Market -- April 29, 2015 -- This Is NOT An Investment Site

Hess: beats by 9 cents; shares up in pre-market trading. The AP is reporting:

Hess Corp. on Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss of $389 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The New York-based company said it had a loss of $1.37 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, came to 98 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of $1.09 per share.

The oil and gas producer posted revenue of $1.55 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.44 billion.

Linn Energy misses by 85 cents:

Linn Energy misses by $0.85: Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $1.03 per share, $0.85 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.18).

• Grew average daily production by two percent to approximately 1,201 MMcfe/d for the first quarter 2015, compared to the estimated year-end 2014 exit rate of approximately 1,180 MMcfe/d, while decreasing the budget for total oil and natural gas capital expenditures by approximately 65 percent for 2015 compared to 2014.

Anthem shares surging (ObamaCare proxy): 

Anthem beats by $0.45, misses on revs; guides FY15 EPS above consensus: Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $3.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.45 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.69; revenues rose 6.8% year/year to $18.85 bln vs the $19.28 bln consensus.

• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of more than $9.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $9.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Medical membership is now expected to be in the range of 38,200,000 -- 38,400,000. Fully insured membership is expected to be in the range of 14,750,000 -- 14,850,000 and self-funded membership is now expected to be in the range of 23,450,000 -- 23,550,000.
• Medical membership is now expected to be in the range of 38,200,000 -- 38,400,000. Fully insured membership is expected to be in the range of 14,750,000 -- 14,850,000 and self-funded membership is now expected to be in the range of 23,450,000 -- 23,550,000. The benefit expense ratio was 80.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of 250 basis points from 82.7 percent in the prior year quarter.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment or financial decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. Do not make any travel plans based on what you read here. Do not make any relationship changes based on what you think you may have read here. And most importantly, don't choose your ObamaCare health plan based on what you read here or think you may have read. 

******************************

Book Corner

I picked up another incredible book from Books on Broadway in Williston.

Terrible Injustice: Sioux Chiefs and US Soldiers On The Upper Missouri, 1854 - 1868, Doreen Chaky, University of Oklahoma Press, c. 2012; has just come out in soft cover.

This is an incredibly good scholarly work -- I think I can say that after having only read the first 37 pages including the preface and introduction.

Ironically (is that the right word?) there are lessons to be drawn from the Indian wars and what is going on in Baltimore, Maryland, this week.

Chapter 1 begins:

When one culture infringes on another's perceived rights and traditions, conflict is inevitable. When each party's sense of justice differs from the other's and they find no common ground, escalation ensues.

Wow -- does that not describe what is going on in Baltimore and Ferguson these days?

Besides the really, really good content, I already love the book for the following reasons:

• the font and feel of the book
• the author's use of grammar and punctuation mirrors what I was taught 
• really, really good writing

As soon as I thumbed through it, I knew I was going to buy it. And then I saw that the author makes Williston her home. Wow. Who wudda thought?

*********************************

Notes to the Granddaughters

Books on Broadway is still the best bookstore around. In a sense, it's better than Powell's in Portland. Chuck Wilder somehow manages to bring the best books to market. Take all the books in Powell's and then select the top 1% of those books and you might have the inventory at Books on Broadway. But the intimacy and relaxing atmosphere in the coffee bar really, really cements the deal.

You know, it's funny. I think the #1 reason I like coming back to Williston is to visit Books on Broadway. After a while, one kind of knows what to expect in the oil fields, but it never ceases to amaze me what I find at Wilder's bookstore.

By the way, while I'm rambling, a bit more. I had planned to leave Williston at 6:00 a.m. this morning but yesterday I realized I had not yet had coffee at the donut shop two doors down from Books on Broadway. The donut shop next to Books on Broadway may have the best donuts in the world. Their story is a long story, and perhaps a personal story, so I won't go into it here, but that little donut shop encompasses all that is "right" with Williston.

So, yesterday, when I realized that I had not visited the donut shop yet (there was a reason for that) I had to delay my departure. They are open early enough in the morning that I could have stopped there on the way out of town, to leave shortly after my planned departure of 6:00 a.m.

But I wanted to take my dad. If Books on Broadway is the #1 reason for coming back to Williston, my dad is the #1 reason why it's hard to leave.

His day starts about 6:00 a.m. also, but he's generally not ready to go into the office until 10:30, so I did not want to hurry him just for a donut.

My dad might have retired about the time he reached his 83rd birthday. I doubt anyone knows when/if he retired; the problem is the definition of "retired." He had long turned over "official" responsibilities of his agency to others by the time he reached his 83rd birthday but he was still going into the office every day at 9:30 a.m. He was still responsible for going down to the US Post Office every day to pick up the mail for the office. I have long forgotten his salary for that job but it was probably worth about  ($20/day x 6 days x 4 weeks) $480/month but he was probably paid closer to $250/month after various government taxes and deductions. I honestly don't recall.

Somewhere around his 90th birthday, someone else got the "mail job." It may have been due to a "transportation issue." Somewhere around his 90th birthday, the state of North Dakota and Dad came to some sort of an agreement. If he no longer drove his Ford F-150 (or whatever it was) they would quit making him go to "driver's class" every year if he wanted his driver's license renewed. Driver's class had something to do with the various state and city law enforcement agencies issuing him tickets every time he drove through a stop sign. Before the boom, stop signs in Williston were sort of there for folks who had never lived on a farm.

Actually, I'm exaggerating. The state did not get involved. There was a notable incident about three years ago which led my sister to permanently change my dad's transportation routine. But that's a story for another time.

So where was I? Oh, yes, why I'm not leaving until after 11:00 this morning. As I was saying, after his 83rd birthday, or thereabouts, he was coming in to the office every day at 9:30. Finally, sometime this past year, my sister suggested to dad he did not have to come in so early. Dad now comes in at 10:30 every day.

My plans are to meet him at the office at 10:30 and take him over for coffee and donuts on Broadway next to Books on Broadway. And then head south about noon.

******************************

One last note: while touring the Bakken last evening, Dad said his goal was to reach his 100th birthday. I suggested that at 93, he should aim for 103. I told him anyone can get to 100 but it's a real accomplishment to get to 103. He wasn't so sure. I told him the hard part was over. Think about it. On a percentage basis. Take all the folks that reach their 63rd birthday; what percent will go on to hit their 103rd birthday? Then take all the folks that reach their 93rd birthday; what percent of those will go on to reach their 100th birthday?

He thought about it. We didn't know the answer. I said the life insurance companies probably know.

He laughed. And then started talking about the new office building he was going to build.