Sunday, May 5, 2024

Anticipation -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47072MISC.

Focus on fracking: has posted

  • just in time for the next story. LOL.
  • seriously, one has to laugh when folks talk about peace breaking out in the Mideast -- hasn't hasn't happened in thousands of years -- not gonna stop now .... 
  • but traders need volatility to make money
  • oil is starting to rise tonight

War! Link here. Hamas says there's hostages still too valuable to give up ... and they will provide great "cover" / "human shields" when Israel invades.

Goldilocks, link here

Earnings: for all those analysts concerned about earnings this past quarter --


Fast food, link here:


One mile at a time: Tesla says it has a new model -- it looks the same as the previous model, but Tesla says it can go an additional 60 miles on a single charge. Link here
So, for an extra $2,000, the "same" model will get an extra 60 miles on a single charge. 
Over the weekend, Tesla added a long-range rear-wheel drive Model Y to its website that gets about 320 miles of range per charge. It starts at about $45,000. Before the update, the rear-wheel drive Model Y got about 260 miles per charge and started at about $43,000. In the 50s I remember snake salesmen selling my dad gasoline additives that would result in better MPG. 
My ICE Honda Civic can go over 500 miles on a full tank.

Getting Ready For Cinco De Mayo Celebration Later This Afternoon -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47071CINCODEMAYO.

See comments: link here. And link here.

1:49 p.m. CDT:






 

***********************
Book for the Day

Ordered today. 

"Free" -- cashback -- don't take out of context.

Link here.

Inflation Watch -- Finest IPA -- Second To None -- Regular Price -- $8.99 -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47070INFLATION.

Made locally at the Grapevine Brewery. Hope And Sting Northeast Texas IPA:



 Hasn't gone up in price in several years.

My other favorite, the Manhattan Project, has gone up one dollar per six-pack according to the retail manager, due to fact that Manhattan Project used to deliver directly; now ships through a distributor. Manhattan Project has not gone up in price; distributions services increased price by a buck / six-pack.

Major Advances In Battery Technology And Improving Financials Make Renewable Energy A No-Brainer -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47069RENEWABLES.

Link here.

Deepwater Back In Vogue -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47068DEEPWATER.

Link here.

Newer deepwater projects have the attributes oil and gas companies are looking for: longer-term production, lower breakeven costs, big resource potentials and lower carbon emissions, said Pablo Medina, head of new ventures at energy consultants Welligence.
"Deepwater is back in vogue," Medina said.
Capital spending on all-new deepwater drilling is poised to hit a 12-year high next year, predicts consultancy Rystad Energy.
Investment in all-new and existing deepwater fields could hit $130.7 billion in 2027, a 30% jump over 2023, it said.

Headline Story Of The Day -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47067SAUDI.

Saudi announced increases in the price of oil it sells to Asia. Link here.

Link here.


Unlike the US, Saudi cannot print money to cover deficits. At least that's what I've been told.

Arab news, link here.

Wells Coming Off Confidential List This Next Week -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47066WELLS.

Wednesday, May 15, 2024: 20 for the month; 84 for the quarter, 283 for the year
None.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024: 20 for the month; 84 for the quarter, 283 for the year
None.

Monday, May 13, 2024: 20 for the month; 84 for the quarter, 283 for the year
39880, conf, Liberty Resources Management, Temple W 159-96-36-25-2MBH
39879, conf, Liberty Resources Management, Temple W 159-96-36-25-1MBH, 

Sunday, May 12, 2024: 18 for the month; 82 for the quarter, 281 for the year
39407, conf, Whiting, Olson 31-31HU,
39406, conf, Whiting, Olson 31-31-4H,
38737, conf, Petro-Hunt, Hartman 144-97-5A-8-3H,

Saturday, May 11, 2024: 15 for the month; 79 for the quarter, 278 for the year
39349, conf, Hess, TI-T Lalim-157-95-0214H-2,  

Friday, May 10, 2024: 14 for the month; 78 for the quarter, 277 for the year
40268, conf, Eagle Operating, Skaufel 5-10,
40118, conf, Neptune Operating, Heen South 5-8-17 6H, 

