Active Rigs In North Dakota Down Significantly -- June 12, 2014; Worldwide, 4 Million BOPD Just Went Off-Line

Active rigs:

	6/12/2014	06/12/2013	06/12/2012	06/12/2011	06/12/2010
Active Rigs	187	187	211	169	125

RBN Energy: final installment on pipeline takeaway in the Marcellus/Utica.

The Wall Street Journal

Iraq. Hope and change.

Iraqi forces exchange blame over failures. Hmmm., sounds like Washington (DC).

Lawyers race GM to find black boxes.

Trainwreck: many of the nonprofit insurers falling short of goals; viability threatened. Perhaps more on this later in a stand-alone post. For now:

Many of the nonprofit health-insurance cooperatives created by the Affordable Care Act have enrolled far fewer people than they had hoped, according to figures obtained by a Republican-led House committee, calling into question their viability.

Fourteen of the 23 co-ops reported to the panel that, as of April 1 or later, they had enrolled significantly fewer people than they had projected for 2014 when they obtained $2 billion in federal loans from a fund created under the health law.

The shortfalls create steeper obstacles for the plans to succeed and repay the loans. Health-insurance co-ops are nonprofit insurance entities governed by their members. They were included in the 2010 health law as an alternative to creating a government-run insurance plan, which was championed by some liberal Democrats. The co-ops were designed to give consumers an alternative to traditional plans and inject competition into the law's new online insurance marketplaces, putting pressure on established plans to offer lower premiums.

Cantor's loss: immigration reform placed on a back burner.

Hagel says US had to move quickly on the swap. It will be interesting how fast Obama moves to throw Chuck under the bus. The swap completed. On to Baghdad.

Colorado and fracking. Oil companies ready to "walk."

The VA debacle? Now the FBI investigates. Jail time for appointment clerks, the minimum wage folks, for keeping two sets of books?

A Federal appeals court: cops need warrants to track cellphones.

Aubrey McClendon starts his comeback.

Detroit's appetite for aluminum grows. Don sent me a story on this some time ago: watch Ford pick-up trucks and aluminum.

Emirates cancels entire 70-plane Airbus order.  This story is two days old, but I keep forgetting to post it. This is a huge story. Do you know Boeing's ticker symbol?

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.

Overheard on the street: OPEC production ceiling hurting majors. A paradox. 

Now, with Libya and Iraq in crisis again and U.S. talks with Iran looking dicey, OPEC's job is a lot easier as it its latest get-together wraps up; the group Wednesday agreed to maintain current production quotas.

OPEC did so as production of about 3.5 million barrels per day is offline world-wide due to disruptions, according to Citigroup. That is the highest in years and equivalent to Brazil and the U.K. shutting down production. Brent crude oil is at about $110 a barrel, roughly where it started the year.

I assume the 3.5 million is low-balling what might actually be closer to 4 million.

The Los Angeles Times

Flashback: the O.J. trial -- the glove was the key.  If any doubt, watch the movie, "L.A. Confidential."