Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Themes -- 2026

Locator: 48601THEMES.

First posted: October 16, 2024

Energy

Pivot from natural gas to nuclear: all hat, no cattle.

US natural gas: stronger than ever.

Fourth Industrial Revolution

 

Second Year of New Administration

Geopolitics

EVs 

This will be a watershed year for EVs

 

Lucid Announces A Public Offering Of 262.4 Million Shares Of Common Stock; Saudi PIF Will Invest An Additional 375 Million Shares To Maintain Its 58.8% Ownership In Lucid -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48600LUCID.

Link here.

Immediately after the announcement, after-hours, the stock dropped almost 14%. 

The 375 million shares represents about eleven percent of the current number of shares outstanding. It is common for companies to issue 10% new shares in similar situations.

#1 reason for de-listing on the NASDAQ: when the share price drops below $1 / share for 30 consecutive trading days.

Ticker:

Local Walmart To Be First Digital-First Walmart In The US -- Opens Today -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48599WALMART.

Walmart: we have a Costco membership and an Amazon Prime membership and we've never seen a need for a Sam's Club membership. I may reconsider for one year. From our local neighborhood flyer:

Nearly two years after a tornado damaged Sam’s Club, doors will be open at the wholesale club starting on October 16, 2024. 
This Sam’s Club -- just down the street from us -- will be the first in the country without any registers or cashiers, allowing customers to use their app’s scan and go feature to shop.
The Grapevine location will feature many technology features not in other stores, being the first digital-first store ... that includes a robot that can make 190 pizzas in an hour order custom-made sushi in the app and an e-commerce order area that is four times larger than any other Sam’s Club store.
$50 / year. Yeah, gonna join. At least for a year. Gotta see the robot. Plus all the other benefits. Truly amazing. $50 / year = $1 / week.

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Back to the Bakken

From a reader, thank you: Exxon looking to sell some non-performing, non-operated Bakken assets.  XOM (via XTO?) has about 100,000 boepd from the Bakken. Link here. 49,000 acres. $500,000. $10,204 / acre.

WTI: $70.39.

Active rigs: 40.

Five new permits, #41248 - #41252, inclusive:

  • Operator: CLR
  • Field: Alkali Creek (Mountrail County)
  • Comments:
    • CLR has permits for four more Thronson FIU wells and another Sorenson FIU well, NWNE 28-154-98, 
      • to be sited between 280 FNL and 369 FNL and between 2000 FEL and 1908 FEL;

One permit was canceled:

  • 39787, PNC, Silver Hill Energy, Casey # 159-94-11-23-3MBHX, Burke County;

Two producing wells (DUCs) were reported to be completed:

  • 40341, 1,617, EOG, Liberty LR 133-2629H, Mountrail County;
  • 40342, 1,304, EOG, Liberty LR 134-2629H, Mountrail County;

Two wells of interest are off-line:

  • 20255, 892, EOG, Liberty LR 15-26H, t4/12; cum 427K 4/24;
  • 20254, 892, EOG, Liberty LR 20-26H, t4/12; cum 396K 4/24;

Boeing And Airbus -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48598MUSK.

Boeing: machinists still on strike and no meetings even scheduled. Boeing: an absolute debacle. Just a hair's breadth away from "junk status." Machinists strike is costing the company $1 billion / month. Strike at 33 days and will go into November.  Some feel there's no way the machinists will see their demands met with the current financial situation Boeing is in. Waiting for government bailout? BA market cap around $90 billion -- Buffett could write a check and buy the company.

Airbus: but look at this. Link here.

 This just blows me away. From the linked article:

Airbus is cutting up to 2,500 workers from its struggling defense and space division as the European aerospace giant battles with program delays, increased costs and competition from the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The company on Wednesday said the cuts were part of a restructuring at the division, which makes satellites and spacecraft to jet fighters and drones. The cuts represent about 7% of the roughly 35,500 workers employed at the unit, according to its latest annual report.

The CEO could not make it plainer:

Airbus has struggled to improve the fortunes of its space and defense division for years against a backdrop of rapid technological advancements (SpaceX), limited government spending and growing competition from the likes of SpaceX in the market for satellites and spacecraft.
“A fast changing and very challenging business context…requires us to become faster, leaner and more competitive,” said Michael Schoellhorn, head of Airbus’s defense and space unit.
Airbus in 2023 took a 600 million euro, roughly $650 million, charge against the division. In July this year it booked a separate 989 million euro charge after reassessing the timelines and costs associated with a range of telecommunication, navigation and space observation programs (SpaceX).
Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said at the time that the company was contending with greater competition from “some disruptive new players, and in particular, one disruptive new player.” SpaceX.