Thursday, May 9, 2024: 12 for the month; 76 for the quarter, 275 for the year
40117, conf, Neptune Operating, Heen 35-26 5H,
39468, conf, Hess, EN-Bakke-LE-157-93-1522H-1,
37107, conf, BR, Carlsbad 3B MBH, 

Wednesday, May 8, 2024: 9 for the month; 73 for the quarter, 272 for the year
40119, conf, Neptune Operating, Heen South 5-8-17 7H,

Tuesday, May 7, 2024: 8 for the month; 72 for the quarter, 271 for the year
37106, conf, BR, Carlsbad 3A UTFH,

Monday, May 6, 2024: 7 for the month; 71 for the quarter, 270 for the year
39348, conf, Hess, TI-T Lalim-157-95-0214H-3,

Sunday, May 5, 2024: 6 for the month; 70 for the quarter, 269 for the year
40277, conf, BR, Carlsbad 1B UTFH,

Saturday, May 4, 2024: 5 for the month; 69 for the quarter, 268 for the year
39465, conf, Hess, EN-Bakke-157-93-1522H-6,

Starting Tomorrow, There Should Be A Gazillion Articles With Regard To BRK's Annual Report -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47065PARAMOUNT.

Additional posts since original post.

May 6, 2024: Buffett has made a lot of huge mistakes, most of which Becky Quick and almost everyone else ignores. I no longer care but it's quite obvious. One of the most recent example? TSM. Here's one link; many more links available if one cares to look. Another one: selling 13% of his AAPL holdings in 1Q24. There were other ways to accomplish his goal without selling AAPL. A third huge mistake for which took full blame: Paramount. Behind the scenes not getting much attention: Geico is struggling. Progressive is eating Geico's lunch. BNSF is performing much worse than UNP and facing some bad news out of California. He plans for utilities and forest fires is a mess. But at least he's keeping KO, a non-growth company, and AMEX.

Original Post

I'll start with this. Somewhat related to the Paramount story ... but very slightly related ..,

With regard to streaming and sports, my pet peeve is when a golf tournament televised by several different outlets sequentially, when coverage on one outlet ends but the sports event continues, the "parent" unit does not automatically move the viewer to the new outlet.

Most common example: PGA golf tournaments on the week begin coverage with Golf Channel, then move to ESPN and then finally to the major network, such as NBC. When the coverage ends over at Golf Channel, I'm not brought over to ESPN automatically. I have to spend the next few minutes trying to find where the tournament is being covered. And then it happens again when prime time coverage begins.

During the process of switching, I note that the NASCAR race has begun and instead of continuing with the golf tournament, I move over to the NASCAR race.

AI should fix that. I'm hoping that soon than later, AI knows more me than I know about myself and automatically find the "network" I want to watch, and then schedules my next day's activities. 

For example, AI should know that my car inspection is due; AI should put that on my calendar and should call Firestone to make the appointment, and simply notify me when that is done. AI should also know my state property taxes are due this month, and should automatically pay the bill. 

There's so much AI has yet to learn.

*****************************
Piling On

Remember this post? Link here. At that post:

The link took you to this article.


Also, this post, exactly one year ago

So, was it his underlings, or Buffett himself?

 

Buffett's first rule of investing: don't lose money.

It was about that time I did a deep dive on streaming -- since I knew nothing about it -- and never saw the value of Paramount. 

The biggest problem? Buffett talks a lot about the important of "moats." Paramount absolutely had no moats. I can't think of any sector that has more competition for eyeballs.

For me, when considering an investment, there are so many opportunities. When I find something interesting, I draw up a list of at least ten alternatives, and then run through them as if it were the March Madness NCAA basketball brackets. The last decision is a binary decision, and if, in this case, Paramount made it to the finals, it would have been up again something like Netflix or Hulu-Disney or even Warner Bros Discovery (HBO). 

When one comes up with that binary decision, it's interesting to examine. 

Some time ago I said there were only three things customers use to decide which streaming services to subscribe to: ease of use, content, and cost.

East of use: no longer an issue. 

Cost: no moat.

Content:

Google: what does Paramount offer for content?

Now google: what does Hulu offer for content?


And that would have been a binary decision.

