Off-Topic: Weyerhaeuser Huge Payout, Transitions to a REIT

Converting to a REIT, Weyerhaeuser will lower its federal tax by 35%, increase shareholder distributions, and pay out a huge initial distribution, amounting to about $26. WY shares sell for about $37.

Most of that initial payout will be in the form of stock; cash distributions are limited to 10% of the total distribution.

According to the message boards, the distribution will be taxable and may result in taxes greater than the cash payout. 

REITs often pay no corporate income tax.

I Am Still Traveling: Posting Less Often

My political note for the day:

I will be traveling later this week, boarding an airplane to return to Boston, and then later this summer, Amtrak to the Bakken. I was reminded that when traveling, because I am a legal citizen of the US, I must carry certain documents:

I must show my ID when:

• Pulled over by the police
• Making purchases on my department store credit card
• When I show up for a doctor's appointment
• When filling out a credit card or loan application
• When applying for any kind of insurance
• When filling out college applications
• When donating blood
• When obtaining certain prescription drugs
• When making some debit purchases, especially when out of state
• When collecting a boarding pass for airline or train travel

Exceptions apparently exist for undocumented folks living in some jurisdictions.

Speaking of passports, the price for a first-time passport goes up 35% today, from $100 to $135. I guess the recession has not hit some agencies in the US government.

Talk of Private Equity Firms "Flipping" Bakken

For those traders who are agile in buying / selling, this article from Reuters is of interest: private equity firms looking to buy Eagle Ford and Bakken shale, and then selling again for a profit.

Whiting (WLL) and Brigham (BEXP) are both mentioned.