Week 47: November 24, 2024 -- November 30, 2024

Locator: 44459TOPSTORIES.

Pardon: President Biden pardons his son, Hunter. 

Announced Sunday night, December 1, 2024. Opens the door to Trump pardons. This could be Biden's legacy. His presidency will not be remembered for much except handling of his a) re-election, stepping aside way too late after saying he wouldn't; and, b) last official act, to pardon his son, after saying he wouldn't.

Thanksgiving dinner: least expensive dinner in entire history -- 39 years -- of doing the annual survey.

Trump transition begins:

• foreign leaders start making plans to visit Mar-a-Lago
• Canada's Justin Trudeau the first
  
• Tim Cook first CEO to visit Mar-a-Lago; followed by Mark Zuckerberg;
  
• Democratic mayors starting to get cold feet on sanctuary city status; poster child: Denver
  
• Texas donates 1200 acres along border for processing center; Texas will take lead in immigration policies; will see huge Federal bucks transferred from other states to Texas for immigration control;
• migrant problem shifting westward (to NM, AZ, CA)
  
• Israelis can't get ceasefires in place fast enough -- Lebanan-Israel ceasefire announced by Biden
• Ukraine war is reaching a tipping point; all of a sudden Zelenskyy is willing to negotiate
• all of a sudden, he’s willing to give up land
• tariffs get American trading partners' attention
• Canada: Trudeau wants to talk things over
• Mexico: fight's on
• Maddow, Morning Joe, liberal media becoming jokes; 
• did Carl Q switch too soon (X to Bluesky)?
  
• Trump's cabinet picks being targeted by threats on life, "swatting."

Opposition at full throttle to delegitimize Trump term even before it begins, but against this backdrop:

All federal cases against Trump have been drooped. State cases on hold.

Local: HEB breaks ground in our neighborhood, right across the street from Walmart. Fight's on!

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Top story of the week: 

• Donald Trump is de facto the new president, even before being sworn in
• Biden is on an extended vacation
• Kamala is nowhere to be seen
  

Top international non-energy story:

• COP29 was a failure
• the de-industrialization of Germany (same as last week, simply becoming more obvious)
  
• the end of the EV fad, 2024 (same as last week, simply becoming move obvious)
• auto manufacturers around the world struggling; overseas it's all about the cheap Chinese imports; Trump will prevent that from happening in the US; 
• too late in France? Large automobile parts company in France laying off 1,000 employees (Valeo SA)

Top international energy story:

• almost the entire EU has now banned Russian natural gas (same as last week; continued reports); link here; 
• even Switzerland is switching back to oil and natural gas.
  
• Saudi Arabia - delaying the OPEC meeting by a few days; unexplained
• green energy projects closing worldwide; tipping point reached? Even Switzerland is switching from emphasis on electricity back to oil and natural gas.
• Australia's Gorgon CCS project losing steam; CCS projects across the globe are underperforming 
• Porsche holding on to gas cars longer than expected; Ferrari doing surprisingly well;
  

Top national non-energy story:

• US financial market continues to reach new highs (again, same as last week; but more amazing this week -- S&P 500 hit 53rd new high for the year -- that's anew high every week of the year on average
  
• AAPL hit a new 52-week high; orders the new M5 chip from TSMC; deliveries to begin in late 2025; SoIC (not SOC)
• Apple is said to have expanded its cooperation with TSMC on the next-generation hybrid SoIC package, which also combines thermoplastic carbon fiber composite molding technology. The package reportedly entered a small trial production phase in July.
• EV market collapsing; Rivian gets $6.6 billion conditional loan to build Georgia facility; neither likely to happen; nonetheless RIVN shares do well. The year 2024 looks like the year "the music died for the EV" industry.
• ONEOK buying rest of EnLine Midstream
  

Top national energy story:

• immigration, deportation panic
• large data center electricity demand shuts down other non-LDC projects; not enough electricity to go around; LDCs have deep pockets to sign contracts.
• gasoline prices at record lows, current administration
• longer laterals coming to Delaware Basin (Permian) after COP-MRO deal closed.
  

Focus on fracking: current link here. Generally updated late Sunday night.

Top North Dakota non-energy story:

Top North Dakota energy story:

• MRO continues to report monster wells; many, better than ever.
  

Geoff Simon's quick connects: link here.

The market in a nutshell: another huge week -- Santa Claus rally in full force.