In addition, there was already a company with MOJO backing / owning HULU: Disney. Iger and Buffett would have made quite the duo.

I assume it was the a) dividend; and, b) takeover possibilities. But when I look at Buffett's equity portfolio and his annual letters, I get no indication that Buffett buys things with hopes of another investor coming in later to buy something Buffett has bought. I can't think of even one case.

So, for Paramount, it was growth and the dividend.

Lego -- Star Wars -- Partnership -- Stronger Than Ever -- May 4, 2024

Locator: 47064LEGO.

Link here to CNBC. For the archives.

Based on Lego prices for Star-Wars-themed sets, the licensing must be the most expensive license for Lego, and Lego never keeps churning out Star Wars sets.


One could start one's collection with this recently released set:

Good Morning! Amazon Fire Sticks Now Come With 22 New Channels -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47062AMAZON.

CyberSecurity

EERO.

Amazon acquires EERO (2019).

Link here

****************************
Amazon Fire Sticks

Link here


 

************************
Pluto TV

Link here.

*****************************
The Best Pluto TV Channels

Link here.


*********************
Top 50 Television Theme Songs

Link here.

"Cheers" #1

"M.A.S.H." #14


Good Morning! Apple Never Ceases To Amaze -- May 5 ,2024

Locator: 47063AAPL.

Siri / AI

Better Siri is coming: link here.

Rumored: Siri paired with OpenAI or Google.

********************************
 Monitors

With the Apple MacBook Air M1/M2, one could have as many as four monitors in view at once. 


It isn't that hard to do, but Apple could do a better job marketing this and providing the step-by-step instructions when one orders the "necessary" connecting cables, which Apple could provide.

************************
Apple Notes

One of my favorite Apple apps. Perhaps my favorite and one I use multiple times each day.

From The Verge.

Initial Production For Wells Coming Off Confidential List This Next Week -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47061WELLS.

The wells:

  • 39880, conf, Liberty Resources Management, Temple W 159-96-36-25-2MBH, Temple
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024965126844
2-2024732915862
1-20241877466399
12-20233591763357
11-20232416624535
  • 39879, conf, Liberty Resources Management, Temple W 159-96-36-25-1MBH, Temple, 
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-20241277137792
2-20241426130486
1-20241908334595
12-20233665049720
11-20232134421284
  • 39407, conf, Whiting, Olson 31-31HU, Dollar Joe,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-20243083970539
2-20243532576788
1-20243517672391
12-20233514069298
11-20231723531749
  • 39406, conf, Whiting, Olson 31-31-4H, Little Knife,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024149240
2-20245730
  • 38737, conf, Petro-Hunt, Hartman 144-97-5A-8-3H,
  • 39349, conf, Hess, TI-T Lalim-157-95-0214H-2,Tioga,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024145960
2-20241629319537
1-20241737521440
12-20232144624843
11-20231545020235
  • 40268, conf, Eagle Operating, Skaufel 5-10, Feldner Coulee, npd,
  • 40118, conf, Neptune Operating, Heen South 5-8-17 6H, Bear Creek,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024352230
2-2024255213
  • 40117, conf, Neptune Operating, Heen 35-26 5H, Ft Buford,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024295300
2-2024492380
  • 39468, conf, Hess, EN-Bakke-LE-157-93-1522H-1, Sorkness,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024118570
2-20241151214790
1-20241265618006
12-20231250413377
11-202368308019
  • 37107, conf, BR, Carlsbad 3B MBH, Twin Valley, npd,
  • 40119, conf, Neptune Operating, Heen South 5-8-17 7H, Bear Creek,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024267550
2-20240176
  • 37106, conf, BR, Carlsbad 3A UTFH, Twin Valley, npd,
  • 39348, conf, Hess, TI-T Lalim-157-95-0214H-3, Tioga, 
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-2024201790
2-20241383416214
1-20241665120374
12-20231866721990
11-20231977225415

  • 40277, conf, BR, Carlsbad 1B UTFH, Twin Valley, npd,
  • 39465, conf, Hess, EN-Bakke-157-93-1522H-6, Sorkness,
DateOil RunsMCF Sold
3-202483060
2-2024929313225
1-2024966015367
12-2023951111033
11-20231487512814