are punished.
Anybody who doesn't see the big picture here on the ramifications of systems like this, take note - one of the big selling points of mass amnesty is the flawed concept that we need more people to pay into social security now, and any other cultural or political ramifications take a back seat. We need warm bodies who vote the right way to keep the ruling class in power.
The government will destroy this country in it's attempt to stay in power. Every great country falls for this very same reason, and the United States will be no different. It is a shame because up until about 50 years ago, this country was pretty unique in human history. This country is not the same as it was, even when I was in the Marine Corps in the 1980's.
I also wonder if once everyone who has bought into the MLP's the last few years as other income investments dried up will start hitting a "wall" once the deferred tax issues start to come into play.
As an example, tax basis hitting zero, recapture of ordinary income upon sale, etc. While I'm sure most of the partnership units are owned by the big boys, I do think the little guy ownership percentage is still higher in MLP's than the general market. That might be the real reason there could be changes - Washington cares primarily about Wall Street, not Main Street, when it comes to taxation of investments.
It is better to think of these as tax deferred, and not tax "free". I do some partnership taxation in my day job, and I have to tell you, I would probably not hassle with MLP's if my tax software did not complete the return, and the partnership and my brokerage was not tracking my basis.
I tracked my tax basis myself on one investment that I sold in 2012 - my calculation showed a lower tax base (and hence, a larger gain upon sale) than my brokerage statement reported to the IRS. The options to solve this was:
1. Contact my brokerage and try to get them to audit the transactions, and then compare to my calculations. Then, file an amended 1099 with the IRS.
2. Use the numbers reported on the 1099, and note any possible differences in case of future audit.
I won't tell you what I did, but I've also worked with IRS auditors in my career, so their mystic is not all there for me.
Panic In Japan, And Why Businesses Hate Government Too [View article]
Owning a business today is like being a sharecropper - you work really hard, and then the guy from the "Big House" comes in and takes the first 40% of everything you grow, without lifting a finger to help you.
Dow Jones reporting Eli Lilly (LLY) to lay off around 30% of its U.S. sales force, which accounts for about 1,000 positions. [View news story]
With fewer and fewer new drugs in the pipeline in the next decade, what will there be to sell? I know guys in the industry that are just praying their jobs will last another decade until they can retire.
J.C. Penney (JCP) confirms Ron Johnson is "stepping down and leaving the company." Mike Ullman, who was J.C. Penney's CEO until Nov. 2011, is replacing Johnson as CEO, and has also been elected to the company's board. Investors don't seem crazy about the choice, JCP now just +0.5% AH. (previous) Update (5:33): Shares are now down 4.4% AH. [View news story]
As stated by scs8744 above, 1st quarter numbers must be absolutely dreadful.
I remember the days not so long ago when my parents were Sears customers, and my aunt and uncle J.C. Penney. All were salt of the earth kind of people. As the United States continues to decline, those types become fewer and fewer, replaced by welfare and foodstampers who shop at Walmart, and those who shuffle paper for government bureacrats shopping at the Mall.
The number of people receiving disability benefits has jumped from 7.1M in December 2007 to an estimated 8.9M in March, or 5.4% of the civilian workforce. That compares with just 1.7% in 1970. The increase costs 0.6% of national output, or equivalent to around $95B a year. With the disability program giving people little incentive to leave and find work, Congress has started to make noises about reform. [View news story]
Less manual labor than ever in our economy, yet the number of "disabled" is growing and growing.
"The only question is not whether a new listing will get multiple bids, but how many it will get," says a California real estate broker, where one home in Elk Grove received 62 bids and sold for 16% above its asking price. In Cambridge, MA, brokers stopped taking names after the numbers of bidders for 2 condos (sold as a unit) reached 250. [View news story]
Most are cash buyers, which means investors are bidding up properties to use as rentals. The housing bubble is being reinflated, not by demand by healthy buyers, but by investors and junk credit buyers using FHA and other government programs.
Would a lot of these cyclical industries share price behave any differently if they were corporations over MLP's? I'm not convinced the MLP structure makes them inherently more cyclical in the share price.
The big benefit is the tax deferral of income. The key is deferral - eventually you have to pay the piper, so to speak, but at least you can control as a shareholder when you claim the income.
I'm in NTI - yes it is risky compared to other refineries, but the distribution yield tells you that. As long as the refinery stays on-line, it should be a decent play the next couple of years while the yahoos in Washington delay the Keystone pipeline.
Not the same industry, but I know a guy who bought mortgage REITS 20 years ago and always reinvested the dividends through up and down - he is far far ahead of just buying the S&P 500 index fund.
Northern Tier Energy LP Management Discusses Q1 2013 Results - Earnings Call Transcript [View article]
Going forward, it will be a big positive, especially if the export of west Texas crude (due to being less expensive than Brent Sea) drives up it's price vs Bakken and Canadian.
