Germany To Press Ahead With Plans For LNG Shipping Terminals -- March 3, 2022

Assuming Putin doesn't go nuclear .... 

A lot of changes in store ... 

Bloomberg calls this a game changer ...

"Germany to expedite LNG terminals to Russian gas." -- Global Construction Review, March 2, 2022.

Germany has announced plans to press ahead with building its first liquified natural gas (LNG) shipping terminals to reduce the country’s dependence on Russian natural gas.

The move was announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a special Sunday session of the Bundestag called to discuss German policy in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The possibility of building an LNG terminal at the port of Brunsbüttel on the mouth of the Elbe was first raised in 2018, and a tender was launched in 2019.

However, progress on the scheme had been slow, partly as a result of opposition from environmental activists led by climate justice group Ende Gelände.

A Shout Out And Thank You To All The Readers -- March 3, 2022

A shout out and a thank you to all the readers for all your input over the past few days. It's been a busy week for news and for personal/family responsibilities. I will remain quite busy over the next few days.

And a huge thank you for not pointing out all the typographical errors. Hopefully not too many content errors. 

Daniel Yergen: The World Could Be On The Verge Of An Energy Crisis Rivaling The 1970s -- March 3, 2022

One difference regarding the energy crisis: in the 1970s: plenty of oil, but OPEC embargoed it; now there's a question of whether there is plenty of oil at any price? Link here. Daniel Yergen wrote the bible with regard to the history of oil: The Prize: The Epic Quest of Oil, Money, and Power, c. 1990.

Canada, maxed out: Canadian minister says Canada's oil can't solve Russian supply problem. Canada's export capacity is "pretty much maxed out." Link here. World's fourth-largest producer lacks pipelines to coasts.

$185: JPMorgan says $185-oil in view. Fortunately that's Brent. WTI will come in about $4 less / bbl. Link to Rizgone.

Everything's bigger in Texas: world's largest green hydrogen hub to be built in south Texas. Link to Hart Energy. Here's the press release.

Promoter: Green Hydrogen International will create Hydrogen City, Texas: a massive, world-class undertaking that will put Texas on the map as a leading green hydrogen producer. Memo to self: check in on North Dakota - Mitsubishi project.

• Other data points:
• when complete, capacity to grow to 60GW in size and producing over 2.5 billion kilograms of green hydrogen per year;
• the hydrogen storage facility in the Piedras Pinitas Salt Dome in Duval County
• pipe the green hydrogen to Corpus Christi and Brownsville
• will be converted into green ammonia, sustainable aviation fuel, or delivered to directly to hydrogen power plants around the state;
• project to be powered by 60GW solar and wind power with additional energy drawn from the ERCOT grid during periods of low prices;

****************************
Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$108.50	3/3/2022	03/03/2021	03/03/2020	03/03/2019	03/03/2018
Active Rigs	31	15	50	67	59

No new permits.

Eight permits renewed:

• NP Resources (4): four Mosser Federal permits in Billings County;
• SHD Oil & Gas (3): three Buffalo permits in McLean County;
• EOG: one Hardscrabble permit in Williams County;

Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 38075, 389, Slawson, Muskrat Federal 6-28-33TFH, Big Bend, minimal production,
  
• 38251, 1,619, CLR, Kukla 8-16HSL, Chimney Butte, nice well, first production, 11/21; t--; cum 43K 1/22;
  

It's A Race Against Time -- March 3, 2022

Race against time: the end of the oligarch era nears with Putin's miscalculation in Ukraine -- Bloomberg. 

Link here. Or direct to the paywall. Putin needs to have control of Ukraine before his oligarchs say enough is enough. He has less than ten days. Tipping point: today Lukoil has said enough is enough.

Updates

April 26, 2022: what Putin's War "means."

April 18, 2022: more evidence that the Russian economy is imploding. 

April 12, 2022: Biden calls it "genocide" in Ukraine. 

That's monumental. When the history books are written, Putin will go down as responsible for genocide. Putin is a student of history and knows what that means. Putin will join the ranks of Hitler, Turkey (Armenia), Spanish Inquisition.  

Putin also purged 100 to 150 of his spies stationed in Ukraine. Those not executed will be in prison for the rest of their lives.

April 7, 2022: Russian crude oil production. 

March 31, 2022: Putin calling up 135,000 new draftees for his war.

