GM With Best September Since 2007; Scotland Indefinitely Bans Fracking -- October 4, 2017

ADP:

• ADP figures are out
• historically, at least the past few months, ADP estimates have been way off
• August, 2017, employment data revised downward 7,000 to 228,000
• September, 2017, following three huge hurricanes, new jobs increased by a paltry 135,000

GM: there was so much news yesterday, this was easily missed. Worth re-posting -- GM had its best September US retail performance since 2007. Link --

• 12% increase year-over-year increase in total sales in September, at 279,397 vehicles
• 17% increase at Chevrolet; 9% increase at GMC
• crossover deliveries were up 43%
• trucks up 10%
• but: passenger gars were down 11%

Luddites: Scotland indefinitely bans fracking.

Solar energy, 2016 summary: unpredictable, not dependable, non-dispatchable -- but it's setting records. Mostly in China.

Active rigs:

$50.21↓	10/4/2017	10/04/2016	10/04/2015	10/04/2014	10/04/2013
Active Rigs	57	32	68	190	183

RBN Energy: crude oil shuttle pipelines in the Permian's Delaware and Midland basins, Part 2.

Shuttle pipelines in the Permian provide high-volume, straight-shot links between crude oil gathering systems and multiple takeaway pipelines out of the play ­­— giving producers and shippers critically important destination optionality. Assuming the shuttles are well-positioned and tied to increasing production on one end and multiple takeaway pipes on the other, existing intra-basin shuttles are highly valued and being gobbled up by major midstream players. And to keep pace with Permian production growth, existing shuttle systems are being expanded and new ones are being planned. Today, we continue our review of key crude-related infrastructure in the nation’s hottest oil production region.

The 80.1% rule: Motley Fool has a great article on why Buffett prefers to buy the whole company when investing in large-dividend payers. Bottom line: mom-and-pop retail investors experience double-taxation on dividends; Buffett, when he owns 80.1% of the company, pays taxes on dividends only once. And not directly.

US LNG export update: from Rigzone. A nice overview but nothing we did not know already.

Norway? from a contributor over at SeekingAlpha it remains unclear (actually it's more than unclear; there's nothing to explain) what drove Norway to deliver unusually strong Tesla sales. I find the entire Tesla story fascinating. The company said it would ramp up its Model 3 production from essentially zero to 1,500 in two months. The company completely missed, producing, apparently, only 260 of that model. And yet, investors continue to buy shares of Tesla pushing the company's market value greater than GM. And Tesla produced less than 10,000 vehicles each month this past quarter. GM sold in excess of 275,000 vehicles this past month. Let's see, 10/275 = less than 4%. Meanwhile, today, Tesla surges, up another $7 today.

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Fall Festival Means Kettle Korn