April 18, 2019, T+6, Part 7 -- Tesla; Road To Colorado; Update On The Apple-Qualcomm Deal; United Van Lines National Movers Study

Words Musk Melon does not want to hear in same sentence: major investor slashes Tesla holdings.

Link here.

T. Rowe Price funds slashed Tesla Inc holdings in the first quarter, data showed on Wednesday, as the institutional investor continued to cut its positions in the electric vehicle maker.

The firm, which has been one of the largest investors in the Silicon Valley company, sold off 92 percent of its prior holdings in the company during the quarter.

Coincides with end of federal credits for Tesla.

T. Rowe Price: well played.

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Road To Colorado

From Rigzone staff.

Colorado governor proudly signs bill killing Colorado's oil industry.

Oil companies will start/stop drilling based on a 6% extraction tax vs a 5% extraction tax. Colorado has passed a law that will be much more challenging than a one percent change in the extraction tax. 

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New York City

Passes law to require skyscrapers to "go green."

Unless I'm missing something, this brings no new income to the city itself.

The owners will have to spend money on upgrades; this will be a capital expense which will lower their city, state, and federal income taxes.

Big players will pass costs on to tenants.

Smartest decision Jeff Bezos ever made: flee Long Island City. Can you imagine?

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Update On That Apple-Qualcomm Deal

Link here.

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Occasional Cortex

Just when one thought a politician couldn't do anything more stupid than dissing Jeff Bezos / Amazon .... the New York City council just found a way to:

• cut city income
• drive out the rich and famous

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Speaking Of Which

From CNBC so you know it's true. 

Retirees fleeing these three states...

• New Jersey
• Maine
• Connecticut

... and moving to these three states:

• New Mexico
• Florida
• Arizona

2018 United Van Lines National Movers Study.

Not Much Today: A Single New Permit -- April 18, 2019

Active rigs:

$64.07	4/18/2019	04/18/2018	04/18/2017	04/18/2016	04/18/2015
Active Rigs	63	59	51	29	93

One new permit:

• Operator: Abraxas
• Field: North Fork (McKenzie)
• Comments: Abraxas has a permit for a single Jore Yellowstone well in lot 2/section 2-149-97.

And, that was all. 

Natural Gas Glut -- April 18, 2019

Natural gas: US shale gas swamps market -- Bloomberg. Data points:

• natural gas futures tumbled to lowest level in almost three years
• soothes concern about a potential supply crunch next winter
• inventories are more than 30% below normal, they're poised to refill quickly

Graphic posted below.

Fill rate, link here. Look at the steep curve. And how early it turned.

Argus Announces A New Benchmark -- West Texas Light -- April 18, 2019

Reminder: Argus recently announced a new benchmark -- North Sea Dated -- to reflect US crude oil being exported to Europe.

Now, today, Argus announces yet another benchmark: West Texas Light which will be distinct from West Texas Intermediate. Press release (April 10, 2019)/link here.

• WTI: Cushing
• WTI Permian: 40-44°API
• WTL: Permian light oil, Midland terminals (44.1-49.9°API)
• WTH: Houston light, pending, as volumes grow.

Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus today launches a new light crude price assessment to reflect growing light oil production in the Permian basin of west Texas and New Mexico. The new West Texas Light (WTL) price, published daily in the Argus Crude report, is for Permian basin crude with a gravity of 44.1-49.9°API traded at terminals in Midland, Texas.

Midland is the chief gathering hub for Permian basin crude, the fastest growing source of oil in the world. An increasing share of Permian crude is lighter than 44°API, and midstream companies have created the WTL stream to separate lighter crude from the denser main Permian WTI grade, which is typically at 40-44°API.

Much WTL trade is taking place at differentials to Argus’ benchmark WTI Midland price, which is assessed at terminals in Midland, Texas. Argus will publish its new WTL price assessment as a differential to WTI Cushing as well as an outright number.

WTL has also begun to trade at Houston at a differential to the benchmark Argus WTI Houston price, which is widely used to price US exports. Argus WTI Houston, which is assessed at Magellan’s MEH terminal, is also the settlement price for derivatives contracts on the Ice and CME exchanges, where open interest currently stands at 200 million barrels with daily trading volumes topping 10 million bbls. Argus intends to publish a separate WTL Houston index as volumes grow.

WTI, Permian, tends to be 40-44°API.

WTL is a lighter crude, probably competing directly with Bakken.

For what it's worth, I have a page devoted to the "types" of oil. Link here.

April 18, 2019, T+6, Part 6 -- US Retail Bounces Back

Pipelines: from US News -- and if from US News it must be true -- seven pipeline with big dividends worth buying -- open book test for investors -- 

• Antero Midstream, 8%
• Buckeye Partners: 9%
• DCP Midstream: 9%; consistency in income
• Enable Midstream Partners: 9%
• EnLink Midstream: 8%
• MPLX LP: 8%; market cap -- $26 billion
• Targa Resources: 9%; market cap -- $9 billion

Note: until late next week I won't be paying much attention to national news. Watching a lot of sports. Hockey: Stanley playoffs.  Dallas Stars scored four points in the first period last night on their way to a 5 -1 win over Nashville. Texas Rangers, baseball, doing well. Basketball, not following yet. PGA: Tiger Woods is the story.

Re-posting:

US retail: US retail spending rebounds in March (headline is wrong); driven by autos

• Drudge links France24: 

American consumers resumed spending in March, snapping up autos ahead of the summer driving season and pushing the US retail sector to its biggest gains in 18 months, government data showed Thursday.

The unexpectedly strong month for the key retail sector helped recover losses after December's worrisome slump, according to the Commerce Department.

More from the linked article:

The sector's performance pointed to resilience in consumption by ordinary members of the public -- a main driver of the world's largest economy -- and should support GDP growth in the first quarter, which is nevertheless expected to be weaker than the final quarter of 2018.

Total retail sales rose 1.6 percent to $514.1 billion, well above the 0.9 percent economists had been expecting.

The result put the retail sector 3.6 percent above March of last year.

Auto sales zoomed 3.1 percent higher, also the strongest showing in a year and a half, after a 0.1 percent dip.

Excluding the volatile auto sector, sales rose by a slower 0.9 percent, although this was still above expectations.

China drilling off-shore Cuba in areas where Cuban technology could not reach.

The market:

• WTI: trading just below $64
• Dow up 100 points; S&P up 4 points
• Edwards Lifesciences: huge drop this week
• UNP: holds, up $7/share today; up over 4%; now trading at $177; three years ago, $70/share
• AAPL: maintains its momentum
• QCOM: maintains its momentum
• NOG: down 4%
• JAG: flat, at just $11/share

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.

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Reminders

Best AGW site on the internet: deplorable climate science.  

Great site -- but sometimes "over the top" but any site banned from Facebook can't be all bad.