This Side Of Paradise, Part II -- Tuesday, June 2, 2015

EIA "energy cookie":

While total U.S. crude oil production increased by nearly 3.2 million barrels per day (b/d) from 2010 to 2014, production in the West Coast region (PADD 5) decreased by 0.1 million b/d, continuing a long-term decline.

With no major crude oil pipelines connecting the West Coast to other parts of the country, refineries on the West Coast adjusted to the declining in-region production by increasing imports of foreign crude oil, reaching an average of 1.1 million b/d over the past five years.

Shipments of domestic crude by rail (CBR) to the West Coast have also increased, from an average of 23,000 b/d in 2012 to 157,000 b/d in 2014. In the first quarter of 2015, West Coast CBR movements averaged 191,000 b/d. --- EIA

This is so cool. I just wrote about this the other day. California is "broken" when it comes to oil. Exxon is looking at trucking oil in convoys -- even war-torn Iraq and Syria have pipelines. Trucks are so yesterday.

Guess where that imported crude oil is coming from. As my dad used to say, you get three guesses, and the first two don't count.

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Back To The Future

This is so cool. I just posted this past week that the Greek debt problem will be solved by extending the "drop dead date" by three months. There are two crises the G-7 is dealing with: the Ukraine and Greece. They have just solved the Greek debt problem. They will extend the deadline for nine months, until March, 2016. The Wall Street Journal is reporting.

And it's obvious what they plan to do. Look at the graphic at this link, and you, too, can quickly see the solution.

The only other crisis for the G-7 to solve is the Ukraine crisis, and that one will probably solve itself.

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Brazil, Turkey No Longer Make The "A" List

Updates

Later, 2:36 p.m. CT: at the time of the original post, the linked article said 25,000 staff would be let go; now it turns out that the total number is 50,000 with 25,000 of the cut coming from Turkey and Brazil. Reuters is reporting:

In the bank's second big overhaul since the financial crisis, it will speed up a cull of unprofitable units and countries by cutting almost 50,000 jobs - half of them from selling businesses in Brazil and Turkey.

Maybe a first cut of 25,000 was announced some time ago; I don't know, but it really doesn't matter. The point is made. Lots of cuts. And Brazil and Turkey are no longer on the "A" list among global economies.
 

Original Post

CNBC is reporting:

HSBC will cut costs by as much as $5 billion within two years, laying off as many as 25,000 staff, the banking behemoth told investors Tuesday in a much-anticipated update.
Europe's largest bank by assets also revealed plans to streamline its 260,000 strong workforce and trim its branch numbers by around 12 percent.

The bank said it intended to sell its Turkish and Brazilian operations -- although it will maintain a presence in Brazil to serve large clients -- in what the it called a "significant reshaping of its business portfolio".

Speaks volumes. Not about HSBC but about Brazil and Turkey.

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Crying Uncle

The Fiscal Times is reporting:

President Obama on Monday confirmed the bad news for up to 5 million illegal immigrants in this country: He has called a halt to Department of Homeland Security preparations to shield them from the threat of deportation because his executive orders have become seriously bogged down in a court challenge.

Speaking during a news conference at the conclusion of the G7 Summit in the Bavarian town of Kruen, Germany, Obama said that his executive orders will require an elaborate “administrative apparatus” in order to be carried out. But a series of legal setbacks in the federal courts have stymied the government’s intention to move ahead with the program.

Damn darn GOP.

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Crying Uncle

Brian Williams is out. That's the word on the street.

Meanwhile, ABC's World News Tonight is #1, overtaking NBC's Nightly News.

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Educated Readers

It's amazing how fast readers can see through bullshit. The AP is reporting a great jobs market in the US. Readers note that the jobs are all low-paying, minimum wage service jobs -- hotel maids, fast food restaurants, driving season is here and gasoline is (sort of) cheap.