Active Rigs Continue To Drop; Oasis To Issue More Shares -- March 4, 2015

See disclaimer. This is not an investment site.

From the Oasis press release:

Oasis Petroleum Inc. announced today that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 25,000,000 shares of common stock. Oasis expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3,750,000 additional shares of common stock.  Oasis intends to use the net proceeds of this offering to repay outstanding borrowings under its credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

With 100 million shares outstanding, an additional 25 million shares seems to be significant "dilution."

Active rigs:

	3/4/2015	03/04/2014	03/04/2013	03/04/2012	03/04/2011
Active Rigs	115	190	183	207	172

RBN Energy: continued NGL infrastructure build-out to continue in the Permian and Eagle Ford.

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Jobs watch: ADP adds a dismal 212,000 jobs. Reuters is reporting:

U.S. private employers added 212,000 jobs last month, lower than market expectations as well as January's revised figure (sic), a payrolls processor report showed on Wednesday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report to show a gain of 220,000 jobs.

January's private payrolls, meanwhile, were revised upward to 250,000 from the previously reported 213,000.

I guess analysts were counting on the Keystone XL being approved. LOL.

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How To Make Money The Buffett Way -- Taking a Cue From Al Sharpton

Delay Paying Taxes As Long As Possible

[Note: after posting the following, a reader sent me a Forbes article that said the same thing: neither Al Sharpton nor Warren Buffett like paying taxes.]

Financial Times is reporting:

Warren Buffett is one of the most famous, and certainly the richest, proponents of raising taxes. What is less often remarked upon is that he is also a leading proponent of delaying tax payments as long as possible.

In the latest and largest example, Mr Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has been able to defer $61.9bn of corporate taxes, the company revealed in its annual report. 

We've talked about this before:

This figure — about eight years worth of taxes at Berkshire’s current rate — is a reminder that Mr Buffett understands how putting off the moment when taxes are due gives him more money today to invest elsewhere.

It is also a reminder that a savvy approach to taxes has always been a feature of Mr Buffett’s career, even as Berkshire has grown to become one of the biggest corporate contributors to the US Treasury.

The total of deferred taxes reported by Berkshire for the end of 2014 is more than five times the level of a decade ago, following Mr Buffett’s move into more capital intensive businesses, with the acquisition of BNSF railways and a string of US power companies.

Wait until he finds out about the foreign tax credit. Maybe that's why he's buying a couple of German companies, or considering buying a couple of German companies. I forget the specifics.

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Humor For The Day

Reuters is reporting that President Obama sharply criticizes China's proposed rules for "tech control."

President Obama's FCC reins in America's internet; will regulate the internet as a utility using Ma Bell rules from the 1930's.

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More Humor

CNN Money is reporting:

The IRS is delaying the refunds of tens of thousands of Obamacare enrollees, said Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate.

The hold up, she says, is subsidy data from state health exchanges.

What's more, Olson said the IRS told its telephone representatives not to tell callers the reason for the delay.

Obamacare enrollees received subsidies based on their estimated income for 2014. Now that they know their actual income, the IRS has to make sure the initial subsidy amount was correct.

Some enrollees will have to pay back part of their subsidies or receive smaller refunds if they underestimated their incomes. Others may get larger refunds if they earned less than they anticipated.

Warren's advice: owe taxes; don't pay ahead to get a refund.