Notes From All Over -- Early Morning Edition -- August 17, 2020

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Fast and furious:

• AAPL: futures, up; AAPL could propel NASDAQ to new high;
• Gun sales: most revealing poll of all -- ZeroHedge;
• What? Me Worry? A key prediction about the economic aftermath of the Covid crash has been confirmed -- Yahoo!Fiance;
• Covid-19: why the US should adopt the Swedish model -- ZeroHedge;
• Mideast: Israelie-UAE peace deal marks tectonic shift in Middle Eastern balance; story ignored by mainstream press; ZeroHedge;
• Barrick: increases dividend same month Warren Buffett buys; on a percentage basis, a fairly substantial dividend boost; boosts dividend 14%; stock pays 1.2%.
• Bankruptcy: Chaparral Energy (previously posted);

Crude oil, fast and furious: 

• China, oil: another under-reported story -- China plans to boost US crude oil imports even as tensions rise; 
• US production: US oil drillers look to restart shut-in production this year; most expect year-end shale oil production to be about 5 milllion bopd; 
• Against all odds: Venezuela ramps up oil exports -- oilprice. 
• China diesel surge: trucks, excavators to help push China's diesel demand to record, Reuters in the "Environment" section of the on-line magazine;

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Canada
Suncor: production and refining hemmed in -- Fitzsimmons -- SeekingAlpha;

• like most energy companies, Suncor has been heavily affected by the demand destruction caused by Covid-19.
• but the truth is, Suncor's business had been in decline well before the pandemic hit and throughout most of 2019.
• in fact, the stock is now trading at roughly the same level it was 15 years ago and the dividend was cut by 55%.
• with production and refining both hemmed in, it's hard to find a positive catalyst for the stock.