Anticipation -- April 28, 2026

Locator: 50655ARCHIVES.

"Trump Tells Aides To Prepare For Extended Blockade Of Iran" -- TWSJ -- April 28, 2026

Locator: 50654EPICFURY.

Wow, wow, wow.

The following was post at 8:12 a.m. early this morning. Link here. 

Everything suggested to me that Trump had decided the best course of action was an extended blockade. We'll come back to that later -- the point for now is that at 8:00 a.m. this morning I suggested that Trump was in this for the long haul -- an extended blockade.

Now, this evening, The WSJ is reporting exactly that. Link here. This is the lead story in the print edition.

It will be fascinating to watch this play out. I think there's more to the story that has not been told. Absolutely brilliant.

This is not just about Iran.

This is key: 

Every day the strait is closed, the more irrelevant Qatar (natural gas) and Saudi Arabia (oil) become.

MAGA. 

Monroe Doctrine.

Western Hemisphere. 

See this post. 

See this post. 

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Movie Night

Dial M for Murder. TCM tonight. 

I bet I've seen this film a dozen times. One of the absolute best movies ever. Pure entertainment.  

On a different level than Casablanca, The Third Man, Citizen Kane but in its genre, Dial M For Murder might be the best!

I can watch it ever few months. Wow. 

I simply love this movie. 

In addition to everything else, Hitchcock's filmography is absolutely superb. And so Hitchcockian. 

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Locator: 50653B.

Three pipelines to buy in April, link here:

• EPD: great distribution record and a high yield;
• ENB: an impressive dividend streak, an attractive yield, and offers unique diversification;
• Enerty Transfer: high yield, focused on turning partnerships into a more reliable income investment.

GM earnings: 

Windmills Of Your Mind: link here.

Talk about a gorgeous day -- poolside.  

Yesterday we went swimming for the first time this season, but today the water is a bit too cold to get into. But still, it's 87° on the deck. Overcast. Tornado warnings for next six hours or so. It was supposed to thunderstorm, but it didn't. 

What amazes me and should amaze everyone: it's not the fact that there is water on this earth but that there is so much water! That's what is amazing; not that there is water on the earth but that there's so much water on the earth.[ 

Later, at 7:00 p.m. CT, after the storm that wasn't, I returned to the deck. I think the thermometer said 79° but can't remember for sure. Regardless, it is/was a beautiful night.

Poolside reading:

• The History of Palo Alto, Malcolm Harris;
• The Jewish Annotated New Testament. 

OpenAI to partner with AWS? Link here. 

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $99.93. Dropped back from $100.50 earlier in the day. 

Active rigs: 23.

Five new permits, #42875 - #42879, inclusive:

• Operators: XTO (3); Devon Energy (2);
• Fields: Lost Bridge, Dunn County; Foreman Butte, McKenzie County;
• Comments:
• XTO has permits for three more Nautilus Federal wells, NWSE 19-148-96, 
• to be sited 2492 / 2551 FSL and 2301 / 2310 FSL;
• Devon Energy has permits for two Albert wells, one running south, one running north, NENE 34-151-102; and one NESE 27-151-102; 
• one is to be sited in section 34, 1216 FL and 873 FEL; 
• the other is to be sited in section 27, 1669 FSL and 417 FEL.

Five permits renewed:

• Enerplus (4): Madrigal, Quartet, Opera and Rhythm, SWSE 18-148-93;
• Oasis: Aune Federal, Eightmile, Williams County.

Nine producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 34291, 3,405, BR, State Dodge...McKenzie;
• 34292, 3,171, BR, State Dodge...McKenzie;
• 39520, 2,889, BR, State Dodge...McKenzie;
• 39521, 2,163, BR, State Dodge...McKenzie;
• 39522, 4,611, BR, Rader Dodge...Camel Butte, McKenzie;
• 41064, 1,407, BR, Tilton.....McKenzie;
• 41065, 1,491, BR, Tilton.....McKenzie;
• 41068, 1,698, BR, Tilton.....McKenzie;
• 41069, 432, BR, Tilton Tee.....McKenzie;

𝐎𝐈𝐋 𝐈𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐔𝐂𝐄𝐓. 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 -- NY Post -- April 28, 2026

Locator: 50652IRAN.

Link here. 

Sent to me by a reader. Thank you so much. This is amazing. It explains "everything." Well, maybe not everything, but certainly a lot. This starts to provide a timeline.

Trump, unfortunately uses so much hyperbole, we never know what's really going on. But even his hyperbole can point us in the right direction.

Some data points:

• they say the blockade is costing Iran $500 million / day;
• they say storage is running out on Kharg Island; Iran will have to start shutting in oil wells.

Trump says he received a memo from Iran overnight suggesting their country is in collapse. One would doubt Iran leaders would say that but perhaps based on what they said, Trump was able to read between the lines and surmise that, yes, the Iranians were admitting their country was "in collapse."

Take all those data points and then connect them with the story that a reader sent me earlier today. It all starts to make sense. The dots connect. 

Again, the link. Archived here.

Market -- April 28, 2026

Locator: 50651INVESTING. 

See blog's disclaimer: link here. 

SBUX: earnings out today. Huge. Shares up 7%; shares up $7. Trading at $104.  

VISA: earning out today. Nice numbers. Shares up 2%; shares up almost $7. Trading at $315.  

STX (Seagate): after earnings -- shares up 10%; shares up almost $60. Trading at $635. But the big story is margin: 47%.   

• double take on the EPS numbers -- much greater than expected;
• this is going to last for quarters; this is not a short-term phenomenon;
• this is not a bubble;
• go to Walmart and see bare shelves when looking for external disk drives (memory)
• after hours, Micron is surging. 

AAPL: link here. Reports later this week. 

Hope springs eternal. It's all about the guidance. OpenAI's guidance.