The Market, Energy, And Political Page, T+68 -- October 25, 2018

Top story in WSJ: Khashoggi. Link here. You just know that every "statement" coming from Saudi Arabia on this issue is being "word-smithed" by the Crown Prince himself. This will be a most interesting diplomatic exercise. Except for the magnitude of the loss, it's the same behavior we've seen from Saudi Arabia before. Trump will likely mishandle this. To some degree he has already has. Scratch that "to some degrees." He has already mishandled it. He has no trouble tweeting the obvious with literally no "proof" on any other subject, but on this one, he has tweeted almost nothing. The Crown Prince now suggests that the murder was pre-meditated. I assume there was some blood splattered during the murder, but yet the deceased man's suit was completely clean. They had to have removed his clothes before he was murdered and kept them out of harm's way -- the clothes would be needed for the look-alike when he wandered out of the consulate and dithered in front of CCTV cameras. "Points to premeditated ... " Give me a break. Saudi Arabia, the country, will bounce along. Whether it's led by MbS is forever irrelevant. No self-respecting American will ever want a photo with this man again. You really think this was done by rogues independent of the Crown Prince? I think it will be fascinating to see how "diplomats" paint this masterpiece.

December 7, 1941: I wonder if FDR considered the possibility that the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor was something other than pre-meditated? Did he ever consider the possibility that the Japanese government had no role in this; perhaps it was just a rogue military outfit? But FDR was out, front and center, tweeting that Japan had stepped over the line, and that the day would live in infamy. A cold-blooded murder in a consulate where everyone should be safe -- and hardly a peep from this president. Not good.

By the way, speaking of mishandling things. The caravan. This is also being mishandled. I know that the administration is using this to fuel mid-term turn-out but there will be a tipping point at which time it will be too late to act. I'm thinking that the US may be pass that tipping point. A reader suggested we should have closed the border two weeks ago -- the reader was right. The optics are going to be very, very bad. And Mexico no longer has the ability to manage the situation.

Wow, I'm in a great mood. It's a great day to blog.

GE and Budweiser: what do they have in common? See below. 

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Panic: folks are panicking over -- have you ever wondered why there's no "k" in panic, but you "panicking" is spelled with one? Same with "panicked." I had to look the latter up just to confirm. Gets back to hydraulic fracking. They say English is one of the hardest languages to learn. Pashto and Putonghua are harder, I suppose. I know the dialect that Bush II used was difficult for some.

Panic: folks are panicking over the plunge in WTI. As if.

Panic: folks are panicking over the volatility of the stock market. No panic when the market is on a steady climb, but a correction and all hell breaks loose. This is another rare buying opportunity. There's a story at the WSJ on this. If I find it again, I will link it.

COP: increases dividend 7%. After awhile, these dividend increases are significant. Of the majors, COP is betting big on shale oil. One of every four bbls of oil that COP produces is shale oil. In the Bakken, COP is represented by BR.

Red Sox: I'm not a baseball fan, but I am a sports fan. The first two games were incredibly entertaining, especially if one were a Boston fan. And I am. Even my brother-in-law, lives just south of Los Angeles, favors the Boston Red Sox. I don't think it has anything to do with Los Angeles or the Dodgers per se, it's just that the Boston fans are just such incredibly good fans, it's great to see their team doing well.

TSLA in WSJ here, with 206 comments, so far. The "graphic" is very, very impressive. The headline does not give Elon Musk the justice he deserves (?). The graphic is incredible. Two consecutive quarters will be a nice start.

Didn't see this coming. I stopped all alcohol intake sometime after May 22, 2018 -- since then, one beer. It was actually on two occasions, but less than half a bottle each time. The most recent: last night: about a fourth of an IPA. I was celebrating a 72-hour fast. Had part of a summer sausage sandwich but the condiments ruined it for me. Some days I think I could live on one Starbucks coffee and a chocolate-filled croissant -- for the entire day. LOL. I quit all alcohol intake -- it's been five months now -- except for that cumulative one bottle of IPA -- for myriad reasons. I will probably go back to Scotch again some day, but right now, no urge. When in Montana, I had the best non-alcoholic Bloody Mary, ever.

Didn't see this coming. I got off on a tangential in the previous paragraph. My re-entry into the subject came in at a bad angle and I glanced off at 45 degrees. What I was going to write about -- AB InBev -- the beer company -- slashed its dividend as it reported weaker profit and lower volumes in several key markets, underscoring the Budweiser maker's struggle with declining beer consumption. Link here over at WSJ.  GE and Budweiser: both slashing their dividend. Did I mention that COP increased its dividend by 7%? Just saying.

Mexican-Honduran-Guatamala caravan grows. I'm hoping they are funneled to sanctuary states. I've always said, as someone who lives in Texas, I love states that declare themselves sanctuary states. If I was an illegal migrant, I know where I would be headed. Just saying.

Hurricane Willa: just one more problem for Mexico. I do think the country has passed its ability to effectively govern. It probably passed that point some years ago, but I think it's becoming more obvious.

Saudi Arabia: needs to diversity. See this link. Contract killing is probably not a growth industry.