Amazing.

Cramer's First Hour, Part 5 -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48597CRAMER.

Cramer's first hour: a mix of facts, factoids, opinions from various sources -- often not cited -- while listening to Cramer's first hour on CNBC.   

Definitions:

  • hard landing: Fed goes back to raising rates, time line -- through end of 2025
  • no landing: Fed -- no more rate changes in 2024 / 2025
  • soft landing: Fed continues to drop rates, time line -- through end of 2025

The Sara Eisen hour (no pun intended, but I may use it from now on -- LOL). 

Wow, she is really "optimistic" this morning. How much better the consumer is feeling, and doing so well. Many charts, started with "relief at the pump." Says she had more charts but had to stop at some point. $Gasoline a year ago, $3.60. Today, $3.20. Is this CNBC starting to show their cards with regard to the presidential election? 

MS: among many investment banks, reported better-than-expected 3Q24 results and shares jump.

Interest rates: talked with an extended family member last night. 

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980); 50 years old (or approaching 50). Says he never expects to see interest rates below 4% again in his lifetime. Not good, bad, simply an observation. The mortgage on his house? 2.8%. 

Vistra: on the way home from Farmer's Branch, TX, passed this company's headquarters in Irving, TX. I think it was on TX-121 north. Ticker:


Wiki, note how "old" this company is:


This is why I'm recommending to the grandchildren when it comes to investing, stick with the professionals and mom-and-pop investors shouldn't be doing their own stock picking. 

Kairos: private company. Who is going to buy it? On another note, the Google-Kairos press release, link here. 500 MW of new energy. Financial details not provided. Perhaps this will provide some estimates:

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • 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. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.

Cramer's First Hour, Part 4 -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48597CRAMER.

Cramer's first hour: a mix of facts, factoids, opinions from various sources -- often not cited -- while listening to Cramer's first hour on CNBC.   

Holy mackerel: after a weak opening, the Dow is now up 130 points before the 30-minute timer has rung.

Inflation, cars: new cars -- incredible. Price range for all socioeconomic classes. Sweet spot for many Americans: $30,000 and plenty of makes / models in that price range. Calculator here. Below $30,000, the car is very, very "basic," no bells and whistles but will get the job done. Real world example,# not imagined. A $30,000 car with $5,000 down at 4.9% interest rate for seven years in north Texas will result in a monthly payment of around $350 / month, or $12 / day, the price of two pumpkin spice lattes (I must be missing something; I often make simple arithmetic errors). If one can swing it, a three-year loan can be had for 1.9%. Almost free money when one thinks about it.

Starbucks:

CSCO: wow, wow, wow. Cisco leading tech today. Who wudda thought? 

Inflation: dropping like a rock in Europe. Many countries reporting a CPI with a one-handle, as in 1.7% inflation.

Personal investing: "backed up the truck" on SCHG as Cramer would say. Past tense. Largest addition to this position in quite some time. Top holdings (below), and they say this is not a "tech" ETF. After the split, Sophia got really, really excited. LOL.

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • 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. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.

Cramer's First Hour, Part 3 -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48596CRAMER.

Cramer's first hour: a mix of facts, factoids, opinions from various sources -- often not cited -- while listening to Cramer's first hour on CNBC.   

Disinflation or deflation: seeing this all over Amazon. Prices dropping. And not by just a little. Down almost 25%. Say what?  And this was not a "Prime Day special." This was from yesterday, current pricing, down 24%.

Boeing: machinists still on strike and no meetings even scheduled. Boeing: an absolute debacle. Just a hair's breadth away from "junk status." Machinists strike is costing the company $1 billion / month. Strike at 33 days and will go into November.  Some feel there's no way the machinists will see their demands met with the current financial situation Boeing is in. Waiting for government bailout? BA market cap around $90 billion -- Buffett could write a check and buy the company.

Airbus: but look at this. Link here.

J.B. Hunt: interesting. Up 6.7% in pre-market trading. Cramer: don't get suckered into this one. But then he goes on to say he likes J. B. Hunt. so I can't make heads or tails of what Cramer is saying. 

