Monday Morning News And Links

Active rigs: 189 (steady)

For newbies: there are "only" three crude oil plays in the lower 48 to be concerned with: a) Williston Basin: Bakken/Three Forks; b) West Gulf: Eagle Ford; and, West Texas Permian: multiple.  And that brings us to RBN Energy post below.

The story below does not mention "diesel" but I assume the first "episode" in a continuing series on the Permian will mention diesel. This link is another connecting dot in the answer to the question I posed earlier: what's the quickest way to bring electricity to Africa?

RBN Energy:  Update on the Permian

We posted our first blog on West Texas Permian Basin crude production back in September 2012 . Oil production in this historic and prolific basin is now close to 1.4 MMb/d  (June 2013 – Bentek estimate) – an increase of about 100 Mb/d since that original post.

The Permian Basin has been producing since 1920 and today’s high production levels are still down from its 1973 peak of 2.1 MMb/d. A lot of recent Permian production still uses conventional drilling and enhanced oil recovery techniques, but horizontal drilling is now making its mark as well. As Permian output has rebounded in recent years pipeline takeaway capacity has come under increasing strain and midstream players have been building new pipelines and rail terminals.

Most of the new infrastructure flows crude to the Gulf Coast where it will join 1 MMb/d from the Eagle Ford and as much as 2MMb/d from Canada and the Bakken in an ever growing flood of crude looking for refineries. So it is definitely time to revisit the Permian and update our analysis of crude production, takeaway capacity and the refining market. This first episode in our new series covers the production forecast, local refining capacity and existing takeaway pipelines.

LA Times

Eurozone unemployment hits record high of 12.1% in May. 

WSJ Links

On Mondays, there is no Section D. So we move directly to Section D (Money & Investing) where we find a story on Apple's next great leap forward:

The most glaring omission is China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier with more than 700 million subscribers. Among them are about 80 million wealthier ones that can afford Apple's pricey smartphone, estimates HSBC analyst Tucker Grinnan. And of that elite group, more than half may be likely buyers of the iPhone, considering that Apple's market share of high-end smartphone sales in China is 55%, according to HSBC. Indeed, more than 20 million of China Mobile's customers already use "unlocked" versions of the iPhone on the carrier's aging 2G network.

For Apple, which sold 261 million iPhones in 2012, those extra tens of millions of potential unit sales represent a big opportunity. Pressure is increasing, too, as Apple's market share for all smartphones in China, high- and low-end, dropped to 9% in the first quarter from 13% in the same period a year before, according to Strategy Analytics.

Remember the question of the day: how best to quickly provide electricity to Africa? This story will be linked later at another post as one of the connecting dots: manufacturing reading may tell US misfortune:

The index's recent trajectory is chillingly similar to late 2007, when the last recession began. That December's revised reading of 49 also was the lowest in four years. In January 2008, it barely edged back into expansion before crashing into the low 30s by the autumn.

The overall trajectory of the ISM data looks vulnerable. For example, the more forward-looking new-orders subcomponent of the index dropped sharply in May, to 48.8 from 52.3 a month earlier. And the retreat Friday in the Chicago barometer for June to 51.6 from 58.7 was well below expectations and the steepest monthly fall in four years.

Manufacturing may not dominate the U.S. economy any longer, but it is still a canary in the economic coal mine. Weakness can be a harbinger of recession and also equity bear markets.

This should be fun. In Section B (Marketplace), the Journal asked a group of leading writers, retailers, and agents on what they would do if they ran Barnes & Noble. Some excerpts:

• cater to the browser who can't find the book on the shelf
• re-do the stores: compelling, contemporary, clear signage would be a start
• more soft covers for budget-minded shoppers
• more destination activities: book groups, author readings
• more books from small presses, university presses
• move involvement with local schools and libraries

The power of Drudge: remember those Drudge headlines about HHS drafting the NFL to help promote O'BamaCare -- scrubbed, after Drudge headlined it; the NFL is gonna go political;

There were about seven headline stories in "world news" including several on the Mideast, and not one on Syria. Now it's about Egypt imploding. Again. No links. The story is everywhere.

Having spent thirteen years in Europe, this is an interesting story: Amsterdam debates sex trade. 

And on that note, we end the post.