March 29, 2022: CNBC, five unintended consequences for Russia:

• Russian casualties are high;
• Ukrainians now loathe Russia
• economic ruin
• Europe is dropping Russian energy
• Russia has united the West
  

March 29, 2022: It is being reported that Russia is pulling back from Kiev. Yesterday, it was being reported that Russia was going to "pull back" to re-group, implying that the next assault will come next week. Others interpret this to mean Putin is ready to take whatever "concessions" he can from Zeleskyy. If so, it would suggest Mother Russia is feeling the pain, bigly. 

March 28, 2022: Each day this goes on, it only increases the time it will take Russia to return to where it was prior to the invasion. I wonder if each day of warfare from here on it will translate to another week, or another month, to "recover."

March 26, 2022: the Vietnam analogy.

March 24, 2022: the one-month anniversary, and not much to show for it except a lot of rubble. 

As Russia implodes, central Asia faces financial chaos. March 13, 2022.

Biden to revoke Russia's "most favored nation" trade status, joining with allies. March 11, 2022. 

Biden bans Russian oil. Some say this takes “it” to a new level. March 8, 2022.

Russia faces ruin. The [London] Telegraph, March 6, 2022.

Russian investments worthless -- Norway's wealth fund. March 4, 2022.

Switzerland adopts new EU sanctions on Russia. 

Russian refineries: starting to feel effects of foreign buys shunning Russian refined products. March 4, 2022.

Why Russian oil can't find buyers even as crude soars above $100 / bbl. Link here. Or direct to paywall at MarketWatch. 

Dumb and dumber: March 4, 2022. 

Original Post

Deutsche  Bank: will exit Russia. Link here. This is a "Russian" bank for all intents and purposes. 

JPMorgan: Russia's economy to contract 35% in 2Q22 and 7% in full calendar year 2022. Others suggest JPMorgan is being too optimistic. Link here. 

Martial law: perhaps as early as tomorrow, March 4, 2022, link here.

• Moscovites panicking; unable to get out of Dodge; no airlines available;

Tankers: this goes back to an earlier discussion regarding sea-going crude oil tankers. 

Suncor, chartered a Russian tanker to move its refined products from New York to Montreal. But after loading in New York, neither Montreal nor New York will accept it. Link here.

Just how bad is it when your economy (GDP) contracts by 35% annualized? Link here. 

Russia is imploding: death by a thousand cuts.

• Goldman Sachs: first major Wall Street bank to pull out of Russia. March 10, 2022.
  
• American Express pulls out, March 6, 2022.
• both MasterCard and Visa close operations in Russia; simultaneously. March 5, 2022
  
• the West is out to destroy Russia's economy; some think the West will succeed; me? I know it will.
• Russia's economy will die by a thousand cuts
• recovery will take a decade and a new leader
  
• holy mackerel: shipping lines Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and Ocean Network Express -- which together make up half of the world's container shipping capacity -- have suspended service to Russia.
  
• Russia-backed cable news station RT America shuts down; link to CNBC.
  
• Par Pacific to suspend purchases of Russian crude for Hawaii refinery. Link here or go direct to Reuters.
  
• Sabre Corp -- software giant that pretty much sells seats for all airlines -- ends service with Russia's Aeroflot; will cripple the airline's ability to sell seats
  
• US hits Russian oil refining sector; slaps export curbs on Belarus
• buyers shun Black Sea loadings;
• India will take Russian oil only once it has arrived at port and ready for unloading;
  
• Superyachts owned by oligarchs being seized: France first to seize one; I believe a second one has been seized.
  
• compared to what the G-7 has in store for Russia, the oil story will merit barely a footnote.
• UK bans Aeroflot. 
• Russian shares on London exchange now collapsing; trading now suspended. 
• IKEA: shuts down all retail outlets in Russia; apparently IKEA's biggest market is Russia (needs to be fact-checked) -- see comments. A huge thank you to the reader for looking this up.
  
• Volkswagen suspends business in Russia; shuts production at two Russian factories; halts exports to Russia;
  

Countries that have taken action against Russia: March 3, 2022. 

March 3, 2022: combatants agree to free passage for non-combatants. Fight to the death. Race against time for Putin. Ten days. That's all the time he has.

Desperate Times -- EV Manufacturers -- Only Those With Deep Pockets Will Survive -- March 3, 2022

Quick connects:

Russia: this is the link to the page where I will follow the implosion of the Russian economy. Right now it's a race against time. Putin needs to have control of Ukraine before his oligarchs say enough is enough. He has less than ten days. Tipping point: today Lukoil has said enough is enough.

