WTI: Down To Around $41 -- July 28, 2016; Another Million Insured May Lose Their ObamaCare Coverage -- Anthem

Will we see $39 oil next week?

Previous poll: did operators "jump the gun" on adding rigs in the Bakken, 2H16?

• Yes: 56%
• No: 44%

Market down in early morning trading. Investors are concerned about something:

• jobs report?
• oil dropping to $41 and trending down?
• earnings?
• Fed hinting at rate increase in September?

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Validating Earlier Reports That Southwest Airlines Tried To Save Money Over The Years By Not Investing In Software Scheduling Upgrades

Will Heads Roll?

From The Chicago Business Journal:

Southwest Airline's massive technology outage that caused a near collapse of the carrier's operations nationwide last week continues to reverberate throughout the low-fare airline, and is likely to do so for many days and weeks to come.

An internal memo to Southwest Airlines employees from Craig Drew, senior vice president of air operations, only underscores the magnitude of the meltdown and the damage control with employees that top management is now engaged in as many workers have been outraged by the company's handling of the mess.

Drew began his memo by noting "the last week has been a trial by fire for us at Southwest Airlines, especially for those of you who were on the front line." Drew went on to praise employees for their efforts, noting "I am extremely grateful for everything you did to preserve the relationships with our customers, answering impossible questions and demonstrating the special nature of our people."

Drew tried in his memo to tamp down concerns among many employees that appropriate steps won't be taken to address the meltdown. He wrote, "our technology issue is on the minds of many of you, and I can tell you that the company is swiftly and aggressively investigating the cause so we can mitigate a future breakdown like the one experienced last week."

Sources told me Southwest's board of directors have requested an internal investigation. It remains to be seen how exhaustive the investigation will be and whether it will name names if certain of Southwest's management team fell short in executing their responsibilities.

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Anthem Voicing Concerns On ObamaCare

From the front page of the print edition of The Wall Street Journal, no longer available on-line at WSJ?:

Anthem Inc. said it is now projecting losses on its Affordable Care Act plans this year, a turnaround for a major insurer that had maintained a relatively optimistic tone about that business.

Anthem said it now believed it would see a "mid-single-digit" operating margin loss on its ACA plans in 2016, due to higher-than-expected medical costs. It expects better results next year, because it is seeking substantial premium increases.

Anthem Chief Executive Joseph R. Swedish said that the insurer will re-examine its full-on commitment to selling plans on the health law's exchanges. Anthem will take a "prudent" approach to its future offerings, he said. Anthem has been a major player in the ACA marketplaces, with 923,000 exchange enrollees, and it offers the plans throughout the 14 states where it is a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer.

The GOP needs to run, not walk, away from ObamaCare.