Hyperdrive - The Market And Energy Page, T+73 -- April 4, 2017

Headline today: US trade deficit falls more than expected.
 
Small business jobs index: link at Paychex. Data points:

• small business jobs momentum continued in March, though there was a small decrease month-over-month
• small business employment gains has now been above the 100 baseline for five and a half years, dating back to September, 2011
• by region:
• west south central -- improved 1.56 percent since November, best among regions, and it has the strongest one-month gain in March, 0.41 percent, possibly marking an energy sector rebound 
• east south central -- hit a new record; currently in first place
• by state:
• top-ranked, Tennessee: handily remained the top-ranked state
• in second place, Georgia: but losing momentum
• in trouble, Washington: Washington State spent most of 2014, 2015, and 2016, as the top-ranked state, but Washington has now slowed for the sixth (6th) consecutive month
• dead last: Missouri is dead last but did have best one-month rise in index, and second-best 12-month growth rate
• moving up: Illinois had been dead last for past six months, but with strong gains in both February and March overtook New York
• by metropolitan area:
• Dallas: overtakes Atlanta for top spot; Dallas essentially unchanged; Atlanta slowed
• next five metropolitan areas: all slowed for the fifth time in the last six months
• Seattle was down 3.32%
• DC: had the strongest start to the year since 2007
• Chicago: improved for the third straight month (only the second time its index has been over 100 during the past 12 months)
• Houston: at 97.86 -- continues to lag all other metro areas, but has improved 1.79% since 2016 low

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After 12 Years, Qatar Returns To World's Biggest Gas Field

Link at Bloomberg:

• taken off-line twelve years to assess how current rate of extraction affected the offshore North Field, a giant reservoir it shares with Iran
• capacity: 2 billion cubic feet per day (400,000 boepd)
• Qatar gives itself the opportunity to take back #1 spot which it had relinquished to Australia