Hodge Podge While Traveling; Minimal Updates While Traveling

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OXY USA 3Q13 profit rises 15% on US output growth. -- Reuters.

SM Energy will report after the market closes today.

Valero Energy beats by 16 cents.  Reports earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.16 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues rose 4.1% year/year to $36.14 bln vs the $31.02 bln consensus.

The decrease in operating income was due to lower refining throughput margins caused by lower gasoline and diesel margins as well as lower light sweet and sour crude oil discounts. Also contributing to the decline in operating income were higher costs for Renewable Identification Numbers to comply with the U.S. federal Renewable Fuel Standard. Strong performance in the ethanol business partially offset the decline in operating income. -- Yahoo!In-Play

Apple Inc: Apple's net profit drops but earnings beat forecasts. Apple's (AAPL) FQ4 net profit fell to $7.5B from $8.2B a year earlier, although revenue rose 4% to $37.5B and beat consensus, as did EPS of $8.26. iPhone volumes rose sharply following the introduction of new models in September, although iPad shipments were flat and those for the Mac fell. On the earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company will announce any changes to its capital allocation early next year. The comments come as Carl Icahn clamors for a new $150B buyback. Shares were +0.2% premarket after slipping late yesterday. -- SeekingAlpha, October 29, 2013; earnings transcript;

BP's profit falls 26% but shares jump 5%. BP's (BP) shares gushed 5% higher in premarket trading after Q3 underlying replacement profit dropped to $3.7B from $5B a year earlier but exceeded forecasts of $3.4B. BP raised its dividend by 5.6% to 9.5 cents a share, and said it intends to sell another $10B in assets within two years and use the money for payouts to shareholders. -- same link as above, SeekingAlpha, October 29, 2013

Examining the links between earthquakes and fracking -- at Rigzone. 

Six companies announce increased dividend/distributions including American Midstream Ptrs lP, Holly Energy Partners, and Tesoro Logistics LP.

The driving range of a Tesla. I believe my cross-country trip is about 1,600 miles each way.

COP must be doing something right. Most oil companies have been in a trading range the last few days, most slightly negative, but COP keeps hitting new highs. At one time Warren Buffett owned a huge amount of COP but I've long lost the bubble with regard to how much, if any, he still holds.