Unprecedented Middle East Heat Wave; US Stock Market Hits Intra-Day High Record -- August 11, 2016

Iraqi grid: power-grid failings exacerbate heat wave -- WSJ. I just posted a note about this moments ago, not knowing this article existed.

Thanks to the worst recorded heat wave in Iraq’s history, now in its fourth week, Abu Mahdi may be this city’s happiest man.

From a hole-in-the-wall shop on Baghdad’s east side, Mr. Mahdi repairs air conditioners. His counsel is sought by the powerful and humble. His wallet is bulging. Some customers are so desperate, he says, “they come into my shop, get on their knees, kiss my hand and say, ‘Please come and help me.’ ”

People across the Middle East are suffering under this summer’s historic heat, which has seen temperatures climb above 120 degrees.

To avoid a repeat of the street protests over power outages that erupted last summer, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, in an unprecedented move, has twice given state employees two days off because of the heat.

He also took a small step that no one, not even the post-2003, U.S.-run transitional government, had dared with any state-owned enterprise: He said the government would begin allowing some private investment in power distribution and equipment maintenance.

Under the proposal, the vendor would keep 12.9% of the all fees collected, the rest would go to the government. Announcement of the winning bid is expected by the end of August.

Regardless of who provides Iraqi electricity, it will still come from oil and natural gas.

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US Natural Gas

John Kemp tweet:  US natural gas stocks  have risen by just +824 bcf over last 20 weeks compared with a 5-yr average build of roughly +1,250 bcf.

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The Market

Close. NYSE --

• new highs: 208; add Newfield; Pioneer Natural Resources; to the list;
• new lows: 7

I don't know if I ever thought I would be fully invested on the day the market hit all-time new highs. 

Late-day trading: strong earnings, surge in oil, power Dow to new record. This is really quite something. Think about it. A new record, and you were alive to see it. Who would have guessed back in 1984 when I started investing that we would see a new record for the Dow on August 11, 2016?

"It looks like U.S. markets are going to go higher until my daughter graduates, and she's only 3 years old," said Erik Wytenus, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Palm Beach Florida.  

And they call me inappropriately exuberant. LOL. 

Mid-day trading: the market continues to surge, up 120 points. It appears "T" is trading at new highs. NYSE:

• new highs: 154, including T and TransCanada
• new lows: 4

Early morning trading, the market surges, up almost 80 points; oil up slightly. NYSE:

• new highs: 102; including Baxter (a big whoop); Wal-Mart; it looks like XLNX will be hitting a new high, or very close
• new lows: 3

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Forgiving College Debt

My wife, a Hillary Clinton supporter, was aghast to read that the Obama administration has in place a plan to forgive $43 billion in college loans this year (next year?). Aghast. But we had no denominators. We did not have the denominator for total outstanding college loans, and we did not have the denominator for total US debt.

Assuming total US debt is $20 trillion, then $43 billion represents ... drum roll ... 43 (lopping off 9 zeroes) / 20,000 (lopping off 9 zeroes) = 0.215%. Not even half a percent of the total US debt. Some suggest that over the eight years of his administration, the national debt increased $8,795,689,333,049.67. (Yes, the 67 cents is in the official figure.)

Add $43 billion to that number, and we get: $8,838,689,333,049.67. The number hardly changes. Had Obama done this over the past eight years, there would have been a lot to talk about and a lot on the op-ed pages, but the total debt would have risen $8,838,689,333,049.67 vs $8,795,689,333,049.67. I doubt most people would have even noticed. The first figure, an "8" didn't even "roll over." I'm pretty David Letterman and Rachel Maddow would not have noticed, nor would they have cared.

My hunch is that Hillary Clinton could make college debt a center of her social program, starting with current student debt and increasing the program to cover everyone.

I wonder how much the "Solyndra-36" cost us?

Later: for the record, US "college debt" stands at about $1.3 trillion according to some sources. $43 billion / $1.3 trillion = or about 3.3%.

The nice thing about the US being $20 trillion in debt, we get closer and closer to where money no longer matters. Isn't that was Paul Krugman says?