Happy Birthday, Katie Ledecky -- March 16, 2016

Birthday: March 17.

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The Bakken Goes Boom

Book released February 26, 2016. At Amazon.com.

Story here.

“The neat thing about this book is that it’s not just academics talking to each other,” said Conway.

“It’s journalists, poets and artists, too.  Art and poetry can open up a different world for us which is why everyone whose life is affected by oil — and that means everyone, not just North Dakotans — should read this book.”

The book features contributions from national and local authors who each offer distinct visions of the challenges and opportunities of the Bakken oil boom in the context of both Western North Dakota and the world, and  captures a fascinating moment in the history both of the state and of global oil production.

Books On Broadway, in Williston, has this book in stock.

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The Amazon Halo Effect?

FedEx shares surge after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.51 a share, handily beating Wall Street's projections of $2.34 a share and higher than $2.03 a share it reported a year ago.

"Our strong financial performance was driven by increasing demand for our broad portfolio of FedEx business solutions which helped increase revenue and adjusted profit for the corporation," CEO Frederick Smith stated.

The Memphis, TN-based company also benefited from cheaper fuel and currency exchange rates.

Would it be cheaper for Amazon to buy FedEx or build its own global delivery system?

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Trouble in Paradise?

Bloomberg is reporting:

Ricardo Reyes has left Tesla Motors Inc. after less than 18 months as vice president of global communications just as the electric-car maker prepares to sell its most important new model.

A Tesla spokesman confirmed that Reyes has left the company. He had the top communications job from November 2014 until recently. Reyes declined to comment on his departure.

The top communications job is vital to Tesla because, unlike other automakers, the electric car maker doesn’t spend millions of dollars on traditional advertising. The company instead relies on media coverage by courting automotive and technology press and has also gotten attention thanks to the savvy Twitter activity of Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who has 3.6 million followers on the site.

 Perhaps to spend more time with his family.