This Week's Tech / NASDAQ -- "The Wrecking Crew" -- October 31, 2024

Locator: 48688MUSIC.

Hal Blaine.

Wiki.

When I read Hal Blaine's bio and read through the list of songs for which he was the drummer, I come away wondering what in the world Yuval Noah Hahari was thinking when he wrote his "ground-breaking" Sapiens and then a followup Nexus. But I digress. 

Back to Hal Blaine.

Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one.

Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Blaine moved with his family to California in 1943 and began playing jazz and big band music before taking up rock and roll session work. He became one of the regulars in Phil Spector's de facto house band, which Blaine nicknamed "the Wrecking Crew."

Some of the records Blaine played on include the Ronettes' single "Be My Baby" (1963), which contained a drum beat that became widely imitated, as well as works by popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, Neil Diamond, and the Byrds.

When you get to the wiki site, scroll down to "Selected Performances" and scroll through that list. 

You can find video footage of Blaine on YouTube -- one of the better was the studio session with the Beach Boys recording "Good Vibrations." 

Outside of studio sessions Blaine seldom worked for any time with any given performer. There were two exceptions: Nancy Sinatra in Las Vegas and on tour with John Denver. 

Worcester Magazine, March 20, 2019.  Link here.

Six New Permits; Four BR Permits Canceled -- October 31, 2024

Locator: 48687B.

EV headlines today:

• Ford to halt F-150 Lightning production as EV demand wanes. Better said, "... pause production...," not halt production.
• Slow sales force Stellantis to "hit brakes" on SUV production. Link here. This is the company that promised us a sub-$30,000 SUV sooner than later. That was about a year ago; haven't heard a thing since. Pausing production of the Durango and the Grand Cherokee.
• Ford took an early lead in EVs; now GM is surging. NY Times.
• Ford to halt production of F-150 Lightning EV pickup trucks for six weeks. Reuters.
• Ford CEO loves his Chinese EV. National Review.
  

Dividends increased:

• COP (but somewhat disingenuous).
• ABBV.

Nvidia blades: blazing saddles? Beth:

Magnificent Seven absolutely impossible to keep up with:

• who is partnering with whom, and how those partnerships are changing; and,
• tactical decisions vs strategic decisions. 

For investors, several ways to invest in the magnificent seven:

• invest in individual tickers;
• invest in QQQ
• invest in ETFs like SCHB or SCHG

I've chosen the third option.

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $70.52.

Active rigs: 39.

Six new permits, #41297 - #41302, inclusive:

• Operators: Hess (3); MRO (2); and, Grayson Mill
• Fields: Beaver Lodge (Williams); Bailey (Dunn); and, Grinnell (McKenzie)
• Comments:
• Grayson Mill has a permit for a Barbara well, SESE 36-154-97; 
• to be sited 468 FWL and 291 FEL;
• MRO has permits for two more wells in the Bailey oil field, Sunell and Bjorge, NENE 18-145-93; 
• one to be sited 380 FNL and 901 FEL; 
• the other to be sited 340 FNL and 901 FEL.
• Hess has permits for two BL-Kvam wells and one BL-Herfindahl well --  lot 1, section 30-156-9;  
• all three to be sited 527 FNL and between 392 FWL and 458 FWL.

Four BR permits were canceled:

• BR, Shafer permits, two middle Bakken and two Three Forks wells;

COP -- 3Q24 Earnings -- October 31, 2024

Locator: 48686COP.

COP: raises dividend by 34%.

This is a bit ingenuous, I suppose. 

The question, of course, is whether, the company continues to pay a VROC going forward. If not, the company can say they significantly increased its dividend and thus not have to raise the dividend for quite some time, and ... well, one gets the picture. This will be fascinating to watch. 

From Business Insider:

ConocoPhillips (COP) said its Board of Directors approved an increase to the company's existing share repurchase authorization by up to $20 billion. ConocoPhillips also declared a fourth-quarter ordinary dividend of $0.78 per share payable Dec. 2, 2024, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 11, 2024. The company noted that it is on track to distribute at least $9 billion to shareholders for 2024.

Ryan Lance, CEO, said: "We still anticipate closing the planned acquisition of Marathon Oil this quarter and expect to significantly exceed our initial $500 million synergy guidance."

Third quarter production was 1,917 MBOED, an increase of 111 MBOED from the same period a year ago. After adjusting for closed acquisitions and dispositions, third-quarter production increased 47 MBOED or 3% from the same period a year ago.

The company stated that its full-year production is expected to be approximately 1.94 to 1.95 MMBOED, as compared to prior guidance of 1.93 to 1.94 MMBOED. Fourth-quarter production is expected to be 1.99 to 2.03 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Dewali -- October 31, 2024

Locator: 48685DIWALI.

