Notes From All Over -- Part 2 -- February 8, 2022

Updates

Comment: President Biden should get ahead of this. There are ways to thread this needle that could make him look like a real statesman. But if Trudeau beats him to the punch ... on the other hand, there's no way Trudeau can come out of this looking good after all he has said ...

Comment: all things being equal, the market should take off tomorrow, watching the economy re-open; this is interesting: it looks like the troops are leading the generals.

Breaking: Alberta, Canada, to scrap vaccine passport program at midnight tonight, provincial premier Jason Kenney. Follows Saskatchewan lead. See below.

Later, 7:50 p.m. CT: Sweden is opening up in four minutes and 73% of country is fully vaccinated.

• US is 64%
• Canada is 80%
• Denmark lifted restrictions one week ago; 80% of country's eligible population fully vaccinated
• Trudeau in hiding; at an undisclosed location; in quarantine
• Biden in denial; 
  

Original Post

End of Covid-19 mandates: disappearing faster than a melting snowman in north Texas; 

• last two holdouts, two peas in a pod -- Joe Biden and Gordon "I forgot his first name" Trudeau; link here.
• and, here: Saskatchewan to remove proof of vaccination policy next Monday, February 14, 2022
  

Canadian trucker protest:

• effectively a union walkout over work conditions;
• Canadian government is calling them terrorists, racists, fascists, and demanding they go back to work;
• link here;
• only when they're protesting pipelines or BLM can they block businesses, loot stores and topple statues; link here;
  

India: I don't know if folks recall, but the Mexican president has said the country will begin to phase out crude oil exports this year, and completely eliminate them next year. Today, it was announced, by Mexico, that the export of Mexican crude oil to India has ended. 

India: the US refiners may be operating at 87% operable capacity, but Indian refiners are going all out. Indian refiners operated at 101% of capacity in December, 2021, up from 87% in August, 2021. State-run processors are trying to buy more term and spot crude oil. Link here.

A wash: so, if Iran oil is brought to the global market and Mexico ends all exports, is that about a wash in the big scheme of things?

Ukraine: this is how far apart Putin and the west are with regard to this issue --

Insanity:

• President Biden: going all out for an "EV environment," says he will take the lead from China;
• China: building a new coal plant every week; which dwarfs anything they or the US are doing with EVs
• "we" could theoretically electrify the entire global fleet tomorrow and emissions would still increase because of coal growth in China (and India); link here. Tripping over dollars to pick up pennies.

Net-zero by 2050:

• UK pledges to be net zero by 2050, link here;
• that noise you're hearing is Greta's head exploding
• to align more closely with China
• agreement a few months ago at COP26 to be net zero by 2030 just wasn't going to work out
• best thing about this: gives cover for Big Oil to have same goal -- net zero by 2050, which XOM just announced

Insanity:

• shut down the Keystone XL, ban drilling on federal land, vacate previously permitted leases; and then, this:
• White House urges global oil producers to pump more to curb prices.
• If Canada would pump more, they couldn't get it out of country; Biden shut down the Keystone XL; link here.

Insanity:

• to lower gasoline prices the White House says they may release more SPR oil, link here;
• this tells me they do not understand the pricing of oil
• price drives narrative;
  
• I did not know this either until I started blogging and investing in oil but I now understand why, all things being equal, a release of SPR oil will increase the price of crude oil;
• bottom line: if invested in oil, if bullish on oil, write to the White House advocating another release of SPR oil;
• actually for investors, it's a two-fer -- I"ll explain later if anyone cannot connect the dots.

Long-term oil bull:

• the energy transition (to net zero) will end up raising the price of oil;
• link here;
• BP CEO: "an accelerating energy transition doesn't necessarily lead to a lower oil price." Link here.
  
• if you can't connect the dots, let me know; I'll steer you to someone who can connect the dots;

Doofus: US SecEnergy ties renewable energy to world peace; link to Charles Kennedy;

• but before world peace breaks out, we need to solve world hunger.

Expensive meat:

• maybe we should not have let 80% of meatpacking industry be controlled by four foreign-owned companies to begin with ... link here;

Market today:

• another perfect 10:1
  

The Permian:

• this is so cool. I posted this the other day, using my own arithmetic (LOL)
• now, confirmed by WAR52 over on twitter:
• Whiting enters the Permian;
• paid over $60,000 for a flowing boepd;
• initiates a dividend of $1 / share on an annualized basis
  

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The Apple Page

The knock-out punch: "tap to pay on iPhone." Link here. Previously posted. And here.

Driver's license: Apple preparing for Driver's licenses on iPhone. Link here.