Monday Morning Links: Energy Sports Drinkers -- Want Carnitine With That?

Short note: it is announced that Britain's Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, at age 87, died of a stroke this morning. There is no truth to the rumor that her last words were, "Jeeves, tell me again how much money we had in Cyprus." If anything, it was, "Jarvis, tell me again how much money we had in Cyprus." Seriously, rest in peace.

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Up to a foot of snow in Denver. 

Rapid City, SD, weather forecast:

Snow will continue to pile up all day Tuesday.  Accumulations look to be above 12 inches by Tuesday afternoon, pushing 20 inches by Tuesday night.  The models were showing snowfall rates of 0.5-1.0" every hour.  By the time it's all done Wednesday morning, the models are showing almost 26 inches of snow.  Temps will rebound later in the week with more moisture expected in the form of rain.  We need all of the moisture we can get at this point.

Yes, it's spring.  And global warming is just another historical oddity, ready for the trash bin of history.

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Wells coming off the confidential list over the weekend, and Monday have been posted.

Active rigs:  186 (steady)

RBN Energy: due to limited options for Western Canadian crude, it sells at a discount for as much as $38/bbl; that will change once the pipelines are built.

Last week  we reviewed limited market options for Western Canadian heavy bitumen crude producers. The US Gulf Coast is the only viable market with significant refinery capacity to process these crudes. At the moment there is limited transport infrastructure in place to get them there. As a result prices are being heavily discounted in the over supplied Midwest market. The Canadian benchmark Western Canadian Select (WCS) price traded this January at a discount of more than $38/Bbl to the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Today we examine how much prices are likely to improve once the pipelines are built.: due to limited options for Canadian crude, Western Canadian heavy crude sells at a heavy discount, as much as $38/bbl, but that will change once the pipelines are built.

 WSJ Links

Section R (Journal Report): might read later, doubt it

Section C (Money & Investing):

• Heard on the street: still no ray of sunshine for H-P

Section B (Marketplace):

• Some small businesses opt for the ObamaCare penalty; I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone; previously reported

• Chesapeake to keep stake in FTS After Value Tumbles:

Not long ago Chesapeake Energy Corp. touted its stake in hydraulic-fracturing company FTS International as a $2 billion plum. Chesapeake planned to sell the stake to help shore up its balance sheet amid slumping natural-gas prices.

Lately, however, FTS, carrying a heavy debt load, has seen its valuation plummet as gas drilling slowed, turning the company into a drag on the balance sheets of Chesapeake and FTS's other owners. Last year, they had to pony up $360 million to keep FTS from tripping conditions tied to debt that helped fund its 2011 buyout by a group of private-equity investors.

Now, after two years of telling investors it was looking to cash in its FTS investment, Chesapeake has no immediate plans to market the stake, according to a person familiar with the company's plans.

Chesapeake's acting chief executive, Steven Dixon, told investors last week the Oklahoma City company is seeking to reach its divestitures goal of up to $7 billion in asset sales by selling portions of oil fields that it doesn't have the time or money to explore. So far this year Chesapeake, the second-biggest U.S. natural-gas producer, has reached deals for assets worth $1.5 billion. The person familiar with the company's plans says the FTS investment has been profitable for Chesapeake.

Section A:

• The post-mortems are coming in on Friday's horrendous jobs report;

• Workers stuck in disability stunt economic recovery:

The unexpectedly large number of American workers who piled into the Social Security Administration's disability program during the recession and its aftermath threatens to cost the economy tens of billions a year in lost wages and diminished tax revenues.

Signs of the problem surfaced Friday, in a dismal jobs report that showed U.S. labor force participation rates falling last month to the lowest levels since 1979, the wrong direction for an economy that instead needs new legions of working men and women to drive growth and sustain a baby boomer generation headed to retirement.

Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist for J.P. Morgan, estimates that since the recession, the worker flight to the Social Security Disability Insurance program accounts for as much as a quarter of the puzzling drop in participation rates, a labor exodus with far-reaching economic consequences.

I've talked about this before: "Have folks wondered why disability rolls (social security) are increasing? I have opined that it is for two reasons: a) chronically-unemployed realize they will never be employed again; that leads to stress-related illnesses --> disability; and, b) better educated chronically-unemployed; they've learned how to apply for benefits." -- original post here, back on December 10, 2012. 

• It's not fear itself we have to fear, but it's carnitine in red meat; just in time to replace concerns about global warming which is now a historical oddity:

Doctors have long assumed that saturated fat and cholesterol in red meat are what raise the risk of heart disease. But a study in the journal Nature Medicine fingers another culprit: carnitine, a compound abundant in red meat that also is sold as a dietary supplement and found in some energy drinks.

Carnitine typically helps the body transport fatty acids into cells to be used as energy. But researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that in both humans and mice, certain bacteria in the digestive tract convert carnitine to another metabolite, called TMAO, that promotes atherosclerosis, or a thickening of the arteries.  

I always thought "the cholesterol and saturated fat" story was too simplistic. This explanation rings true:

Doctors have long assumed that saturated fat and cholesterol in red meat are what raise the risk of heart disease. But a study in the journal Nature Medicine fingers another culprit: carnitine, a compound abundant in red meat that also is sold as a dietary supplement and found in some energy drinks.

Carnitine typically helps the body transport fatty acids into cells to be used as energy. But researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that in both humans and mice, certain bacteria in the digestive tract convert carnitine to another metabolite, called TMAO, that promotes atherosclerosis, or a thickening of the arteries. 

Because after that, it gets really complicated. Once the abbreviation, in this case TMAO, is longer than the most commonly used English words, you know it's going to be complicated. 

• Why does this not surprise me: many in US illegally overstayed their visas. Those who entered legitimately account for 40% of the 11 million total, complicating attempts to craft new legislation. Sort of like Tim Geithner just forgetting to pay his taxes. It happens.

• Chicago mayor's pension conundrum: this will be a big story before the year is up. Trust me.  The city's pension system will sink the city. Union members are already galvanizing. The outcome: a Cyrpus/GM settlement: unions maintain their pensions; unions own the city; bondholders lose their investments.

• Obama's plan to rein in social security draws criticism (that must have been an easy headline to write)

• A must read: energy boom sparks building spree in west Texas.Williston civic leaders may want to watch closely. 

• Fewer stay out in private disability; another dog-bites-man story. 

• Syria's escalating war bleeds into Lebanon. Sad. It's sort of amazing it's taken this long (to either happen or to be reported).

• Oh, this is good. Portugal seeks new cuts to stay on course; court rules austerity measures were unconstitutional or illegal or not gonna happen or something. Folks watching CNBC this week will be subject to hours of talk about the PIIGS and their roving correspondent will be sent to Lisbon. Where she might meet up with Matt Lauer.

• Op-ed: reflections of a medical ex-practitioner -- the glow of the personal relationship with patients is being extinguished. A non-issue under ObamaCare; folks will be working too hard just trying to get an appointment, much less worrying about a cozy relationship.