Concerning: link here.  But only slightly. Let's see. 11 + 3 = 14. 100 - 13 = 86.


Personal mileage, my wife's 2007 Chrysler minivan, the workhorse in our stable:


Inflation: sake. Normally sells for 2/$12.


AAPL: at the open -- opens down 1%.

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • 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. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.

Cramer's First Hour -- Part 2 -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48595CRAMER.

Cramer's first hour: a mix of facts, factoids, opinions from various sources -- often not cited -- while listening to Cramer's first hour on CNBC.   

Looking for love in all the wrong places, link here:

Industrial vs tech:



Fact check: Joe Kernan says "they've" restarted Three-Mile Island. Not only has it not re-started but there are already regulatory concerns. This isn't going to be easy. By the way, all those nuclear engineers -- where are they now and what are they doing now? First thought? How old is Homer Simpson now?
In most episodes, Homer Simpson works as the nuclear safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant (in Sector 7-G), a position which he has held since "Homer's Odyssey", the third episode of the series, despite the fact that he is totally unsuitable for it.

SMRs: small modular reactors. First, that google news. Now, Amazon. Exploring with Dominion Energy at a cost of $500 million to "explore" feasibility of three SMRs near Amazon sites in Virginia.

Keeping track:
  • Microsoft: $10 billion, Three-Mile Island.
  • Google: financial details not revealed; eight SMRs. For those hoping to get in on the ground floor, Kairos Power is a private company.
  • Amazon: half-billion-dollar investment.

Memo to self: may have to add a new "page" to the post, a tab linked at the top. We'll see. 

By the way: does the nuclear industry think the public will buy into nuclear in their backyard? No "nuclear" in their "new" product. Not called "small nuclear reactors," but rather "small modular reactors." Speaks volumes. Sort of like KFC removing "fried" from its name.

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • 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. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.

Cramer's First Hour, Part 1 -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48594CRAMER.

Cramer's first hour: a mix of facts, factoids, opinions from various sources -- often not cited -- while listening to Cramer's first hour on CNBC.  

AAPL: hit an all-time intra-day high yesterday. Pre-market today, holding those gains. [Later, will close down at the close. Give buyers an opportunity.]

Trump: shades of P. T. Barnum? I haven't been following this story; see some headlines. It wouldn't surprise me. Is Trump in a win-win situation? Even if he loses the election, is he positioning himself for one of the biggest cash hauls of all time?  He won’t run again. He keeps the cash. His “competitor”? Elon Musk. For bragging rights.

Chart of the day: click here.

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • 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. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.

 

WTI Stabilizes At $70 -- Hess Reports Another EN-Cvancara Well -- October 16, 2024

Locator: 48593B.

AAPL: hit an all-time intra-day high yesterday. Pre-market today, holding those gains. [Later, gave almost all of it back at the close.]

Trump: shades of P. T. Barnum? I haven't been following this story; see some headlines. It wouldn't surprise me. Is Trump in a win-win situation? Even if he loses the election, is he positioning himself for one of the biggest cash hauls of all time? 

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Back to the Bakken

Hess EN-Cvancara: see this post for recent update, which will also take you to site where these wells are tracked. The newest EN-Cvancara well to report tomorrow:

  • 40194, conf, Hess, EN-L Cvancara ARA-LS-155-93-2826H-2, Robinson Lake,

WTI: $70.61.

Thurssday, October 17, 2024: 33 for the month; 33 for the quarter, 547 for the year
40314, conf, Oasis, Truax State Federal 5398 43-9 3B,
40194, conf, Hess, EN-L Cvancara-LS-155-93-2826H-2,
39214, conf, BR, Parrish-Kermit 5B TFH-ULW,

Wednesday, October 16, 2024: 30 for the month; 30 for the quarter, 544 for the year
40269, conf, Hess, EN-L Cvancara LS-155-93-2826H-1,

RBN Energy: with China's economy in the doldrums, is global oil demand growth likely to stall?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and others have lowered growth targets for global oil consumption in the short term, while traders began a sell-off in crude benchmarks before the recent recovery in oil prices. Their main concern? China, which has accounted for a large part of global demand growth, has recently seen a sharp drop in oil demand due in part to an economic slowdown as well as a sharp increase in electric vehicle (EV) adoption. In today’s RBN blog, we will examine what’s happening in China, what it means for global oil demand, and where additional demand growth might come from.