Tuesday Morning News, Views, Links

Active rigs: 187

RBN Energy: natural gas pipelines in the state of Florida; only Texas uses more natural gas for electricity generation than Florida, and Florida has no natural gas storage capacity (NIMBY?)

There's a lot of talk about a government shutdown (there have been many in the past; this will be nothing new). More worrisome for "someone" is if the US actually defaults on any of its debt. We've been through this before, and I may or may not blog about it. I don't know yet. All I know is that all presidents worry a lot about their legacies, and regardless of "who" is responsible for a default, history would record that for the first time in modern history, it was under President Obama that the US government defaulted. Good, bad, or indifferent; right or wrong, that would be the title of the chapter in the digital history book twenty-five years from now -- "The First Time The US Defaulted On Its Debt, President Obama's Second Term."

The Wall Street Journal Links

Heard on the street: Apple's dazzling weekend wasn't as dazzling as first reported. That was the headline. Then when I read the story, I had to LOL.  The writer really had to work at finding issues with the blowout weekend. One can read the article a completely different way and realize it was even more impressive than the iPhone 5 launch last year. This year's launch and the article at the link suggests that Tim Cook has logistics figured out. And there was "almost" plenty of inventory, and certainly better than the previous launch one year ago.

Other related articles:

Apple sells 9 million iPhones over the weekend; perhaps more impressive was the announcement that ...

... more than 200 million of its devices already were running iOS 7—a free overhaul released last week of the operating system used on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.

As noted earlier, unlike Microsoft upgrades (in general), Apple provided iOS 7 free of charge. Analysts had predicted six to seven million units would be sold versus the 9 million sold. Again, the article did provide caveats. LOL.

Meanwhile, Microsoft announced that it upgraded its Surface tablets. To be honest, I was not aware they were still selling Surface tablets. I thought the article lacked any specifics and the individuals who commented thought the same thing. The "press release" said the battery time was extended but no specifics given. The comments suggest the battery charge is quite short compared to the iPad.

At Sprint, they are running out of 5S inventory. 

Regular readers know I am an Apple Fanboy. Fanboy #3 to be exact.

Another story, from another source, is reporting: Yahoo!Finance is reporting:

Investors are finally weighing the damage Apple may be inflicting on Pandora Media and its popular online radio service.

Apple said on Monday that 11 million people have already listened to its copycat service, which is included in the new iOS 7 operating system for iPhones and iPads. On Tuesday Pandora founder Tim Westergren conceded that Apple’s entry into the market would have a “modest” impact on his company, which has about 72 million monthly active listeners.

Pandora investors largely ignored the potential threat until this week. Shares of Pandora have climbed 167% so far this year, including 62% since Apple officially announced iTunes radio on June 10. The company also priced a secondary share offering last week, raising a war chest of nearly $400 million.

But after Apple released iOS 7 last week, huge numbers of Pandora fans started sampling the competition. They flocked to Twitter and posted about their disloyalty. Pandora shares lost 10% Monday, bouncing back less than 1% Tuesday.

My hunch: if Pandora survives, it will either find an inconsequential niche, or it will be absorbed by another social networking company. But I doubt any one of your ten closest friends will be talking about Pandora two years from now. Maybe one of your hundred friends might mention it in passing.

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It turns out there was legitimate concern about using wi-fi devices on airplanes. The FAA moved toward mandating replacement of Honeywell displays on more than 150 Boeing 737s and 777s, after earlier tests showed susceptibility to interference by Wi-Fi.

Burger King will try "new" French fries. Burger King is going after what it calls "lapsed users" with new french fries that promise fewer calories and less fat.

If you thought you were imagining this, you weren't: U.S. regulators are putting the kibosh on more mergers under President Barack Obama, prompting many companies to structure their deals with stronger safeguards against the risk of antitrust challenges.

If you thought you were imaging this, you weren't: The number of people caught illegally entering the U.S. is up for a second straight year, adding fuel to the debate over whether the border should be better secured before any overhaul of immigration laws.

No child left behind continues to disappoint. Florida is dialing back its participation in a national group developing exams for tougher math and reading standards known as the Common Core, dealing another setback to an effort that has come under increasing fire.

Not a day too soon: Lois Lerner, the official at the center of a congressional probe into the IRS, has retired, the agency said. She had been on leave since shortly after a controversy emerged in May over the agency's targeting of tea-party groups.

Talk about a weak argument. That's the purpose of a background check: to screen out the liars. The suspected Navy Yard shooter lied during the security-screening process when he joined the military, according to documents released by the Pentagon.

You have to love this headline: Kenya believes all hostages are free. Yes, that's the headline. I guess they chopped off this part: "... or dead."

Whatever happened to Syria? Again, a word search on front page of on-line WSJ did not reveal even one instance of "Syria

The Los Angeles Links

Computer glitch cuts off 80,000 Californians from receiving their unemployment checks. State officials apologize for delays in processing unemployment benefits but many jobless Californians are falling behind on bills because of the malfunction in a computer system upgrade. Anyone who thinks the weekly jobless figures are even close to accurate any more ....

This I find most interesting: Egypt bans the Muslim Brotherhood. Even Mubarak couldn't get that done. This is quite fascinating. My hunch is that "outside money" forced the decision.

The New York Times Links

Top story above the fold, with photograph, a story not on the front page of the LA Times:
The outcome of a legal challenge to a plan to reduce benefits in San Jose is expected to have a major impact on local budgets around California and, perhaps, the nation.

Miscellaneous

NBCSouthernCalifornia is reporting: disabled no longer get to move to head of line. Everyone tired of scams. Best news I've read all day.