For Investors Only With A Focus On Oasis; The IMF Appears To Be Concerned About Cancellation Of White House Tours

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or what you think you may have read here. 

This has been a challenging week for energy companies. It was interesting to see these stories on Oasis this week.

First, from Motley Fool, "are investors missing something?" The graph is particularly interesting.

Second, another Motley Fool story, "are these companies growing too aggressively?" Several companies were highlighted but much ink spent on Oasis and SandRidge:

For SandRidge, its robust capital spending has yielded a 105% year-over-year increase in its Mississippian Lime production. Meanwhile, Oasis' production has grown 71% year over year while its reserves in the Williston Basin have enjoyed a compound annual growth rate of 121% since 2009. While that production growth is great, its caused both companies to look externally for funding.

This has been more evident at SandRidge which has raised capital by every means necessary including selling assets and tapping the debt markets. Most recently, the company has used asset sales to improve its credit metrics; however, the company has come to the point where its hitting against the edge of its capacity to spend on growth. That's caused the company to cut $700 million from this year's capital budget. Despite that, SandRidge still expects to organically grow its production by 13% this year with its Mississippian production jumping 60%.

Oasis hit a new 52-week high this past week.

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We Want White House Tours

It appears some European tourists coming to visit the United States are upset that White House tours are no longer available. They must have written the IMF: the managing director of the fund, Ms Christine Lagarde, is besieging the US to "scale back its automatic federal spending cuts, warning that they were "excessively rapid and ill-designed" and were hurting the nation's economic recovery.

Remember: a) 2%; b) at least a year in the planning.

Does anybody really believe Ms Lagarde is all that concerned about the US economy? It seems the PIIGS are in worse shape: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain. And before it's all over, it will be the PFIIGS, adding France to the mix.

I really doubt the Europeans even give the sequester a minute of thought. Unless they are elitist European tourists upset they can't visit the White House. 

Remember: three percent of the $500 million being given to the Palestinians leaders earlier this year would fund 5 years of White House tours. All $500 million would fund 150 years of tours. This $880,000 grant by the US government to study snail sex would fund almost five months of White House tours. And if lucky, one might even see some snail sex in the Lincoln bedroom. [The Secret Service said it cost about $74,000/week to fund security for White House tours. Has anyone, other than me, noted that this story never had any legs, something Michelle probably figured out.]

When they were being offered, White House tours cost about $300,000/month. The president's upcoming Africa trip will cost $100 million. The sequester is the least of our problems.

Ms Lagarde embarrasses herself when she talks about the sequester.

But it certainly is entertaining to read.