Thursday Morning News, Views, And Links -- Part II

Active rigs: 187 (sweet)

WSJ Links

American Crystal Sugar takes unusual late loan of $71 million from USDA:

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture scrambles to boost sugar prices and keep processors from defaulting on government loans, one sugar company recently borrowed more.

The $71.2 million loan, made to American Crystal Sugar Co., a sugar-beet processor in Clay County, Minn., was reported on the USDA's website Tuesday. The loan represents 20% of the $355 million processors owe by the end of the month. The USDA said it would announce later this week whether any defaults occurred on $41.7 million in outstanding loans that were due at the end of August.

It is rare for sugar processors to take out loans this late in the crop year, which ends on Oct. 1. Most processors borrowed late last year or in early 2013, before forecasts for a good harvest sent prices tumbling and raised fears of mass defaults.

Overheard:

China bought new cars so fast in the last decade that it became the world's largest market by 2009. Inevitably, the country's drivers are starting to buy used cars in large quantities now.

Used-car sales in China equaled 41% of new-car sales last year, up from 11% in 2008. They should equal new sales by 2020, says Ivo Naumann of AlixPartners, an advisory firm. In Beijing, consumers already bought more old cars than new ones last year, and this ratio may rise as cars age: Americans buy four times as many old cars as new ones. The big change, though, will be in quality. More consumers will consider resale values, Mr. Naumann says. This should help foreign brands like or . Local car makers such as could suffer.

Car sales show US shifting gear.

Car dealers had a very good August. That may signal the U.S. economy is finally getting dealt a better hand.

General Motors, F, Toyota Motor  and Chrysler Group on Wednesday all reported a strong increase in light-vehicle sales last month, to an annualized 16.1 million cars, according to Autodata, the strongest since October 2007. Industry watcher WardsAuto had expected 15.7 million, while Kelley Blue Book was looking for 15.6 million, suggesting that a late-month lift pushed sales higher.

Demand looks set to remain strong through the remainder of 2013, with dealers running short of some popular vehicles. Ford said it plans to raise production by 7% year over year in the fourth quarter to 785,000 vehicles.

Are you as insulted by that automatic 18% tip restaurants charge for large parties as some folks are? Apparently the IRS has lost its appetite for that automatic 18% tip:

An updated tax rule is causing restaurants to rethink the practice of adding automatic tips to the tabs of large parties.

Starting in January, the Internal Revenue Service will begin classifying those automatic gratuities as service charges—which it treats as regular wages, subject to payroll tax withholding—instead of tips, which restaurants leave up to the employees to report as income.

The change would mean more paperwork and added costs for the restaurants—and a potential financial hit for waiters and waitresses who live on their tips but don't always report them fully.

I agree completely; it's no longer a tip. It's service charge.

Keurig machines to dispense soup. 

US car sales soar to pre-slump level.

Energy-hungry China struggles to join shale revolution.

When Royal Dutch Shell PLC began a multibillion-dollar effort to tap China shale gas a few years ago, it seemed like a can't-miss wager. China has the world's most extensive shale gas reserves, biggest energy market, and a government pushing for expanded gas production.

But for Shell and its state-controlled partner, China National Petroleum Corp. the reality on the ground makes its bet look riskier.

The region's rough terrain, poor infrastructure and deeply buried gas formations present tough technical challenges. The area is so densely populated and intensely farmed that drilling sites are being built within 360 feet of homes in villages like Maoba—upsetting residents who complain of noise, dust and environmental concerns. To ease the way, Shell and its partners are compensating local residents and local government officials for using their land and roads and other inconveniences.