The Narrative: Week 51: December 15, 2019 -- December 21, 2019

The top stories for week 51 of 2019 have been posted; it still needs a little work but for the most part it is done.

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Politics

When will we ever have a "normal" week again? LOL.

First, the "fake" impeachment. Folks can't even agree if the president has been impeached. And now, we're all waiting for the real fireworks: Rocket Man's Christmas Eve present to the US.

Most interesting article on the way to looking for something else: the college that wants to take over Washington.  Anyone listening to Rush will be interested in this article. The dots are starting to connect.

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Investing

For investors, the most under-reported story: the change in the tax rules for retirement accounts.

• this is huge. Really huge. The bill appeared to be off everyone's radar screen until it wasn't.
• but this is huge. Good, bad, or indifferent for the individual, it's huge for the investment community, and for the US economy. Folks don't think much about a) keeping cash in circulation; b) velocity of circulation (I talked about that years ago); 
• the fact that this new tax rule on IRAs passed with so little fanfare tells me it was something that was universally agreed that it needed to be done;
• $30 trillion in retirement accounts in the US? Could there be a trillion dollars moved from IRAs this next year (2020) to new accounts and/or spent? That will be the number I will be watching -- Forbes most likely will be the first to report it.
• we're going to see a lot of articles written on this story next year. A google search revealed these data points:
• totaling $9.7 trillion in assets at the end of June 2019, IRA assets represented nearly one-third of the $29.8 trillion US retirement market. Assets held in IRAs have increased on average 10 percent per year over the past 25 years, from $993 billion in 1993. Link here.
• as of March 31, 2019, 401(k) plans held an estimated $5.7 trillion in assets and represented more than 19 percent of the $29.1 trillion in US retirement assets, which includes employer-sponsored retirement plans (both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans with private- and public-sector employers),  
• as of September 30, 2019, an estimated 46 percent of IRA assets were held in mutual funds, while the remaining assets were held in brokerage accounts or managed by banks or insurance companies. In 1993, mutual funds’ share of IRA assets stood at 33 percent.

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Random Data Points

In the big scheme of things, the week was pretty uneventful -- except, of course, for the fake impeachment. 

Some other random data points before we get to the Bakken:

• Apple AirPods Pro sold out -- and have been for quite some time
• Boeing: look up "debacle" in your Merriam-Webster; most recent disaster -- failed to set the timer correctly -- are you kidding me? 
• most surprising: Congress did not extend subsidies for EVs; I thought that was a sure thing; 
• Netflix: stock of the decade; I first wrote about Netflix in 2013, I believe; one of my best "calls" ever;
• iPhone: tech gadget of the decade
• MOL oil now on my radar scope;

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The Bakken

Now the Bakken:

• manufacturing stage; not much news
• without question, the Bakken continues to set the bar (see the EIA dashboards if you need proof)
• Harold Hamm steps down as CEO of CLR, but won't be going anywhere
• XTO has unitized two big fields, the Hofflund and the Grinnell; really, really good news for those who own minerals in those fields;
• 2019 will end without a decision being made by North Dakota whether to allow expansion of the DAPL
• we're starting to see a lot more Three Forks wells being reported; see the wells coming off the confidential list next week;