Northern Tier Energy Reports First Quarter 2013 Results and Declares Quarterly Cash Distribution [View article]
The Oracle on Helicopter Ben: Buffett has complete faith in Bernanke's ability to unwind QE but notes that when rates rise "it's likely to be the shot-heard round the world." Both Berkshire and the country as a whole have "benefited significantly from what the Fed has done [but] the unwind [will be] more difficult than [the] buying." In the mean time, Buffett is entertained: "This is like watching a good movie … I don't know how it will end." (NY Times, WSJ) [View news story]
Made him even filthier rich, if that is possible.
SandRidge Permian Trust - Shares Recovering After Differential Disaster Last Quarter [View article]
How Much Will Elderly Austerity Affect Consumer Spending And The Economy [View article]
Hence drug addicts, terrorists, etc. can receive government paid benefits, often for life. Bad behavior is rewarded, and savings and hard work are punished.
Anybody who doesn't see the big picture here on the ramifications of systems like this, take note - one of the big selling points of mass amnesty is the flawed concept that we need more people to pay into social security now, and any other cultural or political ramifications take a back seat. We need warm bodies who vote the right way to keep the ruling class in power.
The government will destroy this country in it's attempt to stay in power. Every great country falls for this very same reason, and the United States will be no different. It is a shame because up until about 50 years ago, this country was pretty unique in human history. This country is not the same as it was, even when I was in the Marine Corps in the 1980's.
Changing The Conversation [View article]
Property taxes on my home, as well as sales taxes, and local income taxes, have all increased at a much faster rate than inflation in Ohio, at least.
Key Earnings Reports Next Week [View article]
5 Of The Strangest MLPs [View article]
As an example, tax basis hitting zero, recapture of ordinary income upon sale, etc. While I'm sure most of the partnership units are owned by the big boys, I do think the little guy ownership percentage is still higher in MLP's than the general market. That might be the real reason there could be changes - Washington cares primarily about Wall Street, not Main Street, when it comes to taxation of investments.
It is better to think of these as tax deferred, and not tax "free". I do some partnership taxation in my day job, and I have to tell you, I would probably not hassle with MLP's if my tax software did not complete the return, and the partnership and my brokerage was not tracking my basis.
I tracked my tax basis myself on one investment that I sold in 2012 - my calculation showed a lower tax base (and hence, a larger gain upon sale) than my brokerage statement reported to the IRS. The options to solve this was:
1. Contact my brokerage and try to get them to audit the transactions, and then compare to my calculations. Then, file an amended 1099 with the IRS.
2. Use the numbers reported on the 1099, and note any possible differences in case of future audit.
I won't tell you what I did, but I've also worked with IRS auditors in my career, so their mystic is not all there for me.
Panic In Japan, And Why Businesses Hate Government Too [View article]
Dow Jones reporting Eli Lilly (LLY) to lay off around 30% of its U.S. sales force, which accounts for about 1,000 positions. [View news story]
It's not just Eli Lilly
Surviving And Prospering Over The Next 4 Years Of Economic Darkness [View article]
This is the new normal - at least while the world will still float Uncle Sam's crack habit.
J.C. Penney (JCP) confirms Ron Johnson is "stepping down and leaving the company." Mike Ullman, who was J.C. Penney's CEO until Nov. 2011, is replacing Johnson as CEO, and has also been elected to the company's board. Investors don't seem crazy about the choice, JCP now just +0.5% AH. (previous) Update (5:33): Shares are now down 4.4% AH. [View news story]
I remember the days not so long ago when my parents were Sears customers, and my aunt and uncle J.C. Penney. All were salt of the earth kind of people. As the United States continues to decline, those types become fewer and fewer, replaced by welfare and foodstampers who shop at Walmart, and those who shuffle paper for government bureacrats shopping at the Mall.
The number of people receiving disability benefits has jumped from 7.1M in December 2007 to an estimated 8.9M in March, or 5.4% of the civilian workforce. That compares with just 1.7% in 1970. The increase costs 0.6% of national output, or equivalent to around $95B a year. With the disability program giving people little incentive to leave and find work, Congress has started to make noises about reform. [View news story]
"The only question is not whether a new listing will get multiple bids, but how many it will get," says a California real estate broker, where one home in Elk Grove received 62 bids and sold for 16% above its asking price. In Cambridge, MA, brokers stopped taking names after the numbers of bidders for 2 condos (sold as a unit) reached 250. [View news story]
5 Of The Strangest MLPs [View article]
The big benefit is the tax deferral of income. The key is deferral - eventually you have to pay the piper, so to speak, but at least you can control as a shareholder when you claim the income.
I'm in NTI - yes it is risky compared to other refineries, but the distribution yield tells you that. As long as the refinery stays on-line, it should be a decent play the next couple of years while the yahoos in Washington delay the Keystone pipeline.
Not the same industry, but I know a guy who bought mortgage REITS 20 years ago and always reinvested the dividends through up and down - he is far far ahead of just buying the S&P 500 index fund.