Russia: does anyone else find it "interesting" that a rather significant war in Europe has turned into a "war" all about energy? Most folks would agree that if Europe were not dependent on foreign energy, particularly, Russian energy, this war would be playing out very differently. 

EV start-ups: desperate times. We will see one or two EV manufacturers fold.

• EVs: link here. Scorecard.  
• Ford: why Ford did not spin off its EV business. 
• TSLA: down 5%; trading at $836.
• Lucid: down 8%; trading at $23
• NKLA: down 4.3%; trading at $7.22
• RIVN: down 6%; trading at $50.37;
  
• Lordstown Motors: GM sold its stake.
• Lordstown:
• disclosed a widened loss of $80 million or 42 cents / share; 4Q21
• Monday, this week, investors told Lordstown needed to raise another $250 million in order to build the 500 trucks
• statement: During its earnings call on Monday, the startup shared plans to produce and sell up to only 3,000 Endurance trucks through 2023, with 500 of those expected to sell this year. That is, if the company raised more money. On Monday, Lordstown told investors it needed to raise another $250 million in order to build the 500 trucks.
• Back-of-the-envelope: $500,000 more for each truck
• RIDE: down 8% today; down 22 cents; trading at $2.3350; 
  

ARKK: down 7%; trading at $63.

IOC: International Olympic Committee needs to act now to ensure XX and XY stay in their lanes in the Summer Olympics. China's Winter Olympics might have been the end of the winter Olympics as we know it. 

The premier event for the summer Olympics is swimming. If XX and XY don't stay in their lanes, this, too, will be the end of the summer Olympics as we know it.

Pelosi calls for US ban of Russian oil. Why won't it happen? Two words: New England.

US refiners cut Russian oil imports. Link to Charles Kennedy. 

India: will only accept Russian crude after it gets to port and is ready to unload. Link to ArgusMedia. That's exactly how it will work globally. That solves so many problems.

Russian exports:

• already down 2.5 million bopd;
• this may be beyond all remaining spare capacity for OPEC+;
• US Secretary of Energy does not understand that oil could go a lot higher;

US Secretary of Energy: all I need to know to stay long (oil).

Russia Is Imploding -- Death By A Thousand Cuts -- March 3, 2022

US economy: set to surge (or, more accurately, already surging):

• jobless claims: fewer than expected
• productivity: rises 6.6%; 
• after that report, the US stock market is surging.

UNP: this tells me all I need to know about the US economy. Early this morning I wrote:

UNP: the stock I'm most interested in today? UNP. After that huge run-up yesterday, will it be able to hold off profit-taking? If it remains flat or slightly green, I will be quite impressed.

So, what is UNP doing today? Up aother $8.20/share. up 3.3% and trading at another all-time high. Whoo-hoo!

Russia is imploding: death by a thousand cuts.

• Sabre Corp -- software giant that pretty much sells seats for all airlines -- ends service with Russia's Aeroflot; will cripple the airline's ability to sell seats
  
• sure, Russia is still selling Urals; sure, the tankers are still moving if they can get out of the Black Sea;
• so, sure, Russia oil is moving; at what price?
• even before sanctions, even before the incursion, Russia fails to meet OPEC+; spare capacity myth;
• link  to Charles Kennedy;
• US hits Russian oil refining sector slaps export curbs on Belarus;
• Superyachts owned by oligarchs being seized: France first to seize one
• the West is out to destroy Russia's economy; some think the West will succeed; me? I know it will.
• Russia's economy will die by a thousand cuts
• compared to what the G-7 has in store for Russia, the oil story will merit barely a footnote.
• UK bans Aeroflot. 
• Russian shares on London exchange now collapsing; trading now suspended.
  

Germany: maybe next year. Talk about irony. Won't ban Russian oil and natural gas. Link here.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck said he wouldn’t support an embargo on Russian imports and would “even speak out against it” given his country’s heavy reliance on the supplies.

Mr Habeck, former leader of the Green Party, said Europe urgently needed to reduce its reliance on Moscow for energy supplies as the war in Ukraine threatens to upend the market – a transition backed by the International Energy Agency earlier today.

I can't make this stuff up.

Here We Go -- The iCar -- March 3, 2022

Link to Macrumors. 

