Apple, Amazon Leo, And Globalstar — April 14, 2026

Locator: 50526AMAZON.

Link here. 

Link here. 

Apple has a deep, multibillion-dollar partnership with Globalstar, initiated in 2022 to power the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature on iPhones. Through significant investments and prepayments exceeding $1.5 billion, Apple secured 85% of Globalstar's network capacity, utilizing it for satellite messaging and emergency services.

Key Details of the Partnership: 

• Infrastructure Investment: Apple's funding allows Globalstar to expand its ground infrastructure and upgrade its satellite constellation. 
• Capacity Control: Under the agreement, 85% of Globalstar’s network capacity is reserved for Apple services. 
• Financial Support: Apple has provided over $1.5 billion in payments, including funding for new satellites and supporting Globalstar’s operational costs. 
• Service Scope: The partnership enables iPhone 14 and newer models to connect directly to satellites to send emergency texts and location data in areas without cellular coverage. 
• Recent Developments: In November 2024, Globalstar announced a $1.7 billion investment from Apple to launch a new, enhanced constellation. 
• Ownership Stake: Apple holds a 20% stake in Globalstar, strengthening the long-term partnership.  

Amazon-Globalstar Merger (April 2026): As of April 2026, Amazon is set to acquire Globalstar for $11.6 billion. Despite this merger, reports indicate the Apple-Globalstar agreement remains intact, and Apple will continue to use the network for its satellite services. 

Other Collaborations: While Globalstar is the primary partner, Apple has also explored, or currently works with, other providers for satellite technology to expand beyond emergency-only services, though Globalstar remains central to their current strategy. 

Amazon Leo:

Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network, formerly known as Project Kuiper, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet to households, businesses, and governments worldwide. Utilizing over 3,000 satellites, it aims to connect underserved areas, with service options planned for in-flight Wi-Fi and direct-to-device connectivity.

 

Richest Eight Families In Forth Worth, Texas -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50525FORTWORTH.

Several of the individuals mentioned live in suburbs of Ft Worth, including Westlake and Colleyville, Texas. Colleyville is where our youngest granddaughter, Sophia, attends middle school. We live at the intersection of Colleyville, Grapevine, and Euless.  

Link here. 

CAT Acquires Self-Driving Electric Tractor Startup Monarch -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50524CAT.

Talk about a coincidence. 

Yesterday I mentioned CAT (and UNP).

Today, there's a huge CAT story.

Link here. 

Meanwhile, Deere:

US Markets -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50523MUSIC.

US markets:

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Broadcom

 

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Music 

Just the links right now:

Willie Nelson. 

Linda Ronstadt. 

Hank Williams and Anita Carter. 

Anita Carter was the wife of June Carter, and thus, the sister-in-law of Johnny Cash.  

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Flashback

Re-posting from July 13, 2023. Link here.

Olivia turned 17 years old while taking flying lessons "with the USAF" this past summer (summer of 2023).

She logged exactly 15 hours, as per "the contract" she signed with the USAF.

At 14.1 hours, she was told that she would continue to fly -- there were still about two days left in the training schedule, but even if she went over 15 hours, she could only log 15 hours due to "contract language."

Her instructor signed her off at "first opportunity" to solo but she asked for one more flight with instructor before her solo flight.

She soloed on/about her 14th hour of flight time. 

US Crude Oil Inventories Continue To Soar -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50522B.

US crude oil inventories: continue to boom, despite global shortage fears. 

• API today:
• non-SPR inventories rose 6.10 million bbls last week
• forecast: analysts had expected a 1.3-million-bbl draw 
• EIA data here. 
• SPR: the US continues to draw down the SPR
• stands at 409 million bbls
• maximum capacity: 725 million bbls.

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Back to the Bakken

CAPEX: no evidence operators are increasing CAPEX or rig count in the Bakken; will let their profits run. 

WTI: $91.28. Holy mackerel, down from $105 at the beginning of the week. One year ago WTI was running $60 - $65 / bbl.

Active rigs: 20 -- a new recent low.

