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Thursday, February 8, 2024

Apple Sales -- Absolutely Incredible -- Februuary 8, 2024

Locator: 46766APPLE.

Apple Air Tags: regularly four for $100; occasionally go on sale, four for $79. Currently on sale at the Amazon website. I ordered four yesterday; arrived today.

Elsewhere:


Checking Amazon now.

 Wow.

At this price, these are being "given" away. 

Now, the MacBook Air.

The MacBook Air I'm using is a 2018 model with half the storage cited below, and an Intel chip, not an Apple M1 chip. Probably cost $1099 when I bought it. 

My 2020 MacBook Air that stays in the original box under my bed as backup is, as noted, a 2020 model, but with the Apple M1 chip and 256 GB SSD storage, identical to that pictured below. That one I bought back in 2021 or thereabouts when it was on sale for a short period of time, for $750, if I remember correctly.

Daily Activity Report Posted A Day Late -- But Here It Is -- February 8, 2024

Locator: 46765B.

Note:

Neptune Operating LLC and Kraken Marketing LLC share the same address suggesting Neptune is a wholly-owned subsidiary of "Kraken" after the latter bought all of Bowline assets coming out of bankruptcy. Needs to be fact-checked

WTI: $76.40.

Five new permits, #40508 - #40512, inclusive:

  • Operators: Phoenix Operating (4); Hess
  • Fields: Burg (Divide); Big Butte (Mountrail)
  • Comments:
    • Phoenix has permits for four Daniele wells, NENW 26-160-99, 
      • to be sited 520 FNL and between 2478 FWL and 2598 FWL
    • Hess has a permit for an EN-McKenna well, lot 4, section 6-156-93; 
      • to be sited 1308 FNL and 622 FWL

Six permits renewed:

  • Oasis: all in Mountrail County; three Heron permits in Alger oil field; and, three Jammer permits in Cottonwood oil field;

Four producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

  • 39297, 787, Slawson, Hunter Federal 1 SLH,
  • 39921, 808, Oasis, Peters Road Federal 5401 41-30 2B,
  • 39922, 796, Oasis, Peters Road Federal 5401 41-30 3B,
  • 40024, 602, Oasis, Peters Road Federal 5401 41-30 4BX, 

Well of interest:

  • 24742, 911, Oasis, K2 Holdings 31-32HH, Todd, t5/13; cum 270K 7/23; off line (fracking to the north)

Two dry holes reported:

  • 15675, dry, Cobra Oil & Gas, 20401 JV-P Lisa 1-H,
  • 39371, dry, MRO, Thompson 44-20TFH,

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Coal

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Road To Germany

At least Germany isn't replacing nuclear with coal. LOL. 

Speaks volumes.

The deindustrialization of Germany:

Back To The Bakken -- WTI Hits $76 -- February 8, 2024

Locator: 46764B.

WTI: $76.00.

Friday, February 9, 2024: 15 for the month; 74 for the quarter, 74 for the year
39752, conf, Slawson, Armada Federal 5-14-18TFH,

Thursday, February 8, 2024: 14 for the month; 73 for the quarter, 73 for the year
40047, conf, CLR, Harms East Federal 2-33H2,
40044, conf, CLR, Quale Federal 7-1H1,
39753, conf, Slawson, Armada Federal 3-14-18H,
39113, conf, Hess, EN-Hegland-155-94-0508H-6,

RBN Energy: Baton Rouge refinery set to access more crudes, boost exports after modernization.

Fresh on the heels of expanding its Beaumont, TX, refinery into the largest in the country, ExxonMobil announced in January that it had finished yet another project at its century-old Baton Rouge complex in Louisiana. The Baton Rouge Refinery Integrated Competitiveness (BRRIC) project took roughly three years to complete and did not add crude refining capacity, unlike the Beaumont project. Instead, the goal of the $240 million investment was to modernize the crude oil processing plant — the state’s largest — increasing access to competitive crudes and growing markets for its fuels as well as curbing the refinery’s environmental impact. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the BRRIC project and what it means for the Baton Rouge refinery.

The Market Today -- February 8, 2024

Locator: 46763INV.

Breaking: S&P 500 hit 5,000 but closed just below 5,000, but still an all-time high. NASDAQ closes at a new high. And this is after "the Fed cut" is off the table for March, and likely off the table for May, 2024.

