The Market, Energy, And Political Page, T+8 -- Apparently No One Can Count To Nine, June 8, 2018; The New Bogeyman

Updates

June 10, 2018:

June 10, 2018:

Original Post

Follow the money: Isn't this an interesting game the oil companies play -- this would be like Coca-Cola buying up all the soft-drink shelf space in your local grocery store, stocking only half the shelf-space, and letting the rest sit empty. From Bloomberg via Rigzone --

Enbridge Inc.’s decision to implement and then scrap new rules governing Canada’s biggest export pipeline system sent crude prices on a record roller coaster move this week, earning the pipeline operator both friends and enemies.

BP filed a complaint this week with Canada’s National Energy Board saying Enbridge used an “unreasonable exercise of discretion” when it announced and then, 11 days later, canceled new rules governing the amount of oil that shippers were allowed to send through its Mainline system.

Heavy Western Canadian Select crude prices surged by a record $12.20 a barrel relative to U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures Monday after Enbridge scrapped the rule, which was designed to stop shippers from claiming more space than they needed on the pipeline.

Space on the system, the largest link between Alberta’s oil sands and U.S. refineries, has been increasingly rationed, as crude production overwhelmed capacity.

Prices had sunk $8.75 a barrel relative to WTI in the days after the new rules were announced on May 24.

Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, two of Canada’s biggest oil sands producers, welcomed Enbridge’s reversal, saying the existing rules better ensure producers receive a fairer price for their oil.

Summits: The real question is this: is the G7 even relevant any more? If it is, how relevant is it? The goal, apparently, of the G7 has been to issue some kind of joint statement that a bunch of Euro-centric, mostly elderly males can agree upon. Not only boring, but pretty lame, .... it just struck me, when President Trump said the summit with KJU would not be a "photo-op," my hunch is that is exactly what he was thinking the G7 in Quebec is -- a photo-op. For his "allies."

It's a hoot that Trump scheduled the KJU summit so closely following the G7 conference which pre-ordained his need to leave early. Brilliant. Something tells me he never looked forward to this meeting in Quebec in the first place ... exactly what it its purpose? ... and thus, why not throw a little "red meat" to the journalists: suggest that Russia needs to be re-admitted (another Euro-centric elderly male would fit right in) and skip the global warming conference altogether.

But I digress.

The G7 is made up of "the seven largest economies" plus the European Union, so in effect, France, Germany, Italy, the UK (for a bit longer) get two votes, and the EU gets about six votes (the four heads of state, plus the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. Poor Abe -- one vote. Trump -- one vote. Merkel, Macron, Conte, May -- each three votes (each with his/her own vote and two votes from the EU). Maybe the EU doesn't get to vote, but they get two seats at the table.

Largest economies: see wiki re: the G7.

List of countries by GDP. France and Canada don't even make the list, and if you had a cut-off, of say USD$4 trillion, not one European country would be attending.

The new meme: any sector that dies was killed by Trump's tariffs. The new bogeyman.

Brilliant. How come the brightest president in modern history -- that would be Barack Obama, of course -- did not think of this. [Yes, there were no kneeling NFL players during the Obama administration but I'm sure there were some grievances.] Absolutely brilliant. Maybe one of the kneeling NFL football players will actually visit the Oval Office to argue his case.

 

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House of Cards

Update, June 10, 2018: amazing. The Chicago Tribune actually picked up this story. And "blogger" will link The Chicago Tribune even if it won't link Fox News. It will be interesting to see if either The New York Times or The Washington Post posts the story.

Original Post

I don't know if anyone is following this story or if anyone even cares, but this "factual" story being reported over at Fox News  was the very story line during the first season of House of Cards. Truly amazing. The google app "blogger" won't allow linking Fox News stories but one can get to the story by googling: "New York Times reporter Ali Watkins' past tweets are raising eyebrows after revelations she had a three-year romantic relationship with a Senate Intelligence Committee aide now accused by federal prosecutors of leaking sensitive information to journalists, including herself."

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