Hindi festival of lights.

We always look forward to this festival. 

And, with regard to the school calendar and the festival, the local school district is either very, very clever .... or purely coincidental. But I highly doubt the latter. I think the school district is being very, very clever.

We live in a very, very conservative part of the DFW metropolis. Dallas is blue, Ft Worth is purple, and the north side of Ft Worth where we are is very red. The administrators and officials of the local public schools have a lot of issues to navigate, including how to handle religious holidays.

Diwali is a moveable feast occurring this time of year, sometimes early, sometimes later, coming close to overlapping with Christmas. It is generally celebrated for five days but can be celebrated as little as one day depending on the calendar. I've always considered it a five-day celebration and my hunch is that the local Hindus celebrate it as long as possible.

Diwali this year is very, short in duration, lasting just over 24 hours. It started this morning, Thursday, Halloween and will end tomorrow morning, Friday, 

But, look at this! Next week, Sophia gets Monday and Tuesday off from school. A four-day weekend which just happens to coincide with Diwali! 

And this is what makes me think the school district is so clever. There are a number of Indian students that attend the local public schools but not all folks might think it appropriate to celebrate a Hindi festival. So, to avoid controversy, the school district scheduled Monday and Tuesday next week as teacher continuing education / workshop days. The kids have the four-day weekend and the teachers get the mandatory continuing education required by the state.

Again, perhaps it's just coincidental. I really don't know, but it sure makes me wonder.

Cramer's First Hour, Part 1 -- October 31, 2024

Locator: 48684CRAMER.

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.  

Zuckerberg vs Gates: at this "stage" in his life, Mark Zuckerberg seems so much "smarter" than Bill Gates when the latter was at the same stage in his life. This suggests to me that Zuckerberg has a lot more room to grow .... exponentially.  

Starbucks: among the companies that are going to get a lot of attention between now and the end of 2025, Starbucks may be the most interesting. 

So many stories out there right now regarding Starbucks, and generally none of them very favorable to the company. Another headline story how Starbucks hopes to win back some customers. Eighty cents for cream for one's coffee -- remember, a senior coffee at some participaing McDonald's is about 79 cents, but that was awhile ago; not sure what the price might be now. Regardless, a "senior" coffee is not a company policy; local franchises may off it, however.

Apple / AAPL: Cramer anticipates that Apple will "miss" when the company reports earnings after market close.

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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 something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  
• 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.
• Longer version here.

A COP Heiress Who Received $100,000 In Dividends Last Quarter, Will Get $134,000 In Dividends This Quarter -- That Should Cover 3% Inflation Concerns -- Thursday, October 31, 2024

Locator: 48683B.

Comcast: considers spinning off cable networks.

COP: raises dividend by 34%.

US economy, link here:

With another solid performance in the third quarter, the U.S. has grown 2.7% over the past year. It is outrunning every other major developed economy, not to mention its own historical growth rate.

More impressive than the rate of growth is its quality. This growth didn’t come solely from using up finite supplies of labor and other resources, which could fuel inflation. Instead, it came from making people and businesses more productive.

This combination, if sustained, will be a wind at the back of the next president. Three of the past four newcomers to the White House took office in or around a recession (the exception was Donald Trump, in 2017), which consumed much of their first-term agenda. The next president should be free of that burden.

Meanwhile, higher productivity growth should make the economy a bit less prone to inflation, more capable of sustaining budget deficits, and more likely to deliver strong wages. All would be a boon to President Trump or President Kamala Harris.

To describe this economy as remarkable would strike most Americans as confusing, if not insulting. In the latest WSJ poll, 62% of respondents rated the economy as “not so good” or “poor,” which explains the lack of any political dividend for President Biden. There are many reasons for the disconnect, most important the high inflation of 2021-23, whose effects still linger.

And then this, Goldilocks:

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $69.19.

Friday, November 1, 2024: 3 for the month; 63 for the quarter, 577 for the year

• 40293, conf, Grayson Mill, Hovland 26-35 5H,
• 40291, conf, Grayson Mill, Hovland 26-35 XW 1H,
• 40246, conf, Empire North Dakota LLC, Pike 32-6 1H,

Thursday, October 31, 2024: 60 for the month; 60 for the quarter, 574 for the year
None.

RBN Energy: BridgeTex on track to be the last Permian-to-Houston Pipe to fill up.

Permian producers have enjoyed an abundance of outbound options since the pandemic, with egress capacity surpassing production. While a significant amount of capacity remains available, not all routes have proven equal in the eyes of the market, with Corpus Christi and Houston the most sought-after destinations for Permian crude. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll explore why ONEOK’s BridgeTex Pipeline is the only conduit serving the Houston market that still has room to take on additional volumes — although it appears to be quickly nearing full capacity.