Wednesday

Active rigs:

	2/5/2014	02/05/2013	02/05/2012	02/05/2011	02/05/2010
Active Rigs	190	182	202	165	90

RBN Energy: the night the lights almost went out in Texas -- the Polar Vortex.

The “polar vortex” of 2014 dipped far south enough to impact power markets in Texas. On Monday January 6th, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) came dangerously close to initiating rolling blackouts as power demand increased due to record low temperatures and unexpected generation unit outages. Real time electricity prices spiked to over $5,000/ Megawatt Hour (MWH). The close call served as a sobering reminder for Texas regulators of the ongoing debate over how the State will meet future power generation requirements. Today we detail the “polar vortex” event and explain the implications for Texas power.

The Wall Street Journal

It was interesting (a word I overuse) to hear NPR put the spin on the CBO analysis that said ObamaCare would result in a cut in the labor force. My own comments: a) ObamaCare will be good for investors; b) those leaving the labor force due to ObamaCare, according to CBO, are leaving on their own, not due to employers, so they must be happy; c) the nation will need those new job openings for the new wave of immigrants. If at the end of the day, ten years from now, everyone is happy with ObamaCare, then we all win. I'm most excited for investors: they will be the real winners, as businesses cost shift their health care expenses. My biggest fear is that union members may be most affected. New accessions to the military will probably not have it as good as current members, retirees. The Wall Street Journal's lead story was on the CBO / ObamaCare story.

The SENATE passed "a" farm bill.

The CBO estimated that this year's deficit would be the lowest since 2007.

Whiting, Hess, and Marathon face minor fines for failing to correctly "label" Bakken oil headed for rail.

Michigan has plans for its $1 billion surplus: spend it on schools.


Target data breach went on longer than thought. Wow, the news keeps coming out in drips and drabs on the Target security breach. I still shop at Target (rarely) and will never use a credit card there.  At least not until they get their new "chip" security cards.

Target Corp's big holiday data breach wasn't quite over when the company originally said it was over. In testimony submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Target Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan said the company has learned software on another 25 checkout machines continued to steal payment card data three days after Dec. 15, the date by which the discounter had said the malware was removed from its system.

Those machines—which remained infected because they were temporarily off line when Target first removed the malware—added fewer than 150 compromised credit and debit cards to the 40 million already thought to have been stolen from customers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. But the leakage shows the complexity of purging the malicious software from checkout lanes after it spread across Target's 1,800 U.S. stores.

The demise of the "small-box" store. RadioShack to close 500 stores.

Time Inc will lay off 6% of its global staff.

Wow, Chrysler's Ram 1500 EcoDiesel earns 28-mpg rating.

Toyota expects to report record net profit.

BP's earnings decline 25%: hit by lower refining margins and income lost from asset sales as it tries to recover from the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Natural gas futures jumped nearly 10% yesterday on expectations another wave of "global warming" to hit mot of US later this week.

Las Vegas jackpot: three years ago, a man named Josh Anderson bought 36 distressed lots near Las Vegas for about $90,000 each. Now, a new home on each of those lots is about to hit the market with a price tag of $5 million. It takes money to make money.

The Los Angeles Times

CVS, the nation's number 2 drugstore, will end tobacco sales.

I'm shocked! I'm shocked! Obamacare patients are having trouble finding doctors. Not quite true. They can find doctors; they just can't find doctors who will accept Obamacare. Big difference.

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A Note to the Granddaughters

Two notes, actually. The first is a short note on bicycling yesterday in Grapevine, Texas. It was a bit cold (for someone used to south Texas heat) but really no complaints because there was no wind. I had forgotten my gloves at home; I knew it would be impossible to find gloves in Texas, but I was able to find an adequate pair at a gas station. I'm looking at buying a new bicycle at Grapevine Bicycle Center. They sell KHS bikes, and the "bang for the buck" is incredible.

The second note is on the novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I tried reading this book when it was on the bestseller's list. I remember starting it, but quickly put it down; I did not care for it. I think the Scandinavian names turned me off; it was hard to keep track of the "players." But after seeing the movie for the first time last week, I was eager to try again. The movie was incredible. As noted earlier, I think Meryl Streep stole "best actress award" from Rooney Mara that year. Meryl Streep simply did a "cover" of Margaret Thatcher; Rooney had to invent an entirely original character, had to agree to degrading scenes which she accomplished, maintaining her dignity and self-respect. I am haunted by her and her character; I have no feelings for Meryl Streep/Margaret Thatcher.

The book is very good; much better than I remember it. In fact, after the first few pages, I don't recall reading any of the book before. The movie is quite different from the book; in this case, the movie might be better than the book. Salander (Rooney's character) has some dialogue that might be a big longer in the book than it was in the movie; the movie dialogue is "Salander." The book dialogue, not so much. I am blown away by how the director and his staff could put this book on the big screen. They did an outstanding job. It would be sad if they (David Fincher, Rooney, Daniel Craig) did not do the second and third but to the best of my knowledge that is still under discussion. The Swedes did release the trilogies in 2009.

The book had mixed reviews from American critics. I think the subject matter was too difficult for some of them; the original title of the book was Men Who Hate Women. The critics, if I remember correctly, did not have any trouble with In Cold Blood.