First Time Since iPhone 6 Went On Sale, No Lines In Front Of Local Apple Store -- September 28, 2014

Every day since the iPhone 6 was available for sale at the local Apple retail store, I have gone by to see if there was a line; if no line, I was going to go in, just to see for myself the size difference of the iPhone 6 Plus.

Tonight, Sunday night, I rode my bike the usual five miles up to Starbucks, and went past the Apple retail store. It was 6:37 p.m. People (Apple employees as well as customers) were inside. There was no line. I parked the bike and walked in. Nope, they were close; the doors were simply unlocked to allow the last few stragglers to make their purchases and leave. I didn't ask, but I assumed the store closed at 6:00 p.m.

Speaking of which: when do we set our clocks back? November 2, I guess. That seems a long time from now.

Whatever.

I'm being told by a friend of a friend that the oft-rumored proposed CBR terminal at Gascoyne, ND, might be getting the "go-ahead." Back on May 23, 2012, there were talks of such a terminal. At the link, by the way, are a couple of photos of Keystone XL stacked pipeline (near Gascoyne).

On another note, a reader alerted me to this link/story. Bloomberg is reporting NiSource will spin off an MLP.

NiSource Inc., owner of utilities that serve northern Indiana, will form a tax-advantaged partnership for its natural gas pipeline system to help exploit the shale boom.

Initial holdings will include a 14.6 percent interest in CPG OpCo LP, a natural gas transmission, midstream and storage business now owned by NiSource, the Merrillville, Indiana-based company said today in a statement. Forming a so-called master-limited partnership, or MLP, will enable a NiSource spinoff to raise cash to expand pipeline networks while retaining control of assets.

A 44 percent surge in U.S. gas output during the past decade, brought on by the expansion of hydraulic fracturing, has driven demand for new pipelines to deliver the fuel to market. NiSource has announced plans to spend about $8 billion to $10 billion over the next five to 10 years to expand and upgrade pipelines serving the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. 

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

Comment: one wonders if these discussions come up in Bismarck (MDU)? Probably not. [Later: a reader tells me I'm wrong: MDU does have these discussions.]

Comment: every time "I turn around," it seems the Marcellus and the Utica are getting bigger.

Turn Around, Look At Me, The Vogues  

By the way, I see there was record-setting hot temperatures in the Bakken the past few days. Must be that global warming stuff everyone's talking about.

I see this will be one of the themes this week in the financial sphere: the US Fed sees "recovery": the EU sees recession looming. I've talked about that at length; have a webpage devoted to the EU's energy problems; see sidebar at the right. Reuters is reporting:

On one side of the Atlantic they're trying to refill the punchbowl. On the other they're getting ready to take it away. This week, investors may get a clearer idea why.

The European Central Bank will spell out on Thursday its latest attempt to steer the euro zone away from the prospect of damaging deflation, following the latest snapshot of consumer price pressures on Tuesday.

U.S. jobs numbers on Friday will probably confirm that the fast-recovering American economy has reached the point where the Federal Reserve can finally halt its massive bond-buying stimulus.

Which makes for a perfect poll. Do you think the unemployment rate will tick below 6.0% this Friday when the new numbers come out? That would be 5.99% or lower.