Three new permits, #42840 - #42842 --  

• Operators: EOG, Iron Oil Operating, Enerplus
• Fields: Parshall (Mountrail County) (2); Tyrone (Williams County)
• Comments:
• three different operators, two with permits for wells in the Parshall oil field and one with a permit for a well in Tyrone oil field;
• 42840: EOG, Parshall 441, lot 3, section 2-152-90, 
• to be sited 834 FNL and 1339 FWL;
• 42841: Iron Oil, Sickle 1, NENW 23-153-89, 
• to be sited 251 FNL and 2302 FWL;
• 42842: Enerplus, Orcas State 5601, lot 2, section 4-156-101, 
• to be sited 457 FNL and 2382 FEL;

BRK, And Warren Buffett, And Greg Abel -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50521BRK.

Re-posting: 

The bubble: I've literally lost the bubble on everything. 

I feel I am adrift, completely lost at sea. There's so much going on and yet so much is not being discussed -- anywhere. So, if I get into the mood, lots to discuss. My problem: I don't know where to begin. It's sort of like Artemis II -- done that 50 years ago; what did this four-person mission gain us? A lot of "I love me" photos. Quick: name one of the four astronauts. 

What have I learned in the past month:

• never stop reading: read, read, read, and read some more;
• keep investing; don't leave your cash laying around, earning 2%.
• Exhibit A: Black Hills Energy.
• Exhibit B: Bank of New York Mellon. New 52-week high today.
• Exhibit C: Apple, Amazon, and Globalstar.

Which brings me to BRK and Warren Buffett and Greg Abel:

• BRK is loading up on these four stocks: link here. The New York Times, Chubbs, Chevron, and Domino's Pizza. This is worth reading.
• Is it time to reconsider BRK? Link here.

I'll let this year pass, but one year from now ...

 

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Best Album Ever?

"Red-Headed Stranger."

Link here. 

New Apple Store In Zurich -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50520APPLE.

Link here. 

Trane: Another Rabbit Hole -- And It Leads Right Back To Texas Relocations -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50519TRANE.

Wiki. 

What does Train Technologies manufacture in Tyler, Texas?

What is the history of Trane / Trane Technologies?

But going down that rabbit hole brought me here which was well worth the trip: link here.

 And there's so much more. Again, the link.

And then this:

Just Tech For Now -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50518TECH.

It's unlikely I will ever watch CNBC except for small snippets, I suppose, but even that is very unlikely. CNBC on-line is great for headlines and when I'm blocked by paywalls at Bloomberg and Reuters, the chatbots get me what I want. 

Oracle: link here. 

Amazon: signs $12 billion deal to buy Globalstar.

Ticker AMZN: 

News for AMZN: 

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Others

MU: up 2% today; up over $7.00.

AMD: up 1% today; up over $2.50

AVGO: up 7% past five days; up $25 past five days.

ORCL: up 4% today; up almost $7 today.

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Market

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The Book Page

Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI, Anil Ananthaswamy, c. 2024 / 2025.

This is why the AI revolution is not even closely / remotely near the end. If Americans don't want LDCs in their backyard, the revolution will continue unabated in China.

This is why this book is so good. Notes are updated here. 

Chapter 10
The Algorithm that Put Paid to a Persistent Myth

 

First paragraph: Minsky and Papert myth; discussed with Geoffrey Hinton. This is what makes this book so good.

 

Hinton: one of the key figures behind the modern deep learning revolution.

 

Hinton got interested in neural networks in the mid 1960s when he was still in high school in the UK. 

 

This is why this book is so good:

 

Incompetent, Irrelevant, And Immaterial -- Tuesday -- April 14, 2026

Locator: 50517B.

Updates

Later, 3:23 p.m. CT: Judge Boasberg overruled. Trump wins.

Later, 2:05 p.m. CT: amazing --

A reminder, yesterday, Monday morning, WTI touched $105 briefly. Today, $92, down $13 / bbl in one day.

Original Post 

The bubble: I've literally lost the bubble on everything. 

I feel I am adrift, completely lost at sea. There's so much going on and yet so much is not being discussed -- anywhere. So, if I get into the mood, lots to discuss. My problem: I don't know where to begin. It's sort of like Artemis II -- done that 50 years ago; what did this four-person mission gain us? A lot of "I love me" photos. Quick: name one of the four astronauts. 

So, there's a lot to discuss today, if I'm so moved. 

