Monday Morning

Wells coming off the confidential list have been posted; see below; also at sidebar at the right. Almost half of the wells are on "drl" status, not completed due to various reasons according to Director, NDIC, but probably mostly due to weather in December -- snowiest day in December since 1901.

Only for the brave, today, the RBN Energy post: part IV of ethane rejection.

WSJ Links

Section D (Encore -- Retirement): should interest me; it doesn't, except for the article on "second careers."  65-year-old Jim Ferry retired from management consulting after 30 years, and now works as an oyster farmer at Big Rock Oyster Company, East Dennis, MA, on Cape Cod. On our regular trips to Provincetown, MA, at the tip of Cape Cod, Miss Daisy and I drive by East Dennis. Maybe next time we will stop. We've met a fair number of oyster farmers. One of the most memorable is a 50-something Atlantic Coast surfer who moved from Long Island to Cape Cod to farm oysters.

Section C (Money and Investing): nothing of interest. Of note: it's all about the Cloud. In this case, Amazon's cloud: Amazon Web Services. Many, many story lines if one was interested. But the Bakken beckons.

Section B (Marketplace): 
Wow, yet another story on "payroll tax taking a new bite." Wow, if ever a case could be made for diverting that 2% to private retirement plans as suggested by George Bush many years ago. But alas, that boat has sailed; that train has left the station. But Americans are content/satisfied. Cue up Connie Stevens.

Apple cuts orders for iPhone parts as demand slips. No link. The story is everywhere. But another Apple computer photo in an unrelated story same page; the MacBook Pro is everywhere. Watch the scoring benches at televised college basketball games and note the number of MBPs out there. And if you watch the game you will see some future MVPs. Couldn't resist.

Nice story on GM and Ford pickup trucks.  Both are focusing on increased fuel efficiency: GM with more efficient engines; Ford with lighter trucks by using more difficult to handle and more costly aluminum.

China has moved one step closer to allowing COP to fully resume crude-oil production in its waters after sanctioning the US company over a 2011 oil spill.

Last week I mentioned Vizio's smart (LCD) television. I never mentioned plasma at the post but when we were at Target looking for a new television, it was notable that plasma was not available. I thought about it, but didn't say anything. Now, today, big article: Panasonic closes plasma-TV factory. The Japanese company's big bet on plasma has not paid off.  By the way, we are still impressed that that Vizio television.

The sports page: the NFL's brilliant weekend. I agree. I will come back to the article. 

Section A:
As mentioned often, page A3 is always the most important page in the Journal. Today, two articles: "closure" of the Mississippi River is forestalled; low river gets some relief. And then this story: California farmers battle record chill. No links; the story can be found everywhere.

Op-ed: thanks to mandates that take effect in 2014, premiums in individual markets will shoot up. Some may double. Cue up Connie Stevens. Americans are content/satisfied.

For those enamored with e-filing, you may want to read "E-Filing and the Explosion in Tax-Return Fraud." The bit on fraud didn't bother me. This is what caught my eye:

Targeting taxpayers for audit is a major factor behind the IRS's push for e-filing. E-filed returns are available for audit several months sooner than paper returns, allowing more time before the three-year statute of limitations expires. The IRS has even boasted that its e-file database is "a rich and fertile field" for selecting audits and has estimated that if its "screeners could be reallocated to performing audits, they could bring an additional $175 million annually."

Folks complain all the time the amount of information Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook collect, and then they turn around and e-file. 

By the way, that $175 million would be enough to cover the additional $100 million that the Feds provided HeadStart as part of the Hurricane Sandy relief bill. The WSJ says HeadStart doesn't work. Maybe. Maybe not. Double the size of the program for all I care. I do get a bit tired of elitists who can afford to send their three-year-olds to pre-school but can't find ways to help spread that opportunity to all 3-year-olds in the US, including those children of "illegal" immigrants. Some older privileged kids will be attending a 4-week summer camp that will cost more than a year's tuition for pre-school.

But enough of this. Back to the Bakken.