A huge thank you to a reader for sending me this. Link here.
FERC this month cleared a pair
of natural gas pipeline projects by TC Energy Corp. and Kinder Morgan
Inc. designed to add Bakken Shale takeaway capacity with access to
natural gas trading markets in Colorado.
A
map of Kinder Morgan's Bakken Xpress Pipeline from North Dakota,
Montana and Wyoming to Colorado, with key NGI spot prices for the region
listed in a table.
Kinder
Morgan’s Wyoming Interstate Co. LLC (WIC) would provide 300,000 Dth/d
of firm transportation capacity along its system and three other
pipelines in a project dubbed Bakken Xpress. Hess and Oneok Rockies
Midstream LLC signed on as shippers during an open season for 430,000
Dth/d in 2023.
Under
a certificate approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (No.
CP23-543), WIC will lease capacity on TC’s Northern Border and Bison
pipeline systems and Fort Union Gas Gathering.
Opening up the new route, FERC approved a certificate (No. CP23-544) that would allow TC to reverse the idled Bison pipeline
originally built to transport gas from the Powder River Basin in
Wyoming into Midwestern markets. TC’s Bison Xpress project would upgrade
three Northern Border compressor stations (CS) and modify the Bison
system to allow for bidirectional flows.
Fort Union and WIC would ship the Bakken gas further south to the Cheyenne Hub in Colorado.
Bakken Xpress was expected to be in service by March 2026, WIC said in its application.
Semiconductor nodes, also known as process nodes or simply
"nodes," refer to the size of the transistors and other key components
on a semiconductor chip. These nodes represent the smallest dimensions
that can be reliably manufactured using a specific process technology.
In essence, they define the building blocks of our digital devices, from
smartphones and laptops to data centers and beyond.
If we broadly cover the different type of transistors design type
based on manufacturing architecture,there are three major types namelyPlaner, FinFETs & GAA.Planar
transistors are the older and simpler technology, they are less
suitable for advanced semiconductor nodes due to limitations in
scalability and power efficiency. FinFETs and GAA transistors represent
newer 3D transistor designs that offer better performance and
scalability. FinFETs are currently widely used, while GAA transistors
are considered the next step in transistor technology, offering even
greater control and efficiency, albeit with more complex manufacturing
challenges
Planar transistors vs. finFETs vs. gate-all-around Source
When we talk about Planer type, technology node actually refer to
the physical dimensions or minimum feature size of the transistors or
gate length. Once we shifted from Planer to new manufacturing
architecture of transistors called FinFET & GAA, technology node no
longer followed the "actual gate length" and has no physical
significance and is just a marketing number. It has an analogical
significance to the performance and efficiency in comparison to the
previous predecessors.
I started writing a personal-finance column, Getting Going,
for The Wall Street Journal in 1994, and soon earned a reputation as a
relentless proponent of indexing. In 2024, at age 61, it seems I’m
becoming renowned all over again—for dying.
Yeah, this is a little weird.
Ever
since I learned I had cancer and might have just a year to live, I’ve
been working like crazy to make sure I bequeath a well-organized estate
and leave my family in good financial shape. I’m determined to have as
good a death as possible, not least from a financial point of view.
Out monthly utility bill. We only have electricity, no natural gas.
Up until about a year ago, I worked very, very hard at conserving electricity. No longer. About a year ago, except for drying clothes at peak energy demand in the summer, I no longer care about our use of electricity. As a wag, I suppose, our monthly electricity bills have increased about 10%. An average shoulder month (spring, autumn) probably went from around $85 to $95?
The two stories that interest me the most from Cramer's first hour? Chips and EVs.
Let's begin here: link down below.
Democrats hail electric vehicles as the “future,” but their autotopia keeps getting deferred. Ford and Stellantis this week joined a conga line of auto makers rolling back EV investments amid flagging consumer demand. Has the government ever subsidized a product that loses this much money?
Ford announced Wednesday that it will cancel production of an electric SUV and delay an electric pickup truck. As a result, it expects to take a $1.9 billion write-down. Believe it or not, this may be less costly than producing EVs that Americans don’t want. Ford lost an astonishing $44,000 on each EV it sold in the second quarter and expects to lose $5 billion on them this year.
Stellantis this week said it would delay investments to retool its shuttered plant in Belvidere, Ill., for EV production. The stated reason: “it is critical that the business case for all investments is aligned with market conditions and our ability to accommodate a wide range of consumer demands.” Imagine that—catering to consumer, rather than government, demands.
Auto makers’ problem is that California and the Biden Administration are forcing them to make increasing numbers of EVs that are piling up on dealer lots. Companies are slashing prices to sell them, resulting in hefty losses. Meantime, Americans are balking at paying more for gas-powered cars, making it harder for the car makers to use those profits to subsidize EVs.
Such losses and cross-business subsidies aren’t financially sustainable even with generous government subsidies. The Biden Administration last year awarded Ford’s joint battery venture a $9.2 billion low-cost loan for three giant electric vehicle battery factories and last month announced a $335 million grant for Stellantis to convert the Belvidere plant to build EVs.
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.
Personal investing: Sophia told me she added more to her position(s) in the Magnificent 7 this morning -- all seven!
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.
Weak refining margins, rising regulatory compliance costs, softening
demand for gasoline and the push for lower-carbon alternatives like
batteries and renewable diesel have each contributed to a steady decline
in California’s refining capacity the past few years. Now, Phillips
66’s plan to idle its 139-Mb/d Los Angeles Refinery in Q4 2025 will
leave the Golden State with only seven conventional refineries producing
gasoline, diesel and jet fuel — a couple of dozen fewer than it had 40
years ago. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll put P66’s recent announcement in
context and discuss the likelihood of additional refinery closures.
Bottom line:
In the meantime, there’s not much joy in California among either
refiners or the tens of millions of customers who use their gasoline,
diesel and other products. Retail prices for gasoline and diesel remain
well above those in other states and are subject to occasional spikes,
given the isolation of California’s refined-products market and the
relative fragility of supply. And refiners? They not only face the
frequent ire of retail customers, they also are subject to unrelenting
scrutiny from California regulators and the possibility — even the
likelihood — that still-stricter rules may be on the horizon.
