WSJ Links and More; Random Market Comments on EOG, ENB, and UNP; Gold

Market Update

I don't follow GMXR -- a reader alerted me to it. GMXR is up over 1,200 percent today! For a one dollar stock, it's up over $7.00 now. Wow. Not wow. It's a reverse stock split. Never a good sign.  From investorshub.com:

"GMX Resources Inc. (GMXR) has announced a 1-for-13 reverse stock split. As a result of the reverse stock split, each GMXR Common Share will be converted into the right to receive .076923 (New) GMX Resources Inc. Common Shares. The reverse stock split will become effective after the market close on January 3, 2013."

Market

Wow, EOG is up another dollar, hitting another all-time high, I think. [See first comment: I was wrong: probably should have said, "another 52-week high."] This is quite interesting. I opined some time ago that of the Bakken-centric stocks, EOG might be the most interesting for investors because of its exposure to the Eagle Ford. 

In addition, "they" still talk about EOG transitioning from being a natural gas company to an oil company. The company started talking about that -- the transitioning -- over a year ago. I had forgotten they were a natural gas company, thinking of them as an oil-centric company. Wow, they've come a long way in a year, and if they are still transitioning, lots of opportunity for growth. 

The two Bakken companies I enjoy following the most: EOG and Enbridge. I would add BNSF as a third company to follow, but now that it's part of Warren Buffett's menagerie (GEICO-Dairy Queen-Sees-BNSF), it's not as much fun. So, what's a fellow to do? Look at Union Pacific Railroad. Now that's incredible. If you go there, compare UNP, MSFT and AAPL over five years and two years. When Warren Buffett bought BNI, I switched in to UNP for long-term. I will never sell; just keep accumulating and let granddaughters have it some day.

Tea Leaves

I really don't follow gold much any more (probably never did follow gold all that much). But I see it took quite a tumble yesterday; didn't know why; then saw articles today about Fed wanting to end "QE" by the end of this year. Regardless of the reason for gold falling in price, I would have expected oil to have followed. Before the market open, I saw that oil had fallen $1.10 according to the TV crawler, but on Yahoo, now, it's only down about 25 cents. I don't know if Yahoo and CNBC track "the same oil" quotes. Be that as it may, it appears that the price of oil is holding, despite a) fall in gold; b) slow driving season; c) lousy jobs report. For oil investors, that all seems bullish. 

WSJ Links

Section M (mansions): I hardly glance at it. Houses hold no interest for me. Nada.

Section D:

• Several pages about the upcoming Alabama - Notre Dame game.
• Art reviews: nothing particularly interesting. I see Dustin Hoffman is 75.

Section C (money and investing): nothing of interest; several stories on bonds.

Section B: now we start to get to the news

• Rivals object to Wal-Mart ads: whine, whine, whine -- and speaking of wine --> Costco
• For e-readers, ending may loom: yesterday, it was announced that Apple iPad and Apple MacBook Air killed the short-lived netbooks; now it appears the "dedicated" e-readers (Kindles and Nooks) are about to suffer the same fate. Tablets, just as small as the e-books, are coming down in price. My granddaughters each received a Kindle for Christmas; they love them, but fortunately their lives are balanced; in addition, the parents have put controls on them limiting "game-time."
• Al-Jazeera to shut down its English-streaming website when its cable TV channel goes live
• Barnes & Noble, Nook struggle -- see note above.
• US auto sales kick higher.
• This is a bellwether story: military contractors change tactics -- shutting plants, moving into health care -- incredible.  A must read.

Section A: surprisingly, nothing of interest. Not even the op-ed today.