• The UN: have you ever witnessed such impotence? Checking the thesaurus I found 25 words from which to choose. Impotence, irrelevance, and incompetence all work. The three "i's." 
• Renewable energy: Europe was the only one leading the charge (no pun intended) and even the EU is more concerned about price of LNG / oil rather than saving the earth. It appears we have at least another eleven years to act. 
• Carbon capture: whatever happened to that? Going all the way back to Denbury, XOM, and XTO.
• BRK: what in the world is going on with BRK?
• EVs: are they or are they not something the US will see any time soon? Ford's Farley weighs in.
• The market: I haven't watched CNBC since the war began and except for checking a few tickers, I haven't look at the market (at least not as much as I once did) and haven't even checked my portfolio. 
• GOP should be concerned: how soon will the MAGA folks start referring to themselves as the disciples, or vice versa, when will the Pope and/or The New York Times start referring to the members of Trump's cabinet as the fifteen disciples?  [Footnote: the US cabinet has 23 members when one includes the VP, and seven additional cabinet-level positions. Enough to play 11-man football among themselves.]

Back to the UN: Perry Mason, aka Raymond Burr, already did this for us:

Wow, wow, wow, doesn't that describe the UN, Schumer, and The New York Times? Remember, it's the UN's responsibility to keep international waterways open. I guess the Brits forgot that. Along with almost everyone else except Trump. I don't think Netanyahu really cares one way or the other.

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Back to the Bakken 

WTI: $95.87. Falling like a rock. There seems to be a huge disconnect between reality, rhetoric, and the direction the price of oil is taking. Down 3% this morning according to oilprice. 

New wells reporting:

• Wednesday, April 15, 2026: 43 for the month, 43 for the quarter, 200 for the year,
• 41802, conf, XTO, GBU Athena 31X-3G, 
• 40867, conf, Hess, RS-Piepkorn-155-92-1208H-2,
• Tuesday, April 14, 2026: 41 for the month, 41 for the quarter, 198 for the year,  
• 41945, conf, Phoenix Operating, Goodnight 22-15 5H,
• 41944, conf, Phoenix Operating, Goodnight 22-15 4H,
• 41943, conf, Phoenix Operating, Goodnight 22-15 2H,
• 41942, conf, Phoenix Operating, Goodnight 22-15 1H-LL,
• 41871, conf,  Phoenix Operating, Goodnight 22-15 3H, 
• 41801, conf, XTO, GBU Athena 31X-3C,
• 41800, conf, XTO, GBU Athena 31X-3F,
• 40634, conf, Hunt Oil, Oakland 154-89-30-19H-1, 

RBN Energy: what is driving large-scale data center projects to secondary markets? Link here. Archived.

As rising AI-driven demand for data centers has supported growth in key markets like Virginia and Texas, developers are increasingly casting a wider net — landing major projects in states that haven't historically been on the radar. While established hubs still dominate the landscape, regulatory hurdles, rising power costs and grid congestion are pushing developers to look elsewhere. In today's RBN blog, we'll examine the factors drawing large-scale data center projects to “non-key” states, with a close look at Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

In Part 1 of this series, we examined the key factors driving data center development across seven leading states — Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. While Texas appears to lead in new development thanks to its business-friendly regulatory environment, relative strength in power and direct access to Permian Basin natural gas, it faces a familiar Catch-22 also seen in California, Illinois and Virginia: the same conditions that attract development are weakened when that development arrives. So far, that dilemma is partially responsible for the interest toward comparatively less-mature states like Arizona, Georgia and Ohio — but that doesn’t make them immune from those issues either.

With that in mind, large-scale projects are increasingly appearing outside of those key markets — a theme we initially explored in I Know Places. In Indiana, Amazon and Meta have both announced multibillion-dollar commitments. Louisiana was selected as the site for Meta’s Hyperion Data Center, which is under construction. Amazon has also announced investments in North Carolina, in addition to projects by Microsoft and other more speculative plans in the state. And lastly, Pennsylvania’s market is expected to grow, driven by a $20 billion investment from Amazon, on top of the highly publicized planned restart of a Three Mile Island nuclear unit to power Microsoft data centers.

Figure 1 below offers our analysis of these four states. Comparing each on the factors that determine where data centers are built hints at these projects’ rationales. The matrix indicates whether a specific factor (rows) is a relative strength (green plus sign), weakness (red minus sign), or neither (yellow tilde), in each state.

Figure 1. Relative Strengths and Weaknesses of Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Source: RBN