Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Note to readers: I have no idea how this was posted on January 19, 2015 when it was originally posted May 21, 2014. There must have been a glitch in the blogger application. 

Regardless: note -- this post was originally published May 21, 2014. 

Weatherford, Shengli Highland Petroleum Equipment,  and Sinopec (China) Oilfield Service to form joint venture. The joint venture will combine the complementary strengths of each of its parent companies to provide products and services within a collaborative framework helping to tap into the vast unconventional resource base in mainland China.

Summary of weekly petroleum data for week ending May 16, 2014 (averages, and rounding)

• crude oil refinery inputs: 16 million bopd, an increase of 300,000 bopd over previous week 
• US crude oil imports: 6.5 million bopd, a decrease of 660,000 bopd
• over past four weeks, imports averaged 7.0 million bopd, 11% below same period last year
• crude oil inventories decreased by 7 million bopd from previous week
• at 391 million bopd, US inventories are near upper limit of average range for this time of year
• total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.0 million bbls; middle of the average range
• distillate fuel inventories increased by 3.4 million bbls but below the lower limit of the average range for this time of year 
• gasoline demand turns positive again after several weeks of a decreasing trend

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Yahoo!InPlay

From Yahoo!InPlay: "July crude oil shows muted reaction to inventory data; now up 1.0% at $103.34." I'm not exactly sure what to make of that quote: the inventory numbers were a bit mixed, but the headline would have been that crude oil inventories decreased by 7 million bopd; price of oil up over 1%. If inventories are at their highest historical levels, and domestic oil production continues on a tear, one could argue that imports did not decrease that much because a) a certain type of crude oil is required, and only imports can provide the quantity; b) contractural requirement

Target misses by one cent; reports revenue in-line; guides Q2 EPS below consensus; market up strongly today; TGT down slightly

PetSmart beats by 3 cents; misses on revenue and shares plunge almost 8%

Northrop Gumman increases quarterly dividend substantially: from 61 cents to 70 cents/share; 15% increase

Trina Solar beats by 32 cents; shares surge 24%

OAS up 3%

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. 

HK down over 1%; profit-taking, no doubt; balance sheet could be of concern; posted previously

Greenbrier Corp announces orders for 7,000 new railcars valued at over $700 million; a broad range of railcar types including 1,700 intermodal platforms; 2,500 small cube covered hoppers; more than 2,300 tank cars primarily used in the energy sector; shipments of petroleum and petroleum products, including CBR, have grown nearly 7% compared to same period in 2013, driving demand for tank cars; newly developed techniques for energy extraction by hydraulic fracking require more sand per well; car loadings for crushed stone, sand and grave up up by nearly 7% compared to similar 2013 loadings

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Google overtakes Apple as most valuable brand.

Google has surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable brand, according to MillwardBrown's 2014 BrandZ ranking.

Apple, which had been #1 in the prior three years, fell 20% in brand value to an estimated $147.9 billion amid a "growing perception that it is no longer redefining technology for consumers," according to MillwardBrown, New York-based research firm.

With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple has indeed suffered from a perception problem and that it's lost the mo-jo that made it the world's most valuable company -- both in terms of market cap and brand value. The company's real issue is that it set an incredibly high bar for itself: Until very recently, consumers (and investors) expected Apple to create or redefine major categories every few years, i.e. music via the iPod/iTunes and communications via the iPhone. To say that's easier said than done is a huge understatement; the truly amazing thing is that Apple did that with such frequency during its huge growth phase earlier this century.

Apple's spectacular growth trajectory may have slowed -- at least in the mindshare department -- but Google has been "hugely innovative" in the past year, MillwardBrown reports, citing Google Glass, artificial intelligence and "a multitude of partnerships" for its Android operating system.