Blogging To Be Delayed Next Few Days -- April 23, 2015; Why Yemen Matters; New Home Sales Plummet As Sales Tumble In Northeast, South

I am driving from Texas to North Dakota over the next few days. My blogging will be delayed. I replay to all e-mail but those replies will now be delayed.

I depend on readers to provide links to Bakken news. Keep sending the links but you may not see them posted for a few days, but I will eventually get caught up.

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NG Fill Rate

Link here: 90.

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"Energy Cookie"

Today's EIA "energy cookie":

Trade in crude oil and petroleum products transiting the Bab el-Mandeb has increased steadily in recent years, growing from 2.7 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2010 to almost 4.7 million bbl/d in 2014. From 2013 to 2014, trade grew by more than 20%, with an increase of more than 200,000 bbl/d in crude oil exports from Iraq to Europe contributing to higher northbound traffic. --- EIA

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Say What About 1Q15 Earnings?

CAT:

Caterpillar's earnings soared more than 20 percent in the first quarter, even though revenue slipped, and the construction and mining equipment maker hiked its 2015 earnings forecast well above most expectations.

The company's profit for the quarter that ended March 31 included a pre-tax gain of $120 million from the sale of its remaining interest in a logistics business. The company also saw a nearly 6 percent drop in operating costs, to $11.18 billion.

Overall, Caterpillar Inc. earned $1.11 billion, or $1.81 per share, in the first quarter. That compares with $922 million, or $1.44 per share, last year.

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New Home Sales Plummet

US new-home sales slump 11.4 percent in March as sales tumble in Northeast and South.