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The Blog

Before we get to the market, front and center over at TheDrudge Report today:

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Now, Back to the Market

Sorry for the delay in blogging. Just too many things going on. But I'm back. LOL. Your worst nightmare.

After this note, I'll be taking a break. Going out to the pool. Although I may blog poolside. We'll see.

Wow, the market continues to surge. Today, maybe not across the board but look at this:

  • HSY: up $12 / share; up over 6%; holy mackerel — huge increase in dividend. Whoo-hoo!
  • RL: up $20 / share; up almost 14%;
  • K: up $2 / share; up almost 4%
  • ARM: soars over 60%. Tell me again AI is being hyped; ARM with strong guidance.

Quick:

  • who was the Time person of the year?
  • what was that person "wearing" on the cover?
  • with regard to K: what was the rate of inflation for groceries (food) last year (2023)?
  • who was instrumental in convincing Joe Biden to "pause" new LNG export facility permitting?

So, that should get us started.

Personal investing:

  • one "word" of advice: "neverquitreading."

Having said that, CNBC is a "must."

I go back and forth on CNBC but right now I'm back to watching CNBC "religiously."

As readers know, I generally stop watching CNBC during periods when the overall market is dropping. It just gets too depressing. Although I'm getting better on that front now that I continue to invest through "thick and thin." 

Anyway, I wrote all that to say this. 

  • the best three hours: 8:00 - 9:00 CT, the first and second hours of Squawk on the Street. Standouts: Jim Cramer and David Faber in the first hour. Sara Eisen in the second hour. That's all I need to watch. The third hour, which I frequently miss, Scott Wapner on Half-Time Report.
  • without question, Sara Eisen is the best interviewer on CNBC. [One of the worse. if not the worst: Becky Quick. Perhaps just as bad, Phil LeBeau.]
  • Sara Eisen may be CNBC's best presenter overall but she has stiff competition. The three best, in order: David Faber, Sara Eisen, and Michael Santoli.
  • top tier but not among the top three: Scott Wapner. Close on his heels, Carl Quintanilla.
  • best "specialists": Bob Pisani, Rick Santelli.
  • top CNBC entertainer: Jim Cramer. 
  • panelists: too many to name, many I don't know by name, but my favorite -- Josh Brown. 

Back to Sara Eisen. This morning she went on a ten-minute (probably not that long) extemporaneous, soliloquy (riff) on Ralph Lauren. That one segment was worth the price of my monthly cable subscription. 

The best guest today: Bruce Richards. Those who missed that interview today ... well, what can I say:

  • explained why China is in a world of hurt and how China will respond (good news for US consumer)
  • the Fed, very, very specific:
    • nine cuts
    • over the next two years
    • from the current 5% to 2.5% over the next two years
    • first rate cut: no sooner than June, 2024

AAPL: one of Tim Cook’s biggest mistakes — not “working with” Epic / Fortnite. A huge lost opportunity. Bob Iger’s fate — saved by Epic.

The biggest risk to the market:

  • if the market overheats, look for an increase in the Fed rate
  • the Fed doesn't do "cuts" in the current scenario — has never done cuts in a roaring economy;
  • so, the Fed rate:
    • an increase in the Fed rate this year: 10% chance and the likelihood is increasing;
    • higher for longer: 80% chance
    • first rate cut in March: 0%
    • first rate cut in June: 5%
    • first rate cut after November election: 5%
    • "Oksol's dot plot"

The market today:

  • WTI: $75.85. Up $2.00 today.
  • COP: up 1.5% today; up $1.80; announced March, 2024, quarterly dividend in line, 58 cents; pays slightly more than 4%;
  • CVX: up slightly; pays 4.3%;
  • UNP: down again, two days in a row, after a bump three days ago; down 08% today; pays 2%.
  • AAPL: down 0.% today; down $1.21 / share
  • NVDA: this is just crazy -- up another 6% today; up almost $4 / share today; absolutely crazy
  • AMD: down a bit
  • MPC: down a bit, but look at its six-month run:



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One Word: Apple (AAPL) 




To the best of my knowledge this is not an issue with Apple Pay (Wallet) and Apple is paying upwards of 5% for cash held.