I think Apple is going to do what Ford announced the week. Apple will set up to internal teams:

• one team that makes money; and,
• one team that spends money.

From the linked article:

Apple suppliers are positioning to manufacture and assemble the company's long-rumored electric vehicle (EV), according to a Digitimes report.

The report claims that Foxconn, the colossal manufacturer behind most iPhone models, and Luxshare Precision, the assembler behind Apple devices such as AirPods, are angling to produce Apple's car.

Foxconn has moved into EV manufacturing and last year unveiled a chassis and a software platform to help carmakers bring models to market faster. Meanwhile, Luxshare is collaborating with Chinese automaker Chery to build EVs.

According to industry sources speaking to DigiTimes, while Apple is unlikely to work with Foxconn and Luxshare immediately, the suppliers are positioned to play a key role in Apple's future vehicle plans.

South Korea's Hyundai and Canada's Magna International are said to be best placed to partner with Apple initially and can provide better manufacturing expertise and infrastructure than Foxconn or Luxshare Precision.

Both Hyundai and Magna have been at the center of plausible Apple car rumors, and Hyundai has even publicly confirmed its discussions with Apple.

Instead, Foxconn could gradually build up its presence in Apple's vehicle supply chain over time by leveraging its existing relationship with the company, its newly-developed EV platform, electronic component manufacturing capabilities, and experience from collaborations with automakers like Stellantis and Fisker.

Apple is expected to need to manufacture cars for the China market almost entirely in China. For example, Apple cars for the United States market are likely to have batteries supplied by South Korea's LG, SK On, or Samsung, while Apple cars for the China market are likely to be supplied by China's CATL and BYD. Luxshare is said to be closely in alignment with Apple's EV manufacturing needs for the China market and is reportedly preparing for the vehicle's debut in the country.

***************************
The Book Page

On Ulysses.

Link here.

Hess Reported A Nice Well The Other Day -- March 3, 2022

I apologize. This may be the third time I've posted this well but it's a great well, needs the attention:

The well:

• 38063, conf, Hess,GO-Soine A-156-97-2932H-2, Dollar Joe, nice well, first production, 9/21; t--; cum 133K 1/21;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	1-2022	31	12807	12823	24689	0	0	0
BAKKEN	12-2021	31	18256	18314	28992	55949	55867	82
BAKKEN	11-2021	30	26311	26311	36551	63588	63474	114
BAKKEN	10-2021	28	29172	29167	36380	64257	63827	430
BAKKEN	9-2021	29	46332	46149	62040	52812	49745	3067

Investors: March 3, 2022

First group "financial / economic" indicators:

• 10-Year Treasury: link here. Yield: 1.858%.
  
• DXY: link here. $97.63; hardly earth-shattering.
  
• Silver: link here. Up another 1.3%. Over $25 again.
  
• Gold: link here. Will we hit $2,000? Up $7; now trading at $1,936.
  
• CBOE volatility index: link here. Explained at Investopedia. Not nosebleed levels -- yet: 31.18. It's been as high as 36 in the past few months.
• CAD to USD: not getting any worse for Canada; holding its own; chart here.

Oil:

• WTI: up 3.54%; up $3.91; trading at $114.50.
• Brent: p 3.58%; up $4.04; trading at $117.00.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.  

Russia: this Ukraine thing is going to be much bigger than anyone can imagine. For a country with such a small economy, it sure has a way of impacting everything. When you get right down to it, it's not the country, it's the oligarchs. Just think, had Putin not done this, he could have started the Moscow Golf Association, teaming up with Phil Mickelson and Donald Trump.  

UNP: the stock I'm most interested in today? UNP. After that huge run-up yesterday, will it be able to hold off profit-taking? If it remains flat or slightly green, I will be quite impressed.

KO: the one major change I've made in my life in the past year -- I no longer drink Coca-Cola, no soft drinks for that matter. My go-to drink is now orange juice. Interestingly enough orange juice seemed so much more expensive than Coca-Cola but it's not. Very, very strange. And wow, it's a thirst-quencher. Awesome. This has nothing to do with Covid or a health kick. It started with looking for a complement for my coffee at breakfast and before I knew it, was the drink for any mean, any snack. It helps that Target is just a block away and I can bike / walk whenever to get another bottle of orange juice. 

OKE: did anyone else notice that OKE surged over 5% yesterday? Still pays 5.86%. It's hard to believe Warren Buffett can't find any good bargains. 

