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Later, March 13, 2014, 4:10 pm: here it comes. Mr Kerry has drawn his "red line." He gives the Russians until Monday to "do something" or "someone else will do something":

There will be a response of some kind to the referendum itself,” Kerry said. “If there is no sign [from Russia] of any capacity to respond to this issue ... there will be a very serious series of steps on Monday.” Very serious, indeed, no doubt.

March 13, 2014: It appears the timing couldn't be better for oil investors. Just as the price of oil was starting to slump, The New York Times reports that Mr Putin might be moving his soldiers and airmen closer to the Ukrainian border. This will stop the slump. On the other hand, I don't think the Ukraine has anything to worry about. Ms Merkel, Mr Kerry, and Mr Obama have all told Mr Putin to back off or "bad things" could happen. Mr Obama was a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. The US, UK, and Russia signed this memorandum in 1994 pledging to support Ukraine's territorial integrity in turn for giving up its nuclear weapons. Like the "red lines" that Mr Obama has drawn, I'm sure the Budapest Memorandum is worth the paper it was written on. [By the way, speaking of Mr Kerry, where is he today?]

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The futures market is up about 20 points. I can only assume the market sees value in a "Candy Crush" game whose maker prices itself for an $8 billion IPO payout. I assume the company has about 35 employees, including the teen-ager who writes the software for the wildly popular game.

Oil futures are actually up a bit.

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Yes, as I posted a few minutes ago, the markets were caught by surprise with the Obama decision to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Reuters is reporting:

In the first sale from the reserve since 1990 that is specifically designed as a test, the department will offer sour crude from its West Hackberry and Big Hill sites on the U.S. Gulf coast, with bids due March 14.

Surging U.S. shale oil production has changed the logistics of U.S. crude markets. Instead of moving oil from the Gulf up to the center of the country, as was traditionally the case, major pipelines have reversed course to move a glut of shale oil from places like North Dakota to points south.

How does one spell "market manipulation?" And the government sees speculators behind every oil rig? LOL.

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Over at SeekingAlpha, EquityFlux recommends Noble Energy.  The analysts begin their conclusion with:

Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Noble, Devon and Cimarex are all involved in oil and gas exploration and production in different regions of the world. 

Hopefully, that brings folks up to speed. These analysts may qualify for the "group" Geico Rock Award.