The Market And Energy Page, Part 2, T+208 -- August 16, 2017

Market surges, despite:

• no ObamaCare relief;
• no tax relief;
• no respite from Trump tweets.

What, me worry?

Indices:

• Dow 30: up 75 points
• Nasdaq: up 16 points
• S&P 500: up 7 points

Mid-week oil and gas statistics: at this rate, only 30 weeks to re-balance --

Week	Date	Drawdown	Storage	Weeks to RB
Week 0	Apr 26, 2017		529.0	180
Week 1	May 3, 2017	0.9	528.0	198
Week 2	May 10, 2017	6	522.0	50
Week 3	May 17, 2017	1.8	520.2	59
Week 4	May 24, 2017	4.4	515.8	51
Week 5	May 31, 2017	6.4	509.9	41
Week 6	June 7, 2017	-3.3	513.2	60
Week 7	June 14, 2017	1.7	511.5	57
Week 8	June 21, 2017	2.5	509.0	62
Week 9	June 28, 2017	-0.2	509.2	71
Week 10	July 6, 2017	6.3	502.9	58
Week 11	July 12, 2017	7.6	495.3	47
Week 12	July 19, 2017	4.7	490.6	43
Week 13	July 26, 2017	7.2	483.4	38
Week 14	August 2, 2017	1.5	481.9	34
Week 15	August 9, 2017	6.5	475.4	35
Week 16	August 16, 2017	8.9	466.5	30

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Other News

Aluminum siding. I've long argued that the roof solar panels fad reminds me of the aluminum siding fad in the Midwest in the 1950s - 1960s. It turns out I wasn't far off. In today's WSJ (linked at Morningstar):

• PACE: small, high-interest-rate loans
• PACE: among the fastest-growing types of loans in the US
• target audience: gullible homeowners (most in California) to help people pay for solar panels, energy-efficient air-conditioners, and other "green" appliances
• borrower defaults are increasing: defaults have jumped over the last year
• roughly 1,100 borrowers have missed two consecutive payments this year through the tax year that ended June 30; compared with 245 over the previous year
• that means they are in default, and at risk of losing their homes
• lenders: Renovate America Inc.; Ygrene Energy Fund; and, Renew Financial Inc. 
• PACE: small, high-interest-rate loans -- oh, I already mentioned that

Natural gas bet. In today's WSJ, why Blackstone is betting $7 billion on natural gas. Data points:

• world's largest private-equity firm
• latest piece:  $1.57 billion; 30%+ stake in the Rover Pipeline, a 710-mile pipeline being built across Ohio; could be completed as early as this autumn; Energy Transfer Partners; Appalachian drillers who have gained access will pay fees whether they ship or not
• other pieces:
• EagleClaw: $2 billion; Permian; 375-mile gas-gathering system;
• Sabine Pass LNG export facility: $1.5 billion; Gulf of Mexico; Cheniere Energy
• Vine Resources: northwest Louisiana; $1.2 billion; 100,000 acres of gas drilling land
• Huntley & Huntley: $250 million, Pennsylvania; land acquisition for natgas drilling