AAPL: most bullish indicator today? If AAPL can actually have two back-to-back "green" days. This $200-stock is still trading at $166. March 8, 2022, is its spring event and y'all are all invited.

*****************************
The Battery Life

Why all those EV-battery "breakthroughs" aren't breaking through: The WSJ. 

I doubt anyone has followed the EV battery story more closely than I have. So, I don't even have to read the linked story to know what this is all about, but I'm curious: did Christopher Mims get it right? Did he follow the science? It's all about the Periodic Table and electrons. Period. Dot. 

I was disappointed. He took a completely different approach. But still a good article. My favorite paragraph in that article:

While it’s easy to create a battery in the lab that performs well by one measure, the way such results are reported is often a kind of sleight-of-hand, says Ms. Hamilton. Such reports tend to play down the fact that a real-world battery must perform well by at least a half-dozen different measures that matter for electric vehicles. Those include delivering power for acceleration, storing a lot of energy per gram of weight to enable long range, lasting for thousands of charge and discharge cycles, operating in a wide range of temperatures, and not catching fire too easily when damaged.

By the way, not catching fire too easily when damaged. Helloooo -- they don't even have to be damaged to catch fire. Ask hundreds of Chevy Bolt owners, and, recall the ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean caring thousands of EVs -- spontaneous combustion.

At the end of the day, these were the takeaways from the linked WSJ article:

• there won't be any breakthroughs in battery technology
• improved technology is mostly about keeping the batteries from self-immolation.

*****************************
The Good Life

Yesterday one of the maintenance folks for the apartment complex came up to the apartment to fix a very, very minor problem.

Jaime was de Mexico but spoke very, very good English. He mentioned that he was having a busy, busy day, with much to do. I replied lo siento, I was sorry to hear that. LOL. 

He asked me if I spoke Spanish (LOL, he was being kind; no, I don't speak Spanish). I told him Sophia and I were studying Spanish together through Duolingo.

He laughed. He said he was learning English through Duolingo. 

****************************
It's Going To Be A Great Day

I walked Sophia to the bus stop.

I will drive Olivia to high school.

I saw a juvenile / adolescent cardinal this morning.

A trifecta for a great day.

Two Wells Coming Off Confidential List -- March 3, 2022

Top story: KKR, Pembina combine Canadian gas assets. Link to Charles Kennedy.

• this is a biggie, and on top of that, Charles Kennedy got the story
• $9 billion deal
• the two will also acquire the assets of Energy Transfer in the region
• the new company, for now called Newco
• Pembina: to own 60%:
• KKR will hold the rest; back-of-the-envelope suggests KKR will hold 40%;
• assets to be included in Newco
• Pembina's field-based natural gas processing assets
• the Veresen pipeline business (a joint venture between KKR and Pembina)
• assets of Energy Transfer Canada, 49% owned by funds managed by KKR
• it appears Veresen was the key, with ETC thrown in 

CNBC

• I haven't watched CNBC for about four weeks now; don't miss it
• from social media I understand Sorkin and Kernan got into a "spat" yesterday over renewable energy
• number one reason why I won't watch CNBC: Sorkin.
• now I see on social media, Jim Cramer is calling "oil a perma short."
• that pretty much does it for me
• for now
• oh, I know, I will end up going back to CNBC someday and write good things about it
• I flip-flop a lot; I follow the science, the data, LOL, I'm a data-driven guy, LOL, just like Fauci and Jay Powell

Fauci and other people of the year:

• hey, by the say, did anyone notice, Fauci was not mentioned in the SOTU address?
• and after all he did to guide the US through one of the worse panics -- I mean pandemics -- ever?
• he deserves the Nobel prize in medicine or perhaps the Peace Prize; definitely no prize in economics;
• Zelenskyy: Time's man of the year
• whatever happened to Greta?

Oil:

• Brent: up 2% overnight; up $2.40; trading at $115.30
• WTI: up almost 3% overnight; up $3.09; trading at $113.70

*****************************
Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$113.70	3/3/2022	03/03/2021	03/03/2020	03/03/2019	03/03/2018
Active Rigs	31	15	50	67	59

Thursday, March 3, 2022: 4 for the month, 112 for the quarter, 112 for the year

• 38418, conf, Ovintiv, Bernice 150-99-20-17-6H, South Tobacco Garden, nice well, first production, 12/21; t--; cum 56K 1/21;
  
• 38123, conf, CLR, Flint Chips Federal 4-5H, Cedar Coulee, no production data;
  

RBN Energy: there's plenty of energy, no shortage; it just depends on how much you want to pay for it, so let's make natural gas power plants even more expensive: co-powering natural-gas-fired power plants with hydrogen. Rube Goldberg? They're gonna use natural gas to make hydrogen, and then use that hydrogen to power natural gas plants. I can't make this stuff up. Oh, why not, we've tried everything else.

