Saturday News -- May 3, 2014 -- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr, Dead At 95

Generally speaking I don't expect to see much talk from the majors about the Bakken. I was surprised to see how much the Bakken was mentioned at COP's 1Q14 earnings conference call. The transcript of the conference call is at SeekingAlpha.

In the Bakken, we average 43,000 BOE per day and achieved a peak daily rate of off 54,000 barrels a day in the first quarter.

We’re also performing pilot test in the Bakken to optimize our drilling and development programs.

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Not yet reported widely: ObamaCare enrollment deadline was quietly extended again according to Fox News early Saturday morning. It looks like the deadline was quietly extended through May 1, 2014. This was the first time I had heard of that extension; I doubt that it is very significant but there are a couple of story lines if I were interested. I'm not.

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The Wall Street Journal

US adds almost 300,000 jobs as economy gains stream. 

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Germany and the US agree on more sanctions on Russia if the latter "disrupts Ukraine's presidential elections."

Apparently, Warren Buffet's heir apparent is his oldest son. Didnt' Warren once warn about nepotism?

There appears to be little agreement on the reason for the declining labor-force participation: the overall size of the labor market is shrinking, now down to a level not seen since Jimmy Carter was president.

DOT says energy firms not sharing Bakken oil test data. Only three energy companies have voluntarily turned over information on the physical characteristics of Bakken crude oil from North Dakota, according to the Department of Transportation. Call me crazy, but that hardly warrnts a front section headline story.

It looks like Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will announce her retirement sometime before November 1, 2014.

Bout face: coming into office, he said the military budget had to be cut significatnly. Now, US SecDef Chuck Hagel said NATO spending (i.e., US military spending must be increased.

Treasury (i.e., IRS) says it would delay enforcement of some provisions of a law aimed at curbing offshore tax evasion, in a victory of banks worried about the costs and possible disruptions to the financial system. Comment: again, picking and choosing which laws to follow.

Growing up, I honestly did not know that abiding by the law was optional.

Microsoft's largest individual shareholder? Bill Gates? Nope, Steve Ballmer.

The Los Angeles Times

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., dies at age 95; starred in "77 Sunset Strip." I doubt I ever saw a single episode, but I remember it well. Spending a few minutes at wiki brings back a lot of memories. The series ended in 1964. A decade later I would be cruising Sunset Boulevard while attending school out in Los Angeles. Ah, yes, the golden age of television. A lot has changed. The sitcoms in Hollywood have since moved to Washington, DC.

  Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb, Connie Stevens and Edd Byrnes