It’s true. A lot of folks harbor serious doubts about whether “green,” “blue,” or “pink” hydrogen (H₂) can ever be produced efficiently and cheaply enough — and in sufficient volumes — to justify blending hydrogen with natural gas, let alone using H₂ as an outright replacement for gas. At the same time, though, a growing number of electric utilities and independent power producers — generally cautious groups — are planning new, large-scale power plants that will be capable of hydrogen/natgas co-firing from the get-go, and can be converted with relative ease to 100% H₂ later on. Can hydrogen really make sense as a generation fuel? In today’s RBN blog, we begin a series on the prospects for environmentally friendly hydrogen — and ammonia, an H₂ carrier — in the power generation sector.

Notes From All Over -- Early Morning Edition -- March 3, 2022

First things first:

• now that I've had a chance to sleep on it, I've sorted this thing out; my mind is clear (as mud)
• late last night there was a mini-debate on the blog between two readers about sanctions on Russia and how those sanctions affected the price of oil
• the discussion was started by me (sorry) and the two debating this: the ever-present "anonymous" and "rsj."
• clearly, "rjs" won that debate; not even close
• "anonymous" had some great points; his/her presentation was better; looked impressive, but missed the target
• "rjs"? right on, as usual, hit the target

ISO NE: wow, I hope you're not charging your EV in Boston overnight.

• demand is paltry
• five-minute real-time: trending toward $400 / MWh at 0400
• pricing at 8th decile; highest decile it can ever hit in NE
• oil: 2%
• natural gas + nuclear: 83%
• renewables: 8% with wind contributing 35%
• there is nothing "wrong" about any of the numbers coming out of ISO NE this morning except the rpice: one has to ask: why is the price of electricity so high today
• it's not rocket science

SNOW: nope, not the weather. The Cloud company. Plummeting.

• off 22% in pre-market trading;
• reports slowing revenue
• annual forecast underwhelms; link to MarketStreet
• another rookie tech mistake from BRK?
• no moat? Anyone can do this: Google, MSFT, Apple
  

Citi shorted oil. Bad move. Stops out. Link to ZeroHedge.

• how can analysts be this wrong?

Why oil is surging; why Russia is imploding: death by a thousand cuts.

• Sabre Corp -- software giant that pretty much sells seats for all airlines -- ends service with Russia's Aeroflot; will cripple the airline's ability to sell seats
  
• sure, Russia is still selling Urals; sure, the tankers are still moving if they can get out of the Black Sea;
• so, sure, Russia oil is moving; at what price?
• even before sanctions, even before the incursion, Russia fails to meet OPEC+; spare capacity myth;
• link  to Charles Kennedy;
• US hits Russian oil refining sector slaps export curbs on Belarus;
• Ryan Roberts doesn't get it; link here; thinks it's a structural inflationary issue;
• sure: inflation tool crude oil from $60 to $120 overnight

Ukraine: in 2007, Time named Putin its "Person of the Year"; link to Brian Taylor;

• full transcript here;
• cut to the chase: do you think Ukraine will ever again become part of Russia;
• Putin: never
• Time: that's what we wanted to hear; good for you; you're our person of the year
• is gullible spelled with five consonants or four?

Crude quality matters: link to Mark Rossano; another one reading the blog for story ideas.

Mideast economies: taking advantage of all this

• talk about a windfall; no wonder they're not interested in trying to bring down prices;
• link to Oxford Business Group;

US investors:

• relative performance over the next 2+ years is going to be dramatic, but you better be long; 
• link to Dan Pickering;
  

Ford:recovers; shocked "the system" in a positive way -- analyst

• will create two distinct internal teams
• one team: will make money;
• the other team: will spend that money
• link here here;
• Ford Blue will make money;
• Ford Model e will spend money
• I can't make this stuff up
• apparently the market loved this
• by the way, a lot of companies are doing this: it's called spinning off their cash cow;
• what's really cool about this, investors can see how much its going to cost them if the want to invest in EVs and renewables.